Archive for May 2009

JVC LT-42WX70 LCD TV monitor for high-end digital SLR camera users

Generic News 1994 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Well, this is a weird yet new concept. JVC will release the Xiview LT-42WX70 which is a 42-inch class 120Hz 1080p LCD TV monitor that targets digital imaging professionals and enthusiasts using high-end digital SLR cameras, allowing them for the first time to see the subtle colors, details and textures of their images faithfully reproduced.

The JVC Xiview LT-42WX70 monitor features expanded color space capacity encompassing 100 percent of HDTV broadcasting


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PSP Go leak confirms 16GB memory and Bluetooth

console 102 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

A leak Saturday morning on Sony's own PlayStation forums has confirmed major details of the PSP Go now expected to debut at E3. Spotted in a Qore episode slipped out early, the device is as rumored and switches to a slider design that renders it much more portable. It now also has 16GB of internal memory (plus a card slot) that gives it a much greater role as a media player and signals a shift to download-only PSP games; the PSP Go drops the UMD drive entirely.

Newly spotted in the video is built-in Bluetooth support that lets users voice chat in games or Skype with any Bluetooth headset. The company also says it will be possible to tether the PSP Go to a cellphone over Bluetooth, though what features would be allowed through the link aren't known; it implies support for taking calls from the phone through the PSP itself.

Supporting the latest rumors, a Sony spokesman in the video says the Go won't replace the existing PSP for at least its initial launch and will be an alternative for those who don't depend on a library of UMD-based games. A price and a ship date aren't given.

The escaped details all but confirm an aggressive about-face for Sony in the portable world, where it has regularly struggled against its obvious competitor the Nintendo DS but has been facing added heat from the iPod touch. Although the Apple and Sony devices have different interfaces and different primary focuses, the iPod touch has been increasingly marketed as a gaming device by Apple and has long had more advanced media playback.




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Alienware M17x Laptop

Storage 785 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

With Dell's Alienware line, you can be at the elast enjoy a decent gaming experience wrapped up in aa portable package, and their latest addition to the family would be the Dell M17x laptop. This Alienware laptop will start from $1,799 upwards, where the base 17" model will feature the following :-

  • 1GB nVidia GeForce GTX260M GPU
  • Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz P8600 processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • 250GB 7200-rpm hard drive
  • Slot-loading DVD-RW drive
  • 9-cell battery
  • nVidia GeForce 9400M G1 GPU with HybridPower technology
  • 802.11n Wi-Fi

Of course, you can always upgrade the DVD-RW drive to a Blu-ray model by throwing in more dough, but that would also mean including the optional 1,920 x 1,200 resolution edge-to-edge LCD upgrade as well in order to take full advantage of it.

Ehm, naah I'll stick to a PC that is upgradable .. thjanks anyway :-)


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Verbatim TuneBoard Keyboard

Storage 785 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Verbatim is back in da house with a brand new TuneBoard Keyboard, and dude it comes with built-in speakers to get you started right out-of-the-box, although don't expect this to blow your mind away with the audio quality it produces.

Apart from integrated speakers, the TuneBoard Keyboard even comes with iTunes control keys, switchable backlighting and bass boost, alongside connectivity options to hook up a pair of headphones and microphone.

Do you think $70 for the Verbatime TuneBorard is worth the money?


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Onkyo LA21TW-01S Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor

HTPC 228 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Ok let me just say that I am the biggest Onkyo fan when it comes to their high-end AV receivers. In fact I own their Onkyo TX-NR905 for my home coinema needs, and it was prolly one of the best purchases in my entire life.

As it seems though they are slowly expanding their product line. As such, Onkyo is now offering LCD monitors as well. And these are not exactly sexy looking.

Onkyo Japan is going to release its new 21.5-inch LA21TW-01S widescreen Full HD LCD monitor in the Land of the Rising Sun June 1st for


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Is HTML5 Going To Change The OS Market?

Generic News 1994 Published by Thorsten Finck 0

Regardless of the underlying operating system, HTML5 promises the ability to run applications platform-independant. Already being confirmed to be supported by Microsoft, Google, and Mozilla it is more than likely that all major browsers are going to feature an updated interpreter for the new version of the web programming language.

HTML 5 is currently in the developing stage and more than likely to remain in it for a few more years. Despite that, "its focus on running applications within the browser is an important driver of interest in cloud computing, where applications live somewhere off on the Internet and are delivered by the browser.

