Windows 8 Features Slick Search from Start Screen

When we talk about "search", most people would assume we're talking about Google, Bing and the like. While cataloging and searching the endless stream of information from the internet is vital, sometimes we just want to find something on our own computers.

Thumbing through the dozens of programs installed in the Start menu is one way to do it, but these days it's all about search. Check out the video below to see how Microsoft is improving search on Windows 8. Those who are also a fan of keyboard shortcuts or just hate using the mouse will also find a lot of love about the new search functions.

Windows 8 Search

Power users can also search down to a very granular level using AQS, such as the examples noted below:

Query	AQS Syntax
Find all files authored by Brian or David	author: (Brian OR David)
Find all photos with an F-stop of 2.8 where no flash was fired	f-stop:2.8 flashmode:no flash
Find all files where the file name contains a word starting with Metro and the file size is greater than 1MB

'via Blog this'

Source: Tom's Hardware

OCZ Unveils ZT Power Supply Series

OCZ has announced a new line of modular power supplies, the ZT series. Users looking for a new power supply will be treated to high efficiency and cool operation in addition to the fully modular design. The ZT series will feature three different wattage options. A 550W model for $99.99, 650W for $109.99, and 750W for $119.99. The ZT series was designed with help from the PC Power & Cooling design team, and a temperature controlled 140mm fan will keep the 80-Plus Bronze nice and cool. With 85% efficiency and Energy-related Products Directive compliance, the ZT series will keep all your components running while also being good for the environment in standby mode.

Source: Overclockers Club

NVIDIA Announces 3D Vision 2 Glasses And 3D LightBoost Technology

We’re here on the USS Hornet attending NVIDIA’s GeForce LAN 6 event, where NVIDIA has just finished a kick-off keynote and product announcement between rounds of gaming. While NVIDIA has held LAN parties in the past, they don’t traditionally use them to announce new products. But the reality of the GPU product cycle is that with Kepler due in 2012 NVIDIA won’t be launching any major new consumer GPUs this fall, so instead the fall is being dedicated to their ecosystem products and GeForce LAN 6 is being used as the launch event for those products. So while today’s announcement isn’t a new GPU, it is still quite relevant to gaming.

As you may recall, it’s been nearly 3 years since NVIDIA first announced 3D Vision, their initiative to revitalize the shutter glasses 3D gaming market by adding support to their drivers for running a number of games in 3D, while at the same time taking care of the hardware on their own by producing the glasses and IR transmitter. Since then they have given the glasses a slight upgrade by extending the battery life, having a few monitor/laptop vendors integrate the IR transmitter into their wares, and introduced a separate set of wired glasses, but otherwise the platform has remained the same.

As for the competition NVIDIA is facing some pressure from AMD, whose HD3D initiative had been slow to start off but has finally gained some momentum with the release of monitors such as the Samsung SA750. At the same time NVIDIAs own sales have reached 500,000 glasses, meaning the product line has been deemed successful enough to continue its development. As a result 3D Vision is due for a refresh.
The result of that product refresh is pair of technologies: 3D Vision 2 glasses, and 3D LightBoost. The 3D Vision 2 glasses are the long awaited replacement for NVIDIA’s earlier 3D Vision wireless glasses, and feature a new fit and larger lenses. From NVIDIA’s perspective they wanted to have glasses with larger lenses for use with today’s 27” 120Hz monitors (3D Vision 1 launched with 22” monitors), whereas from our perspective we’ve never been a big fan of the wrap-around fit of the original glasses.

The result is that NVIDIA went with lenses that are 20% larger than with the older glasses, which in turn required making the glasses larger overall. This ends up killing 2 birds with one stone, as not only does NVIDIA get their larger lenses, but the larger frame allows them to promote the glasses as allowing less light to leak in from the side. At the same time the larger frame means that they’ve gone back and reworked the materials and the fit of the frame; the frame is now made out of a softer plastic, which should be more malleable to heads and headphones alike. With that said we haven’t had a chance to try out a set of 3D Vision 2 glasses yet, so we’ll be including our impressions shortly once NVIDIA brings them out for exhibition.

