GDC2011: Live from the Expo Floor
I'm here at the last day of the GDC in dowtown San Francisco, hanging out and checking out the cool tech. Most of the things I'm going to see here are demonstrations of products and games that everyone already knows about from former press releases and the like, but it's still going to fun to play around with it. I wanted to get a first hand look at Nintendo's much-heralded 3DS, especially the AR interface, so my first stop was the Nintendo booth.
The Nintendo array is great- demos of many games including the new Zelda. A very helpful 3DS rep named Jamie introduced me to the AR games. The 3DS uses marker-based augmented reality, meaning the the images and experienced are anchored to a physical object, like a sign or a barcode. In this case, Nintendo uses a small card with the familiar Nintendo Question Mark logo. I played around with two games, the AR Archery game (which I think they should call ARchery if they haven't already) and a game called "Face Raiders".
Playing the games with the active 3D engine was disorienting at first. Developers have been working for a while to get past that particular Uncanny Valley, but my eyes adjusted to it after a moment. The archery game begins with a small box that appears to be harboring a small creature with bright white eyes. The game literally "unfolds" from there, as the user shoots the one box, which turns into many boxes, which turns into targets, and then things get crazy. The game somehow drops into the table, from which a very angry dragon emerges as the final boss. Didn't really notice a life level or any sort of negative incentive in the game, so I can only imagine the skill incentive is the end Time. I overheard two of the 3DS guys laughing about who had done it faster- the top score is 00:43, but I only managed a paltry 1:40. These games are clearly quick fixes and are not intended be profound experiences, just the simple and beautiful design and UI that we've all come to know and love (and be addicted to) from Nintendo.
Face Raiders is a game that uses facial recognition; the user snaps a photo of any person's face (we recommend that you choose a friend- it might be awkward otherwise). Once the 3DS loads the face, an interactive shooting game launches where you are assaulted from all angles by floating animated, and angry, visages. This player actually has a lifebar in this game, and the experience forces the player to move around in order to shoot the erratically flying faces. If you have collected more than one face, other faces of your friends pop up every once in a while for bonus points. They tend to "explode" through the background (the world around you), literally shattering the mediated reality.
Here's a video of Jamie from 3DS testing it, using the face of another 3DS rep:
(the GDC Wireless keeps kicking me off, so evidently Videos are going to have to wait until later! Apologies, and stay posted!)
If you're ever mad at your significant other, boss, or that random homeless person that always accosts you on the bus every morning, snap a photo of them and go nuts.
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Download of the Day: Picasa 3.8 Build 117.38
Our Download of the Day today is Picasa 3.8 Build 117.38.
Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organized.
Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures, you can email, print photos home, make gift CDs, instantly share your images and albums, and even post pictures on your own blog.
The latest version includes Web Albums (along with other improvements), but requires that you request an account from Google.
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Deal of the Day: Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Speaker System - $51.41 Shipped!
Our Deal of the Day today is the Logitech - Dented Box Special - Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Speaker System - $51.41 Shipped!.
Offer: Great price on this dented box special from Logitech. Get the Logitech X-540 5.1 speaker system for just $41.99 + $9.42 shipping. There are some features I love about the X-540 like the LCD monitor clip so you can mount the center speaker to your monitor, a control pod w/ headphone jack, and matrix mode to transform older 2-channel sounds to all 5 speakers!
Use coupon code: logi_x540_3311 for the discount. Expires 03/06/2011.
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Valve announce Steam Guard, increased account security for gamers
Valve have today announced Steam Guard, a new Steam and Steamworks feature designed to provide increased security for gamers. Steam Guard allows users to link account management options to a specific machine, an extra measure to prevent unauthorized access. Steam guard can be set up to notify you if any PCs attempt to log into your account.
