NVIDIA this morning made official upgrades to its Quadro FX notebook line that carry over lessons learned from the desktop GTX and mobile 9800M lines to pro-level graphics. Each chip is now capable of not only accelerating video but performing general computing at the same time using NVIDIA's CUDA language. The change lets the graphics processors work alongside the main system processor to speed up digital media editing, scientific calculations, and other more universal tasks.

The range is headlined by the Quadro FX 3700M and 2700M, both of which are aimed at 17-inch desktop replacements such as the ThinkPad W700. They include 128 and 48 graphics effects cores each, all of which support general computing, and both have a faster 256-bit memory path. The 3700M also holds up to 1GB of video memory while the less demanding 2700M can use 512MB.

Multiple chips are also available for 15.4-inch and smaller notebooks, NVIDIA says: the 1700M drops to 32 cores and a 128-bit interface to lower its power needs, while the 770M has similar features for lower-power environments. The 370M is designed for the smallest systems the Quadro FX can support and uses just eight cores and a 64-bit interface.

All the graphics options are being built into new notebooks as of today, though ship dates for these systems vary. Dell, Fujitsu, HP, and Lenovo are all launch partners. Other operating systems aren't mentioned, though CUDA is also supported in Mac OS X.

High-end workstation users also receive an upgrade to the Quadro Plex external line; the 2200 D2 and 2100 D4 each use NVIDIA's newest Quadro FX desktop cards in groups to help process 3D modeling and other high-end tasks. The 2200 D2 uses two newer FX 5800 cards with a combined 480 cores, while the 2100 D4 uses slower FX 4700 cards but uses four of them to improve performance with multiple displays. NVIDIA sells the Quadro Plex line itself and starts them at $10,750 when they go on sale this fall.

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PhysX FluidMark is a physics benchmark based on NVIDIA PhysX engine. This benchmark performs a fluid simulation by imitating the renderering of lava. Real physics parameters such as viscosity are used. SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) algorithm is enabled to increase the realism of the simulation.

PhysX FluidMark can run in pure software mode (all calculations are done on the CPU), or in hardware mode. Hardware mode includes 2 kinds of hardware:

• Ageia PhysX PPU
• GeForce PhysX - GeForce 8/9/GTX200 graphics cards only

This benchmark exploits OpenGL for graphic acceleration and requires an OpenGL 2.0 compliant graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 5/6/7/8/9/GTX200 (and higher), AMD/ATI Radeon 9600+, 1k/2k/3k/4k (and higher) or a S3 Graphics Chrome 400 series with the latest graphics drivers.

PhysX FluidMark requires NVDIA PhysX drivers 8.08.01 or higher and the CUDA DLL (this DLL has to be copied in the benchmark folder if your Forceware drivers are < 177.79 or if you don't have a GeForce (Radeon, etc.)).

Download - Click here.

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Thermaltake upgraded Digital Home PC Chassis DH103 and DH104, offers improved expansibility to fulfill the extreme home theater builders

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As spotted at techamok, a propane plant has blown up resulting in tons and tons of smoke this morning... No word yet on what caused the explosions, but the Toronto skyline is up in flames/smoke.

Bloody heck ...


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Intel will announce a second mobile quad-core processor when it kicks off its Developer Forum next week, according to a report. While the Santa Clara, California-based company is commonly known to be preparing a 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme destined for high-end mobile workstations and gaming systems, a second model under the more mainstream Core 2 Quad name will also reportedly be available. Known under a Q9100 model name, the processor will run at a lower 2.26GHz clock speed and have its speed multiplier locked to encourage gamers to adopt the more expensive 2.53GHz part.

The processor will otherwise be functionally equivalent to the higher-end device, with 12MB of Level 2 cache as well as a 1,066MHz system bus common to all of Intel's newest processors. It's not yet known whether the processor will consume less power, though Intel typically uses only the Extreme label for high-powered mobile chips it doesn't expect to see in thinner notebooks.

Costs for the 2.26GHz processor will be significantly lower than the $1,036 Intel is believed to be charging resellers per chip, but will still be reserved for higher-end systems at a price of $851 per processor in batches of 1,000. Systems based on quad-core chips, such as HP's new EliteBooks, will start shipping before the end of the month.

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Though I would not recommend to use SD cards as Solid State driver due to lifespan Indilinx has just introduced its Barefoot solid state drive controller with 90-nanometer process technology. They said it's device has reportedly shown the "fastest read speed (230MB/sec) of all the products currently available in the market and supports the capacity up to 512GB with multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash." Additionally, it plays nice with SATA 2.0 and flash memory from Samsung, Toshiba, Hynix and Intel / Micron. Sadly, mass production isn't scheduled until Q4 of this year, so now you can sit on that vanilla HDD even longer as you wait for the future to arrive. Ugh, what a tease.

