May 16th, 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.

Facebook rumoured to locatenew data center in SwedenSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/facebook-rumoured-to-locate-new-

data-center-in-sweden/12245.html

May 16th, 2011

According to Swedish newspaper NSD, Facebook is in the finalstages of making an agreement with the local city council inLuleå, the largest city in the northernmost parts of Sweden.The city of Luleå is located just south of the polar circle and hasa population of about 45,500, yet this could be where Facebookis planning to build its next data center which is said to consistof three massive server halls.

According to Swedish newspaper NSD, Facebook is in the finalstages of making an agreement with the local city council inLuleå, the largest city in the northernmost parts of Sweden.The city of Luleå is located just south of the polar circle and hasa population of about 45,500, yet this could be where Facebookis planning to build its next data center which is said to consistof three massive server halls.

So far it's mostly speculation, but all the details are said tobe pointing towards Facebook. The local city council is saidwant to expedite the applications for the new server halls and ishoping to have everything approved by the end of this month.That said, this is a big hush hush project and as such onlytrickles of information has leaked out so far.

Even if the server halls aren't for Facebook, there are only somany companies that would need three server halls pulling amassive 473 million kWh of electricity, that's said to be a year'sworth of power for 16,000 houses. On top of that, the facilityis said to have no less than 30 backup diesel generators, justin case there's a power failure.

There is still said to be a few issues that need to be looked atbefore the building permit is given, as the location chose isclose to a nature reserve among many things. The facility issaid to need somewhere between 70 to 90 employees that willhandle the 24/7 operations and each of the server halls are said

to have a floor space measuring 300 by 100 meters. On top ofthe three server halls, two power stations are also going to bebuilt nearby. It shouldn't be too long until we find out if this isgoing to be where Facebook will locate its first European datacenter or not.

Exclusive: MSI's GTX 560cards picturedSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/exclusive-msi-s-gtx-560-cards-

pictured/12244.html

May 16th, 2011

We're only hours from the official launch of Nvidia's upcomingGTX 560 GPU, the one without Ti on the end which is set to,well, compete with something or the other at a price point of$10-20 less than something else. Anyhow, we've gotten ourhands on a couple of pictures of MSI's upcoming N560GTXTwin Frozr II cards, both of which look very similar to MSI'sN560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II, but not identical.

We're only hours from the official launch of Nvidia's upcomingGTX 560 GPU, the one without Ti on the end which is set to,well, compete with something or the other at a price point of$10-20 less than something else. Anyhow, we've gotten ourhands on a couple of pictures of MSI's upcoming N560GTXTwin Frozr II cards, both of which look very similar to MSI'sN560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II, but not identical.

We're not quite sure why, but MSI seems to have added asmall clamp on the rear part of the PCB that helps stabilizethe GPU cooler. Oddly enough, the Ti versions don't have thislittle addition and we're not quite sure why MSI has added,but there must be a reason for it. This is the only difference wemanaged to spot between the cards, but the real difference isof course inside the GPU itself.

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The stock clocked card should have a core clock of 820MHzwith the 336 shaders clocked at 1640MHz and the 1GB ofGDDR5 memory at an effective speed of an even 4GHz. TheGTX 560 GPU is said to have 32 ROPs and it retains the256-bit memory interface. The N560GTX Twin Frozer II/OC is a little bit faster with a core clock of 870MHz whichbrings the shaders up to 1740MHz while the memory has beenoverclocked to 4080MHz.

Both cards have a pair of DVI ports and a mini HDMI port andMSI supplies a mini HDMI to HDMI adapter as well as a DVIto D-sub adapter with the cards. We found the N560GTX TwinFrozer II/OC listed on a European online retailer for €214.12(S$380) which is only €9.16 (S$16) cheaper than the Ti versionand with such a small price difference, it's hard to see whyanyone would go for the GTX 560 over the GTX 560 Ti.

Corsair Unveils Force Series 3Solid State DrivesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/corsair-unveils-force-series-3-solid-

state-drives/12242.html

May 16th, 2011

More Sandforce SF-2000 drives are appearing: Corsair hasannounced the Force Series 3 line of solid state drives.Equipped with the SandForce SF-2281 controller, these SATA3 (6Gbps) compatible drives are specified for up to 550MB/sread and 520MB/s write speeds.

Corsair has just announced its latest line of solid state drives,the Force Series 3. Using the latest SandForce SF-2281controller, the Force Series 3 claims up to 550MB/s read and520MB/s write speeds. The drives support SATA 3 (6Gbps)and are backward compatible with SATA 2.

According to Corsair, Force Series 3 drives will be priced closeto previous generation drives. Corsair's suggested retail pricesfor the drives are as follows:

• 60GB - US$139

• 120GB - US$219

• 240GB - US$499

Hopefully prices will decrease further as more manufacturersbring new generation Sandforce drives onto the market. Pricesof previous generation SSDs have dropped in tandem, whichmight be of interest to bargain hunters.

See the full press release below:

Corsair announces Force Series 3 Solid State Drives

New family offers SATA 3 performance for near SATA2 pricing

FREMONT, California — May 16th, 2011 — Corsair,a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardwaremarket, today announced the Force Series™ 3 familyof solid-state drives.

The newly announced Force Series 3 models takeadvantage of the new SATA 6.0 Gb/s (SATA3) interface to deliver impressive speed at anattractive price. The Force Series 3 features thehighest performance version of the latest-generationSandForce SF-2281 SSD Processor with out-of-boxread and write speeds of up to 550 MB/s and 520MB/s respectively, and an impressive 85000K IOPSfor measurably faster system response, boot timesand application load times than SATA 2 solid-statedrives. All Force Series 3 models are also backwardcompatible with SATA 2, and include an easy-to-use 3.5” adapter to allow owners of both desktopand notebook PCs to enjoy the cool, quiet operationand enhanced system performance made possibleby replacing their traditional mechanical hard drivewith an SSD.

“With the rapid market adoption of SATA 3, there’sstrong demand for affordably priced SSDs that cantake advantage of the enhanced performance itprovides,” said Thi La, Vice President of MemoryProducts at Corsair. “Our new Force Series 3 SSDsprovide the performance that enthusiasts demand, at

May 16th, 2011 Published by: VR-Zone

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price points approaching the current generation ofSATA 2 SSDs.”

“We are pleased to have our SandForce SF-2281driving the leading-edge performance of the ForceSeries 3 family,” said Jeremy Werner, Director ofMarketing at SandForce. “ Corsair, and its newestForce Series 3 drives, is poised to ride the wave ofSATA 3 adoption by offering compelling pricing andenthusiast-level performance.”

