Building on the success of its first Mini PC, hailed as the smallest PC in the world, SAPPHIRE Technology - the world leading manufacturer and supplier of PC graphics cards and mainboards has just introduced a new model - the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2. The SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 shares the same slim, stylish outline as the earlier model but delivers slightly higher performance and is now also available with a pre-loaded operating system. At less than half a litre in volume, it is slimmer and smaller than most wireless access points - in fact around the size of a paperback book! Its stylish design and simple pedestal mount make it equally at home next to a TV or business monitor whilst occupying the minimum of desk or shelf space.

ASRock gave its premium LGA1155 motherboard lineup a boost with the new Z68 Fatal1ty. Apart from being a Z68 chipset based motherboard modeled along the lines of its predecessor, the ASRock P67 Fatal1ty, the new motherboard features PCI-Express 3.0 graphics slots, that work on Sandy Bridge and future Ivy Bridge processors. The new third generation PCI-E interconnect can drive 1 GB/s of data per link, per direction. You'll need PCI-E 3.0 compliant add-on cards to make use of that bandwidth, current graphics cards will run at Gen. 2 speeds. One advantage here could be that AMD Radeon HD 5000 and HD 6000 series single-GPU graphics cards will run on Gen 2.1 mode, which has slightly higher bandwidth at its disposal thanks to its lower-overhead data coding scheme.

The ASRock Z68 Fatal1ty is designed for both gamers and overclockers, using high-grade components. The LGA1155 socket is powered by a 18-phase VRM, wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3-2133 MHz (Ivy Bridge IMC's optimal memory speed). Featuring Intel Flexible Display Interface (FDI), the board allows you to use the integrated graphics. With the Lucid Virtu technology, you can switch between the integrated graphics, and discrete graphics cards. Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x8/x8 when both are populated), one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4, wired to Z68 PCH), and two each of PCI-E 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI.

Acer America today debuts the Acer AC700 its first Chromebook in the United States and its first product running Google's Chrome-based operating system. The Acer AC700 ultraportable delivers blazing boot times and instant access to the Internet.

The first in a planned line of products that will utilize Google's Chrome operating system, the Acer AC700 Chromebook is ideal for savvy mobile consumers, educational institutions, and business people that spend most of their time on the Internet for cloud computing such as using web-based email, uploading photos to sites like Flickr and Picasa, and keeping up-to-date on the latest news and events. The new Acer AC700 provides WiFi connectivity, a sleek thin and light form factor, long battery life and excellent HD playback.

Apacer, one of the world's leading brands of memory modules, today announced an expansion of its ARES overclocking memory series with high capacity and clock rate: DDR3-2133 8GB (4GBx2) dual channel memory kit,which is engineered for the latest Intel P67 and Z68 Sandy Bridge platforms. With a combination of high clock rate, huge capacity and low latency of CL9, ARES series is a perfect solution for extreme PC enthusiasts and gamers who want to optimize performance on the new platforms.

The newly-unveiled ARES DDR3-2133 8GB dual channel memory kit provides the highspeed and capacityon the Intel P67 and Z68 Sandy Bridge platforms and is backwards compatible with existing the P55 platform. It runs at CL9-11-9-27 with 1.65 voltage, using advancedprocess 256Mb x 8chips, which are screened and tested withthe advanced test fixture and programs under diversified parameters of voltage and time sequences.

Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced two product line additions to its highly successful Ballistix high-performance memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical and Crucial Ballistix Elite lines. Building on the recent successful launch of the Crucial Ballistix Sport memory, these new product lines create a comprehensive high-performance memory portfolio addressing the needs of a broad range of users across performance memory segments.

Whether casual enthusiast or hardcore gamer, the expanded Ballistix portfolio now provides a distinct choice of performance memory solutions and is available in a variety of speeds and densities, along with differentiated product features. The complete line of Ballistix memory features a new logo treatment and updated heat spreader designs, as well as a full range of products from low latency DDR2-800MHz up to high-speed DDR3-2133MHz. Additionally, 4GB densities will be available in DDR3-1600MHz, -1866MHz, and -2000MHz modules.

