Power, design and mobility come together beautifully with the new VAIO S Series of 13.3" (33.7cm) slim notebook PCs from Sony. The slim, light VAIO S Series features a stylish new 'full flat' design that's crafted in magnesium with a wide aluminium palmrest for strength, lightness, usability and looks. There's also a cleverly concealed hinge mechanism that doesn't distract your view of what's on screen. Overall thickness shrinks to less than 24mm, while weight is a travel-friendly 1.75kg (approx.)

VAIO S Series introduces a smart new battery concept that lets you keep working day and night without a pause. The internal lithium polymer battery provides power for up to 7 hours on-the-go computing (in Stamina mode). It's partnered by a second thin, flat optional lithium polymer extended battery that can be charged separately from the PC and added without removing the internal battery. The second battery attaches without having to switch off the PC, boosting stamina to up to 14 hours if you're far from mains power.

Employing rock-solid R&D capabilities, MSI rolled out a complete array of new notebook computers packing the new generation of CPU platforms introduced in 2011. It will be parading them March 1-5 at CeBIT, the international computer electronics exhibition in Hanover, Germany. MSI's wares will be displayed in Booth C38, Hall 17. Come to MSI's booth to see world gaming champions Fnatic.MSI as well as the MSI GT680-the world's fastest notebook computer. There'll be plenty of exciting things at the MSI booth to wow the crowds.

Eric Kuo, associate vice president for global sales, MSI Notebook, noted that the 20+ additions to be shown will include the awesome G Series gaming laptops, the high performance F Series, the deluxe multimedia C Series, the gorgeously slender X Series, and the highly mobile U netbook series. These stylish machines all pack the newest generation of either Intel or AMD's CPUs and advanced visual-display units. Most models also come with MSI Premium Sound-the best wrap around sound out there. Like supercar-class Dynaudio, cinema-grade THX TruStudio Pro, and premium multimedia SRS PC Sound for the home, programs designed to satisfy the audio-visual entertainment needs of users from around the world, will be on display in Hanover.

MSI will be showing off an array of brand new, powerful display performance notebook computers, including the 15.6-inch CR650, the 12-inch Wind U270, and the 13.4-inch X-Slim X370. Eric Kuo, associate vice president for global sales, MSI Notebook, explains that these lean, mean machines are the ideal choice for active individuals. They include the Wind U270 ,X-Slim X370 ,and CR650 laptops, which pack AMD's landmark dual core E-350 processor which incorporates the AMD Radeon HD 6310 Discrete-Class Graphics chip which supports DirectX 11, greatly enhancing processing performance and battery life. With these portable laptops, you can enjoy multimedia entertainment outside all day.

AMD today announced availability of the updated AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) Software Development Kit (SDK) v2.3 with full support for the first AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), OpenCL 1.1 and AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series graphics. AMD APP technology enables AMD GPUs and CPUs to work together to run many demanding computing tasks faster than possible with just the CPU alone.

AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing SDK v2.3, previously known as the ATI Stream SDK, empowers software developers to write new applications that can take full advantage of the parallel processing power of heterogeneous computing platforms, such as those based on new AMD E-Series and C-Series APUs that combine a multi-core CPU and DirectX 11-capable GPU on a single die.

Better late than never. ASRock finally unveiled its mini-ITX motherboard based on the AMD Brazos platform, featuring AMD Fusion "Zacate" E-350 accelerated processing unit (APU). The APU integrates two x86-64 processing cores based on the "Bobcat" architecture with a DirectX 11 compliant AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics processing core. The ASRock E350M1 is a typical mini-ITX embedded platform motherboard. The board draws power from a standard 24-pin ATX power connector (20-pin will do), though from the looks of it, the same PCB can be reconfigured to have a 2-pin 12V DC power external input for use in some very tight cases.

The APU is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, the lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical 2.0 x4). The E-350 APU and Hudson M1 chipset have separate heatsinks, the one over the APU is ventilated by a small fan. The chipset gives out four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. Display connectivity includes one each of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI. Other connectivity features include 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, gigabit Ethernet, mouse/keyboard combo PS/2, and a number of USB 2.0 ports.

PowerColor is ready with its mini-ITX motherboard based on the AMD "Brazos" platform. The unnamed motherboard that is yet to get its heatsink(s) on, uses an AMD Fusion "Zacate" E-350 APU that embeds a dual-core x86-64 processor clocked at 1.60 GHz, and an AMD Radeon HD 6310 DirectX 11 compliant GPU. The APU is wired to two DDR3 SODIMM slots (notebook memory). Power is drawn in from a standard 24-pin ATX connector. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x4 with an open-end (to let you fit x16 graphics cards).

Storage connectivity includes four internal SATA 3 Gb/s, other features include 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 and a number of USB 2.0 ports. Display outputs include DVI and D-Sub. The motherboard is best suited for entry-level home PCs and office PCs.

