The number of graphics solutions designed by HIS cannot be figured from a cursory calculation only. Indeed, the company's product line counts dozens of cards destined at various audiences, with various needs and budgets. Take HIS HD 7850 series alone: it consists of ten models (three with 1GB memory and seven with 2GB memory). The latest HIS 7850 IceQ X Turbo X belongs to '2GB echelon' and is distinguished by the heightened GPU and memory frequency. Upon the whole, this graphics adapter features outstanding cooling and overclocking facilities.



Design and PCB


Graphics adapter HIS 7850 IceQ X Turbo X is a standard representative of the second HD 7850 revision. It is housed on a short printed circuit board and is equipped with only a single power socket, two heatpipes and a large fan. HIS developers advanced the heatpipes outside the board to elongate its contours; nevertheless, this card can't be considered voluminous, since its width hasn't been touched at all. The top part …

Despite the fact that AMD initially scheduled the official release of FX-8300 for 29 December, this CPU can already be found in some Japanese retail stores. Such sudden appearance in free sale allows all potential consumers to get assured in all claimed specifications. Thus, FX-8300 is an eight-core chip of the new generation that is characterized by 95W TDP level. This is a kind of a breakthrough, since its Vishera companions, FX-8350 and FX-8320, consume up to 125W power.



The reduction of power consumption is explained by the decrease of CPU clock frequencies and nominal voltage showings. Hence, the nominal clock frequency recorded with this CPU model makes up 3.3GHz, while in Turbo mode the frequency rises to 3.6GHz. Some resources state that FX-8300 is able to overclock up to 4.2GHz, however, this info is not vindicated so far. This chip is developed specifically for Socket AM3+.


Taking into account such parameters, analysts feel difficulty in predicting the future of …

The Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) Co. has lately introduced a tiny LIVA Q PC, dimensionally easily comparable with an ordinary computer mouse. Its framework, measuring only 70 × 70 × 31.4 mm (WxDxH), is of 0.15 l volume capacity. Total weight equals around 9 ounces (260 g). This specialty may function as a set-top box, for instance.



LIVA Q is built on the Apollo Lake gen Intel processor. Customers have an option to choose between Celeron N3350 and Pentium N4200 modifications. The first sample mentioned has two compute cores, featuring the 1.1 GHz frequency, which can be boosted up to 2.4 GHz, as well as the Intel HD Graphics 500 graphics controller. The second silicon offers four cores with the 1.1–2.5 GHz clock and the Intel HD Graphics 505 graphics accelerator.


The LPDDR4 RAM capacity comes to 2 GB or 4 GB; the eMMC flash storage is able to hold 32 or 64 GB. There is a slot for the microSD card, too.


This compact PC is equipped with the Gigabit Ethernet …