AMD 28nm GPUs shipping for revenue

At the IT Supply Chain conference, AMD CEO Rory Read confirmed that AMD has begun shipping 28nm GPUs, fabbed at TSMC, for revenue. This should come as no surprise, as the release for Radeon HD 7900 - on 9th January 2012 - is just over 3 weeks away.

CEO Rory Read stated, "We are ramping 28nm [products] with TSMC in Taiwan and shipping the products here and now. We are very excited about the products".

At this point we have some information about the Radeon HD 7900 series - some concrete, some speculation. We have seen pictures, speculatory specifications, pricing rumours and a purported specifications slide leak. However, as usual, little information has been publicly announced by AMD.

Source: Xbitlabs

ASUS Eee Pad Slider at TICA 2011

ASUS showcased some of their latest products which include the Eee Pad Slider (shown above), the ultra-thin laptop - U46SV,Eee PC X101H,ET2410INTS All-In-One PC,CM6850 desktop and PA246Q monitor.

Above: ASUS U46SV ultra-thin laptop, 14" 1366 x 768 display, Intel i5 2520M Processor, up to 8GB DDR3 ram, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card, up to 750GB HDD, weighs 2kg and measures 333 x 245 x 27mm.

Above: ASUS Eee PC X101H netbook

Above: ASUS ET2410INTS All-In-One PC, 23.6" 1920 x 1080 touch screen display, Intel i5-2400S Processor, up to 8GB ram, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M graphics card, up to 2TB SATA 6Gbps HDD, weighs 10.8kg and measures 590 x 461 x 230mm.

Above:CM6850 desktop, Intel H67 chipset, Intergrated Graphics Card or ATI HD 6450 or NVIDIA GT 530.

Above:PA246Q monitor, 24" 1920 x 1200 display, 400cd/m2 brightness, 6ms response time, weighs 7.3kg and measures 558.4 x 380.8 x 235mm.

See more specifications at the ASUS website:-
U46SV, ET2410INTS All-In-One PC,CM6850 desktop, PA246Q monitor.

Source: Xfastest

Guild Wars 2 confirmé sur consoles

Voilà une annonce inattendue qui pourrait donner des frissons aux fans les plus ardents.

NC Soft confirme la mise en chantier de versions consoles pour son futur MMO Guild Wars 2. On pourrait craindre que ce développement parallèle, réalisé par une petite équipe, tire la qualité du jeu PC vers le bas mais l'éditeur se veut rassurant. Les équipes de développement planchent dur pour nous livrer une version PC aux petits oignons. Pas de quoi brider la version PC donc même si l'on est en droit de se poser la question malgré tout. Pour de plus amples détails, rendez sur cette page de GuildWarsInsider.com (en anglais) tandis que notre preview vous attend à cette adresse.

Guild Wars 2 sortira quelque part en 2012 sur PC et plus tard sur PS3 et Xbox 360 mais sans que l'on sache vraiment quand.

· Forum Guild Wars 2

ASUS P5N32SLI Premium WiFi-AP w 3 x16 PCIe Slots

ASUS has announced their latest P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP boardbased on the "eradicated" nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition chipset and interestinglythis board has 3 x PCI Express x16 slot (2 for SLI and one for Physicscard). One could be mistaken that there is a NVIDIA Physics card from the PR but it probablymean that a 3rd NVIDIA graphics card (we reported before here)can be plugged into the 3rd x16 slot to do Physics calculations, similar to theATi Crossfire Physics concept of using 3 graphics cardswhich we have seen during Computex. Apparently, only ASUS will mass produceboards based on nForce 590 SLI Intel Edition where others have opted for theupcoming C55 chipset to be launched in November. Luckily, C55 is pin compatiblewith nForce 590 SLI chipset so no major changes are required.

Below is the press release :

ASUS Technology Pte. Ltd. (ASUS), the worldwide leader of motherboards, todayintroduced the P5N32-SLI premium/WiFi-AP, which leveraged Quad-SLI technology,Intel's Core2 Extreme support, and a third PCI Express x16 slot for Nvidia'supcoming Physics card to deliver superior gaming realism. Teamed with SupremeFXand DTS connect, P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP-powered systems provide gamingexperiences that look, feel and sound real.

