07/30/10: EXPreview - Blizzard Confirms StarCraft II Overheating Bug
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Blizzard has recently admitted that its StarCraft II title has overheating bug, and we’ve also come across this problem when using the GeForce GTX 250.

The fix is easy – you just need to add the following lines to your “DocumentsStarCraft IIvariables.txt” file:
frameratecapglue=30
frameratecap=60




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07/30/10: EXPreview - Intel to Announce Next-generation Desktop Platform at CES 2011
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

While AMD plans to release its first Fusion-based processor Ontario by the end of this year, Intel is going to ship the next-generation 6-series chipsets (Cougar Point) in the 42nd week of 2010 (October 2010), according to Digitimes.
Intel is believed to officially announce its new Sugar Bay desktop platform at CES 2011, including a [...]

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07/30/10: TweakTown - MSI GeForce GTX 460 1GB Cyclone Video Card
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Already impressed with the 768MB version of the GTX 460 Cyclone from MSI, today we check out the 1GB version.

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07/30/10: EXPreview - NZXT Phantom Full Tower Server Chassis Pops up
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Recently, NZXT has just released Phantom full tower server chassis and they are available with red, white and black. It is designed with sleek, pristine contours, the Phantom radiates personality and quality, and has a strong compatibility and thermal performance to meet the most demanding PC enthusiasts needs.

NZXT Phantom full tower server chassis measures 222×540x623mm, [...]

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07/30/10: Bit-Tech - Who actually uses water cooling grommets?
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

This blog post stems from a conversation Clive and I had the other day about the water cooling grommets we’re seeing on most cases these days. If you’re not sure what I’m on about a water cooling grommet is a rubber-lined, circular cut-out in the back of a case that appears to be designed to have water cooling tubing passed through it.

The crux of the conversation was essentially the question of whether anyone actually uses these grommets, and if they could actually be considered a feature when it comes to calculating a case's feature score in a review. My argument is that they shouldn't be counted and I’ll explain why.

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07/30/10: EXPreview - GPU Caps Viewer 1.8.9 Better OpenGL 4.1 Support
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Some times ago, Khronos Group has released the OpenGL 4.1 which is backwards compatible with the existing OpenGL code; While yesterday Geeks3d updated the GPU Caps Viewer to 1.8.9. And the new update of GPU Caps Viewer is available, this new version adds the support of OpenGL 4.1 and improves the OpenCL support.

What’s new:
*Added the [...]

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07/30/10: EXPreview - MSI?s Exclusive TDE Technology GX660R Pops up From GX660R Again
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Some times ago, MSI has introduced a gaming notebook——GT660R, which supports DirectX 11 for smooth, clear and true-to-life 3D HD graphics to maximize your interactive gaming experience; And today, MSI announced its Turbo engine-based and compatible Cooler Boost technology, the GX660R.

The GX660 boasts Core i7 processor, 12GB of extra memory, dual-500GB hard drive (RAID 0 [...]

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07/30/10: EXPreview - GeForce GTS 450 Will Be Postponed Until 13th September
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NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 is scheduled to be released in August 31, but it will be postponed until 13th September, it is estimated that it need more time to perfect both the new obejects and GF106, according to the Turkish hardware website Donanimhaber.

GeForce GTS 450 gets frequency identified, with core/memory clock of 789/3760MHz; GeForce GTS [...]

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07/30/10: EXPreview - TSMC Announced the Financial Results for Second Quarter of Fiscal 2011
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It is reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced the financial results for second quarter of fiscal 2010, total revenue for the quarter were NT$104.96 billion, gross margin was 49.5 percent, net profit reached NT$40.28 billion (about 1.27 billion U.S. dollars).

Revenue and profit for the second quarter were up 41.4 percent and 64.8 percent [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - ASUS?s Another Eee PC 1015PD Gets Detail On Line
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ASUS is preparing to release another Eee PC 1015PD, which is based on Pine Trail platform; And now its specification has been exposed online by its own Eee website, according to TCMagazine.

ASUS Eee PC 1015PD is powered by Intel Atom N455 1.66GHz, an Intel GMA 3150 integrated graphics, 1GB of DDR3 memory, and 160/250/320GB hard [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - Patriot Intros 3 Additions to Its Inferno SSD Family
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Patriot has just introduced three additions to its Inferno SSD family – Inferno 60GB/120GB/240GB.

The new drives feature SandForce SF-1200 controller, SATA 3Gbps interface, ECC technology, and pack a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter. Delivering maximum read/write speeds of 285/275MB per second, the SSDs are backed by a 3-year warranty with a MTBF of at least 1.5 [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - AMD Tops NVIDIA in Graphics Chip Shipments
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Last year AMD took the lead in DirectX 11 competition by releasing the Radeon HD 5000 series graphics cards. The red camp managed to pass NVIDIA in graphics chip shipments in the second quarter, according to the research company Mercury Research.

