Boxx Launches 3DBoxx 8950 Workstation

Subject: General Tech, Systems | March 26, 2013 - 06:18 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: workstation, nvidia, GTC 2013, BOXX, 3dboxx 8950

Boxx Technologies recently launched a new multi-GPU workstation called the 3DBoxx 8950. It is aimed at professionals that need a fast system with beefy GPU accelerator cards that they can design and render at the same time. The 8950 is intended to be used with applications like Autodesk, Dassault, NVIDIA iray, and V-Ray (et al).

The Boxx 3DBoxx 8950 features two liquid cooled Intel Xeon Ed-2600 processors (2GHz, 16 cores, 32 threads), up to 512GB of system memory (16 DIMM slots), and seven PCI-E slots (four of which accept dual slot GPUs, the remaining three are spaced for single slot cards). A 1250W power suppy (80 PLUS Gold) powers the workstation. An example configuration would include three Tesla K20 cards and one Quadro K5000. The Tesla cards would handle the computation while the Quadro can power the multi-display ouput. The chassis has room for eight 3.5" hard drives and a single externally-accessible 5.25" drive. The 8950 workstation can be loaded with either the Windows or Linux operating system.

Rear IO on the 8950 workstation includes:

• 5 x audio jacks
• 1 x optical in/out
• 4 x USB 2.0 ports
• 1 x serial port
• 2 x RJ45 jacks, backed by Intel Gigabit NICs

The system is available now, with pricing available upon request. You can find the full list of specifications and supported hardware configurations in this spec sheet (PDF).

NVIDIA's Project SHIELD is just about ready

Subject: General Tech | March 26, 2013 - 01:49 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: tegra 4, tegra, shield, nvidia, Tegrazone

Remember Project Shield from CES and before?  The Inquirer has managed to get their hands on an actual console at the Game Developers Conference and played a bit of Need For Speed streamed from a PC onto the Shield.  Project Shield its self is a Tegra 4 powered controller running Android 4.2 with a 5" 720p display attached and wireless connectivity.  The actual game is streamed wireless from a PC with a Kepler GPU via the Tegrazone application, so the real performance limit occurs from latency, similar to the company once known as Onlive.  While The Inq was not quite ready to toss their money at Project Shield, but it was close.

"CHIP DESIGNER Nvidia caused something of a stir at CES when it announced the Project Shield handheld games console, and with its launch nearing, the firm is letting people try its first own-brand game console, which we managed to get our hands on at this week's GDC gaming conference in San Francisco."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Installing GLaDOS in the ceiling of your house @ Hack a Day
• Maybe don't install that groovy pirated Android keyboard @ The Register
• Backing your Apple Mac up with Time Machine @ Tweaktown
• The Best Servers for Linux in 2013 @ Linux.com
• Ninjalane Podcast - GTX Titan, Free 2 Play and Cooler Master Interview

ZAGG invisibleSHIELD: Buy One Product, Get 2nd Product for Free

Subject: General Tech, Mobile | March 26, 2013 - 01:10 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Top deal

ZAGG invisibleSHIELD: Buy One Product, Get 2nd Product for Free

Computing Hardware & Peripherals

Linksys AE6000 Wireless-AC Dual-Band USB Adapter for $56.99 with free shipping (normally $60 - use coupon code: HSDISH5).

HDTVs & Theater

LG 60LS5700 60" 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $1,378.00 with free shipping (normally $2,000).

LG 47LM6700 47" 1080p 120Hz 3D LED HDTV $899.00 with free shipping (normally $1600).

Samsung UN40EH6000 40" 1080p LED HDTV for $597.99 with free shipping (normally $850).

Samsung HW-E450 2.1-Channel Soundbar System (refurbished) for $174.99 with free shipping (normally $300 - use coupon code: DIG5).

Klipsch QUINTET 5.0 Speaker System for $343.19 with free shipping (normally $550).

Gadgets

Cobra iRadar Radar Detector for Android or Apple Devices for $59.99 with free shipping (normally $150).

Monoprice 27" IPS back in stock!

