- Qualcomm Launches Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform
- AMD Launches Ryzen PRO 7000 Series Mobile & Desktop Platform
- Intel Launches Sleek Single-Slot Arc Pro A60 Workstation Graphics Card
- NVIDIA Announces Latest Ada Lovelace Additions: GeForce RTX 4060 Ti & RTX 4060
- Maxon Redshift With AMD Radeon GPU Rendering Support Now Available
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AMD Releases Dual-GPU on a Single Card: HD 3870 X2
The past year for AMD’s graphics division hasn’t exactly been that peachy, but things began to shape up with the launch of the mid-range 3850 and 3870 cards a few months ago. The problem with that launch, though, was the fact that both cards were mid-range… with no high-end offering to be found. On the NVIDIA front though, they’ve consistently offered high-end cards that put AMD’s skus to shame.
Thanks to a fresh launch today though, AMD’s high-end drought is finally over. The HD 3870 X2 gives itself away with the title. It’s essentially two 3870 GPUs thrown together on the same PCB, with revised power delivery and a PCI-E bridge-chip built-in. Simple in theory, but the proof is in the pudding. Although the card eats more power than an 8800GTX, it makes up for it with the performance/power-gobbling ratio. Indeed… I’ve been proud of my single 8800GTX card for a while now, but the HD 3870 X2 has my mind effectively changed.
The good thing about the 3870 X2 is that it can be used on any motherboard. The chipset doesn’t matter… and you don’t need to use a bridge in order to access the extreme performance. That’s where another downside lies though – this card cannot be used in CrossfireX mode due to infant drivers, but those should be taken care of by March.
From a performance/$ perspective, this card delivers. It will retail for $449, more than an 8800GTS but less than a GTX, and it outperforms them both. Indeed, the only thing that can beat the single HD 3870 X2 is NVIDIA cards in SLI, such as the 8800GT. But that leads to another issue. While AMD now currently holds the top-spot for performance on a single card, it was achieved by using two GPUs. This is something NVIDIA is more than capable of doing, and given performance of the 8800GT in SLI mode, making an “X2” version of that card and selling it at the same price point… AMD would once again be out of the limelight.
Regardless, this is a fantastic launch from AMD and it’s great to see they’ve got their groove-back *high clap*. For now at least. We really need a new high-end single GPU to know this for sure.
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Because the Radeon HD 3870 X2 is essentially “CrossFire on a card”, the X2’s performance is determined by how well the card’s drivers scale in a particular game. If a new game hits store shelves and the drivers don’t recognize the executable, the $449-$499 Radeon HD 3870 X2 will perform much like a single-GPU Radeon HD 3870 that is half the price. ATI assures us their software team will try to minimize this situation, but it will be an issue at some point in time no matter how hard they work unless a universally compatible multi-GPU rendering technique is devised.
Source: HotHardware, AnandTech and Tech Report
Amazon MP3 Store to go International This Year
Since Amazon launched their online music store last September, they’ve done a great job of getting the attention they need, from both consumers and record companies alike. They now carry music from all four of the major labels and offer over 3 million songs, given them a steep advantage over iTunes and other competitors.
As it stands though, the service is available in the US only, but later this year, the service will be available internationally. Once that happens, Amazon’s name should become synonymous with online music sales rather quickly. They will have more music than anyone and will sell each track for market-standard prices… sounds good to me. As a Linux user, I don’t have much choice with regards to downloadable music, so I am looking forward to being able to use this service myself. They seem to be doing everything right. I just hope it keeps that way.
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Amazon currently provides 3.3M songs from 270,000+ artists, encoded at 256kbps, and priced anywhere between 89 and 99 cents each. Things are similar with iTunes Plus, Apple’s DRM-free music collection: songs are 99 cents each and encoded at 256kbps. However, Apple only provides “up to 2 million iTunes Plus songs” in comparison to Amazon’s 3.3M, giving the latter company a substantial edge with its scope.
Source: TechCrunch
Is HD DVD Dead? Promotional Group Sure Doesn’t Think So
HD DVD sure can’t catch a break since Warner’s decision to cease production on the format. If that decision wasn’t enough to let people know that HD DVD was on the way out, the recent reports of the massive hardware sales decline sure helped. But, despite HD DVD going downhill, there is…..
