TechSpot Featured Articles

Testing 10 Gigabit Ethernet Performance: QNAP TS-879 Pro & Synology DS3612xs NAS Review

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:33:17 GMT

Hoping to drive small and medium business sales, NAS-makers have been pushing to deliver more enterprise-level features. First seen over a decade ago, 10GbE is ten times faster than Gigabit Ethernet, but it's been largely reserved for pricey devices.

Gainward GeForce GTX 670 Phantom Review

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:55:42 GMT

Continuing Kepler's rollout, Nvidia has unveiled the GTX 670, which is priced against the HD 7950 at $399. Despite being $100 cheaper than the GTX 680, the GTX 670 doesn't appear to be much slower on paper, and that could spell disaster for AMD.

Cubitek HPTX-ICE Case Review

Wed, 09 May 2012 05:54:18 GMT

Cubitek is a relative newcomer to the chassis industry, but that's not stopping it from challenging the biggest names in the business -- including veteran Lian Li. Last month, the company unveiled its latest ICE series with five premium models spanning everything from Mini-ITX to HPTX.

Raspberry Pi Review & Initial How-To Setup Guide

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:53:10 GMT

Six years ago, Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton set out to reignite programming in schools with a cheap, compact computing platform. Despite targeting students, his foundation's $35 computer captured the imaginations of tinkers worldwide, resulting in overwhelming demand.

Biggest Tech Failures of The Last 10+ Years

Thu, 03 May 2012 03:59:20 GMT

There are two surefire ways to have your name immortalized in history: succeed in your stride toward greatness or, as so many tech firms did in 2011, faceplant trying. We revisit some of the biggest flops of the new millennia, starting with what many consider Microsoft's worst OS ever.

Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom Review

Tue, 01 May 2012 06:40:54 GMT

On paper, the GTX 680 has almost 200% more shader performance than the GTX 580, roughly 250% more texture performance, 90% more ROP performance and 100% more memory bandwidth. With the Radeon HD 7970 only being ~9% faster than the GTX 580, AMD appears to have priced itself into a corner this time around.

Cloud Storage: 5 Alternatives, What's in It for You?

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 05:39:10 GMT

The cloud storage market is getting more competitive than ever. Although there are many options out there, we've hand-picked the most high-profile and consumer-friendly cloud storage services and took them for a spin: Dropbox, Skydrive, Google Drive, iCloud and SugarSync.

Tribes: Ascend GPU & CPU Performance Test

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:23:54 GMT

We've benchmarked Tribes: Ascend across three different resolutions with two dozen GPU configurations, including AMD's new Radeon HD 7000 series. We'll also see how the performance scales when overclocking an FX-8150 and an i7-2600K, along with benching a handful of other Intel and AMD processors.

Ivy Bridge Debuts: Intel Core i7-3770K Review

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:57:21 GMT

Today the company is unveiling its full new line of Core i7 and Core i5 processors, accompanying chipsets and Centrino wireless options. Ivy Bridge is a 'tick' release, but Intel is calling it a tick+ due to the more significant overhaul the graphics side of things is getting.

TechSpot PC Buying Guide

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:28:07 GMT

The TechSpot PC Buying Guide provides you with an in-depth list of today's best hardware, spanning four unique and yet typical budgets. Whether you are a first time builder seeking guidance or a seasoned enthusiast, we've got you covered.

4-Way Intel Z77 Motherboard Round-up

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:12:49 GMT

After surveying Panther Point's spec sheet, we're itching to get a little more hands-on. We have four new Z77 motherboards in the shop and begging for attention, including the Asrock Z77 Extreme6, ECS Z77H2-AX, Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB and Intel DZ77GA-70K.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Review

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:10:00 GMT

Samsung is aiming to grab a piece of the low-cost tablet market with its latest device. At $250, the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is an instant best buy. And when you consider that it is one of the few devices on the market to offer Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as its operating system, it's even more of a steal.