At a time when everyone including ASUS is cramming the AMD Fusion E-350 APU into netbooks and mini-ITX motherboards to get rid of Atom; the motherboard major saw "bigger" prospects for the E-350, and designed a micro-ATX motherboard based on it. The E35M1-M Pro from ASUS uses AMD Fusion E-350 APU that embeds a dual-core x86-64 processor based on the "Bobcat" architecture with an AMD Radeon HD 6310 DirectX 11 compliant GPU. The processor is backed by the brand new Hudson M1 single-package chipset. The E35M1-M Pro is intended for everything from office PCs to home PCs, and HTPCs. It draws power from conventional 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors, and uses a 3+1 phase VRM.

The CPU and chipset share a heatsink. The CPU is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 2.0 x16, one PCI-E x1, and two PCI slots. Storage expansion includes five internal SATA 6 Gb/s and one eSATA 6 Gb/s. Connectivity includes 6-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output, 7.1 channel audio over HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.0 ports, FireWire, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. ASUS added a bunch of exclusive features that can let you squeeze out the most performance, and manage power consumption.

MSI is ready with its motherboard based on the AMD Fusion "Brazos" platform. The motherboard major announced E350IA-E45, its first motherboard based on the platform in mini-ITX form-factor. It is intended for use on most entry-thru-mid range desktop PCs, office PCs, and HTPCs. At the heart of it is the AMD Fusion E-350 dual-core processor based on the "Bobcat" architecture. It embeds an AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics processor that is DirectX 11 compliant. The processor is aided by Hudson M1 single-chip chipset.

The processor is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots and supports up to 8 GB of memory in x86-64 mode. It is powered by a 3+1 phase VRM. The lone expansion slot is a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical 2.0 x4). The chipset gives out four SATA 6 Gb/s ports supporting high-speed SSDs and HDDs. Connectivity is aplenty: 8+2 channel HD audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF connectors, two USB 3.0 ports, ten USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard combo connector. Display connectivity includes D-Sub and HDMI 1.4a. The MSI E350IA-E45 will ship toward late January or early February.

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.

Lenovo today unveiled four new IdeaCentre and Lenovo all-in-one (AIO) desktops at the 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show that redefine design, performance, style and entertainment capabilities in a desktop form factor. The IdeaCentre A320, B520, B320 and the Lenovo C205 are each uniquely designed to satisfy individual consumers' needs and preferences. "We've seen Lenovo's IdeaCentre AIO desktop business grow 150% year over year - a significant achievement for Lenovo and powerful statement that consumers desire the unique designs and experiences delivered by our portfolio," said Dion Weisler, vice president, business operations, Lenovo. "The latest Lenovo AIO desktops round out our existing portfolio to offer the right PC for every individual and family that is seeking powerful performance with cutting edge features like touch screen and 3D capabilities, HD monitor and a sleek appearance."

ZOTAC International, a leading innovator and the world's largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today supercharges energy-efficient computing with the new ZBOX Blu-ray AD03 series powered by the AMD E-350 APU platform. The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray AD03 series combines discrete-class graphics processing with a dual processor cores for the perfect synergy of CPU and GPU that delivers a perfect digital media experience with unprecedented energy-efficiency.

AMD Radeon HD 6310 discrete-class graphics processing takes charge of all digital media processing tasks to enable the ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray AD03 series to deliver stunning Blu-ray and smooth streaming high-definition video playback. The ZOTAC ZBOX Blu-ray AD03 series is a potent casual gaming platform capable of rendering stunning 3D visuals with Microsoft DirectX 11 technology.

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.

Here are the winners of PowerColor and TechPowerUp giveaway for the month of December, 2010, month 1 of 2 of the Giveaway. For the months of December and January, three lucky participating users each month of GPU-Z got to win some groovy hardware from PowerColor. This month's winners are as follows:

• John from United States wins PowerColor Radeon HD 6970
• Farhan from Malaysia wins PowerColor Radeon HD 6870 PCS+
• Mahen from Sri Lanka wins PowerColor Radeon HD 6850 PCS+

A big congratulations to the winners. PowerColor will contact them directly and arrange for the shipping of the prizes. If you have already made a submission in this round (PowerColor TechPowerUp Giveaway December 2010 - January 2011), you don't need to make a submission again. Being an ongoing contest, winners are picked from an ever-growing pool of submissions.

Shortly after finishing off the top-order of its Radeon HD 6000 series desktop discrete graphics processors (GPUs), AMD is letting out information about its first line of GPUs built on the 28 nanometer fabrication process. The first products carrying the Mobility Radeon HD 7000 series brand identifiers are notebook GPUs in the MXM 3.0 form-factor. AMD is planning an entire lineup top-to-bottom to address almost all mobile computing market segments. At the very low end of course would be its Fusion accelerated processing units with GPUs embedded. On top of that is what follows.

