News Archive
Friday, October 29th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Memory
Monitors
Motherboards
Notebooks
Processors
PSUs
Speakers
- Arctic C1 Technic3D (de)
Sparkle Announces First Single Slot GeForce GTS 450 Graphics Card
SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today announced latest addition with one slot cooling solution to its GeForce GTS 450 series graphics cards, fitting the mainstream users' lifestyle with compact design.
One of the World's first GeForce GTS 450 graphics cards with one-slot cooling design with 2 heatpipes with copper fins, meeting the mainstream users' requirement for compact design. It use the premium 7010 centrifugal fan design featuring greater air volume to take the heat away and lower the temperature rapidly. The cooling fan has the speed modulation mechanism, so that the working noise will not be maintained at the full speed level, and this mechanism can increase the fan's life.
One of the World's first GeForce GTS 450 graphics cards with one-slot cooling design with 2 heatpipes with copper fins, meeting the mainstream users' requirement for compact design. It use the premium 7010 centrifugal fan design featuring greater air volume to take the heat away and lower the temperature rapidly. The cooling fan has the speed modulation mechanism, so that the working noise will not be maintained at the full speed level, and this mechanism can increase the fan's life.
Spire Announces the Epoxii ATX Mid-Tower Chassis
Spire Corp today officially introduced their new high-end chassis. The Epoxi is a top of the line, sturdy and versatile PC Gamer case. Crafted from heavy-duty perforated steel panels guaranteed maximum performance and computing satisfaction. Every element of the case has been engineered to provide maximum cooling performance. Up to six large 12cm fans placed throughout the Epoxi ensuring unbeatable cooling. The meshed aluminum front panel allows unrestricted fresh air intake which is mandatory for todays extremely hot gaming components such as high wattage CPU and GPU.
The spacious internal design enables flexible assembly and sufficient room for the installation of water-cooling. The Chassis is pre-applied with rubber grommet holes for feeding the external water-cooling tubes. 11 removable front bezels accommodating 5x 5.25 inch drive bays and 6x 3.5 drive bays. Tool-free support enabling nice and easy installation of your drive devices. Two drive cages with direct cooling and tool free mounting for five hard disc drives provide massive storage capabilities. Anti-vibration mountings and application of cooling fans make this the affordable power machine you have been looking for.
The spacious internal design enables flexible assembly and sufficient room for the installation of water-cooling. The Chassis is pre-applied with rubber grommet holes for feeding the external water-cooling tubes. 11 removable front bezels accommodating 5x 5.25 inch drive bays and 6x 3.5 drive bays. Tool-free support enabling nice and easy installation of your drive devices. Two drive cages with direct cooling and tool free mounting for five hard disc drives provide massive storage capabilities. Anti-vibration mountings and application of cooling fans make this the affordable power machine you have been looking for.
Gigabyte's Mid-Range LGA1155 Motherboards Pictured
Earlier this year, Gigabyte surprised us by displaying its first motherboards that use a black-colored PCB, the higher end of its socket LGA1155 motherboard lineup based on the P67 Express chipset, the GA-P67A-UD5 and GA-P67A-UD7; the company's mid-thru-entry range of P67 and H67 based motherboards got their photo-shoot. Pictured below (in order) are the P67A-UD3R, P67A-UD3, and H67MA-UD2H. The P67A-UD3R is the third Gigabyte motherboard to be pictured with a black PCB, it is decked in black overall (slots and connectors), with a dash of white. The LGA1155 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel memory. Expansion slots include three PCI-E x1, one PCI-E 2.0 x16, one PCI-E x16 (electrical x4), and two PCI.
The P67A-UD3 marks a return to blue PCB (indicating that lower-mainstream Gigabyte motherboards will retain the blue color-scheme. It's is a slightly skimpier version of the UD3R, and probably has the SATA RAID function disabled. Connectivity of this, and the UD3R are nearly identical: 8+2 channel HD audio, two USB 3.0 ports, a number of USB 2.0 ports, two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s ports. The H67MA-UD2H is a micro-ATX motherboard optimized for processors with on-die graphics, it features the flexible display interface (FDI), with display connectivity including one each of DVI, D-Sub, DisplayPort, and HDMI. Expansion slots include two PCI-E x16 (electrical x16, x4); and two PCI-E x1. Connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s, three SATA 3 Gb/s, one eSATA, 8 channel HD audio with optical SPDIF, two USB 3.0 and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Gigabyte's P67 and H67 series motherboard will launch in early 2011, in time for Intel's latest processor lineup.
The P67A-UD3 marks a return to blue PCB (indicating that lower-mainstream Gigabyte motherboards will retain the blue color-scheme. It's is a slightly skimpier version of the UD3R, and probably has the SATA RAID function disabled. Connectivity of this, and the UD3R are nearly identical: 8+2 channel HD audio, two USB 3.0 ports, a number of USB 2.0 ports, two SATA 6 Gb/s and four SATA 3 Gb/s ports. The H67MA-UD2H is a micro-ATX motherboard optimized for processors with on-die graphics, it features the flexible display interface (FDI), with display connectivity including one each of DVI, D-Sub, DisplayPort, and HDMI. Expansion slots include two PCI-E x16 (electrical x16, x4); and two PCI-E x1. Connectivity includes two SATA 6 Gb/s, three SATA 3 Gb/s, one eSATA, 8 channel HD audio with optical SPDIF, two USB 3.0 and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Gigabyte's P67 and H67 series motherboard will launch in early 2011, in time for Intel's latest processor lineup.
ASUS Announces Disk Unlocker, Make Use of HDDs with Over 2 TB Capacity
Disk Unlocker is exclusive (patent pending) software from ASUS that overcomes current operating system limitations that prevent a hard disk drive from utilizing more than 2048GB (also known as 2.2TB). This one-click software solution instantly enables the full capacity of the latest generation of high-density hard drives, making vast amounts of storage space available to ASUS motherboard users.
In the early days of computing, users would never have dreamed of needing more than a few megabytes, let alone a few gigabytes worth of data, and as a result, operating system code was written to reflect this way of thinking. Today, with ever-increasing data densities and hard drive capacities now reaching 3TB and beyond, PC users are still saddled with operating systems unable to use the full capacity of hard drives larger than 2048GB. In other words, storage space can remain unused and inaccessible without a motherboard upgrade.
In the early days of computing, users would never have dreamed of needing more than a few megabytes, let alone a few gigabytes worth of data, and as a result, operating system code was written to reflect this way of thinking. Today, with ever-increasing data densities and hard drive capacities now reaching 3TB and beyond, PC users are still saddled with operating systems unable to use the full capacity of hard drives larger than 2048GB. In other words, storage space can remain unused and inaccessible without a motherboard upgrade.
MSI Announces the FX600MX High Performance Notebook
MSI has unveiled its all-new FX600MX notebook computer which features a 15.6" backlit LED screen and the Intel Core i5/i3 processor. It also packs the nVidia GeForce 310M discrete graphics card with 512MB of display memory. What's more, when your machine is processing high-load applications, the automatic graphics switching in MSI's GPU Boost technology kicks over to discrete graphics card mode for superior graphics processing.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern explains that sheathed in MSI's own anti-scratch, anti-smudge raised totem seal coating, the FX600MX is both formidable and chic. The wrist rest areas are covered with a raised checkerboard coating that is gentle on the hands when typing. Furthermore, such stylish design elements as the unique chiclet keyboard and raised multipoint touchpad combine to enhance class and texture. The FX600MX is the apex of computing-inside and out.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern explains that sheathed in MSI's own anti-scratch, anti-smudge raised totem seal coating, the FX600MX is both formidable and chic. The wrist rest areas are covered with a raised checkerboard coating that is gentle on the hands when typing. Furthermore, such stylish design elements as the unique chiclet keyboard and raised multipoint touchpad combine to enhance class and texture. The FX600MX is the apex of computing-inside and out.
Kingston Intros HyperX Limited Edition DDR3-1600 MHz 4 GB Kit
Kingston announced a new HyperX Limited Edition DDR3-1600 MHz (PC3-12800) dual-channel memory kit, which sports black heat-spreaders. This kit includes two 2 GB modules, and carries the model number KHX1600C9D3X1K2/4G. The modules achieve 1600 MHz speeds with timings of 9-9-9-24, and DRAM voltage of 1.65V, making it compatible with Core i5/i7 LGA1156 platform. Backed by a lifetime warranty, it is priced at around €75.
Kingston Technology Ships HyperX Fan in Black Color
Kingston Technology, Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping the HyperX fan in black. The new black fan is identical in performance and specifications to the blue-colored HyperX fan released in June 2009.
The dual 60mm fans optimize airflow around the modules helping memory run at peak performance for longer periods of time. The black HyperX Fan is made of anodized aluminum and when turned on, the blades are illuminated by eight small blue LEDs. Power use is minimal and noise is not an issue as the fan runs at a whisper-quiet 25 dBA.
The dual 60mm fans optimize airflow around the modules helping memory run at peak performance for longer periods of time. The black HyperX Fan is made of anodized aluminum and when turned on, the blades are illuminated by eight small blue LEDs. Power use is minimal and noise is not an issue as the fan runs at a whisper-quiet 25 dBA.
LaCie 2Big USB 3.0 Breaks 300 MB/s Barrier with New 3 TB Hard Drives
Today, LaCie demonstrates technology leadership with the availability of 3TB hard drives and the demonstration of record speeds in two of its professional storage solutions - LaCie d2 USB 3.0 and LaCie 2big USB 3.0.
Thanks to the inclusion of 3TB hard drives and the performance of USB 3.0, LaCie's 2big USB 3.0, now available in 6TB, achieves a dramatic 20% speed boost by reaching 306MB/s -the fastest performance of any 2-bay RAID solution to-date. The d2 USB 3.0 also demonstrates a significant speed increase of 156 MB/s with the inclusion of a 3TB hard drive.
Thanks to the inclusion of 3TB hard drives and the performance of USB 3.0, LaCie's 2big USB 3.0, now available in 6TB, achieves a dramatic 20% speed boost by reaching 306MB/s -the fastest performance of any 2-bay RAID solution to-date. The d2 USB 3.0 also demonstrates a significant speed increase of 156 MB/s with the inclusion of a 3TB hard drive.
Thursday, October 28th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
Monitors
Netbooks
HIS Radeon HD 6870 Turbo 1 GB Review
The HIS Radeon HD 6870 Turbo is a factory overclocked variant of the HD 6870 that builds heavily on the AMD reference design. This means that PCB, components and cooler are unchanged from the original AMD card - which is a good thing. The increased clock speeds give the card a 4% performance advantage.
OCZ Launches RevoDrive X2 Second Generation Bootable PCI-Express SSD
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, announces the launch of The RevoDrive X2 PCI-Express SSD, a follow-up to the successful launch of the first RevoDrive, with increased performance and capacity to serve high-performance computing consumers. The RevoDrive X2 upgrades the original architecture to deliver unprecedented speed up to 740 MB/s and up to 120,000 IOPS, nearly triple the throughput of other high-end SATA-based solutions with a substantial reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO) to the consumer. The product is available now through OCZ's global channel.
"The original OCZ RevoDrive SSD was designed to be the first high-performance, bootable PCIe SSD solution and has become a popular choice for demanding computing applications that require faster, more reliable storage," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "Building on the success of the original design, we are excited to introduce the RevoDrive X2, which delivers both increased performance and capacity, making the RevoDrive X2 a viable option for a wide spectrum of applications that include professional graphic design, multimedia rendering, and workstations. With our recently announced new state-of-the-art SSD manufacturing facility in Taiwan, OCZ will continue to be at the forefront of developing and deploying game-changing solid state storage solutions."
"The original OCZ RevoDrive SSD was designed to be the first high-performance, bootable PCIe SSD solution and has become a popular choice for demanding computing applications that require faster, more reliable storage," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "Building on the success of the original design, we are excited to introduce the RevoDrive X2, which delivers both increased performance and capacity, making the RevoDrive X2 a viable option for a wide spectrum of applications that include professional graphic design, multimedia rendering, and workstations. With our recently announced new state-of-the-art SSD manufacturing facility in Taiwan, OCZ will continue to be at the forefront of developing and deploying game-changing solid state storage solutions."
Axle Announces Radeon HD 6870 Graphics Card
Axle took its own sweet time coming up with a Radeon HD 6800 series graphics card lineup, the company released its HD 6870, which sticks to AMD reference design, like every other HD 6870 out there, at the moment. Based on the second-generation DirectX 11 compliant GPU architecture by AMD, the HD 6870 features 1120 stream processors, and makes use of 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Display connectivity include two each of DVI, mini-DisplayPort, and one HDMI. Power is drawn in from two 6-pin connectors. Axle's HD 6870 also uses AMD-reference clock speeds of 900/1050 MHz, and is expected to be priced like almost every other card in its league, around $240.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 Reference Design Graphics Card Pictured
Here are the first pictures of what is touted to be the GeForce GTX 580 reference design graphics card by NVIDIA, by sections of the Chinese media. There are some interesting inferences that can be drawn just by the looks of the card. To begin with the cooler bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the earliest design iterations of the GeForce GTX 480 (pictured here and here). In its final iteration, NVIDIA gave the GTX 480 a more massive cooler, perhaps to keep up with its finalized clock speeds. If the design of the GTX 580 cooler is anything to go by, it means that either NVIDIA refined the GF100 architecture in the GF110 (on which GTX 580 is based) a great deal, increasing performance per Watt; or that since GTX 580 is in its development stage, its final version could look different. GeForce GTX 580 is being designed as a counter to AMD's Radeon HD 6900 series single-GPU graphics cards that are based on the new Cayman graphics core, which is slated for release in late November. It is expected to be 20% faster than the GTX 480.
Galaxy Debuts GeForce GTS 450 Hall of Fame (HOF) Edition Graphics Card
Galaxy debuted a premium custom-design GeForce GTS 450 graphics card belonging to the company's new bleeding-edge factory-OC identifier, the HOF (hall of fame). The GTS 450 HOF from Galaxy uses a core clocked at no less than 1000 MHz, blazing past factory-OC levels set by the likes of Point of View (TGT-Beast @ 920 MHz); Gigabyte (WindForce XOC @ 930 MHz), Colorful (iGame @ 900 MHz), and EVGA (FTW Edition @ 930 MHz), etc.
Galaxy's card makes use of a rather simple 4+1 phase VRM to deliver power, drawing from a single 6-pin power connector, but relies on a powerful cooling solution designed by Arctic Cooling, and very low latency (0.4 ns) GDDR5 memory chips made by Samsung. The memory interface is clocked at 1025 MHz (4100 MHz GDDR5 effective), while the CUDA cores are clocked at 2000 MHz. The card was introduced to the Chinese market a little earlier this month, and is now on its way to western market. For EU, the same exact card KFA2-branded, isn't ruled out. Its pricing isn't known at the moment.
Galaxy's card makes use of a rather simple 4+1 phase VRM to deliver power, drawing from a single 6-pin power connector, but relies on a powerful cooling solution designed by Arctic Cooling, and very low latency (0.4 ns) GDDR5 memory chips made by Samsung. The memory interface is clocked at 1025 MHz (4100 MHz GDDR5 effective), while the CUDA cores are clocked at 2000 MHz. The card was introduced to the Chinese market a little earlier this month, and is now on its way to western market. For EU, the same exact card KFA2-branded, isn't ruled out. Its pricing isn't known at the moment.
MSI Introduces FR600 3D Cinema Entertainment Notebook
MSI just rolled out the FR600 3D multimedia notebook computer equipped with the latest 3D graphics technology and cinema-quality THX TruStudio Pro smart wrap around sound. Put on a pair of 3D glasses and enjoy an all-new 3D multimedia experience with true-to-life graphics whether you're playing videos games, watching films, or browsing through a photo album.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that the 15.6" FR600 3D laptop boasts the latest raised totem seal coating technology to protect it against scratching and smudges. The inside cover comes with silver components that stand out in contrast with the jet black color theme. What's more, under the hood, you'll find Intel's powerful Core i5 processor as well as MSI's own TDE technology for the ultimate in 3D multimedia performance.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that the 15.6" FR600 3D laptop boasts the latest raised totem seal coating technology to protect it against scratching and smudges. The inside cover comes with silver components that stand out in contrast with the jet black color theme. What's more, under the hood, you'll find Intel's powerful Core i5 processor as well as MSI's own TDE technology for the ultimate in 3D multimedia performance.
Xigmatek Asgard and Asgard II Cases Updated with New Windowed Side-Panel
The popular Xigmatek Asgard and Asgard II enclosures, with their classic , discreet design and exquisitely understated looks, along with a long list of useful features which have proven themselves in the market, are now available with windowed side panels. Each of the successful Asgard and Asgard II versions are now available with the x-shaped windows pre-installed.
Both the Asgard and the entire Asgard II range of enclosures continue to be very popular. The combination of useful features, elegant looks and attractive price remain unattained in the case market. Xigmatek has responded the steady demand of these enclosures and will now be offering the Asgard and all three versions of the Asgard II with a modified side panel featuring their signature x-shaped window. For those who want to upgrade their normal Asgard or Asgard II, this side panel will be available for purchase separately.
Both the Asgard and the entire Asgard II range of enclosures continue to be very popular. The combination of useful features, elegant looks and attractive price remain unattained in the case market. Xigmatek has responded the steady demand of these enclosures and will now be offering the Asgard and all three versions of the Asgard II with a modified side panel featuring their signature x-shaped window. For those who want to upgrade their normal Asgard or Asgard II, this side panel will be available for purchase separately.
Exceleram Intros Pair of Low-Voltage Mainstream DDR3 Dual-Channel Memory Kits
German memory maker Exceleram announced a pair of low-voltage, dual-channel, 4 GB DDR3 memory kits for use in mainstream PCs. The first kit, ELV001A, consists of two 2 GB modules that run at PC3-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR speeds with timings of 7-7-7-21, and DRAM voltage of 1.35V; while the second kit, the ELV002A, gives you two modules that run at PC3-12800 (1600 MHz) DDR speeds with timings of 9-9-9-24, at 1.35V. Both kits are estimated by the manufacturer to draw 10% lesser power compared to conventional 1.5V modules. The modules are decked up by "Blue Culvert" heatspreaders to keep cool. While the company did not give out prices, it mentioned that they will be reasonable.
Wednesday, October 27th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Monitors
Motherboards
Multimedia
Netbooks
Notebooks
PSUs
beyerdynamic MMX 300 Headset Review
Beyerdynamic known for their high end headphones have now released a gaming headset. This headset is priced at a record €299/$299 so the stakes are high.
Apricorn Expands Aegis Padlock AES-Encrypted HDD Series with 750 GB Models
Apricorn expanded its Aegis Padlock series of secure portable hard drives with two 750 GB models, one with 128-bit AES and the other with 256-bit AES encryption for a very high grade of data security. Measuring 19 x 84.5 x 120 mm, these drives have a keypad that lets users key in an alpha-numeric PIN. The drive also "self-destructs" (destroys the encryption key and permanently locks the data), when it senses a brute-force attack to gain access to sensitive data. The drive has an 8 MB cache, and uses USB 2.0 interface with a retractable cable. Backed by a three-year warranty, the Aegis Padlock 750 GB with 128-bit AES is priced at US $179, and with 256-bit AES at $199.
ASUS Intros ''All Round'' Wireless Mouse with Touch Surface
No, it's not a mini-disc music player, it's not a powder compact either, but a new wireless mouse by ASUS, which intends to take on Apple's Magic Mouse, which gives users a touch surface apart from being a pointing device. ASUS' WD-XL, as it's called, sports a perfectly round shape, with a slight tilt when placed on its tracking surface. One of its lead designers is Danish design house David Lewis, which also worked on ASUS' NX90 designer notebook.
Measuring 80 (L) x 80 (W) x 31.5 (H), its top holds a circular touch surface with a few feather-touch media keys, with two mouse buttons to its north. As a pointing device, the WD-XL has a 1200 dpi laser sensor. It connects to the PC over a common 2.4 GHz RF wireless connection. The touch surface gives users access to several touch-based UI features of Windows 7, without having to crane your arms to a touchscreen display. It is said to be priced at US $79. The company pitches this product as an "All Round Mouse Perfection".
Measuring 80 (L) x 80 (W) x 31.5 (H), its top holds a circular touch surface with a few feather-touch media keys, with two mouse buttons to its north. As a pointing device, the WD-XL has a 1200 dpi laser sensor. It connects to the PC over a common 2.4 GHz RF wireless connection. The touch surface gives users access to several touch-based UI features of Windows 7, without having to crane your arms to a touchscreen display. It is said to be priced at US $79. The company pitches this product as an "All Round Mouse Perfection".
Gigabyte Announces Sumo 5112 PC Chassis
Gigabyte Thermal Solutions identify the ever-changing trends and address feedbacks of consumers by adding features that make our products stand out of the crowd and fulfill expectations of most demanding users. The flagship Sumo series now presents a new upgraded version in its family of cases. New Sumo 5112 features the same panel with the top-selling Sumo 4112 which amazes its users with curvaceous aluminum front door with hairline brushed finish.
Sumo 5112 is proud to be a Full Tower case, able to fit an E-ATX motherboard and largest VGA card therefore making it easier to install all other components. Being equipped with extendable pedestal stabilizers and now even heavier than the previous model, Sumo 5112 is solid as a sumo wrestler. Bundled with 2.5" black GIGABYTE Anvil enclosure and integrated 2.5" removable docking drive bay, Sumo also has a thoughtful disc storage design at the back of the front aluminum door. All this and rooftop accessibility of I/O interfaces with e-SATA port, Sumo 5112 can be the optimum solution for multiple range of users. Dual interchangeable panel will expose the case user-friendly architecture with cable-managed interior, liquid system space and tube outlets, as well as flexible hard disk tool-free mounting rack.
Sumo 5112 is proud to be a Full Tower case, able to fit an E-ATX motherboard and largest VGA card therefore making it easier to install all other components. Being equipped with extendable pedestal stabilizers and now even heavier than the previous model, Sumo 5112 is solid as a sumo wrestler. Bundled with 2.5" black GIGABYTE Anvil enclosure and integrated 2.5" removable docking drive bay, Sumo also has a thoughtful disc storage design at the back of the front aluminum door. All this and rooftop accessibility of I/O interfaces with e-SATA port, Sumo 5112 can be the optimum solution for multiple range of users. Dual interchangeable panel will expose the case user-friendly architecture with cable-managed interior, liquid system space and tube outlets, as well as flexible hard disk tool-free mounting rack.
iBUYPOWER Launches Three Systems with New AMD Radeon 6800 Series Graphics Cards
iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce three systems featuring the powerful new AMD 6800 series graphic cards - Gamer Mage D295, Gamer Mage D355, and Gamer Paladin F820. The new DirectX11 compatible cards help create a truly immersive gaming experience by supporting up to 6 monitors with an external display-port hub and 3D video.
"We take pride in always being able to offer our customers the latest in graphics technology," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "That's why we are excited to be among the first to offer the gamer-friendly AMD Radeon 6000 series graphics cards."
"We take pride in always being able to offer our customers the latest in graphics technology," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "That's why we are excited to be among the first to offer the gamer-friendly AMD Radeon 6000 series graphics cards."
AMD Announces Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix Driver Update
AMD gave out the latest hotfix driver update to its recently published Catalyst 10.10 WHQL, which is a whole lot more than being just a hotfix, this time. A hotfix update is usually given out by AMD if it misses out on addressing a couple of important issues with a recently published Catalyst WHQL driver update. Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix adds early OpenGL 4.1 support, and surprisingly adds multiple game-specific performance improvements (unusual for a Hotfix).
DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix
Details are as follows:
DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 10.10c Hotfix
Details are as follows:
A-Data Announces HM Series High Efficiency PSUs
ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in high performance memory and flash products, has announced the launch of the HM Series power supply for personal computers. The HM Series has a PF (Power Factor) of 0.9 up and energy efficiency up to 82%, and is designed for the gamer, high-performance, and overclocker markets.
Available in a range of wattages (550, 650, 750, 850 and 1,200 watts), the HM Series delivers reliability and protection for all types of hardware configurations. In particular, the units are equipped with an intelligent dual ball bearing LED fan with a tri-color output power display. The power consumption status is indicated by the color of the display (green for low load; blue for normal load; red for full load). The HM Series is constructed with all Japan-made capacitors for voltage regulation, filtering, and buffering functions, resulting in long-term power output stability, with MTBF (Mean time between failures) of over 100,000 hours. The high ratio of output to input power has earned the HM Series the 80 Plus Bronze certification for energy efficiency.
Available in a range of wattages (550, 650, 750, 850 and 1,200 watts), the HM Series delivers reliability and protection for all types of hardware configurations. In particular, the units are equipped with an intelligent dual ball bearing LED fan with a tri-color output power display. The power consumption status is indicated by the color of the display (green for low load; blue for normal load; red for full load). The HM Series is constructed with all Japan-made capacitors for voltage regulation, filtering, and buffering functions, resulting in long-term power output stability, with MTBF (Mean time between failures) of over 100,000 hours. The high ratio of output to input power has earned the HM Series the 80 Plus Bronze certification for energy efficiency.
PQI Announces Lineup of DDR3 Registered/ECC Server Memory Modules
Power Quotient International (PQI) has released a series of DDR3 server memory modules in response to the advent of cloud computing. DDR3 Registered/ECC server memory modules are powerful additions to PQI's Power Memory product range and symbolize the technical strength and product integrity of PQI memory modules for enterprise applications. DDR3 Registered/ECC server memory modules continuously undergo complete, complex, and rigorous integrity tests to provide both stable and compatible memory solutions that increase performance and ensure the stability of servers and workstations under year-round, high-speed data processing conditions.
DDR3 Registered/ECC server memory modules consist of carefully selected, originally manufactured DRAM IC's paired with PLL (Phase-Lock Loop) chips made by a well-known manufacturer, as well as high specification PCB's, in order to achieve PQI's main objective: high quality. In particular, the DDR3 1333's 32GB/s (tri-channel mode) transmission bandwidth server memory module is capable of meeting the most demanding server environments and enhancing the overall performance of high-end computing systems.
DDR3 Registered/ECC server memory modules consist of carefully selected, originally manufactured DRAM IC's paired with PLL (Phase-Lock Loop) chips made by a well-known manufacturer, as well as high specification PCB's, in order to achieve PQI's main objective: high quality. In particular, the DDR3 1333's 32GB/s (tri-channel mode) transmission bandwidth server memory module is capable of meeting the most demanding server environments and enhancing the overall performance of high-end computing systems.
