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 .:Latest Topics |
.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Intel Press Room | Subject: Processor
INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, San Francisco, Aug. 19, 2008 - In his Intel Developer Forum keynote today, Pat Gelsinger detailed the roadmap for Intel's continued march toward pervasive, higher performance and power efficient computing. The senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group discussed new features of the company's next-generation processor family including a new turbo mode that shifts the processor into a higher gear for mind-blowing performance without a heat penalty. The company's first desktop PC chips branded Intel Core i7 processors and initial energy-efficient, high-performance server products (codenamed "Nehalem-EP") will be first to production. Intel is also planning to manufacture a second server derivative designed for the expandable sever market ("Nehalem-EX"), and desktop ("Havendale" and "Lynnfield") and mobile ("Auburndale" and "Clarksfield") client versions in the second half of 2009. "Our engineers have put together an incredible processing family here that will include a tremendous amount of new processor features all centered on delivering faster computer performance and terrific energy efficiency," Gelsinger said. The next-generation Core microarchitecture also features Intel Hyper-Threading Technology delivering up to 8-threaded performance capability on 4 cores in the initial versions and best-in-class memory bandwidth thanks to the new QuickPath Interconnect. QuickPath is a technology that connects processors, chipsets and memory together, and delivers up to three times the memory bandwidth of previous generation Core microarchitecture solutions. The new Intel Xeon processor X7460 with 6 cores and 16MB L3 cache for expandable servers launching in September has already broken multiple performance world records1. An 8-socket IBM System x 3950 M2 server became the first platform to break the 1 million tpmC barrier on the TPC-C benchmark. New 4-Socket performance records include TPC-C on HP Proliant DL580 G5, TPC-E on Dell PowerEdge R900, SPECjbb2005 on Sun Fire X4450 and SPECint_rate2006 on Fujitsu-Siemens PRIMERGY RX600 S4. Gelsinger also discussed the industry's first many-core Intel Architecture (IA) based design, codenamed "Larrabee." Expected in 2009 or 2010, the first product based on Larrabee will target the personal computer graphics market, support DirectX and OpenGL, and run today's games and programs. Larrabee is expected to kick start an industry-wide effort to create and optimize software for the dozens, hundreds and thousands of cores expected to power future computers.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: FUTUREMARK | Subject: General Tech
LEIPZIG GAMES CONVENTION, GERMANY August 19th, 2008 - Futuremark Games Studio today revealed Shattered Horizon, a new game where players fight to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophic Moon mining accident that throws billions of tons of rocky debris into near-Earth space. In this multiplayer first-person shooter for PC teams of players experience realistic zero gravity combat surrounded by the broken remains of orbital infrastructure and the millions of asteroids now encircling the Earth. With simple and intuitive controls players have complete freedom of movement, making full use of the distinctive environment to control the battle. Shattered Horizon rewards players with gameplay and tactics impossible in games constrained by gravity. Appealing to everyone who has ever dreamed of going into space Shattered Horizon puts the player in the spacesuit of a survivor from the Moon mining operation or one of the astronauts trapped on the battered International Space Station. With Earth surrounded by debris there's little chance of rescue or return. Desperate battles are fought and control of limited supplies means the difference between survival and death in the cold of space. Jukka Mekinen, Head of Futuremark Games Studio, said, We are excited to reveal the first details of Shattered Horizon. Fans of 3DMark have been asking us to make a game for many years. We're working hard to create something new, different and very, very fun. In zero gravity the player is set free to play in new ways, said Antti Summala, Lead Game Designer. Complete freedom of movement and unique level design create an experience that is at once familiar to anyone who loves the FPS style and yet strikingly different to any game they've played before. Mikael Bowellan, Lead Artist for Shattered Horizon said, Players will be awed by the epic sight of countless asteroids circling the Earth. Our stunning lighting effects create the look of real space for both the natural and man-made objects. We've taken existing concepts in weaponry, propulsion and spacesuit design to make the world of Shattered Horizon even more convincing and believable. The company says their intimate knowledge of the latest PC hardware allows them to tune the game's engine to extract impressive visuals on a wide range of systems. While the game will showcase stunning graphics on high-end PCs, gamers need not spend a fortune to enjoy the unique gameplay. The game has not yet been rated by ESRB, PEGI or other rating bodies. The official website is www.shatteredhorizon.com.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ASUS | Subject: Motherboard
