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Saturday, March 31st 2012
Creative Announces the Draco Junior Gaming Headset
Wrapping up the week (and the month), Creative Technology has sent out word about the upcoming arrival of a new gaming headset, the Draco Junior (model HS-430). Targeting users with an 'active lifestyle', Creative's headphones weight just 81 grams and have a behind-the-ear design, 30 mm Neodymium drivers, leatherette ear cups, a removable noise canceling microphone, a 2.5 meter cable with volume controls and a mute switch, and a gold-plated 3.5 mm connector.
The Draco Junior has a recommended price tag of 27.99 Euro and is expected to become available in mid-April.
The Draco Junior has a recommended price tag of 27.99 Euro and is expected to become available in mid-April.
GIGABYTE Intros Two Entry-Level Graphics Cards
GIGABYTE introduced two new graphics card models over the last week, based on GPUs that have been in existence for a while now. The first is the GV-R645-1GI, a low-profile single-slot graphics card based on the AMD Radeon HD 6450, and the GV-N440-1GI, a cool and quiet full-height double-slot graphics card, based on NVIDIA GeForce GT 440.
The GV-R645-1GI is armed with 1 GB of DDR3 memory over a 64-bit wide memory interface. It features clock speeds of 625 MHz core, with 1100 MHz memory. It uses a tiny, radial-fin fan-heatsink to cool the GPU. Its display outputs include dual-link DVI, HDMI (gold-plated connector), and D-Sub, which is detachable. GIGABYTE tried to pull off a neat marketing trick by mentioning that the card is "PCI-E 3.0 motherboard compatible", something every PCI-Express 2.0 and 1.0 graphics card ever made, already is.
The GV-R645-1GI is armed with 1 GB of DDR3 memory over a 64-bit wide memory interface. It features clock speeds of 625 MHz core, with 1100 MHz memory. It uses a tiny, radial-fin fan-heatsink to cool the GPU. Its display outputs include dual-link DVI, HDMI (gold-plated connector), and D-Sub, which is detachable. GIGABYTE tried to pull off a neat marketing trick by mentioning that the card is "PCI-E 3.0 motherboard compatible", something every PCI-Express 2.0 and 1.0 graphics card ever made, already is.
Razer Announces Plans to Unveil Left-Handed Naga
Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, is receiving an overwhelming response from its devoted community, and has decided to move forward with plans to release a left-handed version of its award-winning Naga MMO gaming mouse.
Razer CEO and Chief Gamer Min-Liang Tan promised left-handed users that the company would make a left-handed Naga if his post on Facebook reached 10,000 "Likes" before April 21. The community responded by hitting that lofty total on March 29, more than three weeks before the deadline.
Razer CEO and Chief Gamer Min-Liang Tan promised left-handed users that the company would make a left-handed Naga if his post on Facebook reached 10,000 "Likes" before April 21. The community responded by hitting that lofty total on March 29, more than three weeks before the deadline.
EVGA Announces the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Hydro Copper
EVGA announces immediate availability of the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Hydro Copper. This card offers a preinstalled Hydro Copper Waterblock, and reduces the GPU operating temperature by as much as 50%. Additionally, the EVGA GeForce GTX 680 is optimized for overclocking with a 5 Phase PWM Design and 8pin + 6pin power connectors. The EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Hydro Copper ships with increased clockspeeds of 1215MHz (boost clock) and 1150MHz (base clock). The memory has further been tuned with a stock frequency of 6300MHz.
Intel Unveils New Z77 Motherboards
Intel silently enabled the product pages of several of its 7-series chipset-based LGA1155 motherboards, including three based on the Z77 Express. These include the Extreme Series DZ77GA-70K, Media Series DZ77BH-55K, and Media Series DZ77SL-50K. The DZ77GA-70K is a top-tier model that's built for built for heavily-overclocked gaming PCs. Intel paid due attention to areas such as a strong VRM, and a broad range of connectivity options. With power-delivery, we spy a 10+2 phase VRM backed by Intel's phase-shedding technology. Apart from four DDR3 DIMM slots, the LGA1155 socket is wired to two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8, when both are populated).
Other expansion slots on the DZ77GA-70K include one open-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4, two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. To ensure there are sufficient PCIe lanes for these slots, and the plethora of third-party onboard devices, Intel implemented a PLX PCI-Express bridge chip that increases the lane budget of the board. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s (two from the PCH, two from third-party controller), four SATA 3 Gb/s, and one eSATA.
Other expansion slots on the DZ77GA-70K include one open-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4, two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. To ensure there are sufficient PCIe lanes for these slots, and the plethora of third-party onboard devices, Intel implemented a PLX PCI-Express bridge chip that increases the lane budget of the board. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s (two from the PCH, two from third-party controller), four SATA 3 Gb/s, and one eSATA.
Friday, March 30th 2012
Today's Reviews
Chipsets
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Desktop PC
Gaming PC
Graphics Cards
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Memory
Motherboards
PSUs
Sound Cards
ASUS Radeon HD 7870 DirectCU II 2 GB Review
The ASUS Radeon HD 7870 Direct CU II is a highly overclocked custom version of the Radeon HD 7870. Coming at clock speeds of 1100 MHz GPU and 1250 MHz memory, it is a good deal faster than the AMD reference design. Thanks to aggressive pricing, the card retails at $360, which means there is no price increase for overclocking.
LG Display Begins Mass Production of World's First Plastic E-Paper Display
LG Display, a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display, announced today that it has started mass production of the world's first plastic electronic paper display (EPD) for use in E-Books. The 6" XGA (1024 x 768), e-ink, plastic EPD is expected to revolutionize the E-Book market with its advancements in functionality and design.
"With the world's first plastic EPD, LG Display has once again proven its reputation for leadership and innovation with a product we believe will help greatly popularize the E-Book market," said Mr. Sang Duck Yeo, Head of Operations for LG Display's Mobile/OLED division. "Based on our success in mass-producing plastic EPD, we are excited as we look toward applying concepts from this experience to future developments like plastic OLED and flexible displays."
"With the world's first plastic EPD, LG Display has once again proven its reputation for leadership and innovation with a product we believe will help greatly popularize the E-Book market," said Mr. Sang Duck Yeo, Head of Operations for LG Display's Mobile/OLED division. "Based on our success in mass-producing plastic EPD, we are excited as we look toward applying concepts from this experience to future developments like plastic OLED and flexible displays."
Enermax Staray Silence PC Case Goes on Sale
Enermax has today announced the European availability of its January-unveiled Staray Silence (model ECA3175-S) midi-tower PC chassis. This case measures 450 (D) x 185 (W) x 411 (H) mm and features a steel structure, an all-black paint job, micro ATX and ATX motherboard support, and a front I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports and HD/AC'97Audio connectors.
The Staray Silence also has four 5.25-inch and six 3.5-inch bays (all with tool-free mounting systems), seven PCI expansion slots, two pre-drilled holes at the back (for watercooling tubing), and two 120 mm T.B.Silence fans (one in the front and one at the rear). The case is selling for 51.06 Euro.
The Staray Silence also has four 5.25-inch and six 3.5-inch bays (all with tool-free mounting systems), seven PCI expansion slots, two pre-drilled holes at the back (for watercooling tubing), and two 120 mm T.B.Silence fans (one in the front and one at the rear). The case is selling for 51.06 Euro.
Transcend Launches the PSD320 PATA SSD
Transcend Information, Inc., a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced the latest addition to its complete line-up of solid state drives (SSDs), the PSD320 2.5'' parallel ATA (PATA/IDE) SSD. Designed to replace traditional 2.5'' 44-pin PATA hard disk drives, the PSD320 is a value-priced solution that gives older systems the ability to upgrade to the enhanced performance and reliability benefits of solid-state technology.
Lenovo's AMD-Powered IdeaPad S206 Laptop Gets a Video Tour
Announced back in January, at CES 2012, the IdeaPad S206 11.6-inch laptop is moving closer to its release date so its maker, Lenovo, has made a nice little video for it to entice potential buyers. The S206 features a 20.7 mm thick metallic casing, an AccuType keyboard, an AMD dual-core APU, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, the Quick Start 'instant on' function, and a battery allowing for up to 4 hours of operation.
Phanteks Launch PH-TC14CS Series C-Type Premier CPU Cooler
European cooling expert Phanteks expands its product portfolio with the PH-TC14CS C-Type CPU Cooler. The PH-TC14CS measures 160 x 151 x 140.5 mm ( with dual fans), it weighs 900 grams, has five nickel-plated 8mm copper heat-pipes, and supports the latest LGA 2011/ 1155/ 1156/ 1366/ 775 and AMD FM1/ AM3+/ AM3/ AM2/ 2+/ AM3 micro-processors. Featuring Phanteks patented Physical Antioxidant Thermal Shield ( P.A.T.S) and Cold Plasma Spraying Coating Technology (C.P.S.C), PH-TC14CS provides a perfect cooling solution for low profile setups. Enthusiasts with HTPC's or multimedia cases can achieve maximum cooling while maintaining quiet performance.
Acer Announces FY 2011 Results
Acer Inc. Board of Directors today approved the financial results for year 2011. Acer's consolidated revenues were NT$475.3B (US$15.7B), declining 24% year-on-year (YOY). The operating loss reached NT$6.4B (US$211M), profits-after-tax (PAT) was NT$-6.6B (US$-218M), and earnings-per-share (EPS) was NT$-2.52.
Acer said the loss was mainly due to the one-time write-off of operations loss in EMEA, as well as the compensation for reorganization. After the operational and strategic adjustments, Acer's current corporate constitution, inventory management, and financial structure are becoming more healthy and stable.
Acer said the loss was mainly due to the one-time write-off of operations loss in EMEA, as well as the compensation for reorganization. After the operational and strategic adjustments, Acer's current corporate constitution, inventory management, and financial structure are becoming more healthy and stable.
Sparkle Introduces its GeForce GTX 560 SE Graphics Card
Today, Sparkle announced the launch of GeForce GTX 560 SE graphics card aiming at midrange market. As the most expected superstar product for mainstream market in the first half of this year, this card features a mature 40 nm GF114 GPU, delivering the ultimate next generation gaming experience. The excellent performance not only leads over similar competing products, but also shows no way inferior to GeForce 5 series. Now is the perfect time to upgrade your graphics card at a surprisingly affordable price!
Lepa Unveils New Entry-Level PSUs
Lepa unveiled the N300 (300W) and N350 (350W) entry-level PSUs. Pictured below, is the N3x0 PSUs feature a top-fan design, cooled by a 120 mm fan. While these PSUs are equipped with protection mechanisms that are standard with modern PSUs, such as over-voltage protection, over-current protection, overload protection, short-circuit protection, etc., they lack 80 Plus certification. Both N300 and N350 feature just the one 6-pin PCIe power connector, apart from four SATA, three Molex, one Berg, and 4+4 pin EPS, next to 24-pin ATX. Pricing and availability information is not available.
HIS Launches HIS 7850 Fan 2 GB
Hightech Information System (HIS) today announced the launch of HIS 7850 Fan 2 GB. The card offers outstanding graphics quality and excellent cooling technology for enthusiastic users. With core and memory clocks at 860 MHz and 4800 MHz, the card ensures the highest graphics enjoyment during hardcore gaming. Equipped with HIS outstanding cooler, the card provides a quiet environment for daily tasks and movies.
The card also comes with the innovative overclocking software by HIS - iTurbo. User can control the temperature, speed and power in their hands!
The card also comes with the innovative overclocking software by HIS - iTurbo. User can control the temperature, speed and power in their hands!
Main Use of Xbox 360 is Not Gaming: Microsoft
According to Microsoft, gaming is not what Xbox 360 game consoles are being used for, now-a-days. People's primary usage patterns have shifted more towards listening to music, and watching TV through their Xbox 360 consoles. Gaming on it, comes next. "What we're seeing is that people are turning on the Xbox to play games and then keeping it on afterwards to get other types of entertainment," Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi told the LA Times.
Nox Xtreme Hummer Zero 3.0 Case Hitting Stores Next Week
Launched two weeks ago, Nox Xtreme's (almost) all-white Hummer Zero 3.0 Full Tower PC chassis is set to become available (in Europe) in one week's time. Seen below, this steel case measures 610 (H) x 232 (W) x 520 (D) mm, it weights 14.2 kg, and offers support for everything from micro ATX and ATX, to E-ATX, XL-ATX and Flex-ATX motherboards.
The Hummer Zero 3.0 includes a front I/O panel with USB 3.0 (x 2), USB 2.0 (x 2) and eSATA (x 2) connectors, a 2-channel fan controller, six 5.25-inch and six 3.5/2.5-inch bays, two removable anti-dust filters, four pre-drilled holes (for watercooling tubing) at the rear, a 230 mm fan with white LEDs in front, two 140 mm top fans, and a 140 mm spinner at the back. Those interested can find the chassis here @ 119.99 Euro.
The Hummer Zero 3.0 includes a front I/O panel with USB 3.0 (x 2), USB 2.0 (x 2) and eSATA (x 2) connectors, a 2-channel fan controller, six 5.25-inch and six 3.5/2.5-inch bays, two removable anti-dust filters, four pre-drilled holes (for watercooling tubing) at the rear, a 230 mm fan with white LEDs in front, two 140 mm top fans, and a 140 mm spinner at the back. Those interested can find the chassis here @ 119.99 Euro.
MediaTek Introduces MT7650 Advanced 802.11ac Plus Bluetooth 4.0+HS Combo Chip
MediaTek Inc., a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital multimedia solutions, today announced availability of its MT7650, the world's first and only 802.11ac plus Bluetooth 4.0+HS combo chip designed for mobile consumer platforms. The MediaTek MT7650 combines the latest IEEE 802.11ac technology, Bluetooth 4.0 LE functionality, and the company's unprecedented Wi-Fi/Bluetooth coexistence algorithm onto a single die to support high quality voice, data and video transmissions up to 433 Mbps, while enabling ultra low power Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity with health, fitness and other sensors. Moreover, with the complete 802.11ac system (MAC/Baseband/Radio) integrated, customers adopting the MediaTek MT7650 also benefit from easier implementation, faster time to market and reduced manufacturing costs.
The MediaTek MT7650 is compliant with the new 802.11ac standard and leverages the strengths of MediaTek's industry leading Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth combo chip technologies that are currently shipping in laptops and smartphones. It dramatically improves user experience with 2.8x data rate increase from 150Mbps of single stream 802.11n. This highly integrated chip supports dual band 2.4/5GHz configuration with 80 MHz channel bandwidth, 256-QAM modulation scheme for increased data transfer efficiency, receive beam forming for extended range and capacity, and Space-Time Block Codes (STBC) coding technologies for better wireless coverage. This chip also supports Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi Direct and TDLS for full peer-to-peer functionalities between mobile and home consumer products.
The MediaTek MT7650 is compliant with the new 802.11ac standard and leverages the strengths of MediaTek's industry leading Wi-Fi plus Bluetooth combo chip technologies that are currently shipping in laptops and smartphones. It dramatically improves user experience with 2.8x data rate increase from 150Mbps of single stream 802.11n. This highly integrated chip supports dual band 2.4/5GHz configuration with 80 MHz channel bandwidth, 256-QAM modulation scheme for increased data transfer efficiency, receive beam forming for extended range and capacity, and Space-Time Block Codes (STBC) coding technologies for better wireless coverage. This chip also supports Wi-Fi Display, Wi-Fi Direct and TDLS for full peer-to-peer functionalities between mobile and home consumer products.
Kuroutoshikou Lists New USB 3.0 HDD Cloning Dock
Japanese PC peripherals webstore Kuroutoshikou unveiled a new 2-bay HDD dock, the KURO-DACHI/CLONE/U3. Built in the top-loading "toaster-dock" form-factor, it measures 108 x 62 x 149 mm (LxHxW). The dock takes in two SATA hard drives and solid-state drives in the 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch form-factors. It can connect the two drives to a PC over fast USB 3.0 interface, as USB mass-storage volumes, and can also clone drives 1:1, without needing a PC. Windows 7, Vista, and XP; 32-bit and 64-bit, are supported. Slated for early-April, the dock is priced at 4,000 JPY (US $48.7).
AVADirect Now Offers GTX 675M In Clevo P270WM Gaming Notebook
Today AVADirect, a leading custom computer manufacturer, announced that they are now selling the new Nvidia GTX 675M graphics processing unit. The GTX 675M is based off of the previous 580M graphics processing unit that Nvidia integrated in mobile platforms in the past year. They produced ground-breaking performance benchmarks, and reached a whole new level of capabilities that were not tapped by the graphics community, until now. The GTX 675M promises to breach the mobile performance barrier and leave less to be desired.
Silverstone Intros Grandia GD07B and GD08B HTPC Cases with SSI CEB and E-ATX Support
Silverstone introduced two new capacious HTPC cases under its Grandia series, the GD07B and GD08B. The cases are designed to support large-area motherboards in the SSI CEB and E-ATX form-factors, apart from conventional PC motherboard form-factors such as ATX, μATX, and m-ITX. This also lends the cases ability to hold very long graphics cards (up to 13.6-inch long).
Measuring 440 x 435 x 175 mm (WxDxH), the GD07B weighs 7 kg, and is made of SECC, aluminum, and ABS. It has four exposed 5.25-inch drive bays, five 3.5-inch bays, and two 2.5-inch bays. Its ventilation features include one 120 mm fan (900 RPM @ 18 dBA) and provision for one 120 mm on the side; provision for two 80 mm fans on the rear; and two 120 mm fans (900 RPM @ 18 dBA) at the bottom.
Measuring 440 x 435 x 175 mm (WxDxH), the GD07B weighs 7 kg, and is made of SECC, aluminum, and ABS. It has four exposed 5.25-inch drive bays, five 3.5-inch bays, and two 2.5-inch bays. Its ventilation features include one 120 mm fan (900 RPM @ 18 dBA) and provision for one 120 mm on the side; provision for two 80 mm fans on the rear; and two 120 mm fans (900 RPM @ 18 dBA) at the bottom.
Micron Technology Settles Lawsuit With Oracle
Micron Technology, Inc., announced today that it reached an agreement with Oracle America Inc. to settle a lawsuit filed by Oracle against Micron in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The lawsuit alleged a conspiracy to increase DRAM prices and other violations of federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws based on purported conduct for the period from Aug. 1, 1998, through at least June 15, 2002, and sought joint and several damages, trebled, as well as restitution, disgorgement, attorneys' fees, costs and injunctive relief. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to a settlement and release of all claims and a dismissal with prejudice of the litigation.
The lawsuit alleged a conspiracy to increase DRAM prices and other violations of federal and state antitrust and unfair competition laws based on purported conduct for the period from Aug. 1, 1998, through at least June 15, 2002, and sought joint and several damages, trebled, as well as restitution, disgorgement, attorneys' fees, costs and injunctive relief. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to a settlement and release of all claims and a dismissal with prejudice of the litigation.
FLA Secures Commitment to Limit Work Hours, Protect Pay at Apple's Largest Supplier
After a thorough, independent investigation found significant issues with working conditions at three factories in China operated by Apple's major supplier Foxconn, the Fair Labor Association secured groundbreaking commitments that will reduce working hours to legal limits while protecting pay, improve health and safety conditions, establish a genuine voice for workers, and will monitor on an ongoing basis to verify compliance. The nearly month-long investigation found excessive overtime and problems with overtime compensation; several health and safety risks; and crucial communication gaps that have led to a widespread sense of unsafe working conditions among workers.
"The Fair Labor Association gave Apple's largest supplier the equivalent of a full-body scan through 3,000 staff hours investigating three of its factories and surveying more than 35,000 workers. Apple and its supplier Foxconn have agreed to our prescriptions, and we will verify progress and report publicly," said Auret van Heerden, President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, a coalition of universities, non-profit organizations and businesses committed to improving the health, safety, fair treatment and respect of workers worldwide.
"The Fair Labor Association gave Apple's largest supplier the equivalent of a full-body scan through 3,000 staff hours investigating three of its factories and surveying more than 35,000 workers. Apple and its supplier Foxconn have agreed to our prescriptions, and we will verify progress and report publicly," said Auret van Heerden, President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, a coalition of universities, non-profit organizations and businesses committed to improving the health, safety, fair treatment and respect of workers worldwide.
Thursday, March 29th 2012
Today's Contests
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Motherboards
Multimedia
Clar1tyOne EB110 Earphones Review
Clar1tyOne is a brand new in-ear company. Their only product is a set of in-ears dubbed the EB110 which feature a new driver design which should minimize EMF effects. According to their studies this will significantly improve square-wave performance of the driver. We take them for a spin and see how they fare against the usual suspects.
Black Ops 2: First Details, Possible Release Date
It 'tis the season of rumors and assumptions for this years winter time blockbusters. According to Computer and Video Games, the following information, claiming to reveal the game's release date and a load of multiplayer features, was first posted on the official Black Ops forums in a thread that was later taken down, and its cached version is unavailable. It was then reposted in another thread on Activision's forums, which was also killed off by the publisher, but its cache remains available (via MP1st). None of this information is confirmed, but there's no reason it couldn't be genuine as it all sounds feasible. The list is full of new modes but makes no mention of a new game engine.
AMD Releases the Catalyst Application Profiles 12.3 CAP 1
As the month of March is drawing to a close, AMD has decided to release a fresh batch of Catalyst Application Profiles that should go great with the latest Catalyst release. The 12.3 CAP 1 package weights in 0.5 MB and includes the following profiles:
- FireFall: Resolve corruption when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center on single GPU configurations
- Test Drive Unlimited 2: Improves CrossFire performance
- Ridge Racer Unbounded: Fixes full screen corruption for single GPU configurations
- Stacking: Resolved image quality issues when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center on single GPU configurations
- Dirt 3: Fixes corruption found in particular scenes when CrossFire is enabled
The 12.3 CAP 1 can be downloaded from this page.
- FireFall: Resolve corruption when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center on single GPU configurations
- Test Drive Unlimited 2: Improves CrossFire performance
- Ridge Racer Unbounded: Fixes full screen corruption for single GPU configurations
- Stacking: Resolved image quality issues when enabling Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center on single GPU configurations
- Dirt 3: Fixes corruption found in particular scenes when CrossFire is enabled
The 12.3 CAP 1 can be downloaded from this page.
Sony PlayStation 4 Codenamed "Orbis", Runs AMD x86-64 CPU, Southern Islands GPU
Sony may have codenamed PlayStation 4 "Orbis" (IPA: /ˈor.bis/), according to a Kotaku report. The next-generation game console is slated for "holiday season, 2013." This information was sourced by Kotaku, from a reliable source with a good track-record of accuracy. Orbis is derived from the Latin word for "circle", or "to circle/orbit". The term "Orbis Vita" or "Orbis Vitae" denotes "the circle of life." The specifications of Orbis known so far, include AMD-made x86-64 CPU, and an AMD-made GPU, built on the Southern Islands (Graphics CoreNext) architecture. In all probability, it could be a unified SoC, a highly scalar Fusion chip.
Radeon HD 7970 Price Cuts Not Any Time Soon: Report
A lot of prospective buyers of new generation GPUs were counting on the US $499 launch price of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 to result in reactionary price-cuts in the red camp, particularly with the $549 Radeon HD 7970. NVIDIA's GPU is faster, more efficient, and under normal circumstances, should leave AMD with no other option, but to cut prices of HD 7970 to stay competitive. However, that hasn't happened, and according to a HardwareCanucks report, will not happen any time soon.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 launch wasn't just on paper, there was market-availability on launch-day, although like every other new GPU launch, stocks have been quite limited. Before this launch, AMD and its partners managed to replenish inventories of Radeon HD 7970, making it generally available, while not budging from its ~$549 price. Sources told HardwareCanucks and this situation won't change unless NVIDIA has a more full-fledged lineup of new-generation GPUs against AMD's, or unless the availability of GeForce GTX 680 drastically improves.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 launch wasn't just on paper, there was market-availability on launch-day, although like every other new GPU launch, stocks have been quite limited. Before this launch, AMD and its partners managed to replenish inventories of Radeon HD 7970, making it generally available, while not budging from its ~$549 price. Sources told HardwareCanucks and this situation won't change unless NVIDIA has a more full-fledged lineup of new-generation GPUs against AMD's, or unless the availability of GeForce GTX 680 drastically improves.
Lite-On Introduces the E200 Solid State Drives
Lite-On, renowned as an Optical Storage innovator, has today announced its first solid state drive (SSD) for the UK. The E200 SSD is aimed at small/medium business users, with a design which is easily integrated into existing systems for minimal disruption and with a fast, consistent and reliable performance over time - at an affordable cost.
"With the E200 we aim to challenge the concept that SSDs are an unaffordable luxury for SMB; our aim is that smaller companies will be able to experience the increased speed and performance that a fast SSD provides," says Maarten Souren, Marketing Manager at Lite-On.
"With the E200 we aim to challenge the concept that SSDs are an unaffordable luxury for SMB; our aim is that smaller companies will be able to experience the increased speed and performance that a fast SSD provides," says Maarten Souren, Marketing Manager at Lite-On.
Islamic Development Bank Funds One Laptop Per Child in Cameroon
One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, announced today that the Islamic Development Bank has fully funded the initial distribution of 5,000 XO laptops to primary school children in the West African nation of Cameroon. The project will initially span 51 schools in six regions; planning is underway to extend the deployment across the entire country.
The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral financing institution whose purpose is to foster the economic development and social progress of its 56 member countries - of which Cameroon is one. The Cameroon project represents the first time that the Islamic Development has financed an OLPC deployment.
The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral financing institution whose purpose is to foster the economic development and social progress of its 56 member countries - of which Cameroon is one. The Cameroon project represents the first time that the Islamic Development has financed an OLPC deployment.
Apple CEO Meets Chinese Vice-Premier, Visits Foxconn Foundries
Apple's Tim Cook make his first trip to China as the CEO of the company, where he met with the Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang. The two talked about three important subjects: the ongoing trademark dispute circling "iPad" brand name, strengthening of intellectual property laws in the country, and issues of workers' rights. Cook took away assurances from the high-ranking official, that China is working to strengthen intellectual property rights, and will pay more attention to "caring for workers." Tim Cook also visited foundries belonging to Foxconn, ZhengzhouTechnology Park in the north central province of Hebei, where Apple's products such as the iPhone and iPad are assembled. This facility employs about 120,000 people.
ASUS to Release its Stake in Pegatron
ASUSTek plans to release its holdings in of a 24.5% stake Pegatron Technology, according to a report by Taiwanese business daily Commercial Times. This release is said to occur some time in May, according to the report. ASUS will generate an income of NT$2.8-3.8 billion (US$94.69-128.51 million), or NT$3.7-5 EPS, according to the report. This release will grant Pegatron more autonomy, which holds a sizable share of the notebook contract-manufacturing business, and channel brands such as ASRock.
Updated Dell XPS 15 Laptop Said to Have Slimmer Casing, Ivy Bridge CPU
According to a fresh report, in Q2 Dell will be releasing a new XPS 15 laptop, one that makes use of Intel's 3rd generation Core processors (codename Ivy Bridge), has a chassis just 24.2 mm thick (down from 38 mm of the current XPS 15), and packs a 15.6-inch WLED-backlit Full HD (1920 x 1080) display protected by Gorilla Glass.
The upgraded XPS 15 is said to feature a Core i5-3210M or Core i7-3612M CPU, up to 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB HDD or a 512 GB SSD, a GeForce GT 630M or GT 640M graphics card, a glass trackpad, a 3-in-1 card reader, USB 3.0 connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and both HDMI and mini DisplayPort outputs. The laptop's release date and pricing scheme have yet to leak.
The upgraded XPS 15 is said to feature a Core i5-3210M or Core i7-3612M CPU, up to 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB HDD or a 512 GB SSD, a GeForce GT 630M or GT 640M graphics card, a glass trackpad, a 3-in-1 card reader, USB 3.0 connectivity, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and both HDMI and mini DisplayPort outputs. The laptop's release date and pricing scheme have yet to leak.
OCZ Deneva 2 SSDs to be Deployed Within Fujitsu's Private Cloud Appliances
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that the company's enterprise class Deneva 2 solid state drives will be deployed within the newest NuVola Private Cloud Platform Solution Appliance - SAN Velocity powered by Fujitsu, which also utilizes Assurance Storage's ApplicationSmart software.
The SAN Velocity powered by Fujitsu appliance combines Assurance Storage's ApplicationSmart software with Fujitsu's server hardware, and delivers significant benefits of intelligent, autonomic data cache and tier management used to optimize the performance of I/O intensive applications. Customers using the SAN Velocity appliance gain the benefits of aligning the value of data with the value of OCZ Deneva 2 SSD storage and Assurance Storage's software, to improve performance for a variety of business critical applications such as OLTP, database applications and storage cache management.
The SAN Velocity powered by Fujitsu appliance combines Assurance Storage's ApplicationSmart software with Fujitsu's server hardware, and delivers significant benefits of intelligent, autonomic data cache and tier management used to optimize the performance of I/O intensive applications. Customers using the SAN Velocity appliance gain the benefits of aligning the value of data with the value of OCZ Deneva 2 SSD storage and Assurance Storage's software, to improve performance for a variety of business critical applications such as OLTP, database applications and storage cache management.
BitFenix Shinobi and Colossus Window Cases Get Even Better With Two USB 3.0 Ports
BitFenix is pleased to announce that two of our most popular chassis, Shinobi and Colossus Window, are being upgraded to SuperSpeed USB 3.0. With this new upgrade, users will be able to connect their SuperSpeed devices right out of the box and enjoy enhanced speed and performance.
"Our vision is one of constant improvement," says BitFenix Product Manager David Jarlestedt. "This latest upgrade for our award-winning Shinobi and Colossus Window brings these models to the world of USB 3.0 for added flexibility and performance for BitFenix fans."
"Our vision is one of constant improvement," says BitFenix Product Manager David Jarlestedt. "This latest upgrade for our award-winning Shinobi and Colossus Window brings these models to the world of USB 3.0 for added flexibility and performance for BitFenix fans."
RAIDMAX Announces New Chassis Incorporating Luxurious Car Themes - RAPTOR
RAIDMAX, a computer chassis provider, is pleased to announce a chassis with a sports car theme incorporated in the outer appearance - RAPTOR. Designed for ATX and m-ATX motherboards, the RAPTOR is ideal for PC builders wanting a chassis that is both flexible and eye-catching at a great value.
Striking Outer Appearance
The RAPTOR has several aesthetic designs to make it stand out amongst the crowd. Imitating the back of a sports car, the airfoil design on the top of the RAPTOR sits above the LED illuminated fans. The dark-tinted airfoil not only gives this chassis a sporty appeal, but is also translucent, allowing users to see the LEDs and fans spinning. The fender-like blades on both sides of the front panel add even more to the sports car-like appearance. The RAPTOR is available in two colors: red and black as well as blue and black.
Striking Outer Appearance
The RAPTOR has several aesthetic designs to make it stand out amongst the crowd. Imitating the back of a sports car, the airfoil design on the top of the RAPTOR sits above the LED illuminated fans. The dark-tinted airfoil not only gives this chassis a sporty appeal, but is also translucent, allowing users to see the LEDs and fans spinning. The fender-like blades on both sides of the front panel add even more to the sports car-like appearance. The RAPTOR is available in two colors: red and black as well as blue and black.
Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom Launched
As the leading brand in enthusiastic graphics market, Gainward, again, introduces its Phantom series for GeForce GTX 680 - Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom. The Gainward GTX 680 Phantom, continue the elegant design of the first generation, delivers much better performance than the previous design. The most important is the Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom comes with factory over-clocked setting - 1150MHz boost clock (1084MHz base clock) and 3150MHz (DDR6300) memory clock.
It is really a "silent monster", the fastest GTX 680 in the market and extreme cool under gaming environment. Under 3D benchmark, it is 12.6% higher than reference board (3DMark 2011 Xscore). While in gameplay, it is around 10% higher. To compare with the competing GPU in red camp, it performs 27.7% higher in 3DMark 2011 Xscore and exceeds amazingly 32% in hot titles gaming performance.
It is really a "silent monster", the fastest GTX 680 in the market and extreme cool under gaming environment. Under 3D benchmark, it is 12.6% higher than reference board (3DMark 2011 Xscore). While in gameplay, it is around 10% higher. To compare with the competing GPU in red camp, it performs 27.7% higher in 3DMark 2011 Xscore and exceeds amazingly 32% in hot titles gaming performance.
Second Wave of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 600 Products Due For May
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 literally kicked the door open as it made its entry. We're learning of NVIDIA's plans to milk the GK104 chip by carving out two more SKUs: the GeForce GTX 670 Ti, and GTX 670. These two SKUs will let NVIDIA capture price points deep within the $400-499 and $300-399 ranges, to compete with AMD's Radeon HD 7950 and Radeon HD 7870. These two SKUs will be released in May. Around the May-June time-range, NVIDIA could also introduce the GTX 690, which we're hearing is a dual-GK104 graphics card that's designed to compete with Radeon HD 7990, which launches in April.
Also in May, NVIDIA will launch desktop discrete graphics card SKUs based on the GK107 chip, which makes up its GeForce GT 650M/640M mobile graphics SKUs. Following this, some time in Summer, NVIDIA will release a new chip, the GK106, which will make up the GeForce GTX 660, which will be out to compete with Radeon HD 7850, and HD 7700 series. It looks like NVIDIA is waiting on current inventories of GF114-based SKUs to get digested, including those of the recently-launched GeForce GTX 560 SE, and is hence in no hurry to launch a new GPU to capture the sub-$250 price-points. Besides the dual-GPU Radeon HD 7990, there's nothing new in the works, at the red camp that we know of.
Also in May, NVIDIA will launch desktop discrete graphics card SKUs based on the GK107 chip, which makes up its GeForce GT 650M/640M mobile graphics SKUs. Following this, some time in Summer, NVIDIA will release a new chip, the GK106, which will make up the GeForce GTX 660, which will be out to compete with Radeon HD 7850, and HD 7700 series. It looks like NVIDIA is waiting on current inventories of GF114-based SKUs to get digested, including those of the recently-launched GeForce GTX 560 SE, and is hence in no hurry to launch a new GPU to capture the sub-$250 price-points. Besides the dual-GPU Radeon HD 7990, there's nothing new in the works, at the red camp that we know of.
Palit Makes GeForce GTX 680 JetStream Official
Palit Microsystems Ltd, the leading graphics card manufacturer, announced a brand new Jetstream series at the GeForce GTX 680 The Palit Jetstream series of graphics cards features innovative cooling and an optimized product design to deliver gamers the ultimate gaming experience. As the latest and most powerful GPU in the series, the Palit Jetstream GeForce GTX 680 Jetstream guarantees gamers cutting-edge performance and an explosive new gaming experience.
The factory overclocked Palit GeForce GTX 680 Jetstream is at boost clock 1150 MHz that is +92 MHz than the standard speed and 2GB GDDR5 memory clock is set at 6300 MHz (+292 MHz higher). Equipped with the Jetstream cooler and optimized product design, Palit GeForce GTX680 Jetstream performs 12.5% higher at 3DMark11 Xscore and average 10% higher among all hot gaming titles.
The factory overclocked Palit GeForce GTX 680 Jetstream is at boost clock 1150 MHz that is +92 MHz than the standard speed and 2GB GDDR5 memory clock is set at 6300 MHz (+292 MHz higher). Equipped with the Jetstream cooler and optimized product design, Palit GeForce GTX680 Jetstream performs 12.5% higher at 3DMark11 Xscore and average 10% higher among all hot gaming titles.
FBI and Other US Government Agencies License Unreal Engine
US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and other US government agencies, licensed the Unreal Engine from Epic. Unreal is one of the most popular cross-platform game engines in the industry, and United States, through various agencies will use the engines in "serious games", games designed to simulate situations such as crime scenes, encounters, casualty treatment, for the agents to learn to deal with. While the full financial details of these deals were not disclosed, the deal with FBI Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) earned Epic around US $10 million.
Huntkey Expanding Their Mobile Power Bank Offers With 3 New Models
Huntkey Enterprise Group, a global professional power supply provider, is broadly expanding their line-up of portable Power Banks to charge USB port powered devices such as mobile phones, media players, GPS, cameras and even modern tablet PCs. With people traveling around a lot, commuting, being on the move or just at the beach, they tend to schlep along quite a few digital devices that they wish to be powered all the way until they get to the next power outlet in the wall. Portable Power Banks meet exactly those needs of modern digital nomads. A Power Bank is basically a battery the size of a mobile phone but allows you to recharge your digital devices several times with one load. As an indicator you refer to the mAh (mili-Ampere per hour) rating, defining how much power can be stored in the respective Power Bank.
Razer Will Make a Naga MMO Variant for Lefties, If 10,000 People "Like" the Idea
Being a leftie can be hard if you're a gamer, and especially an MMO gamer, since all the good MMO mice are optimized for the rightie mainstream. Razer is making an attempt to address this, by offering to work on a Razer Naga MMO mouse variant, provided there's sufficient public interest in it (to make it a worthwhile venture for Razer, which is understandable). It put up a poster on its Facebook page, which called for lefties to "Like" the idea. If at least 10,000 Facebook members Like it, Razer will go ahead with it. Not all lefties craving a good MMO mouse might be aware of this campaign, so we in the press are doing our bit. It would be sweet if righties "lend a hand", too. Find the poster here, like it.
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 Extreme Edition Pictured
ZOTAC is flexing its engineering muscle. First, it was talk of a 2 GHz GeForce GTX 680 by one of its senior executives, and now this, ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 Extreme Edition. Pictured below, the card's design is reminiscent of the crazy engineering endeavors ZOTAC China undertakes, to come up with some extremely powerful designs, which seldom get out of the APAC region (to EMEAI and NA regions).
ZOTAC took a top-tier binned GK104 GPU, 2 GB of high-grade Hynix GDDR5 memory chips, and paired them with a 12-phase VRM power supply. Apart from bleeding-edge International Rectifier GaNpowIR driver-MOSFETs, the VRM uses server-grade tantalum capacitors, and FPCAP multi-phase capacitors. To drive it all, ZOTAC used CHiL CHL8318 VRM controller.
ZOTAC took a top-tier binned GK104 GPU, 2 GB of high-grade Hynix GDDR5 memory chips, and paired them with a 12-phase VRM power supply. Apart from bleeding-edge International Rectifier GaNpowIR driver-MOSFETs, the VRM uses server-grade tantalum capacitors, and FPCAP multi-phase capacitors. To drive it all, ZOTAC used CHiL CHL8318 VRM controller.
Palit GeForce GTX 680 JetStream Pictured
Palit unveiled a premium custom-design GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, called "JetStream". TweakTown got to review the card (find it at the source). The card features Palit's in-house designs for both the cooler and the PCB. The cooler consists of a sporty-looking shroud that holds three PWM-controlled fans, two 80 mm (sides) and one 90 mm (center); which ventilate a large aluminum fin heatsink that spans the entire length of the card. This heatsink relies on four heat pipes that make direct contact with the GPU, to draw heat. While the main heatsink only cools the GPU actively, a secondary base-plate heatsink cools the memory and VRM. The fans in the cooler are LED-lit.
Moving on to the PCB, Palit employed a 6-phase VRM, which makes use of high-grade chokes and DrMOS (driver-MOSFET) components, to power the card. The card draws power from 6+8 pin PCIe power connectors. The card is also factory-overclocked, with the Core (base) clock pushed up to 1085 MHz (from 1006 MHz reference); and Core (boost) upped to 1150 MHz (from 1058 MHz). The memory, on the other hand, has been stepped up to 1575 MHz (6.30 GHz GDDR5 effective), up from 1502 MHz (6.00 GHz GDDR5 effective) reference. It doesn't end there, Palit assures 10% overclocking performance, 9 dB quieter operation (than reference design), and 8°C lower temperatures. The card is expected to cost US $20-30 higher than NVIDIA reference design (so, around $530).
Moving on to the PCB, Palit employed a 6-phase VRM, which makes use of high-grade chokes and DrMOS (driver-MOSFET) components, to power the card. The card draws power from 6+8 pin PCIe power connectors. The card is also factory-overclocked, with the Core (base) clock pushed up to 1085 MHz (from 1006 MHz reference); and Core (boost) upped to 1150 MHz (from 1058 MHz). The memory, on the other hand, has been stepped up to 1575 MHz (6.30 GHz GDDR5 effective), up from 1502 MHz (6.00 GHz GDDR5 effective) reference. It doesn't end there, Palit assures 10% overclocking performance, 9 dB quieter operation (than reference design), and 8°C lower temperatures. The card is expected to cost US $20-30 higher than NVIDIA reference design (so, around $530).
Apple, Sony Sued for Patent Infringement Over iTunes, Playstation Network Systems
The inventor of technology used in data vending systems such as the iTunes and Playstation Network systems has sued Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Inc. and Foster City, Calif.-based Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC for patent infringement.
Inventor Benjamin Grobler is represented by intellectual property attorneys Christopher Banys and Richard C. Lin from the Palo Alto, Calif., office of The Lanier Law Firm. The lawsuits filed on March 27, 2012, allege that Apple and Sony are infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,799,084.
Inventor Benjamin Grobler is represented by intellectual property attorneys Christopher Banys and Richard C. Lin from the Palo Alto, Calif., office of The Lanier Law Firm. The lawsuits filed on March 27, 2012, allege that Apple and Sony are infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,799,084.
Inaugural Intel Marketing Innovation Awards Announced
Recognizing standout marketing campaigns within the Intel Inside and Intel Brand Advantage programs, Intel Corporation feted a handful of companies with the first Intel Marketing Innovation Awards.
Fujitsu took the Grand Prix for its LIFEBOOK4Life campaign, being the best all-around entry among the various award categories. Fujitsu's campaign sought to increase brand relevance and drive sales for LIFEBOOK notebooks based on the second-generation Intel Core vPro processor family. The campaign targeted IT decision-makers in SMB, enterprise and the channel in 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. The campaign resulted in a 65 percent sales increase by integrating innovative social media activities via LinkedIn, Facebook, word-of-mouth, augmented reality and viral videos with standard advertising.
Fujitsu took the Grand Prix for its LIFEBOOK4Life campaign, being the best all-around entry among the various award categories. Fujitsu's campaign sought to increase brand relevance and drive sales for LIFEBOOK notebooks based on the second-generation Intel Core vPro processor family. The campaign targeted IT decision-makers in SMB, enterprise and the channel in 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. The campaign resulted in a 65 percent sales increase by integrating innovative social media activities via LinkedIn, Facebook, word-of-mouth, augmented reality and viral videos with standard advertising.
Wednesday, March 28th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Game Controllers
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
Kingwin Absolute Platinum 550 W Review
Kingwin's most recent Platinum PSU comes at only $99. Making it the most affordable choice out there if you want to power a typical system the green way, with little power wasted in the PSU. Thanks to a great component design we see record low power consumption, even at just 40W, which is important for systems that are lightly loaded all day.
AMD Rolls Out Catalyst 12.3 Driver
AMD has now made available this month's WHQL-certified set of Catalyst graphics drivers. The Catalyst 12.3 comes with support for the 28 nm-flavored Radeon HD 7900, HD 7800 and HD 7700 Series, as well as for the Radeon HD 6000, HD 5000, HD 4000, HD 3000 and HD 2000 models.
Download: Windows 7/Vista (32-bit) | Windows 7/Vista (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)
Download: Windows 7/Vista (32-bit) | Windows 7/Vista (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)
KINGMAX Launches the Latest Ultra-speed 64GB SDXC ProMax series
KINGMAX, the world's leading memory manufacturer, has recently launched its ultra speed SDXC Pro/SDXC ProMax memory cards. These two memory cards adhere to the latest SD 3.0 standard and boast a read speed up to 55 MB/s and a write speed up to 30 MB/s; a technological breakthrough from the conventional Class 10 specification. The 64 GB SDXC ProMax series offer enhanced reliability and faster transferring speed. Such specification ensures high quality images during high-speed continuous shooting and is the most suitable memory card for HD still images, high-speed motion as well as Full HD 1080P videos.
Philips Announces the 241P4LRY 'ErgoSensor' Monitor
Philips has now introduced the 24-inch Brilliance 241P4LRY, its very first monitor to feature the ErgoSensor technology which not only saves power but also helps the user have a healthier experience. To cut power draw (by up to 80%), the ErgoSensor will turn off the monitor when no one is in front of it, while to ensure better ergonomics it will advise the user on neck posture, optimal viewing distance and will suggest breaks at regular intervals.
The 241P4LRY features WLED backlighting, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5 ms response time, 250 cd/m2 maximum brightness, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (20,000,000:1 SmartContrast), D-Sub, DVI and DisplayPort connectivity, four USB 2.0 ports, two 1.5 W speakers, and a stand enabling height, swivel, tilt and rotation adjustment.
Philips claims the 241P4LRY will hit stores early next month, bearing a price tag of 339 Euro.
The 241P4LRY features WLED backlighting, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5 ms response time, 250 cd/m2 maximum brightness, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 (20,000,000:1 SmartContrast), D-Sub, DVI and DisplayPort connectivity, four USB 2.0 ports, two 1.5 W speakers, and a stand enabling height, swivel, tilt and rotation adjustment.
Philips claims the 241P4LRY will hit stores early next month, bearing a price tag of 339 Euro.
Scythe Grand Kama Cross CPU Cooler Goes Rev. B
Japanese cooling expert Scythe announcing a new revision of the Top-Flow CPU cooler Grand Kama Cross. New Rev. B of the x-shaped cooler comes with reliable quality and performance for the same price as prior version. Main improvement is the compatibility to the new enthusiast socket LGA2011 from Intel. Furthermore Socket compatibility list includes latest Intel socket LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA775, LGA1366 as well as AMD socket 754, 939, 940, AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+ and FM1.
Well-proven Top-Flow design of grand Kama Cross Rev. B utilizes the created airflow to additionally cool surrounding components on the motherboard. Curved aluminum fin structure deflects the airflow, which has a positive influence on temperatures of Voltage regulator modules, chipset and RAM. Efficient airflow is achieved by the pre-assembled 140 mm axial fan. Scythe Slip Stream 140 PWM fan comes with PWN support and allows stepless fan speed adjustments from 500 to 1.300 RPM.
Well-proven Top-Flow design of grand Kama Cross Rev. B utilizes the created airflow to additionally cool surrounding components on the motherboard. Curved aluminum fin structure deflects the airflow, which has a positive influence on temperatures of Voltage regulator modules, chipset and RAM. Efficient airflow is achieved by the pre-assembled 140 mm axial fan. Scythe Slip Stream 140 PWM fan comes with PWN support and allows stepless fan speed adjustments from 500 to 1.300 RPM.
ASUS Unveils the U82U AMD-Powered Ultra-Thin Laptop
While it's certainly dedicated to the ultrabook 'cause', ASUS is not ignoring AMD's own slim mobile PC offering and is in fact prepping a new ultra thin machine powered by the E-450 APU (dual Bobcat cores @ 1.65 GHz, Radeon HD 6320 graphics).
Named U82U, ASUS' new ultra thin has a 14-inch display, 2 GB of RAM (up to 8 GB are supported), a 500 GB hard drive, two USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI output, and an 8-cell battery. ASUS has yet to reveal the machine's release date or price tag.
Named U82U, ASUS' new ultra thin has a 14-inch display, 2 GB of RAM (up to 8 GB are supported), a 500 GB hard drive, two USB 3.0 ports, a HDMI output, and an 8-cell battery. ASUS has yet to reveal the machine's release date or price tag.
Buffalo Intros RMSD-C6SA Class6 MicroSDHC Cards
Buffalo Japan introduced the RMSD-C6SA series of Class6 microSDHC cards. Pictured below, the cards are available in capacities of 4 GB (RMSD-4GC6SA), 8 GB (RMSD-8GC6SA), 16 GB (16GC6SA RMSD), and 32 GB (RMSD-32GC6SA). As Class6 devices, transfer rates of at least 6 MB/s are guaranteed. The packages include adapters that convert these cards into standard-size SDHC cards. Compatibility with devices such as the Nintendo Wii, 3DS, DSi, and DSii, is guaranteed. The 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB variants are priced at 2,880 JPY (US $34.6), 3,880 JPY (US $46.7), 8,880 JPY (US $107), and 17,880 JPY (US $215), respectively.
Nearly 1 Billion Smart Connected Devices Shipped in 2011, According to IDC
The universe of smart connected devices, including PCs, media tablets, and smartphones, saw shipments of more than 916 million units and revenues surpassing $489 billion dollars in 2011, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). These numbers reflect the combined total from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, Mobile Phone Tracker, and Media Tablet Tracker.
"Whether it's consumers looking for a phone that can tap into several robust 'app' ecosystems, businesses looking at deploying tablet devices into their environments, or educational institutions working to update their school's computer labs, smart, connected, compute-capable devices are playing an increasingly important role in nearly every individual's life," said Bob O'Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays at IDC.
"Whether it's consumers looking for a phone that can tap into several robust 'app' ecosystems, businesses looking at deploying tablet devices into their environments, or educational institutions working to update their school's computer labs, smart, connected, compute-capable devices are playing an increasingly important role in nearly every individual's life," said Bob O'Donnell, vice president, Clients and Displays at IDC.
PNY Announces Addition of 2133 MHz and 1866 MHz PC Memory to XLR8 Lineup
PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") today announced the expansion of their XLR8 (ac·cel·er·ate) PC Memory to include 2133MHz and 1866MHz in 16GB and 8GB kits. The 2133MHz DDR3 CAS 10 desktop memory kit is available in 8GB (2 x 4GB) dual channel and 16GB (4 x 4GB) quad channel versions with 9-12-11-27 timings. PNY's fastest memory kits to date meld together the perfect combination of high-speed, low-latency, and racy aesthetics. They feature custom red aluminum heat spreaders designed with fins for more efficient heat dissipation and optimum thermal management. Hardware enthusiasts and gamers will appreciate the new performance, as well as look and feel of PNY's latest memory modules, and feel secure with the PNY Lifetime Warranty.
inXtron Akitio MyCloud Pro NAS Pictured
inXtron showed off its newest small-business NAS server at Intel Storage Forum, the Akitio MyCloud Pro. As the venue might suggest, this 2-bay desktop NAS is powered by Intel x86 architecture. inXtron even put is logic board for display, which revealed it to be driven by an Intel Atom D425 single-core (HTT-enabled) processor, with its usual NM10 chipset. The board also revealed several interesting components, such as two 2-port USB 3.0 controllers, giving out two ports on the rear panel and two for the front-panel, via a standard header.
The primary storage controller is the Intel NM10 chipset itself, the NAS uses a USB DOM (disk-on-module) it boots from, to hold its operating system. The primary network interface is a 1 GbE, driven by a Realtek-made PHY. Interestingly, the board has a vacant mini-PCIe slot, on which WLAN cards can be installed. The MyCloud Pro supports two SATA 3 Gb/s hard drives in the 3.5" form-factor. It supports all modern NAS features, such as UPnP-AV, NFS, FTP, Samba, but DLNA wasn't mentioned. The OS also includes a Bit-torrent client, and Apple iTunes-compatible music server. inXtron has apps for Android and iOS smartphones, with which you can use the phone to control the NAS. inXtron is targeting a sweet price-point under US $200, with the Akitio MyCloud Pro NAS.
The primary storage controller is the Intel NM10 chipset itself, the NAS uses a USB DOM (disk-on-module) it boots from, to hold its operating system. The primary network interface is a 1 GbE, driven by a Realtek-made PHY. Interestingly, the board has a vacant mini-PCIe slot, on which WLAN cards can be installed. The MyCloud Pro supports two SATA 3 Gb/s hard drives in the 3.5" form-factor. It supports all modern NAS features, such as UPnP-AV, NFS, FTP, Samba, but DLNA wasn't mentioned. The OS also includes a Bit-torrent client, and Apple iTunes-compatible music server. inXtron has apps for Android and iOS smartphones, with which you can use the phone to control the NAS. inXtron is targeting a sweet price-point under US $200, with the Akitio MyCloud Pro NAS.
EVGA Dual-Fan Signature 2 GeForce GTX 680 Cooling Solution Pictured
EVGA kicked off its GeForce GTX 680 lineup with a bang. On its launch, EVGA showed off its first "Signature" cooling solution. That particular cooler is similar in design to NVIDIA's cooling solution (lateral-flow through aluminum channels). We're getting to know of yet another of EVGA's non-reference cooler designs for the GeForce GTX 680, the dual-fan Signature 2 cooler. Pictured below (still in its CGI form), the cooler uses two 80 mm fans that guide air through a complex heatsink below. The fans will spin at lower speeds to achieve similar/higher air-flow than the lateral-blower featured on other designs, and hence could end up being quieter. This cooler features on EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SuperClocked Signature 2.
Wintel Tablets to Start at $599, Enjoy Higher Adoption Than WoA Tablets
Wintel (slang for Windows+Intel architecture) tablets, which launch along with Microsoft's latest Windows 8 operating system, which grab a greater market-share than WoA (Windows on ARM) tablets by the end of 2012, DigiTimes research predicts. This, despite the fact that the x86 and ARM versions of the operating system will be released simultaneously. PC majors such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, ASUStek and Toshiba, have all pledged 1-3 models of Wintel tablets by the end of 2012. Although still an emerging market-segment, tablets will see a clash between x86 and ARM architectures, as they are wooing for the same exact class of devices for the first time in computing history. Intel has made a lot of progress in miniaturizing the Atom processor, while led by the likes of Qualcomm and NVIDIA, ARM processors are getting stronger.
MAINGEAR Titan 17 Notebook Added GeForce GTX 675M and 3D Display Option
MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, workstations and media centers has updated their high performance 17" desktop replacement, the Titan 17, with the all new GeForce GTX 675M, and built-in 3D option powered by Nvidia 3D Vision 2.
MAINGEAR's Titan 17 is the most powerful desktop replacement with the latest technology available on the market. The Titan 17 is powered by Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition desktop processor clocking in at up to 3.90 GHz, and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M in SLI that offers the ultimate graphics for any task. The GTX 675M is 60% faster than the previous 660M GPU and can also be configured in SLI offering up to twice the performance scaling on today's hottest games and entertainment applications.
MAINGEAR's Titan 17 is the most powerful desktop replacement with the latest technology available on the market. The Titan 17 is powered by Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition desktop processor clocking in at up to 3.90 GHz, and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M in SLI that offers the ultimate graphics for any task. The GTX 675M is 60% faster than the previous 660M GPU and can also be configured in SLI offering up to twice the performance scaling on today's hottest games and entertainment applications.
I-O Data Outs Value 8 GB DDR3 Memory Module
I-O Data of Japan introduced a new value 8 GB DDR3 memory module (model: DY1333-8G). The module runs at JEDEC-specified speeds of DDR3-1333 MHz, with 9-9-9-24/CR-1T timings, with 1.5V module voltage. The module is sold standalone, and in 16 GB dual-channel kits (model: 8GX2 DY1333). It features standard 240pin UDIMM dimensions, without any heat-spreaders. The single-module kit is priced at 18,060 JPY (US $217.2), while the dual-channel kit goes for 35,280 JPY (US $424.4).
Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom Pictured
After launching its customary reference design GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, Gainward is working on its signature non-reference design, the Phantom. Gainward introduced this design with higher-end GeForce GTX 500 series models. Its concept revolves around an inverted fan-heatsink design, in which the fans are concealed by the aluminum fin array. Instead of blowing fresh air through the aluminum fins, it draws hot air from it, and quickly channels it away from the card. Heat is fed to the aluminum fins, by five 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes. The inverted fan-heatsink design gives the Phantom a nice aesthetic touch. Gainward is still applying finishing touches to its design.
OCZ Outs Arowana Firmware Update for Indilinx Barefoot SSDs
OCZ released the Arowana Flash Translation Layer (FTL) firmware update for SSDs running Indilinx Barefoot controllers, and 34 nm NAND flash. The update was announced in May, 2011, and released for the OCZ Vertex Plus family, but it's only now that users of the original Barefoot-controlled drives get a firmware to update their drives with. The new 3.55 firmware significantly improves sequential and random-seek performance. The screenshots below (in order) are of a Barefoot-driven OCZ Vertex drive with the old firmware (IDE), new firmware (IDE), and new fimware (AHCI). To learn more about the update, and how to go about do it to your drive, visit this page. Like most other SSD firmware updates, the process erases everything on your drive, so be sure to make a backup.
Eurocom Unleashes the Panther 4.0
Eurocom has unleashed the beast, the Panther 4.0 is here! The most powerful mobile computer ever conceived. It is powered by the Intel X79 Sandy Bridge-E Core Logic and Core i7 3960X Processor Extreme; RAID 0/1/5/10, with NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFireX support. The Eurocom production team has recently finished the EUROCOM Panther 4.0 teaser video, with information about the specs, innovations and technologies, along with a look inside the beast.
Sony Corporation Announced the Establishment of a New Management Structure
Led by President and CEO Kazuo Hirai, these changes are intended to drive revitalization and growth across Sony's core electronics businesses, and deliver compelling user experiences through convergence of the unique assets in place throughout the Sony Group.
With Mr. Hirai at the center of a management team that will work together with the heads of each business group and platform, this new business structure is intended to establish rapid and optimized decision making processes as "One Sony," that significantly reinforce and accelerate Sony's overall business management. The changes are effective April 1, 2012.
With Mr. Hirai at the center of a management team that will work together with the heads of each business group and platform, this new business structure is intended to establish rapid and optimized decision making processes as "One Sony," that significantly reinforce and accelerate Sony's overall business management. The changes are effective April 1, 2012.
AMD Embedded G-Series APU Platform Adds Real-Time Operating System Support
AMD today announced a collaboration with Green Hills Software, the largest independent vendor of embedded software, that brings its industry-leading INTEGRITY real-time operating system (RTOS) to the AMD Embedded G-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) platform. The combination of INTEGRITY RTOS with the AMD Embedded G-Series APU creates a high performance, reliable and secure embedded computing solution or use across a range of applications including industrial control systems, consumer, networking, military/aerospace and medical.
The INTEGRITY RTOS offers support for multi-core x86 CPUs in the AMD Embedded G-Series APU with its v10.0.2 SMP release. The AMD Embedded G-Series APU offers an advanced, low-power, multi-core x86 CPU and a discrete-class DirectX 11-capable GPU on a single chip. This specific family of APUs was created expressly for the requirements of embedded systems, many of which require the precise, deterministic timing of an RTOS.
The INTEGRITY RTOS offers support for multi-core x86 CPUs in the AMD Embedded G-Series APU with its v10.0.2 SMP release. The AMD Embedded G-Series APU offers an advanced, low-power, multi-core x86 CPU and a discrete-class DirectX 11-capable GPU on a single chip. This specific family of APUs was created expressly for the requirements of embedded systems, many of which require the precise, deterministic timing of an RTOS.
FinalWire AIDA64 v2.30 Released
FinalWire today released the latest version of AIDA64, version 2.30. This release is set around enhancing the desktop gadget, improving the UPS and smart-battery monitoring capabilities, and adding support for newly-released hardware, such as the latest GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA; and the latest Intel SSDs. AIDA64 is proprietary software, and is available through FinalWire's online store.
DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 2.30 EXE (installer), ZIP Package
The condensed change-log follows.
The condensed change-log follows.
Tuesday, March 27th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Keyboards
Motherboards
Processors
PSUs
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Superclocked Made Official
Only teased last week, EVGA's factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 680s are becoming a reality, with the first one to get make it out being the GTX 680 SuperClocked. The SC model is based around NVIDIA's reference design but has a base clock of 1058 MHz (1006 MHz stock), a boost clock of 1113 MHz (1058 MHz), and a memory frequency of 6208 MHz (6008 MHz).
The GeForce GTX 680 SC also packs 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus interface, 3D Vision Surround and SLI support, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.
The 'vanilla' GTX 680 SuperClocked costs $519.99 while its backplate-equipped sibling goes for $529.99. Both should become available very, very soon.
The GeForce GTX 680 SC also packs 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus interface, 3D Vision Surround and SLI support, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.
The 'vanilla' GTX 680 SuperClocked costs $519.99 while its backplate-equipped sibling goes for $529.99. Both should become available very, very soon.
PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II Detailed Some More
In anticipation of the official launch, PowerColor has served up a fresh batch of pictures depicting its Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II Edition graphics card. Besides providing fresh photos, PowerColor has also confirmed that this new Tahiti-powered card will have its GPU set to 1100 MHz (up from the stock 925 MHz) and the 3 GB of on-board GDDR5 memory clocked at 5700 MHz (5500 MHz stock).
In addition to higher clocks, the HD7970 Vortex II features a dual-slot cooler with two fans (allowing for a little airflow adjustment) and three heatpipes, a backplate to speed up heat dissipation, 2048 Stream Processors, a 384-bit memory interface, a PCI Express 3.0 x16 bus interface, CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, and five display outputs (DVI x 2, HDMI x 1, mini DisplayPort x 2).
The HD7970 Vortex II Edition is expected to become available next month. Its price tag is still unknown.
In addition to higher clocks, the HD7970 Vortex II features a dual-slot cooler with two fans (allowing for a little airflow adjustment) and three heatpipes, a backplate to speed up heat dissipation, 2048 Stream Processors, a 384-bit memory interface, a PCI Express 3.0 x16 bus interface, CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, and five display outputs (DVI x 2, HDMI x 1, mini DisplayPort x 2).
The HD7970 Vortex II Edition is expected to become available next month. Its price tag is still unknown.
Thecus Introduces the W Series NAS Servers
Thecus has received hundreds of awards during its history for its innovative and reliable hardware, helping countless people all over the world to share our new digital-era treasure: data. Thecus believes in diversity. That's why they are releasing a new Windows Storage Server-powered NAS product line to help you share your files using Windows Storage Server 2008 R2: the W Series. Three models will be available: 8-bay W8900, 12-bay W12000 and 16-bay W16000.
"The release of the W Series is the start of a very fruitful relationship with Microsoft that will help us achieve our main goal: to satisfy more and more Thecus users with high-quality network appliances," says Florence Shih, General Manager of Thecus Technology.
"The release of the W Series is the start of a very fruitful relationship with Microsoft that will help us achieve our main goal: to satisfy more and more Thecus users with high-quality network appliances," says Florence Shih, General Manager of Thecus Technology.
