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:: PC Perspective . News
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.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Guru of 3D | Subject: Graphics Card
What could possibly be better than an HD5970? An HD 5970 overclocked from 725 MHz to 935 MHz on the core and from 4000MHz to 5240 MHz
on the GDDR5, that's what! Since AMD has taken down their overvolting tool it is up to MSI's Afterburner to bump the default 1.05V GPU core to 1.1625V, as you need more power to manage this overclock. The Guru of 3D walks you through the perils and benefits of such a hefty overclock along with showing you all the steps you need in their article.
"When the Radeon HD 5970 launched, the product was extremely well received by the hardware enthusiast community. As we stated in our article -- the product is clocked a little conservative though. We boosted the Radeon HD 5970 Core from 725 MHz towards 935 MHz and the 4000 MHz memory is running and purring steady at 5240 MHz --- and that's a baffling result on just the reference air-cooler. Wanna learn how we do it ?" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Overclockers HQ | Subject: General Tech
It has long been a mantra in the business world that you must always continue to grow your business or you will die. Most have taken that to heart and began diversifying their businesses, getting into industries they never tried before and moving away from one strong product line into many varied product lines. Now this is all well and good, many companies have found success in new lines of business and consumer have benefited. This still does not explain the sudden surge in PC enclosure makers broaching the computer mouse market. The latest entrant is Cooler Master and their Choiix mouse which you can read about at OverclockersHQ ... unless you are holding out for the Tuniq Tower Mouse.
"This is another fine Cooler Master product the Choiix Accu-Mouse. Many wireless mouse have entered the market over the years. This particular one has a few features to discuss. In this review we take a look how this works with our lap top. With real world work and some fun as well. I trust you will find this review enlightening and an aid for you to decide if this is the wireless mouse for you. Let us have a look at this Choiix Accu-Mouse Wireless Optical Mouse." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Thinking of Google's new Chrome OS as a competitor to Windows or Linux is not really getting the point of what Google is trying to do. The OS has some very significant restrictions on how it runs, only flash can be used for storage, there will be a custom firmware layer which is non-optional, and a only Google-approved system and peripheral devices will be recognized by Chrome OS. This is not designed for open box systems, think very proprietary on the hardware and software level. The OS its self treats everything as a window in a browser, so no installation need ever occur, in fact the OS will sits on a read only partition of the available flash storage. This gives a big boost to security at the same time that it limits the user from customizing their Chrome OS. Gaming will be possible thanks to the newly developed O3D API which allows JavaScript to access the GPU for graphics, much like the new beta flash allows the usage of a GPU to process flash video. Even Office documents will work thanks to a working agreement with Microsoft. Ars Technica has their heads in the Cloud checking out Google's OS, why don't you join them.
"In 2009, it's better to be an Internet company that's taking slow, awkward first steps toward the PC, than a PC company that's still trying and failing to truly integrate with the Internet. Ars looks at what Chrome OS means for Google, Apple, Microsoft, the netbook, ARM, Intel, and the cloud. "Revolutionary" is a clichéd term, but Chrome OS is a good candidate for it." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: General | Subject: Motherboard
Look, I think we have all had enough with the politics and sideshow that has revolved around the first motherboard to integrated the Lucid HYDRA vendor-agnostic multi-GPU technology, the MSI Big Bang Fuzion. Regardless of WHY we don't have our product yet, we are still waiting for the final retail availability for the product and the ability to spend some quality time with it. Here's a summary of what we have learned over the last months:
What is most interesting is what appears to be a README file associated with the Lucid HYDRA driver and hardware setup. Below I will copy some of it here and then analyze what some of it means for enthusiasts looking at the product for early 2010.
Supported Operating Systems
* Microsoft Windows Vista (SP2) 32-bit and 64-bit - Support dual NVIDIA graphic cards - Support dual ATI graphic cards * Microsoft Windows 7 RTM OS 32-bit and 64-bit - Support dual mixture of NVIDIA and ATI graphic cards - Support dual NVIDIA graphic cards - Support dual ATI graphic cards * Microsoft Windows Editions include: - Windows Vista Home Basic - Windows Vista Home Premium - Windows Vista Business - Windows Vista Enterprise Edition - Windows Vista Ultimate - Windows 7 (RTM) Home Premium - Windows 7 (RTM) Professional - Windows 7 (RTM) Ultimate The chances are good that this driver was released before the Oct 23rd release of the retail version of Windows 7 so that would explain the mention of Windows 7 RTM. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of both Vista and Windows 7 are support so that is a plus but multi-vendor support (mixing NVIDIA card with ATI cards) is only possible on Windows 7. That is because Vista does not support the ability to install multiple vendors drivers on the same system. Supported GPUs and display drivers * NVIDIA - GPUs G90/G200 series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version (GTX295 is not supported) - NVIDIA display drivers: 185.85, 186.18, 190.38, 190.62, 191.07 * AMD/ATI - GPUs HD4XXX series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version (HD4870x2 is not supported) - ATI/AMD display drivers: Catalyst 9.7 and up * Multi vendor - Operating system: Windows 7 only (due to native limitations of other Windows versions) - GPUs: NVIDIA G90/G200 series, AMD/ATI HD4xxx Series, Single core only, no Dual core GPU support in this version - Display drivers: NVIDIA 185.85, 186.18, 190.38, 190.62, 191.07 / AMD/ATI Catalyst 9.7 and up Want to know if your GPU is going to work with HYDRA technolgy? Just take a look at the list above. You will notice that the AMD Radeon 5000-series is not listed here - from what I know in my communcations with Lucid, it will indeed be there with the product ships in December or January. You can also see that multi-GPU cards like the GTX 295 or Radeon HD 4870 X2 are NOT supported with HYDRA right now and we are not sure if they actually will be. The reasoning seems to revolve around the fact that all of these cards are using a PCI Express bridge chip that essentially hides the GPUs from direct access by the Lucid HYDRA chip itself. Without a direct PCI Express connection to the GPU it looks like even the Radeon HD 5970 will be out the picture as well. Important