FREMONT, CALIFORNIA (August 19, 2008) - ASUS, a leading name in high quality computer components and solutions, received an Intel Server and Storage Innovation Award for the Z7S WS workstation motherboard. Positioned for power users, the Z7S WS features dual socket 771 and utilizes the Intel 5400 chipset to deliver high speed performance and wide expansion capabilities. With a CEB form factor, the Z7S WS offers a compact, yet powerful workstation. In addition to dual CPU sockets, the Z7S WS' 6 fully buffered (FB) DIMMs, dual Gigabit LAN, dual e-SATA, firewire, and 5 USB ports offer rich flexibility for both data processing and transfer. The Z7S WS' heat-pipe improves durability and maximizes heat dissipation. An optional ASUS patented MemCool Kit eliminates system memory throttling due to temperature, and eases system integration. The Z7S WS' compact CEB form factor (12" x 10.5") - allows it to reside in a wide variety of chassis. "By working closely with Intel, our experienced R&D teams offer exceptional performance, stability, and scalability. The Z7S WS is a strong example of ASUS’ workstation offerings leveraging Intel technology." Said Chris Liang, ASUS Server Product Manager.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Extremetech | Subject: Case and Cooling
The PCX-500 and PC-K1 are both Lian Li cases, but they have completely different form and functionality.
The PCX-500 is very tall, 23" but only 9" deep and 15" long, which forces a rather unique technique to install the optical drives. The PC-K1 has more standard dimensions, it's special feature is it's very lightweight design. That can come in very handy if you use the case for LAN parties. Check out their other features at Extremetech.
"Today we look at a pair of cases. First up is the Lian Li PC-X500, also known as the Tyr PC-X500, which is the most unusual. The PC-X500 is a tall tower, but less deep than most, in order to fit into a tighter floor footprint. Achieving that goal required some interesting design decisions, such as the sideways-mounted optical drive bays. Lian Li suggests that the PC-X500 might be a good case for a home theater PC, sitting unobtrusively alongside that HDTV. Alternatively, it could be a good case for gamers. It is not, on the other hand, inexpensive at $400. The PC-K1 is a more conventional tower case, aimed squarely at gamers. Built in a steel skeleton with an aluminum skin, the PC-K1 is more rigid than most all-aluminum cases, but substantially lighter than a purely steel design. Both cases are unusual enough that we built entire systems into them to get a better feel for how easy these cases are to work with, and how well they integrate into a home environment." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: X-Bit Labs | Subject: Graphics Card
X-bit Labs has figured out a way to get the 9800 GTX to outperform the HD4870 in almost half of the benchmarks they threw at it. All you have to do is attach a 1,000Ohm resistor, so that you can bump the voltage to 1.528V and the frequencies to 875MHz and 2188MHz for GPU and RAM, respectively. Even if you aren't willing to try the modification, the benchmarks results are quite impressive to see.
"Will extreme overclocking help Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX to defeat ATI Radeon HD 4800 and how greatly? Will an extremely overclocked GeForce 9800 GTX be able to complete against the new GeForce GTX 260? Answers to all these questions in our new article!" Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
We knew Intel was entering into the world of solid state hard drives from our news of it at Computex in June of this year but now we have the official announcement and part number data from IDF 2008. You can see our live blog from the SSD briefing by click here that details all the notes on the data Intel provided today as well as images from the press event.
From the press information I was just handed we
have some quick details about the upcoming products being released
under the Intel brand for the SSD market.
For desktop and mobile clients we'll see the Intel X18-M and X25-M SATA drives in both 1.8" and 2.5" standard form factors. They will be available in 80GB and 160GB capacities sometime in the next 30 days. Estimated transfer rates are 250 MB/s for reads and 70 MB/s on writes. Read latency is measured at just 85 microseconds or 0.085 milliseconds.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Legit Reviews | Subject: Memory
Corsair's new DIMMs are outpacing the ability of chipsets to keep up. With stock settings of 2133MHz @ 9-9-9-24 and running at 2.0V it is hard to find a motherboard that can handle the default settings of this RAM, let alone allow an overclock. Legit Reviews did have some success when they pushed the FSB up to 462MHz, check out the results here.
