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:: PC Perspective . News Archive
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.:News Archive ( 10/2009 )
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: General Tech
If you are reading the Friday Afternoon Forum Follies, chances are you are a regular at the PC Perspective Forums. If that is the case, drop by Tech Talk where one of our members has a few invites to Google Wave for frequent posters. It is a kind favour and there is a
limited amount of invites, so no getting upset if you don't get one! Also popular in that forum is the Lynnfield system giveaway; it is only active until the end of Halloween so if you haven't entered yet you had better do so in the next 24 hours.
If you have entered, kill some time sharing the oddest activities you've inflicted on hardware.
The Storage Forum is now split between two technologies, one camp sticking with SSDs and flash memory, while the other has been captivated by the possible performance of SATA 6G. Weigh in with your opinion. The Windows Forum is also seeing a lot of action, Windows 7 comes with a host of improvements along with some areas that could use improvement. Some information that might help you decide can be had by listening to this weeks PC Perspective Podcast, Episode 80 is a storage-stravaganza brought to you by Allyn! Lastly, the ASUS Xtreme Design Contest only has one system in it so far. Unless you want the 8 Tuner Ruiner to win by default ... get your applications in! Let's see a killer cruncher for BOINC projects!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Motherboard
Not having quite as many features as the Extreme Series, the ASUS Crosshair III Formulamotherboard is still one of the better implementations of the 790FX chipset from AMD. The biggest feature for most will be the dual PCIe 16x slots, giving you some serious potential for multi-GPU setups. [H]ard|OCP does recommends using AMD's OverDrive utility as opposed to the TurboV from ASUS, there was a definite ceiling using TurboV while OverDrive gave much better results.
"ASUS releases yet another Republic of Gamers motherboard, this time for our AMD users. The Crosshair III Formula is the latest incarnation of the ROG series which means that it comes from excellent pedigree. The Crosshair III Formula has some big shoes to fill. Is the Crosshair III AMD 790FX chipset motherboard is up to the challenge?" Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: iXBT Labs | Subject: Memory
iXBT Labs explores the new world of Lynnfield's onboard memory controller and its abilities and disabilities. For instance the controller can do more with single bank modules than with the more common dual bank DIMMs. They examine just how increasing the frequency of the memory compares with increasing the amount of memory available to the processor. Drop by for some interesting results; it seems the days of the 32bit operating system were just yesterday, but it seems that they ended a while ago.
"Frankly speaking, we expected a bit more from DDR3-1333 support, but the game was not worth the candle.
Still, from another angle it's a very good result, because even 1066MHz memory with two modules per
channel causes no trouble."
Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: General | Subject: Graphics Card
Website Alienbabeltech.com got a hold of some photos and information on the upcoming Radeon HD 5970 graphics card - a dual Evergreen GPU part.
The reference card shown here is a big and power hungry as you can see from the 8-pin and 6-pin power connectors located above the fan.
On the back you can see the two GPU locations on the PCB - this should be an incredibly fast graphics card.
What might be a bit concerning is the length of the card - this design was 13.5-in long and had issues fitting into this full size Antec 1200 chassis.
AMD already got a hold of the guys who posted this so the performance numbers that were along side the photos were taken down before we got to see them. Also, AMD told them that the HD 5970 card seen was an early engineering sample leaving hope that the final retail card will be a bit shorter. Either way, I think we will learn more about this upcoming GPU before you know it. Stay tuned!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Digitimes | Subject: General Tech
It looks like those who have been holding their breath in the hopes that the HD5890 or 5870X2 would be arriving soon, or that the current HD5xxx cards will drop in price may be waiting a bit longer. The 40nm process at TMSC is having problems again, the same issue that pretty much killed the HD4770 at birth. For a while it looked as if the problems had finally been solved but the news from DigiTimes is that yields are once again dropping.
