ASUS EAH 2900XT w STALKER

ASUS has released the new EAH 2900XT/G/HTVDI/512M – a cutting-edge graphicscard that features the latest generation AMD HD2900XT GPU. The new ATI Radeon™HD 2900 GPU is designed to unleash the gaming power of DirectX® 10; andexcellent audio/video experience through HDMI support enabled by Avivo™ HDtechnology – providing gamers with an unparalleled gaming experience. Therelease of the ASUS EAH2900XT will come bundled with 4 explosive game titleswhich include the highly anticipated first person shooter game S.T.A.L.K.E.R:Shadows of Chernobyl, and Valve’s “The Black Box” game bundle suite – consistingof 3 first rate games: Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal.

Exclusive Only to ASUS EAH2900XT: Special 4 Game Bundle

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl from THQ

One of the major selling points of the ASUS EAH2900XT is that it will be bundledwith THQ and GSC Game World’s critically-acclaimed survival horror First-PersonShooter (FPS) game S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl. “S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadowsof Chernobyl is a very visually engaging open-ended FPS, so the graphicalportions of the game are very detailed and requires a graphics card withpowerful performance and high quality to bring out the best portions of thegame,” said Ian Curran, Senior Vice President of international publishing, THQ.“ASUS’s EAH2900XT is certainly up to the task, and THQ is pleased to bundleS.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl with ASUS’s high-end performance graphicscard.”

“The Black Box” from Valve

Additionally, Valve offers a voucher coupon that allows users free copies of 3upcoming titles from Valve’s “The Black Box” game bundle. This offer includesHalf Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal, and the games will beavailable via downloads through Steam – Valve’s online platform for PC games,when they become available later in 2007. In the meantime, users will be able toenjoy a free copy of Valve’s Day of Defeat.

Full DirectX 10 and Windows Vista Compatibility

The ASUS EAH2900XT comes equipped with AMD’s latest ATI Radeon™ HD 2900XT GPU –which delivers powerful graphics performance, improved stability and animmersive HD gaming experience for Windows Vista™. The latest ATI Catalyst™software is designed for quick setup of graphics, video and multiple displays;and automatically configures optimal system settings for lifelike DirectX® 10gaming and visually stunning Windows Aero™ user interfaces.

Exclusive ASUS Features for Versatile Graphics Experience

The new ASUS EAH2900XT series also incorporates Splendid™ Video IntelligenceTechnology, an exclusive feature found only on ASUS solutions. With Splendid™,images enabled by ASUS graphics cards are fine-tuned to deliver vibrant visualrepresentations in conditions most favorable to the human eye. Splendid™ alsoworks on top of AMD's Avivo™ HD technology to offer sharp decoded videos.

Besides being bundled together with the latest games, the ASUS EAH2900XT alsoincludes the exclusive ASUS Gamer OSD. This feature is able to deliveron-the-spot overclocking and chat options during gameplay – allowing usersreal-time performance upgrades when they require it.

Model

EAH2900XT/G/HTVDI/512M

EAH2900XT/HTVDI/512M

Graphics Engine

RADEON HD2900XT

RADEON HD2900XT

Video Memory

512MB DDR3

512MB DDR3

Engine Clock

740MHz

740MHz

Memory Clock

1.65GHz (825MHz DDR3)

1.65GHz (825MHz DDR3)

Memory Interface

512-bit

512-bit

Max. Resolution

2560 X 1600

2560 X 1600

Bus Standard

PCI Express X16

PCI Express X16

Video Input

YES, via VIVO cable

YES, via VIVO cable

VGA Output

YES, via DVI to VGA Adapter

YES, via DVI to VGA Adapter

HDTV Output

YES, via HDTV Out cable

YES, via HDTV Out cable

TV Output

YES

YES

Dual DVI Output

YES

YES

HDCP Compliant

YES

YES

Adapter/Cable Bundled

DVI to VGA adapter
Component HDTV adapter
DVI to HDMI adapter
CrossFire Bridge Interconnector
VIVO CABLE
Power Cable* 2

