April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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VR-Zone.com | Stuff for the Geeks!VR-Zone | Stuff for the Geeks is a bi-weekly publicationcovering the latest gadgets and stuff for the geeks.

More Intel 7-series chipsetdetails come to lightSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/more-intel-7-series-chipset-details-

come-to-light/12001.html

April 28th, 2011

We can't help but wondering if Intel is planning to pull thelaunch of its Ivy Bridge processors forward, as the kind ofdetailed information that is starting to leak with regards tothe second generation LGA-1155 platform is quite surprising,especially considering we're still some eight months fromthe supposed launch. This time around we're looking at thefull specifications of Intel's upcoming 7-series chipsets andalthough there are no huge surprises, there are one or two.

We can't help but wondering if Intel is planning to pull thelaunch of its Ivy Bridge processors forward, as the kind ofdetailed information that is starting to leak with regards tothe second generation LGA-1155 platform is quite surprising,especially considering we're still some eight months fromthe supposed launch. This time around we're looking at thefull specifications of Intel's upcoming 7-series chipsets andalthough there are no huge surprises, there are one or two.

We were quite curious about what the difference between theZ77 and Z75 chipsets was going to be and seemingly thereare only two, both of which are quite silly to have a secondchipset for. The Z75 chipset is the most basic model you needif you want to install a pair of graphics cards in a dual x8 PCIExpress 3.0 configuration and of course if you want to use aK series processor to overclock. However, Intel has castratedthe Z75 chipset by removing support for its Smart Responsetechnology, so in other words, no SSD caching. This seems likean outright silly move by Intel, especially as the company istrying to push the sales of its SSDs with it.

The Z77 chipset on the other hand gains support for asecond PCI Express slot configuration option beyond dual x8,namely single x8 plus dual x4. This might seems utterly andcompletely useless, but bear in mind that PCI Express 3.0doubles the bandwidth of PCI Express 2.0 and until we get PCIExpress 3.0 graphics cards that can take advantage of the fullbandwidth on offer, a single x4 PCI Express 3.0 slot shouldoffer the same bandwidth as a PCI Express 2.0 x8 slot. Anotherreason for this could be Intel's planned PCI Express SSDs, asthis option would allow for two graphics cards plus an SSD,all connected to the CPU for the best possible performance forthe SSDs.

The H77 chipset on the other hand doesn't supportoverclocking, just as the current H67 chipset, but oddlyenough Intel has decided to add support for its SmartResponse technology here. The H77 chipset is of course limitedto a single x16 PCI Express slot as well. All three chipsetssupports Intel Rapid Storage technology 11, four USB 3.0ports, two SATA 6Gbps ports, eight PCI Express 2.0 lanes andsupport for up to three independent displays (Ivy Bridge CPUrequired) and dual audio streams over HDMI or DisplayPort.

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On the business side of things we're looking at the Q77, Q75and B75 chipsets where all three supports four USB 3.0 ports,but only the Q77 supports two SATA 6Gbps ports whereas theother two have to make do with only one. Again, the Q77 isthe only chipset that supports Intel's Rapid Storage technology11 and Smart Response technology. Otherwise most of thefeatures are similar to the consumer chipsets with the onesmall addition of native PCI support.

Intel SSD roadmap leaks,several new additionsexpectedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-ssd-roadmap-leaks-several-new-

additions-expected/12000.html

April 28th, 2011

If you thought Intel's Larsen Creek was going to the onlyaddition to the 510, 320 and 310 series of SSDs this year, thenyou'd be dead wrong as the company is preparing to launcha new high-end consumer series of SSDs before the end ofthe year, a new mSATA series of SSDs, not to mention a newcorporate series of SSDs and three PCI Express based familiesof SSDs. Some details are still missing, most importantlydetails of the SSD controllers used in the new products, butapart from that, we have a pretty good picture of what Intel isplanning for the next seven months or so.

If you thought Intel's Larsen Creek was going to the onlyaddition to the 510, 320 and 310 series of SSDs this year, thenyou'd be dead wrong as the company is preparing to launcha new high-end consumer series of SSDs before the end ofthe year, a new mSATA series of SSDs, not to mention a newcorporate series of SSDs and three PCI Express based familiesof SSDs. Some details are still missing, most importantlydetails of the SSD controllers used in the new products, butapart from that, we have a pretty good picture of what Intel isplanning for the next seven months or so.

First up we have the 520 series also known as Cherryvillewhich is set to replace the 510 series which launched earlythis year. The 520 series is of course using the SATA 6Gbpsinterface, but it looks like Intel has changed the controller usedas the write speeds have been improved from a maximum of315MB/s of the 510 series to 360MB/s for the 520 series. Theread speed remains the same at 500MB/s. The IOPS are alsoup by quite significant numbers, as the 4KB reads have gonefrom 20K IOPS to 30k IOPS and the 4KB writes have improvedin a similar manner from 8K IOPS to 12K IOPS. The 520 serieswill be available in sizes of 64, 120, 240 and 480GB.

The 520 series should arrive sometime in Q4 alongside theIntel's next generation mSATA SSD code named Paint Creek.There doesn't appear to be any major changes here and inall fairness we haven't managed to dig up a lot of details on

Paint Creek. What is clear is that we're looking at the same40 and 80GB capacities which is a little bit disappointing, butwe'd expect that Intel has managed to boost the performancecompared to the current 310 series.

Moving on things get a little bit more interesting, as Intel isplanning a series of three PCI Express based desktop SSDs.First up we have the 330P series which will be available in 80,120 or 160GB and it's clearly targeting the consumer market.In terms of performance we're looking at sequential readspeeds of up to 540MB/s, a tad better than the 520 series SATASSDs and the sequential write speed will be up to 330MB/s,this time slightly slower than the 520 series. However, wherethe 330P series really impresses is in IOPS, as the 4KB readswill hit as high as 78K IOPS while the 4KB writes will hit 42KIOPS. The 330P series will use dual NAND Flash controllersin RAID 0 and will come as a PCI Express x4 card. No word onwhen the 330P series will land.

Next up we have the 530P series which again we don't haveany arrival date for, but this is where things get really seriousin terms of performance. The 530P is just like the 330P seriesa PCI Express x4 card with a pair of NAND Flash controllers inRAID 0 mode, but you're looking at sizes of 240 and 480GB.We're obviously looking at different controllers here, as thesequential read speed jumps up to an impressive 900MB/swhile the write speed peaks at 640MB/s. The IOPS on theother hand are down with the 4KB reads topping out at 60KIOPS and the 4KB writes managing “only” 24K IOPS.

The third and final PCI Express solution is the 720P series andnow we're in enterprise territory as we're looking at 34nm SLCNAND Flash and quad controllers with RAID 5 support. Sizewise Intel will offer 96 and 192GB models according to onesource, while another source suggests 200 and 400GB models.Here we're looking at insane speeds with the sequential readspeeds hitting 1.6GB/s and the write speeds not being farbehind at 1.45GB/s. The IOPS are equally impressive with the4KB reads hitting 180K IOPS followed by the 4KB writes at72K IOPS. The 720P series should arrive sometime in Q3.

Finally we have the 710 series which is the much rumouredLyndonville which has been expected for quite some time now.It uses MLC-HET NAND Flash which is extra high qualitychips that have been selected specifically for enterprise levelSSD products. Capacities offered will be 100, 200 and 400GB,all with an obviously large reserved area for when some ofthe cells die over time. As far as performance is concerned,well, Intel actually changed from SLC to MLC-HET NANDFlash and the only performance figures available are for the

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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SLC version which isn't going to launch. The 710 should beavailable sometime between May and July judging by theroadmap.

Now we're not going to bet money on how things play out,since as always specifications change and delays happen forall sorts of reasons. That said, it looks like Intel has aninteresting SSD roadmap and we're especially interested inthe new PCI Express based solutions. This also explains whyIntel has added support for an interesting PCI Express slotconfiguration for upcoming Z77 chipset, but more on that in aseparate story.

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 28 April 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--28-

april-2011/11998.html

April 28th, 2011

In today's news roundup: AMD bringing Microsoft to theirrecently announced Fusion Developer Conference makessense. ARM? The ASUS Rampage III Black Edition X58motherboard is ripe with overclocking features and exclusivegaming technologies ; BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet review.Does RIM have what it takes to compete at this level ofconsumer tablet? Apple has allegedly purchased the icloud. Isthe company prepping its own online music and media storageservice ?. Duke Nukem Forever is coming to Singapore on 10June 2011. Get teady to kill some aliens; and Valve plans tolaunch 'Portal 2' DLC this summer .

