Legit Reviews News History
Microprocessor mega-shocker: self-assembling silicon chips
Over the last several years researchers have been working towards computer chips that use self assembling circuitry built with molecules, which are incredibly small! It seems that some folk's over at MIT have made a recent leap forward and some of the labor is paying off.
They've made a pretty good leap forward recently, by using electron-beam lithography to make patterns of nano-posts on a silicon chip, which are deposited with special polymers, resulting in a hookup between the polymer and the posts which arrange themselves into useful patterns all on their own. The MIT researchers have found the polymers they're testing capable of producing a wide variety of patterns that are useful in designing circuitry. In the short term, uses could include magnetic nanoscale patterns being stamped onto the surfaces of hard disks using the tech, but there's a lot more researching to be done before the self-assemblers get busy in consumer goods.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 18, 2010 - 02:01 AM | Comments
Hacker Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely For Revenge
More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments. Police with Austin’s High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez, a former Texas Auto Center employee who was laid off last month, and allegedly sought revenge by bricking the cars sold from the dealership’s four Austin-area lots.
The dealership used a system called Webtech Plus as an alternative to repossessing vehicles that haven’t been paid for. Operated by Cleveland-based Pay Technologies, the system lets car dealers install a small black box under vehicle dashboards that responds to commands issued through a central website, and relayed over a wireless pager network. The dealer can disable a car’s ignition system, or trigger the horn to begin honking, as a reminder that a payment is due. At first, the intruder targeted vehicles by searching on the names of specific customers. Then he discovered he could pull up a database of all 1,100 Auto Center customers whose cars were equipped with the device. He started going down the list in alphabetical order, vandalizing the records, disabling the cars and setting off the horns.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 08:27 PM | Comments
CyberLink Launches PowerDVD 10 - Enables Blu-Ray 3D Playback
CyberLink today released CyberLink PowerDVD 10, an advanced universal media player for the PC that upgrades and delivers the best playback experience via a range of TrueTheater technologies. Enabling Full HD and 3D Blu-ray playback, CyberLink PowerDVD 10 features TrueTheater 3D technology, upgrading the movie experience with 3D movie playback for DVD discs and video files. Meanwhile, the improved version of TrueTheater HD, optimized for the latest CPU/GPU acceleration technologies, enables the upscaling of both DVD movies and video files to HD.
With the initial release of PowerDVD 10, consumers will enjoy Full HD Blu-ray movies, plus the new media-enhancing features of CyberLink’s advanced suite of TrueTheater technologies: TrueTheater 3D, TrueTheater HD, TrueTheater Noise Reduction, and TrueTheater Stabilizer. What’s more, with a “Mark II” scheduled for release this summer, consumers can add Blu-ray 3D playback and 2D-to-3D video file conversion to their software. Mark II will be free for consumers who already purchased PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 08:14 PM | Comments
Panasonic 3D HDTVs Sell Out In One Week!
Remember those Panasonic 3D HDTVs that we told you about back on March 10 in this news post? We hope you got yours as Panasonic said its 3-D TVs sold out in the U.S. in their first week, raising optimism the technology that helped “Avatar” break records at the box office will extend to living rooms and help boost profits. The shortage is prompting the world’s largest plasma TV maker to take back-orders from retailers, Hitoshi Otsuki, the senior managing director heading Osaka-based Panasonic’s overseas operations, said in an interview yesterday in Tokyo. He declined to specify figures. “It’s a great opportunity to turn around our TV business,” he said.
Panasonic became the first major TV maker to sell 3-D sets in the U.S. when its 50-inch full high-definition plasma TV went on sale at outlets of Best Buy Co. with a pair of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player for $2,899.99 on March 10. Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest TV maker, began offering a 55-inch 3-D model there for $3,299.99 on March 14, while Sony Corp. plans to start selling 3-D Bravia TVs from June.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 05:34 PM | Comments
New Cybersecurity Bill Introduced in Senate - President Can't Shut Down Internet At Will
A new version of a cybersecurity bill was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday that may eliminate some opposition to the measure from the tech industry. The bill would give the president a Senate-confirmed national security advisor to lead "all cybersecurity matters," whether in defense or civilian areas, according to a summary of the bill.
The new draft put out by Senators John Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe reflects consultation with industry groups and some changes to lessen tech industry opposition, said James Lewis, a technology expert with the think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The bill, which has gone through several drafts, had been stiffly opposed because, among other things, it allowed the president to shut down the Internet if needed for national security. It also required certification of cyber professionals. One major change to the bill is that the president would no longer have the power to shut down the Internet unilaterally but would have to work with industry to draw up plans in the event of a national emergency.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 05:27 PM | Comments
Digital Storm Debuts DAVINCI Workstations
Digital Storm debuted its flagship line of workstations this afternoon called DAVINCI. Digital Storm’s DAVINCI workstations harness the power of Intel’s new i7 980X processor, NVIDIA’s Quadro graphics card and are designed to fully utilize NVIDIA’s ground-breaking CUDA technology. With the DAVINCI’s line of custom workstations, Digital Storm has created a platform for creative professionals’ that will boosts productivity, allowing them to accomplish more in less time. The base configuration for the Performance configuration has a price of $2,952 and customers can take advantage of an additional $200 off during Digital Storm’s launch promotion. Each Digital Storm system comes with a 4 year parts and labor warranty, including replacement parts, and lifetime customer support.
“The philosophy behind DAVINCI is simple: engineer a workstation that completely maximizes application performance so that creative professionals can accelerate their productivity,” commented Rajeev Kuruppu, Digital Storm’s Director of Product Development. “Thanks to NVIDIA’s and Intel’s most powerful components to date, our DAVINCI workstations will be fully optimized for the forthcoming release of Adobe’s Creative Suite 5.”