EVE Online Players Can Use In-Game Currency to Pay For Graphics Cards
Joystiq is reporting that CCP Games, the developer behind EVE Online, has struck a deal with NVIDIA for players to use in-game currency -- PLEX -- to purchase GeForce 560 GTX graphics cards, which run almost $200 at retail. That's fake money for real items, folks. NVIDIA and CCP will start by selling 100 graphics cards (limit one per EVE account) to test the demand. After CCP announced its NVIDIA deal, the in-game price of PLEX jumped "significantly," CCP said. PLEX (Pilot License Extension) is an in-game currency that can be used to pay for 30-day EVE subscriptions. PLEX can be purchased with ISK, EVE's main currency that can be earned throughout the game, meaning some dedicated players end up with a free subscription each month. Now they may end up with a "free" graphics card as well.
First Single-Slot, Air-Cooled GeForce GTX 680 Taking Shape
Single-slot advocates [in Asia, and select markets], your prayers are answered. Galaxy is working on a single-slot, air-cooled GeForce GTX 680. With a name that translates to "GeForce GTX 680 Warriors' Edition", Galaxy's card takes advantage of the fact that since very compact GK104 PCBs can be made, if dual-slot coolers are used, and since the TDP of the chip is a manageable 195W, the equation can be turned around to make long single-slot graphics cards.
Pictured below is the graphics card, with its [apparently] long cooler that protrudes beyond the length of the PCB. The cooler follows the same design principle at work in coolers of GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 4850, that of a compact lateral-flow fan guiding air through a dense network of copper channels, where heat is dissipated to the air. These copper channels draw heat from a copper plate (probably vapor-chamber, in Galaxy's case), which makes contact with all hot components on the PCB, including the GPU, memory chips, and VRM. Hot air is guided out, from the top of the card. There is no further information about this card.
Pictured below is the graphics card, with its [apparently] long cooler that protrudes beyond the length of the PCB. The cooler follows the same design principle at work in coolers of GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 4850, that of a compact lateral-flow fan guiding air through a dense network of copper channels, where heat is dissipated to the air. These copper channels draw heat from a copper plate (probably vapor-chamber, in Galaxy's case), which makes contact with all hot components on the PCB, including the GPU, memory chips, and VRM. Hot air is guided out, from the top of the card. There is no further information about this card.
MSI B75MA-P45 Motherboard Detailed
MSI released details about its upcoming value socket LGA1155 motherboard, the B75MA-P45. MSI finds the B75 PCH a worthy option over the current-generation H61 PCH, and could hence price its B75-based motherboards competitively, to capture the entry-level LGA1155 market. The B75MA-P45 comes with out of the box support for 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" Core processors, apart from current-generation "Sandy Bridge" ones. The B75MA-P45 packs a simple 5-phase VRM to power the LGA1155 CPU. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory.
Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. The legacy PCI logic is reintegrated with the PCH, and so the board doesn't use any bridge chips, further, since USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s are integrated with the PCH, MSI didn't add third-party controllers handling the two. SATA connectivity includes one SATA 6 Gb/s, and five SATA 3 Gb/s. The PCH gives out four USB 3.0 ports, two of which are found on the rear panel, two via internal header. Display connectivity includes DVI and D-Sub. 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, and legacy PS/2 connectors complete the package. The board is driven by UEFI firmware (5 MB ME 8.0), with a graphical setup program. The B75MA-P45 is said to capture a price-point under US $100.
Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. The legacy PCI logic is reintegrated with the PCH, and so the board doesn't use any bridge chips, further, since USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s are integrated with the PCH, MSI didn't add third-party controllers handling the two. SATA connectivity includes one SATA 6 Gb/s, and five SATA 3 Gb/s. The PCH gives out four USB 3.0 ports, two of which are found on the rear panel, two via internal header. Display connectivity includes DVI and D-Sub. 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, and legacy PS/2 connectors complete the package. The board is driven by UEFI firmware (5 MB ME 8.0), with a graphical setup program. The B75MA-P45 is said to capture a price-point under US $100.
NZXT Announces the Phantom 410 Special Edition PC Case
NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to introduce new, special edition color options of the widely-acclaimed Phantom 410. Early this year, NZXT polled the facebook community to see what color combinations were most demanded by gamers and enthusiasts, selected the top choices and made them a reality. Phantom 410 is now available in Black with Orange Trim, Black with White Trim, White with Blue Trim, and a surprise Gunmetal black edition with a gunmetal interior and exterior matte finish.
Phantom 410 builds off of the legendary qualities of the award-winning case with even more value for every dollar spent. Effective airflow is paramount with a cooling capability of up to seven fans (2x 120 mm and 1x 140 mm LED fan included), support for 240 mm dual radiator water cooling solution, and an integrated 30W fan controller for customizing your system for silence or performance.
Phantom 410 builds off of the legendary qualities of the award-winning case with even more value for every dollar spent. Effective airflow is paramount with a cooling capability of up to seven fans (2x 120 mm and 1x 140 mm LED fan included), support for 240 mm dual radiator water cooling solution, and an integrated 30W fan controller for customizing your system for silence or performance.
NVIDIA Helps Power Bid for 2015 Moon Mission -- and $30 Million in Prizes
NVIDIA today announced that NVIDIA Tesla GPUs are being used by a team of German scientists participating in a global competition to land a robotic rover on the moon by 2015.
Developed to foster a new era of lunar exploration, the Google Lunar X PRIZE offers the largest international incentive prize in history. A total of $30 million will be awarded to the first privately funded teams that safely land a rover on the surface of the moon, drive the rover 500 meters over the lunar surface, and transmit detailed video, images and data back to Earth for further study.
Developed to foster a new era of lunar exploration, the Google Lunar X PRIZE offers the largest international incentive prize in history. A total of $30 million will be awarded to the first privately funded teams that safely land a rover on the surface of the moon, drive the rover 500 meters over the lunar surface, and transmit detailed video, images and data back to Earth for further study.
Spansion Begins Volume Production of Single-Die 512 Mb Serial Flash Memory
Spansion Inc., a leading provider of parallel and serial NOR Flash memory, today announced it has entered volume production of its 512 Mb Spansion FL-S Serial (SPI) NOR Flash memory featuring the highest-density single-die serial Flash.
The Spansion FL-S family spans from 128 Mb to 1 Gb and features an industry-leading programming speed that is three times faster than competing solutions and has 20% faster double data rate (DDR) read performance. The speed improvements are key to enriching the user experience for a growing range of embedded applications, such as automotive instrument clusters and infotainment systems, industrial and medical graphic displays as well as home networking gateways and set-top boxes.
The Spansion FL-S family spans from 128 Mb to 1 Gb and features an industry-leading programming speed that is three times faster than competing solutions and has 20% faster double data rate (DDR) read performance. The speed improvements are key to enriching the user experience for a growing range of embedded applications, such as automotive instrument clusters and infotainment systems, industrial and medical graphic displays as well as home networking gateways and set-top boxes.
Intel's Semiconductor Market Share Surges to More Than 10-Year High in 2011
Fueled by strong sales growth in its core chip businesses-and boosted by a major acquisition-leading semiconductor supplier Intel Corp. in 2011 attained its highest annual market share in more than 10 years, according to the IHS iSuppli Competitive Landscape Tool from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). Intel in 2011 increased its overall semiconductor market share to 15.6 percent, up 2.5 percentage points from 13.1 percent in 2010, according to the final IHS semiconductor estimate for the year. This represents the highest market share for Intel going back to at least 2001, when it reached 14.9 percent. Over the last five years, Intel's share of the market ranged from 11.9 percent to 13.9 percent.
"Intel in 2011 captured the headlines with its major surge in growth," said Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research for IHS. "The company's rise was spurred by soaring demand for its PC-oriented microprocessors, and for its NAND flash memory used in consumer and wireless products. Intel's revenue also was boosted by its acquisition of Infineon's wireless business unit. The company's strong rise helped it to stave off the rising challenge mounted by No. 2 semiconductor supplier Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which had been whittling away at Intel's lead in recent years." The table below presents the final 2011 semiconductor market share ranking from the IHS.
"Intel in 2011 captured the headlines with its major surge in growth," said Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research for IHS. "The company's rise was spurred by soaring demand for its PC-oriented microprocessors, and for its NAND flash memory used in consumer and wireless products. Intel's revenue also was boosted by its acquisition of Infineon's wireless business unit. The company's strong rise helped it to stave off the rising challenge mounted by No. 2 semiconductor supplier Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which had been whittling away at Intel's lead in recent years." The table below presents the final 2011 semiconductor market share ranking from the IHS.
Synology Launches RackStation RS812+ and RS812RP+ NAS Servers
Synology today announced RackStation RS812+ and RS812RP+, expandable 4-bay rackmount NAS servers bringing high performance, scalability, and reliability to small and medium businesses.
"Synology RS812+ and RS812RP+ are built to address the needs of businesses that require high performance and maximum system uptime to run mission-critical applications," said Peter Chen, Product Manager of Synology Inc. "They ensure business continuity with an array of redundancy and availability features," added Chen.
"Synology RS812+ and RS812RP+ are built to address the needs of businesses that require high performance and maximum system uptime to run mission-critical applications," said Peter Chen, Product Manager of Synology Inc. "They ensure business continuity with an array of redundancy and availability features," added Chen.
Tyan Unveils its Latest Generation Platforms Featuring Intel Xeon Processor E5-2600
TYAN has launched 8 cutting-edge platforms based on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family. These platforms are designed to deliver the benefits of Intel's latest processor architecture. We offer high peak performance along with outstanding power efficiency and are designed for today's HPC/GPU and general server applications. These products help channel customers build solutions for applications ranging from the largest data centers all the way down to the smallest server room implementations in a quick and efficient way.
Novatech Introduces the 14-inch nFinity Ultrabook
UK PC seller Novatech has officially entered the Ultrabook club by launching the nFinity family of 14-inch machines. These mobile PCs measure 333 x 229.5 x 18 mm, they weight just 1.65 kg, and have a 1366 x 768-pixel display, a Core i3-2367M/i5-2467M/i7-2637M processor, 2/4 GB of RAM, a 64/128 GB solid state drive, an Intel integrated graphics.
The nFinity also have a 1.3-megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, a HDMI output, two 1.5 W speakers, a 3-in-1 card reader, and a 58.5 WH battery allowing for up to 7 hours of operation. Novatech's ultrabook line starts at £429.98 (~ $687).
The nFinity also have a 1.3-megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, a HDMI output, two 1.5 W speakers, a 3-in-1 card reader, and a 58.5 WH battery allowing for up to 7 hours of operation. Novatech's ultrabook line starts at £429.98 (~ $687).
Ivy Bridge 7 GHz Rips Through Pi
Intel Core i7-3770K is turning out to be a monstrous overclocker, when assisted with extreme cooling such as liquid-nitrogen. One such test-bed, was overclocked close to the 7 GHz mark, and put through Super Pi (1M and 32M), and PiFast. At 6961.6 MHz, the chip ripped through Super Pi 1M, in 5.187 seconds. The same chip, clocked at 6650.1 MHz, crunched Super Pi 32M, in 5 minutes, 2.843 seconds.
In PiFast, with a clock speed of 6805.1 MHz, the chip hammered out a total computation time of 10.56 s. NordicHardware compiled a comparison table using HWBot and its own data, to reflect how much faster a ~7 GHz Core i7-3770K is, at Pi. The rest of the known test-bed consisted of ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene Z77 motherboard, and 4 GB (2x 2 GB) of dual-channel DDR3 memory, clocked at around 2652 MHz, with timings of 7-11-7-28-1T.
In PiFast, with a clock speed of 6805.1 MHz, the chip hammered out a total computation time of 10.56 s. NordicHardware compiled a comparison table using HWBot and its own data, to reflect how much faster a ~7 GHz Core i7-3770K is, at Pi. The rest of the known test-bed consisted of ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene Z77 motherboard, and 4 GB (2x 2 GB) of dual-channel DDR3 memory, clocked at around 2652 MHz, with timings of 7-11-7-28-1T.
Arctic Reveals the Accelero Xtreme III VGA Cooler
The Arctic team has now confirmed that a new Accelero Xtreme VGA cooler is in the works and will reach stores in late May. Known as Accelero Xtreme III, the incoming product has a cooling capacity up to 300 Watts, it measures 288 (L) x 103 (W) x 50 (H) mm, and has 84 aluminum fins, five 6 mm copper heatpipes, three 92 mm (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fans working at 900 to 2000 RPM, and a copper base with pre-applied MX-4 thermal compound.
RAIDON Launches 2Bay 3.5" USB 3.0 Storage Solution for Energy Conservation
RAIDON releases the latest USB3.0 storage module with energy saving mode, GR3630-SB3, to respond the current concept of environmental protection.
RAIDON GR3630-SB3 is able to synchronize with PC to standby or sleeping mode for reaching energy saving concept. GR3630 accommodates 2 of 3.5" HDD over 3 TB each and collocates with USB3.0 host interface to deliver excitement to users from experiencing a conspicuous increment in performance. In addition, it embedded eSATA interfaces for data transfer options to eliminate possible USB upgrade hassles for users.
RAIDON GR3630-SB3 is able to synchronize with PC to standby or sleeping mode for reaching energy saving concept. GR3630 accommodates 2 of 3.5" HDD over 3 TB each and collocates with USB3.0 host interface to deliver excitement to users from experiencing a conspicuous increment in performance. In addition, it embedded eSATA interfaces for data transfer options to eliminate possible USB upgrade hassles for users.
Aerocool Releases the Strike-X X1 Notebook Cooler
Aerocool Advanced Technologies has now announced the retail and e-tail arrival of the gamer-oriented Strike-X X1 notebook cooler. The X1 measures 360 x 405 x 55 mm, it can be used with up to 19" laptops, and features a metal mesh on top, an ABS plastic structure, a rubber stand providing a better grip, and a built-in 200 mm fan (600 RPM) boasting red LEDs.
Aerocool's cooler can be found on sale @ 17.72 Euro.
Aerocool's cooler can be found on sale @ 17.72 Euro.
Lian Li Expands Its Line of Data Storage Chassis with the PC-Q12 and PC-Q18
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, the award-winning aluminum computer chassis manufacturer, today announces two new additions to the Q Series - PC-Q12 and PC-Q18. With the release of these two compact chassis, Lian Li gives even more options to PC builders who need elegant-looking space-saving cases with high data storage capabilities.
Designed to be central data center for the numerous hi-tech devices such as smart phones and tablets of the modern mobile consumer, the PC-Q12 and PC-Q18 both support mini-ITX motherboards. Not only do these cases have a compact design, but they also have the features that are to be expected from Lian Li, including: elegant brushed anodized aluminum frames, easy-to-remove snap-off panels, and USB 3.0 connectivity on the front panel.
Designed to be central data center for the numerous hi-tech devices such as smart phones and tablets of the modern mobile consumer, the PC-Q12 and PC-Q18 both support mini-ITX motherboards. Not only do these cases have a compact design, but they also have the features that are to be expected from Lian Li, including: elegant brushed anodized aluminum frames, easy-to-remove snap-off panels, and USB 3.0 connectivity on the front panel.
D-Link Expands Unified Wireless Portfolio for Small and Medium-Sized Business
D-Link, the cost-effective, standards-based unified networking solutions provider for small-and medium-sized business IT environments, today extended its unified wireless solutions to include the D-Link DWC-1000 Wireless Controller, the DWL-6600AP Dual-Band Unified Wireless Access Point and DWL-3600AP 2.4 GHz Single-Band Unified Wireless Access Point, and the DWS-3160-24TC and DWS-3160-24PC Unified Wireless Managed Switches.
Designed to help businesses easily deploy, manage and secure a complete wireless network across multiple locations, D-Link's new portfolio of wireless solutions offer cost-effective remote management and seamless scalability for expanding wireless applications.
Designed to help businesses easily deploy, manage and secure a complete wireless network across multiple locations, D-Link's new portfolio of wireless solutions offer cost-effective remote management and seamless scalability for expanding wireless applications.
Logitech Introduces the UE Air Speaker
Today Logitech introduced the Logitech UE Air Speaker with Apple's AirPlay. Now you can stream uncompressed music from iTunes or an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch connected to your home's Wi-Fi network to a Logitech UE speaker that delivers high-quality audio with a big sound stage boosted by dual tweeters and woofers.
"There's a new breed of music fans whose iPad and iPhone devices are at the center of their listening activities," said Rory Dooley, senior vice president of music at Logitech. "We created the Logitech UE Air Speaker to give those people a great audio experience that combines effortless streaming with fantastic sound. With its stylish, modern design, easy setup and excellent sound, the Logitech UE Air Speaker looks and sounds phenomenal in any room in the house."
"There's a new breed of music fans whose iPad and iPhone devices are at the center of their listening activities," said Rory Dooley, senior vice president of music at Logitech. "We created the Logitech UE Air Speaker to give those people a great audio experience that combines effortless streaming with fantastic sound. With its stylish, modern design, easy setup and excellent sound, the Logitech UE Air Speaker looks and sounds phenomenal in any room in the house."
Rovio Entertainment Acquires Futuremark Games Studio
Rovio Entertainment, creator of the global phenomenon Angry Birds, announced today the acquisition of Futuremark Games Studio, the gaming arm of benchmarking software developer Futuremark.
"They are an incredibly talented and experienced team, and we are thrilled to have them on board," said Mikael Hed, Rovio Entertainment's CEO. "Rovio's success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition."
"I am proud to see the potential of our talented games team recognized by Rovio," said Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO. "Futuremark will now focus on supporting gamers and industry with 3DMark, our professional grade benchmark which, in a new version to be released later this year, will allow unified gaming performance comparison across operating systems and form factors for the first time."
"They are an incredibly talented and experienced team, and we are thrilled to have them on board," said Mikael Hed, Rovio Entertainment's CEO. "Rovio's success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition."
"I am proud to see the potential of our talented games team recognized by Rovio," said Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO. "Futuremark will now focus on supporting gamers and industry with 3DMark, our professional grade benchmark which, in a new version to be released later this year, will allow unified gaming performance comparison across operating systems and form factors for the first time."
SAMA Introduces Nighthawk 2 Value Mid-Tower Case
Chinese company SAMA introduced Nighthawk 2, a value ATX mid-tower case, priced at just 299 RMB (US $47.4). Despite its low cost, it offers a host of new features, aesthetic touches, and a good load-out of fans. Measuring 450 x 200 x 420 mm (WxDxH), the case is made of ABS and SECC/steel. It features an all-black interior and exterior, with a red acrylic side panel window, which slightly protrudes. Most of its front-panel is perforated.
The case is spacious enough to hold 300 mm-long graphics cards. Drive bays include four 5.25" and six 3.5", all of which are tool-free. Its ventilation system includes one 120 mm red LED-lit front intake, one 120 mm exhaust between the 3.5" drive cage and the motherboard tray, one 120 mm rear exhaust, and two 120 mm top exhausts. The front utility panel includes four USB 2.0 ports, and audio.
The case is spacious enough to hold 300 mm-long graphics cards. Drive bays include four 5.25" and six 3.5", all of which are tool-free. Its ventilation system includes one 120 mm red LED-lit front intake, one 120 mm exhaust between the 3.5" drive cage and the motherboard tray, one 120 mm rear exhaust, and two 120 mm top exhausts. The front utility panel includes four USB 2.0 ports, and audio.
Edimax Shows Off 802.11ac Router, USB Dongle
Taiwan-based Edimax, which is known more for its low-cost networking hardware, took a big leap, by unveiling its first 802.11ac wireless networking hardware. These include a static router, and a USB adapter. The router uses a Broadcom-made 600 MHz Intensi-fi MIPS32 central processor. This chip has two PCI-Express interfaces, a built-in USB 2.0 host controller, and DDR2 memory controller. It has two WLAN modules, the Broadcom BCM4331 handles 802.11 b/g/n in the 2.40 GHz band, while a Broadcom BCM4360 handles 802.11ac in the 5 GHz band. This module supports network bandwidths up to 1.35 Gbps. Then you have a wired LAN interface, with one gigabit uplink port, and four gigabit downstream ports.
Moving on, Edimax showed off one of the industry's first USB 802.11ac adapters. This dongle uses Broadcom BCM43526 chip, and offers dual-band operation. In the 5 GHz band, it offers bandwidths of up to 900 Mbps, while in the 2.4 GHz band, it offers 300 Mbps. Sadly for this adapter, the USB interface is USB 2.0 HiSpeed, which poses a host bandwidth bottleneck of 480 Mbps. When you factor in things such as the various protocol overheads, the actual bandwidth yield could be much lower. Edimax is yet to name its products, so quite some development is left.
Moving on, Edimax showed off one of the industry's first USB 802.11ac adapters. This dongle uses Broadcom BCM43526 chip, and offers dual-band operation. In the 5 GHz band, it offers bandwidths of up to 900 Mbps, while in the 2.4 GHz band, it offers 300 Mbps. Sadly for this adapter, the USB interface is USB 2.0 HiSpeed, which poses a host bandwidth bottleneck of 480 Mbps. When you factor in things such as the various protocol overheads, the actual bandwidth yield could be much lower. Edimax is yet to name its products, so quite some development is left.
ASKTech Intros ALTO NT-TX1000/AC200BK Media Center Chassis
ASKTech introduced a neat new chassis for media center PCs, the ALTO NT-TX1000/AC200BK. It supports motherboards in the mini-ITX form-factor, and is designed to gel well with other living room equipment such as home theater receiver decks. Measuring 380 x 268 x 66 mm (WxDxH), the case makes used of brushed, anodized aluminum for the front-panel, and stronger SECC steel for the frame and other panels. It is bundled with the AC200BK 200W PSU, which gives it just enough juice for an HTPC with a dual-core or low-voltage quad-core processor.
Its drive cage is detachable, and provides one discrete 3.5" bay (to hold a hard drive), and one low-profile/slim optical drive slot (for notebook optical drives). The case has just enough clearance for a CPU cooler that's 40 mm tall, and the cooler Intel ships with its low-TDP processors matches the description. The front-panel has no additional ports as such, but a hole for an infrared receiver (for the remote control). ASKTech has an optional package that includes its NT-IMON100 infrared Windows Media Center compatible remote. The case is rather airy, with plenty of vents, but there are provisions for some 40 mm fans. Launched to the market recently, the ASKTech ALTO NT-TX1000/AC200BK is priced at 8,480 JPY (US $102).
Its drive cage is detachable, and provides one discrete 3.5" bay (to hold a hard drive), and one low-profile/slim optical drive slot (for notebook optical drives). The case has just enough clearance for a CPU cooler that's 40 mm tall, and the cooler Intel ships with its low-TDP processors matches the description. The front-panel has no additional ports as such, but a hole for an infrared receiver (for the remote control). ASKTech has an optional package that includes its NT-IMON100 infrared Windows Media Center compatible remote. The case is rather airy, with plenty of vents, but there are provisions for some 40 mm fans. Launched to the market recently, the ASKTech ALTO NT-TX1000/AC200BK is priced at 8,480 JPY (US $102).
Elecom Intros MF-MSU3 USB 3.0 Flash Drives
Japanese company Elecom launched the MF-MSU3 line of stylish USB 3.0 flash drives. Available in four color options: black (MF-MSU30xGBK), white (MF-MSU30xGWH), pink (MF-MSU30xGPN), and blue (MF-MSU30xGBU), where "x" is capacity in GB; the drives are available in four capacity options: 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB. The drives offer transfer rates of 60 MB/s (read/write), and feature Elecom PASS (Password Authenticated Security System), an AES-based data encryption software. Measuring 59.0 x 17.5 x 7.8 (WxDxH), these drives weigh about 9 g. The feature the conventional capped form-factor. Elecom did not give out pricing information, but they will be released to market in October.
Zalman Radeon HD 7950 Graphics Card Pictured
It's no news that Zalman is a graphics card vendor in its own might. The company is ready with its Radeon HD 7950 graphics card (model: ZALMAN HD7950-Z). The card uses a slightly customized AMD reference design PCB (customized with its color), augmented with Zalman's proven VF3000 VGA cooler. The VF3000 is a large aluminum fin heatsink to which heat is fed by copper heat pipes, ventilated by two large red LED-lit fans.
The cooler occupies three expansion slots, and is said to offer temperatures as low as 20°C below what the AMD reference cooler manages. This particular model sticks to AMD reference clock speeds, leaving it to end-users to take advantage of the cooler and overclock for themselves, although plans for an OC model are underway.
The cooler occupies three expansion slots, and is said to offer temperatures as low as 20°C below what the AMD reference cooler manages. This particular model sticks to AMD reference clock speeds, leaving it to end-users to take advantage of the cooler and overclock for themselves, although plans for an OC model are underway.
Razer is Pushing Lanes with It's Gosu
Razer, one of the world's pioneering supporters of e-Sports and North American professional gaming team and portal It's Gosu, will be joining forces to push and develop the MOBA scene in North America. Razer and It's Gosu share a common goal in supporting competitive gaming at both the professional and casual gaming level. Although new to the scene, It's Gosu has quickly become an integral part of a perpetually growing MOBA scene in the United States.
It's Gosu started out as a community page to host tournaments, and officially launched their website in the dawn of 2011. Following their overnight success, It's Gosu quickly expanded to support the Starcraft 2 team All 4 One and by the end of 2011, It's Gosu added a League of Legends team along with the Swedish Heroes of Newerth team JAGA. Their recent acquisition of the DOTA 2 squad EZ Style only further cemented their place in the MOBA community.
It's Gosu started out as a community page to host tournaments, and officially launched their website in the dawn of 2011. Following their overnight success, It's Gosu quickly expanded to support the Starcraft 2 team All 4 One and by the end of 2011, It's Gosu added a League of Legends team along with the Swedish Heroes of Newerth team JAGA. Their recent acquisition of the DOTA 2 squad EZ Style only further cemented their place in the MOBA community.
NVIDIA GPUs Power Top Two Russian Supercomputers
NVIDIA today announced that the two most powerful supercomputers in Russia will use NVIDIA GPUs to address some of the world's most challenging scientific problems across a broad range of fields.
Underscoring the dramatic growth in the adoption of GPU computing across world scientific communities, the new Russia Top 50 supercomputer list released today reveals that the top two systems are accelerated by NVIDIA Tesla GPUs. These two supercomputers are housed at Lomonosov Moscow State University, which was recently named a CUDA Center of Excellence, and the Joint Supercomputer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JSCC RAS). Moreover, GPUs are accelerating 12 of the country's top 50 systems -- up from seven just six months ago.
Underscoring the dramatic growth in the adoption of GPU computing across world scientific communities, the new Russia Top 50 supercomputer list released today reveals that the top two systems are accelerated by NVIDIA Tesla GPUs. These two supercomputers are housed at Lomonosov Moscow State University, which was recently named a CUDA Center of Excellence, and the Joint Supercomputer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (JSCC RAS). Moreover, GPUs are accelerating 12 of the country's top 50 systems -- up from seven just six months ago.
HP Board Increases Regular Dividend by 10 Percent
HP today announced that the HP board of directors has authorized a 10 percent increase in the amount of its regular quarterly dividend, to $0.132 per share.
The increase in the amount of the dividend will be effective when the HP board of directors declares HP's next dividend, which is expected to occur in May. The company's previously announced dividend payable on April 4, 2012, for stockholders of record on March 14, 2012, will not be increased and will remain at $0.12 per share. HP has approximately 2 billion shares of common stock outstanding.
The increase in the amount of the dividend will be effective when the HP board of directors declares HP's next dividend, which is expected to occur in May. The company's previously announced dividend payable on April 4, 2012, for stockholders of record on March 14, 2012, will not be increased and will remain at $0.12 per share. HP has approximately 2 billion shares of common stock outstanding.
Monday, March 26th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Motherboards
Antec ONE Review
Antec is rebooting their entire case line-up and the Antec ONE successfully manages to place itself in the sub 50 Euro market with a unique approach in tooling. Is this the one to rule them all, or will other cases take the cake?
Sapphire Intros Pure Platinum A55V Motherboard
Sapphire released the new Pure Platinum A55V motherboard to the market. The board offers a value socket FM1 platform based on AMD A55 FCH chipset, in the ATX form-factor. The motherboard supports AMD A4, A6, A8, and Athlon II "Llano" APU/CPUs in the FM1 package. This model is not exactly designed to be "no-frills", as it does pack an interesting mix of features that could help it grab a comfy price-point in the market.
The FM1 socket is powered by a 6-phase VRM, which uses a simple whine-free choke + DPAK MOSFET design, but throws in a heatsink to cool the MOSFETs. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, with speeds of over DDR3-1600 MHz with overclocking. The APU is also wired to a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots. Apart from these, you get three legacy PCI slots, wired to the FCH.
The FM1 socket is powered by a 6-phase VRM, which uses a simple whine-free choke + DPAK MOSFET design, but throws in a heatsink to cool the MOSFETs. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, with speeds of over DDR3-1600 MHz with overclocking. The APU is also wired to a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, and two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots. Apart from these, you get three legacy PCI slots, wired to the FCH.
Microsoft To Launch $100 Xbox Lite Before Moving to Durango
Shortly before launching its next-generation game console (codenamed "Durango"), Microsoft is said to be working on a new product (SKU, rather), called Xbox Lite. This new console will cost as little as $100. According to a source, Xbox Lite will be ARM-based, and scheduled for "late 2013 which does Arcade-style games & all the current & future media apps with Kinect (with near-mode)." What makes the rumor plausible is that ARM chips advancing faster than ever, and so is the ecosystem of casual games on Xbox Live Arcade, which don't have very high graphical detail (and hence, aren't resource-heavy). Many of these casual games, along with Kinect-enabled games, could make up the ecosystem around Xbox Lite.
MSI GeForce GTX 680 OC Detailed
MSI is working on a factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, which was briefly put up on its German website, before being pulled, suggesting that the company is not entirely ready with it. Carrying the model number N680GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC, the card features NVIDIA-reference board design. It features out of the box overclocked core speeds of 1056 MHz (base core), 1111 MHz (boost core), vs. reference speeds of 1006 MHz (base core), 1058 MHz (boost core). The memory clock is unchanged, at 6.00 GHz (GDDR5 effective).
Update: Sources among retail channels told us that this particular model (N680GTX-PM2D2GD5/OC) was canned at the very last moment. It's possible, however, that the 1056(core)/1111(boost) MHz clock profile could be carried over to future non-reference design models, such as the Twin Frozr IV.
Digital Storm Redefines the "Custom" High-Performance PC with Aventum
Digital Storm, the predominant name in computer system integration and engineering, unveils Aventum, the first system to feature its patent pending chassis and CES Innovations Award-winning Cryo-TEC cooling system. Designed by Digital Storm engineers from the inside out, Aventum's chassis boasts a proprietary thermal exhaust chamber, intelligent 5 thermal zone regulation and exclusive Aventum software that controls 13 customizable fans to effectively dissipate performance inhibiting heat. Together with the Cryo-TEC liquid cooling system that chills liquid below 0ºC, Digital Storm has designed the industry's first truly custom high-performance PC.
EVGA Gives Away Free High-Flow Bracket to First 200 Registered GTX 680 Users
EVGA is giving away High-Flow Brackets to the first 200 people in North America and Europe who register their EVGA GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards. The replacement expansion bracket, designed by EVGA, has more perforations than the one on NVIDIA's reference design board, its makers claim it shaves off an extra 3°C from the GPU temperature. It should be listed on the EVGA web-store for purchase separately, soon. For more information about the offer, visit this page.
Imation Unveils New T5R and R4 NAS
Imation Japan unveiled two new lines of NAS server products, the T5R desktop/tower, and R4 1U rack-mount NAS. The T5R has five 3.5" SATA HDD bays, along with one Imation RDX cardridge slot (for tape backup of vital data). The T5R comes in two variants, the T5R-5X1TB-HDD, which has five 1 TB HDDs; and T5R-5X2TB-HDD, which has five 2 TB HDDs. The R4, on the other hand, has four 3.5" SATA drive bays, and comes in two variants: R4-4X1TB-HDD with four 1 TB HDDs, and R4-4X2TB-HDD, which has four 2 TB HDDs.
There is a lot in common between the T5R and R4. Both models are driven by Intel Atom D2700 dual-core processor clocked at 2.13 GHz, with 2 GB DDR3 memory, the storage controllers support RAID 0,1,1 E, 3,5,6,10; the primary network interface is a single 1 Gbps Ethernet connection, and expansion features include two USB 3.0, three USB 2.0, and one eSATA. All modern x86 operating systems are supported. Imation did not give out pricing information.
There is a lot in common between the T5R and R4. Both models are driven by Intel Atom D2700 dual-core processor clocked at 2.13 GHz, with 2 GB DDR3 memory, the storage controllers support RAID 0,1,1 E, 3,5,6,10; the primary network interface is a single 1 Gbps Ethernet connection, and expansion features include two USB 3.0, three USB 2.0, and one eSATA. All modern x86 operating systems are supported. Imation did not give out pricing information.
TP-LINK Announces the TL-WDN4800 Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter
TP-LINK, a global provider of networking products, today announced its Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter joining the line-up of TP-LINK products available through online retailers - while still being offered at leading retailers including Fry's Electronics and Micro Center. With wireless speed of up to 450 Mbps at 2.4 GHz and at 5 GHz, this dual band PCI adapter is the best companion when upgrading your PC's wireless capabilities.
Centon Announces its SATA III Solid State Drive Line
Centon Electronics, Inc. has announced the release of their SATA III 2.5 line. While SSD has become a standard specification for enthusiast PC gamers owing to its features including high-speed read/write performance and high shock resistance that can break through the performance bottleneck of PC systems, the introduction of SATA III SSDs further highlights the advantage of SSD's read/write performance.
Twice as fast as the SATA II, Centon's new line of SATA III will take full advantage of the bandwidth and provide extremely fast data transfer rates that reach as high as 400 MB/s read speed and 300 MB/s write speed. Centon's SSD models now address the growing market demand for fast, high density and reliable drives.
Twice as fast as the SATA II, Centon's new line of SATA III will take full advantage of the bandwidth and provide extremely fast data transfer rates that reach as high as 400 MB/s read speed and 300 MB/s write speed. Centon's SSD models now address the growing market demand for fast, high density and reliable drives.
NVIDIA Kepler Tech-Demo Called "New Dawn"
NVIDIA stunned reporters at its GeForce Kepler press-event, by smoothly-running running Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 "Samaritan" tech-demo on a single GeForce Kepler GPU, when the demo needed up to three previous-generation GPUs. However, Samaritan isn't Kepler's official tech-demo. It is reportedly called "New Dawn", and is a retake on the "Dawn" tech-demo, which baffled the industry, nearly a decade ago. "Dawn" displayed its central character, a fairy by its name, in stunning detail (at the time).
While Dawn was incredibly detailed, its environment was pretty-much just a textured sky-box. "New Dawn" could bring Dawn back into action, focusing on environmental elements such as realistic physics simulation, improved hair animation, and greater detail. NVIDIA has a wealth of new elements to play with, such as a level of tessellation that could be impossible to render smoothly on the competitor's GPU (even if one could run it). NVIDIA could distribute this demo on its websites (NVIDIA.com, GeForce.com), soon. NVIDIA, and rival AMD, release tech-demos with each new GPU architecture, which demonstrate the capabilities of their new flagship GPUs. Pictured below is a frame from the 2003 demo.
A "sneak-peek" video of the demo follows.
While Dawn was incredibly detailed, its environment was pretty-much just a textured sky-box. "New Dawn" could bring Dawn back into action, focusing on environmental elements such as realistic physics simulation, improved hair animation, and greater detail. NVIDIA has a wealth of new elements to play with, such as a level of tessellation that could be impossible to render smoothly on the competitor's GPU (even if one could run it). NVIDIA could distribute this demo on its websites (NVIDIA.com, GeForce.com), soon. NVIDIA, and rival AMD, release tech-demos with each new GPU architecture, which demonstrate the capabilities of their new flagship GPUs. Pictured below is a frame from the 2003 demo.
Logitech Introduces the All-in-One Audio and Video ConferenceCam
Logitech today introduced a new product category for unified communications (UC) and Web conferencing: the all-in-one audio and video ConferenceCam. The Logitech BCC950 ConferenceCam is the first communications tool to combine a full HD webcam with a high-quality, omni-directional full-duplex speakerphone in one USB device, enabling small groups to collaborate in conference rooms, closed offices or shared work spaces.
The BCC950 ConferenceCam features a full HD webcam with motorized pan, tilt and zoom for easily bringing everyone into the picture - either from a control pad on the device or with a convenient remote control. The control pad or the remote can also used to answer calls, end calls, adjust the volume and mute the microphone.
The BCC950 ConferenceCam features a full HD webcam with motorized pan, tilt and zoom for easily bringing everyone into the picture - either from a control pad on the device or with a convenient remote control. The control pad or the remote can also used to answer calls, end calls, adjust the volume and mute the microphone.
Microsoft and Nokia Investing in Mobile App Development Program at Aalto University
To drive innovation and business opportunities in Finland's mobile ecosystem and beyond, Microsoft Corp. and Nokia will each invest up to 9 million Euros into a newly established mobile application development program at Aalto University during the next three years. The AppCampus program has been set up to foster the creation of innovative mobile applications for the Windows Phone ecosystem, and in addition Nokia platforms, including Symbian and Series 40, to create a new generation of self-sustaining mobile startups.
Kicking off in May 2012, the Finland-based program will be led and managed by Aalto University, which has a growing reputation as a hotbed of new startup companies. AppCampus is intended to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Aalto University will make a significant contribution to the project by providing premises, coaching services, and access to both academic and business networks for budding app developers.
Kicking off in May 2012, the Finland-based program will be led and managed by Aalto University, which has a growing reputation as a hotbed of new startup companies. AppCampus is intended to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Aalto University will make a significant contribution to the project by providing premises, coaching services, and access to both academic and business networks for budding app developers.
AdvancedIO Debuts the Fastest Accelerating Ethernet Card for Financial Services
AdvancedIO Systems will reveal at the Low Latency Summit in London its newest generation of 10GE network cards powered by Altera's 28 nm Stratix V FPGAs. The V5031 design pushes the performance limit of what technology can achieve today in a small form factor that fits most platforms deployed in financial markets.
"There is an insatiable demand for scalable processing density, lower latency, and ease of programming to offer creative financial services in a competitive environment," said Mohammad Darwish, chief executive officer at AdvancedIO Systems. "Our technology has been proven to accelerate processing along the trade path and ultimately increase profit margins for our financial customers. We are excited about the possibilities."
"There is an insatiable demand for scalable processing density, lower latency, and ease of programming to offer creative financial services in a competitive environment," said Mohammad Darwish, chief executive officer at AdvancedIO Systems. "Our technology has been proven to accelerate processing along the trade path and ultimately increase profit margins for our financial customers. We are excited about the possibilities."
Genius Intros SP-i250G Portable Speakers
Taiwan -based Genius is an international leading company in computer peripherals presents a new set of portable stereo gaming speakers, SP-i250G for the GX Gaming line. SP-i250G has two omni directional stereo speakers that provide vivid and rich audio. The advanced 40mm neodymium speakers provide deep low notes in a small portable cabinet. Also one can just use one speaker with any audio device.
SP-i250G uses a special mechanical to turn the power on/off and adjust the volume by twisting the middle cover. As an added feature an LED ring in the middle of the speaker will change different colors when music is playing. The Gold plated plug makes sound signal transmission smoother and decreases noise.
SP-i250G uses a special mechanical to turn the power on/off and adjust the volume by twisting the middle cover. As an added feature an LED ring in the middle of the speaker will change different colors when music is playing. The Gold plated plug makes sound signal transmission smoother and decreases noise.
Princeton Intros Newer 19-inch and 24-inch Widescreen Monitors
Adding to the 21.5-inch 16:9 and 19-inch 16:10 monitors it introduced earlier this month, Princeton rolled out the 24-inch PTFBYF-24W and new 19-inch (18.5-inch) PTFBYF-19W. Both monitors use TN-film panels with LED backlights. The PTFBYF-24W measures 566.0 x 395.1 x 189.8 (WxHxD), and features 1920x1080 resolution, with 160 degrees display angles, 1,000:1 contrast ratio (100,000:1 DCR), 250 cd/m², 5 ms response time (GTG), and inputs including DVI-D, HDMI, and D-Sub. It packs 1W speakers.
The PTFBYF-19W, on the other hand, measures 440.4 x 341.0 x 179.8 (WxHxD), the panel measures 18.5-inches diagonally. It features 1366x768 pixels resolution, with 160 degrees angles, 1,000:1 contrast ratio (100,000:1 DCR), 250 cd/m², and 5 ms response time. Inputs include DVI-D and D-Sub. To top it off it has 1W speakers. The PTFBYF-24W is priced at 19,800 JPY (US $239), while the PTFBYF-19W goes for 12,800 JPY (US $154.7).
The PTFBYF-19W, on the other hand, measures 440.4 x 341.0 x 179.8 (WxHxD), the panel measures 18.5-inches diagonally. It features 1366x768 pixels resolution, with 160 degrees angles, 1,000:1 contrast ratio (100,000:1 DCR), 250 cd/m², and 5 ms response time. Inputs include DVI-D and D-Sub. To top it off it has 1W speakers. The PTFBYF-24W is priced at 19,800 JPY (US $239), while the PTFBYF-19W goes for 12,800 JPY (US $154.7).
Zionote Unveils WireDream High Grade SATA Cables for Content Production Houses
You are probably not new to overpriced digital data cables, such as $100 HDMI cables that claim to improve quality of digital video, but this one takes the cake: a $300 (starting) SATA cable, made of 97% silver (wiring), and 3% gold (contacts), which claims to improve fidelity of data transferred, that can bring about subtle improvements to the quality of digital audio/video produced.
WireDream (WD-SATA-INDRA), from Korean company Zionote, is just that. It's a braided SATA cable, with wires made of silver, and contacts made of gold. It is available in lengths of 40 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-40x), 50 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-50x), and 60 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-60x); with three variants based on the way the connectors are angled: straight-straight, straight-L(upwards, WD-SATA-INDRA-x0SU), and straight-L(downwards, WD-SATA-INDRA-x0SD).
WireDream (WD-SATA-INDRA), from Korean company Zionote, is just that. It's a braided SATA cable, with wires made of silver, and contacts made of gold. It is available in lengths of 40 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-40x), 50 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-50x), and 60 cm (WD-SATA-INDRA-60x); with three variants based on the way the connectors are angled: straight-straight, straight-L(upwards, WD-SATA-INDRA-x0SU), and straight-L(downwards, WD-SATA-INDRA-x0SD).
Galaxy GeForce GTX 680 Hall of Fame Edition Taking Shape
Apart from the GeForce GTX 680 4 GB, NVIDIA's major AIC partner Galaxy, is also working on the GTX 680 Hall of Fame (HOF) Edition. Galaxy uses the "HOF" marker to designate its highest-grade custom-design products, with the highest out of the box OC, and headroom. Galaxy unveiled an unfinished prototype of this card, along with a presentation of what it will look like, when finished, at a media event in China. The card will use the same exact cooling assembly as the one used on its GTX 580 Multi-Display graphics card. This cooler uses a complex set of aluminum fin heatsinks to which heat is conveyed by copper heat pipes, and which are ventilated by three 90 mm fans. The cooler shroud is illuminated by blue LEDs.
Under the cooler of GTX 680 HOF, is a milky-white PCB (Galaxy is known for white PCBs on high-end graphics cards). The card uses an 8+2+2 phase VRM, which reportedly makes use of International Rectifier DirectFETs, and high-grade chokes, although still an analog design. The VRM controller will be Galaxy's custom GX31 chip, with software voltage control, voltage monitoring, and power-draw monitoring. The card draws power from two 8-pin PCIe power connectors.
Under the cooler of GTX 680 HOF, is a milky-white PCB (Galaxy is known for white PCBs on high-end graphics cards). The card uses an 8+2+2 phase VRM, which reportedly makes use of International Rectifier DirectFETs, and high-grade chokes, although still an analog design. The VRM controller will be Galaxy's custom GX31 chip, with software voltage control, voltage monitoring, and power-draw monitoring. The card draws power from two 8-pin PCIe power connectors.
Galaxy GeForce GTX 680 4 GB Pictured
Galaxy is working on a new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. Pictures below reveal the Galaxy GTX 680 4 GB. As the name suggests, it is a non-reference design that's based on doubling the memory amount. The card features an out-of-the-box core OC of 1.10 GHz (base, boost not mentioned).
It did this, by using sixteen 2 Gbit GDDR5 memory chips. There's more to this card than its memory amount. The PCB is designed from scratch, and uses a strong 5+2 phase VRM, which draws power from 6+8 pin power connectors. The VRM appears to make use of International Rectifier-made DirectFETs. Perhaps Galaxy also went off-spec with the VRM controller, and maybe it supports a software interface. The cooler is an in-house design by Galaxy, too. It consists of a large heat-pipe fed aluminum fin array, ventilated by two 90 mm fans.
It did this, by using sixteen 2 Gbit GDDR5 memory chips. There's more to this card than its memory amount. The PCB is designed from scratch, and uses a strong 5+2 phase VRM, which draws power from 6+8 pin power connectors. The VRM appears to make use of International Rectifier-made DirectFETs. Perhaps Galaxy also went off-spec with the VRM controller, and maybe it supports a software interface. The cooler is an in-house design by Galaxy, too. It consists of a large heat-pipe fed aluminum fin array, ventilated by two 90 mm fans.
Planex Communications Intros Wall-Socket WiFi Router
Wireless network routers transitioned from big boxes with antennas to compact ones, and are now finding their way to the walls of households, blending with other utility connections that pass through walls (electricity, telephone/TV/cable/broadband, wired network, water, and gas). Japanese company is one of those pushing this change, with its MZK-KR150N WiFi b/g/n router that's designed to blend with other wall sockets.
The back-end of this router takes in AC power and WAN/uplink Ethernet cable. Its front-end has a hinged antenna, one downstream Ethernet cable, LEDs, and other configuration buttons. One of the six slots on the socket is blanked, so one can assume there's going to be a variant with two downstream Ethernet ports. The router offers wireless bandwidths with speeds of up to 150 Mbps, and wired bandwidths up to 100 Mbps. Slated for an April launch, the MZK-KR150N is priced at 9,800 JPY (US $118.4).
The back-end of this router takes in AC power and WAN/uplink Ethernet cable. Its front-end has a hinged antenna, one downstream Ethernet cable, LEDs, and other configuration buttons. One of the six slots on the socket is blanked, so one can assume there's going to be a variant with two downstream Ethernet ports. The router offers wireless bandwidths with speeds of up to 150 Mbps, and wired bandwidths up to 100 Mbps. Slated for an April launch, the MZK-KR150N is priced at 9,800 JPY (US $118.4).
AMD and Rockwell Collins Help Improve Situational Awareness
AMD today announced Rockwell Collins, a leader in innovative communications and avionics systems for the aerospace and defense industries, has selected the AMD Radeon E2400 embedded graphics processor for inclusion in its highly-intuitive, integrated flight deck solution, Pro Line Fusion. Chosen for its advanced 3D graphics rendering capabilities, the AMD Radeon E2400 helps generate realistic graphical models of the external aircraft environment to help improve awareness of terrain, obstacles and runways in low visibility conditions. With this technology, pilots can now have key information at their fingertips, enabling them to make informed decisions during every phase of flight.
"The rapid and accurate visualization of data and access to information are essential for professionals in the aerospace and defense industries," said Richard Jaenicke, director, Embedded Client Business, AMD. "The AMD Radeon E2400 was specifically designed to meet customers' demand for high-quality graphics with a stable, long-lasting supply, making it ideal for system designers such as Rockwell Collins."
"The rapid and accurate visualization of data and access to information are essential for professionals in the aerospace and defense industries," said Richard Jaenicke, director, Embedded Client Business, AMD. "The AMD Radeon E2400 was specifically designed to meet customers' demand for high-quality graphics with a stable, long-lasting supply, making it ideal for system designers such as Rockwell Collins."
Saturday, March 24th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Networking
PSUs
SSD
Colorful Giving GeForce GTX 680 iGame Kudan Treatment
Remember the Colorful GTX 560 Ti iGame Kudan and how it made our readers scream "overkill"? What happens when you combine an over-the-top design, the Colorful iGame Kudan, with an equally over-the-top GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680? You get the Colorful GTX 680 iGame Kudan, the pinnacle of air-cooling for the GeForce GTX 680.
The iGame Kudan's design methodology revolves around giving users an extremely tweakable and modular cooling solution, which can not only be modified by playing with its heatsinks, but also be re-painted to suit your style. Colorful included a pastel-set the last time around. Under the hood, the card is packed by a modular VRM. The main PCB has an 8-phase digital VRM, which can be augmented by an additional 4-phase circuit on a daughterboard, which gets attached on a modified SO-DIMM slot, which goes parallel to the plane of the PCB, on its rear. The card is said to have high out of the box clock speeds, with an even higher overclocking headroom. Colorful sells in Asia and Europe.
More pictures follow.
The iGame Kudan's design methodology revolves around giving users an extremely tweakable and modular cooling solution, which can not only be modified by playing with its heatsinks, but also be re-painted to suit your style. Colorful included a pastel-set the last time around. Under the hood, the card is packed by a modular VRM. The main PCB has an 8-phase digital VRM, which can be augmented by an additional 4-phase circuit on a daughterboard, which gets attached on a modified SO-DIMM slot, which goes parallel to the plane of the PCB, on its rear. The card is said to have high out of the box clock speeds, with an even higher overclocking headroom. Colorful sells in Asia and Europe.
Tobacco-Style Warning on Video Games Proposed by US Bill
Shacknews is reporting that once again, video games are being used for a spot of political grandstanding, and in a familiar way. Not for the first time, a bipartisan pair of US congressmen have introduced a bill that would require almost every video game box to bear a warning label reading, "WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior." Should the the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act, H. R. 4204, somehow pass, it'd require the warning be placed "in a clear and conspicuous location on the packaging" of every game rated by the ESRB, except for those rated EC (Early Childhood). It makes no distinction for a game's actual content, so the warning would be slapped on Mortal Kombat and Imagine: Party Babyz alike. "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers - to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," chief sponsor Joe Baca (D-CA) said, reported by The Hill. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility." Co-sponsor Frank Wolf (R-VA) chimed in, "Just as we warn smokers of the health consequences of tobacco, we should warn parents - and children - about the growing scientific evidence demonstrating a relationship between violent video games and violent behavior."
AMD Completes Acquisition of SeaMicro
AMD today announced it completed the acquisition of SeaMicro Inc., a pioneer in energy-efficient, high-bandwidth microservers, for approximately $334 million, net of cash assumed.
The acquisition of SeaMicro, which will now become AMD's Data Center Server Solutions business, enables AMD to accelerate its strategy to deliver disruptive server technology and provide its customers serving Cloud-centric data centers with highly-differentiated AMD-based solutions beginning this year.
The acquisition of SeaMicro, which will now become AMD's Data Center Server Solutions business, enables AMD to accelerate its strategy to deliver disruptive server technology and provide its customers serving Cloud-centric data centers with highly-differentiated AMD-based solutions beginning this year.
Friday, March 23rd 2012
Today's Reviews
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
- MSI HD 7970 Lightning 3GB HT4U (de)
- NVIDIA GT 640M HotHardware
- GTX Round Up, POV 580/570 TGT, Asus 580 Matrix Cowcotland (fr)
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Benchmark Reviews
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Bjorn3d
- Palit GTX 680 eTeknix
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Guru3D
- nVidia GTX 680 Quad-SLI Hardware.info (nl)
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Hardwarecanucks
- Zotac GTX 680 SLI HardwareHeaven
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB HardwareHeaven
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB HardwareSpot.de (de)
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Hexus
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Hi Tech Legion
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB HotHardware
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB LAN OC
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Legit Reviews
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB NeoSeeker
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Ninja Lane
- ASUS GTX 680 OCaholic
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Overclock3D.net
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Overclockers Club
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB PureOverclock
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB T-Break
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Tech Report
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB TechGage
- ASUS GTX 680 SLI TechPowerUp
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB Tweaktown
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB VR-Zone
- NVIDIA GTX 680 2GB X-bit labs
Keyboards
ASUS GeForce GTX 680 SLI Review
Yesterday NVIDIA introduced their new groundbreaking GeForce GTX 680, which was very well received. Today we bring you testing of a $1000 dual card SLI setup. We also use the latest WHQL driver to provide up-to-date performance numbers.
Mad Catz Announces Shipping Of The Cyborg M.M.O.7 Gaming Mouse For PC And Mac
Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced today the shipping of the Cyborg M.M.O.7 Gaming Mouse for PC and Mac. Being released under the Company's Cyborg professional gaming brand, the M.M.O.7 was recently honored with a CES 2012 Innovations Award nomination and has been designed specifically for use with MMO (Massively Multi-player Online) software.
Chrome OS-powered Sony VAIO Notebook Exposed by the FCC
Things on the Chromebook front have been pretty quiet this year but it seems they will change soon as the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has received and tested a new machine running Google's Chrome OS. Seen below is the VAIO VCC111 Series, Sony's very first Chromebook, which features a 11.6-inch LCD screen (made by Samsung), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, an SSD, an SD card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, a HDMI output, a webcam, and a 4100 mAh battery.
Cooler Master Announces the Sentinel Advance 2 Mouse and Speed Rx Mousepad
Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer storms onto the war torn frontlines with a devastating new duo, the Sentinel Advance 2 Gaming Mouse and Speed Rx Mousepad.
RASURBO SC-08 Micro ATX PC Case Goes on Sale
German company PNL-tec has this week launched a new RASURBO-branded PC chassis, the SC-08 model featuring support for Micro ATX motherboards. Seen below, the case measures 425 x 175 x 370 mm, it weights 3.8 kg, and has an I/O panel with four USB 2.0 ports, one 5.25-inch bay, four internal 3.5-inch bays (that can take in, if needed, six 2.5-inch drives) equipped with vibration dampers, built-in dust filters in front and at the bottom, and support for up to four fans and graphics cards 36 cm long.
The SC-08 is backed by a two-year warranty and is selling for 32.90 Euro
The SC-08 is backed by a two-year warranty and is selling for 32.90 Euro
Jabra Sets the Standard for Mobile Workers; Enables Communication Anywhere, Anytime
According to a recent forecast from IDC, the mobile worker population in the United States will account for 75% of the nation's workforce by 2015, indicating that workers everywhere are leaving the 9-to-5 days in the office behind and working remotely, traveling and collaborating via the cloud. Much of this increase is driven by the popularity of laptops, smartphones and tablets. To meet the demands of the mobile worker, Jabra has introduced a suite of products geared toward this growing category. The line includes the new Jabra SUPREME UC launching in May, and the critically acclaimed Jabra FREEWAY and Jabra SPEAK 410.
SilverStone Whitewashes SST-PS07
SilverStone unveiled a white-colored Precision Series PS07 chassis. Pictured below, the case carries model number "SST-PS07W", it has all-white exterior and interior. It supports motherboards in micro-ATX and mini-ITX form-factors. Internally, the motherboard tray is inverted (à la BTX), and its PSU tray is located on the top. It features two 5.25" drive bays, one exposed 3.5" drive bay (includes a hot-swap caddie), five internal 3.5" bays, and one 2.5" bay. Cooling system includes two 120 mm 1200 RPM fans in the front, and provision for one 120 mm fan on the rear. The front-panel includes two USB 3.0 ports. The framework of the case is made of steel, its front-panel is made of ABS, with a dash of aluminum.
VIA Announces New System-on-Module Solutions
VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the two latest VIA modules in the growing VIA Modular Solutions portfolio, the VIA COMe-8X92 and the VIA QSM-8Q90. The modular design approach allows for short time-to market, application-specific customization, simplified development, high stability and long life cycles allowing customers to rapidly develop new and exciting devices.
Measuring 95mm x 95mm, the VIA COMe-8X92 is based on the industry standard Computer-on-Module (COM) Express Compact form factor, developed and maintained by the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group). The VIA COMe-8X92 module combines a 1.2GHz VIA NanoTM X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900H media system processor (MSP) providing a ruggedized solution targeted at industrial PC and large OEM customers focused on dynamic application segments, including medical, advanced gaming, industrial automation and digital signage.
Measuring 95mm x 95mm, the VIA COMe-8X92 is based on the industry standard Computer-on-Module (COM) Express Compact form factor, developed and maintained by the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group). The VIA COMe-8X92 module combines a 1.2GHz VIA NanoTM X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900H media system processor (MSP) providing a ruggedized solution targeted at industrial PC and large OEM customers focused on dynamic application segments, including medical, advanced gaming, industrial automation and digital signage.
GeForce GTX 680 Release Driver Limits PCI-Express to Gen 2.0 on X79/SNB-E Systems
Users of systems running Core i7 processors in the LGA2011 package and X79 chipset motherboards will find that their GeForce GTX 680 will not run at PCI-Express 3.0 x16 mode, using launch drivers. This is because NVIDIA decided against implementing Gen 3.0 support for the new GPU on X79/SNB-E systems, at the very last moment. Pre-launch drivers, including the driver that ships on discs with the graphics cards, will let the GPU run at Gen 3.0 mode on some X79/SNB-E systems, however the post-launch stable drivers (such as GeForce 301.10 WHQL), won't.
The specifications page of GeForce GTX 680 on GeForce.com has been updated to mention this:
Update 3/23, 21:56
NVIDIA courteously responded to our article, with a statement. Here's the statement verbatim:
The specifications page of GeForce GTX 680 on GeForce.com has been updated to mention this:
GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. The Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform is only currently supported up to 5GT/s (PCIE 2.0) bus speeds even though some motherboard manufacturers have enabled higher 8GT/s speeds.Sources in the PC motherboard industry we spoke with, confirmed this change. PCI-Express 3.0 x16, for now, might only run on upcoming "Ivy Bridge" Core systems, running on motherboards with PCI-Express 3.0 compliant components. NVIDIA could be working to fix the issue.
Update 3/23, 21:56
NVIDIA courteously responded to our article, with a statement. Here's the statement verbatim:
While X79/SNB-E is a native Gen2 platform, some motherboard manufacturers have enabled Gen3 speeds. With our GTX 680 launch drivers, we will only be supporting Gen2 speeds on X79/SNB-E while we work on validating X79/SNB-E at these faster speeds. Native Gen3 chipsets (like Ivy Bridge) will still run at full Gen3 speeds with our launch drivers.This statement confirms our assertions made in the article. NVIDIA's statement on the GeForce.com product page originally formed the basis of this article, which we pasted verbatim, while preparing the article. Motherboard manufacturers have extensively marketed their LGA2011 products as natively supporting PCI-Express Gen 3.0 (8 GT/s). What's more, the datasheet of Intel Core i7 LGA2011 processors (refer 1.2.2) clearly mentions the PCI-Express root complex as supporting 8 GT/s. AMD Southern Islands GPUs have supported PCI-Express Gen 3.0 on LGA2011 platforms since day one.
GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. It operates properly within the SIG PCI Express Specification and has been validated on multiple upcoming PCI Express 3.0 platforms. Some motherboard manufacturers have released updated SBIOS to enable the Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform to run at up to 8GT/s bus speeds. NVIDIA is currently working to validate X79/SNB-E with GTX 680 at these speeds with the goal of enabling 8GT/s via a future software update. Until this validation is complete, the GTX 680 will operate at PCIE 2.0 speeds on X79/SNB-E-based motherboards with the latest web drivers.
ASRock X79 Extreme11 New Iteration Pictured, Packs Stronger VRM
At CeBIT, ASRock already grabbed a lot of attention with its unveiling of the X79 Extreme11 motherboard. The motherboard was detailed to great lengths then. It appears like the design was still a work-in-progress, and the company has an even newer iteration. Pictured below is this latest iteration. You will notice how ASRock redid the CPU VRM. While the one shown at CeBIT packed a 16-phase VRM, this one steps it up to 24. On the obverse side of the PCB, it squeezed in chokes for all 24-phases, and compact Driver-MOSFET (DrMOS) chips for 12 (probably the other 12 are located on the reverse side of the PCB). The first iteration shown at CeBIT used LFPAK MOSFET design. A DrMOS combines up/down FETs and driver IC into a single, space-efficient package. Companies like Renesas have held interest in innovating with DrMOS chips, even compacting them further. The rest of the board is identical to the one pictured at CeBIT, except that the Creative Sound Core3D chip has the signature plastic cover over it, which can be found on Creative's Sound Core3D discrete sound cards.
SAMA Introduces Premium 370W PSU
Chinese OEM SAMA unveiled a premium 370W PSU, with a name that roughly translates to "Black Charm." Despite its output capacity of 370W making it fit only for entry-level desktops, and office PCs, it has a premium design, and is cooled by a 120 mm Yate Loon fan. It uses a dual-12V rail design, with its contribution to the output table being around 340W. Although not 80 Plus certified, its makers claim over 80% efficiency. It is said to have sufficient cable connectivity for entry-level desktops, including 60 cm-long 24-pin ATX, and 70 cm-long 4+4 pin ATX/EPS connectors. The source did not give out pricing information.
BIOSTAR Introduces the TA970XE AM3+ Motherboard
BIOSTAR Group, the world renowned manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, industrial computing systems and peripherals, announces the new generation of TA970XE series motherboards for AMD AM3+ CPUs. Their capabilities are very close to the top TA990FXE and offer overclockers and gamers considerable power and flexible settings for a reasonable price.
The TA970XE board sports the ATX form-factor (305 x 225 mm) on a powerful AMD 970 chipset with the SB950 Southbridge. It provides stable and high performance with any Socket AM3+ CPUs of the Phenom II X6, Phenom II X4, Phenom II X3, Phenom II X2, Athlon II X4, Athlon II X3, Athlon II X2 and Sempron Series including the most powerful 6-core and 8-core AMD FX, AMD Phenom II and AMD Athlon II CPUs with the TDP up to 140 W.
The TA970XE board sports the ATX form-factor (305 x 225 mm) on a powerful AMD 970 chipset with the SB950 Southbridge. It provides stable and high performance with any Socket AM3+ CPUs of the Phenom II X6, Phenom II X4, Phenom II X3, Phenom II X2, Athlon II X4, Athlon II X3, Athlon II X2 and Sempron Series including the most powerful 6-core and 8-core AMD FX, AMD Phenom II and AMD Athlon II CPUs with the TDP up to 140 W.
