Graeme*Kustom*
07-07-2005, 14:33
Hello again, and welcome to the latest Kustom PCs new products update !
First off, please make sure to keep checking our ‘Sale (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sale_Items_36.html)’ and ‘B Grade (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/B_Grade.html)’ sections – we’re adding more bits to these sections every few days. We need more space on our shelves and some more money back in the coffers to make way for new products so we’re keen to get these products moved !
Cases are always a good place to start, and there’s plenty of new choices there this month. From Silverstone, we have their latest HTPC case the LC14M (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1279.html) in black – bringing computer cases another step forward to replicating features of a regular Hi-Fi, the LC14M has a set of front panel mounted buttons to operate audio controls as well as including a remote control and VFD display. The similarly dimensioned LC10M is also now available in silver (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1262.html). Keeping with HTPC cases, the Antec Overture (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1224.html) has been updated to include better ventilation and a stronger power supply. Offering an alternative to Antec’s Aria, the Aspire X-Qpack (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_MicroATX_Cases_4.html) is a cube case that allows a MicroATX motherboard (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Motherboards_mATX_82.html) to be installed, offering just a little more expandability than a regular cube barebones. For high-end cases, we have the Enermax CS-718 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1206.html) in Silver – this shares the duct CPU cooling system introduced with the Silverstone TJ-06 and has an elegant meshed front panel along with fan control and temperature display facilities. The Antec P180 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1020.html) has been requested by many and we’ll be receiving stocks of these in about a week from now. For those who don’t want to waste any time, we’ve added these cases for pre-order so that we ship a unit to you as soon as we receive stock ! Lastly, the XG Viper (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1282.html) cases are great value for the gamer looking for a striking case with PSU – they’re more solid than many other ‘pre-mod’ cases on the market so are well worth considering if you want your PC to stand out.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/1279.jpg
Our range of window panels (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Pre_Modded_Side_Panels.html) has been expanded slightly to include side panels for the Silverstone TJ06 and also Lian Li V2000B window panels. The OCZ Powerstream is now available in 600w (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1796.html) format with dual 12v rail support (ATX 2.01 compatible) and is an ideal PSU for high end SLI systems. Speaking of which, we now stock PCI-Express cables (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1797.html) for the Ultra X Connect PSUs bringing these stylish modular units bang up to date for the latest hardware configurations.
A question we are often asked – should I buy an LCD or VFD display (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Displays.html)? The general rule is that LCD is a cheaper technology with lower power requirement but lacks the brightness and definition of a VFD display. Now that PLED technology has arrived to programmable USB displays, there is a compromise – these are nearly as bright as VFDs, with a wide viewing angle and are significantly cheaper. Avaiable in black (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2956.html), silver aluminium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2955.html) and black aluminium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2954.html) finishes, all of the MX6 series of displays from Matrix Orbital are ready to go from the box since a USB cable and a full version of the LCDC software are included.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/2955.jpg
From Aquacomputer (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AquaComputer.html), we now stock the latest ‘XT’ CPU cooling blocks for Athlon64 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7757.html) and P4 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7756.html) series CPUs. These water blocks are designed to offer maximum airflow performance with only minimal water throughput required. To allow the Aquacomputer parts to be installed into Watercooling systems, we’ve brought in stock of component (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7758.html) and radiator 10mm adapters (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7759.html), which allow the Aquacomputer products to be used in Asetek waterchill configurations. From Zalman, the latest Reserator Plus (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2696.html) kits are coming in today – these feature a new black anodised finish and include a revised CPU block and GPU block in the package. For hard disk noise reduction and passive cooling, the Nexus DriveAway (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sound_Proofing_39.html) is the most complete solution we have seen yet – with integrated drive connections, an aluminium heatsink and noise dampening material it keeps your disks cool and quiet. Plus they’re available in funky colours ! In light of the SilenX 40x10mm fans being unavailable, we’ve started stocking the 20mm depth models (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2524.html) – these have a better airflow anyway at the expense of taking up a little more space. Another requested product are 92mm to 120mm fan adapters (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3748.html) – a lot of people are using these to install a 120mm fan to the rear of their Shuttle XPCs, so these are worth considering as a cheap and efficient way to reduce noise from your cube !
