Today marks the release of the GeForce GTX 670 GPU from Nvidia and we will be checking out a particularly interesting version from Gainward which is part of their elite Phantom series. Read on as we put the new GTX 670 to the test in more than a dozen video games...

There isn’t much more that needs to be said, the GeForce GTX 670 is the best value, most efficient high-end graphics card available right now, assuming it is actually available. Should it be possible to pick up a GeForce GTX 670 graphics card for $399, we suggest that you do.

Building on the success of the QNAP TS-x69 series is the new TS-x79 range, which features two new models. Leading the charge for QNAP are the TS-879 Pro and TS-1079 Pro high-end small and medium business desktop NAS solutions. These new eight and ten bay models are powered by an Intel Core i3 processor and support 10GbE networking for maximum performance...

Without question the QNAP TS-879 Pro is a beast when configured with the right hardware. Loaded with hard drives, in our case Western Digital RE4 Enterprise drives, the TS-879 Pro is as fast as any NAS device we have tested before it using a Gigabit Ethernet connection. However drop in a 10GbE network card and the TS-879 Pro is a totally different animal.

Today Intel is unveiling their latest CPU microarchitecture which has been codenamed Ivy Bridge. Intel has been following the tick-tock rule for the past few years, which sees a new architecture and smaller design process released over a 2-year cycle...

When compared to the Core i7-2600K the new i7-3770K wasn’t a great deal faster for the most part. Many of our real-world application tests saw very little difference in performance, such as Excel 2010, WinRAR and Photoshop CS5. That said, there were instances where the Core i7-3770K was around 10% faster, such as Fritz Chess 13. Where we saw the biggest gains was in our encoding benchmarks, here the Core i7 3770K was between 10–17% faster than the i7-2600K.

Today we are looking at the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB, which is the company’s fastest USB flash drive to date. By utilizing an eight-channel architecture Kingston claims that this new drive can achieved transfer rates of up to 225MB/s read and 135MB/s write, while capacities will range from 64GB through to 256GB...

Devices such as the Patriot Supersonic and the Supersonic Magnum have been at the top of the food chain for some time. So does the new DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 do anything to change this? Starting at $125 for the 64GB model it is already more expensive than the Supersonic Magnum which costs just $100 for the 64GB model.

Today we are checking out the HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ Turbo, which has been designed to get the most out of AMD’s 7870 GPU. The card boasts an upgraded cooling solution along with a little factory overclocking for extra performance. Despite these improvements HIS has been able to competitively price this new graphics card...

The HIS Radeon HD 7870 IceQ Turbo is a menacing looking graphics card thanks to that huge black fan shroud and thick copper heatpipes that loop out the side like some kind of robotic tentacles. There is no question that this is a bad ass graphics card that will undoubtedly turn a lot of heads, but is it as impressive as it looks?

Today we are checking out a pair of Asrock X79 motherboards designed to provide users with an affordable option for this high-end platform. Although they are affordable, the X79 Extreme4 and X79 Extreme4-M are not light on features, offering much of the same gear found on the more expensive LGA2011 boards...

Therefore it appears that Asrock has the affordable LGA2011 segment stitched up nicely and in our opinion offers the best motherboards for pairing with the Intel Core i7-3820 processor. The X79 Extreme4 and X79 Extreme4-M are well rounded boards offering excellent performance, exceptional overclocking abilities, rich feature sets, unbeatable value and low power consumption.

Today we are checking out the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 OC Edition, which has been designed from the ground up featuring a custom PCB, upgraded cooling setup, and factory overclocking. Despite the numerous improvements that Gigabyte has been able to make, they have also managed to stick very closely to the MSRP...

As for Gigabyte, they have taken the new Radeon HD 7870 and made it even better with their upgraded WindForce 3X cooler and redesigned PCB, both of which appear to provide much greater overclocking headroom. For roughly just $10 more than the MSRP, we feel gamers are getting a real bargain with the GeForce Radeon HD 7870 OC.

Today we are taking a look at an OCZ brand SSD that uses a controller developed by the same manufacturer that powered the original Vertex series. Once again OCZ and Indilinx are working closely together, this time to create what is known as the Octane series. Boasting capacities up to 1TB, this new series is also SATA 6Gb/s compatible...

Getting back to the issue of performance, the Octane series does deliver, just not as well under all circumstances. When running our file copy tests we were blown away by the performance, which was consistently higher than competing SandForce drives. The real-world performance seemed to have its ups and downs, with the Octane 512GB providing strong Windows 7 boot time performance but average game level load times.

March is a new month and it means AMD have a new set of Radeon HD 7000 series graphics cards for us. The new Radeon HD 7800 series includes the HD 7870 and HD 7850 and both are designed for serious gamers. Based on the same GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture as the Radeon HD 7900 series, we are expecting good things...

