Some internal slides from intel leaked earlier yesterday they detail Intel's performance estimates for its upcoming high-end enthusiasts processors.

The slides compare the Core i7 990X with the upcoming Sandy Bridge-E architecture, the Core i7-3960X, both six-core processors and both running at a 130W TDP.

Both chips come clocked at different base and Turbo Boost frequencies (3.46GHz base and 3.73GHz Turbo for the 990X vs. 3.30GHz base and 3.90GHz Turbo for the 3960X), while also sporting different feature sets and L3 cache size.

The Core i7-3960X  packs 15MB of Level 3 cache memory as well as support for the new AVX instructions set and a quad-channel memory controller.

Just as Intel points out in its slides, all of these improvements can bring quite a noticeable performance in applications that are memory bond or if AVX instructions are being used.

In the real world, however, the performance gains aren't as impressive as those observed in synthetic benchmarks and these seem to hover between 12 and 15 percent, the only area where the 3960X can detach itself being

Grab the new AMD Catalyst Application Profile - 11.6 CAP3, these are the Catalyst profiles for multi-GPU support.

New profiles added with this release:

• Medieval 2 Total War: New CrossFire Profile
• Drakensang: The River of Time: New CrossFire Profile
• Sanctum: New CrossFire profile
• Shogun 2: Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center has been disabled
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine: Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center has been disabled
• WinDVD: Forced on Anti-Aliasing through the Catalyst Control Center has been disabled
• Men of War: Assault Squad: Disables CrossFire support
• Age of Empires Online: Disables CrossFire support

Download

OCZ Technology announces the ZS Power Supply Series that offer consumers superior value for home desktops and gaming systems. Providing high efficiency, cool operation, and a compact case design, the ZS Series offers an excellent price point for system builders looking for a quality upgrade in a variety of power options.

ASUS released the ROG Vulcan ANC, the world's first active-noise-cancelling pro gaming headset designed to immerse users into games and keep them free of distractions like never before. Created from the needs of competitive pro gamers to remain focused during competition, the ROG team forged the Vulcan ANC with both performance and comfort in mind.

The Vulcan ANC features 85% active noise cancellation to filter out sounds like low frequency computer fan noise and 30dB passive noise cancellation to reduce a wide range of ambient noises, including background voices.

The Vulcan ANC not only provides gamers an immersive gaming experience with noise cancelling features, but also a comfortable one. The lightweight design of 320g is lighter than other comparable models of the same size, with other headsets weighing around 350g. Soft memory foam encased in breathable Japanese protein leather ensures user comfort even after extended gaming sessions. It is also portable, with a foldable design that easily fits into a durable touring case to take between competitions or LAN parties.

Crystal clear audio with 40mm drivers and noise-filtering microphone
The Vulcan ANC is built with enlarged 40mm headphone drivers for crisp, clear audio. ASUS audio experts optimized the headset for a wide sound stage so audio is balanced with both thundering bass and brilliant mids and highs. A stylish blade-shaped detachable boom microphone has built-in noise filtering technology so teammates hear clear conversations during games instead of ambient noise.

Accriding to a rumor on the web Microsoft's next-generation Xbox gaming console might be powered by an AMD-designed accelerated processing unit that is based on the Bulldozer architecture, according to softpedia:

Before this report came to light, previous rumors suggested that Microsoft's console would be based on a new IBM cell processor with better specs than the one currently used for the Xbox 360.

Details about the chip used by the next-gen Xbox are sketchy at this point in time, but we do know that the Redmond-company has decided to go with an APU design based on the Bulldozer architecture.

This information seems to point out to AMD's Trinity accelerated processing units, which are expected to be 50% more powerful that Llano while also including an updated DirectX 11 GPU based on the VLIW4 architecture.

Just at the beginning of this week, a high-ranking company official, from the AMD Graphics Products Group, talked about graphics of the next-generation Xbox console, and it stated that it would be able to provide the level of graphical detail seen in James Cameron's movie Avatar.

While the company representative refrained himself form confirming AMD's role in the development of the console, the statement seemed to confirm all the rumors that have been circulating lately about the presence of a Radeon-derived GPU in the 'Xbox 720.'

It's also interesting to note that the AMD official claimed next-generation console hardware will feature improved A.I. and physics capabilities, which could suggest that he knows a bit more than what it's willing to share about the hardware powering the upcoming Xbox.

From the information that is available at this time, Microsoft is expected to unveil the Xbox 360's successor during E3 2012.

PNY is offering the new XLR8 GeForce GTX 580 in Europe, the card is factory overclocked at a 805MHz core (1610MHz shaders) and 4200 MHz memory frquency.

While not as impressive as the operating clocks other custom designed GTX 580 cards, these are still above stock frequencies that are set at 772MHz for the GPU (1544MHz shaders) and 4008MHz for the memory.

The rest of the specifications of the PNY GeForce GTX 580 XLR8 OC are nothing out of the ordinary and the card comes equipped with the regular pair of dual-link DVI ports as well as with a mini-HDMI video output. A mini-HDMI to full-size HDMI adapter is also bundled together with the card.

PNY's latest creation should reach European retail stores very soon with a recommended price tag of

Intel announced another record quarter, with revenue of $13.1 billion, up 22 percent year-over-year, and net income of $3.2 billion, a 10 percent year-over-year increase.

Intel Corporation today reported its fifth consecutive quarter of record revenue, with double-digit revenue growth across all business segments. On a Non-GAAP basis, revenue was $13.1 billion, operating income was $4.2 billion, net income was $3.2 billion, and EPS was 59 cents. On a GAAP basis, the company reported second-quarter revenue of $13.0 billion, operating income of $3.9 billion, net income of $3.0 billion, and EPS of 54 cents. The company generated approximately $4.0 billion in cash from operations, paid cash dividends of $961 million, and used $2.0 billion to repurchase 93 million shares of common stock.

EA released a new 1 minute Battlefield 3 gameplay trailer today showing multiplayer footage from the map Operation Metro, which takes place in Paris.

The FAQ / Help section of the site reveals the trial recommended computer specs. These are of course not final.

Q: What are the minimum hardware recommendations for the Alpha Trial?

A: RECOMMENDED WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
OS: Windows 7 or Vista (SP1)
Installed: Origin
CPU: Quadcore @ 2.0 GHz or faster
RAM: 4GB or more
Hard Drive: 7.25 GB free disk space
Video: 256 MB or greater
DirectX 10 or 11 compatible card with latest drivers (AMD 11.5 or later, nVidia 275.33 or later)
Sound: DirectX 10 or 11 compatible card
Internet: broadband connection
Note that these do not necessarily represent the requirements for the final game.

Q: Are the specs I have seen on the internet the official recommended Windows PC specs for Battlefield 3?

A: We have not announced our recommended or minimum specs so anything at this point is speculation. If you have been invited to the Windows PC version of the Alpha, the recommended specs for this particular test, and thus not reflective of the final version of the game.
 

Google today made some alterations to their account platform, amongst them feedburner, responsible for serving our RSS feeds.

Short version of the story, Google messed up and made the old RSS links absolutely unusable. Hence if you are subscribed to any or multple of our RSS links, pelase update your links.

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