In a surprising move, AMD pulled the launch date of Radeon HD 7970, a high-performance single-GPU graphics card based on the 28 nm Tahiti silicon, up to December 22, 2011; from its earlier launch date of January 09, 2012. The January date was a lot more than speculation, as older presentation slides from AMD to distributors and retailers talked specifically about it. The move to pull December 22 (next Thursday) spices things up in the run up for CES. First, it gives AIB partners full freedom to show off their custom-design graphics cards at the event, along with full details about GPU specifications and clock speeds.

According to a VR-Zone report, Radeon HD 7970 will launch on December 22, 2011, this will be the day you will be able to read reviews of the card (at least the AMD reference design board), online. It will be a limited launch (read: paper-launch), but one can expect "full" retail availability of the card by January 09. Another interesting bit of information is concerning the Radeon HD 7950. This card will be available in non-reference board designs from day one, it will however launch on January 09.

We got our first glimpse of the next major update of the iconic Cosmos case from Cooler Master, the Cosmos II, in as early as June, as the Computex event was wrapping up. It still had some rough edges, and we were then told that a market launch was expected in the September~October time-frame. That of course, never happened, and the only other time we saw this elusive case was when it was chosen to house the MaximumPC Dream Machine 2011, in July. Alas, even as this year draws to a close, there's no sign of the Cosmos II anywhere. That was, until Cooler Master sent a press and subscriber email last week (dated 10th December), pointing out that the official launch was about 24 days away, or the 3rd of January, 2012. Just in time to hog some CES limelight.

DisplayLink, the leading provider of technology for virtual and USB-connected computing, and I-O DATA DEVICE (www.iodata.com) today announced the availability of the I-O DATA USB-RGB3/D USB 3.0 to DVI display adapter. Incorporating the DisplayLink DL-3100 chip for connectivity and virtual graphics, it is the first USB 3.0 enabled display adapter to ship in Japan.

"And this is as true in Japan as any other technology-embracing market."

Featuring the robust DisplayLink 3.0 video compression and support for resolutions up to 2048 x 1152, including 1080p, even the newest notebooks, netbooks and PCs can enjoy the benefits of multi-screen computing. And with the throughput of SuperSpeed USB 3.0, those monitors will display high-performance, full-screen HD video, 3D games, rich 2D graphics and multi-channel audio.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced its participation in the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 12. CES, produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, is the preeminent showcase for the worldwide consumer electronics industry. JEDEC's partner program, Memory Matters: Memory Solutions for Consumer Products and Mobile Devices, will explore how technological advancements and new standards can enhance device performance, reduce power usage and enable compact form factors.

Ever-increasing expectations for device speed and performance, as well as the trend towards smaller form factors, are driving the need for versatile memory solutions. Speakers from Agilent, CST, Micron and Samsung will highlight leading-edge memory solutions for next-generation mobile applications, a new generation of low-power memories for smartphones and tablets, and much more.

The current display technology standard for most PCs and TVs is LCD nowadays. However, LCD technology has significant and well known drawbacks, such as limited viewing angles, poor colours, motion blur and input lag. These problems cause some people to swear by and hold on to the old and now obsolete CRT monitors, as it had none of these problems (it did however, have lots of others). There are various types of LCD technology in mainstream use today which attempt to address these shortcomings, but none fix them all. For example, TN displays are cheap to buy, relatively fast which reduces motion smear and input lag, but at the expense of viewing angle and colour accuracy, making them suitable for fast gaming and animation. Meanwhile, IPS displays have the opposite characteristics, making them suitable for professional photographic work, where accurate colours and vibrant pictures are essential.

Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, today announced an expanded Series 9 laptop line that is scheduled to arrive on store shelves in time for the back-to-school shopping season. The expanded line of sophisticated, ultra-thin and lightweight models includes five different configurations designed to meet the needs and budgets of a variety of users.