The second 3D Vision announcement of the evening is the announcement of 3D LightBoost, a new NVIDIA technology that is designed to partially mitigate the biggest pitfall of active shutter glasses: the poor visibility that results from the shutters blocking so much light. All 3D systems suffer to this to some extent – at the end of the day you’re blocking an image from reaching any given eye – but as anyone who has used both polarized and shutter systems can tell you, shutter systems have it worse. Thus the idea behind 3D LightBoost is that NVIDIA has a new way to operate their glasses that blocks less light, both from the monitor and from the immediate environment.

Unfortunately NVIDIA is holding their cards close to their chest here when it comes to discussing how the technology operates. What we have managed to get confirmed is that 3D LightBoost is a monitor technology (not a glasses technology), and that NVIDIA is playing with the monitor backlight to achieve this. Specifically they’re shutting off the backlight entirely between frames, and then activating the backlight at over 100% brightness when they want to show a frame. In effect the backlight itself is acting as a shutter.
The significance of this change is that by modulating the backlight the shutters on the glasses themselves no longer need to be closed for as long a period of time. Currently NVIDIA needs to close the shutters relatively early to prevent stereo crosstalk – left and right images being seen in the wrong eyes – from being noticed and breaking the 3D illusion. The need to close the shutters so early is a particular quirk of LCD monitors, as the shutters need to be closed while the LCD crystals are moving to their new alignment and only opened once the crystals are near or at their new alignment, since crosstalk will occur long before the image settles. Or to put another way, by modulating the backlight LCD motion blur can be hidden, which is a second way to reduce stereo crosstalk.

The result of this is that the shutters on the glasses can be kept open longer, which improves the amount of environmental light that gets through the glasses. For the monitor itself, the increase in image brightness is achieved by overdriving the monitor’s backlight, producing an image brighter than the current crop of 3D monitors at full brightness. The amount of overdrive is going to depend on the attributes of the monitor being used, and more immediately NVIDIA still hasn’t fully explained the technical reason for why they can overdrive a backlight but only for short periods of time. In any case the combination of the two effects results in both the image on the monitor and the immediate environment being perceived as being brighter. Presumably this method could also be used to reduce overall stereo crosstalk (which still exists to some extent), but NVIDIA is not promoting it as such.

As you can imagine, 3D LightBoost will require new monitors capable of handling the backlight modulation. NVIDIA’s launch monitor will be the ASUS VG278H, a 27” LED backlit TN monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080. The VG278H will launch this month at $699, and will also include an integrated 3D Vision IR transmitter and a set of 3D Vision 2 glasses (although strictly speaking the integrated IR transmitter isn’t required for 3D LightBoost or 3D Vision 2). The Acer HN274HB and BenQ XL2420T are also 3D LightBoost qualified, and in the laptop market NVIDIA will be launching 3D LightBoost with Toshiba’s Qosmio X770/X775 and Satellite P770/775 laptops, which feature a 17.3” screen and come with a pair of 3D Vision 1 glasses.

Wrapping things up, NVIDIA is telling us that 3D Vision 2 glasses will be available this month at the same price as their existing 3D Vision 1 kits. This means the 3D Vision 2 glasses alone will retail for $99, while the glasses plus an IR hub will retail for $149. All of these new products – the glasses and 3D LightBoost monitors alike – are backwards compatible with existing 3D Vision 1 gear, so 3D Vision 2 glasses will work with existing monitors, and we expect 3D Vision 1 glasses to work with the forthcoming 3D LightBoost monitors.

Meanwhile as this is a gaming event, 3D Vision Pro – NVIDIA’s RF 3D Vision system – hasn’t been mentioned, but given the similarities between the two products we’d expect it’s just a matter of time. So 3D Vision Pro owners have something to look forward to for 2012.
We’ll have more on 3D Vision 2 and 3D LightBoost later tonight once we’ve had a chance to play with the exhibition units, so stay tuned.

Update: We've just returned from the exhibit hall where NVIDIA is showing off the 3DVision 2 glasses and the Asus monitor (in fact the entire LAN tournament area is equipped with them). While we can't take any objective measurements in these conditions, subjectively the 3D LightBoost effect does appear to be doing its job. The environmental lighting getting through the glasses is immediately noticeably brighter; there's still some light being blocked of course, but I'd say it's comparable to passively polarized glasses now. As for the monitor brightness that's also subjectively better, but it's not immediately apparent without a regular monitor to compare it against. At first glance I'd again call it comparable to polarized monitors, but it's something that needs a controlled test.

