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:: PC Perspective . News
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.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: General Tech
Tessellation is the killer app of DX11, making the jump from DX10 much more impressive than the jump from DX9 to DX10. There is a bit of bad news for HD5xxx owners out there which is the performance hit that comes from the breaking up of large triangles into dozens of tiny ones. In [H]ard|OCP's testing of the Unigine Heaven benchmark they saw a drop of about 40% when they enabled tessellation, but the visual impact is much greater. Check out the screenshots and pay particular attention to how the wire frames change. That huge increase in the amount of polygons is what tessellation is all about.
"What does DX11 Tessellation look like in a real-time 3D engine? Unigine’s Heaven Benchmark supports DX11
with Tessellation and we’ve taken a look at Tessellation in this unique application. Tessellation has the
potential to improve the gameplay experience, and you’ll see why once you see these screenshots."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Techware Labs | Subject: Case and Cooling
The AXUS FiT 500 RAID box can hold up to 5 drives and allow you to set up a variety of different RAID configurations depending on your needs. It can be attached via either USB 2.0 or eSATA, choosing eSATA will help your transfer rates significantly, to the point where it almost equals an internal connection. Whether you are considering an external RAID because of space concerns in your system or like the extra portability that the box offers, either way you should be quite happy with AXUS' RAID box. You can see how it behaves in Techware Labs review.
"RAID is a very useful and inexpensive way to increase performance on your machine. RAID is also a very useful and inexpensive way to increase performance with your external data. The AXUS FiT 500 is a great product to do just that with easy RAID management and configuration, and using eSATA it's almost just as fast as an internal RAID. Check out the AXUS FiT 500, you wont regret it." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tech Spot | Subject: Motherboard
Sitting in the middle of ASUS' P55 line of boards is the $220 P7P55D Deluxe, still sporting most of the new features such as Express Gate, instant-on OS, BIOS OC profiles, and heat-pipe cooling for the hotter components on the board. You will also find 9 SATA 3Gbps ports, although ASUS decided to place 3 completely different controllers on the board to handle them. A VIA VT2020 10-channel high definition audio codec makes its first appearance but the one outstanding feature for Tech Spot was the overclocking potential which was the best they have seen from a P55 board.
"Asus anticipates selling nearly half a million P55 motherboards by the end of the year. If this is the case, it will mean that P55 products alone will have accounted for 10% of the annual motherboard shipments for the Taiwanese manufacturer. In other words, there is quite a bit on the line for both Asus and its competitors. In an effort to meet the diverse demand expected for P55 products, Asus released a total of nine P55-based motherboards on the platform's launch day, ranging in price from $135 for the basic P7P55D LE to ~$250 for the Maximus III Formula and P7P55 WS SuperComputer. The P7P55D series sits at the center of Asus' P55 line-up, and the $220 P7P55D Deluxe we are reviewing today is meant to be your no-nonsense choice if you are looking for an integral P55 solution. Then the obvious question has to be what exactly makes this motherboard special?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: Graphics Card
Switching to 40nm doesn't seem like the best of ideas right now, the supply problems are well known but it is a very important step for nVIDIA as they need to continue to evolve. Their new release takes a page from AMD's recent launch behaviour, they are leading with the low end first. The GeForce GT220 has a 720MHz GPU, 1GB of 1600MHz DDR3 and a 128bit memory bus and will set you back all of $80. The performance is perhaps a little less than what you would expect, the HD4670 tends to beat it at most tasks. There is a pair of nice features to the board, though Bjorn3D didn't make use of it in their review, this card can handle PhysX processing and it puts off very little heat so it makes sense to slip it in a system as a second (or third) GPU.
"If you happen to be one of the many people affected by the US economy, then you really don't have money to throw around. You may be looking to upgrade from your current onboard graphics, or want to upgrade your card. Either way the GT220 may be a great option for you. This card has the power to play all of the latest games, but does not include the high price tag of higher end cards. Granted this card will not perform as well as a higher end card, but playing the game is enough for some. The GT220 is certainly a great option for anyone who fits into one of those categories. Today we have the Gigabyte version of the card. Gigabyte has long been known as a quality vender. They have even chosen to include an aftermarket cooler on their GT220. This not only allows the card to run cooler, but it also allows the card to overclock more. This can lead to higher frame rates. These higher frame rates are all free to you, so why not overclock some? Lets take a closer look at this card." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
AMD is all about the platform right now; the synergy created between utilizing an AMD CPU, GPU and chipset to allow graphical megatasking. The new VISION platform will come in four different flavours ranging from Basic up to Black offering more features as you move up from the Basic version. Most of the features have to do with HD video encoding and decoding as well as audio, but your gaming experience will also improve. Check out the pictures Ryan took of the laptops and business class desktops in Germany in his full article.
"Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. hosted a select group of technology reviewers Nov. 3 at their LoneStar campus in Austin, Texas, to brief them on their next generation of notebooks showcasing their new VISION technology. This technology and branding describes AMD's CPU, GPU, and chipset combo that they state is designed to provide consumers with a more balanced PC platform and better visual experience." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Techware Labs | Subject: System
If you have yet to play with recording and playing TV via a TV tuner card on a PC, perhaps the Haupauge HVR-1800 TV Tuner Card might change your mind. For ~$90 you will get a TV Tuner card that can handle ATSC HD (the over the air HDTV standard in North America), clear braodcasted QAM digital TV channels if you are lucky enough to live in an area where they are broadcast and a 125 channel cable ready TV tuner built-in
for analog signals. That will give you more flexibility than a cable box provided by your cable provider along with everything that the box provided originally. Drop by Techware Labs to see it.
"The notion of a personal Home Theater PC (HTPC) is becoming more prevalent lately. Many ideas can go into the planning of an HTPC. Will it be able to stream video across the network? Will it act as a central media hub? Will it be able to view online videos? The most important question being, will it be able to record and playback TV? This is where Hauppauge shines. Hauppauge has been producing quality TV tuner cards for quite some time now. In the Linux community, their cards are near synonymous with MythTV. So does their latest addition, the WinTV-HVR-1800, have the goods to make it into your next HTPC build? Read on, and we'll tell you." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: LOSTCIRCUITS | Subject: Processor
There is a new X4 965 on the market, the Rev C, which brings some interesting advancements to the CPU. First off is the drop in TDP to 125W and the second is the implementation of new states which finally rid the CPU of the CnQ Performance Hit that many have seen. All this adds up to a much more power efficient processor that will throw off less heat and eat less power. All that is wonderful for HTPCs and server rooms, but the true enthusiast doesn't mind having to build a small nuclear powerplant (pebble reactor) next to their PC in order to get a great overclock. Does this new revision overclock well? Just hit LOSTCIRCUITS for a pleasant surprise.
"It is not huge as in breakthrough what AMD has accomplished with the C3 Revision but it is still worth writing home about it. The two things that are noteworthy are the increased overclocking potential at "slightly altered stock settings" and the pretty dramatically reduced power consumption of the C3 revision. It is difficult to judge how much of this is caused by the hardware-based power management compared to the earlier software/firmware-base power management but the results definitely speak for themselves." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Legit Reviews | Subject: General Tech
Since the days of 3DMark03, many gamers who used the benchmark to compare their current tweaks to their own previous results as well as the results of others, there have been many who wished that some of these benchmarks were playable. Finally that wish can come true and in a rather interesting game concept, free fall. Shattered Horizons has been demoed and talked about for quite some time now but finally we are approaching the release date. If you are interested in multiplayer combat without the restriction of a gravity well, take a peek at the preview Legit Reviews has put together and warm up that jet pack.
"Shattered Horizon is the highly anticipated first game from Futuremark Games Studio that immerses you in the cold reality of combat in space like no other game before. This multiplayer first-person shooter is played entirely in zero gravity. A catastrophic explosion on the Moon has filled near-Earth space with billions of tons of rocky debris. You and your friends will join intense 32 player battles to control hollowed-out asteroids, huge fragments of Moon rock and the ruined remains of the International Space Station..." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: engadget | Subject: General Tech
It would seem that Intel chipsets will not be natively supporting USB 3.0 until sometime in 2011, according to a confirmed rumour you can read about on Engadget. nVIDIA has stepped out of the chipset business, only supporting their current platforms, so you can count them out as well. ALi, SiS and VIA have pretty much backed out of the enthusiast market; which leaves AMD to fill the needs of USB 3.0 fans that want native support. There are no licensing issues so you can expect to see support for the new high speed USB interface on Intel based boards, with support coming from 3rd party chips added to the motherboard. You will also be able to pick up PCIe cards, to allow support on any board as well. It seems possible that Intel's reluctance stems from their LightPeak technology which Ryan saw at the IDF. USB 3.0's maximum theoretical bandwidth tops out at 5,000mbit/s while LightPeak claims 10,000mbit/s and may scale 10 times higher, so this might not be a terrible idea on their part