Intel’s X48 Unlocks Insane Tweaking-Abilities
We’ve discussed Intel’s imminent X48 launch for a few months now, but the date is coming ever closer. Two to three weeks is the given estimate, and from what we can see, it’s going to be one refreshing “refresh”. AnandTech has taken the new ASUS Rampage Formula for a spin and are incredibly pleased with it’s performance and tweaking ability.
That’s no understatement. By the looks of things, the Rampage will be the definitive tweaking motherboard, opening up new features such as tRD and tweak it’s various settings. I admit, even current motherboards are too over-the-top for me… I appreciate the time I have and would rather not be stuck in front of an overclocking screen, but there are clearly many out there who love to squeeze as much possible performance out of their hardware – the Rampage is for you guys.
This article takes an exhausting look at tRD and how it works, but also takes care of simpler things, such as how to calculate DDR speeds, latencies and the like. But the question is… does all this tweaking ability really make a difference? In the case of tRD, it certainly does. Huge gains can be seen in the memory bandwidth and latency department… making it a setting any enthusiast will want to dabble with. This is definitely X48’s best-kept secret.
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Using the default tRD of 12, our system was able to reach a maximum memory read bandwidth value of 7,597 MB/s – a predictable result considering the rather relaxed configuration. Tightening tRD all the way to a setting of 5 provides us with dramatically different results: 9,166 MB/s, more than 20% higher total throughput!
Source: AnandTech
Gigabyte and MSI Announce X48 Boards, But Not Launch
When will we see Intel X48? That is the question, and a good one. At this point, I am not sure when the market penetration will begin, but it should be within the next two – three weeks, but that’s a hunch. I’ll be receiving the Gigabyte board (pictured) shortly, so I assume that the launch is not too far off. According to industry tracking site DigiTimes, both Gigabyte and MSI have announced their new motherboards, but neither are prepared to deliver them, at least not immediately.
I am unsure where ASUS is with their X48 samples, but I believe their boards are going to be delayed by an additional week, similar to the X38 launch. Why this is, I believe is linked to the fact that they want to put in a little extra time, since their launch boards tend to be very feature-rich. Gigabyte’s launch X48 board should be interesting as well though, as they include their new Dynamic Energy Saver technology that does as you’d expect. Every little bit helps when you have 200W GPUs, I suppose.
You can expect our X48 coverage in the weeks to come, as samples are brought in.
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Gigabyte Technology recently announced its X48 motherboard highlighting it will adopt the company’s unique Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) technology, while Micro-Star International (MSI) also made the announcement that its X48 motherboard will adopt the same dual-channel power supply design as that in its X38 model for better power management. MSI’s board will also feature an updated Circu-Pipe fansink and MSI SkyTel technology.
Source: DigiTimes
Exploring DisplayLink – Video via USB
For those who missed it, we posted an article yesterday which explores a new technology called DisplayLink. Simply put, DisplayLink adapters allow you to extend your current computer setup by adding additional displays, with the help of USB. As ridiculous as it sounds, it works, and worked rather well.
The downside is that the adapters will run about $100, but that’s better than purchasing a new GPU for some people. Past that though, many of us have old monitors chucked in a closet which could be put to use, so DisplayLink is one method of getting it done. If you happen to be a die-hard multi-tasker, you could even hook upwards of six monitors… five being through USB. Despite me personally having no need for it, it’s an impressive technology and one I was happy to award our Best of CES 2008 award to.
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To understand why USB video is relevant, you first have to understand that this is not a technology set out to replace VGA or DVI if you have a system with a single monitor. If that’s the case, then it makes no sense to rely on USB, as VGA and DVI are faster and will allow full capabilities. USB on the other hand, is there for those people who either a) don’t have a spare video port on their computer, b) don’t want to install (or pay for) a second GPU and/or c) require two or more monitors.
Palm to Close All Retail Outlets
Things have not been looking too great for Palm the past few months, and many are questioning their future. Over the course of the last few years, they’ve had a class-action lawsuit filed against them for accident-prone Treo 600/650’s, then last year we saw a Foleo created and canceled, and most recently, the long-anticipated Linux-based OS was pushed back by an entire year.
As if things needed to go worse, Palm has made known that they will be closing all of their retail locations before the quarter is through. According to CNet, the news might be the result of the class-action lawsuit that’s draining their funds, but Palm makes no real connection. Instead, they explain the need to place resources elsewhere, in order to create world-class products. Whatever the reason, I hope to see Palm pull themselves out of this situation they’ve found themselves in.
