Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition 15.6" Core i7 1080p Laptop with 2GB HD 7730M

Subject: General Tech | April 24, 2013 - 01:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

For $790 which is $450 off of the retail price you can get your hands on an impressive gaming laptop from Dell, the Inspiron 15R Special Edition.  This 15.6" 1080p laptop is powered by an Intel i7-3632QM @ 2.2GHz, 8GB DDR3-1600, a 32GB SSD cache drive partnered with a 1TB HDD and a 2GB Radeon 7730M.  With Waves MaxxAudio 4 and Skullcandy speakers, HDMI out and 4 USB 3.0 ports this machine will also function as a desktop replacement in case you need to make some sort of justification for spending your money on a gaming laptop.

To get our recommended Inspiron 15R Special Edition configuration, follow these steps:

1. Start here at Dell Home direct store
2. Configure as per needs (optional), click Review & Add to cart button at the top
3. Add to cart
4. Apply coupon code: BXV1FC3ZFJ95DG in shopping cart and proceed to final checkout/payment

Do you dare put Super Pipes in Corsair's Super Tower

Subject: Cases and Cooling | April 23, 2013 - 08:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: corsair, obsidian, Obsidian 990D, super tower

If you are looking for a housing for a super system, Corsair's monumental new Obsidian 900D, aka Super Tower, might be for you.  The midget in the picture below is the 200R mid-tower, cowering in front of the 40lb, 27.3"H x 10"W x 25.6"L 900D.  Triple TITANS and terabytes of storage are nothing to this case, it will swallow them and leave plenty of elbow room for you to tweak a fully installed system.  You really have to read [H]ard|OCP's full review to understand just how many features have been added to this case; certainly enough to win it a Gold Award.

"Corsair is finally pulling back the review embargo sheets on its new "Super Tower" 900D PC case. Details and pictures have been leaking out for months, but now we finally get to see if all the hype is justified. If you are wondering what a "super tower" is, well let's just say there will be a lot of desks that the 900D will not fit under."

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

CASES & COOLING

• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Enermax Ostrog Giant Mid-Tower @ Tweaktown
• Thermaltake Chaser A31 @ FunkyKit
• Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Lian Li PC-7HX @ eTeknix
• Corsair Obsidian 900D 'Godzilla' Full Tower PC Case Review @ Legit Reviews
• Iron Man Helment Case Mod @ Modders-Inc
• Thermaltake A31 Chassis @ eTeknix
• InWin GT1 Mid-Tower Chassis @ Tweaktown
• NZXT Phantom 630 @ Modders-Inc
• Cooler Master Storm Power-RX @ LanOC Reviews
• Thermaltake A 41 Chaser Chassis @ eTeknix
• Case Smithing: Personalized Acrylic Etching and Engraving @ Tweaktown
• Fractal Design Define Mini Case Review @ AnandTech
• Affordable Gaming Cases: Corsair Carbide 200R and Thermaltake Chaser A41 @ X-Bit Labs
• SilverStone AP123 120mm Case Fan @ eTeknix
• Antec Kuhler H2O 1220 Liquid CPU Cooler @ eTeknix
• Antec Kuhler 1220 H20 Watercooling kit @ Rbmods
• Swiftech H220 Liquid CPU Cooler @ eTeknix
• Cooler Master Eisberg Prestige 240L @ Kitguru
• Noctua NH-U12S CPU cooler @ Hardwareoverclock
• Noctua NH-U12S CPU Cooler @ eTeknix
• Thermaltake NiC C5 Untouchable Cool CPU Cooler @ Tweaktown
• Thermaltake NiC C5 Untouchable CPU Cooler Review @ NikKTech
• Scythe ASHURA CPU Cooler Review @ Madshrimps
• GELID Solutions The Black Edition @ techPowerUp

Sound Blaster, eh? That name sort of rings a bell.

