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Das CLICKY CLICKY Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 05:57 PM
If you miss the old IBM Model Ms, that gave you a nice juicy click every time you pressed a key and every time you release the key, then try the Das Keyboard Professional.  Not only does it have the right feel to it, it is sturdy enough to defend your cubicle when co-workers come over to try to take it, and it's sound effects away.  If you have any idea what I mean, drop by ExtremeTech, otherwise invest in some earplugs.

"Silence is overrated, or at least that's what the makers of the Das Keyboard would like you to think. If you're in search of a keyboard that has the tactile and aural feedback of a typewriter, then fix your attention towards the Das Keyboard Professional. It's shiny, it's loud, and it'll bug the hell out of your co-workers—so please, use discretion in the workplace.

Unlike the first two Das Keyboards, the Professional doesn't have the allure and mystery of label-less keys, a tactic meant to discourage hunt-and-peckers from looking down at the typing area. Aside from its labeled, clicky keys, the Professional has refined its appearance: a leaner 18x6-inches, glossy façade, durability of a freaking tank."

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Return of TV Wonder Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 02:57 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: techPowerUp! | Subject: System
techPowerUp has snagged one of the new AMD PCIe TV Wonder 600s, which along with its' 650 brother are the first AIW products we have seen in quite some time.  The is the less expensive model, so it is missing some of the features of the higher end model such as a slim profile and HD support.  It does handle digital cable, so you don't have to worry about the death of analog TV.  Drop by and check it out.

"The new TV Wonder 600 PCIe TV tuner card is the PCI-Express x1 entry level model of the new series. This is also the first time that the TV Wonder series is available in Europe with the PAL standard. It can be used for analog or DVB-T signals and manages MPEG encoding by software. The card is built on a fancy purple PCB, comes with an extremely stylish IR receiver along with a remote and PowerCinema 5."

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Give your RAM a summer outfit Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 01:02 PM
Drop by Tweaktown for a walkthrough of removing stock heatspreaders from RAM and replacing them with 3rd party coolers.  Their article specifically pertains to Kingston DDR2 and a Nexus heatpipe cooler, but the theory does carry over to other models.  Especially seeing as how they cover 3 different methods of removing the stock coolers, which is really the hardest part.
Take your time and do it right Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 11:56 AM
Lee has just finished up a review of the Corsair HX1000W PSU, a very well made PSU with nothing not to recommend it.  The price is in line with the quality and the power provided, but if a PSU can impress Lee this much, you know every penny is well spent.  Besides, how can you complain about the price of your PSU after sticking 3 graphics cards in your system, which is what the HX1000 is designed for.

"Corsair took their time and did it right. The new HX1000W modular power supply is one of the best 1,000W PC power supplies we have tested to date. The HX1000W PSU provides excellent voltage regulation and delivers clean outputs with very good efficiency. As if that weren't enough, the HX1000W does it's job quietly, is 80Plus and NVIDIA Triple SLI certified, and comes backed with a 5-year warranty and 24/7 support. Highly recommended!"

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Now that's timing Thu, Jul 03, 2008 - 11:44 AM
nVIDIA is really having a lousy summer.  Their attempt to distract from AMD's launch pf the HD4800 series with the 9800GTX+ was all but ignored by reviewers; those few who did review it tended to lean towards AMD's cheaper offerings.  Now it comes out that their notebook chipsets and graphics have serious problems, problems that may extend to their add-on cards as well.  AMD now has an opportunity to lay the boots in, as their dual GPU HD4870 X2 should be out in a month.  Drop by The Inquirer to read about all of nVIDIA's woes.

"NVIDIA IS TANKING, we told you so. It just put out two pieces of very bad news, It's taking a $150-200 million charge in the quarter for what looks to be a product failure, and ATI is kicking its rear end.

If you look at the 8K form it just filed, there are two big pieces of bad news. The first is that some unnamed mobile and MCP products have big problems, hundreds of millions of dollars worth. It is said to be, "Arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP and GPU products used in notebook systems". That is bad, but to make matters funnier, "There can be no assurance that we will not discover defects in other MCP or GPU products."