"We've seen a very positive reception to the original Series 9 models introduced at CES earlier this year," said Scott Ledterman, director of mobile PC marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division. "As we look to expand the line for the remainder of the year, we've maintained the premium duralumin design and form factor while offering consumers a wider range of options and powerful performance."

Originally slated for Q4 2011, the launch of Intel's Sandy Bridge-E desktop/workstation platform has been pushed back to Q1 2012, sources told VR-Zone. The high-end platform was expected by industry observers to be a December launch, targeting the shopping season, but it seems like January 2012 is found to be more fitting. Perhaps the International CES, where the latest and greatest from the tech industry is unveiled, serves as the ideal launch-pad for Sandy Bridge-E.

Sandy Bridge-E is an upscale of the architecture that makes up Intel's 2011 Core processor family. Consisting of 4 or 6 cores, Sandy Bridge makes up two distinct product lines for the client desktop market. The chips pack massive quad-channel DDR3 integrated memory controllers and PCI-Express 3.0 hubs that can drive up to four graphics cards. The processor is made of a new 2011-pin LGA package, with the new Intel X79 chipset handling the rest of the platform.

Razer, the world's leading high-end precision gaming brand, is proud to send your Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming experience into hyperspace with the release of a licensed Star Wars: The Old Republic product line, expected to launch in conjunction with the hotly anticipated title. In collaboration with BioWare and LucasArts, this collection of gaming weaponry will equip you to win, whether you're carrying out the work of the Dark Sith lords or righteously defending the people of the Galactic Republic.

"As fans of Star Wars ourselves, we are absolutely thrilled for the chance to create a product line for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The result is a spectacular collection of the highest grade peripherals that is a tribute to the franchise, its fans and gamers alike," said Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff, President, Razer USA. "And whether you're using our revolutionary new keyboard with the world's first LCD touch-panel, or the multi-award winning MMO gaming mouse styled in the Star Wars universe with a twelve-button thumb grid, it goes without saying, we equip gamers to win."

It looks like EVGA isn't waiting for GeForce GTX 590, and is releasing its own dual-GPU graphics card to challenge Radeon HD 6990. Being released about 12 days ahead of GTX 590, EVGA's new GeForce GTX 460 2WIN could be a tad bit late to the market, considering it was first shown to the world back in January, at this year's CES event. The EVGA GTX 460 2WIN is a dual-GPU graphics card that uses two GeForce GTX 460 GPUs with 1 GB of memory each, for an SLI on a stick solution.

The EVGA GTX 460 2WIN (2WIN sounds like "twin"), uses clock speeds of 700 MHz core, and 900 MHz (3600 MHz GDDR5 effective) memory. Each GF104 chip has 336 CUDA cores enabled, totaling the CUDA core count to 672. The card is cooled by an in-house cooler by EVGA, it uses a large heatsink that is ventilated by three 80 mm fans. Power is drawn from two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors. Display outputs include three DVI and one mini-HDMI, you can run a 3-display NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround setup with just one of these cards, without needing a second one.

Samsung launched its latest 950 series 3D LED monitors in Korea. It was first displayed to the public at this year's CES event, back in January. The series consists of two 27-inch displays, the 27TA950 with its asymmetric stand design, and the 27TA750 with its centrally-located stand. Both monitors feature full-HD resolution, HDTV tuners, 3D display support (refresh rate not known), and use LED for uniform illumination and high dynamic contrast ratio. The panel is backed with a host of features, including Samsung Ultra Clear Panel Technology, Samsung TV Apps and Smart Hub, and USB to share content both ways to/from the TV. In Korea, the 27TA950 is priced at 8.9 Million Won (US $8,000), while the 27TA750 goes for 8.4 Million Won, or $7,500.

Tablet PCs came and went, but "tablets" as a category began with the Apple iPad. Merely weeks after its launch, the rattled PC OEM industry announced plans for their tablets, some being ARM-based and driven by Google's touch-phone optimized Android OS, and some using x86 processors and Windows 7. Unfortunately, Windows 7 based tablets aren't cutting it in the market, and the problem is with the user-interface (UI) itself. While Windows 7 has a touchscreen/pen software framework, its UI is more PC-like. Menu items, buttons with applications, are not very optimized for a comfortable touch-only input device.

