NVIDIA Readies Non-Ti GeForce GTX 560 To Ward Off HD 6790 Threat

NVIDIA is readying a new SKU based on the GF114 GPU: the GeForce GTX 560, to help strengthen the company's competitiveness against AMD's upcoming Radeon HD 6790, and probably higher SKUs in the HD 6800 series. Next week, AMD will unveil its Radeon HD 6790 SKU, which will compete with the GTX 550 Ti, and probably seat itself in the market somewhere between the GTX 550 Ti and GTX 560 Ti. It is this gap that NVIDIA is looking to fill.

The GeForce GTX 560 is said to have 336 CUDA cores enabled (same configuration as the GF104-based GTX 460 1 GB), 56 TMUs, 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface holding 1 GB of memory. The thing that sets this SKU apart from the GTX 460 is going to be clock speed and overclocking potential, which is known to be higher on GF11x GPUs in general. Unlike HD 6790, there's no set launch date for the "non-Ti" GeForce GTX 560. Tentatively mid-April or early May.

Source: Heise

Intel X79 Enthusiast Chipset Sketched in Roadmap

Intel next platform for enthusiasts (successor to LGA1366, X58), will consist of a 2011-pin LGA socket, the Sandy Bridge-E (enthusiast) processor that features a massive quad-channel DDR3 memory controller and 32+ lane PCI-Express 2.0 hub, and the X79 chipset. Intel is looking to skip the 6-series chipset family with its next high-end platform chipset, and perhaps it makes sense since the platform is slated for Q4 2011. The X79 is a PCH (platform controller hub), like P55 and P67, since Intel has reorganized the platform. The beefy PCI-E hub housed in the X58 northbridge is relocated to the processor die, and the southbridge is given a much needed overhaul in terms of connectivity.

The X79 is much bigger than P67 in terms of connectivity and features. Differences start right at the interconnect. While P67 connects to the processor over DMI (physical PCI-Express 2.0 x4), X79 supplements this link with an additional PCI-Express 2.0 x4 link to the processor's PCI-E hub if the user chooses so, in the EFI setup program. The chipset bus hence ends up with 8 GB/s of bandwidth, and wait till you hear what will make use of it: a 10-port SATA 6 Gb/s RAID controller integrated to the PCH! That is a huge improvement in terms of storage connectivity, which is limping with 2-port SATA 6 Gb/s (next to four 3 Gb/s ports) on 6-series chipsets.

Out of the 10 SATA 6 Gb/s ports, eight can be configured as SAS (serial-attached SCSI) by motherboard manufacturers. In RAID mode, the controller supports RAID 0/1/5/10 modes. Unfortunately, there's no talk of an integrated USB 3.0 controller, the PCH still features 14 USB 2.0 ports. Perhaps Intel is pushing Thunderbolt, but there's no evidence of that integrated with the chipset, either. The PCH itself features an 8-lane PCI-Express 2.0 hub to drive the x1, x4 slots on the motherboard and onboard PCI-E devices. It features an Intel GbE interface (physically PCI-E 2.0 x1 at 50 MHz), to drive a Lewisville gigabit Ethernet PHY chip. Lastly, X79 is geared for extreme overclocking of the processor and memory. That's expected of this platform.

Source: it.com.cn

Sapphire Radeon HD 6790 Pictured

Sapphire is ready with its Radeon HD 6790 graphics card, all the more reason to believe that if not all, some AIB partners were ready for a 3/31/2011 launch before it got delayed to next week. Sapphire's HD 6790 is a non-reference design card that in many aspects resembles the company's base model HD 6870. It By the looks of it, it uses the same PCB, same exact cooler, but a different rear panel. Sapphire's card packs 1 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Based on the 40 nm Barts-LE GPU, it features 800 stream processors, and clock speeds of 840 MHz core, 4.20 GHz memory. It draws power from two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors. The rear panel resembles HD 6850, with two DVI, and one each of full-size HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2.

