IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 3/26/2012

Monday, March 26, 2012

IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 3/26/2012

Colorful Giving GeForce GTX 680 iGame Kudan Treatment
Remember the Colorful GTX 560 Ti iGame Kudan and how it made our readers scream "overkill"? What happens when you combine an over-the-top design, the Colorful iGame Kudan, with an equally over-the-top GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680? You get the Colorful GTX 680 iGame Kudan, the pinnacle of air-cooling for the GeForce GTX 680.

The iGame Kudan's design methodology revolves around giving users an extremely tweakable and modular cooling solution, which can not only be modified by playing with its heatsinks, but also be re-painted to suit your style. Colorful included a pastel-set the last time around. Under the hood, the card is packed by a modular VRM. The main PCB has an 8-phase digital VRM, which can be augmented by an additional 4-phase circuit on a daughterboard, which gets attached on a modified SO-DIMM slot, which goes parallel to the plane of the PCB, on its rear. The card is said to have high out of the box clock speeds, with an even higher overclocking headroom. Colorful sells in Asia and Europe.

More pictures follow.

Read More ...

Tobacco-Style Warning on Video Games Proposed by US Bill
Shacknews is reporting that once again, video games are being used for a spot of political grandstanding, and in a familiar way. Not for the first time, a bipartisan pair of US congressmen have introduced a bill that would require almost every video game box to bear a warning label reading, "WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior." Should the the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act, H. R. 4204, somehow pass, it'd require the warning be placed "in a clear and conspicuous location on the packaging" of every game rated by the ESRB, except for those rated EC (Early Childhood). It makes no distinction for a game's actual content, so the warning would be slapped on Mortal Kombat and Imagine: Party Babyz alike. "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers - to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products," chief sponsor Joe Baca (D-CA) said, reported by The Hill. "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility." Co-sponsor Frank Wolf (R-VA) chimed in, "Just as we warn smokers of the health consequences of tobacco, we should warn parents - and children - about the growing scientific evidence demonstrating a relationship between violent video games and violent behavior."

(PR) AMD Completes Acquisition of SeaMicro
AMD today announced it completed the acquisition of SeaMicro Inc., a pioneer in energy-efficient, high-bandwidth microservers, for approximately $334 million, net of cash assumed.

The acquisition of SeaMicro, which will now become AMD's Data Center Server Solutions business, enables AMD to accelerate its strategy to deliver disruptive server technology and provide its customers serving Cloud-centric data centers with highly-differentiated AMD-based solutions beginning this year.

Read More ...

(PR) Mad Catz Announces Shipping Of The Cyborg M.M.O.7 Gaming Mouse For PC And Mac
Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. announced today the shipping of the Cyborg M.M.O.7 Gaming Mouse for PC and Mac. Being released under the Company's Cyborg professional gaming brand, the M.M.O.7 was recently honored with a CES 2012 Innovations Award nomination and has been designed specifically for use with MMO (Massively Multi-player Online) software.

Chrome OS-powered Sony VAIO Notebook Exposed by the FCC
Things on the Chromebook front have been pretty quiet this year but it seems they will change soon as the US FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has received and tested a new machine running Google's Chrome OS. Seen below is the VAIO VCC111 Series, Sony's very first Chromebook, which features a 11.6-inch LCD screen (made by Samsung), 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, an SSD, an SD card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, a HDMI output, a webcam, and a 4100 mAh battery.

(PR) Cooler Master Announces the Sentinel Advance 2 Mouse and Speed Rx Mousepad
Cooler Master, an industry leading chassis, thermal solution, peripheral, and accessory manufacturer storms onto the war torn frontlines with a devastating new duo, the Sentinel Advance 2 Gaming Mouse and Speed Rx Mousepad.

RASURBO SC-08 Micro ATX PC Case Goes on Sale
German company PNL-tec has this week launched a new RASURBO-branded PC chassis, the SC-08 model featuring support for Micro ATX motherboards. Seen below, the case measures 425 x 175 x 370 mm, it weights 3.8 kg, and has an I/O panel with four USB 2.0 ports, one 5.25-inch bay, four internal 3.5-inch bays (that can take in, if needed, six 2.5-inch drives) equipped with vibration dampers, built-in dust filters in front and at the bottom, and support for up to four fans and graphics cards 36 cm long.

The SC-08 is backed by a two-year warranty and is selling for 32.90 Euro

(PR) Jabra Sets the Standard for Mobile Workers; Enables Communication Anywhere, Anytime
According to a recent forecast from IDC, the mobile worker population in the United States will account for 75% of the nation's workforce by 2015, indicating that workers everywhere are leaving the 9-to-5 days in the office behind and working remotely, traveling and collaborating via the cloud. Much of this increase is driven by the popularity of laptops, smartphones and tablets. To meet the demands of the mobile worker, Jabra has introduced a suite of products geared toward this growing category. The line includes the new Jabra SUPREME UC launching in May, and the critically acclaimed Jabra FREEWAY and Jabra SPEAK 410.

SilverStone Whitewashes SST-PS07
SilverStone unveiled a white-colored Precision Series PS07 chassis. Pictured below, the case carries model number "SST-PS07W", it has all-white exterior and interior. It supports motherboards in micro-ATX and mini-ITX form-factors. Internally, the motherboard tray is inverted (à la BTX), and its PSU tray is located on the top. It features two 5.25" drive bays, one exposed 3.5" drive bay (includes a hot-swap caddie), five internal 3.5" bays, and one 2.5" bay. Cooling system includes two 120 mm 1200 RPM fans in the front, and provision for one 120 mm fan on the rear. The front-panel includes two USB 3.0 ports. The framework of the case is made of steel, its front-panel is made of ABS, with a dash of aluminum.

