ASUS EAX1800XT TOP Version

ASUS has unveiled EAX1800XT Top version touted to be the firstto breach 10,000 in 3DMark05. It features an higher clocked X1800 XT running at650MHz core and 1550MHz memory where the reference card runs at 625MHz / 1500MHzclock speed. The card sports a new cooling design with a black coolingdesign which is said to improve the heat dissipation from the pure copperheatsink.

Android 2.2 (aka Froyo) is now available for Nexus One

Google may have announced its intentions to stop selling their Nexus One online, but that does not mean that the Google-branded phone is not receiving any more love from the search giant. On the contrary, Google has just released a little surprise for Nexus One owners, and that is a firmware upgrade to the latest version of Android, which is currently at 2.2.

According to a blog post by the Android team, the Android 2.2 update, also known as Froyo, brings with it some new features such as the ability to turn the Nexus One into an impromptu hot spot and browser support for the Adobe Flash plugin, both of which have their respective draws: road warriors would relish the idea of having a portable hotspot for their laptops and other mobile phones to connect to the internet. On the other hand, the average Joe could make use of Flash support to play Flash games or watch some flash movies while on the move without having to deal with staring at a lego block with an annoying '?' icon found in competing, non-Flash supported platforms.

The firmware update will be rolled out to phones this week, and Google has stated in the blog that they expect most users to receive the upgrade notification by the end of this week.

Source: Google Nexus One Blog

Asus launches USB 3.0 speed booster, UASP support for ASMedia

So far weve only seen performance boosting software for USB 3.0 data transfer from ASRock, but now Asus has launched its own take, alongside a set of new drivers for ASMedias USB 3.0 host controllers which adds UASP support. We did a quick and dirty speed test with the new drivers to see if there was any improvement, although we didnt have a compatible Asus motherboard at hand to test the speed boosting software.

UASP or USB Attached SCSI Protocol not only brings with it a performance boost as long as youre using a storage device with UASP support, but it also offers support for command queuing and removes several software overheads. But most significantly for most consumers, UASP adds support for out-of-order completion of file copies. What does this mean in practical terms? Well, you can now copy files simultaneously by drag and drop and theyll finish based on the file size rather than on the order you copied them as in generally the case with the Bulk Only Transfer protocol. Sadly UASP wont be a standard until Windows 8 comes out and its quite tricky to know which devices are supported and which arent.

Renesas was the first to support UASP for its host controllers and has so far been the only USB 3.0 host controller manufacturer to support the standard. That said, ASMedia has support UASP on the device side for quite some time and its ASM1051E, ASM1051U and ASM1054 SATA to USB 3.0 bridges all support UASP. According to Asus, the LucidPort USB300 SATA to USB 3.0 bridge also offers UASP support and this is also what the manufacturers website is stating. Beyond SATA bridges several USB 3.0 flash drives also support UASP and Asus is providing a list of devices that the company has tested on its website (see link at the end of the article).

Even if you dont have an Asus motherboard, but an ASMedia host controller we suggest you head over to Asus and hit the download button, as included in its USB 3.0 Boost package are new ASMedia drivers as well as a new firmware and both are needed for UASP support and will work on all ASMedia USB 3.0 host controllers. We did a really quick Crystal DiskMark test using the same ASM1051E bridge and Patriot Wildfire SSD and although we used a different system for the test than the one we used during our exhaustive USB 3.0 host controller roundup, we saw improved read speeds of about 12MB/s although the read speed was only up by about 1MB/s. Thats still a decent improvement considering that all we did was flash the host controller firmware and install a new driver.

Asus is making some wild claims of a 170 percent performance increase in UASP mode which might be possible in some scenarios and considering that their test setup was slightly different and consisted of actual file copying, we cant say its wrong. Whats more surprising is that its Turbo software only offers a 127 percent improvement in the same scenario, although that was in BOT (Bulk Only Transfer) mode, as apparently Asus USB 3.0 Boost software isnt compatible with UASP. Still, if you have a device that doesnt support UASP, its still a decent way of getting some additional performance out of your USB 3.0 devices. For some reason theres also a "normal" mode in the USB 3.0 Boost software in case you have a device that doesnt like UASP or the boost mode.

