Building on its reputation for special editions and silent cooled graphics cards, SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced the ULTIMATE Edition of the SAPPHIRE HD 6670, boasting the full performance and features of the fan cooled models, but with a totally silent heatpipe cooler. Helping to demonstrate its best-in-class performance the HD 6670 ULTIMATE bundle will include an access code for the latest hot driving game, Codemasters Dirt3! The SAPPHIRE HD 6670 ULTIMATE has 480 Stream Processors and sports 1GB of the latest DDR5 memory. With clock speeds of 800MHz core and 1000MHz (4GHz effective) for the memory, it delivers the same performance as fan cooled models, but with a totally silent heatpipe cooler, making it one of the fastest and most capable silent-cooled graphics card available today.

The output configuration on the bracket is Dual-Link DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort and a DVI to VGA adapter is included. The SAPPHIRE HD 6670 ULTIMATE will support three monitors in Eyefinity mode with a suitable DisplayPort monitor or active display adapter. In addition, native CrossFire support allows two or more cards to be used together for additional performance on a suitable CrossFireX compatible mainboard.

Like most others, Gigabyte is ready with some of its first motherboards to launch with AMD's new Fusion Llano A-Series APU platform, based the new FM1 socket and AMD A75 chipset. Gigabyte's top socket FM1 motherboard is called GA-A75-UD4H. It's a return to the company's signature blue Ultra Durable 3 PCB. The FM1 socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x8/x8 when both are populated), supporting AMD CrossFireX and NVIDIA 2-way SLI; three PCI-Express x1, and two PCI.

The A75 single-chip chipset handles all the storage connectivity on this board, with five SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. Display connectivity includes DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. Other connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 ports driven by three controllers, including four ports by header, gigabit Ethernet, 8+2 channel HD audio driven by Realtek ALC889 CODEC, and FireWire. Expect this board to be out in mid-June.

The Japanese manufacturer Scythe Co. Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) officially announces the availability of new low profile Top-Flow CPU Cooler Kozuti. Unlike regular coolers, the fan is positioned below the fins, reducing the total height of the cooler significantly.

The Kozuti CPU Cooler is equipped with a total of three 6mm heat pipes. Applying the newly developed S.F.M.S (Stealth Fan Mounting Structure) the heatpipes are arranged in a low profile oval structure. This enables to provide space for the 80 x 80 x 10mm fanmotor in between the oval structure and below the fins, making it merely 40mm in height. This positions the cooler to be our most compact and slim cooler fit for HTPCs and slim chassis systems. Active cooling is achieved by the 80 x 80 x 10 mm slim fan the speed of 800 rpm (± 30%) - 3.300 rpm (± 10%), generating an air flow of 6.0 CFM ~ 24.82CFM = 10.2 m³ / h ~ 42.2 m³ / h at a noise level of 8.2 ~ 32.5 dBA.

Here are the first figures made public of the market prices of AMD's upcoming two lines of desktop processors. AMD will approach the desktop PC market with two platforms, the A-Series "Llano" accelerated processing units (APUs), and the FX-series "Zambezi" processors (CPUs). APUs are functionally similar to Intel's Sandy Bridge processors, in having processor cores, a graphics processor, memory controller, and PCI-Express switch packed into a single piece of silicon. AMD is apparently relying on its powerful GPU architecture to make Llano a more wholesome product. Zambezi functionally resembles Intel Westmere/Bloomfield, in having a number of processing cores, a high-bandwidth memory controller, and a large cache packed into a single die, making up for a performance part.

By mid-June, AMD will launch the FX-Series with two a 4-core, a 6-core, and two 8-core parts. The series will be led by eight-core AMD FX-8130P priced at US $320, trailed by FX-8130 at US $290. The former probably is a "unlocked" part. Next up is the six-core FX-6110, priced at $240. Lastly there's the quad-core FX-4110, going for $220. You will notice that the price per core isn't as linear as it was in the previous generation.

A picture of ECS' top of the line socket AM3+ motherboard also made it to the web. Called the ECS Black Series A990FXM-A, the board expands a little on the chipset's features. Its component layout is similar to most AM3+ motherboards we've seen, with the AMD 990FX northbridge being located south of the CPU VRM area, sharing heat with it over a common heatsink. The CPU socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3-1866 standard, and DDR3-2133 MHz by overclocking.

Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (x16/NC/x16 or x16/x8/x8), supporting NVIDIA 3-way SLI and AMD CrossFireX. Other expansion slots include two PCI-E x1 and a PCI. Storage connectivity includes six internal SATA 6 Gb/s from the southbridge, and a third-party SATA/IDE controller that gives out an internal IDE connector and two eSATA 3 Gb/s ports. Other connectivity features include 8+2 channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 ports (two by header), and Bluetooth. There are some overclocker-friendly features, such as onboard power/reset, rear-panel CMOS clear, onboard PC speaker, diagnostic LED display, and long 8-pin EPS connector for accessibility. Like most other boards, the ECS A990FXM-A is expected to be out in mid-June.

Over the past few months, HIS 6000 IceQ X Series has granted stunning awards and become one of the Most Wanted graphics cards in the market. So what about its award-winning IceQ Series? Today HIS unveils its long awaited IceQ series - HIS 6970 IceQ Turbo & Standard 2GB GDDR5. Endorsed by the worldwide media, HIS award-winning IceQ technology is ready to take another step forward.

Equipped with Black Hole Impeller and 4 heatpipes, HIS 6970 IceQ Series effectively optimizes cooling performance by dissipating the heat from the core area, thus enabling it for high levels of gaming performance. In addition, it cools down the GPU temperature dramatically compared with the Reference Cooler, allowing you to maximize your over-clocking potential. What's more? The professional fan shroud provides a high efficiency and low noise fan operation.

After displays of socket AM3+ motherboards based on AMD 990FX chipset, by ASUS, and MSI were pictured by various tech sites, it's quite expected of Gigabyte's offering to somehow make it to the web. Gigabyte is going full guns with its top AM3+ motherboard, with the GA-990FXA-UD7. Based on the same Black+Graphite+Gold color scheme as the socket LGA1155 "UD7" models based on Intel P67 and Z68, the GA-990FXA-UD7 comes with zesty dimensions that almost make it an EATX form-factor board, although it's not. The AM3+ socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM that is cooled by a long heatsink that appears to be contiguous with the northbridge heatsink, which in turn shares heat with the southbridge over a heat pipe. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting DDR3 frequencies in excess of 1866 MHz.

Gigabyte utilized each of the seven expansion slots, packing in six PCI-Express 2.0 x16 neatly spaced out to support NVIDIA 4-way SLI and AMD 4-way CrossFireX; two out of six slots two are electrical x4, wired to the southbridge. A legacy PCI slot is thrown in, just in case you hate to throw away that expensive PCI sound card that still sounds great. Storage connectivity includes eight internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports, six from the SB850 southbridge, and two from a third-party controller. There are two eSATA ports, of which one appears to be power-eSATA.

ASRock just couldn't hold its rocks. The third-largest motherboard company released the first picture of its upcoming socket FM1 motherboard that supports AMD's upcoming performance A-series accelerated processing units. The ASRock A75 Extreme6 as it's called, is based on AMD's Hudson-D3 A75 single-chip chipset. With the northbridge component completely relocated to the APU die, what's left of the chipset is a little more than a southbridge. The 905-pin socket is significantly different from the 940-odd pin sockets from AMD in recent times, though its cooler retention brackets haven't essentially changed. So most AM3-supportive coolers should fit on FM1.

The FM1 socket is powered by a 10-phase VRM, it is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots for dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz memory support; and to two of the three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots. The first two PCI-E x16 slots switch to electrical x8 when both are populated. The third slot is electrical x4, and wired to the chipset. Expect a big chop in CPU to discrete GPU latencies. Other slots include one PCI-E x1, and three PCI.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today introduces a passive cooling solution into the HD6800 family: the PowerColor SCS3 HD6850. While running passively, the PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 maintains the high performed specifications with core engine of 775MHz, 1000 MHz memory speed; with up to 1.48 teraFLOPs of computing power, easily accelerates the gaming rig and delivers extreme gaming performance.

The PowerColor SCS3 HD6850 features an effective passive cooling solution; with 62 piece of L shape heat sink which enlarge the heat dissipation surface areas, the excessive heat can easily being dissipated through 5 piece high performance heat pipes; furthermore, it's equipped with cooling plate fully covers memory and PCB, ensures every key components to stay cool in a quite setting.