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Better benchmarks can be yours Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 05:44 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TECHGAGE | Subject: Graphics Card
But that is about all the benefit you will see from nVIDIA's PhysX capable GPUs, unless you are one of the few still playing UT3 (like me).  Those benefits that you saw in 3DMark, and heard arguing about, are really the only benefit.  UT3 is better with the stand alone card and as it stands currently, GRAW is not compatible with the GPU PhysX; which may change in the near future.  Drop by Techgage for some hard numbers on the benefits of nVIDIA's newest feature.
Alone with your iPhone Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 02:47 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: I4U News | Subject: General Tech
iMetal's iP-HS2 Isolation Headset will work on anything that can use headphones, though it is branded as an iPhone accessory.  You feel a little odd having a microphone attached your MP3 player, but the advanatages of isolating in-the-ear headsets may make you want it anyways. Drop by I4U and get a look at these neodymium driven ear buds.

"Today we are looking at the iMetal iP-HS2 Isolation Headset for iPhone that is designed to work specifically with the iPhone. The headset is very attractive and works well. The other day we reviewed teh iP-HS1 model from the same company.

I found that the ear tips are rather small in their sizes; I typically use medium ear tips on most isolation style headsets. On the iMetal iP-HS2 Isolation Headset for iPhone, I had to move up to the large to get the same seal and fit I normally see with medium tips. If you have large ears, this could be an issue for you."

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Audio Corner


Goodbye 65nm Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 01:06 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: Processor
AMD is thinking conservatively with it's Phenom line which will hopefully pay off in the business and server markets, for they are not impressing the enthusiast with their three new chips.  The chips are faster than previous offerings and retain the low pricing, gaining a reduced TDP and unlocked multipliers.   Drop by Ars Technica for an overview of the 2Ghz Phenom 9350e compared against an underclocked 9850.


"AMD hasn't launched a new Phenom X4 processor since late last March, when the B3-based 2.5GHz Phenom 9850 hit the market. Today, the company is making up for lost time, debuting two new 65W energy-efficient Phenom X4s at 1.8GHz and 2GHz, while simultaneously releasing a new higher-end chip at 2.6GHz. This triple play is aimed at boosting the attractiveness of the company's quad-core products in the eyes of both consumers seeking energy-efficient parts and enthusiasts who want top performance from an AMD solution.

Of the three chips launching today, we'll focus the majority of our attention on the new 2GHz Phenom, the 9350e. At $199, AMD's new 2GHz part isn't the company's cheapest quad-core, but the chip's 65W rated TDP is considerably lower than the X3 and X4 processors positioned at similar frequencies. The Phenom X3 8450 (2.1GHz), and Phenom X4 9550 (2.2GHz) are both 95W parts, which implies that we should see some excellent power consumption figures from the new CPU. The 2.6GHz Phenom X4 9950 does deserve a mention of its own; we'll discuss the processor briefly before moving on."

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Diablo turns 11, makes gamers feel old Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 12:27 PM
Blizzard is one company that gets a big break from gamers.  StarCraft came out a long time ago, but there are no running gags about StarCraft 2's release, even after a year of screenshots and teasers.  The same goes for Diablo, which has been close to a decade since it's last update and is finally getting updated.  Ars Technica can tell you more about Blizzard's announcement of Diablo 3, as well as links to the official site and several of the newer screenshots and teasers.

"Before World of Warcraft was raking in billions of dollars in revenue for the company, Blizzard's biggest RPG franchise was none other than the classic Diablo. Now, some eight years after the release of Diablo II, the company has announced the long-awaited and oft-rumored brand-new iteration in the series, Diablo III. Related Stories

Blizzard unveiled the title over the weekend at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France. Though no release date or window has been announced, Blizzard notes that the title will be hitting PCs and Macs simultaneously. When questioned about when fans might expect a potential release, the company responded as it always does by saying the equivalent of "when it's ready."

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Gaming


Come back zinc, Come Back!! Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 12:07 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Slashdot | Subject: General Tech
The dire warning we heard on The Simpsons may soon come true, if the story on Slashdot is correct.  For some strange reasons the rare earth elements used in many processes today are in short supply.  You may not have heard much about hafnium, gallium or indium but they are present in trace amounts in almost all of your electronics, and they are necessary for current technology.  If there are no replacements, substitutes or large undiscovered deposits that can be reached, peak oil may be the least of your worries.

