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| Intel's latest, fastest and most feature-rich generation of desktop CPUs, formerly codenamed Nehalem and now branded Core i7, is here. After more than a year of anticipation we finally have hardware to test, but can it live up to the hype? |
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| Intel's Core i7 (formerly known by its codename Nehalem) is a month away from official release; but when it does arrive it'll bring with it a completely new range of motherboards. The Core i7 architecture demands a new type of CPU socket and a new chipset known as X58. |
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| The ASUS EN9800GTX+ DK might be over-kill for many people, but it suits my needs, and it has given me the needed performance boost I wanted. It immediate took both my Windows "experience ratings" for graphics to the full 5.9, and I have no doubt this card will easily still be a performer into the next decade - if any of us are around to see it. |
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| Built around AMD's Socket A+, the MA790GP-DS4H supports all AM2/AM2+ processors up to and including the latest 140W Phenom, with its five phase power regulation. Gigabyte has teamed up the 790GX with the latest AMD Southbridge, the SB750, and both are passively cooled with copper heatsinks. |
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| Asus has rolled out the successor to its Maximus X38 motherboard with the startlingly unimaginative name of Maximus II Formula. The new model uses the P45 chipset which positions Maximus II below the Asus Rampage Formula which uses X48, so you're thoroughly spoilt for choice if you fancy building your PC around a Republic Of Gamers motherboard that supports CrossFire graphics. |
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| ATI has always been clear about its strategy regarding the HD 4800-series – it would initially launch the single-GPU HD 4850 and HD 4870 cards, and then release a dual-GPU card to address the ultra-high performance end of the market. This dual-GPU card is the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2.
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| As the GeForce 9600 GT cards we've previously reviewed both arrived pre-overclocked, we wanted to see how cheap a stock-speed card is, and how far we could overclock it ourselves. While you'd expect a pretty spartan box when going vanilla, the design on Gigabyte's box tries to convey premium rather than bargain. |
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| Yet another mid-range GPU from Nvidia, but the recent price drop makes it worth a look for a sub-£100 gaming card. |
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| At the end of my first year of university, the Student Union organised a summer event, complete with a gig by Shed Seven. Those of you still in your teens will have no idea who they are (check Wikipedia's wonderful entry on them) - and yet, for one warm summer evening in 1999, I was convinced they were amazing. |
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| The Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music is a product of which we're big fans. Not only is it a great sound card, but it overturned conventional wisdom. Prior to its arrival, few people thought there would be any point in paying £90 for a sound card, given the relatively high standard of motherboard audio. Yet the X-Fi was an absolute revelation. Not only did it supplant integrated sound, it even convinced me to listen to my old 128Kb/sec Shed Seven MP3s again. |
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