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Palm announced on Wednesday that Treo 600 and 650 owners who have had their units replaced or repaired at least twice are eligible for cash rebates on new Palm smartphones, as part of a settlement of a class-action suit filed in 2005. The company will also repair any Treo 600 or 650 that hasn’t failed twice, but is outside of the original warranty.
Source: One More Thing Blog
Should We Care About Window 7’s Release Date?
Despite the fact that Windows Vista was just launched (almost exactly) one year ago, there has been a lot of Windows 7 talk recently. There have even been “leaked” screenshots, such as the ones found on this Chinese blog. If you take a look there, you will notice one thing… the screenshots don’t look like a Windows 7, but rather a Photoshop’d Windows Vista. That means two things.. it really is Photoshop’d, or it currently shows no differences or is rough around the edges simply because it’s a pre-alpha.
Having tested Windows Longhorn (pre-Vista), I remember the same thing occurred. At first, the OS looked exactly like Windows XP, with a different color theme. So that could be the case here… maybe they are just early screenshots. That doesn’t speak to what’s behind the scenes though, as that could be a completely different story.
Regardless, the question is, do we, or should we, care? Personal gripes aside, Vista hasn’t exactly been well-received due to blatant issues that remained after the beta, some of which Service Pack 1 should take care of. Still, with a reported launch date of late 2009 (this should be taken with 1/4th of a grain of salt) for Windows 7, no one should be looking forward to it. Vista has enough remaining issues of its own, to think of its successor in less than two years is a little… asinine.
As Ars Technica points out, Microsoft’s time lines haven’t worked out in the past (Vista should have been out in 2005, instead it was launched late 2006), but most importantly, we need Microsoft to take their time and not rush the next version. Whether they screwed up on Vista is an issue to be argued, but the fact of the matter is, it didn’t sell as well as they expected it to. Windows 7 should be where Microsoft turns a new leaf and gives us a well-tested and refined OS.
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Unfortunately, Vista did become date-driven, and even Gates seemed to admit that Vista shipped before it was ready when Gizmodo talked to him at CES this year. Admission or not, it’s quite clear that things that were not “totally together” where included on the “shipping train,” and that the departure time became more important than the quality of the release.
Source: Ars Technica
Microsoft Finally Turns a Profit with Xbox
Ahh, the Xbox 360. It’s hard to believe it’s already been just over two years since the console has first launched, but it’s true. It’s also true that it took that long for Microsoft to turn a simple profit. Incredible. Until now, they’ve been losing money on each sale, leveraging their debt with game and accessory sales, but now might be the time when Xbox debt will be no longer.
According to their second quarter earnings, a lot of the profit was helped by Halo 3 game sales and resulting console sales, on top of lower production costs and decreased marketing (since it’s already well-established). When younger, I never imagined Microsoft would have a console, but I’d have to say if I could choose only one of the current offerings, it would have to be the Xbox. Though, maybe some of this profit could go towards fixing up Xbox Live’s downtime issues to make sure they don’t come back?
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The 6.1 million Xbox 360 consoles and 4.82 million copies of Halo 3 sold in the first half of fiscal ’08 sure helped, but so did “decreased Xbox 360 manufacturing costs” and “a decline in Xbox 360 platform marketing expenses” – it’s costing less to build them and less to promote the brand.
Source: Joystiq
Harsh Lessons in Overreacting
I’ve been known to overreact and jump to conclusions in the past, but Marie Lupe Cooley takes everything to a new level. When she saw a help wanted ad in a newspaper that looked similar to her current position, she assumed she was soon to be sacked. Of course, the most reasonable reaction to this was to delete $2.5 million worth of company data, including drawings and blueprints.
Once said and done, it turns out she wasn’t going to be fired, and the position was for her bosses wife’s business. Ouch. Not surprisingly, she’s now out of a job, which is actually rather mild for what she did. I still have to ask… why wasn’t all this data backed up in the first place? The boss was lucky enough to be able to get it all back via expensive means, but a backup would have prevented any of it from happening in the first place.
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So, police say, she went to the architectural office where she works late Sunday night and erased 7 years’ worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5 million. “She decided to mess up everything for everybody,” Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ken Jefferson told reporters. “She just sabotaged the entire business, thinking she was going to get axed.”
