Legit Reviews News History

Cooler Master announces 1st ever 80 Plus Silver Certified PSU

Cooler Master proudly announces the world’s first-ever 80 Plus Silver Certified high wattage power supply, the highest rated 80 Plus power supply to-date by achieving a 88% efficiency; with the introduction of UCP 900W (Ultimate Circuit Protection). This looks like an impressive power supply! 88.14% efficient at 50% load, which is 513 watts and 85.10% efficient at 100% load (1055 Watts).

Cooler Master has long built a strong reputation based on industry-leading designs in coolers and computer cases, while its power supplies have often been over-shadowed. Today, marks a new era in the company’s foray into the market of power supplies. With the UCP 900 reaching new 80 Plus specifications, Cooler Master now owns the title of having the industry’s most energy efficient high wattage power supply. The UCP has achieved this previously unheard of efficiency level with innovative circuit board layout and superior components. For example, it first-rated soft-start circuits, a huge amount of solid capacitors and continuous active clamp forward switching technology combined with the DC to DC VRMs circuit design and more.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 10:08 AM

Leadtek Announces the WinFast PX9600 GSO Extreme video card

Leadtek just announced the launch of the WinFast PX9600 GSO Extreme video card. Based on the high quality NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GSO core chip, PX9600 GSO is equipped with 384MB of memory and 96 Stream Processing Units. The Leadtek exclusive S-FANPIPE fansink design is also applied to PX9600 GSO. This innovative cooling system can effectively conduct GPU heat through an S-shape copper heat pipe to the fan for a dramatic cool down effect that creates a stable temperature for the graphic card to deliver a superior visual performance.

Leadtek WinFast PX9600 GSO Extreme has adopted 65nm technology and is powered by NVIDIA's GeForce 9600 GSO graphics processing unit. With 384GMB of GDDR3 on a 192-bit memory bus design, the GPU and memory clock can run at the amazing speed of 600MHz and 1800MHz respectively. Furthermore, PX9600 GSO Extreme has 96 Stream Processing Units, which combine with the new PCI Express 2.0 bus architecture to create the fastest 3D graphic processing speed. To offer users an even better and more convenient experience using a graphic card, PX9600 GSO Extreme not only supports Microsoft Windows Vista and Direct X 10 with full Shader Model 4.0, but also fully supportsthe existing PCI Express 1.0 motherboards.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 08:54 AM

Intel and Micron introduce 32nm MLC NAND flash

Intel and Micron Technology have announced the introduction of a sub-40nm NAND memory device with the unveiling of a 34nm-made multi-level cell (MLC) chip with a density of 32Gb. Sampling is slated to begin in June with mass production expected to follow in the second half of 2008.

The companies claimed that the device carries the smallest NAND process geometry on the market and is the only monolithic device at this density that fits into a standard 48-lead thin small-outline package (TSOP). It was designed with solid-state drives (SSD) in mind. The companies stressed that the product will enable more cost-effective SSDs, instantly doubling the current storage volume of these devices and driving capacities to beyond 256GB even for 1.8-inch form factor drives.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 08:47 AM

ARCTIC COOLING Announces ARCTIC Breeze

This summer is going to be hot and Arctic Cooling has a new product to help keeps things at the right temperature. Of course you need to keep your precious CPU and VGA nice and cool during the summer, but how about buying yourself a cool gadget as well? Don’t you want to breathe some fresh and cool air while you are gaming or working hard? This seems a bit strange, but hey we've seen a number of crazy USB powered devices over the years. With the fan spinning at 2,000 RPM just be careful not to touch the fan blades as it has no protective cover.

The ARCTIC Breeze outperforms other USB fans in the market. Same as other ARCTIC COOLING products, the 92mm fan is equipped with a low noise impeller, making it a quiet fan at all speed. Whether it is warm or hot, the ARCTIC Breeze offers you the cooling you need. The fan comes with two levels of speed – 1200 rpm and 2000 rpm. With the fan speed switch, users can adjust the speed to their preferable level easily, offering the lowest noise level possible. While other USB fans provide o­nly a USB connector, the ARCTIC Breeze provides an o­n/off switch. Users can switch o­n and off the fan simply by o­ne click, instead of plugging and unplugging the entire fan. The 1.5m long cable is long enough for your PC case underneath the table. Excess cable can be rolled up under the fan base, keeping your desk nice and tidy.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 08:43 AM

CORSAIR Launches New DOMINATOR DDR3 2000MHz 4GB Memory Kits

Corsair recently announced that it will launch a new 4GB DOMINATOR DDR3 memory kit running at 2000MHz at CompuTex 2008, held June 3-7, 2008 in Taipei. Tested and guaranteed for operation at the lightning fast overclocked speed of 2000MHz, this 4GB DOMINATOR kit provides superior performance for desktop platforms. MSRP. The press release doesn't state memory timings or voltages, but the Corsair website states that they are 9-9-9-24 at 1.85V on this PC3-16000 memory kit. The new 4GB DOMINATOR DDR3 2000MHz memory kit will be available Q3 through Corsair’s authorized distributors, resellers and e-tailers worldwide, priced at $675.00 USD

