29/12: SPARKLE Introduces GeForce8800 GT Passive Cooling Graphics Card

SPARKLE Introduced The World's First GeForce 8800 GT Passive Cooling Graphics Card With 1GB Video Memory


SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., announced the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Coolpipe 3 Graphics Card, the World's first graphic cards based on NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT GPU with 1GB video memory and passive cooling solution, The SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card will bring Ultra HD gaming experience to high-end gamers. Based on NVIDIA’s next generation GeForce 8800 GT architecture, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card adopts innovative unified architecture, dynamically allocates processing power to geometry, vertex, physics, or pixel shading operations, delivering up to times the gaming performance of prior generation GPUs. Built upon technologies such as NVIDIA Lumenex Engine, providing support for DirectX 10 Shader Model 4.0, NVIDIA Quantum Effects technology for physics computation and GigaThread Technology for extreme processing efficiency in advanced, next generation shader programs.

Specifically developed to answer enthusiast gamers’ demand for Ultra HD high-performing graphics, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card is not only powered by most advanced 65nm GeForce 8800 series GPU from NVIDIA, but also combined with formidable R&D strength from SPARKLE, which brings inconceivable 1GB GDDR3 video memory on independent developed solution. Now the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Coolpipe 3 Graphics Card can provide unbelievable video memory bandwidth for latest DirectX 10 games such as Crysis and so on, to reveal gorgeous gaming texture at 1920x1200 Ultra HD
resolution with fluent gaming speed.

The SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card possesses 600MHz core speed, 112 stream processors with 1500MHz shader clock and 1GB 1800MHz 256-bit GDDR3 video memory. GeForce 8800 series rendering architecture, DirectX 10 shader model
4.0 support, Ultra High speed stream processors and super capacity 1GB video memory, all these luxuriant features endow the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card with brutal 3D horsepower, to incisively and vividly present most cinematic gaming scenes to the gamers. In addition to all these incredible features, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card is designed for the new PCI Express 2.0 bus standard and are backwards compatible with the original PCI Express standard. So they are full ready for future games and applications which have rigorous requirements on bandwidth this video hard 65nm process lets SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 graphics card to bring less heat volatilization than 90nm and 80nm products on market. Further more, SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 graphics card is is equipped with heat-pipe-based passive
cooling system using high technology. Compared with conventional HSF, this noiseless passive cooling solution features higher throughput thanks to high efficiency heat-pipe optimized for mass heat volatilization. It has high performance thermal compound ensures optimal thermal dissipation even after years of use.

The SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card also marries the biggest video memory with the best-in-HD. They leverage NVIDIA’s revolutionary second-generation video processing engine to deliver high-quality playback of HD DVD and Blu-ray movies on highend PCs. The new programmable video processing engine takes on all of the high definition H.264 video decoding, freeing the CPU to perform other tasks and significantly reducing power consumption, heat, and noise.

“With powerful 65nm GeForce 8800 series GPU, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Coolpipe 3 Graphics Card offers a hyper-reactive, intensely robust gaming experience for the latest next-generation DirectX 10 games, such as Crysis, Gears of War, Bioshock, as well as full support for current DirectX 9 games." Said Precilla Wu, sales manager of SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd. ” SPARKLE decided to raise the bar and deliver GeForce 8800 series graphics cards with 1GB video memory, giving our customers incredible confidence to handle gorgeous DX10 gaming scenes which have rigorous demand on video bandwidth. Also with high efficient heat pipe passive cooling system, the SPARKLE GeForce 8800 GT 1GB Cool-pipe 3 Graphics Card best choices for today's Ultra HD gaming."

19/12:

Walton Chaintech Introduces APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 Memory Module

Taking Overclocking Potential to a New Stage


The overclocking memory module specialist, Walton Chaintech, announced its success in developing the world fastest DDR3 2000MHz memory module. With its high data rate, APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 Blazer series has turned out to be the best overclocking tool to bring out CPU performance while improving the operational function and enhancing the computer’s potential of any user.

APOGEE GT Blazer series has earned a performance over 14,000MB/S on the EVEREST Memory bandwidth read and write test, providing the high level professional product with a specially-made high clock memory for extreme overclocking. As the efficient heat-reduction is always a concern for power users, APOGEE GT Blazer series’ performance is well enhanced when it is used with Cool It Smart heatsink design. APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 (PC3-16000) is rated to run CL 9-8-8-24 to take the latest Intel platforms to the highest level ever.

APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 is made of 8 pieces, Micron D9G 128Mx8 chips, which are well known for their exceptional overclocking capability. Each chip is handpicked for meeting strict performance and quality requirements. Not only that, all chips are manufactured of using Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA) packages to assure better thermal dissipation and electrical efficiency.

APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 memory modules are available in 2GB dual channel kit (1GBx2). The modules are specifically engineered and designed for exacting power users. Each module is 100% tested for quality assurance and compatibility, ensuring customers to enjoy an extreme user experience either for gaming or other multimedia applications with high computing needs.

Walton Chaintech has been dedicated in improving its competitiveness in the global market and provided customers with the most advanced products of unbeatable quality. Without doubt, the company’s continuous effort in technology development enables APOGEE GT DDR3 2000 memory modules become a perfect choice for any high-performance system.

29/12: Arctic Cooling Presents New Large 30 Gram Package of MX-2

For high demanding applications – new large 30 gram package of MX-2


The Swiss cooling solution provider ARCTIC COOLING now offers the performance leading thermal compound MX-2 also in a 30 gram packaging.

High Performance

MX-2 is a high thermal conductivity and low thermal resistance compound for components that require optimum thermal dissipation. It is ideally suited for use in CPU, GPU cooling and other applications between power semiconductor components and heat sinks where thermal conductivity is the major factor.