"What was once an unverifiable rumor from an anonymous source has now, sadly, become a confirmed fact. Intel won't be integrating USB 3.0 support into its chipsets until at least 2011. Motherboard makers such as ASUS can still opt to add discrete 3.0 controllers at an extra cost, but Intel -- already accused of dragging its heels on the standard's development -- won't be. NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke has expressed, in no uncertain terms, his company's disappointment with Intel, while also claiming that chipsets by NVIDIA are more feature-rich and just plain better than Intel's own efforts. We'll add this to our ever- growing collection of things NVIDIA doesn't like about Intel, but we also hope that the immature outburst doesn't obscure the real issue. NVIDIA is correct in noting that Intel needs competition in the chipset space, and the new interconnect's dependence on Intel's whims demonstrates the market-altering powers that reside in Santa Clara, CA. Unless another chipmaker gets serious about competing with Intel, we could face plenty more of these seemingly arbitrary delays in tech rollouts." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Super Talent Technology | Subject: Storage
San Jose, California - November 4, 2009 - Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 RAIDDrive, which supports transfer speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0 drives. The new drive, in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities, is fully backward compatible with USB 2.0 ports, but operates at slower speeds. The USB 3.0 RAIDDrive uses patented "multiple pairs of differential serial data lines technology" for optimal NAND flash performance. "This product underscores Super Talent's continued leadership in USB drives." said Super Talent COO, C.H. Lee. "We've developed the world's first mobile USB 3.0 flash drive. It delivers phenomenal performance and it incorporates our own patented technology".
Measuring 95 x 37 x13.5 mm, the SuperSpeed drive is a truly portable drive. Like most USB drives, it requires no separate cable. It plugs directly into any USB port. Although this drive will work in USB 2.0, it delivers transfer speeds up to 200MB/sec only in USB 3.0 ports. Using a separate UAS Protocol driver with a USB 3.0 port this SuperSpeed drive can reach up to 320MB/sec transfer speeds. This product will be available in December from Super Talent resellers worldwide. Interested parties can register here for USB 3.0 product availability updates. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PureOverclock | Subject: Case and Cooling
The Titan Skalli
is a little smaller than your average third party cooler; taking advantage of the lower heat generated by LGA1156 CPUs. A fairly quiet 100mm fan cools a 5" x 3.7" X 5.8" heatsink whose heatpipes touch the CPU directly.
Even so, this cooler will never become beloved by the overclocking community as it lacks the power required for a good overclock. PureOverclock is convinced it will find its niche with the users who want a small case and low noise without sacrificing too much in the way of temperatures.
"Today we're testing the Titan Skalli CPU cooler that offers Heatpipe Direct Touch (HDT) technology in a smallform 100mm fan setup. We've seen the big boy Titan Fenrir cooler perform very well in our extensive LGA1366 air cooler testing, so it will be interesting to see if they can continue the winning streak with a decidedly smaller product for the LGA1156 socket." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Secrets | Subject: Case and Cooling
The fact that ASUS makes motherboards, along with rebranded graphics cards, audio card and some other hardware is well known; the fact that they also make power supplies is not as well known. Hardware Secrets got a hold of a ASUS U-75HA 750W PSU, a fairly simple PSU with sleeved non-modular cabling but with enough connectors to power a system with a multiple GPUs. The voltage it provided was rock solid; even if it does lack in features it is a quality choice for a budget build.
"ASUS is the number on motherboard manufacturer in the world and they've been expanding to other business for several years, recently reaching the power supply market. Though ASUS power supplies are not sold in the US, this didn't prevent us from getting our hands on their 750 W product, which is sold throughout the world. Like the 500 W (P-50GA) and 650 W (U-65GA), models that we've already reviewed, this unit is manufactured by Delta Electronics. Does this power supply carry ASUS high-quality standards? Let's see." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: Processor
The $100 AMD Athlon II X4 620 has been
powering our Budget Hardware Leaderboard system for over a month now, offering the benefits of a quad core processor to the lower end of systems and if you are willing to overclock it you can also get 3GHz+ of speed. Josh reviewed this chip back in September but it is worth revisiting just how this chip fits into budget computing. Watch it annihilate a Q9400 and also get a look at the new Sapphire PURE 785G AM3
motherboard at Bjorn3D. A great processor for very little price.