Razer Announces the World's First MMO Gaming Keyboard: the Anansi
Razer, the world's leading high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals brand, announced a new entry for its MMO Gaming product line, a keyboard that lets you Get Imba - the Razer Anansi. Sharing the same successful design philosophy as the world's best-selling MMO Gaming Mouse, the Razer Naga, this keyboard gives gamers an unprecedented slew of MMO functions and features such as dedicated thumb modifier keys and cutting-edge macro capabilities.
"The Razer Anansi gaming keyboard is the new weapon of choice for MMO gamers," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, president, Razer USA. "Let's face it, the regular keyboard that came with your PC was designed and built for typing, not for MMO gaming. With its revolutionary seven thumb modifier keys, every key combination that you had before is now multiplied by seven times. The Razer Anansi allows you to use every spell, ability or custom macro in your arsenal -- both instantly and in complete comfort."
"The Razer Anansi gaming keyboard is the new weapon of choice for MMO gamers," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, president, Razer USA. "Let's face it, the regular keyboard that came with your PC was designed and built for typing, not for MMO gaming. With its revolutionary seven thumb modifier keys, every key combination that you had before is now multiplied by seven times. The Razer Anansi allows you to use every spell, ability or custom macro in your arsenal -- both instantly and in complete comfort."
OWC Announces Low-Cost DIY 1 TB Hard Drive Kits for Laptops
Other World Computing (OWC), the leading provider of Mac and PC performance upgrades, storage drives and accessories, announced today the OWC DIY Hard Drive Kit, the easiest and lowest-cost way to upgrade your laptop hard drive at home, school, or office to a faster (to 7200RPM!), larger (to 1TB!) hard drive or high performance SSD without sending the laptop out for repairs or buying a new laptop. The OWC DIY Hard Drive Kit provides everything you need to increase space and performance for your MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac mini storage, or PC laptop and be "green" by re-using your "old" hard drive as a new portable external drive.
Tuesday, October 26th 2010
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
NZXT Phantom & Hale90 650W Review
The NZXT Phantom is the first truly brand-new case from the company in a very long time. It looks great, comes in multiple colors and packs a long list of useful and well balanced features. We take a look at the white version along with the white Hale90, the first 80Plus Gold certified PSU from NZXT and end up quite impressed by both products.
Cooler Master Announces CM Storm Strike Force 19 Gaming Notebook Cooler
Extreme gamers continue to seek high performing gaming notebooks to keep up with an ever increasing demand from the e-sports scene. However, notebooks tend to have cooling that is almost insufficient for the high-end hardware that they contain. The SF-19, the first in a new series of gaming notebook coolers, uses a highly effective and customizable cooling design. CM Storm seeks to target users of large notebooks with sizes of 19" and beyond.
Designed with future compatibility in mind, the SF-19 comes equipped with 4 advanced USB 3.0 ports which make it future-proof for all devices such as high speed hard drives, high performance gaming mice, headsets, and peripherals that require high speed transfer rates.
Designed with future compatibility in mind, the SF-19 comes equipped with 4 advanced USB 3.0 ports which make it future-proof for all devices such as high speed hard drives, high performance gaming mice, headsets, and peripherals that require high speed transfer rates.
Icy Box Announces IB-SAFE226 Enclosure for 2.5'' HDD/SSDs with 256-bit Encryption
Public authorities, tax accountants, CPAs, and hospitals - only a few examples for a realm where customer data are highly confidential. Particularly awkward is carrying such data e. g. on an external HDD. For users, who want to protect the data entrusted, here is a safe, practical as well as reasonably priced solution.
In the new ICY BOX IB-SAFE226, an external enclosure, an AES-256 encryption protects the data on the 2.5" SATA HDD. The user needs a physical key and the enclosure with its special chipset. To decrypt the HDD he needs the same key and an appropriate enclosure. Without the key: nothing. So you better do not keep the key too close to the enclosure.
In the new ICY BOX IB-SAFE226, an external enclosure, an AES-256 encryption protects the data on the 2.5" SATA HDD. The user needs a physical key and the enclosure with its special chipset. To decrypt the HDD he needs the same key and an appropriate enclosure. Without the key: nothing. So you better do not keep the key too close to the enclosure.
Enermax Intros LuxuRay ATX Mid-Tower Case to the Market
Enermax released the LuxuRay ATX mid-tower chassis to the market. Its styling includes a piano-black front, all-black interiors, with use of SECC steel and plastic, mainly. An Apollish Vegas multi-color fan decks up the front, with a variety of color settings. The drive bays are tool-free, and expansion slot covers replaceable. There are holes on the motherboard tray for cable and CPU cooler management. The case measures 470 x 200 x 445 mm. Ventilation includes one 120 mm front intake, and slots for one 120 mm rear, two 120 mm side and one 120 mm top fans. The utility panel on the front includes USB 2.0, audio and eSATA ports. The LuxuRay is priced at US $69.
Eurocom Announces the First Server-Class Notebook with 6-core Intel Xeon Processors
Eurocom Corporation, the world's leading developer of highly personalized, high-performance notebook PCs and energy efficient All-in-One PCs, is now supporting the groundbreaking Intel Xeon X5690 Processor in its ine of Mobile Server and Mobile Workstation notebooks. The EUROCOM Mobile Server Technology significantly reduces the time and cost of deploying short-term LAN based solutions and of extending usage of existing business applications to users wherever is required.
Eurocom's Panther line of high performance Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers will be bolstered by the introduction of the Intel XEON X5690 Processor. Eurocom Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers are ideal for the professional who frequently travels yet needs access to high performance computing. All Eurocom systems are designed to be fully configured with many optional components to choose from to allow each customer the opportunity to customize a system to fit their needs exactly.
Eurocom's Panther line of high performance Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers will be bolstered by the introduction of the Intel XEON X5690 Processor. Eurocom Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers are ideal for the professional who frequently travels yet needs access to high performance computing. All Eurocom systems are designed to be fully configured with many optional components to choose from to allow each customer the opportunity to customize a system to fit their needs exactly.
Team Group Announces Xtreem LV DDR3-1866 and DDR3-2000 MHz Memory Kits
The Xtreem DRAMs from Team Group Inc have always been the first choice of PC gamers. Tailored specifically for power users, the Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 with high capacity 8GB dual-channel kit officially launched this month will be sensational! The next-generation Xtreem LV series is equipped with high-speed 256x8 chips manufactured through new process. These low-voltage (LV) modules work only at 1.65V and deliver a low latency at 9-11-9-27. Moreover, the compatibility with dual-channel platforms using next-generation chipsets helps bring power users the ultimate smooth OC experience.
Demand for high-capacity memory continues to rise as multimedia software and games become more sophisticated and realistic. Team thus launches the next-generation Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 modules in the 4GB Kit (2GB x 2) and 8GB Kit (4GB x 2) to meet consumer demand. These super capacity kits not only can fulfill consumer's demand, furthermore its powerful performance will significantly enhance efficiency for games, art and multimedia editing.
Demand for high-capacity memory continues to rise as multimedia software and games become more sophisticated and realistic. Team thus launches the next-generation Xtreem LV DDR3 1866 and Xtreem LV DDR3 2000 modules in the 4GB Kit (2GB x 2) and 8GB Kit (4GB x 2) to meet consumer demand. These super capacity kits not only can fulfill consumer's demand, furthermore its powerful performance will significantly enhance efficiency for games, art and multimedia editing.
ColorFire Designs Custom Radeon HD 6850 with Zalman VF-3000 GPU Cooler
Chinese graphics card manufacturer ColorFire designed a new non-reference design AMD Radeon HD 6850 graphics card that that uses a stronger VRM and a Zalman VF-3000 GPU cooler. The PCB sets the red color-scheme, and the cooler keeps up with it, using a hot rod looking shroud. The card uses a 7+1 phase VRM that draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, facilitating high clock speeds. The PCB also holds two CFBI fingers, indicating the card to support 3-way and 4-way CrossFireX. Low-latency (0.5 ns) GDDR5 memory chips by Hynix are used.
The VF-3000 has some hefty credentials, it can handle very high thermal loads. The cooler makes use of a dense aluminum fin array that is ventilated by two 90 mm fans. The exact clock speeds are not known. Display connectivity includes one each of DVI, D-Sub, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2. Like every other HD 6850, this one packs 960 stream processors, and supports the latest graphics APIs such as DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.x. It's not known if ColorFire will market this card outside China.
The VF-3000 has some hefty credentials, it can handle very high thermal loads. The cooler makes use of a dense aluminum fin array that is ventilated by two 90 mm fans. The exact clock speeds are not known. Display connectivity includes one each of DVI, D-Sub, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2. Like every other HD 6850, this one packs 960 stream processors, and supports the latest graphics APIs such as DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.x. It's not known if ColorFire will market this card outside China.
Zotac Designs GeForce GTX 460 X2 Graphics Card
Zotac is another NVIDIA partner who isn't pleased that the GeForce GTX 480 isn't holding performance leadership, but has the engineering potential to outdo it. Earlier in June, Galaxy showed off a dual Fermi graphics card that makes use of two GF100 graphics processors in the GeForce GTX 465 configuration. Zotac waited for a more mature implementation of the Fermi architecture, found out that the GF104-based GeForce GTX 460 isn't lacking much in performance compared to the GTX 465, with vastly better thermal specifications, and went on to design its latest high-end card, which it now refers to as the Zotac GeForce GTX 460 X2. The card makes use of two GeForce GTX 460 1 GB GPUs in an internal SLI, much like every other dual-GPU NVIDIA card.
The card uses an NVIDIA nForce 200 bridge chip to semaphore and broadcast data between the two GPUs, a dual 3+1+1 phase VRM that draws power from two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, and display connectivity is relayed to the rear-panel from both the GPUs, that's four dual-link DVI, and one mini-HDMI. What this also means is that with just this one card, you can use the 3D Vision Surround feature, while retaining SLI multi-GPU scaling. If that's not all, there's a SLI connector, which lets you pair this with another card of its kind, for GTX 460 Quad-SLI. Zotac is yet to finalize a cooling solution to suit it best. GF104 could be NVIDIA's easiest route to a dual-GPU graphics card that establishes performance leadership. The GF104 physically has 384 CUDA cores (336 on Zotac's card, since it's in the GTX 460 configuration), and has shown to be capable of high GPU/Shader clock speeds. More details about Zotac's card are awaited.
The card uses an NVIDIA nForce 200 bridge chip to semaphore and broadcast data between the two GPUs, a dual 3+1+1 phase VRM that draws power from two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, and display connectivity is relayed to the rear-panel from both the GPUs, that's four dual-link DVI, and one mini-HDMI. What this also means is that with just this one card, you can use the 3D Vision Surround feature, while retaining SLI multi-GPU scaling. If that's not all, there's a SLI connector, which lets you pair this with another card of its kind, for GTX 460 Quad-SLI. Zotac is yet to finalize a cooling solution to suit it best. GF104 could be NVIDIA's easiest route to a dual-GPU graphics card that establishes performance leadership. The GF104 physically has 384 CUDA cores (336 on Zotac's card, since it's in the GTX 460 configuration), and has shown to be capable of high GPU/Shader clock speeds. More details about Zotac's card are awaited.
Xigmatek Intros Pantheon ATX Mid-Tower Case
Xigmatek is ready with its newest PC case, the Pantheon. This ATX mid-tower comes in four variants: Pantheon Black (all-black, with an extra intake instead of a side window), Pantheon Black W (all-black, with a side window), Pantheon Silver (has two chrome lines running down the front), and Pantheon Silver W (the same, with window). The case measures 206 (W) x 543 (H) x 500 (D) mm, has a perforated metal front, including perforated drive bay covers. Interiors are all-black, too; including tool-free drive and expansion card retention knobs.
A unique feature here is the air-intake and 3.5" drive cage design. The front panel over the drive cage area is detachable, giving you access to six hot-swappable 3.5" drive trays. Instead of its conventional location, the air-intake fans are moved to its side, consisting of no less than two 120 mm spinners. Other fans include one 140 mm rear, and slots for one bottom intake, two top exhaust. The motherboard tray has holes that help with cable-management, and a cut-out at the CPU socket area to help manage coolers with back-plates. Front-panel includes two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, apart from audio. The company did not give out a price.
A unique feature here is the air-intake and 3.5" drive cage design. The front panel over the drive cage area is detachable, giving you access to six hot-swappable 3.5" drive trays. Instead of its conventional location, the air-intake fans are moved to its side, consisting of no less than two 120 mm spinners. Other fans include one 140 mm rear, and slots for one bottom intake, two top exhaust. The motherboard tray has holes that help with cable-management, and a cut-out at the CPU socket area to help manage coolers with back-plates. Front-panel includes two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports, apart from audio. The company did not give out a price.
Monday, October 25th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
Notebooks
TechPowerUp Radeon BIOS Editor (RBE) 1.26 Released
TechPowerUp announced the latest version of Radeon BIOS Editor (or RBE), the popular ATI/AMD Radeon graphics card BIOS manipulation utility. Version 1.26 is designed to offer early support for AMD Radeon HD 6800 series graphics processors, stability improvements for the Hex editor, and a more stable flashing procedure. It also corrects compatibility bugs related to Winflash.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp Radeon BIOS Editor v1.26
A change-log by the software's creator follows.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp Radeon BIOS Editor v1.26
A change-log by the software's creator follows.
Verbatim Intros Store 'n' Go Netbook USB Flash Drives
Verbatim is cashing in on the netbook (ultra portable) phenomenon with its latest USB flash drives being tailored for netbooks. The Store 'n' Go Netbook USB drives from the company measure 17.15 (L) x 14.85 (W) x 7.7 (H), offering capacities of up to 32 GB, with read/write speeds of 11 MB/s and 3 MB/s. Other capacities available are 8 GB and 16 GB. Prices are expected to start at £12.43.
Patriot Launches Torqx TRB Solid-State Drives
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer technology, today announced the immediate availability of the Torqx TRB series of solid-state-drives (SSDs). The Torqx TRB series of SSD offer improved system responsiveness with quicker boot times and shorter application loading times over traditional hard disk drive storage solutions.
Patriot's Torqx TRB series, available in 32GB and 64GB capacities, is designed around the latest generation controller from JMicron: JMF616. With a controller level cache of 64MB DDR2, the Torqx TRB series provide stutter-free performance and offer speeds of up to 260MB/s Read and up to 115MB/s Write. To maintain performance integrity over the life of the drive, the Torqx TRB series SSDs include native support for the TRIM command in Microsoft Windows 7.
Patriot's Torqx TRB series, available in 32GB and 64GB capacities, is designed around the latest generation controller from JMicron: JMF616. With a controller level cache of 64MB DDR2, the Torqx TRB series provide stutter-free performance and offer speeds of up to 260MB/s Read and up to 115MB/s Write. To maintain performance integrity over the life of the drive, the Torqx TRB series SSDs include native support for the TRIM command in Microsoft Windows 7.
NEC Announces SpectraView 231 Professional Display
With the NEC SpectraView 231, NEC Display Solutions is launching a high-calibre, 23" IPS LCD monitor for colour-critical applications into the market. The hardware-calibratable display, just like the SpectraView Reference models 241 and 271, features a 14-bit LUT for exceptional colour control and a 3D LUT for precise colour space reproduction. Digital Uniformity Control (ColorComp) and Backlight Ageing Correction also give users stable performance values over the display's entire lifetime.
The model is targeted for colour-critical users in the fields of digital photo-editing and video-processing, colour workflow, pre-press or DTP. Equipped with a high-end IPS panel, the NEC SpectraView 231 covers 75% of the Adobe RGB colour space and offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. In practical terms, this means excellent picture quality with high viewing angle stability. The Digital Uniformity Control (ColorComp) feature automatically controls the colour distribution to create a balanced and homogeneous picture, which is of particular importance for professional colour applications.
The model is targeted for colour-critical users in the fields of digital photo-editing and video-processing, colour workflow, pre-press or DTP. Equipped with a high-end IPS panel, the NEC SpectraView 231 covers 75% of the Adobe RGB colour space and offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. In practical terms, this means excellent picture quality with high viewing angle stability. The Digital Uniformity Control (ColorComp) feature automatically controls the colour distribution to create a balanced and homogeneous picture, which is of particular importance for professional colour applications.
Pioneer Ready with Blu-ray XL Burner Drive, Too
Closely trailing Buffalo, Pioneer is ready with its BDR-206MBK internal SATA Blu-ray XL burner drive, slated for market release next month. If bezel design is anything to go by, Pioneer's drive closely resembles Buffalo's RXL-6FBS-BK. Perhaps they're both made by the same source. Like Buffalo's drive, this one burns BDXL discs at 4X, BD-RE XL discs at 2X, and conventional single and double layer BD-R discs at 6X. Pioneer will bundle CyberLink's PowerDVD 10, PowerProducer 5, Power2Go 7, InstantBurn 5, PowerBackup 2, Medi@Show 5 and LabelPrint 2 software with this drive.
NVIDIA Releases GeForce 260.99 WHQL Driver Suite
NVIDIA released its latest version of GeForce software. Version 260.99 installs WHQL-signed drivers for all NVIDIA ION and GeForce GPUs since GeForce 6-series, installs NVIDIA PhysX system software, and drivers for the on-chip HDMI audio device for some GPUs. This version packs increases performance for certain games, fixes certain game-specific bugs, and adds a fresh set of SLI profiles. To begin with, overall performance improvements are brought to Civilization V (SLI), Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIV and F1 2010 (DirectX 11) compared to GeForce 260.89; SLI profiles (bits of software that optimize the driver to let games make use of multiple GPUs) are added for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Fallout: New Vegas; it improves anti-aliasing compatibility for Fallout: New Vegas. For more details, refer to the Release Notes document (for Windows 7/Vista, Windows XP)
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 260.99 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 260.99 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
Buffalo Announces World's First Blu-ray XL Burners
Buffalo Technology Japan announced the world's first PC drives that can burn Blu-ray XL (BDXL) discs. BDXL is a next-generation Blu-ray based disc format that can hold up to 128 GB of data in standard-sized discs. Buffalo's BDXL burner lineup consists of a standard 5.25" sized internal drive with SATA interface, carrying the model number BRXL-6FBS-BK; and an external drive with USB 2.0 interface, the BRXL-6U2. Both these drives burn BDXL discs at 4X, BR-RE XL at 2X, and conventional single and double layer BD-R discs at 6X. The company is yet to announce market availability.
ASUS Equips Eee PC 1015W with Dual-Core Power
ASUS is giving its stylish Eee PC 1015PW that makes use of the company's Seashell chassis with "purple rain" livery some dual-core power, equipping it with an Intel Atom N550. The netbook is available in two other liveries - "gold dust" and "angel skin". The 10-inch netbook features a 1024 x 600 pixels display, with storage options of 250 or 320 GB, and connectivity that includes 10/100 Ethernet, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n; and other features that include a VGA web camera and a multi card reader. On the software side, ASUS is bundling its own ExpressGate instant-on OS, and apart from the local storage, 500 GB of cloud-based storage. Pricing is not known.
Saturday, October 23rd 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
Graphics Cards
- AMD HD 6850 1GB Benchmark Reviews
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB Bjorn3D
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB Hi Tech Legion
- AMD HD 6850 1GB InsideHW
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB Modders-Inc.
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB ProClockers
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB PureOverclock
- Gigabyte Radeon 6850 1GB PureOverclock
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB Think Computers
- Sapphire HD 6850 1GB Tweaktown
- HIS HD 6870 1GB Bjorn3D
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 Bjorn3D
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 CrossFire Guru3D
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 Guru3D
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 HardOCP
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 HardwareCanucks
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 HardwareHeaven
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 HardwareSpot.de (de)
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 Hexus
- Diamond HD 6870 XOC Hi Tech Legion
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 Hi Tech Legion
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 HotHardware
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 HT4U.net (de)
- Diamond Multimedia HD 6870 LAN OC
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 Legit Reviews
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 MadBoxPC (es)
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 NeoSeeker
- ASUS HD 6870 CrossFire Overclock3D.net
- HIS HD 6870 & HD 6850 Overclock3D.net
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 Overclockers Club
- ASUS Radeon EAH6870 1GB PureOverclock
- AMD HD 6850 and HD 6870 Rage3D
- AMD HD 6870 & HD 6850 TechGage
- AMD HD 6870 TechSpot
- HIS HD 6870 1GB CrossFire Tweaktown
- AMD HD 6870 1GB Tweaktown
- MSI HD 6870 1GB Vortez
- Zalman VF3000F VGA Cooler Big Bruin
- Zalman VF3000A VGA Cooler Overclock Intelligence Agency
MSI Rolls Out Radeon HD 6800 Series Graphics Cards
MSI announced its Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards, the HD 6870 based R6870-2PM2D1GD5, and the HD 6850 based R6850-PM2D1GD5. While the HD 6870 card sticks to AMD reference design both with PCB and cooling assembly, the HD 6850 uses AMD reference design PCB, with MSI's in-house cooler design, which makes use of a slightly larger GPU fan-heatsink, and a sporty-looking cooler shroud. Both cards also stick to reference clock speeds.
While the Radeon HD 6870 has 1120 stream processors, and clock speeds of 900 MHz core with 1050 MHz (4200 MHz effective) memory; the HD 6850 has 960 stream processors, 775 MHz core, 1000 MHz (4000 MHz effective) memory. The prices are expected to be largely standard, too. Around $250 for the HD 6870, and around $180 for the HD 6850.
While the Radeon HD 6870 has 1120 stream processors, and clock speeds of 900 MHz core with 1050 MHz (4200 MHz effective) memory; the HD 6850 has 960 stream processors, 775 MHz core, 1000 MHz (4000 MHz effective) memory. The prices are expected to be largely standard, too. Around $250 for the HD 6870, and around $180 for the HD 6850.
Friday, October 22nd 2010
Today's Files
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Motherboards
PSUs
AMD Announces Catalyst 10.10 WHQL Software
On the occasion of kick-starting its new generation of graphics processors, the Radeon HD 6800 series, AMD backed it up with the launch of [the first] AMD Catalyst, version 10.10 WHQL. The Catalyst software suite installs drivers for installed ATI/AMD Radeon graphics processors, AMD chipsets, as well as installs relevant system software. The major change of course is added official support for Radeon HD 6800 series GPUs, but also a big set of new features, namely support for Blu-ray 3D, Stereoscopic 3D powered by Dynamic Digital Depth (DDD) and iZ3D; AMD Catalyst Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology; added hardware video acceleration for HD WMV, and enahnced Dynamic Contrast video controls. It doesn't stop here, a boat-load of game and GPU-specific performance increments were announced, that covers a number of Radeon HD 5000 series GPUs, which are detailed below.
DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 10.10 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
A detailed list of changes follows.
DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 10.10 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
A detailed list of changes follows.
Club 3D Announces Next-Generation Radeon HD 6800 Series Graphics Cards
Club 3D B.V. is pleased to announce the introduction of the next generation video card based on the Barts XT/PRO chipset, from AMD's second generation DirectX 11 architecture. The new Club 3D Radeon HD 6850 1GB and HD 6870 1GB GDDR5 video cards feature the AMD HD3D technology which allows you to play your favorite games in full stereo 3D with a single video card (up to 3 monitors, and enjoy with the new EyeSpeed technology to watch the latest Blu-ray movies in 3D.
Arctic Cooling Announces Arctic Freezer 13 CPU Cooler
ARCTIC is pleased to announce their new CPU cooler today - Freezer 13 - that carries on the legacy of the renowned Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 to continue providing efficient and low noise CPU cooling solution for enthusiasts. The maximum cooling capacity of this newly improved cooler is 200W. In combination of wide compatibility with AMD and Intel sockets and superior cooling performance, the Freezer 13 ultimately brings overclocking to a new level.
Featuring four U-shaped high performance heatpipes and 45 efficiently formed aluminum fins; the Freezer 13 is able to dissipate massive heat that is produced in high-end CPUs, such as Intel Core i7. To facilitate the process of removing waste heat, the Freezer 13 is equipped with an ultra-quiet 92mm PWM fan. The fan speed runs from 600 to 2000 RPM to keep components within their safe operating temperature limit.
Featuring four U-shaped high performance heatpipes and 45 efficiently formed aluminum fins; the Freezer 13 is able to dissipate massive heat that is produced in high-end CPUs, such as Intel Core i7. To facilitate the process of removing waste heat, the Freezer 13 is equipped with an ultra-quiet 92mm PWM fan. The fan speed runs from 600 to 2000 RPM to keep components within their safe operating temperature limit.
ViewSonic Announces the Multi-Touch Capable VX2258wm Monitor
ViewSonic has announced the launch of its first touch screen monitor, the VX2258wm. With a large 22" screen, the VX2258wm makes it easy to enjoy all your digital content, and effortlessly sort through it using the Windows-certified touch screen capability via a simple USB connection. The monitor uses Infrared Optical Imaging technology providing it with accurate multi-touch capability, no matter what stylus is being used.
The VX2258wm features full HD resolution at 1080p, as well as compatibility with any device supporting the High Bandwidth Digital Protection (HBDP) copy protection system. This makes the VX2258wm a great choice for watching films on Blu-Ray or playing on the latest HD-ready console systems. Picture quality is further enhanced by the 5ms response time provided by the built in ClearMotiv II Technology and dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1.
The VX2258wm features full HD resolution at 1080p, as well as compatibility with any device supporting the High Bandwidth Digital Protection (HBDP) copy protection system. This makes the VX2258wm a great choice for watching films on Blu-Ray or playing on the latest HD-ready console systems. Picture quality is further enhanced by the 5ms response time provided by the built in ClearMotiv II Technology and dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1.
SAPPHIRE Launches 2nd Generation of DX 11 Graphics Cards
SAPPHIRE Technology, the largest manufacturer and supplier worldwide of graphics solutions based on AMD technology is announcing the first products in a second generation of video cards to support the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and delivering spectacular video clarity, speed and visual effects, including over multiple monitors and 3D stereoscopic displays.
The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series features the second generation of graphics technology from AMD designed to support all the features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and DirectCompute 11. The new GPU's are built in AMD's 40nm process to deliver high performance with low power consumption. Advanced hardware features include an enhanced Tesselation unit, dedicated HDR Texture compression, multi-threaded communication with system CPU cores, embedded support for many of the DirectCompute 11 instructions, 3D stereoscopic support and HDMI 1.4a.
The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series features the second generation of graphics technology from AMD designed to support all the features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and DirectCompute 11. The new GPU's are built in AMD's 40nm process to deliver high performance with low power consumption. Advanced hardware features include an enhanced Tesselation unit, dedicated HDR Texture compression, multi-threaded communication with system CPU cores, embedded support for many of the DirectCompute 11 instructions, 3D stereoscopic support and HDMI 1.4a.