Force Series 3 solid state drives will be availableworldwide this month from Corsair’s network ofauthorized retailers at a suggested retail price of $139USD for the 60GB model, $219 USD for the 120GBmodel and $499 USD for the 240GB model. Notethat stated capacities are unformatted and actualcapacities will vary depending on the formattingand operating system used. For more informationon Force Series 3 solid state drives, please visit theCorsair web site.

About Corsair

Founded in 1994, Corsair supplies high performanceproducts purchased primarily by PC gamingenthusiasts who build their own PCs or buypre-assembled customized systems. The company'saward-winning products include DRAM memorymodules, USB flash drives, power supply units, solid-state drives, PC headsets and speaker systems, coolingsystems and computer cases.

The Daily VR-Zone NewsSummary - 16 May 2011Source: http://vr-zone.com/articles/the-daily-vr-zone-news-summary--16-

may-2011/12243.html

May 16th, 2011

In today's news roundup: G.Skill's Ripjaws-X SeriesPC3-17000 16GB memory kit, which consists of four 4GBsticks, each clocked at 2133MHz, gets reviewed; TSMC claimsthat it will stick to planar transistor designs for its upcoming20nm process "for the forseeable future" in the name ofcompatibility due to beliefs that the ecosystem, which consistsof design tools, IP and design kits, are not ready for Intel's3D Tri-Gate transistor design yet; Panasonic has releaseda new app for iOS devices which allow for remote controlof its VIERA television sets via the aforementioned iOS-powered devices; Microsoft has given its stamp of approvalto a tool created by developer Chris Walsh that reportedlyallows for existing Windows Phone 7 smartphones that havereceived 'grey update images' from Walsh to be flashed backto their official firmware images needed in order to remainon the official software update path; Capcom has releasedinstructions on what gamers should do in order to sucessfullyinstall the Arcade Edition patch for Super Street Figher IV ontheir consoles, and Word has it that retail sources have leaked

the official release date for Modern Warfare 3, with November8 being the magic date where the game will be released for saleglobally.

Hardware news

G.Skill Ripjaws-X Series PC3-17000 16GB Kit ReviewDescription: The G.Skill Ripjaws-X PC3-17000 kit comes withfour 4GB sticks carrying a default clock speed of 2133MHzDDR. I'm not all that big on overclocking my main machine,but the ease of P67 RAM overclocking means that changingthe XMP Profile to 1 gives me the speeds I need without eventouching my CPU speed. Carrying such large modules at sucha large speed, it comes as little surprise that the timings aremore relaxed than the black Ripjaws-X we looked at earlier inthe year. The kit we've got today comes in at 9-11-9-28-2T @1.65v. Normally I would just ignore the 2T and jump straightto 1T, but I actually had trouble with the machine booting.

ECS HDC-I Mini-ITX Fusion Board Review @ MadshrimpsDescription: The HDC-I Fusion Board from ECS has a lot ofconnectivity options right from the factory: Bluetooth, WiFi,one eSATA 6GB/s along with 4 SATA III ports; two USB 3.0ports are also offered. The "Turbo" option can be enabled inthe BIOS and gives the system quite a noticeable boost.

ASRock Z68 Pro3 (Intel Z68) Motherboard ReviewDescription: Priced at $199.99, the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 is avery well-priced product for something that let us achieve over5GHz from our 2600k. Compared to the competition, it's anaggressive price point, but there's no doubt that some peopledon't even need all the features that are on offer on the Z68Extreme4. For a whole $70 less you can pick up the ASRockZ68 Pro3 we're looking at today. At $129.99 it's one of the mostaggressively priced Z68 boards on the market. Are you stillgetting a Z68 board that you will want, though?

OCZ ZX 850W Power Supply Review at Overclockers OnlineDescription: There is very little one could reasonable fault theZX 850W power supply on. Actually there’s quite a bit of thingsthat I do like. OCZ has put quite a bit of thought, effort anddetail into this power supply. The packaging, the paint job,wires, the clean construction inside, everything speaks highlyof OCZ’s efforts here and their efforts are not without results.The ZX 850W isn’t only for show.

Antec Sonata IV Mid-Tower Case Review @Hi Tech LegionDescription: The Sonata IV from Antec is a mid-tower casewith elegant styling that promises whisper quiet operation.The Antec Sonata IV is aimed squarely at the HTPC andhigh end business/SOHO market where aesthetic appeal andsilence are the most important characteristics. With a glosspiano black finish and discretely styled front panel, the SonataIV can look at home in almost any environment. Included withthe Sonata IV is a 620 watt Antec Neo PSU, more than enoughwattage to power for any mainstream system. The Sonata IVis versatile, with motherboard compatibility for micro-ATX,ATX, and even mini-ITX boards which are now common inHTPC builds. Inside the Sonata IV there is room for four 3.5”drives as well as one 2.5” drive. Outside is space for three 5.25”optical drives. The front I/O puts your most commonly usedconnections in an easily accessed area, including audio, 2 USB2.0 and 1 USB 3.0.

Swiftech Polaris 120 CPU Cooler Review @ OCIA.net

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Description: It has been quite a while since Swiftech lastoffered a new air-cooled heatsink. Looking back through oldreviews it appears the last one may have been the MCX6400-V, circa 2004. Certainly at that time Swiftech's coolers werewell regarded, and they were the only ones to utilize anythinglike their patented Helicoid cooling pin design for base tofin heat transfer. However in more recent years Swiftech hasconcentrated exclusively on liquid cooling products. You canimagine my surprise then when I received the notice that Iwould be reviewing a new air-cooled heatsink from Swiftech,the Polaris 120.

Arctic Accelero XTREME Plus GPU Cooler Review @ RealWorld LabsDescription: With a cooling efficiency second to none, verylow noise levels and the ability to choose between PWM andManual controlled fan speeds the Accelero XTREME Plus byArctic is the ideal choice for people who seek the best coolingsolution for their graphics card especially in time for thesummer period.

TSMC Does Not See Triple-Gate Transistors as EconomicallyViable Solution.Description: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Companysaid that while Intel Corp's 22nm manufacturing technologywith tri-gate transistors has a number of advantages, it has noplans to implement something similar in the generations tocome.