Interestingly you'd never know that the Asus monitors were using 3D LightBoost just by looking at them. There's no flicker with the monitors, with or without the glasses. Again a controlled test will reveal more, but at first glance we're rather surprised by just how imperceptible the modulation of the monitor's backlight is.

Source: AnandTech

AM3+ Processor Support BIOS Updates Available for Several MSI Motherboards

Leading international mainboard and graphics card maker MSI released the mainboard BIOS with full AMD AM3+ 8-core CPU support for download today. Enthusiasts that own one of the listed mainboards1 can now download the update to support the latest AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs (B2 Stepping). For those planning to purchase a new mainboard, if the box is labeled with “Supports AM3+ CPU with New BIOS,” the mainboard will support the powerful AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs out of the box. Enthusiasts that have purchased a mainboard that is on the list of compatible mainboards can update the BIOS themselves to support the latest AM3+ 8-core CPUs. Also, new in this BIOS update is official support for MSI’s proprietary ClickBIOS II system optimization tool for all AMD 900 mainboards. The graphical UEFI BIOS provides mainboard-level support, and exporting OC Profiles to USB drives offers unparalleled convenience.

Support for Latest AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs Out of the Box with Designated Mainboards
Starting today, enthusiasts can purchase MSI mainboards with a “Supports AM3+ CPU with New BIOS” label on the box. The labeling indicates that the mainboard has been updated with the latest BIOS and already supports the AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs (B2 Stepping), so users can enjoy the extreme performance of the next-generation processors straight out of the box. Buyers of MSI mainboards on the list of compatible models will not need to buy a new mainboard. Once they update to the new BIOS, their mainboard will be ready for AMD AM3+ 8-core CPUs.

ClickBIOS II on all MSI AMD 900 Mainboards
All MSI AMD 900 mainboards now also come with MSI’s proprietary ClickBIOS II UEFI. System settings can be adjusted using the mouse, and the ClickBIOS II utility also supports online driver updates, BIOS updates and full-system backups. Also, for the first time ever, OC profiles can also be exported to USB drives under UEFI, a very convenient feature for overclocking enthusiasts

Source: Hardware Canucks

Intel Sues Over "Intel" Trademark Infringement

 Intel has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Salt lake City-based Intelspec, LLC.

In its filing, Intel claims that Intelspec uses a "name and mark that wholly incorporates and emphasizes the world-famous Intel trademark." According to Intel, the result is confusion and assumptions that Intel may be the source or sponsor of the goods and services provided by Intelspec - or "that there is an association" between the two companies. Intel also claims that Intelspec dilutes the Intel trademark.
The chip maker is asking for a judgment that would, at Intel's discretion, cancel or transfer all rights to the intelspec.com domain name to Intel. Intel also wants a judgment that forces Intelspec to "cancel or modify" its corporate name, as well as a reward for damages and profits Intelspec has taken because it was using "Intel" in its name.
The suit is somewhat strange as Intelspec is not even remotely active in a segment that would affect Intel's core business. Intelspec is a construction and engineering firm that is, for example, taking contracts for waste management facilities, mining, oilfield infrastructure, as well as military and government construction. Only lawyers may be able to understand how Intelspec could have capitalized in its business by using "Intel" as part of its name.
This one just doesn't look right and it may be common sense to see that it would take quite a bit to confuse a construction firm with a chipmaker, as long as we aren't considering fab construction. In that case, Intel could argue that there may be confusion, but it would be tough to prove that Intel's interests have been damaged as a result of that circumstance. Intelspec does not have a trademark on its name.
However, the trademark suit follows a series of previous trademark complaints. In June of this year, Intel filed a complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center that asked for the cancellation or transfer of 15 different domain names that included the "Pentium" trademark.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Another Massive AMD FX-8150 Overclocking Attempt Proves Successful

An overclocking expert who goes by the handle “HiCookie” has successfully overclocked his AMD FX-8150 to 8032.2MHz (8.03GHz) using a Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7 motherboard and 2GB of Adata DDR3 which was running at 973.4MHz.
The results were validated and posted on the website CanardPC.
As one might expect, “HiCookie” wasn’t using a stock cooler. In order to keep his rig cool enough, a system pumping in liquid nitrogen was required. The core temperature was -192 degrees Celsius, a mere 81 degrees away from absolute zero.
Mr. Cookie’s overclocking attempt did not break the world record of 8.4 GHz, which AMD set in September.  However, it should be noted that at this AMD attempt the chip was cooled to -221.4 degrees and only was running some 400Mhz faster.

