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April 6, 2009

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With college and job stuff, i got no time for myself, so…yes I will have to stop to post in this blog for undetermined time…

Dun think O´m lazy, just no time…

-D0c

DFI Prepares LANParty JR 790GX-M3H5 AM3 mATX Motherboard

March 30, 2009
Famed for its LANParty JR “junior” series high-end mATX motherboard lineup, DFI is preparing an addition: the JR 790GX-M3H5. This one features the AM3 socket, made for the latest AMD processors supporting DDR3 memory. Respecting the constraints this form-factor has, the board goes on to cover every feature one would expect from a larger ATX motherboard, which is the ideology behind the LANParty JR.

The CPU is powered by a 4+1 phase VRM circuit. Expansion includes two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots (electrically x8 when both are populated), a PCI-E x1, and a PCI slot. The 790GX IGP is assisted by 128 MB of DDR3 sideport memory. Display outputs include DVI-D and HDMI. The SB750 southbridge provides six SATA II ports with RAID support. This board will hit the shelves by the end of April.

Source: VR-Zone
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Chieftec Announces CH07 Gamer Mid-Tower Case

March 29, 2009
CHIEFTEC’s successful story began more than 10 years ago when the Dragon Series was introduced; over 50.000 units left our production facilities monthly. To continue the story, CHIEFTEC has done a market survey and developed a brand new midi tower to lead the trend. CH-07 is the model you want to know more about. 

“The CH-07 unifies all expected and necessary features that gamers require and will soon become one of the leading models in the Dragon series”, says the general manager of Chieftec European branch office, Eddy Shih.

Source: techPowerUp!

GeForce GTX 275 Gets First Listing

March 29, 2009
Pitted for direct competition with ATI Radeon HD 4890, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 275 is slated for launch in April. The new SKU already has a listing by European retailer DollarShops.eu, where it is priced at 249 Euro. Yet another $1 = €1 equation in the making, as $249 is expected to be its American MSRP. This time around, NVIDIA leaves it to the partners to make and sell graphics cards based on the GPU. Technically boards supporting the GeForce GTX 260 with its 14 memory chips, should be able to support the new GPU, which has 240 stream processors, while having a 448-bit wide GDDR3 memory interface, coming with memory capacities of 896 MB or even 1792 MB, if partners choose.

Source: GPU Café
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Get famous on Google Earth

March 29, 2009

Hehe .. too funny really. An 18-year old UK fellah thought the best way to get noticed on Google Earth would be to paint a giant 60 feet phallus on the flat roof of his parent’s mansion. His parents only found out after a helicopter pilot contacted newspaper The Sun.

Andy McInnes, a company director, thought it was an April Fool’s joke, but his son Rory confessed he had painted the penis artwork on the roof a year ago, after watching a programme about Google Earth.

Check out more info at Telegraph via dvhardware.

Source: Guru3D

NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI Reference Platform Motherboard Pictured

March 27, 2009
Pursuing legal action against Intel for bringing its Intel-compatible platform development to a grinding halt due to legal complications, NVIDIA has kept its platform development for AMD on track. The company has made the nForce 980a SLI platform official, that supports the latest Phenom II series processors from AMD. The company published the product page on its website, and has pictured its reference design motherboard based on the chipset. The motherboard carries the “designed by NVIDIA” marking, which makes it a design that several of its AIC partners such as EVGA, XFX, Zotac, etc., can use simultaneously. 

The motherboard sports the nForce 980a SLI chipset, paired with the nForce 200 PCI-Express bridge chip. The motherboard features a GeForce 8300-class IGP, with DVI-D and D-Sub outputs. It supports NVIDIA 3-way SLI and Quad-SLI. As an AMD platform, the chipset supports AM2, AM2+ and AM3 socket processors, with DDR3 and DDR2 memory support (depending on the processor). A 5-phase digital PWM circuit powers the processor. The nForce 980a SLI and nForce 200 chips are located adjacent to each other, and are cooled actively by a fan-heatsink. The product design looks production-grade and may attract partners to sell it.

Source: techPowerUp!

VIA Demos First Em-ITX Board with VIA Nano Processor at ESC Silicon Valley

March 27, 2009
VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms will showcase the VIA EITX-3000 Em-ITX board at ESC Silicon Valley 2009. Designed for ultra-thin, high-performance, fanless embedded systems at temperatures ranging from -10o to 70o Celsius, the VIA EITX-3000 uses unique processor placement to deliver leading performance in remarkably hot and cold environments. 

The VIA EITX-3000 places the energy-efficient VIA Nano processor and VIA VX800 media system processor on the reverse side of the board, making greater real-estate available for passive cooling apparatus and thus negating the need for system fans. This makes the VIA EITX-3000 an exceptional choice for high performance systems in always-on applications such as high-end POS, Kiosk, ATM, HMI, factory automation, POI and digital signage.

Source: techPowerUp!

New Apple Patents

March 27, 2009
First, Apple has filed a patent for a handle with an integrated heatpipe – Patent No. 7508662. Most probably, this will appear in some future MacBooks. Of course, the heatpipe poses a limitation in the sense that it cannot get too hot, otherwise the “handle” function could not be fulfilled. Apple could use the heatpipe to cool the chipset or similar, low-power, low heat-output components. 

Source: techPowerUp!

