AMD has officially launched its Mobility Radeon HD 3400 and 3600 which will replace the Mobility Radeon HD 2400, 2500, 2600 and 2700. These are the first solutions based on the RV620 and RV635.
Engraved in 55nm, they support the PCI-Express 2.0 interface, Shader Model 4.1 of DirectX 10.1 and have native DisplayPort type connectivity. According to its creator, there is also a second generation UVD engine.
In terms of performances, it’s impossible to make a judgment in the absence of information on frequencies; however, we shouldn’t expect a revolution given that the main characteristics remain unchanged. The Mobility Radeon HD 3400 and 3600 have a respective 8 and 24 scalar processors just like the GPUs they replace. The same is for memory with a bus width of 64 bits for the first and 128 bits for the second.
Samsung has announced a second hard drive in 2" 1/2 format with a capacity of 500 GB. Contrary to the Hitachi model presented last week, it has a standard height of 9.5mm versus 12.5mm for its rival. It is however also equipped with three platters instead of the two usually associated with standard 2" ½ high capacity hard drives.
Rotation speed is 5400 tpm, there is a SATA-II type interface (3.0 Gbits /s) and cache of 8MB. No other information was given on performances, power consumption or noise levels and it should be available in March.
Intel has presented 16 new processors at the CES, all based on Penryn architecture.
As we mentioned previously, the Yorkfield (quad core) will arrive later than the Wolfdale (dual core). This is due to a problem called PSB (Processor System Bus) noise which prevents normal functioning with mid-range motherboards. The Santa Clara giant therefore decided to delay their release to make a light modification so that they function with all motherboards.
At the same price, whether it’s on the desktop or in laptops, these CPUs have a larger L2 cache and/or a higher frequency than their previous counterparts. There is one exception: the very popular Q6600 is replaced by a Q9300 equipped with an L2 cache of 6 MB versus 8 MB for its predecessor. This is compensated for by Penryn improvements and a 100 MHz increase in frequency.
It was spoken of as a product still in research but was finally unveiled at this year’s CES : Samsung presents the 2263DX, a 22 inch screen with a secondary 7 inch diagonal screen connected via USB (this port also serves as the power supply) for small tools such as instant messager, desktop gadgets, etc.
Besides the diagonal size, possible HDCP compatibility for both monitors, presence of a webcam and USB hub (on the 22 inch), no other characteristics or price were given for this original monitor.
BiTMICRO is going to take advantage of the CES expo which opened yesterday in Las Vegas to announce an SSD in 2" ½ format with a 832 GB capacity. It will be part of their E-Dsik Altima line and rely on an SATA-II interface. This density was made possible by the use of multi-level Flash NAND (MLC) which is of greater interest than simple level Flash NAND (SLC) in this area.
As for performances, its creator mentions a sustained debit of up to 100 MB /s which is normal for SSD controllers with multi-level Flash. However, it’s a strong possibility that this is the reading speed given that writing is generally not as high. It’s expected out in the third quarter for a price indicative of its capacity. For example, BiTMICRO 128 GB SSDs currently cost $4000.
HKEPC has published an interesting article on the Nehalem. You may recall, these processors will still be engraved in 45nm. On the other hand, the architecture will be significantly reviewed as it will mean the return of SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) with a concept similar to HyperThreading, the accent this time being on the performance / power consumption ratio and the integration of certain components.
Intel seems confident and mentions 20% to 100% higher performances in multi-threaded applications and gains of 10% to 25% in those that are not.
On the high end, we should see the Bloomfield arrive in the fourth quarter of this year. Being capable of simultaneously managing up to 8 threads thanks to its 4 cores, they will fit in the Socket 1366 (formerly known as the Socket B). Also they will support DDR3 on 3 channels and still by accompanied by a Northbrige (Tylersburg) and Southbridge (ICH 10).
Mid-range processors will arrive in the first half of 2009 and all will be in Socket 1160 format. While they will only support DDR3 on two 2 channels, there will be a PCI-Express x16 lane. This means they do not need the Northbridge to directly communicate with the GPU as well as the Southbridge. The Lynnfield will have as many as 4 cores but will not be equipped with a graphic core. Inversely, the Havendale will integrate a GPU but it will not have more than 2 cores.
From our colleagues at Engadget: Alienware has presented the prototype of a curved screen that will be launched this year with a surprising resolution of 2880 x 900 pixels. The monitor was presented with the game Crysis. According to the reporter at Engadget (see video below), it’s a retro-projection DLP type screen (this is believable given the depth of the system). The manufacturer also took advantage of the occasion to mention something that will catch the eye of gamers, a 0.2 ms response time or a tenth of what the official fastest LCDs are capable of.
There are however a few things to consider:
it’s not too logical to speak of response time with a DLP – unless this is an indication of the max frequency of oscillation of the mirrors. In this case the 0.2 ms would correspond to the fastest transition for a layer of colors. For it to produce images a red, green and blue layer are needed as well as a white or even intermediate shades.
A DLP system has two enormous advantages over the LCD: the first is that there is almost no afterglow (at least this is the case for video projectors); second is that their contrast is much better due to a very deep black. On the other hand, they suffer from a large handicap, the "rainbow effect". Not everyone is sensitive to this but those who see a delayed image instead of the sum of RGB layers that succeed each other at great speed. These viewers see brief flashes of color which can sometimes be insufferable.
The last damper on our enthusiasm: the reporter seemed very excited about this screen being the equivalent of two 24 inch LCDs. In terms of size this is true but in pixels it is equal to a single one. Finally, if you take a looker at the video, you can see four panels joined together that make up this screen.
Either way, this is quite a feat and is an original and innovative product. It’s nice to see and makes us fantasize (a little) on the possibilities.
Samsung has announced a second hard drive in 2" 1/2 format with a capacity of 500 GB. Contrary to the Hitachi model presented last week, it has a standard height of 9.5mm versus 12.5mm for its rival. It is however also equipped with three platters instead of the two usually associated with standard 2" ½ high capacity hard drives.
