UtechSmart Gaming Mice Roundup Review
UtechSmart Gaming Mice Roundup Review
Read More ...
Rise of the Triad (2013) Review
Read More ...
MSI N760 Hawk Review
Read More ...
Saints Row 2 - 5 Years Later Review
Read More ...
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Review
A look at MSI's Z87-G45 Gaming series motherboard.
Read More ...
Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review
Cooler Master V8 GTS CPU Cooler Review
Read More ...
Saints Row: The Third - 2 Years Later Review
Read More ...
CM Storm SF-17 Gaming Notebook Cooler Review
An in-depth review of the CM Storm SF-17 Gaming Notebook Cooler
Read More ...
Thermaltake Chaser A41 Review
A closer look at the Thermaltake Chaser A41.
Read More ...
MSI Gaming N780 TF 3GD5/OC GeForce GTX 780 Review
Digging into the MSI GTX 780 Gaming to find out if all the custom touches put this card from MSI over the top.
Read More ...
NVIDIA Tegra Tab on the Way?
Within the past 24 hours there has been some pretty interesting news from NVIDIA. First came a hint of a next-gen Microsoft Surface tablet, and now comes this bit about NVIDIA's own tablet. Photos of a device called a Tegra Tab have recently appeared, and it seems to be a 7" tablet in the same vein as Google's new Nexus 7. The Tegra Tab has a slot for a stylus, a micro USB port, and a micro HDMI port (the Nexus 7 just has micro USB), but the rear looks to be a combination of the old and new Nexus 7s with the texture of the old and the horizontal orientation and camera placement of the new. Other than that, everything else is speculative. The new Nexus 7 runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor while the old ran an NVIDIA Tegra 3, so perhaps this is a way for NVIDIA to show off what the Tegra 4 is like in its own tablet. We already have the SHIELD, and maybe a Tegra Tab is next on the list (especially since a trademark filing has appeared).
Remember, take all of this with a grain of salt until something official comes along, if ever.
Source: The Verge
Read More ...
G.Skill Reclaims Title of World's Fastest DDR3
G.Skill has announced that overclocker YoungPro of TeamAU has broken the record for fastest DDR3 memory using a set of G.Skill TridentX memory. This set of memory runs at a stock speed of 3000MHz CL12 and YoungPro was able to push it 4400MHz CL13. The world record overclock was set on an ASUS Maximus 6 Impact motherboard alongside an Intel Core i7 4770K CPU with additional assistance from Liquid Nitrogen cooling. Validation of the overclock can be found at HWBot and CPU-Z.
Source: Press Release
Read More ...
NVIDIA CEO Confirms Work on Next-Gen Microsoft Surface Tablet
Last year, Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet, with the Surface RT running Windows RT and the Surface Pro on Windows 8. Both tablets offer a wealth of features and really demonstrate how well Windows 8 can work with a touch interface. However, like any good piece of hardware, as time passes things tend to fall behind in terms of performance. There's always a faster CPU or GPU just over the horizon, and it seems the Surface tablet will be benefiting from new technology before long. In a recent interview, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang confirmed his company is involved with Microsoft on a next-generation Surface tablet.
Huang spoke of a reason the Surface RT tablet hasn't quite taken off like Microsoft predicted, and that's because it didn't include Outlook. He had the following to say: "It is the killer app for Windows. Now we're going to bring it with the second-generation Surface. We're working really hard on it, and we hope that it's going to be a big success."
NVIDIA's Tegra 3 powers the Surface RT, and since it's ARM-based that means no x86 apps, like Outlook. However, from the sound of things NVIDIA is fixing that. Does this mean an x86 version of Tegra or just that NVIDIA is working with Microsoft to bring x86 apps over to ARM? Microsoft declined to comment about Huang's statements, as did NVIDIA, so it looks like we'll be left wondering a while longer.
Source: CNET and PC World
Read More ...
ADATA Upgrades DashDrive Elite
ADATA has announced an upgrade to its flagship external hard drive, the DashDrive Elite HE720. The latest iteration of the drive is now available in capacities up to 1TB. The drive is extremely slim, measuring only 8.9mm in thickness. The HE720 uses the USB 3.0 interface for high speed data transfers but maintains full backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 for older systems. ADATA also includes its one touch backup software with purchases of the HE720.
