techETA

iBuyPower Core i5 Gaming PC, an inexpensive performer

2009-10-02T21:53:37Z

While we'd all like to own the top of the line when it comes to hardware and the like sometimes you'll settle for the lower cost option because you really don't need all of that power or the budget is set lower than you'd want. That doesn't mean you can't get your game on.

Test Freaks has a look at the iBuyPower Corei5 gaming computer which puts together a competent set of hardware for your gaming needs all at an acceptable price:

Before we get into the comparison, I wanted to touch on the Express Gate Asus Splashtop. It’s a nice feature so you can get some stuff done, without actually having to boot into windows, the entire OS is right on the board itself. I’m not going to go into it all as it’s been covered many other places in depth but it’s a very useful, and quick to do quite a few things.

Heck their test system even includes a built-in OS should you want to do some basic web browsing without the tedious operating system load up.

Windows XP Mode hits RTM, XP app shops rejoice

2009-10-02T18:58:52Z

There's nothing quite as scary as a new operating system roll out for businesses especially when they've invested quite a bit of time and money in acquiring licenses for Windows XP applications. Fortunately for them, and us, Windows 7's XP Mode will smooth things over.

The Windows Blog brings word that XP Mode has hit RTM status and will be available to download for Windows 7 Professional, an higher, users meaning your XP applications will run in a nice virtualized environment that should make things go smoothly.

You'll be able to grab your own copy of the software when Windows 7 launches October 22nd.

Source: Windows 7 Team Blog

Dell Vostro 320, another shot at the All-In-One

2009-10-01T18:43:14Z

The all-in-one computer design goes through two distinct phases: popular and forgotten, of course with a whole host of new hardware floating around the new AIO lineup is looking more interesting than ever should you want computing in every nook and cranny.

HardwareZone takes a look at the Dell Vostro 320 All-In-One computer which is more than powerful enough to handle the sort of tasks you'd expect out of this sort of machine:

Billed as an All-in-One desktop, the Dell Vostro 320 packs in an Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale processor that's clocked at 2.80GHz. Also, the unit comes packed with 2GB DDR2 RAM and a puny 160GB HDD. That's not a lot of space for sure, but it's designed for the regular office users and should be sufficient for daily work use.

A nice enough design and it even sports a VESA mount so you can truly clear off your desktop.

iiView A2 12" Netbook, going all out

2009-10-01T15:30:55Z

Most netbooks are content to stick with the basics in order to get in at a low price but when you consider how much upgrading your new mobile wonder would cost you you might want to consider something that includes a few more upgrades.

Hardware Bistro has a review of the iiView A2 12" netbook which sports an LED backlit display and a 320GB hard drive which is quite a bit more storage than the competition:

Overall the build quality of iiView A2 is pretty impressive and sturdy for such cheap netbook although it comes with plastic chassis but the finishing is still up to expectation; glossy surface for exterior panels while non glossy surface for interior panels. The LCD panel is not glossy type which is definitely good for long hour of working but most of the consumers will prefer glossy type since it is much more charming; anyway the LCD display is bright enough and hopefully it is as lasting as possible since some of the low end LCD panels are getting dimmer and dimmer after sometime.

A nifty machine which is pretty much set when it comes to the hardware you need.

AMD Hopes to Push "Open Physics"

2009-09-30T16:36:06Z

Gaming has come a long way graphics-wise but there's still quite a ways to go when it comes to the details that would make them truly immersive. One of those somewhat under-represented features is physics modeling which would improve realism but has so far been splintered into camps.

AMD has joined up with Pixelux Entertainment in order to develop an open source alternative physics engine that should be able to run on any OpenCL or DirectX 11 DirectCompute capable graphics card or hardware.

Interesting approach but, then again, there are only so many graphics chip makers and Intel, with Havok, and Nvidia, with PhysX, have already staked their claim.

AMD Announces Open Physics Initiative Designed to Bring New Levels of Realism to Gaming, Simulations, Popular Applications

Open and Industry Standards-based ATI Stream Technology Frees Industry from Proprietary Implementations

SUNNYVALE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Sep 30, 2009 AMD (NYSE: AMD) and Pixelux Entertainment announced a joint development agreement that is part of the AMD effort to greatly expand the use of real-time physics with graphics through the open source Bullet Physics engine. By encouraging development of physics middleware built around OpenCL™ and Bullet Physics, AMD and Pixelux offer a route toward physics simulation that spans game consoles, PCs and other hardware platforms. The latest graphics technologies, like the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of GPUs, offer incredible visual fidelity and high performance physics simulation by taking the next step in realistically animating how rendered game objects move, deform and break.

