Legit Reviews News History
Antec Introduces The First BTX Computer Case: BK640B
Antec has just launched its first MicroBTX case the BK640B. Antec claims that the BK640B ensures optimal performance and quiet computing for today's high-powered components such as motherboards, processors and video cards. Who said that BTX is dead? If it was then companies like Antec wouldn't be launching cases for BTX platforms.
The case supports MicroBTX form factor motherboards with a maximum board width of 264mm. It also comes equipped with the 380W Universal Input Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) ATX12V 2.0 power supply unit (PSU). This PFC ensures high efficiency within the system. For maximum expandability, the case also provides six drive bays - two 3.5" internal, two 5.25" external and two 3.5" external. Additionally, the chassis includes several conveniently front mounted ports: two external USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire( port and audio connectors.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 10:09 AM
AMD Processors Used On Matisyahu Live At Stubbs Album
AMD announced today that ?Matisyahu Live At Stubbs?, the 2005 live concert performance captured using AMD64 processors and released on Or Music, achieved Gold Record certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than 500,000 CDs. If you like Matisyahu be sure to check out the full press release in the forums linked below.
?Matisyahu Live At Stubbs? was recorded in Austin, Texas, in high-resolution 24-bit/96KHz audio using AMD Opteron? processors running Steinberg?s Nuendo media production software on top of the Microsoft Windows XP Pro operating system. Reaching Gold Record status in today?s music industry climate is a remarkable achievement demonstrating Matisyahu?s popularity as an artist and the continuing momentum this powerful hardware/software combination is having in the world of audio and music in terms of mission-critical reliability, power, and sonic quality.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 08:52 AM
Investigators enter US with dirty-bomb material
Four years after the September 11 attacks, investigators were able to easily enter the United States with enough radioactive material to make two so-called dirty bombs, according to a report on a government undercover investigation obtained on Monday. Looks like Homeland security is doing a real good job! If you want to tell your state homeland security contact how he is doing a good job his/her e-mail address can be found here!
Two teams made simultaneous entries at the U.S.-Mexican border and the border with Canada carrying radioactive material in their vehicles in December 2005, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in the report on its investigation. The congressional watchdog agency said the test was designed to examine potential weaknesses related to radiation monitors that have been installed at U.S. border ports of entry, the GAO said. The monitors worked. But the investigators, posing as employees of a fictitious, still got past the border patrol with fake paperwork authorizing them to transport the material, the report said..
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:40 AM
Intel Santa Rosa Notebook Looks Awesome
Are you looking for a thin and light notebook with a 15-inch screen, two hard drives, and with battery life in excess of five hours? If you answered yes to that question the upcoming Intel Santa Rosa platform is something to look forward to.
It would use Crestline GM chipsets using ICH8M, and support "Kedron" 802.11.n/a.b.g wireless LAN, EM64T and "Nineveh" LAN. Typical Merom chips might be the T5000 or T7000 microprocessors. Such T7000 processors will clock at 2.33GHz, 2.16GHz, 2GHz and 1.83GHz, with 667MHz system buses and 4MB of cache, apart from the 1.83GHz model. Intel will also roll out Celeron M chips using Merom cores
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:34 AM
Intel quad-core CPUs 'to ship Q1 2007'
Intel's quad-core processor, 'Kentsfield', may come to market earlier than anticipated. Intel's official release window spans the whole of 2007, but when the details of the chip emerged late last year, it was said to be earmarked for a mid-2007 debut. Now, apparently, it's coming out in Q1 next year. So, at least, claim Taiwanese motherboard-maker sources cited by DigiTimes.
The motivation behind the decision to ship in the first quarter appears to be that it will allow the chip giant to compete more effectively with AMD's quadies, due in the same timeframe. Intel announced Kentsfield at its Developer Forum earlier this month, but the name was first circulated in December 2005. At that time, the part was said to sport 4MB of cache, but then it was also said to be a dual-core chip, so that figure must be in doubt.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:31 AM
Asustek and MSI cut prices for motherboards in Europe
Asustek Computer and Micro-Star International (MSI) recently both lowered prices for their motherboards sold in Europe by 5% in order to stimulate demand. Some of our European forum members have a thread in the forums that talks about tax and prices in the European Union here. Feel free to stop in and share your thoughts with them.