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 04:09 PM | Comments
Location-based Social Networking: Foursquare
Foursquare is really starting to make the headlines when it comes to location-based social networking. Foursquare users can 'check-in' virtually when they physically step into a public location in order to let others (their friends) know they are there. While Foursquare is obviously not for those who oppose the idea of their exact whereabouts being published on the internet, for those of us embracing or experimenting with various forms of social networking, Foursquare seems to be the most natural progression of social networking as we know it. Now you can actually take a chance to bump into people with the same interests. CNN blogger Dermot Waters is a Foursquare user and has made a list of ground-rules on how to effectively use Foursquare.
1. It’s all about Serendipity, baby! To me, Foursquare is all about serendipity. It’s all about discovering that my friends are at the same place as me … or that I just missed them. Or discovering how much you can learn about a friend by the types of places they frequent (and sometimes wanting to join them). It’s about battling out a friend or a foursquare nemesis for a mayorship of your local bar.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 03:59 PM | Comments
ATI Catalyst 10.3a Driver Performance Benchmark Testing!
Late yesterday we got word that ATI would be coming out with a Catalyst 10.3 preview update driver that would increase the performance of more than a dozen PC games. We don't think it's a coincidence that this driver just happens to come out the week before the GeForce GTX 480 graphics card is due to launch at PAX East. Read on to see how Catalyst 10.3 drivers do in the benchmarks when we compare them to Catalyst 10.2 drivers on a Radeon HD 5870 graphics card!
After spending less than a day with the ATI Catalyst 10.3a drivers, it appears that they bring better performance to the majority of PC game titles that we tried them on. The only game title that we didn't see a performance improvement on was Batman: Arkham Asylum, but the performance hit wasn't even significant. In the other games that we benchmarked we got a small boost in performance, with the best performance gain seen coming from Tom Clancy's Hawx. Having a 19% performance gain in a game title from a driver update is amazing and something great to see. Speaking of sight, we also didn't notice any image quality differences, so it looks like ATI isn't cheating on the image quality to get better performance...
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 03:16 PM | Comments
LucidLogix Gets $8 million More in Funding - HYDRA 200
In response to recent sales of HYDRA 200 real time distributed processers for use in the consumer gaming and professional PC markets, LucidLogix Technologies has received an additional $8 million in funding from current investors Rho Ventures, Giza Venture Capital and Genesis Partners, bringing total capitalization to $40 million. The MSI Big Bang Fuzion LGA 1156 motherboard has the Hydra 200 on it and retails for $359.99 plus shipping.
Moshe Steiner Lucid CEO said, “The confidence level of our investors has come from our ability to successfully launch and deliver our second generation HYDRA 200 product to mass production, which is already on motherboards from one of the top three manufacturers in the world, MSI, and with more partners in the pipeline. The additional investment will enable the company to expand to international markets and boost sales.”
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 02:57 PM | Comments
New Slimmed Down Xbox Motherboard Pictures Leaked!
There are pictures starting to surface of Microsoft's reported "next-generation” Xbox Game Console. The leaked photos supposedly show the motherboard of the “Valhalla” model of the Xbox 360. This new Xbox is supposed to be much smaller than the original with a consolidated GPU/CPU with a much smaller heatsink, and extra SATA ports.
Last week, speculation surrounding a pending announcement of the oft-rumored, slimmed down "Valhalla" model of the Xbox 360 was kicked into high gear, thanks to a Microsoft hiring notice for a motherboard engineer, and Steve Ballmer's reference to "more form factors" for the hardware. Earlier today, a Chinese tech forum purportedly posted a pair of pictures of the newly remodeled motherboard, which has undergone a massive size reduction from the current iteration of Xbox 360 hardware.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 01:35 PM | Comments
How US Government Spies Use Facebook
The US Department of Justice this week released slides from a presentation deck titled Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites. The document was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). The DoJ presentation describes Facebook as much more co-operative with law enforcement requests for user information than Twitter and MySpace are. It also explains to officers what the advantages of going undercover on social networking sites are. This is a very interesting read about social networking sites that many of us use on a daily basis and how they interact with the government.
MySpace and Twitter, on the other hand, are described differently. MySpace "requires a search warrant for private messages/bulletins less than 181 days old." Twitter "will not preserve data without legal process," has a "stated policy of producing data only in response to legal process" and has no Law Enforcement Guide (or spying manual, as some parties call such documents). Wouldn't you like your social network to say no before it says yes and require a warrant before handing over information to law enforcement? We reached out to Facebook this evening about the government claim that it was unusually co-operative but have not yet received a response.
New York Times Technology News
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 11:08 AM | Comments
NVIDIA Releases 197.13 Video Card Drivers - Fixes Fan Issue in 196.75 Drivers
Nvidia has some new Forceware 197.13 beta drivers out for desktop GPUs and notebook GPUs this morning. This driver resolves fan speed issues reported with version 196.75 drivers. NVIDIA asks that you remove 196.75 drivers and update to either 196.21 WHQL drivers or to this 197.13 WHQL-candidate driver. This WHQL-candidate driver supports GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200 and 300-series desktop GPUs and Next Generation ION GPUs! Let's hope NVIDIA got the fan issue sorted out for good!
New in Version 196.75
- Adds support for Next Generation ION.
- Adds support for GeForce GT 320, GeForce GT 330, and GeForce GT 340.
- Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0129.
- Upgrades HD Audio driver to version 1.0.9.1 (for supported GPUs).