DVI to VGA adapter
Component HDTV adapter
DVI to HDMI adapter
CrossFire Bridge Interconnector
VIVO CABLE
Power Cable* 2

Software Bundled

3D Game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl
The Black Box game coupon
ASUS Utilities & Driver

The Black Box game coupon
ASUS Utilities & Driver

ASRock launches Z68 mini-ITX board

If youve been waiting for an affordable Z68 mini-ITX motherboard, then your wait should be over, as ASRock has launched its Z68M-ITX/HT motherboard which should prove to be one of the more wallet friendly mini-ITX Z68 boards out there. That said, its hardly a crowded market space at the moment with Zotac having the only other two models currently available.

As this is a mini-ITX board, the Z68M-ITX/HT is fairly feature light with only a single x16 PCI Express slot and four SATA ports, as well as a pair of headers for two USB 2.0 ports. The real action happens around the back where we have a PS/2 port, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, 7.1-channel audio with optical S/PDIF out and a DVI, D-Sub and HDMI port.

ASRock also supplies an infrared dongle and a Windows MCE compatible remote with the board which is a nice added extra considering that a fair few of these boards are likely to end up in HTPC type systems. You also get a copy of Lucid Logix Virtu graphics switching software in the box. No word on pricing as yet, but considering that ASRocks H67 version of this board is one of the more affordable H67 mini-ITX boards, wed expect the Z68M-ITX/HT to end up being only slightly more expensive.

Source: ASRock

Angry Birds developer to release Bad Piggies game this month

Rovio, the creator of the popular Angry Birds series, will release its latest game, Bad Biggies, later this month, focusing on the nemeses of its bird-flinging titles.

The mobile and social gaming company has released a few teasers of the oink-filled action. A series of images released on Facebook and Twitter show the egg-stealing piggies hard at work with ladders, paint cans, and even boxes of TNT, which cannot be good news for catapulting birds.Rovio is keeping tight-lipped about the game mechanics, but this title is unlikely to be a simple reversal of who is shooting at who. The company said there will be “no slingshot in sight,” so we can expect something a little different to what weve been playing from Rovio all along.One possibility is that the game will involve making fortresses for the pigs to defend themselves in. This would tie in with the current series and also with the images shown on social networks, but Rovio might also want to give the piggies a way to get their revenge on the birds. It might even be all about stealing the eggs that caused this gaming debacle in the first place.Bad Piggies will launch on 27 September on iOS, Android and Mac. Rovio also plans to release Windows Phone and PC versions, including a Windows 8 port.

Asus' Eee Pad Transformer Prime goes up on pre-order

If youre eager to get your hands on Asus new Tegra 3 powered Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet and live somewhere in North America, then we have good news for you, its now available for pre-order. Asus hasnt confirmed an actual launch date as yet, but wed expect the Transformer Prime to arrive in time for the holidays.

The Transformer Prime will be available in one of two colours that Asus calls amethyst grey and champagne gold, although the grey one still looks purple to us in the pictures. You also have the choice of 32 or 64GB of internal eMMC flash memory. Whichever model you pick youll get a Tegra 3 SoC which Asus has as yet to reveal the clock speed for, 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 10.1-inch IPS+ screen with 1280x800 resolution, a battery good for up to 12h of usage and theres of course the optional keyboard dock which adds another 6h of battery life.

Price wise youre looking at US$499.99 for the 32GB models and US$599.99 for the 64GB models, slightly more than the original Eee Pad Transformer, but not a massive price hike. No word on pricing for the keyboard dock as yet. Asus US has put up a special tablet site which contains links to the pre-order partners which youll find at the bottom of this article.

As far as the OS is concerned, the Transformer Prime will ship with Android 3.2, but Asus is already promising that itll be upgradeable to 4.0. In fact, Nvidia has already posted a video on YouTube showing off an early build of Android 4.0 running on the Transformer Prim as a demo showing off its Tegra 3 chip. This suggests that the wait for the upgrade shouldnt be too long, which is good news for those that are planning on getting a Transformer Prime.

