LR News History - Legit Reviews

Legit Reviews News History

Intel to launch three Nehalem-based processors by the end of 4Q08

Intel plans to launch three Nehalem-based quad-core processors (Bloomfield) at the end of the fourth quarter this year targeting the company's new LGA1366 socket, according to sources at motherboard makers. Although official model names have not yet been set, the CPUs are currently identified by the codenames XE, P1 and MS3 with core frequencies of 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz, respectively. All three have a TDP of 130W, 8MB L3 cache and will support simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) technology, the sources detailed.

The company will also launch the X58 and ICH10 chipset combination in the fourth quarter to support these processors. The new platform is expected to increase performance by 15-30% compared to current generation products. The X58 chipset will adopt Intel's latest QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) architecture replacing its longstanding FSB design. The new platform will also feature four PCI Express 8x slots and support AMD's Quad CrossFireX technology, however it is still unknown whether Intel will be able to license Nvidia's SLI technology too.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Tue, Jun 24, 2008 - 09:39 AM

June 24 News from Around the Web

HotHardware.com posted their review of the Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000 Processor. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!

Today we have a look at Intel's new top-of-the-line Core 2 Mobile chip, the Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000. At 2.8GHz with a full 6MB of L2 cache and a TDP of 35 Watts, this chip is Intel's fastest notebook CPU for the performance enthusiast, gaming, and multimedia markets, aka the Desktop Replacement (DTR) crowd. Our test vehicle was none other than Dell's XPS M1730 killer mobile gaming machine. A match made in heaven? Perhaps. Come on by the site and find out...

Posted by | Tue, Jun 24, 2008 - 09:00 AM

Lian-Li launches the all new Tyr X2000 HTPC/Gaming Chassis

Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the Tyr X2000 chassis designed to stand out in your living room in absolute Lian Li style. Taking the original concept of low profile and slim designs and turning it completely around; there is no hiding of this case as it proudly resembles multimedia speakers, and emblazons your fashion sense in style.

The Tyr X2000 is aligned to become the most unique HTPC/Gaming Chassis on the market today allowing unprecedented high performance components to be encompassed in the home theater environment without compromising on looks and appeal. The stylish and unique side panels accept 2x 5.25” Optical Device Drives and one 3.5” drive, which are accessible from either the left or right side, while the front face is for ergonomics and airflow. The 6x hot swap RAID SATA HDD bays can contain terabytes of multimedia for your viewing pleasure while the spaciously zoned interior can accommodate virtually any system you can think of. Lian Li is well known for craftsmanship and quality, and the Tyr X2000 is no exception. Showcasing the new style, with an all black anodized interior, an easily removable front panel which covers 3x 140mm silent intake fans, protected by the removable and washable nylon dust cover. The top mounted multimedia ports include 4x USB 2.0 ports, 1x Firewire (IEEE1394), 1x E-SATA, and HD AC97 Audio ports.

Posted by | Tue, Jun 24, 2008 - 06:38 AM

1.5 Million Australian Students Dump Outlook/Exchange For Gmail

Google just took away one of the world's largest Outlook/Exchange installations for 1.5 million students at Australian schools, and replaced it with Gmail.

The cost savings are substantial. The Outlook/Exchange platform involved a AU$33 million contract and took four years to go live, although it's unclear why it took so long. The Gmail/Google Apps rollout, which is being completed by subcontractors, will cost just $9.5 million and should be live by the end of 2008. User storage will increase from 35 MB to 1 GB.

The Washington Post

Posted by | Tue, Jun 24, 2008 - 04:02 AM

Rare Mac Trojan exploits Apple vulnerability

There's a new trojan for OS X users out now which attacks Apple's remote desktop agent. The trojan uses a keylogger to gain valuable information from keystrokes and uses iSight to capture photos of the user.

The trojan comes in two known variants, a script and an application, both of which requires the user to run them for the trojan to work.

A rare Mac OS X Trojan has been spotted on the internet. The AppleScript-THT Trojan horse exploits a vulnerability within the Apple Remote Desktop Agent to load itself with root privileges onto compromised Mac machines. The malware, which is capable of infecting Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 boxes, surrenders control of compromised systems to hackers

Posted by | Mon, Jun 23, 2008 - 10:04 AM

D-Link appoints new CEO and president

D-Link have appointed a new CEO and President. Tony Tsao will be starting on July 1st. He will be replacing JC Liao.

