Scythe Ashura Review
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Aligning Nuclear Spin in Silicon Carbide Achieved
There are a host of technologies being investigated for replacing current electronics, which are rapidly approaching their theoretical limits. One strong contender is spintronics, which uses the spin of particles to store and process information, instead of charge like current devices. Like other technologies though, bringing spintronics to a usable scale is far from easy, but researchers at the University of Chicago have made a significant step in that direction.
Spin is a fundamental property of many particles, including electrons and atomic nuclei, and is what leads to magnetism. Because it is a characteristic of particles, spintronic devices would require very little power to operate and none to store data, unlike current technologies. Working with spin can be difficult though, especial the spin of atomic nuclei because they are very sensitive to their environment. Normally to align nuclei requires cooling the atoms to ultracold temperatures, but the Chicago researchers have successfully aligned nuclei in silicon carbide (SiC) at room temperature. This has been achieved by optically cooling the atoms and manipulating imperfections in the SiC crystals called color-centers. The nuclei will not directly interact with light, but the electrons in these color-centers do, and their alignment can be transferred to the nuclei.
This new method has managed to align better than 99% of the spins of certain atoms in the SiC, which is far better than the one to ten in a million that MRI machines can align with their powerful magnetic fields. Making this technique even more interesting is that SiC is already used extensive in the electronics and opto-electronics industries, making it easily accessible for producing advanced prototypes.
Source: University of Chicago
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AMD Details Stoney Ridge Platform
The upcoming AMD Stoney Ridge platform will be released in 2016 and represents "one last hurrah from the Bulldozer family." Stoney Ridge will have two x86 Excavator cores and three GCN cores, while most AMD APUs have four CPU cores and 8 GCN cores. It will use the AM4 socket and is rumored to have a TDP of 14W which should make it a good choice for "the casual HTPC build" or similar systems where low power is desired. It is also expected to support DDR4 memory, but it remains unknown whether it will use the 28nm or 14nm process.
Source: WCCF Tech
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Hardware Roundup: Friday, June 26, 2015, Edition
The end of the week is upon us, with some items to help you welcome the weekend. There is a performance review of Batman: Arkham Knight to give you an idea of just how badly this PC port was botched. The in-game benchmark and actual gameplay with FRAPS were both tested, and the disparity between the two can give you an idea of how it is versus how it could be. We also have the Seasonic Snow Silent 750W power supply, which features 80 Plus Platinum certification and fanless operation up to ~50% load. A new case mod is highlighted that turns a Cooler Master CM 690 II case into something fitting of Warhammer 40,000. Lastly a new podcast covers the latest news and reviews from the past week.
Gaming
Batman: Arkham Knight Benchmarked, Performance @ TechSpot
Power Supplies
Seasonic Snow Silent 750W @ PC Perspective
Miscellany
Case Mod Friday: Black Templars @ ThinkComputers
Podcast #355 @ PC Perspective
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Simplifying Li Battery Production With a New Design
Lithium-ion batteries have, beyond any doubt, affected how we live today thanks to the wealth of devices they have made mobile. Since they were invented though, the basic process of manufacturing them has remained largely unchanged. Researchers at MIT are trying to change that though, and have formed the spinoff company 24M to bring the new process to the world.
The lithium-ion batteries we know and love use solid electrodes, but five years ago an alternative design was described, in which the electrodes are actually suspensions of particles. Such flow batteries would be more complicated and expensive to produce though, but the researchers decided to hybridize the two designs, developing a semisolid battery. In this design, the electrodes do not flow but consist of a colloidal suspension of particles. This shortens the path the ions have to take through the material, which in turn allows for fewer, thicker electrodes to be used, reducing the amount of unused material in the battery by as much as 80%. It also allows a drying step to be skipped in manufacturing the batteries, which is otherwise necessary in current techniques.
In addition to simplifying the manufacturing process, the semisolid batteries these researchers have created are also flexible and more resilient than modern Li-ion batteries. Further, the manufacturing process can be scaled up by adding units, unlike current methods that require the plants be built at large scale from the beginning. Currently the researchers are looking to deploy these batteries for grid-scale applications, but could see them being used in electric vehicles, where weight and volume are crucial.
Source: MIT
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Version 0.8.4 of GPU-Z Released Alongside PowerColor Fury X Giveaway
TechPowerUp has officially released an update to its popular video subsystem information, monitoring, and diagnostic utility known as GPU-Z. The update, which brings the software to version 0.8.4, adds in support for the AMD Radeon R9 Fury X, the Radeon R7 370, and the Intel "Broadwell" GT3e. Version 0.8.4 of GPU-Z also includes an improved video BIOS UEFI support indicator as well as high-DPI visual elements, the latter of which ensures that vendor logos displayed within the program are incredibly sharp when compared to previous releases of the utility.
Additionally, for a limited time, users of GPU-Z 0.8.4 can enter a Radeon R9 Fury X giveaway sponsored by TechPowerUp and PowerColor. Users who wish to enter for their chance to win AMD’s latest flagship graphics card simply have to click on the corresponding tab within the latest version of GPU-Z, fill out a small form, and answer one question.
