IT-Code-News: IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 6/11/2013

Monday, June 10, 2013

IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 6/11/2013

(PR) Transcend Announces SSD740 Series
Transcend Information, Inc., a leading manufacturer of industrial-grade products, today announced the addition of the SSD740 2.5" SATA III 6Gb/s solid state drive (SSD) to its industrial SSD product line. Combining cutting-edge SATA III technology with a number of performance and reliability features, the SSD740 is the ultimate SSD upgrade solution - especially for devices equipped with modern processors running more advanced operating systems, such as Ultrabooks, Industrial PCs and notebooks, gaming systems, and handheld appliances.

Transcend's SSD740 SSD takes advantage of the next-generation SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, DDR3 DRAM cache, and an advanced JMicron JMF667H controller to achieve extremely fast transfer speeds of up to 530 MB/s read and 470 MB/s write. Essential for handling incompressible data, such as videos, music, and images, the SSD740 also delivers impressive 4K random read/write speeds of up to 283/267 MB per second. Full support of the TRIM command, which automatically removes deleted data permanently, and Native Command Queuing (NCQ), which optimizes the order in which received read and write commands are executed, allow the SSD740 to sustain an incredibly high level of performance while enhancing SSD durability and efficiency.

Read full story

ASMedia Readies USB 3.5 Host Controllers
ASMedia owes a big part of its brand value to the initial popularity of third-party USB 3.0 host controllers, before motherboard chipsets started integrating it. It's only natural that the company is enthused about the upcoming USB 3.5 standard. At a recent media event, the company announced that it would be among the first to offer USB 3.5 host controllers, when the standard enters the consumer market some time in 2014.

With each new major version of USB, the specification increases interface bandwidth by 10 times. This time however, bandwidth is only being doubled, and so the version numbering is 3.5 and not 4.0. USB 3.5 will offer a bandwidth of 10 Gbps, will be able to deliver higher power to devices, and will maintain backwards compatibility with all older USB standards. USB 3.5 host controllers could compete directly with Thunderbolt. Despite a 2-year headstart, the 10 Gbps Thunderbolt interface is being offered only by one major host controller manufacturer, Intel, and the controllers are expensive compared to USB 3.0 host controllers. Unless that changes, Thunderbolt's future as a mainstream consumer interface will be in jeopardy with the advent of USB 3.5.

Sources: Apple Daily Taiwan, OCWorkbench

Read More ...

(PR) Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD Official
Mushkin, Inc., an industry leading designer and manufacturer of high?performance and mission?critical computer products, announced today the launch of their new Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD alongside Mushkin's "Pacific Rim Sweepstakes" which will run from June 5, 2013 until August 17, 2013. Prizes offered include a home theater system valued at $3,500 and a brand new Razer Blade Pro Gaming Laptop valued at $2,299, in addition to a limited edition Mushkin themed PC and Mushkin/Pacific Rim prize packs.

"Mushkin's Pacific Rim sweepstakes definitely appeals to our audience on a variety of levels and provides our consumers with the chance to win some amazing prizes," said Nicolas Villalobos, Director of Global Marketing at Mushkin, Inc. "Alongside this campaign we are excited to launch our latest Scorpion Deluxe line of SSDs. Our customers can now manage data faster, safer and more efficiently. Whether for digital content creation, virtualization, database acceleration, motion picture visual effects or your own application, the Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe PCIe SSD is always ready."

Read full story

Seasonic Shows Off 1200 W Platinum Power Supply
More than eighteen months after it first debuted the P Series, Seasonic unveils its range topping SS-1200XP3 (where XP3 denotes a third generation product). Visually, the new power supply closely resembles the 1000 W version and the first generation 860 W version (now retired). Also similar is the fan employed by the new unit, being the same Sanyo Denki San Ace 9S that Seasonic employs across its premium product lines. The similarities do not stop here though, the unit boasts the same semi-fanless operation mode where the fan is engaged only at loads exceeding 30% of the PSU's rated output, also the customary 105Â° C rated Japanese capacitors are used throughout the unit. Seasonic also advertises this unit as a single +12V rail design, just like it did (and still does) with its first generation P Series products, in spite of the fact that they are quad-rail designs with OCP trip points set very high. Remains to be seen if that is the case with the 1200 W version as well.

be quiet! Power Zone
During the recently ended Computex event in Taipei, be quiet! presented a wide range of new products, CPU coolers as well as power supplies. Among them a new upper-mainstream PSU line dubbed Power Zone, which consists of four models starting at 650 W and followed by 750 W, 850 W and 1000 W versions. This constitutes a premiere for be quiet! in that these are the first fully modular power supplies to be offered by the German brand. Another aspect intended to be addressed with this product line is affordability, which is something few of us would associate with the be quiet! moniker.

The four units comprising the Power Zone line are single +12V rail designs, use only 105Â° C rated capacitors and claim 80 Plus Bronze efficiency. They also make use of the be quiet! Silent Wings 135 mm fan, which is a Protechnic made Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan, probably the best fan you can have inside a power supply. The modular connector panel also houses three fan headers, feature carried over from the Dark Power Pro P10 line. be quiet! will offer these products with a 5 year warranty and pricing should start below 100 â‚¬.

Thermalright HR-22 Makes Public Appearance
Lacking its own booth at Computex this year, Thermalright displayed a few of its products in Nanoxia's booth, among them the previously teased HR-22 cooler, a massive monolithic heat sink meant to further the merits and virtues of its praised predecessor, the HR-02. Judging by the sheer size of the beast and the design choices evident in the pictures below (eight 6 mm heat pipes and an extended fin area when compared to the HR-02, a massive heat sink in its own right), one would expect the new HR-22 to compete for the top position among passive coolers.

ADATA AXNP280E NGFF SSD Gives Ultrabooks 1800 MB/s Storage
Impressed with the SX2000 enterprise SSD? Wish you could have those speeds on a consumer device? The AXNP280E from ADATA could soon become an option. This NGFF (next-generation form-factor) SSD is based on a client variant of the LSI-Sandforce SF-8639 controller, which interfaces with the system over PCI-Express 2.0 x4, and offers sequential transfer rates as high as 1,800 MB/s reads and writes, with up to 200,000 IOPS 4K random access, and features essential to client SSDs, such as TRIM and NCQ. Unlike the 2.5-inch SX2000, the AXNP280E is a little constrained with space, and comes in just 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB variants. The latter was on display.

Lian Li PC-V360 Finds Room for a Radiator Right Over The Motherboard
Case designers find room for liquid cooling radiators often by stretching the case out and creating it along the top, bottom, or front of the case. Lian Li found it at the most obvious place -- along the plane of the motherboard, right over its top half. A 240 x 120 mm radiator can be screwed onto a hinged frame, which can be easily moved to access parts of the motherboard right under it. The running idea here is that CPU blocks create a lot of space for this contraption to work.

The V360 is otherwise a typical Lian Li micro-ATX case, with top-mounted PSU bay, all-aluminum construction, a single 5.25-inch drive bay, five 3.5-inch bays, and three 2.5-inch ones, which create enough room for long graphics cards such as AMD Radeon HD 5970, to fit in. Ventilation includes a 120 mm front intake, a 120 mm rear exhaust, an 80 mm top exhaust, a 120 mm bottom intake (at the expense of one expansion slot), and vents on the side panel for the radiator assembly to work.

Phanteks Unveils Enthoo ES700 Smart PSU
2013 sure is turning out to be the year of smart PSUs, with debutante in the PSU market, Phanteks, unveiling its Enthoo ES700. The company recently entered the premium case market with a bang. The ES700 is a 700W 80 Plus Platinum-certified PSU, with digital VRM, semi-modular cabling, and a unique front-panel accessory that fits into 5.25-inch drive bays, giving you a live readout of load and efficiency. The same LED-based display is also located on the unit itself, next to the AC receptacle. The unit uses a single +12V rail design, offers most common protections, and uses a 135 mm fan to keep cool. The unit is still being designed, and the final version could feature sleeved cables.