Just thought id have a general moan about the sorry state of the PC industry and more specifically the retail PC industry in europe.... Our collegues over the pond have it all good... cheap hardware and rebates galore to go with them.... whereas here in the EU or UK specifically in my case we have to work with a thing called VAT which means i have to add %17.5 to everything i buy cause Mr Blair would like some of that too.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:19 AM
Microsoft Windows Is So Slow, but Why?
The New York Times has a two page story that tries to explain why Microsoft Windows is slow. It seems they believe it is slow because, "Windows is now so big and onerous because of the size of its code base, the size of its ecosystem and its insistence on compatibility with the legacy hardware and software, that it just slows everything down". What do you think?
So what's wrong with Microsoft? There is, after all, no shortage of smart software engineers working at the corporate campus in Redmond, Wash. The problem, it seems, is largely that Microsoft's past success and its bundling strategy have become a weakness. Each new version of Windows carries the baggage of its past. As Windows has grown, the technical challenge has become increasingly daunting. Several thousand engineers have labored to build and test Windows Vista, a sprawling, complex software construction project with 50 million lines of code, or more than 40 percent larger than Windows XP.
New York Times Technology News
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:16 AM
Lexar Takes Down Guidance
Lexar, the flash-memory maker in the process of being sold to Micron, previewed a major first-quarter sales shortfall Tuesday. I hope Micron saw this coming before they inked the agreement to acquire Lexar for stock worth about $688 million!
The Fremont, Calif., semiconductor company expects to lose $22 million to $30 million on revenue of $100 million to $130 million in the three months to March 31. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were forecasting a loss of $16.7 million on sales of $200 million in the period. Lexar didn't elaborate on the miss. "In light of the company's pending merger with Micron, the company does not intend to host an earnings conference call when it releases its actual first quarter results," it said.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:13 AM
Tuesday Reviews from Around the Web
XtremeComputing reviews the TerraTec Space 7.1 soundcard. Find out what they have to say about it and find other reviews from around the 'net by visiting the Legit Forums!
Sensaura is a great EAX emulator but will a novice be able to activate the option without and problems I don't think so. This card could do great things with the right drivers. But the price is the main thing that this has got going for it and with that in mind you will be amazed at the sound quality that the Space produces, not only for music but also for games.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 28, 2006 - 06:11 AM
Monday Reviews from Around the Web
[H]ardOCP reviews the Alienware Aurora 5500 today! Find this and other reviews by visiting the Legit Forums!
Of all the big name OEM builders, Alienware probably does the most to give you the same level of service and build quality as boutique builders. The hardware in the Aurora 5500 is solid, and they?re willing to back it up when things go wrong. Everything from gaming to productivity works well on this machine and this is certainly a worthy specimen of the OEM breed.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 02:20 PM
Alienware Aurora 5500 Notebook Reviewed
If you have two thousand dollars to spend on a gaming notebook then you should take a look at the Alienware Aurora 5500 that [H]ard|OCP looked at today on their consumer site. If you like to build your own stuff be sure to check out the LR article on building your own here.
The hardware in the Aurora 5500 is solid, and they?re willing to back it up when things go wrong. Everything from gaming to productivity works well on this machine and this is certainly a worthy specimen of the OEM breed. For what we got, we felt we paid a little too much. We thought at first that Alienware seemed to agree because they dropped their prices dramatically when they introduced the 7600 and 7900 series video cards. But they quickly raised their prices again.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 09:13 AM
ATI May Start To Buy Back Stock
ATI Technologies Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of computer-graphics chips, may buy back as much as 10 percent of its stock, calling the shares ''attractive.'' ATI shares (ATYT) are currently priced at $14.99 and are up 12 cents for the day.
