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:: PC Perspective . News Archive
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.:News Archive ( 4/2010 )
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
If it wasn't for spyware, malware, trojans, protean viruses and the rest of the nasties running around on the web today, you would probably actually be able to get your work done on time though there would probably be a lot of out of work techies and PC repair shops. Unfortunately that is not the case and visiting a web page that was secure yesterday doesn't mean you won't be hit with a drive by vulnerability today. If you do end up getting infected and spend time cleaning off the machine you should remember one mantra, "if it's been infected and you have to ask if it's clean, it's not.".
When you drop a question in the PC Perspective Forums it is sometimes best to be very specific when asking a question as the knowledgeable folks might confuse you a bit as the answers flow in. For instance, a question about the best processor will net you answers from touting the benefits of the powerful i7 980X through to the energy efficiency of the Atom! It's not that our members aren't helpful, simply that they might be overwhelmingly helpful! A very specific question will net a specific answer, or two. Of course we aren't all seriousness, there is humour to be found, kit to be swapped and even a podcast that you can sit back and enjoy; whatever you're looking for we hope you find it on our Forums.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: Processor
AMD's 1090T six core processor continues to dominate the news, as it is one of the biggest things to come out of their Fabs in quite a while. It is a dream for Folders, the Folding@Home points per day performance sits in the middle of the Core i7 series from Intel and for a lot less money. Overclockers are also going to have a smile; for instance, The Tech Report fired up AMD's Overdrive tool and hit a base clock of 3.9GHz @ 1.4V with a Turbo Core clock of 4.3GHz @ 1.525V.
All that happened at the push of a button, they didn't have to visit the BIOS once. AMD has done well for themselves, let us hope the price comes down to the MSRP soon!
"At long last, AMD has added turbocharging to its suite of CPU technologies, giving us a six- cylinder processor that's bulging with potential for questionable car analogies. Fortunately, the Phenom II X6 stands on its merits as a worthy challenger to some of Intel's best CPUs." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Overclock3D | Subject: Case and Cooling
Be Quiet's new Dark Power Pro P8 1000W is a worthy choice for those in need of a kilowatt class PSU. Although their specs list 6 different 12V rails this PSU, Overclock3D assures us that it is indeed a single rail and the testing they did bears that out. The PSU stayed nicely stable even under crossload and at the peak usage they hit 1276W and the ripple was still within spec. Efficiency also tested well, it always stayed above 80% in their testing and over 90% in usual power draw. Drop by Overclock3D to see the numbers for yourself. "Be Quiet! are back with a new addition to their Dark Power Pro range. Will it live up to our expectations?" Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
SuperTalent's new USB 3.0 SuperCrypt thumb drive has a lot going for it. You get the security of two AES encryption options, including an STT encryption utility for password protection and 128-bit ECB encryption, so your data is secure. You also get to access those files faster, 216 MB/s if you install SuperTalent's proprietary driver.
If you are interested in a thumb drive that gives the performance of an SSD you owe it to yourself to see Ryan's full review.
"If you have USB 3.0 in your system already, or were thinking about the ASUS U3S6 or ECS add-in cards, then you need a device like this to truly see its potential. You can use it for speedy backups or moving large amounts of data between USB 3.0-ready systems or just sit there and read and write to it to see how fast it can go. I would like to see prices lowered on them as they are quite high but for getting speed and encryption features working right off the bat, Super Talent deserves some credit." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Slashdot | Subject: General Tech
ARM is in the news again and this time they have their sites set on the server room. AMD and Intel are both firmly entrenched but this attack on their market share is coming from their flank. The race to lower power consumption is on and ION, Neo and Atom are certainly proof of this. VIA has never made much in the way of inroads into the server market even though their Nano and C7 lines have always had fairly low power consumption so ARM is up against a tough opponent. However, VIA never offered a low power quad core CPU running at 2GHz which is what the ARM A9 is. Drop by Slashdot to read up on the next frontier that ARM plans to conquer.
