GraphicsBy Olin Coles

NVIDIA SLI Performance: GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs GTX 670

Back in May (2012) NVIDIA released their $400 GeForce GTX 670 video card, securing the number two position in their single-GPU product stack. Just three short months later, the GeForce GTX 660 Ti graphics card arrived to market and filled store shelves at the $300 price point. With a substantial $100 price difference between these two product, consumers might (incorrectly) presume there’s a significant difference in hardware or performance. To the surprise of many, the GeForce GTX 670 and GTX 660 Ti are nearly the same card. Both feature identical 28nm NVIDIA ‘Kepler’ GK104 graphics processors, complete with 1344 CUDA cores all clocked to identical 915 MHz core and 980 Boost speeds. Additionally, the GTX 670 and GTX 660 Ti also feature the exact same 2GB GDDR5 video memory buffer, clocked to 1502 MHz on both cards. The only physical difference between these two products resides in the memory subsystem: GeForce GTX 670 receives four 64-bit controllers (256-bit total bandwidth) while GeForce GTX 660 Ti is designed with three memory controllers (192-bit bandwidth). So does this amount to any real differences in video game performance?

Media PlayersBy Olin Coles

WD TV Live Digital Media Player Review

Until recently digital multimedia could only be enjoyed on the computer, and with some extra effort it could be shared onto a portable electronic device. But high-definition movies and music are really best enjoyed on a home theater system, with larger screen and powerful speakers. Now that HDTVs and wireless networking are commonplace an era of attached digital media players has begun, and the WD TV Live helps make the transition easy. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the WD TV Live high-definition digital media player, model WDBHG70000NBK-HESN, and we evaluate how well it entertains us.

Computer Technology GuidesBy Olin Coles

Intel X79 Motherboard Overclocking Guide

This Intel X79 Motherboard Overclocking Guide is meant to assist and outline aspects of overclocking parameters as well as the experience of overclocking on the ASUS X79 series of motherboards. I have detailed our recommendations to maximize the overclocking potential / scaling on ASUS’ X79 series of motherboards. This guide has been developed after extensive internal testing across multiple boards, multiple UEFI builds and a high sampling rate of C0 CPUs and limited sampling of C1 stepping CPUs. While this guide is not definitive and will not contain every possible overclocking combination or guarantee results, the information detailed has been consistently duplicated and yielded repeatable results in our testing. Of course the quality of the CPU and cooling is very important but overall we think the results on our boards should exceed those of others at like settings.

Technology EditorialsBy Olin Coles

Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft XBOX ONE Gaming Consoles To Revive PC Video Games

Next Generation Game Consoles Will Revive PC Gaming By Olin Coles Electronic video games have come a long way since the Golden Age of Video Arcades to become an industry generating nearly 1-trillion dollars in annual revenue (according to Gartner – 2011). Once video games made the leap from quarter-gobbling cabinets to console and later PC, home entertainment turned into […]

Lifestyle EditorialsBy Olin Coles

Before PC and Console Games: The Video Arcade

Once upon a time, the only place you could play electronic video games and compete against friends was the video arcade. Simultaneously, home computers and video game consoles were starting to take root inside some privileged households, beginning the decades-long struggle for control over video game outlets. Video games would eventually propel PC and game console platforms into homes at the same rate arcades would close up shop. Based on recent sales and download figures, it seems that more people play games on their mobile phone than PCs, game consoles, and arcades combined. Still, they will always lack the thrill that comes with a personal appearance to the local arcade.

Computer Technology GuidesBy David Ramsey

Turning PC into Apple Macintosh: Hackintosh Computer

A “Hackintosh” is a computer that runs Apple’s OS X operating system on non-Apple hardware. This has been possible since Apple’s switch from IBM’s PowerPC processors to Intel processors a few years ago. Until recently, building a PC-based Mac was something done only by hard-core hackers and technophiles, but in the last few months, building a Hackintosh PC has become much easier. Benchmark Reviews looks at what it’s possible to do with PC hardware and the Mac Snow Leopard OS today, and the pros and cons of the building a Hackintosh computer system over purchasing a supported Apple Mac Pro.

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ReviewsBy Olin Coles

Herman Miller Embody Chair Review

Welcome the Herman Miller Embody chair. Designed specifically for people who work for hours at their computer, Embody is the first work chair that benefits both mind and body. More than just a solution towards minimizing the negative effects of sitting, Herman Miller’s Embody chair was also designed to deliver positive effects on the body. In this article Benchmark Reviews takes you on a tour of the Herman Miller Embody ergonomic office chair, and demonstrates how much better sitting all day can feel.

Computer Technology GuidesBy Olin Coles

Best Thermal Paste Application Methods

Over the past several months, I have read an unreasonable number of discussion forum posts which offer inaccurate and often times incorrect information. It’s not really all that surprising to read poorly conceived information on the Internet, which seems to be an anonymous means of passing off opinion for fact. As a general rule we don’t let too many things go untested, and the advice of wanna-be experts is not doing the hardware enthusiast and overclocker community any good. In this article, Benchmark Reviews dispels myth and establishes fact on the topic of proper application of Thermal Interface Material.