Tuesday, April 12, 2016

IT News Head Lines (techPowerUp) 13/04/2016

techPowerUp!



NVIDIA "Pascal" GP100 Silicon Detailed
The upcoming "Pascal" GPU architecture from NVIDIA is shaping up to be a pixel-crunching monstrosity. Introduced as more of a number-cruncher in its Tesla P100 unveil at GTC 2016, we got our hands on the block diagram of the "GP100" silicon which drives it. To begin with, the GP100 is a multi-chip module, much like AMD's "Fiji," consisting of a large GPU die, four memory-stacks, and silicon wafer (interposer) acting as substrate for the GPU and memory stacks, letting NVIDIA drive microscopic wires between the two. The GP100 features a 4096-bit wide HBM2 memory interface, with typical memory bandwidths of up to 1 TB/s. On the P100, the memory ticks at 720 GB/s.



At its most top-level hierarchy, the GP100 is structured much like other NVIDIA GPUs, with the exception of two key interfaces - bus and memory. A PCI-Express gen 3.0 x16 host interface connects the GPU to your system, the GigaThread Engine distributes workload between six graphics processing clusters (GPCs). Eight memory controllers make up the 4096-bit wide HBM2 memory interface, and a new "High-speed Hub" component, wires out four NVLink ports. At this point it's not known if each port has a throughput of 80 GB/s (per-direction), or all four ports put together.


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(PR) Team Group Announces Zinc Alloy Body USB 3.0 Flash Drives
Team Group releases the all new series of high quality and compact zinc alloy USB drives. Continuously dedicated to satisfying the needs of our consumers in every respect, Team Group Inc. today announced the release of the all new rectangular compact Mini Block USB drive C157/C156, and the AmaZinc USB drive C162/C161 which are made with a combination of two conflicting elements, tough metal and soft colors. The body of both C157/C156 and C162/C161 are well built with high quality matte metal. The high quality and tough Zinc Alloy material gives them a low key luxurious feel and a durable micromachining. Capless design eliminates the problem of losing the cap.



C157/C156 are respectively using USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces. The Mini Block USB drive offers high quality, low key luxurious titanium black and elegant misty silver with trendy micromachining. C157/C156 provide 16~64GB and 8~64GB in capacity for consumers to choose from according to their personal preference. They not only support various types of car audio system with built in USB ports, it is also a space saver on the car, allowing you to easily enjoy a wonderful musical feast even while you on the move.


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(PR) SteelSeries Releases the Apex M500 Gaming Mechanical Keyboard
SteelSeries, leader and innovator in gaming peripherals, announces the availability of the SteelSeries Apex M500, a tournament-ready mechanical keyboard outfitted with Cherry MX Red gaming switches and SteelSeries Engine customization software. Available for $99.99 / €119.99, the ultra-durable Apex M500 also features a traditional key layout for universality, Anti-Ghosting technology and blue LED backlighting.



"The APEX M500 is my new keyboard of choice. It's a tank and lives up to the quality of the 6Gv2, the mechanical keyboard that I've been using for a year now," says Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling, Carry for Evil Geniuses Dota 2. "This keyboard is everything I think a majority of players look for when it comes to quality and feel, it's going to be a product that will be used at the pro level for a long, long time."


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(PR) Samsung Curved Monitor Sales Pass 1 Million Units
Samsung Electronics announced today that it has sold more than one million curved monitor products worldwide. The global display provider introduced its first curved LED monitor - the 27-inch, 4000R (curvature radius of 4,000 mm) SD590C model - in September 2014, and since has expanded its line-up to include several additional curved monitors. As a result, Samsung currently accounts for more than 85 percent of all global curved monitor sales (Source: International Data Corporation (IDC), 2015 Q4 worldwide sales results for 15"~34" curved monitors).



Designed to match the natural shape of the human eye, Samsung's curved monitors feature uniform center-to-edge viewing distances to create a more comfortable and immersive viewing experience conducive to long-term use. Combined with extra-wide viewing angles and enhanced contrast ratios, these curved displays are ideal for gamers and at-home entertainment users seeking realistic, distraction-free picture quality. As a result, Samsung has capitalized on growing demand from these audiences (many of whom employ several monitors during game play or content viewing).


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First NVIDIA "Pascal" Graphics Cards to be Unveiled at Computex 2016
Some of the first consumer graphics cards based on NVIDIA's next-generation "Pascal" architecture, could debut at Computex 2016 (late-May thru early-June), with mass shipments some time in July, 2016, according to Taiwan-based industry observer DigiTimes. NVIDIA plans to unveil the "GeForce GTX 1080" and "GTX 1070" through its add-in card (AIC) partners, with Taiwan-based companies such as ASUS, MSI, and GIGABYTE, planning to showcase their graphics cards at the event.



