Qualcomm preparing quad-core, quad-GPU Snapdragon chip for 2 :: Posted by THRASHER2
2011 is looking like the year of dual-core for mobile devices but come 2012 quad-core will be all the hype thanks to Nvidia's introduction of Tegra 3 and of Qualcomm's just-announced Snapdragon APQ8064 which is based on the new Krait architecture and will be made on 28nm technology.
According to Qualcomm, its upcoming flagship chip will have four cores (Cortex-A9/A15, the company wouldn't say) clocked at up to 2.5 GHz so as to offer twelve times the available performance as well as 75% lower power than the first generation of Snapdragon processors. The APQ8064 also packs quad-core Adreno 320 graphics and will capable of delivering fifteen times greater performance than the 'original' Adreno GPU.
Qualcomm's 28nm chip will have support for up to 20 megapixel camera sensors, for stereoscopic 3D (S3D) photo and video capture and playback, and will be able to output Full HD (1080p) content over HDMI. Also included are multi-channel audio, PCDDR3 and LPDDR2 memory support, serial and PCIe interfaces and multiple USB ports, WLAN, GPS, Bluetooth, and NFC.
The APQ8064 will start sampling in early 2012 so devices based on it won't be available for at least another year (probably more). In contrast, the quad-core Tegra 3 is expected to sample in Q4 (2011).
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Sony Ericsson servers more Gingerbread with Xperia neo & :: Posted by THRASHER2
Having led to sales of over 10 million units in 2010, the Xperia brand is the center of attention at Sony Ericsson and the Mobile World congress where three new Xperia models were announced, the Xperia neo, Xperia pro and Xperia Play (not covered here).
Both the neo and pro run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and have similar features, the main difference between them being a slide-out QWERTY keyboard which is present on the pro model but not on neo. That aside though, the smartphones pack a 3.7-inch (854 x 480) Reality Display capacitive touchscreen, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 chipset, 320MB of memory, a microSD card slot (8GB card included) and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash (records 720p video).
The two phones also have HSDPA & HSUPA support, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a micro USB port, a HDMI output, A-GPS, a stereo FM radio, and an 1500 mAh battery.
The Xperia neo will be launched in 'select' markets at the end of this quarter while the Xperia pro is expected in late Q2 (June).
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Samsung unveils the Galaxy S II smartphone :: Posted by THRASHER2
As expected, at Samsung's pre-Mobile World Congress event the South Korean electronics giant announced the successor of its 10+ million-selling Galaxy S smartphone. Known as Galaxy S II, the new flagship phone runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and should become available this month.
Samsung's King of the Android Hill measures 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.5 mm and weights just about 116 grams, it is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor (most likely the Exynos 4210), and can brag with 1080p aka Full HD video recording (courtesy of the rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash), and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen (offering 'best in quality in color gamut') with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels that's reinforced with Gorilla Glass.
The S II also boasts a front-facing 2MP camera for video chatting, 1GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal storage, a microSD slot, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (WiFi Direct is supported), Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a digital compass, an FM radio, (optional) NFC), HSDPA support, and an 1650 mAh battery.
The Android 2.3 pre-loaded on the device is 'enhanced' with the TouchWiz UI v4.0, and comes with a bunch of apps (Social Hub Premium, Readers Hub, Game Hub and Music Hub) that allow for quick social connectivity, and access to content like games, music and e-books.
The Galaxy S II should be released in several European and Asian markets this quarter.
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Arctic releases the Freezer 13 Pro CPU cooler :: Posted by THRASHER2
Arctic is bringing the cool, literally, with its latest offering, the Freezer 13 Pro CPU cooler which promises 'unmatched cooling performance for professional systems' and makes use of the Cross-Blow technology which enables it to take heat away from both the CPU and the voltage regulators.
The new Freezer measures 134 (L) x 96 (W) x 159 (H) mm, weights 902 grams, and features 47 0.5mm-thick aluminum fins, four 4mm U-shaped copper heatpipes, and two fluid dynamic bearing fans - a 120mm model (operating at 300 to 1250 RPM) and a 50mm spinner (700 - 2700 RPM).
The Freezer 13 Pro supports Intel LGA 775/1155/1156/1366 and AMD Socket 754, 939, AM2(+) and AM3 processors, has pre-applied MX-4 thermal compound, is backed by a 6-year warranty and costs $54.90 / €39.90 (without VAT).
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Thermaltake officially intros the Frio OCK high-end CPU cool :: Posted by THRASHER2
Seen one month ago in a teaser video, Thermaltake's newest flagship CPU cooler, the Frio OCK (OverClocker Kings) has today made its formal debut, claiming to be capable of keeping up with the highest-clocked processors around thanks to its heat dissipation capacity of 240W.
The Frio OCK measures 143 (L) x 136.8 (W) x 158.4 (H) mm, it weights 1093 grams, and features a dual tower heatsink with 0.4mm aluminum fins, six 6mm U-shaped copper heatpipes, and two 130mm fans that can be adjusts (via a knob on the cover) to operate at 1200 to 2100 RPM (48 dBA max sound output).
Thermaltake's cooler supports Intel LGA 775/1155/1156/1366 and AMD AM2(+)/AM3 processors and should become available shortly.
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ViewSonic to show off dual-boot ViewPad 10Pro tablet at MWC :: Posted by THRASHER2
ViewSonic has just announced two new mobile devices which will be on display next week at the Mobile World Congress, a dual-SIM Android smartphone (V350) and a 10-inch table that boots both Windows 7 and Android 2.2 (ViewPad 10Pro).
