Featured Reviews
NZXT Switch 810 White Case Review
The full tower market has been getting a bit more crowded lately and that causes manufacturers to try and find unique ways to set themselves apart. NZXT is one that is well known for doing things to set itself apart and recently sent us their latest incarnation, the Switch 810. Read on to see if the extra features make us ho hum or say WOW!
Intel 520 'Cherryville' Series 240GB SSD Review in RAID 0
Intel's 'Cherryville' 520 Series SSDs are here, packing heat with SandForce SF-2281 controllers and custom firmware. We received a pair of 240GB drives to throw on our test bench and report our findings. With nearly a year to develop the firmware, will the 520 Series become the new gold standard for SSDs or just another drive in the SandForce pile? Read on to see.
Intel Core i7-3820 3.6GHz Processor Review
Intel's high-end LGA2011 platform has been out since November 2011 and since the platforms introduction there have only been two SNB-E processor choices available, the six-core Intel Core i7-3960X and Core i7-3930K. These hexa-core processors are costly as they run over $600 and that is more than most want to spend. All that changes this month with the introduction of the Intel Core i7-3820 that is priced at just $285. Read on to see how this processor performs!
Deepcool Gamer Storm Dracula VGA Cooler Review
Today we take a look at the flagship GPU cooler from Deepcool, the Dracula. The Dracula is part of Deepcool's Gamer Storm line and is designed for those that want some serious cooling performance. This GPU cooler is massive and takes up four PCI slots when installed. Join us today we put the Dracula on the notoriously hot running NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 to see how it handles the heat compared to another aftermarket cooler.
AMD Radeon HD 7950 & XFX R7950 Black Edition Video Card Review
AMD has finally released Radeon HD 7950, which happens to be the cut-down version of the Radeon HD 7970 graphics card that hit the streets on January 9th, 2012. The AMD Radeon HD 7950 graphics card is based on the same 'Tahiti' core architecture that is used on the Radeon HD 7970, but some has less features and lower clock speeds. Read on to see how the Radeon HD 7950 performs!
SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse Review - Legendary Edition
SteelSeries recently released another gaming mouse for World of Warcraft players called the SteelSeries World of Warcraft MMO Gaming Mouse: Legendary Edition. Designed for World of Warcraft, this gaming mouse features 130 predefined commands for easy macro creation and 10 profiles that let multiple users save personalized settings. The 11 programmable buttons help you create a customized gaming style. Read on to see how it performs
Stem TimeCommand Audio Alarm Dock for iOS Devices Review
The Stem TimeCommand is an iPod, iPhone and iPad audio alarm dock that features a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) stereo as well as the ability to control a connected bedside lamp with the touch of a button. You can download the Stem:Connect App to get even more user-customizable features and the best part of it all is that the device costs just under $100.
Legit News
NVIDIA 'Kepler' GK104 Die Said To Be Smaller Than AMD Radeon HD 7900 'Tahiti' Die
Charlie Demerjian over at SemiAccurate says that he was shown an NVIDIA Kepler GK104 GPU! He says that the GK104 chip will be around 18-19mm x 18-19mm in size, which means that the die size will be between 324-361 mm^2. This is interesting if it is true as the AMD 'Tahiti' core that is used on the Southern Islands lineup (Radeon HD 7900 Series) is 365mm^2. Rumor has it that the TDP on the GK104 will be somewhere around 225W with the 28nm manufacturing process. The TDP on the AMD Radeon HD 7970 is 250W and 200W on the Radeon HD 7950. Charlie mentioned that the NVIDIA GK104 might be done by late March, so things are going to get really interesting in the video card market. Will NVIDIA take the performance crown back from AMD? If the cards using GK104 come out at the rumored $299 price point, it might turn the GPU market upside down. We won't say that NVIDIA has a performance segment killer yet, but it looks like they are cooking up something really interesting.
The chip we saw is roughly 18-19mm * 18-19mm, putting the range from 324-361mm^2. If you assume it is both square and in the middle, 342mm^2 wouldn’t be a bad number to plug in to the spreadsheets. While this is a lot bigger than we were expecting, it is still smaller than Tahiti by an appreciable margin. If performance ends up about where we have been told, it will be about as efficient as AMD’s current chips at a lot lower power draw. If the price holds up too, GK104 will own the mid-market, aka where the money is. Net result, if Nvidia can get it to yield, power use stays where it is now, as do clocks, and they don’t get greedy with the price, well, three of four isn’t a bad tally.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 02:22 PM | Comments
Intel Solid-State Drive 520 Series Released - Intel Goes Sandforce
Intel launched the companies fastest, most robust client/consumer solid-state drive (SSD) to date this morning with the release of the Intel Solid-State Drive 520 Series (Intel SSD 520), a 6 gigabit-per-second (gbps) SATA III SSD produced using Intel 25-nanometer (nm) NAND memory.
"We tapped Intel engineering to create a client SSD that delivers performance on all fronts with obsessively high reliability," said Rob Crooke, Intel vice president and general manager of the Intel Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. "The Intel SSD 520 once again raises the industry bar on SSD performance, quality and reliability to dramatically improve user experience."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 10:59 AM | Comments
Micron Technology Appoints Mark Durcan as CEO
Micron Technology recently announced the appointment of Mark Durcan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. Mr. Durcan will also serve as a Director on Micron's Board of Directors. The appointments come after the company reported that Steven R. Appleton, longtime Micron Chairman and CEO, passed away in a Feb. 3 airplane accident in Boise.
The Board of Directors also announced the appointment of Director Robert E. Switz as Chairman of the Board and Mark W. Adams as President. Mr. Switz has served as a Director since 2006 and is the former Chairman and CEO of ADC Telecommunications. He has previously served as chair of the Micron Board's Audit and Governance committees. Mr. Adams joined the company in 2006 and served most recently as Vice President of Worldwide Sales.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 10:52 AM | Comments
Skyrim PC Gamers Getting Creation Kit Tomorrow
Bethesda’s Vice President, Pete Hines posted a tweet last week that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s Creation Kit along with a special surprise would arrive on the PC tomorrow. What could the surprise be?