"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has revealed it recently run into issues with its 40nm process technology impacting yields. Company chairman and CEO Morris Chang pledged the issue will be solved within the quarter. TSMC said it has seen yield rates for its 40nm node drop to 40% due chamber matching issues. Main customers for TSMC's 40nm processes are GPU vendors AMD, which recently launched its new 40nm-based Radeon 5870 series, and Nvidia, who is scheduled to launch its 40nm-based GT300 series of chips in December, according to previous reports. TSMC's recent issues may impact the shipping schedules of the GPU vendors, market watchers commented. During TSMC's July 2009 investors conference, Chang revealed that yield rates for 40nm processes had improved to 60%, up from as low as 20-30% in the second quarter of 2009." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: MSI | Subject: Motherboard
[City of Industry, CA] MSI, a leading high-performance mainboard company, unveil its first gaming series mainboards in Intel P55 platform featuring awe-inspiring graphics and audio functionality to offer serious gamers immersive gaming experience. The state-of-the-art gaming line is inspired by the mighty Big Bang. Unique and innovative, the all-new Big Bang series will deliver the shock and awe of unprecedented experiences and expand into its own collection of galaxies. The first Big Bang branded mainboard, Trinergy is designed with eye-catching features such as NVIDIA SLI technology and QuantumWave audio processing with the latest THX TruStudio PC and Creative EAX ADVANCED HD 5.0 plus exclusive performance boost design from MSI. Powered by NVIDIA nForce 200 SLI processor, the Trinergy offers extreme gamers the most powerful graphics-intensive capability up to triple graphics configuration. Aimed at gamers and enthusiasts seeking cinematic enjoyment, QuantumWave™ audio card is designed to plunge you into the heart of the action, delivering the fullest audio experience for games, music and movies while remaining true to the source. The Big Bang Trinergy also features cutting-edge 100% Hi-c Cap to maximizing system performance. This supreme component adopted for gaming machines can guarantee server-grade operation stability in an extreme condition. Besides, it is equipped with an external OC Dashboard that gives extreme gamers on-the-fly overclocking to optimize FPS without interrupting your session. If you’re into a little of amateur overclocking, with MSI’s exclusive chip-driven OC Genie, you can enjoy the convenience and hugely improved performance with a simple press of a button. Big Bang Fuzion
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tweaknews | Subject: Case and Cooling
Corsair's HX750W Professional PSU comes with a rather nice nylon bag. It holds the large array of modular cabling, cable ties, screws and even a badge. That's not all, it is an 80+ Gold rated PSU and delivers serious amperage on the 12V line to keep your GPUs happy and well fed. Tweaknews handed it a Top Rank Award and you will see why it deserves such an accolade if you read the full review.
"Corsair's new HX750W ATX modular power supply certainly doesn't disappoint. With excellent performance, quiet operation, and a very innovative feature set, this PSU could easily find a home in the most demanding systems." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Case and Cooling
On paper the PEX PLX8613 PCIe bridge chip, which allows the Marvell 9123 SATA controller to use a single PCIe 2.0 x1 lane to connect to a SATA 6G drive for a maximum bandwidth of 500 MB/s, looks like a great idea. It doesn't allow for the full 600MB/s that the SATA 6G specs allow for but certainly sounds faster than the previous 300GB/s maximum. As listeners of the live Podcast last night heard, the reality is not as nice. Using system RAM as a cache, along with no actual indications of increased transfer rates has disappointed Ryan sorely. See the full details in his preview. "SATA 6G technology is being paraded around by motherboard manufacturers as one of the main reasons to upgrade your motherboard in the coming months but do the advantages really make the upgrade worthwhile? And how do these current SATA 6G implementations actually work? We look at the ASUS P7P55D Premium and an early sample of a Seagate SATA 6.0 Gb/s hard drive to see how the hype stands up." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Frosty Tech | Subject: Case and Cooling
3Rsystem's Iceage 120 Boss II Dimpled-Fin heatsink takes advantage of several unique features to put it at the top of the Top 5 list of recommended coolers from FrostyTech. The first is the crossing heatpipes, they do not travel along the edges but instead cross in the middle of the cooler as well as the middle of the airflow thus enhancing its ability to dump heat. The second is that the fins of the heatsink are not smooth, instead they are dimpled to increase air turbulence within the heatsink. Altogether it is the best cooler that FrostyTech has seen for both AMD and Intel. The bad news is that it is very rare outside of EMEA.