Subject: General Tech | April 23, 2013 - 06:02 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: audio, Creative, Sound Blaster ZxR

Ah the good old days of soundcards and assigning specific IRQs to specific PCI slots; don't you miss them?  Onboard chipsets have come a long way from their roots, with full Dolby 5.1 sound and a minimal impact on CPU load available on almost every motherboard but there is still a market for soundcards, albeit a much reduced market.  Creative have not been releasing a lot of new Sound Blaster models recently, at least until very recently.  The Creative Sound Blaster ZxR is more than just a single card, you have a PCIe card as well as an optional daughterboard to provide optical out and a line in as well as a Audio Control Module which contains an array mic, volume control and both 3.5mm to 1/4″ inputs for a headset with microphone.  Is it $250 better than onboard audio?  Custom PC Review has the answers here.

"That being said, today we’ll be reviewing the Creative Sound Blaster ZxR, which is the flagship soundcard in the Sound Blaster Z series of soundcards. Now a couple months ago, we reviewed the Sound Blaster Z, which is a fantastic soundcard that offered a good balance between sound quality and price, but it’s merely the entry level soundcard in the Sound Blaster Z..."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner

• RHA MA450i Earphones Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• AZiO Levetron GH808 USB Gaming Headset @ Benchmark Reviews
• TteSports Shock & Shock One PC Gaming Headset @ eTeknix
• Steelseries Siberia V2 PC Headset Frost Blue Special Edition @ eTeknix
• AIAIAI TMA-1 Studio Headphones With Mic Review @ NikKTech
• Oblanc NC2-3 U.F.O Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Review @ NikKTech
• Plantronics Voyager Legend UC Bluetooth Headset Review @ NikKTech
• RHA SA950i On-ear Headphones @ techPowerUp
• Corsair Obsidian 900D review: taking it to the next level @ Hardware.info
• AZiO Levetron GH808 USB Gaming Headset @ Tweaktown
• How To Set Your Bluetooth Headset As The Default Audio Device @ TechARP
• HMDX Jam Portable Bluetooth Speaker @ Funky Kit

Where have all the PC sales gone? Samsung's got them.

Subject: General Tech | April 23, 2013 - 04:15 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: slight exaggeration, Samsung, dram market

We have been reporting on the declining global sales of the traditional desktop PC; with one of the major culprits being the increase in sale of smart or super phones which can do just about everything some mainstream consumers want.  Samsung's Galaxy series certainly contribute to this decline and also the decline of Apple's iPhone sales as according to DigiTimes almost 1 of every 3 phones sold globally was made by Samsung.  Apple claims a mere 17.3% of the global market for those who are curious.  The increase is not only from stealing customers from providers such as Lenovo, the market its self is growing and will likely continue to do so as new phones and promotions are launched throughout the year.

"In the first quarter of 2013, smartphone shipments increased steadily worldwide, with total shipments reaching 216.4 million units for a 9.4% on growth. Since the beginning of 2012, smartphone shipment figures have been up every quarter despite seasonality, indication the electronic device is here to stay, according to DRAMeXchange."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Java still vulnerable despite recent patches @ The Register
• Amino acids allow bacterial 'nanowires' to conduct electricity @ NanoTechWeb
• SanDisk '2-3 years' away from mass-producing 3D flash chips @ The Register
• Samsung Galaxy S4 first impressions @ Hardware.info
• Weekly Giveaway - LG 42-inch CINEMA 3D 1080p LED HDTV thanks to Deals2Buy @ Tweaktown
• Win a Thecus N2200EVO NAS Server @ eTeknix

New GeForce Game-Ready Drivers Just in Time for 'Dead Island: Riptide,' 'Star Trek', 'Neverwinter'; Boost Performance up to 20%

Subject: Graphics Cards | April 23, 2013 - 03:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: nvidia, graphics drivers, geforce, 320.00 beta

NVIDIA rolled out a new set of beta drivers that provide up to 20% faster performance and have been optimized for a handful of new titles, including Dead Island: Riptide, Star Trek, and Neverwinter.

GeForce 320.00 beta drivers are now available for automatic download and installation using GeForce Experience, the easiest way to keep your drivers up to date.

With a single click in GeForce Experience, gamers can also optimize the image quality of top new games like Dead Island: Riptide and have it instantly tuned to take full advantage of their PC’s hardware.