The HYDRA driver only support up to 2 graphic cards in this version. The future version will support up to 3 graphic cards. Then you only need to update the driver. That seems pretty straight forward - though I do wonder how long we'll have to wait for this 3rd GPU support... After this we see a very long list of games supported by either dual NVIDIA configurations, dual ATI configurations or mixed GPU configurations. Rather than extended this already lenghty news post, I have included the list in this thread in our forums for you to look at. The list is pretty good for only-NVIDIA and only-ATI configurations but it is rather small for mixed vendor configurations, which is a bit of a let down. I am hoping that for the retail release that particular list will be extended - and it is pretty likely that this is what MSI wanted as well - hence the delay from the initial October 29th release date. Important
If you use NVIDIA + ATI GPUs combination, it is recommanded installing the NVIDIA graphic card to the first PCI-E x16 slot. MAJ/EDIT du 19.11.2009 10:00 GMT Using PhysX/Physics with 3rd GPU The HYDRA driver enables to use a 3rd GPU card installed on the system for PhysX/Physics calculation. In order to active this feature: - A 3rd GPU should be installed on the available PCI-E slot. - The 3rd GPU can be a much lower performance that the other 2 GPUs (for example, 2x GTX260 for graphic enhancement and 1x GT9600 for PhysX/Physics). The Lucid driver is recommending here that the NVIDIA card be installed as the first card (and thus the one that your monitor would be connected to) even though in my meetings with the HYDRA team we were told that in general the most powerful GPU should be the primary. Either way, it is nice to see PhysX mentioned here at all - it will be supported as the 3rd GPU. Users that are looking forward to more Batman: Arkham Asylum or other future PhysX-enabled titles rejoice. That's all we have for today - if you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them in this thread where we copied the early list of supported games. More soon!
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
I am a big proponent of USB 3.0 technology - I had an early test and experience with USB 3.0 hardware last month. In that article I evaluated the performance of the ASUS P7P55D-E Premium motherboard that used the NEC 720200 USB 3.0 controller paired with a USB 3.0 HDD dock. The results were pretty impressive:
Looking at these results, I would imagine most enthusiasts would like to see USB 3.0 sooner rather than later.
Well an interesting post from an OCZ rep seems to indicate that USB 3.0 accessories are coming sooner rather than later. In a post looking for help naming the product, OCZ appears to have developed a prototype USB 3.0 portable solid state drive. 
While we don't have any other specfications at this time, this is exactly the kind of portable USB 3.0 device that we need to really push the speed limits of this new technology. It looks like CES 2010 will be as busy a year as any for CES - they typically have a LOT of new stuff to showcase.
Now if we can only come up with a good name... And don't forget, if you haven't seen the early performance numbers from USB 3.0 devices, check out our preview here.
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Mobile
The Eee Box line has become quite popular as the low-cost desktop versions of ASUS' popular line of netbook computers. As the name kind of implies, the Eee Box machines aren't laptops but instead are small form factor computers that can be attached to a TV as a basic HTPC or even to a standard keyboard/monitor setup if this is all the power you need.
Continuing the ASUS onslaught of new products this week, the Eee Box 1501 combines the power of the NVIDIA ION chipset with a dual-core Intel Atom N330 processor and Windows 7 Home Premium to produce a machine that I think will find many great uses. 
The Eee Box does include a slot loading DVD player (not Blu-ray though) and support for 5.1 channel audio output from a SPDIF connection. It also includes a Gigabit Ethernet connection and 802.11n wireless networking so you should be able to easily stream media from any PC in your home to a TV connected to this device thanks to the new Windows 7 media features. 
Of course there are other great uses for the Eee Box 1501 - it will include a VESA-compatible mount to attach it directly to the back of standard PC monitor (or TV for that matter) making it a nearly invisible addition to your computing household. The Eee Box 1501 should be available on Decemeber 7th with an MSRP of $479 - I am eager to get my hands on one for a review here on PC Perspective. Stay tuned!! Interestingly, the Eee Box 1501 is basically a desktop version of the recently announced/released ASUS Eee PC 1201N using the same CPU and chipset combination.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Techware Labs | Subject: System
The Popcorn Hour C200 bills its self as a Network Media Tan, theoretically able to manage anything you could accomplish by building your own HTPC, but without needing to set it up. Once you strip off the marketing speak, what you are left with is a NAS optimized for local networked media sources as well as YouTube, Blip.tv, Revision 3 and the like. The list of supported formats and sources on the second page of the Techware Labs review is impressive and you can catch a video of the interface in action in the full review. Overall they felt that this is a great device; hampered by beta firmware. "One of the best way to save money and still get a kick ass home theater set up has always been three words, “build it yourself”. Now the company Saybas is changing that and hopefully for the better with the Popcorn Hour C200. The Popcorn Hour C200 is a Network Media Tank that promises to pack a wallop when it comes to home theater set up’s. Thanks to Saybas you now have the option to purchase one of their sleek looking Popcorn Hour C200 units and still have enough in your budget to purchase a few of the latest blockbusters. Ladies and gentleman follow me as I review Saybas’s Network Media Tank, the Popcorn Hour C200." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Register | Subject: Case and Cooling
Skip the Intel X-25 Extreme, those in need of pure storage satisfaction should talk to ViON who have produced a 100TB DRAM SSD. Think 100TB of storage that provides five million IOPS and speeds along with 60GB/sec of bandwidth.
