Saturday, April 6, 2013

IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 07/04/2013


techPowerUp! Intel Fixes 8-series Chipset USB 3.0 Erratum Intel issued a product-change notification (PCN) to partners in the motherboard industry, informing them of a new C2 stepping of the 8-series "Lynx Point" chipset. The stepping introduces a metal layers change that fixes the USB 3.0 remuneration erratum, which causes devices plugged in to USB 3.0 ports to fail to reinitialize after waking up from sleep states such as S3, requiring uses to unplug and replug them, which could get particularly irritating for people with external RAID devices that rely on USB 3.0 for host connectivity. According to the PCN, the first socket LGA1150 motherboards in the market may not feature C2-stepping chipset. It predicts samples to be available to motherboard manufacturers by April 19, 2013; availability of qualification data (when Intel has finalized design after taking feedback from partners), by July 1 2013; customers should be ready to receive C2-stepping chips by July 31. These dates indicate that the very first batches of socket LGA1150 motherboards will still feature C1-stepping chipset that are affected by the erratum, and if you can't live with it, you should ideally wait until late-August or mid-September for the first motherboards with C2-stepping chipset to make it to the markets. Intel expects to launch its 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors and compatible LGA1150 motherboards by mid-June. Read More ...
AMD to Bundle SimCity with Select A8 and A10 APUs AMD's "Never Settle" bundles may be selling the company's discrete GPU lineup, but it's not leaving its APU lineup lying down. Starting next week, and running up to the end of Q3 2013, AMD will be bundling select A8 and A10 series desktop APUs with Origin-redeemable codes for SimCity, the season's hottest strategy game. Among the eligible models are A10-5800K, A10-5700, A8-5600K, and A8-5500. The freebie bears a staggering US $60 market value, tied with processors starting at $80, leading up to $130. In its marketing slide, AMD pointed out how the Radeon HD 7000D series graphics cores of these APUs outperform similarly priced Intel Core i3 chips by over 80 percent, in the game. Read More ...
There Won't Be a DirectX 12; Battlefield 4 Part of Next Bundle: AMD Vice President Advancements in PC graphics technology could be on the verge of a slump, according to GPU major AMD. In an interview with German publication Heise.de, AMD vice president of global channel sales, stated that his company doesn't believe there will be a DirectX 12 API, at least not as far as the company can see. The timing of this statement is particularly important, as both AMD and NVIDIA are expected to unveil next-generation graphics products by the end of the year. Neither Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system, nor the rumored Windows "Blue" 8.1, could ship with a newer DirectX version. Taylor was responding to a question from Heise about next-generation GPUs and technologies they could be built around, to which he replied that normally, new DirectX versions stimulate introduction of new GPU architectures, but there won't be a DirectX 12, and so the company's next-generation GPUs will integrate other technologies. Answering another question, Taylor hinted that Battlefield 4, EA's upcoming entry to the hit online FPS multiplayer franchise, could be part of the company's next "Never Settle" bundle. Source: Heise.de Read More ...
(PR) ASUS GeForce GTX Titan Sets Four 3DMark World Records ASUS today announced that the ASUS GeForce GTX Titan graphics card has established four new 3DMark world records, supervised by in-house ROG overclocking experts Andre Yang and Shamino. The ASUS GeForce GTX Titan is the most powerful single-GPU graphics card currently available, as demonstrated with record-breaking 3DMark11 scores of 36658 marks in the Entry preset, 37263 marks in the Performance preset, and 22076 marks in the Extreme preset. It has also set a world record of 21818 in 3DMark Fire Strike, the latest and most demanding benchmark from Futuremark. ROG overclocking expert Andre Yang set the new 3DMark11 records using liquid nitrogen-cooled ASUS GeForce GTX Titan cards in a four-way NVIDIA SLI configuration with an ROG Rampage IV Extreme motherboard and an Intel Core i7-3970X processor. Additional information on these world records and the configurations used can be found here. The 3DMark Fire Strike world record was achieved by Andre Yang and fellow ROG team member and overclocker Shamino using two ASUS GeForce GTX Titan cards in NVIDIA SLI. This achievement also used an ROG Rampage IV Extreme motherboard and an Intel Core i7-3970X processor. Read More ...
