Reviews
Last week, Futuremark released the latest version of 3DMark. We've taken the new benchmark for a spin using CPUs from Intel and AMD as well as GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA. The new version, dubbed 3DMark 11 (in reference to its level of DirectX support, not the upcoming year) includes a fresh set of tests, a game demo sequence, and measures...
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A funny thing happened during the course of this article—life got in the way. And in the few weeks that things were delayed, the PC graphics landscape changed dramatically. A couple of weeks before NVIDIA unleashed the GeForce GTX 580 onto the world, MSI and Gigabyte readied a pair of the most innovative GeForce GTX 480 cards to hit...
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In some ways, Samsung is a silicon ninja in the solid state drive (SSD) space. How so you ask? While most of the competition is all too happy to blitz the SSD market amid much fanfare and ballyhooing, Samsung just quietly does its thing and usually flies under the radar a bit. Whether you realize it or not, Samsung has been churning...
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Hot on the heels of the arrival of their flagship GeForce GTX 580, NVIDIA is launching another new graphics card based on the GF110 GPU. As we’ve come to expect from NVIDIA, and AMD for that matter, when a new GPU arrives, derivatives based on pared-down version of the chip typically get introduced, but with somewhat lower specifications....
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We have been hearing a lot from AMD over the last few months regarding the slew of new processors and Fusion APUs slated to arrive next year. With all of the news regarding Zacate, Ontario, Bobcat, Bulldozer, and Llano, et al, that has hit recently, you’d think work on the current generation of products had ceased, but that is not the...
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There's no doubt the Apple iPad has taken the market by storm. Although tablets have been around for some time, no other manufacturer has managed to create the same level of demand for a tablet like Apple has created for the iPad. These days, it seems everyone wants an iPad—kids included. Of course, other manufacturers aren't going to...
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Apple decided to refresh their MacBook Air lineup this year, but rather than simply upgrading the existing machine with a new CPU, GPU or Blu-ray drive, Apple introduced some entirely new pieces of hardware with the new 11" and 13" MacBook Airs. While the 11" machine is certainly intriguing, and a compelling addition to the...
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As the holiday season rapidly approaches, there’s one question that gets asked rather frequently: Have you been naughty or nice? Of course, we all know that a lot hinges on this seemingly simple question. If you’ve been nice, then perhaps Santa will bring you an awesome gift; that one piece of hardware you've been jonesing for....
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We just recently ran a contest on HotHardware in which we planned to give away a high-end, custom-built gaming system (built by yours truly), to one lucky reader who came up with a creative name for our weekly video podcast. The parts for the system were as follows… CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Cooler: Xigmatek Dark...
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It's an argument that has been around for almost as long as Macs have been rivaling PCs. And despite the fact that so much has changed over the past few decades, the argument still arises almost every time Apple introduces a new computer. No, it's not the argument of "PC versus Mac" from a software and compatibility standpoint;...
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On December 7, Blizzard will launch the next expansion pack for World of Warcraft, dubbed World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. We've already discussed some of the expansion's new features; this article will focus on the game's larger goals and focus. Whereas both The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King were more traditional expansions...
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Acer is a somewhat understated name in the notebook business, but even though they may not receive the sheer press that Apple, Alienware, Dell and HP do, they're still one of the world's prominent PC makers. Hanging amongst the top five in total PC output is no easy task, and the company's Aspire line has been quietly climbing the charts in...
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Last week we brought you a detailed overview of AMD's first ever, fully integrated CPU-GPU combination born out of the company's "Fusion" technology initiative. Dubbed the first ever APU or Accelerated Processing Unit, AMD's claimed goal is to offer a more balance and efficient low power platform for thin and light notebooks and netbooks. ...
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Of all the components in a typical PC, the hard drive is typically viewed as the least sexy and most scorned. When AMD or Intel launch a new CPU, they fill PR statements with promises of incredibly fast databases and improved 3D rendering. If AMD and NVIDIA launch new GPUs, the Intertubes hum with promises of realistic graphics, higher resolutions,...
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Even before the GF100 GPU-based GeForce GTX 480 officially arrived, a myriad of news reports and rumors swirled claiming the cards would be hot, loud, and consume a lot of power, not to mention, be late to market. Unfortunately for NVIDIA, in the end, all of those things ended up being true to some degree. In all fairness, the GeForce GTX...
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"Fusion." We've heard that word from the good folks at AMD for what seems like an eternity, to be perfectly honest. Fusion is AMD's marketing moniker for the company's next generation of integrated processors with on-board graphics -- a "fusion" of the CPU along with the GPU into what AMD now affectionately calls an "APU" or Accelerated...
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What's this, yet another SSD product tap-dancing its way through the HotHardware lab? It's hard to believe that a product category has so much R&D being poured into it, spurring new releases at such a fevered pitch. The investment in the relatively fledgling storage technology makes perfect sense to us, but the average...
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In early September, Steve Jobs took to the stage and unveiled the new-and-improved Apple TV. What was once considered a “hobby” device was reworked, streamlined, made more affordable, and aimed squarely at the masses. It enters an increasingly crowded market of devices that offer near-instant access to libraries of recent movies...
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You have to love competition. With the release of AMD's affordable HD 6870 and 6850 graphics cards, the folks over at NVIDIA decided to respond with a move of their own. In case you missed it, the same day the Radeons launched, NVIDIA dropped the price of their mid-range GeForce products to gain a competitive advantage in the market, and more...
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Tablets, tablets and more tablets. If we were asked to pick only one HOT product category this holiday shopping season, there wouldn't be even a nanosecond of hesitation before we offered the words tablet PCs. Tablet PCs may not be a new product category or idea but they certainly have come of age and 2011 is shaping up now to...
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Home Theater PC buffs rejoice, wireless transmission of HDMI® connections has finally come of age. Though there are currently two camps gaining traction in the market (Intel's WiDi and WHDI), the bottom line is lag-free full HD 1080p wireless video/audio transmission is now a reality. No longer does that HTPC need to be shoehorned...
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Break out your party hats and spike the punch, we're throwing a 'Welcome Back' party. The guest of honor is Dell's XPS brand, whose return is marked by a new family of laptops built around Intel's Calpella platform and featuring Nvidia's Optimus technology. At this point you're probably scratching your head and wondering if we've been drinking...
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