Therefore it appears that gamers need to be prepared to spend at least $249 on a current generation graphics card to justify upgrading. For those gamers still flaunting a Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards because they skipped the HD 6000 series for something more worthwhile, we now have that something. The Radeon HD 5870 debuted with an MSRP of $380 which makes the much faster Radeon HD 7870 a very attractive prospect at $349.

Today we are checking out the Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 OC Edition, which has been designed from the ground up featuring a custom PCB, upgraded cooling setup, and factory overclocking. Despite the numerous improvements that Gigabyte has been able to make, they have also managed to hit the MSRP right on target...

On a more positive note Gigabyte should be recognized for taking the Radeon HD 7770 and improving it. The shorter PCB design means that the card will fit better in mid-sized computer cases while the use of better components improves durability and could even help with overclocking performance. Finally the upgraded cooler is another significant improvement that not only helps keep this card cool but also very quiet.

Today we are checking out the latest additions to the Radeon HD 7000 series, as AMD unveils two new HD 7700 models. Both the Radeon HD 7770 and HD 7750 are targeting the sub-$200 price range, making them mainstream gaming graphics cards. Based on the same GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture as the Radeon HD 7900 series, we are expecting good things...

The Radeon HD 7750 for example might be 18% faster than the old Radeon HD 6750 (which is really just the HD 5750 that was released back in 2009), and at roughly the same price might seem like a good deal, but the HD 7750 is still slower than the GeForce GTX 550 Ti by an average of about 2%.

Those wanting to build the ultimate performance system will naturally turn to Intel’s new LGA2011 platform which recently made its debut with the Sandy Bridge-E processors. This highly refined architecture takes the original Sandy Bridge design and pumps it full of steroids, while adding a few new things. Moreover, the platform is expected to support enthusiast-level Ivy Bridge processors that are slated for release by the end of 2012, adding to the platform's longevity...

Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say you shouldn’t bother with quad-channel memory, it is fair to say you don’t need it. Based on our findings the Sandy Bridge-E processors perform just as well when using dual-channel memory as they do with quad.

Today we are revisiting the Crucial m4 Solid-State Disk using the latest firmware, to see how it compares to the competition in terms of value and performance. This time we have the premium 512GB model on hand, so we are keen to see how half a terabyte of m4 handles itself...

Today the Crucial m4 is even better as firmware updates have fine-tuned the performance, allowing it to better compete with the speedy SF-2281 drives. The 512GB version of the m4 that we reviewed was exceptionally fast, providing rapid Windows 7 boot times and lightning fast multitasking performance.

Today we are taking a look at OCZ’s new affordable performance power supply series, known as the ZT range. These modestly priced units are 80-Plus Bronze Certified for up to 85% efficiency. The series features three fully modular units rated at 750w, 650w and 550w, making them ideal for a wide range of users. Read on as we find which one best suits you...

The OCZ ZT Series is very well priced and we were surprised to find the 550w model online for as little as $90. As tempting as that is, potential buyers could be even more tempted by the higher capacity units which are only a fraction more expensive. The 650w version for example costs just $10 more, while the 750w version is another $10 again.

Today we are checking out the new AMD Radeon HD 7970 graphics card that is targeting the $549 price range. AMD hopes to take down the Nvidia GeForce GTX 580, which is currently the fastest single-GPU graphics card money can buy. In order to do so they have designed a new architecture which uses the 28nm design process...

First let’s talk about the numbers, as we saw some pretty compelling frame rates from the Radeon HD 7970. In the dozen games we tested with, the Radeon HD 7970 was on average 42% faster than the Radeon HD 6970. That’s a mind blowing result when you consider that the Radeon HD 6970 was just 24% faster than the Radeon HD 5870.

Today we are checking out how the new Patriot Pyro SE drives perform when placing two of them in a RAID array. The Pyro SE is the latest SSD range from Patriot and it is their answer to the Vertex 3 as well as numerous other SandForce SF-2281 based SSDs...

In fact it was the file copy tests that really benefited from the use of RAID, as we found the Patriot Pyro SE 120GB drives were over 40% faster than a 240GB SandForce SF-2281 drive. In all three of our copy tests the Pyro SE 120GB RAID0 configuration delivered over 200MB/s and this kind of performance certainly helps justify the $410 investment.

Today we are checking out the latest Mini PC from Asrock known as the Vision 3D 252B. This second generation Vision 3D series adopts the Intel Sandy Bridge architecture while it also provides a few other noteworthy enhancements. There are a huge range of features on offer, making this one of the most impressive HTPCs to date...

However, before we even found out what was hiding inside, the Vision 3D 252B already impressed us with its aesthetically pleasing design. The Asrock Vision 3D 252B comes in either black or silver and would have no problem fitting into any home entertainment setting. Alternatively, it has enough power to serve as a desktop PC for standard needs and entertainment purposes.