XFX Adds a New Dimension with its AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850
Industry leader XFX has added a new dimension to gaming with its XFX AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 graphics cards. This latest series of AMD Radeon graphics cards is AMD's first introduction of a 3-D gaming and multi-media solution for desktop computers, plus one of the first HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2 solutions for Stereoscopic 3-D on the market.
This advance into Stereoscopic 3-D ushers in a new era of gaming that takes it to the next level. With up to 120 Hz active shutter technology, the quality of 3-D achievable with the AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 is unprecedented in comparison to previous 3-D solutions created by other manufacturers. The AMD 3-D experience is truly immersive and seamless.
This advance into Stereoscopic 3-D ushers in a new era of gaming that takes it to the next level. With up to 120 Hz active shutter technology, the quality of 3-D achievable with the AMD Radeon HD 6870 and HD 6850 is unprecedented in comparison to previous 3-D solutions created by other manufacturers. The AMD 3-D experience is truly immersive and seamless.
ASUS Releases New EAH6800 Series Graphics Cards
Featuring even more processing power than the successful EAH5000 Series of graphics cards, the new ASUS EAH6800 Series continues to serve PC enthusiasts with cutting-edge technology and a range of exclusive performance-boosting improvements to the AMD reference design.
Both the EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5 and EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 cards feature AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD HD3D technology and DirectX 11 support. In addition, exclusive Voltage Tweak overclocking technology offers a 50% performance boost over the reference design. The EAH6850 DirectCU and EAH6870 also ship with factory overclocked cores set to 790MHz and 913MHz.
Both the EAH6850 DirectCU/2DIS/1GD5 and EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 cards feature AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD HD3D technology and DirectX 11 support. In addition, exclusive Voltage Tweak overclocking technology offers a 50% performance boost over the reference design. The EAH6850 DirectCU and EAH6870 also ship with factory overclocked cores set to 790MHz and 913MHz.
Futuremark Culls Legacy Benchmark Applications to Make Room for 3DMark 11
Futuremark, the company behind some of the most popular PC performance benchmark applications, which also maintains a score validation and record-keeping system, the ORB, announced that it's working on important changes to its site design as well as the ORB database itself. A side-product (which in disguise is the news of actual importance here), is that Futuremark's next-generation ORB will not support "legacy" benchmark applications from the company, namely 3DMark 2001 SE, 3DMark03, 3DMark05, PCMark 2002 or PCMark04, thereby marking a complete retirement of those applications.
Back in their day, those applications put hardware through their minutes' joyride through hell, but now their practical application is reduced. Retiring ORB support means that while you can still run the benchmark, you can't submit your score online or validate it. That effectively eliminates these applications from professional-level overclocking competitions.
Back in their day, those applications put hardware through their minutes' joyride through hell, but now their practical application is reduced. Retiring ORB support means that while you can still run the benchmark, you can't submit your score online or validate it. That effectively eliminates these applications from professional-level overclocking competitions.
MSI Announces The GE603 Performance Notebook
Once again demonstrating its outstanding R&D capabilities, MSI rolled out the revolutionary GE603 laptop designed specifically with the gamer in mind. It packs the high-performance Intel Core i5 CPU with the powerful nVidia GeForce GT 425M discrete graphics card which supports DirectX 11. What's more, to enhance the layered wrap around cinema sound, it is equipped with SRS Premium Sound which boasts powerful processing capabilities and supports 7.1 channel output. This unbeatable gaming computer is also very light and comes with the best multimedia components available, making it the ideal entertainment center for the individual on-the-go.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that responding to consumer needs, MSI is introducing the high-performance 15.6" GE603 gaming laptop with cutting edge hardware and software as well as an all-new exterior, a high-definition 720p webcam, and the latest SRS Premium Sound to provide consumers with a highly mobile gaming machine.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that responding to consumer needs, MSI is introducing the high-performance 15.6" GE603 gaming laptop with cutting edge hardware and software as well as an all-new exterior, a high-definition 720p webcam, and the latest SRS Premium Sound to provide consumers with a highly mobile gaming machine.
HIS Introduces the HIS Radeon HD 6850 & HD 6870
Hightech Information System (HIS) Limited is proud to unleash the revolutionary new HIS RadeonTMHD 6850 & 6870 graphics cards. Loaded with HD3D stereoscopic technology and three main pillars- Eyefinity, EyeDefinition and EyeSpeed, the new HIS Radeon HD 6850 & 6870 bring an incredible experience of application performance and flawless high-resolution imagery for fully immersive gameplay.
Whether it's enthusiastic gamers hungry for the latest and coolest technology to win virtually at every game, or PC users who want a fast system for their multi-tasking, the new HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 are without a doubt the best solution around. The HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 not only offer incredible HD gaming performance on all the latest game and DirectX 11 support, but also makes multi-tasking easier with features like Eyefinity technology. So get ready as we bring our all-in-one technology - HD3D, Eyefinity, EyeDefinition and EyeSpeed- right into your home.
Whether it's enthusiastic gamers hungry for the latest and coolest technology to win virtually at every game, or PC users who want a fast system for their multi-tasking, the new HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 are without a doubt the best solution around. The HIS RadeonTM HD 6850 & 6870 not only offer incredible HD gaming performance on all the latest game and DirectX 11 support, but also makes multi-tasking easier with features like Eyefinity technology. So get ready as we bring our all-in-one technology - HD3D, Eyefinity, EyeDefinition and EyeSpeed- right into your home.
PowerColor Announces Trio of Radeon HD 6800 Series Graphics Cards
TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today announces the latest video card series: the PowerColor HD6800 series. Following the award-winning HD5000 series, the advanced HD6800 series features all the essential technology that can immerse the gaming experience and speed up all the daily applications, aim to bring all gamers the most incredible gaming performance.
PowerColor's HD6800 series includes the HD6870 and HD6850. The HD6870 has an unparalleled 1120 stream processors, clocks in at 900MHz core speed and 1050MHz of memory speed; accelerating your PC with 2.0 teraFLOPs of computing power. The HD6850 comes in a Premium Edition and Standard Edition. The PowerColor HD 6850 Premium edition features factory overclocked settings and well-known ZEROtherm cooling system. The standard edition clocks in at 775MHz and 1000MHz GPU and memory clock speeds respectively, both are loaded with the latest features and technology for immersive computing.
PowerColor's HD6800 series includes the HD6870 and HD6850. The HD6870 has an unparalleled 1120 stream processors, clocks in at 900MHz core speed and 1050MHz of memory speed; accelerating your PC with 2.0 teraFLOPs of computing power. The HD6850 comes in a Premium Edition and Standard Edition. The PowerColor HD 6850 Premium edition features factory overclocked settings and well-known ZEROtherm cooling system. The standard edition clocks in at 775MHz and 1000MHz GPU and memory clock speeds respectively, both are loaded with the latest features and technology for immersive computing.
AMD Aims to Deliver Perfect Graphics Cards for Gamers with New Radeon HD 6800 Series
AMD today introduced the next generation of PC gaming, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series, designed to be "perfect graphics cards" for gamers by delivering unprecedented game performance starting at $179 SEP. The new AMD Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards provide more than 30 percent greater game performance than competing products, harnessing AMD's second-generation Microsoft DirectX 11-capable architecture, best-in-class energy efficiency, and an unmatched feature set, including AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology. The AMD Radeon HD 6800 series is available immediately from etailers worldwide.
"AMD is the market share leader by a landslide in DirectX 11 graphics," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. "Through our sweet spot strategy and our open, industry standards approach, we've worked to deliver the best possible experience for gamers. Today, our laser focus on gamers continues with the introduction of what we think is far and away the best graphics card series today, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series. With exceptional game performance, an unrivaled feature set including breathtaking DirectX 11 gaming, AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing, and more, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series will have all gamers wanting to get Radeon in their systems."
"AMD is the market share leader by a landslide in DirectX 11 graphics," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. "Through our sweet spot strategy and our open, industry standards approach, we've worked to deliver the best possible experience for gamers. Today, our laser focus on gamers continues with the introduction of what we think is far and away the best graphics card series today, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series. With exceptional game performance, an unrivaled feature set including breathtaking DirectX 11 gaming, AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing, and more, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series will have all gamers wanting to get Radeon in their systems."
Thursday, October 21st 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
Memory
Motherboards
Netbooks
Notebooks
HIS Radeon HD 6870 1 GB Review
Today AMD released their new Radeon HD 6870. The card brings new features like HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2 which allow up to six displays to be connected to a single card. Performance has also been substantially increased and power draw reduced. But is this enough to defeat NVIDIA's latest offerings ?
ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU 1 GB Review
The new ASUS Radeon HD 6850 Direct CU aims to be the king of the sub-$200 segment. It offers plenty of performance for the latest DirectX 11 titles, overclocks very well and comes with improvements to the display output configuration. Instead of an AMD reference heatsink the card uses an ASUS Direct Touch heatpipe solution.
HIS Radeon HD 6850 1 GB Review
AMD's new Radeon HD 6850 comes at an extremely affordable $179 price point. This poses the question whether it can become the new weapon of choice for budget oriented gamers. In our testing we see excellent performance which enables full HD resolution gaming in DirectX 11.
ASUS Radeon HD 6870 CrossFire Review
In this review we will put the dual card CrossFire configuration of the AMD Radeon HD 6870 in the spotlight. It promises higher performance than a Radeon HD 5970 at only a fraction of the price. But is this enough to make CF a recommendation?
AMD Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire Review
AMD's new Radeon HD 6850 is priced at an extremely affordable $179. This poses the question whether two cards in CrossFire can manage to claim the price/performance sweet spot in the $360 segment or if other alternatives are better.
Gigabyte Announces GeForce GTX 460 Super Overclock Graphics Card
GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, introduces a powerful new addition to its Super Overclock Series: GTX 460 SOC (GV-N460SO-1GI). To qualify for Super Overclock Series, a GPU must go through GIGABYTE's innovative GPU Gauntlet Sorting process and it must be equipped with Ultra Durable VGA or VGA+ boards. Designed specifically for overclocking competition and gaming battle, GIGABYTE's secret weapon GTX 460 Super Overclock Edition is built with NVDIA GeForce GTX 460 GPU.
Based on 40nm processor and advanced GDDR5 memory technology, the powerful new GPU consists of ground-breaking features including Microsoft DirectX 11 and NVIDIA PhysX which leads to incredibly immersive HD gaming experience and unrivaled performance. GV-N460SO-1GI also features WINDFORCE 2X, 7 phase PWM design, OC Guru graphic card smart tuner and voltage read point.
Based on 40nm processor and advanced GDDR5 memory technology, the powerful new GPU consists of ground-breaking features including Microsoft DirectX 11 and NVIDIA PhysX which leads to incredibly immersive HD gaming experience and unrivaled performance. GV-N460SO-1GI also features WINDFORCE 2X, 7 phase PWM design, OC Guru graphic card smart tuner and voltage read point.
ZOTAC Announces New ZBOX HD-ID40 Series Mini-PC
ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer, today introduces the new ZBOX HD-ID40 series - a new mini-PC powered by Intel Atom and NVIDIA Next-Generation ION technologies. The new ZBOX HD-ID40 packs full HD video playback capabilities, enhanced performance and greater expansion capabilities into a miniature form factor that can fit virtually anywhere.
An Intel Atom D525 dual-core processor with Intel Hyper Threading technology provides smooth multi-tasking capabilities for quick responsiveness with everyday applications and computing tasks with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID40 series. Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics processing equips the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID40 series with rich multimedia capabilities for playback of Blu-ray movies and streaming high-definition content.
An Intel Atom D525 dual-core processor with Intel Hyper Threading technology provides smooth multi-tasking capabilities for quick responsiveness with everyday applications and computing tasks with the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID40 series. Next-Generation NVIDIA ION graphics processing equips the ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID40 series with rich multimedia capabilities for playback of Blu-ray movies and streaming high-definition content.
MSI Releases the Record-Breaking N480GTX Lightning Graphics Card to Market
The Lightning graphics card series from the world-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, has been receiving unanimous recognition from power users and major media worldwide. The new member of the series, N480GTX Lightning, is tailored for extreme overclocking. By the world's first Power4 architecture to provide sufficient and stable power, the OC potential of the N480GTX Lightning has been significantly increased. With its incredible core clock - 1450MHz, N480GTX Lightning created the new world record of 3DMark Vantage at 39281. Without a doubt, the N480GTX Lightning is, by far, the top graphics card designed for Extreme Overclocking.
Furthermore, the N480GTX Lightning is equipped with a number of the latest MSI-exclusive features, including the Twin Frozr III thermal solution that maintains GPU temperature at 18°C lower than the reference thermal design; the GPU/Memory/PLL triple overvoltage functions by the Afterburner utility and the new-generation Military Class Components. In addition to showing MSI's demand for continuous improvement, these state-of-the-art features bring consumers more powerful OC features beyond their imagination.
Furthermore, the N480GTX Lightning is equipped with a number of the latest MSI-exclusive features, including the Twin Frozr III thermal solution that maintains GPU temperature at 18°C lower than the reference thermal design; the GPU/Memory/PLL triple overvoltage functions by the Afterburner utility and the new-generation Military Class Components. In addition to showing MSI's demand for continuous improvement, these state-of-the-art features bring consumers more powerful OC features beyond their imagination.
GeForce GTX 580 Expected to be 20% Faster than GeForce GTX 480
NVIDIA's next enthusiast-grade graphics processor, the GeForce GTX 580, based on the new GF110 silicon, is poised for at least a paper-launch by end of November, or early December, 2010. Sources in the video card industry told DigiTimes that the GTX 580 is expected to be 20% faster than the existing GeForce GTX 480. The new GPU is built on the existing 40 nm process, NVIDIA's 28 nm GPUs based on the Kepler architecture are expected to take shape only towards the end of 2011. Later this week, AMD is launching the Radeon HD 6800 series performance graphics cards, and will market-launch its next high-end GPU, codenamed "Cayman" in November.
Galaxy Designs GeForce GTX 460 with High-Grade Components
Galaxy, known for coming up with some of the widest varieties of non-reference design graphics cards, is now working on a new GeForce GTX 460 PCB that makes use of a high-grade digital PWM power supply. Still in its design-phase, the PCB is white in color, though there's a chance of the final product differing in color. The PCB draws power from a 6 pin, and 6+2 pin power connectors. It makes use of a 6+2 phase PWM circuit controlled by a Volterra VT1185M, with VT1157SF PWM ICs. It also makes use of high-C capacitors, as well as NEC-made Prodalizers to condition power. This PWM circuit can supply up to 240A, with conversion efficiency of over 85%.
What it means for overclockers of course, is that they can tinker with voltages to their hearts' content, if their cooling permits it, without any capacitor mods. It is also extremely efficient, so idle power draw will be lesser than NVIDIA's reference design. This particular PCB in the pictures holds just six memory chips, indicating it's a 768 MB variant, but there's room for 8 chips, and a 1 GB variant built on this PCB design. We will hear more about this PCB in the weeks to come.
What it means for overclockers of course, is that they can tinker with voltages to their hearts' content, if their cooling permits it, without any capacitor mods. It is also extremely efficient, so idle power draw will be lesser than NVIDIA's reference design. This particular PCB in the pictures holds just six memory chips, indicating it's a 768 MB variant, but there's room for 8 chips, and a 1 GB variant built on this PCB design. We will hear more about this PCB in the weeks to come.
Seagate Technology Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2011 Financial Results
Seagate Technology reported financial results for the quarter ended October 1, 2010. The company shipped 49.2 million disk drives and on a GAAP basis reported revenue of $2.7 billion, gross margin of 20.4%, net income of $149 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.31.
On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the impact of purchased intangibles amortization, restructuring and costs related to the redemption of the Maxtor convertible notes, Seagate reported net income of $180 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.37.
On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the impact of purchased intangibles amortization, restructuring and costs related to the redemption of the Maxtor convertible notes, Seagate reported net income of $180 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.37.
NVIDIA Mulls Price-Cuts on GeForce GTX 460 and GTX 470 to Counter HD 6800 Threat
Tomorrow, AMD will release its much talked about next-generation Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards, to reinvigorate the company's competitiveness in a price-segment both it and NVIDIA regard as "the gamer's sweet-spot" price segment, which spans between $189 and $249, offering performance levels very close to enthusiast-grade products. To put it in perspective, you should be able to play any DirectX 11 game at 1920 x 1080 (full-HD) resolution with medium-to-high level of detail. Currently, NVIDIA holds the upper hand in this segment with its GTX 460-768 MB and GTX 460-1 GB, which is exactly what Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870 seem to be after, with the HD 6870 also holding the potential to disturb higher-end SKUs that are currently priced around the $299 mark.
With no new SKU for this segment in sight, NVIDIA's immediate reaction is reportedly that of introducing "fairly big" price-cuts on the GeForce GTX 460 duo, the company also plans to cut prices of the high-end GeForce GTX 470. To what extant exactly these price cuts would go is not known, but they will be put into effect either today, or tomorrow. Meanwhile, sources close to AMD told us that in response to this development, the red-team will fine-tune the final pricing of the Radeon HD 6800 series, to step up pressure on the competition. We expect as much as $20 to be cut on the currently expected prices of the Radeon HD 6800 series pair.
Update (10/21; 20:50 IST): NVIDIA sent us a circular about revised pricing of certain GeForce products. Details follow.
With no new SKU for this segment in sight, NVIDIA's immediate reaction is reportedly that of introducing "fairly big" price-cuts on the GeForce GTX 460 duo, the company also plans to cut prices of the high-end GeForce GTX 470. To what extant exactly these price cuts would go is not known, but they will be put into effect either today, or tomorrow. Meanwhile, sources close to AMD told us that in response to this development, the red-team will fine-tune the final pricing of the Radeon HD 6800 series, to step up pressure on the competition. We expect as much as $20 to be cut on the currently expected prices of the Radeon HD 6800 series pair.
Apple Announces Updated Macbook Air Lineup
Months after bringing to the world an updated lineup of iMacs, Mac Pro workstations, and Macbooks barring the Macbook Air, Apple has finally given its due, with a new updated Macbook Air. Apple's ultra-thin, and ultra-light notebook is now available in two sizes, 13-inch and 11-inch. Internally, there are no radical changes. It still uses a Core 2 Duo, clocked at 1.40 or 1.60 GHz for the 11-inch and 1.80 GHz or 2.13 GHz for the 13-inch version with 3 MB (11-inch) or 6 MB (13-inch) of L2 cache , 2 GB of DDR3 memory (with the option to choose 4 GB), and NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics. Unlike with the older generation, the new Macbook Air uses SSDs on all available variants, it's hardwired on its motherboard (apparently to minimize space), and comes in capacities of 64~128 GB (11-inch) or 128~256 GB (13-inch).
It is over the hood that most changes are made. The unit is now thinner at 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm), lighter at 1.06 kg for the 11-inch and 1.32 kg for the 13-inch. Apple claims to have learned a lot from iPad's design. It's given the new Macbook Air a larger glass trackpad that uses high-precision multi-touch surface used in Apple's touch products, which enhance the user-interface beyond just doing the work of a pointing device. The screen used has high pixel density, with 1440 x 900 pixels for the 13-inch and 1366 x 768 pixels for the 11-inch model. A high-resolution Facetime web-camera is fitted. The Macbook Air provides all the software capabilities of any other Mac, the Mac OS X Snow Leopard OS and iLife are bundled. Battery life has also gone up, 5 hours for the 11-inch and 7 hours for the 13-inch. Prices start at US $999 for the 11-inch model and $1,299 for the 13-inch one, and go up depending on the optional components chosen.
It is over the hood that most changes are made. The unit is now thinner at 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm), lighter at 1.06 kg for the 11-inch and 1.32 kg for the 13-inch. Apple claims to have learned a lot from iPad's design. It's given the new Macbook Air a larger glass trackpad that uses high-precision multi-touch surface used in Apple's touch products, which enhance the user-interface beyond just doing the work of a pointing device. The screen used has high pixel density, with 1440 x 900 pixels for the 13-inch and 1366 x 768 pixels for the 11-inch model. A high-resolution Facetime web-camera is fitted. The Macbook Air provides all the software capabilities of any other Mac, the Mac OS X Snow Leopard OS and iLife are bundled. Battery life has also gone up, 5 hours for the 11-inch and 7 hours for the 13-inch. Prices start at US $999 for the 11-inch model and $1,299 for the 13-inch one, and go up depending on the optional components chosen.
Wednesday, October 20th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Graphics Cards
Harddisks
Motherboards
Mousepads
Netbooks
Speakers
MSI GeForce GTX 480 Lightning 1536 MB Review
MSI's GeForce GTX 480 Lightning promises to be an overclocker's dream. It is build around a completely redesigned PCB and thermal solution with overclockers in mind. The card offers unique features like control for up to three voltages, dual BIOS with liquid nitrogen support and easy to reach voltage measurement points.
PowerColor Radeon HD 6800 Series PCS Graphics Card Pictured
PowerColor is ready with its in-house design for the upcoming AMD Radeon HD 6800 series, branded with the company's PCS (professional cooling system) moniker. The card, almost every PCS card, has a red-colored PCB, with a custom-design cooling solution that makes use of a centralized GPU fan-heatsink. Although the exact model of the card pictured below is embargoed, it's easy to guess that it's the HD 6850, because it's missing one 6-pin power input. In all likelihood, this card will be overclocked out of the box, when it releases later this week.
SteelSeries and GUNNAR Optics Release New SteelSeries Scope Pro Gaming Eyewear
SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, along with strategic partner GUNNAR Optiks, today introduced SteelSeries Scope digital performance eyewear for gamers in both prescription and nonprescription. The new line of co-branded pro gaming glasses powered by GUNNAR i-AMP lens technology is designed to improve visual efficiency, endurance, and recovery during gaming sessions. Expanding upon GUNNAR's line of advanced gaming eyewear, SteelSeries collaborated with the company to customize a design with a larger, extended lens and a lightweight, comfortable frame. The eyewear provides gamers a visually enhanced experience while minimizing eyestrain and fatigue.
"We've built our brand on the belief that gamers want peripherals and accessories that provide a competitive advantage that will help improve their experience and game," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "When we announced our strategic partnership with GUNNAR earlier this year, it was our goal to collaborate on a product that would provide gamers with that same solution of an improved experience. The SteelSeries Scope is the result of that collaboration and we're excited to bring it to market."
"We've built our brand on the belief that gamers want peripherals and accessories that provide a competitive advantage that will help improve their experience and game," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "When we announced our strategic partnership with GUNNAR earlier this year, it was our goal to collaborate on a product that would provide gamers with that same solution of an improved experience. The SteelSeries Scope is the result of that collaboration and we're excited to bring it to market."
OCZ IBIS HSDL Solid State Drive Dissected
The High Speed Data Link (HSDL) interface, designed by OCZ as an alternative to SATA and SAS, for high data-rate and high I/O solid-state drives (SSD) in an enterprise environment, gained quite some attention. Funky Kit scored a sample, and got the chance to dissect OCZ's first SSD that makes use of the HSDL interface, the IBIS 160 GB. OCZ also found a novel way to propagate HSDL, by bundling a single-port PCI-Express x4 addon card. Upon taking apart the card, one can understand exactly how it works. Under the hood, there are two main PCBs, one that houses a HSDL-based 2-port SATA RAID controller, and the other, which holds two independent SandForce-driven SATA SSD sub-units.
Two two SSD sub-units are striped in an internal RAID 0, which is kept abstract to the host. The HSDL itself is technically very similar to PCI-Express, in being a point-to-point serial data link. The IBIS SSD is rated to have read-write speeds of 740 MB/s and 690 MB/s, respectively, with 4KB random write performance of 100,000 IOPS. The drive connects to its host PCI-E addon card over a proprietary-design cable, while retains the SATA power connector input of conventional SATA devices. The drive itself adheres to the 3.5" PC form-factor. More pictures can be found at the source.
Two two SSD sub-units are striped in an internal RAID 0, which is kept abstract to the host. The HSDL itself is technically very similar to PCI-Express, in being a point-to-point serial data link. The IBIS SSD is rated to have read-write speeds of 740 MB/s and 690 MB/s, respectively, with 4KB random write performance of 100,000 IOPS. The drive connects to its host PCI-E addon card over a proprietary-design cable, while retains the SATA power connector input of conventional SATA devices. The drive itself adheres to the 3.5" PC form-factor. More pictures can be found at the source.
WD Announces Q1 Revenue of $2.4 Billion, Net Income of $197 Million
Western Digital Corp. today reported revenue of $2.4 billion, hard-drive unit shipments of 50.7 million and net income of $197 million, or $0.84 per share for its first fiscal quarter ended Oct. 1, 2010. In the year-ago quarter, the company reported revenue of $2.2 billion, shipped 44.1 million hard drives, and reported net income and earnings per share of $288 million and $1.25, respectively.
"In a quarter characterized by aggressive industry pricing, we remained solidly profitable, grew revenues and unit shipments year-over-year, and generated $390 million in cash from operations," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "Our low-cost business model and strong balance sheet enable us to weather the seasonality and cycles of the hard drive industry such as we experienced during the last two quarters.
"In a quarter characterized by aggressive industry pricing, we remained solidly profitable, grew revenues and unit shipments year-over-year, and generated $390 million in cash from operations," said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer. "Our low-cost business model and strong balance sheet enable us to weather the seasonality and cycles of the hard drive industry such as we experienced during the last two quarters.
I-O Data Unveils New WLED-Backlit Full-HD Monitor
I-O Data unveiled its latest monitor, the sleek and stylish-looking LCD-MF221CBR. This WLED-backlit LCD monitor is sized at 21.5-inches, with a power draw of just 18.3W during normal use (27W max.), and offers full-HD (1920 x 1080) resolution with 5 ms response time, an honest-sounding 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (1,000:1 normal contrast ratio), and maximum brightness of 250 cd/m². It also packs 1W stereo speakers. Display inputs include DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. Pricing is not known, it will start shipping in early November.
AMD Radeon HD 6850 PCB Pictured
Barely a couple of days ahead of its launch, the first picture of the Radeon HD 6850 taken apart made its way to the internet. We were treated to the pictures of the HD 6870 PCB last week. AMD's release-grade reference design PCB is not as long as that of the HD 6870, it keeps up with the black color, and is available as either a premium 8-layer version, or a cost-effective 6-layer one. This particular one makes use of a 4+1+1 phase VRM, a CHIL-made VRM controller that might support software voltage control, power input from a single 6-pin PCI-E power connector, one CrossFire connector, and display connectivity that includes two DVI, one HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort connectors. From the information available to us from recent reports, the Radeon HD 6850 has 960 stream processors 32 ROPs, 48 TMUs, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory. Its core is clocked at 775 MHz, and memory at 1000 MHz (4000 MHz GDDR5 effective).