Hardware news

Description: AMD bringing Microsoft to their recentlyannounced Fusion Developer Conference makes sense. ARM?Well, it gives a nice insight into where AMD's FusionAPU strategy could take them, powered by a heterogeneouscompute platform: OpenCL.

Description: When USB 3.0 was announced it seemed naturalfor USB flash drives to take advantage of the additionalbandwidth. Mach Extreme Technologies is a new companythat is looking to make a name and they are doing so with theirMX-GX USB 3.0 thumb drives.

Description: The Rampage III Black Edition comes in mutedred and mostly black colored layout but keeps the aggressiveROG styling. The Rampage III Black Edition is ripe withoverclocking features and exclusive gaming technologies,including the ASUS Thunderbolt LAN/Audio card combo,Extreme Engine DIGI+, BCLK Enhance, QPI/PCIe Tuning,GPU DIMM Post, etc.

Description: Crocus announced that they have successfullydeveloped their 2nd generation MRAM products, using SVTCTechnologies production ready tools. The company says thattheir MRAM technology can be scalable to 90nm, 65nm and

smaller, and offers high speed, reliability, and reduced powerconsumption.

Description: Equipped with 8 expansion slots, the PC-V1020will support SLI and Crossfire allowing 305mm (12") graphicscards, the PC-V1020 also has a removable motherboard tray,support for lots of storage options and 3 preinstalled coolingfans - 120mm and 140mm.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

Description: The BlackBerry PlayBook is RIM's entry intothe burgeoning tablet market that is currently dominated byApple. It faces a stiff competition from the iPad and the variousAndroid tablets that are just now coming to market. Does RIMhave what it takes to compete at this level of consumer tablet?

Description: The rumor mill is adding more fuel to the reportsthat Apple is prepping its own online music and media storageservice with news that the company allegedly purchased theicloud.

Description: The launch of Apple's iPhone 4 in a white casinggenerated a long line of Chinese customers outside one of thecompany's stores in Beijing on Thursday.

Description: With their latest 5.1 USB Surround Headsetfeaturing high build quality and near excellent audioreproduction Sandberg is going up against the best in the fieldbut can their offering stand up to the challenge?

Description: The factor that seperates out the Razer Chimaerafrom most other headsets is that it’s wireless. To enable thisRazer have created a pretty fancy looking wireless transmitterthat stands tall in an inverted T shape of glossy black plastic.

Description: When Kate Middleton and Prince William kisson the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon, allbloody hell could break loose online.

Gaming news

Description: It has been a 15-year wait but soon, the wait willbe over. Duke Nukem Forever will be launching in Singaporeon 10 June 2011 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and WindowsPC.

Description: If the stellar campaign and cooperative modeweren't enough, players will have another reason to revisitaction title Portal 2 this summer.

Description: It's the engine that's powered some of the best ofgaming for 20 years - so let's take a look back at the history ofiD Tech.

ZOTAC Introduces FUSION-ITXWiFi A-seriesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/zotac-introduces-fusion-itx-wifi-a-

series/11999.html

April 28th, 2011

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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ZOTAC today introduces the new FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series featuring the AMD E-350 APU platform with dual-core 1.6 GHz processor and Radeon HD 6310 graphics.It comes with an open ended x4 PCIe slot, eSATA, fourSATA 6Gbps ports, 6 USB 2.0, 4 USB 3.0, 802.11n WiFimodule, DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI video outputs, OpticalS/PDIF and 8-channel high-definition audio.

Full Press Release

HONG KONG – Apr. 28, 2011 – ZOTAC® International,a leading innovator and the world’s largest channelmanufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs,today introduces the new FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series – aworld-class mainboard that combines the power of AMDRadeon™ HD graphics processing with class-leading energy-efficiency for the ultimate flexible mini-ITX form factor.

The ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series features the AMDE-350 APU platform that incorporates a dual-core 1.6 GHzprocessor with Microsoft® DirectX® 11 compatible AMDRadeon™ HD 6310 graphics for the ultimate synergy of CPUand GPU performance. The combination enables flawlesshigh-definition Blu-ray and streaming Internet video playbackcapabilities for a visually rich computing experience in a mini-ITX platform.

“We carefully designed our ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFiA-series to integrate as many user-requested features aspossible. The result is a mini-ITX platform that offersbest-in-class performance, energy-efficiency, features andexpansion while only relying on passive-cooling for a silentcomputing experience,” said Carsten Berger, marketingdirector, ZOTAC® International.

DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI video outputs enables theZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series to connect to the latestdigital monitors and television sets with ease while an includedDVI-to-VGA adapter retains compatibility with analoguemonitors. HDMI audio bitstreaming, Optical S/PDIF and 8-channel high-definition audio capabilities deliver maximumaudio fidelity to all digital and analogue audio sources with theZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series.

Expansion options are vast with the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITXWiFi A-series and include a physical PCI Express x4 slot,eSATA, four SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, up to six USB 2.0 and 4USB 3.0. The PCI Express x4 slot features and open-end thatenables physical compatibility with PCI Express x16 devices onthe ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series.

The ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series integrates 802.11nWiFi technology for high-speed wireless network transferswhile Gigabit Ethernet is available for lightning-fast wirednetworking.

It’s time to play with the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-seriesmini-ITX platform.

General details

•New ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series platform

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•AMD E-350 APU Platform (dual-core, 1.6 GHz)

•AMD Radeon™ HD 6310 graphics processor

•2 x DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM slots

•Support up to 8GB memory

•DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-I & VGA (with included adapter)outputs

•PCI Express x4 (open-end) expansion

•4 SATA 6.0 Gb/s

•1 eSATA

•4 USB 3.0 ports (2 on back panel, 2 via pin header)

•6 USB 2.0 ports (4 on back panel, 2 via pin headers)

•Hardware accelerated Blu-ray playback ready

•Dolby® TrueHD & DTS-HD™ Master Audio bitstreamcapable

•Digital S/PDIF output (optical)

•8-channel high-definition audio

•Microsoft® DirectX® 11 compliant

•Onboard 802.11n WiFi

•Gigabit Ethernet

•Mini-ITX form factor

ASRock Unveils 3 Z68 Boards;Adds Z68 Pro3 and Pro3-MSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asrock-unveils-3-z68-boards-adds-z68-

pro3-and-pro3-m/11996.html

April 28th, 2011

Earlier, we have shown you a quick preview of theirflagship Z68 Extreme4 board and now ASRock has officiallyunveiled it along with two more Z68 boards; the Z68 Pro3and Z68 Pro3-M. Both models focused on value and Pro3-M is mATX based. They possess basic features like dualchannel DDR3 2133, USB 3.0, SATA3, D-Sub, DVI-D,HDMI, Display Ports, XFast USB Technology, Intel SmartResponse Technology, Lucid Virtu. ASRock also reveals someperformance figures on the Intel Smart Response Technologywhere boot time is improved by 19.4% and PCMark05 HDDtest scored a 355.5% boost over non-SSD cached system. Also,when Lucid Virtu is employed, the video file conversion speedis improved by some 235.48%. Of course, ASRock is pushinghard on their XFast USB feature which improves USB 3.0 readperformance by 185.52%.

Full Press Release

TAIPEI, Taiwan, April 28, 2011 – Tick-tock, tick-tock, onegeneration, the next generation! The much-anticipated IntelZ68 platform will join the party in late Q2 2011; the newgeneration brings all major advances over the previousplatforms. In the past, if users were looking for extremeoverclocking, it’s P67. If users needed integrated graphics,then it’s H67. Now, what you really need is hybrid of thetwo chipsets, the superb Z68, which could be the mostinteresting talk this year, bringing together the P67 native OCperformance, plus the H67’s support for graphics.

Z68 Extreme4

ASRock Inc., the global leading motherboard manufacturer isproud to present its latest Z68 express chipset motherboardseries. Commenting on the news release, James Lee, V.P.of ASRock Sales and Marketing, is with confidence. “Techgeneration comes one after one. It is our responsibility tokeep users in the know. As we always apply the world’sbest motherboard technology to our products, we’ll have acompetitive advantage.” he states. “We’re trying to make allpoints running on our Z68 lineup to drive performance up.We’re keen on delivering a Happy Building experience toASRock fans!” said James Lee. “Paired with the strongestprocessor microarchitecture”, ASRock believes their latest Z68express platform can deliver the best kit to users.

