Radeon

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  • Maingear unveils Core i7-packin' SHIFT, your own 'personal supercomputer'

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    11.02.2009

    We'll be straight with ya -- we're betting these "personal supercomputer" claims are just a bit out of line with reality, but even still, there's no denying that Maingear has shoved an insane amount of horsepower beneath the (admittedly large) hood of its newest rig. The beastly SHIFT does away with copious LED lighting and blinging accents found on many modern gaming PCs and instead opts for a classier, more ominous tower. Within, you'll find a vertical airflow system, a Core i7 processor, your choice of ATI or NVIDIA graphics, 8GB (and up) of DDR3-1600 RAM, up to 6 HDDs or 12 SSDs, DVD and Blu-ray options, an Asetek liquid-cooling solution, Razer peripherals, an optional Killer NIC Xeno Pro and Windows 7 running the show. The Intel P55 rig gets going at $2,199, while the X58 model starts $400 higher; for those in creative design fields, Maingear's expected to unveil a SHIFT just for you in the near future. Head on past the break for the full release. %Gallery-77033%

  • ATI's dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970 pictured in the wilderness

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    10.31.2009

    And now... fighting out of the red corner, weighing in with two Evergreen GPUs, and wearing black trunks and red trim, it's the Radeon HD 5970. ATI's latest challenger for the title of undisputed graphics champion has been snared in the wild, and its photo shoot reveals a suitably oversized beast. Measuring in at 13.5 inches and requiring both an eight- and six-pin power connector, the pre-production sample can fit inside only the roomiest and best-powered rigs around. It's named somewhat confusingly, with AMD dropping its X2 nomenclature for dual GPU setups, but it features two HD 5870 chips running in onboard Crossfire on the same PCB, and foreshadows a HD 5950, which will combine a pair of the more affordable HD 5850s. Performance figures available earlier have been pulled, at the behest of AMD, but we've got plenty of eye candy to admire, and there's also no price tag in sight to spoil our daydreaming pleasure. [Via PC Perspective] %Gallery-76900%

  • ATI Radeon HD 5750 brings HDMI bliss to HTPCs for $110

    by 
    Ben Drawbaugh
    Ben Drawbaugh
    10.14.2009

    We knew that video cards that could bitstream all the latest HD codecs wouldn't always cost $380, but we certainly didn't expect a cheaper alternative in two weeks. Of course price and HDMI audio capabilities aren't the only factors when choosing a video card for your HTPC, so you might want to keep waiting -- you know another few weeks -- for a version that doesn't take up two of your card slots for a fan that is no doubt anything but quiet. Anandtech is predicting you might have to wait another year for the perfect HTPC video card in the way of the 5600 series.[Via Missing Remote]

  • ATI Radeon HD 5770 and 5750 steal away reviewers' hearts

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    10.13.2009

    The ATI onslaught of 40nm DirectX 11 parts continues today with two even cheaper variants coming from its Evergreen family of chips. Based on the Juniper core, the HD 5770 and 5750 represent ATI's mainstream value proposition, with compute performance of more than 1 TFLOPS and pricing between $109 and $159. There's a significant dropoff in specs from the world-conquering HD 5870 and similarly potent HD 5850, but reviewers found the latest cards were still up to the task, with the 5770's performance said to be "just shy" of the very recent top dog for ATI, the HD 4890. With low power consumption, competitive pricing and added features like Eyefinity and 7.1 HD audio, the new cards might not push performance boundaries, but they also leave you with little reason to look elsewhere for your next GPU purchase. Hit up the reviews below for more detailed impressions. Read - Hot Hardware review Read - PC Perspective review Read - HardOCP review Read - TweakTown review Read - Techgage review Read - AnandTech review Read - Hexus review

  • ATI Radeon HD 5870 is the first video card to bitstream TrueHD and DTS-HD

    by 
    Ben Drawbaugh
    Ben Drawbaugh
    09.30.2009

    The good news is that you can finally get both compressed and uncompressed HD audio off a Blu-ray Disc and into your A/V receiver without the need of a dedicated sound card. The bad news is that at $380, the ATI Radeon HD 5870 still costs more than a stand-alone Blu-ray player and that price doesn't even include playback software. That's ok with us though, as we're used to being charged early adopter tax, and now the first video card with this ability is released, it should only be a matter of time before this feature trickles down to video cards we can actually afford.

