With the release of AMD's latest Radeon HD 5970, the question comes up "What can be gained by going CrossFire?" We investigate the quad GPU performance of the HIS Radeon HD 5970. Even though the setup rip a $1200 hole in your wallet, performance will make you smile.
Today NVIDIA launches their first GDDR5 graphics card. The new GeForce GT 240 is based on NVIDIA's brand-new 40 nm G215 graphics processor and features 96 shaders. It also includes several new features like support for DirectX 10.1, HDMI audio enhancements and extremely low power draw. But is that enough to justify a price of $100 ?
Intel continues to upgrade their processor lineup with the Pentium E6300. It offers a high stock frequency at 2.80 GHz and improved memory bandwidth due to increased FSB to 1066 MHz, this makes this processor a formidable opponent but the question remains. Can it do any damage to AMD's triple core Athlon II X3 Series?
SteelSeries' latest mat is quite a tiger leap forward in terms of technology. Called 9HD this mat has the potential to fill the gap left behind from the elderly SteelSeries S&S mat which elevated SteelSeries to the elite of mouse mat manufacturers.
Inno3D's GeForce GT 220 uses NVIDIA's latest 40 nm graphics processor. It offers extremely low power consumption, especially in idle and has support for DirectX 10.1. It also features NVIDIA's new HDMI audio improvements, so you no longer need to route an SPDIF cable to the graphics card.
The In Win AMMO continues on the army based theme we have come to love with the Commander PSUs. The enclosure combines a sturdy shell with a soft interior and the added security of AES 128 bit encryption. We take a real close look an run it trough our barrage of tests to see if it comes out on top after the battle.
Corsair takes their game to a new high with the Obsidian 800D, offering a full tower chassis with the company's unique device. The case does not only look massive, but also houses four hot-swappable hard drive bays along with an excellent cable management system and a window to show off the guts of the system.
Sapphire's HD 5750 is priced competitively below $150 and offers all the new features like DirectX 11, AMD Eyefinity, native HDMI & DP and more. Even though the cooler does not look like it, it works extremely well and keeps the card cool and very quiet. We were also able to overclock our sample by more than 20% which essentialy brings the HD 5750's performance to levels of the HD 5770.
The Dragonlord PC-K58 may not have the same bite as the K62 when it comes to looks, but has the exact same amazing internal functionality and the same feature set. So the Dragon may not look as dangerous but still manages to scorch things up on our review - at a significant discount.
AMD's Athlon II X3 425 offers all the features of the of the more expensive Quad Cores, and you can potentially unlock the fourth core. Being priced at only $79 it creates tough competition for Intel in this segment, but also for AMD who has a number of other processors in this market. Even though it lacks the L3 cache it still offers decent performance, especially considering its price.
MP4Nation's latest addition to their in-ear lineup is dubbed the Beta Brainwavz. Made by MP4Nation under their Nationite brand these in-ears are geared towards everyday listeners looking for a decent set of affordable in-ears. Competitively priced these definitely seem like an affordable way into the in-ear realm.
AMD's Sempron 140 is here to seal the deal in the entry level market for $39. It offers all the features of the K10.5 architecture, but comes with only a single core at 2.70 GHz. Despite its single core it offers decent performance for every day office use, media PCs and casual gaming. If you get lucky you might even be able to unlock a second core.
The Lian Li PC-V351 is one ultra compact enclosure, without many of the expected shortcomings. It can swallow a big CPU cooler and long graphics card while managing to keep things cool and quiet. You even have the choice of up to 6 colors - a first for an all aluminum enclosure.
The A.C.Ryan PlayON! DVR TV combines the benefits of a media player with the ability to record and playback analog and DVB-T signals and act as a wired or wireless NAS. It is capable of streaming and playback of up to 720p video as well as audio and pictures. To top things off, the PlayON! DVR TV also acts as an Internet radio for your living room.
The Zalman CNPS10X Quiet takes the CNPS10X Extreme and pairs it with a silent fan for all those users who want the cooling performance of a tower cooler in combination with silence. We crank up the heat to see if the CNPS10X Quiet can stay cool when it counts.
AMD's Athlon II X2 240 is set out to deliver a best-in-class experience for less than $60. Even though it has only two cores it can deliver in many benchmarks including gaming. Its attractive price point and undervolting capabilities also make it an interesting choice for a budget oriented media PC setup.
NVIDIA's new GeForce 210 is set out to conquer the low-end graphics card market. It comes with native HDMI output, improvements to HDMI audio and a low profile form factor. While it also supports DirectX 10.1 and PhysX, it is definitely not made for gaming. However, it does score big in overclocking and power consumption.
The Cooler Master Lab is their first test bench unit and scores with some extremely compact dimensions along with the possibility to install a full size ATX board. We take a close look to see how it stacks up to the competition from the specialists like DangerDen or DimasTech.
The Lexa S is an updated version of the classic Lexa and Lexa Blackline Series, which goes into a totally different direction. With a much lower price point it is stuffed with a radically different set of features along with four, white bladed fans, a fan controller and the possibility to use a dual radiator within the case. These are just some of the numerous new features of the Lexa S, while the review goes into all the details.
AMD's next step in their Radeon HD 5000 release strategy is the Radeon HD 5770 which is based on the new 40 nm Juniper core. It features 800 shaders and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus. Essentially this makes the card perform like a HD 4870 but adds new features like DirectX 11, ATI Eyefinity and reduced power consumption.
Zotac's new GeForce GT 220 is based on NVIDIA's new GT 216 GPU which features 48 shader processors. While this is certainly not enough to play games at high resolutions it is sure fine for casual gaming. Windows desktop use and HD video playback is what this card is really targeted at and here it shines with extremely low power consumption and good feature set.
NVIDIA's new GeForce GT 220 is built around the new GT216 graphics processor, which is NVIDIA's first chip to be made in a 40 nm process. Another novelty is support for DirectX 10.1. Palit's Sonic Edition comes with higher clocks out of the box and an extremely well optimized low-noise fan.
Zotac is well known for their graphic cards, but the company goes one step further and applies their engineering skills we have come to love in form of their mini-ITX boards and poured them into their first NVIDIA ION Nettop. The Zotac MAG packs a dual core Atom 330 with an ION platform, 2 GB of memory and 160 GB of hard drive space along with a few other surprises. All for an extremely competitive price tag.
Not having a performance leading product doesn't mean the end of a company. AMD is the hardcore proof of that. Turning its attention to the much larger mainstream market resulted in some great products that offer amazing performance at low price points. This time, AMD has outdone itself, and the recently introduced Athlon II X4 620 could very well be a dream come true for mainstream users, the first ever quad core processor for just under $100.
The HIS Radeon HD 5850 is based on AMD's reference design and delivers amazing rendering performance at a much more affordable price than the HD 5870. It comes with an impressing low power consumption and the lack of fan noise is also very enjoyable. Overall it seems like this will be the best high end card available this year.
