Author Archives: Benchmark Reviews

GIGABYTE GV-R685OC-1GD Video Card

GIGABYTE GV-R685OC-1GD Video Card Review

When we talk about different video card brands, there’s always a factor which motivates us to choose one over any other. Most likely, we make our decisions depending on retail price, but there are things to consider: the bundle and accessories, factory overclocked speeds, and of course, included heatsinks and fans so that the GPU can be overclocked higher or simply work without being as loud and hot as a reference design. With this in mind, Benchmark Reviews tests the GIGABYTE GV-R685OC-1GD AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card. We’ve already tested some HD 6850 GPUs before, but GIGABYTE offers their newest design with the Windforce 2x GPU cooler and Ultra Durable VGA technology. Additionally, this is the factory OC version which brings 820MHz (against 775MHz) GPU Core clock and 4200MHz (instead 4000MHz) GDDR5 Memory clocks. Let’s analyze the GV-R685OC-1GD model and see if it can be a serious contender against reference HD 6850 and GTX 460 graphics cards.

In October 2010 AMD launched the HD 6800 GPU series. The 6850 is one of the AMD’s latest DX-11 video card, and uses an updated Cypress back-end to offer ‘Barts’ GPU architecture. Built to deliver improved performance to the value-hungry mainstream gaming market, the $189 GV-R685OC-1GD AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card supplements the 5800-series counterparts. The most notable new feature is Bart’s 3rd-generation Unified Video Decoder with added support for DisplayPort 2.1a. AMD’s UVD3 accelerates multimedia playback and transcoding, while introducing AMD HD3D stereoscopic technology with multi-view CODEC (MVC) support for playing 3D Blu-ray over HDMI 1.4a.

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PowerColor PCS+ HD6870 Video Card Review

PowerColor PCS+ HD6870 Video Card

AMD’s new Radeon HD 6800 series occupies a brand new position in the product hierarchy. The HD 5830 GPU only made economic sense if you had awful yields at the wafer fab, and the Cypress chip, with 334 square millimeters of silicon, is way too big for just 1120 shaders and 16 ROPS. The new Barts GPU uses just 255 mm² to do the same job only better, with twice the number of ROPs as the 5830. The first HD 6870 cards on the market were all based on the AMD reference design, which used the tried-and-true blower in a box design for cooling. Some of us prefer axial cooling fans, and have been anxiously awaiting some original designs to hit the marketplace. PowerColor saw the need for a different interpretation on the Barts theme and have launched their PCS+ version that has potentially better cooling, and certainly quieter cooling if nothing else. They’ve also applied the traditional overclock, which is a standard feature for this series.

Although AMD was denied the opportunity to roll out 32nm-based chips for this product cycle, they were able to go back to the drawing board with relaxed design rules for the 40nm process at TSMC. With one full year of volume production under their belts, they optimized this latest generation of GPUs for the current manufacturing constraints. In the HD 5000 series, they had to use estimates for defect density, maximum L/D ratios, and a whole host of other design guidelines that are supposed to ensure you get usable chips at the end of the production line. AMD did a better job of interpreting the rule book last product cycle, and as a result their full line of 40nm chips was first out of the gate, and stayed out in front for a full 6 months.

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Lian-Li PC-Q08B Aluminum Mini Tower PC Case

Lian-Li PC-Q08B Aluminum Mini Tower PC Case

Since Zotac launched the first mini-ITX H55 motherboard I’ve been seeking for a decent PC case for my new HTPC system. For almost 1 year I’ve tried 4 different solutions including Cooler Master, Thermaltake & Antec, but none of them support a decent GPU, which means I’m stuck with integrated or low-end graphic solutions. That would be enough if I just wanted to watch HD movies and online videos, but as a gamer I want the ability to play some games from time to time without being deceived with a poor performance system.

Luckily we’ve got a pair of offers in the market giving us compatibility for full-sized GPUs. One of them is the Silverstone SG-07 Mini ITX case, and of course the second one is the PC-Q08 from Lian-Li. The PC-Q08 bundles some interesting features making it very attractive; including 6 bays for 3.5″ HDDs/SSDs, 1 bay for 2.5″ HDDs/SSDs, 2 full sized PCI slots for a high-end GPU and a pair of fans to improve cooling. The PC-Q08 even includes a motherboard tray and USB 3.0 ports. All that paired with a nice-look and a fairly decent price make the Lian-Li PC-Q08 a case to consider for our next HTPC.

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PowerColor Radeon HD 6970 Video Card

PowerColor Radeon HD 6970 Video Card Review

Featuring a 1536-Core Cayman GPU, AMD’s Radeon HD 6970 competes against NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 470.

With the introduction of AMD’s Cayman GPU, the Radeon HD 6870 video card becomes their flagship DirectX-11 desktop graphics product. Aside from the dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970, gamers can expect the new Radeon HD 6970 to quench their thirst for demanding graphics power. The Cayman GPU features dual graphics engines with an asynchronous dispatch and off-chip geometry buffering to 96 tessellation units using a new VLIW4 shader core architecture. Equipped with a 2GB GDDR5 256-bit video buffer, the Cayman GPU can offer up to 24 SIMD engines and 96 Texture Units. Additionally, the AMD Radeon HD 6970 introduces several new MSAA modes including Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA).