"Let's get right to the point, 3Rsystem's Iceage 120 Boss II heatsink is currently one of the Top 5 heatsinks tested on Frostytech. Key to the success of this Korean-made heatsink on both AMD and Intel synthetic test platforms are five 8mm diameter exposed base heatpipes and a unique "X" pattern that places the heatpipes in the path of high velocity air from the coolers' 120mm fan. On top of that, the Iceage 120 Boss II heatsink utilizes dimpled surface fins which are intended to disrupt boundary layer laminar airflow." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Hack a Day | Subject: General Tech
Plastics, film, and textiles are all viable substrates for Xerox's new Silver Bullet, a conductive silver ink that at 140 degrees Celsius.
This makes all sorts of interesting tricks possible that are not feasible with ink that melts at about 1,000 Celsius or by printing and etching a regular circuit board. Think RFIDs on cloth, LEDs built into anything, wearable WiFi and bendy plastic tech. Hack a Day is already impatient to get their hands on some.
"Xerox has announced a breakthrough in printable circuits. They’ve developed a conductive ink called “silver bullet” that can be printed on many different types of substrate to create circuits. The key part of the new ink is its lower melting point. Plastic film substrate melts at 150 degrees Celsius but the ink is liquid when ten degrees cooler to avoid damaging the film. This begs the question: how do you then solder components to the circuit?" Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TestSeek Labs | Subject: General Tech
The Ozone Smog gaming mouse is a bit odd looking and sport software that claims to boost the 3200DPI maximum to 5040DPI. The removable weight tray sits in the middle of the mouse body as opposed to the bottom and the mouses feet are ceramic. Add the odd look, especially the rear end of the mouse and you have a gaming mouse that seems a little different from the rest. Drop by TestSeek Labs for a look.
"I guess most users never really think about things like the 'performance' of the mouse they are using, they simple accept it as it is. I am not one of those users however; I want my gear to be top notch. I think once you have gotten the chance to work with a high quality laser mouse, it’s really hard to go back to using anything else. Ozone have acknowledged this demand from high end users and created a very advanced mouse, mainly directed towards the gaming market…" Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: [H]ard|OCP | Subject: Graphics Card
As if the HD5870 wasn't impressive enough, the ASUS model that [H]ard|OCP tested came with SmartDoctor which allows you to adjust the Vcore. This ended up netting them an additional 60MHz on top of the 100MHz overclock they managed with the Catalyst Control Center alone. It also sucked up about 80W more, topping out the systems load at 426W. Check out this impressive Gold Award winning card in their full review.
"Today we look at ASUS’s brand new, voltage tweakable and highly overclockable EAH5870 based on AMD’s new ATI Radeon HD 5870. With the ability to increase the core voltage we cannot wait to see how high it will go, but first we must see how it compares to its rivals in some of the latest and most demanding games." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: System
If the PC Perspective Hardware Leaderboard doesn't quite meet your standards or if you are simply looking for a second opinion on recommendation, The Tech Report has just updated their system setups, specifically for Windows 7. You will notice several similarities, especially in the graphics subsystem, though their top of the line rig doesn't sport three HD 5870s. Check out the systems, peripherals and alternatives.
"Windows 7 is upon us, as is a whole line of DirectX 11 graphics processors from AMD. Come see how we've updated our system guide to account for these new products and other changes in the hardware landscape." Here are some more Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Bjorn3D | Subject: General Tech
Eve Apocrypha is the new version of Eve Online, though since we are talking about an interstellar MMORPG, it isn't an additional area as you expect in WoW. Eve, if you have never experienced it is a little different from most RPGs. NPCs are interacted with via in game email and combat is a little different than you might expect. Before dropping money on this new version of Eve, drop by Bjorn3D for an overview. Some will absolutely hate the game but enough love it that it is still around years later.
"Since the conception of playing Dungeons and Dragons with our friends and family, we continually find new ways to interact with other people by role playing. MMORPG (Massive Multi Online Role Playing Games) expands this alternate reality to a whole new level. Instead of finding a few people to join in on quests, we just go online log in to a MMORPG title and we can play with literally thousands of different people across the world. EVE been around for quite a few years now, I last heard of this game about 5 or so years ago when I was playing Earth And Beyond. I played EVE off and on over the years, then just stopped playing. Apocrypha, is a new expansion to the EVE universe, adding new abilities, new ships, and added a whole new out look on this game." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Ars Technica | Subject: General Tech
Now this solution will definitely work better in smaller communities as it could be hard to get the government of a very large municipality to invest the money required to roll out your own ISP, but the effort is worth it. Monticello, Minnesota ended up hiring TDS Telecommunications
to roll out their own fiber to the home
network. Now enjoying 50Mbs for $40/month without having to bundle with other services thanks to a 2007 referendum that the town would roll out its own network. That attempt to build their own network lead to lawsuits filed by TDS, which they lost, so now they are offering the fastest and cheapest access in the US. Lafeyette, Louisiana lit up a fiber system
as well and Cox Cable have dropped their prices for that town, but nowhere else. Drop by for more competition in action at Ars Technica.
"ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet - but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Allyn Malventano | Source: Intel Press Room | Subject: Storage
I just got off of a conference call with Intel where they announced reaching a development milestone in the area of Phase Change Memory. PCM is exciting tech to me because it has the fast access times of RAM and the non-volatility of Flash memory. It has previously been very difficult to stack layers of these new type of memory cells. While laying a bunch of cells out in a flat plane is relatively easy, Intel and Numonyx have jointly announced the ability to create the various parts of the cell structure in a vertical orientation. The first example of such stacking was seen in a 64Mb (megabit) die. The memory cell structure itself is created vertically instead of horizontally, integrating the memory cell (PCM) and its required switching circuit (OTS) vertically into a Phase Change Memory and Switch (PCMS). Rough figures suggest cell size could theoretically be dropped to 5nm (compared to 34nm of current NAND Flash memory produced by Intel).
One layer of the PCMS array fully integrated with a CMOS technology. The memory cell stack, including rows and columns, is shown sandwiched between M2 and M3 (not shown).
Side note for comparison: NAND Flash is not a stackable process, which is part of the reason it is so expensive relative to other storage technologies. NAND Flash must be erased in blocks, while PCM is accessed / written at the single bit level (like RAM). Passing the vertical mark was one part of the milestone. The same new processes can be expanded to stack multiple layers on top of eachother, meaning this RAM should be able to scall very well down the road. These are exciting developments for sure! Below is their official press release. INTEL AND NUMONYX ACHIEVE RESEARCH MILESTONE
WITH STACKED, CROSS POINT PHASE CHANGE MEMORY TECHNOLOGY New Research Discovery Paves Way for Scalable, Higher Density Phase Change Memory Products
SANTA CLARA, Calif., and GENEVA – Oct. 28, 2009 – Intel Corporation and Numonyx B.V. today announced a key breakthrough in the research of phase change memory (PCM), a new non-volatile memory technology that combines many of the benefits of today’s various memory types. For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a 64Mb test chip that enables the ability to stack, or place, multiple layers of PCM arrays within a single die. These findings pave the way for building memory devices with greater capacity, lower power consumption and optimal space savings for random access non-volatile memory and storage applications.
The achievements are a result of an ongoing joint research program between Numonyx and Intel that has been focusing on the exploration of multi-layered or stacked PCM cell arrays. Intel and Numonyx researchers are now able to demonstrate a vertically integrated memory cell – called PCMS (phase change memory and switch). PCMS is comprised of one PCM element layered with a newly used Ovonic Threshold Switch (OTS) in a true cross point array. The ability to layer or stack arrays of PCMS provides the scalability to higher memory densities while maintaining the performance characteristics of PCM, a challenge that is becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain with traditional memory technologies. "We continue to develop the technology pipeline for memories in order to advance the computing platform," said Al Fazio, Intel Fellow and director, memory technology development. "We are encouraged by this research milestone and see future memory technologies, such as PCMS, as critical for extending the role of memory in computing solutions and in expanding the capabilities for performance and memory scaling." "The results are extremely promising," said Greg Atwood, senior technology fellow at Numonyx. "The results show the potential for higher density, scalable arrays and NAND-like usage models for PCM products in the future. This is important as traditional flash memory technologies face certain physical limits and reliability issues, yet demand for memory continues to rise in everything from mobile phones to data centers." Memory cells are built by stacking a storage element and a selector, with several cells creating memory arrays. Intel and Numonyx researchers were able to deploy a thin film, two-terminal OTS as the selector, matching the physical and electrical properties for PCM scaling. With the compatibility of thin-film PCMS, multiple layers of cross point memory arrays are now possible. Once integrated together and embedded in a true cross point array, layered arrays are combined with CMOS circuits for decoding, sensing and logic functions. More information about the memory cell, cross point array, experiment and results will be published in a joint paper titled "A Stackable Cross Point Phase Change Memory," and will be presented at the 2009 International Electron Devices Meeting in Baltimore, Md., on Dec. 9. The paper is co-authored by Intel and Numonyx technologists and will be presented by DerChang Kau, Intel senior principal engineer. About Intel Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com. About Numonyx Numonyx provides a full complement of integrated NOR, NAND, RAM and Phase Change non-volatile memory technologies and products to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of customers in the cellular, data and embedded markets. Numonyx is dedicated to providing high density, low power memory technologies and packaging solutions to a global base of customers. Additional information about Numonyx is available at www.numonyx.com.