With Skyrim Workshop, you can browse and search for the latest or highest rated mods, subscribe to any that interest you, rate your favorites and post feedback. Once you've subscribed to some mods, start the Skyrim launcher and you'll see your subscribed mods automatically download. The launcher will even check if a mod has been updated and grab the latest version.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 10:48 AM | Comments
AVADirect Launches Intel X79 Chipset Powered Gaming Notebook
AVADirect just announced that the company is the first to offer Clevo's P270WM mobile gaming notebook. The Clevo P270WM is based off of the Intel X79 chipset and powered by Sandy Bridge-E processors. AVADirect said that with these desktop components placed inside a gaming notebook that consumers can expect performance increases of as much as 35-50 percent. AVADirect will begin to accept pre-orders for the X79 high-end gaming notebook as of today. The base price starts at $3305.61 and will feature the Intel core i7 3930K, GTX 580M 2B, 4GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333Mhz, 750GB 7200RPM hard disk, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
The P270WM's design shapes the ground we stand on by creating new standards for mobile desktop replacements. The revolutionary X79-fueled P270WM, being the successor of the world renowned Clevo X7200, supports all of the functionality provided by its older brother. Three 9.5 inch hard drives, with optional RAID, two USB 3.0 ports, SLI support, HD LED screen, HDMI 1.4a support, and the recently re-designed express card slot for third-party expansion are still key features of the newly offered Clevo P270WM Gaming Notebook. The Nvidia GTX 580M 2GB comes standard in the Clevo P270WM and offers SLI support for gaming duality. The GPU offers 384 CUDA cores, or 768 when in SLI. Furthermore, the victor of desktop replacements offers the Quadro 5010M 4GB for the elitist AutoCAD or developing engineer. Combined with the support of Quad-channel DDR3 SODIMM RAM and speeds up to 1866Mhz, creating a configuration suitable for your tasks is as simple as a few clicks on AVADirect's website. The board features a total of four SODIMM slots expandable up to 32GB. The P270WM includes full 3D support, which has never been provided in a desktop replacement until now. End-users will more importantly be interested in the first-ever backlit keyboard integrated in the P270WM notebook. Clevo has not received outstanding remarks in the past for their lack of aesthetically pleasing designs, but a backlit keyboard changes everything enthusiasts have grown to know about Clevo's design.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 10:10 AM | Comments
THQ Delays Metro: Last Light Till Q1 2013
THQ recently announced the companies fiscal 2012 third quarter results and by doing so they revealed an updated product roadmap for investors. Metro: Last Light has been delayed, moving back to Q4 FY 2013 – that is, the first quarter of calendar 2013; it had been expected in time for the holidays this year. It looks like the game title 'Metro: Last Light' has been delayed! THQ appears to have moved it off till Q4 FY 2013, which is really the first quarter of calendar year 2013. Most had been expecting the title to come out in time for the holidays this year.
Beneath the ruins of post-apocalyptic Moscow, in the crumbling Metro tunnels, you hold the key to humanity's survival -- the last light in our darkest hour...
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 09:11 AM | Comments
Thermaltake Announces New Toughpower & SMART Series Power Supplies
Thermaltake recently expanded both the Toughpower and the SMART PSU product lines by adding Toughpower 550W, 650W and 750W 80Plus Gold certified as well as SMART 750W and 850W 80Plus Bronze certified PSUs. Thermaltake believes these five new power supplies will be able to fulfill mainstream users and enthusiasts power requirements. The Thermaltake SMART M850W is pictured below and is a modular power supply with a single +12V rail rated at 70 Amps and is backed by a 3-year warranty. Thermaltake did not mention pricing of any of the new models. You can find more pictures, including internal shots, by following the link below to the forums.
Toughpower 550W, 650W and 750W 80Plus Gold Series:
Carrying the same concept, Toughpower series want to provide user a reliable, efficient and eco-friendly environment. Therefore the new Toughpower Gold Series adopted Active CLAMP circuitry offers low power loss and high efficiency, 100% High Quality Japanese Capacitors provide uncompromised performance and reliability, Industrial Grade Protection on over current and voltage, under voltage, over power, over temperature and short-circuit protections to ensure the critical components have the best chance of avoiding damage if a problem were to arise, and Quiet and durable cooling Fan offers long-lasting Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan delivers excellent airflow at an exceptionally low noise level, making the Toughpower 550W, 650W and 750W 80Plus Gold a great choice for mainstream users.
SMART 750W and 850W 80Plus Bronze Modular Series:
As the responses of the flat modular cables are assenting in market, the SMART Modular Series would like to provide more choices for enthusiasts by adding the 750W and 850W into the Series. Both 750W and 850W units pretty much similar to 450W, 550W and 650W with built in industrial-grade protections for over current, over Voltage, under voltage, over power and short-circuit protections and 14cm cooling fan with intelligent RPM control guarantees cool performance and silent operation. The differences in 750W and 850W are by adopting 100% high quality Japanese capacitors and adding DC-DC converter circuitry on top of double forward circuitry to ensure the efficiency and stability. Both of series are compliance with Intel ATX 12V 2.3 & SSI EPS 12V 2.92 standards and are guaranteed to deliver continuous power 24 / 7 @ 40℃.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 08:53 AM | Comments
Origin PC Debuts Frostbyte 360 Liquid Cooling System
ORIGIN PC announced today the exclusive availability of their new FROSTBYTE 360 liquid cooling system. Featuring silent pumps, a high efficiency triple 120mm radiator, and zero maintenance, the FROSTBYTE 360 liquid cooling system allows for extreme overclocking in a more affordable solution. The ORIGIN PC GENESIS configured with the FROSTBYTE 360 starts at $1599. With the FROSTBYTE 360 installed, ORIGIN has been able to reach processor speeds up to 5.2GHz. The FROSTBYTE 360 costs $121.00 more than the FROSTBYTE 120 sealed liquid cooling system and is not available as a stand alone product.
- ORIGIN professional CPU overclocking up to 5.2GHz on multiple cores
- Micro-channel copper CPU block and 360mm high efficiency copper radiator
- Embedded temperature sensor delivers the copper surface temperature with an accuracy of +/- 1C
- Ultra silent operation and exceptionally low weight
- Factory sealed, maintenance free operation
- Thermal resistance as low as 0.085 C/W
"Until now, extreme overclocking required hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of components including pumps, radiators, coolant hoses, fittings, and expensive water blocks." said Kevin Wasielewski ORIGIN PC CEO and cofounder. "With the Frostbyte 360, a maintenance free liquid cooling solution, ORIGIN PC customers can enjoy top-end CPU performance at a fraction of the cost."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 08:39 AM | Comments
February 6, 2012 News from Around the Web
Xigmatek Midgard II Mid-Tower Chassis Review @ TweakTown and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"I remember looking at the original Midgard from Xigmatek and I even refreshed my memory by looking at the old review from 2010. As I remember, the original offered something like five ODD bays, five HDD bays with metal trays, seven expansion slots and a pair of orange bladed fans to go along with the tool-less mechanisms used in that chassis. One other thing I remember was that the original did have most of the front and the entire top covered with mesh for easy breathe-ability for both air in through the front. Via convection it allowed hot air to escape right through the top passively or you could add fans to help things along. All in all, for the time of its release, the Midgard had an oddly placed front I/O panel, but other than that it was a nice chassis for its day. As time progresses, older designs are left in the dust in favor of cases with USB 3.0, room to manage wires behind the motherboard tray and even handy hot-swap SATA hard drive docks built into cases are a huge hit. Well, Xigmatek saw the writing on the wall and took what was a good selling product for them and figured it was time to update the chassis to today's customers' expectations. With a fresh set of eyes, the new release got both an exterior and an interior redo. There are some subtle hints to the original case, but honestly it looks a lot like the mid towers we seen from BitFenix. Either way, the new chassis is a definite improvement over the original concept."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 06, 2012 - 07:35 AM | Comments
Snow Leopard Update Breaks PowerPC Apps Using Rosetta Framework
A security update released alongside Mac OS X Snow Leopard by Apple is causing no end of headaches for a group of Mac users. The update has apparently caused major issues for users running older PowerPC applications running on Apple's Rosetta framework. The security update 2012-001 was released alongside OS X 10.7.3 on February 1st 2012. This update was to fix security issues found in OS X 10.7.3 for users still running Max OS X Snow leopard. The problem is that the update causes crashes when trying to use commands from an application's drop down menus. The problem affects many applications including: older versions of Adobe Photoshop, Quicken, Filemaker 7, Microsoft Office X and more that were written to run on PowerPC chips used in older Apple machines. Rosetta was developed by Apple during its transition to Intel in order to allow older applications to function on updated hardware, granted Apple has now killed off Rosetta in OS X Lion, but it was still used in Mac OS X Snow leopard as an optional install. A Mac user on the Apple Discussion forums has created a work around patch to address the issue but it's considered a band-aid at best. Apple is working on a fix to the problem, but users will have to be patient till it's ready.
