We test and review the XPower from MSI. Last month Intel added a new processor in the line-up, the ever so strong Core i7 980 Extreme six-core processor. Seriously breathtaking, and to date the fastest consumer processor on the globe with very decent overclock potential as well. That was reason enough for most ODM to make new updates and revisions of the X58 chipset based motherboards, as next top the new processor we also have seen the gradual adoption of features like USB 3.0 and SATA3 6G. MSI is on of the ODMs releasing something really special, today we'll review the Big Bang X58 XPower motherboard. It is chucked full with the latest gadgets and features, it is equipped to make sure you get the very best overclock out of it and heck, even if you can't overclock, flick a button and the motherboard will do the work for you, completely automated.

So I am not quite sure how prartical it is to have no proper black level, but surely it does look nice. Engadget spotted that Samsung has demonstrated a 19" transparent AMOLED panel.

This time we're looking at a 19-inch transparent AMOLED display, taking the technology up from the 14-inch model we saw live at CES in January. The company has now achieved a 30 percent transparency on its designs, and its ideas for how they may be used are fittingly futuristic. Samsung envisions storefront advertising,

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Beresford TC-7520 DAC amplifier tested

From time to time in the Guru3D Audio Lab we will be taking a look at some examples of external equipment for people interested in these areas of PC based audio.

There is an entire market of high end external components that can be used with a PC, devices such as external speaker amps, headphone amps, DAC

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Looks like there finally is some competition for NEC, and that my friends will drive prices down.

Fresco Logic, a global fabless semiconductor company that develops and markets USB 3.0 connectivity solutions unveils its FL1009 two-port USB 3.0 Host Controller with PCI Express Gen II interface. Like its predecessor FL1000 controller, FL1009 is based on Fresco Logic's Patented GoXtream xHCI Accelerator Engine, which is capable of delivering unprecedented performance and is also optimized for low-power operation, while minimizing total system cost and design cycle time. Fresco Logic's SuperSpeed USB Logo Certified GoXtream xHCI Host accelerator allows each USB port to sustain full bandwidth of USB 3.0 throughput and provides headroom to support next generation true 1080p high-definition video-streaming applications and UASP-enabled storage devices.

"The total worldwide market for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is expected to reach over 1 billion units in 2013, the availability of USB 3.0 Host is essential to the successful deployment and broad market adoption of SuperSpeed USB" Said Brian O'Rourke, Principal Analyst at In-Stat "Fresco logic is at the forefront of USB 3.0, the introduction of Fresco Logic' FL1000 last year and FL1009 now, makes them well positioned to help satisfy market demand."

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An interesting choice from OCZ here, OCZ believes it makes little sense to ship high-speed dual-channel memory kits, claiming higher density is more important than clock speed.

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OCZ introduced new high-capacity Vertex 2 and Agility 2 SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drives. The award-winning lines now include 400GB and 480GB models, making the Vertex 2 and Agility 2 an excellent SSD option for clients who don't want to be constrained by storage limitations.

"Solid State Drives have long delivered on exceptional performance and reliability but capacity has been a barrier to adoption for some clients," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. "Building on our popular Agility 2 and Vertex 2 SSD lines our new high capacity models give customers up to 480GB of storage space allowing them to enjoy all the benefits of SSDs with plenty of room for even the largest applications and files, making this the ideal solution for customers that place a premium on speed, reliability and capacity."

With double the storage of the existing models, the 400GB and 480GB editions facilitate a more responsive PC experience while providing ample room for a multitude of applications and files. The new higher capacity Vertex 2 and Agility 2 not only deliver the faster boot up and shut downs, but offer extensive space for the latest operating systems, game titles, and programs for shorter load times and snappier performance compared to mechanical hard drives.

Both Vertex 2 and Agility 2 400GB editions feature 250MB/s read and 240MB/s write speeds, with higher 4k random writes up to 22,500 IOPS on the Vertex 2 Series. Built with SATA 3Gb/s, the drives easily integrate into today's desktop and mobile platforms and feature TRIM support for Windows 7 systems. Vertex 2 and Agility 2 Series will now ship with these latest capacities, and come backed by a 3-year warranty for additional peace of mind.

