Powercolor HD 4870 PCS+ 1GB struts its stuff

WE’RE GETTING TO the point where ATI’s HD 4870 is just showing off. Honest. Take for example the Hot Hardware review of the Powercolor HD 4870 PCS+ 1GB GDDR5, which pretty much conquers everything except a GTX 280 and an HD 4870 X2. The new cooling system on the Powercolor card brings down the temps despite the card being factory overclocked (800MHz/925MHz). You can pick one up for under $300 says Marco.

Hardware Logic has received a goody from Cooler Master, a brand new HAF (High Air Flow) 932 case. It’s a massive full tower, that will interest only the most insane of DIYers. Cooler Master touts it as a 100% bona fide tool-less case, with space for five 3.5-inch drive and six 5.25-inch units. The case gets its name from the three 230mm fans doing intake and a single 140mm fan for exhaust, we guess. It isn’t even expensive, although you’ll throw your back if you’re not careful with this one.

PC Games Hardware is overclocking ten of Intel’s finest CPUs. They limit their tests to just two: Cinebench and Race Driver Grid. You’ll find it noteworthy that the higher-end Core 2 Duo processors keep a healthy lead over quad cores in gaming, although Cinebench is another matter entirely. Lots of numbers for you to fathom.

Thrusting Reviews has grabbed another exclusive (p)review of a Samsung laptop: the newly announced X460. This is more or less what you get when you cross a Stinkpad and a Macbook (not necessarily an Air). The same looks, but with flat keys for keyboard. Riyad says the pricing is quite adequate for such a feature rich laptop, fingerprint reader included. Give it a look-see.

OCC gathered up quite a menagerie of graphics cards (26!) and put the beasts to the test. OCC took the sensible route: they’ve rated cards on pure performance and on value, which gives you a better idea of how good (or bad) an investment you’re making. The conclusions are easy to make that way. Get them here.

Crysis Warhead is the next episode in the Crysis franchise. Techspot has a performance report for you headshot addicts – and is putting that “Warhead will play on a $600 machine” claim to the test. In the end, Warhead puts a much greater strain on the system than the original Crysis, so good luck trying to build a $600 to run it. Bad CEO. Get it here.

For you utter geeks, like me and a few others, Techconnect Magazine posted some photos of the Core i7 Extreme Editio 965 unboxing, with comparison shots to other Intel CPUs. Box, plastic blister, fan, heatsink, etc., etc., etc… An acquired taste. µ