Thermaltake announces its collaboration with NVIDIA to design and engineer the Element V NVIDIA Edition, certified for the next-generation of ultra-high performance graphic card based on the most advanced GPU computing architecture, code named Fermi.

NVIDIA shares Thermaltake's commitment to ensure enthusiast community receives the best possible products that delivers performance that is both exciting and second-to-none," commented Tom Deane, Program Manager of NVIDIA. "Through collaboration on the engineering level with world's leading gaming chassis provider, Thermaltake Element V Nvidia Edition is capable of providing the best operating environment for NVIDIA's next generation of enthusiasts graphic cards based on FERMI architecture running on 3-way SLI or Quad SLI."

To fulfill consumers' demand towards more performance and higher power efficiency, MSI, the leading manufacturer of graphics card and mainboards, launches the green editions of the N250GTS graphics card. The green series includes the N250GTS-2D512, N250GTS-2D1G, N250GTS Twin Frozr and N250GTS Twin Frozr 1G. Compared to previous generation GTS250 cards, the N250GTS green series adopts a GTS250 GPU with lower voltage decreasing powerconsumption by up to 25%. In addition, they are equipped with "Military Class Concept" components to improve it's lifespan, performance and stability. Thus, the green series provides not only superior DirectX 10 performance, but they also help for a better environment.

The new MSI N250GTS Series is using a low voltage version of the GTS 250 GPU, lowering the power consumption up to 25%. Simultaneously waste heat also decreases, extending the product lifespan, while lowering both fan speed and noise. This results in overall lower system temperature providing users a more comfortable working environment. Key components of the new N250GTS series are Solid State Chokes (SSC) and Solid Capacitors which follow the "Military Class Concept". These high quality components not only increase operating stability and product lifespan, but also prevents buzz noise under full load.

Technology advances constantly. When the speed of USB 2.0 can no longer fulfill the expanding demand of modern people, storage technology with faster speed, lower power consumption and greater convenience emerges out of consumer demands. Eyeing at the developmental potential of e-SATA, Team Group Inc launches the X092 USB disk Fire Shadow as its masterpiece for the year. A shining red and black appearance, this dual-color design inoculates the idea of fire and shadow. Equipped with the e-SATA and USB interfaces, Fire Shadow allows users to enjoy the ultrafast speed of e-SATA and the no-external-power-required convenience of USB devices all in one disk.

The X092 from Team is designed with the quadruple channel technology to evenly distribute data reading and writing task to four storage devices in order to effectively enhance the read-write speed. As the read-write speed of e-SATA is 110MB/s and 40MB/s respectively, i.e. triply faster than USB2.0, it takes only 42 seconds to copy a 4.5GB movie file, making it the dream option among all PnP storage devices. In addition to the 16GB and 32GB models, the X092 has the 64GB model tailored for power users, allowing them to download and store valuable data anywhere anytime. Therefore, the X092 is tailored for consumers demanding super capacity and super speed mobile storage in great convenience.

GeIL announces the launch of the all new DDR3 Gaming Series Black Dragon Triple Channel Kit to be added to the performance DDR3 memory module lineup. The Gaming Series DDR3 Black Dragon Triple Channel Kits will be available for the full range of speed with enhanced performance and stability by GeILs' DBT - Die-hard Burn-in Technology.

Available Speeds:

• 1066 MHz CL7&8, 1333 MHz CL6, 7&9, 1600 MHz CL7,8&9,
• 1800 MHz CL7, 8&9, 2000 MHz CL8&9, 2133 MHz CL9

Only just a week ago, Power Quotient International Co., Ltd. (PQI) announced two 2.5inch USB3.0 external hard drives, H566 and S533. Today, PQI releases their first USB flash drive device in the form of Cool Drive U366. PQI's U366 is encased in an all aluminum shell with a clear plastic lid that can perfectly fit on the end tip so users need not worry about loosing the lid.

The new USB3.0 features 5Gbps/sec maximum bandwidth, which is 10 times the maximum bandwidth of USB2.0 as it eliminates the issue of external connection bandwidth being smaller than the output bandwidth of the storage device. This allows portable, ultra fast and high capacity storage device to flood the market as USB3.0 is deemed to take over USB2.0 as the standard for future external connections!

A-DATA Technology, the world leader in DRAM modules and flash memory products, launched the industry first ever combo flash drive N002 that features the dual interface of USB 3.0 and SATA II, designed to maximize data transfer speed to the ultimate. Adopting the industry-leading 8-channel architecture, N002 is able to boost transfer speed tenfold compared to ordinary flash drives with USB 2.0 interface by delivering up to ultra-fast 200 MB/s and 170 MB/s in sequential read/write performance respectively.

Ready to hit the market by January, 2010, N002 makes USB 3.0 a reality. It supports all latest platforms that come with USB 3.0 ports, while also being backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports at a lower speed performance. Available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, N002 is ideal for users who are thirsty for super-sized storage capacities with unrivaled speed via the innovative USB 3.0 and SATA II dual interface. A combination of speed, storage and portability altogether into one device, N002 is by all means the most effective solution to access and transfer large amount of data, including high-resolution images, multimedia files and whole lot more, at an instant and on the go.

DFI has announced a new mini-ITX form factor motherboard in the LR100-N16M which offers low power consumption, higher-performance, and fanless cooling. This board utilizes the latest two-chip Intel Atom processor N450 and Intel 82801HM I/O Controller (also referred to as "ICH8M") system solution. This smaller integrated two-chip platform uses approximately 40% less board space than previous generation three-chip solutions, and provides higher performance per watt than any previous Intel Atom processor-based platform.

The LR100-N16M mini-ITX motherboard is equipped with a 45nm Hi-K technology Intel Atom processor N450 with 5.5W TDP, 667MHz front side bus (FSB) and 1.67GHz core frequency. In addition, this single core processor features a 512kb 8-way L2 cache, 64bit computing support using Intel 64 architecture, on-die memory and graphics controllers, all in a small Micro-GCBGA8 package. Integrating the memory and graphics controllers on the processor die increases performance, reduces the board footprint, and lowers power consumption over the previous generation three-chip platforms.

A new adapter listed on online store usb.brando.com, the UNITEK USB 3.0 to SATA Adapter (Y-1034) promises to be an interesting accessory. The adapter connects to SATA HDDs/SSDs over a SATA 3 Gb/s interface, and to the host PC over USB 3.0 SuperSpeed. The new interface eliminates interface bottlenecks to provide speeds on-par with eSATA. The kit consists of the main unit which plugs into the the drive's SATA data+power connectors, and gives out a USB 3.0 cable. It takes in DC power input from its own power adapter. A quick HDTach run shows a conventional HDD to offer speeds on par with being connected to eSATA (effectively the system's own SATA interface). It is priced at US $49.

Buffalo is ready with a new SSD lineup which it plans to release a few models of before 2010. The Buffalo SHD-NSUH series 2.5" SATA/USB SSDs come equipped with multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory, 64 MB of cache memory, and support for Windows 7 TRIM feature. The drives will support SATA 3 Gb/s and USB 2.0 interfaces. In SATA mode, the drives will offer transfer speeds of up to 186.6 MB/s. These drives will be available in four models based on the capacities: 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB, which will be priced at US $253, $369, $637, and $1,161, respectively. The 64 GB and 128 GB models will be released within this month, the 32 GB model in January 2010, while the 256 GB one later in May 2010.

NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce GPU based on the Fermi architecture is reportedly further delayed to March 2010, up from its originally expected time-frame of January. NVIDIA on its part maintained that Fermi-based GeForce GPUs will be released sometime in Q1 2010, and with a March launch, that would still stand true.

Fermi's development history is marked with late arrivals. The DirectX 11 compliant architecture was announced in October 2009 to counter the market-available DirectX 11 compliant ATI Radeon HD 5800 GPUs. Then in mid-November, the company released the first products based on the architecture - GPGPU accelerators under the NVIDIA Tesla HPC banner. An alleged working prototype GeForce accelerator was spotted around the same time, with word doing rounds that NVIDIA will be ready with the new GeForce GPU in early Q1, probably coinciding with the CES event. Faced with further delays, NVIDIA reportedly notified its partners that the new GPUs will be released to the marked only in March.

NVIDIA plans to launch the 40 nm Fermi-GF100 GPU which is DirectX 11 compliant and supports GDDR5 memory in March, and will launch a GF104 version. Till then, the mainstream-thru-performance segments will be left to be defended by GeForce GTS 250, GT 240, GT 220, 210, 9800 GT, against a fortified mainstream lineup by AMD consisting of ATI Radeon HD 5670/5650 (codenamed "Redwood"), and ATI Radeon HD 5450 (codenamed "Cedar"). These DirectX 11 compliant GPUs from AMD will be released in January.

To build on the popularity of its NVIDIA ION based nettops, ASRock plans to release a new Intel Atom + NVIDIA ION motherboard based on the mini-ITX form factor, in 2010. The motherboard will be one of the first of its kind, with a stronger memory sub-system. The NVIDIA ION chipset will drive dual-channel DDR3 1066 MHz memory. The board makes use of dual-core Atom 330 processor which is passively cooled, while the NVIDIA ION chipset is cooled actively. The chipset embeds DirectX 10 compliant NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. It gives out four internal SATA 3 Gb/s ports and two Power-eSATA (eSATA+USB combo) ports making use of all its ATA channels. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (full-bandwidth).

ASRock-exclusive features include Dura-Cap Japanese solid-state capacitors, Instant Boot, Instant Flash, OC DNA, and Night LED. Connectivity includes 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF driven by VIA VT2020 CODEC, gigabit Ethernet, six external and four internal USB 2.0 ports, and display connectivity which includes DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. While the motherboard supports up to 4 GB of memory, the graphics processor supports full-HD display resolutions including smooth playback of HD video. It passes Windows 7 compatibility. ASRock is yet to reveal pricing and availability.

Thermaltake seems to have finished development of its new high-end CPU cooler, the Thermaltake Frio. Designs of this cooler surfaced as early as in June this year, originally slating it for Computex 2009. After some development delay, it has finally taken shape with the disctinct black+red color scheme the company's Level 10 case comes with. The design consists of a CPU contact block from which five seemingly 8 mm heatpipes arise, conveying heat to a dense aluminum fin array which has largely rectangular fins. The array is cooled a 120 mm fan. There is provision to install one on either sides, that rotates at speeds between 1200 - 2500 rpm. The cooler supports all current CPU sockets, including LGA-1366, LGA-1156, LGA-775, AM3/AM2+. The cooler is now slated for CES 2010.

The 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially kicks off on January 7 in Las Vegas! MSI's formidable achievements in R&D and design will be out in force. In addition to ultra-thin and stylish designs, the much talked about and yet to be released 2010 iF Product Design Award winning netbook, the Wind U160, will be unveiled at CES.

Embodying MSI's flawless and exquisite craftsmanship, the Wind U Series notebooks have not only won countless awards, they've also repeatedly achieved success in the market, with over one million in worldwide sales to date. MSI continues to innovate and uphold its concept of insisting on the best by infusing these concepts into the impressive MSI Wind U Series. Many of these high-quality, exquisite notebook models will be on display at CES, including the Wind12 U200, the U230, the all-new U135, and the iF Product Design Award winning ultra-thin and stylish U160 netbook. With a beautiful and stylish appearance, the U160 features MSI's distinctive Chiclet keyboard, Color Film Print Technology, an artistic and ultra-thin fuselage, and all new software upgrades. In addition its hardware has also been fully upgraded. Featuring the latest generation Intel ATOM N450 processor and Windows 7 OS, the all new elite product series is sure to once again capture international attention and capitalize on market opportunities.

World-leading All-in-One PC brand MSI will be showcasing several new models that embody the global trend towards energy-saving PC design at the CES 2010 exhibition. The new models, which feature the Pine Trail technology platform with the new Intel Atom processor, include the Wind Top AP1920 All-in-One PC and the Wind Box DE220 and Wind Box DC500 Mini PCs. These products deliver low energy consumption with no compromise in performance; their average power consumption is more than 80% lower than that of a standard desktop PC. The compact, lightweight design also takes up less space than a traditional PC.