(PR) Maxell Professional Announces Launch of Professional Plus SDHC Card Maxell Professional Media expands its line of professional-grade products with the introduction of a Professional SD Card, furthering its dedication to supplying the professional broadcast, video, and post markets with storage media of the highest standard. The SDHC UHS-I (Speed Class 1) Card, for DSLRs and Professional HD video cameras, debuts this spring, rounding out Maxell's Professional Plus line of media storage products specifically developed to meet the stringent needs of broadcast, video, and post-production professionals who require storage options. This Ultra High Speed UHS-I (Speed Class 1) SDHC Memory card, is a full Class 10 with read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 45 MB/s. It is faster, smarter and more robust than current SDHC cards and has been fully optimized for professional use. Read More ...
(PR) ADATA Intros NBA-branded Flash Drives ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today announced the launch of NBA themed USB flash drives. All thirty teams will be represented in the new product lineup, which is officially licensed by the National Basketball Association and available in the United States and Canada. Each drive is emblazoned with a vivid team logo on one side, and the NBA logo on the other. All USB flash drives deliver the best of USB 2.0 transmission, and are introduced at 16 gigabyte capacity. According to Tom Lin, Managing Director, "We have had consistently good feedback from consumers on our previous cooperation with the NBA, so this time we brought more color, higher capacity, and a convenient sliding USB connector. With the higher resolution media that people are carrying around and sharing, these flash drives will be indispensable to any basketball fans." Read More ...
(PR) Mushkin Begins Shipping New Line of 1.8-Inch Chronos GO Deluxe SATA 6 Gb/s SSDs Mushkin, Inc., an industry-leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance and mission-critical computer products, today announces the worldwide availability of its new line of 1.8-inch Chronos GO SATA III (6Gbps) solid-state drives (SSDs), now shipping in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities. The new line of 1.8-inch Chronos SSDs feature a smaller, lighter footprint than the previous generation, and offer performance and reliability improvements for power users. Originally designed as an enterprise-class drive, the new Chronos SSD has been adapted and re-engineered to deliver the highest possible storage capacity in a drive that is optimized for high-performance and ultimate reliability, even in the most demanding 24x7 environments. Read More ...
(PR) Enermax Introduces COENUS Mid-Tower Chassis Enermax, building on the strength and features of their Fulmo ST series, has released the COENUS series of chassis. Like the Fulmo ST, the COENUS features a three-dimensional black iron mesh for optimal cooling and an overall exciting visual effect. This fully covered chassis' grill mesh allows for superior ventilation for cooling. The COENUS has 30mm of clearance for easy backside cable routing. On the side is a chic, full-cover acrylic side panel; one of the iconic features from Enermax where the builder can show off an individual or customized interior. This design with wide expansion allows the installation of high-end tower type components. Read More ...
(PR) LenovoEMC Announces Next-Gen of LifeLine OS for iOmega NAS Products LenovoEMC Limited today announced the next generation of the award-winning LenovoEMC LifeLine operating system for its Iomega-branded network storage solutions. LifeLine 4.0, available next week as a free-of-charge download for owners of StorCenter ix and px series network storage products, includes new and improved enterprise computing and security features for easy and efficient storing, sharing and protecting of data for organizations and work groups of all sizes. LenovoEMC-branded network storage devices with LifeLine 4.0 are expected to debut in May. "LenovoEMC LifeLine 4.0 improves upon our previous version of LifeLine, bringing advanced computing options and capabilities to our network storage products that organizations of all sizes can benefit from," said Eric Arcese, president and general manager, LenovoEMC Ltd. "Businesses today need rock solid, dependable, affordable and innovative network storage, and this new version of LifeLine brings those attributes together with an intuitive menu of choices that can be tailored to the needs of any organization. Existing and new customers will benefit from the latest technology embedded in the new version of LifeLine." Read More ...