Not impressed yet? It uses ECC DRAM, so no bits will be flipping on you and it is set up as a RAID so your data redunadncy is covered. How much would that run you to pick up is a bit of a mystery as no price tag was included, but as The Register puts it "six figures of IOPS capability often involves six figures of cash". Save up those pennies!
"ViON have produced a 100TB DRAM solid state drive, which they claim to be the largest flash memory-based storage box in the world. The HyperStor-6200 uses both Hitachi Data Systems and Texas Memory Systems technology - think RamSan 6200 - and provides five million I/Os per second (IOPS) with 60GB/sec bandwidth. It is a monster of an SSD." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Zone | Subject: Mobile
All-In-One PCs like the HP TouchSmart 600
fall in between mobile and stationary systems, just like netbooks straddle the line between ultraportable PC and glorified calculators. Powered by a C2Duo P8700 @ 2.53 GHz with 4GB of DDR3, an NVIDIA GeForce 9300 mGPU and even a 1TB HDD, the TouchSmart is fairly powerful but its all-in-one build keeps it fairly portable. A TV in as well as audio are wonderful but with its built in Blu-ray drive and an HDMI port you can also stream content from the TouchSmart. Read on at Hardware Zone to see what they call the best family computer going.
"HP's TouchSmart makes a second return to our labs in a very familiar form factor, better functionality
and loaded with Windows 7. Let's see if there's anything new in this All-in-One package, shall we?"
Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
When there were only a handful of browsers around, one proprietary to the competition and a text only browser or three, the default winner was Internet Explorer. Years later there are many browsers out there snatching market share from IE and even the coding standard are moving away from IE's interpretation and now favour the ones who stick to a generally accepted standard. IE9 is looming on the horizon, which will support CSS 3, but it will also use the new Direct2D and DirectWrite found in Windows 7 only. Of course, there will also be improvements to Javascript. Read more at Ars Technica.
"At PDC, Microsoft talked about what the next version of its browser will bring to the world. IE9 will contain a new emphasis on performance and graphics, and should make the browser far more competitive with its competitors." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
So the first full day of supposed Radeon HD 5970 graphics card availability has come and gone - what do we have thus far?
Well that's no good - as of this writing (it's late and I am awake after a midnight run) Newegg.com has five HD 5970s listed from five different vendors - none of which are in stock. Prices on them "ranged" from $599 to $624 which is actually a bit better than I expected. Of course, it means squat until you find them available to bring home. Amazon doesn't have anything in stock either. TigerDirect.com either.
We are willing to give them a few days grace period, but after that, time to get some answers! The Radeon HD 5000-series of cards has seen too many varying delays and stock issues to just overlook at this point.
Allyn Malventano | Source: OCZ Technology | Subject: Storage
It's been a bumpy road for the OCZ Colossus. We caught our first glimpse of it back in June, and posted up some exclusive early testing data and pricing back in July. We've spent the past few months evaluating firmware performance, and have spent the past week torturing the prospective shipping firmware. I'm finishing up my long-term performance evaluation and will have a full review up shortly for your viewing pleasure.
The Colossus live and in the flesh at the PCPer Storage Lab. OCZ pushed out a formal press release which I have pasted below:
San Jose, Calif.—November 17, 2009—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and flash-based storage as an alternative to hard disk drives (HDDs), today released the Colossus 3.5” Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, designed to meet the performance and storage demands of high-end desktop users and enterprise clients. Available in up to one terabyte configurations, the Colossus Series marks a milestone in solid state drive technology, making it possible to have both high performance and high capacity in one solution.
