GameStop begins selling Android tablets with free games

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="215" mce_src="http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4033/gamestoptablets540x358.jpg" src="http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/4033/gamestoptablets540x358.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="324" />Say what you will about GameStop, as many have and will, but you can accuse them of being anything less than shrewd business. To that end they’re expanding their mostly console and portable video game stock to include Android tablets from Samsung, Asus and Acer, starting in a few select stores today. The tablets will be pre-loaded with seven free games including Dead Space and Madden NFL 2012.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The first tablets on sale are the Acer Iconia Tab 100, Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The tablets won’t cost any less than they do at other retail locations, and if GameStop’s regular pricing structure is anything to go on, they’ll probably be more expensive than at least a few. But gamers hungry for a new mobile experience can practice the time-honored tradition of trading in old consoles and game discs for store credit, which can be used to purchase a new Android tablet. GameStop has already expanded its trade-in and used programs to cover general gadgets like the iPhone and iPod, and presumably, you’ll soon be able to trade in your Samsung Galaxy Tab or Acer Transformer as well. GameStop may integrate these tablets with its mobile streaming service Spawn Labs at some point in the future.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This may seem like an odd move for a company so well-established in the lucrative game console retail space, but if you take a look at some of the games coming out for Android lately, it makes a lot of sense. Check out the graphics in Shadowgun or Modern Combat 3, and you’ll see almost the rival of any Xbox or PlayStation 2 game. Who knows what can be done with upcoming hardware like the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 found in the Transformer Prime, and with HDMI output already on many Android devices and native controller support coming with Ice Cream Sandwich, Android tablets are beginning to look a lot like gaming hardware, to say nothing of specialized smartphones like the XPERIA Play.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With downloaded games making up a bigger and bigger chunk of the digital market, GameStop finds itself in the same position that bookstores were five or six years ago. They can continue to make most of their profits off of software which will soon be available at the click of a mouse, or they can diversify and begin delivering the one thing that can’t be replicated with a broadband connection: hands-on, instant hardware gratification. It could be the difference between GameStop being the next Barnes & Noble (appropriately, since they used to be owned by them)… or Borders.</div> </div> </div>

GameStop begins selling Android tablets with free games

Say what you will about GameStop, as many have and will, but you can accuse them of being anything less than shrewd business. To that en...

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iPhone 4S Review: It's a Sure Thing