Source: Hermitage Akihabara

Read More ...

(PR) VIA Announces New System-on-Module Solutions
VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced the two latest VIA modules in the growing VIA Modular Solutions portfolio, the VIA COMe-8X92 and the VIA QSM-8Q90. The modular design approach allows for short time-to market, application-specific customization, simplified development, high stability and long life cycles allowing customers to rapidly develop new and exciting devices.

Measuring 95mm x 95mm, the VIA COMe-8X92 is based on the industry standard Computer-on-Module (COM) Express Compact form factor, developed and maintained by the PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group). The VIA COMe-8X92 module combines a 1.2GHz VIA NanoTM X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900H media system processor (MSP) providing a ruggedized solution targeted at industrial PC and large OEM customers focused on dynamic application segments, including medical, advanced gaming, industrial automation and digital signage.

GeForce GTX 680 Release Driver Limits PCI-Express to Gen 2.0 on X79/SNB-E Systems
Users of systems running Core i7 processors in the LGA2011 package and X79 chipset motherboards will find that their GeForce GTX 680 will not run at PCI-Express 3.0 x16 mode, using launch drivers. This is because NVIDIA decided against implementing Gen 3.0 support for the new GPU on X79/SNB-E systems, at the very last moment. Pre-launch drivers, including the driver that ships on discs with the graphics cards, will let the GPU run at Gen 3.0 mode on some X79/SNB-E systems, however the post-launch stable drivers (such as GeForce 301.10 WHQL), won't.

The specifications page of GeForce GTX 680 on GeForce.com has been updated to mention this:

GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. The Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform is only currently supported up to 5GT/s (PCIE 2.0) bus speeds even though some motherboard manufacturers have enabled higher 8GT/s speeds.

Sources in the PC motherboard industry we spoke with, confirmed this change. PCI-Express 3.0 x16, for now, might only run on upcoming "Ivy Bridge" Core systems, running on motherboards with PCI-Express 3.0 compliant components. NVIDIA could be working to fix the issue.

Update 3/23, 21:56

NVIDIA courteously responded to our article, with a statement. Here's the statement verbatim:

While X79/SNB-E is a native Gen2 platform, some motherboard manufacturers have enabled Gen3 speeds. With our GTX 680 launch drivers, we will only be supporting Gen2 speeds on X79/SNB-E while we work on validating X79/SNB-E at these faster speeds. Native Gen3 chipsets (like Ivy Bridge) will still run at full Gen3 speeds with our launch drivers.

GeForce GTX 680 supports PCI Express 3.0. It operates properly within the SIG PCI Express Specification and has been validated on multiple upcoming PCI Express 3.0 platforms. Some motherboard manufacturers have released updated SBIOS to enable the Intel X79/SNB-E PCI Express 2.0 platform to run at up to 8GT/s bus speeds. NVIDIA is currently working to validate X79/SNB-E with GTX 680 at these speeds with the goal of enabling 8GT/s via a future software update. Until this validation is complete, the GTX 680 will operate at PCIE 2.0 speeds on X79/SNB-E-based motherboards with the latest web drivers.

This statement confirms our assertions made in the article. NVIDIA's statement on the GeForce.com product page originally formed the basis of this article, which we pasted verbatim, while preparing the article. Motherboard manufacturers have extensively marketed their LGA2011 products as natively supporting PCI-Express Gen 3.0 (8 GT/s). What's more, the datasheet of Intel Core i7 LGA2011 processors (refer 1.2.2) clearly mentions the PCI-Express root complex as supporting 8 GT/s. AMD Southern Islands GPUs have supported PCI-Express Gen 3.0 on LGA2011 platforms since day one.

Read More ...

ASRock X79 Extreme11 New Iteration Pictured, Packs Stronger VRM
At CeBIT, ASRock already grabbed a lot of attention with its unveiling of the X79 Extreme11 motherboard. The motherboard was detailed to great lengths then. It appears like the design was still a work-in-progress, and the company has an even newer iteration. Pictured below is this latest iteration. You will notice how ASRock redid the CPU VRM. While the one shown at CeBIT packed a 16-phase VRM, this one steps it up to 24. On the obverse side of the PCB, it squeezed in chokes for all 24-phases, and compact Driver-MOSFET (DrMOS) chips for 12 (probably the other 12 are located on the reverse side of the PCB). The first iteration shown at CeBIT used LFPAK MOSFET design. A DrMOS combines up/down FETs and driver IC into a single, space-efficient package. Companies like Renesas have held interest in innovating with DrMOS chips, even compacting them further. The rest of the board is identical to the one pictured at CeBIT, except that the Creative Sound Core3D chip has the signature plastic cover over it, which can be found on Creative's Sound Core3D discrete sound cards.

Source: TweakTown

Read More ...