The focus of future browsers will shift from "going places" to "doing things." This will be a boon to free operating systems, which will increasingly be able to hide themselves under the browser user interface. While Windows and Mac OSX won't go away overnight, the pressure on them will be to innovate beyond the browser, perhaps through a common set of extensions for HTML5 applications to use."


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Tim Berners-Lee's New WWW of Linked Data

Generic News 1994 Published by Thorsten Finck 0

Tim Berners-Lee, who is considered the father of the World Wide Web, talked about the next version of the WWW as he envisions it, at this year's TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference at the Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California.

"For his next project, he's building a web for open, linked data that could do for numbers what the Web did for words, pictures, video: unlock our data and reframe the way we use it together."

 


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New Mafia 2 E3 Trailer

Games 1603 Published by Thorsten Finck 0

Just a couple of days ago, we reported that Mafia 2 would be delayed and promptly a new trailer hits the web. This video showcases new in-engine footage and is an early E3 2009 trailer. This really makes the waiting so much harder...

 


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MS removes 3-application limit for Windows 7 Starter edition

Generic News 1994 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Earlier on we reported that Microsoft would be enforcing a three-application limit on Windows 7 Starter edition. This particular limitation would hinder the user running more than three applications at once.

Microsoft seems to really want to do it right with Windows 7 and Via the Windows 7 Team Blog, Microsoft today has confirmed that the limit will not exist in the final version of the operating system:

There of course will also be Windows 7 Starter edition, but based on the feedback we


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Intel to Eliminate Core i7 920 and 940

Processor 721 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

If you are looking out and plan an upgrade with Core i7 920 ... you might want to hurry up. It is now semi confirmed that Intel is going to axe the Core i7 920 and 940 quite soon. 

Now the 940 will be replaced with the 950 and also a 975 will be launched next week to replace the 965(we'll review it). But IF the Core i7 920 is to go EOL .. there will be no 'affordable' 300 USD counterpart anymore to fill that gap UNTIL Core i5 is released late(r) this year.

So if you where in the market for a Core i7 920 .. now's a good time to pick one up. And hopefully we'll be proven wrong. I picked out dome good deals the 920. Here you go:


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MSI N275GTX Lightning pixelated

Graphics Cards 1673 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Thoe bro's over at vrzone have a couple of photo's on the the upcoming N275GTX Lightning card from MSI and now here's the card and cooler in its full glory before Computex. The company came up with a newer cooler, with a slightly different PCB. While retaining the Twin Frozr heatsink.

The cooler MSI is using on the N275GTX Lightning has a bigger fan and higher density heatsink so the cooling performance is enhanced.

  1. Military Class Component (Hi-c CAP, Solid State Choke, Long life Solid CAP)
  2. 8+2 PWM phase
  3. Hardware APS with LED (can shutdown PWM phase during IDLE) - this is something new that N260GTX Lightning doesn't possess
  4. 1792MB GDDR3
  5. V-Check Points (measure GPU/memory voltage)

According to MSI, the yellow Solid State Chokes (SSC) is new on this card.  As traditional choke has different parts inside (housing, coil, ferrite stick), it will generate high frequency noise under heavy load because of vibration. For SSC, it is made up of iron chunk with coil buried inside so there is no different parts thus it doesn't cause the buzzing noise anymore. Also, it can increase power density.

Info on availability, and price, are not known at this point in time.

 


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HDMI 1.4 specifications officially presented

Generic News 1994 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

The HDMI 1.4 specifications were released, the new specification adds several interesting new features but unfortunately they've made one big mess out of it by creating a total of five different cables. Here's the press release:
HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface


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Sweeney: Realistic graphics 10-15 years away from us

Graphics Cards 1673 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Gamasutra had an interview with Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney, one of the things they talked about is how long it will take for games to arrive that will look 100 percent realistic like a movie. We've come a long way in the last fifteen years since Doom was released, and Sweeney predicts it will probably take another 10-15 years until game developers are able to create games with graphics that can't be distinguished from reality.

There are two parts to the graphical problem. Number one, there are all those problems that are just a matter of brute force computing power: so completely realistic lighting with real-time radiosity, perfectly anti-aliased graphics, and movie-quality static scenes and motion.

We're only about a factor of a thousand off from achieving all that in real-time without sacrifices. So we'll certainly see that happen in our lifetimes; it's just a result of Moore's Law. Probably 10-15 years for that stuff, which isn't far at all. Which is scary -- we'll be able to saturate our visual systems with realistic graphics at that point.

But there's another problem in graphics that's not as easily solvable. It's anything that requires simulating human intelligence or behavior: animation, character movement, interaction with characters, and conversations with characters. They're really cheesy in games now...