Designed for the most demanding technology, ASRock’sbrand new Z68 platform motherboard series not only takesadvantages of dual personalities but also gives users theperformance they demand.

Hybrid Chipset Brings Advanced Features

Intel Smart Response Technology & Lucid Virtu

The ASRock Z68 motherboard offerings provide a powerfulperformance. There are two major new technologies to thishybrid platform. First one is the Intel Smart ResponseTechnology. For users who are tempted to connect the SSDand HDD on ASRock Z68 motherboard series, the Intel Smart

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Response Technology can make the SSD become the "Cache ofthe HDD" to boost up the HDD access speed.

The numbers are stunningly good. The performance ofPCMark 05 HDD and boot time are increased hugely.

Another technology pointed out to be part of the Z68 isLucid Virtu. It’s a software GPU virtualization technologythat will allow dynamic switching between the GPU of theSandy Bridge processors and a discrete graphics card, withoutthe need for a system reboot. It makes the switch based onwhich application is using the graphics subsystem at the sametime. Lucid is designed to work with all second-generation i3/i5/i7 processors, automatically assigns the GPU or externalgraphics card to do the jobs.

? Lucid Virtu software will dynamically assign tasks in realtime to the best available graphics resource based on power,performance and features. In video file convert testing, theconvert speed on the integrated Intel HD graphics is 235.48%faster than external Nvidia GTX580 graphics card on ASRockZ68 motherboard.

Brilliant Software Tools To Achieve Ultimate Performance

XFast USB, On/Off Play Technologies

XFast USB is best known for its incredible performance boost,which allows users to enjoy the world’s fastest USB transferspeed. It can not only possibly double the USB transfer speedbut also shorten the file-copy time significantly. To driveperformance up, all you have to do is just simply enable XFastUSB on your ASRock Z68 motherboard series.

USB 3.0 Performance Comparison

As you can see, USB 3.0 transmission speed has improved185.52% when comparing with other motherboards withoutXFast USB.

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The innovative On/Off Play Technology provides a modernand convenient digital life. Even when the system is poweredoff (in ACPI S5 mode), On/Off Play still ensures users to enjoythe great audio experience from the portable audio devicesthrough the PC speaker. To facilitate computing environment,ASRock also bundles a free 3.5mm audio cable with its Z68Extreme4 motherboard package.

Stupendous Build Quality Delivers The Most ReliableComputing Experience

DuraCaps & Digi Power

In addition to the software support of Z68 boards, ASRock hasput great efforts on building its hardware components as well.The ASRock signature DuraCaps on Z68 Extreme4 are 100%Japan-made high-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors;these solid caps represent long life and stable performance.

Another highlight here is the Digi Power design. Traditionalmotherboards are mostly equipped with analog Pulse-widthmodulation (PWM), which might brings users annoyingproblems that the CPU power supply is not stable enough,hence affects the computing efficiency. To improve CPU powersolution, ASRock Z68 Extreme4 adapts digital Pulse-widthmodulation, providing CPU Vcore voltage more efficientlyand smoothly. On the other hand, the advanced V8+4 powerphase design signatures tough components and smooth powerdelivery to the CPU as well.

Z68 Lineup : Z68 Pro3 & Z68 Pro3-M

Besides the flagship board Z68 Extreme4, the long-awaitedZ68 motherboard series comes with another two models – Z68Pro3 and Z68 Pro3-M. Both two models are focused on value,but that needn’t mean bargain basement.

Z68 Pro3, ATX form factor, supports dual channel DDR3 2133memory, Intel HD graphics with Built-in Visuals, USB 3.0and SATA3. Users will get onboard VGA outputs such as D-

Sub, DVI-D and HDMI display ports as well. Other noteworthyfeatures include XFast USB Technology, graphical UEFI BIOS,all-in-one AXTU tuning program and the support for 7.1 CHHD audio.

Z68 Pro3

Z68 Pro3-M, Micro ATX form factor, supports four DDR32133 memory slots, Intel HD graphics with Built-in Visualsand comes with four VGA output options : D-Sub, DVI-D,HDMI and DisplayPort. As for software aspect, the board, likeother Intel Z68 platforms, is also equipped with XFast USBTechnology, graphical UEFI, AXTU programs.

Z68 Pro3-M

Interestingly, the newly-launched Z68 Motherboard series hasbundled with Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.5 Trial software.It supports Intel Quick Sync Video hardware transcodingand is optimized for second generation Core i7, i5, and i3processors to accelerated conversion of all your favorite mediafiles for your favorite portable players. The added software isa fabulous piece of kit and makes your digital life so versatile.

When considered alongside Intel’s Sandy Bridge, which alsooffers up integrated graphics, the landscape for processors

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has shifted. Stunning performance with the added bonus ofIntel technologies, the ASRock Z68 motherboard series willdefinitely serve pretty much all your needs!

SAPPHIRE Adds More Modelsto HD 6000 SeriesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sapphire-adds-more-models-to-

hd-6000-series/11997.html

April 28th, 2011

SAPPHIRE Technology has just strengthened its current rangeof graphics cards with the introduction of several new modelsin the HD 6700 series aimed at users wanting to benefitfrom the latest features including multi-screen displays andstereoscopic 3D output. Several models will be introduced inthe HD 6700 series offering a choice of memory configurationsand outputs. All of them...

...feature DX 11 engines from AMD and on-board hardwarevideo decoding with the AMD UVD (universal Video Decoder)supporting Blu-Ray 3D for stereoscopic 3D over HDMI1.4a. They all support AMD APP Acceleration with Streamprocessing as well as AMD Eyefinity multi-screen technology.Eyefinity gives users the ability not only to play games onmultiple monitors, but also to work across three or moremonitors as though it were one large monitor, bringing hugeproductivity benefits to applications such as photo editing,music creation and document creation.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6770 family includes two models with800 Stream processors and core clocks of 850MHz witheither 1GB or 512MB of GDRR5 memory and DVI, HDMIand DisplayPort outputs. There is also an overclocked modelwith SAPPHIRE’s award winning Vapor-X cooler for quiet andefficient operation with the output configuration of Dual DVI,HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

At the top of the range is the HD 6770 1GB FleX Edition, whichadditionally incorporates the SAPPHIRE exclusive feature toallow three DVI monitors to be connected in Eyefinity mode,without the need to use the DisplayPort output or activeadapters, and allows up to four monitors to be enabled if theDisplayPort output is used.

There will also be two models in the SAPPHIRE HD 6750family, which has the slightly smaller configuration of 720Stream processors, with 700MHz clock speeds and againincluding 1GB and 512MB memory options with DVI, HDMIand DisplayPort. In addition there will be an HD 6750 1GBVapor-X model, overclocked and with Dual DVI, HDMI andDisplayPort outputs.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6000 series is supported by AMD'sCatalyst DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver whichtogether with this generation of hardware delivers support

for all of the key DirectX 11 level features includingDirectCompute 11 instructions, hardware Tessellation andmulti-threaded communications with the system CPU. Theyalso support AMD APP Acceleration, - using Streamprocessing to accelerate supported applications such asbrowsing, video transcoding and rendering tasks by executinginstructions on the GPU architecture rather than the systemCPU.

Duke Nukem Forever to reachSingapore on 10 June 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/duke-nukem-forever-to-reach-

singapore-on-10-june-2011/11995.html

April 28th, 2011

It has been a 15-year wait but soon, the wait will be over. DukeNukem Forever will be launching in Singapore on 10 June2011 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC. Thisafternoon, VR-Zone was one of the media who was invited fora special preview of this highly-anticipated game.

Randy Pitchford, president and CEO of Gearbox Software,said that before he founded the company, the first job as aprofessional game maker in the industry was with 3D Realmsand working on Duke Nukem 3D.

"First announced in 1997, we saw screenshots and trailers in1998, then we were told that the game was going to be delayed,changing engine and we started to question whether we wouldever going to see the game again. Then there was a trailer in2001, and it was incredible and we believed again. And later,more time went on and we were like 'what's wrong with youpeople? You can't even finish this thing'. And it seems to takeforever. It's like we want the game, but it's not going to comeout."

"In fact, Duke Nukem Forever is now in the history of all videogames, the longest in development. There is no story like it. Itis a crazy story, not just the game itself but the developmentof it. We thought there is going to be a sad ending. It was May2009, you probably heard the news, that 3D Realms have runout of funding and they have to close their studio and lay off all

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the development team. And that the game was over and thatDuke Nukem was dead. That was the story. It was a terriblestory. It needs a better ending. Duke Nukem was one of thegreatest games ever made. And when Duke needed us, I calledup my old friends, George Broussard and Scott Miller, the guysthat own 3D Realms, and offer our help. They agreed to sellDuke Nukem to me. Gearbox was able to acquire Duke Nukemand we took over the development of Duke Nukem Forever."