ZOTAC Working On GeForce GTX 680 with 2 GHz Core Clock Speed
Speaking at a conference of AIC partners, ZOTAC (China) General Manager Mr. Kwai claimed that his company was working on a "Godly" GeForce GTX 680 non-reference design graphics card, with 2 GHz core clock speed. The card will be designed to demonstrate ZOTAC's engineering potential with non-reference designs. It will be ready by mid-April, 2012. Then again, there could be a catch. ZOTAC China has, in the past, designed certain bleeding-edge graphics cards exclusively for the Chinese market, which never made it to Europe and the US. ZOTAC is an NVIDIA-exclusive brand backed by OEM Goliath PC Partner, which also holds AMD-exclusive brand Sapphire Technology.
ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards - Small but Versatile
Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the world's leading motherboard, graphics card, barebone system, notebook and mobile device manufacturer announces a variety of options of Thin Mini-ITX for users to meet their different demands with AIO (All-In-One) and motherboards.
To target different segments, ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards are not only compatible with AIO but also with small form factor PCs, offering a wide range of solutions including H61H2-TI, H61H2-G11 and CDC-TI. With the growth in popularity of AIO, acceptance of the Thin Mini-ITX platform proves to be leading standard of this new trend, allowing for future-proof upgradeability.
To target different segments, ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards are not only compatible with AIO but also with small form factor PCs, offering a wide range of solutions including H61H2-TI, H61H2-G11 and CDC-TI. With the growth in popularity of AIO, acceptance of the Thin Mini-ITX platform proves to be leading standard of this new trend, allowing for future-proof upgradeability.
Intel's Future SSD Plans Detailed
After asking around Taiwan, Digitimes has apparently found out Intel's SSD intentions for the rest of this year. As soon as May the Santa Clara-based chip giant is said to bring out the 300 Series ' Maple Crest' drives, as well as the 720 Series (Ramsdale). The 300s are consumer-grade solutions, while the 720s target enterprises and feature a PCIe interface.
The 720 Series SSDs will come in 400 GB and 800 GB capacities and, like the 300 Series, will utilize 25 nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.
In Q3 Intel is set to be making the transition to 20 nm NAND and will release the 500 Series 'King Crest' models, while later on, in Q4 we should see the arrival of the 100 GB, 200 GB, 400 GB and 800 GB Taylorsville drives part of the 700 Series, and the Jay Crest and Oak Crest SSDs bearing the 300 Series banner.
The 720 Series SSDs will come in 400 GB and 800 GB capacities and, like the 300 Series, will utilize 25 nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.
In Q3 Intel is set to be making the transition to 20 nm NAND and will release the 500 Series 'King Crest' models, while later on, in Q4 we should see the arrival of the 100 GB, 200 GB, 400 GB and 800 GB Taylorsville drives part of the 700 Series, and the Jay Crest and Oak Crest SSDs bearing the 300 Series banner.
Eurocom Adds NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, GTX 670M, GTX 660M and GT 650M To Its Lineup
Eurocom is supporting the new line of high performance GeForce GPUs from NVIDIA including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, 670M and 660 in single and SLI configurations in select models. Eurocom will also be supporting the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M in select Optimus models.
The addition of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX and GT series GPU offers users new levels of high performance GPUs for computing in single and SLI (dual) configurations in new Eurocom notebooks based on next generation Intel technology. The new NVIDIA 600 series GPUs will complement the NVIDIA Quadro GPUs, already offered by Eurocom to its professional clients. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M comes with 2 GB of DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 620 Mhz for the utmost in graphics performance. Eurocom will be utilizing NVIDIA 3D technology in single and SLI configurations to improve overall graphics and 3D professional capability with enhanced performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 336 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 598 MHz. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 660M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores, with the GPU running at 835 MHz.
The addition of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX and GT series GPU offers users new levels of high performance GPUs for computing in single and SLI (dual) configurations in new Eurocom notebooks based on next generation Intel technology. The new NVIDIA 600 series GPUs will complement the NVIDIA Quadro GPUs, already offered by Eurocom to its professional clients. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M comes with 2 GB of DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 620 Mhz for the utmost in graphics performance. Eurocom will be utilizing NVIDIA 3D technology in single and SLI configurations to improve overall graphics and 3D professional capability with enhanced performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 336 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 598 MHz. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 660M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores, with the GPU running at 835 MHz.
PNY Introduce the tiny Cube Attaché
PNY introduce one of its USB flash drive collection, a product for business people. The PNY Cube Attaché boasts of a simple and no-nonsense cube design with solid colors of red and black symbolizing professional coherence. The small and ultra-light drive easily lets you carry your presentations from your work PC to the conference room with no hassle. Don't let the classic appearance fool you as this drive comes in a strong and rugged polymer body that can endure rough usage.
The Cube Attaché has a cap that snugly fits onto and seals off the USB plug, protecting it against dust and water. We must mention here that it is based on COB packaging technology using A+ grade memory chip that allows it to be packaged in such tiny dimensions and yet ensure good performance. The small size of 7 mm x 16 mm x 31 mm and weight of just 4.2g makes it very easy to carry it in the pocket. Additionally, it also has a hole to attach it to a lanyard or to a keychain, belt, wallet, etc.
The Cube Attaché has a cap that snugly fits onto and seals off the USB plug, protecting it against dust and water. We must mention here that it is based on COB packaging technology using A+ grade memory chip that allows it to be packaged in such tiny dimensions and yet ensure good performance. The small size of 7 mm x 16 mm x 31 mm and weight of just 4.2g makes it very easy to carry it in the pocket. Additionally, it also has a hole to attach it to a lanyard or to a keychain, belt, wallet, etc.
Thursday, March 22nd 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Keyboards
Motherboards
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Kepler 2 GB Review
Today NVIDIA released their new GeForce GTX 680 which is based on the company's brand-new Kepler architecture. The card comes with massively improved performance per Watt. It also introduces an automatic dynamic overclocking method which gives the card the leading edge, making it the fastest single GPU graphics card in the world.
Embedded Graphics: Imagination Tech Supplies More GPU IP than all Others Combined
Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated mobile devices graphics chip shipments for 2011. Mobile devices include smartphones, tablets, cameras, vehicles, and game consoles.
The market for smart mobile devices is soaring. Mobile devices are not necessarily replacing the PC, but they are outselling PCs. Increasingly mobile devices have a graphics processor and those processors are integrated in the device's system on a chip (SoC) application processor.
The market for smart mobile devices is soaring. Mobile devices are not necessarily replacing the PC, but they are outselling PCs. Increasingly mobile devices have a graphics processor and those processors are integrated in the device's system on a chip (SoC) application processor.
Micron Technology Reports Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal 2012
Micron Technology, Inc., today announced results of operations for its second quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended March 1, 2012. For the second quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $224 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion. The results for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $187 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and net income of $72 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.3 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.
V3 Gaming PCs Now Available with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Graphics
V3 Gaming, manufacturer of high-end computer systems, has announced the availability of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card in all of its desktop computer systems. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the fastest DirectX 11 card to date by a significant margin, and packs in an unbelievable amount of features, such as single-card NVIDIA Surround and NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync technology.
The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card is the first look at the all new "Kepler" GPU architecture that represents a significant upgrade over the previous generation in terms of both performance and functionality. NVIDIA's Kepler architecture brings massive GPU compute superiority and is designed to deliver faster, more power-efficient performance. The GeForce GTX 680 is equipped with 1536 CUDA cores arranged in the brand new SMX streaming multiprocessor configuration and 2 GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory.
The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card is the first look at the all new "Kepler" GPU architecture that represents a significant upgrade over the previous generation in terms of both performance and functionality. NVIDIA's Kepler architecture brings massive GPU compute superiority and is designed to deliver faster, more power-efficient performance. The GeForce GTX 680 is equipped with 1536 CUDA cores arranged in the brand new SMX streaming multiprocessor configuration and 2 GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory.
Did NVIDIA Originally Intend to Call GTX 680 as GTX 670 Ti?
Although it doesn't matter anymore, there are several bits of evidence supporting the theory that NVIDIA originally intended for its GK104-based performance graphics card to be named "GeForce GTX 670 Ti", before deciding to go with "GeForce GTX 680" towards the end. With the advent of 2012, we've had our industry sources refer to the part as "GTX 670 Ti". The very first picture of the GeForce GTX 680 disclosed to the public, early this month, revealed a slightly old qualification sample, which had one thing different from the card we have with us today: the model name "GTX 670 Ti" was etched onto the cooler shroud, our industry sources disclosed pictures of early samples having 6+8 pin power connectors.
Next up, while NVIDIA did re-christian GTX 670 Ti to GTX 680, it was rather sloppy at it. The first picture below shows the contents of the Boardshots (stylized) folder in NVIDIA's "special place" for the media. It contains all the assets NVIDIA allows the press, retailers, and other partners to use. Assets are distributed in various formats, the TIFF is a standard image-format used by print-media, for its high dot-pitch. Apart from a heavy payload, the TIFF image file allows tags, that can be read by Windows Explorer, these tags help people at the archives. The tags for images in TIFF format, of the GTX 680 distributed to its partners in the media and industry contain the tag "GTX 670 Ti".
Next up, while NVIDIA did re-christian GTX 670 Ti to GTX 680, it was rather sloppy at it. The first picture below shows the contents of the Boardshots (stylized) folder in NVIDIA's "special place" for the media. It contains all the assets NVIDIA allows the press, retailers, and other partners to use. Assets are distributed in various formats, the TIFF is a standard image-format used by print-media, for its high dot-pitch. Apart from a heavy payload, the TIFF image file allows tags, that can be read by Windows Explorer, these tags help people at the archives. The tags for images in TIFF format, of the GTX 680 distributed to its partners in the media and industry contain the tag "GTX 670 Ti".
Gainward Announces its GeForce GTX 680
Palit-owned AIB maker Gainward has done as expected today by unveiling a branded GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. Seen below, the Kepler-powered card features support for DirectX 11(.1), CUDA, PhysX, 3D Vision Surround, and for 3-way SLI.
Like all the other stock GTX 680s announced today, Gainward's offering has 1536 CUDA Cores, a base GPU clock of 1006 MHz, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM @ 6000 MHz, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus, two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The card is now available priced at €498.95.
Like all the other stock GTX 680s announced today, Gainward's offering has 1536 CUDA Cores, a base GPU clock of 1006 MHz, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM @ 6000 MHz, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus, two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The card is now available priced at €498.95.
Toshiba Qosmio X870 Packs A Potent Combo
When we learned early details about the Qosmio X870 from Toshiba, we took it as a sufficiently impressive combination of "Ivy Bridge" and "GeForce Kepler", without a clue about which exact models they were. DonanimHaber went hands on with one of these beasts and discovered it instead packs top-rate versions of Ivy Bridge and GeForce Fermi...err, right.
The X870 is driven by Core i7-3610QM. This chip is perhaps the most popular Core i7 mobile chip notebook designers will have access to, from the 3rd generation Core processor family. Armed with 4 cores, 8 threads (enabled with HTT), the i7-3610QM has a nominal clock speed of 2.30 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency as high as 3.30 GHz. Unlike higher Core i7 Extreme mobile models, its L3 cache is limited to 6 MB. Handling graphics, on the other hand, is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 670M. The GT 670 is based on 40 nm GF114 GPU, and packs 336 CUDA cores, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Other notable features of the Qosmio X870 include 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, a 17.3-inch display with 1920x1080 pixels resolution, an SSD holding the OS and programs, and a 2 TB HDD holding data.
The X870 is driven by Core i7-3610QM. This chip is perhaps the most popular Core i7 mobile chip notebook designers will have access to, from the 3rd generation Core processor family. Armed with 4 cores, 8 threads (enabled with HTT), the i7-3610QM has a nominal clock speed of 2.30 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency as high as 3.30 GHz. Unlike higher Core i7 Extreme mobile models, its L3 cache is limited to 6 MB. Handling graphics, on the other hand, is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 670M. The GT 670 is based on 40 nm GF114 GPU, and packs 336 CUDA cores, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Other notable features of the Qosmio X870 include 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, a 17.3-inch display with 1920x1080 pixels resolution, an SSD holding the OS and programs, and a 2 TB HDD holding data.
AVADirect Starts Selling NVIDIA GTX 680 Graphics Processing Unit
Today AVADirect, a leading custom computer manufacturer, announced that they are now selling the new NVIDIA GTX 680 graphic processing unit. The GTX 680 is based off of the previous 580 graphics processing unit that NVIDIA has been re-inventing for the past year. They produced ground-breaking performance benchmarks, and reached a whole new level of capabilities that were not tapped by the graphics community, until now. The GTX 680 promises to reach new heights and create a serious impact in gaming and 3D rendering performance.
NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology is similar to the Turbo Boost function seen in Intel Sandy Bridge processors. The graphics processing unit will increase the clock speed based on current demand allocated to the graphics card. If you're immersed in a game, and you come across a scenario that takes more graphics processing power, the Boost Technology will increase the core clock thus keeping gameplay as smooth as possible. TXAA Technology, developed by Nvidia, is a new form of anti-aliasing that combines core functions of FXAA to create a balance between performance and image quality. Adaptive Vertical Sync enables per your current frame rate to provide the most fluent gameplay throughout many games available. PCI Express 3.0 has recently been adopted by Intel's X79 chipset and promised increased bandwidth for more performance. By using this technology through the bus of the graphics card, performance will be heavily improved, over a PCI Express 2.0 expansion slot.
NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology is similar to the Turbo Boost function seen in Intel Sandy Bridge processors. The graphics processing unit will increase the clock speed based on current demand allocated to the graphics card. If you're immersed in a game, and you come across a scenario that takes more graphics processing power, the Boost Technology will increase the core clock thus keeping gameplay as smooth as possible. TXAA Technology, developed by Nvidia, is a new form of anti-aliasing that combines core functions of FXAA to create a balance between performance and image quality. Adaptive Vertical Sync enables per your current frame rate to provide the most fluent gameplay throughout many games available. PCI Express 3.0 has recently been adopted by Intel's X79 chipset and promised increased bandwidth for more performance. By using this technology through the bus of the graphics card, performance will be heavily improved, over a PCI Express 2.0 expansion slot.
GIGABYTE Out With its GeForce GTX 680
GIGABYTE took its own sweet time launching its GeForce GTX 680, but no harm done. Carrying the product code GV-N680D5-2GD-B, GIGABYTE's graphics card sticks to NVIDIA reference board design, decorated with a slick-looking abstract art. The card also sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core), 1058 MHz (boost), and 1502 MHz / 6.00 GHz effective GDDR5 memory. It is armed with 2 GB of memory sitting across a 256-bit wide memory interface. Based on the 28 nm GK104 GPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is powered by 1536 CUDA cores, and a revolutionary, energy-efficient architecture. GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499.
iBUYPOWER Announces Partnership with Major League Gaming
iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce it is the official gaming PC partner of Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest competitive gaming league and largest eSports stage in the US. iBUYPOWER's Chimera 4, the fourth generation of iBUYPOWER's signature gaming line inspired by the mythical fire-breathing beast, will be used as the official competition PC for all 2012 MLG Pro Circuit Events.
"We are thrilled to have iBUYPOWER onboard for the 2012 season," said John Lane, EVP Partnerships, Major League Gaming. "Their systems offer our competitors the power they need to perform at the highest levels of professional gaming."
"We are thrilled to have iBUYPOWER onboard for the 2012 season," said John Lane, EVP Partnerships, Major League Gaming. "Their systems offer our competitors the power they need to perform at the highest levels of professional gaming."
Club 3D Comes Up with a GeForce GTX 680 Too
Dutch board maker Club 3D has today joined the Kepler launch party and announced its very own GeForce GTX 680. Based on NVIDIA's reference design, Club 3D's card is equipped with one GK104 28 nm GPU, and features 1536 CUDA Cores, a base clock of 1006 MHz, a 256-bit memory interface, and 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM set to 6000 MHz.
The GTX 680 packs a dual-slot cooler, has 3-way SLI support, and includes four display outputs (dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort), PCI-Express 3.0, and goodies like Adaptive V-Sync, single-card 3D Vision Surround, TXAA, and the NVENC video encoder. The Club 3D GeForce GTX 680 can be found listed @ 487 Euro.
The GTX 680 packs a dual-slot cooler, has 3-way SLI support, and includes four display outputs (dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort), PCI-Express 3.0, and goodies like Adaptive V-Sync, single-card 3D Vision Surround, TXAA, and the NVENC video encoder. The Club 3D GeForce GTX 680 can be found listed @ 487 Euro.
MSI Readies G-Series Notebooks Based on the latest NVIDIA GPUs
MSI's upcoming G-Series notebooks will be based on the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M for the GT60 and GT70 and the GeForce GT 650M discrete mobile graphics chips for the GE60 and GE70 and will also include the powerful 3rd Generation Intel Core processors. Combined with all other features, like MSI's exclusive GPU Boost powered by NVIDIA Optimus, Dynaudio speakers and the SteelSeries keyboard, these notebooks are ready for all current and upcoming games and are simply the perfect choice for gamers.
SteelSeries Design by Gamers Campaign Continues
Today, SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of competitive gaming peripherals announced that this weekend during the Major League Gaming (MLG) Winter Championship in Columbus, Ohio, attendees and professional players will have an opportunity to provide feedback about the mouse, mousepad and keyboard designs for the upcoming SteelSeries and MLG co-branded products.
"We introduced the SteelSeries Design by Gamers campaign in 2011 by asking our large Facebook community which mouse design they preferred; and as a direct result of this feedback, we released the black and orange SteelSeries Kana Mouse. We are taking that concept to the next level together with Major League Gaming," said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom. "MLG Winter Championship attendees will be asked what features, functionality and designs they prefer. What better way to understand exactly what the MLG gamers, audience and fans want out of their peripherals than by asking them first hand?"
"We introduced the SteelSeries Design by Gamers campaign in 2011 by asking our large Facebook community which mouse design they preferred; and as a direct result of this feedback, we released the black and orange SteelSeries Kana Mouse. We are taking that concept to the next level together with Major League Gaming," said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom. "MLG Winter Championship attendees will be asked what features, functionality and designs they prefer. What better way to understand exactly what the MLG gamers, audience and fans want out of their peripherals than by asking them first hand?"
EK Unveils its GeForce GTX 680 Full Cover Water Blocks
Not to be out-gunned by Aqua Computer, Ljubljana-based EK Water Blocks has also announced its own liquid cooling offerings for NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The EK-FC680 GTX series full cover (GPU, RAM, VRM) water blocks are designed to fit standard GTX 680 (and 670 apparently) cards and feature G1/4" threaded fittings can be used on both sides.
There are four blocks listed by EK, two priced at €84.95 that have an electrolytic copper base, and two with an electroless nickel (EN) plated base which cost €94.96. The blocks can have either a POM Acetal or an acrylic cover.
There are four blocks listed by EK, two priced at €84.95 that have an electrolytic copper base, and two with an electroless nickel (EN) plated base which cost €94.96. The blocks can have either a POM Acetal or an acrylic cover.
Ivy Bridge, G.Skill, and GIGABYTE Make DDR3-3000 MHz Possible
Armed with an Intel Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" processor, a G.Skill-made memory kit, and GIGABYTE Z77X-UD5H, proverclocker Sin0822 managed to run a test bench with all four of the motherboard's DDR3 DIMM slots populated, at a DRAM clock speed of 3003 MHz DDR (1501.5 MHz actual). At this clock speed, the test bench was just about stable for its CPU-Z Validation. Sin0822 took advantage of the 29.33 divider for memory, which is exclusive for Ivy Bridge, that Sandy Bridge lacked. The remainder of the clock speed target was met by a gentle bump in the base clock, to 102.37 MHz (from 100 MHz). To achieve a more stable setting in which stress tests can be run, the memory clock had to fall back to 1416 MHz. What makes this feat impressive is the fact that all four DIMM slots were populated.
NVIDIA Debuts Four Kepler-Powered Mobile GPUs
The GeForce GTX 680 may be today's highlight release but it's not the only Kepler-based offering unveiled by NVIDIA. Besides announcing its new flagship desktop card, NVIDIA today also introduced multiple GeForce 600M Series mobile cards, four of which are powered by the 28 nm GK107 chip.
The Kepler-flavored models in the 600M family are the Enthusiast-grade GeForce GTX 660M and the 'Performance class' GT 650M, GT 640M and GT 640M LE.
The Kepler-flavored models in the 600M family are the Enthusiast-grade GeForce GTX 660M and the 'Performance class' GT 650M, GT 640M and GT 640M LE.
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Cracks 1842 MHz Core
Thought the 1800/7700 MHz Radeon HD 7970 OC feat involving an MSI R7970 Lightning was impressive, wait till you see what the punters at EVGA, with K|ngp|n have in store. Armed with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards, augmented by EVGA EPower board, and PrecisionX software, the EVGA GTX 680 was able to crack the 1800 MHz core frequency mark, reaching 1842 MHz, powered by a core voltage of 1.212V. Interestingly, the memory clock offset wasn't tinkered with. The rest of the system consisted of a Core i7-3960X clocked at ~5.50 GHz. The bench was stable enough to score 14912 points at 3DMark 11 (performance preset). Compare this, to the R7970 Lightning clocked at 1800 MHz core, 7.70 GHz memory (370 GB/s bandwidth), with no additional soldering except plugging in the GPU Reactor, and a slower Core i7-3960X CPU (clocked at 5.00 GHz), which went on to score P15035. Luckily for EVGA, the overclocking feat hasn't ended, and is still work in progress.
Lucid DynamiX to Free System Limitations of High Performance PC Games
LucidLogix (Lucid), GPU virtualization software leaders, today announced DynamiX, a unique software implementation that will allow selected formerly unplayable high-performance games to be enjoyed on mainstream and low-end laptops and Ultrabooks equipped with only an integrated GPU. A free trial version that initially expands the playability of the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on a variety of notebooks is immediately available for download.
"With DynamiX, a single embedded GPU is all you will need to enjoy your favorite high-performance titles on most new notebooks without reducing display resolution or minimizing game performance settings," said Offir Remez, Lucid co-founder and president. "We are offering this FREE trial beta version as a proof-of-concept, while working to provide DynamiX for more games. Try it and tell us what you think!"
"With DynamiX, a single embedded GPU is all you will need to enjoy your favorite high-performance titles on most new notebooks without reducing display resolution or minimizing game performance settings," said Offir Remez, Lucid co-founder and president. "We are offering this FREE trial beta version as a proof-of-concept, while working to provide DynamiX for more games. Try it and tell us what you think!"
EVGA Rolls Out Precision X - The Ultimate GeForce Controller
In addition to announcing its GeForce GX 680 line-up, EVGA has today also introduced a new version of its Precision overclocking software. Named Precision X, this updated release supports the latest GPU technologies and "redefines what overclocking software should be".
Download EVGA Precision X (EVGA member log in required)
Download EVGA Precision X (EVGA member log in required)
PNY Launches its GeForce GTX 680 XLR8 Enthusiast Edition Graphics Card
PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") today announced the release of the much anticipated XLR8 GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 graphics card. A first launch from the NVIDIA 28nm Kepler family of graphics cards, the PNY GeForce GTX 680 delivers more than just state-of-the-art features and technology. It houses truly game-changing performance that taps into the powerful next-generation GeForce architecture to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming.
The innovative new GeForce architecture was designed to deliver power-efficient performance that's faster, smoother, and richer than current graphics cards on the market. Featuring a host of new technology advancements, the GTX 680 was specially designed for quiet gaming with acoustic dampening materials, a high efficiency embedded heat pipe, and a custom stack-shaped fin for better airflow.
The innovative new GeForce architecture was designed to deliver power-efficient performance that's faster, smoother, and richer than current graphics cards on the market. Featuring a host of new technology advancements, the GTX 680 was specially designed for quiet gaming with acoustic dampening materials, a high efficiency embedded heat pipe, and a custom stack-shaped fin for better airflow.
Aqua Computer Announces AquaGraFX GTX 680 Water Block
German PC liquid-cooling experts Aqua Computer launched the AquaGraFX GTX 680, the industry's first full-coverage water block for NVIDIA's newly-launched high-end graphics card. Its primary material is exposed-copper. The coolant channel not only passes through the central portion covering the GPU and memory, but also the tail portion, where heat is drawn from the VRM area of the graphics card.
At the portion that's right about the GPU, the coolant channel is densely ridged, to increase surface area of dissipation to the coolant. To top if off, Aqua Computer used a brushed metal cover. It has a modular inlet/outlet design that suits both standalone and SLI systems, including 3-way and 4-way ones. The side making contact with the card's sensitive components are polished to a mirror-finish. Aqua Computer did not give out pricing/availability information, it shouldn't be far away.
At the portion that's right about the GPU, the coolant channel is densely ridged, to increase surface area of dissipation to the coolant. To top if off, Aqua Computer used a brushed metal cover. It has a modular inlet/outlet design that suits both standalone and SLI systems, including 3-way and 4-way ones. The side making contact with the card's sensitive components are polished to a mirror-finish. Aqua Computer did not give out pricing/availability information, it shouldn't be far away.
Point of View Introduces its GeForce GTX 680
Point of View, a premier NVIDIA graphics partner and manufacturer of Android tablets, notebooks and other hardware, launches today the first card of the GeForce 600 family: the POV GeForce GTX 680.
Current gen games have become more beautiful with higher poly meshes, larger textures and better shading technologies. In their quest for realism, game developers have demanded that we push graphics technologies to the limit.
The DirectX 11 and shader model 5.0 supporting GeForce GTX 680 is unlike any graphics card you've seen so far, performance wise and feature wise!
Current gen games have become more beautiful with higher poly meshes, larger textures and better shading technologies. In their quest for realism, game developers have demanded that we push graphics technologies to the limit.
The DirectX 11 and shader model 5.0 supporting GeForce GTX 680 is unlike any graphics card you've seen so far, performance wise and feature wise!
MAINGEAR Delivers NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Graphics on All Desktops
MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder of custom desktops, notebooks, and workstations, offers PC gamers and enthusiasts the next generation of NVIDIA architecture that delivers a powerful new graphics solution to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming on their award-winning desktop systems.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the fastest single GPU graphics card on the market today with superior power efficiency that allows for the card to be extremely quiet, along with new key visual technologies as well as added multi-display capabilities. MAINGEAR desktops equipped with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card offer the fastest graphics performance to date thanks to NVIDIA's GPU boost technology, which dynamically maximizes clock speeds based on the workload of the program to push performance to new levels and brings out the best in every game. This new generation of NVIDIA graphics provides the best gaming experience possible with maximum detail settings enabled.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the fastest single GPU graphics card on the market today with superior power efficiency that allows for the card to be extremely quiet, along with new key visual technologies as well as added multi-display capabilities. MAINGEAR desktops equipped with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card offer the fastest graphics performance to date thanks to NVIDIA's GPU boost technology, which dynamically maximizes clock speeds based on the workload of the program to push performance to new levels and brings out the best in every game. This new generation of NVIDIA graphics provides the best gaming experience possible with maximum detail settings enabled.
Inno3D Teases with Liquid-Cooled GeForce GTX 680, Reveals New Arctic Accelero Cooler
Like almost every other NVIDIA AIC partner, Inno3D launched its NVIDIA reference-design air-cooled graphics card. In addition to that, it also teased us with an upcoming liquid-cooled model, which is current still in on the drawing-boards, as a CGI drawing. The card is a combination of a green-colored NVIDIA reference-design PCB (probably overclocked out of the box), and Arctic's newest Accelero Hybrid cooling solution, which combines a small fan-heatsink with a liquid channel. This liquid channel is part of a pre-fitted, self-contained, closed loop. Find the CGI sketches below.
KFA2 Launches the New 6 Series, with the GeForce GTX 680
KFA2 announced today the GeForce GTX 680 manufactured with the fastest, most efficient GPU ever built. The new ultra-high performance design features and the latest technologies from NVIDIA, including GPU Boost for faster performance, TXAA and Adaptive VSync for smoother visuals and gameplay, and support for up to 4 displays with triple screen 3D Vision Surround on a single card for a richer gaming experience.
Inno3D Rolls Out its GeForce GTX 680, Too
Inno3D is thrilled to announce the launch of the much anticipated Inno3D GeForce GTX 680, the world's fastest , most efficient GPU ever built. The Inno3D GeForce GTX 680 delivers more than just the state-of-the-art features and technology. It gives you truly game-changing performance that taps into the powerful next-generation GeForce architecture to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming.
Palit Introduces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
Palit Microsystems Ltd, the leading graphics card manufacturer, releases the powerful new Palit GeForce GTX 680 and its delivers more than just state-of-the-art features and technology. It gives you truly game-changing performance that will transform the way you experience all your favorite titles-now and in the future.
Armed with 1536-core GPU that clocked at 1006MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory at 6GHz, Palit GeForce GTX 680 simply is the world's fastest Dx11 graphics card. The NVIDIA brand new Kepler architecture which delivers the astonishing DirectX 11 gaming experience that can devastate competing GPUs with ease by offering 40% higher performance than previous generation. And with new NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology, you can now have the optimized 3D gaming under multi-monitor setting from a single Palit GeForce GTX 680.
Armed with 1536-core GPU that clocked at 1006MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory at 6GHz, Palit GeForce GTX 680 simply is the world's fastest Dx11 graphics card. The NVIDIA brand new Kepler architecture which delivers the astonishing DirectX 11 gaming experience that can devastate competing GPUs with ease by offering 40% higher performance than previous generation. And with new NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology, you can now have the optimized 3D gaming under multi-monitor setting from a single Palit GeForce GTX 680.
CyberpowerPC Debuts PC Gaming Series Based on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
CyberpowerPC Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming machines and Intel's 2011 Performance Client Innovation award winner, today announced it will feature the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, the fastest single GPU video card, across its entire desktop gaming PC line.
The GeForce GTX 680 offers the fastest, smoothest and richest graphics experience of any single GPU on the market with its eye-popping visual technologies, blazing performance and superior power efficiency as well as support for multiple displays including NVIDIA's stereoscopic 3D Vision technology.
The GeForce GTX 680 offers the fastest, smoothest and richest graphics experience of any single GPU on the market with its eye-popping visual technologies, blazing performance and superior power efficiency as well as support for multiple displays including NVIDIA's stereoscopic 3D Vision technology.
Galaxy GeForce GTX 680 Launched
One of NVIDIA's biggest board partners by volume, Galaxy unveiled its GeForce GTX 680. Its lineup has just the one model as of today, which sticks to NVIDIA reference board and cooler designs, with minor aesthetic touches. Galaxy's card also sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006/1056/6000 MHz (core/boost/memory effective). The 28 nm chip packs 1536 CUDA cores, and a 256-bit wide memory interface, holding 2 GB of memory. Galaxy's card is priced at US $499.
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Launched, Five Models
EVGA kicked off its GeForce GTX 680 lineup with no less than five models. The Into, SC, FTW, Classified, and HydroCopper. Intro is the absolute base model, with fanatic adherence to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006/1056/6000 MHz (core/boost/memory effective) and board design; SC (or SuperClocked) is a factory-overclocked model that has slightly higher clock speeds, and augments the NVIDIA reference design with an EVGA-exclusive backplate. Then there's FTW, which features a custom cooler design by EVGA, with even higher clock speeds than SC. The last air-cooled model is the Classified, which our sources tell us will have "astoundingly" high clock speeds. HydroCopper retains the clock profile of Classified, but replaces the cooling assembly with a Swiftech-built copper water-block. EVGA is yet to reveal the design of Classified, and the clock speeds of the factory-overclocked models. There are other variations, such as EVGA's "Signature" design with SuperClocked clock-profile, FTW with 4 GB memory, etc.
ASUS Announces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
ASUS announced its GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The GTX680-2GD5 from ASUS, sticks to NVIDIA reference design, augmented with its own sticker design, which nice and minimalist. ASUS mentions 1058 MHz as its engine clock (unclear if it's base or engine), with 6.00 GHz memory clock. Its package include GPU Tweak software, though we're not sure if VoltageTweak is possible, since NVIDIA changed the voltage controller's software interface. ASUS GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499.
ZOTAC Announces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
ZOTAC International, a global innovator of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today unleashes the next-generation in PC graphics with the GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 graphics card redefines smooth, seamless and lifelike gaming with a new architecture, features and unprecedented performance.
Next-generation SMX unified shaders empower the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 with double the performance-per-watt and six-times the amount of processor cores per shader unit compared to the previous generations for out-of-this-world gaming performance. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 graphics card packs 2GB of the world's fastest GDDR5 video memory with a clock speed of 6008 MHz thanks to a new 28nm manufacturing process for unrestricted performance capabilities.
Next-generation SMX unified shaders empower the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 with double the performance-per-watt and six-times the amount of processor cores per shader unit compared to the previous generations for out-of-this-world gaming performance. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 graphics card packs 2GB of the world's fastest GDDR5 video memory with a clock speed of 6008 MHz thanks to a new 28nm manufacturing process for unrestricted performance capabilities.
Intel Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend
Intel Corporation's board of directors has declared a 21 cents per share (84 cents per share on an annual basis) quarterly dividend on the company's common stock. The dividend will be payable on June 1, 2012 to stockholders of record on May 7, 2012.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.
MSI Introduces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
Today leading international mainboard and graphics card maker MSI officially announces the new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card featuring the latest 28nm GeForce GTX 680 GPU and 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The GeForce GTX 680 graphics card is outfitted with the latest GPU that not only meets PCI Express 3.0 standards and supports DirectX 11 technology, but also features NVIDIA's GPU Boost technology. GPU Boost technology allows the core clock to be automatically adjusted on the fly for optimal gaming performance. When used with the MSI Afterburner overclocking utility, the power limit and clock offset can be adjusted as well for better overclocking capability. A single card can also support NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology for up to four monitors to give gamers the best gaming experience.
ORIGIN PC Unleashes New Game-Changing NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and GeForce GTX 675M
ORIGIN PC is excited to announce the launch of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 video card for their award-winning desktops and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M notebook GPU for their record breaking EON17-X laptop. Now whether you're gaming at home or on the go, you can now experience faster, smoother and richer gaming like never before. It's more than just innovative, it's game-changing. And to celebrate the launch of the most power efficient GPU ever created, ORIGIN PC is giving away a free 90GB Corsair Force GT Solid State Hard Drive on their systems for a limited time.
NVIDIA Launches the GeForce GTX 680 "Kepler" Graphics Card
NVIDIA today launched the first model in the GeForce Kepler GPU family, the GeForce GTX 680. Based on the spanking new "Kepler" architecture, and a high-performance chip derived from it, GK104, and built on the 28 nm fab process at TSMC, the GeForce GTX 680 is NVIDIA's fresh bid for single-GPU performance supremacy. The new chip packs a staggering 1536 CUDA cores (three-fold increase over GTX 580), 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface, and staggering clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core base), 1056 MHz (core boost), and 1502 MHz (memory, 6.00 GHz effective), with a memory interface bandwidth of 192 GB/s.
It doesn't stop there. NVIDIA introduced a clever new technology called GPU Boost, which makes the GPU self-aware of parameters such as load, voltages, temperatures, and auto-tunes clock speeds, to deliver the best performance per Watt ratio. NVIDIA also introduced Adaptive V-Sync, which smooths transition between lower than refresh-rate frame-rates, and V-sync rate, attempting to eliminate lag, and naturally prevent page-tearing. NVIDIA also introduced the new TXAA anti-aliasing algorithm, which is a performance-efficient image quality enhancement. To top it all off, the chip has a TDP of just 195W. Available today, though leading retailers in mature markets, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499 (MSRP).
It doesn't stop there. NVIDIA introduced a clever new technology called GPU Boost, which makes the GPU self-aware of parameters such as load, voltages, temperatures, and auto-tunes clock speeds, to deliver the best performance per Watt ratio. NVIDIA also introduced Adaptive V-Sync, which smooths transition between lower than refresh-rate frame-rates, and V-sync rate, attempting to eliminate lag, and naturally prevent page-tearing. NVIDIA also introduced the new TXAA anti-aliasing algorithm, which is a performance-efficient image quality enhancement. To top it all off, the chip has a TDP of just 195W. Available today, though leading retailers in mature markets, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499 (MSRP).
Patriot Memory VP, Mai Kosla to take on Global Sales Operations
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and enthusiast computer products is pleased to announce the company has named Mai Kosla as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales Operations. Ms. Kosla will serve a key role in strategic planning and improving sales productivity and operational efficiencies.
"Mai has a proven track record of developing and executing Patriot Memory's ongoing sales initiatives," said Doug Diggs, CFO of Patriot Memory. "Her strong skillset and experience will be vital to our executive management team in developing sales strategies."
"Mai has a proven track record of developing and executing Patriot Memory's ongoing sales initiatives," said Doug Diggs, CFO of Patriot Memory. "Her strong skillset and experience will be vital to our executive management team in developing sales strategies."
NVIDIA Releases the 301.10 WHQL Driver for the GeForce GTX 680
Since the GTX 680 will be launched later today, NVIDIA has decided to go ahead and publish the first (official) driver that supports its Kepler-powered card. Known as 301.10, this driver is WHQL certified, it only knows the GeForce GTX 680 (you'll need a modified inf file for 'expanded' support), and is bundled with the PhysX System Software v9.12.0213 (plus HD Audio v1.3.12.0).
GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32-bit) / GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64-bit)
GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32-bit) / GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64-bit)
ADATA Takes the Lead with the Launch of DDR3L ECC SO-DIMM for Micro-Servers
ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today launched a new line of DDR3L ECC SO-DIMM server memory modules, boasting low voltage, large densities, and rapid processing capability. They are designed and engineered especially for cloud computing solutions, and can greatly minimize the power consumption of a wide range of network systems.
A new kind of server is becoming increasingly needed for website hosting and mission critical applications. Micro-servers are a new type of server suited for the special workloads of data centers. Starting in the second half of 2009, many large data centers and information service suppliers have begun to use micro-servers. Micro-servers are taking an increasingly important role in small site dedicated hosting, lightweight web serving, and simple content delivery. Many semiconductor manufacturers have announced plans to enter the micro-server market, and are expected to release new low-power processors for use with high density servers.
A new kind of server is becoming increasingly needed for website hosting and mission critical applications. Micro-servers are a new type of server suited for the special workloads of data centers. Starting in the second half of 2009, many large data centers and information service suppliers have begun to use micro-servers. Micro-servers are taking an increasingly important role in small site dedicated hosting, lightweight web serving, and simple content delivery. Many semiconductor manufacturers have announced plans to enter the micro-server market, and are expected to release new low-power processors for use with high density servers.
CM Storm Trigger Gaming Keyboard Launched In Europe
Finally the high-end CM Storm Trigger keyboard will be launched in Europe! The CM Storm Trigger Keyboard is the first keyboard produced by CM Storm for the extreme gamers.
The Trigger keyboard offers you the ability to press up to 6 keys simultaneously and utilize five programmable macro keys with profile management. These features give you the possibility to reduce transport and redeployment times by storing profiles and key assignments with 64 KB of onboard memory. Next to this, the multi-media controls allow you to quickly adjust for example audio options to make working with the Trigger even easier.
The Trigger keyboard offers you the ability to press up to 6 keys simultaneously and utilize five programmable macro keys with profile management. These features give you the possibility to reduce transport and redeployment times by storing profiles and key assignments with 64 KB of onboard memory. Next to this, the multi-media controls allow you to quickly adjust for example audio options to make working with the Trigger even easier.
AMD A10-5800K "Trinity" APU Tested
Later this year, AMD will unveil its second-generation accelerated processing units (APUs) in the FM2 package, based on its brand-new "Piledriver" CPU and "Graphics CoreNext" GPU architectures. Among these, the part that is designed keeping overclockers in mind is the A10-5800K, which features an unlocked base clock multiplier, four x86-64 cores, 3.80 GHz (nominal) and 4.20 GHz Turbo Core clock speed, and AMD Radeon HD 7660D graphics. Find out more about the lineup here.
INPAI got its hands on an A10-5800K APU, and supporting socket FM2 motherboard, and wasted no time in comparing it to the current-generation A8-3850. INPAI put the two chips through SuperPi 1M, to measure single-thread performance, and 3DMark 06, to measure embedded-GPU performance. In SuperPi, A10-5800K crunched SuperPi 1M in 23.775 s, the A8-3850 did the same in 26.039 s. With 3DMark 06, the A10-5800K scored 9396 points, while the A8-3850 scored 6223. The inference that can be drawn out of this little test is that Trinity has significantly faster graphics, not so much CPU (taking into account A10-5800K cores were clocked over 30% higher than those of the A8-3850).
INPAI got its hands on an A10-5800K APU, and supporting socket FM2 motherboard, and wasted no time in comparing it to the current-generation A8-3850. INPAI put the two chips through SuperPi 1M, to measure single-thread performance, and 3DMark 06, to measure embedded-GPU performance. In SuperPi, A10-5800K crunched SuperPi 1M in 23.775 s, the A8-3850 did the same in 26.039 s. With 3DMark 06, the A10-5800K scored 9396 points, while the A8-3850 scored 6223. The inference that can be drawn out of this little test is that Trinity has significantly faster graphics, not so much CPU (taking into account A10-5800K cores were clocked over 30% higher than those of the A8-3850).
D-Link Launches New Line of SmartPro Switches for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses
D-Link, the cost-effective, standards-based unified networking solutions provider for small- and medium-sized businesses, today launched its DGS-1500 SmartPro switch series, providing the essential features of a managed switch, including Layer 3 functions such as static routing, at a price point accessible to small- and medium-sized businesses. The SmartPro series allows businesses, educational institutes, and security companies to invest in their networks now, without having to worry about the future impact on IT budgets.
Apacer Brings New Embedded SSD Designs to ESC West 2012
Apacer will display our newest embedded offerings along with live booth demonstrations emphasizing Apacer's strengths in managing abrupt power failure in all of our products, please join us at booth #848 during the ESC DESIGN West 2012 exhibition in the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.
With an established background in providing reliable embedded memory solutions, Apacer looks forward in presenting our latest products including high capacity 2.5" SSDs with both SATA and PATA availability, high speed mSATA 6Gb/s and embedded flash cards.
With an established background in providing reliable embedded memory solutions, Apacer looks forward in presenting our latest products including high capacity 2.5" SSDs with both SATA and PATA availability, high speed mSATA 6Gb/s and embedded flash cards.
TDK Unveils eSSD, Powered by GBDriver R3 Logic
Data storage expert TDK corporation unveiled the eSSD, a single-package embedded SSD chip. The chip combines a SATA 3 Gb/s SSD controller, and NAND flash in capacities ranging between 1 GB to 4 GB. The SSD controller logic is based on TDK's new GBDriver R3 controller design, and the NAND flash is of single-layer cell (SLC) type. The eSSD provides sequential transfer rates of 55 MB/s read, and 30 MB/s write, it packs an automatic garbage disposal and wear-leveling logic, along with native 128-bit AES data encryption. The package measures 17 x 17 mm, with a ball-count of 208. The chip can be part of anything, from large logic boards of embedded computing appliances, to tiny half-height mSATA SSDs. TDK is giving the chip in its mSATA board forms as evaluation samples.
Green House Unveils the PicoDrive T3 USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Keeping itself busy, Green House has today released a new flash drive family, the PicoDrive T3. The T3 drives measure 54.6 (W) x 17.5 (D) x 11.4 (H) mm, they weight 8 grams, they feature a USB 3.0 interface, a rotary cap, and deliver transfer speeds of up to 60 MB/s.
The PicoDrive T3 drives are backed by a one-year warranty and come in 4 GB ($11.7), 8 GB ($15.3), 16 GB ($23.7) and 32 GB ($47.7) capacities.
The PicoDrive T3 drives are backed by a one-year warranty and come in 4 GB ($11.7), 8 GB ($15.3), 16 GB ($23.7) and 32 GB ($47.7) capacities.
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Pictured, Too, $499 Pricing Confirmed
Here is the first picture of EVGA GeForce GTX 680. The best-selling GeForce AIC partner in the US, EVGA, opted for a minimalist sticker design, while sticking to NVIDIA reference board and cooler designs. In fact, all GeForce GTX 680 launched in the first-wave, do. Speaking of first-wave, TechnoReviews managed to screengrab American Retailer Newegg.com listing out nearly all the GeForce GTX 680 models that will be available on launch of the SKU.
The listing confirms the US $499 (before taxes) pricing of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680, because that's how low these cards are available for; they will never price it below NVIDIA-recommended MSRP. Newegg.com applying a $10 margin is quite natural, they've done it with pretty much every major graphics card market-launch this year, including that of the Radeon HD 7900 series. Assuming the GeForce GTX 680 beats Radeon HD 7970, as NVIDIA claims, our educated guess is it still won't start a "price-war" as such. AMD might recalibrate prices of HD 7900 series down 5~10%, but AMD and NVIDIA won't be able to drive prices below a threshold, and that threshold is governed by TSMC, its ability to ship 28 nm chips in volumes big enough, and at prices low enough, to support a price-war between the two GPU giants.
The listing confirms the US $499 (before taxes) pricing of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680, because that's how low these cards are available for; they will never price it below NVIDIA-recommended MSRP. Newegg.com applying a $10 margin is quite natural, they've done it with pretty much every major graphics card market-launch this year, including that of the Radeon HD 7900 series. Assuming the GeForce GTX 680 beats Radeon HD 7970, as NVIDIA claims, our educated guess is it still won't start a "price-war" as such. AMD might recalibrate prices of HD 7900 series down 5~10%, but AMD and NVIDIA won't be able to drive prices below a threshold, and that threshold is governed by TSMC, its ability to ship 28 nm chips in volumes big enough, and at prices low enough, to support a price-war between the two GPU giants.
Gigabyte Announces the AIRE M77 Wireless Optical Mouse
When it comes to a wireless mouse with an in-style design and reasonable price, previously, there had been very few products in the market to choose from. GIGABYTE is excited to introduce a new option for consumers looking for a stylish mouse at a great price, the AIRE M77 Must-Have Wireless Mouse, which satisfies all your basic needs and much more!
Just like the latest "It Bag" in the fashion industry, the AIRE M77 is your "It Mouse" that achieves exactly what you want and suits almost every condition. Plus, its ergonomic design and practical function setting will help you enjoy this mouse even more!
Just like the latest "It Bag" in the fashion industry, the AIRE M77 is your "It Mouse" that achieves exactly what you want and suits almost every condition. Plus, its ergonomic design and practical function setting will help you enjoy this mouse even more!
Razer Joins Forces with Korean League of Legends Team Maximum Impact Gaming
Razer, one of the world's pioneering supporters of e-Sports and Maximum Impact Gaming, the OnGameNet League of Legends Invitational champions, are proud to announce they will be working together in the future to bring more attention to the growing Korean League of Legends scene in Razer's continued effort to support and develop e-Sports in Korea
MiG Frost, one of the organization's two League of Legends squads, burst onto the scene last year when it took second place at the Korean WCG qualifiers, and then went on to represent Korea at the OGN League of Legends Invitational. Team captain Jang Gun "Woong" Woong expertly guided the fledgling Korean team to progress in the OGN League of Legends Invitational and also defeated global phenomenon Counter Logic Gaming in the grand finals to take first place. MiG will receive a direct invite to the upcoming televised League of Legends ProLeague, held in Korea. With the MiG gaming house in Seoul now up and running, MiG is more than ready to play a major role in the development of the Korean professional League of Legends scene.
MiG Frost, one of the organization's two League of Legends squads, burst onto the scene last year when it took second place at the Korean WCG qualifiers, and then went on to represent Korea at the OGN League of Legends Invitational. Team captain Jang Gun "Woong" Woong expertly guided the fledgling Korean team to progress in the OGN League of Legends Invitational and also defeated global phenomenon Counter Logic Gaming in the grand finals to take first place. MiG will receive a direct invite to the upcoming televised League of Legends ProLeague, held in Korea. With the MiG gaming house in Seoul now up and running, MiG is more than ready to play a major role in the development of the Korean professional League of Legends scene.
Extreme SSD Solution Skips SATA III in Favor of PCIe
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash storage solutions, today announces the new RAIDDrive upStream, a new type of SSD designed for the PCI backplane.
SSD solutions were first introduced as 2.5" SATA replacements for existing Hard Drives. These transitive solutions have clearly demonstrated the benefits of SSD technology we know today. SSDs are faster, use less power, are more rugged and are more reliable than HDDs but the 2.5" form-factor limited their capacity and the SATA interface has again limited the available throughput.
SSD solutions were first introduced as 2.5" SATA replacements for existing Hard Drives. These transitive solutions have clearly demonstrated the benefits of SSD technology we know today. SSDs are faster, use less power, are more rugged and are more reliable than HDDs but the 2.5" form-factor limited their capacity and the SATA interface has again limited the available throughput.
Wednesday, March 21st 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Memory
Processors
G.Skill RipjawsX F3-2133C9Q-32GXH 32 GB PC3-17000 1.6 V DDR3 Review
G.Skill sent us a little surprise, in a 32 GB package. The G.Skill RipjawsX F3-2133C9Q-32GXH kit not only offers huge capacity and speed, but also a little something extra. Intended for P67/Z68, the GSkill F3-2133C9Q-32GXH maxes out the speed, but also the size those platforms offer.
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Dresden Fab Ships 250,000th 32 nm HKMG Wafer
GLOBALFOUNDRIES today announced that its Fab 1 in Dresden, Germany has shipped a quarter of a million semiconductor wafers based on 32nm High-k Metal Gate (HKMG) technology. The milestone represents a significant lead over other foundries in HKMG manufacturing and carries on a long tradition of rapidly ramping leading-edge technologies to volume production.
On a unit basis, cumulative 32nm shipments for the first five quarters of wafer production are more than double that achieved during the same period of the 45nm technology ramp, demonstrating that the overall 32nm ramp has significantly outpaced the 45nm ramp, despite the integration of a number of new and complex elements in both design and process technologies.
On a unit basis, cumulative 32nm shipments for the first five quarters of wafer production are more than double that achieved during the same period of the 45nm technology ramp, demonstrating that the overall 32nm ramp has significantly outpaced the 45nm ramp, despite the integration of a number of new and complex elements in both design and process technologies.
PNY GeForce GTX 680 XLR8 Enthusiast Edition Pictured
Here are the first pictures of PNY GeForce GTX 680 XLR8 Enthusiast Edition courtesy TecnoReviews. The pictures reveal the card to stick to NVIDIA reference-design of the GeForce GTX 680, with its signature XLR8 (sounds like "accelerate") Enthusiast Edition sticker design. According to the source, the card sticks to NVIDIA-reference clock speeds of 1006 MHz (base), 1056 MHz (boost), and 1500 MHz (memory). PNY's doesn't include "Bonus" trialware, but does include a free 3-month subscription of ESEA Premium (we assume this deal is only available to buyers in North America).
Commodore USA Releases First New Commodore Amiga in 20 Years
Commodore USA, LLC announced today the historic re-unification of the legendary Commodore and AMIGA brands with the launch of the new Commodore AMIGA mini, as well as other new models such as the new C64x Supreme, the new VIC mini and a more powerful VIC-Slim keyboard computer (now with HDMI output). These new products are now in production and available for purchase at www.commodoreusa.net.
The new Commodore AMIGA mini is a trail blazing power-house featuring Intel's i7-2700k 3.5 GHz Quad-Core (3.9 GHz Turboboost) processor, 16 Gb RAM DDR3 1333 MHz and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 GPU with 1 GB DDR3. This machine is fully loaded with a 1 TB SATA drive (optional 300 GB or 600 GB SSD), two WiFi antennae and bluetooth. The new Commodore AMIGA mini case is ultra small and features a solid, all aluminum seamless housing,micro-sandblasted with an anodic oxidation finish. It also includes a slot load Blu-Ray drive and internal space for two 2.5" hard drives. It measures 7.5 inches square with a height of only 3 inches. The AMIGA mini's appearance is enhanced with the inclusion of the classic embedded AMIGA logo engraved in the front.
The new Commodore AMIGA mini is a trail blazing power-house featuring Intel's i7-2700k 3.5 GHz Quad-Core (3.9 GHz Turboboost) processor, 16 Gb RAM DDR3 1333 MHz and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 GPU with 1 GB DDR3. This machine is fully loaded with a 1 TB SATA drive (optional 300 GB or 600 GB SSD), two WiFi antennae and bluetooth. The new Commodore AMIGA mini case is ultra small and features a solid, all aluminum seamless housing,micro-sandblasted with an anodic oxidation finish. It also includes a slot load Blu-Ray drive and internal space for two 2.5" hard drives. It measures 7.5 inches square with a height of only 3 inches. The AMIGA mini's appearance is enhanced with the inclusion of the classic embedded AMIGA logo engraved in the front.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Launch Video Leaked: World's Fastest GPU
An alleged marketing video of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680, slated for after launch, got leaked and uploaded to YouTube by an Italian-speaking YouTube user (going by the Italian used in the description). The part that makes it look genuine is it features NVIDIA's VP for Corporate Marketing Ujesh Desai, holding the graphics card, and detailing it. He claims that NVIDIA set out to build the fastest GPU - "and accomplished it." The entire bouquet of new features introduced with the GeForce GTX 680 has been disclosed in the video, to great detail.
Watch the video (embedded from YouTube) after the break.
Arctic Announces the USB Wireless Gamepad
ARCTIC launches its new gaming accessory - The USB Wireless Gamepad. In order to completely fulfill the need of every gamer to extend his/her play time, this gamepad is designed with a high-capacity rechargeable 1000 mAH lithium-ion battery. You can also recharge your gamepad while you play.
Thanks to its 2.4 GHz wireless technology, this wireless gamepad gives you quicker responses and the freedom to move up to 10 m away from your PC. Its dual vibration motors let you feel every hit, every explosion and every crash right in your very own hands - offering you a much more realistic and interactive gaming experience.
Thanks to its 2.4 GHz wireless technology, this wireless gamepad gives you quicker responses and the freedom to move up to 10 m away from your PC. Its dual vibration motors let you feel every hit, every explosion and every crash right in your very own hands - offering you a much more realistic and interactive gaming experience.
Antec Launches High Current Pro Platinum 1000 Watt PSU
Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components, announces the High Current Pro 1000 Platinum power supply, the first kilowatt-class PSU offered by Antec certified for 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency. Delivering a minimum of 1000 watts of Continuous Power, the HCP-1000 Platinum makes a reliable addition to the enthusiast's or overclocker's PC.
The HCP-1000's four +12V rails deliver 40A of output each with low ripple & noise levels and an output ratio of up to 100 percent. Characteristic of Antec's top-line power supplies, this unit delivers stable DC current with all Japanese capacitors and keeps cool with a 135 mm thermally controlled double ball bearing fan.
The HCP-1000's four +12V rails deliver 40A of output each with low ripple & noise levels and an output ratio of up to 100 percent. Characteristic of Antec's top-line power supplies, this unit delivers stable DC current with all Japanese capacitors and keeps cool with a 135 mm thermally controlled double ball bearing fan.
MSI GeForce GTX 680 Listed for 492€
It looks like murmurs about the $499 (excl. taxes) price-tag of GeForce GTX 680 have more than an element of truth in them, after all. European retailer PC Components listed an MSI-branded GeForce GTX 680 graphics card (model: N680GTX-PM2D2GD5) for 492€ (including VAT), and 416.95€ (excluding VAT). This reinforces the theory of a US $499 (excluding taxes) price-tag (including taxes price varies significantly between states and other US territories).
The listing also reveals the box-art of MSI's card, and various other features of the GeForce GTX 680, such as NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology, NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround (with the ability to connect all three displays to a single graphics card), clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core) 1056 MHz (boost), 1502 MHz (6.00 GHz GDDR5 effective memory), 2 GB memory, and 195W TDP.
Find the listing here.
The listing also reveals the box-art of MSI's card, and various other features of the GeForce GTX 680, such as NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology, NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround (with the ability to connect all three displays to a single graphics card), clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core) 1056 MHz (boost), 1502 MHz (6.00 GHz GDDR5 effective memory), 2 GB memory, and 195W TDP.
Biwin Announces Elite Series SATA III SSDs Based on the LSI SandForce SF-2281
The vast majority of laptop and desktop computers sold today are equipped with rotating hard disk drives (HDDs), making the storage system the biggest bottleneck in most client computing applications. Biwin, an industry leader in flash storage products, today announced Elite Series SATA III SSDs, based on the LSI SandForce SF-2281 Flash Storage Processor, that are designed to substantially improve storage performance in laptops and desktops.
With a standard 2.5" form factor (dimensions: 100 x 69.8 x 9.5 mm), Elite Series SSDs are compatible with virtually any desktop computer and millions of laptops. They support 6 Gbps SATA III, and are downward compatible with 3 Gbps SATA II systems.
With a standard 2.5" form factor (dimensions: 100 x 69.8 x 9.5 mm), Elite Series SSDs are compatible with virtually any desktop computer and millions of laptops. They support 6 Gbps SATA III, and are downward compatible with 3 Gbps SATA II systems.
Axtremex Technology Debuts Its 800x CompactFlash Cards
Axtremex Technology is proud to announce the release of their 800x and 800x Plus Compact Flash cards. These new high performance cards showcase Axtremex Technology's continuous efforts to deliver high performance, high quality and reliable products at reasonable prices.
The Axtremex Ultra DMA 7 800x Compact Flash card supports up to 120 Megabytes per second Read Speed and up to 95 Megabytes per second Write Speed. The 800x Plus Compact Flash card supports up to 120 Megabytes per second Read Speed and up to 120 Megabytes per second Write Speed.
The Axtremex Ultra DMA 7 800x Compact Flash card supports up to 120 Megabytes per second Read Speed and up to 95 Megabytes per second Write Speed. The 800x Plus Compact Flash card supports up to 120 Megabytes per second Read Speed and up to 120 Megabytes per second Write Speed.
RunCore to Show Strong Presence at ESC Silicon Valley 2012
RunCore, leading developer and brand manufacturer of high-end Solid State Drives (SSDs) and storage solutions, is once again taking part in and showcasing at the world's leading conference for the design and development of embedded systems, the ESC Silicon Valley (Electronics System Conference) in San Jose from Mar 26th to Mar 29th, 2012. RunCore will show SSD innovations ranging from consumer, enterprise to industrial solutions. The focus of RunCore's product line-up will be on most advanced SSD storage solutions that provide highest speeds and lowest power consumption with best data security/lifetime. These characteristics make them ideal components for highly advanced embedded system in almost any field of application.
As the miniaturization in computing is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their Rugged SSD for Embedded Market - rSSD series - offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are compressed dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.
As the miniaturization in computing is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their Rugged SSD for Embedded Market - rSSD series - offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are compressed dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.
GAME Files for Administration
UK retail chain GAME, which sells well - games and gaming hardware, with presence in the UK, several European countries, and Australia, filed for administration. The retail chain has been seeing a few harsh months, it was unable to strike distribution deals with Capcom and EA, which contributed to a drop in its share value on the London Stock Exchange.
In a press-release dated today, GAME says "Further to this morning's announcement of the suspension of trading in shares of GAME Group plc, the board has concluded that its discussions with all stakeholders and other parties have not made sufficient progress in the time available to offer a realistic prospect for a solvent solution for the business. The board has therefore today filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. In the short term the Board's intention is that the business will continue to trade and discussions with lenders and third parties will continue under the protection of the interim moratorium."
In a press-release dated today, GAME says "Further to this morning's announcement of the suspension of trading in shares of GAME Group plc, the board has concluded that its discussions with all stakeholders and other parties have not made sufficient progress in the time available to offer a realistic prospect for a solvent solution for the business. The board has therefore today filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. In the short term the Board's intention is that the business will continue to trade and discussions with lenders and third parties will continue under the protection of the interim moratorium."
Intel, Microsoft Among World's Most Ethical Companies: Ethisphere
Ethisphere released its latest list of World's Most Ethical (WME) companies. The list honors companies for ethical practices. In its own words, Ethisphere defines WME companies as "companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business "ethically" and translate those words into action. WME honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, they exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices today."
Sorted by industry, you will find two short sections covering computer hardware and computer software. Under the hardware section, Intel Corporation is the only other honoree than Hitachi Data Systems. Microsoft and Adobe are honorees as some of the most ethical computer software companies. Find the complete list (sorted by industry) here.
Sorted by industry, you will find two short sections covering computer hardware and computer software. Under the hardware section, Intel Corporation is the only other honoree than Hitachi Data Systems. Microsoft and Adobe are honorees as some of the most ethical computer software companies. Find the complete list (sorted by industry) here.
HP Announces Organizational Realignment
HP today announced an organizational realignment to improve performance and drive profitable growth across the entire HP portfolio.
As part of this realignment, HP's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and its Personal Systems Group (PSG) are joining forces to create the Printing and Personal Systems Group. The combined entity will be led by Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive vice president of PSG since 2005.
Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of IPG, is retiring after a highly accomplished 31-year career at HP. Under Joshi's leadership, IPG has grown revenue from $19 billion to $26 billion, and doubled its operating profit to approximately $4 billion.
As part of this realignment, HP's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and its Personal Systems Group (PSG) are joining forces to create the Printing and Personal Systems Group. The combined entity will be led by Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive vice president of PSG since 2005.
Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of IPG, is retiring after a highly accomplished 31-year career at HP. Under Joshi's leadership, IPG has grown revenue from $19 billion to $26 billion, and doubled its operating profit to approximately $4 billion.
Chrome is World's Number One Browser for a Day - StatCounter
Google's Chrome narrowly became the world's top internet browser for the first time on Sunday 18 March 2012, according to StatCounter, the independent website analytics company. The firm's research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that Chrome topped the polls in India, Russia and Brazil, all of which contributed to it becoming the number one browser for that day on a global basis.
"While it is only one day, this is a milestone," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. He added that Chrome still faces a battle to unseat its main rivals including IE and Firefox in many regions. Chrome remains in 2nd or 3rd place in China, United States and Germany, for example.
"While it is only one day, this is a milestone," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. He added that Chrome still faces a battle to unseat its main rivals including IE and Firefox in many regions. Chrome remains in 2nd or 3rd place in China, United States and Germany, for example.
