WirelessHD 2.0 is coming - 4K res support and much more

Steve Dougherty | Networking | Jan 5, 2010 6:18 AM CST

WirelessHD will be given an update in the near future and the companies backing it up have already outlined the goals for this 2.0 revision.

The WirelessHD Consortium says the next-gen WirelessHD specs bring :-

- Data transfer speeds in the range of 10 to 28 Gbps so as to provide enough bandwidth for higher resolution content

Continue reading: WirelessHD 2.0 is coming - 4K res support and much more (full post)

eVGA throws all its tricks (and then some) into dual-socket LGA-1366 board

Steve Dougherty | Video Cards & GPUs | Jan 4, 2010 8:21 AM CST

A pretty outrageous motherboard has been spotted online from eVGA which they will quite likely show off during CES which kicks off in a few days.

This thing is an absolute monster; a dual socket LGA-1366 offering which looks to be Intel 5500 "Tylersberg" or X58 powered with ICH10-class Southbridge. It is neither XL-ATX or EATX in exact dimensions with a said length of 13.58 inches (344.93mm) and possibly a little wider than EATX as well.

Each LGA-1366 socket gets six DDR3 DIMM slots with independant 3-phase digital PWM circuit, whilst the CPU sockets themselves get 8-phases each. The CPU VRM requires input from an 8-pin ATX and also what looks to be an additional 6-pin +12V (PCI-E) connector. Further to that is a spot for additional 6-pin PCI-E power along with the usual 24-pin ATX connector to feed the beast, albeit some of these extra power inputs may only be needed for extreme overclocking.

Continue reading: eVGA throws all its tricks (and then some) into dual-socket LGA-1366 board (full post)

Team unveils new X092 USB 2.0/eSATA flash drive

Shane McGlaun | Connectivity & Cloud | Dec 31, 2009 11:14 AM CST

With CES coming up there are hoards of new flash drives and other gear hitting the market that support USB 3.0. Most of the new products I have been seeing lately are USB 3.0. Today a new flash drive turned up form Team Group called the X092 that is not USB 3.0.

The drive is USB 2.0 and eSATA certified and offers fast read and write speeds. When connected via eSATA the drive is good for read speed of 110MB/sec and 40MB/sec write speed. The drive has enough performance to transfer a 4.5GB movie file in 42 seconds.

The X092 will be offered in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB capacities and is RoHS compliant. The thing is covered by a two year warranty and weighs 24 grams. Availability and pricing info is unknown at this time.

Continue reading: Team unveils new X092 USB 2.0/eSATA flash drive (full post)

Intel and Nintendo in talks for new console?

Shane McGlaun | Gaming | Dec 28, 2009 10:52 AM CST

Nintendo ruled the roost for the first couple years of the Wii's availability in the gaming console market. Recently the demand for the console has slipped greatly leading to some rough quarters for Nintendo.

Rumors are circulating that Nintendo and Intel are in talks for a Larrabee CPU with graphics built-in to power a new Nintendo console. Exactly what console it could be is unknown. We do know that Nintendo trademarked the Zii moniker and many expect a Wii HD to hit this year.

It seems that Intel could possibly be powering the graphics and CPU for the new console. Some expect that the next Nintendo console may not hit until 2011. With profits falling I expect to see new Nintendo hardware sooner rather than later.

Continue reading: Intel and Nintendo in talks for new console? (full post)

Asus H57 based Motherboards show up in the Taipei Computer Market

Sean Kalinich | Motherboards | Dec 23, 2009 10:40 AM CST

In what seems to be a flashback to the Lynnfield/P55 launch we now hear that H57 boards from at least one manufacturer are showing up for sale in the Taipei computer market. The culprit this time is the Asus P7H57D-V EVO, the problem? Well the launch for this and the CPUs that support it are not until sometime in January.

What does this mean for Clarkdale and the new H5x chipsets? Well it can go one of two ways really. The first is the worse of the two scenarios as we start seeing Clarkdale Core i5 CPUs hitting the shelves in the same stores in Taipei. At the time of this writing that is not the case. The other is one where the boards hang out and are picked up by those wanting to get an early start on Clarkdale Core i5 and i3 CPUs.

But no matter which way it goes the Asus H57 board is a little higher priced that it should be. It runs for about $240. This is more than many P55 boards will run, but I suppose they are banking on the IGP on the CPU to make the cost seem more logical. The issue still remains that we do not yet know if the IGP on Clarkdale is worth the extra money or not.