"Arm Holdings chief executive officer Warren East told EE Times Wednesday that servers based on ARM multicore processors should arrive within the next twelve months. The news confirms previous speculation stemming from Google's acquisition of Agnilux and a recent job advertisement posted by Microsoft. East said that the current architecture, designed for client-side computing, can also be used in server applications." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: AMD | Subject: Show and Expo
The AMD Phenom II X6 processor has arrived, but what secrets does it hide, what is its true potential? On April 30th, starting at 12 noon Central Time 8 overclocking teams from around the world are going to find out. Broadcast live at www.AMDBlackOps.com You have seen live streams. You have seen overclocking. You have seen high definition. You have seen celebrations of a single moment around the world…but no one has ever seen this. In an event like none before, AMD Black Ops will be a live stream overclocking event broadcast globally in high definition with plans for 8 of the top overclocking teams broadcasting live from 8 countries. Legendary overclockers including Macci, SF3D, Sampsa, chew*, FUGGER, MikeGuava and many, many more are planning to test the potential of the Leo platform and AMD Phenom II X6 processors under the most extreme conditions. Sponsors include ASUS and Gigabyte with community participation and discussion at www.xtremesystems.org, www.hwbot.org, and www.techreaction.net. In an epic journey taken by overclockers across the land, AMD Phenom II has crossed the 7GHz threshold, been taken to temperatures approaching absolute zeros, shattered world records and brought amazing performance and performance tuning to enthusiasts everywhere. Now AMD Phenom II X6 is unleashed and ready to continue the journey. Enthusiast around the world can watch multiple HD streams from around the world at http://www.AMDBlackOps.com starting Friday the 30th at 12 noon Central Time. See the AMD Phenom™ II X6 Processor debut in an event like none before. AMD Black Ops. Overclocking teams around the world streamed live and in high definition on Friday April 30th at noon Central Time.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PCStats | Subject: General Tech
The 890FX chipset is hitting the market in many different forms and from many different manufacturers. Since this is the high end version of their new chipset the prices seem high for an AMD motherboard but consider it against the high end X58 Intel boards and you see that they are still reasonably priced. The MSI 890FXA-GD70is one example of these new boards and it just happens to be up for review at PC Stats. There are a lot of new feature on this board, including a dial for overclocking which does not, unfortunately, go to 11.
"AMD's latest flagship chipset, the 890FX, has arrived in the form of the MSI 890FXA-GD70 motherboard. This socket AM3 mainboard is designed from the ground up for performance enthusiasts and promises innovations like native SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, increased PCI Express 2.0 bandwidth for ATI Radeon videocards in four-way Crossfire, and support for 45nm AMD processors up to 140W TDP including 6-core Phenom II X6 processors." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
[H]ard|OCP brings you the solid numbers on what is need to power the newest of nVIDIA's cards, both singly and in multiples. Almost two dozen PSUs are recommended by the end as the power requirements of a single GTX480 might be high but seem almost reasonable compared to a tri-SLI setup. If you have a wallet thick enough to pick up these cads, you really should invest in a solid PSU at the same time. It is also a good guide to anyone building a rig with multiple cards from the Evergreen family.
"So you are going to go the Fermi / GF100 route for your next video card purchase? Along with getting the fastest single GPU in the world, you will also be nursing a power hungry piglet of a video card that requires you feed it a diet high in amperage, low in ripple, all while keeping tight voltage regulation. We show you what to buy." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Overclockers Club | Subject: Case and Cooling
Think of it as the exact opposite of an HTPC case review. The In-Win IW-R300 is a 3U rack mounted server enclosure, complete with a rather nicely efficient 500W PSU shaped to fit. You don't often see server cases reviewed and it is interesting to see them subjected to the same testing as the cases enthusiasts grab off of the shelves. At 18.75lbs it is fairly light for such a solidly build case and it is not overly large at 19" wide and 19" deep and 3U in height (5.25"). Overclockers Club did take points away for not shipping the case with rails for mounting on a rack, but were pleased with the thermal results. Check out one of the few rack mounted case an enthusiast site has reviewed here.
"I have built many servers for my studies and personal business, both rack-mounted and tower- based. With the price and time it takes to obtain 1U or 2U hardware, it makes it more feasible to use a 3U or larger chassis for my builds. This particular case made building a server possible via easily to obtain, off-the-shelf parts, making the unit not only cost effective to build, but also easier and cheaper to maintain." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
It would seem that the Nintendo Power Glove was not a big enough fail to scare a company called Iron Will Innovations from attempting to repeat their mistake. The Peregrine is a neoprene glove with five contact points on three of your fingers, the pinky has only three. You touch one of those contact points to your thumb, or the pad on the palm of your hand to indicate a keystroke. Ars Technica tried it out and found it ranged from awful to bearable depending on which games they tested.
"It has been a while since a glove has been used as a video game controller. In fact, the last time I personally used one, I was eight and had convinced my parents to buy me a Nintendo Power Glove. Now, Iron Will Innovations has released The Peregrine, a glove that takes the place of a keyboard for your PC games. We spent some time with one, and can confidently say that it's a cool device that hardcore gamers will love, but we're not entirely convinced it's something you'll need to buy to enjoy games to their fullest." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jonathan Hung | Source: MSI | Subject: Mobile
MSI has let us know of a rather interesting product they are making available in the North America market - the GE600. The GE600 is a 16" machine outfitted with an ATI Radeon HD5730 for some decent 3D performance, as well as a Intel Core i5-430M, 4GB RAM, and a 320GB HDD.
What is intriguing is the price - just $899 at NewEgg. Compare the GE600 to the GX640 announced a few days ago, the major differences are the screen sizes and the GPU. If you're on a budget and game performance isn't your main requirement, then the GE600 looks like excellent value that balances price and performance. But at 16" and 5.9 lbs, it's not the lightest notebook - so get yourself a decent bag while you're at it. 
