Legit Reviews News History
August 25 News from Around the Web
Advanced Overclocking Championship Berlin 2008 @ NordicHardware and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
"This time ASUS had gathered nine teams from around Europe. This time our team consisted of resident writer Robert "crotale" Kihlberg and NordicHardware fellow Marcus "Kinc" Hultin. The three times Swedish national champions were hoping do at least as well as Robert and Jon did back in Hong Kong."
Posted by | Mon, Aug 25, 2008 - 07:34 AM
Intel X58 Express Chipset Gets Active Cooling
At the start of the Intel Developer Forum I saw a ton of Intel DX58SO 'Smackover' motherboards running just a passive chipset cooler on the Intel X58 Express chipset. It seems that Intel has developed an active cooler that attaches above the chipset heat sink for better cooling. Active cooling really help lower the temperatures on the Intel DX58SO platform as you could only imagine. Take a look at more pictures in the forums!
Posted by | Fri, Aug 22, 2008 - 01:53 PM
ECS buys up motherboard plant in China
First-tier motherboard maker Elitegroup Computer System (ECS) has announced that it will acquire the motherboard manufacturing plant that was ordered by the China government to halt production due to tax issues.
ECS commented that originally the facility's owners ended its cooperation with ECS because they felt the motherboard makers order volumes were too low, ECS tried to go through government to solve the issue. However, after evaluation, ECS decide the facility has future potential and decided to acquire it as a wholly owned subsidiary. The plant is also expected to help solve the company's capacity shortages during the peak season, and deliver capacity for future orders.
Posted by | Fri, Aug 22, 2008 - 12:23 PM
Intel cuts electric cords with wireless power system
Intel on Thursday showed off a wireless electric power system that analysts say could revolutionize modern life by freeing devices from transformers and wall outlets. Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm's annual developers forum in San Francisco. Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.
Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units. "The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it's can you do it safely and efficiently," Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video explaining the breakthrough. "It turns out the human body is not affected by magnetic fields; it is affected by electric fields. So what we are doing is transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field." Examples of potential applications include airports, offices or other buildings that could be rigged to supply power to laptops, mobile telephones or other devices toted into them. The technology could also be built into plugged in computer components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left on desks or carried into rooms, according to Smith. "Initially it eliminates chargers and eventually it eliminates batteries all together," analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said of Intel's wireless power system. "That is potentially a world changing event.
Posted by | Thu, Aug 21, 2008 - 11:46 PM
OCZ Unveils Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse
OCZ Technology today unveiled the latest addition to its peripherals with the Dominatrix, a top-of-the-line laser mouse for PC gamers. The OCZ Dominatrix mouse is built with the hardcore player in mind with a solid design, maximum functionality, and programmable customization unique to each user. The Dominatrix offers a competitive edge with quality ergonomics and advanced features to excel even when immersed in the most challenging gaming environments.
Gaming in extremely large resolutions and fast paced battles requires a specialized mouse that is built for comfort and speed, and Dominatrix users can fine-tune the weight and balance of their mouse up to 40 grams for ultimate control. With multiple dpi settings of 2000/1600/800/400, independently adjust both “X & Y” axes for a combined maximum of 3200 dpi for lightning fast responsiveness and fluid gameplay. High speed USB 2.0 delivers a poll rate up to 500Hz and bi-directional connection for breakneck acceleration and control in any first-person shooter.
Posted by | Thu, Aug 21, 2008 - 08:30 PM
August 21 News from Around the Web
OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Flex II Water Cooled Memory Review at Madshrimps and other reviews from around the web can be found in our forums!
Today we take a look at OCZ latest addition to the Flex series : the Flex II DDR3 kit. As a matter of fact, this is our first DDR3 review in the house - better late than never I suppose - so have a look what DDR3 water cooled at 2Ghz can bring to your doorstep.