The PowerColor Radeon HD 6970 takes advantage of improved anti-aliasing features to enhance the DirectX 11 gaming experience. PC gamers are looking for their best value for the money, while producing top-end frame rates to help them build a killstreak. AMD didn’t set out to build the fastest graphics card imaginable, likely producing a product so expensive that only the most affluent enthusiasts could afford. Instead, the AMD Radeon HD 6970 was designed for the large majority of consumers, who want top-shelf performance at a fair price. While accomplishing this, they managed to also add accelerated multimedia playback and transcoding, AMD HD3D stereoscopic technology, and the 3D Blu-ray multi-view CODEC (MVC).

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SteelSeries 7G Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

SteelSeries 7G Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

When you are shopping for a gaming keyboard what features are at the forefront of your mind? If you are looking for LED backlit keys, an LCD display or macro keys then you won’t find them here. Benchmark Reviews brings you the SteelSeries 7G mechanical Gaming Keyboard. SteelSeries have taken a much different approach to the gaming market with their first mechanical gaming keyboard, by bringing durability and quality in the form of individual 18k gold plated spring loaded mechanical switches. I can’t say for sure if this keyboard is an IBM Model M killer because I dont own one of those, but if this keyboard lasts anywhere near as long as some of those Model M’s have lasted then it will be a very worthy investment indeed.

The SteelSeries 7G sports a rigid metal inner chassis for extreme strength and each key on the 7G is an individual 18 karat gold plated and spring loaded mechanical switch which are guaranteed for 50 million presses and provide excellent tactile and audible feedback. The anti-ghosting system allows for as many simultaneous key presses as there are keys on the keyboard. If this isn’t enough for you then you also have a removable wrist rest bundled with the 7G and on the back are two USB ports and headphone and microphone ports built in for added convenience when you come to attach a headset or mouse to your PC.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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Mad Catz CoD: Black Ops 5.1 ProGaming Headset

Mad Catz CoD: Black Ops 5.1 ProGaming Headset Review

Mad Catz, famous for their console peripherals, has been making the spotlight in the PC gaming market with their innovative designs. Mad Catz’s recent acquisition of audio manufacturer Tritton shows their intentions to establish a firm foothold in the PC peripheral business. This time they bring us the Mad Catz Call of Duty: Black Ops Dolby Digital 5.1 Gaming Headset. Benchmark Reviews will test how well this headset delivers surround sound, and decide whether it’s worth the $149.99 price tag.

Unlike many surround sound headsets, the Mad Catz CoD Headset supports true surround sound with distinct speakers for each audio channel. No software or driver installation is required for use, only a compatible sound card with analog output is needed. The lack of surround sound emulation may be a turn-off for some since most content are stereo-only, but for movies and games that support 5.1 surround sound, the CoD Headset can deliver the real deal.

The CoD branding for this headset has no real functional benefits, other than its unique design. Timed with the release of CoD: Black Ops, Mad Catz intends to attract some attention to their new line of products. Delivering high quality audio is no easy feat, and with such a high price Mad Catz is clearly competing against the big players in the industry. The Mad Catz CoD Headset cannot be classified under any category other than enthusiast gaming equipment. Benchmark Reviews will determine if this headset should be packed in a gamer’s bag.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 Video Card Review

Replacing the GeForce GTX 480 is NVIDIA’s Fermi GF110-based GeForce GTX 570, offering the same number of CUDA cores for $350.

Fierce competition between GPU manufacturers has allowed PC gamers to enjoy the best graphics hardware ever developed for computers. NVIDIA continues to update their desktop video card product family, and now offers the 480-core GeForce GTX 570 video card. Build from the same GF110 GPU that powers the industry-leading GTX 580 series, 15 Streaming Multiprocessors clocked to 732 MHz is comprised of 60 Texture Units and 40 ROP Units while 1280MB of GDDR5 video frame buffer promises 152 GB/s bandwidth over a 320-bit memory bus. NVIDIA replaces their aging GeForce GTX 480 with freshly updated and refined technology, saving consumers money in the process. Priced at $350 for launch, Benchmark Reviews tests the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 performance against other graphics options using some of the latest DirectX 11 games available to see how well it compares against the competition.

Using the most demanding PC video game titles and benchmark software available, graphical frame rate performance is tested against a large collection of competing desktop products. Older DirectX-10 favorites such as Crysis Warhead and PCMark Vantage are included, as well as newer DirectX-11 titles such as: Aliens vs Predator, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BattleForge, Lost Planet 2, Mafia II, Metro 2033, Tom Clancy’s HAWX2, and the Unigine Heaven 2.1 benchmark. Built to deliver the best possible graphical experience at its price point, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 570 video card delivers top-end frame rates with outstanding efficiency.

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Patriot Convoy 425XL SAS/SATA RAID Enclosure

Patriot Convoy 425XL RAID Enclosure

Patriot Convoy 425XL RAID Enclosure Review

Most PC cases sold today don’t have any provision for directly mounting a 3.5″ device in the front panel. Floppy drives are a thing of the distant past, and most accessory units designed for mounting in this location have adopted the 5.25″ format. The Patriot Convoy 425XL takes advantage of this larger environment to provide space for four 2.5″ format drives. Commonly called “laptop” drives, the smaller format is also the most common platform for SSDs. There are a few 1.8″ drives around and even fewer 3.5″ SSDs available, but there has been an explosion in the last two years of 2.5″ SSDs on the market. Silent and fast, with low power requirements, they would seem to be an ideal companion for this new class of drive enclosure. Let’s take a look at the ins and outs of the Convoy 425XL and then put it through its paces with a full suite of benchmarking tests.