SAMA Introduces Premium 370W PSU
Chinese OEM SAMA unveiled a premium 370W PSU, with a name that roughly translates to "Black Charm." Despite its output capacity of 370W making it fit only for entry-level desktops, and office PCs, it has a premium design, and is cooled by a 120 mm Yate Loon fan. It uses a dual-12V rail design, with its contribution to the output table being around 340W. Although not 80 Plus certified, its makers claim over 80% efficiency. It is said to have sufficient cable connectivity for entry-level desktops, including 60 cm-long 24-pin ATX, and 70 cm-long 4+4 pin ATX/EPS connectors. The source did not give out pricing information.

Source: Expreview

Read More ...

(PR) BIOSTAR Introduces the TA970XE AM3+ Motherboard
BIOSTAR Group, the world renowned manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, industrial computing systems and peripherals, announces the new generation of TA970XE series motherboards for AMD AM3+ CPUs. Their capabilities are very close to the top TA990FXE and offer overclockers and gamers considerable power and flexible settings for a reasonable price.

The TA970XE board sports the ATX form-factor (305 x 225 mm) on a powerful AMD 970 chipset with the SB950 Southbridge. It provides stable and high performance with any Socket AM3+ CPUs of the Phenom II X6, Phenom II X4, Phenom II X3, Phenom II X2, Athlon II X4, Athlon II X3, Athlon II X2 and Sempron Series including the most powerful 6-core and 8-core AMD FX, AMD Phenom II and AMD Athlon II CPUs with the TDP up to 140 W.

ZOTAC Working On GeForce GTX 680 with 2 GHz Core Clock Speed
Speaking at a conference of AIC partners, ZOTAC (China) General Manager Mr. Kwai claimed that his company was working on a "Godly" GeForce GTX 680 non-reference design graphics card, with 2 GHz core clock speed. The card will be designed to demonstrate ZOTAC's engineering potential with non-reference designs. It will be ready by mid-April, 2012. Then again, there could be a catch. ZOTAC China has, in the past, designed certain bleeding-edge graphics cards exclusively for the Chinese market, which never made it to Europe and the US. ZOTAC is an NVIDIA-exclusive brand backed by OEM Goliath PC Partner, which also holds AMD-exclusive brand Sapphire Technology.

Source: QQ

Read More ...

(PR) ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards - Small but Versatile
Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the world's leading motherboard, graphics card, barebone system, notebook and mobile device manufacturer announces a variety of options of Thin Mini-ITX for users to meet their different demands with AIO (All-In-One) and motherboards.

To target different segments, ECS Thin Mini-ITX motherboards are not only compatible with AIO but also with small form factor PCs, offering a wide range of solutions including H61H2-TI, H61H2-G11 and CDC-TI. With the growth in popularity of AIO, acceptance of the Thin Mini-ITX platform proves to be leading standard of this new trend, allowing for future-proof upgradeability.

Intel's Future SSD Plans Detailed
After asking around Taiwan, Digitimes has apparently found out Intel's SSD intentions for the rest of this year. As soon as May the Santa Clara-based chip giant is said to bring out the 300 Series ' Maple Crest' drives, as well as the 720 Series (Ramsdale). The 300s are consumer-grade solutions, while the 720s target enterprises and feature a PCIe interface.

The 720 Series SSDs will come in 400 GB and 800 GB capacities and, like the 300 Series, will utilize 25 nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.

In Q3 Intel is set to be making the transition to 20 nm NAND and will release the 500 Series 'King Crest' models, while later on, in Q4 we should see the arrival of the 100 GB, 200 GB, 400 GB and 800 GB Taylorsville drives part of the 700 Series, and the Jay Crest and Oak Crest SSDs bearing the 300 Series banner.

Source: Digitimes

Read More ...

(PR) Eurocom Adds NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, GTX 670M, GTX 660M and GT 650M To Its Lineup
Eurocom is supporting the new line of high performance GeForce GPUs from NVIDIA including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M, 670M and 660 in single and SLI configurations in select models. Eurocom will also be supporting the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M in select Optimus models.

The addition of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX and GT series GPU offers users new levels of high performance GPUs for computing in single and SLI (dual) configurations in new Eurocom notebooks based on next generation Intel technology. The new NVIDIA 600 series GPUs will complement the NVIDIA Quadro GPUs, already offered by Eurocom to its professional clients. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M comes with 2 GB of DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 620 Mhz for the utmost in graphics performance. Eurocom will be utilizing NVIDIA 3D technology in single and SLI configurations to improve overall graphics and 3D professional capability with enhanced performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 336 CUDA cores with the GPU running at 598 MHz. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 660M comes with 1.5 GB DDR5 memory, 384 CUDA cores, with the GPU running at 835 MHz.

(PR) PNY Introduce the tiny Cube Attaché
PNY introduce one of its USB flash drive collection, a product for business people. The PNY Cube Attaché boasts of a simple and no-nonsense cube design with solid colors of red and black symbolizing professional coherence. The small and ultra-light drive easily lets you carry your presentations from your work PC to the conference room with no hassle. Don't let the classic appearance fool you as this drive comes in a strong and rugged polymer body that can endure rough usage.

The Cube Attaché has a cap that snugly fits onto and seals off the USB plug, protecting it against dust and water. We must mention here that it is based on COB packaging technology using A+ grade memory chip that allows it to be packaged in such tiny dimensions and yet ensure good performance. The small size of 7 mm x 16 mm x 31 mm and weight of just 4.2g makes it very easy to carry it in the pocket. Additionally, it also has a hole to attach it to a lanyard or to a keychain, belt, wallet, etc.

