Legit Reviews News History
AMD launches dual-core Sempron CPUs in China
AMD has recently launched the first dual-core Sempron processors in China in a bid to counter Intel's dual-core Celeron product line in the entry-level market, according to sources at motherboard makers.
AMD Sempron 2100+ processors adopt a 65nm process, and have a core frequency of 1.8GHz. Pricing in the China market is set at RMB 399 (US$55). Due to the cheap price and potential of AMD's own-brand RS780 and 690G IGP chipsets, the CPU has been popular with consumers in China prompting them support AMD's platform. In order to hit back, channel vendors predict Intel will drop its dual-core Celeron processor pricing.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 27, 2008 - 08:00 AM | Comments
HP was the biggest chip buyer in 2007
Hewlett-Packard bought $15 billion worth of semiconductors in 2007, more than any other company in the world, market researcher Gartner said Monday.
The top 10 chip purchasers combined for $91 billion last year, just a 1 percent rise over 2006, Gartner said in its Semiconductor DQ Monday Report. Most, 38 percent, of the world's semiconductors went into data processing gear last year, while communications took 35 percent of all chips, and consumer goods claimed 20 percent. Chips made for industrial use accounted for 5 percent of global chip revenue, while automotive chips were just 2 percent.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 27, 2008 - 02:56 AM | Comments
Microsoft updates embedded development platform
Microsoft has released an updated version of its .Net Micro Framework development platform, adding a Web services component and support for native TCP/IP.
Microsoft introduced an updated version of .Net Micro Framework, a platform for the development of applications that run in a variety of embedded devices, such as retail point-of-sale terminals and home automation systems. Microsoft first introduced the .Net Micro Framework about a year ago in an effort to make it easier for developers to create such applications. It was designed to attract developers who may have avoided using the Windows CE embedded OS because the hardware was too expensive and the OS too complex. With the .Net programming environment, developers can use Visual Studio to more quickly and easily develop applications.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 27, 2008 - 02:39 AM | Comments
Sony to introduce its first Net-enabled Blu-ray disc player this summer
It will be the first new player from Sony, the inventor of Blu-ray, since the format beat out the other technology that vied to become the high-definition replacement for the DVD.
NEW YORK - Sony Corp.'s first Blu-ray disc player that can download bonus materials like trailers and games from the Internet will debut this summer, the company announced Tuesday.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 27, 2008 - 02:28 AM | Comments
AMD Testing Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) Lithography on Chip
AMD, working together with its research partner, IBM, announced it has produced a working test chip utilizing Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) lithography for the critical first layer of metal connections across the entire chip. Previous projects utilizing EUV to produce working chip components were only “narrow field”, covering just a very small portion of the design. The work of AMD, IBM, and their partners at the UAlbany NanoCollege’s Albany NanoTech Complex, will be presented by Dr. Bruno La Fontaine of AMD at the premier lithography conference in the industry on Tuesday. The paper will show successful integration of “full-field” EUV lithography into the fabrication process across an entire 22 mm x 33 mm AMD 45 nm node test chip.
The AMD test chip first went through processing at AMD’s Fab 36 in Dresden, Germany, using 193 nm immersion lithography, the most advanced lithography tools in high volume production today. The test chip wafers were then shipped to IBM’s Research Facility at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) in Albany, New York where AMD, IBM and their partners used an ASML EUV lithography scanner installed in Albany through a partnership with ASML, IBM and CNSE, to pattern the first layer of metal interconnects between the transistors built in Germany. After patterning, etch and metal deposition processes, among others, the EUV device structures underwent electrical testing at AMD, with transistors showing characteristics very consistent with those of test chips built using only 193 nm immersion lithography. These wafers will receive additional metal interconnect layers using standard Fab processing so that large memory arrays can also be tested.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 26, 2008 - 03:20 PM | Comments
Sony to own one-third of Sharp's LCD plant
Sony said it would take a one-third stake in Sharp's $3.5 billion LCD panel plant set for completion by March 2010, in an effort to meet fast-growing demand for flat televisions. The move is the latest in a wave of alliances among Japanese flat TV makers as they try to secure enough panels while keeping initial investments in check to fight steep price declines.