GeIL Unveils EVO Potenza Series High-Performance Memory
GeIL showed off its newest EVO Potenza line of memory modules built for 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors, offering speeds ranging from DDR3-1600 to DDR3-3000, available in 4 GB and 8 GB densities, and as many as four color options for the heatspreaders: military green, indigo, red with black, and silver with chrome. At its booth, GeIL ran a live demo of a system with four 4 GB DDR3-3000 modules running at advertised speeds, with 12-14-14-36 / CL2T, on a Core i7-4770K (ES) based machine. GeIL put some of these modules through makeshift "torture-racks" (enclosures with high temperature and humidity), which survived and went on to work. GeIL uses similar torture-racks on its production line, on a much larger scale, which it calls "Die-hard Burn-in Technology" or DBT. They're used as QA. EVO Potenza will be sold as single modules, and in dual- and quad-channel memory kits.

High Power Shows Off Astro PT Line of Premium Smart-PSUs
PSU maker High Power unveiled the Astro PT line of premium PSUs, which as the name might suggest, are 80 Plus Platinum certified. Astro PT is a "smart" PSU, which comes in 600W and 700W capacities, features a single +12V rail design, and a few impressive innovations, such as a WiFi-based connection to your PC, using which it interfaces with a monitoring and fan-control software.

Why WiFi and why not USB, you ask? Because WiFi allows overclockers to use an external device, such as a notebook, to monitor the PSU, so the bench machine the PSU is powering isn't affected by monitoring software. This software lets you monitor the various power domains, and tinker with the unit's fan-curve. The Astro PT also features an in-built power load meter that works like Kill-a-Watt, and measures power consumption at the AC receptacle. The Astro PT also features a digital VRM design, partially modular cabling with flat modular cables, and a 135 mm fan. The PSU supports low-power C-states of the new Core "Haswell" processors.

Tt eSports Sybaris Headset Can Work Wired and Wireless
Tt eSports may have just answered pleas of everyone who wants to be able to choose between wired and wireless operation with a gaming headset, and switch between the two as they please. The new Tt eSports Sybaris looks like a usual pair of around-the-ear cans until you find out it packs a Bluetooth 4.0 based wireless receiver, supports aptX CODEC for lossless wireless audio quality, and features NFC, which simplifies pairing with modern smartphones.The headset tucks in lithium-ion battery packs inside both its cans, so it doesn't feel imbalanced. The mic armature is detachable.

(PR) Lenovo Announces Official Opening of U.S. PC Manufacturing Line in N. Carolina
Lenovo, the world's second-largest PC vendor, hosted a grand opening ceremony today attended by North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory and other prominent local dignitaries at its first U.S. personal computer production facility in Whitsett, N.C.

With the return of PC manufacturing to the U.S., the company is adding 115 new manufacturing jobs in North Carolina and is on track to fully ramp up production by the end of June. Lenovo's bold move to develop the long-term strength of the American PC market defies the decades-old trend of US electronics firms relying on overseas facilities for manufacturing and other outsourced functions. The 240,000-square-foot Whitsett facility, located approximately 10 miles east of Greensboro, serves four critical business functions: Logistics Center, Customer Solutions Center, National Returns Center, and now U.S. Manufacturing Production.

Read full story

Cooler Master Shows off GX II Series Mainstream Gaming PC PSUs
Cooler Master unveiled the second generation of its GX line of mainstream PSUs for gaming PC builds. These extremely well 'packaged' PSUs come in mid-range capacities under 850W, offer all the connectivity most gaming PCs need, at usually good prices. Pictured below is a new 700W model, which is compliant with the latest ATX specifications, supports Core "Haswell" low-power C-states, and offers essential features such as APFC, protection from over/under voltage, overload, overpower (output), and short-circuit. It offers all the cabling (fixed) you need for a gaming PC with up to two graphics cards; including four 6+2 pin PCIe, nine SATA, three Molex, apart from 24-pin ATX and 4+4-pin EPS. GX series PSUs lack fancy 80 Plus certifications, but Cooler Master claims this unit should offer 85 percent at typical loads. Cooler Master addressed the issue of a generally edgy fan-speed curve with its mainstream PSUs, by deploying a large 135 mm Yate Loon fan to keep the unit cool.

New Avexir Memory Modules Put Up A Lightshow
Avexir memory modules always caught our eyes at tradeshows for being extremely 'boutique' in their approach to the market. Not that we're complaining. They didn't disappoint this time either, showing off some colorful, shiny, and glowy modules of many shapes and sizes. The first kind below are Core Gold, with tops that light up gold, which should go well with ASUS' mainline Z87 motherboards, and ECS' Golden Boards. These modules are available at speeds ranging all the way from PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) to PC3-22400 (DDR3-2800), in 4 GB and 8 GB densities, and in single-, dual-, and quad-channel kits. Some of these ship with two XMP profiles.

Moving on, the next kind are Platinum Red. These black beauties lack headspreaders, use high-grade Elpida-made DRAM chips, and feature pairs of tiny red LEDs lining the top portions on one of their sides. These modules are available in speeds ranging from PC3-10600 to PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600), and are available in the same densities and packages as the Core series. There are plenty of motherboards that look good with black and red. Next up, are the same modules with glowy heatspreaders on. These heatspreaders pack an acrylic bar that disperse light from these LEDs, and look awesome when installed. The last exhibit is an example of just how far Avexir will go to live up to its boutique reputation. It shows modules with tiny fluorescent lamps lining the top, which work at low voltages, probably using external power. Starting a florescent lamp takes additional circuitry, and you can find that in the picture.

(PR) TRENDnet Launches Powerful NAS Media Server
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today is excited to announce the 2-Bay NAS Media Server Enclosure, model TN-200 -- a powerful entertainment and storage hub of your digital network. DLNA certified Smart TVs, media players, and game consoles can automatically find and play multiple HD videos and music from the TN-200 simultaneously. An iTunes server provides the ability to share a massive iTunes library across your network.

The TN-200 accepts two 3.5" SATA hard drives, sold separately, for a total storage capacity of up to 8 Terabytes. Additional storage can be added using a convenient USB share port. A Gigabit Ethernet port maintains a high speed connection to the network. The intuitive setup wizards get the TN-200 up and running quickly. "The TN-200 has an intuitive interface which novice users can easily navigate," said Sonny Su, technology director for TRENDnet. "It's packed full of features to support efficient content storage and sharing."

Read full story

(PR) MAINGEAR Introduces the Pulse 14 Gaming Laptop
MAINGEAR, an award-winning PC system builder offering custom desktops, notebooks, workstations, is now adding the Pulse 14 high performance ultraportable notebook solution to their product line and is unparalleled in its class and size for PC gamers and PC enthusiasts who do not want to sacrifice speed or performance on the go.

The MAINGEAR Pulse 14 combines a unique laptop design featuring the latest mobile technology with Intel's 4th Generation Core processors that delivers the perfect combination of performance, power efficiency, and portability. The Pulse 14 also utilizes NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760M graphics with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory to deliver tremendous 3D gaming capabilities. All of this power and performance is wrapped up in a svelte 14" package with a 1600x900 resolution display, the perfect resolution for the included GPU to allow for high levels of detail, geometry, and texture resolution in the latest and most demanding PC games.

Read full story

Galaxy GeForce GTX 770 SOC Pictured
The GeForce GTX 770 SOC is among the five attractions at Galaxy's Computex booth. With GTX 770 being not so different in design to a GTX 680, we imagine Galaxy to have spent very little R&D in coming up with the GTX 770 SOC (super-overclock), which looks nearly identical to the GeForce GTX 680 Hall of Fame aka KFA2 GTX 680 Limited Edition OC V4 graphics card from last year. You get the same all-white combo of non-reference design PCB and cooler, the same strange display I/O of a DisplayPort next to three mini-HDMI connectors, but with higher clock speeds, and GPU Boost 2.0, which will surely take advantage of the cooler to sustain boost states.

