Computer and Technoloy News

DDR3 to DDR4 Transition Chalked-out, DDR4 in 2012

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:11:21 +0000

The transition between PC memory standards has always relied on changes in PC platforms for effectiveness. For example, the LGA 775 saw transition between two standards, the i915 MCH supported DDR and DDR2 memory, i925 onwards it became mandatory for people to use DDR2 memory as the platform required it. In came DDR3 and it became optional for users to choose it over DDR2. Even now, there is only a gradual transit between DDR2 and DDR3. With Nehalem however, it will become mandatory to use DDR3 memory, both with the LGA 1366 and LGA 1160 socket motherboards in either two or three channel configurations.

Qimonda has already chalked out plans for a smooth transition to DDR4 PC memory. According to Qimonda’s development plan, DDR4 would be out by 2012. The memory standard will operate at (DDR) frequencies as high as 2,133 MHz at an approximate voltage of 1.2 V and by 2013, we could be seeing 2,667 MHz memory at 1.0 V, a phase during which there’s a transition between the current DDR3 and future DDR4 PC memory standards.

Source: Hardspell

HP Gives Option of 24 Hours Battery Life with EliteBook 6939p

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:07:53 +0000

With laptops, if mobility is what you seek for, and the convenience of working on the battery for longer, you would usually buy several spare batteries and keep one or two of them charged inside the laptop messenger bag. Imagine not having to hit the mains for 24 hours on a laptop, that’s right, 24 hours. HP is making this possible with the Centrino 2 based EliteBook 6930p put on show at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) event. This laptop comes in two primary configurations, based on the Intel integrated graphics, or ones using discrete ATI graphics which understandably, come with lower battery life.

HP made this possible by providing you 6 hours of rated battery life on the stock battery, and expanded its life with the optional HP Ultra-Capacity battery takes its life up to 24 hours, a boon for people on long-flights, scientists on field work or even outdoor photographers, or even not having to charge up for days before it goes low and requires a charge. The machine put up at IDF for a MobileMark evaluation used Intel’s upcoming Sold-State drives that draw a mere 0.15 W at load.
Source: Hexus.net

First AMD Fusion Specifications, Hint Toward RV710 Specs.

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:16:35 +0000

AMD Fusion could well be the first CPU to feature a graphics processor core. It will incorporate a graphics processor with specifications identical to the RV710. This CPU would be based on the 45 nm silicon fabrication process, and this processor will be manufactured at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). This GPU will be called “Kong”. Here are its specifications:

Core Frequency between 600 ~ 800 MHz
128-bit wide memory bus (DDR3, Side-port supportive)
40 Stream Processors
8 TMUs, 4 ROPs
DirectX 10.1 support
UVD

The GPU will not connect to the rest of the processor using HyperTransport , instead, a new interface referred to as “Onion” will replace it, keeping with the “green” scheme, the GPU will utilize a “Garlic” memory interface to enhance read/write performance and reduce latencies. Performance-wise, it’s expected to perform 50% better than the RS780 chip. The addition of this GPU will step-up power consumption by 5~8 W (load) and 0.4~0.6 W (idle). This is the first implementation of such as design methodology, AMD wants to step into the pool only after dipping its toes.

Source: IT.com.cn

Fallout 3 Available October 28

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:55:35 +0000

Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, announced today that its highly anticipated title, Fallout 3, will be available on store shelves and online in North America on October 28, 2008 and in Europe on October 31, 2008. Developed at Bethesda Game Studios - creators of the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Fallout 3 is slated for release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows.

“We are very excited to let gamers get their hands on Fallout 3, the latest chapter in this beloved and highly acclaimed franchise,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “To meet the huge demand for this title by our fans worldwide, we are planning one of the biggest launches of any game released this year.”

Fallout 3 features one of the most realized game worlds ever created. Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, you can create any kind of character you want and explore the open wastes of Washington, D.C. however you choose. Every minute is a fight for survival as you encounter Super Mutants, Ghouls, Raiders, and other dangers of the Wasteland.

Hailed as one of the most anticipated games for 2008, Fallout 3 has already won numerous awards including Best of Show from the official Game Critics Awards at E3 2008, a selection voted on by an independent group of journalists from 36 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry.

Fallout 3 has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information on Fallout 3, visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com

Source: Bethesda Softworks

Sony Announces PlayStation Portable PSP 3000

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:52:23 +0000

The Leipzig Games Convention has become a playground for one more announcement that’s worth knowing. This time Sony is officially updating its game console line-up with the introduction of PlayStation Portable 3000. As the name suggests this is the third update for PSP and it comes to bring a built-in mic for VoIP calls and a new LCD that improves both the color range as well as the contrast over the original version of the 4.3-inch display. The home button of the PSP 3000 has also been redesigned. It is now called “PS Button” and has the PlayStation logo on it, instead of just the “Home” sign used in previous two versions, otherwise it has the same function. Other than that the console looks just like the older PSP 2000. First PSP 3000s should start shipping on October 15th for 199 Euros ($294) and be sold as bundles that will either include a game like FIFA 09 or the Go! communications pack.