Continue reading: Asus H57 based Motherboards show up in the Taipei Computer Market (full post)

DFI says it's not quitting enthusiast mobo business

Cameron Wilmot | Business, Financial & Legal | Dec 23, 2009 9:22 AM CST

This past week rumors have been circulating around the good ole Internet that DFI is quitting the enthuaist and retail motherboard business.

We have heard plenty of rumors on the story that both claim that DFI is quitting and ones saying that DFI isn't quitting the business. I'll put it out in the open that we had it from a reliable source last night over an IM chat that DFI is indeed quitting from January 2010, but is trying to kills the rumors as it still wants to sell the rest of its stock and use the parts its ordered from the likes of Intel and Foxconn.

To be honest, I don't know what to believe. However, we just received an email from Alex Cheng at DFI reiterating that no such decision has been made for DFI to quit the business. Here is what we got from Alex:

Continue reading: DFI says it's not quitting enthusiast mobo business (full post)

Cooler Master launching the USP 100 case

Sean Kalinich | Cases, Cooling & PSU | Dec 22, 2009 2:07 PM CST

Cooler Master is at it again, as they are gearing up to launch another wide bodied case. This time they are going to throw in a PSU for your enjoyment. The case will be named USP 100, this stands for Universal System P100. While not the most inspired name, it does not reduce what looks like an excellent case.

The USP 100 is a little over 8.4-inches; this give plenty of room for larger air cooling gear. It also allows for extra space to make cable management easier. In fact CM has left about a half inch between the motherboard tray and the case cover. The USP (as we mentioned above) comes with a PSU, this is going to be Extreme Power Plus 550. The rest of the specs are nice and include four-5.25 inch drive bays, and seven-3.25 inch bays. All of these are the typical tool less design. The USP comes with a single 120mm fan that is lit with a RED LED, but has room for three additional 80mm fans.

The USP 100 should retail at around $100, which is a great price for a case and a PSU. We will see the USP 100 hit the stores sometime in Q1 2010.

Continue reading: Cooler Master launching the USP 100 case (full post)

ASUS 1005P (Pineview) netbooks pictured and detailed

Steve Dougherty | Laptops | Dec 18, 2009 4:16 AM CST

The folks over at Netbooknews.de have managed to get hold of a bunch of snaps of ASUS' highly anticipated upcoming 1005P series Eee PCs which recently appeared on etailers websites in the UK and Europe.

Whilst we see black and white versions here, there's also supposedly a blue variant coming to market under this new family as well.

The most exciting aspect of the 1005P Eee PCs is that they run Intel's next-gen Atom N450 (Pineview) processor. There will be two slightly differing models in the new family, as per the following (translated) specs :-

Continue reading: ASUS 1005P (Pineview) netbooks pictured and detailed (full post)

AMD/ATI releases its final Catalyst drivers for 2009

Steve Dougherty | Software & Apps | Dec 18, 2009 3:10 AM CST

In its final set for 2009, AMD has just released the Catalyst 9.12 drivers for XP, Vista and W7 in both 32 and 64-bit flavours.

Catalyst 9.12 brings support for DirectCompute 10.1 using Radeon 4700/4800 series cards in both single and Crossfire configurations as well as OpenGL 3.2 extension support across the full range of cards going back to the HD 2000 series.

Only a couple applications are mentioned as far as performance improvements go. These include :-

Continue reading: AMD/ATI releases its final Catalyst drivers for 2009 (full post)

ION2 delayed until late Q1 2010

Sean Kalinich | CPU, APU & Chipsets | Dec 17, 2009 11:34 AM CST

Looks like the ION2 chipset for Intel's Atom may be delayed. Originally it was supposed to hit the streets before the end of 2009, but now we hear rumors that it will not hit until sometime late in Q1 2010. Why the delay? Well, due to the delayed acceptance of the original ION, OEMs are reluctant to see ION 2 come out as it would cut into sales of the devices they are currently selling. This if true is sort of underhanded but not unexpected. Still I hope this is not the real reason as it would not look good for NV. After all holding back improved products to make a few more dollars on existing ones is sort of anti-consumer now isn't it?

So this means that we wont see ION 2 until after CES just so a OEMs can sell a few more original ION systems. As far as seeing ION 2 at CES, I doubt it unless it is a mock up that says it will have ION 2 inside on the label. On the good side the new ION 2 will be significantly more powerful than te current one as it will pack upwards of twice the shaders in the first ION. Battery life is also being extended as well.

Continue reading: ION2 delayed until late Q1 2010 (full post)

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