Source: Press Release
Read More ...
New Scaffold for Silicon Electrodes in Batteries
Without batteries, the world would be very different from what it is now, as mobile phones, laptops, and more could not exist. Though we do have them, they are limited in what they can do, so researchers are constantly looking for new, better designs. Those at North Carolina State University have recently discovered a design that may allow batteries with ten times the energy storage to be made.
Lithium-ion batteries rely on graphite electrodes to oxidize and reduce the lithium ions, and do a decent job of it, but silicon could do ten times better. The problem with silicon is that when it absorbs lithium ions, it swells to the point of breaking, which can reduce the battery's capacity and risk further damage. The North Carolina researchers, though, have found a way to create sheets of aligned carbon nanotubes, which are then coated with silicon. In this configuration, the silicon is less likely to break off, making a potential lithium-silicon battery more stable.
There are still technical points to work out, but the method used to create the silicon-coated nanotubes can be scaled up for commercial production. If that is achieved, we may see cell phones and electric vehicles with far better battery lives.
Source: North Carolina State University
Read More ...
Large Price Cut on Radeon HD 7990
Good
news for anyone looking to upgrade their GPU to something really
powerful. AMD's Radeon HD 7990 has received a huge price cut on Newegg,
going down from $999 to $799. The price drop comes after the release of
AMD's new Catalyst 13.8 Beta Driver. The new driver fixes the frame
pacing issue on CrossfireX video cards, so the Radeon HD 7990 should now
be able to churn out some even more impressive frame rates than before.
Despite the substantially lower price, the Radeon HD 7990 is capable of
competing with NVIDIA's GTX 690 and Titan, both costing around $1000.
There
are still 7990s on sale on Newegg, but be warned. Some of them are
non-refundable and only offer a 30 day replacement policy. So if that
concerns you, you might be better off with a 7970, which is an
impressive card as well.
Source: MaximumPC
Read More ...
Testing the Bond Between Graphene and Elastic Substrate
Flexible electronics is one of the technologies many across the world are working to invent. One material that may help them is graphene, due to its special physical and electrical properties. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Texas have recently examined how graphene behaves when bonded to an elastic substrate; a necessary piece of research for elastic electronics to become reality.
Graphene is an atom-thick sheet of carbon which can conduct electricity very quickly while also being mechanically flexible and strong. Those properties make it ideal for flexible electronics, but only if it works well with other flexible and elastic materials. The researchers decided to test this by placing a single layer of graphene onto an elastic polyethylene terephthalate substrate. When they stretched the substrate, they found the edges of the graphene began stopped stretching as quickly as the substrate after it was stretched to just 0.3% its original length. The center of the graphene stopped stretching when it was stretched by 1.2% to 1.6%.
This information is important as it tells us about the interface properties of graphene with the substrate. The researchers also found that when the substrate was allowed to relax to its original length, the graphene buckled, forming a wavy pattern that made it easier to stretch out and back.
Source: North Carolina State University
Read More ...
Crossbar Introduces Resistive RAM
Crossbar is a startup based in Santa Clara, California that is hoping to make a big splash in the flash memory market. The technology it is working on is called Resistive RAM and it claims to store more data that can be accessed faster than current flash offerings. Crossbar has demonstrated this technology with a 1 TB chip that is smaller than a similar capacity NAND flash chip that was fabricated by one of its partners. In addition to packing more storage into less space, the Resistive RAM will consume less power and will also have a greater lifespan than NAND flash. Resistive RAM is non-volatile and stores data using three dimensional stacks of a three layer structure, allowing more data to be stored as more stacks are added. It will be interesting to see if Crossbar can bring this technology to the market and how flash companies will respond to the challenge.
Source: Venture Beat
Read More ...
