Raspberry Pi 2 - Then and Now, a Comparison
Posted On at by adminGood things come in little packages, so goes the saying. Rather than
trying to cheer up a boy whose growth spurt hadn't kicked in (cough),
it’s clear that statement was designed to perfectly describe the
Raspberry Pi; the tiny computer that could.
Although it was primarily designed for the education market, when the Pi
was first released, I like many others was incredibly keen to get my
hands on one purely to tinker and see if the box really was as good as
reports had led me to believe.
So what’s New?
It's been 3 years since the original Pi launched and seemed to single-handedly send the internet into meltdown. In the intervening years, several new versions of the board have been released, each adding small incremental improvements, with an additional 2 USB ports being added to version B+ and the RAM being doubled from 256MB (in versions A to B Rev1) to 512Mb in subsequent models. Due in no small part to the incredible demand for the Pi, it was some time before I was able to get my hands on one, picking up the model B rev 2, which came with just 2 USB ports and a friction lock SD card slot.
But the latest release, Raspberry Pi 2 model B really moves things along and bumps the Pi up at least a couple of notches in terms of performance capabilities.
So how do the two models compare? On paper at least, the Pi 2 should be much quicker. With double the RAM (1GB vs 512MB in my original) and a 900MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor (vs a 700MHz single-core ARM116JZF-S)
Performance Benchmarks
To get a theoretical impression of how much difference there actually was between my Pi and the new model, I needed to run some benchmarks. Fortunately, Roy Longbottom’s Raspberry Pi benchmarks were just the thing I needed.
Whetstone
The whetstone benchmark is one of the original benchmark tests and looks at the number of calculations carried out per second (Millions of Whetsone Instructions per Second)
Dhrystone
The Dhrystone benchmark, (which is a hilarious pun about the older whetstone benchmark when you're a Fortran dev from the early 80s) is intended to be representative of integer programming and is testing general CPU performance. The main output is the number of dhrystones per second, with a dhrystone being the number of iterations of the main code loop per second. Basically, more is better.
So with these results, I should be able to handle all the tasks I currently do much more smoothly and efficiently. But more importantly, I was keen to see how much more I would now be able to achieve with the additional horsepower behind me.
Projects Tests
Media Server
The first project that sprung to mind when I thought about the new compute power at my disposal was the home theatre I have set up with the Pi. This isn't an ideal system (I can’t easily access Netflix for instance) but the incredibly low power means I can quite happily have this set up in the spare room ready to go when I want to watch something. I can then set up more powerful systems for my more regular viewing.
At present I'm using OpenElec, one of the two main XBMC/Kodi distributions that is compatible with the Pi. I've tried both and OpenElec just comes out on top as it's been slightly less prone to crashing on me. The Model B is more than adequate for a simple media server. It's not really capable of running any of the more complex theme packs, but it’s happy with posters and background art. And I've not had any problems with connecting to my NAS using SMB or using the Yatse Android app as a remote control.
The system is also quite happy playing 1080p video though it can take a little while for videos to start playing. The only real downside is that sometimes navigating menus and actually getting to the content can be a little choppy and menus don't load as quickly as I've come to expect.
With the Pi 2, these minor niggles disappeared. Menus are much snappier and the speed of loading posters and background art seemed markedly improved. This was one of the more important things for me as having a system which not only works well, but looks good is important when you're trying to win the debate about whether you need another gadget in the lounge.
Another indicator of how much of an improvement the system has seen is that I was also able to run a range of other more demanding theme packs that are available. The original Pi was essentially limited to the confluence theme for performance issues.
Programming/Desktop Use
The improved ARM v7 processer in the Pi 2 definitely makes a difference in the general usability of the desktop environment. I've run both models on Raspian, A Debian Wheezy Distro. The improvement in performance is definitely appreciable. Whilst the system isn't blazingly fast and responsive, this should never be the expectation. For the price, the performance is perfectly satisfactory.
The original Model B was interesting to use as a desktop for an hour or two, but the speed limitations meant it quickly became an exercise in frustration trying to have any kind of productivity. Tasks such as opening the browser seem to take north of 30 or 40 seconds and anything requiring more processor power often dragged on even longer.
