Hardware Canucks » Reviews

Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB OC Review

skymtl — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:16:56 +0000

The HD 7970 is currently one of the most popular cards around and Gigabyte has once again done their part to design a custom card that improves upon the reference design in nearly every way possible. While their OC edition may not sport ultra high clock speeds, it more than makes up for this shortcoming by incorporating the WindForce 3X heatsink which allows for significantly cooler temperatures and near silent operation.

NZXT Switch 810 Case Review

skymtl — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:12:23 +0000

NZXT’s Switch 810 is one of the few cases on the market that can be considered truly unique. While its piano black finish looks great, what makes the 810 stand out from the pack lies behind its facade and for a price of under $175, this may be one of the best bang for buck enclosures around.

XFX HD 7970 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Review

skymtl — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:25:24 +0000

The HD 7970 3GB is currently the highest performing graphics card on the market and AMD’s board partners have been quick to take advantage of its willingness to overclock. XFX’s Black Edition Double Dissipation not only incorporates higher core and memory frequencies along with a lifetime warranty but also uses a custom heatsink for a quiet -hopefully cooler- gaming experience.

Intel 520 240GB Cherryville SSD Review

skymtl — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:58:05 +0000

We’ve been hearing about and anticipating new Intel’s Cherryville SSDs for some time now they are finally being released in the guise of the 520 series. They are built around the same SandForce SF2281 controller we have come to know from numerous other SSDs but Intel has taken it upon themselves to equip these drives with a custom firmware and high end NAND. But is this enough to set the 520 series apart from in a cluttered market?

AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano APU Review

skymtl — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:50:16 +0000

Being the newest and highest-end addition to AMD’s A-series APU lineup, not only does the A8-3870K feature the much raved about integrated Radeon HD 6550D, but it comes with fully unlocked multipliers for both the CPU and GPU portions.

AMD Radeon HD 7950 Review; Tahiti Pro Arrives

skymtl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:02:13 +0000

With the HD 7970 sitting firmly at the forefront of today’s GPU market, it was only a matter of time until its performance trickled down into lower end products as well. Today marks the launch of AMD’s HD 7950, a $449 card that’s supposed to go head to head against NVIDIA’s GTX 580.

XFX HD 7950 Black Edition Double Dissipation Review

skymtl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:01:30 +0000

XFX has always been at the forefront of enthusiasts’ mindsets and their newest HD 7950 looks to take things to the next level. In order to create this card, they took a custom designed PCB, installed a highly overclocked core and then topped everything off with a high performance heatsink. The result is one of the best HD 7950 cards available on launch day.

Sapphire HD 7950 Dual Fan OC Review

skymtl — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:01:07 +0000

The HD 7950 Dual Fan OC carries on Sapphire’s longstanding tradition of offering great value in an appealing package. This card seems to have everything; a great heatsink, relatively high clock speeds and a reasonable price but there is plenty of competition out there as well.

Fractal Design Define XL Review

skymtl — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:19:38 +0000

The newest member of Fractal Design’s Define family is the aptly named XL, a full tower enclosure that incorporates a number of innovative features at a great price. With Fractal’s history of forward thinking mentality, its hard not to find something to like about this new case.

ASUS Sabertooth X79 Motherboard Review

skymtl — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:20:53 +0000

In mid November we saw the launch of the enthusiast-based Sandy Bridge Extreme platform along with the X79 (code name Patsburg) chipsets and since then we have brought you reviews of the i7-3960X CPU and the Rampage IV Extreme motherboard. Today we continue our walk down the LGA2011 road and bring you another highly anticipated board from ASUS: the Sabertooth X79.

Seagate Barracuda 3TB in RAID 0: Performance Unleashed

skymtl — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:53:25 +0000

Seagate’s new Barracuda 3TB is one of the fastest hard drives currently available and it come with plenty of storage space for a reasonable price. What it can’t do is compete on a level performance footing with SSDs but when two of these drives are paired up, the results speak for themselves. They may even cause some to forget about all the expensive, yet capacity limited 240GB SSDs.

