Graeme*Kustom*
26-09-2005, 19:17
Hello again !
It’s hard to believe it’s a month ago that the redesign on our website was launched. I’ve been meaning to write a post about that for a while now, but it’s been a busy month and it kept slipping down my priority list!
In short, we changed the website layout to take advantage of higher screen resolutions and also to make the site more pleasing to the eye. More importantly though, there’s numerous functional improvements in place :
· Fewer images in the templates means faster loading times
· Products are now listed in two columns to reduce ‘scrolling effort’ when browsing
· Enhanced search page now showing thumbnails of products
· Modifications available from drop downs – shown to best effect in the motherboards section where compatible CPUs and RAM can be displayed and purchased with the motherboard in ‘one click’.
· Standardised product descriptions – notable in PCI-E graphics, Aluminium cases, motherboards and Power Supplies. This makes it a lot easier to compare products since we have written new descriptions from the ground up in a table format that allows for direct comparisons between different products. Graphics cards include example benchmarks to give a performance indicator and power supplies show detail on current support along with the number of connectors available.
· Articles section – we will be launching further content over the next few months to provide an extra purpose of our site to visitors. As well as the existing shop and forums, we hope to be able to provide informative product reviews, comparisons and guides.
The latter three items in the above list are still ongoing and not fully developed, but we’ll continue to improve these over time and develop the site to be as informative and easy to use as possible. We hope you like it, and we’re always happy to hear any suggestions on additional features which would make the site more helpful.
Over the past 6 weeks we’ve added many new products to the site and many of these have already been highlighted on the ‘Just Added’ section of the front page. There’s a few extra items though, and for the sake of an overall refresh, here’s what’s new…
Silverstone offer us yet more new case designs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_HTPC_Cases_96.html) – we wonder if they will ever run out of ideas of bells and whistles to add to an HTPC case ! The LC11M is a variant of the existing slimline LC11 case, but including a 2 line VFD display and iMon remote control kit. The LC16M is a full size case and includes a volume control along with media playback functions, giving it the appearance of a dedicated hi-fi unit. The LC17 is another full size chassis, but with support for two stealthed optical drives. Gigabyte’s Aurora is a good enthusiasts case, featuring a meshed side panel for improved breathing and support for external water cooling solutions. The Lian Li PC7 Plus (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1006.html) case is available in black now alongside the existing silver model, and if you can’t make up your mind which colour to go for, consider the two-tone PC767 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1019.html). This case has separately anodised sections joined seamlessly together, and the result is certainly striking. What’s more, it’s a very well laid out case and is ideal for any enthusiasts new rig ! More mCubed HFX cases (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/mCubed_HFX_Passive_HTPC.html) are on the way, due around the end of October, and we’ll have all-silver and all-black models this time along with the original two colour model. Pre-orders are being accepted for these cases and accessories now – get in there quick if you want a truly silent high-end HTPC system !
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/1019.jpg
The Nexus low noise power supplies have been a popular range for some time, and the latest Nexus NX5000 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1766.html) raises the bar with increased power output and support for dual PCI-E graphics cards, along with a funky white and black colour scheme. Tagan’s EasyCon (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Power_Supplies_ATX_7.html) offers a solution to what we thought was the only downside to previous Tagan PSUs – the huge mass of cables is replaced with a modular system, meaning you need only connect as many power cables as you actually need for your devices. This certainly makes for a much neater build ! Our Club3D graphics card (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/PCI_Express.html) range has been expanded further with the addition of the X800RX (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5343.html) – this card represents fantastic value, and we’ll add detailed benchmarks of it’s performance to our graphics card article shortly. We’ve got two new off the shelf silent graphics cards in the shape of the 6600LP from AOpen (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5339.html) and GeCube’s silent X800XL (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5307.html) graphics card which offers high performance without the racket ! Two new DVD-RW drives grace our shelves, the Pioneer DVR-110 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4268.html) and