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:: PC Perspective . News
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.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Legit Reviews | Subject: Memory
Sure, Legit Reviews did have to push the voltage over spec to 1.75V and bump the QPI up to 1.35 but they hit a huge memory overclock. It wasn't even necessary to go that far to get to 2200MHz; they simply asked for it from the DIMMs and they provided, no voltage tweaks or any other BIOS tinkering needed. Read about Kingston's insane HyperX DDR3 4GB 2133MHz Memory, but if you want to pick it up be ready for an equally insane price.
"if you are into overclocking, the Kingston 2133MHz HyperX T1 memory kit (KHX2133C8D3T1K2/4GX) has got you covered. We were able to reach 2200MHz by just upping the base clock of the system. Reaching 2300MHz was as easy as setting primary timings to 9-9-9. With very little tweaking and minor voltage adjustments, we hit 2400MHz! Getting big numbers from this memory was extremely easy. This is by far, the fastest memory I’ve had the pleasure of testing. Sure, you can get higher bandwidth numbers on a Triple Channel X58 system, but in terms of raw MHz I haven’t had anything else that can touch it!" Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Processor
The Wi-Fi connection here at IDF is sketchy at best we'll do our best to cover the keynotes for you live from the event!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Register | Subject: General Tech
The first motherboard chipset AMD has developed since the acquisition of
ATI was to be for not just the Magny-Cours processors but also in different forms for the eventual release of Maranello and San Marino. Instead of only releasing the SR5690 chipset for Magny-Cours, they have also paired the SR5670, and SR5650 I/O hubs to the SP5100 southbridge and launched them today. We don't know the full specs of these chipsets yet but we do know certain things about what they have been designed for. The SR5690 is specifically for the 12 core Magny-Cours in 2 or 4 CPU socket motherboards, the other two for 1 or 2 sockets. There is more about these server chipsets over at The Register, just waiting for you to click over.
"Advanced Micro Devices has delivered its first server chipsets derived from its acquisition of ATI Technologies. The Fiorano platform that launches today will have three different chipsets, not the one pairing of the I/O hub and southbridge that we had been lead to expect when AMD sped up its Opteron chip roll out in April, just ahead of the debut of the six-core "Istanbul" Opteron processors for two-socket and quad-socket boxes back in early June." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: VIA Technologies | Subject: System
Taipei, Taiwan, September 22, 2009 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the first ever Mini-ITX board to feature a dedicated on-board graphics processor and dual HDMI ports. The VIA VB8003 is ideally suited for a range of advanced digital media applications, supporting the latest advanced HD codecs and DX10.1 graphics. A wide range of connectivity options are available, including four display configurations using the VIA VB8003's two HDMI, DVI and VGA ports. The VIA VB8003 takes advantage of the 'VIA Trinity' platform, the codename for a unique combination of 64-bit VIA Nano processor, VIA VX800 media system processor and a dedicated S3 Graphics processor; producing a perfect blend of Hi-Def video playback, DX10.1 graphics and multiple display connectivity, all within a ruthlessly low, industry-leading thermal envelope. The VIA VB8003 Mini-ITX board can utilize the integrated graphics of the VIA VX800 MSP in tandem with the dedicated S3 Graphics processor to offer developers the widest possible variety of multi-display configurations, including dual-HDMI, LVDS, DVI and VGA technologies. Powering HD content playback across as many as four uniquely configured displays, with supported resolutions of up to and beyond 1080p, the VIA VB8003 is a HD powerhouse, ideal for a range of next-generation digital interactive devices and digital signage applications. "The VIA VB8003 is the first Mini-ITX board to harness the unique performance efficiency of theVIA VB8003 VIA Nano processor combined with a dedicated HD capable DX10.1 graphics processor," said Daniel Wu, Vice President of VIA Embedded, VIA Technologies, Inc. "We are confident that the HD adept VB8003 will be massive hit with developers of the latest digital multimedia devices, making it easier than ever to employ high resolution, compression intensive content across multiple displays." About the VIA VB8003
On-board I/O includes dual HDMI, a DVI port, VGA port and two RCA jacks, dual Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, serial and PS2 ports. Storage includes two S-ATA ports, a 40-pin IDE and a type 2 Compact Flash slot. The S3 Graphics 435 ULP Graphics Processor
Featuring the ChromotionHD engine, a fully programmable video architecture with true HD quality 1080p playback on the latest HD standards including Blu-ray Disk, H.264, VC-1, WMV-9, MPEG-2/4 and AVS, the S3 Graphics 435 ULP offers stunningly smooth HD playback at resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 pixels. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Zone | Subject: Case and Cooling
Lian Li wants those who are buying an AMD Dragon platform to be able to announce it to the world and have created the Armorsuit PC-P50R Dragon.