The Pi 2 solves a lot of these problems. Boot up time is pretty much half what it was and opening and using programs feels much more responsive. Using a range of the programs that come pre-installed with Raspian as well as some others I've installed, the difference is marked.
Embedded Projects
Embedded projects are one of the few areas where if you already own and use a Pi, an upgrade probably isn't going to make that much of a difference. The kind of project where you don't intend to be tinkering regularly, or the activity you're doing isn't one that is going to demand lots from the Pi, you're unlikely to see any real benefit from upgrading. That is of course unless like me, you've got the B+ rev 1 which only came with two USB ports. There are probably a number of occasions in which those extra ports will come in handy.
Conclusions
So, should you be tempted by the new Raspberry Pi model? If you're planning on doing anything that requires even a modicum of processing power, then the new model is a must. Not only does it remove a lot of the frustration that can build up from using an under-powered device, but it opens a number of doors to new projects that can really take advantage of the upgrades.
What is really exciting, is the announcement from Microsoft that they're creating a freely available version of Windows 10 that will run on the new Pi 2 as part of its Windows Developer Program for IoT.
There are also a number of other things I'm keen to try out on the new board, game emulation being one. The Pi 2 should be able to handle PS1 level emulation well (as opposed to older 16-bit systems on the original), so if this is an area you want to look more into, then the upgrade is definitely worth looking at.
That said, there are a couple of things to consider before you make your purchase. If like me you've got the original Model B, then this pre-dates the addition of a couple of USB ports and a re-jig of the board’s components. What this means is that you'll also need to splash out on a new case as well. Not exactly a huge investment, but definitely something to bear in mind. If you've got the Model B+ then any cases you've got are still compatible.
Asus Xonar DGX 5.1
Posted On at by admin
Recently I acquired a new screen for my gaming PC, a Panasonic
TX-L65WT600 65-Inch 4K panel to sit in my lounge (I use a wireless
keyboard and mouse/gamepad for gaming), replacing an LG 50” Plasma that
was 1080p.
Having heard about the benefits of Ultra-HD, I was excited to try it out
from a PC gamer’s point of view, and hopefully some of you might find
my initial impressions of the new format interesting!
Initial Setup
When booting into Windows 7 for the first time using this screen, my
initial impression was “Everything is TINY”. Desktop icons and the
taskbar were so small that I could hardly make any of them out, but when
I ventured nearer the screen, they were all perfectly displayed and it
was difficult to make out individual pixels.
In order to make everything viewable from a distance I set the desktop
resolution to 1920x1080 (using an HDMI cable). In theory this should
work as 4K is 4 times the resolution of 1080p (meaning 4 pixels at 4k = 1
pixel at 1080p). This did work nicely, however in order to get above
30FPS in games a DisplayPort cable is required, as HDMI 1.4 doesn’t have
the bandwidth required for 60FPS/60HZ.
I therefore plugged in the DisplayPort cable and tried to do the same
thing with the desktop resolution, but to no avail. It appears that
supported resolutions with DisplayPort differ greatly than with HDMI
(setting custom desktop resolutions with the Display Port cable ended up
crashing the Nvidia drivers), so I had to leave it at 4K native
resolution, but increase the scaling of text and icons within Windows to
200%. This is due to the way that DisplayPort sees the monitor. It
essentially splits the display into two halves vertically, and then
stitches them together to create one display (the BIOS screen and
windows welcome screen is split vertically into two identical screens
until the desktop is displayed).
The main problem with using DisplayPort is that when gaming in 4K it
works flawlessly, but if the game is too demanding for 4K and you want
to play in 1080p or 1440p, you simply can’t. The resolutions aren’t
supported. There are a bunch of resolutions available below 4k, but most
appear in strange ratios and are seemingly unusable. This could be a
problem with Nvidia’s drivers, the panel itself or DisplayPort, However,
after searching for solutions I simply couldn’t find one. There are
scaling options in the Nvidia control panel to stretch the display
manually to fit the screen, but these were disabled when using
Displayport.
It became apparent that the newly introduced HDMI 2.0 standard would be
the best solution, and waiting for updates from Microsoft (in the form
of Windows 10 or other software updates) should hopefully combat scaling
problems.