Source: Fox News
KDE Desktop Environment Heading to Windows
Earlier, I posted my experiences with the ASUS Xonar audio card in Linux, and to continue with that theme, Ars Technica has a first-look at the KDE desktop environment, which will soon be available for all Windows users. This to me, is a great thing. KDE is a well-designed environment and happens to be the one I use daily. However, I admit it feels odd to see KDE’s applications running in Windows… never thought that would happen!
Although there is a current Alpha available, it should be tested by those who are willing to delve deep within their Windows’ system files… it’s not a straight-forward installation. But judging by the article, the environment has sure come a long way and is rapidly improving. I admit though, I like KDE for Linux, but I am not sure I’d be just as pleased with it on Windows. It’s hard to say without first trying it, however. I am looking forward to seeing this progress. If you happen to feel brave enough to test it out for yourself, head here.
 Credit: Ars Technica |
My basic KDE installation on Windows used about 600MB and included the KDE games collection as well as the core applications and libraries. Major applications are mostly functional with only minor rendering glitches and a few remaining platform-related bugs. When I tested the Windows port of the Konqueror web browser, I noted many serious HTML rendering bugs, but the user interface worked flawlessly.
Source: Ars Technica
Avast Ye! Pirates of the Burning Sea Sets Sail
Well shiver me timbers, it’s finally setting sail! Pirates of the Burning Sea has been in development for what seems like forever, but its sails have finally unfurled, the captains at the wheel and the albatross circles. Ok I’ve run out of pirate phrases. What would you do with a drunken sailor? Here’s the official announcement:
Grab your parrot, raise the gang plank and ready the cannons with Pirates of the Burning Sea â„¢ (PotBS), the hotly anticipated online PC game where players can clash on land and sea. This new title from Sony Online Entertainment LLC’s (SOE) Platform Publishing label, and Flying Lab Software LLC (FLS), is available today at participating retail outlets worldwide and as a digital download through www.station.com and www.direct2drive.com for a suggested retail price of US$49.99, with a monthly subscription fee of US$14.99 plus applicable taxes.
Corsair pirate keyboard not included.
Source: POTBS
ASUS Xonar Under Linux – Does it Work?
After reading Rory’s review of the ASUS Xonar D2 back in September, I knew this card was one I had to have in my possession. For the past two years, I have been using the Chaintech AV-710 and certainly got my use out of it, but I knew it was time for an upgrade, especially since I planned on purchasing a decent pair of headphones. The only problem was… I am a pure Linux user, using Windows only for gaming, Photoshop and the like. To my surprise though, I was not out of luck.
Thanks to dedicated developer Clemens Ladisch, a CMI8788 driver has been in development for quite a few months. For those unaware, the C-Media 8788 chipset is also found in the Auzentech X-Meridian, HT Omega Claro, Razer Barracuda AC-1, Sondigo Inferno and of course, both the ASUS Xonar D2 and D2X.
I installed the D2X a few weeks ago and installation went fine. I posted in the forums at that time, relaying my experiences. First and foremost, I do notice quite a sound difference… and I’m not close to being an audiophile. You’d have to be half-deaf to not hear the difference, even with the rather cheap headphones I’m currently using.
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The biggest gripe I’ve run into is the lack of volume sliders… I have a single Master and that’s it. I am certainly not complaining, though. The driver has certainly come a long way in the past few months and is completely usable.
I am interested in hearing experiences if anyone else out there has a CMI8788-based audio card and has it working fine in Linux. From what I gather, I am in the minority when it comes to the volume sliders, so chances are you will have better luck. I’ll follow-up in a few weeks if things improve. As it stands, I have to recommend this card… the sound… is so… good.
Source: Related Forum Thread
AGEIA Not Acquired, After All
We linked to a rumor yesterday, one that claimed AGEIA had been acquired. Not surprisingly, it has already been debunked. According to X-bit labs, AGEIA is denying any acquisition and boldly states that they have a road map in place and plan to follow it.
AGEIA is currently owned by a conglomerate of venture capitalists, and a sale doesn’t seem to make sense right now. But is that the case? AGEIA seems to be in a prime position for being acquired, especially since Intel took in Havok under its arms. Of course, maybe AGEIA has more to prove, more in store to help drive up their value. Perhaps no sale is in place now, but it would be hard to believe if something doesn’t happen within the next year.
