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- Maxon Redshift With AMD Radeon GPU Rendering Support Now Available
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AMD Releases ATI Radeon X1650 XT
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. – OCT. 30, 2006 – AMD (NYSE: AMD) today introduced an innovative graphics card that makes use of its new native CrossFire(tm) technology, the ATI Radeon X1650 XT. With its incredible image quality features and superb performance, the ATI Radeon X1650 XT delivers enthusiast-class technology at an impressive price point. The ATI Radeon X1650 XT will hit store shelves during the week of 13 November, at an estimated street price of US$149.
You can read the full press release here.
Review Roundup for Oct 30
- Cooler Master I-Tower 930 – Neoseeker
- Creative Xmod – Digit-Life
- Gigabyte Poseidon – Motherboards.org
- Jetart HDD Guard 3.5” HDD Protector – DragonSteelMods
- NZXT Zero – Overclocker Cafe
Cases & Enclosures
- OCZ Tempest Cooler – Technic3D
- ThermalRight SI-120 CPU Cooler – Tech Domain
- Thermalright SI-128 CPU Cooler – Bjorn3D
- Thermaltake Big Typhoon VX CPU Cooler – Think Computers
- XSPC Bay single bay Reservoir – Xtreme Computing
- Zalman CNPS7700-Cu Low Noise Heatsink – FrostyTech
- Zalman CNPS9700 LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler – TweakNews
Cooling
- Seagate Barracuda ES 750GB – HotHardware
- Super Talent T1000UX2G4 – Legit Reviews
Memory & Storage
- Abit AB9-Pro 965 – Viper Lair
Motherboards & Processors
- Everglide S500 Headphones – Red & Blackness
- Icemat Siberia Headset – ModSynergy
- iRiver T10 MP3 Player – The Tech Lounge
- Thermaltake ToughPower 750W – Neoseeker
- Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt PSU – Modders-Inc
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI Radeon X1650 XT CrossFire – HotHardware
- Leadtek 7950GX2 – Technic3D
Displays & Video Cards
- Alienware Aurora m9700 – Bytesector
- Dell XPS M1210 12.1-inch Laptop – Think Computers
- Birthday Contest – Overclockers Online
- Interview with Geoffrey Arone, co-founder of the Flock Browser – TechSpot
- techFEAR At One Year – techFEAR
- The BoxHeads Halloween LAN Party 2006 – Phoronix
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Drawing furniture?
Is it possible to let a first sketch become an object, to design directly onto space? The four FRONT members have developed a method to materialize free hand sketches. They make it possible by using a unique method where two advanced techniques are combined.
Of course this is results in rather simplistic stuff, and it doesn’t actually say if you can sit on the finish product. But… this is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while!
Firefox 2.0 has 2 Million downloads in two days
Apparently, people loves them some Firefox. Within 24 hours of the official launch on Tuesday, there were over 2 million people using Firefox 2, and we were seeing a peak rate of more than 30 downloads per second from our website.
That definitely makes the IE7 feat look less impressive. Firefox users are hardcore!
Lite-On to Exit Consumer Device Market
DigiTimes reports Lite-On is pulling out of the consumer market sectors. This includes all retail products sold under the Lite-On brand including optical disk drives and DVD recorders. This comes a few months after BenQ announced Lite-On would take over its optical storage product manufacturing.
This is somewhat surprising to me, and I wonder who’s hogging all of the market? Samsung and LG are both huge players, especially lately. It’s too bad, Lite-On were my favorite for optical drives.
Danish court tells ISP to block access to AllofMP3.com
AllofMP3.com suffered yet another setback as a Danish court ruled that an ISP must block access to the Russian music site. The ruling only covers one ISP (Tele2) in one country, but the ruling will certainly set the stage for more lawsuits as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry believes it has developed another successful tool in its fight against AllofMP3.
AllofMP3.com aside, this could prove to be a significant move. Because the ISP was ordered to block the website, it could open the doors for any other company to stand up and demand the same thing. That will not just affect the ISP greatly, but also the users. In the US, it’s the users to blame and not the ISP, at least right now.
NVIDIA working on 65nm for 2007
NVIDIA today announced it has shipped its 500 millionth product manufactured at TSMC. This includes GeForce graphics and nForce chipset products. In addition to the announcement, it appears NVIDIA is on-track with 65nm products.