ASUS Introduces the K93SM 18.4-inch Notebook
ASUS has now officially announced the European release of its latest K-Series laptop, the 18.4-inch K93SM. This new model weights 4.1 kg, and features an LED-backlit Full HD (1920 x 1080) display, a chiclet keyboard, a Core i5-2450M or i7-2670QM processor, up to 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GT 630M 1 GB graphics card, and a 500 GB or 1 TB hard drive.
ASUS' laptop also boasts an 8x DVD writer or 6x Blu-ray combo drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, one USB 3.0 port, a 6-cell (5200 mAh) battery, and makes use of the IceCool technology to ensure the palm rest stays cool and comfortable.
The K93SM runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and goes from 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro, depending on configuration.
ASUS' laptop also boasts an 8x DVD writer or 6x Blu-ray combo drive, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 3-in-1 card reader, one USB 3.0 port, a 6-cell (5200 mAh) battery, and makes use of the IceCool technology to ensure the palm rest stays cool and comfortable.
The K93SM runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and goes from 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro, depending on configuration.
I-O Data Also Intros A Trio of Anti-Glare HD Monitors
In addition to the LCD-MF242E, I-O Data unveiled the LCD-MF234XPBR, LCD-MF234XBR, and LCD-MF224XBR. These monitors are cousins of the LCD-MF234XPGBR launched in February, except that they feature anti-glare (matte) screens. The LCD-MF234XPBR packs a 23-inch anti-glare IPS panel, with 1920x1080 pixels resolution, response time as low as 8 ms (with Overdrive), 80,000:1 DCR and 1,000 static contrast ratio, 250 cd/m² maximum brightness, and 178 degree viewing angles. It measures 546 x 174 x 409 mm (WxDxH). Its price is estimated to be around 21,800 JPY (US $260.4).
The LCD-MF234XBR also packs a 23-inch panel, albeit TN-film. It has the same exact dimensions as the LCD-MF234XPBR, and the same 1920x1080 pixels resolution; but with panel specifications of response time as low as 2 ms (5 ms typical), and 170/160 degree viewing angles. The contrast ratios and maximum brightness are identical to those of the LCD-MF234XPBR. This screen goes for an estimated 19,800 JPY (US $236.5). Then there's the LCD-MF224XBR, which is a 21.5-incher, otherwise with the same exact specifications as the LCD-MF234XBR. It measures 511 x 164 x 371 mm, and costs an estimated 17,800 JPY (US $212.6). All three models feature dual-HDMI, DVI, and D-sub inputs; and 3W stereo speakers.
The LCD-MF234XBR also packs a 23-inch panel, albeit TN-film. It has the same exact dimensions as the LCD-MF234XPBR, and the same 1920x1080 pixels resolution; but with panel specifications of response time as low as 2 ms (5 ms typical), and 170/160 degree viewing angles. The contrast ratios and maximum brightness are identical to those of the LCD-MF234XPBR. This screen goes for an estimated 19,800 JPY (US $236.5). Then there's the LCD-MF224XBR, which is a 21.5-incher, otherwise with the same exact specifications as the LCD-MF234XBR. It measures 511 x 164 x 371 mm, and costs an estimated 17,800 JPY (US $212.6). All three models feature dual-HDMI, DVI, and D-sub inputs; and 3W stereo speakers.
I-O Data Also Unveils a 14x Blu-ray Writer
Following on Buffalo's footsteps, I-O Data is coming up with its own internal optical drive capable of writing Blu-ray discs at up to 14x speeds. Dubbed BRD-S14X, the burner in question takes up one 5.25-inch bay, it has SATA connectivity, 4 MB of buffer memory, and offers writing speeds of 14x for BD-R SL (single-layer), 12x for BD-R DL, 6x for BDXL (3/4-layer), 2x for BD-RE, 16x for DVD-R/+R, 8x for DVD-R/+R DL/+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM, 48x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW.
The BRD-S14X comes with a one-year warranty and costs $162. Availability is slated for March 31st.
The BRD-S14X comes with a one-year warranty and costs $162. Availability is slated for March 31st.
HPC Server Market Delivers Record Revenues and 8.4% Growth in 2011
Worldwide factory revenue for the high performance computing (HPC) technical server market increased by 8.4% in full-year 2011 to reach a record $10.3 billion, up from $9.5 billion in 2010, according to the newly released International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide High-Performance Technical Server QView. The 2011 results exceeded IDC's forecast of 7.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
Unit shipments in 2011 declined 6.9% year over year as average selling prices grew, indicating a continued shift to large system sales. IBM and HP ended the year in a statistical tie for leadership with 32.6% and 32.1% of overall factory revenue market share, respectively. (Note: IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide server market when there is less than one percent difference in the factory revenues of two or more vendors.)
Unit shipments in 2011 declined 6.9% year over year as average selling prices grew, indicating a continued shift to large system sales. IBM and HP ended the year in a statistical tie for leadership with 32.6% and 32.1% of overall factory revenue market share, respectively. (Note: IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide server market when there is less than one percent difference in the factory revenues of two or more vendors.)
AREA Intros VGA Down-Scan Converter
AREA introduced the SD-DSCV, a VGA down-scan converter device, that lets you convert your PC's VGA output to legacy/TV-compatible outputs such as Composite and S-Video. The converter supports output resolutions up to 1024x768 pixels, with TV formats such as PAL and NTSC. What's more, the VGA connection isn't interrupted, and VGA output can run simultaneously with the other analog outputs. Measuring 91 x 66 x 24 mm, the device requires an external DC power input, but instead of a bulky AC adapter, AREA included a USB-DC cable, that lets you plug the device to a USB port, and draw power from it. Slated for April 09, the SD-DSCV from AREA is priced as low as 4,980 JPY (US $59.4).
I-O Data Announces a New 23.6-inch Monitor
Japanese firm I-O Data has today unveiled a new addition to its monitor line-up, the LCD-MF242E widescreen which features a 23.6-inch LED-backlit (TN) panel, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 5 ms response time, and the ECO power-saving function.
I-O Data's monitor also has a maximum brightness of 300 cd/m2, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio (5,000,000:1 DCR), D-Sub, DVI and HDMI inputs, and two 2 W speakers. The LCD-MF242E is backed by a three-year warranty and will go on sale in mid-April at about $237.
I-O Data's monitor also has a maximum brightness of 300 cd/m2, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio (5,000,000:1 DCR), D-Sub, DVI and HDMI inputs, and two 2 W speakers. The LCD-MF242E is backed by a three-year warranty and will go on sale in mid-April at about $237.
Green House Intros PicoDrive Micro USB Flash Drives
Japanese company Green House introduced the PicoDrive Micro line of compact USB 2.0 flash drives. When inserted, the drives stick out just 9 mm from the port. These are available in capacities of 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB. Measuring 22.6 x 14.9 x 8.5 mm, weighing 3.1 g. Green House emphasized the term "Ultrabook" in its press-release, indicating that it's the Ultrabook crowd it's trying to woo, although flash drives of this size (or even smaller) aren't entirely new. The 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB variants are priced at 1,480 JPY (US $17.7), 2,980 JPY (US $35.6), and 4,980 JPY (US $59.5), respectively.
GK110 Specifications Approximated
Even as launch of the GK104-based GeForce GTX 680 nears, it's clear that it is emerging that it is not the fastest graphics processor in the GeForce Kepler family, if you sift through the specifications of the GK110 (yes, 110, not 100). Apparently, since GK104 meets or even exceeds the performance expectations of NVIDIA, the large-monolithic chip planned for this series, is likely codenamed GK110, and it's possible that it could get a GeForce GTX 700 series label.
3DCenter.org approximated the die size of the GK110 to be around 550 mm², 87% larger than that of the GK104. Since the chip is based on the 28 nm fab process, this also translates to a large increment in transistor count, up to 6 billion. The shader compute power is up by just around 30%, because the CUDA core count isn't a large increment (2000~2500 cores). The SMX (streaming multiprocessor 10) design could also face some changes. NVIDIA could prioritize beefing up other components than the CUDA cores, which could result in things such as a 512-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The maximum power consumption is estimated to be around 250~300 Watts. Its launch cannot be expected before August, 2012.
3DCenter.org approximated the die size of the GK110 to be around 550 mm², 87% larger than that of the GK104. Since the chip is based on the 28 nm fab process, this also translates to a large increment in transistor count, up to 6 billion. The shader compute power is up by just around 30%, because the CUDA core count isn't a large increment (2000~2500 cores). The SMX (streaming multiprocessor 10) design could also face some changes. NVIDIA could prioritize beefing up other components than the CUDA cores, which could result in things such as a 512-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. The maximum power consumption is estimated to be around 250~300 Watts. Its launch cannot be expected before August, 2012.
Intel Culls High-TDP "Cactus Ridge" Thunderbolt Controller
Intel has reportedly discontinued one of its "Cactus Ridge" family of Thunderbolt controllers, the L3510H. This controller has relatively high TDP of 3.4W, and a low-power part in the same family, the L3510L, already exists. The L3510L has a slightly lower TDP, at 2.8W. The difference may not seem much, but could impact notebook battery life. The L3510 "Cactus Ridge" family consists of 4-channel Thunderbolt controllers, with smaller package-size (12 x 12 mm) compared to the 82523EF "Light Ridge" controller family, with its larger (15 x 15 mm) package sizes. The final samples of "Cactus Ridge" chips will reach customers only by mid-April.
Windows 8 Launches in October, x86 and ARM Simultaneously
We know from a slightly older article, that the first variants of Windows will be released to market some time in Q4-2012. A new report by Bloomberg pin-points that to October, exactly 3 years after the market-launch of Windows 7. Further, Microsoft should launch Windows 8 for both x86 and ARM machine architectures around the same time, in what could be a breather for tablet and low-cost netbook designers. Despite that, there are fewer ARM devices running Windows 8, which will launch around that time, than x86 notebooks/PCs. With an October 2012 launch Microsoft should be able to target shoppers in the crucial winter shopping season, in mature markets, according to Bloomberg Analysts.
Tuesday, March 20th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Memory
Motherboards
Mousepads
Notebooks
Processors
Speakers
Biwin America, Inc. Founded to Develop Advanced New SSD Storage Solutions
Biwin today announced the opening of Biwin America, Inc., in San Jose, California to develop and market new flash based SSD storage solutions for enterprise, embedded and client applications.
Biwin is already an established leader in OEM and ODM USB flash drives. The company boasts impressive manufacturing strength that includes die sorting and packaging, over 20 SMT lines, and sophisticated test and QC processes. The founding of Biwin America, Inc., in the heart of Silicon Valley, marks the company's expansion into the USA market with a focus on expanding their existing SSD product portfolio. The company will sell its products directly to OEMs as well as through distribution.
Biwin is already an established leader in OEM and ODM USB flash drives. The company boasts impressive manufacturing strength that includes die sorting and packaging, over 20 SMT lines, and sophisticated test and QC processes. The founding of Biwin America, Inc., in the heart of Silicon Valley, marks the company's expansion into the USA market with a focus on expanding their existing SSD product portfolio. The company will sell its products directly to OEMs as well as through distribution.
MSI Radeon HD 7970 Lightning Overclocked to 1800 MHz Core, 7.70 GHz Memory
If you thought MSI made too much song and dance about the product design of its R7970 Lightning, particularly the GPU Reactor module, think again. When augmented with liquid nitrogen cooling, the card has the electrical muscle required to sustain 1.7V, and facilitate a staggering 1800 MHz core clock speed, with 1925 MHz memory (7.70 GHz GDDR5 effective), churning out a gargantuan memory bandwidth of close to 370 GB/s, all thanks to the genius of Swedish proverclocker Elmor.
This R7970 Lightning on 'roid-rage was stable enough to bag a 3DMark 11 (performance preset) score of P15035 points. The rest of the test-bed consisted of an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition six-core chip clocked at 5207 MHz, with 4 GB (4x 1 GB) DDR3 memory clocked at 2314 MHz, and MSI Big Bang XPower II motherboard, to seat it all. Perhaps this is an indication that AMD Radeon HD 7900 can work wonders on potent non-reference designs, such as MSI's R7970 Lightning.
This R7970 Lightning on 'roid-rage was stable enough to bag a 3DMark 11 (performance preset) score of P15035 points. The rest of the test-bed consisted of an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition six-core chip clocked at 5207 MHz, with 4 GB (4x 1 GB) DDR3 memory clocked at 2314 MHz, and MSI Big Bang XPower II motherboard, to seat it all. Perhaps this is an indication that AMD Radeon HD 7900 can work wonders on potent non-reference designs, such as MSI's R7970 Lightning.
iKey Introduces a New Rugged Keyboard
iKey, a world leader in manufacturing rugged keyboards, pointing devices, and displays for military applications, introduces the SLK-880-FSR-USB-H. The SLK-880-FSR-USB-H offers many of the standard features our customers have to come to rely on in the rugged mobile keyboard line with the addition of a USB hub. Integrated directly in the case, the USB 2.0 hub makes this keyboard ideal for military applications where outlets and space are at a premium.
Available in a night vision (NVIS) compliant configuration, the SLK-800-FSR-USB-H features adjustable LED green backlighting with two brightness control keys. An integrated Black Out key allows users to quickly extinguish all LEDs and retain the same brightness settings when turned back on.
Available in a night vision (NVIS) compliant configuration, the SLK-800-FSR-USB-H features adjustable LED green backlighting with two brightness control keys. An integrated Black Out key allows users to quickly extinguish all LEDs and retain the same brightness settings when turned back on.
MSI Afterburner 2.2.0 Beta 15 Out, Supports GTX 680 Tweaking
The latest version of MSI's Afterburner graphics card tweaking software, version 2.2.0 Beta 15, hit the web. The new version, among other things, features support for NVIDIA Kepler series graphics cards, including the ability to monitor power-consumption on these new graphics cards. A bigger part of the feature-set that goes into guaranteeing functional Kepler support is offsets for core, and memory clocks; and voltages, for dynamic overclocking with Kepler family graphics cards.
DOWNLOAD: MSI Afterburner 2.2.0 Beta 15
The complete change-log follows.
The complete change-log follows.
Asetek Demonstrates Liquid Cooling For Laptop And All-In-One PCs
Asetek Inc., the world leading supplier of liquid cooling for the computer industry announced today a new and groundbreaking slim form factor liquid cooling technology for extreme performance and workstation grade laptops and All-In-One PCs. Slim form factor liquid cooling enables laptop and AIO PC manufacturers to deliver mobility and sleek industrial designs without sacrificing performance.
"We see a growing need for higher performance personal computers, driven by ever more powerful modeling software for engineering, scientific and financial work, and for content creation and gaming," said André S. Eriksen, Founder and CEO of Asetek. "We also see high performance hardware expanding to more portable, sleeker devices like the highly successful M-series of notebooks from Alienware."
"We see a growing need for higher performance personal computers, driven by ever more powerful modeling software for engineering, scientific and financial work, and for content creation and gaming," said André S. Eriksen, Founder and CEO of Asetek. "We also see high performance hardware expanding to more portable, sleeker devices like the highly successful M-series of notebooks from Alienware."
AMD Readies Two More FX Series Processors
AMD launched as many as five new FX Series processor models over the course of Q1, 2012. We're hearing from DonanimHaber that two more budget models are en route for Q2, 2012, likely April. These include the quad-core FX-4130, and six-core FX-6130. The FX-4130 features a nominal clock speed of 3.80 GHz, with a tiny Turbo Core boost, that takes it to 3.90 GHz. Interestingly, while the total L2 cache of this chip is 4 MB (2 MB per module), its L3 cache is halved to 4 MB, even as other SKUs such as the FX-4100 have full 8 MB L3 cache. The FX-6130, on the other hand, has a nominal clock speed of 3.60 GHz, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Core speed. Thankfully, AMD didn't tinker with the L3 cache, and users get all 8 MB of it. Both chips have rated TDP of 125W. Pricing is not revealed.
Factory-Overclocked GeForce GTX 680 by MSI and EVGA get Listed
North American retailer NCIX listed two factory-overclocked NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card models. NCIX did not list these two for pre-order, but enabled "Add to Wishlist", which probably notifies those with the product in their wishlists of when they are in stock. Both cards are priced at US $578.20 (incl. free shipping to contiguous US states). The clock speeds of MSI's card, which carries the part number "N680GTX-PM2D 2GD5/OC" was revealed to be 1056 MHz (core) with 6 GHz (GDDR5 effective memory); while those of EVGA's card, which carries the part number "02G-P4-2682-KR", were not revealed. We know from its clearly-mentioned brand extension "SuperClocked", that it's factory-overclocked.
Intel Announces Atom CE5300 Media Processor Aimed at Media Gateways
Today Intel announced the Intel Atom CE5300 Media Processor aimed at the next generation of set-top boxes and media gateways. Performance, graphics, power management and user interface improvements in this new product family enables service providers to deploy comprehensive and immersive connected experiences such as the new Amino Freedom Live media gateway which can deliver content seamlessly to TVs, smartphones and tablets around the home. Inside Scoop has more details about this next wave of silicon for platforms supporting the "smart TV experience." For more information, read the inside scoop on the Atom CE5300.
Synology Releases DiskStation DS412+ with Improved Case Design
Synology America Corp. today announced the latest release in its high-performance 4-bay DiskStation family: the DS412+. The DS412+ is well-suited for business users, offering a good mix of price, performance, and capacity.
The new 4-bay server features a brand new case design. The new model allows hot-swap capability. It is Synology's first 4-bay server to add support for USB 3.0. Dual NICs allow for link aggregation or failover, helping users get the most performance and reliability. The DS412+ uses passive cooling on the CPU and adaptive behavior on the dual exhaust fans to increase uptime and remove points of failure.
The new 4-bay server features a brand new case design. The new model allows hot-swap capability. It is Synology's first 4-bay server to add support for USB 3.0. Dual NICs allow for link aggregation or failover, helping users get the most performance and reliability. The DS412+ uses passive cooling on the CPU and adaptive behavior on the dual exhaust fans to increase uptime and remove points of failure.
XMOS Simplifies High Speed USB Audio Design
XMOS, developer of the industry's first event-driven 32-bit embedded processor, announces the release of its third generation family. The XS1-S Family delivers up to 700 MIPS of real-time performance per core combined with integrated analog functionality, enabling the highest quality, multi-channel USB audio applications. Combined with XMOS industry standard USB audio IP, the XS1-S Family of devices deliver the lowest latency digital audio interfaces. The first two products available in the XS1-S Family are the single core device: XS1-SU1 and the dual core device: XS1-SU2.
"The XS1-S Family builds upon the predictable real-time performance of the XS1 architecture, offering increased I/O and processing capabilities together with the convenience of integrated analog peripherals," said Tom Lee, XMOS vice president of sales and marketing. "Our customers have shipped more than half a million USB audio products using XS1 devices. The higher performance, integrated XS1-S Family and its accompanying software and tools deliver the ideal solution to an even broader range of audio applications."
"The XS1-S Family builds upon the predictable real-time performance of the XS1 architecture, offering increased I/O and processing capabilities together with the convenience of integrated analog peripherals," said Tom Lee, XMOS vice president of sales and marketing. "Our customers have shipped more than half a million USB audio products using XS1 devices. The higher performance, integrated XS1-S Family and its accompanying software and tools deliver the ideal solution to an even broader range of audio applications."
PC Shipments to Have Strong Second Half of 2012, Single Digit Growth to Follow
Worldwide PC shipment growth for 2011 ended on a slightly positive note, growing to 1.8% on the year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. While the first half of 2012 is expected to see only modest shipment growth, the launch of Windows 8 and the excitement generated by ultrabooks and other ultra-thin notebooks should drive second half sales in a much stronger way.
For much of 2011, vendors struggled to maintain consumer interest in a market beset by a tenuous economic recovery and disrupted by emerging computing devices. The lack of interest was evidenced by a lackluster Christmas season. Mature markets such as the United States and Western Europe, in particular, had a rough year, with PC shipments in 2011 shrinking by 9% compared to 2010.
For much of 2011, vendors struggled to maintain consumer interest in a market beset by a tenuous economic recovery and disrupted by emerging computing devices. The lack of interest was evidenced by a lackluster Christmas season. Mature markets such as the United States and Western Europe, in particular, had a rough year, with PC shipments in 2011 shrinking by 9% compared to 2010.
Western Digital Ships First 2 TB Portable Hard Drive With Next-Gen My Passport
Western Digital today announced the next generation of its top-selling My Passport line of portable hard drives, offering consumers a fresh new enclosure design and the first-ever 2 TB capacity in a portable drive.
Now available in five popular colors: white, black, silver, blue, and red, with a range of capacities beginning from 500 GB, the new sleeker My Passport portable drives offer digital consumers an appealing array of storage options that reflect their personal style. Additionally, the new My Passport drives offer WD SmartWare automatic backup software and WD Security for password protection and hardware encryption.
Now available in five popular colors: white, black, silver, blue, and red, with a range of capacities beginning from 500 GB, the new sleeker My Passport portable drives offer digital consumers an appealing array of storage options that reflect their personal style. Additionally, the new My Passport drives offer WD SmartWare automatic backup software and WD Security for password protection and hardware encryption.
Intel Core i7-3610QM Tested
Several next-generation performance-segment notebook models across brands, will be driven by Intel's Core i7-3610QM, a quad-core chip based on the 22 nm Ivy Bridge silicon, clocked at 2.30 GHz (3.30 GHz Turbo), featuring 6 MB L3 cache. The chip features the complete instruction-set of Intel's third-generation Core processor family. DonanimHaber got to test a Samsung notebook that's based on this chip (which also uses NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics), the chip was put through SuperPi 1M and 2M; and Cinebench R11. The chip crunched Pi 1M in 11.66 s, and 2M in 26.67 s. It scored 6.09 pts in Cinebench, which is a higher score than that of AMD FX-8150, DonanimHaber notes.
MSI Slips Out Some GeForce GTX 680 Marketing Material
NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 is certainly generating a lot of excitement, so much so that one AIB maker, MSI, has jumped the gun and put out a few PR goodies relating to the incoming card. Seen below, MSI's marketing materials show off the company's GTX 680 (which is based on NVIDIA's reference design), the new GEFORCE GTX logo, and some specs and features like the 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, the 256-bit memory interface, the quad display outputs, the PCI-Express 3.0 support, and the ability to run four monitors (and a complete 3D Vision Surround setup) from a single card.
MSI's GeForce GTX 680 will also be fully supported by the company's Afterburner utility that's set to provide 'GPU/Memory Clock Offset and Power Limit Control'. Expect an official unveiling of the MSI GeForce GTX 680 this Thursday, March 22nd.
- pictures removed at MSI's request -
MSI's GeForce GTX 680 will also be fully supported by the company's Afterburner utility that's set to provide 'GPU/Memory Clock Offset and Power Limit Control'. Expect an official unveiling of the MSI GeForce GTX 680 this Thursday, March 22nd.
- pictures removed at MSI's request -
Don't Expect Better Browser Performance from New iPad: Futuremark Peacekeeper Team
Futuremark, the world leader in performance benchmarking software, today released the first benchmark results for the new iPad using Peacekeeper, its free to use browser speed test. While web pages may look sharper on the new iPad's improved display, the benchmark results show that the browsing performance of the new iPad is the same as the iPad 2, suggesting that the computational processing power in both devices is near identical. http://peacekeeper.futuremark.com/results?key=stats
Peacekeeper is an HTML5 based browser performance test that can be used to measure and compare the performance of any browser on any Internet capable device, from desktops and notebooks, to tablets and smartphones. What's more, as a device's browser performance is strongly linked to the power of its CPU, Peacekeeper offers a straightforward way to compare the performance of competing devices regardless of differences in operating system.
Peacekeeper is an HTML5 based browser performance test that can be used to measure and compare the performance of any browser on any Internet capable device, from desktops and notebooks, to tablets and smartphones. What's more, as a device's browser performance is strongly linked to the power of its CPU, Peacekeeper offers a straightforward way to compare the performance of competing devices regardless of differences in operating system.
Intel "Ivy Bridge" Pentium G2120 Arrives in Q4-2012
Intel's first Pentium processors based on the 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" silicon will arrive in Q4, 2012. One of the first models in the series, is the Pentium G2120. Specifications reveal that the chip will be quite generously designed as far as specifications go. To begin with, it is a dual-core processor, with a clock speed of 3.10 GHz. It lacks HyperThreading, so 2 logical CPUs is all that the OS will see; as well as Turbo Boost, so the clock speed won't normally scale beyond 3.10 GHz. Interestingly, the chip has 3 MB of L3 cache, on par with some Core i3 dual-core chips. The instruction-set has SIMD instructions up to SSE 4.2, but lacks AVX. Further, the PCI-Express root hub only supports PCI-Express 2.0, lacking PCI-Express 3.0 support. Its TDP is rated at 65W.
Tobii Closes $21M Funding Round Led by Intel Capital
Tobii Technology, the global leader in eye tracking and gaze interaction, announced today that it has closed a USD $21M funding round. New investor Intel Capital joins existing investors Amadeus Capital, Investor Growth Capital and Northzone Ventures. The funding will be used to continue R&D investments in core technology and to take eye tracking and gaze interaction to mainstream computers and other mass-market applications.
The new funding from Intel Capital will help Tobii to further accelerate the technological evolution and to take the leap into mass-market applications, such as mainstream computers, cars, games and other consumer and professional products. More specifically it will help Tobii to do necessary R&D investments, grow their R&D organization and build new strategic competences.
The new funding from Intel Capital will help Tobii to further accelerate the technological evolution and to take the leap into mass-market applications, such as mainstream computers, cars, games and other consumer and professional products. More specifically it will help Tobii to do necessary R&D investments, grow their R&D organization and build new strategic competences.
AMD FX-8120 with Liquid Cooling Bundle Up For Pre-Order
AMD plans to sell bundles of its FX-8120 eight-core processors in the AM3+ package, along with AMD FX-branded self-contained liquid-cooling kits. The SKU is up for pre-order on Amazon, for US $383.5 (incl. shipping). The part-number for this chip+liquid-cooling bundle is "FD8120FRGUWOX". The liquid cooler is originally made by Asetek, combined with the unlocked base clock multiplier of the FX-8120, it facilitates high overclocking. The cooler is not just a dumb closed-loop, but also packs sensors that connect to the system over USB (internal USB 2.0 header), that let you monitor it via Chill Control software.
AMD Radeon HD 7990 Clock Speeds, Chip-Configuration Surface
Closely trailing the launch of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680, and keeping up with its own streak of launching a new graphics card line each month since January, AMD will unveil its Radeon HD 7990 graphics card in April, or so it's reported. INPAI reports the clock-speed and chip-configuration of the upcoming dual-GPU monstrosity. The Radeon HD 7990 packs two 28 nm "Tahiti" GPUs as a "Crossfire on a stick" solution. The Tahiti chips will be clocked at 850 MHz (core), and 1250 MHz (5.00 GHz effective) memory.
The chip-configuration of each of the two Tahiti chips will be the same as that on the Radeon HD 7970, with 2048 Graphics CoreNext stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 3 GB of memory, each. The total memory on the card will hence be 6 GB. With the Radeon HD 7970 refusing to budge from its US $549 price-point, it's quite natural that the Radeon HD 7990 will be priced very high. It is gunning to retain the performance crown that's currently disputed between the Radeon HD 6990 and GeForce GTX 590.
The chip-configuration of each of the two Tahiti chips will be the same as that on the Radeon HD 7970, with 2048 Graphics CoreNext stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 384-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 3 GB of memory, each. The total memory on the card will hence be 6 GB. With the Radeon HD 7970 refusing to budge from its US $549 price-point, it's quite natural that the Radeon HD 7990 will be priced very high. It is gunning to retain the performance crown that's currently disputed between the Radeon HD 6990 and GeForce GTX 590.
Lian Li Announces the PC-Q15 Mini-ITX Chassis
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, the award-winning aluminum computer chassis manufacturer, today announces the automobile-esque PC-Q15. With its space-saving design, the PC-Q15 is an ideal data storage center for the numerous hi-tech mobile devices of the modern mobile consumer.
Supporting mini-ITX motherboards, the PC-Q15 with its the rectangular shape and wheel-like stubs resembles a miniature SUV. Not only does this chassis stand out in any environment, but the compact dimensions of (W x H x D) 210 mm x 216 mm x 330 mm (8.27" x 8.50" x 12.99") allows the PC-Q15 to serve as the home central hub for the modern mobile user in any nook or cranny.
Supporting mini-ITX motherboards, the PC-Q15 with its the rectangular shape and wheel-like stubs resembles a miniature SUV. Not only does this chassis stand out in any environment, but the compact dimensions of (W x H x D) 210 mm x 216 mm x 330 mm (8.27" x 8.50" x 12.99") allows the PC-Q15 to serve as the home central hub for the modern mobile user in any nook or cranny.
TSMC Expanding 28 nm Manufacturing Facility
With the advent of highly-complex 28 nm discrete PC graphics processors, and ARM designers lined up with their increasingly powerful SoCs, TSMC is bound to see a pile up of orders for chips built on its newest bulk manufacturing process. In view of this, the "messiah of the fabless" is planning an expansion of its 28 nm manufacturing facility. This expansion is set to occur a little later in 2012. TSMC reportedly is running at full capacity at its 12-inch fabs because of strong demand for 28 nm as well as 40 nm and 65 nm. Due to this, some designers are approaching TSMC's competitors UMC and Samsung for 28 nm bulk manufacturing, according to sources. The expansion will follow a revision of TSMC's capex target for 2012, up from US $6 billion.
EVERCOOL Announces the YOHO Laptop Table
EVERCOOL Thermal Corp., Ltd. the professional and well-known cooler and fan brand. More and more people place importance on storage. Nevertheless, people that search for furniture, do not only ask for more space to store their items, but also ask for easy to store furniture. To meet this demand, EVERCOOL have created "YOHO Laptop Table". This laptop table can be used with laptops of different sizes, and its retractable metal frame makes its legs easy to fold or extend.
In order to meet different users' demands, YOHO Laptop Table provides two types of tables: NT-111 and NT-112 models. The distinction between the two models is that NT-111 has one 8 cm fan to provide a silent and effective cooling for laptops. On the other hand, the NT-112 does not provide a fan, and it can only be used as a small table to place your laptop.
In order to meet different users' demands, YOHO Laptop Table provides two types of tables: NT-111 and NT-112 models. The distinction between the two models is that NT-111 has one 8 cm fan to provide a silent and effective cooling for laptops. On the other hand, the NT-112 does not provide a fan, and it can only be used as a small table to place your laptop.
Transcend Launches New Server-Class DDR3 Memory Modules
Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce its launch of 16 GB DDR3-1600 Registered DIMM (RDIMM) and 8GB DDR3L-1333 Low Voltage RDIMM modules. Fully compatible with the latest generation of Intel Xeon and Core i7 processors, the cost-effective DDR3 memory modules provide increased memory density and higher performance, while significantly reducing power consumption.
As Transcend's highest density DDR3 module, the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM is constructed with top quality 4 Gb DDR3 1 Gbx4 35nm DRAM chips that deliver stable performance and durability. A single 16 GB memory module can lower power consumption by a staggering 75% compared with using four 4 GB modules, thereby saving energy and costs. The 16GB DDR3 module is rated at 1600 MHz with low latency of 11-11-11-28 and an operating voltage of a mere 1.5V. Offering memory bandwidth up to 12.8 GB/s and the flexibility to expand maximum capacity to 96 GB (per processor), the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM module allows administrators to create a robust infrastructure that runs memory-intensive applications such as virtualization and cloud computing with ease.
As Transcend's highest density DDR3 module, the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM is constructed with top quality 4 Gb DDR3 1 Gbx4 35nm DRAM chips that deliver stable performance and durability. A single 16 GB memory module can lower power consumption by a staggering 75% compared with using four 4 GB modules, thereby saving energy and costs. The 16GB DDR3 module is rated at 1600 MHz with low latency of 11-11-11-28 and an operating voltage of a mere 1.5V. Offering memory bandwidth up to 12.8 GB/s and the flexibility to expand maximum capacity to 96 GB (per processor), the 16GB DDR3-1600 RDIMM module allows administrators to create a robust infrastructure that runs memory-intensive applications such as virtualization and cloud computing with ease.
Super Flower Unveils GX550 Modular 80 Plus Gold PSU
Super Flower unveiled the GX550 (model: SF-550P14XE), a 550W modular PSU for gaming PCs. The PSU packs a semi-modular cabling design, with key cables such as 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors being fixed, with other connectors being modular. The modular ones feature flat cabling, which has its advantages with cable-management. The GX550 features a single 12V rail design, the single 12V rail can deliver 45.5A of current. It packs active PFC, and a patented LLC resonant converter design. The unit appears to be cooled by an illuminated 130 mm fan. Super Flower did not give out pricing information, though Expreview notes it will have a good price given its feature-set.
Mozilla Firefox To Pack H.264 Support
It looks like Mozilla has given in to the pressure of incorporating H.264 CODEC into its Firefox web-browser, and could incorporate it in future versions of the browser. The CODEC allows online videos utilizing H.264 format to run. Mozilla has been avoiding H.264 support since it is proprietary, riddled with patents, and requires Mozilla to purchase a license for millions of Dollars from MPEG-LA.
Mozilla has been trying to push for standards alternative to H.264, such as WebM, and the VP8 format. It had originally planned its push for an H.264-free web at a time when it was a much stronger player in the web-browser market, which now sees a strong presence of Google Chrome, which already features H.264. H.264 is superior to its alternatives, in being lighter on the system's resources (hence, lighter on the battery).
Mozilla has been trying to push for standards alternative to H.264, such as WebM, and the VP8 format. It had originally planned its push for an H.264-free web at a time when it was a much stronger player in the web-browser market, which now sees a strong presence of Google Chrome, which already features H.264. H.264 is superior to its alternatives, in being lighter on the system's resources (hence, lighter on the battery).
AMD Launches New Platform for Dedicated Web Hosting Providers
AMD today announced the latest solution as part of its ongoing Web/Cloud initiative with the launch of the new AMD Opteron 3200 Series processor. Dedicated Web hosting customers seeking enterprise-class reliability have a new choice that delivers:
- Great value with up to 38% better price performance and up to 19% less power per core than the competition;
- ECC memory and server reliability features at a low price-point;
- Fast hardware payback -- in as few as 7 months hosting fees can cover hardware costs -- up to 14% quicker than with the competition;
- Efficient economics for the Cloud with twice the core density per rack.
- Great value with up to 38% better price performance and up to 19% less power per core than the competition;
- ECC memory and server reliability features at a low price-point;
- Fast hardware payback -- in as few as 7 months hosting fees can cover hardware costs -- up to 14% quicker than with the competition;
- Efficient economics for the Cloud with twice the core density per rack.
Monday, March 19th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
SSD
- ADATA XPG SX900 256 GB Hardwareluxx (de)
- Corsair Performance Pro 128 GB RAID 0 PureOverclock
- Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB Cowcotland (fr)
- Kingston SSDNow V+200 Series 120GB T-Break
- OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid Think Computers
- Patriot Pyro SE 240 GB Hardwareluxx (de)
- Plextor M3 128GB HardwareLook
- SanDisk Extreme 120GB Overclock3D.net
Corsair Carbide 300R Review
Corsair is extending their case line, further pushing the price down to jump on the bandwagon with the 300R. We take the smallest brother of the Carbide series for a spin to see if it packs the punch of the 400 and 500R, or if other cases offer more performance for your money in this market segment.
Nox Xtreme Debuts the Hummer Zero Chassis
Nox Xtreme, the chassis, cooling and psu specialist manufacturer launched a Hummer chassis limited edition, the latest addition to the high-end products series Hummer. The main new feature of this case is that is presented in pure white getting an original and attractive design.
This chassis presents all features and advantages of its predecessor, which we can divide in four groups.
Details
In a over-saturated market like this, even the smallest detail can make the difference, that's why Hummer Zero features on its front panel features 2 USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x e-SATA, AC97 and HD audio. It also comes equipped with a white LED front fan, large anti-vibration rubber feet, rubber feet to the power supply and removable top panel for a 2 fan or a double radiator easy installation.
This chassis presents all features and advantages of its predecessor, which we can divide in four groups.
Details
In a over-saturated market like this, even the smallest detail can make the difference, that's why Hummer Zero features on its front panel features 2 USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x e-SATA, AC97 and HD audio. It also comes equipped with a white LED front fan, large anti-vibration rubber feet, rubber feet to the power supply and removable top panel for a 2 fan or a double radiator easy installation.
New iPad Tops Three Million
Apple today announced it has sold three million of its incredible new iPad, since its launch on Friday, March 16. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina display, Apple's new A5X chip with quad-core graphics, a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G supports ultrafast 4G LTE networks in the US and Canada, and fast networks around the world including those based on HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA.
"The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold-the strongest iPad launch yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday."
"The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold-the strongest iPad launch yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday."
F1 2012 To Launch Worldwide in September
Ahead of the first race of the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in Melbourne this weekend, Codemasters today announced that F1 2012 will launch worldwide in September for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and PC. F1 2012 is the next game in the award-winning, multi-million selling series from Codemasters as part of an exclusive multi-year deal with Formula One World Championship Limited.
To mark the announcement and introduce one of F1 2012's new headline features, Codemasters has released a video following F1 2012 Creative Director, Stephen Hood, as he meets the next generation of drivers at the Young Driver Test. Filmed at the Yas Marina Circuit, home of the FORMULA 1 Abu Dhabi GRAND PRIX, Stephen asks if their experience with Codemasters' FORMULA ONE games has been of benefit as they prepare for a career in the world's most exciting motorsport in real life.
To mark the announcement and introduce one of F1 2012's new headline features, Codemasters has released a video following F1 2012 Creative Director, Stephen Hood, as he meets the next generation of drivers at the Young Driver Test. Filmed at the Yas Marina Circuit, home of the FORMULA 1 Abu Dhabi GRAND PRIX, Stephen asks if their experience with Codemasters' FORMULA ONE games has been of benefit as they prepare for a career in the world's most exciting motorsport in real life.
Logitech Names Bracken P. Darrell President, Future CEO
Logitech International today announced that Whirlpool EMEA leader Bracken P. Darrell will join Logitech as president, effective April 9, 2012. Reporting to Guerrino De Luca, Logitech chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Darrell will assume responsibility for research and development, sales and marketing, manufacturing, supply chain, IT, human resources and legal functions. The company's finance organization and LifeSize division will continue to report to Mr. De Luca until January 1, 2013, at which time Mr. Darrell will succeed Mr. De Luca as chief executive officer.
Apple Announces Plans to Initiate Dividend and Share Repurchase Program
Apple today announced plans to initiate a dividend and share repurchase program commencing later this year.
Subject to declaration by the Board of Directors, the Company plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.
Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Company's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.
Subject to declaration by the Board of Directors, the Company plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1, 2012.
Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the Company's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.
TechPowerUp GPU-Z v0.6.0 Released
TechPowerUp released the latest version of GPU-Z, the PC enthusiast community's favorite graphics subsystem information and diagnostic utility, which gives you up to date information about your installed graphics hardware, and helps you monitor clock speeds, voltages, temperatures, and even exotic readings such as video memory usage and ASIC quality (on supported graphics cards). Version 0.6.0 introduces a host of new features, including refined support for upcoming NVIDIA Kepler architecture GPUs, such as GeForce GTX 680, and GeForce GT 6x0M; and the recently-launched AMD Radeon HD 7800 series.
GPU-Z also embraces an installer, which places shortcuts, and an uninstall entry. GPU-Z can very much also be used as a portable, standalone utility, without needing an installation (just choose not to install, and use it standalone instead). AMD altered a high-level API with its Catalyst 12.2 drivers, which GPU-Z conventionally uses to talk to the hardware. Those updating from older Catalyst versions to 12.2 won't see its effects on older GPU-Z versions, but those with Catalyst 12.2 "clean-installed", might. GPU-Z 0.6.0 addresses this issue, and should now work normally with systems running Catalyst 12.2 clean-installed. A large number of other changes were made with version 0.6.0.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.0, TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.0 ASUS ROG-Themed
GPU-Z also embraces an installer, which places shortcuts, and an uninstall entry. GPU-Z can very much also be used as a portable, standalone utility, without needing an installation (just choose not to install, and use it standalone instead). AMD altered a high-level API with its Catalyst 12.2 drivers, which GPU-Z conventionally uses to talk to the hardware. Those updating from older Catalyst versions to 12.2 won't see its effects on older GPU-Z versions, but those with Catalyst 12.2 "clean-installed", might. GPU-Z 0.6.0 addresses this issue, and should now work normally with systems running Catalyst 12.2 clean-installed. A large number of other changes were made with version 0.6.0.
Seagate Reaches 1 Tb Per Square Inch Milestone in HDD Storage with New Technology
Seagate has become the first hard drive maker to achieve the milestone storage density of 1 terabit (1 trillion bits) per square inch, producing a demonstration of the technology that promises to double the storage capacity of today's hard drives upon its introduction later this decade and give rise to 3.5-inch hard drives with an extraordinary capacity of up to 60 terabytes over the 10 years that follow. The bits within a square inch of disk space, at the new milestone, far outnumber stars in the Milky Way, which astronomers put between 200 billion and 400 billion.
Portal 2 and Battlefield 3 Win Big at BAFTA Video Games Awards
BAFTA recognised Portal 2 as the Best Game in its 2012 Video Games Awards. The smash-hit from Valve, also went on to win Best Design, and Best Story. Battlefield 3, on the other hand, went on to win Best Online Multiplayer, Best Audio Achievement, and GAME Award of 2011. Batman: Arkham City bagged Best Action, and Best Performer (Mark Hamill, who voiced The Joker). Portal 2 has been a centerpiece at Video Game achievement awards this year.
USB3.0R-P4-PCIe 4-port USB 3.0 Add-on Card Goes on Sale
Japanese store Kuroutoshikou listed USB3.0R-P4-PCIe, a reference design USB 3.0 host add-on card. Driven by Renesas μPD720201 chipset, the card gives out four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports. Three of these ports are wired out on the rear expansion bracket, while the fourth one is an internal port (type-A plug, not header). The card draws auxiliary power from a SATA power connector, it talks to the rest of the system over PCI-Express 2.0 x1. A part of the reason why not all four ports are located on the bracket, is that the card is just about capable of being low-profile, due to its half-height PCB. USB3.0R-P4-PCIe could be re-branded and sold through various major brands. Slated for late-March, it is priced at 3,000 JPY (US $36).
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card Pictured
Christmas came early to Overclock.net forum member "ironman86", who showed off his swanky new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, branded by GIGABYTE (model: GV-N680D5-2GD-B). The card sticks to NVIDIA reference design to the book, except of course a sci-fi sticker on the cooler and fan. A futuristic art piece, with GIGABYTE and GTX 680 ("8" obscured by the protective plastic film). The card indeed draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, settling the power-connector debate once and for all, since this is the first picture of a retail-channel GTX 680.
AMD Launches Graphics Triple Play: 3 GPUs in 3 Months, Availability of HD 7800 Series
AMD today reached a major milestone in the graphics industry with worldwide availability of its full line of next generation AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series GPUs in less than three months. Starting in December, AMD launched the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series, followed in February by the AMD Radeon HD 7700 Series and completed today with availability of the AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series graphics cards.
"Bringing the first 28nm graphics cards to market in December spurred us to continue pushing the boundaries, product after product, culminating with today's product availability," said Zvika Greenstein, director of product management, GPU Division, AMD. "Look at our feature set: Graphics Core Next, AMD Eyefinity 2.0, AMD PowerTune, AMD ZeroCore Power technologies and of course our GHz Edition graphics cards - it is without doubt that AMD stands alone in the graphics industry."
"Bringing the first 28nm graphics cards to market in December spurred us to continue pushing the boundaries, product after product, culminating with today's product availability," said Zvika Greenstein, director of product management, GPU Division, AMD. "Look at our feature set: Graphics Core Next, AMD Eyefinity 2.0, AMD PowerTune, AMD ZeroCore Power technologies and of course our GHz Edition graphics cards - it is without doubt that AMD stands alone in the graphics industry."
ORICO Officially Intros HS-01 Series Solid State Drives
ORICO officially introduced the HS-01 series 2.5" SATA solid-state drives (SSDs). The drives come in four variants, based solely on the design of the drives' shells, while internally, the four are identical. Internally, the HS-01 is driven by LSI-SandForce SF-2281 controller, with 25 nm MLC NAND flash memory, offering 256 GB of storage. Apparently, these drives incorporate the latest firmware microcode released by LSI that helps the drive make better use of its available NAND flash capacity.
The drives take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface, offering sustained sequential speeds of 500 MB/s (read) and 350 MB/s (write). The four previously mentioned variants are HS-01A-256S3, HS-01C-256S3, HS-01D-256S3 and HS-01E-256S3 (first picture, CW). The bodies are made of CNC-milled aluminum, which are ridged to assist in heat dissipation. Backed by 5-year warranty, the HS-01 series 256 GB drives are priced at 2,898 RMB (US $458.3).
The drives take advantage of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface, offering sustained sequential speeds of 500 MB/s (read) and 350 MB/s (write). The four previously mentioned variants are HS-01A-256S3, HS-01C-256S3, HS-01D-256S3 and HS-01E-256S3 (first picture, CW). The bodies are made of CNC-milled aluminum, which are ridged to assist in heat dissipation. Backed by 5-year warranty, the HS-01 series 256 GB drives are priced at 2,898 RMB (US $458.3).
Lenovo Readies the ThinkCentre M92z Slim All-in-One PCs
This summer Lenovo is going to roll out a new line of all-in-one desktops, the Ivy Bridge-powered ThinkCentre M92z. Set to arrive in July, the M92z PCs will have a slim design (that makes them resemble regular monitors), 20-inch or 23-inch touchscreens, discrete graphics (Nvidia or AMD, it's still uncertain), and will run Windows 7 while being Windows 8 Ready.
In addition to the M92z, Lenovo is also expected to release in July the M72z and an Edge 92z All-in-Ones.
In addition to the M92z, Lenovo is also expected to release in July the M72z and an Edge 92z All-in-Ones.
ASUS Launches the Eee PC 1025 Flare Series Netbook
ASUS has launched the Eee PC 1025 Flare Series, an Intel Atom Cedar Trail-powered netbook with a brand new design. The latest Intel Atom dual-core processor offers four times the graphical performance compared to the previous generation, while consuming less battery.
The Eee PC 1025 comes equipped with the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II with Instant On technology, which enables 2-second resumption from sleep mode and up to twenty-one days of standby time. Full HD 1080p video playback on HDTVs comes by way of the HDMI output port and the Eee PC 1025 provides Blu-ray 2.0 support as well. Connectivity is a breeze too with the built-in USB 3.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi Direct.
The Eee PC 1025 comes equipped with the exclusive ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II with Instant On technology, which enables 2-second resumption from sleep mode and up to twenty-one days of standby time. Full HD 1080p video playback on HDTVs comes by way of the HDMI output port and the Eee PC 1025 provides Blu-ray 2.0 support as well. Connectivity is a breeze too with the built-in USB 3.0, DLNA, and Wi-Fi Direct.
Panasonic Develops World's Lowest Power Chip for Multi-Gigabit Wireless Communication
Panasonic Corporation today announced it has developed a chipset for multi-gigabit millimeter wave wireless communication that offers the industry's lowest power consumption of less than 1 Watt by employing a new baseband processing architecture.
The new chipset will enable stable interactive communication between various kinds of devices supporting the specification developed by the WiGig Alliance. Panasonic had previously developed fundamental CMOS circuit technologies for 60 GHz transceiver and modem signal processing circuits, but now an additional radio packet processing block has been integrated as a key block of the chipset. This plays a significant role in accelerating the realization of simple to use high-definition video data sharing/streaming applications for mobile devices.
The new chipset will enable stable interactive communication between various kinds of devices supporting the specification developed by the WiGig Alliance. Panasonic had previously developed fundamental CMOS circuit technologies for 60 GHz transceiver and modem signal processing circuits, but now an additional radio packet processing block has been integrated as a key block of the chipset. This plays a significant role in accelerating the realization of simple to use high-definition video data sharing/streaming applications for mobile devices.
HP Slips Out Info of Upcoming Ivy Bridge and Trinity-Powered Notebooks
Even as Ivy Bridge-powered notebooks are weeks, or even months away, biggies like HP have their designs in order. HP even posted promotional videos of some of its notebooks on YouTube, including in three new Pavilion lines: dv4, dv6, and dv7. The dv4-5000 is a 14-incher with 1366x768 pixels resolution, Core i7-3610QM (2.30 GHz) processor, up to 8 GB memory, GeForce GT 630M 2 GB DDR3 graphics, and up to 1 TB of HDD space.
The dv6-7000 packs a 15.6-inch screen with up to 1366x768 pixels resolution, the same i7-3610QM chip, GeForce GT 630M or GT 650M graphics, up to 2 TB of HDD space, and a little more connectivity than the dv4-5000. Lastly, there's the dv7-7000, with 17.3-inch screen with up to 1920x1080 pixels resolution, GeForce GT 650M graphics, up to 2 TB HDD space, and even more connectivity options. Apart from the three, HP also unveiled Pavilion g4-2000, g6-2000, g7-2000; which are 14-inchers, with 1366x768 pixels resolution, AMD "Trinity" A6 APU or Intel Core processors, AMD Radeon HD 7670M or AMD Radeon HD 7520G + 7670M Dual GPU, and mainstream connectivity.
Detailed specifications and videos follow.
The dv6-7000 packs a 15.6-inch screen with up to 1366x768 pixels resolution, the same i7-3610QM chip, GeForce GT 630M or GT 650M graphics, up to 2 TB of HDD space, and a little more connectivity than the dv4-5000. Lastly, there's the dv7-7000, with 17.3-inch screen with up to 1920x1080 pixels resolution, GeForce GT 650M graphics, up to 2 TB HDD space, and even more connectivity options. Apart from the three, HP also unveiled Pavilion g4-2000, g6-2000, g7-2000; which are 14-inchers, with 1366x768 pixels resolution, AMD "Trinity" A6 APU or Intel Core processors, AMD Radeon HD 7670M or AMD Radeon HD 7520G + 7670M Dual GPU, and mainstream connectivity.
Apple Hosts Conference Call to Discuss Cash Balance
Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company's discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.
The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Monday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT through Monday, April 2 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820. Please enter confirmation code 6274937.
The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Monday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT through Monday, April 2 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820. Please enter confirmation code 6274937.
ASUS GeForce GTX 680 for Pre-Order in USA
Last week, a Dutch store solicited pre-orders of ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 for a brief period, before redacting the sale page. It was priced at 507.18€ (incl. taxes). US retailer Bottom Line Telecommunications, listed ASUS GeForce GTX 680 on its online store (shopBLT). Carrying the part number GTX680-2GD5, this card is priced at US $566.75. The part that makes this a pre-order is that the sale page mentions that "You may order this product regardless of availability," it would be shipped as soon as it's available (after it's launched, of course). The page doesn't tell us anything about the GTX 680 that we don't already know.
Find the listing here.
No "Ivy Bridge-E" Till Second Half of 2013: Report
Early adopters of LGA2011 "Sandy Bridge-E" platforms can take a breather, their rigs won't turn obsolete for a long time, according to an X-bit Labs report. "Ivy Bridge-E", a hypothetical successor of Sandy Bridge-E, which is an Ivy Bridge take on the LGA2011-HEDT platform won't take shape anytime soon, at least not till the second half of 2013. The likely explanation for this is the disturbance the delay in LGA1155 "Ivy Bridge" chips to the OEM channels caused to Intel's roadmaps.
Intel will be introducing its very first processors built on the 22 nm fab process, which make use of new semiconductor technologies such as space-optimized 3D-transistors. Swelling inventories of current-generation processors, coupled with fab issues caused the launches of Ivy Bridge to go off by several weeks, and this has taken a toll on the launch schedule of "Ivy Bridge-E". Instead, Intel could launch Core i7-3980X Extreme Edition a little later. This chip will be based on the existing Sandy Bridge-E silicon, it remains to be seen if the chip is a speed-bump over i7-3960X, or if Intel enables cores 7 and 8, and the remaining 5 MB L3 cache on the silicon, turning it to an eight-core Goliath.
Intel will be introducing its very first processors built on the 22 nm fab process, which make use of new semiconductor technologies such as space-optimized 3D-transistors. Swelling inventories of current-generation processors, coupled with fab issues caused the launches of Ivy Bridge to go off by several weeks, and this has taken a toll on the launch schedule of "Ivy Bridge-E". Instead, Intel could launch Core i7-3980X Extreme Edition a little later. This chip will be based on the existing Sandy Bridge-E silicon, it remains to be seen if the chip is a speed-bump over i7-3960X, or if Intel enables cores 7 and 8, and the remaining 5 MB L3 cache on the silicon, turning it to an eight-core Goliath.
Haswell to Use 4th-Level On-Package Cache to Boost Graphics Performance
Intel is making serious efforts to boost CPU-integrated graphics performance using homegrown architectures, without having to borrow/license any technologies from the other two major players in the PC graphics business that have technological edges over Intel, and hence make high-performance discrete-GPUs (NVIDIA and AMD). Intel's architecture that succeeds Ivy Bridge, codenamed Haswell, will be at the receiving-end of a significant advancement in GPU performance.
We know from history, that Intel carves out variants of chips using a common silicon, by toggling the amount of L3 cache available, number of cores, and even number of iGPU shaders, apart from other natural handles such as clock speeds, voltages, and feature-set. With Haswell, the highest iGPU configuration will make use of a 4th-level cache (L4 cache), that sits on the package, while not being a part of the Haswell silicon. The Haswell silicon will instead be placed on a multi-chip module (MCM) along with a separate die that holds this L4 cache. The L4 cache will serve as a fast memory for the iGPU, while reducing or completely offloading the iGPU's dependency on the system memory as a frame-buffer (UMA).
We know from history, that Intel carves out variants of chips using a common silicon, by toggling the amount of L3 cache available, number of cores, and even number of iGPU shaders, apart from other natural handles such as clock speeds, voltages, and feature-set. With Haswell, the highest iGPU configuration will make use of a 4th-level cache (L4 cache), that sits on the package, while not being a part of the Haswell silicon. The Haswell silicon will instead be placed on a multi-chip module (MCM) along with a separate die that holds this L4 cache. The L4 cache will serve as a fast memory for the iGPU, while reducing or completely offloading the iGPU's dependency on the system memory as a frame-buffer (UMA).
GeForce GTX 680 SLI Performance Surfaces
NVIDIA's big GeForce GTX 680 launch is just around the corner, but performance figures are already trickling in. Last week, we were treated to a wide range of benchmarks covering a single GeForce GTX 680. Today, VR-Zone posted a performance-preview of the GeForce GTX 680 in 2-way SLI configuration. A set of two GTX 680 cards were put through 3DMark 11 in Entry, Performance, and eXtreme presets. It should be noted here, that the GTX 680 cards were clocked at 1150 MHz core, and 1803 MHz (7.20 GHz effective) memory.
In the Entry preset, GTX 680 2-way SLI scored E22878; it scored P16860 in Performance preset; and X6243 in eXtreme. 2-way SLI of GTX 680 should be fit for 2560x1440/1600 resolution gaming. The rest of the test-bench consisted of Intel Core i7-3930K six-core processor clocked at 5.00 GHz, with 16 GB of quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory, and ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme motherboard.
In the Entry preset, GTX 680 2-way SLI scored E22878; it scored P16860 in Performance preset; and X6243 in eXtreme. 2-way SLI of GTX 680 should be fit for 2560x1440/1600 resolution gaming. The rest of the test-bench consisted of Intel Core i7-3930K six-core processor clocked at 5.00 GHz, with 16 GB of quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory, and ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme motherboard.
Saturday, March 17th 2012
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 Listed for Pre-Order
Here comes one of the first online-store listings of the GeForce GTX 680. Branded by ZOTAC, this GTX 680 is listed on Dutch online-store ComCom.nl, for 426.20€ excluding taxes, and 507.18€ including it. The store is accepting orders, stating that it will begin shipping in 2-5 weeks. There's practically no quantity limit, so those picking four cards for 4-way SLI, can step right up. The ComCom listing doesn't reveal much about the card, except its clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core), 6008 MHz (memory effective), 2 GB memory amount, and display connectivity that includes two DVI, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. "In winkelwagentje" is Dutch for "Add to cart". Find the listing here.
Friday, March 16th 2012
Today's Reviews
Accessories
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
Notebooks
Processors
SSD
Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 1000 W Review
Recently Cooler Master decided to update their Silent Pro M series and what better name to choose than Silent Pro M2! The new series includes six new semi-modular PSUs with capacities ranging from 420W to 1000W. All are made by CM's favorite OEM, Enhance electronics, feature a single +12V rail and come with a five year warranty. Today we will evaluate the strongest of the M2s with 1 kW capacity.
Stealth.com Introduces a New 21.5" Marine All-Weather Sunlight-Readable HD Monitor
Stealth.com Inc. (Stealth Computer) a leader in the industrial computer and peripherals market has released a new 21.5" Marine/All-Weather LCD monitor, featuring a high definition widescreen 16:9 format with 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080). The Stealth model SVM-2150W is environmentally sealed to NEMA 4/IP65 specifications providing maximum protection from dirty, wet and hostile operating environments.
According to Stealth CEO, Ed Boutilier; "Our SVM-2150W all weather LCD monitor is ideal for use in direct sunlight or high ambient light conditions. Typical applications would be for marine, industrial, security, kiosks, vehicles or outdoor displays."
According to Stealth CEO, Ed Boutilier; "Our SVM-2150W all weather LCD monitor is ideal for use in direct sunlight or high ambient light conditions. Typical applications would be for marine, industrial, security, kiosks, vehicles or outdoor displays."
Five models from Thermaltake, Tt eSPORTS and LUXA2 win the Red dot Design Award 2012
Thermaltake, being the industry pioneer brand with expertise in PC DIY solutions, carrying the corporate vision of "building Thermaltake Technology into a cultural brand for the enjoyment of entertainment, e-Sports, technology, and lifestyle" and continues to drive toward the corporate mission of "delivering the perfect user experience" in all market segment, have succeeded with Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition and Toughpower Grand PSU Platinum Snow Series, Tt eSPORTS THERON gaming mouse, LUXA2 BT-X3Bluetooth Stereo Headphone and H4 multi-media holder by receiving the "red dot award: Product Design 2012". In addition, the Thermaltake Toughpower Grand PSU Platinum Snow Series is the top winner which has also been honoured with the coveted iF Design Award 2012, red dot Design Award 2011 & 2012 and The Taiwan Excellence Award!
Transcend Officially Introduces SSD720
Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to showcase the extraordinary performance capabilities and new higher capacity of the next generation SATA III 6Gb/s SSD720 solid state drive (SSD). Built with industry-leading 24nm toggle-mode MLC NAND flash chips and now available in extra-large capacities up to 512GB, an SSD720-equipped computer boots-up faster, games run more smoothly, and overall system responsiveness is improved.
Taking full advantage of the latest SATA III 6Gb/s specification and driven by a powerful SandForce controller, the SSD720 boasts impressive sequential read/write transfer speeds of up to 560MB/540MB per second and lightning-fast 4k random file writes up to 86,000 IOPS. This exceptional performance translates into ultra low response times, launching heavy graphics applications, such as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere CS5, and AutoCAD 2011, in under three seconds. Completing file operations at least three times faster and providing ultra-low access latencies by avoiding platter seek time, the SSD720 is the ideal drop-in replacement for standard rotating hard drives (HDDs).
Taking full advantage of the latest SATA III 6Gb/s specification and driven by a powerful SandForce controller, the SSD720 boasts impressive sequential read/write transfer speeds of up to 560MB/540MB per second and lightning-fast 4k random file writes up to 86,000 IOPS. This exceptional performance translates into ultra low response times, launching heavy graphics applications, such as Adobe Photoshop and Premiere CS5, and AutoCAD 2011, in under three seconds. Completing file operations at least three times faster and providing ultra-low access latencies by avoiding platter seek time, the SSD720 is the ideal drop-in replacement for standard rotating hard drives (HDDs).
NVIDIA's New AA Algo is TXAA, Adaptive V-Sync and New 3DVision Surround Detailed
With Kepler architecture, NVIDIA has three new star technologies that will help it with this round: TXAA, a new anti-aliasing algorithm that offers image quality comparable to 16X MSAA, with the performance-penalty of 2X MSAA (if not less); Adaptive V-Sync which is sure to win gamers by the millions; and a redesigned display logic that supports up to four displays from a single GPU.
TXAA, which we talked about a little earlier, turns out to be a super-efficient temporal anti-aliasing algorithm. It has two levels: TXAA(1), and TXAA2. TXAA1 provides the image quality comparable to 16X MSAA, with the performance-penalty of 2X MSAA; while TXAA2 offers image quality higher than 16X MSAA (unlike anything you've seen), with the performance-penalty of 4X MSAA. Since few games natively support it, you will be able to enable it through the NVIDIA Control Panel, in the application profiles, provided you have a Kepler architecture GPU.
More pictures follow.
TXAA, which we talked about a little earlier, turns out to be a super-efficient temporal anti-aliasing algorithm. It has two levels: TXAA(1), and TXAA2. TXAA1 provides the image quality comparable to 16X MSAA, with the performance-penalty of 2X MSAA; while TXAA2 offers image quality higher than 16X MSAA (unlike anything you've seen), with the performance-penalty of 4X MSAA. Since few games natively support it, you will be able to enable it through the NVIDIA Control Panel, in the application profiles, provided you have a Kepler architecture GPU.
GK104 Block Diagram Explained
Specifications sheets of NVIDIA's GK104 GPU left people dumbfounded at the CUDA core count, where it read 1536, a 3-fold increase over that of the GeForce GTX 580 (3x 512). The block-diagram of the GK104, photographed at the NVIDIA press-meet by an HKEPC photographer, reveals how it all adds up. The GK104 is built on 28 nm fab process, with a die area of around 295 mm², according to older reports. Its component hierarchy essentially an evolution of that of the Fermi architecture.