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Currently Ageia is owned by a group of investors, including Apex Venture Partners, BA Venture Partners, HIG Ventures, Granite Global Ventures, CID Equity Partners, and VentureTech Alliance. Typically such companies are interested in either selling their startups to others, or making them public. However, this time Ageia denies any ownership change.
Source: X-bit labs
DDR3 Price Premium to Shrink to 10% in 2H
When Intel launched their P31 chipset last May, it was a definite step forward. The chipset itself brought some great new features to the table, and performed extremely well. It still retains its spot as one of the best chipsets available today. The most notable addition though, was DDR3 support. Coincidentally, that proved to be the least favored feature of the new chipset, all thanks to the insane module prices.
At that time, a moderate 2GB DDR3 would have cost at least $500, and while it’s decreased in price somewhat, today’s 2GB performance kits still retail for $400 – $500. Compare that to a 4GB DDR2 kit that retails for $150… or less. It’s easy to see why DDR3 hasn’t caught on. But to much chagrin, Intel’s next chipset, X48, will be DDR3 only. At first it might seem like a bad thing, but it’s a good thing for those who don’t plan to purchase. The quicker X48 comes to market, the more DDR3 adoption there will be… the faster the prices will go down. Like most things, we just need to sit back and wait.
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The DRAM makers expect some PC vendors will be subsidized by Intel to migrate to DDR3-based platforms, and this should help encourage the entire industry to migrate accordingly. They noted that some PC vendors will only introduce DDR3-based systems in the second half of the year. About 30% of new PCs shipping worldwide will be powered by DDR3 in the fourth quarter of 2008, they estimated.
Source: DigiTimes
Game Developers Choice Award Nominees Listed
I am not an awards buff… and gaming awards are no exception. If I like a game, then good… I don’t care if it gets an award or not. But I could be a hypocrite, because I am somehow intrigued by awards for games voted on by game developers themselves. That tends to mean one thing… the results are truly deserving. Or, there is a lot of ass-kissing going on in the game industry.
There are a total of ten categories, including Best Visual Art, Best Debut and of course, the Game of the Year. This years nominees for GotY is BioShock, Call of Duty 4, Portal, Rock Band and Super Mario Galaxy. All of those are great titles… but I am quite sure Portal has an amazing chance of walking away with the award. The winners will be announced during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco late next month. We’ll be there, and will post the results once available.
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Valve’s Portal and 2K Boston/Australia’s BioShock lead the nominees for the eighth annual Game Developers Choice Awards with five nominations each, including the coveted Game of the Year title, organizers have announced. The Game of the Year category also includes Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty 4, which follows with four nominations and, with both games receiving two nominations each, Harmonix’s Rock Band and Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy.
Source: Game Choice Awards, Via: Joystiq
EVE Coming to Steam
CCP and Valve have teamed up to proudly announce that EVE Online will be the first MMO title to be available on Steam. They will be offering a 21 day free trial of EVE for Steam gamers, and an addition 5 dollars off their first month’s subscription.
EVE Online, the award winning massively multiplayer online (MMO) game from CCP, is coming to Steam, a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC games and digital content with over 13 million accounts worldwide.
To celebrate the launch of Steam’s first massively multiplayer online game offering, a special 21-day trial period for EVE will be available, free of charge, to all Steam gamers. Steam gamers will also save $5 off their first full month of EVE Online.
"Launching EVE on Steam means the addition of another fantastic PC game and the introduction of MMOs on Steam," said Jason Holtman, director of business development at Valve. "The team at CCP continues to expand EVE’s universe and gameplay for the legions logging in to play each month, just as we continue to expand Steam’s consumer and developer features."
Not sure I see the point, since you can download it off the EVE site as it is…but hey, the more exposure for this fabulous game, the better!
Source: Steam
Rumor: AGEIA Could Have Been Acquired
Since AGEIA’s PhysX PPU first hit the market, there was instant speculation with regards to how quick they’d be acquired, any by whom. After all, it would be a mighty challenge to develop, market and sell dedicated PPU units by the lonesome. Back in November, AMD’s Richard Huddy mentioned that they’d consider a purchase… if the price were right and, you know, they actually had the money to do so. But despite AMD’s finances, a purchase would have actually made a lot of sense, if only to combat the recent purchase of software-based Havok, made by Intel.