Foxconn has unveiled one of the first motherboards based on Intel's "Pine Trail" second generation Atom processor platform: the D41S and D51S (pictured in the same order below), both based on the mini-ITX form factor. The D41S is powered by a single-core Atom D410 processor, while the D51S is powered by dual-core Atom D510, both these processors run at speeds of 1.66 GHz. The former is cooled passively by a heatsink, while the latter makes use of a fan-heatsink. The rest of the board layouts are identical. The processor is wired to two DDR2 DIMM slots for single-channel DDR2 667 MHz memory. It embeds Intel GMA 3150 graphics with a D-Sub connector for output. A lone PCI slot provides expansion. The chipset gives out two SATA 3 Gb/s ports for storage. Its rear-panel includes six-channel HD audio, D-Sub, gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, PS/2, serial and parallel ports. The two will be out in the coming few weeks.

DisplayLink, the company behind USB-based display controllers has disclosed plans to release a display chip during the upcoming CES event next month, that runs on USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface. The new chip will make use of the increased bandwidth (up to 4.8 Gbps vs. 480 Mbps of USB 2.0), to transmit higher-resolution videos. The current USB 2.0 based DisplayLink chips are able to transmit display of 3D games at 60 fps and HD video at 26~27 fps. The new USB 3.0 based chip will be able to do the same faster, without any flickering, said Dennis Crespo, executive vice-president of marketing and business development at DisplayLink. The DisplayLink technology involves using the system's graphics hardware to drive multiple display-heads, by transmitting display across USB.

Several users of the recently released Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X graphics cards were surprised to find that GPU-Z showed the shader (stream processor) count of their graphics cards to be 720 (instead of the advertised 800). A disgruntled user then submitted a sample of the graphics card BIOS (BIOS Version: 012.014.000.004, dated 2009/12/03) to TechPowerUp. Our using the BIOS on an actual HD 5770 Vapor-X sample confirmed the issue. The affected cards continue to have the device ID corresponding to the HD 5770 model (68B8), have the advertised clock speeds (860/1200 MHz core/memory), and yet have only 720 operational stream processors enabled by the video BIOS.

When one of the users contacted Sapphire tech-support, it responded with:

"I just tested one of the cards I have here, and yes it does have the 720 shaders, the if you are comparing the stream process which is at 800, it is different the GPUZ software does not tell you the stream process the GPU unit has."

Subjectively, the response doesn't seem satisfactory or working towards solving the problem. GPU-Z displays the actual number of shaders (stream processors) available to the operating system, not how many are physically present on the GPU-die. With this issue being reported by users spread across various markets, it is clear that Sapphire may have an entire lot/batch of HD 5770 Vapor-X graphics cards carrying the BIOS which enables only 720 stream processors. Affected users are advised to contact Sapphire support to resolve the issue. Expert users can find the corrective BIOS which enables all 800 stream processors (VER012.013.000.001.034705) in our VGA BIOS Database here.Update: Sapphire has notified me that they are looking into this, a BIOS update will be available "shortly".

Update 2: Statement from Sapphire: "SAPPHIRE Technology has determined that a small batch of the recently launched HD 5770 Vapor-X graphics cards was shipped with a BIOS that enables only 720 stream processors instead of the full 800 stream processors available on this model. Other performance parameters are to the correct specifications. This issue can be rectified with a BIOS update. The correct BIOS code can be downloaded from www.sapphiretech.com [Graphic Card -> PCI-E -> Sapphire HD 5700 Series -> Sapphire Vapor-X HD 5770 1 GB GDDR5 PCIE -> Submit -> BIOS] and some partner websites. We regret any inconvenience caused to end users."

We at Techpowerup.com want to wish all of you around the world a happy and blissful Christmas! May there be boat loads of cool gadgets, hardware and other toys under the tree this holiday season! While 2009 was quite the year with ups and downs, you all have made it a memorable one here at techPowerUp! and we hope to welcome you all next year as well - bringing you the latest in hardware and gaming!

Taiwan-based company InnoDisk announced the Matador II series of PCI-Express solid-state drives. Suited for enterprise applications, the Matador II delivers read speeds of 800 MB/s with write speeds of 600 MB/s. A PCI-Express x8 interface is used to connect to the system, providing the necessary interface bandwidth. Storage capacities on offer range from 128 GB to 2 TB. The company hopes to sell as many as a million units next year, though pricing for these hasn't surfaced as yet.

BenQ will release two new full-HD LCD monitors to the market, the 21.5 inch G2222HDL and 24-inch G2420HDBL. The two are characterized by LED backlit illumination, and share nearly identical specifications which include glossy black frames, native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixel TN panels, 5 ms response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio with 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, brightness of 250 cd/m², and connectivity which includes DVI and D-Sub. The G2222HDL and G2420HDBL are expected to be priced at £149 and £169, respectively, available from this week.

Cooler Master introduces USP 100, an enthusiast ready mid-tower chassis with an integrated 550W Extreme Power Plus power supply. USP 100 is a fully featured performance solution without the high-end price tag.

USP 100 offers a no compromise interior including many popular innovations from Cooler Master high end chassis. The wide body design includes over 11 inches for VGA card length and over 6.5 inches in CPU cooler clearance height for class leading support of the mainstream CPU coolers and graphics cards. A chassis width of over 8.4 inches makes cable management easy, allowing system cables to be hidden in spacious .5 inch clearance behind the motherboard tray. USP 100 includes a CPU retention hole for easy CPU cooler installation, hassle free tool-free drive bays, and an easy to clean front filter air intake.

Elpida Memory, Inc., Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today announced that its Hiroshima Plant has begun volume production of 40nm process 2-gigabit DDR3 SDRAMs. Since completing development of the DDR3 SDRAM last October it has taken Elpida only two months to ramp up mass production.

The new 2-gigabit DDR3 SDRAM achieves 44% more chips per wafer compared with Elpida's 50nm DDR3 SDRAM and a 100% yield for DDR3 products that operate at 1.6 Gbps, the fastest speed standard for current DDR3. It also supports high-speed products. Compared with 50nm products, it uses about two-thirds less current and supports 1.2V/1.35V operation as well as DDR3 standard 1.5V, resulting in reduced power consumption of around 50%.

Initially, Elpida plans a phased expansion of 40nm 2-gigabit DDR3 SDRAM mass production at its Hiroshima Plant. In the second quarter of 2010, 40nm process production will also begin at Rexchip, a subsidiary in Taiwan, to increase the manufacture of 40nm process products in order to lower products costs. Depending on conditions in the DRAM market, Elpida may transfer 40nm process technology to foundry partners ProMOS and Winbond to expand production based on this technology to an even higher level.

Broadcom Corporation, a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its Crystal HD technology will be available to OEMs wanting to deliver best-in-class video playback on the new Intel Atom processor platform for netbooks. The Broadcom BCM70015 Crystal HD solution will be offered as an option for OEMs designing netbooks using the Intel Atom processor N450 and Intel NM10 Express chipset platform. Crystal HD technology provides netbook users with a rich multimedia experience by enabling cost effective, quality playback of multi-format, high definition (HD) video and will be featured on select 2010 netbook platforms from top-tier OEMs including ASUS, Dell and Samsung.

NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to unveil Hades, a chassis that provides an array of advanced features for the most demanding PC enthusiast. Airflow is optimized with 5 fans(dual 200mm intake, 200 mm front fan, dual top 140mm fans, side 200mm fan, and rear 120mm exhaust). NZXT includes all the fans with the exception of the top 140mm and also provides a dual fan 8W per channel controller giving enthusiasts freedom to manage intake and exhaust airflow. A three temperature display on the front panel allows the user to see the temperature inside the chassis even when the door is closed. Additionally, the meshed 5.25" bays, door, and bottom panel allows for air to naturally flow into the system with ease.

Hades also boasts premium expandability with up to nine 5.25" bay setup or five 5.25" and four 3.5." It also features VGA clearance room for 300mm cards like the new ATI 5970. The punched side panel and motherboard tray with rubber grommets on the motherboard routing holes enables advanced wire management and quick CPU bracket removal. Additional advanced features include a solid state bracket allowing for two SSD drives, pre-drilled water cooling holes on the backplate, mounting holes for a dual radiator at the top, and a removable filter at the bottom PSU.

ASUS today announced that its Eee PC Seashell series netbooks - which include the Eee PC Seashell 1005P, 1005PE and 1001P - will feature Intel's second generation Atom platform. The new Intel Atom processor N450 - when used in concert with ASUS' exclusive Super Hybrid Engine technology - will substantially extend the battery lives of every model in the Seashell range, making them ideal travel companions.

Eee PC Seashell models equipped with the new Intel Atom processor N450 will also feature ASUS' proprietary Super Hybrid Engine (SHE). SHE tailors the Eee PC Seashell's energy consumption patterns to suit any task at hand, optimizing energy efficiency and reducing power usage by up to 15%. Together, SHE and the Atom processor N450 enable the Eee PC Seashell to deliver up to 14 hours of battery life on a single charge.

MSI is offering tailor-made solutions with the release of the all-new Intel Atom processor N450 with integrated architecture for the stylish Wind Series Special Edition U135 and the U130-now covered head-to-toe with Color Film Print coating. These two netbook models are the world's first two Intel Pine Trail platform netbooks to receive International WiMAX Forum certification.

MSI Notebook Marketing Director Sam Chern noted that the Wind Series Millions Special Edition U135 is based on feedback from millions users. This feedback is being used to meticulously create a new generation of Wind netbooks that are Windows 7 pre-installed. MSI's attention to detail and its pursuit of perfection in product design are also demonstrated by the all-new Intel Atom processor N450 with integrated architecture, an even more stylish design, a sturdier and quieter MSI Chiclet keyboard, a lid treated with Color Film Print coating over a stylish woven pattern, a 20% larger touch pad for extra comfort, and longer battery life.

Chieftec unveiled its first mini-ITX PC case, the BT-02B. This mini-ITX tower measures 240 x 135 x 295 mm, and weighs 2.85 kg (about 6.28 lbs), and sports a formal look, best suited for space-constrained office desks. It packs enough space for one 5.25" drive bay, an internal 3.5" bay for HDDs, and has a front IO panel with USB and audio ports. The BT-02B comes with a 180W ATX power supply, sufficient for the typical mini-ITX PC. The lone expansion card slot accommodates full-height cards. The case should be out soon.

Fujitsu announces the release of the Fujitsu LifeBook MH380 today. Designed to impress, this Mini-Notebook comes equipped with the wherewithal for ultimate usage anywhere you are. Weighing less than 1.3kg, LifeBook MH380 is embellished in an aesthetically pleasing chrome-ring shell, letting you make a statement of elegance for the new season. Made in Japan with superb quality, the MH380 is the perfect Mini-Notebook for all occasions.

"Fujitsu prides quality above all else and has created the perfect personal companion for 2010 with the Fujitsu LifeBook MH380. It's not just a mere style upgrade of its predecessors, it is a piece thoughtfully crafted to meet the needs of the new consumer: always on-the-go and always looking for the best answer to user-friendliness and technological capabilities" commented Mr Raymond Foo, Associate Vice President, Product Marketing and Engineering, Fujitsu PC Asia Pacific.

AMD today announced availability of the production release of its second-generation ATI Stream SDK, its second-generation ATI Stream SDK, the first production SDK for both AMD GPUs and x86 CPUs. This release of ATI Stream SDK v2.0 supports a wide range of ATI graphics processors, including the new ATI Radeon HD 5970, the world's fastest graphics card generating five teraflops of compute power. Enabling compute intensive codes to leverage all of the system's resources, the ATI Stream SDK v2.0 helps developers deliver a better application experience.