Taiwan-based branded networking device maker D-Link has appointed Tony Tsao as its new CEO and president starting July 1, the company said after a board meeting last week. Tsao previously served as president of D-Link's international marketing arm, D-Link International.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Mon, Jun 23, 2008 - 09:10 AM

Seagate Ready to Acquire NAND Source IM Flash Technologies From Intel

Industry insiders are talking about what move Seagate Technology, the world's largest and most successful disk drive maker, is going to make to get into a better position in the NAND flash market. Analyst Daniel Amir of financial advisory/asset management firm Lazard Ltd. put out a mergers-and-acquisition research note June 19 speculating that Seagate Technology may buy out Intel Corp.'s 49 percent interest—worth anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion -- in its IM Flash Technologies flash memory joint venture with Micron Technology.

The IM Flash project has made news lately. This month, the IM Flash project started shipping a 34-nanometer, 32-gigabit NAND flash memory chip, the world's smallest and densest yet. Four months ago, the project announced a new high-speed NAND flash memory chip based on 8GB memory that they said has data speeds of up to five times faster than conventional NAND.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 23, 2008 - 08:47 AM

Computers in use pass 1 billion mark: Gartner

The number of personal computers in use around the world has surpassed 1 billion, with strong growth in emerging markets set to double the number of PCs by early 2014, research firm Gartner said on Monday. Mature markets accounted for 58 percent of the first billion installed PCs, but would only account for about 30 percent of the next billion, Gartner said.

artner expects more than 180 million computers will be replaced this year, with some sold to second owners through various channels, some broken up and recycled, but many simply dumped directly into landfill. "We estimate ... some 35 million PCs will be dumped into landfill with little or no regard for their toxic content," said Gartner analyst Meike Escherich.

Reuters Technology News

Posted by | Mon, Jun 23, 2008 - 08:44 AM

HP donating file system to Linux - Tru64 Unix Advanced File System (AdvFS)

HP on Monday is announcing the contribution of its Tru64 Unix Advanced File System (AdvFS) source code to the Linux community, offering capabilities in uptime, security, and improved performance of Linux file systems, the company said. AdvFS will be donated as a reference implementation of an enterprise Linux file system. Code will be made available under the General Public License Version 2 for compatibility with the Linux kernel, HP said.

HP's file system could offer capabilities beyond the ext4 file system project for Linux, said Bdale Garbee, chief technologist for HP's open source and Linux organization. These could include improvements in file system simplification and storage management, Garbee said. "File systems tend to take time to mature to a level of robustness and proven capability that would cause a customer to be willing to bet their mission-critical data on a particular file system," Garbee said.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 23, 2008 - 08:43 AM

AMD to launch low-cost PC processor by year-end

AMD has recently notified its partners it is developing a processor to enter the low-cost PC market alongside Intel's Atom and Via Technologies' Nano CPUs. The new CPUs will be officially launched by the end of this year, while related netbook products will begin shipping in the first half of 2009, according to sources at PC makers.

AMD's low-cost PC processor will be based on the company's previous-generation K8 architecture and will support 64-bit instructions. The CPUs will be a single-core model with a frequency of 1.2GHz and will be manufactured on the company's 65nm process. AMD expects its low-cost PC processor to be priced slightly lower than Intel's Atom and has started negotiating with Micro-Star International (MSI), Hewlett-Packard (HP), Acer and vendors in China to win orders.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Fri, Jun 20, 2008 - 07:49 AM

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ Is 55nm - NVIDIA Pulls A Fast One

NVIDIA announced the GeForce 9800 GTX+ this morning when ATI announced the Radeon HD 4850. We covered the Radeon HD 4850 here and have since worked out our drivers issue and the card is being benchmarked along with the GeFOrce 9800 GTX+! We pulled off the heat sink on the GeForce 9800 GTX+ and saw something we didn't expect, a 55nm GPU looking back at us. Seems NVIDIA has been working hard lately and was able to shrink their G92 die down. No wonder the MSRP on the card is $229. Check out the pictures below and head to the forums to comment. It is free to join.

At NVIDIA, we have always taken care of the value conscious gamer. After all, we invented the perfect ‘gamer’s card’ with the GeForce 2 MX in 2000. And we’ve never stopped since – the GeForce 6600 GT, 7600 GT and 8800 GT are some of the most popular graphics cards in history. Today we take it up one more notch with the GeForce 9800 GTX+. At $229, it offers unbeatable value for value conscious gamers.

