OCZ to Bring Out DIY Notebooks Later This Year

OCZ has long been known as a company to offer products for the enthusiast. We have memory of course, CPU coolers (even thermal paste), power supplies, flash memory and even a mouse. So what's next? How about a do-it-yourself gaming notebook? Yea, I didn't see this one coming either.

OCZ acquired Hypersonic last fall, so we knew that the Sunnyvale-based company had an obvious desire to branch out and target enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes, but even after that acquisition, I sure didn't expect this to come about, especially so soon! Though OCZ are not the first ones to offer such a notebook, they are the first ones to target it specifically at gamers.

The notebook will come in a standard 15.4" size, and include an 8600M GPU, S-ATA drive support, DVD burner, 4 USB ports, ExpressCard and even a fingerprint reader. The chipset used will be the Intel PM965. Optional components will include a Bluetooth chip, TV tuner and a wireless adapter, based on Intel's 4965AGN (aka, the same chip used in most laptops sold right now).

From there, you add performance parts, such as the CPU, memory and of course, the hard drive. All of these parts are readily available at all popular e-tailers, so getting a hold of what you need shouldn't be too difficult. OCZ might sell certain parts themselves, however. This is one reason the GPU is included, though, as it is one component not found at any e-tailer. Until DIY notebooks catch on, it might remain that way for a while.

This is a very interesting direction for OCZ to go, but it makes complete sense. They've mastered the enthusiast market with their memory and power supplies (especially helped with last spring's acquisition of PC Power & Cooling), so taking such a turn doesn't sound like such a bad idea. It will be very interesting to see how successful these will be, when released later this year.

Each notebook comes from OCZ standard with a 15.4" WXGA display, NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 512MB GPU, Intel PM965 northbridge/ICH8M southbridge, SATA support for HDDs or SSDs, 8x dual-layer DVD burner, four USB 2.0 ports, ExpressCard 34/54 slot, and a fingerprint reader. Optional components will include Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, a TV tuner, and a Intel 4965AGN 802.11a/g/n wireless adapter.

Source: DailyTech

Gigabyte's Atom-Powered M528 3G Due Out in June

UMPC Portal has the scoop on what could become the first MID on the market to feature Intel's new Atom mobile processor. It comes courtesy of Gigabyte, and is called the M528 3G, the 3G representing the upcoming mobile standard. The device packs in a speedy 800MHz Atom CPU, 800x480 touchscreen, 8GB worth of flash space, built-in GPS, 3 megapixel camera along with an 11Wh battery.

From both the specs and the picture alone, the M528 3G looks fantastic. The problem right now though, is pricing. Originally, the device was announced at $1,549 AUD ($1,452 USD), but that's undoubtedly expensive. So after the collective Internet flipped Gigabyte the bird, the price was dropped to $1,199 AUD. Still far too high, but it looks to stay that way for our friends down under.

The site further goes on to report that the new device might cost as low as $750 in the US, which would make it a far more attractive product. $1,000 is far too high, but $750 seems to be a sweet spot, given its capabilities. Release is slated for late June, so models should be readily on display at next month's Computex.

Things to consider here include the fact that Tegatech are first out of the gate (if it was me I'd also add 10% for being the first to offer a desirable product) and the Australian sales tax that's included in the price. (10%) Also add another 10% for Australian pricing and perhaps 10% for being a specialist retailer but that still leaves you with a $900 price for a product that's supposed to be giving consumers the Internet in their pocket.

Source: UMPC Portal

Soar Through Space with Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope

Google Earth is an amazing application for spending hours scouring our beautiful globe, but it's not that great for surfing through space. The options there, but it's clunky as best. Microsoft hopes to one or two-up Google Earth's attempt with WorldWide Telescope, a brand-new application, similar to other Earth-mapping tools, that allows users to travel through space at their leisure.

With over 1TB worth of imagery available, it's unlikely that you will find yourself bored too quickly. To make things even more interactive, you are able to take guided tours, which are actually narrated by real astronomers and teachers. It sure looks good so far, especially for a beta. It's just too bad that it's Windows only. How convenient of Microsoft!

But WorldWide Telescope has a few more tricks up its sleeve. You can take guided tours, which are narrated by astronomers and teachers. You can join "communities," which are currently maintained by several astronomy magazines. Community members will have access to exclusive tours and other content. And if you have your own telescope, you can connect to to your computer and control it with WorldWide Telescope.

Source: Download Squad

May 14th Tech Roundup

Motherboards & Processors
• ASRock Penryn1600SLIX3-Wifi - Hardware Canucks
• ASUS Crosshair II Formula - Neoseeker

Displays & Video Cards
• ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB - TheTechLounge
• Honeywell 22-Inch LCD Monitor MT-SY-HWLM2216 - Benchmark Reviews
• Palit GeForce 9600 GSO Sonic 768MB - TweakTown
• Sapphire HD 3650 OC - Pro-Clockers
• Sapphire PURE CrossFireX 790FX - Digit-Life
• Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 - Big Bruin
• XFX GeForce 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog Edition - Elite Bastards

Memory & Storage
• Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive - Think Computers
• OCZ Technology 4GB Rally2 USB Flash Drive - Viper Lair

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Everglide DKTBoard Gaming Keyboard - techPowerUp!
• Evo-G MP1 Mouse Pad - Tech-Reviews
• Scythe Kama Bay Amp - Dreamware Computers
• Solio H1000 Hybrid Solar Charger - Techware Labs

Cooling
• OCZ Vendetta 2 Exposed Heatpipe Base Heatsink - FrostyTech

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Apevia X-Telstar Red/Black Case - Overclockers Club
• In Win B2 Stealth Bomber Mid Tower - TweakTown
• PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 860 PSU - TweakPC

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• Alienware Area-51 m15x Laptop - Digital Trends
• Toshiba Satellite M305 Laptop - Digital Trends