Fractal Design ARC XL Review
Fractal Design Full Tower Computer case review
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Real-time 3D Mapping of Object's Interior Achieved Via X-Rays
Thanks to some science and a lot of cartoons, people know that to look inside of something, they want to use X-rays. These high energy photons are able to pass through most matter and are transmitted, absorbed, or scattered when they actually run into something. Researchers at the University of Manchester have recently found a new way to apply X-rays that allows for the 3D mapping of an object's internal structure, in real time.
X-rays offer a non-invasive way to analyze a material's internal structure. Typically this is done by shining X-ray beams at the objet, and recording the transmitted beams. Thanks to some advanced computer algorithms, we are able to create a density contrast image. What the Manchester researchers have done is created a system that records and analyzes the scattered X-rays, which carry information about the internal structure and chemistry of the object.
As this technique allows researchers to determine what specific atoms are doing without taking an object apart, it should have a great deal of potential. One day we may see it used to study stress-strain gradients, identification of minerals and other substances, as well as distinguishing between healthy and diseased tissue.
Source: University of Manchester
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L337 GANK Drone is the Latest Motherboard from ECS
ECS has officially released the latest motherboard in the L337 series, the L337 GANK Drone Z87H3-A3X. The board is described as "entry level" and uses the Intel Z87 Express chipset. In addition to support for fourth generation Intel Core processors, the Drone also offers support for dual GPU solutions from NVIDIA or AMD, four DDR3 slots, and custom designed heatsinks to keep components cool under load. The board also has a number of pre-configured overclocking profiles for an easy performance increase in your system, and the use of Golden Solid Capacitors boasts up to six times increase in lifespan.
Source: Press Release
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Multicore Optical Fiber-Based Network Built
For most people, the Internet enters their home, office, school, etc. through electrical cables, but the backbone of the Internet actually utilizes fiber optics. Instead of electrical signals, fiber optic cables are able to transmit information via optical signals, which can travel significantly faster, but the demand for connectivity is eventually going to be greater than that speed. Researchers at the University of Bristol and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan however have made the first demonstration of a multicore fiber network, which has the potentially to outperform modern networks.
The typical fiber optic cable contains a single core for light to travel through, while a multicore cable is able to carry multiple optical signals at the same time. Though this hardware can definitely improve performance, the researchers also used Software Defined Network (SDN) control. This system allows the network to be flexible and respond to different situations, and thus maintain optimal performance.
To reduce the need for error correction of the signals, the researchers also applied self-homodyne detection, which sends a pilot-tone signal along another optical core. By combining the data and pilot signal, the receiver is able to remove a great deal of noise, reducing the need for signal processing.
Source: University of Bristol
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Optical 'Tuning Fork' Created
Tuning forks are a classic tool in science classrooms, as a simple strike causes them to produce a pure frequency for a long period of time. This also makes them useful as a reference when sound frequencies are involved, such as when tuning an instrument. Recently researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed an optical equivalent to a tuning fork, and it is about the size of a quarter.
Optical resonators are not a new technology, but building them with a high quality factor is not very easy. Energy surges in a resonator will cause the frequency of light to fluctuate, and some of these surges are unavoidable due to thermodynamics. However, by creating the longest possible path for the light to travel within the resonator, the surges are dampened. By using an Archimedean spiral, the path, which covers the area of a quarter, is over one meter long; one hundred times longer than previous designs.
This ability to create a stable, pure frequency of light could see use in electronics which have to process optical signals. Given the ever-increasing use of fiber-optic communication, this technology could become very useful as it enables high-performance systems.
Source: California Institute of Technology
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NZXT Adds Source 530 to Case Lineup
The Source 530 is the latest case offering from NZXT, designed with the goal to "prove that high performance doesn't have to mean a high price tag." The case is flexible enough to accommodate air cooling or large water cooling setups, with mount points for a 360mm radiator on top or 240mm in front. The case is a perfect match for the company's own Kraken X60 all-in-one liquid cooling solution. Up to nine fans can be installed to keep the airflow up, with supported sizes ranging from 120mm to 200mm. The Source 530 is available immediately in black at an MSRP of $89.99.
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Details on Some of AMD's New GPUs
Specifications
on five of AMD's next generation GPUs have been made public and the
figures looks interesting. The details on the R9 290X and 290 are still
under NDAs, but I will keep you informed as soon as they are revealed.
The cards in question are the R9 280X, R9 270X, R7 260X, R7 250, and R7
240. All of these cards use PCI-Express 3.0, and support DirectX 11.2,
OpenGL 4.3, and Mantle. These cards look like they might give NVIDIA
some restless nights, and the top tier cards still have to be revealed.
Below is a table with what is currently known about the cards.
Model |
Stream Processors |
Core Clock |
Compute Performance |
Memory Config. |
Memory speed |
Power Connectors |
TDP |
Price |
R9 280X |
2,048 |
1 GHz |
4.1 TFLOPS |
3 GB GDDR5 384-bit |
6 Gbps |
1 x 6-pin and 1 x 8-pin |
250 W |
$299 |
R9 270 |
1,280 |
1.05 GHz |
2.69 TFLOPS |
2/4 GB GDDR 5 256-bit |
5.6 Gbps |
2 x 6-pin |
180 W |
$199 |
R7 260X |
896 |
1.1 GHz |
1.97 TFLOPS |
2 GB GDDR5 128-bit |
6.5 Gbps |
1 x 6-pin |
115 W |
$139 |
R7 250 |
384 |
1.05 GHz |
806 GFLOPS |
1/2 GB GDDR5 128-bit |
4.6 Gbps |
None required |
65 W |
N/A |
R7 240 |
320 |
780 MHz |
499 GFLOPS |
1/2 GB GDDR5 128-bit |
4.6 Gbps |
None required |
30 W |
N/A |
Source: MaximumPC
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Haptics and Gesture Control Taken Off-Screen
Something you will find in many examples of science fiction are technologies that allow a user to interact with a system, without directly touching it. What you do not see with these technologies very often though is haptic feedback. Researchers at the University of Bristol decided to do something about that by developing UltraHaptics, so uses can interact with a device in mid-air, while also getting feedback.
