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GeForce GTX 260 (216SP) vs. Radeon HD 48...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Nvidia has been turning up the heat and with the holiday season almost here they are pushing their GeForce GTX 260 (216SP) graphics card harder than ever. Of course AMD/ATI is able to answer with the Radeon HD 4870 (1GB), but how does it compare in the latest and greatest games? We decided to find out...
The GeForce GTX 260 (216SP) is now matching the price of the Radeon HD 4870 (1GB), and we have even found examples online that are much cheaper, so price is no longer a concern. There is also no longer any concern with the performance of the GeForce GTX 260 (216SP), particularly when focusing on the more recently released titles.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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Thermaltake MD9...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are taking a break from the ultra high-end cases to bring you something a little more affordable. The new Thermaltake MD9 standard ATX case does a good job of looking special, particularly for a sub-$100 US case...
It would be very easy to call this case standard and throw it into the pile out back, but on closer inspection the M9D is a little more than that. A little. It deals with aesthetics quite well, with an impressive front face and conservative solid side panel. This case is professional enough to not look out of place in an office, yet it looks exciting enough to take around to your mate’s for a LAN party. That said, Thermaltake could have gone the extra mile and coated all faces black.
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Corsair Flash Voyager 64GB...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out a new flash drive from Corsair featuring a massive 64GB storage capacity. This latest Flash Voyager still features the same durable design which is also backed by a 10 year Corsair warranty. Despite being somewhat pricey we found it hard to go by the huge storage capacity which was just so convenient in a thumb size drive...
There you have it, 64GB of storage no bigger than a packet of Hubba-Bubba, simply amazing. However, often the trouble with larger flash drives is the performance, which is usually quite average. Not so long ago a friend purchased a 16GB flash drive and although this is only a quarter of the size of the Corsair Flash Voyager 64GB, filling it would have easily taken four times longer.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
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Thermalright TRUE Copper...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out the most insane air-cooled CPU cooler ever created, the Thermalright TRUE Copper. This incredible heatsink weighs more and costs more than anything we have seen before. Thankfully it performs pretty bloody well, which should peak the interests of more than a few overclockers...
The new Thermalright TRUE Copper truly is the most impractical and most ridiculous heatsink we have ever reviewed here at Legion Hardware. However despite this, it really is one of our all time favorites, and we do not expect anything to top this effort any time soon. While the $100 US price tag is not ideal for an air-cooled solution, we really do not have a problem with it given the 100% copper design.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
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Forceware 180: Just more of the same...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are doing a simple kind of article that compares the performance of Nvidia’s latest driver, using the increasingly popular GeForce GTX 260 (216SP) graphics card, against a much older driver. The new Forceware 180.70 driver is creating a bit of commotion due to various claims that insist it delivers much more performance, so we want to find out if it really does...
Last week when the Forceware 180.43 drivers trickled onto the scene quite a few people made a really big deal out of them, we suspect with a little prodding from Nvidia. Still it interested us enough to investigate, but as it turns out there is nothing all that interesting to be seen. When comparing the Forceware 180.43 driver to the four month old 177.79 version we found almost no difference in performance.
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Tuesday, November 25, 2008
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Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB PC3-10600 (...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out a dual-channel DDR3 memory kit from Crucial designed for maximum performance. The Ballistix Tracer 4GB PC3-10600 is a low-latency memory kit designed for use with Core 2 processors...
When it came time to overclock the Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB PC3-10600 memory we were a little disappointed with the results. Honestly we had thought that reaching 1600MHz would not have been much of a stretch for these modules. While we were able to boot into Windows Vista with the modules clocked at 1700MHz, it was not possible to pass a Prime 95 test. Even at 1600MHz the system would occasionally blue screen and it was not possible to pass Prime 95 testing.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
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Intel Core i7 920 & 965 EE Overclocking ...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are doing a little Intel Core i7 overclocking with the new ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard. The results were impressive, and achieving them could not have been much easier. Those considering the new Core i7 920 processor will no doubt be very interested in our findings…
As we have found, it will be feasible to purchase the Core i7 920 processor along with the ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard for roughly $600 US. If you are prepared to overclock, what you will have effectively done by taking the cheapest possible route, is to have built one of the most powerful computer configurations possible.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are taking a look at another HIS graphics card, this time the Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo is the test subject. This low-end graphics card is designed for gamers on a budget, and despite its affordable price tag, the performance in even the most cutting edge games is still quite impressive...
There is no question that the Radeon HD 4670 is a great value graphics card at $80 US and products such as the HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo only works to further improve the value. The much enhanced cooling design of the Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Turbo is a very welcome addition. Those wanting to show off their Radeon HD 4670 graphics card will also appreciate the blue PCB which has a much more special look to it when compared to the more generic red.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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Thermaltake SpinQ...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we bring you Thermaltake’s latest cooling creation known as the SpinQ and what a mater piece it is. Thermaltake takes pride in developing the industry’s most interesting products and they are very pleased with this latest achievement. However, although the SpinQ is quite possibly the coolest looking heatsink we have ever seen, how does it perform?
Priced at roughly $70 US the SpinQ is not exactly affordable, which is a problem given its lack-luster performance. This price tag puts it in direct competition with the most extreme high-end CPU air-cooled products on the market, such as the Cooler Master V8 and Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme. Both these competing coolers produced much better results when paired with a high-end Intel quad-core processor.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
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HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo...
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[Posted by: Steven Walton]
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Today we are checking out another Radeon HD 4850, this particular version comes from HIS. Their Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo graphics card makes use of an upgraded cooler, along with a little factory overclocking. These improvements help to make the Radeon HD 4850 even better...
In terms of value for money, it is going to be hard to do better than the HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 Turbo. This is because at just $190 US few graphics cards can deliver the same level of performance combined with features such as improved cooling, factory overclocking, and a number of aesthetic improvements. The cheapest Radeon HD 4850 graphics cards still cost around $165 US, making them just $25 US cheaper than this HIS version.
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Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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