Version 0.8.4 of GPU-Z runs on computers featuring Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8, and is available for immediate download through the program’s official website.
Source: TechPowerUp
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Amazon Releasing Alexa Skills Kit API to Developers
With the recent public release of Amazon Echo, the company is hoping to drum up some fresh ideas for the device. As part of this effort Amazon is looking to get other parties involved with the release of the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) APIs to developers. Amazon said that the ASK APIs will help the developers to "integrate existing Web services with Alexa or, in just a few hours, they can build entirely new experiences designed around voice." Amazon VP of Echo and Alexa Voice Services Greg Hart further elaborated stating, "[W]e're making the Alexa Skills Kit available to any developer, maker, or general hobbyist that wants to invent on behalf of customers, creating new skills and capabilities." Amazon is also opening its Alexa Voice Services to third-party hardware developers for free.
Source: PC Mag
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Intel Plans to Unveil 14nm Skylake Processors at Gamescom
Rumors are pointing to Intel revealing its 14nm Skylake processors at Gamescom 2015 in Cologne, Germany, which runs from August 5-9. The new processors come in the form of the Core i5-6600K and Core i7-6700K, both of which will have four cores with the i7 also supporting Hyper Threading. The chips will use the LGA 1151 socket with support for the Z170 Express chipset. Skylake can be used with DDR3 or DDR4 memory, helping to "serve as the transition point between the two memory standards." A number of other processors are expected to be released after the initial two with three additional chipsets as well.
Source: WCCF Tech
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Hardware Roundup: Thursday, June 25, 2015, Edition
The week is coming to its close, but not before there are some items to help keep you occupied on this Thursday. We have another review of the MSI R9 380 Gaming 2G video card, one of AMD's latest cards that should offer a nice boost to those on older, less powerful technology. There is also the Cooler Master GeminII S524 VER.2 CPU cooler, which should be an ideal cooling solution to those in small cases. Ending things today is the ZOTAC ZBOX CI321 nano Mini-PC, an Intel NUC PC that looks ready to handle desktop duties or even serve as an HTPC.
Video Cards
MSI R9 380 Gaming 2G @ LanOC Reviews
CPU Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 VER.2 @ Benchmark Reviews
Small Form Factor
ZOTAC ZBOX CI321 nano Mini-PC @ PC Perspective
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Radeon R9 Fury X Water Block Readied by EK
The AMD Radeon R9 Fury X is finally available to consumers, and it looks like the card packs quite a punch with its HBM memory design. Video card manufacturers are quickly releasing their own versions of the Radeon R9 Fury X, and EK Water Blocks wants to ensure that it also has a product readily available for owners of AMD’s latest graphics card. EK has readied its upcoming full-coverage water block for the Radeon R9 Fury X, with the product featuring a common coolant channel for the GPU as well as the VRMs. The water block is single-slot capable, comes with a dense micro-channel lattice over the GPU area, and will likely be available in two material options that include exposed copper and nickel-plated copper, as well as clear acrylic and acetal tops.
Source: techPowerUp
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ECS Releases Official Statement Concerning DIGITIMES Article
It was reported yesterday by news outlet DIGITIMES that ECS was apparently leaving the DIY motherboard market due to increased pricing competition from other Taiwan-based motherboard vendors. The report, which was sourced from Taiwan-based supply chain makers, indicated that ECS would shift its focus towards ODM production of notebooks and tablets as well as production of mini-PCs. The President of ECS, Sunny Yang, has since released an official statement that explains that the motherboard manufacturer has no plans of leaving the DIY motherboard business as the DIGITIMES article referenced. According to Yang, ECS remains committed to the DIY motherboard market and values the relationship the company currently has with consumers across the world. ECS plans to incorporate additional resources in the future that will allow its motherboard business to continue to advance and reach as many people as possible, thereby ensuring long-term growth.
Source: DIGITIMES and Press Release
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Bethesda Explains Why the Original DOOM 4 Was Canceled
Bethesda delighted FPS fans across the world when it showed off DOOM during E3, putting to rest any fears that the game would never appear. We still have to wait until next spring to get our hands on it, but apparently this version of DOOM is vastly different than the one id Software was working on before. If you remember back several years, there was a rumor going around that DOOM 4 had been canceled, and during E3, Bethesda's Pete Hines filled in the details about it. There was a DOOM 4 at one point, and yes, it was canceled because it didn't feel like a DOOM game at all. According to Hines, it felt more like Call of Doom or BattleDoom than DOOM, which is not what the FPS series is about.
We weren't happy with the game that was being made. We decided that it wasn't Doom enough and needed to be thrown out and started over. Some folks left and some faces changed at the studio. Out of that change—which was not easy for those guys to go through—some amazing things happened.The infusion of new life at id Software is apparently responsible for id Tech 6, which is something Hines doesn't believe would have happened if DOOM 4 continued on its original path. The new talent also helped get DOOM back to its roots and lose any cover shooter mechanics or disconnect in combat it experienced before. DOOM is about fast-paced action, with Demons and Imps and Revenants and all many of horrible monsters relentlessly coming at you. This is what we'll be getting early next year, and it is good Bethesda shuttered the old DOOM 4 in order to give us DOOM.
Source: Polygon and PC Gamer
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