Here are examples of the performance increases in GeForce 320.00 drivers (measured with GeForce GTX 660):

• Up to 20% in Dirt: Showdown
• Up to 18% in Tomb Raider
• Up to 8% in StarCraft II
• Up to 6% in other top games like Far Cry 3

For more details, refer to the release highlights on the driver download pages and read the GeForce driver article on GeForce.com.

Enjoy the new GeForce Game Ready drivers and let us know what you think.

Windows Vista/Windows 7 Fixed Issues

The Windows 7 Magnifier window flickers. [1058231]

Games default to stereoscopic 3D mode after installing the driver. [1261633]

[GeForce 330M][Notebook]: The display goes blank when rebooting the notebook after installing th e driver. [1239252]

[Crysis 3]: There are black artifacts in the game. [1251495]

[Dirt 3]: When ambient occlusion is enabled, there is rendering corruption in the game while in split-screen mode. [1253727]

[3DTV Play][Mass Effect]: The NVIDIA Cont rol Panel “override antialiasing” setting does not work when stereoscopic 3D is enabled [1220312]

[Microsoft Flight Simulator]: Level D Simulations add-on aircraft gauges are not drawn correctly. [899771]

[GeForce 500 series][Stereoscopic 3D][Two World 2]: The application crashes when switching to windowed mode with stereoscopic 3D enabled. [909749]

[GeForce 660 Ti][All Points Bulletin (APB) Reloaded]: The game crashes occasionally, followed by a black/grey/red screen. [1042342]

[Geforce GTX 680][Red Orchestra 2 Heroes of Stalingrad]: Red-screen crash occurs after exiting the game. [1021046]

[GeForce 6 series][Final Fantasy XI]: TDR crash occurs in the game when using the Smite of Rage ability. [1037744]

[SLI][Surround][GeForce GTX Titan][Tomb Raider]: There is corruption in the game and the system hangs when played at high resolution and Ultra or Ultimate settings. [1254359]

[3D Surround, SLI], GeForce 500 Series: With Surround enabled, all displays may not be activated when selecting Activate All Displays from the NVIDIA Control Panel- > Set SLI Configuration page. [905544]

[SLI][Starcraft II][3D Vision]: The game crashes when run with 3D Vision enabled. [1253206]

[SLI][GeForce GTX 680][Tomb Raider (2013)]: The game crashes and TDR occurs while running the game at Ultra settings. [1251578]

[SLI][Starcraft II][3D Vision]: The game cras hes when played with 3D Vision and SLI enabled. [1253206]

SLI][Call of Duty: Black Ops 2]: The player emblems are not drawn correctly.

Dell PowerEdge T110 II Intel Xeon E3 Quad-core Server @ $603

Subject: General Tech | April 23, 2013 - 01:45 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

The Dell PowerEdge T110 is the first server deal we have seen from LogicBUY, currently selling for $338 off the regular price.  Inside you will find a quad-core Xeon E3-1220v2 @ 3.1GHz Quad-core Server with 4GB DDR3 and a 500GB HDD.  This will not be a gaming machine, but it could certainly host games or a file share or many other tasks more suited to a Xeon processor than a desktop processor.  For the price, you get a lot of possibilities.

To get our recommended PowerEdge T110 II deal, follow these steps:

1. Start here at Dell.com direct store
2. Customize as per needs (optional), click Continue button in the right
3. Add to cart
4. Proceed to final checkout/payment

Upcoming Never Settle Bundle Games Leaked

Subject: Graphics Cards | April 23, 2013 - 10:05 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: amd, never settle, never settle reloaded, bundle

While browsing around on Twitter today I saw mention of a leaked slide on the Tech Report forums that seems to point in the direction of upcoming games to be included in future AMD Never Settle gaming bundles.  AMD has been knocking the ball out of the park when it comes to bundled software with graphics card releases as they have gotten essentially every major PC game in the last 12 months. 

