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AENEON XTUNE AXT760UD00-19D 2GB Kit (DDR2-1066) 2007-08-18 09:35:00 Today, the enthusiast angle is still a strong driver for DDR2 development, but manufacturers are basically trying to achieve better performance through radical cooling designs (such as OCZ's Flex-XLC hybrid cooling memory) and hand picking chips to ensure overclocking capacity. You can find enthusiast DDR2 memory in the speeds of 1200MHz, but the last real DDR2 specification to meet the JEDEC standards was DDR2-800. Every other high-speed DDR2 memory you see today above DDR2-800 can be considered custom factory-overclocked memory. Their speeds, timings and voltage requirements can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, the JEDEC standard for DDR2 specifies operating voltage of 1.8V. However, all DDR2-1000 and above memory modules run outside of the specifications anywhere between 2.1V to 2.35V in order to function properly.Then in May this year, Micron announced sampling and production of the first DDR2-1066 chips that are actually able to run at a stock voltage of 1.8V
ASUS P5K3 Premium Black Pearl Edition (Intel P35) 2007-08-18 09:31:00 Mention 'black pearl' these days and you'll probably conjure up an image of a dilapidated pirate ship and a half-crazy Johnny Depp. However, a natural black pearl (as in real pearls - the jewelry kind) is incredibly rare and often used as a term to describe something that is highly limited and valued. In the motherboard world, ASUS on rare occasions, tend to release a special edition of a motherboard that has been engineered to the brim with features and special high-quality components that sets it apart from their regular boards. These are known as the ASUS BlackPearlEdition
motherboards.Now, if there's one thing in PC marketing that is constant, it is the over saturation of a certain branding till it becomes somewhat trivial. However, the ASUS Black Pearl Edition is truly a rarity. The last Black Pearl motherboard from ASUS was the P4PE back in 2003 based on the Intel
845PE chipset (which we've reviewed here too if you're interested to take a peek). Now, after a four year hia Read more:Premium
AMD Demonstrates Next-Generation GPU With DisplayPort 2007-08-18 09:23:00 AMD had a next-generation GPU with DisplayPort running at the VESA PlugTest eventAMD this week demonstrated a next-generation graphics processor with a native DisplayPort interface – the first graphics processor to support the standard. The DisplayPort toting graphics processor is undergoing testing by the Video and Electronics Standards Association (VESA). The association is performing interoperability testing at its PlugTest event in Milpitas, Calif.The AMD demonstration had the next-generation graphics processor output to a Genesis Microchip DisplayPort receiver. Display manufacturers such as Samsung are developing new display products using the Genesis Microchip DisplayPort receiver. Samsung plans to release a 30” LCD display with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 10 bits of color depth next year.“Achieving this level of interoperability is the result of a long-time collaboration between AMD and Genesis Microchip,” said Alan Kobayashi, Vice President, DisplayPort and Monitor Marke Read more:AMD
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Logitech Announces Updated G15 Keyboard and New G9 Mouse 2007-08-18 09:18:00 Logitech updates its G15 gaming keyboard and announces G9 gaming mouseLogitech showed off an update to the G15 gaming keyboard and a new laser gaming mouse called the G9 behind closed doors at E3 last month. As of today, these new designs are now officially part of Logitech's public portfolio.Logitech representatives states that feedback from G15 indicated that users didn’t use all the macros the G15 was capable of in its original iteration. Logitech claims the largest complaint on the original G15 was that the keyboard was just too big.The G15 has changed significantly, most notably by shrinking in size. The shrink was accomplished by losing some of the programmable macro keys on each side of the original G15 keyboard. The six keys on the new version have three shift states so the new G15 can save a total 18 total macros.The other big change to the new G15 is moving from a flip up LCD display to one that is permanently fixed in place. The backlighting has also changed from a weak Read more:Logitech
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Hitachi Refines 3D Holographic Display Technology 2007-08-18 09:03:00 Hitachi refines the 3D holographic display technology announced in 2004Many think the next big step forward in PC displays for gaming and design will be 3D holographic displays. Currently there are some 3D displays on the market, but they aren’t holographic.Back in 2004 Hitachi announced it had devised a way to make a 3D display that operated by capturing 24 angles of an object and transmitting the images to the 3D display with the caveat that objects of 10cm or less could be imaged. Hitachi announced it had taken the technology to the point where a human could be imaged.Now Hitachi is announcing a new version of the technology that uses mirrors to get the feel of a hologram as the image produces from a rapid spinning action of the mirrors around the object displayed. Hitachi claims the technology caters towards schools and museums, so we shouldn’t get our hopes up wishing for some holographic Halo 3, though the technology can output the image to a LCD screen. This technology coul Read more:Display