"While we bemoan the current oil crisis, I ran across an editorial that led me to research a more immediate threat. Ramped-up production of flat-panel displays means the material to make them will be 'extinct' by 2017. This goes for other electronics as well. Quoting: 'The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany's University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet's stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century.' More links at the journal entry."

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N5200PRO, the Energy Saving Device at Home or Office Wed, Jul 02, 2008 - 11:42 AM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Thecus | Subject: Storage

Thecus N5200PRO is extremely well-received by users and IT media worldwide. It is regard as the best of its category. Huge storage capacity under high level of data protection, outstanding performance and numerous functions are the reasons why it is recognized as one of the most desirable digital storage solution for offices and homes to store valuable data.

Since N5200PRO usually operates at long period of time, power consumption is a major concern for users. With its energy saving design, N5200PRO requires limited power to execute tasks. Below is power consumption under 3 operation statuses:

  1. Without HDDs: 39W while running without any HDD.
  2. Access: 79W while transferring files (with 5 750GB WD Caviar HDDs).
  3. Standby: 57W during system (& disk) standby.

The average office PC draws approx. 110W of electricity. Therefore, with 5 high capacity hard drives and maximum loading, N5200PRO power consumption is 28% lower than average PC. It is considered as energy saving device and is applicable to network environment. Users do not need to worry about huge electricity bill when leaving N5200PRO running for a long time. The energy conserving design allows the device to operate with limited electricity.




AMD Phenom 9350e: A Tale of Woe and Despair Tue, Jul 01, 2008 - 09:44 PM
Josh Walrath | Source: AMD | Subject: Processor
Today is the launch of the 9150e and 9350e Phenom processors, as well as the new Black Edition 9950.  The "e" series of chips are rated at a nice 65 watts, and are aimed at productivity boxes as well as HTPCs.  The high end 9950 chip is unlocked and ready for some overclocking action.  It also sets a new record for power at 140 watts TDP.  The 9150e is clocked at 1.8 GHz, the 9350e is at 2 GHz, and the 9950 is sitting pretty at 2.6 GHz (a full 9 months after the infamous Tahoe launch event).

I was sent a 9350e, and while Ryan was busy getting married and frolicking in the sun somewhere down south, I was supposed to be reviewing this sub-65 watt, sub-$200 processor.  Apparently my wife was not in the mood to have me review a product all weekend, so she decided to fall down the stairs at home and break her ankle in three places.  An ambulance ride (yes, the break was that bad), and ER visit, and a trip to the operating room fleshed out the rest of my day.  Throw in a 5 year old boy and a newly adopted 6 year old boy, I had my hands full without even getting close to the testbench.  So basically the weekend was slightly unproductive when it comes to a processor testing standpoint.

Yesterday I had my chance to really dig in and hopefully get things finished up.  Now it seems that Biostar did not want me to finish the review.  I have their 780G motherboard here, and it refused to cooperate in any way, shape, or form when it came to successfully booting up and installing Windows while the quad core processor was residing in the socket.  Flashing the BIOS and adjusting everything I could think of would not allow the board to boot up.  Different memory speeds, timings, dimm manufacturers, power supplies... nothing made the board cooperate with the 9350e.

So about 10 pm I gave up on the Biostar and went back to the Asus M3A32 MVP-Deluxe.  An OS re-install later, updating, benchmark installation and testing... and it was 2am.  So I went to sleep for 4 hours, got back up and continued testing, then went to my job at 8am.  So now you all know the reason why there is not a lovely 9350e review up at PC Per.  I'm still working on comparative testing then will finish writing the article.  I am hoping it will be up later tonight, but when you consider that as of late... if it wasn't for bad luck, we would have no luck at all.

Some mixed reviews around the web, but so far my overall impression is positive.  AMD is not doing anything revolutionary or radical with their products, but they are trying to fill a niche where they see a chance to sell some processors.  Once I finish testing, then I am sure I will have a far more concrete opinion on the Phenom 9350e.