The incoming tablet has an 1024 x 600 LED-backlit capacitive touchscreen, is based on Intel's Oak Trail platform, and WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity, and battery that will enable up to six hours of operation.
ViewSonic didn't mention the ViewPad 10Pro's price tag and wouldn't say when it would become available so... we wait.
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Roccat announces Kulo gaming headset :: Posted by THRASHER2
The roaring Roccat team will next month be rolling out a lightweight (178g) headset named Kulo which promises to offer long-use comfort and top-notch stereo sound, the latter being attributed to the built-in 40mm drivers with neodymium magnets and Mylar membranes.
Kulo features on-ear padding for passive noise cancellation and a padded (metal-reinforced) headband, an in-line remote control, a foldable, bi-directional, a noise-filtering microphone backed by an automatic mute function, a frequency range of 20 ~ 20,000 Hz, a maximum output of 80mW and an impedance of 50 Ohms.
Roccat's headset has dual 3.5mm jacks (at the end of a 2.5 meter cable), and is set to cost €59.99. In April Roccat is planning to introduce a Kulo bundle which will include the headset and an USB 7.1 sound card.
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Super Talent unveils the password-protected DataGuardian :: Posted by THRASHER2
To help people better protect their PCs and data, Super Talent has developed a little flash drive which blocks auto-play malware attacks and comes with a password system that will only unlock access to store content to the right person (or wrong person with the right person's password).
Named DataGuardian, Super Talent's drive has an USB 2.0 interface, a metal casing and a capless design (slide-out USB connector), and is set to be available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. No word on prices or actual availability so we'll have to keep an eye out for them.
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Asus Radeon HD 6970 DirectCU II takes up three slots :: Posted by THRASHER2
Not to take any sides, Asus has designed a DirectCU II-equipped Radeon HD 6970 (as it did a DCU II GeForce GTX 580) and it's all about offering top performance and great (read very high) overclocking capabilities.
Seen below, the Cayman-based card takes up three slots and, as mentioned, makes use of the DirectCU II cooler boasting direct contact copper heatpipes and two 100mm 'sound-dampened' fans that move 600% more air than the reference solution, leading to 20% lower temps.
Asus' creation is 12 inches long and also features two 8-pin PCIe power connectors to ensure enough watts are available when overclocking, the Super Alloy Power technology to increase component (capacitors, chokes and MOSFETS) life, 1536 Stream Processors, a GPU clock of 890 MHz, and 2GB of GDDR5 memory @ 5500 MHz
The Radeon HD 6970 DirectCU II includes two DVI and four DisplayPort outputs and should become available later this quarter. Its price tag is yet unknown.
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CyberPower uses Level 10 GT case for new gaming system :: Posted by THRASHER2
CyberPower has jumped on the opportunity to be the first adopting Thermaltake's Level 10 GT chassis and announced a gaming rig that makes use of it. Part of the Gamer series, the Level 10 GT-based PC in question comes in two configurations to please both Intel and AMD fans.
Intel-flavored Gamer Xtreme FTW has a default configuration that costs $1,550 and features a 3.2 GHz Core i7-960 processor (liquid-cooled), 12GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 560 Ti (with 2GB of VRAM), a 2TB hard drive, and a 12x Blu-ray combo drive.
The AMD-themed Gamer Ultra FTW goes for $1,100 (cheaper configurations are available) and boasts a watercooled 2.8 GHz Phenom II X6 1055T CPU, 8GB of RAM, a Radeon HD 5770 graphics card, a 1TB HDD and a 12x Blu-ray combo drive.
Both systems detailed have Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit pre-installed and are backed by a three-year warranty.
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Thermaltake adds three new Toughpower Grand power :: Posted by THRASHER2
Catering to the wattage needs of gamers with multi-GPU (CrossFireX or SLI) systems, Thermaltake has developed three Toughpower Grand power supplies that have no less than eight 6+2 pin PCIe cables, great for hooking up four high-end graphics cards.
The fresh Toughpower trio (include 850W, 1050W and 1200W units), features a 3oz PCB (printed circuit board) that reduces heat generation and allows for greater efficiency, an 80Plus Gold rating (up to 93% efficiency), 105 degrees C solid state capacitors, double-forward switching circuitry (for a lower power loss), active power factor correction (PFC), and a MTBF of over 120,000 hours.
The Toughpower Grand PSUs are equipped with a 140mm fan that, thanks to the FanDelayCool Technology, will operate 15-30 sec after system shuts-down to ensure all components are properly cooled. A 7-year warranty is provided with any of the three units. Pricing and availability info is pending.
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Google: Bing copied our search results :: Posted by THRASHER2
Behave you two
Search outfit Google accused MicrosoftÂ’s Bing of copying GoogleÂ’s search results.
Apparently, Google’s engineers set up random results for certain terms. Among them was ‘hiybprqag’, a gibberish word pointing to a Los Angeles theater seating plan.
Google said that their results started appearing in Bing within few weeks. Google officially stated that they do not mind honest competition but obviously had a thing or three to say about Microsoft.
Bing’s Harry Shum said that Google uses more than 1,000 different “signals an features” in their ranking algorithm adding that many internet companies use “collective intelligence” gathered in this way.
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AMD cuts Phenom pricing :: Posted by THRASHER2
On select quad- and six-core parts
AMD has chosen to drop prices on its Phenom II X4 and Phenom II X6 series processors for no apparent reason.