The lineup begins with "Wimbledon", an ultra high-end mGPU. It has a 256-bit wide high-speed GDDR5 memory interface, 2-4 GB of dedicated memory, and 65W TDP. The DirectX 11 GPU will be about 25% faster than "Blackcomb", the Mobility HD 6000 series flagship. This is slated for Q2-2012. Next up is the high-end "Heathrow" mGPU, which has a 192-bit or 128-bit (selectable between variants) GDDR5 memory interface, 1-3 GB of dedicated memory, up to 45W TDP, and 30% higher performance compared to "Chelsea". This is slated for Q4-2011 (this should tell you that Radeon HD 7000 series will be in existence towards the end of 2011).

Looks like Santa brought an extra present for us hardware enthusiasts this year. Thanks to a less secure locking method AMD's new Radeon HD 6950 can be unlocked to a full blown HD 6970 with a few mouse clicks.

As detailed in our article, you can safely perform the flashing process from within Windows. In case something goes wrong it is easier than ever to recover the card thanks to AMD's new Dual-BIOS feature.

We tested the unlock on three HD 6950 cards: one AMD engineering sample, one HIS media sample and one ASUS retail card. All of them unlocked perfectly and run at HD 6970 speeds now. More success reports are compiled into a table at the end of the modding article.

Acer will be one of the first adopters of AMD's "Brazos" Fusion platform for its netbooks. The company is developing a new 10-inch Aspire One model, the Aspire One 522, which makes use of AMD Fusion C-50 "Ontario" dual-core processor clocked at 1.00 GHz, with TDP of under 9W, and AMD Radeon HD 6250 graphics embedded. The x86-64 processor cores are based on the "Bobcat" architecture, feature the latest instruction sets, while the graphics core supports DirectX 11 and UVD 3.0 video acceleration.

The 10.1-inch screen features a native resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, which can be extended onto a HDTV or a monitor using HDMI. Most other features including connectivity are similar to existing Aspire One netbooks. The battery can provide 6 hours of usage on full charge. Acer is expected to unveil this powerful netbook in early 2011.

AMD today released its latest version of the AMD Catalyst software suite, Catalyst 10.2 WHQL, as well as unveiled a Catalyst 10.2 Preview driver that lets you use the latest version Catalyst Control Center (CCC) that features a more functional user interface. The new CCC features a reworked UI that allows easier adjustment of 3D settings and image quality; makes setting up multiple displays easier; and helps adjust power settings to optimize battery life (on notebooks).

Apart from that, Catalyst 10.2 introduces DivX Accelerated support for AMD Radeon HD 6800 series GPUs; support for OpenGL 4.1, including new ARB extensions introduced with OpenGL 4.1; and an updated AMD Stream v2.3 API.

DOWNLOAD:AMD Catalyst 10.12 for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
A complete list of changes follows:

MSI recently rolled out its new generation 15.6" CX620 3D notebook computer which packs all-new 3D display technology and impressive computing performance. Intel's latest Core i3/i5 CPU with ATi Mobility Radeon HD 5470 discrete graphics card (1GB DDR3 display memory), and HD LED backlit display. So whether you're playing games, watching films, or viewing photos, enjoying the ultimate in 3D images is as easy as putting on a pair of 3D glasses.

MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern adds that the MSI CX620 3D is sheathed in MSI's own stylish color film print to protect against scratching and wear and comes with an independent chiclet keyboard and seamless touchpad, giving it an extra touch of class. In terms of performance, MSI's exclusive GPU Boost and ECO power-saving technologies allow you to switch between display modes to maximize multimedia, processing, or battery performance, depending on the task at hand.

AMD today introduced the next generation of PC gaming, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series, designed to be "perfect graphics cards" for gamers by delivering unprecedented game performance starting at $179 SEP. The new AMD Radeon HD 6800 series graphics cards provide more than 30 percent greater game performance than competing products, harnessing AMD's second-generation Microsoft DirectX 11-capable architecture, best-in-class energy efficiency, and an unmatched feature set, including AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology. The AMD Radeon HD 6800 series is available immediately from etailers worldwide.

"AMD is the market share leader by a landslide in DirectX 11 graphics," said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU Division, AMD. "Through our sweet spot strategy and our open, industry standards approach, we've worked to deliver the best possible experience for gamers. Today, our laser focus on gamers continues with the introduction of what we think is far and away the best graphics card series today, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series. With exceptional game performance, an unrivaled feature set including breathtaking DirectX 11 gaming, AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology, AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing, and more, the AMD Radeon HD 6800 series will have all gamers wanting to get Radeon in their systems."