Posted by | Thu, Aug 21, 2008 - 01:53 PM
Lian Li launches the all new MAXIMA Force PSU’s from 470W to 750W
Lian Li has just launched the new MAXIMA Force series of Power supply units (PSU). The MAXIMA Force offers exceptional power regulation and safety features with 80 Plus certification, which is a key feature in this new green age. The nw MAXIMA Force power supplies come in 470Watts, 650Watts and 750Watts models and were designed with the enthusiast gamer in mind. When it comes to pricing the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price is $104 on the 470W, $144 on the 650W and $177 for the 740W power supply.
MAXIMA Force complies with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V2.3 & EPS 12V rail systems, while the environmentally friendly design for energy saving with Active PFC (>0.9) / High efficiency (>80%) complies with the best standards and allows additional full rated power draw during overclocking sessions. The PCI-E connector has bead-core protection to minimized electromagnetic interference (EMI) for a cleaner output. Unlike some PSU’s out in the market, the MAXIMA Force can support its FULL rated power output.
Posted by | Thu, Aug 21, 2008 - 11:46 AM
August 20 News from Around the Web
Gamepyre has posted their Palit GeForce GTX280 Review! Find this and other reviews by visiting our forums!
Underneath almost every 280 card sticker is the same card in the GTX280 family of cards, with differences being cosmetic in nature in almost every case. There are a few bold partners who make spec changes and such, but that is a limited number of cards being brought to market at best. My point is this; almost every GTX280 you see on the shelf was made with the same spec and same manufacturing procedures so who you buy from becomes a very valid concern in a sea of manufactures. Palit is the biggest NVIDIA and ATI partner with the positions and distribution levels to bring solid business to the game. The Palit GTX280 is another Gamer's Choice Gold as it features the fastest single chipset card in the world the NVIDIA GTX280 and Palit's card is priced at under $500.00, a winning price at this time point.
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 03:26 PM
Intel Planning Skulltrail 2 Platform For Ultimate AMD Ownage
Last year at IDF we showed you some of the first pictures of the Skulltrail platform and when it was finally released it was hands down the fastest platform we have ever tested here at Legit Reviews. We were tipped off at this years IDF that a Skulltrail 2 platfom is in the works at a super secret lab at Intel. No details were given about Skulltrail 2 other than the fact that it is in the works. Intel hasn't been too forward with information and benchmark numbers this IDF for the simple reason they don't have to release them. AMD has no processors to compete with the flagship processors, so everyone here is similing and not talking!
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 02:18 PM
2.6GHz Intel Dunnington 6-Core Processors Shipped To Customers
I just heard yesterday that Intel Intel Dunnington processors were shipped to key channel partners for testing and validation last month and it seems that is true. One of our readers snapped this picture of a 2.6GHz Intel Dunnington processor before being installed in their system for testing. They said all their specific platform needed was a BIOS flash and this 45nm six core beast was up and running in minutes. That is good news for all of us! If any of our readers ever get any hardware before it comes to market send us a picture and we'll keep who you are private.
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 01:06 PM
Intel Nehalem (Core i7) Processor Wafer
Pictured below is a real production wafer of Intel Nehalem, now called Intel Core i7. Anyone with some free time want to count how many cores are there per wafer? Remember don't count the ones on the edge that ran off. Head to the forums for a closer look if you want to actually see each of the four cores per die.
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 01:03 PM
Triple Channel 6GB Memory Kits Ready For Intel Core i7 Platforms
Yesterday I spent some time with Intel Senior Performance Analyst Francois Piednoel going over the fine details of the Intel Core i7 Processor family (Nehalem) and found out that memory companies are ready to start launching triple channel memory kits. Intel has some Aeneon Xtune Memory kits on hand that consisted of three matched 2GB memory modules that are what you need to get the most performance out of upcoming Intel X58 Express powered motherboards. Intel platforms should see a big boost in memory bandwidth thanks to the memory controller being integrated and the fact that it is triple channel. Intel isn't letting use talk about performance numbers, but current platforms get about 8.5 to 8.9 Gbps of memory bandwidth with dual channel at 1800MHz... Triple channel memory will blow this number out of the water!
