Gigabyte's GeForce GTX 480 Super Overclock sets out to deliver affordable high-end overclocking for NVIDIA users. The card features dual voltage software control, voltage measurement points, a powerful but quiet triple fan cooler and Gigabyte's OC Guru overclocking software. Best of all, it comes at a reasonable $469 which is not much more than the reference design. But is that enough to hold off the GeForce GTX 580 ?
There are very few manufacturers of completely passive systems out there. Impactics is jumping into the fray, aiming to offer fan-less systems, but without the large price premium associated to such computers. We take a look at the black, H55 and i3-530 equipped system to see if it can keep going under the pressure, or if it crumbles under the heat.
Last week NVIDIA released their new flagship graphics card, the GeForce GTX 580. Today we have on our testbench the ASUS ENGTX580 which is an almost full implementation of the reference design. The only exception is that the clock speed has been slightly increased - at no price premium.
Xigmatek has managed to impress with their past cases, offering a nearly unbeaten price/performance ratio. The new Pantheon aims to redefine this once more, offering modern features at a very competitive price point. Will it manage to hold its own or crumble on our test bench?
Today NVIDIA releases their new GeForce GTX 580 which is based on their Fermi architecture. The card is 20% faster than the GTX 480, yet requires less power. NVIDIA has also optimized fan noise making this the quietest highest-end card on the market today.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 580 has claimed the single GPU performance throne today. We take two of these cards for a spin to see what performance users can expect from this $1000 GPU combination. The review will also give insight into potential performance numbers for 3D Vision Surround.
PowerColor's HD 6850 PCS+ is an overclocked variant of the HD 6850. But the changes do not stop here. PowerColor also includes their own cooling solution and has done extensive changes to the voltage regulation circuitry on the card. But is this enough to compete with the excellent AMD reference design?
There are a lot of Atom+ION Nettops, but the Foxconn Netbox is not only extremely compact, but it also offers some customizability along with a very affordable price tag and the choice of black or white colors. We fill it with the required parts and wrangle it through our test bench to see how it holds up.
AZZA has a very interesting line-up of cases so far and the Hurrican 2000 is their most sophisticated one yet. It features a menacing look, is filled to the rim with 8 fans (yes 8!) and hot-swap bays for each of the removable hard drive trays. We fill the case with everything - even water cooling and let loose the hurricane.
The HIS Radeon HD 6870 Turbo is a factory overclocked variant of the HD 6870 that builds heavily on the AMD reference design. This means that PCB, components and cooler are unchanged from the original AMD card - which is a good thing. The increased clock speeds give the card a 4% performance advantage.
Beyerdynamic known for their high end headphones have now released a gaming headset. This headset is priced at a record €299/$299 so the stakes are high.
The NZXT Phantom is the first truly brand-new case from the company in a very long time. It looks great, comes in multiple colors and packs a long list of useful and well balanced features. We take a look at the white version along with the white Hale90, the first 80Plus Gold certified PSU from NZXT and end up quite impressed by both products.
Today AMD released their new Radeon HD 6870. The card brings new features like HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 which allow up to six displays to be connected to a single card. Performance has also been substantially increased and power draw reduced. But is this enough to defeat NVIDIA's latest offerings ?
The new ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU aims to be the king of the sub-$200 segment. It offers plenty of performance for the latest DirectX 11 titles, overclocks very well and comes with improvements to the display output configuration. Instead of an AMD reference heatsink the card uses an ASUS Direct Touch heatpipe solution.
AMD's new Radeon HD 6850 comes at an extremely affordable $179 price point. This poses the question whether it can become the new weapon of choice for budget oriented gamers. In our testing we see excellent performance which enables full HD resolution gaming in DirectX 11.
In this review we will put the dual card CrossFire configuration of the AMD Radeon HD 6870 in the spotlight. It promises higher performance than a Radeon HD 5970 at only a fraction of the price. But is this enough to make CF a recommendation?
AMD's new Radeon HD 6850 is priced at an extremely affordable $179. This poses the question whether two cards in CrossFire can manage to claim the price/performance sweet spot in the $360 segment or if other alternatives are better.
MSI's GeForce GTX 480 Lightning promises to be an overclocker's dream. It is build around a completely redesigned PCB and thermal solution with overclockers in mind. The card offers unique features like control for up to three voltages, dual BIOS with liquid nitrogen support and easy to reach voltage measurement points.
The Armor A60 is a smaller version of the popular Armor A90. It retains the cool and edgy look of the larger brother, but also offers a few new and interesting features and updates. We throw everything we have at the case to see if the Armor A60 remains standing once the dust has settled.
Crucial's ReadSSD C300 is the first solid state drive to support the new SATA 6 Gb/s standard. Unlike many of the competition, the drive is not based on a Sandforce controller, but uses one from Marvell instead. We tested both on SATA-II and SATA 6 Gb/s to check if the new interface can really make a difference.
Sunrise audio, a relative newcomer on the headphone scene just released some neat earbuds. Today we take a look at their high end offering namely the AS-Charm earbuds. They retail at around $80 which promises excellent price/ performance ratio.
Colorful's iGame GTX 460 uses a massive triple slot cooler with two fans to keep the card cool. It also offers overclocker-friendly features like a Turbo button or voltage measurement points. Out of the box the card runs at clocks of 820 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory making it one of the faster GTX 460 variants out there.
Today NVIDIA launches their new low-end GeForce GT 430 Series. The cards which are supposed to replace the GT 220 bring full DirectX 11 support to the table. Power consumption is also low which enables its use in media PC systems.
Corsair's Force F40 is the smallest Sandforce based drive the company offers with just 40 GB capacity. It is also the most affordable at $120. Thanks to a 7-channel design and the SF-1222 controller the drive delivers great performance for users who want to get on the SSD bandwagon without breaking the bank.
Sunrise Audio, unknown to most, just released a full line-up of earbuds. Today we take a closer look at the AS-Feeling earbuds which is their mid-end offering. Available for only $40 online these are sure to be welcomed by many people looking for great sound on a budget.
