I'll see your GX2 and raise you an ATI R680 (http://www.gamespot.com/events/ces2008/blog.html?topic_id=26147126&tag=blog;title;1), featuring dual GPU's and an estimated USD$400-500 price tag. Heh. Bet you didn't think I would pull an ATI card out, did ya? ;)
Awesome, I'd seen some pics of it before though I can't wait to see some reviews of it...

Mo news:
Like screens? How's about an 82" Samsung at UHD (3840x2160) resolution (http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11144) ?

SSD PC becoming a reality! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11133)
One of the main weak links in a modern PC can usually be your hard drive, as whatever the other components do they sometimes still have to wait on your HDD to crunch away and get all that data read or written...SSD (Solid State Drive) is like a flash USB card, but with loads more storage, and it's kicking traditional HDDs in the groin by breaking records all over the place! Keep an eye out for this stuff, once it's more affordable it's probably gonna be your next Hard Drive ;)

Last but not least:
Blu-Ray + HD-DVD on the same disc! (http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11132)
I'm not too sure what to make of this yet, but it would certainly solve some headaches for companies trying to decides whether to release their movies or games on either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD...

SSD PC becoming a reality! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11133)
One of the main weak links in a modern PC can usually be your hard drive, as whatever the other components do they sometimes still have to wait on your HDD to crunch away and get all that data read or written...SSD (Solid State Drive) is like a flash USB card, but with loads more storage, and it's kicking traditional HDDs in the groin by breaking records all over the place! Keep an eye out for this stuff, once it's more affordable it's probably gonna be your next Hard Drive ;)Well that was bound to happen, I think, as by now many peepz have found out that sticking the swap/pagefile on a USB sticky greatly speeds up things. The SSD will be one of the more notable changes, especially since it handles better and a lot more safely than regular HDs with all their jiggly moving bits in them. ;)

Mac lover that I am.. I couldn't agree with you more... Unless you have a specific need for a Mac (or it's proggies), they just aren't (sadly) a viable option in today's computer market.
Wow. And this is coming from someone who loves Macs. I think the Mac guy just got that kick in the nuts that Astro always wanted to give him :xp: -and it came from Chainz of all people. What the hell is this world coming to?

@NS: IIRC, Char El mentioned something about SSDs quite a while back, and they are an exciting topic indeed. Imagine an HDD with an access time measured in nanoseconds, and with no moving parts that can wear out over time. They're bound to be prohibitively expensive at first, though.

Wow. And this is coming from someone who loves Macs. I think the Mac guy just got that kick in the nuts that Astro always wanted to give him :xp: -and it came from Chainz of all people. What the hell is this world coming to?...

lolz, it wasnt the mac guy I wanted to kick in the nuts, it was the creator of those ads, for doing not much about being informative. An ad that featured what Macs are good at would have been more informative, rather than one that harped on gripes with PCs.

love that UHD screen - but even I must admit - OLED > LCD. More energy effcient too.... Since no GPU can kick ass in even 1600p, theres plenty o' time for me me to plan bank heists to get a 8MP 82" OLED, whenever theyre released.

@MJ - I wouldnt even bother pitching the Mac to the missus.... I think she'd prefer to be serenaded by your guitar than lose you for hours point'n'clickin and cursing how you could do all that stuff for 1/3 the price on a PC :D

mtfbwya

@NS: IIRC, Char El mentioned something about SSDs quite a while back, and they are an exciting topic indeed. Imagine an HDD with an access time measured in nanoseconds, and with no moving parts that can wear out over time. They're bound to be prohibitively expensive at first, though.
It boots XP in 20 seconds FFS!
No time to make yourself tea or coffee anymore while the PC is booting lolz :)

@MJ - I wouldn't even bother pitching the Mac to the missus.... I think she'd prefer to be serenaded by your guitar than lose you for hours point'n'clickin and cursing how you could do all that stuff for 1/3 the price on a PC :D

mtfbwyalolz - The Mira of Miras is all for a flashy, nifty macsy. Getting just another comp and just another guitar is the hard part. :guiness:

Dear, what do you want with yet another guitar? Haven't you got quite enough? Why another blue one, anyway? Why don't you just have one of yours re-painted [sic]? And that MacIntosh is sooooooo lovely...........
Continue ad lib...