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br /> <h2 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Apple's latest S stands for Siri, speed boosts, and improved snapshots.</h2> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The initial reaction to the announcement of the iPhone 4S was muted.</div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwHLv-n5_e1DJ5v0Jir-isD8qdzzEmUMiMRTageuj7EHDYgydED8Lc5eJgcBqVk5EHyUgJ_2Ea3D-k9XEID3yoCL4ueZojkXF-WHryhZt5pnp3I0x6KCSyvBeAmxr-nKx8LWoL7iTayd_/s1600/product-hero-iphone4-265x323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYwHLv-n5_e1DJ5v0Jir-isD8qdzzEmUMiMRTageuj7EHDYgydED8Lc5eJgcBqVk5EHyUgJ_2Ea3D-k9XEID3yoCL4ueZojkXF-WHryhZt5pnp3I0x6KCSyvBeAmxr-nKx8LWoL7iTayd_/s320/product-hero-iphone4-265x323.jpg" width="262" /></a></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br /></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> First there’s that name: It’s the old phone’s name with an S attached to it. As the iPhone 3GS taught us, adding an S to aniPhone’s name can represent numerous under-the-hood improvements, but it doesn’t send shivers down your spine like incrementing a number by one and unveiling a redesigned exterior with mind-blowing features that may or may not include anti-gravity.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Apple’s never going to win a competition with the wildest imaginations of tech bloggers. But the company seems to be doing OK in the business of building phones. The iPhone 4, which remained more or less unchanged for 15 months as approximately a zillion Android smartphone models came and went, has consistently been the best-selling smartphonearound.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Now here comes the iPhone 4S, which is more of a good thing: It takes the successful look of the iPhone 4 and tosses in a dual-core processor for dramatically improved speed, an upgraded camera, and some brand-new voice-command technologies.</div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Feels Like an iPhone</strong></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> It’s a classic look, easily my favourite of all the iPhone designs to date. The fit and finish are immaculate; not a single thing about the iPhone 4S feels cheap. In terms of styling, the iPhone 4 feels like the most expensive electric razor ever made, or maybe like a finely-tuned luxury watch.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The same eye-popping 960-by-640-pixel screen introduced with the iPhone 4 is present on the iPhone 4S, too. Dubbed the “Retina display” by Apple, it’s got a screen resolution of 326 pixels per inch, meaning that the average human eye can’t even see individual pixels. The result is marvellous. Reading text is like looking at a printed page. High-definition videos and photos display tiny details.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> With the exception of a micro-SIM card slot on the right side, the iPhone 4S is a dead ringer for the Verizon/CDMA version of the iPhone 4 introduced in February. Extremely precise cases designed specifically for the original iPhone 4 may have trouble fitting over the ring/silent switch and the volume buttons of the iPhone 4S, which are slightly shifted from their position on the GSM iPhone 4; precision cases for the Verizon iPhone 4 and less-precise iPhone 4 cases will have no trouble.</div> <ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">See iPhone 4S review</li> <li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">See iPhone 4s rumour round-up</li> <li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">See iOS 5 review</li> </ul> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> On the front of the phone there’s a VGA-quality camera (640-by-480 pixels) that’s designed to be used for video chatting, either via Apple’s FaceTime technology or via a third-party app such as Skype or Google+. This, too, is unchanged from the specs of the iPhone 4.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> In essence, only a Sherlockian attention to detail would allow you to differentiate between the GSM (AT&T) iPhone 4, CDMA (Verizon) iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4S. (Budding detectives: The symmetrical black lines on both sides of the phone are the sign it’s not a GSM iPhone 4; if there’s no micro-SIM slot on the right side, it’s the CDMA iPhone 4; if the lines are symmetrical but the slot is there, it’s the iPhone 4S.)</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <img alt="GSM iPhone 4" height="311" src="http://media3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3308499/GSM_iPhone_4.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="GSM iPhone 4" width="496" /></div> <address style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The iPhone 4S atop an AT&T/GSM iPhone 4.</address> <address style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <br /></address> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> This does not mean that the iPhone 4S is essentially the iPhone 4 with the benefit of an extra letter. Because on the inside, the iPhone 4S is dramatically different from the iPhone 4.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <strong style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Speedy 4S</strong></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Like the iPad 2 before it, the iPhone 4S is powered by an Apple-designed A5 processor. This is a dual-core processor that’s one generation more advanced than the A4 processor that powered the iPhone 4 and the original iPad.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Two processor cores don’t necessarily mean the iPhone 4S is twice as fast as the iPhone 4—that has a lot to do with how efficiently a device’s software can take advantage of spreading the workload across both cores. But the 4S’s upgraded processor definitely provides a large speed boost, akin to the upgrade from the original iPad to the iPad 2.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The results of my general-performance tests showed the iPhone 4S to be between roughly twice as fast as the iPhone 4. Apple claims graphics performance on the iPhone 4S has been boosted even more by the graphics component of the A5, with speed gains of as much as 7x. That’s a best-case scenario, but my tests with the GLBench Pro graphics benchmarking appdid show enhanced graphics performance. One 3D test sequence played at roughly five times the frame rate of the same scene on the iPhone 4; another was roughly double the frame rate.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Of course, many people won’t be upgrading to the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4, due to those pesky two-year phone contracts that cell carriers insist on. But a whole lot of people will be upgrading from two-year-old iPhone 3GSes. 3GS users will see an even larger speed increase, of course. The 4S had more than double the score on the GeekBench testing app, and loaded a test webpage in a third of the time.</div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The only iOS device in existence that can match up—and even beat—the iPhone 4S is the iPad 2. In most of my tests, the iPad 2 was slightly faster than the iPhone 4S. (The original iPad was similarly faster than the iPhone 4, in fact.) Of course, the iPad 2 doesn’t fit in your pocket, unless you have unusually large pockets or are a clown, or both.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 0.85em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 15px !important; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div> </span></div>

iPhone 4S Review: It's a Sure Thing

Apple's latest S stands for Siri, speed boosts, and improved snapshots. The initial reaction to the announcement of the iPhone 4S w...