Source: NordicHardware

AMD Catalyst 11.3 WHQL Software Suite Released

AMD released a timely update to its Catalyst software suite, the package that provides display drivers for AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs, AMD chipset video, APUs, HDMI audio, and related software. The AMD Catalyst 11.3 WHQL release itself packs very little changes. At least the communication sent to us by AMD only mentioned one significant change: that the Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) OpenCL runtime is enabled by default within Catalyst.

Other than that, AMD advertised its next Catalyst release, which is now just a "Preview" driver (not WHQL-signed, use isn't covered under warranties). The Catalyst 11.4 Preview comes with a much larger changelog, which is listed below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.3 WHQL for Windows 7/Vista 64-bit, Windows 7/Vista 32-bit, Windows XP 32-bit, Windows XP 64-bit
Changelog of Catalyst 11.4 Preview

• A number of performance optimizations, as highlighted here.
• Performance enhancement for Shogun 2 (DX11 version) when running Anti-Aliasing
• Includes enhancements to the AMD Catalyst Control Center
o New task based Display Management controls
- Simplifies the configuration of displays and display settings
o New Eyefinity setup group
- Setting up an Eyefinity group has never been easier
o New branding (based on system configuration)
- AMD based platform – AMD VISION Engine Control Center
- Discrete AMD GPU with Intel CPU – AMD Catalyst Control Center™
o AMD Catalyst update notification (found within the Information Center)
- Please note this functionality is not yet enabled, but will be in a future AMD Catalyst release
- This feature will be used to notify users that new AMD Catalyst software packages are available

• Includes fixes where Dragon Age 2 would hang in DirectX11 on ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series products.
• Includes fixes where MediaEspresso 6.5 and 6.0 may crash while initializing
• Includes a fix for game corruption issues in BulletStorm
• Includes a fix for the AMD Catalyst Control Center install; resolves the issue of not being able to launch CCC after Catalyst has finished installing
• Includes a fix for the Tessellation slider sometimes setting the incorrect value

AMD Catalyst 11.4 Preview can be downloaded from here.

MSI Launches the N590GTX-P3D3GD5 Graphics Card

World-renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer, Micro-Star International (MSI), officially launches the most powerful graphics card – N590GTX-P3D3GD5, adopting dual GeForce GTX 500 GPUs with 1024 CUDA Cores and 3GB/768bits GDDR5 memory. Featuring GPU Overvoltage by Afterburner, it can increase OC potential up to 38%. Through NVIDIA 3DVision Surround technology, users can enjoy the 3D games with 3 displays using one N590GTX-P3D3GD5 graphics card; the best choice for the enthusiast gamers.

Dual GPUs Provide Double Performance
MSI N590GTX-P3D3GD5 graphics card is equipped with dual 40nm GeForce GTX 500 GPUs with 1024 CUDA Cores and 3GB/768bits GDDR5 memory delivering the most powerful performance. Through Quad SLI technology, the ultimate performance of dual graphics cards can definitely satisfy the demands of the enthusiast gamer.

GPU Overvoltage by Afterburner
In addition to the advanced fan speed control and burn-in test function, MSI N590GTX-P3D3GD5 also supports overvoltage function of GPU by Afterburner. With the maximum voltage setting, its clock is overclocked from 607MHz to 840MHz as well as its OCcapability increases 38% more. Best OC potential and advanced graphics technology deliver gamers the sleek and vivid gaming experience.

Run 3DVision Surround with a Single Card
MSI N590GTX-P3D3GD5 graphics card features three dual-link DVI ports. With just one N590GTX-P3D3GD5 graphics card, users can experience vivid 3D games with 3D glasses and use three 120Hz monitors with a maximum resolution of 5760x1080 through advanced 3DVision Surround technology from NVIDIA.

For more information about MSI N590GTX-P3D3GD5, please visit this page.