“The new Colossus Series is designed to boost desktop and workstation performance and is for high power users that put a premium on speed, reliability and maximum storage capacity,” said Eugene Chang, VP of Product Management at the OCZ Technology Group. “The Colossus core-architecture is also available to enterprise clients with locked BOMs (build of materials) and customized firmware to match their unique applications.” In addition to ample capacity, the OCZ Colossus delivers excellent performance made possible by an internal RAID 0 architecture. Excelling at small file processes during common tasks such as emailing, web browsing, and file transfer, Colossus allows for a state-of-the-art computing experience from basic to complex applications: Maximum Performance: Colossus 3.5” SSD (120GB – 1TB) Maximum Read: 260MB/s Maximum Write: 260MB/s Sustained Write: 220MB/s Max IOPS (4k file size – random write): 14,000 For enterprise applications, Colossus SSDs not only diminish performance bottlenecks suffered by mechanical hard drive infrastructures, but reduce both heat and noise and provide a more durable alternative. This translates into exceptional energy-savings and reduced maintenance costs. Furthermore, the Colossus line is built with cost-effective multi-level cell (MLC) flash to make it a viable option for enterprise clients hesitant to adopt competing products due to the higher costs. The Colossus SSD is available in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB solutions to accommodate a broader spectrum of applications than current 2.5” SSD products; the 3.5” housing is a straight drop in for many existing rack systems. The Colossus SSD series has an excellent 1.5 million hour mean time between failures (MTBF) and comes backed by a leading 3-year warranty and dedicated technical support, ensuring peace of mind over the long term. Additionally, OCZ offers unique customization options for OEM clients that may require tailored hardware and firmware solutions for their unique business.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AMD | Subject: General Tech
May 1, 2009, marked AMD’s 40th anniversary. Formed by Jerry Sanders and seven co-founders in 1969, AMD is a company with a rich and colorful history. AMD's 40th anniversary is a testimonial to our longevity, our employees, our customers and our unique business approach. AMD takes great pride in our role of igniting next-generation technology solutions, as well as our ability to see where customer and end-user needs are headed next and then collaborate with the industry accordingly. These values are captured in our Fusion business approach: a unique combination of integration, intimacy and impact. Giving Back
Two down, one to go
The second contest, hosted on Twitter (@AMD_Unprocessed), showed that you really know your AMD stuff, and love the HP dv2z ultrathin notebook, with more than 1600 submissions. Four lucky know-it-alls walked away with a new HP notebook. In case you were wondering, the answers to the Twitter contest questions were:
Third (and Final) Contest
Entering for a chance to win is easy. All you have to do is become a fan of AMD on Facebook (www.facebook.com/amd), go to the ‘Giveaway’ tab and complete the online form. How easy is that? Starting on Monday, November 23 we’ll randomly pick one lucky entrant every weekday (Monday – Friday) for four weeks, until Friday, December 18. Enter once and you’re entered for the entirety of the contest so, if you enter on the first day, you could theoretically be picked a winner on the last. Get over there and good luck! Thanks to all who have helped celebrate this exciting milestone over the past year. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Editorial
Are you ready for the PC Perspective Podcast LIVE right here or by visiting http://live.twit.tv/?? Lots of great topics on the agenda for today!!!
Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective Podcast feed right here: http://pcper.com/podcast 
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
In case you haven't read through my entire article on the Radeon HD 5970 graphics beast from AMD (shame!), you might be interested in seeing a video that was embedded in our section on Eyefinity. Curious to see that new PC gaming title (that only sold 4 point something million copies across all platforms in one day) on a set of THREE 30-in monitors?
Sorry for the bit of fuzziness...
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Mobile
ASUS couldn't have picked a better time to release a netbook based on the NVIDIA ION chipset. With the release of the first public beta of Flash 10.1, which supports GPU accelerated Flash for the first time, the usage models for a netbook or nettop computer have shifted pretty dramatically. Prior to this release, the benefits of the ION chipset were somewhat muted - better gaming support (but who gamed on a 10" netbook anyway?), support for H.264 video file decode acceleration (cool but no Blu-ray drives on netbooks) and support for GPU-accelerated applications like Badaboom and vReveal (definitely good software but with a limited user base for now).
With the addition of Flash acceleration on the ION chipset a new world of application uses and differentiation between standard netbooks and ION-based netbooks materializes. Now you can finally watch PC Perspective's HD video reviews, high bit-rate YouTube video and even full screen 480p Hulu-based TV shows without choppiness and stuttering. The machine that ASUS is hoping will bring all of that to you on the go or in the living room? The new Eee PC 1201N Seashell Netbook: 
The Eee PC 1201N is unique for a few reasons. First, obviously, it includes the NVIDIA ION chipset to support all those features mentioned above including Adobe Flash acceleration. However, it is also one of the few netbooks to include the dual-core Atom N330 processor that should also help general system performance. It includes a 250GB hard drive and 500GB of online ASUS WebStorage (that ASUS is unfortunately branding as "750GB of hybrid storage") along with the 12.1-in widescreen display that uses a 1366x768 resolution.
It does include 7.1 channel audio support via the included HDMI output and incorporates 802.11n wireless networking, Bluetooth support and the ever-present integrated webcam along the top bezel. The keyboard style is of the "chicklet" design - one that is becoming dominant in retail stores as well it seems thanks to Apple's push in the direction. 
Battery life on this new netbook will probably not be outstanding thanks to the dual-core CPU and ION chipset - expect somewhere in the line of 3-4 hours of actual real-world usage.
The Eee PC 1201N will be available in piano-finish black or silver and should be available in late November/early December with a price tag of $499.
Fremont, CA (November 18, 2009) - Multimedia-minded consumers who prize the portability of netbooks but lament the typical lack of processing muscle now have a reason to rejoice. ASUS has launched the Eee PC™ 1201N, a multimedia netbook sporting an Intel® Atom™ 330 dual core processor and an NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor that delivers a level of performance never before seen on netbooks. The stylish Eee PC™ 1201N also offers exceptional typing comfort through a full-sized ergonomic chiclet keyboard, and comes with a total of 750GB* hybrid storage to house and host massive multimedia collections.
