November 3rd, 2009

Hardware 2.0 'Very Best Kit List' for Nov/Dec 09

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 3:48 am

Categories: Components, Cutting Edge, DIY PC, Gadgets, Gaming, Graphics, Hardware

Tags: Card, Board, Western Digital Corp., Overclocking, Motherboard, Price, CPU, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Corp., Radeon

Welcome to the updated and revamped Hardware 2.0 “Very Best Kit List” for Nov/Dec 09, the last such list for 2009. Here I’ve put together a list of the best high-end and mid-range and budget components currently available. So if you’re thinking of buying, building or even upgrading a PC, this list is a must-read for you!

See also my Holiday Gift Guide 2009 for even more cool kit! 

This time around sees the addition of several new categories, such as netbooks, notebooks, all-in-one PCs, and wireless routers. I’ve also added new products to some of the existing categories too.

These components are on this list because I firmly believe them to be the best either in terms of performance or price - although I’m ready to admit, as always, that there’s room for debate and some choices “go with the gut” more than others.

NOTE: Each time I come out with a list of kit I always end up fielding a few emails and comments from people wondering if companies have “bought” space on the list. Let me tell you now that the only way for a product to get on this list is to be the best - period. Manufacturers, vendors and PR companies have zero influence over this or any other recommendation that I make.

Final note: All prices are approximate … shop around for the best deals!

• CPUs
• Motherboards
• RAM
• Graphics Cards
• Hard Disks
• Sound Cards
• PSUs
• Coolers
• Cases
• Monitors
• Keyboards/Mice
• Netbook
• Notebook
• All-in-One PC
• All-in-One Printer
• In-Car GPS
• Wireless Router 

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October 28th, 2009

Intel pulls new SSD firmware day after release

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 1:18 pm

Categories: Components, Hardware, Intel, Storage

Tags: Solid State Disk, Firmware, Intel Corp., Firmware Upgrade, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

On Monday Intel released an firmware upgrade for the X25-M solid state drive (SSD). Yesterday, the company pulled the update.

The software package, called SSD Toolbox, was designed to monitor and manage performance and health of the X25-M drive on the Windows 7 OS. However, the firmware update has now been pulled.

Here’s the reason according to Intel:

“We have been contacted by users with issues with the 34-nanometer Intel SSD firmware upgrade and are investigating. We take all sightings and issues seriously and are working toward resolution. We have temporarily taken down the firmware link while we investigate.”

No word from Intel as to when updated firmware will be ready.

If you’re downloaded the update and not installed it, might be a good idea to hold off for now.

October 28th, 2009

ASUS debuts USB 3.0 motherboard and add-on card

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 12:02 pm

Categories: Components

Tags: ASUS, Card, Motherboard, USB, Add-on Card, P7P55D-E Premium Motherboard, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Today ASUS has debuted the P7P55D-E Premium motherboard and U3S6 add-on card, both featuring USB 3.0 support.

The P7P55D-E Premium motherboard is a Socket LGA1156 board that not only features two USB 3.0 but also 6-Gbit SATA technology. It’s also kitted out with everything else you’d expect of a high-end motherboard -DDR3 support, CrossFireX/SLI support, as well as loads of USB 2.0 and SATA ports.

The U3S6 PCIe x4 add-on card features both a 6-Gbit SATA bridge with two ports as well as two USB 3.0 ports. It will be compatible with the following ASUS motherboards:

• Maximus III Formula 
• P7P55D Deluxe
• P7P55D EVO
• P7P55D PRO
• P7P55D
• P7P55D LE
• P7P55D LX

Note: USB 3.0 ports are backward compatible with USB 2.0/1.1.

The P7P55D-E Premium motherboard will retail for $299 while the U3S6 add-on card will be $29. Both will be available November.

