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ASRock's Formula for success

Subject: Motherboards | March 19, 2013 - 01:36 PM |
Tagged: asrock, Z77 OC Formula, Intel Z77X

If you are shopping for a Z77 motherboard you have a lot of choice in make and model as well as price, they range from sub-$100 models to high end boards like the $225 ASRock Z77 OC Formula.  For that extra price you get a motherboard built with 12+4 phase power, premium alloy chokes, dual-stack MOSFETs and 8 layers of copper.  It is not just high end components, you also get a pair of PCIe 16x slots, a single PCIe 4x slot and a pair of 1x slots for add-in cards as well as four SATA 6Gbps ports and two SATA 3G ports, 10 USB 2.0 ports and 8 USB 3.0 ports along with onboard audio from Realtec's ALC898.  [H]ard|OCP did some testing to see if this board lives up to the OC in its name, which it did rather handily.

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"Generally speaking our ASRock experiences have been positive save for one or two minor complaints. We’ve looked inexpensive but very popular ASRock model motherboards. Today we are taking a look at a higher end more expensive ASRock offering. The Z77 OC Formula caught our eye and will hopefully perform as good as it looks."

Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:

Motherboards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Intel's inventory undergoes some shrinkage

Subject: Motherboards | March 19, 2013 - 12:55 PM |
Tagged: Intel, qualcomm

The slowdown of PC sales has finally even impacted Intel's supply chain as they reduce the number of chips stocked in inventory.  Even after these years of domination over AMD on the desktop Intel has not been reducing their supplies of chips as they were still selling them at a brisk pace.  It is obvious that has changed over the past year as the lowering sales of PCs and laptops finally lead to Intel reducing the number of chips they have on hand.  They were not the only ones to make this move, with AMD and others also reducing their stocks somewhat.  One area The Register did not report on is GPUs, with the short lifespan of a GPU the stocks of new silicon are also goign to be quite reduced and you should see more discounts on lower end GPUs as resellers try to offload them.  As we have seen before people are still buying electronics, just smaller, more portable devices; Qualcomm's available stock has had to increase by 24% over the same time period.

Q_SD.jpg

"Bean counter iSuppli reckons the major manufacturers acted swiftly to prevent expensive backlogs of baked silicon forming: the average number of days between producing inventory and selling it declined five per cent. The value of the inventory piles also fell five per cent, or $600m, from Q3 to Q4 of 2012, we're told."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Tal k

Source: The Register

GTC 2013: Prepare for Graphics Overload

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards, Mobile, Shows and Expos | March 18, 2013 - 09:10 PM |
Tagged: GTC 2013, nvidia

We just received word from Tim Verry, our GTC correspondent and news troll, about his first kick at the conference. This... is his story.

Graphics card manufacturer, NVIDIA, is hosting its annual GPU Technology Conference (GTC 2013) in San Jose, California this week. PC Perspective will be roaming the exhibit floor and covering sessions as NVIDIA and its partners discuss upcoming graphics technologies, GPGPU, programming, and a number of other low level computing topics.

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The future... is tomorrow!

A number of tech companies will be on site and delivering presentations to show off their latest Kepler-based systems. NVIDIA will deliver its keynote presentation tomorrow for the press, financial and industry analysts, and business partners to provide a glimpse at the green team's roadmap throughout 2013 - and maybe beyond.

We cannot say for certain what NVIDIA will reveal during its keynote; but, since we have not been briefed ahead of time, we are completely free to speculate! I think one certainty is the official launch of the Kepler-based K6000 workstation card; for example. While I do not expect to see Maxwell, we could possibly see a planned refresh of the Kepler-based components with some incremental improvements: I predict power efficiency over performance. Perhaps we will receive a cheaper Titan-like consumer card towards the end of 2013? Wishful thinking on my part? A refresh of its GK104 architecture would be nice to see as well, even if actual hardware will not show up until next year. I expect that NVIDIA will react to whatever plans AMD has to decide whether it is in their interest to match them or not.

I do expect to see more information on GRID and Project SHIELD, however. NVIDIA has reportedly broadened the scope of this year's conference to include mobile sessions: expect Tegra programming and mobile GPGPU goodness to be on tap.

It should be an interesting week of GPU news. Stay tuned to PC Perspective for more coverage as the conference gets underway.

What are you hoping to see from NVIDIA at GTC 2013?