Quad-core parts, including the 955 BE, 965 BE and 970 BE dropped by $10, or between 6.9 and 5.4 percent depending on the SKU.
However, six-core Thubans got an even bigger price cut. The 1055T dropped from $199 to $175, while the 1090T dropped from $235 to $205. The latest and fastest Thuban, the 1100T, went from $265 to $239.
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AMD to showcase Bulldozer at CeBit :: Posted by THRASHER2
Appears to be on track
AMD is planning to showcase its new Bulldozer architecture at CeBit in less than a month's time.
Mind you, AMD has a lot riding on the Bulldozer, as it is a completely new architecture, the first in quite a few years for AMD. We are still not sure whether AMD will show off the new part to the general public or just a select few partners and hacks.
The module-based Bulldozer architecture should deliver impressive performance and more flexibility than AMD's current cores. According to AMD, the new processors should outpace its current six-core Thuban parts by about 50 percent. This would put the Bulldozer on a par with Intel's high-end Gulftowns.
AMD is also promising to deliver next generation Turbo technology on Bulldozer server parts. Dubbed Turbo Core Dynamic Acceleration, the new technology should allow intelligent automatic overclocking on all cores, greatly improving performance over its current Turbo Core technology.
In case you forgot, this year's CeBit takes place in Hannover between March 1 and 5. Clearly it will be quite an eventful show for AMD, with new CPUs, Fusion APUs and the Antilles dual-GPU graphics card.
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Gigabyte has software to test H67/P67 boards for bug :: Posted by THRASHER2
Just use SATA 3 and you'll be fine
It looks like we will talk about Intel's Sandy Bridge motherboard recall for quite a while. Gigabyte just sent out a press release where it said that it has software that can test whether your board is good or bad, of course it tests only P67 and H67 motherboards.
Gigabyte is trying to sell the story that only users with more than two SATA devices might be affected, as SATA 3 ports are not affected. We like the choice of words where Gigabyte tells its customers that “not so important devices like DVD rom (Nicht so wichtige Geräte (z.B. DVD-ROM) / translated from German press release ed.)” should get attached to SATA 2 affected port. We don’t want to prejudge here but installing from a DVD on a bad SATA 2 port can also result in a very long and bad day.
So, Gigabyte was so nice to come up with a software simply called GIGABYTE 6 Series SATA Check, available here.
The software can tell you if you have drives attached to affected SATA 2 ports but it cannot tell you if you have an affected motherboard. Gigabyte clearly tells you that there is no way to guarantee if you are one of the five percent of all affected boards but even then try to avoid use of SATA 2. Remember it might take up to three years for this port to fail and for most it will never happen.
The small program will simply tell you to avoid SATA 2 ports and try to plug all to SATA 3. SATA 3 is backward compatible with SATA 2 devices and they will work just fine. If you don't use affected SATA 2 ports software will simply tell you “SATA configuration (is) OK”. If you have devices attached on SATA 2 ports the software will tell you “(Please) move 1 or 2 devices from (the) Intel PCH SATA 2.0 ports to the free SATA 3.0 ports“.
In the third scenario, if you use both SATA 2 and SATA 3 ports, the program advises that (“Use of (the) Intel PCH SATA 2.0 ports is not recommended”). We are quite sure that other manufacturer are also working on a similar solution to tell you what ports are you using. The alternative is simple, just open your case, and see it for yourself as SATA 2 and SATA 3 are usually painted in different colours, just consult your manual.
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AMD rolls out HD 6450/6570/6670 for OEMs :: Posted by THRASHER2
Turks and Caicos for OEM
In addition to the recent rebrand of the HD 5770 and the HD 5750 to HD 6750 and HD 6770, AMD has now added three more cards that will be a part of its HD 6700 series OEM offer, the HD 6450, HD 6570 and the HD 6670.
Unlike the previous rebrands, these new cards are based on a completely new 40nm Caicos and Turks chips. The slowest of the bunch is the HD 6450. This one is based on the entry-level AMD Caicos chip and features 160 VLIW5 stream processors, a 64-bit memory interface and works with both GDDR5 and DDR3 memory.
The GPU clock for the HD 6450 will be set between 625MHz and 750MHz while the 512MB to 1GB of memory will end up clocked between 533 and 800MHz for DDR3 and 800 to 900MHz for GDDR5 versions. It is important to note that the Cedar predecessor had half the amount of shaders so the new HD 6450 is a nice addition to the lineup.
The HD 6570 and the HD 6670 are both based on AMD's Turks chip that features 480 stream processors and 512MB or 1GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 128-bit memory interface. The faster, HD 6670 works at 800MHz for the GPU and 1000MHz (4.0Gbps) for the GDDR5 memory. These specs are enough for 768 GFLOPS of single precision compute power.
The HD 6570 will end up clocked at a bit slower 650MHz and will be available with both GDDR5 and the DDR3 memory. The GDDR5 version will end up at the same 1000MHz (4.0Gbps) while the DDR3 version will be clocked at 900MHz (1.8GHz).
The Caicos based HD 6450 ends up with a low-profile, passively cooled PCB that features DVI and HDMI outputs and it is pretty clear that these might be quite an interesting cards for an HTPC system. On the other hand, Turks based HD 6570 also features the low-profile PCB but paired up with a small fan/heatsink cooler. The HD 6670 is left with a full height PCB, single-slot heatsink/fan cooler.
