http://www.tomshardware.com en 10 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:17:26 +0100 http://img.bestofmicro.com/design/groupe/logo_toms_us.jpg http://www.tomshardware.com http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=efa718b19975516502715fb3e0b69400 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-core-216,2120.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-core-216,2120.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:50:00 CET We recently built a $2,500 gaming system with three GTX 260 Core 216 graphics cards, noting that these were less expensive than two GTX 280s. In the performance-value game, is 3-way SLI in the cards?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/geforce-core-216,Q-P-174625-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=bad876fd882f5e2d45410c428b8d0950 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2117.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2117.html#xtor=RSS-182 Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:30:00 CET We’ve built, overclocked, and tested our $625, $1,250, and $2,500 performance machines. How will these three systems compare in overall performance and value?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/cpu-graphics-overclocking,C-2-170210-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=bad876fd882f5e2d45410c428b8d0950&p=4 bad876fd882f5e2d45410c428b8d0950 ]]> Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:30:00 CET http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=27f848d61e1d0b52bd97a9a4b71b6a8f http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2116.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2116.html#xtor=RSS-182 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:10:00 CET We’ve seen how far a moderately priced Core i7 system can take us and now we’re ready to assess the performance advantages of better cooling and a stronger graphics configuration. Will our upgrades be worth the money?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/core-i7-overclock,I-9-174321-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=6d06a5cb8b3571964ee1fe8b2675302d http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2112.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclock,2112.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:10:00 CET We see how far $1,250 gets us when building a new Core i7-based system, and how it compares to last month’s similarly priced Core 2 Duo machine.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/cpu-graphics-overclocking,8-E-170078-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=d582d6389a729a2c60fff0f2ade636db http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-sata,2115.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-hdd-sata,2115.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:00:00 CET Some say 2010 and even 2009 will be the year of SSDs. We think not.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/ssd-os-performance,M-C-173172-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=d582d6389a729a2c60fff0f2ade636db&p=4 d582d6389a729a2c60fff0f2ade636db ]]> Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:00:00 CET http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=4160fa587fbb9a2d7f0df693c1b178ee http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2113.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-2-overclock,2113.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:00:00 CET Unsurprisingly, hardware prices have dropped since our System Builder Marathon last month, which means we have access to more processing power at our same $625 entry-level price point for gamers. Come check out the configuration Paul put together!


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/cpu-graphic-overclocking,Y-N-169727-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=ae96a82f4661e2576edacc9ee0a09ef5 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclocking,2111.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-overclocking,2111.html#xtor=RSS-182 Thu, 25 Dec 2008 18:00:00 CET With the Overdrive overclocking competition two weeks behind us and Team USA victorious, we wanted to check in with a quick recap of our final contest held in Paris, France.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/overdrive-overclocking-competition,E-W-167720-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=ca8fe49eac5d82b1de380c33a094b5b4 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-p45-core,2110.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-p45-core,2110.html#xtor=RSS-182 Wed, 24 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CET As Intel’s Core i7 architecture starts moving down from the high-end, value seekers can build high-performance LGA775 systems cheaply. Low-cost motherboards compete for the value crown with added features, performance, and overclocking capabilities.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/motherboard-p45-intel,6-G-173896-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=e98856b24648d6c8438c3b69fc507517 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4870-palit,2096.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-4870-palit,2096.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:20:00 CET Once you’ve found the GPU that best fits your needs, does it really matter which vendor sells you the card? We take a look at AMD's reference 4870, Sapphire's, and Palit's to get a better sense for what differentiates graphics cards.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/radeon-palit-sapphire,U-X-173481-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=ba1a3ea7652c043e2d5b8d40146b2e01 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/484-holiday-technology-gift.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/484-holiday-technology-gift.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:40:00 CET Are you short on cash and time, but still after something special for the holidays? Let Frank Voelkel lead you to some hidden treasures sure to please your favorite gadget heads.