Source: PC Perspective

Need high volume SSD storage and can afford the price? Solidata has 2TB drives

Subject: Storage | March 18, 2013 - 04:23 PM |
Tagged: Solidata, K8 1920E 2TB, ssd, sf-1222, LSI, sandforce, Micron JMB393

We have seen some high capacity PCIe based SSDs but in the 2.5" form factor they have been few and far between.  This will soon change as Solidata will be releasing a 2 Terabyte SSD called the K8 1920E which will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $5000 when it becomes available.  Each one of the flash storage chips you can see below is a 64GB chip and with 16 on each side you get a full 2048GB of storage.  It uses four of the LSI Sandforce SF-1222 controllers and a Micron JMB393 SATA II RAID-5 controller which is configured to act as a 4 port hub, treating each of the controllers as a separate 512GB SSD.  Once the SSD Review had formatted the drive for use there was a total of 1788GB available for storage which did not support TRIM as it is technically behind a RAID card.  The performance was on par with expectations, keeping in mind the difficulties that SandForce controllers have with incompressible data. This drive will be very expensive but it seems it will be the first product of its type available to be purchased.

SSDR_1920-PCB-Front.jpg

"Ever since SSDs were introduced to the retail market back in 07, one of the main complaints has always been capacity. After all, the first SSD releases were only 32 and 64GB. The hopes of one day seeing the performance of an SSD coupled with the capacity of a hard drive has grown and, too many, we think our analysis of the new Solidata K8-1920E 2TB SSD might be welcome news."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

Source: SSD Review

ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II versus a dual linked Dell 3007WFP

Subject: Graphics Cards | March 18, 2013 - 03:17 PM |
Tagged: 2560x1600, amd, hd7970 direct cu 2, asus, dell, 3007WFP

[H]ard|OCP has wanted to publish their review of the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II for a while but ran into a compatibility issue during their testing and ended up being a perfect example of what sometimes happens to review sites and enthusiasts on the bleeding edge.  [H] uses a Dell 3007WFP with a resolution of 2560x1600 which necessitates the use of a dual link DVI connection, which cause the issue you can see below.  No other setup seemed to reproduce this problem, even the same monitor on a single link DVI at 1920x1080 or at the higher resolution on Display Port would not display the issue.  So what began as a review of an HD 7970 with some nice extra features from ASUS became a long session of troubleshooting.  Take a read through the review as these cards should be back in stock over the next few months, very likely with a solution to this problem already incorporated.

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"Today we have the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II strapped to our test bench for your reading pleasure. We will compare it to the AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition and to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 to determine whether the custom VRMs and DirectCU II cooling solution are the droids you are looking for in your next graphics card purchase."

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

Graphics Cards

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Turn half your GTX 690 into a Quadro or Tesla?

Subject: General Tech | March 18, 2013 - 02:23 PM |
Tagged: nvidia, hack, GTX 690, K5000, K10, quadro, tesla, linux

It will take a bit of work with a soldering iron but Hack a Day has posted an article covering how to mod one of the GPUs on a GTX690 into thinking it is either a Quadro K5000 or Tesla K10.  More people will need to apply this mod and test it to confirm that the performance of the GPU actually does match or at least compare to the professional level graphics but the ID string is definitely changed to match one of those two much more expensive GPUs.  They also believe that a similar mod could be applied to the new TITAN graphics card as it is electronically similar to the GTX690.   Of course, if things go bad during the modification you could kill a $1000 card so do be careful.

eevblog_quatro.png

"If hardware manufacturers want to keep their firmware crippling a secret, perhaps they shouldn’t mess with Linux users? We figure if you’re using Linux you’re quite a bit more likely than the average Windows user to crack something open and see what’s hidden inside. And so we get to the story of how [Gnif] figured out that the NVIDIA GTX690 can be hacked to perform like the Quadro K5000. The thing is, the latter costs nearly $800 more than the former!"

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: Hack a Day

Western Digital 3TB Red 3.5" SATA Internal Hard Drive (WD30EFRX) $145.95

Subject: General Tech, Storage | March 18, 2013 - 12:51 PM |
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Western Digital 3TB Red 3.5" SATA Internal Hard Drive (WD30EFRX) for $145.95 with Free Shipping (normally $170).

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Laptops

15.6" Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Core i5 Laptop w/2GB Radeon HD 7730M, Backlit Keyboard, 6GB RAM for $549.99 with free shipping (normally $799.99 - use $150 Coupon Code: 2Q?XNXR2DXQ13G).