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 12:57 PM
CoolIT Develops MTEC Docking Station For Intel Laptops
Collaborating with Intel, CoolIT has developed the ultimate cooling solution for Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor based laptops including the first mobile quad core processor - the Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor QX9300. CoolIT Systems’ new MTEC docking station effectively enables safe, yet powerful overclocking capabilities, and boasts the following breakthrough features.
“The MTEC Docking Station marks a crucial turning point in mobile gaming technology,” states Geoff Lyon, CEO of CoolIT Systems. “The Intel Core 2 Extreme mobile processor QX9300, enhanced by CoolIT’s MTEC technology, will bring avid gamers and enthusiasts to unprecedented levels of extreme gaming performance.”
Posted by | Wed, Aug 20, 2008 - 12:53 PM
Futuremark Games Studio unveils Shattered Horizon
Futuremark Games Studio today revealed Shattered Horizon, a new game where players fight to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophic Moon mining accident that throws billions of tons of rocky debris into near-Earth space. In this multiplayer first-person shooter for PC teams of players experience realistic zero gravity combat surrounded by the broken remains of orbital infrastructure and the millions of asteroids now encircling the Earth.
Appealing to everyone who has ever dreamed of going into space Shattered Horizon puts the player in the spacesuit of a survivor from the Moon mining operation or one of the astronauts trapped on the battered International Space Station. With Earth surrounded by debris there's little chance of rescue or return. Desperate battles are fought and control of limited supplies means the difference between survival and death in the cold of space. Jukka Mäkinen, Head of Futuremark Games Studio, said, “We are excited to reveal the first details of Shattered Horizon. Fans of 3DMark have been asking us to make a game for many years. We’re working hard to create something new, different and very, very fun.”
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 04:56 PM
Antec Enters the Mobile Computing Market
Antec today announced that they are launching a new line of standard components for the mobile computing market. The announcement of the new laptop components, compatible with Intel's Rich Creek 2 and CBB standards, marks the first time that system builders will be able to build customized, personalized laptops from individual components, in the same way they do now with server and desktop PCs.
Antec's new mobile product line contains a wide range of CBB components including two laptop chassis, a docking station, both CBB and RC2-specific keyboards, AC adapters, battery packs, and several components such as integral webcams and Bluetooth modules.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 12:44 PM
Dell Announces Mike Ming Urban Designs on Studio 15/17 Series Laptops
Enhancing personal expression and style, Dell today launches five bold and contemporary Special Art Edition designs for the Dell Studio 15 and 17 laptops, exclusively created by urban artist Mike Ming. Building off of the inaugural Ming art work for the Inspiron 1525 laptop, Dell extends its offering with new designs that showcase Ming’s fluid organic style. Pictured below is the red swirl, which is one of the new urban designs.
Brooklyn-based artist Mike Ming (born Michael Miyahira) blends popular culture, motion and emotion to communicate his visual world. According to Ming, "The technology behind creating Dell's Art House series of laptops allows me to share my visual creations with people who are inspired by art and who want to express their own individually unique sense of style."
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 11:41 AM
Emergent's Gamebryo Game Engine To Use NVIDIA PhysX Technology
NVIDIA Corporation and Emergent Game Technologies have expanded their relationship resulting in NVIDIA PhysX technology being directly integrated into all upcoming versions of the Emergent Gamebryo game development platform. The union of PhysX technology and Gamebryo will give developers the power to push gaming to new levels of interactivity on all platforms and make world-class technology more accessible to the development community.
Gamebryo has been fully optimized for development on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii, and was recently selected as the development platform for the next-generation console titles Civilization Revolution by Firaxis and Splatterhouse by BottleRocket. Gamebryo is also being used by EA-Mythic for its upcoming game, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning as well as Divinity 2: Ego Draconis from Larian Studios.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 09:43 AM
Thecus Reveals the AMD Processor-Based N4100PRO NAS Device
Thecus recently revealed the brand new 4-bay NAS – N4100PRO. With powerful new RAID options, a built-in LCD, and vastly improved data throughput, the N4100PRO ups the ante once again with increased usability, functionality, and performance when it comes to network attached storage devices.