Source: Hardware Canucks

FeTRAM: A New Idea to Replace Flash Memory

Researchers at Purdue University are developing a new type of memory that is promised to be faster and less energy intensive than Flash.

Zoom

I cannot quite remember how long we have been discussing a replacement for flash memory, which was first shown by Intel in 1988 in the shape of a shoebox-sized 256 Kb NOR flash board and was followed by a NAND version produced by Toshiba one year later. Back in 2004, I wrote an article for Tom's Hardware that discussed possible successors for flash. The common belief in the industry was that flash economics would be running out of steam sometime in 2007 or 2008.

Seven years later, flash is still going strong, but we are still talking about successors, we just don't know what it will be and when they will be mature enough to compete with the now 22-year old NAND technology. Purdue now suggests that it could be a "ferroelectric" polymer that enables the development of a "new type of ferroelectric transistor"

Called FeTRAM, the memory is said to be in a "very nascent stage" and there is not even a prototype. However, the theory and a test circuit exist and the scientists behind the project claim that the technology will enable memory devices that are faster than flash and consume less power.

"Our present device consumes more power because it is still not properly scaled," said Saptarshi Das, one of the scientists working on the technology.. "For future generations of FeTRAM technologies one of the main objectives will be to reduce the power dissipation. They might also be much faster than another form of computer memory called SRAM."

There was no information when the technology will be shown in a prototype, but Das noted that a patent application has already been filed. According to the researchers, FeTRAMs "are similar to state-of-the-art ferroelectric random access memories, FeRAMs, which are in commercial use but represent a relatively small part of the overall semiconductor market." However, other than FeRAMs, FeTRAMs allow for "nondestructive readout, meaning information can be read without losing it."

Source: Toms Hardware

Sandy Bridge Owners Can Rent CinemaNow HD Movies

Intel is once again trying to leverage Hollywood fame to promote its processors. 


The company said that owners of PCs with Sandy Bridge processors can now buy or rent movies from CinemaNow in 1080p resolution via its "Intel Insider" program. Previously, CinemaNow only offered standard definition movies, Intel said. Intel also offers movies from the Warner Bros., however, that content is not limited to Intel-based PCs only.
Intel has some history using movie content as a promotional tool for its chips. Some readers may remember Viiv, a brand and software that Intel used back in 2006 to market certain Intel PCs as home entertainment systems. Back then, Intel invested into a Clickstar, a venture co-founded with Academy award-winning actor Morgan Freeman. Clickstar was supposed to produce movies that were solely distributed over the Internet and made available on Intel Viiv PCs. Clickstar became the first company to actually offer a movie for download, 10 Items or less, in 2006, but was eventually shut down in 2008.
Intel has become much more careful since then and the investment into the exclusive partnership with CinemaNow (trademark owned by BestBuy) is probably not quite as expensive as ClickStar.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Sharkoon Announces Vaya Value Edition with USB 3.0 and Side Window

In July, Sharkoon presented a competitive priced ATX case with the introduction of the 25 euro Sharkoon Vaya model. Now a Value Edition with a USB3.0 interface and side window is provided.
The Value Edition replaces one of the two USB2.0 ports on the standard design with a SuperSpeed USB3.0 interface. In lieu of the side air intake with pre-drilled air holes, the Value Edition offers a large acrylic side window, allowing insight into the PC while the internal illumination is benefiting operation. Sharkoon offers the Value Edition in two color versions: a black case with red LED front fan, and a white case with blue LED front fan.
The other specifications match the Standard design: The ATX case, with black exterior and interior finish, offers room for four 5.25″ hard drives, four internal 3.5″ hard drives, an external 3.5″ hard drive and seven extension cards. The cooling capacity of the pre-installed, red illuminating 120 mm fan on the front panel can be further supported by installing an 80, 92 or 120 mm fan to the backside. Optical drives and hard drives are secured with the practical quick-locking clamps; the main board tray is equipped with a cooler mount opening and cable feedthrough. The power supply mount is attached to the bottom of the case. USB2.0 and USB3.0 ports are located together and easily accessible with the audio terminals, Power and Reset buttons on the case front. In the backside you will find two rubber-protected feedthroughs for water cooling tubes.
The Sharkoon Vaya Value measures 465 x 185 x 440 mm (L x W x H) and empty weight is 5 Kg. The case allows the installation of graphic cards up to 27 cm and power supplies up to 28.5 cm in length, and CPU coolers up to 15.5 cm in height. Shipping includes a comprehensive accessory kit and a detailed instruction manual is available on the Sharkoon website for download.