While the odd "CUI Error" experienced by some users after upgrading to OS X 10.7.3 earlier this week has garnered a fair amount of attention, it appears that a security update released for Mac OS X Snow Leopard at the same time is also causing major issues for users who rely on older PowerPC applications that run under Apple's Rosetta framework.
Posted by | Sun, Feb 05, 2012 - 09:17 AM | Comments
Motorola Sells Refurbished Xooms, Forgets To Delete Previous Owners Data
Another day, another slip up; this time it comes from Motorola. The company managed to put previous customers information at risk when it failed to wipe the memory on a batch of refurbished Xooms. The tablets were sold by Woot.com sometime between October and December of 2011, with Motorola claiming the mistake only affects a small batch of Xoom tablets. The total number of units shipped with previous owner's data is said to be 100 out of a batch of 6200 refurbished Xooms. Motorola will be going the extra mile for customers suffering from this mistake by offering two years of Experian identification protection services to those whose private information was exposed and are advising customers to call 1-866-926-9803 to sign up for the credit monitoring service. Motorola is even going so far as to offer a $100 American Express gift card to those who send in their affected Xoom to be reset. To find out if your Xoom is among those affected, you can check online or call 1-800-734-5870 and select option 1.
The information that may be accessible to the purchasers of the impacted refurbished tablets may include any information that the original user elected to store on the tablet. It is possible that users might have stored photographs and documents. They may have also stored user names and passwords for email and social media accounts, as well as other password-protected sites and applications.
Posted by | Sat, Feb 04, 2012 - 10:13 AM | Comments
Micron CEO Steve Appleton Dies in Plane Accident
Micron has announced that Steve Appleton, the companies Chairman and CEO, passed away this morning in a small plane accident in Boise. He was 51. His experimental fixed wing single engine Lancair crashed at 8:56 a.m. in between two runways at the airport. He was the only person on-board. Our condolences go out to his wife, Dalynn, his children and his family during this tragic time.
The National Transportation Safety Board said they interviewed witnesses on the scene who said Appleton tried to take off once, landed and then went back to his hangar. About five minutes later, he tried to take off again. They say the plane was flying at about 100 to 200 feet above ground when it stalled, then nosedived. A chilling recording from air traffic controllers paints the picture of panic shortly after take-off. In the recording, you can hear Appleton telling controllers he needed to turn around moments before the crash.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 03, 2012 - 04:28 PM | Comments
Facebook Friday - Corsair Vengeance M60 FPS Gaming Mouse
Welcome to our weekly giveaway for our dedicated readers! We love our fans and our sponsors! You guys love Facebook Friday right? This week the sponsor for our weekly promotion is Corsair and they have donated a Vengeance M60 FPS Gaming Mouse as this weeks prize! This prize has a retail value of ~$69.99 plus shipping. You can enter the contest here. Corsair asked us to invite you to their Facebook page as well, so be to take a look and give them some love as well here.
The Corsair Vengeance M60 is the premium performance gaming mouse for First Person Shooter (FPS) games. An enthusiast grade 5700 dpi laser sensor provides for maximum precision, ultra responsive mouse control for extended domination over players with less accurate, slower mice. Designed and tuned for exceptional FPS gameplay, the Vengeance M60’s ergonomic design is comfortable to the hand even for extended hours gaming sessions. The dedicated sniper button instantly lowers your DPI so that you can quickly and accurately aim for precise location shots. A machined, one-piece aluminum frame provides low weight, high rigidity, and optimal mass distribution. And the center of gravity can be adjusted up to 21g in your mouse so you have just the right balance. Victory is yours with the Corsair Vengeance M60!
Posted by | Fri, Feb 03, 2012 - 04:18 PM | Comments
AMD Trinity Ultrathin Notebook Spotted at AMD's Financial Analyst Day
At AMD's Financial Analyst day, Engadget came across a small demo area showcasing a Trinity-APU powered ODM reference unit from Compal. The unit was one of several proof of concept designs being used to demonstrate the Trinity APUs performance and power usage to OEMs. The particular unit shown was using a lower voltage Trinity APU and was housed in an 18mm shell.
Inside this particular prototype is one of the lower voltage variants of Trinity (read: either the 17W or 25W part), which enables that svelte 18mm profile. Seeing as it is a one-off (and one that'll never come to market in this form), our impressions are moot, yet we'd be remiss if we didn't point out we were a little dismayed by its chassis, which was flimsy enough to put the existing flex champion, Toshiba's Z830, on notice.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 03, 2012 - 11:29 AM | Comments
Motherboard Prices To Increase Again By 10%
It seems PC enthusiasts can look forward to even more price hikes this year. Motherboard vendors will be increasing the prices on their products by 10% according to industry sources. The price hike will take effect as early as the end of the first quarter of 2012. The 10% price hike comes on top of the 5-10% hike that happened in early 2011 along with the 3-8% hike in April of 2011. The reasons for this particular increase are fairly obvious, however, with the international price of copper having gone up, and labor costs in China on the rise as well. The minimum wage has jumped 8.62% in Beijing as of January 1, 2012, 14.28% increase in Shanghai takes effect on April 1, 2012, and a 13.63% raise in Shenzhen on February 1, 2012 causing labor costs to rise substantially. The increase in price for raw materials and labor has Asustek Computer and Gigabyte Technology among others increasing prices for their motherboards, this has not slowed shipments however which show an increase of nearly 10% and 20% respectively. Let's hope this is the only price hike we see on motherboards this year.
Copper pricing has risen from less than US$8,000 per metric ton (MT) before the 2012 Lunar New Year to US$8,600/MT currently, causing hikes in the cost of CCLs (copper-clad laminates) and in turn production cost of motherboards, the sources noted.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 03, 2012 - 10:40 AM | Comments
Fujitsu Releases 7-inch Android Tablet - STYLISTIC M350/CA2
Fujitsu today announced the STYLISTIC M350/CA2, an Android OS-based tablet for the enterprise market. The STYLISTIC M350/CA2 features a compact form factor, equipped with a 7-inch display and a body weighing approximately 420g for easy mobility. The 7-inch WSVGA has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Fujitsu says the tablet has running time of approximately 6.1 hours.