The Convoy 425XL supports RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, Clone, Large, and JBOD modes with its built-in controller, and features a single connection each for both power and SATA II signal cables. The front loading hot- swappable drive trays support SATA I or SATA II drives up to 12.5mm in height, and are individually lockable and removable. The Convoy 425XL is ideally suited for an application where a RAID solution is needed in a small space, particularly the higher RAID levels that require 3-4 drives for a combination of speed and redundancy.

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Mad Catz Cyborg RAT 9 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 9 Gaming Mouse Review

Gamers represent a dream demographic for computer and computer accessory vendors: they’re the market segment that drives the development and sales of things like $400 cases, $500 video cards, and in this case, $150 mice. While they comprise a tiny fraction of the overall computer market, their influence is disproportionate to their numbers. Most computer users would doubtless roll their eyes at the thought of spending more money on a video card than most people spend on their entire systems, but innovations in hardware tend to trickle down, so the features in today’s high-end product eventually show up in tomorrow’s mass-market offering.

Since the consumer computer mouse was introduced in the early 1980s, we’ve seen design innovations like the scroll wheel (1995), the wireless mouse and optical mouse sensor (2001), and the laser-based mouse sensor (2005). Various companies have added extra programmable buttons, internal LED lighting, and even built-in fans to cool your sweaty hands. Today’s gamers have a plethora of high-performance gaming mice to choose from. Is there anything else left to innovate? Mad Catz thinks so, and Benchmark Reviews checks out their latest mouse, the Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 9 wireless gaming mouse, to see if they’re right.

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OCZ RevoDrive X2 PCI-Express SSD Review

OCZ RevoDrive PCI-Express SSD
Over the past several years, OCZ have transformed themselves from an enthusiast system memory brand into a recognized name for high-performance storage devices. They’ve earned consumer praise for their ability to deliver Solid State Drive technology at a reasonable price, and they push the boundaries with their High Speed Data Link project. There’s a solid middle ground between SATA and HSDL, and that’s the PCI Express bus. Not long ago Benchmark Reviews tested the SandForce-driven OCZ RevoDrive, and now we’re back with the high-level version of that product: OCZ RevoDrive X2. Now using four SF1200 SSDs in RAID-0, the RevoDrive X2 series is capable of up to 120,000 IOPS at speeds up to 740 MB/s.

Solid State Drive technology has become the high-performance option for SATA-drive upgrades, yet these ultra-fast NAND components are capable of so much more. Most computers are capable of offering 3.0 GB/s bandwidth via second-generation SATA controllers, which is fast enough for most general power-users. Although the latest desktop motherboards have incorporated third-generation SATA controllers good for up to 6.0 GB/s bandwidth, there’s currently only one SSD storage product capable of utilizing this speed (as of September 2010). PCI-Express is an ideal alternative, since it doesn’t require an add-on chip to support a new standard and still offers 5.0 GB/s bandwidth.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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Best CPU Cooler Performance: Intel Q3-2010

Best CPU Cooler Performance: Intel Heatsinks Q3-2010

Motherboard sockets come and go, but processors can always be depended on the create heat. For a short while longer, Intel’s LGA1366 socket on the X58-Express remains the platform of choice for hardware enthusiasts and performance overclockers. Heatsink manufacturers haven’t made much noise recently, holding back CPU cooler announcements until after Intel’s Sandy Bridge LGA1155 socket is launched. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests a few newcomer heatsinks against a collection of solid past performers in this Best CPU Cooler Performance: Intel Heatsinks Q3-2010 article.

Enthusiast overclockers demand only the best performance from their computer hardware, which is why the aftermarket heatsink industry is thriving with fierce competition. Using an overclocked Intel Core i7 processor on the X58-Express platform, only the very best CPU coolers will endure. This article introduces the CoolIt Vantage ALC, Deep Cool Gamer Storm, TITAN EVO TTC-NK85TZ/CS2, and Xigmatek Aegir SD128264 to the collection. We overclock our Intel Core i7-930 processor to 4.0 GHz using 1.40 volts to see which CPU cooler can make it into the top with the ProlimaTech Megahalems, Thermalright Venomous-X, and Scythe Mugen 2 heatsinks.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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Zalman CNPS9900 MAX CPU Cooler Review

Zalman CNPS9900 MAX CPU Cooler Review

If it wasn’t just because of the CNPS10X Extreme CPU Cooler, I’d say Zalman definitively bets to produce coolers based on their unique design. I can really argue on how full tower coolers can be better for extreme overclockers or people who just want to push their hardware to the limits in non-extreme conditions. So let me start this review going 2 weeks back in time when I received the Zalman CNPS9900 MAX. Of course I was thinking this could be a good cooler, but I really couldn’t think on how it could compete in the major leagues. Some days after that, we received a “reviewer’s guide”, with detailed features and comparisons about this new product. I started reading it when I got surprised; there was a chart comparing the CNPS9900 MAX against the Thermalright Venomous X full-tower cooler and the CNPS10X too, and the CNPS9900 MAX was showing the best performance among the competition. Of course, being this from the manufacturer, I needed to take it with a grain of salt, but I was just ready to try and obtain similar results, or simply explain how sad reality is in this article. Additionally, the Venomous X was tested with an ADDA AD1212HF-A7BGL fan spinning at 2,200rpm and moving 85CFM.