EVGA released the first consumer-channel graphics card based on NVIDIA's GeForce GT 545 graphics processor. The GT 545 has been an OEM-only SKU. Based on the 40 nm GF116 silicon, the GT 545 has 144 of the chip's 192 CUDA cores enabled, the same 192-bit wide memory interface, but making use of DDR3 memory instead of GDDR5 on the GeForce GTX 550 Ti. Clock speeds set at 720 MHz core, 1440 MHz CUDA cores, and 900 MHz (1800 MHz effective) memory, churning out memory bandwidth of 43 GB/s. There is 1.5 GB of memory.

EVGA's implementation resembles NVIDIA's reference design. It uses a short full-height PCB, and a single-slot cooler. Display outputs include one each of HDMI 1.4a, D-Sub, and DVI. It can pair with another card of its kind in 2-way NVIDIA SLI. Backed by 10 year warranty (if purchased this month), the EVGA GeForce GT 545 1.5 GB is priced at US $150.

AMD's officially launched the new Llano APU platform for market availability in July worldwide, and BIOSTAR is releasing three mainboards that support this new platform at the same time; the "TA75A+", "TA75M+" and "TA75M". The advantages of the new AMD A75 chipset based motherboard include native support of USB3.0, DX11 graphic core for greater 3D performance, and BIOSTAR exclusive features (BIO-Remote2, Charger Booster, and etc.).

The new AMD A75 chipset series mainboards, "TA75A+", "TA75M+", "TA75M", all using AMD Hudson-D3 A75 single-chip design, "TA75A+" with ATX form factor and the other two are with micro-ATX form factor. With a brand new heat sink design that also gives a better outlook and better thermal efficiency.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its latest line of smartly equipped yet affordable Satellite L700 and Satellite C600 Series laptops. Designed for style, versatility and affordability in mind, these laptops deliver the performance needed for everyday computing with prices starting as low as $379.99 MSRP.

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage and enthusiast computer products, today announces new G2 series, AMD Edition memory kits for the next-generation AMD 9-series platforms. The new Patriot Memory G2 series, AMD Edition memory kits are the perfect match for enthusiasts seeking to extract every ounce of performance available from the AMD 9-series platform.

Available at speeds of 1333 MHz to 1600 MHz, the Patriot Memory G2 series, AMD Edition let users pick the perfect speed for their applications. Low and enhanced latencies are available with the Patriot Memory G2 series, AMD Edition for the perfect balance of ultra-fast system responsiveness and overclocking headroom to maximize overall system performance.

Acer America Corp. announced today that the slim and stylish Acer Revo RL100 media center is now available at leading technology retailers in the United States. A digital hub for a den or living room, it connects to a flat-screen TV and comes with a dual-mode wireless touchpad/keyboard for smooth navigation from the comfort of the couch. There are two models available, including one with Blu-ray.

Outfitted with Acer clear.fi, the Acer RL100 automatically interconnects all Acer home-based and mobile devices, including smartphones, making it easy to consolidate and share HD multimedia throughout the household. This means users can access HD movies and personal content from any Acer device in the house for enjoying on a big screen TV.

Armed with a Radeon HD 6550D graphics core that has 400 stream processors, 8 ROPs, and full DirectX 11 support, AMD A-Series "Llano" accelerated processing unit (APU) was tested to be the fastest integrated graphics solution to date. The tests was run by a forum-member of TweakTown community with early access to engineering samples. On the test-bed was AMD A8-3850 APU, which has four x86-64 cores clocked at 2.90 GHz, and the Radeon HD 6550D IGP with engine clock of 600 MHz. Standard dual-channel DDR3-1333 MHz memory was used, even though the APU supports faster DDR3-1866 MHz. To seat the test bed, Gigabyte A75M-UD2H was used. It's important to note here that the CPU cores were overclocked to 3.773 GHz (145.13 MHz x 26.0), with an insane core voltage of 1.52V.

The setup was put though three generations of 3DMark benchmark, covering DirectX 9.0c, DirectX 10, and DirectX 11 performance. In 3DMark 06, the setup scores 10,492 points. In 3DMark Vantage, it scored P6160 (performance preset, validation). In 3DMark 11, it scored P1591 (performance preset, validation). More details can be read in the screenshots.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it is the first in the industry to start mass producing 32 gigabyte (GB) memory modules, essential for cloud computing and advanced server systems, using 30 nanometer (nm) class* four gigabit (Gb) DDR3 DRAM chips.