The hierarchy starts with the GigaThread Engine, which marshals all the unprocessed and processed information between the rest of the GPU and the PCI-Express 3.0 system interface, below this, are four graphics processing clusters (GPCs), which holds one common resource, the raster engine, and two streaming multiprocessors (SMs), only this time, innovation has gone into redesigning the SM, it is called SMX. Each SMX has one next-generation PolyMorph 2.0 engine, instruction cache, 192 CUDA cores, and other first-level caches. So four GPCs of two SMXs each, and 16 SMXs of 192 CUDA cores each, amount to the 1536 CUDA core count. There are four raster units (amounting to 32 ROPs), 8 geometry units (each with a tessellation unit), and some third-level cache. There's a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface.
The hierarchy starts with the GigaThread Engine, which marshals all the unprocessed and processed information between the rest of the GPU and the PCI-Express 3.0 system interface, below this, are four graphics processing clusters (GPCs), which holds one common resource, the raster engine, and two streaming multiprocessors (SMs), only this time, innovation has gone into redesigning the SM, it is called SMX. Each SMX has one next-generation PolyMorph 2.0 engine, instruction cache, 192 CUDA cores, and other first-level caches. So four GPCs of two SMXs each, and 16 SMXs of 192 CUDA cores each, amount to the 1536 CUDA core count. There are four raster units (amounting to 32 ROPs), 8 geometry units (each with a tessellation unit), and some third-level cache. There's a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface.
Intel Tantalizes Consumers with 'Ultrabook Temptations'
What would you do for an Ultrabook computer? That's the question Intel Corporation asks in Ultrabook Temptations, a series of six light-hearted experiments filmed in four cities across three countries and posted to YouTube today.
Sleek and stylish, Ultrabooks are a new category of computers inspired by Intel. They are the next generation of mobile computing -- thinner, lighter and more responsive than traditional laptops, yet just as powerful and secure.
"People are drawn to Ultrabooks. When you see one, you just want one," said Claudine Pache, digital marketing manager for Intel Australia and New Zealand. "We created the 'Ultrabook Temptations' to see just how far people would go to get their hands on one."
Sleek and stylish, Ultrabooks are a new category of computers inspired by Intel. They are the next generation of mobile computing -- thinner, lighter and more responsive than traditional laptops, yet just as powerful and secure.
"People are drawn to Ultrabooks. When you see one, you just want one," said Claudine Pache, digital marketing manager for Intel Australia and New Zealand. "We created the 'Ultrabook Temptations' to see just how far people would go to get their hands on one."
GTX 680 Generally Faster Than HD 7970: New Benchmarks
For skeptics who refuse to believe randomly-sourced bar-graphs of the GeForce GTX 680 that are starved of pictures, here is the first set of benchmarks run by a third-party (neither NVIDIA nor one of its AIC partners). This [p]reviewer from HKEPC has pictures to back his benchmarks. The GeForce GTX 680 was pitted against a Radeon HD 7970, and a previous-generation GeForce GTX 580. The test-bed consisted of an extreme-cooled Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor (running at stock frequency), ASUS Rampage IV Extreme motherboard, 8 GB (4x 2 GB) GeIL EVO 2 DDR3-2200 MHz quad-channel memory, Corsair AX1200W PSU, and Windows 7 x64.
Benchmarks included 3DMark 11 (performance preset), Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Lost Planet 2, and Unigine Heaven (version not mentioned, could be 1). All tests were run at a constant resolution of 1920x1080, with 8x MSAA on some tests (mentioned in the graphs).
More graphs follow.
Benchmarks included 3DMark 11 (performance preset), Battlefield 3, Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Lost Planet 2, and Unigine Heaven (version not mentioned, could be 1). All tests were run at a constant resolution of 1920x1080, with 8x MSAA on some tests (mentioned in the graphs).
Satechi Intros 12-port USB "Strip"
Power-strips are common household appliances, in use wherever you need more AC sockets than your wall provides, and comes with various shapes but have you imagined of a USB strip? Californian company Satechi did, with its UH-12P 12-port USB hub, that's shaped like a strip. The UH-12P is a self-powered USB 2.0 hub, which takes in one upstream USB 2.0 connection, and gives out 12 downstream USB 2.0 ports (11 on the top of the strip, illuminated, and one on the end). The 12 ports are split into two sets, and power can be gated to each set using two switches. Measuring 20.3 x 3.1 x 2.5 cm (WxDxH), with a 1 meter long upstream USB cable, the UH-12P uses a small AC adapter to power the ports. It is priced at US $29.99.
Uruguay is First Country to Get New Model XO Laptop
On the opening day of the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, announced that Uruguay will be the first country in the world to receive the newest model XO children's laptop.
Uruguay began working with OLPC in 2007 and by mid-2010 achieved complete laptop saturation, providing XO's to all 570,000 primary school children in the country. The project recently ordered 60,000 XO 1.75's in order to take advantage of the many breakthrough hardware and software features in the new model.
Uruguay began working with OLPC in 2007 and by mid-2010 achieved complete laptop saturation, providing XO's to all 570,000 primary school children in the country. The project recently ordered 60,000 XO 1.75's in order to take advantage of the many breakthrough hardware and software features in the new model.
ICY DOCK Introduces MB994SP-4SB-1 Quad Bay SATA 6Gbps Backplane
Introducing the Icy Dock MB994SP-4SB-1 Full Metal Quad Bay 2.5" SATA 6Gbps backplane for use in a single 5.25" device bay. This new model uses a SATA 6Gbps interface and adds a fan power switch to control when you need it. The dual 40mm cooling fans in addition to the power switch for the fans allow for the best flexibility - Turn off when using SSD's and on when using mechanical SATA hard drives. The single 4 pin power connector reduces the amount of cables required and making installation simpler.
The MB994SP-4SB-1 utilizes our EZ Slide Mini Trays that accommodate 9.5mm & 12.5mm drives which makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. The MB994SP-4SB-1 is made completely of metal to ensure protection of your drives as well as reliability. With it's small form factor, the MB994SP-4SB-1 is perfect for use in gaming PCs, RAID systems, and in small form factor cases where 5.25" bays are limited and large drive capacity or SSD's are needed.
The MB994SP-4SB-1 utilizes our EZ Slide Mini Trays that accommodate 9.5mm & 12.5mm drives which makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. The MB994SP-4SB-1 is made completely of metal to ensure protection of your drives as well as reliability. With it's small form factor, the MB994SP-4SB-1 is perfect for use in gaming PCs, RAID systems, and in small form factor cases where 5.25" bays are limited and large drive capacity or SSD's are needed.
Thunderbolt To Become Standard for PC in 2013, Optical at That
Towards the end of 2012, Intel will alter Thunderbolt specification from a copper wire-based interconnect to a fiber-optic or photonic interconnect. An analysis by DigiTimes which takes into account information by industry sources, states that Thunderbolt will become standard for PCs only in 2013, and that too the optical one. This comes even as copper wire-based Thunderbolt is beginning to feature on some high-end socket LGA1155 motherboards based on Intel 7-series chipset.
Thunderbolt will get its big push in 2013, when the port will be standard on mainstream desktops and notebooks by OEM majors such as Lenovo, and several PC motherboard vendors, such as ASUS. The optical Thunderbolt IO, apart from allowing greater cable-lengths than 6 m (a limitation of copper-wire Thunderbolt), could push bandwidth greater than 10 Gbps, as a possible incentive for the industry to facilitate the transition to the optical variant.
Thunderbolt will get its big push in 2013, when the port will be standard on mainstream desktops and notebooks by OEM majors such as Lenovo, and several PC motherboard vendors, such as ASUS. The optical Thunderbolt IO, apart from allowing greater cable-lengths than 6 m (a limitation of copper-wire Thunderbolt), could push bandwidth greater than 10 Gbps, as a possible incentive for the industry to facilitate the transition to the optical variant.
HIS Also Launches A Pair of Radeon HD 7950 IceQ Series Graphics Cards
Apart from launching a pair of Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards based on its IceQ X² cooler, HIS also launched a pair of graphics cards based on the Radeon HD 7950 GPU, which are cooled by its latest IceQ iTurbo cooler. This cooler was also featured on HIS HD 7870 IceQ iTurbo. Based on this cooler, HIS launched two models, the HIS HD 7950 IceQ (model: H795Q3G2M), and HIS HD 7950 IceQ Turbo (model: H795QT3G2M). The base model features reference clock speeds of 800 MHz (core), 5.00 GHz (memory); while the Turbo model features a slightly bumped core clock speed of 900 MHz, with no change in memory speed.
Both cards use new HIS IceQ iTurbo cooling solution, which consists of a lateral-airflow design. From the GPU base, two 6 mm-thick and two 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat-pipes arise, conveying heat to a small but dense aluminum channel array. A lateral-flow blower directs air through these channels, where heat dissipation takes place. Unfortunately, with the way this cooling solution is designed, you require three expansion slot bays in you chassis you accommodate one of these cards (check out the top-view picture). The cards use AMD reference-design PCBs that are colored blue, to match HIS IceQ color-scheme. HIS did not give out pricing information.
Both cards use new HIS IceQ iTurbo cooling solution, which consists of a lateral-airflow design. From the GPU base, two 6 mm-thick and two 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat-pipes arise, conveying heat to a small but dense aluminum channel array. A lateral-flow blower directs air through these channels, where heat dissipation takes place. Unfortunately, with the way this cooling solution is designed, you require three expansion slot bays in you chassis you accommodate one of these cards (check out the top-view picture). The cards use AMD reference-design PCBs that are colored blue, to match HIS IceQ color-scheme. HIS did not give out pricing information.
HIS Officially Launches A Pair of HD 7970 IceQ X² Graphics Cards
HIS today launched two new graphics cards models based on the AMD Radeon HD 7970 GPU, the HIS HD 7970 IceQ X² (model: H797QM3G2M), and HIS HD IceQ X² Turbo (model: H797QMT3G2M). The two differ by clock speeds, with the former sticking to AMD reference clock speeds of 925 MHz (core) with 5.50 GHz (memory eff.), while the latter is overclocked out of the box, with 1050 MHz (core) and 5.60 GHz (memory eff.).
Both models use HIS' newest IceQ X² cooling solution, which uses a three 6 mm and two 8 mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes to convey heat drawn directly from the GPU die, to a dense aluminum fin array, which is ventilated by two quiet high-airflow fans. Both cards use blue-colored AMD reference-design PCBs to gel with the IceQ theme. HIS did not give out pricing or availability information.
Both models use HIS' newest IceQ X² cooling solution, which uses a three 6 mm and two 8 mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes to convey heat drawn directly from the GPU die, to a dense aluminum fin array, which is ventilated by two quiet high-airflow fans. Both cards use blue-colored AMD reference-design PCBs to gel with the IceQ theme. HIS did not give out pricing or availability information.
MSI Announces Next Generation R7970 Lightning Graphics Card
Leading international graphics card and mainboard maker MSI today announced the release of the MSI R7970 Lightning, the new heir to the throne of Lightning graphics cards. Equipped with AMD's 28 nm Radeon HD 7970 GPU, the MSI R7970 Lightning features an all-new Unlocked Digital Power Architecture that incorporates an Unlocked BIOS, Digital PWM Controller, and Enhanced Power Design to boost overclocking potential to new heights and make overclocking easier than ever.
In an industry first, the proprietary "GPU Reactor" power supply module reduces power supply noise and also boosts overclocking stability as well. To keep this beast cool, the MSI R7970 Lightning utilizes the latest Twin Frozr IV Thermal Design equipped with Dust Removal Technology. The dual 10 cm fans with Propeller Blade Technology generate massive airflow for fast heat dissipation while remaining whisper silent. The two form-in-one heat sinks improve cooling for memory and the power supply module as well ensure structural integrity.
In an industry first, the proprietary "GPU Reactor" power supply module reduces power supply noise and also boosts overclocking stability as well. To keep this beast cool, the MSI R7970 Lightning utilizes the latest Twin Frozr IV Thermal Design equipped with Dust Removal Technology. The dual 10 cm fans with Propeller Blade Technology generate massive airflow for fast heat dissipation while remaining whisper silent. The two form-in-one heat sinks improve cooling for memory and the power supply module as well ensure structural integrity.
Xilinx 7 Series FPGA/Micron RLDRAM 3 Platform Enables Substantially Higher Data Rates
Xilinx, Inc. and Micron Technology, Inc., today announced the first public hardware demonstration of an FPGA interfacing with RLDRAM 3 memory, a new and emerging memory standard for high-end networking applications such as packet buffering and inspection, linked lists, and lookup tables. Operating with Virtex-7 and Kintex-7 FPGAs at data rates up to 1600 megabits per second (Mb/s), Micron's high-performance RLDRAM 3 memory combines high density, high bandwidth and fast SRAM-like random access to enable a 60 percent higher data rate and memory bandwidth compared to that of the previous generation (Virtex-6 FPGAs/RLDRAM2 memory standard). RLDRAM 3 memory enables 40G and 100G networking systems that require higher speed, higher density, lower power and lower latency.
Virtex-7 and Kintex-7 FPGAs are designed with the necessary IO standards and architectural components for optimal interfacing with RLDRAM 3, providing a significant boost to system performance for high-performance wireless and wired networking systems. RLDRAM 3 memory uses innovative circuit design to minimize the time between the beginning of an access cycle and the instant that the first data is available. Ultra-low bus turnaround time enables higher sustainable bandwidth with near-term balanced read-to-write ratios.
Virtex-7 and Kintex-7 FPGAs are designed with the necessary IO standards and architectural components for optimal interfacing with RLDRAM 3, providing a significant boost to system performance for high-performance wireless and wired networking systems. RLDRAM 3 memory uses innovative circuit design to minimize the time between the beginning of an access cycle and the instant that the first data is available. Ultra-low bus turnaround time enables higher sustainable bandwidth with near-term balanced read-to-write ratios.
Kingston's DRAM Shipments in Asia-Pacific Grows Significantly
Kingston Technology saw a significant growth in its DRAM module shipments, of 20 percent, in 2011. This growth comes despite tough competition and a generally hostile market in 2011 (not because of lack of demand, but oversupply). Kingston told the press that its 20% DRAM shipments growth allowed it to mitigate the impact of plummeting DRAM prices in 2011-12. In addition to quality entry-level bulk DRAM modules, and bleeding-edge HyperX DRAM modules for gaming and enthusiast PCs, Kingston said it would focus on enterprise-grade DRAM for servers and workstations, which yield higher margins. Kingston maintained its 50% worldwide market-share in 2011, maintaining its market dominance.
Nokia Windows 8 Tablet Concept Art Surfaces
Earlier this week, we learned about Nokia working on a Windows 8-driven tablet. Concept art of this tablet (probably designed by well-informed fans), suggests that the tablet, Nokia "Lumia Coffee Tab", is essentially a stretched-out Lumia 800, which is its flagship Windows-driven smartphone that's extensively marketed with the monies it received from Microsoft to go Windows. The tablet features a 10.1-inch screen, and is designed to be competitive with Apple's iPad.
Interestingly, Nokia will have to use Windows 8 ARM, since the tablet reportedly uses a Qualcomm-made processor, and it is reported that Windows 8 ARM could arrive much later than Windows 8 x86. Could this mean Microsoft handing out Nokia exclusive early-access to Windows 8 ARM? Microsoft is evidently desperate to give its mobile versions of Windows a single potent launch-pad manufacturer, and as one of the most competent mobile phone makers, Nokia is the chosen one. Microsoft looks aware that the post-PC future of computing is very real, and approaching fast.
Interestingly, Nokia will have to use Windows 8 ARM, since the tablet reportedly uses a Qualcomm-made processor, and it is reported that Windows 8 ARM could arrive much later than Windows 8 x86. Could this mean Microsoft handing out Nokia exclusive early-access to Windows 8 ARM? Microsoft is evidently desperate to give its mobile versions of Windows a single potent launch-pad manufacturer, and as one of the most competent mobile phone makers, Nokia is the chosen one. Microsoft looks aware that the post-PC future of computing is very real, and approaching fast.
Common Platform Transitions to Adopt FinFET 3D Transistor with 14 nm Fab Process
Common Platform, a consortium of three major silicon fabrication companies: IBM, Samsung, and GlobalFoundries, met at their 2012 Technology Forum, where they announced their intention to transition to FinFET 3D transistor technology, but only with the 14 nanometer (nm) silicon fabrication process. Chips on this process will be built in the 2014~2015 time-frame. 3D transistors is a technology pioneered by Intel, which provides space-optimized, energy-efficient transistors on a nano-scale.
FinFET transistors will be combined with Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) to offer extremely high transistor densities, with lower chip power. FD-SOI overcomes the limitation of current partially-depleted SOI (PD-SOI) technology, of lower-yields due to the pressure required for SOI insulation, which nears the breaking-point of strained silicon transistors. FinFET tech will be combined with chip-stacking technology, which helps make devices with better use of available PCB footprint.
FinFET transistors will be combined with Fully Depleted Silicon-On-Insulator (FD-SOI) to offer extremely high transistor densities, with lower chip power. FD-SOI overcomes the limitation of current partially-depleted SOI (PD-SOI) technology, of lower-yields due to the pressure required for SOI insulation, which nears the breaking-point of strained silicon transistors. FinFET tech will be combined with chip-stacking technology, which helps make devices with better use of available PCB footprint.
Gigabyte Officially Launches Radeon HD 7800 Overclock Series Graphics Cards
GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to present Radeon HD 7800 Overclock Series Graphics Card: GV-R787OC-2GD, GV-R785OC-2GD. Built with AMD's latest 28nm GPU and GDDR5 memory, GIGABYTE makes these cards with higher core clock. Equipped with GIGABYTE's latest in-house cooling design and adapted with GIGABYTE Ultra Durable materials, GIGABYTE makes sure that Radeon HD 7800 Series is with the best speed of heat dissipation and performance.
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7800 Series also provides a number of innovative features including the latest AMD APP Acceleration, Microsoft DirectX 11 supported, AMDHD3D, Crossfire, and PCI-Express 3.0 supported. GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD, GV-R785OC-2GD, guarantee gamers to have the best gaming experience with realistic visuals and fantastic gaming performance.
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 7800 Series also provides a number of innovative features including the latest AMD APP Acceleration, Microsoft DirectX 11 supported, AMDHD3D, Crossfire, and PCI-Express 3.0 supported. GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD, GV-R785OC-2GD, guarantee gamers to have the best gaming experience with realistic visuals and fantastic gaming performance.
TRENDnet Ships a 500Mbps Powerline Adapter with Four Integrated Gigabit Ports
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the availability of the 4-Port 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter with four integrated Gigabit ports, model TPL-405E.
New media center devices such as internet televisions, media players, network video recorders, receivers, and game consoles are now network ready-respective devices are capable of connecting to and streaming HD files directly from the Internet. TRENDnet's 4-Port 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter connects up to four media center devices to the Internet simultaneously using existing electrical lines.
New media center devices such as internet televisions, media players, network video recorders, receivers, and game consoles are now network ready-respective devices are capable of connecting to and streaming HD files directly from the Internet. TRENDnet's 4-Port 500Mbps Powerline AV Adapter connects up to four media center devices to the Internet simultaneously using existing electrical lines.
Thursday, March 15th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
AOC's Portable 16-inch USB Monitor Now $99 For a Limited Time in the US
AOC, a worldwide leader in monitor display technology, announces a limited time special promotion on the portable 16-inch USB Monitor (e1649fwu), the ultimate laptop accessory. From March 16 through March 31, 2012, the monitor will be available for $99, which is $40 off the MSRP.
The 16-inch USB Monitor features a convenient built-in USB port that receives both power and signal via a single USB cable for plug-and-play connection. The AOC e1649fwu also combines productivity and portability into an elegant and lightweight display, providing an ideal take-along monitor for business presentations, and for other multi-screen applications like social media monitoring, photo editing, expanded spreadsheets and more. The USB Monitor is available now at Best Buy, Walmart, Micro Center, Newegg, HHGregg, Amazon, Circuit City, CompUSA, TigerDirect, ABC Warehouse, Electronics Express, and other major retailers.
The 16-inch USB Monitor features a convenient built-in USB port that receives both power and signal via a single USB cable for plug-and-play connection. The AOC e1649fwu also combines productivity and portability into an elegant and lightweight display, providing an ideal take-along monitor for business presentations, and for other multi-screen applications like social media monitoring, photo editing, expanded spreadsheets and more. The USB Monitor is available now at Best Buy, Walmart, Micro Center, Newegg, HHGregg, Amazon, Circuit City, CompUSA, TigerDirect, ABC Warehouse, Electronics Express, and other major retailers.
EA Launches Legendary Franchise as Free-to-Play Title with C&C Tiberium Alliances
Phenomic, the Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio dedicated to developing best-in-class free-to-play games, today announced that Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances is now in open beta. The latest entry in EA's Play4Free portfolio of games, Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances is a massively multiplayer online (MMO), browser-based, free-to-play strategy game that delivers a whole new way for players to experience the Command & Conquer Tiberium universe. Players harvest valuable resources, foster strategic alliances and engage in relentless battles as they strive for world domination. With in-game news and status feeds, players get frequent updates, creating a completely interactive and dynamic gameplay experience that has gamers strategizing, reacting, and adapting on the spot. The Open Beta goes live today globally, here.
Diablo III Ships May 15
The end is nigh! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Diablo III, the next chapter in its critically acclaimed action role-playing game series, will be unleashed from the Burning Hells on May 15.
Starting that day, gamers with a thirst for fast-paced action and adventure will be able to purchase Diablo III at retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In addition, gamers in the regions above as well as in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil will be able to buy Diablo III digitally via Blizzard's Battle.net website.
Starting that day, gamers with a thirst for fast-paced action and adventure will be able to purchase Diablo III at retailers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. In addition, gamers in the regions above as well as in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil will be able to buy Diablo III digitally via Blizzard's Battle.net website.
NVIDIA Introducing a New Anti-Aliasing Algorithm with Kepler?
Reliable sources indicate that NVIDIA could introduce a new anti-aliasing (AA) algorithm with its Kepler family of GPUs. There are already plenty of AA algorithms which have been introduced with recent generations of GPUs, including FXAA, which have enabled higher levels of image quality, while not being as taxing as MSAA. This leaves only one area in which a new AA algorithm can take shape: to raise the image quality bar higher, while lowering performance penalty.
In a screenshot, probably sourced from NVIDIA's GeForce Kepler press-deck, this new algorithm is compared to 8x MSAA, in which it appears to give superior image quality. We know that 8x MSAA can be taxing, the kind of image quality we're seeing with this mysterious AA algo 'looks' taxing with available technology, unless of course, NVIDIA developed a silver-bullet in its new algorithm, which provides stunning image quality while not being too taxing on the GPU's resources.
In a screenshot, probably sourced from NVIDIA's GeForce Kepler press-deck, this new algorithm is compared to 8x MSAA, in which it appears to give superior image quality. We know that 8x MSAA can be taxing, the kind of image quality we're seeing with this mysterious AA algo 'looks' taxing with available technology, unless of course, NVIDIA developed a silver-bullet in its new algorithm, which provides stunning image quality while not being too taxing on the GPU's resources.
Intel Haswell and Lynx Point Chipset Arrive in March 2013: Report
Even as its 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" Core processors and compatible 7-series "Panther Point" chipset are only taking shape, with chains of product-launches starting late-March, extending through June; there's little denying that Intel has the successor to this platform ready, and a DigiTimes report pins its launch as early as March 2013. These upcoming product lines include a new processor architecture "Haswell", and compatible "Lynx Point" chipset. We knew Haswell's March-June 2013 launch schedule from a slightly older report that cited a leaked road-map slide. This latest DigiTimes report cites sources from upstream component suppliers. Haswell processor platform will introduce a new socket, LGA1150, which is not compatible with current LGA1155 platforms.
Consumers Donate $3,335,265 to Double Fine Adventure
When Double Fine asked the gaming community for donations it never expected this. "It's been an amazing experience," Tim Schafer said as the last bit of funding rolled in for Double Fine Adventure. "So much love." And so much money! The Kickstarter project, which aimed to collect a mere $400,000 for a new, classically designed adventure game from Schafer's San Francisco-based studio, concluded with a total of $3,335,265 in funding -- after just over a month. An accompanying documentary will capture its creation, step-by-step. "I don't want to say this is the end of the whole game industry as we know it ... it's not, it's not!" Schafer joked, surrounded by festivities in the Double Fine office. As the Kickstarter clock counted down, the visibly grateful designer said fans no longer had to accept no for an answer when it came to their favorite "niche" entertainment. "You can choose."
Western Digital Shipping My Book Thunderbolt Duo Dual-Drive Storage System
Western Digital, the world's leader in external storage solutions, is now shipping its first external hard drive with Thunderbolt technology - the My Book Thunderbolt Duo dual-drive storage system.
The new My Book Thunderbolt Duo provides professionals and Mac enthusiasts with five primary areas of performance, double-safe data protection and flexibility; ultra-fast data transfer rates for greater work efficiency; a 4 TB/6 TB large-capacity; customized dual-drive storage system with RAID 0, 1 and JBOD options; customer serviceable drives; and dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy-chaining multiple My Book Thunderbolt Duo devices or other peripherals.
The new My Book Thunderbolt Duo provides professionals and Mac enthusiasts with five primary areas of performance, double-safe data protection and flexibility; ultra-fast data transfer rates for greater work efficiency; a 4 TB/6 TB large-capacity; customized dual-drive storage system with RAID 0, 1 and JBOD options; customer serviceable drives; and dual Thunderbolt ports for daisy-chaining multiple My Book Thunderbolt Duo devices or other peripherals.
StarTech Releases the IES8100POEGB 8-port IEEE Power Over Ethernet Switch
StarTech.com, a leading manufacturer of hard-to-find connectivity parts has announced the release of the IES8100POEGB - an 8-port IEEE Power over Ethernet switch capable of delivering up to 15.4 Watts of power, as well as network data, to up to 8 PoE-compliant devices - double the capability of most IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet switches to date. The switch can be used as a PSE (Power Sourcing Equipment), eliminating the need for peripheral power supplies for end-point powered network devices such as IP phones, wireless access points and video cameras.
The new PoE switch features a compact, yet rugged metal design that makes it suitable for industrial environments and other applications that require durable equipment. The switch can be used with existing network wiring (Cat5, Cat5e or Cat6), making it easy to situate without having to re-run network cables.
The new PoE switch features a compact, yet rugged metal design that makes it suitable for industrial environments and other applications that require durable equipment. The switch can be used with existing network wiring (Cat5, Cat5e or Cat6), making it easy to situate without having to re-run network cables.
SAPPHIRE Introduces HD 7970 Dual-X OC Edition
SAPPHIRE Technology has just release a new factory overclocked version of its high end graphics card based on the highly acclaimed graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD.
The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 OC Edition features SAPPHIRE's new dual-extractor technology - Dual-X - a highly efficient multi-heatpipe cooler with dual fans providing quiet and very cool operation during normal operating conditions, and superb cooling performance even under extreme load. The HD 7970 from AMD is the most powerful single chip GPU ever built - it has a new internal structure with 32 compute units and a total of 2048 Stream processors. The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 OC Edition ships with a raised core clock speed of 950MHz, and 1425MHz for the memory. Its Dual BIOS switch allows users to select the higher performance settings of 1GHz core and 1450MHz memory, making the fastest card in its class. This setting also uses a more aggressive fan profile and raises the limits for maximum overclocking.
The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 OC Edition features SAPPHIRE's new dual-extractor technology - Dual-X - a highly efficient multi-heatpipe cooler with dual fans providing quiet and very cool operation during normal operating conditions, and superb cooling performance even under extreme load. The HD 7970 from AMD is the most powerful single chip GPU ever built - it has a new internal structure with 32 compute units and a total of 2048 Stream processors. The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 OC Edition ships with a raised core clock speed of 950MHz, and 1425MHz for the memory. Its Dual BIOS switch allows users to select the higher performance settings of 1GHz core and 1450MHz memory, making the fastest card in its class. This setting also uses a more aggressive fan profile and raises the limits for maximum overclocking.
Deepcool Introduces the GAMMAXX 400 CPU Cooler
Showcased last week at CeBIT 2012, Deepcool's GAMMAXX 400 CPU cooler has now been officially launched and is making its way to stores worldwide. This new cooler measures 135 x 76 x 159 mm, it weights 638 grams, and features four direct touch copper heatpipes, 50 aluminum fins, and a 120 mm Hydro Bearing fan operating at 900 to 1500 RPM (21.4 ~ 32.1 dBA sound output).
The GAMMAXX 400 supports Intel LGA1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775 and AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/940/939/754 processors, while an LGA2011 upgrade is set to arrive in April. The cooler's recommended price tag is 28.99 Euro.
The GAMMAXX 400 supports Intel LGA1366/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA775 and AMD Socket FM1/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/940/939/754 processors, while an LGA2011 upgrade is set to arrive in April. The cooler's recommended price tag is 28.99 Euro.
Worldwide PC Microprocessor Revenues in 2011 Rise 13.2% Compared to 2010
Worldwide PC microprocessor revenues in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011 (4Q11) rose to $10.9 billion, up 1.8% compared to 3Q11 and up 14.2% compared to 4Q10, according to the latest PC microprocessor market share study from International Data Corporation (IDC). For the year 2011 compared to 2010, PC microprocessor revenues rose 13.2% to more than $41 billion.
"The average selling price (ASP) that OEMs pay for PC microprocessors rose more than 9% in 2011, making 2011 the second consecutive year of notable ASP increases," said Shane Rau, director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC.
Looking at processor unit shipments in 2011 compared to 2010, overall shipments grew 3.6%. By form factor, mobile PC processor unit shipments grew 3.9% in 2011, while x86 server processor unit shipments grew 9.0%, and desktop processor unit shipments grew 2.7%.
"The average selling price (ASP) that OEMs pay for PC microprocessors rose more than 9% in 2011, making 2011 the second consecutive year of notable ASP increases," said Shane Rau, director of Semiconductors: Personal Computing research at IDC.
Looking at processor unit shipments in 2011 compared to 2010, overall shipments grew 3.6%. By form factor, mobile PC processor unit shipments grew 3.9% in 2011, while x86 server processor unit shipments grew 9.0%, and desktop processor unit shipments grew 2.7%.
Unstoppable Gorg: Attack of the Giant Sale
Futuremark Games Studio announced today that its cult hit, 1950s sci-fi inspired tower defense game Unstoppable Gorg will be Steam's Daily Deal on Thursday March 15 selling for just $4.99 for one day only.
Unstoppable Gorg is a revolutionary tower defense game that challenges you to defend the solar system from fearsome aliens by sending satellites into orbit. Unlike tower-based defense games, in Unstoppable Gorg you can move your satellites by rotating the orbits that surround planets, moons and space stations.
Unstoppable Gorg is a revolutionary tower defense game that challenges you to defend the solar system from fearsome aliens by sending satellites into orbit. Unlike tower-based defense games, in Unstoppable Gorg you can move your satellites by rotating the orbits that surround planets, moons and space stations.
RAIDMAX Announces the AGUSTA Gaming Chassis
RAIDMAX, a computer chassis provider, is pleased to announce a Gundam themed chassis with an unique HDD storage design. Designed for ATX and m-ATX motherboards, the AGUSTA is ideal for gamers seeking an aesthetically striking chassis with numerous tool-less features and impressive cooling.
Striking Front Shield with LED Illumination
In front of the five 5.25" bays with pop-off panels is the Gundam themed armor-shield. Opening like a door, this front shield gives the AGUSTA a visually striking appearance. When complemented by the front and top LED illuminated fans, the AGUSTA adds unmatched flash and appeal to your system.
Striking Front Shield with LED Illumination
In front of the five 5.25" bays with pop-off panels is the Gundam themed armor-shield. Opening like a door, this front shield gives the AGUSTA a visually striking appearance. When complemented by the front and top LED illuminated fans, the AGUSTA adds unmatched flash and appeal to your system.
Powercolor Adds a Flavor Into HD7700 Series: PCS+ HD7770 GHz Edition
TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today announces a new flavor into HD7700 series: the PCS+ HD7770 GHz Edition. Packed with factory overclocked setting, the PCS+ HD7770 delivers the out-of-box gaming performance with core speed at 1150 MHz and memory speed at 5.0 Gbps; based on the advanced 28 nm GCN architecture and PCI Express 3.0, the PCS+ HD7770 enables the best efficiency and extraordinary performance by doubling the bandwidth between GPU and CPU.
PowerColor PCS+ HD7770 has equipped with solid cooling design; by utilizing heat pipe direct touch technology, it can be cooled down efficiently through heat pipe which fully covers GPU, easily carrying away excessive heat from large extrusion heat sink and cooling fan on top. Moreover, with smart fan control technology, this edition enables the best user experience through automatically fan speed controlled.
PowerColor PCS+ HD7770 has equipped with solid cooling design; by utilizing heat pipe direct touch technology, it can be cooled down efficiently through heat pipe which fully covers GPU, easily carrying away excessive heat from large extrusion heat sink and cooling fan on top. Moreover, with smart fan control technology, this edition enables the best user experience through automatically fan speed controlled.
Philips Debuts the Blade 2 IPS Monitor
MMD, the leading technology company and brand license partner for Philips Monitors, today unveiled the Philips Blade 2 monitor that incorporates a stylish ultra-slim design with the latest IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology to deliver an exceptional desktop experience for consumers.
With a depth of just 12.5 mm, the Philips Blade 2 239C4QHSB monitor is one of the slimmest desktop displays on the market and comes in two colors, classy black or elegant white. Combining sophisticated design with leading-edge display technology, the Blade 2 is equipped with a 24" IPS display that delivers color accurate images that are vivid and life-like, making it an ideal choice for both work and play.
With a depth of just 12.5 mm, the Philips Blade 2 239C4QHSB monitor is one of the slimmest desktop displays on the market and comes in two colors, classy black or elegant white. Combining sophisticated design with leading-edge display technology, the Blade 2 is equipped with a 24" IPS display that delivers color accurate images that are vivid and life-like, making it an ideal choice for both work and play.
iBUYPOWER Announces Availability of Highly Anticipated Erebus GT
iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce the availability of the highly anticipated Erebus GT. Starting at $899, the Erebus GT brings highly efficient custom liquid cooling, once reserved for expensive boutiques, to the mainstream audience. The original, larger Erebus system has been renamed the "Erebus XL".
Unveiled at CES 2012, Erebus GT is a low-cost revision of iBUYPOWER's premium system named for the God Darkness and features a proprietary liquid cooling solution powered by Koolance that provides epic overclocking potential. The rugged Erebus GT features an advanced cooling system that includes three large radiators and 13 mm high flow tubing to circulate 4.5 gallons of coolant per minute.
Unveiled at CES 2012, Erebus GT is a low-cost revision of iBUYPOWER's premium system named for the God Darkness and features a proprietary liquid cooling solution powered by Koolance that provides epic overclocking potential. The rugged Erebus GT features an advanced cooling system that includes three large radiators and 13 mm high flow tubing to circulate 4.5 gallons of coolant per minute.
Microsoft Declares Quarterly Dividend
Microsoft Corp. today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend is payable June 14, 2012 to shareholders of record on May 17, 2012. The ex-dividend date will be May 15, 2012.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Hynix Wuxi Plant to Produce NAND Flash
With significant growth in demand for NAND flash memory, with the advent of Intel's Ultrabook form-factor, and the transition of Apple's MacBook range to slimmer form-factors that could raise demand of solid-state storage, memory makers are stepping up production of NAND flash memory. Samsung recently announced the setting up of a 12-inch NAND flash wafer production facility in China. In response to this, the other major Korean memory-maker, Hynix, indicated that its plant located in Wuxi, China, will switch from producing DRAM to NAND flash. This switch seems short-term and Hynix plans to expand the plant later, to accommodate NAND flash production. Hynix is currently a much smaller player in the NAND flash industry than Samsung.
Logitec Intros Colorful 3.5" HDD Boxes
Japanese company introduced a set of colorful plastic storage boxes (model: LHC-01). These are just containers to carry internal HDDs around, which could help field engineers and system administrators, it offers not much more than anti-static protection to the delicate drive electronics, and protection from dust. The boxes come with 3.5" floppy-styled label stickers. Measuring 162.1 x 35.5 x 110.99 mm, these drives feature a top hinged cap that locks into place. The boxes look to be made of ABS, and come in four frosted color options: white (LHC-01WH), blue (LHC-01BL), green (LHC-01GN), and orange (LHC-01OR). Available now, this hard drive-Tupperware costs 980 JPY (US $11.6) a piece.
HIS Radeon HD 7970 IceQ X² Pictured
HIS is working on a new custom-design Radeon HD 7970 graphics card, based on its newest cooling innovation, the HIS HD 7970 IceQ X². This is the first cooling solution in the IceQ family to feature two fans. It is designed to be competitive with several other AIB-designed twin-fan cooling solutions out there, MSI TwinFrozr III, PowerColor PCS+, and Sapphire Dual-Fan, to name a few. The cooler is designed to keep the card within the dimensions of two expansion slots, while increasing the height just a little.
The design consists of an aluminum fin array, to which heat is fed by three 6 mm and two 8 mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes, some of which make direct contact with the GPU die. The fin array is then ventilated by two large 112 mm fans that feature high-airflow blades. The design results in 17 °C cooler, and 15 dB quieter operation than AMD reference cooler. The card makes use of a 6-phase PWM power design. Other details are awaited.
The design consists of an aluminum fin array, to which heat is fed by three 6 mm and two 8 mm nickel-plated copper heat pipes, some of which make direct contact with the GPU die. The fin array is then ventilated by two large 112 mm fans that feature high-airflow blades. The design results in 17 °C cooler, and 15 dB quieter operation than AMD reference cooler. The card makes use of a 6-phase PWM power design. Other details are awaited.
Mozilla Countering Firefox Update Fatigue with Silent Updates, Add-on Compatibility
Throughout 2011, Firefox users have seen their browser's major version number go up very 6 weeks or so, something that was unheard of, in the years before, when it could take years for a major version number increase. Mozilla was obviously inflating version numbers for better market placement with other browsers that have crossed version 9x (such as Chrome, MSIE, and Opera). With Firefox already at version 11, Mozilla wants to slow down with the version number game, which caused "update fatigue" among users. Apart from keeping track of their browser's version number, users that have important add-ons installed, stay away from updates because major version number changes break the add-ons.
Mozilla wants to counter update fatigue with a two pronged approach. Firstly, it will change the way browser version numbers affect add-on compatibility. With Firefox 11, any add-on that's compatible with Firefox 4+ will just run, without compatibility issues. Add-ons disabled by older versions of the browser will now resume working. Next up, Mozilla will introduce completely silent updates, which get downloaded in the background, and don't notify you about restarting the browser to apply updates. You'll never notice when your Firefox reaches version 9001.
Mozilla wants to counter update fatigue with a two pronged approach. Firstly, it will change the way browser version numbers affect add-on compatibility. With Firefox 11, any add-on that's compatible with Firefox 4+ will just run, without compatibility issues. Add-ons disabled by older versions of the browser will now resume working. Next up, Mozilla will introduce completely silent updates, which get downloaded in the background, and don't notify you about restarting the browser to apply updates. You'll never notice when your Firefox reaches version 9001.
Wednesday, March 14th 2012
Today's Reviews
Accessories
Cases
Graphics Cards
Input Devices
Motherboards
Notebooks
Processors
Gigabyte HD 7770 OC 1 GB Review
Gigabyte's HD 7770 OC comes with a massive clock improvement over the AMD reference design. Operating at 1100 MHz ensures that the card has a healthy performance advantage over other boards. Memory clock is also increased at 1250 MHz.
MARSHAL Announces a Trio of External Storage Solutions
Japanese company MARSHAL announced three new external storage solutions, which include two 2-bay enclosures and one 4-bay dock. The two enclosures are MAL-3235SBK (non-RAID mass-storage, USB 2.0), and MAL-3335SBKU (RAID mass-storage, USB 3.0); and the dock is MAL-3635SBK. The two enclosures bear essentially the same product design, that consists of two 3.5" SATA drive bays, differing only by the MAL-3335SBKU supporting RAID 0 and 1 modes, and USB 3.0. These enclosures measure 73 x 195 x 123 mm (WxDxH), use external power bricks, and cool installed hard drives using a rear fan.
The MAL-3635SBK is a one-of-a-kind top-loading 4-bay SATA drive dock, which supports both 3.5" and 2.5" drives on each bay. The main unit is merely a cuboidal box, with an ABS stand extending out, holding the four drives firmly in place. This dock is designed not essentially keeping external storage in mind, and more as a drive cloning station. For this reason, the dock connects to the host over slow USB 2.0, but packs a native drive cloning logic that can auto-clone three drives from one template, at a time, without needing a host. The dock measures 164 x 126 x 88 mm (WxDxH). The MAL-3235SBK, MAL-3335SBKU, and MAL-3635SBK, from MARSHAL, are priced at 3,580 JPY (US $42), 4,980 JPY (US $60), and 9,980 JPY (US $119), respectively. They are slated for launch this month.
The MAL-3635SBK is a one-of-a-kind top-loading 4-bay SATA drive dock, which supports both 3.5" and 2.5" drives on each bay. The main unit is merely a cuboidal box, with an ABS stand extending out, holding the four drives firmly in place. This dock is designed not essentially keeping external storage in mind, and more as a drive cloning station. For this reason, the dock connects to the host over slow USB 2.0, but packs a native drive cloning logic that can auto-clone three drives from one template, at a time, without needing a host. The dock measures 164 x 126 x 88 mm (WxDxH). The MAL-3235SBK, MAL-3335SBKU, and MAL-3635SBK, from MARSHAL, are priced at 3,580 JPY (US $42), 4,980 JPY (US $60), and 9,980 JPY (US $119), respectively. They are slated for launch this month.
SEGA to Offer Top Games on Origin
Electronic Arts (EA) Inc. announced today that SEGA will bring its most popular PC game titles to Origin, EA's direct-to-consumer gaming platform. SEGA's Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai is now available for pre-order to PC gamers on Origin.
In addition to SEGA, other new publishers joining Origin today include Team 17 Software Limited, Rebellion, Kalypso Media Digital Ltd. and more, bringing the number of game publishers and developers on Origin to 35 partners. PC downloadable titles from each of these partners will be available on Origin in the coming months.
In addition to SEGA, other new publishers joining Origin today include Team 17 Software Limited, Rebellion, Kalypso Media Digital Ltd. and more, bringing the number of game publishers and developers on Origin to 35 partners. PC downloadable titles from each of these partners will be available on Origin in the coming months.
Dell Trade-in Program Helps EMC and NetApp Customers Move
Dell today announced a new financing program to support customers migrating from EMC and NetApp legacy storage products to Dell storage arrays.
The new Dell Storage Swap program provides cash credits and attractive lease terms for customers retiring EMC CLARiiON CX, Celerra and VNX, and various NetApp FAS systems and upgrading to new Dell Compellent and EqualLogic virtualized, modular storage arrays. Dell simplifies the transition for customers by offering specialized migration services, award-winning ProSupport and Copilot support and other financial incentives such as Dell Financial Services leasing options. In keeping with its longstanding commitment to green initiatives, Dell will provide safe and environmentally responsible disposal of the obsolete and retired IT equipment.
The Dell Storage Swap program is available to all customers and Dell PartnerDirect resellers in the U.S. and Canada, now through July 31, 2012.
The new Dell Storage Swap program provides cash credits and attractive lease terms for customers retiring EMC CLARiiON CX, Celerra and VNX, and various NetApp FAS systems and upgrading to new Dell Compellent and EqualLogic virtualized, modular storage arrays. Dell simplifies the transition for customers by offering specialized migration services, award-winning ProSupport and Copilot support and other financial incentives such as Dell Financial Services leasing options. In keeping with its longstanding commitment to green initiatives, Dell will provide safe and environmentally responsible disposal of the obsolete and retired IT equipment.
The Dell Storage Swap program is available to all customers and Dell PartnerDirect resellers in the U.S. and Canada, now through July 31, 2012.
SquareTrade Research Finds Customers Report iPad 2 Damage 3.5x More Likely Than iPad1
SquareTrade, the largest independent warranty provider in the world, just completed an extensive report on iPad breakage rates. Based on data compiled from 50,000 SquareTrade iPad customers, the company found that iPad 2 owners reported breakage 3.5 times as often as iPad 1 owners.
Eurocom Ships the World's Most Powerful 3D On-the-Go 12 lbs (5.5 kg) Notebook
Eurocom Corporation a developer of long lifespan, fully upgradable Notebooks, high performance Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers announces support NVIDIA 3D Vision in the new EUROCOM Panther 4.0, powered by the super powerful dual NVIDIA GeForce 580M in SLI.
The EUROCOM Panther 4.0 is available as a 3D enabled system or a non 3D system, as always Eurocom puts the choice in the hands of the customer. Supporting 3D technology provides users with an immersive 3D experience in games, movies, and any content with built in depth.
The EUROCOM Panther 4.0 is available as a 3D enabled system or a non 3D system, as always Eurocom puts the choice in the hands of the customer. Supporting 3D technology provides users with an immersive 3D experience in games, movies, and any content with built in depth.
Panel-Maker AUOptronics Convicted of Price-Fixing, Could Face Up To $1B in Fines
One of the biggest suppliers of LCD panels to notebook and PC monitor manufacturers, AUOptronics, has been convicted by a US court on Tuesday, of price-fixing, a serious anti-competitive practice that cripples innovation and is bad for consumers and progress of the industry. The company faces fines as high as US $1 billion, which could amount to a big blow to the company that already finds itself facing losses.
AUOptronics' conviction follows the December 2011 mega-settlement of LCD makers including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux. At the time, AUOptronics and LG Electronics were the only fence-sitters. LG Electronics agreed to pay a US $400 million fine, in 2008. AUOptronics' current position is that it finds the evidence presented against it, which led to the conviction as being "distorted and incomplete," and that it will appeal against the verdict. The quantum of fine levied against AUOptronics will surface in the months ahead.
AUOptronics' conviction follows the December 2011 mega-settlement of LCD makers including Samsung, Sharp, Hitachi, HannStar, and Chimei Innolux. At the time, AUOptronics and LG Electronics were the only fence-sitters. LG Electronics agreed to pay a US $400 million fine, in 2008. AUOptronics' current position is that it finds the evidence presented against it, which led to the conviction as being "distorted and incomplete," and that it will appeal against the verdict. The quantum of fine levied against AUOptronics will surface in the months ahead.
MSI Announces the All-New Intel 7 Series Motherboards
World renowned computer manufacturer MSI announces today motherboard products based on Intel's Z77/H77/B75 series chipsets, with support for the new generation of 22 nm process CPUs featuring PCI Express Gen3 specification. The all-new Military Class III products utilizes high-specification components that meet MIL-STD-810G's seven rigorous testing standards, and have passed certification by credible third party laboratories, providing the best quality and stability.
The complete product line includes the high-end Z77 chipset: Z77A-GD80, Z77A-GD65, Z77A-GD55, Z77A-G45, Z77A-G43, the intermediate H77 chipset: ZH77-G43, H77MA-G43 and also the mainstream B75 chipset B75A-G43 and B75MA-P45. All products are equipped with MSI's exclusive one second overclocking tool, OC Genie II, and the UEFI / Windows-based dual-graphical interface ClickBIOS II, allowing enthusiasts to easily establish high performance and enjoy a hassle-free operating experience. Also found on the MSI 7-series motherboards is native USB 3.0 support, with better performance than external controllers. Additionally, the Z77A-GD80 is equipped with the all-new Thunderbolt interface from Intel, allowing multiple connections to monitors, storage devices, and even graphic cards, easily meeting the demands of various types of professional enthusiasts! The MSI 7-series motherboard's rich product line supports the newest specifications and components, making it the consumer's best choice!
The complete product line includes the high-end Z77 chipset: Z77A-GD80, Z77A-GD65, Z77A-GD55, Z77A-G45, Z77A-G43, the intermediate H77 chipset: ZH77-G43, H77MA-G43 and also the mainstream B75 chipset B75A-G43 and B75MA-P45. All products are equipped with MSI's exclusive one second overclocking tool, OC Genie II, and the UEFI / Windows-based dual-graphical interface ClickBIOS II, allowing enthusiasts to easily establish high performance and enjoy a hassle-free operating experience. Also found on the MSI 7-series motherboards is native USB 3.0 support, with better performance than external controllers. Additionally, the Z77A-GD80 is equipped with the all-new Thunderbolt interface from Intel, allowing multiple connections to monitors, storage devices, and even graphic cards, easily meeting the demands of various types of professional enthusiasts! The MSI 7-series motherboard's rich product line supports the newest specifications and components, making it the consumer's best choice!
Marvell Unveils Third-Generation SATA 6 Gb/s SSD Controller
Marvell today announced mass deployment of the Marvell 88SS9187 SATA controller fueled by high performance embedded processor technology. The 88SS9187 features a 6 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) SATA Revision 3.1 compliant host interface optimized for the fast-growing solid state drive (SSD) sector, offering many game changing benefits to the consumer, mobile and enterprise markets. A significant number of high-profile SSD manufacturers are set to deploy Marvell's newest solution immediately, with additional partners expected to integrate 88SS9187 implementations later this year.
Marvell's newest SSD controller boasts an open, world-class architecture that supports industry-standard, high-speed NAND Flash interface up to 200 MB/s per channel. The 88SS9187 also offers a groundbreaking correction capability thanks to its high performance ECC engine with Adaptive Read and Write Scheme and on-chip RAID functionality to allow use of the latest generation of NAND Flash devices in the fast-growing SSD markets.
Marvell's newest SSD controller boasts an open, world-class architecture that supports industry-standard, high-speed NAND Flash interface up to 200 MB/s per channel. The 88SS9187 also offers a groundbreaking correction capability thanks to its high performance ECC engine with Adaptive Read and Write Scheme and on-chip RAID functionality to allow use of the latest generation of NAND Flash devices in the fast-growing SSD markets.
AMD Preparing A4-3420 Socket FM1 APU
AMD is close to launching a new value accelerated processing unit (APU) in the FM1 package, the A4-3420. This model has been available in OEM/tray package to system manufacturers since January, but now AMD is releasing it to the retail channel, in the PIB (processor in a box) package. This chip has two x86-64 cores clocked at 2.80 GHz, and Radeon HD 6410D graphics with 160 stream processors, with its engine clocked at 600 MHz. The L2 cache size is 512 KB per core. It packs an integrated memory controller supporting dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory, and a PCI-Express 2.0 root hub for discrete graphics. Its rated TDP is 65W. Expect a US $65 price.
GeForce GT 640M Benchmarked
On the sidelines of GeForce GTX 680, NVIDIA is working on a fast, cheap, and energy-efficient performance GPU for notebooks, and it's already scoring design wins by the bunches, with notebook manufacturers. PC Perspective got its hands on an Acer Aspire M3 notebook equipped with this chip, and pitted it against notebooks equipped with AMD Radeon HD 6990M, Radeon HD 6720G2, and NVIDIA's own GeForce GT 555M. Intel HD 3000 graphics was also thrown into the cage, for science.
All game tests were run at 1366x768 pixels resolution. With 3DMark 06 and DOW 2: Retribution, the GT 640M seemed to be lagging behind the GT 555M, but managed to edge past it, with 3DMark 11, and Battlefield 3. Five of the most popular, current game titles, Battlefield 3, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Batman: Arkham City, were found to be playable at the said resolution, with average frame-rates well over 35 FPS. Find more results at the source.
All game tests were run at 1366x768 pixels resolution. With 3DMark 06 and DOW 2: Retribution, the GT 640M seemed to be lagging behind the GT 555M, but managed to edge past it, with 3DMark 11, and Battlefield 3. Five of the most popular, current game titles, Battlefield 3, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Batman: Arkham City, were found to be playable at the said resolution, with average frame-rates well over 35 FPS. Find more results at the source.
HIS Launches HIS 6670 iSilence 5 1 GB
Hightech Information System (HIS) today announced the launch of the HIS 6670 iSilence 5 1 GB, the ideal graphics card for multi-media and home entertainment enthusiasts looking for a completely silent yet powerful GPU. The card creates zero noise and is ideal for those building a bespoke super silent media centre PC.
The range also features low power consumption and does not require external power, perfect for upgrading your system without having to upgrade your PSU.
The HIS 6670 iSilence 5 1 GB has an SRP (excl. VAT) of £60.
The range also features low power consumption and does not require external power, perfect for upgrading your system without having to upgrade your PSU.
The HIS 6670 iSilence 5 1 GB has an SRP (excl. VAT) of £60.
Microsoft Fixes Critical RDP Security Hole, Asks Users to Patch or Risk Attacks
Among its usual chunk of updates for Windows, Office, and other products covered by Microsoft Update, Redmond released a key security update for the Remote Desktop Protocol (2671387), and asked all users to apply it as soon as possible. It asked system administrators to give the patch "special priority," given the severity of the security hole. The security hole with RDP spans across all versions of Windows, across all machine architectures. The security hole allows hackers to gain access to RDP hosts and clients. Microsoft gives it 30 days before hackers can develop malware that can exploit the security hole. Find out more about the security hole, and its patch here.
Optical Thunderbolt IO Arriving This Year
Intel's 10 Gbps Thunderbolt IO was originally pitched to be a photonic (fiber-optic) data interconnect, when it was codenamed "Lightpeak". The company managed to achieve acceptable, and comparable bandwidths over copper wire, and hence the electronic variant of the interconnect was introduced to the market in February, 2011. The copper-wire version of Thunderbolt can sustain 10 Gbps bandwidths only up to a distance of 6 meters, it was still favoured probably because electronic physical-layer PHYs are cheaper to produce than photonic ones, and that electronic cables can also transmit power (10W of it).
The fiber optic version of Thunderbolt is still taking shape, and Intel believes optical cables for Thunderbolt could be out in 2012. The fiber optic cable loses the ability to transmit power, but can sustain high bandwidths over greater distances, "tens of meters," enabling longer cables. Intel did not give out a tentative date for the launch of optical Thunderbolt, but it could be linked to several other developments, such as the propagation of PCI-Express 3.0, which provides a generous 2000 MB/s per lane of system bandwidth.
The fiber optic version of Thunderbolt is still taking shape, and Intel believes optical cables for Thunderbolt could be out in 2012. The fiber optic cable loses the ability to transmit power, but can sustain high bandwidths over greater distances, "tens of meters," enabling longer cables. Intel did not give out a tentative date for the launch of optical Thunderbolt, but it could be linked to several other developments, such as the propagation of PCI-Express 3.0, which provides a generous 2000 MB/s per lane of system bandwidth.
I-O Data Announces New, 27-inch Monitor with a VA Panel
I-O Data's monitor offering will soon be expanded through the release of the LCD-MF274XVBR, a 27-inch widescreen featuring LED backlighting and a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel offering 178/178 degree viewing angles.
The new monitor also has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 300 cd/m2 maximum brightness, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio (80,000:1 DCR), a 12 ms response time (7 ms when overdrive is activated), two 1.5 W built-in speakers, Renesas' Neo Clear Resolution single-frame ultra-high-resolution technology, D-Sub, DVI, dual HDMI ports, an ECO mode, and a stand allowing for height, tilt and swivel adjustment.
The LCD-MF274XVBR is backed by a three-year warranty and will go on sale at the end of this month at about $442.
The new monitor also has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 300 cd/m2 maximum brightness, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio (80,000:1 DCR), a 12 ms response time (7 ms when overdrive is activated), two 1.5 W built-in speakers, Renesas' Neo Clear Resolution single-frame ultra-high-resolution technology, D-Sub, DVI, dual HDMI ports, an ECO mode, and a stand allowing for height, tilt and swivel adjustment.
The LCD-MF274XVBR is backed by a three-year warranty and will go on sale at the end of this month at about $442.
Toshiba to Launch the World-Fastest Class SDHC Memory Cards
Toshiba Corporation today announced that it will launch a new line of high performance SDXC and SDHC memory cards under a new brand name, EXCERIA, that will bring to market SD memory cards offering the highest performance levels available.
EXCERIA, a combination of "excellent" and "experience" offers cards compliant with the SD Memory Card Standard Ver.3.0 UHS-I, and includes versions offering the world-fastest class data transfer speed. The new products will be launched from April in Japan, with distinctive labeling.
EXCERIA, a combination of "excellent" and "experience" offers cards compliant with the SD Memory Card Standard Ver.3.0 UHS-I, and includes versions offering the world-fastest class data transfer speed. The new products will be launched from April in Japan, with distinctive labeling.
Donya Unveils DN-68852 Compact USB Hub
Shanghai Donya unveiled DN-68852, a compact USB 2.0 hub. Measuring 36 x 62 x 24 mm, and weighing 65 g, the hub provides four USB 2.0 ports from a single upstream USB 2.0 connection. Its upstream USB connector is extended by a 200 cm cable. Since the downstream ports are oriented to be on "top" of the hub's main unit, it offers a level of protection against the downstream devices from being yanked/unplugged by accident. Most hubs designs that seek compact design have ports located on the sides. While you can notice a external DC input, it appears to be optional. Backed by a 6-month warranty, the DN-68852 is priced at 699 JPY (US $8.4).
Inno3D GeForce GTX 560 SE Pictured
Here are some of the first pictures of Inno3D GeForce GTX 560 SE. Inno3D implemented NVIDIA's new SKU that's competitive with Radeon HD 7700 series, by designing a compact graphics card that's backed by relatively-powerful cooling. The PCB is very short (good for compact cases), and uses a simple 4+1 phase VRM to power the card. It features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory sitting on a 192-bit wide memory interface. The GTX 560 SE packs 288 CUDA cores, and clock speeds of 776/1553/953 MHz (core/CUDA cores/memory actual). Inno3D GeForce GTX 560 SE is cooled by a custom dual-slot cooling solution. This cooler makes use of two aluminum fin stacks, to which heat is conveyed by four 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes. The fin stacks are then ventilated by two 80 mm fans. The card has been tested at the source.
GK104 Transistor Count and Exact Die-Size Revealed
A part of the reason why NVIDIA's performance-segment GK104 is gunning for the performance crown from AMD's Tahiti GPU could be hidden behind two of its key specifications: transistor count, and die-size. 3DCenter.org compiled these two specifications for the GK104 from reliable sources, which pin the transistor count at 3.54 billion, and die-area at 294 mm². This yields a transistor density of 12 million per mm², which is slightly higher than that of AMD Tahiti, slightly lower than that of AMD Pitcairn, and certainly higher than previous-generation chips from both AMD and NVIDIA. If GeForce GTX 680 does in fact end up competitive with AMD's Radeon HD 7900 series, it could serve as a tell-tale sign of NVIDIA's Kepler architecture being a more efficient one.
NVIDIA Adds Windows 8 to GeForce Driver Update Stack
AMD may have been the first to be out with drivers for its Radeon GPUs that are optimized for Windows 8 (WDDM 1.2), but NVIDIA went a step ahead of "special-releases" for its GeForce drivers, and added Windows 8 to its update stack, meaning that Windows 8 will feature in the list of operating systems to pick from, to download drivers. NVIDIA will constantly update these drivers along with mainline releases for Windows 7/Vista and XP. The latest such driver is 296.17. This driver supports GeForce and Quadro GPUs, and according to NVIDIA, is a quick-update over 295.73 WHQL, with the addition of performance optimization for Blacklight: Retribution.
New Acer Aspire Timeline M3 Packs GeForce GT 640M, Too
NVIDIA seems to have scored big design wins with Acer, for its next-generation GPUs. First, we had reports of Acer's VA40 combining Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core processors with NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, and now Acer Timeline M3-581TG, following the same path. The M3-581TG is a 15.6-inch Ultrabook (one of the first of its kind). Pictures of this model reveal case-badges of its key components, including an NVIDIA GEFORCE GT case-badge, which gives out GPU model (GeForce GT 640M) and memory amount (1 GB). This could very well be the way NVIDIA's GeForce GT family of GPUs will be designated in case-badges.
Based on the 28 nm GK107 silicon, the GeForce GT 640M packs 384 CUDA cores running at speeds of up to 625 MHz, with 405 MHz base clock, and 910 MHz DDR3 memory, churning up 28.8 GB/s memory bandwidth. Other notable components of the Timeline M3-581TG include Intel Core i7-2637M (1.7 GHz dual-core, 4 MB of L3 cache) processor, 4 GB DDR3-1333 memory, and 256 GB SSD.
Based on the 28 nm GK107 silicon, the GeForce GT 640M packs 384 CUDA cores running at speeds of up to 625 MHz, with 405 MHz base clock, and 910 MHz DDR3 memory, churning up 28.8 GB/s memory bandwidth. Other notable components of the Timeline M3-581TG include Intel Core i7-2637M (1.7 GHz dual-core, 4 MB of L3 cache) processor, 4 GB DDR3-1333 memory, and 256 GB SSD.
Elpida's Rexchip Foundry Capacity Key to DRAM Pricing
Even as Elpida has filed for bankruptcy protection and is dealing with restructuring, its disposal of a subsidiary Taiwan-based DRAM foundry Rexchip will impact DRAM supply and pricing, sources told DigiTimes. Rexchip has a monthly foundry capacity of 800,000 12-inch wafers and uses 65,000 wafers currently. Elpida has just finished development of 25 nm DRAM technology, which gives it competitiveness over other DRAM majors, Samsung Electronics and SK-Hynix.
As analyzed in an older report, should Elpida's restructuring take a turn for the worse, leading to an exit from the DRAM industry, it could have huge consequences on the competitive environment of the industry. DigiTimes currently reports that DRAM prices are slowly, but surely creeping back up. DRAM contract prices for March have risen 5.7% on average, the prices of 4 GB DDR3 modules have gone as high as US $18.75, with average prices of $18.50.
As analyzed in an older report, should Elpida's restructuring take a turn for the worse, leading to an exit from the DRAM industry, it could have huge consequences on the competitive environment of the industry. DigiTimes currently reports that DRAM prices are slowly, but surely creeping back up. DRAM contract prices for March have risen 5.7% on average, the prices of 4 GB DDR3 modules have gone as high as US $18.75, with average prices of $18.50.
Tuesday, March 13th 2012
Today's Reviews
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Networking
PSUs
Sound Cards
Patriot Viper Extreme PC3-16000 CL9 1.65 V DDR3 Review
Today we take a trip back through time, and visit an older product, that just might have more relevance in today's market than first meets the eye. The Patriot Viper Xtreme PX523G2000ELK kit may appear familiar and for good reason, as they were launched nearly 18 months ago, back on October 19th, 2010. Does this Viper from Patriot still have some bite on the modern X79 platform?
