I’ve worked with Open Source publishing software for the last decade or so, and it seems that every so often two packages get pretty powerful or popular and the debates begin.  Most recently it’s been Joomla and WordPress in the spotlight.

First of all, I’m not going to do (in this post) an extremely in-depth comparison of the pros and cons of each of these wonderful packages.  Why?  Because, quite simply, it’s an apples to oranges comparison.  Although both can do, or can be extended to do, most of the same things they’re both very different animals and should be treated as such.

If you’re asking the question “which is better”, Joomla or WordPress, then I’ll have to break out some blunt honesty — you need to do your homework or hire someone to help you analyse your needs and break it all down for you.  The truth is both are better at specific things and based on your individual needs, you’ll need to decide which is better for you.

A general overview:

Joomla

Joomla is a full blown content management system.  It’s an attempt to be everything to everyone and overall, it does just that.  It has the ability to manage content in various styles and has a “front page” component that does a good job of displaying content in chronological order allowing it to emulate a blog.  Over the last few years, it has evolved into a “framework” of sorts, allowing developers to rather easily use native functions of the CMS (Database abstraction, user system, etc…) to create native extensions and modules or port existing php software into Joomla extensions.

Content is managed in a rather ridged Section and Category taxonomy.  Each content item can be assigned a single category and each category can be assigned a single section.  Content can be displayed by section, category or in aggregate form and can be displayed in a few different formats including tables/lists and blog-style.  Access to content can be controlled by a very basic group security scheme.

Templating can be as simple or robust as you’d like it to be.  Both open source and commercial templates are widely available if you don’t have the skills or resources to create your own.  Templates all consist of a main component “Content” area and unlimited “Module” areas and can be assigned site-wide, or by section and category.

WordPress

WordPress is a simple and powerful blogging platform that has evolved the ability to manage content.  It’s not trying to be everything to everyone but can be extended to most of the things Joomla can do.  It thrives at blogging, but does have the ability to create and manage content pages.  Like Joomla, WordPress also has a robust API allowing for developers to create native plugins and widgets or port existing php software into WordPress plugins.

Content is managed using a very flexible Category / Sub-Category taxonomy. Content items can be assigned to several categories and sub-categories and can be displayed by any of the assigned classifications.  It also natively supports another taxonomy call “tags”.  Tags are simply subject classifications and content can also be displayed based on it’s tags.

Templateing in WordPress, like Joomla, can be anything you make of it.  Open source and commercial templates are widely available.  Although the template structure and syntax is significantly different from Joomla, templates also consist of a main content area and unlimited widget (or module) areas.  Recently, several WordPress theme “frameworks” have cropped up making templating more easily extensible.

Overall

Both platforms can probably do what you want them to do.  WordPress is geared more to blog publishing, but can manage a pretty tricked out website.  Joomla is geared more at people that need a corporate style publishing system and can run a full-fledged corporate site, but if you want to use it for a blog, it can definitely handle the job.

Whats Next…

In the coming weeks, I’ll continue this comparison in a bit more depth.  I’ll also tell you about GeekExtreme and why we switched from Joomla to WordPress.  We may also throw a third publishing system, Drupal, into the mix and confuse everyone a bit more.

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Back to the matter at hand. Though the Vigor may be the
low man on the totem pole, so to speak, it’s certainly no slouch. In
today’s PSU market, you’ve got to differentiate your product if you
want it to sell, & the Vigor’s certainly got a lot of “extra’s”
that make it a PSU worth looking into. Let’s check it out.
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The Vigor’s box declare’s that it’s SATA “enabled,” which,
unfortunately, means that it it doesn’t have the native SATA connectors
that you’ll find on the Magnum and the Vortec. Don’t fret, however, as
XG has included two molex-to-SATA power adapters if you’ve got a new
drive that doesn’t have both power connectors on it.

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{mospagebreak title=MGE Vigor – Continued}
Out of the box, you’ll immediately notice that there are lots of things
that differentiate this PSU from the majority of PSU’s on the market.
First, instead of having an exhaust fan mounted at the rear of the
unit, XG has placed a second 80mm intake fan on the exterior, inside
your case.

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I felt that this was a good idea, as it lead to
less noise in the rear of the case. The second thing you’ll notice is
that this baby’s got windows! Each side of the Vigor has a blue
plexiglass window that lets the lights from the LED fans (two of ‘em)
shine through.