Two 120mm fans and two 140mm fans provide decent air flow, built in cable management and screw-less cages make your life a lot easier when installing your system. There are more features to check out, including a rather impressive dragon graphic on the side of the case, see it all at Hardware Zone.
"With its outrageous dragon motif and red and black color scheme, the new Lian Li PC -P50R casing strikes a fierce figure. Designed specially for AMD systems using the "Dragon" platform, the PC-P50R, in true Lian Li tradition, is also made entirely from aluminum. We see if the dragon resides in this casing" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Benchmark Reviews | Subject: Storage
The aforementioned SATA 3.0 Seagate Barracuda XT (aka ST32000641AS) sports 4 platters each with 368 Gb/in2 aerial density has appeared at Benchmark Reviews. It has a 64MB cache and claims 132MBs of sustained read, a 4.16ms latency an MSRP of $299 and an availability of
October-ish. Take a look at their preview.
"On 21 September 2009 Seagate Technology will be the first and only manufacturer to offer a SATA-III 6Gbps hard drive product with the large 64MB cache buffer as the 2TB Barracuda XT ST32000641AS is unveiled. Both combined improvements to burst rate and sustained bandwidth will mark a substantial improvement to the design of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) storage products, and the new technology is expected to give Solid State Drive (SSD) components some serious competition. The Seagate Barracuda XT series is designed for performance enthusiasts such as gamers, as well as small server systems. Additional enthusiast tools, such as the free Seagate SeaTools software, allow users to custom-define firmware parameters to enable performance features such as 'Short Stroke' and noise reduction. In this preview article, Benchmark Reviews reveals some of the improvements introduced with! the Seagate Barracuda XT 6Gbps SATA-III ST32000641AS hard drive." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: Graphics Card
The AGP slot has some serious staying power and the folks at VisionTek have ensured that it will stay around in old systems sitting around chugging on Distributed Computing projects and in low heat and noise situations like streaming video and recipe websites in the kitchen. VisionTek has managed to convert an HD3650 into an AGP card, and while the AGP bus is inherently slower than PCI Express, the sheer power of the new DX10.1 card blows away the old competition. Bring some life back to an old system with some help from this review from Bjorn3D.
"I am sure there are plenty of you out there who are trying to get that last year out of your old AGP machine. While the CPU's may be many years out of date, you can still try to make it just a little bit longer with a new graphics card. If you fall into this category then VisionTek has your back. They have managed to convert the PCIE native signal from the 3650 and convert it into one that works with the AGP bus, but what happens if you don't fall into this category? Perhaps you want to gain some more PPD on folding, but do not have an extra machine to fold with. Well you can use this 3650 to fold, and increase your PPD on an old obsolete machine. You may be just someone looking for a new AGP card after your onboard video on your older motherboard decided to die on you. You certainly shouldn't pass up a card like this, because you may find the extra power useful down the road. Anyway you look at it, this 3650 AGP from VisionTek is your best bet to breath new life in an old AGP machine." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
While not really in the same category as the Zune, the 5th generation iPod Nano has arrived on the scene with camera and LCD in tow. Features new to this tiny MP3 player are varied, a full-featured FM tuner application, a pedometer, a Nike+ receiver and a voice note app have been added, while keeping the ability to store and play your music. The screen is 2.2" @ 240x320 pixels, more useful to young eyes but still handy to keep track of which app you have been using. Ars Technica was a little disappointed with the camera it lacked auto-focus as well as the ability to take still pictures. If you are looking for a tiny SD video camera that can count your steps, take a look at their review of the iPod Nano.