Sharp, which offers Aquos LCD TVs, plans to turn the liquid crystal display factory, which would be the world's largest, into a joint venture, with the Osaka-based company owning 66 percent and Sony taking the remainder. Besides LCD panels, the joint venture will also produce LCD modules, which are display panels equipped with components such as a backlight unit and LCD driver chips. Sony and Sharp are the world's second- and third-largest LCD TV makers, behind South Korea's Samsung Electronics.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 26, 2008 - 08:59 AM | Comments
IBM to Sell Faster Mainframe, Challenging Hewlett-Packard, Dell
International Business Machines Corp. introduced a mainframe computer that performs tasks more quickly while using less power, stepping up competition with Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. for business customers. The computer can operate 50 percent faster, handling 70 percent more work, than current mainframes, Armonk, New York- based IBM said in a statement. That reduces energy costs by as much as 85 percent, the company said.
The mainframe, called the z10, allows businesses to better share, track and automate information among millions of users, IBM said. The mainframe has the capacity of almost 1,500 standard servers, while using 85 percent less power. The computer, available now, uses as many as 64 so-called quad-core processors. That means there are four processors on piece of silicon. IBM's last mainframe, the z9, had 54 dual-core processors.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 26, 2008 - 08:36 AM | Comments
Google invests in new transpacific cable
Google is joining a consortium to build a transpacific fiber-optic cable, evidence of the need for bandwidth to accommodate the explosive growth globally of Internet communications through text, voice and video. The move, announced Monday, is the first time an Internet company has invested in an ocean-spanning cable, said Alan Mauldin, research director with Washington-based research firm TeleGeography.
The 6,200-mile cable, expected to cost about $300 million, is being funded by six companies that, in addition to Google, include telecommunications companies Bharti Airtel in India and SingTel of Singapore, and Pacnet, a Hong Kong-based deep-sea fiber-optic cable network operator. The announcement comes amid a boom in new cable construction and upgrades of existing lines, the largest expansion of fiber-optic systems since the dot-com bust, when too much cable capacity led to a market collapse and bankruptcy for fiber-optic network operators such as Global Crossing. Fiber-optic cable capacity across the Pacific is expected to increase 96 percent from 2007 through the end of this year, Mauldin said.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 26, 2008 - 08:33 AM | Comments
Take-Two Rejects EA's Bid
Take-Two Interactive has officially rejected a hostile $2 Billion cash bid from Electronic Arts, saying it undervalues its "enviable stable of games franchises". In their official response, Take-Two seems to imply the EA proposal was timed to take advantage of the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV game which has been one of the world's most successful game franchises. Whatever the case may be, Take-Two did say that they were willing to sit down with EA at a later date to continue discussion.
After careful evaluation, the Board has determined that EA's proposal substantially undervalues Take-Two's robust and enviable stable of game franchises, exceptional creative talent and strong consumer loyalty. We believe EA's unsolicited offer is highly opportunistic and is attempting to take advantage of our upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most valuable and durable franchises in the industry. Furthermore, the offer values the Company at a significant discount to its public peers and does not compensate Take-Two for its intrinsic value and the substantial synergies that the proposed combination would create.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:37 AM | Comments
Get Ready! Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Update Coming
Windows Vista SP1’s rocky ride to market has no doubt turned the stomachs of many advanced users. The latest turn of events -- and to be sure, this journey changes course daily -- has Microsoft recommending workarounds for rebooting issues caused by a recent Windows Vista update that was meant to prepare systems for SP1 -- which is supposed to happen in mid-March.
An SP1 update made available shortly after that broader release of the manufacturing-ready SP1 code caused machines to reboot and reboot and reboot. And so Microsoft yanked it quickly. In the meantime, those whose systems didn't suffer from endless-reboot syndrome discovered that Vista SP1 didn't do much, if anything, to overcome its speed woes: Early performance reviews were not encouraging: InfoWorld's tests showed Vista SP1 to be up to 40 percent slower than Windows XP with SP3, while PC World's tests showed mixed results.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:29 AM | Comments
Intel planning large drops in old Centrino shipments - Welcome Centrino 2
In order to promote a smooth platform transition, Intel plans to start dropping shipment ratios of Napa Refresh and Santa Rosa notebook platforms in the second quarter of 2008 to let the upcoming Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform become its major player, according to sources at notebooks makers.