Powered by the AMD Geode LX800 processor and 256MB of DDR400 memory, the N4100PRO delivers the raw horsepower required to transfer files quickly and efficiently. With updated hardware and a ton of performance improvements, the data transfer speed of N4100PRO doubles that of the original N4100! Four 3.5" SATA hard disk bays enable up to 4TB of storage, and users can manage this space with an updated list of RAID mode selections, including 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and JBOD. The N4100PRO also offers advanced RAID management features, including RAID expansion and RAID level migration for ultimate flexibility. To top it off, the N4100PRO comes equipped with a big, bright LCM module, which displays useful status messages such as IP address, date and time, and RAID status, making it easy for users to keep an eye on the condition of their N4100PRO. With features like these, the N4100PRO is easier to manage than ever.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 09:39 AM
OCZ Technology Introduces ModXStream Power Supplies
OCZ Technology Group late yesterday announced the ModXStream Pro, a gaming-grade power supply series that offers consumers a combination of OCZ’s cutting-edge PSU architecture and an efficient modular cable management system. Designed for enthusiasts and gamers in 400W, 500W, 600W, and 700W configurations, the ModXStream Pro is built for unparalleled stability and will provide optimal high-performance power to the latest GPUs and CPUs while promoting a tidy case environment.
The ModXStream Pro delivers OCZ excellence with the benefits of modular cables, thanks to OCZ’s “EZMod” technology, which features all detachable cables with the exception of the essential mainboard connectors. Modular cabling has emerged as the preferred design on the market with system builders and gamers utilizing the option to optimize airflow and eliminate cable mazes. ModXStream Pro PSUs are therefore equipped to allow complete customization of your power system by utilizing only the connectors you require.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 09:36 AM
August 19 News from Around the Web
BIOSTAR T-Power I45 @ [H]ardOCP and other reviews from around the web can be found by visiting our forums!
BIOSTAR T-Power I45 - Last year we reviewed BIOSTAR's T-Force P965 Deluxe. The board was simply outstanding and was certainly on par with offerings from other more recognized builders of enthusiast class motherboards. Today we are looking at another T-Force series offering; the T-Force TPower I45. Is this BIOSTAR motherboard up to the test?
Posted by | Tue, Aug 19, 2008 - 09:16 AM
HP introduces lightweight business laptops
Hewlett-Packard has announced a line of portable lightweight computers aimed at business travelers to compete with a product range announced by rival Dell Inc last week. HP said it expected the HP EliteBook 2530p and HP EliteBook 2730p to become available by early September, with estimated prices of $1,499 and $1,670, respectively.
HP said on Monday that the lineup included the EliteBook 2530p, which is the smallest and lightest of its computers with a weight of just over 3 pounds and an extended battery life. The company said its EliteBook 2730p is an ultra-thin computer that converts to a touch-screen pen-based tablet computer with a twist of its screen and weighs 3.7 pounds.
Posted by | Mon, Aug 18, 2008 - 10:12 AM
REALTIME WORLDS PUTS OUT AN APB FOR NVIDIA PHYSX TECHNOLOGY
Often underappreciated by those who only casually play games, fast and accurate physical models and calculations are a key to a game’s playability and realism. From the effect of explosions on nearby objects, to the impacts of car accidents, to how a character reacts when hit, physics is as important to realism as high-quality graphics. Because of this, Realtime Worlds’ upcoming massively multiplayer online game, APB, will take advantage of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and PhysX technology to enhance the game’s free-form combat and real-time driving environments.
“Realtime Worlds, by our very name, defines what games we aim to create,” said Dave Jones, the CEO of Realtime Worlds. “APB is a vastly ambitious project, combining the key elements of action gameplay in a living, breathing world with millions of players around the globe. In order to fully realise the vision of APB, it was essential to include next-generation physics in our game world. This is why we choose to standardize our development on GeForce GPUs and NVIDIA PhysX technology, the combination of which has given our developers the power and freedom to deliver the first action and physics based combat gameplay into the massively multiplayer online space.”