Faster than Ever Before The Eee PC™ 1201N marks a radical departure from other netbooks that usually feature single core Atom™ processors. With its Intel® Atom™ 330 dual core processor, NVIDIA ION graphics, and two-DIMM, dual-channel DDR memory architecture, the Eee PC™ 1201N will set new netbook performance benchmarks. More importantly, this combination shatters today’s netbook conventions by delivering a rich multimedia experience. A New World of Multimedia Possibilities The Eee PC™ 1201N features the award-winning NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor which provides a superior multimedia experience including support for HD video and PC games. NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology further boosts the Eee PC™ 1201N’s ability to work with visual content, accelerating processor-intensive tasks such as video editing and conversion. The Eee PC™ 1201N also comes preinstalled with ArcSoft SimHD, which upscales standard definition video content to high definition. SimHD, a plug-in for ArcSoft TotalMedia Theater, dramatically enhances the quality of images and supports a wide range of file formats. Users can enjoy a smooth HD video experience on the unit’s 12.1” high definition screen, or have the option of enjoying full 1080p HD video with true-fidelity 7.1 audio on HDTVs via the built-in HDMI port. Rene Haas, general manager for notebook GPUs at NVIDIA said, “The ASUS Eee PC 1201N delivers exceptional performance for a netbook. This ION-powered Eee PC is ideal for anyone who wants a netbook with the ability to watch HD video, share and edit photos, play casual games, and convert video to a portable media player. With the upcoming Flash Player 10.1 from Adobe, it will soon handle streaming HD video as well as a high-end desktop PC.” Massive Storage for Massive Multimedia Collections The Eee PC™ 1201N is fully equipped to handle the large amounts of memory that digital media consumes. Boasting a 250GB HDD and 500GB*** of online ASUS WebStorage—a total of 750GB—the Eee PC™ 1201N provides ample storage for users’ movies, music and photos. ASUS WebStorage not only makes it easy for users to share their media with friends and family, it grants them access to free games, desktop wallpapers, and software via a simple drag and drop interface.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Motherboards.org | Subject: Motherboard
Intel's chipsets are as famous as their processors, but finding an Intel branded board seems to be becoming rarer. The Intel DP55WG is out there however, and motherboards.org tested it out. It is a full ATX board with a P55 Express chipset and it uses a custom BIOS setup designed in house by Intel. The board its self is not a great overclocker, but it is worth pointing out that the using the Turbo button will work to get you to the upper edge of the boards performance, no need to manually tweak it. Check out the full review.
"Intel bills the DP55WG as a Media machine with a touch of Extreme. With Firewire, and a fully fledged audio solution in the form of a Realtek ALC889 which has content protection and Firewire, the DP55WG is a great solution for those wanting a Media PC with all of the features to play back Blu-Ray. Intel knows their customer base with motherboards for every need. From a performance point of view, the DP55WG performs near on par with its DP55KG in terms of performance but falls short on overclocking as one would expect from a non-Extreme board from Intel. Compatibility was excellent with the 870 and 750 working as advertised. This board is available from Newegg at $140, making a very respectable board at that price range. A solid Hot Product is to be found here, not really for the overclocker, but great for everyone else." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Mobile
Yesterday I got to spend some time with an interesting new notebook from ASUS - the G51J 3D. As the name implies, there is something special about the gaming notebook in that it supports NVIDIA 3D Vision technology. If 3D Vision is a new term for you, you should definitely check out my reviews of other 3D Vision offerings in the desktop world to get some background. The basic premise is that a user wears NVIDIA-built active shutter glasses in conjunction with a true 120 Hz LCD panel to produce real-time 3D effects that are in many cases pretty stunning.
Part of ASUS' gaming series of notebooks, the G51J 3D will be available in December and should have a retail price of about $1699. It is the worlds first notebook with 3D Vision support - the key factor of which is the 1366x768 resolution 120 Hz LCD panel. You can see from the photo above that the IR transmitter required for syncing the glasses and screen is still an external unit that plugs into the notebook via USB. This was somewhat disappointing as I assumed it would have been integrated into the bezel of the monitor. NVIDIA says that while future options later in 2010 may integrate that, the first round of 3D Vision capable notebooks will not.
The 3D glasses and transmitter are of course included in the package with the ASUS notebook though - so no need to hunt around for a set of these online if you pick up the G51J 3D. 
Besides the support for 3D technology, the G51J is still a capable gaming notebook with fairly impressive specs. They include a 15.6-in display powered by an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB discrete graphics solution, an Intel Core i5-720QM Lynnfield-based processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, 640GB of standard spindle-based storage and of course a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.
As I said above, I got to spend some time with the notebook in person yesterday and I came away just as impressed with this first mobile version of 3D Vision as I have been with the desktop version since its release. Besides the obvious benefits of 3D gaming, NVIDIA and ASUS were also showing off support for 3D images (taken with the new Fujifilm 3D camera) and videos - but good luck finding a lot of source material there.