Montevina will account for around 18% of Intel's notebook shipments after it launches in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the percentage will increase to around 50% and grow to around 90% by the end of 2008. Napa Refresh with Merom processors will account for around 6% of shipments by the end of March, while Napa and Celeron M processors will only account for around 3%. The platform will be completely phased out by the end of the second quarter, said the sources.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:26 AM | Comments
February 25 News from Around the Web
TweakTown reviews the Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 and HD 3650; Find reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!
"We sometimes forget that not everyone has the money or the need to use these higher end cards. So that’s what we’re doing today, we’re going to look after the people on the other side of the fence, who don’t need big 3DMark numbers or 200FPS in Half Life 2 at 2560 x 1600. Today we’ll simply have the two cards together. We won’t be comparing them against each other as such, but rather just simply looking at exactly how they perform and how much extra performance a HD 3650 gives you over the HD 3450."
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:24 AM | Comments
Microsoft Pulls Plug on HD DVD Players
In not-so-surprising news, Microsoft Corporation announced that it will stop making HD-DVD players for its Xbox 360 video game system after Toshiba Corporation yeilded the HD video format battle to Sony Corporation's Blu-ray. Microsoft says this move should not affect their Xbox sales and has not comment on supporting Blu-ray in the future.
Microsoft said it does not see the decision having any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or its position in the market. It pledged to continue product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD players that it has already sold.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:11 AM | Comments
Hynix Introduces 2-Rank 8GB DDR2 RDIMM
Hynix Semiconductor Inc. announced today the launch of 2-Rank 8GB PC2-4200 RDIMM, featuring MetaRAM's MetaSDRAM technology. The HYMP31GP72CUP4-C6 effectively doubles the memory capacity of AMD Opteron-based and Intel Xeon-based systems, while improving power efficiency by up to 30% when compared to industry standard 8GB 4-Rank or 4GB 2-Rank modules. The HYMP31GP72CUP4-C6 8GB DDR2 RDIMM is available now in production quantities. The 8GB DDR3 2-Rank RDIMM using the MetaRAM technology is under development and will be available in production quantities in 2H'08.
The MetaRAM technology allows the use of mainstream lower cost DRAM components in the manufacture of the next generation high density DIMMs, without increasing the number of memory ranks or the load on the CPU. The 8GB 2-Rank RDIMM is built with mainstream 1Gb DDR2 SDRAMs instead of the significantly more expensive 2Gb, thus lowering the cost of the module. The MetaSDRAM chipset consists of flow controllers and an access manager which sit between the memory controller and the DRAM. It enables up to four times more mainstream DRAMs to be integrated into the DIMM without the need for any system level hardware or software changes. The chipset makes multiple DRAMs look like a larger capacity DRAM to the memory controller resulting in high capacity memory modules that circumvent the normal limitations of the memory controller.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 10:11 AM | Comments
Electronic Arts Offers $2B for Take-Two
Electronic Arts Inc. said Sunday it was pushing ahead with a bid to take over upstart gaming rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., despite rebuffs from the smaller company. EA said in a statement that it was making an all-cash bid of $26 per share, or about $2 billion, for New York-based Take-Two, known for its "Grand Theft Auto" franchise.
The offer represents a 64 percent premium over Take-Two's closing stock price of $15.83 on Feb. 15, the last trading day before Redwood City-based EA made its proposal. Take-Two shares closed at $17.36 Friday. "There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today," EA Chief Executive John Riccitiello wrote in a letter to Take-Two released Sunday.
Posted by | Mon, Feb 25, 2008 - 09:07 AM | Comments
Is Intel creating a six core chip?
