Legit Reviews

ATI Catalyst 10.3a Driver Performance Benchmarking @ Legit Reviews

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:06:00 GMT

ATI Catalyst 10.3a Driver Performance Benchmarking Late yesterday we got word that ATI would be coming out with a Catalyst 10.3 preview update driver that would increase the performance of more than a dozen PC games. We don't think it's a coincidence that this driver just happens to come out the week before the GeForce GTX 480 graphics card is due to launch at PAX East. Read on to see how Catalyst 10.3 drivers do in the benchmarks when we compare them to Catalyst 10.2 drivers on a Radeon HD 5870 graphics card! Quote: "After spending less than a day with the ATI Catalyst 10.3a drivers, it appears that they bring better performance to the majority of PC game titles that we tried them on. The only game title that we didn't see a performance improvement on was Batman: Arkham Asylum, but the performance hit wasn't even significant. In the other games that we benchmarked we got a small boost in performance, with the best performance gain seen coming from Tom Clancy's Hawx. Having a 19% performance gain in a game title from a driver update is amazing and something great to see. Speaking of sight, we also didn't notice any image quality differences, so it looks like ATI isn't cheating on the image quality to get better performance..." Article Title: ATI Catalyst 10.3a Driver Performance Benchmarking @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1253/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1253/1/</a>

Thermaltake Element V Full ATX Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:25:00 GMT

Thermaltake Element V Full ATX Tower Case Review The Thermaltake Element V is a full tower ATX enthusiast class case with a deceptively reserved exterior. A combination of 230mm, 200mm, and 120mm Colorshift fans provide for a unique aesthetic effect while thoroughly ventilating the case. Read on to see how this case handles our Intel LGA1366 system build and if it should be considered for your next system build! Quote: "Today I have Thermaltake's Element V full-sized ATX case up for review. The case combines a mixture of aesthetic and functional components to form a rather expansive home in which your computer can safely live. Thermaltake has a variety of cases in their product line but the Element series consists of a lineup of cases from the $49 Element Q to the $159.99 Element V. All of these cases follow a simple black aesthetic with red color accents and Colorshift fans...." Article Title: Thermaltake Element V Full ATX Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1241/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1241/1/</a>

Coolink Corator DS Gapless Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:59:00 GMT

Coolink Corator DS Gapless Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review Today we look at Coolinks newest CPU cooler the Corator DS featuring Coolinks new Gapless Direct Touch (GDT) technology. Four large 8mm heatpipes, a dual fin stack design and a PWM controlled SWiF2 120mm fan are among the features that enable the Corator DS to achieve an optimal balance between outstanding cooling performance and quiet operation. Read on to see how it performs on our Intel Core i7 test system against nearly two dozen other coolers! Quote: "Back in January Coolink released its newest CPU cooler called the Corator DS, and they sent us one to test. Coolink is known for inexpensive coolers that perform, and in times like now inexpensive is good. This time around Coolink is bringing new technology to the market with their cooler: Gapless Direct Touch. Just like the name suggests, the base of the Corator DS is Heatpipe Direct Touch (HDT) design instead of the normal gaps between the round pipes. Also, the base of the HDT design is copper fitted, so that fills the space between the heatpipes. It allows the base to perform as an HDT cooler and also has the benefits of a solid base with no gaps. What also makes this interesting is that Coolink is using the Noctua SecuFirm2 mounting system..." Article Title: Coolink Corator DS Gapless Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1243/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1243/1/</a>

