Biostar has released its T-Series TF560 A2+ motherboard which supports AMD's upcoming socket AM2+ CPUs. Although socket AM2+ CPUs will not launch until later in the year, the socket is backwards compatible and is able to support both AM2 and AM2+ CPUs, according to the company. The TF560 A2+ adopts the Nvidia nForce 560 media and communications processor (MCPs) which includes support for MediaShield RAID 0, 1, 0+1 or 5 configurations, FirstPacket network optimization technology, and nTune system performance and optimization manager, noted Biostar. The TF560 A2+ will be available in the US on June 29 and in Europe at the beginning of July with a price of US$80, according to the company. Biostar TF560 A2+ specifications Item Description Chipset Nvidia nForce 560 Socket AM2+/AM2 PCI Express x16 1 PCI Express x 1 2 PCI 3 LAN Realtek RTL8110SC - Integrated 10/100/1000 Transceiver SATA 3Gb/s 4 RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 Integrated Audio Realtek ALC888 8+2-Channel HD Audio Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, June 2007 Biostar TF560 A2+Photo: Company
Albatron Technology, Biostar, and Walton Chaintech have each announced low-cost graphics cards based on Nvidia's new GeForce 8400GS GPU.Positioned to target the entry-level market, the 8400GS-based cards feature 450MHz core speeds and 64-bit 256MB DDR2 video memory. Additionally they support Shader Model 4.0 rendering technology, high-resolution DirectX 10 gaming, Microsoft Windows Vista graphics, and HD DVD and Blu-ray video playback.Walton Chaintech GSV84GSPhoto: CompanyAlbatron 8400GSPhoto: CompanyBiostar Sigma Gate V8402GL26Photo: Company
Nvidia has announced a new class of processors based on a new graphics processing unit (GPU). Under the Nvidia Tesla brand, Nvidia will offer a family products that will place the power previously available only from supercomputers in the hands of every scientist and engineer. Today's workstations will be transformed into personal supercomputers, claimed the company.The Nvidia Tesla product line includes new GPU processors, deskside supercomputers and servers:Nvidia Tesla GPU computing processor, a dedicated computing board that scales to multiple Tesla GPUs inside a single PC or workstation. The Tesla GPU features 128 parallel processors, and delivers up to 518 gigaflops of parallel computation. The GPU computing processor can be used in existing systems partnered with high-performance CPUs.Nvidia Tesla deskside supercomputer, a scalable computing system that includes two Nvidia Tesla GPUs and attaches to a PC or workstation through a PCI Express connection. With multiple deskside systems, a standard PC or workstation is transformed into a personal supercomputer, delivering up to eight teraflops of compute power to the desktop.Nvidia Tesla GPU computing server, a 1U server housing up to eight Nvidia Tesla GPUs, containing more than 1000 parallel processors that add teraflops of parallel processing to clusters.Computing on Nvidia Tesla is now available to any software developer through the world's only C-language development environment for the GPU. Nvidia Cuda is a complete software development solution that includes a C-compiler for the GPU, debugger/profiler, dedicated driver, and standard libraries. Cuda simplifies parallel computing on the GPU by using the standard C language to create programs that process large quantities of data in parallel. Programs written with Cuda and run on Tesla are able to process thousands of threads simultaneously, providing high computational throughput to enable the GPU to quickly solve complex, computational problems. The Nvidia Cuda development environment is currently supported on the Linux and Microsoft Windows XP operating systems, noted the company.Nvidia Tesla productsPhoto: Company
Samsung Electronics has announced its one terabyte (TB) F1 series hard disk drive (HDD), which features the highest recording density in a 3.5-inch HDD using only three disks. The new Serial ATA 3.5-inch F1 series drives are designed to be a large capacity, low power and high performance solution for enterprise applications, personal video recorders, desktop PCs or external storage, said the company.Samsung's F1 drives employ proprietary technologies to achieve low power consumption and high performance. Quiet operation is ensured via Samsung's NoiseGuard and SilentSeek technologies, which reduce overall noise and vibration emanating from the drive, claimed the company, while optimized electronics and power saving modes reduce power consumption and resulting heat dissipation, making the F1 the coolest operating 1TB drive on the market.PMR recording with Samsung's Flying on Demand (FOD) head technology ensures improved recording stability over changing temperature ranges. Samsung's drive offers a higher predicted reliability versus competitive drives that require five disks to achieve similar capacities, noted the company.The F1 series drive features a 334GB per-platter capacity, a 7200-rpm spin speed, a 32MB cache, and up to a 1.2 million-hour MTBF. The F1 series offers high reliability for enterprise requirements and is optimized for RAID applications. It features a SATA 3Gb/s interface with NCQ and additional SATA features. The F1 series offers improved performance with SHOS based firmware, vibration tolerance with a rotational vibration sensor and lower power consumption with an optimized SOC.Samsung's SpinPoint F1 series is currently shipping with a US$399 MSRP.