Plextor’s 716AL (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4297.html) since it introduces a slot-feed mechanism which we rather like – ironically, something Pioneer were previously famous for. ICYBoxes have long been a popular means of creating a USB2.0 external disk bay, and we have the ICYBox IB-360 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Hard_Disk_Caddies___Cases_28.html) models now in a funky new design in three colours. We’ve dropped the Creative Audigy2 ZS Retail model in favour of the Audigy2ZS OEM (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4003.html) version since the card is identical and about £20 cheaper, but if you’re looking for a glossy box , fear not since the Creative X-Fi range (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sound_Cards_30.html) will be arriving later this week. Available in three guises for media playback, the multimedia / games enthusiast and the keen musician, the X-Fi earns it’s hype by sporting processing power similar to that of a 3Ghz Pentium 4. Wow.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/5307.jpg
Lian Li TR-3A temperature displays (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Temp_Monitors_94.html) were a product a number of people asked us for, so we’ve brought some of those in. Likewise the Sunbeam Rheobus kit (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Other_Automated_Controllers.html), as it’s one of the few fan controllers that allows fans to be switched off entirely – and it’s cheap too ! Blue LEDs are good, and so we have the Zalman VF700-Cu LED (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2849.html) edition graphics card cooler – same excellent cooling and low noise as the standard model but it looks so much better now. The Zalman ZM80D passive cooler (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2812.html) has been limited to only installing on previous generation nVidia cards, but now an adapter kit (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2811.html) is available to use the heatsink on GeForce 6800/7800 cards. And we have some new Aquacomputer bits (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AquaComputer.html) too, but there’s separate news on AquaComputer coming soon so we’ll save that for another day.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/2849.jpg
Our mice and keyboard ranges have had their regular monthly shakeup with a few models being removed but more interesting ones taking their place. New this month are :
Apple Mighty Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3192.html) (typical Apple elegance but with a sensible number of buttons this time)
Logitech G5 mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3191.html) (corded laser optics mouse with on the fly resolution adjustment)
Keysonic Warp Aluminium Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3190.html) (low cost laser mouse with aluminium fascia)
Logitech V200 Cordless Notebook Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3185.html)(Small , silver and effective!)
Speedlink Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3142.html) (Compact mouse that lights up nicely)
Razer Copperhead (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3193.html) (due in tomorrow, high end laser mouse with many buttons. And it glows blue)
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/3191.jpg
It’s hard to believe it’s a month ago that the redesign on our website was launched. I’ve been meaning to write a post about that for a while now, but it’s been a busy month and it kept slipping down my priority list!
In short, we changed the website layout to take advantage of higher screen resolutions and also to make the site more pleasing to the eye. More importantly though, there’s numerous functional improvements in place :
· Fewer images in the templates means faster loading times
· Products are now listed in two columns to reduce ‘scrolling effort’ when browsing
· Enhanced search page now showing thumbnails of products
· Modifications available from drop downs – shown to best effect in the motherboards section where compatible CPUs and RAM can be displayed and purchased with the motherboard in ‘one click’.
· Standardised product descriptions – notable in PCI-E graphics, Aluminium cases, motherboards and Power Supplies. This makes it a lot easier to compare products since we have written new descriptions from the ground up in a table format that allows for direct comparisons between different products. Graphics cards include example benchmarks to give a performance indicator and power supplies show detail on current support along with the number of connectors available.
· Articles section – we will be launching further content over the next few months to provide an extra purpose of our site to visitors. As well as the existing shop and forums, we hope to be able to provide informative product reviews, comparisons and guides.
The latter three items in the above list are still ongoing and not fully developed, but we’ll continue to improve these over time and develop the site to be as informative and easy to use as possible. We hope you like it, and we’re always happy to hear any suggestions on additional features which would make the site more helpful.
