Would you rather use 7-Zip, FreeArc, WinRAR, or WinZip? We put four of the most popular file archiving tools to the test, analyzing compression ratios and performance. Spoiler alert: WinZip 14, the latest version of this popular title, gets creamed.




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WinZip – 7-Zip – WinRAR – Data compression – FreeArc









Think your Athlon or Phenom processor is already tuned to deliver the best balance between performance and power consumption? Think again. We show you how to tweak Cool’n'Quiet for more aggressive power savings at standard speeds using several AMD CPUs.
With three new Radeon HD 5000-series cards launched last month, older models being put out to pasture. And an upcoming next-generation launch from Nvidia later this month sees GPU prices fluctuating quickly. Check out this month’s recommendations!
SSDs might be the fastest storage option today, but by no means is it the most popular. Magnetic media offers high throughput and proven reliability for existing ecosystems. We looked at developments in four enterprise hard drive generations.