XFX Unveils Radeon HD 5870 Graphics Card

XFX introduced the all new XFX Radeon HD 5870 graphics card based on ATI Radeon HD 5800 series GPUs that was announced yesterday. This graphics card supports DirectX 11 for smoother HD graphics in high resolutions to be used in Windows 7 OS, which is due next month. The new XFX Radeon HD 5870 will be available in India from Rashi Peripherals at an estimated price of Rs. 27,000 with a three-year warranty.

XFX Radeon HD 5870 comes with GPU Clocked at 850MHz, 1GB DDR5 memory clocked at 4800MHz and uses 256-bit memory bus interface. Along with that this XFX Radeon HD 5870 card supports ATI Eyefinity technology that allows hooking up to three displays with 1080p HD resolution support. Along with two displays on dual-link DVI and HDMI ports, third display can be hooked to DisplayPort.

Blu-ray movies would now be more realistic and bright with ATI Avivo Technology that is designed for offloading video decoding, encoding and other video tasks from CPU to the GPU.

ATI Stream technology allows offloading CPU tasks to GPU to boost system performance for playing the graphics intensive games at higher resolutions. The Radeon HD 5870 is the first family of graphics card offering full support for DirectX 11. With support for DirectX 11, users can experience amazing 3D effects with Tessellation, DirectCompute, HDR Texture Compression and new Shader Model 5.0 technology.

The second generation TeraScale engine provides more than two TeraFLOPS of processing power over previous generation graphic cards. XFX Radeon HD 5870 could be hooked in CrossFireX configuration where it claims up to 180 per cent of better gaming performance in dual-mode.

ATI PowerPlay technology executes its power management by drawing less power when GPU resources are not required. The minimum power requirement for this card is 500W with two 6-pin power cables.

Consumers who purchase XFX Radeon HD 5870 will be eligible to download a free copy of DiRT 2 game from December 11.

 

 

Intel Core i7 Mobile Chips Unveiled

Intel unveiled its fastest Core i7 mobile platform processors on the second day of Intel Developer Forum at San Francisco. The new Intel Core i7 mobile processors are based on the 45nm Nehalem microarchitecture. Formerly codenamed "Clarksfield", the two new quad-core mobile processors include Intel Core i7-820M and Core i7-720M along with Intel Core i7-920XM Extreme Edition.

Laptop makers like Asus, Dell's Alienware, HP and Toshiba will be shipping Intel Core i7 mobile processors equipped notebooks from Thursday. Intel Core i7 mobile chips will be compatible and paired with Intel PM55 Express chipset for a better experience in gaming, digital multimedia experience, business programs and other multi-threaded tasks.

The new Intel Core i7 mobile chips bring several Nehalem features, like integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, Hyper-Threading, dynamic Turbo Boost technology, built-in PCI-Express 2.0 x16 connectivity, and others. Intel's Calpella platform thus integrates four cores and memory controller on the same die.

Calpella platform's Intel PM55 Express chipset has single chip architecture that brings support for up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s port support, 8 PCI Express 2.0 x1 and support for up to 14 USB 2.0 peripherals. Also, the Intel Matrix Storage Technology 8.9 enables storage data protection, power management and enhanced system performance.

The new Intel Core i7 Mobile Processors are specs are:

-Core i7-720QM: 1.60GHz, 1MB L2 cache (256KB per core), 6MB unified L3 core,
-Core i7-820QM: 1.73GHz, 1MB L2 cache (256KB per core), 8MB unified L3 core,
-Core i7-920XM: 2.00GHz, 1MB L2 cache (256KB per core), 8MB unified L3 core,

The Core i7 Mobile processors bring support for 1333MHz DDR3 memory in dual-channel mode and full single PCI Express 2.0 x16 or dual x8 graphics support. Intel Turbo Boost technology can shoot up the CPU clock speed up to 75 per cent, i.e. up to 3.06GHz (Core i7-Q820). The Hyper Threading technology aids multi-threaded applications for higher processing throughput and improved system performance.

Laptops with Intel Core i7-920XM will support Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP). The Intel Extreme Tuning Utility is used for overclocking as well as tuning the system for performance boost with battery life optimizations.

The quad-core Intel Core i7-720QM and Core i7-820QM have Thermal Design Power of 45Watts while that of Core i7-920XM is 55Watts. These mobile processors have slightly higher TDP than the Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile chips since they incorporate memory controllers. However, the overall power consumption of the entire Calpella platform (CPUs+Chipset) should remain the same.

Intel will be offering the Intel Core i7-720QM for $364 (Rs. 17,500 approx.), Core i7-820QM for $546 (Rs. 26,200 approx.) and Core i7-920XM for $1054 (Rs. 50,600 approx.) - all at per unit in a thousand chips tray. Considering these prices, expect the notebooks packing these Core i7 Mobile chips to be priced high.