NEC Electronics Expands Wireless USB Portfolio with New Host Controller

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:48:30 +0000

NEC Electronics today expanded its suite of Wireless USB devices with the introduction of the µPD720171 Wireless USB host controller. Building on the company’s first host controller (part number µPD720170), the new µPD720171 controller for PCI Express bus interfaces, enables high-speed, wireless data transmission between PCs that have MiniCard or Half-Minicard expansion cards and PC peripheral devices such as wireless hubs, printers, external storage equipment and digital cameras. The new host controller also provides laptop computer connectivity through an ExpressCard slot. Providing greater throughput and higher performance than previous host devices, the µPD720171 controller enables consumers to enjoy wireless lifestyles while maintaining wired USB functionality and ease of use.

“As the consumer appetite for wireless connectivity increases, the industry is requiring reliable, standardized interface solutions that can transmit data at speeds equivalent to wired USB connections,” said Yoshiyuki Tomoda, Group Manager, SoC Systems Division, NEC Electronics Corporation. “By providing these performance levels, our new µPD720171 host controller is helping bring the industry closer to mainstream adoption of advanced wireless technologies.”

Certified by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the µPD720171 controller conforms to the Wireless USB 1.0 specification and also to the Wireless Host Controller Interface (WHCI) specification developed by Intel with support from Microsoft, NEC Corporation, Philips, Texas Instruments and other experts in Wireless USB technology.

Capabilities of Wireless USB
Developed by the USB-IF, Wireless USB technology is an extension of the current USB 2.0 standard, which has been hailed as the next-generation interface standard for computers and multimedia consumer electronics devices. Products based on Wireless USB technology can transfer up to 480 megabits per second (Mbps) of data, comparable to wired USB 2.0 connections, within a maximum range of 10 meters. NEC Electronics’ new controller can transfer up to 480 Mbps within a maximum range of three meters.
Unwiring the cable connection frees users from having to make cumbersome and unsightly wired connections and enables them to enjoy high-speed data access wherever wireless connectivity is possible. Wireless USB technology is currently making it possible for designers to expand the boundaries of computing and digital entertainment to discover new ways for consumers to enjoy digital media.

NEC Electronics has played a central role in making the current USB 2.0 standard one of the most successful interfaces in the history of personal computing. Along with Intel Corporation and other industry leaders, NEC Electronics is a core member of the USB-IF, which developed the USB and USB 2.0 specifications and is currently developing the USB 3.0 specification. Since launching volume production of USB 2.0 devices in 2000, NEC Electronics has shipped an industry-leading 150 million units worldwide.

Pricing and Availability
Samples of NEC Electronics’ µPD720171 Wireless USB host controller are available now at US$10.00 each (pricing and availability are subject to change). Reference boards are also available upon request. More information about NEC Electronics’ lineup of Wireless USB solutions can be found at http://www.necel.com/cwusb/en/newproducts.html.

Source: NEC Electronics

Hynix Demonstrates World’s First 16GB DDR3 2-Rank R-DIMM Memory at IDF

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:46:51 +0000

Among the other hardware demonstrated at IDF, Hynix Semiconductor also made a shocking release of what’s believed to be the world’s first 16GB 2-Rank R-DIMM. Using MetaRAM’s new DDR3 technology, Hynix’s new 16GB (HMT32GR7AER4C-GD) and 8GB (HMT31GR7AER4C-GC) 2-rank DIMMs can triple DDR3 memory capacity in today’s servers and workstations. DDR3 MetaRAM is similar to the previous generation of DDR2 technology that enables significantly more memory in a server. An added benefit of the DDR3 MetaRAM technology is that enables larger memory capacity without negatively impacting the operating frequency of the DDR3 memory channel. It is the only technology that has been demonstrated to run 24GB of DDR3 SDRAM in a channel at 1066 million transactions per-second (MT/s). Using 3 of 16GB DIMM, users can achieve 48GB per channel running at 1066 MT/s, while other competing solutions max out at 16GB per channel at 1066MT/s. Later on during the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco Intel will demonstrate a server with 160GB (10 slots) of Hynix’s DDR3 R-DIMMs.

Source: Hynix

Radeon HD 4600 Series Slated for September, Two Models in the Making

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:40:47 +0000

Based on the new RV730 graphics processor from AMD, the Radeon HD 4600 series is set for a September release. There are two models to start with in this series: Radeon HD 4650 and Radeon HD 4670. The HD 4650 is positioned to compete with the GeForce 9500 GT while the HD 4670 is in improvement over it. Both cards are built for HD entertainment, media and casual gaming added.

