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 .:Latest Topics |
.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Extremetech | Subject: General Tech
If you miss the old IBM Model Ms, that gave you a nice juicy click every time you pressed a key and every time you release the key, then try the Das Keyboard Professional. Not only does it have the right feel to it, it is sturdy enough to defend your cubicle when co-workers come over to try to take it, and it's sound effects away. If you have any idea what I mean, drop by ExtremeTech, otherwise invest in some earplugs.
"Silence is overrated, or at least that's what the makers of the Das Keyboard would like you to think. If you're in search of a keyboard that has the tactile and aural feedback of a typewriter, then fix your attention towards the Das Keyboard Professional. It's shiny, it's loud, and it'll bug the hell out of your co-workers—so please, use discretion in the workplace. Unlike the first two Das Keyboards, the Professional doesn't have the allure and mystery of label-less keys, a tactic meant to discourage hunt-and-peckers from looking down at the typing area. Aside from its labeled, clicky keys, the Professional has refined its appearance: a leaner 18x6-inches, glossy façade, durability of a freaking tank." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: techPowerUp! | Subject: System
techPowerUp has snagged one of the new AMD PCIe TV Wonder 600s, which along with its' 650 brother are the first AIW products we have seen in quite some time. The is the less expensive model, so it is missing some of the features of the higher end model such as a slim profile and HD support. It does handle digital cable, so you don't have to worry about the death of analog TV. Drop by and check it out.
"The new TV Wonder 600 PCIe TV tuner card is the PCI-Express x1 entry level model of the new series. This is also the first time that the TV Wonder series is available in Europe with the PAL standard. It can be used for analog or DVB-T signals and manages MPEG encoding by software. The card is built on a fancy purple PCB, comes with an extremely stylish IR receiver along with a remote and PowerCinema 5." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TweakTown | Subject: Case and Cooling
Drop by Tweaktown for a walkthrough of removing stock heatspreaders from RAM and replacing them with 3rd party coolers. Their article specifically pertains to Kingston DDR2 and a Nexus heatpipe cooler, but the theory does carry over to other models. Especially seeing as how they cover 3 different methods of removing the stock coolers, which is really the hardest part.
"Welcome to another session of void-your-warranty, as today we will look at upgrading the stock heat spreaders on a pair of Kingston DDR2 memory modules. Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Case and Cooling
Lee has just finished up a review of the Corsair HX1000W PSU, a very well made PSU with nothing not to recommend it. The price is in line with the quality and the power provided, but if a PSU can impress Lee this much, you know every penny is well spent. Besides, how can you complain about the price of your PSU after sticking 3 graphics cards in your system, which is what the HX1000 is designed for.
"Corsair took their time and did it right. The new HX1000W modular power supply is one of the best 1,000W PC power supplies we have tested to date. The HX1000W PSU provides excellent voltage regulation and delivers clean outputs with very good efficiency. As if that weren't enough, the HX1000W does it's job quietly, is 80Plus and NVIDIA Triple SLI certified, and comes backed with a 5-year warranty and 24/7 support. Highly recommended!" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Inquirer | Subject: General Tech
nVIDIA is really having a lousy summer. Their attempt to distract from AMD's launch pf the HD4800 series with the 9800GTX+ was all but ignored by reviewers; those few who did review it tended to lean towards AMD's cheaper offerings. Now it comes out that their notebook chipsets and graphics have serious problems, problems that may extend to their add-on cards as well. AMD now has an opportunity to lay the boots in, as their dual GPU HD4870 X2 should be out in a month. Drop by The Inquirer to read about all of nVIDIA's woes.