Posted by | Mon, Aug 18, 2008 - 10:09 AM
August 18 News from Around the Web
Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme Review @ OCC and other reviews from around the web can be found in our forums!
"Overall, I would have to say that the limited edition Gigabyte EP-45 Extreme is the best motherboard that I've ever used for overclocking. The BIOS was simple to navigate, and Gigabyte's Dual BIOS technology really gives the user some peace of mind knowing that if they screw one BIOS up, another BIOS is right there for them to use. The LED readout is an overclocker's dream, because it allows us to see where the issues are if the system isn't booting. For me, the memory was what was holding my overclocking back. I was able to obtain an FSB speed of 500MHz, which is extremely good, considering four threads of data are being sent through the Northbridge at 500MHz x 7 (3.5GHz). I don't think I've ever hit 500 on a motherboard due to some sort of bottleneck of the CPU or memory."
Posted by | Mon, Aug 18, 2008 - 09:59 AM
AMD Says Intel Nehalem Microarchitecture Copied Their Design
Today, AMD’s top CPU and GPU executives, Randy Allen and Rick Bergman, covered a number of key industry topics that are sure to get lots of attention during IDF in a conference call with the press today. They disclosed the usual AMD news about upcoming products, but this slide took the cake. AMD included the slide as a joke and mentioned that imitation is the greatest form of flattery!!
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 12:50 PM
CoolIT Announces Water Cooling Kit For Radeon 4870 X2 GPUs
CoolIT Systems late yesterday announced the Dual Drive Bay VGA Cooler designed to aggressively cool AMD’s new ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics card. The unique form factor enables extreme computing performance for PC Enthusiasts and Gamers. In recent testing, the liquid cooled cards were stably clocked up to 880MHz (13.5% Increase) core clock speed and the GDDR5 memory pushed to 1GHz (11% increase). I'm not sure how they did the math, but with reference GPU clock is 750MHz, so that is a 17% increase. The results, if correct, seem to be better than what we were able to do with the reference cooler in our recent review on the Radeon HD 4870 X2.
"The liquid cooling technology that AMD co-developed with CoolIT provides superior cooling protection for users who want to operate their ATI Radeon graphics processors at high clock speeds for extended periods of time,” said Dr. Gamal Refai-Ahmed, AMD Fellow and Chief Thermal Architect, AMD Graphics Product Group. “By delivering an innovative, compelling solution inside a unique form factor, CoolIT helps enable ATI Radeon graphics processors to perform at high levels.”
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 07:50 AM
VIA lands roughly 500,000 Nano processor orders from Hewlett-Packard (HP)
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has reportedly recently place orders for VIA Technologies' Nano CPUs the chipmaker has already started shipping. However, it is currently unknown whether HP will use the CPUs in its mainstream notebooks or netbook series, according to sources from the PC industry.
VIA has commented that in addition to previous orders from vendors in China, the company has recently landed orders from a certain first-tier notebook vendor and the product will appear in the market by October this year. As for VIA's C7-M processor which is used in HP's 2133 Mini-Note PC, the total volume that HP ordered has already reached 500,000 units, which indicates that HP expects to ship at least 500,000 2133 Mini-Note PCs by the end of this year, noted the sources.
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 07:24 AM
T-Mobile to offer first Android smartphone
Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA will be the first carrier to offer a mobile phone based on Google Inc's Android software, the New York Times reported, citing people briefed on the company's plans.
The phone is expected to go on sale in the U.S. before Christmas and perhaps as early as October, the paper said.
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 07:22 AM
OCZ Announces New Solid State Drive (SSD) - Core Series V2 SATA II
Responding the demands of enthusiasts and high-performance mobile computing consumers, OCZ Technology has unveiled the newest addition to their industry-leading OCZ Core Series SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drives. The Core Series has established OCZ as a pioneer in the SSD market by offering consumers the benefits of solid drives technology at an affordable price. With the industry continuously shifting in this direction, OCZ strives to place its Core Series at the forefront.
