Intel Core i7-875K and i5-655K Unlocked

Once upon a time, not very long ago in fact, Intel vehemently frowned upon overclocking. There were even times leading up to new processor and chipset releases when it was rumored that Intel would bring an end to overclocking altogether. Thankfully, the rumors of overclocking's death were greatly exaggerated and we enthusiasts continue to practice its black magic to this very day.
Intel's distaste for overclocking has obviously dwindled over the last few years, however. Whereas before, all of the company's processors were locked and its motherboards lacked overclocking options. Now, Extreme Edition processors have unlocked multipliers and Intel motherboards have extensive overclocking tools built-in. It probably helps that Intel's current line-up of processor have massive amounts of frequency headroom left under to hood. But we digress...
Today Intel's takes its acquired taste for overclocking a step further. The company is announcing two new mainstream processor offerings, targeted squarely at overclocking enthusiasts and feature unlocked multipliers. The new Core i7-875K and Core i5-655K are virtually identical to the standard Core i7-870 and i5-650 from a technical standpoint, but with the right motherboard, users of these new K-series chips will be able to alter their multipliers to increase frequencies, without having to run any other part of the system out of spec.

Intel Core i7-875K Processor Key Features:

• Four Core Processing: Runs 4 independent processor cores in one physical packageRuns 4 independent processor cores in one physical package
• Base Processor Frequency: 2.93 GHz
• Intel Turbo Boost Technology: Dynamically increases the processor frequency up to 3.60GHz when applications demand more performance Speed when you need it, energy efficiency when you don’t.
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology: 8 threads provide unprecedented processing capability for better multi-tasking and threaded applications. Do more with less wait time.
• Intel Smart Cache: 8MB of shared cached allows faster access to your data by enabling dynamic and efficient allocation of the cache to match the needs of each core significantly reducing latency to frequently used data and improving performance.
• Overclocking Enabled: Core (Turbo) and DDR3 ratios are unlocked for ease of overclocking
• Integrated Memory Controller: Supports 2 channels of DDR3-1333 memory with 2 DIMMs per channel. Support for XMP memory.
• Chipset/Motherboard Compatibility: Compatible with all P55, H57 and H55 chipsets. See your motherboard manufacturer for support details for these processors

Intel Core i5-655K Processor Key Features:

• Dual Core Processing: Runs 2 independent processor cores in one physical package
• Base Processor Frequency: 3.2 GHz
• Intel Turbo Boost Technology: Dynamically increases the processor frequency up to 3.46 GHz when applications demand more performance. Speed when you need it, energy efficiency when you don’t.
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology: 4 threads provide unprecedented processing capability for better multi-tasking and threaded applications. Do more with less wait time.
• Intel Smart Cache: 4MB of shared cached allows faster access to your data by enabling dynamic and efficient allocation of the cache to match the needs of each core significantly reducing latency to frequently used data and improving performance.
• Overclocking Enabled: Core (Turbo) and DDR3 ratios are unlocked for ease of overclocking
• Integrated Memory Controller: Supports 2 channels of DDR3-1333 memory with 2 DIMMs per channel
• Chipset/Motherboard Compatibility: compatible with all P55, H57 and H55 chipsets. See your motherboard manufacturer for support details for these processors
• AES-NI: Provides 6 new processor instructions that help to improve performance for AES encryption and decryption algorithms.

ATI Radeon HD 5870 Overclocked Round-up

Enthusiasts are passionate about their hardware. While mainstream consumers target products with the best price to performance ratio, there is still a strong market for computer components that hold nothing back. For proof, look no further than Intel's latest Extreme Edition 980X processor, sporting six cores and twelve threads of pure awesome. Only a handful of applications can make use of that much processing power, but its available and ready to take on whatever you can throw at it. In the same way, the recent explosion of solid state drives has commanded a lot of attention for performance benefits that leave traditional hard drives in the dust. These products carry high price tags that have most consumers on the outside looking in, except for the niche market of enthusiasts and early adopters that pounce on cutting edge tech the millisecond it hits the shelves. And of course, high-end graphics cardsare no different in this respect, with a slew of manufacturers ready to amp things up just to draw interest from hardened performance enthusiasts...

Today we're looking at a trio of videocards that have their sights set on the enthusiast market. Factory overclocked Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards from HIS, MSI, and Gigabyte have landed in our lab and its time for another round up. Some might glance over these products and wonder what the big deal is. Any time a new series of graphics cards are launched by ATI or NVIDIA, it is common for add in board (AIB) partners to tweak various features so that consumers have even more attractive options to choose from, beyond the original reference design. The graphics cards we have setup for testing here come with increased GPU and memory speeds, promising improved performance right out of the box. In addition, the heatsinks have been redesigned to provide improved cooling in order to handle the increased frequencies that are set for their graphics engines. Read on to find out how these speed demons perform when compared to one another, and if one of them has what it takes to be your next upgrade.