The Ontario-based maker of chips for personal computers may begin buying shares on March 30 under the new authorization and will stop by March 29, 2007, the company said Friday. The company's chips are used in Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console and Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac personal computer.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 08:08 AM
AMD's Channel Program Grows and Offers Better Service
AMD today announced more than 500 new participants have joined the AMD Commercial Systems Channel Program, further validating the company's commitment to customer-centric innovation and collaboration among the growing worldwide AMD64 ecosystem of solutions integrators, value-added resellers (VARs) and distributors.
"As a society, we are witness to information being transformed into utilities, with more pervasive and effortless access than ever before," said Dave Nocera, chief technology officer, Innovativ. "Innovativ and AMD's solutions will be leveraged to serve this new utility market space. This shift from the information age to the utility age will create new challenges and responsibilities on the datacenter infrastructure. Innovativ has been at the forefront of developing technologies and services practices to meet these emerging markets from thin-client and identity management to the enablement of mobile devices in the enterprise. The Innovativ technologies, skills and experiences combined with AMD's advanced thin-client, processor and server engineering prowess are an ideal combination to help address the emerging challenges of centralization."
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 07:49 AM
FB-DIMMs slow down Intel Bensley servers
The Inq. reports that Intel's Bensley was delayed not due to any problems with the platform itself, but due to FB-DIMM memory modules. Very interesting story and could be the truth behind why it was delayed!
Yes, those pesky FBDs are late, hot, and in short supply, so several big box slingers, let's call them collectively by the made up name "Dell", asked Intel to delay until the memory was ready. Fast forward a few months, and the situation is little better, and the outlook is not all that bright.
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 07:45 AM
Steve Jobs Sells $295,725,936 In Apple Shares
Apple Computer founder and CEO Steve Jobs sold 45 per cent of his Apple stock on March 19th. Jobs sold 4,573,553 shares at a price of $64.66, which translates to $295,725,936. After selling the 4,573,553 shares he has 5,426,451 shares left in reserve. Many rumors have been floating around the web about Apple these days and this will only add to them!
Posted by | Mon, Mar 27, 2006 - 05:36 AM
Microsoft Office 2007 will work with Windows XP
While Microsoft has already delayed their Windows Vista operating system and Office programs till 2007 we have some good news for those that don't like change. It is being reported that Microsoft Office 2007 will work on Windows XP machines, so you don't have to change your OS to have the latest Office program. Makes sense for all the corporate companies that never change to a new OS within the first year.
Office 2007 will work with Windows XP, the version of the operating system that has been out since late 2001, as well as with Vista. With Office 2007, Microsoft is touting simpler graphics and a feature that tries to anticipate the commands a user is most likely to need, based on whether the user appears to be typing a list, editing someone else's work or performing some other job. The version also will allow documents to be saved in the popular PDF file format, one of several efforts the company is making to broaden Office's appeal.
Posted by | Sun, Mar 26, 2006 - 03:55 PM
Police use MySpace to ID suspects
Police Detectives used profiles posted on the MySpace social networking Web site to identify six suspects in a rape and robbery that began when a party turned violent, leaving blood "in almost every room of the house," officials said. If you are dumb enough to rape someone in the first place it only makes sense for them to get caught by their own profiles on MySpace that was used to find their victim.
She knew only their first names but their pictures were posted on MySpace. "Primarily, we pulled up her friends list. It helped us identify some of the players," said Bartley. The men face charges ranging from sexual assault to felony theft. Some $40,000 in electronics, jewelry, clothing and other items were taken, authorities said. About $13,000 worth of stolen goods have been recovered.
Posted by | Sun, Mar 26, 2006 - 03:50 PM
BT Goes After Broadband Bandwidth Hogs
Bristish Telecom has sent letters to more than 3,000 customers that were downloading more than their monthly contract allows. If you are a BT customer that has been downloading between 100 and 200 gigabytes per month expect a letter in the mail. If you get a letter you have the option of paying more for their high use service or lose your connection altogether.