(PR) Embedded Graphics: Imagination Tech Supplies More GPU IP than all Others Combined
Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated mobile devices graphics chip shipments for 2011. Mobile devices include smartphones, tablets, cameras, vehicles, and game consoles.

The market for smart mobile devices is soaring. Mobile devices are not necessarily replacing the PC, but they are outselling PCs. Increasingly mobile devices have a graphics processor and those processors are integrated in the device's system on a chip (SoC) application processor.

Read More ...

(PR) Micron Technology Reports Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal 2012
Micron Technology, Inc., today announced results of operations for its second quarter of fiscal 2012, which ended March 1, 2012. For the second quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $224 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion. The results for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $187 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2012, and net income of $72 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.3 billion for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

Read More ...

(PR) V3 Gaming PCs Now Available with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Graphics
V3 Gaming, manufacturer of high-end computer systems, has announced the availability of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card in all of its desktop computer systems. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the fastest DirectX 11 card to date by a significant margin, and packs in an unbelievable amount of features, such as single-card NVIDIA Surround and NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync technology.

The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card is the first look at the all new "Kepler" GPU architecture that represents a significant upgrade over the previous generation in terms of both performance and functionality. NVIDIA's Kepler architecture brings massive GPU compute superiority and is designed to deliver faster, more power-efficient performance. The GeForce GTX 680 is equipped with 1536 CUDA cores arranged in the brand new SMX streaming multiprocessor configuration and 2 GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory.

Did NVIDIA Originally Intend to Call GTX 680 as GTX 670 Ti?
Although it doesn't matter anymore, there are several bits of evidence supporting the theory that NVIDIA originally intended for its GK104-based performance graphics card to be named "GeForce GTX 670 Ti", before deciding to go with "GeForce GTX 680" towards the end. With the advent of 2012, we've had our industry sources refer to the part as "GTX 670 Ti". The very first picture of the GeForce GTX 680 disclosed to the public, early this month, revealed a slightly old qualification sample, which had one thing different from the card we have with us today: the model name "GTX 670 Ti" was etched onto the cooler shroud, our industry sources disclosed pictures of early samples having 6+8 pin power connectors.

Next up, while NVIDIA did re-christian GTX 670 Ti to GTX 680, it was rather sloppy at it. The first picture below shows the contents of the Boardshots (stylized) folder in NVIDIA's "special place" for the media. It contains all the assets NVIDIA allows the press, retailers, and other partners to use. Assets are distributed in various formats, the TIFF is a standard image-format used by print-media, for its high dot-pitch. Apart from a heavy payload, the TIFF image file allows tags, that can be read by Windows Explorer, these tags help people at the archives. The tags for images in TIFF format, of the GTX 680 distributed to its partners in the media and industry contain the tag "GTX 670 Ti".

Gainward Announces its GeForce GTX 680
Palit-owned AIB maker Gainward has done as expected today by unveiling a branded GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. Seen below, the Kepler-powered card features support for DirectX 11(.1), CUDA, PhysX, 3D Vision Surround, and for 3-way SLI.

Like all the other stock GTX 680s announced today, Gainward's offering has 1536 CUDA Cores, a base GPU clock of 1006 MHz, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM @ 6000 MHz, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus, two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The card is now available priced at €498.95.

Toshiba Qosmio X870 Packs A Potent Combo
When we learned early details about the Qosmio X870 from Toshiba, we took it as a sufficiently impressive combination of "Ivy Bridge" and "GeForce Kepler", without a clue about which exact models they were. DonanimHaber went hands on with one of these beasts and discovered it instead packs top-rate versions of Ivy Bridge and GeForce Fermi...err, right.

The X870 is driven by Core i7-3610QM. This chip is perhaps the most popular Core i7 mobile chip notebook designers will have access to, from the 3rd generation Core processor family. Armed with 4 cores, 8 threads (enabled with HTT), the i7-3610QM has a nominal clock speed of 2.30 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency as high as 3.30 GHz. Unlike higher Core i7 Extreme mobile models, its L3 cache is limited to 6 MB. Handling graphics, on the other hand, is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 670M. The GT 670 is based on 40 nm GF114 GPU, and packs 336 CUDA cores, and 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Other notable features of the Qosmio X870 include 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory, a 17.3-inch display with 1920x1080 pixels resolution, an SSD holding the OS and programs, and a 2 TB HDD holding data.

Source: DonanimHaber

Read More ...

(PR) AVADirect Starts Selling NVIDIA GTX 680 Graphics Processing Unit
Today AVADirect, a leading custom computer manufacturer, announced that they are now selling the new NVIDIA GTX 680 graphic processing unit. The GTX 680 is based off of the previous 580 graphics processing unit that NVIDIA has been re-inventing for the past year. They produced ground-breaking performance benchmarks, and reached a whole new level of capabilities that were not tapped by the graphics community, until now. The GTX 680 promises to reach new heights and create a serious impact in gaming and 3D rendering performance.

NVIDIA GPU Boost Technology is similar to the Turbo Boost function seen in Intel Sandy Bridge processors. The graphics processing unit will increase the clock speed based on current demand allocated to the graphics card. If you're immersed in a game, and you come across a scenario that takes more graphics processing power, the Boost Technology will increase the core clock thus keeping gameplay as smooth as possible. TXAA Technology, developed by Nvidia, is a new form of anti-aliasing that combines core functions of FXAA to create a balance between performance and image quality. Adaptive Vertical Sync enables per your current frame rate to provide the most fluent gameplay throughout many games available. PCI Express 3.0 has recently been adopted by Intel's X79 chipset and promised increased bandwidth for more performance. By using this technology through the bus of the graphics card, performance will be heavily improved, over a PCI Express 2.0 expansion slot.