Safe to apply anywhere

Since the MX-2 does not contain any metal particles, there are no problems regarding electrical conductivity or capacitance. Unlike other silver and copper compounds, MX-2 ensures that contact to electrical circuits, pins and leads cannot result in any damage. “Many worldwide media experts have proven that the MX-2 thermal conductivity outperforms similar TIM products.” said Patrick Chung, Marketing Manager of ARCTIC COOLING, “They’re also pleased that the MX-2 is neither electrical conductive nor capacitive which makes it safe to apply without any worries.”

MX-2 30g will be available by the mid of Jan 2008. The MSRP is USD 39.95 and Euro 28,95 (excl VAT).

27/12: Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000 (Recomemded for Gamer)

The Juggernaut Hath Cometh

DIY enthusiasts were probably jumping for joy when Thermaltake announced the Armor+ series. Claiming to be the most powerful casing and "born to feed the beasts", (their words, not ours) the Armor+ seems like a juggernaut of a casing that should live up to its hype. At the very least, it's as huge as it claims.

Having heard the marketing speak, we will be taking a good look into the features and design of the casing for ourselves. Previous Armor designs were gamer-centric and the Armor+ VH-6000 is no different. In fact, Thermaltake is gunning for the gaming community and has managed to get the Armor+ designated as the official casing for the World Cyber Games (WCG). The Armor+ comes in two versions: one with embedded water cooling and one without and we will be reviewing the latter today.

In terms of its build quality, the VH-6000 feels solid, weighing in at 16.8kg, so it's not as heavy as say, the Antec P190 we reviewed recently. This is probably because unlike the P190, the Armor+ doesn't come with two heavy PSUs, or any at all. Appearance-wise the VH-6000 is pleasing to the eye with its curves and definitely lives up to its militaristic theme with a frontal armored look. When powered up, the blue LED glow of the casing also stands out, though it can be slightly tacky. Gamers will also appreciate the transparent side panel - the better to admire their expensive graphics cards - and there are also two system fans which are the source of the LED glow.

At First Glance

The first thing that caught our eye as we started tinkering with the casing was the fact that this chassis is a fingerprint magnet. It's pretty much a no-brainer with the glossy plastic top of the casing and Thermaltake has at least acknowledged the fact and provided a cleaning cloth together with the manual. The top also has a small storage compartment for your tools and accessories, which we felt was a nice touch.











The back of the casing has a spoiler and vents for hot air to escape. Similarly, the casing is slightly off the ground for ventilation purposes through the natural convection of air currents.




Located at the top of the casing are the standard USB2.0, audio, FireWire and an eSATA port. A storage area with ample space for screws and accessories can be found next to these connectors.














The odd bit at the end of the casing looks pretty handy for lifting the casing, though the sticker says otherwise and we agree that this plastic 'handle' won't be able to handle the weight.





The front 'doors', if we could call the twin wedges of metal at the two sides of the front bezel, don't really have any practical use besides looking attractive and rounding off the curvy look of the casing. They are secured with magnets and strong enough that they won't easily open and may even inadvertently hinder your optical drives. The front drive bays fit up to seven 5.25-inch drive bays including a 3.5-inch drive bay that can be converted using the kit provided. Another kit also converts one of the 5.25-inch bays to a storage drawer.






Seven 5.25-inch bays are located at the front of the casing. The covers of the bays are easy to remove and replace.













In lieu of an optical drive, a drawer is provided that can be slotted into the 5.25-inch bay. A nice touch by Thermaltake for the pack rats who have too many screws and accessories.














The VH-6000 casing comes with a whopping 10 PCI slots for all your CrossFire, SLI and expansion cards goodness.

Interior Design

You should have noticed by now that one of the side panels is actually transparent and comes with a huge 230mm fan with a blue LED Light. Oddly enough, despite its larger size on paper, we got the feeling the fan wasn't as big or as solid as the Big Boy fan of the Antec P190. This is probably because compared to the Big Boy, the plastic one on the Armor+ looks just like an ordinary cooler fan, albeit much larger. Performance wise, the fan spins at 800RPM while only emitting only 15dBA of noise, much quieter than the P190's Big Boy fan.

Going one up on the Antec P190 Big Boy fan is the 230mm on the Armor+. Comes with a blue LED too!
















Located just behind the removable drive cage is a 120mm fan that should help cool all seven hard drives.

Mounting hard drives is relatively easy, simply by unclipping a tray and mounting a hard disk onto the tray before re-inserting the drive. It is relatively painless and took us one minute, compared to our experience with Thermaltake's SwordM V5000BNA. Additionally, the whole HDD cage can be detached for mounting an additional 140mm VGA cooler, though it strikes us as odd, as the fan would be blowing out hot air taken in from the mounted hard disks. Seeing as there are no vibration dampeners in the HDD cage, this feature strikes me as really odd.

The removable HDD cage can accommodate up to five hard disks, and uses a tray loading mechanism. Two more HDD slots are located at the bottom of the casing.









The two HDD slots at the bottom can be removed and replaced with either 120mm or 140mm fans for even more cooling. Also, while the Armor+ can hold up to 10 expansion slots, more than the usual seven found on most casings, these extra slots come at the expense of the bottom HDD/fan slots, so if you're using an Extended ATX motherboard, those HDDs have to go. Of course, with support for up to five HDDs already, we doubt most users would mind.







The bottom HDD trays as mentioned earlier are removable and fans can be placed in the slots instead for even more cooling.











Interior Part Deux

The Armor+ series has a sliding motherboard tray similar to those found in their Xaser VI series, making things such as mounting the motherboard that much more easier. When you consider the fact that the casing is quite heavy to work with in the first place, this addition is really welcome.







Another useful feature is the removable motherboard tray, which slides out completely for easy installation. The tray also has two holes at the bottom for routing cables behind.
