LucidLogix and Futuremark Add Virtu MVP Support to 3DMark
LucidLogix (Lucid), a developer of GPU virtualization software, and Futuremark, the world leader in performance benchmarking software, today announced that Futuremark's range of 3DMark gaming benchmarks is being updated to detect systems using Lucid's HyperFormance and Virtual Vsync performance technologies, which are available in the Virtu MVP virtualization software and other Lucid solutions.
Futuremark's 3DMark benchmark works by measuring the process of rendering frames of 3D graphics. Lucid's Virtu MVP HyperFormance and Virtual Vsync features are designed to improve responsiveness through the intelligent reduction of redundant rendering tasks. While 3DMark scores may increase when turning on Virtu MVP features, scores from systems with and without MVP technology are not directly comparable because of its effect on the rendering process from CPU to GPU to display.
Futuremark's 3DMark benchmark works by measuring the process of rendering frames of 3D graphics. Lucid's Virtu MVP HyperFormance and Virtual Vsync features are designed to improve responsiveness through the intelligent reduction of redundant rendering tasks. While 3DMark scores may increase when turning on Virtu MVP features, scores from systems with and without MVP technology are not directly comparable because of its effect on the rendering process from CPU to GPU to display.
Antec Announces TrueQuiet Pro 120 Fan
Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components, announces the TrueQuiet Pro 120 enclosure fan. The TrueQuiet Pro 120 combines a completely redesigned fan blade with special Quiet Computing features to deliver high airflow with minimal noise.
Revolutionary Fan Blade -- The fan blade of the TrueQuiet Pro 120 is a departure from traditional axial fan blade designs; it is attached to the frame, forming a type of cylindrical turbine. This design provides the fan with a greater cooling surface area, while eliminating turbulence associated with traditional fan blades that "chop" the air by the frame.
Revolutionary Fan Blade -- The fan blade of the TrueQuiet Pro 120 is a departure from traditional axial fan blade designs; it is attached to the frame, forming a type of cylindrical turbine. This design provides the fan with a greater cooling surface area, while eliminating turbulence associated with traditional fan blades that "chop" the air by the frame.
Lenovo and SugarSync Open Cloud Service to Consumers Worldwide
Lenovo and SugarSync today announced Lenovo Cloud Storage by SugarSync, the first Cloud storage service to be integrated as an out-of-box experience broadly on Lenovo's PCs and tablets. Lenovo and SugarSync are working together to offer an industry-leading cloud service so consumers can access, sync and backup their files, photos, music and movies across their devices. Lenovo Cloud Storage by SugarSync will be available on new Lenovo ThinkPad and IdeaPad laptops and Android tablet products worldwide outside of China starting in April. The ability to download Lenovo Cloud Storage by SugarSync is available beginning today.
Lenovo Cloud Storage by SugarSync gives users a free 5 GB account to instantly auto-sync their files, photos, videos and music to the Cloud from their Lenovo PC, tablet or any mobile device so their content is always available when they start using their device. Upgrades for additional storage capability are available for a fee.
Lenovo Cloud Storage by SugarSync gives users a free 5 GB account to instantly auto-sync their files, photos, videos and music to the Cloud from their Lenovo PC, tablet or any mobile device so their content is always available when they start using their device. Upgrades for additional storage capability are available for a fee.
Dell Announces Intent to Acquire SonicWALL, Inc.
Dell today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire SonicWALL, Inc., a leader in advanced network security and data protection. SonicWALL's industry-leading Next-Generation Firewalls and Unified Threat Management (UTM) Firewalls complement Dell's security solutions portfolio, enabling it to offer customers a broader range of enterprise offerings.
Customers of all sizes face increasing challenges in maintaining effective IT security, from the exponential growth of data and rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions, to the increased presence of consumer devices brought into the enterprise environment. SonicWALL expands Dell's rapidly growing security portfolio, which includes Dell SecureWorks security services, cloud security solutions and data encryption solutions, and Dell KACE vulnerability and patch management.
Customers of all sizes face increasing challenges in maintaining effective IT security, from the exponential growth of data and rapid adoption of cloud-based solutions, to the increased presence of consumer devices brought into the enterprise environment. SonicWALL expands Dell's rapidly growing security portfolio, which includes Dell SecureWorks security services, cloud security solutions and data encryption solutions, and Dell KACE vulnerability and patch management.
GeForce GTX 680 Up To 40% Faster Than Radeon HD 7970: NVIDIA
GPU vendors tend to give out their own performance figures of the products they're launching, compared to competitors' products. In one such comparison, allegedly of the GeForce GTX 680, doing rounds on the internet, NVIDIA's new GPU was evaluated by its makers be be over 40% faster than the Radeon HD 7970 in some tests. Keeping Radeon HD 7970 as a baseline, NVIDIA presented its performance figures for the GeForce GTX 680's leads over it, and Radeon HD 7950's trails under it. Results of as many as 15 tests were presented, from 7 games/benchmarks. All benchmarks were run with and without AA. The one test that caught the eye is Battlefield 3 with "4xAA". Experts we spoke to think NVIDIA could be using FXAA algorithm. In any case, NVIDIA looks to be confident of taking back the fastest-GPU crown from AMD.
GeForce GTX 680 Specifications Sheet Leaked
Chinese media site PCOnline.com.cn released what it claims to be an except from the press-deck of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 launch, reportedly scheduled for March 22. The specs sheet is in tune with a lot of information that we already came across on the internet, when preparing our older reports. To begin with the GeForce GTX 680 features clock speeds of 1006 MHz (base), and 1058 MHz (boost). The memory is clocked at a stellar 6.00 GHz (1500 MHz actual), with a memory bus width of 256-bit, it should churn out memory bandwidth of 192 GB/s. 2 GB is the standard memory amount.
For the umpteenth time, this GPU does feature 1,536 CUDA cores. The card draws power from two 6-pin PCIe power connectors. The GPU's TDP is rated at 195W. Display outputs include two DVI, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. Like with the new-generation GPUs from AMD, it supports PCI-Express 3.0 x16 bus interface, which could particularly benefit Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge-E systems, in cases where the link width is reduced to PCI-Express 3.0 x8 when there are multiple graphics cards installed.
For the umpteenth time, this GPU does feature 1,536 CUDA cores. The card draws power from two 6-pin PCIe power connectors. The GPU's TDP is rated at 195W. Display outputs include two DVI, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. Like with the new-generation GPUs from AMD, it supports PCI-Express 3.0 x16 bus interface, which could particularly benefit Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge-E systems, in cases where the link width is reduced to PCI-Express 3.0 x8 when there are multiple graphics cards installed.
Zalman Unveils ZM750-HP Plus PSU
What happens when you send a PC cooling expert such as Zalman into the field of PSUs? You get PSUs with genuine innovation in cooling, which translates to quieter PSUs. Such is the case of the ZM750-HP Plus, an upper-mid range 750W PSU from Zalman. The PSU replaces aluminum cooling plates with copper heat pipes that draw heat away from hot parts (such as FETs), and onto aluminum fin stacks, which are ventilated by a large 140 mm fan. Since a lot of heat is dissipated passively by these large heatsinks, the fan has very little work to do, and so it spins at low speeds, resulting in very quiet operation.
The ZM750-HP Plus features modular cabling, enough to wire out a gaming PC with two graphics cards. The PSU is 80 Plus Silver-rated. It uses a quad 12V rail design, among which two deliver 28A each (for graphics cards), one delivers 25A (motherboard and SATA), one delivers 20A (CPU, dedicated to the EPS connector). It uses a dual forward-switching design, with active PFC. A secondary protection IC governs various safety features such as OCP, OVP, SCP, UVP, and OTP. The ZM750-HP Plus from Zalman, is expected to be priced at US $189,50.
The ZM750-HP Plus features modular cabling, enough to wire out a gaming PC with two graphics cards. The PSU is 80 Plus Silver-rated. It uses a quad 12V rail design, among which two deliver 28A each (for graphics cards), one delivers 25A (motherboard and SATA), one delivers 20A (CPU, dedicated to the EPS connector). It uses a dual forward-switching design, with active PFC. A secondary protection IC governs various safety features such as OCP, OVP, SCP, UVP, and OTP. The ZM750-HP Plus from Zalman, is expected to be priced at US $189,50.
MAINGEAR Introduces the Solo All-In-One PC
MAINGEAR, an award-winning custom PC builder known for custom built desktops, laptops and workstations is now adding all-in-one PC solutions to their product offerings. The MAINGEAR Solo 21 All-in-one builds upon MAINGEAR's pedigree of performance, upgradeability, no bloatware, and excellent service and support that they are known for.
With more consumers looking for a full-size desktop computer without the hassle of wires and other connections, the MAINGEAR Solo 21 All-in-One provides the freedom of space while still offering the latest technology. Following their trend of fully customizable products, the MAINGEAR Solo 21 is the first fully upgradeable all-in-one today, including the ability to upgrade the motherboard to accommodate future technology advances. This powerful all-in-one PC features an optional vibrant LED backlit 10-point touchscreen, a built in webcam, and supports a wide range of 32 nm and 22 nm Intel Core Processor to fit your needs and budget, and comes with a 32 GB SSD caching drive for faster system response, standard.
With more consumers looking for a full-size desktop computer without the hassle of wires and other connections, the MAINGEAR Solo 21 All-in-One provides the freedom of space while still offering the latest technology. Following their trend of fully customizable products, the MAINGEAR Solo 21 is the first fully upgradeable all-in-one today, including the ability to upgrade the motherboard to accommodate future technology advances. This powerful all-in-one PC features an optional vibrant LED backlit 10-point touchscreen, a built in webcam, and supports a wide range of 32 nm and 22 nm Intel Core Processor to fit your needs and budget, and comes with a 32 GB SSD caching drive for faster system response, standard.
Aleratec Announces Portable, Powerful Hard Disk Drive Duplicator and Dock
Aleratec today announced an essential and portable tool for building and upgrading computer systems. The 1:3 HDD Copy Dock Duplicator is a powerful and versatile hard disk drive duplicator and HDD docking station that features PC connectivity via USB 3.0 or eSATA.
With this HDD duplicator and hard drive dock, users can copy from a single source hard drive to up to three target hard drives at one time, making hard disk duplication more efficient.
With this HDD duplicator and hard drive dock, users can copy from a single source hard drive to up to three target hard drives at one time, making hard disk duplication more efficient.
HPC Advisory Council to Create NVIDIA GPU Development Center
The HPC Advisory Council, a leading organization for high-performance computing (HPC) research, outreach and education, today announced a new NVIDIA GPU-based HPC development center. The new center is part of the HPC Advisory Council's High Performance Center, and will provide remote access to the HPC community free of charge for developing, testing and benchmarking the next generation of HPC applications.
The Center will provide developers with the ability to test their HPC applications on NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs, the world's most powerful parallel processors. Designed from the ground up for HPC, computational science and supercomputing, NVIDIA's Tesla M2090 GPUs provide 512 CUDA cores with 665 gigaflops of peak performance to accelerate even the most demanding computationally intensive workloads.
The Center will provide developers with the ability to test their HPC applications on NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs, the world's most powerful parallel processors. Designed from the ground up for HPC, computational science and supercomputing, NVIDIA's Tesla M2090 GPUs provide 512 CUDA cores with 665 gigaflops of peak performance to accelerate even the most demanding computationally intensive workloads.
Synology Unveils the DiskStation DS112j NAS Server
Synology Inc. today launched DiskStation DS112j, the most economical, power-saying and quiet 1-bay NAS server designed to serve as users' private cloud and multimedia center.
"Synology DS112j comes at an entry-level price point, but makes no compromise in the richness of features offered by Synology," said Darren Lin, a product manager of Synology Inc. "It is a gateway to Synology's unique cloud services and applications, making it easy for users to keep their data in sync across all their PC, mobile devices and DS112j, and carry terabytes of multimedia files anywhere," Lin added.
"Synology DS112j comes at an entry-level price point, but makes no compromise in the richness of features offered by Synology," said Darren Lin, a product manager of Synology Inc. "It is a gateway to Synology's unique cloud services and applications, making it easy for users to keep their data in sync across all their PC, mobile devices and DS112j, and carry terabytes of multimedia files anywhere," Lin added.
ZOTAC Announces GeForce GTX 560 SE
ZOTAC International, a global innovator of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today announces the GeForce GTX 560 SE. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 SE gives gamers a taste of stunning 1080p gaming on a budget.
"1080p resolution displays and Microsoft DirectX 11-enabled titles are affordable and become quite popular among gamers. Our new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 SE provides an excellent value for gamers that want to get their feet wet with 1080p and DirectX 11 gaming," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.
"1080p resolution displays and Microsoft DirectX 11-enabled titles are affordable and become quite popular among gamers. Our new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 560 SE provides an excellent value for gamers that want to get their feet wet with 1080p and DirectX 11 gaming," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.
NVIDIA Delivers the GeForce 296.10 WHQL and 296.17 Drivers
Santa Clara-based NVIDIA Corp. has today made available a couple of new graphics drivers, the WHQL-certified GeForce 296.10 for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, and the GeForce 296.17 preview driver specifically made for Windows 8. Both drivers feature support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 series desktop cards.
GeForce 296.10 WHQL - Windows Vista/7 (32-bit) | Windows Vista/7 (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)
GeForce 296.17 - Windows 8 (32-bit) | Windows 8 (64-bit)
GeForce 296.10 WHQL - Windows Vista/7 (32-bit) | Windows Vista/7 (64-bit) | Windows XP (32-bit) | Windows XP (64-bit)
GeForce 296.17 - Windows 8 (32-bit) | Windows 8 (64-bit)
ASRock Releases its Annual Financial Report, Does Well
ASRock released its 2011 annual financial report, the TSEC-listed company delivered earnings-per-share of NT $11.37. The report states that ASRock shipped 7.8 million motherboards in 2011, that's 13.3% short of its 9 million goal, but the company is still optimistic about meeting its even more ambitious target for 2012, that of 10 million. Currently, Europe is ASRock's biggest market, amounting to 40% of ASRock's consolidated revenues, followed by Asia-Pacific (excl. China), with 30%, and the US with 18%. China amounts to 12% of ASRock's revenues.
First Battlefield 3: Close Quarters Trailer Released
As announced earlier this month, EA-DICE will release three new expansion DLCs for Battlefield 3, this year. The first of the three is Battlefield 3: Close Quarters. The first official trailer of this title was posted. The trailer very explicitly details what Close Quarters is all about, by showing off gameplay in a map titled "Ziba Tower", which is supposedly a tall building with a gunfight going on inside, spanning across several levels, including its cozy penthouse. To win at Close Quarters, players are expected to be extremely agile, and equipped with the right kind of firepower (such as fast SMGs and shotguns). According to the trailer, Battlefield 3: Close Quarters will arrive in June, just in time for Summer, PlayStation 3 gamers will have access to it a week in advance.
The trailer follows. Its content is ESRB-rated 17+.
Intel Investing in Web-Based TV
With US cable-TV operators' fees to cable channels crossing the US $40 billion/year mark, Intel is eying a share of the market. According to a WSJ report, Intel is working on a "virtual cable operator" service that would distribute cable-TV channels nationwide over the internet. The paid service wouldn't cover costs of internet service and bandwidth utilized by it, leaving customers to pay them on their end. This could mean that Intel's service is more affordable than those of conventional cable-operators that supply their own wired/satellite infrastructure to customers. Intel has recently made some notable IP acquisitions, which could contribute to this effort. For one, we know that Intel recently bought video encoding/streaming technology patents from RealNetworks (the people behind RealPlayer). Intel's TV service could go live by the end of 2012.
Next-Gen. Razer Blade Combines Ivy Bridge and Kepler
Even as the Razer's first gaming notebook, the Blade, has the guts to command a US $2,800 price for its dual-core processor and GeForce GT 555M graphics, which still went on to sell-out, according to its makers, its successor is already taking shape, suggests a BSN report. The next-generation Blade notebook is said to combine an Intel Core processor based on the 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" architecture, with NVIDIA's exciting new 28 nm graphics based on the Kepler architecture. The Razer Blade is what its makers claim to be "the world's first true gaming laptop."
Elecom Also Intros Collapsible Bluetooth/USB Keyboard
Elecom also introduced the TK-FBS039E, a wireless keyboard that can be folded along a hinge, making it easier to carry. When opened up, the keyboard measures 260 x 91 x 11 mm (WxDxH), but when folded, it measures 133 x 91 x 23 mm, roughly as big as a portable HDD. The keyboard is both wireless and wired. When wireless, it uses Bluetooth, and Bluetooth HID interface to work with iOS, Android devices, and PCs; when wired, it uses USB with common USB HID driver. When wired, it also charges its battery. The keyboard features a simple 66-key QWERTY English+Japanese layout, with sufficient key travel to provide tactile feedback comparable to notebook keyboards. It is available in black (TK-FBS039EBK) and white (TK-FBS039EWH) color options. Slated for early~mid-April, the TK-FBS039E from Elecom is priced at 7,350 JPY (US $89).
Firefox 11 Launches Today
Over two months after launching Firefox 10, and backing it up two two security updates (10.0.1 and 10.0.2), Mozilla is almost ready with the stable version of Firefox 11, which it is reportedly launching later today. Mozilla posted what was supposedly Firefox 11 stable on its FTP, before redacting it, citing that the build is not actually stable, and that QA was still on.
Firefox 11 will introduce several new features, including performance improvements. To begin with, Firefox 11 supports the SPDY protocol, all pages are loaded on SSL with SPDY, which is both faster and more secure. Firefox' bookmarks and preferences migration assistant will now support Google Chrome, letting users migrate from Chrome to Firefox. Firefox Sync will now also synchronize addons between sync'd PCs. Lastly, Firefox 11 is said to include more feature-rich developer tools. The Android version of Firefox 11 will ship with Adobe Flash, for Android 2.3 and earlier.
Firefox 11 will introduce several new features, including performance improvements. To begin with, Firefox 11 supports the SPDY protocol, all pages are loaded on SSL with SPDY, which is both faster and more secure. Firefox' bookmarks and preferences migration assistant will now support Google Chrome, letting users migrate from Chrome to Firefox. Firefox Sync will now also synchronize addons between sync'd PCs. Lastly, Firefox 11 is said to include more feature-rich developer tools. The Android version of Firefox 11 will ship with Adobe Flash, for Android 2.3 and earlier.
Elecom Unveils New Projection Keyboard
Yesteryears' tradeshow queen, projection keyboards are seeping into the markets. Elecom is one of those propagating it. The Japanese company unveiled TK-PBL042BK, a wireless projection keyboard. All it requires is a flat surface (such as a desk top), and for the host to support Bluetooth or USB interfaces. The keyboard follows a host interface model that's natively supported by iOS and Android.
With PCs, it works over common Bluetooth HID driver model. Apart from Bluetooth, the device can also connect to a host over USB, and work as a USB HID keyboard, while charging its battery. The device projects a keyboard onto a flat surface, and tracks your fingers pressing against the projected buttons. Measuring 38.0 x 29.0 x 75.0 mm, it weighs 77 g without battery. The rechargeable battery supports up to two hours of continuous use. Slated for early-April, the TK-PBL042BK from Elecom is priced at 28,875 JPY (US $352).
With PCs, it works over common Bluetooth HID driver model. Apart from Bluetooth, the device can also connect to a host over USB, and work as a USB HID keyboard, while charging its battery. The device projects a keyboard onto a flat surface, and tracks your fingers pressing against the projected buttons. Measuring 38.0 x 29.0 x 75.0 mm, it weighs 77 g without battery. The rechargeable battery supports up to two hours of continuous use. Slated for early-April, the TK-PBL042BK from Elecom is priced at 28,875 JPY (US $352).
Genius Releases the SW-G2.1 3000 Gaming Speakers
Genius, a leading manufacturer of computer peripherals, today announces their biggest and baddest GX Gaming Series 2.1 speaker system yet - the SW-G2.1 3000.
Raising the GX Gaming Series to a new level, this 70 watt RMS speaker system includes the GX series loudest subwoofer at 6.5-inches providing 40 watts of heart-thumping bass, two 15 watt curvaceous satellite speakers, and a separate control box for easy adjustment of volume and bass. The subwoofer, speakers, and control box can be placed to maximize the acoustics and layout of any room while still having volume and bass control at your fingertips.
Raising the GX Gaming Series to a new level, this 70 watt RMS speaker system includes the GX series loudest subwoofer at 6.5-inches providing 40 watts of heart-thumping bass, two 15 watt curvaceous satellite speakers, and a separate control box for easy adjustment of volume and bass. The subwoofer, speakers, and control box can be placed to maximize the acoustics and layout of any room while still having volume and bass control at your fingertips.
JAVS Intros X-DDC USB Audio Class Device
South Korean audio brand JAVS unveiled the X-DDC, a high-performance USB digital audio device. The device connects to the PC over USB 2.0 (although that's a blue type-B connector), and gives out three kinds of digital outputs: optical SPDIF (TOSLINK), coaxial SPDIF, and I²S. The audio output resolution is 24-bit with 192 kHz sample rate, various other output formats are supported. The host interface features 22.5792 and 24.576MHz Ultra-Low Jitter. Home theater audio technologies such as Dolby Digital and DTS are supported. Measuring 105 x 95 x 27 mm, and weighing 200 g, the X-DDC from JAVS is priced at 19,800 JPY (US $241).
Kuroutoshikou 2.5" Drive Enclosure Pictured
Japanese store Kuroutoshikou listed the GW2.5CL-SUP3, a 2.5" external HDD/SSD enclosure. Measuring 73 x 122 x 135 mm (WxDxH), the enclosure is a rare combination of an internal SATA interface supports SATA 6 Gb/s data-rate, while its external interface is USB 3.0 SuperSpeed, which alleviates interface bottlenecks to a great extant. A unique feature here is an LED-based display that gives you a very rough idea of the free-space left on the installed HDD/SSD. Installing or removing a drive is a tool-free process. On sale now, the GW2.5CL-SUP3 is priced at 3,000 JPY (US $36.5).
Dual-GK104 Graphics Card Arrives in May
A little later this month, NVIDIA will launch the GeForce GTX 680, a single-GPU graphics card based on its GK104 performance GPU. It is reported that NVIDIA will design a dual-GPU graphics accelerator based on the same chip, which will then be positioned as an enthusiast product. Called the GeForce GTX 690, this dual-GPU solution will arrive in May.
NVIDIA's approach to the high-end segment, so far, is identical to that of AMD. It hasn't unveiled its enthusiast GK100 GPU, yet, and is instead using performance-segment GK104 for both its single-GPU high-performance graphics card, and as a dual-GPU part in an enthusiast-grade product. This buys NVIDIA plenty of time to release the GK100, unless AMD can offer a new GPU that trumps GK104 in performance, significantly.
NVIDIA's approach to the high-end segment, so far, is identical to that of AMD. It hasn't unveiled its enthusiast GK100 GPU, yet, and is instead using performance-segment GK104 for both its single-GPU high-performance graphics card, and as a dual-GPU part in an enthusiast-grade product. This buys NVIDIA plenty of time to release the GK100, unless AMD can offer a new GPU that trumps GK104 in performance, significantly.
ARM Announces the Cortex-M0+ as the World's Most Energy-Efficient Processor
ARM today announced the ARM Cortex-M0+ processor, the world's most energy-efficient microprocessor. The Cortex-M0+ processor has been optimized to deliver ultra low-power, low-cost MCUs for intelligent sensors and smart control systems in a broad range of applications including home appliances, white goods, medical monitoring, metering, lighting and power and motor control devices.
The 32-bit Cortex-M0+ processor, the latest addition to the ARM Cortex processor family, consumes just 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90 nm LP process, around one third of the energy of any 8- or 16-bit processor available today, while delivering significantly higher performance.
The 32-bit Cortex-M0+ processor, the latest addition to the ARM Cortex processor family, consumes just 9µA/MHz on a low-cost 90 nm LP process, around one third of the energy of any 8- or 16-bit processor available today, while delivering significantly higher performance.
New NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Pictures Hit The Web
Courtesy of ChipHell we now have a couple of fresh pictures of NVIDIA's first Kepler-powered graphics card, the GeForce (or should we write' GeFORCE') GTX 680. Shot both from above and the back, the incoming card has a black PCB, a dual-slot/single-fan cooler, two (stacked) 6-pin PCIe power plugs, a couple of SLI connectors, and four display outputs - dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort.
The GTX 680 is equipped with one GK104 28 nm GPU, and reportedly boasts 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM (4 GB models should also be in the works), PCI-Express 3.0, and a TDP of around 190 W. The GeForce GTX 680 is expected to be launched next week, on March 22nd. Its rumored price tag is $549.
The GTX 680 is equipped with one GK104 28 nm GPU, and reportedly boasts 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM (4 GB models should also be in the works), PCI-Express 3.0, and a TDP of around 190 W. The GeForce GTX 680 is expected to be launched next week, on March 22nd. Its rumored price tag is $549.
Lian Li Announces PC-Q05 - Designed for the Intel DH-621AG Thin Mini-ITX Motherboard
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, the award-winning aluminum computer chassis manufacturer, today announces the PC-Q05. Designed for the Intel DH-61AG Thin Mini-ITX Motherboard, the ultra compact PC-Q05 is ideal for today's mobile consumers who have multiple hand-held devices and want a custom built PC at home for surfing the web, watching movies, and document writing as well as a central storage hub between all your devices.
The Intel DH-621AG motherboard gives the Lian Li PC-Q05 the essential connectivity that modern users need for multimedia and computing purposes including: two USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 slots as well as HDMI, DVI, and eSATA connections. This ultra slim chassis is also designed to hold the Intel HTS 1155LP CPU Cooler to keep your system cool in all operations.
The Intel DH-621AG motherboard gives the Lian Li PC-Q05 the essential connectivity that modern users need for multimedia and computing purposes including: two USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 slots as well as HDMI, DVI, and eSATA connections. This ultra slim chassis is also designed to hold the Intel HTS 1155LP CPU Cooler to keep your system cool in all operations.
ioDrive2 Brings Innovation and Efficiency to Japan's Data Centers
Fusion-io and Tokyo Electron Device today announced the availability of the Fusion ioDrive2 and Fusion ioDrive2 Duo in Japan. The Fusion ioDrive2 products deliver up to 2.4 TB of powerful enterprise flash performance into servers to accelerate applications with an efficient solution that reduces the need to spend valuable energy and resources on legacy storage appliances or ineffective SSDs.
"Given Japan's well-deserved reputation for being one of the most innovative nations in the world, we are very proud to introduce the ioDrive2 with Tokyo Electron Device to help Japanese companies leverage their most important asset - data," said David Flynn, Fusion-io CEO and Chairman. "Whether in online commerce, social media, financial systems, or ensuring safe, on-schedule transportation systems, data is what powers our world today. With the ioDrive2, companies can unlock latent performance in their data centers in order to accelerate their applications while saving on both capital and operational expenses."
"Given Japan's well-deserved reputation for being one of the most innovative nations in the world, we are very proud to introduce the ioDrive2 with Tokyo Electron Device to help Japanese companies leverage their most important asset - data," said David Flynn, Fusion-io CEO and Chairman. "Whether in online commerce, social media, financial systems, or ensuring safe, on-schedule transportation systems, data is what powers our world today. With the ioDrive2, companies can unlock latent performance in their data centers in order to accelerate their applications while saving on both capital and operational expenses."
Acer Introduces New Ultra Slim Displays
Acer America today announced five new ultra slim LED-backlight displays. Available in 20-, 23- or 27-inches and with adjustable tilt bases, their slim profile and sleek contemporary designs are also packed with top-of-the line features and technologies. They're ideal for viewing family photos and videos, watching the latest DVDs/movies or for business applications that require excellent resolution, contrast ratios and graphics performance.
With a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Acer's new ultra-slim monitors radiate the brightest whites and deepest blacks. This advanced technology enables a dramatic improvement of gradation and detail, especially in very dim or very bright scenes, for stunning picture quality. Their quick 5 ms response time reduces deviations in transition time, delivering stutter-free moving images.
With a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio, Acer's new ultra-slim monitors radiate the brightest whites and deepest blacks. This advanced technology enables a dramatic improvement of gradation and detail, especially in very dim or very bright scenes, for stunning picture quality. Their quick 5 ms response time reduces deviations in transition time, delivering stutter-free moving images.
Monday, March 12th 2012
Today's Reviews
Accessories
Cases
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Keyboards
Processors
SSD
BitFenix Shinobi XL Review
The BitFenix Shinobi really put BitFenix on the map for the majority of users with its sleek design and SofTouch surface. Thus it is only natural that BitFenix gives the chassis the growth hormone treatment and offers a full tower variant. We take the XL size Shinobi for a spin and see if it is all fat or mean and lean functionality
Court Dismisses Fraud Charges Against Activision by ex-Infinity Ward Employees
Apparently round one goes to Activision in the royal rumble between them and Infinity Ward founders and now ex-employees Jason West and Vincent Zampella over owed royalties. One of the two fraud charges levelled at Activision by former employees and Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella has been dismissed by a US court. The remarkable story of the corporate fallout between Activision and the development pair began in March 2010 when it was revealed that the publisher had both men frog marched out of the Infinity Ward offices. Several employees quit the developer amidst the mud slinging and bitterness of the dispute, with Activision later deciding to sue EA over the whole ordeal. Why EA? Well, claims were made that both West and Zampella were already in bed with Activision's arch rival long before the waters become turbulent. The fact that West and Zampella's new studio, Respawn Entertainment, signed a publishing deal with EA probably didn't help much either.
Once the dust had settled both sides laid bare their claims. Activision argues that the pair had already planned a defection to EA whilst still working on Modern Warfare 2. It currently wants $400m in compensation from EA. West and Zampella, meanwhile, say that they were sacked to save Activision the pain of paying them bonuses and royalties owed to them. Back in the present Activision's success in convincing State Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle to dismiss one of the fraud claims levelled against it is a success, for sure, but it's not enough to stop everyone being dragged into court on May 7th.
Once the dust had settled both sides laid bare their claims. Activision argues that the pair had already planned a defection to EA whilst still working on Modern Warfare 2. It currently wants $400m in compensation from EA. West and Zampella, meanwhile, say that they were sacked to save Activision the pain of paying them bonuses and royalties owed to them. Back in the present Activision's success in convincing State Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle to dismiss one of the fraud claims levelled against it is a success, for sure, but it's not enough to stop everyone being dragged into court on May 7th.
Battlefield Evolved and Dark Knight Rises Appear in Retail list
According to MCV a major UK High Street retailer has mentioned two new titles for the first time. Firstly, it suggests that Warner Bros' upcoming summer movie hit The Dark Knight Rises will be accompanied by a video game tie-in. Furthermore, owing to the nature of the in formation MCV obtained, it suggests a physical release rather than a smaller-scale digital title. Also on the list is a game called Battlefield Evolved. No further details are known. With EA planning a big push for Medal of Honor: Warfighter this Q4, a fully-fledged Battlefield release seems unlikely. It may be that the SKU includes Battlefield 3 and all of its DLC. Both games are supposedly scheduled for the autumn.
Apple Rolls Out Safari 5.1.4, Google Delivers 18.0.1025.56 Beta
Today, mobile arch-rivals Apple and Google have both released updates for their PC/Mac browsers, Safari and Chrome. Apple made available the 5.1.4 version of Safari for both Windows and Mac OS, while Google has served up the Chrome 18.0.1025.56 Beta for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
The new Chrome Beta includes the following highlights:
- GPU acceleration of the Canvas 2D is now disabled by default and can be enabled in about:flags
- Disabled the image transport surface on Windows Vista and 7. For GPU accelerated content GPU process now renders directly to the window.
- Core Animation plugins no longer trigger GPU accelerated compositing on the Mac.
The new Chrome Beta includes the following highlights:
- GPU acceleration of the Canvas 2D is now disabled by default and can be enabled in about:flags
- Disabled the image transport surface on Windows Vista and 7. For GPU accelerated content GPU process now renders directly to the window.
- Core Animation plugins no longer trigger GPU accelerated compositing on the Mac.
ORICO Unveils 95x8RUS3 4-bay and 5-bay USB 3.0 RAID Boxes
ORICO unveiled the 9548RUS3 (4-bay) and 9558RUS3 (5-bay) external RAID enclosures. Built with front-loading 3.5-inch SATA HDD caddies, these enclosures can be set to run the installed HDDs in a variety of RAID modes (0/1/3/5/10) apart from standalone. The inbuilt RAID controller supports physical drives with capacities up to 3 TB only, although the RAID volumes can be bigger. The enclosures then connect to a host over USB 3.0 SuperSpeed and eSATA. Both models are available in black and silver color options, the main unit draws power from an external power brick, and is ventilated using two 60 mm fans. The panels are made of aluminum. ORICO did not give out pricing/availability information.
ASUS Also Working on the $800+ UX32A and UX32Vd Zenbooks
In addition to bringing the UX21A and UX31A, the upcoming Zenbook series update is set to see the arrival of two more ultrabooks, the UX32A and UX32Vd. Set to cost between $800 and $1,100, these 'budget-minded' ultrabooks are 18.3 mm thick, they weight 1.45 kg, and feature a 13.3-inch (HD or optionally, Full HD IPS), display, 2/4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive backed by a 24 GB SSD (for some caching fun), and a low-voltage Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge (1.8 GHz Core i3-3217U, 2.4 GHz Core i5-3317U or 2.8 GHz Core i7-3517U) processor.
The UX32A comes with integrated graphics, while the UX32Vd will come equipped with a GeForce GT620M 1 GB card. Both models will have WiFi, Bluetooth, optional WiDi, and offer up to seven hours of battery life.
The UX32A comes with integrated graphics, while the UX32Vd will come equipped with a GeForce GT620M 1 GB card. Both models will have WiFi, Bluetooth, optional WiDi, and offer up to seven hours of battery life.
PNY Merges Style and Technology with City Series Lovely Attache USB Flash Drives
PNY, worldwide leader in usb flash drives, has introduced the brand spirit attaché series, the chic and sophisticated Lovely attaché city series usb flash drives. The Lovely attaché City series offers a durable and fast way to store and transfer files and documents whilst also meeting the stylish and elegant taste of the fashion forward crowd.
The Lovely attaché City series comes in two special urban themes featuring the illustrations of famous and architectural landmarks of sophisticated New York and romantic Paris city which are PNY brand story started. The city series attaché flash drive borrows the look and appeal of these cosmopolitan cities that dominates fashion and emerging trends.
The Lovely attaché City series comes in two special urban themes featuring the illustrations of famous and architectural landmarks of sophisticated New York and romantic Paris city which are PNY brand story started. The city series attaché flash drive borrows the look and appeal of these cosmopolitan cities that dominates fashion and emerging trends.
Microsoft Demos Super-Responsive Touchscreen with 1 ms Latency
Finger-lag is one specification buyers of touchscreen devices such as tablets and smartphones don't pay too much attention to. Finger-lag is a phenomenon when it takes a short but noticeable amount of time for a touchscreen-enabled device to respond to a touch interaction in progress (such as drawing something in a paint program, dragging an object around, etc.). Microsoft sought to address the issue by developing a new touchscreen technology that reduces latency to 1 ms, delivering much more responsive touchscreen interactions. Paul Dietz at Microsoft's Applied Science division has managed to lower touchscreen latency to 1 ms, in comparison, touchscreens in the market typically have 100 ms. The technology can also be applied to high-precision stylus-based devices such as graphics tablets, where touch-latency can affect the quality of graphics work.
A video of the technology at work follows.
Diablo III: No PvP at Launch
Blizzard announced that its highly anticipated title, Diablo III, will not ship with Player vs. Player (PvP) gameplay, because its development and refinement is holding Blizzard back from meeting the April 17, 2012 launch date. "The PvP game and systems aren't yet living up to our standards," said Jay Wilson, Game Director. The PvP component will instead be added to the game as a patch, months after the game's launch. The patch will include PvP arenas, achievements, and a matchmaking system. The arenas, according to Wilson, will be "as brutal, bloody, fast-paced, and awesome as we know they can be."
ASUS Readies the Zenbook UX21A and UX31A Ultrabooks
As soon as Intel rolls out its Ivy Bridge mobile processors ASUS' ultrabook offering will be updated through the release of two Zenbooks, the 11.6-inch UX21A and the 13.3-inch UX31A. Design-wise, these upcoming models are expected to resemble their predecessors (the UX21 and UX31) but they'll feature more juicy specs like (optional) Full HD IPS screens (the UX21A will have a 1366 x 768 display by default, whereas the 'base' UX31A comes with a 1600 x 900 panel), and one of three Ivy Bridge CPUs - the 1.8 GHz Core i3-3217U, 2.4 GHz Core i5-3317U or 2.8 GHz Core i7-3517U, with a 17 W TDP.
Shuttle Readies X50V3 Fanless All-in-One PC Barebone
Shuttle is working on its newest fanless all-in-one PC, the X50V3. Built with a 15.6-inch touchscreen that feature 1366x768 pixels resolution, the X50V3 measures 39.13 x 32.7 x 4.2 cm, weighing just under 3 kg. It is available in black and white body-color options. It is driven by Intel Atom D2700 dual-core processor (2.13 GHz, HTT), and features two DDR3 SOIMM slots, supporting up to 4 GB of single-channel DDR3-1066 MHz memory. There's provision for one 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD.
Display connectivity is expandable with D-Sub and an HDMI connector, which also gives out multi-channel digital audio. At the helm of graphics is the Intel GMA3650 integrated into the Atom D2700. The chassis embeds a 2 MP web-camera. Other connectivity includes four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, and Wireless b/g/n(150). The X50V3 can be configured to ship with memory, storage, and an OS (Windows or OpenSuSE Linux). There's no word of when the product will officially launch, and at what price.
Display connectivity is expandable with D-Sub and an HDMI connector, which also gives out multi-channel digital audio. At the helm of graphics is the Intel GMA3650 integrated into the Atom D2700. The chassis embeds a 2 MP web-camera. Other connectivity includes four USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, gigabit Ethernet, and Wireless b/g/n(150). The X50V3 can be configured to ship with memory, storage, and an OS (Windows or OpenSuSE Linux). There's no word of when the product will officially launch, and at what price.
Colorful ASUS Eee PC R052C Netbook Goes Up for Pre-Order
Yet another Cedar Trail-powered Eee PC is ready to reach stores and it comes in a multitude of colors including black, white, grey, brown, pink, red, blue and purple. Dubbed Eee PC R052CE, ASUS' new netbook measures 262 x 178 x 20.7 ~ 34.4 mm, it weights 1.25 kg, and features a 10.1-inch display, a 1.86 GHz Atom N2800 processor, 1 GB of RAM, a 320 GB HDD, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, an SD card reader, an HDMI output, and a 6-cell (5,200 mAh) battery providing up to 12 hours of operation).
The Eee PC R052CE runs Windows 7 Starter (it also comes with the Express Gate instant-on OS) and is available for pre-order at 329 Euro or 339 Euro (depending on the color choice).
The Eee PC R052CE runs Windows 7 Starter (it also comes with the Express Gate instant-on OS) and is available for pre-order at 329 Euro or 339 Euro (depending on the color choice).
OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSDs to be Deployed in New Colfax International Enterprise Server
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that Colfax International will deploy OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSDs into Colfax's new lines of enterprise servers based on Intel's recently announced dual socket Sandy Bridge-EP platform.
Providing a compact, power-efficient solid-state solution that fits directly into a system's PCI Express (PCIe) slot, OCZ's Z-Drive R4 dramatically increases server application performance while delivering fast and reliable access to data without burdening host CPU and memory resources. OCZ's combination of high-performance, low latency, and high storage capacity make the Z-Drive R4 ideally suited for the new Colfax Sandy Bridge EP-based servers targeted towards demanding enterprise applications that include cloud computing, server virtualization and consolidation, high-performance computing (HPC), and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP).
Providing a compact, power-efficient solid-state solution that fits directly into a system's PCI Express (PCIe) slot, OCZ's Z-Drive R4 dramatically increases server application performance while delivering fast and reliable access to data without burdening host CPU and memory resources. OCZ's combination of high-performance, low latency, and high storage capacity make the Z-Drive R4 ideally suited for the new Colfax Sandy Bridge EP-based servers targeted towards demanding enterprise applications that include cloud computing, server virtualization and consolidation, high-performance computing (HPC), and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP).
"Steady as She Goes" for the Workstation Market in Q4'11, Reports Jon Peddie Research
The workstation market proceeded ahead in the fourth quarter of 2011, completing a long climb back from the 2009 depths of the global economic recession that had slashed its shipments by over 40 percent. But that fourth quarter advance was more a case of "steady as she goes" than "full speed ahead", reports Jon Peddie Research senior analyst Alex Herrera.
The leading market research firm has completed its data collection and analysis of results from the quarter, and finds Q4 followed the same basic storyline Herrera had been laying out over the previous few quarters. The market has not only fully recovered from the recession, it's showing continued stability and some undeniable signs of strength. But at the same time, there remain scattered pockets of concern, as the market has yet to resume the pace of growth it sustained back in the years 2005 through 2008.
The leading market research firm has completed its data collection and analysis of results from the quarter, and finds Q4 followed the same basic storyline Herrera had been laying out over the previous few quarters. The market has not only fully recovered from the recession, it's showing continued stability and some undeniable signs of strength. But at the same time, there remain scattered pockets of concern, as the market has yet to resume the pace of growth it sustained back in the years 2005 through 2008.
Seagate Readies 500 GB Version of 9 mm-thick FreeAgent
Seagate is working on a new variant of the 9 mm-thick FreeAgent portable hard drive it launched back in April 2011. The new variant features a fast 7200 RPM drive, with a capacity of 500 GB. The original model had 320 GB capacity. Measuring 124 x 78 x 9 mm, and weighing 160 g, the drives take advantage of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, with a single cable handling power and connectivity. The new 500 GB variant costs about $170, which is very high compared to the launch price of the 320 GB variant, which was around $99, but then you have to take into account the escalation of HDD prices across the industry since September 2011.
Unitcom Unveils 14-inch First Gen. Ultrabook
Japanese BTO notebook maker Unitcom is ready with the LesanceNB S3431/L first-generation Ultrabook for launch on the 24th of March, later this month. This 14-inch Ultrabook is priced at 59,980 JPY (US $730). It is driven by Intel Core i5-2467M (1.60 GHz), with 4 GB dual-channel DDR3 memory, 64 GB SSD holding the OS and programs, 500 GB HDD for documents and storage, and Intel integrated graphics. The 14-inch screen provides 1366x768 pixels resolution. Other features include multi-format card reader, three USB 2.0 ports, WiFi b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and 5 hours rated battery-life on full charge. Measuring 333 x 230 x 19 mm, the S3431/L weighs 1.64 kg.
Nokia Reportedly Prepping a Windows 8 Tablet for Q4
Finnish phone maker and Microsoft BFF Nokia is said to be planning the release of a tablet by the end of the year. Nokia's tablet would run Windows 8 and is supposed to have a 10-inch touchscreen and a Qualcomm dual-core processor (Snapdragon S4 most likely).
Rumored to arrive in Q4, the mobile device is claimed to be made Compal Electronics who'd deliver 200,000 units in the first production wave. Pricing info is not available at this point.
Rumored to arrive in Q4, the mobile device is claimed to be made Compal Electronics who'd deliver 200,000 units in the first production wave. Pricing info is not available at this point.
Gigabyte Officially Launches GB-AEGT Whitebox All-in-One PC
GIGABYTE introduces its latest whitebox All-in-One PC based on the Thin Mini-ITX standard and addressed to channel resellers, VARs and system integrators. Being the biggest screen size (24") in GIGABYTE's All-in-One PC offering, the GB-AEGT aims at establishing its supremacy as the ultimate entertainment All-in-One PC. To do so, it offers the worldwide exclusive ability to receive off-the-shelf double slot desktop graphic cards up to 400W.
Gaming on an All-in-One PC won't be a dream anymore, and to complete this dream the GB-AEGT has a full load of multimedia features detailed below. In addition to these features, the GB-AEGT naturally keeps GIGABYTE homemade modular design and is fully upgradable thanks to an easy access to all the internal components.
Gaming on an All-in-One PC won't be a dream anymore, and to complete this dream the GB-AEGT has a full load of multimedia features detailed below. In addition to these features, the GB-AEGT naturally keeps GIGABYTE homemade modular design and is fully upgradable thanks to an easy access to all the internal components.
Buffalo Also Intros BSKBB11SV Bluetooth Keyboard
Buffalo Japan also introduced the BSKBB11SV wireless keyboard, today. The keyboard uses Bluetooth 3.0 to communicate with its host, making it compatible with several kinds of computing devices apart from PCs, such as tablets, convertibles, and smartphones. Measuring 258.5 x 128.5 x 8.5 (WxDxH, with its risers retracted), and weighing 255 g, the keyboard features an 83-key QWERTY Apple layout, with Apple Mac OS X command key. The keyboard is technically of a common-membrane type, with 18 mm key pitch, and 2.2 mm key travel (stroke). Slated for market release in late-March, the BSKBB11SV from Buffalo, will be priced at 8,400 JPY (US $102).
More Alienware M17x R4 Details Leak
Building on the information already revealed in January, a new Dell-flavored scoop says that the upcoming Alienware M17x R4 (17.4-inch) laptop will offer three display options, one HD+ (1600 x 900), one Full HD (1920 x 1080) and one Full HD 3D. Moreover, this gaming-ready machine is claimed to utilize eDP for LCD communication.
The Alienware M17x R4 will be powered by Ivy Bridge processors, feature both AMD (Radeon HD 7970M) and NVIDIA (GeForce GTX 660M, GTX 675M) discrete graphics, and will be available in two color schemes - black and red. Still no word on its release but it should arrive in Q2.
The Alienware M17x R4 will be powered by Ivy Bridge processors, feature both AMD (Radeon HD 7970M) and NVIDIA (GeForce GTX 660M, GTX 675M) discrete graphics, and will be available in two color schemes - black and red. Still no word on its release but it should arrive in Q2.
Manli Unveils Elite Mini PC
Manli, a brand owned by PC Partner, showed off its latest mini-PC, the Elite. Driven by AMD E-450 "Brazos" APU, the Elite is a barebone, that requires you to add the memory (a single DDR3-SODIMM slot is available), and storage (a 2.5-inch drive with SATA 6 Gb/s connection available). Pre-configured models with 2 GB memory and 320 GB HDD are available in select markets. Connectivity includes two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a DisplayPort and HDMI connector for display, an eSATA port, Gigabit Ethernet, a multi-format card reader, audio jacks and built in 802.11b/g/n WLAN.
AMD Collaborates With SOFTMAX for The War of Genesis IV: Spiral Genesis
AMD Korea today announced that it has signed an agreement with Korean game developer, SOFTMAX, to provide technical collaboration for its new game title, The War of Genesis IV: Spiral Genesis. This type of collaboration, a core component of AMD's Gaming Evolved program, will help optimize The War of Genesis IV: Spiral Genesis to enable a superior experience for anyone running the game on AMD products and technologies.
"AMD remains focused on providing the ultimate gaming experience through its cutting-edge technology and industry-leading gaming initiatives, like the Gaming Evolved program," said David Kwon, president of AMD Korea and managing director of Global Strategic Sales, AMD. "Our collaboration with SOFTMAX is evidence of these efforts and ensures AMD continues its close work with industry-leading game developers. At the end of the day, this collaboration means gamers can expect unparalleled and immersive gaming through AMD products and technologies."
"AMD remains focused on providing the ultimate gaming experience through its cutting-edge technology and industry-leading gaming initiatives, like the Gaming Evolved program," said David Kwon, president of AMD Korea and managing director of Global Strategic Sales, AMD. "Our collaboration with SOFTMAX is evidence of these efforts and ensures AMD continues its close work with industry-leading game developers. At the end of the day, this collaboration means gamers can expect unparalleled and immersive gaming through AMD products and technologies."
GK104 Silicon Roughly As Big As G92b
When the first PCB shot of the GK104 reference board surfaced, it sent the punters estimating the die area of the GK104 GPU, which the pinned at somewhere around 320 mm². A newer close-up picture of the GK104, helped calculate the figure more accurately, down to around 300 mm² (±5 mm²). This calculation also takes into account that the GK104 chip-package is as big as that of the G92, and the die just as big. It was compared alongside a 55 nm G92b chip. GK104 is NVIDIA's newest performance GPU built on the Kepler architecture, on which SKUs such as the GeForce GTX 680, are based.
Buffalo Unveils BSMBLW Series Glass-Safe Laser Mice
Buffalo unveiled three new lines of mice, the BSMBLW01 (5-button wireless), BSMBLW02 (3-button wireless) and BSMBLU02 (3-button wired), which feature laser trackers that work on glass and other polished surfaces. The BSMBLW01 features a tracking resolution of up to 1,650 dpi. It measures 58 x 95 x 37 mm (WxDxH), weighing 60 g (without batteries). It requires two AAA-size batteries, and uses a 2.4 GHz radio band micro-receiver. The BSMBLW02 is a 3-button design, with a 1,600 dpi sensor. It measures 66 x 97 x 40 mm, weighing 59 g. Like the BSMBLW01, it needs two AAA-batteries, and packs a micro-receiver. Lastly, there's the BSMBLU02, which is essentially a USB-wired variant of the BSMBLW02, which doesn't needs batteries, and hence weighs 59 g. The BSMBLW01, BSMBLW02, and BSMBLU02, are priced at 6,300 JPY (US $76.6), 5,617 JPY (US $68.3), and 4,200 JPY (US $51), respectively. They are pictured in the same order, below.
Intel Discontinues Xeon 5500 "Tylersburg" Platform
After last week's launch of the Xeon "Romley" platform, which replaces the Xeon 5500 "Tylersburg" platform, Intel has a retirement plan ready for the latter. Tylersburg was introduced in 2009, based on Intel's Nehalem architecture. Intel introduced product change notification (PCN) documents that detail these plans. The following models will be discontinued:
- High-end: W5590, W5580, X5570, X5560 and X5550
- Mid-tier versions: E5540, E5530, E5520, E5507, E5506, E5504, E5503 and E5502
- Entry-level versions: L5530, L5520 and L5506
HighPoint Launches RocketStor SMART Backup
HighPoint Technologies, Inc., an industry leading HBA and storage solutions manufacturer, launches the RocketStor SMART Backup; the Industry's first 10Gb/s Dual-Bay USB 3.0 External Backup Solution designed for PC and Mac platforms. The RocketStor SMART Backup is ideal for small businesses and media professionals looking for a flexible, high-performance, and easy to use backup solutions for personal and business data.
The RocketStor SMART Backup incorporates the convenience and versatility of USB connectivity with dedicated Dual 5Gb transfer bandwidth and an easy to use Software Suite, into an intuitive, high-performance backup solution for personal and business applications. The dual SATA 6Gb/s docking bays support all generations of SATA SSD's and HDD's, and well suited for a wide-range of backup applications including portable/removable storage, securing critical business data, media libraries, and digital archiving.
The RocketStor SMART Backup incorporates the convenience and versatility of USB connectivity with dedicated Dual 5Gb transfer bandwidth and an easy to use Software Suite, into an intuitive, high-performance backup solution for personal and business applications. The dual SATA 6Gb/s docking bays support all generations of SATA SSD's and HDD's, and well suited for a wide-range of backup applications including portable/removable storage, securing critical business data, media libraries, and digital archiving.
GeForce GTX 580 to Get Price-Cuts
To pave the way for the GeForce GTX 680, which will arrive later this month in small but sizable quantities, with wide availability in the months to come, NVIDIA is cutting the prices of its GeForce GTX 580 graphics card. The GF110-based behemoth of 2011, will now start at 339.8 EUR, according to European price-aggregators such as Geizhals.at. The new price makes GeForce GTX 580 1.5 GB cheaper than the Radeon HD 7950, and having a slightly improved price-performance ratio. The 3 GB variants of GeForce GTX 580 are priced similar to the HD 7950. The GTX 570 starts at 249 EUR.
Holey Optochip First to Transfer One Trillion Bits per Second Using Light
IBM scientists today will report on a prototype optical chipset, dubbed "Holey Optochip", that is the first parallel optical transceiver to transfer one trillion bits - one terabit - of information per second, the equivalent of downloading 500 high definition movies. The report will be presented at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference taking place in Los Angeles.
With the ability to move information at blazing speeds - eight times faster than parallel optical components available today - the breakthrough could transform how data is accessed, shared and used for a new era of communications, computing and entertainment. The raw speed of one transceiver is equivalent to the bandwidth consumed by 100,000 users at today's typical 10 Mb/s high-speed internet access. Or, it would take just around an hour to transfer the entire U.S. Library of Congress web archive through the transceiver.
With the ability to move information at blazing speeds - eight times faster than parallel optical components available today - the breakthrough could transform how data is accessed, shared and used for a new era of communications, computing and entertainment. The raw speed of one transceiver is equivalent to the bandwidth consumed by 100,000 users at today's typical 10 Mb/s high-speed internet access. Or, it would take just around an hour to transfer the entire U.S. Library of Congress web archive through the transceiver.
Saturday, March 10th 2012
AVADirect Now Offers Intel E5 Xeon Servers & Workstations
The design of the E5 Xeon processor is directly related to the vastly growing data center industry as we know it. Oriented toward new cloud-connected features, the Xeon E5 processors will help drive the server and workstation industry like never seen before. E5 processors are offered in three variants: Quad-core, Six-core, and Eight-core chips will help end-users decide what should be utilized for the task in mind.
Intel offers a wide variety of E5 Xeon processors, the E5-2603 quad-core being the low-end of the spectrum, and the E5-2690 eight-core providing high-ranked performance over previous Xeon processors. It is also very important to note power consumption will increase with the capabilities of each chip, but this also creates numerous possibilities for a multitude of configurations. To introduce a more unique experience for each end-user, AVADirect provides over 1000 different combinations of components for configurations that feature the E5 Xeon processors.
Intel offers a wide variety of E5 Xeon processors, the E5-2603 quad-core being the low-end of the spectrum, and the E5-2690 eight-core providing high-ranked performance over previous Xeon processors. It is also very important to note power consumption will increase with the capabilities of each chip, but this also creates numerous possibilities for a multitude of configurations. To introduce a more unique experience for each end-user, AVADirect provides over 1000 different combinations of components for configurations that feature the E5 Xeon processors.
HighPoint Now Shipping: RocketCache 3240X8 - SSD RAID Caching
HighPoint Technologies, Inc., the industry's price-leader for SATA and SAS HBA and storage solutions, is now shipping the RocketCache 3240X8; the next-generation SSD caching solution for high-performance Mac and PC platforms.
Ordinary caching solutions limit performance gains to specific applications, restrict configurations to a single hard disk and SSD pair, or are exclusive to particular storage device. HighPoint's RocketCache allows you to create your own high-performance storage solution using off the shelf hard disks and SSDs. Capitalizing on HighPoint's industry-proven RAID technology, RocketCache HBA's can aggregate multiple SSDs and hard disks into single storage units, in order to maximize transfer speeds or data security.
Ordinary caching solutions limit performance gains to specific applications, restrict configurations to a single hard disk and SSD pair, or are exclusive to particular storage device. HighPoint's RocketCache allows you to create your own high-performance storage solution using off the shelf hard disks and SSDs. Capitalizing on HighPoint's industry-proven RAID technology, RocketCache HBA's can aggregate multiple SSDs and hard disks into single storage units, in order to maximize transfer speeds or data security.
Friday, March 9th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
EVGA Offers Quick Peek at 7 Series (LGA 1155) Motherboard
While rival manufacturers flooded CeBIT with their Z77 motherboards, EVGA has been rather low key and only today decided to give us a look at what it's preparing for next's month's Ivy Bridge launch. Seen below is one high-end LGA 1155 board EVGA is currently working on. There's no name to go with the image (best guess is Z77 FTW) but plenty of specs can be identified like, well, the Ivy-ready LGA 1155 socket, four DDR3 memory slots, 10-phase power, two 8-pin power connectors to 'feed' the processor plus two 6-pin PCIe plugs catering to graphics cards, a PCIe bridge chip (likely made by PLX), and five PCI-Express x16 slots (at least two should be PCIe 3.0) providing SLI and CrossFireX capabilities.
EVGA's incoming motherboard also includes PCIe disable switches, a debug LED, an angled 24-pin ATX power connector, four SATA 6.0 Gbps and four SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, Gigabit Ethernet, an undetermined number of USB 3.0 ports, Power, Reset and Clear CMOS buttons, 7.1 channel audio, and it seems even a Thunderbolt port. Now where's that 'Like' button?
EVGA's incoming motherboard also includes PCIe disable switches, a debug LED, an angled 24-pin ATX power connector, four SATA 6.0 Gbps and four SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, Gigabit Ethernet, an undetermined number of USB 3.0 ports, Power, Reset and Clear CMOS buttons, 7.1 channel audio, and it seems even a Thunderbolt port. Now where's that 'Like' button?
Gartner Says PC Shipments Will Grow 4.4 Percent in 2012
Worldwide PC shipments are on pace to total 368 million units in 2012, a 4.4 percent increase from 2011, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. PC shipments are forecast to see higher growth by the end of 2013, when shipments are expected to reach more than 400 million units.
"PC shipments will remain weak in 2012, as the PC market plays catch up in bringing a new level of innovation that consumers want to see in devices they purchase," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "The real question is whether Windows 8 and ultrabooks will create the compelling offering that gets the earlier adopter of devices excited about PCs again."
"PC shipments will remain weak in 2012, as the PC market plays catch up in bringing a new level of innovation that consumers want to see in devices they purchase," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "The real question is whether Windows 8 and ultrabooks will create the compelling offering that gets the earlier adopter of devices excited about PCs again."
More Pictures of GK104 Reference Board Surface
Here is a brief compilation of all the new images of the upcoming NVIDIA GeForce Kepler high-performance product, which our forum members posted through the day. The pictures reinforce the 3QTR picture that surfaced this Thursday, and full-length picture of the PCB that surfaced earlier this month. The first picture below, reveals what is essentially the card that was pictured yesterday, with its cooler shroud taken out. You will find a conventional air-channel cooler design. A lateral-flow fan, which looks similar to the one used in GeForce GTX 580/570), directs air through a dense aluminum channel array, which draws heat from key components such as the GPU, memory, and VRM, using a vapor-chamber plate (again, similar to the one used on high-end GeForce GTX 500 series). Towards the rear portion, you'll spot the piggy-backed 6+6-pin PCIe power connector cluster. You will also find the black rugged metal base-plate flowing along the full length of the PCB, structurally reinforcing it, and performing some cooling functions.
Moving on, the second picture reveals the same VRM area we saw earlier, on the green-colored PCB engineering sample, with its five NVVDD phases. The third picture is the first, of the reverse side of the PCB. Revealing most of the solder points, and electrical circuitry. The driver ICs of each of the NVVDD phases can be seen here. These two pictures confirm that the retail version of the GK104 product will feature a black PCB (the brown tinge is natural, due to the dense network of traces and ground layers, made of copper). The fourth picture reveals what looks like NVIDIA's Media Kit. Reputed reviewers get a NVIDIA-branded "media kit", which contains the graphics card sample to review, and other relevant documentation in printed form, along with a driver CD, and other accessories. These cards are not branded by any AIC partner, and are 100% compliant to NVIDIA's reference design and clock speeds.
Many Thanks to our community members JaredPace and CrapDaddy.
Moving on, the second picture reveals the same VRM area we saw earlier, on the green-colored PCB engineering sample, with its five NVVDD phases. The third picture is the first, of the reverse side of the PCB. Revealing most of the solder points, and electrical circuitry. The driver ICs of each of the NVVDD phases can be seen here. These two pictures confirm that the retail version of the GK104 product will feature a black PCB (the brown tinge is natural, due to the dense network of traces and ground layers, made of copper). The fourth picture reveals what looks like NVIDIA's Media Kit. Reputed reviewers get a NVIDIA-branded "media kit", which contains the graphics card sample to review, and other relevant documentation in printed form, along with a driver CD, and other accessories. These cards are not branded by any AIC partner, and are 100% compliant to NVIDIA's reference design and clock speeds.
Durango Out in 2013, Lacks Optical Drive: Report
Microsoft's next-generation Xbox game console, codenamed "Durango", will arrive in 2013. More importantly, it is said to completely lack an optical disc drive. The lack of a disc drive could mark a milestone in the evolution of console game distribution. Microsoft already has a high-volume digital distribution platform in Xbox Live, its significance in a post-disc console era will only increase.
This is not to say that Microsoft will completely do away with physical media, an interchangeable NAND flash-based media could also take shape, seeing how prices of NAND flash-storage has come drastically down over the past couple of years. It would be a going back to solid-state game cartridges, for home consoles. Some portable consoles use solid-state media even today.
This is not to say that Microsoft will completely do away with physical media, an interchangeable NAND flash-based media could also take shape, seeing how prices of NAND flash-storage has come drastically down over the past couple of years. It would be a going back to solid-state game cartridges, for home consoles. Some portable consoles use solid-state media even today.
QNAP Launches New Business-Class TS-x69 Pro Turbo NAS Series
QNAP Systems, Inc. today officially launched the next generation of its extremely popular and award-winning Turbo NAS server lineup, the TS-x69 Pro series, and showcased the new NAS Firmware 3.6 and the latest VioStor NVR video surveillance systems.
New TS-x69 Pro Turbo NAS: 220+ MB/s throughput, virtualization ready, USB 3.0 support
The new TS-x69 Pro series, available in 2, 4, 5, 6, or 8-drive versions, are powered by a high performance dual-core Intel Atom processor D2700, equipped with 1 GB DDR3 RAM, and support SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5" and 3.5" HDD, to provide the levels of performance required by SMB users. All models have 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports. "The QNAP lab test statistics reveal that both writing and reading speeds in a Windows environment exceed 220 MB/sec in network trunking mode," commented Laurent Chang, product manager of QNAP.
New TS-x69 Pro Turbo NAS: 220+ MB/s throughput, virtualization ready, USB 3.0 support
The new TS-x69 Pro series, available in 2, 4, 5, 6, or 8-drive versions, are powered by a high performance dual-core Intel Atom processor D2700, equipped with 1 GB DDR3 RAM, and support SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5" and 3.5" HDD, to provide the levels of performance required by SMB users. All models have 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports. "The QNAP lab test statistics reveal that both writing and reading speeds in a Windows environment exceed 220 MB/sec in network trunking mode," commented Laurent Chang, product manager of QNAP.
