http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/index.phpHot News!envrapan@gmail.comCopyright 2007 Vasilis2008-02-21T17:34:53+00:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:45:43 +0000vrapan@gmail.comComponents2008-02-21T17:34:53+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/eb2d50b1830c3648f2d6d108194df876-16.php#unique-entry-id-16http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/eb2d50b1830c3648f2d6d108194df876-16.php#unique-entry-id-16

Do you want a card that performs about as good as the best midrange card out there at the moment? We thought so, do you also want it to cost less than said card also? Yes we thought that too! Well both your wishes were answered by Nvidia.

The new GF 9600GT card performs very closely to their 8800GT on similar level of the ATI 3870 and beats the 3850 while costing the same. There is not too much more to say other than the card is capable of playing any current game you through at it at mid-high settings will manage Crysis even decently well and also it can be easily overclocked so you can squeeze a few more frames per second from it.

The card is available now to be equipped with most of our PCs from the Shuttle's and SFFs to all our towers and some of our Media Centre even! Go ahead and build one for yourself as we are not sure how long stocks will last since this card represent great value for money by any measure!]]>vrapan@gmail.comComponents2008-02-18T13:06:39+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/6c640471db1621b56243fe3f3d5912dc-15.php#unique-entry-id-15http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/6c640471db1621b56243fe3f3d5912dc-15.php#unique-entry-id-15 There is not too much to say about this new card from ATI other than it performs amazingly well while keeping the price at comparatively decent levels. The card has managed to blow past the 8800GTX, past the 8800GT, past the 8800GTS 512MB. It gets beaten only by an SLI 8800GT solution but that was to be expected. Even in that case the card will hurt your wallet a lot less than 2 of the 8800GT cards so it still has some lead.

What makes this possible of course is the inclusion of 2 GPUs on one very well designed board. Of course nothing in life is free and this card does have a considerable trade off. It is neither quiet nor environmentally. It uses quite a bit of power so you will need a very high quality 420W power supply at a minimum preferably something like a high quality 500W. It also is noisy because trying to keep those two hard working GPUs cool requires quite a bit of effort.

In any case this is the card to have if you are craving for the very top end and despite its drawbacks for the time being there is no single card solution that can compete with this! ]]>vrapan@gmail.comMedia Centre2008-02-17T12:55:08+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/1d8207232d8583c914ce2a136de70cb3-14.php#unique-entry-id-14http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/1d8207232d8583c914ce2a136de70cb3-14.php#unique-entry-id-14

If you think that the LC19 from LaScala misses a couple of things in order to be a full on media centre this case which also comes from Silvestone just added them. So here is a very similar case to the LC19 which adds a front LCD and also a nice MCE remote control!

Everything that applies for the LC19 is also relevant here as both cases can accomodate a mATX motherboard, come with front card readers and use standard components throughout with the exception of the optical drive. It is also a near silent case with fanless Power Supply a near silent CPU cooling solution and one back case fan that does not even have to be used really. We believe that the image says it all really so if you like what you see go ahead and configure your very own Silverstone ML02 for AMD or Silverstone ML02 for Intel at our configurator. We have taken good care so the components we let you choose do not stretch the 120W power supply. ]]>vrapan@gmail.comMedia Centre2007-11-03T18:57:19+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/8a7d75c175428857b4e8af648f9f83cf-13.php#unique-entry-id-13http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/8a7d75c175428857b4e8af648f9f83cf-13.php#unique-entry-id-13
While waiting for the Gigabyte MEC we thought there should be something else that looks just as cool and can find its place in your living room and well we think we found it! The Silverstone LaScala LC19 is made out of brushed aluminium and comes in either black or silver versions. It looks every bit as gorgeous as the Gigabyte MEC if not more and it has the extra advantage of not coming with a proprietary motherboard so it is more flexible and it costs definitely less than what the MEC will. That is mainly because the Gigabyte MEC comes with an pre-installed motherboard that only accepts mobile processors as opposed to the normal processors this one can accept.

There is not much to say here but it is worth noting that probably the only two components that are not mainstream are the PSU, which is a specially made 120W fanless job and you can't really change it and also the DVD±RW which has to be a slot loading, slim line. Other than that the processor, memory, hard drive are normal sized although we have kept your options to a minimum to ensure that you do not choose components that will stretch the 120W of power. It does have a PCIe 16x slot but we think there is no point in adding a graphics card. It would take over the PCI slot which is a lot more useful (for a wifi, bluetooth or even better a DVB-T tuner), it would consume probably too much power and it would increase the heat inside case.