Bear in mind that we are still talking about OEM only cards and there is no info on when will these be available in retail, but we guess that more info should follow up soon and that they could be just around the corner. You can check them all out here.
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AMD Fusion Sony VAIO YB goes on sale :: Posted by THRASHER2
For $599.99
Previously seen at CES 2011, Sony has finally started to ship its 11.6-inch VAIO YB series featuring AMD's Zacate 1.6GHz clocked CPU paired up with 4GB of memory and 500GB of storage. Currently available only at Sony's store in silver and pink the VAIO YB sounds like a real catcher with its US $599.99 price tag.
In case you missed it, the Sony VAIO YB features a 11.6-inch LED-backlit 1366x768 screen, AMD's dual-core E-350 Zacate CPU clocked at 1.6GHz and paired up with AMD Mobility Radeon HD 6310 graphics, a 500GB HDD, 4GB of DDR3 memory, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit and all the goodies that you would expect from an 11.6-inch notebook/netbook, including the webcam, microphone, HDMI and D-Sub outputs, three USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11bgn WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.
The new VAIO YB weighs around 1.46kg (3.23lbs) and measures 29x2.5-3.17x20.2cm (11.42x0.99-1.25x7.99inch). There is no info regarding the specs of the battery but it does state that it will provide up to 6hrs of life.
The noted configuration is currently available in silve and pink colour but we guess that e-tail should get their hands on the cheaper configs pretty soon. You can check it out here.
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October 21st through 22nd for 2011 Blizzcon :: Posted by THRASHER2
Annual event to be in Anaheim again this year
Blizzard and Activision have confirmed that the 2011 Blizzcon, which is a celebration of everything Blizzard, will be held on October 21st and 22nd at the Anaheim convention center in Anaheim, California.
The Blizzcon event has become the place to be if you are a fan of the Blizzard titles such as World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo. Fans attend the event from around the world to meet players that they have only played with online in these Blizzard titles, as well as get the latest news on everything Blizzard.
While additional details on tickets and how to get them will be coming soon, the dates have been announced so that those who want to attend can make their plans to be there. With so many traveling in from across North America and beyond, the early announcement gives people enough time to get their travel plans in place.
Currently, there is no word yet on who the special entertainment will be for the event, but past events have included such artists as Ozzy and Tenacious D, and of course, we expect this yearÂ’s entertainment to be no different.
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Battlefield 3 to support 64 on PC :: Posted by THRASHER2
Console versions to be limited to 24
More news on Battlefield 3 comes to light. This time around online player limits are said to have been set. Online play for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 console versions of the game are said to be limited to 24 players, while the PC version will offer support for a massive 64 players.
The limit of 24 for the console version really is not that big of a deal, as many FPS titles for consoles are normally limited to 24 players. The support for 64 players on the PC version is also not really a surprise, as this has been the max in previous Battlefield titles in the past.
It would seem from some of the leaked news that is circulating that Battlefield 3 will have a big focus on urban environments with locations such as Paris, Tehran and New York to be part of the package.
A number of retailers are now accepting pre-orders for Battlefield 3, but we suspect that most buyers really want to know when it will arrive; and right now, beyond hearing that it will arrive in the fall, we donÂ’t know much and anything more we believe is speculation. Plans are still for a beta to precede the release of the game, but when that will arrive is still a mystery. Some of our sources seem to believe that it will be very late summer or early fall.
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Sapphire rolls out its HD 5570 XtendTV graphics card :: Posted by THRASHER2
With an interesting TV tuner
Reminding us of the time when All-in-Wonder cards were all the rage, Sapphire announced its Radeon HD 5570 XtendTV graphics card that combines a Mirics DVB-T tuner with a HD 5570 GPU.
Specs wise, the HD 5570 XtendTV packs 400 stream processors and 1GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 128-bit memory interface. The GPU ended up clocked at 650MHz while memory works at 4000MHz. The card features a single-slot cooler and, in addition to the tuner inputs, comes with DVI and HDMI outputs.
To spice things up, the Mirics tuner is everything but plain as, thanks to the FlexiTV and FlexiStream technologies, the tuner is not only capable of receiving and decoding TV signal, but can stream it to other devices via FlexiStream software and XtendTV client.
These specs and features make the Sapphire HD 5570 XtendTV an interesting solution for the HTPC systems. We just hope that Sapphire will introduce more similar cards including one with a low profile PCB.
Unfortunately, the price or the availability date haven't been announced but we'll surely keep an eye out for this one.
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MSI releases new Radeon HD 6870 :: Posted by THRASHER2
MSI R6870 Hawk
MSI has rolled out yet another non-reference card that will be a part of its Radeon HD 6000 series lineup, the MSI R6870 Hawk. Featuring a factory overclocked Barts XT GPU, the R6870 Hawk also comes with MSI's Twin Frozr III cooler paired up with new Propeller Blade fans.
The new R6870 Hawk is anything but reference as it features an improved 8+2-phase design for some additional overclocking, MSI's Military Class II components including Super Ferrite Chokes, Hi-C CAPs, Solid Capacitors, APS (Active Phase Switching) technology for phase control, voltage check points and OCP (Over Current Protection) unlocker for some extreme overclocking adventures.
Specs wise, the card still features 1120 stream processors and 1GB of GDDR5 memory. MSI went with a slight factory overclock to 930MHz for the GPU and 4200MHz for memory but due to the spec list we are quite sure that the card can go even higher. It features two DVI, HDMI and two mini DisplayPort outputs.