Fremont, CA (November 17, 2009) - As the first notebook capable of producing realistic 3D visuals in games and videos, the new ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) G51J 3D is designed to deliver a truly immersive gaming and multimedia experience to gamers everywhere. Equipped with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ and bundled with specially designed 3D glasses, the ASUS G51J 3D—which sports an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M with 1GB DDR3 video memory — delivers adrenaline-pumping, edge-of-your-seat visuals anytime, anywhere. EAX and CMSS audio technology further enhances in-game immersion, delivering crystal clear sound and compelling environment audio effects through bespoke Altec Lansing® speakers. Powered by an Intel® Core™ i7 processor and 64-bit Windows® 7 operating system, the ASUS G51J 3D is the weapon of choice for discerning gamers who enjoy gaming-on-the-move.
Immersive Gaming: Bridging the Gap between the Virtual and Reality Equipped with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™, the ASUS G51J 3D delivers ultra-realistic graphics that come to life before the user. A pair of 3D Vision™ active-shutter glasses coupled with a wide-range infra-red emitter delivers stereoscopic images with clarity, brightness and depth-of-field (DOP) at full resolution without any viewing angle restrictions. The GPU driver and a 120Hz 3D panel render each scene twice, delivering up to 60 images evenly to each eye, amounting to a total of up to 120 images at any given time. Gamers can experience total immersion into their games from what were previously flat 2D worlds, to true-to-life 3D. With up to 400 PC games that work out-of-the-box with 3D Vision, gamers can experience a whole new dimension of gaming never-before seen, with recently released games such as Resident Evil® 5, Borderlands™, World of Warcraft®: Wrath of the Lich King™, Batman®: Arkham Asylum™ and Star Trek® D-A-C. “NVIDIA® is excited about the world’s first 3D Vision notebook coming from ASUS,” said Phil Eisler, General Manager of 3D Vision business unit at NVIDIA®. “The ASUS G51J 3D notebook will set the standard by which gaming and 3D notebooks will be judged. Congratulations to ASUS for achieving this monumental milestone!” Complementing the immersive visual effects is EAX Advanced HD 4.0 3D audio technology and CMSS surround sound. EAX Advanced HD 4.0 audio technology enhances in-game environments and scenarios by providing corresponding three dimensional sound effects. It can provide up to 64 additional sound effects from its sound library, and produces ultra-realistic spatial effects for more than 300 supported games. Together with high fidelity Altec Lansing® speakers, the ASUS G51J 3D delivers a gaming and multimedia audio experience that no other notebook can match. A Juggernaut of Power: Multitasking and Gaming Performance Powered by the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processor for multitasking muscle on-the-move, the ASUS G51J 3D features four dedicated physical cores working in tandem with the operating system and applications for additional performance. It allows users to utilize and launch multiple applications, and to enjoy high definition multimedia and processor-intensive games effortlessly. Set to Stun: Mind-blowing Graphics at Incredible Speeds The main area of concern for any discerning gamer when it comes to a gaming notebook is graphics, and the ASUS G51J 3D is designed specifically to meet or exceed their expectations. ASUS’ engineers have cleverly circumvented the thermal and placement issues that typically arise from fitting an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M into a 15.6-inch notebook. With 1GB DDR3 video memory onboard, the ASUS G51J 3D attained a 3DMark®06 score of well over 11,000*, a significant leap from other 15-inch to 16-inch notebooks in the market today. Pricing and Availability The ASUS G51J 3D notebook will be available in North America soon from Amazon.com, Newegg.com and other authorized resellers. The introductory MSRP is $1699.99 USD. For more information please visit our website.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
Right now at NewEgg you can pick up an Intel X25-M Mainstream 2.5" 160GB SATA II MLC Internal SSD(SSDSA2M160G2XXX) at an incredible price
The OEM price is $639.99 but there is a $50.00 instant rebate that brings the price down to $589.99. But wait, there's more! The promo code "BFPEEKSSD160" will drop the price by $175.00 making the 160GB second generation SSD only $414.99 and free shipping! Only one purchase per customer is allowed and the end date is the 22nd. TRIM firmware for these came out in parallel with Windows 7, unleashing incredible performance and 100 MB/sec write speed, but was a bit shaky. We are expecting that to be corrected within a week or two. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Case and Cooling
When a single graphics card beats 10,000 points on the Extreme 3DMark Vantage and refuses to dip below 100fps on every game Ryan tested, even at 2650 x 1600 with every single feature turned up to 11, you know you have unprecedented performance. Even a triple SLI rig would have trouble keeping up, and if it did then there is no reason you can't toss a second HD5970 into your system, apart from the $599 entrance fee. Join Ryan as he shatters benchmarks and sees games in a way never seen before.
