Microsoft Windows 7 is the first Windows operating system to include native support for solid state drives (SSDs). Its SSD-specific optimizations make Windows 7 the best operating system for solid state drives.

But just how much of a boost in SSD performance can we expect from upgrading to Windows 7? That's exactly what we intend to find out.

*In this revision, we updated the comparison with the benchmark results of the OCZ Agility 2 (Extended Capacity) 60 GB solid state drive, and the Kingston SSDNow V (Gen 2) 30 GB solid state drive.*

It wasn't all that long ago when we saw IDE crushed by the influx of SATA-II and since Solid State Drives (SSDs) have arrived, a similar takeover is now underway with SSDs dropping in price and bigger capacities on the horizon. The SATA-II drive is beginning to look rather weak.

SSDs are smaller, more portable, dramatically faster, and have a significantly longer life-span. At the bottom end of the capacity range there are 40GB, 60GB and 80GB. These sized drives are dropping in price making them ideal bait for a bootable operating system drive.

Today is the first time we take a look at SSDs and so the journey begins. With having no previous drives tested it the SSD in question today will be compared to a standard SATA-II drive. This should make for an interesting article as we will see the real speed benefits of moving to SSD, showing just how much efficiency is to be had from the new successor.

Corsair have been at the very pinnacle of storage and memory based products since 1994. They have a multitude of SSDs currently available on the market and were amongst the first to launch this innovative product, today we will be taking a look the Force series and in particular the F40. The 40GB version. This is the smallest of all SSDs within the Force range, and is ideal for being used as a bootable OS drive.

Today we'll look at the newest portable speaker offering from Choiix - the Boom Boom Portable Speaker. The Boom Boom sure is priced attractively at about $25 online, but does it really offer much benefit over typical laptop speakers? Read on to find out..

Since it is a part of the GoFlex ecosystem you can easily upgrade the storage capacity with other GoFlex based hard drives. Seagate designed the GoFlex Home for easy setup and configuration allowing even the less technically inclined can be up and running in no time. The GoFlex is designed to work with Windows and Macs so folks with both systems on their networks can all take advantage of its features.

Mach Xtreme is a new player, but their complete line-up of memory, SSDs and their USB 3.0 flash drive made some real waves. We are taking a look at the Armor 1600 MHz CL8 dual channel kit, which comes equipped with Xigmatek heat spreaders. Will its shell withstand our barrage of benchmarks or are we able to chip its armor?

The Enermax MODU87+ 900W is a high output PSU with excellent efficiency, good voltage regulation, clean outputs, and it comes with modular cables. And for a 900W PSU it is very quiet. Check out our review of the latest PSU that can power your next high-end gaming rig!

The Enermax MODU87+ 900W power supply delivered excellent efficiency with good voltage regulation and clean outputs. In addition, the PSU is very quiet during normal operation at low to mid power levels. Throw in support for high-end graphic adapters, modular cables, excellent build quality and attractive styling and Enermax has another winner on their hands.