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/christmas-buyers-guide,N-J-173215-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=abf79082d69477a2ce76c6911ad75695 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sas-adaptec-highpoint,2101.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sas-adaptec-highpoint,2101.html#xtor=RSS-182 Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:00:00 CET Professional hardware can be expensive, but are cost effective business products really an alternative? We compared Highpoint’s new RocketRAID 2640X4 SAS RAID controller with Adaptec’s 5405 entry level card.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/adaptec-highpoint-sas,J-7-173059-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=da952563a3954cb0e9c17ce5da2151d8 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-295,2107.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-295,2107.html#xtor=RSS-182 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:00:00 CET After a frustrating second half of 2008, Nvidia is looking to start the new year off by reclaiming its single-card performance crown. We got our hands on an engineering sample GeForce GTX 295 to give you a taste of what you can expect in two weeks.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/geforce-gtx-295,8-G-172672-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=806fa966de1874cb261c4643b30fd9e6 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-x2-phenom,2104.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-x2-phenom,2104.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:40:00 CET Just a couple of weeks before the introduction of its 45 nm Phenom II, AMD introduces a new dual-core chip. The Athlon X2 7000-series is basically a 65 nm Phenom with two active cores, but with the full L2 and L3 cache memory.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/athlon-x2-phenom,3-A-172486-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=a28d9771d3e1307031a7e06567c1454c http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/speedstep-coolnquiet-c-state,2106.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/speedstep-coolnquiet-c-state,2106.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:27:16 CET Modern processors are capable of switching into power-efficient modes to save power when they’re idle, and an increasing number of motherboards offer dynamic features for the same purpose. Yet, the benefits come at a price.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/cpu-power-efficiency,8-I-172674-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=595969144836b52a0638702f3e6c40cf http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/full-tower-case,2105.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/full-tower-case,2105.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:00:00 CET With Intel's Core i7 920 looking like a solid overclocking play, we wanted to find the right full-tower case for our test benches. ABS, Antec, Cooler Master, and Thermaltake battle it out for chassis supremacy.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/full-tower-case,W-U-172254-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=a58d4438c6ee27b9af975d25bc7a47d6 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/483-overdrive-overclocking-pictures.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/483-overdrive-overclocking-pictures.html#xtor=RSS-182 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 12:10:00 CET The Overdrive championship is happening between Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday we brought you the first set of photos from the event. Here are more impressions and emotions from Day 1!


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/,V-0-172188-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=4b2e74ca01c1de5afc93b3c14087c4e5 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/482-overclock-overdrive-tom-s.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/482-overclock-overdrive-tom-s.html#xtor=RSS-182 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:10:00 CET The Overdrive Overclocking Championship is all about overclocking Core i7 Extreme 965. Some teams collected results after only two hours, others are still optimizing. Check out our impressions of Day 1.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/overdrive-overclocking-day1-teaser,V-2-172190-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=b27b12513498d95c1e8d5c45e71af07e http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-overdrive-tom-s,2103.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclocking-overdrive-tom-s,2103.html#xtor=RSS-182 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:50:00 CET Our international Overdrive overclocking competition finals are underway in Paris. But before we start streaming the goings-on in France, we want to present the results of our Italian trials.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/overclock-overdrive-tom-s,S-W-172112-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=e2bcbafd69aca46b30a5d377256a4220 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/481-toms-hardware-news.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/481-toms-hardware-news.html#xtor=RSS-182 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:57:18 CET Did you miss this week's news? Went out of town? Got sick? No worries. Check out our weekend roundup for the full scoop.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/nikonic-news-teaser,S-J-172099-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=a970637c54c673c14c9740b8059a7665 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/DS207-synology-nas,2081.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/DS207-synology-nas,2081.html#xtor=RSS-182 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:00:00 CET Synology really impressed us with the performance of its Disk Station DS408. Can the same company do it again with its Disk Station DS207+?