HP Launches New Entertainment PC and Monitors

March 27, 2009
HP this Wednesday announced a new desktop PC, along with complementary widescreen monitors, to deliver consumers the speed, reliability and performance needed for demanding multitasking plus graphic-intensive files and movies. 

The HP Pavilion Elite m9600 series desktop PC features a powerful Intel Core i7 processor and rich entertainment features for videos, games, photos and more. For an enhanced high-definition experience, the HP Pavilion Elite can be paired with one of HP’s new widescreen monitors.

Source: techPowerUp!

Mozilla Attempts 3D-accelerated Browsing

March 27, 2009
Mozilla will chair the initiative to come up with an open standard for 3D graphics on the Web. At the moment, several ideas are being considered, including OpenGL and OpenGL ES 2.0 to enable a 3D world within a browser window. 

The 3D capabilities will be integrated in ECMAScript and run in a browser window without the need of a plug-in. JavaScript and Jscript are compatible with ECMAScript, but include features that are not supported by ECMAScript.

Almost all web-browsers have been improving their JavaScript acceleration, which Microsoft has ignored for the most part. If the 3D capabilities are implemented in the form of ECMAScript, Microsoft may have quite a problem on its hands.

Source: TGDaily
Taken from: techPowerUp!

AMD Announces ATI FirePro V7750, Delivers Blazing Application Performance

March 27, 2009
AMD today announced the availability of the ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator for the high-end market, ideally suited for graphics professionals working in engineering, digital content creation and scientific fields. These professionals need a 3D graphics accelerator that can quickly handle large models and shader-intensive applications, while delivering accurate color reproduction and superior visual quality. The ATI FirePro V7750 delivers features that matter most to these users at $899 MSRP.

“Creating astounding visuals for movies is a tremendous challenge – it has to look absolutely perfect, but time is always of the essence,” said Jabbar Raisani, visual effects expert, Troublemaker Studios. “The ATI FirePro V7750 graphics accelerator helps me achieve flawless effects fast by speeding up rendering so I can focus on creating content rather than waiting for it. I need stable and robust performance graphics hardware to get the job done quickly and the ATI FirePro V7750 is the perfect solution.”

Source: techPowerUp!

Asus to Release Atom N280-powered Eee PC 1002H

March 27, 2009
The Asus Eee family, which among others features one of the most popular netbooks, will receive a new member – the Eee PC 1002H. Similarly to the Eee PC 1000HE, the Eee 1002H will use Intel’s Atom N280 (1.66 GHz, 667 MHz FSB). The laptop will feature a 10-inch LCD screen (1024 x 600 resolution), 1 GB RAM, integrated graphics and a 160 GB hard drive. The new Eee PC features Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth, claimed battery life of up to five hours, a 1.3 megapixel camera, and a multi-card reader. The Eee PC 1002H will be available in black, white and pink and (apparently) only with Windows XP Home Edition. The machine’s price is yet unknown. 

Source: TechConnect
Taken from: techPowerUp!

AMD Demonstrates Optimized Executions of Havok Middleware on AMD platforms

March 27, 2009
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and Havok, the premier provider of interactive software for physics simulation and content development, are presenting new, optimized executions of Havok’s physics middleware on AMD platforms at the 2009 Game Developers Conference. The demonstrations include the first OpenCL supported execution of Havok Cloth. 

Havok offers a complete modular suite of products that help visual and interactive content developers create more realistic games and cinematic special effects. As the latest software developer to take advantage of ATI Stream technology to leverage multi-core architectures and accelerate execution of highly parallel functions, like real-time cloth simulation, Havok will enable game developers to offer improved performance and interactivity across a broad range of OpenCL capable PCs. AMD has recently introduced optimized platform technologies, such as “Dragon” desktop platform technology, which balance performance between the CPU and GPU with ATI Stream technology to deliver outstanding value.

Source: techPowerUp!

TwinTech GeForce GTS 250 1024MB – Review | Test [Guru3D]

March 27, 2009

Today here at Guru3D.com, we’ll review one of TwinTech’s GeForce GTS 250 graphics cards. The TwinTech GeForce GTS 250 XT OC is packed with 1GB of memory, pre-overclocked and comes with a wicked cooler from Arctic Cooling. For a first introduction… that was certainly impressive to see.

But will the product be able to keep up with Guru3D’s pace in testing? Let’s find out. Have a look at this link right here to read up on the full article.

Click here.

Twintech GeForce GTS 250 1024MB XT OC edition

Source: Guru3D

Windows Vista SP2 to be available within weeks

March 27, 2009

The second Service Pack for Windows Vista should be available within a couple of weeks. DailyTech wrote today that Microsoft has delivered the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) Escrow build to Connect beta testers. Windows Vista SP2 will add Blu-ray recording, WiFi updates, and various bug fixes and tweaks.

The new service pack delivers many much anticipated features, along with numerous tweaks and bug fixes which should strengthen the Vista experience. Among the hottest additions in the new pack is the ability to record in Blu-Ray format for the first time in Windows. Other key additions include Bluetooth v2.1 connectivity, Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration wireless functionality, faster Wi-Fi resume times after hibernation, Windows Search 4.0, and the ability to configure the maximum number of TCP connections.

Source: Guru3D

Thermaltake Announces Four New IGSC Series CPU Coolers

March 26, 2009
Thermaltake has four new CPU coolers in the making, part of the series marked with “IGSC” in the model name. The naming scheme propagates as IGSC 100, 200, 300 and 400. The first two supporting all current AMD sockets and Intel LGA-775, while the last two supporting all those sockets, plus LGA-1366. 

