Dell unveils Alienware Aurora gaming rig, will serenade you for $2,200

Dell has just taken the wraps off a brand new addition to the Alienware family, hailing it, rather poetically, as “a serenade to raw gaming power.” It’s called the Alienware Aurora, and it’s staring at you with a Cylon-like grin in the image above. Beneath its menacing veneer lurks Intel’s six-core, 3000 series Core i7 CPU, an X79 Express chipset and quad-channel DDR3 memory, all of which are kept in check by Dell’s liquid cooling and active venting technologies. The gaming rig also supports both multi-display and 3D configurations, with GDDR5 memory-laced graphics cards. In case you’re not satisfied, you can always get under the hood and tinker with it yourself, without even busting out your tool belt. The Alienware Aurora is available now for prices starting at $2,200, so hit up the source link for more details.

Dell unveils Alienware Aurora gaming rig, will serenade you for $2,200 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Shuttle launches XPC H7 5820S mini PC for your collection of 16 monitors

Wondering what do with those 16 monitors you’ve got lying around your house? Well, the folks over at Shuttle have just come out with a mouthful of a solution, known as the XPC H7 5820S. Shuttle’s latest mini-PC is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor with up to six cores, boasts 16GB of RAM and features a pair of 1TB hard disks. The workstation, compatible with Windows 7, also ships with a Blu-ray burner and packs Matrox‘s M-Series multi-display graphics cards, allowing users to work across 16 different displays at once, at resolutions of up to 2560 x 1600 per screen. All this goodness is nestled within a box that’s just 7.5 inches tall, though it won’t come for cheap. According to SlashGear, the XPC H7 5820S is now available for a cool €1,446, or about $1,983. Find out more at the source link below, or in the full PR, waiting for you after the break.

Continue reading Shuttle launches XPC H7 5820S mini PC for your collection of 16 monitors

Shuttle launches XPC H7 5820S mini PC for your collection of 16 monitors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask Engadget: best sub-$400 desktop graphics card on the market?

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Jamie, who just so happens to be in the midst of a new PC build. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m new to the whole graphics card thing, and could use a little assistance. I want to be able to play all the newest titles (Crysis 2, for example) on the highest settings, while keeping the price as low as possible. I am building my own PC and have allotted a set amount of money for each item, with a $400 to $500 maximum budget for the GPU. All help will be appreciated!”

That isn’t exactly “budget” by any stretch, but it’s still important to get the most for your buck. For those who have sunk a few Benjamins into a new GPU lately, how has your decision worked out for you? Help a fellow gamer out — even if it means giving him an FPS advantage.

Ask Engadget: best sub-$400 desktop graphics card on the market? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS MARS II gets reviewed, deemed the fastest single graphics card on the market

ASUS MARS II

Well, that insane ASUS MARS II card we got to feast our eyes on back in June has finally started rolling off the assembly line. That means it’s time for the hardware fanatics and gaming freaks to start putting them through their paces. HotHardware said the dual GTX 580-packing card was “quite simply the fastest single graphics card we have ever tested, bar none.” And everyone else seemed to agree. Now, obviously there are drawbacks — the 3GB card is an absolute power hog (requiring 600-watts all by itself) and insanely pricey at $1,499. You could even buy three separate GTX 580 cards for slightly less, use the same number of slots and get better performance, but the MARS II has one other thing going for it — status. Only 999 of these beasts will be made. After they’re all snatched up you’ll have to head to eBay, and pay a hefty premium over it’s already absurd price. But, if you absolutely have to have the best performance you can out of a single card solution, this is the clear choice. If you need more detail about just how badly this spanks the competition check out the reviews below.