BT offers a range of different packages with monthly download limits of between two and 40GB. Their guidelines say they will not take any action against people who occasionally exceed the monthly usage. However, for those that regularly go over their limits, BT says it will contact the customer to suggest a product more suitable to their needs.
Posted by | Sat, Mar 25, 2006 - 05:20 AM
Friday Reviews from Around the Web
MODTHEBOX.COM posted their review of the Thermaltake Silent Boost RX K8 CPU Cooler today. Find this and other reviews by visiting the Legit Forums!
What makes the Silent Boost unique is the fan. This meaty 5 blade fan is what Thermaltake calls a "reversed fan". There is no housing that surrounds the fan blade tips. Thermaltake figures this is the main cause for turbulence, causing noise when the fan is in operation. The fan uses a standard 3-pin connector whose wires are sleeved. A 3-pin to Molex connector was not included.
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 09:11 AM
ATI set to release Radeon X1900 GTO Video Card
Fudo over at The Inq believes that ATI is getting ready to launch the Radeon X1900 GTO video card. It will be based on the R580 core and more than likely clocked at 500/1000 MHz. This is interesting news as we still don't have any retail ATI Radeon X1800 GTO cards in the market.
t is rather interesting as ATI still has to ship X1800 GTO card while its partners are already preparing the new one X1900 GTO card. This card will indeed have very high build of material (BOM) cost but we guess it has to be priced higher than ?199, probably ?249, if not even higher. This means that the X1800 GTO might drop to ?199 to make some space for the new GTO card and X1800 XT 256 MB sits at round ?300 price. We still don?t know the master plan.
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 06:33 AM
Nvidia wins more Sony contracts
Nvidia is going to get more money out of Sony - more, in fact, than it garnered for developing the PlayStation 3's graphics chip, the company revealed this week, though it won't say what the work's for.
The cash will come from "new contracts with Sony to do some further designs", Nvidia CFO Marv Burkett, said this week. Nvidia will make "probably slightly more" than the $30m Sony paid it for the PS3 GPU work, he added. Beyond stating the contract is for "engineering work", Burkett wouldn't be drawn on what the company is doing for Sony, though he saod the project will run through 2006 and into 2007
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 06:29 AM
AMD Turion 64 X2 CPUs Coming on May 9th For Notebooks
Notebook makers in Taiwan predict that AMD's first batch of dual-core Turion 64 mobile processors, which will reportedly be released on May 9, may start a price war in the dual-core notebook market sooner than expected. AMD is expected to offer better prices for its Turion 64 X2 CPU line than comparable offerings from Intel.
On May 9th, AMD is poised to announce an enitre family of new Turion X2 64 processors. According to datasheets, AMD will be releasing seven different flavors of Turions with the entry-level unit starting at 1.6GHz and the flagship topping out at 2.2GHz with 2MB of L2 cache. The new CPUs will also come in low-voltage flavors for the mobile market, in which the new CPUs will be directly competing with Intel's Core Duo mobile processors.
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 06:28 AM
Extra costs a worry for next-gen DVD adoption
Consumers about to face a confusing and expensive choice between two conflicting standards for high-definition DVDs will need to upgrade their cables if they want to enjoy all the benefits of the new movie players. Not a big deal, but cables are not that cheap for high quality ones.
"Our findings are not encouraging about the consumer adoption of HD DVD and Blu-ray early on," McNealy added in a note. He said some high-definition TV sets may be incompatible with copy protection on the HD DVD and Blu-ray players. Analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering said most stereo systems are not up to the full home-theater sound capabilities of HD DVD and Blu-ray. Both analysts said both new players will likely require consumers to buy new cables, which are not inexpensive.
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 06:25 AM
Toshiba may delay HD-DVD?s U.S. launch
Toshiba Corp.?s U.S. unit may delay the launch of its next-generation DVD player for several weeks to coincide with the April debut of movies that play in the new HD DVD format, the company said Thursday.
Championed by Toshiba, HD DVD is one of two competing formats hoping to breath new life into the slowing $24 billion home video market. The rival format is Blu-ray, created by a group led by Sony Corp. In January, Toshiba America Consumer Products said it would in March ship its first players, the HD-XA1 and HD-A1, for $799 and $499, respectively.