Consumer Electronics and Software News

Lenovo T420: The Ultimate Business Machine @ InsideHWDescription: Whether it’s their ultraportable PCs, businessmodels or workstations, Lenovo solutions are always toutedto be uncompromising solutions, with excellent quality andflawless product support. The ThinkPad series became well-known for the aforementioned features all the way backwhen IBM still held this company segment. Split into severalseries, the ThinkPad family comprises several importantsubcategories: the ultraportable X-series, the workstation W-series, the accessible SL-series, the stylised Edge series, the“green” L-series, and finally, the most popular of all, thebalanced T-series. The newest representative of the T-series,T420, is the one that we’ve received for testing, and itsintention was to convince us that it’s worthy of replacing oneof the company’s best-selling models, T410…

Two New Clues: Is This The Next iPhone? [RUMORS]Description: Clues about the next iPhone are piling up thisweekend. First an analyst gave tantalizing details of theupcoming iPhone, saying it’ll be called the iPhone 4S, and thenwe saw this case design in the graphic above from Asian siteAlibaba. Is it real or just another guess at what Apple might do,based on rumors and mockups?

Panasonic Turns Your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch Into AVIERA TV Remote Control With New VIERA Remote AppDescription: Panasonic is proud to announce its new VIERARemote App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is now availableon the App Store. Panasonic has made watching and browsingyour VIERA TV even easier with the new VIERA Remote App.The app allows you to quickly and intuitively navigate all thetools and features on your VIERA TV including 3D settings, SD

card access and VIERA Connect over WiFi by simply activatingthe function within your Viera TV's menu.

Speedlink Strike FX Wireless Gamepad Review - XSReviewsDescription: Speedlink are a German company who arewell known for making budget peripherals, such as mice,keyboards, cables, speakers, controllers and headsets for PCs,laptops and consoles. With the Strike FX, they have created aPlaystation-like wireless controller which is compatible withboth Windows PCs and the PS3 itself. Read on to find out howthe Strike FX shapes up.

Razer Starcraft 2 Mouse, Keyboard and Headset Review onTechnic3D (German)Description: (Machine translation) The Razer Starcraft 2Spectre Mouse, Marauder Keyboard and Banshee Headsetarrived Technic3D. We will check all the Features and more inthe following Review.

Sapphire Edge HD: A Compact Ionisation @ InsideHWDescription: PCs in miniature enclosures are nothing new.However, when this enclosure is merely two centimetres thick,and the graphics card in the PC NVIDIA’s ION 2, what is yourfirst thought? This might just be the new ideal candidate forthe living room media centre? We thought the same…

Microsoft-blessed tool fixes WP7 updating for gray installsDescription: Developer Chris Walsh has put out a tool to helpkeep Windows Phone 7 updates going for those with unofficialversions of the Walshed tool mends NoDo installs loaded usingthe ChevronWP7 hack so that they can keep receiving officialupdates from Microsoft. Unlike most unofficial firmwaretricks, the new tool is officially sanctioned by Microsoft as away of getting the phones back on the official path.

Gaming news

Capcom Explains Super Street Fighter IV Arcade EditionUpdate For ConsolesDescription: Capcom will be releasing the critical update onJune 7 for Super Street Fighter IV console players to upgradeit to the Arcade Edition (AE). The update consist of threepatches. Capcom’s blog quoted the following...

Millions of Password Reset Requests Slow PSN Restoration,Japan Halts RestartDescription: Sony flipped the switch on PSN Saturday, buta significant chunk of the PlayStation 3 gaming populationis still offline. The problem? A bottleneck in the tubes asmillions of PlayStation Network users attempted to reset theirpasswords at roughly the same time. In Japan, however,Sony's home base, there is a completely different issue: thegovernment is unsatisfied with Sony's new security measures.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Release Date RevealedDescription: Whoops. The good ship Modern Warfare hassprung another leak. In this instance, our anonymous retailsources have provided IGN with a confirmed street datefor Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Rumours have beencirculating around the web for a little while, but IGN cannow confirm a release date of November 8. This will almostcertainly be a global date.

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Report: AMD A-Series mobiletops at 1.9 GHzSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/report-amd-a-series-mobile-tops-

at-1.9-ghz/12241.html

May 16th, 2011

DonanimHaber has unearthed some details about AMD's topmobile A-Series part, to be branded A8-3530MX. It will beclocked at a standard 1.9 GHz, with Turbo Core up to 2.6 GHz.It features 4MB of L2 cache, as expected, with no L3 cache,much like the Propus CPUs. The USP of Llano is, of course, thepowerful GPU part - to be branded HD 6620G. It features 400SP, clocked at 444 MHz.

The APU has a TDP of 45W, which is comparable with AMD'scurrent top end CPU, but below Intel's flagship 55W Corei7 Extreme. Considering the Phenom II X940 BE, AMD'scurrent flagship, is clocked at 2.4 GHz, one may wonder howoptimizations and a 32nm shrink resulted in a sharp 500 MHzdownclock. If at all, the opposite would make more sense. Thecatch is that the A8 APU integrates a full fledged GPU, and45W is actually a very power efficient result for a quad coreCPU and a 400SP GPU at full load.

Of course, AMD will introduce Turbo Core 2 with Llano, andwe may see the CPU part boosting to as high as 2.6 GHz if theGPU is idling.

One of the major bottlenecks identified for the Fusion GPUhas always been the memory. A derivative of the HD 5500series, the A8-3530MX is powered by 1600 MHz DDR3 whichis higher than Intel's 1333 MHz support. Still, this is a fractionof the 3600 MHz GDDR5 memory in the HD 5570. Thesharp difference in performance between the HD 5570 GDDR3edition and the GDDR5 edition suggests why upping thememory clocks is important for the Llano APU. As part of theSabine platform, the A8 APU will occupy the FS1 socket, pairedup with the A70M chipset.

Interestingly, even for notebooks, dual-GPU will be enabled,for a kind of hybrid crossfire. So, adding a HD 6600M graphicscard, for example, will see the APU's IGP and the additionalGPU working in crossfire for maximum performance.

Llano will bring forth a new class of computer processors- power efficent notebook processors with an even balancebetween GPU and CPU. While Intel's mobile parts will runaway with CPU performance, we can expect the A-SeriesAPUs to offer far superior GPU performance and an overallsuperior power efficency. If you are in the market for pureCPU performance, the A-series APUs are bound to disappoint.Hopefully, AMD will cater to CPU performance needs for themobile market with mobile Bulldozer CPUs.

Notebooks with A-series APUs are expected to hit retail mid-to-end June.

HP announces 'limited edition'ultra-thin LED-backlit monitorSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-announces-limited-edition-ultra-

thin-led-backlit-monitor/12240.html

May 16th, 2011

Looks like it is not just our television sets that are gettingthinner today; apparently, consumerism has dictated thatOEMs start shifting their efforts from producing the typicalrobust monitors for PCs into stylish devices with dimensionsand looks which will make any non-tech savvy consumerswoon over. And the latest entry to this is of premium monitorsis HP's new x2301 monitor, which is reportedly a merecentimeter thick.

