Items tagged with platinum
Archos, long known for its many (mostly Android) tablets, announced today that it’s getting into the smartphone game, too, starting with a line of Android handsets that are designed to offer a nice balance of features and affordability. Specifically, Archos is eyeing the unlocked smartphone market, where the lack of subsidization from carriers is both a blessing and a curse, as users can be free to choose the carrier of their choice but also have to drop loads of cash on a decent smartphone (or phablet, as it were). The company believes it’s found the sweet spot with the Archos 35 Carbon ($99.99), Archos 50 Platinum ($219.99), and Archos 53 Platinum ($249.99). All three phones will...
Read more...
Archos today introduced its Platinum range of tablets, which the company claims are among the first Android slates to offer a super high resolution IPS (In-Plane Switching) screen combined with the performance of a quad-core processor. There are three models to choose from, including 8-inch, 9.7-inch, and 11.6-inch SKUs, all of which feature a sleek aluminum design. All three boast an IPS panel with capacitive multi-touch support, a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz, an 8-core GPU with support for Full HD 1080p video decoding, 2GB or RAM, front and back cameras, mini-HDMI output, a microSD card slot, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. The smallest of the three, the Archos 80 Platinum, features...
Read more...
There is a reason ASUS is so well respected amongst PC enthusiasts. The company has been making some of the best-performing, most feature-rich products in the space for years. Whether it’s a min-ITX motherboard, sleek Ultrabook, or a full-fledged, touch-enabled All-In-One system, ASUS has highly competitive products that are worthy of consideration. It’s not just about performance and features, though. ASUS has also been a long-time innovator willing to release relatively low-volume products that cater to ultra, hardcore-enthusiasts. Such is the case with the ASUS ROG Matrix 7970 Platinum edition graphics card we’ll be showing you here today... ASUS Matrix Radeon HD 7970 Platinum...
Read more...
There is a reason ASUS is so well respected amongst PC enthusiasts. The company has been making some of the best-performing, most feature-rich products in the space for years. Whether it’s a min-ITX motherboard, sleek Ultrabook, or a full-fledged, touch-enabled All-In-One system, ASUS has highly competitive products that are worthy of consideration. It’s not just about performance and features, though. ASUS has also been a long-time innovator willing to release relatively low-volume products that cater to ultra, hardcore-enthusiasts. Such is the case with the ASUS ROG Matrix 7970 Platinum edition graphics card we’ll be showing you here today. As its name suggests, the ASUS ROG...
Read more...
A few months back, Intel released the P45 Chipset -- at the time it was considered to be their mainstream offering, playing second fiddle to the X48 Express. With official support of a 1333MHz FSB, PCI-E 2.0, ATI CrossFire, and support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, there's a lot of roads to go down with the construction of one of these boards, and MSI went down all of them. MSI fleshed out a complete top-to-bottom assortment of boards, which means that they have a P45 motherboard that suits just about every potential buyer's needs. Two of these, the P45 Diamond and P45 Platinum are found towards the top end of their food chain, and we'll be taking a look at them today......
Read more...
A few months back, Intel released the P45 Chipset -- at the time it was considered to be their mainstream offering, playing second fiddle to the X48 Express. With official support of a 1333MHz FSB, PCI-E 2.0, ATI CrossFire, and support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, there's a lot of roads to go down with the construction of one of these boards, and MSI went down all of them. MSI fleshed out a complete top-to-bottom assortment of boards, which means that they have a P45 motherboard that suits just about every potential buyer's needs. Two of these, the P45 Diamond and P45 Platinum are found towards the top end of their...
Read more...
DDR3 is the future of desktop PC memory in the near term, no question about it. Nonetheless, the transition to the next level of memory technology will be a gradual one, much like we saw when we advanced from DDR to DDR2. With higher latencies and higher price tags, the argument for migrating to DDR3 in its current state isn't a strong one, but as the technology matures, that argument will become increasingly strong as the benefits and costs of DDR3 become more tangilble and affordable.One issue facing system builders today is how to approach a new build if they want to future-proof it as much as possible. Does one go with a DDR3 board and pay a premium for...
Read more...