This release of AMD's ATI Stream SDK v2.0 provides developers, ISVs and OEMs with a production development environment that allows them to more easily accelerate applications. By enabling developers to utilize combined CPU and GPU computing power, ATI Stream technology helps developers to leverage heterogeneous architectures to improve the computing experience.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc., today announced the industry's first 2 Gb (Gigabit) GDDR5 called H5GQ2H24MFR-R2C using its leading-edge 40nm class process technology.

The newly developed GDDR5 is the fastest and highest density graphics memory available in the market. It operates at 7 Gbps (Gigabit per second) bandwidth and processes up to 28 GB/s (Gigabytes per second) with a 32-bit I/O. In addition to its fastest speed and highest density, it is also designed to minimize power consumption with 1.35V operation voltage. It is an 'eco-friendly' device which reduces energy consumption by 20% over the preceding memory solutions using 50nm class technology.

Dell's hot-selling Inspiron Mini 10 netbook is getting better with a fresh new look and longer battery life to go along with technology enhancements and easy connectivity capabilities that make it a fashionable and functional must-have for on-the-go people. Updates to the Mini 10 include optional high definition entertainment bundles that deliver rich, smooth playback of streaming HD video in addition to Web surfing, email, listening to music and sharing user-generated content in real time. Dell expects the redesigned Inspiron Mini 10 to be available the first part of January 2010.

The new design with 10.1-inch display includes a textured, smudge-resistant palm rest, sculpted keys and, for the Inspiron Mini 10 mobility bundle, extended-life battery offering up to 9.5 hours of operation. The Mini 10 can be personalized with a broad range of optional colors or hundreds of optional custom artwork designs available in the Dell Design Studio.

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced that it has released firmware with TRIM support and a firmware update tool for its award-winning Performance Series P64, P128 and P256 solid-state drives.

The firmware (revisionVBM19C1Q) and update tool were both developed by Samsung, and have been rigorously qualified by both Samsung and Corsair using a large number of test platforms, in conjunction with a controlled end-user BETA test of the new firmware.

Elitegroup Computer Systems, the world's leading motherboard, barebone system, and notebook manufacturer, is pleased to introduce a brand new small and powerful motherboard, ECS TIGT-I, embedded the latest Intel dual core Atom processor D510 integrated memory controller and Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150(GMA3150) to deliver up to 20% higher performance than ever for home users.

The ECS TIGT-I motherboard features fast Ethernet, high definition audio for various internet applications and leverages integrated GMA3150 graphics core supporting DirectX 9 for popular graphics requirements. In addition, the ultra low voltage and Mini-ITX(170x170mm) form factor, make the ECS TIGT-I motherboard become an ideal solution for fan-less systems, small form factor PCs or portable devices.

WD, the world's leader in external storage solutions, and NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions, today announced that the companies have collaborated to promote the new SuperSpeed Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 standard, a next-generation interface to be used in a wide range of electronic devices including PCs, PC peripherals, and digital appliances.

USB 3.0 is capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to 5 gigabits per second (Gbps), which is 10 times faster than the previous high-speed USB 2.0 transfer speeds. With its higher speeds and enhanced power efficiency, external hard disk drives are the first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 devices to appear on the market.

Intel Corporation announced new Intel Atom processors today that feature integrated graphics built directly into the CPU, enabling improved performance and smaller, more energy-efficient designs in a new generation of netbooks and Atom-based entry level desktop PCs. Major OEMs have committed to having systems on the new Intel Atom processors and a new companion chipset available within the next few weeks.

The newest Intel Atom platform for netbooks consists of a new Intel Atom processor, the N450, and a new low-power Intel NM10 Express Chipset. For entry level desktop PCs, it consists of either the Intel Atom processor D410 or the dual core D510, also paired with the Intel NM10 Express Chipset. The Intel Atom processor was designed from the ground up for small devices and low power, and remains Intel's smallest chip, built on the company's 45nm high-k metal gate manufacturing process. The overall package, including chipset, just got smaller due to the increasing integration and 45nm manufacturing, which means smaller, more compact system designs, lower costs for OEMs and improved performance.

ASUS announced that it is ready to support the upcoming 32nm processor based on the LGA1366 socket and the Intel X58 chipset. This next-generation 32nm infrastructure, supporting six multi-cores, will deliver maximum performance to ASUS X58-based motherboards via a comprehensive BIOS upgrade. Chie-Wei Lin, General Manager of ASUS Motherboard Business said, "This new processor architecture accommodates up to six cores and significantly improves CPU performance. By enabling the architecture in our award-winning X58-based motherboards, we can deliver one of the fastest personal computing platforms in history and we are very excited about it."

ASUS' entire range of X58-based motherboards is ready for the new 32nm processor. For maximum CPU performance and advanced graphics processing enabled by the six cores, users simply need to update the BIOS of their existing X58-based motherboards.

A feature of the latest SAPPHIRE HD 5000 series of graphics cards is the new ATI Eyefinity mode, which enables games and other applications to be run on three screens treated as one continuous display area. Now with the SAPPHIRE Eyefinity adapter, standard DVI monitors can be used for all three screens.

In addition to spectacular image clarity, speed and visual effects, the SAPPHIRE HD 5000 series supports the new multi-monitor mode known as ATI Eyefinity. This allows a single GPU to display a choice of images over an array of several monitors. The cards in this series support up to three monitors, with a resolution of up to 7680 x 1600. This opens up exciting possibilities not just for multi-screen gaming, but also for information systems, multimedia systems and promotional displays.

AMD's Catalyst PC Vendor ID List has been updated to reflect their latest product updates, which surprisingly includes "ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5800" models.The models listed are "Broadway XT", "Broadway Pro/LT". While it is certain that Broadway XT will become the Mobility Radeon HD 5870, sources differ whether Broadway Pro/LT will be two distinct products initially: Mobility Radeon HD 5850 and Mobility Radeon HD 5830 or if there will be only a Mobility Radeon HD 5850 product first.

In addition to these confirmed models there are rumors about that describe "Madison" (Mobility HD 5700) and "Park" (Mobility HD 5400). This would give AMD a full mobile DirectX 11 low-power GPU lineup to compete in the mobile market.

Cooler Master is days closer to unveiling the CM 690 II Advanced PC case, which builds on the legacy of its popular predecessor, the CM 690. What surfaced earlier this month as a cosmetic update to the CM 690 has turned out to be an overhaul in real terms, according to a leaked brochure. Noteworthy changes are listed below:

• All-black interiors and rear-panel, rugged-looking gradients to the exteriors
• Motherboard tray with discrete cable-management instead of cable-holding forks, opening behind CPU socket for easy cooler RM access,
• modular 3.5" HDD bays with 2.5" and 1.8" HDD/SSD adapter
• Mounts for two 2-fan radiators on top and bottom
• Utility panel on top has a SATA HDD/SSD dock

According to its very own teaser site, the CM 690 II Advanced is 17 days away at the time of writing this article.

After giving its socket LGA-1156 quad-core processors a flying start, Intel is poised to release not just a couple of more processors in Q1-2010, but as many as 17 new models on January 7 alone, reports suggest. Among these are chips based on the company's new 32 nm manufacturing technology, which gives the manufacturer headroom to up features and performance, while maintaining low thermal and energy footprints.

This is when the company completes its triad of new generation Core family processors, with the Core i3 series of entry-level thru lower-mainstream processors. This triad starts with Core i3 as an entry-point for "smart performance", with Core i5 in the middle delivering "smart performance with Turbo Boost Technology", and Core i7 at the top, delivering "the ultimate in smart performance".

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization and release of the "Blu-ray 3D" specification. The specification, which represents the work of the leading Hollywood studios and consumer electronic and computer manufacturers, will enable the home entertainment industry to bring the 3D experience into consumers' living rooms on Blu-ray Disc, the most capable high definition home entertainment platform.

"Throughout this year, movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for 3D when presented with the option to see a theatrical release in either 3D or 2D," said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee. "We believe this demand for 3D content will carry over into the home now that we have, in Blu-ray Disc, a medium that can deliver a quality Full HD 3D experience to the living room."

The "Blu-ray 3D" specification fully leverages the technical advantages of the Blu-ray Disc format to deliver unmatched picture quality as well as uniformity and compatibility across the full range of Blu-ray 3D products, both hardware and software. Notably, the specification allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye, thereby maintaining the industry leading image quality to which Blu-ray Disc viewers are accustomed. Moreover, the specification is display agnostic, meaning that Blu-ray 3D products will deliver the 3D image to any compatible 3D display, regardless of whether that display uses LCD, Plasma or other technology and regardless of what 3D technology the display uses to deliver the image to the viewer's eyes.

Thermal Solutions specialist GELID Solutions launches their first 120mm LED fan in green or blue light with unique magnet bearing and PWM.

The WING 12 PL features a unique Nanoflux bearing which ensures a friction-free and silent operation. Thanks to the clever design and magnetic bearing the impeller can be detached for easy cleaning. Additionally fan blade winglets were designed to achieve larger airflow and greater static pressure. In comparison to the multi-award winning Wing series the Wing 12 PL contains a premium PWM control so the temperature can be controlled precisely by the BIOS. LED lights in green or blue color were added to the WING 12 PL to give the fan a specific color.

AMD released its latest version of the ATI Catalyst Software Suite to date, Catalyst 9.12 WHQL, which provides drivers and system software for the company's ATI Radeon graphics processors, AMD 7-series chipset IGPs, ATI multimedia products, and the AMD FireStream GPGPU processors. Version 9.12 announced today, comes with expanded GPU support for DirectCompute 10.1 for specific GPUs, includes performance increments, OpenGL 3.2 extension support, along with the usual application-specific fixes.

To begin with, application-specific performance increments include an overall performance improvement as high as 9% on the ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series and ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series, for 3DMark Vantage. GT1 - Jane Nash performance improves as much as 15% and FT4 - GPU Cloth improves up to 15%. Performance improves as much as 6% on single card configurations for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat. The release provides DirectCompute 10.1 support for ATI Radeon HD 4800 and HD 4700 GPUs in both single and multi-GPU configurations. Lastly, this release adds support for certain OpenGL 3.2 extensions for all GPUs from Radeon HD 2000 series and upward (HD 3000, HD 4000, and HD 5000).


DOWNLOAD: ATI Catalyst 9.12 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 32-bit | Windows 7/Vista 64-bit | Windows XP 32-bit | Windows XP 64-bit

For more information, refer to the Release Notes document.

Sharkoon introduces two additional models to the 600-Watt power supply Rush Power SHA-R600M. Due to high customer demand, the "Rush Power" now also supports both 400-Watt and 500-Watt power classes. All three models meet ATX-2.31 specifications and therefore support both Intel and AMD systems. The "Rush Power" network features two separate 12V rails for a reliable and stabile power supply for CPU and disk drives, a 80-plus efficiency, active PFC and a modular cable system for space-saving ventilation and component supplies. A 135mm silent fan is provided for an efficient and silent cooling system.

For hardware installation a 10-pin SATA port, four 4-pin drive connectors and two 6-pin PCIe connectors are all provided. Attached to the power supply are both the 20+4 pin ATX and the 4+4 pin P8 power key cables, Sharkoon also provides a set of modular cables within shipping: For the graphic cards with a 400-Watt SHA-R400M, a 6-pin and 6+2 pin PCIe-cables are available. The two powerful 500 and 600-Watt models are both jointly equipped with four PCIe-connectors, including two with 8-pins for PCIe-2.0 graphic card. The kit also includes cables for connecting up to six SATA drives, five optical drives and a 3.5" drive. A power cable, eight language instructions manual, cable ties, screw set and a practical cable pouch are also included within shipping.

Buffalo introduced its newest NAS server, the TeraStation TS-XEL/R5. This NAS server has four 3.5" drive bays, and comes in capacities of 2 TB, 4 TB, and 6 TB, with pre-installed hard drives. The four installed drives can then be configured in RAID 0, 1, 5 or 10 modes. HDD hot-swapping is also supported, along with support for Apple's Time Machine, Active Directory Services, and storage expansion using two USB 2.0 ports that can connect to additional USB Mass Storage devices. Network connectivity is care of a gigabit Ethernet wired line. The 2TB, 4TB and 6TB TeraStation TS-XEL/R5 NAS servers cost $946, $1,180 and $1,535, respectively. They will be released to the Japanese market later this month.