23.6" HP Spectre ONE 23-e010se Core i5 Slim All-in-One PC w/TrackPad for $974.99 with free shipping (normally $1,299.99 - use coupon code: DT2617).

Entertainment

90" Sharp AQUOS LC-90LE745U 3D 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV + Free Wall Mount for $7,390 with free shipping (normally $10,000 - use coupon code: FREEMOUNT).

Components

Two (2) Dual UltraSharp U2412M IPS LCD Monitors with Dual Monitor Stand for $594.99 with free shipping (normally $699.99 - use coupon code: 6DBNK$ZJLR$L4J).

128GB OCZ Vertex 4 SATA III Solid State Drive for $116.99 with free shipping (normally $129.99 - use coupon code: VZQG7WPT?PJ4C4).

Netgear Universal WN3000RP Wi-Fi Range Extender for $69.00 with free shipping (normally $90).

Gadgets

Boombotix BB2 Bluetooth Speaker Limited Edition for $69.95 with free shipping (normally $79.99).

Waterfi iPod Shuffle Waterproof Swim Set (5th ten) for $154.95 with free shipping (normally $179.99).

Audio-Technica Portable Stainless Steel Headphones for $109 with free shipping (normally $249.99 - use coupon code: VMESAVESU20).

Source: LogicBUY

New Beta NVIDIA GeForce Drivers for Tomb Raider

Subject: General Tech | March 16, 2013 - 11:36 PM |
Tagged: nvidia, tomb raider

The last month has been good to PC gamers: from Starcraft, to SimCity, to Tomb Raider, all with the promise of Bioshock Infinite just around the corner. We are being dog piled by one bulky release after another... most of which we are theoretically able to play.

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Of course this is a call to action for GPU driver engineers. The software required to make your video card run is extremely complex with graphics instructions being compiled and interpreted at runtime for routinely shifting architectures. Performance increases are often measured in the double digit percentages albeit for some set "X" of components in some set "Y" of games.

GeForce 314.14 beta drivers launched early in the month with decent performance increases particularly for setups with SLi-paired 680s. Tomb Raider fans found themselves quite a bit left out with the reboot of the franchise doing everything but rebooting their PCs with NVIDIA and Intel hardware.

Now, two weeks later, NVIDIA has released yet another beta driver, dubbed 314.21, aimed squarely at Tomb Raider. Performance increases are claimed to be an average 45% higher than previous versions with some configurations seeing upwards of 60% increases in performance. The delay was allegedly caused by the hardware developer not receiving the game code with enough time before launch to create the updates.

If you are a Tomb Raider, check out the drivers at NVIDIA's website.

Source: NVIDIA

PiixL Launches EdgeCenter PC, Hides Powerful Media Center Behind Your TV

Subject: General Tech | March 16, 2013 - 03:08 PM |
Tagged: piixl, PC, Media Center, htpc, edgecenter

London-based startup PiixL recently launched a new media center PC called the EdgeCenter that attaches to the back of your television via VESA mount to turn any TV into a so-called smart TV. The PC comes in one of three configurations with (Media, Gamer, and Max) Windows 8 and increasing levels of hardware performance. The aluminum EdgeCenter chassis will attach to most TVs larger than 32-inches and can extend to bring the optical drive and other front IO ports to the edge of your TV for easy access. The EdgeCenter reportedly offers a quiet cooling system capable of dissipating 500W in a chassis that is (up to) 54mm thick. Users can use traditional mouse, keyboard, or remote to control it, or they can use gesture-based controls from up to 5 meters away.

PiixL EdgeCenter_2.jpg

The Media Edition offers up an AMD A10 5700 APU with HD7660D graphics, 1TB of mechanical storage, and 4GB of RAM.  The Gamer Edition steps things up a notch with an Intel Core i5 3550 processor, an AMD 7870 2GB graphics card, 2TB of mechanical storage, and 8GB of RAM. Finally, the Max Edition features an Intel Core i7 3770 CPU, a NVIDIA GTX 680 4GB graphics card, 2TB HDD, 20GB SLC SSD (Intel SRT), and 16GB of RAM. Not bad at all for a PC that sits behind the TV. Having a PC mounted via VESA mount is not a new concept, but the EdgeCenter looks to pack the most horsepower an OEM has managed to cram into such a PC.