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Daily iPad App: Solar Walk

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"></span><br /> <div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 12px; font: normal normal normal 13px/19px Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0.6em; padding-right: 0.6em; padding-top: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter" height="181" mce_src="http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9353/solarwalkicon92.jpg" mce_style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 8px;" src="http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9353/solarwalkicon92.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0pt; max-width: 640px;" width="197" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Want to tour the Solar System? Solar Walk is a just-updated universal iOS app that allows you to do just that. The new version has support for 3D, so you get some rather stunning renditions of planets and satellites that are more realistic than what's available in a 2D presentation. I reviewed the app in 2010 and found it to be very educational.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Solar Walk would be very nice for teachers, who could plug it into external monitors in the classroom. As near as I can tell, the app<strike style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;">doesn't support the high end 3D method that uses shutter glasses or polarizing filters</strike>, but instead uses the tried and true red/blue anaglyphic glasses that became popular in the fifties. They are cheap, and easily available from suppliers like Amazon. Note: A late email from the developer says you can use the app with a 3D TV although it is not noted in the app help. Here's how to do it if you have a 3D TV.:</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> 1. Connect your iPad with an HDMI adapter to the 3d TV<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />2. Switch on 3D function in Solar Walk Menu.<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />3. There will appear a question what type of 3D you want to use anaglyph glasses or 3D TV. Choose 3D TV.<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />4. On you 3D TV screen there will appear two pictures on a screen.<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />5. Switch 3D mode on a TV.<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" />6. Put on 3D glasses and enjoy.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You can also see the 3D images just fine on the iPad. Solar Walk includes very detailed graphics and information about our solar system, and this new version adds some movies (in 2D) on tides, circles of latitude, and the zodiacal constellations. My favorite 3D view was of Saturn and its moons.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With 3D glasses on, the planets and artificial satellites come alive. It was interesting to watch things like the Hubble Space Telescope in its proper real time position slowly gliding over the earth far below. You can navigate to any view that you like, using finger gestures, and you can zoom in and out as well. There is an option to listen to music while you use the app, but I found the music forgettable and distracting.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Screen captures are supported and background stars are rendered in their proper positions. Solar Walk is very educational, but as before, the textual information is still a bit thin. I always found myself wanting to read more. Perhaps some links to NASA or Wikipedia would be in order. Still, the new features are worthwhile and the app is a reasonable US$2.99.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This app was created by the team that made the much praised Star Walk app. This app is of equal quality and the graphics are sharp and very attractive. There are some (2D) screen shots in the gallery below.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;"> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Gallery: Solar Walk version 1.8</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <img alt="" height="75" mce_src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8138/swimg0419thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8138/swimg0419thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="75" /><img alt="" height="75" mce_src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7053/swimg0420thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7053/swimg0420thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="75" /><img alt="" height="75" mce_src="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1096/swimg0421thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1096/swimg0421thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="75" /><img alt="" height="75" mce_src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/413/swimg0422thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/413/swimg0422thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="75" /><img alt="" height="75" mce_src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4345/swimg0424thumbnail.jpg" src="http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4345/swimg0424thumbnail.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="75" /></div> </div> </div> </div>

Daily iPad App: Solar Walk

Want to tour the Solar System? Solar Walk is a just-updated universal iOS app that allows you to do just that. The new version has sup...