"Once again, we have taken a look at the new iPod nano to see if its new features are cool enough to keep it at the top of Apple's bestseller list. And, since video is one of the nano's major new features, we compared its video quality to other pocket video cameras." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: engadget | Subject: General Tech
Back in May was the announcement of USB 3.0, as well as SATA 3.0, both fully backwards compatible and adding a a significant increase in speed. In the case of USB 3.0, the cable its self has changes; so while a USB 3.0 cord will plug into a USB 2.0 port and work, as will a USB 2.0 cord in a USB 3.0 port, only a USB 3.0 cable and device in a USB 3.0 plug will let you reach the 5Gbps of transfer speed available. Now Engadget has had word of the first USB 3.0 chipset, coming from NEC hopefully some time before the new year. You can also sneak a quick peek at the first SATA 3.0 over at Gizmodo, in the form of the Seagate Barracuda XT.
"You heard it here first, folks: SuperSpeed USB is a reality. After waiting around for what feels like ages, USB 3.0 can now say it has its first certified product in NEC's xHCI host controller. We know this may not be the most exciting first product to get the all-important seal of approval, but you've got to start somewhere. And hey, for those who know a thing or two about building a product to spec, having a legitimate host controller could sure come in handy. We spoke to Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of the USB-IF (the group that oversees certification and the like), and he stated that (officially) the group is still anticipating end products to hit shelves in early 2010. That said, this here host controller is available now in the open market, and he did confess that a number of manufacturers would likely try to get USB 3.0-equipped wares onto store shelves before that magical day in December." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: General Tech
There are those who hold that an easy install is best; put everything together and have the PC build run perfectly from the first time you touch the power button. While it certainly makes everything smooth, you really aren't going to learn anything from a nice build. It is the nightmare installations, the bizarre hardware incompatibilities and
the purely unique problems that teach you the tricks it takes to deal with PCs that do everything they can to leave your mind feeling bent, spindled, folded mutilated and molested before finally booting. Take this fun trip through formatting as an example. Other have CPUs that have stopped working, so they are getting it drunk on Everclear in the hopes that it will cooperate.
Once you are running, tweaking is the next step. AMD fans are loving Advanced Clock Calibration for bring extra cores to life on Black Edition Phenom IIs while others are trying to find an L3 cache on certain Athlon II CPUs. Other forum members, a particular forum member of short stature who is serial modding addict for example, don't search for the perfect case; they find a new one and Force it to perfection. It does help when the hardware you want to play withhas been released to the public though. You can also catch the latest audio version of the PC Perspective Podcast, hand edited by Ryan's lucky new intern.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: System
ASUS bills their M4A78-HTPC/RC HTPC motherboard as a basis for which to build a Dream HTPC. It's a well laid out 780G based mATX board that comes with a remote plus a USB IR-receiver. Four DDR2 slots with dual channel capability, 5 SATA channels, a single IDE as well as the ability to provide your sound card with a separate power supply to reduce noise. Drop by Bjorn3D for a look at what features should not be left off of an HTPC motherboard. "In today's crowded market it is important to try to make your product stand out in some way. The ASUS M4A78-HTPC/RC on the surface is just another micro-ATX motherboard with the AMD 780G/SB700 chipset but as its name implies there is more to it than that. In fact the ASUS M4A78-HTPC/RC is marketed as the motherboard to use when “Building the Dream Home Theater PC”. With a special mode to keep the system quiet, improved sound as well as the software “Home Theater Gate” it sounds like ASUS might have created the perfect motherboard for us htpc-builders. Keep reading on as we pick this motherboard apart to see if ASUS can back up their claims or if it just falls flat." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Maximum PC | Subject: Mobile
If you picked up a first generation Android phone and are looking to hack it into something more interesting then check out this article at Maximum PC. Get root access to the Linux OS on the phone and you can do all sorts of new tricks, such as installing applications directly onto your SD card. You will also be able to make your own boot image, grab beta updates or even install a full version of Linux. Check out the walk through to see how.