Galaxy Also Unveils First GTX 780 Graphics Card with Custom PCB
Every GeForce GTX 780 graphics card launched till date features an NVIDIA-reference design PCB, or one that looks like it, with minor changes, until now. Galaxy unveiled the first GTX 780 graphics card with a non-reference design PCB, the GTX 780 Super Overclock Hall of Fame (SOC-HOF). The card uses a milky-white colored PCB, with a strong VRM design to support factory-overclocked speeds (undisclosed), and record-seeking overclocking. The card ships with a meaty triple-slot air-cooler, which uses a dense aluminum fin-stack that's fed by four 8 mm-thick copper heat pipes, and ventilated by two large 80~92 mm fans.

Galaxy Also Shows off GeForce GTX 780 Twin Fan Graphics Card
Galaxy started its GeForce GTX 780 lineup off with a single reference-design card, but plans to make some major additions. One of them is the GTX 780 Twin Fan. Pictured below, the card uses a unique fin-stack heatsink that uses a mix of aluminum and copper fins. Four 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes conduct heat from the GK110 GPU to this colorful fin-stack, which is ventilated by a pair of 80 mm spinners. Alas, this unique dual-slot cooler sits on a bland NVIDIA-reference design PCB, just like on every GTX 780 card ever sold. Galaxy should ship the card with factory-overclocked speeds, but didn't disclose them.

Galaxy Shows off Z87 Hall of Fame Motherboard
Galaxy extended its top-end Hall of Fame (HOF) brand extension to motherboards, and unveiled its flagship socket LGA1150 motherboard, the Z87 HOF. The board uses two PEX8747 x48 bridge chips, probably chained, to give out four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, all four of which stay at electrical x16, no matter how you populate them. The board uses a 16-phase VRM to power the CPU, which draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors, in addition to the 24-pin ATX. The board takes advantage of its unique PCI-Express configuration to support 4-way SLI and CrossFireX.

Sadly, the board doesn't impress quite as much with storage connectivity. You get four SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an mSATA/mPCIe, and an eSATA. DVI, HDMI, 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of it. The board gives you plenty of overclocking features, such as onboard OC controls, dual-BIOS, voltage measurement-points, an OC module, and a feature-rich UEFI setup program.

Jonsbo Unveils Trio of Windowed Mini-ITX Aluminum Cases
Shenzhen-based PC peripherals maker Jonsbo unveiled a trio of mini-ITX aluminum cases, the U1, U2, and U3, pictured in that order. Available in black, red, and silver brushed-aluminum trims, the three are some of the few mini-ITX cases with a side-panel acrylic window. The U1 is the smallest of the lot, with just enough room for a thick mini-ITX motherboard with up to 90 mm-tall CPU coolers to squeeze in, you get room for two 60~80 mm rear exhaust fans, and a couple of 3.5/2.5-inch drives. The U2, on the other hand, gives you room for two expansion slot bays, taller CPU coolers, and a 120 mm rear exhaust fan, in addition to room for up to four drives. The U3 is the largest of the lot, with room for standard ATX PSUs, width comparable to ATX towers, a 120 mm rear exhaust and the ability to stack several more drives using a drive tray.

Team Unveils Dark L3 Line of Consumer SSDs
Team Group showed off its Dark L3 line of mainstream consumer SSDs. Based on the common SandForce SF-2281 platform, and built in the conventional 9.5 mm-thick 2.5 mm form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, these drives use 19 nm MLC NAND flash, and come in 60 GB, 120 GB, and 240 GB capacities. All three models offer up to 550 Mb/s reads, the 60 GB and 120 GB variants offers up to 450 MB/s writes, while the 240 GB variant offers up to 500 MB/s. All three models offer 35,000 IOPS 4K random reads, the 60 GB variant offers 25,000 IOPS 4K random writes; while the 120 GB and 240 GB variants offer up to 50,000 IOPS. Most common client SSD features such as TRIM, NCQ, and SMART, are standard issue.

BitFenix Fury PSU Series Unveiled
At Computex, BitFenix showed off its Fury line of upper-mainstream PSUs. Offering mid-range capacities of 550W, 650W, and 750W, these 80 Plus Gold-certified PSUs offer semi-modular cabling, a single +12V rail design, APFC, most common protection mechanisms (over/under-voltage, overload, overheat, and short-circuit protection), and support for new Core "Haswell" low-power C-states. The three come with enough cabling for single- to dual-graphics card builds, and are cooled by a temperature-controlled 135 mm fan.

ADATA Also Shows Off XPG SX920 Series Consumer SSDs
In addition to the SX1000 and SX2000 series enterprise SSDs, ADATA showed off its latest consumer SSDs, under the XPG SX920 banner. Built in the 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and available in 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB capacities, these drives are based on a Marvell-made controller, driving 19 nm MLC NAND flash. These drives offer up to 530 MB/s of sequential reads, up to 480 MB/s sequential writes, and up to 80,000 IOPS 4K random writes. Most common client SSD features such as TRIM, NCQ, and SMART. The drives are backed by 3-year warranties.

(PR) EK Introduces GeForce GTX 770 Water Blocks
EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium water cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to introduce the EK-FC770 GTX, a Full-Cover water block for reference design NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 graphics cards.

EK-FC770 GTX is a high performance full-cover water block for NVIDIA reference design GeForce GTX 770 series graphics cards. This water block directly cools the GPU, RAM as well as VRM (voltage regulation module) as water flows directly over these critical areas thus allowing the graphics card and it's VRM to remain stable under high overclocks.

Read full story

ADATA Shows Off SX2000 and SX1000 Enterprise SSDs
ADATA showed off a new high-performance server-grade SSD, the SX2000. Built in the 2.5-inch form-factor, this drive features a PCI-Express 2.0 x4 interface (a cable runs to a PCIe riser card). It is driven by an LSI-SandForce SF-8639 controller, which is a single-chip solution that connects to the host over PCI-Express, and appears to the operating system as ATA AHCI controller, with one drive connected to it. The chip features nearly more than double the ONFI channels as an SF-2281, which reflects on the drive's advertise performance numbers: up to 1,800 MB/s reads with up to 1,800 MB/s writes; up to 200,000 IOPS 4K random reads. The controller supports all modern enterprise SSD features, including TRIM, DEVSLP support, and SMART. It ships in 100 GB, 200 GB, 400 GB, 800 GB, and 1,600 GB variants. The latter was up on display.

ADATA also showed off its SX1000 enterprise SSD, which features a more modest SATA 6 Gb/s interface, an LSI SandForce SF-2500 or SF-2600 series controller, sequential performance numbers of up to 550 MB/s reads with up to 500 MB/s writes, up to 75,000 IOPS 4K random reads/writes, can work as DAS, and most modern enterprise features. This drive will be available in 100 GB, 200 GB, and 400 GB capacities, the 200 GB variant was on display. It's unclear which kind of NAND flash the two drives use, but we're guessing it's high-endurance MLC NAND. Both offer 5-year warranties.

Sapphire Unveils Liquid-Cooled Radeon HD 7990 Atomic
It was only a matter of time after AMD's launch of the more energy-efficient Radeon HD 7990 "Malta" graphics card, that Sapphire would design a liquid-cooled Atomic variant. The card is based on a custom-design 12-layer PCB, ships with factory-overclocked speeds, and uses a high-grade VRM with 12-phase vGPU, 4-phase VDDCI, and 2-phase MVDD, which draw power from three 8-pin PCIe power connectors. The card is cooled by a full-coverage water-block, and features an aluminum back-plate to cool memory chips on the reverse side of the PCB. The card features 6 GB of total memory, 3 GB per GPU.

On the demo system, the full-coverage block was seen connected to a conventional-looking liquid-cooling loop, and not something closed-loop/AIO. Coolant tubes from the card run to a conventional-looking reservoir, a 240 x 120 mm radiator, and a pump that occupies a 5.25-inch drive bay, and features a pressure gauge. We're not sure if the Sapphire Atomic-branded FB blocks for the CPU and chipset are part of the package, but Sapphire has, in the past, given CPU blocks with its Atomic-branded cards. This is one card to watch out for.