"With this module, Samsung has secured the highest level of product and solution competitiveness in the DRAM market for PC, server and mobile applications," said Wanhoon Hong, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "We also plan to ship more energy-efficient 4Gb DDR3 DRAM based on 20nm-class* process technology in the second half of this year, which will significantly expand the rapidly growing market for green IT memory solutions. Moreover, we intend to keep delivering the greenest memory products with optimal performance for customers," he added.

Club 3D B.V. announces the intro-duction of the AMD Radeon HD 6570 video card based on the Turks PRO chipset, AMD' second generation DirectX 11.The Club 3D Radeon HD 6570 1 GB DDR3 video card features now the AMD HD3D technology which allows you to have faster access to multimedia applications and gives you all tools to enhanced productivity. Furthermore you can enjoy the latest 3D Blu-Ray movies with EyeSpeed technology. The new card comes equipped with a nice single slot cooler which makes you enjoy your new video card without compromising on your perfect computing environment.

ASUS displayed its new mini-ITX motherboard for IPC (industrial PC) market, the D27NM10-I IPC. As an IPC-ready board, it is designed for rugged industrial environments that have minimal cooling and require high uptime. The D27NM10-I IPC uses next-generation 32 nm Intel Atom "Cedar View" D2700 dual-core processor clocked at 2.13 GHz, featuring HyperTreading to yield 4 logical CPUs for the OS to deal with. The processor is wired to two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots supporting single-channel DDR3 memory. Intel NM10 is the chipset employed, it's also found on previous-generation Pine Trail platform.

A large heatsink covers both the processor and chipset, there are three 4-pin PWM fan headers on board in case a fan has to be latched on to it. The board draws power from an external DC power source over standard 2-pin DC input connector. It can also be powered by any switching power supply with a 4-pin Molex power connector. Storage connectivity includes two SATA 3 Gb/s ports. The only expansion here is an open-ended PCI-E x1, and a mini-PCI-E. There's plenty of serial connectivity, including two serial DE-9 ports on the read panel, and 3 via headers. Other connectivity includes 2-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, display outputs that include DVI and D-Sub, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board uses UEFI with graphical EZ-Mode setup program.

At this year's Computex event, we were treated to socket LGA2011 motherboards by various motherboard manufacturers, except EVGA. The company makes some of the highest grade enthusiast motherboards in the Intel platform, and so it was missed. It is however, said to be working on a monstrous dual-socket LGA2011 motherboard based on the Intel X79 chipset, that would replace its dual-socket LGA1366 EVGA SR-2.

Just imagine, such a monstrosity would combine two six/eight/twelve-core LGA2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors with eight channels of DDR3 memory, and four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x16) links to drive its graphics cards and connectivity. EVGA said that it will have single-socket LGA2011 motherboards by the time the platform launches, and this dual-LGA2011 about a month later.

During the first day of Computex 2011, three legendary overclockers, Shamino, Fredyama and Young Pro smashed the super Pi 32M record at the G.Skill booth. They achieved incredible Super Pi 32M time of 5min 33.172s with amazing ram speed of DDR3 2340MHz CL6-9-6-25 1T. This is the fastest Super Pi 32M record recorded using the latest Intel LGA 1155 platforms. This amazing score was achieved with top in-line hardware, G.Skill DDR3 2400MHz CL8 4GB (2GBx2) PI memory, ASUS ROG Maximus IV Extreme motherboard and Intel 2600K CPU.

TEAM Group, of the TEAM Xtreem fame, showed us its latest generation of ultra-high end DDR3 memory modules for overclocking. The theme for this year is LV (low-voltage) modules, which can do their rated DRAM speeds at 1.35V voltage. We begin with TEAM Xtreem DDR3-2400 MHz and TEAM Xtreem DDR3-2000 MHz, which come in 2 GB and 4 GB module capacities, and in triple-channel and dual-channel kits. These kits are the top of the line that TEAM has, to offer.