Source: Asustablets

ATi R580 Die Exposed

Our friends over at HKEPC has got hold of a X1900XTX cardalready and the R580 die size is noticeably larger than the R520. If the processtechnology remains at 90nm for the R580, the estimated number of transistorsstand at 350M or more compared to 321M for the R520. Radeon X1900 XTX will beclocked at 695MHz core and 1550MHz memory while the Radeon X1900 XT will beclocked at 625MHz core and 1450MHz memory. ATi has revealed that Radeon X1900XTX will require at least 450W PSU with 30A in 12V rail. If in Crossfire setup,the system will require at least 550W PSU and the 12V rail will need to provide38A.

Asus EeeBox B208 With Dual Core Atom amp; Radeon HD 4350

Engadget reports of new Asus EeeBox B208 that appeared on Asus's website before shortly disappearing into nowhere.

The EeeBox PC will feature a dual core Intel Atom 330 and a 256MB Radeon HD 4350 which is a plus as it comes with a built in HDMI port.

Along with that, it, a 320GB harddisk, and also 4x USB2.0 ports.

No official price has been given yet but I am hoping it will cost just a slight more than the existing Eeebox B206

ASUS P7P55D Deluxe Preview

Every motherboard manufacturers are jumping onto the P55 bandwagon but only the first tiermakerslike ASUS and Gigabyteare able to get ahead of competition due to early chipset access and strong R&D team. Judging from the slew of P55 boards previews on the internet, it seems ASUS is the most ready of all after sending out P7P55D EVO a couple of weeks agoand now the P7P55D Deluxe.

The key differences between the EVO and the Deluxe version lie in the power phase design and audio aspects where the former sports 12+2 phase, 8 channel audio while the Deluxe sports 16+3 phase, 10 channel audio and includes a Turbo-V remote control. Also, Delxue version is able to allow memory overclocking up to DDR3-2133 through their Hyper DIMM support.

The entire range of P7P55D including thisDeluxe versionis part of ASUS' Xtreme Design initiative aimed to take on its arch rival, Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3 design. If you are interested in the marketing talksbetweenthe big guys, you can take a look at this article to find out more about Xtreme Design.

The CPU surrounding is free of unwanted obstruction so that leave you enough space to mount a huge cooler on it. You can clearly see the 16+3power phase designhere and that will make a more stable uncore overclocking for Core i5/i7 processors. ASUS uses atechnology called T.Probe which is an intelligentmicrochip toload balance between all the power phases to prevent hot spots built upon some phases only.

The single chip P55 chipset covered by a low profile sink provides support for 6 SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, 14 USB 2.0 ports (6 ports at mid-board and 8 at back panel) as well as RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 through Intel Rapid Storage Technology. There are another 3 SATA 3.0 Gb/s portsprovided by the JMicron JMB322 and JMB363 controllers. Orginally, there are plans for Marvell 6G controller but was scrapped due to drivers issues.

From theback panel, there are Dual GbE LAN ports powered by Realtek 8112L and 8110SC chips, IEEE 1394a port, HD Audio panel powered by VIA VT2020 10-ch audio codec chip, CMOS clear button, Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports.

One ofthe neat featureis theMemOK! button thatallows the board to boot even if there are compatibility issue between the board and the memories. There is a red LED indicator that will light up if there is an issue and user will just have to press the button toload the safe memory timings from the BIOS.

For hardcore oveclockers, you might want to tinkle around with the OV DRAM, OV IMC and OV CPU switches that remove the voltage limits in the BIOS andallow you to setthem even higher.

ASUS really makes overclocking extremely easy and safe on this board and this is possible through a combination of hardwareand software methods. There is a TurboV EVOchip onboard to work with TurboV EVO (OC tuning software)with Auto Tuning supportandTurboV Key (turns your power button into OC button). To go one step further, ASUS even bundle this board with TurboV remote control thatallows you to overclock your system real-time when playing games or running applications without the need to exit the program. You can even pre-set some OCprofiles and load them up instantly or increase the BCLK 1MHz at a time.