So the takeaway here is that even if you dont have an Asus motherboard on the list, as long as you have an ASMedia USB 3.0 host controller its well worth upgrading the firmware and drivers. Asus is currently listing 17 motherboard models that it says are compatible with the USB 3.0 Boost software and the new UASP drivers. We tested with a standard ASM1042 based PCI Express cards and didnt run into any issues with the new UASP drivers and several devices that we tested it with. All were hoping for now is that all the other USB 3.0 host controller makers will follow suit and launch UASP drivers for their host controllers.

Update:We ran another quick test in HD Tune Pro 4.61 and got an average read speed of 261.6MB/s, thats nearly 37MB/s faster than without UASP. In terms of write performance we saw a huge increase in performance here too with an increase in the average sequential write speed of 33MB/s, although the maximum write speed peaked at 293.3MB/s a few times, with the average write speed hitting 242.6MB/s. Pretty impressive stuff, especially as its a free upgrade.

Source: Asus

ATi FireGL V7350 - a graphics card with 1GB of graphics memory!

ATi had just launched a version of FireGL that comes with a whopping 1GB ofgraphics memory. The ATi FireGL V7350 is ATi's latest shot at the workstation(Linux / Windows) market - a segment that's dominated by NVIDIA's line of Quadroline products. This new FireGL cards feature an R520 core, that's also used inX1800 family of gaming cards from ATi. The R520 core on this FireGL card isclocked at 600MHz, and Memory clocked at 650MHz. Offering 3 times the processingpower of a 3GHz Pentium 4 CPU, these new cards can pump about 84Gflops infloating point performance. Sadly, this FireGL card doesn't support CrossFireMultiGPU technology - a set back for ATi, since NVIDIA's flagship Quadro FX 4500offers SLi capability. The FireGL V7350 is being sold at an eye popping pricetag of USD$ 2000.

Arstechnica takes a look at the Macbook Pro

Arstechnica had a chance to do a thorough analysis of the MacBook Pro shipped with the Core Duo T2500 processor. Read more about the exciting features contained within this mobile wonder right here!

ASRock's X79 Extreme11 has a very fitting name

Weve seen a fair few motherboards during CeBIT, but none of them were as insane as ASRocks new X79 Extreme11, as the company appears to have gone out of its way to create the most feature packed motherboard you could imagine and then some.

Unlike Gigabyte that went with Intels C606 chipset for its X79S-UD5, ASRock has stuck it out with the X79 chipset for the X79 Extreme11, but the company has still managed to add SAS support thanks to the inclusion of an LSI SAS2308 controller. The upside of this move means that youre looking at real hardware RAID support, something the Intel C606 doesnt offer. On top of that the LSI controller support SAS/SATA 6Gbps and it has its own memory for caching, something you only see on higher-end RAID cards these days. The downside is of course the extra cost, as LSI RAID cards with eight SAS ports are anything but cheap.

Just above the LSI controller and the chipset youll see a pair of PLX PEX 8747 PCI Express 3.0 bridge chips which enables the board to offer full quad x16 PCI Express 3.0 support. The downside is that it makes for a really complex board design and there might be some potential issues with this kind of layout, least not by the fact that the PEX 8747 chips run quite hot. As such ASRock is working on a very large heatsink for the X79 Extreme 11 and this is also why the two x8 PCI Express slots are missing retention clips for add-in cards. The smaller chip between the PLX bridges appears to be some kind of power regulation IC.

At bottom left hand side corner youll find another PLX bridge chip, this time a PCI Express 2.0 chip which handles the peripheral chipsets, as the LSI SAS controller is most likely using up a good four lanes of PCI Express bandwidth from the chipset. This means that peripheral chipsets like USB 3.0 etc. will be going through the PLX bridge which could potentially lead to lower performance, but its something that wed have to test to be sure about.

Next to the PLX bridge is a Creative Sound Core3D which should be covered by a similar ”fake” heatsink as Creative uses on its latest sound cards. We also got some clarification from ASRock as to why its sound cards are limited to only certain motherboards and slots. If you had a look at the pictures of the Creative cards we posted some time back, youll have noticed that Creative uses a pair of chips on its cards, whereas ASRock – as well as Gigabyte on its G1 series of boards – uses a single chip. The reason for this is that the Sound Core3D uses the same audio interface as the Intel HD audio codecs which isnt PCI Express and as such Creative is fitting a bridge chip on its cards that allow the Sound Core3D to work as a PCI Express device.