"Although they were released about a month ago, the new budget-councious quad-core processors from AMD are still fresh in the minds of many enthusiasts. The Athlon II X4 620 and 630 have made huge waves recently due to the fact that it is now possible to obtain a quad-core CPU for under $100. Pair this processor up with an AM3 motherboard running a 785G chipset and set of DDR3 RAM, and you will have your hands on a value-minded, mainstream performing rig. Clocking in at 2.6GHz, the Athlon II X4 620 being reviewed today is very similar to the K10 architecture of the Phenom and Phenom II, but it lacks the L3 cache that is found on the Phenoms. L1 cache clocks in at a respectable 512KB and 2MB are provided for L2 cache. These numbers are very close to processors up the ladder and the lack of L3 is one of the factors keeping the cost of this processor so low. To take advantage of this new CPU, we called upon the Sapphire PURE 785G AM3 motherboard. This motherboard was built for the new Phenom II and Athlon II CPUs and features a built-in HD4200 GPU for integrated graphics duties." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: SemiAccurate | Subject: General Tech
CES 2010 is just a hair over 2 months away and is the prime time for nVIDIA to show off Fermi and its processing capabilities
alone or in parallel. Fermi A2 silicon has taped out according to Charlie at SemiAccurate, raising hopes that at least some silicon, perhaps even working, will be shown off sometime between now and the end of CES. We know that TSMC has had yield difficulties with the 40nm process that have not abated, which may supply cause problems down the line, assuming we see working silicon in the near future. Do not lose all hope, but if you are depending on Fermi appearing soon a little fear is reasonable.
"IT LOOKS LIKE Fermi A2 silicon has finally taped out, so the timetables are a little firmer once again. There is no chance of a real launch in 2009, making the chip a shining example of Nvidia's engineering mire. (NASDAQ:NVDA) Lets recap a bit. We said that Fermi, then called GT300, taped out on about Work Week 28 (WW28), and it did. We said that silicon was due back in 6-8 weeks, and cards could possibly be shown publicly on Oct 1. We admit that we overestimated Nvidia's ability to engineer its way out of a wet paper bag with a map, flashlight and a bunch of wood screws here. It hasn't shown a card yet at all, yields are miserable, but it did in fact get silicon back on either WW35 or 36, which is right where we said it would be, almost to the day. The fact that yields were a joke, coupled with 'puppy' inflicted own goals, made things downright laughable for Dear Leader and company. Nvidia didn't have enough working dies to do the testing it needed, much less show some off for PR, so it faked that." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: VIA Technologies | Subject: Processor
Taipei, Taiwan, 3 November 2009 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today introduced its new VIA Nano 3000 Series processors, bringing enhanced digital media performance and lower power consumption to Windows 7 thin and light notebook and all-in-one desktop PC markets. Based on the 64-bit superscalar 'Isaiah' architecture, VIA Nano 3000 Series processors deliver the most compelling thin and light notebook computing experience with their rich HD entertainment capabilities, including support for flawless playback of high bit-rate 1080p HD video, as well as low power consumption resulting in longer battery life. With a host of advanced features including 64-bit support, advanced CPU virtualization technology, SSE4 for enhanced multimedia processing, and the industry-leading encryption and security capabilities integrated in the VIA PadLock Security Engine, VIA Nano 3000 Series processors also provide a secure, high-performance solution for emerging cloud-based computing environments. "With the VIA Nano 3000 Series, we are launching our fastest and most power-efficient processors yet," commented Richard Brown, VP International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Coupled with our market-leading digital media chipsets, they enable the richest experience across a broad range of mobile and all-in-one system designs." VIA Nano 3000 Series
Available at speeds from 1.0GHz to 2.0GHz, VIA Nano 3000 Series processors deliver up to 20% higher performance using up to 20% less power than current VIA Nano processors and boast a number of new features including support for the SSE4 multimedia instruction set and VIA VT virtualization technology. Fully compatible with all Microsoft operating systems, including the new Windows 7, as well as all popular Linux distributions, the VIA Nano 3000 Series processors use the NanoBGA2 package, making them pin-to-pin compatible with VIA Nano 1000 Series, VIA Nano 2000 Series, VIA C7, VIA C7-M and VIA Eden processors for easy upgrades of existing designs. VIA Nano 3000 Series Availability
VIA Nano 3000 processors will be available in the following product skus:
Allyn Malventano | Source: Western Digital | Subject: Storage