October 16th, 2009

Best 'bang for the buck' graphics cards

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 6:41 am

Categories: AMD/ATI, Components, Cutting Edge, Gaming, Graphics, Hardware, NVIDIA, Performance

Tags: Card, Video Card, Graphics, Radeon, Video Cards, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

It seems that gamers are no longer willing to blow $500 on a graphics card. More and more of you wan to know what’s the best graphics card you can buy on a limited budget.

In this post I will look at the best graphics card you can buy in four different price brackets.

Sub $100

You can pick up some truly excellent graphics cards for under $100. In fact, if you buy the right bit of kit, you can pretty much get all the graphics card you’ll need for under $100.

There are two cards in particular worth looking at:

• SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD 4830 512MB (around $95)
• PowerColor AX4850 512MD3-PH Radeon HD 4850 512MB (around $99)

Given the choice I’d go for the PowerColor card because it offers a little more performance. Other than that, both have dual-monitor support, support for HDMI and offer a great gaming experience.

Sub $200

OK, with an increased budget you are looking at graphics cards that can deliver amazing gaming experience at high resolutions. Graphics cards in this price category are aimed at hardcore enthusiasts and in order to get the  best from them the rest of your hardware has to be of high-spec too. There’s no point adding an expensive graphics card to a low-end PC!

In the sub $200 price category you want to be looking at cards such as the following:

• XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB (around $175)
• EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 (around $199)

Here I’d go for the Radeon HD 5770 because it’s a newer card , based on newer technology, more powerful and cheaper than the NVIDIA card.

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September 24th, 2009

Build a high-performance gaming PC for under $650!

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 8:03 am

Categories: Components, DIY PC, Gaming, Hardware

Tags: Performance, PC, High-performance, Gaming PC, Games, Performance Management, Personal Technology, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

While hardcore gamers will always find a way to pay for that uber component for their gaming rig, I know that many of you out there want to get your hands on a great gaming system, but don’t have the dough to blow on your “dream” system. Well, if you’re one of those people, this post if for you!

The trick with building a high-performance gaming system on a budget is two-fold:

• First, you have to spot the fine line between “value for money” and “insanity” - it can be tricky!
• Secondly, you need to know where you can make compromises that have a marginal effect on performance.

OK, with that in mind, let’s start building a high-performance gaming PC for under $650!

Note: The price of this build includes only the hardware (no OS, no games) and doesn’t include the cost of peripherals such as keyboard, mouse and screen.

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September 11th, 2009

Next-gen AMD Radeon GPU powers six 30" displays

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 2:18 am

Categories: AMD/ATI, Components, Cutting Edge, Gaming, Graphics, Hardware

Tags: Monitor, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., GPU, Monitors & Displays, Games, Hardware, Components, Personal Technology, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

I’ll warn you in advance that if you are a gamer then you’ll find this awesome.

By combining next-generation GPUs and an array of compact DisplayPort connectors, AMD has come up with a new feature called Eyefinity where a single GPU is capable of driving six monitors. And these aren’t tiny monitors, they’re monster 30″ Dell monitors, each running at a whopping 2560×1600 resolution. That’s a total image resolution of 7,680 x 3,200 pixels, or over 24 megapixels!

Now you might be thinking that this is great and all, but any games that you’ll want to play will need to be modified to take advantage of the multiple monitors, which means that it’ll never take off. Not so! You can right now play existing games such as Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, World of Warcraft and DiRT 2 on the setup … all you need is the wall space for the screens! And if wall space (and cash!) is limited, you could always use three monitors instead!

The folks over at The Tech Report have some stunning images of games running across six screens and I have to say that they look awesome.

And this isn’t all “pie in the sky” thinking either. AMD has been working with Samsung to bring out monitors with narrow bezels. This means that you could have a more modest version of this setup running on your desk! Even with three regular 22″ panels, this could give you an amazing gaming experience for a lot less than the cost of the top-end CPU.

