A while ago we already reported that on some AMD Phenom II 720BE processors the 4th core could be enabled. It seems that the very popular Dual Core AMD Athlon X2 7750BE has four cores as well as it is Phenom based, though with two of them disabled.

Yet all can be enabled :)

This new' phenomenon' works exactly the same as back then with the Phenom II 720BE processors. In some older BIOSes you can enable Advanced Clock Calibration on your AMD 790 motherboard and after a reboot ... you might end up lucky with four active CPU cores.

Yeah it's really that simple, your processors will come back as AMD Phenom FX-7750 Quad-Core. Mind you that the two active cores 'might' be damaged and that it only works with some AMD 790 motherboards from ASROCK and BIOSTAR.

It's a bit of a luck of the draw really, can't hurt to try though. If it doesn't work, clear CMOS and yu are back to normal.

The biggest challenge however will be finding a 7750 BE to purchase. Currently I can't find it anywhere in the price lists.

I updated the download section with Intel's most common tools as there have been some updates lately and our binaries got outdated, here you go:

  Intel Processor Identification Utility 4.10
  Intel Chipset Identification Utility v3.23
  Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility 9.1.0.1012

Yesterday afternoon, what seems to be the final and genuine release candidate of Windows 7 was leaked to various P2P networks. This RC version carries the build string 7100.0.090421-1700 and weighs in at 2.36 GB for the 32-bit version and at 3.05 GB for the 64-bit version. The official release of the RC is still going to be the 5th of May, however.

Besides that, the Window 7 RC features a bunch of interesting new "details". One of the most exciting is a Windows XP Mode (XPM) which is a Virtual PC-based virtual environment that runs on a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3. Buyers of a Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition are going to be able to download it as a free update from Microsoft. A noteworthy aspect of XPM is that it "does not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop. Instead, as you install applications inside the virtual XP environment, they are published to the host (Windows 7) OS as well. (With shortcuts placed in the Start Menu.) That way, users can run Windows XP-based applications (like IE 6) alongside Windows 7 applications under a single desktop."

This provides Microsoft with the unique opportunity to market Windows 7 as nearly 100% compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Okay guys, time for the weekend update in of daily deals. I like to address some of the newer graphics cards in this bulletin, but can not leave out two processors that are might interesting to purchase. After Phenom II 955BE was introduced, check out what happened here:

 Processors:

• AMD Phenom II X4 940 Quad core processor
  Guys this is massive bang for buck ! You can pick up this Phenom II 3.0 GHz Quad-core processor for $189.99 which is oozing performance for that kind of money. Pick up a 125 USD AMD 790FXC based motherboard and you just upgraded to high-end performance and a whole bunch of overclockability. Fantastic price and this is the Black (unlocked) edition.
• AMD Phenom II X3 720 Triple Core Processor
  I seriously love this processor. It can be overclocked really high as it is the BE edition as well. Read out reviews on this and previous mentioned processors please. The 720 is selling at $134.99

Graphics cards:

• eVGA GeForce GTX260 896 MB Video Card
  Nothing needs to be said about the GTX 260 really. This is the regular edition priced at $179.99
• eVGA GeForce GTX 275 Video Card
  Probably the best deal today ! We spotted this great card for only $229.99
• ASUS Radeon HD 4870 512MB
  Well, this might be an even better deal ! This is the 512MB GDDR5 version, at a breathtaking price of $134.99

Chaps have a fantastic weekend !

Researchers claim the Windows 7 operating system's boot up sequence is flawed and completely unfixable.

This week the world's leading cybersecurity professionals gathered in Dubai at the Hack In The Box Security Conference to discuss the state of the industry, identify new threats, share pro-tips, and play Dungeons and Dragons. Ok, probably not that last part, but you get the point; high-nerdery was clearly afoot at the Sheraton Dubai Creek.

One of the more prominent topics of discussion was Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7. While a number of exploits and potential vulnerabilities of the system were discussed at the conference, one identified loophole in the system has security professionals troubled

French website CowcotLand reports Cooler Master has a limited edition CM690 Pure Black case. As the name suggests, this is an all black case with a nice black interior.

After Cooler Master Cosmos Black Limited was releaes, they apparantly likes the media attention so much that they decided to do it with the RC-690 as well. The case will be 100% the same except for the fact that it will be all painted in blackA batch of 300 units of the CM690 Pure Black will become available in September for around 80-90 EUR.

Patriot memory has just launched a DDR3 2000 MHz memory kit. You can find it under SKU codenumber PVT36G2000LK. The kit consists of three 2GB modules, obviously for triple channel memory support.

A key feature of the memory are the blue heatspreaders and admittedly, they do look good, and hopefully work like that as well.

At 2000 MHz the DIMMs will need a voltage of 1.65 Volts, but does manage to squeeze CL8-8-8-24 latencies out of there. Patriot gives a lifetime warranty for its products including this one. There's no price information is available just yet.

BTW keep your eyes open for our review (soon) on OCZ Blade memory at 2000 MHz CAS7.

TUL aka PowerColor released their PCS+ HD 4890 graphics card, this model has a 950MHz core and 1GB GDDR5 memory clocked at 4400MHz. This graphics card uses a cooling solution from Zerotherm. You can also get it in a bundle with Battle Forge, a DirectX 10.1 game.

PowerColor

NERO has released an update to its Nero Move it software that reduces video encoding time by up to five times by utilizing NVIDIA

Yesterday we reviewed this processesor, but AMD said it had run as fast as 7 GHz in extreme overclocking tests. Out of the box, the new X4 955 Black Edition, which is aimed at gamers and hobbyists, runs at 3.2 GHz, giving it similar performance to Intel's fastest desktop chips at lower cost, AMD says.