Intel Z77 'Panther Point' Chipset Overview

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:36:38 GMT

Continuing its tick-tock release cycle, Intel plans to unveil a new CPU microarchitecture at the end of April. Codenamed Ivy Bridge (tick), the update will bring a 22nm die shrink and with it greater efficiency and allowing Intel to cram more into the same size die.

HP Folio 13 Ultrabook Review

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:24:19 GMT

Striking a balance between extremes, HP's Folio 13 kicks off at an attractive $900 while packing the same core componentry you'll find in even the priciest of ultrabooks.

Nokia Lumia 900 Review

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:03:29 GMT

The Nokia Lumia 900 represents a number of firsts: it is the first high-end Windows Phone from Nokia to arrive in the U.S., it is the first 4G LTE smartphone from Nokia, and it is one of the first 4G LTE Windows Phones on the market.

Smartphone Buying Guide: H1 2012

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:36:03 GMT

Check out our selection of the hottest devices currently out there -- or nearing release. Each phone is listed alongside its feature highlights, specs and prices, from newest to oldest. We've also added metascores from our Product Finder engine along with links to reviews besides each phone.

HTC One X Review

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:47:26 GMT

The One X, the company's new flagship Android smartphone, is the kind of phone that just leaves you breathless. Its single-piece polycarbonate body is unique in the Android world, and it is as comfortable to hold as it is drop dead gorgeous.

Synology DiskStation DS1512+ NAS Review

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:55:19 GMT

The DS1512+ boasts faster read and write speeds than its predecessor and packs an updated dual core 2.13GHz Intel Atom D2700 (32nm Cedar Trail) CPU. These extras come at a $100 premium over the DS1511+, positioning this 5-bay device as a respectable contender in the current NAS market.

Crucial Adrenaline SSD Review: Solid State Cache for Your Hard Drive

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:28:41 GMT

Crucial's new Adrenaline solid state drive is a cache solution meant to work along your existing disk drive, using a 50GB version of the m4 SSD. By leveraging the NAND flash memory's performance, the Adrenaline acts as a fast cache to speed up your current larger disk drive storage.

Apple iPad (3rd-Gen): The TechSpot Review

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 08:43:55 GMT

New features like quad-core graphics, 4G LTE support and the iSight camera are all nice additions, and yet the new iPad could be summarized in only two words: Retina display. Apple has once again set the benchmark others will be striving for in 2012.

Best iPad Games: 12 Picks for 2012

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 04:57:46 GMT

Apple iPad games that shine use the extra screen space and sharper resolution to deliver touch gaming that captivates. Which games do that best?

HP TouchSmart 520 All-In-One Review

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:40:43 GMT

The TouchSmart 520 is a 23-inch multi-touch AIO powered by a 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2600S processor, Radeon HD 6450A graphics and Beats Audio. Additional perks include a built-in TV tuner and HDMI-in, essentially transforming the 520 into a venerable entertainment / gaming station.

AMD Radeon HD 7770 & 7750 Crossfire Performance

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:19:50 GMT

The old HD 5750 and 5770 were popular Crossfire candidates and the same could be true of the HD 7700 series if it's priced right. We're testing the HD 7750 and HD 7770 in Crossfire across more than a dozen games to see how well they scale and compare against cards such as the HD 6870 and GTX 560 Ti.

Tablets of 2012: The New iPad, Current and Upcoming Alternatives

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:49:37 GMT

It's no secret that tablet makers are having a hard time competing with Apple in this still nascent market. We've compiled a comparative table with the hottest tablets either currently available or announced so far. If you are in the market for a tablet now this should definitely serve as a starting point for narrowing down your purchase.

Mass Effect 3 GPU & CPU Performance Test

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 05:59:30 GMT

We've benchmarked Mass Effect 3 across three different resolutions with two dozen GPU configurations -- including AMD's new Radeon HD 7000 series. We'll also see how the performance scales when overclocking an eight-core FX-8150, along with benching a handful of other Intel and AMD processors.