OCZ Technology Group has announced its PC2-6400 Platinum Vista Performance Edition 4GB (2x2048MB) dual-channel kit. These new modules feature enhanced timings for gamers transitioning their high-performance systems to Windows Vista, noted the company.For enthusiasts shifting to Vista and who need the performance of high speed memory, the PC2-6400 Platinum 4GB kit is the ideal upgrade from the standard 2GB of RAM, according to OCZ, adding that the OCZ PC-6400 Vista Performance series was developed to provide a superior computing experience that ensures the best possible gaming and productivity on Vista systems.As part of OCZ's Platinum series, the PC2-6400 4GB modules run at 800MHz with 5-4-4 timings, according to the company.OCZ Technology's PC2-6400 Platinum Vista Performance Edition 4GB (2x2048MB) dual-channel kitPhoto: Company
Seagate Technology announced its Cheetah NS hard drive, developed for mission-critical enterprise network storage applications with low power consumption requirements.Leveraged from the same platform as the 15K-rpm Cheetah 15K.5, the Cheetah NS is a new 10K-rpm hard drive that delivers best-in-class capacity, energy savings and performance when compared to standard 3.5-inch form factor 10K-rpm enterprise drives, according to Seagate.The Cheetah NS features up to 33% more capacity at 400GB along with a 33% reduction in power and cooling requirements, stated the company. This additional capacity and reduced cooling profile in the data center means that the Cheetah NS ultimately delivers the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) for a wide range of mission-critical enterprise network storage applications, said Segate.The Cheetah NS delivers higher IOPS performance when compared with standard 10K-rpm drives, according to Segate, noting that with a seek time of 3.9ms, and operating at 10K-rpm, random performance is increased by 10% while sequential performance is improved by as much as 23%. The Cheetah NS is also available in the most advanced interfaces, 3Gb/sec Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) or 4Gb/sec Fibre Channel, noted the company.Seagate's PowerTrim technology is a set of proprietary features that together reduce the Cheetah NS drive's overall power consumption in the enterprise, said Seagate, adding that using PowerTrim technology, the Cheetah NS helps energy-constrained data centers maximize efficiency with power consumption rated as low as eight watts, resulting in a drive that delivers a best-in-class 34% reduction of power at idle as well as a 33% reduction in operating power compared to other standard 10K drives.Designed for the demanding workloads of the enterprise, the Cheetah NS is rated with a mean time between failure (MTBF) of 1.4 million hours and is backed by Seagate's trusted five-year warranty. Seagate is now shipping the Cheetah NS to leading OEM customers. The Cheetah NS is expected to be available to the worldwide distribution channel during the third quarter of 2007.Seagate's Cheetah NS network hard drivePhoto: Company
Thermaltake Technologies recently announced the addition of its NBcool series of coolers to its notebook cooler offerings. The T500, T1000 series of the NBcool line support up to 15-inch notebooks and use fans ranging from 70mm to 120mm to provide the best cooling with efficiency and silence improving performance of the notebook, according to the company.Thermaltake's NBCool T500 is black accented with racing inspired lines, noted Thermaltake, adding that cooling on the T500 is accomplished with two 80mm fans that produce little noise.The NBCool T1000 utilizes one 120mm LED fan operating at low speed for silence and emits a cool blue light for visual effect, stated Thermaltake.The NBCool T2000 is only half the size of the T1000 but works just as well with two 70mm fans blowing onto the notebook and also elevating the notebook to increase air flow and discharge heat from the bottom of the notebook, said the company.The NBCool series is powered through the USB port of the computer, reducing the need to carry around any bulky AC adapters, noted Thermaltake. The ergonomic design of the series lets the wrist align naturally when typing and increases comfort to the user, according to the company.The Thermaltake NBcool T2000 notebook coolerPhoto: Company
Following Asustek Computer's step into the PSU (power supply unit) market, Gigabyte Technology is also preparing to cut into the market this year, according to sources at Gigabyte.Although the PSU market is getting mature, recent rapid increases in PC performance have raised the demand for high wattage PSUs accordingly, noted the sources. Gigabyte is optimistic over the future of the PSU market, they added.Gigabyte has shipped six new PSUs; Gigabyte Odin GT in 800W, 680W and 550W versions, and Odin Pro in 800W, 680W and 550W in the channel market, and will launch the 1200W Thor series in the near future. The Odin GT series includes P-Tuner monitoring software to allow users to check the total and peak watt usage of the PSUs, added the sources.Gigabyte Odin GT seriesPhoto: CompanyGigabyte Odin Pro seriesPhoto: Company
