Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category

Corsair K90 Mechanical Keyboard: Type Hard With a Vengeance

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Corsair K90 Mechanical Keyboard

When I first heard about the Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Corsair have a long history of supporting the gaming community with a wide range of parts and peripherals aimed squarely at the PC enthusiast. So when Corsair announced the addition of gaming mice and keyboards to their existing Vengeance line of hardware, I was immediately interested. After some lengthy delays with the products reaching retail, I’m very happy to discover that my interest was completely warranted. The Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard is quite simply the most comfortable keyboard I have ever had the pleasure of using.

To begin with, let’s take a look at some of the specifications that make up the Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard.

  • Cherry MX Red Mechanical Switches
  • 18 Customisable Macro (“G”) keys
  • Full anti-ghosting and 20 Key rollover on USB
  • Attractive brushed aluminium finish with laser etched, backlit keys.

So why Cherry Red switches? Red switches, like the Black switches before them are a linear switch. That means there is no tactile or audible feedback at the actuation point. For anybody doing even the tiniest amount of typing, this is a great thing. Having tried Cherry Blue switches, the sound is like a rapid fire machine gun, with each keystroke blasting its way out of the keyboard. Unlike Cherry Black switches however, the Cherry MX Red switch only require 45g of force to actuate, and a minuscule 2mm from resting to actuation, and a further 2mm to ‘bottoming out.’ There’s a steep learning curve when typing with these keys, if you want to avoid bottoming out but the end result is completely worth the effort.

The result is that you end up with a key that is nearly silent, and requires only a feather touch to activate. When gaming, I merely apply the lightest pressure to the keyboard and find my actions replicated in the game. Combined with a full-sized wrist rest, this makes the Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard the most comfortable keyboard I have ever used. For a run-down of some of the other Cherry MX switches out there, don’t forget to check out Kenny’s previous blog!

A lot has been written in the press about the lack of Cherry MX Red switches on every key, however. Many feel this was a cost cutting exercise, and I’m not here to analyse that. The question that was on my mind from the moment I saw the design was “will this make any difference to how I use the keyboard?”

Do I notice the difference in key “feel” on the rubber dome keys? Yes, absolutely I can tell which keys use rubber domes. Does it make any difference to my enjoyment of the keyboard? Not in the slightest. Each rubber-dome key is just as easy to type on, and the tactile difference can actually be quite beneficial for an experienced touch typist. I can tell by feel which keys are mechanical, which prevents any missed keystrokes while typing or gaming. This is a great thing in my opinion, and for an informed consumer should play no part in your decision to pick up this fantastic keyboard.

If you’re in the market for a stylish, comfortable and all-round fantastic mechanical keyboard; whether it’s your first or fortieth mechanical keyboard, look no further than the Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard. For those who don’t require the 18 “G” keys, or back-lighting, why not consider the Corsair Vengeance K60 Mechanical Keyboard? Warcom carry a full range of Corsair gaming products.

This blog was entirely typed on a Corsair K90 keyboard, purchased from Warcom. No promotional considerations were given.

The HP Proliant N36L Replaced By HP N40L Microserver

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

HP N36L Microserver has now been replaced by the HP N40L MicroServer.

The HP N40L MicroServer is selling at a new price of $278.00, which is only $34 more then the N36L We currently have a few left in stock downstairs and more will be arriving soon!

HP MicroServer AMD-N40L 2GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive

HP MicroServer AMD-N40L 2GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive

 What’s the difference between the two HP MicroServers?

Apperance

In regards to appearance, there’s no difference at all, the same case is being used, and it’s still coming in the same cardboard box, there’s no way of telling if someone has the HP N36L MicroServer or the HP N40L MicroServer just by looking at it.

Hardware

The old HP N36L Microserver came with a 1.3ghz dual core processor and only 1gb of ECC ram. HP has upgraded the N40L to a 1.5ghz dual core processor and comes with 2gb of ECC ram. Still with the 250gb of storage as standard.

You can upgrade the ram to up to 8gb, also put in a low profile graphics card and up to 8gb of HDD space. It also does come standard with 1 Ethernet port, but if you’re in need of wireless signal from the microserver I suggest you purchase a USB wireless dongle instead of trying to

DrayTek Vigor N61 USB Wireless Adaptor for $42.13

The Draytek USB wireless adaptor is one of the better made dongles of the time, using wireless N signals for high speeds of up to 300mb/s! You could easily swap this out and plug it into any other machines that you own.

Windows home server 2011 is also on special at the moment for $52.18! Get on it because stock is limited!

Feel free to head on over to the website and place an order for new and improved HP Proliant N40L microserver today, stock is HIGHLY limited and doesn’t stick around for long periods of time, so don’t think about it for to long!

If you’re interested in the upgrades for your microserver head over to /blogs/hp-microserver-n36l-compatible-upgrades/ and see what works!

-The Warcom team!

 

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