 

 

Source: Hardware Canucks 

VIDEO: Xbox 720 Makes Appearance in Real Steel Movie

Fans have spotted the Xbox 720 in the latest Real Steel trailer.



Did Microsoft just secretly reveal the name of the next Xbox console, or is it just a joke on behalf of the producers of Real Steel who figured the Xbox 720 would be a popular console nine years from now?

According to Gamespot, sharp-eyed fans have spotted an Xbox 720 banner displayed on the right side of the robot boxing arena in the latest Real Steel trailer. Save for the numbers, it's identical to the current Xbox 360 logo, and falls in line with Coca-Cola, Capitol One, Mercedes-Benz and other popular brands sponsoring the event.
Gamespot reached out to Microsoft and asked about the Xbox 720's appearance, but the Redmond company firmly replied that it "does not comment on rumors or speculation." In this particular case, the appearance of the logo in a motion picture really doesn't fall in either category, so Microsoft still has some explaining to do.
After all, DreamWorks Pictures can't use the Xbox logo without Microsoft's permission.
Real Steel is the latest science fiction action film starring Hugh Jackman and is based on a 1956 short story called "Steel" by Richard Matheson (I am Legend, A Stir of Echoes, Hell House, original Twilight Zone episodes). The setting is 2020, and robots have replaced humans as boxers. The story centers on former boxer Charlie Kenton who teams up with his son to build a robot and win the boxing championship.

Real Steel

Source: Tom's Guide

Farewell, Steve Jobs

Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder and former chief executive of the technology company Apple Inc., died on Oct. 5, 2011. He was 56.

Steve Jobs

Apple said in a press release that it was “deeply saddened” to announce that Mr. Jobs had passed away. “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives,” the company said. “The world is immeasurably better because of Steve."

In August, the company announced that Mr. Jobs, who had battled cancer for several years, was stepping down as chief executive but would serve as chairman. Apple named Timothy D. Cook, its chief operating officer, to succeed Mr. Jobs as chief executive. Mr. Jobs became chairman, a position that did not exist previously.

In January, Mr. Jobs took a medical leave of absence from Apple, his third. Mr. Jobs had seemed to recover from pancreatic cancer after surgery in 2004, and received a liver transplant in 2009.

Mr. Jobs made a surprise appearance in March to introduce the company's new version of the iPad. After he was greeted by a standing ovation, Mr. Jobs alluded to his leave but did not say whether he was planning to return to the company. “We’ve been working on this product for a while and I didn’t want to miss today,” he said.

In June, in his last public appearance before stepping down, Mr. Jobs presented the company's new online storace and syncing service, iCloud.

Perhaps more than any other chief executive, Mr. Jobs was seen as inseparable from his company’s success. The company has outflanked most of its rivals in the technology industry with the iPhone and the iPad, which have been blockbuster hits with consumers.

At Apple, a creativity factory, there was a strong link between the ultimate design-team leader, Mr. Jobs, and the products. From computers to smartphones, Apple products are known for being stylish, powerful and pleasing to use. They are edited products that cut through complexity, by consciously leaving things out — not cramming every feature that came into an engineer's head, an affliction known as "featuritis" that burdens so many technology products.

That restraint was evident in Mr. Jobs's personal taste. His black turtleneck, beltless blue jeans and running shoes gave him a signature look. In his Palo Alto home years ago, he said that he preferred uncluttered, spare interiors and explained the elegant craftsmanship of the simple wooden chairs in his living room, made by George Nakashima, the 20th-century furniture designer and father of the American craft movement.

Great products, said Mr. Jobs, are triumphs of "taste." And taste, he said, is a byproduct of study, observation and being steeped in the culture of the past and present, of "trying to expose yourself to the best things humans have done and then bring those things into what you are doing."

His product-design philosophy was not steered by committee or determined by market research. The Jobs formula, according to colleagues, relied heavily on tenacity, patience, belief and instinct. He became deeply involved in hardware and software design choices, which awaited his personal nod or veto.