Pitchford later goes on and talk abt the hero, the king, DukeNukem and also the plot of the upcoming game.

"This game, the story takes place twelve years after DukeNukem saved the world. And he is living the life of a hero. Notonly is he famous in his universe, but he is very successful.He takes the Duke Nukem name and make a brand out ofit, merchandizes himself. Duke has restaurants called 'DukeBurger', whole line of apparels. The guy has also lived a wild lifedoing things none of us ever have the chance to do - walk on themoon, won world series of Poker with huge stacks of money,climbed Mount Everest etc. With all his fame and success, he'senjoying himself. He's built a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thelargest and most luxurious casino and Duke lives on the topfloor, the penthouse suite. It is in this apartment we rejoinDuke twelve years after he saved the world. And Duke, in hisapartment, is finally playing his own video game. It took twelveyears to get his own video game! And when Duke is enjoyinghis life, playing his own video game that the aliens come back.Duke has to single-handedly, once again, save the world."

There was hands-on session for the media on the game (beta)though unfortunately, we weren't able to take photos on this.We can only say that the game play and visuals are great. DukeNukem Forever will go on retail in Singapore on 10 June onXbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles, and Windows PC.

The standard edition is priced at S$84.90 for the PlayStation3, S$71.90 for the Xbox 360, and S$61.90 for the PC. TheBalls of Steel Limited Edition is priced at S$128 for boththe Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and S$108 for the PC. Youcan check out the official Duke Nukem Forever website at -www.dukenukemforever.com

MSI Provides Support for 3TBHard DrivesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/msi-provides-support-for-3tb-hard-

drives/11994.html

April 28th, 2011

MSI has officially launched 3TB+ Infinity technology tosupport hard drives larger than 3TB and can use the 3TBhard drive as boot disk when installing a 64-bit operatingsystem. From now on, all users who buy or own MSImainboards are able to download and update the latestBIOS via the official website. Then you can easily experiencecomplete support for any 3TB hard drive with the 3TB+Infinity technology. MSI mainboards with support for 3TB+Infinity (and corresponding products):

MSI has officially launched 3TB+ Infinity technology tosupport hard drives larger than 3TB and can use the 3TBhard drive as boot disk when installing a 64-bit operatingsystem. From now on, all users who buy or own MSImainboards are able to download and update the latestBIOS via the official website. Then you can easily experiencecomplete support for any 3TB hard drive with the 3TB+Infinity technology. MSI mainboards with support for 3TB+Infinity (and corresponding products):

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Dell Launches AlienwareConcept Store, Unveils NewLaptopsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/dell-launches-alienware-concept-store-

unveils-new-laptops/11992.html

April 28th, 2011

It is a great day for Dell Singapore as the company unveilstheir first Alienware Concept Store in Singapore. Along withthat, Dell is reinforcing its Alienware brand of laptops withnew hardware as well as a new model, the 14-inch M14x. Hopon to find out more

Celebrating its fifth anniversary with Dell, the companyunveiled the brand new M14x laptop, a 14-inch model packedwith some awesome hardware.

Alienware M14x

Weighing less than 6.5lbs (2.94kg), the M14x will be poweredby the Intel's second generation Core i processors, alsoknown as Sandy Bridge. Quad-core or a dual-core options areavailable for customization.

The new model will also feature NVIDIA's GeForce GT 555Mgraphics processing unit with up to 3GB of VRAM. runningat WLED HD standard at 1366x768 resolution. Consumers canopt for a 1600x900 display option.

Here is a general specification sheet of the M14x

Display Options

14.0 inch WLED HD (720p) display (1366X768) (Standard)

14.0 inch WLED HD+ (900p) display (1600X900)

Color Options

Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish

Nebula Red with Soft Touch Finish

System Dimensions

Height: 37.8 mm (1.49 inches)

Depth: 258.34 mm (10.17 inches)

Width: 337.00 mm (13.27 inches)

Starting at Weight* : 2.92 kg (6.45lbs)

Battery Details

High Capacity 8-cell Lithium Ion (63whr)

Integrated Camera Details

2.0 Megapixel HD Video and Picture Camera with dual digitalmicrophones

Keyboard

4-Zone, multi-color RGB, 82 key keyboard with AlienFXlighting controls

Customized Features

Laser-Engraved Nameplate

External Chassis Connections

(1x) RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet

(2x) SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports

(1x) Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Port with PowerShare Technology

(1x) Mini-Display Port

(1x) HDMI 1.4 Audio and Video Output

(1x) VGA Port

(1x) 9-in-1 Media Card Reader

(2x) Audio Out 1/8" Ports

(1x) Audio In / Microphone 1/8" Port (retaskable for 5.1 audio)

(1x) Security Lock port

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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The M11x and M17 models were not negelected however, bothmodels will be refreshed with the latest Intel Sandy Bridgeprocessors. The new M11x will get a updated NVIDIA GeForceGT540M while the M17x will be getting a GT460M or a Radeon6970M option. To add on, the new M11x also features a softtouch finish with a new Nebua Red option.

The M17x is also the only model in the Alienware laptop lineupto feature a 120Hz full HD 3D display with HDMI-in supportfor Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 connectivity.

Pricing and Availability

The new Alienware products will be available in Singaporebeginning today at Alienware Concept Store located in SuntecCity Mall Level 2.

Prices of the models are:

Alienware M11x - Starting From S$1,999Alienware M14x - Starting From S$2,299Alienware M17x - Starting From S$3,699

LG unveils new televisionswith Cinema 3D and Smart TVtechnologiesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lg-unveils-new-televisions-with-

cinema-3d-and-smart-tv-technologies/11990.html

April 28th, 2011

This morning, LG Singapore held a media event to showcasetheir new televisions that incorporated the company'sproprietary Cinema 3D and Smart TV technologies. Read onfor the coverage.

Arthur Huang, vice president of sales and marketing, LGElectronics Singapore says that the company's newly launchedCinema 3D features the first flicker-free 3D technology whichgives the most comfortable experience without batteries.

"In addition, the LG Smart TV offers consumers access tomovies, applications, premium content and web all on theirTV. This is made easier with a wave of the hand; with themagic motion control developed by LG, we will also in thenext few months be announcing the exciting partnerships withlocal content providers. They will also further enhance theentertainment experience to all consumers here in Singapore,"Huang said.

Clive Chia, director of retail sales, LG Electronics Singapore,introduced 16 new products which consist of plasma TVs, LCDand LED TVs with combinations of Smart and Cinema 3D TVs.Chia also explained Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technologythe company is incorporating and compared the advantagesto conventional 3D TV technology including flicker-free,comfort, flexible viewing angles and price.

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With the Smart Share's Media Link feature, you can accesscontent information such as the plot summary, casts, director,viewer ratings and other information according to the contentyou have stored on your devices such as tablets, phones andlaptops. However, you need to install the PLEX app on yourPC, tablet or smartphone to use the Media Link.

The LG Smart TV also offers full range of apps, web browsingcapabilities as well as premium content such as ESPN, CNBCand Stuff to the users. With the Magic Motion remote control,you can simply point to the screen, move the cursor to yourdesired option and click to make a selection. The LG App storeis scheduled to launch later this year, and the company ispartnering local content providers to launch premium contentby Q3 this year.

A quick comparison between convention 3D glasses and LGCinema 3D glasses in terms of design and weight.

The World's Coldest FreezerSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-world-s-coldest-freezer/11987.html

April 28th, 2011

The world's coldest freezer does not resemble an averageperson's mental image of a freezer at all. Instead, it's made upof magnets. Read On.

Scientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)are a step closer to absolute zero. At absolute zero, atomswill posses zero energy, meaning they come to a standstill,as the atom approaches absolute zero, it might exhibitpreviously unobserved properties which might improve ourunderstanding of matter.

Sodium gas was cooled to just half-a-billionth of a degreeabove absolute zero, it is the first time that a gas was cooledbelow 1 nanokelvin. This record was achieved by cooling theatoms with a series of magnets.

At such low temperatures, the atoms cannot be confinedwithin a physical container as they will stick to the walls.Hence, the MIT team has come up with a "Gravito-magnetic"trap. Atoms are confined within a magnetic field and"compressed" until the record breaking temperature wasreached.

