NVIDIA GeForce Release 181.22 BETA Driver for Mirror's Edge Released
NVIDIA has released new BETA GeForce 181.22 driver for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, and 200-series desktop GPUs. This particular release is recommended for optimal GPU PhysX experience in EA's hot PC title Mirror's Edge. This driver package automatically installs PhysX System Software version 9.09.0010.
DOWNLOAD: GeForce Release 182.22 BETA
Source: NVIDIA
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AMD Adds DDR2 Support for Embedded Geode Platform
Fairly invisible to the retail buyer, the Geode processor platform has been AMD's embedded computing product for several years in continuity. The Geode chip still finds use in embedded machines. Although the processor isn't in shortage and is available in both new-old stock or available on order by the chip-maker itself, the dated DDR memory it supports seems to be in short supply. To maintain memory compatibility with current memory standards, AMD added support for DDR2 memory.
The compatibility is brought about by a memory adapter and a new BIOS. The newer DDR2 memory will not enhance performance. It will make DDR2 memory operate at the data-rates of the older DDR standard, but will certainly keep the platform alive with support for the memory standard that's easily available in the market presently. The use of DDR2 memory is also expected to marginally reduce power consumption.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) Transcend Releases Stylish 1.8-inch eSATA / USB Solid State Drive
Transcend Information, Inc., the leading manufacturer of memory products, proudly announces the release of its stylish new 1.8-inch portable solid state drive (SSD) – the SSD18M. Combining the speed and durability advantages solid-state technology with the versatility of eSATA and USB connection interfaces, Transcend’s SSD18M is an innovative new type of storage device that offers fashionable good looks and high-capacity mobile storage convenience. Unlike traditional hard disk drives, this handy device is made of reliable NAND flash memory that contains no moving parts, which not only eliminates the possibility of mechanical failure resulting from vibration and shock, but also provides substantial weight savings and reduced power consumption. With both eSATA and USB2.0 interface options, this portable SSD features the ultimate in connection flexibility, offering guaranteed speed along with multi-platform compatibility. Its new high-speed eSATA interface provides a maximum read speed of 90MB/s and write speeds of 50MB/s, while its USB2.0 interface assures maximum compatibility with all types of notebook and desktop PCs.
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(PR) Transcend Announces StoreJet 25F Stylish Hard Drive
Transcend Information, Inc., a global leader in the digital storage industry, proudly announces its new 2.5” portable hard drive, the elegant and sleek StoreJet 25F. Measuring only 113.8mm long by 80.9mm wide and just 15.9mm thick, the StoreJet 25F is designed for business travelers and people who prefer an elegant way to carry their data. Combining its huge storage capacity with designer gloss diamond pattern and lustrous metallic finish, the StoreJet 25F is truly a marriage of technology and style. Moreover, its useful anti-slip rubber feet provide a stable base for resting on a table or computer case. Despite its compact size, the StoreJet 25F has up to 500GB of storage space so users can easily transfer, store, and share important files and data.
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(PR) Acer Announces New B Series Ergonomic Monitors
Acer, the third largest vendor in the PC market today announced two new models in its Business Series (B Series) monitor line for professionals. The new Acer B Series monitors آ– B233HU bmidhz and B273HU bmidhz آ– feature a stylish ergonomic design and state-of-the-art features, making them perfect for the office.
"With these new monitors, Acer is continuing to provide our business customers with products that offer advanced technology, assure dependability and offer a positive return-on-investment," said Chris White, Director of Product Marketing آ– Peripherals, Acer Group. "The flexible adjustment and ergonomic design of the monitors maximize productivity and increase overall user satisfaction."
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(PR) IKONIK Launches Taran Cases
IKONIK officially launches the Taran cases. With the current economic situation, real value, durability and quality are what people need above all else. The new TARAN series from IKONIK delivers precisely that. Built to the same high standards as the award winning Zaria, the TARAN is focused on providing unparalleled quality at an affordable price.
Designed by one of the most experienced design teams in the industry, the TARAN offers incredible strength at an exceptional weight. Its “featherweight, heavy duty” motto holds true as it provides a sturdy computing platform without resulting in a cumbersome case.
