Hardware News and Review RoundUP december 14 2012

•December 14, 2012 • Leave a Comment

News

“That’s the end game for a lot of these semiconductor companies: connect great experiences and long battery life with their chip,” said Francis Sideco, an analyst at IHS.


Industry executives felt that Nvidia’s contracts will keep TSMC’s advanced processing technologies running at high capacity. They are watching whether TSMC will be able to lure Apple contracts away from Samsung in 2013 after winning Nvidia contracts.


Swype. Swype is a keyboard feature that provides a fast way to enter text. It lets you create a word by drawing through letters. Swype also provides additional keyboard functions like copy and paste and the ability to change the keyboard language.


The chief executive of AMD believes in speedy execution, when his company is able to quickly develop a chip solution for market needs. Unfortunately, so far this strategy has been slowing AMD down as the company had to delay the roll-out of its next-generation Steamroller micro-architecture-based central processing units from late 2013 to late 2014.


The actual rollout was delayed until the middle of this year and Intel got vendors like Lenovo, ZTE and Motorola in addition to a host of smaller brands to sign up for their first assault into the smartphone market.


Weak demand has led to prices for 14-inch and 15.6-inch laptop modules with wedge-type backlights falling below $40, almost at manufacturing costs, and the lack of difference between the pricing for the different sizes means some panels are even selling below their value.


Microsoft has, however, been rather cryptic in its public comments on the Office for iOS project, leaving a number of questions about just what the company’s plans are.


Nvidia researchers will work on the program with academic partners at the University of Utah and the University of Virginia. Project Osprey, which is now underway, could, combined with two optional additional phases, continue over the next five and one-half years.


Apple declined comment on any discussions it has been having with Microsoft over Office for iOS, but it did provide a statement on its revenue-share rules.


Windows 8 and Windows RT users are most likely not happy about the decision from Google, and while you can still access Google services through a web browser, having these kinds of services in app form makes the user experience a lot better. Hopefully, the userbase for Windows 8 kicks in enough that Google will see its importance.


Well, for starters, he thinks that the current high cost of memory and processors means that it’s “impossible” for next-gen consoles to make an impact similar to that of the previous generation, and as a result, “the focus of next-gen” is not on graphical horsepower…


Wilson also said the most recent update to Diablo 3, version 1.05, was “our best received patch to date,” citing the number of unique logins and positive community response.


“We were working on getting Dota 2 running on some tablets,” he said. “That ended up being kind of a disappointment. But the good news is that tablets are getting faster very quickly, so I think we’ll get the kind of performance we want and other game developers want in the near future.”


According to the Nikkei business daily Panasonic declined to comment but it does have to sort out its finances. The Japanese company aims to sell $1.34 billion of assets, including buildings and land by the end of March. The company expects an annual net loss of close to $10 billion as it writes off billions in deferred tax assets and goodwill.


As is known, Denver will find home inside next-generation Maxwell graphics processor, therefore, will not quite suite for ultra low-power or general-purpose servers, unless they will require extreme performance in data crunching applications.


The public download was supposed to go live on December 22, the day after doomsday as presumed by the Mayan calendar. But the hacker behind this jailbreak suddenly announced on Twitter that it would go up tonight, and then later announced at the supposed release time that it wasn’t true.


As you might already know, Google Fiber only provides Kansas City with its crazy-fast high-speed internet. In real-world testing, I’ve seen Google Fiber provide 841 Mbps download and 923 Mbps upload speeds. But it’s only installing Fiber in residential areas and won’t be available to businesses for some time.



Review RoundUP

Accessories: — Arctic Dual USB Car Charger

Computer Cases: — SilverStone SG09MSI GT70 Dragon EditionCougar Evolution GalaxyFractal Design Node 605In Win GRone

CPU Coolers and Case Fans: — Corsair H100i Liquid CPU CoolerArctic Freezer i30 CPU CoolerNZXT Respire T40 CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9i Low Profile CoolerNoctua NH-L9i Low Profile CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9i and NH-L9a Low Profile CPU CoolerSilverStone Heligon HE01 CPU Cooler

Game Controllers: — SteelSeries SRW-S1

Video Cards: — Prolimatech MK-26 VGA CoolerHIS Radeon HD 7970 IceQ X2 GHz Edition

Keyboards: — Enermax Aurora Micro WirelessCorsair Vengeance K90

Memory: — G.Skill TridentX F3-2400C10D-8GTX 2x4GBCorsair Dominator Platinum 4×4 2133 MHzPatriot Intel Extreme Masters DDR3-2400