A view into the vacuum chamber where sodium atomswere cooled down to 500 picokelvin. The atoms wheremagnetically confined by the coil in the center which is 1 cmin diameter. The atoms were "levitated" 0.5 cm above the coil.

Images: COURTESY KETTERLE LAB

VR-Zone Giveaway #10 -Silverstone RV02-E WhiteChassis!Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/vr-zone-giveaway-10--silverstone-rv02-

e-white-chassis-/11991.html

April 28th, 2011

Follow four easy steps and stand a chance to windifferent prizes every week. This week..we are giving away:1 x Silverstone RV02-E White Chassis Check out http://launch.vr-zone.com and find out how you can win these prizes!

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Origin starts selling world'sfastest notebookSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/origin-starts-selling-world-s-fastest-

notebook/11989.html

April 28th, 2011

How fast can a top-end notebook based off Intel's new SandyBridge platform run? Say, 3.2GHz under TurboBoost? Well,leave it to Origin to go off the charts with its latest lineup offactory-overclocked notebooks that are reportedly being soldwith clock speeds of 4.5GHz, along with other major hardwaregoodies not found in most run-of-the-mill notebooks.

When it comes to notebooks, the average consumer can besome of the most demanding shoppers at times. Because of theinherently higher costs incurred when purchasing a notebookover a desktop PC, most people are not willing to splurge ona machine that will be quickly outclassed by newer, fastermachines in a matter of months. Indeed, some of the mostcommon demands made by consumers over laptops includesmaller sizes, performance that is 'good enough' for most dailyneeds and more importantly, specifications that can only bedescribed as 'futureproof'.

Needless to say, there is no known notebook in the markettoday that is capable of satisfying all of the aforementioneddemands. However, if consumers are willing to strike'portability' off from their lists, we are fairly sure Origin'slatest Eon17-S is perfectly capable of fulfilling the other twodemands...as long as they are willing to pay a premium, ofcourse.

According to a report published by Xbit Labs, Origin's Eon17-S notebooks feature a "quad-core Intel microprocessor", alongwith NVIDIA's recently-released GeForce GTX 485M graphicscard. Now, these features in itself may not attract muchattention, but the fact that Origin has apparently seen it fitto overclock the processor used in its notebooks is. Indeed,the most powerful configuration available for the Eon17-Snotebooks mentions the use of an i7-2920XM processor thathas been overclocked to 4.0GHz, and is capable of up to4.5GHz under TurboBoost.

In addition, the Eon 17-S is also capable of supporting up to32GB of memory thanks to the availability of four DIMM slots,so intensive gaming or multi-tasking is definitely not going tobe a problem on a souped-up Eon 17-S.

Of course, this just leaves the all-important question aboutcost. Unfortunately for penny-pinchers, the EON 17-S is notgoing to be the cheapest notebook available; in fact, the world'sfastest notebook may well be the world's most expensivenotebook as well. This is because the cost for a fully maxed-out Eon 17-S is going to set one back by as much as US$12,302. But hey, you get exactly what you are paying for;a high-performance notebook with specifications that are'futureproof' for at least two to three years down the road. Andon top of that, you get bragging rights for having a notebookthat boasts two "world's most" qualities in a single package,no?

New Tegra 2-powered tabletshows up in Korea, courtesyof TriGemSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/new-tegra-2-powered-tablet-shows-up-

in-korea-courtesy-of-trigem/11988.html

April 28th, 2011

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Think that the Optimus 2X is the only Korean Android-powered device to come bundled with an NVIDIA Tegra 2system-on-a-chip (SoC)? Think again: yet another Androiddevice is getting the Tegra 2 treatment, and it comes in theform of a tablet known as the Tabit, and produced by TriGem.

Sometimes, technological trends can move so fast that whatwas previously considered as 'bleeding-edge' technology canquickly be reduced to mere 'meh' status in only a matterof months. Usually, such situations are often considered tobe good news for both users and OEMs, simply becausemost consumers will be able to feed their desires to havethe fastest, meanest, highest-performing device possible inorder to maintain their up-to-date and sophisticated image.As for OEMs...well, new products almost always results in yetanother avenue of income from consumers.

In this case, consumers who have been complaining aboutthe lack of a decent, high-performance tablet will finally havesomething to look forward to, for something good is about tohead their way. This is because a Korean OEM by the nameof TriGem has just announced the proposal of a new tabletdevice known as the Tabit that comes bundled wiith...yes, youguessed it: NVIDIA's Tegra 2 System-on-a-chip (SoC).

Not much detail about TriGem's Tabit tablet has beenreleased, but what we do know is that, in addition tothe impressive SoC used to power the Tabit, the tabletwill reportedly feature a 10-inch display that is capable ofresolutions of up to 1024 x 600, and will be pre-loaded withversion 2.2 of the Android operating system. However, therewas completely no mention about the possibility for futurefirmware updates, which means that consumers will not begetting any Gingerbread love from Trigem any time soon.

However, if the idea of using a previous-gen operating systemis not going to be a liability, it would appear that there are a fewfeatures of the Tabit which might appeal to heavy consumersof digital multimedia content. For one, the Tabit reportedlyfeatures a HDMI-out port, so consumers can easily load upthe Tabit with their favourite movies and play them back onthe big screen. In addition, a machine-translated report madeby NewsKorea has claimed that the Tabit will allow users toaccess up to two million eBooks, while the tablet's battery issupposedly capable of providing up to six hours of continuousvideo playback on a single charge.

Last but definitely not least, the Tabit will also sport variousstandard connectivity features such as WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, aMicroSD card reader and a USB port. As for availability, it

would seem that the Tabit is slated for an early May launch inKorea (no mention of global availability, if at all), and can bepurchased for 399,000 won (approximately US$372).

PSU Review - Enermax NAXN82+ 750WSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/psu-review--enermax-

naxn-82-750w/11986.html

April 28th, 2011

Today we are going to have a look at a product from their latestseries of power supplies, called NAXN, the NAXN 82+ 750Wunit. How Enermax chose such a strange name for their newseries of PSUs we will never know; what we do know is that theNANX series consists of the most aggressively priced productsthe company currently offers and they are obviously designedto appeal to budget-minded enthusiasts.

Enermax is one of the most well known and reputablecomputer PSU manufacturers. The company has diversifiedinto other areas of the market but they did not losetheir original focus, being designing and producing highperformance power supplies for enthusiasts and professionalusers. Today we are going to have a look at a product from theirlatest series of power supplies, called NAXN, the NAXN 82+750W unit. How Enermax chose such a strange name for theirnew series of PSUs we will never know; what we do know isthat the NANX series consists of the most aggressively pricedproducts the company currently offers and they are obviouslydesigned to appeal to budget-minded enthusiasts.

• ErP Lot 6 ready! - Help systems to meet EU eco-designdirective ErP/EuP Lot 6 (<1W in standby mode) dueto improved, high-efficient 5V standby (+5Vsb) circuitry(except ENM750AWT and ENM850EWT).

• Intel ATX 12V v2.3 Compliant with the latest desktoppower supply design guide. Full support of most currentCPU: Intel® Core 2 Duo™/ Quad™/ Extreme™ / i7™ /i5™ / i3™ and AMD® Athlon™ 64X2/X4 or Phenom™X3/X4.

• Multi-Rail Design - Stable and reliable power supply withup to four powerful 12V rails.

• AirGuard - Patented air-intake with optimal aero-dynamical design reduces noisy air turbulences.

• Silent Cooling - Ultra quiet fan with intelligentRPM control guarantees cool performance and silentoperation.

• SafeGuard - Multiple protection circuitry of OCP, OVP,UVP, SCP, OPP and SIP.

• Active PFC - Excellent active Power Factor Correction(PFC) with up to 0.99 to minimize power waste.

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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• Worldwide Compatibility - 100-240V AC inputwith automatic adjustment for global usage (exceptENP350AGT and ENP450AGT).

• Dimensions (W x H x D) - 150 x 86 x 140mm(ENM750AWT/ENM850EWT: 150 x 86 x 160mm).

• Warranty - 3 years vendor warranty.

• 80 PLUS® efficiency - Up to 86% efficiency at 230V and20-100% load. 80 PLUS® certified.

• HeatGuard - Keeping PSU fan running for 30-60 secondsafter shut down to dissipate the remaining system heatand prolonging system lifetime.

• Non-Stop @ 40°C - Non-stop industrial classperformance at 40°C/104°F ambient.

• ENERGY STAR 5.0 ready! - Support computer system tomeet ENERGY STAR 5.0 standard.