“Corsair is focused on building the industry’s fastest memory available in the largest densities,” said Richard Hashim, Director of Marketing at Corsair. “This new ultra-fast DDR3 4GB DOMINATOR solution demonstrates Corsair’s commitment to lead the memory technology transition from DDR2 to DDR3 and from 2GB solutions to 4GB solutions. Enthusiasts worldwide demand it and we are happy to support their requirements.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 08:35 AM

S3 Graphics Announces $69 GPU - Chrome 440 GTX Graphics Card

S3 Graphics today announced its latest S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX desktop cards. Boards are now available at online retail affiliate GStore, with future shipments by key European partners in addition to multiple retail partners in Asia. The S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX is priced at $69 and is currently available online.

The Chrome 400 GTX is the latest addition to the S3 Graphics Chrome 400 series, delivering exceptional graphics realism and stunning HD multimedia performance in optimized desktop and media PCs. Based on the low profile PCI Express® Gen 2 graphics card specification, the Chrome 440 GTX is ideally suited for PC users who wish to enhance their PCs to provide dual-stream Picture-in-Picture (PiP) 1080p Blu-ray Disc™ playback with the latest DirectX 10.1 / OpenGL 2.1 unified shader architecture. The Chrome 440 GTX uses the latest GDDR3 memory for optimized memory bandwidth and native HDMI connectivity for the latest digital displays.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 06:57 AM

Dell shares up nearly 10 percent on report of profit, revenue jump in fiscal 1st quarter

Growth in Asia and strong sales of notebook computers helped Dell Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter sales and profit. That strong report pushed shares of Dell, the world's second-largest seller of personal computers, up 9.9 percent in late trading Thursday. Now, investors will try to determine if the results were a one-term wonder or a sign that founder and CEO Michael Dell's turnaround plan is working.

Notebook shipments jumped 43 percent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. Dell had made them a priority, developing products for emerging markets, and the Round Rock, Texas-based company rang up more sales overseas than at home for the first time in the first quarter. Revenue rose 19 percent in Asia and 15 percent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, helping Dell overcome a weak U.S. market where businesses were cutting back on technology spending. "Dell did relatively well, but it was against low expectations," said Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research who rates the shares "neutral." They rose 12 cents Thursday, closing at $21.81 in regular trading before the results were released, then jumped $2.16 to $23.97 in late trading. Still, the results added to the sense that technology spending "is turning out a little better than expected," Wu said.

Associated Press

Posted by | Fri, May 30, 2008 - 03:21 AM

May 29 News from Around the Web

Benchmark Reviews has reviewed the VIA Nano CPU - Codename Isaiah! Find this and other reviews by visiting our forums!

On the 29th of May 2008 VIA announced the Nano CPU, a processor built from Isaiah architecture. Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of their existing VIA C7 processor family, the VIA Nano processor family offers as much as four times the performance within the same power range to extend VIA's performance per watt leadership, while identical pin compatibility with VIA C7 processors will ensure a smooth transition for OEMs and motherboard vendors, and provides them with an easy upgrade path for current system or board designs.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, May 29, 2008 - 02:16 PM

VIA Launches VIA Nano Processor Family

VIA Technologies today announced the new VIA Nano processor family based on the VIA Isaiah Architecture. Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of the VIA C7 processor family, the VIA Nano processor family offers as much as four times the performance within the same power range to extend VIA's performance per watt leadership, while pin compatibility with VIA C7 processors will ensure a smooth transition for OEMs and motherboard vendors. The VIA Nano will provide tough competition to the upcoming Intel Atom processor family.

The first 64-bit, superscalar, speculative out-of-order processors in VIA's x86 platform portfolio, VIA Nano processors have been specifically designed to revitalize traditional desktop and notebook PC markets, delivering truly optimized performance for the most demanding computing, entertainment and connectivity applications, including Blu-ray Disc HD video playback and the latest PC games, such as Crysis. The VIA Nano processor family leverages Fujitsu's advanced 65 nanometer process technology forVIA Nano logo enhanced power efficiency, and augments that with aggressive power and thermal management features within the compact 21mm x 21mm nanoBGA2 package for an idle power as low as 100mW (0.1W), extending the reach of power efficient green and silent PCs, thin and light notebooks and mini-notes around the world.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, May 29, 2008 - 06:52 AM

abit is NOT quitting from motherboard market

We just got an e-mail from abit Taiwan and it seems they are not getting out of the motherboard industry, but are expanding consumer electronic lines. This statement comes after a news post yesterday by Digitimes claiming that abit is calling it quits.

