IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 3/29/2012

(PR) MAINGEAR Titan 17 Notebook Added GeForce GTX 675M and 3D Display Option
MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, workstations and media centers has updated their high performance 17" desktop replacement, the Titan 17, with the all new GeForce GTX 675M, and built-in 3D option powered by Nvidia 3D Vision 2.

MAINGEAR's Titan 17 is the most powerful desktop replacement with the latest technology available on the market. The Titan 17 is powered by Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition desktop processor clocking in at up to 3.90 GHz, and the new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M in SLI that offers the ultimate graphics for any task. The GTX 675M is 60% faster than the previous 660M GPU and can also be configured in SLI offering up to twice the performance scaling on today's hottest games and entertainment applications.

I-O Data Outs Value 8 GB DDR3 Memory Module
I-O Data of Japan introduced a new value 8 GB DDR3 memory module (model: DY1333-8G). The module runs at JEDEC-specified speeds of DDR3-1333 MHz, with 9-9-9-24/CR-1T timings, with 1.5V module voltage. The module is sold standalone, and in 16 GB dual-channel kits (model: 8GX2 DY1333). It features standard 240pin UDIMM dimensions, without any heat-spreaders. The single-module kit is priced at 18,060 JPY (US $217.2), while the dual-channel kit goes for 35,280 JPY (US $424.4).

Source: Hermitage Akihabara

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Gainward GeForce GTX 680 Phantom Pictured
After launching its customary reference design GeForce GTX 680 graphics card, Gainward is working on its signature non-reference design, the Phantom. Gainward introduced this design with higher-end GeForce GTX 500 series models. Its concept revolves around an inverted fan-heatsink design, in which the fans are concealed by the aluminum fin array. Instead of blowing fresh air through the aluminum fins, it draws hot air from it, and quickly channels it away from the card. Heat is fed to the aluminum fins, by five 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes. The inverted fan-heatsink design gives the Phantom a nice aesthetic touch. Gainward is still applying finishing touches to its design.

Source: TweakTown

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OCZ Outs Arowana Firmware Update for Indilinx Barefoot SSDs
OCZ released the Arowana Flash Translation Layer (FTL) firmware update for SSDs running Indilinx Barefoot controllers, and 34 nm NAND flash. The update was announced in May, 2011, and released for the OCZ Vertex Plus family, but it's only now that users of the original Barefoot-controlled drives get a firmware to update their drives with. The new 3.55 firmware significantly improves sequential and random-seek performance. The screenshots below (in order) are of a Barefoot-driven OCZ Vertex drive with the old firmware (IDE), new firmware (IDE), and new fimware (AHCI). To learn more about the update, and how to go about do it to your drive, visit this page. Like most other SSD firmware updates, the process erases everything on your drive, so be sure to make a backup.

Source: TheSSDReview

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(PR) Eurocom Unleashes the Panther 4.0
Eurocom has unleashed the beast, the Panther 4.0 is here! The most powerful mobile computer ever conceived. It is powered by the Intel X79 Sandy Bridge-E Core Logic and Core i7 3960X Processor Extreme; RAID 0/1/5/10, with NVIDIA GeForce SLI and AMD Radeon CrossFireX support. The Eurocom production team has recently finished the EUROCOM Panther 4.0 teaser video, with information about the specs, innovations and technologies, along with a look inside the beast.

(PR) Sony Corporation Announced the Establishment of a New Management Structure
Led by President and CEO Kazuo Hirai, these changes are intended to drive revitalization and growth across Sony's core electronics businesses, and deliver compelling user experiences through convergence of the unique assets in place throughout the Sony Group.

With Mr. Hirai at the center of a management team that will work together with the heads of each business group and platform, this new business structure is intended to establish rapid and optimized decision making processes as "One Sony," that significantly reinforce and accelerate Sony's overall business management. The changes are effective April 1, 2012.

