Windows XP SP3 Release Dates update
The folks over at Neowin have managed to get hold of an internal schedule release update from Microsoft concerning the release dates of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.
If you haven't made the move to Vista yet and as our traffic stats confirm, there are many of you that haven't, you should pay attention to this news.
Continue reading: Windows XP SP3 Release Dates update (full post)
Diamond releases HD 3870 with 1GB DDR3
Diamond is today taking the covers off its latest graphics card. It claims to have been the first AIB to introduce 1GB of memory on the HD 2900 series and again is the first to strap a total of 1GB of DDR3 memory to the single GPU Radeon HD 3870.
Not only does it get a boost in memory but it also sees its clock speeds increased to further push performance as high as possible. The core clock is set at 825MHz which is a fair boost over the reference model clock rate and the memory spins its wheels at 1800MHz DDR.
Continue reading: Diamond releases HD 3870 with 1GB DDR3 (full post)
100% copper 9800 GTX cooler from Aqua
Aqua Computer from Germany has released its latest graphics card waterblock cooler and this time it is designed specifically for the GeForce 9800 GTX.
Aquagrafx 9800 GTX is made from highly purified electrolyte copper (99,99% - okay, we lied a little and admit not to knowing exactly what "purified electrolyte" actually means) and manages to weigh in at only 600 grams and its height profile measures just 6mm. It's not a lightweight cooler by any means but it probably won't snap your PCI Express x16 port off your motherboard, either.
Continue reading: 100% copper 9800 GTX cooler from Aqua (full post)
PS3 firmware v2.30 out with DTS-HD MA
You have read about it and heard about it in the streets... heck, maybe even your dog has half an idea of what's going on with all the pandemonium going on inside your home theater!
Yes folks, as promised, Sony has just let loose v2.30 firmware for PlayStation 3. In case you hadn't somehow heard about all the fuss and bother, it brings with it DTS-HD Master Audio decoding (as well as an update to the PS Store - if you even care).
Continue reading: PS3 firmware v2.30 out with DTS-HD MA (full post)
Early shots of the AMD 790GX motherboard
AMD is set to release its next chipset next month and it is the 790GX. You could think of it as a 790FX with onboard graphics, Radeon HD 3300 to be exact. It's a faster onboard graphics solution than the 780G which uses Radeon HD 3200. It even includes a memory chip onboard using Side-Port Memory technology.
Rumors are floating around that the 790GX will support CrossfireX (not full speed but half speed two x8 slots) as well as Hybrid Crossfire to reduce power consumption and boost performance when teamed up with a discrete graphics card such as the Radeon HD 3450.
Continue reading: Early shots of the AMD 790GX motherboard (full post)
3DMark Vantage Interview at PCGH
Our friends over at PCGH in Germany have conducted an English interview with two well known chaps from Futuremark, Oliver Baltuch and Dr. Jukka Makinen.
They get down and dirty with a bunch of questions addressing the upcoming version of 3DMark Vantage. While not all questions could be answered due to the unreleased nature of the product, it is still an interesting read.
Continue reading: 3DMark Vantage Interview at PCGH (full post)
Intel G35 Express now ready for DX10
Intel's G35 Express chipset and motherboards based around it have been out and selling for many months but only just a couple days ago has Intel finally released its DX10 driver for the onboard Graphics Media Accelerator X3500.
ASUS, who was quick to act, immediately uploaded the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver V7.14.10.1451 for Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit) to its website. The Taiwanese company is claiming the "World's First Intel® Platform with Onboard Integrated Graphics Card to Natively Support DirectX10". Read through the lines and all the smoke and mirrors though, and any G35 based motherboard will have support for DX10.
Continue reading: Intel G35 Express now ready for DX10 (full post)
NVIDIA to push for mainstream DDR3
The lads at Expreview have sighted what could be the world's first budget/mainstream positioned DDR3 motherboard to hit the market. Code-named MCP7A-U, this will be a part of NVIDIA's GeForce 9-series motherboard GPU lineup with nForce 730i Southbridge, HDMI video output, PCI-E 2.0 and many more up to date technologies.
It is said that we should see the upcoming chipset first sampled as early as next month, with a launch date of sometime in July which is when Intel's G45 should see light of day with its assumed DDR3 support. However, Expreview have strong suspicion that NVIDIA will beat them to it.
As to the logic of running DDR3 in a more budget oriented platform; well, it would seem to be a bit un-fitting given the cost of DDR3 memory hasn't really dropped much at all yet, though this will hopefully soon change for the better with the presence of chipsets like these hitting the market.
Continue reading: NVIDIA to push for mainstream DDR3 (full post)
Guide to overclocking your Eee PC
Over the weekend a guide has surfaced on the Net from a newish tutorial website called Cyb3rGlitch, which details quite well, how to overclock the first generation of ASUS cheapy and increasing popular Eee PC computers.
The guide suggests which programs to use and which work on various Eee models and eitheer Windows XP or Linux variants of the operating system. After offering a quick CPU overclocking theory lesson, they move onto the fun part, overclocking the Eee! Cutting through all the useful information, Vito Cassisi managed to increase the Intel Celeron M processor clock speed from 900MHz to 1GHz.
Continue reading: Guide to overclocking your Eee PC (full post)
AMD's upcoming R700 GPU out in June?
Fuad Abazovic over at Fudzilla is speculating in our second round of GPU rumors today. He reckons AMD might launch its new range of graphics chips at or just before Computex 2008, which is in the early June timeframe.
Concrete and specific details on the R700 are still scarce and quite unconfirmed at this stage of the game but it's said that R700 will be a dual-GPU design using two RV770 chips similar to that of the HD Radeon 3870 X2.
Continue reading: AMD's upcoming R700 GPU out in June? (full post)