Office Cases
If you are looking for quality all-rounder
for a good price, the Akasa Raptor is a tough case to beat. Mixing contemporary
USB 3.0 connectivity with handsome understated looks that should appeal to
everyone, this case is perfect for a low-key and quiet office machine. It comes
in a selection of colors so you are bound to find one to fit in with your
office color scheme. The best price we found for this great case was $72.83
from AdvanceTec.
Cooler
Master Elite 334
An oldie but goodie that just refuses to go
away is the Cooler Master Elite 334. This case can be snapped up for $45.32 and
has attractive black and chrome styling. Its bottom-mounted PSU tray leave
space for venting at the top, and it accommodates plenty of drives using its
unique twist-on tool-less mountings. It lacks USB 3.0 but for its asking price
this case is a great office workhorse.
CPU Coolers
After the case, the CPU cooler is arguably
the most important component for system temperatures. We have selected three
great products to appeal to different kinds of users. Our first recommendation
is a classic - the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. Easy to mount and with its
ability to fit in even the smallest cases, this cooler is far more effective
than a stock unit. It's also quiet and capable of keeping modest overclocks
happy. It supports all current sockets apart from Socket 2011 and doesn't
require motherboard removal to fit, making it ideal for those looking to
upgrade an existing system.
Arctic
Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
For those seeking the quietest cooling
possible the Gelid Tranquillo is a great choice. It costs $38.84 and emits just
12dBA at its nominal RPM, making it essentially noiseless unless you put your
ear right up against it. Its large 120 mm cooling fan keeps even substantial
overclocks happy and it's relatively easy to mount, although it needs motherboard
removal so is best tackled as part of a new system build.
Ximgatek
Prime
Our final recommendation is for those
seeking the highest overclocks. The Ximgatek Prime offers cooling right up
there with the best available like the $113.30 Noctua NH-D14 and the
Thermalright Silver Arrow, yet costs less than half the price at $55.03. Two
140 mm PRM fans keep the proceedings quiet and the cooler is effective enough
to allow you to shoot for 4.8-5.0GHz overclocks with a decent processor. This
cooler is ideal for keeping hot Socket 2011 chips cool when pushing the limit,
and is easy to fit to these chips after installation without removing the
motherboard.
Case Fans
It's easy to assume that all case fans are
created equal, but as our sister magazine Custom PC found out, this is far from
the truth. Attractive LED fans rarely offer a good noise-to-airflow ratio and
you can expect to pay more money for a fan that will actually increase cooling
measurably. Some of our favorites include the Sharkoon Silent Eagle 2000. This
80 mm fan is ideal for older cases that lack the more modern 120 mm intakes and
pushes a respectable 22CFM of air at just 17.8dB. These can be snapped up for
$11.33 from Amazon.
Sharkoon
Silent Eagle 2000
For 120 mm models the BitFenix Spectres are
tough to beat. For $9.69 each they throw out a lot of air (43CFM) at less than
20 decibels. There are more effective fans on the market, but for price vs.
performance, these are an excellent choice.
If you are looking for the best
water-cooling fans around, the Scythe Gentle Typhoons are a great choice. Their
unique blade design means they have a higher air pressure than most
alternatives and their high-quality bearings mean they are quiet for their
airflow. These fans are not cheap at around $19.42 each, but if you have
invested in a water cooler, it makes sense to have a decent set of fans to get
the best out of it.
Laptop Coolers
Not only desktops need cooling - laptops,
gaming models in particular - can get very hot if being worked hard in hot
conditions. If you want to extend your machine's life, not to mention getting
yourself a more comfortable typing angle, a laptop cooler is a good investment.
One of the best products for the price is the Cooler Master Notepad U2. It
supports 15" laptops and has USB powered fans. Its lightweight aluminium
construction means it's pretty portable, and we found it to significantly
reduce laptop noise output, as the large 80mm fans were more effective than the
noisy fans on the underside of our test MSI laptop at keeping the GPU cool.
A
good cooling investment for your laptop