 

Microsoft's Pink Phone is Underwhelming

No, the phone isn't pink, it's just the name. We're talking about Microsoft's (now no longer) top secret "Pink Phone", rumors about which were all over the Internet not long ago.

So, folks at Gizmodo have come across two images that they say are of Microsoft's very own "Pink" smartphones codenamed "Turtle" and "Pure". The two images are obviously of two different models and we shudder to think of a scenario where Microsoft launches as many as 10 of these ovoid, chubby-looking smartphones in the future. Not convinced? Look at the image and decide for yourselves.

One of the pictured devices (The Turtle) does resemble the Palm Pre, which in itself is quite ovoid, but pales in comparison with this one! It comes with a slide out keyboard and a decent-looking screen.

The other phone looks more like a "normal" smartphone and might come across as an HTC or similar WM based handset if you do not look at it carefully. Both the phones are reportedly targeted at the youth (sigh!) and will target the same age group in the US where the likes of the Sidekick works pretty well. So, in short, the much anticipated Microsoft "Pink" phone is nowhere near the iPhone-beater that most others assumed it would be. Microsoft seems to be in no hurry to challenge the iPhone domination if they really are keen on making these devices, or they simply do not care?

Whatever the case, if you were expecting a smartphone showdown between the "Pink" and the iPhone, that's not going to happen right now.

Windows 7 Update Brings Fixes for Apps Compatibility

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Microsoft has released a new Windows 7 update along with update for Windows Server 2008 R2 through Windows Update. This tiny package of updates brings fixes to the operating system to achieve better system stability. Basically the fixes apply to a number of applications that cause system instability and performance issues. This update is intended forWindows 7 RTM (Release to Manufacture) users.

Users on Windows 7 32-bit can download the 1.77MB update from here and users on 64-bit version can get 1.90MB update from  here.

Here's a list of applications that get fixes with this update;

• Alcohol 52%: Update enables Windows 7 compatible Alcohol 52% versions to work
• Altiris and Symantec Virtual Software up to version 6.1.499.x: Upgrade Block to avoid errors during Windows upgrade
• ZoomText version 9.18: Driver hard Block to prevent an error
• Dell Printer Driver (Models-V105, V305 and V505) : Upgrade Block to avoid setup failure
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2007: Upgrade Block to avoid error during Windows upgrade
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2008: Upgrade Block to avoid error during Windows upgrade
• Trend Micro Internet Security 2009: Upgrade Block to avoid error during Windows upgrade
• YiDongFeiXin version 2.2.x and version 3.5.x: Enables application to work
• PGP Desktop up to version 9.x: Soft Block to warn about possible issue after Windows upgrade
• Trend Micro VirusBuster 2008: Upgrade Block to avoid errors
• Windows Live Photo Gallery: Update Windows Live Photo Gallery to avoid file association issue with WindowsMedia Player OCX
  

Silverlight 3 to Run on Netbooks soon

At the on going Intel Developer Forum, Intel and Microsoft announced a collaboration on Silverlight 3 technology in Intel's Moblin OS. Renee James, Intel's corporate vice president and general manager of the company's Software and Services Group, and Ian Ellison-Taylor, Microsoft's general manager for Client Platforms and Tools, showcased the Moblin OS demo on a netbook. Silverlight 3 will run on Intel Atom based netbooks loaded with Moblin OS, in early 2010.

Linux platform already has Microsoft Silverlight alternative open-sourceproject dubbed Moonlight. Moblin is Intel's ambitious open source operating system project for netbooks, handhelds, mobile phones, and in-vehicle entertainment devices. With Silverlight's cross platform foundation, developers will write and bring applications to run on Moblin devices.

James also announced that Dell Inspiron Mini 10v with Ubuntu Moblin Remix Developer Edition pre-installed would be available from Sept. 24. Apart from Dell, even Asus, Acer and Samsung are planning to launch Moblin 2.0 based Intel Atom netbooks in the near future.

So finally, Silverlight is going cross-platform rather than being Windows-exclusive.

Samsung's LiMo Based H1 & M1

Samsung, in association with major telecom operator Vodafone has launched two new LiMo OS based devices, the H1 and the L1 on the Vodafone UK network.

This is along with the announcement of Vodafone's new suite of internet services called Vodafone 360. This has to be one of the major LiMo phone releases in recent times. If you're still wondering what LiMo is, let us inform you that it is a Linux based smartphone OS platform that has just not taken of yet.

