Reviews Tom's Hardware US

Picking A Hard Drive For Your NAS: New Green Beats Old Speed

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

When it comes to mechanical hard drive performance, 7,200 RPM drives are considered the fastest. But does that convention apply in a NAS environment as well? We compare network storage performance with a handful of Samsung's "green" drives to see.

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Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: November '09

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

There's actually a lot to discuss in this month's column: the introduction of AMD's new Radeon HD 5000-series GPUs, Nvidia's new GeForce GT 220 and GeForce 210, availability of previous-gen high-end cards, and the state of the graphics war in general.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE: Same Speed, Less Power

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:00:00 CET

Today AMD is introducing a revision of its flagship Phenom II X4 965 processor rated at 125W, replacing the 140W part, as well as a new 3.1 version of its Overdrive overclocking software. We take a quick look at both to see what advantages they offer.

Core i7-870 Overclocking And Fixing Blown P55-Based Boards

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

Last month, we discovered that many budget P55-based motherboards simply weren't designed to stand up to the rigors of overclocking--bad news for intrepid value-based enthusiasts. Today we revisit the topic with revised boards and a Core i7-870.

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Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

Laptop Storage: 640GB And 500GB Drives From WD And Fujitsu

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:00 CET

We're looking at two new notebook hard drives today: Fujitsu’s 500GB 2.5" disk and WD’s brand new 640GB 2.5" model (the largest notebook drive you can buy). The capacities on both products are outstanding, but neither drive is completely perfect.

Three Generations Compared: Is Your DVD Burner Outdated?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

DVD burners are extremely cheap. Obviously, it makes good sense to buy a $30 drive if you don't have one yet, but is it worth replacing an existing drive with a newer one? We compared three product generations from Sony/NEC between 16x and 24x speeds.

500GB Per Platter: Three Next-Gen 7,200 RPM Hard Drives

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

Fast, 3.5” hard drives have now reached the 2TB mark, combining capacity and performance. The new storage density provides benefits for budget buyers, as well as the mainstream, including less heat, less noise, more capacity, and of course, more speed.

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Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

Overclocked On Air: Intel's Core i5-750

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

Intel's new quad-core i5 and i7 CPUs for LGA 1156 deliver plenty of performance and impressive efficiency. But how far can they be overclocked? We take the entry-level model Core i5-750 as far as it'll go with a modest air cooler and benchmark it.

Seven AMD 785G-Based Motherboards Rounded Up

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

When AMD launched its 785G chipset, we were impressed by the mainstream value enabled from such an affordable platform. In this roundup, we're covering seven different 785G-based board covering ATX, microATX, DDR2 memory, DDR3, and two different sockets.

Performance Zooms with New Firmware for Intel 34nm X25-M SSDs

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:31:00 CET

The new firmware provides very impressive numbers and takes SSDs to a higher level of performance well beyond HDDs as system drives in desktop computers.

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Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:31:00 CET

Benchmarking Windows 7: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CET

Often hailed as the solution to Windows Vista performance problems, we wanted to know just how much better Windows 7 really is. We put one of our most recent test platforms through its paces to find out, benchmarking raw performance and responsiveness.

Does Turbo Boost Help Or Hurt Core i5/i7's Power Efficiency?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:10:00 CEST

Intel’s LGA 1156 processors serve up terrific new levels of performance to the mainstream. Now it’s time to look at how efficiency changed from Core 2 Quad to Core i5/i7. We found Turbo Boost technology to be a potential issue, despite its clear value.

6 Gb/s SATA: Seagate’s Barracuda XT And Marvell’s SSD Controller

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

As I run out the door for Europe, a couple of interesting products appeared at the same time from different sources. We have a first look at Seagate's 6 Gb/s SATA hard drive and Marvell's 6 Gb/s SATA SSD controller on Asus' P7P55D Premium motherboard.

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Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Thecus N8800 NAS/SAN: Quick-Look

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:11:00 CEST

After recently running out of room on my Thecus N5200, I again turned to the company for something larger. What I found won't work for most folks (unless you have a rack in your garage, that is). But it's reasonably-priced and plenty fast for most SMBs.

How To: Upgrade Windows Vista To DirectX 11

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Although DirectX 11 will be released with Windows 7, Microsoft wants to delay deployment for Vista until Service Pack 3 and is artificially preventing the installation. Tom’s Hardware shows you how to upgrade to DirectX 11 today using a simple workaround.

Next-Gen 3D Rendering Technology: Voxel Ray Casting

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

A little while back, we discussed some of the benefits and disadvantages of ray tracing. Today, we're going to be talking about another potential successor to triangle rasterization: voxel ray casting, the subject of much research by id's John Carmack.