For most enthusiasts, the desktop PC and its accompanyingperipherals that make up a complete computing system isalmost always required to be as large and clunky as possible,if only for the sake of amassing some 'geek cred' from the likesof one's non tech-savvy friends. After all, nothing can be moreimpressive than showing off a huge, full-tower self-built PCcomplete with matching hardware such as a huge monitor thatoccupies nearly half of one's existing desk space.

However, there will always be people who prefer to havehardware that appears a little more elegant and sophisticatedas opposed to their their enthusiast-grade counterparts thatare currently being sold on the market. And if you happen tobelong to that group, HP's new ultra-thin LED-backlit monitormight just catch your fancy.

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According to a report published by ZDNet, the HP x2301 isa limited edition monitor which sports an unbelievably thinframe that is only a mere 9.8mm thick. However, HP clearlydid not want to make any compromises with the x2301, andit shows in its specifications. Apparently, the LED-backlit 23-inch monitor is capable of a native full HD resolution (1920x 1080), offers up to 72% of the color gamut and a dynamiccontrast ratio of 8000,000 : 1 (no mention of its static contrastratio). In addition, the x2301 is also reportedly capable of alow response time of 3ms and is furnished with HP's ownBrightView technology, which is simply a marketing term usedto describe high-gloss, anti-reflective LCD panels which allowfor greater and more punchy colour saturation.

Of course, to make the display this thin, it should be nosurprise that HP had little choice but to move all x2301's portsdown to the monitor's base, which contains options for videoinput via DVI or VGA.

ZDNet clams that the x2301 will be available for sale on June10 onwards, although it did not make any mention as towhether the sale of this monitor will be restricted to the USmarket or not. However, in the event that HP decides to releasethe x2301 for global purchase, the ultra-thin monitor can behad for the not-so-thin price tag of US$279.99.

Fujitsu Japan shows offWindows 7-powered tabletwith built-in hardwarekeyboardSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/fujitsu-japan-shows-off-windows-7-

powered-tablet-with-built-in-hardware-keyboard/12238.html

May 16th, 2011

Tablets may be the future of computing, but suffice to say theonscreen keyboard offered by all OS developers for use onsuch devices leave a lot to be desired where tactile feedbackand ergonomics are concerned. So what is an OEM to doto address such issues among consumers, especially amongthe heavy keyboard users found in business environments?Simple; you build a tablet that comes with its own built-inhardware keyboard. You know, like the one Fujitsu has here;the Fujitsu FMV LifeBook TH40/D.

The tablet may be a neat little device to use for mobilecomputing, but like all mobile devices, it comes with its ownset of compromises, of which the most notable one is centeredaround its lack of a hardware keyboard. As such, this makes itill-suited as a drop-in replacement device for typists who arealways on the move. Until now, that is, for Fujitsu seems tohave rectified the problem for good in the form of its new tablet

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PC, the FMV LifeBook TH 40/D, which features a...yep, yougot it, a built-in hardware keyboard.

As with many unreleased devices, the devil lies in the details,but what we do know from various reports is that the tablet willbe preloaded withMicrosoft's Windows 7 operating system,and will be powered by Intel's Z670 Atom processor whichis clocked at 1.5GHz. In addition, Fujitsu claims that thetablet will feature a 10-1-inch LED-backlit display, ostensiblyto further reduce the power drain on the tablet in order toallow for longer uptimes on a single charge. Last but definitelynot least, the LifeBook TH40/D is also said to feature 1GBof system memory and a 120GB hard disk, and sports amaximum height of 17.4mm.

The Fujitsu FMV LifeBook TH40/D tablet PC will reportedlybe made available for retail in late June at the retail priceof80,000 yen or approximately US$989.

Point of View launches GTX560 Ti 2GB versionSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/point-of-view-launches-gtx-560-ti-2gb-

version/12236.html

May 16th, 2011

Point of View has launched the 2GB version of the GTX 560Ti, days before the official launch of the Nvidia GTX 560scheduled this Tuesday. Read on.

The 2048MB POV GTX 560 Ti comes in two variants - Chargedand Ultracharged - featuring different overclocked frequenciesfor the core and the shader.

ReferenceGTX 560

Ti

POV GTX 560Ti Charged

POV GTX560 Ti

UltrachargedCore

Frequency822 MHz 860 MHz 911 MHz

ShaderFrequency

1645MHz 1721 MHz 1822 MHz

MemoryFrequency

4008 MHz 4008 MHz 4008 MHz

The only downside for these two cards is most likely to be thedull, ugly green printed circuit board (PCB). Although thegreen PCB nicely compliments the POV brand, it may notentice most buyers.

Read the full article from Techpowerup.

See the full specifications of the card at POV's website.

Epic Games and Microsoftreleases developer videodocumentary for upcomingGears of War 3 gameSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/epic-games-and-microsoft-

releases-developer-video-documentary-for-upcoming-gears-of-war-3-

game/12234.html

May 16th, 2011

Gears of War 3 is still a full four months away from its globallaunch on September 20 this year, but that does not mean thatgamers have to sit by idly and start crossing off the dates ontheir calendar until that day arrives. If you happen to not mindgetting 'poisoned' by sneak previews and hints about what onecan expect from the game, Microsoft has got something foryou: a new developer video documentary which “divulges theexclusive contents of the “Gears of War 3” Epic and LimitedEditions”. Gamers, let the “poisoning” begin.

As most gamers will undoubtedly know, waiting by thesidelines for a highly anticipated title to launch can be quite

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the nerve-wrecking event, especially when one has not beenable to secure early access to the game's beta channels beforethey are scheduled to go permanently offline today. However,if you are the kind of gamer who thrives on getting as muchinformation about the game before it eventually launchesglobally, Microsoft may have just the thing for you, and itcomes in the form of a just-released video documentary for theupcoming Gears of War 3 game for the Xbox 360.

Titled “Making Gears 3: Inside the Wicked Workshop”,Microsoft claims in a press release issued today that thevideo documentary will focus on Chris Perna, who is currentlyworking for Epic Games as an Art Director. According toMicrosoft, Chris will be talking about how he conceived thecharacters and settings for one of the bestselling games forMicrosoft's video game console, but the real draw will haveto be the revelation of two special editions of the game,the Limited Edition and Epic Edition, with each versionboasting its own various unique and exclusive freebies thatcome bundled with the game.

Touted as the 'must-have' for fans who want to “celebrate theculmination” of the Gears of War trilogy, the Limited Editionwill include the following:

• An Octus Award Box and Octus Service Medal – Replicasof the honors bestowed on Adam Fenix, Marcus’s father,for his work on the Hammer of Dawn.

