(PR) Acer Introduces New TravelMate Notebook PCs
Acer America, part of the world's third largest PC company, today introduced two new notebook PC platforms آ– TravelMate 6593 and TravelMate 6493 آ– designed for the mobile professional. The new TravelMate notebook series, available now in the U.S. commercial channel, offers robust, secure and powerful PC solutions for corporate and small-to-medium (SMB) business customers. The TravelMate notebook PC platforms are ideal productivity tools for efficient connectivity and smart portability. The 15.4-inch TravelMate 6593 and the 14.1-inch TravelMate 6493 notebook PCs offer the superior performance, fast and reliable internet connectivity, videoconferencing and robust security features that mobile professionals require.
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NVIDIA Prepares GeForce 9600 GT Green Edition
NVIDIA is preparing to release soon a special edition of the GeForce 9600 GT card with lower power consumption. Code named GeForce 9600 GT Green Edition, it will be based on the new 55nm G94-350-B1 core and work with core voltage that is 0.1V lower than the current 55nm G94 cores. This suggests reduced power consumption, and from there the name - Green Edition. Other specs of this new card remain the same as on current 9600 GTs with 650MHz core speed and 900MHz memory clock. The Green GeForce 9600 GT will come with a new device ID 0x0624, and that's the only way to distinguish it from current GeForce 9600 GT cards that have device ID 0x0622.
Source: VR-Zone
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(PR) MSI Introduces Wind D130 Nettop
MSI launches the first Dual-Core Atom System, MSI Wind Nettop D130. This NetTop is equipped with the latest Intel Atom 330 dual-core processor and 2GB DDR2 memory. MSI Wind Nettop D130 has onboard DVD Super-Multi and 7.1 Channel Surround Sound, providing the user all functions of a multimedia center. On top of that, MSI Wind NetTop D130 can easily run high-definition video applications, while maintaining low power consumption. This makes MSI Wind Nettop D130 very suitable as a 24H computer system such as an e-mail server and file server.
The compact MSI Wind Nettop D130 features a Super-Multi DVD burner to back up data, install software or play a movie. The MSI Wind Nettop D130 is designed for the living room and can be connected to any LCD TV. The built-in Super-Multi DVD burner can play a variety of video and music file formats.
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AMD Justifies Use of Large L3 Cache on Phenom II, Opteron
AMD's introduction of the Phenom II series processors served several purposes and goals for the company, mainly porting the processor technology to the newer 45nm SOI manufacturing node, to attempt to bring down manufacturing cost. This also meant that AMD could trade-off bringing down manufacturing cost with stepping up transistor counts on a die that is nearly the size of that of the 65nm Barcelona/Agena. The 45nm Shanghai/Deneb has a distinct feature over its predecessor: three times the amount of L3 cache. The larger cache significantly adds to the transistor count of the die: 758 million as against the 468 million on Barcelona/Agena. Replying to an inquiry of Hardware-Infos, AMD attempts to explain its motive behind incorporating the large L3 cache, while trading-off with savings of die-size and alleged latencies the L3 cache brings in.
AMD points out that expanding the L3 cache was important to the architecture in more ways than one. On the desktop/client PC front, the additional L3 cache was expected to provide a 5% performance increment over its predecessor. The reviews later backed AMD's assertion. Secondly, AMD likes to maintain an essentially common die design for both its client (Phenom II/Deneb) and enterprise or server (Opteron/Shanghai), to make sure manufacturing costs aren't wasted in setting up a separate manufacturing node. With the enterprise-grade Opteron processors, the 6 MB L3 cache has proven to benefit the processor in dealing with large server workloads. Finally, AMD claims that despite the larger cache, the overall die-area of the 45nm die remains lesser than that of the 65nm Stars die, so cost-cutting remains to an extant.