OK, so that’s how I got really interested on testing the Zalman CNPS9900 MAX, as Zalman had some very convincing features including 3 heat-pipes being equivalent to 6 (U-shaped) heat-pipes, a 135mm fan, and a very appealing black-pearl nickel plating including a mirror-finished base. Also, Zalman is launching a new heat-pipe design which is supposed to be 50% more effective in heat transfer compared to ordinary heat-pipes. Through my review, I’ll test the CNPS9900 MAX against the very popular Prolimatech Megashadow, and a pair of dual-tower heatsinks: the Cogage Arrow (pretty much the same as the new TR Silver Arrow) and the Noctua NH-D14. Before starting, let me get things straight. Don’t expect tons of charts with different fans as the CNPS9900 doesn’t have the ability to change its fan. However, keep in mind this CPU heatsink utilizes a 135mm fan (while other normally support 120mm fans) and it’s said to work at 1500 and 1700 rpm as shown in the specifications below. You can’t install a second fan either, but I’ll test with 2 different CFM configurations; one quiet and another one not very quiet, but enough to move similar CFM as the fan shipped with the CNPS9900 MAX. For more detailed information about our testing methodology please read the next pages.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Video Card Review

The reinvented Fermi GF110 GPU delivers more graphical power per watt than any other DirectX-11 video card.

Everyone who waited for NVIDIA to launch their Fermi graphics architecture felt like they had held back once it was finally released. The GF100 graphics processor that was packaged into the GTX 480 used less than its full potential, and it didn’t create the wide performance margin everyone expected between competitors. Seven months later, NVIDIA has returned with their updated Fermi GF110 GPU, delivering all 512 CUDA cores in the GeForce GTX 580. Featuring a tweaked graphics processor that runs much cooler and uses less power than the GTX 480, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 is tested by Benchmark Reviews against the Radeon 5970 and CrossFire 6870 video cards using the latest DirectX-11 video games.

Something happened to the Fermi architecture between the time it premiered as GF100 and when it began to really turn heads as GF104: the ratio of shaders and texture units was perfected. The original GF100 GPU placed too much emphasis on tessellation, and not enough on overall graphical performance. As a result of finding the right balance, the GF104 graphics processor on the GeForce GTX 460 became an overnight sensation for gamers. Now evolved into the GF110 GPU, all 512 cores understand their purpose and propel the GeForce GTX 580 to a level only rivaled by the competition’s best and most-expensive dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970 graphics card. Trimmed down to a modest 244 watts of power consumption under load, the GTX 580 outperforms its predecessor in both power efficiency graphical performance.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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3D Platform Wars: NVIDIA vs AMD vs HDTV

AMD’s HD3D platform now competes with NVIDIA 3D Vision, and both are threatened by 3D-HDTVs – with and without eyewear.

There’s change in the wind, and nobody’s really sure which way it will blow. 3D technology, once the land of red and blue, has matured through the years and now offers several new platform choices – some of which won’t even require eyewear. Not many people will give NVIDIA the full credit of bringing 3D technology into the mainstream, but if there was a pioneer to be named they’ve certainly earned the title. Developed on years of stereoscopic vision research, NVIDIA released their first retail product at the tail end of 2008, branded GeForce 3D Vision. The past two years have grown this technology into a central feature, exclusive to their GeForce graphics product line, further evolving into a triple-display capability they’ve dubbed 3D Vision Surround. From many perspectives, it’s appeared that NVIDIA has been the name behind 3D technology, especially in terms of 3D gaming, but the truth is that it’s become a rather crowded market.

After NVIDIA helped to make 3D a marketable platform through partnerships with Samsung and ViewSonic, 3D interest took off like wildfire. Considering how well HDTVs were received by the consumer market, especially after the digital television transition, nobody could justify a 3D technology relegated only to the limited dimension of compatible 120Hz monitors and 3D gaming. Compatible 3D TV platforms paired with stereoscopic technology helped fuel a surge in 3D HDTV demand, giving life to 3D DVD and 3D Blu-ray media through new disc players and HTPC software tools from companies such as CyberLink. This is how platform wars begin, and NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology sits in the eye of an unpredictable storm.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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VisionTek Radeon HD 6870 Video Card

Featuring a reconfigured Cypress GPU, the Barts architecture delivers AMD’s HD3D technology with better performance and price.

Sometimes a product is so good, there’s no reason to change a solid working design. VisionTek accepts this practice, and offers consumers the most affordable video cards sold on the market. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the VisionTek Radeon HD 6870 video card, a $240 DirectX-11 graphics solution that performs better than the more expensive Radeon HD 5850. The most notable new feature is Bart’s 3rd-generation Unified Video Decoder with added support for DisplayPort 1.2. AMD’s UVD3 accelerates multimedia playback and transcoding, while introducing AMD HD3D stereoscopic technology with multi-view CODEC (MVC) support for playing 3D Blu-ray over HDMI 1.4a.

Graphical frame rate performance is tested using the most demanding PC video game titles and benchmark software available. DirectX-10 favorites such as Crysis Warhead and PCMark Vantage are all included, in addition to DX11 titles such as Aliens vs Predator, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BattleForge, Lost Planet 2, Mafia II, Metro 2033, and the Unigine Heaven 2.1 benchmark. Built to deliver improved performance to the value-hungry mainstream gaming market, the VisionTek 900338 Radeon HD 6870 video card delivers top-end performance at a value-added price point.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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ASUS GeForce GT 430 Overclocking Performance

Benchmark Reviews tests the overclocking performance on the ASUS ENGT430 video card

Change comes quickly when it comes to computers. Anyone with a computer a year or two old can tell you that. The last year has been all about DX11. Microsoft DirectX-11 has made video games for the PC look the best they ever have. For a while, there was quite a lull between video card capability and software to take advantage of it. It seemed like even the 2nd or 3rd best cards could play all the games at the highest settings. DX11 was certainly a game-changer. But DX11 has been around for a while now in computer age. The chipset manufacturers are chasing down a new squirrel now.