  • ATI Radeon HD 5850 provides scorching performance for a relative pittance

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    09.30.2009

    When the covers were slipped off the HD 5870 last week, what emerged was the new champ in graphics performance that could also boast a pretty aggressive price to performance ratio. The only question left for many was whether the slightly hamstrung version of the same Cypress chip, the HD 5850, would be able to offer even better value for money. With a suggested retail price of $259, lower power consumption under load and a shorter circuit board to cram into your case, the 5850 certainly appeals to the more sensible end of the graphics card market. All we really need to say is that Editor's Choice awards rained down upon this thing like they were going out of style -- so take a deep breath and hit the links below to plunge into the bar chart-intensive analysis.Read - Hot Hardware reviewRead - HardOCP reviewRead - Hexus reviewRead - PC Perspective reviewRead - Tech Report reviewRead - Legit Reviews review

  • $4,000 Alienware Aurora ALX benchmarked: domination this world has never seen

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    09.24.2009

    Alienware's Aurora ALX, which was just unveiled this week alongside ATI's blisteringly fast Radeon HD 5870 GPU, gets going at $2,299. If that doesn't bother you, the late-October estimated ship date might. Somehow, the benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware were able to grab hold of one of these rigs, and the results are fairly stunning (if not expected). Granted, their test configuration was a fully loaded $4,074 model, complete with a 3.33GHz Core i7 Extreme Edition 975 CPU, twin ATI Radeon HD 5870's in a CrossFire configuration and 6GB of DDR3 memory. Oh, and blue lights. Lots of blue lights. Put simply, the one-two CPU / GPU punch produced results that led to domination that made pretty much anything else out there look weak. Don't believe us? Hit that link for the bar-charted proof.

  • Maingear, CyberPower and iBuyPower gaming desktops pick up ATI Radeon HD 5870

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    09.23.2009

    ATI's Radeon HD 5870 GPU has already taken its rightful place within a few of Alienware's newest desktops, but as with most every major GPU launch, a few of the smaller guys are also taking the opportunity to offer gamers the option to pick one up inside of a new rig. Maingear's Ephex, F131, Prelude, and Dash can all be ordered up right now with the staggeringly potent graphics card, and if none of those suit your fancy, CyberPower would be more than happy to have your business. In fact, it has squeezed the DirectX 11-friendly GPU into the Gamer Xtreme 4200 (starts at $999), Gamer Xtreme 5200 (starts at $1,393) and the AMD-based Gamer Dragon 9500 (starting at $927). Still on the hunt? iBuyPower has an eerily similar trio, though their lineup starts at just $819. Hit the read links below if you feel like putting together a system for kicks, but don't blame us when the order button presses itself.Read - Maingear rigsRead - CyberPower rigsRead - iBuyPower rigs