The rumors haven’t really stopped since then, and Fudo has now kick-started the mill with a hunch that AGEIA has just been acquired, but by who, no one knows. He does mention, however, that it’s most certainly not AMD, but could either be Intel, NVIDIA, or another potential buyer with deep pockets.
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If in the wee chance it happens to be Intel, then they have bought themselves into instant domination, since there is no real competition in the hardware or software physics world. Havok, AGEIA and Larrabee all under one roof would put them in an incredible spot to meld future game development. NVIDIA would be another likely candidate, however. AGEIA’s assets would fit well with their Tesla platform, and eventually, their consumer graphic cards. Even if AGEIA has not been purchased, I think many will agree that it’s only a matter of time.
Source: Fudzilla
Microsoft Changes Mind on Vista Virtualization, All Versions Now Allowed
You might recall during Vista’s launch last January that many were upset due to the license not allowing virtualization on non-Business/Ultimate versions of the OS. Of course there was no need for this, and rather, it was a cheap ploy to have people purchase the larger versions. There’s no denying that. Somehow Microsoft has had a change of heart, and the license how now been changed to allow all versions of Vista to be virtualized.
This rule will no doubt apply most to Mac users who yearn to run a version of Vista through Parallels of VMWare, which is now a more tempting option since they don’t have to run out to purchase a scaled-back Business version or incredibly expensive Ultimate version. I would be very curious to see what kind of speeds would be achieved with Vista through virtualization though. I have a rough time having it run fast natively, I am not too sure I want to test out a VM.
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Microsoft reportedly intended to allow all versions of Vista to be virtualized from the start, but something made it change its mind last year. Microsoft’s Server Infrastructure General Manager Larry Orecklin told eWeek yesterday that customer interest for virtualization has increased over the past six months, adding, “We think the market is now ready for this.”
Source: TechReport
ATI FireGL V8650 versus NVIDIA QuadroFX 5600
Despite the fact that workstation cards are useless to us gamers, it doesn’t even matter. The way we admire these cards can be compared to how we’d admire a fancy exotic car, with jaw dropped and wallets sobbing. Believe it or not though, some people actually need such cards, including CAD designers, 3D modelers, science labs, game developers, people with low self-esteem… the list goes on.
HotHardware has taken the top cards from both sides of the fence, ATI’s FireGL V8650 and NVIDIA’s QuadroFX 5600, and did what anyone should do if equipped with both… find out which is better! Sadly, there is no solid conclusion even after all of the tests, but ATI’s 2GB card really does excel where huge memory is needed, although NVIDIA’s card proved to be a better overall offering… and it’s a few hundred dollars cheaper in the process.
 Source: HotHardware |
The V8650 is a monster version of ATI’s R600 graphics processor with 2GB of frame buffer memory attached. The Quadro FX 5600 is the 1.5GB heavyweight workstation cousin of the GeForce 8800 Ultra, both of which use NVIDIA’s powerful G80 processor. Both cards are phenomenally large, as well. As you can see above, this is going to be interesting.
Source: HotHardware
World of Warcraft Reaches 10 Million Addicts Subscribers
In March of 2005, World of Warcraft hit a staggering 1.5 million subscribers, and in December of the same year, it skyrocketed up to 5 million. Since then, things have begun to slow, not surprisingly, and it took another year and a half to finally reach 9 million. Fast-forward another six months, and the popular MMO has finally hit 10 million total subscribers. I don’t play the game and haven’t touched it since alpha, but there is no denying just how impressive this feat is.
One has to be curious though, with regards to how many players hold more than one account. In any MMO, it’s not uncommon for a dedicated player to own two, three or even more accounts at any given time. Blizzard has no reason to care about that though, since they are still being paid for all ten million accounts. What a great monthly paycheck that is!
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Aside from World of Warcraft’s apparent competence at delivering the MMO experience, part of its success stems from its worldwide availability. World of Warcraft is currently supported in North America, Europe, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Furthermore, the game is currently available in seven languages, with a Russian version in development and scheduled for release later this year.
Source: DailyTech
HD DVD Hardware Sales Suffer Huge Decline Since CES
As sad as it may be for some people, the demise of HD DVD is becoming ever-clearer. Just yesterday, we posted about a petition that’s going on, regarding Warner’s decision to pull-out of the HD DVD camp. Since then, the total signatures have jumped up around 60% to 16,000, but the formats remaining fans may not be enough to save this battle.