3D is starting to show up everywhere. It’s not just for the movies anymore. 3D TVs with 3D Blu-Ray players and their 3D glasses can be found at almost any electronics store. 120 Hz computer monitors capable of 3D playback can be paired with more than a couple of manufacturers glasses and software to play 3D games. But 3D isn’t just for games and movies anymore. YouTube offers a 3D site now, and other major video sites will soon follow suit. NVIDIA has started a site where users can upload their own 3D videos and pictures. 3D media is coming on strong, and the major players in the video card market are banking on it.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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AMD Radeon HD 6850 Barts Video Card

AMD Radeon HD 6850 Review

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 460 is threatened by AMD’s Barts GPU with better performance and value.

The Radeon HD 6850 is AMD’s latest DirectX-11 video card, and uses an updated Cypress back-end to offer ‘Barts’ GPU architecture. Built to deliver improved performance to the value-hungry mainstream gaming market, the $200 AMD Radeon HD 6850 and $250 Radeon HD 6870 video cards supplement their 5800-series counterparts. The most notable new feature is Bart’s 3rd-generation Unified Video Decoder with added support for DisplayPort 2.1a. AMD’s UVD3 accelerates multimedia playback and transcoding, while introducing AMD HD3D stereoscopic technology with multi-view CODEC (MVC) support for playing 3D Blu-ray over HDMI 1.4a.

In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the AMD Radeon HD 6850 video card, a DirectX-11 graphics solution that competes at the $200 price point with the 768MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 video card and the Radeon HD 5770 to a lesser extent. Graphical frame rate performance is tested using the most demanding PC video game titles and benchmark software available. DirectX-10 favorites such as Crysis Warhead, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and PCMark Vantage are all included, in addition to DX11 titles such as Aliens vs Predator, BattleForge, Lost Planet 2, Mafia II, Metro 2033, and the Unigine Heaven 2.1 benchmark.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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EVGA GeForce GTS 450 FTW Video Card

EVGA GTS 450

With the launch of AMD’s next generation of graphics cards looming, most everyone’s eyes are on the upcoming HD 6000 series. Today, however, we turn our attention to the NVIDIA camp. While it’s still unclear what NVIDIA is preparing in response to this new generation, it’s worth pointing out the GTS 450 is just barely a month old. As we witnessed in our last GTS 450 review, the overclocked variants can easily keep up with the HD 5770 and will still have a role to play in the mainstream segment for the foreseeable future. In this article, Benchmark Reviews looks at EVGA’s fastest GTS 450: the GTS 450 FTW.

The For-the-Win edition represents EVGA’s highest factory overclock, surpassing their Superclocked and Super-Superclocked models. It comes in at 920/1840 MHz for the core and shader clocks, and 4104MHz for the 1 GB of GDDR5 memory. This is comparable, and a bit faster when in terms of memory speed, to the ASUS ENGTS450 TOP that we looked at last month. Considering both cards represent the highest overclock for their respective companies, it’s not surprising the clock speeds are so similar. Unlike the ASUS card, though, EVGA opted for the reference design.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Review

MS Arc Touch Mouse

Believe it or not, Microsoft has been creating hardware devices for over 25 years. They are no stranger to devices with both form and function. Very recently, Microsoft Hardware Division has created the new Arc Touch wireless mouse that falls in line with such products as the previously reviewed Arc Keyboard. Benchmark Reviews has been given the opportunity to check out Microsoft’s Arc Touch Wireless Mouse. With such features as a scroll-wheel replacing touch-strip, 2.4ghz wireless technology, and an ambidextrous design, this looks to be a very promising device. There are plenty of wireless mice out on the market already, does Microsoft have what it takes to be competitive in this saturated market? Read the full review of the Microsoft Arch Touch on Benchmark Reviews to find out.

Wireless mice are nothing new to the world, nor are they new to Microsoft. For as long as I can remember, Microsoft have been making wireless mice and trying to improve on functionality, performance, and design. With the Arc Touch, Microsoft strives to take good technology and make it look good. Some of my biggest pet peeves with wireless mice are battery life and range. Often you get a mouse with incredible battery life, but you can’t be more than 5 feet away from the receiver, or you get a mouse that will reach to the other side of your house, but find yourself replacing the batteries every two days. Microsoft has stated that this gets up to 6 months of battery life, and uses 2.4GHz wireless technology, so hopefully it will resolve both of those issues.

This is a guest article written by our content partners at Benchmarkreviews.com

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ECS P55H-AK Intel P55 Motherboard Review

ECS P55H-AK Intel P55-Express Motherboard

It is common knowledge that today’s Intel Core i5 and i7 series of LGA 1156 CPU’s are capable of achieving the 4GHz milestone. You should also know that to push past that milestone, and remain stable, you will need a high end motherboard designed specifically for that task. ECS EliteGroup have been around for many years but have never really been seen as an enthusiast brand. That may be about to change today, as Benchmark Reviews brings you the ECS P55H-AK Motherboard (P/N 89-206-Y66100), which is part of the Black Series offerings from ECS.