GIGABYTE Out With its GeForce GTX 680
GIGABYTE took its own sweet time launching its GeForce GTX 680, but no harm done. Carrying the product code GV-N680D5-2GD-B, GIGABYTE's graphics card sticks to NVIDIA reference board design, decorated with a slick-looking abstract art. The card also sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core), 1058 MHz (boost), and 1502 MHz / 6.00 GHz effective GDDR5 memory. It is armed with 2 GB of memory sitting across a 256-bit wide memory interface. Based on the 28 nm GK104 GPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is powered by 1536 CUDA cores, and a revolutionary, energy-efficient architecture. GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499.

(PR) iBUYPOWER Announces Partnership with Major League Gaming
iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce it is the official gaming PC partner of Major League Gaming (MLG), the world's largest competitive gaming league and largest eSports stage in the US. iBUYPOWER's Chimera 4, the fourth generation of iBUYPOWER's signature gaming line inspired by the mythical fire-breathing beast, will be used as the official competition PC for all 2012 MLG Pro Circuit Events.

"We are thrilled to have iBUYPOWER onboard for the 2012 season," said John Lane, EVP Partnerships, Major League Gaming. "Their systems offer our competitors the power they need to perform at the highest levels of professional gaming."

Club 3D Comes Up with a GeForce GTX 680 Too
Dutch board maker Club 3D has today joined the Kepler launch party and announced its very own GeForce GTX 680. Based on NVIDIA's reference design, Club 3D's card is equipped with one GK104 28 nm GPU, and features 1536 CUDA Cores, a base clock of 1006 MHz, a 256-bit memory interface, and 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM set to 6000 MHz.

The GTX 680 packs a dual-slot cooler, has 3-way SLI support, and includes four display outputs (dual DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort), PCI-Express 3.0, and goodies like Adaptive V-Sync, single-card 3D Vision Surround, TXAA, and the NVENC video encoder. The Club 3D GeForce GTX 680 can be found listed @ 487 Euro.

(PR) MSI Readies G-Series Notebooks Based on the latest NVIDIA GPUs
MSI's upcoming G-Series notebooks will be based on the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670M for the GT60 and GT70 and the GeForce GT 650M discrete mobile graphics chips for the GE60 and GE70 and will also include the powerful 3rd Generation Intel Core processors. Combined with all other features, like MSI's exclusive GPU Boost powered by NVIDIA Optimus, Dynaudio speakers and the SteelSeries keyboard, these notebooks are ready for all current and upcoming games and are simply the perfect choice for gamers.

(PR) SteelSeries Design by Gamers Campaign Continues
Today, SteelSeries, the leading global manufacturer of competitive gaming peripherals announced that this weekend during the Major League Gaming (MLG) Winter Championship in Columbus, Ohio, attendees and professional players will have an opportunity to provide feedback about the mouse, mousepad and keyboard designs for the upcoming SteelSeries and MLG co-branded products.

"We introduced the SteelSeries Design by Gamers campaign in 2011 by asking our large Facebook community which mouse design they preferred; and as a direct result of this feedback, we released the black and orange SteelSeries Kana Mouse. We are taking that concept to the next level together with Major League Gaming," said SteelSeries CMO, Kim Rom. "MLG Winter Championship attendees will be asked what features, functionality and designs they prefer. What better way to understand exactly what the MLG gamers, audience and fans want out of their peripherals than by asking them first hand?"

Read More ...

EK Unveils its GeForce GTX 680 Full Cover Water Blocks
Not to be out-gunned by Aqua Computer, Ljubljana-based EK Water Blocks has also announced its own liquid cooling offerings for NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The EK-FC680 GTX series full cover (GPU, RAM, VRM) water blocks are designed to fit standard GTX 680 (and 670 apparently) cards and feature G1/4" threaded fittings can be used on both sides.

There are four blocks listed by EK, two priced at €84.95 that have an electrolytic copper base, and two with an electroless nickel (EN) plated base which cost €94.96. The blocks can have either a POM Acetal or an acrylic cover.

Ivy Bridge, G.Skill, and GIGABYTE Make DDR3-3000 MHz Possible
Armed with an Intel Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" processor, a G.Skill-made memory kit, and GIGABYTE Z77X-UD5H, proverclocker Sin0822 managed to run a test bench with all four of the motherboard's DDR3 DIMM slots populated, at a DRAM clock speed of 3003 MHz DDR (1501.5 MHz actual). At this clock speed, the test bench was just about stable for its CPU-Z Validation. Sin0822 took advantage of the 29.33 divider for memory, which is exclusive for Ivy Bridge, that Sandy Bridge lacked. The remainder of the clock speed target was met by a gentle bump in the base clock, to 102.37 MHz (from 100 MHz). To achieve a more stable setting in which stress tests can be run, the memory clock had to fall back to 1416 MHz. What makes this feat impressive is the fact that all four DIMM slots were populated.

Source: Overclock.net Forums

Read More ...

NVIDIA Debuts Four Kepler-Powered Mobile GPUs
The GeForce GTX 680 may be today's highlight release but it's not the only Kepler-based offering unveiled by NVIDIA. Besides announcing its new flagship desktop card, NVIDIA today also introduced multiple GeForce 600M Series mobile cards, four of which are powered by the 28 nm GK107 chip.

