Reviews
Apr 02, 2009 11:00am
The ASUS M4N72-E motherboard has its strong and weak points. The strong points include SLI support, support for AM3 CPUs out of the box as it’s a new design and a solid bundle. Performance was lower than other chipsets but that is due to the fact that the nForce 750a is not the top of the line NVIDIA chipset for the AMD market, the 780a is the chipset for that catagory. The board comes in at an attractive $135 online, with a solid software bundle and great overclocking results, and was able to achieve a 30% overclock with the standard AMD reference cooler. The M4N72-E is a good motherboard... more.
Apr 02, 2009 10:57am
This board supports the latest AM3 CPUs without BIOS modification, which is a good thing. The board is available online for $69.99, making it a good value based choice for the AMD platform. Performance is within parameters of using the same video card, CPU, memory, HDDs with only the chipset being different. Integrated graphics performance is 20% less than the HD 3300 integrated graphics but that is a higher priced motherboard. All in all, as a value proposition, the ASRock A780GMH/128M has the features you want from a mini-ATX motherboard including HDMI and doesn’t break the bank in terms of... more.
Mar 27, 2009 11:59am
The reality of the economic downturn has affected every facet of our lives including the computer industry. While Intel continues to price their CPUs in the $999 price range with little change but a higher clock speed and higher speed QPI, AMD is pricing their CPUs for the mainstream user, with reasonable prices for reasonably performing CPUs. The Phenom II X4 940 CPU is available online for $219, making it price competitive with the Intel Core i7 920 CPU.This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.
Mar 27, 2009 10:55am
The CoolIT Domino ALC CPU cooler is an excellent self-contained liquid cooling system for the CPUs. While a temperature of 58C is not the lowest temperature I've observed, it was also taken on a system running one of the hotter CPUs on the market, the QX9770. The other thing is the system was 100% stable at a clock speed of 4.4GHz while the Domino was installed. The unit runs for a very reasonable price of $79 which is virtually unheard of for a liquid cooled CPU cooler. Installation and setup couldn't be easier. This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full... more.
Mar 26, 2009 8:15am
Workstation video cards are a totally different market from the consumer gaming cards. What is unacceptable in price to the average consumer is considered a bargain for workstation video cards. Quadro cards are the number one workstation graphics card on the market today, according to Jon Peddie Research. If you want a workstation class video card and use Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4 or programs like it, the Quadro CX is the card for you. This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.
Mar 16, 2009 1:43pm
Lian-Li does great aluminum cases for every consumer. Their PC-8B case is available online for a price of $139.99 at this moment. While some people might fault a case for trying to go above and beyond the call of duty I am not one of them. For a Mid-Tower case to have anti-vibration measures like a anti-vibration HDD cage and jointed front panel, this makes the PC-8B a great choice for those not wanting to spend the money or space for a Full Tower case. The PC-8B is lightweight, and does the job. The air flow inside the case is sufficient with one 120mm intake and one 120mm exhaust fan.... more.
Mar 15, 2009 2:30pm
Triple SLI is all about the Benjamin's. After all the outlay for a triple SLI system with three GTX280s is over a thousand dollars just for the graphics cards alone, not counting the PSU, the CPU to power the system, or the other high-end components required to properly configure a system with three video cards. For those wanting the ultimate in gaming experience three GTX 280s is enough power to push pixels with ease.This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.
Mar 06, 2009 6:10am
Cooler Master did it with the HAF 932 case I reviewed last year and has done it again. For those wanting the ultimate in cooling solutions this case has no less than 7 fan spots with three of them being of the 230mm variety. The removable motherboard tray allows the end-user to install everything outside of the case and test it before installing it.This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.
Mar 05, 2009 9:27am
Thermaltake did a great job with the Spedo case, with plenty of drive expansion, an ATC and CRM to handle the thermals of the case and the cable management, packaged in a full-tower ATX case that fits the needs of the hardcore enthusiast. There is plenty of room inside the case to install the largest video cards on the market. Where the case falls short is in the lack of Firewire and the lack of a removable motherboard tray which are common items in today's high-end systems. This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.
Mar 03, 2009 10:41am
The ASUS ENGTX260/HTDP/896M/A video card is an interesting mix of the latest NVIDIA technology (in the form of 216 cores, 55nm version available, PhysX) and a reasonable price (239.99 after MIR as of this writing). Performance wise the card has the horsepower to outshine the ATI Radeon HD 4870 video cards in every benchmark that matters and ASUS cards come with a load of extras including a Multi-Language User Manual on CD and CD Wallet. This article can be found in our Reviews Vault. Click here to read the full article.