Kontron introduced its new PCI-760 PICMG 1.3 system host board (SHB) featuring the latest Intel Q35 GMCH chipset and LGA-775 socket-based Intel processors.The PCI-760 supports Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 3.0GHz and provides advanced remote management features based on Intel's AMT 3.0 technology, according to the company.The PCI-760 is suited for industrial test and measurement applications, parallel processing of several video and/or audio streams, control and visualization or imaging technologies in medical and industrial applications as well as simulation applications, according to Kontron.With up to a 1333MHz FSB (front side bus), the PCI-760 supports up to 8GB of DDR2 SDRAM and features a full range of interfaces. The board's integrated Intel GMA 3100 supports DirectX 9.0c for full Windows Vista Aero compliance and resolutions of up to QXGA (2048×1536) at 75 Hz via a VGA connector on the bracket. The PCI-760 is available for purchase beginning in October.Kontron PCI-760 PICMG 1.3 system host board (SHB)Photo: Company

Lenovo introduced its latest desktop PCs, the ThinkCentre M57 and M57p and a 22-inch monitor.The ThinkCentre M57p features the latest Intel vPro processor technology while the ThinkCentre M57 comes with a quad core Intel Core 2 Quad processor.Lenovo also introduced a 22-inch widescreen WUXGA resolution monitor, the Lenovo ThinkVision L220x Wide, which features support for full high definition 1080p video.The ThinkCentre M57 and M57p will start at US$821 and US$1,021, respectively, and will both come out in tower, small form factor and ultra small form factor versions, while the ThinkVision L220x Wide monitor will start at US$550. The PCs will be available at the beginning of October, while the monitor will be available at the beginning of November.Lenovo ThinkCentre M series desktop PC (Tower version)Photo: Company

Toshiba's Digital Products Division, a division of Toshiba America Information Systems recently announced the availability of a DLP (digital light processing) front projector (TDP-PX10U) for mobile presenters, business users and consumers.The projector weighs in at 2.9-pounds, fits easily into a briefcase or carry-on luggage and is available at a estimated unit price (ESUP) of US$999.Features of the new model include a 2,200 ANSI lumens XGA 1024×768 native resolution, contrast ratio of 2,000:1 and USB port for "PC-free" presentations. The projector uses BrilliantColor technology, which enables up to a 50% increase in the brightness of colors, said the company. Toshiba TDP-PX10U mobile projector specification Item Details Display technology 0.55DMD DLP chip Light sources 180W (160W in low mode) Brightness 2,220 ANSI lumens Resolution 1024×768 Color reproduction Full 16.7 million colors Contrast ratio 2,000:1 Projection screen size 40-300-inches Source: Toshiba, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007Toshiba new 2.9-pound DLP projector Photo: Company

VIA Technologies announced the VIA EPIA SN-series motherboard, a Mini-ITX board based on the VIA CN896 IGP chipset, that is suited for the industrial PC (IPC) market.Powered by the 1.8GHz VIA C7 processor, the VIA EPIA SN provides a performance boost up to 30% over previous VIA EPIA motherboards, according to VIA. The VIA EPIA SN is also the first to provide the added flexibility of a 16-lane PCI Express port for bandwidth-intensive graphics cards, stated the company. The motherboard also is equipped with four SATA 2 ports, an Ultra DMA port, a compact flash connector, dual-LAN ports and wireless support. The VIA EPIA SN can support 4GB of DDR2 667 system memory.The VIA CN896 chipset features VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics core, designed for high performance in 2D, 3D and DirectX 9 applications, noted VIA.Digital signage and POS developers can take advantage of expansion cards supporting DVI and LVDS displays, while the option of an additional four COM ports and a native LPC bus is important to POS vendors, noted the company. Multiple native RAID configurations through 4 SATA channels and VIA V-RAID within the VIA VT8251 southbridge, and the inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port as standard make the EPIA SN series a strong contender in NAS system development, according to VIA. VIA EPIA SN series mini-ITX motherboard specifications Item Detail Processor VIA C7 1.5GHz nanoBGA2 processor Chipset VIA CN896 northbridge VIA VT8251 southbridge System memory Two DDR2 400/533/667 DIMM sockets up to 4GB VGA Integrated VIA Chrome9 HC integrated graphics Expansion slots One 16-Lane PCI-E slot and one 32-bit miniPCI slot Onboard IDE One UltraDMA 133/100/66 connector Onboard LAN One VIA VT6103L 10/100Mbps Ethernet PHY and one VIA VT6130 PCI-E gigabit Ethernet controller Onboard audio VIA VT1708A high defination audio codec Onboard TPM Infineon SLB9635TT 1.2 (Trusted Platform Module) Form factor Mini-ITX (6 layers) with size 17×17cm Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007VIA EPIA SN series mini-ITX motherboard Photo: Company