Subject: General Tech, Displays | March 25, 2013 - 05:51 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: monoprice, ips display, ips monitor, ips

Tim did a post on cheap 27" IPS 1440p monitors from Monoprice within the opening days of the calendar year. These panels are derivative of the type you would see on Dell Ultrasharp or Apple Cinema Displays. We say derivative because LCD panel manufacturing is very imprecise: completed panels get graded, bin-sorted, and sold to bidders. A panel which does not grade high enough for Dell, Apple, HP, and other professional companies is probably still a perfectly good panel and suitable for other bidders. Monoprice is putting their branding on one of those bidders and selling it for under $400, about a third of the cost of the A+-sorted panels.

And they're gone.

Now, almost three months later, Monoprice has caught up and will start shipping the new batch as early as tomorrow. How long that will last, who knows? If you wish to have a high end monitor on the cheap, you will probably want to run and not walk.

The Monoprice CrystalPro WQHD monitor is available for $390.60. Monoprice advertises the display to be perfect for Eyefinity setups... except that it is limited to one per customer. Oh well, troll well.

Today Only! 15.6" Dell Inspiron 15 3rd Gen Core i5 Laptop for $449.99

Subject: General Tech | March 25, 2013 - 05:36 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Top deal

15.6" Dell Inspiron 15 (3521) 3rd Gen Core i5 Laptop for $449.99 with free shipping (normally $650).

Get more out of Columbia with the all new GeForce 314.22 driver

Subject: General Tech | March 25, 2013 - 01:30 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: bioshock infinite, geforce, GeForce 314.22, nvidia, gaming

BioShock Infinite launches tomorrow and promises to be an exciting third installment to the award-winning franchise.

GeForce gamers today can get ready for a great Day 1 experience with BioShock Infinite by upgrading to our new GeForce 314.22 Game Ready drivers. These drivers are Microsoft WHQL-certified and available for download on GeForce.com.

Our software engineers have been working with Irrational Games over the past two years to optimize BioShock Infinite for GeForce users and, as a result, these drivers offer game-changing performance increases of up to 41 percent.

Also, with a single click in GeForce Experience, gamers can optimize the image quality in BioShock Infinite and have it instantly tuned to the capability of their PC’s hardware.

GeForce 314.22 drivers also offer several other significant performance increases in other current games. For more details, refer to the release highlights on the driver download pages and read the GeForce driver article on GeForce.com.

GeForce 314.22 Highlights

• Delivers GeForce Game Ready experience for BioShock Infinite:
  • Up to 41% faster performance
  • Optimal game settings with GeForce Experience
  • Microsoft WHQL-certified
• Increases gaming performance in other popular titles:
  • Up to 60% faster in Tomb Raider
  • Up to 23% faster in Sniper Elite V2
  • Up to 13% faster in Sleeping Dogs
• Adds new SLI and 3D Vision profiles for upcoming games.

Will ARMing your server room with Calxeda put you at a disadvantage?

Subject: Systems | March 25, 2013 - 01:14 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: arm, calxeda, Boston Viridis

Perhaps the most telling part of AnandTech's review of the Calxeda Boston Viridis server was the statement that "It's a Cluster, Not a Server" as that paints a different picture of the appliance in many tech's heads.  When you first open the chassis you are greeted by 24 2.5” SATA drive bays and a very non-standard looking motherboard full of PCIe slots, each of which can hold a EnergyCard which consists of four quad-core ARM SoCs, each with one DIMM slot and 4 SATA ports with the theoretical limit being 4096 nodes interconnected by physical, distributed layer-2 switches not virtualized switches which use CPU cycles.  Check out the results of AnandTech's virtual machine testing and a deeper look at the architecture of the cluster in the full article.

"ARM based servers hold the promise of extremely low power and excellent performance per Watt ratios. It's theoretically possible to place an incredible number of servers into a single rack; there are already implementations with as many as 1000 ARM servers in one rack (48 server nodes in a 2U chassis). What's more, all of those nodes consume less than 5KW combined (or around 5W per quad-core ARM node). But whenever a new technology is hyped, it's important to remain objective. The media loves to rave about new trends and people like reading about "some new thing"; however, at the end of the day the system administrator has to keep his IT services working and convince his boss to invest in new technologies."

Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:

Systems

• MESH Slayer 3770K OC System @ Kitguru
• Apple iMac 27 inch 2012 review: Core i7, GTX 680MX and Fusion Drive @ Hardware.info
• ARIA Gladiator Warbird 660 i5-3570K GTX660 SLI OC @ Kitguru
• Digital Storm Bolt Desktop Gaming PC @ Tweaktown
• Gateway One ZX4970G-UW308 Review @ TechReviewSource

Is there a Flash flood coming?

Subject: General Tech | March 25, 2013 - 12:50 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: spintronics, racetrack, pram, molybdenum, micron, memristor, IBM, hp, graphene, flash

Over the past several years we have seen actual production of phase change memory from Micron, though no benchmarks yet, transistors whose resistance can be altered to be used as non-volatile storage which HP has dubbed Memristors and IBM's Spintronic Racetrack Memory; all of which claim to be the replacement for NAND.  There is no question we need a new type of flash, preferably non-volatile, as it is likely that there will be a limit on effective speed and density reached with traditional NAND.  It is also true that the path to our current flash technology is littered with the carcasses of failed technology standards, whether RAMBUS is willing to admit it or not. 

Now there is more details available on yet another possible contender based on molybdenum disulfide which sports a charge-trapping layer to make it non-volatile.  The Register was told that by layering MoS₂ between layers of graphene they get a NAND cell smaller than traditional cells but unfortunately there was no report of the speed of these cells.  We may soon be living in interesting times, with process shrunk traditional flash and these four technologies competing for market share.  You can bet that they will not be compatible and that each will likely spawn their own breeds of controllers and make purchasing SSDs and other flash storage devices much more complicated, at least until one standard can claim victory over the others.

"A Swiss government research lab has reinvented flash memory using graphene and molybdenite in a way that should be faster, scale smaller, use less energy and yet more flexible than boring old NAND.

Molybdenite is MoS₂, molybdenum disulfide, which is similar to graphite and also has a lubricating effect. Atomically it is a layer of molybdenum atoms between top and bottom layers of sulfide atoms. It is a semiconductor and can be used to create transistor."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Intel to release new SSDs for enterprise and datacenter applications @ DigiTimes
• Rival bidders emerge for Dell @ The Inquirer
• Testers Say IE 11 Can Impersonate Firefox Via User Agent String @ Slashdot
• How to survive a UEFI BOOT-OF-DEATH on Samsung laptops @ The Register
• Mining bitcoins on a Nintendo @ Hack a Day
• Twitter, Hotmail, LinkedIn, Yahoo Open To Hijacking @ Slashdot
• MSI MPOWER OC Event @ Madshrimps
• Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Blackberry Q10 specs comparison @ The Inquirer
• ARM's new CEO: You'll get no 'glorious new strategy' from me @ The Register
• Samsung Galaxy S4 interactive @ The Inquirer
• 18 days of hottish Pebble love @ The Tech Report

Blue His Build with Leaked Blue Little Windows...

Subject: General Tech, Systems | March 24, 2013 - 03:56 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: windows 8, Blue, windows blue

It was only a matter of time before Windows Blue was leaked, like just about every other version of the operating system in recent memory. Internally, Blue is a transition for Microsoft into an annual release schedule for Windows products; externally, Blue is the first feature-release for Windows.

Yes, Sean Bean, win'ders has come.

Zac from WinBeta, embed above, got hold of the operating system, apparently leaked today, and played around with the changes for all of YouTube to see.

• New split-screen App options. (Unclear whether multi-monitor app support is fixed)
• Minor clarifications for user instruction.
• New tile sizes.
• Swipe up from Start Screen to access list of apps.
• More personalization options.
• Picture frame mode.
• New App: Calculator.
• New App: Alarm.
• New App: Sound Recorder.
• New App: Movie Moments... apparently a new, confidential, video editing application.
• Internet Explorer updated to version 11.