Featuring new architecture, the Core Series SSD V2 will be available in up to a massive 250GB capacity and delivers enhanced speeds of up to 170 MB/s read and 98 MB/s write speeds with an improved seek time of less than 0.2-0.3ms, making the Core V2 significantly faster when it comes to both Read/Write and seek-time performance. The addition of a mini-USB port also makes it possible for customers in the field to update the Core V2’s firmware should new versions become available, to further enhance compatibility or performance with future platforms.
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 07:20 AM
VIA Announces First Nano-ITX Board with VIA VX800 - EPIA N700
Today the team over at VIA announced the VIA EPIA N700, their first mainboard based on Nano-ITX form factor to feature the highly-integrated VX800 media system processor, which combines the north bridge and south bridge in a single chip. Featuring a 1.5GHz VIA C7 or 500MHz VIA Eden processor, the VIA EPIA N700 is the first Nano-ITX board to feature the latest VIA VX800 media system processor, offering system designers the perfect balance of ruthless miniaturization and uncompromising functionality. A picture of this new VIA EPIA N700 board can be seen below.
Compact, yet user friendly, the VIA EPIA N700 uses additional onboard ports to make system design of compact PCs easier; two S-ATA ports, a Gigabit LAN port, a COM port, two USB 2.0 ports and a VGA port are provided, with additional COM, LVDS and IDE support available through onboard pin-headers. With the VX800 offering an integrated DX9 graphics core and excellent hardware accelerated video playback, this compact, low heat, power-efficient board is the ultimate solution for designing low heat, compact systems. The VIA EPIA N700 is the lowest profile Nano-ITX board ever.
Posted by | Fri, Aug 15, 2008 - 06:36 AM
Lian Li launches PC-XB01 - Xbox 360 Chassis Replacement
Lian-Li is launching the PC-XB01 chassis for the Xbox 360 today. The XB01 is a chassis replacement for the XBox 360 chassis, which alleviates heating issues from hot components and reduces noise from vibrating optical drives in the original case design. The PC-XB01 requires DIY knowledge for the transfer of components, but once completed, heat will no longer be a factor in dampening your XBox 360 gaming experience. The Manufacturers Recommended Selling Price (MSRP) is set at $149USD and it is expected to be for sale later this month.
The Lian Li PC-XB01 is the perfect complement to the Xbox 360 to alleviate heating issues. The stylish exterior gives your product a sense of class and will fit in with almost any living room environment. Microsoft Inc is very strict on warranties, so it should be noted that you will not be able to return your product if you use the Lian Li PC-XB01 alternative. With that being said, you are less likely to have overheating.
Posted by | Thu, Aug 14, 2008 - 10:32 AM
NVIDIA Demonstrates First Fully Interactive GPU-Based Ray Tracer
Another industry first is in the works this week during SIGGRAPH 2008 in Los Angeles—NVIDIA is demonstrating the world's first fully interactive GPU-based ray tracer. Based purely on NVIDIA GPU technology, the ray tracer shows linear scaling rendering of a highly complex, two-million polygon, anti-aliased automotive styling application. To see more pictures from the demo follow the link below to the forum!
At three bounces, performance is demonstrated at up to 30 frames per second (fps) at HD resolutions of 1920x1080 for an image-based lighting paint shader, ray traced shadows, and reflections and refractions running on four next-generation Quadro GPUs in an NVIDIA Quadro Plex 2100 D4 Visual Computing System (VCS).
Posted by | Thu, Aug 14, 2008 - 10:25 AM
Intel desktop CPU plans updated - Q8200 and E5200 Coming Soon
Intel is planning to launch a 45nm quad-core CPU – Core 2 Quad Q8200 with a core frequency of 2.33GHz and price of US$224 in thousand-unit tray quantities by the end of August along with a new dual-core Pentium E5200 CPU at 2.5GHz and US$84. The company will also launch a 65nm Conroe-L-based Celeron 450 CPU at 2.2GHz and US$53, according to sources at motherboard makers.