IGSE 100 and 200 measure 124 x 96 x 70 mm and 90 x 96 x 140.5 mm respectively, and feature 92 mm fans, while the 300 and 400 measure 126 x 71 x 161 mm and 126 x 71 x 60 mm respectively and use 120 mm fans. Using copper heatpipes as thick at 6 mm, and aluminum fins. Press Release follows:

Source: techPowerUp!

Seagate Introduces BlackArmor Family Of Storage Solutions for Small Business

March 26, 2009
Demonstrating its ongoing commitment to provide small businesses with solutions that meet both current and future storage needs, Seagate, the world’s leading provider of storage solutions, today announced a complete portfolio of products designed to protect data for sustained business continuity and optimum uptime. First introduced in 2008 as a portable Full Disk Encryption drive, the new Seagate BlackArmor product line is the family name for a suite of network-attached, workstation and portable storage solutions designed to meet the digital asset management needs of small business professionals. 

Source: techPowerUp!

AMD Announces Platform-Agnostic Tools for Increased Game Development Efficiency

March 26, 2009
AMD today announced the availability of GPU PerfStudio 2.0, a free, platform-agnostic, next-generation AMD graphics application development tool for game developers, obtainable through a closed beta program. GPU PerfStudio 2.0 has been designed from the ground up to easily integrate with existing projects, and help to identify and resolve performance issues early in the development cycle. With these tools, AMD is bringing its unparalleled understanding of 3D graphics technology and the leadership of its line of ATI Radeon graphics cards to bear on the development process. 

“The GPU PerfStudio 2.0 suite of tools is extensive, customizable and, most importantly, based on open standards, which is critical for developers looking to integrate them into their existing workflows,” said Neal Robison, director, Developer Relations, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “AMD is committed to arming developers with a full complement of hardware and development tools that help increase their development efficiency and improve 3D performance quality.”

Source: techPowerUp!

Lian-Li Launches Low Profile PC-C39 Multimedia HTPC Chassis

March 26, 2009
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the PC-C39 multimedia chassis. This low profile HTPC case comes in two shades, namely silver and black to match in seamlessly with your current home theater décor. The elegant diamond cut sublimely carved into the front face gives the brushed all aluminum chassis a style of its own. The slim lined PC-C39 stands at 435mm x 97mm x 400mm (W, H, D) and weighs in at 3.65kgs. This stylish chassis combines the traditional class and finery of Lian Li with some outstanding innovations, such as the all new wireless remote controller and sensor. The chassis itself supports 2x 3.5”HDD’s and 1x 5.25”ODD. The chassis has 4x low profile expansion slots. 

Source: techPowerUp!

Galaxy Intros Low-Power 9800 GT Graphics Cards

March 26, 2009
Galaxy made an addition to the increasing number of low-power GeForce 9800 GT graphics cards taking shape by several NVIDIA partners. The company introduced 512 MB and 1 GB variants. Specs-wise, the cards retain the GPU and memory configurations (112 SP, 256-bit memory interface), while cutting down on clock-speeds to 550/900 MHz (core/memory), from the reference speeds of 600/900 MHz. 

The company uses the 55 nm G92 GPU (G92-283-B1), which has a smaller thermal footprint in comparison to its 65 nm variant. The result: cards that do not require auxillary power from the 6-pin PCI-E connector. The 1 GB variant comes with a full-coverage single-slot cooler, while the 512 MB one comes with a simpler radial cooler. Both cards are SLI capable. Display outputs provided on the card include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI.

Source: VR-Zone
Taken from: techPowerUp!

SPARKLE Introduces Calibre X250/X250G Graphics Card with Abundant OC Capability

March 26, 2009
SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today announced the Calibre X250 512MB/X250G 1GB GDDR3 Graphics Card with Calibre Dual Fly Fan and SPA Tune OC software, extending the DirectX 10 gaming performance of GeForce GTS 250 GPU to a new level, bringing vivid DX10 gaming graphics on a mainstream consumer computing platform. 

Calibre X250/X250G Graphics Card features a 55nm chip process from TSMC. So It has groundbreaking speeds compared with ordinary GeForce GTS 250 graphics cards on market, the core speed is raised from 738MHz to 761MHz, the shader clock is raised from 1836MHz to 1911MHz, making it can deliver unrivaled graphics performance in the hottest games including Far Cry 2, Mirror’s Edge, and Call of Duty 5: World at War. The Calibre X250/X250G Graphics Card adopts Calibre non-reference PCB design, providing enhanced power circuitry with more phases of vGPU power circuit and vMem circuit. Also it only uses solid capacitors with lower power loss, providing more stable and longer product lifespan.

Source: techPowerUp!

Antec Skeleton case mod contest

March 26, 2009

A true fact is that the Antec Skeleton PC case isn’t exactly a shy and retiring design in itself, which is why entrants to the company’s modding competition have had to reach a little further in order to come up with something eye-catching.  Designs range from repaints, through bizarre furry wings, to doubling-up the case like this spaceship-like concept here; there’s also a very convincing All-In-Antec machine.

The all-in-one design – which looks a little Matrix-like to my novice eye – is perhaps the most successful, tipping the Skeleton onto its side and mounting an LCD onto what would usually be the base.  There’s also an integrated keyboard, and they could have bypassed the separate mouse by using a touchscreen.