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/ds207-synology-nas,P-0-171972-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=2191ea9ea705b42e11d280702a205ebd http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/4830-radeon-crossfire,2098.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/4830-radeon-crossfire,2098.html#xtor=RSS-182 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:20:00 CET AMD recently launched its Radeon 4830 to take on Nvidia's GeForce 9800 GT. With PowerColor and Sapphire flavors in single- and CrossFire-configurations, we pitch the card against factory-overclocked 8800 GTs and see who is left standing.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/4830-radeon-crossfire,L-A-171838-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=9c3ddf2b2957e2f3a2bfa0901b9afe3d http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/terabyte-hitachi-acoustic,2084.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/terabyte-hitachi-acoustic,2084.html#xtor=RSS-182 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 CET Most modern drives can be set to deliver maximum performance or to operate quietly. We looked at how performance, acoustics, and power requirements change when switching from fast to quiet using Hitachi’s Deskstar 7K1000.B.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/terabyte-acoustic-1tb,D-U-171570-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=2b5050a6e53138694f49c68cda455811 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/790gx-graphics-sideport,2088.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/790gx-graphics-sideport,2088.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:20:00 CET AMD's 790GX and 780G support onboard memory to help improve the performance of integrated graphics. Is it worth paying a bit extra or is the feature a mere gimmick?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/790gx-sideport-graphics,9-7-171403-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=0fe08dc0ab12cfdc95cd46ad733b3bd9 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-pci-express,2095.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-pci-express,2095.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:10:00 CET Does your aging CrossFire-compatible motherboard have enough PCI Express bandwidth to make a second card worthwhile? We compare every Core 2-based platform in order to find out.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/crossfire-pci-express,5-0-171252-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=cf4c2e02cac5cdcf57629c13aa23651c http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ss4200-e-nas-raid,2076.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ss4200-e-nas-raid,2076.html#xtor=RSS-182 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:00:00 CET Intel's Celeron-based SS4200-E is the company's latest effort to clinch market share in the SOHO storage space. Is it enough to usurp more established incumbents?


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/ss4200-e-nas-intel,Z-C-171048-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=c517d606929d45278f1ccf32bbbd606a http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086.html#xtor=RSS-182 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:10:00 CET Detailed graphics card specifications and reviews are great—that is, if you have the time to do the research. At the end of the day, though, what a gamer needs is the best graphics card within a certain budget, and that’s what we’re going to show you.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/radeon-geforce-graphics,V-Q-170918-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=e3ea6bc04ddddbcbd3e948f409dbcfc4 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/green-terabyte-1tb,2078.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/green-terabyte-1tb,2078.html#xtor=RSS-182 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:40:00 CET Usually, green hardware means you're giving up performance in order to cut back on power consumption. But Western Digital's second-generation Green Power drive changes all of that.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/1tb-terabyte-green,P-O-170700-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=4b0bcb933b9270fc56f62678357e634d http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-x58,2087.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-x58,2087.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:00:00 CET Welcome to part four of our Holiday Gift Guide coverage. This time around, the Tom's Hardware staff picks its favorite components for your wish list rounding out 2008.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/holiday-buyer-guide-teaser,N-5-170609-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=e4db5ef4f07c571b9da9c8a2b4669f0f http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/479-overclocking-ln2-nitrogen.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/picturestory/479-overclocking-ln2-nitrogen.html#xtor=RSS-182 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:20:00 CET With Team USA's winning scores in its sights, the German teams battled it out for the chance to compete in our world final even later this month.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/overclocking-competition-german-teaser,N-4-170608-2.jpg http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?i=63f10ece461b23baebacff2a58678fb3 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr2-ram-memory,2079.html#xtor=RSS-182 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ddr2-ram-memory,2079.html#xtor=RSS-182 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:20:00 CET Recent price drops have made 4 GB DDR2 dual-channel kits affordable for even the most cost-conscious buyers. We pushed nine models to their limits to determine best value for a broad range of users.


]]> http://media.bestofmicro.com/ddr2-ram-memory,H-F-170403-2.jpg