From the perspective of folks who cover tech-related happenings, this is always a polarizing time of year. The final weeks of December are generally void of product announcements, yet only two weeks later, we're bombarded with new gadgets at CES.
Before we move on to the latest and greatest devices of 2013, we figure it's worth revisiting some of 2012's most popular devices as suggested by our Product Finder, which includes reviews by hundreds of seasoned specialists across the Web. We've included 59 products across 14 categories along with their aggregate review score and a brief commentary that explains why they're special.
5 products Graphics Cards
3 products Input Devices
3 products Monitors
2 products Motherboards
3 products Routers
3 products Storage
4 products Processors
2 products Desktop PCs
5 products Laptops
7 products Tablets
6 products Smartphones
7 products Cameras
5 products Home Audio & Video
4 products
Cases
Cooler Master Cosmos 2
The Cooler Master Cosmos 2 resides at the very top of the chassis and is partially hidden with yet another sliding door. With the panel pulled back we can see a headphone and microphone jack, an eSATA port, two USB 3.0 ports and four USB 2.0 ports. Further back is the advanced control panel which...
Cooler Master Silencio 650
The Silencio's ability to muffle high-end hardware is undoubtedly its key selling point, but there's more. Other noteworthy features include a "DualBoot HDD Switch" for toggling between OSes, a fan speed controller, a memory card reader, 1amp USB 3.0 ports for charging smartphon...
Corsair Vengeance C70
The Corsair Vengeance C70 includes one 120mm fan preinstalled, it can accomodates 4 more fans of 120mm or 140mm with dust filters. The C70 also sports eight expansion slots and two-inch holes for water-cooling hoses, the power supply bracket are at the bottom of the case.
Corsair Obsidian 550D
The Corsair Obsidian 550D features ten 120mm fan mounting points, six of which also support 140mm fans and a spot for a 240mm radiator for liquid cooling; eight rear expansions slots along with liquid cooling tube holes; two USB 3.0 ports on the front panel; six internal 3.5"/2.5" drive...
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
The Define R4 is made by a sound-absorbing materials, it allows up to 8 HDD's, big graphics cards and a lot of fans. The R4 features an USB 3.0 and fan controller in the front panel.
Graphics Cards
XFX Radeon HD 7950 Double Dissapation Black Edition OC 3GB PCIe
The HD 7950 has 2048 SPUs, 128 TAUs and 32 ROPs. The only other ports are on the I/O panel where you'll find a dual DL-DVI connector, a single HDMI 1.4a port, and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 sockets. Supports a max resolution of 2560x1600 on up to 3 monitors.
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB 128-bit GDDR5
The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti's GPU has 768 CUDA cores (192 less than the GTX 660) meaning there are 4 SMX Units, Gigabyte has outfitted its GTX 650 Ti with 2048MB of memory. In the I/O panel you'll find a pair of dual-link DVI-I connectors, a single HDMI 1.4a port, and a VGA port.
MSI Radeon HD 7970 R7970 Lightning 3GB GDDR5 PCIe
The MSI Radeon HD 7970 R7970 Lightning has a dual DL-DVI connector, a single HDMI 1.4a port and two mini-DisplayPort 1.2 sockets. It can support a max resolution of 2560x1600 on up to three monitors. With a multi-stream hub using the mini-DisplayPort 1.2 sockets, the card can power up to six scre...
Input Devices
Corsair Vengeance K60
The Corsair Vengeance K60 features Cherry MX Red Mechanical Key switches, an ergonomic soft-touch wrist rest, anti-ghosting technology and USB port on the back. It also sports Windows lock key and a 2-year warranty.
Razer Taipan
The Razer Taipan features 8200 DPI 4G Dual sensor system, 9 programmable buttons with Razer Synapse 2.0. Other specs are anti-split and anti-finger print matte finish with a rubberized countuored thumb grip.
Mad Catz / Saitek Cyborg M.M.O. 7
The Mad Catz / Saitek Cyborg M.M.O. 7 features 6400 DPI 'Twin-Eye' laser sensor with four different settings, it packs interchangeable pinkie grips and palm rests with fully programmable commands for any game. It also sports adjustable weight and a fully customizable RGB backlite.
Monitors
Dell UltraSharp U2713HM
The Dell UltraSharp U2713HM offers a 2560x1440 display resolution with a maximum brightness of 350 cd/m2, and a grey-to-grey response time of 8ms. Connectivity options include four USB 3.0 ports, dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI, and VGA. All ports are located on the back and to the side to k...