(PR) Intel Readies 'Bay Trail' for Holiday 2013 Tablets and 2-in-1 Devices
At an industry event in Taipei today, Hermann Eul, general manager of Intel's Mobile and Communications Group, unveiled new details about the company's forthcoming Intel Atom processor-based SoC for tablets ("Bay Trail-T") due in market for holiday this year. Based on the new Silvermont microarchitecture, the next generation 22nm Intel technology for tablets and ultra-mobile devices will enable sleek designs with 8 or more hours of battery life2 and weeks of standby, as well as support Android* and Windows 8.1*.

Eul also spoke to recent momentum and announcements around the smartphone business and demonstrated the Intel XMM 7160 multimode 4G LTE solution, now in final interoperability testing (IOT) with Tier 1 service providers across North America, Europe and Asia. "The mobile category is undergoing a tremendous amount of innovation and constant change," said Eul. "As we look at growing it, we continue to invest in and accelerate our efforts across all aspects of mobility with a focus on smartphones, tablets and wireless communications. Intel's unique assets will enable more compelling and differentiated products and experiences, while at the same time helping to shape and lead markets in the future."

Read full story

Sapphire Unveils Three APU-based Innovations
While Sapphire's LGA1150 motherboard lineup came across as a little lukewarm, the company more than made up for that with its fleet of motherboards that take advantage of AMD's newest A-series and E-series APUs and SoCs. First, there's the PGS A320M, a micro-ATX motherboard that ships with a FirePro A320 socket FM2 APU pre-installed. Largely identical to an A10-5800K, and based on the "Trinity" micro-architecture, the A320 features FirePro-branded professional graphics that's certified for most modern 3D productivity applications, and can give display output at resolutions as high as 4096 x 2160. The board features one each of DisplayPort 1.2, dual-link DVI-I, and D-Sub display outputs. Other features include eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, four USB 3.0, gigabit Ethernet (Broadcom controller), and 8-channel HD audio.

Things get interesting with a contraption called IPC-FS1r2A75. This board comes in a proprietary IPC form-factor, features an FS1 rev 2.0 socket, which seats R-series APUs, an embedded AMD Radeon E6000 series GPU based on the Graphics CoreNext arhitecture, with its own dedicated GDDR5 memory on-package, and AMD A75 FCH chipset. The board offers six mini-DisplayPort and four HDMI outputs, two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, an open-ended PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slot, four mPCIe slots (in stacks of two), five SATA 6 Gb/s ports, six USB 3.0 ports, two gigabit Ethernet connections, and 6-channel audio.

Read full story

Sapphire Unveils its Socket LGA1150 Motherboards
Sapphire unveiled its first socket LGA1150 motherboards, designed for 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors, although they're not completely out of the pipeline, and Sapphire is yet to finalize heatsink designs. Among the boards shown at Computex are the micro-ATX Pure Platinum Z87M-PR, and the ATX Pure Platinum Z87A-MA, both of which offer a pretty mid-range feature-set. The Z87M-PR gives you a 5-phase VRM that powers the CPU, four DDR3 DIMM slots, a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and one each of mPCIe, PCIe 2.0 x1, and legacy PCI. The board offers four each of SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ports, eight USB 2.0/1.1 ports, DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI display outputs, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio.

The Z87A-MA, on the other hand, offers the same CPU VRM as its little sibling, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the PCH), two PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI. You get six each of SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ports, but oddly enough, the rest of the connectivity is a notch worse. 8-channel HD audio makes way for 6-channel. Sapphire's other motherboards are more interesting finds, but more on that later.

Vantec Shows Off its Three PSU Series
Vantec showed off its three new PSU series; the entry-level Voltrax, which comes in 350W and 450W capacities, the mid-range Voltra, which comes in 550W, 650W, 750W, and 850W capacities; and the high-end Voltra+ series, which comes in 1050W and 1250W capacities. The Voltrax duo feature fixed cabling, with enough to go around for most single graphics card builds. Both feature single +12V rail designs, most common protection mechanisms, and 120 mm temperature-controlled fans.

The Voltra series, on the other hand, offers partially modular cabling, the 550W and 650W models are ideal for single- to dual-graphics card builds; while the 750W and 850W can handle dual- to triple-graphics card ones. Like Voltrax, Voltra PSUs feature single +12V rail designs, and common protection mechanisms, but use larger 135 mm fans to stay cool. Leading the pack is the Voltra+ duo, with their 80 Plus Gold certification, dual +12V rail designs (combination of 40~45A and 60~65A rails), 135 mm fans, and enough cabling for gaming PC builds with three to four graphics cards, and one to two CPU sockets (two EPS connectors).

Antec Unveils High Current Pro Platinum Grid Series PSUs
Antec unveiled the first of its "smart" PSUs that rival Corsair AXi line, the High Current Pro Platinum Grid. The PSU plugs into your motherboard over a vacant USB 2.0/1.1 header, and interfaces with Antec Grid, a software that lets you monitor and log the unit's overall efficiency, various power domains, rails, temperatures, fan-speeds. It lets you override the unit's fan-speed curve, and monitor temperature over four sensors, reading from four key zones of the unit. Innards of these 80 Plus Platinum-certified PSUs are otherwise identical to the High Current Pro Platinum series launched last year, and are available in identical high-Wattage variants: 750W, 850W, 1000W, 1200W, and 1300W. These PSUs feature fully modular cabling, the 750W variant is ideal for gaming PC builds with up to two graphics cards, the 850W and 1000W three, and the others four. The company also showed off various HCP Platinum PSU models, most of which were launched at last year's Computex.

(PR) AMD Extends Graphics and Compute Leadership with 2013 Elite A-Series Desktop APU
AMD today announced its 2013 Elite A-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) for desktops, codenamed "Richland", which delivers a superior PC solution with increased computational performance, discrete-level graphics and an easy upgrade infrastructure. At COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2013, AMD showcased the complete breadth of its 2013 APU portfolio with the launch of the new Elite A-Series APU for desktops which power a diverse range of OEM systems and feature new generations of software and applications that harness the unrivaled compute power of the 2013 AMD APU product lineup: the fastest AMD APUs ever.

"The new AMD A-Series APU is ideal for desktop PC builders and mainstream gamers wanting outstanding performance for their money, and today AMD delivers an excellent new follow-on to the recently announced mobile lineup," said Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Products Division at AMD. "The combination of high-performance, third-generation desktop APUs with our existing portfolio of low-power, mobile APUs gives us our strongest-ever lineup of products for our customers and our technology partners."

Read full story

Rosewill Micro RK9000 Keyboard Keeps it Simple
Talk about a simple and space-saving keyboard! The Micro RK9000 from Rosewill is a super-compact yet sturdy mechanical keyboard for gamers. The keyboard only features the main cluster of conventional keyboards, with just 66 keys, but some of them double up as function keys with a macro button pressed or activated. The keyboard is said to use an unknown Cherry MX switch, a sturdy fiberglass PCB, USB and PS/2 connectivity (over adapters), and a silvery brushed-aluminum body.

Rosewill Also Shows Off Neutron Mini-ITX Gaming Case
Rosewill's Neutron case is designed for those with an itch for mini-ITX gaming PC builds. The case gives you adequate room for footlong graphics cards, tall CPU coolers, and a number of internal drives. Pictured below, Rosewill Neutron orients the motherboard horizontally, with two expansion slot bays for dual-slot graphics cards. A detachable drive cage with four 3.5-inch/2.5-inch bays is right under the motherboard tray, the PSU bay is positioned towards the bottom-front, with an AC cable and receptacle running back. A 5.25-inch bay takes position where it's supposed to. The idea here is to use the PSU's cooling fan as an intake. Other fan vents include a 120 mm rear exhaust above the motherboard tray, a 92 mm exhaust behind the bottom drive cage, a 120 mm top exhaust, and various vents on the side panels. Utility connectivity include two USB 3.0 ports (standard header), two USB 2.0/1.1, and HDA front-panel jacks. The case is made of 0.8 mm steel and ABS.

