Hasta La Gadget!

If you have a compact notebook or ultrabook, there’s a good chance the device uses a very compact mSATA SSD. There is also good chance that you have used all the storage space available on the small SSD that many of these machines come with. Mushkin has announced the US availability of a new upgrade drive for any device using a mSATA SSD with lots of storage later this month.

The drive is called the 480 GB Atlas mSATA SSD and it will be available online soon. The SSD uses a SandForce SF-2281 processor with unthrottled IOPS. The drive supports features such as ATA APM, Security Set, and NCQ. If your machine has an OS and drivers that support it, the SSD also features TRIM support.

The storage drive also has integrated ECC and is able to correct up to 55 bits per 512-byte sector. Mushkin uses high-speed MLC NAND. The form factor for the tiny SSD is the standard MO-300 mSATA measuring 50.80 x 29.85 x 4.85 mm.

The drive has user upgradable firmware and is covered by a three year limited warranty. As you probably expect, an SSD with 480 GB of storage isn’t exactly cheap. You can pick up the drive at the end of the month on Newegg.com for $499.99.

[via Mushkin]

Mushkin unveils 480 GB Atlas mSATA SSD upgrade drive is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Mushkin is a company that has been offering computer hardware, specifically memory, for quite a while. The company is on hand at CES 2013 and has announced the launch of a new line of enterprise class SSD storage devices. The new line of solid-state drives is called the ProSpec series.

The SSD line uses the SandForce SF-2582 processor and is fitted with enterprise grade MLC flash NAND. The drives have a number of features designed specifically for the enterprise environment. The drives in the series use the SATA 3.0 6Gb/s interface and feature 128-bit AES encryption.

Mushkin promises random read and write performance of 80K and 42K IOPS respectively. The drives also promise sustained data transfer rates of 560 MB/s. The SSD series will be offered in capacities ranging from 100 GB up to 400 GB. The enterprise MLC flash NAND used inside the drives promises 10 times the write endurance level without file degradation compared to normal flash NAND.

Other features include TRIM support, SMART support, garbage collection, and wear leveling. The firmware is user upgradable and the drives are RoHS, FCC, and CE rated. Pricing and availability information for the line of SSDs is unknown at this time.

Mushkin launches enterprise class SSDs is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

AMD has announced a new server-grade graphics card called the FirePro S10000 will. The graphics card is described as the industry’s most powerful server graphics card and is designed specifically for HPC workloads in graphics intensive applications. AMD says the video card can exceed 1 Tflops of double-precision floating-point performance.

AMD also says that the video card offers 5.19 Tflop of single-precision and 1.48 Tflop of double-precision floating-point calculations. The video card uses AMD’s next-generation Graphics Core Next Architecture. The powerful graphics card is aimed at use in a variety of fields including finance, oil exploration, aeronautics, automotive design and engineering, geophysics, life sciences, medicine, and defense.

The card offers dual GPUs and has high throughput and low latency transfers for quick computing of complex calculations that need high accuracy. The video card has 6GB of GDDR5 RAM and a 384-bit interface. Output options include four mini DisplayPort outputs.

The card also has one standard DVI output. Maximum resolution supported on the card’s DisplayPort 1.2 port is 4096 x 2160 with standard resolution on other outputs being 2560 x 1600. The video card consumes 375 W of power and needs to slots inside a computer. The retail price on the card is $3599.

AMD unveils new FirePro S10000 server graphics card is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back during Computex, PC case maker Lian Li was showing off an odd little computer case it crafted from aluminum that looked like a train. The case did more than simply look like a train though, it also moved on its little track. Lian Li has now announced the official launch of its train-themed case called the PC-CK101.

This is a strange theme to me, but if you happen to be a train loving computer enthusiast, you might be in full rigor about now. The train case is made from aluminum and supports mini-ITX motherboards. The case is small but has space for up to three 2.5-inch hard drives.

The computer gets power from a 300 W 80 Plus certified SFX power supply that is included with the case. The case also has a pair of USB 3.0 ports hidden on one side and comes in two versions. The difference between the two versions is that one moves and one is stationary.

The PC-CK101 Standard is the stationary version and will sell for $229. The PC-CK101 Premium is the moving version and will sell for $379. Both versions of the case will be available in the US and Canada at the end of September. If you’re wondering what a moving train computer case looks like, check out the video below.

Lian Li launches PC-CK101 train case for PCs is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We can thank GamesCon going on in Germany this week for all the new gaming hardware and peripherals that have surfaced today. At the show, Creative has unveiled its latest line of Sound Blaster soundcards for computer users. It has been a long time since we talked about a Sound Blaster sound card. The Sound Blaster used to be common in gaming PCs, but many people have started using HD integrated audio support on the mainboard rather than a add-on card for audio.

Creative has unveiled three new Sound Blaster varieties including the ZxR, Zx, and the Z. The ZxR is a top-of-the-line with Creative claiming it’s the world’s best sounding sound card. The card retails for $249.99 and uses studio-grade components inside including digital to analog converters delivering 127 dB signal-to-noise ratio. The sound card also has an 80 mW into 600-ohm headphone amplifier and 192 kHz pass through.

All those features are targeted at the best audio quality available. The car also has a small daughterboard with an optical output and a lot more. The next down is the Sound Blaster Zx retailing for $149.99. It offers the same exact hardware as the ZxR minus the DBpro daughterboard. This card also has an attention grabbing color scheme with a red EMI shielding and glowing LED lights.

On the low end of the spectrum is the Sound Blaster Z with a retail price of $99.99. It has the same hardware as the Zx sound card minus the external Audio Control Module. The sound card is aimed at gamers looking for an all-around gaming entertainment solution on a budget. It features 120dB SNR and supports 192kHz direct pass-through to analog out as well as a 600-ohm headphone amplifier, glowing LED lighting, and more. All of these cards use PCI Express slots inside your PC.

[via Engadget]

Creative launches new Sound Blaster sound cards for PCs is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.