Monitors: — ASUS MX279

Mainbords: — Sapphire Pure Platinum A85XTECS A85F2-A Golden

Mouse: — Thermaltake eSports Level 10 MThermaltake Level 10 MThermaltake Level 10 M

Multimedia: — ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro ANC Gaming Headset

Laptops: — Samsung ChromebookAcer Aspire S7

Processors: — Intel Core i7-3970X Extreme Edition

Power Supply: — EVGA SuperNOVA NEX1500 ClassifiedSeasonic Platinum Fanless 520WFractal Design Integra R2 750W

Audio and Headsets: — Sennheiser CX890i HeadphonesASUS ROG Orion Pro HeadsetIneo Alienvibes EP02 Headphones

SSD: — Kingston SSDNow V300 120GBSandisk Extreme SSD 120GB, 240GBSamsung PM-840 256GBCorsair Neutron GTX 240GBADATA XPG SX900 128GB

Storage: — Hitachi Touro Desk Pro 4TB USB 3.0 External HDDShuttle OmniNAS KD20Synology DS-413


Hardware News and Review RoundUP december 12 2012

•December 12, 2012 • Leave a Comment

News

Ballpark estimates for those initial numbers were recently brought up in an Asia-based report, which cited much higher numbers than iSuppli is seeing now.


It’s an ambitious initiative given the number of hardware combinations that exist not only today, but tomorrow and beyond, yet Nvidia is determined to see this project through after having worked on it for more than half a decade. Gamers can get their first taste of Nvidia’s new tool today by downloading the GeForce Experience beta.


The patch will also avoid issues encountered in the .dll hack that might create a mission walkthrough break (missing QTE prompts, critical information, etc;).


Given the volumes Intel produces now and keeping in mind that it is in process of a great expansion into the growing markets of smartphones and media tablets, transition to 450mm wafers is a logical decision for Intel. Thanks to large volumes and large wafers, Intel will reduce its production costs, something that it needs to better compete against its new rivals that belong to the ARM camp.


The new HTC 5-incher is set to hopefully bring them back into the game with smartphones. They have had it rough over the last year or so and revenues have declined pretty severely. Not too long ago the leaked images of the supposed “M7” surfaced, which suggests that HTC is pushing harder than ever before to get back to prominence.


As a result, the new cluster, even with its four-fold increase in speed, can make only 71,000 guesses against Bcrypt and 364,000 guesses against SHA512crypt.



Review RoundUP

Cases: — Thermaltake New SopranoIn Win GRoneSilverStone Sugo SG09Cooler Master Elite 120 AdvancedAntec P280

CPU Coolers and Case Fans: — Scythe Grand Kama Cross Rev. B and Kabuto IIThermaltake Frio OCK CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9i CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9iCPU Cooler and NF-R8 80mm PWM FansSilverstone Heligon HE01 CPU CoolerSilverStone Heligon HE01 CPU Cooler

Desktop PC: — Zotac ZBOX AD06

Video Cards: — VTX3D Radeon HD 7950 X-Edition V3 BoostRadeon HD 7950 vs. GeForce GTX 660 TiASUS Matrix HD 7970 Platinum

Keyboards: — CM Storm QuickFire TKLogitech G710+

Memory: — Corsair Dominator Platinum 2800 MHzAvexir Core Series DDR3 1600MHz 8GB Kit

Monitors: — AOC I2757FM

Mainbords: — Asus F2A85-V ProASRock A75 Pro4ASRock Z77 Extreme11MSI Z77A-G41

Mouse: — Thermaltake Level 10 MGigabyte Aivia Krypton

Mousepads: — Tt eSports Ladon

Networking: — Killer Wireless-N 1202 Mini PCIe NIC

Laptops: — Acer C7 ChromebookASUS Vivobook S400

Power Supply: — XFX ProSeries 850W XXX EditionCorsair AX860WSeasonic G-550WFSP Aurum 92+ 650W

Audio and Headsets: — ROCCAT Kave Gaming HeadsetCorsair SP2500 2.1

SSD: — OCZ Agility 4 256GBOCZ Vector 256GBIntel SSD 335 240GBOCZ Vector 256GB

Storage: — Patriot Gauntlet Node Wireless EnclosureToshiba Stor.E SlimICY DOCK MB662USEB-2S-1 Dual Bay Hard Drive Enclosure


Hardware News and Review RoundUP december 10 2012

•December 10, 2012 • Leave a Comment

News

Cheah said that while momentum for the operating system is picking up in November, office workers are starting to hate the interface.


Like a smart assistant, Gmail will also double-check that your recipients all have access to any files you’re sending. This works like Gmail’s forgotten attachment detector: whenever you send a file from Drive that isn’t shared with everyone, you’ll be prompted with the option to change the file’s sharing settings without leaving your email. It’ll even work with Drive links pasted directly into emails.