The MSI Twin Frozr III cooler has five heatpipes (two 8mm ones), nickel-plated copper base and a rather large heatsink that is cooled by two 80mm fans with a new Propeller Blade design. According to MSI, the cooler should be up to 7dB quieter, 21 degrees cooler, with up to 20 percent more airflow thanks to the fan-blade design. Another interesting feature is the switch that changes the fan mode from Performance to Silent and vice versa.
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AMD Phenom X6 1100T and X4 840 tested :: Posted by THRASHER2
Review: Speed updates, one Phenom is an Athlon @ fudzilla.com
After the X-Mas rush AMD was keen to introduce a few new CPUs. The flagship Phenom II X6 is now clocked at 3.3GHz, Turbo goes up to 3.7GHz, and it still has 64kB of L1 cache per dice for data and instructions, 512kB L2 cache per dice and 6MB shared 3rd Level Cache. The TDP stays at 125W and VCore runs at 1.3500V.
The second introduction was the Phenom II X4 840, which striked us oddly. While in the name suggests 3rd level cache, this one has none. It is in fact the successor to the Athlon II X4 645, with a 100MHz higher clock which now stands at 3.2GHz. Why it's called Phenom instead of Athlon II X4 650 is anyone's guess. The Vcore went up from 1.3500V to 1.4000V, still 64kB L1 cache per dice for data and instructions, 512kB L2 cache per dice and an TDP of 95W.
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Zotac releases GTX 560 Ti AMP! :: Posted by THRASHER2
AMP!ed to 950MHz
Following the recent release of the Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 Ti card, Zotac has finally launched the AMP! version based on this GF114 GPU. As always, the AMP! version features a decent factory overclock and although it is still 50MHz short from 1GHz, the card is ready for some additional overclocking via Zotac's Boost software.
The new GTX 560 Ti AMP! is based on the GF114 GPU and feature 384 CUDA Cores. It ended up clocked, or rather overclocked, to 950MHz for the GPU, 1900MHz for shaders and 4400MHz for 1GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. It uses a dual-slot cooler with a center placed fan and features two DVI and mini-HDMI outputs. Of course, the card comes will full support for DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.1 and Nvidia's PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision Surround and 2-way SLI.
The new Zotac GTX 560 Ti AMP! comes bundled with a voucher for Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and is currently listed in Europe with a lowest price set at €264 at German Alternate. According to our info, the card should be available in next few weeks.
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Battlefield 3 is a PC title first :: Posted by THRASHER2
Console versions will be a port from PC version
More information continues to trickle out from DICE on Battlefield 3. This time it goes beyond saying that the PC version of Battlefield 3 is the primary development platform for the title and the console versions will come from the PC version. This is a much different strategy than DICE has used in the past where the PC version was simply an enhanced port of the console version of the title.
Battlefield 3 will be using dedicated servers to host the online action, as has become tradition in the Battlefield franchise. While mod tools are still planned for release for Battlefield 3, they will not be coming at release due in part to the new Frostbite 2 engine that powers Battlefield 3. In addition, it is still up in the air as to what kind of functionality these mod tools will offer and how they will handle mods. DICE has noted that the development and release of mod tools takes a lot of effort; and right now they need to be focused on the release of the title.
One other interesting thing of note is that DICE has apparently learned a lot of lessons about DLC content, and they will not be handling it the same way they did for Battlefield Bad Company 2. In the future, you can expect a steady stream of content and no six-month wait. DICE has realized that the content is necessary to maintain momentum of the title and keep player interest in the title at a high level. While DICE offers no hints, you can bet that you will see a lot of content for Battlefield 3.
With all of the recent news coming out of the DICE camp on Battlefield 3, it seems that the Battlefield community is pleased with what they are hearing. Talk in the community seems to indicate a significant interest in Battlefield 3, but it also comes with a lot of concern whether DICE can actually deliver on its promise of a state-of-the-art Battlefield experience for the PC platform. It has been some time since DICE has really focused on a PC release, but from what we are seeing indications are good that it will be what Battlefield fans want.
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AMD admits benefiting from Intel's chipset woes :: Posted by THRASHER2
As if it weren't already obvious
As if it wasn't clear already, AMD announced Tuesday that it is benefiting from Intel's Sandy Bridge cock-up.
AMD VP of Product and Platform Marketing Leslie Sobon told Dow Jones Newswires that customers are turning to AMD in droves as a result of Intel's SATA bug.
"Some retailers have had to take things off their shelves, so they call us to ask what they could get from our OEMs that's similar. And OEMs are asking us for product, as well," Sobon said.
Not only has the Sandy Bridge caused a dent in Intel's forecasted Q1 revenue and profit, but it's clearly damaging the company's Core i brand and new Sandy Bridge processors. As we said earlier, Intel planned a very aggressive timetable for the transition to the new architecture in 2011 and the plan was to significantly reduce the share of Socket 1156 products towards the end of the year. These plans could be affected by several weeks if not a couple of months.
Also, Sobon is upbeat on AMD's new Fusion APUs. She noted that customers were buying more low-end Fusion chips and they were making inquiries about the new products, particularly for the mainstream notebook market. However, AMD's Llano APU won't be ready until the summer and at the moment chipmaker lacks new products to fill the void created by Intel's bug, making it difficult for AMD to capitalize on Intel's woes over the next couple of months.