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The bottom of the unit is vented via the
second LED fan, this time a nice, hefty 120mm job.

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The rear
of the unit is fan-less, but well vented in the honeycomb style.

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The back also sports a fan speed control knob so
that you can quiet the fans down if you feel the need.

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{mospagebreak title=MGE Vigor – Finish and Specs}
Other things that set this unit apart are the looming & the finish.
All of the Vigor’s cable leads are loomed with blue nylon, making wire
management much easier. I also appreciated the extra grip that they
provided on the power connectors – no more wiggling to pull ‘em out.

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The finish on the exterior of the unit is
almost mirror-like.  After taking all of my photos, I
found myself wiping it down to get my greasy paw-prints off.. it’s that
nice.

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On to the specs.

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I was a bit worried about the Vigor,
because the combined output on the 5.5v & 3v rails was only listed
as a total of 220W; a bit lower than I was used to. However, my
concerns were un-founded, as you’ll see below in my voltage
measurements. I measured the voltage using Asus’ PC Probe software. The
system setup is as follows:

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My previous PSU was an Enermax Noisetaker 370W (EG375P-VE-SFMA) which
has dual 12v rails, & a higher rating on the combined 5.5v & 3v
rails. I was to discover, however, that the extra juice that the Vigor
kicked out was more than sufficient to keep up. What I did to test was
read the lowest voltage output of each reading on the Asus software,
& run a variety of tasks: at idle, while gaming, & while
watching a DVD. Without further ado, here are the results:

As you can see, the Vigor bested the Enermax in almost every category.
Although the Enermax was rated much lower, I feel that the dual 12v
rails & the higher 5v & 3.3v output rating made it a decent
match-up. The Vigor is certainly a solid performer, & I never
experienced any issues with it. It is, in fact, still in my primary
gaming rig right now, & will stay there until, perhaps, I get a
Magnum to review

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{mospagebreak title=MGE Vigor – Action Shots}
But wait, you’re saying, what about the action shots?!?!? I save the best for last, my friends. Feast your eyes on these:

Here we see the bottom 120mm fan.

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Here’s a nice shot
of the window getting its good use, along with the 80mm intake fan.

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This is what the unit looks like from the rear when
powered up

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Finally, if you think that adding a PSU
with lights doesn’t really affect the look from the outside of your
case, check out this shot, with the Enermax installed

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&
compare it to this shot, with the Vigor installed

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Definite
noticable improvement, especially in the
upper left corner there. And finally, for those of you who still don’t
think MGE/XG has anything to offer, check out this shot of the MGE
Titanium case & the MGE Vigor all in one awesome shot. Yes, that’s
right, everything in this shot came as-is. No extra purchases except
for the CPU fan.

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The reason’s I needed to move on from my plexiglass case were twofold.
The first issue was space: the placement of the hard drives in the case
was such that the ATX connector was directly beneath them, with very
little clearance, & there was only room enough to mount two 3.5″
drives & two 5.25″ bays. The second issue was that my Vantec
rheobus had up & died on me, & all of my fans were then blowing
on full speed, making a horrendous racket. The rheobus was obviously
the straw that broke the camel’s back, so I started looking for a new
one.

While looking for a rheobus, I began thinking that I’d like some more
functionality in my next one. I needed a fan controller, sure, but I
was also liking the idea of front panel audio, USB, & firewire
connections & a temperature monitor. My search was leading me in
the direction of such panels as the Aerocool CoolPanel, which currently
retail for around fifty bucks. At this point, I thought to myself, why
not just spend another $50 while I’m at it, & solve my space issues
as well? Furthermore, panels with extra functionality such as the
CoolPanel that also control more than three fans were few & far
between.

Looking for a case with more than three fan controllers, a temperature
monitor, & front panel audio, USB, & firewire connectors all
rolled into one package really narrows down the search quite a bit. I
also had plenty of PSU’s laying about, so I didn’t need a case that
came with one included. When I saw the MGE Titanium at Newegg, I knew I
was sold right away. Interestingly enough, however, you won’t find the
Titanium case on MGE’s website. Not only that, but they’ve got links to
another website, XGBox.com, that includes photos of another case,
manufactured by XG, that looks strikingly similar to the Titanium, but
in black, & named the “Quantum.”