Personally, despite sticking with Windows 7 for political reasons, the new App options seem like they would be the most engaging feature for Windows Blue. For being such a core segment of the "modern" Windows experience, apps are surprisingly annoying to manage as they currently exist on Windows 8. If you have two or more monitors then you are probably having a nightmare with anything outside of Windows 8's desktop mode.

We now know that app support is being looked at, so there is some hope that multiple monitor users will be considered too.

The NYT Claims BioShock: Infinite Had an Irrational Budget... Ken Levine Responds with Satire

Subject: General Tech | March 23, 2013 - 04:25 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: bioshock infinite

So The New York Times wrote an editorial about Irrational Games to lead-off the upcoming release of Bioshock: Infinite. The piece is fairly typical, describing co-founder Ken Levine along with the very nondescript studios nestled away within Quincy, Massachusetts. The piece focused on how much the team cares for their game Bioshock: Infinite...

... and then it speculated a quantity for how much they cared, citing unnamed analysts.

Of course this could not help but become a minor controversy like just about everything else surrounding Bioshock: Infinite these days. The piece reported a budget that was "upward of $100 million", excluding marketing which could add an extra $100 million to that figure. Naturally, $200 million dollar stories began to spring up online.

200 million for Infinite? Did someone send some checks to the wrong address? #unnamedanalyst

— Ken Levine (@IGLevine) March 22, 2013

This prompted a tweet-based response from Ken Levine, because who needs a PR firm when you got Twitter? Anyway, the man has a sarcastic sense of humor and this is no different.

While funny, this is not actually a denial. Games are quite expensive to produce and can be very expensive to market. Sure, the NYT figure is still probably an overshoot even if you were to zealously round up, but I would still hesitate to mock.

Lowest Prices of the Year: Dell IPS Monitors Blow-out

Subject: General Tech, Displays | March 22, 2013 - 07:13 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Two (2) Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" IPS Monitors with Dual Monitor Stand for $436 with free shipping (normally $570 - use coupon codes: 6DBNK$ZJLR$L4J and 9B47MSNVFNNKB2).   - this link will be fixed soon!

Computing Hardware & Peripherals

29" Dell UltraSharp U2913WM panoramic 2560 x 1080 LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $566 with free shipping (normally $699 - use coupon codes: 2SWVM6553NQ6F7 and VNVC57F?X1269L).

27" Dell UltraSharp U2713H 27" 2560 x 1440 IPS-panel LCD Monitor (Flagship 2013 Model) for $765 with free shipping (normally $1000 - use coupon code: VNVC57F?X1269L).

24" Dell UltraSharp U2413 1920 x 1200 24" IPS Monitor (2013 model) for $450 with free shipping (normally $600 - use coupon code: VNVC57F?X1269L).

21.5" Dell U2212HM UltraSharp 1080p IPS-panel LCD Monitor with DisplayPort for $198 with free shipping (normally $260 - use coupon code: VNVC57F?X1269L).

Gaming for $150 with the Radeon HD 7790

Subject: Graphics Cards | March 22, 2013 - 01:56 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: hd 7790, graphics core next, GCN, ea Islands, bonaire, amd

AMD is trying to fill a gap in their product line between the less than $200 HD 7850 and the ~$120 HD 7770 with a $150 card, the HD 7790.  The naming scheme implies two GPUs but this is not the case, it is a single Bonaire GCN chip with 896 stream processors, 56 texture units and an impressive fill rate of up to 1.79 TFLOPS thanks to some optimization of the GCN architecture.  It has 1GB of GDDR5 at 6GHz effective and a CPU speed dependent on the model, in [H]ard|OCP's case the ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC runs at 1.075GHz.  [H] passed it a Silver Award for being a vast improvement over the 7770 and good competition for the GTX 650 Ti but feel the card does need to be faster.

This card also makes an appearance on our front page, with a lot of Frame Rating charts so you can see not only the raw FPS data you are used to, but also an indept look at how the game is going to 'feel' while you play.

"AMD is launching the Radeon HD 7790 today. This new video card should give the sub-$200 video card segment a kick in the pants. Will it provide enough performance for today's latest games at $149? We will find out, testing the new ASUS Radeon HD 7790 DirectCU II OC with no less than six of today's hottest games."

Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:

Graphics Cards

• AMD's Radeon HD 7790 @ The Tech Report
• AMD Radeon HD 7790 review (incl. frametimes) @ Hardware.info
• AMD Radeon HD 7790 @ TechSpot
• AMD Radeon HD 7790 Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X 1GB OC @ eTeknix
• Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 1GB Dual-X OC @ Tweaktown
• Sapphire HD 7790 1GB Graphics Card @ Bjorn3D
• Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 Dual-X OC Review @ OCC
• Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X OC Video Card Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• AMD Radeon HD 7790 CrossFire @ techPowerUp
• ASUS HD 7790 DirectCU II OC @ Overclockers.com
• Sapphire HD 7790 Dual-X 1 GB @ techPowerUp
• AMD Radeon HD 7790 Video Card Review w/ Gigabyte & Sapphire @ Legit Reviews
• ASUS HD 7790 Direct CU II OC 1 GB @ techPowerUp
• Sapphire HD7790 OC @ Kitguru
• PowerColor PCS+ HD 7850 Radeon Graphic Card Review @ Pro-Clockers
• HIS Radeon HD 7850 iPower IceQ Turbo 4GB Video Card in CrossFire @ Tweaktown
• HIS Radeon HD 7770 iCooler 1GB Overclocked @ Tweaktown
• Mid-Range AMD Graphics Card Round-Up (HIS 7770 GHz / HIS 7850 / Sapphire 7850) @ Kitguru
• PowerColor PCS HD7870 MYST Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews

AZiO's gaming headset has an optional head-kicker mode

Subject: General Tech | March 21, 2013 - 03:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: audio, gaming headset, AZiO, Levetron GH808

Gaming headsets are about more than just decent 40mm drivers which provide decent sound.  We have seen virtual and physical 5.1 headphones, a wide variety of earcup and headband materials and occasionally vibration features so that when the artillery starts falling you can feel as well as hear it.  AZiO's new Levetron GH808 sports that latter feature with a 30mm vibration driver which will indeed rattle your brains.  HiTech Legion liked the volume control wheel integral to the headset but they would have liked one to control the vibration as well instead of it being all or nothing.  At an MSRP of $55 they are not a major investment if you are curious about how this headset would feel.

"AZiO’s Levetron GH808 is a USB headset designed for gaming. The Levetron GH808 headset is plug-and-play, only requiring USB port on a Windows or Mac OS X system to use. Optional software can be downloaded from AZiO’s website, providing control of the GH808’s features from the desktop. Equipped with 40mm neodymium drivers and an additional 30mm “vibration” driver, the AZiO Levetron GH808 brings pulse-pounding excitement straight to gamers’ ears. Should you need to chat with your online buddies while playing, a unidirectional microphone can be pulled out from the left ear cup. The AZiO GH808 also includes a volume control knob as well as a toggle switch for enabling or disabling the bass enhancement feature."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

• MadCatz Cyborg F.R.E.Q.7 Headset @ eTeknix
• Steelseries Flux In Ear Pro Headset @ LanOC Reviews
• MadCatz F.R.E.Q.5 Red PC Headset @ eTeknix
• AIAIAI TMA-1 DJ Headphones With Mic Review @ NikKTech
• Edifier MP15 Audio Candy Plus review: affordable quality @ Hardware.info
• Arion ET-AR602R-BK Floor Standing Speakers Review @ TechwareLabs
• Philips docking speaker DS3205 review: Lightning dock @ Hardware.info
• Oregon Scientific Boombero Wireless Speaker Review @ NikKTech
• Ineo Alienvibes W402 Speaker Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Edifier Spinnaker e30 Speakers @ Kitguru
• Orbitsound M9 soundbar @ The Inquirer

At the G Institute, PC Gaming is Logitech's Pursuit

Subject: General Tech, Cases and Cooling, Shows and Expos | March 21, 2013 - 03:23 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: PAX East 2013, PAX East, PAX, logitech

Despite recent incidents with a genetic lifeform and disk operating system, we PC gamers love our science. Yesterday, Logitech claims they renewed their commitment to both PC gaming and science just in time for PAX East 2013.