Western Digital puts out some great hard drives, as well as the Velociraptor series of 10,000 RPM disks. What has always held them back from full adoption across the enterprise environments has been lack of support for Serial Attached SCSI (SAS). Today WD rectifies this with their first enterprise class SAS unit - the S25. From the specs and physical description it appears to be a reworked 300GB Velociraptor. We'll get you hard performance figures as soon as the huge demand from the OEM's subsides. As a side note - since SAS supports 6 Gb/s, this is technically Western Digital's first offering at that interface bandwidth milestone. Hopefully SATA 6 Gb/s are soon to follow. WD® ENTERS TRADITIONAL
WD S25 SAS Hard Drives Provide High-Reliability and Performance for Mission-critical Server and Storage Applications
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — November 3, 2009 — WD® (NYSE: WDC), known for its hard disk drive leadership in the desktop, mobile and consumer marketplaces, today announced its entry into the traditional enterprise market segment with volume production shipments of its first 10,000 RPM, 2.5-inch, small form factor, SAS interface hard drives. The WD S25 provides up to 300 GB of high-performance storage suitable for both mission-critical enterprise server and enterprise storage applications, such as high-I/O-driven applications and configurations, as well as data centers and large data arrays. “Our entry into the traditional-enterprise market continues the strategic expansion and diversification of WD’s broad market and product portfolio, and significantly increases our addressable revenue opportunity,” said The WD S25 delivers ultra-high performance with its 3 Gb/s and 6 Gb/s SAS interfaces and a sustained sequential data rate of 128 MB/sec. In addition to all the speed required to service any enterprise need, the WD S25 also provides a 1.6 M hour MTBF rating. The WD S25 is now available to select OEMs and shipments have begun to the two largest OEMs in the industry. “We are thrilled to launch a mission-critical-class hard drive to these high-end OEM customers,” said More information about WD S25 enterprise SAS hard drives may be found on the company's Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=677.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: Storage
The Tech Report has put their hands on a piece of storage hardware, the Kanguru's e-Flash eSATA/USB thumb drive. It looks like a normal flash drive, barring a slightly longer overall length, but it hides two heads. One is the usual USB 2.0 connection but the head on the other end is new and unique. It combines the speed of eSATA with USBs ability to deliver power in a hybrid connector. You won't find too many motherboard headers that already have this plug, but that is not a problem thanks to the PCI backplate with power and SATA cables. Find out how well it worked in the full review.
"A new hybrid eSATA/USB connector nicely marries the two standards to provide external storage devices with plenty of bandwidth and adequate power. We take a look at Kanguru's hybrid e-Flash drive to see if it's a worthwhile upgrade over standard USB thumb drives." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Silent PC Review | Subject: Mobile
Lenovo laptops are ubiquitous in the workplace, many companies having opted for a contract with them to supply their mobile PC needs. These notebooks tend to the larger size with a matte black finish as opposed to the shiny and tiny look to most other laptops. Their new IdeaCentre Q100 breaks that mold, being the size of an external HDD (6.0" x 6.8" x 0.8") and having no fan to create noise. The drawback is the power, with a single core Atom and Intel 945GSE
providing only basic computing ability. At $299 it is a nice deal and it has a few bigger brothers including an Ion powered version which you can see in SPCR's review.
"The Lenovo IdeaCentre Q100 has unimpressive specs: an Atom 1.6 GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. What stands out is its extremely small, fanless chassis and extremely quiet operation." Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
Ryan finally got his hands on the Left 4 Dead 2 demo and fired it up on a variety of cards, 4 AMD (plus one XFire setup) and 5 nVIDIA cards. His testing at 2560x1600
with 4xMSAA and 16xAF shows that even the HD5850 can supply enough power to make this game playable on a 30" monitor. He has yet to try out EyeFinity but the results here give great hope to those who don't wish to invest in a graphics card running in the neighbourhood of $400. It looks like you might be well off spending money on a midrange HD4xxx and picking up another monitor or two!
"If you are like most people and have a monitor that runs at 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 then obviously you are going to be able to play L4D2 without any issue using the lowest end cards tested here that will start at about $130. If you are one of the lucky few that owns a 30" monitor and can play at 2560x1600 then you'll need to step a little for the best experience but you should not HAVE to pay more than $250 or so for the privilege." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Josh Walrath | Source: EVGA | Subject: Graphics Card
When it is PhysX!
EVGA and NVIDIA have teamed up to release what looks to be a pretty unique product to the marketplace. The asymmetrical EVGA GTX 275 Co-op PhysX card features a GTX 275 paired with a GTS 250 GPU on one board. This allows the GTX 275 chip to render all graphics, while the GTS 250 handles all of the PhysX calculations. The board features a total of 1280 MB of memory between the two GPUs, and a total bandwidth of 179.8 GB/sec. 