Today we are checking out two of the newest desktop NAS (Network Attached Storage) solutions from Synology, which are part of their growing Disk Station x12 series. The budget orientated DS212j is designed to deliver the feature rich DSM 3.2 software as a cost effective 2-bay device, while the more expensive DS212+ focuses on performance...

The DS212+ on the other hand shares the exact same design as its predecessor the DS211+. The DS212+ does receive a 25% higher clocked processor, though the memory capacity remained the same at 512MB. The key advantage of the DS212+ is the addition of USB 3.0 support. Honestly we feel this is an essential feature for all new NAS devices to support and we were disappointed to find it missing on the DS212j, as well as the recently reviewed QNAP TS-119P II and TS-219P II.

Today Intel takes the next step in the evolution of their Sandy Bridge architecture, as they push the 32nm design process to the limits with a 2.27 billion transistor architecture featuring up to 6 cores and 12 threads. Codenamed Sandy Bridge-E, users can expect the most powerful desktop processors Intel has ever developed...

There was never a question of whether or not Sandy Bridge-E was going to be fast. Rather the question was how much faster would it be? Intel’s press information was quick to point out that the Core i7-3960X is 52% faster than the Core i7-2600K in content creation applications, while it provided 114% better memory performance and 46% better game physics performance...

Today we are checking out a new product from ADATA called S511, which is their latest SSD series. Based on a latest generation controller from SandForce, the S511 is the successor to the S599 series and as such promises to deliver blistering fast performance using the 6Gb/s SATA 3.0 interface...

The real-world performance of the S511 240GB was impressive as the drive performed well in both our file copy and application tests. The only weakness found was when running the CrystalDiskMark random 4K-QD32 test, where the read performance was considerably lower than the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB and Kingston HyperX 240GB drives.

Today we are checking out the QNAP TS-219P II and TS-119P II, which are designed to provide corporate workgroups or small office/home office users with budget-friendly network attached storage (NAS) solutions for efficient data backup and convenient file sharing...

Given the price and performance of the TS-119P II and TS-219P II models, we have found that they bridge the gap in QNAP’s current lineup very well. Although the TS-119P II is now the most expensive single bay device QNAP offers, it is also by far their most powerful. When compared to its predecessor, the TS-119P+, users can enjoy improved performance and an upgraded design for a small price premium.

Today we are checking out a new graphics card from HIS, as they reinvent the Radeon HD 6870 with a new IceQ model. Sporting what HIS call a black hole impeller, this new graphics card receives a massive upgrade in the cooling department, said to deliver 24 degrees lower temperatures. This new design should not only improve thermals and operating volume, but it should also enhance the overclocking performance...

Here we find HIS attempting to make old technology new as they re-design the Radeon HD 6870, giving it a new lease on life. Although the Radeon HD 6870 is still a current generation product, it is fair to say that after 12 months it is getting a little long in the tooth, especially with the release of AMD’s upcoming Southern Islands (Radeon HD 7xxx) family just around the corner.

Today we are checking out a few new portable USB 3.0 hard drives made by Silicon Power, called the Diamond D10 and Stream S20. These 2.5” portable drives come in a range of capacities and we will be taking a look at the 750GB models which are designed to provide plenty of mobile storage without breaking the bank...

Both the Silicon Power Stream S20 and Diamond D10 performed very well throughout the testing phase, as did the previously reviewed Stream S10. Still, if we were basing our choice on performance alone we would pick the Stream S20 for its superior read and write performance when handling large files, while it also blitzed the other drives in our game upload test.

Today we are checking out the Synology DiskStation DS712+, which is powered by an Intel Atom D425 dual-core processor and features a 1GB memory buffer. These hardware specifications should make the DS712+ quite snappy and the ability to support Link Aggregation should help maximize performance of the dual bay NAS device...

Overall we are impressed with the build quality, design, performance and features of the Synology DS712+. Meanwhile the DX510 expansion unit is an excellent way to increase storage without sacrificing performance. Combined, the two offer a highly flexible solution to growing businesses or professionals that cannot afford to cough up $800+ right off the bat for the larger devices.

Today AMD is launching for the first time its new FX processor series based on the Bulldozer microarchitecture. Designed from the ground up, these new processors are geared towards mainstream users. The range will include processors with up to eight cores, while six and four core models will also be available...

Even so, when we ran our encoding benchmarks, which focus on tests capable of using all eight cores, the FX-8150 didn’t exactly shine. The Core i5-2500K was slightly faster when using HandBrake, while it was worlds faster in TMPGEnc XPress, not to mention it blasted the FX-8150 in the x264 HD Benchmark. To think that the FX-8150 had twice as many cores to play with and it still came up short, really speaks volumes about the core efficiency of the Sandy Bridge processors.