To keep with the theme of an all-out board ASRock has also kitted out the X79 Extreme11 with eight DIMM slots, a 16+2 PWM design, a pair of 8-pin 12V power connectors as well as a pair of Molex connectors for extra power to the PCI Express slots. You also get a pair of four port USB 3.0 host controllers from TI for a total of four rear ports and four ports via pin headers. The board also sports two eSATA ports and a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports.

What were really wondering though is how much this board is going to cost and if theres anyone thatll be willing to pay for it. Theres no doubt that ASRock has created an interesting conversation piece, but somehow we feel that theyve gone too far with this board, as its likely going to cost more than any sane person is going to be willing to pay for an X79 motherboard. Weve got a lot more motherboards from CeBIT coming, so just bare with us for a little bit for some more previews of what to expect in the comming months.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer available in Singapore next week

Bernard Wen, business operation manager, ASUS, said that the company has hit their historical high in Singapore for the revenue and number of shipment for notebooks and netbooks in Q1 this year.

"It was quite sudden that tablet PC has become popular among end users. We are coming with this new product, with the aim to give more choices for consumers when they are out to buy a tablet PC with more functionalities. We dont try to develop a tablet PC with one model to sell throughout the year. We shorten the product life cycle but provide more range for the consumers to choose from."

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer that will be selling next week is a Wi-Fi only model, but according to Wen, the company will bring in the 3G model in the coming months. The 16GB model will retail at S$699, while the 32GB model (coming in third week of May) will sell at S$799. The 16GB Eee Pad Transformer with docking station will be selling at S$799 during this promotional period (U.P. S$898).

Serene Chiew, country manager of ASUS Singapore, gave a demonstration on the various features of the Eee Pad Transformer.

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer comes with an optionaldocking station which offers the keyboard for convenience of typing messages and touchpad for moving the onscreen cursor. The docking station also charges the tablet when it is docked.

On the right of the docking station holds the memory card reader and a USB port. The opposite side holds the power and USB connectors.

The Eee Pad Transformer feels extremely solid, unlike some of the tablets on the market which gave a plasticky feel. It is powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, features a 10.1-inch (1280x800) display, 5-megapixel rear and 1.2-megapixel front cameras, and runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

The power and volume control buttons are located at the top. The tabletalso comes with mini HDMI, audio jack and docking connector port.

AMD shows off embedded APU performance, pulls the presentation pronto

It would appear that were very close to AMDs Brazos 2.0 unveiling as the company had posted a performance preview of its upcoming R-series of embedded APUs on its website, although it has since then been taken down. The benchmark graph contained in the PDF is showing the upcoming R-464L APU as being more than twice as fast as Intels Core i7-2710QE in terms of graphics performance.

AMD is planning a range of embedded APUs, although the only two included in the graph is the R-464L and the R-272F. Sadly AMD didnt provide any specifications for the CPU or GPU part beyond the 35W TDP, but were most likely looking at an adaptation of a mobile chip here, especially as AMD is making comparisons with various 35W mobile CPUs from Intel, including the 45W Core i7-2710QE which is an embedded version of a mobile quad core CPU.

Admittedly, AMD is comparing its GPU performance to that of Intels older HD 3000 graphics which isnt an entirely fair comparison, but until Intel actually announces its embedded Ivy Bridge chips AMD is at least comparing apples to apples so to speak. As you can see from the graph above, AMD has a 45 percent and a 106 percent lead in terms of average performance across 3DMark 06 and 3DMark Vantage compared to the Core i7-2710QE.

In as much as GPU performance matters in some embedded applications, were fairly certain that any potential customers are also looking for good CPU performance and here AMD hasnt provided any details. As for the rest of the test setup AMD was using its own development motherboard codenamed Pumori which is based on the A75 chipset as well as 4GB DDR3 1600MHz memory and a 160GB hard drive, hardly mind blowing hardware. In saying that, only the R-464L supports DDR3 1600MHz memory, as the R-272F is apparently limited to DDR3 1333MHz. As for the rest of the specifications and more interestingly the consumer version of Brazos 2.0 were going to have to hold out a little longer.

