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Latest PC Upgrades Buying Advice

09 September 2013
Buying Advice: Buying advice: Radeon HD 7870 or GeForce 660?

We test the Radeon HD 7870 against nVidia's GeForce 660 and 660 Ti graphics boards. Read on for 7870 v 660/660 comparative benchmarks and specs, as well as a list of the graphics cards commercially available.
01 April 2013
Buying Advice: Do I need a graphics card or will Intel's integrated HD Graphics 4000 suffice?

Our Helproom Editor explains what to expect from Intel Graphics 4000 - the integrated graphical processing unit of Ivy Bridge processors. Do you need a separate graphics card?
22 January 2013
Buying Advice: Windows 8 price in UK

Microsoft will change the price of Windows 8, its latest operating system, on February 1 2013. Here's everything you need to know about the Windows 8 price in the UK.
31 December 2012
Buying Advice: How to choose an SSD for your PC or laptop

Our Helproom Editor offers tips on choosing an SSD for your PC or laptop.
24 December 2012
Buying Advice: Which budget graphics card?

A budget graphics card can improve gaming, but you need to know what to buy. Here our Helproom Editor explains how to buy a cheap graphics card.
19 December 2012
Buying Advice: Corsair Professional AX760i / AX860i PSU review: extremely efficient

With prices of £158 and £166 respectively, the Corsair AX760i and AX860i are more expensive than the power supplies from our recent round-up, but you do get high-quality PSUs for that price. Their efficiency is outstanding, they're extremely quiet and the voltages are super-stable.
11 December 2012
Buying Advice: 28 750 t/m 950 watt PSU review: efficient and silent

If you're planning on using two graphics cards in your desktop PC, and perhaps even try your hand at overclocking those along with your processor, it's advisable to get a PSU of between 750 and 950 watts. There are a huge number of these on the market, so it's difficult to know which one is best for your needs. Hardware.Info tested 28 power supplies in this category, to separate the wheat from the chaff.
04 December 2012
Buying Advice: Four passive graphics cards review: 100% quiet

A PC that doesn't make a sound, it remains the ultimate goal for many a hardware enthusiast. We recently review the passively cooled HTPC chassis Streacom FC-5.
27 November 2012
Buying Advice: HP 3005PR USB 3.0 Port Replicator review

The HP 3005PR is a smart and practical dock, built around the DisplayLink DL3900 chip. It adds quite a few connectors to your computer, with a total of six USB ports (two USB 3.0), audio, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI and DisplayPort. The latter two can even be used at the same time.
26 November 2012
Buying Advice: Fractal Design Node 605 review: ultimate HTPC case?

Overall we are in a bit of a quandary regarding the Fractal Design Node 605. It's a stylish chassis with a solid build. It does offer a lot of interior space, and a flexible lay-out. You can fit a full ATX motherboard, a full ATX power supply, and a fairly large graphics card. It makes it a great solution for an allround HTPC that can also handle a demanding video game. However, the question remains how useful it actually is to use ATX-sized components.
07 November 2012
Buying Advice: Biostar Hi-Fi Z77X review: Z77 board with unique audio features

During Computex Biostar announced a new series of motherboards that would be called "Hi-Fi". This new line is supposed to distinguish itself with exceptional audio quality and extra features for the integrated audio. Hardware.Info tested the Hi-Fi Z77X to find out if the motherboard lives up to its name.
06 November 2012
Buying Advice: Sapphire Pure Platinum A85XT review: Sapphire's Socket FM2 motherboard

When we reviewed the other three Socket FM2 boards we almost had the feeling that we tested the same board three times in a row. This Sapphire Pure Platinum A85XT motherboard is also very similar to those three, but it has a couple of unique aspects. One is the presence of a Bluetooth controller and the second is the combined mini-PCIe/mSATA slot.
Buying Advice: Three AMD A85X Socket FM2 motherboards review

Last month AMD launched its new generation A10/A8/A6/A4 desktop processors. These CPUs need a new type of processor socket, called Socket FM2. Hardware.Info reviewed three motherboards with the new AMD socket based on the most high-end A85X chipset, the ASUS F2A85-V Pro, the Gigabyte GA-F2A85X-UP4 and the MSI FM2-A85XA-G65.
01 November 2012
Buying Advice: Xigmatek Asgard III review: affordable enclosure

The Xigmatek Asgard III certainly is not a bad chassis for its £30 price tag. It cools better than the similarly priced Bitfenix Outlaw, even if that chassis is more quiet. The Asgard III performs about the same as the recently reviewed Sharkoon T28, which costs about 50 percent more.
Buying Advice: Make your PC quieter

If your PC sounds more like an aircraft taking off than a piece of precision technology, we have a raft of tips for saving your ears without hurting your bank balance (too much). Here's how to make your PC quieter
23 October 2012
Buying Advice: AMD FX-8350, -8320, -6300 'Vishera' review: finally good enough?

If you plan on using a dedicated graphics card, the FX-8350, FX-8320 and FX-6300 aren't bad options. Here's our AMD FX processor buying advice.
16 October 2012
Buying Advice: ASUS Matrix HD 7970 Platinum review: 1.4 kg graphics card

Impressive graphics card design, that is something you can trust ASUS with. The latest new member in the Republic of Gamers family is the Matrix HD 7970 Platinum. It's a huge card based on the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition with several unique features for overclockers. Hardware.Info tested the card and overclocked it.
10 October 2012
Buying Advice: Ten DDR3 memory kits reviewed: optimised for Ivy Bridge

The new Intel Ivy Bridge processors have more options for overclocking RAM. To find out which brand of memory modules will give you the best performance in return, Hardware.Info compared ten different sets.
09 October 2012
Buying Advice: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti review: Gigabyte vs MSI vs Zotac

Today Nvidia introduced the GeForce GTX 650 Ti, a graphics card based on the same GK106 GPU that the GeForce GTX 660 is built around. Nvidia's new card is positioned against AMD's Radeon HD 7770. Hardware.Info compared cards from Gigabyte, MSI and Zotac.
04 October 2012
Buying Advice: ASRock Z77 OC Formula review: designed by Nick Shih

ASRock has a new high-end Socket 1155 motherboard specially aimed at overclockers, and the extra features reflect this. Professional overclocker Nick Shih assisted with the design of the ASRock Z77 OC Formula board, and also added a number of custom overclocking profiles.