Staff at the Inquirer are reporting that Intel have developed a new CPU with six cores. Accodring to their source "eclipse.sys-con.com" it was "designed in Bangalore, and will use three dual core 45 nanometre Penryn processors with a shared 16MB L3 cache."
CHIP FIRM Intel is preparing to introduce a six core chip called the "Dunnington", a processor that will pave the way for its Nehalem architecture later this year.
Posted by | Sat, Feb 23, 2008 - 09:01 AM | Comments
FOXCONN teams with audio pioneer DTS for integrated PC products
DTS, a digital audio ingredient technology company dedicated to delivering the ultimate entertainment experience and FOXCONN, a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of PC motherboards, today jointly announced a strategic agreement to integrate DTS CONNECT and DTS Surround Sensation into upcoming FOXCONN computer motherboards. “With DTS technologies we can add further value to our burgeoning Digital Life motherboard segment which focuses on digital entertainment capabilities, and thereby enhance the role of the PC as a digital entertainment platform,” said Eric Chu, Motherboard Product Leader for FOXCONN.
"DTS CONNECT ensures simple installation of groundbreaking audio capabilities for the PC, breathing new excitement into every consumer's audio entertainment, experience” said Brian Towne, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Division at DTS. “Coupled with DTS SurroundSensation, FOXCONN will be able to bring rich DTS surround audio to the global PC market seamlessly, regardless of whether it is in a two channel or multi-channel system environment. We’re proud to be working with FOXCONN, one of the largest motherboard solution providers, to launch these technologies around the world.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 02:05 PM | Comments
EU, U.S. vow crackdown on computer counterfeits
EU and U.S. senior officials said on Friday they would crack down on counterfeiting of computer components after they seized over 360,000 fake items in just two weeks in a joint operation at the end of last year. ntegrated circuits and computer components of over 40 trademarks including Intel, Cisco and Philips, worth more than $1.3 billion, were seized during the operation, the officials said.
"There are increasing numbers with high-tech goods, goods that impact our critical infrastructure," Baldwin told reporters after talks with European Union counterparts in Brussels. Integrated circuits are used in a wide range of products including computers, aircraft, cars and telecommunications.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 08:32 AM | Comments
Nvidia GeForce 9-series lineup revealed
With the launch of the mid-range GeForce 9600 GT marking the debut of Nvidia's GeForce 9-series, graphics card makers have revealed details of the rest of the cards Nvidia is scheduled to launch in the coming months. At the top-end of the 9-series cards will sit the dual-GPU GeForce 9800 GX2 which will launch on March 11 this year. This will be followed by the GeForce 9800 GTX and 9800 GT between the end of March and beginning of April.
For the mid-range Nvidia will offer the GeForce 9600 GS in May, according the sources. In June, the company will launch the value-level GeForce 9500 GT based on the G96 graphics core with a reduced 128-bit memory interface. To complete the series, the GeForce 9500 GS will launch in July.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 08:30 AM | Comments
Intel to add more entry-level CPUs to Santa Rosa platform
Intel is planning to launch three entry-level SV/ULV CPUs for its Santa Rosa notebook platform in April, sources at notebook makers have disclosed.
Intel plans to launch the Celeron 570 first on April 6 priced at US$134, and then on April 20 the company will add the Celeron 550 and 560 with prices set at US$86 and US$107, respectively. Intel has also confirmed pricing for its small form factor (SFF) CPUs for the Centrino 2 (Montevina) platform, according to the sources.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 08:29 AM | Comments
Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 Atomic - Single Slot Cooling Ideal For CrossFireX
The Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 ATOMIC video card was just released from the folks at Sapphire and features an exciting new single slot cooler – the first in the world to feature Vapour Chamber Technology (VCT). This advanced cooler provides more efficient and quieter cooling allowing the ATOMIC edition to ship overclocked out of the box, and to allow enthusiasts even more scope for performance tuning. The single slot design allows the use of four Radeon HD 3870 cards in CrossFire-X configurations even where PCI-Express slots are sited closely together.