“Proprietary physics solutions divide consumers and ISVs, while stifling true innovation; our competitors even develop code that they themselves admit will not work on hardware other than theirs,” said Eric Demers, chief technology officer for graphics at AMD. “By working with Pixelux and others to enable open support of physics on OpenCL and DirectX® 11 capable devices we are taking the exact opposite approach.”

As the latest software developer to take advantage of ATI Stream technology to leverage multi-core CPUs and GPUs to accelerate execution of highly parallel functions, Pixelux will enable game developers to offer improved performance and interactivity across a broad range of OpenCL capable PCs. AMD is also actively pursuing support of Bullet Physics via the DirectCompute API in DirectX 11.

“Pixelux wants to ensure that our technology can take advantage of the computing resources that any particular hardware platform offers without locking in our users to any single platform,” said Mitchell Bunnell, CEO of Pixelux. “By working with AMD to run our software in OpenCL we stay true to that goal.”

Pixelux is an industry leader in material physics simulation based on the Finite Element Method. After many years of exclusivity, Pixelux has announced they will be providing a new version of its Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) System that can be licensed by anyone and that more easily integrates with other physics systems. This new version of DMM will feature integration with the free and open source Bullet Physics engine. DMM and Bullet are designed to operate together to enable players to experience visually and kinetically realistic worlds where objects react as they do in real-life. From crumbling stone walls, denting metal, splintering wooden beams and even swaying organic plant life, the combination of DMM and Bullet Physics, will be designed to enable users to experience the next generation of physics as never before and offer an amazing solution for game developers and incredible realism for players.

Additional detail on ATI Stream technology can be found at www.amd.com/stream.

About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

About Pixelux Entertainment

Pixelux was founded in October 2003 with the mission of automating art asset production through physical simulation. Pixelux’s Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology has been designed to take full advantage of GPUs and multiprocessor cores to achieve an unprecedented degree of simulation realism in the creation of real-time or cinematic simulations where objects can bend, crack and shatter all according to their physical properties. DMM Technology is available for PCs and Macs. Pixelux is a member of middleware programs for both the PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360™ and is available on a variety of popular game engines.

Shuttle X50 AIO PC, Atom goes stationary

2009-09-29T18:37:23Z

Shuttle has had a long string of successful mini-PC designs and could be counted on creating something powerful, and quite toasty, in an insanely small form factor. This time around they've taken a different approach.

The Shuttle X50 All-In-One PC crams Intel's Atom 330 dual-core CPU into a rather svelte machine that would fit into most any location. Think Computers has a look:

This is for sure an All-in-One computer! The entire thing basically looks like an overly-large monitor or TV. Let's start with the screen on the X50 it is a 15.6-inch widescreen panel giving you a maximum resolution of 1366 x 768. One thing that set's the X50 apart from other nettop's is that this screen is actually a touch screen, although it is single touch, unlike the HP TouchSmart PC.

Perfect for the kitchen or...well anywhere you need a bit of computing action.

Windows 7 Plays Nice with Netbooks

2009-09-29T12:41:28Z

When netbooks were introduced they saw a number of restrictions if they wanted to run the Windows XP operating system which, given Vista's hefty requirements, was the only usable Windows choice. This time around they've eased up.

Microsoft is allowing netbook manufacturers to preload whatever version of the Windows 7 OS they're content with no matter the machine's specs. Of course you won't likely find a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate on a bargain basement netbook so they're somewhat safe on the hardware requirements front.

Good news for those fearing hardware requirements that would stop their shiny new netbook from running the best version of Windows 7.

Source: TG Daily

Intel Pushing Fiber as USB Replacement?

2009-09-28T13:15:07Z

You have to hand it to Intel, their Light Peak fiber optic connection technology has caught the attention of many people due to its insanely high speed capabilities and the possibility of making those future-chic optical cable runs a dream come true.