It looks like they are on track to keep up to ATI in this regard, so we may very well see 45nm in 2008 from NVIDIA as well. Though, it’s early to speculate.
City of Chicago Begins Migration to Linux
Red Hat has announced that the city of Chicago has started migrating to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system. The city has already saved $250,000 from switching to Linux, according to Red Hat. Systems required for vehicle registration, restaurant inspections, online job applications, ethics training and other systems will have Red Hat installed.
Any Linux fan can appreciate announcements like this, or enjoy bragging rights if you live in Chicago! Seriously though, this was a good move that has already saved the city over $250K! News of this will no doubt help RH’s stock if not already.
Nintendo Profits Up 72%, Sony’s Down 94%
Nintendo, who had already previously raised projections, saw their profits up 72% over last year. This dramatic increase was credited largely to the DS, with 10.9 million units sold in the first six months of this year alone. Sony, on the other hand, dropped profits by 94% over this time last year.
Sony recently pointed out that the Wii and Xbox 360 were “too expensive”, yet their own profits are down 94%, while Nintendo is enjoying large increases. Sony’s losses are not due to their poor PS3 planning though, but rather the insane amount of battery recalls that have occurred throughout the year.
Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition out now
2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition for PC is available now. This special collector’s set includes full versions of the original Dungeon Siege II, Dungeon Siege II: Broken World expansion pack, and a number of collectible items including a fold-out map, concept art, character portraits, wallpapers, and “The Making of Dungeon Siege II” video.
If you don’t own the game yet, but want to, then here is your chance. Even with all of the extras, the deluxe edition will retail for only $39.99US. Not too shabby!
BitTorrent Site Admin Sent to Prison
The 23 year old Grant Stanley has been sentenced to five months in prison, followed by five months of home detention, and a $3000 fine for the work he put in the private BitTorrent tracker Elitetorrents. This ruling is the first BitTorrent related conviction in the US. Stanley pleaded guilty earlier this year to “conspiracy to commit copyright infringement” and “criminal copyright infringement”. He is one of the three defendants in the Elitetorrents operation better known as “Operation D-Elite”.
Yet another case of “crime does not pay“. One of the primary reasons, it seems, that he was charged was due to the fact that the site was registered in the USA. That’s a huge no no, as we are all well aware of at this point. How long until we see more cases of this in the news?
Review Roundup for Oct 27
- Cooler Master Mystique 631 – TweakPC
- Cooler Master Tower i930 – Hexus
- NZXT Zero – Technic3D
Cases & Enclosures
- 3D Galaxy II & Blue Eye Water Water Cooling – Guru3D
- Akasa Evo Blue (AK-922) – Xtreme Computing
- Antazone ASC1000 Copper Heatsink – Frosty Tech
- Thermalright HR-05-SLI – Overclockers Online
Cooling
- ASUS M2N32 WS Professional – Motherboards.org
Motherboards & Processors
- eDimensional G-Pad – TechARP
- Everglide Titan MonsterMat Fnatic Edition – Cooling-Station
- LED Light Bulb – A True Review
- Replacing A Laptop Keyboard – ASUS A8J Series – Laptop Lifestyle
- Ultra Products XVS Modular 600W – Big Bruin
- Ultra X-Finity 500W with Active PFC Power Supply – Pro-Clockers
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Kingwin ABT-600MA1W 600w Mach 1 Power Supply – ModTheBox
- nVidia’s Geforce 7950GX2 and the MSI NX7950GX2-T2D1GE – PC Stats
- PowerColor X1950 PRO – Bjorn3D
- Sapphire Radeon X1300 XT OC Edition – techPowerUp!
Displays & Video Cards
- Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Interview – Digital Trends
- Foxconn And EVGA Motherboard Give-Away – GamePyre
- One Mode is Not Enough – XYZ Computing
- StarDock Object Desktop 2007 – TweakNews
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
Intel Xeon and AMD Opteron Battle Head to Head
AMD’s Opterons have enjoyed a lead in performance in the server market for the past few years due to their superior architecture resulting in better performance and lower power consumption (higher performance per watt). Learning from its mistakes and realizing that the current design could not compete with the mighty Opteron, Intel has introduced a completely new Xeon processor, based on its Core 2 microarchitecture.