Source: Hardware-Infos
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Sony's PlayStation 2 Reaches Sales Milestone
Announced nine years ago back in 2000, Sony's PlayStation 2 is without a doubt a major success for the company. The console is so good in fact, that today Sony said it has sold 50 million PlayStation 2 units in North America alone, a new milestone. Sales of the iconic console still remain strong, although now we have new consoles like PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. According to the most recently available figures from the NPD Group, which tracks U.S. sales only, in November Americans bought 206,000 units of the PlayStation 2. These are some remarkable numbers. In comparison, Microsoft's original Xbox console sold a total of 14.5 million units and is already long gone. Nintendo's GameCube, another PS2 competitor, sold 12 million units in North America, not even close to PS2 numbers. Today PlayStation 2 costs roughly $130, down from its original $300 price tag from nine years ago, and still offers the latest game titles, emulation of some PS1 titles, video and audio DVD playback, and a numerous hacks that allow installing desktop hard drives, playing of DivX movies, running spare copies of games and so on.
Source: Associated Press
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Scythe Introduces Bar Rafter 3.5-inch to 5.25-inch Hard Drive Cooler/Adapter
Scythe has launched today the Scythe Bay Rafter 3.5, an useful adapter that allows users to mount a 3.5-inch hard disk drive into a 5.25-inch drive bay of a PC chassis. Optionally, users can attach either a 80mm, 92mm or a 120 mm fan to Scythe Bay Rafter 3.5 for additional cooling of the mounted drive. The Bay Rafter 3.5 is made out of plastic and takes one 5.25-inch drive bay when used without fan or two 5.25-inch drive bays when an additional fan is used.
Source: Scythe
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Toshiba and Fujitsu May Combine Hard-Disk Drive Units
Toshiba Corp., Japan's biggest chipmaker, may buy the majority of Fujitsu's hard-disk drive business, according to information leaked over the net. A possible deal between the two companies will be possitive for them both. Fujitsu will sell its money-losing subdivision, while Toshiba will strengthen its position in the hard drive business and probably lower production costs of its storage goods. Unfortunately, when such a deal is ongoing and not yet finalized, there's not much information to share. Fujitsu's spokesman Etsuro Yamada said that his company is currently in discussions with several other companies about its hard-disk drive business, but did not say anything specific about Toshiba. On the other side Keisuke Ohmori, a spokesman at Toshiba in Tokyo, said: "It's true that we are in talks with Fujitsu on the matter, but nothing has been decided at the moment,"
An agreement may be reached by the end of this month, according to Bloomberg.com.
Source: Bloomberg
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Intel Core i7 Makes it Past 4.61 GHz with Water-Cooling
In a move that asserts Intel's undisputed leadership over the PC microprocessor market, Intel senior performance analyst Franأ§ois Piednoel conducted a special exhibition at the CES 2009 event, where he demonstrated the Core i7's overclocking and resulting performance potential employing water cooling. The water-cooled Intel Core i7 reached speeds in excess of 4.60 GHz, proving it has better overclocking potential than AMD's Phenom II X4 when water-cooled.
The setup included an Intel Core i7 sample seated on an Intel "Smackover" DX58SO motherboard. The motherboard was backed by Intel's own desktop control-center software that provides software-level performance management and monitoring. The processor's vCore was set at 1.44V, with the northbridge set at 1.21V. The clock speed of 4.61 GHz was achieved with a bus speed of 144 MHz with a multiplier value of 32x. Temperatures recoded showed the CPU chugging along at 61 آ°C, with the CPU VRM at 31 آ°C and the X58 chipset at 41 آ°C. The feat shows Core i7 to be the better CPU to overclock when water-cooling is used, while an Intel Core i7 is yet to reach 6.2+ GHz speeds, just for the kicks.
Source: Fudzilla
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(PR) Rep. Baca Introduces Legislation to Make Violent Video Games Sold With Health Warning
Today, Congressman Joe Baca (D-Rialto) introduced legislation that mandates all video games with an Electronics Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating of Teen (T) or higher be sold with a health warning label. The Video Game Health Labeling Act of 2009 creates a new rule within the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which forces games with a T rating or higher to be sold with a simple warning label, reading: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."