Mushkin Announces New Radioactive Series Memory Kits
Mushkin, a global leader in high-performance computer products, announces the availability of new Radioactive memory kits tailored for the gaming and enthusiast markets. This new Radioactive Series launches with DDR3-1600 CL6 memory kits for Intel's LGA1366 and LGA1156 platforms, as well as a 2000 MHz 6GB CL8 triple kit. In the near future, more kits with different specifications will be available.
"We're elated to offer viscerally engaging products for our friends in the gaming and high performance sectors. We have many plans to cater to enthusiasts, and this kit release is just the tip of the iceberg." - Wade Shiflett, Mushkin, Inc. marketing director. These new high performance memory kits are available now at mushkin.com and our partners around the globe. Shortly, these kits will be bundled at newegg.com with Bethesda Softworks's "Fallout: New Vegas" PC video game titled for great savings.
"We're elated to offer viscerally engaging products for our friends in the gaming and high performance sectors. We have many plans to cater to enthusiasts, and this kit release is just the tip of the iceberg." - Wade Shiflett, Mushkin, Inc. marketing director. These new high performance memory kits are available now at mushkin.com and our partners around the globe. Shortly, these kits will be bundled at newegg.com with Bethesda Softworks's "Fallout: New Vegas" PC video game titled for great savings.
Patriot Launches Viper Xtreme Family of High-Performance DDR3 Modules
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage and enthusiast computer products, today expanded their lineup of DDR3 memory solutions with the launch of its new Viper Xtreme Series Extreme Performance DDR3 memory. The Viper Xtreme series of products utilize a custom developed aluminum and copper heat shield to achieve improved cooling and stability. Patriot Viper Xtreme series modules have a custom designed heatshield with a copper insert across the DRAM chips and a slim profile extruded anodized aluminum outer piece. This unique design offers enhanced thermal performance resulting in a 5% improvement in heat dissipation over aluminum based heatshields. Viper Xtreme modules pass a thorough qualification and screening process on multiple high-performance motherboards to ensure performance and reliability for overclocking. These modules are targeted and designed specifically for performance enthusiasts and overclockers looking for an edge in benchmark efforts and to push the boundaries of computing performance.
"Patriot has been offering some of the fastest performance memory solutions in the world, and our Viper Xtreme series delivers a high-end solution with a custom heatshield built around a copper core to offer better cooling", says Les Henry, Patriot's VP of Engineering. "Our in-house engineering expertise and knowledge of the enthusiast market has helped us push the boundaries and set the standard for DDR3 memory solutions. With Viper Xtreme series modules showcase our expertise in developing and delivering performance solutions for the enthusiast market."
"Patriot has been offering some of the fastest performance memory solutions in the world, and our Viper Xtreme series delivers a high-end solution with a custom heatshield built around a copper core to offer better cooling", says Les Henry, Patriot's VP of Engineering. "Our in-house engineering expertise and knowledge of the enthusiast market has helped us push the boundaries and set the standard for DDR3 memory solutions. With Viper Xtreme series modules showcase our expertise in developing and delivering performance solutions for the enthusiast market."
Tuesday, October 19th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Motherboards
Mouse
- Roccat Kone+ TweakPC (de)
Notebooks
Thermaltake Armor A60 Review
The Armor A60 is a smaller version of the popular Armor A90. It retains the cool and edgy look of the larger brother, but also offers a few new and interesting features and updates. We throw everything we have at the case to see if the Armor A60 remains standing once the dust has settled.
Thermalright Intros Archon CPU Cooler, Makes Room for Memory
Thermalright introduced its latest CPU cooler, the Archon. Building on the tower-design it pioneered, the Archon carries the sales tagline "make room for your memory", meaning that it's designed keeping in mind minimal intrusion of the motherboard's memory area. It did this by reducing the depth of the heatsink, while making up for it with length. The Archon makes use of a 140 mm fan for ventilation. The aluminum fins are not very planar, instead propagate in a zig-zag manner to increase air turbulence.
Six 6 mm thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes convey heat to the aluminum fins from the base, which are uniformly spread across the area. A Thermalright TY-140 fan is bundled, which spins at speeds between 900 and 1300 rpm, with noise levels of 19-21 dBA. A tube of Thermalright Chill Factor III thermal compound is also bundled. All current CPU socket types are supported, namely LGA1366, LGA1156, AM3/AM2(+) and LGA775. The company did not give out pricing and availability, yet.
Six 6 mm thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes convey heat to the aluminum fins from the base, which are uniformly spread across the area. A Thermalright TY-140 fan is bundled, which spins at speeds between 900 and 1300 rpm, with noise levels of 19-21 dBA. A tube of Thermalright Chill Factor III thermal compound is also bundled. All current CPU socket types are supported, namely LGA1366, LGA1156, AM3/AM2(+) and LGA775. The company did not give out pricing and availability, yet.
OCZ Technology Opens Additional SSD Manufacturing Facility to Meet Increased Demand
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, has announced the opening of a new SSD manufacturing plant in Taipei, Taiwan slated to begin operation on Monday, October 25.
A testament to the Company's dedication to market leadership, the new facility features best of class manufacturing, as well as test and burn-in technology required by the Company's growing OEM client base. The new facility increases the Company's SSD manufacturing capacity to 140,000 units a month from 50,000 units a month internally, accommodating the growing demand for both client and enterprise OCZ SSDs.
A testament to the Company's dedication to market leadership, the new facility features best of class manufacturing, as well as test and burn-in technology required by the Company's growing OEM client base. The new facility increases the Company's SSD manufacturing capacity to 140,000 units a month from 50,000 units a month internally, accommodating the growing demand for both client and enterprise OCZ SSDs.
Intel Announces Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment in Next-Gen. Manufacturing in U.S.
Intel Corporation announced today that the company will invest between $6 billion and $8 billion on future generations of manufacturing technology in its American facilities. The action will fund deployment of Intel's next-generation 22- nanometer (nm) manufacturing process across several existing U.S. factories, along with construction of a new development fabrication plant (commonly called a "fab") in Oregon. The projects will support 6,000 to 8,000 construction jobs and result in 800 to 1,000 new permanent high-tech jobs.
"Today's announcement reflects the next tranche of the continued advancement of Moore's Law and a further commitment to invest in the future of Intel and America," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "The most immediate impact of our multi-billion-dollar investment will be the thousands of jobs associated with building a new fab and upgrading four others, and the high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that follow."
"Today's announcement reflects the next tranche of the continued advancement of Moore's Law and a further commitment to invest in the future of Intel and America," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "The most immediate impact of our multi-billion-dollar investment will be the thousands of jobs associated with building a new fab and upgrading four others, and the high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that follow."
AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series Specifications Leaked
Specifications of the upcoming Radeon HD 6800 series GPUs have already been doing rounds for the last couple of days, and ChipHell.com finally managed to leak an alleged press-deck of the HD 6800 series that discloses the GPUs' specifications and some key features that AMD will introduce with this generation. What can be said looking at the slides is that AMD seems to have stepped up performance/die-size big time (up to 35% increase in performance per mm²), with some reconfiguring of key components. It also redesigned the GPUs to have up to 100% increase in tessellation performance, new image-quality enhancements, a new video acceleration engine (UVD 3), and a redesigned display IO with 2nd Gen. Eyefinity technology that can let users of standard variants drive up to six displays with a single card.
Specifications of the HD 6870 are: 1120 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 56 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 900/1050(4200) MHz core/memory(effective), and idle/max board power of 19W/151W. For the HD 6850, it's 960 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 48 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, idle/max board power of 19W/127W.
Specifications of the HD 6870 are: 1120 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 56 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 900/1050(4200) MHz core/memory(effective), and idle/max board power of 19W/151W. For the HD 6850, it's 960 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 48 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, idle/max board power of 19W/127W.
Western Digital Announces Caviar Green 2.5 TB and 3 TB SATA Hard Drive
WD today announced that the company is shipping the world's largest capacity SATA hard drive. As the latest addition to its WD Caviar Green family of SATA hard drives, the new hard drives deliver up to a massive 3 terabytes (TB) of storage capacity on a single drive. WD is leading the industry in capacity for SATA hard drives by utilizing 750 GB-per-platter areal density and Advanced Format (AF) technology.
WD Caviar Green drives are an eco-friendly storage solution with WD GreenPower Technology, which reduces power consumption by enabling lower operating temperatures for increased reliability and decreases acoustical noise for quiet operation. The WD Caviar Green 2.5 TB and 3 TB hard drives are designed for use as secondary external storage and next-generation PC storage in 64-bit based systems.
WD Caviar Green drives are an eco-friendly storage solution with WD GreenPower Technology, which reduces power consumption by enabling lower operating temperatures for increased reliability and decreases acoustical noise for quiet operation. The WD Caviar Green 2.5 TB and 3 TB hard drives are designed for use as secondary external storage and next-generation PC storage in 64-bit based systems.
AMD Fusion APU Codenamed ''Llano'' Demonstrated at 6th Annual AMD TFE 2010
At the 6th Annual AMD Technical Forum & Exhibition (TFE) 2010, AMD today showcased for its ecosystem partners the first public demonstration of the forthcoming AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) codenamed "Llano", designed for notebook, ultrathin and desktop PCs. AMD demonstrated the accelerated single-chip processing muscle of Llano by simultaneously processing three separate compute-and graphics-intensive workloads.
"The serial and powerful parallel processing capability of the Llano APU has the potential to make OEMs and consumers re-think their computing experience," said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager, client division, AMD. "The experience potential of Llano is truly incredible, and the demos we showed today on stage provide a glimpse of what this processor is capable of delivering in sleek form factors with long battery life. Everything consumers love about their digital lifestyles today - social networking, gaming, consuming and creating media - can be enhanced with Llano, enabling a more interactive, vivid and immersive experience."
"The serial and powerful parallel processing capability of the Llano APU has the potential to make OEMs and consumers re-think their computing experience," said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager, client division, AMD. "The experience potential of Llano is truly incredible, and the demos we showed today on stage provide a glimpse of what this processor is capable of delivering in sleek form factors with long battery life. Everything consumers love about their digital lifestyles today - social networking, gaming, consuming and creating media - can be enhanced with Llano, enabling a more interactive, vivid and immersive experience."
ASUS Radeon HD 6850 DirectCu OC Graphics Card Pictured
ASUS is ready with its first non-reference design Radeon HD 6850 graphics card, making use of the company's proven DirectCu cooler design. The EAH6850 DirectCu also makes use of a non-reference design PCB by the company that makes use of high-quality components, and the VoltageTweak feature, which lets users control voltages using software. To support this, and provide an out of the box overclock, the card draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, unlike the reference design that needs just one. The DirectCu cooler features nickel-plated copper heat-pipes that make direct contact with the GPU, conveying heat quickly to the heatsink. Display connectors include two DVI, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. The exact clock speeds are not known. ASUS will most likely release this card on the 22nd of this month.
AMD Radeon HD 6800 Reference Models Pictured
Here are the press-shots given to us by AMD, of the Radeon HD 6000 series graphics cards, in their reference design. The Radeon HD 6870 was pictured from one angle much earlier, but this new deck of pictures show you the card from other angles. There is also the first set of pictures of the Radeon HD 6850 with its premium blower-type cooler. Partners can opt for this design, or choose a more cost-effective cooler design which isn't much more than a fan-heatsink over the GPU, probably heatsinks over the memory/VRM, and an egg-shaped cooler shroud. Past history has shown that when presented with two reference design cooler options, most AIB partners have chosen the cheaper one, for obvious reasons.
The styling looks a little carried forward from the HD 5000 series (black and red), only this time, the streaks of red-lines are on the top and rear-end of the card, not its obverse side (which now has a flame sticker). The sticker design around the fan intake is suggestive of an "eye", keeping up with the theme for this series and a trio of new "Eye" features the Radeon HD 6000 series will carry, one of them being next-generation Eyefinity. The Radeon HD 6800 draws power from two 6-pin power inputs, while the HD 6850 makes do with just one. Another important feature-change evident from these pictures is that the 6800 lacks support for 3-way and 4-way CrossFireX, there's only one CFI finger.
The styling looks a little carried forward from the HD 5000 series (black and red), only this time, the streaks of red-lines are on the top and rear-end of the card, not its obverse side (which now has a flame sticker). The sticker design around the fan intake is suggestive of an "eye", keeping up with the theme for this series and a trio of new "Eye" features the Radeon HD 6000 series will carry, one of them being next-generation Eyefinity. The Radeon HD 6800 draws power from two 6-pin power inputs, while the HD 6850 makes do with just one. Another important feature-change evident from these pictures is that the 6800 lacks support for 3-way and 4-way CrossFireX, there's only one CFI finger.
Super Talent Announces First 24 GB DDR3-2000 MHz Triple-Channel Memory Kit
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced it is currently manufacturing the world's first 24GB triple channel DDR3 running at 2000MHz. Usually overclocking comes at the cost of capacity. Most over-clocked modules are only available in small capacities and require that you only "half-load" the DRAM bus. This new large capacity kit enables you to "fully load" the DRAM bus.
Super Talent's new 24GB triple channel kit enables a fully loaded configuration consisting of a Kit of 6 (4GB) modules in 6 slots (DDR3-2000-CL9) at 1.65V. Super Talent's has once again moved beyond industry limitations and produced a DDR3 capable of overclocking to an incredible 2000 MHz.
Super Talent's new 24GB triple channel kit enables a fully loaded configuration consisting of a Kit of 6 (4GB) modules in 6 slots (DDR3-2000-CL9) at 1.65V. Super Talent's has once again moved beyond industry limitations and produced a DDR3 capable of overclocking to an incredible 2000 MHz.
Sharkoon Announces Mini-Quick Port Dock for 2.5 Inch SATA Hard Drives
Sharkoon's "QuickPort" series has increased again: The youngest and smallest model from the external hard drive docking station product line is specifically designed for magnet hard drives and SSDs with 2.5 inch form factor and SATA interfaces. The Sharkoon SATA QuickPort Mini offers a convenient plug-in slot and eject button, the accessible data medium can be directly connected to a notebook or computer. With its miniature size of 85 x 55 x 45 mm (W x L x H), the stable adapter is suitable for easy transit in a jacket or notebook bag. Connection and the power supply occur through the external USB port. On the rear of the device you will find a separate power switch. A topside LED illuminates during operation and data transfer.
Sharkoon offers the SATA QuickPort Mini in two choices: One model with a USB2.0 high speed port (max. 480 Mbps) and one model with USB3.0 SuperSpeed port (max. 5 Gbps). Shipping includes the appropriate instruction manual and USB cable (USB-Y or USB3.0). End customers will find the Sharkoon SATA QuickPorts Mini available from authorized retailers.
Sharkoon offers the SATA QuickPort Mini in two choices: One model with a USB2.0 high speed port (max. 480 Mbps) and one model with USB3.0 SuperSpeed port (max. 5 Gbps). Shipping includes the appropriate instruction manual and USB cable (USB-Y or USB3.0). End customers will find the Sharkoon SATA QuickPorts Mini available from authorized retailers.
RaidSonic Intros Pair of USB 3.0 Compatible 2.5'' SATA Drive Enclosures
RaidSonic introduced a pair of USB 3.0 compatible 2.5-inch SATA 3 Gb/s drive enclosures, the IB-230StU3-G and IB-223StU3+. The former sports a brushed metal body, with vibration-dampening rubber inlets, while the latter comes in white (IB-223StU3+Wh) and black (IB-223StU3+B) variants, with a polycarbonate body and a silicone sleeve to absorb mechanical shock. The IB-230StU3-G is priced at €26.90, and IB-223StU3+ at €23.90.
Colorful Announces iGame GTS 450 Graphics Card
Colorful made global headlines when it unveiled the iGame GTX 460 graphics card to markets outside its niche of China and other East Asian markets. With the more affordable GeForce GTS 450, we thought it went softer with its non-reference GTS 450 graphics card that is designed appropriately for the market-segment. Now it looks like Colorful is back to an exorbitant product design, with the iGame GTS 450. This card sports similar styling to its GTX 460 cousin. The "shark-fin" cooler design that "breathes in" air for efficient ventilation is also there, but the key feature here is a design meant for overclocking.
The iGame GTS 450 makes use of a strong VRM area that makes use of a 5-phase design, with high-grade ONSEMI-made MOSFETs and server-grade NCC POSCAP capacitors, low-latency GDDR5 memory chips from Hynix, and a dual-BIOS design that is user-controllable with a switch on the rear panel. Each BIOS stores a different clock-speed profile, the first one is failsafe, sticking to reference speeds of 783/3608 MHz (core/memory); while the second one sports aggressive speeds of 900/4100 MHz. Colorful also mentions that with all the high-grade components on board, one can benefit from its overclocking capabilities that take it beyond that high-speed clock profile. Outside Asia, Colorful will release this card in Europe, the company has not finalised its price.
The iGame GTS 450 makes use of a strong VRM area that makes use of a 5-phase design, with high-grade ONSEMI-made MOSFETs and server-grade NCC POSCAP capacitors, low-latency GDDR5 memory chips from Hynix, and a dual-BIOS design that is user-controllable with a switch on the rear panel. Each BIOS stores a different clock-speed profile, the first one is failsafe, sticking to reference speeds of 783/3608 MHz (core/memory); while the second one sports aggressive speeds of 900/4100 MHz. Colorful also mentions that with all the high-grade components on board, one can benefit from its overclocking capabilities that take it beyond that high-speed clock profile. Outside Asia, Colorful will release this card in Europe, the company has not finalised its price.
Sapphire Radeon HD 6800 Series Cards Pictured
Sapphire is ready to launch its Radeon HD 6800 series products. As AMD's one of front-line partners, why wouldn't it be? The company will kick off its lineup with a Radeon HD 6870 model that sticks to the AMD reference design, and a Radeon HD 6850 based on an in-house design, probably marketed with the company's popular "Toxic" or "Vapor-X" brands. The Radeon HD 6870 card is compliant with the reference design, and uses reference clock speeds of 900/1050(4200) MHz (core/memory(effective memory)). It features DirectX 11 support, 1120 enhanced stream processors, 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface, and display connectivity that includes two DVI, two mini-DP 1.2, and one HDMI 1.4a. 2-way CrossFire is supported.
The Radeon HD 6850 card, on the other hand, sports an in-house design with both the PCB and the cooler. The PCB is colored in Sapphire's favourite shade of blue. The cooler looks quite muscular with a heatsink (probably making use of vapor-chamber technology) over the GPU, a 90 mm fan, and 8 mm heat pipes conveying heat to additional aluminum fin arrays. This card also reportedly sticks to reference clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, and features 960 stream processors, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide interface. Display connectivity on this card is more akin to what we're used to seeing on the HD 5800 series: two DVI, one standard-size DisplayPort 1.2, and one HDMI 1.4a. Expect both these cards to be out on the 22nd. A non-reference HD 6870 later down the line from Sapphire can't be ruled out.
The Radeon HD 6850 card, on the other hand, sports an in-house design with both the PCB and the cooler. The PCB is colored in Sapphire's favourite shade of blue. The cooler looks quite muscular with a heatsink (probably making use of vapor-chamber technology) over the GPU, a 90 mm fan, and 8 mm heat pipes conveying heat to additional aluminum fin arrays. This card also reportedly sticks to reference clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, and features 960 stream processors, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide interface. Display connectivity on this card is more akin to what we're used to seeing on the HD 5800 series: two DVI, one standard-size DisplayPort 1.2, and one HDMI 1.4a. Expect both these cards to be out on the 22nd. A non-reference HD 6870 later down the line from Sapphire can't be ruled out.
AXLE Intros Full-Height GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card
AXLE announced its GeForce GTX 430 graphics card. The card uses an in-house design by AXLE, with its own PCB and cooler. It bears a full-height PCB, with its cooler seemingly being single-slot. The card uses reference clock speeds of 725 MHz core and 1800 MHz (effective) for memory, and makes use of 1 GB of DDR3 memory over a 128-bit wide memory interface. Display connectivity includes one each of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI 1.4a. Expect AXLE's card to be marketed at fairly standard prices.
Monday, October 18th 2010
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Cases
Cooling
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Headphones
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PSUs
Crucial RealSSD C300 128 GB SATA 6 Gb/s Review
Crucial's ReadSSD C300 is the first solid state drive to support the new SATA 6 Gb/s standard. Unlike many of the competition, the drive is not based on a Sandforce controller, but uses one from Marvell instead. We tested both on SATA-II and SATA 6 Gb/s to check if the new interface can really make a difference.
Eurocom Breaks 24GB Memory Barrier in its Line of Panther Super-Notebooks
Eurocom is the world's first notebook developer to support 24GB of memory in a notebook computer. Eurocom line of Panther Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers is designed for maximum performance and the most demanding users. CAD/CAM designers, engineers, architects and designers who must frequently travel, yet need access to powerful computing, are the core target for Mobile workstations. With unrivaled power, unsurpassed features and unmatched style, the Mobile Workstation is the ultimate evolution of the Desktop Replacement notebook.
Eurocom Panther series is the world's first workstation-class professional super-notebook powered by the fastest desktop 6-core Intel processors and NVIDIA SLI with two GeForce GTX 480M or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5000M. Whether you're a designer developing the latest automobile, a 3D artist working on the next blockbuster film, or a financial trader on Wall Street, EUROCOM Panther series delivers unmatched power and performance for all professional workstation applications, and is ideal for the CAD (computer-aided design), CAE (computer-aided engineering), DCC (digital content creation), visualization, and corporate markets.
Eurocom Panther series is the world's first workstation-class professional super-notebook powered by the fastest desktop 6-core Intel processors and NVIDIA SLI with two GeForce GTX 480M or NVIDIA Quadro FX 5000M. Whether you're a designer developing the latest automobile, a 3D artist working on the next blockbuster film, or a financial trader on Wall Street, EUROCOM Panther series delivers unmatched power and performance for all professional workstation applications, and is ideal for the CAD (computer-aided design), CAE (computer-aided engineering), DCC (digital content creation), visualization, and corporate markets.
NVIDIA Lists New OEM-Only GeForce GT 440 SKU
NVIDIA slipped in a new OEM-only consumer graphics SKU, the GeForce GT 440. This development closely trails the market-wide launch of the GeForce GT 430, which in turn was an OEM-only SKU earlier. Hence there is some scope for the GT 440 to make a retail appearance soon. The specifications, according to its product page, leads us to believe that this could be a GF106-based SKU, with all 6 of its memory paths used (192-bit), albeit with DDR3. Partners have the option of installing either 1536 MB (1.5 GB) or 3072 MB (3 GB) of memory.
The Fermi-derived GF106 core is configured with 144 CUDA cores, 594 MHz core clock, 1189 MHz CUDA core clock, and either 800 or 900 MHz of DDR3 memory, providing memory bandwidth of up to 43.2 GB/s. The card supports 2-way SLI, its display connectivity consists of one each of DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. Maximum board power is rated at 56W.
The Fermi-derived GF106 core is configured with 144 CUDA cores, 594 MHz core clock, 1189 MHz CUDA core clock, and either 800 or 900 MHz of DDR3 memory, providing memory bandwidth of up to 43.2 GB/s. The card supports 2-way SLI, its display connectivity consists of one each of DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. Maximum board power is rated at 56W.
Spire Introduces Savit 6003 Case
Spire Corp proudly introduces the Savit 6003 PC professional and gamer case. The Savit 6003 case is the evolved model from the Savit 500. This high-end, versatile and strong chassis is further developed ensuring both maximum performance and computing satisfaction. Every element of the case has been engineered to provide maximum cooling performance. Up to four (4) LED 12cm fans placed throughout the Savit 6003 ensuring unbeatable cooling and giving this chassis a power gamer glow. The meshed aluminum front panel allows unrestricted fresh air intake which is mandatory for today's extremely hot gaming components. The Savit 6003 chassis is specifically targeting gaming enthusiasts who are planning to use high end systems with Intel or AMD multi-core microprocessors, high end series chipsets and large dual PCI clot graphics cards.
The spacious internal design enables flexible assembly and sufficient room for the installation of water-cooling. The Chassis is pre-applied with rubber grommet holes for feeding the external water-cooling tubes. In total nine (9) universal drive bays with tool-free support ensure easy and simple installation of your devices. Two drive cages with direct cooling and tool free mounting for five (5) 5.25-inch and five (5) 3.5-inch disc/optical drives provide massive storage capabilities. Additional two (2) USB connectors and one (1) eSATA connector on the front make it most convenient to connect your mobile storage or handheld device, while the HD microphone and headset connectors in the front offer you quickly multimedia access. Anti-vibration mountings and application of low speed cooling fans can make this the silent power machine you have been looking for.
The spacious internal design enables flexible assembly and sufficient room for the installation of water-cooling. The Chassis is pre-applied with rubber grommet holes for feeding the external water-cooling tubes. In total nine (9) universal drive bays with tool-free support ensure easy and simple installation of your devices. Two drive cages with direct cooling and tool free mounting for five (5) 5.25-inch and five (5) 3.5-inch disc/optical drives provide massive storage capabilities. Additional two (2) USB connectors and one (1) eSATA connector on the front make it most convenient to connect your mobile storage or handheld device, while the HD microphone and headset connectors in the front offer you quickly multimedia access. Anti-vibration mountings and application of low speed cooling fans can make this the silent power machine you have been looking for.
TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.4.7 Released
TechPowerUp introduced version 0.4.7 of GPU-Z, our lightweight graphics sub-system information and monitoring utility. GPU-Z provides you with detailed tech-specs of your installed graphics processors, and lets you monitor clock speeds, voltages, temperatures and fan speeds. This month's release improves detection for upcoming GPUs, adds support for new ones, improves stability, and corrects some minor bugs. To begin with, detection for the upcoming AMD Radeon HD 6800 series products has been improved to be most reliable and accurate with the products' launch approaching. Support has been added for GeForce GT 430, GT 420 desktop GPUs, and an important kernel driver related issue has been fixed.
DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.4.7
The change log follows.
The change log follows.
NVIDIA Releases GeForce 260.89 WHQL Driver Suite
NVIDIA today released GeForce 260.89 driver suite. The software provides WHQL-signed drivers for all GeForce 6-series onwards, and ION platform GPUs. It also provides 3D Vision software, GPU-integrated audio device driver (version 1.1.9.0), and PhysX system software (version 9.10.0514). As with almost every new release, GeForce 260.89 WHQL packs a host of performance enhancements, official support for new GPUs (it's GeForce GT 430, this time), and a host of bug-fixes. What's different this time around is that the performance enhancements are specific to two GPUs, GeForce GTX 480 and GeForce GTX 460. SLI profiles are added for new game titles.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 260.89 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
A detailed list of changes follows.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 260.89 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
A detailed list of changes follows.