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(PR) AMD Embedded G-Series APU Platform Adds Real-Time Operating System Support
AMD today announced a collaboration with Green Hills Software, the largest independent vendor of embedded software, that brings its industry-leading INTEGRITY real-time operating system (RTOS) to the AMD Embedded G-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) platform. The combination of INTEGRITY RTOS with the AMD Embedded G-Series APU creates a high performance, reliable and secure embedded computing solution or use across a range of applications including industrial control systems, consumer, networking, military/aerospace and medical.

The INTEGRITY RTOS offers support for multi-core x86 CPUs in the AMD Embedded G-Series APU with its v10.0.2 SMP release. The AMD Embedded G-Series APU offers an advanced, low-power, multi-core x86 CPU and a discrete-class DirectX 11-capable GPU on a single chip. This specific family of APUs was created expressly for the requirements of embedded systems, many of which require the precise, deterministic timing of an RTOS.

FinalWire AIDA64 v2.30 Released
FinalWire today released the latest version of AIDA64, version 2.30. This release is set around enhancing the desktop gadget, improving the UPS and smart-battery monitoring capabilities, and adding support for newly-released hardware, such as the latest GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA; and the latest Intel SSDs. AIDA64 is proprietary software, and is available through FinalWire's online store.

DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 2.30 EXE (installer), ZIP Package

The condensed change-log follows.

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EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Superclocked Made Official
Only teased last week, EVGA's factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 680s are becoming a reality, with the first one to get make it out being the GTX 680 SuperClocked. The SC model is based around NVIDIA's reference design but has a base clock of 1058 MHz (1006 MHz stock), a boost clock of 1113 MHz (1058 MHz), and a memory frequency of 6208 MHz (6008 MHz).

The GeForce GTX 680 SC also packs 1536 CUDA Cores, a 256-bit memory interface, 2 GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a PCI-Express 3.0 bus interface, 3D Vision Surround and SLI support, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

The 'vanilla' GTX 680 SuperClocked costs $519.99 while its backplate-equipped sibling goes for $529.99. Both should become available very, very soon.

PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II Detailed Some More
In anticipation of the official launch, PowerColor has served up a fresh batch of pictures depicting its Radeon HD 7970 Vortex II Edition graphics card. Besides providing fresh photos, PowerColor has also confirmed that this new Tahiti-powered card will have its GPU set to 1100 MHz (up from the stock 925 MHz) and the 3 GB of on-board GDDR5 memory clocked at 5700 MHz (5500 MHz stock).

In addition to higher clocks, the HD7970 Vortex II features a dual-slot cooler with two fans (allowing for a little airflow adjustment) and three heatpipes, a backplate to speed up heat dissipation, 2048 Stream Processors, a 384-bit memory interface, a PCI Express 3.0 x16 bus interface, CrossFireX and Eyefinity support, and five display outputs (DVI x 2, HDMI x 1, mini DisplayPort x 2).

The HD7970 Vortex II Edition is expected to become available next month. Its price tag is still unknown.

(PR) Thecus Introduces the W Series NAS Servers
Thecus has received hundreds of awards during its history for its innovative and reliable hardware, helping countless people all over the world to share our new digital-era treasure: data. Thecus believes in diversity. That's why they are releasing a new Windows Storage Server-powered NAS product line to help you share your files using Windows Storage Server 2008 R2: the W Series. Three models will be available: 8-bay W8900, 12-bay W12000 and 16-bay W16000.

"The release of the W Series is the start of a very fruitful relationship with Microsoft that will help us achieve our main goal: to satisfy more and more Thecus users with high-quality network appliances," says Florence Shih, General Manager of Thecus Technology.

EVE Online Players Can Use In-Game Currency to Pay For Graphics Cards
Joystiq is reporting that CCP Games, the developer behind EVE Online, has struck a deal with NVIDIA for players to use in-game currency -- PLEX -- to purchase GeForce 560 GTX graphics cards, which run almost $200 at retail. That's fake money for real items, folks. NVIDIA and CCP will start by selling 100 graphics cards (limit one per EVE account) to test the demand. After CCP announced its NVIDIA deal, the in-game price of PLEX jumped "significantly," CCP said. PLEX (Pilot License Extension) is an in-game currency that can be used to pay for 30-day EVE subscriptions. PLEX can be purchased with ISK, EVE's main currency that can be earned throughout the game, meaning some dedicated players end up with a free subscription each month. Now they may end up with a "free" graphics card as well.