What you lose, however, in power you gain in sexiness and quietness. The system is entirely passively cooled so there is absolutely no noise coming from here other than the noise from the hard drive and the DVD±RW. The box is still fully capable of any daily task you through at it, it is perfect for high definition playback and would make for an amazing media centre. You can of course jump to our configurator to customise a Silverstone LaScala LC19 for AMD and Silverstone LaScala LC19 for Intel. Leave a comment and tells us what you think!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comBarebones2007-11-02T12:24:32+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/70e585c195b5d7f8819b90d007d62219-12.php#unique-entry-id-12http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/70e585c195b5d7f8819b90d007d62219-12.php#unique-entry-id-12

Brand new Shuttles with some rather cool features and great designs! The Shuttle SG33G6 and SN68PTG6 Deluxe, for Intel and AMD processors respectively, are pretty much identical and very similar to the SG33G5 and SN68PTG5.

They all share common characteristics like motherboards, graphics cards, chipsets, type of ports and they are all able to output HDMI signal from their integrated graphics. They sport 2 memory slots, 1PCI and 1PCIe x16 slots, SATA II connections and same Gigabit and digital sound output. Where they do differ from the G5 versions is on the PSU, they have an extra 50W of power (300W instead of 250W) but more importantly they come with integrated WiFi b/g (54Mb), Bluetooth 2.0 and a Fingerprint reader that helps you sign on to your computer without having to remember passwords.

They also are a bit different stylistically from the previous version but the change is not as drastic as Shuttle wants you to believe. Still matte black with greyish/silver features is all! Having said that they do look very cool and even if for the integrated WiFi and Bluetooth and the extra bit of wattage they deserve your attention! They are available now and you can configure your own SN68PTG6 Deluxe and SG33G6 Deluxe from our easy and simple to use configurator! Enjoy and let us know what you think about them in the comments!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comComponents2007-10-30T11:41:55+00:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/83040c3cc3cd795d0dfd596aa7903abc-11.php#unique-entry-id-11http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/83040c3cc3cd795d0dfd596aa7903abc-11.php#unique-entry-id-11

Brand new 8800GT graphics card from NVIDIA! So what you are asking? Well here is the low down:

Benefit number one: It is single height graphics card which means it will not take over a PCI slot and it will fit in Small form factor PCs including Shuttles!

Benefit number two: It runs cooler and it consumes considerably less power than the current 8800GTS/GTX so even smaller power supplies can give it enough juice!

Benefit number three: It has great specs! It is not run down or crippled! It has less stream processors than the GTX but it is clocked faster than it so it seems to have performance similar to the 8800GTS 640MB and just a tad slower than the ultra expensive GTX!

Benefit number four: It will be VERY affordable costing less than the 8800GTS 320MB. Which also means that the GTS line will get renewed specs soon!

So that is it! If you want one amazing graphics card at a decent price you now have two great choices! The 2900PRO (an amazing card for the price!) or the 8800GT also an amazing card for the price. However the 8800GT beats the 2900Pro in terms of power consumption and flexibility as the 2900Pro will most definitely need more juice and a dual height slot to fit! The 8800GT is available now although in small quantities and our preferred supplier does not stock it yet but we are sourcing it from elsewhere and if you want it it is all yours!

PS Keep in mind that because of the limited availability our computers that are equipped with it might take a few days longer to be shipped with it but we are sure the wait is well worth it!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comBarebones2007-10-11T18:00:54+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/2a81b48b9b4fdb9188a77ea0db36a868-10.php#unique-entry-id-10http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/2a81b48b9b4fdb9188a77ea0db36a868-10.php#unique-entry-id-10Wow! What can I say just Wow! We have been waiting for a similar case from Thermaltake however it is still not available to buy over here yet this little, erm ok not so little, gem appeared and it seems to be one amazing box! The built quality is great full aluminum nice to the touch and easy to use buttons! The rotation wheel is smooth and precise. It has four fans but they are huge and thus extremely quiet, Zalman definitely knows how to create an unobtrusive PC. What of course amazes at first sight is the huge screen which not only is it bright and gorgeous but also it is touch sensitive. You can control Windows MCE with just a few touches on that screen, no remotes and complications. Just Touch and Go!

Of course the Zalman HD160XT is a perfect PC too. Most such boxes limit you to mATX motherboards with very little space for expansion and some even dictate your power requirements by providing a low wattage power supply. No so with this box! It can accommodate a full ATX motherboard and has plenty of room for 3 hard drives and double slot sized graphics cards and of course any of the latest processors!

This is most definitely a PC you want to show off. Put it in your living room, equip it with DVB-T tuner and maybe a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD drive and throw away all your other black or silver boxes! Is it pricey? Yes a bit, but really it is worth every single penny you will spent on it! Best yet? It is available NOW! Go in our Media Centre section to configure yours any which way you like !!!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comJust Arrived!2007-09-07T10:09:41+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/345b4884fd4a6f7517184ae0eada6f09-9.php#unique-entry-id-9http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/345b4884fd4a6f7517184ae0eada6f09-9.php#unique-entry-id-9
However what it can do is hold people from jumping ship till new AM2+ and AM3 processors get released. As those processors will be compatible with current AM2 motherboards it makes sense to still invest in AMD gear. Especially since with the release of the X2 6400+ the prices will inevitably compress even more downwards for the rest of their line up! Go have fun with our configurator and build your dream machine with or without the new AMD processor!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comSoftware2007-09-05T16:06:22+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/36b6af80f6a5219e28f2cea89958f9f9-8.php#unique-entry-id-8http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/36b6af80f6a5219e28f2cea89958f9f9-8.php#unique-entry-id-8We believe that Linux has made major leaps in the recent past and it just might be getting ready to claim its place in more and more hard drives and screens! Beautiful user interfaces, easy software installations and greater hardware compatibility are only a few things that seem to be the focus of modern Linux distributions. We liked what we saw with some of them and so we thought to offer it as an option for our PCs.

Of course Linux still faces some obstacles. Although it is much more happy to play along modern hardware than it used to be there are still gaps in drivers and hardware support especially to some kinds of peripherals and cutting edge hardware. Other than that playing back all sorts of media is not as easy as in other platforms especially when it comes to DRMed media including DRMed music and movies and the heavy DRM on the playback of new HD disks is almost certain to leave Linux in the cold.

Finding solutions to these problems can take a serious amount of time and effort and here is where we come! We are currently updating our store to add a special Linux supporting hardware section. We are planning to offer PCs that are exclusively based on Linux or dual boot configurations with your preferred flavour of Windows! Stay tuned and let us know what you think!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comBarebones2007-09-05T15:28:21+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/8d7318e4eac939863a261ce447ab1184-7.php#unique-entry-id-7http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/8d7318e4eac939863a261ce447ab1184-7.php#unique-entry-id-7Sometimes power is not what you need, some times efficiency quietness and style is all you want! Well that's why we are looking forward to include this new barebones media centre from Gigabyte! As you can see from the picture it is undeniably sexy and given the name of Gigabyte the quality is guaranteed!

The Gigabyte MEC is based around an HDMI capable ATI chipset so you can connect it to an HDTV and enjoy your HD content! It uses mobile Core2Duo Intel processors for even cooler and thus silent operation and is fully featured with HD digital audio out, an Xpress 1300 graphics chip, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory 6 USB2.0, firewire and even a card reader! Thankfully only the processor is of the mobile variety and thus huge desktop hard drives and cheap normal sized memory do fit just fine!

Even more important it comes with built in RF receiver and an RF enabled keyboard and Remote Control! To top it all off it is also very power efficient! Its Power Supply is rated at only 110W which indicates power consumption less than a third of a large amount of modern desktops and on par with many laptops!

We are very excited about this PC, with a Blu-Ray drive fitted it is set to compete with a multitude of living room electronics and do so with some serious advantages! Come back here for more details about it and also check back for availability in our store!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comBarebones2007-09-01T23:05:43+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/dc0ef48ea6ae1e2d7f1a39d517c95e5f-6.php#unique-entry-id-6http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/dc0ef48ea6ae1e2d7f1a39d517c95e5f-6.php#unique-entry-id-6 Not too long since the SG33G5M Shuttle was announced and here it is ready to take its place on your desk or in your living room! This kind of Shuttle had disappeared for a while from the official list of Shuttles but here it is back and dare I say it better than ever!

For starters it comes with a remote control so you can really actually use it like you would any other electronic device in your living room from your couch a very nice touch. Of course it is compatible with Windows MCE and Vista - not so sure how it deals with Linux and stuff like Freevo or Myth though - which means it can be turned into your very own DVR in no time. The screen in the front is very flexible, it can display a large list of things and it is fairly large and clear. A boon to its Media Centre credential is of course the 250W silent power supply but even more so is the HDCP compatible HDMI output so you can connect it to your HDTV and watch your HD movies or channels. There is also 7.1 DD/DTS audio out to complete the package!

Now of course this is mainly a media centre Shuttle SFF but it does not really skimp on power. You can use any of the Core 2 Duo processors from Intel, including the latest 1333FSB ones (though you should stay away from the very high end ones because of the 250W supply and also to reduce heat and noise). However the real surprise is that , like its less media friendly sibling the Shuttle SG33G5B, it has some overclocking potential through BIOS. It allows you to play with CPU and RAM frequencies and voltages right out of the box. Very cool indeed.

The colour scheme is quite nice actually, I like the solid dark gray although not entirely sold on the gold accents on the front but that is a rather minor gripe and definitely subjective. Nothing really at fault at here so head to our configuration page and make the Shuttle SG33G5M yours!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comCases2007-08-01T00:38:02+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/50a9b54635936e9de63dbeb4ecea0dd0-5.php#unique-entry-id-5http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/50a9b54635936e9de63dbeb4ecea0dd0-5.php#unique-entry-id-5
Of course the case, as most other cases from Gigabyte, is made of Aluminum, to ensure the best heat dissipation, is of course tool-less, extremely nice looking, comes equipped with a fan control on the front, plenty of space inside and an option for a mesh or clear window!

It is just an amazing case especially for high performance Gaming PCs and a great option for overclocking! Of course we will be including it in our line-up of High Performance Tower PCs as soon as it becomes available!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comComponents2007-08-01T00:15:35+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/b211bcc48bd8f5d09db2c176d2081afd-4.php#unique-entry-id-4http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/b211bcc48bd8f5d09db2c176d2081afd-4.php#unique-entry-id-4
The best place to include one is of course in one of our Antec Fusion Media Centre cases with Windows Vista Premium pre-installed! If you built your own system and want to watch your movies to a High Definition monitor make sure that your monitor and the graphics card you choose has HDMI with support for HDCP. Our graphics cards include the word HDMI in their title if they are HDMI and HDCP compatible so make sure to pick them. All our pre-configured Media Centre Systems include one such card!

Also for the time being we cannot provide Blu-Ray playback on our Linux based systems! We will notify you when we can include such support!




]]>vrapan@gmail.comBarebones2007-07-20T00:28:07+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/0628d1d13b0f697c3577aec8bfaca75a-3.php#unique-entry-id-3http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/0628d1d13b0f697c3577aec8bfaca75a-3.php#unique-entry-id-3Shuttle just joined the High Definition game with the introduction of their SG33G5 barebones SFF. It sports all the usual stuff that you'd come to expect from Shuttle, their quiet extremely efficient cooling system, impressive array of connectivity options including Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire, USB 2, SATA II and e-SATA. Of course it is capable of High Definition 7.1 audio digital channels and of course deserves its High Definition credentials due to the inclusion of HDCP compatible HDMI out! All it needs really is to be coupled with a Blu-Ray player to show its full potential.

It is built around the G33 Express Intel chipset which means it can accommodate every single Core 2 processor that uses 800, 1066 or 1333MHz front side bus! It would work well as an all round computer with High Definition capabilities however the 250W PSU and the integrated GMA3100. You can of course install an add on graphics card however you can't exactly push that option too far before you start testing the limits of the PSU.

It is worth noting that Shuttle themselves make mention of the ability to overclock the SS33G5 through the bios with voltage and frequency changes to both the CPU and the RAM!

We should be able to custom built the SG33G5 in the next few weeks so keep checking the front page of pcmeisters.co.uk or this blog for more definite availability dates!

EDIT: Well it is here head to our store and make a Shuttle SG33G5B yours!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comNew Systems2007-07-18T20:23:52+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/0dc0c5008610273a8ad60ea703d5ea22-2.php#unique-entry-id-2http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/0dc0c5008610273a8ad60ea703d5ea22-2.php#unique-entry-id-2here for a face to face introduction!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comJust Arrived!2007-07-16T13:28:50+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/42398c97428a50f3c7379c1fbb2e1fa7-1.php#unique-entry-id-1http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/42398c97428a50f3c7379c1fbb2e1fa7-1.php#unique-entry-id-1
They provide stunning picture quality and are fully compatible with High Definition video playback. They come with HDMI output to transfer High Definition picture as well as 5.1 audio. They feature hardware accelerated High Definition decoding for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD movies and are HDCP compliant.

Keep in mind that in order to take full advantage of these capabilities you will need a High Definition, HDCP compatible TV or monitor and of course some High Definition content. The main source of High Definition content is through HD-DVDs or Blu-Ray disks for which you will also need a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD optical drive. Our computers do offer Blu-Ray players as options!

Read more about our first High Definition ready Media Center here or go straight ahead and configure one for yourself here!





]]>vrapan@gmail.comProcessors2007-07-16T12:42:53+01:00http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/7b0a46785ebead5a6074e55585258d5a-0.php#unique-entry-id-0http://www.pcmeisters.co.uk/blog/files/7b0a46785ebead5a6074e55585258d5a-0.php#unique-entry-id-0here and here and also keep checking this blog to know when we are ready to include it with our computers!





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