ATI graphics chips grabbed 51% of the discrete graphics chip market, while NVIDIA’s share was [...]

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07/29/10: Bit-Tech - What happens if Intel does end overclocking?
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

I've taken to the armchair looking out over the veranda, scratching my wispy beard while sipping an ice tea. I've pondered long and hard about the consequences of the overclocking restrictions Intel apparently plans for its upcoming mainstream Sandy Bridge CPUs.

The feedback in our news post mirrored my own initial reaction: how dare Intel! How dare they stop us from generating and700 CPU performance from a and150 one?

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07/29/10: EXPreview - AMD?s Ontario Computing Performance Leaked Out
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

The second Fusion based processor named “Ontario” which is aimed at netbooks, tablets and related low power gadgets are expected to ship in the 4Q of 2010. But the Fusion’s performance is only smoke and mirrors for us, now the BOINC Distributed Computing was the first to reveal the Ontario computing performance.

The BOINC testing data [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - Elpida Intros the World?s Smallest 2-Gigabit DDR2 Mobile RAM
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Japan’s leading global supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)——Elpida, today announced that it had developed a 2-Gigabit DDR2 Mobile RAM™, the world’s smallest LPDDR2 chip. The new DDR2 is expected to become the main product manufactured by the 40nm process line at Elpida’s Hiroshima Plant (the 40nm line is currently undergoing a capacity expansion).

The [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - AMD to Integrate USB 3.0 Support for Hudson D1
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It is said that AMD takes the integrating USB 3.0 support in its forthcoming Hudson D1 Southbridge chipsets into consideration, according to the notebook makers.

The Hudson D1 chipset will be brought in for AMD’s 40nm Ontario APUs that are supposed to start turning up in the fourth quarter of 2010, which will mainly focus on [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - Tom Clancy?s H.A.W.X.2 Allows You Plane to Go Under About 1.000km/h
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Ubisoft has officially released Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.2, which will become available in the first week of September.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.2 have "upgraded" the pilot assistance system that allows you plane to go under about 1.000km/h and lets you fly as slow as you want.
But, don’t forget that if you slow down too much, what will [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - Codemasters Is Developing Dirt 3 And Grid 2 Now
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Codemasters is always hard at work, there is no doubt that they have many projects in the works. We have heard that the company is not only developing Bodycount and F1 2010 but also Dirt 3, Grid 2 and a sequel to Operation Flashpoint.

It is more likely that the new titles will continue to use [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - NVIDIA Lowers Revenue Guidance for Second Quarter of Fiscal 2011
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today announced that it will lower the company’s financial results for its second quarter of fiscal 2011. Its revenue for its second quarter of fiscal 2011 is estimated at $800 million to $820 million, compared with the range of $950 million to $970 million provided on May 13, 2010.

The company officially explained [...]

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07/29/10: EXPreview - Enable SLI in The Latest Games Now
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

EVGA has publicly released the updated Version 30 of EVGA SLI Enhancement, which is based on NVIDIA GeForce/Ion 258.96 WHQL. Not many new SLI profiles in EVGA SLI Enhancement Version 30, just enables SLI support in two games.

*What’s new SLI profiles in EVGA SLI Enhancement Version 30:
　　－Enables SLI Support in Kane and Lynch 2: [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - A 12GB Ridgeback DDR3 Memory Kit with Triple-channel Released
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Look great, perform greater. Some time ago, Mushkin has released its new memory cooling solution, namely Ridgeback series DDR3 memory kits, and now the company expand its offering with high-capacity, which work at 2000MHz, dual-channel kit for LGA 1156-based systems and triple-channel kit for LGA 1366-powered PCs, the latter one can up to 12GB, both [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - Interpad 10-inch Tegra 2-Powered Tablet Launching in Germany in December
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

E-Noa is planning to release a new tablet powered by a dual Tegra 2 T20 SoC in Germany.

The Interpad packs two Cortex-A9 cores @ 1GHz, and features a 10-inch touchscreen, 1GB of DDR2 memory and 16GB of microSD card.
Interpad measures 253×164x12.5mm, boasts 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB and HDMI ports, and a 3900mAh battery. This [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - ATI Responds to the Lack of Anti-Aliasing Options for StarCraft II
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

The long-anticipated StarCraft II has finally become available, and it’s appealing to thousands of RTS gamers. However, Blizzard will not be including an optional anti-aliasing (AA) setting in the retail version.