Source: Joystiq

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First Single-Slot, Air-Cooled GeForce GTX 680 Taking Shape
Single-slot advocates [in Asia, and select markets], your prayers are answered. Galaxy is working on a single-slot, air-cooled GeForce GTX 680. With a name that translates to "GeForce GTX 680 Warriors' Edition", Galaxy's card takes advantage of the fact that since very compact GK104 PCBs can be made, if dual-slot coolers are used, and since the TDP of the chip is a manageable 195W, the equation can be turned around to make long single-slot graphics cards.

Pictured below is the graphics card, with its [apparently] long cooler that protrudes beyond the length of the PCB. The cooler follows the same design principle at work in coolers of GeForce 8800 GT and Radeon HD 4850, that of a compact lateral-flow fan guiding air through a dense network of copper channels, where heat is dissipated to the air. These copper channels draw heat from a copper plate (probably vapor-chamber, in Galaxy's case), which makes contact with all hot components on the PCB, including the GPU, memory chips, and VRM. Hot air is guided out, from the top of the card. There is no further information about this card.

Sources: Alex Lam (Weibo page), Expreview

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MSI B75MA-P45 Motherboard Detailed
MSI released details about its upcoming value socket LGA1155 motherboard, the B75MA-P45. MSI finds the B75 PCH a worthy option over the current-generation H61 PCH, and could hence price its B75-based motherboards competitively, to capture the entry-level LGA1155 market. The B75MA-P45 comes with out of the box support for 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" Core processors, apart from current-generation "Sandy Bridge" ones. The B75MA-P45 packs a simple 5-phase VRM to power the LGA1155 CPU. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory.

Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI. The legacy PCI logic is reintegrated with the PCH, and so the board doesn't use any bridge chips, further, since USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s are integrated with the PCH, MSI didn't add third-party controllers handling the two. SATA connectivity includes one SATA 6 Gb/s, and five SATA 3 Gb/s. The PCH gives out four USB 3.0 ports, two of which are found on the rear panel, two via internal header. Display connectivity includes DVI and D-Sub. 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, and legacy PS/2 connectors complete the package. The board is driven by UEFI firmware (5 MB ME 8.0), with a graphical setup program. The B75MA-P45 is said to capture a price-point under US $100.

(PR) NZXT Announces the Phantom 410 Special Edition PC Case
NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to introduce new, special edition color options of the widely-acclaimed Phantom 410. Early this year, NZXT polled the facebook community to see what color combinations were most demanded by gamers and enthusiasts, selected the top choices and made them a reality. Phantom 410 is now available in Black with Orange Trim, Black with White Trim, White with Blue Trim, and a surprise Gunmetal black edition with a gunmetal interior and exterior matte finish.

Phantom 410 builds off of the legendary qualities of the award-winning case with even more value for every dollar spent. Effective airflow is paramount with a cooling capability of up to seven fans (2x 120 mm and 1x 140 mm LED fan included), support for 240 mm dual radiator water cooling solution, and an integrated 30W fan controller for customizing your system for silence or performance.

(PR) NVIDIA Helps Power Bid for 2015 Moon Mission -- and $30 Million in Prizes
NVIDIA today announced that NVIDIA Tesla GPUs are being used by a team of German scientists participating in a global competition to land a robotic rover on the moon by 2015.

Developed to foster a new era of lunar exploration, the Google Lunar X PRIZE offers the largest international incentive prize in history. A total of $30 million will be awarded to the first privately funded teams that safely land a rover on the surface of the moon, drive the rover 500 meters over the lunar surface, and transmit detailed video, images and data back to Earth for further study.