Games
Putting the teething issues aside, I loaded up Crysis 3 to put my GTX
780Ti through its paces. Setting the resolution to 4K (3840 x 2160) and
all other options except Anti-Aliasing to “Very High”, I was greeted
with the most breathtaking gaming visuals I have ever seen. Textures
were crisp to the point of being photo-realistic and the game just
looked amazing. At 25 Frames Per Second. Hmmm.
It became quickly obvious that one of the fastest single-chip graphics
cards in the world was simply not good enough to run games with this
standard of visual fidelity, as it has to push 4 times as many pixels as
1080p.
I did find, however, that Anti Aliasing was not particularly necessary
at this resolution due to the sheer density of the pixels, which was a
bonus.
Running other (less graphically demanding) games was a joy. Diablo 3 and
Borderlands 2 looked amazing at 4K (easily running 60 frames per
second), and I found no issues with the HUD on screen, as it seemed to
scale well with the resolution, keeping its original size relative to
the game. Far Cry 3 and The Witcher 2 also looked outstanding, but
averaged 30-40 FPS each.
I found that the increase in resolution also increased the Video Ram
usage of the graphics card, and the 3GB on board the 780Ti was quickly
filled up with Far Cry 3’s textures. It seems that future cards may have
to be shipped with more VRAM in order to cope with graphically
intensive games running at 4K and avoid stuttering whilst textures are
loaded in and out of the GPU’s memory.
Films/Media
When watching BluRay content at 1080p, the screen held up very nicely.
The resolution was maintained well, and looked exactly like it did on
the 50” TV. Game of Thrones and Life of Pi were still very crisp and I
didn’t notice any loss of quality by the screen up-scaling 1080p
content.
Unfortunately there really are no 4K output formats apart from games to
enjoy on this screen at the moment – Youtube’s 4K streams are woefully
compressed to the point that they seem only slightly better than 1080p
and Netflix will only stream 4K to devices such as consoles and
specific, built in, TV apps (4K streaming for PC’s is on its way
according to Netflix support but if you’re looking forward to watching
House of Cards or Breaking Bad in 4K on your PC, you’ll have to wait for
now).
There is also no industry standard agreed-upon format for 4K media yet,
so streaming and playing directly from hard drives is the only option at
the moment.
I have scratched my ultra-high resolution video itch by watching
downloaded clips of nature films with ‘epic’ music dubbed over the top,
although each 1 minute clip is about 400MB in size. One downloadable 4K
film is over 360GB!
If you want to watch anything in uncompressed Ultra-HD, unfortunately
for now you’ll have to settle for watching a one-minute long video of a
bee buzzing around a flower, set to ‘Sail’ by AWOL Nation.
Viewing Distance
When using the display I sit around 7 feet from it on the couch. At this
distance I found that switching between 1080p and 4K did have a very
notable difference in the amount of clarity, but I needed to get closer
(about 3-4 feet) to really see how different it was. At this distance,
in 1080p I could easily make out individual pixels and the image had a
very ‘granular’ appearance to it, with a noticeable screen-door effect.
In 4K however, I didn’t notice any pixilation whatsoever. The games
looked just as clear from 3 feet away as they did from 8 feet away. In
fact, it was difficult to make out individual pixels even with my face
almost pressed against the screen. Due to this, I have found that in
order to truly experience the clarity of 4K resolution, you’ll need to
sit close to the monitor. In fact, too close for comfort in a lounge
setup.
Further Usage
After using the display for a few weeks I have finally settled on using a
resolution of 2560 x 1440 for most games over HDMI 1.4. With this
resolution I can enjoy 60FPS over HDMI and it adds a nice amount of
fidelity to games over 1080p, without impacting too much on performance
using the single 780Ti. This is until I invest in a GTX 980 (or 2) with
HDMI 2.0 capabilities.
One final note is that with the new consoles out, developers seem to be
upping the usage of VRam for PC ports, with recent games such as
Bethesda’s “The Evil Within” and WB’s “Shadow of Mordor” recommending
6GB for ultra textures, even at 1080p. When switching to 4k, this will
inevitably demand more VRam use, and therefore it may be worth waiting
for cards with 6-8GB VRam before 4K becomes a truly viable gaming
resolution.
D-Link DNS-320L
Posted On at by adminHave you ever had a situation where you need to share a few large files
between a PC and a Mac across the home network? If the answer to this
question is "No" then count yourself lucky! It is truly one of the most
headache-inducing tasks I have tried to do recently.
