MSI is pre-overclocking this 1024MB HAWK model towards 930 MHz. And then there's the overclock potential, a new voltage regulation circuitry was embedded, allowing not only to play and tweak around with GPU voltages, nope ... they added voltage control for the memory and Auxilary/PLL voltage as well. We see a custom PCB with phase LEDs, voltage monitoring points, military class components and to put some icing on the cake, the all new TwinFrz III heatpipe cooler that is bound to bring good temperatures versus low noise levels.

Hot Stuffz in a good fashion ! Check out the Guru3D review right here.

And A-Data joins the bandwagon as well, as they announced some of the new products it will show off at CeBIT. This includes the S102 USB 3.0 flash drive, the CH11 USB 3.0 HDD (pictured below), and the S511 SSD with SandForce's new SF-2200 controller.

ADATA

Corsair issued a press-release saying it will deonstrate SandForce SF-2000 based solid state disks at CeBIT. These new Force series SSDs promise read speeds of up to 520MB/s, write speeds as high as 500MB/s and up to 60,000 random 4k write IOPS.

Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced it will preview its new Force Series

AMD has released a rebate program for customers in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, you can access it at a new website named AMD Promotions.

Under the terms, buyers of high-end AMD hardware can receive a rebate of 25EUR (

Intel has announced its Light Peak technology as "Thunderbolt". This new connection technology offers a bandwidth of up to 10Gbps and will be available first on Apple's new line of MacBook Pro laptops and later on will find a way into PC gear.

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of Thunderbolt

Patriot shows their new Wildfire series solid state disks with the SandForce SF-2200 controller:
Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage and enthusiast computer products, today announces the new Wildfire series solid-state drives powered by a new SandForce

Valve released a new Steam client update, a pretty big one as well. To apply the update, click the File menu inside of Steam and then select 'Check for Steam Client Updates...'. New Features and UI updates:

Steam Screenshots
 * Added support for Steam Screenshots. Press F12 while in any game that runs the Steam Overlay to take screenshots, then publish them to your Steam Community profile, or anywhere else on the web. Each user is allotted 1 GB of Steam Cloud storage for screenshots.

Library Search capability and related navigation updates
 * Added Search capability to the library for quick filtering of your list. Press Tab to move focus to and from the search field, press Esc to clear the search.
 * Moved access to all library sub views (Games, Media Tools, Downloads, etc.) into the library's dropdown control

Voice quality improvements
 * Changed microphone voice input from 11 kHz to 16 kHz
 * Changed voice output from 8 kHz to 16 kHz
 * Fixed the settings-dialog microphone test to correctly re-init the calibration client if the active voice device changes
 * Reduced voice prefix buffer size from 200 to 100 ms, but increased trailing from 200 to 400 ms - reduces latency when transitioning from silence to active voice, but still should keep it from sounding like chat is cutting out mid-sentence
 * Increased thresholds for voice activity detection, making it less sensitive
 * Increased amount of gain applied to voice
 * Changed disconnect message when a friend ends a voice call to ' has ended the call'
 * Windows: Fixed microphone to reinitialize correctly if Windows signals that a device in the system has changed
 * Windows: Changed voice output device for Steam to be the default communication device

Web addresses
 * Added an option to display the client's URL address bar, and turned it off by default, given its limited utility
 * Web views now include a "Copy Page URL" command in the context menu, to copy the page's web address to the clipboard

Game invites
 * Moved game invites from friends outside of the chat stream, into their own panel in the chat dialog for improved discoverability

Account security
 * Added password strength meter to the Change Password wizard
 * Added a prompt to choose a new password if you've recently had Steam Support change your password on your behalf

General bug fixes
 * Fixed game invites not working from lobby-based games
 * Fixed games not launching automatically after resolving a cloud conflict
 * Fixed download rate sometimes erroneously reporting very high speeds
 * Fixed a crash on startup or when viewing Games page
 * Fixed client hang which could occur while hovering on links in any HTML-based display area
 * Corrected check box states in the Friends window menu to properly remain in sync
 * Fixed bug where some downloadable content was not downloaded until the client was restarted
 * Fixed a rare and small, but steady memory leak caused by the Steam Overlay in some full screen D3D10/D3D11 games
 * Mac OS X: Fixed a problem where attempting to resume a paused/interrupted download could always report

Nvidia published a small interesting article on their blog about how their Quadro workstation graphics cards were used to create the final scene in the Natalie Portman film Black Swan. Oh my man, the feathers are rendered alright.