Yes, the G92 chip lives again. This product was released in 65 nm variants in late 2007, was respun at 55 nm a year later, and has been gracing products from the 8800 GT to 9800 GT to 9800 GTS to the latest GTS 250 product from NVIDIA and their partners. While the rendering performance of the G92 chip is far overshadowed by what both NVIDIA and AMD offer at the $100+ price points, it is still able to churn out some decent numbers when it comes to more general compute performance. This is why it is getting another chance at life in this particular product. We have heard through the grapevine that the overall PhysX performance of a G92 is slightly better than the dedicated PPU that we saw from Asus and BFG some years back. We have no idea what this chip is clocked at, but we can assume that it is probably lower than a standard GTS 250 due to it being paired with a pretty power hungry GTX 275 chip. The card itself features the 8 x 6 pin power connections. Games which feature dedicated PhysX PPU support show a 20% to 40% increase in performance vs. just CPU physics computation. The game that NV and its partners are really pushing for this technology is Batman: Arkham Asylum. NVIDIA is continuing to work with more developers to get better PhysX support in gaming, and the GTX 275 has enough power to handle NVIDIA's 3D glasses technology as well. 
NVIDIA and AMD have been pushing to soak up as much processing power as possible these days, as most games are developed to be cross platform dependent... so high end gaming machines have no problems rendering at even the highest resolutions and AA/AF levels. Eyefinity and 3D/PhysX are designed to soak up the power that current and upcoming GPUs are offering. The GTX 275 Co-op looks to be a one-off product from EVGA, and I am not at all certain if other manufacturers will pick up this option. So if a user does require a new video card to run their latest games on, and PhysX is a big attraction to them, then this will definitely fit into a niche. The price for this is going to be a bit higher than many were hoping, as it will retail above $300. To help offset the sticker shock, it does appear as though EVGA is throwing the Batman title in as a bundle.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: DriverHeaven | Subject: General Tech
Chances are you have heard that Apple has redesigned their mouse again. It took over a decade to stick on a second button so it seems that their innovation for input devices is accelerating. The new Magic Mouse doesn't have a scroll wheel; instead about 75% of its surface will register finger scrolling and with the momentum feature turned on it will even recognize how fast your fingers are scrolling. For those used to large gaming mice, the look of the mouse is going to be a bit of a shock, it more closely resembles an iPhone than a traditional mouse. Drop by DriverHeaven for a glimpse into how the other half lives.
"Most of you guys know I am a big follower of the products that Apple produce and within my ever growing collection of systems I own many Apple products. Sure they are expensive, but they have served me well and I find OSx is an extremely reliable operating system for doing most of my design work. That said, I jump between computers often during my day and feel equally at home on any Windows OS. Yes, I know it is unheard of in this industry- a 'PC centric reviewer and writer' who sings the praises of Apple when he feels they deserve it. Today we are going to have a look at the new Apple Magic Mouse." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
DigiTimes provides a good look into the coming 6 to 12 months of AMDs plans for their CPUs. AMD has recently dropped prices on some of their Phenom II and Athlon II silicon and you may want to grab some soon as the release of the new members of the 900 series will see the previous Phenom II line reduced to the X4 955, X4 820, X3 740 and X2 550.
The first quarter of 2010 will be very busy, with no less than 5 processors due to be release; three Phenom IIs and a pair of Athlon IIs.
"AMD has updated schedule to phase out several Phenom II X4 900 series CPUs, while launch a new model in 2010, according to sources at motherboard makers. AMD has already stopped taking orders for Phenom II X4 910 (2.6GHz/95W) and 945 (3.0GHz/125W) CPU in fourth-quarter 2009 and will completely stop shipments in the second quarter of 2010. The company will stop order placements for Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz/140W) and 925 (2.8GHz/95W) CPUs in the first quarter of 2010, while orders for the Phenom II X4 955 (3.2GHz/125W) are scheduled to end in the second quarter. In the second quarter of 2010, AMD will launch a 95W Phenom II X4 955 processor." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: FUTUREMARK | Subject: General Tech
SARATOGA, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Futuremark Corporation today announced a new challenge for PC overclockers everywhere. Utilizing INTEL and GIGABYTE P55 hardware, contestants worldwide will compete in two segments for the overall "OverclocKing" title within multiple prize award categories. "This is the second annual worldwide OverclocKing competition with over 16,000 entries last year. We’re delighted to be partnering with Futuremark to support GIGABYTE overclockers everywhere with this community building competition" Top three overall 3DMark06 scorers worldwide will be crowned OverclocKing. In addition this year will feature a brand new competition called the 3DMark 10K Challenge. This special skill based challenge will award the top three contestants who first comes closest to scoring exactly 10,000 3DMarks, contestants can use ANY version of 3DMark to enter. Contest entry period will run from Nov 1st through Nov 30th.
