In September 2009, AMD unleashed a torrent of personal computing potential by introducing the market to the first sub-$100 quad-core processor, the Athlon-II X4-620. Since then, like it has with the entire Athlon-II series, AMD has been releasing newer versions of their inexpensive quad-core CPUs. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes a look at AMDs latest release in the Athlon-II X4 line, the Athlon-II X4-640 ADX640WFK42GM AM3 Processor. Built on the Propus die, the Athlon-II X4 series cuts costs by eliminating any L3 cache and limiting the L2 cache to 512KB per core. In looking at the performance of the Athlon-II X4-640, we will compare it to other recent AMD offerings in a similar price range, the Athlon-II X2-260 and the Athlon-II X3-445.

In early May 2010, AMD released a new series of processors that fills in some of the gaps in their Athlon-II and Phenom-II Dual, Triple, and Quad-Core Lines. Most of the newly released processors are really just 100MHz clock speed bumps on the old versions. In this article Benchmark Reviews focuses on the newly released AMD Athlon-II X2-260 Regor AM3 ADX260OCK23GQ processor. Based on the Regor core, the Athlon-II X2-260 has a 3.2GHz clock speed, up 100MHz from the Athlon-II X2-255 at 3.1Ghz which was released in January 2010. The Athlon-II X2-260 is at the very low end of the newly released processors and represents a value based market at only $76. Benchmark Reviews is going to directly compare the Athlon-II X2-260 to its predecessor to see just what advantages can be found in the new chip running 100MHz faster.

Back in October of last year, Athlon introduced its first Athlon II X3 triple-core processors, the 425 and 435. Working with the less than perfect yields from the Deneb and Propus dies, the Rana die was born. As yields improve, the processors can become more stable at higher clock speeds. In January 2010, the Athlon-II X3-440 was released; a 100MHz speed bump on the X3-435 processor. Now AMD is bumping the speed up by another 100MHz with the release of the X3-445 and the X3-450 is slated to come out later on this year. In this article Benchmark Reviews is closely examining the Athlon-II X3-445 ADX445WFK32GM to see what kind of power can be harnessed from this low-priced, triple-core, potentially unlockable 3.1GHz processor, especially when paired with AMDs newest 890G chipset.

AMD's Turbo CORE technology is now available in 'Thuban' Phenom-II AM3 desktop processors, beginning with the 2.8GHz X6-1055T and 3.2GHz X6-1090T CPUs. Turbo CORE senses when three of the six processor cores are not in use, and automatically boosts the clock speed up to 500MHz. Paired with the AMD 890FX chipset found on ASUS' Crosshair-IV Formula ROG motherboard, the AMD Phenom-II X6-1090T Black Edition CPU can reach 4.0GHz on all six cores with an additional 4.3GHz Turbo CORE. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the AMD X6-1090T against the Intel Core i7-920 and i7-890X processors in gaming, computing, and overclocking performance.

In late January 2010, AMD released a new series of processors that fills in some of the gaps in their Athlon-II and Phenom-II Dual, Triple, and Quad-Core Lines. Most of the newly released processors are really just 100MHz clock speed bumps on the old versions. We have also seen the addition of some triple and quad core Athlon-II processors. In this article Benchmark Reviews focuses on the newly released AMD Athlon-II X2-255 AM3 ADX255OCGQBOX processor. Based on the Regor core, the Athlon-II X2-255 has a 3.1GHz clock speed, up 100Mhz from the Athlon-II X2-250 at 3.0GHz which was released last summer. The Athlon-II X2-255 is at the very low end of the newly released processors and represents a value based market at only $75. Benchmark Reviews is going to use the Athlon-II X2-255, with its support for DDR2 RAM up to 1066MHz as well as DDR3 RAM up to 1333MHz, to show some of the great upgrade options available for consumers who have been waiting for a low-cost option for a better computer system.

Intel offers something for everyone, as their extensive product line can prove. The chipmaker produces desktop, notebook, server, and personal digital appliance CPUs, Ethernet and Wi-Fi network processors, and countless co-processor units. Keep this in mind as Benchmark Reviews presents the Intel Core i7-980X processor, a six-core Westmere 32nm CPU. Codenamed Gulftown, this 3.33GHz Extreme Edition processor features an unlocked clock speed multiplier with twelve computing threads and a 12MB cache. Built for the Intel X58-Express enthusiast platform, Benchmark Reviews tests the BX80613I7980X retail part in gaming, computing, and overclocking performance.

Intel continues filling out its processor lineup with the introduction of the 2010 Intel Core Processor Family, comprising new versions of Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors. The new Core i3 and Core i5 processors use Intel's new "Westmere" architecture, which brings facets of Intel's "Nehalem" design to the lower-end desktop CPUs (code-named "Clarkdale") and mobile CPUs (code-named "Arrandale"). These are Intel's first CPUs to be built on a 32-nanometer process, and some models include another first for Intel: a graphics processing unit (GPU) included on-chip. Built with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and an improved version of the Turbo Boost feature introduced with the original Nehalem processors, how do these new dual-core CPUs compare with other processors in Intel's line? Benchmark Reviews tests the Intel Core i5-661 CPU, model BX80616I5661, with its integrated GPU to find out.

NVIDIA's latest GPU is codenamed GF100, and is the first graphics processor based on the Fermi architecture. In this article, Benchmark Reviews explains the technical architecture behind NVIDIA's GF100 graphics processor and offers an insight into upcoming Fermi-based GeForce video cards. For those who are not familiar, NVIDIA's GF100 GPU is their first graphics processor to support DirectX-11 hardware features such as tessellation and DirectCompute, while also adding heavy particle and turbulence effects. The GF100 GPU is also the successor to the GT200 graphics processor, which launched in the GeForce GTX 280 video card. NVIDIA has since redefined their focus, and GF100 proves a dedication towards next generation gaming effects such as raytracing, order-independent transparency, and fluid simulations. Rest assured, the new GF100 GPU is more powerful than the GT200 could ever be, and early results indicate a Fermi-based video card delivers far more than twice the gaming performance over a GeForce GTX-280.