Posted by | Thu, Jun 19, 2008 - 02:43 PM

June 19 News from Around the Web

Find reviews from around the web by visiting our forums! The following comes from TweakTown's MSI P45 Platinum Motherboard Review:

"Today we have an early market sample of MSI’s P45 Platinum which is their top of the range board, this designed to compete with both ASUS’ and GIGABYTE’s ultra high-end P45 offerings. While it doesn’t have the full retail packaging included, we’ve confirmed with MSI that it’s the final revision board in our labs. For our comparison today, we are pitting the MSI P45 Platinum against our oldest but most impressive P35 board we have, GIGABYTE’s P35 DQ6. Both are based on DDR2 memory which make these systems equally matched apart from the change in chipset."

Posted by | Thu, Jun 19, 2008 - 07:59 AM

NVIDIA Users Can Run Folding @ Home - Windows GPU2 6.12 beta 6 Released

If you run F@H you'll be happy to know that the NVIDIA beta client has been released, which means you can fold on your GPU. The initial release works on Windows only, but this is a great start. If you haven't folded for a team before be sure to check out the Legit Folding Team under team number 38296!

Note that this is still a very early beta and there's lots to fix. In particular, we need to correct some issues with the visualization and the EUE handling. However, we've got that in our roadmap and should be rolling that out over the next few weeks or so (hopefully sooner, but it may be longer depending on how tricky these bugs are to handle).

Posted by | Wed, Jun 18, 2008 - 04:25 PM

World’s Fastest Supercomputers Employ AMD Opteron CPUs

At the International Supercomputing Conference, AMD today announced that its AMD Opteron processors have helped deliver many of the top performing supercomputers in the world. For the first time ever, AMD technology plays a role in the number one supercomputer in the world and this same processor technology that helps drive the number one supercomputer is also readily available for business and personal computing.

“This current TOP500 list, with its first ever petascale performance, not only represents a milestone in scientific computing but also demonstrates the relevance of scalability and balanced system design in high performance computing (HPC). It also points to heterogeneous computing as an emerging and necessary step for the industry,” said Randy Allen, senior vice president, Computation Solutions Group, AMD. “AMD and its many supercomputing partners, including top tier OEMs, recognize that for heterogeneous computing to be successful, collaboration among industry leaders is critical. The performance demonstrated on this list by AMD and our partners exceeds what any single solution has ever been able to achieve and we believe this tightly coupled innovation will become more prevalent to the benefit of HPC, as well as business and personal computing customers.”

Posted by | Wed, Jun 18, 2008 - 04:15 PM

KISTI Supercomputing Center Uses NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 Graphics

Today, NVIDIA announced that the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information Supercomputing Center has selected NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 graphics cards to power the visual computing performance in its 146-computing node, high-definition visualization system. We actually have a picture of them installing the cards, which is pretty cool.

Koo Gee Bum, at KISTI explains why the Center selected NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 to optimize the high-performance visuals: “We first considered using a less-powerful graphics card to drive our large-scale visualization system, but we soon realized that achieving advanced performance would require an advanced graphics solution. The obvious choice was NVIDIA Quadro graphics. With Quadro graphics cards in our systems, we achieve far superior performance over general-use graphics and can deliver an outstanding visual experience for the Center.”

Posted by | Wed, Jun 18, 2008 - 04:12 PM

CoolIT Systems Announces VGA Cooler for the NVIDIA GTX280 Video Card

CoolIT Systems just announced the availability of the NV200 VGA Coldplate that is compatible with the new GeForce GTX280 and GTX260 cards recently announced by NVIDIA. The solution features a single slot, high performance liquid cooling solution that effectively cools the GPU, RAM, nVio Chip and VR that, when mated with CoolIT’s award-winning liquid cooling technology, provides extreme cooling to achieve optimal performance for the GTX280 in single card or SLI setup.

“There is an insatiable demand in the enthusiast and gaming markets for high performance graphics cards” remarks Geoff Lyon, CEO of CoolIT Systems. “By keeping up with today’s newest graphics cards, CoolIT can enable extreme performance dropping the temperature significantly to enhance the already stellar performance of these cutting-edge NVIDIA cards” adds Lyon. The CoolIT Systems NV200 VGA Coldplate is now available with the VGA Reference solution, 120mm Radiator and will soon be available as a stand alone product for the DIY market.