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Intel January Price Cuts Update
On Monday we informed you here that Intel intends to cut the prices on some of its processors. Well, it looks that HKEPC's information wasn't exactly precise as some of our readers pointed out. Now thanks to The Tech Report we have some new info, the new prices will hit on Monday, January 19 and primarily affect Intel's 45nm quad-core processors:
- Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.00GHz 12MB 1333MHz $530 -> ~$322
- Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz 12MB 1333MHz $316 -> ~$267
- Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB 1333MHz $266 -> ~$217
- Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.50GHz 4MB 1333MHz $224 -> ~$194
- Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB 1333MHz $193 -> ~$163
Source: The Tech Report
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Arctic-Cooling Accelero XTREME Now Compatible with Most GeForce GTX 200 Video Cards
Swiss Arctic-Cooling just said its Accelero XTREME cooling for graphics cards is now compatible with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 260, GTX 280 and GTX 285 boards (not compatible with the latest GeForce GTX 295 though). The Accelero XTREME GTX 280 is equipped with three fluid bearing 92mm PWM fans that run from 1,000 to 2,000 rpm. Together with five heatpipes and a total weight of 680g, the Accelero XTREME GTX 280 is said to cool up to 250 watt. The Accelero XTREME GTX 280 is offered with a 6-year limited warranty. It will be available in March 2009. The MSRP is US $54.95 or 42.95آ€ (excl. VAT). Please click here for more information.
Source: Arctic-Cooling
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EIZO Debuts New 22-inch Widescreen LCD Monitors for Professionals
EIZO last night launched the FlexScan S2242W-H and FlexScan S2232W-E, both 22-inch displays with EIZO's state of the art quality. The FlexScan S2232W-E has 1680x1050 wide resolution while the S2242W-H boasts 1920x1200 WUXGA resolution, typical for 24-inch displays. Both panels cover 95 percent of the Adobe RGB color space and 92 percent of the NTSC space, making them suitable for professional work such as audio and video editing or CAD. EIZO will start shipping both monitors simultaneously on February 5th. The lower-resolution S2232W-E should sell for آ¥62,800 yen or the equivalent of $705, while the S2242W-H will cost آ¥69,800 yen ($784).
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(PR) Futuremark's 3DMark and PCMark Online Database Reaches 30 Million Results
Futuremark Corporation today announced that its online database of 3DMark and PCMark benchmark results has now topped 30 million records making it the world's largest source of PC system comparison data. Futuremark benchmarks are used by millions of gamers and hardware enthusiasts from all around the world. The ORB, Futuremark's online database of benchmark results, has been collecting scores since March 2001, and currently sees a new result added every 4 seconds on average.
For ten years, 3DMark has been an important part of PC performance testing for consumers, press, OEMs and semiconductor companies allowing architects, designers, gamers and overclockers to explore the limits of hardware and software.
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(PR) Intel Reports Fourth-Quarter and Annual Results
Intel Corporation today reported fourth-quarter revenue of $8.2 billion, operating income of $1.5 billion, net income of $234 million and earnings per share (EPS) of 4 cents. The results included a billion-dollar negative impact from the previously announced reduction in the carrying value of the company's Clearwire investments.
For 2008, Intel posted revenue of $37.6 billion, operating income of $9 billion, net income of $5.3 billion and EPS of 92 cents. Intel generated approximately $11 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $3.1 billion and used $7.1 billion to repurchase 324 million shares of common stock.
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RV790 and RV740 Samples Surface, Specifications Gain Clarity
Some of the first batches, rather iterations, of RV790 and RV740 engineering samples have begun surfacing. Sources reveal bits and pieces of the new GPUs' specifications to Hardware-Infos. Being some of the first samples, these are merely iterations en route the development of the final product, though trend has it that preliminary information about AMD GPUs have a tendency of turning out true. We will exempt the RV770's final stream processor count from these.
