Weekly CPU Prices - Week of November 17, 2008-November 19, 2008
While the last few weeks showed overall price stability in the processor market, there were still a few notable price drops. Not so this week, and any lower prices were nominal at best, and the price increases were even rarer. If you're looking for a new CPU or just want to see where the market is heading, be sure to check out the detailed price lists and commentary in our Weekly CPU Pricing Guide.
November Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide-November 14, 2008
Our latest Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide is online, and we're taking $1,000 in cold, hard cash to build a powerhouse gaming PC for the budget crowd. If you're the type of gamer who counts your pennies before buying any new computer, then this is the system guide for you.
High-End Memory Prices - Week of November 10, 2008-November 11, 2008
The overall memory trends continued to move in the consumer's favor, and it was more of the same when it came to the various memory types. DDR prices were mostly consistent, DDR2 listings dropped slightly, while DDR3 showed another very nice set of price cuts. If you want the inside scoop on the high-end memory market, then don't miss our detailed price list and commentary, and see who is offering the best values.
Intel Core i7-965 XE & Core i7-920 Review-November 3, 2008
The Intel Nehalem platform has finally emerged in the form of the Core i7 processor line, and it brings with it a new architecture and a host of features and options we've never seen on an Intel CPU, as well as the return of an old friend. We will be checking out both the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition and Core i7 920 processors and examining their performance against the very best from both Intel and AMD.
October Video Card Price Guide-October 31, 2008
The October edition of our Video Card Price Guide demonstrates that no matter your budget, our monthly price list can always find the right deal. We break down the trends and prices from the entry-level, mainstream and enthusiast-level cards, and find the best overall values. If you're looking for a new video card, or just want to see where the market is heading, then be sure to check out the detailed price lists and commentary.
On Hardware Central
Lexmark X6650 Wireless 4-in-1 Review-November 10, 2008
Wanna buy a printer, copier, fax, and scanner for $32.50 each? Lexmark's latest entry in the multifunction market is a $130 inkjet all-in-one with a few handy extras (wireless network printing and an automatic document feeder, for instance) and some of the nicest utility software we've seen. But do its print quality and speed hold up their end of the bargain?
Platform Trends: Taking the X58 Express to the Future-November 7, 2008
Radical changes in Intel's Core i7 processor bring radical changes to the usually evolutionary, not revolutionary, desktop chipset sector. The X58 Express takes advantage of the i7's onboard memory controller to allow colossal bandwidth, with a new QuickPath Interface speeding communication between chipset and CPU. But when it comes to peripheral support, Intel's looking strictly forward, not back.
SimpleTech [re]Drive Review-November 4, 2008
The USB 2.0 external hard drives you can plug into your PC range from square to cylindrical, from bulky to slim. A new 500GB model from Fabrik's SimpleTech brand stands out from the crowd with a case partly made of bamboo -- a renewable resource that highlights the drive's green and clean credentials, if not its mixed bag of data backup options.
Elsewhere...
Dell, nVidia Make Their Presence Known in HPC-November 20, 2008
Is high performance computing (HPC) hot? If this week's Supercomputing 08 show is any measure, the answer is yes. In a down economy, one week before a major American holiday, the show still drew 10,000 people to Austin, Texas. That's more than Microsoft's recent PDC and WinHEC developer shows drew combined.
Chip sales expected to drop 5.6 percent in 2009-November 19, 2008
Global semiconductor sales will fall in 2009, the first decline in eight years, as the financial crisis takes its toll on consumer spending, a chip industry trade group forecast on Wednesday, sending a key industry gauge to its lowest level in a decade.
Performance or Power: Which Will Nehalem Use?-November 19, 2008
Intel's main obsession with the Core i7 processor, a.k.a. Nehalem, was power efficiency. If an idea wasn't power efficient, the company said during Monday night's launch event in San Francisco, it didn't go into the chip no matter how good it was.
Recently on Sharky Extreme
October Hard Drive Price Guide-October 31, 2008
Welcome to the October edition of our Hard Drive Price Guide, which includes Solid State Drive listings for the first time. We break down the trends for Parallel and Serial ATA desktop drives, and SSDs, finding the best overall values in each area. If you're looking for additional storage, or just want to see where the market is heading, then be sure to check out the detailed price lists and commentary.
Intel DX48BT2 (X48) Motherboard Review-October 21, 2008
Intel has been holding the performance CPU market in a virtual stranglehold, but the company still needs platforms that properly exploit the Core 2. The X38 started the move to DDR3, and the Intel X48 completes it, with full support for both FSB1600 and DDR3-1600 speeds. The Intel DX48BT2 motherboard supplies a high-end implementation of this chipset, complete with full overclocking features.
Corsair XMS3 PC3-12800 2x1GB Review-October 10, 2008
The transition from DDR2 to DDR3 is continuing to accelerate, and now that more vendors are offering low-latency DDR3 that doesn't induce sticker shock, expect demand to only grow. Corsair's XMS3 PC3-12800 2x1GB kit, complete with support for CL7 timings and Intel Extreme Memory Profiles, is a great enthusiast match for a high-end Intel platform.
Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick Review-September 19, 2008
Adding TV tuner functionality is both a popular and inexpensive way to watch and record TV on your computer. This is true for notebooks as well, and using an external USB tuner makes for a very simple upgrade. The PCTV HD Pro Stick from Pinnacle is one such product, with support for both SD and HD programming, as well as unencrypted ClearQAM digital channels.
September Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide-September 11, 2008
An extreme $4,000 budget is sure to put these Extreme Gaming PC Guide components on the top of everyone's shopping list—and make its builders the envy of those who can only afford to follow our $2,500 High-End Guide! If you're looking for the best combination of parts available for a little less than this hefty price limit, read on!
D-Link DWA-652 Xtreme N Notebook Adapter Review-August 20, 2008
The Wireless-N revolution is upon us, and although the IEEE 802.11n specification is still in Draft 2.0 format, it still offers a potential 300 Mbps wireless link, or almost 6X that of Wireless-G. The D-Link DWA-652 Xtreme N Notebook Adapter is an upgrade device that adds Wireless-N to an older notebook, getting it up to speed for faster online performance.
AMD 790GX Chipset Review-August 8, 2008
The AMD 780G represented the first wave of the HD 3000-based integrated chipsets, but the AMD 790GX is definitely second-generation. This improves on the 780G in almost every way, offering full Phenom X4 support, a faster graphics core, integrated display cache, and a higher-end architecture. If you've always wanted a performance platform with integrated graphics, look no further.
D-Link DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router Review-July 28, 2008
The IEEE 802.11n specification is in Draft 2.0 format, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the faster 300 Mbps wireless speeds, enhanced stability and greater range now. The D-Link DGL-4500 Xtreme N Gaming Router is a serious piece of hardware that not only uses the fastest Wireless-N and Gigabit LAN speeds, but also incorporates several gaming-oriented features to ensure your online games will get all the bandwidth they need.
Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 Motherboard Review-July 16, 2008
The AMD 7-series of chipsets offers everything from entry-level to ultra high-end platforms for the Socket AM2+ market. We're concentrating on the top of the line 790FX chipset, and the Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 motherboard that features it, so check out our review to see how it stacks up against some other AMD-based solutions.
July High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide-July 9, 2008
It is time for another edition of our High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide, where we take $2500 in cash and assemble feature-rich, high performance gaming systems using readily available parts. If you ever wanted to know exactly what $2500 could buy in today's PC market, look no further than our latest edition of this guide.
AMD Phenom X4 9950 BE & 9350e Review-July 2, 2008
AMD is taking the old "hit 'em high & hit 'em low" adage to heart with their latest set of product releases, offering up the unlocked 2.6 GHz Phenom X4 9950 Black Edition alongside the low-power 2.0 GHz Phenom X4 9350e. These two processors couldn't be more different in terms of clock speed and TDP rating, so check out our review for performance, overclocking and power usage results.
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution Review-June 27, 2008
If the selection of Logitech cordless desktops had one issue, it was the lack of a top-end mouse in the package. With the Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution, Logitech has solved that problem, and incorporated the popular MX Revolution into their latest desktop kit. Check out our review to see how it stacked up in terms of features, design and usability.
PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB Review-June 17, 2008
The latest trend in enthusiast graphics card is to produce a hot mainstream card, then double up for some multi-GPU goodness. ATI did it with the Radeon HD 3870 X2 and NVIDIA has followed up with a GeForce 9800 GX dual-GPU card of their own. The PNY model offers a great look at the technology and provides a serious dual-GPU performer for the enthusiast market.
OCZ PC2-8500 Titanium 2x1GB Review-June 4, 2008
The shift from DDR2 to DDR3 is still just beginning, and most performance users are still using low-cost DDR2. DDR2-800 remains the standard, but as both AMD and Intel now support higher-speed DDR2-1066, like the OCZ PC2-8500 Titanium 2x1GB kit, this is emerging as the new default clock speed.
May Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide-May 19, 2008
Our latest Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide is online, and we're taking $1,000 in cold, hard cash to build a powerhouse gaming PC for the budget crowd. If you're the type of gamer who counts your pennies before buying any new computer, then this is the system guide for you.
Gigabyte Radeon HD 3870 512MB Review-May 14, 2008
The Radeon HD 3870 512MB is positioned as ATI's answer to the mainstream performance question, and for the most part, it has done extremely well. After introducing a standard reference design, Gigabyte has put its own spin on the Radeon HD 3870, complete with a Zalman GPU cooler and Ultra Durable 2 design. Check out the review to see how it did in our performance and overclocking tests.
AMD Phenom X3 8750 Review-April 23, 2008
The multi-tiered Phenom lineup has had to wait a bit for the updated B3 core to make the rounds, but the new triple-core X3 is finally here. The 2.4 GHz Phenom X3 8750 is the flagship of the triple-core line, running at a full 2.4 GHz, but at a lower power envelope. Our review will determine how well a Phenom X3 handles our system and gaming benchmarks, and see how high it can overclock.