Powerful processing capability for games
The P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP is a gamer's dream up true. It is Quad-SLI readyand supports the Intel Core2 Extreme processor, providing superior processingpower for the most graphics resource-hungry applications. The motherboardincorporated three PCI Express x16 slots (two for SLI-ready dual-GPU graphicscards and one reserved for Nvidia's Physics card) to enable unparalleledgraphics performance and gaming realism.

IThe P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP is a gamer's dream up true. It is Quad-SLI readyand supports the Intel Core2 Extreme processor, providing superior processingpower for the most graphics resource-hungry applications. The motherboardincorporated three PCI Express x16 slots (two for SLI-ready dual-GPU graphicscards and one reserved for Nvidia's Physics card) to enable unparalleledgraphics performance and gaming realism.

Supreme audio and realistic sound
The SupremeFX audio card and DTS connect combined to offer great sound qualityto go with the robust video power. The SupremeFX offers enhanced signal-to-noiseratio, while DTS connect, with 24bit/192kHz full sampling in all 7.1 surroundchannel, delivers exhilarating surround sound for games, MP3, WMA and CD etc.

AI Lifestyle features
The motherboard, of course, included a wide range of exclusive features foundonly on ASUS solutions.

8-Phase Power Design
The 8-Phase Power Design provides highly efficient operation to generate lessheat (at least 15°C) than other conventional power solutions. It reduces inputripple current and output ripple voltage, which keeps CPU and VRM (voltageregulation modules) from suffering the risk of high power stress. It has theadvantages of quick transient response and stability, especially beneficial whenCPU requires more current immediately under heavy loading or overclocking mode.

WiFi-AP Solo – Wireless connection even when the system sleeps
WiFi-AP Solo allows a new level of PC versatility by providing both access point(AP) and wireless client modes. Even when the system sleeps the AP modecontinues to connect devices in the WLAN for games, Internet access and printerfunctions sharing.
Fan-less Designs – Stack Cool and Copper Heat Pipe
The fan-less designs bring effective and noiseless cooling to counter the heatgenerated by components. Watch movies, listen to music and play games, and enjoythe peace and quiet. System damage from fan failure is also a thing of the past.The copper heat pipe directs heat generated by the chipsets to the heatsink nearthe back I/O ports, where it can be carried away by existing airflow, whileStack Cool effectively transfers heat generated by the critical components tothe other side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board) for fastheat dissipation.

Performance and silent computing
With AI Nap, users can instantly “relax” their PCs without terminating currenttasks. System will continue to operate at minimum power and noise when users aretemporarily away. It downloads files and run applications at the quietest statewhile users are asleep. Simply click on the mouse to wake up the system inseconds. To balance system performance and silent computing, AI Gear enablesusers to choose from profiles to adjust CPU frequency and vCore voltage,minimizing system noise and power consumption.

Specification summary

- Quad-SLI™ Ready
- Intel® Core™2 Extreme/Core™2 Duo Ready
- Intel® Pentium® Extreme/Pentium® D/Pentium® 4/Celeron® D Ready
- NVIDIA nForce® 590 SLI™ Intel Edition
- Dual-channel DDR2 800(OC)/667/533
- SupremeFX/DTS connect/Array Mic/Noise Filter

ATI Hemlock (Radeon HD 5870 X2) Pictures

ATI Radeon HD 5870 SIX/Eyefinity edition on the right, the beefier HD 5870 X2 on the left. Note that both cards require 6+8 pin PCIe connectors, as opposed to 6+6 pin for the regular HD 5870.




The full length of Hemlock from behind - all 12 inches of it. Since this is the longest consumer card ever - you might want to check for space inside your case if you are planning. The single crossfire connector is visible - allowing quad-CrossfireX. This picture also pretty much crushes rumours of an MCM single package Hemlock chip. However, it is interesting to notice how close the two Cypress dies are to each other. This could suggest a possible relocation of the PLX chip - or perhaps a new interconnect.

Hemlock is scheduled to be launched in one month's time at a rumoured $499. For more information, do read our earlier report on AMD's demonstration.

Reference: eNet