Rosewill Shows Off Throne Air Series Full-Towers
Rosewill showed off its Throne line of high-end ATX full-towers, which support HPTX, EATX, XL-ATX, and conventional ATX motherboard form-factors. Available in plain beige color, and a red one with printed (not brushed) body decals, the Throne features 10 expansion slot bays, three 5.25-inch and ten 3.5-inch drive bays, each of which are inside a fixed cage; and an overall styling that borrows design elements from NZXT Phantom, and Dell's Alienware stock cases. The cases are made of steel and ABS plastic. Cooling systems appear to include three 120 mm front intakes, a 120 mm rear exhaust, two 120 mm top exhausts that double up as provision for a 240 x 120 mm radiator, and 120 mm side intakes.

(PR) New Intel Xeon Processors Accelerate Media Processing in the Cloud
Today Intel introduced the new Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 v3 product family based on Haswell microarchitecture and the company's 22nm manufacturing process. When deployed in cloud data center environments, the new Intel Xeon processors will help reduce costs and increase media processing capabilities for cloud-based media service providers to better support customers wanting to upload and share videos with friends across different mobile devices. In addition to a better offering for cloud media workloads than discrete graphic-based servers, new Intel Xeon processors offer exceptional energy efficiency and lowest TDP ever at 13 Watts for highly dense environments like microservers. Get the Intel Xeon processor E3-1200 v3 product family fact sheet.

(PR) TRENDnet Launches Next Generation AC1200 Wireless Media Bridge
TRENDnet,a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces the AC1200 Dual Band Wireless Media Bridge, model TEW-800MB which connects up to four devices around a TV to a revolutionary Wireless AC network. Connect a network enabled TV, media player, gaming console, and receiver to the four Gigabit ports. Wireless AC easily handles multiple HD streams simultaneously.

To connect to a Wireless AC network, one needs a Wireless AC router such as TRENDnet's TEW-812DRU or TEW-811DRU. Once the media bridge is connected to a Wireless AC network, simply plug into the four Gigabit ports on the back of the TEW-800MB for instant internet access. Beamforming technology further boosts wireless speeds by directing the strongest wireless signal back the Wireless AC router.

Read full story

Enermax Unveils iVektor ATX Mid-tower Case
Enermax rolled out the iVektor (ECA3310) line of ATX mid-towers at Computex. Available in matte black, white, and red, the case features several polygonal design elements you'd normally associate with something from NZXT's Switch lineup. Measuring 234 x 495 x 508 mm (WxDxH), the iVektor uses 0.8 mm SECC steel and ABS plastic. It features three 5.25-inch drive bays, which feature an "Slide-in ODD" bay, which lets you remove the bay cover and simply slide in a SATA optical drive, to connect it. The SATA back-plane, and locking mechanism take care of the rest. Other drive bays include seven 3.5-inch, from which four covert to 2.5-inch. Its cooling system includes two 120 mm front intakes, a 120 mm rear exhaust, two 120 mm top exhausts, with room for a 240 x 120 mm radiator, a 120 mm bottom intake, and a 120 mm side intake. Its utility panel provides two USB 3.0 ports (standard header), two USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and HDA jacks.

(PR) OCZ Announces Settlement of Shareholder Derivative Litigation
OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and power management solutions for computing devices and systems, today announces that it has reached a settlement in principle of federal shareholder derivative litigation filed in connection with the Company's previously announced financial restatement.

The settlement is subject to negotiation of final documentation. It is also subject to court approval. The settlement will be funded by the Company's D&O liability insurance and will not require any payments by the Company. This settlement does not resolve separate consolidated shareholder class actions pending in connection with the restatement.

Read full story

(PR) QNAP Showcases a New Series of NAS
QNAP, Inc a global network attached storage (NAS) company announced the release of the new TS-x70 series NAS featuring an Intel i3 CPU with the latest QTS 4.0 OS with powerful storage backup, capability to stream with on the fly transcoding, integrated XBMC v12, and local video playback up to 4K resolution. In addition QNAP also unveils new powerful storage applications such as the developer's platform (App Center), innovative digital signage web server, and capacity expansion solutions by scale up and scale out.

Read full story

(PR) Enermax Unveils Thermal Conductive Coated CPU Coolers
After the successful launch of the ETS-T40 series, Enermax now presents a new line of CPU Coolers in the series, the ETS-T40-Black Twister (ETS-T40-BK) and ETS-T40-White Cluster (ETS-T40-W). The new lineup not only inherits the superior performance of the ETS-T40 series with patented technologies, but also features an attractive heat sink decked out in a stunning coat, increasing the options and appeal of the ETS-T40 series family.

Black Twister and White Cluster are available in midnight black and arctic white colors, respectively. Both models employ a unique TCC (Thermal Conductive Coating) to create better velocity of thermal transference and prevent oxidation on the contact surface. ETS-T40-Black Twister features a circular blue LED PWM fan for a mesmerizing presentation. On the other hand, ETS-T40-White Cluster is equipped with the white LED fan with the unique PWM APS (Adjustable Peak Speed) control which offers 3 peak RPM options to satisfy the needs of consumers who prefer manual adjustability.

Read full story

FSP Unveils the Aurum 92+ HW PSU
FSP, a retail brand of PSU OEM Fortron Electronics, unveiled its flagship PSU series, the Aurum 92+ HW. These 80 Plus Platinum-certified high-Wattage PSUs come in 850W (HW850), 1000W (HW1000), and 1200W (HW1200) capacities, and offer efficiency levels that tend to go beyond 92 percent. Pictured below, the Aurum 92+ HW features a single +12V rail design, ATX 12V v2.31 and EPS v2.92 standards compliant, which gives it Core "Haswell" low power states support, an LLC full-bridge topology design, and connectivity that includes eight 6+2-pin PCIe connectors, 24-pin ATX, a couple of 4+4-pin EPS, and a large number of SATA/Molex ports.

ECS Shows Off Z87H3-AH Series Flagship Motherboards
ECS' socket LGA1150 motherboard series launch was rather low-key, and with good reason. The company was saving its best, the Z87H3-AH series, for a Computex unveiling. Pictured below are the Z87H3-AH and Z87H3-AH Golden "Gank Machine" motherboards. The non-golden variant doesn't get dull gray this time around, but a red, black, and silver color scheme. The Golden variant, on the other hand, gets gold, silver, and black. Both boards are otherwise identical. The LGA1150 socket is powered by a 12-phase VRM. The bigger of the two VRM clusters is cooled by an active fan-heatsink.

The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three of the board's four PCI-Express x16 slots (electrical gen 3.0 x16/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), the fourth x16 slot is electrical gen 2.0 x4, wired to the Z87 PCH. On the storage connectivity front, you get six SATA 6 Gb/s ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, and an mSATA 6 Gb/s slot. Display outputs include HDMI and mini-DisplayPort, which doubles up as Thunderbolt. The rest of the board's notable connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, one driven by Bigfoot Killer E2201, and the other by common Realtek fare; 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (using a USB dongle), Creative Sound Core3D 8-channel audio, and ten USB 3.0 ports. The board features several overclocker-friendly features, such as a 3-digit POST diagnostic readout, voltage measurement points, quick CMOS reset/restore, etc.

ECS KBN-I AMD "Kabini" SoC Motherboard Smiles for the Camera
ECS unveiled one of the very few mini-ITX motherboards to ship with an AMD "Kabini" A6-5200. The chip integrates both the APU and FCH, making it a true system-on-chip (SoC). It packs four x86-64 "Jaguar" CPU cores, a Radeon HD 8400 series GPU with 128 stream processors, a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, and a modern FCH chipset. On the KBN-I, the 28 nm chip is cooled by a small fan-heatsink. The PCB area gained by the single-chip solution is used to create two mPCIe expansion slots, in addition to the PCI-Express 2.0 x16. The board draws power from just a 24-pin ATX connector. Connectivity include two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, 6-channel HD audio, D-Sub and HDMI display outputs, four USB 3.0 ports, and a gigabit Ethernet connection.