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Hynix Licenses ISi Z-RAM Technology 2007-08-18 08:59:00 Hynix to create DRAM that will use a single transistor bitcellInnovative Silicon (ISi) and Hynix Semiconductor today announced an agreement for the Korean memory maker to license Z-RAM high-density memory intellectual property for use in its DRAM chips. The deal between the two companies is worth more than $10 million, with additional royalties in production.Z-RAM was initially developed as the world’s lowest-cost embedded memory technology for logic-based ICs such as mobile chipsets, microprocessors, networking and other consumer applications.Z-RAM-based DRAMs will use a single transistor bitcell – rather than a combination of transistors and capacitor elements – representing the first fundamental DRAM bitcell change since the invention of the DRAM in the early 1970s.Although AMD was the first major licensee of Z-RAM technology, Hynix is the first with plans to bring the Z-RAM technology to the DRAM market. Both Interactive Silicon and Hynix are committing considerable engineeri Read more:Licenses
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PCI Express 3.0 Details 2007-08-18 07:36:00 Now with 8 gigatransfers per second; coming to a system near you in three yearsThe PCI Special Interest Group, or PCI-SIG, this week announced the speeds of the latest evolution to the PCI Express
specification – PCI Express 3.0, also known as PCIe 3.0. PCIe 3.0 doubles the transfer rate of PCIe 2.0, bringing overall throughput to 8 gigatransfers per second, or GT/s.PCI-SIG is designing the PCIe 3.0 standard for increased performance, but maintain backwards compatibility with PCIe and PCIe 2.0 devices. The group managed to double throughput of the existing PCIe 2.0 standard by removing the 8b/10b-encoding scheme used and additional optimizations. The 8b/10b-encoding scheme took 20 percent overhead on the overall raw bit rate, according to the group. The PCIe 3.0 standard also includes new signaling and data integrity enhancements."Backwards compatibility was a strong selling point for allowing our customers to migrate their technologies to the future technology, knowing that they had
LG U990 5MP Touchscreen Camera Phone 2007-08-22 05:58:00 With the success of the iPhone and the Prada phone it is no surprise that other manufacturers are going to start rolling touchscreen phones off the assembly line. Hopefully, the touchscreen phones will improve upon the touchy subject of the onscreen keyboard Apple chose for the iPhone.Just last week a report was released showing that the iPhone touchscreen keyboard was lacking when it came to efficiency for text messaging. LG is releasing a new touchscreen phone in the UK and Korea this fall called the LG U990.If you look at this phone from the back it more closely resembles a digital camera than a phone, but flip the device over and the 240 x 400 touchscreen comes into view. The camera is a 5 megapixel design that has auto focus and an image stabilizer.In addition to still shots, the phone can shoot video at 12 frames per second and the lens uses Schneider Kreuznach optics. One place where few will argue that the LG U990 stands head and shoulders above the iPhone is in the speeds it Read more:Camera
VIA Introduces New pc3500 Mainboard 2007-08-22 05:54:00 New micro-ATX board consumes less than 24 watts during idleVIA today announced its latest energy-efficient motherboard – the pc3500. The new VIA pc3500 consumes a mere 1.09 watts in sleep and 0.68 watts in standby modes. VIA claims that OEMs and system integrators can build systems running Windows Vista that consume less than 24 watts of power during idle with the pc3500 which helps meet Energy Star 4.0 Category A requirements. VIA pc3500-based systems can draw less than 35 watts of power during DVD playback.“With the launch of VIA pc3500 mainboard we are leading the way in developing innovative low power platforms that enable our OEM and SI customers to meet the growing worldwide demand for energy-efficient PCs,” commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc. “Consumers and business users who purchase PCs based on the VIA pc3500 mainboard will not only be able to significantly reduce their energy costs but also minimize their environmen
Toshiba's 320GB 2.5-inch hard drive 2007-08-21 06:57:00 A world's first 320GB 2.5-inch drive
, in fact. The MK3252GSX drive spins a pair of 160GB platters at 5,600rpm with an 8MB buffer and 12ms average seek time over a 3Gbps SATA interface. So yeah, it's just 20GB more data that the Fujitsu 300GB disk but that HDD spins at just 4,200rpm. Better yet, The Tosh drive stands just 9.5-mm tall -- a full 3-mm less than Fujitsu's 300 gigger; that's about as thin as it gets in these 2.5-inch laptop drives. Look for the 320GB disk as a factory shipped option around November when Toshiba
starts turning 'em out for mass production.
