Today is a special day for Intel as it is the 5th anniversary for the Centrino mobile platform and they are celebrating it with the launch of the Centrino 2 platform (Montevina). With Centrino 2, Intel is planning for the future with a platform that is able to adapt to what we need in today’s marketplace. Read on to see exactly what is being updated with the new Centrino 2 platform!
Only four short months ago AMD launched the Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card and it was the flagship ATI Radeon product, but the successor has arrived. AMD has taken two of the latest cores (RV770)and placed them on a single PCB to create the Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card. AMD kept the clock frequencies the same as the Radeon HD 4870 graphics card, so basically you have the power of a pair of those running CrossFire on a single PCB!
The Intel Core 2 Extreme processor X9000 is the flagship mobile processor and we got a chance to take it for a test drive in the Dell XPS M1730 notebook. We took the time to overclock the 2.8GHz processor in the notebook and was able to get 3.4GHz out of this killer 45nm processor. If you are looking for the ultimate gaming notebook processor look no further!
Asus and Gigabyte recently had a spat about power consumption a couple months back that got some people wondering which motherboard was really the most energy efficient. We took a look at the real numbers to see who comes out on top and the results might just shock you. Read on to see which motherboard maker comes out on top when we try out ASUS’s EPU and Gigabyte’s DES equivalent.
Today we will revisit a recently reviewed cooler, the NH-C12P from Noctua, to see how the mounting direction impacts the cooler’s performance. Noctua thought are performance numbers were off since we installed the cooler with the bendings of the heat-pipes facing up. Noctua told us the cooler usually performs quite a few degrees better if you put it the other way round or turned by 90°. Which direction is best? Read on to find out.
The Thermaltake Armor+ MX we will be looking at today is different from the Armor cases of the past as it is not a full or super tower case, but a mid tower. THe Thermaltake Armor+ MX VH8000BWS Mid Tower Case was designed to accommodate the Thermaltake Big Water line of water cooling kits, which makes it nice for those building a DIY gaming system. Read on as we take a closer look at the Thermaltake Armor+ MX and install a water cooler in it.
A couple weeks ago when the ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card came out the card proved itself to be a price versus performance winner, but we couldn’t ignore the high temperatures that it ran at. Our temperature testing showed that the Radeon HD 4850 ran at 85C at load, which was within specifications, but is too hot for us to ignore. We install a Coolink GFXChilla on a Radeon HD 4850 with the hopes of reducing temperatures and you’ll be shocked to see the results!
The Motorola H680 Bluetooth wireless headset was designed to be fashionable, small and comfortable, but it also just happens to be affordable. Available for under $40 the Motorola H680 is sure to be popular for California drivers that are now no longer able to hold their cell phones up to their ears while behind the wheel without getting a ticket. With a first-time offense fine of $20 and a second-time fine of $50, now is the perfect time to pick up a bluetooth headset.
AMD was busy last month with the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 4870 graphics cards, which have both proved themselves to be price versus performance winners. This month, AMD is starting off by launching three new processors: the Phenom X4 9950 processor and the energy-efficient Phenom X4 9350e and 9150e processors. Read on to see how these new processors do!
The Toshiba Qosmio x305 notebook will be released in mid-July and is already making ripples in the industry ever since it was announced and posted on the Toshiba website. The graphics on the Qismio x305 will be powered by the yet to be announced NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX graphics card, which has 1GB of video memory. NVIDIA hasn’t said much about this un-released graphics card, but they did have the Toshiba Qosmio x305 notebook on display at a Microsoft event this week called the Games for Windows Presents: The Big Picture.
The GeForce 9600 GT has been on the market for some time now and prices seem to keep dropping. The ASUS EN9600GT series feature a 10% core clock frequency boost and improved cooling for those looking to push the limits of their graphics. The ASUS EN9600GT Series uses the Glaciator Fansink, which reduces temperatures and is ultra quiet with operating levels of only 25dB. If your budget doesn’t allow you to get a $229 GeForce 9800 GTX+ then check out this card as it’s $100 less at $129 after rebate.
Ever since we published the article on the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ graphics cards last week Legit Reviews has been getting a ton of e-mail complaining about NVIDIA’s paper launch spoiler and the fact that the drivers we used for are not fair. We talk with Futuremark and NVIDIA about the cheating claims and try to figure out if anything is being done that shouldn’t be.
Last week, AMD was forced to release the ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics cards early since some retailers had already started selling the card to the public before it was launched. This week AMD has released the the Radeon HD 4870, which is priced at $299. This is the big brother to the Radeon HD 4850 and features higher clock speeds and newer cutting edge technology like GDDR5 memory ICs for improved memory bandwidth.
The ASUS P5E3 Premium/WiFi-AP @n is an Intel X48 chipset-based motherboard that combines performance with great energy efficiency. It supports DDR3 2000MHz dual-channel memory architecture and Dual PCI Express 2.0 x16 lanes for ATI CrossFire graphics performance card users. If you are looking for a motherboard that features cutting edge features and uses the tried and true Intel X48 Express chipset then look no further.
Today we look at the newest CPU cooler from Asus, the Lion Square. Named for the Sword Lion legend and designed with quad core CPU’s in mind this seems to be a slick heat sink. The bold and unique design features eight heat pipes that originate from the copper base all the way to the top where they are covered by neat looking nuts. The very top of the cooler has a cover that mimics the shape of a shield. It looks great, but how will it perform? Read on to find out!