The consumers of NVIDIA graphics cards can take advantage of an override option within the Control Panel to enable the AA function, which leaves AMD [...]

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07/28/10: Bit-Tech - Hardware 13 - A Case of the Uglies
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Welcome one and all to Episode 13 of the bit-tech and Custom PC hardware podcast.

As befits the summer, this episode is a loud, effects laden blockbuster, where the team talk about Intel's K-series overclocking CPUs and the rumours about Sandy Bridge's lack of overclocking.

Antony and James explain our updated case testing methods, and we cast an eye over Cooler Master's HAF X and the Antec Dark Fleet.

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07/28/10: EXPreview - Patriot Adds Three More SSDs to Expand its Inferno Offer
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Patriot has now released some new capacities SSDs to expand its Inferno family, and they are available in 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capacities and backed by a 3-year warranty.


As we know that the Inferno Solid-State Drive (SSD) is a great way to enhance the performance of your computer. Built around the SandForce SF-1222 SSD processor [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - Warhammer 40000: Space Marine Now Coming to Windows PC
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THQ has today announce that Space Marine will be coming to PC in addition to the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 after heard our gamers’ cries. But no words on the launch date yet.









Additional information ( according to THQ ):
Combining intense melee and ranged combat, Space Marine puts you into the boots of one of humanity’s [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - SanDisk Intros Cruzer Blade Flash Drive
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

SanDisk is here, and introduced a small and very portable flash drive—the capless SanDisk® Cruzer® Blade™ .

SanDisk® Cruzer® Blade™ allows you to take your favourite files freely, and keep your digital world in your pocket in our smallest package, transfer and share photos/videos/songs, and other files between computers with ease.
SanDisk® Cruzer® Blade™ are available [...]

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07/28/10: TweakTown - GIGABYTE H55N-USB3 (Intel H55 Express) Mini-ITX Motherboard
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Want to drop some power in your pocket? Well, GIGABYTE has an interesting board for you to consider. The Mini-ITX H55N-USB3 is small, yet powerful.

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07/28/10: EXPreview - Feimi-based Quadro Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) Released
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

　
NVIDIA has now announced new releases of its optimized for the newest Quadro graphics processing units (GPUs) based on the Fermi architecture.

These latest versions that designed for the professional software development community, include: Quadro 6000/5000/4000, Quadro 5000M mobile GPU and Quadro Plex 7000 external ‘visualization system’.
NVIDIA claimed that they would open the door to [...]

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07/28/10: EXPreview - A 27-inch Widescreen Display with LED Backlight Technology
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Apple has today announced a 27-inch widescreen display — the LED Cinema Display, which featuring a cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio and an astonishing 2560-by-1440 resolution.

The LED Cinema Display looks great from any seat in the house, thanks to a premium display technology called in-plane switching (IPS), which allows you to get a bright picture with [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - The First Multi-Touch Trackpad for Mac Desktop Computer
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Apple has introduced a new Magic Trackpad using the same Multi-Touch technology, there is no doubt that it is good news for the users that get used to MacBook.

The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with Mac desktop computers. And it is capable of multiple gestures, giving users a whole [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Sparkle GeForce GTX 470/465 Providing Solderless Products and Free Contact Process
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, has announced the non-reference GeForce GTX 470/465 graphics cards providing solderless products with green process and free contact process cooling technology, providing splendid 3D Surround and cooling performance to mainstream gamers.

The Sparkle GeForce GTX 470/465 graphics cards bring in a 80mm PWM cooling [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Rambus Wins Patent Fight Against NVIDIA
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has lately announced that NVIDIA violated Rambus’ patent rights, over imports of computer-graphics chips.

In January NVIDIA was charged of infringing three Rambus patents, which relate to controllers that connect the memory and graphics chips. The complaint targets NVIDIA’s GeForce, Quadro, nForce, Tesla and Tegra lines.
The ITC said an order [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Khronos Group Intros OpenGL 4.1 Standard
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Khronos Group has just released the OpenGL 4.1 which is backwards compatible with the existing OpenGL code.

What’s new:
* Full compatibility with OpenGL ES 2.0 APIs for easier porting between mobile and desktop platforms
* The ability to query and load a binary for shader program objects to save re-compilation time
* The capability to bind programs individually [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Toshiba Two New Hard Drives Working at 7200RPM
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Toshiba has now announced two high-performance 2.5-inch hard drives, namely MKxx61GSY and MKxx61GSYB.