CNET has a writeup on the technology and why it may become USB's replacement in the future:

But do we really need to go all the way to optical now? High-speed electrical communications is hard--wires can cause electromagnetic interference, for example, and USB 3 cables can only be 3 meters long compared to 5 meters for USB 2. But technology for transferring data over copper wires, like technology for shrinking computer chips, has defied predictions that it will run out of gas.

Here's hoping they figure out a way to pipe power along side those fragile pieces of fiber.

Mechanical Keyboards Compared, for those that enjoy the finer typing things

2009-09-28T04:43:46Z

A run of the mill keyboard will set you back a few dollars and will provide a good deal of usage before you shell out another couple of bucks to replace it but considering many of the prodigious typists out there your usual spongy keyed keyboard doesn't quite cut it.

Benchmark Reviews has a look at eight different mechanical keyed keyboards which provide all of the heavy duty hardware your keys deserve:

But individual mechanical key switches make a keyboard expensive, and a $200 keyboard makes no economic sense for a $399 desktop computer you pick up at Best Buy. Even a $50 keyboard is too much. Most OEM keyboards these days cost less than $5 to manufacture and are available at $20 or less at the retail level. Virtually all modern keyboards use some variant of the "rubber-dome" key spring, in which the spring action to push the key back up after it's been depressed is provided by a dome molded in a sheet of rubber under each key. Depending on the keyboard, the dome may be part of the actual switch mechanism, with conductive material on the underside of the dome bridging contacts on a circuit board beneath it when the key is pressed, or the dome may merely provide the spring effect for a membrane-switch keyboard.

An impressive array of choices out there for those that want to get something a bit more durable and infinitely more satisfying to type on.

Spire DualStar SP680S1 & GlacialTech F101 PWM Coolers, cooling bliss

2009-09-26T01:01:59Z

Well would you look at that cooler on the right (yes you can click the thumbnail, as you can click most of our thumbnails for a larger view). You'll have to excuse GlacialTech for their weird design but that is one way to get some extra cooling surface area.

Hardware Bistro has been on a bit of a cooling binge lately as they've taken a look at the GlacialTech F101 cooler which sports that sought after second fan mount we all know and love:

The cooling fan of GlacialTech F101 comes separately at default as this fan has to be installed lastly else it will block the heatsink to be fastened on the motherboard. The overall dimension of GlacialTech F101 is around 143 x 86 x 148 mm (LX W X H) with single 120mm cooling fan. The weight is pretty heavy with its 750gram for single fan setup so the installation must be done correctly. The aluminum fins of GlacialTech F101 is a bit unique than other coolers as it is a upsite-down L-shaped fins for enhancing its cooling performance without creating any incompatibility issue especially motherboard northbridge heatsink.

Well at least we know the reason for the weird shape. They've also been busy taking a look at the Spire DualStar SP680S1 which sports a slimmer profile overall:

For the cooling fan, Spire DualStar SP680S1 comes with a 105x25mm silent fan with 200RPM fan speed, 26 dBA and 56.12 CFM air flow. Based on the specification, this 105mm cooling fan is a pretty strong fan and the fan blades are UV reactive which should able to draw some attention for UV freaks. Besides that this fan is mounted on an anti vibration rubber fan mount for reducing the fan vibrating noise.

Interesting cooler but not at the high end of the market.

CoolIT Systems Domino A.L.C. (DM-1000) Water Cooling Kit Review

2009-09-24T06:30:00Z

Cooling off your computer's processor provides plenty of benefits, namely extending the chip's life and, for the enthusiast, a bit of extra headroom before a processor overheats during yet another overclocking session. Years ago, most people struggled with massive air-cooled heatsinks but, increasingly, water cooling is entering as a solid cooling alternative that is nearly free of the fear of liquids mingling near expensive electronics.

CoolIT Systems specializes in creating pre-assembled water cooling kits. The company's Domino A.L.C. is an entry level kit designed to cool off your system's processor and represents an interesting and inexpensive introduction into the water cooling world. We'll be taking a look at the cooler and what it can do for your PC.