Posted by | Wed, Jun 18, 2008 - 04:06 PM

Firefox Goes for a Record, Breaks Mozilla Servers

The new version of the Firefox Web browser became available as a free download today, but the release was delayed nearly two hours as users visiting the crashed the Mozilla servers. Firefox supporters organized a world record attempt for most software downloads in a 24-hour period for the new category for Guinness World Records. The new version is available so you might want to get yours now while the servers are still up!

Mozilla hyped today's Firefox 3 launch with a 'Download Day' appeal to Firefox users to all come get the new version at once and shoot for a new Guinness World Record. But some network difficulties handling that huge rush of traffic is keeping many visitors from helping Mozilla reach that goal.

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 03:48 PM

Amsterdam gets Europe's first mobile Wimax network

A commercial network launched in Amsterdam on Tuesday is the first in Europe to use a mobile version of the Wimax standard to allow users to surf the Web at high speeds while on the move, operator Worldmax said. The broadband wireless network is aimed at competing with telecoms operators KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile, the privately held Dutch firm said.

The company will charge about 20 euros ($31) per month for a wireless broadband connection for laptop computers with unlimited amount of data. With comparable speeds to broadband, a lower price and no long-term contract, Van der Vlist said Worldmax expects to gain customers from mobile operators, but eventually also attract new customer groups such as teenagers which at the moment cannot afford mobile broadband.

Reuters Technology News

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 10:24 AM

Take-Two Responds to Electronic Arts' Tender Offer - No Way

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today responded to Electronic Arts Inc.'s announcement that it is extending for a fourth time its unsolicited conditional tender offer to acquire all of Take-Two's outstanding shares. The Board of Directors remains in unanimous agreement that the proposal is contrary to the best interests of Take-Two stockholders, and the Board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to EA.

"The latest extension of EA's unsolicited, highly conditional tender offer does not alter the fact that their proposal still significantly undervalues Take-Two, a fact that is reflected in the overwhelming number of stockholders who still have not tendered their shares," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of the Board of Take-Two. "Our Board of Directors remains in unanimous agreement that the proposal is contrary to the best interests of Take-Two stockholders, and the Board continues to recommend that stockholders not tender their shares to EA. The Board remains focused on the strategic process that began formally on April 30 to consider all alternatives to maximize value. We believe that these alternatives, which may include a business combination or remaining independent, will deliver greater value to stockholders than the current EA offer."

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 10:22 AM

Toshiba Launches Laptop with 128GB Solid State Drive

Toshiba's Digital Products Division today announced the addition of a 128GB solid state drive (SSD) into the innovative Portege laptop series. Toshiba's 2.4 pound Portege R500-S5007V is the world's lightest laptop with a 128GB SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive and one of the world's thinnest with a SSD and DVD SuperMulti drive. Better have some cash though as the recommended configuration of the Portege R500-S5007V has an MSRP of $2,999!

'With seven world's first technologies the Portege R500 series has served as a technology launching pad and redefined the ultraportable marketplace with its world's first technologies and 'green' attributes, such as a transreflective LED backlit indoor/outdoor viewing display, the industry's highest rated EPEAT Gold laptop and Energy Star 4.0 compliance,' said Jeff Barney, general manager and vice president, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. 'First to incorporate a 128GB solid state drive is another major accomplishment for Toshiba and illustrates how the company is committed to delivering solutions that meet the needs of our customers.'

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 10:16 AM

AMD to update its low-power CPU lineup

AMD is planning to launch several low-power triple-core and quad-core CPUs during the second half of 2008 all featuring a TDP of 65W, according to sources at motherboard makers. Meanwhile the company will launch the low-power quad-core Phenom X4 9350e in the third quarter and another model in the fourth quarter, the sources added, and in the first quarter of 2009, AMD will begin to roll out its 45nm quad-core CPUs (Propus) targeting core frequencies between 2.3-2.6GHz.

Two low-power triple-core Phenom CPUs – X3 8250e and 8450e – will feature core frequencies of 1.9GHz and 2.1GHz, respectively, and both include an L2 cache of 1.5MB and L3 cache of 2MB. The two CPUs will enter DVT in July and start mass production at the beginning of August. If the process goes smoothly, the two CPUs should appear in the channel by mid to late August, the sources said.

