Apr 01
DIY types that like to build up various small PCs or other projects using cheap and compact hardware have several options on the market today. One of those options is … Continue reading
Nov 26
If you’re in the market for a small computer board but the Raspberry Pi isn’t your thing, the Improv might be up your alley. The board runs an ARM processor and Mali graphics, and is available now for $75. With the small board comes the Mer operating system and the ability to expand it into […]
Sep 26
It’s always an exciting day for computer gamers when AMD unveils new video cards. Today AMD has unveiled two new graphics card families for computer gamers called the AMD Radeon R9 and AMD Radeon R7 series. Both of these graphics card families are designed specifically to allow gaming on UltraHD displays. The new R9 and […]
Apr 24
If you’re a PC gamer one of the things you need is a good gaming mouse. If you happen to be a left-handed PC gamer, finding a good gaming mouse can be more difficult than you might expect. A lot of gaming mice on the market today are designed specifically to be used in the right-hand.
That means if your preferred mousing hand is the left, it can be difficult to find a decent mouse. Add to that the fact that many high-end gaming mice can cost you $100 or more, and finding the perfect rodent can be a challenge. Genius has announced a new gaming mouse called the X-G510 that has an ambidextrous design.
That means it can be used with your right or left hand. It also features a crackled finish with a customizable lighting system. Like most gaming mice, and has adjustable sensitivity with four settings including 500/1000/1500/2000 DPI settings. With some high-end gaming mice offering 6000 dpi sensitivity or more, the settings seem a bit low.
Gamers can bind up to 21 different macros to the various buttons on the mouse with each macro having up to 20 commands. Genius equips the mouse with a 1.8 m long braided cable. One of the best things about the X-G510 is its price, the mouse is available for $34.99. Gamers in the US and Canada can purchase the gaming mouse right now.
[via Genius]
Genius X-G510 gaming mouse is good for righties and lefties is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 23
NEC has pulled the wraps off a new professional series LED backlit monitor for computer users. The computer monitor is called the NEC MultiSync P242W. The display comes in two different models including the standard P242W-BK and the P242W-BK-SV. The screen size is 24-inches and the display uses a white LED backlit AH-IPS panel.
Since the display is LED backlit, it consumes less power than older technology displays requiring only 29 watts of power typically. The screen has an integrated ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness depending on lighting conditions. NEC integrates a wide range of connectivity options into the display including HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, and DVI-D.
The screen is also equipped with a USB DisplaySync Pro KVM feature that allows you to operate two computers using only one mouse and keyboard. The screen also has hardware color calibration features using the NEC SpectraView color calibration solution. The native resolution for the display is 1920 x 1200.
The display panel covers 99.6% of the sRGB color gamut and 75.2% of the NTSC color gamut. The integrated USB 2.0 hub has two upstream ports and three downstream ports. NEC also equips the display with an internal 14-bit 3-D programmable lookup table. The display has a four-way economic stand that adjusts for height, tilt, swivel, and pivot. Users can also turn the screen to portrait mode. The difference between the two models is that the SV comes with the hardware color calibration system. Both versions will be available in May with the standard version selling for $749 and the SV version selling for $999.
[via NEC]
NEC P242W professional LED backlit monitor debuts is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 10
New details have turned up about some the new Intel processor families during the Intel Developer Form in Beijing, China. Intel offered details on its Atom SoCs for the data center when it launched the processors back in December of 2012. At the time, the processors including the S1200 product family representing the world’s first 64-bit SoC for servers operating at 1.6 to 2.0 GHz.
Intel has now unveiled details on three new low-power SoCs aimed at the data center that will be coming this year. The new products are for the data center will be in the Intel Atom Processor S12x9 product family for storage. These product will share several features with the S1200 SoC family, but will be tweaked specifically to support storage devices.