The P55H-AK is at the cutting edge of enthusiast PC technology offering support for USB 3.0 5.0Gb/s and SATA 6Gb/s at the same time as offering Tri-SLI / Tri-CrossFire @ 16/8/8. ECS has doubled up on support chips (2x Marvell SATA 6Gb/s controllers, 2x NEC USB 3.0 controllers and 2x Realtek Ethernet controllers) and has utilized a PLX PEX 8608 PCIe Gen 2 switch and an NVIDIA nForce 200 PCI-Express switch chip with an extra 32 PCIe lanes to bring support for all of these latest features on the P55 platform.

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Logitech G930 Wireless Headset Review

Logitech G930 Wireless Headset Review

Anyone wanting the best experience at home for movies knows that a home theater is a must. The Logitech G930 Wireless Gaming Headset combines all of that audio experience into a classy wireless headset, allowing you to enjoy full surround sound anywhere without being restricted by cables. On paper the Logitech G930 seems to be capable of redefining PC entertainment. Benchmark Reviews will be testing this headset to see what level of audio utopia the G930 can achieve.

The Logitech G930 hits two important sweet-spots for enthusiasts: wireless connectivity and 7.1 surround sound. These are its key selling points. Naturally the 7.1 surround sound is software-driven, as each ear piece has one driver. This means audio that supports surround sound will be played accurately, while stereo audio can be emulated to create a surround sound effect. Wireless connectivity is becoming a big feature for many high-end IO devices as we all hate cable restrictions. Many devices sacrifice quality to gain wireless functionality, as seen with numerous gaming mice. It is also critical for sound to be lag free. Benchmark Reviews will be addressing all of these concerns.

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Zotac H55ITX-C-E Mini-ITX WiFi Motherboard

The H55 platform somehow appeared at the end of 2009. It basically is a P55 platform with reduced capabilities (RAID for example), but with the ability to use the integrated Intel HD graphics unit on Intel Core i3 and Core i5 CPUs based in Clarkdale’s architecture. This way, you’re able to build an HTPC with very decent performance and a graphics processor capable of reproducing HD content and some very light gaming on a small case. While this kind of systems were interesting, it wasn’t as interesting as a Mini-ITX sized motherboard. Things finally changed when Zotac’s company finally decided to launch a Mini-ITX H55 platform capable of using Clarkdale’s processors and offering a PCI-e port to add raw gaming power to the PC; the H55ITX-A-E. Today, we’re testing its new successor, the H55ITX-C-E.

Benchmark Reviews recently tested similar products such as the ASRock Core 100HT and the GIGABYTE H55N-USB3 Motherboard. The first one is an all-in-one HTPC system, and it comes equipped with low power consumption parts. However, the H55N-USB3 received our Golden Tachometer award for being a beast inside a small package. The only cons we could manage to talk about were the not included WiFi module, no SATA 3 support, and a PCB which could give us some difficulties in the installation process. It seems Zotac has heard about this and improved their Mini ITX motherboard while adding USB 3-0 support to the H55ITX-C-E. Have a look at their retail’s package:

Zotac H55ITX

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ASUS VG236H 120Hz LCD Monitor 3D-Vision Set

ASUS VG236H 120Hz LCD Monitor

We live in a three-dimensional world, and yet we settle for a 2D virtual world while sitting in front of computers. The price of 3D-capable monitors isn’t affordable for budget buyers, just like LCD monitors weren’t value priced when they began showing up on shelf space beside CRT monitors, and yet they eventually became the industry standard. ASUS knows a thing or two about the computer hardware industry, and the ASUS VG236H 120Hz widescreen LCD monitor with bundled NVIDIA 3D-Vision kit could help take 3D mainstream. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ASUS Splendid Video Intelligence Technology feature using stereoscopic 3D effects on this 23.6 inch monitor in single-unit and triple-display 3D-Vision Surround configurations.

The ASUS VG236H provides two primary functions: a gateway into the world of stereoscopic 3D, and a 1920x1080p widescreen LCD monitor capable of accepting HDMI input with HDCP support. The 0.265mm pixel pitch displays 16.7-million vivid colors with a 100000:1 maximum contrast ratio and 2ms response time on the TFT TN panel. Priced for $499.99 at NewEgg, this widescreen monitor/3D-Vision kit combines two premium technologies into one convenient package. Paired with a modern NVIDIA GeForce video card, gamers can enjoy extremely fast-paced action scene without ghosting effect, as well as experience their virtual battleground in 3D. Additionally, the ASUS VG236H can display 3D Blu-ray movies or streaming 3D content.

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ASUS GeForce GT 430 Video CardASUS GeForce GT 430 Video Card Review

Asus ENGT430

With the release of their Fermi architecture, NVIDIA has battled forward from a back-seat position to AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 5000 series DX11 compatible video cards to once again regain the lead in GPU performance. When NVIDIA released the GTX480 video card, they reclaimed the top performance position, but the GPU had a lot of shortcomings, including extremely high operating temperatures and huge amounts of power usage. With the release of the GTX 460, NVIDIA corrected those issues and really earned the top marks the GF104 received. Now NVIDIA is adding another release to their Fermi line with the low-end GF108 GPU. NVIDIA is marketing this GPU as a mainstream gaming and media center GPU with DX11 and 3D capabilities. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes an in-depth look at the ASUS GT430 video card.