PowerColor is ready with its in-house design for the upcoming AMD Radeon HD 6800 series, branded with the company's PCS (professional cooling system) moniker. The card, almost every PCS card, has a red-colored PCB, with a custom-design cooling solution that makes use of a centralized GPU fan-heatsink. Although the exact model of the card pictured below is embargoed, it's easy to guess that it's the HD 6850, because it's missing one 6-pin power input. In all likelihood, this card will be overclocked out of the box, when it releases later this week.

Specifications of the upcoming Radeon HD 6800 series GPUs have already been doing rounds for the last couple of days, and ChipHell.com finally managed to leak an alleged press-deck of the HD 6800 series that discloses the GPUs' specifications and some key features that AMD will introduce with this generation. What can be said looking at the slides is that AMD seems to have stepped up performance/die-size big time (up to 35% increase in performance per mm²), with some reconfiguring of key components. It also redesigned the GPUs to have up to 100% increase in tessellation performance, new image-quality enhancements, a new video acceleration engine (UVD 3), and a redesigned display IO with 2nd Gen. Eyefinity technology that can let users of standard variants drive up to six displays with a single card.

Specifications of the HD 6870 are: 1120 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 56 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 900/1050(4200) MHz core/memory(effective), and idle/max board power of 19W/151W. For the HD 6850, it's 960 stream processors, 32 ROPs, 48 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB, clock speeds of 775/1000(4000) MHz, idle/max board power of 19W/127W.

Here it is, the AMD Radeon HD 6870, all dressed up to go to work. There has been quite some speculation surrounding the naming scheme AMD is going to adopt with the HD 6000 series, but fresh information suggestively lays some of that to rest. Firstly, Radeon HD 6800 series is built around the "Barts" GPU, not "Cayman". Barts is a new performance GPU, though isn't the highest-end single GPU from AMD (which is reserved for Cayman). Barts "XT" is Radeon HD 6870, and Barts "Pro" is HD 6850. Pictured below is the HD 6870. At a purely subjective glance, the HD 6870 reference design card seems to be as long as the HD 5850 reference.

The new Radeon logo has been Photoshopped on to the fan, so the products in market will definitely do away with the older ATI logo. The rear panel resembles that of the Radeon HD 5800 series, except that the exhaust grille seems slightly wider, there are two DVI-I connectors, one standard HDMI, and two mini DisplayPort connectors for a change. The connector output sharing scheme isn't known right now, it could be 3 or 4 head Eyefinity, or all-out 5 head Eyefinity, a yet to be detailed "Eyespeed" feature is mentioned. We will definitely know more about this card in the weeks to come.

AMD has reportedly delayed the launch of its much talked about Radeon HD 6000 series graphics processors from its expected date of October 12, to November, 2010. Whatever be the company's motive behind this delay, it creates room for NVIDIA to release new lower-mainstream and entry-level products. Perhaps AMD wants to make sure media-attention isn't split between HD 6000 series launch, and those of NVIDIA's GeForce 400 series spread throughout October.

These include the GeForce GT 430. Apart from new GPUs, NVIDIA is also said to be lowering the prices of some of its key SKUs, including the GeForce GTX 460 768 MB, and previous-generation GeForce GT 220. Meanwhile, it is increasingly looking like the first Radeon HD 6000 series SKUs will be based on the "Barts" die, these SKUs will succeed the Radeon HD 5700 series, and restore competitiveness against key NVIDIA SKUs.

MSI recently rolled out the CX413, the newest member of its Classic series of laptop computers. Under the hood, the 14-inch CX413 comes packed with AMD's all-new Vision (Danube) platform with AMD's most advanced Athlon II dual core processor which supports DDR3 system memory as well as the high performance ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5470 discrete graphics card (DDR3 512MB display memory) for multimedia for superior image capabilities and processing speeds. Your multimedia life was never so good.

MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern explains that the CX413 features MSI's own 45-degree beveled construction, a cinema-class 16:9 ratio, power-sipping LED display, and MSI's ECO engine power saving technology. This machine has it all-an aesthetically pleasing exterior, outstanding multimedia performance, and exceptionally long battery life. It's your best choice for reasonably priced mobile multimedia entertainment.

Barely a week after pictures of AMD's "Barts" prototype surfaced, it wasn't long before a specifications sheet followed. The all-important slide from AMD's presentation to its add-in board partners made it to sections of the Chinese media. "Barts" is a successor to "Juniper", on which are based the Radeon HD 5750 and HD 5770. The specs sheet reveals that while indeed the GPU looks to be larger physically, there are other factors that make it big:

Memory Controller
Barts has a 256-bit wide memory interface, which significantly increases its pin-count, and package-size. The "Pro" and "XT" variants (which will go on to be HD 6x50 and HD 6x70, respectively), have memory clocked at 1000 MHz and 1200 MHz, respectively, so that's nearly 100% increase in memory bandwidth .