To show how overclockable this board is, from ASUS internal testings, it seems the Lynnfield 2.93 processor can be easily overclocked to 4.67GHz on air using the BIOS settings below :

CPU Ratio:24
BCLK: 194
DRAM: DDR3-1940
Vcore: offset +0.25V
Vimc: 1.4V
Vdimm: 1.65V

As for memory OC showcase, the G.SKILL DDR3-2200 (F3-17600CL9T-6GBPS) 2GB x 2 Dual Channel can be overclocked to DDR3-2552 using the below BIOS settings :

CPU Ratio:21
BCLK: 212
DRAM: DDR3-2544
Timing: 10-10-10-30-2N
Vcore: offset +0.25V
Vimc: 1.4V
Vdimm:1.7V

We would love to try it out ourselves soon too so stay tuned.

Apple iPhone 4 awarded quot;Best Mobile Device quot; at MWC

According to the judges of the panel, the iPhone 4 has a "great screen, sharp design, fantastic materials, and phenomenal ecosystem for app developers. In a tight race, the iPhone 4 built on the success of its predecessors to set the pace for smart phones.”

However, despite creating the "Best Mobile Device", Apple still lost to HTC as they were awarded "Device Manufacturer of the Year." What mounts up to HTCs win includes "great communication and good customer service" admist "a strong portfolio of devices across many platforms."

Check out other awards here.

Source: 9to5Mac

Apple looking for LED back-light solutions for upcoming iPad 3 with Retina display

According to Digitimes, LED back-light unit (BLU) vendors have reportedly offered Apple two alternative backlight solutions for its next-generation iPad. The sources said that the single LED light bar for the iPad 2 (1024x768 resolution) displayisnt able to handle the upcoming iPad 3s retina display, and therefore the solution would either be using dual LED light bars or keep the light bar in a single-bar form factor but with two LED chips; the iPad 3 is expected to adopt LCD panels with resolutions higher than 2048x1536 pixels. TheApple iPad 3 is rumored tolaunch in March 2012 with a slimmer design and minor update.

Source: Digitimes

AquaGizmo Water Cooling Kit

Soldam latest water cooling unit, the AquaGizmowill be available for sale from Dec 15th at a price of 35300-36800 Yen.AquaGizmo comes with a copper liquid-cooled jacket, flexible tube, micro pumpand radiator built for compactness, quietness and durability. It has a coolingefficiency of 150W with propylene glycol antifreeze coolant. AquaGizmo is sosmall that it can even be fitted into a mini PC.

2012-12-21-436

Active Media Launches Flip USB Flash Drive

ACTIVE MEDIA PRODUCTS PRESS RELEASE

Fremont, California - February 7, 2011- Active Media Products, a leading manufacturer of SSDs, DOMs and USB drives, today announced the new FLIP pivot USB 2.0 flash drive, an ultra-slim pivot style drive. "The FLIP drive is designed in fire orange and white racing colors, giving it a unique look, and the drive is extremely small and ultra-slim, making it a highly portable storage device," stated Active Media Products VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson.

The pivot style lid protects the drive when not in use - and youll never have to worry about losing the lid because it conveniently flips open, giving instant access to your data. Pack 4GB or 8GB of data securely onto the FLIP drive. It is designed to fit easily on a keychain or in a pocket or clipped to a backpack. Load up to 2000 MP3 songs or up to 2400 six megapixel photos onto your FLIP drive to take with you anywhere.

This new FLIP drive is available today through Amazon, at approximately $12 for the 4GB model and $20 for the 8GB. The FLIP drive is available in fire orange or white.

About Active Media Products

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Active Media Products LLC is dedicated to developing creative new media products that improve performance and enhance the users experience. Our focus on innovative product development enables us to bring new technology to market a step ahead of the competition. AMP is a leader in small form factor SSDs and manufactures the Wink and the endangered species line of USB drives.