Earlier referred to as "Big Bang Conqueror", MSI's next top-end AMD platform motherboard has emerged under its final name, 990FXA-GD80. The socket AM3+ motherboard that supports AMD's upcoming FX series processors, is based on the AMD 990FX + SB950 chipset. The CPU is powered by a 10-phase VRM that makes use of tantalum-core capacitors, and SFC chokes (that don't whine), driver-MOSFETs (DrMOS). Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 2.0 x16, supporting NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX; two PCI-E x1, and a PCI.

Storage is mostly care of the southbridge, all its six SATA 6 Gb/s ports are assigned as internal ports; a third-party SATA 3 Gb/s controller handles rear-panel eSATA. There are two USB 3.0 controllers, driving two ports on the rear panel, and two via an angled internal header. Other connectivity includes 8+2 channel HD audio with THX TruStudio Pro support, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire. A number of MSI-exclusives are bundled, including MSI-designed graphical UEFI setup program (click BIOS), and OC Genie II that is overclocking with side-wheels. Expect the MSI 990FXA-GD80 to be out in mid-June, at a US $175~$250 price range.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) introduces the latest AMD based motherboard series - ECS Black Deluxe A75F-A, and ECS mainstream series A75F-M and A75F-M2 motherboards. ECS A75 series motherboards powered by AMD Hudson D3 chipset support the latest AMD A series APU.

As one of the ECS Black Deluxe series, ECS A75F-A has passed 50°C burn test, presenting high quality and unbelievable durability. ECS Black Deluxe A75F-A also equips with complete expansion slots from PCI Express 2nd generation x16, x4 to PCI 1st generation for users to enlarge the power of yours computers with every possibility. To match the amazing graphics power of APU, ECS A75F-A has full video output options: HDMI/DVI/D-Sub with optical audio output for you to enjoy the ultimate entertainment moment.

One of AMD's design goals for its Fusion architecture must have been its application in mobile processors, where AMD isn't the brightest in terms of energy efficiency. The company's fastest product for the notebook platform is based on the Llano silicon, will release in 2011, and is a quad-core APU. Enter the AMD A8-3530MX.

Built on the 32 nm process with FS1 package, the A8-3530MX is an accelerated processing unit (APU), it combines a quad-core processor with a powerful GPU and northbridge component. With a default clock speed of 1.90 GHz and TurboCore speed of 2.60 GHz, the A8-3530MX packs 4 MB of L2 cache, and a dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory controller, that also supports DDR3L-1333 MHz.

The GPU component is the DirectX 11 compliant AMD Radeon HD 6620G, with 400 stream processors, and engine clock speed of 444 MHz. To drive it, the northbridge component is entirely integrated into the APU, which packs a PCI-Express 2.0 hub to support discrete graphics. Despite so much machinery, the top-of-the-line chip maintains a TDP of 45W (common for notebook quad-core chips).

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, introduces the 2nd generation of the Vortex Edition: the PCS+ HD6770 Vortex II Edition. The advanced edition offers not only the flexibility of users to manually adjust the fan and its physical attributes; optimizing the air flow and balancing the ambient temperature; it features perforated fans that increase air flow up to 13%. These features result in cooling the temperature up to 25% when compared to reference designs.

The PCS+ HD6770 Vortex II Edition also features factory overclocking with core and memory clocks at 900 MHz and 1225 MHz respectively. With the cooling ability seen in the Vortex Edition, it allows more headroom for overclocking that maximizes performance releasing more potential for gaming power.

What happens when you pit Intel's "Visually Smart" Sandy Bridge processors against Radeon-enriched AMD Fusion A-Series accelerated processing units? They do terribly at gaming on integrated graphics. Surprise! That is notwithstanding the fact that AMD is pitching its A-Series Fusion APUs to be a lot more than CPUs with embedded GPUs, they're pitched to be processors that make lower-mainstream graphics pointless, and to alter the software ecosystem to be more GPGPU intensive, so applications could benefit from the over 500 GFLOPs of computation power the 400 stream processor DirectX 11 GPU brings to the table.

A leaked presentation slide shows AMD's performance projections for the A-Series GPU, tests included GPU-heavy DirectX 10 titles such as Crysis Warhead and Borderlands; as well as DirectX 11 ready titles such as Dirt 2. AMD's quad-core A8-3850, A8-3650 and A8-3450 were included alongside Intel's dual-core Sandy Bridge Core i3-2100, and quad-core Core i5-2300, Core i5-2500K. The Atom-competitive E350 Zacate dual-core was also in the comparision, perhaps to show that it is nearly as good as Intel's much higher segment Core series processors at graphics.