The GE600’s new ATI Radeon HD5730 GPU supports DirectX 11 graphics, making the notebook compatible with the rapidly approaching next generation of games and 3D graphics. Its new Core i5 processor improves battery life by as much a 15% and Intel’s new Turbo Boost technology can increase overall performance by 30%. “The new GE600 is a powerful mobile gaming station that delivers everything a gamer needs to emerge from battle victorious in a lightweight affordable package,” said Andy Tung, Vice President of Sales, MSI North America. The notebook’s handsome new design features a durable scratch resistant chassis, glossy black exterior and a sand accented interior with illuminated touch sensitive hotkeys. The GE600’s raised chiclet keyboard and wide touchpad increase both accuracy and comfort while typing or gaming. The newest addition to the G-Series family of gaming notebooks also ships with a 16-inch LCD screen with 1366x768 resolution, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB hard drive 7200rpm, a 6-cell battery, Bluetooth connectivity and Microsoft’s Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Related Posts:
Josh Walrath | Source: AMD | Subject: General Tech
Now that the dust has settled after the avalanche of Phenom II X6 reviews have hit the web, it is time to move on to greener pastures. Which means more AMD news.
The Phenom II X6 1090T was mistakenly listed as a $285 part. It is in fact given a MSRP of $295. This does not change many of the price/performance dynamics, as it is still an excellent part for the price. Most other sites that have reviewed this chip gave it many of the same praises and criticisms that we did. Multi-thread good, gaming decent but not compelling, and the price for the parts are tremendous compared to what Intel generally offers. 
The Asus M4A87TD-EVO looks to be a no-nonsense budget enthusiast board based upon the AMD 870/SB850 chipset. 8+1 power phases should allow a large degree of overclocking, all at a pretty reasonable $109 US price. USB 3.0 is standard on the EVO board as well. AMD released the 890FX chipset as well yesterday, but that is not the whole story. The 880G and 870 based chipsets were also released, but we saw very little mention of those parts. The 880G is essentially a downclocked 890GX, which in turn is essentially a slightly more tuned 785G. In short, the 880G is taking over from the 785G. The only major change is of course the southbridge being used with the 880G vs. the older SB710 that was seen with the 785G. The SB850 is a major upgrade to the platform, and it certainly deserves the new product naming scheme. SATA 6G and I/O performance enhancements finally give AMD a southbridge they can be proud of. Intel on the other hand will not be releasing a SATA 6G part until perhaps late 2010, and most likely 1H 2011. The 870 chipset is perhaps the second most interesting part in the launch after the 890FX. It is essentially unchanged from the older AMD 770. The actual chip itself is not all that appealing, but the boards being designed around it are. Most motherboard manufacturers have noticed that the majority of people out there will never use a Crossfire setup. These guys also have the last generation of products to look at and see what sold, and why. The AMD 785G turned into a compelling part, and many budget-enthusiast boards were built around this chipset (like the Asus 785G EVO series). Most of those users also did not utilize the onboard graphics functionality of these boards, and elected to use a standalone video card. So manufacturers really scratched their heads and figured, “Why exactly are we building enthusiast boards around an integrated chipset that costs more than the more focused and power efficient 770/870?” 
The spiritual successor to my favorite AMD 770 board of all time. This number includes dual Gig-E LAN, 8+2 power delivery, USB 3.0, and the latest Realtek audio codec. Plus eSATA provided by a secondary chip (so internally users get the full 6 SATA 6G ports that the SB650 delivers. $109 US seems the standard price for these new boards. With that in mind, the major players all went to the drawing board and created a new class of budget enthusiast motherboards built around the 870 chipset. Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte are first on the scene with these boards, and they certainly look to be impressive. The use of 8+2 power phases on the Asus and Gigabyte boards are sure to catch overclocker’s attention. SATA 6G and USB 3.0 are of course highly touted. And we even see Gigabyte releasing a 870 board with dual Gig-E LANs onboard. These boards now exist in the $90 to $109 range, which is slightly higher than the average last generation 770 board. The 890GX is now taking over the spot that was previously occupied by the 790X series of boards. The 790X did not fare all that well in sales, especially when compared to the 790GX and the 785G boards. As such, we will not be seeing an 890X board. The 890GX has helped streamline AMD’s product lineup, and we will no longer have the mish-mash of 790X, 790GX, and 785G parts that all were within stone’s throw of each other in price. Availability of these boards is good the first day after their release. AMD has seeded the market with plenty of Phenom II X6 1055T and 1090T processors. So too do we see a lot of 870, 880, and 890 based motherboards to run these chips with. There is a question of continued availability of the SB850 chip though, there are currently rumors that supply is constrained on these parts.
Josh Walrath | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: General Tech
Though NVIDIA has had a rough road with the GF100 chip, which powers the GTX 470 and 480 graphics cards, it seems as though they may be having some better results with the upcoming chip which powers the GTX 460 (not currently announced). This will be a cut down version of the GF100 chip, though details are sketchy if this is a new design or if these are just scavenged GF100 chip with portions fused off.
What we are hearing is that supply for the GTX 460 is going to be significantly better at launch than what we have seen so far with the upper level products. Exact details on the chip are scarce, but supposedly each chip will contain 384 CUDA cores. If this is true, then two of these in SLI could be a very powerful solution, and likely rival (if not exceed) the HD 5970 in performance as well as a lower overall price. Considering where the GTX 470 is, we can assume that the GTX 460 will come in around $269 to $299. Compare this to the rare HD 5970 which go from $699 to $749. Two GTX 460s should easily outperform a HD 5970, and cost anywhere from $200 to $100 less than the AMD card. 
A snapshot from today showing a goodly number of GTX 470s and one or two GTX 480s available for purchase. Only a $10 premium on that MSI card, and it comes with your choice of one of three games. If this is in fact a new chip being used for the GTX 460 (and I personally think it is) then likely it has benefited from the learning curve that was obviously ridden by the engineers on GF100. Remember that first silicon for GF100 was received in early Summer, 2009. Issues encountered with TSMC’s 40 nm process were documented, but the overall design of the GF100 was apparently too far gone to make significant changes without delaying the chip for another 6 to 8 months. With this theoretical new chip powering the GTX 460, they could have integrated design changes into the chip before it was taped out. If this is the case, then the 460 will likely achieve similar initial yields (if not slightly better than) to the Cypress chip from AMD. My gut feeling here is that the GTX 460 will be the product that gets NVIDIA a lot of their steam back. While the GTX 470 and 480 have not exactly been disappointments, their negative characteristics and poor availability were not a plus. Speaking of availability, GTX 470s this week became very common across multiple online vendors. We have seen a spattering of GTX 480s as well, but they either sell out quickly or are well above MSRP. This past week Drew Henry went on record saying that the GF100 chip is not experiencing yields of below 20%... but neither did he say that they were significantly above that. Needless to say, availability of cards based on this chip is continuing to improve over this past month since they were released in March. 
Motherboards like the MSI Big Bang Trinergy rely on the NVIDIA nForce 200 chip to provide 3 way SLI support that is fully licensed. This likely will not be the case going forward, especially considering that NVIDIA is not actively developing new chipsets for the Intel and AMD markets at this time. Finally we move onto SLI. Something that certainly has not been in the public eye for some time. Last generation parts from NVIDIA are overshadowed by DX11 cards from both AMD and NVIDIA, and the GTX 470 and 480 parts have been in such limited supply that very few online review sites have had two to stick together. Well, that is going to change here shortly. The aforementioned GTX 460 will renew interest in SLI due to its price and overall performance (and probably better power draw figures and heat production). And we will see AMD SLI support rise from the ashes. I have heard that Asus is attempting to license SLI on their 890FX based motherboards. I also have heard of another specific implementation from another motherboard manufacturer that shall not be named as of yet. While NVIDIA will not be producing new AMD based chipsets, the motherboard guys have a market niche that they need to fill. Consider as well the excitement that the Phenom II X6 1090T has brought to the table, and we may see a renaissance of SLI on the AMD platform.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tweaknews | Subject: General Tech
Soundcards are slowly going extinct as onboard audio improves to the point where just about any feature the casual audio user could want becomes available. This has refocused the soundcard makers toward the audiophile card as they are the only ones with standards high enough to desire a discreet soundcard. This means that many of the soundcards on the market are around the $200 mark and sport features most gamers aren't even aware of. The ASUS Xonar Essence STX sits a little below the Xonar HDAV 1.3 that Josh reviewed recently, but sports a lot of the same features, like swappable OPAMPS. It also has voice changing abilities if you want to have a little fun the next time you play an online game. Find out more about this card from Tweaknews.
"Asus' Xonar Essence STX may be pricey, but for audiophiles or those with the money to spend on an excellent sound card, this is the one to get. It looks good and performs even better. It's made with high quality components throughout, right down to the capacitors and EMI shield and this attention to detail becomes evident right from the first listen." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: InsideHW | Subject: Mobile
The Lenovo X100e shares many attributes with its predecessors, as with previous X series it is a small and light notebook, an 11.6" display @ 1366x768 and a weight of 1.3kg. The big difference is the chip powering the notebook, AMD has finally broken into this market with their Athlon Neo MV-40 @ 1.6 GHz. The AMD 780G chipset means there is a Radeon Mobility HD 3200 powering the graphics and sharing the 1GB of DDR2. The power of the Neo is significantly higher than the Atom, both in the power it draws, 15W as opposed to 2.5W and in performance, which is where the Neo shines in comparison to the Atom. Drop by InsideHW for an overview of this notebook that places performance above battery life.
"It’s finally happening. One of the last Intel "bastions" has give way under AMD’s attacks and we finally have the chance to show you a model from the respected ThinkPad notebook series based on an AMD CPU. Are Lenovo and AMD up to par, and, more importantly, is ThinkPad X100e good enough to carry a name synonymous to quality? Impressions are mixed…" Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Blizzard is swinging away with the Nerf bat, most smacking around the Protoss as they are having difficulty determining what to do with Zerg that seem more powerful depending on what culture they are from. This is based on studies of the multiplayer beta that has been out for a while now, but Ars Technica will tell you about the single player side to StarCraft II. The good news is that what they played felt entirely different from multiplayer. From the Hub between missions to upgrading troops and especially the hiring of mercenaries, the mechanics feel very different from the multiplayer. Head over to see what they found.
""The Protoss are winning," he tells someone who asked about game balancing. "And they're winning alot." According to their stats, when Terran faces Zerg, or Protoss faces Zerg, the win/loss numbers are within 1 percent of each other. When Protoss faces Terran, there is a five percent advantage to Protoss. He says they're still gathering data, and points out that there are regional differences as well: on the Korean servers, the Zerg seem to need to be somewhat nerfed, as that race is dominating. In the US, the Zerg seem to need a little help." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
The arrival of the 800 series chipset from AMD marks a happy time for anyone looking to build a decent machine at a modest price. The reviews of the high end version of this chipset, the 890FX, have been positive and one of the big winners has been the totally redesigned SB850. Now that AMD's southbridge must handle a serious amount of bandwidth from not only SATA2 channels but also SATA 6Gbs, there needs to be the ability to share resources when that much data transfer saturates the pipe. Unfortunately, a problem that seems all too common lately has reared its head; according to the information that DigiTimes has heard, there are problems with the supply capacity. TSMC is still the weak link in the supply chain, though this time it is with 55nm as opposed the the 40nm that has plauged them over the past year.
"Motherboard makers are seeing tight supply of AMD's new SB850 southbridge, according to industry sources, adding that one of the main reasons is limited capacity of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC's) 55nm process. The earliest alleviation of the supply shortage will most likely be in September, sources said. The company has also postponed the launch of its mainstream southbridge chip, the SB810, which is expected to be cheaper than the SB850. As a temporary solution, most of the makers are pairing 8-series northbridges with the previous -generation SB710 southbridge for their motherboards. AMD declined the opportunity to comment." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: GIGABYTE Technology | Subject: Motherboard
Taipei, Taiwan, April 27, 2010 - GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards and other computing hardware solutions today unveiled an exciting range of motherboards based on the highly anticipated AMD 890FX, 880G and 870 chipsets. The new models are the GA-890FXA-UD7, GA-880GMA-UD2H and GA-870A-UD3, all of which support the AMD Phenom II X6 six-core processors, native SATA 6Gb/s (via the SB850 Chipset) and ATI CrossFireX/Hybrid CrossFireX multi-GPU technologies. The new additions also boast unique GIGABYTE technologies such as Auto Unlock that enables hidden CPU cores, On/Off Charge for enhanced iPhone/ iPad/iPod Touch charging, USB 3.0 and 3x USB power that distinguish them as industry leaders in this market segment. As the flagship model for the series, the GA-890FXA-UD7 is designed to appeal to extreme overclockers, gamers and tech enthusiasts who demand only the latest, most advanced equipment. It features the AMD 890FX + SB850 chipset combination with support for 4-way ATI CrossFireX on an XL-ATX form factor and the highest quality 8+2 CPU VRM power phase design that handles 140W CPU power requirements with ease. In addition, the GA-890FXA-UD7 comes with the unique Hybrid Silent Pipe that allows for highly efficient system cooling without generating fan noise. Other noteworthy features include GIGABYTE 333 Onboard Acceleration technologies, onboard debug LEDs, and support for DDR3 1866. For media center enthusiasts, the GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H motherboard features ATI Radeon HD 4250 integrated graphics that offers exceptional power efficiency and versatile high definition graphics configurations for the living room. ATI Radeon HD 4250 graphics includes support for Microsoft DirectX 10.1, for next generation features and performance that make this solution a leader in its class. The GA-880GMA-UD2H can also accommodate discrete VGA cards with ATI Hybrid CrossFireX for those enthusiasts who want to play demanding games on their media centers.
GIGABYTE Auto Unlock technology features a unique Core Boost micro-processor that enables the CPU’s hidden cores (when available), effectively providing a CPU upgrade while running multi-threaded applications or multi-tasking. More information is available from the official GIGABYTE motherboard web page. “The GIGABYTE 800 series motherboard line-up is one of the most exciting launches we’ve had in a while due to the sheer number of unique new features, from both AMD and GIGABYTE, that make their debut on these products,” commented Tim Handley, Deputy Director of Motherboard Marketing at GIGABYTE Technology Co. Ltd. “Perhaps the most interesting of these is On/Off Charge, the first of many unique features derived from GIGABYTE 3x USB Power technology. On/Off Charge USB ports will make their way onto a majority of GIGABYTE motherboard models in the coming months as a standard feature that iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users can look for when they upgrade their PCs.”
GIGABYTE On/Off Charge allows iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users to charge their devices from the USB ports of their PC regardless of whether it is on or off. This capability is enabled by the On/Off driver utility combined with a dedicated white and red On/Off Charge USB port connector that connects to two front panel USB ports for user convenience. In addition, GIGABYTE 3x USB Power technology allows these users to enjoy faster device recharging by tripling the current that is available from all USB ports. USB 3.0 Support
3x USB Power Boost
SATA 6 Gbps Support
A list of XL-ATX suitable cases is available on the GA-890FXA-UD7 web page.
The GIGABYTE 800 Series Motherboard List
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Benchmark Reviews | Subject: Storage
The new SuperTalent RAIDDrive Superspeed USB 3.0 is the first USB 3.0 drive that we have seen that comes in the familiar thumbdrive form factor. It is a little larger than you might expect at 95 x 34 x 15.4mm
(3.7" x 1.3" x 0.6") when you compare it to a previous SuperTalent USB 2.0 drive at 61 x 23 x 9 mm
(2.4" x 0.9" x 0.3"). This lends credence to the claims that USB 3.0 drives need some sort of heatsink. They will also cost you a bit more, the smallest of the drives is 32GB and will run you $250. The big question is the performance, especially with the custom driver that turns the thumbdrive into a RAID-0 array. That question is answered in the review at Benchmark Reviews.
"SuperSpeed USB-3.0 delivers a very dramatic improvement over the older USB-2 protocol. Bandwidth speed has increased from 480 Mb/s to 5000 Mb/s, and file transfer rates as fast as 400 MB/s are now possible; making SuperSpeed USB-3.0 very competitive with the Serial-ATA interface. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Super Talent RAIDDrive ST3U64SRK SuperSpeed USB-3.0 flash drive, a product with up to 128GB of capacity which utilizes two SSD controllers in a RAID-0 array. The Super Talent USB-3.0 RAIDDrive is capable of 320 MB/s according to specifications, making it the fastest USB flash drive on the market." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Motherboards.org | Subject: Motherboard
Don't let the release of the Phenom II X6 1090T overshadow AMD's other big new for today, the release of the enthusiast level 890FX chipset and several motherboards that use it. There is some rather big news from this chipset as it is fully PCIe 2.0 compliant, in fact it has 42 PCI-E 2.0 lanes and 11 engines. That means that even with 4 graphics cards installed there is still room for 7 more pieces of hardware such as USB 3.0 drives. Check out the full list of features and a motherboard each from ASUS and Gigabyte over at Hardware Canucks.
"With the Phenom X6 finally being released and the 890GX motherboards already retailing for several months, AMD is now releasing their new flagship chipset called the 890FX. Not only does this chipset represent a significant evolution for AMD's current lineup but it is also meant to go hand in hand with their Thurban processors. In this article, we take a closer look at this chipset and what it has to offer." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Processor
There is a little bit of math involved determining how well AMD's brand new 6 core Phenom II X6 1090T performs. At the base of the equation is price and you can currently pick up the new Thuban based CPU for $309 at NewEgg and the only other 6 core processor on the market, Intel's 980X will run you $999. This makes performance per dollar a significantly more valuable measure of AMD's new chip as it would be an odd world if a $300 part could compete directly against something more than three times its price. When you break it down that way some interesting results appear when you compare the 1090T to the current offerings on the market.
There is more than just performance though, there is new technology to explore, such as the Turbo mode that will shut down unused cores and automatically overclock the cores that are in use. This not only has an effect on overall performance but it illustrates what happens to this CPU when more than 3 cores are active and what makes the ageing Phenom II X2 955 BE a better choice for some applications. Read the full review to get the full picture. "The 1090T does not come anywhere close to the mighty i7-980X in overall performance, but it also does not come anywhere close in price. $285 is far more palatable than the $999 MSRP that Intel suggests. It does allow AMD to be more competitive against the quad core i7 and i5 parts though. The i7-930 is $295 and the i7-950 and i7-870 are over $550. When comparing price/performance, the 1090T is very competitive with the 930, and seriously wipes the floor with the 950 and 870 parts." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: SemiAccurate | Subject: General Tech
You might have noticed there is a jump in price with boards sporting USB 3.0, as the controller that is provided by NEC/Renesas
is a tad expensive. There is currently a cheaper alternative on the market but it is limited to PCIe 1x, it really is not a good alternative. SemiAccurate now reports ASUS has confirmed that one of their subsidiary companies, ASMedia, will be producing a full speed USB 3.0 controller and at enough of a reduced that ASUS is switching new boards to it. This comes just before a real war starts up as both VIA and TI are planning their own USB 3.0 controllers.
"THERE WAS A story at Digitimes about a week ago about ASMedia, an Asus subsidiary getting ready to launch its own USB 3.0 host controller, which went on to suggest that Asus was getting ready to move away from NEC/Renesas and go with its controller instead. We can now confirm that Asus is indeed going to start implementing the ASMedia controller on some of its upcoming motherboard models." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: ASUS | Subject: Motherboard
Fremont, CA (April 27th, 2010) - ASUS is proud to announce two boards based on AMD’ latest 890FX chipset, the Republic of Gamers Crosshair IV Formula and the M4A89TD PRO. These boards are produced with the philosophy that design matters, ensuring the best in performance, features, safety and reliability. Continuing with the award winning Core Unlocking technology first introduced in our M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 motherboard, ASUS announces Turbo Unlocker technology allowing for the best possible performance out of the AMD Phenom II Black Edition and 6-core processors. Speaking on the inclusion of these two unique tools, Joe Hsieh, General Manager of Motherboard Business with ASUS, said: "ASUS will never stop developing the friendliest and most performance-boosting features available to consumers, whether enthusiasts, beginners or anyone else. Both Core Unlocker and Turbo Unlocker realize CPU potential, making them ideal for users looking for the best value on the best performance motherboards around." Real Time Core Boost on All Phenom II Black Edition and Six-Core CPUs
ASUS is the Best AMD Choice for the Gamer, Enthusiast, or Overclocker Both new 890FX solutions, the ROG Crosshair IV Formula and the M4A89TD PRO offer unrivaled flexibility and system performance. The ROG Crosshair IV Formula offers the best overclocking and gaming experience with dedicated hardware, software, and BIOS design for the hard-core enthusiast or serious gamer while the M4A89TD PRO features an affordable high performance platform intended for the computing enthusiast. For users looking for the next level in performance ASUS has refined our award winning TurboV Evo auto-tuning hardware and software implementation to easily provide enhanced system performance while ensuring stability and reliability.
Unrivalled CPU Unlocking Leadership
Next Generation Connectivity
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Phoronix | Subject: Graphics Card
AMD released a pair of workstation cards over the weekend, the FirePro V3800 and the FirePro V5800. The V5800 uses the same GPU as the HD5770 , a Juniper XT GPU, and it sports 1GB of GDDR5. That is enough power to drive a trio of displays via a pair of DisplayPort plugs and a single DVI out. The V3800 is a little less powerful, based off of the Redwood Pro GPU used in the HD5570 and will only support a pair of displays. Both performed well under Linux at Phoronix, offering decent graphical power for those that can't afford the top of the line V8800 that has been available for a few weeks now.
For a more Windows-centric review, read Ryan's full article here. "Earlier this month we reviewed the brand new ATI FirePro V8800 graphics card, which was AMD's first workstation graphics card based upon the Evergreen GPU refresh (derived from the consumer -grade Radeon HD 5000 series ASICs), and it was a magnificent performer. The FirePro V8800 played well with AMD's proprietary Linux driver and the OpenGL performance was terrific with sizable gains compared to AMD's previous ultra high-end workstation graphics card, the FirePro V8750, that was launched last year. The FirePro V8800 also introduced Eyefinity support and other features to the AMD workstation world. This morning AMD is expanding their selection of new FirePro products based upon the Evergreen architecture with the introduction of the FirePro V3800 and FirePro V5800, which are to address the entry-level and mid-range workstation segments, respectively. We have been testing out these new AMD FirePro graphics cards over the past week and have the Linux benchmarks to share." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TweakTown | Subject: Memory
Kingston's HyperX PC3 1866MHz LoVo DIMMs seem a little strange at first glance and not just because of the green heatspreaders. It seems counterintuitive that a HyperX module, billed as Kingston's fastest product line should also be environmentally conscious. It does make sense when you realize that the DIMMs have more that one JEDEC spec. The first XMP profile runs the DIMMs at 1.25V, nicely below the maximum voltage to be applied to a Core i7 or i5 processor and will run at 1600MHz 9-9-9-24 @ 1T. The second profile bumps the voltage to 1.35V and the speeds to 1866MHz 9-9-9-27 @ 1T. Tweaktown manually pumped the voltage to 1.55V and hit 2035MHz while still keeping the 9-9-9-27 @ 1T timings. Makes more sense to have a HyperX module billed as green now, right?
