Intel's hardware accelerated video transcode engine, Quick Sync, was introduced two years ago with Sandy Bridge. When it was introduced, I was immediately sold. With proper software support you could transcode content at frame rates that were multiple times faster than even the best GPU based solutions. And you could do so without taxing the CPU cores. While Quick Sync wasn't meant for high quality video encoding for professional production, it produced output that was more than good enough for use on a smartphone or tablet. Given the incredible rise in popularity of those devices over recent history and given that an increasing number of consumers moved to notebooks as primary PCs, a fast way of transcoding content without needing tons of CPU...
Fall Budget System Buyer's Guide
Most of the systems I build for friends and clients are destined to spend their days performing basic computing tasks like checking email and Facebook accounts, shopping for shoes...
39 by Zach Throckmorton on 9/1/2012
Dell's Vostro 3000 Series Brings Enterprise Quality at Consumer Prices
Riding a PR wave that seems to almost inexplicably, coincidentally crest once a week, today Dell has announced the new 3000 series of their Vostro notebooks. Vostro is Dell's...
19 by Dustin Sklavos on 6/12/2012
ASRock's High-End Vision 3D 252B HTPC Review
In late 2010, we reviewed the ASRock Vision 3D, and declared it to be the best pre-built SFF (small form factor) HTPC we had reviewed. ASRock duly updated the...
61 by Ganesh T S on 5/7/2012
Slimming Desktops Down: Intel Reveals Next Unit of Computing
Intel has demonstrated a new form factor at PAX East and Intel's Platinum Summit. The form factor carries the name Next Unit of Computing, or simply NUC, and measures...
38 by Kristian Vättö on 5/2/2012
Eurocom Monster 1.0: Gaming with Quad-Core IVB and Kepler at 11.6”
Eurocom is a company that we’ve seen a few times over the years. Mostly, their focus is on the high-end mobile workstation market, though they also sell plenty of...
32 by Jarred Walton on 4/27/2012
HP Folio 13 Review: Deviating From the Norm
The initial bum rush of ultrabooks resulted in, with limited exception, a lot of designs that took most of their cues from Apple's MacBook Air. Even Dell's XPS 13...
88 by Dustin Sklavos on 4/17/2012
Sony VAIO SE: An IPS Laptop for Under a Grand
Yes, folks, we finally managed to get someone to send us a mainstream laptop with an IPS display. Not that there are many choices; besides the Sony SE reviewed...
58 by Jarred Walton on 4/3/2012
Toshiba Portege R835: Less Ultra, More Notebook
With the deluge of ultrabooks stemming from Intel's initiative over the past few months, it's easy to forget ultraportables have been a part of the Windows PC landscape for...
81 by Dustin Sklavos on 3/30/2012
Puget Systems Echo: Intel and AMD Showdown at 65 Watts
Just about anyone can put together a solid computer using a decent midtower and the right parts. What we don't see as often is just how fast a computer...
62 by Dustin Sklavos on 3/21/2012
The Razer Blade Review
Razer is, first and foremost, a gaming company. From the company slogan (“By gamers, for gamers”), to partnerships with a number of the most popular game development studios, even...
94 by Vivek Gowri & Jarred Walton on 3/15/2012
Alienware X51: The Xbox With Teeth
While Alienware isn't openly inviting comparisons to Microsoft's Xbox 360 with their brand new X51 gaming desktop, it's hard not to see the resemblance, at least in form factor...
59 by Dustin Sklavos on 2/17/2012
Intel Updates Sandy Bridge Graphics Drivers
Intel has posted versions 15.22.54.2622 (32-bit) and 15.22.54.64.2622 (64-bit) of its drivers for the Intel HD-series lineup of integrated graphics processors, which includes both Sandy Bridge and older Nehalem-based...
22 by Andrew Cunningham on 2/7/2012
Intel Releases Seven Sandy Bridge CPUs
Today, Intel has released seven new Sandy Bridge based CPUs: three Core i5 and four Celeron models. All the i5 SKUs are desktop models, whereas the Celeron SKUs are...
44 by Kristian Vättö on 1/30/2012
Intel's Performance Tuning Protection Plan: Warranty for Overclockers
I had heard this might be coming, but today Intel made it official. The Performance Tuning Protection Plan is a $20 - $35 plan that you'll be able to...
26 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 1/18/2012
Intel Core i7 3820 Review: $285 Quad-Core Sandy Bridge E
If you are a normal desktop user or even a power user with plans to run at over 4GHz, the vanilla LGA-1155 Sandy Bridge platform is good enough. You...
85 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 12/29/2011.png)
Holiday 2011 Mainstream High-End Buyer's Guide
After covering the budget and midrange sectors of the DIY PC market, as well as pre-built desktops and laptops, today we have a guide outlining mainstream high-end builds. Saying...
52 by Zach Throckmorton on 12/9/2011
Holiday 2011 Midrange System Buyer's Guide
The latest edition of our Holiday 2011 guides focuses on midrange desktops. If you enjoy the prospect of building your own PC or you just prefer the ability to...
58 by Zach Throckmorton on 12/6/2011
Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro (Late 2011) Review
The early 2011 MacBook Pro is honestly Apple's best effort to date. Only using quad-core CPUs on the 15 and 17-inch models, and offering an optional Thunderbolt Display that...
107 by Anand Lal Shimpi on 11/17/2011
Toshiba Portege Z835: A New Ultrabook Appears
Intel's ultrabook initiative is a curious one, one that's very gradually picking up interest among vendors. We've already had a chance to take a look at the smaller of...
65 by Dustin Sklavos on 11/16/2011