The Kepler-flavored models in the 600M family are the Enthusiast-grade GeForce GTX 660M and the 'Performance class' GT 650M, GT 640M and GT 640M LE.

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Cracks 1842 MHz Core
Thought the 1800/7700 MHz Radeon HD 7970 OC feat involving an MSI R7970 Lightning was impressive, wait till you see what the punters at EVGA, with K|ngp|n have in store. Armed with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics cards, augmented by EVGA EPower board, and PrecisionX software, the EVGA GTX 680 was able to crack the 1800 MHz core frequency mark, reaching 1842 MHz, powered by a core voltage of 1.212V. Interestingly, the memory clock offset wasn't tinkered with. The rest of the system consisted of a Core i7-3960X clocked at ~5.50 GHz. The bench was stable enough to score 14912 points at 3DMark 11 (performance preset). Compare this, to the R7970 Lightning clocked at 1800 MHz core, 7.70 GHz memory (370 GB/s bandwidth), with no additional soldering except plugging in the GPU Reactor, and a slower Core i7-3960X CPU (clocked at 5.00 GHz), which went on to score P15035. Luckily for EVGA, the overclocking feat hasn't ended, and is still work in progress.

Source: VR-Zone

Read More ...

(PR) Lucid DynamiX to Free System Limitations of High Performance PC Games
LucidLogix (Lucid), GPU virtualization software leaders, today announced DynamiX, a unique software implementation that will allow selected formerly unplayable high-performance games to be enjoyed on mainstream and low-end laptops and Ultrabooks equipped with only an integrated GPU. A free trial version that initially expands the playability of the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on a variety of notebooks is immediately available for download.

"With DynamiX, a single embedded GPU is all you will need to enjoy your favorite high-performance titles on most new notebooks without reducing display resolution or minimizing game performance settings," said Offir Remez, Lucid co-founder and president. "We are offering this FREE trial beta version as a proof-of-concept, while working to provide DynamiX for more games. Try it and tell us what you think!"

EVGA Rolls Out Precision X - The Ultimate GeForce Controller
In addition to announcing its GeForce GX 680 line-up, EVGA has today also introduced a new version of its Precision overclocking software. Named Precision X, this updated release supports the latest GPU technologies and "redefines what overclocking software should be".

Download EVGA Precision X (EVGA member log in required)

(PR) PNY Launches its GeForce GTX 680 XLR8 Enthusiast Edition Graphics Card
PNY Technologies, Inc. ("PNY") today announced the release of the much anticipated XLR8 GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 graphics card. A first launch from the NVIDIA 28nm Kepler family of graphics cards, the PNY GeForce GTX 680 delivers more than just state-of-the-art features and technology. It houses truly game-changing performance that taps into the powerful next-generation GeForce architecture to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming.

The innovative new GeForce architecture was designed to deliver power-efficient performance that's faster, smoother, and richer than current graphics cards on the market. Featuring a host of new technology advancements, the GTX 680 was specially designed for quiet gaming with acoustic dampening materials, a high efficiency embedded heat pipe, and a custom stack-shaped fin for better airflow.

Aqua Computer Announces AquaGraFX GTX 680 Water Block
German PC liquid-cooling experts Aqua Computer launched the AquaGraFX GTX 680, the industry's first full-coverage water block for NVIDIA's newly-launched high-end graphics card. Its primary material is exposed-copper. The coolant channel not only passes through the central portion covering the GPU and memory, but also the tail portion, where heat is drawn from the VRM area of the graphics card.

At the portion that's right about the GPU, the coolant channel is densely ridged, to increase surface area of dissipation to the coolant. To top if off, Aqua Computer used a brushed metal cover. It has a modular inlet/outlet design that suits both standalone and SLI systems, including 3-way and 4-way ones. The side making contact with the card's sensitive components are polished to a mirror-finish. Aqua Computer did not give out pricing/availability information, it shouldn't be far away.

(PR) Point of View Introduces its GeForce GTX 680
Point of View, a premier NVIDIA graphics partner and manufacturer of Android tablets, notebooks and other hardware, launches today the first card of the GeForce 600 family: the POV GeForce GTX 680.

Current gen games have become more beautiful with higher poly meshes, larger textures and better shading technologies. In their quest for realism, game developers have demanded that we push graphics technologies to the limit.

The DirectX 11 and shader model 5.0 supporting GeForce GTX 680 is unlike any graphics card you've seen so far, performance wise and feature wise!

(PR) MAINGEAR Delivers NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Graphics on All Desktops
MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder of custom desktops, notebooks, and workstations, offers PC gamers and enthusiasts the next generation of NVIDIA architecture that delivers a powerful new graphics solution to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming on their award-winning desktop systems.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is the fastest single GPU graphics card on the market today with superior power efficiency that allows for the card to be extremely quiet, along with new key visual technologies as well as added multi-display capabilities. MAINGEAR desktops equipped with the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card offer the fastest graphics performance to date thanks to NVIDIA's GPU boost technology, which dynamically maximizes clock speeds based on the workload of the program to push performance to new levels and brings out the best in every game. This new generation of NVIDIA graphics provides the best gaming experience possible with maximum detail settings enabled.