Here's a couple more interesting ones:

MSI says: "no more old school BIOS!" (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601902/msi-to-revamp-bios-with-graphical-interface.html)
Interesting stuff, but I wonder if it'll catch on, making the BIOS more graphical and usable might lead to more noobs trying to mess with it and thus terminating their computers, execution style hiya!

Catalyt 8.1 + hotfix(lolz) released! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11262)
I wonder if stinger could confirm if they're any good on those games...

Behold the 8800GS, eh? (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601884/nvidia-and-xfx-launch-geforce-8800-gs.html)
I wonder if the guys at nVidia themselves know what G to us with what S or X, or was it a T?

MSI says: "no more old school BIOS!" (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601902/msi-to-revamp-bios-with-graphical-interface.html)MSI) says that these could include games, media players, browsers, VIRUSES... LOLz

And you're prolly right about them noobses, too, Negs.

MSI says: "no more old school BIOS!" (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601902/msi-to-revamp-bios-with-graphical-interface.html)
Interesting stuff, but I wonder if it'll catch on, making the BIOS more graphical and usable might lead to more noobs trying to mess with it and thus terminating their computers, execution style hiya!
Does that mean that down the road we might use BIOS instead of Operating Systems?

The BIOS (= Basic Input Output System) already is a very very small, rudimentary sort of operating system. Also, full operating systems hard coded on chips have quite a long history. The hard disk installed OSs we're using these days are not really ideal, technically speaking.

well, it hasn't launched yet, but the 3870X2 is getting some interesting press. for starters, Asus jumped the gun on the launch (http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/ASUS_EAH3870X2_Photos_%26_Specs/5525.html%20) with what appears to be a much better cooling solution than the reference design.

and of course, we also have the first review of the card as well. (http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=228355) here's the results in a nutshell:
http://img3.pconline.com.cn/pconline/0801/21/1210234_R680vs8800U_080120.jpg)
basically, it beats the GeForce 8800Ultra in every test except Crysis, Lost Planet, and NFS: Pro Street. granted, that's with the 8.1 drivers, too which means there's improvement with further driver updates.

no word on power consumption, but its supposed to be just slightly worse than the 2900XT. still, its sale price is expected to be about $400 USD, probably just a bit higher, but its still less than the 8800 Ultra.

my take: AMD finally has a product that can go toe-to-toe with Nvidia's best. if it was only available earlier....

Finally is right...

well, it hasn't launched yet, but the 3870X2 is getting some interesting press. for starters, Asus jumped the gun on the launch (http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/ASUS_EAH3870X2_Photos_%26_Specs/5525.html%20) with what appears to be a much better cooling solution than the reference design.

and of course, we also have the first review of the card as well. (http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=228355)

~snippedy snip the huge pic~

basically, it beats the GeForce 8800Ultra in every test except Crysis, Lost Planet, and NFS: Pro Street. granted, that's with the 8.1 drivers, too which means there's improvement with further driver updates.

no word on power consumption, but its supposed to be just slightly worse than the 2900XT. still, its sale price is expected to be about $400 USD, probably just a bit higher, but its still less than the 8800 Ultra.

my take: AMD finally has a product that can go toe-to-toe with Nvidia's best. if it was only available earlier....
Thanks for that stinger, that card is serious business, nice job from AMD, and hopefully a good start for a better year for them.

Can you imagine two of those in CrossFire (with the right drivers of course) :)

TGDaily (http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/35641/118/) reports that Microsoft has shipped Milestone 1 of Windows 7 to "key partners."

One of the features mentioned is the ability for this version of Windows to support a "heterogeneous graphics system consisting of multiple graphics cards from different vendors." I believe that means the OS will have the ability to natively use multiple graphics cards to render the display, even if the graphics cards are not the same make and model. Not 100% sure though. :)

Also mentioned is that the OS is targeted for release in the second half of 2009, though Microsoft wouldn't comment on that. I know Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said the time gap that occured between Windows XP's release and the release of Windows Vista would never happen again but I'll believe it when it actually happens. :smirk2:

no word on power consumption....

why the heck would they! Unless AMD are rolling out some engineering breakthoughs, how can a GX2 card be more power friendly than a single GPU/PCB card, high end or no.!