"We have to wonder, though; does Low Voltage and HyperX deserve to be in the same category? It seems a little conflicting. HyperX is all about power and Low Voltage is all about taking care of the environment and hugging trees. Let's hope that this isn't just some normal kit of memory with a new colored heatsink and fancy title. Hopefully we'll discover that the kit deserves to sit in the HyperX series and LoVo is something that we should be interested in." Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Think Computers | Subject: Case and Cooling
Showing off a 12", 2lb heatsink is fine and dandy if you have a big case but having to cut a hole in the side of an HTPC just to fit it in doesn't make a lot of sense. For a small casing you need a small heatsink, preferably one that is quiet, and the Cooler Master Vortex Plus is both. It is compatible with modern CPU's from both Intel and AMD but the chances of using this low profile cooler to keep an Intel Core i7 cool are fairly slim. Think Computers had some issues cooling a Q6600, so you really do need to think low power CPUs for use with the Vortex Plus and make sure you follow the mounting instructions carefully as it is a little different than other heatsinks.
"Today we have the opportunity to take a look at Cooler Master’s latest CPU Cooler, the Vortex Plus. It features a low profile design, 84mm, which is perfect for HTPC and LAN box cases. This small CPU cooler supports all of the latest and greatest CPUs, but how well will it perform? Read on further to find out." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
Just a few months ago we saw the first 2nd generation Atom parts from Intel, the Atom N450 and N470 both single core dual thread 45nm parts with 612KB cache, the N450 clocked at 1.66GHz and the N470 at 1.83GHz and using DDR2. Sometime very soon will see the arrival of the Atom N455 and N475, which will be able to use DRR3 and hopefully bring a bit more speed to the table. Also mentioned in DigiTimes' article is news about the third generation of Atoms, the 500 series, which we should hear more about in June.
"Intel is preparing to launch more Atom-based processors for netbooks soon including models that support DDR3 memory and dual-cores, according to sources from notebook players. Intel launched its second-generation Atom N450 and N470 processors in January 2010 and is planning to launch DDR3-supporting Atom N455 and N475 shortly. In June, Intel is set to reveal more details about its third-generation netbook platform as well as launching the dual-core Atom N500 series, the sources noted. Asustek Computer is already preparing to launch an Atom N500-based netbook in the third quarter with a price set at about NT$18,000 (US$575), the sources added. Intel declined the opportunity to respond to this report saying it cannot comment on unannounced products." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Jon Peddie Research | Subject: General Tech
TIBURON, CA-April, 26 2010 - Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced today its estimated graphics chip shipments and supplier's market share for Q1'10. The year, 2009 came in above expectations with an 11% year to year growth, an amazing comeback. Q1 of 2010 showed traditional seasonal slowdown with everyone except Nvidia and SiS showing decline.
Table 1: Growth rates from 2003 to 2011 Intel was the leader in unit shipments for Q1'10, elevated by Clarksdale, continued Atom sales for Netbooks, and strong growth in the desktop segment. On a quarter-to-quarter basis Nvidia gained in the notebook integrated, and discrete segments as well as the desktop integrated segment. AMD gained a fraction in the desktop discrete segment and over four percent in notebook integrated.
AMD reported their graphics segment revenue for the quarter was $409 million, down from Q4's $427 million and up significantly from a year ago ($218.). Intel reported "revenue from chipset and other" of $1.761 billion in Q1. Nvidia's quarter, which straddles the calendar quarters reported revenues of $982 million for their Fiscal Q4'10 which is from September to the end of January. Their next quarter ends in April. A new category - IPG
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Graphics Card
With the excitement and news surrounding AMD's FirePro additions (including the V8800 and the V5800/V3800 today) another graphics card was released that might be more compelling to readers: the FirePro 2460 Multi-View. How could a half-height card with only 512MB of memory and an average power consumption of 13 watts get us excited?
As the name implies, this card will offer four total display outputs in a low power solution. By using mini-DisplayPort connections the FirePro 2460 Multi-View can support running four monitors at a time in half-height mode! The key here of course is that this card is not meant for gaming or other 3D rendering. It does have OpenGL 2.1 and DX11 support but that is really just for supporting Windows 7 features and perhaps some basic GPGPU options. Yes, you can still pick up the AMD Radeon HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition graphics card that will support six simultaneous displays but that comes with a higher price tag, more required power, external power connections and the physical limitation of two full sized slots. UPDATE: We finally got the estimated price on the FirePro 2460 Muliti-view: $299. That is a bit higher than I was hoping it would be seeing as the more graphically powered FirePro V3800 is only $109 but it still puts the 2460 well below the cost of any other 4-output solution. If you are a day trader or a user that needs a LOT of screen real estate without the need for gaming or rendering acceleration, then the FirePro 2460 is compelling!
Steve Grever | Source: XFX | Subject: Graphics Card
On Thursday, XFX sent out an e-mail to all of its registered XFX customers indicating one of their 5970 Black Edition Limited graphics cards was stolen from one of their facilities. After further inspection of the e-mail, you can see a small notice stating "This is an XFX Gamertainment Campaign. Please refer here for more information." This so-called "theft" was reported by several tech websites and only a few have realized that the entire event was just a marketing scheme to generate hype around the new card. On a side note, part one and part two of the alleged theft is available on Youtube. |
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