(PR) Spansion Begins Volume Production of Single-Die 512 Mb Serial Flash Memory
Spansion Inc., a leading provider of parallel and serial NOR Flash memory, today announced it has entered volume production of its 512 Mb Spansion FL-S Serial (SPI) NOR Flash memory featuring the highest-density single-die serial Flash.

The Spansion FL-S family spans from 128 Mb to 1 Gb and features an industry-leading programming speed that is three times faster than competing solutions and has 20% faster double data rate (DDR) read performance. The speed improvements are key to enriching the user experience for a growing range of embedded applications, such as automotive instrument clusters and infotainment systems, industrial and medical graphic displays as well as home networking gateways and set-top boxes.

(PR) Intel's Semiconductor Market Share Surges to More Than 10-Year High in 2011
Fueled by strong sales growth in its core chip businesses-and boosted by a major acquisition-leading semiconductor supplier Intel Corp. in 2011 attained its highest annual market share in more than 10 years, according to the IHS iSuppli Competitive Landscape Tool from information and analytics provider IHS (NYSE: IHS). Intel in 2011 increased its overall semiconductor market share to 15.6 percent, up 2.5 percentage points from 13.1 percent in 2010, according to the final IHS semiconductor estimate for the year. This represents the highest market share for Intel going back to at least 2001, when it reached 14.9 percent. Over the last five years, Intel's share of the market ranged from 11.9 percent to 13.9 percent.

"Intel in 2011 captured the headlines with its major surge in growth," said Dale Ford, head of electronics and semiconductor research for IHS. "The company's rise was spurred by soaring demand for its PC-oriented microprocessors, and for its NAND flash memory used in consumer and wireless products. Intel's revenue also was boosted by its acquisition of Infineon's wireless business unit. The company's strong rise helped it to stave off the rising challenge mounted by No. 2 semiconductor supplier Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., which had been whittling away at Intel's lead in recent years." The table below presents the final 2011 semiconductor market share ranking from the IHS.

(PR) Synology Launches RackStation RS812+ and RS812RP+ NAS Servers
Synology today announced RackStation RS812+ and RS812RP+, expandable 4-bay rackmount NAS servers bringing high performance, scalability, and reliability to small and medium businesses.

"Synology RS812+ and RS812RP+ are built to address the needs of businesses that require high performance and maximum system uptime to run mission-critical applications," said Peter Chen, Product Manager of Synology Inc. "They ensure business continuity with an array of redundancy and availability features," added Chen.

(PR) Tyan Unveils its Latest Generation Platforms Featuring Intel Xeon Processor E5-2600
TYAN has launched 8 cutting-edge platforms based on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family. These platforms are designed to deliver the benefits of Intel's latest processor architecture. We offer high peak performance along with outstanding power efficiency and are designed for today's HPC/GPU and general server applications. These products help channel customers build solutions for applications ranging from the largest data centers all the way down to the smallest server room implementations in a quick and efficient way.

Novatech Introduces the 14-inch nFinity Ultrabook
UK PC seller Novatech has officially entered the Ultrabook club by launching the nFinity family of 14-inch machines. These mobile PCs measure 333 x 229.5 x 18 mm, they weight just 1.65 kg, and have a 1366 x 768-pixel display, a Core i3-2367M/i5-2467M/i7-2637M processor, 2/4 GB of RAM, a 64/128 GB solid state drive, an Intel integrated graphics.

The nFinity also have a 1.3-megapixel webcam, WiFi, Bluetooth, a HDMI output, two 1.5 W speakers, a 3-in-1 card reader, and a 58.5 WH battery allowing for up to 7 hours of operation. Novatech's ultrabook line starts at £429.98 (~ $687).

Source: Netbooknews

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Ivy Bridge 7 GHz Rips Through Pi
Intel Core i7-3770K is turning out to be a monstrous overclocker, when assisted with extreme cooling such as liquid-nitrogen. One such test-bed, was overclocked close to the 7 GHz mark, and put through Super Pi (1M and 32M), and PiFast. At 6961.6 MHz, the chip ripped through Super Pi 1M, in 5.187 seconds. The same chip, clocked at 6650.1 MHz, crunched Super Pi 32M, in 5 minutes, 2.843 seconds.

