Nvidia GF104 card rumors come about
Get the salt ready and put the GF100 hype on pause for a few minutes as rumors about Nvidia's GF104 GPU, and the cards based on it have hit the interwebz. According to 3DCenter's report, the GF104 is the performance segment 40nm GPU which Nvidia is planning to introduce after the GeForce GTX 400 series, probably this summer.
The DirectX 11-supporting GF104 is said to have 256 CUDA Cores - half the maximum amount in the GF100, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit memory interface - paired up with GDDR5 memory of course. The GPU is expected to be used for three models under the GeForce GTS 400 family, the GTS 450, GTS 440 and GTS 430 (names are pending). The GeForce GTS 450 is supposed to have GPU, shader and memory clocks of up to 725, 1500 and 3600 MHz, respectively and will take on the Radeon HD 5830 in the 200 to 230 Euro price range, while the GTS 440 should be about 20% slower and go after the HD 5770 in the 160 to 180 Euro zone.
Last but not least, the GTS 430 will be slower than the GTS 440 (Duhh), have 192 Cores and a 192-bit interface, and cost around 130 to 150 Euro.
Further down the line, Nvidia is reported to be preparing cards based on the GF106 (60 to 99 Euro zone), and the GF108 (30 - 50 Euro) chips that will combat AMD's Radeon HD 5400/HD 5600 models.
Remember, take all this info with quite a bit of salt as the post-GF100 era is still a blur and nothing has been even remotely confirmed. What's true though is that Nvidia's DirectX 11 will be expanding in the months to come and that can only be good for those looking to buy a new graphics card - no matter the budget.
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Tranquil PC announce SQA-SuperStor Home Server
British Home Server manufacturer Tranquil PC have announced this week the release of the SQA-SuperStar, which as an updated version of their SQA-5H Home Server, now with three eSATA ports, allowing the connection of additional multi-drive enclosures for super-high storage capacity.
When coupled with the Tranquil SQA-EX drive enclosure, or any other compatible third party brand, there is the possibility of creating a 20 drive home server (anything up to 40TB ).
The unit comes with 2GB of DDR2 RAM as standard, which is upgradable to 4GB. It also boasts a single Western Digital Green Power 1TB drive (and 4 empty internal drive bays for expansion), and, to top it all off, a dual-core Intel Atom D510 processor powers the unit.
Full specifications are as follows;
Unit dimensions
213 (W) x 221 (D) x 195 (H) – incl feet
Unit construction
Enamelled steel (typically >70% recycled materials)
CPU cooling
Internal CPU and chipset aluminium heat sink (fan less)
CPU
64 bit ready Intel Atom D510 (2×1.66GHz) Dual Core
Memory
2x DDR2 667/800MHz (2GB fitted, one slot free)
HDD
1 – 5x 3.5″ Western Digital (Green Power) – or user fitted 3.5″ SATA2 HDDs
Colour options
Satin Black or High Gloss White
Front panel
Power, Mode and Backup switches, multi-coloured status LEDs and 2x USB2.0
Rear panel
12V DC power in / 4x USB2.0 / 10/100/1000 LAN / 3x eSATA (with Port Multiplier). Desk Lock
Weight
Base unit (nett) 6Kg (1x HDD fitted)
Packing box
310 (W) x 320 (D) x 290 (H) (external)
Power supply
Universal (50/60Hz – 110/240V) External AC/DC with country specific power cord
HDD support
1 – 5x 3.5†HDD supported (SATA2)
Working temp
Maximum 44’C ambient
Acoustics
~23dBA (1x HDD)
HDD Cooling
Hot swap 8cm Fan, with optimised speed / acoustic control
Mounting options
Desk
Power consumption
21W (base unit, with 1x HDD)
Software
Windows Home Server PP1, 2 and 3 pre-installed Media Pack, with Start-up CD, Restore CD, Restore DVD and USB boot key, AVA Media CD ripping engine, iTunes Server, Logitech Server
There is however, quite a catch to those extra eSATA ports. The price of the standard SQA-5H-2000 offers an almost identical hardware specification with a single eSATA port, for a current price of £469 ex VAT in the UK, and the new SQA-SuperStor device is listed for a whopping £559 in comparison - and this is, we are told, less £40 of "introductory savings".
The unit is available for pre-order from this week and will ship by April 12th. For more information please visit Tranquil's website.
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I.T. Staff becoming more loyal with economic downturn
A survey conducted between October 2009 and the end of January 2010 indicates that some 27% of I.T. staff have become more loyal to their employers since the economic downturn, while at the same time 10% have become less loyal and 63% are indifferent.
In London, this trend has been most pronounced, as 34% of respondents consider themselves more loyal, where more dramatically Wales and the North East of Britain are just 22%.
"If employees feel that their company has gone that extra mile during difficult times to ensure that they are secure and happy in their role, that sense of loyalty is much more likely to be reciprocated," said psychologist Linda Papadopoulos.
Workers feeling more loyal to their companies think that the economic aggravation has actually attributed toward a shift in more positive management, company morale and active communication from more senior executives. Conversely however, those 10% who felt less loyal cited the exact opposite, working with poor management and even lower morale.