Moving on, there's a second line of memory kits for the performance segment, also LV (low-voltage, 1.35V), called TEAM Xtreem Dark series, which offer speeds of DDR3-1600 MHz, and use slightly smaller heatsinks. These modules come in 2, 4 GB capacities, and in dual and triple channel kits. Next up is the TEAM Green series, that are bare modules without heatsinks, that do JEDEC standard DDR3-1333 MHz and DDR3-1600 MHz at 1.35V, with loose timings. Lastly, there's a performance line of SODIMM modules for Apple Macs, the TEAM Mac SODIMM, which runs at DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1066 MHz speeds, offering 2 GB and 4 GB module capacities.

MSI, the global leading brand in motherboards, announced the upgraded version of IM-QM67 which is powered by the 2nd generation Intel Core processor family, Intel Sandy Bridge processor, and Intel QM67 Express chipset. IM-QM67 supports multiple display outputs in a mini-ITX form factor board and utilizes Intel's 32nm process technology products to give the competitive advantage through the performance enhancements and scalability.

MSI debuts the IM-QM67 based on the Intel Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3 processors to offer lower power consumption and enhanced graphic and media performance. The IM-QM67 is equipped with dual-channel DDR3 1067/1333/1600 MHz memory up to a maximum of 16 GB in dual SO-DIMM slots and is ideally suited to applications requiring multi-tasking capabilities, high computing power. This combination of CPU, chipset and memory provides the MSI IM-QM67 with improved power efficiency and high-speed data transfer for performance-driven industrial applications, such as industrial control, automation, digital signage, kiosk, POS, gaming, ATM and medical electronic.

After Aexea, it's time to move onto another boutique memory module vendor, WinChip. This Taiwan-based PC memory vendor seems to focus on the form and design of the memory module (particularly the heatspreaders or heatsinks), so much so, that some of its modules even bear artistic true-color paintings. The first set of modules we came across used a unique kind of heatsinks. Among these, the first one reminded us of some of Mushkin's early heatspreader designs. The second one looks more unique, with a central portion of the heatsink protruding out. A heat pipe is running along the length of the module, evenly distributing heat. In another part of the exhibit, there's a module with a strange heatspreader design. The heatspreader increases module height by almost double, and has a few horizontal grooves to dissipate heat.

Moving on, there are a couple of normally-sized DDR2-800 and DDR3-1333 modules that bears branding of Avatar: The Game. Next up, are the modules attracting a lot of attention. These ones have heatspreaders with fancy true-color graphics, some are photographs, while the others are 3D art, mostly wild-animal themed, including the African Savannah, a gliding eagle, dolphins, toco toucans in a tropical jungle with banana trees, etc.,etc. The last set has heatspreaders with abstract writings in Asian scripts. Like Aexea, WinChip's modules are sold more on their product design. The modules themselves are mostly JEDEC-specced, with the exception of some heavier ones that run at PC3-12800 speeds.

Lesser-known PC memory, flash memory, and phone accessories manufacturer Aexea showed off its goods for the season, including some never before seen memory module heatsink designs. Aexea comes across as a boutique memory module designer, since it displayed many identically/similarly-specced 4 GB and 2 GB DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600 memory modules with a variety of heatspreader and heatsink designs, in a number of colors, as well. Most of these are sold in single-piece packages, and not so much dual/triple-channel kits. Among these, a certain module called "Vampire" caught our eye, which uses a blood-red colored heatsink, a bat-shadow graphic, and jagged protrusions that put it into the category of semi-heatsink modules, of which G.Skill RipJaws and Corsair Vengeance are popular examples. And oh, they do seem to speak of US market presence.

While Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011 processors will come with integrated PCI-Express 3.0 hubs, they're still a couple of quarter financial years away. Meanwhile, MSI jumped the gun on its latest socket LGA1155 Intel Z68-based motherboard with not only support for Intel's upcoming 22 nm Ivy Bridge LGA1155 processors, but also the PCI-Express 3.0 hubs that the new processors come with. While Ivy Bridge has PCI-E 3.0 hub, not just any LGA1155 motherboard can give you PCI-E 3.0 support. It requires slots that are compliant with the new specification, and needs PCI-E 3.0 compliant external switching chips. MSI has both, on its new Z68A-GD80 motherboard, and with it, the bragging rights of being the world's first PCI-E 3.0 compliant motherboard.