"The new AMD Radeon HD 5970 graphics card takes PC gaming performance to a completely new level by combining a pair of Evergreen-based GPUs on a single PCB, 2GB of GDDR5 memory and plenty of headroom for overclocking. For a single card system, the performance that the HD 5970 provides is simply unmatched but that does not mean the card is without its slight misgivings." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: NVIDIA | Subject: Graphics Card
PORTLAND, Ore.— SC09—Nov. 16, 2009—NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today unveiled the Tesla 20-series of parallel processors for the high performance computing (HPC) market, based on its new generation CUDA processor architecture, codenamed “Fermi”. Designed from the ground-up for parallel computing, the NVIDIA Tesla 20-series GPUs slash the cost of computing by delivering the same performance of a traditional CPU-based cluster at one-tenth the cost and one-twentieth the power. The Tesla 20-series introduces features that enable many new applications to perform dramatically faster using GPU Computing. These include ray tracing, 3D cloud computing, video encoding, database search, data analytics, computer-aided engineering and virus scanning. “NVIDIA has deployed a highly attractive architecture in Fermi, with a feature set that opens the technology up to the entire computing industry,” said Jack Dongarra, director of the Innovative Computing Laboratory at the University of Tennessee and co-author of LINPACK and LAPACK. The Tesla 20-series GPUs combine parallel computing features that have never been offered on a single device before. These include:
At their core, Tesla GPUs are based on the massively parallel CUDA computing architecture that offers developers a parallel computing model that is easier to understand and program than any of the alternatives developed over the last 50 years. "There can be no doubt that the future of computing is parallel processing, and it is vital that computer science students get a solid grounding in how to program new parallel architectures," said Dr. Wen-mei Hwu, Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "GPUs and the CUDA programming model enable students to quickly understand parallel programming concepts and immediately get transformative speed increases." The family of Tesla 20-series GPUs includes:
The Tesla C2050 and C2070 products will retail for $2,499 and $3,999 and the Tesla S2050 and S2070 will retail for $12,995 and $18,995. Products will be available in Q2 2010. For more information about the new Tesla 20-series products, visit the Tesla product pages. Editors’ note: As previously announced, the first Fermi-based consumer (GeForce) products are expected to be available first quarter 2010. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GIGABYTE Technology | Subject: Case and Cooling
City of Industry, CA, November 18, 2009 – GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch their latest flagship motherboard, the GA-X58A-UD7. Based on the Intel X58 chipset, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 delivers all the killer next generation features that gaming enthusiasts and power users have been waiting for including GIGABYTE’s 333 Onboard Acceleration features with support for USB 3.0, Serial-ATA Revision 3.0 (6Gbps) and a 3x USB Power Boost, as well as multi-GPU support for NVIDIA 3-Way SLI and ATI CrossFireX and support for Intel’s upcoming 32nm high performance processors. “GIGABYTE is once again raising the standard by which all other motherboards are judged with our latest flagship GA-X58A-UD7,” commented Henry Kao, Vice President GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. “Featuring next generation storage capabilities including USB 3.0 and SATA 3, as well as GIGABYTE’s own unique 3x USB Power Boost, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 truly epitomizes everything that a highest performance, highest feature set motherboard is all about.” Continuing GIGABYTE’s technology leadership, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 features the revolutionary GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 3 design, with 2 ounces of copper for both the Power and Ground layers to enable dramatically lower system temperature, improved energy efficiency and enhanced stability for overclocking. The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 also features the GIGABYTE Smart 6 technology, offering a combination of 6 innovative software utilities that provides an easier and smarter way for managing your system, including improved system performance, faster boot-up time, secure platform management as well as easy to enable system recovery with a click of mouse button. The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 supports the latest Intel Core i7 processors for the LGA 1366 socket as well as Intel’s next generation 32nm processors, offering a high level of future CPU headroom for users wanting to maintain cutting-edge levels of performance. With the memory controller integrated directly into the processor die, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 also supports triple channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance. USB 3.0 Support
SATA 6 Gbps Support
3x USB Power Boost
For additional information about the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard, please visit the GIGABYTE website at: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_OverView.aspx?ProductID=3251 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: DriverHeaven | Subject: Case and Cooling
There are many rules to Star Trek, such as only watch the even numbered movies or you cannot make a good Star Trek game, unless you were very very lucky and worked on the 1992 Star Trek: 25th Anniversary
game. For the most part they ranged from the electronic equivalent of a root canal to slightly better than just quietly watching a turned off monitor. Now thanks to Cryptic Studios, we will soon have a Star Trek MMORPG set in the J.J. Abrams version of the Trek universe. Ship combat is the major focus but there will be hand to hand included as well. It is hard to say which end of the spectrum this game will fall on, but the brave can get a preview at Gaming Heaven.
"The Star Trek franchise is still massively popular and developer Cryptic Studios are hoping that by involving such a rich and diverse fantasy world they will get a huge portion of the game playing public interested in their new virtual Sci-Fi based MMO universe." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
You may remember back in the days when we were all eagerly awaiting an OS named Longhorn, mention of a project called MinWin. The idea was to put the Windows kernel on a serious weight loss program after its original NT kernel bloated itself while transforming into Win2K and WinXP. We had hoped to see the MinWin kernel, as well as a new file system with Vista but that just didn't happen. The MinWin project its self is alive and well, focusing on minimizing and compartmentalizing server code along with possible applications in mobile devices. Ars Technica takes you on a tour of their current efforts in this article.
"As Windows 2000 was being developed in the second half of the 1990s, Microsoft was firmly focused on building in as much functionality as possible, in a play to push Novell Netware aside and establish Windows NT as the operating system for the business world. When NT was released to manufacturing ten years ago, it was well-received by reviewers, businesses, and enthusiasts alike, and for much of the decade the OS has been considered by some to be the pinnacle of Windows releases. Its headline business features—Active Directory, Group Policy, Internet Information Services, Management Console, Windows Management Instrumentation—have become industry standards. But most importantly, Windows NT served as the technological basis for what can fairly be described as the most successful and well-known software product of all time: Windows XP." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Allyn Malventano | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
I've been tracking the release and subsequent recall of the new TRIM firmware for the Intel X25-M G2 SSD. A recent update came from the Intel NAND solutions group to reflect an estimated release date set to happen "by the end of November". Given Intel spends a few weeks certifying each new firmware build, it's very likely they have already isolated the problem and built the new firmware. The post includes some detail as to what you should do if you have updated (successfully or unsuccessfully) to the new 02HA firmware.