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Review: Sony VAIO C-Series

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green%20front-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green%20front-200-200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="200" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Sony's latest VAIO C-Series laptops have taken a good few pages out of Apple's big book of design and usability. The curvaceous aesthetics, well-spaced keyboards and not-too-intrusive extra software mean that they look and function amazingly well.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sony VAIO VPC-CA2C5E we were sent for review looks the part, finished with ludicrous levels of bright green perspex and plastic – although its hue will surely divide its target market.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The C-Series certainly puts the fun back into computing: we haven't seen such bountiful use of translucent plastic since the iMac back in the early 2000s.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> When it's powered up, the keyboard is backlit and the whole thing glows eerily, complete with etched Sony and VAIO logos. Kids seem particularly attracted to it, which explains a lot given its positioning as a family laptop. It's available in a range of different colours, including more conservative blacks and whites and more vibrant pink, red, green, orange and blue.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20lid-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20lid-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There's a big gap in the market for a fun and funky laptop, especially in this 14-inch form factor. We've seen netbook manufacturers attempt to spice up computing with Asus's Disney Eee, and Packard Bell's Dot SE.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> People seem to like customised laptops, too, and most of Dell's XPS 15 allows cases to be customised before you buy them. But Sony really has taken design to another level. It's a brave move, and one that's certain to attract people who are more into designer specs than computer specs, but what's Sony done inside the C Series?</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20blue-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20blue-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Sony's VAIO C-Series laptops can be configured via the website, and the VPC-CA2C5E review model we were supplied with sat firmly in the middle of the customisation options: not too bad, but could be slightly better. It's powered by an Intel Core i5 2410M processor, backed up with an AMD Radeon HD 6470M graphics chip and 4GB DDR3 RAM.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The laptop can be configured with a Core i7 or i3 processor, as well as Intel onboard graphics and 6GB of RAM.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The body of the laptop feels substantial, and there is very little flex in the casing. At 2.3kg, it's not going to break your back – but we wouldn't want to have to carry it for extended periods. It can get a bit noisy and warm as the fans kick in when you're playing videos or games, but it's by no means a deal breaker.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As has become standard on Sony's laptops, there are three buttons for quick access to help, the internet and the VAIO media portal. They're by no means essential, and we do miss the screen-off button that's adorned previous VAIO laptops such as the VGN-NW11Z/S – it's incredibly handy when you want to connect the laptop to a TV to watch a Blu-Ray.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20red-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20red-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There is, unfortunately, none of Sony's own Blu-ray magic in our C-Series review model; it can be added in the build process, though.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Connectivity is amply handled by HDMI and VGA outputs, as well as three USB sockets – one of which is the speedy USB 3.0. The standard mic and headphone ports and a dual memory stick and SD Card reader complete the lineup.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Sony's screens are nothing short of amazing, and The C Series' 1366 x 768 display is no exception. Colours are vibrant and the contrast strong, but the viewing angle is a minor let-down. The size means you won't be watching films on this, though, and it's easy enough to connect to a big screen TV.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20side-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20side-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The built-in webcam is similarly impressive, offering clear images and video thanks to a 1.3MP Exmor sensor. However, for a company that prides itself on its high quality CD players and Walkmen, the tinniness of the speakers is disappointing.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As with Sony's other laptops, the C Series is an absolute joy in terms of usability. The separated keys make typing a doddle, and you're not likely to get crumbs underneath them. There is a slight flex to the keyboard, but not enough to be noticeable.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The trackpad and buttons are equally responsive, and Sony's integrated multi-touch makes zooming and scrolling nice and easy.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sony VAIO C-Series is disappointingly run of the mill in terms of performance. Sony has created an all-rounder of a laptop that doesn't do anything spectacularly, and this wouldn't be so bad if it didn't have such a high (£719) price tag.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Even its own cheaper laptops – such as the VAIO VPC-EB3J0E/WI – don't score much lower in our benchmark tests.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The C-Series is capable when it comes to gaming, if nothing more. It's not going to stand up to a dedicated gaming laptop, such as MSI's GE700, but it happily chugs through most modern titles, provided their graphics settings are low enough.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's more capable when it comes to video and photo editing, thanks to the Intel Core i5 processor. HD videos play flawlessly, too, and look absolutely amazing.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The single most disappointing thing about Sony's C Series is the battery life, or lack thereof. Battery Eater emptied a fully charged battery in less than an hour by stressing the computer as much as possible. This means gaming on the move is next to impossible, unless you want the computer to die more quickly than your character.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> In real-world terms, we managed to get two hours out of the battery when word processing, and this was with Wi-Fi turned off. It's not great, and it seems Sony has designed the C Series primarily as a desktop replacement PC capable of brief trips out.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Taken as a desktop replacement, its usability and bright screen stand out, and it's perfectly capable of multitasking a word processor, media playback and web browsing. But most netbooks – such as Samsung's NC110 – are capable of this level of performance, and they cost a third of the price and have better battery life.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Benchmarks</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Battery Eater: 62 minutes<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />3D Mark 06: 5031<br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />Cinebench: 7732</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green%20front-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20green%20front-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Sony's laptops may match Apple's in terms of usability and design, but Sony always adds a few bells and whistles to make them stand out from the crowd. Performance, unfortunately, seems to come second to design in Sony's world.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We liked</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> While the lime green colour of our Sony VAIO C Series review model is likely to inspire either slack-jawed awe or seething hatred, there's no denying that Sony has shaken things up in terms of design.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> At the very least it makes a change from the black and silver hunks of plastic we've been toting since the early 2000s. It's a wonderful experience in terms of usability, and the bright screen, decent webcam and comfortable keyboard make it feel substantial and solid. For media tasks and general computing it performs very well, too.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20red-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20red-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We disliked</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Given the array of hardware packed into the C Series, we were disappointed with its performance. Although it's capable of moderate gaming, there are better dedicated alternatives for a similar price.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Battery life is the biggest let-down here, and a mere hour at high load is frankly appalling. There are laptops out there that offer 10 times as much, and with the Samsung Chromebook's eight hour battery life, it's become an important part of choosing a laptop.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="Sony vaio vpc-ca2c5e" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20lid-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Sony%20c%20series/Sony%20vaio%20c%20series%20orange%20lid-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's unfortunate, but the Sony VAIO C Series let us down in exactly the way we expected: it's a complete triumph of style over substance.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Despite its amazing looks, and fairly beefy hardware, it just didn't perform as well as it should have. This is compounded by the price, which is too high. Medion's Akoya E6221 costs £240 less, but includes a similar level of hardware specifications and performs almost as well.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It's also clear that Sony is targeting consumers who like shiny and sleek Apple products, but has forgotten that the price tag has to be more competitive in order to truly attract this market.</div> </div> </span></div>

Review: Sony VAIO C-Series

Sony's latest VAIO C-Series laptops have taken a good few pages out of Apple's big book of design and usability. The curvaceous...

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Review: New Apple Mac mini 2011

