One year ago Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE:AMD) company stock was publically trading for $8.20 per share, and since then value has sunk to as low as $1.86 per share, performing far worse than other stocks within the same industry. While the numbers don't lie, they don't always tell the entire story. Not so long ago I wrote an article that asserted how game developers would see new demand for their products as the platform technology improved. The obvious winners were those invested in game console production and development, but it was too early to point the finger at many specific names. Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's XBOX platform were expected to thrive well into the next generation, but hardware component suppliers were still an unknown... until now. Unofficially announced, both Sony and Microsoft have selected Advanced Micro Devices as the source of their next-generation console processor needs. How much will this help to save a failing company?

I've read many articles published by various editors on the death of the Desktop PC at the hand of Tablets, and I don't put much stock in them. I, personally, will never give up having a Desktop. The raw power capabilities needed for ripping, converting, editing, compiling, and securing various data will always ensure it a place in my home, until the Desktop becomes a Wrist Computer with a direct neural interface. Or, at least, that's my hope of what it will become. However, there is a potential death for the Desktop PC in the future, and it's has nothing to do with advancing technologies...

Back on August 2010, I made a prediction: desktop PCs have an expiration date, and that time may not be far off. I followed-up that article with several more editorials that contained plenty of truth, but our readers commented in revolt. Even some of my industry peers said I was pessimistic, and that the enthusiast desktop PC industry would continue to thrive and grow. I later predicted key points that would prove themselves essential for Intel to sustain desktop motherboard development, and now Intel has announced the end of the desktop platform - or rather a slow three-year wind-down toward an end by 2016. Here's how the desktop PC ends...

3D printing technology has progressed beyond prototyping and developed into consumer production. What was once an expensive process that enabled quicker proto-fabrication has now become an affordable means for regular users to construct or duplicate any object of their desire. Inventors have championed 3D printers as devices favorable to their pursuit of product development, but the same technology will allow consumers the ability to copy patented work or firearms without consideration. The resulting dilemma will play out in courts around the globe as 3D printing devices and the software that coordinates them are steadily improved.

Once upon a time between 2004-2006, OCZ was a well-known manufacturer of high-end memory components and power supply units that sold under the motto "Founded by Enthusiasts, for Enthusiasts". During the peak economy in 2007, OCZ Technology CEO Ryan Petersen proved his devotion to enthusiasts by purchasing PC Power & Cooling (May 2007), swiftly followed by elite system-builder Hypersonic PC (October 2007). Through the years that followed, OCZ's brand name would successfully sell NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, overclocker heatsinks, premium thermal pastes, hardcore gaming peripherals, and even a mind-controlled Neural Impulse Actuator (NIA). On March 2008, OCZ Technology revealed the industry's first consumer Solid State Drive - the apex of their dedication towards high-performance computer hardware enthusiasts. The future looked so very bright, until stock value became the mission. As of 26 October 2012, many of the great minds behind OCZ's enthusiast movement were without work.

While building a desktop computer can be daunting, it's not really that hard of a process and with a little instruction most anyone can build a system. I have clients in their 80's that now build systems and my sons built their first PCs at ages 7 and 5 respectfully. Benchmark Reviews goes to great lengths to provide information that will help all builders, both first time builders and long time Professionals. There are however, things that can make the decision making process on what to use/buy more difficult. One of the biggest roadblocks (and one of my Pet Peeves) is advertising done by motherboard manufacturers as to DRAM compatibility. We'll take a closer look at this and see some of the pitfalls...

I've been reporting on solid state drive technology since it made a retail debut back in February 2008, nearly five years ago. From the very start I've been a huge proponent of all things SSD, as it closes the gap between the fastest computer system components (processor followed by memory) and the slowest (data storage drive). But as speeds grew increasingly faster with each new generation, there's still one giant gap that remains: price. The cost of components has dropped year after year, but today the vast majority of low capacity entry-level SSDs still fetch about $1/GB compared to less than $0.20/GB for high-performance hard disk drive technology. In this editorial, I chronicle the current state of retail solid state storage devices.