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Gainward GTX 580 3GB Phantom tested :: Posted by THRASHER2
Gainward recently started its Phantom series, for users who crave reliable and quiet cooling to go with good performance. The Phantom series currently features GTX 580, GTX 570 and GTX 560Ti. Our guest today is GTX 580 3GB Phantom, a custom version that as the name suggests comes with Phantom cooling and 3GB of GDDR5 memory. We hope that the strongest Phantom of them all will leave good impression like the GTX 560 Ti Phantom, which we tested here.
We expected to see a higher overclock on GTX 580 3GB Phantom, but it appears like Gainward did not want to step on GTX 580 Golden SampleÂ’s toes. In comparison, GainwardÂ’s GTX 580 Golden Sample runs at 805MHz for the GPU whereas GTX 580 PhantomÂ’s GPU is at 783MHz.
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When will GTA 5 arrive? :: Posted by THRASHER2
Conflicting info still points to 2012 release
Despite the news circulating on the web over the last few days, our sources whisper to us that many have it wrong and there likely will not be a Grand Theft Auto 5 release in 2011. While some speculate that it will be released yet this year, it apparently does not seem that this is going to happen despite the fact that it has been three years since the last major release in the franchise.
While Rockstar did release two major content additions for GTA IV, the company has been very quiet about the future of the franchise, other than sort of admitting that a new installment is in development. The major reason for speculation that a holiday release this year is the goal is due to the fact that contracts of some key personnel responsible for the GTA franchise expire in January 2012, and it would be favorable to their negotiating position to deliver GTA 5 before their contracts end.
Some of our sources say that the lack of any information about Max Payne 3 might also be a clue that resources are being directed toward the development of GTA 5. This seems to agree with what industry analyst, Michael Pachter, believes is the case.
In any event, all seem to be in agreement that we will likely hear about GTA 5 in June at E3 when Rockstar is expected to make an announcement. Still, you never know what the future might hold; but rest assured our crystal ball says that we will see another release in the Grand Theft Auto franchise at some point very early next year.
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Activision to slash headcount by 500 :: Posted by THRASHER2
Despite profits actually being up
Activision will be making some changes as the company announced its numbers. Despite profits being up, the company will be realigning some things, which will result in a loss of about 500 jobs as the company makes some changes, with a heavy emphasis going forward on their electronic delivery and subscription-based services.
That is not all that we learned. Activision will not be releasing any music or skateboarding games during 2011. The new True Crime: Hong Kong game has also apparently been canned, and the Guitar Hero or music development teams are being dissolved. The news of no Tony Hawk title during 2011 marks the first time since 1999 that a new title has not arrived in the franchise.
As for what we can expect, look for a lot more downloadable content from Activision, as company was able to move 1.4 million downloads of the latest Call of Duty map pack in the first 24 hours. Also look for two releases from Blizzard, which are Diablo 3 and Heart of the Swarm (which is the first add-on pack for Starcraft 2).
Activision does not currently look for these titles to arrive this year, but instead it is expecting them in 2012. Activision will continue to invest heavily in the Call of Duty projects that the company continues to work on, which includes some sort of Call of Duty-based subscription title.
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HP shows its Veer and Pre 3 smartphones :: Posted by THRASHER2
WebOS all the way
On its HP/Palm "Think Beyond" webOS event at San Francisco, HP announced its newest Veer and Palm 3 smartphones that will start the new WebOS/Palm-less era.
Those who were eagerly awaiting for a small smartphone, rather than a 4.3-inch and 3.5-inch (yes, we are talking about iPhone 4) screen beasts that are selling today, will be pretty happy as HP's Veer can easily take the smallest smartphone crown with its 2.6-inch 320x400 screen. Although details regarding the price, choice of carriers, etc. haven't been announced, there is handful of specs for us to write about.
The HP Veer will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7230 processor clocked at 800MHz, a 5 megapixel EDoF camera, HSPA+ support, 8GB of storage and now pretty much standard, accelerometer, proximity and light sensors. Of course, HP squeezed in recently much talked about Touchstone support, mobile hotspot support and a slide out QWERTY keyboard, although due to the sheer size we must note that we honestly doubt that it will be any good.
As for the third take on the Pre, we must say that it looks a bit more serious. Packing the Qualcommm MSM8X55 Snapdragon CPU at 1.4GHz, 512MB of DRAM, a 3.58-inch multitouch screen with 24-bit color and 480x800 resolution, the Pre 3 also comes with HP's WebOS 2.2, a similar QWERTY keyboard with backlight paired up with "gesture area", 8 or 16GB of internal storage, full access to the web including support for Flash Player 10.1, 802.11bng WiFi, GPS/A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 5 megapixel cammera with AF and flash, as well as a front video call camera, and a 1230 mAh battery. Of course, this one will also have a lot to do with HP's Touchstone, but we'll get to that later.
The Veer is scheduled to show up during this spring, and as noted, HP kept its mouth shut about carriers and pricing. The Pre 3 is, on the other hand, scheduled for this summer, for both 8 and 16GB versions. As you would have guessed, there is no word on Pre 3 price as well.
On a similar note, HP announced that its Pre 2 will start shipping tomorrow.
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Club3D rolls out a new Radeon HD 6950 :: Posted by THRASHER2
1GB of memory and dual slot, dual fan cooler
Netherlands based company, Club3D, has rolled out yet another graphics card that will be a part of its Radeon HD 6900 series, the Radeon HD 6950 1GB GDDR5.
