Respectable performance and relatively inexpensive

The last time we heard from Intel's SDD department it was throwing around its performance-oriented 520 Series SSD that rocked a SandForce controller and custom Intel firmware with 25nm NAND flash. That drive earned a 9 verdict from us (April 2012) but no Kick Ass award, as its performance was about equal to its peers’ but not better. The crux of that drive was SandForce performance with Intel reliability, and though that's a potent combo, it's one that came in the form of a higher price tag. With Intel’s new budget-oriented 335 Series SSD, that tax is gone, as this drive is priced right below $200, the current sweet spot for 240/256GB SSDs. It still has the same SandForce SF-2281 controller and the same Intel reliability, but includes new smaller-die 20nm MLC NAND flash. The smaller flash marks the industry's foray into the 20nm era, and Intel is the first manufacturer to take us there.

Note: This review first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the magazine.

The poor-nerd’s RevoDrive

The Apricorn Velocity Solo X2 is designed to do one thing and one thing only: let you upgrade your boot drive to a SATA 6Gb/s SSD on a system that doesn’t have any of them newfangled ports. Living in a world filled with PCs that could be used in the space program, it’s not a problem we encounter very often, but we can certainly understand its utility where an older motherboard is involved.

Note: This review was taken from the January 2013 issue of the magazine. 

The Incredible Hulk of laptops

Think a laptop is supposed to be a light and portable PC? Think again. iBuyPower’s CZ-17 is neither of those things. With a carry weight of almost 11 pounds and dimensions measuring 16.9x11.3x2.2-inches, this thing is huge and friggin’ heavy. Imagine lugging around a dumbbell in your pack all day and you’ll catch our drift.

Note: This review first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the magazine.

Digital Bolt Storm confirms the PC is going small

One is an outlier. Two a coincidence. But three, as we know from News Media Statistics 101, is a crystal-clear trend.

And that’s just what we have with the Digital Storm Bolt, which follows on the heels of Alienware’s X51 and Falcon Northwest’s Tiki: proof that the PC is making an assault on the living room. Of course, the “assault on the living room” is our own private fantasy about the PC pushing the traditional game console overboard—Digital Storm just presents the box as a small PC (although we will note that the machine came with a wireless keyboard and game controller).

Note: This review first appeared in the January 2013 issue of the magazine.