Thore Welling, Universal ABIT Global Marketing Director points out: “ abit is a well established and strong brand within the enthusiast and high-end motherboard and components industry. In fact, particularly over the past 12 months we have been able to considerably increase market share not only in traditional markets such as Western Europe, but even stronger so in emerging markets such as East Asia as well as in the Middle East. Therefore, the broadening of our product lines into the Consumer Electronics (digital photo frames with integrated photo printer {FunFab} and MIDs) segment represents a stronger commitment to the overall brand and the continuation of our motherboard concept into other products. abit stays committed to motherboards and has a broad lineup of motherboards ready, as you will see in during Computex.”

Legit Forums

Posted by | Thu, May 29, 2008 - 06:49 AM

Dual-core Intel Atoms to enter mass production in July

Intel is planning to start the mass production of dual-core versions of its Atom processors in the second week of July, according to sources at PC makers. Intel's first dual-core Atom will feature a core frequency of 1.6GHz and support Hyper-Threading-like technology allowing each core to process up to two instructions per clock cycle under certain circumstances. System TDP for the CPU and chipset combined will rise to 16W, from 12W for single-core versions. This will put pressure on the performance lead that the VIA Isaiah processor has shown in some benchmarks!

Since dual-core and single-core Atom processors are pin-compatible, single-core Atom platforms will only need a BIOS update to support the dual-core CPUs, the sources highlighted. However, PC makers are concerned the short gap between the launch of single-core and dual-core models could dampen the introduction of single-core Atoms and well as impact sales of traditional entry-level PC CPU platforms meaning PC makers will need to rethink their product lineups for the later half of the year.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Wed, May 28, 2008 - 06:20 AM

Asustek brings forward launch of 10-inch Eee PC

With Micro-Star International (MSI) expected to officially launch its 10-inch Wind series notebooks and Acer planning to launch an 8.9-inch Aspire low-cost PC in Europe priced at 299 euros (US$469.49) over the next few weeks, Asustek Computer has decided to rush forward plans to launch a 10-inch version Eee PC, according to notebook industry sources. The Eee PC 1000 is now expect to be launched on June 3 along with the Eee PC 901.

Although Asustek will bring forward the launch of the Eee PC 1000, the sources expect initial shipments to be low giving MSI a chance to take the lead in the 10-inch low-cost PC segment. On the other hand, the inclusion of a 10-inch model as well as cut-price versions in the Eee PC range, should help in holding off Acer's entrance into the low-cost PC market, the sources commented.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Wed, May 28, 2008 - 06:15 AM

The real voice of GTA IV star Niko Bellic only made $100,000

Michael Hollick never thought his big break would come in a video game, but it did and he didn't make millions. Mr. Hollick was paid about $100,000 over roughly 15 months between late 2006 and early this year for all of his voice acting and motion-capture work on the game, with zero royalties or residuals in sight, he said. The article doesn't state how many hours he worked, but $100,000 doesn't seem like he got ripped off. The guild-negotiated rate for actors is around $730 a day. Mr. Hollick said he had been paid about 50 percent more than the standard rate, or about $1,050 a day. That means he made $100,000 in just 95 days! If those were 8 hour days he was making ~$131 an hour! If you don't have Grand Theft Auto IV for the game is awesome and you can snag it for $51.99 on the XBox 360 or $56.99 on the Playstation 3.

“Obviously I’m incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity,” Mr. Hollick, 35, said last week over dinner in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, shortly after performing in the aerial theater show “Fuerzabruta” in Union Square. “But it’s tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they’re making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don’t see any of it. I don’t blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, the technology is important, but it’s the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies.”

New York Times Technology News

Posted by | Wed, May 28, 2008 - 06:11 AM

Age of Conan Sells Over 400,000 Copies - One of the Fastest Selling PC Games Ever

Funcom recently announced that Age of Conan is one of the fastest selling PC games of all time. More than 400,000 gamers have entered Hyboria over the last few days, with almost half coming from the North American market. This amazing figure for a PC game shows that the positive pre-order trend has transferred into actual sales, and people from all over the world are now flocking to the most savage, sexy and brutal MMO ever created. If you haven't picked up a copy yet you can grab one for $42 here.

Over the weekend an astounding amount of concurrent gamers were logged on to the game, making Age of Conan one of the busiest MMOs in the western hemisphere. With stock flying out of several retail chains, Funcom expects the number to increase in the days to come. In addition to the many gamers logging in, there was also substantial traffic to the Age of Conan websites, with more than 2,2 million unique visitors during the last ten days.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 06:34 PM

May 27 News from Around the Web

OCC has posted their Aeneon XTune DDR3 1600 2 x 1GB Review! Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!