The RV740, a mainstream GPU from AMD, is on course of becoming the first GPU in production, to be built on the 40nm manufacturing node. It carries 640 stream processors and a core clock speed of 700 MHz. It features a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory bus, churning out bandwidth that rivals equally clocked GDDR3 with double the bus width. The memory bus will be clocked at speeds between 800 and 900 MHz (3.2 GT/s and 3.6 GT/s). Products will carry 512 to 1024 MB of memory. The GPU houses 32 texture memory units (TMUs) and 8 raster operations pipelines (ROPs).
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(PR) OCZ Announces Partnership with Mouse Computer, a top System Integrator in Japan
OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, components, and system, is pleased to announce the partnership of OCZ products with renowned system integrator Mouse Computer, to further strengthen the availability of OCZ products throughout Asia. Japan based Mouse Computer is a top name in system builds within the Asia region, and will include the all-new OCZ Apex Solid State Drives as part of their high-performance system offerings.
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S3 Graphics Lops 25% of Its US Workforce
The state of the world economy has become a soft-target, an easy excuse, for several companies in pessimism, or simply in a wilt, to plan and execute large-scale layoffs, better termed workforce reductions. S3 Graphics, a company that once showed signs of growth post acquisition by VIA with the introduction of entry-level, yet current-generation graphics accelerators, has reduced its United States workforce by as much as 25%. While the figure appears to be a large number of jobs, it counts in hundreds, which still includes a sizable amount of S3 Graphics employees across various divisions of the company, including some sections of the parent company.
As expected the most likely cause is the company's reaction to the global economic slowdown, with depleting market-share and profitability. While normally companies look to sustain operations post such workforce reductions in pursuit of growth, in the case of S3 Graphics, this instead puts the development of the company's next-generation graphics processor (GPU) in uncertainty, as portions of the engineering departments weren't immune to the reductions either. Currently, S3 Graphics with its Chrome 500 series graphics accelerators are eying its share of the entry-level discrete graphics market, with its products designed for HD entertainment, GPGPU and 3D acceleration. The graphics technologies of S3 have been in use by its parent company for years, with its chipset products. S3's next-generation graphics processor is expected to incorporate newer manufacturing technologies from Taiwan-based foundry companies.
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(PR) BFG Technologies Announces Full Line of Factory-Overclocked GeForce GTX 285 Graphics
BFG Technologies, Inc., the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies, and the Phobos High-Performance Gaming/Home Theater System, announced today the BFG GeForce GTX 285 line of graphics cards in four factory overclocked versions; OC, OC+, OC2, and OCX.
BFG's GeForce GTX 285 factory overclocked graphics cards provide 240 processing cores and over 50% more performance than prior generations. These superfast cards tear through complex DirectX 10 environments and cinematic effects at ultra fast frame rates. This extra processing power combined with BFG's rock-solid factory overclocking provides end users with enthusiast-class performance and the protection of a lifetime warranty.
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ASUS Shows Off ROG G-Panel at CES
ASUS' iconic Republic of Gamers series motherboards have a new member in its series: the G-Panel. This is an overclocking panel, a diagnostics display, and a fan-controller rolled into one. The device can be used outside a case, on a test-bench, or even its 2U design for fitting into cases, where it occupies two 5.25 inch drive-bays. French website Matbe caught a few glimpses of it at the CES event.
The G-Panel provides an extensive feature set. To begin with, every diagnostic reading otherwise found in the system BIOS or high-level OC software is shown, that include clock-speeds, voltages and temperatures, all updated in real-time. The user can manage system overclocking using the panel's controls. Using the same controls, fan-speeds can be managed, as the device gives out four fan connections for case fans, in addition to all the fan-connections the motherboard provides. The G-Panel is compatible with select ASUS ROG series motherboards, though the exact compatibility list, availability and pricing are not known at this point.
Source: Matbe
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Sapphire Intros GDDR4 Memory-Equipped Radeon HD 4670
The Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor made itself some place in the sub-$100 graphics market. AMD's partners maintained profitability as the production costs of this accelerator remained low. Its opponent, the GeForce 9600 GSO, though available in its price-range makes it difficult for its manufacturers to sell at low price-points owing to it being based on the G92 graphics processor. Eventually, NVIDIA found a way around with releasing the GeForce 9600 GSO+ SKU, where the G94 GPU with reduced shader core count was employed. This made sure NVIDIA's partners brought in aggressive pricing to counter the Radeon HD 4670.