""On the following pages, we're going to show you how to hack your G1 the easy way so you can do things with your phone that other G1 owners only wish they could, like install apps to an SD card. And for you old school traditionalists who like to get your hands dirty, we'll also show how you to root your G1 the old fashioned way and wade through all the necessary code step-by-painstaking-step. After it's all said and done, we'll cover some of the most popular third-party ROMs and tell you which one we're rolling with."" Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TechReviewSource | Subject: General Tech
This time it is their online office solution taking aim at Google Docs and TechReviewSource was one of the few who were gifted with access to the beta version. As you'd expect, Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available,
along with OneNote all in a scaled down cloudy reflection of their Office Suite counterparts. The ribbons may have been trimmed, but it is still obviously a beta as there were problems; the an inability to insert pictures into PowerPoint being an example. Head over for the full preview, and if you use MSN check your SkyDrive to see if you have access yourself.
"Microsoft just today made the beta of its Office Web Apps online service available to select users and we got access to it and took a look around. It's by no means feature-complete and there are actually many bugs that prevent it from being used in a production fashion right now. However, the concept of being able to edit and create Office documents anywhere from the world from the Web app interface is an incredible powerful and flexible thing to have. The Web apps are limited in functionality, but they will be perfect for quick jobs while on the go." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Red & Blackness Mods | Subject: Case and Cooling
The Topower Tiger 1200W PSU reviewed by R&B Mods was to be sold at $200, unfortunately searches for it currently reveal a price of $300, much closer to what you might expect to spend on a 1KW PSU. With the price on the low end and testing proving the efficiency to be on the high end, it is a PSU worth investigating. It also has a switch that lets you choose between a single 12V rail or multiple. Drop by and see it in action for your self.
"Topower sent us their flagship power supply model, the Tiger 1200 Watt, for review today. Topower says it was designed to handle Nvidia's GTX 295 in quad configuration and AMD's most powerful graphics cards. With a pice tag of under $200US, this sounds like a promising unit." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Benchmark Reviews | Subject: General Tech
We have seen a lot of different P55 boards from a lot of different companies, except for the makers themselves. The Intel DP55KG Extreme Series is their $209 flagship motherboard, sporting quite a few features, though perhaps not as many as other competitors. 6 phase power and some electrolytic capacitors might scare off the hard core enthusiast, but the board is worth taking seriously. Check out its benchmark results at Benchmark Reviews.
"Benchmark Reviews had the opportunity to review and launch two new Lynnfield
processors from Intel: the Core i5-750 and the Core i7-870. While these were the
stars of the launch, it wouldn't be a complete platform without the motherboard.
Released in parallel with the two processors, is the Intel P55 Express Chipset. In
this review, we'll examine the new chipset in detail and take a closer look at
Intel's flagship DP55KG Extreme Series Motherboard."
Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: X-Bit Labs | Subject: Case and Cooling
There is a new face in the heatsink market, the so called Hybrid cooler. A hybrid cooler is design to work on both CPUs and GPUs with a little help from a variety of retaining clips. The Zalman VF2000 LED Hybrid Cooler
is one such cooler, with a long list of CPU and GPU compatibility that
X-bit Labs put to the test. Read on to see if this low profile cooler can do both jobs well or poorly.