The S12x9 family will feature up to 40 lanes of integrated PCI Express 2.0 or physical paths between I/O and the processor. They will support hardware RAID storage acceleration and provide NTB failover support. In the second half of 2013, the 64-bit 22 nm processor for micro servers code-named Avoton will debut featuring an integrated Ethernet controller. Also available in the second half of 2013 will be a new Atom SoC code-named Rangeley promising energy efficient mechanism for processing communications workloads aimed at the entry to mid-level routers, switches, and security appliances.
Intel is also talking up some new Xeon processors including the E3, E5, and E7 families. The E3 1200 v3 product family is based on the Haswell architecture and promises to improve performance for video analytic workloads and to support improved transcode performance. The lowest TDP processor in this family will be 13 W for 25% power savings compared to the prior generation. The E5 family will be based on the 22nm manufacturing process and available in Q3 promising improved security and more. Intel’s E7 processor family will be available in Q4 2013 supporting three times the memory capacity for up to 12 TB in eight-socket node.
The E7 will also include Intel’s Run Sure Technology to deliver greater system reliability and increased data integrity on minimizing downtime for mission-critical workloads. The chip will also feature Resilient System Technologies with standardized technology for processor, firmware, and software layers to allow the system to recover from previously fatal errors. The processor family will also support Resilient Memory Technologies to ensure data integrity and allow systems to run reliably over longer periods of time. Interestingly, the Mac Pro family uses Xeon processors and rumors have been circulating that a refresh of the Mac Pro line is inbound. That refresh makes sense with Intel having new processors on the horizon.
[via Intel]
Intel offers new details on Atom SoC and Xeon processors is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 02
Asus has announced a new motherboard that gamers and computer enthusiast’s building up a high-end PC will certainly lust over. The new motherboard is called the Asus P9X79-E WS and has support for up to four-way Nvidia GeForce SLI or AMD CrossFireX using x16 links. The board also supports Asus Dr. Power to help prevent sudden shutdowns using power supply health monitoring and event notifications.
Asus says that the board is 91% power efficient and has enhanced heat removal and connectivity for high-speed storage and data transfer with dual server-grade Intel Ethernet ports. The big feature for computer gamers and enthusiasts looking for all of the graphics performance they can get is the support for up to four video cards from Nvidia or AMD. The mainboard also supports seven single slot graphics cards.
With seven available PCI Express slots this motherboard will also be appealing for users who want to build the machine for PCI Express-based video capturing or with numerous SSD storage devices that use PCI Express slots. The motherboard uses the Intel i210 controller for the dual Intel Ethernet ports. The controller allows for twice the bandwidth with lower latency and less packet loss.
The board is made using a durable 10-layer PCB with 100% ultra-long life solid-state capacitors. The board is also fitted with Asus DIGI+ VRM digital voltage controls for the processor and memory. The board uses a fan-less cooling design featuring copper heat pipes to extend hardware longevity and improved stability without adding any noise. The board also features four USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbit/s ports and a pair of front panel eSATA ports. The board will launch in late April or early May at an undisclosed price.
[via Asus]
Asus rolls out new P9X79-E WS mainboard with support for four-way graphics is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 29
In case you hadn’t heard the news, the open Crysis 3 multiplayer beta kicked off today. Those playing on PC will be pleased to know that NVIDIA is just as excited as you are, releasing its new GeForce 313.95 beta driver that’s said to increase multi-GPU performance by as much as 35% in Crysis 3. Naturally, the boost you get from this beta driver will vary depending on your setup, but those with a serious gaming rig should expect at least some improvement when trying to run the Crysis 3 beta.
This also happens to be NVIDIA’s first driver release of the new year, and with the company claiming improvements in 17 different games, you could argue we’re starting the year off with a bang. While the main focus will definitely be on the improvements made for the Crysis 3 beta, others like Assassin’s Creed III, Black Ops II, and Far Cry 3 are also benefiting from single-GPU and SLI performance boosts. So, if you’re not planning on participating in the Crysis 3 beta and are playing some of 2012′s biggest games instead, you’ll still want to grab this driver.
