ECS Motherboards on display at Computex 2011

Subject: Motherboards, Shows and Expos | June 4, 2011 - 10:42 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: x79, fusion, ECS, e-350, computex, 990fx

ECS, aka Elitegroup, had a large booth at Computex that focused more on its ODM aspects than consumer aspects, but there were still a couple of interesting designs to look at.

The board we spotted was the new A990FXM-A motherboard that is of course based on the latest 990FX chipset from AMD.  Supporting the AM3+ processor socket and thus the pending AMD Bulldozer processors, the 990FX is going to be a long term product rather than a short term. One interesting addition to the board is found on the chipset heatsink that has a temperature reactive plastic on it that will turn from grey to orange-ish as the ambient case temperature increases.  This could be a great feature to easily gauge the heat level inside a windowed case.  

Also an interesting move, ECS has elongated the receptacle on the 8-pin CPU power connection to make it easier to plug in and to remove.  If you have ever experienced a pinched finger or sliced finger nail from trying to reach down and unplug an ATX connector, you will see this as a nice addition.

ECS also had its X79 motherboard variant on display, showing the company's readiness for the pending Sandy Bridge-E release.

Also on the motherboard wall was the upcoming A75F-A with support for the AMD Llano Fusion-based processors that should be ready later in the summer. 

Finally, a motherboard that we have just recently received for review purposes, the HDC-I is an AMD E-350 or E-240 Zacate platform mini-ITX form factor.  This solution might be a great option for users looking to build an HTPC box so be sure you check out our full review coming shortly.

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

G.Skill Breaks World Overclocking Record and Achieves Fastest Super Pi 32M Record For 1155 Intel Platform

Subject: Memory | June 4, 2011 - 08:26 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: record, ram, G.Skill, computex, benchmark

G.Skill brought their “A game” to this year’s Computex 2011 show by shattering the current super Pi 32M record on the first day of the show. With the help of famous overclockers Shamino, Fredyama, and Young Pro, the team was able to achieve a time of 5min 33.172 seconds. Using the company’s DDR3 2400MHz CL8 4 (2x2GB) memory kit, the team achieved the record overclock using an Intel 2600K processor at 6.34Ghz and memory clocked at 2340MHz with a CAS Latency of 6-9-6-25 1T. This was all run on an Asus ROG maximum IV Extreme motherboard.

Considering that the memory still had some headroom before reaching even stock clocks, G.Skill is confident that they will break even their record, saying that “this is just the beginning, we aim to achieve more records before the close of Computex 2011.”

The super Pi 32M program is often used as both a benchmarking and stress test application as it heavily stresses both the CPU, memory controller, and RAM by calculating Pi out to 32 million digits. As a single threaded program, it is heavily dependent on CPU clock speed-which is why the G.Skill team focused on low RAM timings as well as getting the CPU clocks up as high as possible in order to grab the world record.

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

Enermax Shows Off Seven New CPU Coolers

Subject: Cases and Cooling | June 4, 2011 - 07:54 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: hsf, enermax, cpu cooler, computex

Enermax, a company most well known for its computer power supplies, expanded on it’s computer case fan lineup by slapping aluminum fins and heat pipes to some of their LED fans to create a new line of CPU coolers. The company will unveil seven new heat sinks, each incorporating one of Enermax's fans.

Bit-Tech reports that both tower and down-flow (like those of Intel) cooler types are on offer, and will sport what Enermax states are the industry’s first 10mm heat pipes.

It will be interesting to see just how much these behemoths weigh, as the current air coolers are already pushing the “just how much stress can my motherboard take” meter for me. You can check out more photos of the new coolers as well as get more information over at bit-tech.

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

Image copyright 2011 bit-tech.net.  Used under fair-usage guidelines for purposes of commentary and news reporting.

PNY & Asetek to Revolutionize Graphics Card Liquid Cooling

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 3, 2011 - 12:23 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: pny, computex, asetek

PNY Technologies, Inc. (“PNY”) and Asetek, the industry-leading supplier of all-in-one liquid cooling systems for computers, announced today that they are working together to bring an innovative product line of liquid cooled graphics cards to market. The goal is to deliver liquid-cooled, high-end graphics cards that far outperform equivalent air cooled models graphically, thermally and acoustically. The resulting extreme performance PNY graphics cards will come out-of-the box with an Asetek sealed water cooler already attached, making the solution very simple to install, maintenance-free and extremely reliable.