"The new Zalman cooling solution is a very interesting combination of multiple functions. However, how skillful is the implementation of each feature in this “all- in-one” combination, you will find out from our today’s review." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: SemiAccurate | Subject: General Tech
Just like that old favourite song you grew sick of but haven't heard in a while, Larrabee has returned. The timing is a little tight for IDF but we may get to see a new look to Larrabee as the B0 stepping is in the fabs right now. If the bugs have been worked out there will be a lot of interesting demos to see, whether it takes a few days or a weeks for them to appear. Drop by SemiAccurate for information.
"IT LOOKS LIKE Larrabee, Intel's upcoming GPU++, is about to have new silicon in short order. The B0 stepping taped out about a month ago, so there should be some public showings soon. B0 taped out on August 15, and the silicon is winding it's way through the fabs now. Even with Intel's manufacturing prowess, making those parts and bringing up the new silicon takes time. It is going to be a really close call on them making showable boards before IDF or not. Here's to hoping." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Think Computers | Subject: General Tech
Cooler Master loves the Storm theme for a lot of their products with the Cooler Master Storm Sentinel Advance Gaming Mouse
being the newest member. It is so advanced that this mouse actually houses 64KB of memory to keep track of your profiles and has a locking mechanism to make it very difficult to steal. Think Computers has heard it will be for sale very soon at ~$60 and seeing how much they loved it you should really check it out.
"Cooler Master's Storm brand has really made some headway in the gaming sector over the past few months. Since the Storm brand was announced they have launched 2 very successful cases and quite a few mouse surfaces, but to be a true gaming brand you need a mouse. Today Cooler Master releases the Sentinel Advanced professional gaming mouse and we have the review for you! This mouse took Cooler Master 2 years to develop and it is unlike any other gaming mouse that we have seen. If you are a gamer you are definitely going to want to check out this review!" Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Processor
AMD has taken over the lower end of the CPU spectrum with the release of the Athlon II X4 620 and 630. In the $100 price range, the only chip Intel has to offer is the Q8200, and at around $27 more it and with lesser performance, it is overwhelmed by AMDs offerings. The bad news is that Black Edition processors are limited to the Phenom II series, the Athlons will not have one. On the plus side, that wonderful little BIOS feature called ACC may be able to unlock L3 cache that is disabled on the chip. Josh has posted his full review at the top of the page and you have to read it.
"AMD has not reinvented the wheel with the Athlon II X4 series of chips. They are not disruptive products from a performance standpoint, and they bring nothing particularly new to the marketplace. Except price of course. When we consider that, then the Athlon II X4s are disruptive. A fast, quad core at $122 will turn a few heads. We can also expect to eventually see more power efficient versions of these chips potentially make it into the laptop market (as the dual core Athlon II X2s have done recently)." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: General Tech
At the start of the review that Bjorn3D wrote about Darkest of Days, a new time travelling FPS with some interesting twists, the game sounds like a lot of fun. Bayonets are almost as fun as a chain saw, and when was the last time you waited as your character slowly works at his muzzle loading gun instead of just slapping in a new clip? In most cases you will be using period weaponry, but the trailers does show an attack of Roman Legionnaires being repelled by machine gun fire. Everything was fun and games until their Radeon powered test machine died at the Pompeii level. As it stands, this game can only be completed with an nVIDIA card; consider yourself warned.
"Darkest Of Days is a type of game that immediately sucks you into the plot, keeps you there, and throws a whole lot of baddies at you. But this game is not like the everyday average FPS, because this time we don't allways have access to the most advanced weaponry known to man kind, instead we have the most advanced weaponry of that time. Then on top of that you fight in some of the most famous battles in history. If you think you gonna just go through this game and be able to just to lay waste the baddies with out a care in the world, well there's another slight twist, you can't kill the guys who have a blue aurora around them, shoot them and it is all over." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
IDF is all about 32nm and according to Intel, 32nm is all about mobile usage. Ars Technica delves into the minds of Intel's mobile division in an attempt to divine when we might see x86 based System on a Chip based smart phones. Their belief is that we shall see two separate families of 32nm processors, a fast but electrically leaky version and a significantly slower version that will not leak. It is not hard to determine which version will be found in desktop processors and which shall be used to compete directly against ARM. Once the IDF gets underway we will know more about this, as well as what Intel plans to do with their huge push to be first to release 32nm CPUs.
