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 .:Latest Topics |
.:Latest News
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Intel Press Room | Subject: General Tech
The first of these two new contests asks you to guess the number of reinvented transistors Intel has shipped since the beginning of the year. These would be our 45 nanometer chips with our Hafnium-based, high-k metal gate transistor formula. It’s a gigantic number and the closest guess wins $500 Amazon gift certificate good for anything, including Intel-based laptops, netbooks, PCs, et al. People can post their guesses at http://blogs.intel.com/technology/2008/12/contest_guess_intel_45nm_trans.php.
One lucky winner in the US or Canada will be chosen, only review one submission per e-mail address and the contest the contest begins now and ends on December 15th, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. Pacific Standard time. The second contest is even more interesting, Intel and Ubisoft together are offering this prize. On the heels of the Intel Core i7 Processor launch and from now through Dec. 30th, 50 sweepstakes entrants will win a copy of Far Cry 2 for Windows, optimized for Core i7 processors from Intel and Ubisoft. Also, one daily participant will be awarded an Intel Core i7 Processor Extreme Edition. More information on that one is at http://contest.ubi.com/COREI7_EMEA/us-US/Main.aspx. This contest will be run in the following countries: United-States, United-Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, New-Zealand and Canada. The Contest will begin on December 1st, 2008 and will end on December 30th.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ExtremeMhz | Subject: System
Setting up the perfect HTPC can be easier that figuring out exactly how to use it. Sure there are fancy universal remotes, or full sized wireless keyboards but they are about as elegant a solution as getting up and walking over to it to control it. ExtremeMhz has found a solution they like, the 262x112x23mm (10x4.5x1") Brando Wireless Tiny Multimedia Keyboard. Read on to find out what impressed them so much.
"While I have used plenty of keyboards that are targeted at HTPC users, I have yet to find one that is perfectly designed. Only one comes close, but still has some features that need improvement. Also, a majority have a lot of features you won't even use in an HTPC environment, making them unnecessarily larger. The keyboard I'll show you here may not be perfect, but is sure in a class of its own in terms of its overall size. Not small or mini, the new Brando Wireless Tiny Keyboard is exactly that...tiny! It is the smallest keyboard I have seen with comfortably-sized keys. Despite its diminutive size, it even packs in a trackball for mouse functionality and multimedia keys, making it suitable for HTPC enthusiasts." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
Ryan has been using the Belkin F1DD104L SOHO KVM switch for a while now, and wanted to share his experiences with you. There is a lot more to this KVM switch than you might expect, beyond it acting as a shared USB hub for just about any USB device. It supports dual-link connections as well as seperate input from microphone and speakers, so you can chat via Skpye on one machine, while using the keyboard, mouse and display on another. Colour coding instead of numbering the machines is a little odd, but easily adapted to.
"The USB emulation also works perfectly - we have not had any issues with the keyboard or mouse in normal use or while benchmarking - no more USB attach/detach sounds to be heard here. Because emulation begins as soon as the system is turned on, you don't even have to "select" each system while it is booting up - it will come up to windows perfectly without issue. Speaking of hearing, the audio and microphone connections were also flawless and the ability to listen to audio from one system while using another worked as expected." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Case and Cooling
If you need enormous amounts of power for your PC, Tagan's BZ 1300W can deliver it. With the ability to deliver 92A and 1104W over it's five 12V rails, you can pack as many video cards as you want and still have enough power, as long as you don't try to hit 1300W. [H]ard|OCP has been dissapointed in Tagan's high wattage PSUs in the past, and this one shows some improvements, such as provideing 80% efficiency across the board and reasonably stable rails. Just don't expect it to handle full load at 100v very well, and whatever you do, don't open it up to look at the quality of the assembly.
"Tagan delivers some impressive features in this 1300 watt powerhouse of a PSU. It is advertised as future proof and
guaranteed to last, but does it deliver the full 1300 watts of advertised power under our test conditions?"
Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Ars Technica is already feeling nostalgic for 2008, so they have started the awards season off early with their 2008 Ovatio awards. (That's a parade for a victorious general, by the way) The best and worst of 2008 are polished up and presented for you, covering the technologies, personalities and decisions that defined 2008 for the tech world. Check it out and see if you agree and be reminded of things you have purposefully forgotten.