Installing a PSU is easy, just uncscrew the bridge, slot the PSU in, then replace the bridge to lock the PSU in place, secure the PSU by screwing it in and you're done. Two minutes of painless installation.






There are two holes on the motherboard tray for routing your cables behind, though unlike the P190, there is barely sufficient space to do so, thus trying to properly route the cables to maximize airflow might take awhile.




We loaded up the casing with a hard disk, one optical drive, motherboard and video card. Routing the cables took us awhile to figure out, but we did make full use of the holes at the side for routing.













The hard disks cables are routed from behind too. Notice the various punctures on the motherboard tray? Thermaltake has pre-punched the holes for the various motherboard configurations and they should cover all types of supported motherboards.






Last Words

The Thermaltake Armor+ VH-6000 is only set to be released on the 1st of January, hence we are unable to provide an recommended retail price now. Overall, this is a chassis with a number of useful features. With plenty of cooling options, including a massive though quiet side fan, and a spacious interior that supports an amazing number of expansion slots and hard drives, the Armor+ casing will definitely appeal to both gamers and enthusiasts alike. Some of the features that we liked include the modern tool-free design which made assembling the system easier as almost everything could be done without a screwdriver (except for the PSU and motherboard). The sliding motherboard tray also makes the casing a joy to work with as it is pretty heavy and not having to move the casing around while installing the motherboard is a huge plus point. Lastly, the adjustable PSU bridge is another nice touch by Thermaltake, again making installation or upgrading a PSU easy as cake.







Apart from the questionable decision to mount a fan on the HDD cage module which doesn't make much sense to us, or the tacky blue LED lights, which in the end, really depends on user preference since the casing is designed for gamers in mind, the Thermaltake Armor+ VH-6000 is still a good all-rounder for anyone looking to upgrade to a bigger and better casing.

22/12: Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II CL-C0034 CPU Heatsink & Fan, Chipset Cooler

Introduction

I, for one, am very glad of the current trend towards using passive heatpipe motherboard cooling. Those cheap-made little NB cooler fans have always been the loudest fan in my rig. They often start making weird noises within a couple of months, or just die altogether. Though they do an ok job of cooling the NB, they don't do a great job of it.

I've tried one very popular passive NB cooler, and though it kept my chipset at a reasonable temperature, I was kind of scared of it. Any time I had a problem, the first thing I'd do would be check the NB temp. I have enough on my mind without having to worry about something else, so I just stopped using it.

Personally, I feel that the only time you should ever have to worry about Northbridge temperature is while overclocking. I've never had a big problem with NB temps while overclocking, but I'm not really into the extreme stuff. Even with the passive heatpipe cooling, you really should have additional active cooling, such as a fan blowing directly on the radiators, if you are pushing your system to its limits.

What we need is an active NB heatpipe cooler that can do the job silently, efficiently, and with a fan that will last. The guys at Thermaltake have taken care of this problem with their new NB cooler, the Extreme Spirit II, an actively cooled heatpipe cooler for your Northbridge. Let's see if it will give me some peace of mind in the NB department.

Specifications

Heatsink Dimensions: 48x40x70 mm
Fan Dimensions: 40x40x10 mm
Rated Voltage: 12V Started Voltage: 7V
Rated Current: 0.1A
Power Input: 1.20W
Fan Speed: 4500 +/- 10% RPM
Max. Air Flow: 3.47 CFM
Max. Air Pressure: 1.61mmH2O
Noise: 19dBA
Life Expectation: 30,000 Hours
Connector: 3 Pin
Weight: 169 g

Features

Heatpipe technology provides efficient cooling.
All copper structure provides effective heat conductivity and dissipation.
Seamless soldering process provides best contact for heat transfer.
A universal clip design fits all motherboard.
Multi-direction installation:
- Rotatable clip can adjust to any direction for the best system air flow.
40x40x10mm Silent LED fan, 19dBA.

22/12: Radeon HD 3870 CrossFire

22/12: THERMALRIGHT HR-11 VIDEOCARD BACKSIDE COOLER

CORPORATE PROFILE


Thermalright specializes in the design and manufacture of a wide array of cooling systems and modules for the information communication technology (ICT) industries.
Our CPU cooler line of products is designed with a diverse group of end users in mind; as such, our products are suitable in a variety of distribution channels. Thermalright employees the top-notch designers and uses advance testing equipment and process that meet the stringent testing specifications of Intel and AMD .
Our people and our process are ISO-9000 certified. We work only with the leading component vendors of the world to ensure the best quality to our customers .

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION



Got a hot video card? Well, Thermalright has got your back! Your backside, I mean. The backside of your video card, that is. Anyway, their new HR-11 cooler is designed to help keep graphics card temperatures in check, and it attaches to the backside of the card. Like many Thermalright cooling products, it comes without a fan and can be used in several orientations to best suit the user's environment. It's also lightweight, quiet, easy to install and pretty inexpensive. Thermalright is the first company (that I'm aware of, at least) to build a cooler expressly designed for the backside of a graphics card, and I'm curious to see how it performs.

20/12: Gigabyte 780SLI-DS5 - a Motherboard Based on the NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Chipset

Gigabyte kindly sent us its motherboard on the new chipset from NVIDIA before the official announcement. Company engineers were forced to try various cooling solutions to find the best choice because of problems with chipset cooling (see below). So probably even our review sample was not of the final design. It was very interesting to examine a motherboard on the new top-end chipset, the nForce 780i SLI.