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
Yesterday some news began filtering in to me that there were some potential issues with the newly released Intel X25-M firmware that updates the G2 drives to support the TRIM command as well as boosting write speeds. (You can read all about the new features and performance of the new firmware in our article here.) That news was basically confirmed today when Intel sent along a note saying they had pulled the new firmware until they could figure out the issue:
Yes, we have been contacted by users with issues with the firmware upgrade for our 34nm SSDs and we are investigating. We take all sightings and issues seriously and are working toward resolution. We have temporarily taken down the firmware link while we investigate.
Hold off on those firmware updates for just a bit... What seems to be the problem? While we aren't 100% sure yet, it appears the issues are limited to users of Windows 7 and the operating systems need to install some sort of driver after the firmware has been updated. When the user reboots after that software is in place, the drive apparently gets SMART errors and general disk read errors. Obviously this is very bad news for both consumers and Intel - we are keeping track of the reports and will post anything else once we learn it. For now, if you want to post about any issues YOU have had, there is a thread started in the Intel support forum about users with this problem.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: TECHGAGE | Subject: General Tech
A lot of attention has been paid to the coders that are working hard to ensure the latest and greatest GPUs are supported by Linux, especially when it comes to high definition playback. That is not the only area that is being improved, support for higher end audio cards is also a focus for programmers. The ASUS Xonar series is a popular solution right now so TECHGAGE tried it out on Jaunty Jackalope to see how it worked. If that sounds interesting to you then just follow the link for some good news.
"Crave high-end audio, but use Linux? The situation surrounding this has been bad in the past, but that's not so much the case now, especially where ASUS' Xonar family of cards are concerned, including the headphone-specific Essence STX. Thanks to dedicated developers, the support today is just about as good as the audio quality." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Tech Spot | Subject: Mobile
At only 3.8lbs the Averatec N3400 13.3" ultraportable sits at the heavy end of the netbook spectrum but it also houses a dual core Intel T3400, which will give you noticeably more power than an Atom. Intel's GMA4500 graphics
powers the 1280x800 display so don't expect the power of a gaming notebook but in Tech Spot's testing found it powerful enough to happily run Windows 7. That seems fairly impressive for an $800 dollar ultra portable, especially as there is very little in the way of pre-installed software.
"Netbooks have quite a few things going for them. They are extremely lightweight and portable, typically affordable, and more recent models come with full size keyboards, larger displays and great battery life. But for all their advantages and evolution in recent years, they still lack in one key category: processing power. Today we'll be taking a look at their affordable N3400 Series Ultraportable Notebook, a 13.3-inch model boasting an Intel dual-core processor and a thin aluminum shell that shares some styling cues from Apple’s MacBook Air. Weighing in at only 3.8 pounds, the N3400 is powered by an Intel Pentium Dual Core T3400 CPU operating at 2.16 GHz, 3GB of DDR2 (expandable to 8GB), a 250GB hard drive spinning at 5400 RPM, 13.3" WXGA LCD display (1280 x 800), Intel GMA4500 graphics, 802.11n Wi-Fi and a 2-cell 5000mAh batter." Here are some more Mobile articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PCStats | Subject: Processor
The AMD Athlon II X2 240e is similar to the X2 250 but that little 'e' on the end signifies it to belong to the Regor family of 45W TDP processors. It will support DDR2 or DDR3, depending on which socket motherboard you choose at up to 1333MHz. From the results of their testing PC Stats decided that this efficient $80 processor is great for small systems but really does compete against the 250 which might eat up $10 more and produce 10W more power but does also offer you a 5-7% gain in performance. "Do you leave your computer on all the time? If you've nodded yes to any of the above, it might be time to think about a more power-efficient processor. That's the idea behind AMD's Athlon II X2 240e. It's a 2.8GHz dual-core processor based on the AMD "Regor" core with a TDP of just 45W. The "e" behind the Athlon II X2 240e model name indicates that it's one of AMDs Energy Efficient processors. The Athlon II X2 240e has support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, depending on if the processor is dropped into a socket AM2+ or socket AM3 motherboard. Memory can be run at speeds of DDR2-1066 or DDR3-1333 via the Athlon II X2 240e's integrated memory controller." Here are some more Processor articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: techPowerUp! | Subject: System
A.C. Ryan might not be the first name you think about when you are looking for a DVR but perhaps it should be. They have made HDD cages for a while now and branched out from that with the PlayOn! DVR TV. USB 2.0 and HDMI as well as as wireless or wired network connectivity offer a range of ways to get media on or off of the HDD as well as capturing live broadcast TV. Read on at techPowerUp to see if A.C. Ryan has found a sweet spot between HTPCs and a NAS device.