As a tried and tested GX2 user, I can officially say they are not much fun, from a power consumption point of view, and cumbersome to have in a rig when superceded by a superior single GPU/PCB offering.

I doubt AMD will want to rest on their laurels with that one.

mtfbwya

TGDaily (http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/35641/118/) reports that Microsoft has shipped Milestone 1 of Windows 7 to "key partners."
Interesting...I also read that they want to take Windows back to basics so it wouldn't be such a resource hog all the time (if you look at how long it takes XP or Vista to load, you know what I mean), will they be able to do it? Time will tell...


Here's another couple of items:
VIA announces "Isaiah" CPU (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601956/via-announces-isaiah-cpu-and-it-might-actually-be-good/page1.html)
^ I like the name of it lolz, but if it's to compete with AMD or even Intel even in the low-end market, it's still got a long way to go IMO.

Shuttle goes 45nm with Intel (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11421)
^ Looks quite interesting if you want to go for a next-gen Intel CPU (note: Astro, remind me to pick your brain about Shuttles again, I'm still toying with the idea if it should be my next rig or not :p )

Interesting...I also read that they want to take Windows back to basics so it wouldn't be such a resource hog all the time (if you look at how long it takes XP or Vista to load, you know what I mean), will they be able to do it? Time will tell...Hey Negs, you have to give them some time to get the latest stable kernel running properly in their distro. I mean, they're n00bs, so we really can't expect them to flawlessly run KDE 4.0 right away. :p

Hey Negs, you have to give them some time to get the latest stable kernel running properly in their distro. I mean, they're n00bs, so we really can't expect them to flawlessly run KDE 4.0 right away. :p
lolz, touche ;)

Using sound waves for better coolig, eh? (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601959/chips-could-be-cooled-with-sound-waves.html)
^ Sounds interesting, if it really increases performance then it's quite good obviously...I just wonder what the retail price would be.

HD3870 X2 very attractive both performance and price wise. (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601962/ati-radeon-hd-3870-x2.html)
^ I looks like AMD really does have a winner on their hand here, with a GPU that outperforms the 8800 Ultra and is a couple hundred $$$ cheaper...

HD3870 X2 break 3dMark 06 record! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11472)
^ For those who think it isn't fast enough at stock speeds, here's some action of it OC'ed with watercooling and breaking records :)

Shuttle goes 45nm with Intel (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11421)
^ Looks quite interesting if you want to go for a next-gen Intel CPU (note: Astro, remind me to pick your brain about Shuttles again, I'm still toying with the idea if it should be my next rig or not :p )

pick away negsun ;) and check out www.shuttle.com) while youre at it. All 3 of my rigs are shuttles at home. Apart from being wonderfully engineered and great to work in, using them has made a discernable impact on my electricity bill too.

I thoroughly recommend them to people asking, and for those that ask me to build a gaming/home theater pc, simply wont use anything else! Pretty, small, powerful but efficient - awesome kit IMO ;)

mtfbwya

pick away negsun ;) and check out www.shuttle.com) while youre at it. All 3 of my rigs are shuttles at home. Apart from being wonderfully engineered and great to work in, using them has made a discernable impact on my electricity bill too.

I thoroughly recommend them to people asking, and for those that ask me to build a gaming/home theater pc, simply wont use anything else! Pretty, small, powerful but efficient - awesome kit IMO ;)

mtfbwya
Check thy PMs ;)

Fancy spending Ј23,000GBP (or $45,500USD)?
This PC (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/601980/the-23000-pc.html) can help you do that...Wow, talk about overpricing, the comments speak volumes really.