• Exclusive Unlockable Adam Fenix Multiplayer Character– Each Octus Service Medal replica is engraved with aunique Xbox LIVE code that is the only way to unlockAdam Fenix in multiplayer.

• A fabric COG Flag – Proud colors that once flew abovethe House of Sovereigns.

• The personal effects of Adam Fenix, including his “LastWill and Testament,” the initial Hammer of Dawnschematic, and other Fenix family mementos.

For the hardcore fans...well, the job of satisfying them falls tothe aptly-named Epic Bundle. And from the looks of it, the EpicBundle is definitely the most epic of the two special editions;in addition to getting all of the goodies available in the LimitedEdition, gamers will also get to enjoy the following:

• A Limited Edition Marcus Fenix Statue – Designed byEpic Games Art Director Chris Perna and expertly craftedby the artisans at Triforce, this fine PVC statue collectiblemakes the ultimate living room centerpiece for any true“Gears” fan.

• The Art and Design of Gears of War by Tom Bissell -Through unprecedented access to the Epic Games team,acclaimed author Tom Bissell (Extra Lives) gives readersan incisive behind-the-scenes glimpse into one of themost celebrated sagas in video game history with 96pages of interviews, photos, concept artwork and more.

• Infected Omen Weapon Pack -- Custom multiplayerskins for the game’s five starting weapons; Lancer, RetroLancer, Hammerburst, Sawed-off Shotgun, and GnasherShotgun.

Ironically, a quick look at Microsoft's Gears of War home pagereveals that the aforementioned video documentary has notbeen made available for public viewing on the site yet, but weare fairly certain that it will only be a matter of time before thevideo is eventually published.

Erm...excuse me Microsoft? We seem to be missing a video...

Last but not least, if any of the above special edition packs ofGears of War strikes for your fancy, our advice would be tostart saving now, for these special edition packs are going tobe quite costly. Just so you know, the Limited Edition will beretailing for US$79.99, while the Epic Edition will boast anequally epic price tag of US$149.99.

GIGABYTE's Radeon HD 6770using Passive CoolingSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/gigabyte-s-radeon-hd-6770-using-

passive-cooling/12233.html

May 16th, 2011

GIGABYTE's Radeon HD 6770 has just retailed in Japanand the company's GV-R677SL-1GD, the Silent Series is aimedat users who prefer a quiet system as the 6770 is mounted witha large heat sink (and there is no heatsink fan). Read on.

The Radeon 6770 is an improved version of the 5770. Althoughboth uses the same core, The Radeon 6770 has an improvedvideo playback engine, Bluray 3D support and HDMI 1.4a.

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As you can see, the Gigabyte's GV-R677SL-1GD has an extracomponent (heatsink) on the side of the card. Users will needto take note of this to ensure that it can fit into the casebefore buying. If one has enough space in the motherboardregion, a bit of customisation can be done to mount two fanson the Radeon 6770 which will definitely improve the cooling.Overclockers will love to take advantage of this.

HP launches new Pavilionconsumer desktop PCsSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/hp-launches-new-pavilion-consumer-

desktop-pcs/12232.html

May 16th, 2011

HP has announced their new lineup of Pavilion consumerdesktop PCs which include the p7 series, Slimline s5 seriesand HPE h8 series. The new desktop PCs are scheduled to beavailable this month and June.

HP today announced a new lineup of HP Pavilion consumerdesktop PCs that claim to deliver the latest technologies insophisticated designs. The redesigned HP Pavilion desktopslook to fit anywhere from dorm-room desks to media cabinets.

Versatile design, powerful features

The new HP Pavilion consumer desktop PCs are equippedwith powerful processors and graphics for superior computingexperience. Additionally, innovative technologies like BeatsAudio and HP LinkUp are now available on select models tooffer consumers the best in sound and functionality.

Music lovers can enjoy their favorite music the way the artisteintended it with Beats Audio, a high-performance audiotechnology developed by HP and Beats by Dr. Dre. With HPLinkUp, users can easily view and interact with content andprograms from their notebook PC on an HP Pavilion desktopPC wirelessly via a home network.

The HP Pavilion consumer desktop family includes:

HP Pavilion p7 series PCs: The HP Pavilion p7 series PCsoffer generous hard drive space for photos, music and videos.Integrated graphics enhance picture quality, and built-in

support for multichannel surround sound offers a powerfulaudio experience.

HP Pavilion Slimline s5 series PCs: The HP Pavilion Slimlines5 performance series PCs are conveniently sized to fitseamlessly into any home environment. It can also beconfigured with a versatile range of performance features,from storage to processers, to support the most demandingtasks.

HP Pavilion HPE h8 series PCs: The HP Pavilion HPE h8series PCs are the most powerful Pavilion PCs to date.Select models are available with up to three internal harddrives, AMD Phenom or Intel Core i7 processors, and high-endNVIDIA or ATI graphics cards. The PCs also support multipledisplays so users can be more productive with up to threemonitors.

Pricing and availability

- The HP Pavilion HPE h8 series PCs are expected to beavailable on May 18 in APJ at a starting price of US$599.99.

— The HP Pavilion p7 series PCs are expected to be availableon May 18 in APJ at a starting price of US$299.99.

— The HP Pavilion Slimline s5 series PCs are expected to beavailable on June 15 in APJ at a starting price of US$329.99.

Audio-Technica introducesnew ATH-WS55 headphonesand ATH-CKM77 earphonesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/audio-technica-introduces-new-ath-

ws55-headphones-and-ath-ckm77-earphones/12231.html

May 16th, 2011

The ATH-WS55 headphones and ATH-CKM77 earphones arethe latest additions to Audio-Technica's line of audio products,offering superb audio quality and both are available in storesnow.

Designed for bass lovers, the new ATH-WS55 is wrapped ina sleek aluminum casing with a huge 40mm driver that iscapable to transport you to your music dreamscape. With a

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frequency response of 10-24,000Hz, you can feel all the beatsof your favorite dance music in this wonder kid. The ATH-WS55 also feautres a new “Bass Innovation” in the form of adual air chamber that allows better airflow for a powerful basssound.

The sizzling red aluminum cap version also comes with equallyeye catching red cables. The ATH-WS55 is designed with awell-padded top headband and soft ear pads that not onlyensure comfort; but it also provides high sound isolation. TheAudio-Technica ATH-WS55 is retailing at an attractive S$148.

The ATH-CKM77 is the latest addition of in-ear monitorearphones to the hugely successful line of Audio-Technicaearphones famed for crystal clarity. Specially designed in ahybrid metal casing of aluminum and stainless steel, the ATH-CKM77 reduces unwanted vibration, making it sound betterand with less distortion.