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-200-200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="200" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Apple Mac mini has come a long way since it was first introduced in 2005.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2011 Mac mini refresh represents a radical change for Apple's small form factor computer. The ageing Core 2 Duo is gone, replaced by second-generation Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This is a substantial improvement in processing power for the Mac mini, which was forced to skip the first-generation Core iX chips because its onboard graphics weren't up to scratch, there was no room for a discrete graphics chip and a legal dispute prevented an integrated Nvidia chipset being used.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Early Mac minis featured aluminium casings with a polycarbonate top and base, and used a G4 PowerPC processor. The Mac mini made the inevitable switch to Intel processors in 2006, switching from Core to Core 2 Duo chips the following year.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2010 Mac mini dropped the polycarbonate case sections in favour of a wider, flatter aluminium unibody casing. This revision also brought the transformer into the main body of the Mac mini, so those who used it as a portable machine didn't have to carry around a large power brick.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="200" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sandy Bridge Core i processors' Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated graphics on the 2011 Mac minis are more powerful than any before, allowing the mini to switch to the more modern processors.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> But it's not all about the CPU. The new Mac mini has also lost its optical drive, allowing a substantial price drop for the entry-level 2011 model, and freeing up room for a discrete graphics processor in this high-end release.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Mini DisplayPort video-out socket has been replaced by the powerful and versatile Thunderbolt port, which can handle both data and video, and can daisy chain up to six peripherals on a single port.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The new Apple Mac mini is the first computer to come with OS X 10.7 Lion preinstalled, on both the £529 entry-level mini and the more powerful £699 2.5GHz 4GB mini we tested.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Unlike the 2010 release, the 2011 refresh brings us two Apple Mac mini models. The entry-level mini costs £529, and features a 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 2GB of RAM.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The higher-end model reviewed here costs substantially more, at £699, but it increases the processor speed to 2.5GHz, ups the memory to 4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 and adds an AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR5 memory.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If that's not enough, those who buy from the Apple online store can opt for a 2.7GHz Core i7 processor for an extra £80, which seems like a very good deal.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You can also increase your onboard memory from 4GB to 8GB for £160, which is expensive considering Crucial is currently selling an 8GB kit for £50. Unlike the part-polycarbonate Mac mini, the unibody mini's RAM is user-upgradeable, although other components such as the hard drive cannot be easily accessed.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="200" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Both 2011 Mac mini models have a 500GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive, configurable to 750GB if you order through the Apple Online Store. This higher-end 2.5GHz model can also be customised with a 256GB solid state drive (SSD) instead, or even both a 256GB SSD and a 750GB HDD.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This is an excellent configuration that enables you to use your SSD as a boot volume and your more capricious hard drive for data storage, although it costs an extra £600.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> For the first time in an Intel Mac mini, the high-end 2.5GB 2011 model has a discrete graphics processor – an AMD Radeon HD 6630M. This makes the new release far better at graphics-intensive tasks such as gaming.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Around the back, the new Mac mini is very much the same as the previous generation, offering generous connectivity options.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> For connecting to a monitor, the Mini DisplayPort gives way for the Thunderbolt port. If you have a Mini DisplayPort screen, you can plug it straight into the Thunderbolt port, with no adapters required. There's also an HDMI port, which is ideal if you want to put it under your TV and use it as a media Mac, and an HDMI-to-DVI cable for connection to DVI displays.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> For peripherals, alongside the new Thunderbolt port there's a FireWire 800 port and four USB 2.0 ports. It's a generous quantity, but they're a little close together – a large USB plug might well block an adjacent port. An SDXC card reader is included too, although it's awkwardly positioned around the back.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> For internet connectivity, wireless N is joined by Bluetooth 4.0.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As mentioned before, the optical drive has been removed, allowing extra space for more under-the-hood technology. If you need to access a CD or DVD on your mini but only occasionally, you can use Apple's Remote Disc feature to 'borrow' the optical drive of a Mac or PC on the same network. If you're likely to do so more often, it's best to buy an Apple SuperDrive USB optical drive for £66.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2011 Apple Mac mini comes with the new OS X 10.7 Lion operating system preinstalled, but a few applications have been dropped.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Lion doesn't support Rosetta, Apple's dynamic translator that allows PowerPC applications to run on Intel processors. As a result, software written purely for PowerPCs (as opposed to universal applications, that run natively on both architectures) can't be installed on the new minis.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you're still using Microsoft Office 2004, for example, it's time to upgrade or abandon it before moving to Lion.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> iLife Mac App Store licences come bundled with the new Macs, but only GarageBand, iPhoto and iMovie. iWeb and iDVD aren't included, and seem set to be discontinued. Lion also lacks Front Row, Apple's elegant but limited media centre application.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To learn more about Lion, read our in-depth Apple Mac OS X 10.7 Lion review.