EVGA Launches Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 with Four Classified Series Products

One of NVIDIA's principal partners, EVGA, released no less than four special edition SKUs for the GeForce GTX 590 graphics card. The SKUs bear EVGA's coveted "Classified" brand extender, which is used on only the most high-end products by the company. First, there's the EVGA GTX 590 Classified Hydro Copper Quad SLI (03G-P3-1599-A2), which is two GeForce GTX 590 graphics cards prepped for water-cooling with HydroCopper water-blocks, packed into one box; next there's the EVGA GeForce GTX 590 Classified Quad SLI (03G-P3-1598-A2), that's two reference design cards in one box; then there are single-card water-cooled (03G-P3-1599-AR) and single-card reference design (03G-P3-1598-AR) packages.

The dual-card (QuadSLI) packages include some EVGA memorabilia, a black t-shirt and a large mousepad. All four SKUs pack cards with the same clock speed profile: 630 MHz core, 1260 MHz CUDA cores, and 864 MHz (3456 MHz effective) memory. The HydroCopper cards feature full-coverage water-blocks. As for pricing, the water-cooled QuadSLI pack is priced at $1,729.99; reference-design QuadSLI pack at $1,429.99; water-cooled single-card at $879.99; and reference-design single-card at $729.99.

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Asus Releases its Dual-GPU GeForce GTX 590 with VoltageTweak

Presenting more graphics processing output than any single-board product developed to date, the ASUS GTX 590 uses dual NVIDIA GF110 cores. With ASUS exclusive Voltage Tweak to drive the card at 918MHz, it enables DirectX 11 gaming in the highest resolutions possible and with all details and effects turned on to maximum, as well as smooth and realistic 3D gaming and movies through NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround for three-screen displays.

Product highlights

• Dual GF110 GPUs boost performance over the former top-of-the-line GTX 580 reference design, enhancing graphics processing capabilities for the strongest NVIDIA Fermi-based product delivered to date on a single circuit board. The large 3GB video memory allotment uses fast GDDR5 technology and a dual 384-bit memory interface for improved bandwidth and interconnectivity with other system components.
• The ASUS GTX 590 uses a core that runs at 612MHz, making it the fastest NVIDIA dual-core graphics card ever launched. ASUS exclusive overvolting utility Voltage Tweak takes advantage of this new power, allowing users with aggressive cooling to push the card further for up to 50% faster clock speeds at 918MHz. This represents very noticeable enhancements to in-game smoothness and responsiveness.
• Full support for NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround, driven by the capabilities of this dual-GPU card, easily handles full HD 3D output simultaneously on three displays.
• Two GPUs balanced and optimized on a single board mean the GTX 590 offers more than double the power of the GTX 580, running in always-on 2-way SLI by default.

Source

Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 is World's Fastest Graphic Card !

NVIDIA today introduced the GeForce GTX 590, the fastest dual graphics card available today which also happens to be the world's quietest too. Powered by dual NVIDIA Fermi-class GPUs on a single card, the GTX 590 is designed for über enthusiasts and those looking to build the ultimate PC gaming rig.

With a combined 1024 NVIDIA CUDA architecture cores, 3GB of GDDR5 memory, 6 billion transistors and over 2200 individual components all packed into an 11 inch dual slot card, the GTX 590 delivers a staggering 32 tessellation engines that can power today's cutting edge DX11 games at resolutions of 2560x1600 and higher. With four separate video outputs on each card, consumers can configure their PC with four independent displays, or they can span their gaming across 3 3D displays, at a resolution up to 5760x1080 for an intense, immersive, stereoscopic gaming experience utilizing NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround technology.

Like all NVIDIA "DX11 Done Right" GPUs, the GTX 590 delivers the world's fastest performance for DX11 games(i). And with NVIDIA SLI technology, the industry's most scalable multi-GPU platform, gamers can increase their PC's gaming performance by adding a second GeForce GTX 590, for an incredible Quad SLI gaming mode.