The GF104 Fermi-based GeForce GTX 460 and the GF106 Fermi-based GeForce GTS 450 show the true power of NVIDIA’s Fermi architecture to dominate the mid-range price segment. With the GF108 Fermi-based GeForce GT 430, NVIDIA slims down the Fermi GPU even further to make a DX11 3D compatible card for the entry-level market. The GT 430 replaces the GT 220 and has already been gracing mobile platforms. NVIDIA is now releasing the GT 430 through its AIB partners as a discrete GPU for the desktop platform. NVIDIA anticipates the GT 430 to be sold mostly through distribution to system integrators. In fact, NVIDIA didn’t even release an engineering sample for testing with the GT 430, which is why Benchmark Reviews is bringing you the ASUS card results for the release of the GF108 platform.

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Computer Hardware Reviews: Inside the Industry

Exposing tricks of the trade and revealing industry secrets doesn’t bite the hand that feeds you, unless you’re owned by the manufacturers.

After four years of aggressively working our way up the ladder, Benchmark Reviews has grown to better understand the industry around us. If you’re reading this, the chances are very good that you either hold an interest in the legitimacy of product reviews or you’re already a frequent visitor to our site and read our articles. Regardless, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you’ll never see unless you’re part of the media, and it all has an impact on the independent evaluations you’ve come to trust. In this editorial article Computer Hardware Reviews: Inside the Industry, I share my eye-opening observations and personal experiences with you for the benefit of extending an understanding to others. Let’s begin with why we’re here, and why we do this.

The computer hardware industry accounts for a significant portion of worldwide consumer electronic sales, which results in a proportionate amount of marketing and advertising effort expended to help push sales. Equally aggressive in this competition for consumer attention is the myriad of media outlets that focus and feature these products. Media coverage ranges from printed press, dedicated websites, topic blogs, broadcast radio and audio casts. Depending on whether the media outlet is a hobbyist resource or operated like a business, competition can be just as fierce as it is between the companies selling product. As a result, the competition creates favoritism towards specific media outlets, increasing the struggle for sponsorship opportunities.

For the purpose of this short editorial piece, we’ll concentrate on the computer hardware industry. I’ve had the good fortune to experience this industry as a sales person in the mobile electronics field during the dot-com boom of the late 1990′s, as the owner of a small business that sells PC products since 2000, and as a reviewer and editor for Benchmark Reviews since 2007.

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ASUS GeForce GTS 450 TOP Video Card Review

Last month NVIDIA launched their new midrange video card: the GeForce GTS 450. Benchmark Reviews covered the launch with two articles focusing on single-card performance and SLI performance at reference clock speeds. In this review, we turn our attention to partner products. Specially, we take a look at an overclocked GTS 450 offered by ASUS. With a 925MHz core clock speed and DDR5 running at 4000MHz, the ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP ships out well above the reference clocks speeds we benchmarked at during the launch and represents ASUS’ highest out-the-door overclock. In this review, we’ll put it to the test against a similar clocked offering from EVGA, AMD’s HD5770, and one of the previous generation’s top cards: the HD4870.

In addition to overclocking, ASUS includes a few other features with the ENGTS450 designed to offer increased performance and entice consumers. One of the most obvious is the non-reference heatsink and fan, termed DirectCU. As the name implies, the HSF utilizes copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the GPU. The power PCB itself is also non-reference and includes an upgraded four-phase power design. Mated with ASUS’ Voltage Tweak, they claim up to 50% performance gains.

ASUS GeForce GTS 450 TOP Video Card

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MSI N460GTX HAWK GeForce GTX 460

The slew of NVIDIA GTX 460 video cards that hit the market in the last month was impressive. Everybody wanted as much of the pie as they could get, which was not surprising given the level of performance that the GTX460 offers for so little cash. On almost every level, the GTX 460 was a game-changer for Fermi. Some vendors weren’t satisfied with just putting a label on the reference design, and MSI is one of them. They have at least two different non-reference designs, with some variations of each available. The N460GTX HAWK we’re looking at today is a completely new board design with some advanced features no one else can match. They have also adapted their well-regarded Twin Frozr cooling design for the HAWK, even bumping up the heat pipe count to four, which provides good coverage for the NVIDIA heat spreader, that’s much larger than comparable ATI GPU packages.

Software control of a video card’s clocks and core voltage is the fastest and easiest way to improve its performance. MSI Afterburner is one of the best monitoring and control software products available, and MSI’s latest version brings voltage control to all aspects of the GTX 460 design. With so much apparent thermal headroom available on the GTX 460, the ability to bump up the core voltage on the GPU is quite useful. Until now, most overclocking enthusiasts were left without a way to increase memory voltage, and were held back a bit by the performance of the Samsung GDDR5 parts running on stock voltage. To add some icing to the cake, version 2.0 of MSI Afterburner also allows the PLL system to be pushed harder, as well. This ensures that the components that are used in setting the actual clock rates are stable, as well. Add in a large and dense fin assembly, four heat pipes and twin fans, and you have a recipe for generous overclocks.

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AMD Athlon-II X4-645 Processor

Athlon-II_X4-645
According to the August Steam Hardware Survey, more than half of gamers use a dual-core processor in their systems. While quad-core processing is on the rise, it still represents only about a quarter of gamers. Still, that’s quite the increase since last year when more gamers still used single-core than quad-core processors. Undoubtedly AMD has had something to do with this increasing trend. The Athlon-II quad-core processors have made gaming with four cores more affordable than ever. With the increasing number of games and other applications that can fully utilize multiple processing threads, quad-cores have become more important for computer users to be able to reach higher levels of productivity.