The most interesting element of the motherboard is its cooling system, of course. The nForce 680i SLI was notable for its "hot temper", so there is nothing surprising about the fact that its descendant with an additional nForce 200 bridge, which is also hot, breaks all records here. A large heat sink covers the north bridge and nForce 200. One heat pipe connects it with a heat sink on field-effect transistors in the CPU power circuit. The large heat sink gets very hot - I really burned my finger, when I tried to evaluate its temperature by touch. The south bridge also gets very hot, so a small heat sink on this bridge looks mocking. We do not reproach Gigabyte engineers here: it's impossible to make this heat sink wider (because of large on-board components), and a higher heat sink would have blocked expansion cards.

It's a no-win situation. We can only note that the heat sink of the final design for the south bridge will be smaller, but it will be connected to the heat sink on the north bridge with a heat pipe. However, it will not improve the situation radically, in our opinion. In this case users will have to give up the idea of passive cooling. The reference motherboard from NVIDIA proves that we are right. Heat sinks on the south and north bridges are connected with four heat pipes, but the north bridge is still equipped with a big fan. Anyway, you'll have to provide good ventilation inside your system unit, if you decide to buy a motherboard on nForce 780i SLI.

There are no other surprises. All connectors on the motherboard are spaced apart not to interfere with each other as you plug cables. We'd like to mention the layout of SATA ports: all six ports sit at the nearest edge of the PCB, grouped into vertical couples. It's clear that three graphics cards installed in the 3-way SLI mode will deprive the motherboard of all expansion slots - this tendency is pardonable for a top SLI product.

The 6-phase switching voltage regulator of the processor uses two field-effect transistors per phase and high-quality FPCAP polymer capacitors from Fujitsu with low ESR. Motherboard dimensions - 305x245 mm (full-sized ATX), it's mounted with nine standard screws, all corners are firmly fixed. We don't have information about other Gigabyte motherboards on 780i/750i SLI yet. So we cannot say whether the company will offer similar products on the same or similar PCB. Theoretically, we can expect a more expensive model in the DQ6 family.

System monitoring (ITE IT8718F-S, BIOS Setup info)

- Voltages on CPU, memory, +3.3 V, and +12 V (only indication of correct values!)
- Rotational speed of three fans, two of them offer automatic fan speed control
- CPU and board temperatures (by the corresponding embedded sensors).
- Automatic speed control of two fans is limited to the choice of a control type (depending on a given model - 3 or 4 pins) the choice comes down to reducing voltage or skipping cycles) as well as the Intel QST option (using a digital temperature sensor in new Core 2/Extreme processors) instead of the classic scenario. But you cannot specify any thresholds.
- Fan modes can be fine-tuned with EasyTune[5] for Windows.

Onboard ports, sockets, and connectors

- Socket 775, support for processors with 800-1333 MHz FSB, including future products with the Penryn core
- 4 x DDR2 SDRAM DIMM (up to 16 GB of DDR2-533/667/800; supporting dual-channel mode when both channel slots are filled symmetrically) there is a list of certified modules
- 3 x PCIEx16 for graphics cards: 2 of them (blue) are compatible with PCI-E 2.0, the third slot is compatible only with the first version of the specs; all three slots always operate in the x16 mode, they can be used in SLI modes, including Triple-SLI (3-way SLI)
- 1 x PCIEx1
- 2 x PCI
- Power connectors: standard ATX 2.2 (24 pins, you can use a regular 20-pin connector, but in this case it's not recommended to use top graphics cards without on-board power connectors, or you should use the 4-pin connector), 8-pin EPS12V for a processor (you can use a standard 4-pin ATX12V connector even without an adapter), and a 4-pin peripheral connector to supply additional power to PCIEx16 slots
- 1 x FDD
- 1 x chipset-based IDE (Parallel ATA) for two ATA133 devices
- 6 x chipset-based SATA-II connectors for six SATA300 devices; connected drives can form RAID 0, 1, 0+1, and 5
- Two connectors for brackets with 4 additional USB ports
- Two connectors for brackets with 2 additional FireWire ports
- 1 x CD/DVD audio connector
- Connectors for analog audio ins and outs on the front panel
- Connector for a bracket with S/PDIF-Out
- Connector for a bracket with S/PDIF-In
- Connector for a bracket with LPT port
- Connector for a chassis intrusion sensor
- Four fan headers (three headers with rpm control), two of them have four pins and allow automatic speed control.

Integrated Controllers

- Audio, based on a 10-channel (7.1+2) Realtek ALC889A HDA codec (it's a top codec from the company that supports full-quality audio output from HD DVD and Blu-ray), 7.1 channel audio, a connector for front line-in/out, S/PDIF-Out jacks (coaxial and optical), S/PDIF-In, and support for some unique functions

- Two network controllers based on the chipset (and Realtek RTL8211B PHY controllers) supporting 10/100/1000 Mbit/s rates (Gigabit Ethernet) and a number of proprietary technologies of NVIDIA, including a hardware firewall (read the details in the chipset review)

- SATA-II RAID based on JMicron JMB363 (marked "Gigabyte", PCIEx1), supporting two SATA300 devices, and RAID 0 and 1 (only a part of this controller's functionality is used)

- FireWire, based on the Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 chip, supporting 3 ports.

The audio codec offers a high signal/noise ratio for sound recording and playback. It can also transfer an audio signal of full quality from DVD Audio, HD DVD and Blu-ray discs to output to HDMI. This function is possible owing to DRM support, so that certified software players can transmit an audio stream without losses to a graphics card (or any other expansion card) with an HDMI port. Besides, the ALC889A supports the DTS Connect technology to connect a computer to a multichannel audio system to obtain the surround sound effect. DTS Neo:PC is also supported. This technology splits a usual stereo signal into 4-8 channels for a surround sound effect with an analog connection to a multi-channel audio system.