Hence, Microsoft seems to be expediting the release of Windows 8 for Tablets, and the software giant plans to do that as early as by CES 2012. Only the tablet version of Windows 8 will be released then, not the PC version.

Westone showed off their new Westone 4 in-ears at CES 2011. The Westone 4s has the exact same exterior dimensions as the Westone 3s but a completely different package inside. The 4-series in-ears uses an all new three way crossover designed by Westone. Like the name suggests the Westone 4s carry four balanced armatures, dual lows, single mid and high drivers. The sound of these new in-ears from Westone is somewhat like that of the Westone 3s but with a slightly more forward midrange and a little more highs as well.

The slight sibilance issue with the Westone 3s plus normal single flange tips seemed to be cured which is great because that really limited your tip selection for the 3s if you wanted optimum sound quality. Due to the tricky listening conditions at CES you will have to wait for our full review for further comments. Westone will begin shipping the Westone 4s shortly and they will come at a hefty price tag of $449.

TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces from CES the availability of the ultra portable 3G Mobile Wireless N Router, model TEW-656BRG, which shares a single Internet connection from a compatible SprintT , AT&TT , VerizonT, or other USB 3G / 3.75 G modem with multiple users.

Following the successful launch of TRENDnet's 3G Wireless N Router, model TEW-655BR3G, in April, 2010, TRENDnet began designing a similar product specifically for on-the-go professionals. The key feature of the TEW-655BR3G, launched in April, is its built in battery that powers the router for up to 2.5 hours under full loading. The newer TEW-656BRG is a lighter and smaller 3G router that can slip into any laptop bag unnoticed. It has no battery, and is powered directly from a laptop's USB ports, eliminating the often frustrating search for an electrical outlet (it also comes with an electrical adapter). The device also features a built in hanging hook, allowing users to neatly hang the TEW-656BRG on the back of a laptop screen while working.

Eurocom, the worlds leading notebook developer is adding AMD's new high performance HD6970M GPUs to their extensive options of high end video cards. With the HD6970M Eurocom is extending their already impressive options of configurability in their line of products. The Radeon HD6970M is AMD's top of the line VGA card of their new 6xxxM series that they will oficially launch at the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada starting on 6th of January 2011. The addition of the AMD 6000M series cards in single and crossfire combined with NVIDIA's GTX 400M series and FX 5000M series cards in single and SLI gives Eurocom customers a complete choice of video processor options to fit any project.

AMD today introduced its next generation mobile graphics technology, the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series, delivering AMD's highest performing notebook graphics for those who want to experience games, entertainment, and productivity on the go. Harnessing AMD's second-generation of Microsoft DirectX 11-capable mobile graphics architecture, the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series provides users with:

• Models offering up to 1.3 teraFLOPS of compute power for an unrivaled gaming experience on up to six displays using AMD Eyefinity technology.
• AMD HD3D technology for the ultimate in stereo 3D entertainment.
• AMD EyeSpeed technology for improved video and application performance.

The pioneer of multivendor/multi-GPU graphic solutions, LucidLogix today announced ground-breaking GPU virtualization software designed for Intel Sandy Bridge platforms. With this technology, next generation PCs will dynamically balance the advanced power-efficient, built-in media features of Sandy Bridge processor graphics with the high-end, DirectX 11 3D performance features of discrete GPUs, while significantly reducing the power drain of traditional entertainment desktops.

Called Virtu, the Lucid GPU virtualization software is able to assign tasks in real time to the best available graphics resource based on power, performance and features considerations, with no need for additional hardware. If high end graphics power is needed for applications like DirectX 11, high-resolution 3D gaming, the system will assign the job to the discrete GPU. If not, the discrete GPU automatically goes into idle mode, while heat drops, fan speed slows down and GPU utilization goes down to zero, resulting in a green, power-efficient, long-lasting system.