Attempting to ease the cooling pain

Water cooling, or to be more precise liquid cooling, was once the sole endeavor of the tweaker and PC enthusiast dedicated to improving their systems performance which the cooling method easily afforded. Air cooling is limited by the fact that it requires an insanely large surface area in order to work properly and it eventually hits a point where there's too much heat for the fins and heatpipes to dissipate without resorting to insanely large, loud, and fast fans to get rid of the heat.

On the other hand you have water cooling which forgoes the less effective heatpipe method of...well heat transfer in favor of whatever coolant one finds worthwhile. That coolant is then pumped through a series of tubes into a radiator, which offers far more cooling surface area than most air coolers could ever hope to offer, giving off its heat as it flows through which a cooling fan can more effectively remove.

The downside was finding the right mix of radiator, pump, water cooling blocks, reservoir, and tubing size then trying to cram it all into your PC then test the whole thing for leaks. It's not a process too high on instant gratification but its benefits were clear.

The case for simplicity

CoolIT Systems managed to come up with the Domino A.L.C. which combines all of those components, and a few extra touches, into a pre-assembled kit which eases installation and has you up and running much quicker. The first thing you'll notice on the unit is its plastic cladding which, inventively, hides the "ugly" parts of the water cooling setup for those with see through windows on their computer's side panel.

The plastic shell holds the Domino's pump and latches on to its radiator. The radiator itself is designed for a 120mm fan, which is included, and the whole setup is powered off a single 3-pin power connector designed to plug into your system's CPU fan header.

Taking another look at the good old plastic shell you'll find an LCD display which sports a blue back light and offers up information on the pumps current speed, coolant temperature, fan speed, and fan setting. The unit's different settings are controlled by a simple button on the side which allows you to choose from three different fan speeds and, by holding down the button for three seconds, a choice between Celsius and Fahrenheit coolant temperature readouts.

As far as the unit's fan goes you're looking at three options: a low speed setting which is whisper quiet and runs the fan at around 1000RPM, a high speed setting which is obnoxiously loud and runs the fan around 2900RPM and offers the best performance, with the third option offering the a great combination of the two. The "performance" setting automatically adjusts the Domino's fan which, in general usage, stays at around 1400-1800RPM although higher heat loads will no doubt spin the fan faster.

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The good old contortionist act

The Domino supports a wide range of modern processors and includes mounting hardware for Intel LGA775 and LGA 1366. AMD users have AM2+ and AM3 support to look forward to. If you're an LGA 1156, aka Intel Core i5 owner, you may have to spring for the company's LGA 1156 retention kit at least until they work something into their retail product.

Prepping the device for installation can be tedious. You'll have to take apart your PC and apply a rear plate mounting plate to your motherboard. That task is easy enough and requires you to peel off the protective paper on the pieces of sticky tape and slipping the screw posts through the appropriate mounting holes on your motherboard. As for the bracket on the cooler's water block, you'll want to be careful removing the retention bracket if you're going to use the pre-applied thermal paste.

Swapping the retention bracket is easy in and of itself, a wide screwdriver or coin should remove the plastic screw easily, take note that there is a spacer underneath the screw that you'll need when it comes time to replace the bracket. Since the Domino comes with the spring loaded screws mounted for LGA1366 motherboards you'll have to remove them in order to switch to LGA775 support or use your AM2+ retention bracket.

Moving the spring loaded screws is a bit of a pain and will require you to remove the C-clips holding them in place, that task is easy enough but you'll likely have a few issues putting them back in as it requires a little leverage to push the C-clip back in between the screw and the bracket. Patience is key.

Now you're ready to mount the cooler. That entails cleaning any old thermal paste from your CPU and clamping the waterblock on. It takes a bit of effort as the tubes are stiff and that hunk of radiator hanging over your precious motherboard is a little disconcerting but eventually you'll be able to screw down the cooler taking a few turns on each screw at a time in a diagonally alternating pattern.

Mounting the radiator will require you to ease the tips of the "anti vibration" rubber mounts through the rear 120mm fan mount holes on your system's case. Once added, expect a little bit of sag as the unit stretches the top two mounts a bit. If you're leery of those rubber mounts, the company does supply four mounting screws that should keep a tight grip on the cooler. Your last task is to plug in the cooler's power cord into a 3 pin fan header (4 pin system header works as well you just won't be using the 4th pin) and you're ready to go.