IBM Creates OpenPOWER Consortium
IBM has announced a new partnership with leaders in the server industry like Google, NVIDIA, and Tyan. The OpenPOWER Consortium hopes to help the POWER architecture become relevant again, specifically in server markets. IBM will make the "POWER IP licensable to others and for the first time will make POWER hardware and software available to open development." IBM hopes to spark innovation in server, networking, storage, and GPU accelerated systems. Senior VP of IBM Software & Systems Steve Mills said, "Combining our talents and assets around the POWER architecture can greatly increase the rate of innovation throughout the industry. Developers now have access to an expanded and open set of server technologies for the first time. This type of ‘collaborative development’ model will change the way data center hardware is designed and deployed."
Source: Data Center Knowledge
Read More ...
Evercool Releases New Notebook Cooler
Evercool, known for its many cooling products, has now added a new addition to its wide selection of notebook coolers. The new AIOLUS, inspired by the god of wind in Greek mythology, is made for notebooks smaller than 14 inches. The notebook cooler is designed with both performance and ergonomics in mind to ensure that the user can game for hours without sore wrists. It will use two 70 mm fans to cool the underside of the notebook, while a third fan can be placed on either side to add additional cooling. The fan speed can be adjusted using two predetermined settings, silent and overclocking, so it will not be too loud for browsing or too weak for intensive gaming. In tests, the AIOLUS has shown to reduce temperatures by up to 10 degrees Celsius, which can help prolong the notebook's life and your comfort while using the notebook.
Source: Press Release
Read More ...
Computer Hacker's Sudden Death Fuels Various Theories
Computer hackers typically carry a negative connotation, but there are some who use their talents for good. One of them was Barnaby Jack, a 35-year-old originally from New Zealand, who used his hacking skills to help companies become more secure by letting them know about possible exploits. Whether it was demonstrating how easy an ATM machine could be manipulated to dump a ton of money or how an insulin pump could be tricked into delivering an extremely high dose, Jack's goal was to help make electronic devices more secure so other less scrupulous hackers couldn't take advantage of them. Jack's newest hack was to show how a pacemaker could be used to deliver a lethal shock, as seen on the TV show Homeland. However, just days before Jack was to present the hack at Black Hat in Las Vegas, he was found dead in his San Francisco home.
The cause of Jack's sudden death is a mystery, as his former colleagues at IOActive knew of no preexisting medical condition that would result in a death. San Francisco police said there was no evidence of foul play, yet the coroner's office isn't saying anything other than autopsy results won't be available for weeks or months. Jack's death is raising some questions as to just how exactly he died, with some speculations even including a government order to prevent details of pacemaker hacking from becoming public. Pacemakers are used by around five million people just in the US, and the potentially massive implications of them being hacked to kill their users may not have sat well with government officials. At least that's one of the theories being put forth, while another postulates that Jack is alive but hidden away to work on secret research projects.
Whatever the case may be, the death of Barnaby Jack right before a major hacking conference raises suspicions. Hopefully we'll know before long just how he died, but until then, there should be plenty of speculation.
Source: International Business Times
Read More ...
Comcast Creating a New Anti-Piracy Scheme to Push Consumers to Purchase or Rent Content
It's looking like cable giant Comcast is working on a new anti-piracy scheme that would present illegal downloaders with the option to either purchase or rent the content. According to a new report, Comcast "has begun preliminary discussions with both film and TV studios and other leading Internet service providers about employing technology, according to sources, that would provide offending users with transactional opportunities to access legal versions of copyright-infringing videos as they’re being downloaded."
Basically it's a system that will detect when someone is downloading from a peer-to-peer system, like BitTorrent or uTorrent, and then display a pop-up message with links to buy or rent that same content. It could be from Comcast's own video-on-demand library or a third-party site, like Amazon. Comcast owns many major assets, like NBC and Universal Pictures, as well as various channels, so it'd make sense for the company to push consumers to buying/renting some of its own items rather than illegally obtaining. If it works it could be a new means of cutting down on digital piracy, but it also presents a whole new can of worms, like what happens if the detection system delivers a false positive? Or how many other ISPs and copyright holders are willing to go along with this? There's a lot we don't yet know about what Comcast is proposing, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
Source: Variety
Read More ...
Available Tags:Gaming , MSI , Cooler Master , CPU Cooler , GTS , CPU , Notebook , Thermaltake , GeForce , GTX , NVIDIA , DDR3 , CEO , Microsoft , Tablet , Radeon , IBM ,
No comments:
Post a Comment