MSI jumped on the AMD Fusion "Brazos" bandwagon by showing off its first implementation based on the new platform. The company held a press-meet in Taipei well ahead of CES in hopes of giving its latest creation some exclusive exposure ahead of the mega event. The Wind U270 from MSI, is a 12-inch ultra-portable driven by AMD Fusion "Zacate" E-350 dual-core accelerated processing unit (APU), the x86-64 processor cores are clocked at 1.60 GHz, and feature the latest instruction sets. The APU embeds AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics that's DirectX 11 compliant, featuring UVD 3.0 video acceleration. The third key component is 4 GB of DDR3 memory.

The Wind U270 uses MSI's tried and tested 12-inch Wind chassis with Chiclet keyboard. Other hardware specifications include 320 GB (500 GB optional) hard drive based storage, WiFi b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, display connectivity that includes D-Sub, and HDMI; two USB 3.0 ports, card reader, and VGA webcam. Although battery life isn't mentioned, the notebook features an Eco mode that conserves power.

As reported last month, Gigabyte has been working on a premium motherboard brand targeted at high-end gaming PCs, rivaling the Republic of Gamers (ROG) series from ASUS and Big Bang/XPower from MSI. One of the first products in this lineup is called "G1-Killer", and as it turns out is a socket LGA1366 motherboard based on the Intel X58 chipset. Gigabyte continues to tease us with new "cutout" pictures of the upcoming product. The latest poster shows a portion of the motherboard revealing the heatsink over the southbridge area, which is shaped like a 5.56 magazine, with even a round sticking out. One can also faintly see the six memory slots, four PCI-Express x16 slots, eight SATA ports (probably six 3 Gb/s and two 6 Gb/s). Said to be unveiled at CES 2011, the G1-Killer range is expected to start at US $299.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced that it is moving towards publication of the next-generation flash memory standard, Universal Flash Storage (UFS). Major progress achieved at recent JEDEC committee meetings provides visibility on the anticipated UFS interface, which has been designed to be the most advanced specification for flash memory-based storage in mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers. Developed to help address the ever-increasing demand for improved device performance, UFS has been designed to initially enable data throughput of 300 megabytes per second (MB/s), and support command queuing features to raise the random read/write speeds. The standard will be finalized for public use within the next three months.

An explosion of data-intensive applications for mobile devices is driving the need for versatile storage solutions, and currently available flash storage options might not have the span to match overall system performance planned for future generation platforms. UFS will provide a dramatic change in architecture to increase performance while maintaining the benefits of low power consumption offered by existing solutions such as e•MMC.

Leading professional gamer Fatal1ty has branded all kinds of PC hardware, including peripherals, headsets, sound cards, graphics cards, and even motherboards made by erstwhile Abit. Motherboards with the Fatal1ty branding are making a comeback, this time under the charge of ASUS. It is reported that a new manufacturer is designing some socket LGA1155 motherboards based on the Intel P67 chipset using the Fatal1ty branding. The company will show off its latest motherboards at CES 2011, which will also be the time when Intel unveils its 2011 Core processor family. Socket LGA1155 processors, coupled with Intel P67 platform is the key segment that targets gamers.

UPDATE: The board in question is made by ASRock, it's called Fatal1ty P67. It features a high-end VRM, 3-way NVIDIA SLI/CrossFire capability, a high-grade 16-phase digital CPU VRM, a unique USB port that automatically steps up polling rate of gaming mice, THX audio, four SATA 6 Gb/s, and two USB 3.0 ports. Fatal1ty detailed the board himself, in the TweakTown article linked below.

Having turned its most profitable quarter, Intel is banking on its vast lineup of the 2010 Core processors, which will be updated towards the end of the year. By 2011, Intel will have a new series of second generation Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 processors, based on a brand new architecture, and built for new sockets and chipsets. A roadmap of the same reached sections of the European media, which shows the company to be almost ready with a full-fledged lineup of desktop processors covering most price-points, by 2011.

