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Reviews Tom's Hardware US (25 unread)

In Pictures: 2011, A Year In Review

Posted: December 30th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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Another year has come and gone. Do you remember everything that happened in 2011? Before you toss out your old calendar, we remember major events, the passing of several technology greats, and a few memorable products that made their way through our lab.
Best SSDs For The Money: December 2011

Posted: December 29th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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Welcome to the last column of 2011. We updated our recommendations to reflect the recent price drops on second-gen SandForce hardware. There are several good deals to be found for right about $150-200 bucks. Prices are falling, and we keep you informed.
OCZ Octane 512 GB SSD Review: Meet Indilinx's Everest Controller

Posted: December 28th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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What? A performance SSD from OCZ not based on SandForce's tech? The new Octane SSD features an Indilinx controller. Does OCZ rectify the controller company's past mistakes, or does it need more time to marinate? The truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Four High-End Quad-Channel DDR3 Memory Kits For X79, Reviewed

Posted: December 27th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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You just bought the fastest (and most expensive) desktop platform on the planet. Which company's memory will you use to populate Intel's quad-channel controller? We tested four purportedly high-end kits in order to find out which set is the best.
AMD's Bulldozer Architecture: Overclocking Efficiency Explored

Posted: December 26th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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AMD’s FX processor line-up was supposedly designed with efficiency in mind, according to AMD. We're putting this claim to the test, assessing the Bulldozer architecture at a number of different clock rates and comparing the results to Intel's CPUs.
System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: System Value Compared

Posted: December 23rd, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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A 20% budget boost for this quarter’s machines gave every builder room to fix former foibles, yet only the cheapest system showed big performance gains. What effect will those big and small changes have on price-per-performance proficiency?
AMD Radeon HD 7970: Promising Performance, Paper-Launched

Posted: December 22nd, 2011, 12:00am UTC

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A sample of AMD's next-generation Radeon HD 7970 landed in our lab just before Santa. Don't cross your fingers for one of these in your stocking, though. It's not available yet. Is it fast, though? Our benchmarks suggest yes, but more testing remains!
System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $600 Gaming PC

Posted: December 21st, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Enclosure: [download]

You've already seen our first two System Builder Marathon configurations, both of which are more expensive than last quarter's. Our entry-level build costs a bit more too, but we think it's a much more capable collection of parts.
System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $1200 Enthusiast PC

Posted: December 20th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

We mix things up with a $1200 budget, a brutally powerful Radeon HD 6950 CrossFire combo, and AMD's new FX processor in the final mid-range System Builder Marathon PC of 2011. The results are predictable in some ways, but surprising in others.
System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2011: $2400 Performance PC

Posted: December 19th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Lessons learned over the past two quarters have helped us build one of our fastest PCs yet. But is it really worth the extra $400 over the previous high-end System Builder Marathon PC? The benchmarks will answer that question.
Tom's Hardware's 2011 Gift Guide: Part 2, Last-Minute Extras

Posted: December 16th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Welcome to Part 2 of Tom's Hardware's 2011 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.
SSD Performance In The Office: Nine Applications Benchmarked

Posted: December 15th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

A number of metrics are used to quantify storage performance. If you're a regular Joe, you have to be wondering how such dry terminology can apply to office work. Rather than telling you, we're going to dissect several routine computing tasks.
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Posted: December 15th, 2011, 12:00am UTC
Power Supply 101: A Reference Of Specifications

Posted: December 14th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Today's article contains everything you've ever wanted to know about PC power supply specifications. Form factor dimensions, cable end pinouts, voltage/amp/watt specifications, and even compatibility issues are covered in this comprehensive reference!
Tom's Hardware's 2011 Gift Guide: Part 1, For System Builders

Posted: December 13th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Welcome to Part 1 of Tom's Hardware's 2011 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.
In Pictures: Getting Connected To Next-Gen Home Security

Posted: December 12th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

If you think CCTV is still the pinnacle of home security, check out this Tom’s Hardware writer putting his home under Vivint’s knife (literally). How much peace of mind and home automation can over $4000 of Z-Wave and IP-based gear get you?
Intel Core i7-3930K And Core i7-3820: Sandy Bridge-E, Cheaper

Posted: December 9th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Core i7-3960X is undeniably fast. But at more than $1000, it’s hardly an option for most enthusiasts. We got our hands on the Core i7-3930K and Core i7-3820 to gauge their overclocked performance and determine if they’re able to best the flagship part.
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Posted: December 9th, 2011, 12:00am UTC
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December 2011

Posted: December 8th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Seasons greetings are accompanied by information about the new GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Core, a list of products that are suffering availability, seasonal price increases, and some rumors regarding the next-gen Radeon HD 7000 and GeForce 600 families.
Ultimate X79? Five $320+ LGA 2011 Motherboards, Reviewed

Posted: December 7th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Our flagship motherboard comparison announcement was answered with an interesting selection of models, along with a bunch of “not ready yet” responses. Today we examine a few samples from companies bold enough to step up to the plate during launch week.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: PC Performance, Benchmarked

Posted: December 6th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Rarely are MMOs anticipated as hotly as Star Wars: The Old Republic. We take a close look at the offspring of legendary developer Bioware and the larger-than-life Star Wars franchise, then tell you what kind of hardware it needs for smooth performance.
Antec Kühler Vs. Corsair Hydro: Sealed Liquid CPU Coolers Compared

Posted: December 5th, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Offering a taste of liquid-cooled performance without the maintenance hassle, sealed-liquid systems are the logical choice for many high-end builds. We compare four options to an air-cooled standard to see if any of them stand out above the others.
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Posted: December 5th, 2011, 12:00am UTC
Motorola's Xoom Family Edition Review: Not Just For The Kids

Posted: December 2nd, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Don't let its name fool you. Motorola's Xoom Family Edition is one of the best values in tablets that we've seen up until now. It offers almost everything we want. If you're in the market for an Android-based tablet, this one deserves your attention.
Freeing Up Capacity On An SSD With NTFS Compression

Posted: December 1st, 2011, 12:00am UTC

Flash-based solid-state drives with more than 64 or 128 GB of capacity are fairly small, but they're still really expensive relative to hard drives. Compressing the Windows partition frees up some space, but is that really a good idea?