The tablet achieves both superior portability and usability, with features such as rapid booting and the ability to select between different character input modes—a numeric keypad, QWERTY, and hand-writing—to gives users the choice that best meets their individual needs. Moreover, the new tablet can be employed in a wide range of scenarios, including as a mobile sales terminal, as a handset for displaying digital catalogs at a retail store, and as an e-book reader in a classroom setting. In addition to offering excellent cost-performance, the STYLISTIC M350/CA2 supports customers in transforming work styles within their companies.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 03, 2012 - 09:51 AM | Comments
MSI Announces 10-inch Wind U180 Netbook
If you thought netbooks were dead, it looks like you have been proven wrong. MSI has unveiled the Wind U180, which is the companies first new netbook model for 2012. MSI is calling the Wind U180 an ultra thin, ultra light netbook as they are trying to ride the ultra thin form factor craze that everyone is infected with. The Wind U180 is powered by either an Intel Atom 'Cedar Trail' Processor N2800 (1.86GHZ) or N2600 （1.6 GHZ). MSI says the WInd U180 has twice the processing and display performance of the previous generation netbook as well as eight hours of battery power. Will this 10-inch (1024 x 600 resolution) netbook help prove to the world that netbooks still have a heartbeat? Time will tell, but for the love of God, can you stop using 0.3 MP webcams? It's not really that expensive to update the camera!
MSI U180 Netbook Specifications:
- CPU: Intel Atom Processor N2800/N2600
- Chipset: Intel NM10
- Graphics: GMA 3650
- Memory: DDR3 800MHz/1066 MHz; support up to 2 GB(1 DIMM slot)
- LCD: 10" (1024 x 600) ultra slim
- HDD: 320/250 GB (2.5” SATA)
- Battery: 3 cells / 6 cells
- Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0+HS
- Webcam: 0.3 M Webcam
- Sound: HD Audio, Stereo speakers
- Dimension: 263 x 186 x 21.26mm
- Weigh:t 1 Kg (with 3 cell battery)
- OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Starter
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 01:36 PM | Comments
AMD Announces Sea Islands GPUs Coming in 2013
Today at AMD's 2012 Financial Analyst Day the company showed off a client and graphics product roadmap that goes all the way into 2013. The slide showed that the Sea Islands GPU architecture will replace the Southern Islands architecture that just came out in November 2011 for discrete graphics sometime in 2013. Southern Islands is the core architecture used on AMD Radeon HD 7970 and Radeon HD 7950 GPUs. AMD also announced that Kaveri will become the companies 3rd generation APU and will use the Steamroller core architecture. On the low power and ultra low power APU side of things, AMD announced Kabini and Temash. Kabini and Temash are SoC processors. All of the new parts will be made on the 28nm. Right now AMD is making products on the 40nm, 32nm and 28nm manufacturing nodes.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 01:23 PM | Comments
MSI Intel X79 Motherboards Reach Base Clock of 170.33MHz
MSI announced that some of their Intel X79 series mainboards with Military Class III components have reached a new overclocking milestone. The American overclocker Turn&Burn successfully overclocked an Intel Core i7-3930K processor to a world record of 5.83GHz on an MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) motherboard. The 182% overclocking rate has rewritten the highest record for the Sandy Bridge-E processor. Meanwhile, the renowned Taiwanese overclocker Toppc used a Big Bang-XPower II mainboard to overclock an Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor to a new world record of 170.33MHz base clock!
The new MSI X79 series mainboards are equipped with Military Class III components of high quality and stability. The newly introduced DrMOS II is the next generation DrMOS with a double thermal protection system built in. It ensures safety when users exceed normal operating specifications, for instance when they start overclocking. MSI X79 series mainboards also adopt the new PCI Express Gen 3 platform and offer the exclusive MSI Click BIOS II interface to offer the best performance and the smoothest operating experience. Other incorporated include the THX TruStudio PRO audio standard, Multi-BIOS II, Control Center II, and Super Charger. Furthermore, MSI Big Bang-XPower II has an enhanced 22-phase power design and supports 4-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFire multi-GPU computing technologies. All these above make MSI X79 series mainboards the best choice for ultimate performance.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 01:14 PM | Comments
ASUS Launches Radeon HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP Video Card
ASUS has officially announced the the ASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II TOP graphics card! This card is overclocked to 1000MHz on the core, which is 75MHz higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7970 reference design. This card is cooled by the exclusive DirectCU II, a dual fan thermal design with six copper heatpipes and a large dissipation area. The cards custom PCB features ASUS DIGI+ VRM 12-phase digital power delivery along with Super Alloy Power components for improved overclockeings. As with other ASUS DirectCU II cards you get the ability to do VGA Hotwire hardware overvolting and use the GPU Tweak software utility. The card should be available online later today. The ASUS 7970 DirectCU II TOP graphics card will carry a suggested retail price of $599.
Further design and engineering improvements to the ASUS DirectCU II thermal architecture have resulted in its finest iteration yet. The new design consists of six all-copper heatpipes in direct contact with the GPU, in addition to a 20% larger dissipation area than any previous versions. Cooling effectiveness increases by up to 20% compared to reference, helping the card run with improved stability and reliability ― critical to successful overclocking. Since the card stays so cool, the dual fans can operate at lower speeds, contributing to a 14dB quieter than reference experience that helps gamers focus on the action instead of the noise.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 01:10 PM | Comments
57% Believe a Cyber Arms Race is Currently Taking Place
McAfee and the Security & Defence Agenda (SDA) recently revealed the findings from a report; Cyber-security: The Vexed Question of Global Rules that paints, for the first time, a global snapshot of current thinking about the cyber-threat and the measures that should be taken to defend against them, and assesses the way ahead. The SDA, the leading defense and security think-tank in Brussels, interviewed leading global security experts to ensure that findings would offer usable recommendations and actions. The report was created to identify key debate areas and trends and to help to governments and organizations understand how their cyber defense posture compares to those of other countries and organizations.
Here are some noted findings:
- 57% of global experts believe that an arms race is taking place in cyber space.
- 36% believe cyber-security is more important than missile defense.
- 43% identified damage or disruption to critical infrastructure as the greatest single threat posed by cyber-attacks with wide economic consequences (up from 37% in McAfee’s 2010 Critical Infrastructure Report).
- 45% of respondents believe that cyber-security is as important as border security.
- The state of cyber-readiness of the United States, Australia, UK, China and Germany all ranked behind smaller countries such as Israel, Sweden and Finland (23 countries ranked in report).
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 01:01 PM | Comments
Ubisoft Games And Services Going Offline Next Week
On February 7th, Ubisoft will transition its online services from their current third-party data center to a brand new facility. The migration to the new data center will cause some online games and services to be unavailable for a short period of time. Ubisoft had the following to say "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience. This move ultimately will help us improve the maintenance of our infrastructure and deliver better uptime and greatly improved services for our customers." Lets hope the transition is a quick and painless one for both Ubisoft and there customers, as any severe downtime will surely enrage more then a few PC / MAC gamers.
Games and Services to be Impacted
- Assassin's Creed on MAC
- Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. 2 on PC
- Might & Magic: Heroes VI on PC
- Splinter Cell Conviction on MAC
- The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom on PC
- The Settlers on MAC
- Uplay will not be available during transition.