- Adds SLI and multi-GPU support for top new gaming titles including Assassin Creed II, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City, Mass Effect 2, Napoleon: Total War, and Zombie Driver.
- Enhanced SLI support for World of Warcraft and Unigine.
- Adds Ambient Occlusion support for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Need for Speed: Shift, Resident Evil 5, RUSE, and Street Fighter IV.
- Adds override anti-aliasing support for Mass Effect 2.
- Includes numerous bug fixes.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 11:01 AM | Comments
NVIDIA 3D Vision Driver 197.13 Released For Download Today
NVIDIA has just released a brand new 3D Vision Driver for those that are running the latest graphics driver and a 3D Vision-Ready display setup! The 3D Vision driver adds 3D Vision game support for 23 additional game titles and fixes rendering issues in the eight games listed below. Looks like this is an update that and 3D Vision user will want to grab!
PC Game Fixes:
- Battle Forge – fixed in-game convergence
- Borderlands – fixed in-game convergence for the latest patch now available
- Command and Conquer 3 - Tiberiam Wars – fixed vapor effect
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – fixed glow effect
- Sacred 2: Fallen Angel – fixed water/smoke double rendering
- SAS Secure Tomorrow – fixed double rendering in windows and 2D laser sight
- Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – fixed rendering issue
- The Witcher – fixed double rendering on sword effect
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 10:37 AM | Comments
A-DATA Launches 8GB XPG Gaming Series Memory Kit For P55 & H55 Motherbaords
A-DATA today introduces its new XPG Gaming Series DDR3-1600G 8GB dual channel kit. Designed for gaming enthusiast who adopts the Intel P55 and H55 motherboards, the XPG Gaming Series DDR3-1600G 8GB dual channel kit offers CL9-9-9-24 timing at a voltage of 1.65V, and high-capacity to optimize the PC performance for ultimate gaming experiences. The new XPG Gaming Series DDR3-1600G 8GB dual channel kits are now distributed through selected distributors and resellers.
“The ultimate gaming experiences are relying on proper choice of PC hardware and overall performance. Therefore, we introduced XPG Gaming Series DDR3-1600G as 8GB dual channel kit.“ said Action Chen, Deputy Project Manager of A-DATA XPG Department. “Gaming enthusiasts are able now to enjoy the extreme capacity and high speed by using XPG Gaming Series DDR3-1600G 8GB dual channel kit with 64 bit OS and satisfy their insatiable thirst for ultimate gaming experiences.”
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 08:29 AM | Comments
March 17 News from Around the Web
iXBT Labs Review: AMD 890GX Chipset Overview and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"The AMD 890GX chipset is obviously an evolutional solution called to put company's product line in order and introduce the new Southbridge. Judging by the features of the latter, it will let manufacturers make motherboards with rich enough features and moderate cost prices."
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 07:28 AM | Comments
EVGA Announces the Classified SR-2 (Super Record 2) Dual-CPU Motherboard
EVGA has released the Classified SR-2 (Super Record 2) motherboard, which is said to be the absolute ultimate platform for the extreme user. It takes everything that made the X58 Classified 4-way SLI motherboard great and doubled it up. Now you can experience the ultimate in overclocked multithreaded performance by way of Dual 1366 sockets which allow for hyper-threaded Intel Xeon CPU’s to be combined together for massive amounts of workload to be spread across a multitude of processing threads. If you are wanting one of the boards the part number is 270-WS-W555-A1 and it carries an MSRP of $599.99. Just remember that the board only supports Dual QPI Socket LGA 1366 Intel Xeon 5600 and 5500 processors if you plan on running two CPUs!
Classified SR-2 Motherboard Features:
- Supports Intel Xeon Dual QPI Socket 1366 Processors
- Intel 5520 Chipset
- 12 DIMM Triple-Channel DDR3 1333MHz+ (up to 48GB)
- Enthusiast Layout Supporting 2-way SLI, 3-way SLI, 4-way SLI or CrossFireX
- 2 SATA III 6.0GB/s Ports, 6 SATA II 3.0GB/s Ports, 2 E-SATA Ports
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports (10/100/1000)
- 8 Channel High Definition Audio
- 2 USB 3.0/2.0 Ports, 10 USB 2.0 Ports (6 I/0, 4 Internal)
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 06:39 AM | Comments
AMD Announces Strong Support for Upcoming AMD Opteron 6000 Series Platform
AMD has announce a very 'robust' lineup of upcoming motherboard and peripheral products for the recently announced AMD Opteron 6000 Series, or, “Magney-Cours” which will contain 8- and 12 core processors. Nortech, ZT Systems, and SGI are only some of the names mentioned when looking at the list of builder and infrastructure partners who have agreed to support this next-gen platform.
“Our industry partners are ready to showcase the advantages of AMD’s new Direct Connect Architecture 2.0,” said Patrick Patla, vice president and general manager, Server and Embedded Divisions, AMD. “The additional performance enabled with more cores, more memory channels and more features is a value their customers are eager to put to work.”
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 02:17 AM | Comments
EVGA W555 Dual CPU Benchmarks
The spiritual successor to the Skulltrail platform has been unveiled with quite the show of force. Two hex-core Xeon processors are put to the test under traditional air-coolers and non-traditional liquid nitrogen pots. Hitting speeds fo 4.1GHz on air and 5.5GHz on liquid nitrogen is no small feat and the system demolishes the wPrime and Cinebench R11 benchmarks.