“Utilizing Asetek’s proven all-in-one liquid cooling technology enables PNY to deliver best-in-class graphics performance out of the box,” said Nicholas Mauro, senior marketing manager, PC components for PNY. “Asetek technology has revolutionized how people think about CPU cooling. Our customers will appreciate how leveraging this technology makes extreme performance liquid cooled graphic cards surprisingly affordable and how leveraging Asetek reliability enables us to offer these graphics cards with a 5-year Warranty.”

“Working with a well respected nVidia board partner is essential to achieving a high-performance, simple to install liquid cooling solution for graphics,” said Steve Branton, Director of Marketing at Asetek. “PNY’s powerful brand, wealth of experience in the graphics market and their dedication to the enthusiast community make them an excellent team mate for this project. We are excited by the products we are developing and working alongside such a great team of dedicated people.”

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

Take a virtual walk through Computex 2011

Subject: General Tech | June 3, 2011 - 11:40 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: computex

Since we can't all attend Computex 2011 in the flesh we have to content ourselves with what is posted on the web.  Ryan and Ken are representing PC Perspective over in Taipei and all of their coverage can be found on this handy page. 

They are not alone over there, for instance The Tech Report have been hard at work posting the most interesting things they saw.  The content includes updates from hardware vendors like Kingston and Patriot's SATA 6G SSDs and mITX Z68 boards from Zotac and ASUS' new hybrid tablets and mini Eee netbooks.  On the software sided a company called Imagination Tech has made it possible to support DirectX on ARM and tablets, Lucid has changed V-Sync forever and Microsoft has been showing off Windows 8.  That only scratches the surface of their coverage, which will give you something to read while you wait for Ryan to wake up and post more news.

"With staffers both on the show floor and back at home watching things from afar, we've produced some fairly exhaustive Computex coverage this week. Here's a handy list of the highlights, from major announcements like Microsoft's Windows 8 reveal to geekier developments like Lucid's work on Virtu for AMD platforms."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Computex Coverage - Day 3 @ Ninjalane
• We round up the best and worst of Computex @ The Inquirer
  

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• Tablets to Benefit from 3 new Chinese MIPS-cores @ SemiAccurate
• I am root! – IP camera shell access @ Hack a Day
• Adobe says its disagreement with Apple about Flash is over @ The Inquirer
• Google expects one per cent of requests to fail on IPv6 day @ The Inquirer
• Infrastructure as a Service: Benchmarking Cloud Computing @ AnandTech
• Indesign CS5.5 review: e-books made easy @ Ars Technica
• Analysis: this is what we expect from Nintendo's Project Café @ Ars Technica
• Google +1 button to take over Facebook LIKE @ t-break
• Microsoft eyes Ubuntu and Debian love on Hyper-V @ The Register
• Tones OC Academy Edition 2011 @ Madshrimps
• Ubuntu/Xubuntu/Kubuntu/Lubuntu Power Tests @ Phoronix
  

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• Celebrating Seven Years Of Phoronix @ Phoronix
• AMD [H]ardOCP GamExperience - July 16

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

Antec Performance P280 Case First Look at Computex

Subject: Cases and Cooling, Shows and Expos | June 3, 2011 - 12:15 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: performance series, p280, computex, antec

Upstairs at the Antec booth at Computex 2011, a new case sat awaiting our eyes and cameras called the Performance Series P280.  A successor to the long-adored P180 case, the P280 will offer a host of tweaks and new features while maintaining a price point of about $130 on the street.

The fit and finish of the P280 should look familiar to anyone that has laid eyes on the P180.  This time Antec has added two internal USB 3.0 ports in addition to a pair of USB 2.0 ports on the front panel.

The door on this case has the same over-swing as the P180 to completely fold away on the side if needed.  There are three 5.25-in bays and a dual fan removable filter.