As for the phones, the Samsung H1 apart from running a "customized for Vodafone UI", features a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi, HSDPA and support for push email. On the imaging front, there's a contemporary 5MP camera with autofocus and flash. Oh, and with 16GB of internal memory, you'll never run out of storage space for your multimedia files.
The second device launched is the M1, which we believe is slightly down the price ladder and sports a 3.2-inch TFT touchscreen display, HSDPA, GPS, push email, 3MP camera, and 1GB of expandable memory. It will come in three color versions.

Both the phones will be launched in Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the UK by the end of the year: No, India isn't on that list. However, the service (Vodafone 360) will be launched in India early next year, but on Nokia and other devices.

 

 

 

 

Vodafone Launches Internet Service in Data Battle

Vodafone launched a Web service meshing social networks, contacts and entertainment in a bid to fend off stiff competition from Apple, Google and Nokia.

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone operator by revenue, said on Thursday its Vodafone 360 service would launch on two tailor-made Samsung phones and four Nokia phones in eight European countries by Christmas. Vodafone 360 will allow users to store contacts from social networks such as Facebook and other Internet accounts in one place and will automatically synchronise to users' computers. The carrier is aiming to boost customer loyalty and data revenues in the face of fierce competition from Apple's iPhone, RIM's Blackberry and Google's Android platform, which all offer applications such as games and music. Analysts at CCS Insight described it as a radical move. "Vodafone is hoping that it can seize the initiative back from Google, Nokia and others in the land-grab for the mobile Internet services space," Shaun Collins said. "Its challenge will be to offer consumers something compelling enough to stand out in such a crowded market."

A catalogue of over 1,000 applications will be available at launch and non-Vodafone customers will be able to access some of the services. The two new Samsung phones will use LiMo's operating system, in a boost for the platform based on open-source Linux software that can be used and modified for free, unlike proprietary systems such as Microsoft's Windows Mobile. The focus of the cellphone market has been shifting to software development since Google and Apple entered the mobile market, with phone vendors and operators increasingly looking for open-source alternatives such as LiMo to cut costs. The backing of Vodafone and Samsung, the world's second-largest phone maker, is seen as crucial for LiMo, which has so far been used by smaller handset vendors. "Battle lines are being drawn -- operator-friendly LiMo versus handset vendor-friendly Android," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics. "Expanding into Western Europe with Samsung and Vodafone will help LiMo to grow scale and spread risk. LiMo hopes to benefit from its focus on giving greater say oversoftware development to telecoms operators. Also, it does not compete with operators by offering services. "LiMo allows Vodafone and other major operators to change the basis of their dialogue with Google," Morgan Gillis, the head of LiMo, said in an interview. The Nokia phones will be based on Symbian, the world's most popular smartphone platform, and Vodafone said it planned eventually to roll out 360 to as many platforms and handset models as possible.

PS3 Price Cut Hits India

Earlier on in the day we contacted Sony India regarding the PS3 price cut but didn’t get any answers since the relevant people were out of the country. Now suddenly out of nowhere I get a press statement regarding the PlayStation 3 price drop that by the way should be implemented today itself and it goes something like this:

For all those who have been patiently waiting, the new price for the PlayStation 3 80 GB model has been announced. The PlayStation 3 80 GB prices have been set at Rs 19,990, a clear 20% drop in price. To make the purchase even more attractive, the PS3 80 GB will be offered with two Free Games: Uncharted : Drake’s Fortune and GT5 Prologue.

Here’s what Atindriya Bose, head of Sony PlayStation India had to say, "We stand committed to develop gaming as a coveted interactive entertainment avenue for the Indians. The high adoption of Playstation by the Indian consumers will be further fuelled by the new prices and offerings before the Indian festive seasons. The new sub - 20K price on PS3 not only positions it as an attractive gaming console but makes it perhaps the best value for money Blu-Ray entertainment device for the family. "

So there you have it. A PS3 and two games for twenty grand. Are you happy with the price cut? Will you now go ahead and buy a PS3? Share you happiness or sorrow in the comments section below.

Microsoft Cuts Price of High-end Xbox Model by $100

Microsoft Corp is slashing the price of its high-end Xbox 360 model by $100, ratcheting up the stakes in the game console fight this holiday season.

Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to $299.99, it said on Thursday, just days after Sony cut the rival PlayStation 3 to $299. The price on the entry-level Xbox Arcade model will stay at $199.99, and Microsoft will phase out its mid-range Pro console, leaving it with two models. The Pro will sell for $249.99 until supplies run out. The global price cut is effective Friday. The Xbox is the No. 2 console in the U.S., behind Nintendo's Wii, which sells for $249. But Xbox sales have showed strength this year, up 17 percent in the U.S., the only console in positive territory. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the price cut has been in the works for some time, and was not a response to Sony's move, which was announced last week at the Gamescom video game trade show in Cologne, Germany. Rather, he said the company hoped the price reduction would attract new buyers and help simplify its product mix for manufacturers and retailers as well as customers. "It really makes the decision for consumers a lot easier," he said. "They're either price conscious and they gravitate towards the Arcade or they the want the full Xbox 360 experience."