Featuring the Cayman Pro GPU, the new HD 6950 has stock clocks but uses a custom dual slot, dual fan cooler. As noted, the card works at stock 800MHz for the GPU and 5000MHz for 1GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 256-bit memory interface. It comes with standard two DVI, HDMI and two mini Displayport outputs.
The cooler is the same one that we've seen on Powercolor's cards and features two heatpipes and two fans in order to keep the temperatures down without making a lot of noise.
The card should be available shortly as it already listed in Europe with a lowest price set at €228,74. You can find it listed here.
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HP shows its 9.7-inch Touchpad :: Posted by THRASHER2
WebOS 3.0, 1.2GHz Snapdragon and Touchstone
Following the announcement of its smartphone duo, the Veer and the Pre 3, HP has decided to lift the veil on its WebOS based slate that has been rumoured for quite some time, the 9.7-inch Touchpad.
Previously known as Topaz, Touchpad looks a lot like Apple's iPad. The 9.7-inch device weighs around 725 grams (1.6lb) and is 13.7mm thick. As far as specs go, Touchpad features a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon CPU, 9.7-inch 1024x768 screen, 16 or 32GB of integrated storage space, gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, front 1.3 megapixel camera (no camera on the back), 802.11bgn WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS, stereo speakers and HP's own Beats audio engine. Of course, the device runs on HP's WebOS 3.0.
According to first hands-ons and HP itself, the device will be pretty fast and will not have any problems with multi-tasking, which does look pretty impressive and intuitive. Of course, Touchstone support is also available and it looks like HP certainly wants you to pair this one with your Pre 3 as those two devices will communicate easily, simply by a touch.
HP plans to have a couple of versions and, of course, two main models will be differentiated by the amount of internal storage space, 16 or 32GB. The first versions that will show up are WiFi-only ones, while 3G and 4G ones will follow.
As it was the case with its upcoming smartphones, HP stated that Touchpad will be coming this summer while the price is yet to be determined.
You can check out a neat hands-on over at Engadget.com and check out more info regarding the Touchpad here.
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Alienware MX11 packs a punch in 11.6 inches :: Posted by THRASHER2
Alienware is well known for its gaming computers. Seven years ago the company launched its beautifully designed desktop machines packed with extreme hardware delivering impressive performance. They were among the best looking and performing machines and Alienware has managed to get to the next level, by selling these super crazy gaming machines in volume. It was so good in sales that it sold itself to Dell somewhere along the line.
Many moons ago Alienware started doing laptops. Once again these were beautifully designed rigs, bristling with advanced features and top notch performance, so they were especially suited for games. The weakest link was always the battery life and most of them were not exactly what we'd call light.
Back in mid-2005 Alienware launched its first and only 12-inch Sentia notebook and this baby got a lot of attention. I use to own one and you cannot imagine how many people, including girls and ladies who definitely weren't into gaming would ask me at various airports: "What is that and where can I get one?”. I reckon that I was a pretty good advertiser for Alienware. It was either me or the glowing blue eyes at the notebook hood.
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Choiix to show some mobile accessories at MWC 2011 :: Posted by THRASHER2
A full lineup of portable power products
Cooler Master's accessory line brand, Choiix will be hitting this years Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona with a couple of rather interesting portable power devices that promises faster, safer and move convenient power for mobile devices.
We have already seen a couple of these before and it looks like that Choiix will be adding a couple of more at this years MWC 2011 show. The full lineup will include Power Fort 10Whrs/2700mAh and Power Fort 5.5Whrs/1500mAh devices as well as two new, a Power Fort Solar iPhone4 backpack and iPower Fort 1500mAh.
The Choiix Power Fort is a simple portable battery backup that is compatible with most if not all mobile devices with a micro or mini USB port. It is equipped with a high quality battery and is available in two versions, 2700mAh and 1500mAh one. The novelty is the Power Fort Solar for iPhone 4 that has a solar panel in order to provide as much power juice possible to your favorite Appleish device.
The last but not least is an aluminum iPower Fort 1500mAh which apparently also designed for iPhone. Most of the specs are still not detailed as Cooler Master's Choiix is still holding some back for the MWC 2011, opening in Barcelona next week.
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Nvidia sets date for this year GTC :: Posted by THRASHER2
GPU Technology Conference in October
Nvidia has set a date for its third GPU Technology Conference (GTC) that will be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. This year's event will take place from October 11th to October 14th and, as last year, it will feature a lot of big names from the industry.
The novelty for this year is the Accelerated High Performance Computing Symposium hosted by the Los Alamos National Lab and Nvidia. As always, Nvidia is pretty persistent to note the importance of GPUs and parallel computing. Of course, you can expect all the industry partners and some like Microsoft, Adobe, PNY, Supermicro and others have already booked ther place there.
Nvidia notes that the attendance at the last year GTC grew by more than 50 percent and predicts that this year's GTC will be an event not to be missed. While talking about its Fermi architecture, Nvidia also used the last year GTC to announce the 28nm Kepler chip as well as the 22nm one named Maxwell and hopefully by October, The Big Green will have more details. We are pretty sure that there will be at least some talk about ARM.
Of course, October is still pretty far away but we are eagrly awaiting it. You can check out the official GTC 2011 site here.
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Verizon iPhone 4 supports 1xEV-DO Rev. B :: Posted by THRASHER2
Software upgrade could deliver more bandwidth
It turns out that despite the initial launch of Verizon's iPhone 4 lacking support for simultaneous voice and data capabilities, the iPhone 4 does provide support for the 1xEV-DO Rev. B standard. This support for 1xEV-DO Rev. B could allow Verizon in the future to upgrade the amount of bandwidth delivered to the iPhone with a simple software upgrade to their cellular towers.
