Peripherals Linux Reviews & Articles

There have been 192 Linux hardware reviews and benchmark articles on Phoronix for peripherals. Separately, check out our news section for related product news.

Looking to mod out your rig with some CCFL tubes and fans? Overwhelmed by the number of choices? Well today's review might help you narrow down your choices a little bit. Logisys has provided us with their 120mm CCFL can and a 15" CCFL light. Yes, 15". Perhaps the only 15" on the market!

When it comes to memory card readers/writers, there are numerous 7-in-1 and 9-in-1 models on the market that make memory card data transfer very convenient. Today though we will be checking out a 21-in-1 card reader/writer! Even while packing in support for 21 digital card formats, the Link Depot USB 2.0 card reader is one of the smallest to ever enter our labs.

Like overclockers, networking enthusiasts have their favorite chip for the job. Although a wireless networking Chipset may not lead to as many advantages as say a good TCCD batch or BH5 memory chips but poor wireless chips can also lead to a weaker signal and poor performance. In this review, we'll be trying out a NetGear WG511T, which utilizes the infamous Atheros Chipset.

Although we've only recently begun examining SunbeamTech products we've known of their long product legacy for quite some time. One of the areas that SunbeamTech specializes in is the market for controller/multi-function panels. In this review, we'll be checking out the SunbeamTech Chromatic Windmill.

GearGrip has been at the game of producing reliable computer harnesses for quite some time. At nearly every LAN event we attend there's dozens of gamers using GearGrip products to assist in the transportation of their computer equipment. Today up for review, we're trying out GearGrip's LCD Shield Harness.

With a greater number of computer users constructing elaborate wireless and wired networks in their home's or small offices, a centralized SOHO server usually takes center stage in the network. Although there are countless numbers of services the server could offer, most often in these home/small office type situations its to offer a network repository for files and programs and to stream audio and/or video across the network from an HTPC. In this article, we'll be looking at some different products to effectively lower the noise level of any computer system but mainly in the way of HTPCs/servers.

Of all the illuminated keyboards we've come across, the brightest has been the Phone Smart LED from Logisys. The keyboard offers an individual LED under every single key on the keyboard rather than an EL wire. Up for review today, we have the SunbeamTech Pro-Series Lite Up Keyboard. The keyboard continues to use an EL wire but just how well does it really perform?

It used to be that fans were used just for utilitarian purposes. Nowadays, however, it's becoming increasingly popular for fans to be used for lighting up your computer and decorating computer cases as well. Computer accessory manufacturers now offer hundreds of choices for computer case fans. Today we have a new revision of the AC Ryan Blackfire4 80mm and 120mm fans for review.

Ultra Products is most notably known by computer enthusiasts for their X-Connect power supply series, which were some of the first modular PSUs on the consumer market. Today however, we'll be checking out one of Ultra Products newer endeavors, and that is the CPU cooling market. In this review, we have the Ultra Products Copper Core CPU Cooling Fan for LGA775 processors.

There are a few factors that determine a heatsink's cooling performance; the heatsink itself of course, the thermal interface material, and the factor most people forget, flatness of the heatsink base. A large number of heatsinks these days have bases that are not flat. Even the best heatsinks are not free from this problem. How do we solve this problem however? Lapping is usually the solution, and Easy PC Kits has a Premium Heatsink Lapping Kit to make it easier.

Scythe has been at the game of cooling computer processors for quite a while, over time these coolers have evolved from petite aluminum heatsinks to enormous heatsink fans, which generally use a mixture of copper and aluminum. The Scythe CPU cooler have our hands on now is the Shogun CPU radiator with 120mm fan.

Utilizing a single heatpipe, will Prime Cooler's PC-VGAHP 1 be able to provide the VPU temperatures overclockers are looking to achieve? In this review, we'll be taking a look at this rare offering from the folks at Prime Cooler.

Although there are many ways to build your own remote relay for your computer, whether it be from dismantling an old garage door opener or building one from scratch, today we have a rare look at one of Logisys' products thats under development. Today, we'll be sharing some of our initial thoughts regarding the Logisys Remote Multifunction Panel.

The last time we had some Prime Cooler products displayed at Phoronix was when we were looking at their Hypercool III+ & Hypercool 4+ CPU heatsinks and memory heatspreaders. Today we�re back with some more Prime Cooler action as we try out the CoolPad (PC-NTB).

