Introduction Buying a motherboard these days is quite a difficult task since, in terms of performance, there is very little to choose between the top contenders Brand loyalty is one route but leaves the feeling that something good could be missed out on through lack of awareness of the various offerings

The battle between ATI and Nvidia has been a long and bitter one that at one point seemed like Nvidia had emerged victorious only to now find the opposite is closer to the truth These two giants have the entire consumer GPU market between them (ignoring Intel's onboard graphics option on some motherboards and Intel’s forthcoming Larrabee GPU which we cannot predict the performance of yet) with very different strategies

AMD has had mastery of the budget end of the processor market for some time now for reasons including price/performance, low motherboard prices and platform longevity (they don’t change sockets at the drop of a hat) Our aim today is not just to look at the performance of an AMD Athlon II X4 630 and its architectural efficiency against a similarly clocked Intel processor but also (and more importantly) to run tests to predict the performance of forthcoming processor ranges such as the "Bulldozer"

Several months ago ATI took the performance lead from Nvidia when they launched their 5800 series of GPUs and then launched a mainstream range (the 5700 series) Some may be puzzled by the launch of the 5670 now but it fits in nicely with ATIs product differentiation strategy and fulfils two key criteria

Introduction Case Packaging The Antec 902 Unveiled Case Performance PSU Packaging PSU Build and Cabling PSU Performance Conclusion Introduction Founded in 1986, Antec is recognized as a pioneer in the high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets, and has maintained its position as a worldwide market leader and international provider of quiet, efficient and innovative products