Read – HotHardware
Read – PC Perspective
Read – techPowerUp
Read – TweakTown

ASUS MARS II gets reviewed, deemed the fastest single graphics card on the market originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Aug 2011 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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External Thunderbolt graphics card for Macs to be developed soon, thanks to Facebook poll

Have you ever let your Facebook friends determine a new product development decision for your company? Well, Village Instruments has, via an online poll in order to gauge interest in an external Thunderbolt PCI Express graphics card enclosure. Dubbed the ViDock Thunderbolt, this device will soon begin to dramatically improve the performance of today’s Apple machines. Running at speeds of up to 10Gb/second, the new T-Bolt model can move data much faster than the company’s current Express Card-connected external GPU. So if you’re rocking the new MBP model, but you’ve got a hankering for more power out of your graphics card, you better start saving your Benjamins.

External Thunderbolt graphics card for Macs to be developed soon, thanks to Facebook poll originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA

Here are five words you’ve heard before: “the world’s fastest notebook GPU.” Why, NVIDIA made just that claim two weeks ago, when it touted the GeForce GTX 580M as the nimblest card this side of Pluto. Not so fast, says AMD. The outfit just unveiled the Radeon HD 6990M with DirectX11 and HD3D support, and it insists this is the speediest GPU on the block — specifically, up to 25 percent faster than any other GPU that’s been announced to the public. And yes, AMD’s well aware of that 580M. Just like NVIDIA came out swinging, making pointed comparisons to the Radeon HD 6970M, AMD’s got some fighting words of its own: the company says the 6990M can whip the 580M in the benchmark AvP and games such as Batman Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age 2, Shogun 2, BattleForge, Left 4 Dead, Metro2033, Wolfenstein MP, The Chronicles of Riddick, and ET: Quake Wars. We don’t need to remind you that these numbers merely represent the story each company wants to tell. Still, you get the idea: these are the top-of-the-line cards each has to offer at the moment, and they’ll likely be competing for space in your next gaming rig.

As you can imagine, the 6990M joins other Radeon HD cards in supporting the company’s Eyefinity technology, as well as GPU app acceleration. Let it be known, too, that while the 6990M supplants the popular 6970M as far as performance claims go, AMD tells us the 6970M will still be available for the foreseeable future. Speaking of availability, the 6990M will be offered in the Alienware M18x — right alongside NVIDIA’s 580M. Additionally, you’ll find it packed inside Clevo’s P170HM and P150HM. And you didn’t think we forgot about specs, did you? Head on past the break to find the full PR, along with a handful of technical details straight from the horse’s mouth.

Continue reading AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA

AMD announces the Radeon HD 6990M, has some pointed words for NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R

We know you’re going to be shocked — shocked! — to hear this, but NVIDIA’s gone and refreshed its high-end line of GeForce GTX cards. The GTX 580M takes the place of the GTX 485M, and NVIDIA’s bragging that it’s the “fastest notebook GPU ever,” capable, we’re told, of besting the Radeon HD 6970M’s tesselation performance by a factor of six. The new GTX 570M, meanwhile, promises a 20 percent speed boost over the last-generation 470M. Both 40-nanometer cards support DirectX11, OpenCL, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision, Verde drivers, Optimus, SLI, and 3DTV Play. As for battery life, NVIDIA’s saying that when coupled with its Optimus graphics switching technology, the 580M can last through five hours of Facebook, but last we checked, that’s not why y’all are shelling out thousands for beastly gaming rigs. You can find the 580M in the Alienware M17X and M18X (pictured) starting today, though you might have to wait a week or so for them to ship. Meanwhile, the 570M is shipping in the MSI GT780R as you read this, and you’ll also find the 580M in a pair of 3D-capable Clevo laptops: the P170HM3 and the SLI-equipped P270WN. Handy chart full ‘o technical details after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R

NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft decides to pass on WebGL over security concerns (Update: iOS 5 supports WebGL, sort of))

WebGL Attack

Well, it looks like Microsoft is taking those warnings about WebGL pretty seriously. The company has decided not to support the web-based 3D standard because it wouldn’t be able to pass security muster. Highest on the list of concerns is that WebGL opens up a direct line from the internet to a system’s GPU. To make matters worse, holes and bugs may crop up that are platform or video card specific, turning attempts to plug holes in its defense into a game of whack-a-mole — with many players of varying reliability. Lastly Microsoft, like security firm Context, has found current solutions for protecting against DoS attacks rather unsatisfying. Lack of support in Internet Explorer won’t necessarily kill WebGL and, as it matures, Microsoft may change its tune — but it’s still a pretty big blow for all us of hoping the next edition of Crysis would be browser-based.