Vertex 2 400GB
Agility 2 400GB

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Gigabyte  will participate in this year

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Unigine Corp updated their first DirectX 11 benchmark "Heaven" that is based on its proprietary Unigine engine. The company has already made a name among the overclockers and gaming enthusiasts for uncovering the realm of true GPU capabilities with previously released "Sanctuary" and "Tropics" demos. Their benchmarking capabilities are coupled with striking visual integrity of the refined graphic art.

Heaven benchmark excels at providing the following key features:

• Native support of OpenGL, DirectX 9, DirectX 10 and DirectX 11
• Comprehensive use of tessellation technology
• Advanced SSAO (screen-space ambient occlusion)
• Volumetric cumulonimbus clouds generated by a physically accurate algorithm
• Dynamic simulation of changing environment with high physical fidelity
• Interactive experience with fly/walk-through modes
• ATI Eyefinity support

Changes in version 2.1:

• Support of OpenGL 4.0, including hardware tessellation
• Added stereo 3D support in several modes
  • Anaglyph
  • Separate images
  • 3D Vision
  • iZ3
• Several minor optimizations

Download:

 Unigine Heaven DirectX 11 benchmark 2.1
 Unigine Heaven DirectX 11 Linux benchmark 2.1

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Download ForceWare  257.15 Win 7 | Vista 64-bit Beta

Download ForceWare  257.15 Win 7 | Vista 32-bit Beta

Download ForceWare  257.15 Windows XP 32-bit Beta

For those of you who missed the release date of this game, it will be June 1 2010, the game is comming to PC, X360 and PS3 and it's been published by SEGA. The game strong point is that you can play missions all over the world, take a look in this "Small World Trailer".

 

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We just received a nice press-kit from FutureMark regarding the up and coming 3DMark 11, to be released in Q3 this year. We have some exclusive screenshots and a video ready for you guys on the DeepSea scene. First some screenshots:

   
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge them

Deep Sea is a demonstration of DirectX 11 technologies created using an early development build of the 3DMark 11 engine. The Deep Sea build of 3DMark11 does not represent the final scope of the benchmark and does not produce a 3DMark score. There are no plans to release the Deep Sea tech demo to the public. The Deep Sea video trailer was rendered by the 3DMark 11 engine using readily available DirectX 11 hardware, captured at high resolution and then compressed into video formats suitable for the Internet. The trailer features submersibles exploring the sea floor. Volumetric lighting illuminates the seabed with tessellation used to add rich detail to the rock, coral and manmade structures. Post processing is used to create depth of field and other lens effects. The music is an original composition.

Key features of the Deep Sea scene will be the usual DX11 gimmicks:

• Tesselation
• Depth of field
• Volumetric Lighting
• DirectCompute
• Multi-threading

We also have a High Definition movie on this 3DMark 11 scene, have a peek. What do you think -- hot or not ?

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NVIDIA has released the first series 257 drivers, this is revision 257.15 BETA which carries support for a large amount of GeForce graphics cards.

The 257.15 beta driver includes the PhysX 9.10.0222 system software, the HD audio 1.0.9.1 driver, and has support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, 300 and 400 (GTX 465 too) series desktop cards, and the ION GPUs.

•  Adds support for Blu-ray 3D with NVIDIA 3D Vision technology.
• Increases performance for GeForce GTX 400 Series GPUs in several PC games. 4 example:
  • Up to 14% in Aliens vs. Predator (1920x1200 noAA/AF
    

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The next Star Wars Force Unleashed game is in development and Gamespot made an interesting preview of it. Our hero gains some personality issues and a dual lightsaber for free, would this time LucasArts learn the lesson and make the PC version as well?. Only time will tell.

 

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From time to time in the Guru3D Audio Lab we will be taking a look at some examples of external equipment for people interested in these areas of PC based audio. There is an entire market of high end external components that can be used with a PC, devices such as external speaker amps, headphone amps, DACs and high end S/Pdif sources. Today a new package arrived here at the G3D Audio Lab. Inside this package is a brand new Beresford TC-7520 24/96 Digital to Analog Converter unit partnered up with an AudioQuest VDM-Xi S/Pdif cable.