This slide indicates that Grid 2, Company of Heroes 2, Rome: Total War II, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Lost Planet 3, Battlefield 4, Raven's Cry and Watch Dogs will all eventually make their way to the AMD bundle list at some point this year.  Whether it will be in one mega-bundle or several different promotions throughout the year isn't known, but AMD is serious about keeping up appearances in the PC gaming front.

Western Digital updates mobile Blue series with 5mm thin HDD

Subject: Storage | April 23, 2013 - 08:00 AM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: wdc, WD, hdd, 5mm

Today Western Digital launched their new 5mm 2.5" Blue. This model will only come in 500GB. Capacity options are limited presumably due to a single 500GB platter, which is about all you can fit into a housing that's only 5mm thick.

The drive launches at an MSRP of $89.00, but don't rush out to buy one just yet. The new drive will require a purpose-built installation, as it uses a new SFF-8784 edge connector to receive data and power from the host system. You're basically going to need a laptop that has a bay designed for just this drive, which may take a while.

Press blast after the break!

If Kickstarter is for your oculars: what about your legs?

Subject: General Tech, Systems | April 22, 2013 - 06:16 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Kickstarter, oculus rift, Virtuix Omni

Even if you no-one watches you game, this device would probably be difficult to store in a closet.

Team Fortress 2 is a fun game and one of the first with support for the Oculus Rift VR headset. But why stop there? The Omni is an omnidirectional treadmill which allows users to move within the device and have that motion translate into computer input. This means that running, strafing, and apparently jumping in your containing vessel will control a videogame character.

How the heck they expect to Scout double-jump? Beats me.

The company is currently in preparation for a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign. Under the assumption that no trickery is going on, this could be a leap forward for VR.

Perhaps a small-business arcade might like to get a few gaming PCs set up? To me, it sounds like an interesting novelty previously reserved for theme parks and traveling mall demonstrations. If it works as planned, it might even be a better technology.

Still no word on price or predicted availability, but I expect that will come soon.

With just $70, you can save an underprivileged Retina.

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Displays | April 22, 2013 - 05:34 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: LG, ips, hack

Operators are standing by...

Of course Apple is not a primary manufacturer of LCD panels; like everyone else, they buy their panels from someone like LG. Due to how much Apple loves IPS technology, which I cannot blame them for, they in fact do purchase their displays from LG.

If you have an itchy soldering iron, so can you.

According to EmertHacks, the LG part number for retina iPad screens is LP097QX1-SPA1. The blog post states that he could find the panel for as cheap as $55, but my own digging game up with costs between $60 and $200 plus shipping. These panels are mostly destined to iPad repair shops, but you can give it a better home.

With under $20 of other parts, this panel could be attached to a DisplayPort connection. All said and done, you could have a 2048x1536 9.7" display with an 800:1 static contrast ratio for about $70.

10 years ago saw AMD reach x64

Subject: General Tech | April 22, 2013 - 02:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: opteron, history, get off my lawn, amd, 64-bit

AMD64 arrived a decade ago with the launch of the first Opteron processor in April of 2003, back in the days when NVIDIA made motherboards and ATI was a separate company.  In those days AMD looked like serious competition for Intel as they were out innovating Intel and competing for Big Blue's niche markets as they were first to cross the GHz line and the first to offer a 64bit architecture on a commercially available platform.  At that point Intel actually licensed AMD64, re-branded it as x86-64 and used it on their Xeon processor line, a huge victory for AMD.  Unfortunately there was not much in the way of consumer software capable of taking advantage of 64-bit architecture and unfortunately remains so to this day, apart from peoples ability to benefit from the enlarged RAM pool allowed.  Take a walk down memory lane at The Inquirer, and remember the good old days when AMD was prospering.