SAPPHIRE HD3870 ATOMIC ships in an exclusive aluminium case, with an unrivalled bundle including CCL UV lamp, HDMI adapter and 3m HDMI cable, Black Box games bundle and a discount voucher ($30 in US, 20 Euros in Europe and £15 in UK) in addition to all the standard cables and software. The SAPPHIRE HD 3870 ATOMIC has 512MB of high performance GDDR4 memory, clocked at 1200MHz (2.4GHz effective) and the GPU core is pre-overclocked at 825MHz. Supporting the new CrossFireX technology, two high speed connectors on each card allow 2, 3 or even 4 graphics cards to be daisy-chained together for enhanced performance when installed in a CrossFireX mainboard.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 08:24 AM | Comments
Cooler Master Unleashes the COSMOS S Chassis
ince its introduction, Cooler Master’s COSMOS PC Chassis has garnering numerous awards and accolades around the world. Today, the best just got better as Cooler Master unleashes the COSMOS S Chassis, featuring a new racing design, a touch-sensitive panel, and a gamut of user-friendly features, the COSMOS S is the evolution of the ultimate PC enclosure.
But like a race car, the COSMOS S doesn’t get by on mere looks alone. A look under the hood reveals a high-performance chassis designed for maximum thermal performance. The side panel comes with a massive 200mm, 150 CFM fan for maximum graphics card cooling, while meshed front and side panel design offers superior ventilation. An independent air intake has been designed for a bottom-mounted PSU for easy installation and improved heat management. The top of the COSMOS S has been specially designed as well to accommodate an optional 3-fan radiator for unparalleled thermal performance. For those looking to truly put the pedal to the metal, the COSMOS S also comes complete with rear retaining holes for the latest liquid cooling kits.
Posted by | Fri, Feb 22, 2008 - 08:18 AM | Comments
All Hollywood studios now lined up behind Blu-Ray
All six major Hollywood studios are now in the Blu-ray DVD camp, a day after Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and Blu-ray became effectively the only next-generation game in town.
Paramount Home Entertainment quietly came onboard via a statement issued Wednesday to The Hollywood Reporter: "We are pleased that the industry is moving to a single high-definition format, as we believe it is in the best interest of the consumer," the statement read. "As we look to (begin) releasing our titles on Blu-ray, we will monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly."
Posted by | Thu, Feb 21, 2008 - 08:22 AM | Comments
AMD Radeon HD 3870 and 3850 price drop rumor
Toms Hardware claims that AMD gave them a phone call and told them that AMD will be cutting prices on the Radeon HD 3870 and Radeon HD 3850 graphics cards right before NVIDIA launches the GeForce 9600 GT. No word here from AMD if this is true, but it is likely that a price cut is coming.
AMD called us to announce new prices for the Radeon HD 3850 512 MB and HD 3870. In the USA tonight (and everywhere else soon after), e-tailer prices for the HD 3870 should drop from $245 to $189; The price of the HD 3850 512 MB should drop from $199 to $169.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 21, 2008 - 08:21 AM | Comments
Asustek rumored to have placed huge AMD Sempron CPU order
Asustek Computer is rumored to have placed a large order for AMD's low-end Sempron CPUs promoting industry sources to speculate that the company is planning to support both Intel and AMD platforms with its upcoming E-DT product range. Asustek revealed in late January that is was planning to extend its Eee PC notebook range with three new product types, E-Monitor, E-TV, and E-DT. The E-DT will be a line of desktop PC systems sold without a display, targeting an initial price range of US$200-300 and below, depending on specifications.
Asustek has confirmed that it plans to support Intel's low-cost PC platform, Shelton'08, with the E-DT, however, the type of CPU and the size of the AMD order Asustek is said to have placed would be consistent with moves to develop an AMD-based alternative. Estimates vary on the exact amount of CPUs procured, with some industry sources putting the figure as high as one million units. More conservative sources believe the amount falls within the 0.5-1 million range, while pointing out that a proportion of the CPUs may be destined for other Asustek product lines, and so may not entirely reflect the company's commitment to an AMD-based E-DT lineup.
Posted by | Thu, Feb 21, 2008 - 08:19 AM | Comments
February 21 News from Around the Web
TweakTown reviews the ZOTAC GeForce 9600GT 512MB AMP! Edition and other reviews from around the web are posted in our forums!