- All Ubisoft Websites except: Ubisoft Official Forums and Ubisoft Consumer Services
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 12:59 PM | Comments
February 2, 2012 News from Around the Web
G.Skill Ripjaws Z 2133CL9Q-16GBZH Memory Kit Review @ Madshrimps and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
G.Skill is one of the more prominent market leaders in the RAM department. Offering a zillion of different ram combinations in all sorts of quantities, timings, speeds and even you can pick between different heatspreader colors. With the launch of the SandyBridge-E platform, we received one of the higher end 16Gb quad channel kits, running at 2133Mhz. Timings are the following : CL9-11-10-28. Maybe you are not impressed, but remember this is a quad channel comprising of 4Gb dimms. And best of all the price isn't lethal at all. The X79 ram line is baptized RipjawsZ. The X lineup for the older Sandy Bridges has been renown for being potent overclockers. But most reviewed kits were only 2GB DIMM versions. So being a lot easier to push. Let's have a look if we can get some more juice out of these DIMMS.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 02, 2012 - 07:50 AM | Comments
Study Finds Internet Addiction a Growing Problem Among Youth
A recent British survey took a look at the internet addiction and analyzed the online lives of children. A total of 1,000 youngsters in the UK between the ages of eight and 16 were surveyed and asked about the impact of the internet on their lives. Almost half of those under 12 said they would feel sad without the internet. For teens, it's even worse, the study found. Experts say that internet addiction is a growing problem that affects about 8-12% of U.S. children.
The poll, called the 'Digital Futures' project, was carried out by Intersperience - a British research firm. The survey found that 74 per cent of children under 12 played online games with 65 per cent using the internet for homework. More than a third went online to look for things to buy or sell while youngsters also used the web to check prices for fashion items.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 01, 2012 - 03:19 PM | Comments
EUROCOM Introduces Leopard 2.0 Dual GPU Mobile Workstation
Eurocom Corporation, a developer of long lifespan, fully upgradable high performance Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers is now introducing the EUROCOM Leopard 2.0. The EUROCOM Leopard 2.0 is a high performance 18.4" notebook that includes support for dual GPU operation. The new Leopard 2.0 will support dual GPU technology from both AMD and NVIDIA. The Leopard 2.0 will also use an 18.4" FHD 1920x1080p LCD with an Auto Light Sensory technology to allow the Leopard 2.0 to adjust panel brightness automatically depending on the environment. THX TruStudio PRO is also featured in the Leopard 2.0 to allow customers the ability to enhance music and movies while improving the sound quality of any speaker system. The features don't end there, the Leopard 2.0 also supports up to 24GB of system RAM, alongside a Second Generation Intel Sandy Bridge i7 or i7 extreme processor. This is made possible by the use of Intel's HM 67 chipset. The EUROCOM Leopard 2.0 also features 4 storage drives, for up to 4TB in a RAID 0/1/5/10 setup. The Leopard 2.0 looks to be a serious contender in the mobile market space as both a workstation or enthusiast gaming notebook.
EUROCOM Leopard 2.0 Specifications:
Optional Graphics Processors:
- Processor: Intel Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme Mobile; up to i7-2960XM
- VGA Technology: Modular MXM 3.0b; NVIDIA GeForce GTX single and SLI; AMD Radeon single and CrossFireX; NVIDIA Quadro
- Memory: up to 24GB of DDR3-1600; 3 RAM Sockets
- Storage: up to 4TB of storage; 4 physical drives (SSD, HDD or Solid Hybrid); RAID 0/1/5/10; 4th drive is via ODD bay
- Optical Drive: DVD-RW; Blu Ray Reader; Blu Ray Burner or 4th HDD
- Ports:2x USB 3.0; 4x USB 2.0; eSATA; Firewire 1394a; DVI; HDMI-out 1.4a; Headphone; Microphone; S/PDIF output; Line-in; RJ-45 LAN
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M
- SLI: 2x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M
- AMD Radeon HD6970M
- CrossFireX: 2x AMD Radeon HD 6970M
- AMD Radeon HD 6990M
- CrossFireX: 2x AMD Radeon HD 6990M
- NVIDIA Quadro 5010M
- NVIDIA Quadro 4000M
- NVIDIA Quadro 3000M
Posted by | Wed, Feb 01, 2012 - 02:39 PM | Comments
February 1, 2012 News from Around the Web
Sapphire PURE Black X79N (Intel X79) Motherboard Review @ TweakTown and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"The company's entry into the motherboard market hasn't been a smooth one, even though, it started off well with the PURE Black X58. Following the X58 we saw the PURE Platinum P67 Hydra miss the mark. The release of the new AMD A75 chipset and the Sapphire PURE Platinum A75 saw the company again shine in the motherboard market. The shine was quickly taken off as the delayed Intel Z68 offering of the Sapphire PURE Platinum Z68 again lagged behind its competitors. From a pure statistics standpoint with the on again off again relationship we've had with Sapphire motherboards, the new PURE Black X79N based on the new Intel X79 chipset which we are looking at today should be on the mark. Before we find out just how performance on the board goes, though, we need to first take the time to check out the package that Sapphire are offering us here. From there we'll take the time to have a closer look at the motherboard itself to see how the design of it all is. After that it's time to get into the BIOS, an area that Sapphire has been a bit weak in since launch. With the move over to UEFI for the X79, we hope that Sapphire has been able to do something here that moves its BIOS in a positive direction. Once we've done all that, though, it's time to really get down and dirty with the BIOS to see what kind of overclocking potential the new board has before we of course check out the performance of it."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 01, 2012 - 02:29 PM | Comments
Samsung Galaxy Note Super Phone To Be Announced During Super Bowl - Teaser Released
Samsung released a teaser clip of their first-ever Super Bowl commercial that will air during the 4th quarter of the big game on Sunday. Samsung is using the sporting event to launch the revolutionary Galaxy Note super phone to the world. You can see the trailer below
“During the past six months we’ve launched the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus and now the Galaxy Note super phone in North America bringing unparalleled innovation to the marketplace,” said Todd Pendleton, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Telecommunications America. “The Galaxy Note ushers in the era of truly personalized communications, allowing people to capture, share and create like never before.”
Posted by | Wed, Feb 01, 2012 - 11:06 AM | Comments
Antec Announces the High Current Gamer M PSU Series
Antec today announced the High Current Gamer M series, a mid-range wattage class of hybrid modular power supplies. The High Current Gamer M series is an extension of the HCG PSU line issued in late 2010 but features hybrid modularity, allowing for cleaner systems by reducing cable clutter behind the motherboard. The power supplies are available in 400W ($89.95), 520W ($99.95), and 620W ($119.95) variants with an 80 PLUS Bronze power efficiency rating. This means that the power supplies are up to 87% energy efficient to help reduce electric bills. The HCG-M PSU series will be available later this month.
HCG-620M Detailed Specifications:
- 620W Continuous Power
- 80 PLUS BRONZE certified - Up to 87% efficient
- 10-pin modular sockets
- 135mm double ball bearing fan with long lifetime
- All-black wires for minimal visibility in chassis
- All Japanese Heavy-Duty Capacitors
- Advanced low voltage fan control for optimal heat & noise management
- 92.9% +12V - Output for maximum CPU & GPU support
- 2 PCI-E connectors for multiple GPU support
- AQ5 - Antec Quality 5 year warranty and global online support 24/7
Posted by | Wed, Feb 01, 2012 - 10:10 AM | Comments
Windows 8 Stable On ARM, On Its Way To Developers Soon
Windows 8 on ARM will be going to developers in February, according to a source talking to CNET. This source has stated that after hands-on time with a high-profile device from a major PC manufacturer, Windows 8 is impressive and stable. It wasn't too long ago that Windows 8 on ARM had scared the industry due to its extremely unstable nature, the reports we're hearing now are a complete 180 degree turnaround compared to October 2011. The most significant aspect of Windows 8 now running stable and problem free on ARM is the fact it will provide cheaper alternatives to Intel's ultrabooks. The ARM systems are expected to be significantly cheaper, cosmetically the same, bring longer lasting battery life, and quick boot times much like what Intel demonstrated at CES with its ultrabooks. This could bode well for ARM and ARM-based Windows 8 devices, as they offer everything their competitor does and at a cheaper price. The fact ARM and Intel Windows 8 releases may come at the same time could give ARM a leg up in this cutthroat PC segment.