Suddenly, gaming on the PC feels relevant again …

September 8th, 2009

Intel shakes up mid-range CPUs with Lynnfield Core i5 750, Core i7 860 and Core i7 870

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 3:56 am

Categories: Components, Intel

Tags: HyperThreading, CPU, Intel Corp., Lynnfield, Processor World, Processors, Chipsets, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components

Intel by releasing three new Lynnfield-based Core i5 and i7 parts has significantly shaken up the mid-range of the CPU universe.

The processor world has been pretty uneventful for the past ten months or so since Intel launched the Nehalem-based Core i7 lineup of CPUs. Sure we’ve seen a few tweaks and price cuts from Intel, and AMD has continued to trickle out Phenom II parts with increasingly high clock speeds, but otherwise nothing spectacular has happened.

Until now …

Today sees Intel release three new Lynnfield-based parts whose sole purpose is to dominate the mid-range.

So, how do the new Lynnfield-based CPUs differ from the existing Bloomfield-based Core i7 parts? Well, the first thing to bear in mind is that the new Lynnfield parts are cut down/cheaper/mid-range/not as expensive/not as high end/not as extreme derivatives of the Bloomfield parts. In order to come up with a cheaper Read the rest of this entry »

August 31st, 2009

Your next PC .. next year and the year after!

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:31 am

Categories: Components, Cutting Edge, Gadgets, Gaming, Graphics, Hardware, Industry, Mobile Technology, New-Tech

Tags: PC, Graphics, Intel Corp., Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

People seem to be very interested as to what the PC they’ll buy in the future will be like. Well, by taking a look at what technologies hardware vendors such as Intel and AMD have already announced, we can make some educated guesses!

2010

The big hitter of 2010 will be Intel as it plans to introduce the the six-core 32nm behemoth to the Core i9 Extreme line, currently codenamed “Gulftown”. his monster piece of silicon will be able to handle 12 threads and will debut at a clock speed of 2.4GHz.

Also from Intel will be the 32nm Clarkdale processors that feature integrated graphics. These chips will Read the rest of this entry »

August 28th, 2009

Corsair launches 8/12GB high-speed memory kits for Core i5/i7 CPUs

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 4:05 am

Categories: Components

Tags: Kit, Module, CPU, Corsair, Dominator GT Module, Pricing, Processors, Marketing, Semiconductors, Hardware

Corsair has launched new high-speed memory modules for Intel’s Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

The new Dominator GT modules are packaged as 8GB and 12GB kits. The 8GB kit (part # CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) consists of four 2GB modules and it aimed at the dual-channel Core i5 LGA1156 CPU, while the 12GB kit (part # CMD12GX3M6A1600C8) offers up six 2GB modules for the triple-channel Core i7 LGA 1366 (this kit also includes an airflow fan).

The modules themselves are identical, only the way they are packaged up is different. They operate at 1,600MHz with and have a latency of 8-8-8-24. Voltage is a standard 1.65V.

No word on pricing as of yet.

August 20th, 2009

Hardware 2.0 'Very Best Kit List' for Sep/Oct 09

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 2:29 pm

Categories: Components, Hardware

Tags: Board, Western Digital Corp., Overclocking, Motherboard, Price, CPU, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Corp., Core, GTX 295

Welcome to the updated and revamped Hardware 2.0 “Very Best Kit List” for Sep/Oct 09. Here I’ve put together a list of the best high-end and mid-range and budget components currently available. So if you’re thinking of buying, building or even upgrading a PC, this list is a must-read for you!

This time around sees the addition of several new categories, such as netbooks, notebooks, all-in-one PCs, ad wireless routers. I’ve also added new products to some of the existing categories too.

These components are on this list because I firmly believe them to be the best either in terms of performance or price - although I’m ready to admit, as always, that there’s room for debate and some choices “go with the gut” more than others.

NOTE: Each time I come out with a list of kit I always end up fielding a few emails and comments from people wondering if companies have “bought” space on the list. Let me tell you now that the only way for a product to get on this list is to be the best - period. Manufacturers, vendors and PR companies have zero influence over this or any other recommendation that I make.

Final note: All prices are approximate … shop around for the best deals!

Next –>