Designed to support second-generation Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors for the LGA2011 socket, Intel's Sandy Bridge Extreme X79 Express motherboards raise the standard for performance computers. ASUSTek, the largest of Intel's partners, is using this occasion to debut some impressive technology of their own: the ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard. Nearly identical to the premium P9X79 Deluxe motherboard, the Pro model also offers standard features such as SuperSpeed USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, Bluetooth, and PCI-Express 3.0 compatibility. Complete with quad-channel DDR3 2200MHz system memory support, ASUS enables SSD caching and RAM-disk opportunities for high-demand tasks. A fresh new UEFI BIOS allows risk-free USB flashback, while digital power regulators now control every voltage on the system. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ASUS P9X79 Pro motherboard with Intel's Core i7-3960X CPU and compare differences to the ASUS P9X79 Deluxe.

As part of the Sandy Bridge Extreme CPU launch, Benchmark Reviews received several new X79 Express motherboards to test. Each motherboard's aimed at a different audience and has different features. In this article I'll compare the stock and overclocked performance of each motherboard to see if there are any significant differences.

The holiday season is fast approaching and there is still no official word on the next generation 28nm GPU's other than TSMC starting volume production. What does that mean? Well, it looks like we will be waiting until next year before any more new video cards from either camp are released. This stop gap between generations gives AIB partners a chance to tweak and perfect their designs and introduce some different models to keep the market active. Today Benchmark Reviews will be looking at the HIS Radeon HD6870 IceQ 1GB, a modern video card with a classic HIS design. As aftermarket designs go, this looks like a real beast of a card but there is no factory overclock on this model. The cooler is a mixture of the HIS IceQ X fin array and a shroud that looks similar to a reference card shroud with a twist. HIS have dubbed the radial fan a 'Black Hole Impeller' because it is able to draw in air from both sides as it is raised slightly from the PCB. The main question is what difference will this make to operating temperatures and overclocking potential; and that is exactly what we intend to find out.

It's that time again: a new Intel processor line, along with the requisite new chipset and new motherboards. Intel's "Sandy Bridge Extreme" line of processors requires the massive new LGA2011 socket, which in turn is supported by the new X79 chipset. Intel provided a prototype of their top-end DX79SI motherboard with a Core i7-3960X Sandy Bridge E processor for us to test, and Benchmark Reviews will put it through its paces in this review.

That moment when solid state drive technology can offer the high capacity of large hard disk counterparts is nearly here. OCZ Technology, a pioneer in the SSD market, combines their experience with both SATA and PCI-Express SSDs to offer the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid SSD. Based on OCZ Virtualized Controller Architecture technology, RevoDrive Hybrid uses Dataplex caching software to pair a 100GB SandForce SF-2281 SSD to a 1TB 7200RPM hard drive. The results are surprising: a bootable PCI-Express device with the speed of a solid state drive and the storage capacity of a hard disk drive. Join Benchmark Reviews as we test the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid PCI-E SSD RVDHY-FH-1T.

Getting access to the gigabytes of data on your external storage devices is excruciatingly slow as it trickles thru the USB 2.0 port, or at least, that's how it feels these days. USB 2.0 just can't get the job done fast enough. USB 3.0 at least for now is the answer for our external access speed requirements. The EC03 card from SilverStone installs into a single lane PCI-E gen 2.0 slot and gives you two internal USB 3.0 ports. So how fast is it? Benchmark Reviews takes the EC03 thru the paces, let's take a look.

AMD's 900 series chipsets preceded the introduction of their Bulldozer processors by several months. While this chipset offers no additional functionality to non-Bulldozer CPUs, manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon anyway, perhaps because Bulldozer was expected a little sooner than it was actually released, and MSI was one of the first. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at how MSI's 990FX-GD80 motherboard works, and we even use a Bulldozer CPU.

During the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, Benchmark Reviews was fortunate to see several new products unveiled for the first time. Most manufacturers in attendance used CES to reveal their recently launched product line, while others demonstrated existing product series. With all of the new products making news, a few manufacturers still had a few secret products that were yet to be released. Cooler Master had some of both when we visited, and one of them was the Cooler Master HAF-X Mid-Tower Computer Case.