Elpida Memory, Inc., Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), today announced that it had completed development of a 65nm XS extra-shrink version 1-Gigabit DDR3 SDRAM that is as cost-competitive as 50nm process memory devices.

In response to the slump in the DRAM market that has lasted since 2008, Elpida is taking a two-track R&D approach that focuses on conventional process migration and on layout innovations that reduce the cost of capital investment. Along with migrating to advanced processes such as 50nm and 40nm the company is developing shrunken chip versions through extensive use of existing ArF dry scanner equipment. As a result, a 65nm S shrink version was developed in 2008 and now a 65nm XS extra-shrink version has been completed.

The 65nm XS is a smaller version of the already shrunken 65nm S and delivers 25% more chips per 300mm wafer compared with its predecessor. In addition to its extremely small chip size the XS shortens the manufacturing process and helps to greatly reduce equipment costs through the use of ArF dry scanner equipment. Chips costs are comparable to 50nm process products.

Transcend Information Inc., a worldwide leader in the manufacture of high-performance memory modules, today launched 4GB aXeRam DDR3-2000 memory kits for use with Intel's LGA1156 Core i5 and Core i7 platforms. The XMP-ready DDR3 kits are designed to operate at a blazing-fast clock frequency of 2000 MHz with an exceptionally low voltage of just 1.65V.

Featuring memory bandwidth up to an incredible 32GB/s, Transcend's new aXeRam dual-channel memory kit is rated at 2000MHz with timings of 9-9-9-24, allowing performance enthusiasts and gamers to take their Intel Core i5 platform to the next level of memory overclocking performance. The Core i5, based on Intel's new Nehalem architecture, is the first Intel processor to integrate both a 16-lane PCI Express 2.0 graphics port and a two-channel DDR3 memory controller, enabling all input/output and manageability functions to be handled by the single-chip Intel P55 core-logic.

Transcend Information, Inc., a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to announce the launch of its Ultimate Class 10 SDHC cards. Part of Transcend's "Ultimate" line of powerful high-speed memory cards, the new Class 10 SDHC cards easily outperform current Class 6 cards, with enhanced transfer speeds of 20MB/s and massive storage capacity of up to 16GB.

As high-tech gadgets become increasingly advanced with ever-improving video and audio quality, memory card write speed plays an important role in taking high-megapixel pictures and shooting high-definition videos. Featuring the top-of-the-line Class 10 speed rating introduced by the SD Card Association this year as part of its new SD 3.0 specification, Transcend's new Ultimate series SDHC cards provide blazing fast performance tailored specifically for high-speed consecutive shooting as well as smooth HD video recording.

The EVGA EVBot is a useful tool for tweakers and overclockers to maximize their system and have fun tweaking their EVGA products. With the ability to adjust on the fly voltages, clock frequencies and much more, the EVGA EVBot unleashes the full potential of your select EVGA motherboards or graphics cards! Optimistic Booster allows EVBot to take over and increase CPU frequency for a short amount of time. (ex. up 4MHz ever 4 seconds, down 3MHz every 3 seconds) This allows you to obtain the highest performance possible for a benchmark run. Simple and straight forward to use, and best of all, no drivers needed! Just plug and play.

MSI is designing a high-end graphics card based on the ATI Radeon HD 5870, to be featured in its Lightning series of overclocking-friendly graphics cards. A PCB drawing of the same surfaced recently, revealing a taller than usual PCB, with a high-grade VRM to support high-levels of overclocking, among other noticeable features. The PCB seems to have a 12-phase vGPU and 3-phase vMEM, it is fed by two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors, though it remains to be seen if MSI places two actual 8-pin connectors. Some parts of the PCB make use of high-C surface-mount capacitors. The display connectivity cluster seems to be identical to that of the reference design PCB, with two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. It is likely that MSI uses a high-end cooler for this card, perhaps similar to the Twin Frozr II design. More information will surface during the upcoming CES event.

Following a recent expose of three of Gigabyte's upcoming motherboards based on the Intel H55 Express chipset supporting socket LGA-1156 processors, one of its first models based on the Intel H57 Express chipset surfaced, with the GA-H57M-USB3. This micro-ATX motherboard builds on the slightly expanded feature-set of the H57 PCH, which includes Intel Rapid Storage, Remote PC Assist, and a higher number of USB 2.0 ports and PCI-Express x1 lanes. It uses complete Ultra Durable 3 construction, which includes full solid-state capacitor design, 2 oz copper PCB, low RDS (on) MOSFET, and ferrite-core chokes. The processor is powered by an 8-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel memory.

Expansion slots include PCI-Express 2.0 x16, PCI-E x16 (x4), and two PCI slots. Five out of six SATA 3 Gbps ports from the PCH are assigned as internal ports, while an additional Gigabyte GSATA2 controller provides two SATA 3 Gbps ports and an IDE connector. An additional NEC controller provides two USB 3.0 ports. The rear-panel consists of 8-channel audio with optical SPDIF (supporting Dolby Home Theater), gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports (color-coded blue), four USB 2.0, FireWire, eSATA, keyboard/mouse combo port, and display connectivity which includes DVI, D-Sub, DisplayPort, and HDMI. The GA-H57M-USB3 is another of those boards slated for Q1 2010, when Intel releases new processors with embedded graphics along with the H55/H57 chipsets.

Today, LaCie introduced the most compact 2.5" hard drive on the market - LaCie Rikiki, in metal. Measuring just a mere 110cm3, its sophisticated form factor holds up to 640GB of media that you won't mind storing in a pocket or purse.

Encased in brushed, sturdy aluminum, the LaCie Rikiki, which means "tiny" in French, represents a resilient aesthetic that protects your media from everyday blunders and unwelcome fingerprints. Its lightweight design makes it a perfect companion for keeping your digital world close at hand.

ENERMAX is stepping up to the need of energy and money-saving products with these two desktop PSU series with models in 500, 600, 700 and 800W. PRO87+ is the native cable series, while MODU87+ is modular. Both will complement ENERMAX' running 80+, 82+ & 85+ PSU series and incorporate the latest technologies with a major breakthrough: DHT, Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology, to improving the efficiency all manufacturers concentrated on the DC stage, up to now. But the technology used in the DC stage (during and after conversion of AC to DC) has come to the maximum and achieving 87+ efficiency is the very limit of this approach. To achieving 87+ or even higher efficiency with good performance needs additional innovations on the AC stage. ENERMAX has invented three innovations bundled into the new DHT-topology

The innovations center around the adoption of dynamic frequencies, voltages and conversion instead of traditional static ones. These dynamic optimization designs not only push the efficiency up to shocking 92%, but also improve stability and performance to new heights without sacrificing any safety or regulations. Moreover, the incorporation of a 13.9cm Twister bearing fan with the patented SpeedGuard fan control bring PRO87+ and MODU87+ to unprecedented silence @ 50 degrees C.

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today launched the SPARKLE GeForce GT240 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Cards with 1024MB GDDR5 big capacity and high speed memory, delivering world-class HD graphics performance for mainstream gamers.

Taking the performance increase into account, SPARKLE GeForce GT240 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Cards features 40nm chip process from TSMC, this new process let SPARKLE GeForce GT240 1024MB GDDR5 Graphics Cards to be the first batch graphics cards on market to adopt the NVIDIA new 40nm graphics chip. Thanks to advanced 40nm process, now It features much higher transistor density than before, bringing a greater number of stream processors than its predecessor.

Global leading motherboard and graphics card brand-manufacturer, MSI, today unveils R5770-PMD1G graphics card with over voltage function of GPU after introducing hot selling R5770 series graphics cards. MSI R5770-PMD1G adopts 40nm manufacturing process Radeon HD 5770 GPU, 800 units of stream processors, and high speed GDDR5 1GB memory. Also, it supports DirectX11 and ATI Eyefinity three-screen output technology, so that users can enjoy the latest DX11 games and use multi monitors to enlarge the view in games. MSI R5770-PMD1G is bundled with MSI overclocking utility "Afterburner" which supports over voltage function of GPU and tuning the fan speed based on different temperature triggers, becoming one of the most attractive HD 5770 cards in the market.

Gigabyte is ready with a trio of motherboards based on the value desktop chipset for the LGA-1156 platform, the Intel H55 Express. The three offer essential features of the chipset, including support for Flexible Display Interface, which provides connectivity for Intel processors with embedded graphics controllers. The trio includes two micro-ATX models: GA-H55M-S2H and GA-H55M-UD2H, and the ATX GA-H55-UD3H.

The GA-H55M-S2H is entry-level, 7-phase CPU VRM, two DDR3 DIMM slots wired to it for dual-channel memory, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slot, PCI-Express x16 (electrical x4), and two PCI slots. All six SATA 3 Gbps ports are assigned as internal ports, with the rear-panel consisting of an 8-channel audio cluster with optical SPDIF output, eight USB 2.0 ports, a keyboard/mouse combo PS/2 port, gigabit Ethernet, and display connectivity including DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. Solid-state capacitors are limited to the vital VRM areas, with the rest of the board making use of standard electrolytic capacitors.

Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC), its subsidiary in the Americas, today announced the launch of a 64 gigabyte (GB) embedded NAND flash memory module, the highest capacity yet achieved in the industry. The chip is the flagship device in a line-up of six new embedded NAND flash memory modules that offer full compliance with the latest e-MMC standard, and that are designed for application in a wide range of digital consumer products, including Smartphones, mobile phones, netbooks and digital video cameras. Samples of the 64GB module are available from today, and mass production will start in the first quarter of 2010.

The new 64GB embedded device combines sixteen pieces of 32Gbit (equal to 4GB) NAND chips fabricated with Toshiba's cutting-edge 32nm process technology, and also integrates a dedicated controller. Toshiba is the first company to succeed in combining 16 pieces of 32Gbit NAND chips, and applied advanced chip thinning and layering technologies to realize individual chips that are only 30 micrometers thick. Full compliance with the JEDEC/MMCA Version 4.4(V4.4) standard for embedded MultiMediaCards supports standard interfacing and simplifies embedding in products, reducing development burdens on product manufacturers. Toshiba offers a comprehensive line-up of single-package embedded NAND Flash memories in densities ranging from 2GB to 64GB. All integrate a controller to manage basic control functions for NAND applications, and are compatible with the latest e-MMC standard and its new features, including defining multiple storage areas and enhanced security features.

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced a 24GB Dominator triple-channel DDR3 memory kit designed for high-performance desktop and workstation computing applications.

Corsair's 24GB Dominator DDR3 memory kit has been rigorously tested in high-performance platforms based on the Intel X58 motherboard chipset for Intel Core i7 [Bloomfield] processors. It comprises six 4GB DDR3 DIMMs that operate at a frequency of 1333MHz, at latency timings of 9-9-9-27, with 1.65V VDIMM. The 24GB Dominator memory kit also features Corsair's patented DHX+ heatsink technology for optimal cooling and reliability. The modules, equipped with signature American Racing Blue heatsink fins, are found on select Corsair Dominator DDR3 memory for Intel Core i5 and Core i7 platforms in 8GB and 12GB kits.

Outgrowing the known lineup of 32 nm client processors (under the Core family), Intel's upcoming lineup of processors based on the 32 nm Westmere architecture will comprise of no less than 13 models under the Xeon E5000, L5000, X5000, and W3600 series. Among these, there are six hexa-core Xeon processors, including X5680 (3.33 GHz), X5670 (2.93 GHz), X5660 (2.80 GHz), and X5650 (2.66 GHz). X5680 has a TDP of 130W, with the latter three sub 3 GHz models having TDP as low as 95W. There is an energy-efficient L5640 hexa-core model clocked at 2.26 GHz, with TDP at 60W, and a single-socket W3680, clocked at 3.33 GHz with 130W TDP. All these models have six cores, and 12 MB of L3 cache.