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 10:07 AM

ASUS My Cinema - PE9400 Combo TV Card Announced

For the consumer who needs to watch one thing while recording another, ASUS, has introduced a new PCI-express TV tuner, the ASUS My Cinema - PE9400 Combo. This versatile add-in card supports both digital (ATSC/QAM) and analog (NTSC) TV formats, and features an MPEG2 hardware encoder to reduce CPU loading with high-quality video output – allowing users to enjoy an all-in-one PC multimedia package. The My Cinema PE9400 Combo will be available via ASUS North American resellers starting July 1st, 2008 with the introductory MSRP being $79 USD.

The My Cinema - PE9400 Combo allows users to watch and record high-quality digital (ATSC/QAM) and analog (NTSC) TV programs on their PCs simultaneously. This card adopts a 500 Mb/s PCI Express x1 interface, which is 3 times faster than the default PCI bus (133Mb/s) in transmission speed. An embedded MPEG2 hardware encoder dramatically reduces CPU loading whilst guaranteeing high-quality video when processing transmissions. This allows users to surf the Internet and record TV programs without degrading performance. Additionally, the PE9400 Combo leverages hardware noise reduction technology, which minimizes video artifacts.

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 10:05 AM

June 17 News from Around the Web

Tweaknews has posted their In Win Powerman Commander 1200 Watt Power Supply Review! Find this and other reviews from around the 'net by visiting our forums!

"In-Win is surely going to turn some heads with the Commander – not only does it have a one of a kind look, it has demonstrated excellent stability and its four +12V rails are ready to power up any hardware thrown its way. I can see this being not only a good choice for today's gaming rigs, but it should easily last through another upgrade or two as well. Realistically, not many current systems out there are going to pull 1200W of power but in a few years this might be exactly what's needed."

Posted by | Tue, Jun 17, 2008 - 07:24 AM

AMD Stream Processor First to Break 1 Teraflop Barrier

At the International Supercomputing Conference, AMD today introduced its next-generation stream processor, the AMD FireStream 9250, specifically designed to accelerate critical algorithms in high-performance computing (HPC), mainstream and consumer applications. Leveraging the GPU design expertise of AMD's Graphics Product Group, AMD FireStream 9250 breaks the one teraflop barrier for single precision performance. It occupies a single PCI slot, for unmatched density and with power consumption of less than 150 watts, the AMD FireStream 9250 delivers an unprecedented rate of performance per watt efficiency with up to eight gigaflops per watt.

The AMD FireStream 9250 stream processor includes a second-generation double-precision floating point hardware implementation delivering more than 200 gigaflops, building on the capabilities of the earlier AMD FireStream 9170, the industry's first GP-GPU with double-precision floating point support. The AMD FireStream 9250's compact size makes it ideal for small 1U servers as well as most desktop systems, workstations, and larger servers and it features 1GB of GDDR3 memory, enabling developers to handle large, complex problems.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 16, 2008 - 10:32 AM

PNY Unveils XLR8 GTX 280 and GTX 260 Graphics Cards

PNY Technologies just announced the XLR8 GeForce GTX 280 PCI-e 2.0 and GTX 260 PCI-e 2.0 graphics cards. Based on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 Series of GPUs’ second generation unified architecture and NVIDIA’s new GPU PhysX technology, gamers will undergo a dynamic 3D gaming experience. Legit Reviews took had a chance to review the XLR8 GeForce GTX 280 here and found it to be a great card! The MSRP on the GTX 280 will be $649.99 and $399.99 on the GTX 260.

'With convincing facial animation, multiple ultra-high polygon characters in complex environments and fully simulated physical effects, these cards bring 3D games to life,' said Nicholas Mauro, senior marketing manager, PC components. 'Not just for gamers, these cards broaden our scope of products to reach even programmers—who need to offload processing tasks from the CPU to the GPU. In fact, the GTX 200 series delivers performance improvements up to 7x a traditional CPU.'