"A DECADE AGO AMD released the first Opteron processor and with it the first 64-bit x86 processor."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Intel pushing adaptive all-in-one PCs with new components @ DigiTimes
• ASUS PCE-AC66 review: 802.11ac via PCIe @ Hardware.info
• Garmin nuvi 2597LMT Review @ TechReviewSource
• The TR Podcast 132: BioShock, bundles and big SSDs

Deal for April 22 - Samsung 840 Series 500GB @ $325

Subject: General Tech | April 22, 2013 - 01:18 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

How does 500GB of bandwidth saturating SSD for a mere $0.65/GB sound to you?  The Samsung 840; yes, the non-Pro version which will have little to no effect on observable performance, is a mere $325 from LogicBuy today.  Since it is the 500GB model you not only experience increased speed over smaller model, you actually have a large pool of available storage without a sceond HDD.  Your desktop or laptop will love you for this!

Deal Description: Samsung 840 Series 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" SSD
BuyDig offers Samsung 840 Series 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 7mm 2.5" SSD (MZ-7TD500BW) for $324.99 ($0.65/GB) with free shipping.  You save over $125.00 from retail list price.

Western Digital's new Xe HDDs bridge the legacy enterprise SAS storage gap

Subject: Storage | April 22, 2013 - 08:00 AM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: wdc, WD, SAS, hdd

Today Western Digital launched a new line of Hard Disk Drives. The Xe is very similar to their VelociRaptor, with the same 2.5"-3.5" heat sink adapter plate. The primary difference, however, is these units feature Dual Port SAS connectivity.

The new drives feature a 5-year warranty and will come in 300, 600, and 900GB capacities. With SAS HDD's becoming scarce lately, there is a definite gap developing in existing legacy SAS systems. We're glad to see a lower power SAS-connected 10,000 RPM offering to help bridge that gap.

Full press blast after the break:

Stop Pushing Microsoft's Buttons! Take the Start Button!

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Systems | April 20, 2013 - 07:36 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: windows, start button, Metro

The latest rumors, based on registry digging and off-the-record testimony, claims that Windows 8.1 will including the option of booting directly into the desktop. A bold claim such as this requires some due diligence. Comically, the attempts to confirm this rumor has unearthed another: the start button, but not necessarily the start menu, could return. On the record, Microsoft also wants to be more open to customer feedback. Despite these recent insights into the future of Windows, all's quiet with the worst aspect of modernization.

Mary Jo Foley, contributor to ZDNet and very reliable bullcrap filter for Microsoft rumors, learned from a reliable source that the Start Button might have a place in the modern Windows. Quite the catch while fishing to validate a different rumor; she was originally investigating whether Microsoft would consider allowing users to boot direct to desktop via recently unearthed registry keys. Allegedly both are being planned for at least some SKUs of Windows 8.1, namely the Professional and Enterprise editions.

But, as usual for Microsoft, the source emphasized, "Until it ships, anything can change." No-one was clear about the Start Button from a functional standpoint: would it be bound to display the Start Screen? Would it be something more?

Personally, I liked the modern Windows interface. Sure, it is messed up on the modern-side when it comes to multiple monitor support, but that can easily be fixed. As you will note, I am still actively boycotting everything beyond Windows 7 and this news will not change my mind. We are bickering over interface elements when the real concern is the deprecation of user control. Outside of the desktop: the only applications you can use are from the Windows Store or Windows Update; the only websites you can browse are ones which Internet Explorer can render; and the only administrator is Microsoft.

Imagine if Microsoft is told by a government that its citizens are not allowed encryption applications.

The Windows Store is clearly modeled by, and about as messed up as, the Xbox Marketplace. Even if your application gets certified, would Microsoft eventually determine that certification fees should be the burden of the developer? That is how it is on the Xbox with each patch demanding a price tag of about $40,000 after the first-one-free promotion. That would be pretty hard to swallow for an open-source application or a cute game that a teenage woman makes for her significant other as a Valentine's gift.

Microsoft's current Chief Financial Officer, Peter Klein, stated in his third quarter earnings release that Windows Blue, "Further advances the vision of Windows 8 as well as responds to customer feedback." Despite how abrupt this change would seem, the recent twitchy nature should not come as a surprise; Microsoft has had a tendency to completely change course on products for quite some time now. Mary Jo mentioned how Microsoft changed course on UAC but even that is a bad example; a better one is how Microsoft changed from its initial assertions that Windows 8 Developer Preview would not be shaped by customer feedback.