Fractal Design Arc Midi Tower Case Review

skymtl — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:14:12 +0000

Fractal Design’s Arc is billed as a new take on the classic inexpensive mid tower design and from the looks of things, it does differ quite a bit from the competition. With an extra wide body, a massive number of fan mounts and a great looking black / white color scheme, this $109 case is certainly unique in its own right.

Galaxy GTX 560 Ti Super OC White Edition Review

skymtl — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:19:47 +0000

“Black editions” are all the rage these days but Galaxy is bucking that trend with their unique White Edition. Not only does this GTX 560 Ti boast a unique white PCB and chromed heatsink shroud combination but it also sports some of the highest clock speeds we’ve seen on the GF114 core.

Corsair Performance Pro 256GB SSD Review

skymtl — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:31:43 +0000

Corsair’s Performance 3 256GB SSD showed many enthusiasts that an SSD didn’t need to have “SandForce” in the same sentence as “performance” and that the new Marvell controller was a force to be reckoned with. Today we will be putting the Performance 3’s successor –the Performance PRO- under the microscope to see if it can meet our already high expectations.

BitFenix Raider Mid Tower Case Review

skymtl — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:53:45 +0000

BitFenix’s Raider is yet another competitor in the sub-$100 enclosure market but it incorporates many features normally seen on higher end products. But can it accomplish the impossible by standing out in a highly competitive market against the likes of Corsair and Cooler Master?

CES 2012: MSI’s Z77 Motherboards & Graphics Upgrade System

skymtl — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:53:52 +0000

The show may not have even started yet but CES 2012 is already off to a roaring start and we’re got a few people nosing around. The latest bit of information we’ve received is a quick peak inside of MSI’s suite, a location that held a few surprises including Ivy Bridge motherboards and Thunderbolt-equipped external graphics solutions.

Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2GB Dual Fan Review

skymtl — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:20:19 +0000

The HD 7970 may be the graphics card everyone is talking about but it only just became available in somewhat limited quantities and pricing is far beyond the reach of most consumers. But while the Southern Islands-based cards will take over AMD’s flagship range, lower end cards still provide great performance at a fraction of the cost. That’s where Sapphire’s HD 6970 Dual fan enters the equation.

XFX WarPad Gaming Mousepad Review

skymtl — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:15:46 +0000

Mouse pads aren’t exactly items that steal much of the limelight from the premier products in this industry but they’re still an integral part of anyone’s gaming experience. XFX has now released their own mouse pad design which is aptly called the WarPad and features a long list of innovations that could make it one of the best around.

Corsair Vengeance 1300 & 1500 Gaming Headsets Review

skymtl — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:28:07 +0000

Headsets that claim to be made for the gaming market may be a dime a dozen but finding one that performs well and does so at a reasonable price, isn’t all that easy. Corsair’s new analog Vengeance 1300 and USB-based 1500 on the other hand each offer their own unique spin on the affordable headset genre by retailing for under $100 but still seem to provide features that enthusiasts are looking for.

Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra Tower Case Review

skymtl — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:01:45 +0000

After years of anticipating whether or not Cooler Master would update their legendary Cosmos cases, the wait is finally over. Their new Cosmos II Ultra Tower is a true successor to the original while packing in a boatload of additional features for good measure. This is one hell of a case.

MSI Z68A-GD80 G3 Z68 Motherboard Review

skymtl — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:55:04 +0000

MSI has been fighting an uphill battle against the likes of Gigabyte and ASUS for the last few years but their new Z68A-GD80 G3 looks to even the playing field. It features a long 5 year warranty, PCI-E 3.0 slots, user friendly auto overclocking options, a great layout and an intuitive BIOS which in many ways surpasses the competition’s offerings. But can MSI complete this near-perfect equation with stability? We find out in this review.

