The BitFenix Prodigy has received quite a bit of attention on the web recently, but the PC community is divided over whether or not it is actually good chassis. While it is bigger than a normal mini-ITX chassis, it offers a very wide range of cooling and hard drive customization options. In this article we will be looking at these customization options and many other features to determine if this chassis would be a good addition to our current chassis product line.
Video Card Performance: 2GB vs 4GB Memory
Similar video cards are often available in versions with more than one memory size. The GeForce GTX 680 is an example, and comes in both 2GB and 4GB variants. With computer components more is often better, but does doubling the memory on a video card like this actually help with game performance – and if so under what circumstances? Although single monitor resolutions only go so high, multi-monitor configurations via NVIDIA Surround or AMD Eyefinity allow for much higher resolutions where larger amounts of video memory may improve performance.
Introduction to PC Wireless Networking
Wireless networking (also known as WiFi) has greatly evolved over the last few years and as a result has become increasing complex. This article is intended to give the reader the information necessary to make informed decisions when purchasing and configuring a wireless network in order to maximize the performance, speed, and reliability of the network.
Technology Primer: Low Voltage RAM
Voltage is not typically thought of as a key specification for RAM, but can have a significant impact on system stability as it runs much cooler than standard RAM. In this article, we will be looking at Kingston Lovo and G.Skill Sniper RAM to see how well low voltage RAM performs compared to standard RAM and if it has a measurable impact on power draw and system temperatures.
How it Works: Intel SSD Caching
SSD caching is not new, but is something we have not inspected closely since its introduction with the Z68 chipset. In this article, we will be answering the questions: What is SSD caching? How do you set up and configure SSD caching? And what kind of performance improvements you should expect by using it.
Introducing the New Puget Traverse Laptops
With the recent launch of Intel’s new Ivy Bridge line of CPUs, Puget Systems has completely revamped our laptop product line to take advantage of the new improvements in technology. In this article, we will be going over the features found on this units as well as battery life estimates and thermal performance measurements.
Product Review: Intel DH77DF
With the launch of the new 7-series chipsets, we spent the last few weeks looking at numerous Mini-ITX motherboards in order to update our Echo line of systems. There are many boards available from various manufactures, but the motherboard that immediately caught our attention was the Intel DH77DF.
Product Review: Intel S2600COE
The Intel S2600COE is a part of the recently launched Romley platform and is intended exclusively for use in server systems. This motherboard includes onboard video and four integrated Intel Gigabit LAN ports, but is very limited in the number of USB ports available. Because of the strong server focus of this board, however, there are many desktop features (namely S3 sleep and fan throttling) that are not supported.
Technology Primer: Intel Ivy Bridge
Intel’s new 22nm CPUs – codenamed Ivy Bridge – has finally launched. When combined with one of the recently released 7-series chipsets, this new CPU/Chipset combination provides support for PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0 as well as allowing RAM up to speeds of 1600MHz to be used natively. The onboard graphics has also received a nice upgrade allowing for the use of onboard graphics in a much wider variety of applications.
Qualification: Asus Z77 Motherboards
At Puget Systems, we are always on the lookout for new products to keep our product at the forefront of technology. In this article, we will be looking at the Asus P8Z77-V Pro, P8Z77-V Deluxe, and P8Z77-M Pro motherboards to determine if they are worthy of a position on our product line.