The general consensus among companies Wired spoke to is Windows 8 device sales are meeting, or almost meeting, projected sales. That’s not to say Windows 8 is selling superbly. On the contrary, one OEM said it had lower expectations for Windown 8 than previous launches simply because the field is so much more crowded. There are many more services and platforms, an underdeveloped supply chain for touch components and slow consumer education stemming to scattered branding and PR.


Windows 8 is bad for gaming? Well, not according to gamers, it seems. According to Steam’s official usage statistics, Windows 8’s combined usage share, across both normal and 64 bit versions, is 4.69%.


Having made a nod toward the smaller tablet market, Microsoft then thinks bigger with the other rumored new Surface flavors. One would be 11.6 inches and surprisingly make use of AMD’s forthcoming Temash processors instead of Intel chips.


Foxconn still has rights to acquire a 9.9% stake in Sharp, and the two companies’ agreements are viable until March 31, 2013. Foxconn is expected to make a decision before then.


“AMD has a long history of supporting the DIY and enthusiast desktop market with socketed CPUs and APUs that are compatible with a wide range of motherboard products from our partners. That will continue through 2013 and 2014 with the ‘Kaveri’ APU and FX CPU lines. We have no plans at this time to move to BGA-only packaging and look forward to continuing to support this critical segment of the market,” said Gary Silcott, a spokesman for AMD.


Apple and Intel are currently in a race, trying to hire the same former Texas Instruments engineers from Israel.


“There’s a significant amount of customization…it’s a higher value product than we might do in Asia. A higher level of customers that need build-to-order and close proximity,” Tony Prophet, senior vice president of operations at HP, told CNET in an interview, speaking about the Indianapolis operations.


Most free software developers would abandon such a plan given the prospect of a mass switch to someone else’s corrected version. But Canonical has not abandoned the Ubuntu spyware. Perhaps Canonical figures that the name “Ubuntu” has so much momentum and influence that it can avoid the usual consequences and get away with surveillance.


That paradigm for personal computing has changed with the rise of mobile, however. Windows 8 is an ambitious attempt to marry a desktop OS with a new touch-friendly interface designed for tablets and smartphones — but Microsoft would be well served to phase out the battered Windows brand for its mobile efforts.


About a week ago, George blogged that “Sputnik has landed!” The Austin, TX-based computer maker is now offering a Developer Edition of the machine based on “community input” that “pushed it from an exploratory project to an official product.”


The screens, while not of the Retina variety just yet, are excellent IPS panels with great color and viewing angles. There are several improvements subtly enhancing their quality over previous models. And as with other all-in-ones, cable clutter is kept to a minimum.



Review RoundUP

Accessories: — Antec Soundscience Halo 6 LED Bias Lighting Kit

Computer Cases: — BitFenix ProdigyAkasa BladeFractal Design Node 605Fractal Design Node 304

CPU Coolers and Case Fans: — Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX, NF-A6x25 FLX & NF-A9x14 PWMNZXT CRYO V60 And NZXT CRYO X60 Notebook CoolersCorsair Hydro H60 Update and H55Reeven Arcziel 12 (RC-1203) CPU CoolerNoctua NH-L9i Low-Profile CPU Cooler

Desktop PC: — Apple iMac 27-inch

Gaming PC: — ASUS ROG Tytan CG8890

Video Cards: — Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 OCASUS HD 7970 DirectCU II

Keyboards: — Razer BlackWidow Ultimate 2013MadCatz STRIKE 5 ProRazer Deathstalker

Memory: — Crucial DDR3-1600 CL8 VLPGeIL EVO Leggera PC3-14900 16GB

Monitors: — Samsung S27B970

Mainbords: — Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP7Zotac Z77-ITX WiFiGigabyte F2A85X-UP4MSI Z77 MPower

Mouse: — Roccat LuaCM Storm Recon and SkorpionNew Razer Orochi

Networking: — Netgear WN1000RP 2.4GHz WiFi Booster

Laptops: — Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon

Processors: — Intel Core i5-3470T

Power Supply: — Enermax Triathlor 385WEnermax Revolution87+ 850Wbe quiet! Dark Power Pro P10 550W

Sound Cards: — Creative Sound Blaster Z

Audio and Headsets: — Palo Alto Cubik 2.0CM Storm Sirius Headset

SSD: — Mach Xtreme DS Turbo Premium Edition 120 GBOCZ Vector 256GBSamsung SSD 840 / 840 ProOCZ Vector 256GB

Storage: — WD My Passport Edge 500GBHGST Touro Mobile Pro 500GB USB 3.0