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Posts Tagged ‘solid state drive’

Absurd speed—for an absurd price

OCZ just keeps pushing the envelope on its PCI Express SSDs. The first RevoDrive contained two 60GB SF-1200-powered SSDs in RAID 0, with a Silicon Image PCI-to-SATA controller. The RevoDrive X2 kept the same architecture, but added a second PCB with two additional controllers and two more 60GB sets of NAND. OCZ’s RevoDrive3 X2 updates the platform to second-generation SandForce, but the new SSD controller isn’t the only change.

The OCZ RevoDrive3 X2 contains four second-gen SandForce SF-2281 solid-state drive controllers, each with 16 8GB Micron 25nm asynchronous NAND modules. The RevoDrive3 X2 is, then, … [Read More...]

Panasonic has updated its Toughbook C1 convertible tablet PC with a second-generation Intel chip. The upgraded C1, which lays claim to being the lightest 12.1-inch convertible tablet, features a Core i5-2520M vPro 2.50GHz processor as opposed to the 2.4GHz Core i5-520M found inside its predecessor. Hit the jump for detailed specs.

The Sandy Bridge processor is not the only thing that gives the latest model an edge over its predecessor. Here is a list of some of the other upgraded features:

• 320GB 7200rpm shock-mounted flex-connect hard drive with quick-release
• RAM:  2GB DDR3 (1333MHz) RAM (expandable to 8GB)
• Battery Life: Up

… [Read More...]

We set out to build a Sandy Bridge box that takes up little space in our entertainment center and fulfills all our streaming needs

Back in the August 2010 issue of Maximum PC I built a 3D HTPC that I was pretty damned happy with, but the times have changed. The CableCard quad tuner that was featured prominently in that machine is no longer needed, as I have joined the ranks of the Cable Cutter Movement™. So without the need for a CableCard, I wondered if I could build a rig with all the same capabilities but make it much, … [Read More...]

Can we build an AMD machine—any AMD machine—that can compete with an Intel-powered rig?

In the forever war between CPU vendors, AMD and Intel have traded places many times—one leads, then the other. Since the advent of Intel’s Core i7, though, AMD hasn’t been able to touch the performance of Intel’s high end, and Sandy Bridge further increases the gap. But, well, you couldn’t buy Sandy Bridge motherboards when I wrote this build-it story in February for the May print issue—something about a bad chipset—and I’d been meaning to build an AMD-powered machine for a while now—with CrossFire, even. Why? … [Read More...]