Specifications for the HD 4650 are as follows:

600 MHz core speed
667 MHz memory speed
512 MB of DDR2 or GDDR3 memory
21.3 GB/s memory bandwidth
320 Stream Processors
384 GFLOPs of shader compute power
16 TMUs
UVD2 Video Processing Engine
55 W TDP, 55nm Silicon Fab. Process

Specifications for the HD 4670 are as follows:

750 MHz core speed
1000 MHz memory speed
512/1024 MB of GDDR3 memory
32 GB/s memory bandwidth
320 Stream Processors
480 GFLOPs of shader compute power
16 TMUs
UVD2 Video Processing Engine
70 W TDP, 55nm Silicon Fab. Process

The Radeon HD 4670 launches first on September 10th, with the Radeon HD 4650 following it on September 24th.

Source: GPU Café

PhysX Makes it to MMOG with APB

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:27:47 +0000

Often underappreciated by those who only casually play games, fast and accurate physical models and calculations are a key to a game’s playability and realism. From the effect of explosions on nearby objects, to the impacts of car accidents, to how a character reacts when hit, physics is as important to realism as high-quality graphics. Because of this, Realtime Worlds’ upcoming massively multiplayer online game, APB, will take advantage of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and PhysX technology to enhance the game’s free-form combat and real-time driving environments.

APB will bring players into a living, breathing city where cash is king and territory equals respect. Scheduled for release in 2009, APB is one of many titles to take advantage of NVIDIA PhysX technology, the world’s most pervasive development platform for physics acceleration in interactive entertainment.

“Realtime Worlds, by our very name, defines what games we aim to create,” said Dave Jones, the CEO of Realtime Worlds. “APB is a vastly ambitious project, combining the key elements of action gameplay in a living, breathing world with millions of players around the globe. In order to fully realise the vision of APB, it was essential to include next-generation physics in our game world. This is why we choose to standardize our development on GeForce GPUs and NVIDIA PhysX technology, the combination of which has given our developers the power and freedom to deliver the first action and physics based combat gameplay into the massively multiplayer online space.”

NVIDIA PhysX technology consists of a robust physics engine, API, and middleware platform that give developers the ability to add additional levels of realism into their games across all major gaming platforms, including Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the PC. PhysX technology can run on either the CPU or any CUDA general-purpose parallel computing processor, including many current and all future NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. But the massively parallel architecture in GeForce GPUs can handle 10 to 20 times more visual complexity than what’s possible today on a CPU alone and can leverage the best of both GPU and CPU architectures to deliver the ultimate experience to the user. More importantly, PhysX supports hardware scaling with the GeForce GPUs to deliver much faster performance and richer environments on multi-GPU gaming platforms.

“We are very excited that Realtime Worlds is incorporating PhysX technology into APB,” said Roy Taylor, NVIDIA vice president of content relations. “APB is a marvel in free form story innovation and promises to bring an entirely new approach to multiplayer online gaming. We can hardly wait to play!”

NVIDIA PhysX technology is already included in more than 140 shipping titles for Sony Playstation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and the PC. For more information on NVIDIA PhysX technology, please visit the PhysX page.

About APB
APB is an action-based, massively multiplayer online title being developed by Realtime Worlds (creators of the award-winning Xbox 360 title Crackdown). The game utilizes cutting-edge technology (Unreal Engine3) in order to bring the polish of next-generation art and gameplay into the massively multiplayer online space. For more information on APB, please visit APB.

Source: NVIDIA

HyperTransport 3.1 Specifications Emerge, 45 nm AMD CPUs Support it

admin — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:32:19 +0000

The HyperTransport Consortium released an updated specification, HT 3.1, that increases the base clock speed of the HyperTransport bus from its previous version 3.0 limit of 2600 MHz (5200 MT/s) to 3200 MHz (6400 MT/s). The upcoming 45nm processors will be given a host of architectural updates, one of them being a revised HT 3.1 system bus. Since AMD processors use a 32-bit wide HyperTransport link to the core logic, the aggregate bandwidth of the system but would be raised to 51.6 GB/s (25.8 GB/s in each direction).

This 10 GB/s increment is supposed to favour the upcoming AMD Fusion processors, where a graphics processor would be embedded into the CPU. That could also mean that the CPU could carry PCI-Express switches, effectively eradicating the northbridge. This would mean performance gains with the CPU communicating with PCI-E devices directly instead of through a northbridge-based PCI-E switch, much in the same way as integration of memory controllers five years ago helped AMD processors. It is expected that motherboard vendors have no problems implementing HT 3.1, the AMD 790GX and 790FX chipsets offer native support to HT 3.1 with 45 nm CPUs.

Source: TG Daily