http://www.futuremark.com/community/competitions/gigabyteoverclocking/
Grand prizes for overall top score and 10K Challenge include GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD6 Motherboard and GV-N26SO-896I VGA card, Antec Twelve Hundred gaming case and TruePower Quattro TPQ-1200 Watt power supply, "KINGMAX" DDR3 2200 Dual Channel Overclock Memory Module, GlacialTech X-wing Cooling Pad, and (2) Enermax 12cm Apollish Fans. Also, random winners chosen will receive GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4 and GA-P55A-UD3R motherboards. Daily luck draw 10K Challenge entries will also receive Futuremark’s newly announced Shattered Horizon zero gravity multi-player first person shooter for PC, total of 30 luck winners will be announced, one for each day of the contest period.http://www.gametrailers.com/video/raid-on-shattered-horizon/57737
"This is the second annual worldwide OverclocKing competition with over 16,000 entries last year. We’re delighted to be partnering with Futuremark to support GIGABYTE overclockers everywhere with this community building competition," said Tony Liao, Associate Vice President of Marketing at GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. 3DMark06 is a benchmark program from Futuremark that measures the 3D gaming performance capabilities of PCs. 3DMark software has been downloaded more than 45 million times. The 3DMark06 edition is currently the world’s most popular benchmark and can be downloaded for free from the Futuremark website.
http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/ For further details of the "OverclocKing" competition visit
http://www.futuremark.com/community/competitions/overclocking09.
Allyn Malventano | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
Highpoint recently announced availability of their SATA3 / SATA 6Gb/s host adapters. While their introductory price seems a bit high as compared to other offerings we've recently reviewed, it is still great to see new tech catching on at full speed. Their official press release appears after the pic.
HighPoint Technologies – an industry pioneer of innovative SATA and SAS RAID host adapter manufacturing, today unleashes the Rocket 600 series - the industry’s first SATA 6Gb/s host adapter based on PCI-Express 2.0 technology. The Rocket 600 series delivers the next generation of SATA performance with robust SATA connectivity and will be available at the beginning of November 2009.
The Rocket 600 series delivers next generation of SATA 6Gb/s performance ideal for smaller storage platforms with single or dual drives. The 2nd generation PCI-Express 2.0 technology offer 500MB/s of throughput that will unleash the maximum performance for SSD drives.
The Rocket 600 series are fully industry standard AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) compliant and deliver Out-of-Box Ready driver less experience for major operating systems. The Rocket 600 series are backward compatible to PCI-Express 1.0 technology and to (SATA 3Gb/s & 1.5Gb/s) devices. They use the same cable and connectors as previous SATA generations to ease integration.
Pricing and Availability:The MSRP for the Rocket 620 Series is $69.99 and the Rocket 622 is $79.99 They will be available in November 2009. All HighPoint Rocket and RocketRAID products are available through channel distribution partners (Bell Micro, D and H, MaLabs and ASI). “Upgrade Your System to the Next Generation of SATA Performance”
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: General Tech
If you are reading the Friday Afternoon Forum Follies, chances are you are a regular at the PC Perspective Forums. If that is the case, drop by Tech Talk where one of our members has a few invites to Google Wave for frequent posters. It is a kind favour and there is a
limited amount of invites, so no getting upset if you don't get one! Also popular in that forum is the Lynnfield system giveaway; it is only active until the end of Halloween so if you haven't entered yet you had better do so in the next 24 hours.
If you have entered, kill some time sharing the oddest activities you've inflicted on hardware.
The Storage Forum is now split between two technologies, one camp sticking with SSDs and flash memory, while the other has been captivated by the possible performance of SATA 6G. Weigh in with your opinion. The Windows Forum is also seeing a lot of action, Windows 7 comes with a host of improvements along with some areas that could use improvement. Some information that might help you decide can be had by listening to this weeks PC Perspective Podcast, Episode 80 is a storage-stravaganza brought to you by Allyn! Lastly, the ASUS Xtreme Design Contest only has one system in it so far. Unless you want the 8 Tuner Ruiner to win by default ... get your applications in! Let's see a killer cruncher for BOINC projects!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
Not having quite as many features as the Extreme Series, the ASUS Crosshair III Formulamotherboard is still one of the better implementations of the 790FX chipset from AMD. The biggest feature for most will be the dual PCIe 16x slots, giving you some serious potential for multi-GPU setups. [H]ard|OCP does recommends using AMD's OverDrive utility as opposed to the TurboV from ASUS, there was a definite ceiling using TurboV while OverDrive gave much better results.