I'm just mad about SATA Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 05:11 PM
Hardware Secrets can tell you all you want to know about Serial ATA, it's different flavours and speeds.  It's more that just a quick picture of a SATA cable and a PATA cable, they delve into NCQ, port multipliers and even pinout diagrams.  Drop by for a look into the newest way to cut cable clutter and speed up your data transfers.

"Serial ATA - or simply SATA - is the hard disk standard created to replace the parallel ATA interface, a.k.a. IDE. SATA provides a transfer rate of 150 MB/s or 300 MB/s against of a 133 MB/s maximum using the previous technology. In this tutorial we will explain everything you need to know about Serial ATA."

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BFG FACTORY OVERCLOCKED GEFORCE GTX 260 OC2 AND OCX GRAPHICS CARDS Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 04:48 PM
Lake Forest, IL - (June 30, 2008) - BFG Technologies, Inc., the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies and other PC enthusiast products, announced today the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX factory overclocked graphics cards.

Backed with 24/7/365 free technical support and a lifetime warranty, the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and OCX versions are factory overclocked graphics cards that go through extensive testing to find the right mix of speeds for the core, memory, and shader clocks that will produce the best performance and uncompromised stability at each level.

"Customers should be aware that companies who follow our lead and factory overclock their GPUs tend to rush into setting clocks as high as possible just to claim the highest MHz. However, without extensive testing these cards are likely to be more unstable and prone to a shorter life then are BFG OC series cards", said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG Technologies. "The rigorous testing process we put our GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and OCX cards through to find the optimal speeds for the core, memory, and shader clocks gives customers a more stable, longer lasting, and better performing card overall".


BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2
  • Memory: 896MB GDDR3
  • Core Clock: 630MHz (vs. 576MHz standard)
  • Shader Clock: 1350MHz (vs. 1242MHz standard)
  • Memory Data Rate: 2126MHz (vs. 1998MHz standard)

BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX

  • Memory: 896MB GDDR3
  • Core Clock: 655MHz (vs. 576MHz standard)
  • Shader Clock: 1404MHz (vs. 1242MHz standard)
  • Memory Data Rate: 2250MHz (vs. 1998MHz standard)
Two fans are better than one Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 03:41 PM
SilenX's IXTREMA Pro IXC-120HA2 features exposed heatpipes and the ability to support a pair of 120mm fans for some extra cooling power on those systems which require it.  Bjorn3D was quite impressed with the cooling it could provide as well as it's relatively quiet operation.  They did feel the inclusion of a fan controller would have been a good idea though.

"We have seen many newcomers to the computer cooling industry; and lately, many of these newcomers have been making a name for themselves, like Noctua and Zerotherm. These companies are now competing against well-established manufacturers like ThermalRight and Zalman, and today, we will be reviewing another heatsink and fan from SilenX - even another manufacturer that is quickly becoming a big player in the PC cooling industry."

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It only works when unobserved Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 01:41 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tech ARP | Subject: Motherboard
Foxconn BlackOps X48 Express has a lot of features bearing the name Quantum for some reason, but don't let the cheesy naming fool you, this board is rather impressive.  It will support DDR3-1600, 8 phase power, and has a rather interesting cooling design which will support cooling with dry ice.  That may not be the most useful feature, but it is certainly unique.  Drop by TechARP for a closer look.

"Foxconn is a relative newcomer to the motherboard business, at least in the retail segment. The truth of the matter is that thhey have been manufacturing motherboards for ages, albeit for other companies. They have only recently entered the retail market under the Foxconn brand name.

Recently, they announced the availability of their new Foxconn BlackOps X48 Express motherboard. This is the latest addition to their Quantum Force series of motherboards, which are designed specifically for extreme overclocking. In fact, it is so packed full of features that Foxconn is proudly claiming that it is far superior to what was considered the ultimate overclocker's motherboard - the ASUS Rampage Formula."

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Take a good look, you won't see this one for a while Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 11:51 AM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Legit Reviews | Subject: Mobile
Legit Reviews has more information on the upcoming Toshiba Qosmio, the x305 model in this case which has some rather nice sounding components.  Built around a 3GHz Intel C2D, supporting up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM and with a pair of 200GB 7200rpm drives, the raw performance should be impressive.  Add a 17" 1680x1050 screen powered by a mysterious nVIDIA Geforce 9800M GTX graphics with 1GB RAM and you have one impressive laptop. 