"December of 2008 bears many similarities to that winter of eight years ago, but everything is bigger and more complex - the
computer, the network, the industry, the market, even Ars Technica. Nowadays, the web stack encroaches ever further into
the domain of venerable operating system, and the massive datacenter replaces the simple file server. To suit this new and
larger world, we've revived our annual awards tradition, and given it a reboot in the form of The 2008 Ovatio Awards, by
Ars Technica."
Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AMD | Subject: General Tech
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Dec. 04, 2008 - AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that it expects revenue from continuing operations for the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2008 to be approximately 25 percent lower than third quarter 2008 revenue of $1.585 billion, not including process technology license revenue. The decrease is due to weaker than expected demand across all geographies and businesses, particularly in the consumer market. AMD will report fourth quarter 2008 results after market close on January 22, 2009. AMD will hold a conference call on this day for the financial community at 2:00 p.m. PT to discuss fourth quarter results. A real-time audio broadcast of the teleconference will be provided at www.amd.com. The webcast will be available for ten days after the conference call.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Guru of 3D | Subject: System
Head to the Guru of 3D to see their picks for the perfect Christmas system.
Three tiers are covered, from the budget gamer to the powerhouse, and the prices you will pay for the systems vary accordingly. As a handy bonus, each build has a target resolution to play games at, so you can also match your monitor to your system. No point in building a system that plays best at 2560x1600 if your monitor can only manage 1680x1050!
"Today Guru3D offers you their annual PC Buyers Guide, the 2008 Christmas edition was just launched. This article brings you a set of recommendations of products we feel are great components to build yourself a nice gaming rig. Mind you that I deliberately said Gaming PC there as it is our focus, that and being budget aware. We break down this article in three segments, low-budget, mid-range and high-end. Guru3D's guide will only cover the box. Monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers are not included." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
PC Perspective's new sponsor, Galaxy Tech, has gone all out in providing us with some gifts for you, our members. We've already given out a GeForce 9500 GT and a GeForce 9600 GT. We're wrapping up the contest with the biggest prize, a 9800 GT, the winner of which will be announced Monday Dec 8th. You don't have much time left so stop procrastinating!
As usual our contests are incredibly difficult to enter, so you'd better follow the rules closely. Head to this thread in our forums and post something. Let us know how much you love the forums, or how Galaxy is nVIDIA's best partner, or even just say hi. Once you've posted you are entered into the contest and while we do appreciate you keeping the thread going, you only get one entry. 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Zone | Subject: General Tech
Certainly there have been quite a few SSD reviews over the past few months, but as the technology is quickly maturing, it is worth keeping a very close eye on. As they improve, the read and write speeds keep climbing, leaving platter based storage in the dust. For another look at just how far ahead these drives are, check out the review of the top three models at X-bit Labs.
"And that, in essence, is where the SSD rests today - as an expensive extravagance limited only to the most ludicrously high end PCs. While the Intel X25-M breaks the mould and proves SSDs can deliver not only phenomenally fast read, but also decent write performance, its price tag is sure to put all but the most opulent hardware enthusiast off. Sadly the same can't be said for J-Micron based drives like the Patriot Warp v2 and G.Skill 128GB. While they deliver on the promise of significantly increased read speeds, the compromise on write speed makes them useless for all but the most specialist setups. While the price is a whole lot cheaper than the Intel, if you're looking to switch your boot drive over to an SSD you might as well not bother - the issues around drive stuttering and read/write performance in Vista 64-bit just make them more of a headache than a help, although they remain an option if you're considering a dedicated game install drive. So where does this leave the SSD as a storage option? A long way from replacing mechanical drives is where. While Intel has unequivocally proven that the technology has legs and can perform, the price of such delights still sits far from the hands of mere mortals. While we've no doubt that SSD drive speeds will improve, capacities will increase and prices will drop in time, right now the SSD remains a desirable but expensive option that only the most wealthy should consider." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Big Bruin | Subject: Graphics Card
AMD's is utterly dominating the lower end, with the HD4650 nicely under $100, the HD4670 at about $100 and now the HD4830 at just a bit over $100, no matter how tight your budget you can get a card that supports HD playback and will give you impressive gaming performance for the price you pay. Big Bruin posted a full review of the Sapphire Radeon HD4830 here, you can see just how good a bargain it is.
