Not letting Intel grab all of the spotlight, AMD has officially released the desktop version of the upgraded Trinity APU codenamed Richland. While Richland does not bring any architectural change over the Trinity, AMD is able to deliver a decent amount of performance improvements by tuning the existing chip. We have got the top of the line A10-6800K and a 65W A10-6700 in our lab that we will put through our tests.
Continue reading “AMD Richland A10-6800K AND A10-6700 Review” »
The Gigabyte HD 7790 (GV-R779OC-2GD) comes with Gigabyte’s own custom designed WINDFORCE x2 cooler, factory overclocked to 1075 MHz, and 2 GB of GDDR5. Does it worth your hard-earn money with the retailed price of $169.99, let’s find out.
AMD has officially released its entire mobile platform for the year 2013. Today the company released the Kabini SoC for the ultrathin notebooks and the Temash SoC for tablets. Built on the 28nm process, Temash and the Kabini are expected to deliver up to 20% better CPU performance, 75% GPU performance and longer battery life.
We have the 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-2133 (F3-2133C9D-16GXH) in our lab today, and we’re going to run it through the gauntlet. In addition to just doing a simple review of the RAM modules, we’ll also take the opportunity to examine performance differences against 4GB modules, and test how Core i7 3770K performance impacts on the memory frequency.
Promised to deliver at least 10 MB/s, the 64GB Kingston microSDXC card packs plenty of storage space for your mobile devices. For a 64GB microSD expandable storage for your mobile device, it also priced quite competitively at $60, and the included SD adapter makes it versatile so that you can share it with other devices such as PC. Can the card deliver? Let’s find out.
The Silicon Power Armor A80 is designed to provide protection against water, drop, pressure, and dust with its rugged design. The unit manages to provide excellent protection and performance without adding much bulk. Available in storage ranges from 320GB to 1TB, it is one of the best external hard drive available on the market.
Continue reading “Silicon Power Armor A80 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Drive” »
We still have to wait a couple of months until Kaveri—the successor to the Trinity APU—is released. However, AMD is ready to talk a little bit about the upcoming APU. While we do not have any specific information on the model and the clockspeed, we have a bit of information regarding one key feature in Kaveri: the heterogenous Uniform Memory Access or hUMA.
Continue reading “AMD’s new heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access (hUMA)” »
The Diamond VideoStream WPCTVPRO is a new device to help you setup a dual-monitor without a long wire connected to your PC. Using DisplayLink technology, the device communicates to your secondary monitor (TV for example) wirelessly through Ultra Wide Band (UWB). How does it perform? Does it live up to its promise? Let’s find out.
Continue reading “Diamond Multimedia VideoStream (WPCTVPRO)” »
The PowerColor HD 7850 PCS+ is the fastest factory overclocked HD 7850 on the market. The card features PowerColor’s own custom cooler with 5+1+1 phase power design, DrMos and IR Digital PWM that allows enthusiasts to push it even further. And the mixture of ports and the bundle makes it one of the best HD 7850 available on the market today. Let’s check it out.
Continue reading “PowerColor PCS+ AX7850 2GBD5-2DHPP Radeon HD 7850 2GB” »
Today, AMD kicks off 2013 with the launch of Richland, the successor of the Trinity APU. The company launched four mobile APUs with 35W TDP designed for performance notebook. Architecturally, Richland is identical to Trinity as both APUs are based on the Piledriver CPU cores and Southern Island GPU cores. With Richland, AMD has bumped the clockspeed on the CPU and the GPU and improved upon the Turbo Core technology. In addition, AMD has worked with software vendors to provide facial recognition and gesture support that leverage on their GPU computing power.
Noctua is well-known for providing some of the biggest and most efficient air-coolers among enthusiasts and overclockers. Their latest cooler, the NH-L9 series, is designed to meet the demand for the growing market of the small form factor PC with its extreme small foot-print and low 37mm height. Today, we have both the NH-L9i (for Intel) and the NH-L9a (for AMD) here today. Let’s find out more about these coolers.
