Tech News
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HornetTek Fantasy @ LanOC Reviews
Published: Monday, January 2, 2012 | By: DennisCleaver name, made me do a double take and wonder why LanOC would be reviewing something like this.
Naming a product after the subject of a Ludacris song definitely garners up images of fast cars, hot women, and wealth. Does the Fantasy from HornetTek live up to my fantasies of a personal media player, and is it something you should consider adding to your already crowded home entertainment system? Read on to find out!
Oh, and its a media player about the size of 6'ish iphones.
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Is Overclocking Over?
Published: Monday, January 2, 2012 | By: DennisHere is a question that isn't so simple to answer, Is Overclocking Over? The guys at ExtremeTech ask the question and come up with an interesting conclusion.
While we were tossing around story ideas this week, one of the ExtremeTech guys lobbed out this doozy of a press release he received from Kingston. It basically explained how a Romanian overclocking team smashed a few overclocking records, including pushing Kingston’s HyperX DDR3 memory to an incredible 3600MHz (at CL10). The Lab501 team did this, and their other record breakers, with the aid of liquid nitrogen which cooled the RAM down to a frosty -196°C.
I remember reading that story and seemed like big news, both for Kingston and for Lab501. The thing that most people say when I talk about LN2 cooling is, "Is cooling your system like that practical?" Of course the answer is no, mostly due to things like voltage degradation and supplies of LN2. You also have to consider that as processors advance you don't need to overclock to get the performance you "need". The keyword here is "need" since some of us just "want" more.
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HD 7970: Bulldozer vs. Sandy Bridge vs. Nehalem @ techPowerUp
Published: Friday, December 30, 2011 | By: DennisArticles like these are really fun to read since it puts real numbers to a system type based on your video card instead of the other way around. Of course we have already determined that DX11 performance is largely dependent on your GPU and less so on your particular motherboard so keep that in mind when looking over the charts.
In our CPU scaling article we investigate gaming performance of AMD's latest Radeon HD 7970 flagship. The processors in our test group have been selected to match popular CPUs used by gamers and enthusiasts: AMD FX-8150 Bulldozer, Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge and Intel Core i7-920 Nehalem.
This begs the question, who would benefit from an article like this? Simply put overclockers. Most folks won't be building a system specifically for an HD7970 and if they are they have too much money and really should be concerned with how many 7970's to buy vs what processor to run (implying they already have the best proc).
One thing you will notice in the article is that the author doesn't call out that any system has been overclocked meaning that the Core i7 920 is running stock while the Core i5 2500k is running faster and with less threads. Not really a fair comparison. So why are the 3DMark 11 scores so close?
I'll let your little hamster wheel churn on that for a bit.
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Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD Motherboard Review @ PCSTATS
Published: Friday, December 30, 2011 | By: DennisIt is my opinion that all midrange Z68 motherboards should come with SSD cache chips onboard, not only does it increase performance but adds value to the product.
The Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD motherboard is a socket 1155 platform that can be installed with 2nd Generation Intel Core i3/i5/i7 2xxx-series 'SandyBridge' processors. Built around the Intel Z68 Express chipset, the board takes up to 32GB of dual channel DDR3-1066/1333/1600/1866/2133 memory (4GB for 32-bit OS's) in four DIMM slots. Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) are supported.
Being that this is a Gigabyte motherboard you can also expect it to overclock quite well even with the UD3 at the end.
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GIGABYTE Firmware (BIOS) Update on Certain X79 Series Motherboard Models
Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 | By: DennisIt is always a good idea to keep your BIOS up to date but the truth of the matter is you dont "need" to update the BIOS unless there is something wrong. Or, in this case something wrong with your motherboard.
City of Industry, California, December 27, 2011-- It has come to our attention that certain X79 Series Motherboards (see models below) may malfunction due to excess heat when performing Extreme Overclocking beyond the board’s limit. To address this issue and to ensure our product is being used as intended, we urge existing X79 users to either visit GIGABYTE’s official website to download and update their X79 series BIOS, or contact GIGABYTE’s regional service center.
The GIGABYTE X79 Series Motherboards in question are ONLY limited to the following models: G1.Assassin 2 , GA-X79-UD7, GA-X79-UD5 and GA-X79-UD3. The X79 series motherboards not named above are outside the scope of this statement and not applicable.The BIOS update is to address issues with the PWM and how it may overheat and catch fire. If you happen to have one of these boards you can use the @BIOS software and update your firmware from within Windows.