The ATH-CKM77 gives a pure and well-balanced sound, lighton the treble, yet managing a powerful, warm bass. The 13mmdriver earphones are great for general listening to a widespectrum of music, from jazz to hip-hop to classical.

Weighing at only 8g, the earphones comes together with a hardleather case, 4 sets of ear buds, and a cleaning cloth. The ATH-CKM77 is available only in aluminum/stainless steel versionand will be available at S$178 at selected authorized retailers.

NAVTEQ supplies digital mapdata to Olympus TOUGHTG-810 compact digitalcameraSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/navteq-supplies-digital-map-data-to-

olympus-tough-tg-810-compact-digital-camera/12230.html

May 16th, 2011

NAVTEQ has announced that it is supplying the map andlocation data for the Olympus TOUGH TG-810 compact digitalcamera. This offers location-enabled imaging experiences forphotographer enthusiasts. Read on.

NAVTEQ is supplying NAVTEQ map and location data for theOlympus TOUGH TG-810 compact digital camera, currentlyavailable in Singapore at a recommended retail price of S$598(inclusive of 8GB SD card).

The TG-810 features GPS functions and an electronic compassto record the location data of the shot. By simply activatingthe GPS functionality, the camera can display landmarks onthe monitor and identify the country/region of the shot beingtaken. Integrated within the TG-810 are NAVTEQ maps andpoints of interest (POI) ranging from tourist destinations toferry terminals. So users now have the ability to geographicallyorganize their photos effortlessly, allowing them to easilydetermine the precise location of where the photo was takenand link it with the exact POI on the NAVTEQ map. Thisadded capability allows NAVTEQ and Olympus to deliver anenhanced imaging experience to consumers.

A look at Intel Z68 Platformwith ASUS P8Z68-V ProSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/a-look-at-intel-z68-platform-with-

asus-p8z68-v-pro/12104.html

May 16th, 2011

When the overclocking capabilities of a P67 chipset puttogether with the graphics awesomeness of the H61/H67chipset, the Z68 platform is borned. Today, we test out the newZ68 platform from Intel specifically on the ASUS P8Z68-V Promotherboard to see if it has got what it takes to be called thebest of both worlds.

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Intel Z68 chipset was launched on the 11th May 2011 andit boasts many new features that kept hardware enthusiastsexcited before the launch period. Equipped with this chipset,the ASUS P8Z68-V Pro motherboard, brings out the best inIntel Technology and exemplifies technology in the modernera. Never seen before technology such as Intel SmartResponse Technology and LucidLogix Virtu are the latestadditions to the world of PCs and we are definitely going totake a look at that in the later part of this review.

The P8Z68-V Pro is ASUS's latest offering for the Z68 Intelchipset. Equipped with various state of the art technologysuch as the use of a Digital VRM and not forgetting Turbo-VEvo processor on the motherboard, it puts overclocking to ahardware level in the state of running the software in an OS.What you get is a reliable and sturdy motherboard enough towork fo you to the next century.

CPU Intel® Socket 1155 The 2ndGeneration Core™ i7/Core™i5/Core™ i3 ProcessorsSupports Intel® 32 nm CPU

Supports Intel® Turbo BoostTechnology 2.0

* Refer to www.asus.com forCPU support list

Chipset Intel® Z68Memory 4 x DIMM, Max. 32GB, DDR3

2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066Hz Non-ECC, Un-bufferedMemoryDual Channel MemoryArchitecture

Supports Intel® ExtremeMemory Profile (XMP)

* Hyper DIMM supportis subject to the physicalcharacteristics of individualCPUs.

* Refer to www.asus.com oruser manual for the MemoryQVL (Qualified VendorsLists).

* Due to CPU behavior, DDR32200/2000/1800 MHzmemory module will run atDDR3 2133/1866/1600 MHzfrequency as default.

Graphic Integrated GraphicsProcessorMulti-VGA output support :HDMI/DVI/RGB ports

- Supports HDMI with max.resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz

- Supports DVI with max.resolution 1920 x 1200 @ 60Hz

- Supports RGB with max.resolution 2048 x 1536 @ 75Hz

Maximum shared memory of1748 MB

Multi-GPU Support Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ TechnologySupports AMD® Quad-GPUCrossFireX™ Technology

Expansion Slots 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16 or dualx8)1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode,

black) *1

2 x PCIe x1

2 x PCIStorage Intel® Z68 chipset :

2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), gray

4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), blue

Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10

Support Intel® SmartResponse Technology

Marvell® PCIe SATA 6Gb/s

controller : *2

2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), navyblue

JMicron® JMB362

controller : *2

1 x eSATA 3G port(s), redLAN Intel® 82579, 1 x Gigabit

LAN ControllerBluetooth Bluetooth V2.1+EDR

ASUS BT GO! Utility

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Audio Realtek® ALC 892 8-ChannelHigh Definition AudioCODEC- Supports : Jack-detection,Multi-streaming, Front PanelJack-retasking

Audio Feature :- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound

- Blu-ray audio layer ContentProtection

- DTS Surround SensationUltraPC

- Optical S/PDIF out port(s)at back panel

IEEE 1394 VIA® 6308P controller2 x IEEE 1394a port(s)

(2 at mid-board)USB Ports ASMedia® USB 3.0

controller :4 x USB 3.0 port(s) (2 at backpanel, blue, 2 at mid-board)

Intel® Z68 chipset :12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (6 atback panel, black+red, 6 atmid-board)

Overclocking Features Overclocking Protection :- ASUS C.P.R.(CPUParameter Recall)

Special Features ASUS Dual IntelligentProcessors 2 with DIGI+VRM:ASUS Digital Power Design

- Industry leading Digital 16Phase Power Design

(12-phase for CPU, 4-phasefor iGPU)

- ASUS DIGI+ VRM Utility

ASUS EPU

- EPU, EPU switch

ASUS TPU

- Auto Tuning, TurboV, GPUBoost, TPU switch

ASUS BT GO! (Bluetooth)- Folder Sync, BT Transfer,Shot & Send, BT to Net,

Music Player, PersonalManager

ASUS BT Turbo Remote- Exclusive SmartphoneInterface supporting iPhone,Android, Windows Mobileand Symbian systems

ASUS Exclusive Features- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Modefeaturing friendly graphicsuser interface

- MemOK!