" The 11,000 feathers LOOK created for the transformation scene were based on high-resolution scans of actual tundra swans, and Lipowski built detailed feather geometry for quills, as well as complicated rigs to form the feathers individually.

Over at the the University of Michigan they have demoed a prototype self powering computer just over one cubic millimeter in size.

This makes it the first complete millimeter-scale computing system. Designed as an implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients, the computer consists of a low-power microprocessor, a pressure sensor, memory, a thin-film battery, a solar cell and a wireless radio to transmit data to an external reader device.

The computer achieves ultra-low power consumption with a unique power gating architecture and an extreme sleep mode:

The newest system wakes every 15 minutes to take measurements and consumes an average of 5.3 nanowatts. To keep the battery charged, it requires exposure to 10 hours of indoor light each day or 1.5 hours of sunlight. It can store up to a week

Bethesda have updated the site for Elder Scrolls V with the official trailer for the game.

The video lasts 2 minutes and 54 seconds and features cinematics and gameplay. In addition to the trailer, the official website has also been given a major update, with new Skyrim features and legacy pages for all of the previous games in the Elder Scrolls series.

Elder Scrolls V Skyrim is to be released on 11/11/11 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

It was only a week ago when we tested the OCZ Vertex 3 PRO, the somewhat business and enterprise oriented SSD. But what about the enthusiast consumers you might wonder ? Well for you guys OCZ will release a cheaper regular Vertex 3 SSD. It's as fast as that PRO version you guys.

Quite frankly from what you'll see today is that this SSD might be roughly as fast as the PRO model, so what are the differences then ? Well, Let's find out and check this review.

Enermax developed another high-performance series, which is specially designed for multi-GPU systems, industrial PC, workstations and servers. It complies with the strictest standards for server PSU, and is equipped with six powerful 12V rails for a safe and stable supply of power to today

Cooler Master is going to show a whole new mid-range power supply, GX-450 on CeBit.
This power supply is specifically targeted at systems in the upper-mid range, yet reasonably priced. The Cooler Master GX Series of power supplies feature a single highly robust 12 V rail, proficiently delivering power to the most demanding components including the processor, drives, and cooling fans. Now including a double-layer EMI Filter, an intelligent 120 mm controllable fan and an active PFC/PWM combo controller for increased efficiency, the GX Series will keep the power in your hands.

Product Features and Descriptions

• Compliance with the latest Intel standard ATX 12V V 2.31.
• Single +12V rail provides ample power and strong resistance to any overloading.
• High efficiency design that meets 80 Plus requirements (85% typical).
• Multiple protection designs (OVP / UVP / OPP / OTP / SCP).
• High reliability (MTBF>100,000 hours).
• Double Layer EMI filter reduces Electromagnetic interference
• Huge bulk capacitor for hold-up times of >17ms when fully loaded.
• Efficient transformer that reduces 5Vsb power loss when the system is in an off/sleep state.
• EuP ready: To save most power consumption (below 0.5W in standby mode).
• Five-year warranty.

The pricing of this unit will be roughly 55 EUR.

After months of Beta development, MSI and Guru3D happily announce Afterburner 2.1.0 Final version. Thanks for all the feedback from you during Beta period. The new version uncluded support for the latest graphics cards yet also introduces a new feature called Predator -- allowing you to capture video's of your games.

MSI announced today that its Afterburner V2.1.0 overclocking utility and its Kombustor V2.0.0 testing utility is now available for all gamers to download worldwide.