 

PiixL EdgeCenter.jpg

All three models support Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.0, Blu Ray playback, optical and analog audio output, and an SD card slot for getting your media onto the device. The Media Edition EdgeCenter has VGA, HDMI, and DVI vidio outputs, while the Gamer edition has DVI, HDMI, and two mini-DisplayPort outputs. Finally, the Max Edition EdgeCenter PC has one DisplayPort, one DVI, and one HDMI port. It is definitely an interesting design with plenty of computing horsepower for gaming and media center needs. PiixL has fitted each model with an 80+ Gold power supply and has stated that the PCs are designed with 24/7 operation in mind.

PiixL EdgeCenter_rear.jpg

The PiixL EdgeCenter is available for purchase now, but the performance will cost you a lot more money than your typical media center PC. The Media Edition, Gamer Edition, and Max Edition PCs start at £720.28, £1,116.76, and £1,513.25 respectively. For US customers that works out to about $1,085.97, $1,683.74, and $2,281.45. And that’s the bad news, it offers some impressive hardware, but is fairly expensive. Hopefully, if the EdgeCenter does well, we will see cheaper versions stateside at some point.

You can find more information about PiixL’s EdgeCenter PC on the company’s website. A full specifications comparison chart is also available here.

Source: PiixL

Value priced, Android powered media streamer from PIVOS

Subject: Systems | March 15, 2013 - 04:37 PM |
Tagged: htpc, PIVOS, XIOS DS Media Play, android 4.0, xmbc

The XIOS DS Media Play is an Android 4.0 device powered by a Cortex-A9 and Mali-400 graphics, capable of streaming local and online media content including HTML5 and Flash to a TV.  Not quite a full HTPC in some ways but certainly more than a cable box at only 4" square and 0.6" tall it can be hidden in plain sight.  Overclockers Club tried out the functionality of both the native OS and the XBMC as well as using a variety of apps from the Google Play store, all with great success.  For a mere $110 they feel it is a great value; check out the full review for a longer list of compatible media and tricks you can do with local storage.

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"The XIOS DS Media Play looks sleek and has a very small footprint but packs some interesting features. The Android OS will bring new life to your TV and the thousands available apps in the Google Play Store translate into an impressive potential of fun, productivity, and entertainment. The box provides a great experience as is but PIVOS went the extra mile and collaborated with the XBMC Media Center development team to bring the software with hardware decoding to the Android OS. Add the connectivity capabilities of the unit and we have a serious threat to those fancy HTPC systems at a mere asking price of $115. Built around the ARM CORTEX-A9 CPU and a MALI-400 MP GPU, the XIOS DS Media Play has what it takes to satisfy the needs of the majority of media lovers."

Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:

Systems

Source: Overclockers Club

Deals for March 15th - PNY Prevail Elite 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD for $93

Subject: General Tech | March 15, 2013 - 04:00 PM |
Tagged: deals

Top deal

PNY Prevail Elite 120GB SATA 6Gb/s SSD for $93.09 with Free Shipping (normally $159 - use coupon code VZQG7WPT?PJ4C4).

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Laptops

17.3" Toshiba Satellite L870-ST4NX3 Core i7 Laptop w/12GB RAM, 1TB HDD for $799.99 with free shipping (normally $900).

11.6" ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T Touchscreen Core i3 Laptop w/Windows 8 for $478 with free shipping (normally $500).

Tablets

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 8GB 7" Tablet (Refurbished) for $149.99 (normally $200).

Apple iPad 3 16GB WiFi Tablet (refurbished) for $399.99 (normally $200).

Components

Lexar 64GB Echo MX Backup USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $53 with free shipping (normally $68).

Kingston DataTraveler Special Edition 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $7.99 with free shipping (normally $28).

Netgear Universal WN3000RP Wi-Fi Range Extender for $69.00 with free shipping (normally $90).

Mobile

Nokia Lumia 920 LTE WP8 Smartphone [AT&T] (refurbished) for $9.99 with free shipping

amsung Galaxy S III Smartphone [Verizon] for $0.01 with Free Shipping

Source: LogicBuy

All I know about the Galaxy S4 ... was not learned on the live stream

Subject: General Tech | March 15, 2013 - 01:12 PM |
Tagged: Samsung, galaxy s4, exynos 5, bad acting, Android 4.2.1

It is a close race between Blackberry and Samsung as far as which company provided the most stilted and uncomfortable launch of a new smartphone but those who survived it managed to pass on details about the brand new phone.  We have not seen it dissected yet, nor blended, but we know inside the phone you will find an Samsung Exynos 5 5410 Octa 8-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz, a PowerVR SGX 544 graphics chip, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of firmware flash and runs Android 4.2.1, similar to the S3.  On the outside is a 5" Gorilla Glass 3 Super AMOLED screen at 1920 x 1080 resolution, or 441ppi which is certainly higher than others but close enough to the limits of a perfect human eye as to make very little real difference.