Steam Guard will also take advantage of upcoming Intelآ® Identity Protection Technology (Intelآ® IPT), an encrypted, hardware-based feature available with the new 2nd Generation Intelآ® CoreT and Intelآ® CoreT vProT processors. Gabe Newell, president of Valve has said "Account phishing and hijacking are our #1 support issues. With Intel's IPT and Steam Guard, we've taken a big step towards giving customers the account security they need as they purchase more and more digital goods."
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Epic teases with next-gen Unreal Engine 3 effects at GDC
The GDC is pumping out some great content today with Epic Games using the show as an opportunity to show off some updates to their Unreal Engine 3. The engine is now capable of DirectX 11 tessellation, subsurface scattering on characters, depth of field with bokeh effects for lights, fully modeled hair, and a new reflection effect that add a veneer of realism to the rain-soaked streets depicted.
The results of these additions are some very impressive looking screenshots, but for now the updates are near useless until we get some DX11-based next-gen consoles. The second we get next-gen consoles, I feel there will be an absolute explosion of graphics, right now we're very much held back. The tech and software is there, it's just a matter of time.
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Unigine release Heaven 2.5 benchmarking suite, also Professional Edition
Unigine have been hard at work lately and are finally back to release the latest version of their benchmarking suite, Unigine Heaven. One of the industry's first DirectX 11 compliant 3D graphics benchmark applications.
Version 2.5 of Unigine Heaven includes a few new tricks - it's split into two variants: a free "basic edition" that gives most of Unigine Heaven's functionality to customers, overclockers and gamers; and a paid "professional edition" that gives data-logging, specific-functionality to aid professionals such as analysts and reviewers, priced at US$495. The professional outing also includes technical support.
As for features, Heaven 2.5 introduces support for new DirectX 11 features such as indirect occlusion (SSDO) to simulate real-time global illumination, improved hardware support, improved quality of ambient occlusion and a number of stability improvements that help maintain long sessions of benchmarking.
Heaven 2.5 also includes a new help file, and a quicker installer. The professional edition includes command line automation support, data-logging to CSV format, stress-testing, a commercial license and technical support.
Download Unigine Heaven 2.5 Basic Edition here
Professional Edition can be purchased here
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Over 41 million Sony PlayStation 3's sold
During the PlayStation Network Analysis panel at GDC, SCEA digital distribution manager Pierre Gravereau announced some platform stats to attendees, revealing that worldwide sales for the PlayStation 3 console sat at over 41.6 million.
More than 80-percent of consoles are connected to the internet and from those users, 70 million PSN accounts (obviously some people use duplicate accounts, one for proper play, one for OMFG HACKS YOU *enter all profanity here*). gravereau boasted the success of PSN in 2010 by saying that the PlayStation Store saw increases of 60-percent compared to 2009 whilst Sony saw a 70-percent spike in revenue.
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GDC 2011: IGF & GDC Awards- Minecraft FTW
Minecraft cleaned up last night at both the International Games Festival (IGF) and Game Developer's Choice Awards (GDC), winning no less than 5 different categories, including the Seamus McNally Grand Prize and Best Downloadable Game. Indie sensation Minecraft, developed by Mojang, has enjoyed a huge success in mainstream and independent gaming communities alike.
Also of note, San Diego Game Firm Rockstar took Game of the Year and three other categories in the GDC, winning four awards altogether. Go SoCal.
Founder of Lionhead Studios Peter Moylneux walked away with the Lifetime Achievement Award, for his involvement and creation of games such as Fable, Black & White, and that favorite classic, Populous:
He's the guy that created the first Populous? "Lifetime" Achievement indeed!
And let's not forget that Yu Suzuki won the Pioneer Award for inventing an entire genre with Virtua Fighter. My favorite part about VF was the absurdly unnecessarily high jump attack. Oh, and the giant pixellated muscles. And this guy:
Ah, memories.
See below for both the IGF and GDC list of all award winners.