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="200" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2011 Apple Mac mini's Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors are far more powerful than their clock speed suggests. Don't assume that the 2.5GHz Core i5 used here is only marginally faster than the 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo used in the 2010 Mac minis.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Although dual core, the new chips' Hyper Threading feature means two threads can run on each core, giving a total of four virtual cores. This means it can run applications written to take advantage of multiple cores more efficiently. In our Cinebench tests, which assess the computer's 3D rendering capabilities, it almost doubled its predecessor's score when using every available core.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The new Sandy Bridge processors on the 2011 Mac minis also feature Turbo Boost 2.0. When faced with very processor-intensive tasks, this diverts resources from under-used cores and temporarily increases the CPU's clock speed. The 2.5GHz Core i5 processor can reach speeds of up to 3.2GHz, as long as power and temperature considerations allow.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The second generation Turbo Boost feature kicks in more often and for longer periods than that enjoyed by the first generation of Core i chips.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As you'd expect, the addition of an AMD Radeon HD 6630M discrete graphics processor means the new 2011 Apple Mac mini is a far more capable gaming machine.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It ran<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Doom 3</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>at 138.4 frames per second (fps), which is over twice as fast as the 2010 Mac mini's 62.2fps.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Call of Duty 4</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>ran at just over 72fps, which is also impressive.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Of course, some games (<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Doom 3</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Call of Duty 4</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>included) are delivered on a physical disc that must remain in the optical drive during play. Unless you're happy enough to stick with titles sold on Apple's App Store and Steam, gamers should invest in a USB SuperDrive.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> We won't get the most from the Thunderbolt port until a wider range of dedicated peripherals are available, but it's already showing its worth when it comes to versatility.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Up to six Thunderbolt devices can be daisy chained from a single port, and Mini DisplayPort monitors can be plugged in directly, without an adapter.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Its two 10Gbps data channels make it up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times quicker than USB 2.0, making it ideal for tasks that require high-speed data transfer, such as video editing.</div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011-1-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2011 Apple Mac mini dispenses with the optical drive, but uses the space for more under-the-hood technology. The high-end 2.5GHz 4GB model reviewed here includes an AMD Radeon HD 6630M – the first discrete graphics chip in an Intel Mac mini.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> New Sandy Bridge Core i5 processors – or Core i7 with an optional upgrade – give the Mac mini a significant power boost. Hyper Threading allows two threads to run on each of the processor's two cores, spreading tasks across four virtual cores for greater speed and efficiency.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Turbo Boost 2.0 increases the processor's clock speed for short periods when demand is at its highest. The new Apple Mac minis also feature a high-speed Thunderbolt port, and Bluetooth 4.0.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We liked</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="200" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-3-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The new Sandy Bridge processors are awesome, giving the 2011 Apple Mac mini a significant increase in power. It's great to have a discrete graphics chip too, especially if you use your mini to play games.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Thunderbolt will really shine when more peripherals are released, although at the moment, it's merely promising.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Apple wisely stuck to the same form factor as the 2010 release, with its aluminium unibody casing and internal transformer. It's an excellent piece of engineering, cramming in a lot of computer into a very small space.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The removal of the optical drive has allowed more technology to be crammed in. You can even customise the high-end mini to include both an SSD and a HDD.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">We disliked</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The most obvious drawback with the new Mac mini is the loss of its optical drive. You can buy a portable USB SuperDrive for £66, but this is a somewhat inelegant solution, even though it's powered by the USB port and a good match for the mini.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Some of the Mac mini's online customisation options are expensive, too. This isn't much of a problem for memory, because you can buy that from a third party and fit it yourself, but if you want a bigger hard drive, you have to buy it from Apple.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><img alt="Apple mac mini 2011 - 2.5ghz" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Mac%20mini%202011/mac%20mini%202011%20-2-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Not everyone will tolerate the loss of the Mac mini's optical drive for playing CD-ROMs and DVDs, but with Remote Disc, the Mac Online Store, Steam and iTunes, you can probably get by without one.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> And many would argue that the price drop for the entry-level model and the discrete graphics and second storage drive option for this high-end mini make it a price worth paying.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2011 Apple Mac mini's Sandy Bridge processors are much more capable than the Core 2 Duos they replace, and the Thunderbolt port is sure to show its worth over time.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> With HDMI video-out alongside Thunderbolt, the Mac mini is still a useful media centre computer even without Front Row. Just add Plex or XBMC. But make sure you can get by without your PowerPC applications.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> New operating system Lion drops support for Rosetta, so they can no longer be used.</div> </div> </span></div>