Connectivity can come through WiFi, BlueTooth, HSPA+ 42Mbps, 4G LTE and even infrared transmitter for remote control functions.  User interaction sees some new tricks however, eye tracking software will scroll webpages and documents as you read through them and those who despair over smudges on their screens will like the ability to control the phone with a finger hovering over the screen, not quite touching it.  It bears two cameras, a 13MP on the back capable of recording at quite respectable resolutions as well as a 2MP front facing camera for video calls.  On this translated page, the only connectivity seems to be a microUSB port, but there is is mention of  MHL which can provide HDMI out, or you might be able to use the infrared transmitter to send your pictures and movies to another device.  Charging can be done wirelessly via Qi in theory, though that did not work so well during the demonstration.  You can follow the various links for a bit more detail but until a reviewer can get a Galaxy S4 in hand to benchmark it and perhaps tear it apart we don't know exactly how this phone will fare against the competition.

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"Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available from the second quarter globally including the US market, partnering with telecom carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, as well as US Cellular and Cricket, Samsung said. In Europe, Samsung Galaxy S4 is partnering with global mobile operators such as Deutsche Telecom, EE, H3G, Orange, Telenor, Telia Sonera, Telefonica, and Vodafone."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: DigiTimes

A SilverStone PSU so small it uses an 80mm fan

Subject: Cases and Cooling | March 14, 2013 - 06:11 PM |
Tagged: PSU, Silverstone, SFX ST45SF-G 450W, SFF, 80 Plus Gold, modular psu, SFX PSU

If you are looking to power a small form factor system and need a fully modular PSU in order to get it into a tightly packed case as well as high efficiency the SilverStone SFX ST45SF-G 450W is a decent choice.  It is Fully modular and is an SFX PSU, which as you might remember from Lee's review means that it lacks a -5V rail, not a necessary feature in today's systems.  [H]ard|OCP granted an award to this PSU, not because it is the best 450W PSU available, which is not, but because it is the best fully modular SFX PSU they have seen and they realize sacrifices have to be made in a PSU which is barely able to fit an 80mm fan inside.  Check out the full review to see if you think this PSU is worth the price premium or if you might just consider a larger PSU for your HTPC.

H_SS450.jpg

"Silverstone is one of our favorite computer power supply builders as the company has a tremendous track record when it comes to high quality and quiet power for our desktop systems. Today we look at something a bit different in terms of scale, a PSU pushing 450 watts of power in a package half the size with its sights on the SFF market."

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

CASES & COOLING

Source: [H]ard|OCP

Corsair Unleashes Vengeance Extreme, the World's Fastest Rated PC Memory Kits

Subject: Memory | March 14, 2013 - 04:13 PM |
Tagged: DDR3-3000, corsair, Vengeance Extreme, dual channel

Corsair is taking Xtreme Memory Profiles to the next level with an extremely limited release of DDR3-3000 2x4GB kits, for the low, low price of $750.  They list two motherboard with BIOSes capable of hitting that speed and perhaps higher for those willing to move to exotic cooling solutions using the included cooler.  The 1.65V is high but not insane, possibly due to the timings of 12-14-14-36 but you will probably need to up the power if you are intending on pushing these DIMMs past 3GHz.  You can try to pick them up directly from Corsair.

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FREMONT, California — March 14, 2013 — Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC hardware market, today announced new Vengeance Extreme 8GB dual-channel DDR3 memory kits rated at 3000MHz, the world's fastest rated production PC memory kits. Fitted with low profile "racing red" heat spreaders, the new 2x4GB memory kits operate at 3000MHz air-cooled, with latency settings of 12-14-14-36, at 1.65V. A Kingpin Cooling memory cooler is included for overclockers who want to use LN2 (liquid nitrogen) to reach memory speeds well beyond 3000MHz.