"The A.C.Ryan PlayON! DVR TV combines the benefits of a media player with the ability to record and playback analog and DVB-T signals and act as a wired or wireless NAS. It is capable of streaming and playback of up to 720p video as well as audio and pictures. To top things off, the PlayON! DVR TV also acts as an Internet radio for your living room." Here are some more HTPC Systems articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: engadget | Subject: General Tech
The 'other' Bridgestone is at it again, this time in 4,096 colors. They have been at the forefront of e-paper, thanks to their electron powder and granular material
they have been able to redraw an entire screen on their previous products in 0.8 seconds, like an incredibly talented Etch A Sketch on amphetamines. Their new, soon to be released 10.7" touchscreen e-paper device handles full colour and even more interesting it is fully flexible. Take a look at this first over at engadget.
"When we heard word of a "big announcement" back in July we imagined an e-reader of some sort, but what is it that we have here? Based on a technology Bridgestone calls Quick-response Liquid Powder, the company's all-color touchscreen e-book reader is about 5.8mm thick, features a 13.1-inch touch-sensitive e-paper display (with 4,096 colors and a refresh rate of about 0.8 seconds), and some sort of unspecified mobile phone connectivity. Most exciting, of course, is that the entire package -- circuit board, touchscreen, and housing -- are designed to bend together. A neat trick, sure, but probably not too practical for jotting down notes with your stylus. Still, we'd take two. Trials begin at the Kansai Urban Banking Corp early next year, but you can check it out sooner at FPD International 2009 in Yokohama City, Japan, starting tomorrow." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Ryan Shrout | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Motherboard
ASUS has a couple of new motherboards coming down the pipeline very soon that introduce new features including support for SATA 6G storage and USB 3.0 devices. Both SATA 6G and USB 3.0 technologies are awaiting actual devices that utilize them to hit the streets, but it is good to see ASUS taking the high ground and offering these options on motherboard for users that want future-proof their new builds.
The SATA 6G support is powered by the Marvell 9123 chipset and a high-speed PCIe bridge chip while the USB 3.0 is coming from an unknown add-on controller. UPDATE: ASUS got back to me and told us that the USB 3.0 implementation on both of these motherboards uses the NEC UPD720200 chipset on a single PCIe 2.0 x1 lane that supports up to 5.0 Gb/s. Considering 4.8 Gb/s is the theoretical maximum speed for USB 3.0, this implementation should have all the bandwidth you could need. 
This is the ASUS P6X58D Premium motherboard that implements both of these features for the LGA1366 Core i7 platform while including three PCIe x16 slots and six DDR3 memory slots. You can see the USB 3.0 ports on the back panel here (the blue ports).
The P7P55D-E Premium motherboard will be one more LGA1156 motherboard to come from ASUS with TONS of features. Besides the new SATA 6G and USB 3.0 support, it includes a 48-phase power solution and the ASUS instant-boot ExpressGate OS.
We are looking forward to seeing these motherboard cross our test bench and should have a brief preview on the first SATA 6G-ready hard drive this week!