NVIDIA engineered the GTX 590 to be the world's quietest dual GPU product. It features a special cooling system and dual vapor chambers which deliver both astounding performance and acoustics. Measured with a standard decibel meter, the GTX 590 clocks in at 48dB, more than two times quieter than the closest competitive product under full graphics load. To the human ear, this difference means the GTX 590 delivers a 3D gaming experience that is typical of a quiet library. In comparison, the competition's product is more on par with a busy freeway.

"The GTX 590 is the best dual GPU product ever built," said Drew Henry, general manager of GeForce GPU business at NVIDIA. "With leading performance, support for multi-monitor 3D gaming, Quad SLI, and an acoustic envelope that begs to be heard for how quiet it is, the GTX 590 epitomizes what a perfect dual graphics card looks, performs, and sounds like."

With an estimated selling e-tail price starting at $699 USD, the GeForce GTX 590 is available starting today from the world's leading add-in card partners, including Asus, EVGA, Gainward, Gigabyte, Inno3D, MSI, POV, Palit, and Zotac.

For more information on the new GeForce GTX 590, please visit this page.

Firefox 4 Clocks Over Six Million Downloads in First 24 hours

Released to the web, Mozilla Firefox 4 has been downloaded over 6 million times in 24 hours since its launch. The figure is three times greater than that of Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, which clocked about 2 million downloads in its first 24 hours since launch. Firefox 4 is the latest version of the popular open-source web-browser software, it introduced radical design changes to its user interface, and embraced a faster GPU-accelerated rendering engine. Firefox 4 can be downloaded from here.

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 590 Exclusive Bundle Detailed, Benchmarked

Gigabyte want to launch its GeForce GTX 590 in a big way. The company prepared a special, probably limited-edition package, which it refers to as "Exclusive Bundle". Packed in an industrial-looking toolbox, Gigabyte is including its reference-design GeForce GTX 590 3072 MB graphics card, a load of cables and accessories, and a Gigabyte GHOST M8000X gaming mouse, in its complete package (including adjustable weights). Gigabyte's package looks very well made, advertising the products inside well. It kind of makes sense to pack a ultra high-end graphics card with a high-end gaming mouse. With this, Gigabyte is looking to project the GTX 590 as more of a premium gamers' product (than something you buy and put under frozen gases right away).

Gigabyte's press deck also included some benchmark results. Testing is completely internal to the company. Gigabyte is a vendor-neutral graphics card partner (it sells both GeForce and Radeon), so these numbers can be taken at face value. According to Gigabyte, the GTX 590 rocks 3DMark Vantage at low resolutions, but the gap between it and Radeon HD 6990 closes at higher resolutions. It admits that Radeon HD 6990 is a faster graphics card overall for 3DMark 11. In game tests, GTX 590 and HD 6990 trade blows with each leading the other in different game tests. If these figures are to go by, it will be a very close and interesting battle for supremacy between the GTX 590 and HD 6990. Gigabyte's GTX 590 Exclusive Bundle is priced in China at a little under US $1,150.

Source: Taobao.com

AMD Hires Mike Wolfe as New CIO

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced it has appointed Mike Wolfe, age 52, as the company’s chief information officer. He brings more than 30 years of engineering and information technology experience, most recently as vice president of IT for product development and engineering at HP for the last five years. Wolfe will be responsible for managing AMD’s global technology infrastructure and will report to Thomas Seifert, senior vice president and chief financial officer and interim CEO.

“Mike has effectively led IT transformations, constantly focusing on reducing operating costs and significantly improving business innovation,” said Seifert. “His considerable talent and experience will help AMD to continue strengthening our IT infrastructure and streamline our business based on our own products and platforms.”

Prior to HP, Wolfe spent more than 24 years at Motorola and Freescale Semiconductor, working his way to the position of chief information officer of Freescale. He was the vice president and CIO for the Semiconductor Products Sector at Motorola for five years and successfully consolidated business and manufacturing IT functions into a single central organization.