"NVIDIA IS TANKING, we told you so. It just put out two pieces of very bad news, It's taking a $150-200 million charge in the quarter for what looks to be a product failure, and ATI is kicking its rear end. If you look at the 8K form it just filed, there are two big pieces of bad news. The first is that some unnamed mobile and MCP products have big problems, hundreds of millions of dollars worth. It is said to be, "Arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of our previous generation MCP and GPU products used in notebook systems". That is bad, but to make matters funnier, "There can be no assurance that we will not discover defects in other MCP or GPU products." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TECHGAGE | Subject: Graphics Card
But that is about all the benefit you will see from nVIDIA's PhysX capable GPUs,
unless you are one of the few still playing UT3 (like me). Those benefits that you saw in 3DMark, and heard arguing about, are really the only benefit. UT3 is better with the stand alone card and as it stands currently, GRAW is not compatible with the GPU PhysX; which may change in the near future. Drop by Techgage for some hard numbers on the benefits of nVIDIA's newest feature.
"PhysX is getting a lot of attention right now, but the reasons vary wildly. Since we haven't taken a look at the technology in a while, this article's goal is to see where things stand. We'll also be taking an in-depth look at GPU PhysX performance, using both 3DMark Vantage and UT III." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: I4U News | Subject: General Tech
iMetal's iP-HS2 Isolation Headset will work on anything that can use headphones, though it is branded as an iPhone accessory. You feel a little odd having a microphone attached your MP3 player, but the advanatages of isolating in-the-ear headsets may make you want it anyways. Drop by I4U and get a look at these neodymium driven ear buds.
"Today we are looking at the iMetal iP-HS2 Isolation Headset for iPhone that is designed to work specifically with the iPhone. The headset is very attractive and works well. The other day we reviewed teh iP-HS1 model from the same company. I found that the ear tips are rather small in their sizes; I typically use medium ear tips on most isolation style headsets. On the iMetal iP-HS2 Isolation Headset for iPhone, I had to move up to the large to get the same seal and fit I normally see with medium tips. If you have large ears, this could be an issue for you." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: Processor
AMD is thinking conservatively with it's Phenom line which will hopefully pay off in the business and server markets, for they are not impressing the enthusiast with their three new chips. The chips are faster than previous offerings and retain the low pricing, gaining a reduced TDP and unlocked multipliers. Drop by Ars Technica for an overview of the 2Ghz Phenom 9350e compared against an underclocked 9850.
"AMD hasn't launched a new Phenom X4 processor since late last March, when the B3-based 2.5GHz Phenom 9850 hit the market. Today, the company is making up for lost time, debuting two new 65W energy-efficient Phenom X4s at 1.8GHz and 2GHz, while simultaneously releasing a new higher-end chip at 2.6GHz. This triple play is aimed at boosting the attractiveness of the company's quad-core products in the eyes of both consumers seeking energy-efficient parts and enthusiasts who want top performance from an AMD solution. Of the three chips launching today, we'll focus the majority of our attention on the new 2GHz Phenom, the 9350e. At $199, AMD's new 2GHz part isn't the company's cheapest quad-core, but the chip's 65W rated TDP is considerably lower than the X3 and X4 processors positioned at similar frequencies. The Phenom X3 8450 (2.1GHz), and Phenom X4 9550 (2.2GHz) are both 95W parts, which implies that we should see some excellent power consumption figures from the new CPU. The 2.6GHz Phenom X4 9950 does deserve a mention of its own; we'll discuss the processor briefly before moving on." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Blizzard is one company that gets a big break from gamers. StarCraft came out a long time ago, but there are no running gags about StarCraft 2's release, even after a year of screenshots and teasers. The same goes for Diablo, which has been close to a decade since it's last update and is finally getting updated. Ars Technica can tell you more about Blizzard's announcement of Diablo 3, as well as links to the official site and several of the newer screenshots and teasers.