According to the NPD research group, Blu-ray hardware has far surpassed sales of HD DVD hardware in the past few weeks. Prior to CES earlier this month, HD DVD held 48.83% of the hardware market, but since then, that number has decreased to a mere 7.47%. Ouch… there is no appropriate word for such a situation. Even with so many dual-format readers being sold, if HD DVD continues this quick decline, it won’t be long before the remaining supporters consider their options.
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The sudden shift is credited almost exclusively to Warner, whose decision to drop HD DVD releases will place more than 70 percent of all HD movies in the Blu-ray format when the switch takes effect in June. A number of retailers have already announced retail plans to scale back HD DVD shelf space or introduce HD to stores only in Blu-ray format since the Warner announcement.
Source: Electronista
New Age of Conan Release Date
Do you want it done now, or do you want it done right? Apparently the execs at Funcom have learned their lessons from AO and have extended the released date for Age of Conan into May this year. Here’s the press release:
The highly anticipated MMO receives 8 more weeks of development, allowing Funcom to deliver a more polished MMO experience when the game launches on the 20th of May 2008. Despite great feedback on vital aspects like immersion, fun factor and the exciting combat system, the management of Funcom has decided to polish the game even more. Eight weeks of development work is therefore added to stress game systems and polish the game further leading up to launch.
Funcom will also continue the beta efforts for the title with continued testing on its large server parks in North America and Europe. Players can already sign up at pre-order programs in several countries and enjoy the recently released website at www.ageofconan.com, displaying part of the wealth of marketing and game material already prepared for the game. A special Collectors Edition of the retail box is available for pre-order at select retailers. Thousands of players have been invited to the beta of the game, and the number will continue to go up as Age of Conan moves towards launch. If you too want to join the Beta of Age of Conan you may sign up for the Beta on www.ageofconan.com.
Source: Age of Conan
Ten 1000W Power Supplies Put to the Test
Building a brand-new machine? Somewhat of a performance-hound? Looking to increase the size of your ego? Then you might very well need a power supply that delivers at least 1000W worth of monstrous power. But, the most common problem arises when you decide such a thing… which to buy? X-bit labs hopes to help with this conundrum by pitting ten popular models against each other.
Surprisingly, PCP&C is absent, as is OCZ, however Antec, Enermax, FSP and other popular favorites have made the list. As is becoming increasingly common though, some of the power supplies didn’t fare well, and couldn’t even be recommended, such as FSP’s Epsilon, thanks to its high-voltage ripple. Antec and Enermax performed quite well, but Oleg notes that none of the PSUs tested out-performed the CM Real Power Pro he reviewed prior in terms of stable operation and low-noise levels.
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PSU manufacturers go on pumping up the capacity of their products and I now have the test results of models with a wattage rating up to 1500W. My job is to test, and it’s up to you to decide if your PC really needs that much power. I can only tell you one funny thing: the combined wattage of all the PSUs tested for this review exceeds 10 thousand watts!
Source: X-bit labs
“Save HD DVD” Petition Alive and Well
They say that the early-bird catches the worm, but that might not be the case for Toshiba. Despite coming to market with their HD DVD format three months before Sony’s Blu-ray, many believe that the format is now en route to death. Much of this has to do with the recent news that Warner Brothers is abandoning HD DVD for Blu-ray, and there is no mistaking it… that was a huge blow.
Well, depending on who you ask, this is either a good thing or a bad thing. For HD DVD fans, it’s truly ridiculous and unfair. Some fans are so bummed about Warner’s recent decision, that they’ve created a petition pleading with them to reverse their decision. So far, the support has been fantastic, with well over 10,000 signatures added to the pile. What if you hate HD DVD? Don’t stress, there’s a petition for you as well.
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HD-DVD is more alive than ever, with cheaper hardware prices, and better technological capabilities, both of which are better for the consumer. I guess Warner feel higher prices and less features are better. The only thing Blu-Ray has going for it is 20GB of extra storage space, and a big name like Sony backing it up. HD-DVD on the other hand has PIP, web-enabled features, in movie menus, and much more. And if extra space is needed, use another disc, big deal.
Source: Save HD DVD Petition, Via: High-Def Digest