In PiFast, with a clock speed of 6805.1 MHz, the chip hammered out a total computation time of 10.56 s. NordicHardware compiled a comparison table using HWBot and its own data, to reflect how much faster a ~7 GHz Core i7-3770K is, at Pi. The rest of the known test-bed consisted of ASUS ROG Maximus V Gene Z77 motherboard, and 4 GB (2x 2 GB) of dual-channel DDR3 memory, clocked at around 2652 MHz, with timings of 7-11-7-28-1T.

Source: NordicHardware.se

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Arctic Reveals the Accelero Xtreme III VGA Cooler
The Arctic team has now confirmed that a new Accelero Xtreme VGA cooler is in the works and will reach stores in late May. Known as Accelero Xtreme III, the incoming product has a cooling capacity up to 300 Watts, it measures 288 (L) x 103 (W) x 50 (H) mm, and has 84 aluminum fins, five 6 mm copper heatpipes, three 92 mm (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) fans working at 900 to 2000 RPM, and a copper base with pre-applied MX-4 thermal compound.

(PR) RAIDON Launches 2Bay 3.5" USB 3.0 Storage Solution for Energy Conservation
RAIDON releases the latest USB3.0 storage module with energy saving mode, GR3630-SB3, to respond the current concept of environmental protection.

RAIDON GR3630-SB3 is able to synchronize with PC to standby or sleeping mode for reaching energy saving concept. GR3630 accommodates 2 of 3.5" HDD over 3 TB each and collocates with USB3.0 host interface to deliver excitement to users from experiencing a conspicuous increment in performance. In addition, it embedded eSATA interfaces for data transfer options to eliminate possible USB upgrade hassles for users.

Aerocool Releases the Strike-X X1 Notebook Cooler
Aerocool Advanced Technologies has now announced the retail and e-tail arrival of the gamer-oriented Strike-X X1 notebook cooler. The X1 measures 360 x 405 x 55 mm, it can be used with up to 19" laptops, and features a metal mesh on top, an ABS plastic structure, a rubber stand providing a better grip, and a built-in 200 mm fan (600 RPM) boasting red LEDs.

Aerocool's cooler can be found on sale @ 17.72 Euro.

(PR) Lian Li Expands Its Line of Data Storage Chassis with the PC-Q12 and PC-Q18
Lian-Li Industrial Co. Ltd, the award-winning aluminum computer chassis manufacturer, today announces two new additions to the Q Series - PC-Q12 and PC-Q18. With the release of these two compact chassis, Lian Li gives even more options to PC builders who need elegant-looking space-saving cases with high data storage capabilities.

Designed to be central data center for the numerous hi-tech devices such as smart phones and tablets of the modern mobile consumer, the PC-Q12 and PC-Q18 both support mini-ITX motherboards. Not only do these cases have a compact design, but they also have the features that are to be expected from Lian Li, including: elegant brushed anodized aluminum frames, easy-to-remove snap-off panels, and USB 3.0 connectivity on the front panel.

(PR) D-Link Expands Unified Wireless Portfolio for Small and Medium-Sized Business
D-Link, the cost-effective, standards-based unified networking solutions provider for small-and medium-sized business IT environments, today extended its unified wireless solutions to include the D-Link DWC-1000 Wireless Controller, the DWL-6600AP Dual-Band Unified Wireless Access Point and DWL-3600AP 2.4 GHz Single-Band Unified Wireless Access Point, and the DWS-3160-24TC and DWS-3160-24PC Unified Wireless Managed Switches.

Designed to help businesses easily deploy, manage and secure a complete wireless network across multiple locations, D-Link's new portfolio of wireless solutions offer cost-effective remote management and seamless scalability for expanding wireless applications.