Internationally renowned mainboard and graphic card manufacturer MSI has officially launched the latest Intel-Z68 platforms for power users with uncompromising demands for both materials and performance. All Inte-Z68 mainboards from MSI are equipped with MSI-exclusive features: OC Genie II technology and Military Class II materials. The OC Genie II delivers a much more powerful OC performance than its previous generation: In simply one second, users can boost up to 145% system performance for 3D games and even up to 457% hard drive performance.

The industry-leading Military Class II electronics components, which meets the United States Department of Defense purchasing requirements to significantly enhance mainboard durability and lifespan, ensure optimal system stability in system OC. Integrating both features, the MSI Z68 mainboards enhance both system performance and system stability to fulfill the uncompromising demands of power users. Furthermore, they redefine the industry standards for high performance and premium quality.

Continuing its legacy of leadership, ASUS offers consumers a range of new motherboards based on the Intel Z68 Express chipset. The ASUS P8Z68 Series and ROG Maximus IV GENE-Z motherboards all have numerous powerful features that fully exploit the performance benefits of Sandy Bridge technology without compromise, packing more features and new innovations onto the Z68 platform while maintaining unmitigated performance and reliability.

ASUS is the only motherboard manufacturer able to integrate diverse new technologies in tandem on its Z68-based motherboards on launch. These include the universal implementation of LucidLogix Virtu switchable graphics to harness the capabilities of Intel Quick Sync Video for faster video transcoding and the extreme performance of the latest NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, along with Intel Smart Response Technology to accelerate hard drive performance and reduce energy consumption.

ASUS announced the launch of the new self-designed HD 6770 DirectCU and HD 6750 Formula graphics cards. Both are equipped with the ASUS-exclusive Super Alloy Power technology that delivers a 15% performance boost along with a lifespan that is 2.5 times longer than conventional graphics cards.

The HD 6770 DirectCU features copper pipes that are in direct contact with the GPU to offer a 20% cooler performance than reference graphics cards, while the HD 6750 Formula's integrated aerodynamic cover and micro surface treatment technology achieves a cooling performance 13% better than references. With this combination of ultimate cooling and durability, the HD 6770 DirectCU and HD 6750 Formula graphics cards allow users to enjoy unprecedented levels of realistic PC gaming and multimedia entertainment.

It's not even 15th of the month, and AMD already released its monthly update of the Catalyst driver suite, which is normally reserved for the last week of the month. Catalyst 11.5 WHQL doesn't come with any performance enhancements as such, but apparently AMD found that a certain feature-enhancement in HydraVision was important enough to warrant a WHQL release. HydraGrid feature found in HydraVision is now aware of custom (user-created) Bezels. There's now also a "Automatic Grid" option that aligns to the user defined Eyefinity display layout.

The rather dull WHQL release is backed by a Hotfix release that comes with a lot more outstanding issues. Catalyst 11.5a Hotfix update includes fixes concerning quality of videos GPU-transcoded from H.264 clips to MPEG2 Blu-ray video, intermittent cursor lag, performance and quality enhancements for the upcoming game Brink, and flickering noted by Radeon HD 6600 series graphics cards with DDR3 memory running in DX9.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.5 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.5a Hotfix Update

With the obvious intention to clear out higher-end Phenom II series processors from the market, and to make room for the new upcoming FX-series "Bulldozer" CPUs, AMD introduced a chain of price-cuts affecting all price-points. This comes after the introduction of the new Phenom II X4 980 BE part, earlier this week. The X4 980 BE pushes down prices of nearly all Phenom II X4 and X2 parts, while pulling down six-core models with it.

The six-core X6 1090T Black Edition with unlocked multiplier is priced on par with it, while the 1075T, 1065T, and 1055T are below it. The Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition continues to be the fastest AMD has to offer, and it's just a little over $200, at $205, making it a heck of a deal against Intel Core i5-2500K. All the prices are tabled below.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated graphics chip shipments and suppliers' market share for Q1'11. We found that shipments during the first quarter of 2011 behaved according to past years with regard to seasonality, and was nominal on a year-to-year comparison for the quarter. The situation changed over the course of the year and Q4'10 did not conform to the normal seasonal cycle, but was down a bit compared to previous years, so the growth in Q1 was a welcomed change. Our forecast for the coming years has been modified since the last report, and is less aggressive on both desktops and notebooks.