Posted by | Fri, Mar 24, 2006 - 06:22 AM
Thursday Reviews from Around the Web
[H]ardOCP evaluates the PC Club ENP612 Laptop. Find this and other reviews by visiting the Legit Forums!
PC Club is back, but our experience with them our third time around is drastically different. We take a look at a mid-range laptop from them and try to figure out what happened to PC Club.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 11:06 AM
Rumor: Dell Bought Alienware To Get AMD Processors
Alexei Oreskovic has a great piece up today about how Dell bought Alienware not only to gain high end market share, but to also be able to get access to AMD processors. Dell has yet to disclose how much it paid for Alienware!
Dell, of course, sells Intel-based PCs exclusively. That approach has hurt the company recently, say analysts, given that many consumers consider AMD microprocessors technologically superior to Intel's at the moment. By having a second product line like Alienware, however, Dell could offer AMD chips without jeopardizing its relationship with Intel. "It would be a softer kind of way of taking that first step," says Brookwood.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 07:23 AM
Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) will be region free
Sony has confirmed that its next generation Playstation three will be region free, at least for gaming. This is awesome news for all and something that wasn't expected by many.
In a QA session following the platform keynote address at GDC 2006 this morning, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President Phil Harrison confirmed what was heavily demanded for import gamers all over the world and yet previously thought unthinkable for a major corporation: the PS3 will be region-free for gaming.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 07:19 AM
Vista gamers need 2GB plus of memory
The Inq thinks that they are the first to report that gamers need 2GB of system memory to run Microsoft Vista today, but that is not the case. Legit Reviews posted an editorial back in December of 2005 about needing 2GB of memory here: The Future of Computer Memory: 2GB+. It is good that they backed up our findings from nearly four months ago.
We moved the community with our story where we said you need up to 800 MB memory just to run Vista. You can read it here and we have to say that we do know the difference between page file and the actual physical memory, but trust me you need 1GB memory just to work in Word or Paint using vista. People were claiming that the machine used 400MB of physical memory but it will work like a beaten horse with 512MB. It works slow even with 2GB.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 07:15 AM
AMD confirms Athlon 64 X2 5000+
The Register says that AMD will release its first batch of dual-core Turion 64 mobile processors on 9 May, lining up seven chips clocked between 1.6GHz and 2.2GHz, and accompanied by low-voltage variants, according to online claims. Separately, the vendor has itself confirmed the existence of the upcoming Athlon 64 X2 5000+.
AMD this month posted a data sheet covering the thermal and power characteristics of the Athlon 64 and other processors. Among the CPUs listed is the Athlon 64 X2 5000+, a 2.6GHz part with 2MB of L2 cache on board. Curiously, it gets a second mention in the document, though this time it's down as possessing just 1MB of L2. The part has a TDP of 110W, the same as the FX-60. Recent roadmaps suggest the 5000+ will ship in June, alongside the 5200+ and the FX-62.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 07:06 AM
Microsoft's Vista delay could pull Intel?s price-cut schedule forward
Taiwan?s notebook manufacturers expect Intel?s price reduction on dual-core Yonah processors to arrive in advance of the planned date of May 28, with the aim of stimulating the worldwide notebook PC market, despite Microsoft?s delayed launch of its next operating system (OS).
Some PC manufacturers in Taiwan, however, expressed that delayed availability of the consumer version of Vista will help clear the current inventory level, which began rising earlier this year as a result of consumers awaiting Vista-compatible models. The seasonal peak demand of the fourth quarter of the year may, in effect, arrive earlier, in the second and third quarters of this year, as customers change their minds and purchase new models earlier due to uncertainty over a 64-bit OS, indicated the makers.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 07:02 AM
ECS Launches The 945G-M3 Motherboard
Elitegroup Computer Systems, Inc.(ECS), the world's leading computer component and notebook manufacturer, today unveiled the new RoHS-compliant 945G-M3 motherboard designed for the new generation of digital home users. Based on the new Intel Viiv technology, the 945G-M3 motherboard is a powerhouse of digital media features that deliver superior user performance thank to the Intel 945G Express/ICH7DH chipsets.