Next up, are Intel's first 32 nm quad-core processors: Xeon X5677 (3.46 GHz, 130W), X5647 (3.06 GHz, 95W), E5640 (2.66 GHz, 80W), X5630 (2.53 GHz, 80W), X5620 (2.40 GHz, 80W), and energy efficient L5630 (2.13 GHz, 40W), and L5609 (1.86 GHz, 40W). Except L5609, all these quad-core chips have HyperThreading Technology and Turbo Boost available. The L2 cache amounts for each of these chips is unknown as of now, but should be up to 8 MB, or as low as 4 MB for some models. Most of these chips are slated for release on March 16, 2010.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the latest VIA EPIA-M800 Mini-ITX and VIA EPIA-N800 Nano-ITX boards. Featuring the 64-bit, high-performance VIA Nano processor, these new embedded boards bring advanced digital multimedia performance to the next wave of embedded devices on forthcoming Windows 7-based technologies.

Devices based on the VIA EPIA-M800 and VIA EPIA-N800 leverage the performance enhancements of the VIA Nano processor, offering an improved user experience with advanced human to machine interaction and a visually stunning multimedia experience through the latest HD codecs and media streaming technologies. Specific applications include the latest media-centric designs in digital signage and advanced information, ticket and kiosk machines.

A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., the worldwide leader in DRAM modules and Flash application products, today announced a collaboration with SandForce Inc. on A-DATA's solid state drives (SSDs). As its major partner, A-DATA will work closely together with SandForce on a broad-scale basis in developing enterprise storage solutions for high-end workstations/servers in light of the emerging cloud computing technology in the near future. A-DATA has also planned to include the next-generation SandForce-based SSDs in its product lineup.

"Combining high-performance SSD Processors from SandForce with A-DATA's experienced design team and complete manufacturing base is expected to create synergy to further propel the SSD performance to the ultimate," said Gibson Chen, Vice President of A-DATA Technology. "From enterprise solutions designed for high-end workstations to mainstream solutions for general personal computing, A-DATA strives to optimize each aspect and detail to bring out an outstanding performance."

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of world class NAS servers today announced an impressive update to the NAS management software that powers its business-class Intel-based Turbo NAS servers. The NAS management software version 3.2, embedded as firmware, provides a segment-leading iSCSI target solution supporting SPC-3 persistent reservation, MPIO and MC/S allowing forward-thinking SMB and corporate customers the ability to deploy the NAS as a storage server in the virtualized and clustered infrastructure. Additionally, the newly updated management software also steps up its backup capabilities by adding Apple Time Machine support and even redundant backups to Amazon's S3 cloud storage platform.

In addition, for ease of management, IT administrators can also benefit from the DFS support (Share Folder Aggregation), import of user-list, and customizable Daylight Saving Time. Further, the next-generation Internet Protocol, IPv6, has also been incorporated for future networking evolution. QNAP's Web File Manager 2 features an entirely redesigned user interface and functionality for improved file sharing and management. WebDAV is also available for users to collaboratively share, access, and edit files over HTTP and HTTPs.

With the recent spurt of non-reference design Radeon HD 5770 graphics cards, ASUS seems to be ready with its EAH5770 CuCore, where "CuCore" stands for copper (Cu) core, used in the GPU cooler. Speaking of which, the GPU cooler consists of a GPU base which has 5.8 oz (164.5 g) of copper, for better transfer of heat, to the rest of the heatsink which has radially-projecting aluminum fins. The PCB designed by ASUS seems to be slightly longer than the reference AMD PCB, yet it only makes room for one CrossFire connector, meaning its can pair with only one more card of its kind (or up to three more cards with two CrossFire connectors).

The 40 nm Juniper GPU has DirectX 11 compliance, and is powered by 800 stream processors, and connects to 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR5 memory interface. Despite the swanky cooling the card sticks to reference AMD clock speeds of 850/1200 MHz (core/memory), but comes with the ASUS VoltageTweak feature that allows software voltage adjustments. The rear-panel is redesigned too, with one of the slots making for a large vent, with the lower slot holding one each of DVI-D, D-Sub, and HDMI. The ASUS EAH5770 CuCore is expected to be priced under 130 EUR.

NesteQ is ready with a new high-end modular power supply, the E2CS X-Strike. Part of a series, variants include 400W, 500W, 600W, 750W, 850W, and 1000W. These PSUs feature energy efficiency ratings of up to 92%, whihch makes them 80 Plus Gold certified. The +12V circuit features as many as six rails, with a unique Power Monitoring Panel feature that provides diagnostic LED readouts for each +12V rail, and the +5V, and +3.3V circuits. Another unique feature is with its connectors, the Enhanced Easy Connecting System provides modularity to even the cables which connect to the PSU, so only the connectors that are really needed could be put in place. Further, users can chain those cables to make a single, long cable, helping in cable management in certain cases. Output diagram and connectors' list specific to the variant are provided below.

Seagate Technology today announced the Momentus Thin drive, the world's thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height - 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives - the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.

Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the lowest-cost storage for netbooks and thin laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market.

Embodying MSI's first-class R&D and manufacturing technology and the company's commitment to fashionable design, MSI's X-Slim series of ultra-slim notebook PCs represents a further refinement of laptop aesthetics. The new-generation, 13.4-inch diamond-effect X-Slim X350 ultra-slim notebook PC takes the ultra-slim laptop into the luxury goods class!

The X350 features the ultra-slim design and beautiful lines that are the hallmark of the X-Slim series, creating a sense of warmth and a fashionable urban vibe. The X350 weight just 1.5 kg, and is less than one inch thick; this laptop has none of the cold, off-putting bulk of traditional notebook PCs. MSI Notebook Marketing Director Sam Chern notes that the new-generation X350 features MSI's unique, hi-fashion diamond-motif etching treatment, which integrates a lozenge-pattern with diamond carving technology to ensure that each individual lozenges glitters and shines, giving the X-Slim X350 that extra touch of luxury and refinement.

Contrary to older reports, Intel will stick to the Core i7 brand identifier to sell its first consumer (client) six-core processor based on the Nehalem architecture, codenamed "Gulftown". The first offering of these socket LGA-1366 processors, is the Core i7 980X Extreme Edition. Its positioning and pricing shows that Intel will replace its current flagship desktop processor, the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition with it, and at the very same price-point of US $999 (in 1000 unit tray quantities).

A future price list also shows that the Core i7 980X Extreme Edition is slated for March 2010. A month ahead of its launch, Intel will introduce the Core i7 930, which succeeds the Core i7 920 at its price-point of $284. The Gulftown core will be manufactured on Intel's brand new 32 nm HKMG process, it features 6 processing cores with 12 threads (HyperThreading Technology), triple-channel DDR3 memory with its integrated memory controller, 6.4 GT/s QPI link to the Intel X58 Express chipset, 12 MB of L3 cache, compatibility to platforms that support the Core i7 9xx processors, and 130W TDP. The Core i7 980X Extreme Edition comes with a clock speed of 3.33 GHz, The Core i7 930 on the other hand, is a quad-core processor which runs at 2.80 GHz.

NVIDIA's latest DirectX 11 compliant GPU architecture, codenamed "Fermi," is getting its first consumer graphics (desktop) implementation in the form of the GeForce GTX 300 series. The nomenclature turned from being obvious to clear, with a set of company slides being leaked to the media, carrying the GeForce GTX 300 series names for the two products expected to come out first: GeForce GTX 380, and GeForce GTX 360. The three slides in public domain as of now cover three specific game benchmarks, where the two graphics cards are pitted against AMD's Radeon HD 5870 and Radeon HD 5970, being part of the company's internal tests.

Tests include Resident Evil 5 (HQ settings, 1920x1200, 8x AA, DX10), STALKER Clear Sky (Extreme quality, No AA, 1920 x 1200, DX10), and Far Cry 2 (Ultra High Quality, 1920x1200, 8x AA, DX10). Other GPUs include GeForce GTX 295 and GTX 285 for reference, just so you know how NVIDIA is pitting the two against the Radeon HD 5000 GPUs, given that the figures are already out. With all the three tests, GTX 380 emerged on top, with GTX 360 performing close to the HD 5970. A point to note, however, is that the tests were run at 1920 x 1200, and tests have shown that the higher-end HD 5000 series GPUs, particularly the HD 5970, is made for resolutions higher than 1920 x 1200. AA was also disabled in STALKER Clear Sky. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 300 will be out in Q1 2010.

Update (12/15): NVIDIA's Director of Public Relations EMEAI told us that these slides are fake, but also "when it's ready it's going to be awesome".

Here it is - the industry's first motherboard ready for market, based on the AMD 890FX chipset. This socket AM3 motherboard features a platform overhaul with its new chipset, support for USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gbps, and as many as six PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots. The electrical configuration of these slots isn't known as yet, but seeing that there are only two apparent groups of external PCI-Express lane switching, four of these could be electrical x8. The carries the markings of "quad-CrossFireX graphics support", which leads us to believe that at least four out of six of these are wired to the new northbridge.

The CPU is powered by a 5+1 phase VRM, with a large heatsink cooling both the VRM areas and the northbridge.Besides the six PCI-Express x16 slots, there is a lone PCI slot. This is also perhaps the first motherboard with native SATA 6 Gbps support, with as many as six SATA 6 Gbps ports. An additional controller seems to be in place for a couple of extra SATA 3 Gbps ports, and an IDE controller (indicating that the chipset has given up native IDE support). An additional NEC controller provides two USB 3.0 ports color-coded blue, on the rear panel. Its neighbours include powered eSATA, 8-channel audio with optical and co-axial SPDIF, a number of other USB 2.0 ports, FireWire one Gigabit Ethernet, and Bluetooth. There is no word on the pricing or availability, though hopefully more could be learned about 890FX-based motherboards at the upcoming CES event.

MSI decided to rev up its high-end socket LGA-1156 motherboard lineup with the new P55-GD85. A part of this board's design seems to have been inspired from the ASUS P7P55D Premium, in which a PLX PEX8608 PCI-Express bridge chip has been used over the PCI-Express 1.1 x4 link from the P55 PCH to give out PCI-Express 2.0 x1 connections, which then drive the NEC D720200F1 USB 3.0 and Marvell 88SE9123 SATA 6 Gbps controllers on their optimal interface speeds of PCI-E 2.0 x1.

The CPU is powered by a 10-phase VRM, which is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express x16 (electrical x16/NC or x8/x8 depending on how they're populated), two PCI, and two PCI-E x1. One of these two is color-coded blue, and could be wired to the PEX8608, occupying its third port. Apart from the six SATA 3 Gbps ports the PCH provides, and the SATA 6 Gbps controller with its two ports, an additional controller provides two more SATA 3 Gbps ports and an IDE connector. Other features are standard issues for an MSI motherboard in this class: notably the OC Genie feature, centralized manual voltage measurement points, and support for both NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFireX.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA VN1000 digital media chipset for next generation desktop and all-in-one PCs, offering a world-class HD multimedia entertainment platform compatible with the advanced desktop features of Microsoft Windows 7.

The VIA VN1000 is the most power efficient DX10.1 digital media chipset available today, making it the perfect solution for next generation small form factor and all-in-one Windows 7 PCs that focus on entertainment, multimedia and touch screen capabilities. The DirectX 10.1 hardware environment provided by the VIA Chrome 520 IGP means Windows 7 users can enjoy a more fluid and visually enhanced desktop experience as well as the latest gaming titles.

Sharkoon SATA QuickPort Pro LAN makes SATA Hard drives, Storage cards und USB devices LAN compatible / HDD Docking station for 2.5" and 3.5" SATA Hard drives / with integrated USB Hub and card reader / PC access through eSATA or USB / MSRP 49.99 euros. Sharkoon is expanding their "SATA QuickPort" hard drive adapter series with a brand new model: the already available QuickPort Pro version, with an integrated USB hub and card reader, now also provides a LAN port so all users within a local network are accessible to the connected media.