If you are in the market for a new high-end server solution, you will want to check this out. In one corner are the Dempsey and Woodcrest Xeons, the latter based on the Core technology. Toms did not have an AM2 based Opteron on hand, so they stuck to Italy, the 940 version. Woodcrest stole the show here, beating the others in all of the benchmarks, and despite that fact, it uses way less power.
Showstopping Bug Delays Windows Vista RTM
Microsoft was forced to delay the release of the final version of Windows Vista to manufacturers due to a bug found in the final stretch of testing. IDG News quotes a tester who revealed that the bug “would totally crash the system, requiring a complete reinstall.”
This bug has been taken care of, but has delayed the RTM process. There are 499 known bugs that still linger, that will not likely be fixed prior to the RTM. I think it’s safe to say that Windows Update will be the first thing you will want to run once you get online with the new OS.
Does passion for Windows exist?
One of the major problems with Windows is that the passion for the product just isn’t there like it used to be. I constantly cast a watchful eye over the tech scene, and I can’t even remember the last time when I saw some genuine passion displayed by the folks at Microsoft or the consumers who are supposedly going to buy Vista once it’s released.
This is an interesting point, that I’ve also pondered before. Those who use Linux or Mac OS X tend to be excited about the OS, which is why they are using a different solution than is the norm. Besides true fanbois, who’s actually looking forward to Vista? Or even better… why should we be looking forward to Vista?
Firefox 2.0 tweak guide
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox for short, is just a free Internet browser. It’s not a cure for cancer. It doesn’t wash your car or make you a frothy coffee. So why all the fuss and hype over Firefox? In a nutshell, the reason is simple: Firefox is a true open source competitor to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Oh man! If a browser could make me coffee, then it would be love at first sight. Coffee addiction aside, this is a great guide that you can use to help Firefox run smoother. There is also additional information there that in general, may make your browsing more enjoyable. If you use FF2.0… do yourself a favor and look through.
IE7: 3 Million in 4 Days
Just in case you missed it somehow, we released IE7 last Wednesday. In the first four days over three million of you have already downloaded the final release. We expect the numbers to continue to climb steadily until we start distributing via Automatic Updates in a few weeks. Clearly, we expect IE7 adoption to really take off then. If you haven’t tested your website with IE7 yet, please use the tools Scott posted about a few weeks ago to help you prepare.
I am probably one of the few who have never touched IE7 outside of Vista, but it does seem to have some potential. The important thing is that this release takes care of many bugs, so if you are a Windows user, then upgrade!
Dell to release cheap AMD notebooks next month
Dell is set to begin shipping notebooks that feature AMD CPUs from the last week of October, according to Taiwan-based notebook makers. By the beginning of November, the first batch of 500,000 AMD notebook from Dell will officially hit the market, added the makers.
This is a great start, no doubt about that. I look even more forward to seeing performance AMD-powered notebooks though. $500 is not likely to be that desirable except for very simple tasks.
PowerColor X1950 Pro AGP
PowerColor will be releasing a Radeon X1950 Pro based product for AGP systems. Images of the proposed Radeon X1950 Pro AGP graphics card are posted on PCInpact as well. The upcoming Radeon X1950 Pro AGP is expected to be clocked higher than its PCI Express counterparts at 600 MHz core and 700 MHz instead of the 575 MHz core and 690 MHz memory on PCI Express parts.
Good to see AGP users are not forgotten! On a completely unrelated note, the post even includes a shot of the 8800GTX from ASUS. Not much can be gleaned from the shot, but the cooler looks sharp.
Oracle and Intel to Collaborate on Enterprise Computing
ORACLE OPENWORLD, SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 25, 2006 – Oracle and Intel Corporation today announced a joint effort to help accelerate deployment of solutions based on Oracle and Intel technology. This effort builds on a longstanding enterprise computing relationship and is expected to deliver a new level of performance and reliability to customers using Oracle solutions running on industry-leading Intel Core microarchitecture-based Linux servers.
You can read the full press release here.
White-Box PC Makers Pre-Install Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop
WALTHAM, Mass. – Oct. 25, 2006 – Novell today announced it has signed agreements with four white-box PC manufacturers who will globally distribute PCs pre-loaded with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell. European manufacturers ETegro Technologies, MAXDATA and Transtec along with U.S.-based R Cubed Technologies will sell notebooks and/or desktop computers with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 already installed, giving customers around the world simplified access to a complete desktop computing solution that dramatically reduces costs, improves end-user security and increases workforce productivity.