Even though most of our reviews here at Phoronix focus on computer hardware or software, today is one of the rare occasions where we are looking at electrical testing equipment. The digital multimeter up for review today is the Triplett 3526-B Digi-Probe from Cable Organizer.

Over time we have tested numerous cases, power supplies, CCFLs, modding supplies, and even heatsinks from Logisys, but surprisingly enough we've never checked out their mice. Today however, we will be breaking this de facto tradition as we try out two of their mice - the silver ergonomic cool fan mouse and the M-Coupe black optical mice.

With the sheer number of desktop CPU coolers on the market, it can be a bit puzzling when you're looking for a simple yet powerful heatsink. At Phoronix today we'll be evaluating the CoolJag JAC16EC (OAK-D).

Logisys has provided us with many interesting products lately such as the unique cases, power supplies, coolers, and various other products. Today we have another product from Logisys, the Logisys 12-inch Day & Night UV-Blue Inter-Switchable CCFL Kit.

Heat is always a big issue these days in modern computers. Being able to obtain the temperatures of your components can help prevent costly heat damage to your expensive new components. Today we have a thermometer device from Jetart called ThermoEye.

We're sure most of you have heard of the beast called the Asus Star Ice. The massive cooler was constructed out of copper and weighed a whopping 865 grams. Today from Thermaltake we have a very similar looking cooler called the Thermaltake Beetle.

In this article for the weekend, we'll be taking a look at the Triplett Line-Bug 4 Phone/LAN Tester. This tester is designed to test any phone jack (RJ-11) or LAN jack (RJ-45).

A few weeks back, we reviewed the Ultra Products X-Finity 600W, the Ultra UV cable sleeving kit, and the Ultra Mini Portable HDD enclosure. Thanks to Ultra Product's generosity, we have yet another one of their products for review, the Ultra 256MB MP3 Player (ULT31576).

With the recent release of the 64-bit 6XXX series and soon to be released Intel dual core processors, more manufacturers will be focusing their operations on LGA775 cooling as the market becomes flooded with these chips. One of the manufacturers to recently release new Socket T heatsinks has been CoolJag. The heatsink we'll be testing today is the CoolJag JAC84MC CPU Cooler.

Amongst gamers, one of the most hotly contested computer components are the graphics cards. With each new model come new features or higher clock speeds and performance. Inevitably this also leads to more and more heat, and as we all know, heat is unhealthy for electronic components and needs to be dissipated, otherwise overheating and damage could occur. With these new high-end graphics cards easily exceeding $400-500, it's important to protect your investment. The item up for review today, is unlike any other graphics card cooler we've seen. The Antec VCool offers 100% compatibility with any existing graphics card, as it simply mounts underneath the card in two expansion slots while claiming to lower the card temperature 5 to 15 degrees.

Recently when we had the Xtrac Hybrid in for testing, we were very impressed with its triple layer design and slick surface. In this review, we bring back the Xtrac Hybrid as we use it in combination with the newly released Xtrac InstaGlide.

Although Intel has focused all of their attention on the Socket T LGA775 processors, the supply of Socket 478 coolers hasn't dried up yet. In this review, we are bringing the Speeze EE475B13 CopperSnake III to the testing table to see just how well it can tame a power hungry Prescott core.

This afternoon, we are venturing a bit into consumer electronics as we take a look at the Transcend JetFlash MP3. Although this may have only a fraction of the storage capacity of a traditional Apple iPod or Creative Labs Zen Micro, its price surely isn't something to cause worry.

Wrapping up the reviews for this week, we have a case fan from Cooler Master. This is not any ordinary fan, but is constructed entirely out of aluminum. In this review, we'll experience what exactly this aluminum construction offers over the traditional plastic frame.

Sporting a black shell, blue LEDs, and an 18cm antenna, this is definitely one of the most unique routers we've seen here at Phoronix. Not only is its appearance a head turner, but also the 4-port Gigabit connectivity and 108Mbps 802.11g WiFi support. But will the D-Link DGL-4300 Gaming Router be worth the hefty $170 USD price tag?

In recent years cloth mouse pads have proved to be very reliable for professional gamers. Some of the recent cloth/fabric based mousing surface we've examined recently here at Phoronix are the Steelpad QcK+, Xtrac Ripper, and X-Ray Aqua3. In this review we have the new Xtrac Hybrid which is a combination of cloth and plastic.