"The impending 32nm process transition will take center stage at the upcoming Intel Developer Forum. Here's a quick preview of the process that Intel hopes will take it directly onto ARM's turf in the smartphone market." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Super Talent Technology | Subject: Storage
San Jose, California - September 16, 2009 - Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, will start shipping the first PCI Express RAIDDrive SSDs in early October. RAIDDrive is designed to break the throughput bottleneck in the storage subsystem by removing the bandwidth limitation of the SATA bus. The PCIe Gen. 2.0 x8 interface used by RAIDDrive SSDs supports 4GB/sec bandwidth, more than ten times that of the SATA-II 3Gbps bus, and five times greater than the not yet available SATA-III bus. Using patent pending RAID architecture that is optimized for NAND flash memory, RAIDDrive is able to support sequential read speeds of up to 1.4GB/sec. A turbocharged cache system with up to 1GB of DRAM cache enables sequential write speeds as fast as 1.2GB/sec. RAIDDrive, which houses four discrete SATA SSDs, comes in a custom aluminum enclosure measuring 258 x 112 x 25 mm. Higher capacity RAIDDrive models use the RAIDDrive Expander - a separate PCIe card - to hold a total of eight SATA SSDs. SuperTalent is releasing three families of RAIDDrives with features optimized for different market segments:
"RAIDDrive SSDs are a quantum leap ahead of existing SSDs in sequential transfer speeds due to our RAID architecture combined with the latest in flash technology and the bandwidth of the PCI Express interface. RAIDDrive shatters previous storage system bottlenecks and sets a new standard in performance." Super Talent COO, CH Lee said in a statement. RAIDDrive SSDs are available to OEMs and system integrators directly from Super Talent. OEM pricing for the 1TB RAIDDrive GS is $4999. RAIDDrive will be running in a live demo system at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, September 22-24 in the Super Talent booth, #419. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TweakTown | Subject: Storage
Tweaktown tore themselves away from gazing at cars to put together a quick review of the Active Media Products Executive I 2-in-1 Carbon Fiber Pen. Not only does it represent the latest in technology for the manual transference of ink onto paper it is also a 4GB flash drive. Now you can be papered and paperless simultaneously.
Interested in one of the geekiest pen you can get for under $20? Check it out here.
"USB drives are everywhere and everyone has at least a few sitting around. In business showing up to a meeting without a pen or USB thumb drive pretty much makes you look like an unorganized slob. Active Media Products has managed to merge a writing instrument with a USB thumb drive and wrapped it up in an attractive carbon fiber package. I had to have one!" Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Benchmark Reviews | Subject: System
MSI has broken away from the netbook market long enough to create an all in one desktop PC. The MSI Wind Top AE2010 AIO looks to be a 19" 1600x900 TFT touchscreen LCD at first glance, but hidden inside is a full PC. An AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 3250e powers it, with 4GB DDRII @ 533MHz
on the board its self, no memory upgrades for this machine. Graphics are handled by the AMD RS780G and SB710, the HD3200 gets 128MB of Side Port DDR3 to help it out. Benchmark Reviews tried it against Atoms and Ions and even a Dell to see how its performance measured up, which you can see here.