The QuickPort series currently includes eight models, each with different features for different requirements. All Sharkoon QuickPorts allow direct and convenient access to SATA hard drives. The compact yet sturdy QuickPort table adapters are equipped with a series of slots for SATA drives in both the 2.5" and 3.5" formats. A clamping mechanism, with suitable space for smaller notebook drives, offer two types of secure grip. The disks are simply plugged into the QuickPort with the computer immediately recognizing the device as an authorized drive. After use, the drive can be easily removed by utilizing the eject button.

MSI has released its newest large-screen model－the X-Slim X600 Pro. Featuring the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the new Windows 7 operating system, and the ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4330 discrete graphics card with 512MB VRAM. The X-Slim X600 Pro perfectly integrates ultra-thin concepts, style, beautiful design and performance!

MSI Notebook Director Sam Chern points out that the X600 Pro follows the X-Slim's outstanding traditions of ultra-thin form, beautiful design lines, and power-saving performance by not only using the newest dual core processor and Windows 7, but also integrating fashion and practical design elements. Special application of MSI's exclusive Chiclet keyboard and an inlaid silver frame amplify the outstanding hardware performance and overall feeling of quality, providing consumers with the most flawless mobile computing experience available.

KINGMAX, a leading memory product manufacturer, presents "The return of the king" - 2010 Golden Tiger Edition USB flash drive. After the success of "X'mas 2008", "Chinese OX year", "DIWALI India" and "Seasonal edition", KINGMAX continues to transform their most popular products with exquisite design of golden tiger image to express the greeting to customers a warmest wish for the coming year of 2010 as tiger represents the symbol of brave and majestic as well as the meaning of good luck in most far eastern cultures. To response to the theme of "The return of the king", it also declares the ambition of KINGMAX to keep active innovation in the memory industry.

There are two types of Golden Tiger USB flash drives for consumers' choice, which are "Junior Tiger" edition and "King Tiger Edition. Junior Tiger edition comes from KINGMAX's most popular product - Super Stick mini USB flash drive. By utilizing the exclusive patented packaging technology, they are not only compact and small, but also waterproof, dustproof, pressure-resistant, and high/low-temperature resistant and come with the capacity of 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. King Tiger edition has White and Black choices and the design is simple and trendy. The highest capacity is up to 32GB. Wherever you go, you may safely store your digital documents, pictures, music and video files around.

Noctua today officially introduced its new NH-C12P SE14 premium cooler. Building on the proven basis of the successful NH-C12P, the NH-C12P SE14 now comes with Noctua's new, already award winning NF-P14 140mm fan for further improved quiet cooling performance and adds support for LGA1156 as well as LGA1366 via the latest SecuFirm2 multi-socket mounting system.

"Ever since its introduction last year, our NH-C12P has been a very popular choice among customers who seek excellent cooling performance close to our signature NH-U12P series at much lower height", says Mag. Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO. "More than 100 awards and recommendations from the international press are a testimony to the NH-C12P's broad appeal, so we've decided to issue a special edition that adds compatibility with the latest Intel sockets and further improves the coolers renowned cooling efficiency by using our new NF-P14 fan."

Scythe is announcing today the second High-End VGA Cooler by the name "Setsugen" (English: Snow field). Setsugen VGA Cooler is equipped with a genuine Slip Stream 120 mm Slim fan which comes with a fan controller that can be mounted in a free PCI Slot. Fan speed can be individually adjusted between 800 (± 30%) to 2,000 rpm (± 10%) which creates an airflow of 19.40 to 45,47 CFM respectively 32 to 76 m³/h. This allows the custom adjustment airflow and noise level (19.53 - 33.67 dBA) according to everyone's requirements and system specific ambient.

In order to use the full potential of the supplied fan, the M.A.P.S. (Multiple Airflow Pass-Through Structure) fin structure from the famous Mugen 2 CPU Cooler has been adopted. Thereby, Setsugen VGA Cooler is divided into 4 fin blocks whereas each of them is connected to a 6 mm thickness copper heatpipe. To further simplify the mounting process, new mechanism has been invented. Depending on VGA card, four screws need to be shifted to the proper mounting hole locations, and then secure by using the supplied backplate and thumb screws. Setsugen VGA Cooler is compatible to various VGA cards such as ATI Radeon HD 4850, HD 4870, HD 4890, HD 5850 and HD 5870 as well as NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280 and GTX 285. (Complete compatibility list can be found under the Specifications.) Various of aluminum hetasinks in different size and shape are supplied along with thermal compound to allow the best possible compatibility and cooling for your VGA Card.

Google's slim and swift web-browser Chrome has been ported to Linux and Mac, at last, and a public beta release has been published. The beta version continues to use the version scheme of the latest developer channel release for Windows, with version 4.0.249.30 being the latest. It supports nearly all features of the Windows version, including sandboxed multi-process rendering for multiple browser tabs, among other features. Sadly, the team isn't ready with browser plugin support, with the Linux version not being able to use the Netscape compatible browswer plugins such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader, Java, and others which other browsers such as Firefox and Opera are able to use. To download Google Chrome beta for Linux, visit this page. For Google Chrome beta for Mac, visit this page.

EVGA expanded its lineup of socket LGA1156 motherboards, this time with the entry-level EVGA P55V. This micro-ATX motherboard provides the bare essentials for the platform, but surprisingly doesn't leave out PCI-Express external switching that provides two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots at dual x8 bandwidth, and with it, SLI support. The already lean PCB has a 4-phase (2+2) CPU VRM, with four DDR3 DIMM slots next to it. Expansion slots include two PCI-E x16 (x16, NC, or x8, x8 depending on how they're populated), and two PCI-E x1. One out of the six SATA 3 Gbps ports from the P55 PCH is assigned as an eSATA port, it neighbours the 8-channel audio connector cluster, four USB 2.0 ports, and an RJ-45 for the gigabit Ethernet. It is priced at US $120.

A-DATA Technology Co., Ltd., the worldwide leading manufacturer in high-performance DRAM modules and flash application products, today announced that it has commenced volume shipments of its XPG SX95 and S592 2.5" SATA II SSD, preconfigured with latest firmware for optimize with Windows 7 TRIM. Moreover, the latest firmware updates are also available for free download for current XPG SX95 and S592 2.5" SATA II SSD users. The XPG SX95 and S592 SATA II 2.5" SSD features new architecture and controller design, with onboard DRAM cache buffer to perform killer speed and stability for notebooks and desktops.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, introduced an upgraded addition into the HD5700 series: the PCS+ HD5770. Part of the award-winning PCS series, the PCS+ HD5770 features outstanding factory overclocked ability with core and memory clocks at 875 MHz and 1225MHz respectively and GDDR5 onboard memory. Memory data transmission rates are enhanced up to 4.9Gbps, easily boosting gaming performance.

The PCS+ HD5770 also features an ultra quite 92mm cooling fan which is made of a low-noise impeller, easily dissipating heat from the copper base that fully covers the GPU at lower fan speed and efficiently cools down the temperature up to 10°C compared to that of reference board design. This allows more headroom for overclocking giving gamers maximum performance of their rig.

Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and innovative USB drives, today released a new model of their popular, ultra-tiny 16GB Wink USB drive in Pink. Waterproof Pink Wink Drive Measures only 1.2 inches Long and Weighs Less Than 1/20 Oz.

The incredibly small Pink Wink drive is available today in 16GB capacity, and will be available in smaller capacities later this month. The drive, model number MC16G-PINKWINK, is listed on now Amazon for about $39. According to Jerry Thomson, vice president of sales at Active Media Products, "the Wink drive has been enormously popular, but the number one request from customers is for a warmer color. In response to customer requests we're happy to launch the Pink Wink, which should arrive in time for the holidays for customers who order now."

Scythe announces the long awaited Rev. B of Mugen 2 CPU Cooler. New version (Model No. SCMG-2100) comes with improved mounting clips allowing easier and faster mounting as well as offering the compatibility to the newest socket LGA 1156. Mugen 2 Rev. B is furthermore compatible to common Intel sockets such as LGA 775, LGA 1366 as well as AMD sockets 754, 939, AM2(+) and AM3.

Features such as the PWM controlled Slip Stream PWM 120 mm fan, Multi Fan Mount Structure and Multiple Airflow Pass-Through Structure remain with the Rev. B, making it one of the most demanded CPU Cooler in the market. Undergoing some improvements, new Flip Mount Super Back-Plate allows the secure mounting of Mugen 2 Rev. B on all supported sockets. With the MSRP of 35,90 EUR (excl. VAT) or US$ 49.80 (excl. TAX), new Rev. B (SCMG-2100) is now available in the market.

Pioneer today announced the DVR-S17J series of new internal DVD Writer drives that bring some of the latest technologies to the DVD. The three models differ only in the bezel colors - black for DVR-S17J-BK, silver for DVR-S17J-SV, and white for DVR-S17J-W, respectively. The drive has better writing precision thanks to its Focus and Tracking Servos improvements, and a new actuator. The drive also features PureRead and PowerRead technologies, in addition to Yamaha's LabelFlash technology. It uses the SATA interface. Writing speeds include DVD-R for General Version 2.0/4x, 6x, 8x, 12x and 16 x -speed for DVD-R Revision 1.0/ 2.0/ 3.0/ 5.0/ 6.0(for video and Data) respectively; Dual Layer DVD-R; DVD-RW Version 1.1/ 2x-speed DVD-RW Version 1.0; DVD-RW Version 1.2/ 2x-,4x-and 6x-speed for DVD-RW Revision 1.0/ 2.0/ 3.0 (for Video and Data) respectively; DVD-RAM 2.0,2.1 & 2.2; DVD+R Version 1.2; DVD+R Double Layer Version 1.0; DVD+RW Version 1.2. They will be available later this month.

LG Display Co., Ltd., a leading innovator of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology, announced the world's first commercial launch of 3D LCD panel boasting full HD resolution. The new product is a 23-inch 3D monitor LCD panel for use with shutter glasses that delivers full HD resolution. It offers picture quality that is almost twice as crisp as HD 3D displays currently available in the market.

The panel adopts the company's proprietary technologies such as "high performance 3D exclusive controller" capable of processing more than twice as much image data as other HD 3D LCDs and "copper bus line" to improve on the resolution and picture quality. In addition, the panel is able to reproduce both 2D and 3D images, meaning that users can switch back and forth from 2D and 3D modes.

Prolimatech, of the Megahalems CPU cooler fame, is ready with its first high-performance VGA air-cooler, the Prolimatech MK-13. The cooler boasts of a special OmniMount Retention system, that makes it compatible with all modern single-GPU graphics cards, including those from ATI Radeon HD 5000 series, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 series. Other series include GeForce 6 series ~ 9 series and GTS/GT/G 200, and Radeon X1000 series upward. This mechanism, the company claims, provides future-proofing.

The cooler consists of a nickel-plated copper GPU contact block from which six nickel-plated copper heatpipes arise, conveying heat to a densely-packet aluminum fin array. This array is designed such that it can hold four 120 mm fans despite there being low clearance between it and the card's PCB (enough room for memory and VRM heatsinks). Two of these fans attach along top of the array, with two on the sides (bridging two neighbouring VGA cards installed with the same cooler). The main heatsink measures 205 x 99.87 x 43.5 mm, weighing 555 g. The kit includes three different kinds of heatsinks for other components of the card, the necessary fittings, and a syringe of Prolimatech thermal compound. It is priced at 49.9 EUR.More pictures after the page-break.

Riding on the success of its 8X slim portable CD/DVD writer, Transcend Information, Ins. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced a black version to join the current white edition. With a brand new gloss black casing, compact dimension and versatile functions, the CD/DVD writer is perfect for thin-and-light laptops-or even netbooks-for diverse entertainment and enhanced productivity.