Sapphire on its part, put innovation to the table and attempted to spice-up the specifications sheets using the "GDDR4" moniker. The company released the first Radeon HD 4670 accelerator that uses 512 MB of GDDR4 memory across a 128-bit memory bus. The new graphics card features a shorter than usual PCB. It uses a central aluminum-based GPU cooler, with memory chips being cooled by heatsinks. The GPU is clocked at 750 MHz, with the memory clocked at 2200 MHz, a 200 MHz increment over the reference specs. It provides outputs in the form of a D-Sub, a DVI and a HDMI connector. It is priced as low as 75آ€.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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GeForce GTX 285 Hits Stores Today
NVIDIA's newest release, the GeForce GTX 285 goes on sale starting today. The graphics card was announced earlier this month along with NVIDIA's flagship GeForce GTX 295 graphics card, choosing CES as an ideal launch platform. Leading NVIDIA add-in card partners such as ASUS, BFGTech, EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI, XFX and Zotac, etc., put their base-model and factory-overclocked cards on sale, starting from US $379.99 for the XFX base-model, all the way up to $429.99 for the EVGA SSC model, in the US.
The GeForce GTX 285 replaces GeForce GTX 280 as the fastest single-GPU graphics card. It is NVIDIA's second-fastest graphics accelerator, sporting 240 shader cores and 1 GB of GDDR3 memory across a 512-bit wide memory bus. Essentially it resembles the GeForce GTX 280, except for the newer 55nm manufacturing process it's built on, the higher reference clock-speeds, and reduced power-consumption.
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(PR) Sharkoon Introduces Furious mid-ATX PC Case
Following in the footsteps of the popular new Venga and Desperado models, comes a third new case from Sharkoon: The sturdy new Sharkoon Furious in matte black has room for five optical drives, one external 3.5" device, four hard drives and eight expansion cards.
The Sharkoon Furious' stability comes from panels made with 1mm SECC steel and fold-out feet, while included installation rails simplify assembly inside the case. Hard drive installation is particularly easy as the Furious' hard drive cage is rotated 90 degrees so that hard drives slide into the cage perpendicular to the case. The hinged front door as well as the side panel can be locked as needed. Efficient and quiet cooling is provided by vibration-free 120mm fans in the front and rear. The front fan features a filter for dust-free incoming air. Extra cooling is provided by a mesh covered side opening, which also gives users a view of the installed components.
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(PR) AMD Offers New Package Features for Embedded Markets
AMD today announced immediate availability of the AMD Sempron 210U and 200U processors for embedded systems. These new processors are available with five year longevity that is standard for AMD embedded components and feature lidless Ball Grid Array (BGA) packaging with the low power and high performance of AMD's Direct Connect Architecture.
"These new lidless BGA packaged processors can help customers significantly shrink their embedded design into new smaller, flatter form factors without having to sacrifice any computing performance," said Buddy Broeker, director, Embedded Product Marketing, AMD. "Retail touch screens, self-service kiosks and digital signage are a growing part of the consumer experience and thin client computing continues to play a strong role in helping businesses become more efficient. These new processor features will help our customers stay on the cutting edge of embedded system design."
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Intel and AMD Postpone 100% DDR3 Transition
Leading CPU makers Intel and AMD have adopted memory standards in fairly quick succession in the past. This however, doesn't seem to be the case with DDR3. AMD is yet to release a CPU that supports DDR3 memory, and is two years behind Intel with its DDR3 implementation plans. Intel on the other hand has managed 100% DDR3 dependency with only its premium Core i7 platform, with DDR3 not completely replacing DDR2 in any of its mainstream or value lineups.