HP ZR2440w
The HP ZR2440w is a 16:10 24" LED backlit display. It features a DisplayPort, DVI, and HDMI inputs, enable connection to a range of technologies. It also sports an integrated USB hub, it connects up to four devices right at the monitor.
Motherboards
ASRock Z77 Extreme6
The Z77 Extreme6 features four DIMM slots for up to 32GB of RAM. Using the chipset's dual-channel memory architecture, it supports frequencies of 1066, 1333 and 1600MHz. Whereas the Z77 chipset provides six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asrock uses the ASMedia ASM1061 6Gb/s controller for an additi...
Asus Sabertooth Z77
The Asus Sabertooth Z77 features four DIMM slots for up to 32GB of RAM. Using the chipset's dual-channel memory architecture, it supports frequencies of 1866, 1600 and 1333MHz. Whereas the Z77 chipset provides six SATA ports (two 6Gb/s), Asus Sabertooth supports HDMI and DisplayPort wit...
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H features four DIMM slots for up to 32GB of RAM. Using the chipset's dual-channel memory architecture, it supports frequencies of 1066, 1333 and 1600MHz, while 2133, 2400 and 2800MHz are possible through overclocking. Whereas the Z77 chipset provides six SATA ports (t...
Routers
Asus RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 Gigabit Router
The Asus RT-N66u features 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Concurrent Dual-Band Transmissions, the RT-N66U sports four Gigabyte LAN ports and one Gigabyte WAN port, two built-in USB ports and three adjustable antenas. It also comes with ASUSWRT Dashboard UI for Easy Setup, Signal Monitoring, and Network Applica...
Cisco Linksys E4200 Wireless-N Router
The Cisco Linksys E4200 is a simultaneous Dual-Band N (2.4 & 5 GHz) wireless router, it packs 4 Gigabit Ethernet ports with a maximum speed up to 450 Mbps, it also has shared storage capabilities thru its USB port. Last but not least, there is a built-in UPnP AV media server.
D-Link DIR-857 HD Media Router 3000
The D-Link DIR-857 HD is capable of transfer rates of up to 900Mb/s on the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands and it features two USB 3.0 ports for quick NAS-to-PC file transfers as well as a built-in SD card reader for quickly sharing data such as photos and movies.
Storage
Samsung 840 Pro SSD
The Samsung 840 Pro SSD has been fitted with Samsung's latest MDX controller, a triple-core ARM-based chip that supports SATA 6Gb/s and can be paired with the latest 20nm NAND flash memory. Samsung claims a MTBF of 1.5 million hours and a 1500G shock resistance and the 840 Pro is backed by a ...
OCZ Vertex 4 Series SATA600
The OCZ Vertex 4 Series 64GB model packs read and write speeds of 460MB/s and 220MB/s. The 128GB version is much faster with 550MB/s reads and 420MB/s writes. The 256GB and 512GB models feature the same 550MB/s reads, but writes are boosted to 465MB/s and 475MB/s, respectively.
Western Digital Black 4TB SATA600
The 3.5-inch, 4TB, 7200 RPM WD Black (WD4001FAEX) is spec'ed with a sustained throughput of 154MB/s. The WD4001FAEX features a 6Gbps SATA connection and 64MB of cache, and also boasts of a 5-year warranty.
Synology Disk Station DS412+
The Synology Disk Station DS412+ delivers 182.66 MB/sec writing speed under RAID 5 configuration in Windows OS, and 205.48 MB/sec reading1. It features USB 3.0 support, Hot-swappable Hard Drive Design and 2 LAN with Failover and Link Aggregation Support.
Processors
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Socket H2
The Intel Core i5-3570K is a Quad Core processors that features 22nm 3-D Tri-Gate transistors delivering a great combination of performance and power efficiency. The i5-3570K also sports a 6MB L3 Cache and has an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000.
Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Socket 1155
The Intel Core i7-3770K comes with an unlocked multiplier and is 100MHz faster out of the box. It also features 4 cores with 8 concurrent threads when using Hyper-Threading. The Core i7 3770K operates at 3.50GHz with a Turbo Boost frequency of 3.90GHz. The Core i7 3770K also misses out on Intel v...
Desktop PCs
Dell XPS One 27
The XPS One 27 is one of the most rounded all-in-one alternatives in the market. You get a beautiful 27-inch, 2560 x 1440 resolution display, a powerful processor, 1TB+ of storage, a great port selection and GPU power --- you'll get decent gaming performance but it's certainly no po...
