Articles by Joel Hruska
Intel Core i7-4700K
The quad-core Intel Core i7-4770K is the company’s new top-end chip based on its Haswell microarchitecture and its second processor built on the 22nm process node. The chip includes a number of new capabilities and enhancements and is a notable step forward in CPU efficiency, but enthusiasts may be disappointed by its lower overclocking potential….
Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB MKNSSDCR120GB-DX
This is shaping up to be a banner year for SSD adoption. The Kingston SSDNow V300 Series SV300S3D7 we reviewed recently won accolades for an excellent price/performance ratio, but the Mushkin 120GB Chronos Deluxe ($105 list) aims to challenge Kingston for the title. The Mushkin 120GB Chronos Deluxe offers even higher performance than the V300…
Rosewill Thor V2-W
Rosewill has a reputation as a budget case and peripheral provider but the company is working to change that perception. The company’s latest full-tower offering—the Rosewill Thor V2-W PC case –lists for $129, which is significantly more than some of its budget products. But it’s still quite competitive with full-tower designs from the likes of…
Asus Direct CU II Radeon HD 7790
The Asus Direct CU II Radeon HD 7790 is a new mainstream graphics card based on AMD’s Bonaire GPU. Bonaire is a new chip—the other two members of the HD 7700 family, the 7750 and 7770 use a graphics core known as Cape Verde—but it’s not a new architecture. Bonaire uses the same Graphics Core…
Falcon Northwest Mach V (Triple Titan)
The launch of Nvidia’s new GeForce GTX Titan graphics card has lit a fire underneath multiple boutique computer manufacturers. Falcon Northwest has built a new version of its Mach V desktop tower—the Mach V (Triple Titan)—to take advantage of the Titan’s capabilities, with support for up to three of the new graphics cards and a…
OCZ Vector Series VTR1-25SAT3-256G
When OCZ acquired solid-state drive (SSD) controller developer Indilinx, the acquisition was hailed as a positive development for both companies. OCZ is a well-known SSD company with a number of strong products under its belt, while Indilinx built the Barefoot class of controllers that popularized SSDs in 2009 and 2010. The new OCZ Vector Series…
AMD FX-8350
AMD’s FX-8350 is the latest desktop processor from AMD and the first eight-core CPU based on the company’s “Piledriver” design. AMD is smarting after a weak global economy and strong demand for Intel products hit its profit margins and sales this past quarter, and the FX-8350 is meant to change that. The new AMD FX-8350…
Plextor PX-256M5P
Historically, Plextor has been known for its optical drives, not solid-state storage. The company first made a name for itself in the early days of CD and DVD burning, when the quality of drives and blank media could vary enormously from company to company. Plextor’s drives offered a welcome respite from such problems, and the…