Colorful Announces Raynor Tower ATX Mid-Tower Case
Colorful, known most for its high-end graphics cards, forayed into cases, announcing its first case for the western markets. The Raynor Tower from Colorful is an ATX mid-tower, that is uses the shark-fin styling the company has been toying with on its recently-announced graphics cards. It measures 190 x 490 x 510 mm, weighing up to 8 kg, making use of SECC steel for most of its body, side panels, perforated front intakes and drive-bay covers, while giving it a dash of plastic. Colorful claims to have tested over 100 different graphics cards to fit, it assures that long cards such as GeForce GTX 480 and Radeon HD 5970 will fit well.
Internally, the case is completely black, including the tool-free drive retention knobs and the perforated expansion slot covers. There's an opening behind the CPU socket area to help you handle coolers with back-plates better, and all the holes you'll need for cable-management. Ventilation includes one 120 mm fan pre-fitted on the front-intake, there's room for one 120 mm rear fan, two 140 mm fans on the top, and two 140 mm fans on the side panel. The controls and front-panel are located on the top. Colorful is pricing its Raynor Tower at around US $60.
Internally, the case is completely black, including the tool-free drive retention knobs and the perforated expansion slot covers. There's an opening behind the CPU socket area to help you handle coolers with back-plates better, and all the holes you'll need for cable-management. Ventilation includes one 120 mm fan pre-fitted on the front-intake, there's room for one 120 mm rear fan, two 140 mm fans on the top, and two 140 mm fans on the side panel. The controls and front-panel are located on the top. Colorful is pricing its Raynor Tower at around US $60.
Be Quiet! Introduces New Straight Power and Dark Power Series PSUs
Be Quiet! (brand name) announced a major expansion of its power supply lineup, with two new product lines: the 80 Plus Silver certified Straight Power E8 series, and 80 Plus Gold certified Dark Power Pro P9 series. The Straight Power E8 series includes 400W, 450W, 500W, 550W, 600W, and 700W models that have completely fixed cabling, and 480W, 580W and 680W models with modular cabling. The Dark Power Pro P9 series, on the other hand, includes 550W, 650W, 750W, 850W, 1000W and 1200W models, all of which have modular cabling.
The Straight Power E8 series models are ATX V2.3 and EPS 12V V2.92 compliant, use a more compact chassis, and are cooled by a 120 mm Silent Wings fan, and use four 12V rail design (with the exception of the 400W model that has a three rail design), prices for this series start at €69.90, and go all the way up to €149.90. The Dark Power Pro P9 uses a slightly longer chassis, also cooled by a 120 mm fan, it uses highly durable capacitors, and a four 12V rail design. These are priced between €149.90 and €269.90.
The Straight Power E8 series models are ATX V2.3 and EPS 12V V2.92 compliant, use a more compact chassis, and are cooled by a 120 mm Silent Wings fan, and use four 12V rail design (with the exception of the 400W model that has a three rail design), prices for this series start at €69.90, and go all the way up to €149.90. The Dark Power Pro P9 uses a slightly longer chassis, also cooled by a 120 mm fan, it uses highly durable capacitors, and a four 12V rail design. These are priced between €149.90 and €269.90.
XFX Radeon HD 6850 Pictured, Detailed
After a recent exposé of the XFX Radeon HD 6870, DonanimHaber scored a few pictures of its next HD 6000 series card, the XFX Radeon HD 6850. Unlike the HD 6870 card, the HD 6850 from XFX makes use of XFX' own design for both PCB and cooler. The card is shorter than the HD 6870 by a fair bit, and makes use of typical XFX styling on the cooler shroud and rear panel. The cooler seems to be a circular fan-heatsink over the GPU, it's not known whether the memory and VRM have heatsinks too. Display connectivity includes two DVI, and one each of HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort 1.2.
The card carries 960 stream cores, contradicting an older report, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. The core is clocked at 775 MHz, and memory at 1000 MHz (4 GHz GDDR5 effective). Expect it to be out on the 22nd of this month, at a highly competitive price for its performance level.
The card carries 960 stream cores, contradicting an older report, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. The core is clocked at 775 MHz, and memory at 1000 MHz (4 GHz GDDR5 effective). Expect it to be out on the 22nd of this month, at a highly competitive price for its performance level.
ViewSonic Brings 3D Gaming to the Desktop with its 24” AMD-certified LED Monitor
ViewSonic has launched its first 24" 3D-LED monitor, the V3D241wm-LED, giving people the opportunity to watch 3D content in full HD. The monitor has been certified by AMD for use with its Radeon range of graphics cards, ensuring maximum compatibility and ease of use. The monitor includes a set of wired active shutter glasses, allowing users with a compatible computer to get started right out of the box.
Using the included 3D glasses, the V3D241wm-LED can display 3D games and movies without any loss of quality by taking advantage of the monitor's 120Hz frame rate and ultra-fast 2ms response time. The ultra-responsive LED screen has a brightness level of 300 nits and a contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, providing a high level of detail and colour reproduction.
Using the included 3D glasses, the V3D241wm-LED can display 3D games and movies without any loss of quality by taking advantage of the monitor's 120Hz frame rate and ultra-fast 2ms response time. The ultra-responsive LED screen has a brightness level of 300 nits and a contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, providing a high level of detail and colour reproduction.
Point of View Announces 920 MHz GeForce GTS 450 TGT BEAST Graphics Card
Point of View the leading European manufacturer of an exclusive range NVIDIA based 3D processor boards, advanced netbooks as well as fancy touchpad computers and additional enthusiast PC products, announces an addition to a complete product range of advanced 3D processor graphics cards based on NVIDIA's latest GeForce GTS 450 GPU the POV/TGT GeForce GTS 450 "BEAST".
The POV/TGT GeForce GTS 450 "BEAST" is of highest quality and feature rock solid stability even beyond the documented clock settings of 920 MHz core clock, 1840 MHz shader clock and 4008 MHz memory clock (1002 MHz times 4 due to GDDR5). Considering the 783 MHz NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 reference design, the 920 MHz POV/TGT GeForce GTS 450 "BEAST" offers a significant performance increase of over 135 MHz.
The POV/TGT GeForce GTS 450 "BEAST" is of highest quality and feature rock solid stability even beyond the documented clock settings of 920 MHz core clock, 1840 MHz shader clock and 4008 MHz memory clock (1002 MHz times 4 due to GDDR5). Considering the 783 MHz NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 reference design, the 920 MHz POV/TGT GeForce GTS 450 "BEAST" offers a significant performance increase of over 135 MHz.
Friday, October 15th 2010
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CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
Iomega and EMC Bring External SSD Flash Drives To the Consumer and SMB Markets
Iomega Corporation, an EMC company and a leading innovator in digital storage and protection solutions for consumers and small and medium businesses, today announced new host-powered Iomega External USB 3.0 SSD Flash Drives, rugged solid state drives utilizing the blazing fast speed of the USB 3.0 interface and the security of built-in encryption - the perfect portable storage device for high-end users, creative professionals and others who demand the best in performance, security and portability.
Leveraging EMC's world class solid state expertise and implementation in enterprise network storage solutions, Iomega's new pocket-sized 1.8-inch external USB 3.0 SSD Flash drives will be available in early November in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities.
Leveraging EMC's world class solid state expertise and implementation in enterprise network storage solutions, Iomega's new pocket-sized 1.8-inch external USB 3.0 SSD Flash drives will be available in early November in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities.
USRobotics Launches ''Blazing Fast'' USB 3.0 Product Family
USRobotics, a Platinum Equity company and leading provider of Internet access and networking products, today introduced the new USRobotics USB 3.0 Product Family, which offers a "blazing fast" bandwidth connection of up to five Gbps for speeds up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. The new family includes a 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub (USR8400), along with a 2-Port ExpressCard Adapter (USR8401), and 2-Port PCI Express Card Adapter (USR8402). All of the new products are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices, designed to work with any USB peripheral and easy to install.
"Our products center around improving connectivity speed and therefore productivity for our customers," said Bruce Swail, CEO for USRobotics. "An entirely new line for USRobotics, the USB 3.0 Product Family was produced to stay current with modern demand for connectivity bandwidth. USB 3.0 promises a major leap forward in transfer speeds and capability while maintaining backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 devices."
"Our products center around improving connectivity speed and therefore productivity for our customers," said Bruce Swail, CEO for USRobotics. "An entirely new line for USRobotics, the USB 3.0 Product Family was produced to stay current with modern demand for connectivity bandwidth. USB 3.0 promises a major leap forward in transfer speeds and capability while maintaining backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 devices."
NVIDIA to Counter Radeon HD 6970 ''Cayman'' with GeForce GTX 580
AMD is undertaking its product development cycle at a breakneck pace, NVIDIA trailed it in the DirectX 11 and performance leadership race by months. This November, AMD will release the "Cayman" GPU, its newest high end GPU, the expectations are that it will outperform the NVIDIA GF100, that is a serious cause for concern, for the green team. It's back to its old tactics of talking about GPUs that haven't even taken shape, to try and water down AMD's launch. Enter, the GF110, NVIDIA's new high-end GPU under design, on which is based the GeForce GTX 580.
The new GPU is speculated to have 512 CUDA cores, 128 TMUs, and a 512-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface holding 2 GB of memory, with a TDP of close to that of the GeForce GTX 480. In the immediate future, there are prospects of a more realistic-sounding GF100b, which is basically GF100 with all its 512 CUDA cores enabled, while retaining its 384-bit GDDR5 memory interface, 64 TMUs, and slightly higher TDP than that of the GTX 480.
The new GPU is speculated to have 512 CUDA cores, 128 TMUs, and a 512-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface holding 2 GB of memory, with a TDP of close to that of the GeForce GTX 480. In the immediate future, there are prospects of a more realistic-sounding GF100b, which is basically GF100 with all its 512 CUDA cores enabled, while retaining its 384-bit GDDR5 memory interface, 64 TMUs, and slightly higher TDP than that of the GTX 480.
MSI Announces FX700/FR700 Multimedia Performance Notebooks
MSI's all-new 17.3-inch FX700 and FR700 notebook computers with soft contours and gentle lines stand out from the crowd. In addition to chrome trim around the speakers, these laptops come with chiclet keyboards that offer a unique feel, raised multipoint touchpad, and a hot key zone with a brush metal finish. The FX700 and FR700 are also sheathed in MSI's own anti-scratch, anti-smudge raised totem seal coating technology, putting them in a class all their own.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern adds that the beneath their chic exteriors, the FX700 and FR700 pack muscle. Under the hood, they pack the powerful Intel Core i5 processor and MSI's TDE turbo technology. The FX700 comes with a discrete graphics card and MSI GPU Boost technology to greatly enhance system and multimedia performance as well as THX' high-end cinema-class wrap around sound. MSI worked closely with world-renowned sound system and recording equipment designer Dynaudio to incorporate high quality sound technology into laptops to design mobile computing platforms featuring stylish exteriors and exceptional multimedia performance.
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern adds that the beneath their chic exteriors, the FX700 and FR700 pack muscle. Under the hood, they pack the powerful Intel Core i5 processor and MSI's TDE turbo technology. The FX700 comes with a discrete graphics card and MSI GPU Boost technology to greatly enhance system and multimedia performance as well as THX' high-end cinema-class wrap around sound. MSI worked closely with world-renowned sound system and recording equipment designer Dynaudio to incorporate high quality sound technology into laptops to design mobile computing platforms featuring stylish exteriors and exceptional multimedia performance.
AMD Reports Third Quarter Results
AMD today announced revenue for the third quarter of 2010 of $1.62 billion, a net loss of $118 million, or $0.17 per share, and operating income of $128 million. The company reported non-GAAP net income of $108 million, or $0.15 per share, and non-GAAP operating income of $144 million.
"AMD's third quarter performance was highlighted by solid gross margin and a continued focus on profitability, despite weaker than expected consumer demand," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO. "Our strategy to deliver platforms with superior visual experiences continues to resonate. We look forward to building on this momentum when we begin shipping our first AMD Fusion Accelerated Processor Units later this quarter."
"AMD's third quarter performance was highlighted by solid gross margin and a continued focus on profitability, despite weaker than expected consumer demand," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and CEO. "Our strategy to deliver platforms with superior visual experiences continues to resonate. We look forward to building on this momentum when we begin shipping our first AMD Fusion Accelerated Processor Units later this quarter."
Thursday, October 14th 2010
Today's Reviews
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Motherboards
Multimedia
Notebooks
Sunrise AS-Charm Earbuds Review
Sunrise audio, a relative newcomer on the headphone scene just released some neat earbuds. Today we take a look at their high end offering namely the AS-Charm earbuds. They retail at around $80 which promises excellent price/ performance ratio.
Early Listings Indicate Radeon HD 6800 Series Pricing
An pair of early listings by a Dutch online store indicates what prices of some Radeon HD 6800 series products could look like, in that part of the world. The Sapphire Radeon HD 6850 (part number 11180-00-20R), is listed at €158.82 without taxes (€189 with it); and Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 (part number 21179-00-40R) at €214.29 w/o taxes (€255 with it). We conservatively estimate the USD pricing to look like $199 for the HD 6850, and $249 for the HD 6870, on the basis of this listing.
Radeon HD 6870 PCB and GPU Pictured
The fine folks at IT168 revealed the first pictures of the Radeon HD 6870 PCB with its cooler completely off, and in its production livery (black). Also let out is the first [clear] picture of the GPU itself. The PCB was first pictured in its nascent qualification sample form, with a development GPU cooler on. The final version of the PCB sticks to its qualification sample for the most part, it has VRM components positioned forwards, trailed by the GPU and its memory. The card makes use of a 4+1+1 phase VRM. All eight memory chips are on the obverse side, each with its own 32-bit wide path, since there's a 256-bit memory interface.
The GPU package is of the same dimensions as the Cypress package, albeit a smaller die. We're getting to hear that Barts is pin-compatible with Cypress (meaning that a Barts GPU can be placed onto a Cypress PCB, given the appropriate BIOS, and it will work), however, no AIB is likely to reuse Cypress PCBs other than for Eyefinity6 designs, because while Barts can make do with a 6-layer PCB, close to every existing Cypress PCB is an 8-layer one, and that Cypress PCBs lack the second mini-DP connector. The die is placed diagonally on the package (à la Cypress and R600), it is rectangular, while the Cypress die is more or less square. ChipHell.com contributor musicinlove did a nice size measurement and comparison. Finally, the AMD "arrow" logo is etched onto the die, it's curtains down for ATI.
The GPU package is of the same dimensions as the Cypress package, albeit a smaller die. We're getting to hear that Barts is pin-compatible with Cypress (meaning that a Barts GPU can be placed onto a Cypress PCB, given the appropriate BIOS, and it will work), however, no AIB is likely to reuse Cypress PCBs other than for Eyefinity6 designs, because while Barts can make do with a 6-layer PCB, close to every existing Cypress PCB is an 8-layer one, and that Cypress PCBs lack the second mini-DP connector. The die is placed diagonally on the package (à la Cypress and R600), it is rectangular, while the Cypress die is more or less square. ChipHell.com contributor musicinlove did a nice size measurement and comparison. Finally, the AMD "arrow" logo is etched onto the die, it's curtains down for ATI.
SteelSeries Announces New World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse
Today, SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals and creator of the original World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse, announces a new MMO gaming mouse co-developed with Blizzard Entertainment. With a unique exterior that evokes the armored plating of Deathwing the Destroyer, the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm MMO Gaming Mouse delivers superior ergonomics and an intuitive button layout with advanced software functionality.
"Since the release of the original World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse in 2008, we've received feedback from thousands of World of Warcraft players, both Horde and Alliance, on how they've customized their World of Warcraft mice and what they would like us to do next," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "For two years, our R&D team worked hard with Blizzard Entertainment to incorporate the great feedback and to enhance the mouse technology and game integration. The new Cataclysm mouse is the result of that collaboration: it provides a wide range of customization options and delivers a more comfortable, intuitive, and ultimately better experience."
"Since the release of the original World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse in 2008, we've received feedback from thousands of World of Warcraft players, both Horde and Alliance, on how they've customized their World of Warcraft mice and what they would like us to do next," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "For two years, our R&D team worked hard with Blizzard Entertainment to incorporate the great feedback and to enhance the mouse technology and game integration. The new Cataclysm mouse is the result of that collaboration: it provides a wide range of customization options and delivers a more comfortable, intuitive, and ultimately better experience."
Gigabyte Announces the Aivia K8100 Keyboard with Variable Keystroke Sensitivity
GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphic cards, is proud to launch the first product from its highly anticipated Aivia series - Aivia K8100 Gaming Keyboard. Especially designed for gamers, Aivia K8100 is equipped with four major features - enhanced ergonomic gaming keystroke keyboard design, GHOST macro engine, 20 anti-ghosting keys, and touch and slide volume control. With these four features, obtaining victory during gaming battles is no sweat.
GIGABYTE designed the world's 1st gaming keystroke keyboard with three different built-in keystroke forces, 70 grams, 60 grams and 50 grams. Professional gamers are able to intuitionally make accurate commands with these different keystroke forces. Taking into account of mainstream gaming control buttons such as WASD, Ctrl, Space and arrow keys, these most commonly used gaming keys are assigned 70g weight for elastic force. The other keys commonly pressed by the little finger such as Tab, Caps-Lock and Shift buttons are assigned 50 grams to reduce pressure on the finger.
GIGABYTE designed the world's 1st gaming keystroke keyboard with three different built-in keystroke forces, 70 grams, 60 grams and 50 grams. Professional gamers are able to intuitionally make accurate commands with these different keystroke forces. Taking into account of mainstream gaming control buttons such as WASD, Ctrl, Space and arrow keys, these most commonly used gaming keys are assigned 70g weight for elastic force. The other keys commonly pressed by the little finger such as Tab, Caps-Lock and Shift buttons are assigned 50 grams to reduce pressure on the finger.
XFX Radeon HD 6870 Smiles for the Camera
XFX is ready with the first AIB-branded Radeon HD 6000 series graphics card to be caught on camera. Its Radeon HD 6870 graphics card bears a racy-looking AMD reference-design blower-type cooling solution, with its own company sticker. The company has opted for the AMD-branded Radeon logo. It draws power from two 6-pin power connectors, has no backplate on the PCB's reverse side, and sports a custom-design rear-panel on which the XFX logo is etched on the exhaust. Display connectors include two DVI, an HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort. Radeon HD 6870 is intended to be a successor to the Radeon HD 5700 series, a performance segment product targeting a price sweet-spot. Radeon HD 5800 series successors are Radeon HD 6900 series.
ASUS Intros Trio of 27-inch Full-HD Monitors
ASUS announced a trio of full-HD (1920 x 1080 resolution) 27-inch monitors. The VK278Q and VE278Q have LED-backlit illumination with dynamic contrast ratio (DCR) of 10,000,000:1, and the third model, VE276Q, with common CCFL illumination with 100,000 DCR. The VK278Q features a 2 megapixel webcam. All three models give you 2 ms response time GTG, 3W stereo speakers. The VK278Q and VE278Q, and VE276Q are priced at €359, €339, and €329, respectively.
AMD Radeon HD 6850 Specs, Pricing Surfaces
AMD's latest graphics processors is just around the corner, and one of the first of them is the Radeon HD 6800 series. The value version of it is the Radeon HD 6850, its most probable specifications have surfaced. To begin with, HD 6850 is based on AMD's new Barts GPU, built on the 40 nm process. The source mentions that the SKU will have 800 stream cores enabled, from earlier reports we're lead to believe that these stream cores are individually more complex than AMD's traditional 5D (4 simple + 1 complex) approach to unified shaders. There is a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory, the card uses 5 GT/s memory chips, so the memory should be clocked around 1200 MHz (or 4800 MHz effective), if not more. The core is clocked at 775 MHz. Its FOB (freight on board) price is expected to be US $175. Power is drawn from a single 6-pin PCI-E power connector, the draw is expected to be less than 150W. Partners have the option of using a premium blower-type cooler, or a cost-effective heatsink-type cooler. The latter had been pictured a while back, posted below for reference.
AMD HD 6000 Northern Islands Feature Slides Leaked
AMD is close to unveiling its next-generation "Northern Islands" GPU family, which will be branded under the AMD Radeon HD 6000 series. These include two new performance-thru-extreme GPUs, namely Barts and Cayman. There's also a dual-Cayman implementation codenamed Antilles. While specifications are anyone's guess besides the little details we know about Barts and Cayman, the feature-set of the Northern Island family was communicated to AIB parts in a presentation which was leaked by the Chinese press.
To begin with, the key feature additions in Northern Islands includes a much more evolved display logic that can drive five displays simultaneously over physical outputs that include two dual-link DVI-I, one HDMI 1.4 (full-size), and two mini DisplayPort 1.2 connectors. The logic also provides you to install up to six monitors over the two DisplayPort connectors by daisy-chaining them, making use of the MultiStream feature of DP 1.2, which supports two times the data-rate of DP 1.1, and can provide very high-resolution display, or HD display with stereoscopic 3D (120 Hz). HDMI 1.4 lets you make use of Blu-ray 3D. A new video processing engine, UVD 3.0, provides GPU acceleration for MPEG-2, DivX, MVC (multi video coding), for Blu-ray 3D.
To begin with, the key feature additions in Northern Islands includes a much more evolved display logic that can drive five displays simultaneously over physical outputs that include two dual-link DVI-I, one HDMI 1.4 (full-size), and two mini DisplayPort 1.2 connectors. The logic also provides you to install up to six monitors over the two DisplayPort connectors by daisy-chaining them, making use of the MultiStream feature of DP 1.2, which supports two times the data-rate of DP 1.1, and can provide very high-resolution display, or HD display with stereoscopic 3D (120 Hz). HDMI 1.4 lets you make use of Blu-ray 3D. A new video processing engine, UVD 3.0, provides GPU acceleration for MPEG-2, DivX, MVC (multi video coding), for Blu-ray 3D.
Wednesday, October 13th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
Headphones
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mousepads
Nettops
Notebooks
Colorful iGame GTX 460 1 GB Review
Colorful's iGame GTX 460 uses a massive triple slot cooler with two fans to keep the card cool. It also offers overclocker-friendly features like a Turbo button or voltage measurement points. Out of the box the card runs at clocks of 820 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory making it one of the faster GTX 460 variants out there.
Razer Launches Wireless Version Of The Best-Selling Razer Naga MMO Mouse
Razer, the world's leading high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals brand, today announced the launch of an elite wireless MMO gaming mouse that's an upgrade from the original award-winning and best-selling Get Imba mouse - the Razer Naga Epic. Designed by the highly-acclaimed Razer R&D labs, the Razer Naga Epic epitomizes that fine balance between keyboard and mouse with 17 MMO-optimized buttons, and takes it to a whole new level with three ergonomic interchangeable side panels for optimal fit, the choice to customize the backglow from over 16 million colors, and a dual mode wired/wireless functionality. Gamers can now enjoy a MMO gaming mouse with no strings attached - literally.
"With the Naga Epic, Razer gives MMO gamers around the world more freedom than ever before," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, President, Razer. "We combined the MMO gaming capabilities of the original best-selling Razer Naga and took it to the next level by giving it a true gaming-grade wireless option utilizing the same technology that we developed for the ultra high-end Razer Mamba."
"With the Naga Epic, Razer gives MMO gamers around the world more freedom than ever before," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, President, Razer. "We combined the MMO gaming capabilities of the original best-selling Razer Naga and took it to the next level by giving it a true gaming-grade wireless option utilizing the same technology that we developed for the ultra high-end Razer Mamba."
Philips Intros Brilliance Series 21.5-inch Full-HD Monitor
Philips introduced the 21.5-inch Brilliance series 226CL2 monitor. This compact full-HD (1920 x 1080) monitor uses W-LED illumination that cuts down power consumption further, from CCFL-illuminated ones. The panel supports response time of 2 ms GTG, the SmartImage feature adjusts image quality and performance depending on the content being displayed. Other specifications include dynamic contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, and brightness of 250 cd/m². Inputs include D-Sub and DVI. It is now up for pre-order at €165.
Toshiba Adds 4G WiMAX Capabilities to Award-winning Portégé R700
Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today introduced two 4G WiMAX-ready models of the Portégé R700, the world's lightest 13.3-inch full-performance ultraportable laptop with an integrated DVD drive2. The new Portégé R700 models not only provide business users with unprecedented performance and durability in a highly mobile form factor, but the most comprehensive connectivity options available.
"4G WiMAX coverage continues to rapidly grow and offers millions of people wireless access in many major metropolitan areas across the U.S.," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Now with a WiMAX-enabled Portégé R700, Toshiba business professionals will be able to enjoy the benefits of having citywide connectivity at their fingertips."
"4G WiMAX coverage continues to rapidly grow and offers millions of people wireless access in many major metropolitan areas across the U.S.," said Carl Pinto, vice president of product development, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Now with a WiMAX-enabled Portégé R700, Toshiba business professionals will be able to enjoy the benefits of having citywide connectivity at their fingertips."
Samsung Now Producing 20nm-class, 64-gigabit 3-bit NAND Flash Memory
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today the industry's first production of a 3-bit-cell (3bit), 64 gigabit (Gb) NAND flash using 20 nanometer (nm)-class process technology. The highly advanced new chip can be used in high-density flash solutions such as USB flash drives (UFDs) and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards.
"Samsung has repeatedly provided the market with leading-edge NAND flash solutions, including the introduction of 30nm-class, 32Gb 3-bit NAND flash last November," said Seijin Kim, vice president, Flash Memory Planning/Enabling, Samsung Electronics. "By now entering into full production of 20nm-class 64Gb 3-bit devices, we expect to accelerate adoption of our high-performance NAND solutions that use Toggle DDR technology, for applications that also require high-density NAND."
"Samsung has repeatedly provided the market with leading-edge NAND flash solutions, including the introduction of 30nm-class, 32Gb 3-bit NAND flash last November," said Seijin Kim, vice president, Flash Memory Planning/Enabling, Samsung Electronics. "By now entering into full production of 20nm-class 64Gb 3-bit devices, we expect to accelerate adoption of our high-performance NAND solutions that use Toggle DDR technology, for applications that also require high-density NAND."
