Radeon R9 Fury X will feature updated radiator, solves loud pump noise

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Jul 2, 2015 9:12 AM CDT

After a week with the new AMD Radeon R9 Fury X, one of the things that has annoyed me was the very loud noise coming from the pump. It sounds like coil whine, and under heavy stress, the Fury X really begins to sound quite loud.

But it looks like a member of the AnandTech has noticed that AMD is shipping an updated version of the radiator with the latest batches of the Fury X. It looks like the first batch that mostly went to selected press and a handful floating out into the world is the only one effected, with the second batch and hopefully beyond including a radiator that isn't as noisy.

The unit that the news of the revised radiator was from SAPPHIRE, so we should expect other AIB partners to use the revised pump as soon as possible.

Continue reading: Radeon R9 Fury X will feature updated radiator, solves loud pump noise (full post)

Synology's new NAS systems can support over 1000TB (1PB) of storage

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Jul 2, 2015 8:01 AM CDT

If you thought the 24TB+ NAS systems we're seeing these days were good, Synology has just announced two new business-focused NAS systems that will blow you away. The new RS18016xs+ and its expansion unit RX1216sas have some insane expansion capabilities, and more.

Synology's new RS18016xs+ is capable of 3.9GB/sec with 348,000 IOPS, which is just insane. On top of that, if you're using encrypted share folders, it's still capable of pumping out over 3GB/sec, meaning you can have super-secure data, with huge performance. The new Synology RS18016xs+ native supports SATA 6Gbps and SAS, and can be upgraded all the way up to 32GB of ECC RAM, and 10GbE, with the RX1216sas providing a next-gen scale-up system capable of stacking 14 of the RX1216sas expansion units together, delivering a 180-drive cluster.

The full run down on Synology RS18016xs+ systems:

Continue reading: Synology's new NAS systems can support over 1000TB (1PB) of storage (full post)

The first major iPhone 6S images leak, virtually the same design again

We all know a refreshed iPhone is coming out later this year, but we have been split on rumors: is it the iPhone 7 or iPhone 6S? According to the latest leaks, we're looking at Apple unveiling the iPhone 6S later this year.

But there has been a big leak on the iPhone 6S, showing off everything - inside, outside, the style, no dual lens camera, and everything in between. We should hopefully see Apple cram in a more capable rear-facing camera that is hopefully 4K capable this time, but it's the inside of the new iPhone that has been upgraded versus the exterior, which is usually the case for the 'S' upgrades on the iPhone.

Inside of the iPhone 6S, we can see that there are new mounting points for the logic board, but the volume buttons, SIM card slot, and sleep/wake buttons on the iPhone 6S are in the same spots, so there's nothing new there.

Continue reading: The first major iPhone 6S images leak, virtually the same design again (full post)

Facebook is investing considerably into AI and VR technologies

Facebook may have over a billion daily active users, but where does the company see itself in 10 years time? During a Q&A on his profile yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg talked about what his company has in store for the future.

Zuckerberg says that he thinks the ultimate communication technology will allow you to send thoughts to another person, where he elaborated: "You'll just be able to think of something and your friends will immediately be able to experience it too if you'd like". But since we're not quite there yet, Facebook is putting its effort into artificial intelligence (AI), as the company "think[s] more intelligent services will be much more useful".

Not only that, but Facebook sees VR as the future - after all, it did acquire Oculus VR last year - where it says VR is the "next major computing and communication platform". The social network didn't leave out its Internet.org project, with Zuckerberg adding that it's "the most basic tool people need to get the benefits of the internet," including jobs, education and communication".

Continue reading: Facebook is investing considerably into AI and VR technologies (full post)

AMD partners up with Hollywood on all things VR

AMD has just announced a new partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Hollywood, where it will provide Hollywood creatives with Liquid VR. This will allow Hollywood directors a better channel to work with AMD to create immersive VR experiences.

AMD's Corporate Vice President of Alliances, Roy Taylor, said that the most important part of VR isn't just about gaming. He said that the entertainment industry is investing "an order of magnitude more money and talent into VR than the game industry is". Taylor added: "Los Angeles has become the epicenter of virtual reality, not Silicon Valley. I meet a dozen new people every day in Hollywood that are interested in VR".

But with NVIDIA owning three quarters of the GPU market share, what can AMD do when it comes to VR? Taylor says that AMD has an advantage over its competitor, thanks to its "hardware asynchronous compute" technology, something we covered not too long ago.