2012-12-21-261

3rd Gen Intel SSD 320 Series Launched

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 28, 2011 – Intel Corporation announced today its highly anticipated third-generation solid-state drive (SSD) the Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 Series (Intel® SSD 320 Series). Based on its industry-leading 25-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory, the Intel SSD 320 replaces and builds on its high-performing Intel® X25-M SATA SSD. Delivering more performance and uniquely architected reliability features, the new Intel SSD 320 offers new higher capacity models, while taking advantage of cost benefits from its#25nm process with an up to 30 percent price reduction over its current generation."Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intels third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether its a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."The Intel SSD 320 is the next generation of Intels client product line for use on desktop and notebook PCs. It is targeted for mainstream consumers, corporate IT or PC enthusiasts who would like a substantial performance boost over conventional mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs). An SSD is more rugged, uses less power and reduces the HDD bottleneck to speed PC processes such as boot up and the opening of files and favorite applications. In fact, an upgrade from an HDD to an Intel SSD can give users one of the single-best performance boosts, providing an up to 66 percent gain in overall system responsiveness.1The Intel SSD 320 Series comes in 40 gigabyte (GB), 80GB, 120GB, 160GB and new higher capacity 300GB and 600GB versions. It uses the 3 gigabit-per-second (3gbps) SATA II interface to support an SSD upgrade for the more than 1 billion SATA II PCs installed throughout the world. Continuing to offer high-performing random read and write speeds, which most affect a users daily computing experience, the Intel SSD 320 produces up to 39,500 input/output operations per second (IOPS) random reads and 23,000 IOPS random writes on its highest-capacity drives. In addition, the company has more than doubled sequential write speeds from its second generation to 220 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) sequential writes and still maintains one of the highest read throughputs at up to 270 MB/s sequential reads. This greatly improves a users multitasking capabilities. For example, a user can easily play background music or download a video, while working on a document with no perceivable slow down.Already one of the most solid-performing SSDs over time, Intel continues to raise the bar on SSD reliability in the way it has architected its third generation, using proprietary firmware and controller, to further demonstrate that not all solid-state drives are created equal. In this rendition, Intel creatively uses spare area to deploy added redundancies that will help keep user data protected, even in the event of a power loss. It also includes 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard capabilities on every drive, to help protect personal data in the event of theft or loss."Solid-state drives continue to be one of the hottest trends in computing," said Bernard Luthi, vice president of marketing, Web management and customer service at leading e-retailer Newegg.com. "Intel remains a top brand because of its consistent performance and extremely low return rate. We are sure customers will welcome the new higher capacity drives, and now is a great time for consumers to upgrade their PC to a fast new SSD."Intel SSD 320 prices, based on 1,000-unit quantities, are as follows: 40GB at $89; 80GB at $159; 120GB at $209; 160GB at $289; 300GB at $529 and 600GB at $1,069. Check retailers/e-tailers for consumer pricing. All models include a limited 3-year warranty from Intel."With recent announcements, we have expanded our SSD product line and now offer both consumers and computer OEMs more SSD choices," said Tom Rampone, vice president and general manager, Intel NVM Solutions Group. "We see the Intel SSD 320 as a solid advancement to our SSD roadmap, and will continue to upgrade and refresh our SSD product line as we add more enterprise options for our business customers throughout the year."Another benefit for Intel SSD purchasers is the Intel® SSD Toolbox with Intel® SSD Optimizer, a free utility which provides Microsoft Windows* users with a powerful set of management, information and diagnostic tools to help maintain the health and out-of-box performance of the drive. To help ease the installation process, all Intel SSD users can download the free Intel® Data Migration Software to help clone the entire content of a previous storage drive (SSD or HDD) to any Intel SSD.Intel SSDs can be purchased in the United States from such retailers as Best Buy or Frys Electronics, plus a variety of resellers, retailers or Internet e-tailers such as Newegg.com or Amazon.com worldwide. To download the multimedia press kit go to Intel® Solid-State Drives (SSD). A special enterprise addendum for data center customers and more information on Intel SSDs can be found at www.intel.com/go/ssd. Follow Intel SSDs on Twitter: @intelssd, Facebook: Intel Solid State Drive (Official) or communities.intel.com.Product Brief: Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 SeriesTechnology Brief: Enhanced power-loss data protection in the Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 SeriesTechnology Brief: Data security features in the Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 Series