MKxx61GSY are available with a variety of hard drive sizes ranging from 160GB to 640GB, which work at 7200RPM and comes bundled with SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, 16MB of buffer memory and a 12ms access time; The hard drives idling the [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Thermaltake Massive23 LX Notebook Cooler Listed for $19.99
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Thermaltake has revealed the newest members to their Massive23 line of notebook coolers, the Massive23 LX.

The Massive23 LX measures 376×300x51.5 mm and weights 900g, the ultra-quiet and oversize 230mm Blue LED fan which operates at 600RPM (rotations per minute) that accelerates airflow to improve overall heat dissipation, and built-in blue LED On/Off switch so as [...]

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07/27/10: Bit-Tech - Asus Ares Review
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The Ares auditions for the title of quickest graphics card in the world.

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07/27/10: EXPreview - Taiwan-based Notebook Shipments will Rise by 11.3% in Q3
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According to Digitimes, the euro depreciation have reach a plateau, Taiwan notebook manufacturers expect that the shipments  in Q3 will be able to  rise by 11.3% consecutively, ups to 49.88 million units, however, it will decrease by 3.4% in Q4, reaches 48.18 million units.

Even though the shortage of labor and components in the notebook industry [...]

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07/27/10: EXPreview - The Foundation of R&D Center for MeeGo and Atom Takes Place in China
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

According to some manufacturers of PC components, Intel is not over with establishing an R&D center in China, which mainly aiming at the MeeGo operating system and Atom processor.

The sources indicate that the center will team up with 100 of the company’s embedded product partners to develop about 1,000 types of MeeGo&Atom combination-based applications in [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - A-DATA N909 Flash Drive Equipped eSATA For Super Speeds
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Automobiles, furnishings and also clothing reflect your character, so do your USB flash drives. For that reason, let A-DATA a new N909 flash drive match your style by its sleek aluminum, timeless design.

N909 measures 69.5×120.9×10.2mm, for its utilizing the combined USB + eSATA connector, so you can expect speeds of up to 90MB/s for maximum [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - ATI Catalyst Software Suite Version 10.7 Release
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Our website now provide information on the latest posting of AMD’s industry leading software suite, ATI Catalyst. This particular software suite updates both the AMD Display Driver, and the ATI Catalyst Control Center. This unified driver has been further enhanced to provide the highest level of power, performance and reliability. The ATI Catalyst software suite [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - MSI GT660R-004US Gaming Notebook with Raid 0 Starts Shipping
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

MSI has recently showcased its new gaming notebook featuring USB3.0 port-GT660R-004US, according to TCMagazine.

The 16-inch (1366×768pixels) GT660R-004US gaming notebook measures 14.97×10.24×1.77mm and weighs 7.7lbs, which is shipping with 1.73 GHz Intel® Core™ i7-740QM processor, NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX285M 1GB GPU, 6GB(2GB*3)DDR3 1066MHz system memory, 1TB(500GB*2) 7200RPM hard drive, dual SATA hard drive with Raid 0, [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - PQI Develops 64GB CompactFlash Cards
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PQI has recently introduce a range of 64GB CompactFlash memory cards for those in need of more storage space.

The new cards measure 42.8×36.4×3.3mm, feature Error Correcting Code (ECC), and deliver read speeds of up to 22.5MB/s (150x), 35MB/s (233x), 45MB/s (300x) and 90MB/s (600x).
Backed by a lifetime warranty, the memory cards aren’t priced yet.


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07/26/10: EXPreview - Global HDD Shipment Estimate Lowered for Q3
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

According to Taiwan manufacturers of PC components, the global shipments of build-in and external hard disk drives in the 3rd quarter of 2010 are expected to reach 175 million units, lower than the previously estimated volume of 185 million.

The sources indicate that the PC vendors have reduced their shipment goals by 5-10%. Inventories have piled [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - Active Media Debuts Type 1 and Type 2 IDE Flash DOM Drives
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

Active Media starts shipping Type 1(40-pin) and Type2(44-pin)IDE Flash DOM (Disk on Module) drives in late July, which are aiming at industrial applications.

Both IDE Flash DOM drives employ MLC NAND Flash memory chips and support ECC, you can expect speeds of up to 80MB/s for maximum read and 38MB/s for maximum write. And they are [...]

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07/26/10: EXPreview - AMD 480X Chipset Reappears in M3A UCC Motherboard
Posted by Jarrett | Comments: 0

ASRock is ready to introduce a new M3A UCC motherboard comes with the latest dual-core/triple-core/quad-core and hexa-core AM3 processors’ supports.

Though it is based on the ancient AMD 480X CrossFire chipset that introduced in 2007, ASRock has overcome the refresh( It’s likely to be 2009 version.) . M3A UCC features 4 DDRR-1800 memory slots, 1 PCI-Express [...]

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