Mr. Jobs, of course, was one member of a large team at Apple, even if he was the leader. Indeed, he often described his role as a team leader. In choosing key members of his team, he looked for the multiplier factor of excellence. Truly outstanding designers, engineers and managers, he said, are not just 10 percent, 20 percent or 30 percent better than merely very good ones, but 10 times better. Their contributions, he added, are the raw material of "aha" products, which make users rethink their notions of, say, a music player or cellphone.

Mr. Jobs undeniably proved himself a gifted marketer and showman, but also a skilled listener to the technology. He called this "tracking vectors in technology over time," to judge when an intriguing innovation is ready for the marketplace. Technical progress, affordable pricing and consumer demand all must jell to produce a blockbuster product.

The Early Years

Mr. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, and built an early reputation for the company with the Apple II computer. After the Macintosh was introduced in 1984, the company's business stalled, and Mr. Jobs's relationship with John Sculley, then Apple's chief executive, soured. Their conflict ended with Mr. Jobs's departure from Apple in 1985. The following year, with a small group of Apple employees, he founded NeXt Computer, which ultimately focused on the corporate computing market, without notable success. In 1986, he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Inc. and re-established it as the independent animation studio Pixar.

A decade later he sold the NeXt operating system to Apple and returned to the company. In short order he was again at the helm and set out to modernize the company's computers.

After he returned to Apple in late 1996, Mr. Jobs became the product team leader, taste arbiter and public face of a company that has been a stylish breath of fresh air in the personal computer business. With the introduction of the iPod, iTunes, iPhone and the iPad, Apple has shaken up the music and cellphone industries. Mr. Jobs was long known for his intense focus on product design and marketing, but after Apple introduced the iPod digital music player in 2001, he also came to exemplify what is hip across many American and international cultures, in areas from business to music.


Source: New York Times

Microsoft Offers Android Client For Hotmail

Sometimes, pigs do fly. Or business opportunities just turn the corner and make sense.

Software developer Seven said that it was contracted by Microsoft to develop an Android client for its Windows Live Hotmail service.
The companies said that the app is the first Microsoft-authorized Android Hotmail client and includes push-enabled access to the user inbox, contact list and calendars. Both Seven and Microsoft are offering the app as a free download via Android Market. According to Microsoft, Hotmail currently has about 360 million active users and is the "largest webmail provider in the world."
In a press release, the company noted that it "has reengineered Hotmail and the availability of its Android app reflects a commitment to provide a great Hotmail experience to users on whichever smartphones they use." While the preferred platform may be Windows Phone, it is no secret that Android currently holds the majority of the market share in the smartphone world, if we believe popular market research.
Despite the development of its own platform, Microsoft is becoming a big player in the Android smartphone space. Most recently, Samsung agreed to pay license fees to Microsoft for every Android phone that is shipped. Goldman Sachs estimates that Microsoft will rake in more than $444 million in license fees this year alone. Obviously, Microsoft has an interest that Android is doing well.

Source: Tom's Guide

Dell XPS 14z Launches in China, US Launch Coming Soon

The Dell XPS 14z, the 14-inch counterpart to the XPS 15z that we praised in our review last month, is rolling out in China this week with a US launch soon to follow.
We (and others) noted the XPS 15z's resemblance to the MacBook Pro, and the 14z continues in the same vein: the laptop is less than an inch thick and weighs 4.4 pounds, but still includes dual-core Sandy Bridge processors, an optional Optimus-capable NVIDIA GT 520M GPU, USB 3.0 ports, and an optical drive. The screen resolution is reported to be an unexciting 1366x768, though it isn't mentioned whether the 14z will share the 15z's 1080p upgrade option.
For my part, I find 14" laptops to be a good deal: you can usually get the same amount of power as a bulkier 15" laptop in a package that's not as cramped as smaller laptops can sometimes be. I'm always excited to see PC makers put some thought into their products' designs - hopefully the 14z impresses when it comes to other territories in the coming weeks.

Source: AnandTech

Sandy Bridge-E VT-d Broken In C1 Stepping, Fixed In C2 Stepping, Shortly After Launch

PC enthusiast customers and companies running corporate datacentres looking to buy into the new Sandy Bridge-E platform may want to wait a little while before handing over their hard-earned money to Intel. The initial batch of C1 revision Sandy Bridge-E processors have a bug – “errata” in Intel terminology – in them with VT-d, which means that hardware accelerated virtualization doesn’t work properly with them (software only mode is unaffected). The feature when working properly, allows all hardware acceleration to work on the hosted operating system (virtual machine). This would allow things such as hard drive controllers to work, plus applications such as high-powered 3D games, typically First Person Shooters, to run at nearly full speed and the full Windows Aero desktop to be displayed on the hosted OS, as the hardware features of the graphics card can be used. Therefore, working VT-d is a critical feature for these kinds of applications.