Over the past 6 weeks we’ve added many new products to the site and many of these have already been highlighted on the ‘Just Added’ section of the front page. There’s a few extra items though, and for the sake of an overall refresh, here’s what’s new…
Silverstone offer us yet more new case designs (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_HTPC_Cases_96.html) – we wonder if they will ever run out of ideas of bells and whistles to add to an HTPC case ! The LC11M is a variant of the existing slimline LC11 case, but including a 2 line VFD display and iMon remote control kit. The LC16M is a full size case and includes a volume control along with media playback functions, giving it the appearance of a dedicated hi-fi unit. The LC17 is another full size chassis, but with support for two stealthed optical drives. Gigabyte’s Aurora is a good enthusiasts case, featuring a meshed side panel for improved breathing and support for external water cooling solutions. The Lian Li PC7 Plus (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1006.html) case is available in black now alongside the existing silver model, and if you can’t make up your mind which colour to go for, consider the two-tone PC767 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1019.html). This case has separately anodised sections joined seamlessly together, and the result is certainly striking. What’s more, it’s a very well laid out case and is ideal for any enthusiasts new rig ! More mCubed HFX cases (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/mCubed_HFX_Passive_HTPC.html) are on the way, due around the end of October, and we’ll have all-silver and all-black models this time along with the original two colour model. Pre-orders are being accepted for these cases and accessories now – get in there quick if you want a truly silent high-end HTPC system !
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/1019.jpg
The Nexus low noise power supplies have been a popular range for some time, and the latest Nexus NX5000 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_1766.html) raises the bar with increased power output and support for dual PCI-E graphics cards, along with a funky white and black colour scheme. Tagan’s EasyCon (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Power_Supplies_ATX_7.html) offers a solution to what we thought was the only downside to previous Tagan PSUs – the huge mass of cables is replaced with a modular system, meaning you need only connect as many power cables as you actually need for your devices. This certainly makes for a much neater build ! Our Club3D graphics card (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/PCI_Express.html) range has been expanded further with the addition of the X800RX (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5343.html) – this card represents fantastic value, and we’ll add detailed benchmarks of it’s performance to our graphics card article shortly. We’ve got two new off the shelf silent graphics cards in the shape of the 6600LP from AOpen (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5339.html) and GeCube’s silent X800XL (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_5307.html) graphics card which offers high performance without the racket ! Two new DVD-RW drives grace our shelves, the Pioneer DVR-110 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4268.html) and Plextor’s 716AL (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4297.html) since it introduces a slot-feed mechanism which we rather like – ironically, something Pioneer were previously famous for. ICYBoxes have long been a popular means of creating a USB2.0 external disk bay, and we have the ICYBox IB-360 (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Hard_Disk_Caddies___Cases_28.html) models now in a funky new design in three colours. We’ve dropped the Creative Audigy2 ZS Retail model in favour of the Audigy2ZS OEM (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_4003.html) version since the card is identical and about £20 cheaper, but if you’re looking for a glossy box , fear not since the Creative X-Fi range (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Sound_Cards_30.html) will be arriving later this week. Available in three guises for media playback, the multimedia / games enthusiast and the keen musician, the X-Fi earns it’s hype by sporting processing power similar to that of a 3Ghz Pentium 4. Wow.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/5307.jpg
Lian Li TR-3A temperature displays (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Temp_Monitors_94.html) were a product a number of people asked us for, so we’ve brought some of those in. Likewise the Sunbeam Rheobus kit (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Other_Automated_Controllers.html), as it’s one of the few fan controllers that allows fans to be switched off entirely – and it’s cheap too ! Blue LEDs are good, and so we have the Zalman VF700-Cu LED (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2849.html) edition graphics card cooler – same excellent cooling and low noise as the standard model but it looks so much better now. The Zalman ZM80D passive cooler (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2812.html) has been limited to only installing on previous generation nVidia cards, but now an adapter kit (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2811.html) is available to use the heatsink on GeForce 6800/7800 cards. And we have some new Aquacomputer bits (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/AquaComputer.html) too, but there’s separate news on AquaComputer coming soon so we’ll save that for another day.
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/2849.jpg
Our mice and keyboard ranges have had their regular monthly shakeup with a few models being removed but more interesting ones taking their place. New this month are :
Apple Mighty Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3192.html) (typical Apple elegance but with a sensible number of buttons this time)
Logitech G5 mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3191.html) (corded laser optics mouse with on the fly resolution adjustment)
Keysonic Warp Aluminium Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3190.html) (low cost laser mouse with aluminium fascia)
Logitech V200 Cordless Notebook Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3185.html)(Small , silver and effective!)
Speedlink Mouse (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3142.html) (Compact mouse that lights up nicely)
Razer Copperhead (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_3193.html) (due in tomorrow, high end laser mouse with many buttons. And it glows blue)
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/3191.jpg