As an additional side note, those running Windows Vista and 7 should note that if you successfully updated your X25-M G2 to 02HA and have been using the SSD Toolbox to manually / additionally TRIM your drive, you may be subject to corrupted System Restore points. The Intel site contains details on what configurations can cause this issue and they have published a workaround for those in that situation at present. This corruption won't happen if you simply stop using the manual optimization feature of the SSD Toolbox. Intel is working on an updated version of their tool. I suspect that new tool will likely be made available alongside the updated / fixed TRIM firmware, once released. 
Updates are coming... Patience, DanielSon!
Our X25-M G2 coverage: Intel X25-M 'G2' 34nm 160GB SSD Review Intel X25-M 'G2' TRIM Enabled Firmware and SSD Toolbox Review
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Case and Cooling
The Enermax ECO80+ 620W
PSU can be yours for about $100 and with its 80+ rating it does indeed deserve to have ECO as part of its name. [H]ard|OCP has become quite familiar with Enermax PSUs in this power range and compared it to a few of those previous models as well as testing it on its own. The standard load testing results beat Liberty Eco 620W but on the Transient Load Testing it fared worse, DC Output Quality was the same. You have a number of choices in the 600-700W segment, make sure you are fully informed before you go and pick one up.
"Enermax produces some of the best computer power supplies in the world and has a great reputation for doing just that. We take a look at what Enermax does when it gets green and drops the price point for those of us on an enthusiast system building budget with the ECO80+ at 620 watts." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AMD | Subject: Graphics Card
Catalyst 9.11 is here!
New Features GPU Acceleration of H.264 video content using Adobe Flash Player 10.1
Beta
High Quality downscaling for video transcoding MSE
Highlights of the Linux ATI Catalyst(tm) 9.11 release include: New Features Support for new Linux operating systems
For more information on ATI Catalyst(tm) 9.11 (for Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Linux versions), including all of the resolved issues in this release, please see the ATI Catalyst 9.11 release notes.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: MSI | Subject: Graphics Card
[City of Industry, CA] World renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, MSI, formally releases the world's first graphics card to support over-voltage functionality with the N240GT series. Including the N240GT-MD512-OC/D5 and N240GT-MD1G, this series allows the user to adjust both the voltage and the overclocking configurations via the Afterburner overclocking software to increase GPU clock up to 30%! Additionally, this series utilizes an advanced 40nm GPU, supports the DirectX 10.1 gaming standard, and offers a native HDMI output for awesome 3D support and high-definition entertainment. The N240GT-MD512-OC/D5 uses extremely fast 512 MB GDDR5 graphic memory and implements military class components to offer an incredible cost-performance value to customers. Use Afterburner to adjust voltage and overclock the MSI N240GT graphics card
The all-new 40nm GPU
Support for the DirectX 10.1 graphical standard
Military class components, stable and quiet
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GIGABYTE Technology | Subject: Graphics Card
GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today presents the latest GeForceTM GT240 Series graphics cards - “GV-N240D5-512I & GV-N240D3-1GI”. Thanks to advanced 40nm process, GV-N240D5-512I and GV-N240D3-1GI provide better performance while using less power. Even during hardcore overclocking the graphics cards can still run in low operating temperatures. Using GDDR5 memory, GV-N240D5-512I promises high speed gaming experience. Both GV-N240D5-512I and GV-N240D3-1GI are supported by GIGABYTE specially-designed large fan sinks which allow cool air to flow freely to and guarantee quick heat dissipation. HDMIFantastic Graphics and Video Experience
GV-N240D3-1GI implements GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 boards that guarantee outstanding cooling, lowest power loss, and longer product life. Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs have lower power consumption during the switching process, resulting in less heat generated by the GPU. Ferrite Core chokes hold energy much longer than common iron-core chokes and lower ESR Solid Capacitor are more stable and reliable than other cards on the market.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Guru of 3D | Subject: Graphics Card
Although it is very nice to see nVIDIA finally putting GDDR5 on their cards, they managed to tarnish the launch of the GT 240 by pulling a mean trick on buyers of low end cards. There are two versions of nVIDIA's enw low end card, a DDR3 version which runs at 2000 MHz and offers 32.0 GB/s of bandwidth and a GDDR5 version which runs at 3400MHz with 54.4 GB/s of memory bandwidth. To add to the confusion there will be both 512MB versions and 1GB versions. Confused yet?
At least you can see how it measures up to the two current low end cards from nVIDIA and AMD at the Guru of 3D; they've got the GDDR5 version. "GeForce GT240 is designed for a the lower segment of the mainstream market and comes with support for DX10.1 GeForce GT240 comes packed with 96 shader cores and features GDDR3 memory, however if you throw in an extra tenner -- you can get a 128-bit gDDR5 memory version as well -- giving the card some more breathing space in terms of memory bandwidth and in the end overall performance. Wanna find out what the card is all about?" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
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