As notebook computers become increasingly smaller and lighter, built-in CD or DVD drives and writers are often not included. Transcend's 8X slim portable CD/DVD writer was created specifically for use with compact notebooks, and features an ultra-thin and sleek design, making it stylish, compact and easy to carry around. No external power adapter is needed, as the CD/DVD writer is entirely USB powered, drawing its electric power directly from the computer's USB ports. Whether relaxing at home or traveling abroad, notebook users now have the freedom to enjoy DVD movies, install essential software or create data backup discs anytime, anywhere.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, is proud to introduce the JetFlash 600, the newest member of its highly acclaimed USB flash drive family. The JetFlash 600 combines a lightweight, streamlined design and ample storage capacity, and features high-speed dual-channel technology for faster storing, transferring, and sharing of multimedia files.

Thanks to its use of advanced dual-channel technology, the JetFlash 600 transfers data in the fast lane, featuring an ultra fast 200x read speeds of up to 32MB/sec and write speeds of up to 18 MB/sec. With true plug-and-play functionality, the JetFlash 600 can be quickly recognized and accessed by simply plugging it into the USB port of any computer. The drive's USB interface requires no other external power source or driver. Just plug it in and it is ready to use!

Sapphire expanded its Radeon HD 5700 series with the Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X. This release comes around a month after the HD 5750 Vapor-X, and resembles it in having the same GPU cooler: a GPU contact block with a Vapor chamber acts as a large heatpipe, uniformly conveying heat to the heatsink above it, which is cooled by a fan. Unlike the HD 5750 Vapor-X which comes with a blue reference PCB, this one retains the black reference one, with the cooler being the only noticeable change.

The Radeon HD 5770 is based on the 40 nm Juniper GPU. It is DirectX 11 compliant, and has 800 stream processors, along with 1 GB of memory installed across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface. It also supports the ATI Eyefinity technology that allows users to scale a display head across three physical displays. Connectivity includes two DVI-D, and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort. Sapphire also gave it a modest factory overclock, with the core running at 860 MHz (vs 850 MHz reference), while the memory stays at 1200 MHz (4.8 GHz effective). It is priced around 145 EUR.

Intel's ambitious attempts at building a discrete GPU have been shelved, as reports emerge of the company canceling the silicon's first implementation as a GPU, but rather as a "software development platform for internal and external use." In a statement issued to Internetnews.com, Intel spokesperson Nick Knupffer explained the company's current position of Larrabee, saying that development of Larrabee's silicon (the chip) and software were behind schedules. "Larrabee silicon and software development are behind where we hoped to be at this point in the project," he said. "As a result, our first Larrabee product will not be launched as a stand-alone, discrete graphics product, rather it will be used as a software development platform for internal and external use."

Larrabee as a discrete GPU made a lot of news in its short public-life, it was given much credibility as it was coming from Intel, an IT industry heavyweight. Earlier this year, Intel demonstrated a Larrabee-based product (including actual product design of the "Larrabee card"), at last month's SC'09 show. The company seemed to have avoided calling it a discrete GPU, instead a "computational co-processor for the Intel Xeon and Core families." It was reasonable in calling it that, since by design, Larrabee is a many-core processor which uses 32 IA cores interconnected by caches. At SC'09, Intel demonstrated its computational power which peaked at over 1 TFLOP, but not before overclocking it.

Cooler Master is giving one of its best-selling PC cases, the CM 690 a facelift with the CM 690 II Advanced. The new model builds on the CM 690's design and stying, including the perforated metal front bezel with chrome lines. There are a few more gradients here and there to add to its rugged look. It seems to have slate/black colored rear panel, including interiors of the same color (from the looks of it). There is room for several 80/90/120/140 fans as usual. Cooler Master will detail this case further during its unveiling at the upcoming CES event. It also has a teaser site, though for now it doesn't show much more than a countdown.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual display products, today expanded its growing line of green product offerings with two new Energy Star 5.0 compliant monitors - the VX1932wm-LED and VA705b - to enhance its range of eco-friendly solutions for businesses and consumers.

"We take the environment seriously and make great efforts to develop products that offer the latest in high-quality display technology and efficiency," said Jeff Volpe, vice president and general manager of ViewSonic Americas. "We are proud to announce that our new VX1932wm-LED and VA705b LCD monitors meet the stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements, helping to save our customers money on both monthly electricity bills and on product replacement costs."

Adding to the expansive list of non-reference design Radeon HD 5750, is Club3D with its new silent HD 5750 model. The new accelerator carries a red PCB which seems to resemble the reference PCB, but for the color. The GPU is cooled by a large silent heatsink which consists of a GPU block from which four copper heatpipes arise, conveying heat to an aluminum fin array. The memory seems to be cooled by heatsinks, too. It retains the rear panel of the reference design, with two DVI-D and one each of HDMI and DisplayPort.

The rest of its specs are identical to others in its league: DirectX 11 support, 720 stream processors, 1 GB of memory across a 128-bit GDDR5 interface, ATI CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, it asks 140€ for staying quiet.

Closely following up the launch of its SpitFire VGA Cooler, air-cooling specialist Thermalright introduced the VRM-R4 and VRM-R3 graphics card VRM heatsinks designed for AMD Radeon HD 5800 series graphics cards. In many ways, these two heatsinks resemble the VRM-R1 and VRM-R2, which the company introduced back in July, for the Radeon HD 4800 series accelerators.

The new VRM-R3 and VRM-R4 measure 122 x 85 x 99 mm and 133 x 53 x 127 mm (LxWxH), respectively, and consist of baseplates that double up as small heatsinks, from which, two 6 mm heatpipes convey heat to an aluminum fin array big enough to mount 80 mm fans. For the VRM-R3, this fin array propagates perpendicular to the plane of the motherboard, while for the VRM-R4, is goes along the plane. Like their predecessors, the two should be compatible with popular Thermalright GPU coolers such as HR-03 Rev.A, HR-03 GT, HR-03 GT V2, T-Rad2, and T-Rad2 GTX. Pricing isn't known as yet.

Heatsinks specialist Thermalright released to the market its Spitfire VGA heatsink. This 147 (L) x 123 (W) x 154 (H) mm, 550 g heatsink comes with a unique angled design. A GPU contact base made of nickel-plated copper forms the starting point for six sintered nickel-plated heat-pipes, which then propagate perpendicular to the plane of the video-card, typically passing over other expansion cards in the system. The heatsink can then provide silent passive cooling, or active cooling, by latching on 140 mm or 120 mm fans (fans not included in the package, fan-clips are).

The package includes three types of heatsinks for the memory chips and VRM, all necessary retention mechanisms, including thumb-screws for tool-free installation. A syringe of the Chill Factor TIM is also included. The cooler is compatible with most modern GPUs, including GeForce 7, 8 (excluding G80-based ones), 9 series (single GPU), Radeon HD 3800 series, HD 4800 series, and HD 5800 series. There is no support for GT200-based GeForce GTX 200 series. Pricing and availability are yet to be known.

Thermaltake, leading power supplies, cases and cooling solutions brand, today announced their new version of TR2 RX Series ultra-low noise power supplies. As leading brand in the industry, Thermaltake is constantly updating their product lines to include the latest technology in addition to most up-to-date industrial specifications. The new TR2 RX 450W / 550W Series of power supplies has incorporated an ultra-silent 140mm fan to remove thermal build-up within the enclosure more efficiently and silently.

To support all of today's PC requirements, the TR2 RX 450W / 550W series comply with the latest ATX 12V V2.3 Standard for utmost reliability and compatibility supporting state-of-the-art technologies. Energy efficiency is improved by double forward switching circuit and power current load on the AC delivery systems is reduced through the implementation of Active PFC. The TR2 RX Series power supply comes standard with one PCI-E 6 pin and one PCI-E 6+2-pin as well as one EPS/ATX 12V 4+4pin connector to power the latest NVIDIA / AMD graphics cards and Intel / AMD processors and a maximum of 6 SATA connectors for optical drives/hard drives. With Over Current, Over Voltage, Over Power and Short-Circuit protection the TR2 RX series offers industry grade protection.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, introduced the Go! Green series of products earlier this year. Now, PowerColor has taken the series to a new level by adding the HD5750 to its lineup.

Being green is as much a corporate responsibility as much as it is up to individuals. That's why PowerColor developed a series of products that consume less power-thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, while providing the gaming performance gamers have come to expect from PowerColor video cards.

Rambus Inc., one of the world's premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announced that Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. will offer a 1 Gigabit XDR DRAM memory device. XDR DRAM is a key component of Rambus' award-winning XDR memory architecture. Samsung's 1Gb XDR DRAM device will broaden the availability of XDR technology for gaming, computing and consumer electronics applications.

"Samsung's market leadership means system manufacturers can be assured of a reliable supply of our XDR DRAM," said Sharon Holt, senior vice president of Licensing and Marketing at Rambus. "With XDR memory's world-leading bandwidth performance, designers can meet their system requirements with fewer devices and greater power efficiency."

I-O Data unveiled its new ultra-slim external Blu-ray disc writer, the I-O Data BRP-US6. Enclosed in its compact casing is a notebook (slim) form-factor drive. The unit measures 137(W) × 154(D) × 20(H) mm, weighing 330g. With its 20 mm thickness, its makers claim it's just about as thick as a Blu-ray movie jewel-case. It connects to a PC using a USB 2.0 interface. Disc burning speeds include 6x for single-layer BD-R, 4x for double-layer BD-R, 2x for single and double layer BD-RE, 8x for single-layer DVD+R/-R and DVD+RW, 4x for double-layer DVD+R/-R, 6x DVD-RW, and 5x for DVD-RAM. It is priced at ¥29,600 (US $336) in Japan.

Spire Corp. today officially launched its new TherMax Eclipse towering CPU Cooler. Following up to the success of the original TherMax we're proudly intruducing the TherMax Eclipse. Powered by Innovation and with awesome looks this CPU Cooler is one supreme performer. The TherMax Eclipse is ready to best cool the 130W and upcoming extreme hot 130W Micro-processors.

Universally compatible with the Intel 1156/1366/775 platforms in combination with the AMD AM3/AM2/940/939 platforms giving professionals and gamers a huge scope to utilize this impressive diablo. Another welcome new feature are the possibility of mounting two fans simultaneously for even better cooling results. Simply installed with the included Anti-vibe rubber fan mount s installation is made easy. This towering cooler is build to deliver the best thermal performance.

Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced the launch of its new Dominator GTX ultra-high performance DDR3 memory modules for Intel and AMD platforms, designed specifically for performance enthusiasts, gamers and extreme overclockers.

Corsair Dominator GTX modules are individually screened and tested on multiple high-performance Intel X58 and P55 chipset platforms to ensure that they operate at the incredible frequency of 2250MHz at low-latency timings of 8-8-8-24 at 1.65V. They are designed specifically for performance enthusiasts and overclockers who want to achieve the highest performance possible and to break benchmark world records.

Researchers from Intel Labs demonstrated an experimental, 48-core Intel processor, or "single-chip cloud computer," that rethinks many of the approaches used in today's designs for laptops, PCs and servers. This futuristic chip boasts about 10 to 20 times the processing engines inside today's most popular Intel Core-branded processors.

The long-term research goal is to add incredible scaling features to future computers that spur entirely new software applications and human-machine interfaces. The company plans to engage industry and academia next year by sharing 100 or more of these experimental chips for hands-on research in developing new software applications and programming models.

While Intel will integrate key features in a new line of Core-branded chips early next year and introduce six- and eight-core processors later in 2010, this prototype contains 48 fully programmable Intel processing cores, the most ever on a single silicon chip. It also includes a high-speed on-chip network for sharing information along with newly invented power management techniques that allow all 48 cores to operate extremely energy efficiently at as little as 25 watts, or at 125 watts when running at maximum performance (about as much as today's Intel processors and just two standard household light bulbs).

Micron Technology, Inc. has raised the performance bar for SSDs. The company today announced its RealSSD C300 SSD, the industry's fastest for notebook and desktop PCs. Micron's new RealSSD C300 drive enables users to enjoy a more powerful and responsive computing experience including faster operating system (OS) boot and hibernate times, and speedier application load, data transfer and file copying.