Intel Reports First $11 Billion Revenue Quarter
Intel Corporation today reported that third-quarter revenue exceeded $11 billion for the first time, up 18 percent year-over-year to $11.1 billion. The company reported operating income of $4.1 billion, net income of $3.0 billion and EPS of 52 cents.
"Intel's third-quarter results set all-time records for revenue and operating income," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "These results were driven by solid demand from corporate customers, sales of our leadership products and continued growth in emerging markets. Looking forward, we continue to see healthy worldwide demand for computing products of all types and are particularly excited about our next-generation processor, codenamed Sandy Bridge, and the many new designs around our Intel Atom processors in everything from the new Google TV products to a wide array of tablets based on Windows, Android and MeeGo operating systems."
"Intel's third-quarter results set all-time records for revenue and operating income," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "These results were driven by solid demand from corporate customers, sales of our leadership products and continued growth in emerging markets. Looking forward, we continue to see healthy worldwide demand for computing products of all types and are particularly excited about our next-generation processor, codenamed Sandy Bridge, and the many new designs around our Intel Atom processors in everything from the new Google TV products to a wide array of tablets based on Windows, Android and MeeGo operating systems."
Patriot Expands Apple DDR3 Memory Lineup
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash and computer peripheral solutions, today announced the immediate availability of 1333MHz SODIMM memory modules qualified for use in the latest Apple iMac computer systems. The newest Patriot Signature Line for Apple modules are offered in 2GB and 4GB modules and 4GB and 8GB kits at 1333MHz CL9.
Patriot's Signature Line of DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333MHz) SODIMMs for Apple computer systems delivers the quality, reliability and performance that makes them the perfect memory upgrade solution. These modules are qualified on the latest product lineup of 21.5" and 27" iMac systems using the Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors. These latest iMac computers are the first systems from Apple to use hi-speed 1333 MHz SODIMMs.
Patriot's Signature Line of DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333MHz) SODIMMs for Apple computer systems delivers the quality, reliability and performance that makes them the perfect memory upgrade solution. These modules are qualified on the latest product lineup of 21.5" and 27" iMac systems using the Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors. These latest iMac computers are the first systems from Apple to use hi-speed 1333 MHz SODIMMs.
Tuesday, October 12th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
CPU Coolers
Graphics Cards
- ASUS GT 430 Benchmark Reviews
- ASUS GT 430 Bjorn3D
- Point of View GT 430 Guru3D
- ASUS GT 430 HardwareCanucks
- Zotac GT 430 Zone Edition HardwareHeaven
- NVIDIA GT 430 HotHardware
- ASUS GT 430 Legit Reviews
- ASUS GT 430 Overclockers Club
- ASUS GT 430 PureOverclock
- NVIDIA GT 430 Rage3D
- NVIDIA GT 430 TweakPC (de)
- MSI N480GTX Lightning T-Break
Keyboards
Monitors
Mouse
Notebooks
Sound Cards
Speakers
BenQ Intros EW2420 Vertical Alignment LED Monitor
BenQ released its latest EW2420 VA monitor to the European market. The 24" LED-backlit LCD monitor makes use of vertical alignment technology to further enhance the viewing angles to 178°/178°. The panel has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, with a response time of 8 ms GTG, dynamic contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1; and brightness of 250 cd/m². Display connectors include DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub, it packs 1.5W stereo speakers. Backed by a 3 year warranty, BenQ's EW2420 is priced around €186.
Mushkin Announces SATA 6Gb/s Enterprise-Class EP Series SSDs
Mushkin, Inc., a global leader in high-performance and mission critical computer products, today announced a new solid state drive series based on SandForce's enterprise-class SF-2500 and SF-2600 SSD processors. This series further underlines Mushkin's commitment to providing the business sector with the highest performance and reliability solid state storage solutions.
The next generation Mushkin EP Series SSDs will provide significant performance enhancements and add an impressive set of features enabled by the SF-2000 series enterprise processors:
The next generation Mushkin EP Series SSDs will provide significant performance enhancements and add an impressive set of features enabled by the SF-2000 series enterprise processors:
- Up to 500 MB/s read/write sequential transfer rate
- Up to 60,000 sustained random read/write IOPS
- Advanced ECC with up to 55 bits correctable per 512-byte sector (BCH)
- Power/performance throttling for improved energy efficiency and conservation
Buffalo Technology Recharges the LinkStation Family with New V-Series Lineup
Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking and network and direct attached storage solutions, today announced a refresh on the highly popular LinkStation network storage family, representing the highest performing generation of Buffalo's consumer orientated NAS solutions. The new high performance V-Series line consisting of LinkStation Pro, LinkStation Pro Duo and LinkStation Pro Quad, is based on industry-leading storage technologies, containing data management, remote access and content sharing features that make it the ideal NAS solution for the home or small business user.
"Protecting and managing digital content has always been a time consuming task for home and small business users," said Ralph Spagnola, vice president of sales at Buffalo Technology. "With the new LinkStation V-Series family, users access and share their data twice as fast that they would with a standard NAS device."
"Protecting and managing digital content has always been a time consuming task for home and small business users," said Ralph Spagnola, vice president of sales at Buffalo Technology. "With the new LinkStation V-Series family, users access and share their data twice as fast that they would with a standard NAS device."
Yeston Designs Radeon HD 5770 X2 Graphics Card
Now that AMD seems to have given the 40 nm Juniper GPU (on which are based the Radeon HD 5700 series models) a new lease of life, manufacturers can continue to get innovative with the Radeon HD 5770 GPU. One such board partner, Yeston, designed a Radeon HD 5770 X2 graphics card, which simply put, is a dual-GPU graphics accelerator that makes use of two Radeon HD 5770 GPUs, each with its own 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, that share the PCI-Express interface using a PLX-made bridge chip (perhaps the same one used on the Radeon HD 5970).
The PCB holds both GPUs on the obverse side, the PCI-Express bridge chip on the reverse side, and memory chips on both sides. A 4+1 phase VRM is used, additional power is drawn in from just one 6-pin PCI-E power connector. Both GPUs work in tandem via an internal CrossFire interface, it can pair with another Juniper-based graphics card for 3-GPU or 4-GPU CrossFireX. The duo are cooled by a large heatsink, air is circulated by two 90 mm fans. AMD reference clock speeds (for the Radeon HD 5770) of 850 MHz core, and 1200 MHz (4800 MHz GDDR5 effective) memory are used. Display connectivity includes two DVI, one HDMI, and a DisplayPort. Knowing Yeston's reach, it's not very likely that this card will be sold in the US more towards the Asian market.
The PCB holds both GPUs on the obverse side, the PCI-Express bridge chip on the reverse side, and memory chips on both sides. A 4+1 phase VRM is used, additional power is drawn in from just one 6-pin PCI-E power connector. Both GPUs work in tandem via an internal CrossFire interface, it can pair with another Juniper-based graphics card for 3-GPU or 4-GPU CrossFireX. The duo are cooled by a large heatsink, air is circulated by two 90 mm fans. AMD reference clock speeds (for the Radeon HD 5770) of 850 MHz core, and 1200 MHz (4800 MHz GDDR5 effective) memory are used. Display connectivity includes two DVI, one HDMI, and a DisplayPort. Knowing Yeston's reach, it's not very likely that this card will be sold in the US more towards the Asian market.
Point of View Announces TGT GTX 480 Beast Graphics Card
Point of View seems to have struck gold with its association with the TGT overclocking team, with the introduction of what they claim to be the "fastest Fermi around". The Point of View TGT GeForce GTX 480 Beast is essentially a top-tier, hand-tested NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 graphics card with a custom-designed full-coverage water block, and a bleeding-edge profile packed into its BIOS. The card is clocked at 810 MHz (core), 1620 MHz (CUDA cores), and 950 MHz (3800 MHz GDDR5 effective) memory. The water-block is carved out of a single piece of nickel-plated copper, with acetal top, and is originally manufactured by Innovatek. As with every other GeForce GTX 480 card, this one is DirectX 11 compliant, and packs 480 CUDA cores, and 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory over a 384-bit wide memory interface. The TGT GTX 480 Beast is priced at €671. A review can be found at the source.
Viking Modular to be First to Bring Latest SandForce Technology to Many SSD Solutions
Viking Modular Solutions, a division of Sanmina-SCI Corporation, today announced it has incorporated the SandForce SF-2000 processor family into its product portfolio, with new solutions ready for qualification in the first quarter 2011. Just released, the SF-2500 and SF-2600 are the second generation SandForce SSD processors for enterprise storage environments, and are designed to enable standard high density NAND Flash memory to reliably operate in SATA- and SAS-based enterprise storage applications without compromising performance.
Viking Modular has quickly developed and perfected SSD solutions in multiple form-factors for this latest generation, offering devices that can deliver 6Gb/s SATA III with performance expectations of 60K IOPS random read and write, and 500 MB/s sequential read and write. In addition, these devices utilize DuraClass technology, architected to leverage advanced SLC and MLC NAND Flash memory, and to deliver best-in-class performance, endurance, security and power efficiency in a single chip solution.
Viking Modular has quickly developed and perfected SSD solutions in multiple form-factors for this latest generation, offering devices that can deliver 6Gb/s SATA III with performance expectations of 60K IOPS random read and write, and 500 MB/s sequential read and write. In addition, these devices utilize DuraClass technology, architected to leverage advanced SLC and MLC NAND Flash memory, and to deliver best-in-class performance, endurance, security and power efficiency in a single chip solution.
ASUS Announces ENGT430/DI/1GD3 Low Profile Graphics Card
ASUS has announced the latest addition to its Fermi series of DirectX 11 graphics cards with ENGT430/DI/1GD3 (LP). Powered by the NVIDIA GeForce GT430 graphics processor, the ASUS-designed PCI-Express 2.0 ENGT430/DI/1GD3 (LP) card is ideal for home theatre enthusiasts and casual gamers. Built using a specially designed low profile PCB (printed circuit board), the ASUS ENGT430 includes NVIDIA PureVideo engine that accelerates even Blu-ray 3D media. Its use of the highest quality components, including ASUS Dust-Proof fan, GPU Guard, and Fuse Protection ensures that the ASUS ENGT430 remains stable and reliable for long-term use.
TrendNet Launches 4-port External USB 3.0 Hub
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the availability of the 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub, model TU3-H4, which provides four 5Gbps USB 3.0 ports to connect flash drives, storage enclosures, cameras, and other USB 3.0 devices to your computer.
With no drivers required, simply plug into any free USB 3.0 port on your PC or Mac, and experience the time savings when transferring data at 5Gbps-10 times faster than USB 2.0 speeds. An included power adapter ensures proper operability of power hungry USB-powered devices. The included USB 3.0 Type A cable is backward compatible with common USB 2.0 ports. Currently, most computers have built in USB 2.0 ports. Users can add 5Gbps USB 3.0 ports to their computer with TRENDnet's 2-Port USB 3.0 ExpressCard Adapter, model TU3-H2EC, or 2-Port USB 3.0 PCI Express Adapter, model TU3-H2PIE.
With no drivers required, simply plug into any free USB 3.0 port on your PC or Mac, and experience the time savings when transferring data at 5Gbps-10 times faster than USB 2.0 speeds. An included power adapter ensures proper operability of power hungry USB-powered devices. The included USB 3.0 Type A cable is backward compatible with common USB 2.0 ports. Currently, most computers have built in USB 2.0 ports. Users can add 5Gbps USB 3.0 ports to their computer with TRENDnet's 2-Port USB 3.0 ExpressCard Adapter, model TU3-H2EC, or 2-Port USB 3.0 PCI Express Adapter, model TU3-H2PIE.
Monday, October 11th 2010
Today's Contests
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Cases
CPU Coolers
Memory
Motherboards
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Netbooks
SSD
ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 1 GB Review
Today NVIDIA launches their new low-end GeForce GT 430 Series. The cards which are supposed to replace the GT 220 bring full DirectX 11 support to the table. Power consumption is also low which enables its use in media PC systems.
Gigabyte Launches GeForce GT 430 as a Brand New Home Theater Solution
GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today presents the latest entry level graphics card GV-N430OC-1GL. The GV-N430OC-1GL is built on the NVIDIA 40nm process; supports DirectX 11, with 128 bit DDR3 high speed graphics memory and higher default GPU clock. GV-N430OC-1GL provides the best HD gaming and entertainment experience.
GV-N430OC-1GL features GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 components to guarantee the lowest operating temperature and longer product life. For cooling solution, GIGABYTE designs brand new low profile inclined dual fan for the entry level graphics card. The inclined dual fan doubles cooling capability and offers extreme silent environment. It also enlarges air channel and minimizes flow turbulence, reducing noise of the operating fan to offer users high quality multi-media enjoyment without interference.
GV-N430OC-1GL features GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 components to guarantee the lowest operating temperature and longer product life. For cooling solution, GIGABYTE designs brand new low profile inclined dual fan for the entry level graphics card. The inclined dual fan doubles cooling capability and offers extreme silent environment. It also enlarges air channel and minimizes flow turbulence, reducing noise of the operating fan to offer users high quality multi-media enjoyment without interference.
EVGA's GeForce GT 430 Sticks to the Basics
EVGA's GeForce GT 430 lineup started neat and simple, with a low-frills graphics card (model: 01G-P3-1430-LR), build on the company's in-house design that closely resembles the reference design from NVIDIA. While the PCB covers all the essentials, the cooler looks to be more cost-effective than NVIDIA's reference design. The card is both low-profile and single-slot, making it ideal for slim form-factor media PCs. The GPU is clocked at 700 MHz, the 96 CUDA cores at 1400 MHz, and the 128-bit DDR3 memory interface also at 1400 MHz, holding 1 GB of memory. EVGA is pricing its card at US $79.99 on its store, though a mail-in rebate 'could' cut that price by $10. There is no overclocked variant from the company currently listed.
Point of View Intros its Low-Profile GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card
Point of View kicked of its GeForce GT 430 lineup with a custom-design graphics card. The card sticks to NVIDIA's reference design as far as the PCB goes, but uses a [seemingly] more cost-effective GPU cooling solution. The card is low-profile, and makes extra-room for a D-Sub connector with its full-height bracket on. Other connectors include DVI and HDMI. Like every other GeForce GT 430, Point of View's card is based on the 40 nm GF108 GPU, it is DirectX 11 compliant, and has 96 CUDA cores, a 128-bit wide DDR3 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory, and clock speeds that stick to NVIDIA's reference speeds: 700/1400/1600 MHz (core/shader/memory). A slightly faster variant based on the same exact design is also available, it just has the memory clocked 200 MHz higher. Expect standard pricing for this card.
TDK Develops New Optical Disc That Holds 1 Terabyte of Data
Late last week, TDK demonstrated its technological prowess by displaying the prototype of a new optical disc that can hold 1 TB of data. The unnamed disc type holds data on both its sides, each with 16 recording layers, each layer holding 32 GB of data. Physically, the disc has the same diameter as today's CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs at 12 cm, but is said to have double the thickness of a Blu-ray disc. It uses the same materials used in making Blu-ray discs, and also uses the same numerical aperture value of 0.85, which indicates that a player of this new medium should be able to read Blu-ray discs, too.
Many of Blu-ray's technologies (such as its video format) can also be ported to this new medium. As for propagation of the standard, TDK says that its creation is intended to be a highly proliferated standard, accessible to all classes of users from home entertainment to enterprise archival. The company, however, believes that manufacturers (of media, disc drives, and players) will have to play a bigger role in its commercialization. "Its commercialization depends on disc manufacturers," TDK said. Earlier this year, the Blu-ray disc association approved standardization of BDXL, an evolved Blu-ray disc that can hold 128 GB of data, an eighth of what this new disc can hold.
Many of Blu-ray's technologies (such as its video format) can also be ported to this new medium. As for propagation of the standard, TDK says that its creation is intended to be a highly proliferated standard, accessible to all classes of users from home entertainment to enterprise archival. The company, however, believes that manufacturers (of media, disc drives, and players) will have to play a bigger role in its commercialization. "Its commercialization depends on disc manufacturers," TDK said. Earlier this year, the Blu-ray disc association approved standardization of BDXL, an evolved Blu-ray disc that can hold 128 GB of data, an eighth of what this new disc can hold.
ZOTAC Unleashes Trio of GeForce GT 430 Series Graphics Cards
ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today announces the ultimate combination of value, features and performance with the new ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series graphics cards. The new ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series graphics cards supercharge your computing experience for GPU-accelerated photo and high-definition video editing, superior multimedia capabilities and push the limits of your web experience.
GPU-acceleration is taken to another level with the ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series graphics cards. With 96 unified shaders on tap, the ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series dominates NVIDIA CUDA-enabled applications for a phenomenal computing experience that is productive and fun.
GPU-acceleration is taken to another level with the ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series graphics cards. With 96 unified shaders on tap, the ZOTAC GeForce GT 430 series dominates NVIDIA CUDA-enabled applications for a phenomenal computing experience that is productive and fun.
Sparkle Announces a Wide Range of GeForce GT 430 Graphics Cards
SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today announced six SPARKLE GeForce GT 430 Graphics Cards, bringing unparalleled levels of price/performance to mainstream users. SPARKLE provides two thermal solution options beyond standard fan version of the SPARKLE GeForce GT 430 Graphics Cards.
GeForce GT 430 graphics card with one-slot cooling design to saves the chassis space. It uses the Aluminum Extrusion technology to form the heat sink of the cooler at once, so that the heat sink can transfer the heat with more continuities. The cooler use centrifugal fan structure, to make wind pressure more stronger and more concentrated to get quicker cooling effects.
GeForce GT 430 graphics card with one-slot cooling design to saves the chassis space. It uses the Aluminum Extrusion technology to form the heat sink of the cooler at once, so that the heat sink can transfer the heat with more continuities. The cooler use centrifugal fan structure, to make wind pressure more stronger and more concentrated to get quicker cooling effects.
PNY Technologies Announces the Verto GeForce GT 430 Graphics Card
PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY"), a global leader in flash memory cards, USB flash drives, solid state drives, high speed HDMI cables, computer memory upgrade modules, consumer graphics cards, and professional workstation graphics cards, debuts the latest graphics card from NVIDIA: the Verto GeForce GT 430 1024MB DDR3.
PNY's new GeForce GT 430 gives PCs the ultimate performance upgrade. Now users can power up their digital media PCs with the GT 430 to enjoy games, videos, and photos. The GT 430 delivers PhysX and CUDA technology for an even more dynamic and realistic experience with incredible performance improvements. Experience high definition with the native HDMI port, for unsurpassed HD visuals and sound. Consumers can accelerate HD video and photo editing, take mainstream gaming to the next level on the latest DirectX 11 game titles, and upgrade home theater PCs for the ultimate in viewing theater quality Blu-ray and 3D movies.
PNY's new GeForce GT 430 gives PCs the ultimate performance upgrade. Now users can power up their digital media PCs with the GT 430 to enjoy games, videos, and photos. The GT 430 delivers PhysX and CUDA technology for an even more dynamic and realistic experience with incredible performance improvements. Experience high definition with the native HDMI port, for unsurpassed HD visuals and sound. Consumers can accelerate HD video and photo editing, take mainstream gaming to the next level on the latest DirectX 11 game titles, and upgrade home theater PCs for the ultimate in viewing theater quality Blu-ray and 3D movies.
MSI Launches Series of Low-Profile GeForce GT 430 Graphics Cards
The world class graphics card and mainboard manufacturer MSI officially launches the N430GT series graphics cards supporting GPU and Memory double voltage. A low-profile design accommodates most HTPC chassis. The Military Class Concept components includes SFC (Super Ferrite Choke) that improves overclocking capability, and all-solid capacitors to increase performance and durability. N430GT series graphics cards support NVIDIA PhysX and 3D Vision technology, making it the best choice of new generation HTPC graphics card.
The brand new MSI N430GT graphic card leverages MSI exclusive Afterburner software, allowing adjustment of GPU core and memory voltage up to 20% overclocking capability. Moreover, Afterburner can save up to 5 overclock setting profiles, and support Multi-GPU mode. In addition, monitoring real-time GPU temperatures gives consumers complete control over graphics card monitoring and adjustment.
The brand new MSI N430GT graphic card leverages MSI exclusive Afterburner software, allowing adjustment of GPU core and memory voltage up to 20% overclocking capability. Moreover, Afterburner can save up to 5 overclock setting profiles, and support Multi-GPU mode. In addition, monitoring real-time GPU temperatures gives consumers complete control over graphics card monitoring and adjustment.
Inno3D Introduces its GeForce GT 430 Low Profile Graphics Card
Inno3D is excited to announce the launch of the Inno3D GeForce GT 430. Tap into the horsepower of the GPU for the visually-charged boost on your favourite applications. Edit your photos & HD Videos and push the limits if your Web experience with a new generation of GPU-accelerated browsers like Internet Explorer 9. Level-up your game with the next-generation gaming architecture built from the ground up for DirectX 11. Take the latest 3D movies home with Blu-Ray 3D and GeForce.
New NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 Is the Perfect GPU for Digital Media PCs
NVIDIA today announced the latest addition to its Fermi class of graphics processing units (GPUs), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 430, which was specifically designed to provide the horsepower needed to power today's digital media PCs and provide the high definition video and audio experiences that desktop customers demand.
The GeForce GT 430 utilizes the Company's latest 40nm GPU, codenamed GF108, which is already designed into a variety of desktop and notebook platforms from the world's leading OEMs, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and others. For customers looking for a viable desktop upgrade from lowly integrated solutions, the GeForce GT 430 is a major step up, delivering unparalleled experiences in photo and video editing, Blu-ray 3D, as well as the next generation of GPU-accelerated Web browsers and Web content. And, when combined with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology and a compatible display, the GT 430 is also the only GPU in its class that allows consumers to experience their digital content in full stereoscopic 3D.
The GeForce GT 430 utilizes the Company's latest 40nm GPU, codenamed GF108, which is already designed into a variety of desktop and notebook platforms from the world's leading OEMs, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and others. For customers looking for a viable desktop upgrade from lowly integrated solutions, the GeForce GT 430 is a major step up, delivering unparalleled experiences in photo and video editing, Blu-ray 3D, as well as the next generation of GPU-accelerated Web browsers and Web content. And, when combined with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology and a compatible display, the GT 430 is also the only GPU in its class that allows consumers to experience their digital content in full stereoscopic 3D.
Verbatim Announces Store'n'Go GT Edition Flash Drives
Verbatim has taken inspiration from a long history of award winning sports cars and is launching two new GT USB Drives featuring the famous white racing stripes which are seen in circuits all over the world. The drives store up to 4GB and are ideal for carrying with you in any pocket or handbag. The drives are available in red and black for £7.99 (RRP).
These great looking USB drives feature the famous white racing stripes reminiscencent of the legendary sport cars seen on the top level racing tracks around the world. The USB interface of the new Verbatim Store 'n' Go GT Edition USB 2.0 Drive is physically protected with a sliding mechanism, avoiding the need for a separate cap. Available in a black or red designs, measuring 54mm long, 21mm wide and 9.22mm deep and weighing just 7.9g, the new GT Edition USB 2.0 drives fit neatly in any handbag or pocket.These stylish drives are the perfect accessory for any model of laptop or PC and of course are the ideal partnerfor Verbatim's 500GB GT Portable Hard Drive.
These great looking USB drives feature the famous white racing stripes reminiscencent of the legendary sport cars seen on the top level racing tracks around the world. The USB interface of the new Verbatim Store 'n' Go GT Edition USB 2.0 Drive is physically protected with a sliding mechanism, avoiding the need for a separate cap. Available in a black or red designs, measuring 54mm long, 21mm wide and 9.22mm deep and weighing just 7.9g, the new GT Edition USB 2.0 drives fit neatly in any handbag or pocket.These stylish drives are the perfect accessory for any model of laptop or PC and of course are the ideal partnerfor Verbatim's 500GB GT Portable Hard Drive.
Hitachi Ships Industry's Fastest, Most Power Efficient 10K RPM Enterprise Hard Drive
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced the industry's fastest and most power-efficient, 10K RPM, 6Gb/s Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Enterprise hard drive, the Hitachi Ultrasta C10K600. The new 2.5-inch, 600 GB Hitachi drive delivers up to 15 percent better random and 18 percent faster sequential performance than competitive products on the market today 1. The Ultrastar C10K600 drive also sets a new standard for energy-efficiency with an operating power specification that is at least 22 percent lower than the competition2. Built on a field-proven platform to ensure greater reliability and reduced qualification time, these compact Ultrastar drives deliver the power, performance and high storage density requirements for Tier 1, Enterprise networked storage arrays, blades and other rack-mounted servers.
The Ultrastar C10K600 drive family is offered in 300GB, 450GB and 600GB versions, providing capacity parity with 3.5-inch drives. At 2.5-inches, these small form factor drives occupy 70 percent less physical space and consume 65 percent less power than Hitachi's 3.5-inch enterprise hard drives. Their capacity and performance attributes allow users to transition seamlessly from larger storage systems to more efficient designs based on 2.5-inch drives. The resulting higher density servers and storage arrays reduce space requirements, lower cooling costs and reduce the total cost of ownership.
The Ultrastar C10K600 drive family is offered in 300GB, 450GB and 600GB versions, providing capacity parity with 3.5-inch drives. At 2.5-inches, these small form factor drives occupy 70 percent less physical space and consume 65 percent less power than Hitachi's 3.5-inch enterprise hard drives. Their capacity and performance attributes allow users to transition seamlessly from larger storage systems to more efficient designs based on 2.5-inch drives. The resulting higher density servers and storage arrays reduce space requirements, lower cooling costs and reduce the total cost of ownership.
NEC Display Solutions Introduces Corporate Wide Displays with LED Backlight
With the introduction of the EX series, a high performance, future-ready and ecological range of desktop displays, NEC Display Solutions is extending its portfolio in the corporate market. The new MultiSync EX series combines an innovative, ultra-slim design with high-quality features. The displays impress with their exceptionally low environmental impact thanks to LED backlight technology and other new features such as a human sensor. The EX series is equipped with a DisplayPort and provides outstanding connectivity and many ergonomic benefits that ensure productive work in even the most demanding office environment. NEC Display Solutions is introducing the first model in the new range called "Office Cool" to the market in the shape of its NEC MultiSync EX231W.
First-class quality, excellent performance and stunning design were the key factors guiding the design of the MultiSync EX series. The displays are light in weight and optically very exciting thanks to their slim form and extremely narrow stand. Modern and with minimum space requirements, they can be stylishly integrated into office surroundings. From a technological point of view the series sets new standards with outstanding picture quality in full HD wide format and excellent connectivity with two digital inputs, DisplayPort and DVI-I. Additionally the range also includes a USB interface which can be used to connect a USB camera, ideal for videoconferencing.