Legit Reviews Message

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:50:00 GMT

Last July, Legit Reviews had a go at Kingston's first generation SSDNow V Series SSD and awarded it the Legit Reviews Value Award. Just six short months later, the second generation of this entry-level SSD is on our test bench - but will it earn similar honors? The new Kingston SSDNow V Series is said to offer higher performance than its predecessor and supports Windows 7 TRIM functionality! Quote: "SSDs are coming out hot and heavy now and Kingston isn't been shy about setting out to improve on their earlier generation drives. Last July, Legit Reviews had a go at their first generation SSDNow V Series SSD and awarded it the Legit Reviews Value Award. Just six short months later, the second generation of this entry-level SSD is available with the same name and in our hot little hands - but will it earn similar honors? We certainly expect it to be a better performer as it has higher read/write specifications. In addition, this version does sport a new Toshiba controller which supports the much desired TRIM function for those running Windows 7. The newest SNV425-S2 V Series SSDs (the V stands for value) are served up in three sizes - 30GB, 64GB & 128GB. They are available as a standalone drive and the two larger drives also come as a desktop bundle or notebook bundle..." Article Title: Kingston 128GB SSDNow V Series SNV425-S2 Gen 2 SSD Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1237/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1237/1/</a>

Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition Full Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:55:00 GMT

In collaboration with AMD, Cooler Master has released an AMD edition of the critically acclaimed HAF 932 which transforms your machine into an AMD themed eye catching PC case. The HAF 932 AMD edition adds racing red to the front and is branded with the AMD dragon on the acrylic see-through side panel. Read on to see how this full tower case does in our system AMD system build! Quote: "The Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition was a joy to work with. The HAF 932 AMD Edition case is a full tower case. There is plenty of room for the largest of graphics cards with room to spare. Measuring 22.20" x 9.60" x 22.04" the Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition has more than enough room for a full water cooling loop with no modifications. The fact that the case is made out of steel does make it a little on the heavy side, 29.1 pounds isn't horrible though. The option to run dual power supplies and a cooling loop with a dual radiator is also a nice touch..." Article Title: Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition Full Tower Case Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1239/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1239/1/</a>

Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition Review @ Legit Reviews

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:57:00 GMT

Intel Core i7-980X Six-Core Processor Extreme Edition Review In the coming few weeks Intel will be launching the worlds first six-core desktop processor with the Core i7-980X desktop processor Extreme Edition. This LGA 1366 socket processor can be run in any existing Intel X58 Express chipset powered motherboard after a quick BIOS flash, so a new platform will not be needed. Read on to see what we think of the 980X in our testing! Quote: "The Intel Core i7-980X Desktop Processor Extreme Edition was found to exceed our initial expectations, which says a ton. Having six physical processing cores created an amazing user experience when running multi-threaded applications. The enormous growth of HD media content in the home is driving the demand for computer systems that have the horsepower to deliver an enjoyable user experience for the consumer. If you have ever tried to create a Blu-ray movie or just tried to transcode some HD movies you know how much time it takes to work on a project and that can be frustrating for those that do it often. With the new Intel Core i7-980X Processor you can improve productivity, save power and the best part is that it can be a drop-in replacement for those with existing socket LGA1366 motherboard. Anybody that runs multi-thread applications is sure to appreciate a six-core processor..." Article Title: Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1245/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1245/1/</a>

Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition Review @ Legit Reviews

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:56:00 GMT

Intel Core i7-980X Six-Core Processor Extreme Edition Review In the coming few weeks Intel will be launching the worlds first six-core desktop processor with the Core i7-980X desktop processor Extreme Edition. This LGA 1366 socket processor can be run in any existing Intel X58 Express chipset powered motherboard after a quick BIOS flash, so a new platform will not be needed. Read on to see what we think of the 980X in our testing! Quote: "The Intel Core i7-980X Desktop Processor Extreme Edition was found to exceed our exceed our initial expectations, which says a ton. Having six physical processing cores created an amazing user experience when running multi-threaded applications. The enormous growth of HD media content in the home is driving the demand for computer systems that have the horse power to deliver an enjoyable user experience for the consumer. If you have ever tried to create a Blu-ray movie or just tried to transcode some HD movies you know how much time it takes to work on a project and that can be frustrating for those that do it often. With the new Intel Core i7-980X Processor you can improve productivity, save power and the best part is that it can be a drop-in replacement for those with existing socket LGA1366 motherboard. Anybody that runs multi-thread applications is sure to appreciate a six-core processor..." Article Title: Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1245/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1245/1/</a>

Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:07:00 GMT

Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU Cooler Review The Thermaltake SpinQ VT is the latest generation of the original SpinQ cooler that first came out in 2008. With 3 heat pipes, 50 copper cooling fins and an 80mm cooling fan cranking out up to 86.5 CFM the SpinQ VT should be more than enough to cool your processor. Read on to see how it performance on our Intel Core i7 920 processor versus a retail boxed Intel HSF! Article Title: Thermaltake SpinQ VT CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1235/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1235/1/</a>

Kingston 30GB SSDNow V Series Boot Drive Review @ Legit Reviews

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:18:00 GMT

Kingston 30GB SSDNow V Series Boot Drive Review Using Solid-State Drives (SSDs) as boot drives is an economical approach to getting into the SSD hardware realm without spending a ton of money, which is one of the reasons many have been waiting on the sidelines. Kingston would like to invite you in with their $80 30GB SSDNow V Series boot drive and we'd like to introduce it to you. Quote "The idea of an SSD boot drive like the Kingston 30GB V Series drive works well of a lot of users who just cant dump a load of money into a drive but would really like to get rid of the HDD bottleneck in their system. Performance for this drive was right on with the expectations set by Kingston. The unfortunate part of that is the write speed, which at 50MB/s, falls below hard drive speed and frankly, is disappointing. There were some benchmarks that did show writes exceeding this but they still barely rival most platter drives. While you'll still see a nice performance boost by upgrading from an HDD in Windows and application loading, there are going to be some aspects of your daily use that you may see no change or even a loss in performance due to the writes. Such is life when you are only paying $110 (or $80 for the launch special) for a low capacity SSD..." Article Title: Kingston 30GB SSDNow V Series Boot Drive Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://legitreviews.com/article/1242/1/">http://legitreviews.com/article/1242/1/</a>

Thermaltake Contac 29 Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:35:00 GMT

Thermaltake Contac 29 Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review The Thermaltake Contac 29 CPU cooler has three large 8mm copper heatpipes at its base that directly contact the CPU for highly efficient thermal conduction. This sub $40 cooler is priced right, but how does it perform? Read on to see how it performs on our Intel LGA1366 test system compared to two other CPU coolers! Quote: "Today I'll be showing you Thermaltake's Contac 29 CPU Cooler which combines performance and silence in a heatpipe tower package. Priced at $36.99 plus shipping the Contac 29 sits around what I'd consider to be the mid-range price bracket. The Contac 29 is equipped with three 8mm heatpipes that make direct contact with the integrated heatspreader included in modern processors. Bundled with the heatsink is a 120mm by 120mm by 25mm fan that keeps the heatsink cool while running incredibly quiet..." Article Title: Thermaltake Contac 29 Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://legitreviews.com/article/1223/1/">http://legitreviews.com/article/1223/1/</a>

Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:43:00 GMT

Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD Review Western Digital (WD) today announced its first consumer-oriented solid state drive (SSD) with the new WD SiliconEdge 2.5-inch SSD family. With sequential read speeds up to 250 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write transfer rates up to 170 MB/s could this be your next SSD? Read on to found out what we think when we give it an in-depth performance review! Quote: "The new WD SiliconEdge Blue SSDs are available in capacities of up to 256 gigabytes (GB) and feature a SATA 3.0 gigabits per second (Gb/s) interface with sequential read speeds up to 250 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write transfer rates up to 170 MB/s. Not bad performance for a mainstream consumer SSD that has is part of the 'blue' series of SSDs from WD. Those looking for a little more performance should keep their fingers crossed as we would guess that SiliconEdge Black SSDs are on the way in the future.Today, we have the WD SiliconEdge Blue 256 GB (SSC-D0256SC-2100) SSD and we'll be taking an in-depth look at the drives features, internal components and the performance of the drive..." Article Title: Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 256GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews Article URL: <a href="http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1233/1/">http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1233/1/</a>