Continue reading “Noctua Low Profile Heatsinks: NH-L9a and NH-L9I” »
The latest Vector from OCZ uses the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller paired with OCZ’s own branded NAND and the firmware. This marked the first drive from OCZ with all in-house construction. How does the drive fare against other SSDs on the market? We take the 256GB version out for a spin. Let’s find out.
Need more portable file storage, but can’t use the Cloud? The Patriot Gauntlet may just be the device that you are looking for.
The Silicon Power Slim S70 (SP240GBSS3S70S25) paired the LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller with the 25nm Intel synchronous NAND in a slim package of 7mm. Available in capacity ranges from 60GB all the way to 480GB, it is one of the high-end SSDs designed for Ultrabooks.
Continue reading “Silicon Power S70 7mm SSD for Ultrabook” »
ASUS has released their the F2A85V-Pro for the socket FM2. The board retails at around $140, but is packed with features.
Today, AMD has completed the transition of their entire line of CPUs/APUs to the Piledriver design with the release of the Vishera, the mainstream/performance FX series CPU. How much performance can we expect from Vishera over Bulldozer? Let’s find out.
Though it took a long time to gain any momentum, the Mini ITX form factor seems to be gaining popularity. This is in part due to the integration of various components such as memory controller, Northbridge, and GPU onto the CPU die. Today’s CPUs come with a decent GPU on-die that functions well if you simply need a small system that can handle basic workloads.
AMD brings Z-60 APU for Windows 8 tablets with promise for better HD Media playback, enhanced gaming, and performance accelerated Apps. The APU promises to bring up to 10 hours of battery life, native USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gbps support.
Continue reading “AMD Launches Z-60 APU (Hondo) for Windows 8 Tablets” »
If you read our AMD Trinity Preview, you’ve already seen the integrated GPU performance in the new A-Series APU from AMD. Today, we take a look at the CPU side of the APU. In addition, we are able to see just how the new chip will perform at various applications and workloads, including media transcoding, data encryption, and OpenCL.
Continue reading “AMD “Virgo” Platform: 2nd Generation APU” »
The SAPPHIRE Flex HD 7770 GHz Edition is the latest entry into the Sapphire’s Flex line up, bringing the ability to run multiple monitors without the need for an expensive cable or adapter. By combining the power of the HD 7770 and the flexibility of mixing wide range of displays, the Sapphire’s Flex HD 7770 GHz Edition may just be the card that for you if you are looking for a midrange card with multiple monitor support.
Finally, the desktop Trinity is almost here. We got a preview of the integrated GPU gaming performance of the A10-5800K and A8-5600K APU. More detail on the CPU performance and full detail of the platform, architecture, overclocking, and benchmarks coming real soon, so stay tuned!
Continue reading “AMD Trinity: An iGPU Performance Preview” »
Gigabyte’s Aivia Krypton line includes a gaming mouse and a mouse pad. The Aivia Krypton is one of the few gaming mice designed to support both left and right hand. In addition, the mouse features tons of customization such as Macro, button assignment, weight distribution, and even the feet. We got both the mouse and the pad here so let’s find out more about them.
Continue reading “Gigabyte Aivia Krypton Mouse and Mouse Pad” »
Arctic’s latest home entertainment system user an AMD A10-4600M APU, bringing a powerful combination of CPU and GPU in a tiny little box. Packed with WiFi, TV Tuner, 8GB RAM, and 1TB of storage, the MC101 brings us plenty of power for our media needs and is also able to deliver decent gaming performance.
Bringing the functionality of a touchpad to the traditional mouse, the GIGABYTE Aivia Xenon is one of the more unique mouse we have seen lately. With PC moving toward more touch based interface, would this dual mode mouse be the tool that you need for the upcoming Windows 8? Let’s find out.
The NVIDIA GTX 670 is one of our favorite cards at the $400 price range due to its performance, low power consumption, and relatively quiet operational noise. The PNY GTX 670 again follows the company’s tradition of using the reference design from NVIDIA, but what sets the PNY GTX 670 apart from other reference design GTX 670′s is the lifetime warranty and price.