The experience

(test processor: Intel Pentium e2160 @ 3.0GHz, 1.4v)

As mentioned earlier, you're going to want to run the cooler at the performance setting and let the Domino handle fan duties, it offers the best performance while allowing you to actually hear yourself think. On our test processor we saw the cooler shave off a good 10C from our test processor's running temperatures compared to the mid-range Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. Considering the Intel e2160's struggles with heat output, especially at the 3GHz speed, that's a substantial improvement.

The cooler does have a few downsides: somewhat awkward installation due to its stiff tubing, and its plastic shroud and display will likely prevent the installation fo side panel fans. As far as the installation went, the hardest part was properly aligning the rubber mounts; it gets somewhat difficult lining all of them up before you pull them through and get them seated.

As far as noise is concerned, the Domino A.L.C. does a good job of keeping quiet. You're likely to hear other system fans over it when it's operating at low or performance settings; its pump is also low noise.

Overall if you're looking for a high performance and quiet cooler for your PC, CoolIT System's Domino A.L.C is a great choice. It does have an "extended" installation session but that's to be expected from most high end coolers that use spring-loaded screws to keep the heatsink in place anyway. There is competition out there but the Domino A.L.C. is the only one to supply a handy LCD display for all of your obsessive system monitoring needs.

Dell chooses Asetek liquid cooling to...cool Alienware Aurora

2009-09-23T21:14:26Z

What you see before you is Asetek's custom made liquid cooling kit doing its job on Dell's new Alienware Aurora PC. That should go a long way to cooling off their gaming rigs without all of that extra fan noise needed to keep those Intel Core i7 processors running cool.

Then again their northbridge seems to be sporting a 40mm fan which just about kills off any benefits.

ATI Radeon HD 5870, sensible high end performance

2009-09-23T07:23:13Z

The graphics battle kicks into high gear again with today's launch of AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card. Of course you can expect the usual performance improvements but the chip also sports new power saving features that should tame it when it's just sitting around idling.

Here's a collection of links testing the new board:

AMD's Radeon HD 5870: Bringing About the Next Generation Of GPUs - AnandTech
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB Review - bit-tech
AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5870 Video Card Review - HardOCP
AMD ATI Radeon HD 5870: Unquestionably Number One - Hot Hardware
ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB Graphics Card and AMD Eyefinity Review - PC Perspective
AMD's Radeon HD 5870 graphics processor - The Tech Report

Intel Developer Forum 2009

2009-09-23T03:02:11Z

Every year Intel likes to gather up lots of interesting bits of technology they're working on and showcase them at their very own Developer Forum. This year sports the usual dizzying array of nifty technologies from the company and other vendors using their products.

Here's a collection of links offering in-depth coverage:

World's First Larrabee Demo, More Clarkdale, Gulftown - AnandTech
Intel Shows off 22nm & 32nm, Sandy Bridge Demoed - AnandTech
Intel Developer Forum Day 1 Coverage, The Continuum - Hot Hardware
IDF 2009: Keynote with Paul Otellini - Legit Reviews
Maloney keynote and first Larrabee demonstration - PC Perspective

Lucid Hydra 200, multi-GPU takes a strange twist

2009-09-23T02:48:09Z

The thought of a computer using two graphics cards from very different graphics chip vendors would seem absurd, or even vaporware in the eyes of many...well it would seem we all have a bit of rethinking to do over the next few months.

AnandTech scoped out the Lucid Hydra 200 chipset which is set to allow for game acceleration by graphics cards from ATI and Nvidia, and perhaps Intel in the future, all at the same time:

There are three versions of the Hydra 200: the LT22114, the LT22102 and the LT22114. The only difference between the chips are the number of PCIe lanes. The lowest end chip has a x8 connection to the CPU/PCIe controller and two x8 connections to GPUs. The midrange LT22102 has a x16 connection to the CPU and two x16 connections for GPUs. And the highest end solution, the one being used on the MSI board, has a x16 to the CPU and then a configurable pair of x16s to GPUs. You can operate this controller in 4 x8 mode, 1 x16 + 2 x8 or 2 x16. It's all auto sensing and auto-configurable. The high end product will be launching in October, with the other two versions shipping into mainstream and potentially mobile systems some time later.

Interesting technology which should make for some interesting testing with mixed and matched graphics boards.