Instead of breaking new ground in performance, Ivy Bridge improves efficiency, marking the arrival of Intel's 22nm design process which uses new 3D transistors. This allows the flagship quad-core 3.5GHz Core i7-3770K to consume less power than the more modest Sandy Bridge i5-2500K.

Continuing Kepler's rollout, Nvidia has unveiled the GTX 670, which is priced against the HD 7950 at $399. Despite being $100 cheaper than the GTX 680, the GTX 670 doesn't appear to be much slower on paper, and that could spell disaster for AMD.

Six years ago, Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton set out to reignite programming in schools with a cheap, compact computing platform. Despite targeting students, his foundation's $35 computer captured the imaginations of tinkers worldwide, resulting in overwhelming demand.

On paper, the GTX 680 has almost 200% more shader performance than the GTX 580, roughly 250% more texture performance, 90% more ROP performance and 100% more memory bandwidth. With the Radeon HD 7970 only being ~9% faster than the GTX 580, AMD appears to have priced itself into a corner this time around.

After surveying Panther Point's spec sheet, we're itching to get a little more hands-on. We have four new Z77 motherboards in the shop and begging for attention, including the Asrock Z77 Extreme6, ECS Z77H2-AX, Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB and Intel DZ77GA-70K.

The Nokia Lumia 900 represents a number of firsts: it is the first high-end Windows Phone from Nokia to arrive in the U.S., it is the first 4G LTE smartphone from Nokia, and it is one of the first 4G LTE Windows Phones on the market.

The DS1512+ boasts faster read and write speeds than its predecessor and packs an updated dual core 2.13GHz Intel Atom D2700 (32nm Cedar Trail) CPU. These extras come at a $100 premium over the DS1511+, positioning this 5-bay device as a respectable contender in the current NAS market.

Crucial's new Adrenaline solid state drive is a cache solution meant to work along your existing disk drive, using a 50GB version of the m4 SSD. By leveraging the NAND flash memory's performance, the Adrenaline acts as a fast cache to speed up your current larger disk drive storage.

New features like quad-core graphics, 4G LTE support and the iSight camera are all nice additions, and yet the new iPad could be summarized in only two words: Retina display. Apple has once again set the benchmark others will be striving for in 2012.

Today marks the release of the 'Pitcairn' GPUs which make up the the Radeon HD 7800 series. As you would expect the series consists of two GPUs: the Radeon HD 7870 and Radeon HD 7850, designed to occupy the ample $200 to $400 range.

More than ever we expect motherboard manufacturers deliver the goods with their X79 offerings as the platform will only be attractive to the most demanding of PC enthusiasts and gamers building heavily packed machines -- you know, those who will be paying ~$300 for a motherboard on top of a very expensive processor.

Without question one of the most affordable and thus commonly upgraded components by PC builders and enthusiasts alike is the CPU cooler. Included in the comparison are the Thermalright True Spirit 140, Prolimatech Panther, Thermaltake Frio Advanced and Noctua NH-C14.

It's been a year since the HAF X's arrival, and Cooler Master may have already outdone itself... The Storm Trooper packs several new features: 90-degree rotatable 4-in-3 HDD modules, an easy-to-carry handle, a built-in fan controller, an external 2.5-inch storage drive X-dock and the ability to support up to 14 internal hard drives.

The PC-Q25 vows to be Lian-Li's most advanced Mini-ITX offering yet. The case has plenty of room for high-end hardware so it can be enjoyed by gamers or media buffs, it supports up to five 3.5-inch HDDs and some impressive cooling options.

Beyond the identical exterior lies the hard work that Apple put forth on the inside. An upgraded processor, an improved antenna and camera. The other big story, or should we say, the bigger story with the iPhone 4S is the iOS 5 software upgrade and the voice-controlled personal assistant called Siri.

With all last generation contenders adopting SATA 6Gb/s, the Samsung 830 Series doesn't look as it will disappoint with full support for the faster interface on the menu for a tasty 520MB/s read and 400MB/s write throughput.

The new Fortress FT03 is unlike anything we've seen from the series before. Unlike its predecessors, this latest iteration is not a mid-tower ATX case, but rather utilizes its own unique design to take the form of a compact microATX case.

Although the DiskStation DS2411+ is considered a business-class NAS device suitable for SMB users, its $1,700 asking price remains a decent value and we're confident those who require such radical storage solutions will find a lot to appreciate in it.

We've seen many impressive Z68 boards since launch, but none are more intriguing than what we have today: the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3-iSSD. Right out of the box, this board features an Intel SSD 311 20GB attached via an mSATA connector to take advantage of Smart Response Technology.

The Raven 3 is a worthy successor to the Raven 2 Evolution and in fact the best-designed Raven case to date. The RV03 delivers loads of improvements over the previous model, not least in cable management, extended storage capabilities, fan controller access and cooling efficiency.

Along with combining the functionality of its previous chipsets, Intel has infused the Z68 with some impressive new features including Smart Response Technology and LucidLogix Virtu GPU virtualization that should make it more appealing to a broader demographic. The company has effectively created a new enthusiast-grade chipset.

As the thinnest ThinkPad ever, the X1 seemingly takes the best features from the X220 and the U260 and merges them into one. The result is an extremely thin and sleek 13.4" notebook that is a real follow-up model to the X300 series that many came to own and love a couple of years ago.

The performance oriented controller used by the Vertex 3 known as the SandForce SF-2281 includes support for the SATA 6Gb/s interface, while boasting read and write speeds of 500MB/s+, a mind blowing figure when compared to previous generation chips.

''The third post-PC blockbuster product'' - this is the phrase that Apple's Steve Jobs used to describe the iPad at their recent media event for the iPad 2. Regardless of how you feel about the company or their products, there is no denying that Apple is one of the best when it comes to product design and marketing.

The ThinkPad X220 was just introduced this month and represents Lenovo's latest ultraportable ThinkPad. Feature highlights include a 12.5-inch 1366x768 IPS display, a solidly built thin frame and starting weight of 3 pounds, all without sacrificing on performance courtesy of Intel's new mobile processors.

If you are looking for a unique case that won't break the bank don't go past the Silverstone Raven 2 Evolution. The RV02-E points the motherboard upward at a 90-degree angle, so the 'rear' I/O panel is placed on top of the enclosure instead of behind.

Enter the Sandy Bridge 32nm architecture, which marks the introduction of the 2nd generation Intel Core processors. Sandy Bridge is designed to be a two-chip platform consisting of a processor and Platform Controller Hub (PCH). It incorporates an Integrated Display Engine, Processor Graphics, and Integrated Memory Controller.

The Samsung 470 Series 256GB has certainly surprised us. This quiet achiever came from nowhere to dominate our performance charts with stellar performance matching and sometimes surpassing current top SSD drives.

When Cooler Master announced the new HAF X as the new flagship model of its 'High Air Flow' line, they had our immediate attention as we wondered how they could have improved the impeccable 932's formula.

Today marks an overhaul with AMD launching two new graphics cards designed to tackle the GTX 460. The Radeon HD 6870 and 6850 are being presented as the new mid-range offerings on AMD's line-up with a suggested retail of $239 and $199.