In addition to launching new products, the company is also planning to offer a price drop in mid October for CPUs including the Q8200, which will drop from US$224 to US$203, Core 2 Quad Q6600 from US$193 to US$183, Core 2 Duo E7300 from US$133 to US$113, Pentium E2220 from US$84 to US$74 and Pentium E2200 from US$74 to US$64, noted the sources. In the third quarter of this year, Intel's 45m Core 2 Quad CPU series will account for 6% of the company's total desktop CPU shipments, while 45nm Core 2 Duo E8000 and E7000 series will account for around 16% and 13%, respectively. 45nm Pentium E5000 series will account for less than 2% and Atom 200 series only 3%.
Posted by | Wed, Aug 13, 2008 - 09:25 AM
Nvidia Has First Loss in 6 Years, but Announces Buyback
Nvidia Corp., the second-largest maker of computer graphics chips, yesterday posted its first quarterly loss in six years. The shares jumped in late trading after the company said it boosted a share buyback program by $1-billion (U.S.). The second-quarter loss of $120.9-million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a profit of $172.7-million, or 29 cents, a year earlier, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia said yesterday. The stock was trading up nearly 11% when the market opened with this news.
"Our Q2 financial performance was disappointing. The desktop PC market around the world weakened during the quarter. And our miscalculation of competitive price position further pressured our desktop GPU business. We have a great product line-up and, having taken the necessary pricing actions, we are strongly positioned again. Our focus now is to drive cost improvements and to further enhance our competitiveness through the many exciting initiatives we have planned for the rest of the year," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO of NVIDIA. "In contrast, the rest of our businesses did not exhibit the same dynamics as our desktop business. The notebook GPU, MCP, and Professional Solutions groups grew a combined 27 percent year-over year."
Posted by | Wed, Aug 13, 2008 - 09:24 AM
Rumor Says Nvidia Desktop Cards are Failing! G92 and G94 Cores in Question!
The Inq has posted up another story about faulty NVIDIA graphics cards and this time around they are making a big claim. They are saying that the Geforce 8800GT, 8800GTS, 8800GS, mobile 8800's, most of the 9800 suffixes, and a few 9600 models are all failing at a higher than normal rate. They go on to say that all G92 and G94 variants are susceptible to the same problem - basically they are all defective. They don't give any specific details on the problem and some of their readers have commented on this. One reader left the comment; "I've been reading these articles with some interest but now your articles are starting to read like a vendetta [against NVIDIA]". We'll see what our research can dig up and post an update later today.
A little digging revealed what this, and more, is all about, and it's far uglier than just the 'notebook' version. It seems that four board partners are seeing G92 and G94 chips going bad in the field at high rates. If you know what failures look like statistically, they follow a Poisson distribution, aka a bell curve. The failures start out small, and ramp up quickly - very quickly. If you know what you are looking for, you can catch the signs early on. From the sound of the backchannel grumblings, the failures have been flagged already, and NV isn't playing nice with their partners.
Posted by | Wed, Aug 13, 2008 - 09:08 AM
Intel Responds to NVIDIA Talking Smack About Larrabee
It didn't take long for Intel to see our news post about NVIDIA takling about Intel's Larrabee chip and they have sent over a response for us to publish. They didn't directly answer the questions NVIDIA asked, but at least we know they are paying close attention to the situation!
Intel has never said the GPU is dying or that it is a shrinking market. We are happy that Nvidia thinks that Larrabee has 'enormous floating point processing power'. Although it should be specified that on top of this power, Larrabee's x86 architecture will make it easy to program too, allowing the world's programmers to harness that power.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 09:07 PM
ASUS Announces World's Fastest EAH4870X2 Series
ASUS has today introduced the graphical solution for the latest generation of AMD dual RV770XT GPUs – the ASUS EAH4870X2/HTDI/2G – equipped with double GPUs and a massive 2G of on-board memory. Additionally, the ASUS EAH4870X2 TOP will be released soon with impressive performance results to provide superb gaming performance.