"The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families, and to consumers آ– to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," said Rep. Baca. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility. Meanwhile research continues to show a proven link between playing violent games and increased aggression in young people. American families deserve to know the truth about these potentially dangerous products."
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(PR) Samsung Launches the Super-Thin LED P2370L Monitor
Samsung Electronics America Inc., a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Corporation, the number one monitor brand in the world, announced today the addition of a super-thin LED monitor to its "Touch of Color" (ToC) family آ– the P2370L. This new high-end, model has a Light Emitting Diode Back Light Unit (LED BLU), instead of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) found in standard LCD displays, and reproduces more vibrant color and higher contrast ratios than other monitors. With its sophistication-meets-high technology form factor, the P2370L display will ship in late first quarter with an MSRP of $399.
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(PR) OCZ Technology Introduces New Apex Series Solid State Drives
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and computer components, today unveiled the OCZ Apex SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, the affordable midrange offering for enthusiasts, system builders, and mainstream computer users demanding the latest technology in this fast-developing sector of the storage market. This cost-efficient SSD offers a reliable upgrade from traditional hard disc storage while maintaining a price point that is truly within the reach of a wide range of consumers.
"As the adoption of SSD drives continues to ramp, it is our goal to enable everyday consumers to take advantage of the benefits of solid state drives," said Eugene Chang, Director of Product Management at OCZ Technology Group. "The new Apex Series is positioned at the center of our lineup and features an updated controller and internal RAID design to deliver superior performance to mainstream consumers at a very aggressive price."
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Intel Xeon In for Price-Cuts
Following periodic price-cuts for its Core 2 series desktop CPUs, Intel could be planning significant price-cuts for its Xeon series enterprise CPUs. This, according to Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell. The price-cuts are model-specific. According to McConnel, they are expected to range between 15 and 40% for quad-core Xeon processors and around 13% for dual-core models.
McConnel sees the price cuts as a response to excess inventories of Xeon processors, which is up 13% in Q4, worth up to US $3.85 billion. Another significant factor is AMD, which seems to be gaining market-share through HP, a major player with enterprise-computing. The new prices could be implemented by 18th of January.
Source: Barron's Tech Trader Daily
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ASUS and Gigabyte Overstocked with Intel 4-series Chipset Inventories
Weak market demand, a market saturated with low-cost PCs, and intra-brand competition has reportedly led to first-tier motherboard vendors such as ASUS and Gigabyte to suffer overstock of their Intel 4-series chipset motherboard inventories. The Intel 4-series chipset is the fourth generation of desktop chipsets for LGA-775 processors. It includes popular models such as P45, P43, the mainstream G45, G43 and G41, and others that include Q45, B45 and B43. Motherboards made by leading companies have had less than expected market demand. Earlier in September last year, when ASUS announced price-cuts for its 4-series motherboards, reported back then to make them "competitive", sources tell DigiTimes that the company was already facing swelling inventories.
As a result of this, the biggest loser seems to be ASUS, with a swelling inventory of 6~7 million units, valued at around $180 million, followed by Gigabyte holding an inventory worth around $130 million, which are quickly depreciating in value as the market gets closer to the launch of Intel's 5-series chipsets and the Ibex-Peak platform. With Intel planning to stick to its launch-schedule for its newest platform, motherboard vendors can only hope for Intel to reconsider its plans, delay its launch, and allow the inventories to get digested.
Source: DigiTimes
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NVIDIA PhysX Driver Version 9.09.0010 Released
NVIDIA has released a new version of their PhysX System Software. This driver supports all GeForce PhysX compatible video cards.
- Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on all GeForce 8-series, 9-series and 200-series GPUs with a minimum of 256MB dedicated graphics memory.
- Experience GPU PhysX acceleration in many games and demos, some of which are highlighted in PowerPack downloads on geforce.com.