The new architecture on which these processors are based is referred to by Intel as "Sandy Bridge", key features of which include the inclusion of the new Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), a more advanced instruction set than SSE, to accelerate complex applications. AVX aside, there's Turbo Boost technology 2.0 that comes with even smarter algorithms to automatically manage clock speeds of individual processor cores to maximize performance within the processor's TDP envelope, AES-NI, which is a more manageable hardware data encryption instruction set, and processors with integrated graphics (IGP) controllers will have even faster ones, because Intel will be relocating the IGP and memory controller to the same die as the processor cores, this IGP is referred to as Intel "GT2" graphics.

Many would be familiar with these pictures of a generic graphics card based on NVIDIA's GF100 GPU which was spotted at this year's CES. A company slide sourced by DonanimHaber reveals the final iteration of NVIDIA's reference design GeForce GTX 480 graphics accelerator, and what it looks like from the outside. A set of slightly more recent pictures showed its cooling assembly from inside. The protruding heat pipes intrigued us as they were inconsistent with the cooling assembly on the card NVIDIA showed off at CES, which we then believed to be the top-end GTX 480 part. The company slide confirms what the cooling assembly looks like when it's all put together.

The cooler is highly ventilated, with vents all over the cooler's shroud. There are vents on the top, on the sides, apart from the usual obverse fan air intake. To increase its intake, the PCB is further cut to help draw air from the reverse-side of the PCB. The cooler's four large (we reckon 8 mm thick) heat pipes protrude about a centimeter out of the card's periphery, increasing its height by that much. The cooler itself respects the 2-slot thickness limit which is most conventional. A table in the slide also confirms some details we already know: the card has 1536 MB of GDDR5 memory across a 384-bit wide interface. It has a TDP of under 300W, which a recent report reveals to be a hairbreadth under 300W, at 296W. Power is drawn in from an 8-pin and a 6-pin PCI-E power connector. The card is 10.5 inches long, the same length as its reference-design GeForce GTX 280. The card supports 3-way SLI. It will be unveiled on the 26th of March.

OCZ Technology has been working on a storage solution that takes advantage of the USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface for a while. It's just got a little closer to seeing the light of the day at CeBIT. The OCZ Enyo is a device that's roughly the size of a compact portable HDD that you can carry in your pocket, except that it's a flash-based device, and uses USB 3.0. The Enyo offers data storage in three capacities (variants): 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. It measures 56 x 120 x 10 mm, and relies on the USB 3.0 interface for power and connectivity. Being a flash-based solid state storage device, it is expected to have high transfer speeds, and inherently, the incentive of low access times and higher durability since it lacks moving parts. Back in January, on the occasion of CES, in a preview by LegitReviews, working prototypes the device was found to offer read-write speeds of 188.2 MB/s (read) and 130 MB/s (write). CAD drawings of the Enyo with its logo emerged.

We also got a chance to drop by the Thermaltake suite at CES. They have quite a few new items on display. Let us start with the input devices. The Challenger and Challenger Pro gaming keyboards come with onboard memory, one or two USB 2.0 ports respectively and a small cooling fan, which clips onto the top edge of the part. They will also offer a gaming mouse called "Black" with up to 4,000 DPI in combination with a weight system and a pair of headsets (not pictured).

Zotac is trying out a new nettop design which makes use of discrete NVIDIA GT218 graphics processor with the second generation Atom platform (codenamed Pinetrail). By design, the Intel NM10 chipset which drives the new processor does not give out a PCI-Express x16 link, which leaves a lot to be learned about how Zotac goes about putting its ideas in motion. The company has displayed a non-functional prototype at this year's CES. The discrete graphics will give the nettop sufficient power to display 1080p graphics (which the platform can't, without an external HD video decoder). Zotac may place this as a successor to its MAG series nettops.