Going Higher than 1.65v DIMM on X58 Can Damage CPU?

We've talked a bit about memory on Nehalem, but it appears there's a few big caveats regarding overclocking we didn't know about. At the Intel Developer Forum in August, we learned that the skies the limit when it comes to memory overclocking, and I was told directly that DDR3-2000 kits had been tested in Intel's own labs on Nehalem. The problem is though, what about the voltage required to do so?

According to pictures of the ASUS P6T Deluxe as found on a Chinese forum, going beyond 1.65v on the memory is dangerous, but it's difficult at this point to understand why. With Nehalem, the memory controller is built into the CPU itself, unlike current Intel motherboards where it's built into the chipset. So it's easy to assume that the voltage is shared by both the CPU and memory, and that's why going too high could damage not the memory, but the CPU.

But the issue is that the CPU itself in no way would require 1.50v - 1.65v to operate, so the DIMM slots would have to be on a different power plane. There must be another limiting factor, though, because if ASUS puts a warning like this on their motherboard, there has got to be a good reason for it. It's going to be interesting to see how things play out, because as it stands, most performance kits want far more than 1.65v.

We can go back to our findings about the new three-channel memory feature though, because as we saw at IDF, the bandwidth on even a DDR3-1066 kit was huge... potentially negating the need for a high-end kit at all.

Mushkin’s VP Steffen Eisenstein said that they are re-designing specifically for the X58/Core i7 combo, and that their kit should be out some time next month… in Tri-Channel packs. Other memory vendors across the globe are claiming their kits are still undergoing certification with motherboard vendors so they still don’t know whether they qualify or not.

Source: The Inquirer

AMD's 45nm Opteron's to Launch this Month?

We found out just a month ago that AMD would be launching their 45nm desktop Quad-Cores in January (it could be even earlier), and today we learn that on the Opteron side of things, we'll be seeing product a lot sooner - as early as this month.

The first processors to hit the market will be those with an "average power consumption" - of around 75w - and will range between 2.3GHz - 2.7GHz, which is supposedly comparable to 1.7GHz - 2.5GHz of the 65nm products. Out of the nine processors to be launched sometime this month, five will be of the 2-way variety while the other four will be for 8-way configurations.

In January, AMD also follow-up with their Shanghai launch, with initial processors having a power-consumption of around 55w. Clock speeds don't seem to be known right now, but it does appear that higher-performance models will also become available at the same time, or shortly after. Those will feature a TDP of 105W - still much less than current offerings. Hopefully they will be able to breath new life into AMD's offerings.

AMD quite apparently has pulled in the launch of its Shanghai processor at least one full month, which probably has been motivated by Intel’s strong showing in the 2-way and 8-way segments. If Shanghai in fact is as good as AMD claims it is, then Shanghai really is what Barcelona should have been.

Source: TG Daily

Nintendo Announces Upgraded DS, Features Online Store and Camera

It's been rumored for quite a while that a brand-new Nintendo DS revision was en route, and sure enough, that rumor has now been confirmed. The 'DSi' becomes the third revision of the popular handheld console, with the first being released in late 2004 and the second in summer 2006 - proof that Nintendo is one of the very few companies that is able to release new versions of the same product and actually have consumers who already own the original consider a purchase.

Though the overall design is the same as the DS Lite, the DSi brings not one, but two 0.3 megapixel cameras to the mix - one on the front and one on the back. The device is not geared towards becoming an all-in-one device, so the lackluster photo resolution is warranted. The DS itself supports a lower than 0.3 megapixel resolution, so face shots for ingame use (or even potential video chats), the camera is perfectly acceptable.

Improved is both the screen size and thickness, although both seem to be pretty minor modifications. Aside from the physical characteristics, Nintendo will also launch a 'DSi Store' which wil; allow you to download games and applications via your WiFi connection. Sounds great, but it's too bad that it's not being back-ported to the current DS versions. Oh, and if there's a downside to the the DSi, it might be the omission of the GBA cartridge port. If you don't play the older Gameboy games though, this should be no big deal.

The other highly touted feature of the Swiss-army knife-like DS is music functionality. The DS now features both an SD slot and an undisclosed amount of internal storage to help support its newly acquired music playback. One unique feature of the unit's MP3 player is the ability to slow down or speed up tracks via user control. Says Mr. Iwata on this new feature, "We want our customers to individualize their Nintendo DSi ."

Source: DailyTech

Tech Roundup - October 3, 2008

Motherboards & Processors
• Foxconn Digital Life ELA P45 - Legit Reviews

Displays & Video Cards
• AMD Radeon HD4870X2 CrossFireX - Technic3D
• Gigabyte and Palit GeForce 9800 GT Face Off - HotHardware

Memory & Storage
• 6-way DDR3 Memory Roundup - Metku

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Cygnett GrooveJets Earbuds - Test Freaks
• Razer Lachesis Mouse - Bjorn3D

Cooling
• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1/S2 Turbo Module - TweakNews
• Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREME CPU Cooler - TweakTown

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Antec Twelve Hundred Gaming Case - Benchmark Review
• bgears b-Envi HTPC and Gaming Case - 3DXtreme
• Corsair HX520W Power Supply - Overclockers Club
• Lian Li Tyr PC-X2000 Case - TechSpot
• NZXT Guardian 921 Mid Tower Case Think Computers
• Thermaltake Spedo Advance - Pure Overclock