Source: CPU World

ATi FireGL X2-256t Card

ATI is extending its line of workstation graphics acceleratorstoday with the introduction of the high-end FireGL™ X2-256t. Based on ATI’saward-winning scalable workstation graphics architecture, this turbo-chargedgraphics board delivers the industry’s fastest 3D performance for products under$ 1000 (1).

The FireGL X2-256t is capable of handling users’ most demanding projects whenrunning high-end 3D applications based on OpenGL and DirectX 9. Featuringincreased engine and memory speeds, plus a redesigned board with aperformance-enhancing copper fan, the FireGL X2-256t delivers up to 25% moreprocessing power than its predecessor. Four geometry engines and eight parallelrendering pipelines power the board which comes with 256MB of graphics memoryand dual DVI-I connectors. The FireGL X2-256t delivers fast 3D performance,superior quality imaging and ISV certification for professional applicationssuch as 3dsmax, SolidWorks, MicroStation, Maya, and Softimage XSI.

“With performance that rivals competitive products costing twice as much, theFireGL X2-256t features advanced pixel shader support and the ability to rendercomplex models, scenes and effects in real-time,” said Dinesh Sharma, Director,Workstation Products, ATI Technologies. “This turbo-charged accelerator enables3D professionals to speed up their production pipeline, delivering high-endperformance and ISV certification for sophisticated CAD (computer aided design),solid modeling, DCC (digital content creation) and visual simulationapplications.”

The FireGL X2-256t has an MSRP of US $ 899 and will be available later this monththrough workstation OEMs, system integrators and value added resellers. TheFireGL X2-256t joins the existing products in the FireGL family including theentry-level FireGL™ T2-128, the mid-range FireGL™ Z1-128, the FireGL™ X1-128 andthe MOBILITY™ FireGL™ T2 processor for mobile workstations.

Apple releases iOS 4.3.4

Apples iOS 4.3.4 is simply a minor security update which fixes a vulnerability associated with softwares PDF viewing. The vulnerability is reported to allow hackers to gain full control of Apples device hence users are encouraged to download the new iOS 4.3.4, unless of course, you are using applications such as Jailbreakme.

Sources: PCgameshardware, CNet, Securitynewsdaily

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound For Enthusiast

The Swiss cooling solution provider – ARCTIC COOLING has launched a new highperformance thermal compound MX-2 for the enthusiast. MX-2 is a high conductiveand low resistance compound for components that require the best thermaldissipation. MX-2 is ideally suited for use in CPU, GPU cooling and otherapplications between power semiconductor components and heat sinks where highthermal conductivity is critical.

Since the MX-2 compound does not contain any metal particles, there are noproblems regarding electrical conductivity and capacitance. In contrast tosilver and copper compounds, contact with electrical traces, pins, and leadscannot result in any damage. Curing and bleeding of the compound is notpossible. In contrast to metal or silicon pastes, this compound does not showdecreasing performance over time, does not need to be reapplied and has adurability of at least 8 years.

“We’re highly impressed for its outstanding performance,” said Patrick Chung,marketing manager of ARCTIC COOLING. “MX-2 outperforms in almost all tests. It’sdefinitely one of the best non-electric conductive thermal compounds availablefor all DIY enthusiasts.”

MX-2 will be available by the end of July 2007. The MSRP is USD 7.95 and Euro5.95 (excl VAT).

Apple's three more advertisements on why Mac is better than PC

Last month, Appleintroduced four "Get a Mac" advertisements to show why Mac is superior than a PC. And the maker has done it again with three new advertisements - "PC Choice Chat", "Elimination" and "Customer Care".

You can check out the videos from Apple website.

Here's the Apple "Elimination" advertisement for your viewing...

via Engadget

ATi Power Express Technology Info

ATi has some cool innovations on the mobile front that might pose some challenges to NVIDIA. We heard that ATi is going to implement Power Express Technology into their future Catalyst drivers or thru a separate software that enables hot switching between IGP and discrete graphics. This will allow the notebooks featuring ATi discrete graphics onboard to switch over to IGP instantly when battery mode is on or when not running 3D applications to conserve precious battery power. Right now, Intel Napa platform and NVIDIA C51 chipsets have the ability to shutdown PCI Express lanes to conserve power so ATi's Power Express Technology is really a step in front. By shutting down the discrete graphics on a notebook featuring mobility X700, it will reduce the power consumption by a third.