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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $500 PCDec 16, 2010 - in Reviews
We've already seen results from Thomas' $2000 PC and Don's $1000 build. Now it's time for Paul's $500 machine to take the stage, showing what an Athlon II X3 can do when it's matched up to a GeForce GTX 460. Can it deliver better value than the others?
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Tom's Hardware's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide: Part 2, Last-Minute LuxuryDec 15, 2010 - in Reviews
Welcome to Part 2 of Tom's Hardware's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. This second installment is geared toward the folks who want to buy components that stand alone as respectable gifts--call them the add-ons to go with the complete machines we built last week.
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Radeon HD 6970 And 6950 Review: Is Cayman A Gator Or A Crock?Dec 14, 2010 - in Reviews
Last month, Nvidia launched its GeForce GTX 580, but we told you to hold off on buying it. A week ago, Nvidia launched GeForce GTX 570 and we again said "wait." AMD's Cayman was our impetus. Were Radeon HD 6970 and 6950 worth the wait? Read on for more!
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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $1000 PCDec 13, 2010 - in Reviews
Although we were afraid of the results, this time around we decided to try something new, forgoing the Core i5 in favor of a dual-core Core i3 CPU in our build. Can the higher clock rate compensate for the loss of two physical cores in our $1000 system?
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System Builder Marathon, December 2010: $2000 PCDec 12, 2010 - in Reviews
With all of your feedback from last quarter's System Builder Marathon under our belts, this time around, we attempt to fit a no-sacrifice, luxury and performance build into our moderately-high $2000 budget. Will this new build succeed on all fronts?
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Sponsored Article: Verizon Cloud-Based Online Backup and SharingDec 9, 2010 - in Reviews
Online backup is a booming industry, with dozens of vendors providing storage in the cloud. The idea is a compelling one: for a few dollars a year, you have immediate and automatic offsite storage of your most critical files. No messing with tapes, making
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Sponsored Article: Getting Started with Verizon Cloud ServicesDec 9, 2010 - in Reviews
Verizon has myriad small, medium and enterprise business-related cloud services, everything from the mundane process of making backups to more sophisticated collections of virtual and even physical servers. In this introduction, we'll show you what the la
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Three Slim Atom/Ion 2-Based Nettop PCs ComparedDec 9, 2010 - in Reviews
We put Giada’s Slim-N20, Jetway’s Mini-TOP, and Zotac’s ZBOX to the test. Does Intel's Atom D500-series offer smooth performance in these nettops when it's paired with Nvidia’s ION 2 graphics, or does the platform fall short of entertainment excellence?
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AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Review: The New Six-Core FlagshipDec 8, 2010 - in Reviews
AMD has a new flagship CPU, the Phenom II X6 1100T, on its hands. It's 100 MHz faster than the 1090T. We test and overclock this new CPU, then share details about the other two products released into AMD's lineup: Phenom II X2 565 and Athlon II X3 455.
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Sponsored Article: Hyper Performance Computing with Intel Parallel Studio 2011 XEDec 8, 2010 - in Reviews
Believe it or not, Intel delivered the world’s first dual-core desktop processor only 5 years ago in 2005. That was the Pentium Processor Extreme Edition 840. At the time, Hyper-Threading already had been available for three years, yet it wa
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Tom's Hardware's 2010 Gift Guide: Part 1, For System BuildersDec 7, 2010 - in Reviews
Welcome to Part 1 of Tom's Hardware's 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. This first installment is geared toward system builders planning to pool some Christmas cash to build a new performance- or value-oriented system. We have something for everyone this year.
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GeForce GTX 570 Review: Hitting $349 With Nvidia's GF110Dec 7, 2010 - in Reviews
A month ago, Nvidia launched its GeForce GTX 580, and it was everything we wanted back in March. Now the company is introducing the GeForce GTX 570, also based on its GF110. Is it fast enough to make us forget the GF100-based 400-series ever existed?
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World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm--Tom's Performance GuideDec 5, 2010 - in Reviews
Ready for the launch of Blizzard's World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion tomorrow? Is your PC? We test 24 different graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia, CPUs from AMD and Intel, and compare DirectX 9 to DirectX 11, showing you which settings to use.
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SSD RAID: Do You Want A Cheap Array Or One Larger Drive?Dec 2, 2010 - in Reviews
You're on a budget. You want to know if it'd be better to stripe a couple of smaller SSDs or simply buy one larger performance-oriented drive. Today we're comparing one, two, and four 30 GB Kingston SSDNow V drives to Zalman’s new 128 GB N-series SSD.
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Tom's Definitive Linux Software Roundup: Image AppsDec 1, 2010 - in Reviews
After a long hiatus from Tom's Definitive Linux Software Roundup, Adam Overa is back with the fourth installment in the series covering Image Apps. This is a showcase of Linux software designed for creating, viewing, editing, and organizing image files.