  • ATI Radeon HD 5870 blazes onto the scene, receives approving nods

    by 
    Vlad Savov
    Vlad Savov
    09.23.2009

    Watch out now -- the evergreen revolution has arrived, right on schedule and with the promised DirectX 11 and Eyefinity in tow. AMD's new flagship graphics part, formerly known under the Cypress codename, is built on a 40nm process, sports an appropriately inflated 850MHz engine clock speed, 1600 stream processors, 153.6GBps memory bandwidth, over two billion transistors, and the freshly minted HD 5870 moniker. There'll be a HD 5850 as well, which makes do with a 725MHz core clock, 1440 stream processors and slightly slower (or is it just less fast?) GDDR5 memory, but only the headline device has been made available to reviewers, so let's see what they thought. HardOCP whipped out their special Gold Award for the ocassion, noting that it "doubles performance, yet remains within the same power envelope." The Tech Report crew agreed wholeheartedly, commending the "admirably low" power draw, noise levels and GPU temperatures. In fact, a pretty universal consensus shows that the new card spanks everything else out there in terms of performance, and makes a very compelling value proposition -- a significant feat for a card that's aimed at the usually less price-conscious enthusiast market. Hit up the read links below to revel in the full glorious details. Show full PR text AMD Changes the Game with ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series DirectX® 11-Compliant Graphics Cards, Harnessing the Most Powerful Processor Ever Created World's Most Advanced Graphics Processor Allows Consumers to Expand, Accelerate and Dominate Their PC Experience with First Full Support for Microsoft DirectX 11 SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMD (NYSE: AMD) today launched the most powerful processor ever created1, found in its next-generation ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series graphics cards, the world's first and only to fully support Microsoft DirectX® 11, the new gaming and compute standard shipping shortly with Microsoft Windows® 7 operating system. Boasting up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power, the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series effectively doubles the value consumers can expect of their graphics purchases, delivering twice the performance-per-dollar of previous generations of graphics products. AMD will initially release two cards: the ATI Radeon HD 5870 and the ATI Radeon HD 5850, each with 1GB GDDR5 memory. With the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards, PC users can expand their computing experience with ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology, accelerate their computing experience with ATI Stream technology, and dominate the competition with superior gaming performance and full support of Microsoft DirectX® 11, making it a "must-have" consumer purchase just in time for Microsoft Windows® 7 operating system. "With the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards driven by the most powerful processor on the planet, AMD is changing the game, both in terms of performance and the experience," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Products Group, AMD. "As the first to market with full DirectX 11 support, an unmatched experience made possible with ATI Eyefinity technology, and ATI Stream technology harnessing open standards designed to help make Windows 7 that much better, I can say with confidence that AMD is the undisputed leader in graphics once more." Dominate your competition with Microsoft DirectX® 11 support With the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards, gamers will enjoy gaming supremacy and the ultimate advantage, realizing incredible HD gaming performance and the most engaging experience possible with DirectX® 11 gaming done right: * Designed and built for purpose: Modeled on the full DirectX 11 specifications, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards delivers up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power in a single card, translating to superior performance in the latest DirectX 11 games, as well as in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL titles in single card configurations or multi-card configurations using ATI CrossFireX™ technology. When measured in terms of performance experienced in some of today's most popular games, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series is up to twice as fast as the closest competing product in its class,5 allowing gamers to enjoy incredible new DirectX 11 games – including the forthcoming DiRT™2 from Codemasters, and Aliens vs. Predator™ from Rebellion, and updated version of The Lord of the Rings Online™ and Dungeons and Dragons Online® Eberron Unlimited™ from Turbine – all in stunning detail with incredible frame rates. * Generations ahead of the competition: Building on the success of the ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series products, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards is two generations ahead of DirectX 10.0 support, and features 6th generation evolved AMD tessellation technology, 3rd generation evolved GDDR5 support, 2nd generation evolved 40nm process technology, and a feature-rich compute shader, all geared towards delivering the best gaming experience money can buy. * The ultimate in game compatibility: The DirectX 11 API was developed on AMD graphics hardware and represents the cornerstone of DirectX 11 gaming. All initial DirectX 11 games were developed and/or continue to be developed on AMD DirectX 11 hardware. With more than 20 DirectX 11 games currently in development, this innate optimization for ATI Radeon graphics cards, in combination with monthly ATI Catalyst™ driver releases, help ensure a stable, reliable and high-performance experience for the latest games. Accelerate with ATI Stream technology With the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics card, PC users can unleash Windows 7 and realize the potential of a better computing experience to help do more with their PC: * Harness the home supercomputer: One ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card would have been one of the top 10 supercomputers in the world just six years ago – today that same processing power can be found in your home PC, working with high-performance CPUs to deliver a superior experience. * Windows® 7 done right: Windows 7 is the first compute-capable operating system and the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards with ATI Stream technology accelerate it like nothing else, being the first and only card to support DirectCompute 11. * Create and do more, faster than ever before with ATI Stream technology: Enjoy new features, functionality and improved performance in top media, entertainment and productivity applications made possible by ATI Stream technology.6 * Most expansive support of industry standards: The ATI Radeon HD 5800 of graphics cards fully support both DirectX 11 and OpenCL, ensuring broad application support now and the future. Expand the PC experience with ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology Enjoy multi-monitor computing with seamless enablement of the biggest game environments ever seen: * The ultimate in seamless flexibility: Arrange one to three displays using the ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 and ATI Radeon™ HD 5850 graphics cards, or up to six displays using the forthcoming ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 Eyefinity6 graphics card, in a variety of configurations – any mix of portrait or landscape. * See them before they see you: Unlock the potential of multi-monitor gaming at up to 12 x full HD resolution, the largest game environments ever displayed.10 Experience more visual detail and expanded battlefields that your gaming competitors may lack. * Enjoy visual computing in eye-definition: Virtually obsolete scrolling by taking advantage of vast desktop real estate to put more information at your fingertips. Enjoy the best of today's latest visually-enhanced online applications – social networking, video conferencing, video entertainment, and satellite imagery – all in stunning detail. Ecosystem support * The ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards is supported by a dozen add-in-board companies, including ASUS, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, GIGABYTE, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), MSI, Multimedia, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE Technology, VisionTek and XFX. Supporting Quotes "By incorporating the ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics processor's revolutionary DirectX 11 and ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor capabilities into the Alienware desktop gaming system, Dell Gaming continues to lead the industry in delivering performance, immersion and visual experience levels that shatter all previous limitations," said Arthur Lewis, head of Dell gaming group. "I had high expectations of AMD's new DirectX 11 GPUs, but nothing really prepared me for the breathtaking experience that I'm now enjoying," said Dirk Ringe, vice president, EA Phenomic. "Frame rates are so silky-smooth at ultra high-resolutions, even with all effects turned to max, that the new hardware makes previous hardware look like a quaint antique! The quality of the rendering in BattleForge is something that I used to dream about only a year ago – and the flexibility and power of DirectCompute 11 opens our eyes to a multitude of new possibilities. We applaud AMD's and Microsoft's vision in creating the DirectX 11 API and this amazing new hardware and we can say without hesitation that it represents the future of gaming." "We were simply astonished by the performance of the DirectCompute 11 hardware in AMD's DirectX 11 GPUs," said Ruslan Didenko, project lead, GSC Gameworld. "By meeting the full DirectX 11 hardware spec AMD has created a beast of a GPU that is light years ahead of its DirectX 10.1 and DirectX 10 predecessors. We strongly recommend a full-on DirectX 11 GPU from AMD as very simply the best way to experience our stunning new game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. A vision of loveliness, in every gut-wrenching detail!" "Trinigy remains committed to supporting the game development industry with top-notch game engine technology that combines efficiency, creative freedom and performance," said Dag Frommhold, managing director at Trinigy. "We're extremely excited to be working with AMD to support their DirectX 11 graphics processors. AMD's quality drivers and hardware complement our commitment to game developers perfectly by empowering them to produce higher-level in-game graphics than ever before." Read - Hot Hardware reviewRead - AnandTech review Read - Driver Heaven review Read - HardOCP review Read - Hexus review Read - PC Perspective review Read - Tech Report reviewRead - Legit Reviews