- AI Suite II

- AI Charger+

- Anti Surge

- Disk Unlocker

ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution- ASUS Fanless Design: Heat-sink solution

- ASUS Fan Xpert

ASUS EZ DIY- ASUS Q-Shield

- ASUS Q-Connector

- ASUS O.C. Tuner

- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3

- ASUS EZ Flash 2

ASUS Q-Design- ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM,VGA, Boot Device LED)

- ASUS Q-Slot

- ASUS Q-DIMMBack I/O Ports 1 x Bluetooth module(s)

1 x DVI

1 x D-Sub

1 x HDMI

1 x eSATA 3Gb/s

1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)

2 x USB 3.0

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6 x USB 2.0

1 x Optical S/PDIF out

6 x Audio Jack(s)Internal I/O Ports 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s)

support(s) additional 2 USB3.0 port(s) (19-pin, mossgreen)3 x USB 2.0 connector(s)support(s) additional 6 USB2.0 port(s)

4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)

4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s)

2 x IEEE 1394a connector(s)

2 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)

2 x Chassis Fan connector(s)(1 x 4 -pin, 1 x 3 -pin)

2 x Power Fan connector(s) (3-pin)

1 x S/PDIF out Header(s)

1 x 24-pin EATX Powerconnector(s)

1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Powerconnector(s)

1 x Front panel audioconnector(s) (AAFP)

1 x System panel(s) (Q-Connector)

1 x MemOK! button(s)

1 x TPU switch(es)

1 x EPU switch(es)Accessories User's manual

ASUS Q-Shield

2 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/scable(s)

2 x Serial ATA 6.0Gb/scable(s)

1 x SLI bridge(s)

1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1)

1 x ASUS USB 3.0 Bracket(s)BIOS 64 Mb Flash ROM, EFI AMI

BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0,SM BIOS 2.5, ACPI 2.0a,Multi-language BIOS,ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUSCrashFree BIOS 3, F12PrintScreen Function

Manageability WfM 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOL byPME, WOR by PME, PXE

Support Disc DriversASUS Utilities

ASUS Update

Anti-virus software (OEMversion)

Form Factor ATX Form Factor12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x24.4 cm )

Note *1: The PCIe x16_3 slotshares bandwidth with PCIex1_1 slot, PCIe x1_2 slot,USB3_34 and eSATA. ThePCIe x16_3 default setting isin x1 mode.*2: These SATA ports are fordata hard drivers only. ATAPIdevices are not supported.

Lazare Kaplan Internationalunveils "The Lazare Diamond4c" app for Apple iPhone andiPadSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/lazare-kaplan-international-unveils-

the-lazare-diamond-4c-app-for-apple-iphone-and-ipad/12229.html

May 16th, 2011

Lazare Kaplan International (LKI) has unveiled their new "TheLazare Diamond 4c" app for the iPhone and iPad. The appoffers an educational insight on purchasing of diamonds andit is free to download from the Apple iTunes Store.

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Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI) has recently launched“The Lazare Diamond 4C’s” app designed specifically as aninteractive and educational guide to purchasing diamonds,now available for the iPhone and iPad. Free to download iniTunes, the app is a user-friendly tool for retailers, suppliersand consumers alike to better understand the most importantcharacteristics of diamonds: Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat-Weight. The app also includes a geographic locator that letsusers identify the closest Lazare Diamond retailer.

LKI was the first to cut diamonds to ideal proportions, thefirst to laser inscribe, the first to brand a diamond, and isnow the first diamond sightholder to create a 4C’s app forthe iPhone and iPad. “The Lazare Diamond 4C’s” is a hands-on tutorial that uses interactive screens, videos and side-by-side comparison to demonstrate the 4C’s and help demystifydiamonds.

Lazare Diamonds are exclusively sold at Larry Jewelry, locatedat Paragon (#01-21) and ION Orchard (#03-04).

Samsung Advanced Instituteof Technology unveils foldabledisplay prototypeSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-advanced-institute-of-

technology-unveils-foldable-display-prototype/12226.html

May 16th, 2011

Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in South Koreahave designed and built a prototype of a seamless foldabledisplay that folds in half without a visible crease in the middle.Read on.

This foldable prototype display allow users to maximise thescreen size while minimising the device size. It did not showa crease even after performing 100,000 folding and unfoldingcycles although the brightness at the junction does shows a 6%decrease in brightness. Commercialisation of this device willtake about one to two years and we can expect mobile devicesand even photoframes with curved form factors incorporatingthis new display.

Samsung promises Android2.3 Gingerbread upgrade forGALAXY S and GALAXY TabSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/samsung-promises-android-2.3-

gingerbread-upgrade-for-galaxy-s-and-galaxy-tab/12228.html

May 16th, 2011

Good news to GALAXY S and GALAXY Tab owners. Samsunghas announced that the Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade willbe made available for both the GALAXY S smartphone andGALAXY Tab tablet device.

Today, Samsung has announced the Android 2.3(Gingerbread) upgrade to the Samsung GALAXY S, GALAXYTab, as well as the GALAXY Ace/Gio/Fit/mini, giving usersenhanced performance and an improved user interface.

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The GALAXY S and GALAXY Tab are Samsung’s intelligentlydesigned smart devices with 1 GHz application processors,giving users an intuitive, immersive and integrated mobileexperience. The upgrade from Froyo 2.2 to Gingerbread 2.3offers an even greater user experience, with features including:

Faster Performance – Multimedia content now has a lowerCPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3DGraphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience.

Upgraded Usability – The user interface has been improved,enabling faster access and control and a more intuitive userexperience. Users will also benefit from improved copy-and-paste functionality.

The Android 2.3 upgrade will start with GALAXY S in the UKand Nordic countries from mid-May, and gradually rolled outto other European markets, North America, Southeast Asia,the Middle East Asia, Africa and rest of the world according tothe regional plan.

The upgrade will be available via Kies, Samsung’s devicemanagement software. Kies can be downloaded fromSamsung’s corporate website (http://www.samsung.com).

HTC launches Wildfire S inSingaporeSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/htc-launches-wildfire-s-in-

singapore/12227.html

May 16th, 2011

HTC Singapore has announced the launch of the new WildfireS, based on the popular Wildfire that was launched last year.The new Wildfire S is equipped with 600MHz processor andpreloaded with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS.

HTC today unveiled the new HTC Wildfire S in Singapore.Building on the popularity of the HTC Wildfire smartphone,the HTC Wildfire S smartphone is affordable, compact and

packs a powerful smartphone experience. It lets you maintainand build connections and friendships through popular siteslike Facebook, as well as through voice and text messaging.You can instantly tag your friends in photos before postingthem on Facebook, or share your latest discoveries from theAndroid Market at the touch of a button.

HTC Wildfire S is one of HTC’s smallest phones ever –measuring just 10.13cm long and 5.94cm wide – and boasts adistinctive 3.2-inch, HVGA display.

