Leaked Intel Roadmap Exposes First Core i7 Model Names

Leaked Intel roadmaps are as about rare as finding a Starbucks, but this one is a bit interesting. The folks at Expreview stumbled over a new roadmap that reaffirms what we already knew about the upcoming launches, except this time, model names are attached.

The 3.2GHz model is set to be called the Core i7 965, the 2.93GHz will be the Core i7 940 and the smaller 2.66GHz will be the Core i7 920. It doesn't need to be said, but these are not the most creative names Intel could have picked out of the hat. Of course, the same can be said about the 'Core i7' moniker as well.

To recap what we know so far, the highest-end 965 at 3.2GHz will be priced at $999 in quantities of 1,000, similar to most other Extreme Edition's we've seen in the past. The 'performance' 940 at 2.93GHz will be sold at $562, while the mainstream 920 at 2.66GHz is $284. The roadmap doesn't expand much beyond these three models, sadly, but it does appear that the first follow-up Nehalem launches will occur in Q2 of next year.

Source: Expreview, Via: Fudzilla

Super Talent Releases "Dangerously Fast" SSDs

It's rare for a week to pass without seeing an SSD product launch, and this week it comes courtesy of Super Talent. This is one company who really, really wants to make an impression, because they were one of the first out the door with their own SSDs, and they've followed up their line-ups many times over. Each time, they get cheaper and faster... and that's what we like to see.

The latest launch is for both MLC and SLC-based units, or rather, one somewhat expensive series and one whoa expensive series. The MasterDrive OX is for the 'budget' models, coming in at 32GB, 64GB and 128GB densities, and boasting 150MB/s Read and 100MB/s write. The 128GB OX drive will retail for $419, which is still expensive, but it's a stark contrast to what things were like just a few months ago.

Refer back to Super Talent's launch this past May. At that time, their 120GB was $699, and if the price difference isn't enough, realize that those drives featured a 120MB/s Read and 40MB/s Write. That was only four months ago! Indeed, it's hard to recommend anyone take the SSD route right now, because it's worse than buying a new car in terms of value lost. Where things will be in five months is anyone's guess, but it's a lot of fun watching the prices free-fall.

These new SSDs are based on a sophisticated new multi-channel SATA-II (3.0 Gbits per sec) controller. The MasterDrive OX uses MLC NAND Flash to transfer data at speeds up to 150 MB/sec (sequential read) and 100 MB/sec (sequential write). The MasterDrive OX is offered in capacities up to 128GB, and is backed with a 1-year warranty.

Source: Super Talent Press Release

Will the Playstation 4 Omit Blu-ray?

Rumors have been going crazy lately with regards to both the "Xbox 720" and "Playstation 4", and everyone has an opinion. One rampant rumor in particular is that the Playstation 4 will lack the Blu-ray player that came with the PS3, and for the most part, it's a good argument. The fact of the matter is, Sony's adding of Blu-ray to the PS3 is one of the reasons why the console didn't sell far better than it did, although the lack of quality games that kicked off the consoles first year probably didn't help, either.

One of the strangest opinion pieces I've seen has to be the one posted at C|Net, by Don Reisinger. He kicks off as saying, "To me, Blu-ray is the LaserDisc of its time. It's not nearly as useful as the DVD that it's trying to supplant". Wait... what? To give the impression that Blu-ray isn't a substantial upgrade from DVD... is just ridiculous.

Let's take a look at the now picture. Blu-ray offers a far higher resolution than DVD, and if Don ever took the opportunity to watch one, he'd know this. The difference would be noticeable by anyone, no matter how inept their technical ability. Then we have the storage issue. Blu-ray can store upwards of 50GB, and with many current games already requiring 10GB+ of data, I'd say the extra storage is worthy.

It's constantly argued that HD downloads is the next big thing, but I really don't see that method taking over anytime soon. The reason, to me, is both the bandwidth caps enforced by ISPs, and also the general download speed. It's fine if you want to download a movie in advance, but it would be impossible to download a 20GB movie some evening and still have the desire to watch it by the time it actually finishes downloading. Even on a 20Mbit connection, that movie would take over two hours to download. Whether or not even those net speeds will be common in three years, who knows.

Lastly, the major hit against the PS3 has been the added price due to the player, but now, the prices are getting so low, people are throwing drives in their HTPCs without second thought. NewEgg has an LG BD-ROM for $140 now... so imagine what the prices will be like three years down the road. It will virtually add so little cost to the console, it's going to be a non-issue. Regardless of your opinions on things, it's going to be a while before we actually have hard answers, sadly.

But the fact that the Playstation 4 won't feature Blu-ray goes far beyond the fact that it's not as coveted in the Playstation 3 as some want to believe. In reality, it's more likely that the Playstation 4 won't have Blu-ray than you may think. The Playstation 4 should be made available in the next three to five years. During that time, Sony will need to work on getting Blu-ray into more homes and try to supplant DVD as the leader in the media space.

Source: The Digital Home

Upgrading Our Test Rig, Shout Out to Corsair

Every so often, we like to take a look at both our regular testing machine and also our methodologies and see where improvements can be made. The latter is really a never-ending process, but I believe we're at the point now where we have an ideal setup in place that allows us to expose the full potential of whatever it is we are evaluating, while being able to deliver accurate and repeatable results.

We've just spent the past two weeks working over all the details of how we benchmark, and plan to put new methodologies into place in the coming weeks for motherboards, GPUs, CPUs and now storage. Definitely stay tuned as I'm sure you'll be pleased with where we are going with things. With Nehalem right around the corner, I thought it would be a good idea to upgrade our main testing machine as well, or at least change the components used.

You can see our most recent configuration here. What will be changed is the CPU (to a QX9770), the motherboard, the RAM, power supply, chassis, cooling and ODDs. I won't get into the chosen parts for some of those yet, but I did want to give Corsair a shout out for sending us two kits of their memory, 4GB DDR2 and DDR3, and also their kick-ass HX1000W power supply. The PSU we've been using for a while is less-than-stellar (Antec TruePower Quattro 1000W), but I've heard nothing but great things about the HX1000W from some of the industry's most well-known experts. I feel confident adding it to our rig, and the fact that it's modular helps us continue to retain a great airflow scheme.

We are still waiting on a few other components to arrive, but our first step in putting forth our newest methodologies is with our GPU reviews. We'll be upgrading both Crysis and STALKER to their 'sequels', Warhead and Clear Sky, and re-benchmark our entire lineup using the most recent drivers, to give a better sense of where things stand right now in the graphics scheme of things. We're both excited and confident about new changes we've put in place and definitely think you'll come to enjoy the content even more (assuming you liked it before!).

Tech Roundup - September 17, 2008

• EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - Hardware Canucks
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 - HotHardware
• Sapphire 4870X2 - Pro-Clockers
• XFX 280GTX XXX Edition - Overclock3D
• Zotac GeForce GTX 260 - techPowerUp!

• Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox AIRJ01F - TestFreaks

• Cooler Master Sphere CPU Cooler - Think Computers
• Xigmatek Red Scorpion S1283 H.D.T. CPU Cooler - TweakTown

• Thermaltake Armor+ MX - Overclockers Online
• Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station - Legit Reviews
• Thermaltake Vi-on 3.5 Hard Drive Enclosure - Overclockers Club

• Building the Perfect Netbook - Tech Report
• Eee PC 1000H - InsideHW
• Gigabyte M912V Touch Screen Netbook - Hardware Canucks