• 80 PLUS® Bronze efficiency - Up to 88% efficiency at230V and 20-100% load. 80 PLUS® Bronze certified.

• Future ready and flexible - All-round modular cablemanagement. 10/12P sockets for possible connectorchanges of upcoming high-performance CPU andgraphics card generations.

• DXXI ready! - Full support of most current DX11graphics cards due to min. four 6+2P (8P) connectors.

• Full graphics power - Supports SLI™ systems andCrossFireX™ systems.

• HeatGuard - Keeping PSU fan running for 30-60 secondsafter shut down to dissipate the remaining system heatand prolonging system lifetime.

• Non-Stop @ 40°C - Non-stop industrial classperformance at 40°C/104°F ambient.

• ENERGY STAR 5.0 ready! - Support computer system tomeet ENERGY STAR 5.0 standard.

Intel to launch SSD 311 Seriestogether with Z68 ExpressSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-to-launch-ssd-311-series-

together-with-z68-express/11985.html

April 28th, 2011

It appears that Intel will be launching a cost-effective Solid-State Drive 311 Series, codenamed 'Larsen Creek' together withits Z68 Express chipset on May 11, so that consumers can makegood use of its Intel Smart Response Technology.

A new feature on Intel's Z68 Express chipset is the Intel SmartResponse Technology, which automatically monitors usagepatterns and stores more commonly used files on a solid statedrive (like a large cache) and leave the less accessed ones onthe slower mechanical hard disk drive. Of course, in order forSmart Response to work, one will need to have both an SSD

and a HDD connected to the chipset. However, SSDs do notreally come in small capacities and neither are they cheap.

Now, it appears that Intel will be launching a cost-effectiveSolid-State Drive 311 Series, codenamed 'Larsen Creek'together with its Z68 Express chipset on May 11, so that userscan make good use of its new storage technology.

According to NordicHardware, the SSD 311 Series will be a20GB drive, which is sufficient to store Microsoft's Windows7 operating system, if not acting as a really big (and speedy)cache. When paired with the Z68 Express chipset and IntelSmart Response Technology enabled, internal tests haveshown that performance can increase up to 355%, dependingon the application.

While no further specifications are available, it is believed theSSD 311 Series is essentially a cut-down version of the SSD 320Series where the same controller is used, but with lesser NANDflash onboard. The exact price is unknown, but is expected tobe about US$49 to US$59.

Source: NordicHardware

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 27 April 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--27-

april-2011/11983.html

April 28th, 2011

In today's news roundup: LG has signed an agreement withARM that will see the Korean OEM obtaining the rightsto develop its own microprocessors based off the ARMCortex A15 processor and Mali-T604 GPU; Additional detailsabout Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge-E processors have beenrevealed in Intel's roadmaps; Dell has quietly dated itsupcoming Precision M4600 and M6600 notebooks for May10 this year; Apple is finally set to release its elusive whiteiPhone 4 for sale tomorrow; Sega is reportedly planning anew Hatsune Miku project that will most likely be known asProject Diva ver2.5, and Sony has announced that the week-

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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long downtime of its PlayStation Network service has resultedin unauthorized personnel may have made off with personalinformation stored on its servers.

Hardware news

LG Licenses Latest ARM Cortex-A15 Processor, Mali-T604Graphics TechnologiesDescription: ARM, a leading designer of microprocessorand graphics technologies, and LG Electronics, a majorconsumer electronics companies, on Monday said that theyhad signed agreements under which LG will be able todevelop microprocessors, graphics processors and system-on-chip solutions based on ARM Cortex-A15 and Mali-T604technologies.

Additional Details on Sandy Bridge-E Processors, X79, andLGA2011Description: The latest Intel roadmap has come out, and it'salready being discussed elsewhere, so we're going to weighin with our own analysis of the content as there's plenty ofinteresting bits of information to sift through. We’ll be lookingat other areas over the coming days, but today we’re going tostart with the Sandy Bridge-E (SNB-E) processors.

Intel series 320 SSD reviewDescription: We review the Intel series 320 SSD. Armedwith cheaper NAND flash memory this drive competes at themiddle segment tagged with a decent price. But will it beenough to compete with the competition ?

Thermaltake's Level 10 GT enclosureDescription: If you care the slightest bit about computer cases,odds are you're aware of Thermaltake's Level 10. Co-designedwith BMW Group DesignworksUSA and shaped like a crossbetween the monolith in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SpaceOdyssey and some sort of sci-fi skyscraper, the Level 10 dazesand amazes. No other computer enclosure looks quite like it.

Lancool PC-K57 Case ReviewDescription: Lancool is a brand that belongs to Lian Li, amanufacturer that is famous for its top-notch aluminum cases.The new PC-K57, however, is completely manufactured insteel, helping it to reach a very affordable price tag of USD70, while still coming with lots of features only found on moreexpensive models. Is the PC-K57 a good product? Let’s checkit out.

Consumer Electronics and Software news

Samsung announces a new 17.3" 3D laptop in KoreaDescription: Samsung announced a new 3D laptop, the SENS-RF712. It's a 17.3" laptop with active-shutter 3D support. Thedisplay is a super-bright LCD offering up to 400nits brightness(even on 3D). Other features include a 2nd generation quad-core Intel CPUS, an AMD HD6650M GPU (2GB VRAM). Thelaptop inclues Samsung's Fast Start feature (boot up in 3seconds) and a PowerPlus battery (can last up to 3 times longerthan a conventional battery).

Buffalo reveals sleek design for powerful portable DVD driveDescription: Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design,development, and manufacturing of storage and wirelessnetworking solutions, is today announcing a stylish andconvenient design for its optical storage range.

Google Video To Be Search Only

Description: Over the weekend, Google emailed those whoare hosting videos on Google Video that they are going to beremoving all the videos on Google Video for good.

Dell quietly dates Precision M4600, M6600 for May 10Description: The new Dell Precision mobile workstations, theM4600 and M6600, have been quietly dated and priced. Thenotebooks which had their specs recently leaked, will arriveMay 10, with the 15.6-inch M4600 priced from $1,678 whilethe 17.3-inch M6600 is priced from $2,158. Both will runa choice of Intel’s second-generation Core i5 and Core i7processors.

White iPhone 4 releases tomorrow, finallyDescription: The rare albino iPhone 4 has been spottednumerous times in the wild, skulking through the trees inthe magical United Kingdom, cavorting across the mysteriouslands of Vietnam, and most recently standing in formationin Belgium. Now it's coming somewhere rather less exotic:the Apple Store. Apple has finally announced it will releasethe white iPhone 4 tomorrow around the world. Here in theUS it'll come in both AT&T and Verizon flavors, warming thehearts and minds of those who like a little less pigment on theirhandsets.

Oracle May Cease Support of Popular Linux Distributives TooDescription: In a bid to further consolidate its server businessin general and mission-critical server in particular, Oracle mayin future cease support of popular Red Hat and SUSE Linuxoperating systems, according to an analyst. This currentlyseems to be a problem for a lot of customers using Intel Corp.'sItanium-based systems from HP, who are unsure about thefuture of Itanium in general and HP-UX in particular.

Gaming news

Sega Has a New Miku Project, Might Call It Project Diva Ver.2.5Description: Sega has a new Hatsune Miku project in theworks and we will see light of it tomorrow. Siliconera reportedinformation that the game will be titled “Project Diva Ver2.5″as quoted from Famitsu magazine. A teaser site has been putup as well.

The Interrogation Room: Resistance 3Description: We recently had the chance to go hands-onwith the third installment of Insomniac Games' PlayStation3-exclusive first-person shooter franchise. Check out whatwe learned about (and thought of) Resistance 3's story,characters, setting, and weapons!

PlayStation Network Account Data CompromisedDescription: After nearly a week of downtime for thePlayStation Network, Sony announced today some alarmingnews: It believes users' personal information -- includingname, address (city, state, zip), country, email address,birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login,and PSN online ID -- has been obtained by an "unauthorizedperson."

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Sony launches new Blu-Rayhome theater system andplayerSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-launches-new-blu-ray-home-

theater-system-and-player/11977.html

April 28th, 2011

Sony has recently launched their new Blu-Ray home theatresystem (BDV-E380) and Blu-Ray player with wireless LAN(BDP-S380), designed to offer immersive online cinematicexperience to users. Both are available now at all Sonyauthorised stores.

Sony unveiled its home theater lineup with the new 3D Blu-rayHome Theatre System (BDV-E380), and Blu-ray player withWireless LAN Ready (BDP-S380).

