Sandy Bridge
Almost a decade ago, with the launch of Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors, came the H61 chipset. Compared to the high-end P67 and Z68 models, the idea behind H61 is that it was cheap, and it was long-life. At a time when low power embedded Atom CPUs still didn’t have enough power, H61 was there to be equipped with one of Intel’s new-fangled Core processors, with the systems that designed for it destined to last a couple of decades. We’re now 9 years into that life cycle, and Biostar deems it necessary to create a new H61 design for the new decade. We’re getting to a time now where the cheaply made H61 boards of yesteryear are starting to go pop. When you save a tenth...
Upgrading from an Intel Core i7-2600K: Testing Sandy Bridge in 2019
One of the most popular processors of the last decade has been the Intel Core i7-2600K. The design was revolutionary, as it offered a significant jump in single core...
213 by Ian Cutress on 5/10/2019Intel's Quick Sync: Coming Soon to Your Favorite Open Source Transcoding Applications
Intel's hardware accelerated video transcode engine, Quick Sync, was introduced two years ago with Sandy Bridge. When it was introduced, I was immediately sold. With proper software support you...
46 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/14/2013Fall Budget System Buyer's Guide
Most of the systems I build for friends and clients are destined to spend their days performing basic computing tasks like checking email and Facebook accounts, shopping for shoes...
39 by Zach Throckmorton on 9/1/2012Dell's Vostro 3000 Series Brings Enterprise Quality at Consumer Prices
Riding a PR wave that seems to almost inexplicably, coincidentally crest once a week, today Dell has announced the new 3000 series of their Vostro notebooks. Vostro is Dell's...
19 by Dustin Sklavos on 6/12/2012ASRock's High-End Vision 3D 252B HTPC Review
In late 2010, we reviewed the ASRock Vision 3D, and declared it to be the best pre-built SFF (small form factor) HTPC we had reviewed. ASRock duly updated the...
60 by Ganesh T S on 5/7/2012Slimming Desktops Down: Intel Reveals Next Unit of Computing
Intel has demonstrated a new form factor at PAX East and Intel's Platinum Summit. The form factor carries the name Next Unit of Computing, or simply NUC, and measures...
38 by Kristian Vättö on 5/2/2012Eurocom Monster 1.0: Gaming with Quad-Core IVB and Kepler at 11.6”
Eurocom is a company that we’ve seen a few times over the years. Mostly, their focus is on the high-end mobile workstation market, though they also sell plenty of...
32 by Jarred Walton on 4/27/2012HP Folio 13 Review: Deviating From the Norm
The initial bum rush of ultrabooks resulted in, with limited exception, a lot of designs that took most of their cues from Apple's MacBook Air. Even Dell's XPS 13...
88 by Dustin Sklavos on 4/17/2012Sony VAIO SE: An IPS Laptop for Under a Grand
Yes, folks, we finally managed to get someone to send us a mainstream laptop with an IPS display. Not that there are many choices; besides the Sony SE reviewed...
59 by Jarred Walton on 4/3/2012Toshiba Portege R835: Less Ultra, More Notebook
With the deluge of ultrabooks stemming from Intel's initiative over the past few months, it's easy to forget ultraportables have been a part of the Windows PC landscape for...
81 by Dustin Sklavos on 3/30/2012Puget Systems Echo: Intel and AMD Showdown at 65 Watts
Just about anyone can put together a solid computer using a decent midtower and the right parts. What we don't see as often is just how fast a computer...
62 by Dustin Sklavos on 3/21/2012The Razer Blade Review
Razer is, first and foremost, a gaming company. From the company slogan (“By gamers, for gamers”), to partnerships with a number of the most popular game development studios, even...
95 by Vivek Gowri & Jarred Walton on 3/15/2012Alienware X51: The Xbox With Teeth
While Alienware isn't openly inviting comparisons to Microsoft's Xbox 360 with their brand new X51 gaming desktop, it's hard not to see the resemblance, at least in form factor...
59 by Dustin Sklavos on 2/17/2012Intel Updates Sandy Bridge Graphics Drivers
Intel has posted versions 15.22.54.2622 (32-bit) and 15.22.54.64.2622 (64-bit) of its drivers for the Intel HD-series lineup of integrated graphics processors, which includes both Sandy Bridge and older Nehalem-based...
22 by Andrew Cunningham on 2/7/2012Intel Releases Seven Sandy Bridge CPUs
Today, Intel has released seven new Sandy Bridge based CPUs: three Core i5 and four Celeron models. All the i5 SKUs are desktop models, whereas the Celeron SKUs are...
44 by Kristian Vättö on 1/30/2012Intel's Performance Tuning Protection Plan: Warranty for Overclockers
I had heard this might be coming, but today Intel made it official. The Performance Tuning Protection Plan is a $20 - $35 plan that you'll be able to...
28 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/18/2012Intel Core i7 3820 Review: $285 Quad-Core Sandy Bridge E
If you are a normal desktop user or even a power user with plans to run at over 4GHz, the vanilla LGA-1155 Sandy Bridge platform is good enough. You...
84 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 12/29/2011Holiday 2011 Mainstream High-End Buyer's Guide
After covering the budget and midrange sectors of the DIY PC market, as well as pre-built desktops and laptops, today we have a guide outlining mainstream high-end builds. Saying...
52 by Zach Throckmorton on 12/9/2011Holiday 2011 Midrange System Buyer's Guide
The latest edition of our Holiday 2011 guides focuses on midrange desktops. If you enjoy the prospect of building your own PC or you just prefer the ability to...
58 by Zach Throckmorton on 12/6/2011