Reviews
On August 12th, NVIDIA took the wraps off their new value-based PCI-Express video cards, introducing the GeForce 6600 and 6600 GT. Back then we were given ample information in advance to do a thorough preview on what both cards brought to the game. With a smaller die size, many of...
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As the old saying goes, "hindsight is 20/20". That is to say, if you were in the market for a new high end graphics card, back in early August, as a direct result of the launch of Id Software's much buzzed about...
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A tarnished reputation is often the hardest thing to overcome in any business. It is much easier for a company to earn a bad reputation than it is to gain the consumer's faith in any given product. Over the years, ATi struggled to overcome a reputation for having sub-par drivers. This impression seemed to grab hold...
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Recently, several big name memory companies have offered new "low-latency" DDR memory modules capable of running with brisk 2-2-2-5 timings at 400MHz. Based on Samsung's latest low-latency ICs, these chips have demonstrated remarkable stability, compatibility and speed as well...
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Some of us love lusting after the finer things in life: a Mercedes-Benz SLR, Akoya pearls, Beluga caviar, and Clos du Mesnil champagne. While Intel's 925X chipset doesn't exactly fit in with those other high-end luxuries, it does happen to...
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ASUS is often considered one of the top manufacturers of motherboards, video cards, and other computer hardware. Along with a broad product line, the company has a strong reputation for making some of the highest-quality products available. Furthermore, ASUS is one of the few companies that offers both NVIDIA- and ATI-based graphics...
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It has been about eight weeks since Intel officially launched their i925X (Alderwood) and i915 (Grantsdale) chipsets, and their new LGA775 "pinless" Pentium 4 processors. Since the launch, we've taken a look at two i925X based motherboards from Abit and Asus (seen here), and we had tested Intel's own D925XCV motherboard in...
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Never before has there been such a level playing field when it comes to higher-end graphics cards. This year, both ATI and NVIDIA have pulled out all the stops, offering the most powerful gaming solutions ever. While we could split hairs with frame rate measurements, in the end...
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Hardcore gamers, with the large disposable incomes necessary to feed their hardware addictions, have a lot to be thankful for at the moment. Both NVIDIA, with the GeForce 6 Series of products, and ATi, with their X800 Pro and X800 XT, have extremely powerful GPUs in their arsenals that...
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When Shuttle augmented their marketing strategy for their Small Form Factor PC line-up not long ago, they moved from a barebones only model to a full system approach, which also required them to compete in a different arena. Full system sales require not only the components of the main...
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With the release of both NVIDIA's 6800 Series and ATI's X800 series, the high-end enthusiast has several excellent choices when seeking the perfect gaming card. It really is hard to go wrong either way, with each product line having...
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Back in May '04, NVIDIA introduced the GeForce 6800 Ultra Extreme Edition to counter the launch of ATi's Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition, and gamers the world over took notice. Just a few weeks earlier, the GeForce 6800 Ultra was unveiled, and at the time it was smoking through benchmarks like nobody's business. Then, about a month...
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Watch any episode of "This Old House", "Hometime", "The New Yankee Workshop", or any other Do-It-Yourself type program for that matter, and you're bound to hear a certain phrase repeated over and over. Carpenters, mechanics, plumbers, chefs, they all use it. This phrase has almost become a mantra for anyone who...
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While the AMD Athlon XP still remains popular, it is no longer the sought after enthusiast part it once was. This isn't because the Athlon XP is a poor performer, but rather it's because a new era of AMD processors are now in the limelight. Regardless, there are still plenty of reasons to consider a system based on the Athlon...
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With all of our recent articles concerning NVIDIA's latest round of products, it seemed as if our analysis in the graphics space was getting a bit lop-sided. Today, we're aiming to change that with a new card from Sapphire, dubbed the Sapphire Toxic X800 Pro ViVo. This card alone could make up for some of the new mid range Radeon's...
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Back in mid-June we took a look at the latest offering from Plextor, the PX-712A. This drive boasted 12X DVD+R write speeds and maintained the same level of quality we've come to expect from Plextor. For years, Plextor has been in the optical drive business and for most of that...
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Today, avid computer enthusiasts have their pick of some of the best computer hardware ever made available to the public. Processors and graphics cards have truly matured in the past few years, giving the general public computing power to do just about anything. Whether you're a hardcore gamer or you want to develop your own independent...
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The battle between NVIDIA and ATi for dominance in the desktop 3D gaming video card market has been on-going for many years. With each new product they release, both companies attempt to leap-frog the other by introducing new features and increasing performance over their previous generation. The competition has gotten so fierce,...
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Corsair's XMS (Xtreme Memory Speed) memory modules have long been a favorite amongst the enthusiast community. Corsair has memory kits available in many different sizes and speeds, and all of them are regarded as some of the best modules available in their respective categories...
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2004 is easily shaping up to be a banner year for the graphics card market as NVIDIA and ATI continue to trade blows with their high-end offerings. We've seen huge increases in performance between the current and last generation of video cards from both manufacturers, and the competition is as intense as ever. Today, there are...
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When NVIDIA updates their product line, the GPUs usually arrive in the form of a value, midstream, and high-end variety, thus catering to all budgets or tastes. Monetarily speaking, it works out for the most part with those in need of a simple upgrade able to get something on the cheap, while Uber-users can get a new card to brag to...
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A few years back, if you wanted the best of DVD playback and CD burning, you had to buy separate drives for each task. With the advent of combo drives hitting the mainstream market, however, users can now get top-notch CD and DVD performance from a single optical device. MSI's...
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