"The Aeneon XTune DDR3 1600 2 x 1GB kit of desktop memory is not only a great looking kit of memory that you can proudly display in your rig, but the sticks are also able to perform very well. This kit of 2x1GB memory is able to operate at 1600MHz with only 1.5 volts being pushed through it. This is one of the advantages of DDR3 memory over DDR2 memory; the kits are able to perform at higher speeds with lower volts without sacrificing the timings that need to be set. The timings of this kit were, at stock, not very low to begin with, but not quite as high as I have seen in the past. When you begin to overclock the memory, you do need to loosen the timings beyond what I would like to set them at, though it does pay off with the higher clock speeds. The voltages that this kit of memory took, 1.5 volts, will help in reducing the overall temperatures inside of your case as the memory sticks are not heating up quite as warm as others."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 04:21 PM

Super Talent Launches PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMMs for Laptops

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced immediate availability of DDR3 SO-DIMMs. This 204-pin module, part number W1333SA1GS, is available now at street prices under $99. Super Talent is now one of the few companies that offers DDR3 Notebook memory modules. Crucial has a 1GB PC3-8500 module with CL7 timings for $97.99, but keep in mind that the $99 1GB Super Talent kit is PC3-12800 (1333MHz) with CL9 timings. Looks like laptop memory is getting quicker and the price is right!

Super Talent’s new 1GB DDR3-1333 SO-DIMM supports transfer rates up to 10,664 MB/sec. That equates to 66% higher bandwidth than DDR2-800 SO-DIMMs, making this the world’s fastest production DDR3 SO-DIMM. In addition to the faster speed, DDR3 SO-DIMMs require only 1.5V, compared to 1.8V for DDR2, resulting in power savings of up to 20% and less heat output.

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 02:03 PM

TSMC may raise prices for high-end chips

Top contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) said on Tuesday it may raise prices for its higher-end chips as rising costs threaten to squeeze profits. Semiconductor makers face higher costs to build state-of-the-art chip plants for most cutting-edge chips, and are also feeling the pain of rising inflation. It should be interesting to see how this impacts companies like NVIDIA who had TSMC make all their GPUs.

"Average selling prices have been falling and profits have been under pressure, and we have to work together to create value," Jason Chen, a company vice president in charge of global sales and marketing, told a TSMC technology symposium. He said price changes would be mostly for chips made by advanced process technology, but would not say how big they would be or when they would occur. He did not say when TSMC last raised prices.

Reuters Technology News

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 10:26 AM

Analyst says Intersil causing delays for Intel Montevina notebook chipsets

Glitches at chip supplier Intersil Corp. are causing delays in the rollout of Intel Corp.'s Montevina notebook chipsets, Jefferies & Co. analyst John Lau warned Tuesday. If these glitches are true that means that the Intel Santa Rosa notebook platform will be around for a couple extra months. No complaints here as we just reviewed the Hypersonic Avenger AG2 Santa Rosa based laptop today!

Lau said in a note to investors that Intersil is facing minor bugs in the graphics portion of its Montevina notebook chipsets, which could slow the rollout of the Montevina products by about two months. Any delay would prolong the life of Intel's existing Santa Rosa notebook platform, he said, which would help Santa Rosa chip supplier Anadigics Inc.

Yahoo

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 10:06 AM

Abit Might Exit The Motherboard Market

Second-tier motherboard maker Abit is reportedly considering exiting the motherboard market after evaluating its shipment performance of Intel 4 series motherboards, according to channel sources. Abit, however, maintains it does not know anything about the speculation and will continue to develop motherboard products. Abit was the first manufacturer to support Legit Reviews, so we wish them the best and that the upcoming Intel chipset series does well for them.

Abit has failed to meet the expectations of parent company Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) in its ability to compete with fellow second-teir makers in terms of performance, or first-tier makers in terms of pricing in the mid-range and entry-level market, and so the company is evaluating whether to quit the market and start developing other products for the Abit brand, noted the sources. In 2007, Abit shipped 2-3 million motherboards and had set a goal to ship six million units in 2008. However, the company's current shipments have actually decreased.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 09:56 AM

VIA Unveils VIA OpenBook Mini-Note Reference Design

VIA Technologies today introduced the new VIA OpenBook mini-note reference design targeted at the rapidly growing global market for ultra-portable notebooks. The innovative VIA OpenBook Mini-Note Reference Design paves the way for the next generation of ultra-portable notebooks based on the VIA Ultra Mobility Platform.

"The VIA OpenBook builds on the great success of the VIA NanoBook reference design launched last year, which has been widely adopted by numerous customers around the world," commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. "Our unique open approach to case design customization and wireless connectivity flexibility, coupled with the higher levels of performance, further extends VIA's leadership in the global mini-note market."

Legit Forums

Posted by | Tue, May 27, 2008 - 09:39 AM

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