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Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Athlon II X3 435: AMD's Three-Core, 2.9 GHz, $87 Triple-Threat

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:00:00 CEST

Today AMD introduces what might turn out to be the ideal budget CPU, with three cores for multi-threading, a relatively high 2.9 GHz clock speed, and an impressive sub-$90 price tag. How does it stand up to the rest of the company's Athlon and Phenom IIs?

Tom's Definitive Linux Software Roundup: Communications Apps

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

This is the second part of our Linux Software Roundup. Part one covered Internet Apps. Today we'll be looking at Communications Apps. This includes personal information managers, email clients, instant messengers, VoIP software, and IRC clients.

ASI's IQ17-D2: Is Mobility Radeon HD 3870 X2 Still Fast Enough?

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

After the launch of ATI's Cypress and Juniper parts, ATI's Mobility Radeon 3870 X2 is now three generations old. Is it still fast enough for gamers on the go? ASI sent us its IQ17-D2 with a mobile Core 2 Extreme and RAID 0 storage in order to find out.

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Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

AMD Or Intel: Which $100 Gaming CPU Should You Buy?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

One hundred dollars seems like nothing for a new CPU, especially with so many new GPUs calling to us. We put the Athlon II X4 620, Phenom II X3 710, Phenom II X2 550, and dual-core Pentium E6500 to the test to find the best performer in today's games.

Mobile Core i7-920XM: Power Is The Price For Better Performance

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Nehalem has finally gone mobile. But despite the advanced manufacturing that has gone into making Core i7 Mobile more efficient, it's still rated at up to 55W TDP and includes features like Hyper-Threading and Turbo Boost to keep it close to that limit.

Radeon HD 5770 And 5750 Review: Gentlemen, Start Your HTPCs

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:31:00 CEST

In the last month, we've seen ATI take the performance crown with its Radeon HD 5870 and an enthusiast value position with its Radeon HD 5850. Now the company is rounding out the mid-range with its Radeon HD 5770 and 5750, both capable DirectX 11 cards.

Presented By: National Geographic Channel

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:31:00 CEST

New Series Follows Alaska State Troopers

They’re the first line of defense in the last frontier. Alaska State Troopers, a new series, premieres Wednesday at 10P e/p on Nat Geo. Learn more at
www.natgeotv.com/alaskastatetroopers

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GeForce GT 220 And 210: DirectX 10.1 And 40nm Under $80

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:50:00 CEST

Nvidia is introducing its first 40nm GPUs with DirectX 10.1 support. But the GeForce 210 and GT 220 GPUs aren't the flagships you might expect the company to announce hot on the heels of Radeon HD 5870. Rather, these are entry-level offerings under $80.

ADVERTORIAL: ATI Radeon HD 4650/70: Top Value for Bottom Dollar

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:20:00 CEST

AMD ATI's Radeon HD 5000 series is here. But, if your wallet isn't ready for the new top of the line cards, there's plenty of graphics power to be had at bargain prices in the HD 4600 series.

NAS Attack: Network Storage From Thecus And Western Digital

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:10:00 CEST

Thecus is first company to offer an attractive little 2.5” NAS solution that works well in your living room, while Western Digital’s dual-drive NAS delivers up to 4TB of capacity with RAID 0 and 1. Today's we're testing the two very-different devices.

Presented By: National Geographic Channel

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:10:00 CEST

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Five Gaming Enclosures, Rounded Up

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

We've had a number of cases through the lab as of late. Today's excursion takes us away from HTPC or small form factor enclosures and straight into the realm of gaming chassis. Entries from ABS, Antec, Lian-Li, Thermaltake, and NZXT vie for a win.

P55 On A Budget: Five Core i5/i7 Motherboards For $100-$150

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Intel’s newest desktop processor series is all about value, and the P55 platform already powers some very affordable motherboards. We put five such boards to the test, hoping to see solid baseline performance and overclocking headroom at great prices.

How To: Windows XP Mode In...Ubuntu Linux?

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Windows 7's XP Mode has already convinced many users who sat out for Vista to go out and upgrade. But will they buy the right version of Windows 7 to get XPM? You do know you can get the same XP functionality from a Linux distribution for free, right?

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Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Athlon II Or Phenom II: Does Your CPU Need L3 Cache?

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

AMD’s Athlon II X4 represents the first monolithic quad-core die without a shared L3 cache. Today, we're doing a more in-depth comparison between the Athlon II and Phenom II at comparable clock rates in order to reveal the true differences between them.

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: October '09

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CEST

Welcome back to another installment in our Best Gaming CPUs for the Money column. In this month's list of recommendations, a number of new CPUs shake up the mix. Specifically, Intel's new Core i5-750 and the new Athlon II X4 620 from AMD.