Maingear Shift Super Stock
Needless to say, this Maingear system isn't for everyone, but going back to our idea of a dream PC build, the Shift comes as close as you can actually get...
Lenovo IdeaCentre A720
The IdeaCentre A720 features a 10-point touchscreen, an Intel Core-series CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GT 630M 2GB, up to 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM, as much as 1TB of mechanical or 64GB of flash storage, a DVD or Blu-ray burner, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, along with tons of propr...
Apple iMac 27" 2012 Edition
The Apple iMac 27 inch / 2012 Edition is outfitted with a 2560x1440 and 1080p LED-backlit display, a 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 1TB of storage. It features a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory, integrated speakers, an IR receiver, four USB 3.0 por...
Falcon Northwest Tiki
Size doesn't matter. At least that's what Falcon Northwest is saying with its latest entry into the micro-tower war, the Tiki, which offers full-size tower performance in a teeny, tiny...
Laptops
Apple MacBook Pro 15" Retina - Summer 2012
The Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display is equipped with a third generation Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 8GB of DDR3L 1600MHz RAM, 256GB of flash storage, Intel HD 4000 Graphics, a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT 650M GPU with 1GB of GDDR5 memory and a built-in FaceTime HD camera. It s...
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13
The Yoga 13 features a third generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor clocked at 1.7GHz, 4GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and a 128GB solid state drive. True to its name, the Yoga 13 utilizes a 13.3-inch HD+ LED Multitouch display operating at 1,600 x 900 resolution.
Apple MacBook Air 13.3 inch - Summer 2012
The MacBook Air sports a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor that Turbo Boosts up to 2.8GHz, 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 128GB of flash storage and integrated Intel graphics. It is still extremely thin and lightweight at only 0.68-inches at the thickest part and 2.96 pounds. The M...
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon sports an Intel Core i5 3427U processor and integrated HD 4000 graphics, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive. You can upgrade that to a Core i7 3667U, 8GB of RAM, and up to a 256GB of flash-based storage for an extra ~$150. It also offers one mini DisplayPort, ...
Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A
The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A features a 3rd generation Intel Core i7 3517U Processor, 6Gbps SATA 128GB SSD, Integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 and 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3L RAM. Ports and connectivity include two USB 3.0, a headphone jack, mini-VGA, micro-HDMI, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580
The Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 features a 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M, 8GB of RAM and 1TB HDD. It also sports two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports, one VGA port, an HDMI port, a card reader and two mini PCle slots.
Dell XPS 12
The Dell XPS 12 features a 12.5" FHD 1080p Touch display, a 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3517U, an Intel Graphics HD 4000, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It also sports one USB 3.0 port, one eSATA/USB 3.0 port, and a Mini-Display port connector.
Tablets
Google Nexus 7 inch
The Google Nexus 7 has the distinction of being the first device to run the Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" operating system. It measures 198.5mm x 120mm x 10.45mm (7.8in x 4.7in x .4in) in size, weighs 340g (12.0oz), and features a 7-inch ~IPS display that is protected by scratch-resistant gl...
Apple iPad 4
The 4th generation iPad sports a beefier A6X processor for double the CPU and graphics performance (versus iPad 3), an improved FaceTime camera that supports 720p resolution, the new Lightning connector, 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi and the same image signal processor found in the iPhone 5.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch
The Amazon Kindle Fire HD features an 8.9-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display rated at 254 PPI, inside is a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 processor. Other key features include dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus, front-facing HD camera, HDMI-out, dual-band Wi-Fi technology with MIMO (2.4GHz an...
Apple iPad Mini
The iPad mini packs a dual-core A5 processor, dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, a FaceTime HD camera, 5-megapixel rear iSight camera with 1080p recording and an optional LTE radio. The Mini sports a 7.9-inch display and 1,024 x 768 resolution. Battery life is estimated at 10 hours.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite features a 6" screen with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution (212 PPI), it packs a built-in WiFi and 2GB of internal storage.
Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Infinity TF700 features a 10.1" WUXGA Full HD LED Backlit screen with 10-finger multi-touch and SonicMaster audio technology. The TF700 packs an NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad-core processor with Android 4.0 (ICS). It also sports a rear 8MP camera w/LED Flash and a front 2M...
Smartphones
Apple iPhone 5
The Apple iPhone 5 features a 4-inch display retains the same 326 PPI density as its predecessor with an effective resolution of 1,126 x 640, and a new Lightning connector. The new handset now features 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi with 802.11n supporting dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies. Bluetooth 4....