  • MSI slides out 14-inch Athlon Neo-equipped X410 laptop

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    09.18.2009

    MSI's X-Slim X400 made quite the splash alongside the X340 and X600 earlier this year, but now it's time for the slighted middle child to get an upgrade. Upstaging both of the aforementioned siblings, the refreshed X410 gets powered by AMD's Athlon Neo processor and also packs an ATI Radeon X1250 GPU, 14-inch LCD (1,366 x 768), up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1.3 megapixel camera, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, optional Bluetooth, an HDMI port, an SD card reader and a 320GB or 500GB hard drive. There's also a pair of USB 2.0 sockets, a VGA output, external DVD writer (or Blu-ray drive, if you'd prefer) and a 4- or 8-cell battery to boot. Per usual, MSI isn't doling out pricing or release details just yet, but we're betting a pre-holiday ship date is practically a lock.[Via HotHardware]

  • Video: ATI Radeon Eyefinity eyes-on, featuring Left 4 Dead on a 175-inch display

    by 
    Ross Miller
    Ross Miller
    09.11.2009

    Vision rebranding wasn't AMD's only big unveil yesterday, as the company had on display a number of different stations for its ATI Radeon Eyefinity technology. Sure, there's three-monitor Google Earth and airbrushing, but the real kicker, in case you doubted earlier claims that playing Left 4 Dead on three 30-inch screens "absolutely changes the experience for the better," is footage of the game being playing on a 175-inch display, comprised of six HD projectors and boasting 5,500 x 2,000 pixel resolution. Sure, it's not the greatest gaming screen we've seen, but short of having access to your own football stadium, it's mighty impressive. See for yourself after the break.

