Intel 32nm Clarkdale and Arrandale Processor Preview

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Hothardware had the chance to get some details about the future Intel 32nm Clarkdale and Arrandale CPUs at the IDF 2009.
Quote from the report: "Although Intel talked about their upcoming 32nm Westmere-based processors at IDF, and even showed off a few demos of the next-gen core at work right on stage, we still got in some private face-time with a few Intel reps and engineers in a closed door session to glean a few more details.
Read more

Posted on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

USB 3.0 ExpressCard From Fresco Logic

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

USB 3.0 gets a lot of attention the Intel Developer conference IDF this week. You almost get the feeling USB 3.0 is finally here for the masses, but in reality it is just starting.
To benefit from upcoming USB 3.0 enabled gear you could upgrade your notebook with the USB 3.0 ExpressCard from Fresco Logic that The Register (via ExpressCard-Info) spotted at the IDF. Read more

Posted on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:23:32 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

MSI Big Bang Motherboard Powered by Lucid

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

MSI and Lucid have announced a seriously high-end gaming motherboard at IDF called the MSI Big Bang that will have PC gamers in an uproar. The new board has technology that allows it to make multiple GPU history. The board is the first to allow both ATI and NVIDIA GPUs to operate on the same mainboard at the same time.

That means rather than having SLI or CrossFire you can get multiple GPU gaming with cards from different manufacturers. The board is based on the Intel P55 system and has the Lucid Hydra 200 real-time distributed processing engine. Read more

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

CrestaTech Shows HDTV anywhere Chip at IDF

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

CrestaTech has unveiled its new programmable broadband technology at IDF and has announced that its new HDTV Anywhere chip is ready to ship to PC OEMs. The CrestaTV Universal Broadband Receiver technology is a combination of a RF IC and software that allows PCs to tune in live analog or digital TV broadcasts along with radio and GPS signals.

The broadcasts can be picked up and viewed in any city, any region, and any country around the world. The new chip offers unprecedented support for broadband frequencies. The new chip allows PC manufacturers to ship the same TV module anywhere in the world without having to make different chips for each region. Read more

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Kingston Improves Speeds on DataTraveler 410 USB Flash Drive

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Kingston has announced that it has increased the speed on one of its flash drives called the DataTraveler 400. The drive can be had in up to 32GB capacity. With such a high capacity offering, faster speeds are very important to allow large files to be moved more quickly.

The drive is also password protected to prevent unauthorized access to the data on the drive. The drive now has read and write speeds of 20MB/sec. Other capacities are available as well with 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB drives in the line. Read more

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:53:30 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

New ATI Radeon HD 5870 And 5850 Are First To Support DirectX 11

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Today AMD launched the most powerful processor ever created, found in its next-generation ATI Radeon HD 5800 series graphics cards, the world’s first and only to fully support Microsoft DirectX 11, the new gaming and compute standard shipping shortly with Microsoft Windows 7 operating system.

Boasting up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series effectively doubles the value you can expect of your graphics purchases, delivering twice the performance-per-dollar of previous generations of graphics products. Read more

Posted on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:08:16 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Netgear Stora Offers Internet-connected Storage

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Netgear has announced a new internet connected storage device for consumers called the Netgear Stora. The NAS device for home users is a place to store media in a localized manner and is ideal for music, movies, photos, and other files.

The device can be managed and accessed online through a MyStora interface and files can be accessed from any Internet connected device online. That includes smartphones and laptops. Stora is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Read more

Posted on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA III HDD With 6Gb/s Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Seagate announced that it is first to ship a SATA III desktop hard-drive with the Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB SATA III HDD (ST32000641AS).
The Seagate Barracuda XT is a 7200RPM HDD featuring 2TB of storage capacity and the new blazing fast Serial ATA (SATA) 6Gb/second interface. Of course to leverage the new speeds you need a new motherboard with a SATA III interface like the recently announced Asus P7P55D Premium. Read more

Posted on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:05:29 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Asus HP-100U Dolby Headphone Set Unveiled

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Asus launched its HP-100U personal Dolby home theater set today. Comprising a lab-tuned pair of headphones, a Xonar U1 external audio device and a high quality array microphone, the HP-100U makes up a complete audio solution for PC or Mac users.
The Asus HP-100U comes with the Xonar U1, an external audio device that harnesses the power of four major Dolby technologies to deliver high fidelity, interference-free PC audio. Furthermore, it supports DirectSound, EAX 2.0 and Open AL acceleration in Windows Vista / Windows XP and also on Mac platforms. Read more

Posted on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:45:18 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

New LaCie USB Portable DVD Burner Designed By Sam Hecht

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

LaCie announced a new version of its Portable DVD±RW Drive, design by Sam Hecht. Now the LaCie drive features a sleek black finish.

Featuring two versions for easy setup and seamless compatibility, you can choose from the multimedia burning solution for Mac or PC. The Windows version comes with Creator Suite 10, while the combined Mac and Windows version comes with Toast 9 Basic, as well as Creator Suite 10.
Read more

Posted on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:47:24 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Toshiba Unveils 500GB 2.5-inch HDD

Topic: Hardware & Peripherals

Toshiba has announced a new HDD called the MKXX56GSY that is available in 500GB capacity. The line now offers drives with 160GB, 250GB, and 320GB capacities as well. The 500GB drive has two platters and a maximum areal density of 395 Gb/in2.

The average seek time for the drive is 11ms and it spins at 7200 rpm. The interface is SATA 3Gb/s and the drive measures 69.85mm x 100mm x 9.5mm. 115g. The drive can withstand shocks of 325G while operating and 900G when not operating. Read more

Posted on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun