Takes SSD caching to a whole new level

It’s tough to wrap your head around HighPoint’s RocketCache, so we’ll try to sum it up as being simply crazy performance, if you’re willing to deal with the configuration hassles.

The RocketCache is a x8 PCIe 2.0 card that lets you connect up to four SATA devices to it via a Medusa-like cable with four SATA 6Gb/s connectors on it. The card lets you run two HDDs with two SSDs for caching, or—more crazy—one HDD with three SSDs for insane caching. That’s not all. You can select between maximum performance, maximum performance with cache protection, RAID 1 with two hard drives and two SSDs for caching speed (maximum performance and protection), and maximum protection, which is RAID 1 with cache written to disks. One important note is that this device is not bootable, which is very unfortunate.

Note: This review originally appeared in the February 2013 issue of the magazine. 

The sound card is back—but does your PC need one anymore?

If you think of your PC as a lifeboat full of components floating in the Atlantic Ocean after one of those ARM-based subs put two fish into the side of the PC’s troop transport, you can better understand the plight of the sound card.

Note: This review originally appeared in the February 2013 issue of the magazine.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

When we last paid a visit to the Corsair Neutron GTX in the December 2012 issue, we declared it one wicked-fast SSD, but it was unfortunately nicked at the finish line by the Samsung 840 Pro. Corsair isn't too worried about that, though, and seems to have adopted an "upwards and onwards" mentality we see manifested in the capacious 480GB variant of the GTX that landed on our test bed this month. Like its smaller-capacity brethren, it's sporting a brand-spankin'-new Link A Media controller (LAMD) that is exclusive to Corsair at this time, and it's wedded to Toshiba 24nm toggle-NAND. Running the show is an ARM microcontroller that pumps data through a SATA 6Gb/s connection. The Neutron GTX is also a slim 7mm jobbie, so it'll fit in even the most anorexic Ultrabooks. Desktop jockeys are also given consideration via the included 3.5-inch bay adapter.

Note: This review first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the magazine.