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Beginners Guides: 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP v1.7
Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 | By: DennisWindows 7 is already pretty fast provided you are using modern hardware but there are still things you can do to improve overall performance.
From faster boot times, to speeding up your current hardware, PCSTATS has 99 Tips to make your computer run quicker, better, and more efficiently. Whether this means booting and shutting down quicker, achieving better 3D gaming performance, or just making your PC feel more 'snappy,' chances are there's a tip or two in here to help you speed your current PC up
Worth checking out if you are looking to get more from your Win7 install.
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NL: Review Block - Boards and Cases
Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 | By: DennisBoards and cases, they go together right?
Motherboards
- ASUS Rampage IV Extreme @ ocaholic
- Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P Z68 Motherboard Review @ APH Networks
- ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 Intel LGA 1155 Motherboard Review
- ASUS 990FX Sabertooth @ Bjorn3D
- Funky Kit Review: Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5 AM3+ Motherboard
- ASRock X79 Extreme4-M @ PureOverclock
- ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Intel LGA 2011 @ techPowerUp
- MSI X79A-GD65 8D Review @ Bjorn3D
Cases
- NZXT Phantom 410 PC Case Review @ Real World Labs
- Streacom FC5 Silent HTPC Chassis Review @MissingRemote
- Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition @ LanOC Reviews
- Diablotek Fly Mid Tower Case Review @ ThinkComputers
- BitFenix Merc @ PureOverclock
- Xigmatek Gigas Case Review @ HardwareHeaven
- NZXT Phantom 410 Case Review @ Legit ReviewsSome real exciting stuff happening in the world of chassis design, stay tuned.
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ARM Cortex-A9 PandaBoard ES Benchmarks @ Phoronix
Published: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 | By: DennisThe majority of ARM based computer systems are found in mobile devices like PDAs and smart phones, of course that isn't all the technology is good for.
The performance of the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 OMAP4460 configuration as found on the PandaBoard ES is quite commendable and in this Phoronix review the dual-core 1.2GHz ARM system with PowerVR SGX540 graphics is being compared to several Intel Atom, Pentium M, and Core Duo configurations running Ubuntu Linux throughout. To spice things up, the pre-production OLPC XO-1.75 was also thrown into the testing mix with its single-core ARMv7 800MHz Sheeva processor.
The PandaBoard seems pretty good for a system that is smaller than Mini-ITX and still supports desktop technologies.
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AMD launches 28nm processed Radeon HD 7970 graphics card
Published: Thursday, December 22, 2011 | By: DennisSay hello to the AMD HD 7970, if only on paper
The AMD Radeon HD 7970, through AMD App Acceleration, enables high-definition video images and performance improvements for everyday applications. Advancements with AMD Eyefinity technology enable gamers and desktop enthusiasts to connect up to six displays to one graphics card, delivering 3D experiences and 16,000 x 16,000 display resolutions.
It is also armed with the latest PCI Express 3.0 standard to enable image quality, and is additionally equipped with GDDR5 memory, enabling accelerated GPU performance. Through its AMD PowerTune and AMD ZeroCore Power technologies, the AMD Radeon HD 7970 enables higher performance levels while maximizing power efficiencies, the vendor said.
Source: DigitimesHD 7970 Reviews from around the web
- AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series Graphics Preview @ Madshrimps
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 review @ Guru3D
- AMD Radeon HD 7970: 28nm Tahiti GPU Reviewed @ HotHardware
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 CrossFire Performance Review @ HardwareHeaven
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 Graphics Card Review @ HardwareHeaven
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 @ techPowerUp
- AMD HD7970 Graphics Card Review @ Kitguru
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB Review @ Hardware CanucksEstimated street cost: about $550 US
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American tycoon's fortune to be divided up after 92 years
Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 | By: DennisThis guy really didn't like his family.
The $100 million (£60 million) fortune of an American timber and iron tycoon, which has been out of reach for the past 92 years due to the terms of his will, is finally to be divided between his descendants.
When Wellington Burt died in 1919 at the age of 87, in Saginaw, Michigan, he ordered that the majority of his fortune not be distributed until 21 years after the death of his last surviving grandchild.
The unusual arrangement has been attributed to family feuds and to the eccentricity of Mr Burt, who was once among America's 10 richest men, but no one has been able to say conclusively why he chose it.The story is from early this year but stories like this can live on forever and be a model for all rich folks to come. Of course the moral of the story, be nice to your elders.
Check out the link below for the full story.
