Tech News
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ASRock Announces the Release of its Top Tier Z77 Extreme11 Motherboard
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisTrolling HWBot today I noticed a press release from one of their sponsors, ASRock.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan, October 17, 2012 – For those who haven’t taken a leap to Intel’s Z77 and Ivy Bridge combo yet, either you’re cultivating self discipline or you’re planning to prey upon something big. Well, now is the big moment, because ASRock is releasing its beastlike Z77 Extreme11! This tiptop motherboard has 8 SAS2/SATA3 connectors supported by an LSI™ SAS2308 PCIe 3.0 x8 controller. For extreme graphics, 3-Way SLI/4-Way CrossFireX is supported via a PLX PEX 8747 bridge. The LAN solution is also tempting. Two Intel® LAN chips to support dual LAN and teaming, while there’s also a 2T2R Dual Band WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0 module and a bundled Wi-SB Box. Specially designed for computer enthusiasts, Z77 Extreme11 possesses unbeatable hardware and extreme powers waiting to be unleashed.
The layout of this motherboard is quite good its got a PLX PCI Express switch, Wi-Fi, dual Intel Ethernet, gold caps and active cooling on the South Bridge. If you can get past the Black and Gold color scheme you'll find eight SAS/SATA drive connections and a PCI Express layout supporting 4-way GPU setups.
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Who controls the internet?
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisThe internet has gotten big!
While that statement can really go without saying it is important to realize that while the internet is far reaching there are parts of the world that are without internet. Most claim that the cost of internet admission is too steep for developing countries. While others argue that money is being misappropriated to pad pockets of those in charge instead of building infrastructure.
In this article at the Guardian the author talks about some of the challenges of the internet and what the "higher ups" are planning to do about it.
But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December when the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have been explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from the US, while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony is limiting their economic opportunities. With the world's internet population predicted to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything to play for
Sadly the above quote seems to be the underlying message in the whole article, it's almost like the world doesn't appreciate the technology that the US has shared. Or maybe they have misunderstood "the American way". Yes, Americans have the ability to start a business and are given the freedom to get rich but you can't just put up a sign or start a website and expect money to start flowing in.
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EVGA Z77 FTW (Moving Beyond Overclocking) @ Techreaction
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisShame on you for thinking that there was anything "but" overclocking
We would like to thank EVGA for providing this feature filled monster – for our scrutiny. Yeah; many say – “over kill”, we say “Ports?” – “Can we use them?” – Well yes we can! Where others see brag factor, we see utility, functionality and purpose. Well, right about now you may be thinking that this board comes with all those lovely x16 slots and dual CPU 8 pin power inputs and… So what?
We have seen the limits of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge pushed. We know you can get 5 Gigahertz on air with sandy bridge and 4.7 Gigahertz+ on air with the Ivy Bridge. We know that other than minor differences that fall within the margin of error but the fact is – Z77 on air, is Z77 on air. There is no competition from other companies so Z77 is it for the mainstream. We have a board with all of its papers and a proven pedigree that really never really gets to show off all of its other parts so there will be no real overclocking (everyone else can do that) this time around. We will instead focus on the strengths of the construction and component integration
This board comes with the standard four SATA II ports and two SATA III provided via the Intel chipset and two more internal SATA III via Marvell internal ports, two eSATA, raid functionality based on the Intel chip, software raid through Windows and if that is not enough there are ten USB ports on the rear (4 USB 3.0 Spec) with an additional six provided by the expansion bracket (2 USB 3.0 Spec) and Dual GB LAN! We will use most of them after we get finished with the basics of the review.I would like to say that the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard was one of the coolest boards I ever used but, it wasn't without a few issues. The biggest of these is OC Memory support (which I am told has been sorted out) and the less than stellar packaging. Truth be told I rarely comment on the package since 90% of the time after the product has been removed the box gets recycled. After this who cares if the board is in clamshell plastic?
Of course overclocking is a big part of the Z77 FTW but that doesn't mean you have to actually OC on a regular basis. In fact stability is often a byproduct of a highly crafted overclocking product. Does it stand up to the TechReaction? you'll have to check out the article to know for sure.
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SilverStone Heligon Series HE01 CPU Cooler Review @ HardwareHeaven
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisSilverstone is back in the heatsink arena and doing things right this time. One of the first heatsinks out in the retail channels is the HE01 Heligon. This is a dual tower cooler with a single 35mm wide fan located in the middle.
The focus of today's review is one of SilverStones latest coolers. From the Heligon series the HE01 supports all recent CPU sockets and has one of the chunkiest bundled fans we have seen, as well as the option to install two more on the heatsink if we wish.
I have one of these coolers chilling my Core i7 3930K and so far am really happy with the results. Sadly the HardwareHeaven crew decided to install on the AMD platform which is far from pushing the limits and also one of the most difficult installs you could possibly do.
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BitFenix Hydra Pro & Recon Fan Controllers Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisYou say "fan controller" I say, "why aren't there more options?"
Fan controllers may not be a marquee item within many enthusiasts’ systems but the power they grant over airflow within a case cannot be underestimated. BitFenix's Hydra Pro and Recon controllers hail from very different ends of the spectrum but they both grant end users complete control over their system fans.
Back in the early days of modding there was no such thing as a fan controller so, you built your own. Seems now days you can find them on every street corner, assuming the street corner is an online casemodding store AND the site decides to take a chance and stock them.
If I didn't know any better I'd say fan controllers don't sell all that well.
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NL: Review Block - Asus Matrix Day
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 | By: DennisThe Asus Matrix is one of the "better" cards you can buy when it comes to overclocking due in part to the enhanced engineering and large triple slot cooler. Of course non-overclockers will also like the card considering the hefy factory overclock and sleek Asus styling.