Sonnet Echo 15 Thunderbolt Hooks Your MacBook Up with 15 Connectivity Options By far the most comprehensive expansion dock we've come across, the Echo 15 from Sonnet plugs into your MacBook's 10 Gb/s Thunderbolt port, and then productively uses that bandwidth to hook you up with 15 connectivity options. These include a 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s internal drive bay (2 TB HDD optional), a slimline optical drive (options include DVDRW and Blu-ray writers), two eSATA 6 Gb/s ports, 4-channel HD audio, four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, gigabit Ethernet, and FireWire 800, each device is Mac OS X compatible. The device features two Thunderbolt ports, so it can be daisy-chained with other devices. Prices start at US $399.95. Read More ...
ADATA Updates Firmware of its SandForce 22xx-based SSDs ADATA released a firmware update for its SSDs based on SandForce SF-22xx series controllers. These models include all capacity-variants of SX910, SX900, SP900, SP800, S511, S510 and S396. The new v5.0.7a, according to the company, improves TRIM performance, which affects the drives' write speeds. The firmware is also said to fix other "minor issues," although the company didn't detail them. The firmware is available as both the EEPROM binary image, and as an updater for popular operating systems. DOWNLOAD: ADATA Firmware Update 5.0.7a Read More ...
ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme Black Pictured ASUS is working on a variant of its ROG Rampage IV Extreme motherboard for people who've had enough with the red+black color scheme. The Rampage IV Extreme Black, as the name suggests, dons a largely black appearance, with hints of dark-gray; use of red is reduced to a minimum. Components like alternate DIMM and PCIe slots use shades of gray to contrast black. It is otherwise identical to the original. The Black variant could be ASUS' competitive offering to EVGA X79 Black. Based on Intel X79 Express chipset, the ROG Rampage IV Extreme Black supports Core i7 processors in the LGA2011 package, up to 64 GB of quad-channel DDR3 memory, four-way SLI/CrossFire, and a suite of overclocker-friendly features. There's no word on pricing or availability. Source: Cowcotland Read More ...
PNY Rolls Out XLR8 GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost Graphics Cards PNY launched two GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics cards under its XLR8 (accelerate) brand. The base model (VCGGTX650TBQXPB) sticks to NVIDIA reference clock speeds of 980 MHz core, 1033 MHz GPU Boost, and 6.00 GHz memory; while an OC variant (VCGGTX650TBQXPB-OC) features factory-overclocked speeds of 1006 MHz core, 1072 MHz GPU Boost, and 6.00 GHz memory. Both cards appear to be based on designs originally made by Palit. Based on the 28 nm GK106 silicon, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost packs 768 CUDA cores, 56 TMUs, 24 ROPs, and a 192-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 2 GB of memory. The base model PNY XLR8 GTX 650 Ti Boost is priced at US $189.99, while the OC variant goes for $199.99. Read More ...
(PR) MSI Announces Gaming Series Motherboards Market Availability MSI, industry leader in motherboard and graphics card technology is happy to announce the availability of its complete Gaming motherboard lineup. At CeBIT 2013 the world got a first hands-on experience with the new models and the completely new look and feel of the motherboards and thanks to that we've received overwhelming positive reviews from gamers and media. As part of the 2013 series of motherboards, the new Z77 Gaming models will be available far into 2014. Together with the recently introduced Gaming Graphics Cards from MSI, they allow awe-inspiring PC builds from PC Gamers and Enthusiasts. The MSI Z77 Gaming motherboards are designed to have as little lag as possible, to have the best possible input relay connections from your devices (mouse, keyboard and headset) and have the best audio set up integrated in the motherboard and have room for several graphics cards. These are but a few examples of how MSI has tried to perfect this Gaming motherboard for the enthusiasts who want the best hardware to get the best performance where it counts: in-game. Read More ...
Available Tags:USB 3.0 , Intel , USB , AMD , ASUS , GeForce , GTX , SATA , Thunderbolt , MacBook , MSI , Gaming , Motherboards ,

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