Review: New Apple Mac mini 2011

The Apple Mac mini has come a long way since it was first introduced in 2005. The 2011 Mac mini refresh represents a radical change f...

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Buying Guide: Top graphics cards for 3D gaming: 8 reviewed

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 24px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; max-width: 640px; padding: 0.6em;"> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="150" mce_src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-200-200.jpg" src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-200-200.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="200" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Stereoscopic 3D might seem straightforward, but you'll need a lot of boxes ticked if you want to enjoy it on your PC. As well as a 3D-capable monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz, your computer needs a graphics card that's powerful enough to handle 3D content.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To generate 3D images, the graphics card has to produce the graphics twice, creating a slightly different image for each eye. This extra workload can put a lot of strain on the card.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Most modern cards include 3D capabilities - especially recent Nvidia cards, which support Nvidia 3D Vision - so finding one that can display 3D content isn't a problem. The trick is finding a graphics card that can display 3D without any noticeable drop in image quality.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You don't want to spend money on a card only to find that the frame rate plummets when you turn on 3D effects, leading to choppy, stuttering movies and unplayable games.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Upgrading from two dimensions isn't the only reason to buy a new graphics card. More powerful GPUs make for better graphics all round. While modern computer games benefit most from a powerful card, other applications will also show an improvement. Video editing in particular benefits from a muscular card, because many movie-making tools now take advantage of technology like Nvidia's CUDA, which hands more processing tasks to the graphics card, freeing up the PC's processor for other tasks.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Getting the right graphics card can make a huge impact on your computer, and we'll show you some of the best.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">EVGA GTX 460 1GB - £139</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.evga.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti - £176</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.msi.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 570 - £260</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.zotac.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580 - £385</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.zotac.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus GeForce GTX 590 - £580<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.asus.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 - £181</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.sapphiretech.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">HIS Radeon HD 6970 - £265</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />www.hisdigital.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus Radeon HD 6990 - £501</span><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;" />http://uk.asus.com</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">EVGA GTX 460 1GB</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="EVGA gtx 460 1gb" class="aligncenter" height="315" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW/EVGA%20GTX%20460%20FTW-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Nvidia has had a long history of creating superb mid-range cards, from the 6600 GT to the incredible 8800 GT, and the GTX 460 can sit happily among such illustrious forebears. Its launch price was £200, but you can now easily pick up an overclocked 1GB version for as little as £140.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If any graphics card can be described as a hero, surely this is it. It no longer leads the market in performance, but it's not as far off the pace as you might imagine from its age. It's the oldest and slowest model in this test, but its price keeps it competitive.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> When you consider that it's nearly £50 less than the cheapest HD 6870, and with performance that is just shy of the AMD card, it's quite a bargain.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full EVGA GTX 460 1GB review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="MSI gtx 560 ti" class="aligncenter" height="315" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.msi_560gtxb-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="420" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Just as the GTX 570 was beginning to replace the GTX 480, leaving the GTX 580 on its own at the head of the single-GPU pack, the GTX 560 Ti appeared to take over from the GTX 470. That's a lot of numbers, but it does make sense - especially when you look at the performance of those GTX 460s, even in today's highly competitive market.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> It would make no sense for Nvidia to kill off one of its best cards, but it's not quite as simple as just another transistor-level tweak of the GTX 470's design. The GTX 560 Ti is more of a halfway house between the GTX 470 and GTX 460; it has 64 fewer CUDA cores and eight fewer ROPs than the former.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> To make up for this shortfall in GPU spec, it comes out of the box with the fastest core clockspeed we've seen in an Nvidia GPU since the FX 5xxx series.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-962535/review" mce_href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/graphics-cards/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-962535/review" style="color: #0066cc; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5;">Read TechRadar's full MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti review</a></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 570</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Zotac gtx 570" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-zotac-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-zotac-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This card represents the second tier of Nvidia's Fermi lineup. It's an impressive performer, and a little cheaper than AMD's top single card, the HD 6970. It has more in common with the Nvidia GTX 480 though, with almost the same basic GPU layout.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The GTX 570 has the same 480 CUDA cores and 60 texture units, but has 40 ROPs compared to the GTX 480's 48. The 570 also has a smaller frame buffer, at 1,280MB compared to the previous generation's 1,536MB. It packs the same transistor-level re-engineering as the GTX 580, though.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> As such, it's a much more efficient, cooler graphics card, and its performance metrics will be almost as good if you're running a sub-30-inch panel.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full Zotac GeForce GTX 570 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Zotac gtx 580" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.zotac_gtx580b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.zotac_gtx580b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Let's not beat around the bush; Nvidia's GTX 580 is the best single-GPU card on the market. It held sway over all the others across every one of the benchmarks we ran.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> This is due to the GF110 GPU at its heart. Fermi has proven to be the best GPU architecture Nvidia has ever manufactured, and with this second generation (the GTX 5xx series) it's gone from strength to strength.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The first Fermi, the GTX 480, was the top card of its day, but not without issues. These were the amount of power it needed and the amount of heat it generated. For the GTX 580, Nvidia's engineers went back to the drawing board and tweaked the design right down to the transistor level, tailoring the smallest parts to give the best performance where needed, and the best efficiency where speed wasn't the goal.