- Resolves PhysX SDK runtime issues with multi-GPU configurations in Hybrid environments.
- Improves performance of some PhysX enabled games on GeForce GTX 285 and GTX 295 products.
- Resolves occasional system crashes when PhysX is enabled on some systems when running on EA's Mirrors Edge.
- Runtime upgrade ONLY for AGEIA PhysX processors users. (New installations should install older PhysX system software such as version 8.09.04 - prior to installing this update).
- Includes the latest PhysX runtimes used in the latest game titles.
- Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on GeForce via CUDA 2.0 for SDK versions 2.7.3, 2.7.2, 2.7.5, 2.8.0 and 2.8.1 (requires graphics driver v177.81 or later).
- Includes all the latest PhysX SDK Runtimes.
- Supports latest combines PhysX and SLI control panel featured in the latest GeForce drivers.
Source: NVIDIA
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(PR) Seagate Announces New Cheetah 15K.7 and Cheetah NS.2 Hard Drives
Seagate today announced two new members of its award-winning Cheetah enterprise-class hard drive family: the Cheetah 15K.7 hard drive and the Cheetah NS.2 hard drive. Current economic challenges have put even more focus on reducing spending to ensure long-term business sustainability. For businesses that have an existing investment based on a standard 3.5-inch enterprise infrastructure, the new Cheetah drives bolster sustainability through easy drive/system integration, and provide improved levels of system performance, capacity, reliability, and lower power consumption.
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Phenom II X4 at 6.30 GHz, Runs 3DMark-Stable
AMD finally seems to have put a realistic assessment of its processors, with its claims of the Phenom II X4 having "massive headroom" with its overclocking potential being validated once again, this time by Team Finland, at a CES overclocking event. Team Finland was able to overclock a Phenom II X4 940 processor at its highest stable clock speed of 6.30 GHz using extreme cooling. Earlier attempts to overclock the chip beyond the 6 GHz mark only yielded in test-beds that were able to POST, boot and display the clock speed using CPU-Z. This attempt however, was a benchmark-stable overclocking feat.
The bench consisted of a Phenom II X4 engineering sample, DFI LANParty Dark 790FXB-M2RS, OCZ DDR2-1066 memory, two Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics cards in CrossfireX and Windows XP. The CPU cooling employed was liquid helium, which dropped the temperature to -242 degrees Celsius. To achieve a clock speed of 6.30 GHz, the processor's vCore was set at 1.84V, its bus speed at 280 MHz and a multiplier of 22.5 was set. The HyperTransport frequency multiplier was set at 8. The Radeon HD 4870 X2 accelerators were set at 800 MHz (core) and 950 MHz (memory). The machine was put through 3DMark05, where it ended with a world-record score of 45,474.
Source: Plaza.fl
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(PR) MSI Will Focus More on All-in-One Computer Market This Year
In response to the trend towards increased integration and lower power consumption in the global computer market, MSI released an all-new "Wind NetOn" product line and officially announced its intention to focus its efforts on the All-in-One computer market in 2009. The new Wind NetOn lineup emphasizes on an integrated one-piece design, environmentally friendly energy-saving features and a stylish exterior that deliver satisfactory performance at reasonable prices without taking up extra space.
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NVIDIA Revenues for Q4 Significantly Lower Than Expected
Graphics maker NVIDIA has issued a brief statement today, informing us that its revenue for the forth quarter of 2008 which ends on January 29, 2009 has significantly dropped. Back in November of last year Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, said in a conference call that he expected Q4 revenues to be down around five percent, but those digits won't look right when the official report appears, because the real decline is far greater at 40 to 50 percent. NVIDIA's response of the situation:
as a result of further weakness in end-user demand and inventory reductions by NVIDIA's channel partners in the global PC supply chain.
NVIDIA added that there would be no further comment until the Q4 earnings announcement on 10th February.
Source: HEXUS.net
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