The new version of Afterburner not only supports the latest NVIDIA GeForce 500 and AMD Radeon HD 6000 series of graphics cards*, but also adds the Predator in-games video capture function. Gamers can now capture all of their most intense moments in their favorite games and share them with the world on sites like YouTube.

Download here

Powercolor teases us today with the Eyefinity 6 HD6870, an upcoming Radeon HD 6870 graphics card with six Mini-DisplayPort outputs. Further details are unknown but it's likely that the card will make an appearance at CeBIT.

For those that may have forgotten, Eyefinity 6 allows one to spread the screen over six displays at once, usually intended for gaming, though the monitors will need particularly thin bezels, plus DisplayPort inputs.

Check out review on eyefinity 6 here.

ASUS announced motherboards with Intel's 6-series B3 stepping chipset will begin shipping this week. These fault-free motherboards will be identified by a "New B3 Revision" label on the box as well as a sticker on the motherboard. Additionally, users are also able to verify the chipset stepping via the BIOS or software tools like ASUS SATA Verifier and CPU-Z.

As part of an overall recovery plan following the detection of the Intel

ECS presents the HDC-I, a new Mini-ITX motherboard with AMD's dual-core E350 or single-core E240 APU. Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) releases the latest motherboard HDC-I with built-in the newest AMD E-350 dual-core APU and E-240 single-core APU powered by AMD Hudson M-1 chipset; also, E-350/E-240 APU combining the RadeonTM HD6310 graphics inside enable users to experience more breathtaking home theater moment with less power consumed which would only be under 22watts (TDP). ECS HDC-I uses all solid capacitor for better quality and longer durability. So that ECS HDC-I is the best choice to

ECS released its affordable H61 series motherboard.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) as the pioneer in the motherboard industry with the best quality and the leading position introduces the latest IntelR H61 series express chipset motherboards. With ECS H61 series motherboards, ECS presents the complete motherboard options powered by P67, H67 and H61 express chipsets supporting the 2nd generation IntelR CoreTM processor family. The complete series family provides plentiful choices for users from heavy-gaming need to entry-level requirement. At the same time, IntelR also releases the new Sandy Bridge Dual-core processors for users to have more solution plans with less price.

ECS H61 Series, the Highest C/P Ratio Motherboards Series
With the newest B3 stepping chipset, users can fully enjoy the SATA 3 Gb/s performance without worrying about degrade performance due to previous B2 stepping chipset. ECS introduces a series of H61 motherboards

Earlier on FUD Zilla shared some details about Panter Point, Intel's chipset for the next-gen Ivy Bridge processors which are expected to arrive sometime early next year.

Codename for Ivy Bridge 22nm CPU chipset is Panther Point. The new chipset is going to end up with Intel 7 series brand, most likely P77 and G77, but it is too early to tell. It has 1Gb LAN support, PCIe 2nd generation support as well as SATA 3.0. Furthermore, it supports USB 3.0 and 2.0, which is the first time ever for an Intel chipset.

The surprising thing is HDMI 1.4 as well as DisplayPort 1.1. Ivy Bridge will be the third generation of Intel's CPU that features graphics support, and therefore Panther Point's DisplayPort and HDMI support will be put to good use.

Since strong demand for AMD's new 40nm Zacate and Ontario CPUs has caused supply for the two processors to tighten in both Europe and the US, plus AMD is preparing to push the APUs into China in March, the company has been aggressive resolving the shortage issue as well as building its inventory levels, the paper added.

Check out our APU Zacate review here.

Zalman intro's their new ZM-F4, a 135mm fan with a 120mm frame to ensure compatibility should you need it in your chassis.

The fan comes with with anti-vibration silicon pins and includes a resistor cable to enable you to control fan speed and noise. The fan uses "Advanced Sleeve" bearing, it spins at 900-1300RPM and has a noise level of 18-26dBA.