Or if you'd rather get a new PC instead of a house, sell your current one and buy one of these (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11517)...Seriously), Ј375,000BGP ($740,000USD) for it and all you get is a 7200GS!!! *speechless*

Or if you'd rather get a new PC instead of a house, sell your current one and buy one of these (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11517)...Seriously), Ј375,000BGP ($740,000USD) for it and all you get is a 7200GS!!! *speechless*

Im sure P-Diddy has one of those....:D Youd think they couldve upped the price and thrown in an 8800GT at least...a 7200 is crap! Still, for someone that is that vain and rich, playing 1337 Crysis probably isnt on their list of to-dos :p

mtfbwya

More news peeps:

S3 and VIA making S3 Graphics DX10.1 GPUs (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602064/s3-introduces-directx-101-gpus.html)
^ I find it extremely ironic to make DX10.1 GPUs with a 64-bit memory interface for the low-end market where you'll be using DX10.1 about as much as a rabbit uses toilet paper...Even the high end can't take DX10 to it's full potential, so why put these features on cards that'll never use them?

Here's a thought, let NVidia buy AMD, yay! (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602067/nvidia-should-buy-amd-says-analyst.html)
^ Seriously, wtf? How will this help anyone besides Intel as it'll make their stuff more attractive and less confusing if the do end up taking on the high-end GPU market...

AMD says APU is the way to go (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11713)
^ Way to go and tell Intel what to do again, why can't they just keep their mouths shut and actually make the bloody things instead of yapping about it and letting Intel take all the credit when they release a better and sooner version of it...
It does all seem very promising though, but will it be enough to keep them alive in the next couple of years?

GPGPUs are the way to go as well apparently (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11725)
^ Seems like the CPU and GPU are coming closer together indeed, and I think it's just a matter of time before a company releases a hybrid so purely awesome that it will eliminate the need for both and effectively merge all our processing power in one, whether it be graphics or number crunching...

Yes. CnGPUs are the future, no doubt, and apart from the server market will keep AMDs Processors on the map, no matter how the early phenoms go :)

no, nvidia buying AMD(ATI) will effectively create a monopoly and no one wants that !

keep up the great work negsun :)

mtfbwya

hehe, will do Astro :)

Microsoft giving away free stuff for students (damn those students!) (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11854)
^ Quite cool cause all those programs would cost you a small fortune in retail...I didn't know Bill Gates was stepping down either...

Triple-Core Phenoms in sight? (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602076/mesh-launches-triple-core-phenom-pcs.html)
^ And quite cheap too, if rumours are to be believed, here's hoping AMD sorted out that L3 cache problem and give us some decent performance at a really low price...Call me Mr Cynical but the fact that they're showing up in Mesh PCs doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

Agressive price cuts from AMD to counter nVidia's 9 Series (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11904)
^ If the HD3850/3870s weren't insane bargains before, they sure as hell are now, especially since some leaked benchies show that the 9600GT isn't exactly up to spec with even the 8800GT, and I'm liking the joke that goes around saying that Ati did the 9600 years ago and mastered it then :)

Agressive price cuts from AMD to counter nVidia's 9 Series (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11904)
^ If the HD3850/3870s weren't insane bargains before, they sure as hell are now, especially since some leaked benchies show that the 9600GT isn't exactly up to spec with even the 8800GT, and I'm liking the joke that goes around saying that Ati did the 9600 years ago and mastered it then :) From what I've read about the 9600 GT so far I am poised to be greatly disappointed in NVIDIA's newest mainstream card. Still no DirectX 10.1 support? Simply no excuse for that. :disaprove I'll wait and see what comes out tomorrow before I pass final judgment but right now the 9600 GT isn't looking all that great to me.

Intel Price Cuts Coming April 20th (http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7353.html)

And here I was hoping they'd slash the E8400's price just a bit. xD

Still no DirectX 10.1 support? Simply no excuse for that. :disaprove

lolz. Who is using 10.1? DX10 only games are barely coming together... I dont see that many devs have embraced 10.1... I daresay the SDK has been finalised in any event.

So apart from 'wank factor'(bragging you have a 10.1 card) the practicality of it really doesnt warrant such rampant disappointment :D

A card's success is made or broken on its benchies vs price. Simple :p

mtfbwya

Intel Price Cuts Coming April 20th (http://www.nordichardware.com/news,7353.html)

And here I was hoping they'd slash the E8400's price just a bit. xD
Ouch, if the Q6600 G0 wasn't extreme value for money before, it's more than that now!