ASRock X58 Extreme3 review

ASRock X58 Extreme3 - An enthusiast infrastructure at a budget price

The X58 chipset from Intel this year will already be two years old, that's right... two years. It is still Intel's most expensive and high-end chipset, still very capable of delivering massive performance for socket 1366 Core i7 based processors. Though Intel is not updating this chipset technology has advanced a decent chunk. Intel is riding it out as long as they can as well, people will purchase this chipset anyway. Meanwhile, USB 3.0 is bluntly ignored by them, SATA3 (6Gbit) is also ignored by Intel. And then Intel released their Core i7 980X six-core Gulftown based processor. As you can see, three new dynamics have hit the industry in the high-end segment, and for two of them... Intel is doing absolutely nothing.

That sparked ODMs to bring these new innovations to your doorsteps by inventing solutions themselves. More costly yes, but by embedding a NEC USB 3.0 controller and Marvell SATA3 6G SATA/AHCI/RAID controller onto that motherboard you can actually bring some interesting features to the table. Combine that with the successful release of Gulftown and you have just created enough incentive to re-release X58 motherboards in an updated jacket, as that is exactly what is happening anno Q2 2010 in the motherboard market.

The biggest downside of the newly added technology is that ODMs only apply the new tech onto their most high-end motherboards. The ASUS Rampage III Extreme for example will set you back 350 EUR, the new MSI X58 XPower will likely cost 375 EUR, eVGA's new QUAD SLI ready X58 Classified motherboard tops it off at 400 EUR. So if you want that X58 based platform and want to enjoy USB 3.0 and SATA3 6G, there really are no affordable alternatives... until now that is. ASRock has released a new X58 motherboard. It's loaded with extra features yet comes with SATA3 and USB 3.0. It is up-to date, has some nice extras and get this... will cost only 165 EUR or roughly 189 USD.

That price alone sparked my interest for sure as this board would need to really blow if it's not worth that money. So today we'll have a look at the more budget conscious ASRock X58 Extreme3 motherboard.

A motherboard that surprised us in many ways, have a peek at the photo and then let's head on over to the review.

eVGA GeForce GTX 465 SC review

eVGA will be putting a lot of GeForce GTX 465 SKUs on the market based in several gradations. We'll have a look in particular at the GeForce GTX 465 SC model, with SC short for Super Clocked. NVIDIA managed to put a product out on the market, that does not run very hot and is not at all noisy. A Fermi product that should be more affordable yet has less active shader processors at it's disposal and the memory configuration is now brought down towards 1024 MB (gDDR5/256-bit). This all means that several other shader clusters inside that GPU have been disabled, on a card that looks like the Siamese twin of the GeForce GTX 470.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480

Next-generation gaming has arrived. NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 480 gives your games an adrenaline shot with the world’s fastest performance and futuristic, visually-stunning graphics. Experience heart-pounding, cinematic visuals on your favorite games with the combined power of DirectX 11, CUDA™, and NVIDIA® PhysX® technologies. And expand your visual real estate across three HD displays in jaw-dropping stereoscopic 3D for the ultimate in immersive gaming. NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 480: pure adrenaline meets visual bliss.


Incredibly detailed visuals
Experience an unprecedented level of detail and realism in the latest games. Tessellation- one of the biggest new features of Microsoft DirectX11- helps developers create more detailed characters and terrain in games, bringing you sharper, crisper images and a more realistic experience. GeForce GTX 400 GPUs deliver up to 8x the tessellation performance compared to competition*, bringing your games closer to reality without sacrificing the high frame rates you enjoy.


Stunning Gaming Effects
Cutting-edge Microsoft DirectX 11 graphics and NVIDIA® PhysX® technology take gaming to a new level. Witness effects so realistic that you’ll have to remind yourself it’s just a game. Repeat: It’s just a game.


Total Immersion
Breakthrough the boundaries of your screen. Games, movies and photos enter a new dimension with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology. Thrill seeker? Use two GeForce GTX 480 cards in NVIDIA® SLI® configuration to project across three displays with NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround1 technology. *Warning: May cause screen envy.

Futuristic Graphics
Prepare yourself for the future of gaming. GeForce GTX 480 powers interactive raytracing, bringing spectacular, photo-realistic renderings to your screen for the first time. Go ahead, spoil your eyes.

NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT

The NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600 GT GPU offers a powerfully immersive entertainment experience designed for extreme high-definition gaming and video playback. Play the hottest DirectX 10 games with awesome speed and watch the latest HD DVD and Blu-ray movies with brilliant clarity. Featuring next generation GeForce and PureVideo® HD technologies, the GeForce 9600 GT GPU puts amazing graphics performance within your reach.

HD Gaming for the Masses
Get the most graphics bang for your buck with a GeForce 9600 GT GPU. With a 90% performance increase over the comparable 8 series graphics card , PC gamers everywhere can now enjoy games at extreme HD resolutions without breaking their wallets.

A Powerful Entertainment Hub
Experience the GPU’s power while enjoying HD movies or having a premium 3D user experience with Windows Vista and Windows Media Center. PureVideo® HD technology provides lifelike pictures and vibrant color while CPU-offload capabilities enable you to manage your photos and videos with ease.

Future-Proof Technology
Get up to 2x the performance with NVIDIA SLI® technology when paired with an identical 9600-based graphics card, and PCIe 2.0 compatibility ensures you’re ready for tomorrow’s games and 3D applications.