The extreme-speed 3000MHz rating of the Vengeance Extreme memory kits is the result of a rigorous internal four-stage hand-screening process performed by Corsair engineers. This process is passed by fewer than one in 50 memory ICs. Performance qualification is performed on select Intel Z77 based motherboards, including the ASUS P8Z77-I DELUXE and ASRock Z77 OC Formula. To hit their rated speeds, the modules require a 3rd Generation Intel Core unlocked processor with an Integrated Memory Controller capable of running 3000MHz.

“We are focused on helping enthusiasts and overclockers push the boundaries of PC performance," said Thi La, Senior VP and GM of Memory and Enthusiast Component Products at Corsair. “Our engineering team's hard work has led to new performance optimization techniques for memory, which we are pleased to debut in our new Vengeance Extreme memory."

Pricing and Availability
The Vengeance Extreme 3000MHz 8GB memory kits are priced at $749.99 USD and will be available exclusively from Corsair.com in March. Quantities of these hand-built modules will be extremely limited.

Source: Corsair

Podcast #242 - AMD's new Richland APUs, Steam Box Prototypes, Seagate Hybrid Drives and more!

Subject: General Tech | March 14, 2013 - 03:36 PM |
Tagged: Strider, steambox, steam, sshd, Silverstone, Seagate, Richland, quadro 6000, quadro, podcast, hybrid, APU, amd

PC Perspective Podcast #242 - 03/14/2013

Join us this week as we discuss AMD's new Richland APUs, Steam Box Prototypes, Seagate Hybrid Drives 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: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath and Allyn Malventano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!

Program length: 0:59:45

Podcast topics of discussion:

  1. Week in Reviews:
    1. 0:01:30 Silverstone Strider Power supply
    2. 0:03:00 Richland Unveiled: AMD releases new A10-5750M
  2. 0:14:33 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
  3. News items of interest:
    1. 0:15:35 Steam Box Prototypes in the next few months
    2. 0:24:00 NVIDIA allegedly part Quadro 6000 GK110 card
    3. 0:25:30 Seagate SSHD Lineup
    4. 0:30:00 WebM now official with Google and support from MPEG LA
    5. 0:33:40 GF Actually Shipping 28 nm Product!
  4. Closing:
    1. 0:42:40 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
      1. Ryan: Tranquil PC Intel NUC case
      2. Josh: Cheap and Pretty!
      3. Allyn: Automatic
      4. Morry: Edimax 150mbps wireless nano USB adapter
  1. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  2. http://pcper.com/podcast
  3. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  4. Closing/outro

Be sure to subscribe to the PC Perspective YouTube channel!!

 

Source: PC Perspective

Crysis returns to its abusive roots

Subject: General Tech | March 14, 2013 - 01:57 PM |
Tagged: gaming, Crysis 3

While the actual content of the game might not live up to the original the hardware requirements certainly do, [H]ard|OCP reports that "no single-GPU video card tested today able to play it at the highest in-game settings at 2560x1600".  For those gaming at a mere 1080p you will be able to max out settings on AMD or NVIDIA's top single GPU cards.  It is not just about the resolution, this iteration of CryEngine features four different anti-aliasing technologies to choose from, each with their own benefits and costs.  Check out [H]'s review to see the screenshots of the various settings as well as estimating the kind of performance your system can achieve.

H_crysis.jpg

"We have a full-look at Crysis 3 with the new patch that just released. We take it through its paces on eight GPU configurations. We find out what's playable, how it performs apples-to-apples. We look at all the AA modes compared in performance and image quality, and we find out if this game is a step forward for PC gaming, or a step backward."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Gaming

Source: [H]ard|OCP

The thirteenth labour of Hercules; save OCZ

Subject: General Tech | March 14, 2013 - 01:37 PM |
Tagged: ocz, Hercules Technology Growth Capital

OCZ has just received $30 million and a new credit line from Hercules Technology Growth Capital, separating their future from Wells Fargo who have been displaying a distinct lack of faith in OCZ.  The April 8th deadline for OCZ to file reports on their last two quarters still stands and Hercules has tied that submission into the loans being offered by requiring up to date SEC filings from OCZ.  Hercules has a warrant to purchase 688,073 OCZ shares at $2.18 a piece which is $0.08 more than market worth and demonstrates that Hercules has some faith in OCZ's ability to remain viable.  Check out the full terms and conditions at The Register.