ASUS X38 Express Motherboard 2007-08-21 06:53:00 ASUS is finalizing its X38 Express
based motherboard for shipping early next month. The upcoming P5E3 Deluxe supports all LGA775 socket processors, including the upcoming Penryns. The board only accepts DDR3 memory.ASUS opted to implement two PCIe x16 slots for ATI CrossFire multi-GPU support. Unlike some other X38 Express based boards with three PCIe x16 slots, the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe is unable to take advantage of three-way or even four-way ATI CrossFire configurations. However, in exchange for less PCIe x16 slots, the ASUS P5E3 Deluxe has three standard PCI slots. The P5E3 Deluxe also has two PCIe x1 slots.Although Intel removed IDE support from the ICH9R, ASUS opted to equip the P5E3 Deluxe with an Agere controller for a single IDE port. Other notable features of the P5E3 Deluxe include onboard high-definition audio, Gigabit Ethernet and six SATA 3.0 Gbps. ASUS also employs a heat pipe cooling solution to cool the X38 Express. However, the final design of the heat pipe is undecided.Ex
AMD "Black Edition" Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 2007-08-21 06:36:00 AMD today silently resuscitated its 90nm Windsor core with a bump in clock speed in the form of the Athlon
64 X2 6400+. The latest Athlon 64 X2 runs at 3.2 GHz – higher than any available Core 2 Duo offering. Each core has access to its own 1MB of L2 cache.AMD labels the new Athlon 64 X2 6400+ as the BlackEdition
, in matching black packaging. The new model does not have the lower 89 watt TDP as the upcoming Windsor refresh. Instead, the processor carries a 125 watt TDP rating, nearly three times higher than the Athlon X2 BE-series.Since AMD is aiming for a silent launch with the Athlon 64 X2 6400+, it will not make it into reviewer’s hands. AMD will not offer the processor to PC manufacturers either, according to Scott Wasson, Tech Report. The only way to get a hold of the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ is through the channel. AMD prices the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ at $239, per unit, in 1,000 unit quantities. At that price point, the processor will have to take on Intel’s Core 2 Duo E6750. Sour Read more:AMD
VIA Announces 1-Watt x86 CPU 2007-08-26 11:11:00 VIA today announced the world’s most power efficient x86 processor, in a mere 1-Watt envelope, the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV processor. The new 1-watt processor operates at 500 MHz and optimized for fan-less operation. At idle, the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV processor only requires 0.1-watt of power.VIA targets the 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV processor for industrial, commercial and ultra mobile applications. The 500 MHz VIA Eden ULV is a small processor, measuring in at 21 mm x 21 mm and packaged in a NanoBGA2 package.The processor operates on VIA’s V4 bus clocked at 400 MHz. It has 16-stage pipeline with 128KB of full-speed L2 cache. VIA also integrates the PadLock Security Engine for hardware encryption algorithms such as AES, SHA-1, SHA-256 and Montgomery Multiplier.“Giving our customers the building blocks to create innovative systems and driving PC technology into new markets defines our ‘Small is Beautiful’ strategy,” said Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Tech
Toshiba Announces Huge 32GB and 16GB SDHC Cards 2007-08-26 11:05:00 Any DSLR camera owner can tell you that when it comes to shooting 10-to-12 megapixels or larger RAW format images, you need a giant memory card. Most of us might think the 8GB SDHC cards are still pretty big, but not Toshiba
.Toshiba (requires registration) announced they will have humongous 32GB and 16GB SDHC memory cards in the market soon. The Toshiba 32GB SDHC card, model SD-M32G, is set to be available in January 2008 and will be a class 4 speed card.The 16GB SDHC card, model SD-M16G, will be available much sooner in October of 2007. The 16GB SDHC card will sell for about $350 when it hits market in October.If you think that’s a lot of coin for a memory card wait untill you hear this, the 32GB SDHC card will retail for a cool $700. These SDHC cards will also be good choices for those with expandable PMP devices and phones using SDHC cards with the bank account balance to afford the high price. Toshiba also announced they intend to sell a 8GB microSDHC card starting in January 200 Read more:Cards
Microsoft Introduces SideWinder Mouse for Gamers 2007-08-26 10:59:00 Several years ago Microsoft