Inno3D Teases with Liquid-Cooled GeForce GTX 680, Reveals New Arctic Accelero Cooler
Like almost every other NVIDIA AIC partner, Inno3D launched its NVIDIA reference-design air-cooled graphics card. In addition to that, it also teased us with an upcoming liquid-cooled model, which is current still in on the drawing-boards, as a CGI drawing. The card is a combination of a green-colored NVIDIA reference-design PCB (probably overclocked out of the box), and Arctic's newest Accelero Hybrid cooling solution, which combines a small fan-heatsink with a liquid channel. This liquid channel is part of a pre-fitted, self-contained, closed loop. Find the CGI sketches below.

(PR) KFA2 Launches the New 6 Series, with the GeForce GTX 680
KFA2 announced today the GeForce GTX 680 manufactured with the fastest, most efficient GPU ever built. The new ultra-high performance design features and the latest technologies from NVIDIA, including GPU Boost for faster performance, TXAA and Adaptive VSync for smoother visuals and gameplay, and support for up to 4 displays with triple screen 3D Vision Surround on a single card for a richer gaming experience.

(PR) Inno3D Rolls Out its GeForce GTX 680, Too
Inno3D is thrilled to announce the launch of the much anticipated Inno3D GeForce GTX 680, the world's fastest , most efficient GPU ever built. The Inno3D GeForce GTX 680 delivers more than just the state-of-the-art features and technology. It gives you truly game-changing performance that taps into the powerful next-generation GeForce architecture to redefine smooth, seamless, lifelike gaming.

(PR) Palit Introduces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
Palit Microsystems Ltd, the leading graphics card manufacturer, releases the powerful new Palit GeForce GTX 680 and its delivers more than just state-of-the-art features and technology. It gives you truly game-changing performance that will transform the way you experience all your favorite titles-now and in the future.

Armed with 1536-core GPU that clocked at 1006MHz and 2GB of GDDR5 memory at 6GHz, Palit GeForce GTX 680 simply is the world's fastest Dx11 graphics card. The NVIDIA brand new Kepler architecture which delivers the astonishing DirectX 11 gaming experience that can devastate competing GPUs with ease by offering 40% higher performance than previous generation. And with new NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology, you can now have the optimized 3D gaming under multi-monitor setting from a single Palit GeForce GTX 680.

(PR) CyberpowerPC Debuts PC Gaming Series Based on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
CyberpowerPC Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming machines and Intel's 2011 Performance Client Innovation award winner, today announced it will feature the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, the fastest single GPU video card, across its entire desktop gaming PC line.

The GeForce GTX 680 offers the fastest, smoothest and richest graphics experience of any single GPU on the market with its eye-popping visual technologies, blazing performance and superior power efficiency as well as support for multiple displays including NVIDIA's stereoscopic 3D Vision technology.

Galaxy GeForce GTX 680 Launched
One of NVIDIA's biggest board partners by volume, Galaxy unveiled its GeForce GTX 680. Its lineup has just the one model as of today, which sticks to NVIDIA reference board and cooler designs, with minor aesthetic touches. Galaxy's card also sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006/1056/6000 MHz (core/boost/memory effective). The 28 nm chip packs 1536 CUDA cores, and a 256-bit wide memory interface, holding 2 GB of memory. Galaxy's card is priced at US $499.

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Launched, Five Models
EVGA kicked off its GeForce GTX 680 lineup with no less than five models. The Into, SC, FTW, Classified, and HydroCopper. Intro is the absolute base model, with fanatic adherence to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 1006/1056/6000 MHz (core/boost/memory effective) and board design; SC (or SuperClocked) is a factory-overclocked model that has slightly higher clock speeds, and augments the NVIDIA reference design with an EVGA-exclusive backplate. Then there's FTW, which features a custom cooler design by EVGA, with even higher clock speeds than SC. The last air-cooled model is the Classified, which our sources tell us will have "astoundingly" high clock speeds. HydroCopper retains the clock profile of Classified, but replaces the cooling assembly with a Swiftech-built copper water-block. EVGA is yet to reveal the design of Classified, and the clock speeds of the factory-overclocked models. There are other variations, such as EVGA's "Signature" design with SuperClocked clock-profile, FTW with 4 GB memory, etc.

ASUS Announces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
ASUS announced its GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The GTX680-2GD5 from ASUS, sticks to NVIDIA reference design, augmented with its own sticker design, which nice and minimalist. ASUS mentions 1058 MHz as its engine clock (unclear if it's base or engine), with 6.00 GHz memory clock. Its package include GPU Tweak software, though we're not sure if VoltageTweak is possible, since NVIDIA changed the voltage controller's software interface. ASUS GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499.

(PR) ZOTAC Announces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
ZOTAC International, a global innovator of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today unleashes the next-generation in PC graphics with the GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The new ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 graphics card redefines smooth, seamless and lifelike gaming with a new architecture, features and unprecedented performance.

Next-generation SMX unified shaders empower the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 with double the performance-per-watt and six-times the amount of processor cores per shader unit compared to the previous generations for out-of-this-world gaming performance. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 680 graphics card packs 2GB of the world's fastest GDDR5 video memory with a clock speed of 6008 MHz thanks to a new 28nm manufacturing process for unrestricted performance capabilities.