IGF
Seumas McNally Grand Prize ($20,000)
Minecraft, by Mojang
Nuovo Award($5,000)
Nidhogg, by Messhof
Excellence in Visual Art ($2,500)
BIT.TRIP RUNNER, by Gaijin Games
Excellence in Audio ($2,500)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, by Frictional Games
Excellence in Design ($2,500)
Desktop Dungeons, by QCF Design
Best Student Game ($2,500)
FRACT, by University of Montreal
Technical Excellence ($2,500)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, by Frictional Games
Best Mobile Game ($2,500)
Helsing's Fire, Ratloop
Audience Award ($2,500)
Minecraft, by Mojang
Direct2Drive Vision Award ($10,000)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, by Frictional Games
GDC
Game of the Year: Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Moylneux
Pioneer Award: Yu Suzuki
Best Game Design: Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
Best Technology : Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
Best Audio: Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar)
Best Writing: Mass Effect 2 (BioWare)
Best Debut Game: Minecraft (Mojang)
Best Handheld Game: Cut the Rope (ZeptoLab)
Innovation Award: Minecraft (Mojang)
Best Visual Arts: Limbo (Playdead)
Best Downloadable Game: Minecraft (Mojang)
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GDC 2011 update: Crysis 2 Delivers on Passive 3D
Quite a short story, but we'll update it as we get more information.
At the GDC 2011 this afternoon here in San Francisco, Crytek and EA let event-goers test their upcoming FPS Blockbuster, Crysis 2, out March 22nd.
According to sources at the conference, the passive 3d graphics engine is otherworldly. The game uses polarized glasses to access the 3D content, so-called "passive" because they need no outside power source.
After demoing the game on the giant screen available, San Francisco tech employee Brendan Scully was blown away. "Coolest thing I've ever seen- Doesn't hurt your eyes. The new 3d engine actually f***ing works! It's incredible."
If you weren't excited enough for this ballsy cross-platform FPS, then...become more excited.
Here's the trailer, if you want to re-amp:
[NFSW: Language]
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Sony next-Gen Portable is AR ready
Another portable/tablet device (re: iPad 2, Xoom, 3DS, Galaxy Tablet, Playbook) announces Augmented Reality capabilities.
Yay.
The Sony NGP unveiled some AR demos at the GDC 2011 in San Francisco yesterday. This bit of exciting news also got lost in the iPad 2 Internet Frenzy Of 2011.
Even though much of Sony's presentation (like Nintendo's, and even Apple's) presentation rehashed a lot of what was already known about the NGP, it was still cool to see another major tech firm talking AR, and even better, AR of the "marker-less" variety (For examples of "marker-based" AR, see Nintendo's 3DS AR games here)
NGP users would be able to enjoy augmented reality experiences without all those pesky physical anchors, like cards (or as I like to call them, cARds), weird looking bar codes, etc. Tsutomu Horikawa, director of SCEI Software Solution Developement Dept, demoed the experience by directing the NGP camera to a large image of a Tyrannosaurus Rex on the floor, only to have a giant T-Rex appear on the screen of the NGP. The T-Rex occupied more virtual space than the actual limit of the NGP screen, but in true AR fashion Horikawa was able to move the NGP around to see more or less of the T-Rex, almost as if it actually existed.
UPDATE: video of the experience:
Though no gaming mechanics or even games that would include AR elements were announced, the prospect of adding one more device to the list of AR capable platforms is enticing enough. And considering that the NGP is chiefly a gaming device, I do not imagine it will be too far in the future before we see some AR games on the NGP. Or whatever they're going to call it.
These kinds of experiences are however otherwise available on a multitude of devices, including mobile phones. Mobile AR browsers have been around for a few years now, and some of them, like junaio, and her parent company metaio GmbH, are already particularly fond of T-Rexes.
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Windows 1 to Windows 7: Too much free time?
Do you have buckets of free time and love antiquated Microsoft operating systems? You might want to give this guy a call.
