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ATI Radeon HD 5570...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today AMD is launching yet another new DirectX 11 graphics card. This time they are targeting the $80 US price range with the Radeon HD 5570. Could the Radeon HD 5570 be the next 4770, we hope so, as the last few Radeon HD 5000 launches have been quite lackluster...
However the Radeon HD 5570 is nothing like the Radeon HD 5870/5850 graphics cards, and we are not talking about performance here. As I just said, these flagship models are so impressive because they set a new benchmark for $300 - $400 US graphics cards. The Radeon HD 5570 changes almost nothing, and in fact at $80 US it could be considered a little backwards.
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ATI Radeon HD 5450...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Ultra low-end graphics cards are not something we often review here at Legion Hardware and in fact they are not something we really review at all. The problem with ultra low-end graphics cards is that we see very little purpose for such a product, especially for our readers. The way we categorize ultra low-end graphics cards is by their retail value, which is $50 US or less...
Bottom-line, the Radeon HD 5450 does not feel like a step forward for low-end graphics cards, it offers the same lackluster performance and it will likely do so at the same price. It really does feel as though AMD are letting Nvidia off the hook here. Instead of smashing the GeForce 210/220/240 graphics cards with quality budget Radeon HD 5000 products, AMD is simply matching what is already available. The end result is a new graphics card with a new model name that essentially has nothing new to offer.
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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Intel Pentium G6950 vs. AMD Phenom II X2...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are throwing the new Intel Pentium G6950 processor head to head with the AMD Phenom II X2 550. Although both are dual-core processors priced at just $100 US, that is where the similarities stop, as these are two very unique processors. For this reason we are interested to learn how they compare in a number of tests...
When comparing clock-for-clock performance the Pentium G6950 was considerably faster in Excel and Photoshop, while the WinRAR performance was much the same. The encoding benchmarks showed very similar results between these two budget processors, with the only real win here going to the Phenom II X2 550 in the x264 HD Benchmark 3.0 test. However, when comparing clock-for-clock performance the Pentium G6950 won all three encoding benchmarks quite convincingly.
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Thermalright Venomous-X...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Finally we have in our possession the latest CPU cooler from Thermalright, known as the Venomous-X. This new cooler has been designed to cool the most powerful processors available today, while Thermalright believes that the Venomous-X is ready for future 6-core processors as well. Picking up where the Ultra 120 Extreme left off, the Venomous-X is set to rewrite the record books...
Where we think Thermalright has really got things right with the Venomous-X is in the mounting design. Often quality coolers are let down by poorly designed mounting systems that do not apply enough pressure in the correct places. The Venomous-X seems to have got this right and we think the improved contact between the base of the heatsink and the processor is largely responsible for the performance gains.
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
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Patriot PS-100 128GB...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out a new Patriot SSD (Solid-State Drive) that goes by the name PS-100. This new product is designed to provide users with a cost effective SSD using a Phison controller. Already the Patriot PS-100 is one of the cheapest SSDs money can buy and we are going to find out if you should pull the trigger on this new product...
Patriot set out to develop a cost effective SSD with the PS-100 series and while they have created an affordable SSD, we do not feel that the design is very cost effective in terms of the performance vs. price ratio. Truth be told, you are much better off with a traditional HDD (Hard Disk Drive), as it will cost you considerably less, provide significantly more storage space, and deliver a similar level of performance.
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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Thermaltake Element V...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Thermaltake offers a huge number of cases and they seem to be adding new models almost every week and today we have yet another new model. Announced late last year, we have the Element V, which is the fifth addition to the Element family and is the first full tower chassis. The Element V is just one of a dozen full tower chassis on offer from Thermaltake, though it has to be said that it features one of their more subtle designs...
In terms of cooling, the Element V easily matches the competition, with five large fans in total. The Element V is also quiet an attractive case, though this is of course a matter of personal opinion. That said, we believe most will find the Element V to be just as aesthetically pleasing as we did. Though for an “eSports” type case if you will, the Cooler Master HAF 932 is hard to go by at just $140, and honestly we prefer the look of that product.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010
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Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus and Hyper T...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out two new cooling products from Cooler Master, as we take a look at the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus and Hyper TX3. The revamped Hyper 212 ‘Plus’ Edition CPU cooler has caught our attention with its new universal mounting system and ultra affordable price tag. While the cut down Hyper TX3 version is even cheaper and still sports many of the same features...
Overall the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus and Hyper TX3 are superb products that offer consumers exceptional value for money. The Hyper 212 Plus in particular is very impressive, delivering performance that is comparable to the very best air-coolers while featuring one of the most innovative mounting systems we have seen. For those looking to squeeze the most out of their new Intel or AMD processor, we highly recommend the Hyper 212 Plus.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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Prolimatech MK-13...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out a new high-end VGA cooler from Prolimatech, the makers of the popular Megahalems CPU cooler. The MK-13 is their first attempt at developing a VGA cooler and while they have not got everything right this round, it is still a very impressive product and to find out what we mean read on...
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Prolimatech MK-13 is its fan mounting system, that allows for several configurations. This means that there will be at least a few configuration options available to you whether you are using just a single graphics card or running a multi-GPU setup. Although trying out various configurations can become time consuming, it is worth trying to work out what will work best with your setup.
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Thursday, January 7, 2010
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Intel Core i5 661 & Core i3 540...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today Intel is releasing a number of new affordable Core i5 and Core i3 desktop processors, which are the first ever to include a built-in GPU. They are also the first processors to be manufactured using the 32nm design process making them even more efficient than existing products. So get ready as we show you exactly what they are all about...
The new Core i5 6xx and Core i3 5xx series of processors are now amongst the fastest dual-core processors money can buy. Even some quad-core processors fell victim to the Core i5 661, as it defeated the AMD Athlon II X4 620 in virtually every test. The AMD Phenom II X2 550 also struggled to keep pace with the Core i3 540 in most tests.
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Corsair Obsidian 800D...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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When Corsair announced their first computer case mid-way through the year it caught our attention and ever since we have been hoping to get our hands on the Obsidian 800D. Finally the time has come where we get to show you what this case is all about and if it is worth the asking price...
Cooling aside, the Obsidian 800D is a very well thought out case and from a case modders perspective we feel there could be no better option. Working with the Obsidian 800D was a joy and we actually had fun building our gaming system with this case, a task that has not been all that enjoyable for sometime given how often we do it. The Obsidian 800D actually makes building a messy system very difficult and this certainly is a very rare ability for a case.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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