AMD’s Trinity APU – essentially a CPU and GPU combined into one unit-
is a great way to create a budget gaming system when using a discrete video card is not an option. However, due to the limited performance available with any onboard graphics, it is important to thoroughly optimize it to get the best possible performance. In this article, we will be looking at the components that have an influence on the performance of the integrated graphics in AMD’s Trinity APUs.
Gaming PC Configuration Guide – Fall 2012
This article is intended as a guide to recommended hardware specifications for gaming computers, across a few different price points, based on technology available in late 2012 / early 2013. If you have questions above and beyond what is discussed, here please call or email us – we would be happy to go over your exact needs and provide advice tailored just for you!
Breaking the Hype of High Frequency RAM
High Frequency RAM is often touted as being essential for high-performance computing, but in our experience has little to offer in actual performance gains. In this article, we will be using a large set of benchmarks across both Intel and AMD platforms to show that RAM running at higher frequency at the cost of increased timings gives little to no real-world performance improvements.
Battlefield 3 Certified on Puget System Deluge
With the relatively high system requirements of EA’s latest title in the Battlefield series, many consumers will be looking to replace their current system in order to run Battlefield 3 at its maximum settings. In this article we will examine gaming performance of Battlefield 3 on three systems from Puget System’s Deluge line of gaming computers.
Technology Primer – ATI Radeon HD 6000-series
ATI has just launched their next-generation graphics card line, starting the process that will see the venerable Radeon HD 5000 cards replaced by 6000 models over the coming months. The first such cards, released today, are the 6850 and 6870 – known also by their codename ‘Barts’. In this article, we’ll take a look at what makes them different, and how their performance compares with the competitive offerings from NVIDIA.
Dedicated PhysX Comparisons
A few years back, Ageia Technologies launched a product designed to help handle the increasingly complex physics calculations which were becoming popular in modern games. They named this product “PhysX”, and it was the worlds first dedicated physics card. Enthusiasts were excited, and many thought that this technology was set to be the next piece of essential hardware for enthusiast systems. We decided to independently test the Nvidia PhysX platform, and share our results.
Gaming Computer Advice
As a custom computer builder, we get a lot of people asking for help designing high-end computers. Many times they are for media editing, stock trading, or research – but one of the most common uses of such powerful systems is video games. Given how much interest there is in gaming computers, I wanted to provide a guide for how to select what components to use in a modern gaming computer. There are lots of review sites that talk about specific hardware recommendations, but those are outdated quickly – so this article will attempt to focus more on the ideas behind the various parts of a custom gaming computer and what you need to take into consideration when building or purchasing one.
The KillerNIC – Is It Worth It?
In the ongoing efforts to squeeze every possible performance improvement out of their computing rig, most folks focus almost exclusively on the two heavy hitters in their system when it comes to generating frames per second (FPS): CPU and video card. Is it possible that both consumers and hardware manufacturers have been overlooking an untapped area for improvement?
DirectX 10, What is all the Fuss?
DirectX is something the average gamer doesn’t give much thought. Often they don’t even see the word until one of their games complains it is out of date. Even then, the necessary version is usually included, so all they have to do is do a quick, painless install and they’re on their way. DirectX 10 is a bigger deal. It is a more exciting update, and is more of a concern if you’re buying a new system. That means it is time to do some reading! The purpose of this article is to give you an overview of what to expect from DirectX 10, and what you need to run it.
SLI Technology for PCI-Express
nVidia says that it gives the consumer “heart-pounding PC performance.” It will deliver “unparalleled gaming experience.” So what is it? And where can I find it? And what do I need to run it? These are the questions you may be asking yourself, as I was, when I first read about nVidia’s new SLI technology for PCI-Express. Well, I am here to answer those questions for you. To tell you what exactly this newfangled technology does to deliver this “unparalleled gaming experience.”