Youtube user TheRasteri (Andrew Tait) posted a 10 minute video of his Windows OS experiment. Using VMWare, this video tracks the installation of DOS 5.0 to Windows 1.0, and then every additional upgrade. Tait's intent was to determine how compatible with each other the various versions of Windows were, and tested this using color settings and programs installed in DOS at the beginning of the video. Based on the download times of each of often mammoth-sized updates, this experiment looks to have taken Tait at least a day to complete.
Turns out that in some instances Windows offers over 20 years of compatibility. Sadly, the fast-food restaurant color scheme that Tait chose and Doom II only lasted until Windows 2000. Strangely enough, Doom II came back in XP, but the color settings were still gone (even when Tait reset them in Windows 2000).
Best part of this clip is the sudden impulse and affinity for the LucasArts Game "Monkey Island"- it's damn near irresistible.
Final thought: if Microsoft can boast 20 years of compatibility, why did Tait name the clip "Chain of Fools"? Not that I disagree, mind you.
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Yesterday at GDC 2011: Nintendo Keynote is Key
Amidst the craziness that was the iPad 2 announcement yesterday, Nintendo's exciting news about their own portable device may have been obscured.
President of Nintendo Saturo Iwata took the stage at the San Francisco 25th annual Game Developers Conference yesteday to deliver a keynote in which he spoke about the history of Nintendo and his own career. He also fondly recalled the origin of one of Nintendo's favorite characters, Tinkle Popo:
Wait what? Tinkle Popo?
Oh, man...We all dodged a bullet on that one. Not that Nintendo hasn't used stranger names in the past.
The real focus of Nintendo's presence at GDC 2011 was the upcoming and much heralded 3DS, and the host of really cool features that will be available. Iwata turned the stage over to Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo of America, who spoke for the second half of the presentation about why the 3DS is going to maximize the bridge between content and interactivity.
The new 3DS is going to ship March 27th, just a few short weeks after the iPad 2, bringing with all sorts of crazy cool features. By the end of May of this year, 3DS users can look forward to an eShop, an in-system web browser, and the ability to transfer all of their DSiWare software from their Wii's (DSiWare now includes Game Gear and TurboGrafx 16 games, including games for the short-lived TurboGrafx portable, the Turbo Express[!]. It's like a store where you can buy actual nostalgia!).
None of this would be that amazing if there weren't +10,000 AT&T hotspots being introduced at the same time. In addition, the 3DS will manage the user's content through SpotPass and device-to-device transfers for games that aren't even plugged in to the system.
Oh, and Netflix. In case you were running out of devices to stream movies on.
Even awesomer is the Augmented Reality capabilities, as Nintendo has shown demos and made mention of it's AR games that come pre-loaded on the 3DS. Check out the video below for a demo of the fishing game:
The 3DS will be available for $249.99, with most games going for $39.99. But then again, you'd pay $40 for a new Super Mario Game developed by the same team that did Super Mario Galaxy, right? Right?
Iwata, through all of his regaling of the "good ol' days", kept hammering home with one point: "Content should be the primary goal of any game developer." When it comes to content, Nintendo has been shining for years and years, due in no small part to this ideology.
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Toshiba NB550D AMD Fusion Netbook w/ Harman Kardon Speakers Review
The Toshiba NB550D comes with a 10.1-inch glossy display, but instead of running an Intel Atom CPU, like a typical netbook, the NB550D is based on the AMD C-50 CPU (1GHz) with ATI Radeon HD 6250 graphics. It also comes with a 250GB HDD & 1GB of RAM (it supports up to 4GB, but you'll have up upgrade to a 64-bit OS).
Style
The Toshiba NB550D featuring Harman Kardon speakers makes a good first impression with its soft rubberized finish and sound quality unlike any other netbook. This 2.6-pound device sports an EasyGrip finish on the lid that's available in lime, metallic brown, turquoise and blue.