"But what makes ZOTAC stand out so much with their AMP! line-up is that the clocks they tend to put on these cards are very aggressive and really make it stand out from the competition. We saw that the 9600GT from Galaxy performed around the same as a HD 3870 with stock clock speeds; with the increased clocks on the ZOTAC AMP! Edition 9600GT we will have to see if it can consistently take the lead."
Posted by | Thu, Feb 21, 2008 - 07:46 AM | Comments
Albatron has announced the 9600GT-512X - GeForce 9600 GT Video Card
Albatron has announced the 9600GT-512X, a new “Performance” VGA card that is already making waves. At more than 80% faster than any 8600 class card, this card will be coming in at prices close to existing leader cards in the same segment. This means that it’s a no-brainer if you are shopping for a Performance or budget-Enthusiast card. The GPU on this card features 65nm process technology which allows the card to run cool and fast with a thin and quiet fan system.
This board boasts the latest memory technology, giving users 512 MB of fast DDR3 memory (1800 MHz) using a 256-bit bus. The panel connectors include two DVI connectors and an HDTV-out connector. It supports Dual-Link HDCP and is SLI™ ready. The board has a PCI Express x16 connector (PCIe 2.0).
Posted by | Thu, Feb 21, 2008 - 06:53 AM | Comments
February 20 News from Around the Web
Find reviews from around the web by visiting our forums! Today, Madshrimps reviews the Seagate 750GB Recertified Hard Drive:
"Today a 1000GB hard drive is commonly available for the power users while a few months back 750GB was the largest capacity. Although hard drive failure is low at less than 2 percent, certified repaired hard drive could be had for much less. Geeks.com stocks both new and certified repaired hard drives; and if backing up your data and system are your priorities after HDD failure, a second large capacity HD may be your best friend."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 10:22 AM | Comments
Dell Says India Sales to Reach $1 Billion by February Next Year
Dell Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, said sales in India may climb to almost $1 billion in the year ending February 2009, helping Asian growth offset effects of an expected slowdown in the U.S.
Higher wages in China and India, the world's fastest-growing major economies, may help Round Rock, Texas-based Dell boost sales growth in Asia as computers become affordable to more consumers. The U.S. company has started selling PCs at Asian retail outlets to raise revenue, which is growing at more than triple the pace of the Americas region, its biggest market.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 07:51 AM | Comments
Nintendo rolls out fitness product for Wii - Wii Fit
Games maker Nintendo Co is planning to launch a new physical fitness product called Wii Fit for U.S. shipping in May, according to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
The Wii Fit will come with a weight-and-motion sensing device called the Wii Balance Board, according to the report. Nintendo is also planning to launch a new online service in the U.S. in May called WiiWare that will allow game publishers to distribute new titles over the Internet directly to users instead of on discs.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 07:46 AM | Comments
AMD not fazed by impending Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT launch tomorrow
With the launch of Nvidia's first next-generation GPU, the GeForce 9600 GT, less than a day away (February 21), AMD has sent out a pre-emptive strike against the new competition, pointing out that AMD has, in its opinion, had cards offering similar, if not better, features on the market for the past three months. With 9600 cards expected to hit the market at suggested retail prices in the range of US$169-189, this puts them up against AMD's current mid-range offering, the Radeon HD 3850, at between US$169-229. However, early benchmark results show the 9600 GT delivering performance just slightly below that of AMD's higher-end product, the 3870, which carries current pricing of around US$189-250 and above.