The truly gigantic mainboard leaves the observer in 'shock and awe' to use the words of some not particularly popular retired politicians. It's larger than any EATX or workstation mainboard I've seen, and the red-and-black colour combination adds to the visual power. Every single feature you could think of is there - up to 96GB of RAM support in 12 DIMM sockets, at speeds up to DDR3-2000 across six channels, native SATA3 and USB3, in addition to the usual spread of SATA and USB connectors, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and of course seven PCIe v2 x16 slots, four of them able to act as true x16 slots in parallel, thanks to a pair of Nvidia Nforce 200 PCIe bridges for a total of 64 PCIe v2 lanes.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 17, 2010 - 01:21 AM | Comments
Intel Applauds FCC's National Broadband Plan
Intel Corporation today commended FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and the FCC broadband team for delivering a meaningful and ambitious plan for U.S. leadership in broadband. The National Broadband Plan, released today, has the potential to help create jobs and spur economic growth, unleash new waves of innovation and investment, improve education and health care, and enhance the vibrancy of our democracy.
"We believe in the transformative potential of widespread, high-quality, affordable broadband," said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. "To lead in competitiveness, innovation and job creation in the 21st century, our country must plan ahead. This means investing in next-generation wireless and wireline infrastructure, increasing home broadband adoption, and enabling commercial spectrum to flow to uses that the market values most."
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 06:37 PM | Comments
NVIDIA Optimus Profiles Have Been Updated With Driver 189.42
If you are one of the lucky owners of one of the recently released NVIDIA Optimus notebooks we have a surprise for you. Your notebook is more up to date today than it was a few days ago. How so? Well, a few days ago we sent out the first profile updates for Optimus with over 30 new Optimus profiles, including some for upcoming games that haven’t even been released, like StarCraft II and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. To ensure the updates are working properly be sure to grab the latest Optimus driver from nvidia.com/optimus, which is driver update 189.42.
The new profile updates are another facet of Optimus that make its technology ‘just work.’ A profile tips off the system to the kind of application being used and which GPU makes the most sense for that application. Most types of applications are automatically detected by Optimus and do not need a profile. However certain applications rely on profiles to help determine the right graphics system. Profiles are updated frequently to ensure new applications are leveraging the NVIDIA GPU. Optimus notebooks receive updates automatically, silently, and in the background – no annoying prompts or notifications to deal with. The update process works similarly to how virus software keeps their database of virus definitions up-to-date. This week the first Optimus update happened. And we’re going to keep making updates to help make your notebook keep getting better and better. All automatically and in the background.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 04:33 PM | Comments
Intel’s Shares Rise the Most in Almost Seven Months
Intel Corp. rose the most in almost seven months after releasing a new line of server chips, stoking optimism that it can capitalize on a rebound in demand for computers. Intel rose 84 cents, or 4 percent, to $22.01 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, the biggest gain since Aug. 28. AMD climbed 48 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $9.40 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, got a jump on rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which plans to release its Magny-Cours design in 8- and 12-core versions later this month. The companies are counting on customers increasing technology budgets as they recover from the recession. Last year, many customers delayed or reduced spending on sever computers that run their corporate databases and Web sites.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 04:24 PM | Comments
ATI Catalyst 10.3 Preview Update Driver Coming Out Tomorrow - ATI Ready For GF100
We got word that ATI Catalyst 10.3 preview update drivers are coming out tomorrow and these drivers have huge performance improvements in them. It would appear that ATI has been holding some performance back on the Radeon HD 5000 series and has just unlocked all the performance currently available by driver updates to help keep the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 graphics card within arms reach when it launches on March 26th in Boston at PAX East. Click the link below and head to the forums to see the performance improvements. The mentioned games are: 3DMark Vantage,Aliens vs. Predator, Battleforge, Call of Duty: World at War, Company of Heroes, Crysis and Crysis Warhead, Devil May Cry 4, DiRT 2, DiRT 2, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Call of Pripyat Benchmark, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – Clear Sky, Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., Unigine Tropics, World in Conflict and Wolfenstein. Get ready for an epic video card battle on March 26th when the Radeon HD 5870 and the GeForce GTC 480 face off for the very first time!
UPDATE: Read our Catalyst 10.3a Performance Analysis here!
This ATI Catalyst driver update will unlock new performance improvements on top of the already previewed features in the initial Catalyst 10.3 Preview driver we sampled you in February. This driver will be available to download on March 17th from undgerground.amd.com and it will be called "Catalyst 10.3a Preview". On March 24th we will post the official Catalyst 10.3 WHQL certified on amd.com. The difference between the two is that Catalyst 10.3a Preview will contain future Eyefinty 6 updates and an Alien vs. Predator optimization which the Catalyst 10.3 WHQL posting does not have.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 03:46 PM | Comments
ATI Radeon 5000 Series Cards Are Great At Recovery of WiFi Passwords
ElcomSoft has released new software that accelerates the recovery of Wi-Fi passwords and password protected iPhone and iPod backups by using ATI Radeon HD 5000 series video cards. The support of ATI Radeon 5000 series video accelerators allows ElcomSoft to perform password recovery up to 20 times faster compared to Intel top of the line quad-core CPUs, and up to two times faster compared to enterprise-level NVIDIA Tesla solutions. Supporting GPU acceleration technologies offered by both major GPU manufacturers, ATI and NVIDIA, ElcomSoft offers the fastest and most cost-efficient wireless security audit solution on the market. Elcomsoft has provided us with some benchmark results of running Wireless Security Auditor software on several high-end processors and video cards that can be seen below. As you can see an ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card blows the other solutions out of the water with 103,000 password attempts per second! It should be noted that under the benchmark results the fine print reads: "These benchmarks are missing NVIDIA’s latest boards based on the new Fermi chipset, NVIDIA’s next generation GPU architecture. NVIDIA Tesla S2050/S2070 are claimed to surpass everything announced by NVIDIA’s competitors, but will be available only in Q2/Q3’2010." Looks like NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 480 is going to do well on this software too.
