22 June 2017Manufacturer NewsBy News Reporter

Futuremark PCMark 10 Basic Edition and PCMark 10 Advanced Edition Benchmarks Released

Following the launch of PCMark 10 Professional Edition at the start of the month, today we are releasing PCMark 10 Basic Edition, a free benchmark for home users, and PCMark 10 Advanced Edition, which adds more tests and features for enthusiasts. PCMark 10 is the latest version in our series of industry standard PC benchmarks. Updated for Windows 10 with new and improved tests, PCMark 10 is also faster and easier to use. The industry standard PC performance benchmark for Windows. Relevant, real-world tests covering a wide range of everyday activities. Accurate and impartial, ideal for comparing systems and choosing upgrades. Created in cooperation with leading hardware and software companies. PCMark benchmarks measure the performance of your PC using tests […]

2 July 20142 July 2014MotherboardsBy Hank Tolman

ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ Motherboard Review

FM2+ Motherboards sporting the A88X chipset started appearing in October 2013, but the improved functionality over the latest FM2 motherboards only became truly apparent with the release of the Kaveri line of APUs in January 2014. Add to that the recent release of AMD drivers supporting the Mantle API, and the FM2+ motherboards start to make sense. Benchmark Reviews has the AMD A10-7850K APU and a couple of FM2+ motherboards on hand. This article is dedicated to reviewing the ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ Motherboard to discover what sets it apart from the rest of the FM2+ crowd.

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30 June 201430 June 2014GraphicsBy Steven Iglesias-Hearst

HIS Radeon R9 290 iPower IceQ X2 OC Video Card Review

Since AMD announced their GPU 14 R9 series video cards, AIB partners have been tweaking and tuning their own aftermarket designs. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the HIS Radeon R9 290 iPower IceQ X2 OC 4GB video card (Model# H290QMC4GD). As the name suggests, this particular model features the high end IceQ X2 cooler from the HIS labs and slightly faster Core and Memory speeds. I have seen the evolution of this cooler first hand and I know it to be fully capable. Two 89mm dual axial fans and five heatpipes ensure that your temperatures will stay well within safe limits with the minimum amount of noise, even during overclocking.

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27 June 201410 July 2014GraphicsBy Steven Iglesias-Hearst

HIS Radeon R9 280 IceQ X² OC 3GB Video Card Review

In this next installment of AMD’s GPU 14 R9 line-up, Benchmark Reviews will be testing the HIS Radeon R9 280 IceQ XÂ² OC 3GB Video Card (Model# H280QMC3G2M). As the name suggests, this particular model features the high end IceQ X2 cooler from the HIS labs and faster Core and Memory speeds. I have seen the evolution of this cooler first hand and I know it to be fully capable. Two 89mm dual axial fans and five heatpipes ensure that your temperatures will stay well within safe limits.

7 May 201428 May 2014MotherboardsBy Olin Coles

ASUS Z97-DELUXE NFC & WLC Motherboard Review

ASUS really pulls away from their competition with digital power control for memory and processor, utilizing up to 16 power phases to ensure absolute precision stability. All hardware points are controlled by Dual Intelligent Processors 5, which consists of DIGI+ Power Control, TPU, EPU, Turbo App, and Fan Xpert. ASUS Z97-DELUXE and Z97-PRO models feature dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac (a/b/g/n/ac) and BlueTooth 4.0 wireless functionality. In this article Benchmark Reviews showcases the ASUS Z97-DELUXE (NFC & WLC) motherboard, and reveals the many hardware features packed onto this mainstream channel desktop board while showing off overclocking performance.

12 August 201316 April 2018ProcessorsBy David Ramsey

Intel Core i5-4430 CPU LGA1150 Haswell Processor Review

When Intel sends out press samples of their new CPUs, they generally provide the top-end desktop products like the Core i7-4470K. And it’s fun to have the latest new super-fast processor to play with. But most people don’t need this level of power, and indeed in many cases even enthusiasts won’t make full use of the capabilities of a high-end part. Given that, might a less expensive, mid-range CPU be a better choice? Benchmark Reviews tests the mid-range Intel Core i5-4430 CPU, desktop processor model BX80646I54430, to find out.

lenovo LT3053p 34 front 2560x1600: GeForce GTX 770-780 vs Radeon HD 7950-7970

26 July 201316 April 2018GraphicsBy Olin Coles

2560×1600: GeForce GTX 770-780 vs Radeon HD 7950-7970

Very recently Lenovo loaned us their 30-inch ThinkVision LT3053p IPS LED-Backlit LCD Monitor for review. While the AH-IPS display panel was impressive, its size really made us wonder about how much impact it would have on PC video games. Before this behemoth display went back to Lenovo, I decided to test it on some of the most recent graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests frame rate performance at 2560×1600 for the Radeon HD 7950 against GeForce GTX 770, and Radeon HD 7970 against GeForce GTX 780.

15 July 201316 April 2018MotherboardsBy Steven Iglesias-Hearst

ASRock Z87E-ITX Intel Desktop Motherboard Review

Small form factor PC’s have been gaining a lot of momentum and favor with hardware enthusiasts and hardcore gamers these past couple of years. Since more features are integrated into the CPU in recent releases, it means more real estate has been made on ITX form factor motherboards for extras that may well have not fit previously. With the release of Intel Haswell CPU’s and Z87 chipset, motherboard vendors are now more than ever able to condense the features of a full size ATX motherboard into the ITX form factor without much (if any) sacrifice. See for yourself, take a look at an average Z68 or Z77 ATX motherboard and you will start to notice just how much space isn’t occupied. In this article Benchmark Reviews takes an in-depth look at the ASRock Z87E-ITX motherboard, reporting back on special features and performance as well as giving a visual commentary on the aesthetics of this tiny beast.

