Once upon a time between 2004-2006, OCZ was a well-known manufacturer of high-end memory components and power supply units that sold under the motto Founded by Enthusiasts, for Enthusiasts. During the peak economy in 2007, OCZ Technology CEO Ryan Petersen proved his devotion to enthusiasts by purchasing PC Power & Cooling (May 2007), swiftly followed by elite system-builder Hypersonic PC (October 2007). Through the years that followed, OCZs brand name would successfully sell NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, overclocker heatsinks, premium thermal pastes, hardcore gaming peripherals, and even a mind-controlled Neural Impulse Actuator (NIA). On March 2008, OCZ Technology revealed the industrys first consumer Solid State Drive – the apex of their dedication towards high-performance computer hardware enthusiasts. The future looked so very bright, until stock value became the mission. As of 26 October 2012, many of the great minds behind OCZs enthusiast movement were without work.

In more recent times the Func brand went into a hibernation like state, but now they are returning with a brand new range of products aimed at gamers who want maximum quality, performance and FUNCt ionality. We have their first new product on our test bench and it is a new revision of the Surfac e 1030, the XL.

Despite being based on greatness (Goldeneye N64 is one of the best games of all time) the updated v ersion was by no means perfect and so the quest for a modern day successor has continued. Now Acti vision hope to achieve that same level of success with 007 Legends, out now, and featuring many of the franchises key scenes and characters for a celebration of all things Bond.

Since 1999, we have been developing the BIOS Optimization Guide, affectionately known as the BOG. From a meager beginning of a single page, it now covers over 440 BIOS options. As old BOG readers will know, we started offering two editions of the BOG since Revision 8.0 – a simplified edition and the complete edition.