A lot has changed between Developer Preview and RTM.

Then again, we can hope that Microsoft associates this pain with love for the desktop. I would be comfortable with the modern Windows if we were given a guarantee that desktop x86 applications would forever be supported. I might even reconsider using and developing applications if they allow loading uncertified metro-style applications and commit to never removing that functionality.

I can get used to a new method of accessing my applications. I can never get used to a middle-man who only says "no". If Microsoft is all ears, I hope we make this point loud and clear.

The evolution of hybrid drives, Seagate's new SSHD 500GB

Subject: Storage | April 19, 2013 - 07:20 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sshd, Seagate, Hybrid Drive, 500gb

We have seen many hybrid drives come and go, most of which only benefited desktop users who were accessing certain files often enough that they were cached on the flash memory.  Seagate has introduced a new iteration of the SSHD specifically for laptops, uniting 500GB of 5400 RPM platter based storage with 8GB of MLC NAND and a 64MB cache which [H]ard|OCP recently benchmarked.  They didn't forget desktop users as they released 1TB and 2TB models at 7200 RPM but it is the laptop version which is perhaps more interesting as not many models allow the installation of a second drive like desktops do.  The testing results were mixed, with several obvious benefits interspersed with odd performance changes after multiple runs, however the small price differential between a standard HDD and a SSHD might just convince you to pick up this new breed of hybrid drive.

"Seagate has introduced the next generation of Solid State Hybrid Drives, commonly referred to as "SSHD." These drives use a small amount of MLC NAND to accelerate the performance of a 5400 RPM spinning disk. Today we test the mobile version against other available SSD caching solutions."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Crucial's M500 SSD @ The Tech Report
• SuperSSpeed S301 Hyper Gold SLC Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Consumer (Samsung and OCZ) vs. Enterprise (SMART Optimus) SSD Performance Analysis @ SSD Review
• Hardware.Info tests lifespan of Samsung SSD 840 250GB TLC SSD
• Kingston SSDNow V300 240GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• ADATA XPG SX900 128GB with SandForce B02 controller SSD @ Tweaktown
• SMART Storage Systems CloudSpeed 500 Enterprise SSD @ Tweaktown
• Samsung SM843 Enterprise SSD Review (240GB) @ SSD Review
• Plextor M5M (256GB) mSATA @ AnandTech
• Samsung PM841 512GB mSATA SSD @ SSD Review
• Intel 525 120GB mSATA SSD @ Hardware.info
• Thermaltake BlacX Duet 5G USB 3.0 Docking Station @ Tweaktown
• Seagate Backup Plus 1 TB Portable Hard Disk Drive @ TechARP
• ADATA DashDrive Elite UE700 USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review @ Pro-Clockers
• ICY DOCK MB662U3-2S Dual Bay USB 3.0 RAID Enclosure @ Tweaktown
• Icy Dock ICYRaid MB662U3-2S Dual-HDD Enclosure Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Infortrend EonNAS Pro 510 @ Legion Hardware
• Asustor AS 602T @ Kitguru
• QNAP TS879-Pro 8-Bay NAS @ eTeknix
• Thecus N7510 7-Bay NAS @ eTeknix

It's not PC sales that are declining, it is workstation sales

Subject: General Tech | April 19, 2013 - 05:06 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: sales, workstation

The Tech Report put up an editorial which discusses the recent reports on the shrinkage of PC sales and point out that it is not necessarily Personal Computer sales which are slowing but only the workstation sales.  You may feel that a PC is a desktop and only a desktop but the market has changed to the point where a watch can qualify as a personal computer and your smartphone definitely does.  The term post-PC may be applicable but at the same time limiting your definition of a PC to a desktop and possibly laptops is not as accurate as it once was.  The term workstation is accurate for those of us who actually do work which requires the power of a multicore system with dedicated daughterboards, but the vast majority of users do not need the power of a full system.  Enthusiasts and professionals will always need the power of a full workstation but perhaps it is time to realize we may be in the minority, which is why sales of traditional workstations have declined.  Ask makers of ARM devices if their sales are declining; the main stream market is shifting to devices that many of us would not consider a "real PC".

