This week's hottest reviews on TechRadar

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V review
Sony's 16.2MP compact camera has excellent zoom reach and 3D shooting capabilities

This week we've been testing a lot of computing kit, with several Intel and AMD CPU and APUs passing through our testing lab.

We've also been very busy reviewing Sony's impressive new gaming handheld, the PS Vita. Check in with TechRadar to read our full Vita review very soon.

But in the meantime, let's recap what we've been up to for the past seven days!

Sony HX9V review

With the Sony Cyber-Shot HX9V boasting an asking price of £269 in the UK and $329.99 in the US, it falls between the likes of a Canon PowerShot S100 and a regular point and shoot compact such as the Nikon Coolpix S6200 in cost.

Sony has packed a lot into this high-performance travel zoom that poses very serious competition for the likes of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20, Fuji FinePix F600 EXR, plus a host of rival compact cameras that similarly incorporate a broad focal range with built-in GPS and pocket sized proportions. Though not 100% perfect in each and every regard, the Sony Cyber-Shot HX9V nonetheless comes very close in most.

Intel Core i7 3820 review

The Intel Core i7 3820 performs at around the same sort of levels as the top-end standard Sandy Bridge CPUs. And we have to say, that's a bit of a disappointment. This is supposed to be the serious enthusiast processors for Intel's desktop faithful, but the more mainstream, soon-to-be-replaced Sandy Bridge setup is just as good at the quad-core level.

The fact that Intel has put the chip out for the same price as the top-end Sandy Bridge i7 2700K is impressive, and thoroughly welcome. It's a decent chip, offering the extra bandwidth of the Sandy Bridge E platform for straight Sandy Bridge prices. But the vast majority of us don't need that bandwidth.

Corsair Vengeance M60 review

There are two mice in Corsair's fledgling range – the M90 caters for the MMO gamer's needs, and as such sports fifteen programmable buttons. This M60 sets its sights square and true on the first-person shooter afficionado, for whom split seconds and DPI figures are everything.

With that said, even the grouchiest CS:S gamer will be happy with the Corsair Vengeance M60's performance. Primarily, you want a comfortable mouse that doesn't have a ton of buttons you'll keep accidentally pressing at a fair price, and Corsair's rodent ticks all those boxes with confidence. The adjustable DPI and sniper button are useful additions in a layout that otherwise shows restraint, and it feels like it could survive a nuclear blast.

AMD A8-3970K Black Edition APU review

While its flagship FX processors are failing to shine it does seem a little on unfair on AMD that at the other end of the market it has a chip which really ought be cleaning up. Its Llano Fusion APUs, which combine a multi-core CPU and a Radeon graphics part on one die, are actually rather good.

They may be based on an older processor architecture, but quad core examples like this A8-3870 hold their own against Intel's similarly priced dual core Core i3s in CPU benchmarks. When it comes to 3D tasks like gaming, the on board HD6550D is simply in a different league to Intel's laggardly HD Graphics 3000 cores.

Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple+ review

The Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple+ comes at a high price, at over £100, so is certainly at the higher end of the powerline adaptor market in terms of cost. But if you're after a speedy network across your home and have a few devices that need to be connected, then it's going to be money well spent.

western-digital-wd-livewire-baby0000nbk-review

This week's other reviews:

Cameras

Hands on: Samsung WB150F review

General networking

Nextivity Cel-Fi RS2 3G review

Hard disk drives

Zalman SSD-F1 Series 240GB review

LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Series 240GB SSD review

Headphones

Urbanista London Headphones review

Input devices

StarTech 2 Port USB VGA KVM Switch with File Transfer and PIP review

Keyboards

Corsair Vengeance K60 gaming keyboard review

Lenses

Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM review

Media streaming devices

Iomega TV with Boxee review

Memory cards

Samsung 16GB SDHC Plus Class 10 review


SteelSeries Kinzu V2 Pro Edition review

Mobile phone accessories

Tascam iM2 review

Mobile phones

Hands on: ZTE Tania review

Network adaptors

Western Digital WD Livewire review

Scanners

Canon imageFORMULA P-215 review

Software

Hands on: iBooks Author review review

Hands on: Pure Music review

Corel PaintShop Pro X4 review

Speakers

iLuv Boom Cubes review

Logitech Mini Boombox review

Microlab X16 review

Sony SRS-DB500 review

Logitech Z623 review

Televisions

Hands on: LG 84LM960V review

Web cams

Karotz Smart Rabbit review

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James Rivington

James was part of the TechRadar editorial team for eight years up until 2015 and now works in a senior position for TR's parent company Future. An experienced Content Director with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. Skilled in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-commerce Optimization, Journalism, Digital Marketing, and Social Media. James can do it all.