Super Flower Shows Off First 80 Plus Titanium PSU
Thought 80 Plus Platinum was the pinnacle of PSU efficiency? Think again. 80 Plus Titanium is where it's at. Applicable only in regions with 220~230VAC domestic power, 80 Plus Titanium requires a PSU to offer at least 94 percent efficiency at 20 percent load, at least 96 percent efficiency at 50 percent load, and at least 91 percent efficiency at 100 percent load. Currently, just 8 PSUs went under 80 Plus certification, because only server-grade PSUs could earn it. Super Flower unveiled what is perhaps the first consumer PSU to do it, which it's yet to name. The PSU is 80 Plus Titanium certified under 220~230VAC, and at least 80 Plus Platinum certified under 100~120VAC.

Several of Super Flower's new 80 Plus Platinum-certified PSUs are scraping 80 Plus Titanium efficiency levels, although they're not quite there. These units feature an 80 Plus Platinum badge with a ">92% at 50% load" marking, denoting efficiency levels that get very close to 80 Plus Titanium. In any case, those are some excellent efficiency numbers being offered. A star-attraction at Super Flower's booth is the Leadex Platinum 1000W, a fully-modular PSU that is advertised to offer over 94% efficiency at 50 percent load.

ASRock Thunderbolt Motherboards Feature DisplayPort Input
Premium socket LGA1150 motherboards shipping with Thunderbolt connectivity hardly surprise us, yet ASRock managed to do so, with a nifty little addition to its functionality. The company's Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards, namely Z87-Extreme4 TB4, Z87-Extreme9/ac and Z87-Extreme11/ac, feature a full-size DisplayPort input in addition to two Thunderbolt ports that each double up as mini-DisplayPort outputs wired to the processor's integrated graphics. This allows you to install a discrete graphics card of your choice, wire its DisplayPort output to the board's input, and get its digital display output relayed through the Thunderbolt ports, using which you can daisy-chain your high-resolution display with other high-bandwidth devices. On its specs sheets, ASRock is dubbing this implementation as an "experimental feature," and isn't making a song-and-dance about it. In any case, it sure gives ASRock a sharp edge over Thunderbolt-equipped motherboards from other brands, and in our opinion, is the best implementation of Thunderbolt to date.

(PR) Belkin Releases USB 3.0 Dual Video Docking Stands for Ultrabooks and Tablets
Belkin, a trusted leader of technology solutions for office, classroom, IT infrastructure and mobile environments, today announced the release of two new docking stands: a Dual Video Docking Stand for Windows 8 tablets and Dual Video Docking Stand for Ultrabooks, making mobile computing easier and more productive for business users. The stands, which leverage DisplayLink technology, allow users to turn an Ultrabook or Windows 8 tablet into a full-function desktop with a single plug-and-display USB 3.0 cable. Belkin will showcase the docking stands and other mobile computing solutions at COMPUTEX TAIPEI in Taiwan, June 4-8.

"Greater mobility and the need for an improved user experience are increasingly important to organizations that care about worker productivity and its impact on overall efficiency," said J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., principal analyst, Mobile Trax. "Belkin has developed an interesting set of docking stands that really optimize the functionality of Ultrabooks, and particularly Windows 8 Tablets, in the business environment. This is a great step forward for mobile computing at the enterprise level."

Read full story

Triplex Shows Off Slot-powered Radeon HD 7850
Graphics card maker Triplex, which is more prevalent in the Greater China region, unveiled a new single-slot Radeon HD 7850 2GB graphics card that relies on the PCI-Express slot entirely, for power. It lacks any kind of power input. The card is based on an alternate (more expensive to implement) reference design by AMD, which has been sporadically implemented by other AMD partners. An example is this card by AFOX. Unlike AFOX' card, Triplex' lacks power connectors. The card comes with reference clock speeds of 860 MHz core, and 4.80 GHz memory. It packs 1024 stream processors, 64 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 2 GB of memory. Sadly, even for buyers in this part of the world, Triplex' card will be sold only in the OEM channel.

(PR) PCMark 8 Professional Edition Benchmark Now Available
Coinciding with exciting new processor launches from AMD and Intel, Futuremark is proud to announce the release of PCMark 8 Professional Edition - the Complete Benchmark for Windows. Designed around common scenarios in the home and office, PCMark 8 is an essential benchmark for the latest Windows 8 notebooks, tablets and desktop PCs, especially those powered by new AMD Richland and Intel Haswell processors. PCMark 8 Professional Edition is licensed for commercial use and is intended for business, press and industry users. Additional PCMark 8 editions for home users will be released later in June.

Read full story

(PR) Creative Announces the Senz3D Interactive Gesture Camera
Creative Technology Ltd today announced the new Creative Senz3D interactive gesture camera, introducing an immersive multi-dimensional gaming, video conferencing and voice control experience for PC enthusiasts and early adopters. Designed for use with 2nd generation and later Intel Core processors, the Creative Senz3D will be on display at Computex Taipei, Taiwan from June 4 - 8 at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) Nangang Exhibition Hall, Intel Booth #M410.

Creative Senz3D combines advanced depth sensor technology with a camera and dual array microphones to deliver a new multi-dimensional interactive experience. Users can play PC games using hand and finger gestures to control and interact with characters and environments. Its 3D sensing technology is able to enhance facial recognition and also extract a person's image for various applications. In addition to a variety of games and applications that ship with the Creative Senz3D, users will experience a robust bundle of software which enables interactive video conferencing, voice control of a PC, creation of video blog environments, and much more.

Read full story

ASUS Maximus VI Formula Completes ROG LGA1150 Lineup
ASUS launched its socket LGA1150 motherboard lineup with three products in its coveted Republic of Gamers (ROG) lineup, the flagship Maximus VI Extreme, the micro-ATX Maximus VI Gene, and the mid-range Maximus VI Hero. A little earlier today, the mini-ITX Maximus VI Impact joined the team with a stunning feature-set for its size. At Computex, we pictured the last piece of the puzzle, the Maximus VI Formula. Pictured below, this ATX motherboard based on the Z87 chipset is best suited for liquid-cooled rigs with 3-way graphics cards. It borrows a piece of technology over from the TUF series, a thermal armor that covers most parts of the board. The armor makes contact with a water block that actively cools the board's CPU VRM.

The Maximus VI Formula uses an identical CPU VRM to the Maximus VI Extreme. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS. A 4-pin ATX and Molex can be optionally connected to stabilize overclocks. The LGA1150 socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x16/NC/NC or x8/x8/NC or x8/x4/x4), it lacks the PEX8747 bridge chip of its bigger sibling. Three other PCI-Express 2.0 x1 chips make for the rest of the expansion. Connectivity on the Maximus VI Formula includes ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports, eight USB 3.0 ports, SupremeFX audio, gigabit Ethernet (Intel controller), 802.11 ac WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. ASUS didn't reveal launch plans.

(PR) Crucial Introduces New Ballistix Sport Design for Gamers and Enthusiasts
Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced the immediate availability of the Crucial Ballistix Sport XT memory, which offers a new aggressively-styled, taller heat spreader design that improves thermal performance. Designed for gamers and enthusiasts looking for fast and responsive performance, Ballistix Sport XT modules offer XMP profiles for advanced speeds and timings as well as easy BIOS configuration in supported systems.

"The Crucial Ballistix Sport series is designed to provide mainstream users and performance enthusiasts with a reliable, no-hassle gaming experience," said Jeremy Mortenson, senior product manager, Crucial. "The new Sport XT memory offers an attractive new heat spreader styling for gamers who are looking for enhanced thermal performance, and a new colour that complements popular motherboards."