I looked around the web some, & discovered that there were plenty
of reviews of the XG Quantum, but very few, (read: one) of the MGE
Titanium. The Case with boxsimilarities between the two cases are way
more than similarities. They’re the exact same case in different
colors. A quick email to MGE inquiring about the two cases, & the
apparent lack of the Titanium on MGE’s website fetched a reply from the
marketing manager of MGE himself, Arthur Marquez. Arthur explained to
me that the Titanium was the original design of the Quantum case, &
that MGE had originally created the Titanium as an office-use case.
Someone somewhere in MGE decided that this thing was obviously bad-ass
enough to market to gamers, so they painted it black & called it
the Quantum. Throw in the fact that XG, or Xtreme Gamer, is a
subsidiary of MGE, & everything starts to fall into place. Not only
that, but Arthur noted my attention to the lack of information
regarding the Titanium on MGE’s website, & now the XG Quantum’s
product page refers to it as both the Quantum and the Titanium. (The
whole “lighter gamers” bit I don’t quite get, but that’s another story
)

The MGE Titanium

MGE Titanium

Let’s get down to business, shall we? First of all, this
thing is a beast. When I saw on the website that it was built of both
steel and aluminum, I knew it was going to be a heavy case
(15.8kg/35lbs) but it still managed to exceed my expectations. When I
went to pick it up from the receiving dock, I was a bit shocked. My
first thought was, “is this thing going to fit under my desk?” As you
can see in the shot above, however, the case is thankfully much smaller
than the box that it ships in. The packaging is, without a doubt,
sturdy. The foam inserts in the box are not styrofoam, like most.
They’re actually the spongy, shipping foam (I really don’t know how
else to describe it, but I hope you get what I mean). This is a
definite plus for me, because I keep all of my case boxes for moving,
& this case would easily go back into its box if necessary.

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Once I
got it out of the box, & my fears were assuaged, the second thing
that I noticed was that this case was looong. My fears about the height
were misplaced, because I’d been looking at the package the wrong way.
This case is actually much longer than most, but about the same height
as most. The aluminum/steel construction made the case extremely
sturdy; not wobbly like most all-aluminum cases. The entire front door
is made of solid aluminum, & feels Manual, backplate,
screwsactually quite heavy for such a light metal. This is a good spot
for the specs, so let’s throw those in here (from the XGBox page):

{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – Photos}

Ok, ok, time for the photos. If you guys’ve read my rantings thus far,
you know that: a. I’m impressed with this case, & b. you want to
see more shots of it. So here we go; click on all thumbnails for larger
images.

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Above you can see the two-door design for the front bezel. The design
makes it very easy to get in & add or remove 5.25″ devices as
necessary. Access to the front bezel can be controlled by a lock on the
right side of the case. The front panel also holds one 80mm fan, which,
well-intentioned as it may be, is nearly strangled for lack of a proper
intake. The fan’s intake butts up against the rear of the case’s LCD
panel, & the only way that air can get in is through a small slot
in the bottom of the front door. I believe that XG would have done
better to simply leave this fan out, under the circumstances. In the
first shot, you can see the back side of the LCD panel. The panel’s
clock & date functions are kept alive by a standard CR2032 battery.
The functions of the case are also well documented with small
instructional stickers. The one next to the side door lock is probably
the most useful. Lastly we see the top 80mm fan exhaust and front panel
ports. The inverse of the front 80mm fan, the top fan is constricted
due to a poorly vented exhaust port. Both of these fans provide
negligible airflow, but they do provide light, so I guess there’s some
aesthetic value there.

{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – More Photos}

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{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – Components Installed}

One of the most unique things about this case is its use of side
“vents” instead of the more traditional (I can’t believe I just said
that) windows. The vents still give you a good view of the case’s
interior, especially because it’s so well lit (more on that on the next
page). To go along with the vents, XG has included two 92mm fans on an
interesting hinged panel, which swings open for access to the main body
of the case. These fans also have intake filters. I found the panel
very easy to work with while open, & after some wire management,
there was no interference from the fans at all. One thing that puzzled
me about the panel was the presence of three notched, rubber-footed
rails (for lack of a better word). You can see these at the top left of
the third photo above. I couldn’t figure out what they were there for,
nor were they referred to in the manual. All fans inside the case were
XG-branded, & of the blue LED flavor. You can also see the
underside of the top 80mm fan with the front panel connectors here. The
3.5″ drive bay came filled with all of the drive rails necessary for
mounting any devices in the case; plenty were available. The bay itself
is secured with a single thumbscrew, & slides out for easy
installation. The rails for the 3.5″ drives were a bit different than
what I’m used to. They simply push into place, & are held there by
the fit of the drive into the bay; e.g. they fall off rather easily if
the drive isn’t in the bay. Not horribly bad, but could be an
inconvenience. The 5.25″ rails seem to stay on much better.