"It is our pleasure to introduce Zalman NEW fan, ZM-F4. There are many Case fans in the market, but they only restrict the size up to 120mm for the normal cases. With our ZM-F4, you don

Micron director of SSD marketing Justin Sykes has written in a blog post about the 25nm NAND flash memory controversy.

OCZ recently started shipping 25nm SSDs but came under fire when users discovered these disks have lower endurance and worse performance than the company's previous-generation 34nm SSDs. The controversy spread when Corsair revealed its 25nm SSD plans and yesterday Mushkin went as far as to state that they will not switch to 25nm NAND flash until they're convinced of its effectiveness.

Sykes on the other hand tells a whole different story, he claims the perceptions about the quality of 25nm NAND flash memory are misplaced and states it is possible to build great SSDs with 25nm NAND flash memory.

" If you

ECS will reveal new laptops, eBook Reader, tablets, graphics cards and other products at CeBIT:

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), plans to present its innovative and environmental friendly products, including Tablet PC, notebook, eBook Reader, desktop system, motherboard and graphics card in CeBIT 2011 at the booth# H17/E60 from Mar. 1st to Mar. 5th, 2011.

MB40/50 Series Notebook
The ECS MB40 and MB50 series notebooks support the 2nd Generation Intel

Victory Games is working on a new Command & Conquer game for EA as Voodoo Extreme reports today. Ver good, it would be great to see a new edition of the game.

The other big surprise is an interview with Victory Games General Manager Jon Van Caneghem. Victory Games is an entirely new studio with three development locations. From our understanding, Victory Games will be filling the gap left behind after the former EA Los Angeles team behind Command and Conquer and Battle for Middle Earth games were let go last year.

I am here with Jon Van Caneghem, the GM of Victory Games. Today you announced the name of your new studio as Victory Games

ZD Net's Mary Jo Foley published a Windows 8 roadmap and speculates the new operating system may be finalized by mid-2012:

Microsoft execs also are not commenting on an alleged Dell roadmap leak from last week, which made it appear as if Dell will have a Windows 8 tablet ready in time for January 2012. While I wondered aloud last week (as did at least one Wall Street analyst) whether that meant Microsoft might be further along with Win 8 for systems-on-a-chip (SoC) processors than many of us previously believed, I

ANyone remembers OCZ NIA ? Well, here's a really advanced version. AutoNOMOS Labs in Germany have developed a system that allows someone to drive a car using their mind. The system uses censors to measure the brain's electromagnetic signals. The measurements are interpreted as patterns by a computer. The driver puts on a sensor cap and trains the computer to recognize their brain patterns. The computer software learns to associate two different brain patterns with left or right directions.

And voila, brain control. Once the driver has got a sensor cap on, they are able to give commands to an autonomous car. The car has video cameras, radars and laser sensors that give the car a 360 degree view of its surroundings. The car is able to drive itself to the end of an intersection, and then the driver can command the car to turn left or right - with their brain.

The Dragon Age website offers downloads of the promised playable demo for Dragon Age II, BioWare's RPG sequel. In the demo, players will venture through the game's prologue, choosing from three different character classes.

They'll also learn more about Hawke and hone their skills and abilities that will make them the ultimate hero. After finishing the prologue, players will enter a key new location in the world of Dragon Age, Kirkwall, befriending Isabela, a romantic interest in the game who is also a deadly smuggler.

Upon completion of the demo, players will unlock a special weapon, Hayder's Razor, an ancient dwarven blade which increases health, mana, and combat abilities, in the full release of Dragon Age 2. If the PC, PlayStation and Xbox 360 demos reach a total of 1 million downloads, BioWare will also unlock two other items in the full game. The items are two books, The Far Cliffs of Kirkwall, which gives money when read, and Lothering's Lament, which gives an XP boost when read. All you need to do in order to ensure you get these unlocks is log into your EA account when playing the demo for the game. The full game ships on March 8, 2011 in the U.S. and March 11, 2011 in Europe. The demo is 1.98GB