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Operation Flashpoint 2 E3 09: Trailer

Games 1603 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Codemasters has released the E3 09 trailer for Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, showcasing the sequel in the works at Codemasters Studios and due to hit the store shelves in Summer 2009, for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.


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Realtek HD Audio 2.25 Driver released

Soundcard 105 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

realtek once again launched a new driver for their integrated audio chipsets.

The latest download of Realtek's HD audio driver version available for Windows XP and Vista, it runs under Windows 7 too.

The HD audio driver version for Realtek chips is available for download on our server. This download offers both the Windows XP and Vista binaries, the files contain drivers for the 32 Bit and 64 Bit versions. All Realtek HD audio chips, which are common on many motherboards and in notebooks, are supported.

Download


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Titan Fenrir CPU cooler review

Review 567 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

The market is resourceful, plentiful and even a little saturated when it comes to CPU coolers. And you know what? That's just great as a matter of fact as that means you can get heatpipe coolers starting at 35 USD already, offering very decent performance combined with silent cooling. I mean that's what it's all about. Heatpipe based cooling was designed with silence in mind.

The Titan Fenrir is another mainstream heatpipe based CPU cooler and a pretty reasonable one too: 17dBA operation, 160W thermal load, universal socket support, PWM function, four 8mm heat pipes, and a 12cm fan. Oy not bad .. let's check it out to see where it stands in terms of price versus performance.

Check out the full review here.

 

Titan Fenrir CPU cooler

 


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Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU cooler review

Cooling 190 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Cooling is a pretty hot topic, and as such we'll be testing the latest CPU cooler from Titan. The Titan Fenrir is another mainstream heatpipe based cooler and a pretty reasonable one also, 17dBA operation, 160W thermal load, universal socket support, PWM function, four 8mm heat pipes, and a 12cm fan. Oy not bad .. let's check it out to see where it stands in terms of price versus performance.

DFI LANParty UT P55 Board First Look

Mainboard 578 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

The chaps from vrzone have caught their paws on LANPARTY UT P55 board which is packed with several new interesting features.

Why is it interesting you ask ?well .. you can see that this motherboard has a complete digital PWM and there is a slot for NAND flash. Also, DFI will be using Flame Freezer for the chipst cooling department as well. On closer examination, there is a mini USB port on the IO backpanel.

So what is it doing there? DFI refused to say anything but gave us a clue that it is BIOS related and is a breakthrough for motherboard technologies.

This mystery will be unravelled at Computex Taipei 2009 where DFI will officially be announcing this board there.

   

So what do you think that feature is for? Head over to this thread to share your opinion.

 


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Intel Core i7 950 and 975 Extreme Surface

Processor 721 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

It's clear that next week Intel is going to launch new Core i7 processors.

Both the Core i7 950 and 975 Extremeare spotted at etailers. The Core i7 950 model is now up for preorder priced at $649. It is set at 3.06 GHz, with 8 MB shared L3 cache, 4 cores with HT, and 130 W TDP (full specs below). Interesting is the sales date according to the etailer is May 31st.

The Core i7 975 Extreme would be reelased a little later, ithe CPU will be clocked at 3.33 GHz, have 8 MB shared L3 cache, and cost over $1,000.

Intel Core i7 950 Specifications:

  • Product Type: Desktop
  • Product Line: Core i7
  • Socket: LGA1366 Socket
  • Clock Speed: 3.06 GHz
  • QuickPath: 4.8 GT/s
  • L3 Cache: 8 MB Shared
  • L2 Cache: 4 x 256 KB
  • L1 Cache: 4 x 64 KB
  • Package Type: 1366-land Flip-Chip Land Grid Array (FC-LGA8)
  • Threads: 8
  • Manufacturing Process: 45 nm
  • Thermal Design Power: 130W
  • Thermal Specification: 67.9

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Homebrewed CPU Is a Beautiful Mess of Wires

Processor 721 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Intel's fabrication plants can churn out hundreds of thousands of processor chips a day. But what does it take to handcraft a single 8-bit CPU and a computer? Give or take 18 months, about $1,000 and 1,253 pieces of wire. Steve Chamberlin, a Belmont, California, videogame developer by day, set out on a quest to custom design and build his own 8-bit computer.

The homebrew CPU would be called Big Mess of Wires or BMOW. Despite its name, it is a painstakingly created work of art. The 8-bit CPU and computer will be on display doing an interactive chess demo at the fourth annual Maker Faire in San Mateo, California, this weekend, May 30-31. It will be one of 600 exhibits of do-it-yourself technology, hacks, mods and just plain strange hobby projects at the faire, which is expected to draw 80,000 attendees.