The additional impact of 1xEV-DO Rev. B is the reduced latency by using statistical multiplexing across channels will enhance the end user experience for latency sensitive services such as VOIP. Many people have been discussing the fact that Verizon currently does not support SV-DO, however Qualcomm's support for simultaneous active 1x Voice and EV-DO data support has been in the works since 2009.
The support for 1xEV-DO Rev. B in the MDM6600 chipset can be found in documentation on Qualcomm's website here.
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Sony NGP (PSP2) to be $299? :: Posted by THRASHER2
GameStop taking pre-orders at that price
From the land of GameStop our often correct leakers tell us that the Next Generation Portable (or PSP2, if you will) from Sony will be sold for $299, according to what is currently in the companyÂ’s computer system. Of course, this is much lower and a better value than the place holder price of $999, which was previously the amount that was shown in the system.
While you canÂ’t believe everything you read we have to suggest that if the $299 price is correct, it has to be the Wi-Fi model and does not include much beyond the unit itself and the battery. Our sources continue to tell us that a $299 price is only possible for Sony if they are willing to lose some money on the device, and a $349 price tag is far more likely.
You never know how something like this will shake out, but we suspect that while the price may be accurate in the GameStop system, it might move up or down before release day. The important thing, however, is that they are accepting pre-orders; but no one seems to know exactly when the units will be released in North America. We know for certain that they will be here this holiday season.
Sources continue to say that Sony will announce the actual release information during their press conference at E3.
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Intel chipset bug to hit Nvidia and ATI hard :: Posted by THRASHER2
Especially notebooks
Our industry sources have said that it looks like Q1 2011 wont be a great month for notebook discrete graphics.
Since Intel announced its massive chipset recall, notebook manufacturers have put all orders on hold. This affects most of Nvidia and ATI graphics parts that were supposed to accommodate Sandy Bridge notebooks and offer it better graphics.
Some notebook manufacturers might decide to continue shipping its notebooks and try to convince users that their units are not affected, but this is a long shot. Even if they do use non-affected SATA 3.0 ports, people might not be relaxed about using notebook lines that suffered from this.
It is still not clear how much will this recall affect others including hard drive manufacturers, memory manufacturers, graphics chips manufactures and even mighty Microsoft who usually sells software for these notebooks. Its easy to predict that anyone who sells things that accommodate Intel's notebooks and desktops will be affected. Prepare for some weaker than expected Q1 results.
We will try to get some exact details but so far we know that notebook graphics for both Nvidia and ATI has been affected.
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Microsoft fix plugs 34 holes :: Posted by THRASHER2
In 13 urgent updates
Not only did the Service Pack 1 for windows 7 arrive on February 22 as we mentioned here, but Microsoft followed it up with a a massive fix that plugs a total of 33 holes.
The update is live for two days now and we noticed that our computers and laptops running Windows 7 have 13 security critical updates. Knowing Microsoft's record with security holes, you don't mess with critical stuff, but it
caught our eye that these updates are coming some two weeks before the big Windows 7 Service pack 1.
If you do have Windows 7 make sure you check if you have some updates that need to be installed, as they will at least make you feel more secure.
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MacBook Air Sandy Bridge update in June :: Posted by THRASHER2
Steroids for the shy skinny bloke
Apple is planning to refresh its MacBook Air lineup with new Intel Sandy Bridge processors sometime in June.
According to CNET, the MacBook Pro series is also in for an update. It's worth noting that Intel has relied on Core 2 Duo parts for the Air since its introduction in 2008. Basically it skipped an entire generation of Intel CPUs.
This will probably mark the end of the line for quite a few entry-level Nvidia GPUs used in Apple notebooks. However, the new processors should be quite an improvement over the ageing C2D generation, as they consume quite a bit less power and offer superior performance, particularly with Turbo.
The fact that Apple has hardly changed the original design of the ultrathin Air is a testament to its design prowess.
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Intel to start shipping new 6 series chips by February 14th :: Posted by THRASHER2
Still far away from customers
Intel has announced that its will start shipping its B3 stepping 6-Series chipset chips by February 14th. In case you somehow managed to miss this one, we are still talking about Intel's chipset that is plagued by the now quite famous SATA 3Gbps bug.
Intel is still sticking behind its promise that it will ship these products by the end of February. The new stepping has several updates including the change of revision ID from 04h to 05h, BIOS update to 1.1.4 and minor metal layer change improving lifetime wear out with no changes to functionality or design specifications (the one that fixes SATA 3.0Gbps issue).
Of course, bear in mind that this is the date when Intel will ship the new B3 revision chip to the manufactures and most certainly doesn't mean that you will see it in channel. We had a nice chat with a couple of people and in most cases it takes one week to get it to manufacturers, two weeks in order for them to put it on their motherboards and around six weeks for the final product to reach its destination. Of course these are rough timelines that also depend on the region and minor changes can happen.
As always, OEMs will probably get the first batch and channel might get it, in the best case scenario, by the end of March or in early April. Of course, there might be a lot of people waiting for a replacement so you have to count them in as well, and there is no way to find out how big will the first shipment be so you might see the new B3 Sandy Bridge on retail/e-tail shelves sometime in April or even later.
Of course, as we wrote earlier, some retailers/e-tailers and OEMs are still happily selling the old B2 revision.
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