(PR) MSI Introduces its GeForce GTX 680 Graphics Card
Today leading international mainboard and graphics card maker MSI officially announces the new GeForce GTX 680 graphics card featuring the latest 28nm GeForce GTX 680 GPU and 2GB of GDDR5 memory. The GeForce GTX 680 graphics card is outfitted with the latest GPU that not only meets PCI Express 3.0 standards and supports DirectX 11 technology, but also features NVIDIA's GPU Boost technology. GPU Boost technology allows the core clock to be automatically adjusted on the fly for optimal gaming performance. When used with the MSI Afterburner overclocking utility, the power limit and clock offset can be adjusted as well for better overclocking capability. A single card can also support NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology for up to four monitors to give gamers the best gaming experience.

(PR) ORIGIN PC Unleashes New Game-Changing NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 and GeForce GTX 675M
ORIGIN PC is excited to announce the launch of the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 video card for their award-winning desktops and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M notebook GPU for their record breaking EON17-X laptop. Now whether you're gaming at home or on the go, you can now experience faster, smoother and richer gaming like never before. It's more than just innovative, it's game-changing. And to celebrate the launch of the most power efficient GPU ever created, ORIGIN PC is giving away a free 90GB Corsair Force GT Solid State Hard Drive on their systems for a limited time.

NVIDIA Launches the GeForce GTX 680 "Kepler" Graphics Card
NVIDIA today launched the first model in the GeForce Kepler GPU family, the GeForce GTX 680. Based on the spanking new "Kepler" architecture, and a high-performance chip derived from it, GK104, and built on the 28 nm fab process at TSMC, the GeForce GTX 680 is NVIDIA's fresh bid for single-GPU performance supremacy. The new chip packs a staggering 1536 CUDA cores (three-fold increase over GTX 580), 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface, and staggering clock speeds of 1006 MHz (core base), 1056 MHz (core boost), and 1502 MHz (memory, 6.00 GHz effective), with a memory interface bandwidth of 192 GB/s.

It doesn't stop there. NVIDIA introduced a clever new technology called GPU Boost, which makes the GPU self-aware of parameters such as load, voltages, temperatures, and auto-tunes clock speeds, to deliver the best performance per Watt ratio. NVIDIA also introduced Adaptive V-Sync, which smooths transition between lower than refresh-rate frame-rates, and V-sync rate, attempting to eliminate lag, and naturally prevent page-tearing. NVIDIA also introduced the new TXAA anti-aliasing algorithm, which is a performance-efficient image quality enhancement. To top it all off, the chip has a TDP of just 195W. Available today, though leading retailers in mature markets, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 is priced at US $499 (MSRP).

(PR) Patriot Memory VP, Mai Kosla to take on Global Sales Operations
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage, and enthusiast computer products is pleased to announce the company has named Mai Kosla as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales Operations. Ms. Kosla will serve a key role in strategic planning and improving sales productivity and operational efficiencies.

"Mai has a proven track record of developing and executing Patriot Memory's ongoing sales initiatives," said Doug Diggs, CFO of Patriot Memory. "Her strong skillset and experience will be vital to our executive management team in developing sales strategies."

Read More ...

NVIDIA Releases the 301.10 WHQL Driver for the GeForce GTX 680
Since the GTX 680 will be launched later today, NVIDIA has decided to go ahead and publish the first (official) driver that supports its Kepler-powered card. Known as 301.10, this driver is WHQL certified, it only knows the GeForce GTX 680 (you'll need a modified inf file for 'expanded' support), and is bundled with the PhysX System Software v9.12.0213 (plus HD Audio v1.3.12.0).

GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 32-bit) / GeForce 301.10 WHQL (Windows 7/Vista 64-bit)

(PR) ADATA Takes the Lead with the Launch of DDR3L ECC SO-DIMM for Micro-Servers
ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash application products, today launched a new line of DDR3L ECC SO-DIMM server memory modules, boasting low voltage, large densities, and rapid processing capability. They are designed and engineered especially for cloud computing solutions, and can greatly minimize the power consumption of a wide range of network systems.

A new kind of server is becoming increasingly needed for website hosting and mission critical applications. Micro-servers are a new type of server suited for the special workloads of data centers. Starting in the second half of 2009, many large data centers and information service suppliers have begun to use micro-servers. Micro-servers are taking an increasingly important role in small site dedicated hosting, lightweight web serving, and simple content delivery. Many semiconductor manufacturers have announced plans to enter the micro-server market, and are expected to release new low-power processors for use with high density servers.

(PR) CM Storm Trigger Gaming Keyboard Launched In Europe
Finally the high-end CM Storm Trigger keyboard will be launched in Europe! The CM Storm Trigger Keyboard is the first keyboard produced by CM Storm for the extreme gamers.

The Trigger keyboard offers you the ability to press up to 6 keys simultaneously and utilize five programmable macro keys with profile management. These features give you the possibility to reduce transport and redeployment times by storing profiles and key assignments with 64 KB of onboard memory. Next to this, the multi-media controls allow you to quickly adjust for example audio options to make working with the Trigger even easier.

Available Tags:GeForce , GTX , AMD , Gaming , Mac , Chrome OS , Chrome , Sony , VAIO , Notebook , Cooler Master , VIA , Driver , ASRock , ZOTAC , motherboards , SSD , NVIDIA , GPU , Toshiba , GIGABYTE , 3D , MSI , Gamers , Ivy Bridge , GIGABYTE , mobile GPU , EVGA , EVGA , Galaxy , EVGA , ASUS , MSI , WHQL , Keyboard ,

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)