Indilinx, a fabless semiconductor company, announced today it has completed the development of IDX22 (Product Name: Barefoot

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It's that time, AMD today unleashes their all new high-end product, the Radeon 4850 and 4870 X2. For those of you who lived under a rock and do not know what the X2 actually stands for, it's as simple as it sounds. X2 is times two .. these products are based on multiple GPUs per graphics card. In essence you take a large PCB (printed circuit board), position two 4850 or 4870 processors with an interconnect bridge-chip, grab a handful of memory chips, and then a pinch of resistors and mosfets. You put it in the pan, stir it and voilla ... your serving is ready.

Wanna see how fast the fastest performing graphics card in the worlds is ? Of course you do ..

We'll also test the 4870 X2 card in Crossfire. You can find the 21 page article right here.

update -- added Devil may Cry 4 CrossfireX results on page 20.

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Let me post a gentle reminder that tomorrow we'll post a actual review (not preview) of the Radeon HD 4870 X2 as the NDAs will be lifted. Launch time will be early in the morning (CET).

 

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According to several sources on the web VIA has formally quit the business of manufacturing chipsets for third parties. The semiconductor company has decided against continuing to make chipsets to support AMD and Intel processors and will instead focus on its own processors and their accompanying platforms, such as Pico-ITX (shown) or full reference platforms like the OpenBook.

The move is characterized as the end of a long shift away from building for AMD and Intel as they produce more of their work in-house.

"One of the main reasons we originally moved into the x86 processor business was because we believed that ultimately the third party chipset market would disappear, and we would need to have the capability to provide a complete platform," says company marketing VP Richard Brown. "That has indeed come to pass."

The public end to developing third-party chipsets puts VIA in greater competition with rivals and particularly sets it against Intel, whose Atom lineup is in competition with VIA's C7-M for netbooks and other very low-cost, low-power systems. The Acer Aspire one, ASUS Eee PC and most others rely on Atom, though the C7-M is currently the only choice for HP's Mini-Note.

VIA's revelation also puts it out of likely contention for a rumored new Apple platform that has been rumored to include NVIDIA and other chipset makers as candidates to replace Intel's reference designs.

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That is actually a pretty darn nice looking mouse isn't it ? NZXT is proud to announce the Avatar high performance gaming mouse.  As with all of NZXT
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Yestererday we reported a rumor that the Nehalem processor from Intel would be called Core i7. This has now been confirmed by Intel.

Intel on Sunday quickly confirmed recent leaks with official word that its next-generation Nehalem processor architecture will be named Core i7. The move continues the Core name despite a major platform change and signals the new line's status as Intel's seventh major architecture since it began with the 8086 decades earlier. The highest-performing versions of the processor line will still add the Extreme Edition badge to reflect their extra features, which often include a speed multiplier unlock friendly to overclockers.

The first chips to bear the Core i7 name will be mainstream desktop parts meant for gamers and conventional systems; Intel doesn't allude to the expected 3.2GHz speed but has previously confirmed the new architecture's switch from a front side system bus to point-to-point connections between the processor and peripherals, an on-die memory controller, and Hyperthreading that can at times double the number of effective cores working on a given task at any one time.

Intel ships its first desktop Core i7 processors in the fall and will follow up with mobile equivalents in early 2009; workstation chips are expected to continue using the Xeon name.

*drumroll* Here's the official logo:

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I kinda have to admit to have a fetsih for these cute little PCs. Incredibly energy efficient and well, they make great NET PCs. But a number of price comparison sites unveil etailers that are already offering presales on dual-core Atom motherboards.

The upcoming Intel Essential Series D945GCLF2 mini-ITX motherboard features a dual-core 1.6GHz Atom 330 processor and costs around 64EUR.
The board/CPU combo costs

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CPUCalc is an overclocking-calculator able to "simulate" overclocking with many Intel and AMD processors.

ou just need to set your wished clock and it calculates all other settings, for example. It automatically sets the correct CPU-RAM-ratio and Referenceclock:HTT-Ratio.

It

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Intel's Nehalem processor architecture will still hold to the Core naming scheme when it appears late this year, if an apparent leak of company logos proves authentic.

Although the platform will make fundamental changes, Nehalem will reportedly be known as Core i7 for at least all its desktop variants, which will include dual- and quad-core mainstream processors as well as a 3.2GHz Extreme processor for high-end gaming desktops.