Yageo, a Taiwan-based passive components supplier, has announced the launch of eight new GPS active antenna modules which will complement existing circular polarization and linear polarization antennas allowing Yageo to offer customers a comprehensive antenna product portfolio.Production of the new GPS active antenna modules measuring 13×13 to 28×28 are running at the rate of 100,000 units per month and is expected to reach one million units per month by the end of 2008.The new GPS active antenna modules, consisting of a passive antenna, active circuits and cable with connector, all developed in-house, are designed for extensive mobile phone and GPS applications.Available in both first and second level LNA versions, the GPS active antenna modules come in elevation gain of 17dBi and 30dBi, noise figure below 1.5dB, 1.575GHz work capacity and work temperature between 30-degrees Celsius and 85-degrees Celsius.Alan Lee, Yageo's vice president of global sales & marketing, said, "The US Federal Communications Commission has stipulated E911 standards, which require emergency call functions in all mobile phones sold in the country to be GPS ready. Effective 2006, the E911 standards has propelled a surge in the demand for GPS modules in mobile phones. More recently, the Beijing Olympics organizer's choice of GPS enabled transportation systems has also attracted the attention of GPS suppliers worldwide. Yageo is set to benefit from the market growth on the back of a wide ranging antenna solutions that include the new GPS active antenna modules as well as our GPS circular polarization and linear polarization antennas."

Asustek Computer recently announced its P5NT WS motherboard, which is built on the Nvidia nForce 680i LT SLI chipset and supports Intel LGA775 socket series CPUs. The motherboard can support two Nvidia SLI graphics cards with dual x16 speeds and is also Quadro certified, according to Asustek.The PCI-X structure of the P5NT WS motherboard is a newer, higher speed version of the conventional PCI standard. It is also fully hardware and software backward compatible to previous generations of PCI, stated Asustek.The P5NT WS also encompasses an 8-phase power design that reduces input ripple current and output ripple voltages – keeping the CPU and power modules from the risk of high power stress. It also provides reliability under heavy-loading and overclocking by stabilizing output current and voltages. All this effectively lets components attain longer lifespans and allows them to operate at 15 degrees Celsius, lower than conventional solutions.The motherboard also features AI Clock Skew technology to automatically skew the memory clock signal timing to improve memory overclocking capabilities by 10-15%, claims Asustek. The clock signal can be adjusted to reserve enough setup time/hold time in order to maintain the system's stability. Asustek P5NT WS motherboard specification Item Detail CPU Intel LGA775 socket series CPUs Chipset Nvidia nForce 680i LT SLI chipset FSB 1333/800/533MHz Memory DDR2 800/667/533 Expansion slots 3 PCIe x16 (supports Nvidia SLI technology) 1 PCI-X 2 PCIe x1 1 PCI 2.2 LAN Gigabit LAN Audio RealTek ALC888 8-CH HD Audio Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007Asustek P5NT WS motherboardPhoto: Company

Asustek Computer has launched the KFSN4-DRE series server board and RS161-E5 server system with advanced design guidelines and equipped with the latest Dual Dynamic Power Management and Dual Link technology for native quad-core performance, targeting at the high-performance computing (HPC) market and enterprise-class applications.The KFSN4-DRE series are the first Dual Dynamic Power Management ready platform with front parallel-balance CPU and memory placement designed to increase thermal efficiency by up to 20-30%, claimed Asustek. Along with the KFSN4-DRE server board, the upcoming RS161-E5 is Asustek's next-generation dual Opteron processor-based 1U server system. Featured with Asustek's Smart Fan 2 Technology to automatically adjust cooling conditions based on the system workload and ambient temperature. Asustek KFSN4-DRE server motherboard specification Item Detail Processor Support Two quad-core AMD Opteron 2x00 series processors Core Logic Nvidia nForce Professional 2200 Memory 16 DDR2 533/667 up to 64GB Storage Built-in 4-port SATA RAID Support Four SATA Ports, RAID 0, 1, 10, 5 (Windows) NIC Two Broadcom BCM 5721 PCI-E GbE LAN Onboard Gfx XGI Z9s VGA Controller / 32MB DDR2 VRAM Expansion One PCI Express x16 (x16 link) or two PCI Express x16 (x8 link) with riser card Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007Asustek KFSN4-DRE server motherboardPhoto: CompanyAsustek RS161-E5 server systemPhoto: Company