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/3853.jpg
In components, if there’s one flavour of the month it has to be Pentium M (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_479_Mobile.html). These CPUs were originally destined for ‘Centrino’ notebooks but are being more widely adopted for desktop use because of their fantastic levels of performance but low clock speeds and power use – ultimately this means the potential for a high performance system but with only minimal heat output. We’re phasing out the 400FSB CPUs, to make way for the latest 533FSB Pentium M CPUs, and to match we have two new motherboards based around the Intel i915 chipset – a MicroATX board from AOpen (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5579.html) and a mini-ITX board from Commell (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5471.html). Other CPU ranges are expanding too – we’re switching from 5xx series Intel CPUs to 6xx series (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_775.html) models for general use , giving 64bit instructions and a full 2mb cache to desktop users for only a minimal price increase. Dual core AMD (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AMD_Socket_939.html) and Intel CPUs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_775.html) are also available to order on request, at present we’re not holding stock of these but please do contact us if you need information on lead times for these models.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/5471.jpg
With memory (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Memory_42.html) becoming cheaper all the time, we now offer 1024mb modules from Crucial alongside the existing 512mb modules and there’s some new memory kits from OCZ in stock offering lower latencies and high bus speeds for users wishing to overclock their PCs. Of particular note is the PC5000 ‘DFI Special’ kit from OCZ , for the nf4 series of boards from DFI - this memory can reach a bus speed of 625mhz DDR (312mhz FSB) so has tremendous potential for overclocking.
There’s two new SLI motherboards from Asus as well , the P5ND2SLI-Deluxe (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5580.html) for Pentium 4 systems and the A8NSLI-Premium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5581.html) – which adds SATAII support, a passively cooled northbridge and Dual Gigabit LAN over and above the spec of the A8NSLI-Deluxe.
We can now supply Gainward Ultra 3500PCX Golden Sample (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5394.html) cards – based on the latest nVidia GeForce 7800GTX chipset, the Gainward cards sport increased clock rates to give them a performance edge over ‘reference’ design cards. Also visually pleasing – Hauppague WinTV PVR 500 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4333.html) cards are available now, featuring two TV tuners on one board for viewing and recording of separate channels on Windows MCE2005. For laptop users or anyone who has run out of internal slots, the Terratec Cinergy T2 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4329.html)is a portable TV tuner solution that also supports MCE2005 !
As we are currently unable to source Panasonic slimline optical drives, we’ve got Pioneer K-05 Slim DVD-RWs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5486.html) which are better specced anyway ! These use a slot feed mechanism which is a nifty addition for HTPCs – looks a little more gadget-like than a tray feed drive !
First off, please make sure to keep checking our ‘Sale (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sale_Items_36.html)’ and ‘B Grade (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/B_Grade.html)’ sections – we’re adding more bits to these sections every few days. We need more space on our shelves and some more money back in the coffers to make way for new products so we’re keen to get these products moved !
Cases are always a good place to start, and there’s plenty of new choices there this month. From Silverstone, we have their latest HTPC case the LC14M (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1279.html) in black – bringing computer cases another step forward to replicating features of a regular Hi-Fi, the LC14M has a set of front panel mounted buttons to operate audio controls as well as including a remote control and VFD display. The similarly dimensioned LC10M is also now available in silver (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1262.html). Keeping with HTPC cases, the Antec Overture (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1224.html) has been updated to include better ventilation and a stronger power supply. Offering an alternative to Antec’s Aria, the Aspire X-Qpack (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_MicroATX_Cases_4.html) is a cube case that allows a MicroATX motherboard (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Motherboards_mATX_82.html) to be installed, offering just a little more expandability than a regular cube barebones. For high-end cases, we have the Enermax CS-718 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1206.html) in Silver – this shares the duct CPU cooling system introduced with the Silverstone TJ-06 and has an elegant meshed front panel along with fan control and temperature display facilities. The Antec P180 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1020.html) has been requested by many and we’ll be receiving stocks of these in about a week from now. For those who don’t want to waste any time, we’ve added these cases for pre-order so that we ship a unit to you as soon as we receive stock ! Lastly, the XG Viper (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1282.html) cases are great value for the gamer looking for a striking case with PSU – they’re more solid than many other ‘pre-mod’ cases on the market so are well worth considering if you want your PC to stand out.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/1279.jpg
Our range of window panels (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Pre_Modded_Side_Panels.html) has been expanded slightly to include side panels for the Silverstone TJ06 and also Lian Li V2000B window panels. The OCZ Powerstream is now available in 600w (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1796.html) format with dual 12v rail support (ATX 2.01 compatible) and is an ideal PSU for high end SLI systems. Speaking of which, we now stock PCI-Express cables (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1797.html) for the Ultra X Connect PSUs bringing these stylish modular units bang up to date for the latest hardware configurations.