"Desktop computers are making a resurgence, and have exploited the compact nature of newer technology to provide the best of both worlds. Netbooks are the popular item for travelers, but they don't get the job done for full time workers and students. Notebooks are nice, and meet halfway, but have their own limits too. Behold the nettop. It's a compact desktop computer with a notebook profile. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the MSI Wind Top AE2010-02SUS All-In-One touch screen desktop computer against an Intel Atom-equipped ASUS Eee PC netbook, Core 2 Duo notebook, and NVIDIA ION desktop system." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
MSI's Lightning series of overclocked graphics cards have garnered a large following thanks to the ease in which you can install a card that is already proven to run at higher than stock frequencies. Their newest is a 275GTX Lightning with its GPU pushed up 67MHz and 1792MB of memory clocked 32MHz higher than stock. In [H]ard|OCP's testing this equated to some rather nice performance, the problem came with MSI's MRSP which is in the range of the superior 285GTX. Still the card is impressive and the included MSI Lightning Afterburner overclocking software helped to win a Silver Award. "MSI has brought a sleek and sexy video card to the market with the N275GTX Lightning. But with its high MSRP and its late release into this generation of video cards, what kind of value can it actually give us moving forward? We'll compare it with a stock NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 and AMD Radeon HD 4890 to find out what this technical masterpiece has to offer." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GIGABYTE Technology | Subject: General Tech
Taipei, Taiwan, 11th September, 2009 - GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announces the launch of a global Graphics Card overclocking competition, Beat Me If You Dare. This event coincides with the recent announcement of GIGABYTE’s latest family of Graphics Cards, the Super Overclock Series. Contestants around the world are invited to compete against the top scores set by GIGABYTE’s in-house overclocking team to win cash and prizes. The champion of each round will receive USD1,500 cash. Second prize is a new GIGABYTE GTX295 graphics card, the latest high-end NVIDIA card with dual GTX200 GPUs. The third place winner in each round will receive a GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA GTX285 graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce GTX285 GPU). As an added bonus, any contestant that beats the benchmark set by the GIGABYTE team will double his/her prize. There will also be a lucky draw for all Beat Me If You Dare entries with the winner receiving a professional GIGABYTE gaming mouse, GM-M8000. The Beat Me If You Dare competition will run for three rounds starting on Oct 1st and finishing on December 31st. The GIGABYTE Graphics Card team will announce a unique theme for each round on the event website. Prizes will be awarded for the top 3DMark Vantage performance scores and benchmark fps score in Resident Evil 5. Contestants may use any brand of Graphics Card but all scores must be recorded with the appropriate chipset as laid out in the competition website. For further details about the GIGABYTE Beat Me If You Dare competition please visit Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/GIGABYTE-VGA/138376338834?ref=nf Twitter: http://twitter.com/GIGABYTE_VGA For more details of the Super Overclock Series, please visit the GIGABYTE Graphics Card webpage at: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Default.aspx 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Ars Technica just got their hands on the new Zune and posted a preview of its features. Some things are nice to see, like the availability of apps for those who picked one up when they first went on sale, the obvious lack of support for third party apps is perhaps not so nice. The 480 by 272 OLED screen
was a definite winner. Drop by for the preview, they promise a full review soon.