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GeForce GTX 460M SLI: Mobile Gaming Value From AVADirect?Nov 30, 2010 - in Reviews
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 480M may hold the mobile performance crown, but GF100 is certainly not the most practical solution when it comes to power and heat. Today we see how its newer, smaller sibling stands up to the same tasks, aided by SLI support.
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Do Virus Scanners Slow Down Your System?Nov 30, 2010 - in Reviews
Does the presence of a virus scanner guarantee reduced performance, or does it have a negligible impact? We test 10 different products to see if you’re unknowingly suffering with security software.
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Roundup: Four Radeon HD 6850 1 GB Cards ComparedNov 28, 2010 - in Reviews
Improvements to performance, acoustics, and bundles can add big value once a reference graphics card is modified by third-party vendors. We compare four modified Radeon HD 6850 1 GB boards to find out which company's additions best suit your gaming needs.
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21 PC Games We'd Like To Receive This Holiday SeasonNov 25, 2010 - in Picture Story
Searching for a special piece of software to buy your gamer this holiday season? Check out our list of 21 titles. Some are already available. Others are still a few months out. And Duke Nukem Forever is still a pipe dream (but we'd like to see it, still).
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Roundup: Six Sub-$40 Performance CPU Coolers ComparedNov 23, 2010 - in Reviews
Remember when overclocking was all about getting more performance for less money? It's hard to do that when you're spending top dollar on premium heatsinks and fans. Today we round up six true value-oriented coolers that could help unleash hidden speed.
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Memory Upgrade: Is It Time To Add More RAM?Nov 22, 2010 - in Reviews
The price of memory upgrades is at an all-time low. And more memory is always better, right? We decided to analyze whether or not now could be the time for a fat memory upgrade. As it turns out, there are arguments for and against backing up the truck.
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Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: November 2010Nov 21, 2010 - in Reviews
There aren't any processor launches in this month's column. However, some of Intel's CPUs are becoming more affordable, changing their standing in the recommendations, as are AMD's hexa-core Phenom II X6 chips. Meanwhile, the X4s are going up in price.
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In Pictures: 20 Clever Liquid-Cooled PC SetupsNov 18, 2010 - in Picture Story
Most of our testing happens on open-air racks, so fully-configured PCs are somewhat of a novelty around here. Well though-out water-cooled machines are even more luxurious. We tracked down 20 different boxes to show off some enthusiast workmanship.
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Analysis: PhysX On Systems With AMD Graphics CardsNov 17, 2010 - in Reviews
Rarely does an issue divide the gaming community like PhysX has. We go deep into explaining CPU- and GPU-based PhysX processing, run PhysX with a Radeon card from AMD, and put some of today's most misleading headlines about PhysX under our microscope.
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AMD FirePro V9800 4 GB: Eyefinity Meets Professional GraphicsNov 16, 2010 - in Reviews
What's red, black, sports 4 GB of GDDR5, and has DisplayPort outputs all over? AMD's FirePro V9800, the company's ultra-high-end workstation card. We run it through a battery of SPECapc and real-world performance tests, then compare it to Quadro 5000.
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AMD Fusion: Brazos Gets Previewed: Part 2, PerformanceNov 16, 2010 - in Reviews
AMD gave us an opportunity to go hands-on with its upcoming Brazos platform--the only preview you'll see before this technology surfaces in retail notebooks. Is it fast enough to compete with the Nehalem-based competition, and cool enough to trounce Atom?
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How Do SSDs Redefine Storage Performance?Nov 16, 2010 - in Reviews
It only takes one or two modern SSDs to outperform business-class RAID arrays with four or eight hard drives. We're running a full comparison and looking at the implications for high-performance systems when you make the transition to flash-based tech.
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Enthusiast Power Protection: Four-Way 900 W UPS RoundupNov 14, 2010 - in Reviews
It's downright negligent to ignore the power needs of your high-end hardware. While many power users go to the trouble of tracking down solid PSUs, we recommend going a step further and investing in battery backup. We round up four enthusiast units.
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Who's Who In Power Supplies: Brands, Labels, And OEMsNov 12, 2010 - in Reviews
Did you think all power supplies were manufactured by the brand selling them? We show you what makes a good PSU and reveal who actually builds PSUs. You can actually find lots of quality, instead of just scrap metal, behind some of the budget labels.
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Roundup: The Best SSDs For EnthusiastsNov 11, 2010 - in Reviews
The SSD market continues evolving. We got our hands on six drives we hadn't yet tested, including Samsung’s 470-series, and ran them through our benchmark suite. All told, this roundup includes a total of 24 SSDs to compare. Which drive is right for you?