Bottom line

You might have noticed that our today's review is too much on the "preliminary side". We have no doubts that a good motherboard on the latest chipset from NVIDIA, the first to offer the real x16+x16+x16 support for the Triple-SLI, will find its share of users. It's hard to say at the moment, whether it will be the Gigabyte 780SLI-DS5 in its current state, an updated Gigabyte 780SLI-DS5, or a different motherboard. As of the negative side, we can mention the necessity to provide better cooling. Perhaps you will have to ignore Gigabyte's attempts to create a passive cooling system for the chipset. Anyhow, the motherboard was unstable in our open testbed, until the only source of active cooling (CPU cooler) was switched from Smart Fan to the full speed mode.

20/12: MSI P7N Series Gets Set For Gaming

P7N Diamond

P7N SLI Platinum

MSI has always been committed to give its consumers the best gaming performance, that's why MSI has already prepared P7N Diamond and P7N SLI Platinum motherboards to support the 45nm Intel processor at the same time when new nForce chipset launches.

P7N Diamond utilizes nForce780i chipset together with top performance specifications and supports 3-way SLI technology. While, P7N SLI Platinum utilizes nForce750i chipset, making this motherboard cost-effective. “P7N series motherboards are the best SLI gaming choice for Intel 45nm processor, providing the ultimate gaming experience based on both processors & graphics side”, said Vincent Lai, MSI worldwide marketing director.

Highly Efficient Circu-Pipe and GreenPower Design
The use of selected high-grade components is the common characteristic of the P7N series motherboards. Although the two motherboards have different market segments, they both come with MSI’s exclusive Circu-Pipe design. Circu-pipe can effectively reduce the high temperature from the chipset and MOSFET. This design improves the system stability and product life. Processor power supply of P7N series motherboards are base on four phases PWM IC and through MSI’s exclusive dual channel design, it can reach more than eight phase power quality and increase the efficiency of power conversion. This not only allows power supply to become more stable, but also reduces the heat produced, especially during huge overclocking.

Selected high-quality solid capacitors and POSCAP!
The all capacitors on these two motherboards are high-quality solid capacitors that are made in Japan. These capacitors with low impedance and high ripple current and other characteristics provide better filtering effect. To further highlight P7N Diamond products, the PWM capacitors on this motherboard are based on POSCAP. POSCAP (Polymerized Organic Semiconductor Capacitor) is a high grade product recently developed by Sanyo. The look of POSCAP is similar to Tantalum capacitor which is used on motherboards in the past. But it has better ripple current and dissipation factor characteristic. The impedance values of general capacitor will differ due to the operating frequency change. The most commendable of POSCAP is that in all kinds of operating frequencies, this product can maintain low impedance characteristics. So, POSCAP is suitable for motherboards with high-frequency switching power supply.

45nm Processor and 3-way SLI ready!
P7N series motherboards are Intel 45nm processor and 3-way SLI ready. The 45nm Quad Core CPU support brings more benefits to multimedia and multitasking by enhancing the performance and reducing the waiting time for any kind of applications. It provides extremely high definition audio/video stream editing and offers higher performance on 3D gaming and professional graphic rendering.

MSI design quad PCI-E VGA slot on P7N Diamond for more than the new Nvidia 3-way SLI technology, also comes with PCI-E Gen2 to offer wider bandwidth. This will bring higher 3D gaming resolutions with more detail DX10 effects. What’s more, it also enhances the 3D frame rate to a higher level for more smooth gaming experience.]

(18/12) TwinMOS Introduces Mobile Disk X1 Flash Drive

TwinMOS introduced the Mobile Disk X1 USB2.0 flash drive with capacities up to 8GB. The Mobile Disk X1 is miniature (44.3x14.7x7.3mm,) lightweight and features a 360-degree revolving metal cap with reflective surface. The drive can be attached to a necklace, an accessory, a key ring, a mobile phone strap, etc.

The X1 features a data transmission LED and works under WinME/2000/XP/Vista, Mac 10.1+ and Linux 2.4+. Its free optional software pack includes Partition Manager, Bookmark Manager, PC Lock Manager, Flash Mail Manager, Autorun Manager, Security Manager, Boot Manager, and Remark manager.

(18/12) Atomic Juice PSUs Offer Enthusiasts a Fresh New Look

Super Talent Technology today introduced an all-new line of power supply units (PSUs) dubbed Atomic Juice. Nvidia SLI certified Atomic Juice PSUs come in 600W and 700W sizes. "We didn’t want this to be just another cookie cutter PSU, so we juiced it up with a unique look and best-of-class features", said Super Talent Director of Business Development, Paul Sperry. The ultra-quiet 120mm ball bearing fan, which is backlit with fire-orange LEDs, communicates with temperature sensors, automatically adjusting RPM and airflow as needed.

The universal AC input 100 ~ 264 Vac, is automatically switched and adjusts the hardware to operate at the available input voltage. Quad 12 V rails provide independent and reliable power to CPU(s), video card(s) and the other system components.

Features:

- Intended for high-performance and dual-GPU gaming systems
- Support for the latest ATX12V v2.2 standard
- The ultra-quiet 120mm fan, temperature sensors
- 1 x main MB connector (20+4-pin), 2 x 12V (CPU 4-pin), 1 x 12V (PCI-e 6-pin), 1 x 12V (PCI-- e 6+2-pin) 6 x SATA (15-pin), 2 x FDD, and 6 x accessory (4-pin)
- Universal AC input 100 ~ 264 Vac, automatically switched
- Quad 12 V rails
- MTBF of over 100,000 hours and 5-year warranty

All six models are sampling now. Atomic Juice PSUs will be available from Super Talent resellers worldwide in January. Street price on the 700W model is expected to be around $145.

(18/12) Verizon Wireless and Palm Announce the Arrival of the Treo 755p Smartphone

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless, owner of the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced the immediate availability of the Palm(R) Treo(TM) 755p smartphone in exclusive deep blue-green. Beginning today, customers may purchase the Treo 755p online at www.verizonwireless.com, by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN or by contacting their Verizon Wireless Business Sales Representative. The device will be in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Jan. 7.

