ASUS Eee PC's Future, Running Windows 7 a Definite

For such a huge company, ASUS does a lot of things well. They build great motherboards, graphic cards, audio cards, notebooks and more... as we've seen time and time again in our own content. What they don't do too often is release a product that turns the industry upside down. Take the Eee PC, for example. It was released a little over a year ago, and look at all that has happened in such a short time span. Even companies who don't typically build computer equipment are jumping on the netbook bandwagon, and there is no chance of it slowing down soon.

DailyTech references a Laptop Magazine article which saw an interview with ASUSTeK's CEO Jerry Shen, to try to get an idea of where the Eee PC will be in one year. Some of what's said is somewhat obvious, but Jerry remains firm that the company will never release a model larger than 10", and to me, that's a good thing. It's the small form-factor that's selling this thing, after all.

Another point made in the article is almost more noteworthy than the rest, though. Jerry claims that by mid-summer, the company will release a new Eee PC that will run Windows 7. Now, a statement like that is huge, because from what we've understood up to this point, Windows 7 would not be due out until late next year or early 2010. All of a sudden it's been bumped up to next summer? I'm somehow doubtful, and hope it's not true. I thought late 2009 was early enough... shaving off another 4 - 6 months is not going to be a good thing.

When asked about Easy Mode for Vista, Shen said he doesn't believe that ASUS will offer Vista on the Eee. However, Shen says that Eee's will be available with Windows 7 by the middle of next year. Some of the Eee models running Windows 7 will offer multi-touch capabilities, one of the few details known at this point about Windows 7.

Source: DailyTech

Corsair Releases Tri-Channel Memory Kits, Including DDR3-1866

Yesterday, I posted about OCZ becoming the first memory vendor out the door with a tri-channel kit for Intel's upcoming X58 platform, and it didn't take too long for another to follow. Corsair today announces three new kits also, with two variants each (3GB & 6GB). One thing the Corsair release includes that the OCZ one lacked though, is pricing information.

The lowest kit that Corsair will offer is DDR3-1333MHz (CL9), and will retail for $120 (3GB) and $230 (6GB). Moving up we have what will likely become the most popular kit among enthusiasts, the DDR3-1600 (CL8) will retail for $175 (3GB) and $300 (6GB). Lastly, Corsair wants to make sure they're among the few to offer insanely fast kits, and the DDR3-1866 (CL9) kit deserves that title. At $250 (3GB) and $475 (6GB), it's not going to be for everyone.

Among the new kits, the top two include revised Dominator heatspreaders, while the top-end kit includes a revised flow fan, which appears slightly wider and replaces three small fans with two larger ones. This is to increase airflow while reducing noise... two good things. Corsair's DDR3-1333 part is available now (which means it should creep up in e-tailers soon), while the others will likely follow in the coming weeks.

Each memory speed will feature kits of three 1 Gigabyte or 2 Gigabyte modules for a total of 3 Gigabyte or 6 Gigabyte kits. The 1600MHz and 1866MHz DDR3 memory kits will also feature the industry’s highest performance memory technology, Corsair’s patented Dual-Path Heat Exchange (DHX), for maximum performance and reliability. With six total products available, Corsair is launching the most comprehensive product line available for the Intel Core i7 processor.

Tech Roundup - October 21, 2008

Motherboards & Processors
• ASRock A780GXE/128M AMD 780G AM2+ - Think Computers
• Asus Rampage Extreme - Hardware Logic
• MSI DKA790GX Platinum - Motherboards.org

Displays & Video Cards
• HIS HD4670 IceQ Turbo - Overclocker Cafe
• MSI N260GTX - InsideHW
• ViewSonic VX2262wm Super HD Monitor - BIOS Magazine
• XFX GeForce 9600 GSO XXX 384MB - Elite Bastards

Memory & Storage
• Aeneon Xtune DDR3-1866 (PC3-15000) 4GB - Overclock3D
• Gskill PI series 6400 DDR2 - Bjorn3D

Peripherals & Gadgets
• Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player - Digital Trends
• Vidabox Premium Wireless Keyboard - Overclockers Club

Cooling
• Aerocool Modern-V - Technic3D
• Cooler Master V8 Giant CPU Cooler - TweakNews

Chassis & Power Supplies
• Antec Signature 650W PSU - jonnyGURU
• Cooler Master UCP 1100W - XS Reviews
• Eagle Technology L-Series 2.5-inch HDD Enclosure - OCModShop
• HSPC TopDeck Tech Station - PureOverclock
• Thermaltake BlacX SE USB Hard Drive Dock - Everything USB

Competitions, Complete Systems & Et cetera
• CyberPower Gamer Xtreme XE Gaming PC - TweakTown
• Motorola Krave ZN4 - Digital Trends
• Nikon D90 D-SLR - Digital Trends
• T-Mobile G1 - Digital Trends