  • AMD's integrated 785G graphics platform review roundup

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    08.04.2009

    It's mildly hard to believe that AMD's DirectX 10-compatible 780 Series motherboard GPU was introduced well over a year ago now, but the long awaited successor has finally landed. This fine morning, a gaggle of hardware sites around the web have taken a look at a number of AMD 785G-equipped mainboards, all of which boast integrated Radeon HD 4200 GPUs, support for AMD's AM3 processors and a price point that's downright delectable (most boards are sub-$100). Without getting into too much detail here in this space, the general consensus seems to be that the new platform is definitely appreciated, but hardly revolutionary. It fails to destroy marks set by the 780G, and it couldn't easily put NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 to shame. What it can do, however, is provide better-than-average HD playback, making it a prime candidate for basic desktop users and even HTPC builders. For the full gamut of opinions, grab your favorite cup of joe and get to clickin' below.Read - HotHardware reviewRead - The Tech Report reviewRead - Tom's Hardware reviewRead - PC Perpective reviewRead - Hardware Zone reviewRead - Hexus review

  • MSI takes the pain, fun out of overclocking with OC Genie

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    07.19.2009

    If you thought MSI's obsession with motherboard implants was over after it unveiled Winki to a nearly nonexistent amount of fanfare, think again. The company has just taken the wraps off its latest mobo addition, the OC Genie. In essence, this is the one-touch overclock button that laptop owners have long enjoyed, but for desktops. Right now, the OC Genie is custom built for the company's own P55 motherboard, though it insists that all sorts of mainboards will be supported in due time. If you're curious about the details, you'll have to remain that way for now; all we're told is that activating the module automatically pushes your system to a safe brink within a second, giving even the newbies in attendance the ability to squeeze more from their current rig. In related news, MSI also added yet another model to its growing Classic laptop series, the 17.3-inch CX700, which gets powered by a Core 2 Duo processor, ATI's Mobility Radeon HD4330 GPU and 4GB of RAM.[Via HotHardware]

  • AMD's RS880 integrated graphics chip could make netbooks usable

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    07.02.2009

    Tired of hearing that your next favorite netbook / nettop is hamstrung with one of those woefully underpowered GMA950 graphics chipsets? Eager to see what all AMD is going to do about it? If The Inquirer is to be believed, an up and coming integrated chipset should elevate the multimedia prowess of low-end machines, as the RS880 would actually be based around the new Radeon HD 4200 core. In theory, at least, this chip would be around 15 percent faster than similar alternatives out there now, giving future netbooks just enough power to churn through 720p video without st, st, stuttering. Needless to say, the suits are refusing to comment on the matter, but we're definitely holding out hope for this one.

  • AMD's ATI Radeon E4690 brings HD, DirectX 10.1 support to embedded GPU arena

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    06.01.2009

    AMD's newfangled ATI Radeon E4690 may not be the next Crysis killer, but it should do just fine in next-gen arcade and slot machines. All kidding aside (sort of...), this new embedded graphics set is said to triple the performance of AMD's prior offerings in the field, bringing with it 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, DirectX 10.1 / OpenGL 3.0 support and hardware acceleration of H.264 and VC-1 high-definition video. The 35mm chip also differentiates itself by integrating directly onto motherboards and taking on many of the tasks that are currently assigned to the CPU, but alas, it doesn't sound as if we'll be seeing this in any nettops / netbooks anytime soon ever. Video after the break.

  • AMD busts out world's first air-cooled 1GHz GPU

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    05.13.2009

    The last time a GPU milestone this significant was passed, it was June of 2007, and we remember it well. We were kicked back, soaking in the rays from Wall Street and firmly believing that nothing could ever go awry -- anywhere, to anyone -- due to a certain graphics card receiving 1GB of onboard RAM. Fast forward a few dozen months, and now we've got AMD dishing out the planet's first factory-clocked card to hit the 1GHz mark. Granted, overclockers have been running their cards well above that point for awhile now, but hey, at least this bugger comes with a warranty. The device doing the honors is the ATI Radeon HD 4890, and it's doing it with air cooling alone and just a wee bit of factory overclocking. Take a bow, AMD -- today's turning out to be quite a good one for you.