Samsung apparently is putting a lot of R&D into SSD technology
On another topic, Yang cited explosive demand in the enterprise server market that caught his company by surprise. "At first it just sounded like an interesting idea," he said. But then demand took off. As Yang explained, companies like Citibank and American Express peg server performance on IOPS or input/output operations per second. "HDDs do 120 to 150 IOPS. SSDs 10,000 to 30,000 IOPS." Because of this overwhelming speed advantage many large corporate customers are opting for SSDs, despite the significant price premium SSDs command compared with HDDs.

Regarding cost, Yang expects to see a 35 percent to 45 percent year-to-year drop in SSD prices. This will be a welcome relief since 64GB SSDs currently can add as much as $900 to the price of a notebook PC.

In the third quarter, Samsung is slated to bring out a 128GB SSD based on MLC (multi-level cell) technology--which uses multiple levels per cell to allow more bits to be stored. But the company sees even larger-capacity SSDs, ranging all the way up to 250GB, possibly before the end of the year. Source: CNET (http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13924_1-9876557-64.html?tag=blg.orig)

Maybe this means I'll be able to afford a SSD next year. :nod:

I can't wait for SSDs to become cheaper cause they pwn current HDDs in pretty much every way...

Here's some news that's on pretty much every tech site now:
Intel making 6-Core 45nm Penryn CPUs! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11994)
^ What else can I say but: Ouch!

CrossFireX preview (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11874)
^ Up to 3X more improvement can be a good thing I suppose, especially at those ultra high resolutions (2,560x1,600) that only some wackos would ever use :p

Here's some news that's on pretty much every tech site now:
Intel making 6-Core 45nm Penryn CPUs! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11994)
^ What else can I say but: Ouch!my problem with more and more cores on a processor is simply this: most software is still single-threaded. without a lot of multithreaded apps out there, adding more and more cores to a CPU isn't going to add a lot of performance. IMHO, the only great thing about the hex-core is the insane amount of L2 and L3 cache. with that much cache on hand, those processors are going to be faster than the current quad-cores.

most software is still single-threaded. without a lot of multithreaded apps out there, adding more and more cores to a CPU isn't going to add a lot of performance.Of course the OS will still load balance multiple single-threaded applications across the multiple cores. But you're right, going from 1/4 thread load to 1/6 thread load is less impressive than dropping the load by 1/2 by switching from single to dual-core or dropping from 1/2 to 1/4 via quad core.

... Up to 3X more improvement can be a good thing I suppose, especially at those ultra high resolutions (2,560x1,600) that only some wackos would ever use :p

c'mon negsun, envy is not good for your soul...you know you want such a monitor. I saved for a year to get it and it was worth it indeed :D Thoigh somewhere in my mind, I will eventually contemplate a 40" version but would prefer OLED because of size/weight/less power.

Its good to see your eyes are opening to the benefits of SLI/XF, though being a power efficiency nut and Im unlikely to ever go for it, unless they make ultra efficient single pcb cards that will fit in an SLI smallform.... (Im shudder to think at the cost of such a setup, especially with x4/DDR3 added in)

mtfbwya

cmon negsun, envy is not good for your soul...you know you want such a monitor. I saved for a year to get it and it was worth it indeed :D
lolz, 30" or whatever you've got is a bit too big for me dude, after seeing a very nice 22" panel in action, the Samsung SyncMaster 2232-BW (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=679564), I'm sure it'll be more than sufficient enough for me, it's very pretty plus it won't need a monster of a GPU if I fancy doing some gaming :)

lolz, 30" or whatever you've got is a bit too big for me dude.....

impossible!! you can never have too big a screen :D I want one of those LCD walls damnit :D [/screen junkie]

mtfbwya

well, some interesting news from the Inquirer today. they were allowed to run a 3DMark06 benchmark on the upcoming GeForce 9800 GX2 with what is supposed to be the stock speeds. problem is that its putting up a modest 14400 score. if that's the case, then the 3870X2 could remain the top card for a while until ATI overtakes themselves with the upcoming R780-based cards.

granted, you do have to take this news with a grain of salt since we don't know what the rest of the hardware is on the system they used, but a 14400 score just isn't all that much better than ye ol' 8800 GTX.

article here (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/03/nvidia-9800gx2-clocks-revealed)

It did strike me as odd that they released the lower-end version before their new flagship card, but if that's even close to what their next flagship's gonna be then I feel bad for their fleet :xp:
It'll get a pummeling from AMD/Ati price/performance wise, especially with all the aggressive price cuts AMD is churning out these days...The 8800GT is pretty much all that nVidia has going for them these days.