FinalWire today released the latest version of AIDA64, the industry's popular system diagnostic tool for IT administrators, engineers, and PC enthusiasts. Version 1.70 of AIDA64 includes mainly updated device support database. To begin with, AIDA64 features the ability to tell LGA1155 motherboards with B3 stepping Cougar Point chipsets from the older stepping; it features preliminary support for AMD's upcoming FX-Series CPUs, and A-Series APUs.

A host of new SATA SSDs are supported, including Intel 320 series, OCZ Vertex 3 series, and Samsung PM810. Support is added for AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6770M and Radeon HD 6790 GPUs. Support is also added for a scores of NVIDIA GeForce 500 series GPUs, including GT 520, GT 520M, GT 550M, GT 555M, GTX 550 Ti, GTX 590.DOWNLOAD: AIDA64 v1.70 EXE Installer, ZIP Portable Package

Here is the first picture of the M5A99X EVO, an upcoming socket AM3+ motherboard by ASUS based on the AMD 990X + SB950 chipset designed AMD's FX-Series "Zambezi" 8-core, 6-core, and 4-core procesors. The AMD 990X is designed for discrete graphics with up to two graphics cards in CrossFireX. It is likely that the final iteration has NVIDIA SLI support out of the box. The AM3+ Black socket is powered by 8-phase Digi+ VRM, cooled by a large heatsink that sits next to the northbridge heatsink. ASUS came up with a new heatsink design theme. While the P8P67 series uses heatsinks with curvy/wavy fins, the M5A series uses sharp edges.

The AMD 990X northbridge gives out 16 PCI-Express 2.1 lanes split between two x16 slots. When both slots are populated, the graphics cards run on x8 bandwidth. The third black x16 slot is wired to the SB950 southbridge, and is likely x4. Other slots include two PCI-Express x1 and a PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the SB950 southbridge that support RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5, 10 modes; a third-party controller drives two additional SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports. We don't know if there's another such controller handling eSATA.

Here are the first performance projections of the AMD FX-series processors. FX-series is the market name of the latest line of 8-core, 6-core, and 4-core processors by AMD, based on its new Bulldozer architecture. The performance projections come from AMD's internal presentations to its industry partners, which was leaked to sections of the media.

In the performance projection, a compound bar graph, an AMD platform comprising of an 8-core FX series processor (unknown model, clock speed) with AMD Radeon HD 6670 discrete graphics, was pitted against its main competitor, Intel Core i7-2600K with its integrated Intel HD graphics. Perhaps AMD is suggesting that FX 8-core model used here along with a HD 6690 graphics card costs the same as a Core i7-2600K.

Apple today updated its signature all-in-one iMac with next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, groundbreaking high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime HD camera. Starting at $1,199, the new iMac is up to 70 percent faster and new graphics deliver up to three times the performance of the previous generation.

"Our customers love the iMac's aluminum enclosure, gorgeous display and all-in-one design," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With next generation quad-core processors, powerful new graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera, we've made the world's best desktop even better."

AMD charted out the launch itinerary of its two upcoming client product lines, the A-Series "Llano" accelerated processing unit (APU), and the FX-Series "Zambezi" processor, in a presentation slide to its launch partners. The series of product launches starts at the upcoming Computex 2011 event, on June 1, where AMD will launch its new 9-series chipset. This could include two branches: first being the 2-chip chipset that drives Zambezi FX-series processors; and a second single-chip chipset for APUs. The action then shifts to E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) a week after Computex. On June 7, AMD will unveil the AM3+ platform, and motherboard vendors across the board are expected to show off their AM3+ motherboards

On 12th June AMD's Llano APU and Sabine platform will be launched for the Asian markets. Around the same time, at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit, AMD will interact with developers to develop software that's tailor made for the Fusion architecture (x86 with increased use of serial computational loads over GPGPU). June 14 2011 is the most important date. Called the AMD 2011 Client Launch Event, this event will be the launchpad for AMD's FX-series processors and A-Series APUs. Sabine platform will launched to the rest of the world's markets.