(PR) Logitech Introduces the UE Air Speaker
Today Logitech introduced the Logitech UE Air Speaker with Apple's AirPlay. Now you can stream uncompressed music from iTunes or an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch connected to your home's Wi-Fi network to a Logitech UE speaker that delivers high-quality audio with a big sound stage boosted by dual tweeters and woofers.

"There's a new breed of music fans whose iPad and iPhone devices are at the center of their listening activities," said Rory Dooley, senior vice president of music at Logitech. "We created the Logitech UE Air Speaker to give those people a great audio experience that combines effortless streaming with fantastic sound. With its stylish, modern design, easy setup and excellent sound, the Logitech UE Air Speaker looks and sounds phenomenal in any room in the house."

(PR) Rovio Entertainment Acquires Futuremark Games Studio
Rovio Entertainment, creator of the global phenomenon Angry Birds, announced today the acquisition of Futuremark Games Studio, the gaming arm of benchmarking software developer Futuremark.

"They are an incredibly talented and experienced team, and we are thrilled to have them on board," said Mikael Hed, Rovio Entertainment's CEO. "Rovio's success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition."

"I am proud to see the potential of our talented games team recognized by Rovio," said Jukka Mäkinen, Futuremark CEO. "Futuremark will now focus on supporting gamers and industry with 3DMark, our professional grade benchmark which, in a new version to be released later this year, will allow unified gaming performance comparison across operating systems and form factors for the first time."

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SAMA Introduces Nighthawk 2 Value Mid-Tower Case
Chinese company SAMA introduced Nighthawk 2, a value ATX mid-tower case, priced at just 299 RMB (US $47.4). Despite its low cost, it offers a host of new features, aesthetic touches, and a good load-out of fans. Measuring 450 x 200 x 420 mm (WxDxH), the case is made of ABS and SECC/steel. It features an all-black interior and exterior, with a red acrylic side panel window, which slightly protrudes. Most of its front-panel is perforated.

The case is spacious enough to hold 300 mm-long graphics cards. Drive bays include four 5.25" and six 3.5", all of which are tool-free. Its ventilation system includes one 120 mm red LED-lit front intake, one 120 mm exhaust between the 3.5" drive cage and the motherboard tray, one 120 mm rear exhaust, and two 120 mm top exhausts. The front utility panel includes four USB 2.0 ports, and audio.

Source: Expreview

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Edimax Shows Off 802.11ac Router, USB Dongle
Taiwan-based Edimax, which is known more for its low-cost networking hardware, took a big leap, by unveiling its first 802.11ac wireless networking hardware. These include a static router, and a USB adapter. The router uses a Broadcom-made 600 MHz Intensi-fi MIPS32 central processor. This chip has two PCI-Express interfaces, a built-in USB 2.0 host controller, and DDR2 memory controller. It has two WLAN modules, the Broadcom BCM4331 handles 802.11 b/g/n in the 2.40 GHz band, while a Broadcom BCM4360 handles 802.11ac in the 5 GHz band. This module supports network bandwidths up to 1.35 Gbps. Then you have a wired LAN interface, with one gigabit uplink port, and four gigabit downstream ports.

Moving on, Edimax showed off one of the industry's first USB 802.11ac adapters. This dongle uses Broadcom BCM43526 chip, and offers dual-band operation. In the 5 GHz band, it offers bandwidths of up to 900 Mbps, while in the 2.4 GHz band, it offers 300 Mbps. Sadly for this adapter, the USB interface is USB 2.0 HiSpeed, which poses a host bandwidth bottleneck of 480 Mbps. When you factor in things such as the various protocol overheads, the actual bandwidth yield could be much lower. Edimax is yet to name its products, so quite some development is left.

Source: VR-Zone

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Available Tags:Notebook , GeForce , GTX , 3D , DDR3 , OCZ , Sony , AMD , APU , EVGA , Radeon , MSI , NVIDIA , Market Share , Intel , Xeon , Ivy Bridge , USB 3.0 , USB , Wireless , Logitech , USB ,

Thursday, March 29, 2012

IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 3/29/2012

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