had a line of several gaming peripherals that all were sold under the SideWinder name. From gamepads to joysticks the gear was typically pretty good and worked well for most gamers -- until Microsoft cut the entire line.Microsoft has pulled the derelict SideWinder name from the shadows and shined it up for a new gaming peripheral called the SideWinder Mouse
. This is the first Microsoft gaming peripheral to be built from the ground up at Microsoft.Gamers
familiar with the Microsoft Habu gaming mouse and the Microsoft Reclusa keyboard will know that those two products are little more than re-branded Razer gear. This new mouse has some interesting features, one of the most notable being a Quick Turn macro button that turns your character 180 degrees at the touch of a button. A rapid about face has saved more than one geek in a hectic death match.Microsoft has also integrated the first ever LCD screen into a production mouse. The screen doesn’t show you game d
White PlayStation 2 Console 2007-08-30 09:58:00 Although the PlayStation
2 is clearly a last-generation gaming system, it is still capturing the playtime and dollars of present day gamers. Sony knows that the PS2 is still hot item, and is bringing out a limited edition console that is ceramic white in color.Coming this November will be a special white PS2 bundled with SingStar Pop and two USB microphones. SingStar Pop, the American take of the immensely popular SCEE franchise, features tracks from Alicia Keys, U2, Rihanna, Ashlee Simpson, The All-American Rejects, The Clash and more.The bundle will will be available in the U.S. for a suggested retail price of $149.99. The package will also be offered in Canada for $159.99. "With our expansive library of titles for PlayStation, led by social gaming experiences such as SingStar, and Buzz!, we have an incredible offering for first-time gaming families," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA. "At $149, the limited edition Ceramic White
PlayStation 2, bundled with the family-friendl Read more:Console
Nokia Resurrects N-Gage 2007-08-30 09:55:00 Phones are the one device that most everyone tends to have on their person at all times. The ability to whip out a phone and play games while sitting on the bus or waiting on an appointment is appealing to many people.Market intelligence firm iSuppli says that the mobile gaming market is set to reach a whopping 184 million users per month by 2010 up from 38 million users in 2005. iSuppli also says that mobile gaming revenues increased by a full 80 percent in 2005 so game developers and publishers are flocking to mobile phone game development to capture some of the lucrative market.The original Nokia
N-Gage didn’t exactly take off; however, Nokia is coming back with games and devices looking to grab a portion of the swiftly growing mobile gaming market. The new N-Gage mobile gaming service allows everyone with a compatible Nokia handset to try all N-Gage games for free.If customers like the games they try, full versions can be downloaded on a Nokia handset or on a PC. Multiplayer gami
MSI Brings Turbo Button to GeForce 8600GT 2007-08-30 09:48:00 MSI this week announced its new NX8600GT Twin Turbo
with a slight twist. The new NX8600GT Twin Turbo features dual video BIOSes, each containing different core and memory clock settings. Users can switch between the two clock speed profiles with the press of a turbo button.With the stock speed profile, the NX8600GT Twin Turbo operates at 540 MHz core and 1400 MHz memory. The shader clock also operates at 1450 MHz with the stock profile. MSI places the turbo button on the metal expansion bracket above the DVI ports.A press of the turbo button raises the clock speeds up to 580 MHz core and 1600 MHz memory. The shader clock receives a boost to 1508 MHz as well. MSI claims a 20 percent performance boost in 3DMark06 with a press of the turbo button.Other notable features of the NX8600GT Twin Turbo include dual dual-link DVI, HDCP compliance, HDMI output capable and component video output. The card also comes with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. Source from DailyTech Read more:GeForce
Xbox 360 "Falcon" to Feature 65nm CPU, 90nm GPU 2007-08-30 09:45:00 The Mercury News’ Dean Takahashi reports that the first Xbox
360 CPUs manufactured on the 65nm process are now on ships in the Pacific bound for North America. Should the consoles, which are made in China, arrive soon, then they could be on retail shelves sometime this fall.Last month, Takahashi reported that the 65nm Xbox 360 chips would come in a revised hardware version that Microsoft has coded “Falcon