AMD sticks it to Intel via integrated graphics (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/05/780g-changes-graphics-game)
AMD's new 780G mobo's are something serious. it has integrated graphics, but this one doesn't suck as per the norm. the integrated chip is sourced from a Radeon 2400, and it gives you excellent HD playback and reasonable gaming performance which is a far cry from just about every other integrated graphics solution i can think of. combine this with Hybrid Crossfire, and you can have a pretty darn good gaming rig. oh, and i dare not mention the insane overclocking headroom on this thing...

well, some interesting news from the Inquirer today. they were allowed to run a 3DMark06 benchmark on the upcoming GeForce 9800 GX2 with what is supposed to be the stock speeds. problem is that its putting up a modest 14400 score. if that's the case, then the 3870X2 could remain the top card for a while until ATI overtakes themselves with the upcoming R780-based cards.

granted, you do have to take this news with a grain of salt since we don't know what the rest of the hardware is on the system they used, but a 14400 score just isn't all that much better than ye ol' 8800 GTX.

article here (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/03/nvidia-9800gx2-clocks-revealed)
That's odd. I've seen 3DMark06 scores like that from a single overclocked 8800GT. :confused:

AMD sticks it to Intel via integrated graphics (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/05/780g-changes-graphics-game)
AMD's new 780G mobo's are something serious. it has integrated graphics, but this one doesn't suck as per the norm. the integrated chip is sourced from a Radeon 2400, and it gives you excellent HD playback and reasonable gaming performance which is a far cry from just about every other integrated graphics solution i can think of. combine this with Hybrid Crossfire, and you can have a pretty darn good gaming rig. oh, and i dare not mention the insane overclocking headroom on this thing...
You could slap in one of those fancy HD3870 on Vapour cooling that Sapphire is making and have a very cool, energy efficient Hybrid Crossfire pwnage machine for very little money...
All that's left is an extremely OC'able CPU from AMD and we're in business :)

Though I'm quite interested in that 4850e they're talking about...Or the Phenom that can OC to 2.8Ghz, I though they couldn't go that high.

AMD sticks it to Intel via integrated graphics (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/05/780g-changes-graphics-game)
AMD's new 780G mobo's are something serious. it has integrated graphics, but this one doesn't suck as per the norm.

ooh yum! the htpc crowd are very excited about this one. Intels highest is GMA 960, which whilst OK for 720i/pp, still will struggle on a 1080i/p display(especially for vista). nvidias highest integrated chipset was 7200(or 7300) last I checked = bollocks for 1080i/p

see good ole AMD, full o damn surprises. I shouldnt be too surprised, AMD has previously announced they were edging into the HTPC market, and have previously shown off prototype AMD branded entire htpcs no less. Of course they also have firmly established their AMD Live (http://www.amdlive.com/) suite as well, which is aimed at the htpc crowd and includes Orb(remote access to TV), network magic, the best networking proggie in the world! :)

mtfbwya

AMD gets their 45nm act together... (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/03/05/amd_shows_off_its_45nm_technology/1)

Interesting stuff, let's just hope they've learned their lesson and deliver, preferably when promised :)

AMD gets their 45nm act together... (http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/03/05/amd_shows_off_its_45nm_technology/1)

Interesting stuff, let's just hope they've learned their lesson and deliver, preferably when promised :)

Im sure people wouldnt mind the delay if the delievered product was bug free, well priced and performs according to peoples expectations.

mtfbwya

Pricing for the GeForce 9800GX2 revealed (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/11/9800gx2-woefully-expensive)

well, it now looks like the GF9800 GX2 is going to be a bust. i mean, come on, the MSRP is at $599, and you had better not think that the figure isn't going to get larger when the manufacturers start adding in OC'd versions, exotic cooling, etc. and to top it off, performance is only slightly better than the R3870X2 which can be had for about $450. heck, you could probably get a 3870 and a 3870X2 for the same price and get much better performance.