AMD was also quick to highlight several specifications found in its 3000-series products that it says Nvidia has still yet to match. These include support for DirectX 10.1, 55nm manufacturing leading to cooler, quieter cards, and built-in HDCP. While these claims are all valid, it is debatable whether they serve as anything more than marketing check-points. Games that utilize DX 10.1 are not expected to hit the market in the near- or mid-term, and general opinion is divided on whether it will offer any significant benefit over DX 10. For HDCP, in the current market, it is highly likely vendors will implement support across the range, except for limited cases such as cards destined for OEM or emerging markets. On the other hand, early testing does show AMD having a small but noticeable advantage in terms of heat, power consumption and noise.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 07:44 AM | Comments
IBM experimenting with DNA to build chips - carbon nanotubes
Scientists at IBM are conducting research into arranging carbon nanotubes--strands of carbon atoms that can conduct electricity--into arrays with DNA molecules. Once the nanotube array is meticulously constructed, the laboratory-generated DNA molecules could be removed, leaving an orderly grid of nanotubes. The nanotube grid, conceivably, could function as a data storage device or perform calculations. OCZ Technology is also trying to use Carbon Nanotubes for an upcoming processor heat sink that we showed you here.
"These are DNA nanostructures that are self-assembled into discrete shapes. Our goal is to use these structures as bread boards on which to assemble carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, quantum dots," said Greg Wallraff, an IBM scientist and a lithography and materials expert working on the project. "What we are really making are tiny DNA circuit boards that will be used to assemble other components."
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 07:40 AM | Comments
Fat cat HP cashes in on PCs, servers and printers in Q1
Go ahead, Mark Hurd. Rip off those studious glasses and unbutton that blue Oxford shirt. We know there's a Superman costume lurking under the Clark Kent facade.
Mark "the Cutter" Hurd's HP may well have injected a fresh helping of optimism into the US financial markets. HP today reported a 13 per cent first quarter rise in revenue to $28.5bn. Beyond that, HP pleased very cautious investors by upping its full-year revenue forecast. HP now expects 2008 revenue to come in between $113.4bn and $114bn, which exceeds a previous forecast of $111.5bn. Investors were happy enough with the Q1 results and rosy predictions to boost HP shares by more than five per cent in after-hours trading to $46.19 per share, at the time of this report.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 02:43 AM | Comments
Giant PC outsourcer throws in the towel
Sanmina-SCI, the US electronics contract manufacturing company, has sold its PC business to Foxconn, a major Taiwanese competitor, for between $80m-$90m. It is also selling its Mexican PC plant to Lenovo, for an undisclosed sum.
Foxconn will get its mitts on factories in the US, Mexico and Hungary, but we must wait for Sanmina-SCI's Q2 earnings call in April for further details. The deal is expected to close by June 28. Considering that PC manufacturing accounted for $3bn or so of Sanmina's $10.3bn revenues in 2007, the price that Foxconn is paying shows how terrible margins are in this business, and how keen Sanmina is to get the hell out of there. Sanmina-SCI says the two deals should result in a $200m benefit - as it has "significantly reduced the net assets" in the business since last year, when it first announced its intention to flee PCs.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 02:29 AM | Comments
Foxconn lines up against Asus as high-end mainboard battle looms
In the last 2-3 years ASUS has pretty much dominated the enthusiast market! With some real competition can it hold on to "Top Spot"
TURN BACK time to three years ago, and try to put "Asus" and "overclocker" in a single sentence. No way, it would have been a truly nasty oxymoron. MSI, Gigabyte, were all ahead of Asus' mediocre mobo performance -enhancing capabilities. Then the Republic of Gamers (ROG) - not Republic of China (ROC) mind you - came along. Fast forward to today. Asus ROG boards lead the high-end enthusiast market. Who doesn't know of the Extreme board series with aggressive names like Striker, Blitz, Maximus, Rampage and so on. There is also a notch-below "Formula" series with the same names as above for those more cost-conscious.
Posted by | Wed, Feb 20, 2008 - 02:15 AM | Comments
Corsair Memory Launches DDR3 2000MHz Memory Kits!
Corsair announced today that new record-breaking speeds have been achieved within the Corsair DDR2 and DDR3 lines of DRAM memory. Available by the end of February, two new Corsair 4GB DDR2 module speed grades are being offered for high-performance enthusiast users: Corsair 1066MHz (PC2-8500) and 1142MHz (PC2-9136) 4GB memory kits (2X2GB).