"The C300 SSD not only delivers on all the inherent advantages of SSDs - improved reliability and lower power use - but also leverages a finely tuned architecture and high-speed ONFI 2.1 NAND to provide a whole new level of performance," said Dean Klein, vice president of memory system development at Micron.

Super Talent, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, proudly released a brand new compact digital storage product line, CFast storage cards. Just like the traditional SD card and its enhanced version, SDHC, the CFast storage card, with SATA interface, has improved, unmatched write/read performance speeds.

Super Talent CFast storage card is an evolution of the traditional CompactFlash card which has been in the industry for over 14 years, satisfying storage needs for mobile digital devices such as PDAs, digital cameras, etc. CFast has a bandwidth of 375MB/s which is four times more than the fastest High Speed 600x (90MB/s) CompactFlash card while still keeping the small original CF mechanical form factor. The new CFast storage card breaks the speed bottleneck between the SSD and the device by using a SATA interface. Super Talent has clocked these CFast cards at up to 200MB/sec read speeds. With Super a Talent CFast storage card installed, there will be no waiting time for the camera to catch up, and it will be much swifter to view pictures on a camera or to copy them to computer.

Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the availability of Crucial 4GB DDR3-1333MHz (PC3-10600) non-ECC UDIMM memory modules, enabling power users to max out their systems with 16GB of RAM. These new modules are compatible with the latest generation of Intel and AMD desktop processors - the Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7 processors, as well as the AMD AM3 processors. This latest high-capacity Crucial DDR3 memory enables high-density memory installations that take advantage of 64-bit operating systems, including Microsoft Windows 7; less robust 32-bit operating systems only recognize a limited amount of installed RAM.

"Computer technology is constantly evolving, so we're committed to developing and offering a wide variety of Crucial memory products for both PC and Mac system users. Our new Crucial 4GB DDR3, high-density modules speak to this commitment; these products enable users to take advantage of newer 64-bit operating systems, as well as the latest generation of Intel and AMD processors," said Jim Jardine, Lexar Media's senior worldwide product manager.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual display products, today announced the commercial availability of its 23" VP2365wb and 26" VP2655wb IPS panel LCD displays. The monitors leverage the power of true IPS panel technology, making them ideal for professional designers, manufacturers, medical applications and movie production.

IPS (In Plane Switching) panels are generally considered the best LCD technology for image quality, color accuracy and viewing angles. ViewSonic designed its professional-grade LCD displays for users who require the highest screen performance, color accuracy, advanced ergonomics and extensive input flexibility.

Verbatim launch the Pocket Drive, a stylish black 250GB portable 1.8" Hard Disk Drive which is small enough to slip easily into a trouser or jacket pocket but, has the storage capacity to empower mobile users to download memory intensive multi-media content whilst on the move. The Pocket Drive will soon be available in retail, priced £99.99(RRP).

The Pocket Drive, despite being about the size of a pack of playing cards, benefits users not only with its storage capabilities but, also offers pre- installed backup and synchronisation software. The Dmailer backup software with data encryption can be used to enable secure backups whilst the Verbatim Sync software allows data between PC and external drive to be synchronised with ease. The Sync software works with all file types and provides synchronisation of mail boxes and web site details, such as browser favourites.

AMD's lower-mainstream DirectX 11 compliant graphics card slated for Q1-2010, the ATI Radeon HD 5670 has been pictured and detailed, sourced from a [H]ardOCP HardForum community member. The HD 5600 series is based on a 40 nm GPU codenamed "Redwood". From the specifications the GPU-Z screenshot shows, it has a 50% downscaled SIMD engine, with 400 stream processors, while it retains the 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, with 16 ROPs. Assuming the clock speeds shown in the screenshot to be the reference speeds, they are 775 MHz for the core, and 1000 MHz for the 1 GB of memory (resulting in 64 GB/s of memory bandwidth).

An engineering-sample of the card has also been pictured, revealing a red-colored PCB breaking away from the black PCB scheme of the rest of the HD 5000 series. The card draws all its power from the PCI-Express slot. The GPU cooler consists of a simple heatsink with radially-projecting metal fins, in which is nested a fan. Output connectivity includes DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub, though the leads behind the D-Sub connector shows that offering a DisplayPort in its place might be possible.

MSI, a leading high-performance mainboard and graphics card producer, today announced preorder details for its latest gaming mainboard, Big Bang-Trinergy. Starting now, those who pre-order Big Bang-Trinergy from participating retailers will get a limited 8-year warranty and exclusive Big Bang messenger bag. In addition, SteelSeries KINZU and QcK+ gaming gears will be offered to those who pre-order, cooperating with the world's famous gaming company, SteelSeries. Gamers will experience the ultimate gaming machine when heading into battle.

"Big Bang is the state-of-the-art gaming series from MSI through long-standing development. We feel more than pleased to partner with such a professional gaming company, SteelSeries to introduce it to gaming community" said Jason Lee, MSI's Mainboard and Graphics Card Marketing Director. "We believe our close collaboration will open the door of delivering high-quality gaming experience to users."

A little over a month after retracting its second faulty firmware for its otherwise breakthrough 34 nm X25-M G2 solid state drives (SSD), Intel released the 2CV102HD firmware update, this one hopefully being free of any critical bugs. The firmware update works for both the X25-M and X18-M SSDs. The firmware adds TRIM capability to the SSDs, which works to minimize data fragmentation at the hardware-level on systems with Windows 7. The 2CV102HD firmware update can be found here.

Harman Kardon's breathtakingly beautiful new GLA-55 high-end speaker system is now available to purchase in the UK. After much hype and expectation, the ice-cool speaker system has finally arrived, just in time to provide the ultimate gift for Christmas.

This eagerly-anticipated two-piece speaker system provides the perfect mix of cutting-edge style and impeccable sonic performance. Whilst boasting striking good looks in the form of a stylised clear glass design, the GLA-55 also packs a high-impact audio punch. Crisp soundscapes are delivered through the system's powerful Atlas woofers and crystal-clear CMMD tweeters. The GLA-55 speaker system combines art and science to deliver the ultimate audio solution for desktop computers, laptops and portable media players.

Vantec Thermal Technologies, a worldwide leader specializing in computer accessories announces four new products utilizing the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface including two hard drive enclosures-one for each form factor, a PCI-Express card and an ExpressCard/34 adapter.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is the next generation bus interface offering transfer speeds of up to 5Gbps (625Mbps) and it is fully backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 and USB 1.1. The new 2.5" and 3.5" enclosures will be based off of Vantec's popular NexStar 3 Hard Drive Enclosures and will be initially available in Onyx Black and boast a mirror finish.

ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi (GF9300-I-E) delivers three SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 0+1 and 5, wake on USB support, greater range of overclocking options and enhancements to the GeForce 9300 graphics processor.

"ZOTAC was the world's first manufacturer to provide users with high-performance mini-ITX platforms with PCI Express 2.0 x16 expansion that made no compromises for performance. Our latest ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi, GF9300-I-E, takes our award winning formula of combining performance with a small form factor and supercharges it to make the world's fastest mini-ITX platform available," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced Mobile-ITX, the latest VIA-developed open form factor specification for the creation of ultra-compact and portable embedded devices. Mobile-ITX defines a uniquely compact 6cm x 6cm computer-on-module specification designed to enable an easier and less resource intensive development cycle for a range of ultra-compact, portable embedded systems.

Vertical market segments including medical, transportation and military embedded markets have evolved to demand greater miniaturization and portability from today's x86 platforms. Mobile-ITX addresses the need for a simple, modular approach to portable IPC design, making it easier than ever to bring to market ultra-compact and lightweight devices that offer comprehensive connectivity options and a rich, flexible feature set.

Team Group will launch at the end of 2009 the brand new X091 USB disk. The disk with super capacity of up to 128GB running at high speed provides businesspersons with more space to store more data and files. In addition to high speed, high capacity, shock absorbency and silence, the X091 has a slide USB connector design for protecting the transfer interface and more convenient use, marking the thoughtful and crafty design of Team Group.

In addition to the excellent functionality, the X091 has an extraordinary appearance design featuring sandblasted treatment on a chessboard-like pattern that marks out the convergence and coolness of the disk, like an extraordinary knight riding across the chessboard. The X091 is offered from 16GB to 128GB for users to choose from to meet their demands for storing music, movies, documents and graphic files. The 4-channel design delivers a reading speed up to 200 times. With a maximum read/write speed of 30-34 MB/sec and 25-31 MB/sec, the X091 is evidently a USB disk integrating cool appearance and stunning functionality.

PhotoFast, known for everything 'flash memory' in the IT world, is ready with an innovative USB stick, only this one is a 4-slot MicroSD and MicroSDHC card reader called the CR-5500. On one of its sides, the four slots tiny slots are located, which allow easy removal of the memory cards. The devices takes data from the four cards and creates a JBOD (just a bunch of disks) volume. Using four of the highest capacity MicroSDHC cards, the drive can provide 64 GB of storage (16 GB from each card). A cap covers the USB 2.0 interface. The entire unit is slightly bigger than the average USB flash stick, though not too big for a device with up to 64 GB of storage. It is priced at US around $64, package does not include memory cards. It is expected to ship in January.

PNY announced today that it is premiering its new NVIDIA Quadro FX 380 LP (Low Profile) by PNY professional graphics solution at the NVIDIA booth (#319) during Autodesk University. PNY will be demonstrating the NVIDIA Quadro FX 380 LP powering Seneca Data's Nexlink workstation running Autodesk AutoCAD. Design professionals attending the show will experience how the Quadro FX 380 LP and its optimized performance drivers for AutoCAD can increase their productivity, with up to a 10X acceleration in AutoCAD 2009 versus consumer graphics cards.

"Seneca Data prides itself on delivering the most powerful and cost-effective CAD solutions in the market. With the introduction of the entry-level NVIDIA Quadro FX 380 LP by PNY graphics solution, our Nexlink systems can deliver performance, stability, ISV certification and display quality at an affordable price," said Mike Smith, VP of OEM and Engineering Services, Seneca Data.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, announced today that it commenced the industry's first volume production of 3-bit, multi-level-cell (MLC) NAND flash chips using 30-nanometer (nm)-class process technology at the end of November. The chips will be used in NAND flash modules accompanied by exclusive Samsung 3-bit NAND controllers to initially produce eight gigabyte (GB) micro Secure Digital (microSD) cards.

"Introducing cost-efficient, 30nm-class 3-bit technology widens our NAND memory solution base to make NAND even more enticing for increasingly diverse market applications," said Soo-In Cho, executive vice president and general manager of the Memory Division at Samsung Electronics. "Our 3-bit NAND memory will support the development of more cost-competitive, high-density consumer electronics storage solutions," he added.

PC water-cooling specialist Koolance is ready with its water-block for the ATI Radeon HD 5970 dual-GPU graphics card. The Koolance VID-AR597 water-block provides full-coverage to the obverse side of the PCB, covering all essential components such as the two AMD Cypress GPUs, the ATI/PLX bridge chip, the VRM areas, and some of the memory chips. From the looks of it, users will have to retain the back-plate for cooling memory chips on the reverse side. The block material is nickel-plated copper, the plating minimizes oxidation of the block, some parts of which are constantly in contact with the water/coolant. It is expected to be available in three days from now, priced at US $140.

TechPowerUp released the newest version of GPU-Z, our graphics subsystem information and monitoring utility. Version 0.3.8 brings with it some useful updates that fix several crashes and add useful features to the vast amount of information this tiny utility can display. GPU-Z now displays three GPU load percentages on NVIDIA GPUs: 3D rendering core, memory controller and video acceleration engine. In addition to that we set the foundation to allow multi-language support in GPU-Z in the future. To move forward with this we'd like native speakers to help with support for their language. The whole effort is coordinated in our GPU-Z Translation Forum.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.3.8

A complete list of changes according to the change log is as follows: