Featured Reviews
NVIDIA Hybrid SLI and HybridPower Benchmarked and Explained
Have you heard about NVIDIA Hybrid SLI and HybridPower over the past several few months? Having the ability to turn off a graphics card and run integrated graphics in order to save power and reduce noise sounds great in theory, but does it work? That is exactly what we have been working on here on the test bench and bring you our findings after spending countless hours with the ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe motherboard and the XFX GeForce 9800 GTX graphics card.
NVIDIA nForce 7 Series Arrives - ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe Motherboard
More than five months ago, NVIDIA announced the industry’s first hybrid technology for PC platforms during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. During this time, they also showed off the nForce 780a SLI motherboards that were due out in Q1 2008. It seems things got pushed back as NVIDIA is officially announcing the nForce 7 series today in Q2 2008.
ECS GeForce 8800 GT Video Card Review - N8800GT-256MX
The GeForce 8800 GT 256MB card has been around since November 2007 and now, six months later some very interesting versions of this card are appearing on the market. The ECS N8800GT-256MX is one of these cards! It appears that ECS has placed 512MB of GDDR3 memory on the N8800GT-256MX, but only enabled 256MB of the graphics memory through the BIOS. Once a quick BIOS flash is performed on the card it turned into a GeForce 8800 GT 512MB graphics card for the price of a 256MB card!
NZXT Tempest Mid Tower Gaming Case
The NZXT Tempest features breakthrough features in every category satisfying the high performance demands of PC Enthusiasts and Gamers worldwide. Tempest stakes its claim as Airflow King with 6 fans including dual intake(120mm), dual exhaust(140mm) with additional side and rear fans(120mm) all of which are included.LR takes a look at the Tempest to see what the 'king of cooling' is all about. Retailing for under $99 this might be one of the most popular gaming cases for 2008.
XFX nForce 790i Ultra SLI Motherboard Review
The XFX nForce 790 Ultra SLI motherboard is designed for the latest generation 45nm Core 2 processors with Front Side Bus speeds of up to 1600MHz. Based on the NVIDIA nForce 790i MCP chipset, this powerful ATX platform supports all the latest enthusiast technology. This versatile platform is SLI 3-way and 2-way ready and features NVIDIA Enthusiast System Architecture, MediaShield Storage, NVIDA System Tools, and NVIDIA DualNet Technology. Read on to see how it performs!
Glacialtech Igloo 5750 Silent CPU Cooler
Today we take a look at the Igloo 5750 Silent from GlacialTech. With words like igloo and silent in the name you think cool and quiet and that is what we figure out. The PWM version that we are reviewing has a dual adjustable speed fan setup which brings the temperature down according to your needs. The speed ranges from 800~2500RPM, with a maximum volume throughput of 51.3CFM! Read on to see if this budget minded CPU cooler can live up to its name.
Legit News
Nvidia CEO discusses his beef with Intel - Larrabee Ticks Him Off
Brooke Crothers over at CNET Networks got a chance to speak with NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang this week about why NVIDIA is going after Intel so publicly. It seems that Jen-Hsun is upset that Intel been dropping hints about its upcoming high-end graphics chip, called Larrabee, with relatively few specifics. "Larabee is a PowerPoint slide," Huang said. "I haven't met a product on my PowerPoint slide that I don't like. You know, they're floating Larrabee out there just to put a shadow over us, cast a cloud over us. They've already slipped it two years from the time they talked about. They would love to slip it another four years and leave a cloud over me." It looks like Jen-Hsun has put his boxing gloves on and is in it to win it. Since I used the 'in it to win it' line, we'll keep our fingers crossed that Jen-Hsun has better luck than Hillary Clinton with that saying.
Huang will tear into Intel when he thinks it's warranted. And Intel may have reason to be worried about the content of Huang's candor. Despite Intel's colossal size and and clout, Nvidia--not Intel--supplies the defining chip for the most savvy computer users: game enthusiasts. They depend on Nvidia graphics chips to deliver the spectacular visuals of games like Crysis. And few people will deny that computing is becoming more visual. The GPU is essentially a parallel-computing engine that is extremely efficient at running visual (and scientific) software--that is, many of the popular graphics, video, and photo applications now running on PCs.
Posted by | Fri, May 09, 2008 - 11:08 AM
Judge Hits TorrentSpy With $111M Damages
In what has to be mixed news for anyone who uses a BitTorrent client, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper of the U.S. District Court awarded the judgment to the Motion Picture Association of America, the MPAA announced late Wednesday. The court entered a default judgment against the operators of TorrentSpy in December, saying they had destroyed evidence related to an MPAA lawsuit against them. Ahh, TorrentSpy, we hate to see you go - at least you didn't take down your member though.
Last May, another judge ordered TorrentSpy to keep server logs, user IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and other information in support of the MPAA's lawsuit against the site. Cooper ruled in December that TorrentSpy had ignored that order.
Posted by | Fri, May 09, 2008 - 11:06 AM
Video games don't create killers, new book says
Playing video games does not turn children into deranged, blood-thirsty super-killers, according to a new book by a pair of Harvard researchers. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, detail their views in "Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do", which came out last month and promises to reshape the debate on the effects of video games on kids.
The pair reached that conclusion after conducting a two-year study of more than 1,200 middle-school children about their attitudes towards video games. It was a different approach than most other studies, which have focused on laboratory experiments that attempt to use actions like ringing a loud buzzer as a measure of aggression. "What we did that had rarely been done by other researchers was actually talk to the kids. It sounds bizarre but it hadn't been done," Kutner said.
Posted by | Fri, May 09, 2008 - 11:02 AM
AMD Reveals Its Future Server Lineup
AMD is planning to launch its 45nm server processor Shanghai in the second half of this year, which features HyperTransport 3.0, instruction-per clock enhancement (IPC) and will have its L3 cache increased from 2MB to 6MB, while the company will launch a six-core server processor codenamed Istanbul in the second half of 2009. The processors will fit with the current Socket F1 (1207) and will feature the company's Direct Connect Architecture.
In 2010, AMD expects to introduce its third-generation AMD Opteron processor socket G34 platform, which will offer features including DDR3 memory capabilities and AMD's RD890 chipset for non-coherent HyperTransport 3.0, along with an additional HT link. The company will also launch socket G34-based processor codenamed Sao Paolo in the first half of 2010, the processor will incorporate DDR3 memory, an additional HyperTransport 3.0 link and six-core design, while a 12-core processor codenamed Magny Cours will also leverage these features and launched in the first half of 2010.
Posted by | Fri, May 09, 2008 - 11:01 AM
Circuit City Opens Its Books to Blockbuster
Circuit City, the electronics retail chain, has effectively put itself up for sale. Circuit City announced today that it has hired Goldman Sachs & Co to help explore strategic alternatives, and would allow the video rental company Blockbuster to examine its books in its unsolicited takeover bid to acquire Circuit City.
The announcement indicated that some progress for Blockbuster’s bid, which is valued at more than $1 billion in cash. Many on Wall Street have called the deal a long shot, in part because of the difficulty of financing it.
New York Times Technology News
Posted by | Fri, May 09, 2008 - 10:59 AM
Grand Theft Auto IV steals record for first-week sales: $500 million
No taint of ill repute could deter the worldwide rush for "Grand Theft Auto IV," a notoriously violent video game that racked up a record $500 million in estimated retail sales globally in its first week. Take-Two Interactive Software, the "Grand Theft Auto" publisher that's under pressure from a takeover bid by Electronic Arts, said Wednesday that GTA IV sold approximately 6 million copies in the seven days since its April 29 release.
About 3.6 million copies were sold the first day, with a retail value of roughly $310 million for combined sales of the standard $60 game and a $90 collector's edition, the company said. GTA IV is available for two consoles, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. The dollar figures were boosted by exchange rates that made the retail price significantly higher in Europe, where almost as many copies may have been sold as in the United States, according to analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities. Still, the GTA results soared beyond the previously reported video-game and entertainment highs: $300 million in global first-week sales last year for Microsoft's "Halo 3" game, and worldwide first-week movie box office totals of more than $400 million each last year for Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and Sony's "Spider-Man 3."
Posted by | Thu, May 08, 2008 - 12:48 PM
Dell Virtualization Servers Feature Quad-Core AMD Opteron Processors
One of the industry's most scalable virtualization servers is now available from Dell and based on the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, AMD today announced. Enterprise customers interested in consolidating server infrastructure may turn to two new virtualization servers from Dell utilizing Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, including the Dell PowerEdge R905 which set a new standard in VMmark performance testing with 60 virtual machines. The innovative new Dell servers take advantage of AMD Direct Connect Architecture to reduce bottlenecks, minimize latency and increase the performance of virtualized applications to maximize the benefits of virtualization.
"Energy and space constraints are requiring more enterprise customers to consolidate while simplifying their server management requirements," said Randy Allen, corporate vice president and general manager, Server and Workstation, AMD. "The combination of Direct Connect Architecture and AMD Virtualization technology helps them achieve those objectives by enabling more virtual machines on a server than ever before. Dell's innovative server offerings provide an optimal balance of virtualization performance and manageability for customers looking to scale their current virtualization infrastructure."
Posted by | Thu, May 08, 2008 - 07:48 AM
May 8 News from Around the Web
OCC has published a new review on the VisionTek Radeon HD 3870 X2 Overclocked Edition. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!
"Overclocking a pre-overclocked card? Can it be pushed any further? The answer is yes. It didn't take me long to discover that this video card does not like to be pushed, but I was able to obtain a minimal overclock on the already overclocked beast of a video card. I reached 850MHz on the core clock from the stock frequency of 840MHz, and on the memory I obtained a frequency of 975MHz over the stock 960MHz. It's not much, but we'll see if it gives a performance increase at all."
Posted by | Thu, May 08, 2008 - 07:28 AM
Mushkin Announces Ascent Memory Modules With eVCI Cooling
Mushkin just announced the launch of a new high performance line of memory modules aimed at the power gamer market. Called Ascent, the new line raises the bar on its Redline and XP premium memory offering by using eVCI (enhanced Vapor Chamber Interface) cooling technology, the current state-of-the-art in heat spreaders. Mushkin says the kits will be available within sixty days through select Mushkin resellers.
At the heart of Mushkin’s eVCI cooling solution are two 123mm x 25mm liquid filled copper vapor chambers developed by Celsia Technologies that are encased on the outer dimensions by high conductivity 6063 aluminum alloy. In direct contact with 95% of the memory chip surface area, the vapor chambers effectively eliminate hot spots on the chip and quickly transfer heat to the aluminum where it is dissipated into the surrounding air. eVCI, Celsia’s unique vapor chamber solution, was exclusively designed for the Mushkin Ascent line of Redline and XP memory modules, and the new line is among the first to use this innovative approach to rapid cooling of high performance chips.
Posted by | Tue, May 06, 2008 - 05:44 PM
Intel & Samsung Agree on 450mm Wafer Manufacturing
Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics and TSMC today announced they have reached agreement on the need for industry-wide collaboration to target a transition to larger, 450mm-sized wafers starting in 2012. The transition to larger wafers will enable continued growth of the semiconductor industry and helps maintain a reasonable cost structure for future integrated circuit manufacturing and applications. In the past, migration to the next larger wafer size traditionally began every 10 years after the last transition. For example, the industry began the transition to 300mm wafers in 2001, a decade after the initial 200mm manufacturing facilities (also known as "fabs") were introduced in 1991.
Historically, manufacturing with larger wafers helps increase the ability to produce semiconductors at a lower cost. The total silicon surface area of a 450mm wafer and the number of printed die (individual computer chips, for example) is more than twice that of a 300mm wafer. The bigger wafers help lower the production cost per chip. Additionally, through more efficient use of energy, water and other resources, bigger wafers can help diminish overall use of resources per chip. For example, the conversion from 200mm wafers to 300mm wafers helped reduce aggregate emissions per chip of air pollution, global warming gasses and water, and further reduction is expected with a transition to 450mm wafers.
Posted by | Tue, May 06, 2008 - 03:11 PM
May 6 News from Around the Web
ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe - Intel P45 chipset review from NoricHardware has been posted. Find this and other reviews from around the web by visiting our forums!
ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe is based on the upcoming Intel P45 chipset. You may have seen a number of previews around the web, but what they all have in common is that the boards have been dead. Today we have one of the first functional P45 motherboards in the world. We took it into the lab and ran some tests to see how it stands up to the predecessors, and what makes it worthy of the Deluxe suffix. Beside the raw benchmarks, we've also done some quick overclocking tests and take a peek at ASUS' new Memory OC Charge technology.