Wolfe has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Alabama and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Source

AMD Readies Phenom II x4 980 Black Edition Processor

AMD is looking to give its Phenom II series a finale, with a new quad-core Phenom II X4 model, the Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition. The new chip will be clocked at 3.70 GHz out of the box (18.5 x 200 MHz). It achieves this speed while staying within the 125W TDP envelope. Based on the 45 nm "Deneb" silicon, the X4 980 BE features four x86-64 cores with 512 KB dedicated L2 cache each, and a 6 MB shared cache. Compatible with AM3 and AM2+ sockets, the chip packs a dual-channel memory controller that supports DDR3-1333 MHz or DDR2-1066 MHz memory standards. AMD will unveil the new chip soon, as the company gears up to launch next-generation chips in June.

Source: DonanimHaber

Mozilla Firefox 4 Launch Date is March 22

After the much hyped Internet Explorer 9 launch, it's time for the open-source Firefox to get its facelift. Mozilla has decided to launch the stable version of Mozilla Firefox 4 on the 22nd of March. Firefox 4 is a single-process web-browser that runs plugins in separate container processes. It will be up to date with the latest in web standards, including HTML5, will feature a much faster Javascript engine, and will use GPU hardware acceleration to speed up rendering. March 22 is turning out to be quite a day for the tech sphere, with NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 590 graphics accelerator, and EA/Crytek's self-proclaimed blockbuster game release, Crysis 2, also releasing on the same day.

Source

AMD FX-Series Processors Releasing on June 11

AMD's next-generation high-end desktop processor line, the AMD FX-series, is inching toward a June 11 launch, according to DonanimHaber. FX-Series is hyped for being based on the company's next-generation "Bulldozer" architecture, which is a built from ground up x86-64 processor design. AMD's FX-series will include 8-core, 6-core, and 4-core models, and will optimally run on a new socket currently referred to as "AM3+". Major motherboard vendors are expected to release AM3+ motherboards based on various chipsets around the same time.

Source: DonanimHaber

AMD FX Zambezi Processors Compatible with Asus AM3 Motherboards using BIOS Update

AMD's upcoming FX series "Zambezi" desktop processors based on the "Bulldozer architecture are also expected to bring with them compatible motherboards, as AMD, on a number of occassions, stated that the chips will require a new socket (referred to as AM3+) and compatible chipset, and that the chips will be incompatible with existing AM3 socket and existing chipset. Information available with SweClockers points to the contrary.

According to the source, motherboard major ASUS is planning to provide support to AM3+ processors to some of its existing AM3 motherboards using mere BIOS updates. That's right, Zambezi will indeed be backwards compatible with AM3 and existing chipset, only what remains to be seen is if the processors will perform to their full potential and overclock well on existing platform. Amongst ASUS' Schindler's list are top of the line AM3 models, such as ROG Crosshair IV Formula and Extreme, M4A89TD PRO/USB3, and even AMD 890GX-based motherboards such as M4A89GTD PRO. The list also shows certain AM3+ motherboards that use dated chipsets such as 760G, probably the entry-level of ASUS' M5A series of motherboards.

Source: SweClockers

Asus Debuts GTX 550 Ti DirectCU Graphic Cards

The new ASUS Ultimate GTX550 Ti DirectCU and GTX550 Ti DirectCU TOP continue ASUS graphics card tradition, shipping overclocked power up to 1015 MHz for exceptional gaming performance. ASUS exclusive DirectCU offers the advantages of 20% cooling out of its direct GPU contact, all-copper cooling design, as well as exclusive Super Alloy Power quality components for faster performance and longer lifespan.

