The Intel P55 platform has been with us for a good while now, and it is a real sleeper, having the memory controller integrated with the CPU gives it a nice performance advantage over competing products, even higher priced ones. If it has any serious shortcomings, it's the number of PCI-e lanes that it supports. With a maximum of 16 lanes of PCI-e 2.0 available for graphics cards, there is no room for expansion, if additional devices require PCI-e 2.0 connectivity. Guess what the most common support chips for SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 require? You got it, PCI-e 2.0. ASUS works their way out of this problem on the P7P55D-E Pro motherboard with a PCI Bridge from PLX Technology that takes some spare PCI Express 1.1 lanes, converts them into the required PCI-e 2.0 version, and serves them up to the latest NEC and Marvell controllers. Benchmark Reviews was intrigued by this latest combination and we're pleased to present a review.

The Hard Disk Drive (HDD) has enjoyed a long service life in the computer industry, and only recently has the Solid State Drive (SSD) threatened to replace it. While the HDD offers higher capacity at a better price, SSDs offer tremendous speeds and operational performance. Finally, Seagate has achieved the optimal blend of each, and presents the Solid State-Hybrid Hard Drive. Seagate's Momentus-XT hybrid uses a 7200-RPM hard drive fused with 4GB SLC NAND flash to deliver SSD speeds and HDD storage capacity. Seagate's Adaptive Memory technology uses an algorithm to monitor user data access transactions, which caches qualified data onto the SSD. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Seagate Momentus-XT Solid State Hybrid Drive against several of the fastest notebook storage devices available.

One of the primary reasons that PC video games are so popular is because they offer precision control and accuracy beyond what the gaming console can deliver. Tools are an important part of the trade, and to be the best you've got to use the best equipment. Logitech is keenly aware of these fundamentals, which is why they've created an entire business around high-performance peripherals. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Logitech G9x Laser Gaming Mouse (model 910-001152) in fast-paced FPS action games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Xigmatek have a few cases in their collection now, the latest is the Xigmatek Utgard CPC-T90DB-U01 which is the focus of this review. The Utgard is in many ways very similar to the Midgard chassis and it has many differences too, some are good while some are not so good. There is real support for water cooling with the Utgard as well as 3 design choices - Classic (U01), Windowed (U02) or mesh (U03) and all come with the option of additional 500w power supply. Join Benchmark Reviews now as we see what the Utgard Classic has to offer.

Solid State Drive storage devices have become the hot ticket for high-performance computer enthusiasts. Impartial towards either PC, Linux, or Apple platforms, SSDs have the power to transform slow computers into blazing-fast speed machines. The SandForce SF-1200 has quickly become the de facto SSD controller for companies seeking recognition, and for good reason. The G.Skill Phoenix Pro embraces the SF-1222TA3-SBH processor to produce up to 50,000 IOPS with only 7% over-provisioning to generate maximum performance with optimal capacity. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 60GB G.Skill Phoenix Pro SSD FM-25S2S-60GBP2 against some of the fastest storage solutions on the market.

"Ask any PC enthusiast and they'll tell you that system heat is a constant concern", said Crucial Ballistix senior product manager, Jeremy Mortenson. The new Crucial Ballistix kit comes with a pair of innovations in memory cooling. The first one is an improved heat spreader design compared to the old models. This isn't such a big innovation in the memory market but the second will be an interesting one for sure. Crucial added thermal sensors for temperature monitoring via software. Since we're PC enthusiasts at Benchmark Reviews, the BL2KIT25664FN160 kit from Crucial couldn't miss our benchmark's suite and tests. Join us in this article to watch out what this new Crucial Ballistix Kit has to offer.

Performance is often attributed to expensive objects of desire. In the automobile space, it's generally accepted that a higher performing vehicle will incur a significant markup over the average fuel-efficient family offerings. Computing is much the same. Retail OEM machines are pre-built at predetermined price points, often targeting the humble office/Internet-centric user. Performance isn't a primary concern for these systems, nor are upgradability or customisation. On the other hand, you have the expensive 'gamer' orientated machines which cost several thousands of dollars! This is where Benchmark Reviews steps in. We've sat down and created three enthusiast machines without the dreaded price gauge of many pre-built setups - the 'Enthusiast PC Build' for Q3 2010!

PC video games are still the best way to experience realistic effects and immerse yourself in the battle. Consoles do their part, but only high-precision video cards offer the sharp clarity and definition needed to enjoy detailed graphics. Armed with Voltage Tweak functionality, the ASUS GeForce GTX 465 delivers a healthy helping of graphical power at an affordable price. The ENGTX465/2DI/1GD5 model has plenty of headroom for overclockers to drive out additional FPS performance, while keeping temperatures cool. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the ASUS ENGTX465 against some of the best video cards within the price segment by using several of the most demanding PC video game titles and benchmark software available: Aliens vs Predator, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BattleForge, Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5, and Metro 2033.