The Tech Report

We kick off this latest TR Podcast with a reminder that, if you're a TR reader and you live near or within flying distance of lake Michigan, you're more than welcome to attend the annual TR BBQ. After that piece of community news, our podcast panel gets down and dirty with DiRT 3, which Geoff has had a chance to play and review. Our gaming coverage also includes a second look at the somewhat disappointing (at least at launch) Crysis 2—a game that may have redeemed itself with a monstrous, multi-gigabyte DirectX 11 patch. We then move on to the desktop version of AMD's A-series Fusion APU, a.k.a. Llano. Scott gives us another in-depth expose on these new processors, not to mention some insightful guesses about the origins of AMD's latest naming scheme. On the industry news front, Cyril and Scott discuss some juicy rumors about next-gen of GPUs from AMD and Nvidia. Finally, we bring up the rather odd Silverstone Raven RV03 enclosure and wonder—is it innovative or just weird for weirdness' sake?

After answering two listener mail questions, we walk down memory lane as our editors recall their first encounters with id Software's Quake, a game that has just recently celebrated it's 15th anniversary. On the topic of gaming nostalgia, we question whether or not the newly released Duke Nukem Forever lives up to its 15-year-old predecessor. Then, based on a recent TR Friday Night Topic, we round out our gaming discussion by reveling in some of our favorite video game scores.

We spend the second half of this show diving deep into AMD's new Llano accelerated processing unit. Scott and Geoff examine the hardware and its performance, giving everyone the low-down on how AMD's latest bid for mobile processor dominance fairs.

We have lots to cover in this episode of the TR Podcast. Geoff is back from Computex with a slew of stories, sneak peeks, and new products for us to geek out about. The highlights of our Computex unpacking include Noctua's "better" 120-mm fan, the rising trend of white computer cases, and new notebooks and platforms from Intel that combine speed, portability, and affordability in very exciting ways.

Moving on from Computex, we welcome guest podcaster and TR reviewer David Morgan, who details his review of the NZXT H2 mid-tower enclosure. We also analyze the new Wii U gaming console and bemoan a disappointing Duke Dukem demo. Finally, it's the newest from Microsoft and Apple when we dive into Windows 8 and Apple's iOS 5 and iCloud.

Despite some technicial difficulties, we join you for another lively episode of tech reporting with Jordan, Scott, Geoff, and Cyril. After answering some listener mail, our panel discusses Scott's new computer and his aging software toolset, which includes Microsoft Office 2000, an old copy of Paint Shop Pro, and other legacy programs like Homesite 5. Then, it's on to two gaming stories: Duke Nukem Forever going gold (we never thought we'd see it) and the hauntingly artistic trailer for Dead Island, which is followed by a gameplay demo that has our panelists divided.

Geoff had to leave early for this episode, so we bid him farewell right after he details the Z68 chipset's new Virtu d-Mode, which fixes some problems we encountered in our Z68 review. To wrap things up, we look at the GeForce GTX 560, an impressive enclosure from Corsair, and Antec's Rockus 3D speakers.

This episode is all about quality over quantity. We kick things off by introducing our special guest, semiconductor industry analyst David Kanter. David gives us the low-down on the intricacies of Intel's new 3D transistor technology, including practical thoughts about what 3D transistors mean for the rest of the industry.

Our geeky fab process discussion over, we switch gears with a quick round of listener mail, before diving into the highly anticipated "deluxe" Z68 Express chipset from Intel. Geoff outlines all of the features that make this chipset unique, including the new and peculiar SSD caching system. Finally, Cyril discusses the Thermaltake Level 10 GT, a revamp of one of the most expensive and unusual cases we've ever tested.

We've got an eclectic mix of topics in this episode of the TR Podcast, starting with some listener mail. Hoping to enter the DirectX 11 world, Mike wonders if a simple graphics upgrade or an entire system overhaul is necessary to get him ready for the fall gaming season. After Mike's question is answered, Jordan digresses from the agenda to crow about his newly built gaming PC based on the latest TR system guide's Utility Player configuration. Then, it's on to the latest in PC gaming, including a panel discussion of Portal 2, another round of excited Battlefield 3 chatter, and debate about id Software's upcoming Rage.

Our gaming talk behind us, we move on to the latest reader poll, which queries TR visitors about the "rawest" deal in the tech world right now. We wrap things up with a showdown of two mid-range GPUs, followed by a lightning round of miscellaneous tech stories.

We're back with another episode of the podcast, which kicks off with listener mail concerning the iPad 2's competition (or lack thereof) and a new project from one of our loyal listeners. (Be sure to check out ssidbroadcast's new iOS game, Super Block Party. After listener mail, we spend a solid chunk of this episode going over our latest TR system guide, partially because of the return of Sandy Bridge... and because Jordan is planning to build himself a new PC. Scott and Geoff also discuss some of the readers' comments and objections related to the guide. After that, the panel switches gears and discusses a pair of new Radeon graphics cards, a dual-core Sandy Bridge notebook, and Geoff's latest solid-state drive review. As mentioned above, this podcast is also tied to our latest giveaway, as part of which we're giving out an XFX Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition. Head over to this page for more details.

This episode kicks off with a quartet of gaming stories, starting with the delay of the Duke Nukem Forever launch by Gearbox, which hardly surprises our panelistss. We also tackle Deus Ex gameplay, a fantastic new Portal 2 trailer, and a look at the next iteration of the Batman game series, Batman: Arkham City. Moving on to serious PC hardware, Scott introduces Nvidia's new flagship, the GeForce GTX 590, stacking it up against AMD's Radeon HD 6990. Geoff has a trio of new solid-state drives to discuss—Intel's 510 Series, OCZ's Vertex 3, and Crucial's m4. Finally, Cyril gives us the skinny on a more budget-friendly Nvidia GPU, the GeForce GTX 550 Ti.

After kicking off this episode with a RAM-related listener question, we dive into the land of fruits and nuts as we debate the merits of Apple's new iPad 2. Scott and Jordan see marked improvement in Apple's newest tablet, while Geoff still has plans to picket 1 Infinite Loop over the summer. Moving on to gaming news, we have an impressive look at Epic's next-gen Unreal Engine, a hands-on review of the Crysis 2 mulitplayer demo from Scott and Cyril, and a no-holds-barred gameplay trailer of Battlefield 3 that has us all drooling.

After tablets and gaming news, Scott offers an in-depth look at the world's current fastest graphics card: AMD's $700 Radeon HD 6990. Also in the luxury PC hardware category, Intel's Core i7-990X Extreme managed to write its own review, and Scott and Geoff explain the origins of our most peculiar CPU evaluation in years. Finally, we have a few Sandy Bridge motherboards popping up at retailers across the web, and Cyril explains why HP's Pavilion dm1z Fusion-powered ultraportable received an Editor's Choice award.

After announcing the winner of last episode's graphics card giveaway, we kick off this episode by discussing recent additions to TR v3.0, not to mention Scott's attempts to fix his daughter's Nintendo DS. Moving on, we spend a fair bit of time going over the latest PC gaming news: DICE has some tantalizing gameplay footage from Battlefield 3, the next Elder Scrolls game looks amazing, a multiplayer demo of Crysis 2 is due on March 1 (it'll be available through GeForce.com), and Cyril has some thoughts to share about Bulletstorm.In the second half of the episode, we discuss two AMD Fusion-related reviews. Scott has compared an AMD E-350 processor to a slew of desktop CPUs, and Geoff has gone hands-on with a Brazos netbook. Finally, Cyril dissects Tegra 2's successor, Kal-El.