Read full story

ASUS Unveils ROG Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX Motherboard
ASUS announced its first Republic of Gamers (ROG) motherboard in the mini-ITX form-factor, the Maximus VI Impact, which could go on to become choice number one for SFF gaming PC builders. Arguably the most feature-rich mini-ITX motherboard ever made, the Maximus VI Impact is a socket LGA1150 motherboard based on Intel Z87 Express chipset, which supports 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors.

The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, and conditions it using a 10-phase VRM that off-shoots into its own little PCB, with heatsink. The other three daughterboards on the Maximus VI Impact include the SupremeFX Impact, a sound-card with an audiophile-grade 115 dBA DAC, OPAMPs, and audio-grade capacitors; and an mPCIe combo card that lends it 802.11 ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0; and an ImpactControl card that gives overclockers POST diagnostic readouts and CMOS reset/restore at the push of a button, right from the rear panel.

Read full story

ASRock Shows Off Z87-Extreme11/ac Build with 22 SSDs
ASRock Z87-Extreme11/ac motherboard can connect to no less than 22 drives over its six SATA 6 Gb/s, and sixteen SAS3 ports, so why not show it off? It's just that ASRock chose 22 Plextor M5 Pro SSDs, which make for a creepy cemetery-like sight. Sadly, they couldn't give us performance numbers because the 22 drives aren't exactly striped across in any RAID configuration, but at least you know you can take something like this to your next Left4Dead LAN, and pull crowds. It's not just the drives, ASRock also fitted the board with four Radeon HD 7970 cards in CrossFireX, maxed out the memory, and wired the board to its Wi-SD box accessory, a 3.5-inch front-panel that features the board's WiFi+Bluetooth antenna, a couple of USB 3.0 ports, and a multi-format card reader.

Antec KÃ¼hler H2O 1250 and 650 Innovate with Fans
Antec unveiled a pair of new all-in-one CPU coolers in the KÃ¼hler H2O series, the KÃ¼hler H2O 1250 and KÃ¼hler H2O 650 (pictured in that order). The two build over their Series 4 predecessors with more powerful pumps, and new high-airflow fans that focus airflow through the radiator. The fan's motor doubles up as the pump's, and so the air and coolant flow are in perfect proportion. The H2O 650 features a 120 x 120 size radiator with a single fan, while the H2O 1250 doubles the dissipation area with a larger 240 x 120 radiator, that uses two of those fans. The two ship with support for the latest CPU socket types, including LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1.

Antec Nineteen Hundred Stands Tall...Really Tall
At Antec's Computex booth, one exhibit literally stuck its head out, the new Nineteen Hundred super-tower chassis. This two foot-long ATX full-tower features nine expansion slot bays, and supports HPTX, EATX, and conventional ATX motherboard form-factors. It features well-partitioned motherboard, drive, power, and peripheral areas, and is made of 0.8 mm-thick steel. The case offers a total of 17 drive bays, including three 5.25-inch, fourteen 2.5-inch or 12 3.5-inch (configurable). It features two PSU bays, letting you add redundant or supplementary PSUs. Its cooling system includes three 120 mm front intakes, two 120 mm top exhaust that can be used to latch a 240 x 120 radiator, two 120 mm fans that circulate the air within the case, and a rear 120 mm exhaust. The case below is pictured with lime green highlights, we suspect more highlight color options could be in the works.

Akasa Unveils CobraPower PSUs
In addition to cases, fans, and coolers, Akasa had a star-attraction in its booth, the CobraPower line of value modular PSUs. Available in mid-range capacities such as 650W, 750W, and 850W, these shock-jockeys offer 82% efficiency (no 80 Plus rating), partially modular cabling with flat ribbon cables, APFC, single +12V rail design, and a large 135 mm fan that doesn't hiss. The 24-pin ATX and 4+4-pin EPS connectors come fixed, while PCIe, SATA and Molex connectors are modular.

Akasa Also Shows Off Newton NUC Cases in Three Trims
Akasa's Newton NUC (next unit of computing) fanless case made its debut with the Galileo, way back in March. The case was formally unveiled at Computex, in three brushed-metal trims: the black one we've already seen, silver, and gold, all of which are made of anodized aluminum. Like most other 4" x 4" NUC cases, Newton's body doubles up as heatsink for the CPU. The cases will be available in variants that support the D33217GKE and D33217CK connector layouts. The cases further feature Kensington lock slots, and VESA mounts, so you can tuck them away behind your displays.

Akasa Unveils Galileo Thin Mini-ITX Fanless Chassis
First surfaced in March, Akasa's Gelileo concept made headlines with its unique approach to passive CPU cooling in silent HTPCs. The case uses a little over a third of its body as a discrete aluminum fin heatsink that's partitioned from the rest of the case, and draws heat from the CPU over heat pipes. In its main compartment, there's enough room for a thin mini-ITX system. This approach could me more efficient compared to cases in which the entire body doubles up as a heatsink, because heat is nucleated and dissipated, rather than being convected all over the case. The case comes with VESA mounts, and ships with a 120W or 180W external power brick. Made of aluminum, the Galileo will be available in brushed-metal trims of black and silver.

Akasa Shows Off Venom IV CPU Cooler
Akasa showed off its Venom IV CPU cooler, which keeps up with the basic design elements of the Venom series, while not necessarily appearing as big as older Venom series CPU coolers. The cooler features an aluminum fin-stack design, which uses asymmetric shape and planes, to dissipate heat better; and four 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes that fan-out through the entire length of the fin-stack, rather than clump up at the edges, to dissipate heat more uniformly. The cooler ships with one 120 mm S-flow fan, and a retention module that supports all modern CPU socket types, including, LGA115x, LGA1366, LGA2011, AM3+/AM3, and FM2/FM1.

In Win Shows Off Serenity Series PSUs
With two of its star attractions at Computex, the tÃ²u and the KingSize H-Frame featuring elements of mirror-finish tempered glass, it's only natural that In Win would roll out a matching PSU lineup, since it's in the business of it. Pictured below is the company's new Serenity PSU, which could be available in various higher-range capacities. The one pictured below offers 900W.

Serenity PSUs are built with chrome brush-finished steel, to match some of the company's newer cases. The units are 80 Plus Platinum-certified, offer full-range APFC, a single +12V rail design, most common protection technologies such as OCP/OVP/OLP/UVP/SCP, and various regional certifications. These units are about 18 cm long, and feature partially modular cabling. The 24-pin ATX, 4+4-pin EPS, and a pair of 6+2-pin PCIe connectors come fixed, while two additional pairs of 6+2-pin PCIe connectors, twelve to sixteen SATA power, and three to six Molex connectors come modular. The unit is cooled by a 120 mm double ball-bearing fan. Its MTBF is rated at >120,000 hours. The Serenity series supports Core "Haswell" processors' low idle power states.

(PR) Phoenix Technologies Debuts New BIOS Developed In Collaboration With Intel
Phoenix Technologies Ltd., the global leader in UEFI firmware, products and tools, will preview major advances for BIOS technology and future developments at this year's Computex.

Phoenix next-generation BIOS featured on Intel's 2013 Ultrabook FFRD

As Intel's elected partner in developing the UEFI BIOS for next-generation devices, Phoenix is demonstrating its forward-thinking leadership in support of Ultrabook designs with a feature set that optimizes responsiveness, mobility, connectivity and power efficiency focused on delivering an extraordinary user experience. At Computex 2013, Phoenix will demonstrate Intel's next-generation Ultrabook FFRD featuring Phoenix SecureCore Technology 3.1 in certified compliance with Intel Rapid Start Technology, Smart Response Technology, Smart Connect Technology, Anti-Theft Technology and Identity Protection Technology.

Read full story

(PR) Crucial Announces the Ballistix Sport SODIMMs
Crucial, a leading global brand of memory and storage upgrades, today announced new Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMMs, designed to boost performance of gaming laptops, all-in-one systems, or mini ITX motherboards. Featuring XMP profiles for easy configuration and DDR3 speeds up to 1866 MHz, Ballistix Sport SODIMMs deliver a faster and more responsive gaming experience. Optimized for the latest 4th generation Intel Core i5 and i7 mobile processors, Ballistix Sport SODIMMs offer lower latencies and increased energy efficiency compared to standard SODIMMs.