"Before World of Warcraft was raking in billions of dollars in revenue for the company, Blizzard's biggest RPG franchise was none other than the classic Diablo. Now, some eight years after the release of Diablo II, the company has announced the long-awaited and oft-rumored brand-new iteration in the series, Diablo III. Related Stories Blizzard unveiled the title over the weekend at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France. Though no release date or window has been announced, Blizzard notes that the title will be hitting PCs and Macs simultaneously. When questioned about when fans might expect a potential release, the company responded as it always does by saying the equivalent of "when it's ready." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Slashdot | Subject: General Tech
The dire warning we heard on The Simpsons may soon come true, if the story on Slashdot is correct. For some strange reasons the rare earth elements used in many processes today are in short supply. You may not have heard much about hafnium, gallium or indium but they are present in trace amounts in almost all of your electronics, and they are necessary for current technology. If there are no replacements, substitutes or large undiscovered deposits that can be reached, peak oil may be the least of your worries.
"While we bemoan the current oil crisis, I ran across an editorial that led me to research a more immediate threat. Ramped-up production of flat-panel displays means the material to make them will be 'extinct' by 2017. This goes for other electronics as well. Quoting: 'The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin Reller, a materials chemist at Germany's University of Augsburg. He estimates that our planet's stock of indium will last no more than another decade. All the hafnium will be gone by 2017 also, and another twenty years will see the extinction of zinc. Even copper is an endangered item, since worldwide demand for it is likely to exceed available supplies by the end of the present century.' More links at the journal entry." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Thecus | Subject: Storage
Thecus N5200PRO is extremely well-received by users and IT media worldwide. It is regard as the best of its category. Huge storage capacity under high level of data protection, outstanding performance and numerous functions are the reasons why it is recognized as one of the most desirable digital storage solution for offices and homes to store valuable data. Since N5200PRO usually operates at long period of time, power consumption is a major concern for users. With its energy saving design, N5200PRO requires limited power to execute tasks. Below is power consumption under 3 operation statuses:
The average office PC draws approx. 110W of electricity. Therefore, with 5 high capacity hard drives and maximum loading, N5200PRO power consumption is 28% lower than average PC. It is considered as energy saving device and is applicable to network environment. Users do not need to worry about huge electricity bill when leaving N5200PRO running for a long time. The energy conserving design allows the device to operate with limited electricity.
Josh Walrath | Source: AMD | Subject: Processor
Today is the launch of the 9150e and 9350e Phenom processors, as well as the new Black Edition 9950. The "e" series of chips are rated at a nice 65 watts, and are aimed at productivity boxes as well as HTPCs. The high end 9950 chip is unlocked and ready for some overclocking action. It also sets a new record for power at 140 watts TDP. The 9150e is clocked at 1.8 GHz, the 9350e is at 2 GHz, and the 9950 is sitting pretty at 2.6 GHz (a full 9 months after the infamous Tahoe launch event).
I was sent a 9350e, and while Ryan was busy getting married and frolicking in the sun somewhere down south, I was supposed to be reviewing this sub-65 watt, sub-$200 processor. Apparently my wife was not in the mood to have me review a product all weekend, so she decided to fall down the stairs at home and break her ankle in three places. An ambulance ride (yes, the break was that bad), and ER visit, and a trip to the operating room fleshed out the rest of my day. Throw in a 5 year old boy and a newly adopted 6 year old boy, I had my hands full without even getting close to the testbench. So basically the weekend was slightly unproductive when it comes to a processor testing standpoint. Yesterday I had my chance to really dig in and hopefully get things finished up. Now it seems that Biostar did not want me to finish the review. I have their 780G motherboard here, and it refused to cooperate in any way, shape, or form when it came to successfully booting up and installing Windows while the quad core processor was residing in the socket. Flashing the BIOS and adjusting everything I could think of would not allow the board to boot up. Different memory speeds, timings, dimm manufacturers, power supplies... nothing made the board cooperate with the 9350e. So about 10 pm I gave up on the Biostar and went back to the Asus M3A32 MVP-Deluxe. An OS re-install later, updating, benchmark installation and testing... and it was 2am. So I went to sleep for 4 hours, got back up and continued testing, then went to my job at 8am. So now you all know the reason why there is not a lovely 9350e review up at PC Per. I'm still working on comparative testing then will finish writing the article. I am hoping it will be up later tonight, but when you consider that as of late... if it wasn't for bad luck, we would have no luck at all. Some mixed reviews around the web, but so far my overall impression is positive. AMD is not doing anything revolutionary or radical with their products, but they are trying to fill a niche where they see a chance to sell some processors. Once I finish testing, then I am sure I will have a far more concrete opinion on the Phenom 9350e.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Secrets | Subject: Storage
Hardware Secrets can tell you all you want to know about Serial ATA, it's different flavours and speeds. It's more that just a quick picture of a SATA cable and a PATA cable, they delve into NCQ, port multipliers and even pinout diagrams. Drop by for a look into the newest way to cut cable clutter and speed up your data transfers.