"The Corsair TW3X2G2133C9DF memory kit is a very impressive memory kit that was found to be 100% stable at these insane clock frequencies. Running at 2133MHz is no joke and it's still beyond what most platforms today are capable of running. To be honest the nForce 790i SLI is pushed nearly to its limits running memory this fast!" Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Overclockers Club | Subject: Storage
There are two big benefits to the ATP EarthDrive, and one small one. The small benefit is an increase in speed compared to previous ATP models, though the bump was not big enough for this drive to win any speed awards. The biggest benefit is the almost indestructibility of this drive. We have seen other companies offer drives that can be run over with a car and still probably work, but waterproof drives are rare. As well as being waterproof, a portion of the cost of every drive is donated to American Forests. Check out Overclocker's Club for more.
"The ATP EarthDrive uses a manufacturing process called "System in Packaging" that, according to ATP Electronics' website, "encapsulates all exposed components and points of failure." This means that the drive should be very durable and waterproof. I'm sure you all want to know if this SIP process works, so I dunked the EarthDrive in water for about an hour. After I let the drive dry off (so I don't burn up my own USB ports), I plugged it into my laptop, and it came right up with no problems. Now, you no longer have to worry about ruining your flash drive if it goes through the washer - but you probably shouldn't put it through the wash, just to be on the safe side." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
If you didn't notice from his link at the very top of the page, Ryan is currently at the IDF, and is live blogging the entire thing. Check out what he has seen, the pictures he has uploaded and make comments or suggestions directly to him. Keep an eye out for his updates, the conference just started with Pat Gelsinger's address, and will continue on from there. There is also a forum thread where you can comment on the IDF as well as this new style of reporting at PC Perspective. Let us know what you think!
"For the first time at PC Perspective we are going to try a new way of covering tech events - live. Though I feel somewhat dirty using the trendy, Web 2.0 term, the best way to describe what we are doing as "live blogging". What does that entail? I sit in a conference hall or press meeting and listen to technical and executives at Intel and post up notes, information, pictures and more live as it happens so you get the news in as close to real time as possible. " Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Canucks | Subject: Graphics Card
nVIDIA has been trying everything to make the GTX 280 more attractive to gamers, mostly by dropping the price by about $200. BFG is taking it one step further with their BFG GTX 280 OCX, an overclocked version of the already fast card. Hardware Canucks tested it against AMD's 4870 X2, as well as the 4870 and 4850 in Crossfire. nVIDIA does retain some top spots, but not by much of a margin.
"Through the last few years, BFG has always been at the forefront of the pre-overclocked craze and with their OCX cards, they take things to the next level. We should mention now that in our conversations with BFG they have stated that creating a highly overclocked GTX 280 isn't as easy as it seems due to the massive amounts of heat generated by the core directly influencing the final overclock. That being said, in this review we will be looking at their GTX 280 OCX which is highest-clocked GTX 280 in their lineup that keeps the stock cooler." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
With the introduction of the 780a chipset came Hybrid SLI, a way to turn off your video card when you are not using it. Unfortunately it only works with the new 9800s as well as GT200s, both of which are relatively good at not using much power when in an idle state. [H]ard|OCP's reviewers had very different experiences with this Phenom board, so read through carefully before you think about running out and buying one.
"MSI brings us their K9N2 based on NVIDIA’s 780a chipset. Does being able to turn off that power hungry video card get your attention? On paper this board has a lot to offer but how does it work in the real world?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tweaknews | Subject: General Tech
If you are looking for a cheap way to get you MP3 collection to play in your car, then drop by Tweaknews. They have just finished a review of the MERCONNET MP3 PLAYER/FM MODULATOR, which will accept USB drives and SD cards and stream them to your cars radio. Listening to your MP3's while on the road has never been simpler.