ARM is less costly: Maybe most significantly, one source said a high-profile device that was demonstrated with fanfare at CES running on Intel chips is expected to be priced hundreds of dollars less on ARM. That device--from a top-tier PC supplier--is cosmetically identical to the Intel device, the source, who saw the ARM-based device, said.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 06:24 PM | Comments
Sapphire Launches Two Radeon HD 7950 Cards - Single & Dual Fan Versions
SAPPHIRE Technology has introduced two new SAPPHIRE HD 7950 models today that should be interesting to our readers. The first card is the dual slot SAPPHIRE HD 7950 and it is considered 'standard' as it ships with a core clock speed of 810MHz, which is just 10MHz higher than the reference design. This card includes a GPU cooler that features just one cooling fan.
The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard. For enthusiasts wishing to maximise performance, a new version of the SAPPHIRE overclocking tool, TriXX supporting this latest generation of technology is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 04:55 PM | Comments
The Humble Bundle Expands, Now Available On Android
The Humble Bundle is now expanding its cross-platform capabilities by adding support for Android powered devices. Currently Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Osmos, and EDGE are included in this first Android ready bundle. Users whom pay more then the average price will also receive a bonus copy of World of Goo! to round out the selection. More impressive than that is the fact if a person buys the Humble Bundle for Android they also get Mac, Windows, and Linux versions of the included games. In the end whats not to love? Great indie games on all your devices and at one cost, with the ability to support the developers and charities, Its a great way to get some fantastic games, and give you that warm fuzzy feeling as your getting your game on.
The Humble Bundle Features:
- Anomaly: Warzone Earth
- Osmos
- EDGE
- Bonus: World of Goo! for those paying more than average
- Buying it for Android gives you Mac, Windows, and Linux versions
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 04:52 PM | Comments
MSI Announces the R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC Graphics Card
MSI today announced the R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC graphics card built on the latest AMD 28nm Radeon HD7950 GPU with PCI Express Gen 3 support. MSI's exclusive Twin Frozr III thermal design features dual 8cm Propeller Blade fans to achieve up to 10℃ lower GPU temperatures and 13.7dB less noise under full load! MSI's exclusive Afterburner overclocking software can be used to unleash the core and memory voltage potential providing up to 37.5% overclockability! The R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC uses Military Class III components include Hi-c CAP, Super Ferrite Choke and All Solid capacitors that have passed MIL-STD-810G level testing to deliver the best graphics card performance and quality to gamers. MSI further expands its R7900 with two new products, the R7970-2PMD3GD5/OC and R7950-2PMD3GD5/OC to provide the best choice for gamers.
The MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC adopts the advanced Twin Frozr III thermal design with dual 8cm fans with Propeller Blade technology that provide 20% more air flow. Nickel plated copper heat sink, high density cooling fins, and two 8mm Superpipe heat-pipes. Under full load, the R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC achieves a GPU temperature that is 10℃ lower and produces 13.7dB less noise than a reference design cooler! Users will be able to enjoy their all-new and high-end gaming experience with superior performance and cooling capacity.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 04:25 PM | Comments
NVIDIA GeForce 295.51 Beta Drivers Released
NVIDIA released 295.51 beta drivers this morning and we are told that these are the first public beta drivers for the Release 295 family of drivers. This driver package supports GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500-series desktop GPUs as well as ION desktop GPUs. These drivers have new SLI profiles for five game titles and new 3D Vision profiles for 31 games. You also get PhysX and HD Audio software updates! The bug fix list is rather short though, with just three fixes. Be sure to download it here.
Bug Fixes in 295.51 Beta Drivers:
- Fixes instances where the GeForce GTX 590 fan unnecessarily increased to 100%.
- Fixes instances of driver timeouts while simultaneously watching multiple videos.
- Adds edit/delete option for custom resolutions.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 09:58 AM | Comments
New FPS Gaming Record - 999 Players At Once!
MuchDifferent, a non-profit organization in Sweden recently set a new world record when it comes to PC gaming. The organization gathered up 999 players and let them play the FPS game title 'Man vs Machine' at the same time. Each gamer payed $29 to participate in the record breaking attempt using the browser-based FPS game title. Guinness World Records has certified the record breaking event! The achievement easily breaks the previous record of 600 players that was held by Planetside. It's hard to imagine that 999 players can be online in a FPS game at one time, but we are sure this will be broken soon!
“I am very proud that we could show the world such a massive game with no lag and great responsiveness,” Lönnholm added. “We never managed to get the full thousand though, because of the inherent unpredictability of the internet with players constantly timing out and logging out.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 09:42 AM | Comments
MSI Leaks Roadmap - AMD Radeon HD 7800 & 7700 Series Cards Coming Soon
If you don't feel like paying $549 for the AMD Radeon HD 7970 video card and the $449 price tag on the Radeon HD 7950 is still too much, you might be in luck shortly. It appears that AMD will be releasing the more affordable Radeon HD 7700 & 7800 series cards later this quarter. MSI appears to have leaked out information confirming this yesterday by publishing the companies Radeon HD 7000 series roadmap! The roadmap includes launch dates of AMD Radeon HD 7750/7770 cards (Cape Verde) and the Radeon HD 7850/7870 cards (Pitcairn). It looks like the AMD Radeon HD 7750 and 7770 will be launching in just two weeks and will be under $150. You have to love roadmap leaks!
According to the roadmap, HD7750 and HD7770 will be available on February 15. Both cards will have 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, and from previous reports we also know that the boards will have 900 MHz core frequency, 896 and 832 stream processors, and 56 and 52 texture units. The HD 7770 will be priced at $149, and HD 7750 will be $10 cheaper. In March AMD will release HD 7850 and HD 7870 GPUs, both featuring 2 GB of RAM. The 78x0 series will have core and memory frequencies, comparable to 77x0 series, however they will pack from 1280 (HD 7850) to 1408 (HD 7870) stream processors, and from 80 to 88 texture units. HD7870 will retail for $299, and HD7850 will be $249. The roadmap doesn't have launch date for HD 7990 card. Based on older reports, this dual-GPU card may launch in March 2012, and it will cost $849.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 09:21 AM | Comments
XFX Releases Four Radeon HD 7950 Graphics Cards
XFX today released their AMD Radeon HD 7950s - the second in XFX’s all new Radeon HD 7000 Series line-up. The cards launched by AXFX are available in four versions: Core Edition, Double Dissipation, Black Edition Single Fan and Black Edition Double Dissipation – All featuring XFX’s Ghost Thermal Solution. We have a review up on the XFX R7950 Black Edition Double Dissipation that you can read here. The cards range from 800MHz to 900MHz on the core clock speeds and are priced between $449 and $499.