Posted by | Tue, May 06, 2008 - 08:05 AM
OCZ Technology Announces First 4GB DDR3 Memory Kit at 2GHz
OCZ Technology just announced the world's first 4GB DDR3 memory kit that operates at 2GHz. The PC3-16000 4GB (2x2048MB) DDR3 dual channel kits and are backed by an industry-leading lifetime warranty that overclockers have come to love over the years. Designed to offer the earliest adopting enthusiasts the advantages of high-density memory coupled with the highest speeds available, the OCZ PC3-16000 4GB kits make use of the unbeatable overclocking capabilities of the latest platforms and takes DDR3 to unimaginable performance levels.
“It is no myth that higher memory densities make it harder to push higher clock frequencies,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “OCZ Technology pulled off this seemingly impossible task with the release of the world’s fastest high-density memory solution. The new OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 Platinum Edition kits combine two 2GB modules for 4GB system density running at 9-9-9 latencies and a record-breaking 2GHz data rate. All of this is achieved at only 1.9V which falls well within the voltage tolerances of any DDR3 memory controller currently on the market.”
Posted by | Mon, May 05, 2008 - 02:38 PM
Noctua announces the NH-C12P 6 heat pipe CPU cooler
Noctua just announced its new premium class CPU cooler, the NH-C12P. Being equipped with 6 heat pipes and the award-winning NF-P12 120mm fan, the NH-C12P achieves excellent performance and outstanding quietness of operation. The down-facing c-type design allows for lower height and also provides additional cooling for motherboard components through two Airflow-Gaps. The NH-C12P is available immediately at a recommended price of EUR 59.90 / USD 69.90. Legit Reviews has reviewed the Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler once here and again here in an updated roundup that showed it to be one of the best coolers on the market. The new NH-C12P should allow for even better performance and it looks great.
Just like the successful NH-U12P, the NH-C12P is equipped with Noctua's NF-P12 premium fan that ensures outstanding cooling performance at minimal noise levels and has received more than 50 recommendations from leading international websites and magazines since its introduction in November. The premium bundle is topped off by Noctua's award-winning NT-H1 high-end thermal compound, making the NH-C12P a total quality package for the highest demands.
Posted by | Mon, May 05, 2008 - 09:33 AM
May 5 News from Around the Web
XFX GeForce 9800GTX Black Edition Review from Gamepyre and other reviews from around the web can be found in our forums!
The bundle and support are very well with the XFX Black Edition GeForce 9800GTX, it comes with COD4, which is one of the hottest PC gaming titles available at this moment and costs around $49.95 at most e-tailors or retailers making the card a more attractive buy. Support and warranty options are well taken care of BY XFX as they take very good care of their customers in the after purchase environment and quick RMA return times. Overall this card is a solid piece of equipment that excels in the 1920X1200 and below resolutions with moderate AA and AF settings. In the 1680 and 1280 resolutions you can turn up the AA and AF settings to their maximum values and get great FPS gameplay. Not quite a gamers gold card, but definitely a Gamers Silver card award winner.
Posted by | Mon, May 05, 2008 - 08:38 AM
Microsoft withdraws offer to buy Yahoo Inc.
Microsoft Corp walked away from its bid to buy Yahoo Inc on Saturday after the Internet company turned down its offer to raise the price by $5 billion to $47.5 billion. Microsoft's offer was for $33 a share but Yahoo would not lower its demand below $37, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said. The software company initially bid $31 per share for Yahoo more than three months ago.
"We believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal," Ballmer said in a statement. Analysts say Yahoo has overplayed its hand and they expect the Web pioneer's shares to fall as much as 30 percent to $20 levels when Nasdaq trading resumes on Monday. The stock rose nearly 7 percent to $28.67 on Friday on hopes of an agreement between Microsoft and Yahoo.
Posted by | Sun, May 04, 2008 - 12:07 AM
May 2 News from Around the Web
"Mainstream Quad Core Processors Compared from AMD and Intel" at Madshrimps and other reviews from around the web are availabe in our forums!
"In this review we compare AMD's latest AM2+ based Phenom X4 9850 to Intel's mainstream Q9300 Processor. Which one gives you more performance for the buck? Answering this question is not as straightforward as you might think. With AMD aggressive pricing and new B3 revision does it stand a chance against an upgraded Q6600? Let us find out."
Posted by | Fri, May 02, 2008 - 08:45 AM
Intel Atom CPU shortage to persist until September, says Asustek president
The high volume of Atom processor orders from PC vendors has, according to industry reports, left Intel unable to meet demand. Asustek Computer president Jerry Shen recently said he expects the shortages will persist until September this year. Intel has declined to confirm the reported shortages, adding that it is ramping its 45nm production to meet anticipated demand.
Asustek will launch an Atom-based 8.9-inch Eee PC in June which will coexist with the current Celeron M-based Eee PC 900 during the shortage, said Shen. The company may also raise its Eee PC shipments goal of five million units in July, noted Shen. The company expects 8.9-inch Eee PC shipments to surpass those of 7-inch models by the late May. In the third quarter, the proportion of 7-inch models to overall Eee PC shipments will drop below 30%. However, although the 8.9-inch model contributes a better gross margin, overall gross margins have slid slightly.
Posted by | Fri, May 02, 2008 - 07:57 AM
Thermaltake Announces The Armor+ MX Case Is Ready For Purchase
After the success of “Armor+ Series” engineers at Thermaltake has worked around the clock to improve and innovate another and better chassis. Armor+ Series was launched at Computex 2007 a super tower allowing consumer to fully utilize the advance graphic technology. Today Thermaltake announced that the “Armor+ MX” a middle tower chassis with countless advance features is ready to enter the market. The Armor Plus MX will be available on the first week of MAY 2008 throughout major retailers and e-tailers, price has been set at $139 MSRP.
The Armor+ MX also come with Four Removable 3.5” HDD Trays, Five 5.25” Optical Bays and Seven Expansion PCI slots – All equipped with “Tool-less” feature. Cooling Capability - oversized 230MM side fan just to overcome your toasty graphic cards, 120MM Blue LED fan in front cools off four HDD and 120MM high performance rear fan exhausting pre-heated air in the chassis. “High-performance line of chassis has long been considered to belong in a full-tower form factor category,” commented David Hwang, President of Thermaltake. “With the introduction of Armor+ MX, the versatility and performance characteristics can now be found in a much smaller and manageable package.”
Posted by | Thu, May 01, 2008 - 08:28 PM
Kingston Technology Releases High-Performance 800MHz HyperX FB-DIMMS
Kingston Technology today announced the release of high-performance, low-latency 800MHz DDR2 fully-buffered dual-inline memory modules (FB-DIMMs). Designed for system builders creating high-end workstations, servers and extreme gaming systems, the new Kingston HyperX PC2-6400 FB-DIMMs are shipping immediately in 2GB kits. This memory kit should look familiar to our readers as we showed you the prototype heat sink last year at the Intel Developer Forum!
"In a new tradition of expanding the Kingston HyperX product line, we are pleased to introduce HyperX FB-DIMM modules for customers building specialty workstations, servers and performance gaming systems based on the Intel 5400 chipset," said Mark Tekunoff, senior technology manager, Kingston. "Using a specialized dual-phased cooling system to cool the FB-DIMMs' controller IC, this new design will provide optimal temperature conditions. As part of our production process, these new modules have been tested on the Intel Skulltrail platform."
Posted by | Thu, May 01, 2008 - 08:17 PM
Scientists develop new type of memory circuit
It took about 40 years to find it, but scientists at Hewlett-Packard said on Wednesday they discovered a fourth basic type of electrical circuit that could lead to a computer you never have to boot up.
The finding proves what until now had only been theory -- but could save millions from the tedium of waiting for a computer to find its "place," the researchers said. Basic electronics theory teaches that there are three fundamental elements of a passive circuit -- resistors, capacitors and inductors. But in the 1970s, Leon Chua of the University of California at Berkeley, theorized there should be a fourth called a memory resistor, or memristor, for short, and he worked out the mathematical equations to prove it.
Posted by | Thu, May 01, 2008 - 04:25 AM