Production of the C1 stepping should have already started, or is about to start. However, the C2 stepping isn’t expected until next year, as the qualification process isn’t expected to be complete until the end of this year.

Intel will only certify the Waimea Bay platform for PCI Express 2.0 at launch, since there aren’t enough third party cards to test with. Some PCI Express 3.0 devices are still likely to work, but Intel doesn’t guarantee compatibility. This doesn’t bode well for the current 6-series motherboard with gen 3 switches actually working properly once cards and especially, Ivy Bridge processors arrive. Waiting for full qualification before purchasing is therefore advised, or an expensive motherboard replacement may be required in the not too distant future.

There is some good news however. For those wanting to continue using Windows XP, the Waimea Bay platform will be compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating system. However, Intel won’t be providing Rapid Storage drivers for 32-bit XP, which means that the basic Windows drivers will be handling drive access, which may not be optimal. Unsurprisingly, the upcoming Waimea Bay platform will also be supporting the upcoming Windows 8, when released.

It’s not so good on the chipset front, either. Intel has increased the price of the X79 chipset by 20% compared to the X58 chipset, putting the X79 chipset somewhere in the region of $70. This is the list price, so the discounted or “street” price should be a lot lower. However, we are looking at a chipset that offers no new features over X58 and it’s the same size as the 6-series chipsets – it should be cheaper to manufacture than the X58 chipset which only consists of the I/O Hub and the ICH10R. We wish AMD well with their new processors and chipsets, as competition can only be a good thing here and is clearly needed.

It's one thing for "errata" to be discovered some time after a product has been released and then to manufacture a revised processor, but it doesn’t seem right for Intel to release processors with a known major feature fault like this, especially as most buyers are unlikely to know about it and Intel is even less likely to shout about it. Therefore, buyers would be wise to wait for the bug-fixed C2 version before upgrading, unless they are absolutely sure they won’t need this virtualization feature. After all, are Intel going to offer a free replacement to the fixed version for customers of the initial C1 versions? Only this gesture can make releasing such an obviously flawed product right. Intel have offered such a free replacement recently with the faulty SATA controller, so there's hope yet they'll do the right thing. And just as importantly, it's worth keeping a close watch on what significant errata C2 might harbour, before upgrading.

Source: Tech PowerUp

F@H Core 16: Taking AMD GPU Folding to the Next Level?

Some of you may remember when Folding@Home was still in its infancy, the first GPU client was introduced. Believe it or not that first (and even second) GPU client only supported ATI graphics cards with compatibility for NVIDIA’s CUDA being added much later.

Unfortunately, due to the Brooke programming language used in previous generations of AMD GPUs, they consistently took a back seat to NVIDIA’s CUDA supporting clients. GeForce graphics cards soon became the de facto kings of the Folding world but with the introduction of AMD graphics cores which support OpenCL, things may be about to change.

A few weeks ago, Stanford introduced the new Core 16 Project 11293 work units which are specifically tailored towards OpenCL-supporting AMD graphics cards and are available through the GPU3 V7 Client open beta program. In theory, this new project should represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the future of AMD’s OpenCL GPU Folding@Home performance but being supported by a beta client means there are a few small hoops to jump through. As such, the any GPUs prior to the HD 5000 series can't process these new WUs and there is a limitation whereby the AMD video decoder can’t be used alongside this new client.

In this short article, we take this new client and its associated Core 16 project out for a spin while showing some comparative results between past and present WUs. By no means is this meant as an end-all for AMD Folding since the Stanford team is just getting started with OpenCL support but it should give you a good idea about where things are going.

The beta V7 GPU3 client isn’t something many of you will be accustomed to since it discards the usual interface for a design that’s a bit more icon-filled. On the positive side it brings all of the console commands to a user interface that’s user friendly but for many F@H users, certain commands can’t be utilized like they used to. Most importantly, this applies to the important –advmethods flag that must be used to receive AMD’s new P11293 WUs.