With each new release of an Athlon-II processor, AMD reasserts its control on the entry-level market by providing another great quality CPU at a very affordable price. The release of the Athlon-II X4-645 ADX645WFK42GM quad-core processor is no different. At 3.1GHz, the X4-645 becomes the fastest Athlon-II quad-core processor on the market. Similar to previous Athlon-II X4 series release, the release of the X4-645 will also push the price of its predecessor, the X4-640 to under $100, making quad-core processing at 3.0GHz an affordable option for many users. Benchmark Reviews as been there for the release of many of the most recent Athlon-II and Phenom-II processors and we wouldn’t miss the chance to bring you the test results on the latest Athlon-II quad-core release. In this article, Benchmark Reviews has prepared an in-depth look as the Athlon-II X4-645 ADX645WFK42GM quad-core processor and compares it to a wide-variety of other processors on the market.

At Benchmark Reviews, we have also found the Athlon-II series of processors to be great at overclocking. This is something very nice for computer enthusiasts looking to pull every last MHz out of their systems. With relatively recent restrictions by both AMD and Intel on the way we overclock, it’s good to see that not all of our options have been stripped from us. Many motherboard manufactures have begun putting new features into their BIOS that allow for easy increases in bus speed and core CPU voltage. Since only special (and therefore usually more expensive) processors such as AMD’s Black Edition CPUs or Intel’s Extreme Edition CPUs come with unlocked multipliers, the ability to increase the bus speed is one of the few ways left to push a processor to its limits.

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AMD Phenom-II X6-1075T Processor

Although many have forgotten it now, there was a time when AMD processors (starting with the Athlon 64 series) handily outperformed their Intel equivalents. AMD was the first company to ship a processor with a stock clock speed of 1GHz, back in 2000 (Intel’s 1GHz Pentium III shipped a few days later). A few years later, I built a system using the then-new dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processor for encoding video, and it absolutely stomped my existing dual-processor Pentium III-833 system.

But that was then, and this is now, and AMD has ceded the high end processor market to Intel, while working on their position in the low-to-mid end of the market. For enthusiasts, this has been a boon, since desktop processors reached the “fast enough” mark some time ago, and money saved on a CPU can be invested in other parts of the system, often with better overall performance results. Paired with AMD’s new 800 series chipsets, which offer extra PCI-E lanes for SATA 6G and USB 3.0 without needing expensive add-ons like the NVIDIA NF-200, AMD’s Thuban processors offer the enthusiast a way to build an affordable, yet very powerful and versatile, 6-core production or gaming system.

As current manufacturing techniques hit a “megaHertz wall” at about 4GHz a few years ago, Intel and AMD have been working on making multi-core CPUs, and it’s a rare system these days that’s not equipped with at least two cores. As software evolves to take advantage of the performance benefits offered by multiple native threads, we’ll see the performance of multi-core systems continue to improve. By driving the cost of 6-core processors downwards, AMD’s Phenom II X6 line keeps the price of these capabilities within reach of the average enthusiast.

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Corsair Obsidian 700D Computer Case Review

If you’re aiming for something big for your next PC case, perhaps the Obsidian 800D has been attractive to your eyes. If you almost fainted when you checked prices, you might be happy to know Corsair released the little brother: Obsidian 700D. At the moment of reviewing this case the 800D costs $254.99, while the 700D costs $239.99, bringing this product to a reachable level for many PC enthusiasts. You’ll notice the main differences are the non-existent side-panel window, and the removal of hot-swappable drives in the front of the chassis. While there are some other small differences which we’ll check across the review, those are the reasons to shave $15 to bring a very interesting product to a mid-high price level. Additionally, let me tell you some months ago, the difference between the 700D and 800D was bigger; going from $30 to $50 giving a bigger advantage to the 700D, but times have changed and the difference has been reduced to $15 only (newegg’s prices).

I’ll tell you some key-features about the Obsidian series. First of all, both Obsidian cases are full-tower sized, supporting E-ATX motherboards and down to Mini-ITX motherboards. Corsair has given their Obsidian products a very simple, yet elegant design, which brings a very interesting look for those who’re not aiming to “pimp” their PCs with tons of UV LEDs and LED fans. The CC700D also integrates a 3-chamber system inside of the case, which separates the motherboard/CPU/GPU space, from the PSU and internal drives. Perhaps, the most important feature is the incorporation of tons of rubber grommets to make cable management look like if it was built by a professional, and the inclusion of a completely tool-less installation (except for the expansion slots).

The Obsidian 700D comes in a plain black color, and you’ll be surprised because you won’t find any other color inside or outside of it. Personally, I think a black painted interior is a must-have feature nowadays, but perhaps, some users would prefer to have it mixed with platinum or any other color, especially in the exterior. Corsair didn’t hesitate about doing a big case; this case is HUGE. Because of that, it must have tons of spaces to add fans and keep airflow within excellent conditions.

It’s all about thermal management, and various manufacturers have stepped up with a variety of solutions. There’s the “big case with a lot of fans” design, typified by the Cooler Master HAF series and the new NZXT Phantom, as well as the “isolated thermal zones” school of thought, embraced by the Corsair Obsidian 700D and taken to its ultimate expression by the Thermaltake Level 10.

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