Just in case you jumped right down to the news this afternoon, we wanted to let you all know that we have just posted a new article here at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features, overclockability, and performance of MSI's P35 Platinum Combo motherboard. As its name implies, this board is based on the P35 chipset for the Intel platform. But what makes it interesting is its somewhat unique ability to work with both DDR3 and DDR2 memory types and its funky "Circu-Pipe" cooling apparatus. Click the link below and check it out...MSI P35 Platinum Combo Motherboard...
Read more...
Just in case you missed the new link at the top of the page, we're here to lety you that we have just posted a new article in which we take a look at the latest AMD 790FX based motherboard to hit our test bench, the MSI K9A2 Platinum. Built around AMD's 790FX chipset, the K9A2 Platinum offers four-way CrossFireX support, in addition to support for HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0, while MSI also throws in some additional customizations of their own to raise the board to "Platinum" status. Whether users are looking to upgrade the foundation of a current Athlon-based system or want to go all out for the full Spider experience, MSI thinks it has a solid candidate on its...
Read more...
In mid-Q4 2007, AMD released their 790FX, 790X and 770 chipsets, the final pieces required to complete their Spider platform. As the backbone of the new platform, the 700 series chipsets were designed with new feature sets to take full advantage of the Phenom processor's capabilities. With up to 42 PCI Express lanes, support for four-way graphics, and lower power consumption then previous chipsets, AMD delivered a competitive new chipset to back their new CPUs and graphics cards.In November, we took a detailed look at the Spider platform coupled with a Phenom processor to see how it compared to its peers. In the end, Intel still had a leg up on AMD in...
Read more...
OCZ Technology Announces New PC2-8000 4GB Platinum Edition Memory to offer Mainstream Enthusiasts an Affordable Overclocking Kit Sunnyvale, CA—January 17, 2008—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-8000 Platinum Edition 4GB dual channel kit, designed to boost the performance of mainstream gaming systems. These new 2GB modules are the ultimate upgrade for entry-level enthusiasts seeking an exceptional overclocking kit at a price point that suits all budgets. As part of OCZ’s Platinum series, the PC2-8000 2GB modules are engineered to satisfy the demands of overclockers and enthusiasts, and designed...
Read more...
Today at HotHardware, we have posted our thoughts on a new high-performance DDR2 kit from OCZ, the DDR2 PC2-6400 Vista Performance Platinum 4GB Dual Channel kit. As its name suggests, OCZ's DDR2 PC2-6400 Vista Performance Platinum 4GB Dual Channel kit is a member of the company’s low latency Platinum XTC line, and it offers and impressive package that boasts 4GB (2GB x 2) of memory rated at 800MHz with relatively tight 5-4-4-15 timings. Head on over to the site and take a look... OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Vista Performance Platinum 4GB Dual Channel Kit...
Read more...
DDR3; it's the future of desktop system memory, plain and simple. However, it's far from becoming the mainstream standard. As it stands now, there is little benefit to DDR3 as high costs and latency makes DDR3 a less attractive option in its current state. It's a familiar story. If you recall, back when DDR2 was in its infancy, the same argument was made, with price and latency being major detractors. Over time, however, the technology went through the normal maturation process, and with that, the latency factor was overcome and DDR2 became the dominant memory techology. Today we are going to give you our assessment of a new high-performance DDR2 kit from OCZ. OCZ's DDR2 PC2-6400...
Read more...
We wanted to let you all know that we’ve just posted a new article here at HotHardware, in which we evaluate the features, bundles, overclockability, and performance of two NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI-based motherboards, the MSI P6N-SLI Platinum and the Abit Fatal1ty FPIN9-SLI. One of the boards is more feature-rich and somewhat more expensive, while the other is more streamlined and targeted at gamers on a strict budget. Click the link below and check them out... MSI P6N-SLI Platinum vs. Abit Fatal1ty FPIN9-SLI...
Read more...
Just in case you're the type who likes to scroll right down to the news, we wanted to let you know that we've just posted a new article in which we evaluate the features, layout, overclockability and performance of MSI's brand-new P35 Platinum motherboard for Intel LGA775-based processors. We tested the board at both 1066MHz and 1333MHz front side bus frequencies and compared its performance to an nForce 680i SLI throughout. This board is worth checking out just to see the funky-shaped heatsink / heat-pipe cooling aparatus. Click the link below and take a look...MSI P35 Platinum...