"ASUS releases yet another Republic of Gamers motherboard, this time for our AMD users. The Crosshair III Formula is the latest incarnation of the ROG series which means that it comes from excellent pedigree. The Crosshair III Formula has some big shoes to fill. Is the Crosshair III AMD 790FX chipset motherboard is up to the challenge?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: iXBT Labs | Subject: Memory
iXBT Labs explores the new world of Lynnfield's onboard memory controller and its abilities and disabilities. For instance the controller can do more with single bank modules than with the more common dual bank DIMMs. They examine just how increasing the frequency of the memory compares with increasing the amount of memory available to the processor. Drop by for some interesting results; it seems the days of the 32bit operating system were just yesterday, but it seems that they ended a while ago.
"Frankly speaking, we expected a bit more from DDR3-1333 support, but the game was not worth the candle.
Still, from another angle it's a very good result, because even 1066MHz memory with two modules per
channel causes no trouble."
Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: General | Subject: Graphics Card
Website Alienbabeltech.com got a hold of some photos and information on the upcoming Radeon HD 5970 graphics card - a dual Evergreen GPU part.
The reference card shown here is a big and power hungry as you can see from the 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors located above the fan.
On the back you can see the two GPU locations on the PCB - this should be an incredibly fast graphics card.
What might be a bit concerning is the length of the card - this design was 13.5-in long and had issues fitting into this full size Antec 1200 chassis.
AMD already got a hold of the guys who posted this so the performance numbers that were along side the photos were taken down before we got to see them. Also, AMD told them that the HD 5970 card seen was an early engineering sample leaving hope that the final retail card will be a bit shorter. Either way, I think we will learn more about this upcoming GPU before you know it. Stay tuned!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
It looks like those who have been holding their breath in the hopes that the HD5890 or 5870X2 would be arriving soon, or that the current HD5xxx cards will drop in price may be waiting a bit longer. The 40nm process at TMSC is having problems again, the same issue that pretty much killed the HD4770 at birth. For a while it looked as if the problems had finally been solved but the news from DigiTimes is that yields are once again dropping.
"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has revealed it recently run into issues with its 40nm process technology impacting yields. Company chairman and CEO Morris Chang pledged the issue will be solved within the quarter. TSMC said it has seen yield rates for its 40nm node drop to 40% due chamber matching issues. Main customers for TSMC's 40nm processes are GPU vendors AMD, which recently launched its new 40nm-based Radeon 5870 series, and Nvidia, who is scheduled to launch its 40nm-based GT300 series of chips in December, according to previous reports. TSMC's recent issues may impact the shipping schedules of the GPU vendors, market watchers commented. During TSMC's July 2009 investors conference, Chang revealed that yield rates for 40nm processes had improved to 60%, up from as low as 20-30% in the second quarter of 2009." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: MSI | Subject: Motherboard
[City of Industry, CA] MSI, a leading high-performance mainboard company, unveil its first gaming series mainboards in Intel P55 platform featuring awe-inspiring graphics and audio functionality to offer serious gamers immersive gaming experience. The state-of-the-art gaming line is inspired by the mighty Big Bang. Unique and innovative, the all-new Big Bang series will deliver the shock and awe of unprecedented experiences and expand into its own collection of galaxies. The first Big Bang branded mainboard, Trinergy is designed with eye-catching features such as NVIDIA SLI technology and QuantumWave audio processing with the latest THX TruStudio PC and Creative EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 plus exclusive performance boost design from MSI. Powered by NVIDIA nForce 200 SLI processor, the Trinergy offers extreme gamers the most powerful graphics-intensive capability up to triple graphics configuration. Aimed at gamers and enthusiasts seeking cinematic enjoyment, QuantumWave™ audio card is designed to plunge you into the heart of the action, delivering the fullest audio experience for games, music and movies while remaining true to the source. The Big Bang Trinergy also features cutting-edge 100% Hi-c Cap to maximizing system performance. This supreme component adopted for gaming machines can guarantee server-grade operation stability in an extreme condition. Besides, it is equipped with an external OC Dashboard that gives extreme gamers on-the-fly overclocking to optimize FPS without interrupting your session. If you’re into a little of amateur overclocking, with MSI’s exclusive chip-driven OC Genie, you can enjoy the convenience and hugely improved performance with a simple press of a button. Big Bang Fuzion
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