Continue reading: AMD partners up with Hollywood on all things VR (full post)

Unity CEO: VR to create 'staggering orgasm of the new'

Virtual reality seems to have hardware designers and software developers quite excited, even though there are plenty of skeptics. Joining the growing list of those excited about VR is Unity CEO John Riccitiello, and he recently shared thoughts about how his company is contributing.

Unity currently boasts "the best system for creating content for VR," Riccitiello said during his E3 keynote. He expanded his thoughts during a recent interview with GamesIndustry:

"We have the highest market share [in VR] right now, so we're already there. It's interesting that a company like Valve, which makes its own engine, is showing demos for VR, and all but one is built with Unity."

Continue reading: Unity CEO: VR to create 'staggering orgasm of the new' (full post)

Fable Legends game director discusses DLCs with TweakTown

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 1, 2015 2:53 PM CDT

Anytime I've written about Fable Legends in the past few months, it seems talk always turned to downloadable content (DLC) in free-to-play games. Lionhead Studios is going in a bit of a new direction with Fable Legends, and wanted to try to clear the air a bit regarding the controversial inclusion of DLCs in its upcoming free-to-play action role-playing game. We recently spoke with David Eckelberry, game director at Lionhead Studios, so here is what he had to say.

The addition of DLCs brings a high level uncertainty among many gamers, and some of you have already questioned it regarding Fable Legends.

"That's a reasonable thing to be unsure of. I'm unsure about free-to-play in some games!" David Eckelberry told TweakTown. "I believe it's up to the game developer. Some games I love are free-to-play, and I don't think it's a coincidence that first and foremost they are good games, regardless of how they get to market. It's also not a coincidence that these games seem legitimately fair: they don't let a player buy his way to victories, and the things you can purchase seem pretty fairly priced."

Continue reading: Fable Legends game director discusses DLCs with TweakTown (full post)

Microsoft boss says Xbox 'needs to do better' in European markets

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 1, 2015 1:15 PM CDT

The Microsoft Xbox One is being handily outsold in Europe by the Sony PlayStation 4, with the PS4 holding 70-90 percent market share. Microsoft understands the importance in the European market, and the company is going to try to find ways to better compete against Sony.

"We need to do better in Europe. When I look globally, mainland Europe is definitely an area we want to focus on," said Phil Spencer, Xbox boss, while speaking to Edge magazine. Microsoft hopes to win over some gamers during Gamescom, a gaming-focused trade show in August that will be held in Cologne, Germany.

Spencer said the Xbox One "does really well" in Latin America, and is fighting Sony in the North American market.

Continue reading: Microsoft boss says Xbox 'needs to do better' in European markets (full post)

Star Wars Battlefront based on 'absolute core' from the movies

Michael Hatamoto | Gaming | Jul 1, 2015 10:47 AM CDT

DICE is feeling the pressure when it comes to trying to figure out what to include in the new Star Wars Battlefront video game - and it continues to be a major challenge, trying to sort out what makes the cut from the Star Wars universe.

"I wouldn't say that we've designed it by committee. We have a very strong, very competent design lead," said Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir, senior producer of Star Wars Battlefront, in a statement to GameSpot. "But, basically, what we've taken is what to us is the core of Star Wars. Star Wars is so vast, there's so many things in Star Wars that are beloved by so many. And so they are hard choices."

It looks like DICE has decided to support planets such as Endor and Hoth, with characters ranging from Han Solo and Darth Vader - giving gaming fans characters and locations that they will be extremely familiar with.

Continue reading: Star Wars Battlefront based on 'absolute core' from the movies (full post)

Sony raising $4 billion, will go all-in with camera sensors

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Jul 1, 2015 5:28 AM CDT

Sony has already said that it wants to lead the smartphone camera sensor market, with the Japanese giant pulling out of most of its other markets, apart from camera sensors and the PlayStation brand.

Now the company is looking to push out new shares, with the new shares to raise the equivalent to 10% of what Sony is worth. With Sony worth around $40 billion, the company will be raising $4 billion, all of which it's going to invest in camera sensors. Sony said in a statement: "In addition to securing funds for active and concentrated investment in businesses that are driving growth. Sony ... aims to secure its ability to make future further investment".

Chief Portfolio Manager Common Assset Management, Takatoshi Itoshima, said: "It's positive that it is investing in the sensor business which is seen promising. But short-term investors may question the strength of its balance sheet, or wonder whether the company could've slashed more of its businesses before raising money from the market".

Continue reading: Sony raising $4 billion, will go all-in with camera sensors (full post)