Benchmarks performed by ElcomSoft demonstrate that ATI Radeon HD5970 accelerated password recovery works up to 20 times faster than Core i7-960, Intel’s current top of the line CPU unit. The password recovery speed of the new sub-thousand dollar video card from ATI exceeds the performance of enterprise-grade NVIDIA Tesla solutions priced at $10,000. When password recovery is concerned, ATI Radeon HD5970 provides twice the performance of NVIDIA Tesla for a fraction of the price.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 02:52 PM | Comments
Thermaltake Launches Frio Overclocking CPU Cooler
Thermaltake recently showed off their latest CPU air-cooler specifically designed for overclocking, the Thermaltake Frio at CeBIT 2010 and now we are told that is is available in the market. Its name is its mission, as Frio is the Spanish word for cool. With a maximum cooling capacity of up to 220W this high-end cooler is the ideal solution for overclockers and power-users alike. The universal socket support makes it compatible to all computer processors currently available on the market.
Unlike traditional up-side-down air flow designs, the Frio utilizes a tower side-flow design to optimize cooling performance. To attain maximum cooling performance, Thermaltake’s Frio adopts 5 Φ8mm high-efficiency heat-pipes conducting heat from Nickel coated mirror base directly into the cooling tower which is made of 48 0.4mm thick specially designed aluminum fins to increase the overall thermal dissipation area. The preinstalled powerful 120mm OC VR fan can be manually adjusted between 1200RPM and 2500RPM according to differing user needs. An additional OC fan is already included in the package and can be installed to further maximize airflow under most stressful conditions.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 02:24 PM | Comments
Razer Releases First Gaming Grade Mouse for Left Handed Gamers
Razer today announced the Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition, the very first gaming mouse designed with the professional left-handed gamer in mind. The Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition was created to meet community demands for a mouse that was purposefully engineered to give lefties the competitive edge, combining a comfortable ergonomic form factor with a powerfully precise 3.5G infrared sensor. The Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition mouse costs US $59.99 or EU €59.99.
The Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition features a unique ergonomic form factor to give lefties a comfort they can call their own for extended gaming sessions. The Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition boasts five programmable Hyperesponse buttons, as well as the trademark 1000Hz Ultrapolling technology, providing gamers with the speed necessary to make every moment count. Loaded with a 3500dpi Razer Precision™ 3.5G infrared sensor that offers over four times more precision than a standard 800dpi mouse, the Razer DeathAdder Left Hand Edition is fully equipped to frag, especially when you strike from the blind side.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 12:28 PM | Comments
Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown Processors Now Available For $1099
Today is the big day for Intel as they have released their six-core Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Processor into the retail market. This means you can now purcahse it inside of pre-built systems from companies like Alienware, CyberPower, MainGear, Dell and others. It also means that you can get this 6 core monster from online e-tailors like Newegg.com from a drop-in replacement for your X58 platform systems. The Gulftown processor carries part number BX80613I7980X and is available for $1099.99 plus $0.99 shipping from Newegg.com. Be sure to read our Intel Core i7-980X Six-Core Processor Extreme Edition Review if you are thinking about buying one!
Upgrade your system with the Core i7-980X and own the finest processor in the world. This is Intel's first six-core CPU based on the 32nm manufacturing process, designed to handle the most intense compute and visualization workloads you can throw at it. Clocked at 3.33GHz, it allows you to multitask faster and unleash powerful media creation tools. Best of all, the 12MB of Intel Smart Cache gives you blazing speeds you never realized were possible. Take advantage of Intel Turbo Boost technology which dynamically accelerates CPU performance to match your workload. Hyper-Threading technology effectively doubles the output of your six physical cores, giving you unmatched data processing. The Integrated Memory Controller optimizes data bandwidth with up to three channels. Add the Intel Core i7-980X to your system and you’ll never look back. Experience the speed, versatility and raw power of massive multi-core processing today!
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 12:14 PM | Comments
Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Beta Available For Download
Microsoft unveiled the Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview this morning that includes expanded support for HTML5, hardware-accelerated graphics and text, and a new JavaScript engine. Together these allow developers to use the same markup and deliver graphically and functionally rich Web applications that take advantage of modern PC hardware through a modern operating system. If you want to try IE9 out you can download it at IETestDrive.com.
As part of its commitment to interoperability, Microsoft detailed its support for a number of HTML5 specifications, including CSS3, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), XHTML parsing, and the video and audio tags using industry-standard (H.264/MPEG4 and MP3/AAC) codecs, among others. In addition, Microsoft demonstrated a new JavaScript engine that uses the multiple cores of today’s modern chips to effectively manage computing resources and improve Web performance. By combining increased interoperability with a new JavaScript engine and Direct 2D technology, Internet Explorer 9 enables Web developers to provide users with richer experiences that render more quickly and consistently.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 11:46 AM | Comments
ZOTAC Unleashes World’s First NVIDIA ION Upgrade Kits - Discrete ION Graphics Card
ZOTAC International today unveils the world’s first NVIDIA ION Upgrade Kits featuring a ZOTAC small form factor motherboard and ZOTAC ION graphics card for a combination that delivers phenomenal value with premium graphics and outstanding user experience.