Let us just hope the pi's not a lie. Hehehe, that rhymes.

While the commercial looks and sounds like the "G" stands for "Gatorade", it really beckons the launch of eight new accessory products: four new mice, two new keyboards, and two new headsets.

• Logitech G700s Rechargeable Gaming Mouse
  • Wireless
  • 13 programmable controls
• Logitech G500s Laser Gaming Mouse
  • Weight/balance adjustments
  • Dual-mode scroll wheel
• Logitech G400s Optical Gaming Mouse
  • "Delta Zero" sensor technology
  • 8 programmable controls
• Logitech G100s Optical Gaming Mouse
  • "Delta Zero" sensor technology
• Logitech G19s Gaming Keyboard
  • Full-Color LCD
  • Custom backlighting
  • 12 programmable "G-keys"
• Logitech G510s Gaming Keyboard
  • Standard LCD
  • Custom backlighting
  • 18 programmable "G-keys"
• Logitech G430 Surround Sound Gaming Headset
  • 7.1 surround sound
• Logitech G230 Stereo Gaming Headset
  • 40mm drivers
  • 3.5mm stereo audio and mic

Check in after the break for the official press blast.

Podcast #243 - ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z, MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt, 2TB SSDs and more!

Subject: General Tech | March 21, 2013 - 02:54 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: z77a-g45 thunderbolt, video, tegra, quadro, podcast, GTX 690, GTC 2013, DDR3-3000, Crosshair V Formula Z, 2tb ssd

PC Perspective Podcast #243 - 03/21/2013

Join us this week as we discuss the ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z, MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt, 2TB SSDs and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, Allyn Malventano, Morry Teitelman, and sometimes Ken Addison

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!

Program length: 1:18:24

1. Week in Review:
   1. 0:03:20 ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z Review: Cream of the Crop for AM3+
   2. 0:14:00 MSI Z77A-G45 Thunderbolt Motherboard

1. 0:28:35 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
2. News items of interest:
   1. 0:30:00 Corsair Unleashes Vengeance Extreme, the World's Fastest Rated PC Memory Kits
   2. 0:34:00 All I know about the Galaxy S4 ... was not learned on the live stream
   3. 0:36:30 Turn half your GTX 690 into a Quadro or Tesla?
   4. 0:38:40 Solidata 2TB 2.5: SSDs
   5. 0:48:00 GTC 2013: Jen-Hsun Huang Takes the Stage to Discuss NVIDIA's Future, New Hardware
   6. 0:53:50 GTC 2013: TYAN Launches New HPC Servers Powered by Kepler-based Tesla Cards
   7. 0:56:00 GTC 2013: Pedraforca Is A Power Efficient ARM + GPU Cluster For Homogeneous (GPU) Workloads
   8. 0:58:50 GTC 2013: Cortexica Vision Systems Talks About the Future of Image Recognition During the Emerging Companies Summit
   9. 1:00:20 Noctua Offers Free LGA 1150 Haswell Mounting Kit Upgrade for Older Heatsinks
   10. 1:05:30 Annealed Pyrolytic Graphite, your next erotic cooling solution
3. Closing:
   1. 1:09:50 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
      1. Jeremy: 15 years of memories, thanks Blizzard …(for being so original) even if you do sell crack now
      2. Josh: $219 if you act fast
      3. Allyn: 3TB HDD's are getting cheap (~$140)
      4. Morry: Memory, always more memory - G.Skill Sniper 1866 16GB DDR3
4. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
5. http://pcper.com/podcast
6. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper

Two Upcoming SFF Cases From Akasa Spotted Before The Official Computex Launch

Subject: General Tech, Cases and Cooling | March 21, 2013 - 01:52 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: galileo, newton, akasa, nuc, case, thin mini-itx

FanlessTech recently spotted two new fan-less and small form factor cases from Akasa ahead of the official launch. The Akasa Galileo and Akasa Newton are compatible with thin Mini-ITX and Intel's Next Unit of Computing (NUC) motherboards respectively.