Update: As is usually the case Apple and the Windows folks are on opposite sides of this one. In fact, the Cupertino crew plans to bring WebGL to iOS 5 with one very strange restriction — it will only be available to iAd developers. Now, chances are it will eventually be opened up in mobile Safari for everyone, but for the moment it seems browser-based 3D graphics will be limited to advertisements on the iPhone. Still, that’s another big name throwing its support behind the burgeoning standard.

[Thanks, Greg]

Microsoft decides to pass on WebGL over security concerns (Update: iOS 5 supports WebGL, sort of)) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MSI’s Afterburner Android app makes GPU overclocking as easy as Facebooking

Back in our day, overclocking one’s PC was akin to a fine art. It took skill. Precision. Effort. Cajones. These days, it’s just about as simple as blinking. Or winking. Or winking while blinking. MSI’s made the simplification of PC overclocking quite the priority over the past few years, with OC Genie and an updated Wind BIOS from last decade putting all sorts of power into the hands of mere mortals. At Computex this week, the outfit took things one step further with the Afterburner Android app. Purportedly, the GPU tool enables users to monitor the temperature, voltage and fan speed of their graphics card via a WiFi connection, and if you’re feeling froggy, you can overclock and overvolt to your heart’s content. Details beyond that are few and far betwixt, but we’re hearing that it’ll soon work with GPUs from other vendors, and that an iOS variant is en route.

Continue reading MSI’s Afterburner Android app makes GPU overclocking as easy as Facebooking

MSI’s Afterburner Android app makes GPU overclocking as easy as Facebooking originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Jun 2011 06:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS Mars II and Matrix GTX580 Platinum eyes-on

If you thought the original Mars graphics card from ASUS was a little bit ridiculous, get ready to see what a lot of ridiculous looks like. The company’s Mars II that was recently teased alongside a fresh new Matrix GTX580 Platinum card, squeezes two GeForce GTX 580 chips on the same board and overclocks them for good measure. In order to achieve such great feats, the card requires no less than three 8-pin auxiliary power connectors and takes up the space of three (2.6, to be precise) PCI slots with its ginormous dual-fan cooler. Heatpipes are also employed to keep the raging fires within in check, and — for situations where all else fails — ASUS has installed a special red button that sends the fan into full speed when depressed. ASUS hasn’t yet finalized how far above the default engine clock speeds the Mars II will reach, but it has a bit of time to figure that out as this extremely limited edition card is coming sometime in July. Buyers in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific region will have to be quick on their credit card trigger, as only 1,000 Mars IIs will ever be produced. Oh, and if you’re wondering how much power a dual-GTX 580 graphics card might consume, the answer is 600W. All by itself.

Also making its debut at Computex this week is ASUS’ latest offering for the truly overclock-mad PC gamer: the Matrix GTX580 Platinum. Frankly, it feels barren by comparison to its Martian sibling, coming with just one GTX 580 graphics processor, albeit an overclocked one, and the requirement for only two 8-pin connectors for added power. ASUS has thrown in a pair of physical “plus” and “minus” buttons, which permit voltage alterations on the fly, added the same fan override key as on the Mars II, and included a Safe Mode switch at the back in the event that you get carried away with your tweaking. Mashing that last button will reset all clock speeds, voltages and other settings to their default values, which should hopefully let you boot back up and try again. A final note of merit goes to the LED-infused Matrix logo atop the GTX580 Platinum. It’s not there just for decorative purposes; its color changes in response to the load the GPU is under, so that blue and green will tell you there are no worries and orange and red will indicate you’re cranking it close to its limits. The GTX580 Platinum should start selling worldwide next week, though pricing has yet to be announced. Check it out in closer detail in the gallery below.

ASUS Mars II and Matrix GTX580 Platinum eyes-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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