“Pushing the limits of new memory technologies, architectures and densities is what Corsair is known for,” said Jack Peterson, VP of Corporate Marketing at Corsair. “These latest announcements will clearly impress our highly demanding enthusiast customers, as well as push Corsair even farther into the lead as the world’s fastest memory solutions manufacturer,” added Peterson. Recent next generation platform testing using the latest DDR3 technologies, highest density DRAM parts, as well as Corsair DHX cooling solutions has proven that memory modules with performance speeds reaching over 2000MHz (PC3-16000) are now ready for production. The modules operate at faster memory bus speeds than currently available 1800MHz solutions.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 19, 2008 - 05:27 PM | Comments
Intel Releases Skulltrail Systems - Enthusiast Computing Monster
For those who crave more performance than what four processing cores and a single graphics card can deliver today, Intel Corporation has introduced the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. Formerly codenamed “Skulltrail,” this is one of the first enthusiast desktop platforms to support two Intel quad core processors for a total of eight processing engines and a choice of multi-card graphics solutions from either ATI or NVIDIA. Legit Reviews has already reviewed this system in this article and found it to be the fastest system we have ever tested.
The Intel Desktop Board D5400XS, when paired with two Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 processors, forms the foundation of the Intel Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform. Hardcore gamers will welcome the opportunity to enjoy multiple simultaneous graphics card solutions featuring either NVIDIA SLI or ATI Crossfire for today’s latest graphics-intensive titles. And the performance of eight processing cores is especially welcomed by the 3-D animators, digital audio artists and high-definition video editors behind the coolest games here at the Game Developers Conference.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 19, 2008 - 10:38 AM | Comments
February 19 News from Around the Web
CircuitREMIX reviews the Kingston HyperX 2x1GB 1375MHz CL7 DDR3 Kit and other reviews from around the web are posted in our forums! This memory kit has been around a long time and Legit Reviews looked at it 8 months ago here in our first DDR3 round-up.
Kingston is a market leader in the memory market, and it wasn't luck that got it to that point. As we've seen in our past reviews, Kingston has good quality products that perform well. It's HyperX line of products exemplifies this, as the HyperX portfolio contains some of Kingston's highest performing products. In our series of upcoming DDR3 memory kit reviews, I thought I would start off first with our Kingston 1375MHz rated kit. Its rated speed of DDR3-1375 is the lowest of the kits we have lined up to review, so we'll if it has anything up its sleeve.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 19, 2008 - 10:37 AM | Comments
Apple iPod Shuffle 1GB Model Now $49, New 2GB Model Released
Appletoday announced that its iPod shuffle is now even more affordably priced at $49 and that they are introducing a new 2GB model of the iPod shuffle for $69. The popular iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce, features an aluminum design with a built-in clip and comes in five colors—silver, blue, green, purple and a RED special edition.
“At just $49, the iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “The new 2GB model lets music lovers bring even more songs everywhere they go in the impossibly small iPod shuffle.”
Posted by | Tue, Feb 19, 2008 - 10:28 AM | Comments
Arctic Cooling Announces Accelero Xtreme 2900 / 8800 GPU Coolers
wiss cooling solutions provider ARCTIC COOLING today announced the launch of the Accelero Xtreme series, which is specially designed for ATI HD 2900XT/Pro and nVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra/GTX/GT graphic cards as stock cooler replacement. The Accelero Xtreme series features with 5 heatpipes, 107 fins and 3 PWM fans. Its radical optimized airflow design enables up to 240 watt heat dissipation, which guarantees outstanding cooling performance. The MSRP of the Accelero Xtreme 2900 is US$49.90 and the Accelero Xtreme 8800 is US$47.90.
Accelero Xtreme brings out the heat from GPU effectively, resulting in at least 20ºC lower than the stock cooler. Together with the integrated memory cooling and voltage regulator cooling, Accelero Xtreme not only enhances the overclock potential, but also extends the service life of the card. The three 80mm PWM fans operate in extreme silence and generate maximum airflow simultaneously, thanks to the promising low noise impeller as well as the patented fan holder that eliminates humming noise.
Posted by | Tue, Feb 19, 2008 - 10:12 AM | Comments
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