However, AMD was able to more than double the CPU's speed during its tests, said Brent Barry, an AMD product manager.

So we got it to 3.8 GHz on air cooling, AMD used liquid Nitrogen though ;)

We are always a little reluctant to post gossip like this, yet there seems to be some sort of foundation for this rumor. It appears that more information on GT300, the new GeForce/Quadro/Tesla flagship graphics card chip is on the loose. First of all, the GPU will have 512 Shader processors, and that's a big step up from the current 240 Shader processors.

Next to that, NVIDIA supposedly is moving from SIMD to MIMD architecture. Long story short: SIMD always has the advantage in raw peak operations per second. After all, it mainly consists of as many adders, floating-point units, shaders.

SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) refers to a parallel computer that runs the exact same program, that

Clever .. the Eizo Nanao FlexScan monitors motion sensor saves energy by activating the screen only when a user is present.

Eizo Nanao today introduced two monitors, the 23-inch FlexScan EV2303W and the 20-inch FlexScan EV2023W. The monitors are among the world

Hmm, not bad .. not bad at all really. Enermax released their Phoenix Neo ATX mid tower case, the successor to the Phoenix will soon be available for $84.99.

Main obvious to the PHOENIX is a revised front with the aluminum wings more aggressively curved & edged and an improved 25cm monster fan with in/out/off airflow and LED on/off switches (+ the known VR for speed control).

Full specifications can be found at the Enermax's website.

The original PHOENIX set the benchmark of aluminum treatment by featuring the most massively curved aluminum wings ever combined with diamond-cutting and the first directly front-removable dustfilter.

PHOENIX Neo heightens these records. 3.0 mm aluminum wings with a more brute design to focus the gaming and enthusiast market as by integrating a V into the mesh front air vent.

But it has not only the looks: eSATA & USB are becoming more important every day. Most external devices require them already, but the latest push came by Windows Vista. It features

The fine folks from Inno3D have unleashed a new GeForce GTX 275 graphics card that features not 896MB yet 1792MB GDDR3 memory. Now I'm not quite sure if the extra money is worth all the extra framebuffer as the difference will be hard to measure ... but still, that's a nice card alright. If it's as good as the Overclock edition we recently tested, bring it on I say.

Here's the PR scoop; Inno3D are excited to announce the Inno3D GeForce GTX 275 now built with double the memory of 1792MB gaming performance.

With full GPU-acceleration for NVIDIA PhysX technology, Inno3D GeForce GTX 275 with 1792MB offers an extreme HD gaming experience by bringing dynamic forces of nature and massively destructible environments to all the latest games.

The AMD OverDrive application was designed to be a utility the provides the ability to maximize the capability, flexibility, and adjustability of the AMD chipset products. It allows user to tune parameters to ensure system stability, optimize performance, and control cooling/acoustic characteristics. Our target is to provide an all-in-one utility which can deliver all-around stellar operation.

You can download AMD Overdrive 3.01 right here. For a working example and some screenshots in our Phenom II 945BE review, click here.

I know we mentioned this earlier on already. Some of Gigabyte's X58 motherboards did not carry SLI support. Gigabyte (as far as we know) made that call for some boards a while ago as for each SLI X58 motherboard a 5 USD license fee needs to be paid to NVIDIA.

Gigbyte now officially announced that if you can pick up a BIOS and get that fixed.

Taipei, Taiwan, April, 2009

About three weeks after its release for the PC, Nvidia announced the availability of the Quadro FX 4800 for the Mac Pro. Its specifications are:

• GPU Specs: 192 CUDA parallel processor cores
• GPU Memory Specs: 1.5 GB total memory size, 384-bit memory interface, 76.8 GB/sec memory bandwidth
• Display Support: 2 stereo dual-link DVI slots
• Maximum Power Consumption: 150W

"The Quadro FX 4800 ultra-high-end solution is now available for the Mac Pro, giving architects, digital artists, medical scientists, and other professionals the right set of tools to deliver results that push the realms of visualization. With Boot Camp, users can experience the full features and accelerated performance of native Quadro 3D graphics when running professional Windows applications. Designed, tested, and built by NVIDIA for the Mac Pro, Quadro FX 4800 gives professionals the visual supercomputing power that they deserve from their desktops."

About one month ago, we spotted OCZ's Z-Drive at the CeBIT in Hanover, Germany. The exciting detail about the Z-Drive is that it is a PCI-Express x8 connection storage device on a 245 mm x 124mm x 22 mm board that boasts up to four 256 GB (MLC-equipped) solid-state drives in a RAID 0 setup.

Well, it seems like the French e-tailer Materiel already offers them for sale on its web site. Not one, not two, but three different models are currently being sold:

• The 1 TB version, Z-Drive 1 To PCI-Express 8x, features up to 500 MB/s read speed and up to 470 MB/s write speed. These incredible speeds come budled with a hefty price tag, though: 3,399.99 Euro. 256 MB on-board cache and four MLC SSDs with 250 GB per SSD are the ingredients that can be found under the hood of this version.
• Next is the Z-Drive 500 Go PCI-Express 8x, with 500 GB of storage space and up to 510 MB/s read speed and up to 480 MB/s write speed. This means that it is actually a tad faster than the 1 TB version. This model will set you back 2,199.99 Euro.
• Last, but certainly not least, is the Z-Drive 250 Go PCI-Express 8x, with 250 GB of storage space and still up to 450 MB/s read speed and up to 300 MB/s write speed. This version currently costs 1,399.99 Euro.

Whether these prices are the final MSRPs or if they are slightly inflated, remains to be seen, when these amazing drives start to appear at other shops, as well.