OCZ ditched the SandForce controller in their Vertex 4, instead opting for their own Indilinx Everest 2 controller. How does the new controller perform compared to others? Can it carry the Vertex brand to the next level?
Thecus’s latest 4-bay NAS, the N4800, is designed for small and medium size businesses (SMB) or home users who need a powerful data file server to centralize all of their digital content. The successor to the Thecus N4200, the new unit has much beefier specs, using Intel Cedar Trail Atom D2700 processor, 2GB of DDR3, and 1 GB of SATA DOM for the OS. The device retails for $660 on Newegg: a bit on the high side, but its spec sheet is nonetheless impressive. Let’s see if it can deliver.
Noctua is no stranger at designing high quality coolers, as the company has been in the cooler business since 2005. Their latest model, NH-L12, is a versatile low profile quiet cooler that is designed for small form factor PCs. It is perfect for those who wish to build a smaller system but may also want the ability to overclock.
Mobile Trinity kicks off 2012 for AMD by incorporating the Piledriver CPU core (an enhanced version of the Bulldozer) and the updated GPU core based on the VLIW4 design derived from AMD’s Northern Island discreet GPU from the HD 6970. With the mobile APU out of the way, AMD also launched the budget APU codenamed the Brazos 2.0 and has revealed the desktop SKUs.
A glance over AMD’s plan shows that 2012 will see a greater push for APUs. From high performance systems all the way down to everyday performance and productivity systems, AMD has APUs designed to meet users’ computing needs. After introducing the second generation mobile A-Series APU (codenamed Trinity) in May, AMD today brings us the low power E-Series edition of the APU, codenamed Brazos 2.0, and designed for very basic computing needs.
Have you ever considered the environmental waste from all of the disposable batteries you throw away from your wireless mouse? The DX-ECO from Genius has an ingenious solution to this problem. The DX-ECO uses capacitors as opposed to conventional batteries to store a charge. This makes the mouse extremely light and have a recharging time of only 4 minutes.
Thecus is showing off their latest products at Computex 2012 that includes the TopTower Series, Microsoft Windows Storage Servers W Series, V Sereis, Vision Series, and NVR Visoguard. The company will also shows the ThecusOS 5.0 that brings system monitoring with live feedback on error, maintenance issue and activity. The neat feature with the new OS is that you can plug in a DVD to a USB port on the NAS and data can be copied from the NAS to DVD.
Continue reading “Thecus® Leading Trends at Computex 2012” »
Designed with two pieces of aluminum for a sleek look, the Cubitek Mini ICE is a case for mini ITX boards. Unlike other mini ITX cases, it is aimed for gamers and enthusiasts who plan to watercool and use high-end GPUs.
The GIGABYTE Z77X-UD3H includes a litany of features including USB 3.0, mSATA, and more. It would be a great addition to a mainstream Ivy Bridge system.
The WD VelociRaptor 1TB hard drive comes with a 10,000 RPM spindle speed and a whopping 333GB per platter! How does it stack up against a growing slate of SSD’s and hybrid hard drives? Keep reading to find out.
Continue reading “Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB Hard Drive” »
The Ivy Bridge promises higher performance per watt over Sandy Bridge on both the CPU and GPU front. Built with tri-gate 3D transistors on a 22nm die, how much performance should we expect from the new CPU?
The MSI Z77A-GD65 is clearly designed for hardcore overclockers with its array of overclocking features and high quality components. Check out the review for more detail.
Intel launched the 7 series chipset in preparation for the upcoming Core processor. The new chipset brings with it a few “Smart” features that Intel has introduced. Keep reading to find out more!
Continue reading “Intel 7 Series Chipset and DZ77GA-70K Review” »
Gigabyte’s HD 7770 OC is the cheapest factory overclocked HD 7770 available. It strikes a good balance of price and performance. We put the card to the test and also pair it up with XFX HD 7770 to assess its CrossFire performance.
The ASUS F1A75-V Evo is one of the most feature-rich boards for the Llano platform. We put it toe-to-toe against the Gigabyte A75-UD4H. See which one comes out on top.
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