GIGABYTE Announces GS-R12PE High End New Generation Rack Server
GIGABYTE introduces its latest dual socket 1U rack server based on Intel's brand new Xeon E5-2600 generation. With the significant computing speed boost brought by these new processors, the GS-R12PE deploys powerful computing capabilities which, coupled together with a large and fast memory platform, makes it an ideal product for cloud computing and speed demanding applications such as finance or oil industries.
With up to 8 cores / 16 threads per socket, TDP up to 135W, cache size increased up to 20MB, increased QPI frequency, and doubled inter-socket QPI links, this new Xeon generation brings a significant increase in computing power for demanding server and datacenter applications.
With up to 8 cores / 16 threads per socket, TDP up to 135W, cache size increased up to 20MB, increased QPI frequency, and doubled inter-socket QPI links, this new Xeon generation brings a significant increase in computing power for demanding server and datacenter applications.
Raspberry Pi Suffers Minor Production Glitch
In late-February, the first batch of Raspberry Pi shipped out, but a minor production issue soon surfaced. The RJ-45 jack (common Ethernet port) soldered onto Raspberry Pi units were the ones without integrated magnets, leaving these boards without network connectivity. The problem was traced back to a sourcing glitch, and as The Verge writes, is not a difficult mistake to make. To fix the problem, one has to desolder the old jacks, and replace them with new ones. The pin-density of an RJ-45 jack isn't high, and a simple soldering kit is all one needs. The Raspberry Pi team is sourcing as many of these proper RJ-45 jacks as possible to put production of the next batch of these tiny computers back on track.
ASUS PA248Q 24-Inch Monitor Comes With Four USB 3.0 Ports
At this year's CeBIT ASUS is showcasing the world's first monitor with a built-in 4-port USB 3.0 hub, the PA248Q. Part of the ProArt Series, this SuperSpeed USB-enhanced display makes use of a 24-inch IPS panel, and has LED backlighting, 178/178 degree viewing angles, a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, a 5,000:1 contrast ratio, a 6 ms response time, and a maximum brightness of 400 cd/m2.
The PA248Q also boasts D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, the QuickFit Virtual Scale feature, and a stand allowing for height, swivel, tilt and pivot adjusting. A pre-order listing has the monitor at about $594.
The PA248Q also boasts D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, the QuickFit Virtual Scale feature, and a stand allowing for height, swivel, tilt and pivot adjusting. A pre-order listing has the monitor at about $594.
Elecom Intros New Slider USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Elecom Japan introduced the new MF-BSU304GBK USB 3.0 flash drive, featuring a slide-out retractable USB 3.0 type-A plug. This drive provides 4 GB of storage, read speeds as high as 60 MB/s, and measures 23.5 x 67 x 9 mm (WxDxH), weighing 11 g. It feature PASS (Password-Authentication Security System), with 256-bit AES data encryption. Slated for next week, the MF-BSU304GBK is priced at 1,580 JPY (US $19).
Acer VA40 Combines Core i7-3612QM and GeForce GT 640M
NVIDIA's Kepler and Intel's Ivy Bridge architectures are a match made in Acer's upcoming VA40 notebook. The notebook combines Intel Core i7-3612QM quad-core processor with NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M discrete graphics, and with NVIDIA Optimus technology, performs dynamic-switching between the GT 640M and Intel HD 4000 graphics embedded into the processor. A Chinese forum user "yknyong1" posted screenshots of the two components using available diagnostic software. We know that CPU-Z 1.6 adds reliable support for Ivy Bridge CPUs, but GPU-Z 0.5.9 has preliminary support for Kepler GPUs, too. At least it knows how to count CUDA cores, ROPs, clock-speeds, and other basic information, even if it gets a few other details inaccurate. Kepler support will be refined and made reliable days ahead of NVIDIA's big launch day, later this month.
The Core i7-3612QM is a quad-core chip clocked at 2.10 GHz, featuring 6 MB L3 cache of the Ivy Bridge silicon, and HyperThreading, which enables 8 logical CPUs. The GeForce GT 640M, on the other hand, is known to be based on NVIDIA's new 28 nm GK107 silicon. It is detected with 384 CUDA cores, 2 GB of DDR3 memory over a 128-bit wide memory interface, 16 ROPs, core clock speed of 405 MHz, and 900 MHz memory. The chip carries a device ID of 10DE-0FD2, and is compliant with PCI-Express 3.0 bus interface. When on light load (desktop), the clock speeds of this GPU were turned down to 135 MHz core with 405 MHz memory. Find more barely-legible screenshots at the source.
The Core i7-3612QM is a quad-core chip clocked at 2.10 GHz, featuring 6 MB L3 cache of the Ivy Bridge silicon, and HyperThreading, which enables 8 logical CPUs. The GeForce GT 640M, on the other hand, is known to be based on NVIDIA's new 28 nm GK107 silicon. It is detected with 384 CUDA cores, 2 GB of DDR3 memory over a 128-bit wide memory interface, 16 ROPs, core clock speed of 405 MHz, and 900 MHz memory. The chip carries a device ID of 10DE-0FD2, and is compliant with PCI-Express 3.0 bus interface. When on light load (desktop), the clock speeds of this GPU were turned down to 135 MHz core with 405 MHz memory. Find more barely-legible screenshots at the source.
InnoDisk SATADOM Qualified by Intel for the New Romley Server Boards
InnoDisk Corporation, a leader in industrial DRAM and Flash storage solutions, announces that its SATADOM storage device has been qualified by Intel for the new Romley Server Boards. InnoDisk SATADOM has been selected as the preferred boot device on the SATA port.
SATADOM has five times the performance of normal USB drive (135 MB/sec and 116 MB/sec Read/Write versus 25 MB/sec and 20 MB/sec for USB). SATADOM's low profile form-factor makes it ideal for 1U and blade server applications. InnoDisk SATADOM, designed with SLC NAND Flash, delivers the highest endurance for performance demanding and mission critical applications.
SATADOM has five times the performance of normal USB drive (135 MB/sec and 116 MB/sec Read/Write versus 25 MB/sec and 20 MB/sec for USB). SATADOM's low profile form-factor makes it ideal for 1U and blade server applications. InnoDisk SATADOM, designed with SLC NAND Flash, delivers the highest endurance for performance demanding and mission critical applications.
14-inch Lenovo Ivy Bridge Laptop Up for Pre-Order
Providing more proof that Ivy Bridge is closing in fast, Amazon has put up for pre-order a Lenovo laptop which is powered by an Intel 3rd generation Core processor. The laptop in question is named IdeaPad Y480 (20934FU) and it features a 1.3-inch thick chassis, a 14-inch display, a 2.3 GHz Core i7-3610QM CPU, 8 GB of RAM, a 750 GB hard drive and an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M 1 GB graphics card.
The Y480 also packs two 1.5 W JBL speakers, it runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and apparently has a battery life of only 3.5 hours. The price tag of this new IdeaPad is $999.99.
The Y480 also packs two 1.5 W JBL speakers, it runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and apparently has a battery life of only 3.5 hours. The price tag of this new IdeaPad is $999.99.
RunCore Striking Successful New Deals at CeBIT 2012
RunCore, leading developer and brand manufacturer of high-end Solid State Drives (SSDs) and storage solutions, is showing a strong presence at CeBIT 2012. The world's largest IT trade show proves to be a major success for RunCore. An unprecedented amount of distributors and system integrators turn to innovative SSD solutions from RunCore for their future storage demands. As a result RunCore reached new distribution agreements to broaden market availability all over Europe such as in Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
As the miniaturization in the computing will is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their highly recognized rSSD series offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are shrinked dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.
As the miniaturization in the computing will is continuously progressing, this is also the case for storage demands. RunCore is addressing this demand with their highly recognized rSSD series offering highly sophisticated small form factor SATAII SSD solutions for embedded systems. Dimensions of these rSSD are shrinked dramatically by virtue of the 104-ball FBGA packaging when compared to conventional drives, while reducing power consumption to 670 mW and offering a wide range of operating temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C.
Western Digital Completes Acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Western Digital Corp. today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Viviti Technologies Ltd. (formerly Hitachi Global Storage Technologies), effective Mar. 8, 2012, for $3.9 billion in cash and 25 million shares of WDC common stock valued at approximately $0.9 billion. Hitachi, Ltd. now owns approximately 10 percent of WDC shares outstanding, and it has the right to designate two individuals to the board of directors of WD.
The new WD will operate with WD Technologies (WD) and HGST as wholly owned subsidiaries. Aggregated revenues of the two companies in 2011 were $15 billion. As chief executive officer of WD, John Coyne heads up the new office of the CEO, with Steve Milligan as president, Tim Leyden as chief operating officer and Wolfgang Nickl as chief financial officer.
The new WD will operate with WD Technologies (WD) and HGST as wholly owned subsidiaries. Aggregated revenues of the two companies in 2011 were $15 billion. As chief executive officer of WD, John Coyne heads up the new office of the CEO, with Steve Milligan as president, Tim Leyden as chief operating officer and Wolfgang Nickl as chief financial officer.
The Razer Goliathus Fired Up for E-Sports with All-New Team Edition
Razer, one of the world's pioneering supporters of e-Sports, with Team Liquid, elite pro-gaming team, are proud to announce the launch of the Razer Goliathus e-Sports edition mouse mat. Emblazoned with the iconic logos and colors of the world's top e-Sports teams, the Razer Goliathus e-Sports edition mouse mat is wielded by pro-gamers for both its performance-enhancing surface and as a rallying team banner.
The first team mat to be made available for purchase at launch in the Goliathus e-Sports line-up is the Team Liquid edition. Originally made exclusively for Team Liquid pro-gamers, overwhelmingly positive response from the gaming community and team fans have led to Razer making these mouse mats available for purchase.
The first team mat to be made available for purchase at launch in the Goliathus e-Sports line-up is the Team Liquid edition. Originally made exclusively for Team Liquid pro-gamers, overwhelmingly positive response from the gaming community and team fans have led to Razer making these mouse mats available for purchase.
Super Talent RAIDDrive upStream PCIe SSD Pictured
Super Talent showed off a new, cost-effective PCI-Express SSD, the RAIDDrive upStream. The drive is essentially a complex-SSD of four SandForce-driven SSD sub-units, working in an abstract RAID configuration. The card features PCI-Express 1.1 x8 interface. Available in capacities of 220 GB, 460 GB, and 960 GB; the RAIDDrive upStream churns out sequential speeds as high as 1 GB/s (read), and 900 MB/s write. Aimed at the consumer rather than the enterprise, RAIDDrive upStream taps into the market products such as the RevoDrive X2 from OCZ, did. It will be cheaper than other PCI-Express SSDs from Super Talent. It should be available by the end of April.
Definitive Retail Launch Date for Ivy Bridge Core Processors Surfaces
While we're fairly certain about the launch-schedule of Intel's "Ivy Bridge" Core processor family and 7-series chipset from an older article, which pin-points at April 29 to be the day full-fledged reviews (including overclocking performance, and benchmarks that cover new features) can be published, there's still a looming doubt over that day being the one on which you could buy say, a Core i7-3770K off Newegg.com. A latest slide, probably sourced from Intel's Retailedge, lays that doubt to rest. April 29 is indeed the day you will be able to buy most significant "Ivy Bridge" Core i7 and Core i5 models. Certain other models are slated for June 3. Dual-core Core i3 and Pentium processors based on Ivy Bridge silicon are slated for "Holiday". As on April 29, you also be able to buy motherboards based on 7-series chipset, which support Ivy Bridge processors out of the box.
AFOX Readies Single-Slot Radeon HD 7850
At CeBIT, AFOX showed off the industry's first single-slot, air-cooled graphics card based on the Radeon HD 7850 GPU. Carrying the model number AF7850-1024D5S1, AFOX' creation sports a similar cooling assembly as the one on the AF6850-1024D5S1, an HD 6850-based graphics card. The cooler uses a big lateral-flow blower that directs air through a dense aluminum fin-channel array, where heat gets dissipated onto it. Heat is drawn from key components such as the GPU, memory, and VRM, using a vapor-chamber plate.
There's a small catch with AFOX' design, though. The memory amount is halved to 1 GB, although it still sits across a 256-bit wide memory interface. We don't expect a significant performance penalty for that. Further, the memory clock speed is reduced from the reference speed of 1200 MHz to 1125 MHz (4.80 GHz eff. to 4.50 GHz eff.), although the core speed stays the same, at 860 MHz. The display IO is an interesting mix of one dual-link DVI, one full-size HDMI, one mini-DisplayPort, and one full-size DisplayPort.
There's a small catch with AFOX' design, though. The memory amount is halved to 1 GB, although it still sits across a 256-bit wide memory interface. We don't expect a significant performance penalty for that. Further, the memory clock speed is reduced from the reference speed of 1200 MHz to 1125 MHz (4.80 GHz eff. to 4.50 GHz eff.), although the core speed stays the same, at 860 MHz. The display IO is an interesting mix of one dual-link DVI, one full-size HDMI, one mini-DisplayPort, and one full-size DisplayPort.
Thursday, March 8th 2012
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Memory
Samsung 30 nm Green PC3-12800 Low Profile 1.35 V DDR3 Review
Several tech forums are buzzing about Samsung's lastest "Green" 30 nm DDR3, that sips the voltage, and sits on a tiny low-profile PCB. We snagged a pair to see what all the fuss is about, and boy, were we surprised!
Portal 2 Bags GDC Honors, Skyrim GOTY, Battlefield 3 Beats Crysis 2 at Technology
Portal 2 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim won big at the Game Developers Choice. Bethesda's smash-hit title bagged the coveted "Game of the Year" (GOTY) title, while Portal 2 bagged three top honors, winning "Best Narrative", "Best Game Design", and "Best Audio".
The year 2011 also saw the raising of the technology bar with two new game engines, CryEngine 3 from Crytek, and Frostbite 2 from EA-DICE. The two were implemented in flagship titles, Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3, respectively; both of which were published by EA. In the end, Battlefield 3 won "Best Technology". "Best Visual Arts", however, went to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
A list of top honors follows.
The year 2011 also saw the raising of the technology bar with two new game engines, CryEngine 3 from Crytek, and Frostbite 2 from EA-DICE. The two were implemented in flagship titles, Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3, respectively; both of which were published by EA. In the end, Battlefield 3 won "Best Technology". "Best Visual Arts", however, went to Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception.
Spire Introduces the SkyMax High-end DT Heat-pipe VGA Cooler
Introducing the SkyMax high-end DT Heat-pipe VGA graphics array cooler. This triple-fan VGA cooler utilizes five (5) copper heat-pipes that quickly transfer the heat away from the GPU heat source. The SkyMax offers powerful cooling solution for the latest Nvidia and ATI Graphic processors up to 180 W TDP.
The five heat-pipes utilized are high performance sintered powder heat-pipes which guarantee swift heat transfer. The SkyMax is equipped with three (3) DC fans, one (1) 90 mm centre fan and two (2) 80 mm fans which generate a huge air pressure of 36.5 CFM. This VGA Cooler is supplied with a complete set of mounting accessories such as clips, screws, S420 thermal interface material, MOS and RAM heat-sinks. Due to the open heatsink design the air can easily cool the entire Graphic Card. You can easily install this VGA cooler onto your Gforce and Radeon chipset based graphic cards. Powered by innovation and performance guaranteed the SkyMax is the professional solution for pc enthusiasts and gamers alike - offered to you by Spire.
The five heat-pipes utilized are high performance sintered powder heat-pipes which guarantee swift heat transfer. The SkyMax is equipped with three (3) DC fans, one (1) 90 mm centre fan and two (2) 80 mm fans which generate a huge air pressure of 36.5 CFM. This VGA Cooler is supplied with a complete set of mounting accessories such as clips, screws, S420 thermal interface material, MOS and RAM heat-sinks. Due to the open heatsink design the air can easily cool the entire Graphic Card. You can easily install this VGA cooler onto your Gforce and Radeon chipset based graphic cards. Powered by innovation and performance guaranteed the SkyMax is the professional solution for pc enthusiasts and gamers alike - offered to you by Spire.
Microsoft Preps Six Updates for Next Week
Another Patch Tuesday is closing in fast and it's going to bring us six fresh updates from Microsoft. According to the Redmond-based company, the incoming patches - one rated 'Critical', four 'Important' and one 'Moderate', will resolve seven vulnerabilities that could lead to remote code execution or denial of service attacks.
The list of software targeted by Tuesday's patches includes Microsoft Windows, Visual Studio, and Expression Design. The updates will become available on March 13 at about 10:00 am PDT (5:00 pm GMT).
The list of software targeted by Tuesday's patches includes Microsoft Windows, Visual Studio, and Expression Design. The updates will become available on March 13 at about 10:00 am PDT (5:00 pm GMT).
GK104 Dynamic Clock Adjustment Detailed
With its GeForce Kepler family, at least the higher-end parts, NVIDIA will introduce what it calls Dynamic Clock Adjustment, which adjusts the clock speeds of the GPU below, and above the base-line clock speeds, depending on the load. The approach to this would be similar to how CPU vendors do it (Intel Turbo Boost and AMD Turbo Core). Turning down clock speeds under low loads is not new to discrete GPUs, however, going above the base-line dynamically, is.
There is quite some confusion regarding NVIDIA continuing to use "hot clocks" with GK104, the theory for and against the notion have been enforced by conflicting reports, however we now know that punters with both views were looking at it from a binary viewpoint. The new Dynamic Clock Adjustment is similar and complementary to "hot clocks", but differs in that Kepler GPUs come with a large number of power plans (dozens), and operate taking into account load, temperature, and power consumption.
There is quite some confusion regarding NVIDIA continuing to use "hot clocks" with GK104, the theory for and against the notion have been enforced by conflicting reports, however we now know that punters with both views were looking at it from a binary viewpoint. The new Dynamic Clock Adjustment is similar and complementary to "hot clocks", but differs in that Kepler GPUs come with a large number of power plans (dozens), and operate taking into account load, temperature, and power consumption.
PNY Launches Limited Edition Micro attaché Dragon USB Flash Drive
For the year of the dragon 2012 is an auspicious year for the Chinese society. The dragon, a mythological creature in Chinese horoscope, represents the symbol of power and wisdom. It holds special significance and is highly revered by the Chinese people. To commemorate the lunar year, PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") considered a leading designer, manufacturer and a worldwide leader in DRAM Memory and Flash Memory products, released the new addition to its Micro attaché series, the Micro attaché Dragon USB flash drives.
The limited collector's edition Dragon attaché drive is the perfect start to usher in the dragon year and a must have for avid collectors. PNY has always prioritized the best in design and performance in their products and the Dragon Attaché flash drive delivers just that. The extremely lightweight (weighing at a mere 2g), mini sized flash drive offers user friendly operations and convenient portability of files and documents. In addition, it also offers waterproof and shockproof features.
The limited collector's edition Dragon attaché drive is the perfect start to usher in the dragon year and a must have for avid collectors. PNY has always prioritized the best in design and performance in their products and the Dragon Attaché flash drive delivers just that. The extremely lightweight (weighing at a mere 2g), mini sized flash drive offers user friendly operations and convenient portability of files and documents. In addition, it also offers waterproof and shockproof features.
Colorful Announces Its First Mini-ITX Barebone for Gaming
Colorful is well-known for its highly innovative graphics card designs, it is one of China's leading graphics card brands. Some of its graphics card designs have captured our imagination. Its latest creation is a DIY mini-ITX barebones system for gaming, called Desert Eagle. The package consists of Colorful's own-design slim-form-factor (SFF) chassis, which bears a swanky combination of red and black, with ample perforations and and top handles; a custom-design, low-profile Colorfire AMD Radeon HD 6750 graphics card (Colorfire is Colorful's Radeon-selling brand); a mini-ITX socket LGA1155 motherboard based on the Intel H67 chipset (model: i-H67HD U3); and a 300W PSU.
Lenovo Recalls ThinkCentre Desktop Computers Due to Fire Hazard
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.
Name of Product: Lenovo ThinkCentre M70z and M90z computers
Units: About 50,500
Name of Product: Lenovo ThinkCentre M70z and M90z computers
Units: About 50,500
Fluendo, Lineo Solutions, Mocana and NVIDIA Join The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that four companies are joining the organization: Fluendo, Lineo Solutions, Mocana and NVIDIA. While Linux continues to see strong gains in the enterprise market (Read: Linux Adoption Trends 2012: A Survey of Enterprise End Users), its accelerated growth in other areas such as mobile and embedded development, security and multimedia is undeniable. Companies see the benefits of Linux and the collaborative development model as key advantages in the future of computing and are adopting the operating system for a variety of applications.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter this October
EA and game developer Danger Close have announced the latest installment of the Medal of Honor franchise will debut this October 23. With a rocking trailer and a few screens the game seems to be going a route similar to a style of the classic Call of Duty games which used various Special Forces operators from multiple countries. The synopsis over at Shacknews had this to say about the game, 'Remember when US Navy SEALs rescued hostages from Somali pirates? How many of you thought "that would be a great level in a game?" Apparently, the team at Danger Close also thought so.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter is the studio's second stab at the rebooted FPS franchise from EA. Whereas the previous game was all about the fight in Afghanistan, Warfighter promises a "global fight," one comprised of real-world events that happen all around the globe. At a Game Developers Conference event in San Francisco last night, Electronic Arts showed off a hands-off demonstration of Warfighter's new direction. The demo level took place in the Philippines, where you were in an assault against Abu Sayyaf in an effort to rescue hostages. This mission isn't inspired by fiction. It happened in real life. "Getting inside this kind of real world event is at the heart of Medal of Honor," executive producer Greg Goodrich told the audience.
Medal of Honor: Warfighter is the studio's second stab at the rebooted FPS franchise from EA. Whereas the previous game was all about the fight in Afghanistan, Warfighter promises a "global fight," one comprised of real-world events that happen all around the globe. At a Game Developers Conference event in San Francisco last night, Electronic Arts showed off a hands-off demonstration of Warfighter's new direction. The demo level took place in the Philippines, where you were in an assault against Abu Sayyaf in an effort to rescue hostages. This mission isn't inspired by fiction. It happened in real life. "Getting inside this kind of real world event is at the heart of Medal of Honor," executive producer Greg Goodrich told the audience.
Intel Ethernet Controller X540 Brings 10GbE to the Masses
Today, Intel announced the Intel Ethernet Controller X540, the industry's first fully integrated 10GBASE-T controller. This space-saving single-chip solution delivers outstanding performance for low-cost, low-power LAN on motherboard (LOM) and Converged Network Adapter (CNA) designs. The Intel Ethernet Controller X540 will help drive broader 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adoption by providing connections that are backward-compatible with existing Gigabit Ethernet networks. Like other Intel Ethernet 10 Gigabit products, the Intel Ethernet Controller X540 features advanced I/O virtualization, supports Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), and takes advantage of platform I/O enhancements in the Intel Xeon processor E5 family.
New NVIDIA GeForce Logo Pictured
NVIDIA has been using its current GeForce logo since GeForce 8800 GTX, probably with a bit of polishing now and then. Pictured below, is the newest NVIDIA GeForce GTX logo. "GeForce GTX" is going to be NVIDIA's new way of denoting graphics cards for serious gamers, graphics cards starting at ~$150, going all the way up to whatever NVIDIA prices its high-end graphics card at. The new GeForce brand name has all its letters capitalized, as "GEFORCE". The font used has swanky sharp edges. A section of the NVIDIA "eye" is sticking out from the bottom-right. The non-GTX logo could look similar, minus the "GTX", of course.
Crucial Adrenaline Solid State Cache Solution Now Available
Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the immediate availability of the Crucial Adrenaline Solid State Cache Solution for enhancing Windows 7-based PC performance. A simple upgrade that allows users to keep their existing hard drive, Crucial Adrenaline enables PCs to boot up to twice as fast and increases data access speeds by up to eight times. Crucial Adrenaline provides users with the best of both worlds: SSD-like performance with the high capacity of a traditional hard drive, all at an affordable cost.
Comprising a 50 GB Crucial m4 SSD, 3.5" adapter bracket, SATA cable, and NVELO Dataplex caching software, Crucial Adrenaline improves performance by intelligently placing, or "caching," the most frequently needed files on the SSD and leaves less frequently used files on the hard drive. Crucial Adrenaline is available now through select global channel partners, or directly at www.crucial.com/ssc, with an MSRP of $117.99.
Comprising a 50 GB Crucial m4 SSD, 3.5" adapter bracket, SATA cable, and NVELO Dataplex caching software, Crucial Adrenaline improves performance by intelligently placing, or "caching," the most frequently needed files on the SSD and leaves less frequently used files on the hard drive. Crucial Adrenaline is available now through select global channel partners, or directly at www.crucial.com/ssc, with an MSRP of $117.99.
GK104 Graphics Card Pictured?
Could this be the very first picture of NVIDIA's GeForce Kepler 104-based graphics card? This Mr. Blurrycam shot has been doing rounds in Chinese forums. While it may not seem convincing at first glance, several features of the card in the picture seem to match the layout of the GK104 reference PCB which was pictured, earlier. To begin with, on the top-right corner you can train your eyes to a deep cutout, for the unusual piggy-backed 6+6 pin PCIe power connectors. The rear panel bracket is a 100% match (in layout and design of exhaust vents), of the one with the true-color image of the GK104 PCB. The only feature that clouds the plausibility of this picture is "GeForce GTX 670 Ti" being etched onto the cooler's shroud. We're hearing more voices refer to the top GK104 part as "GeForce GTX 680" than "GTX 670 Ti". We're also hearing that NVIDIA will adopt a new GeForce logo, so that glaring "GEFORCE" badge on the top of the card looks plausible.
UPDATE: Added less blurry picture.
OCZ Talos SAS SSDs to be Deployed in Drobo's Business-Class Storage Systems
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that Drobo will utilize the OCZ Talos SAS SSD Series for integration into its B1200i iSCSI SAN solutions for business environments. Drobo, makers of award-winning data storage products for businesses and professionals, has chosen to provide customers with even faster and more robust storage systems by complementing the sophisticated feature set of the B1200i with the superior performance, energy efficiency, and maximum endurance of Talos SSDs.
Ideal for small-and-medium businesses (SMBs), the Drobo B1200i provides reliable, high-performance, and self-optimizing storage for server virtualization, email, and data protection and features seamless integration with existing infrastructures as an iSCSI SAN device. With innovative automated data-aware tiering, the B1200i delivers a level of automation and technical sophistication that is easier to use and less costly to deploy than typical enterprise solutions. The B1200i is the first Drobo product to leverage the benefits of SSDs for increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, and instantaneous access times.
Ideal for small-and-medium businesses (SMBs), the Drobo B1200i provides reliable, high-performance, and self-optimizing storage for server virtualization, email, and data protection and features seamless integration with existing infrastructures as an iSCSI SAN device. With innovative automated data-aware tiering, the B1200i delivers a level of automation and technical sophistication that is easier to use and less costly to deploy than typical enterprise solutions. The B1200i is the first Drobo product to leverage the benefits of SSDs for increased bandwidth, lower power consumption, and instantaneous access times.
Walton-Chaintech Returns to Motherboard and Graphics Card Businesses
Walton-Chaintech announced a partnership with Colorful that will see it make a comeback to the motherboard and graphics card businesses. The company quit both businesses in 2006. Company chairman Lu Li-Cheng commented that Chaintech has years of experience in the business, including R&D and marketing, has received OEM orders from Colorful, and is looking to bring back the Chaintech brand to the consumer market in 2013, with unveiling in 2012. Walton-Chaintech will market its products outside China, with the assistance of Colorful. Colorful has a solid market presence in mainland China, where its graphics cards account for 24-27% of the branded graphics card market.
Intel 311 Series and 510 Series SSDs Ending Their Run This Autumn
The end is nigh, for the 311 Series and 510 Series solid state drives, as Intel decided they can retire and leave more breathing room for models using 25 nm NAND Flash, namely the (now confirmed) 313 Series and the (already released) 520 Series.
Both the 311 Series and 510 Series, which feature 34 nm NAND Flash, will be available for ordering until June 7th and will continue shipping up till September 7th (2012).
Both the 311 Series and 510 Series, which feature 34 nm NAND Flash, will be available for ordering until June 7th and will continue shipping up till September 7th (2012).
Gigabyte Announces the GA-6PXSV1 Workstation Motherboard
GIGABYTE announces the launch of a new high end workstation motherboard based on Intel's brand new Xeon E5-1600 CPU family and the Intel C604 chipset. This single socket board aimed at the extreme performance desktop and enterprise segments offers the features below:
Intel Xeon E5-1600 CPU Series
With up to 6 cores / 12 threads per socket, TDP up to 130W, cache size increased up to 15 MB, increased QPI frequency, and doubled inter-socket QPI links, this new Xeon generation brings a significant increase in computing power for demanding workstation applications.
Digital Power Control
The GA-6PXSV1 is equipped with a brand new digital PWM controller allowing the user to get full control of the power delivery steadiness to the CPU and the memory, in any given loading. The system stability can therefore be fully fine-tuned and optimized in the BIOS controls by adjusting parameters like voltage, phase and frequency. Moreover, this controller, its associated chokes, and all the board's capacitors are selected ultra high quality components chosen to deliver the best durability and reliability.
Intel Xeon E5-1600 CPU Series
With up to 6 cores / 12 threads per socket, TDP up to 130W, cache size increased up to 15 MB, increased QPI frequency, and doubled inter-socket QPI links, this new Xeon generation brings a significant increase in computing power for demanding workstation applications.
Digital Power Control
The GA-6PXSV1 is equipped with a brand new digital PWM controller allowing the user to get full control of the power delivery steadiness to the CPU and the memory, in any given loading. The system stability can therefore be fully fine-tuned and optimized in the BIOS controls by adjusting parameters like voltage, phase and frequency. Moreover, this controller, its associated chokes, and all the board's capacitors are selected ultra high quality components chosen to deliver the best durability and reliability.
ECS Z77H2-AX and Z77H2-A2X Go Black and Gold
At CeBIT, ECS unveiled the Z77H2-AX and Z77-H2-A2X, its top two motherboards based on the Intel Z77 chipset, supporting "Ivy Bridge" Core processors in the LGA1155 package. But what ECS didn't reveal on the CeBIT floor, was that the drab-looking gray+white on black PCB color-scheme wasn't going on to the retail version. The retail versions of these two motherboards, pictured below, will employ a new black and gold color scheme.
Basically, all metallic parts of the motherboards, be it the sheaths around the conductive polymer capacitors, the sheaths around the chokes, the PCH and VRM heatsinks, the CPU socket frame, and even the rear-panel port clusters, will have golden-colored finish that lends the motherboard a pimped out appearance. The contacts in the CPU socket have 15 μm-thick real-gold plating, to improve conductivity. The PCB is jet-black, and so are all the expansion and DRAM slots, the gray and white colored slots are replaced. Most other plastic parts, such as SATA ports, ATX/EPS power connectors, are colored black. The two motherboards were extensively detailed in the older article. Sam Sparro will be proud.
Basically, all metallic parts of the motherboards, be it the sheaths around the conductive polymer capacitors, the sheaths around the chokes, the PCH and VRM heatsinks, the CPU socket frame, and even the rear-panel port clusters, will have golden-colored finish that lends the motherboard a pimped out appearance. The contacts in the CPU socket have 15 μm-thick real-gold plating, to improve conductivity. The PCB is jet-black, and so are all the expansion and DRAM slots, the gray and white colored slots are replaced. Most other plastic parts, such as SATA ports, ATX/EPS power connectors, are colored black. The two motherboards were extensively detailed in the older article. Sam Sparro will be proud.
Valve Corporation Worth $3 Billion
Video games developer, publisher, and distributor, Valve Corporation is valued at US $3 billion. A privately-held company, Valve doesn't disclose its finances to the public. Forbes estimated its worth by consulting video game industry insiders, equity analysts, investment bankers, and technology analysts. Valve's co-founder and managing director, Gabe Newell, who owns over 50% of the company, has a net worth of $1.5 billion, making him the newest billionaire from the video games industry. He ranks 854th out of 1,226 global billionaires in Forbes' list. Apart from having largely successful game franchises such as Half Life, Counter Strike, Left4Dead, and Portal, Valve has arguably the most popular video games digital distribution platform, Steam. Steam distributes more than 1,800 titles, from 50 different publishers.
Logitec Intros LSV-MS2MWG 2-bay NAS
Japanese company Logitec introduced the LSV-MS2MWG series 2-bay NAS. The LSV-MS2MWG is driven by Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 (WSS) with support for Active Directory. It holds two 3.5-inch SATA hard drives in RAID 1 configuration, lending fault-tolerance. It comes with hard drives in-built, with capacities of 1 TB (500 GB volume), 2 TB (1 TB vol.), and 4 TB (2 TB vol.). It has two gigabit Ethernet interfaces to connect to the network, two USB ports, and one eSATA port, to expand storage and connect devices that can be shared over the network, such as printers.
It also packs energy-saving modes, and a programmable stand-by timer, which ensures the NAS draws full power (30W) only during work hours. Slated for mid-March, the LSV-MS2MWG is priced at 126,000 JPY (US $1,550) for the 1 TB model, 136,500 JPY (US $1,672) for 2 TB, and 155,400 JPY (US $1,911) for the 4 TB one.
It also packs energy-saving modes, and a programmable stand-by timer, which ensures the NAS draws full power (30W) only during work hours. Slated for mid-March, the LSV-MS2MWG is priced at 126,000 JPY (US $1,550) for the 1 TB model, 136,500 JPY (US $1,672) for 2 TB, and 155,400 JPY (US $1,911) for the 4 TB one.
Buffalo Also Readies a New Portable Blu-ray Writer
In addition to the 14x flagship mentioned earlier, Buffalo is also readying the release of another Blu-ray writer, a portable model known as BRXL-CSPI6U2-BK. Set for a late March arrival, the new, external drive measures 133 x 15 x 133 mm, it weights 240 grams, it features USB connectivity (dual cables are available), and offers write speeds of up to 6x for BD-R SL/DL, 4x for BDXL, 2x for BD-RE/BDXL RE, 8x for DVD-R/+R/+RW, 6x for DVD-R/+R DL/-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM, 24x for CD-R and 16x for CD-RW.
The BRXL-CSPI6U2-BK will cost $258.
The BRXL-CSPI6U2-BK will cost $258.
Epic's UE3-Powered Samaritan Demo Showcased Running on NVIDIA Kepler Card
One year after its debut, Epic Games' Samaritan Tech Demo is back at the GDC (Game Developers Conference) and it's there to tease the power of NVIDIA's Kepler 28 nm GPU. At last year's GDC Samaritan, which is based on Unreal Engine 3, was running in real-time on three GeForce GTX 580 cards set in SLI. This year Epic is showing off the demo running on a single NVIDIA Kepler graphics card.
AMD Socket FM2 Motherboards Based on A85 FCH Arrive in June
AMD's upcoming A10 and A8 "Trinity" APUs will be built in the new FM2 package for desktop PCs, requiring new motherboards. These APUs will be launched towards the end of Q2, and into Q3 (June-July). A ComputerBase.de report suggests that sources in the motherboard industry it spoke to, at CeBIT, say that socket FM2 motherboards will arrive in June. Further, these motherboards will be based on the new AMD A85 FCH chipset. Not much is known about the A85, except that with the USB-IF certification, it could incorporate native USB 3.0 controllers.
Buffalo Launching a 14x Blu-ray Writer
Buffalo Inc. has today announced the world's fastest internal Blu-ray writer, a drive called BRXL-14FBS-BK which is capable of burning single-layer BD-R discs at up to 14x speed. Seen below, Buffalo's new optical drive has a SATA interface, it takes up one 5.25-inch bay, and also offers writing speeds of 12x for BD-R DL, 6x for BDXL, 2x for BD-RE, 16x for DVD-R/+R, 8x for DVD-R/+R DL/+RW, 6x for DVD-RW, 5x for DVD-RAM, 48x for CD-R and 24x for CD-RW.
The BRXL-14FBS-BK is bundled with DiXiM BD Burner 2011 and a heap of CyberLink software (PowerDVD 10, PowerDirector 8 HE, PowerProducer 5, Power2Go 7, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, MediaShow 5) and is scheduled to ship (in Japan) at the end of this month priced at about $232.
The BRXL-14FBS-BK is bundled with DiXiM BD Burner 2011 and a heap of CyberLink software (PowerDVD 10, PowerDirector 8 HE, PowerProducer 5, Power2Go 7, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, MediaShow 5) and is scheduled to ship (in Japan) at the end of this month priced at about $232.
Kingston DataTraveler Elite 3.0 Pictured
Kingston showed off the DataTraveler Elite 3.0, a mainstream USB 3.0 flash drive, at CeBIT. Available in 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacity options, these drives feature a capless "slide out" form-factor, where the USB 3.0 type-A connector slides out of the main body. Kingston's booth had a PC with CrystalDiskMark performance results of the three models. The 16 GB and 32 GB models scored about 80 MB/s reads with 39.5 MB/s writes; while the 64 GB model scored 85 MB/s reads with 65 MB/s writes.
ASRock Intros First AMD MB Supporting Lucid Virtu Universal MVP - A75 Pro4/MVP
World's Top3 motherboard maker, ASRock Inc, presented its multidimensional products at CeBIT 2012, including a wide range of motherboard, HTPC and IPC mobo series. For AMD section, the most shining motherboard would be the A75 Pro4/MVP. This is the first AMD motherboard supporting Lucid Virtu Universal MVP technology in the world. It allows gamers to take advantage of this new technique and enjoy the amazing performance boost from HyperFormance and Virtual Vsync.
Green House Intros GH-SSDxGS-1MA 1.8" SATA SSDs
Japanese company Green House introduced the GH-SSDxS-1MA series (where "x" = capacity in GB). Built in the 1.8" SATA form-factor, the drives are available in capacities of 32 GB (GH-SSD32GS-1MA), 64 GB (SSD64GS-1MA), and 128 GB (GH-SSD128GS-1MA). The drives use MLC NAND flash, and an unknown controller with 64 MB DDR cache. Features such as TRIM, NCQ, and ECC (48bit/2KB) come standard.
Sequential speeds are up to 230 MB/s (read) and 190 MB/s (write) for the 64 GB and 128 GB models; and 220 MB/s (read) with 100 MB/s (write) for the 32 GB model. Backed by 1 million hours MTBF and 1,500G/0.5 ms shock-resistance, the 32, 64, and 128 GB models are priced at 10,500 JPY (US $129), 16,800 JPY (US $206), and 25,200 JPY (US $310), respectively. They are slated for mid-March.
Sequential speeds are up to 230 MB/s (read) and 190 MB/s (write) for the 64 GB and 128 GB models; and 220 MB/s (read) with 100 MB/s (write) for the 32 GB model. Backed by 1 million hours MTBF and 1,500G/0.5 ms shock-resistance, the 32, 64, and 128 GB models are priced at 10,500 JPY (US $129), 16,800 JPY (US $206), and 25,200 JPY (US $310), respectively. They are slated for mid-March.
DRAMeXchange: Six Upcoming Trends in the DRAM and NAND Flash Industries
According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the following report presents a forecast of six major DRAM and NAND Flash industry trends in 2012-2015.
Trend-1: Mainstream PC DRAM Specification DDR3 to Dominate Market Until 2014
DDR3 has been the mainstream PC DRAM specification since 2011, and DRAMeXchange expects it will remain so until 2014. Although JEDEC will officially announce standards for DDR4 in 2012, DRAMeXchange is conservative as to whether the new specification will follow the historical pattern set by DDR and DDR2 and hit the market in 2014-2015, as the marginal benefit to PC performance provided by DDR4 will be limited. However, Intel will still hold decisive influence over the matter.
Trend-1: Mainstream PC DRAM Specification DDR3 to Dominate Market Until 2014
DDR3 has been the mainstream PC DRAM specification since 2011, and DRAMeXchange expects it will remain so until 2014. Although JEDEC will officially announce standards for DDR4 in 2012, DRAMeXchange is conservative as to whether the new specification will follow the historical pattern set by DDR and DDR2 and hit the market in 2014-2015, as the marginal benefit to PC performance provided by DDR4 will be limited. However, Intel will still hold decisive influence over the matter.
NVIDIA Tesla GPUs Accelerate Science on HP ProLiant Generation 8 Servers
NVIDIA today announced that its NVIDIA Tesla GPUs will be included in HP ProLiant Generation 8 (Gen8) servers, delivering new levels of computational performance for scientific applications at world-class power efficiency.
HP ProLiant SL250 Gen8 CPU-GPU hybrid servers combine the world's most powerful parallel processors, NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs, with new Intel Xeon E5-2600 series CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture.
HP ProLiant SL250 Gen8 CPU-GPU hybrid servers combine the world's most powerful parallel processors, NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs, with new Intel Xeon E5-2600 series CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture.
Gigabyte Announces the GR-EZM0H Whitebox NAS Series
GIGABYTE introduces two compact models of NAS addressed to VARs and system integrators. Our 2 and 4 bays NAS are based on components that deliver an impressive cost-performance ratio and an overall unbeatable value. Thanks to our design and manufacturing experience, we make our customers be the firsts to benefit from these advantages and this is why we are able to bring you these models at an attractive cost.
The GR-EZM0H Series include all the mainstream features expected from a NAS and are mainly aimed at SMB / SOHO utilizations, but can also be perfectly suitable for a home entertainment environment thanks to their multimedia file management capabilities:
- Content storage and sharing between all the users' connected devices
- Files access and management from anywhere through a user-friendly web-based interface, compatible with IE9, Firefox, Chrome and Safari
The GR-EZM0H Series include all the mainstream features expected from a NAS and are mainly aimed at SMB / SOHO utilizations, but can also be perfectly suitable for a home entertainment environment thanks to their multimedia file management capabilities:
- Content storage and sharing between all the users' connected devices
- Files access and management from anywhere through a user-friendly web-based interface, compatible with IE9, Firefox, Chrome and Safari
ORICO Unveils New Micro-Keyboard for HTPCs
ORICO unveiled the KB6118, a wireless micro-keyboard for HTPCs, that lets you give text input, without having a bulky wireless mini-keyboard anywhere near your couch. With HTPCs, text-input is minimal, yet essential. The KB6118 solves the issue. It is about as big as a TV or Blu-ray player remote, and gives you a full QWERTY keypad that's spaced-out, and optimized for your thumbs.
Apart from a keypad, the KB6118 packs some media keys, and mouse left/right click buttons. It communicates to your HTPC over 2.4 GHz radio band (with a USB micro-receiver). It supports Windows, Mac OS X, Desktop Linux, and Android. The KB6118 is available in black and white options. Pricing and availability information was not released.
Apart from a keypad, the KB6118 packs some media keys, and mouse left/right click buttons. It communicates to your HTPC over 2.4 GHz radio band (with a USB micro-receiver). It supports Windows, Mac OS X, Desktop Linux, and Android. The KB6118 is available in black and white options. Pricing and availability information was not released.
Heaven DX11 Benchmark is Back with Version 3.0
UNIGINE Corp. released today an improved version (3.0) of its renown Heaven DX11 Benchmark based on its proprietary UNIGINE engine. Great looking as ever and containing many technical improvements, it now runs on Mac and supports for variety of new hardware, including extended support for multi-monitor configurations.
"It's very inspiring that more and more hardware testing professionals as well as tech enthusiasts find Heaven Benchmark useful. Our technology platform is constantly growing and we can bring Heaven Benchmark to new platforms and new hardware", said Denis Shergin, CEO of UNIGINE Corp.
"It's very inspiring that more and more hardware testing professionals as well as tech enthusiasts find Heaven Benchmark useful. Our technology platform is constantly growing and we can bring Heaven Benchmark to new platforms and new hardware", said Denis Shergin, CEO of UNIGINE Corp.
Cooler Master Announces March Madness 2012
Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer today announced the beginning of the ultimate March Madness sales event.
Just as March Madness brings about exciting new match-ups between the finest players in college basketball, Cooler Master's HAF Time Showdown unveils never before seen deals that will border on madness all throughout the month of March. Get some of the best parts for a computer build by following our deals.
Just as March Madness brings about exciting new match-ups between the finest players in college basketball, Cooler Master's HAF Time Showdown unveils never before seen deals that will border on madness all throughout the month of March. Get some of the best parts for a computer build by following our deals.
Enermax Officially Launches DreamBass Genie
ENERMAX is proud to announce the launch of its first portable USB audio & amplifier, DreamBass Genie. With the latest audio-remix technology, it turns your music into solid bass enhancement, full surround sound as if you are in live concert, and lets you redefine the real-stereo experience.
The perfect bass with wide-scale high definition audio output is always a dream for the audiophiles. Yet the conventional PC or NB is usually depressed by its dull, vague, compressed, and noisy sound output due to low cost audio-chip, entry-level audio remix software or limited PCB layout. ENERMAX DreamBass USB audio & amplifier is the remedy for music fanatics. With the latest VIA VT1620A chips, plus ENERMAX audio expert's unique bass algorithm and delicated low-interference PCB layout technique, DreamBassTM Genie provides solid bass, crystal clear sound and perfect audio separation. It simply makes your PC audio output equivalent to high-end Hi-Fi stereo amplifier, and lets you touch every musical note and tone.
The perfect bass with wide-scale high definition audio output is always a dream for the audiophiles. Yet the conventional PC or NB is usually depressed by its dull, vague, compressed, and noisy sound output due to low cost audio-chip, entry-level audio remix software or limited PCB layout. ENERMAX DreamBass USB audio & amplifier is the remedy for music fanatics. With the latest VIA VT1620A chips, plus ENERMAX audio expert's unique bass algorithm and delicated low-interference PCB layout technique, DreamBassTM Genie provides solid bass, crystal clear sound and perfect audio separation. It simply makes your PC audio output equivalent to high-end Hi-Fi stereo amplifier, and lets you touch every musical note and tone.
Wednesday, March 7th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
GELID DarkForce Review
Gelid is expanding their product range to include cases. Their DarkForce is the first entry into this crowded market segment. Will it force our head to take notice or is it just another simple blip on our radar?
GeForce GTX 680 Features Speed Boost, Arrives This Month, etc., etc.
Here are some key bits of information concerning the upcoming GeForce GTX 680, a performance single-GPU graphics card based on the 28 nm GK104 GPU by NVIDIA. The information, at face value, is credible, because we're hearing that a large contingent of the media that finds interest in the GPU industry, is attending the Game Developers Conference, where it could interact with NVIDIA, on the sidelines. The source, however, is citing people it spoke to at CeBIT.
First, and most interesting: with some models of the GeForce 600, NVIDIA will introduce a load-based clock speed-boost feature (think: Intel Turbo Boost), which steps up clock speeds of the graphics card when subjected to heavy loads. If there's a particularly stressing 3D scene for the GPU to render, it overclocks itself, and sees the scene through. This ensures higher minimum and average frame-rates.
First, and most interesting: with some models of the GeForce 600, NVIDIA will introduce a load-based clock speed-boost feature (think: Intel Turbo Boost), which steps up clock speeds of the graphics card when subjected to heavy loads. If there's a particularly stressing 3D scene for the GPU to render, it overclocks itself, and sees the scene through. This ensures higher minimum and average frame-rates.
Apple Launches New iPad
Apple today introduced the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, featuring a stunning new Retina display, Apple's new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G connects to fast networks worldwide, including AT&T's and Verizon's 4G LTE networks, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light. Beginning today, iPad 2 will be offered at an even more affordable price starting at just $399.
"The new iPad redefines the category Apple created less than two years ago, delivering the most amazing experience people have ever had with technology," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos."
"The new iPad redefines the category Apple created less than two years ago, delivering the most amazing experience people have ever had with technology," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos."
AMD Catalyst 12.2 WHQL Now Available
AMD finally posted Catalyst 12.2 WHQL driver suite, the one package that installs drivers and system software for AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs, AMD APU graphics, AMD chipset-integrated graphics, etc. Catalyst 12.2 WHQL brings official support for Radeon HD 7700 series, and Radeon HD 7900 series (for Windows 7/Vista only, for Windows XP it will be added with Catalyst 12.4). Super-sampling AA (SSAA) is now available for DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 applications, supported on the Radeon HD 7700 series and HD 7900 series. It must be enabled through Catalyst Control Center, and application profiles, and games should support in-game AA modes.
AMD also introduced enhancements for Eyefinity 2.1, including custom-resolutions, dynamic configuration changes (switching between different display configurations will occur automatically by loading the appropriate profile, when plugging/unplugging displays); Windows Taskbar re-positioning, and improvements with the Eyefinity Profile Manager. For more information, please refer to the Release Notes document.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 12.2 WHQL
AMD also introduced enhancements for Eyefinity 2.1, including custom-resolutions, dynamic configuration changes (switching between different display configurations will occur automatically by loading the appropriate profile, when plugging/unplugging displays); Windows Taskbar re-positioning, and improvements with the Eyefinity Profile Manager. For more information, please refer to the Release Notes document.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 12.2 WHQL
Apple Brings 1080p High Definition to New Apple TV
Apple today announced the new Apple TV featuring 1080p programming including iTunes movies and TV shows, Netflix, Vimeo, photos and more in HD. With iTunes in the Cloud, customers can purchase and play their favorite movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store and watch them instantly on their HD TV. The new Apple TV features a simpler, refined user interface making it easier than ever to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music with iTunes Match right from iCloud. With AirPlay, users can stream or mirror their favorite content from their iPad or iPhone 4S to Apple TV.
"People are going to love streaming movies and TV shows in 1080p with the new Apple TV, and photos look beautiful displayed at the maximum resolution of your TV," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Apple TV is easier than ever to use with its new icon-based interface and the ability to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music right from iCloud."
"People are going to love streaming movies and TV shows in 1080p with the new Apple TV, and photos look beautiful displayed at the maximum resolution of your TV," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "Apple TV is easier than ever to use with its new icon-based interface and the ability to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music right from iCloud."
Report: PC Gaming On The Rise
This may not be a surprise to the PC enthusiast community but, the PC gaming market has never been healthier, according to a report from the not-for-profit consortium PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA). The report claims that in 2011, the industry reached a global record $18.6 billion, a growth of 15 percent over the prior year. The report cites burgeoning foreign markets and social games as large factors in the findings. The results of the PCGA's third annual "Horizons" research report found that China is growing at almost twice the rate of the global market, bringing in $6 billion for a total growth of 27 percent. The US, UK, Korea, Japan, and Germany saw increased revenue of 11%, by comparison. Asian companies, in general, are noted for spurring on sales in their markets.
The report also cites Zynga and Nexon (of MapleStory fame) as frontrunners in the PC space. Zynga in particular doubled its revenue to roughly $1.1 billion, putting it on-par with Nexon. Zynga and the German company Bigpoint were noted for pushing the free-to-play model, already popular in Asian territories, into North America and Europe. The report also notes the movers and shakers of big-budget PC games from the western market, like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rift, along with multiplatform titles like Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Looking forward, the report speculates that the industry will grow to $25.5 billion (37 percent increase) by 2015, thanks to increased broadband penetration and digital delivery. The report is from a PC gaming coalition with a vested interest in trumpeting the industry's health, but even so, the rumors of PC's death have greatly exaggerated.
The report also cites Zynga and Nexon (of MapleStory fame) as frontrunners in the PC space. Zynga in particular doubled its revenue to roughly $1.1 billion, putting it on-par with Nexon. Zynga and the German company Bigpoint were noted for pushing the free-to-play model, already popular in Asian territories, into North America and Europe. The report also notes the movers and shakers of big-budget PC games from the western market, like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Rift, along with multiplatform titles like Battlefield 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Looking forward, the report speculates that the industry will grow to $25.5 billion (37 percent increase) by 2015, thanks to increased broadband penetration and digital delivery. The report is from a PC gaming coalition with a vested interest in trumpeting the industry's health, but even so, the rumors of PC's death have greatly exaggerated.
Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" Offers Solid Performance and Efficiency
Earlier today, Anandtech posted its preview of the Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" processor. The i7-3770K will be the fastest Ivy Bridge LGA1155 processor, when launched. Anandtech put the chip through a battery of tests, starting from overall system performance synthetic test suites, such as SysMark 2012, content-creation, video transcoding, gaming, and system power consumption. The one conclusion you can draw out of these tests is that the Ivy Bridge kicks butt. It has higher performance per core, and single-threaded performance than even the Sandy Bridge-E (LGA2011) chips, it aces content-creation, shines with gaming, and has power-draw lower than even the Core i5-2400 from the previous generation. If you've been holding out over a platform upgrade for a while, the Core i7-3770K is rewarding. But then there's no big incentive, if you're coming from Sandy Bridge LGA1155 chips such as the Core i7-2600K. Read the full review at the source.
Patriot Memory Names High Powered Industry Veteran Paul McGuire as Executive VP Sales
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and enthusiast computer products is pleased to announce the company has named Paul McGuire as Executive Vice President of Sales. The addition of Mr. McGuire to Patriot Memory's Executive team will swiftly propel the company through its next set of growth objectives. In his role, Mr. McGuire will be overseeing worldwide business development and ramping up sales channels for Patriot Memory's full suite of products.
"As we continue to aggressively expand our global sales initiatives with our key corporate alliances, we are very excited to have Paul McGuire join our team," said Paul Jones, CEO of Patriot Memory. "Paul is an extremely focused executive leader with the experience to be an enormous asset in positioning Patriot Memory for incredible growth in our major global channels."
"As we continue to aggressively expand our global sales initiatives with our key corporate alliances, we are very excited to have Paul McGuire join our team," said Paul Jones, CEO of Patriot Memory. "Paul is an extremely focused executive leader with the experience to be an enormous asset in positioning Patriot Memory for incredible growth in our major global channels."
Patriot Memory Shows off Phison-Powered Magma SSD at CeBIT
Currently, Patriot Memory's SATA 6.0 Gbps SSD offering is all-SandForce but things will change in Q2 when the company will release a new drive family based on a controller designed by Taiwan-based Phison Electronics.
Found on display at Patriot's CeBIT booth, the Phison-powered solid state drive is called Magma and it features a 2.5-inch form factor, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a MTBF of over 1.5 million hours, and a three-year warranty. Unfortunately Patriot didn't provide any performance numbers but it did say Magma will be a value-minded solution. Capacity wise, Magma will arrive in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB versions.
Found on display at Patriot's CeBIT booth, the Phison-powered solid state drive is called Magma and it features a 2.5-inch form factor, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a MTBF of over 1.5 million hours, and a three-year warranty. Unfortunately Patriot didn't provide any performance numbers but it did say Magma will be a value-minded solution. Capacity wise, Magma will arrive in 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB versions.
ASUS Makes Z9PE-D8 WS 2P-LGA2011 Motherboard Official
ASUS made its workstation-grade Z9PE-D8 WS motherboard official. The board is built for 2P Xeon E5-2600 series processors in the LGA2011 package, is based on the Intel C606 "Patsburg" chipset, and is built in the 30.5 x 33 cm EEB form-factor. Each of the two sockets is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting quad-channel memory, each. Up to 256 GB of registered DDR3 memory is supported.
Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (blue), two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x8, top two black), and one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, bottommost black). 4-way SLI and CrossFireX are supported. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s (two from the PCH, four from two Marvell 9230 chips), and eight SATA 3 Gb/s (all from the PCH). An ASPEED ASMB6 provides basic display and iKVM functions. Realtek ALC898 provides 8-channel HD audio. There are two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, driven by Intel 82574L chips. The Z9PE-D8 WS from ASUS is priced around US $630.
Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (blue), two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x8, top two black), and one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, bottommost black). 4-way SLI and CrossFireX are supported. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s (two from the PCH, four from two Marvell 9230 chips), and eight SATA 3 Gb/s (all from the PCH). An ASPEED ASMB6 provides basic display and iKVM functions. Realtek ALC898 provides 8-channel HD audio. There are two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, driven by Intel 82574L chips. The Z9PE-D8 WS from ASUS is priced around US $630.
Gigabyte Unveils X79S-UD5 Workstation Motherboard
At CeBIT, Gigabyte unveiled what many may have overlooked for bearing a strong resemblance to the GA-X79-UD5, the GA-X79S-UD5. This board is designed to be a 1P workstation-grade motherboard, probably with out of the box support for the latest Xeon processors in the LGA2011 package, apart from Core i7 ones. The upper-half of this board is nearly identical to that of the X79-UD5. The LGA2011 CPU is powered by a 14-phase VRM, wired to eight DDR3 DIMM slots (two on either sides), supporting quad-channel memory. There are minor differences (as far as the upper-half is concerned). Tantulum capacitors on the X79-UD5 are replaced with cylindrical solid-state ones on the X79S-UD5, the FrescoLogic-made USB 3.0 controller is replaced with a VLI-made one.
It's the lower half of the X79S-UD5, where all the action is. The expansion slot load-out consists of five long PCI-Express x16 slots. Among these, two are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, one is PCI-Express 3.0 x8 capable (by taking 8 lanes from one of the two x16 links), and two appear to be PCI-Express 2.0 x4. Then there's a legacy PCI slot. The PCH heatsink is identical to the one on the X79-UD5, but what's under it is what counts. Although named "X79"S-UD5, the board is actually based on the Intel C606 "Patsburg", which is an enterprise-grade chipset for Intel's Sandy Bridge-EP platforms. Apart from six SATA ports (2x 6 Gb/s + 4x 3 Gb/s), the C606 PCH provides eight SAS (Serial-attached SCSI) ports, running at 3 Gb/s speeds. The rest of the connectivity is completely identical to that of the X79-UD5.
It's the lower half of the X79S-UD5, where all the action is. The expansion slot load-out consists of five long PCI-Express x16 slots. Among these, two are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, one is PCI-Express 3.0 x8 capable (by taking 8 lanes from one of the two x16 links), and two appear to be PCI-Express 2.0 x4. Then there's a legacy PCI slot. The PCH heatsink is identical to the one on the X79-UD5, but what's under it is what counts. Although named "X79"S-UD5, the board is actually based on the Intel C606 "Patsburg", which is an enterprise-grade chipset for Intel's Sandy Bridge-EP platforms. Apart from six SATA ports (2x 6 Gb/s + 4x 3 Gb/s), the C606 PCH provides eight SAS (Serial-attached SCSI) ports, running at 3 Gb/s speeds. The rest of the connectivity is completely identical to that of the X79-UD5.
Toshiba Announces the Satellite P Series Multimedia Laptops
Toshiba UK today unveils the launch of the new Satellite P series - a premium collection of multimedia laptops built to provide raw power and lightning-fast performance. Comprising four models, the new P series features the latest generation of processors, dedicated graphics and optional glasses-free 3D support - all packed into a sleek, stylish design.
The ideal choice for home entertainment enthusiasts looking for enough power to handle demanding multimedia applications, the Satellite P series features two 36.9 cm (15.6") models, the Satellite P850 and the Satellite P855, available with an incredible glasses-free 3D screen. Two 43.9 cm (17.3") options, the Satellite P875 and Satellite P870 offer ideal options for those requiring a powerful laptop with a large screen, such as designers, photographers and entertainment enthusiasts.
The ideal choice for home entertainment enthusiasts looking for enough power to handle demanding multimedia applications, the Satellite P series features two 36.9 cm (15.6") models, the Satellite P850 and the Satellite P855, available with an incredible glasses-free 3D screen. Two 43.9 cm (17.3") options, the Satellite P875 and Satellite P870 offer ideal options for those requiring a powerful laptop with a large screen, such as designers, photographers and entertainment enthusiasts.
Toshiba Launches the Toshiba Satellite L Series Laptops
Toshiba UK today announces the launch of the new Satellite L series - a stylish collection of small, standard and large-screen laptops packed with advanced multimedia features. Combining integrated Blu-ray supporti, high definition screens and next generation graphics, the Satellite L series offers exceptional entertainment possibilities in a robust and elegant chassis - providing the ideal solution of a wide range of users.
Each model in the Satellite L series is designed to cater for those looking for a range of multimedia features, with a selection of screen sizes to suit different lifestyles. Featuring a choice of the latest Intel or AMD processors as well as optional dedicated graphics, the Satellite L series enables high definition gaming and movie playback, speedy web browsing and full-bodied sound in a compact and stunningly designed chassis, suitable for home or mobile use.
Each model in the Satellite L series is designed to cater for those looking for a range of multimedia features, with a selection of screen sizes to suit different lifestyles. Featuring a choice of the latest Intel or AMD processors as well as optional dedicated graphics, the Satellite L series enables high definition gaming and movie playback, speedy web browsing and full-bodied sound in a compact and stunningly designed chassis, suitable for home or mobile use.
SMART Modular Technologies Announces 64GB DDR3 Load-Reduced DIMM
SMART Modular Technologies ("SMART Modular"), a leading independent manufacturer of memory modules and embedded flash products announces its 64GB DDR3 load-reduced DIMM (LRDIMM). SMART Modular's 64GB LRDIMM is optimized for high-end servers and will be launching in Q2'12 to serve scientific, engineering, and financial computing applications that require high memory capacity and performance. Specifically, this product targets next-generation Intel Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge server platforms for high-performance computing applications.
The new LRDIMM combines innovative module packaging technology leveraging off-the-shelf commodity DRAMs to provide the industry's highest density LRDIMM at the lowest possible cost. Highlighting SMART Modular's design expertise, the new 64GB LRDIMM utilizes a single JEDEC-compliant memory buffer chip, a dual PCB structure and a leading edge interconnect technology to provide maximum performance and density while achieving server-grade quality and reliability.
The new LRDIMM combines innovative module packaging technology leveraging off-the-shelf commodity DRAMs to provide the industry's highest density LRDIMM at the lowest possible cost. Highlighting SMART Modular's design expertise, the new 64GB LRDIMM utilizes a single JEDEC-compliant memory buffer chip, a dual PCB structure and a leading edge interconnect technology to provide maximum performance and density while achieving server-grade quality and reliability.
Toshiba Launches the New Satellite C Series Laptops
Toshiba UK today announces the launch of its latest generation Satellite C series - a collection of high quality notebooks offering powerful features, a new slim line design and comprehensive connectivity at an affordable price. Ideal for users such as students or families, the Satellite C series provides essential features such as large storage capacities, high power processors and flexible connectivity in two screen sizes.