Sony Ericsson recently announced a series of new phones, including the K850 and Z320 Cybershot phones, the W910 and W960 Walkman phones, and the K530 and Z250 handsets.The K850 Cybershot phone is a tri-band HSDPA and quad-band GPRS/EDGE clamshell phone with a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus and Xenon flash. The phone features a 2.2-inch display with an auto rotate function that automatically adjusts photos on the display to the orientation of the phone. The phone has a new media browser, which allows access to photos, video, music or podcasts from one location, according to Sony Ericsson. The K850 will be available in selected markets from early in the fourth quarter of 2007 and will come in either blue or green.The new Sony Ericsson Z320 is a GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 and 850/1800/1900 clamshell phone with a 1.3-megapixel camera. The phone has a 1.8-inch 65k color main display and can store up to 100 pictures, according to the company. The handset will be available in selected markets from the third quarter of 2007 in red or blue.Sony Ericsson's W910 is an HSDPA Walkman phone with a 2.6-inch display and 3.2-megapixel camera. The phone features Sony Ericsson's new Media Manager for access to content on the phone and will feature the latest version of the PlayNow mobile download service (PlayNow 4.0), which allows users to download games and music. The phone comes with a 1GB Memory Stick Micro card. The Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman phone will be available in either red or black from the fourth quarter of 2007. The phone will ship in various network versions with the W908c shipping as GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, while the W910 will have UMTS/HSDPA 2100-GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 connectivity.The Sony Ericsson W960 Walkman phone is a UMTS 2100-GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone, which has a 2.6-inch touchscreen. The phone supports up to 8GB of memory and a stereo portable handsfree unit and a Stereo Bluetooth headset will be included with the phone. The W960 will be available in black from the fourth quarter of 2007.Sony Ericsson' K530 is a UMTS 2100 and GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone that is 14mm thick and has 16MB of built-in memory with support for Memory Stick Micro cards. The 3G phone features a 2-megapixel camera, FM radio, media player and a full Web browser, according to Sony Ericsson. The phone is compatible with the company's new GPS Enabler HGE-100, which also was announced with the phone. The GPS Enabler plugs into the phone to turn it into personal satellite navigation system. The K530 is available in silver in selected markets from the third quarter of 2007.The HGE-100 GPS Enabler plugs in to compatible phones and is a personal GPS navigator that is built-in to a stereo portable handsfree unit, which allows users to control calls and music on the device or switch to GPS mode when needed. Users can choose between voice or text commands, with the device having a graphical, icon-based display. The GPS Enabler HGE-100 will be available in selected markets from the third quarter of 2007.Sony Ericsson also announced its Z250 clamshell phone, which is 19mm thick and comes with a 0.3-megapixel camera. The Sony Ericsson Z250 will be in shops worldwide from the third quarter of 2007 in the following versions: Z250i and Z258c (GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900); Z250a (GSM/GPRS 850/1800/1900).The Sony Ericsson K850 Cybershot handsetPhoto: CompanyThe Sony Ericsson Z320 Cybershot phonePhoto: CompanyThe Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman phonePhoto: CompanyThe Sony Ericsson W960 Walkman phonePhoto: CompanyThe Sony Ericsson K530 handsetPhoto: CompanyThe Sony Ericsson Z250 handsetPhoto: Company
Axion has begun shipping the AXN-9701 widescreen LCD digital photo frame to channel distributors and retailers in the US.The new frame has a resolution of 480×234 pixels and brightness control for optimal viewing in any lighting condition. The internal memory on the AXN-9701 can store up to 15 images for viewing without a memory card, according to the company. The frame can display up to 2GB of photos from the memory card and supports flash drives with a direct USB connection.An auto-sort feature provides an automatic thumbnail view of all the images on a memory card regardless of their location (from all folders), while a thin credit card style remote allows users to control a slide show, single image viewing and other key features from up to 25 feet away, highlighted the company. Axion AXN-9701 digital photo frame features Item Description Screen size 7-inch Panel technology TFT LCD Resolution 480×234 Built-in memory Up to 15 pictures Memory card support SD, CF, MMC, xD, Sony Memory Stick Brightness Adjustable Music format MP3 Others Image auto-sort & thumbnail image generator Price US$89.99 Source: Company, compiled by Digitimes, June 2007Axion AXN-9701 7-inch digital photo framePhoto: Company