"The graphics on the Qismio x305 will be powered by the yet to be announced nVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX graphics card, which has 1GB of video memory. For those that still want to game, but save some hard earned dollars we overheard that consumers can customize the notebook with the less expensive GeForce 9700M GT graphics card rather than the GeForce 9800M GTX. NVIDIA hasn't said much about this un-released graphics card, but they did have the Toshiba Qosmio x305 notebook on display at a Microsoft Corporation event this week called the Games for Windows Presents: The Big Picture..."

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Visible war Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 11:39 AM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hexus | Subject: General Tech
AMD's HD4870 and HD4850 finally deliver on what many enthusiasts have been waiting for these past few generations of GPUs; some competition.  nVIDIA has been far and away the better choice for performance and often for price as well.  These two new cards from AMD have worried nVIDIA enough that HEXUS thinks we should see some significant changes to nVIDIA's next generation of chips.  We all expect performance increases, but nVIDIA may have to tighten up their bottom line and sell the next generation of cards at a lower price than they may have planned.

"Byrne thinks AMD/ATI’s aggressive pricing is just one of its current problems. “One of NVIDIA’s challenges is how to bring a new series to market when you already have so much stock out there,” he says. “Also we have a ‘less is more’ partner strategy whereas NVIDIA’s is ‘more is more’ and that doesn’t work when times are tough.”

NVIDIA has roughly three times as many board partners as AMD/ATI, which can help it maximise sales when its GPUs are heavily in demand but can complicate matters when adjustments are needed, such as when your competitor gets its act together.

For a look at how AMD has gone about getting its act together on the GPU front, read on... "

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Tech Talk


Diamond's Unlocked Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition Graphics card Mon, Jun 30, 2008 - 11:16 AM

CHATSWORTH, CA - June 27, 2008 - Diamond Multimedia, a leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, sound cards and communications products, launched today along with boutique system builder Smoothcreations, and Water cooling mavens, Danger Den the ATI Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition graphics card. This card offers exquisite gaming capabilities combined with state of the art efficiency.

The HD 4870 is a smoking gun dual slot card, PCIE 2.0, with 512MB of DDR5 memory and a clock speed of 800 MHz. The memory speed is 1100 MHz and is designed with 800 stream processors. The HD 4870 provides plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX upgradeability with up to quad-GPU support. Continuing with ATI's Power Play and 55nm processing technology, this card is the fastest and efficient. "The Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition was clocked to kick some ass". We didn't just want a fast card out in the market, we wanted the fastest card that could kick the living daylights and bust some performance records, say Mario Gastelum, Director of Product Development & Engineering. "we wanted a card that kicked the competitions teeth into the curb", and that's exactly what our engineers accomplished". "The firmware was custom designed to enable end users to go beyond the normal over clocked speeds and allow them to push their cards for higher performance via the catalyst control center." The GPU's custom firmware has been unlocked to push cards to GPU settings of up to 950 Mhz and Memory of up 1200 Mhz.


Summer heat is good for the user; not so much for the hardware Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 06:22 PM
Psychiatrists are currently arguing about codifying Internet addiction into the next update to the DSM as a mental disorder, but they are ignoring a far, far worse condition; hardware upgrade addiction.  Help a forum member avoid the social stigma of this horrible disease by offering advice on the components most likely to provide enough performance to delay his next upgrade as long as possible.  On the other hand, there are plenty of productive members of society that have come to terms with their problems.

Dropping by the video card forum will let you see how well the new AMD 4870 works for one of our forum members, as well as letting you participate in the debate spawned by Ryan's article.  In the storage forum you can see how often forum members defragment their drives, so far it's nowhere near what CNET, PC Mag and the rest seem to be advising in their email alerts. 

Or, if you wish to just skip all that great advice, make sure to drop by The Trading Forum for some great deals, TLR for some great debate, or just the off-topic forum for some great links and general strangeness.



... and take a day off work/school next week, you deserve it!