Available with a choice of the latest Intel or AMD processors, and dedicated graphics with up to 2 GB VRAM, each model lets users enjoy movies, browse the internet or run multiple applications with ease. An integrated hard disk drive (HDD) of up to 1 TB also provides huge storage capacity that's ideal for storing large music, video and large image libraries, removing the need for external storage devices.
Available with a choice of the latest Intel or AMD processors, and dedicated graphics with up to 2 GB VRAM, each model lets users enjoy movies, browse the internet or run multiple applications with ease. An integrated hard disk drive (HDD) of up to 1 TB also provides huge storage capacity that's ideal for storing large music, video and large image libraries, removing the need for external storage devices.
OCZ Chiron High-Capacity SSD Detailed
OCZ is also working on a high-capacity SSD line, targeting data-centers that seek higher performance and capacity, called Chiron. Built in the 3.5-inch form-factor with a 6 Gb/s serial interface (not sure if it's SAS or SATA), the Chiron is a complex SSD, which consists of multiple SSD sub-units, each driven by OCZ-Indilinx Everest controllers, maintained in an abstract RAID configuration by a localized RAID controller. The drive is available in capacities as high as 4 TB, and provides sequential performance as high as 560 MB/s, with 4K access performance of 100,000 IOPS.
OCZ AEONDrive DRAM SSD Detailed
As a leading SSD vendor, OCZ sure has a strong engineering muscle to flex. Flex it did, with the AEONDrive DRAM SSD. This drive uses DRAM as its primary storage medium (as long as there's a constant power source). The device is thus ideal for those parts of the datacenter which hold "hot data". Unlike similar solutions such as FusionIO drives, the AEONDrive utilizes SAS 6 Gb/s interface. SAS is a low-overhead protocol since it allows exchange of larger numbers of simultaneous host commands than ATA. As for the performance OCZ claims the AEONDrive provides 140,000 IOPS 4K, and 540,000 IOPS 512. Since DRAM is a much lower-density medium than NAND flash, one should expect AEONDrives to be available only in relatively low capacities such as 64 GB (still big enough for pain databases). Not much more is detailed about the drive. It would be great if the AEONDrive could back itself up onto NAND flash before turning itself off.
Toshiba Announces New Satellite Pro Range
Toshiba UK today announces the launch of a new Satellite Pro range - a collection of reliable and affordable business laptops offering powerful processors, enhanced connectivity features and a choice of designs. Comprising of the value-packed Satellite Pro C series models and three step-up Satellite Pro L series machines, the new range is available in a variety of screen sizes and design options, offering solutions for individuals or entire workforces alike.
Powered by the latest Intel processors and a featuring a new slimline design, the new Satellite Pro models are ideal for professionals looking for a reliable, affordable and stylish business computing. Efficient processing and low power consumption ensures a longer battery life is maintained, while a comprehensive connectivity suite provides workers with outstanding flexibility, wherever they are. Windows 7 Professional comes is available on all models, ensuring IT managers have all the tools required to keep networks secure and easily manage remote workforces.
Powered by the latest Intel processors and a featuring a new slimline design, the new Satellite Pro models are ideal for professionals looking for a reliable, affordable and stylish business computing. Efficient processing and low power consumption ensures a longer battery life is maintained, while a comprehensive connectivity suite provides workers with outstanding flexibility, wherever they are. Windows 7 Professional comes is available on all models, ensuring IT managers have all the tools required to keep networks secure and easily manage remote workforces.
Toshiba Announces the Mini NB510 Netbook, Updates the NB520
Toshiba UK today announces the launch of the Mini NB510, the latest model in the award winning Mini NB500 netbook range. Available in a choice of stylish colours, the Mini NB510 features an all-day battery, high definition connectivity and a compact design - matching convenience with portability.
The latest Intel Atom processor and 1 GB of DDR3 RAM ensure the Mini NB510 is capable of running multiple programs simultaneously. Powerful dual-core performance allows users to enjoy high definition movies, stream TV shows on-demand and use social networks on the move. Up to 10 hours of battery life makes the Mini NB510 an ideal companion for travellers on long-haul journeys, or using away from power sockets for extended periods of time.
The latest Intel Atom processor and 1 GB of DDR3 RAM ensure the Mini NB510 is capable of running multiple programs simultaneously. Powerful dual-core performance allows users to enjoy high definition movies, stream TV shows on-demand and use social networks on the move. Up to 10 hours of battery life makes the Mini NB510 an ideal companion for travellers on long-haul journeys, or using away from power sockets for extended periods of time.
New Battlefield 3 DLC Coming in June
DICE has announced three new content packs to be released for Battlefield 3. According to Shacknews, Close Quarters will be the second expansion pack for DICE's shooter, with one week exclusivity on PS3. But what can you expect from it? The infantry-focused add-on will expand the online mode with four new maps and ten more weapons. A first-look at the new content showed an indoor apartment environment and a penthouse suite. The close quarters gameplay did a great job of showing off Frostbite 2's destructive capabilities, as walls were quickly being torn apart by gunfire. But that's not the only piece of DLC EA announced last night. There are two more expansion packs coming. ""Back to Karkand set the bar for what an expansion pack should be," DICE general manager Karl Magnus Troedsson said. "It's so much more than just a new map. We're trying to theme all our expansion packs." Wheres Close Quarters will focus on tight infantry battles, the next add-on will focus on vehicular combat. "Armored Kill" will add new vehicles and boast the "biggest maps DICE has ever created... for a very Battlefield experience." Finally, DICE announced "End Game." Unfortunately, that's all they're saying about the (seemingly) final piece of the Battlefield 3 post-release puzzle. "It's a secret right now," Troedsson teased.
Antec High Current Pro Platinum 1000W PSU Pictured
Antec showed off the High Current Pro (HCP) Platinum 1000W PSU, at CeBIT. The HCP Platinum is an 80 Plus Platinum-compliant variant of the original High Current Pro launched in 2010, which were 80 Plus Gold-compliant. Antec's exhibit featured a special body retrofitted with acrylic windows so visitors could see its innards, the retail version will obviously have a full-metal body, and a 135 mm fan in its right place, to keep the unit cool. The HCP Platinum 1000W features a quad-12V rail design, with four 40A rails. The unit features completely modular cabling, including for the 24-pin ATX and dual 8-pin EPS connectors. There's sufficient cabling for even 4-way setups. The source mentions the unit to be contract-manufactured by Delta Electronics, for Antec. More pictures of this "juicy" PSU at the source.
CeBIT - G.SKILL Demos the Fastest Quad Channel Memory - DDR3 2666 MHz 16 GB (4x4 GB)
G.SKILL, the worldwide leading high performance memory designer, has shown the fastest quad channel memory at a whopping speed of DDR3 2666 MHz 16 GB(4 x 4 GB) with ASUS ROG RAMPAGE IV EXTREME motherboard and Intel Core i7-3960X processor at CeBIT 2012.
ORIGIN PC Launches a Line of Overclocked, Professional Grade Workstations
ORIGIN PC announced today the launch of their new line of desktops and laptops for professionals. Featuring options like the latest Intel Xeon E5 processors, ORIGIN PC professional overclocking, and NVIDIA Quadro workstation graphics cards. The new PRO line of systems from ORIGIN PC is designed specifically for artists, engineers, and professionals. ORIGIN PC now offers its award-winning performance, endless customization options, and industry leading U.S. based lifetime 24/7 support to professionals worldwide.
ORIGIN PC's custom workstations offer a wide range of solutions to fit mostly any workspace or budget:
- The small form factor CHRONOS PRO starts at $1299
- The mid-tower MILLENNIUM PRO starts at $1396
- The full-tower GENESIS PRO starts at $2131
- The EON15-PRO mobile workstation starts at $1581
ORIGIN PC's custom workstations offer a wide range of solutions to fit mostly any workspace or budget:
- The small form factor CHRONOS PRO starts at $1299
- The mid-tower MILLENNIUM PRO starts at $1396
- The full-tower GENESIS PRO starts at $2131
- The EON15-PRO mobile workstation starts at $1581
PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II Pictured
PowerColor's still-unreleased Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II graphics card has finally taken shape at CeBIT, it was pictured dismantled, and without a GPU in January. We are now learning about the clock speed this card will ship with, 1100 MHz core (compared to 925 MHz AMD reference), and an unknown (but higher than reference) memory clock speed. The Vortex II cooler allows users some control over the air-flow of the two fans on this card's cooling assembly, which could impact cooling performance and noise. The cooler uses a large heatsink to which heat is fed by four 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes.
ECS at CeBIT 2012 - Enrich Your Digital Desire
On the opening day of CeBIT 2012, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has presented a series of stylish and innovative products, which are not only designed to enrich your digital life but also to sustain the environment. This time, ECS will present a series of innovative designs and exclusive technologies. The cross-generation breakthroughs include motherboards, graphics cards, All-In-One systems, notebooks and mobile devices. ECS looks forward to meet you at Hall 15, Booth No. D29.
ECS booth at CeBIT - Presenting you a stylish life and innovative products.
ECS booth at CeBIT - Presenting you a stylish life and innovative products.
High Power Also Unveils Astro PT PSUs with Load Meter
High Power also unveiled the Astro PT series of PSUs for gaming and enthusiast PCs. Its showed off a 700W model, featuring a patented LED-based real-time load-meter. Typically, PSUs are most efficient when the load is around half its capacity. This meter updates the user using colorful LEDs: blue for light-load, yellow for the load that's treading into "efficient", and red for high-load/overload. This way, overclockers know if their PSUs are coming in the way of stable CPU and VGA overclocks. The Astro PT 700W PSU is semi modular, with a few important cables being fixed, and sleeved, while redundant cables being modular, and flat. These PSUs boast of 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, feature a single +12V design, and 135 mm golf-surface fan to cool the unit.
First Waterproof Infrared Multi-touch Panel Introduced by ZaagTech
At DSE 2012 (Digital Signage Expo) held in Las Vegas (March 7th to 8th, 2012), the leading multi-touch solutions provider ZaagTech debuted infrared multi-touch overlays that are waterproof and dustproof for the first time, solving the long-existing stability challenge for infrared technology and making it possible for infrared multi-touch to be applied in a much wider universe.
High Power Unveils RockSolid Pro 1600W PSU
PSU maker High Power unveiled the RockSolid Pro 1600W (RS-1600 Pro), a high capacity modular PSU for enthusiast PCs with multiple graphics cards and CPU sockets. This brute uses four 50A +12V rails to meet its capacity. It bears 80 Plus Silver efficiency certification. The unit uses a 135 mm golf ball dimpled fan with off-delay to keep the unit cool. It is compliant with most modern standards. An LED status display keeps the user updated on the load. It should have adequate cable connectivity for 4-way multi-GPU setups, if not more.
Toshiba Taps IBM Software to Create More Secure and Energy-Efficient Laptops
IBM and Toshiba Corporation today announced that Toshiba's new line of enterprise laptop PCs will be integrated with IBM software, providing energy management and advanced endpoint security protection. Toshiba plans to sell the new lines of enterprise PCs and its integrated solution globally in mid 2012.
With the growing use of laptops by organizations, there are several important factors to consider, including today's 24/7 work environment that requires many users to keep laptops running around the clock-not always in power-saving modes. Stolen laptops were also one of the biggest causes of data breaches to organizations in 2011. This directly relates to laptops that contain confidential data requiring higher security measures to protect them if stolen or misplaced. Multiply these behaviors across all employees in an organization, and the security risks, energy costs and environmental impacts rise.
With the growing use of laptops by organizations, there are several important factors to consider, including today's 24/7 work environment that requires many users to keep laptops running around the clock-not always in power-saving modes. Stolen laptops were also one of the biggest causes of data breaches to organizations in 2011. This directly relates to laptops that contain confidential data requiring higher security measures to protect them if stolen or misplaced. Multiply these behaviors across all employees in an organization, and the security risks, energy costs and environmental impacts rise.
Puget Systems Launches Sandy Bridge-EP Workstations and Servers
Puget Systems, a boutique integrator of custom PC systems for enthusiasts, gamers, consumers and SMB markets, today announced availability of Intel Sandy Bridge-E to its line of workstations and servers.
Sandy Bridge-EP incorporates improved memory bandwidth, more PCI-E lanes, and uses Intel's Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, providing even more performance when needed. For more information, a full Sandy Bridge-E technology primer is available from Puget Systems.
Sandy Bridge-EP incorporates improved memory bandwidth, more PCI-E lanes, and uses Intel's Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, providing even more performance when needed. For more information, a full Sandy Bridge-E technology primer is available from Puget Systems.
Anything that Ends in .com Seizable by US Government
Last week, US authorities shut down a Canadian-run website that ends with the TLD (top-level domain) ".com", raising eyebrows. It appears that the US is staking claim to the ".com" TLD, letting the authorities seize any ".com" domain, even of websites that are not American. Internet infrastructure company EasyDNS, in its latest blog post, said "[the] ramifications of this are no less than chilling and every single organization branded or operating under .com, .net, .org, .biz etc. needs to ask themselves about their vulnerability to the whims of U.S. federal and state lawmakers."
This latest controversy highlights how "the U.S. continues to hold over key components of the global domain name system, and rips a Band-Aid off a historic sore point for other nations," Wired commented. It also strengthens the case for non-American businesses and internet companies to opt for local TLDs (eg: ".co.uk", ".de", ".in", etc.,). Naming yourself "Dotcom" isn't such a bright idea, either.
This latest controversy highlights how "the U.S. continues to hold over key components of the global domain name system, and rips a Band-Aid off a historic sore point for other nations," Wired commented. It also strengthens the case for non-American businesses and internet companies to opt for local TLDs (eg: ".co.uk", ".de", ".in", etc.,). Naming yourself "Dotcom" isn't such a bright idea, either.
Adaptec Doubles Server Storage Performance and Bandwidth in CeBIT Demo
PMC-Sierra, Inc., (Nasdaq:PMCS) or PMC, the semiconductor innovator transforming storage, optical and mobile networks, today announced that Adaptec by PMC is demonstrating a server that doubles storage performance, reduces power consumption and increases reliability in a smaller data center footprint to help meet the soaring demands on data centers while driving down total cost of ownership. The CeBIT demonstration features a RAID controller card prototype based on the industry's only PCI Express (PCIe) 3.0 capable 24-port RAID-on-Chip (RoC) from PMC, installed in a system based on the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family, and 22 Seagate Pulsar enterprise solid state drives (SSDs). Visit Adaptec in the CeBIT Storage Pavilion, Hall 2, Stand E51 to view the demonstration.
The server configuration delivers a sustained data transfer rate of 6600 MB/s in reads and 5000 MB/s in writes. This performance is made possible by the significant bandwidth advantages of the new Intel platform's PCIe 3.0 interface combined with the SRCv's 24-6Gb/s SAS interfaces and Seagate's SAS Pulsar SSDs that deliver sequential reads of 370 MB/s and sequential writes of 200 MB/s. Previous-generation systems based on PCIe 2.0 are typically capable of less than 3000 MB/s data transfer rates.
The server configuration delivers a sustained data transfer rate of 6600 MB/s in reads and 5000 MB/s in writes. This performance is made possible by the significant bandwidth advantages of the new Intel platform's PCIe 3.0 interface combined with the SRCv's 24-6Gb/s SAS interfaces and Seagate's SAS Pulsar SSDs that deliver sequential reads of 370 MB/s and sequential writes of 200 MB/s. Previous-generation systems based on PCIe 2.0 are typically capable of less than 3000 MB/s data transfer rates.
Second-Gen. ASUS Zenbook Ivy Bridge and Kepler Driven
ASUS Zenbook is perhaps the closest the Ultrabook has gone to Apple's MacBook Air in terms of features and aesthetics. Its makers are saving its successor for the Computex spotlight. It is reported that the second-generation Zenbook will be driven by Intel "Ivy Bridge" Core processor, its compatible 7-series platform, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M discrete graphics. It will feature NVIDIA Optimus technology that marshals graphics loads between the discrete GPU and Intel HD 4000 graphics, to minimize power draw when on light graphics loads.
ECS Z77H2-A3 Detailed
Apart from the two Black Extreme models based on the Z77 chipset, ECS also has a value ATX motherboard that will capture a key sub-$150 price point, the Z77H2-A3. It is designed for single graphics cards, and lends the platform with all the connectivity and overclocking capabilities of the Z77 chipset. The CPU is powered by a simple 6-phase VRM, although the PCB is narrow (305 x 210 mm), there's room for four DDR3 DIMM slots. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, four PCIe x1, and two PCI.
The Z77H2-A3 doesn't add much features beyond what the chipset does. There are two SATA 6 Gb/s, four SATA 3 Gb/s, 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, display connectivity that includes D-Sub, DVI/HDMI (variants), and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear-panel, two via headers). UEFI with graphical setup program and ECS EZ-Charger come standard.
The Z77H2-A3 doesn't add much features beyond what the chipset does. There are two SATA 6 Gb/s, four SATA 3 Gb/s, 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, display connectivity that includes D-Sub, DVI/HDMI (variants), and four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear-panel, two via headers). UEFI with graphical setup program and ECS EZ-Charger come standard.
Fujitsu Extends Cloud Portfolio With PRIMERGY CX400 Multi-Node Server
Fujitsu today launches the new PRIMERGY CX400 S1 multi-node Cloud eXtension server. This innovative technology requires only half the space of a standard rack server to provide enterprises with cost-effective, energy-efficient access to smart scale-out capabilities for deployments such as private cloud, high-performance computing (HPC) and large-scale virtualization.
Enterprise customers of all sizes are increasingly looking for improved energy efficiency, higher platform density and better management effectiveness when realizing their cloud computing, high performance computing, virtualization, hosting, or virtual-client computing strategies.
Enterprise customers of all sizes are increasingly looking for improved energy efficiency, higher platform density and better management effectiveness when realizing their cloud computing, high performance computing, virtualization, hosting, or virtual-client computing strategies.
Synology Announces the Official Release of DiskStation Manager 4.0
Synology today announced the official release of DiskStation Manager 4.0 (DSM 4.0). In just 50 days the DSM 4.0 beta program hit a new record in excess of 90,000 downloads, achieving an average of one download per minute. Synology appreciated enthusiastic beta participants for their valuable feedback in contribution to a better NAS server experience.
"DSM 4.0 marks a significant milestone for Synology, representing its efforts to provide users with best-of-breed technologies, an easy approach to master their own clouds, and productive business solutions with no additional cost," said Rosiel Lee, product manager of Synology Inc. DSM 4.0 offers:
"DSM 4.0 marks a significant milestone for Synology, representing its efforts to provide users with best-of-breed technologies, an easy approach to master their own clouds, and productive business solutions with no additional cost," said Rosiel Lee, product manager of Synology Inc. DSM 4.0 offers:
Taiwanese Notebook Vendors Offer Ultrabook-like PCs in Q2
With the new Ultrabook specification being governed by Intel, and compatible Ivy Bridge Core processors facing delays, Taiwan-based notebook vendors are finding incentives in launching "Ultrabook-like" PCs, notebooks that are about as compact as Ultrabooks, but with vendors' own hardware specifications. Such PCs are also said to be designed keeping in mind lower price-points, such as $600. These notebooks will do away with expensive metal unibody chassis, hollow hinges, and SSDs, and replace them with more cost-effective ones. For example, 7 mm-thick HDDs are already announced. Those could make viable alternatives for SSDs. Such Ultrabook-alternatives could be launched as early as in Q2-2012, sources note.
Tuesday, March 6th 2012
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Motherboards
Processors
Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000 W Review
Kingwin is a company located in the U.S. with presence only in this region. Their product's portfolio includes many noteworthy PSUs with the flagship being the Lazer Platinum Series which consists of five units with Platinum efficiency and top notch performance. In today's review we will test the strongest member of this series, the LZP-1000 which like all LZPs is built by Super Flower, a company that continues to amaze us with their products.
Elecom Announces a New Line of Powered-USB Hubs
Japanese company Elecom unveiled a new line of auxiliary-powered USB hubs that expand USB connectivity on notebooks, and help power USB-charged devices such as smartphones and tablets. The U2H-MB401 is a 3-port USB 2.0 hub, which draws auxiliary DC power to charge connected devices, it is priced at 2,205 JPY. The U2HS-MB01-4B is a 4-port host-powered hub, and the U2HS-MB01-4S is a auxiliary-powered one, they are priced at 1,470 JPY and 2,940 JPY. Then there's the U2H-SMC4BPN, which is host-powered, and features a micro-SDHC card slot. The three hubs are further available in black, white, and pink color options.
Photronics Purchases U.S. nanoFab Building from Micron Technology, Inc.
Photronics, Inc., a worldwide leader in supplying innovative imaging technology solutions for the global electronics industry, announced today that it paid approximately $35 million to Micron Technology, Inc. ("Micron") in connection with the purchase of its U.S. nanoFab building in Boise, ID that it previously leased from the building's owner Micron. In connection therewith, the Company also amended its credit facility adding a 5-year term loan for $25 million and reducing interest rates by 25 basis points on borrowings as defined in the credit facility.
As a result of the purchase, Photronics' operating lease with Micron for the nanoFab facility has been cancelled. This reduced the Company's related outstanding operating lease commitments by a total of $15 million for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Accordingly, as a result of this transaction, beginning in fiscal year 2013, the Company's net cash flow will improve by approximately $5 million annually and its expenses will be reduced by approximately $5 million annually.
As a result of the purchase, Photronics' operating lease with Micron for the nanoFab facility has been cancelled. This reduced the Company's related outstanding operating lease commitments by a total of $15 million for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Accordingly, as a result of this transaction, beginning in fiscal year 2013, the Company's net cash flow will improve by approximately $5 million annually and its expenses will be reduced by approximately $5 million annually.
Mass Effect 3 Begins an All-Out Invasion on Retailers across the Galaxy
The first blockbuster game of 2012 has arrived! Mass Effect 3 from BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts Inc., is now available at retail stores in North America and will be launching in Europe on March 9. The highly anticipated game has been praised by critics for delivering, deep, interactive storytelling and adrenaline-pumping action on a huge scale. Mass Effect 3 has already received perfect scores from a wide variety of outlets around the world, including MSNBC, Game Informer, USA Today, G4 TV, Eurogamer (UK), The Guardian (UK), Official Xbox Magazine (UK), PlayStation Official Magazine (UK), Eurogamer (IT), Game Reactor (Sweden), Atomic Gamer (AUS) and more. Entertainment Weekly declared that "Mass Effect 3 isn't just one of the videogame events of the year. It's one of the pop-culture events of the year."
GK104 (GTX 680) Has 17% Higher Compute Power Than Tahiti (HD7970): Report
A report by 3DCenter.org, which takes into account the specifications of NVIDIA's GK104 GPU, based on clock-speed and specs. leak estimated its shader compute power to be 17% higher than that of AMD's Tahiti in its Radeon HD 7970 avatar (4.46 TFLOPs single-precision floating point). Based on the said specifications, the report also hypothesized things such as memory bandwidth, ROP performance, and texture performance; and compared it to those of the Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 7950.
Thunderbolt Port Pictured on MSI Z77A-GD80
At last, we're getting to see visuals of MSI's top LGA1155 motherboard based on Intel Z77 chipset, the Z77A-GD80, featuring Intel's Thunderbolt interconnect. Thunderbolt is a unified interconnect that provides 10 Gb/s of raw bus bandwidth to connected devices, and passes through digital display. The connector itself resembles mini-DisplayPort. On the Z77A-GD80, the Thunderbolt port is located below a D-Sub connector. Naturally, is passes both 10 Gb/s Thunderbolt (which can be daisy-chained through multiple bandwidth-hungry devices), and display relayed from Intel processor-integrated graphics. Lucid VirtuMVP lets you harness the pixel-crunching power of your favourite discrete graphics card over this port, as well.
New BOXX Workstation Featuring Intel Xeon Offers 80% Performance Increase
BOXX Technologies, the leading innovator of high-performance workstations and rendering systems, today announced the introduction of the 3DBOXX 8920 workstation which delivers an 80% application performance increase over its predecessor, the 3DBOXX 8520. The latest addition to their heralded 3DBOXX 8500/8900 workstation line, 8920 features dual, eight-core Intel Xeon E5-2600 series processors, along with a host of other technology upgrades that boost overall performance for VFX artists, animators, designers, engineers, and other creative professionals.
"Our BOXX is better than their box," said Shoaib Mohammad, BOXX VP of Marketing and Business Development, in response to being asked what's separates the workstation manufacturer from its competitors. "At BOXX, we understand the applications our customers employ to create, test, and modify their ideas. And we create optimized configurations using the latest Intel Xeon processors in order to provide the best possible user experience when dealing with complex simulations, rendering, and ray tracing applications."
The 3DBOXX 8920 features up to 16 cores (32 threads) of high-powered, multitasking performance for 3D design, animation, rendering, visualization, VFX compositing, and more. Designed to accommodate multi-threading, multiple applications, and complex production pipelines, the new 8920 has also expanded to include additional memory and up to three NVIDIA GPUs. The result is faster performance for both CPU- and GPU-based rendering, simulation, and ray tracing tasks.
"Our BOXX is better than their box," said Shoaib Mohammad, BOXX VP of Marketing and Business Development, in response to being asked what's separates the workstation manufacturer from its competitors. "At BOXX, we understand the applications our customers employ to create, test, and modify their ideas. And we create optimized configurations using the latest Intel Xeon processors in order to provide the best possible user experience when dealing with complex simulations, rendering, and ray tracing applications."
The 3DBOXX 8920 features up to 16 cores (32 threads) of high-powered, multitasking performance for 3D design, animation, rendering, visualization, VFX compositing, and more. Designed to accommodate multi-threading, multiple applications, and complex production pipelines, the new 8920 has also expanded to include additional memory and up to three NVIDIA GPUs. The result is faster performance for both CPU- and GPU-based rendering, simulation, and ray tracing tasks.
NVIDIA GPUs Bring High Performance GPU Computing To New Dell PowerEdge Servers
NVIDIA today announced that its NVIDIA Tesla GPUs will be featured, for the first time, on two Dell PowerEdge 12th generation rack and tower servers.
Dell designed the new GPU-enabled PowerEdge R720 and PowerEdge T620 servers to accelerate a wide range of computationally intensive, industry standard applications, including Mathworks MATLAB (for computational research) and SIMULIA Abaqus (for computer-aided engineering). In addition, the new servers combine the 512-core NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs with the latest Intel Xeon E5/R CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture to accelerate a range of scientific applications in fields such as life sciences, engineering, weather and climate, and others.
Dell designed the new GPU-enabled PowerEdge R720 and PowerEdge T620 servers to accelerate a wide range of computationally intensive, industry standard applications, including Mathworks MATLAB (for computational research) and SIMULIA Abaqus (for computer-aided engineering). In addition, the new servers combine the 512-core NVIDIA Tesla M2090 GPUs with the latest Intel Xeon E5/R CPUs based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture to accelerate a range of scientific applications in fields such as life sciences, engineering, weather and climate, and others.
Enermax ELC-120 CPU Cooler Pictured
Enermax showed off the ELC-120, one of its first closed-loop (self-contained) CPU liquid coolers. While the cooler looks very similar to several other products in its class, Enermax claims to have dropped in some innovations of its own, such as a unique copper micro-channel base, which improves heat dissipation to the coolant, a powerful ceramic bearing pump for higher coolant flow, and Enermax' very own 120 mm Twister Bearing fan, that's silent, and comes with a very long life. The ELC-120 supports all current CPU socket types, Intel LGA775-thru-LGA2011, and AMD AM2-thru-FM1.
Revised Acer Aspire S3 Pictured
Acer ironed out a lot of issues of its flagship Ultrabook, the Aspire S3, with the revised Aspire S3-391. The revised S3 was shown to public at CeBIT. To begin with, it is based on Intel's revised, more mature Ultrabook platform specification, driven by "Ivy Bridge" Core processor, and 7-series chipset, which gives it up to four USB 3.0 ports driven by the PCH. CompuBase found the new Ultrabook to be more responsive thanks to its newer processor. Slated for the middle of Q2-2012, the Aspire S3-391 is expected to be priced at 899 €.
Building Intelligent Systems With Windows 8 Embedded
Over the past year, Microsoft has been discussing the vast possibilities offered by the emergence of a new category within the traditional embedded market - intelligent systems.
A critical component of Microsoft's enterprise strategy, intelligent systems enable an unprecedented flow of data with the power to transform industries such as retail, manufacturing and medicine, by connecting devices where data is generated through employees and customers to back-end systems and services where it is translated into strategic insight to inform business decisions.
A critical component of Microsoft's enterprise strategy, intelligent systems enable an unprecedented flow of data with the power to transform industries such as retail, manufacturing and medicine, by connecting devices where data is generated through employees and customers to back-end systems and services where it is translated into strategic insight to inform business decisions.
Toshiba Qosmio X870 Detailed
Here's a picture of Toshiba's its newest gaming notebook in the works, the Qosmio X870. Although unveiled, it will be a little while before we can see this 17.3-incher in stores. That's because it's said to powered by "next-generation" Core processors (Ivy Bridge), and "next-generation" NVIDIA GeForce GPU (Kepler), with 3 GB of GDDR5 memory. Its 17.3-inch TruBrite display packs 1920x1080 pixels resolution. Other notable specifications of this brute includes 2TB SSD+HDD hybrid, Bluetooth 4.0, four USB 3.0 ports, Harman-Kardon speakers, Blu-ray drive, and wired Ethernet. According to the source, the Qosmio X870 is headed for a Q2-2012 launch.
ICY DOCK Announces the DuoSwap MB971SP-B 5.25" Hot Swap 2.5" & 3.5" Drive Caddy
External docking stations are popular because of its flexibility and compatibility. However, because it is for external use, the interface limits the transfer speed of your hard drive while only allowing one to be use at a time. In a standard computer case, there are several 5.25" bays usually reserved for your DVD ROM drive, however, will not naturally fit with your 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives without some assistance. Using the MB971SP-B DuoSwap, you will save precious desktop space by integrating both 3.5" & 2.5" slots into a single 5.25" bay. This gives you the ability to expand and easily go from your external docking station to your computer in just seconds.
Microsoft Bringing More Style to its Mouse Lineup
Microsoft's Hardware team has today revealed some colorful new additions to its mouse offer, five fresh artistic patterns, for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 and Arc Touch Mouse, and several limited edition shades, for the Explorer Touch Mouse and WMM 3500.
The added Artist Edition surfaces come from five new designers - Kenzo Minami, Stina Persson, Oh Joy!, Tchmo and Sally Zou, and are available here (Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition Artist Series) and here (Arc Touch Mouse Limited Edition Artist Series).
As for the limited edition colors, they are Dahlia Pink and White for the Explorer Touch Mouse, and Aqua Blue, Citron Green, Cobalt Blue, Dahlia Pink, Flame Red, White and Black for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500.
The added Artist Edition surfaces come from five new designers - Kenzo Minami, Stina Persson, Oh Joy!, Tchmo and Sally Zou, and are available here (Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 Limited Edition Artist Series) and here (Arc Touch Mouse Limited Edition Artist Series).
As for the limited edition colors, they are Dahlia Pink and White for the Explorer Touch Mouse, and Aqua Blue, Citron Green, Cobalt Blue, Dahlia Pink, Flame Red, White and Black for the Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500.
Sapphire Toxic Radeon HD 7970 with 6GB Memory Showcased
The fact that Sapphire has been working on a Radeon HD 7970 graphics card with an obscene 6 GB of memory has been known since the end of 2011. The said card, the Sapphire Toxic HD 7970 6GB, has already taken shape, and was spotted running at CeBIT. Such as it is, AMD utilizes 2 Gbit GDDR5 memory chips in numbers of 12 to achieve 3 GB of memory across a 384-bit wide memory interface, on its HD 7970. Higher density GDDR5 chips are not available, at least not in bulk. So the only way Sapphire is doing 6 GB is by piggy-backing two 2 Gbit chips across 32-bit wide paths, each. As a result, these cards have memory chips on both sides of the PCB, obverse and reverse, and require a metal back-plate to keep the chips on the reverse side cool. The only reason we see consumers needing 6 GB of video memory today, is multi-monitor gaming. Even there, the impact of the increase to 6 GB memory (from 3 GB) is debatable.
Shuttle's Z77-based XPC Z77R5 Pictured
Shuttle unveiled the XPC Z77R5 mini-PC barebone at CeBIT. It is built into a familiar-looking XPC chassis, but with a new motherboard based on the Intel Z77 chipset, which lends it support for "Ivy Bridge" Core i7/i5/i3 processors out of the box, apart from support for LGA1155 "Sandy Bridge" processors. Connectors include six USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, HDMI, DVI, RJ-45 (gigabit Ethernet), 2x SATA 6 Gb/s, eSATA, and 8-ch HD audio. There are four expansion slots, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x4, and two mini-PCIe.
The chassis includes drive bays for 1 5.25" drive (such as optical drives), two internal+exposed 3.5" bays, for gadgets such as card readers. The power supply is rated at 500W, with 80 Plus Bronze efficiency rating. The XPC Z77R5 chassis measures 32.5 x 21.5 x 19.8 cm (DxWxH). Pricing and availability information was not given out.
The chassis includes drive bays for 1 5.25" drive (such as optical drives), two internal+exposed 3.5" bays, for gadgets such as card readers. The power supply is rated at 500W, with 80 Plus Bronze efficiency rating. The XPC Z77R5 chassis measures 32.5 x 21.5 x 19.8 cm (DxWxH). Pricing and availability information was not given out.
Top ECS Black Extreme Z77 Motherboards Detailed
ECS had its top LGA1155 motherboard based on Intel Z77 chipset, the Z77H2-AX ready as early as in January, at CES. We're now getting to see it in its final form, complete with its wireless LAN connection that was absent on the CES exhibit. Apart from that, ECS also unveiled its next-best Z77 motherboard, the Z77H2-A2X. Both models feature wireless LAN, only implemented slightly differently. While most other motherboards are using PCIe-based Wireless LAN devices, the one on these boards appear to be USB based. One can notice a Bluetooth dongle sticking out from the rear-panel (towards the top), and a wire from the back of another port cluster. This wire is serving as an antenna.
The Z77H2-AX is designed for 3-way SLI/Crossfire setups. It uses a PLX PEX8747 bridge chip, which takes in the PCI-Express 3.0 x16 link from the processor, and gives out two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 links. The second x16 link is split into two x8 links, in case the third PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot is populated. Other notable features include mSATA slot, four internal SATA 6 Gb/s, two internal SATA 3 Gb/s, and two eSATA 6 Gb/s. The board also features Lucid VirtuMVP technology, which balances graphics processing loads between all available graphics hardware.
The Z77H2-AX is designed for 3-way SLI/Crossfire setups. It uses a PLX PEX8747 bridge chip, which takes in the PCI-Express 3.0 x16 link from the processor, and gives out two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 links. The second x16 link is split into two x8 links, in case the third PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot is populated. Other notable features include mSATA slot, four internal SATA 6 Gb/s, two internal SATA 3 Gb/s, and two eSATA 6 Gb/s. The board also features Lucid VirtuMVP technology, which balances graphics processing loads between all available graphics hardware.
Intel Xeon E5-2600 Family Powers NextComputing's Compact Workstations and Servers
NextComputing, a leading manufacturer of portable and small footprint workstations and servers, announces the addition of the Intel Xeon E5-2600 processor product family to its line portable workstations, compact towers, and high-density rack-mount computers. Intel Xeon E5-2600 processors offer up to eight (8) processor cores per CPU, plus leading edge features like PCI Express 3.0. With support for up to two of these processors (16 cores), and multiple PCI Express slots, NextComputing has delivered the industry's highest performance computing platforms in the most compact form-factors available.
Plantronics Introduces New Affordable Unified Communications Headsets
As companies roll out unified communications (UC) solutions, they struggle to keep the cost per user low while trying to achieve widespread adoption. Great sounding, comfortable and easy to use headsets are a must-have in a UC deployment or end users will reject the new communication platform. To bridge the gap between the needs of end users and the cost restraints of IT departments, Plantronics today introduced the new Blackwire 300 corded USB headsets for UC.
For IT departments rolling out UC, a headset is a low priority, but a critical component of the deployment. The Blackwire 300 Series satisfies their need for a low cost, entry-level UC headset that offers a superior user experience.
For IT departments rolling out UC, a headset is a low priority, but a critical component of the deployment. The Blackwire 300 Series satisfies their need for a low cost, entry-level UC headset that offers a superior user experience.
GIGABYTE Claims World No. 1 Spot for Motherboard Durability
GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced their upcoming 7 series motherboards will boast GIGABYTE's industry leading Ultra Durable 4 technology, helping to safe-guard GIGABYTE motherboards from common everyday threats, including humidity and moisture, electro-static discharge, sudden power loss and high operating temperatures.
"With the launch of the first Ultra Durable motherboard in 2006, GIGABYTE revolutionized the motherboard industry by making quality the number one focus in our motherboard design," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "Five and a half years later, GIGABYTE maintains our leadership in quality design by equipping our upcoming 7 series motherboards with even more lifespan enhancing technologies in the form of Ultra Durable 4."
"With the launch of the first Ultra Durable motherboard in 2006, GIGABYTE revolutionized the motherboard industry by making quality the number one focus in our motherboard design," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "Five and a half years later, GIGABYTE maintains our leadership in quality design by equipping our upcoming 7 series motherboards with even more lifespan enhancing technologies in the form of Ultra Durable 4."
ADLINK Launches ATCA Blade with Dual Intel Xeon Processor E5-2648L and AMC Bay
ADLINK Technology, Inc., a leading provider of trusted telecom computing products, today announced availability of the aTCA-6200, a next-generation AdvancedTCA (ATCA) processor blade that demonstrates ADLINK's leadership in the development of high performance compute blades with flexible expansion capabilities.
The aTCA-6200 features two 1.8 GHz eight-core Intel Xeon processors E5-2648L, the Intel C604 chipset, DDR3-1600 memory up to 128 GB, and a PICMG mid-size AMC bay. On-card connectivity includes dual 10GBASE-KX4 Fabric Interfaces, dual GbE Base Interfaces, dual front panel GbE egress ports, CFast socket, and quad SAS channels, which provide leading-edge network performance and storage capabilities. The aTCA-6200 is ideal for carrier-grade applications such as media servers in IPTV, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) broadband networks, and wireless infrastructures, providing telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) and network equipment providers (NEPs) with a flexible, cost-effective solution for mission-critical applications and a reliable, smooth path for scalability and expansion.
The aTCA-6200 features two 1.8 GHz eight-core Intel Xeon processors E5-2648L, the Intel C604 chipset, DDR3-1600 memory up to 128 GB, and a PICMG mid-size AMC bay. On-card connectivity includes dual 10GBASE-KX4 Fabric Interfaces, dual GbE Base Interfaces, dual front panel GbE egress ports, CFast socket, and quad SAS channels, which provide leading-edge network performance and storage capabilities. The aTCA-6200 is ideal for carrier-grade applications such as media servers in IPTV, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) broadband networks, and wireless infrastructures, providing telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) and network equipment providers (NEPs) with a flexible, cost-effective solution for mission-critical applications and a reliable, smooth path for scalability and expansion.
ASUS Motherboards First to Implement USB-attached SCSI to Boost USB 3.0 Performance
With its latest P8Z77, ROG Maximus V, and Sabertooth Z77 motherboard lines, ASUS became the first PC motherboard vendor to implement UASP - USB-attached SCSI Protocol. UASP changes the way the computer and connected USB devices talk to each other. It ensures more efficient utilization of bus bandwidth (5 Gb/s), resulting in higher bandwidth yield to connected devices. UASP allows connected devices to exchange multiple commands at once, reducing protocol overhead. UASP is implemented on ASUS motherboards using third-party controllers that support it. So far we know the likes of VLI to have such host controllers. In addition to these, ASUS motherboards also provide USB 3.0 ports wired to Intel PCH chipsets.
Supermicro Launches 100+ New Generation Server Solutions
Super Micro Computer, Inc., a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and green computing unveils its new generation server platforms supporting the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600/1600 families at CeBIT 2012 in Hannover, Germany this week. This comprehensive product launch showcases the vast array of systems, serverboards and computing solutions Supermicro has deployed delivering higher performance with Intel's newest 8 core, 16 thread processors.
Debuting alongside this launch are innovative, free-air cooled systems designed to withstand 47 C operating temperature environments that make it easier to achieve a better PUE (e.g., 1.05). In addition, Supermicro has created a new platform architecture dubbed "FatTwin", an evolution of Supermicro's Twin architecture, offering enhanced system cooling, power savings, lower TCO and ultimate flexibility to support any application or upgrade path. Major advances in high-efficiency (95%) Digital Switching power supplies and integrated UPS battery backup module technologies provide increased efficiency and high-availability for mission critical applications. When combined with full rack integration services and new Data Center Management software that manages health, power and maintenance of servers in large deployments, Supermicro provides the most complete, scalable computing solutions with maximized performance and the highest levels of efficiency.
Debuting alongside this launch are innovative, free-air cooled systems designed to withstand 47 C operating temperature environments that make it easier to achieve a better PUE (e.g., 1.05). In addition, Supermicro has created a new platform architecture dubbed "FatTwin", an evolution of Supermicro's Twin architecture, offering enhanced system cooling, power savings, lower TCO and ultimate flexibility to support any application or upgrade path. Major advances in high-efficiency (95%) Digital Switching power supplies and integrated UPS battery backup module technologies provide increased efficiency and high-availability for mission critical applications. When combined with full rack integration services and new Data Center Management software that manages health, power and maintenance of servers in large deployments, Supermicro provides the most complete, scalable computing solutions with maximized performance and the highest levels of efficiency.
Dell Introduces a New Line of PowerEdge Servers
Dell today announced a portfolio of blade, rack and tower PowerEdge servers optimized for use in demanding enterprise environments. As the only one of the top five server vendors to grow server revenues in Q4 2011 with 9.7 percent year-over-year revenue growth, Dell continues to innovate to deliver features that are industry firsts and make the PowerEdge 12th generation servers the company's highest performing, most manageable servers ever. With this new server series, customers ranging from small businesses to hyper-scale data centers can help maximize efficiency by streamlining and automating operations, help achieve better business application performance and business continuity.
"Dell designed the new PowerEdge servers with input gathered from more than 7,700 customer interactions in 17 countries across four continents," said Brad Anderson, President of Enterprise Solutions Group at Dell. "Our customers told us that they need end-to-end solutions to handle the complex workload problems they face every day. As such, we built our new generation of servers, systems management and workload solutions to address the needs of business end users who require maximum performance to run mission-critical applications and IT departments which demand more efficient, secure and reliable operations."
"Dell designed the new PowerEdge servers with input gathered from more than 7,700 customer interactions in 17 countries across four continents," said Brad Anderson, President of Enterprise Solutions Group at Dell. "Our customers told us that they need end-to-end solutions to handle the complex workload problems they face every day. As such, we built our new generation of servers, systems management and workload solutions to address the needs of business end users who require maximum performance to run mission-critical applications and IT departments which demand more efficient, secure and reliable operations."
SGI Continues Exascale Move with Integration of Intel Xeon Processor E5-2600 Family
SGI, the trusted leader in technical computing, today announced that it is continuing its march toward exascale computing with the integration of the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family into all of its high performance compute (HPC) server and storage platforms and product families. Full support for the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family in the SGI Rackable, SGI ICE X HPC and SGI Modular InfiniteStorage (MIS) platforms is also now available.
SGI has been shipping Rackable servers to its public cloud customers since September 2011, and is shipping 26.73 teraflops per rack this month in its ICE X platform. The MIS server platform represents the densest storage server platform in the industry today, and is based solely on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family. As the most flexible, high-performance computing platform in the industry, the SGI Rackable line takes advantage of the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family to drive the most dramatic performance improvements in a typical product generation - in some cases up to 2X¹ and beyond the performance of the previous generation for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
SGI has been shipping Rackable servers to its public cloud customers since September 2011, and is shipping 26.73 teraflops per rack this month in its ICE X platform. The MIS server platform represents the densest storage server platform in the industry today, and is based solely on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family. As the most flexible, high-performance computing platform in the industry, the SGI Rackable line takes advantage of the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 family to drive the most dramatic performance improvements in a typical product generation - in some cases up to 2X¹ and beyond the performance of the previous generation for high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.
WD's Purchase of Hitachi HDD Business Approved by EU Regulators
Western Digital (WD), secured an approval (conditional), from the European Union regulator in-charge of competition that enables it to go ahead and purchase Hitachi's hard disk drive business. WD is purchasing Hitachi's HDD assets for US $4.3 billion. "The proposed divestiture will ensure that competition in the industry is fully restored before the merger is implemented," EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement. What makes the EU approval conditional is the fact that WD had to first agree to sell several of its production operations, which it did, to Toshiba, early this month.
EVGA Announces the Classified SR-X Motherboard
EVGA Corporation, the leading-edge 3D processor and motherboard manufacturer, announced the ultimate in high performance motherboards, the EVGA Classified SR-X. This motherboard sets a new standard for what is considered an enthusiast motherboard with dual CPU support, 4-way SLI support, SATA III 6 GB/s, SAS, USB 3.0 and more. Whether you are an extreme power user, workstation, server admin, folder/cruncher; this is the ultimate board for you. This board was designed from the ground up to support the latest and greatest in technology, and be able to complete any task you throw at it faster than you ever thought possible.
Hitachi Data Systems to Introduce New Server Line-Up Based on Intel Xeon Processor E5
Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., today announced that it will expand its family of blade and rack server products for the enterprise market. The forthcoming Hitachi Compute Systems will be based on the new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family introduced today by Intel Corporation.
"By leveraging the new Intel Xeon processor E5 family, upcoming Hitachi Compute Systems will feature faster performance, higher density and greater energy efficiency," said Roberto Basilio, vice president, Infrastructure Platforms Product Management, Hitachi Data Systems. "Hitachi Compute Systems offer innovative designs with unique advantages in scalability, flexible I/O configuration and high availability. They are ideal servers upon which to build converged data center solutions. Seamless management integration with Hitachi Data Systems storage and data networking components give customers an easy operational interface. This saves costs, reduces errors and allows faster, more effective deployment and management of virtual IT environments - all of which create greater efficiencies across the data center."
"By leveraging the new Intel Xeon processor E5 family, upcoming Hitachi Compute Systems will feature faster performance, higher density and greater energy efficiency," said Roberto Basilio, vice president, Infrastructure Platforms Product Management, Hitachi Data Systems. "Hitachi Compute Systems offer innovative designs with unique advantages in scalability, flexible I/O configuration and high availability. They are ideal servers upon which to build converged data center solutions. Seamless management integration with Hitachi Data Systems storage and data networking components give customers an easy operational interface. This saves costs, reduces errors and allows faster, more effective deployment and management of virtual IT environments - all of which create greater efficiencies across the data center."
Micron Announces First 2.5-inch PCIe Enterprise SSD
Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of NAND Flash and advanced solid-state storage solutions, today announced that it has developed a 2.5-inch enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) based on a PCIe interface. The solution combines a high-performance PCIe interface with a hot-swappable 2.5-inch form factor that creates new options for enterprise server performance scalability and serviceability.
Because the 2.5-inch form factor allows PCIe SSDs to be integrated into the front end of the server (like traditional data storage drives), customers can easily service the drive or scale performance - without ever powering down the server.
Because the 2.5-inch form factor allows PCIe SSDs to be integrated into the front end of the server (like traditional data storage drives), customers can easily service the drive or scale performance - without ever powering down the server.
NEC Adds New Servers Based on the New Intel Xeon E5-2600 Product Family
NEC Corporation of America (NEC), a leading provider of innovative IT, communications, and biometrics solutions, today announced the launch of NEC's new generation of servers based on the new Intel Xeon E5-2600 product family supporting ProgrammableFlow networking.
The new generation of Express5800 E5 Generation Series servers will benefit from the performance boost and energy-efficiency of the new Intel Xeon processor E5 family combined with NEC's own innovations for higher manageability, energy efficiency and higher scalability. Combined with NEC's new ProgrammableFlow support, these new features will become an important factor to help accelerate cloud computing by maximizing the effectiveness of operational expenditure, especially business critical applications and database consolidation at corporate data centers. The Express5800/R120d-2M and R120d-1M family of platforms will be powered by these innovative features.
The new generation of Express5800 E5 Generation Series servers will benefit from the performance boost and energy-efficiency of the new Intel Xeon processor E5 family combined with NEC's own innovations for higher manageability, energy efficiency and higher scalability. Combined with NEC's new ProgrammableFlow support, these new features will become an important factor to help accelerate cloud computing by maximizing the effectiveness of operational expenditure, especially business critical applications and database consolidation at corporate data centers. The Express5800/R120d-2M and R120d-1M family of platforms will be powered by these innovative features.
Intel Launches the Xeon Processor E5-2600 Product Family
Addressing the incredible growth of data traffic in the cloud, Intel Corporation announced the record-breaking Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family. These new processors deliver leadership performance, best data center performance per watt1,4, breakthrough I/O innovation and trusted hardware security features to enable IT to scale. These processors are not only at the heart of servers and workstations, but will also power the next generation of storage and communication systems from leading vendors around the world.
Forecasts call for 15 billion connected devices and over 3 billion connected users by 2015. The amount of global data center IP traffic is forecasted to grow by 33 percent annually through 2015, surpassing 4.8 zetabytes per year, more than 3 times the amount in 2011. At these levels, each connected user will generate more than 4 GB of data traffic every day - the equivalent of a 4-hour HD movie. This will increase the amount of data that needs to be stored by almost 50 percent per year. In order to scale to meet this growth, the worldwide number of cloud servers is expected to more than triple by 2015.
Forecasts call for 15 billion connected devices and over 3 billion connected users by 2015. The amount of global data center IP traffic is forecasted to grow by 33 percent annually through 2015, surpassing 4.8 zetabytes per year, more than 3 times the amount in 2011. At these levels, each connected user will generate more than 4 GB of data traffic every day - the equivalent of a 4-hour HD movie. This will increase the amount of data that needs to be stored by almost 50 percent per year. In order to scale to meet this growth, the worldwide number of cloud servers is expected to more than triple by 2015.
Yahoo Axing Thousands of Jobs
Yahoo CEO is working on major restructuring of the company that could slash thousands of jobs. The restructured Yahoo would take shape in January. This is the internet giant's first major change under its ex-PayPal CEO Scott Thompson. The restructuring will focus on products group, research, marketing and public relations, and businesses that are not core to the company. "As we have indicated, our leadership is engaged in a process that will generate significant strategic change at Yahoo, but final decisions have not yet been made at this point. Beyond that, we will not comment," Yahoo said in a statement given to Reuters.
ZOTAC Starts CeBIT 2012 With Three New ZBOX mini-PCs
ZOTAC International, a global innovator of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today starts CeBIT 2012 with three new mini-PCs in standard, nano and Blu-ray form factors. The new ZBOX ID82, ZBOX nano ID61 and ZBOX Blu-ray AD05 series mini-PCs are perfect matches for users seeking a powerful tower PC replacement, home theater PC or energy-efficient PC.
A high-performance Intel Core i3-2330M processor with Hyper-Threading technology takes the spotlight in the ZOTAC ZBOX ID82 series to bring mini-PC performance to a whole new level with dual-cores for performance that can dominate much larger-sized tower PCs. Intel HD Graphics 3000 with Intel Quick Sync Video, InTru 3D and Clear Video HD technologies bring lightning-fast GPU-accelerated video conversion, stereoscopic 3D video output and hardware-accelerated Blu-ray 3D playback to the compact ZBOX ID82 series mini-PC.
A high-performance Intel Core i3-2330M processor with Hyper-Threading technology takes the spotlight in the ZOTAC ZBOX ID82 series to bring mini-PC performance to a whole new level with dual-cores for performance that can dominate much larger-sized tower PCs. Intel HD Graphics 3000 with Intel Quick Sync Video, InTru 3D and Clear Video HD technologies bring lightning-fast GPU-accelerated video conversion, stereoscopic 3D video output and hardware-accelerated Blu-ray 3D playback to the compact ZBOX ID82 series mini-PC.
ZTE Attains Global No. 1 PCT Patent Filings Spot
ZTE Corporation ("ZTE") (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today announced it had attained the No. 1 global ranking for PCT patent filings in 2011.
According to global findings released by the World Intellectual Property Organization on its official website, ZTE ranked No. 1 among global companies in terms of PCT patent filings in 2011 with 2,826 total applications. The company moved up from the No. 2 spot, which it held in 2010. The statistics also show consistent growth in ZTE's international patent filings over the past five years, which increased by more than 50 per cent year-on-year in 2011.
According to global findings released by the World Intellectual Property Organization on its official website, ZTE ranked No. 1 among global companies in terms of PCT patent filings in 2011 with 2,826 total applications. The company moved up from the No. 2 spot, which it held in 2010. The statistics also show consistent growth in ZTE's international patent filings over the past five years, which increased by more than 50 per cent year-on-year in 2011.
CeBIT - G.SKILL displays extreme DDR3 memory kits compatible with Z77 motherboards
March 6th 2012. G.SKILL, the worldwide leading high performance memory designer, has showcased the extreme dual channel memory kits, DDR3 2133 MHz 32 GB (4 x 8 GB), compatible with the latest Z77 motherboards at CeBIT 2012.
Working closely with leading motherboard manufacturers, G.Skill is ready to provide PC enthusiasts the best dual channel memory for the upcoming Z77 motherboards. On the MSI Z77A-GD65 and ASRock Z77 Extreme6 motherboards, G.Skill has demonstrated the 32 GB super size memory kits at DDR3 2133 MHz ultra high speed with Intel Core i7 2600K processors.
"It's just a warm-up. We are working on some faster memory kits and they will be released soon. It's going to be an exciting time" said Paul Chen, senior R&D manager at G.Skill.
Working closely with leading motherboard manufacturers, G.Skill is ready to provide PC enthusiasts the best dual channel memory for the upcoming Z77 motherboards. On the MSI Z77A-GD65 and ASRock Z77 Extreme6 motherboards, G.Skill has demonstrated the 32 GB super size memory kits at DDR3 2133 MHz ultra high speed with Intel Core i7 2600K processors.
"It's just a warm-up. We are working on some faster memory kits and they will be released soon. It's going to be an exciting time" said Paul Chen, senior R&D manager at G.Skill.
Elgato Starts Shipping its Thunderbolt SSDs
Germany-based TV and video solutions provider Elgato has today announced that it begun rolling out its CES 2012-unveiled Thunderbolt SSDs. Measuring 83 x 21 x 131 mm, these portable solid state drives feature a rock-solid metal enclosure, they include a Thunderbolt port (for both power and data delivery), and offer transfer speeds of up to 270 MB/s.
The Thunderbolt SSD line includes 120 GB and 240 GB models priced at $430 / 400 Euro and $700 / 650 Euro, respectively.
The Thunderbolt SSD line includes 120 GB and 240 GB models priced at $430 / 400 Euro and $700 / 650 Euro, respectively.
MSI Unveils its Complete Line of Intel Z77/H77/B75 Motherboards at CeBIT
The world renowned motherboard manufacturer MSI will display motherboard products that are equipped with Intel's new generation 7 series chipsets and support Intel's new generation 22nm CPU and PCI Express Gen3 specification at CeBIT 2012 exhibition that will be held at Hannover, Germany on March 6th, 2012. These motherboards include high-end Z77 chipset: Z77A-GD80, Z77A-GD65, Z77A-GD55, Z77A-G45 and Z77MA-G45; mid-end H77 chipset: ZH77-G43; entry-level B75 chipset: B75A-G43. With the adaptation of Military Class III components on MSI 7 series chipset motherboards, Military Class III components provide enthusiasts the highest quality and stability 1. MSI's Military Class III components have passed seven rigorous tests, conducted by third party laboratories; the tests include extreme temperature, humidity, pressure, vibration and dropping etc., the components received the MIL-STD-810G Military Class Certification!
Sapphire-branded Vapor-Chamber CPU Cooler Pictured
A Sapphire-branded CPU cooler was spotted at CeBIT. The unnamed cooler bears a conventional tower-type heatsink design, but sports a fan shroud holding two 120 mm blue LED-lit fans in place. The buzzword here is Vapor Chamber. We already know how Sapphire has been using Vapor Chamber technology on some of its higher-end graphics cards. Sapphire's tower-type cooler is said to incorporate this technology to help transfer heat from the base to the aluminum fin stacks. That, however, doesn't mean the cooler is devoid of heat-pipes. It appears to have over four of them, about 8 mm thick. The source mentions the cooler as having a thermal load capacity of up to 200W.
SteelSeries Introduces the Sensei [RAW] Gaming Mouse
Today, kicking off CeBIT 2012, SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of premium-quality, competitive gaming peripherals, introduced the SteelSeries Sensei [RAW]. With best-in-class hardware like Omron switches, a pro-grade laser sensor and a CPI range from 90-5700, the SteelSeries Sensei [RAW] is designed to deliver the best in gaming performance. Its ambidextrous, all-grip design also features bright-white LED illumination in 3 zones -which can be configured with multiple levels of pulsation. Powered by the SteelSeries Engine software suite, users are equipped with advanced customization options and the ability to create and store an unlimited amount of profiles.
OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive Seen at CeBIT
As promised, OCZ Technology is showing off at CeBIT 2012 its newest Vertex Series solid state drive, the Vertex 4. Pictured below, the upcoming SSD is based around the Indilinx Everest 2 platform, it features synchronous MLC NAND Flash memory (SLC can be used for enterprise-oriented models), and is capable of transfer speeds of up to 550 MB/s and up to 90,000 IOPS.
The Vertex 4 drive on display at CeBIT has a 2.5-inch form factor, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, and, according to the live demos, it delivers sequential read/write speeds of 367/305 MB/s and up to 80,000 IOPS for 4k random reads.
The Vertex 4 drive on display at CeBIT has a 2.5-inch form factor, a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, and, according to the live demos, it delivers sequential read/write speeds of 367/305 MB/s and up to 80,000 IOPS for 4k random reads.
MSI HD 7970 Lightning "GPU Reactor" Detailed
If you've seen the first pictures of MSI's Radeon HD 7970 Lightning graphics cards, you may have noticed an unusual-looking round cutout on its backplate, right behind the GPU. We are learning that this cutout, and the tiny headers on the exposed PCB are actually a socket for what MSI is referring to as a "GPU Reactor" (I can imagine Iron Man fans prepping their flame throwers right about now).
The "GPU Reactor" is a round add-on device that sits on this socket. It is essentially an add-on PCB that holds a battery of tantalum capacitors, which further conditions power for the GPU. Apart from capacitors, there are a few blue LEDs and a round, transparent window that make it light up. To what extant this gadget helps with maintaining stable OCs remains to be seen, but on the "flip-side", it could pose spacing issues with other add-on cards located right above HD 7970 Lightning cards that are outfitted with one of these.
The "GPU Reactor" is a round add-on device that sits on this socket. It is essentially an add-on PCB that holds a battery of tantalum capacitors, which further conditions power for the GPU. Apart from capacitors, there are a few blue LEDs and a round, transparent window that make it light up. To what extant this gadget helps with maintaining stable OCs remains to be seen, but on the "flip-side", it could pose spacing issues with other add-on cards located right above HD 7970 Lightning cards that are outfitted with one of these.
ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe Detailed
ASUS unveiled a new mini-ITX motherboard based on the Intel Z77 chipset, supporting LGA1155 processors, the P8Z77-I Deluxe. Despite is ultra-compact form the designers crammed in as many features as possible, including a powerful 10-phase Digi+ VRM. ASUS found an ingenious way of designing the VRM area, by raising it to a (fixed?) add-on card north of the CPU socket. This VRM riser has the electrical controller, the 10-phase VRM, complete with chokes, drivers, and FETs, and a MOSFET heatsink. This board is one of the few of its form-factor that draws power from an 8-pin EPS, apart from the 24-pin ATX.
The LGA1155 socket is wired to two full-length DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. There are four SATA ports on board, two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s. Connectivity includes 6-channel HD audio with 7.1 channel optical SPDIF output, four USB 3.0 ports (two front, two rear), gigabit Ethernet, wireless b/g/n network controller, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board features UEFI BIOS, and USB BIOS Flashback. Expect the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe to launch in April. More variants, based on this exact design, can be expected.
The LGA1155 socket is wired to two full-length DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3 memory, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. There are four SATA ports on board, two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and 3 Gb/s. Connectivity includes 6-channel HD audio with 7.1 channel optical SPDIF output, four USB 3.0 ports (two front, two rear), gigabit Ethernet, wireless b/g/n network controller, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board features UEFI BIOS, and USB BIOS Flashback. Expect the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe to launch in April. More variants, based on this exact design, can be expected.
Corsair Announces Availability of Accelerator Series Solid-State Cache Drives
Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced the availability of the Accelerator Series SSD cache drives.
The Accelerator Series is designed for desktop PC users who want to give their Microsoft Windows based PC a dramatic performance boost with minimal cost and hassle. Corsair's new line of SSD cache drives includes premium Dataplex caching software from NVELO, for improved boot times and lightning-quick file access. After connecting an Accelerator Series SSD cache drive to their computer's SATA port and installing the caching software provided with the drive, users will see an immediate speed boost. No drive mapping, no reinstallation of the operating system or applications, and no complex file management is needed - the Accelerator Series SSD cache drive works in tandem with the customer's existing hard drive to provide optimized performance. Customers may see an improvement in read/write speeds of up to 5x their current hard drive performance after installing a Corsair Accelerator Series SSD cache drive.
The Accelerator Series is designed for desktop PC users who want to give their Microsoft Windows based PC a dramatic performance boost with minimal cost and hassle. Corsair's new line of SSD cache drives includes premium Dataplex caching software from NVELO, for improved boot times and lightning-quick file access. After connecting an Accelerator Series SSD cache drive to their computer's SATA port and installing the caching software provided with the drive, users will see an immediate speed boost. No drive mapping, no reinstallation of the operating system or applications, and no complex file management is needed - the Accelerator Series SSD cache drive works in tandem with the customer's existing hard drive to provide optimized performance. Customers may see an improvement in read/write speeds of up to 5x their current hard drive performance after installing a Corsair Accelerator Series SSD cache drive.
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