In order to actually start receiving these new Work Units, before the first project is downloaded (we recommend disabling network access until this is done) ensure Expert is selected for the client, click the Configure button and navigate to the Slots tab. Here you will need to select the appropriate GPU (in our case gpu-0) and use the Edit button to open an advanced configuration dialog box. In the last section, you will Add an new slot with a name of “client-type” and a value of “advanced” as in the picture above. This is used in place of the –advmethods flag and will ensure that you can begin downloading the new AMD WUs. However, since the new Core 16 projects seem to be in short supply, you may not receive one right away.

One of the most important things to remember here is that since their 11.2 release, AMD has been including their APP SDK within their standard driver installation package. This means once installation is complete, any HD 5000-series and prior GPU should be ready to begin folding. Just make sure you download and install the necessary APP components from within the chosen Catalyst package.

So now that we’ve done that, let’s jump straight to performance numbers. We used a very basic system with a stock i5 750 and 4GB of memory for these results and took the average of four completed WUs for each average result.

Before we go on it should be noted that our older Core 11 results were really all over the place so averages were a bit hard to glean from the numbers received. With that being said, with or without absolutely spot-on PPD numbers for the older WUs the results speak for themselves: the beta OpenCL project has done absolute wonders for AMD’s PPD across the HD 5000 and HD 6000 series of graphics cards. In every case we are seeing a near doubling of overall folding performance which is impressive to say the least.

While things look quite rosy all around, performance seems to scale in a linear fashion based on the number of Stream Processors on a given card and the graphics engine’s clock speeds. For example the HD 6870 has 1120 cores and a clock speed of 900Mhz so it can hang with a 1440 SP, 725Mhz HD 5850. Meanwhile, the 1600 core HD 5870 edges out the 1536 SP HD 6970. There also wasn’t much of a difference between identical cards sporting different memory configurations. As the new Core 16 projects mature, we’ll surely see things change a bit but for the time being it seems like the older AMD cards are more than holding their own.

There are some additional points which we should mention that may have a bearing on how some people will look at this new offering from the Stanford team. Much like other AMD clients and projects, this one seems to eat up excess CPU cycles and eats up a good amount of memory as well. The toll on system resources amounts to about 25% CPU usage on a quad core processor and a memory footprint of about 400MB. Hopefully this will be addressed with future releases but most modern systems should be able to take this kind of hit in stride and still be able to offer a lag-free multimedia experience.

When it comes to power consumption, if you absolutely have to fold with an AMD card the older HD 5870 with its 1600 cores currently looks like a good bet from a PPD / watt perspective. However, due to their sky-high PPD numbers when compared to the AMD cards, there are still several lower end NVIDIA products that will be much more appealing as dedicated folders.

Parting Thoughts

So there you have it; the new AMD Core 16 project seems to do wonders for AMD’s Folding@Home performance. Currently there is only a single project making the rounds but there are surely more in the pipeline and what we’ve seen so far is only the first step down a very long road.

The overall PPD increase we saw was certainly impressive but when put into context against NVIDIA’s current crop of GPUs (the relatively inexpensive GTX 560 Ti sports PPD values of 14,000 to 16,000) there’s obviously a long way to go before parity is achieved. Nonetheless, with a single project the Stanford team has breathed new life into AMD folding rigs. Let’s hope that more OpenCL-based projects continue to tap the once-hidden power of AMD’s GPUs because our first taste of the potential lying behind the scenes promises big things in the future.


Source: Hardware Canucks

Intel: We're Not Ditching The Atom Brand

Recent reports indicate that Intel plans to re-brand its Cedar Trail processors slated for 2012 because demand for Atom-based netbooks, nettops, handheld devices, consumer electronics products and embedded devices have dropped significantly. The reason behind the decline, according to industry sources, is due to the "poor brand image" of Atom CPUs.

According to Intel's roadmap, Cedar Trail CPUs will be launched in November 2011, and will include the Atom N2800 and N2700 for netbooks, and the Atom D2700 and D2500 for nettops. Industry sources claim that the re-branding will cover Intel's N/D/Z/E lineups.
But Friday a spokesperson from Intel squashed the reports. "There are no plans to change the Atom brand. We are on track to launch new Atom processors during the fourth quarter, with more new Atom processors during the first half of 2012."
In addition to the Cedar Trail CPUs, Intel also plans to launch its Medfield CPUs for Android tablets and smartphones in the first half of 2012.

Source: Tom's Hardware