If the answer is "Yes" then I think you'll sympathise with me. What
sounds like the most simple of networking tasks actually turns out to
involve hours of Google searches and shaking one's head in frustration.
The situation was simple. I had a large number of files in Windows 8.1
that I wanted to transfer to a Macbook Pro. These totaled about 40GB in
size so I didn't want to go through the hassle of putting them on an
external hard drive, then transferring files from the drive to the Mac
as it would have taken far too long with only a USB 2.0 hard drive at
hand. Instead, I thought I would simply share the file on the PC with
the homegroup and pick it up from the Mac over the network. It is a lot
more hassle than this, however. There are a number of guides on how to
do this process on Google, but unfortunately none of them worked for me,
due to the Mac requiring non-existent passwords for the PC and it not
picking up the Homegroup properly.
This process made me think that it would be great if I could have access
to any of the files I wanted to share, from any device, even if my PC
is turned off.
The solution to this?
Enter: The D-Link DNS-320L 2-Bay Cloud Network Storage Enclosure!
This neat little black box now sits on top of my router and contains all
the files I want to share with devices I specify via a simple web
browser or as an assigned drive on any laptop or PC connected to the
home router.
Using two 1TB Seagate Barracuda drives, the setup wizard allows you to format the drive configuration in the following ways:
- Standard (two separate volumes on the NAS);
- JBOD (combining the drives for maximum available space);
- RAID 0 (combining the drives for maximum available performance); or
- RAID 1 (mirroring the drives so that if one fails, the other will still contain all the data). This option, however, only allows for a maximum of 1TB of space.
I opted for the RAID 1 configuration for 1TB of space. This is because the data I wanted to store on the device is important for me to keep. If it weren't as valuable, a better option would be to configure the drives in RAID 0, in order to increase the read/write times and gain more storage space.
2 x 1TB Drives Ready for NAS
Drives in-situ
The setup program formats the drives as appropriate (this process took about five minutes in total), then the device appears as a network drive in the Explorer window on a PC. On a MacBook, the DLink device appeared as a shared device in Finder, which could be accessed using the username and password set up during the installation. Accessing the management window of the NAS is done by simply entering the ip address of the unit in a browser window. Easy peasy!
NAS Web Interface
When transferring files over from the PC to the NAS over my home network, the speed averaged around 35 MB/s; streaming music, large audio files and 1080p video directly from the unit over home WiFi was flawless, reading files at around 43MB/s.
The D-Link DNS-320L also has the option to sign up to www.mydlink.com in order to access files from the NAS anywhere in the world. After a simple registration process, the web interface becomes available and is very easy to navigate, and download and upload files to the device. There is also a very useful "MyDlink Access-NAS" app on an Android or iPhone that can be downloaded for free, allowing backups of material from a phone or the ability to access files stored on the NAS. You can also stream music from the device straight to the 'phone with the built-in media player within the app (depending on the speed of the data connection) and even set the app to automatically save photos taken with your 'phone's camera straight to the NAS. Handy!
Browsing Using the Phone
MyDLink Interface
Downloading from the web interface was very quick - around 6MB/s at home and around 1.5MB/s on 4G using an Android phone (this being around the maximum speed I usually get for downloading anything from the Internet).
Along with great media storage and playback facilities, this home network storage solution provides a number of practical applications for backing up whole drives (for example, setting a Windows backup to run every week straight onto the NAS for peace of mind). I have a 'fresh skeleton build' of Windows backed up now containing programs that I frequently use such as Chrome, VLC player, Steam and Origin to name but a few, so whenever I want a fresh installation of Windows I can simply restore this build from the NAS rather than spend time re-downloading all the necessary programs. This can all be managed through the "ShareCenter" web interface within the unit and is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. It also includes options to control home security cameras linked to the device if you so desire.
For the price paid for this little unit (around £40 at the time of the review), the ease of use and the peace of mind it offers regarding backups and storage of files, it is a cost-effective, user-friendly and convenient solution to file sharing. The DLink DNS-320L is a fantastic piece of kit that I would wholeheartedly recommend as a basic home network storage solution.
GeForce GTX 780 3GB - The Wrath of The Titan!