The Antec Skeleton in its original form has a 250mm top-mounted fan, a slide-out motherboard tray and, underneath, space for a PSU and drives.  It’s available to buy now, priced at $149.99 .

Check out all kinds of mods right here.

Source: Guru3D

Rumor: Foxconn to end its retail sales

March 26, 2009

Originally Foxconn is a very big OEM manufacturer. Bright Side of News speculates Foxconn will soon quit its retail business.

The site reports those rumors from last year that electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn will be acquiring ASUS’ Pegatron manufacturing division are true, but that one of the conditions is that Foxconn will need to close its retail business. Last quarter Foxconn wasn’t willing to do this just yet, but the report indicates the recession and the drop in demand for computers has accelerated the move.

Foxconn will reportedly acquire Pegatron by June, and close its Channel unit.

Although this is a rumor as of right now, something that might pop up to confirm this would be an announcement that Foxconn is buying Pegatron. Be on the lookout for this type of announcement to corroborate the Foxconn Chanel closure. With this closure, the way for an acquisition of Pegatron Technologies is wide open. This would not only give Foxconn increased manufacturing capacity but also the clients and contacts already held by Pegatron. ASUS would get rid of a competitor as well as receive some extra funds. ASUS has long been working on establishing channel dominance and at the time of this writing, the company is making a tremendous amount of retail products in addition to its component sales. It looks like this would be a win-win situation for both companies and would allow them even greater penetration into the worldwide markets without the increased cost, as it would divide the market between them: ASUS takes the role as a Global Brand and Foxconn as a Global OEM. Once completed, ASUS can go head to head with the big players in the US like Dell, HP and IBM, while at the same time Foxconn is the company that will manufacture most of components for the brands mentioned above.

Source: Guru3D

Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 Soundcard – Review | Test [Guru3D]

March 25, 2009

Auzentech once again cemented their hold on the audio world and offered products to another market segment; the very large PC gaming market. The highly successful X-fi Prelude 7.1 seemed to command a large audience and it seemed everybody and their brother purchased a Prelude 7.1, which was considered by many to be the best gaming card in existence.

Today in our audio lab we have the new Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 soundcard ready to be put through our considerable, majestic yet always fair tests. Let’s see what Auzentech sent over shall we?

You can read ther Guru3D review right here.

 

Auzentech X-fi Forte 7.1 Soundcard Review

Source: Guru3D

New On-Demand Gaming Platform Threatens to Kill Gaming PC Upgrades

March 25, 2009
We all regard PC games, as an entertainment medium, but spend hundreds to even thousands of Dollars regularly, to keep our PCs up to date, to be able to play the latest PC games. Imagine a medium that rids us of that, and we are able to consume PC gaming like any other content, like the TV or radio. Well, that the potential a new on-demand gaming platform holds – to make you never have to buy/upgrade a gaming PC again. 

Called OnLive, the on-demand platform consists of a web service, an internet connection, and a thin-client, called “micro-console” that connects your input (game controllers), and output (monitor/TV/HDTV). You control the game – whichever you’re subscribed to and playing – the client relays your input to the OnLive servers, that do the processing, including graphics rendering, and send back output to your client. The client then displays the output. Sounds familiar? Cloud computing? Exactly, but for PC gaming. The platform is conceptualized to be advanced-enough to handle any of today’s games, Crysis included. The work-model of this platform is what makes it tick with any game, and is far more future-proof than the present mode of PC gaming (where people own expensive hardware that are in requirement of upgrades, the costs of buying games, buying gaming services separate).

For standard definition television quality, a broadband connection of at least 1.5 megabits per second is required. For HDTV resolution, a connection of at least 5 mbps is needed. The service uses patented algorithms that work to counter lag caused by network constraints. The technology is already gaining attention from major publishers, including EA, THQ, Codemasters, Ubisoft, Atari, Warner Bros., Take-Two, and Epic. People can buy or rent a game to play it, the usage fees are expected not to be much more than the subscription fees for Xbox Live.

Source: Kokatu
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Single-PCB GeForce GTX 295 in the Works

March 25, 2009
Traditionally, NVIDIA designs dual-GPU accelerators with two PCBs holding a GPU system each. With the GeForce GTX 295 and its competitive pricing, NVIDIA found itself in a difficult position, as it faces direct competition from ATI with its now competitively priced Radeon HD 4870 X2. On the one hand, escalating manufacturing costs due to extreme competition with the sub-$300 graphics card market, is making it difficult for NVIDIA to keep up with GTX 295 stocks, on the other its repercussions that include bad press and losses due to not being able to keep up with demand, have pushed NVIDIA to rethink a way to make the GeForce GTX 295. 

Enter innovation. The company is reportedly redesigning the GeForce GTX 295, this time on a single PCB design, which ATI has been using for its dual-GPU accelerators. Both GPU systems of the GTX 295 will be placed on a single PCB. This is expected to significantly bring down manufacturing costs, allowing the company to keep up with demands and competitive pricing. Expreview sourced the drawings of one of the prototypes, which shows a long single PCB card, with a central fan. You will also observe that there is a back-plate in place. It shows that a number of memory chips will be populated on the back, and both GPU systems on the front. It will be an engineering challenge, to populate five major heat-producing components (two G200b GPUs, two NVIO2 processors, and one BR-03 bridge chip), 28 GDDR3 memory chips, and the VRM area to power it all. The new redesigned card may surface internally in April, and may enter production by May.