Posted by | Mon, Jun 16, 2008 - 10:25 AM

ASUS GTX280 Video Card Announced - ASUS ENGTX280/HTDP/1G

ASUS just announced the release of the ASUS ENGTX280/HTDP/1G SLI-ready graphics card. Sporting the NVIDIA GeForce GTX280 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), the ENGTX280/HTDP/1G boasts 1GB memory enabling users to easily enjoy the latest games at extremely high resolutions. The card ships with ASUS’ latest version of SmartDoctor, an exclusive utility that gives gamers the freedom to easily adjust the Shader Clock, allowing gamers to squeeze the most out of their gaming system. The ASUS ENGTX280/HTDP/1G will go on sale through ASUS North American dealers on June 17, 2008. The introductory MSRP is $649 USD.

Bottlenecks are now a thing of the past thanks to 1GB of on-board memory. The more embedded memory a video card has the more data it can store. To address the requirements of today’s resource intensive PC games, the ASUS ENGTX280/HTDP/1G offers not only more memory but faster memory. The end result is that users can enjoy the ultimate gaming experience without lag or stuttering even at extremely high resolutions and with the maximum quality settings turned on.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 16, 2008 - 10:21 AM

June 16 News from Around the Web

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 launched today, so be sure to check out our review here. Be sure to check out the other reviews from around the web in our forums!

Hot on the heels of a rapid-succession GeForce 9800 GX2 and GeForce 9800 GTX launch only two short months ago, NVIDIA now officially unveils the GeForce GTX 280 and GTX 260 video cards. Using the fastest and most-powerful graphics processor NVIDIA has ever developed, both new GeForce products are constructed from a freshly-minted GT200 graphics processor. Both the GTX 280 and GTX 260 products position themselves at the very highest segment of the GeForce product line. NVIDIA Estimates that the GeForce GTX 280 will be introduced at $649, while the similarly powerful GeForce GTX 260 will enter the $399 price point. If the competition ever had a very good reason to be concerned with their future, it would be right now.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 16, 2008 - 09:45 AM

NVIDIA Launches GTX 200 Series GPUs

NVIDIA has launched it GTX 200 series graphics processing units, which include the GTX 260 and the GTX 280. The GPUs have the 240 processing cores compared with the two or four cores that PC processors have today. This technology is seen as a great leap forward in the industry to provide more realistic gaming to enthusiasts as well as faster functionality in general to mainstream computer users.

Imagine instead of taking over five hours to convert a video for your iPod, it only takes 35 minutes. Imagine using your PC to simulate protein folding to help find a cure for debilitating diseases. Imagine that your PC can dramatically accelerate everyday tasks, and deliver an exciting visual experience in the process. Today that imagination becomes a reality now that the leader in visual computing technologies, NVIDIA has introduced its new family of GeForce GTX 200 graphics processors (GPUs)—which includes the GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 GPUs—taking graphics beyond gaming and gaming beyond anything that’s ever been possible before on a consumer computing platform.

Posted by | Mon, Jun 16, 2008 - 09:33 AM

CoolIT Announcing Intel SkullTrail Liquid CPU Cooling Kits

We just got a heads up that CoolIT is announcing liquid cooling solutions for Skull Trail later today! CoolIT Systems will announce later today its new “ST” line of liquid cooling solutions designed specifically to work with Intel’s D5400XS motherboard (formerly codenamed Skull Trail). The lineup consists of the Boreas MTEC Chassis ST and PURE ST both of which cooling to both CPUs and the chipset. Both the Boreas MTEC Chassis ST and PURE ST are available from multiple distributors and online etailers, with street prices expected to be $899 and $269 respectively. The picture of the $899 Boreas MTEC Chassis ST can be seen below.

The PURE ST easily fits into any chassis with a 120mm fan mount and efficiently cools both CPUs and the chipset with near silent operation. The Boreas MTEC Chassis ST combines CoolIT’s most powerful MTEC technology in the Boreas with the well renowned Silverstone TJ07 chassis to create the ideal barebones kit for the most avid PC enthusiast to the experienced professional content creator.

Posted by | Thu, Jun 12, 2008 - 10:25 AM

AMD and Havok to Optimize Physics for Gaming

AMD and Havok today announced plans to jointly investigate the optimization of physics effects utilizing AMD’s full line of products. With over 100 developers and 300 leading titles already using Havok’s physics engine - Havok Physics – the company has clearly defined its position as the leading developer of game physics. By working together, both companies are demonstrating their commitment to open standards and continued support for the needs of the game community.