Both cases are constructed of aluminum, have VESA mounting holes, and double as a fan-less heatsink for your components. The Galileo is 37mm thick and can cool processors rated up to a 35W TDP. The Newton is a small case with fins around the sides to increase surface area (for better cooling capability), and aesthetic flair.

According to Fanless Tech, the two PC cases will be officially unveiled at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan this summer. There is no word on pricing or when they will be available for purchase, however.

Corsair Announces Vengeance K70 Fully Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Key-by-Key Backlighting

Subject: General Tech | March 21, 2013 - 12:49 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Vengeance K70, corsair, cherry mx red

FREMONT, California — March 21, 2013 — Corsair, a worldwide designer of high-performance PC gaming peripherals, today announced the Vengeance K70 fully mechanical gaming keyboard.

The new Vengeance K70 gaming keyboard is built on a rugged, brushed, aluminum chassis and features highly responsive Cherry MX Red mechanical switches under every key. The high performance switches combined with the keyboard's 100% anti-ghosted matrix, 20-key rollover and 1000Hz reporting rate provide fast, accurate input for gaming.

The Vengeance K70 gaming keyboards are available in two color schemes: silver aluminum with blue backlighting, and anodized black with deep red backlighting. Overall backlighting can be adjusted to four levels of intensity and each key is individually backlit, enabling the lighting for each key to be independently enabled or disabled. The key-by-key lighting customization allows users to highlight just the keys they need to emphasize and then save the setting directly to the K70's onboard memory. In addition, the Vengeance K70 comes with alternate colored, contoured keycaps for the WASD and 1-6 keycaps to allow additional customization.

"When we launched the Vengeance K60, customers loved the look and quality, but some wanted a backlit version," said Ruben Mookerjee, VP and General Manager of the Peripherals Business Unit at Corsair. "In typical Corsair fashion, we over-delivered and created Vengeance K70 with key-by-key backlighting, mechanical switches on every key, and two color schemes."

The Vengeance K70 also features dedicated multimedia controls to allow users to play, stop, pause, skip tracks and adjust volume. An extra USB connector is provided for attaching to USB devices such as a Vengeance gaming mouse or headset. A removeable soft-touch wrist rest provides comfort for long gaming or typing sessions.

See Vengeance K70 at PAX East from March 22-24

The Vengeance K70 keyboard will make its public debut at Corsair's booth at PAX East in Boston from March 22-24. Corsair is located in booth 1062.

Pricing and Availability
The Corsair Vengeance K70 will be available in April at suggested price of $129.99.

AMD will be reducing APU pricing by April

Subject: General Tech | March 21, 2013 - 12:35 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: amd, price cuts, Richland, a4-4000

It might be worth waiting until next month if you are going to be building a low cost AMD based system as prices on the A8-5600K, FX-8320, FX-6300 and FX-4300 will be dropping in April.  You can also expect to see the A4-4000 hit stores the following month at a very low price according to DigiTimes but don't have anything new to report about the release date of the Richland chips.  It is nice to have low cost CPUs available on the market, but it seems odd when even the lowest priced motherboard will run you about twice as much as the CPU you will be putting on it.

"AMD plans to cut some of its APU prices at the end of April to welcome its next-generation Richland APUs, set for launch in early June, according to sources from PC players.

Prices of AMD's APUs including A8-5600K, FX-8320, FX-6300 and FX-4300 will see 8-15% drops and the CPU maker will also start shipping its A4-4000 in mid-April for sales in mid-May priced at US$40."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Poking Holes In Samsung's Android Security @ Slashdot
• Nvidia and ARM: It's a parallel, parallel, parallel world @ The Register
• Skype tips up for Blackberry 10 as it hits 100,000 apps @ The Inquirer
• Google’s Note-Taking Service Keep Is Live, And It’s Wonderful @ Gizmodo
• Windows 8 Outperforming Ubuntu Linux With Intel OpenGL Graphics @ Phoronix
• Unigine Valley 1.0 Benchmark Tool Walk Through @ OCC
• Team AU Overclocking in Perth with Liquid Nitrogen - Deanzo's Thoughts @ Tweaktown