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full Zotac GeForce GTX 580 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus GeForce GTX 590</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Asus gtx 590" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.asus_gtx590b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.asus_gtx590b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Nvidia has been the market leader in graphic card technology for so long, when it says it's reached the pinnacle of engineering with the fastest single-PCB (printed circuit board) graphics card it's ever made, you sit up and take notice. It's quite a boast, and it sounds amazing on paper - one board with two of the most powerful GPUs Nvidia has ever made combined on it.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> However, compromises have had to be made to get the chips to run happily on a single card, and to stay within the 375W limit imposed by a pair of eight-pin PCI-e connectors and the motherboard PCI-e bus. That means we don't quite have a pair of the GPUs ripped straight out of Nvidia's flagship single-GPU card, the GTX 580.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Instead of the core clock of 772MHz and a shader clock of 1,544MHz, the GTX 590 houses a pair of chips running at a seriously toned-down 607MHz core clock and 1,215MHz shader clock. The memory clock has been dropped from 2,004MHz to 1,707MHz.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full Asus GeForce GTX 590 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="Sapphire hd 6950" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-sapphire-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20254/PCF254.w_group.spread5_1-sapphire-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 appears to be the finest graphics card AMD has produced in a long time. In the sub-£200 market, it's as good as you're going to get, and it's a graphics card that offers much more than any of the opposition in its price bracket. The HD 6950 comes close to the HD 6970 and the GTX 570 in its plain state.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The 2GB GDDR5 frame buffer means it can more or less keep pace with Nvidia's secondtier Fermi card, although it lags behind slightly for the most part. It does the same with the HD 6970, but that's to be expected from a card that's so much cheaper.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The sub-£200 price tag is a fantastic psychological coup, making this an affordable yet powerful option. That impressive performance is all down to the Cayman GPU. As we've already mentioned, the Cayman contains the same core as the GPU powering the more expensive HD 6970, though with a lower clockspeed and a few other components switched off at a software level. This leads to a problem...</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">HIS Radeon HD 6970</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="HIS hd 6970" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.radeon_hd6970b-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20253/PCF253.w_group.radeon_hd6970b-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> AMD's fastest single-GPU model is a tough one to recommend. It's certainly the quickest AMD has released - the big problem is the second-tier card the came out alongside it - the HD 6950.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Cayman XT at the heart of the HD 6970 is essentially the same GPU you'll find paired in the Antilles chip of the dual-GPU HD 6990. It's clocked faster than the stock specs of the Antilles, but thanks to the Antilles Unlocking Switch (also known as the Screw Your Warranty Switch by those who choose to use it), the HD 6990 can run with its GPUs at the same speed as the HD 6970.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> You can get two HD 6970s for about the same as one HD 6990. So far, so good, but what of the HD 6950 we mentioned?</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's full HIS Radeon HD 6970 review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Asus Radeon HD 6990</span></div> <div mce_style="text-align: center;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px; text-align: center;"> <img alt="HD 6990" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990%203_4-420-90.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Computing/Components/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990/AMD%20Radeon%20HD%206990%203_4-420-90.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> AMD pipped Nvidia to the post, releasing its dual-GPU, top-end graphics card a few weeks before the GeForce GTX 590. The HD 6990 is the fastest single-PCB graphics card the Texan brand has ever made, and houses two of the cores from its current fastest single-GPU card - the HD 6970.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The Cayman XT from that card has been doubled up and redubbed 'Antilles', and comes with slower clock, shader and memory speeds out of the box. You're not taking as much of a hit in clockspeed as with the GTX 590's GPUs, but that's because the Cayman XTs run a little slower than the GF110 GPUs in the GTX 580s in the first place.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> There is a key difference here, and that comes from the little Antilles Unlocking Switch. Like the Cayman-powered cards that came before it (the HD 6950 and HD 6970), the HD 6990 comes with a dual-BIOS switch hardwired into the PCB. This comes with an attractive yellow warning sticker covering it, which warns you that as soon as you flick the switch, you effectively invalidate your warranty.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Read TechRadar's Asus Radeon HD 6990 full review</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">The award winners</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Most of the cards we tested here do the job well, and upgrading your PC with any of them will give a serious performance boost. However, there are a couple that you should avoid to get the best possible 3D graphics on your PC, and there are others like the Zotac GeForce GTX 580 that stand out from the crowd.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> Things become a little more confusing when you consider using multiple graphics cards in SLI or CrossFire mode. This allows two or more cards to work together to boost performance. Although it might seem slightly unintuitive, it can be cheaper to buy two graphics cards to get the same performance as one expensive card.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> If you're really after the best graphics and your computer can handle it, then this is the way to go.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Editor's choice</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Zotac GeForce GTX 580</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> The GeForce GTX 580 is Nvidia's flagship card for a reason - its performance in our tests was extremely impressive, and it can handle the latest games and 3D content with remarkable ease. It might be a bit on the expensive side for a graphics card, but it's money well spent. If you have the budget and the space to spare on your motherboard, then a pair of GeForce GTX 580s will serve you well and effectively future-proof your PC for many years to come.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict: 5/5</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Value award</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Sapphire Radeon HD 6950</span></div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> While the GeForce GTX 580 has the best performance for a single card, the Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 easily wins the best value award. On its own it's a great performance card, but when you also take into account the overclocking potential of this graphics card, you have a fantastic product for under £200. Upgrading to 3D is expensive enough, so it's heartening to see such good value for money.</div> <div style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Verdict: 4.5/5</span></div> </div> </span></div>

Buying Guide: Top graphics cards for 3D gaming: 8 reviewed

Stereoscopic 3D might seem straightforward, but you'll need a lot of boxes ticked if you want to enjoy it on your PC. As well as a ...

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