A ZOTAC ION graphics card with 16 unified shaders and 512MB of DDR3 memory empowers the ZOTAC ION Upgrade Kits with high-end features such as NVIDIA CUDA and PureVideo HD technologies, DirectX 10.1, DirectCompute, OpenGL and OpenCL compatibility for a high-performance and feature rich experience. High definition digital content playback is where the ZOTAC ION Upgrade Kits shine, with hardware acceleration for many popular video formats such as AVC, VC-1, MPEG-4, DivX and many more. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 acceleration enables the ZOTAC ION Upgrade Kits to playback streaming high definition Internet video perfectly for flawless video and audio quality.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 09:42 AM | Comments
ASUS Launches P7F7-E WS SuperComputer Motherboard
ASUS recently launched the ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer motherboard which maximizes transmission speeds by integrating the industry's latest I/O technologies such as USB 3.0, SATA 6G storage interface, and IEEE 1394b FireWire standard. Additionally, the ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer is equipped with the LGA1156 socket and the latest Intel 3450 chipset with onboard graphics. For extreme gaming enjoyment, up to four ATI CrossFireX cards or 3-way/2-way NVIDIA SLI cards can be accommodated to generate smoother and sharper visuals. It also leverages NVIDIA CUDA parallel computing architecture to support up to four NVIDIA Tesla cards with Clarkdale Processors for intensive high-performance computing.
The ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer is the best choice for providing comprehensive I/O support. It includes USB 3.0 ports—the latest connectivity standard with 4.8Gb/s speeds—to support next-generation components and peripherals. USB 3.0 transfers data ten times faster and is backward compatible with USB 2.0 components. Additionally, the ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer includes Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/s storage interfaces for 6.0Gbps data throughput, thus enhancing scalability, accelerating data retrieval, and doubling the bandwidth of current bus systems. To support FireWire-enabled digital video recorders and computers, the ASUS P7F7-E WS SuperComputer also includes two IEEE 1394b ports supporting up to 800Mb/s speeds—doubling the previous IEEE 1394a speeds.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 09:20 AM | Comments
WD Introduces 1TB My Passport SE Portable Hard Drive for Mac Users
WD today introduced its new one terabyte (TB) and 750 gigabyte (GB) capacity My Passport SE for Mac portable USB drives. Available at WD's online store, the new My Passport SE for Mac portable drives are formatted for Mac and compatible with Apple Time Machine software. MSRP for the My Passport SE for Mac 1 TB portable drive is $199.99 USD and for the 750 GB model is $179.99 USD.
Perfect for saving, storing and backing up Mac computers, these ultra-portable 1 TB and 750 GB My Passport SE drives are easy to carry because they are USB-powered and do not need an external power adapter. Equipped with 256-bit hardware encryption with password protection for an extra level of security, this small drive with mega-capacity give users peace-of-mind knowing that their data is protected from unauthorized access or theft.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 09:13 AM | Comments
Coolink Corator DS Gapless Direct Touch CPU Cooler Review
Today we look at Coolink’s newest CPU cooler the Corator DS featuring Coolinks new Gapless Direct Touch (GDT) technology. Four large 8mm heatpipes, a dual fin stack design and a PWM controlled SWiF2 120mm fan are among the features that enable the Corator DS to achieve an optimal balance between outstanding cooling performance and quiet operation. Read on to see how it performs on our Intel Core i7 test system against nearly two dozen other coolers!
Back in January Coolink released its newest CPU cooler called the Corator DS, and they sent us one to test. Coolink is known for inexpensive coolers that perform, and in times like now inexpensive is good. This time around Coolink is bringing new technology to the market with their cooler: Gapless Direct Touch. Just like the name suggests, the base of the Corator DS is Heatpipe Direct Touch (HDT) design instead of the normal gaps between the round pipes. Also, the base of the HDT design is copper fitted, so that fills the space between the heatpipes. It allows the base to perform as an HDT cooler and also has the benefits of a solid base with no gaps. What also makes this interesting is that Coolink is using the Noctua SecuFirm2 mounting system...
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 09:07 AM | Comments
Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 Web Browsers Now Available
Today, Opera Software released the final versions of the world’s most popular mobile Web browsers, Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 for J2ME and BlackBerry phones and S60 and Windows Mobile phones respectively. Now, nearly any mobile phone can support an Opera-driven Web experience, complete with unmatched speed, style and cost savings. Simply go to m.opera.com/ to download it directly to your phone today. Today’s release puts the finishing touches on the Opera mobile-browsing duo. The focus is on delivering the best Internet experience on nearly any mobile phone, along with a unified look and feel and innovative favorite features, such as Speed Dial, password manager and tabbed browsing.
“Keeping in mind the needs and wants of our 50+ million users, we have emphasized speed, desktop-like functionality and data savings in our mobile browsers. Today, we have made it even easier for everyone to surf, search and socialize on the Web,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 08:48 AM | Comments
Spring Design Launches U.S. Web Store for Alex eReader - $399
Spring Design today announced that the dual screen multimedia Alex eReader will be available online at springdesign.com today for $399. Customers may visit the online store to pre-order their Android-based Alex eReader supporting eBooks in EPUB, PDF, HTML and TXT formats. With Alex's full Internet browsing using WiFi connectivity, users can read and download books, access online audio and video content including YouTube videos, communicate using Gmail and chat and use a number Google Android applications. Due to localization of international versions with partners, pre-orders placed on the Web in the U.S., will be shipped no later than mid-April.