It looks like the company could allow non-reference board designs at launch, although pictures of reference-design cooler shrouds, allegedly from an aluminium CNC mill, have been making rounds on the web. Along with AMD's "Polaris," NVIDIA "Pascal" is the first GPU architecture to launch post-Windows 10, and the DirectX 12 API it introduced.
Sources: DigiTimes, VideoCardz

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NVIDIA Drive PX2 Powered by a Pair of GP106 Chips
NVIDIA's Drive PX2 compute system for self-driving cars in development, as shown at the recent GTC event hosted by the company, is driven by a pair of GP106 GPUs. On the company's consumer-graphics products, it could drive mid-thru-performance segment SKUs, succeeding the GM206 chip, which powers the GeForce GTX 960. Keeping up with the theme of "Maxwell" chips, the GP106 is expected to feature half the graphics processing clusters (GPCs) as the GP104, and its CUDA core count is expected to be closer to 1,280.




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NVIDIA "Pascal" GP104 Silicon Pictured
A picture of NVIDIA's next performance-segment GPU based on the upcoming "Pascal" architecture, the GP104, was leaked to the web, revealing a heap of raw material to speculate from. To begin with, GP104 retains the traditional component layout of a simple GPU die sitting on a conventional fiberglass substrate package, with memory chips surrounding it. NVIDIA is reserving exotic specs such as stacked HBM2 memory for the high-end GP100 silicon.



Some fairly straightforward trignometry reveals that the rectangular die of the GP104 measures 15.35 mm x 19.18 mm, with one source speculating a transistor-count of 7.4-7.9 billion. The card is expected to feature 8 gigabit GDDR5 memory chips, which tick at 8 GHz (GDDR5-effective). If the memory bus width is 256-bit, then you're looking at a memory bandwidth of 256 GB/s. The CUDA core count of the GP104 could be closer to 2,560, than the 4,096 from an older report.
Sources: AnandTech Forums, ChipHell

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Upcoming AMD "Polaris" and "Vega" GPU Compute Unit Counts Surface
AMD's upcoming GPUs based on the "Polaris" and "Vega" architectures appear to be taking advantage of performance/Watt gains to keep stream processor counts low, and chips small, according to a VideoCardz analysis of curious-looking CompuBench entries. Assuming that a Graphics CoreNext (GCN) compute unit (CU) of the "Polaris" architecture, like the three versions of GCN before it, consists of 64 stream processors, AMD's Polaris 11 silicon, codenamed "Baffin," could feature over 1,024 stream processors, across 16 CUs; Polaris 10, codenamed "Ellesmere," could feature over 2,304 stream processors spread across over 36 CUs; and Vega 10 featuring 4,096 stream processors, spread across 64 CUs.



The "Baffin" silicon succeeds current generation "Curacao" silicon, driving mid-range graphics cards. It is expected to feature a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, holding 4 GB of memory. The "Ellesmere" silicon succeeds current-generation "Tonga" silicon, driving performance-segment SKUs. It could feature up to 8 GB of GDDR5(X) memory. These two chips could see the light of the day by mid-2016. The third chip out of AMD's stable, Vega 10, could succeed "Fiji," overcoming its biggest marketing shortcoming - 4 GB memory. Taking advantage of HBM2 interface, it could feature 16 GB of memory. It could launch some time in early-2017. AMD is claiming a massive 2.5X performance-per-Watt increase for "Polaris" over the current GCN 1.2 architecture, which drives the "Tonga" and "Fiji" chips, and so these stream processor counts could look deceptively insufficient.

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(PR) Corsair Extends Select PSU Warranties from 7 Years to 10 Years
Corsair, the world's most awarded and recommended PC power supply brand, today announced the immediate increase in warranty from 7 years to 10 years for several series of Corsair computer power supply ranges. From today all current and future Corsair AXi, HXi, RMi and RMx PSUs will benefit from an additional three years of warranty, with no extra registration or action required by customers.



Corsair's commitment to PSU quality and longevity has always been at the heart of its entire PSU line-up, and is why millions of customers have chosen Corsair PSUs to power their PCs. This commitment isn't just made at the manufacturing level - it's also at the heart of Corsair's customer support experience, ensuring customers who choose a Corsair PSU have faith and confidence in their purchase for years to come.


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(PR) Corsair Releases the Carbide SPEC-ALPHA Mid-Tower ATX Case
Corsair, a world leader in enthusiast PC hardware and components, today announced the immediate availability of the Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-ALPHA mid-tower gaming case. With a large side panel window and bold angular styling, the SPEC-ALPHA offers sharp looks in black/grey, red/white or the previously un-announced black/red to complement its efficient cooling. Packed with features to make your next gaming PC build better, the SPEC-ALPHA boasts three 120 mm fans for Direct Airflow Path cooling, a three-speed fan control and the ability to house a variety of high-end PC hardware.



With its modern, angular appearance, the SPEC-ALPHA really stands out in a crowd. There's plenty of modern features inside too, with native USB 3.0 support, room for up to four SSDs, and a three-speed fan controller for the three included 120 mm fans, allowing users to set their own cooling sweet spot. A large window shows off your internal components and the Direct Airflow Path layout, which provides superior cooling by getting rid of unnecessary drive bays. SPEC-ALPHA is also able to accommodate a front mounted 240 mm radiator compatible, allowing for additional liquid-cooling upgrades.