Compared to its Treo 700p predecessor, the Treo 755p has a sleeker design with an internal antenna and a soft-touch feel. Featuring a large, high-resolution, color touch-screen for quick stylus access to applications, the Treo 755p offers a full QWERTY keyboard for easy e-mail creation, Web browsing and text messaging. It also includes features such as a 1.3 megapixel camera and built-in support for Microsoft(R) Word(R), Excel(R), and PowerPoint(R) documents and PDF documents. Customers can view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files, and view PowerPoint and Adobe PDF files. Running the Palm OS(R), the new Palm Treo 755p from Verizon Wireless gives mobile professionals the tools they need to help maximize productivity.

The Treo 755p offers VersaMail(R) 3.5.45 with built-in Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync(R) support for Microsoft Direct Push Technology that delivers e-mail and calendar updates from a home or office PC using Outlook(R). Businesses connected to a Microsoft Exchange Server get fast, automatic wireless updates of e-mail, calendar and contact information with added IT security and remote manageability.

Treo 755p users also have the option of using Verizon Wireless' Wireless Sync for quick and easy access to personal or corporate e-mail, contacts, calendar, and tasks from their home or office PC. Customers can sync up to 10 POP3 or IMAP e-mail accounts, including AOL(R), Yahoo!(R) Premium and more with their Treo 755p. Wireless Sync supports Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Notes(R) and IBM Lotus Domino(R).

Verizon Wireless customers using the Treo 755p have the benefit of Verizon Wireless' EV-DO high-speed network to send and receive data. Verizon Wireless' broadband network is the most reliable national wireless broadband network in the country and available from coast to coast.

For customers interested in using their Treo 755p smartphones as modems with a Verizon Wireless BroadbandAccess Connect service plan to send and receive data from notebook PCs, the Treo 755p can easily take advantage of the 600 kbps to 1.4 mbps typical download speeds of the Verizon Wireless EV-DO network. The Treo 755p comes with built-in 60 MB of user-available memory and can be enhanced by using the miniSD(TM) slot to add separately purchased memory cards of up to 4 GB for storing data, photos, music, and video.

With Google Maps installed right out of the box, Verizon Wireless customers using the Treo 755p can get directions; perform local searches; and view moveable/scalable maps, satellite imagery, and traffic updates while on-the-go. Customers can also map a contact's address directly from the contact listing simply by selecting the "maps" button.

The Palm Treo 755p from Verizon Wireless is available for $399.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new two-year customer agreement. Customers who purchase a qualified voice plan along with a data plan may be eligible for an additional $100 credit making the Treo 755p $299.99 for those customers.

Verizon Wireless Nationwide E-mail plans for the Treo 755p begin at $79.99 for 450 anytime voice minutes and unlimited e-mail. For more information on any Verizon Wireless product or service, visit www.verizonwireless.com.

(18/12) NVIDIA Announces nForce 780i SLI and nForce 750i SLI Chipsets with 3-way SLI Support

NVIDIA announced a new solution for PC enthusiasts, the NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI chipset. It fully supports 3-way SLI as well as new Intel Yorkfield and Wolfdale processors and is the first to support ESA standard.

The company also announced a junior product, the NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI MCP / SPP. Together these two make the NVIDIA nForce 700i Series MCP series.

A ready motherboard on NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI

NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI flowchart (click the thumbnail for a larger image)

nForce 780i SLI / nForce 750i SLI specifications:

- Intel Socket 775 processors: Penryn (Yorkfield & Wolfdale), Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Pentium
- 1333 MHz FSB
- 3-way SLI (3x16)
- ESA standard, NVIDIA Control Panel
- DDR2-1200 (EPP 1.0) / DDR2-800 RAM
- PCI Express 2.0, 62 lanes / 26 lanes
- 6+2 x SATA-2, 4+4 x PATA, RAID 0,1,0+1,5
- NVIDIA MediaShield Storage Technology
- 2 / 1 x Native Gigabit Ethernet
- NVIDIA FirstPacket
- NVIDIA DualNet (nForce 780i SLI only)
- 10 / 8 x USB ports
- 5 x PCI
- Azalia HD codec

(17/12) 3-Way SLI Takes Extreme Gaming To A New Level

3-Way SLI Takes Extreme Gaming To A New Level

Extreme gaming just got a whole lot better. NVIDIA Corporation has extended its SLI technology, which enables the use of multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) on a single computer, allowing up to three GeForce graphics cards to be used in a single machine. Now hot, new, graphics-intensive titles, such as Call of Duty 4, Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, an Unreal Tournament 3, can be played at the highest resolution possible, with all the graphics settings cranked to the max, and antialiasing applied for the first time.

NVIDIA’s new 3-way SLI delivers up to a 2.8x performance increase over a single GPU system, giving high-end gamers 60 frames per second at resolutions as high as 2560x1600 and with 8x antialiasing. 3-way SLI technology means you no longer have to dial back the image quality settings on the newest PC games. For example, gamers with 3-way SLI can play Crysis (right) at high resolutions such as 1920x1200 with all the advanced DirectX 10 effects such as motion blur, ambient occlusion, and soft shadows turned on.

“The new crop of PC games offers stunning visuals. And for truly immersive game play with all the eye candy you need to play on a PC with a lot of graphics horse power,” said Ujesh Desai, general manager of GeForce desktop GPUs at NVIDIA. “3-way SLI produces stunning visuals, pristine image quality, and a truly awesome gaming experience.” “Alienware delivers the most advanced technology with the highest performing metrics on our awardwinning systems,” says Marc Diana, product marketing manager for Alienware.

