Desktop AMD quot;Trinity quot; APU Launch Delayed to October

Troubles cant seem to end for AMDs next-generation A-series APUs for desktops, even as the notebook variants are up and running on several designs by top vendors. Sources among motherboard makers told industry observer DigiTimes that a last-minute design change forced AMD and motherboard vendors to go back to the drawing boards. Thats every company with working socket FM2 motherboard designs we spotted at this years Computex event.

The design change will delay things for desktop variants of AMDs A-series "Trinity" APUs till October 2012. This development even affects the launch of the A10-5800K, a "flagship" quad-core APU in the series, geared for overclocking. An October launch would see the new A-series APUs launch simultaneously, or hot on the heels of, AMDs next-generation FX-series processors, codenamed "Vishera," built on the same "Piledriver" micro-architecture that Trinitys x86 cores are derived from.

In the mean time, AMD will gradually phase out existing socket AM3 processors in the Athlon II and Phenom II series, and replace them with socket FM1 Athlon II, and socket AM3+ Phenom II processors in the various price-points they hold. AMDs Taiwan office declined to comment on the DigiTimes report.

Source: DigiTimes

Dell Unveils Vostro All In One

Singapore, July 17, 2009 - Cramped spaces and overcrowded desks are a headache for business owners. That is the conclusion from a Dell online poll of small businesses in China, India, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States about their desk space challenges. In response, Dell today announced the Vostro All In One, Dell’s first all-in-one desktop computer designed exclusively for small businesses.

The Vostro All In One’s clutter-free design minimizes the amount of space the computer takes up on the desk to provide business buyers with a powerful, stylish and affordable desktop computer. What’s more, the computer’s full desktop processing power is backed with Dell’s worry-free small business support.

The system is easy to set up, going from box to business in less than four minutes, and, when using the optional VESA mount, saves customers as much as 79 percent of their desk space versus a traditional desktop and monitor set-up. When combined with optional integrated Wi-Fi® and a wireless mouse and keyboard, the result is a wire-free desk.The new Vostro also offers Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processors and an integrated webcam that enables businesses to enjoy remote collaboration.

Vostro All In One: Stylish, Scalable, Secure
•Standard gigabit Ethernet plus optional integrated Wi-Fi® 802.11 for easy connectivity enables users to run their office without a wired network or in-house IT staff
•Equipped with optional Dell Backup and Recovery Manager for simplified data protection
•Supports use of older peripherals that require serial or parallel ports
•Optional video conferencing solution with integrated camera and included software4

Backed by dedicated and specially trained small-business sales and support experts, Dell Vostro products come with a 30-day worry-free return policy, are available with Dell CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service6 and Dell ProSupport services that give customers the ability to customize and tailor services to fit their technical expertise and business needs.

Starting at S$999, the Vostro All In One is available from mid August in Singapore. For additional information on the Vostro All In One, visit www.dell.com/reclaimyourdesk.

ECS P965-A Exposed!

Intel will release the P965 BroadWater P mainstream chipset on the 5th of June.Multiple motherboard makers are working round-the-clock to put P965 motherboards on the shelves on the release day. The G965 (with Integrated Graphics Accelerator) will be released later in Q3 of 2006 as the GPU portion is still undergoing modifications redesign.

The Engineering Sample motherboard you see below is the ECS P965-Asupporting 1066FSB (266X4MHz Quad Pumped) and native DDR800 operation. The new VRM11 guidelines will power Conroe CPUs, bar the Extreme Editions. Even though the P965 natively provides a single x16 PCIe lane, ECS has implemented an extra x4 PCIe lane via the southbridge to support ATi CrossFire dual GPU topology.

ECS P965-A uses the ICH8R southbridge chipsetwhich will improve upon current ICH7 standards.

There will be 10 USB2.0 ports over the current 8
Support for Dual Hi-Speed Controllers and discrete USB halt Number of SATA-II increased from 4 to 6 (harddisk whores, rejoice :D) with Active Management Technology
It will also sport the revolutionary Gigabit Ethernet MAC network function
Internal fan speed control and a stronger SPI port ICH8 eliminates AC 97 totally
In replacment is High Definition Audio output
There will be no Parallel ATA IDE controller forcing hardware enthusiasts to adopt SATA
4 SATA ports supports Intel Matrix Storage Technology(AHCI and RAID 0/1/5/10) Supporting IMST on 4 out 6 SATA ports is for making the P965 economic enough for the mainstream

Quoting from the source: 6 PCI-E x110 USB 2.0 w/Dual EHCISPI InterfaceGbE MACAdvanced Fan Speed ControlUSB Port Disable.