First-class quality, excellent performance and stunning design were the key factors guiding the design of the MultiSync EX series. The displays are light in weight and optically very exciting thanks to their slim form and extremely narrow stand. Modern and with minimum space requirements, they can be stylishly integrated into office surroundings. From a technological point of view the series sets new standards with outstanding picture quality in full HD wide format and excellent connectivity with two digital inputs, DisplayPort and DVI-I. Additionally the range also includes a USB interface which can be used to connect a USB camera, ideal for videoconferencing.
Zalman Announces the CNPS9900 MAX CPU Cooler
Zalman announced the CNPS 9900 Max. The new CNPS 9900 Max comes with Zalman's outstanding heat transfer solution by utilizing 'composite heatpipe'(Q Max 300W), along with switching noise eliminated 135mm quiet LED fan for ultra quiet operation and broad compatibility for both Intel 1156/1366/775 & AMD AM3/AM2+/AM2. This new awesome CPU cooler should be more than enough to satisfy overclockers and users who want to look for ultra powerful cooling performance in silent operation.
Super Talent Introduces the World's Smallest 64GB USB Drive
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced it is now shipping a new large capacity, 64GB, Pico-C. The Pico-C is famous for its: ultra-small, light weight, water-proof, cap-less design; now it's available in a 64GB version.
"The Special Edition Pico-C is a testament to the fact that big things can come in small packages. We've taken our most popular flash drive, the Pico-C, to the next level by upping its capacity to an incredible 64GB, speed rating it and celebrating it with a 24K gold finish." - SuperTalent COO, CH Lee.
"The Special Edition Pico-C is a testament to the fact that big things can come in small packages. We've taken our most popular flash drive, the Pico-C, to the next level by upping its capacity to an incredible 64GB, speed rating it and celebrating it with a 24K gold finish." - SuperTalent COO, CH Lee.
Friday, October 8th 2010
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CPU Coolers
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Motherboards
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Corsair Force F40 40 GB Review
Corsair's Force F40 is the smallest Sandforce based drive the company offers with just 40 GB capacity. It is also the most affordable at $120. Thanks to a 7-channel design and the SF-1222 controller the drive delivers great performance for users who want to get on the SSD bandwagon without breaking the bank.
AMD Rebranding HD 5770 and HD 5750 to HD 6700 Series
Earlier today, we were treated to the first picture of the Radeon HD 6870, a new and upcoming performance graphics card from AMD. It was also learned that the HD 6870 is based on a new GPU codenamed "Barts", which is intended to be a successor to the previous-generation "Juniper" GPU, which was at the center of the Radeon HD 5700 desktop and Mobility HD 5800 series. That left some uncertainty as to what GPU was going to drive the sub-$199 HD 6700 series. AMD may have found an answer, rebranding.
AMD seems to have been on the crossroads of which naming scheme to adopt. The first scheme based on conventional logic tells users that Barts-based SKUs should sit in the HD 6700 series, and Cayman-based single-GPU SKUs in the HD 6800; while the second scheme promotes Barts to the HD 6800 series, and Cayman to the HD 6900 series, pushing the low-volume, high-end Antilles (dual-Cayman) graphics card to the HD 6990 SKU. Evidently, AMD chose the newer, second scheme. The only rationale that makes sense is that the x800 series seems to be very popular, and if Barts, with its radically redesigned SIMD components can perform on par or better than the HD 5800 series SKUs, that's enough to justify its upwards push.
AMD seems to have been on the crossroads of which naming scheme to adopt. The first scheme based on conventional logic tells users that Barts-based SKUs should sit in the HD 6700 series, and Cayman-based single-GPU SKUs in the HD 6800; while the second scheme promotes Barts to the HD 6800 series, and Cayman to the HD 6900 series, pushing the low-volume, high-end Antilles (dual-Cayman) graphics card to the HD 6990 SKU. Evidently, AMD chose the newer, second scheme. The only rationale that makes sense is that the x800 series seems to be very popular, and if Barts, with its radically redesigned SIMD components can perform on par or better than the HD 5800 series SKUs, that's enough to justify its upwards push.
Logitec Readies New Ultra-Compact Portable DVD Writer
Logitec (not to be confused with Logitech), is releasing a new series of compact external DVD writer drives, under the LDR-PME8U2V series. Included under this, are red and black colored variants. The unit measures 136.5×143×19.2 mm, weighing around 300 g. Single-layer DVD±R and DVD+RW discs are written at 8x and double-layer discs at 6x. The drive uses just a single USB 2.0 cable for both data and power. It is scheduled to release in Japan soon, priced at ¥9,600 (US $116).
Samsung Announces New SE-S084F External DVD Writer
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announced today its newest consumer-friendly external DVD writer, the SE-S084F optical disc drive This drive will be available just in time for the holiday season at select online retail outlets.
"Weighing less than one pound and available in five distinct colors, the Samsung SE-S084F DVD Writer was built for netbook and mini PC users, who require the flexibility of a smaller device, but do not want to sacrifice the benefits of an optical disc drive," said John Suh, director of OMS sales, optical disc drive division for Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "For ultimate portability, the DVD writer offers customers high-performance reading and writing functions directly from a USB power source, removing the need for an AC adaptor or power cables."
"Weighing less than one pound and available in five distinct colors, the Samsung SE-S084F DVD Writer was built for netbook and mini PC users, who require the flexibility of a smaller device, but do not want to sacrifice the benefits of an optical disc drive," said John Suh, director of OMS sales, optical disc drive division for Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "For ultimate portability, the DVD writer offers customers high-performance reading and writing functions directly from a USB power source, removing the need for an AC adaptor or power cables."
AMD Radeon HD 6870 Reference Design Looks Refined, Ready to Market
Here it is, the AMD Radeon HD 6870, all dressed up to go to work. There has been quite some speculation surrounding the naming scheme AMD is going to adopt with the HD 6000 series, but fresh information suggestively lays some of that to rest. Firstly, Radeon HD 6800 series is built around the "Barts" GPU, not "Cayman". Barts is a new performance GPU, though isn't the highest-end single GPU from AMD (which is reserved for Cayman). Barts "XT" is Radeon HD 6870, and Barts "Pro" is HD 6850. Pictured below is the HD 6870. At a purely subjective glance, the HD 6870 reference design card seems to be as long as the HD 5850 reference.
The new Radeon logo has been Photoshopped on to the fan, so the products in market will definitely do away with the older ATI logo. The rear panel resembles that of the Radeon HD 5800 series, except that the exhaust grille seems slightly wider, there are two DVI-I connectors, one standard HDMI, and two mini DisplayPort connectors for a change. The connector output sharing scheme isn't known right now, it could be 3 or 4 head Eyefinity, or all-out 5 head Eyefinity, a yet to be detailed "Eyespeed" feature is mentioned. We will definitely know more about this card in the weeks to come.
The new Radeon logo has been Photoshopped on to the fan, so the products in market will definitely do away with the older ATI logo. The rear panel resembles that of the Radeon HD 5800 series, except that the exhaust grille seems slightly wider, there are two DVI-I connectors, one standard HDMI, and two mini DisplayPort connectors for a change. The connector output sharing scheme isn't known right now, it could be 3 or 4 head Eyefinity, or all-out 5 head Eyefinity, a yet to be detailed "Eyespeed" feature is mentioned. We will definitely know more about this card in the weeks to come.
Razer Unleashes The Ultra-Smooth Razer Ironclad Performance Mousepad
Razer, the world's leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, today announced the Razer Ironclad elite hard gaming mouse mat, the only metal mat in Razer's product range built to enhance and optimize the gliding capabilities of your mouse for unparalleled mousing comfort and control.
Equipped with a finely sandblasted surface, the Razer Ironclad minimizes hand discomfort and feels smooth to the touch, allowing for effortless and natural mouse movement over its sleek top. It features just the right amount of friction to deliver the precise targeting you need to eradicate all competition with sharpshooting accuracy without abrasive results.
Equipped with a finely sandblasted surface, the Razer Ironclad minimizes hand discomfort and feels smooth to the touch, allowing for effortless and natural mouse movement over its sleek top. It features just the right amount of friction to deliver the precise targeting you need to eradicate all competition with sharpshooting accuracy without abrasive results.
Thursday, October 7th 2010
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Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Notebooks
PSUs
Lexar Media Announces Crucial RealSSD C300 1.8 Series SSDs
Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today introduced a 1.8" footprint version of the award-winning Crucial RealSSD C300 product line. The 1.8" profile, which is approximately 40% smaller than the standard 2.5" drive, provides an excellent solid-state storage option for the most portable products such as ultra-thin laptops, netbooks, and tablet PCs - without sacrificing performance and capacity. Based upon the Micron RealSSD product design and innovation, the new Crucial RealSSD C300 1.8" drive utilizes (multi-level cell) MLC NAND, advanced controller technology, and optimized NAND management, which together improve boot up and application load times dramatically and enhance overall system performance. No moving parts provides for quieter, cooler, and more durable solutions compared to traditional hard disk drives.
OWC Readies SF-2000 Based Mercury Extreme PCI-Express SSDs
Following today's launch of the SandForce SF-2000 series SATA/SAS 6 Gb/s SSD processors, Other World Computing (OWC) announced its first enterprise-grade Mercury Extreme PCI-Express SSDs making use of these controllers. The first products in the company's next-generation Mercury Extreme lineup will start shipping early next year. These include a PCI-Express x16 card with eight SF-2000 series-driven SSDs in an internal RAID, totaling 3.2 TB in capacity, 4,000 MB/s sequential read, and up to 480,000 IOPS. A PCI-Express x8 model is also in the works, perhaps with lesser number of internal SSDs. There's scope for enterprise-grade features making use of SF-2000 series feature-set. SF-2000 series controllers enable features such as native 256-bit AES data encryption, and native command queuing with 32 concurrent operations. Applications of OWC's SSDs include I/O intensive enterprise servers, storage arrays, and high-end workstations in the financial, telecom, web/mail, gaming, public security, retail, and professional media creation/editing industries, according to the company.
OCZ Teams with SandForce to Produce Next-Generation Deneva Enterprise SSDs
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, is teaming up with SandForce Inc. to deliver exceptional new SSD products that leverage Serial-ATA (SATA) 6 Gb/s and cost-effective NAND flash components. With the updated architecture, the OCZ Deneva Family will continue to lead the way in the transition from hard disc drives (HDDs) to SSD data storage and IT infrastructures. OCZ is set to begin sample distribution to current and potential clients in the fourth quarter of 2010, with mass production beginning in the first quarter of 2011.
"We have a strong partnership with SandForce and are excited to utilize their new SF-2000 family of SSD processors in our next generation Enterprise and Industrial Solid State Drive products," said Alex Mei, CMO at the OCZ Technology Group. "Together we will be able to offer our enterprise clients a very robust line of ultra reliable 6 Gb/s SSDs in a variety of interfaces ranging from SATA to SAS within our customizable Deneva Series."
"We have a strong partnership with SandForce and are excited to utilize their new SF-2000 family of SSD processors in our next generation Enterprise and Industrial Solid State Drive products," said Alex Mei, CMO at the OCZ Technology Group. "Together we will be able to offer our enterprise clients a very robust line of ultra reliable 6 Gb/s SSDs in a variety of interfaces ranging from SATA to SAS within our customizable Deneva Series."
Corsair Announces Retail Availability of Graphite Series 600T Mid-Tower Case
Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced the general retail availability of the Graphite Series 600T mid-tower computer case. Debuted at Computex in June, 2010, the 600T features dual 200mm fans, eight PCI-E expansion slots to accommodate multiple graphics cards, and plenty of room for large, power-hungry components.
The Graphite Series 600T has garnered enthusiastic praise from industry experts and end-users alike. Legit Reviews calls the 600T "a classy mid-tower with the room and features of a full tower." The Tech Report states that "The truth is, the 600T is pretty much a home run for Corsair." A customer review on Newegg.com says that "The form, fit, function, and design of the 600T are incredible." Hardware Canucks states that "Corsair has once again produced a chassis that makes itself a leader amongst its competition."
The Graphite Series 600T has garnered enthusiastic praise from industry experts and end-users alike. Legit Reviews calls the 600T "a classy mid-tower with the room and features of a full tower." The Tech Report states that "The truth is, the 600T is pretty much a home run for Corsair." A customer review on Newegg.com says that "The form, fit, function, and design of the 600T are incredible." Hardware Canucks states that "Corsair has once again produced a chassis that makes itself a leader amongst its competition."
Speed-Link Unveils the Cue Multitouch Wireless Mouse
Speed-Link's answer to Apple Magic Mouse takes shape as the Cue Multitouch. This wireless 2-button mouse holds a multi-touch surface on top which lets you make use of several multi-touch UI functions of Windows 7 without having to strain your arms over a touchscreen. As a pointing device, it features a 1000 dpi optical sensor, and connects to the system over a 2.4 GHz wireless dongle. Available in black, white, silver, and red, the Cue Multitouch from Speed-Link will be priced at €40.
Logitech Launches Speaker Lapdesk for People with Compact Laptops and Netbooks
Bringing you rich, stereo sound for your compact laptop or netbook, today Logitech unveiled the Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550, a comfy lapdesk that creates a theatre-like entertainment experience around the home. A follow-on to the popular Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N700, which is designed for laptops up to 16-inches, the Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550 delivers premium sound and comfort to people with laptops that are 14.1-inches or smaller.
"Lapdesks are the unsung heroes of the laptop and netbook world," said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for laptop accessories. "The Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550 solves the two complaints people most often report about their laptops and netbooks - poor audio quality and laptop heat. Using this one product can dramatically improve the experience people have with their laptops."
"Lapdesks are the unsung heroes of the laptop and netbook world," said Denis Pavillard, vice president of product marketing for laptop accessories. "The Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550 solves the two complaints people most often report about their laptops and netbooks - poor audio quality and laptop heat. Using this one product can dramatically improve the experience people have with their laptops."
SandForce Unveils SF-2000 Series SSD Processors, Enabling Up to 500 MB/s over SATA 6G
SandForce Inc., the pioneer of SSD (Solid State Drive) Processors that enable standard NAND Flash deployment in enterprise, client, and industrial computing applications, today announced the availability of the SF-2000 Family of SSD Processors optimized for SSDs deployed in mission-critical Enterprise and Industrial computing applications. These chips feature a 6 Gigabit-per-second SATA host interface, industry applauded DuraClass Technology, an unprecedented 60,000 sustained random read/write IOPS (Input-output Operations Per Second) and sustained sequential read/write performance of 500 Megabytes per second. In addition to state-of-the-art performance, reliability, security, and Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) connectivity enhancements, the SF-2000 family supports single-level, multi-level, and enterprise multi-level cell (SLC, MLC, & eMLC) NAND Flash families from all major suppliers with its high-speed ONFi2 and Toggle Flash interface.
Samsung Producing Low-Power SLC 100 GB and 200 GB Solid State Drives for Enterprise
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it is mass producing 100 and 200 gigabyte (GB) solid state drives (SSDs) for use as the primary storage in enterprise storage systems. "By being able to fully meet the rising demand for high-performance and eco-friendly server and storage platforms, SSDs will be able to penetrate the enterprise application market even more rapidly," said Dong-Soo Jun, executive vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Electronics. "We will continue to deliver SSD solutions with outstanding performance and low power consumption to provide optimal value for data centers and other enterprise storage environments."
The first recipient of the drive will be EMC. "EMC collaborated with Samsung to qualify Samsung's new enterprise-class SSDs for EMC's market-leading midrange storage portfolio," said Joel Schwartz, Sr. Vice President, Common Storage Platform Operations at EMC. Samsung started producing its 3.5 inch 100 and 200GB SSDs last month. Adopting SSDs as a main storage media in storage systems will minimize power consumption as well as enhance overall system performance, leading to a lowering of the total cost of ownership over time.
The first recipient of the drive will be EMC. "EMC collaborated with Samsung to qualify Samsung's new enterprise-class SSDs for EMC's market-leading midrange storage portfolio," said Joel Schwartz, Sr. Vice President, Common Storage Platform Operations at EMC. Samsung started producing its 3.5 inch 100 and 200GB SSDs last month. Adopting SSDs as a main storage media in storage systems will minimize power consumption as well as enhance overall system performance, leading to a lowering of the total cost of ownership over time.
Wednesday, October 6th 2010
Today's Contests
Today's Reviews
Accessories
CPU Coolers
Desktop PC
Graphics Cards
Keyboards
Memory
Motherboards
Mouse
Multimedia
Netbooks
SSD
Sunrise AS-Feeling Earbuds Review
Sunrise Audio, unknown to most, just released a full line-up of earbuds. Today we take a closer look at the AS-Feeling earbuds which is their mid-end offering. Available for only $40 online these are sure to be welcomed by many people looking for great sound on a budget.
Samsung's New NF310 Brings Increased Power and High Styling to Holiday Netbook Lineup
Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, today announced the new NF310 netbook, which expands upon Samsung's signature style and premium performance for use at home, in the office, or on-the-go. The new NF310 emphasizes Samsung's continued dedication to innovation in ultra-portable computing, and establishes a new benchmark for premium features with the inclusion of an Intel Atom Dual-Core processor and a stunning HD display.
"Samsung netbooks are a favorite among consumers not only for their innovative design, portability, and the premium features we strive to offer while maintaining affordability," said Todd Bouman, director of product marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "In addition to the stylized aesthetic consumers have come to expect from Samsung, the NF310 builds upon the success of previous netbooks and offers a more robust experience through the improved Dual-Core processor and HD display."
"Samsung netbooks are a favorite among consumers not only for their innovative design, portability, and the premium features we strive to offer while maintaining affordability," said Todd Bouman, director of product marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "In addition to the stylized aesthetic consumers have come to expect from Samsung, the NF310 builds upon the success of previous netbooks and offers a more robust experience through the improved Dual-Core processor and HD display."
AMD Extends AMD Fusion Partner Program to Distributors
Today at the Canalys Channels Forum in Barcelona, AMD is marking the one-year anniversary of the AMD Fusion Partner Program with the introduction of the AMD Fusion Partner Program distributor track. The expanded program will provide distributor partners access to all of the benefits within the AMD Fusion Partner Program to help accelerate sales of AMD-based solutions. AMD is also unveiling the AMD Rewards Program, which creates added sales-based incentives for partners to drive channel sales growth.
"It's amazing to see how far we've come in such a short amount of time," said David Kenyon, corporate vice president, Worldwide Channel Marketing, AMD. "By extending the AMD Fusion Partner Program to all of our valued distribution partners, AMD is proud to now offer them vital information, motivation, support and incentives to help them to be successful in today's marketplace."
"It's amazing to see how far we've come in such a short amount of time," said David Kenyon, corporate vice president, Worldwide Channel Marketing, AMD. "By extending the AMD Fusion Partner Program to all of our valued distribution partners, AMD is proud to now offer them vital information, motivation, support and incentives to help them to be successful in today's marketplace."
Scythe Chouriki 2 650W PSU Models Sold Only as 80 PLUS Silver Certified
Scythe officially announced that the Chouriki 2 650 Watt Power Supply Units is being sold only as 80PLUS Silver, although it was announced as 80PLUS Gold rated. After verifying a dozen more of the production samples, the efficiency rate was not sufficient enough for Scythe standards which lead to repealing of the earlier statement and offering it as 80PLUS Silver like the other models of the Chouriki 2 PSU Series.
Effective immediately, all Chouriki 2 650 Watt PSU are sold as 80PLUS Silver Models. Although the official 80PLUS website is listing the 650W model as Gold certified, Scythe is kindly asking to consider the PSU being a Silver certified model due to scattering in production. The official report can be found here (PDF).
Effective immediately, all Chouriki 2 650 Watt PSU are sold as 80PLUS Silver Models. Although the official 80PLUS website is listing the 650W model as Gold certified, Scythe is kindly asking to consider the PSU being a Silver certified model due to scattering in production. The official report can be found here (PDF).
NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) Version 5.8 Released
NVIDIA BIOS Editor (fondly known as NiBiTor) got updated to version 5.8 today. NiBiTor allows you to extract and modify the VGA BIOS from a supported graphics card. With each release, the list of supported cards (and partially supported cards) expands, and bugs fixed. New GPUs supported from this release on include:
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) v5.8
- GeForce GTX 460
- GeForce GTX 480M
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA BIOS Editor (NiBiTor) v5.8
Gigabyte Rolls Out GeForce GTS 450 WindForce Extreme Overclock Graphics Card
Gigabyte introduced a new newer "Extreme Overclock" variant of its GeForce GTS 450 WindForce graphics card, carrying the model number GV-N450OC2-1GI. On launch day of the GTS 450 GPU, Gigabyte had released its first overclocked WindForce graphics card. The Extreme Overclock variant features a high GPU core clock speed of 930 MHz (vs. 783 MHz reference), 1860 MHz CUDA cores (vs. 1566 MHz), and 1000 MHz or 4.00 GHz GDDR5 effective (vs. 900 MHz/3.60 GHz) memory. It uses a slightly longer PCB built with Gigabyte's Ultra Durable VGA construction, and a dual-fan GPU cooler the company calls "WindForce". It is available now, priced at US $149.99.
Acer Veriton All-in-One Desktop Series Gets Bigger and Better
Knowing that every organization's computing needs are as diverse as the people they employ, Acer America Corp. is extending its professional all-in-one desktop line for the U.S. market. The newest model is the sleek Veriton Z410G boasting a brilliant high-def 21.5-inch display and full desktop performance. Acer also enhanced its value focused Veriton Z290G all-in-one model featuring an 18.5-inch display with a convenient touch panel and a more powerful Intel Atom processor.
Svelte and simple, the new silver and black Veriton Z410G and Veriton Z290G are attractive and easy to set up. The new all-in-ones include Windows 7 Professional and will be available via Acer's authorized resellers in October with prices beginning at just $599.
Svelte and simple, the new silver and black Veriton Z410G and Veriton Z290G are attractive and easy to set up. The new all-in-ones include Windows 7 Professional and will be available via Acer's authorized resellers in October with prices beginning at just $599.
Synology Unveils USB Station 2 - Most Affordable, Power-saving and Easy to Use NAS
Synology Inc. today launched the new USB Station 2, an affordable and easy to use NAS server, featuring plug-and-play file sharing, multimedia content streaming, download without a PC, and low power consumption of only 4W in operation, making it prefect for home to small office networks running multiplatform.
"USB Station 2 is the most affordable Synology's NAS server ever. Almost everyone can afford it and experience the rich features of file sharing and multimedia enjoyment delivered by its legendary Synology DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) operating system," said Chad Cheng, product manager of Synology Inc.
"USB Station 2 is the most affordable Synology's NAS server ever. Almost everyone can afford it and experience the rich features of file sharing and multimedia enjoyment delivered by its legendary Synology DiskStation Manager 3.0 (DSM 3.0) operating system," said Chad Cheng, product manager of Synology Inc.
FinalWire Announces AIDA64 State of the Art Diagnostic Software
FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme Edition 1.00 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business Edition 1.00 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises.
As a descendant of the award-winning AIDA16 and AIDA32 software, and the successor to the widely popular diagnostic utility Lavalys EVEREST, the brand new AIDA64 version leaps forward into the next decade by introducing a collection of 64-bit processor and memory benchmarks, an enhanced 64-bit system stress test module, and a further expanded hardware database.
As a descendant of the award-winning AIDA16 and AIDA32 software, and the successor to the widely popular diagnostic utility Lavalys EVEREST, the brand new AIDA64 version leaps forward into the next decade by introducing a collection of 64-bit processor and memory benchmarks, an enhanced 64-bit system stress test module, and a further expanded hardware database.
1.35V DDR3 SDRAM- VLP Proves to be GREEN Solution
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced they are now shipping their new "Green DDR3" to support low-voltage platforms. Our JEDEC standard 1.35V DDR3 SDRAM-VLP is 2GB based on a 1Gb component. This DDR3 memory product features: lower cooling costs, higher efficiency, and most importantly dramatic power savings. "Sometimes doing the right thing is hard; here is on that is easy. With our new green DDR3 you can increase your systems performance and save on total costs, while simultaneously reducing your CO2 footprint"., - SuperTalent COO, CH Lee.
Standard DDR3 modules measure the standard 1.18 inches, but this DDR3 solution has a vertically optimized module height of .72 inches', This enables better air flow, meaning less cooling costs. This also means that the boards require less material to manufacture, costs less to ship and will have a lower impact on the landfill some day. Not only does this innovative technology save space, help machines run cooler but encourages a more sustainable, eco-friendly solution.
Standard DDR3 modules measure the standard 1.18 inches, but this DDR3 solution has a vertically optimized module height of .72 inches', This enables better air flow, meaning less cooling costs. This also means that the boards require less material to manufacture, costs less to ship and will have a lower impact on the landfill some day. Not only does this innovative technology save space, help machines run cooler but encourages a more sustainable, eco-friendly solution.
Tuesday, October 5th 2010
Today's Reviews
Cases
Cooling
CPU Coolers
Gaming PC
Graphics Cards
Motherboards
PSUs
Sound Cards
Razer Releases Special Editions of the Best Selling Naga MMO Mouse
Razer, the world's leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, today announced the launch of a new suite of Razer Naga Special Edition gaming mice - the Razer Naga Maelstrom Special Edition and the Razer Naga Molten Special Edition.
"After the phenomenal response we received for the Razer Naga, we've decided to create two collectible versions to offer our fans even more ways to dominate their game," said Robert "Razer Guy" Krakoff, president, Razer USA. "We took the same functionality of full button remapping and macro capabilities of the original Razer Naga and rejuvenated the aesthetic design for a more immersive MMO gaming experience."
"After the phenomenal response we received for the Razer Naga, we've decided to create two collectible versions to offer our fans even more ways to dominate their game," said Robert "Razer Guy" Krakoff, president, Razer USA. "We took the same functionality of full button remapping and macro capabilities of the original Razer Naga and rejuvenated the aesthetic design for a more immersive MMO gaming experience."
Samsung Announces Stylish New 31 Series LED-Backlit Eco-Friendly Monitors
Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, the number one worldwide brand of LCD display products, today announced the launch of a new line of 31 series LED-backlit monitors. This new line-up is an ideal option for budget-conscious users looking for the energy-saving benefits of an LED monitor in a stylish and affordable package.
"The 31 series LED monitors fit the needs of consumers looking to upgrade to an LED monitor on a budget, especially this holiday season," said Young Bae, director of display marketing, Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "This line of monitors, designed with students and small and home office users in mind, stays true to Samsung's legacy of sleek design and superior LED performance."