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Motherboards.org | Subject: Graphics Card
With all of these new AMD GPUs and the incredible scaling we are seeing, it is going to take some work to determine just how to spend your money. The HD 5770 is usually found at the $160 mark, the HD 5750 at $130; compared to the $260 HD 5850 and the $390 HD 5870, the price differences are large enough that buying a pair of cheaper cards will still end up costing roughly the same. Motherboards.org decided to find out if getting a pair of cards, or one with the plan of picking up a second in the future is viable, or if you are better off with a single more expensive GPU.
"Two HD 5770 cards perform better than a single HD5850 card and two HD 5850 cards perform much better than a single HD 5770 card. Considering the price of the two HD 5770s is nearly the same as a HD 5870 card I would suggest buying a single HD 5870 or HD 5850 depending on which price range. On the other hand, if you only have $160 a HD 5770 added to the system later will improve performance immensely in most applications. Two HD 5750s in Crossfire mode make for an attractive upgrade as well if you only have $130 to spend on a video card today." Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Think Computers | Subject: Case and Cooling
If you pick up the NZXT M59 case, you won't need to pick up any extra adapters for SSDs, there is a cage designed to hold a pair of 2.5" drives. That won't impact your total storage capacity to badly as there are 5 more 3.5" internal bays and even 4 external ones. Your cooling can come from water thanks to its built in holes, or from air as the case can manage up to five 120mm fans. All that can be yours for $60; if you aren't already convinced then the full review at Think Computers probably will.
"NZXT has added another case to their Classic Series of cases, it's called the M59 and it is quite inexpensive at under $60. You would think a case with that price tag would be really cheap, but the M59 has features like 2 included fans, 2.5-inch SSD bays, a side panel window, all black interior, a wire management system, and an eSATA port. A lot of these features cannot even be found on more expensive cases. Let's see if NZXT has a winner in the M59." Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective | Subject: Storage
Thanks to Intel's new firmware and SSD Toolbox application along with Windows 7's TRIM ability, those with the second generation (G2) 160GB Intel SSD can get some rather noticeable speed improvements. The bad news is that this update will not have an effect on 80GB models, nor on the 50nm generation. Those with the G2 160GB drive will have a pleasant surprise; you can see how nice a surprise in Allyn's review.
"Intel certainly impressed us with this new firmware release. Patching was easy and even worked on a laptop that had trouble with previous Intel firmware patch utilities. The SSD Toolbox app was simple and did its job in an unobtrusive manner. Intel seems to have had the user experience in mind throughout this entire process." Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: Wired News | Subject: General Tech
You can be forgiven if you've never heard of Tilera, but you can be guaranteed to hear about them now. They've just announced plans to release a 40nm chip with 100 cores on board, beating Intel's 80 core prototype we saw back in 2007. The chips are built on a mesh topography as opposed to the on-chip bus interconnect
used in multicore x86 processors; the end result of which is more bandwidth thanks to the lack of a bottleneck. Perhaps the most interesting part of Wired's overview is that the Tilera chip will be able to handle recompiled x86 applications, something Tegra and other GPGPUs cannot yet manage.
"Tilera, a start-up that was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, started in 2007. It says its product will be available in the next few months, which means the company, if successful, will have gone from zero to shipping a powerful chip in just about three years - a very fast timeframe in the semiconductor world. That’s because it has created a chip architecture that removes the challenges present in Intel’s x86 design." Here is some more Tech News from around the web:
Allyn Malventano | Source: Intel Press Room | Subject: Storage
Back when the original Intel X25-M SSD came out, Intel hinted at the
future release of software that would let you monitor your SSD under
Windows. It took them a while, but they have now released such a tool. The press release is below, and my evaluation of the new firmware and the SSD Toolbox software can be found here, in the Storage section.