Product highlights

• New Ultimate GTX550 Ti DirectCU and GTX550 Ti DirectCU TOP graphics cards use top-grade cores and ship factory overclocked to 1015 MHz and 975 MHz, respectively, much faster than the 900MHz default.
• ASUS GTX550 Ti DirectCU cards apply award-winning DirectCU cooling with all-copper heat pipes touching the GPU core directly for improved heat transference - running up to 20%* cooler than reference under full load.
• Super Alloy Power offers an exclusive ASUS development that injects a custom alloy mixture into critical power delivery components – offering a performance boost of 15% and running up to 35°C cooler than reference. Super Alloy Power graphics cards also average a 2.5 times longer product lifespan compared to generic designs.

Source

EVGA Introduces GeForce GTX 550 Ti Graphic Cards

NVIDIA today launched its GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics processor, to capture a key mainstream price point with which it wants to make PC gaming as a whole more attractive. EVGA kicked off its lineup with two models, the base model, which carries the model number 01G-P3-1556-KR, features a "free performance boost", meaning that while it's priced on par with reference design cards, it is slightly overclocked out of the box. The next one is a SuperClocked (SC) variant carrying the model number 01G-P3-1557-KR. Both cards stick to NVIDIA's reference board and cooler designs.

The Free Performance Boost (FPB) variant carries clock speeds of 951/1903/4356 MHz (core/CUDA cores/memory), while the SuperClocked variant packs 981/1962/4514 MHz, against reference speeds of 900/1800/4100 MHz. The DirectX 11 compliant GeForce GTX 550 Ti GPU packs 192 CUDA cores, and 1 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 192-bit wide memory interface. Power is drawn from a single 6-pin PCI-E power input, display outputs include two DVI and one mini-HDMI 1.4a. The EVGA GTX 550 Ti FPB is priced at US $149.99, while the SuperClocked variant goes for US $159.99.

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Nvidia GeForce GTX 550 Ti Redefines PC Gaming

PC gaming just got a lot more fun today with the introduction of the GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics processing unit (GPU) with an estimated e-tail price of £119. The GTX 550 Ti is the latest in NVIDIA’s Fermi line of consumer GPUs, designed to deliver stunning DirectX 11 performance. It brings a new level of price/performance to mainstream PC gaming, while maintaining exceptionally quiet acoustics and requiring minimal power.

Like all NVIDIA “DX11 Done Right” GPUs, the GTX 550 Ti delivers the world’s fastest performance in its class for DX11 games. Compared with the closest competitive product, the GTX 550 Ti is up to 50 percent faster in today’s newest DX11 tessellated games, and 38 percent fasteri in previous-generation DX9 and DX10 games. And with NVIDIA SLI technology, the industry’s most scalable multi-GPU platform, gamers will be able to increase their PC’s gaming performance by adding a second GeForce GTX 550 Ti.

“The GTX 550 Ti paired with our 3D Vision technology provides gamers with an amazing low-cost platform that delivers an awesome immersive experience,” said Drew Henry, general manager of GeForce GPU business at NVIDIA. “As the leader in PC gaming hardware, we are excited about the future of PC gaming and how we can make those experiences as immersive as possible.

With an estimated selling e-tail price starting at £119, the GTX 550 Ti is available starting today from the world’s leading add-in card partners, including, ASUS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Inno3D, KFA2, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle, and Zotac.

In addition, today sees the launch of amazing new GeForce GTX 550 Ti Systems.

Source

Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 Key Features Revealed

An alleged partner presentation slide leaked to the internet reveals quite a bit more about the GeForce GTX 590 than what we already know. To begin with, it lays to rest speculations surrounding the shader configuration, each of the two GF110 GPUs have all 512 CUDA cores enabled. Next, the full width of the memory interface is utilized, giving you 1536 MB per GPU, or 3 GB of total memory on the card.

The rest are fascinating features, such as a removable cooler shroud that lets you clean the card from time to time (you might need to clean it now and then for the best cooling performance), heatsinks that use vapor-chamber technology, getting rid of those pesky heat-pipes, high-grade 12-layer PCB that uses 2 oz copper layers, and a 10-phase VRM (looks like 4+1 phase per GPU). As expected, the final iteration of the card needs to draw power from two 8-pin PCI-E power connectors. "Barely Street Legal"? Is it because they'll throw you out of LAN parties for having too much of a performance advantage? Hmmm.



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Sapphire Launches Radeon HD 6950 FleX Edition 2GB Graphic Cards

Sapphire is readying a new non-reference design AMD Radeon HD 6950 2 GB graphics card that boasts of superior out of the box display connectivity to the reference design. Called the Sapphire HD 6950 FleX Edition, the card features the same exact display output connector configuration as the reference design (two each of DVI and mini-DisplayPort 1.2, along with HDMI 1.4a), but can run a 5-monitor Eyefinity setup, of which three can run over DVI without needing an active adapter. The package might include a number of dongles and cables to help set up such a display array. Even if not for gaming, Sapphire sees professional applications for such a setup.

The Radeon HD 6950 is based on the 40 nm Cayman GPU, it has 1408 VLIW4 stream processors, and connects to 2 GB of GDDR5 memory over a 256-bit wide memory interface. Sapphire's card uses a non-reference design PCB and cooling assembly. The PCB draws power from two 6-pin power connectors; the cooler makes use of a large heatsink, ventilated by a central 80 mm fan. The card can pair with three more Radeon HD 6900 series graphics cards in CrossFireX. Expect Sapphire to release the card to market soon.

Source

Intel Acquires Egypt-based SySDSoft

Intel Corporation, through its standalone business entity Intel Mobile Communications, today announced that it has acquired most of the assets of SySDSoft, a privately held software company based in Cairo and hired approximately 100 of the company’s electrical engineers and computer scientists. SySDSoft designs state-of-the-art IP solutions in the software stack and physical layer domain, and RF/analog circuits embedded in mobile platforms.

“The acquisition of engineering and design talent from an Egypt-based company in the field of cutting-edge wireless and communication technology is the first of its kind for Intel in the Middle East,” said Arvind Sodhani, president, Intel Capital and executive vice president, Intel. “The acquisition shows Intel’s continued long-term strategic commitment to the region and its appreciation of its young, growing talent pool.”

SySDSoft’s solutions enhance Intel Mobile Communications’ existing multi-communications portfolio, specifically accelerating its 4G LTE efforts with the addition of leading software development and design capabilities. Intel Mobile Communications is an integral part of Intel’s strategy to accelerate always-connected computing platforms founded on energy-efficient performance, Internet connectivity and security, and spanning a variety of device and market segments, including laptops, cars, smart phones, tablets and TVs.

“As we enter an era of multi-communication broadband solutions, Intel’s products and technologies will be important to our vision of billions of connected devices,” said Dr. Hermann Eul, president of Intel Mobile Communications. “Intel is making the necessary investments to further enhance its existing world-class wireless product portfolio and to offer the most reliable platforms to our customers that will work seamlessly across a range of global networks. The acquisition supports this strategy and we believe that SySDSoft’s proven and experienced engineering team, combined with Intel Mobile Communications’ existing wireless strength, positions us well for continued growth in LTE.”

Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 Cooler Shroud Design Surfaces

VR-Zone got a hold of the cooler shroud design of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 590 graphics card. The drawing reveals something very similar to that of the GeForce GTX 295 rev. 2 (or single-slot), and tells us a bit about the cooler. The cooler will use a large fan (probably 80 mm in diameter) to blow air on to two heatsinks on its either sides. Channels, and the heatsinks themselves will guide air across both ends of the cooler. Hot air from the first GPU (closest to the display connectors) will exhaust from the rear bracket, while that from the second GPU (farthest from the display connectors), will exhaust into the case. There are spaces on either sides of the fan for partner product artwork. There is more space on top. Next to the cutout for the power connectors, is the GeForce logo. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 590 is a dual-GPU graphics card based on two GF110 cores. It will be released on the 22nd of March.