"PC shipments suffered their greatest decline ever last quarter, in spite of Windows 8 and all those tablet-notebook hybrids. Some say there's no hope, but I disagree. Because the PC is booming—just not the PC we know."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Google smashes analyst expectations with 31 percent revenue climb @ The Inquirer
• Microsoft CFO quits as quarterly results fail to sparkle @ The Register
• AMD posts mediocre numbers, cites 'difficult market environment' @ The Register
• Cupertino funk, part II: No joy in iVille @ The Tech Report
• Java 8 Delayed To Fix Security @ Slashdot
• Rosewill Ultra-Slim HDMI RedMere Cable Review @ Legit Reviews
• Intel Chipset Codenames Cross-Reference Table @ Hardware Secrets
• Bad Microsoft patch trapped you in a boot loop? Here's your fix @ The Register
• Win Tt eSPORTS Gaming Gear @ eTeknix

Deal for April 19th - Dell UltraSharp U2913WM @ $540

Subject: General Tech | April 19, 2013 - 03:03 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: deals

Today's special is a 29", 2560 x 1080 IPS LED backlit LCD with an HDCP compliant Dual-link DVI, DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI, and D-Sub inputs as well as USB 3.0 and audio.  It claims an 8ms response time and from the TFTCentral testing it lives up to the hype and is capable of gaming with little to no ghosting whatsoever.  Free shipping and a 3 year warranty is also something that makes this deal even more attractive.

Deal Description: Dell UltraSharp U2913WM panoramic 29" 2560 x 1080 LED-backlit LCD Monitor
Dell Home is offering 29-inch UltraSharp U2913WM 2560 x 1080 LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $539.99 with FREE shipping. Use $100 instant savings and extra 10% coupon code: ?K0N8$SDH1ZF0P to get final price. Backed by 3-year Advanced Exchange Warranty and Premium Panel Guarantee.

Raja Koduri Returns to AMD After 4 Years at Apple

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards | April 19, 2013 - 02:51 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: raja koduri, apple, amd

Interesting information has surfaced today about the addition of a new executive at AMD.  Raja Koduri, who previously worked for ATI and AMD as Chief Technology Officer, departed the company in 2009 for a four year stint at Apple, helping to turn that company into an SoC power house.  Developing its own processors has enabled Apple to stand apart from the competition in many mobile spaces and Koduri is partly responsible for the technological shift at Apple.

Starting on Monday though, Raja Koduri is officially back at AMD, taking over as the CVP (Corporate Vice President) of Visual Computing.  This position will result in more complete control over the entirety of the hardware and software platforms AMD is developing including desktop discrete, mobile and APU/SoC designs.  This marks the second major returning visionary executive in recent memory to AMD, the first of which was Jim Keller in August of 2012 (also returning from a period with Apple). 

It will take some time for Koduri to have effect on AMD's current roadmap

Having known Raja Koduri for quite a long time I have always seen the man as an incredibly intelligent engineer that was able to find strengths in designs that others could not.  Much of the success of the ATI/AMD GPU divisions during the 2000s was due to Koduri's leadership (among others of course) and I think having him back at AMD at an even more senior role is great news for both discrete graphics fans and APU users. 

In a discussion with Koduri recently, Anandtech got some positive feedback for PC gamers:

Raja believes there’s likely another 15 years ahead of us for good work in high-end discrete graphics, so we’ll continue to see AMD focus on that part of the market.

Koduri sees 15 years more GPU evolution

So even though this hiring isn't going to change AMD's position on the APU and SoC strategy, it is good to have someone at the CVP level that sees the importance and value of discrete, high power GPU technology. 

In many talks with AMD over the last 6 months we kept hearing about the healthy influx of quality personnel though much of it was still under wraps.  Keller was definitely one of them and Koduri is another and both of the hires give a lot of hope for AMD as a company going forward.  Some in the industry have already written AMD off but I find it hard to believe that this caliber of executive would return to a sinking ship.