Get the right match for your Wolfdale Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 02:34 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Madshrimps | Subject: Processor
Madshrimps takes a look at the overclocking performance of Intel's new Wolfdale processor on all of the major chipsets currently on the market.  Most of their time is spent on the Intel chipsets, for as they put it (nVIDIA's) "680i = 780i = 790i".  There really isn't that much difference, whereas the Intel chipsets have had some significant changes in their updates.

"Bought yourself a brand new Intel 45nm CPU? Those Wolfdale CPUs are the ideal candidate for some overclocking action. In this article we help you extract the most from it by selecting the correct motherboard. Choose the wrong one and you are stuck at low overclock, pick the right one and the sky is the limit!"

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A lot of choice at the lower end Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 01:42 PM
If you are looking for a graphics card update, and you budget just cannot stretch beyond $150, then the 9600 GTS is perfect for you.  Ryan tried three different models, the $130 ASUS EN9600GT Silent and ASUS EN9600GT TOP and the $150 XFX 9600 GT XXX Edition.   Read through the review and see if you want to spend the extra $20 for the overclocked version.

You can also hear the reactions of Ryan, Josh and myself to the 9800GTX+ and AMD's two great graphical gifts in the 32nd edition of the PC Perspective Podcast.


"Even with new GPUs from both AMD and NVIDIA the GeForce 9600 GT is very appealing. Price drops and a large variety of cards featuring passive coolers, overclocked cores and custom heatsinks have expanded the 9600GT market to offer someone for just about everyone. If you are looking for a new budget graphics card check out out roundup of options."

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You load sixteen cores, and what do you get ... Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 12:23 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AnandTech | Subject: System
Serious multi-threaded processing power and a tight race between Intel and AMD in the server market.  AnandTech, with a little help, tested quad socket, quad core server setups to see if AMD can climb back into what used to be their strongest market.  Take a look at how the server market is right now, just before the release of Dunnington.

"Accounting for up to 56% of market share in the US and 40% worldwide, the quad-socket market is the last stronghold of AMD. It is a small stronghold, as for every 4S server, there about 17 dual-socket and four single-socket servers sold. However, since each 4S server contains four CPUs, the 4S server market accounts for about 10% of the server CPUs sold. More importantly, the margins are quite a bit higher than in the popular 2S market, and as a result those 10% of server CPU shipments are good for 20% of the revenue, and it gets even better."

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GeForce GTX 260s show up at Newegg Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 12:20 PM
Ryan Shrout | Source: 3DCenter | Subject: Graphics Card

A torrent of FUD Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 11:50 AM
As shocking as it may seem, Bell may not have been completely honest about the effect P2P has had on network congestion.  As many were probably already aware, since packets really don't care what route they take, the 2-5% of their network that supposedly suffered from P2P related congestion was simply Bell being too lazy to re-route the traffic.  This is good news even if Bell isn't your ISP; you are using their copper and fibre, which your ISP has leased and suffering from the throttling.  Get more info, and a link to the inevitable 'data isn't a Chevy' analogy at the Inquirer.

"TELCO BELL'S OWN DATA contradicts its belief that P2P traffic is congesting its networks.

Bell was ordered to release some details about how important it was to throttle P2P traffic and how file sharing was hurting the company.

It did this and has been clearly trying to spin the information to cover the fact its evidence is starting to look a bit weak.

The most damaging evidence is a claim that over two months two to five per cent of their network suffered some sort of congestion. It did not say if the problem was sustained or brief bursts of congestion.

Bell admits that "while these numbers may seem low to the average lay person, they are significant to network traffic engineers such that it is important to consider the number of congested links in the proper context."

If only a single link in the network is congested, end users may still experience slowdowns or dropped connections, it said.

However engineers reading the document here said that the whole idea is bogus as blockages in one area can be easily re-routed. The congestion Bell claims to be suffering from is nothing and its figures completely dispel the myth that P2P is crushing the internet."

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Tech Talk


VIA Pico-ITX Goes Low Profile, Integrates Power Supply Fri, Jun 27, 2008 - 11:08 AM
Taipei, Taiwan, 27 June 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA P700 Pico-ITX board that couples more features within a streamlined, ultra compact footprint designed for low profile systems, with extended I/O port options through two companion boards.
 