The dimpled pattern continues on the black palm rest where you'll find the Harman Kardon speakers. We have to admit their placement is a little strange, as it's exactly where you'd be resting your palms while typing. There aren't many devices whose finish won't fade from excessive use, and even though the build quality appears excellent, only time will tell if we won't end up pushing the speaker through the netbook. Nevertheless, we like the unified look of this stylish device.
Keyboard & Touchpad
One of the sacrifices you make on the NB550D versus the NB305 is that you don't get a chiclet-style metal keyboard. The plastic keys that are closer together and some keys (such as the right Shift and Enter) are shrunken. Still, we found the typing experience comfortable. The terraced keys offered strong tactile feedback.
Measuring 3.1 x 1.5 inches, the mini NB550D's Synaptics touchpad provides plenty of room for navigating the desktop. The touchpad itself offers a slightly rough surface which we still enjoy after a month of use. The two black mouse buttons are among the best I've used; they're large and easy to press without being mushy.
Display & Audio
As far as netbook displays go, the NB550D's 10.1-inch LED-backlit screen is fairly bright. The glossy panel didn't kick back distracting reflections, and horizontal viewing angles were nice and wide. We didn't have to tilt the display back much either to get the best picture. Still, like all netbooks, the 1024 x 600-pixel resolution doesn't fit a lot of information on screen at once. So you'll be doing a fair amount of scrolling on web pages.
The speakers are the highlight of this netbook; they give it a distinctive look, and love it or hate it, it's a statement. This netbook initially was only going to be available in the Asia Pacific region, but is now becoming available in Europe. There are, as far as we know, no plans to bring the netbook state side.
The Harman Kardon speakers are the best I've seen on a netbook, Ever. The sound quality is exceptional for a machine of this size. There's plenty of volume, excellent clarity and detail, and far more bass than you'd expect. You'll enjoy listening to music or the soundtrack of a movie far more than on the average netbook. The sound is even better when you plug in headphones; rich, detailed, with strong bass and more treble than many portable MP3 players.
If you want to hear for yourself, do demo the audio in my video review of the NB550D above.
The final audio feature that reminds you that this is in fact a premium netbook, is you can use the speakers even when the computer is turned off. Just plug in an audio source such as an MP3 player or other portable device, and you can use the netbook like a kind of bulky, expensive set of portable speakers.
Ports & Webcam
On the left side from back to front, you'll find the power jack, Ethernet port, VGA, USB, and microphone and headphone jacks. The front of the netbook houses the SD Card slot, while two more USB ports line the right side of the machine.
A nice added bonus with the USB port on the left hand side is it features Sleep-and-Charge USB to keep your gadgets juiced when the system is powered down.
The Webcam was relatively clear and was only slightly grainy when light started getting low in the room. Skip Toshiba's webcam utility; I'm not going to bother listing the many reasons it horrified me. Use Skype, even my mom is in on that bandwagon!
Performance
Toshiba's NB550D is sporting the Ontario C-50 which runs at only 1GHz and has an AMD Radeon HD 6250 running at 280 MHz while supporting DirectX 11. This netbook is the first to market sporting the AMD Fusion C-50 CPU; it's meant to blow the Intel Atom series out of the water. And it does, but only in terms of graphic performance.
The CPU itself in terms of processing power is slightly less than the dual core N550. Since this is a new CPU, let's go over a few of the basics:
The TDP of the 1GHz C-50 chip is 8W, which means it actually uses slightly less power than the 8.5W Intel Atom N550.
The NB550D computer clocked in at 1889 in 3DMark06.
In the CrystalMark benchmark, the NB550D scored a little higher than an Acer netbook with an Intel Atom N550 chip, but not much higher.
3D video games (including Crysis) played smoothly.
So where does this put things in the grand scheme of netbooks that are capable of light gaming? Well, that's pretty much the NVIDIA ION series. The 1015PN which is the only netbook to offer NVIDIA ION graphics scores 1501 on this test. So we are seeing better performance graphics and gaming wise on the AMD C-50 Fusion CPU.