Read more...
Just around this time three years ago, Intel launched their 925X and 915 motherboard platforms, bringing to market a new microprocessor socket, support for DDR2 memory, and support for PCI Express. Although the chipsets were decent performers and had good features, Intel was criticized for forcing the adoption of these new technologies when the market wasn’t really demanding it. At that time, Intel’s NetBurst processors trailed AMD’s and the company caught a lot of criticism from motherboard partners, OEM computer manufacturers, and press alike. Fast forward to today, and we are in a completely different situation....
Read more...
There's something to be said for Intel's chipset release practices. Typically, each major revision has consisted of multiple versions: a powerful, enthusiast high-end chipset, and then a number of slimmed down versions. Note, we say "slimmed down" instead of "stripped down", as much of the architecture and feature set remains untouched. The result is usually a plethora of mid-range boards that are cheaper than the flagship models, that have a few limitations or exclusions in comparison to the upper-end boards that not every user will necessarily need or want. In the case of the 975/965 chipsets, there a performance vs. price stigma still exists with the 975 Express generally...
Read more...
Hello Everyone. Today at HotHardware.com, we're looking at a budget-targeted SLI equipped motherboard from MSI, the K9N SLI Platinum. While this motherboard was originally targeted at high-end gamers when it initially launched (and still can work quite well in this environment), the plummeting prices of SLI gear and the introduction of newer, more attractive SLI-enabled chipsets have allowed this board to now be priced for those with significantly lower budgets. Click the link below and check it out... Read The Article Right Here. Digg This Story To Share With Others...
Read more...
Nvidia's SLI technology launched in mid-2004, and was designed to provide high-performance rendering power for gamers. Because the technology was brand new, and the fastest thing on the market, SLI configurations demanded exorbitant price premiums over single card configurations, despite first generation issues like software compatibility, driver problems, and hardware issues. Setting up a "budget" SLI system was simply out of the question at first, as SLI-enabled graphics cards were only available at the high end of the price range, as were SLI-enabled motherboards. Now that Nvidia's GeForce 6 and 7-series lineups (both SLI enabled) have been out-dated by the new GeForce...
Read more...
Hello Everyone. We just wanted to let you all know that we've just posted a new article where we evaluate the features and performance of MSI's brand-new K9A Platinum ATI CrossFire XPress 3200 motherboard for the Socket AM2 platform. Here's a snip... "We've been able to get our hands on one of the first Socket-AM2 platforms to use an ATI chipset, MSI's K9A Platinum. This board utilizes the ATI Radeon Xpress 3200 Crossfire chipset for Socket-AM2, and also is one of the first platforms on the market to use ATI's new SB600 Southbridge, the long-awaited replacement for their aging SB450 which was featured on several Socket-939 Crossfire...
Read more...
ATI's chipset division, talented as they are, seem to have always played second fiddle to rival nVidia. Both nVidia and ATI started originally producing chipsets in 2001/2002 for low-end markets, using their experience in producing graphics processors as leverage to produce chipsets with integrated graphics abilities. Over time, both nVidia and ATI have become more experienced producing chipsets, eventually dropping the integrated graphics elements from their high-end products and targeting the enthusiast / gamer markets, who purchase more expensive add-in graphics cards. While ATI has produced some excellent chipset products over these past few years, nVidia has continued to dominate this...
Read more...
OCZ Technology Announces PC2-5400 EL Platinum Edition XTC The new OCZ PC2-5400 Platinum XTC with 3-3-3 timings delivers the ultimate balance of speed and access latencies for unparalleled memory performance Sunnyvale, CA—April 5, 2006—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today launched the PC2-5400 Platinum XTC Series with enhanced latency. By integrating 3-3-3 timings, these next generation DDR2-667 solutions are the fastest available in the PC2-5400 speed-grade. The demand for high performance DDR2 continues to mount due to the interdependence of several existing Intel platforms and the impending arrival of the...
Read more...