Posted On at by admin
Just like Titan, the GTX 780 is based on the GK110 GPU with the distinctions that the Titan has a GK110-300 GPU and the GeForce GTX 780 a GK110-400 GPU. Same stuff, yet with some things disabled. But we are a bit surprized to see NVIDIA move forward with GK110, See, the GK110 chip is BIG, and that makes it a difficult chip to bake, its recipe is refined though as the product has 2304 Shader Processing Units, 192 TMUs and 32 ROPs on a 384-bit memory interface of fast GDDR5. So yeah, NVIDIA trimmed down that that 45 mm × 45 mm 2397-pin S-FCBGA Titian with its 2688 shader/stream/CUDA processors a bit.
Memory wise you are looking at 3GB over 6 GB, that is still huge (12 pieces of 64M ×16 GDDR5 SDRAM) of memory (384-bit) on there and started designing a bunch of new tricks at BIOS and driver level. Combined with GPU Boost 2.0 you will see this product boosting towards the 1100~1150 MHz range once you tweak it. The reference clock is 863 MHz with a boost clock of 900 MHz. Looking at the specs you must think that this product must consume heaps of power, well it's not great, but definitely not bad at all. The maximum allowed board design power draw is roughly 250 Watt, which considering what this product is, is good. Not in this review, but in another separate article, we will test the product on one, two and three monitors in Surround view with the hottest games like Battlefield 3, Sleeping Dogs, Far Cry 3, Medal of Honor Warfighter, Hitman Absolution and many more.
TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Wireless N Gigabit Router
Posted On at by adminThink Computers have reviewed the TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Wireless N Gigabit Router, which seems be a good value product with excellent performance.
Silicon Power Releases USB Drive That Changes Color w/ Temperature
Posted On at by adminJust when you think you've seen every possible USB key possible, you manage to run across a new marketing gimmick that you didn't know was on the market. Silicon Power announced a new USB drive today called the Blaze 10 that has a color-changing pattern on it that morphs when the temperature increases or decreases. Silicon Power says that color of the pattern will gradually change from Turkish blue to Chinese red according to operating temperature of the drive. The Blaze 10 is a USB 3.0 drive, so you can expect read speeds of up to 70MB/s! The Blaze 10 is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities and all are backed by a lifetime warranty.
World leading flash memory manufacturer and brand Silicon Power realizes how individuals can’t help to speak for themselves; thus, for those who dare to show their capricious personality, Blaze B10, the market’s first USB 3.0 flash drive with color-changing pattern according to temperature, is born! Blaze B10 is especially designed for expressive individuals who are playful and bold with their portable storage devices. Smooth curves at two ends of its body get B10 a chic look. Its front is designed with futuristic geometric pattern using color-changing ink.
Alienware Launches Three New Gaming Laptops - M11z, M14x, M18x
Posted On at by adminAlienware has launched three new, all-powerful laptops, including the soon to be released M18x, which lays claim to the title of “most powerful 18-inch gaming laptop in the universe;” the M14x, which delivers unprecedented performance and portability; and an enhanced M11x, already a favorite among gaming enthusiasts, and the most-powerful sub-14-inch notebook in the universe. The two new faces in the Alienware laptop family, the upcoming M18x and the M14x, along with the new M11x, deliver unprecedented power to the gamer on the go. All three platforms offer the latest in gaming technology, and feature second-generation Intel Core i processors to deliver the most immersive high-performance gaming experience imaginable.
- The M18x will offer dual-graphics technology and the industry’s only Intel Core i7 Extreme CPU option factory overclocked to 4GHz;
- The M18x and the M14x offer optional wireless HD audio and video for latency-free streaming to larger screens;
- All three laptops also offer HDMI 1.4 for connection to 3D-capable HDTVs for incredible, lifelike 3D gaming and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports for up to 10x the speed of USB 2.0 connections for a new level in data transfer.
“If you’re a gamer, you’re going to love our new family of laptops, which deliver on the features gamers care most about – uncompromised graphics performance, latency-free wireless HD streaming to HDTVs, and lifelike 3D gaming,” said Arthur Lewis, general manager of Alienware. “We are committed to delivering the best gaming systems for enthusiasts everywhere and we take great pride in helping them ‘pwn’, no matter where they are in the world.”