Ghost Thermal technology is the optimal thermal design that allows air to pass through the heatsink directly to the PCB and core components. This exclusive design allows fan speeds to be kept lower, while allowing the heat to dissipate evenly through the card without excess noise. XFX’s exclusive Ghost Thermal design is complimented by its highly efficient HydroCell thermal solution which is a vapor chamber based on the same principles as heat-pipe technology, which uses a recirculation process and wick system for vaporization. All of this combined with XFX’s award-winning Double Dissipation dual-fan design makes it one of the coolest and quietest cards on the market while simultaneously increasing overall graphics card performance and lifespan.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 09:12 AM | Comments
PROTOTYPE 2's RADNET Edition Content Explained
Radical Entertainment once again ramps up the studio's signature over-the-top mayhem with the announcement of PROTOTYPE 2's RADNET Edition content. A limited number of the launch quantities of PROTOTYPE 2 on PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, will contain free access to RADNET via a one-time use code that gives fans 55 free pieces of additional content delivered for seven weeks following the game's launch.
"Radical Entertainment has always focused on bringing long lasting fun to its fans, and PROTOTYPE 2's RADNET content is our way of rewarding the game's most loyal supporters - the early adopters, the one's who will replay it over and over again," said Ken Rosman, Studio Head, Radical Entertainment. "We think this is great because we're giving our fans hours of additional gameplay outside PROTOTYPE 2's main narrative, and cool rewards - all delivered weekly following the game's launch!"
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 09:05 AM | Comments
ARCTIC Accelero Xtreme 7970 VGA Cooler Released at $97.95
ARCTIC today released the Accelero Xtreme 7970 GPU cooler for the AMD Radeon HD video card sereis. Don't let the name fool you as this cooling solution works with far more cards than the AMD Radeon HD 7970. According to the companies compatibility list this VGA cooler should be compatible with the following Radeon HD cards: 7970, 7950, 7870, 7850, 6970, 6950,6870, 6850, 6790, 5870, 5850, 5830. The Accelero Xtreme 7970 is said to perform better than the stock coolers by having a cooling capacity of up to 300 Watts at a fraction of the noise level. The Accelero Xtreme 7970 comes with a six-year limited warranty with MSRP at 97.95 USD / 73.83 EUR, excluding VAT.
Accelero Xtreme 7970 leads with top performance within the VGA coolers in the market. Three 92mm PWM fans (with low-noise impellers and patented fan holder) come with five heatpipes and an 84-fin heatsink allow this cooler to operate in silence between 900 to 2,000 RPM at an irresistible cooling capacity of up to 300 Watts. It is also pre-applied with the MX-4 thermal compound which greatly enhances your GPU’s thermal conductivity.
Posted by | Tue, Jan 31, 2012 - 08:57 AM | Comments
Rambus' Last Key Patent Invalidated By U.S. Government
In a bit of shocking news, the last of three patents owned by Rambus (known as the Barth patents) have been invalidated by the U.S. Government. The patents themselves pertain to memory chips that are used in personal computers and are considered to be the most valuable of Rambus' patents and intellectual property. The appeals board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) declared the last patent invalid on January 24th, the previous two were declared invalid in September 2011. Rambus' trouble doesn't end there, the company's stock dropped 60% in the weeks after it lost a $4 billion antitrust lawsuit against Micron Technology Inc and Hynix Semiconductor Inc back in November 2011. While Rambus can still appeal the latest decision from the PTO it will most likely be of no help. "We're evaluating our options," is all company spokeswoman Linda Ashmore would say. It seems Rambus is hurting from these serious blows to its patent portfolio, and surely the many companies that have been sued by Rambus because of these patents will be happy to see this turn of events.
The Barth patents had been used to accuse a long list of tech companies of infringement, earning Rambus millions of dollars in licensing fees through settlements.
Posted by | Mon, Jan 30, 2012 - 06:13 PM | Comments
IBM Uses Carbon Nanotubes To Create 9nm Tansistors
IBM's researchers have developed the world's smallest carbon nanotube transistor, that is just 9 nanometers (nm) across. The presumed physical limit of silicon transistors in comparison is 10nm across, with the smallest production grade silicon transistors currently being 22nm. The carbon nanotube transistor itself apparently consumes less power and is able to carry more current than any of today's current technology according to IBM. The results themselves also highlight the value of carbon nanotubes in the case of today's sophisticated transistors. The success of 9nm carbon nanotube transistors could potentially extend the life of today's conventional electronics, as it breaks past the 10nm limit of silicon transistors. There are some complications, however: manufacturing large batches of carbon nanotubes that function as semiconductors is proving extremely difficult. There is a need for better methods of producing pure batches of semiconducting nanotubes as well as finding better ways to place large numbers of nanotubes on a surface with perfect alignment.
"The results really highlight the value of nanotubes in the most sophisticated type of transistors," says John Rogers, professor of materials science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "They suggest, very clearly, that nanotubes have the potential for doing something truly competitive with, or complementary to, silicon."
Posted by | Mon, Jan 30, 2012 - 02:23 PM | Comments
Micron To Purchase $500 Million Worth Of Elpida Shares
Idaho-based Micron Technology will reportedly be spending at the very least $500 million in purchasing a stake in its Japanese rival, Elpida Memory, according to a Chinese Economic Daily News (EDN) report. This turn of events comes on the heels of various other reports that Elpida would propose an equity tie-up with Micron with a decision emerging sometime in February. This of course is no surprise with Taiwan's Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories have both been quoted saying that DRAM makers should be uniting as such a move would contribute to the industries overall sustainable development. What does this mean for the consumer? The DRAM market in 2011 was a war zone due to overproduction from DRAM manufacturers which led to drastic drops in PC memory prices. These latest developments might contribute to a rebound of DRAM prices at some point in 2012.
Taiwan's Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories were both quoted as saying in recent reports that DRAM makers should consider uniting as such moves could contribute to the industry's sustainable development.
Posted by | Mon, Jan 30, 2012 - 12:59 PM | Comments
January 30, 2012 News from Around the Web
Edimax WD-1000TR Wireless WHDI Caster Review @ eTeknix.com and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
With cables being a major problem in any set-up, Edimax believe they have the perfect solution; the WHDI Caster, but is it a gimmick or does it really work?
Posted by | Mon, Jan 30, 2012 - 12:56 PM | Comments
XFX R7950 & Gigabyte WindForce x3 AMD Radeon HD7950 Graphics Cards Spotted
It appears that the AMD Radeon HD7950 video card is very close to launching as XFX and Gigabyte branded models have been listed online in Europe. The two models already listed online are the XFX R7950 'Core Edition' and the Gigabyte WindForce x3 Radeon HD7950.
Posted by | Sun, Jan 29, 2012 - 04:41 PM | Comments
Aliens: Colonial Marines Cinematic Trailer Released
An awesome looking new trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines was released just before the weekend that you need to check out if you are a fan of the original game title. It looks like SEGA and Gearbox are on the right path with this game title, but gamers know that an impressive trailer doesn't make a game good.
