CPU Guide
CPU Articles
Phenom II X2 vs. Athlon II X2 - A Question of Cache
The different cache hierarchies in AMD's Athlon II X2 and Phenom II X2 processors allow us to return to a question that has popped up from time to time: what effect does processor cache have when running applications? We paint you our findings in this modern day matchup.
Intel's Hexa Strike - Core i7-980X Extreme Edition
Quad-cores are passe nowadays; the next frontier is six and even eight cores. First to start the ball rolling is Intel's newest Core i7, the 980X Extreme Edition, which comes with six cores in a LGA1366 package based on the 32nm Westmere architecture. Check out whether you really need that many cores.
AMD's Fastest Dual-core - Phenom II X2 555 BE
AMD starts the new year with a number of new processors spanning its range of dual, triple and quad-cores. Among them is the Phenom II X2 555 'Black Edition', the fastest dual-core in its lineup. With 6MB of L3 cache and a 3.2GHz clock speed, can this dual-core change AMD's fortunes?
The Promise of HD Graphics - Intel Core i5-661
Integrated graphics get a new meaning with Intel's Clarkdale family of processors. Built on a 32nm manufacturing process, these processors hold the graphics core close to its heart, right on the same processor package. Can these new processors and its graphics rise above the mediocrity of Intel's GMA?
The Cheapest Quad-Core Processors - AMD Athlon II X4 630 & 620
Quad-core processors have never been cheaper with AMD's latest processor series, the Athlon II. The Athlon II X4 630 and 620 models are now available, with low prices that Intel's quad-cores cannot match. But do they have the performance to go along with that? Answers in our review.
Lynnfield - Nehalem Finally Goes Mainstream!
Branded as both Core i5 and Core i7, Intel's new CPUs promise to bring the next-gen Nehalem microarchitecture to the masses. With some caveats and changes of course, which we shall explain in our review. You'll also find that the new Core i5-750, i7-860 and i7-870 Lynnfield processors to have pretty good performance to boot the competition, so don't miss our match-up.
Editor's Choice Gaming Rig 2009
While we await the next wave of tech advances, we recap some of the best PC hardware that has passed through our lab this year and represent some of the finest money can buy. Presenting to you, our Editor's Choice pick for setting up a gaming system.
A Stepping Ahead - The Core i7-975 Extreme Edition and i7-950
It has been more than six months since the first Core i7 processors debuted. Today, Intel released new models, but it's not to expand the lineup. Instead, they'll replace a couple of its higher end models with revised editions. We tested these chips featuring a new D0 stepping core that's rumored to improve overclocking.
Intel's Pine Trail and Nehalem-EX Platform Updates
Talk about David and Goliath - that's exactly the scale of updates Intel had in store with the upcoming Pine Trail for the mini-notebook/nettop segment and the Nehalem-EX platform with 8-core, 24MB L3 cache, 16-thread crunching processors to upgrade the Xeon MP space. Expect these to be available by early 2010. Details inside.
AMD Phenom II X4 955 - A Timely Upgrade
With the release of AMD's Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition and 945 processors, they now have a CPU deserving of its AM3 socket and usage of DDR3 memory. It even overclocks to 3.9GHz on air-cooling. Find out if AMD's flagship processor can tease the Core i7 in our assessment.
Articles by Product Categories
Just Launched
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The Intel Core i7-3770 starts with 3.4GHz with a maximum clock frequency of 3.9MHz. It has an integrated graphics core that goes up to 1150M...
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With a base clock of 3.4GHz reaching up to 3.8GHz, the Intel Core i5-3570K has an integrated graphics core which goes up to 1150MHz.
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With a base clock of 3.3GHz reaching up to 3.7GHz, the Intel Core i5-3550 has an integrated graphics core which goes up to 1150MHz.
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With a base clock of 3.1GHz reaching up to 3.5GHz, the Intel Core i5-3450 has an integrated graphics core which goes up to 1100MHz.