"The Zune HD goes on sale today, and the firmware for the new device should be available by the time you read this (initial devices were shipped without the needed firmware, making them all but useless until hooked up to a PC). Hopes that Microsoft might offer support for the Mac or for Linux machines didn't pan out (and were always a long shot), but the Zune does have a few slick tricks up its sleeve." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Corsair Memory | Subject: Memory
FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 15, 2009 - Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer memory, power supplies and flash memory products, including solid-state drives, today announced that both 4GB and 8GB Dominator memory solutions have passed Intel's XMP-Ready certification for the newly-introduced Core i7-870 and Core i7-860 CPUs. The 8GB Dominator GT 1600MHz CAS 8 (CMD8GX3M4A1600C8) is part of Corsair's award-winning Dominator memory solutions. It is qualified and guaranteed to run at a frequency of 1600MHz with tight timings of 8-8-8-24 at a voltage of 1.65V. The 8GB solution features American Racing Blue fins and highlights to complement its unique combination of performance and density. The 4GB Dominator GT 1600MHz CAS 8 (CMD4GX3M2A1600C8) is also qualified and guaranteed to run at a frequency of 1600MHz with timings of 8-8-8-24 at a voltage of 1.65V. The 4GB memory kit is shipped with Dominator Black trim. "Corsair is very excited about the launch of the Core i7-870 and Core i7-860, and has been highly focused on developing the ideal memory solutions for this exciting new platform," said Jim Carlton, VP of Marketing at Corsair. "These 4GB and 8GB performance memory kits are the first of many XMP-certified memory kits that Corsair is producing for the new dual-channel Core i7 CPUs." This memory is currently listed as certified at Intel's Compatible Memory page, which can be found at http://www.intel.com/Consumer/Game/extreme-memory.htm. For more information on Corsair DDR3 Memory for Intel Core i7 Processors, please visit
http://www.corsair.com/products/memory_home.aspx. About DHX+ Technology
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: VIA Technologies | Subject: System
Taipei, Taiwan, September 15, 2009 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA-P720 Pico-ITX board, which takes advantage of the latest VIA VX855 media system processor to deliver stunningly smooth playback of the latest HD video formats for next-generation digital interactive devices. "VIA continually strives to offer customers compelling product designs that open up new worlds of possibility," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "The VIA EPIA-P720 enables a new class of extremely compact embedded devices that can comfortably handle the most demanding video playback whilst remaining entirely fanless. No other compact platform currently offers these features in tandem." Today's digital interactive devices give users a more immersive and enhanced experience, employing high quality, high resolution video content. Using the latest video compression technologies, like the increasingly popular H.264 codec, HD media playback usually requires a substantial processing overhead, negating the possibility of a completely fanless compact system. With the VIA EPIA-P720, the VIA VX855 MSP takes the video decompression burden from the central processor, applying industry-leading hardware acceleration for the most compression-intensive codecs, including H.264, VC1, WMV9 and MPEG 2/4, at display resolutions up to 1080p. The VIA EPIA-P720 also boasts several display connectivity options including native HDMI, VGA and LVDS support. The VIA EPIA-P720 - Small yet Powerful
A highly integrated, all-in-one chipset, the VIA VX855 MSP is specially designed to provide flawless hardware acceleration for the latest HD video codecs including H.264, WMV, VC1 and MPEG 2/4 at high bitrates and display resolutions of up to 1080p. The VIA Chrome9™ HCM 3D integrated graphics core boasts full DirectX 9.0 support and a 128-bit 2D engine with hardware rotation capability. The VIA EPIA-P720 uses a specially designed I/O add-on-board, the VIA P720-A, which complements the native HDMI port to add a VGA port, a Gigabit LAN port and two USB 2.0 ports. The VIA Vinyl HD audio codec provides 6 channel, DTS capable audio with S/PDIF support. Storage is provided in the shape of an onboard 44-pin IDE connector and one S-ATA port. On board pin headers provide support for an additional 4 x USB 2.0 ports, an LPC connector, SMBus connector, PS/2 support, audio jacks, LVDS, 4 pairs of DIO and two UART ports.
For more details about the VIA EPIA-P720 please visit:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Think Computers | Subject: Case and Cooling
The Tuniq Tower 120 series has been popular with i7 users looking to get some good temperatures, though the large size of the cooler makes picking a deep case an absolute must. The new member of the family, the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
stands a hair under 6" tall and weighs in at almost 2lbs, so again case choice is something to pay close attention to if you are thinking about picking up this cooler. In Think Computers tests the cooler came within a few degrees of the Corsair H50, an impressive feat for an air cooler.
"So it isn't often that we run across a radical departure from the radiator norm. Our friends at Sunbeamtech, in their Tuniq division, has done just that, created a 120mm tower cooler that looks like nothing we've seen, the Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme. Besides a unique radiator design, the five core-contact heatpipes have a different twist too. Even the fan is in an odd place for a square tower cooler. Will it cool the i7? Read on to see!" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
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