Now featuring native S-ATA II support, Gigabit LAN, and support for GPIO, SM bus and LPC devices, the 10cm x 7.2cm VIA EPIA P700 is based on the VIA VX700 unified digital media IGP chipset and is powered by a 1GHz VIA C7 or fanless 500MHz VIA Eden ULV processor. An integrated power adapter coupled with the 5-volt S-SATA power cable negates the need for a separate power daughterboard, saving considerable space for ultra compact systems.
 
Linear on-board pin-header placement means developers can use a single cable to effortlessly connect various I/O devices in a streamlined way that reduces cable clutter. Flexible battery placement is also geared towards improved miniaturization, making the VIA EPIA P700 the most slimline Pico-ITX board yet.
 
Two companion boards make light work of design implementation and product testing. The P700-A board features an RJ45 port, a VGA port and a COM port, while the P700-B sports four USB ports and three audio jacks for multi-channel surround sound. The two companion boards fit seamlessly with the streamlined linear pin-headers on either side of the VIA EPIA P700 to enable ultra low profile devices.
 
"VIA has listened to its customers to learn how we can add even greater features to our products," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Pico-ITX continues to evolve in tandem with the needs of our customers, addressing the challenge of producing full-featured, ultra compact embedded systems that can be brought to market as quickly and as easily as possible."

A handy way to share what you play Thu, Jun 26, 2008 - 06:48 PM
If you are looking for an easy way to play your iPod in your car or anywhere else you are having difficulty connecting it, try the Belkin TuneCast Auto.  It is an FM transmitter that will broadcast whatever your iPod is playing to an FM channel that you pick, it is as easy as that.  circuitREMIX were a little dissapointed with the Clearscan feature, but didn't find that one lack to take too much away from a perfectly good gadget.

"I normally don't review non-computer accessories circuitREMIX, but I made an exception for Belkin's TuneCast Auto with Clearscan for iPhone/iPod. For one, iPods are hugely popular around the world and the new iPhone 3G is going to make a huge splash on July 11. As well, I personally own some iPods and I intend on buying an iPhone 3G when they're released. In my personal interest in the matter, I've had some trouble finding a good FM transmitter for my iPods. My car is from 2003, and that was before most cars came standard with auxilary input jacks for audio devices. It also doesn't have a cassette deck, and since I'm still using the OEM stereo, there isn't an easy way to install a direct cable input. Using an FM transmitter is my only easy option to get audio from my iPods to my stereo, and out the speakers."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner


Help your CPU keep cool and achieve a state of peace Thu, Jun 26, 2008 - 03:13 PM
Zerotherm's Zen FZ120 CPU Cooler is about the same size and shape of the Ultra 120 from Thermalright, and has similar performance.  SPCR did like the amount of heat this cooler can deal with, but they did find that the fan hurt their sensitive ears at 12V.  Take a read through the review and see if you are willing to sacrifice a little quiet for a bit mroe cooling.

"The Zerotherm Zen FZ120 is a conventional, high performance, tower heatsink — it has four U-shaped heatpipes, tightly packed fins, and a 120mm PWM fan attached via wire clips. It sports a few curves and contours reminiscent of the BTF80/BTF90 "butterfly" coolers (which were quite good)... but the sheer size of the new Zen makes it a more serious contender."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click 

Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


AMD gets physical Thu, Jun 26, 2008 - 01:57 PM
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: NGOHQ | Subject: Graphics Card

Oh, grow up!!! Thu, Jun 26, 2008 - 12:11 PM
The cries are familiar to anyone who remembers the schoolyard back in the primary grades; screams of "No fair, you cheated" echo and messages are passed via third parties, "I won't talk to him unless he talks to me first"  and "Oh ya, well he better apologize first or I won't ever speak to him". Unfortunately, this bitching and moaning is not emanating from small children, though you could be forgiven for thinking so, that whine you hear is coming from people who should have gotten over that type of behaviour years ago.

Josh spoke with Roy Taylor of NVIDIA, Dave Erskine and David Baumann of AMD, Mark Rein of Epic Games, and Oliver Baltuch of Futuremark to get their takes on this.
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