In line with the Rock Solid promise of high quality from ASUS, the second versions of the EAH4870X2 Series will come with several solutions to provide top quality graphic performances. These upgraded graphics cards will utilize a specially designed fansink to effectively dissipate heat away from both GPUs – enabling much more stable performances in comparison to reference designed single fansinks*. In addition, they will also be equipped with an EMI shield, which reduces EMI Interference by 66% for more stable signals; and DIP Spring Chokes will lower temperatures by 5~10°C in comparison to traditional Toroidal Coil Chokes.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 08:14 PM
NVIDIA Speaks Out About Intel Larrabee - Stirs The Hornets Nest Some More!
NVIDIA doesn't seem too happy with the current noise about Larrabee and thought that it was time to address some of the questions they are getting from the media. They also went one step further and asked some of their own questions that they feel should be answered. This is well worth a read if you have been following Larrabee and NVIDIA's CUDA language. It sounds like those at Siggraph should have some good stories to tell!
Intel has spent a lot of energy telling the world that the GPU is dying or that it is not a growing market ‐ why then are they investing so heavily on Larrabee and talking so much about it? Larrabee, like NVIDIA GPUs, has enormous floating point processing power. Wouldn’t this encourage all the supercomputing clusters in the world to adopt GPU/Larrabee‐style architectures and subsequently hurt Intel’s CPU market?
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 07:01 PM
Asetek Announces Water Cooled ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics
Asetek's LCLC liquid cooling solution is now available for AMD's much anticipated multi-GPU cards, the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 family of graphics cards (codenamed R700).
"The days of computers that sound like jet aircraft taking off are over. Our award-winning, LCLC provides worry-free, aggressive thermal management for advanced gaming and graphics-intensive applications—especially those using multiple GPUs like AMD's latest R700-based graphics cards." When used as part of a Radeon HD 4870 X2 Crossfire configuration, the LCLC product consumes only two of the four PCI slots normally used, freeing up two slots for other configuration upgrades. End users now have additional configuration flexibility.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 06:51 PM
AMD Launches World's Fastest Graphics Card
AMD today announced the world's fastest graphics card, the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2, advancing visual computing ever closer to eye-definition computing gaming and cinematic experiences and delivering a whopping 2.4 teraFLOPS of processing power. Also announced today is the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 graphics card, delivering blistering performance at a compelling price point. My review on the card is nearly complete. I got the crazy idea to change test systems over the weekend, so I had to start from scratch for this review. The test platform has gone from an Intel X38 Express chipset based motherboard with DDR2 to an Intel X48 Express chipset with DDR3 memory. The NVIDIA SLI test system will now be the 790i SLI motherboard with DDR3 memory also. I've also started to include benchmark results from newer games like GRID and Devil May Cry 4. Check back later this afternoon for the review.
"The ATI Radeon HD 4800 X2 series is proof that our graphics strategy is working. The response from OEMs, system integrators, game developers, press, and most importantly, from gamers regarding the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series products has been incredibly positive. Now, only a few short weeks after the launch of those products, AMD reclaims the ultimate performance crown and continues to deliver winning products to market in the ATI Radeon HD 4800 X2 series," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. "The ATI Radeon HD 4800 X2 series continues AMD technology leadership with support for DirectX 10.1, tessellation, and now 2GB of frame buffer. The new products join a line-up of stellar offerings, all of which are designed to give gamers experiences that approach eye-definition computing."
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 12:33 PM
NVIDIA Releases The GeForce Power Pack For Download
Starting today, any owner of a GeForce 8 Series or higher GPU can immediately discover the immersive playability that NVIDIA PhysX technology brings to PC gaming. This first of many planned “GeForce Power Packs” is a fascinating showcase of how PhysX technology is fundamentally changing video games and interactive entertainment and can be downloaded now!
By installing these drivers, GeForce owners can immediately experience much higher levels of interactivity, special effects, and realism on their PC. In addition, GeForce owners will love being able to run PhysX-accelerated applications faster on their GeForce GPU than on competitive GPUs. For example, in the PhysX-enabled levels of Unreal Tournament 3, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ runs 180% faster than on the AMD Radeon HD 4850.
Posted by | Tue, Aug 12, 2008 - 11:09 AM
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