Source: Expreview
Taken from: techPowerUp!

AMD Demonstrates Live Migration between Three AMD Opteron Processor Generations

March 24, 2009
Continuing its momentum and leadership in virtualization technology, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. today released the first video and images demonstrating live migration across three generations of AMD processors on VMware ESX 3.5, including the Six-Core AMD Opteron processor code-named “Istanbul.” Live Migration of virtual machines across physical servers is key to providing superior flexibility for managing today’s data centers. Additionally, AMD is highlighting its continued, cooperative development efforts with Microsoft as evidenced in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, which is available today as a beta and adds support for AMD-V technology with Rapid Virtualization Indexing. The new 45nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor provides scalable performance for both Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and has received support from all four global OEMs.

Source: techPowerUp!

Foxconn Readying X58 Renaissance II Motherboard

March 24, 2009
Foxconn has been in the league of companies to come up with one of the first motherboards supporting the Intel Core i7 processors. It used both its Digital Life and Quantum Force product lines to come up with performance and enthusiast-grade motherboards featuring the Intel X58 chipset. The company is coming up with a new motherboard: the X58 Renaissance II. 

This board resembles the X58 Renaissance in most aspects, except for its component cooling, where it uses individual heatsinks over the chipset and VRM areas. Less fancy heatsinks are in place. The new board also does away with the SAS support. The rest of the product’s feature-set stays identical to that of the X58 Renaissance. The company is expected to announce the motherboard soon, at an expectedly lesser price than that of its predecessor. For reference, the third picture below is that of the original X58 Renaissance.

Taken from: techPowerUp!

Prolimatech Prepares a Fleet of Monster CPU Coolers

March 24, 2009
Prolimatech packs the large CPU cooler design ideology with DFI’s LANParty branding from DFI. The company started off with the Megahalems cooler that received good reviews. PC Games Hardware sourced pictures and drawings of some really fascinating, yet large CPU coolers in the works by the company, from German retailer Caseking.de, before officially listing the products. To succeed the Megahalems, the company has three new coolers named Genesis, Jericho, and The Mammoth. 

Some of the most audacious designs ever imagined, have taken shape, and may be ready to hit the market. The drawings show Jericho to be a medium-to-large cooler with stacked aluminum-fin blocks, and a fan that circulates air. The Mammoth and Genesis have a peculiar staged heat-column design. For The Mammoth, the CPU contact-block gives out numerous heatpipes that convey heat to two staged aluminum fin arrays with dedicated air-flows, both of which are along the plane of the motherboard. The Genesis, on the other hand uses a slightly different design, with an array perpendicular to the plane of the motherboard. There is no word on exactly when these coolers get listed.

Source: PCGH
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Lian Li Launches the All New PC-B10 Mid-Tower Chassis

March 24, 2009
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd has launched the PC-B10 Mid Tower chassis. The all aluminum design features two fans on the front (1x 140mm@900RPM + 1x 120mm@1500RPM) and one rear 120mm@1000RPM extraction fan. The sleek brushed aluminum chassis has a front door with lock which gives access to 5x 5.25” bays for ODD’s. The fans have removable filters which are easily removed and washable. The dimensions stand at 210x440x515mm ( W, H, D). The unique Power supply bracket allows the PSU to be secured using only the tool-less designed clasp ideal to hold the PSU securely. The side panels have foam padding to make sure that noisy components are completely silenced. The chassis is imbued with all the functional and user frien dly design aspects users have come to expect in a Lian Li case. 

Source: techPowerUp!

Download: DirectX End-User Runtimes March 2009

March 24, 2009

We have a new March update for DirectX 9 and 10 available for download today. This download provides the DirectX end-user multi-languaged redistributable that developers can include with their product. This distro doesn’t just update DX9, but also updates DX10.

This package is localized into Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English.

Supported Operating Systems:

Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (32-Bit x86); Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32-Bit x86); Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition ; Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 editions; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003 x64 editions; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition for 64-Bit Itanium-Based Systems; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Standard x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; Windows Small Business Server 2003 ; Windows Vista; Windows Vista Business; Windows Vista Business 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Business N; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Basic; Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Basic N; Windows Vista Home Premium; Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Starter; Windows Vista Starter N; Windows Vista Ultimate; Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition; Windows XP; Windows XP 64-bit; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Home Edition N; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Professional N; Windows XP Professional x64 Edition ; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

The DirectX redist installation includes all the latest and previous released DirectX runtime. This includes the bi-monthly D3DX, XInput, and Managed DirectX components.

Downloadclick here

Source: Guru3D

Kill Bill In One Minute

March 24, 2009

Spotted this little DIY flick at Techamok today, too frickin funny to not post really. Go check it out and watch the Kill Bill (part 1 and 2) redone .. in one minute.

Source: Guru3D

OCZ Technology Introduces Two New Gaming Mice to their Lineup of Peripherals

March 24, 2009
OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra high performance and high reliability memory and components, today unveiled two new mice ideal for users seeking an inexpensive gaming solution. Featuring a solid design, maximum functionality, and programmable customization unique to each user, the Behemoth and Eclipse are built with the hardcore gamer in mind. Both mice offer a competitive edge with quality ergonomics and advanced features designed for both gaming and productivity applications. 