"I am not exactly sure how I expected the Sapphire Radeon HD4830 512MB graphics card to fare during testing, but it wound
up looking more like an enthusiast grade card than an entry level offering. It should be able to handle just about any game
without having to sacrifice too much in terms of frame rates or settings, making it a great option for the gamer on a
budget."
Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Eurogamer | Subject: General Tech
GTA IV has arrived for the PC, allowing all those PC users who haven't picked up a console to see what all the fuss is about. Eurogamer really enjoyed several features such as the music but what really impressed them was the 32 person multiplayer support. Doubling the maximum amount of participants can totally change the multiplayer experience and a lot of console fans may pick the PC version up for that reason. Read the other features that put a smile on their faces here.
"It's not a problem Rockstar ever has to face. The joy of GTA is that it isn't a complete thing. It's endless. If the devs had all the money in the world to spend it wouldn't be enough. There's always something else which could fit in there without changing its core values. But with GTA IV, with as much money as it's about possible for a videogame company to have, we saw what they could do. While it's a step away from certain features of San Andreas, this is as maximalist as a game's ever been, in terms of production values at least. The moment when you're replaying a mission and you realise it's got a completely different, brilliantly voiced conversation between the characters in the car is when you realise you're a long way from most games' occasional barks from whoever was passing through the studio at the time." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: General Tech
It's official, there will be a Windows 7 Beta disk for those attending the MSDN. Follow the links from [H]ard|OCP to read the official story, as the DVD won't actually be in the bag. According to one source, the DVD won't quite be ready in time, but Microsoft promises to ship to attendees it as soon as it is ready.
"Attend an upcoming MSDN Developer Conference and you will receive a Windows 7 Beta DVD. The Windows 7 DVDs will not be ready to hand out in time for the events happening in December, but we’ll definitely mail them out to you as soon as they become available. Everyone attending the event from Houston, Orlando and Atlanta WILL get their DVD, just not at the actual event." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: InsideHW | Subject: Mobile
The new HP Compaq 6735s runs an AMD Athlon X2 QL-60 @ 1,9 GHz on a 790G mobile chipset, sporting a Radeon HD3200 and it has 2GB DDR2. With 250Gb of storage and a DVD-R drive, being able to take a lot on the road with you is quite easy. Check out the laptop that InsideHW calls a workhorse here.
"If you look for familiar brand names when searching for your new notebook then HP will place itself on top of that list. If you don’t have large budget then you will most certainly look for models from “S” class and most probably it will be based on AMD platform. Notebook that satisfies all those characteristics came to our test lab and we are presenting to you: HP Compaq 6735s…" Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Intel Press Room | Subject: General Tech
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Canucks | Subject: Case and Cooling
The SilverStone Fortress FT01 Mid-Tower Case is a Temjin on a serious reducing diet. No longer supporting eATX boards, suddenly the wide open spaces that the TJ series has in most builds are gone, with just the right amount of space for even a high end system. It does have a lot of air cooling, with 180mm fans being used and can support external water cooling setups thanks to the rubber grommets at the back of the case. Read the full review at Hardware Canucks for a better idea of how this case looks.
"As popular as the TJ07, TJ09 are, they are massive cases. Measuring in at over 600mm deep, they were clearly designed with EATX motherboards and full-length expansion cards in mind. Not everyone needs beautiful monstrosities like this. After all, that extra unused real-estate does add to the cost of the chassis. Two years after the release of the popular TJ07, SilverStone has released a smaller, more affordable all-aluminium case; the Fortress FT01. Some of the unique features found in the Temjin series as well as the Sugo line of cases can be found in the FT01." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hardware Zone | Subject: Motherboard
Three top X58 models are on display at Hardware Zone, the ASUS Rampage 2 Extreme, the MSI Eclipse SLI and the Gigabyte EX58-EXTREME. Of the three, it is the Rampage 2 that will set you back the least and overclocks the best, but overall these boards are incredibly similar, the differences are most noticeable in the audio and networking components, as well as eSATA inputs. As was mentioned on the podcast, the new Core i7 processor leaves little room for customization in the chipset, extras are where the difference in X58 boards can be found. Read on to see what to expect.