Gigabyte KM7600 keyboard mouse review

Meet the KM7600, 2.4GHz Wireless Deluxe Combo with Keyboard and mouse. A combo that Logitech can learn a thing or two about especially when it comes to pricing. The keyboard has many hot keys for access to multimedia and Internet browsing controls, comes in an ergonomic industrial design. Users can control individual working station easier and faster with powerful multimedia designed keyboard and DPI adjustable mouse.

 Keeping it all connected is a 2.4GHz Wireless Nano Receiver, with Nano referring to small we assume. The KM7600 supports 10-meter transmission with using life time up to four months.

Check out the review right here.

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Japanese cooling specialist Scythe extends its audio accessory portfolio by a brand-new Class D amplifier. New Kama Bay AMP 2000 is equipped with new features and functions which are fitted into a compact chassis to allow it to be mounted into a 5.25" bay inside a PC.

Thanks to the classy design, new Kama Bay AMP 2000 can be used individually and fits perfectly into almost every environment. Users have the choice of either silver or black version as a color. In order to allow high connectivity, Kama Bay AMP 2000 is equipped with 3 RCA inputs on the rear side as well as one 3.5 mm Stereo Jack input and one USB connector in the front. Therefore, it is possible to use mp3 player, computer, game consoles as well as audio and video equipment as the input source. USB connector located in the front gives the possibility to charge mp3 players. Knobs in the front allow switching among the 4 sources as well as individual adjustment of bass and treble separately. Overall design is completed by the two analog meters which are illuminated in blue backlight [via TPU].

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Albatron finally launched a press-release announcing their GeForce GTX 470.

Albatron, Taipei 2010/05/23

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Puget Systems makes several small form factor computers that are in the Echo series including the Echo I, II and the new Echo III. The Echo III is packed inside a small Lian Li PC-Q08 black aluminum chassis and has Intel Core i5 and i7 options.

It?fs great to see a small computer get powerful CPU options. The mainboard inside the machine is a Zotac H55ITX-A-E unit with a mini-ITX form factor and the Intel H55 chipset. The board has a single PCI-E x16 slot and supports up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM.

The overall dimensions of the computer are 13.1?? x 11?? x 16??. WiFi is optional on the machine and it features HDMI out, ten USB 2.0 ports, optical audio out, and a single RJ45 port. The base Echo III system starts at right under $1500 with a Core i5 2.66GHz quad core CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a GeForce 250 video card and 500GB HDD.

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eVGA a couple of days ago launched it's GeForce GTX 470 SuperClocked+

EVGA has already started selling the water-cooled versions of the 470, as well as a similarly clothed GTX 480. There is also a 'normal' GTX 470 SC. The SC+ now seeks to address the needs of those who want higher clocks and less degrees, but don't want water inside their systems.

As such, EVGA left most of the reference cooling mechanism intact, but added a backplate and a high-flow bracket, with more openings than the ones NVIDIA provided. All in all, this design pushes heat seven degrees lower than the SC version, even in spite of the fact that the GPU and memory run at the same frequencies (higher than NVIDIA's original settings).

The GTX 470 SuperClocked+ has 448 CUDA cores, a 320-bit memory interface, 1280MB of GDDR5 VRAM and can communicate with video output devices by means of the dual-DVI and HDMI outputs. As for speeds, the graphics processing unit is set at 625MHz (instead of the stock 607MHz), whereas the VRAM operates at 3402MHz (3348MHz in stock).

The card should demand the same $379.99 as the SC device.

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The good old days. This is gameplay footage from the original game 'Starcraft' as it was released in 1984. Some details can be found here :-)


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Meet the KM7600, 2.4GHz Wireless Deluxe Combo with Keyboard and mouse. A combo that Logitech can learn a thing or two about especially when it comes to pricing. The keyboard has many hot keys for access to multimedia and Internet browsing controls, comes in an ergonomic industrial design. Users can control individual working station easier and faster with powerful multimedia designed keyboard and DPI adjustable mouse. Keeping it all connected is a 2.4GHz Wireless Nano Receiver, with Nano referring to small we assume. The KM7600 supports 10-meter transmission with using life time up to four months.