"The 31 series LED monitors fit the needs of consumers looking to upgrade to an LED monitor on a budget, especially this holiday season," said Young Bae, director of display marketing, Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "This line of monitors, designed with students and small and home office users in mind, stays true to Samsung's legacy of sleek design and superior LED performance."
WD Delivers USB 3.0 and 3 TB with its New External Hard Drive Product Lines
WD, the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its new My Passport Essential portable hard drive (photo), My Passport Essential SE portable hard drive (photo), and My Book Essential external hard drive (photo). All three drive families come in a variety of capacities and offer lightning-fast USB 3.0 connectivity. Highest industry capacity is another key feature for the My Book Essential drive, which is now available in 3 TB capacity, in addition to 1 and 2 TB capacities. Equipped with WD SmartWare visual backup software for automatic, continuous backup, these drives provide users the extra space they need to store or back up all of their digital memories, such as high-resolution photos and videos, along with music and other critical files, all in one place.
The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 150 MB/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.
The drives not only take advantage of the latest blazing-fast USB 3.0 technology, but are also fully compatible with USB 2.0 connections for those who have yet to upgrade their computers to USB 3.0. When connected to a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, consumers can transfer data at speeds up to 150 MB/s. At that rate, a two-hour HD video will transfer in as little as three minutes. The same two-hour video would take approximately 13 minutes to transfer on a USB 2.0 port.
Hitachi GST Launches New Family of 750 GB Mobile Hard Drives
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) today announced its new 375GB/platter, 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM, 2.5-inch hard drives - the Travelstar 5K750 and the Travelstar 7K750 hard drive families. Featuring the industry's highest capacities in a standard 9.5mm two-disk design, the new drives come in capacities of 750GB, 640GB and 500GB. The drives are built on Hitachi's proven platform for quality and reliability, and feature innovative technology that delivers high shock protection, low power and fast performance for a variety of notebook computers, external storage solutions, gaming consoles and other mobile devices.
The Travelstar 5K750 and 7K750 drive families are the first Hitachi GST hard drives that feature Advanced Format. Advanced Format increases the physical sector size on hard drives from 512 bytes to 4096 (4K) bytes. This helps utilize the storage surface area more efficiently, allowing for increased drive capacities and improved data integrity at higher storage densities. By integrating Hitachi drives with the new Advanced Format, IT managers, system integrators and OEMs can take advantage of the latest operating systems to deliver new high-capacity, power-efficient systems.
The Travelstar 5K750 and 7K750 drive families are the first Hitachi GST hard drives that feature Advanced Format. Advanced Format increases the physical sector size on hard drives from 512 bytes to 4096 (4K) bytes. This helps utilize the storage surface area more efficiently, allowing for increased drive capacities and improved data integrity at higher storage densities. By integrating Hitachi drives with the new Advanced Format, IT managers, system integrators and OEMs can take advantage of the latest operating systems to deliver new high-capacity, power-efficient systems.
New Gateway LED Monitors Deliver Crisp Visual Quality, Power Efficiency, and Style
Gateway today introduced three new high-definition LED monitors that combine leading-edge technology and superb functionality in a sleek, ultra-slim design. The new displays also offer eco-friendly features and power-efficient performance, making them ideal for consumers who want to conserve energy and the environment.
The Gateway displays are available in three sizes - the Gateway FHX models are available in 21.5-inch (Gateway FHX2152L) and 24-inch (Gateway FHX2402L) sizes, and the Gateway FHD model is available in a 23-inch (Gateway FHD2303L) size. All three displays deliver excellent visual quality for enjoying high-definition movies, games and productivity applications.
The Gateway displays are available in three sizes - the Gateway FHX models are available in 21.5-inch (Gateway FHX2152L) and 24-inch (Gateway FHX2402L) sizes, and the Gateway FHD model is available in a 23-inch (Gateway FHD2303L) size. All three displays deliver excellent visual quality for enjoying high-definition movies, games and productivity applications.
Team Announces Combo II Elite SSD
Team Group Inc. has been receiving tremendous feedback and support from power users since its launch of the SSD products. Eyeing at the increasing demand for laptop Hard Drives upgrade to SSD, Team thus launches the third model of the Combo Family, Combo II Elite. It is equipped with SATA2 and USB2.0 dual interface that fulfills the consumer's demand for low power consumption and high-performance mobile storage. The Combo II Elite will absolutely be the perfect choice for laptop upgrade.
An improved version of the Combo II, the Combo II Elite is also equipped with built-in 64MB DDR2 memory. With the research & development, the input/output per second (IOPS) has been enhanced significantly. When compared with the 4K data block for reading and writing small files tailored for operating systems in general SSDs, the Combo II Elite has increased the writing speed up to 40% faster. Along with the extremely low lag time, users can immediately experience system startup at superb speed when installing the Combo II Elite as the system disk in any laptops. The same experience is also found when opening programs, and running image processing software with no presence of lag. Therefore, the Combo II Elite is a perfect partner that meets the demands of art designers and brings more perfect experience than any conventional hard disk drives.
An improved version of the Combo II, the Combo II Elite is also equipped with built-in 64MB DDR2 memory. With the research & development, the input/output per second (IOPS) has been enhanced significantly. When compared with the 4K data block for reading and writing small files tailored for operating systems in general SSDs, the Combo II Elite has increased the writing speed up to 40% faster. Along with the extremely low lag time, users can immediately experience system startup at superb speed when installing the Combo II Elite as the system disk in any laptops. The same experience is also found when opening programs, and running image processing software with no presence of lag. Therefore, the Combo II Elite is a perfect partner that meets the demands of art designers and brings more perfect experience than any conventional hard disk drives.
EVGA Intros X58 Classified3 Motherboard
EVGA introduced the third motherboard in its socket LGA1366 lineup refresh, the X58 Classified3 (model number 141-GT-E770-A1). EVGA's motherboard lineup refresh, usually denoted by a "3" suffix to the model name, is centered on feature additions that include USB 3.0, SATA 6 Gb/s, and out of the box support for the latest processors. The X58 Classified3 sports a high-end 10-phase digital PWM voltage regulation for the CPU that makes use of a Prodalizer for better power conditioning. Unlike the original X58 Classified design and like the X58 Classified E760, this board does not make use of any additional nForce 200 bridge chips, the four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots are wired directly to the X58 northbridge (configured as x16, NC, x16, NC; or x16, NC, x8, x8; or x8, x8, x8, x8; depending on how they're populated). The PWM area is cooled by its own heatsink, while that over the X58 northbridge is elaborate, complete with a fan. The ICH10R southbridge has a large heatsink to chill with. Other expansion slots include one each of PCI-E x1 and PCI.
Connectivity features include two SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports (color coded red), six internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and one legacy IDE connector, two USB 3.0 ports (rear), a number of USB 2.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire. Known more for its "record-shattering" overclocking prowess, the X58 Classified series of motherboards make use of a strong VRM overall (to support high voltage settings), a CPU socket with 300% more gold on the pins, vDroop control, consolidated voltage measure points, support for the EVGA EVBot accessory, Dummy OC (one touch overclocking), and a diagnostic LED display. The Classified3 from EVGA sells for US $369.99.
Connectivity features include two SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports (color coded red), six internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and one legacy IDE connector, two USB 3.0 ports (rear), a number of USB 2.0 ports, 8-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire. Known more for its "record-shattering" overclocking prowess, the X58 Classified series of motherboards make use of a strong VRM overall (to support high voltage settings), a CPU socket with 300% more gold on the pins, vDroop control, consolidated voltage measure points, support for the EVGA EVBot accessory, Dummy OC (one touch overclocking), and a diagnostic LED display. The Classified3 from EVGA sells for US $369.99.
ECS Announces the A890GXM-A2 Motherboard
Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) introduces AMD 890GX based motherboard - ECS Black Series A890GXM-A2 supports the latest six-core CPU to bring users an impressive visual experience with its tough features. By "One-step Unlocking" function in "ECS M.I.B. III" overclocking interface, users are able to unlock the hidden cores of CPU easily, and it reaches over 238% CPU performance boosted than default setting by unlocking cores with overclocking; moreover, it is also easy to reach 146% gaming performance boosted by overclocking GPU - ATI Radeon HD 4290 graphics processor's core clock and SidePort memory speed; ECS A890GXM-A2 fully supports the latest AMD Turbo Core technology which is essential for power-desired users to get extra performance automatically.
New NVIDIA Quadro Graphics Bring the Power of Fermi Architecture to All Professionals
NVIDIA announced today the expansion of its award-winning line of NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics solutions based on the NVIDIA Fermi architecture. The mid-range Quadro 2000 with 192 NVIDIA CUDA processing cores and the entry-level Quadro 600 with 96 CUDA processor cores now bring the computational and visualization benefits of the breakthrough Fermi architecture to all segments of the market.
The Quadro 2000 delivers 1.5 times the geometry performance of the previous Quadro graphics processing unit (GPU) mid-range solution and utilizes the new NVIDIA Scalable Geometry Engine technology to deliver dramatically higher performance across leading CAD and DCC applications such as SolidWorks and Autodesk 3ds Max.
The Quadro 2000 delivers 1.5 times the geometry performance of the previous Quadro graphics processing unit (GPU) mid-range solution and utilizes the new NVIDIA Scalable Geometry Engine technology to deliver dramatically higher performance across leading CAD and DCC applications such as SolidWorks and Autodesk 3ds Max.
XFX Intros Pro Series Core Edition PSUs with EasyRail Technology
XFX announced its new, more affordable, high-wattage PSU series, the Pro Series Core Edition. These are non-modular, single 12V rail design PSUs which feature what XFX refers to as "EasyRail" technology, that ensures all components get to draw their required amount of power since a single-rail design is more accommodating compared to a multi-rail design. It is available in 650W, 750W, and 850W models. The company did not detail the connector layout of each model in detail, but we can tell that all models are SLI and CrossFire certified, and going from bottom up, support 2-way and 3-way multi-GPU configurations.
Lavalys Everest Transitions into New Software
Popular system information, diagnostics, and benchmarking suite Lavalys Everest (or plain "Everest"), is said to be undergoing an organizational overhaul, with its developer, Lavalys Inc. forking into two companies. Currently Lavalys is split into two parts, with software development and aftersales support located in Hungary, and sales located in Canada. We're getting to know that the Hungarian part is breaking up the partnership into a company of its own, named FinalWire and working on its own software functionally identical to Everest, called (for now?) as AIDA64 (pronounced /ˈaɪdəˌ/ 64). Incidentally, AIDA32 is the first name of Everest before it went on to become Everest.
What's with the change, and why is it important? Well, Everest has been commercially successful to enterprise users, as well and enthusiasts. If virtually every developer in Lavalys is now under FinalWire, there won't be an update of Everest for a very long time, if not forever. Under Everest's license, a user is entitled to updates for a mentioned period of time. To ease out the transition, FinalWire will likely provide continued support and updates to existing Everest users. As for what's going to be distinctly new about AIDA64, our contact mentions that the software will retain the UI of its predecessor (since Lavalys developers reserved copyrights to almost all of the code), all its functionality, and new features: notably all 64-bit benchmarks, a new SSD module that provides model-specific diagnostics of any SSD installed, and a new 64-bit system stability test mode (helps overclockers or high-uptime server builders). FinalWire should make an official announcement later this week.
What's with the change, and why is it important? Well, Everest has been commercially successful to enterprise users, as well and enthusiasts. If virtually every developer in Lavalys is now under FinalWire, there won't be an update of Everest for a very long time, if not forever. Under Everest's license, a user is entitled to updates for a mentioned period of time. To ease out the transition, FinalWire will likely provide continued support and updates to existing Everest users. As for what's going to be distinctly new about AIDA64, our contact mentions that the software will retain the UI of its predecessor (since Lavalys developers reserved copyrights to almost all of the code), all its functionality, and new features: notably all 64-bit benchmarks, a new SSD module that provides model-specific diagnostics of any SSD installed, and a new 64-bit system stability test mode (helps overclockers or high-uptime server builders). FinalWire should make an official announcement later this week.
Monday, October 4th 2010
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MSI TechPowerUp GPU-Z Giveaway Winners for September 2010 Announced
Presenting the winners of the MSI TechPowerUp GPU-Z Hardware Giveaway, for the month of September 2010. Spanning across September and October, the contests gives six lucky winners some rad graphics cards from MSI. The winners for this month are:
- Patrick from United States, wins MSI R5870 Lightning
- Ken from Taiwan, wins MSI N460GTX HAWK
- Oskar from Poland, wins MSI R5770 HAWK
Global Chip Sales Increase 1.8 Percent Month-on-Month
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today reported that worldwide semiconductor sales in August were $25.7 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent from July when sales were $25.2 billion. Sales increased by 32.6 percent from August 2009 when sales were $19.4 billion. Sales for the first eight months of 2010 were $194.6 billion compared to $134.7 billion for the same period in 2009, an increase of 44.4 percent. All monthly sales numbers represent a three-month moving average. "Semiconductor sales have been strong with August marking the sixth consecutive month of sequential growth"
"Semiconductor sales have been strong with August marking the sixth consecutive month of sequential growth," said SIA President Brian Toohey. "PC and wireless related products along with infrastructure expansion in emerging markets, particularly in China and India, continue to drive sales. Concerns about economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe, coupled with seasonal patterns, bear close monitoring. We remain confident in our $290.5 billion forecast, which represents 28.4 percent annual growth for 2010," Toohey concluded.
"Semiconductor sales have been strong with August marking the sixth consecutive month of sequential growth," said SIA President Brian Toohey. "PC and wireless related products along with infrastructure expansion in emerging markets, particularly in China and India, continue to drive sales. Concerns about economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe, coupled with seasonal patterns, bear close monitoring. We remain confident in our $290.5 billion forecast, which represents 28.4 percent annual growth for 2010," Toohey concluded.
Thermaltake Introduces Armor A60 AMD Leo Edition Chassis
Thermaltake, leading DIY chassis brand, is launching the world's first SideClick EasySwap HDD docking mid-tower with integrated USB 3.0 SuperSpeed connector particularly designed for AMD Leo gaming PCs, the ARMOR A60 AMD Leo Edition. Thermaltake lined up with AMD to design a computer chassis particularly catering to the latest AMD Leo gaming platform. It shows the typical bullet-proof armory contours of this series while the front panel has gotten an even fiercer AMD-red color ornamentation, with the left side panel sporting an AMD Leo tattoo.
The otherwise entirely black design with metal mesh elements lend the ARMOR series an extremely stylish and powerful appearance that attracts gamers and enthusiasts alike. The top and front red LED-fans enhance the overall combat ambience, resembling the typical MMORPG ambience but also providing ideal cooling characteristics for the AMD Leo platform. A special lock mechanism for your mouse and keyboard ensures that you'll always stay in arms.
The otherwise entirely black design with metal mesh elements lend the ARMOR series an extremely stylish and powerful appearance that attracts gamers and enthusiasts alike. The top and front red LED-fans enhance the overall combat ambience, resembling the typical MMORPG ambience but also providing ideal cooling characteristics for the AMD Leo platform. A special lock mechanism for your mouse and keyboard ensures that you'll always stay in arms.
Scythe Announces the Gekkou and Gekkou Silent Series Cases
Japanese manufacturer Scythe is officially releasing its second PC Case under the name "Gekkou". This new Midi-Tower PC Case is available as Standard as well as Silent version whereas both versions can be purchased with a black or silver brush-finish as well as mirror-finish front panel. All models are manufactured of solid steel which is painted black from the outside. The PC Case dimensions are 7.717 x 20.67 x 16.93 in (196 x 430 x 525 mm) where the weight is varies depending on model from 14.55 lb (6.6 kg) to 16.42 lb (7.45 kg).
Gekkou PC Cases are equipped with an easy tool-free mounting mechanism for 5.25 inch Drives hich allows safely mounting of 4 drives. Furthermore it is possible to mount the drives into the 5.25" bays using conventional screws. Up to four 3.5 inch Hard Drives can be mounted inside the removable HDD Cage using the tool-free mounting mechanism.
Gekkou PC Cases are equipped with an easy tool-free mounting mechanism for 5.25 inch Drives hich allows safely mounting of 4 drives. Furthermore it is possible to mount the drives into the 5.25" bays using conventional screws. Up to four 3.5 inch Hard Drives can be mounted inside the removable HDD Cage using the tool-free mounting mechanism.
MSI Readies Faster, Better N460GTX HAWK ''Talon Attack'' Graphics Card
MSI is rolling out a new premium GeForce GTX 460 SKU, the N460GTX HAWK "Talon Attack". The new model is based on the same design as the N460GTX HAWK the company released over a month ago, except that is uses lower latency memory chips (better), at 0.4 ns; and higher clock speeds. The core is clocked at 810 MHz (compared to 780 MHz on the N460GTX HAWK); CUDA cores at 1620 MHz (vs. 1560), and memory at 975 MHz or 3900 MHz GDDR5 effective (vs. 900 or 3600 MHz effective).
Most other features are retained, such as the Twin Frozr II GPU cooler, 7+1 phase VRM with Active Phase Switching (APS), consolidated voltage measure points, "Military Grade" components such as Hi-C Capacitors, Super Ferrite Chokes; and standard GeForce GTX 460 feature set that include 336 CUDA cores, and 1 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface, with dual DVI + mini-HDMI for outputs. Its pricing is unknown at this point.
Most other features are retained, such as the Twin Frozr II GPU cooler, 7+1 phase VRM with Active Phase Switching (APS), consolidated voltage measure points, "Military Grade" components such as Hi-C Capacitors, Super Ferrite Chokes; and standard GeForce GTX 460 feature set that include 336 CUDA cores, and 1 GB of memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface, with dual DVI + mini-HDMI for outputs. Its pricing is unknown at this point.
Listing Reveals Details of GeForce GT 430 Desktop GPU
An Austrian hardware vendor jumped the gun and listed an unannounced GeForce GT 430 graphics card by Gigabyte, the GV-N430OC-1GI. As the model name suggests, it is overclocked out of the box. Tiny bits of details given in the listing shows that the card has 1 GB of DDR3 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface, and connectors that include one each of DVI and HDMI. Additional detailed mentioned by a price aggregator reveals that GeForce GT 430 is based on the 40 nm GF108 core, the SKU has 96 CUDA cores and 16 TMUs.
Super Talent Introduces the World's First DDR3-1600 MHz 4GB SO-DIMM
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced it is currently manufacturing the world's first over-clocked 4GB SO-DIMM running at 1600 MHz. Super Talent Technology will now move forward with the shipment of 512M x64 (4GB) configurations of these new memory modules. While several manufactures are shipping DDR3 SO-DIMMs (small outline dual in-line memory modules), used in laptops and notebooks, supporting clock speeds of 1333 MHz, Super Talent's has moved beyond this limitation and produced a DDR3 SO-DIMM capable of over-clocking to an incredible 1600 MHz.
Ideal for today's extreme portable workstations and gaming machines, Super Talent's new 4GB SO-DIMM will enable these creative professionals to remove the memory bottleneck created by today's 1333MHz limitation. "As memory technology continues to move forward Super Talent will continue to push the limits of what is possible and deliver the fastest solutions available." - SuperTalent COO, CH Lee.
Ideal for today's extreme portable workstations and gaming machines, Super Talent's new 4GB SO-DIMM will enable these creative professionals to remove the memory bottleneck created by today's 1333MHz limitation. "As memory technology continues to move forward Super Talent will continue to push the limits of what is possible and deliver the fastest solutions available." - SuperTalent COO, CH Lee.
Razer and Mouse Bungee Team Up For Old School Gamers
Razer, the world's leading high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals brand, is pleased to announce that Ed Larkin of Mouse Bungee has joined Razer's innovation team. Larkin brings classic design elements to Razer's product line with his unprecedented talent, he will soon be adding to Razer's award-winning design team.
"I fondly remember playing the original Quake with my Mouse Bungee and I loved not having to deal with tangling wires anymore. It was a simple but innovative solution to a problem common to so many gamers" says Min-Liang Tan, CEO & Creative Director of Razer. "I'm proud to have a talent like Ed on our team and am excited about the ideas and inspiration he will bring on board."
"I fondly remember playing the original Quake with my Mouse Bungee and I loved not having to deal with tangling wires anymore. It was a simple but innovative solution to a problem common to so many gamers" says Min-Liang Tan, CEO & Creative Director of Razer. "I'm proud to have a talent like Ed on our team and am excited about the ideas and inspiration he will bring on board."
Habey USA Announces BIS-6620-IV Fanless Mini-PC
HABEY USA, a leading manufacturer of embedded computer and server storage products, releases BIS-6620-IV, a new addition to the BIS-6620 ultra-compact fanless PC family based on the Intel Atom Z5xx processors. It is available for sale to resellers, system intergrators and major online retailers. This new model is integrated with a HDMI 1.3 port with digital audio. It also supports Microsoft's Windows Embedded Standard 7 and compatible with Intel's latest Embedded Graphics Drivers (EMGD). Configured with DXVA support media player, the BIS-6620-IV is the best Intel Atom platform that can take the full advantage of the Intel ultra-low power US15W chipset's GMA500 HD video hardware decode capability, supporting full HD playback of .mkv, .mp4, .mov, .flv and more video formats.
SPARKLE Announces Calibre X460G Graphics Card With Arctic Cooling System
SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, announced the Calibre X460G graphics card with Accelero cooling solution from Arctic Cooling, delivering unparalleled levels of cooling performance and gaming experience to mainstream gamers. CUDA Technology unlocks the power of the Calibre X460G Graphics Card's 336 processor cores to accelerate the most demanding system tasks such as video transcoding. The 56 Texture Units embedded in the GF104 can dramatically improve the texture processing efficient in latest DirectX 11 games, resulting in higher fps than the competitor's products.
Tailor made to hit the gamers' sweet spot, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card delivers revolutionary levels of price/performance. With up to 4x the DirectX 11 tessellation performance of the competition, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card packs highly detailed visuals into your games - without sacrificing high frame rates. And with NVIDIA 3D Vision, PhysX, and CUDA technologies, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card powers all the incredibly realistic effects that your games can throw its way. Compared with ordinary GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards on market, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card is overclocked out of box. With 790MHz core speed, 3900MHz memory speed and 1580MHz shader clock, it has 17% performance upgrade and take mainstream gamers' DirectX 11 gaming beyond HD.
Tailor made to hit the gamers' sweet spot, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card delivers revolutionary levels of price/performance. With up to 4x the DirectX 11 tessellation performance of the competition, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card packs highly detailed visuals into your games - without sacrificing high frame rates. And with NVIDIA 3D Vision, PhysX, and CUDA technologies, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card powers all the incredibly realistic effects that your games can throw its way. Compared with ordinary GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards on market, the Calibre X460G Graphics Card is overclocked out of box. With 790MHz core speed, 3900MHz memory speed and 1580MHz shader clock, it has 17% performance upgrade and take mainstream gamers' DirectX 11 gaming beyond HD.
Friday, October 1st 2010
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SteelSeries Intros Blue Siberia V2 Gaming Headset
SteelSeries released its Siberia V2 gaming headset in a new limited-edition blue model. The scheme includes blue on its phones, and mostly-white head-band, and white . The headphone portion makes use of 50 mm drivers with 10 Hz to 28 KHz frequency response, leather is made use of in its around-the-year cushion that offers passive noise dampening. A unidirectional microphone sticks out. There are basic local volume controls. It is priced at €79.99.
MSI Announces GT663 Gaming Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M Graphics
You're a sniper in the middle of a fierce firefight. You're trying to get an enemy soldier in your sites, but because he's far away, poor resolution makes it hard to lock it on him. MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern explains that the GT663, MSI's new generation gaming series laptop, comes equipped with GeForce GTX 460M (1.5GB GDDR5), nVidia's most advanced discrete graphics card to support DirectX 11. The high resolution it provides faithfully displays scenes from the battle, giving you clear shots of opponents. You can't blame your equipment anymore. Sam Chern points out that MSI already uses this series of discrete graphics cards in its powerful and stylish F series laptops which have won praise from media organizations the world over.
Transcend’s 32GB microSDHC Cards Expand Mobile Storage
Transcend Information, Inc., a worldwide leader in memory and storage products, has announced the availability of the largest-ever 32GB microSDHC memory card, which doubles the capacity for cell phones and other mobile devices that rely on microSDHC storage. Transcend's new 32GB Class 2 microSDHC card is no bigger than a thumb nail and weighs less than a paper clip. Despite its tiny dimensions, the 32GB microSDHC card offers sufficient space to store up to 6552 pictures (based on 10 megapixel JPEG compression format), 480 minutes of Full HD video, countless hours of music, or thousands of electronic texts.
MicroSD and microSDHC cards are commonly used in mobile phones, as well as in some newer devices such as eBooks, handheld GPS devices, portable gaming consoles, and so on. microSDHC cards are aimed at heavy mobile users of cell phones or eBooks. Moreover, Transcend's highest capacity microSDHC cards are the most economical memory-expanding solution to increase the amount of built-in memory for expandable mobile devices.
MicroSD and microSDHC cards are commonly used in mobile phones, as well as in some newer devices such as eBooks, handheld GPS devices, portable gaming consoles, and so on. microSDHC cards are aimed at heavy mobile users of cell phones or eBooks. Moreover, Transcend's highest capacity microSDHC cards are the most economical memory-expanding solution to increase the amount of built-in memory for expandable mobile devices.
Transcend Rolls Out High Density DRAM Modules with 2Gbit DDR3 Chips
Transcend Information Inc., a worldwide leader in memory and storage products, today launched three new 4GB DDR3 DRAM modules using high-density 2-gigabit (2 Gbit) DDR3 chips: a DDR3-1333 MHz Long-DIMM, a DDR3-1333 MHz SO-DIMM, and a DDR3-1066 MHz SO-DIMM.
Transcend's 4GB 240-pin DDR3-1333 Long-DIMM for desktops runs at 1333 MHz with latencies of 9-9-9, while the 4GB DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM notebook memory module operates at 1333 MHz with latencies of 9-9-9, and the 4GB DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM runs at 1066 MHz with CL7 timings. Each module is optimized for stable 1.5V operation and is made with high density energy-efficient 2 Gbit chips, enabling conscientious users to take advantage of the best power-performance ratio available for their desktop or laptop computer.
Transcend's 4GB 240-pin DDR3-1333 Long-DIMM for desktops runs at 1333 MHz with latencies of 9-9-9, while the 4GB DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM notebook memory module operates at 1333 MHz with latencies of 9-9-9, and the 4GB DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM runs at 1066 MHz with CL7 timings. Each module is optimized for stable 1.5V operation and is made with high density energy-efficient 2 Gbit chips, enabling conscientious users to take advantage of the best power-performance ratio available for their desktop or laptop computer.
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