Havok Physics scales extremely well across the entire family of AMD processors, including quad-core products such as the AMD Phenom X4. As part of the collaboration, Havok and AMD plan to further optimize the full range of Havok technologies on AMD x86 superscalar processors. The two companies will also investigate the use of AMD’s massively parallel ATI Radeon GPUs to manage appropriate aspects of physical world simulation in the future.

Posted by | Thu, Jun 12, 2008 - 09:10 AM

June 12 News from Around the Web

[H]ardOCP posted a review of the Thermaltake Purepower RX 600W. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!

Thermaltake Purepower RX 600W - We move from Thermaltake's Toughpower to its line branded the "Purepower." No doubt that when you are buying a power supply for your upgrade or new build you want "pure power" and enough of it to handle today's power hungry CPUs and GPUs.

Posted by | Thu, Jun 12, 2008 - 08:35 AM

Monster Cable goes wireless with HD kit

Monster Cable Products Inc., the company that's synonymous with expensive video and audio cables, is going wireless. On Thursday, Monster is introducing a set of two boxes: a receiver that plugs into the back of a high-definition TV and a transmitter that connects to a DVD player or other components of a home entertainment center. The transmitter can send an HD video signal wirelessly up to 30 feet to the receiver, using so-called ultra-wideband, or UWB, technology from Sigma Designs Inc.

"This is our Monster Cable-less solution," joked Monster Cable president Noel Lee, in an interview. The Monster Digital Express HD boxes will be available in October for $299.95 each. Wireless HD connections are a hot field in consumer electronics, with many companies trying different technologies to solve the problem of maintaining a steady flow of wireless data at very high speeds. Ultra-wideband, a relatively novel technology, is a leading contender.

Posted by | Thu, Jun 12, 2008 - 01:18 AM

Kingston Releases High-Performance 800MHz HyperX SO-DIMMS

Kingston Technology today announced it is shipping HyperX 800MHz low-latency DDR2 SO-DIMM notebook memory kits in 2GB and 4GB capacities. The 4GB kit (KHX6400S2LLK2/4G) has 5-5-5-18 memory timings and retails for $138. That is impressive as many 4GB desktop memory kits run at the same timings and frequency! I wish notebooks like the Dell XPS M1730 ran at 800MHz out of the box, but those only run at 667MHz. You can overclock that system though and this kit could come in handy!

The latest offering provides mobile computer users an even greater performance and flexibility option as the SO-DIMMs are pre-programmed with three serial presence detect (SPD) profiles, allowing the memory to work in 800MHz-CL5, 667MHZ-CL4 and 533MHz-CL3 low-latency configurations. The release of the 800MHz SO-DIMM kits continues a series of new performance notebook memory offerings. In May, Kingston launched HyperX 667MHz-CL4 SO-DIMM kits.

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 04:00 PM

OCZ Announces Spyder USB 2.0 Flash Drives

OCZ Technology Group today announced the latest addition to its award-winning lineup of performance flash drives with the all-new Spyder, first debuted at Computex 2008. Undertaking exciting new endeavors in the flash memory market, OCZ is all about affordable, portable, and innovative style with this super-sleek and cap-less design that offers students and professionals highly reliable and high-capacity flash storage at an aggressive price point. The Spyder will be initially available in 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB capacities.

“With the latest flash technology, OCZ saw the opportunity to serve customers that are always on the go with our new ultra-portable Spyder USB drive,” said Alex Mei, CMO, OCZ Technology Group. “The Spyder is an ultra portable and lightweight USB drive that features an innovative slide design which eliminates the possibility of ever losing a cap, making the Spyder the perfect USB drive for consumers to carry their valuable data and multimedia with them at all times.”

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 03:51 PM

AMD Next-Generation OpenGL ES 2.0 Graphics Technology

AMD today announced that it has reached a new milestone in the mobile graphics industry as the first 3D graphics technology provider to achieve OpenGL ES 2.0 conformance certification. AMD OpenGL ES 2.0 mobile graphics technology, which will be included in AMD processors, is based on the same AMD Unified Shader Architecture powering the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game console.

OpenGL ES 2.0, an industry-specified application programming interface (API), enables rapid rendering of cutting-edge 3D graphics for a variety of consumer electronics devices. As a leading supplier of media processors and graphics cores for the handheld market, AMD works with an ecosystem of device makers, software developers and baseband suppliers to deliver innovative technology solutions that can yield truly compelling mobile content. The company has been an early and active proponent of the OpenGL ES 2.0 API. “We are pleased to be the first technology provider to achieve OpenGL ES 2.0 certification from the Khronos™ Group,” said Mikko Saari, senior director of design engineering for AMD’s Handheld division. “This underscores our commitment to building and nurturing the mobile gaming ecosystem to thrill consumers while providing our OEM customers and the mobile gaming community with a competitive advantage.”