.” The new chips are not only smaller and roughly 50 percent cheaper to produce than their 90nm counterpart, but they are also cooler – and presumably less prone to the Red Ring of Death defect.Those expecting the 65nm die shrink to affect the two main chips inside the Xbox 360 will be disappointed to learn that only the console’s main processor will be the manufactured on the new process.“Falcon is the name for the board that houses the 65-nanometer microprocessor from IBM,” wrote Takahashi. “The board does not include a 65-nanometer version of the ATI graphics chip fo
Logitech Announces Bluetooth Cordless MediaBoard Pro 2007-09-16 02:04:00 Logitech announced an updated version of their Cordless
MediaBoard for PS3 called the Cordless MediaBoard Pro today. The original MediaBoard used a matte silver finish, which did nothing to go along with the looks of the PS3.With the updated Cordless MediaBoard Pro, Logitech uses a glossy black chassis for the keyboard that looks like it came with the PS3. The main difference between the new MediaBoard Pro and the old MediaBoard is in the connection of the keyboard to the PS3. The original MediaBoard uses a USB transceiver plugged into one of the PS3’s front USB ports.The new Cordless MediaBoard Pro uses Bluetooth
connectivity just like the Sony Sixaxis controllers so no USB adapter is required. If you are using your PS3 for media playback, you will be glad to hear that the MediaBoard Pro has a 10-meter wireless range. An integrated touchpad eliminates the need for a mouse.Logitech also included an assortment of media keys to make accessing the web browser and movie menus easier. Pow Read more:Logitech
SuperTalent Brings "Sexy" To DDR3 2007-09-14 08:46:00 SuperTalent today announced its new Project X DDR3 memory kits, which it deems the most advanced DDR3 memory kits available. The new Project X DDR3 modules feature a large passive cooling solution that provides more surface area and aluminum mass. The Project X cooler somewhat resembles Corsair’s DOMINATOR cooler, found on DDR2 memory modules."These kits support obscene clock speeds, carefully tuned latencies, and incorporate an advanced thermal dissipater that makes them as sexy as they are fast," Super Talent Marketing Director Joe James said.SuperTalent offers two Project X kits, which the company hand tests with ASUS P5K3 Deluxe motherboards, in dual channel configurations. The available Project X modules come in 2x1GB kits with speeds of DDR3-1800 and DDR3-1600. Timings for the DDR3-1800 kit is 7-7-7-21 and requires 2.0-volts, while the lower speed rated DDR3-1600 kit has 7-6-6-18 timings and requires 1.8-volts.Expect to pay $599 for the DDR3-1800 and $549 for the DDR3-1600 “s
BiTMICRO Announces 416GB SSD 2007-09-14 08:34:00 When it comes to solid state disks (SSDs), pricing concerns have ensured that consumers only see relatively small storage capacities. While traditional mobile 2.5" HDDs can be had in capacities of up to 300GB, typical consumer SSDs are only available in sizes of 32GB or 64GB. Despite those meager capacities, pricing hovers around $450 and $1,000 respectively for both.Some manufacturers have bucked the trend by offering larger capacity SSDs aimed at industrial and military markets. Mtron, Adtron and PQI offer SSDs in capacities of up to 128GB, 160GB and 256GB respectively.Thanks to the latest bit of news to come through the DailyTech inbox, we can report that BiTMICRO is surpassing all rivals with a 416GB 2.5" ATA-133 SSD. The E-Disk Altima family of SSDs (4GB to 416GB) uses single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory and offer 133MB/sec burst speeds. BiTMICRO also claims that the drive has sustained read/write speeds of 100MB/sec and can crank out 20,000 Random IOPS."The launch of the E-
Two New Blu-ray Disc Players from Sony 2007-09-07 08:44:00 Sony announced that it will be adding two new Blu-ray Disc
players to its roster of high-definition movie players. Joining the $499 entry-level BDP-S300 sometime this fall will be two higher-end machines.The BDP-S500, set to retail for about $700, features full 1080/60p and 24p True Cinema output, 7.1 channel linear PCM and Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, as well as DTS-HD High Resolution Audio bitstream output via HDMI version 1.3.The new players also support AVCHD discs encoded with x.v.Color (xvYCC) technology, an international standard for wide color space. The standard expands the current data range of video by about 1.8 times, allowing the players to output more natural and vivid colors.At the very top end of Sony’s offerings is the BDP-S2000ES – the first Blu-ray Disc player in the company’s "Elevated Standard" (ES) line. Interestingly enough, this $1,300 player shares the exact same feature set as the cheaper BDP-S500, but does boast several differences in construction Read more:Players
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