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(PR) G.SKILL Announces DDR4 3600 MHz CL15 16 GB Low Latency Memory Kit
G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is announcing a new DDR4 memory kit at DDR4 3600 MHz CL15-15-15-35 1.35V under its legendary Trident Z flagship series! This memory kit will be made available in 8 GBx2 configuration for a total of 16 GB, making this Trident Z kit an essential part of any high performance system builds.



High Performance, High Efficiency

Utilizing specially selected high performance memory components, G.SKILL has continued to improve upon the specifications of DDR4 to maintain a latency of CL15 at 3600 MHz, a high frequency that typically could only be achieved with slower latencies. Designed with XMP 2.0 profiles, achieving a highly efficient system is now easier than ever. A stress testing screenshot of the high efficiency memory kit with ASUS Z170-DELUXE motherboard and Intel Core i5 6600K processor can be found below.



Worldwide Availability

The Trident Z DDR4 3600 MHz CL15 16 GB (8 GBx2) memory kit will be available via authorized G.SKILL worldwide distribution partners at the end of April 2016.


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AMD Radeon Pro Duo Market Availability Detailed
AMD's flagship dual-GPU graphics card, the Radeon Pro Duo, is slated for retail availability from April 26, 2016, according to HardwareBattle. The card was announced at the company's Capsaicin, in mid-March. Reviews of this card could be posted much earlier. Based on a pair of 28 nm "Fiji" GPUs, with two sets of 4,096 stream processors, 256 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 4 GB of 4096-bit HBM memory, each, the Radeon Pro Duo will be launched at the same price as the company's previous flagship product, the Radeon R9 295X2, at US $1,499. The card could feature on a variety of high-end gaming PCs, and VR content creation workstations. In the retail channel, AMD's traditional add-in board (AIB) partners could launch the reference-design card.





Sources: HardwareBattle, VideoCardz

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RIOTORO Releases the CR1080 Compact ATX PC Chassis
New kid on the PC hardware block, Californian company RIOTORO has today launched its latest PC enclosure, the CR1080. Seen below, this case has an inverted design and is said to be one of the smallest that can fit a full-size ATX motherboard, as well as 'full-length' (up to 300 mm long) graphics cards.



The CR1080 measures 245 (W) mm x 359 (H) mm x 394 (D) mm (9.625" x 14.125" x 15.5"), it has a steel and plastic construction, and features two compartments, one for the motherboard+memory+CPU+graphics card, and one for the power supply and storage drives. RIOTORO's case comes with one 5.25-inch bay, two 3.5-/2.5-inch drive slots, one 2.5-inch-only tray, dual top-placed USB 3.0 ports, one 120 mm front fan with blue LEDs, space for one 80 mm fan on the rear panel, and a side window.



The CR1080 comes with a two-year warranty and can be found selling for $79.99 on Amazon.


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(PR) Spire Announces the Pearl Series Power Supplies
Aimed predominantly at the system integration channel the Spire Pearl series power supplies are well balanced ATX V2.31 cost effective power supplies housed in matte black enclosures and compliant with the latest ECO friendly and EUP energy saving standards. Build with quality components such as A-grade capacitors and signature Nano-technology bearing 120mm silent DC cooling fan.



Keeping air flowing and your system running cool at high power demands. The steel enclosure is of compact design, 14x15x8.5cm which fits nicely in smaller form factor Micro ATX systems. Loaded with quality and safety features such as PFC/IO/OVP/OLP/ SCP short circuit and overload-over power- and current protection. The new Pearl series ATX PC power supplies are the intelligent selection for professional PC users and System Integrators.


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(PR) BitFenix Announces the Alchemy 2.0 Sleeving Components & Modular Cables
BitFenix announced the Alchemy 2.0 sleeving components & modular cables. We wanted to make a difference in the modding world with Alchemy cables and Alchemy cable series helped the modding community immensely. We are now ready to offer you the most customizable sleeving product in the market. Alchemy 2.0 individual wires, Alchemy 2.0 connectors and alchemy 2.0 combs offer extreme customisation with ease of use. All you have to do is plug the wires in any pattern you like and your extension is ready to go.



Alchemy 2.0 Individual wires are manufactured to the highest quality, performance and reliability. 16AWG thick pure copper stranded wires are capable of delivering up to 1500W with minimum resistance, while the new High Current Alloy Terminals minimize the efficiency drop in the extensions. These high performance cables are sleeved with an ultra-dense sleeve that it moulded to the wire through a heat-shrinkless sleeving process. Thus the sleeve does not move and come off when pulled, making them extremely durable. Alchemy 2.0 Individual cables are very flexible but strong allowing you to get small bends and keep the cables aligned.


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Available Tags:NVIDIA , USB 3.0 , USB , Gaming , Keyboard , Samsung , AMD , GPU , DDR4 , Radeon

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