Source: VR-Zone

AMD FX "Zambezi" Processor Box - Art Revealed

Here are the first box-shots of AMD's upcoming series of high-end desktop processors, under the FX series, referred to as "Zambezi" by the company, internally. Zambezi is based on AMD's newest Bulldozer architecture that improves instruction per clock-cycle (IPC), and packs the latest industry standard instruction sets. As stated in an older article, AMD will not assign a brand-name (such as Phenom or Athlon) to name its high-end desktop processors, but will instead refer to them as "FX" processors. To that extent, the processors will even feature a logo that resembles that of AMD Radeon to a very large extant.

AMD designed two iterations of box-art each for its FX eight-core and FX quad-core processors, puictured below. The processors look to be shipping in cuboidal paperboard boxes, very much like AMD's processors already do. The art looks very "energetic" and makes use of the AMD "arrow" motif pointing in the top-right direction. The background in each iteration is distinct, one shows splashes of red (eight-core) or orange (quad-core), the other shows flow of red/orange. It's interesting to note that all boxes denote Black Edition with its unlocked bus multiplier feature, leading us to speculate that unlocked multiplier could be standard issue with FX series processors. Also shown is the second generation TurboCore technology support, and AMD's claim to be selling the first eight-core processor [in the consumer market]. AMD's FX processors will be released to market in June.

Source: NordicHardware

Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 Launch Date is March 22

The dust seems to have settled down, after AMD's launch of the Radeon HD 6990, extending the red-team's performance lead previously held precariously by the Radeon HD 5970, to the GeForce GTX 580. It looks like NVIDIA will challenge the performance leadership with GeForce GTX 590, a dual-GPU graphics card that uses two GF110 GPUs (the ones on GTX 570 and GTX 580), for an SLI-on-a-stick solution. Rumors of NVIDIA working on this card became concrete as early as in November 2010, when NVIDIA's reference board became public for the first time.

Latest reports suggest that NVIDIA has chosen March 22 as the launch day of GeForce GTX 590. Incidentally, that is also the launch date of EA/Crytek's much-hyped, initially DirectX 9 action/shooter game, Crysis 2. GeForce GTX 590 uses two GF110, though the shader configuration and clock speeds are not known. Since NVIDIA is chasing the top-spot, you can expect the most optimal configuration for the GF110s. A total of 3 GB (1536 MB per GPU system) on board, and NVIDIA's workhorse PCI-E bridge, nForce 200 will be the traffic cop and radio station between the two GPUs. The card will be able to do 3DVision Surround (NVIDIA's multi-display single head technology comparable to ATI Eyefinity) on its own, without needing a second card.

Source: Expreview

Zalman Announces CNPS11X Extreme CPU Cooler

A new CPU Cooler lineup has just been released to bring up the Zalman to the next stage. Unlike its predecessors, CNPS11X Extreme comes with the unique V-shape heatsink from any other manufacturers. With a highly optimized thermal designed heatsink will be certainly outperforming than any other heatsink in the market.

On top, with its stylish Black pearl plating with Blue LED will add more visuals for the Case modders. In addition, by Zalman’s unique Composite Heatpipe Solution, CNPS11X Extreme will have more than enough to cool any hottest CPUs in the market as well. (Up to 350W TDP). Included ZM-STG2 will also boost up to the maximum cooling performance of CNPS11X.

Key Features:

• Powerful Cooling performance (Qmax : 350W)
• V-Shaped Dual Heatsink Design for Optimal Airflow
• Composite Heatpipe (Heat Transfer Capacity Rate Enhanced by 1.5times compared to ordinary Heatpipes)
• High Performance Super Thermal Grease ZM-STG2
• Compatible with Various Intel & AMD Sockets.
• Ultra Quiet 120mm Blue LED PWM Fan
• Elegant, Black-Pearl Nickel Plating

Availability: End of April