ECS P965-A uses the most advanced Audio Codec so far: the Realtek ALC885 chipset which is certified Microsoft Vista Premium. It is the highest end Realtek HD Codec at the momentDAC SNR and ADC SNR is a whopping 106dB and 101dB respectivelywith 192kHz sampling10 DAC Channels and 3 Sterero ADC Channels as well as 24bit PCM mode is supported. There is 7.1 + 2 channel support. It is also the first to sport Full-Rate Lossless Content Protection Codecsupport, capable of handling future Content Protected HD-DVD audio decoding. Playing non content protected HD-DVD content will force the codec to decode in the next highest possible quality.

ECS P965-A engineering sample

Intel P96 LE82BWRP ES NB

Intel ICH8R ES SB NH82801HU

ECS P965-A PCI-E16x + 4x

Realtek ALC885

First 3D Printer Store Opens - Change in Manufacturing ahead

Theres no doubt that 3D printing is slowly but surely, making its way onto mainstream market. Conventional way of making your home or product unique by purchasing items manufactured in Far East, or simply located somewhere else isnt as optimal as 3D printing is. By reducing the distribution of the product to the simple pick-up point, market wont need to pay around 40% in the final price, which typically is the cost of distribution.

In order to challenge those 40% in price, MakerBot announced the unveiling of Replicator 2, its latest three dimensional printer. This announcement was paired with the opening of probably the worlds first 3D Printing Store. Located in a good part of Manhattan, New York - the store offers premium quality products printed on the spot. Naturally, it will sell 3D printers as well, but if you have an idea for a 3D object and cant find the product online - just print it out.

Perhaps the key ingredient of this retail story is the Replicator 2 printer itself. Weve been hearing quite a lot about the crudeness of 3D printed objects but with Replicator 2 - those comments should be matter of the past. MakerBot claims that Replicator 2 comes with a precision no less than 100 microns. Previous generation part offered precision of 270 microns, which was still too many imperfections to offer smooth surfaces. According to manufacturer claims, you can now play with a ball and it wont stick to your hands, it will be pretty smooth.

This precision enables not just movable objects such as wrenches but rather highly complex movable objects, such as working mechanisms. For example just how precise 3D printer can perform today, take a look at the images above. In case you dont want to build your own object to be printed, you can buy off creations from 3D printing communities such as Thingverse. We have browsed Thingverse for quite some time now, and there are things which are… quite mental. For instance, did you know that you can print out a completely working joystick for my "blast from the past", the Commodore C64? Picture below, and dont say you havent been warned (do note this object was printed on older 3D printer and doesnt offer the level of finesse Replicator 2 can offer).

All in all, we see 3D printers becoming an ideal companion to replace broken parts, especially ones made out of flimsy plastic and break at the worst moment - instead of buying a part, youll simply be able to order a printed part offering more rigidness than the original and who knows, perhaps even last longer.

D3 - Diablo III repoussé au printemps

C'est devenu une habitude avec Diablo III, la date de sortie du hack and slash de Blizzard a encore été repoussée. Initialement attendu "pour le début de l'année", Diablo III ne sortira finalement qu'au deuxième trimestre de cette année, soit entre le premier avril et le 30 juin 2012. Blizzard a toutefois promis de dévoiler la date de sortie "bientôt" et précisé que 2012 sera l'occasion pour la firme californienne de sortir deux jeux. Il s'agira soit de Starcraft II : Heart of the Swarm, soit de World of Warcraft : Mists of Pandaria ou encore de Blizzard DOTA qui sera un véritable jeu Free to Play à part entière.

Enfin, pour se faire pardonner, Blizzard a diffusé une nouvelle vidéo pour Diablo III. Celle-ci revient sur la difficulté du jeu à haut-niveau.




· Forum Diablo III

Arctic Cooling Freezer XTREME 2.0 For LGA1156 1366

ComputerBase reported about a second revision of the Freezer XTREME cooler from Arctic Cooling that is tested to be compatible with Intel Socket LGA1156 and LGA1366 processors. Other than the mounting bracket, the cooler is the same as thepredecessor.