Leadtek Research has announced new members of the Quadro family - entry level FX 370 and FX 570, mid-range FX 1700 and the NVS 290 and Tesla C870. The latest Nvidia Quadro architecture takes application performance to new levels by featuring the industry's first unified architecture, said Leadtek. Designed to dynamically allocate geometry, shading, pixel, and compute processing power, the latest Nvidia Quadro graphics boards deliver optimized graphics processing unit (GPU) performance. The GPU pipeline efficiency is further enhanced by fast 3D and large texture transfers, while Nvidia's crossbar memory architecture, enables occlusion culling, loss less depth Z-buffer, and color compression. The latest Nvidia Quadro FX graphics solutions are the reference standard for Shader Model 4.0 and next-generation operating systems enabling breakthrough ultra-realistic, real-time visualization applications. Styling and production rendering are integral functions of the design workflow. Leadtek Nvidia Quadro series graphics cards specification FX 370 FX 570 FX 1700 NVS 290 Frame Buffer Memory 256MB DDR2 256MB DDR2 512 MB DDR2 256MB DDR2 Memory Interface 64-bit 128-bit 128-bit 64-bit Memory Bandwidth 6.4GB/sec 12.8GB/sec 12.8 GB/sec 6.4MB/sec Max Power Consumption 38W 38W 42W 20W Graphics Bus PCI Express x16 PCI Express x16 PCI Express x16 PCI Express x16 & x1 Display Connectors Dual DVI-I Two DVI-I Dual DVI-I, HDTV DMS-59 Single Link DVI Yes (1) No No Yes (2) Dual Link DVI Yes (1) Yes (2) Yes (2) No Auxiliary Power Connectors No No No No Number of Slots 1 1 1 1 Thermal Solution Active Fansink Active Fansink Active Fansink Passive Heatsink Nvidia SLI Technology No No No No Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007 Leadtek Nvidia Quadro FX 370 graphics cardPhoto: Company

Leadtek Research recently announced the launch of its latest webcams, the WinFast iCAM200 MA and iCAM100 M. The new webcams can capture full motion 30fps digital video streams through USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 connections and have a built-in high sensitive microphone. The iCAM series works with Skype, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, stated Leadtek.The WinFast iCAM 200MA provides 1.3-megapixel high-definition resolution and features low-noise CMOS imaging technology. The webcam has a built-in snap shot button allowing a user to take a photo instantly.The WinFast iCAM 100M provides a maximum software enhanced resolution of 2560×2048. The webcam has six built-in LEDs for dim light situations, according to Leadtek. Leadtek webcam products specification Product name WinFast iCAM 100 M WinFast iCAM 200 MA Interface USB 2.0 USB 2.0 Sensor 1/5-inch CMOS sensor 1/4-inch CMOS sensor Effective pixels 0.3 megapixels (software enhanced to 2 megapixels) 1.3 megapixels Max. resolution 2560×2048 1280×1024 Max. frame rate 30ftps (640×480: 30fps, 1280×1024: 15fps) 30ftps (640×480: 30fps, 1280×1024: 15fps) Snap shot button NA Yes Focus range 1 cm to infinity 1 cm to infinity White balance Automatic Automatic Auto exposure Automatic Automatic Weight 90g (USB cable included) 77g (USB cable included) Dimension (H×W×D) 89×40×15mm (USB cable and rack excluded) 75×30×58mm (USB cable excluded) Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, September 2007Leadtek WinFast iCAM 100 M webcamPhoto: CompanyLeadtek WinFast iCAM 200 MA webcamPhoto: Company

Transcend Information recently introduced its new 2GB DDR2-800 error correcting code (ECC) unbuffered DIMM (UB-DIMM) for high-end computer applications, which include workstations and servers. The error checking and correcting capability of the JEDEC-compliant DIMM helps reduce the risk of operation errors and increase system reliability. Chips used on the DIMM are from Micron Technology. The DIMM is available in 2GB density in a 128Mx8 configuration and has a suggested retail price of NT$14,000 (US$422).Transcend 2GB DDR2-800 error correcting code (ECC) unbuffered DIMM (UB-DIMM)Photo: Company