SanDisk Extreme II SSD 240GB Solid State Drive SDSSDXP-240G

29 June 201316 April 2018StorageBy Olin Coles

SanDisk Extreme II Solid State Drive SDSSDXP Review

In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the 240GB SanDisk Extreme II SSD, model SDSSDXP-240G-G25, against the leading competition. This slim 7mm solid state drive is advertised to reach 550 MB/s reads and 510 MB/s writes with its Marvell 88SS9187 SSD processor, while also reaching 95,000 IOPS for random reads. SanDisk then goes beyond simple transfer speeds and TRIM garbage collection by including proprietary nCache non-volatile write cache technology for its 19nm Toggle NAND Flash.

16 June 201316 April 2018MotherboardsBy David Ramsey

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 Intel Motherboard Review

ASUS’ newest TUF motherboards are built on Intel’s new Z87 chipset, for the new Haswell-based LGA 1150 CPUs. The TUF line emphasizes reliability and durability rather than a cornucopia of consumer features or the ability to reach heroic overclocking levels. Can an enthusiast love the SABERTOOTH Z87? Benchmark Reviews checks this board out to see what makes it special enough to include in your next rig.

13 June 201315 April 2015StorageBy Olin Coles

OCZ Vertex 450 Solid State Drive Review

The last time we tested the OCZ Vertex 4, it was powered by a dual-core Marvell controller that combined technology from separate sources. This time, the OCZ Vertex 450 solid state drive is made of in-house components. Featuring an Indilinx BF3-M10 Barefoot 3 controller that supports 20nm Synchronous Multi-Level Cell (MLC) NAND flash components with AES-256 encryption and Trim support, Vertex 450 is good for 540 MB/s read speeds over a SATA 6-Gb/s connection. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the 240GB OCZ Vertex 450 SSD, model VTX450-25SAT3-256G, against the leading competition.

30 May 201316 April 2018GraphicsBy Olin Coles

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 Video Card Review

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 770 video card is built from the 28nm Kepler GK104 graphics processor, identical to the GTX 680 released back in March 2012. Featuring 1536 CUDA cores that are clocked to reach 1085 MHz using NVIDIA Boost 2.0 technology, GTX 770 also comes with 2GB of GDDR5 video memory that creates the world’s fastest 1753 MHz graphics frame buffer. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests and compares the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 graphics card using several highly-demanding DX11 video games, such as Metro: Last Light, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3.

23 May 201316 April 2018GraphicsBy Olin Coles

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Graphics Card Review

NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX TITAN allowed gamers to challenge any video game they choose with the highest quality settings possible, but in limited supply and high price tag. For many players, their games really only needed half as much power and memory from a video card. Enter NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780: built from GTX TITAN to deliver 3GB of GDDR5 video frame buffer memory, and 2304 CUDA cores from the GK110 GPU that reach 900 MHz using NVIDIA Boost 2.0 technology. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests and compares the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 graphics card using several highly-demanding DX11 video games, such as Metro: Last Light, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3.

15 April 20139 September 2013StorageBy Olin Coles

Seagate Desktop HDD ST4000DM000 Review

Seagate has recently re-branded their consumer storage products, formerly named Barracuda, in time for the launch of their 15th-generation. The 4TB Seagate Desktop HDD (OEM model ST4000DM000, retail kit STBD4000400) features a SATA 6Gb/s interface with Native Command Queueing (NCQ). Eight data heads read and write to four 1GB disc platters which enable 625Gb/in2 areal density. Cached by 64MB DRAM, this 5900 RPM hard disk drive is specified to move files at 180 MB/s sustained data rate. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests performance and explores new features on the 4TB Seagate Desktop HDD.

26 March 20139 September 2013GraphicsBy Olin Coles

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST Video Card Review

With the economy on the rebound, gamers are coming out of hibernation with a hunger for modern DirectX11 graphics and realism. Since AMD has all but disappeared from the scene, NVIDIA has timed their affordable mainstream video card launch perfectly. Based on the NVIDIA Kepler GK106 architecture, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST delivers 2GB of 1502 MHz GDDR5 memory and 768 CUDA Cores operating at 980 MHz up to 1033+ with NVIDIA GPU Boost technology. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST graphics card using several highly-demanding DX11 video games.

8 January 201315 December 2014NetworkBy Bruce Normann

NETGEAR GS110T Gigabit Smart Switch Review

Until recently, there were only two types of network switches, un-managed and managed. Today, there is a new class, called Smart Switches. A blend of the two previous extremes, they’re targeted to both corporate users and what the industry politely calls “ProSumers”. Switches aren’t reviewed by the press that often, but they are a necessary part of many home and SMB networks, so we need to look at what’s available now and then. NETGEAR is a major player in the networking market, and today Benchmark Reviews looks at the GS110T, one of the less expensive offerings in their ProSafe SmartSwitch line. It’s got enough GbE ports to future-proof most home installations, plus two fiber optic interfaces.

20 August 201219 August 2013GraphicsBy 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?