Alex features a 6" EPD (Electronic Paper Display) screen and a full color 3.5" Android based touchscreen LCD enabling users to multi-task over the Internet while reading their eBooks. A touchscreen virtual keyboard supports easy searches as well as creation and access to interactive hyperlinks. The Alex eReader weighs only 11 ounces and measures 4.7" by 8.9" and less than a half inch deep. Users may add their own content or download content to the microSD card offering expansion of user libraries up to 32GB. The Alex may be updated over WiFi and USB 2.0 and comes with headphones, AC/USB power connector and a padded cover.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 08:15 AM | Comments
Crucial Launches Energy-Efficient DDR3 1333MHz 1.35v Server Memory
Lexar Media today introduced Crucial DDR3L-1333Mhz 1.35v energy-efficient server memory modules in support of the new Intel Xeon processor 5600 series. Available in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB RDIMM and VLP (very low profile) RDIMM modules, Crucial DDR3L memory modules are fully compatible and have been validated with the new Intel Xeon processor 5600 series. Servers across the enterprise, including those utilized for virtualization, data storage and processing, and blade servers will reap the benefits of new Crucial DDR3L memory.
DDR3L is the official name for JEDEC standard DDR3 low-voltage memory, which operates at voltages of 1.35v, as opposed to the 1.5v used by standard DDR3. The new DDR3L memory is compatible with legacy DDR3 systems and will also run at 1.5v -- although 1.35v voltages are only achieved when the overall system supports them. New DDR3L technology enables an overall memory subsystem power savings of up to 20% over DDR3, and up to 40% memory subsystem power savings over legacy DDR2-based servers. The reduction in memory power consumption also reduces the cooling demands of the overall system. DDR3L memory provides no-compromise performance compared to DDR3, and considerably higher throughput in comparison to DDR2.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 08:10 AM | Comments
Intel Unveils New Server Chips Ahead of AMD
Intel is set to release its newest server chips on Tuesday and thus maintain market share dominance over rival AMD. The new 32 nanometer, six-core "Westmere-EP" Xeon 5600 processors are designed to power both servers and high-end enthusiast PCs. These chips will be released under the Xeon product line for servers, and Core i7 for desktop PCs.
The new microprocessors, designed to power both servers and high-end desktop PCs, are the first of Intel's server chips featuring smaller transistors that have helped the company's laptop and desktop chips push stronger performance while eking out better energy efficiency.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 16, 2010 - 02:43 AM | Comments
ATI Has Announced Its Open Stereo 3D Initiative at GDC 2010
ATI is bringing some game to to the 3D scene. Partnering with third party vendors to create an open initiative. The open initiative will give consumers more choices to satisfy the 3D urge!
The idea of the open initiative is to offer consumers additional choices when selecting an S3D solution, more innovations and of course help in lowering the costs for the hardware and software making it easier for wider adoption. ATI (AMD) and its partners will supposedly soon announce a lineup of 3D products, including a 3D-enabled ATI Eyefinity technology (to counter Nvidia’s 3D Vision Surround), 120Hz 3D-ready displays and notebooks, active shutter glasses and passive polarized ones (have you heard of passive shutter glasses!?), S3D support for DirectX 9, 10 and 11, Quad Buffered OpenGL, Blu-ray 3D support.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 08:07 PM | Comments
Intel Announces X25-V Value SATA SSD at $125
Intel Corporation announced today a new addition to its award-winning lineup of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs): the Intel X25-V Value SATA SSD (part number SSDSA2MP040G2R5). Priced at $125, the 40 gigabyte (GB) drive is aimed at value segment netbooks and dual-drive/boot drive desktop set-ups to offer users the performance and reliability advantages of solid-state computing at an affordable, entry-level price. The 40GB Intel X25-V complements Intel’s higher performance Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD product line that offers 80GB and 160GB capacities and utilizes the same 34nm NAND flash memory. On our pricing engine the drive can be found for $129.99 shipped, so it is on the market and ready for purchase!
SSDs can replace or coexist with traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). With no movable parts or spinning platters, SSDs are more reliable and higher performing than HDDs. This makes users more productive as they experience faster overall system responsiveness. With the affordable price point, consumers can now enjoy the benefits of an SSD by adding an SSD option to their current desktop PC in a dual-drive or “boot drive” set up. In a dual-drive configuration, the Intel X25-V SSD is added to a desktop with an existing HDD. The SSD is loaded with the operating system and favorite applications to take advantage of the speedy performance which is nearly 4x faster than a 7200RPM HDD.** Users keep their existing HDD as a means of higher capacity data storage. This capability is commonly referred to as a “boot” drive since the SSD accelerates boot or start up time. For example, with 40GB of boot drive capacity, a user could load the SSD with the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft Office applications and their favorite gaming application, such as Dragon Age: Origins*, and experience up to 43 percent faster overall system performance or 86 percent improvement in their gaming experience.** The SSD also speeds operations such as system start up, the opening of applications and files or resuming from standby.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 11:50 AM | Comments
Honeywell Announces New Thermal Management Material - PCM45M-SP
Honeywell Electronic Materials announced today a new printable thermal management material called PCM45M-SP that is designed to help manage the tremendous heat produced by increasingly powerful semiconductors in portable computing devices such as laptops and netbooks. PCM45M-SP can withstand more than 1,000 hours at 150 degrees C without degradation and more than 1,000 temperature cycles. The application is not limited to heat sink design, and the material may be applied to a component, heat sink or thermal spreader in any shape built into the printing screen. Additionally, the enhanced stability of this new material minimizes or eliminates the need for pre-mixing, conserving time and resources. The PCM45M-SP phase change thermal interface consists of a sophisticated thermally conductive material with optimum filler size distribution to achieve maximum packing density compared with conventional phase change materials. PCM45M-SP changes phase at 45 degrees C to ensure maximum surface conformance.