"Serial ATA - or simply SATA - is the hard disk standard created to replace the parallel ATA interface, a.k.a. IDE. SATA provides a transfer rate of 150 MB/s or 300 MB/s against of a 133 MB/s maximum using the previous technology. In this tutorial we will explain everything you need to know about Serial ATA." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: BFG Technologies | Subject: Graphics Card
Lake Forest, IL - (June 30, 2008) - BFG Technologies, Inc., the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies and other PC enthusiast products, announced today the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX factory overclocked graphics cards.
Backed with 24/7/365 free technical support and a lifetime warranty, the BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and OCX versions are factory overclocked graphics cards that go through extensive testing to find the right mix of speeds for the core, memory, and shader clocks that will produce the best performance and uncompromised stability at each level. "Customers should be aware that companies who follow our lead and factory overclock their GPUs tend to rush into setting clocks as high as possible just to claim the highest MHz. However, without extensive testing these cards are likely to be more unstable and prone to a shorter life then are BFG OC series cards", said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG Technologies. "The rigorous testing process we put our GeForce GTX 260 OC2 and OCX cards through to find the optimal speeds for the core, memory, and shader clocks gives customers a more stable, longer lasting, and better performing card overall". BFG GeForce GTX 260 OC2
BFG GeForce GTX 260 OCX
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: Case and Cooling
SilenX's IXTREMA Pro IXC-120HA2 features exposed heatpipes and the ability to support a pair of 120mm fans for some extra cooling power on those systems which require it. Bjorn3D was quite impressed with the cooling it could provide as well as it's relatively quiet operation. They did feel the inclusion of a fan controller would have been a good idea though.
"We have seen many newcomers to the computer cooling industry; and lately, many of these newcomers have been making a name for themselves, like Noctua and Zerotherm. These companies are now competing against well-established manufacturers like ThermalRight and Zalman, and today, we will be reviewing another heatsink and fan from SilenX - even another manufacturer that is quickly becoming a big player in the PC cooling industry." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tech ARP | Subject: Motherboard
Foxconn BlackOps X48 Express has a lot of features bearing the name Quantum for some reason, but don't let the cheesy naming fool you, this board is rather impressive. It will support DDR3-1600, 8 phase power, and has a rather interesting cooling design which will support cooling with dry ice. That may not be the most useful feature, but it is certainly unique. Drop by TechARP for a closer look.
"Foxconn is a relative newcomer to the motherboard business, at least in the retail segment. The truth of the matter is that thhey have been manufacturing motherboards for ages, albeit for other companies. They have only recently entered the retail market under the Foxconn brand name. Recently, they announced the availability of their new Foxconn BlackOps X48 Express motherboard. This is the latest addition to their Quantum Force series of motherboards, which are designed specifically for extreme overclocking. In fact, it is so packed full of features that Foxconn is proudly claiming that it is far superior to what was considered the ultimate overclocker's motherboard - the ASUS Rampage Formula." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Legit Reviews | Subject: Mobile
Legit Reviews has more information on the upcoming Toshiba Qosmio, the x305 model in this case which has some rather nice sounding components. Built around a 3GHz Intel C2D, supporting up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM and with a pair of 200GB 7200rpm drives, the raw performance should be impressive. Add a 17" 1680x1050 screen powered by a mysterious nVIDIA Geforce 9800M GTX graphics with 1GB RAM and you have one impressive laptop.