Game publishers such as Activision Blizzard have been clamoring for console price cuts, which help boost sales of software by increasing the installed based. They are now getting their wish, even as the industry remains mired in a months-long slump brought on by a lack of big-name releases and a recession that has pinched consumer spending.

TGS 09: Alienware Launches New Gaming Rigs

Alienware has added five new high-performance gaming rigs to their arsenal, including four overclocked liquid-cooled dekstop system and "the most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe".

The All powerful Alienware Aurora, Aurora ALX, Area-51 and Area-51 ALX desktops and the Alienware M15x laptop join the M17x, launched in June, to expand the Alienware line-up.

The Alienware M15x - the most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe - sports Alienware's acclaimed new mobile ID which debuted with the M17x laptop.

The first Alienware laptop to feature a mobile Core i7 processor, the M15x also offers a 1 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU2 and up to 8 GB DDR3 1333MHz memory3.

The Aurora is most upgradeable and the Aurora ALX is the most powerful MicroATX desktops Alienware has ever created. Featuring the latest Intel Core i7 processors, including an optional Extreme Edition overclocked to 3.6GHz, the Aurora line of desktops are designed to deliver the power needed for hardcore gaming, pro-level HD audio and video editing, 3D animation and more. To crank up gaming performance, Aurora and Aurora ALX have options for dual 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards, up to 24GB DDR3 1333MHz memory or 12GB DDR3 1600MHz memory, respectively, and up to 2TB of hard drive storage – all in a compact, MicroATX chassis for taking up less desk space. Prices start at $1,299.

Alienware Area-51 and Area-51 ALX are designed for extreme gamers and tech enthusiasts who demand only the latest, most advanced equipment. The Area-51 line of desktops features Intel Core i7 processors factory overclocked to an intense 3.86GHz for peak performance. To max out your graphics benchmarks, these systems offer the quad-GPU power of dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards. Other featured specs include up to 12GB DDR3 memory clocked at 1333MHz or 1600MHz, respectively, and six easy-access, cable-free hard drive bays that support both 7,200RPM and 10,000RPM drives, solid state drives and RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10 configurations. Prices begin at $1,999.

The ALX brand denotes a distinguished class of Alienware systems that deliver both unique designs and peak performance. Both Aurora ALX and Area-51 ALX offer technology options beyond their respective standard editions, allowing for higher benchmarks and extended future-proofing. Aurora ALX features design elements not available on Aurora such as the Active Venting louver system, internal theater lighting and cable-free hard drive bays. Area-51 ALX ups the ante with an anodized aluminum body and motorized front panel. All Alienware desktops also offer CPU liquid cooling right out of the box which allows the ease of overclocking that deliver extreme computing.

Also announced today, Alienware customers can now configure the M17x laptop with the intense power of the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 in both single and ATI CrossFireX configurations for up to a 145 percent graphics performance increase.

Alienware users can build out a complete, high-performance gaming ecosystem with the recently announced Alienware TactX Mouse and Keyboard, and the Alienware OptX AW2210 Monitor which features a 21.5-inch full HD screen for experiencing the latest generation games and HD movies in 1080p resolution.

These branded peripherals can be ordered immediately at www.alienware.com.

XDR™2 Memory Architecture

The XDR™2 memory architecture is the world's fastest memory system solution capable of providing twice the peak bandwidth per device when compared to a GDDR5-based system. Further, the XDR2 memory architecture delivers this performance at 30% lower power than GDDR5 at equivalent bandwidth.

Designed for scalability, power efficiency and manufacturability, the XDR2 architecture is a complete memory solution ideally suited for high-performance gaming, graphics and multi-core compute applications.

Initial systems can achieve memory bandwidths of over 500GB/s into an SoC. Each XDR DRAM can deliver up to 38.4GB/s of peak bandwidth from a single, 4-byte-wide, 9.6Gbps XDR2 DRAM device, and the XDR2 architecture supports a roadmap to device bandwidths of over 50GB/s.

Capable of data rates of 6.4 to 12.8Gbps, the XDR2 architecture is the latest generation in the award-winning family of XDR products. With backwards compatibility to XDR DRAM, the XDR2 architecture is part of a continuously compatible roadmap, offering a path for both performance upgrades and system cost reductions.


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