"Realistically, for US$30, could you really expect more from one single product. For a small tidy sum of money, you finally will be able to play your favorite tracks in your car instead of having to spend hundreds installing a new MP3 capable deck." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AnandTech | Subject: Mobile
AnandTech was rather impressed by the Gateway P-6831, a powerful gaming notebook with a $1300 price tag. Gateway has updated that model with the P-7811, which not only has updated components, but also offers longer battery life. Their testing didn't all go smoothly however, read on to see what problems they encountered.
"Six months later, Gateway and Best Buy are teaming up again with an upgraded version of the P-6831. We are still working on a larger laptop roundup, but we felt it would be beneficial to alert our readers to the availability of this amazing value sooner rather than later. We will have additional details as part of the roundup; for now, we present some initial benchmark results and an overview of the upgrades." Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Fudzilla | Subject: General Tech
ASUS will be the first to get an X58 board with SLI on the market according to Fudzilla. The reps were still under an NDA, so we don;t know exactly when these boards will first appear, the most detail they could give was Q4 some time. See what other little gems of information came up in the full article.
"According to an interview on bit-tech, Asus claims that they'll be the first motherboard manufacturer to have an X58 board with SLI support thanks to the nForce 200 chipset from Nvidia. What is interesting to note is that Asus is also planning to launch a SKU without the Nvidia chip, which according to the information we've heard, means that Asus wouldn't get a discount from Nvidia when it comes to the nForce 200 chips. Asus is expecting to ship the standard X58 models first, with the nForce 200 models to turn up somewhat later. bit-tech asked when Asus expected to have X58 boards in the market, but due to NDA's, Asus declined to answer, but mentioned that their motherboards will be available sometime in Q4 this year. Other good news on the subject of the X58 platform is that Asus said that the entire platform was a lot more mature than they expected and that they've had next to no problems making their X58 based motherboards." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: VIA Technologies | Subject: General Tech
Taipei, Taiwan, August 15 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the VIA EPIA N700 Nano-ITX board, designed as a complete solution for compact industrial PC and embedded automation devices. Featuring a 1.5GHz VIA C7 or 500MHz VIA Eden processor, the VIA EPIA N700 is the first Nano-ITX board to feature the latest VIA VX800 media system processor, offering system designers the perfect balance of ruthless miniaturization and uncompromising functionality.
Compact, yet user friendly, the VIA EPIA N700 uses additional onboard ports to make system design of compact PCs easier; two S-ATA ports, a Gigabit LAN port, a COM port, two USB 2.0 ports and a VGA port are provided, with additional COM, LVDS and IDE support available through onboard pin-headers. With the VX800 offering an integrated DX9 graphics core and excellent hardware accelerated video playback, this compact, low heat, power-efficient board is the ultimate solution for designing low heat, compact systems. The VIA EPIA N700 is the lowest profile Nano-ITX board ever. The addition of onboard VGA, USB, COM and Gigabit network ports on this compact board helps to reduce cluttered cabling, adding improved air-flow for enhanced stability in always-on systems and a further reduced system foot-print. The VIA EPIA N700 requires only a single 4-pin power cable as its sole power source, again saving space, while the external CMOS battery allows flexible, efficient placement within the chassis. "The VIA EPIA N700 Nano-ITX board has been specially developed to excel in space constrained environments while offering an extensive feature set based around the VIA VX800," said Daniel Wu, Vice President, VIA Embedded Platform Division, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Through listening carefully to customers, we're confident that we've made the VIA EPIA N700 as user friendly as possible".
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PCPerspective Forums | Subject: Case and Cooling
Cooling computer equipment is always a challenge, never more so than with racks. Have you ever wondered how those high density racks are kept cool when a company needs to do it on the cheap? Check out the suggestions in this thread for some ideas on how that can be achieved. If graphics are more your thing, the debate between the GTX260 and HD4780 rages on, and nVIDIA has had a busy week.
As well, there is a fresh new podcast and our Hardware Leaderboard was recently updated, though you could always use the Trading Post to pick up your components. An even better idea is to check out the sponsored deals we have with Tiger Direct, just visit this thread as often as you can; buy early, buy often!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: DIAMOND Multimedia | Subject: Case and Cooling
Vienna, Austria - August 15, 2008 - Diamond Multimedia (www.diamondmm.com), a leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, sound cards and communications products, launched today, the Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 - XOC3 H2O edition graphics card. This card offers exquisite gaming capabilities combined with state of the art efficiency. The Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 - XOC3 H2O,edition is a dual slot Monster card sitting on a PCI-Express 2.0 slot, loaded with 2GB of DDR5 memory and over clock speeds of 800 MHz on each GPU. The memory speed is OCed to rev at 1100 MHz and is designed with 1600 stream processors. "This adrenaline pumped card on steroids will make our competitors card look like a Ford Pinto station wagon engine" says, Mario Gastelum, Director of Product Development & Engineering. Diamond brings the same engineering mentality to it's high performance line of Radeon graphics boards that AMG brings to a Mercedes Benz. This finely tuned beast was re-engineered, to go beyond what our competitors are capable of delivering to their end consumers; the real Super RV 770 came out of the closet today to deliver a "real can of ass whooping". The HD 4870 X2 - XOC3 H2O edition provides plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX upgradeability with up to quad-GPU support. Continuing with ATI's Power Play and 55nm processing technology, this card is the fastest, period. We took the same engineering approach from the success of the Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC H2O edition and we redesigned the firmware to enable end users to go beyond the normal over clocked speeds and allow them to push their cards for higher performance via the catalyst control center. The GPU's has been unlocked to push cards to GPU settings of up to 990 Mhz and Memory of up 1200 Mhz. Diamond and Smoothcreations worked closely with Koolance engineering to ensure we had a robust and high performance water cooled solution that allowed Diamond engineers to push the performance envelope. And Koolance flawless was able to accomplish that.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Frosty Tech | Subject: Case and Cooling
The details are still scarce, and FrostyTech's article isn't a review; it's more of an FAQ, but it is all that we have so far.
The bad news is that your existing socket775 cooler is not going to work with the new socket1366 Nehalems, even with an adaptor it is unlikely to fit.
"The first Intel socket LGA1366 heatsinks have landed in the Frostytech labs from a well known heatsink company whose name we can't mention, and we expect to have a full collection of LGA1366 heastink reviews shortly. In the mean time, answers to questions like: 1). Will current Intel socket 775 heatsinks fit on Intel socket 1366 motherboards? 3). Do Nehalem socket 1366 heatsinks use the plastic push pin clips, or something new? 2). If I use a socket 775-to-1366 adaptor bracket to make my existing Intel heatsink fit onto a Socket 1366 motherboard, is that okay?" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TweakTown | Subject: General Tech
The usual specs for an HD4870 are 750MHz in the core and 900MHz for the RAM (aka 3600MHz) the Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition's core runs at 800MHz and the RAM has been bumped to 1100MHz, or 4400MHz. The overclocked card does require a bit more juice, but not excessively so; it also won't be that much more expensive than the vanilla card once it becomes available. You can see how well it does against the 280 over at TweakTown.
"The other day we looked at the Smooth Creations Asylum and inside was the new Diamond HD 4870 XOC Black Edition. This isn’t your normal overclocked HD 4870, though; if you have a look at the specifications on the thing, you will quickly discover that the card is packing some mega serious clock speeds. So what we’ve done is pull the card out of the Smooth Creations rig and install it into our testbed to see how the card performs against some of our other favorites. Since this wasn’t a retail sample, we won’t be looking at the package today. What we will do is have a quick look around the card and then check out the clockspeeds before moving onto the testing phase." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Case and Cooling
The Antec Signature Series 850 PSU comes with a large price tag and quality components that justify the price. There was minimal ripple in every test [H]ard|OCP threw at it, and it was surprisingly quiet for a PSU cooled with an 80mm fan. There are many other ~850W PSUs out there, which are available at a cheaper price and still have good components; if it is only the best you are interested in, the Signature series is the way to go.
"Antec is back promising the pinnacle of power in the very popular 850 watt market. Cutting edge features never offered? Greater system stability with DC to DC regulator modes? And 80 PLUS Bronze certification?" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
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