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Tropico 3 Trailer

Games 1603 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Tropico 3 is an upcoming 2009 politics and city building video game developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media and it is a sequel to Tropico. The game will return to the roots of the series, putting the player into the shoes of "El Presidente" - a dictator governing over an island banana republic. Staying true to the spirit of Tropico, the new game will be a construction and management simulation with heavy emphasis on city building. Tropico 3 is scheduled to be released in September 2009.

Here's the impressive teaser trailer for Tropico 3!


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A Decade Guru3D Contest 3 - The Dragon Challenge

Contest 32 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Guru3D.com is ten years of age, this is contest three in a week full of history and competitions. So alright, here it is the last competition that starts for this week.

The prize we are giving away with this contest is awesome, a complete AMD/ATI system. This prize is sponsored by AMD and tones.be, you will need to have a shipping addres in the Netherlands or Belgium in order to be able to participate.

That entails a complete gamers desktop system that includes: Phenom II X4 955, 790 series chipset motherboard, loaded up with 4GB DDR3 memory and Radeon HD 4890. A prize worth roughly 1250 EUR (!).

  • Motherboard: MSI 790FX GD70
  • CPU: AMD Phenom X4 955 3.2 GHz
  • Scythe Mugen II CPU cooler
  • Gpu: MSI R4890-T2D1G (880 core / 999 mem).
  • Memory: Patriot 4GB DDR3 memory
  • DVD-RW
  • Samsung Spinpoint F1 640Gb HD
  • 850 Watt Corsair PSU 
  • Gigabyte Poseidon 310 Chassis
  • Cardreader
  • Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit registered (installed)

Find out what you need to do and what the rules and regulations are right here.


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ASUS working on Dual GeForce GTX 285 with 4GB

Graphics Cards 1673 Published by Hilbert Hagedoorn 0

Our colleagues over at techpowerup got the skinny on a new Dual-GTX 285 4 GB Graphics Card from ASUS! Though not very charming, i'll do a blunt copy/paste here, as this is a lot to cover, courtesy of Techpowerup !

ASUS has just designed a new monster graphics card that breaks the mold for reference design GeForce GTX 295, called the ASUS MARS 295 Limited Edition. The card, although retains the name "GeForce GTX 295", same device ID, and is compatible with existing NVIDIA drivers, has two huge innovations put in by ASUS, which go far beyond being yet another overclocked GeForce GTX 295: the company used two G200-350-B3 graphics processors, the same ones that make the GeForce GTX 285. The GPUs have all the 240 shader processors enabled, and also have the complete 512-bit GDDR3 memory interface enabled. This dual-PCB monstrosity holds 32 memory chips, and 4 GB of total memory (each GPU accesses 2 GB of it). Apart from these, each GPU system uses the same exact clock speeds as the GeForce GTX 285: 648/1476/2400 MHz (core/shader/memory).

 

Each PCB holds 16 memory chips, a 6-phase digital PWM power circuit, drawing auxiliary power from an 8-pin PCI-E power connector, the GeForce GTX 285-class GPU, and its companion NVIO2 processor. The PCB holding the PCI-Express bus interface, also holds the bridge chip. ASUS broke away with using the nForce 200 chip, and instead is using a yet to be disclosed third-party bridge chip. Currently, PLX and IDT are two likely sources for such a chip. The memory consists of high-density 0.77 ns memory chips made by Hynix.

  

The electrical-management on each PCB is care of a Volterra VRM controller, which supports the I2C interface, which means that the card supports software voltage control, perhaps a big plus for ASUS' Voltage Tweak feature that is gaining in popularity. Fused power circuit provides Over Current Protection while also facilitating extreme overclocking.

 

The cooler internally has the same basic construction as the reference cooler, it uses a single leaf-blower. The card spans across two expansion slots and is slightly higher than the reference design card. ASUS also used slightly longer internal bridges that make more room for third-party coolers, and the likes. Our source from ASUS EMEA conducted a quick 3DMark Vantage test proving the card's seamless compatibility with existing drivers, while also providing a significant boost in performance over existing GTX 295 cards. Being Quad-SLI capable, this card finally makes GeForce GTX 285 (effective) quad-SLI possible, and makes for the most powerful desktop multi-GPU setup ever conceived. ASUS designed this card despite pressure from NVIDIA enforcing its rigid policy of restricting its partners from custom-designing GeForce GTX 295. If everything goes smooth throughout the development process, the card might make it for a gala launch at Computex.


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