“We are very excited to offer 3-way NVIDIA SLI as a way for our customers to fully experience the rich, life-like environments of today’s next-generation games at their top settings.” The heart of a 3-way SLI system is an NVIDIA nForce 680 SLI MCP motherboard and three GeForce 8800 GTX or GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards. With 3-way SLI, gamers can harness the power of 384 stream processors, a 110+ gigatexel per second texture fill rate, and over two gigabytes of graphics memory for no-compromise gaming performance.

3-way SLI gives gamers the flexibility to scale their graphics processing power with one, two, or three GeForce GPUs, depending on their desired price and system configuration. 3-way SLI systems are available from leading gaming PC system builders and the components needed to build your own 3-way SLI system are available from leading retailers. For a list of system builders or to see a complete list of NVIDIA 3-way SLI certified components

(17/12) Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GT ZL

20 °C Ultra Cooler: A Promise of Something Different…

- Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GT ZL

Leadtek Research Inc. announces the launch of new high-end graphics cards for gaming enthusiasts. WinFast PX8800 GT ZL with the ZALMAN fan design, famous for efficient cooling power, presents the users with an ultra cool of 20 degrees measured by the NVIDIA reference cooler, that is able to achieve an outstanding benchmark with a more stable system and potential over-clocking for an exclusively higher performance.

Based on 65nm technology and powered by NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics processing units, the WinFast PX8800 GT ZL comes with a 512MB 256bit GDDR3 memory, an over-clocking indicator of 650MHz GPU and 1625MHz Shader clock. With the latest Microsoft DirectX 10 with full Shader Model 4.0 support, PX8800 GT ZL is able to deliver realistic film quality gaming effects, guaranteeing users the best possible performance in 3D graphics user interface under the Windows Vista operating system.

With NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology, PX8800 GT ZL greatly enhances compatibility for all video contents such as H.264, MPEG-2, WMV, WMV HD and so on. Apart from supporting Dual Dual-Link DVI connectivity, the new card can be showcased with a mind bending resolution of 2560x1600, supporting extreme HD games and entertainment.


Even more, PX8800 GT ZL, featuring NVIDIA unified architecture, revolutionizes PC graphics performance through unprecedented processing power and efficiency. The NVIDIA Quantum Effects technology onboard takes physics effects to a whole new level of simulation and rendering on the GPU. And bundled with “Neverwinter Nights 2”, a new award-winning adventure game in which every decision directly affects every character and the passage of time rendering a stunning realistic impact to game-play, PX8800 GT ZL offers true-to-life imagery in a fantasy gaming environment.

Last but not least, PX8800 GT ZL is compatible with PCI Express 2.0 interface, the new bus architecture with double rate for a higher achievement. It is also ready for the most demanding future bandwidth games and 3D applications.

Overall, PX8800 GT ZL adjusts the dynamics of the fan speed dynamics by changing GPU temperature. The smart fan design keeps the cooler in silence, efficiency and power saving when the graphics card runs for 2D operation and even for heavy loading applications such as 3D games. Needless to say, PX8800 GT ZL is the best solution for performance and silence. So say “NO” to fast but noisy and torrid graphics cards…

(17/12) Thermaltake Toughpower QFan 650W PSU

A Quiet Toughie

Modular cables mean less clutter inside your chassis.

This Toughpower QFan has a quite a few vents for maximum heat dissipation.
A convenient pouch to store the extra cables.

The computing industry has often been guilty of what we call 'the big numbers syndrome". It's the idea that large numbers, be they gigahertz or megabytes are unequivocally better, when in many cases, the big numbers do not matter. Take for example the soaring wattage numbers for PSUs. It's debatable if most consumers actually need all that power when they should be looking at other criteria like power efficiency. Fortunately, these other factors have also grown in importance for PSUs and manufacturers are as likely now to advertise their efficiency figures as their absolute power output. Thermaltake's newest variation of its Toughpower series - the QFan version - is such an example.

Silent Fan, Silent PSU

While Thermaltake has been guilty of trumpeting its high-end, high wattage PSUs like its 1500W Toughpower and even revealed a 2000W Toughpower at Computex 2007, it probably knows that most consumers do not require such power. Hence, the introduction of the new QFan version, which comes at a more practical 500W/650W capacity, with the chief attraction being a patented 140mm fan design that spins at around 1900rpm. At this speed, the resultant noise output is rated as low as 17.1dB, though according to Thermaltake, the maximum noise goes up to 34dB at 100% load.

Contributing to this low noise level are the numerous air vents on the PSU housing. Unlike the closed design on most PSUs, the many vents on this Toughpower allow for optimal heat dissipation and therefore reduce the need for a speedy and noisy fan.

Power Efficient

Compared to the higher wattage models available from Thermaltake, the 650W here may seem inadequate. However, this model comes with active Power Factor Correction and ends up having a respectable efficiency number of up to 85%. This will naturally help reduce your electrical bills in the long run.

There are also up to four independent and dedicated +12V rails on this PSU to ensure that your CPU and graphics cards will have a stable supply of power. Up to three PCIe power connectors are given, though since this PSU uses modular cables, only one PCIe connector is present by default. Also included is a rubber vibration dampening lining that can be installed between the PSU and the enclosure to reduce vibration and therefore noise.

Modular cables are practically the standard for high-end PSUs nowadays as they significantly reduce clutter and this Toughpower is no exception. Thermaltake has even provided a handy pouch to stow the extra cables so you'll have no excuses to misplace those unused cables.

Our Thoughts

With so many high-end PSUs having similar features nowadays, it could be rather difficult for any vendor to distinguish its products. Thermaltake has tried to emphasize the silent aspect of this QFan version and going by its specifications, it should do rather well. 650W is also a comfortable amount of power for even a dual core, multi-GPU setup without being unduly extravagant and enthusiasts should bite.