With Ethernet connectivity, a Wi-Fi ready Internet browser,and more than 15 Free Internet Video channels, the BDV-E380 puts your TV on the Internet, allowing you to watcha wide range of content for a richer viewing experience. Italso features a sleek monolithic design with aluminum hairlinefinish and touch panel that complements any Sony BRAVIAHDTV, a built-in 3D-capable Bl u-ray player, and 1000WRMS 5.1-channel 3D surround sound for clear highs and wall-shaking bass.

The BDV-E380 is available now for just S$699 at all Sonyauthorised stores. Customers who purchase any 32-inchBRAVIA TV or larger can add on the BDV-380 for only S$499. Free Highspeed HDMI Cable, DCAC Calibration Micand iPod/iPhone Dock are included.

Sony has also taken high definition to a new level with theBDP-S380 thanks to a sleeker design and BRAVIA InternetVideo (Wi-Fi ready). In addition to their favorite Blu-ray andDVD films, users can also play videos and music directly offa flash drive connected via the USB port, and the new MediaRemote turns any iPhone/iPad or Android device into an easy-to-use remote control. The BDP-S380 is available now for S$269 at all Sony authorised stores.

Apple white iPhone 4 arrivesin Singapore tomorrow,followed by iPad 2Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/apple-white-iphone-4-arrives-in-

singapore-tomorrow-followed-by-ipad-2/11984.html

April 28th, 2011

Apple has said that the iPad 2 will be available in Singaporein April. And till now, the product is yet to be on sale. Today,the company has issued a release that indicates that the iPad2 will be retailing this Friday. Better yet, the white version ofthe iPhone 4 will be selling tomorrow. Read on.

Today, Apple announced that the iPad 2 will arrive in Japanon Thursday, 28 April and Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore andeight additional countries on Friday, 29 April. The iPad 2 willbe available in Singapore at select Apple Authorised Resellers,and online through the Apple Store (www.apple.com/sg)beginning at 1am local time.

The Apple iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percentlighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the samestunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. It features Apple’snew dual-core A5 processor for superb performance andstunning graphics and two cameras, a front-facing VGAcamera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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camera that captures 720p HD video. The Apple iPad 2 alsoboasts up to 10 hours of battery life.

Pricing & AvailabilityIn Singapore, the Apple iPad 2 will be available at a suggestedretail price of S$668 for the 16GB model, S$798 for the 32GBmodel and S$928 for the 64GB model. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi+ 3G will be available in Singapore for a suggested retail priceof S$848 for the 16GB model, S$978 for the 32GB model andS$1,108 for the 64GB model.

iMovie and GarageBand for iPad apps are available forUS$4.99 each from the App Store? on iPad or http://www.itunes.com/appstore. The Smart Cover is available in arange of colors in vibrant polyurethane for S$54 or rich leatherfor S$98.

White iPhone 4

Apple today announced that the white iPhone 4 will beavailable beginning tomorrow. White iPhone 4 models will beavailable from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com/sg/) andselect Apple Authorised Resellers.

Pricing & AvailabilityWhite models of iPhone 4 will be available in Austria,Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark,Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan,Luxembourg, Macau, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan,Thailand, UK and the US, beginning Thursday, April 28 andin many more countries around the world soon. The whiteiPhone 4 will be available for a recommended retail price ofS$888 for the 16GB model and S$1,048 for the 32GB modelthrough the Apple Store (www.apple.com/sg/), and selectApple Authorised Resellers.

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 andP67 Fatal1ty PerformancePreviewedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/asrock-z68-extreme4-and-p67-fatal1ty-

performance-previewed/11982.html

April 28th, 2011

We are pleased to check out two upcoming boards fromASRock which Chris Lee, marketing director of ASRockis proudly holding. On the right is the ASRock Z68Extreme4 board which is unveiled recently and on the leftis the ASRock P67 Fatal1ty Performance board, a cheapercounterpart to the P67 Fatal1ty Professional board. Last butnot least, ASRock is planning the Z68 Fatal1ty Professional tooand you should see it later in May.

We are pleased to check out two upcoming boards fromASRock which Chris Lee, marketing director of ASRock isproudly holding.

On the right is the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 board which isunveiled recently and sports nice features like three x16 PCIeslots, two SATA 6Gbps ports, on-board power and resetbuttons, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports for thefront and two at the back. Apart from the heavily toutedXFast USB feature that boosts your USB performance, anotherkey feature highlighted is that this board comes bundledwith the LucidLogix Virtu software that intelligently switchbetween Sandy Bridge iGPU and discrete graphics dependingon applications usage.

On the left is the ASRock P67 Fatal1ty Performance board, acheaper counterpart to the P67 Fatal1ty Professional board.As you can see, this board design is pretty different from theProfessional and chipset cooler is less elaborated. The CPUVRM area is noticeably step down and has only one PCIe x16slot instead of 3 on the Professional as well as two SATA3 portsinstead of 6. Instead, it has three PCI slots and three PCIe x1slots. On the rear IO panel, it has 2 USB 3.0 ports, a single LANport, and of course a Fatal1ty mouse port. ASRock P67 Fatal1tyPerformance is great for gamer who wants a relatively cheapsolution with decent features that looks good.

Last but not least, ASRock is planning the Z68 Fatal1tyProfessional too and you should see it later in May.

Sony Confirms Personal DataObtained By PSN HackerSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-confirms-personal-data-obtained-

by-psn-hacker/11993.html

April 28th, 2011

If you have a PSN account, now it's the time to change yourpasswords and be alert of suspicious activity and/or e-mails.Sony officially confirmed everyone's worst fears...

If you have a PSN account, now it's the time to changeyour passwords and be alert of suspicious activity and/or e-mails. Sony confirmed everyone's worst fears; sensitive user

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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data (names, e-mail and home addresses, dates of birth,passwords and even credit card information) have beenexposed during the "illegal and unauthorized intrusion" whichoccurred between April 17 and April 19 and has resulted in theworldwide PSN outage, which is now in its sixth day.

Sony claims that over 70 million users have subscribed to thePSN but did not reveal how many of them have been affectedby this data breach. Another interesting part of the story ishow Sony decided to inform the public; Patrick Seybold, Sony'sdirector of corporate communications and social media in theUnited States, explained the security breach in a blog post afull 6 days after the incident.

"Although we are still investigating the details of thisincident, we believe that an unauthorized person hasobtained the following information that you provided: name,address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate,PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, andhandle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profiledata, including purchase history and billing address (city,state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwordsecurity answers may have been obtained. If you haveauthorized a sub-account for your dependent, the same datawith respect to your dependent may have been obtained." -the blog post lists. And continues : "While there is no evidenceat this time that credit card data was taken, we cannot ruleout the possibility. If you have provided your credit carddata through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, out of anabundance of caution we are advising you that your creditcard number (excluding security code) and expiration datemay have been obtained."

Gigabyte's Touch BIOS is aWindows utilitySource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-touch-bios-is-a-windows-

utility/11981.html

April 28th, 2011

More details about Gigabyte's Touch BIOS have appearedcourtesy of the unofficial Gigabyte blog and this time thecompany has put up a video detailing what in the end turnedout to be a Windows utility for modifying the BIOS settings,rather than a graphical UEFI. This seems to suggest thatGigabyte isn't quite ready to go UEFI as yet and instead we geta Windows utility for those that want a graphics interface forchanging the settings.

More details about Gigabyte's Touch BIOS have appearedcourtesy of the unofficial Gigabyte blog and this time thecompany has put up a video detailing what in the end turnedout to be a Windows utility for modifying the BIOS settings,rather than a graphical UEFI. This seems to suggest thatGigabyte isn't quite ready to go UEFI as yet and instead we get

a Windows utility for those that want a graphics interface forchanging the settings.

The Touch BIOS app was designed to make it easy for lesstech savvy users to make changes to the BIOS settings via agraphical user interface, but we're not sure if Gigabyte has hitthe nail on the head. Some of the icons as per our previouswrite-up don't quite make sense at first glance. On top ofthat, all the icons appear to have been designed for visuallyimpaired people, although the reason for this appears to betouch screen support. We're not sure if this makes sense, asmost people don't tend to have a touch screen at home.

We got some of the icons way wrong as well, with the rocketbeing the overclocking options, the hard drive being the optionfor selecting the boot disk, the Q logo is for Gigabyte's QuickBoost option, the one that looks like a system is for the PCstatus options, the @ logo launches the @BIOS Windowsutility, the USB logo changes the integrated hardware settingsand the power button is for power management and finally thelock is to change the BIOS password. And that little icon withfour coloured squares, well, it's not for changing the colour,instead it's a button that takes you back to the main menu.