"The graphics on the Qismio x305 will be powered by the yet to be announced nVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX graphics card, which has 1GB of video memory. For those that still want to game, but save some hard earned dollars we overheard that consumers can customize the notebook with the less expensive GeForce 9700M GT graphics card rather than the GeForce 9800M GTX. NVIDIA hasn't said much about this un-released graphics card, but they did have the Toshiba Qosmio x305 notebook on display at a Microsoft Corporation event this week called the Games for Windows Presents: The Big Picture..." Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hexus | Subject: General Tech
AMD's HD4870 and HD4850 finally deliver on what many enthusiasts have been waiting for these past few generations of GPUs; some competition. nVIDIA has been far and away the better choice for performance and often for price as well. These two new cards from AMD have worried nVIDIA enough that HEXUS thinks we should see some significant changes to nVIDIA's next generation of chips. We all expect performance increases, but nVIDIA may have to tighten up their bottom line and sell the next generation of cards at a lower price than they may have planned.
"Byrne thinks AMD/ATI’s aggressive pricing is just one of its current problems. “One of NVIDIA’s challenges is how to bring a new series to market when you already have so much stock out there,” he says. “Also we have a ‘less is more’ partner strategy whereas NVIDIA’s is ‘more is more’ and that doesn’t work when times are tough.” NVIDIA has roughly three times as many board partners as AMD/ATI, which can help it maximise sales when its GPUs are heavily in demand but can complicate matters when adjustments are needed, such as when your competitor gets its act together. For a look at how AMD has gone about getting its act together on the GPU front, read on... " Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: DIAMOND Multimedia | Subject: Graphics Card
CHATSWORTH, CA - June 27, 2008 - Diamond Multimedia, a leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, sound cards and communications products, launched today along with boutique system builder Smoothcreations, and Water cooling mavens, Danger Den the ATI Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition graphics card. This card offers exquisite gaming capabilities combined with state of the art efficiency. The HD 4870 is a smoking gun dual slot card, PCIE 2.0, with 512MB of DDR5 memory and a clock speed of 800 MHz. The memory speed is 1100 MHz and is designed with 800 stream processors. The HD 4870 provides plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX upgradeability with up to quad-GPU support. Continuing with ATI's Power Play and 55nm processing technology, this card is the fastest and efficient. "The Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition was clocked to kick some ass". We didn't just want a fast card out in the market, we wanted the fastest card that could kick the living daylights and bust some performance records, say Mario Gastelum, Director of Product Development & Engineering. "we wanted a card that kicked the competitions teeth into the curb", and that's exactly what our engineers accomplished". "The firmware was custom designed to enable end users to go beyond the normal over clocked speeds and allow them to push their cards for higher performance via the catalyst control center." The GPU's custom firmware has been unlocked to push cards to GPU settings of up to 950 Mhz and Memory of up 1200 Mhz.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: General Tech
Psychiatrists are currently arguing about codifying Internet addiction into the next update to the DSM as a mental disorder, but they are ignoring a far, far worse condition; hardware upgrade addiction. Help a forum member avoid the social stigma of this horrible disease by offering advice on the components most likely to provide enough performance to delay his next upgrade as long as possible. On the other hand, there are plenty of productive members of society that have come to terms with their problems.
Dropping by the video card forum will let you see how well the new AMD 4870 works for one of our forum members, as well as letting you participate in the debate spawned by Ryan's article. In the storage forum you can see how often forum members defragment their drives, so far it's nowhere near what CNET, PC Mag and the rest seem to be advising in their email alerts. Or, if you wish to just skip all that great advice, make sure to drop by The Trading Forum for some great deals, TLR for some great debate, or just the off-topic forum for some great links and general strangeness. ... and take a day off work/school next week, you deserve it! Want more news? Check out our Archive |
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