Of course, part of the problem is that Crysis 3 isn’t even out yet, so it’s hard to know what to expect from the beta. NVIDIA has compiled a list of recommended settings for a handful of its GeForce GTX 600 series cards. Again, keep in mind that you may need to change a few things depending on your hardware setup, but NVIDIA says that these recommended settings should serve as a good jumping off point. Sorry to say, but if you’re using a GTX 650, it looks like a lot of your settings will have to go down to low. Check out the full chart below.
This chart is just the tip of the iceberg though, with NVIDIA posting a series of performance bar charts to show how a number of its GPUs performed before and after installing the driver. NVIDIA has Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8 packages available for desktop setups, while those on laptops will have access to Windows 7 and 8 package donwloads. If you’re interested in downloading the driver, you can grab it now from the official GeForce site.
NVIDIA unleashes GeForce 313.95 driver in time for Crysis 3 beta is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 24
2012 was a difficult year for hard drive makers after flooding in Thailand seriously impacted hard drive availability. With hard drives in short supply, prices went up which meant hard drives and SSDs were closer together in price giving a boost to SSD sales. It took several months for hard drive supplies return to pre-flooding levels, but the damage had been done to many in the hard drive industry.
The problem for the hard drive industry has been the fact that sales of computers have been on the decline. The hard drive industry is very closely tied to the fortunes of the PC industry so when the PC industry is down, typically the hard drive industry is down as well. One of the biggest hard drive makers in the industry is Western Digital and the company announced its Q2 financials this week.
Western Digital reported revenue of $3.8 billion on hard drive shipments totaling 59.2 million for the quarter. Net income for the quarter was $335 million, working out to $1.36 per share for fiscal Q2. Net income for the hard drive maker was $513 million working up to $2.09 per share. That is a significant improvement from the same quarter a year ago when the company reported revenues of $2 billion, with net income of $145 million working out to only $.61 per share. In the same quarter of last year, the company shipped only 28.5 million hard drives.
Western Digital notes that it generated $772 million in cash from operations during its December quarter and ended with total cash and cash equivalents $3.8 billion. The company also used $146 million to buy back 4.2 million shares of its common stock. It looks like things are turning around for Western Digital after a difficult 2012.
“We are pleased with our December quarter results, reflecting outstanding execution and value creation by our HGST and WD® teams,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer. “In an environment marked by continued macroeconomic uncertainty, soft PC demand and inventory rebalancing by our customers, we continue to manage our business by focusing on those variables that we control, allowing us to generate better than expected revenue and profitability and strong cash generation.”
[via Western Digital]
Western Digital posts fiscal Q2 revenue of $3.8 billion is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jan 17
If you’re a computer user that builds your own machines somewhere around your house, you have old hard drives that you didn’t want to throw away, but you don’t use. I think I have four or five around my house sitting there collecting dust. They are still full of data and on occasion, I get curious about what’s on the drive and go through the hassle of plugging them into my computer to see.
If you have any 2.5-inch SATA hard drives or SSDs laying around your home that you would like to get some use out of, Satechi has a new aluminum external hard drive enclosure that works with both USB 3.0 and eSATA ports. The enclosure will allow you to turn those forlorn hard drives that have been relegated to a desk drawer into external storage.
If you have a small SSD lying around, the combination of a speedy SSD and fast USB 3.0 connectivity could make for a very fast portable external hard drive. The enclosure works for 2.5-inch SSDs or hard drives of 9.5 mm or 12.5 mm thickness. The enclosure gets power to operate through a USB cable and needs no external power adapter.
The aluminum enclosure measures 5.3 x 0.6 x 3.5-inches and weighs 6.8 ounces. If this sounds like something you need, you can order the enclosure right now for $39.99. The company also has a matching memory card reader available for $29.99. Both of these products will look perfect beside your iMac or MacBook.
[via Satechi]
Satechi unveils new USB 3.0 aluminum external hard drive enclosure is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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