ASUS P6Z68-V Pro Motherboard Pictured - Intel Z68 Chipsets Cometh
Posted On at by adminPictures of ASUS' upcoming P8Z68-V Pro motherboard have surfaced on Chinese websites that show off what the upcoming Intel Z68 chipset powered board looks like. The new board makes use of a 14-phase Digi+ VRM to power the CPU. Highlights include CPU overclocking features driven by the UEFI BIOS, coupled with Intel Flexible Display Interface, letting you make use of the processor's embedded Intel HD 3000 graphics with Intel QuickSync accelerated video encoding. Further, the board is Lucid Virtu certified, letting you use (and switch between, depending on graphics load) both the integrated and discrete graphics simultaneously, and saving power in the process.
Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x8 with both populated), one PCI-Express x16 (electrical x4), two PCI-Express x1, and two PCI. This wholesome expansion area is backed by a wealth of connectivity options, including four SATA 6 Gb/s ports (two from PCH, two from Marvell controller), four SATA 3 Gb/s internal, and one eSATA 3 Gb/s; display connectivity that includes one each of dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI 1.4a; 8-channel HD audio with optical SPDIF output; four USB 3.0 (two internal/by header), a number of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire (by header), Bluetooth, and gigabit Ethernet. A number of overclocking features found on P8P67 series motherboards are present.
New Intel 2011 Desktop Processor Roadmap Leaked
Posted On at by adminA new and improved leaked roadmap for what looks like Intel LGA1155 and LGA1366 processors has been leaked out onto the internet that is worth taking a look at. The roadmap has the chip maker's projected timeline of products for all of 2011 and even the first half of 2012! This roadmap is different than the last one and has more details of the processors on it. The upcoming ~$1,000 Intel Extreme Edition 3.3GHz processors are shown as having unlocked BClk multipliers, 15MB of L3 cache and six cores. The step down from here still have six cores and are unlocked, but have lower clock speeds (3.2GHz) and less cache (12MB). Things are starting to look good for the upcoming LGA 2011 processor series and the Intel X79 Express chipset.
In Q4 2011, Intel will unveil its new Sandy Bridge-E (enthusiast) platform, consisting of new multi-core processors in the 2011-pin LGA package, and Intel X79 Express chipset. A roadmap slide leaked to the Chinese media reveals an interesting way in which Intel will approach the platform to monetize it best. To begin with, it appears like Sandy Bridge-E will keep up with the trend set by LGA1155 processors where only certain models can be overclocked, while others are greatly limited. Among those that can be overclocked (or "unlocked", as Intel puts it,) there will be two classes.
Nokia E6 and X7 Smartphones Announced - X7 For Mobile Gamers
Posted On at by adminNokia today announced the Nokia E6 and the Nokia X7, two new smartphones aimed at business people and entertainment enthusiasts respectively. The two devices are the first Nokia smartphones to contain the updated Symbian software, with new icons and usability enhancements such as improved text input, a faster browser and refreshed Ovi Maps. We like the looks of the Nokia X7 as it features a 4-inch AMOLED touch screen at 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) with a brushed stainless steel finish. You can check out the Nokia X7 in the image below. The Nokia X7 has a 1300 mAh Li-Ion battery that should last 6 hours for video playback or 4.5 hours when talking on a WCDMA connection.
The Nokia X7 is an entertainment-focused smartphone with a large 4" display ideal for gaming, and an 8 Megapixel camera for capturing pictures and HD-quality video. A distinctively designed device, the Nokia X7 is made from a combination of seamless stainless steel and glass - delivering a solid and durable feel in the hand. The Nokia X7 comes preloaded with the popular Galaxy on Fire HD and Asphalt 5 HD games.
SAPPHIRE Brings Back AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series with New Xtreme Editions
Posted On at by adminHailed as the most exciting development in graphics for several generations, the original SAPPHIRE HD 5800 series not only included the fastest single GPU available, but was also the first family of video cards in the world to support the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and multi-monitor displays in Eyefinity mode. Now it’s back – with the exciting new SAPPHIRE HD 5800 series Xtreme Editions! Two models will be available from April 2011 – the SAPPHIRE HD 5850 Xtreme and the SAPPHIRE HD 5830 Xtreme. Both will represent spectacular value for money – and support all the latest games and applications.