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 02:52 PM

ASUS Announces First-Ever Republic of Gamers Convention

ASUS today officially unveiled its first-ever gaming event in North America. Named after its successful line of gaming-focused products, the Republic of Gamers, the Republic of Gamers Convention (ROGCon) will bring gaming sizzle to Dallas, Texas this July. The ROGCon is the first joint gaming initiative by ASUS and Intel in North America.

The goal of ROGCon is to bring classic LAN gaming back, and to honor the gaming enthusiasts who help fuel technology advancements. With over 40,000 square feet of BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer), BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop), tournament and exhibition space, ASUS and Intel expect to draw over 1,000 gamers and spectators to the event. “Gaming enthusiasts are an integral part of our product plan and design. Through this event, we want to give them an opportunity to get to know the company behind the products they use and love,” said Kevin Huang, Senior Marketing Director at ASUS Computer International (ACI). “This is our most ambitious gaming focused endeavor in North America. Thanks to Intel’s support and our sponsors like Kingston, we plan to make the ROGCon the most talked about gaming event this summer,” added Huang.

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 02:50 PM

June 11 News from Around the Web

In Win Metal Suit GD Designer Computer Case Review @ Tweaknews.net and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!

"In-Win continues to make a name for themselves by releasing excellent cases like the Metal Suit GD. I was impressed by the build quality – every part of the case was solidly constructed; nothing about it felt “cheap”. It packs in a lot of features like liquid cooling readiness, an internal VGA cooling system, and plenty of drive bays while maintaining a sleek, uncluttered look."

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 08:11 AM

AMD suspends several Phenom desktop CPUs until 45nm generation

AMD originally planned to launch two 65nm dual-core Phenom processors codenamed Kuma for the desktop PC market in May or June this year, however the company has recently suspended the plans and will let its Athlon X2 5600B processor cover the market until the company enters 45nm production, according to sources at motherboard makers.

In addition to dual-core Phenoms, AMD has also halted plans to launch Phenom FX processors for the enthusiast market. The sources pointed out that due to AMD's inability to increase the frequencies of its Phenom CPUs, the company has decided to shelve the launch of Phenom FX-80 1P and Phenom FX-90 2P processors. However, AMD is still on track with the launch schedule for its 45nm Deneb FX processors

DigiTimes Daily IT News

Posted by | Wed, Jun 11, 2008 - 07:29 AM

NZXT Announces New Ultra-Premium Gaming Chassis - Khaos

NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to announce the Khaos, a high-performance premium gaming chassis in the NZXT Classic Series. Khaos features breakthrough design in every category effectively satisfying the needs of the most power hungry PC Enthusiasts and Gamers. Khaos will be retailing for $399 and is said to be available in mid-June.

“With Khaos, we have achieved an optimal balance of elegant, symmetric design and an unparalleled set of features, effectively creating the ultimate powerhouse gaming chassis housed in a work of art” said Johnny Hou, Chief Designer at NZXT. “With features like three channel cooling, dual power supply support, and a thick aluminum build, PC Enthusiasts and Gamers have a lot to be excited about.”

Posted by | Tue, Jun 10, 2008 - 10:54 AM

Workstation Market Q1 '08 - Slowing Down According to Jon Peddie

It had to end sometime. The market for professional workstations had set records for unit shipments dating back to Q3'04 and extending all the way through Q4'07. But according to Jon Peddie Research's Workstation Report, Q1'08 finally broke that long string of sequential gains. The quarter saw a total of 822.6 thousand machines shipped, down 3% from Q4'07. Some of this down turn could be from the economy though, so you can't call the workstation market shrinking just yet if you ask me.

But despite the sequential decline, the quarter was far from disappointing. With quarterly fluctuations common, a year-over-year (YoY) measure paints a more accurate picture of market health. And from that perspective, the market posted an 18.4% growth in units, still robust though nudging down a bit from the 23.5% and 23.2% gains of the two quarters prior.

Posted by | Tue, Jun 10, 2008 - 08:04 AM

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