The reason for the change is unclear, though Intel will have an increasing number of cores with the new architecture and so will have a harder time maintaining a simple naming scheme for its processors as for Core 2, which has been split into Solo, Duo, and Quad variants. The i7 refers to Nehalem as the seventh x86 platform generation to come from Intel.

The alleged slip doesn't indicate whether the naming will apply to mobile processors, although these in recent years have kept the same name as their desktop counterparts. Workstation- and server-class processors have usually kept to the Xeon naming system.

Intel is believed ready to announce its first Core i7 processors on August 11th but with shipping only taking place in the fall. Notebook-ready versions are still due in early 2009.

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The Far Cry 2 Developers Blog reveals the minimum and recommended system specifications for playing Far Cry 2. Doesn't seem like you need a monster rig at all.

Minimum: Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, Pentium D 2.66 Ghz, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ or better, 1GB RAM, NVidia 6800 or ATI X1650 or better - Shader Model 3 required + 256MB VRAM, DVD-ROM, 12GB free HDD space

Recommended: Intel Core 2 Duo Family, AMD 64 X2 5200+, AMD Phenom or better, 2GB RAM, NVidia 8600 GTS or better, ATI X1900 or better + 512MB  VRAM,  Sound: 5.1 sound card recommended.

Supported Video cards: NVidia 6800, NVidia 7000 series, 8000 series, 9000 series, 200 series. 8800M and 8700M supported for laptops. ATI X1650 - 1950 series , HD2000 series , HD3000 series , HD4000 series .

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That's .. prolly over doing it a little. Kotaku received a photo of someone who ran World of Warcraft on twenty-seven 67" HD TVs!
One of our readers - who would prefer to remain nameless - installs PC rigs for a living. He helped install this one, in a government office, then proceeded to do what anyone confronted by twenty-seven 67" HD monitors would do - he played a ton of BioShock and WoW on it. For reference, 27 panels equates to a display that's 40 feet wide and 15 feet high, with a desktop resolution of, oh, 12600 x 3150.

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Chieftec has released three HTPC cases. CHIETEC's Hi-Fi series have clearly more to offer than the typical HTPC chassis. 3 different stack types in combination with brushed and anodized aluminum in black or silver are provided in an exquisite packaging. Operating Timelessly and luxuriously with its already equipped components like a complete hi-fi system.

All relevant interfaces (2 x USB, 1 x IEEE1394, Audio, including a 56 in 1 card reader) are integrated in the front of the chassis behind a dust protecting cover. A distinctive turning-knob allows an easy handling of the device such as the volume and general navigation.

Dependent on the stack type, the HM allows an installation of either mATX and/ or ATX mainboards. In addition up to 3 internal hard disks can be built-in to the chassis.

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The genius of this is that it's completely reusable. That's completely game over. Dino Dai Zovi -- Security researcher

Many of the defenses that Microsoft added to Vista and Windows Server 2008 are designed to stop host-based attacks. ASLR, for example, is meant to prevent attackers from predicting target memory addresses by randomly moving things such as a process's stack, heap and libraries. That technique is useful against memory-corruption attacks, but Dai Zovi said that against Dowd's and Sotirov's methods, it would be of no use.

"This stuff just takes a knife to a large part of the security mesh Microsoft built into Vista," Dai Zovi said. "If you think about the fact that .NET loads DLLs into the browser itself and then Microsoft assumes they're safe because they're .NET objects, you see that Microsoft didn't think about the idea that these could be used as stepping stones for other attacks. This is a real tour de force."

Microsoft officials have not responded to Dowd's and Sotirov's findings, but Mike Reavey, group manager of the Microsoft Security Response Center, said Wednesday that the company is aware of the research and is interested to see it once it becomes public.

Dai Zovi stressed that the techniques Dowd and Sotirov use do not rely on specific vulnerabilities. As a result, he said, there may soon be similar techniques applied to other platforms or environments.

"This is not insanely technical. These two guys are capable of the really low-level technical attacks, but this is simple and reusable," Dai Zovi said. "I definitely think this will get reused soon, sort of like heap spraying was.

Watcher
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Earlier this week we already mentioned that Gemma Atkinson is to feature in the new Red Alert 3. EA released two sexy 1920 x 1200 Red Alert 3 wallpapers, and what a horrible kind of a man would I be if I'd not share them with you ? You can click on the image to enlarge her ... um photo!:

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Inno3D has issued two new GeForce 9800 GT based graphics cards with custom coolers slapped on top of them. The first one has the Hurricane cooler from ZeroTherm and the other one is equipped with Artctic Cooling's Accelero Twin Turbo cooler.

Both cards feature a 700MHz core, 1500MHz shaders and 512MB GDDR3 memory clocked at 2000MHz. The cards have a 3-year warranty and should be much better at cooling than the reference card.

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