“OCZ continues to break barriers in the cost for performance arena by offering high performance gaming products that deliver exceptional features, ergonomics, and performance at an aggressive price,” commented Ryan Edwards, Director of Product Management for OCZ. “The new Behemoth and Eclipse gaming mice are no exception, offering world-class performance designed to provide the discerning gamer and enthusiast with a superior hands-on control experience whether playing first person shooters or getting creative with design applications.”

Source: techPowerUp!

Intel Ships New Tools that Boost Game Performance

March 24, 2009
Intel Corporation today announced the release of Intel Graphics Performance Analyzers (GPA), a suite of software tools created in support of the Visual Adrenaline developer program.
Offered worldwide, GPA enables PC game developers to analyze and optimize game performance on Intel Integrated Graphics. The Visual Adrenaline program, launched at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco in August 2008, provides tools, resources and information for game developers, artists and animators.

Source: techPowerUp!

Bigfoot Networks Back with Killer Xeno PCI-Express NIC

March 23, 2009
Bigfoot Networks is perhaps the first company that gave the network interface card (NIC) a high-end consumer take. The Killer N1 and K1 PCI NICs were known to come with some very innovative features that, as our review showed, did impact positively on networked gaming performance. After close to two and a half years since its previous NIC, Bigfoot Networks Killer is back. In the making is the Killer Xeno NIC. 

With near identical features and more, this NIC takes the advantage of the newer leaner components in the market, such as the NPU which may be using a newer manufacturing process, NPU-accelerated audio that provides audio-chat with zero system-overhead, and up to 256 MB of onboard memory to drive this mini “PC inside PC”. The ASIC is done away with, a newer gigabit Ethernet transceiver made by Broadcom is present. The card uses a native PCI-Express x1 interface. It comes in two variants: the 128 MB “Pro”, and 256 MB “Ultra”. Apart from selling these cards under its own banner, Bigfoot Networks has struck an OEM deal with Alienware. Also, the company has an AIB partner (a-la graphics cards), and guess who it is – EVGA. The Xeno Ultra will be priced at US $179.99, and the Xeno Pro at $129.99.

Source: Engadget
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Radeon HD 4750 Gets First Listing

March 23, 2009

With all the attention the RV790 (Radeon HD 4890) is grabbing as it heads for launch, we almost seem to forget its smaller sibling, the RV740 (Radeon HD 4750) is also in the works. What makes the special, is the fact that it is the industry’s first GPU to be built on the 40 nm silicon fabrication process. 

 

A preview of this desktop card surfaced late last month, which showed its performance to sit somewhere between those of the Radeon HD 4830, and HD 4850. With this the company plans to step up the heat against NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, and is adequately equipped to bear the brunt of a price-war, thanks to the lower manufacturing costs this card brings. German retailer Hardware Schottenland.de has added the first listing of the card, which shows its price set at 129.90 €.

Source: ATI-Forum.de, Image Courtesy: Guru3D
Taken from: techPowerUp!

BFG EX-1200 Power Supply – Review | Test [Guru3D]

March 23, 2009

BFG today launched their new EX-1200 power supply. A beast of a PSU that is  reasonably affordable. A power supply that is silent, efficient, has long cabling, is pure quality, has an ATX size chassis, is completely themed dark and perhaps after all these years might be able to replace my kilowatt PSUs. As what BFG is bringing to the table is comforting.

This 1200 Watt  piece of machinery is fairly close to what I consider perfection in terms of design and requirements .. and with a price just under 250 USD, BFG might have something really special on their hands. Guru3D reviews this all new monster.

Check out the Guru3D review right here.

 

BFG EX 1200 Watt PSU
Source: Guru3D

ASUS preps High-End Non-Reference HD 4890 Accelerator

March 23, 2009

Our colleagues over at Techpowerup have some photos of a custom design Radeon HD 4890 graphics card from ASUS.

As it looks, this model will have an enhanced 100% digital PWM design, 6+2 phase power controlled by VRM controller chips that can be controlled by software, one 8-pin PCIe power connector instead of two, a Fujitsu high-density ML capacitor for better voltage regulation and a high-performance cooler.

  • 100% digital PWM design – something the reference PCB features too, but enhanced by a small design change by ASUS
  • The 6+2 phase power circuit is controlled by two independent VRM controller chips, the vGPU can be controlled by software, and can be set up to 1.4 V with the included software
  • An 8-pin PCI-E power input replaces one of two 6-pin inputs on the reference model. This is said to add electrical stability and increase overclocking headroom
  • ASUS added the industry’s highest-quality voltage regulation thanks to the Fujitsu high-density ML capacitor, that facilitates the lowest ESR, and is best suited for digital PWM circuits (the cleanest power makes it to the GPU)
  • The GPU is expected to be clocked above 900 MHz, with the GDDR5 memory at 1000 MHz (4.00 GHz effective)
  • It will feature a non-reference high-performance cooler, which doesn’t want to be pictured yet

The clockspeeds of this Radeon HD 4890 are expected to be well over 900MHz for the GPU, with GDDR5 memory at 4000MHz. Pricing and availability is unknown, but the reference design should be launched in the second week of April for just shy of $250.


Photo’s courtesy of techpowerup

Source: Guru3D

Rockstar Games Announces Max Payne 3 for Winter 2009

March 23, 2009

Judging by the press release from Take-Two Interactive Software, fans of the Max Payne computer game series can look forward to a new title in winter 2009. Rockstar Games is currently developing Max Payne 3 which will be a direct sequel to Max Payne 2.

Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., is proud to announce that Max Payne 3 is currently in development and scheduled for a winter 2009 release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and PC. Developed by Rockstar Vancouver, Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence.

The award-winning Max Payne franchise put players in the role of Max Payne, a hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to avenge the death of his family. The latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction.

“We’re starting a new chapter of Max’s life with this game,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “This is Max as we’ve never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation.”

Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out.

Max Payne 3 will be available in winter 2009 for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and PC.

You can visit the official Max Payne 3 web site by clicking: here.

Source: Guru3D

QNAP Launches 1-bay and 2-bay NAS with iSCSI

March 23, 2009

We’ll be reviewing som items for QNAP pretty soon. But for now, QNAP announced first one-bay and two-bay NAS with iSCSI TS-119 and TS-219 Turbo NAS for home, SOHO, and SMB users. The TS-119 and TS-219 are the next generation NAS models that combine a fashionable shiny black diamond design, outstanding system performance, rich features, and high stability. Powered by 1.2GHz CPU and 512MB DDRII RAM, the TS-119 and TS-219 support Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) target service (up to 8 iSCSI devices), Online RAID Capacity Expansion and Online RAID Level Migration (2-bay model only), automatic policy-based IP blocking, schedule power on and off, 2 IP cameras for network surveillance, UPnP/ DLNA media server, mail server, and high-speed BT/FTP/HTTP and eMule download, etc. “The new generation TS-119 and TS-219 Turbo NAS are the most affordable NAS servers with iSCSI application for personal and business users.

The built-in iSCSI target feature allows the users to create an IP-SAN (storage area network) for data backup or storage capacity expansion on the home or office network. The Turbo NAS is also ideal multimedia storage solution for home users,” says Laurent Cheng, Product Manager from QNAP. “The built-in UPnP/ DLNA media server (TwonkyMedia) of the TS-119 and TS-219 supports numerous DLNA media players such as Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming consoles and High-Definition media players (compatible with NFS). The users can even use their iPhone and iPod touch to play the music and video or view the photos on the NAS.”

The TS-119 supports 2TB SATA hard drive and the total storage capacity can be expanded to maximum 4TB by eSATA of USB storage device expansion. The unique fanless design enables an absolutely quiet working environment. Its power consumption is less than 13W which is ideal for operation 24×7 at home or in the office. The TS-219 is a powerful NAS which supports two hot-swappable hard drives, up to 4TB storage capacity, RAID 1, Online RAID Capacity Expansion, and Online RAID Level Migration. The TS-119 and TS-219 come with Turbo NAS beta firmware 3.0 which brings the best user experience with CoverFlow-like AJAX web interface. For more information, please visit QNAP website.

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Source: Guru3D

Microsoft GeoSynth to compete with Google Street View

March 23, 2009

Microsoft has announced plans to launch a mapping service, GeoSynth, that will take on Google’s Street View mapping feature, according to Pocket-lint. The new service will use Photosynth technology to merge high-definition photos taken and submitted by the general public, and then relate the content according to geographic data. The program could also be connected to Virtual Earth, potentially enabling users to browse street-level views of almost any location worldwide.According to Virtual Earth technology specialist Johannes Kebeck, the system will take the best images from a location to create a single image of a specific landmark. All geo-tagged images submitted by users will be uploaded into a central database that combines them into a larger detailed picture of the area.

Microsoft also made an announcement that Virtual Earth will support Silverlight in a beta to be released this summer. The company claims users will be able to access map tiles roughly nine times faster in its Internet Explorer 8 browser, or five times faster in Google’s Chrome browser.

Geosynth is expected to launch sometime later this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Guru3D

Apple Adds High Definition (HD) Movies to iTunes

March 22, 2009
Apple today announced that iTunes customers can purchase and rent box office favorites including “Quantum of Solace” and “Twilight” in stunning HD on the iTunes Store. Starting today, movie fans can purchase box office blockbusters for download in HD for $19.99 from iTunes, and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Customers can enjoy these films in HD on their Mac or PC and on their widescreen TV with Apple TV, as well as in standard definition on their iPhone or iPod with video. The iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online TV and movie store, with over 250 million TV episodes purchased and over 33 million movies purchased and rented.

Source: techPowerUp!

MSI Intros Five Native HDMI Equipped Radeon HD 4600 Series Video Cards

March 22, 2009
MSI on Friday launched a total of five graphics cards that include native HDMI support. Among the new cards are the ATI Radeon HD 4670 and Radeon HD 4650 models: R4670-MD1G, R4670-512, R4650-MD1G, R4650-512, and R4650-MD512Z. For detailed information on each of the cards please click here

Source: techPowerUp!

Atom Z500 Series Makes it to 2.00 GHz Mark, Features Dynamic Clock-Speed

March 21, 2009
Intel’s Atom series of processors gets credit for reinvigorating the ULPC and SFF PC segments that had been niche markets run by smaller players such as VIA, Freescale, and ARM. The Atom Z500 series single-core chips operate at speeds ranging from 1.1 to 1.86 GHz, with phenomenally low energy footprints – under 2.2 Watts. 

