AMD brought their newest Piledriver architecture to their APU chips first with the release of Trinity. We have already looked at the Trinity chips themselves, so lets take a better look at the motherboards designed to support them. Today, our AMD A10-5800K APU will be paired with three great FM2 socket motherboards with three leading manufacturers and we’ve selected the MSi …
When was the last time that you went out and bought an INTEL desktop board for your next DIY build? I’m willing to bet that most of you would say rare to never. It’s not that their desktop boards weren’t good, but compared to the innovations, features and variety provided by all the great companies in the market like ASUS, …
One of the amazing things about the DIY PC market is the level of control and customizability you have to create whatever your heart desires. You can build something very inexpensively, or build something with the same top notch components that the best system builders use. Everyone has access to the same parts, but the combinations are endless. This of …
GIGABYTE has been slowly refining their Z77 series and have added a couple new features that you’ll want to know about. For example, the new revisions now feature their Ultra Durable 5 technology which builds even more longevity into their boards and Thunderbolt (formerly LightPeak) connectivity. We want to know how these new features aid performance and most importantly, who …
AMD finally moves forward with implementing a completely new module architecture across its processors. This move has been met with a lot of controversy thanks to high expectations from the first all new design in over a decade. While the rest of the Internet has already released their findings, we decided to spend some extra time to get to know the new …
With the advancements in computer technology, it is now possible to build a high performance computer using any motherboard form factor from mini ITX all the way up to XL-ATX. The question is, why would anyone want to build a such a compact system with its inherent expansion limitations? The answer is not just one. For example, have you ever …
AMD was very clear about their intentions for the APU design when they first announced a new socket for these chips. The price, design, platform, and highlight features were all clearly targeted at the entry-level and mid-range markets. The only question I had was what did AMD consider to be mid-range? The difference in performance for a mid-range AMD graphics …
Shopping for the latest motherboard can be a confusing process especially to new users. With a lot of great looking boards, it’s not hard to base ones final decision on looks and a little on price, rather than the overall value. The value can include things often ignored like extra integrated components that increase performance and compatibility, plus design improvements …
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been neck deep in heavy Intel Z77 motherboard testing. I’ve been scrutinizing every last feature, and weighing each board’s performance potential. One of the Intel Z77 platform features I’ve been testing is Lucid’s Virtu MVP which could be the best Intel processor supporting feature in the last five years because it allows you to …
What is Z77 and what does it do? It’s Intel’s latest motherboard chipset (codenamed Panther Point) that supports Intel’s 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge processors, but was actually designed for their new Ivy Bridge LGA1155 3rd Generation parts, which we’ll touch on a bit later. For now, our focus is on MSI’s entry to the Z77 arena, the Z77A-GD65 Military Class III …
One factor in every component purchase decision is the budget. Components on your wishlist are always in flux, as you decide which can be downgraded to save money and which can’t. My Electronic Circuits professor’s favorite answer to a question about component selection is always “it depends”. I personally downgrade my choice in power supply and motherboard as a last …
Adopting a new Intel processor usually means you are adopting a new chipset. This means a new motherboard and memory are also part of the deal. Since the X79 platform is the latest to power the Intel Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011 processors, that means upgrading can get costly pretty quickly. Especially if you’re on a budget. But there are also …