Samsung Galaxy S III GT-I9300
The Galaxy S III display is a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED screen featuring 720p (720 x 1280 pixel) resolution and a 306ppi pixel density. Is the Galaxy S III a worthy successor to the venerable Galaxy S II and does it help keep Samsung ahead of its rivals? In a word, yes.
Google Nexus 4
The Google Nexus 4 features a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, a 4.7-inch 1280 x 768 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, dual cameras (1.3MP front, 8.0MP back), and either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage. Google also baked in NFC support and a wireless charging feature that lets you power the phone...
HTC One X+
The HTC One X+ features a 4.7-inch display, a quad-core 1.7GHz Tegra 3 CPU, 64GB of storage capacity and a larger 2,100mAh battery. The phone runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and a modified Sense 4+ overlay. On the front face of the phone is the secondary 1.3 megapixel camera for video chatting, which...
Samsung Galaxy Note II
The Samsung Galaxy Note II is actually slimmer and thinner than its predecessor. The Galaxy Note II has a 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16 to 64GB of internal storage to handle your daily activities. A microSD slot adds even more memory by providing the option of supporting an addi...
HTC Droid DNA
The HTC Droid DNA features a 5" SLCD3 screen with 1920 x 1080 resolution(440 PPI). The DNA runs on a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro chip with integrated LTE connectivity and paired with 2GB of RAM. It packs an 8 MP camera. 16GB of built-in storage, Beats Audio, and NFC. The DNA is also a...
Nokia Lumia 920
The Nokia Lumia 920 features a Snapdragon S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 4.5" IPS LCD with 768 x 1280 resolution (332 PPI). It packs an 8.7MP rear camera with a 2MP front-facing camera. The Lumia 920 runs Windows Phone 8 and is compatible with charging products based on the Qi wireless pow...
Cameras
Canon PowerShot S100
The Canon Powershot S100 features a lens range 24-120mm equivalent 5x zoom, it also packs Canon's latest DIGIC 5 image processor. The S100's image sensor is a 12.1 MP 'high sensitivity' CMOS in the 1/1.7" format, this allows to record full HD movies at 1920x1080 resolution, w...
GoPro Hero 3
The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition features full 4k cinema resolution capabilities at 12fps. 2.7k resolution can be recorded at 30fps while 1080p video is stored at 60fps. The Hero 3 captures sill images as well at 12-megapixels. There is also a built-in Wi-Fi function and the Black Edition kits incl...
Samsung Galaxy Camera EK-GC100
The Samsung Galaxy Camera features a quad-core 1.4GHz processor, 8GB of internal storage and an SD card slot - all running on Android 4.1. Inside the Galaxy Camera is a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of ISO settings between 100 and 3,200 that gathers data from a 21x optical touch zoom len...
Sony Alpha NEX-6
The Sony Alpha NEX-6 features a 16.1MP CMOS sensor, it offers a 2.3 million dot OLED EVF, a built-in flash, 1080p 60fps video recording and an ISO standard hotshoe connection. It also packs a built-in DNLA-compliant Wi-Fi.
Nikon D800
The Nikon D800 features a 36.3-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor, advanced Scene Recognition System with 91,000-pixel RGB sensor, Full HD 1080p video capabilities at 30, 25 or 24p, an ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 25,600) and a 4fps burst rate.
Home Audio & Video
Roku 2 XS
The Roku 2 XS offers dozens of Internet video and audio services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, Crackle, Pandora, NHL, NBA, and MLB. The 2 XS packs an HDMI port and a microSD card slot for additional game and channel storage. It also includes Roku Bluetooth game remote for p...
Audioengine 5+ Speakers
Audioengine 5+ (A5+) premium speakers deliver audiophile-quality sound and features at a price that continues to set the standard for affordable high-quality audio. Connect your iDevice, computer, TV, or any other audio component for great stereo sound in any room.
Apple TV G3
The Apple TV features a micro-USB for service only, HDMI output, optical audio output, 10/100 Ethernet. It also allows you to sign in to your Wi-Fi account and use the remote (or better yet, the free Remote app on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch) to navigate around. Last but not least, you can pur...
Western Digital WD TV Live Hub
The Western Digital WD TV Live Hub can pump content to any DLNA/UPnP-compatible TV or multimedia device. I/O includes HDMI 1.4, composite/component video, optical audio, two USB 2.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet.
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