With a 150GB/s memory interface to 1GB of the latest GDDR5 memory, and a GPU architecture with a total of 1440 stream processors and 72 texture units, the new SAPPHIRE HD 5850 Xtreme speeds through older DirectX10.1, DirectX 10 and DirectX 9.0 games and applications – as well as delivering stunning levels of performance, detail, transparency and lighting effects in the latest DX11 games and applications. Not far behind is the SAPPHIRE HD 5830 Xtreme Edition with its 1120 stream processors and 56 texture units. With its core clocks of 800MHz and 1GB of DDR5 memory with speeds of 1000MHz (4GHz effective), it represents a breakthrough in value for money for the gamer. Both cards feature new SAPPHIRE original cooler designs, and optimised voltage regulation, which together with clock and memory speeds can be adjusted with the SAPPHIRE TriXX overclocking tool (free for users to download) to enhance performance. Both cards offer support for all the advanced graphical features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and deliver spectacular video clarity, speed and visual effects.
Intel Atom Processor Z670 Announced at IDF Beijing
Posted On at by adminIntel unveiled the highly anticipated Intel Atom Z670 processor and Intel SM35 Express Chipset platform, formerly codenamed “Oak Trail,” with a range of innovative tablets and form factors today at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, China. The Intel Atom processor Z670 features integrated graphics and memory controller built directly into the processor die, lower TDP for fanless, thin devices, with a package 60 percent smaller than previous generations. The Intel Atom Z670 is a 45nm processor that operates at 1.5Ghz with one core and two threads.
Through more personal, mobile and connected experiences, companion computing devices are transforming the world we live in. Enabling this transformation is Intel's newly-announced Intel Atom processor Z670 series, formerly codenamed "Oak Trail." Purposefully built for tablets, the platform offers up-to all day battery life, enhanced performance and new features for amazing user experiences in an ultra-small package. The series is also suited for a range of portable embedded designs such as mobile clinical assistants, ruggedized industrial tablets and portable point-of-sale systems.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 Preview Released for Download
Posted On at by adminMicrosoft today released the first developer preview of Internet Explorer (IE) 10! IE 10 will build on the HTML5 and accelerated hardware graphics capabilities that Microsoft built into IE 9. It also will include support for additional standards, like CSS3 Gradients on background images and CSS3 Flexible Box Layout, officials said. If this build appears to have come out rather quickly to you, then you are correct. Microsoft is working on a faster browser development pace, so expect to see more updates from Microsoft! You can download the IE10 preview here.
Just four weeks after the release of Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft Corp. unveiled the first platform preview of Internet Explorer 10 at MIX11. In his keynote, Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president of Internet Explorer, outlined how the next version of Microsoft’s industry-leading Web browser builds on the performance breakthroughs and the deep native HTML5 support delivered in Internet Explorer 9. With this investment, Microsoft is leading the adoption of HTML5 with a long-term commitment to the standards process. “The only native experience of HTML5 on the Web today is on Windows 7 with Internet Explorer 9,” Hachamovitch said. “With Internet Explorer 9, websites can take advantage of the power of modern hardware and a modern operating system and deliver experiences that were not possible a year ago. Internet Explorer 10 will push the boundaries of what developers can do on the Web even further.”
Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is Available Now For Verizon Users
Posted On at by adminVerizon and Samsung today announced that the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is available for order today in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement on a 4G Mobile Broadband plan. The 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot will be available in stores on March 31.
Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot Key features:
- Share 4G LTE internet connection with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices at the same time
- 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas
- Backward compatible with the Verizon Wireless 3G network
- Dimensions: 2.32”(H) x 3.54”(W) x 0.45”(D)
Raptr Updates Gaming Client - Sees Major Performance Improvements
Posted On at by adminRaptr, a popular game tracking and social platform for gamers, has released one of its most significant client updates to date. Specifically redesigned to improve performance, the latest client update slashes the CPU usage and the memory footprint by 66% on average.
“Optimizing the performance of the Raptr client has been one of the top user requests for a while and we’re excited to introduce such a massive improvement,” said Dennis Fong, CEO of Raptr. “Our goal is to constantly iterate on our service with the feedback of our six million users as a guide. These improvements pave the way for significant new features we plan to launch in the next few months.”