With the right sound and sound system, you may be familiar with how sounds can exert enough force to be felt by the body. By creating a phased array of ultrasonic transducers, the researchers are able to focus the force of the sound waves into specific areas, thereby providing tactile feedback in mid-air. Above the transducers is an acoustically transparent display and a Leap Motion sensor to allow control of the device.
The researchers envision their UltraHaptics technology being integrated into public interactive surfaces, where it will provide haptic feedback without compromising simplicity or accessibility.
Source: University of Bristol
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NVIDIA Lowers Prices of GeForce GPUs
NVIDIA has lowered the prices on some of its video cards, effective today. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST 1GB will drop to $129. The 2GB model of the same card will have a new price of $149. The final card to receive a price drop is the GeForce GTX 660, which will now retail for $179. The company believes that some offerings from GPU partners will drop even lower. The new prices should now be live at online retailers including Newegg and NCIX.
Source: Press Release
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Flexible Ceramic Material Made
Flexibility is a rather common property of metals, which can be deformed without breaking, but not for ceramics. Often you cannot deform a ceramic by even one percent of its size without it shattering. Researchers at MIT and Singapore though have created flexible ceramics that are also able to remember their original shape.
To make the flexible ceramic, the researchers made it small, but with large grains. Smaller objects are typically more resistant to cracking, and increasing grain size reduces crystal-grain boundaries, where cracks most often form. This combination of techniques allowed the researchers to make a micrometer-wide filament of zirconia that can be deformed up to seven percent its size without breaking. The shape-memory property is something seen in some metals and polymers, but has never been seen in ceramics before, though the mechanics involved would allow it. The issue has been that ceramics would break before the property could be utilized.
The researchers believe the ceramic has potential in micro and nanodevices as an actuator. As the material is able to push things with more force than anything else for its size, the researchers are probably right.
Source: MIT
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First Intel Powered Arduino Board Announced
Last month at IDF, Intel unveiled a new chip line up. Called the Quark, it is the smallest and least powerful chip currently made by Intel, though you should not count it out yet. At the time there were no announcements of products using Quark chips, but now it seems that Intel has made a rather unexpected collaboration. At Maker Faire Rome, Brian Krzanich, Intel's CEO, announced a new collaboration between Intel and Arduino.
This collaboration has already amounted in a product called the Galileo, which is supposed to allow DIY folks to make even more complex and intricate projects. Previous Arduino boards have used simple microcontrollers to handle various inputs coming from sensors, USB or some specific Arduino connectors. The problem with these microcontrollers is that they do not offer much connectivity and they have limited processing power. Arduino has also offered so called "shields" that connect to the Arduino board adding additional I/O options. While the simplicity has been a blessing to the DIY crowd, because it allowed novices to get involved as well, it might now be a limitation for some of the more dedicated and demanding users. Therefore the new Galileo might allow those advanced users to build even more complex robots and other demanding projects.
The Galileo reference board will, as mentioned above, use the Quark SoC, which has about the same computing power as a Pentium 3. This also means that the user can now utilize x86 applications. Furthermore, the board will have the known Arduino connectors for compatibility with shields; however, it will also feature USB, 100 Mbps Ethernet, micro SD, RS-232, and a mini-PCI-Express slot.
The price will be around $60 or less, which makes it very competitive with other Arduino boards, since it has more features and more processing power, while costing about the same as the other boards. It is scheduled for release on November 29.
Source: Ars Technica
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Curious Carbon Nanotube Property Explained
Carbon nanotubes are long, thin carbon structures with special properties, including great stiffness. In some configurations though, nanotubes will have a stiffness orders of magnitude less than expected, which could affect many applications. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have recently determined that the cause of this variation is kinks in the nanotubes.
Prior to this study, the variation in stiffness was believed to be due to buckling or growth defects of the nanotubes. After attaching silicon to the tips of the nanotubes and either pulling or compressing them, the Georgia researchers determined that the variations could not be completely explained by the defects. After placing them under an electron microscope and magnifying them by 10,000 times, the researchers have found a new answer. The nanotubes have very small kinks in them, which cause forests of them to be wavy. This waviness allows the nanotubes to act like springs, which is why they are not as stiff when aligned vertically, like trees in a forest.
Though it may seem like the lack of stiffness could be a problems, for some applications, it could be very useful. Carbon nanotubes are excellent thermal conductors, as much as ten times better than copper, and this compliance to pressures should make them ideal for connecting a silicon chip to a heat spreader. As the chip and spreader expand and contract with temperature changes, the nanotubes will not break, and thus continue to conduct heat away from the chips.
Source: Georgia Institute of Technology
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Mushkin Releases New USB 3.0 Drive
Mushkin first announced its newest USB 3.0 drive, the Ventura Ultra, at CES 2013. Mushkin claims that the drive is the fastest available USB 3.0 drive with read and write speeds up to 380 MB/s and 325 MB/s, respectively. The inclusion of USB Attached SCSI Protocol support allows for even faster transfers with the use of command queuing. The Ventura Ultra has capacity of 240 GB and will be available for purchase October 7.
Source: Press Release
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