PCI-Express 3.0 gives you twice the interface bandwidth as PCI-Express 2.0, which means that PCI-Express 3.0 x8 has the same bandwidth as PCI-Express 2.0 x16. But before you celebrate, let's remind ourselves that you also need a PCI-E 3.0 compliant GPU to make the slots operate at Gen 3.0 speeds. Installing PCI-Express 2.0 GPUs on Gen 3.0 won't run the slots at Gen 3.0 speeds. That aside, the Z68A-GD80 is a sufficiently-equipped enthusiast motherboard featuring 14-phase VRM for the CPU, dual-channel DDR3-2133 support, two PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with populated), a third PCI-E x16 wired to the Z68 PCH, running at PCI-E 2.0 x4 speeds, and a couple of PCI-E 2.0 x1 and legacy PCI. There are three internal SATA 6 Gb/s ports; eSATA, USB 3.0, make for the rest of the connectivity. There is full-fledged display connectivity, with Lucid Virtu support. Expect this board to be out any time soon.

Meet the X79A-GD80 from MSI, where active component cooling is making a comeback to motherboards. The Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011 socket dwarfs everything around it, in the upper-half of the board. Typical of LGA2011 motherboards,the X79A-GD80 has two DDR3 DIMM slots on either sides of the CPU socket, supporting quad-channel DDR3 memory. The VRM area is above the socket, MSI used a 40 mm fan-heatsink to cool the VRM. Further, a fan-heatsink is used to cool the X79 PCH. With the PCH heatsink the use of fan is more of an effort to keep the heatsink small in size, so active air-flow can compensate for its size. That aside, expansion slots are all-PCIe, including three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x16), and four PCI-E x1 in middle. All 10 of the SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the PCH are internal ports, with just the one eSATA. Other connectivity includes 8+2 channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and USB 3.0.

ASRock is ready with what it will be offering the very top tier of consumers of the Sandy Bridge-E platform, the third largest selling motherboard vendor is ready with the X79 Extreme4. This standard-size ATX motherboard uses essentially the same component layout as most socket LGA2011 boards we've seen so far. The LGA2011 socket is powered by an 8-phase VRM. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots on its either sides, to support quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory. The processor also holds a massive 40-lane PCI-Express 3.0 hub, giving out two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 links, distributed between three slots (as x16/x16/NC or x16/x8/x8), with two each of PCI-E x1 and PCI in between.

ASRock did not finalize its chipset/VRM heatsinks design, yet. While we can't see the right portion of the board in the picture, we can assume that all 10 SATA 6 Gb/s and 2 SATA 3 Gb/s ports will be internal ports, with the possibility of one or two eSATA. Other connectivity includes 8-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 3.0 ports (two by header). The board supports 3-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX.

To make a 'great value' socket FM1 motherboard, there are two approaches, either add dual discrete graphics support by adding a second PCI-Express x16 slot, like on the Gigabyte A75-UD4H, or by adding a boat-load of connectivity while leaving single discrete graphics option, an approach taken by Sapphire on its Pure Platinum A75. This ATX form-factor motherboard comes fully loaded with a 8-phase VRM for the FM1 APU socket, four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz, powered by a 2-phase VRM, and overclocker-friendly voltage measurement points.

Expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16, an open-ended PCI-Express x4, and two each of PCI-Express x1 and legacy PCI. There is also an mSATA slot to hold SSDs in the mSATA form-factor. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gb/s internal ports, an mSATA slot, and eSATA. Other connectivity includes four USB 3.0 ports (of which two are by header), 8-channel HD audio, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Display connectivity includes D-Sub, DVI, and HDMI 1.4a.

Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced Vengeance LP, the latest addition to the award-winning Vengeance Series high-performance DDR3 line.

Vengeance LP memory features heat spreaders with a reduced height of 1.03" (26.25 millimeters), compared to the standard height of 1.87" (47.37 millimeters). These modules are designed for high-performance systems with extra-large CPU coolers, small form factor system builds, or other space-constrained applications that prevent the use of standard Vengeance memory.