Market factors, namely the DRAM manufacturing industry, are increasingly posing difficulties to CPU makers to bring DDR3 memory at a consumer-friendly price point. With manufacturing costs refusing to come down and the Core i7 not able generate the expected demand that justifies selling triple channel kits at sub-$100 price-points, CPU makers are rethinking their large-scale DDR3 standard transition plans for their entire lineups. Intel on its part is contemplating on postponing its 5-series mainstream platform for the Intel Core i5 series processors. AMD on the other hand, is still struggling with technical difficulties in achieving stability and compatibility with DDR3 memory on its DDR3-supportive memory controllers the upcoming AM3-socket CPUs come with. So the company is also unlikely to transition to DDR3 until it is able to come out with a workable BIOS, sources add. It could be as long as 2010 by when a 100% industry-wide implementation of DDR3 can take place.
Source: DigiTimes
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Intel Atom N280 Details Surface
Back in June 2008, when Intel Introduced the Atom N270, reviewers found its level of performance sufficient for ULPC applications back then. Over a period of six months, it became evident that ULPCs require to deliver a little more than just internet applications. With Intel being reluctant on porting the dual-core Atom to ULPC, owing to its thermal characteristics, there is a need for stepping up the performance level of its relatively cooler single-core Atom.
Therefore, Atom N280. Earlier speculations pointed out that this chip would merely come with a multiplier boost sending its clock speed to 1.86 GHz against 1.60 GHz of its predecessor, but it turns out that Intel was looking to expand the FSB of the existing N270, with a minor clock speed increase. The Atom N280 features a broader 667 MHz FSB against the 533 MHz the N270 comes with. It ends up with a clock speed of 1.66 GHz. While N270 achieved its 1.60 GHz with (12 x 133 MHz), N280 does it with (10 x 166 MHz). Hypothetically, a future model with a 12x FSB multiplier could set the clock speed at 2.00 GHz. What's more, Intel gets rid of the i945GSE chipset infamous for thermal characteristics increasingly unsuitable for ULPCs. It has been replaced with the supposedly cooler GN40 chipset. The N280 has begun surfacing on specification sheets of upcoming ASUS Eee PC models, but it will be only by 2Q, 2009 by the time we start seeing products based on it. Paired with the GN40, the Atom N280 is expected to be priced at US $60-65.
Source: DigiTimes
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Xigmatek Launches Thor's Hammer Heat-Pipe Processor Cooler
Cooling company Xigmatek has released Thor's Hammer - a new high-end processor cooler. Aside from its unusual name, Thor's Hammer covers all the basics of today's heat-pipe coolers. It measures 120 x 50 x 159 mm, weights exactly half a kilo, and can be equipped with up to two 120mm fans. It is constructed out of many aluminum fins attached to four 8mm and three 6mm U-shaped heatpipes that are in direct contact with the CPU. The Xigmatek Thor's Hammer is designed for Socket 754, 939, AM2/AM2+, LGA 775 and Core i7 1366. It is priced at 56.90 Euro.
Source: DarkVision Hardware, TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) AMD Lone Star Campus Receives LEED Gold Certification
AMD today announced its Lone Star campus in Austin, TX has achieved a gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Based on current certified projects, this is the largest gold certified LEED commercial building in Texas.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The gold rating is the second highest rating obtainable in the system, and recognizes performance in dozens of design metrics including site selection and organized around six key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality and innovative design.
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(PR) Cisco, Intel and Microsoft Lead Collaboration to Improve Global Education Assessments
Three leading technology companies announced today a collaboration aimed at transforming global educational assessment and improving learning outcomes. At the Learning and Technology World Forum in London, Cisco, Intel and Microsoft unveiled plans to underwrite a multi-sector research project to develop new assessment approaches, methods and technologies for measuring the success of 21st-century teaching and learning in classrooms around the world. During the session, the three companies called upon educational leaders, governments and other corporations to join in the effort.
The three companies also announced the appointment of Barry McGaw PhD, currently the director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute at the University of Melbourne, as executive director of the project. McGaw will oversee an executive committee, project lead team, and up to 50 leading experts and innovators in academia and government, to collaborate on the research and assist in influencing the development of future international and national assessments.
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