Hercules_Technology_Growth_Capital_Inc.jpg

"Obtaining this new credit facility is the first step in providing OCZ with a complete capital structure going forward. This capital will be used to strengthen the business, fund future growth, and support emerging enterprise opportunities."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

Source: The Register

WebM Survived MPEG LA, Nokia Right Back Down

Subject: General Tech | March 13, 2013 - 09:21 PM |
Tagged: webM, MPEG LA, h.264

Apparently it is very difficult to make a free and clear video codec. Nothing says promote the advancement of science and the useful arts like having almost every industry player, big or small, scared to promote innovation because of patent holding firms and their lawyers.

Well Google, current owner of the VP8 codec, has just finished their long drawn-out conflict with MPEG LA. Google will be allowed access to all the patents which are essential to VP8 from the licensing firm and sub-license as they please. Everyone benefited from the deal.

And then... Nokia.

According to FOSS Patents, the day after the MPEG LA – Google deal to support VPx, Nokia sued HTC with VP8-based terms as a part of their suit. While this lawsuit is just ironically coincidental, Nokia is not a member of MPEG LA and thus could be the first of many others who have patent claims against Google's video decoder.

And now they know Google is willing to settle. Well I guess this fight is not over yet.

Source: FOSS Patents

Deals for March 13th - Dell Inspiron 15R (5521) 15.6" Core i5 Laptop for $499

Subject: General Tech | March 13, 2013 - 01:02 PM |
Tagged: deals

Top deal

Dell Inspiron 15R (5521) 15.6" Core i5 Laptop for $499.99 with Free Shipping (normally $688.99 - use coupon code HCV9LCWDGXR7WZ).

deal0313.png

Laptops

15.6" Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Core i7 + 1080p + Radeon HD 7730M Laptop for $699.99 with free shipping (normally $1,000 - use coupon code ZB4W4PS0B8CH4B).

17.3" Toshiba Qosmio X870-BT3G23 Core i7 Quad-core Gaming Laptop w/8GB RAM, 750GB Hard Drive, 3GB GeForce GTX 670M, Backlit Keyboard & 1080p LCD for $1,099.99 with free shipping (normally $1,599.99).

Desktop

Dell Vostro 470 Core i7 Quad-Core Desktop w/Windows 7 Pro & Radeon HD 7570 for $649.99 with free shipping (normally $899.99 - use coupon code W9D06J14FX10WM).

Components

Refurb Linksys EA2700 App-Enabled Wireless-N600 Dual-Band Gigabit Router for $37.99 with free shipping (normally $100 - use coupon code HSDISH5).

Tablets

10.1" Dell Latitude ST 64GB Windows 7 Tablet (Refurbished) for $309.99 with free shipping (normally $450).

HDTV and Theater

Klipsch QUINTET 5.0 Speaker System for $373.19 with free shipping (normally $549).

LG 65LM6200 65" 3D 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV for $2,079.00 with free shipping (normally $3,000).

LG 47LM6700 47" 1080p 120Hz 3D LED HDTV for $865.00 with free shipping (normally $1,600).

Gadgets

Activator RX-9 Infrasonic Home-Security Alarm for $19.99 with free shipping (normally $100).

iFrogz Transport EarBuds with Mic (Green) for $15.99 with free shipping (normally $34.99).

Source: LogicBuy

Celebrate 10 years of Kingston with 16GB of DDR3-2400

Subject: Memory | March 12, 2013 - 05:30 PM |
Tagged: kingston, hyperx, HyperX Genesis 10th Anniversary Special Edition, DDR3-2400

Kingston has put together a 16GB, 4DIMM quad (or dual) channel DDR-2400 kit with timings of 11-13-13-30 available for $160.  They've designed compact heat spreaders for this kit so even with the tight confines of the CPU socket which have become common today you should be able to fit these in your system without much difficulty.  From TechPowerUp's testing these DIMMs seem to be running all out at stock speeds, even upping the voltage only allowed them a stable 2468MHz perhaps not a problem on boards which cannot break 2400MHz in the BIOS.  They do mention that the Anniversary Special Editions have limited availability so if their review tempts you, purchase this kit as soon as you can.

TPU_box_front.jpg

"To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the HyperX brand, Kinston has released a limited edition line up called the HyperX Genesis 10th Anniversary Special Edition. We take a look at the top-end 16 GB 2400 MHz CL11 kit, a blazing fast kit with performance to match."

Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:

Memory

Source: TechPowerUp

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