Web Reviews
- ASUS Matrix HD 7970 Platinum review: 1.4 kg graphics card
- ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum @ Bjorn3D
- Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum Graphics Card ReviewI wouldn't expect to see a Matrix on the Ninjalane test bench any time soon considering how difficult they are to come by.
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NL: Review Block - ASRock and MSI go all Motherboard
Published: Friday, October 12, 2012 | By: DennisIt would seem that MSI and ASRock are having a friendly competition to see who can get the most motherboards out for review. By my count ASRock is ahead.
Web Reviews
- MSI Z77 MPOWER @ PureOverclock
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula Intel LGA 1155 @ techPowerUp
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula review: designed by Nick Shih
- MSI Z77 MPower review: guaranteed to overclock
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula @ PureOverclock
- MSI Z77 MPower @ ocaholicBeing ahead is only part of the battle, to really be successful you must generate interest in your product and prove it can do what you claim. What do you think? did both companies hit the mark?
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Playing the Game (Editorial) @ Techgage
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 | By: DennisI really do love these kinds of editorials, especially when they cover both sides of the story.
All this journalistic integrity is wonderful, but I think many people missed the boat on something - weren't reviews already being "shaped" long beforehand by delayed product shipments, paper launches, "recommended" testing procedures, blacklists, and everything else that's been prevalent in this industry (and getting more so) for years? Nobody cries when their competitor site gets shut out of a release altogether because it didn't toe the "company line" of PR. Very few, if any, choose to miss an NDA because the product didn't show up on the doorstep until the day before. Somehow that doesn't affect the quality of our reviews?
Clear your schedule because you will want to read the whole thing.
The backstory for this editorial is related to the recent AMD Trinity launch and subsequent change in what could be released "ahead of the NDA". Of course some sites took issue with the change and my first reaction was that the site in question was pissed they had to move up their testing schedule and decided to take it out on AMD. The truth (at least for them) was maybe some of the previous along with their fear that the review would be half baked and they wouldn't make their pageview quota for the month.
As a reviewer I know there are two things that kill pageviews
- When every site in existence launches a review on the same day (NDA Launches) - Readers will go to their favorite site and not bother visiting anyone else.
- Doing a review in two parts - (eg Preview followed by a full Review) - Readers have an attention span of a frog and elephant memory when it comes to reviews and if they see the same product on the same site they don't go back.
Anyhow, after reading Brett's editorial I am once again of the opinion that crying about your skinned knee doesn't work anymore because nobody cares.
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Mysterious Algorithm Commanded 4% of Trading Activity Last Week
Published: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 | By: DennisThis is an interesting story that talks about how 4% of trading traffic last week came from a mysterious source and didn't actually do anything.
The stats are alarming.
A single mysterious computer program that placed orders — and then subsequently canceled them — made up 4 percent of all quote traffic in the U.S. stock market last week, according to the top tracker of high-frequency trading activity. The motive of the algorithm is still unclear.
The program placed orders in 25-millisecond bursts involving about 500 stocks, according to Nanex, a market data firm. The algorithm never executed a single trade, and it abruptly ended at about 10:30 a.m. ET Friday.I have several friends in the industry who each have a method for timing the stock market and offered that as a service to their customers. For a while those signals were extremely accurate with maybe a 10% error rate. When I asked them what causes the errors the answer was simple, "Day Traders". As you may know a day trader is a person who buys up a stock, watches it for the day, and promptly sells it before the market closes. In a rare occasion the day trader may hold on to them for a week but the intent is to ride the waves and make money betting on the direction. (long or short)
Sounds like a good way to make some quick money until you factor in how many day traders there are and how much money they move at any given second. In fact an army of day traders can sway the market several points and create artificial "demand" for stocks that would otherwise be undesirable.
The trick to making this work is to move a lot of money in a very short amount of time, the trading floor will then respond and cause the market to no longer react as you would predict and, in rare cases, cause it to crash.Scary Stuff
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NVidia GTX 650 TI Launch Day - Rounding Out Kepler
Published: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 | By: DennisI was lucky enough to get three GTX 650 Ti cards this round and decided that instead of doing 3 individual articles I would pool them all into a single round-up and poke fun at the loser. Can you guess which one it was?
NVidia GTX 650Ti Three Way Roundup @ Ninjalane
Here are some reviews from around the web. The GTX 650 Ti isn't a super fast card but does extremely well for the price.
Web Reviews
- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti (GV-N65TOC-2GI) Video Card Review @ Hardware Secrets
- MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti review @ Gru3D
- EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB SSC SuperSuperClocked @ Ocaholic
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Video Card Review w/ MSI and EVGA @ Legit Reviews
- HEXUS Review: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti review: Gigabyte vs MSI vs Zotac
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Round-Up: EVGA, ZOTAC, Gigabyte @ HotHardware
- NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti (2GB OC Editions) Launch Review at HardwareHeaven
- Nvidia's GeForce GTX 650 Ti graphics card @ TR
- Asus GTX 650 Ti DirectCU II TOP @ LanOC Reviews
- Nvidia GTX 650 Ti @ LanOC Reviews
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti @ PureOverclock
- Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti OC @ PureOverclock
- ASUS GTX 650 Ti DirectCU II TOP @ PureOverclock
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Review @ Hardware Canucks
- ASUS GeForce GTX 650 Ti Direct Cu II 1 GB @ techPowerUp
- MSI GeForce GTX 650 Ti Power Edition 1 GB @ techPowerUp