Engineered to run on 1.35V instead of the standard 1.5V found in most laptop memory modules, Ballistix Sport SODIMMs can reduce DRAM power consumption in systems by up to 10 percent, enabling longer battery life. Offered in 4 GB and 8 GB densities, Crucial Ballistix Sport SODIMMs will be available in early July.

Read full story

In Win Also Shows Off KingSize H-Frame Case
The original H-Frame won In Win quite some praise for ingenuity, but left enthusiasts asking for something similar-looking and bigger. The company responded with the new KingSize H-Frame, on display at Computex. Pictured below next to the original, the KingSize H-Frame is an ATX full-tower that supports large motherboards, in the EATX, HPTX, XL-ATX, SSI-EEB, SSI-CEB, form-factors, apart from the common ATX. Much like the original, its design revolves around stacks of metal rings working as framework for the rest of the case, only this time they protrude out of the front sheet in a jagged pattern. In Win also replaced the brushed aluminum side panels with the same tempered, mirror-finish glass as the tÃ²u.

The KingSize H-Frame offers a 5.25-inch drive bay that's slanted, an internal drive cage that can be configured to offer six 3.5-inch bays, or a combination of four 3.5-inch and two 2.5-inch bays. All bays feature SATA back-planes, letting you slot in and out drives easily. Being an HPTX-supporting case, it features 11 expansion slot bays. The front-panel is particularly interesting, with eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the front, two on the top, all with standard headers), HD audio jacks, and a 3.5-inch hot-plug SATA bay. The motherboard tray gives you enough room for graphics cards up to 42 cm long. Cards such as the Radeon HD 7990 should comfortably fit in, with room to spare. On the cooling front, the KingSize H-Frame offers two 140 mm front intakes, a 140 mm rear exhaust, and two 140 mm bottom intakes that can make room for a 280 x 140 mm radiator.

(PR) SanDisk Announces New SSDs for Consumers, OEMs
SanDisk Corporation, a global leader in flash memory storage solutions, today announced that it has further expanded its trusted and broad solid state drive (SSD) portfolio with the addition of three new models - the high-performance SanDisk Extreme II SSD for technology enthusiasts and gamers, as well as two new OEM SSDs designed to enable cutting-edge notebooks and tablets.

All of the new SSDs introduced by SanDisk today are built with the company's advanced 19 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process technology and rely on SanDisk's intelligent flash memory architecture. This combination enables SanDisk to create SSDs that are exceptionally responsive, reliable and energy-efficient1. SanDisk will be showcasing its full SSD line-up at the company's booth at COMPUTEX TAIPEI on June 4-8, 2013 (booth number N0804).

Read full story

(PR) Toshiba Unveils Powerful Entertainment PCs
Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its completely redesigned Qosmio X75 enthusiast-class laptop and PX35t All-In-One Touchscreen Desktop Computer, two powerful entertainment hubs equipped with 4th generation Intel Core processors.

"These entertainment-driven PCs are designed to help consumers do more and be more productive with Windows 8," said Carl Pinto , vice president of marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "Both systems enable users to do everything from creating, managing and enjoying HD content, multitasking and playing graphics-intensive games with an amazingly responsive experience."

Read full story

(PR) Razer Blade 14-inch On Pre-Order
Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, announced that it is taking pre-orders for its new 14-inch Blade gaming laptop.

Powered by a 4th gen Intel Core i7 quad core processor with Hyper-Threading (Base 2.2 GHz/Turbo 3.2 GHz) and the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPU, the Blade is the thinnest and lightest 14-inch gaming laptop in history. Measuring in at just 0.66-inches thin, the Razer Blade packs more power-per-cubic-inch than any other laptop in the world. The Razer Blade utilizes solid-state storage technology with boot speeds of up to four-times faster than a traditional 5400-RPM notebook hard drive. The Razer Blade has a rigid all-aluminum chassis, with a stunning 14-inch LED-backlit HD+ display and features a custom-designed track pad and backlit gaming grade keyboard.

Read full story

(PR) Super Talent Introduces UltraDrive MX3 SSD
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND flash storage solutions, today announces the release of the UltraDrive MX3. This addition to their UltraDrive SSD line includes a SATA III interface and read/write speeds of up to 500/400 MB/s. The MX3 is designed to survive a high endurance atmosphere filled with shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures.

"We are excited to introduce the MX3. Not only does it offer a considerable upgrade in speed from its predecessor, the MX2, it is also an extremely reliable device that we believe fits the needs of our OEM and consumer customers," said Abraham Ma, CEO Super Talent Technology.

Read full story

(PR) NZXT Announces Phantom 530 Chassis
In 2010, NZXT introduced the industry to its Phantom chassis, an aggressively designed, feature-rich case for mainstream users, gamers and enthusiasts alike. Now, NZXT is finally ready to unveil its direct successor, the Phantom 530.

Continuing the legacy of the original, the new Phantom was meticulously designed from the ground up resulting in a refreshing new design that is uncompromising in every way. While creating the Phantom 530, the NZXT design team painstakingly took every beloved aspect of the original and made it even better.

With up to 70% more cable management space, more airflow and even more liquid cooling support, the Phantom 530 features phenomenal support for even the most extreme performance builds.

Read full story

(PR) Corsair Expands PC Gaming Peripherals Lineup
Corsair, a worldwide designer of high-performance PC gaming hardware, today announced the addition of four gaming keyboards and two gaming mice to the company's Vengeance and Raptor Gaming lines.

Vengeance K70 Gaming Keyboards - Now with Cherry MX Brown or Cherry MX Blue Key Switches. In March, Corsair released the Vengeance K70 fully mechanical gaming keyboard with Cherry MX Red key switches designed for gamers who prefer a hair trigger key response. To meet the demand of users who prefer a different key feel, Corsair has expanded the K70 line to include two new versions equipped with Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Brown key switches. Both switch types require slightly more finger pressure to trigger and provide a more distinct tactile feel, with the Cherry MX Brown switches providing a less audible click.

Both of the new Vengeance K70 keyboards versions are housed in a rugged, brushed, gun-metal anodized aluminum chassis and have individually programmable blue backlighting for each key. Like all Vengeance K70 keyboards, the new models feature dedicated media keys as well as a 100% anti-ghosted matrix, full key rollover and a 1000Hz reporting rate for fast, accurate input for gaming.

Read full story

(PR) New Corsair PC Cases Get the Cool and Silent Treatment
Corsair, a worldwide designer of high-performance components to the PC hardware market, today announced two new mid-tower PC cases-the Carbide Series Air 540 and the Carbide Series 330R. Both cases incorporate innovative and unique features for superior cooling and quiet operation.

The Carbide Series Air 540 is designed with a wider form factor with two "side-by-side" chambers and a Direct Airflow Path layout. This unique design helps the case deliver best-in-class cooling at incredibly low noise levels. The main chamber of the Carbide Series Air 540 houses the motherboard and hot-swap 3.5" drives for superior drive cooling and quick swapping. The second chamber holds the power supply, SSDs, and 5.25" drives behind the motherboard tray. The separate compartments make building a breeze and provide cleaner cable routing and superior cooling for system devices. In addition, layout in each chamber is optimized to limit obstructions and streamline airflow from the intake fans to the hottest PC components, resulting in lower temperatures and noise levels.

Read full story

Available Tags:USB , SSD , Wireless , Lenovo , Cooler Master , Gaming , Server , Galaxy , GeForce , GTX , Sapphire , Radeon , Intel , Motherboards , AMD , APU , Keyboard , Xeon , OCZ , CPU Cooler , CPU , ASRock , Thunderbolt , USB 3.0 , Belkin , ASUS , Gamers , ASUS , ASRock , CPU Cooler , CPU , Toshiba ,

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)