You can read the full press release here.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Released!
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is available now for those in North America for just $49.95. For those outside of North America, the game will be made available at 10 am GMT this Friday, October 27. For more information on Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, please visit http://www.mightandmagic.com/.
Finally, the moment many of you have been waiting for. You can hop onto Steam and purchase it if you want to play, or simply load the game if you have already paid during the pre-order period.
Review Roundup for Oct 26
- Akasa Mirage-62 – techPowerUp!
- NZXT Zero – Bjorn3D
Cases & Enclosures
- Zalman Fatal1ty FS-C77 Heatsink – Frosty Tech
Cooling
- Dual-Channel DDR2-800 With Dual-Core AMD Athlon 64 X2, Intel Core 2 Duo – Digit-Life
- Mushkin 2GB HP2-6400 – Virtual-Hideout
Memory & Storage
- ECS P965T-A – Viper Lair
- Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H 975X Express – PC Stats
- Intel P965 Showdown – Abit vs. GIGABYTE – HotHardware
- MSI 975X Platinum and MSI 975X Platinum PowerUp Edition – Digit-Life
Motherboards & Processors
- Antec Truepower Trio 650 Watt Power Supply – TweakNews
- Everglide g-1000 Mouse – NGOHQ
- SteelPad 5H Headset – HWZone
- SteelSound 5H V2 Headset – BurnoutPC
- X-Raypad Aqua2 Professional Fabric Mousepad – DragonSteelMods
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Dell 2007WFP vs Samsung SM205BW – Pure Overclock
Displays & Video Cards
- Cooler Master Mystique 632 Case Give Away – Big Bruin
- crotale reaches 503MHz FSB with Abit AW9D-MAX – Nordic Hardware
- Ecommerce Tips for Beginners – OC Modshop
- Microsoft IE7 Vs Mozilla Firefox 2.0 – BIOS Magazine
- Travelistic: Travel Meets Web 2.0 – XYZ Computing
- Why AJAX Websites Taste Like Fast Food – Big Bruin
- Xbox Game Accessories Kit – Red & Blackness
Complete Systems, Competitions & Etcetera
AMD Completes ATI Acquisition and Creates Processing Powerhouse
SUNNYVALE, CALIF. – Oct. 25, 2006 – AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced the completion of its approximately $5.4 billion acquisition of ATI Technologies Inc. Combining the complementary strengths of the two technology leaders, the new AMD opens for business as a processing powerhouse committed to driving innovation, choice and growth in the technology industry. With approximately 15,000 employees, the company merges AMD’s technology leadership in microprocessors together with ATI’s leadership in graphics, chipsets and consumer electronics.
Time to start looking to the future. We have already seen the possibility of 45nm GPU processors from ATI in 2008, so the benefits to consumers are starting to pop up already.
This also marks the kickoff of “Fusion”, the technology of fusing CPU and GPU capabilities onto one processor. At this point, it’s hard to assume just how this will be accomplished. Will we still have a video card… without a core? Perhaps, because it is probably feasible. With a GPU and CPU processor melded together though, there is no doubt that it would be a large unit in the end, unless this happens around the 45nm time…
AMD also wasted no time taking ATI.com down, and replacing it with http://ati.amd.com/. If you had any bookmarks saved from various points on the ATI site, you will automatically be routed to the correct page on the new ATI AMD site. One thing the site proves is that AMD will certainly be pushing the green color on ATI down the road, if it plans to keep it’s current logos at all. Both the AMD and ATI.amd.com sites are splashed with green, so it may only be a matter of time.
Times are going to get interesting in tech… starting now. You can read the full press release here.
Lavalys 3.50 Released
Lavalys today announced the general availability of version 3.50 of its flagship products: EVEREST Corporate Edition “The multi-functional toolset for IT Management and Security” and EVEREST Ultimate Edition 2006 “The cutting-edge benchmarking and diagnostics tool to maximize security, performance, and trouble-shooting capabilities for home and home office PC environments, PC Professionals and consulting firms as well as OEM partners and Configuration Centres worldwide”.
If you are an EVEREST user, be sure to grab the latest version. 3.50 is especially cool if you have a Logitech G15 keyboard, as the program will neatly show all your system temps in a clean fashion. This release also includes various updates to support the latest hardware, including Kentsfield.