Unprintable Content (Video, Flash, etc.)

It seems like some work is still needed on Gigabyte's side,at least when it comes to the usability aspect related to whatthe icons are portraying. It also doesn't help that the touchscreen friendliness of the Touch BIOS utility means that youget scrollbars in just about every setting you enter which makesit harder to see what you're actually doing when it comesto changing the more advanced settings. Considering thatGigabyte has slated its competitors UEFI implementations, wehave to say that this is just as bad; if not worse than most of theUEFI implementations we've seen to date. At least the goodnews is that this isn't Gigabyte's UEFI and hopefully we'll seesomething much better there once Gigabyte makes the move.

Sony unveils two upcomingultra-portable VAIO modelsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-unveils-two-upcoming-ultra-

portable-vaio-models/11980.html

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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April 28th, 2011

On top of its new Android tablets, Sony also gave a sneakpeek preview of two other upcoming devices, but didn't givetoo many details as of what to expect. Sony came up with someinteresting category names for its new devices though, namelyFreestyle Hybrid PC and Ultimate Mobile PC. It looks like2011 is set to become an increasingly interesting year for ultra-portable mobile devices and not just tablets.

On top of its new Android tablets, Sony also gave a sneak peekpreview of two other upcoming devices, but didn't give toomany details as of what to expect. Sony came up with someinteresting category names for its new devices though, namelyFreestyle Hybrid PC and Ultimate Mobile PC. It looks like2011 is set to become an increasingly interesting year for ultra-portable mobile devices and not just tablets.

The Ultimate Mobile PC looks like a very thin notebook andwhat the picture gives away is what appear to be a USB 3.0port, a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI port and an on/off switchfor Wi-Fi. Judging by an interview with Sony's Senior VicePresident for consumer products, Mr Suzuki Masakuni doneby Impress PC Watch, we're looking at what appears to be amodel targeting the business market.

The same appears to be true for the Freestyle Hybrid PC whichapparently is a Windows tablet that has a sliding keyboard,much like Asus' upcoming Eee PC Slider. However, Sony'sdesign appears to be somewhat different, as there's no sign ofa trackpad or even a trackpoint, so the main cursor interfaceshould be the touch screen.

We're just going to have to wait and see what the specsbehind these products are, but the Freestyle Hybrid PC isrumoured to feature an Intel Atom processors at its core.At least both products are good news for lovers of thin andportable computers and hopefully we'll be seeing a ULV SandyBridge processor in the Ultimate Mobile PC, as this wouldmake it a really interesting product that would go heads onwith Apple's MacBook Air and Samsung's 9-series notebooks.

Transducer concept phonetranslates to your desirelanguageSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/transducer-concept-phone-translates-

to-your-desire-language/11979.html

April 28th, 2011

The Transducer concept phone was recently unveiled whichboasts to be the ideal translator between you and the caller.One noteable feature is that it can translate incoming callsto your preferred language and vice versa. If the Transducerbecome available for purchase in stores, would you considergetting one?

Communication is important in day to day life, with Englishbeing the most commonly used language. Having said that,it can be inconvenient when there's language barrier betweenindividuals. (We can't assume everybody know how tocommunicate in English).

Recently, Jasper Hou, a designer of Yanko Design, has comeup with the Transducer concept phone. The biggest appealof the Transducer is that it can translate languages on thefly, to your desired language, whether you are talking to theindividual on the phone or even reading newspaper.

Other features include built-in GPS, transparent LCD displayand you can also use the phone to communicate with hearingand sight impaired folks.

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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First Looks: ASUS P8Z68-VPRO (Intel Z68 Express)Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/first-looks-asus-p8z68-v-pro-intel-z68-

express-/11972.html

April 28th, 2011

We had a visitor to our labs yesterday evening, the ASUSP8Z68-V PRO motherboard. The P8Z68-V PRO uses Intel'supcoming Z68 Express chipset, which primarily combinesfeatures present in the current P67 Express and H67 Expresschipsets. While the media is not allowed to publish reviews (ofany Z68-based product) just yet, we can still share some detailsof this new board.

We had a visitor to our labs yesterday evening, the ASUSP8Z68-V PRO motherboard. The P8Z68-V PRO uses Intel'supcoming Z68 Express chipset, which primarily combinesfeatures present in the current P67 Express and H67 Expresschipsets. In this short preview, we take a look at what this newboard has to offer.

Compared to the P8P67 PRO, some components may havemoved about printed circuit board (PCB) and a few morewere added, but the expansion slots offered and connectorplacements are unchanged.

The Firewire and Super I/O controllers are now placednear the front of the board. The MOSFET heatsinks for

the processor's voltage regulation module (VRM) have beenslightly re-designed as well.

Two switches at the right corner enable ASUS' EnergyProcessing Unit (EPU) and TurboV Processing Unit (TPU).The EPU is a real-time power saving and monitoring chipthat can detect workloads and intelligently moderate powerconsumption, while the TPU will overclock the system for youby raising the BCLK and processor multiplier automatically.

Memory power supply is regulated via a 2-phase VRM.There are two pairs of DIMM slots for dual-channel memoryconfiguration.

The four light blue and two grey SATA ports are linked to theIntel Z68 Express chipset. The light blue ones support SATA3Gbps and the grey ones SATA 6Gbps. The two dark blue SATAports are also SATA 6Gbps-capable, but they are connected toa third-party Marvell controller.

A USB 3.0 front panel header, linked to an ASMedia ASM1042SuperSpeed USB Host Controller, can be found to the right ofthe eight SATA ports. As ASMedia is a subsidary of ASUS, itcomes as no surprise that there are quite a number of ASMediacomponents on the P8Z68-V PRO.

April 28th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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Apart from the USB 3.0 front panel header, there are anotherthree sets of (blue) headers for six USB 2.0 ports and two(black) ones for two Firewire ports.

Just right behind the row of headers, there are three chips.The ASMedia ASM1083 (partially hidden) is a PCI Express x1to 32-bit PCI bridge, Firewire is provided by VIA's VT6308P2-port IEEE 1394 host controller and the last one is a NuvotonNCT6776F LPC Super I/O IC.

A total of seven expansion slots here: three PCI Express x16slots, two PCI Express x1 slots and two PCI slots.

Only the first PCI Express x16 slot in dark blue is capable ofthe full x16 link.; the grey colored one can provide only an x8link while the black one a maximum of x4.

However, as PCI Express bandwidth from the Z68 Expresschipset is limited, the default setting in the BIOS is an x1configuration for the black slot. (First two PCI Express x16slots are connected directly to the processor.) Alternatively,the user can force 'x4 mode' on the black slot but that willresult in the USB 3.0 front header, eSATA ports and both PCIExpress x1 slots to be disabled.

Sony unleashes new AndroidS1 and S2 tabletsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/sony-unleashes-new-android-s1-and-

s2-tablets/11978.html

April 28th, 2011

No, it's not Sony Ericsson but Japanese manufacturer,Sony. Even though Sony Ericsson has recently launched theirXperia smartphones, including the Xperia Play (or formerlyknown as the PlayStation phone), Sony has announced theirnew S1 and S2 Android tablets.

Sony Corporation has announced their “Sony Tablet” that aimto deliver the perfect combination of hardware, content andnetwork with seamless usability for a high-quality, engagingentertainment experience. The company is developing twotablets with unprecedented design, including S1 which isoptimised for rich media entertainment and S2 which is idealfor mobile communication and entertainment. (Note thatS1 and S2 are codenames of the tablets). Both tablets arescheduled to be available in the global market starting in fall2011.

The S1 and S2 are equipped with the latest Android 3.0Honeycomb operating system, designed for devices with largescreen sizes, especially tablets. Both tablets are Wi-Fi andWAN (3G/4G) compatible and users can browse the web,check emails as well as access digital content including videos,games and books through Sony’s premium network servicesand more, anywhere at any time.

The S1 sports a 9.4-inch display for enjoying the web andrich content on a large screen. Its off-center of gravity designoffers stability and ease of grip as well as portability, offeringcomfortable use for hours.

The S2 features two 5.5-inch displays that can be folded foreasy portability. In contrast to existing tablets, its dual screenpresentation and usability allows its displays to be combinedand used as a large screen or for different functions includingplaying video on one screen while showing control buttons onthe other.