Installation into this case was an absolute breeze. There is so much
room in this thing that you don’t feel cramped in the slightest. plenty
of room for your hands & fingers, & no sharp edges to boot.
This is where the length of the case comes into play. It’s so deep that
a regular ATX board still has about three inches of clearance before
the drive bays. Check the images below to see what I mean. That’s an
ASUS A8V & 5900Ultra in there. I’m using a Swiftech MCX6400-V with
another 92mm blue LED fan from my old case.

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I know, I know, I need to spend a little more time on wire management.
But hey, it’s really not all my fault. There are a ton of leads for
things running around in there (USB, Firewire, audio, temperature
probes) that are impossible to tame. In the second shot above, you can
see the screwless PCI slot tools. I didn’t have too much of an issue
with these, but the 5900Ultra had to go in at an angle. They flip open,
then slide up. In the third shot, you can see what I mean about the
extra room in this case. I think a full ATX board may even fit in this
thing. No clearance issues whatsoever. In the last shot, you can see
the (nearly) fully populated fan controller power headers. There’s room
for a total of seven, but I’ve only got six hooked up. This makes a
difference in the LCD display, as you’ll see shortly.

{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – MORE Photos}

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Here are a couple of “action” shots. The first shot is of the front
fan. Very nice lighting effect, but you can also see where the fan’s
intake on the bezel door doesn’t line up 100% flush with the intake in
the bezel itself. It’s not off by much, but it is noticable. In the
second shot, you can see what the case looks like from the side while
powered up. Notice that the top 92mm side fan is fully within the
screen area, while the bottom 92mm side fan is not. MGE have remedied
this by adding a second, smaller grate beneath the circular screen.
Here’s where the intake screens on each of the fans are a huge plus.
The metal side screen is just as good as a window, in my opinion, but
with the added bonus of allowing full airflow. The case and processor
temperatures are the lowest I’ve ever personally experienced for a case
this quiet.

{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – The LCD}

The LCD

I can hear you now, “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE LCD?!?!?” I’ve saved the best
for last, of course You can see the LCD in action in this thirteen
second .avi. (3.56MB) The CPU temperature is an Athlon FX-53 with the
Swifty cooler I mentioned earlier. The hard drive temperature is of two
Raptors in Raid0. Not bad for a system I just played thirty minutes of
CS:S on, don’t ya think? Across the top is the display for the seven
fan speeds. The bars fill or empty as you raise or each fan’s RPM.
Notice that the display for fan number seven is blinking; this is
because I don’t have a seventh fan hooked up to the controller. The
empty header’s display blinks constantly whenever the PC is powered up.
Below the speed bars you will see the read-out for each of the fans in
the system. The LCD will cycle through each fan & tell you each
ones actual rotation speed. You can also have it sit on one fan’s
readout if you want, then manually cycle through each fan using the
buttons below the LCD. On either side of the RPM read-out you’ll find
the power LED on the left, & the HDD activity light on the right.
Next down the line are the read-outs of the three temperature probes,
followed by the date & finally the time. XG have done a bit more
sprucing-up of their Titanium/Quantum product page over the last coupel
of days. Check out their interactive (.swf) demo of the LCD here.
Pressing the key button on the LCD will lock its functions so that
nothing gets set accidentally. There’s also a user’s manual at their
site here (.pdf) that’s much more detailed than the small booklet they
give you.

{mospagebreak title=MGE Titanium ATX Case – Conclusion}

Conclusion

This case is everything I was looking for and more. I think that about sums it up, doesn’t it? Heh. Ok, seriously, though:

Plus

• tons of room
• large vents provide plenty of circulation
• five fans included; three 92mm, two 80mm; all blue LED
• seven fan rheobus
• multi-function LCD control panel
• extremely sturdy
• unique

Minus

• a bit heavy (really not all that bad, though)
• front and top fans have constricted intake/exhaust issues
• a bit tough to read the LCD if the case is on the floor

All in all, MGE’s Titanium (or XG’s Quantum) is a pleasure to own. I’d
heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a new enclosure for their
rig.