"Intel's Core i7 has been released and despite its merits, we doubt enthusiasts would go for Intel's reference version. Instead, they will turn to their favorite vendors so we have gathered three of the top models from the top three and presented them here." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
There will be a new Eee Box from ASUS available, using a Celeron 220 CPU as opposed to an Atom CPU. The main drive behind this seems to be increasing sales by knocking $50 off the price of the Eee Box. That may not sound like a huge deal, unless you are trying to put together a system on the cheap, in which case the difference between $240 and $290 is a little more important. According to the story on DigiTimes, tossing in an extra $110 will net you a 19" monitor to go with your Eee Box.
"While its nettop products have not sold as well as expected since debuting four months ago, Asustek is introducing a Celeron version of the Eee Box priced at NT$7,988 (US$240) in order to increase shipments for this year, according to market sources. The company is replacing the Atom processor with a Celeron 220 processor and upgrading its hard drive from 80GB to 120GB, while cutting the overall price, the sources explained." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: S3 Graphics | Subject: Graphics Card
Fremont, California, December 2, 2008 - S3 Graphics today released Beta drivers for the latest version of the OpenGL 3.0 API to take advantage of the Khronos Group's open, cross-platform 3D standard on the newly released Chrome 500 Series programmable GPUs. This major milestone allows software developers to start OpenGL 3.0 development on S3 Graphics hardware using the latest beta driver and GLSL 1.3 shading language on Windows XP and Vista. These drivers bring out the latest capabilities of the OpenGL 3.0 API so developers can enhance their software applications to fully utilize the Chrome 500 Series graphics hardware for innovative and realistic 3D rendering. New features in OpenGL 3.0 include a new version of GLSL shader language, vertex array objects, 32-bit FP textures, four new texture compression methods, sRGB rendering/blending, and performance enhancements for conditional rendering with highly efficient array indexing. The first S3 Graphics product to support the latest OpenGL 3.0 API, the S3 Graphics Chrome 530 GT, is available now through the GStore online outlet at: https://s3gstore.s3graphics.com/ "S3 Graphics is proud to be a major participant and contributor to the Khronos Group and OpenGL Architecture Review Board (ARB). Our goal is to bring to market cutting edge graphics based on full compliance with the requirements of the OpenGL standard," said Yanjun Zhang, Director of Linux Development at S3 Graphics. "With our visual computing ecosystem of partners and customers continuing to grow, the OpenGL community can be confident that S3 Graphics hardware and software are ready to take advantage of the new graphics features of OpenGL 3.0 for upcoming applications." S3 Graphics offers a premium line of discrete graphics processors, from the Chrome 400 Series to the latest Chrome 500 Series multimedia GPUs for the most immersive OpenGL 2D/3D experience. Diverse markets that can take advantage of Chrome 500 Series OpenGL 3.0 acceleration include game, CAD, workstation, and other related PC and workstation markets. To download the latest OpenGL 3.0 beta driver, please go to:http://www.s3graphics.com/en/resources/drivers/chrome_500/ 
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Corsair Memory | Subject: Case and Cooling
Corsair is running a quick survey about the features most important to you in a PSU, as well as some rough details on your next build. It might take a few more clicks than the Valve Hardware Survey to complete, but not many. Share your opinions on what is important to you in a power supply and maybe Corsair's next line of PSUs will focus on what you would prefer.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Guru of 3D | Subject: Memory
DDR3 has had two big effects on the PC market; the first is famliar, higher timings compared to the latest generation of DDR2. The second has only become apparent with the advent of the Core i7 and X58 chipset, triple channel memory. Guru3D takes the OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Gold Low-Voltage Triple Channel kit for a spin, at one point hitting 1800 MHz. If you are setting up a new Core i7 system, these DIMMs are worth some serious consideration.
"Today will test a triple memory kit from none other than OCZ technology, renowned for their speedy part we'll take a look at their OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Gold Low-Voltage Triple Channel memory. A 6GB kit, memory that is capable of 1600MHz DDR3 CL 8-8-8-24 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS) and comes with a lifetime warranty. Doesn't sound too bad eh ? Well it surely isn't. An all new 6 GB kit which we'll test on an 64-bit Windows Vista environment. Razer sharp an fast stuff for sure .. let's check it out. " Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
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