G.Skill Intros Falcon II Series SSDs
G.Skill announced the Falcon II family of SATA solid state drives (SSDs). This new line of SSDs brings with it support for the Windows 7 TRIM command feature, which improves performance by reducing file fragmentation using clever ways to allocate data on the flash modules. Speaking of which, like its predecessor, the NAND flash technology of Falcon II is of the multi-level cell (MLC) type. The NAND flash controller in use is Indilinx ECO. It comes in 128 GB (model: FM-25S2I-128GBF2) and 64 GB ( FM-25S2I-64GBF2) variants. Both come in the usual 2.5" form-factor, have 64 MB of DRAM cache memory, and under 0.2 ms of access time. The read/write speeds on offer are 220 MB/s (read) and 150 MB/s (write). Backed by a two year company warranty, the SSDs come with an MTBF of over 1.5 million hours. Its pricing is yet to be known.
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Intel Readies P55 Chipset B3 Stepping Update
Intel's is readying a hardware update for its P55 Express chipset, currently the only core-logic for the company's brand new socket LGA-1156 processor platform. The new B3 stepping of the P55 PCH will bring with it a little more than new MM number and S-spec numbers. A list of changes is as follows:
- New MM number and S-spec numbers for the converted products;
- Firmware and minor BIOS updates are required with the conversion;
- Processor MRC/microcode update required to enable future processors;
- Recommended storage driver upgrade from Intel MSM 8.9 to Intel RST 9.5.
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(PR) Elpida and Winbond Form DRAM Manufacturing Partnership
Elpida Memory, Inc., Japan's leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), and Winbond Electronics Corp. today announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for DRAM foundry services that will see Winbond manufacture DRAMs under contract to Elpida. The outsourcing agreement is the first step of a business partnership the two companies intend to pursue further.
The agreement pertains to the supply of GDDR3 and GDDR5 graphic DRAMs for Elpida. Prior to this agreement Winbond and Elpida have been working together to commercialize GDDR3 and GDDR5 DRAM products. Winbond is preparing to begin commercial production of these products by the end of 2009 while Elpida plans to begin purchasing the output in the first half of 2010.
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AMD Radeon HD 5970 Specs Surface
In a few days from now, AMD will unveil its new flagship graphics accelerator, the ATI Radeon HD 5970, which will intends to cement the brand's performance leadership over every product from rival NVIDIA. The HD 5970, codenamed "Hemlock", is a dual-GPU accelerator, with two codenamed "Cypress" GPUs in an internal CrossfireX configuration.
Built on the 40 nm process, these GPUs will feature 1600 stream processors each, and will each have a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface to connect to 2 GB of memory (4 GB total on card). The clock speeds are where the specifications of these GPUs differ from their single-GPU avatar, the Radeon HD 5870. The core is clocked at 725 MHz, while the memory runs at 1000 MHz (4000 MHz effective).
The accelerator will not have a rear panel identical to those of other Radeon HD 5000 series accelerators. It has the usual broad air vent occupying one slot, while the other has two DVI-D and one mini DisplayPort (DP) connector. The mini DP connector can give out DVI output using a dongle, and in this way, support for ATI Eyefinity technology remains intact. The NDA covering this accelerator is said to expire on the 19th of November, not very far away.
Source: TechConnect Magazine
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(PR) Razer Announces Abyssus Gaming Mouse, Focuses On The Fundamentals
Razer, the world's leading manufacturer of high-end precision gaming and lifestyle peripherals, today launched the Razer Abyssus gaming mouse. By combining simplicity with a state-of-the-art 3.5G 3500 dpi infrared sensor, the Razer Abyssus stands ready to frag.
"Less is more," said Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff, president, Razer. "We've taken our ambidextrous three-button mouse design and loaded it with our industry-leading technology without the added cost of too many bells and whistles. Our goal with the Razer Abyssus is to give competitive gamers access to gaming grade hardware without breaking the bank."
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Zalman Releases PWM Mate Fan Controller
Zalman launched its pulse-width modulation (PWM) based universal fan controller called the PWM Mate. This nifty little device connects to 4-pin PWM fans (such as those on CPU coolers), and provides more precise fan control than what traditional fan controllers would offer. PWM fan controllers adjust the speed of a fan by supplying the motor pulses of current instead of reduced voltage. The device is able to provide precise fan speed control between 25~100 percent speed. It comes in the form of a hand-held pod that can stay within your chassis or pop out. The main unit measures 55 (L) x 24 (B) x 13.5 (H) mm and uses a 4-pin fan connector to connect to the motherboard and then to the cooler. Those finding it familiar will note that the PWM Mate has been selling as part of the CNPS-10X Extreme's package. Its pricing and availability are yet to be known.
Source: NordicHardware
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Intel Pushes for Next Gen Netbook/Nettop Platform by Early 2010
Intel's Atom processor platform will get its successor in the next-generation "Pine Trail" platform sooner than expected, what Intel refers to as a 'fast transition to the next-generation platform'. The company plans to detail the new platform for netbooks and nettops on the 21st of December, 2009, by means of a press release. Launches of products based on the new Atom N450 will start as early as by 4th January, 2010, in time for the CES 2010 event.
At the center of the Pine Trail platform is the "Pineview" processor. Unlike its predecessor, Pineview integrates a DDR2 memory controller, graphics processor, and a video decoding processor by Broadcom into a single package. The new processor will support the x86-64 instruction set, indicating that netbooks and nettops could use over 4 GB of memory very soon. The processor also comes with higher performance, and a brand new chipset. Sources reveal the following three initial models to X-bit labs:
- Intel Atom N450: single-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66GHz, 512KB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $63 price-point;
- Intel Atom D510: dual-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66GHz, 1MB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $63 price-point;
- Intel Atom D410: single-core with Hyper-Threading support, 1.66GHz, 512KB cache, x86-64, BGA437 package, $43 price-point.
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