If you're not so keen on numbers and just want to know how the unit performs while gaming; Live for Speed, Crysis and GTO, all of which we played at 1024أ—600, ran without a hitch! - The games were responsive and no frames were dropped at any point during game play.
Video Playback
The Toshiba NB550D played 720p locally using .mov almost flawlessly. There was one frame drop that I noticed during a time when there was a pan across the starry sky of the Hubble 3D trailer. When I tried 720p in mkv format it was a disaster and was a choppy abstract painting!
Surprisingly, 1080p in .mov and .mp4 format played much better than the 720p mkv, but having said that, it was still not watchable. YouTube 1080p played flawlessly when I tried out the Planet Earth trailer.
Battery Life
Laptop Magazine has a great battery consumption test that involves the opening and closing of websites with various levels of graphics. The NB550D was only able to get to 4 Hours, where the average netbook with an Intel Atom N550 would get about 7 on a comparable battery.
The Verdict
The Toshiba NB550D feels sturdy, looks good, it's light and it has good speed for a netbook. The HDMI port should make it appeal to users who want something small that they can plug into their TVs to watch streaming video or downloads. The NB550D feels far more sprightly than the average Atom netbook. And as more software comes along that takes use of GPU acceleration, the C-50 is going to have an increasing advantage over Atom netbooks.
The biggest disadvantage to this netbook is the battery life; 4 hours is not long enough for my tastes, but it's a question that only you can answer. Is the trade off for graphic performance worth the cut in battery life?
The question is, are the premium features enough for you to open up your wallet that little bit extra since this netbook rings up at $450? - If you don't need the graphics but like to listen to your netbook when you're on the go, this is a solid option. But if that's the only reason, then I might point out some $30 travel speakers and an average netbook that would typically run you $100 less.
If you are looking for something that is going to excel at video playback and can handle some light gaming, and you need it to be portable, then you shouldn't be looking any further.
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MSI Radeon HD 6950 2GB Twin Frozr II Video Card Review
Introduction
It feels like it's been ages since I've tested a video card. Unfortunately I was then quick to realize that it's only been a little over a week, and became concerned that 10 days felt like an eternity. To get back into the swing of things, though, we fired up the HD 6950 from MSI which has just gotten the Twin Frozr II treatment.
The HD 6900 series runs a little warmer than the previous generation HD 5800 series, so it's good to see MSI attack the model with the Twin Frozr cooler; in this case the Twin Frozr II.
Out of the box the focus has never been about a pre-overclock on this model; instead it's been all about the cooling and making sure the core is running as cool as possible while not being too loud.
Before we look at the cooler and card in detail, followed by its performance, let's first check out what's going on with the bundle.
The Package
Looking at the bundle, there's nothing too out of the ordinary here. What has to be said is that it's fantastic MSI has chosen to include a mini DP to DP adapter, something most companies aren't choosing to offer. Kudos to them for that!
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USB-IF Announces New Wave of Certified SuperSpeed USB Consumer Products
USB-IF Announces New Wave of Certified SuperSpeed USB Consumer Products
USB 3.0 Cable and Connector Certification Program now open
HANNOVER, Germany - March 1, 2011 - The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) today announced that 200 products have passed SuperSpeed USB certification testing. The latest
certified devices include the first certified SuperSpeed USB flash drive from Imation and also the first certified SuperSpeed USB media player, the O!Play HD2 from ASUS. These new products signal the vitality of SuperSpeed USB and expand the list of certified products to include motherboards, notebooks, external storage devices, flash drives, media players, PCI Express and ExpressCard add-in cards, storage controllers, hard disk drives and device-enabling silicon.