Product Specifications

- Stable 650W continuous output (@50 degrees Celsius operating temperature)
- Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 2.91
- Supports Dual Core CPU & all multi-GPU systems
- 4 independent and dedicated +12V rails
- Modular cable management
- Active Power Factor Correction (>0.99) and high efficiency (>80%)
- Quiet, 140mm two-ball bearing fan (1900rpm, 17 - 34.1dBA)
- Over Current, Over Voltage and Short-circuit protection

(16/12) ECS GeForce 8800 GT Accelero S1 512MB vs MSI GeForce 8600 GT Twin Turbo 256MB

ECS GeForce 8800 GT Accelero S1 512MB PCI-E

GPU: GeForce 8800 GT (G32)
Interface: PCI-Express x16
GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 680/1730 MHz (nominal - 600/1500 MHz)
Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 1000 (2000) MHz (nominal - 900 (1800) MHz)
Memory bus width: 256bit
Vertex processors: -
Pixel processors: -
Unified processors: 112
Texture processors: 56 (28)
ROPs: 16
Dimensions: 220x100x33 mm (the last number is maximum thickness of the card, it's 43 mm with fans).
PCB color: blue
RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU.
Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link), TV-Out.
VIVO: not available
TV-out: integrated into GPU.
Multi-GPU operation: SLI (Hardware).


MSI GeForce 8600 GT Twin Turbo 256MB PCI-E

GPU: GeForce 8600 GT (G84)
Interface: PCI-Express x16
GPU frequencies (ROPs/Shaders): 580/1512 MHz (nominal - 540/1188 MHz)
Memory frequencies (physical (effective)): 800 (1600) MHz (nominal - 700 (1400) MHz)
Memory bus width: 128bit
Vertex processors: -
Pixel processors: -
Unified processors: 32
Texture processors: 16
ROPs: 8
Dimensions: 190x100x33 mm (the last figure is the maximum thickness of a graphics card).
PCB color: red
RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU.
Output connectors: 2xDVI (Dual-Link), TV-Out.
VIVO: not available
TV-out: integrated into GPU.
Multi-GPU operation: SLI (Hardware).

Comparison with the reference design, front view













MSI Front View















ECS Front View

The ECS product is of the reference design, but the card is manufactured by the company. Just like the MSI card, which has a unique design, so that a card can accommodate additional memory chips at the back of the PCB (for a 512 MB modification).

The cards have TV-Out with a unique jack. You will need a special bundled adapter to output video to a TV-set via S-Video or RCA. You can read about the TV-Out in more detail here.

Analog monitors with d-Sub (VGA) interface are connected with special DVI-to-d-Sub adapters. Maximum resolutions and frequencies:

240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
2048 x 1536 x 32bit x85Hz Max - analog interface
2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz Max - digital interface (all DVIs with Dual-Link)
What concerns MPEG2 playback features (DVD-Video), we analyzed this issue in 2002. Little has changed since that time. CPU load during video playback on modern graphics cards does not exceed 25%.

What concerns HDTV and other trendy video features, you can read one of our reviews here.

You should keep in mind that 8800GT cards require additional power supply, that's why they are equipped with a black power connector at the end of their PCBs. In case your PSU does not have cables with such connectors, the bundles include adapters to plug any cable with a Molex.


Comparison with the reference design, back view





Conclusions

ECS GeForce 8800 GT Accelero S1 512MB PCI-E is an excellent product. It's currently the best graphics card of all GeForce 8800 GT! The increased frequencies make this card a direct competitor to the 8800 GTX. Besides, the card has a noiseless cooling system (even if you decide to install fans, you won't hear any noise).

There is a problem of the bulky cooler. So you shouldn't install this card into a small PC case (no sane user will do it). When you install the fans, the card will take up three slots. However, I repeat that those fans won't be necessary in a lion's share of cases.

Anyway, the product reaches the heights of the 8800 GTX, being noiseless and shorter. So this card can be used in more cases. And don't forget about power consumption - it's lower than in the 8800 GTX by dozens of percents.

The package looks nice, but the bundle is poor. That's a reproach to the manufacturer.

So this card scores an excellent mark!

MSI GeForce 8600 GT Twin Turbo 256MB PCI-E is a regular 8600 GT card - there are many products of this type on the market, many of them offer increased frequencies. So it was very strange of MSI to design its own PCB with two BIOSes and to raise frequencies only by 40 MHz with such a bulky cooler. I would have understood it, had the card been overclocked by 100 MHz. There would have been some reason in it. And in this case engineers brought a cloth and harness for a great horse, and then put them on a pony.

The idea is great, but its implementation is bewildering. The cooler must have been made quieter, and the frequencies must have been raised higher for such engineering efforts. It's hard to rate this card. Probably four points out of five, because it copes with its tasks very well for its level, but its noisy cooler takes up two slots - minus one point. It has a button to switch between frequencies - but it does not play a special role. Performance difference between 540 MHz and 580 MHz will not exceed 2%.


As always, the final choice is up to the reader. We can only inform you about products and their performance, but can't make a buying decision. In our opinion, that should solely be in the hands of the reader, and possibly their budget. ;)

And here is one more thing, we'll repeat it in each review. Having decided to choose a graphics card on your own, you should be aware that you change one of the key components of your system unit, which may require additional configuration for better performance or you may have to enable some functions to achieve higher quality. This is not an end product, it's just a component. So you should understand that you'll have to learn 3D graphics basics in order to get maximum performance from a new graphics card. And some graphics in general. If you don't want to deal with it, you shouldn't upgrade your computer on your own: you'd better buy ready PCs with preconfigured software and technical support from your system integrator, or game boxes, where no configuration is required, everything necessary is already configured in a game.