Based on the LGA775 microprocessor architecture, the new 945G-M3 motherboard is optimized for Intel Dual Core Pentium® D processors to bring superb multitasking capability to the digital home. The motherboard's dual-core processor support allows the PC to utilize CPU resources intelligently and efficiently even during intensive applications such as video rendering and playback. Central to a digital home, the ECS 945G-M3 motherboard supports a wide variety of input/output devices to enable ultimate connectivity. A Serial ATA (SATA) 3.0Gb/s interface is provided to offer blazing-fast storage connectivity. Other features include one PCI-Express x16 slot, one PCI-Express x1 slot, one IDE ATA100 slot, eight USB2.0 ports, IEEE 1394a Firewire port and Gigabit Ethernet port. Memory support is enabled in dual channel mode of up to 2GB of DDR2-667 (PC5400) memory. The ECS 945G-M3 motherboard is currently available.
Posted by | Thu, Mar 23, 2006 - 04:58 AM
Wednesday Reviews from Around the Web
The Tech Report reviews Intel's Pentium Extreme Edition 965 processor. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting the Legit Forums!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN you pack a quad-SLI graphics subsystem, a Sound Blaster X-Fi audio processor, a physics acceleration chip, a RAID 10 disk array, four gigs of DDR2-1200 memory, and Intel's next-generation dual-core processor into a single box with a 64-bit OS and fire up Unreal Engine 3? I have no idea, but to tide us over until that's possible, today Intel is introducing a new speed grade of its top-end desktop CPU, the Pentium Extreme Edition 965.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 22, 2006 - 09:30 AM
NVIDIA Corporation to Acquire Hybrid Graphics
NVIDIA Corporation today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hybrid Graphics Ltd., the leading developer of embedded 2D and 3D graphics software for handheld devices. This acquisition will enable the customers of both companies to deploy compelling graphics solutions for the entire worldwide handheld market. Looks like NVIDIA is trying to get a firm footing in the handheld devices market!
Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Hybrid Graphics will become a subsidiary of NVIDIA Corporation and will continue to market and sell its products under the Hybrid name. Hybrid Graphics will maintain full support for its existing customer base, while continuing to invest in growing its engineering department as well as driving new business opportunities. No further terms of the acquisition were disclosed.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 22, 2006 - 06:45 AM
Microsoft Puts Vista Operating System on Hold
Microsoft will delay the consumer version of Vista, the next version of Windows, until January 2007, the company announced Tuesday. But a version for business will be released in November of this year. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) are down -0.59 (-2.13%) to $27.15 in the early morning trading session.
The news ruffled investors who have been assuming that Vista, which is seen as the company's most important product release in years, will ship on time and be a catalyst for strong sales growth. In after-hours trading on Instinet shares were off about 3% to $27.74 on the news. Jim Allchin, Microsoft's Windows czar, said businesses that buy Windows via licenses will be able to get Vista in November. New PCs for consumers will be loaded with Vista as of January, he said on a call with analysts and reporters.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 22, 2006 - 05:46 AM
AMD Socket F boards slated for July 11, 2006
It looks like the upcoming AMD F core revision, which are known as Windsor (dual-core) and Orleans (single-core) are coming along just fine and are slated for release on July 11th, 2006. The F core stepping processors will support Pacifica visualization technology and Presidio data protection technology, which will require new chipsets and BIOS updates for the mainboards according to our sources.
It seems that there are going to be a lot of AMD based products launching on July 11th, all of them new SKUs. There is no word on why they are all launching on that day, but all of these products appear to have one thing in common, 1207/Socket F Opterons.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 22, 2006 - 05:28 AM
Elpida begins sampling 512Mbit Rambus XDR DRAM
Japan-based Elpida Memory on March 22 announced the availability of 512Mbit XDR DRAM devices in sample quantities. XDR DRAM is based on the XDR memory interface architecture developed by Rambus, and the new Elpida device operates at a 4.0GHz data rate. The memory looks great on paper, but I'll wait to see what AMD and Intel does with it before I get all worked up over it.