  • ATI Radeon HD 4770 GPU review roundup

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    04.28.2009

    We like how you're thinking, AMD, and we don't say that everyday -- or ever, really. During a time when even hardcore gamers are having to rethink whether or not that next-gen GPU is a necessity, AMD has pushed out a remarkably potent new graphics card for under a Benjamin, and the whole world has joined in to review it. The ATI Radeon HD 4770, which was outed just over a week ago, has been officially introduced for the low, low price of just $99 (including rebates, which should surface soon). Aside from being the company's first mainstream desktop GPU manufactured using a 40nm process, this little gem was a real powerhouse when put to the test. In fact, critics at HotHardware exclaimed that this card "offers performance in the same range as cards that were launched at the $299 to $349 price point only a year ago." The bottom line? It's "one of the best buys" out in its price range, and even with all that belt tightening you've been doing, surely you can spare a C-note, yeah?Read - HotHardware ("Recommended; one of the best buys at its price point")Read - XBit Labs ("the best budget graphics accelerator [out there]")Read - LegitReviews ("great performance, low power consumption and low noise")Read - PCStats ("strikes a balance between performance and price")Read - TechSpot ("an outstanding choice in the $100 graphics market")Read - NeoSeeker ("a good value")Read - PCPerspective ("impressive")

  • Fixing FPS issues with patch 3.1

    by 
    Mike Schramm
    Mike Schramm
    04.18.2009

    A few people are experiencing slowdown issues with patch 3.1, and since our last bit of technical help went over so well, we figured we'd do a little troubleshooting for you on this one, too. If your computer is running slower since you updated into patch 3.1, the first thing to do is check your video options -- Blizzard has tweaked a few things in there, and chances are that by tweaking them again, you might be able to fix your problem (or at least make it a little better). Specifically keep an eye out for the new Video Mode Ultra setting -- that specifically is not designed to be used unless your computer is current and top-of-the-line. Shadows also are quite a drag on the video card and CPU, and turning them down won't affect gameplay that much.If your options are already low, the next thing you might do is check your videocard's make and driver version (scroll down to the "manually" section there -- you don't need to run Intel's program). Nvidia, who makes the common GeForce series of video cards just updated their drivers to version 182.50 on April 2nd, so if you have an earlier version than that, running the update will probably help. If you have an ATI card, you can find the drivers over on their site.And of course if all of your software is set up and you're still having issues, there's always the possibility of updating your hardware. That can be quite an ordeal, though, so if you're not so sure on how to install new RAM or can't recognize the difference between SATA and IDE, you might want to enlist a friendly techie for a little help. WoW is still very forgiving, but Blizzard has been slowly adding on the graphical goodness, so if you've been playing with the same PC since launch four years ago, it might just be time for an upgrade.

  • NVIDIA GTX 275 / ATI Radeon HD 4890 review roundup

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    04.02.2009

    Unless you've started your weekend early, you have probably realized that both NVIDIA and AMD announced new GPUs this morning. Coincidental timing aside, it sure makes things easy for the consumer to eye the respective benchmarks and plan out their next mid-range GPU purchase accordingly. A whole bevy of reviews, tests, graphs and bar charts have hit the web this morning extolling and panning the pros and cons, but without getting too deep in the nitty-gritty, we can sum things up pretty easily with this. NVIDIA's GTX 275 showed performance that placed it perfectly between the GTX 285 and GTX 260, and in all but a few off-the-wall tests, it outpaced the ATI Radeon HD 4890 (albeit slightly). Granted, the HD 4890 was called the "fastest, single-GPU powered graphics card AMD has ever produced" by HotHardware, though apparently even that wasn't enough to help it snag the gold across the board. If you're hungry for more (and you are, trust us), take the rest of the day off and dig in below.Read - HotHardware GeForce GTX 275 reviewRead - HotHardware Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - ExtremeTech GeForce GTX 275 and Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - DailyTech GeForce GTX 275 and Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - X-bit Labs ATI Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - ComputerShopper ATI Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - Guru 3D GeForce GTX 275 reviewRead - Guru 3D ATI Radeon HD 4890 reviewRead - PCPerspective ATI Radeon HD 4890 review

  • Windows 7 edges out Vista in thorough gaming benchmarks

    by 
    Ross Miller
    Ross Miller
    03.25.2009

    Looking to find out what's the better gaming experience out there right now -- Windows 7 beta or Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 -- the folks at PC Perspective put both operating systems through the ringer with help from seven graphics cards running the gamut of price ranges. Overall, three ATI Radeon HD and four NVIDIA GeForce cards were pitted with six games and applications in one of the lengthiest benchmarking features we've ever read. AMD / ATI gets credit for being the first to release combined drivers that work on both OSs, and with one lone exception, performance on the Windows 7 machine was equal to or better than Vista. That said, the recomendations for each system is the same: ATI gets an advantage here for cards in the $120 to $130 range, but the competition is much closer as you start looking at more expensive models. Hit up the read link for technical details that you can shake an anti-aliased stick at.