Computer Zone GFD

As I explained on the previous page, this review is being written quite a few months after the majority of the other ones in this comparison. This page covers the tiny Computer Zone GFD, available from athlonoc.com.

The design of this unit seems to be almost identical to the Northwind GFD 3.0, only the layout being different (the NorthWind 3.0 has the switchblock to the left of the connector instead of above it). This makes it absolutely tiny and it only has 6 switches to set - I've seen as many as 16 on other GFD's. In fact, I recommend you read that previous review (here) because for all intents and purposes this unit is exactly the same as the Northwind - I had the same overclocking results with it, it similarly doesn't have any problems with KX133 and runs nice and cool.

The slightly different layout means it doesn't foul my senfu water-cooling gear:

The only truly remarkable thing about this GFD is the price - for USD$20.00, half the price of the Northwind. In fact, on AthlonOC's page they list a GFD that looks similar but not quite exactly the same, for only $10.00! Sounds like a no-brainer if it performs the same as this one.

Pros:
Extremely small
Small number of switches, simple config
No external power required
No KX133 incompatability
Cheap!

Cons:
Uuuhmmm.. might foul water-jackets with hoses at each end of the PCB. Very minor niggle, but I had to say something bad about it. :)