On the top of the case are pair of fans that use the newer rubber grommet style connection to lessen any kind of noise or rattle from them.

Both doors (and the top) of the P280 are lined with a very heavy compressed plastic that is used as a sound dampening device.  Antec claims this is more effective than the foam insulation siding that many case vendors are currently using or that Antec uses on the P180. 

Hit the "Read More" link for more photos and details on Antec's P280!!

PowerColor Shows Off New 4GB AMD Graphics Card With Two Stock Clocked 6970 GPUs

Subject: Graphics Cards | June 2, 2011 - 11:33 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: powercolor, HD 6970, computex, amd

Computex 2011 is in full swing, and PowerColor has joined the fray of product reveals with a new PowerColor 6970 X2 AMD graphics card that combines two stock-clocked 6970 GPUs onto a single PCB.

TweakTown was able to get a hands-on of the card at the company's Computex booth.  They report that the GPUs are clocked at 880MHz, and each GPU is allotted 2GB of GDDR5 memory each (for a total of 4GB across both GPUs), and is clocked at 1375MHz (5500MHz QDR).  The interesting aspect of the dual GPU card is that the two GPUs are connected by a Lucid Logix chip, which will be interesting to see how this setup would compare to an overclocked 6990 graphics card, which amounts to two CrosseFired 6950 GPUs.

The new card uses three 8-pin PCI-E connectors for up to 525 watts (including 75 watts provided by the motherboard) of power, which should provide ample power for stock and overclocked clocks.  The card will futher feature two DVI connectors (one Dual-Link, one Single-Link), two mini-DisplayPort connectors, and one HDMI port.

For those looking for maximum gaming performance, two of these 6970 x2 cards in a CrossFire configuration will become the new high-end AMD standard.  You can see more photos of the card along with a preview of it's smaller 6870 x2 sibling over at TweakTown.

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec

 Image copyright 2011 TweakTown.com.  Used under fair-usage guidelines for purposes of commentary and news reporting.

Windows 8 isn't ready for a private viewing but will do a floor show

Subject: General Tech, Shows and Expos | June 2, 2011 - 11:59 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: windows 8, computex

 There is a lot of buzz after the unveiling of Window 8 to a select few at Computex.  VR-Zone has a nice series of pictures as well as about 20 minutes of video footage from the preview event.  AnandTech focused on the ARM version and the new filesystem, while Engadget were content to delve even deeper into the ARM support offered by Win8.  ExtremeTech was more interested in the browser side, examining IE10 and the future Java and HTML5 as well as looking at the touch interface abilities.

Remember to catch all of our Computex content by following the Computex tag!

"VR-Zone was in attendance for this historic Windows 8 unveiling event to selected partners and press at W Hotel Taipei, COMPUTEX 2011. Microsoft showed off its new Windows 8 UI design and a few x86/ARM prototype devices from its partners."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Bulldozer delayed and not delayed @ SemiAccurate
• Qualcomm Uplinq 2011 Day One Keynote - Mobile is King @ AnandTech
• Texas Instruments announces a dual-core 1.8GHz OMAP4 system-on-chip @ The Inquirer
• Microsoft postpones IDP for 2 weeks to re-consult with chip players @ DigiTimes
• Creative Labs' Pure Wireless Modularity Event Coverage @ Tweaktown
• Computex 2011 - Shuttle PC @ TechwareLabs
• Computex Highlights - Day 2 @ Ninjalane
• G.Skill & ASUS Live Extreme Overclocking at Computex @ VR-Zone
• ZiiLABS demos JAGUAR 7 and JAGUAR 10 Honeycomb Tablets @ VR-Zone
• AMD E-450 APU Spotted At Computex @ VR-Zone
• Hardware firms are tight-lipped on Acer’s 'troublesome Microsoft' comments @ The Inquirer
• The crooks who created modern wiretapping law @ Ars Technica
• Wave of Trojans breaks over Android @ The Register
• A Chance to Win a Gigabyte GTX 560 Overclock @ Bjorn3D
• Memorial Day Giveaway @Hi Tech Legion

Computex 2011 Coverage brought to you by MSI Computer and Antec