Review: Nvidia’s dual GPU GTX 690 AIB
Posted by Jon Peddie on May 10th 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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gpu
nvidia
graphics
report
Fastest, bestest, not biggest With the GTX 690, Nvidia was focused on creating not only the most powerful dual-GPU card in the world but also a card that was power efficient with great acoustics. There has always been a sacrifice when trying to cobble together the best enthusiast PC in trying to figure out what is the best way to get the best performance. Crossfire and SLi were the solutions up until now. Early attempts at dual-GPU cards underperformed compared to Crossfire and SLi, but the latter was expensive, took up quite a bit of real estate in the tower, and…
DisplayLink Targus
Posted by Jon Peddie on May 2nd 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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Video and FPSs across USB with Targus {image_1}DisplayLink started life as Newnham Research in Cambridge England in 2003 doing thin-client displays. It got the bright idea to provide a wireless connection to projectors from a PC. It was a great idea then, still is—even if it doesn’t yet exist. Sidestepping the radio issues, Newnham moved their video compression scheme to USB and sold the idea to Kensington Computer who put it in a universal docking station. They were the first customer for DisplayLink technology. In the early introduction of the DisplayLink USB to video devices (consisting of a software compressor and…
Acer C120 Pico projector
Posted by Jon Peddie on May 2nd 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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acer
computers
technology
travel
projector
Projecting power like an aircraft carrier {image_1}We got an Acer C120 Pico projector to play with (and we took it on a road trip to Finland and the UK). The units can display up to 1280 x 800 resolution, has a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and offers 100 Lumens brightness when plugged in. It can be powered by USB 3.0 and there is a battery. The convenient USB 3.0 option allows for faster display of the images at 75 ANSI lumens. Alternatively, when higher brightness matters you can power the projector with the AC adapter and get an even brighter 100 ANSI…
Ivy Bridge graphics and more
Posted by Jon Peddie on May 2nd 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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aib
intel
pmark
benchmark
ivy
ivy bridge
The best ever integrated graphics For comparison, we ran graphics benchmarks on the processor-based graphics in machines using Intel Ivy Bridge (IVB) processors. We ran the same series of tests on the Ivy Bridge i7-3370k running at 3.5 GHz with HD4000 graphics and compared it to a two year old entry level graphics AIB, a GTX 520, to see if integrated graphics had gotten good enough yet—and guess what—it has, within limits. We ran five tests: 3DMark 11, Heaven, Batman, Crysis 2, and Dirt3. We tried running the tests at 1920 x 1080, but couldn’t get the Ivy Bridge’s HD4000 to…
Review AMD Radeon HD 7970 and Nvidia GTX 680 AIB
Posted by Jon Peddie on May 2nd 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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nvidia
amd
ati
graphics
3d
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The world’s two fastest graphics boards are compared—GTX 680 wins A month or so ago AMD released their top-of-the-line Radeon HD 7079. Demos were sent out to the company’s favorite reviewers (that means NOT you JPR) and results started being reported, it looked good. Then a week or two ago Nvidia released its GeForce GTX 680 Kepler (Yes JPR, even you can have one), and the comparisons began. In the meantime, by trading some vintage wine and rare out-of-print copies of TechWatch we were able to get a black market HD 7970 (no thanks to AMD). And so we ran some…
Review of AMD Radeon HD 7950 Tahiti - Better than even the 6970
Posted by Jon Peddie on March 29th 2012 | Discuss (0)
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Hardware Review
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amd
ati
radeon
review
hd7950
Announced in December, AMD began shipping the HD7950 in mid-January, and through the magic of modern transportation, one arrived here already, in mid-March, so obviously you’re anxious to read all about its performance characteristics. We have been anxious to put the board to work. For our tests, we run the most common benchmarks and then compare the results as far as price and performance and power to put a product in perspective for consumers. The 79xx series is based on AMD’s most recent Southern Island Series which are based on AMD’s Graphics Core Next (GCN) technology. The 79xx series are 28nm…
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime
Posted by Jon Peddie on March 16th 2012 | Permalink
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Hardware Review
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The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is a slim and lightweight tablet with an attractive metallic spun finished design. Asus claims it is the slimmest tablet on the market at 0.33” thick and weighs 1.29lbs. Asus says the Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet that offers up to 12 hours of battery life, which accomplished by having two batteries, one in the tablet itself, and another in the detachable keyboard.
Sony PS Vita - its a handful
Posted by Ted Pollak on March 3rd 2012 | Permalink
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Hardware Review
Tags:
market
gaming
Sony and Nintendo have launched their handheld gaming devices into a market where some of the most casual gamers, who previously bought handhelds, are now opting for their smartphones and tablets. Where does that leave the potential market? It leaves the market in the hands of core gamers and causal gamers who have found the gaming experience on phones and tablets to be underwhelming. These people number in the hundreds of millions.
HP’s Ozmo-based WiFi mouse—Look ma, no dongle
Posted by Jon Peddie on March 1st 2012 | Permalink
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Hardware Review
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Why use a Bluetooth tooth mouse when you’ve already got WiFi in your computer? That was where Ozmo devices started. The company was founded as H-Stream Wireless in 2004 with the goal of developing low power battery-operated Wi-Fi communication devices for wireless personal area network (WPAN) connectivity. Name-challenged, the company changed its name to Ozmo Devices, much better hmmm? Nonetheless, the company’s unique, patent-pending technology supports concurrent WLAN/WPAN connectivity utilizing standard Wi-Fi hardware.
Corsair’s Vengeance gaming peripherals
Posted by Jon Peddie on March 1st 2012 | Permalink
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Hardware Review
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Corsair introduced their Vengeance series of keyboard in December 2011, just in time for the holiday season. Their first keyboard was the K90 and it sold for $130. Recently they came out with the K60, a slightly smaller and less expensive version, which sells for $110. Our friends at Corsair sent one to us and dared us to break it. We lost, it lives.