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Asus readies its M4 series motherboards for hexa-core Phenoms
Asus has revealed that no less than 12 of its AM3 motherboards are prepared for the release of AMD's Phenom II X6 processors thanks to the release of new BIOS versions that enable support for the Thuban hexa-core chips. The X6-ready line-up is listed below and it includes M4 series models powered by AMD or Nvidia chipsets, and the ROG (Republic of Gamers) Crosshair III Formula.
"Besides being ready to support six-core processors, the ASUS M4 Series gives users of every level the best performance and value with its Core Unlocker feature," said Joe Hsieh, General Manager of Asus' Motherboard Business. "This has received notable recognition from many of the world's top media organizations for delivering a phenomenal boost in performance."
To get the Phenom II X6-supporting BIOS for your motherboard see support.asus.com. AMD is expected to introduce its first hexa-core Phenoms at the end of April, the incoming models being the 2.6 GHz X6 1035T, the 2.8 GHz X6 1055T, and 3.2 GHz X6 1090T Black Edition.
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Cisco releases 11 security patches for IOS and UCM
Cisco has released a security advisory which describes 11 flaws that may leave their IOS networking software open to malicious access.
The company is advising administrators to check with their maintenance teams regarding compatibility before installing the updates. The patches are designed to correct a number of security flaws within the IOS firmware on Cisco routers and switches, as well as an issue with the Unified Communications Manager.
These flaws were described to allow attacks such as remote code execution and DoS (denial-of-service) on vulnerable hardware.
This update comes at a time when security firms are all warning corporations about the growing threat of targeted attacks and malicious software designed to infect systems through software exploits (as well as targeted social engineering).
Security experts have cited that regular maintenance and updates are the primary steps that businesses are required to take in order to have any chance of preventing attacks... and whilst it is not as common place as malware for PCs, router software does also get targeted.
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7-Zip version 9.12 released
7-Zip is one of the most effective file archiver applications, with an impressive compression ratio and superb resource efficiency. The best part about the software is that it is open source - most of the source code is under the GNU LGPL license.
Supported formats:
Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR; Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z.
For ZIP and GZIP formats 7-Zip provides compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip. Self-extracting capability for 7z format. Integration with Windows Shell. Powerful File Manager. Powerful command line version.
Updates include:
- ZIP / PPMd compression ratio was improved in Maximum and Ultra modes.
- The BUG in 7-Zip 9.* beta was fixed: LZMA2 codec didn't work, if more than 10 threads were used (or more than 20 threads in some modes).
Website: 7-Zip
Download: 7-Zip 9.12
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SilverStone Precision PS05 tower case detailed
For those planning to get a PC chassis this summer/year SilverStone is preparing a new Precision series model, the PS05 mid-tower. Measuring 190 (W) x 456.5 (H) x 501.2 (D) mm, the case has a steel body, four 5.25-inch bays, a front I/O panel with two USB and two audio ports, two 120mm fans (rear and base), and supports an extra three fans - one in front (intake) and two on top (exhaust).
The Precision PS05 is said to go on sale in May for about 42 Euro.
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ITC to review judge decision on Rambus patent case against Nvidia
The US International Trade Commission (TC) has yesterday issued a notice announcing that it will be reviewing the initial determination given by one of its judges in the patent infringement case filed by Rambus against Nvidia. Rambus has complained to the ITC in late 2008 claiming that various Nvidia products violate nine of its patents from the Ware and Barth families of patents.
Since firing the first round, Rambus has dropped charges regarding four patents but is still saying that five are being infringed. In January (2010) an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) for the ITC ruled that Nvidia violates three of the five patents, the other two being declared invalid. It is this decision that will be analyzed by the ITC panel, a final ruling being expected by May 24th.
Both Rambus and Nvidia have held their ground well and said that they will defend their claims to the end. If Nvidia is found to infringe even one patent then we could see an import ban being enforced so the stakes are high.
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GPU Caps Viewer is ready for Fermi/GF100 with new update
A new version of GPU Caps Viewer has now been made available and it features support for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 DX11 cards which will be officially launched later today (or tomorrow, depending on your time zone). In addition to being GF100-ready, GPU Caps Viewer 1.8.6 brings the following:
New: added the TDP (thermal power design) for recent NVIDIA and ATI graphics cards.
New: added the number of SM (NVIDIA) or SIMD (ATI).
Bugfix: GL 3.x demos could not start with and GL 4.0 context…
Bugfix: Windows version detection (Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7).
Bugfix: in main panel, the clock speed of CUDA engines was wrong.
Bugfix: in the OpenCL surface deformer demo, the type (size_t) of some kernel arguments has been replaced by unsigned int.
To download the up-to-date GPU Caps Viewer build visit this page.
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Intel Atom App Store available for Moblin 2.1, to launch in Europe next week
Intel's AppUp Center (the beta version at least) client, which provides Atom-based netbooks with access to their own application store, has now become available for Mobling 2.1. Released for Windows in early January, the AppUp Center beta can be used by people in the US and Canada to search and download applications like games, entertainment and social media apps that are optimized for Atom-powered devices like netbooks and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices).
According to Intel, the soon-to-support MeeGo app store will expand into Europe on March 31st when it will be provided in all 27 EU countries. This will enable developers to reach and even broader customer base and thus make more money with their apps.
Atom device owners (in North America) can download the AppUp Center from this page.
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