"The industry ramp of SuperSpeed USB products achieving certification has been phenomenal," said Jeff Ravencraft, President & COO, USB-IF. "We have seen the number of certified products quadruple since CeBIT 2010 and the certification workshops and labs continue to fill up with products from around the globe. This is a testament to the consumer and manufacturer enthusiasm behind the technology."
"The combined benefits of data transfer rate up to 10x faster than Hi-Speed USB, low power consumption and ease of use are helping drive SuperSpeed USB adoption by an increasing number and variety of devices," said Shane Rau, IDC's research director of computing semiconductors. "IDC believes that adoption of SuperSpeed USB will accelerate in the second half of 2012, and we forecast that approximately 80 percent of mobile PCs will ship with SuperSpeed USB in 2013, with roughly equal penetration in commercial and consumer mobile PCs."
USB-IF Launches SuperSpeed USB Cable and Connector Certification Program
The USB-IF has introduced its SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) Cable and Connector Certification Program, designed for testing cables and connectors for compliance to the specification to achieve certification. Companies whose certified cables and connectors have achieved certification may license the rights to use the SuperSpeed USB logo in conjunction with providing the USB-IF with a signed logo license agreement.
Three independent test labs, including Contech Research, Inc., ETC and NTS have been authorized to test SuperSpeed USB cables and connectors. The USB 3.0 Cable and Connector Compliance Document Revision 1.0 is now available on the USB-IF website.
SuperSpeed USB Community at CeBIT
The USB Community at CeBIT 2011 includes product and technology exhibitions from the following USB-IF member companies:
- Agilent Technologies, Inc.
- Elka International, Ltd.
- Jungo
- LeCroy Corporation
- Main Super Enterprises Co., Ltd.
- SMSC
- System Level Solutions, Inc.
- Texas Instruments
- Total Phase
To learn more about SuperSpeed USB technology or how to become a USB-IF member, please visit http://www.usb.org
About SuperSpeed USB
SuperSpeed USB brings significant performance enhancements to the ubiquitous USB standard, while remaining compatible with the billions of USB enabled devices currently deployed in the market. SuperSpeed USB will deliver up to 10x the data transfer rate of Hi-Speed USB, as well as improved power efficiency. The USB 3.0 specification was developed by the USB 3.0 Promoter Group which consists of Hewlett-Packard Company, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Renesas Electronics, ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments.
About the USB-IF
The non-profit USB Implementers Forum, Inc. was formed to provide a support organization and forum for the advancement and adoption of USB technology. The USB-IF facilitates the development of high-quality, compatible USB devices through its logo and compliance program and promotes the benefits of USB and the quality of products that have passed compliance testing. Further information, including postings of the most recent product and technology announcements, is available by visiting the USB-IF website at www.usb.org.
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AVADirect Now Authorized Kingston HyperX Reseller
AVADirect Now Authorized Kingston HyperX Reseller
AVADirect is officially an authorized reseller of Kingston HyperX RAM kits. We say "It's about time!", as we have been selling Kingston product since the dawn of AVADirect. Being a custom PC builder, you come across many manufactures over thousands of products. Several factors come into play when recommending the best there is. With Kingston it specifically comes down to a couple key variables: performance, and reliability. Kingston has the lowest failure rate amongst any RAM manufacturer we have seen. Not only do we rarely ever have to tweak their factory clocks and latency timings, but they accommodate a fiercely overclocked system extremely well. They provide one of the cheapest RAM kits (cost, not quality) you can find when compared to other manufactures. We are honored to be featured on the Hyper-X portion of their website. Kingston has stringent reseller volume requirements to be featured on their main page. Yes, we could have made the page if we desired. There's just one problem; we are addicted to the HyperX brand and recommend them in all high-end systems we offer. The largest portion of our sales are contributed to Gaming, which is the largest reason why we sell HyperX over ValuRAM. Feel free to check out the link and see our logo represented on their HyperX site!
You can view more information here
To view all HyperX products we offer click Kingston HyperX products at AVADirect
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