IMHO, the 9800GX2 is looking to be more and more of a debacle for Nvidia. their only saving grace is the 9600 which is just slightly worse than the 8800GT in performance and costs about the same as a R3850. for now, i'm standing by my prediction that the upcoming R770 launch from AMD is going to put them ahead for the first time since the days of the 9700 Pro and the FX5700 Ultra.

^ Drivers could still be their saving grace though, and full-AA Crysis benchies as it seems to be a weak spot for Ati cards there...But I agree, at that price point you'd expect the GX2 to blow everything else out the water, with at least a 20-25% increase in performance over its closest follower, as it is the difference in price...


OCZ goes sci-fi with commercial brain controller (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602163/ocz_brain_controller_in_mass_production.html)
^ lolz, ain't no way I'm putting that on my head for $300

Intel wants some integrated GPU action! (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=12175)
^ But will probably get none as AMD totally pwns this chipset, and if they can just throw us some good CPUs in as well they might start their long road back to the top again :)
Intel getting beaten by AMD? Oh dear, let's hope there's more of that to come...

AMD sticks new chipset in "Puma" laptop and pwns Intel (again, lolz) (http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=12264)
^ Good to see them translating that awesomeness into laptops as well, and if it's decently priced they'll definitely have a winner on their hands.

I read this the other day on bit-tech (http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/02/21/g94_nvidia_geforce_9600_gt_graphics_card/2) So, given that G94 uses the same technology as G92 – just with less of it, you're probably wondering why the GeForce 9600 GT isn't a part of a the GeForce 8-series? The good thing is that this was a question that was on our minds too and, after talking with Ujesh Desai, General Manager for GeForce graphics, at the CES Editor's Day, we were told that the reason was because the G92-based products should have been a part of the GeForce 9-series – the reason they weren't was simply down to timing.

He explained that if Nvidia had launched the GeForce 8800 GT and GeForce 8800 GTS 512 into the GeForce 9-series, it would have killed a large portion of its Q4 sales on products in the GeForce 8-series – not that this didn't happen anyway, since there is very little else worth considering... So I guess this means the rumors of the 8800 GT getting some clock speed boosts and getting rebadged as 9800 GT will likely turn out to be true. :¬:

I smell an opportunity for AMD to pull ahead with R7xx if they learned from mistakes made with R6xx. We all know that they can do it.

AMD so desperately needs a win.

EDIT -3/14/08: Well, this (http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3260&p=1) is a start, but I have my doubts as to whether Phenom will ever be competitive with C2D, even with the TLB bug fixed.

I smell an opportunity for AMD to pull ahead with R7xx if they learned from mistakes made with R6xx. We all know that they can do it.

AMD so desperately needs a win.

EDIT -3/14/08: Well, this (http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3260&p=1) is a start, but I have my doubts as to whether Phenom will ever be competitive with C2D, even with the TLB bug fixed.

Even if they pull almost even, with competitive pricing, will still do well. The CPU ceiling seen in benchies is here to stay until games are quad and x64 optimised> ie. another 2 years at least... add to that 2 year formula, enough time for bluray to become standard kit and all the ingredients will be there.

Of course by then, the current hardware configs might be thrown out the window(no pun intended) if the awesome idea of CnGPUs take off. I relish the day when discrete graphics cards will be no longer. All our pcs will look like funky gaming consoles :D

mtfbwya

AMD RV770 here soon? (http://www.custompc.co.uk/news/602217/rumour-control-amd--ati-rv770-release-date-revealed.html)
^ Ooh goodie I can't wait, hope it pwns and they've learned from the HD2000 debacle :)
I really think AMD/Ati's product release schedules suffered greatly from the merger and Intel and nVidia didn't just sit around for them to get it all on track, so hopefully we'll see tighter releases with some killer products more often in the future from them...

well, i've said it once and i'll say it again: the R770 is looking much more promising at the moment than the stuff coming down Nvidia's pipeline. granted, we don't know much about it, but considering that its a brand new architecture that's "better" than the current R6xx series, it should at the least outperform Nvidia's latest which barely outpaces the current R6xx stuff.

combine one of those with a 780G board in hybrid Xfire... :D