Welcome to Aliens: Colonial Marines. Created by Gearbox Software and published by SEGA, this sci-fi first-person shooter is steeped in the eerie, claustrophobic and terrifying atmosphere that made the Aliens films successful worldwide. You and your friends will become the most badass military outfit in the galaxy - the US Colonial Marines. It's down to you to not just survive, but wipe out the Xeno infestation. Aliens: Colonial Marines begins with an ostensibly abandoned ship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, recovered in orbit around LV-426. Players lead a group of highly trained United States Colonial Marines as they board the deserted craft to uncover the fate of the crew. They will have to fight to survive unspeakable horrors and their own anxieties as they chase down the truth behind a galaxy-spanning deception that places humanity at the mercy of the most murderous and deadly species in the universe. Aliens: Colonial Marines features authentic environments, such as the surface of LV-426 and Hadley's Hope, weapons inspired by the film series and is designed to provide an exhilarating and engaging new chapter in the Aliens universe.
Posted by | Sun, Jan 29, 2012 - 04:27 PM | Comments
Scosche reVOLT c2 Dual USB Car Charger Now Available
Scosche Industries recently announced the availability of the new reVOLT c2 – dual USB car charger. The reVOLT c2 is the first and only shotgun shell sized car charger to fit two 2.1 Amp USB ports into such a compact form factor and pack enough juice to refuel two power hungry tablets simultaneously. These are starting to get very popular and this one is interested as it has enough power to charge more power hungry devices! The Scosche reVOLT c2 is available now at Scosche.com for $19.99.
“The reVOLT c2 is the world’s smallest yet most powerful car charger for USB powered devices,” said Kas Alves, Executive Vice President of Scosche Industries. “The ability to charge two tablets while traveling has become necessary as these devices have become common companions on both work and family road trips.”
Posted by | Sun, Jan 29, 2012 - 04:20 PM | Comments
Teens Send Lego Man Up 80,000 Feet on Balloon
Two Canadian teens launched a Lego man almost 80,000 feet above sea level and caught it all on video! Matthew Ho and Asad Muhammed got the idea nearly two years ago and have been planning it ever since. The video clip the mad is pretty cool, but greatly shortened. Ho and Muhammed estimate that it took their balloon craft one hour and five minutes to climb 80,000 feet before it finally popped. The parachute controlled descent took a little more than 30 minutes.
The friends spent four and a half months working on the project, mostly on Saturdays. In a video interview with the Star, they said the hardest part was making the parachute, which they decided to hand-sew, even though neither of them had any sewing experience. They also constructed a lightweight Styrofoam box to carry three point-and-shoot cameras, a wide-angle video camera and a cellphone with a downloadable GPS app. They purchased a professional weather balloon for $85 online. The helium that would lift it up came from a party supply store. For launch, they put two mitten warmers in the Styrofoam box to keep the cameras working at that altitude. The whole project cost them about $400.
Posted by | Sat, Jan 28, 2012 - 08:41 AM | Comments
Facebook Readies IPO Filing for As Soon As Next Week
Facebook Inc. could file papers for its initial public offering as early as next week, people familiar with the matter said, as anticipation mounts for what is likely to be one of the biggest debuts for a U.S. company. The deal, seen as defining moment for the latest Web investing boom, could raise as much as $10 billion and value the social network between $75 billion to $100 billion, said people familiar with the matter. A valuation of $75 billion would be below earlier expectations.
The Internet giant is close to picking Morgan Stanley to lead the deal, these people said. Wall Street banks, many of them struggling amid a crimp in trading profits, have been jostling for a leading role in the deal, which could yield them tens of millions of dollars in banker fees, potential new business and bragging rights. A nod for Morgan Stanley would mark a disappointment for rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which a year ago was viewed as having an edge to lead the deal. One person familiar with the matter said that while Morgan Stanley would likely land the coveted "lead-left" spot on an IPO financial filing, Goldman would also likely play a significant role.
Posted by | Fri, Jan 27, 2012 - 06:18 PM | Comments
Apple Earns $400,000 Per Employee, Still Won't Make iPhones In The U.S.A
It wasn't so long ago, that Apple boasted that its products were made in America. As of today very few are, most of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads, and 59 million other Apple products sold last year are made overseas. In a dinner with Silicon Valley's elite, Barack Obama asked Steven P Jobs "Why can't that work come home? The response was an unambiguous "Those jobs aren't coming back," he said according to a fellow dinner guest. Its interesting to note that Apple who is one of the best-known, and most imitated and admired companies on earth, makes $400,000 per employee, which is more then Goldman Sachs, Exxon Mobil, or even Google. Essentially it comes down to Apple's conviction that overseas factories and workers in terms of diligence and industrial skills have outpaced their American counterparts, and that "Made in the U.S.A" is not a viable option for most Apple products. Apple currently employs just 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas. The real grunt from there work force is the additional 700,000 contractors that engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones, and other Apple products for foreign companies located in Asia and Europe. Jared Bernstein, a former economic adviser to the White House has said "If it's the pinnacle of capitalism, we should be worried". It used to be American companies would once support American workers, even if it wasn't a good financial choice. It seems that those days are long gone with companies like Apple at the forefront, profits and efficiency are now far more important than generosity.
Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.
Posted by | Fri, Jan 27, 2012 - 04:03 PM | Comments
President Obama Signs Global Internet Treaty Worse Than SOPA - Meet ACTA
Months before the debate about Internet censorship raged as SOPA and PIPA dominated the concerns of web users, President Obama signed an international treaty that would allow companies in China or any other country in the world to demand ISPs remove web content in the US with no legal oversight whatsoever. The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was signed by Obama on October 1 2011, yet is currently the subject of a White House petition demanding Senators be forced to ratify the treaty. The White House has circumvented the necessity to have the treaty confirmed by lawmakers by presenting it an as “executive agreement,” although legal scholars have highlighted the dubious nature of this characterization. You can learn more about ACTA here.
Under the provisions of ACTA, copyright holders will be granted sweeping direct powers to demand ISPs remove material from the Internet on a whim. Whereas ISPs normally are only forced to remove content after a court order, all legal oversight will be abolished, a precedent that will apply globally, rendering the treaty worse in its potential scope for abuse than SOPA or PIPA. A country known for its enforcement of harsh Internet censorship policies like China could demand under the treaty that an ISP in the United States remove content or terminate a website on its server altogether. As we have seen from the enforcement of similar copyright policies in the US, websites are sometimes targeted for no justifiable reason.
Posted by | Fri, Jan 27, 2012 - 10:43 AM | Comments
SteelSeries' Sponsored Teams Begin 2012 eSports Season
SteelSeries sponsored teams Bare beginning the 2012 eSports gaming season and SteelSeries looks pretty happy with their teams. SteelSeries sponsored teams and players currently include: Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, Fnatic, Evil Geniuses, Tyloo, Tom ‘Tsquared’ Taylor, Status Quo, vVv Gaming, Team WinFakt!, Copenhagen Wolves, Team Sypher, eSuba, Team Immunity and Team FeaR. Last year the teams and players sponsored by Steelseries brought in over $2 million in prize money!
“The 2011 eSports season set new standards in competitive gaming with the level of players we saw competing on the mainstages during tournaments, the incredible numbers of spectators at events as well as those who watched live streamed matches, and the prize money,” said Kim Rom, SteelSeries CMO. “Our teams brought home more than $2 million dollars in winnings, a hockey stick growth curve that attests to the rapid growth we’re seeing at a global level. The excitement for eSports is mounting and that proof is in the checks that these players are competing for.”
Posted by | Fri, Jan 27, 2012 - 10:01 AM | Comments
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