Elpida's 512Mbit XDR DRAM (EDX5116ACSE) devices are organized as 4M words×16-bits×8 banks, and have a 4.0GHz operation and 8.0GB/sec data transfer rate, which is more than 4 times the peak bandwidth of industry-standard DDR2 memory devices. They are manufactured using Elpida's 90nm process technology and are available in 104-ball FBGA packages. The devices utilize advanced Rambus-specific features such as Differential Rambus Signal Level (DRSL) interface, which minimizes the signal swing and noise, and Octal Data Rate (ODR), which transfers 8 bits per clock cycle to achieve 4.0GHz operation even with the commonly used 400MHz clock.
Posted by | Wed, Mar 22, 2006 - 05:22 AM
Tuesday Reviews from Around the Web
[H]ardOCP posted their article, "CPUs & Real-World Gameplay Scaling" today. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting the Legit Forums!
Yes, both Intel and AMD make good processors for playing 3D games, and don?t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 21, 2006 - 02:24 PM
Nokia Claims End near for MP3 players and video camcorders
Mobile phones will deal a final blow to makers of music devices and video camcorders, having already hit the photo industry, a senior executive at handset maker Nokia told the Financial Times newspaper. I have to agree with this one as I use my Treo with a 1GB SecureDigital card and Real Player for my music on the go.
Anssi Vanjoki, head of the multimedia unit at the world's largest cell phone maker, pointed in comments published on Tuesday to Nokia's 2000 forecast of the death of the photo industry, and said the same fate was looming for other sectors. Nokia made 100 million camera phones last year, making it the world's largest camera manufacturer.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 21, 2006 - 07:38 AM
French push to free digital MP3's as Apple cringes
French MPs are set to vote on a law that could lead to big changes in the way digital music is sold online. The proposed measures would force companies like Apple and Microsoft to share their copy-protection software. The aim is to ensure that digital music can be played on any player, regardless of its format or source. Is it just me or is France always going focused on going against US companies and the American governement? If something like this passes Apple and other companies might bite the bullet when it comes to online sales.
The French bill says that proprietary copy-protection technologies must not block interoperability between different systems. After the vote by the parliament, the bill would still need to be approved by France's upper house, the Senate, a process that could take weeks. The French proposal would let music fans download music to their iPods from services other than iTunes or to rival players from the French iTunes store. It could force Apple into choosing between making its service compatible with rival players or shutting down its online store in France. Apple has so far declined to comment on the bill, which would also affect how its rivals run their music services.
Posted by | Tue, Mar 21, 2006 - 07:33 AM
Microsoft to boost Xbox 360 shipments this week
Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday said it plans to boost shipments of its Xbox 360 video game console by "two to three times" this week to address shortages that have crimped game sales across the industry. Good news for gamers trying to buy a system, but why couldn't Micrososft meet demand in the first place?
Initially, Microsoft hoped to sell 2.75 million to 3 million consoles in the first 90 days after the product's U.S. launch in November. The company later reduced that target to 2.5 million but said it still aimed to sell 4.5 million to 5.5 million units by the end of June. Microsoft also said on Tuesday that Xbox Live, the online download accessible by the console, has logged more than 10 million downloads, which it said was "faster than iTunes did when it launched."
Posted by | Tue, Mar 21, 2006 - 07:30 AM
PREVIOUS | NEXT
Search
News History
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- 0000
Hot Topics
- when do the SATA III @6Gb/s hard drives come out?
- CPU Core Temps!
- Nvidia Tools
- What would be the max recomended video card for e8500
- Nvidia's fermi
- How to print my daughters’cell phone text messages out?
- friend needs help
- How to convert and edit video/audio files for iPod
- Problem installing XP
- Logitech MX 1100 Cordless Laser Mouse $19.99 after MIR