A question we are often asked – should I buy an LCD or VFD display (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Displays.html)? The general rule is that LCD is a cheaper technology with lower power requirement but lacks the brightness and definition of a VFD display. Now that PLED technology has arrived to programmable USB displays, there is a compromise – these are nearly as bright as VFDs, with a wide viewing angle and are significantly cheaper. Avaiable in black (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2956.html), silver aluminium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2955.html) and black aluminium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2954.html) finishes, all of the MX6 series of displays from Matrix Orbital are ready to go from the box since a USB cable and a full version of the LCDC software are included.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/2955.jpg
From Aquacomputer (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AquaComputer.html), we now stock the latest ‘XT’ CPU cooling blocks for Athlon64 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7757.html) and P4 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7756.html) series CPUs. These water blocks are designed to offer maximum airflow performance with only minimal water throughput required. To allow the Aquacomputer parts to be installed into Watercooling systems, we’ve brought in stock of component (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7758.html) and radiator 10mm adapters (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_7759.html), which allow the Aquacomputer products to be used in Asetek waterchill configurations. From Zalman, the latest Reserator Plus (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2696.html) kits are coming in today – these feature a new black anodised finish and include a revised CPU block and GPU block in the package. For hard disk noise reduction and passive cooling, the Nexus DriveAway (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sound_Proofing_39.html) is the most complete solution we have seen yet – with integrated drive connections, an aluminium heatsink and noise dampening material it keeps your disks cool and quiet. Plus they’re available in funky colours ! In light of the SilenX 40x10mm fans being unavailable, we’ve started stocking the 20mm depth models (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2524.html) – these have a better airflow anyway at the expense of taking up a little more space. Another requested product are 92mm to 120mm fan adapters (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3748.html) – a lot of people are using these to install a 120mm fan to the rear of their Shuttle XPCs, so these are worth considering as a cheap and efficient way to reduce noise from your cube !
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/3853.jpg
In components, if there’s one flavour of the month it has to be Pentium M (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_479_Mobile.html). These CPUs were originally destined for ‘Centrino’ notebooks but are being more widely adopted for desktop use because of their fantastic levels of performance but low clock speeds and power use – ultimately this means the potential for a high performance system but with only minimal heat output. We’re phasing out the 400FSB CPUs, to make way for the latest 533FSB Pentium M CPUs, and to match we have two new motherboards based around the Intel i915 chipset – a MicroATX board from AOpen (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5579.html) and a mini-ITX board from Commell (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5471.html). Other CPU ranges are expanding too – we’re switching from 5xx series Intel CPUs to 6xx series (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_775.html) models for general use , giving 64bit instructions and a full 2mb cache to desktop users for only a minimal price increase. Dual core AMD (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AMD_Socket_939.html) and Intel CPUs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Intel_Socket_775.html) are also available to order on request, at present we’re not holding stock of these but please do contact us if you need information on lead times for these models.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/5471.jpg
With memory (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Memory_42.html) becoming cheaper all the time, we now offer 1024mb modules from Crucial alongside the existing 512mb modules and there’s some new memory kits from OCZ in stock offering lower latencies and high bus speeds for users wishing to overclock their PCs. Of particular note is the PC5000 ‘DFI Special’ kit from OCZ , for the nf4 series of boards from DFI - this memory can reach a bus speed of 625mhz DDR (312mhz FSB) so has tremendous potential for overclocking.
There’s two new SLI motherboards from Asus as well , the P5ND2SLI-Deluxe (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5580.html) for Pentium 4 systems and the A8NSLI-Premium (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5581.html) – which adds SATAII support, a passively cooled northbridge and Dual Gigabit LAN over and above the spec of the A8NSLI-Deluxe.
We can now supply Gainward Ultra 3500PCX Golden Sample (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5394.html) cards – based on the latest nVidia GeForce 7800GTX chipset, the Gainward cards sport increased clock rates to give them a performance edge over ‘reference’ design cards. Also visually pleasing – Hauppague WinTV PVR 500 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4333.html) cards are available now, featuring two TV tuners on one board for viewing and recording of separate channels on Windows MCE2005. For laptop users or anyone who has run out of internal slots, the Terratec Cinergy T2 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4329.html)is a portable TV tuner solution that also supports MCE2005 !
As we are currently unable to source Panasonic slimline optical drives, we’ve got Pioneer K-05 Slim DVD-RWs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5486.html) which are better specced anyway ! These use a slot feed mechanism which is a nifty addition for HTPCs – looks a little more gadget-like than a tray feed drive !