Intel® Solid-State Drive Toolbox with Intel® SSD Optimizer
Enables Users to Maximize SSD Performance over Time SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 26, 2009 – On the heels of the Microsoft* Windows* 7 introduction, Intel Corporation today announced the availability of the Intel® Solid-State Drive (SSD) Toolbox, with Intel® SSD Optimizer and firmware update, for its 34nm Intel® X25-M Mainstream SATA SSDs. The latest tools are designed to help better manage and retain the out-of-box performance of Intel SSDs. An SSD is built to replace a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) with added performance, lower power consumption and higher reliability. The Intel SSD Toolbox allows users to more effectively monitor and manage the SSD’s health. The firmware upgrade and Intel SSD Optimizer use the Windows* 7 ATA Data Set Management Command (known as Trim) to help keep the Intel SSD running at continued high performance. In addition, the SSD Toolbox and Optimizer also allow the respective enhancements to work with Windows* XP and Vista* operating systems. “Fast and reliable access to data is critical for our SSD users,” said Pete Hazen, director of marketing, Intel NAND Solutions Group. “The latest firmware and toolbox upgrade for Intel 34nm SSD users provide a host of new management, information and diagnostic tools to help SSDs retain out-of-box performance. We are encouraging our 34nm customers to download the new firmware update today. Not only will Windows 7 users receive the performance enhancements of the Trim command, but so will our Windows XP and Vista users.” For 34nm X25-M 160GB owners, the firmware update also offers a performance boost to sequential write speeds by delivering up to 100MB per second, a 40 percent performance improvement over the existing firmware version. The Trim attribute of the ATA Data Set Management Command, often referred to as Trim, synchs the operating system’s view of deleted files with those that are deleted, but not erased on the drive. Trim tells the SSD which data blocks are no longer in use. This helps stabilize the performance and health of the SSD over time. The Intel SSD Toolbox provides SSD management tools and information about the drive, including comparing Self-Monitoring and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) drive attributes to manufacturer threshold. It provides basic and full diagnostics, along with recommended actions. The Toolbox also features an easy-to-use graphical user interface that will allow end users to schedule and run the Trim command independent of the operating system. The company recommends users install the firmware update and toolbox, and run the Trim function daily to ensure best performance. The firmware upgrade can be found at www.intel.com/go/ssdfirmware and the Intel SSD Toolbox and Optimizer at www.intel.com/go/ssdtoolbox. Intel’s award-winning X25-M SSD began shipping on 34nm in July. The multi-level cell (MLC) Intel® X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD is aimed at laptop and desktop PCs, and available in 80 Gigabyte (GB) and 160GB versions. SSDs are data storage devices found inside computers. Because SSDs have no moving parts they offer faster performance and greater energy efficiency and durability than traditional HDDs. A draw for gamers, media creators and technology enthusiasts, SSDs have also played a key role in the emergence of ultra-thin and light notebook PCs that are becoming increasingly popular due to their design, size and longer battery life. For more information on Intel SSDs visit www.intel.com/go/ssd. Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: PC Perspective Forums | Subject: General Tech
There is a brand new subforum on the PC Perspective Forums, added today specifically for a huge new contest. The ASUS Xtreme Design Contest forum under General Tech is the place to go to show off how you would use ASUS' new Xtreme Design Technology to build the best killer gaming PC. If your ideas are grand enough, you will be one of 20 people chosen to receive the hardware specified in the contest, an ASUS P7P55D PREMIUM, a GTX 260, a Samsung SSD and all the other components listed in the contest; feel free to toss in your own in addition. Then of those 5 will be chosen for ' special hardware upgrades' and one lucky winner will be shipped off to CES to show off the rig they built at the ASUS booth. Get over and start posting your ideas!
The other big happening on the Forums involves Microsoft's new OS. Everyone is playing with it or wondering what it can do. The gamers wonder what effect it will have on their gaming experiences and the gaming industry, whereas the Windows OS Forum is looking at performance, the differences between upgrading and clean installs as well as hunting down driver issues that have yet to be finished. In other parts of PC Perspective you can find brand new updates to the Hardware Leaderboard and we have a fresh Podcast for you to listen to.
Jeremy Hellstrom | Source: The Tech Report | Subject: Motherboard
Gigabyte's GA-P55M-UD4 and MSI's P55M-GD45 are in a head to head battle at The Tech Report. Both are microATX boards giving you the advantages and drawbacks to picking a smaller board, the power draw is lessened and the price is lower, but you miss out on a few expansion slots. There was no clear winner in this battle, while neither board sacrificed performance while being trimmed down there were some problems. For Gigabyte it was the BIOS and MSI has problems with peripherals. They are still strong choices and well worth considering. "The first wave of P55-based Lynnfield motherboards has included not just the usual ATX fare, but also number of interesting MicroATX models. We've rounded up a pair of micro boards from Gigabyte and MSI to see how they stack up against full-size competition." Here are some more Motherboard articles from around the web:
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