One of the company’s newest additions to the range, the Z550, could hit the 2.00 GHz mark, while consuming less than 2.4 Watts. Another chip in the making, Z515, will have dynamic clock-speed between 800 MHz and 1.33 GHz depending on the processing load. The Z515 could end up being an MID maker’s favourite, not that Z550 won’t be used in devices that small. Sony just might pack the 2.00 GHz chip on an upcoming variant of the VAIO P.

Taken from: techPowerUp!

CM 690 Dressed in White

March 21, 2009
Cooler Master’s CM 690, one of the most popular mid-tower cases in Europe, has yet another special-edition variant. This time, the company designed a case, that uses white with a dash of chrome as its colour-theme. CM made changes to the side panel of this case, it lacks the fan mount-holes. Also used, are more silent fans in comparison to the ones on the base-model. Originally slated for a CeBIT launch, Cooler Master put the project under wraps. PCGH has learned that the case could be released in May. For more pictures, head over to the PCGH Gallery here.  

Taken from: techPowerUp!

Evercool Transformer 4 HSF with four DTH heatpipes

March 21, 2009

Oy didn’t we see this with OCZ’s products ? Evercool introduced the Transformer 4 (HPJ-12025) processor cooler, this model has four heatpipes (8mm diameter) that make direct contact with the base of your processor and transfer the heat to the aluminum heatsink. At 843.5g the cooler is a heavy weight, it measures 130mm x 122mm x 160mm and supports up to two 120mm fans.

The fans are painted with bling bling paint, they are rated at 38CFM with a noise level of under 21dBA. The Evercool Transformer 4 supports most recent desktop processors from AMD and Intel, you can find more info at their site.

Source: Guru3D

Gmail Lets You ‘Undo’ Sent Messages

March 21, 2009

Another day, another new feature in Gmail Labs. This one could be more useful than most, as it’s something you probably have a reason to use with some frequency. It’s called ‘Undo Send,’ and as the name suggests, it lets you take back a sent email, as long as you act quickly enough.

After enabling the feature, Undo Send works much like Gmail’s other ‘undo’ features. When you send an email, you get a message confirming it has been sent, along with a link to ‘Undo.’ This message lasts for 5 seconds, at which point you lose the opportunity to take it back. While that might not be much time, it’s probably enough to pull back emails where you forget an attachment, forget to cc someone, or catch an obvious typo.

Well, hey .. it’s handy.

Source: Guru3D

AMD to Demonstrate GPU Havok Physics Acceleration at GDC

March 20, 2009
GPU-accelerated physics is turning out to be the one part of specifications AMD is yearning for. One of NVIDIA’s most profitable acquisitions in recent times, has been that of Ageia technologies, and its PhysX middleware API. NVIDIA went on to port the API to its proprietary CUDA GPGPU architecture, and is now using it as a significant PR-tool apart from a feature that is genuinely grabbing game developers’ attention. In response to this move, AMD’s initial reaction was to build strategic technology alliance with the main competitor of PhysX: Havok, despite its acquisition by Intel.

In the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) event, AMD may materialize its plans to bring a GPU-accelerated version of Havok, which has till now been CPU-accelerated. The API has featured in several popular game titles such as Half Life 2, Max Payne II, and some other Valve Source-based titles. ATI’s Terry Makedon, in his Twitter-feed has revealed that AMD would put forth its “ATI GPU Physics strategy.” He also added that the company would present a tech-demonstration of Havok technology working in conjunction with ATI hardware. The physics API is expected to utilize OpenCL and AMD Stream.

Source: bit-tech.net
Taken from: techPowerUp!

Gigabyte Radeon HD 4890 Out of the Box

March 20, 2009
AMD has yet again stepped up excitement and anticipation surrounding a product-launch. This time, it’s the company’s fastest GPU: the RV790, whose single-GPU product, the Radeon HD 4890, is dressing up to go to office between April 6~8 worldwide. Taiwanese tech community website XFastest went found that volumes of the card by AMD partner Gigabyte have already reached a certain store.

The Gigabyte Radeon HD 4890 1 GB (model: GV-R489-1GH-B) is based on AMD’s reference design, which has been pictured earlier, and whose early 3DMark performance figures have began surfacing. The card, features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, which now seems to be the standard amount of memory on the reference design card. The unboxed card has been pictured from a good angle, which gives us a better indication of its length. It is longer than the HD 4870. Another scoop we can bring to you, is that from the first picture of the RV790 GPU that was published by DailyTech, it has been observed that the die is slightly larger than that of the RV770. What makes it larger is not known at this point in time.

Source: XFastest
Taken from: techPowerUp!

NZXT Announces the Panzerbox High Airflow Mid-Tower Case

March 20, 2009
NZXT on Thursday released the 244 x 455 x 455 mm measuring Panzerbox mid-tower case.


Panzerbox features the best airflow in its class, boasting two 190mm and one 120mm fans that churn out a combined 300 CFM. The Panzerbox’s pure aluminum design makes it a light and luxurious option for travel and LAN parties and the welded chassis enhances strength and support. Dual radiator support and full expandability with room for high performance 10.5″ cards, 4 hard drives, 3 5.25″ drive bays, and oversized heatsinks offer gamers and enthusiasts even more options to increase performance while a removable motherboard tray makes upgrades easy and painless.

The case is expected to start selling in late April for the money equivalent of $119.99. To find more info, please click here.

Source: NZXT
Taken from: techPowerUp!
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