The 2011 PC Market in Review; Hits and Misses

skymtl — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:23:07 +0000

2011 was a busy year in the tech world as a whole but the PC market in particular was moving at a brisk pace. In this article we’ll take a look over our 150+ reviewed items from this year, pick out the most memorable components and discuss some of the hits and misses from that overflowing stack of hardware.

Dell S2330MX 23″ LED Monitor Review

skymtl — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:42:13 +0000

When it comes to consumer electronics, thin is in and Dell is leading the way with their new svelte S2330MX monitor. At just 9.9mm thick it will likely be the center of attention but on paper it also boasts some great specifications as well: an efficient LED panel, full HD resolution, a great price and response times of 2ms. It sure sounds like the 2330MX has what it takes to compete with the competition but there’s more to this monitor than what first meets the eye.

Cooler Master Storm Sentinel Z3R0 G Mouse Review

skymtl — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:58:52 +0000

Cooler Master’s original Storm Sentinel gaming mouse was a popular choice among gamers but some encountered problems with its Twin Eye sensor. A new mouse has now been released which takes the Sentinel’s body, adds some minor cosmetic changes and supposedly fixes the Twin Eye issues. Called the Sentinel Z3RO-G, this peripheral is packed with features but you’d be hard pressed to find many differences between it and its older sibling.

AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB Review

skymtl — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:59:13 +0000

4.3 billion transistors, a 28nm manufacturing process, 2048 cores, a 384-bit memory bus and 3GB of GDDR5 memory; the new AMD HD 7970 has it all. Based off of the new Southern Islands architecture it represents a leap forward for AMD’s core engineering and is designed from the ground up for DX11 a compute performance. While its specifications page may read like a gamer’s wishlist, the HD 7970 has some big expectations to live up to and some heavy competition to beat.

MSI Radeon HD 6950 1GB Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC Review

skymtl — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 04:16:36 +0000

The most recent graphics card in MSI’s quickly expanding stable doesn’t aim for the headlines but continues a longstanding tradition of offering excellent performance at a reasonable cost. Their HD 6950 Twin Frozr III 1G/OC (yes, it’s a mouthful) only goes for around $260 but should be able to play almost any game on the market at its highest detail settings and mid to high resolutions.

Dell XPS 14z Notebook Review

skymtl — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:17:29 +0000

Dell –once deemed the Bastion of Beige- is at forefront of the battle against people’s perception that Windows-based notebooks are a thing of the past. From ultra thin mobile powerhouses to entry level notebooks, they have it all and the new XPS 14z seems to encompass everything someone could possibly want in a package that’s infinitely portable.

SteelSeries Sensei Gaming Mouse Review

skymtl — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 04:23:45 +0000

Gaming mice are a dime a dozen these days so SteelSeries has decided to introduce a product that moves away from their traditional understated design towards something a bit more mainstream. The new Sensei incorporates the ambidextrous form of the popular Xai while adding some unique illumination zones and upgraded software.

AMD’s HD 7000M GPUs; Mobile Market Déjà Vu?

skymtl — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 14:12:37 +0000

In order to keep up with the Jones’ and offer something “new”, today AMD is introducing the first batch of their HD 7000 series of mobile GPUs: the HD 7600M, HD 7500M and HD 7400M. However, before you go and get all excited about the name, let’s just say these may not be the graphics processors you originally thought they would be…

Samsung UN55D8000 55″ LED 3D HDTV Review

skymtl — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:31:30 +0000

Samsung’s 2011 HDTV lineup is one of the strongest around in a take-no-prisoners market and their UN55D8000 is currently one of their flagship products. Retailing for just south of $3000, the D8000 has the hallmarks of a genre defining TV and boasts more features than any one person can use….at least on paper. We’ve had our fair share of experiences with lackluster performance from high end products so let’s hope this one will deliver on all it promises.