"Mobile computing devices such as laptops and netbooks are placing increased demands on thermal management materials to enable high performance and ensure a long lifespan," said Tim Chen, packaging leader for Honeywell Electronic Materials. "To meet that challenge, we have combined our industry leading phase-change chemistry with an innovative formulation specifically designed for these types of mobile devices."
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 10:36 AM | Comments
MSI Announces 17-inch GE700 Intel Core i5 Gaming Laptop
The GE700, MSl’s latest 17" gaming and entertainment notebook computer comes with an all new jet black body and high tech brushed silver finish as well as Intel's advanced core i5 processor with the top-end ATI Radeon HD 5730 discrete graphics card, a subwoofer, and dual hard disk architecture. The ATI Radeon HD5730 discrete graphics card has 1GB of DDR3 memory and should be able to play DX11 game titles at respectable frame rates for a notebook!
MSI Marketing Director Sam Chern points out that the MSI GE700, a 17" gaming and entertainment laptop, utilizes Intel Turbo Boost Technology for dynamic enhanced processing efficiency, a high-end discrete graphics card to increase image processing performance, and cutting-edge SRS Premium Sound™. Furthermore, the GE700 boasts MSI's exclusive ECO Engine Power Saving Technology, Cinema Pro, and GPU Boost Technology to give you just the right amount of battery power you need for the task at hand.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 10:27 AM | Comments
Kingston Technology Creates World’s Fastest Memory - 2400MHz HyperX Kit
Kingston Technology just announced seconds ago that it has developed the fastest Intel-certified memory in the world! Running at 2400MHz, Kingston’s HyperX dual-channel DDR3 memory kit (Kingston part#: KHX2400C9D3T1K2/4GX) gained Intel XMP certification on the Core i7 platform by being able to run at 2400MHz with 9-11-9-27 2T timings at 1.65V with full stability on the Intel test platform. LR asked Kingston if we could get a sample of this amazing memory kit and was told that it was an engineering achievement and not in production just yet. It looks like we have to wait a little longer to be able to purchase this killer memory kit!
The 2400MHz kit runs at 9-11-9-27-2 timings at 1.65 volts and was developed for enthusiasts, gamers, and benchmarkers looking to scale new memory heights. As with all Kingston memory, the 2400MHz kit was created with the highest design-engineering principles and subjected to OEM-quality production and testing standards to gain Intel XMP certification. The memory was tested to great success on several P55-based systems including the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P motherboard.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 10:08 AM | Comments
Google ‘99% certain’ to Shut China Search Engine
Google has drawn up detailed plans for the closure of its Chinese search engine and is now “99.9 per cent” certain to go ahead as talks over censorship with the Chinese authorities have reached an apparent impasse, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking.
The signs that Google was on the brink of closing Google.cn, its local search service in China, came two months after it promised to stop bowing to censorship there. But while a decision could be made very soon, the company is likely to take some time to follow through with the plan as it seeks an orderly closure and takes steps to protect local employees from retaliation by the authorities, the person familiar with its position said. Google is also seeking ways to keep its other operations in China going, although some executives fear that a backlash from the Chinese authorities could make it almost impossible to keep a presence in the country.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 09:55 AM | Comments
NVIDIA Announces 3DTV Play Software Technology
NVIDIA today announced NVIDIA 3DTV Play software technology that allows consumers to connect their GeForce GPU-powered desktop or notebook computer to new 3D TVs, for the ultimate in big screen 3D gaming action. For the launch of 3DTV Play, NVIDIA is teaming up with Panasonic on its coast-to-coast 2010 "Panasonic Touch the Future Tour," where consumers can test drive 3DTV Play-based PCs running on the new Panasonic VIERA Full HD 3D TVs, that just launched this month. NVIDIA 3DTV Play will be available later this Spring for $39.99 USD and will be provided free of charge for current NVIDIA 3D Vision customers as well.
NVIDIA is all about raising the bar of PC gaming, and gamers are going to love playing in 3D on one of the new Panasonic VIERA 50-inch full HD 3D TVs," said Phil Eisler, general manager of 3D Vision technology at NVIDIA. "This is truly one of those 'must experience to believe it' moments, and we are ecstatic that consumers will have the chance to try it for themselves on any of our 15 stops across the US.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 09:26 AM | Comments
March 15 News from Around the Web
Diamond ATI TV Wonder 750 USB Review @ OCC and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"For such a small product, the Diamond ATI TV Wonder 750 USB manages to do a lot. It has outstanding over-the-air image quality, with absolutely amazing looking high definition signals. The small size of the unit makes it easily carried in a laptop case, and with support for broadcasting signals all over the world, it is perfect for downtime on business or personal trips. The analog cable image is also very clear, managing to look better than the comparison tuners, and with the included TotalMedia, you have an ultimate media center that will let you watch, rewind, and record live television. The tuner can also be used to watch or record from alternative sources such as a DVD player or gaming system."
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 09:08 AM | Comments
New Digg to Bring Many Features and Faster Performance
Digg is about to come out with a new version of their social bookmarking site that promises to bring a new look, new and improved personalization features, and ultra fast performance! Even the Digg.com CEO, Jay Adelson, says the new Digg site will bring a pretty radical set of changes. Those interested in testing out the new Digg site can request an invite to test it.
The popular news-sharing site Digg is getting an overhaul that will personalize results, dramatically expand content and, most importantly, make the site "wicked fast," according to its makers. Digg CEO Jay Adelson said Sunday that the changes could increase the site's shared content from about 20,000 submissions a day to millions a day.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 15, 2010 - 08:11 AM | Comments
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