Create your very own smartphone experienceCelebrate your individuality by choosing from a wide varietyof colors including pink, white and gray. The HTC WildfireS’ home screen is fully customizable with your favorite apps,widgets and content, while a 5-megapixel color camera withauto focus, expandable microSD memory and support for avariety of audio and video formats make for a great all-aroundmultimedia device that slips easily into any pocket.

AvailabilityThe HTC Wildfire S will be available in ‘Bloom Pink’, ‘SilverWhite’ and ‘Dark Gray’ at all mobile operators and authorizedretailers at a suggested retail price of S$388 from May 2011.

PSN is (finally) coming backonlineSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/psn-is-finally-coming-back-

online/12224.html

May 16th, 2011

After almost a full month of waiting, PSN users will soon havetheir network back online - at least that is what Sony claimsvia their blog and facebook pages. To access the network, usersare required to both upgrade their firmware and change theirpassword. Stay tuned for one of the most legendary networkboots in history, the success of which hopefully will not becompared to that of Skynet in "Terminator 3 : Rise of theMachines".

"Please note that these services will take a bit of time to beturned on and rolled out to the whole region. The process hasbegun and some countries are being turned on now, so pleasebe patient as we reach you.", Sony says but the company doesnot share which regions will be served first and how much timethe complete restoration of the PSN network requires.

Intel SSD 710 SeriesLyndonville Slated for JulyReleaseSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/intel-ssd-710-series-lyndonville-slated-

for-july-release/12223.html

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May 16th, 2011

The recent leaked Intel SSD roadmap has already provided usa glimpse of what's coming up in the next few months and VR-Zone learned that 710 series codenamed Lyndonville whichuses the 25nm MLC-HET NAND flash is slated for July launch.It will come in capacities of 100GB, 200GB and 300GB not400GB as rumored earlier. Performance and pricing is notavailable at this moment. The 1.8" 320 series in capacities of80GB, 160GB, 300GB is slated for July release too.

The recent leaked Intel SSD roadmap has already provided usa glimpse of what's coming up in the next few months and VR-Zone learned that 710 series codenamed Lyndonville whichuses the 25nm MLC-HET NAND flash is slated for July launch.It will come in capacities of 100GB, 200GB and 300GB not400GB as rumored earlier. Performance and pricing is notavailable at this moment. The 1.8" 320 series in capacities of80GB, 160GB, 300GB is slated for July release too.

Revised GeForce GTX 590Cards In JuneSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/revised-geforce-gtx-590-cards-in-

june/12222.html

May 16th, 2011

Remember the horror of GeForce GTX 590 going up insmoke while benching? Well, apparently NVIDIA has founda way to solve this issue completely without doing a quick fixthrough the drivers. The solution : a much needed hardwarefix where the new inductors are added to the card. However,the new inductors are larger in size therefore a change to thebaseplate is needed.

Remember the horror of GeForce GTX 590 going up in smokewhile benching? Well, apparently NVIDIA has found a way tosolve this issue completely without doing a quick fix throughthe drivers. The solution : a much needed hardware fix wherethe new inductors are added to the card. However, the newinductors are larger in size therefore a change to the baseplateis needed. What does it mean to the 3rd party cooling solutionsespecially the GTX 590 waterblocks? Probably back to thedrawing board so as to conform to the revised keep outs. Therevised GeForce GTX 590 cards denoted with a new -502marking on the PCB are expected to hit the market in June.

Team Group Announces SR1and SR3 Flash DrivesSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/team-group-announces-sr1-and-sr3-

flash-drives/12221.html

May 16th, 2011

Taipei-based Team Group Inc. has expanded its line-up ofportable flash storage solutions with the addition of the SR1and SR3 flash drives, Measuring 67 x 22 x 13mm, the stylishdrives are shaped like sports cars and feature a USB 3.0 (SR1)or USB 2.0 (SR3) connector. The SR1 series, available incapacities of 8Gb, 16Gb and 32Gb, offers data transfer rates upto 54Mb/s (read) and 30Mb/s (write). The SR3 comes in 4Gb,8Gb, 16Gb and 32 Gb variants, delivering read/ write speedsup to 30Mb/s and 15Mb/s. Both SR1 and SR3 flash drives,covered by a limited lifetime warranty, support power savingmodes. They are expected to ship soon.

TEAM GROUP PRESS RELEASE

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Team Group Introduces the New SR1, SR3 Flash DrivesSince Team Group Inc. released the TP1023 portable harddrive, which adopts a streamline sports car design, it hascreated a new trend. Following up this success, Team Groupschedules to display the first sports car-designed flash drivedisks at Computex 2011. The Team SR1 SR3 carrying withexclusive “Team EZ Go” application software and come inboth USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 interfaces, respectively, are madeof the same material and streamline sports car design as theTP1023. In addition to data storage, it is perfect for showcasingpersonal zest for sports and making a statement of masculinevitality and energy.

Excellent Performance USB 3.0-SR1Just like pursuing a sense of speed on the race track, the allnew SR1 followed Team Group’s exclusive sports car design,blending the sports car concept into a small flash drive disk byusing a unique streamline design and curves. The high speedUSB3.0 interface breaks the USB2.0’s transfer speed limit,with a read and writes performance of over 50MBs that helpshorten the time of transferring large multimedia files andcreate better portability of Full HD videos.

High cost-performance ratio USB 2.0-SR3The USB 2.0 SR3, from the same series as the SR1, has thesame sports car design, and a multiple capacity selectionranging from 4~32GB. The diverse choices and prices makesit more affordable for consumers, providing a perfect highcost-performance solution for general users or IT gadgetsenthusiasts, fulfilling everyone’s dream of owning a sports car.

The USB 2.0 SR3, from the same series as the SR1, has thesame sports car design, and a multiple capacity selectionranging from 4~32GB. The diverse choices and prices makesit more affordable for consumers, providing a perfect highcost-performance solution for general users or IT gadgetsenthusiasts, fulfilling everyone’s dream of owning a sportscar. As a leading provider of memory storage products to theconsumer market, Team Group is committed to providing thebest storage, multimedia and data sharing solutions.

Deepcool Preps Assassin CPUCoolerSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/deepcool-preps-assassin-cpu-

cooler/12220.html

May 16th, 2011

Deepcool, manufacturer and provider of various thermalproducts for desktops, laptops and servers, is preparing tounleash the high performance Assassin CPU cooler - anAlpenfohn K2 lookalike.

Deepcool, manufacturer and provider of various thermalproducts for desktops, laptops and servers, is preparing tounleash the high performance Assassin CPU cooler - anAlpenfohn K2 lookalike.

The nickel plated boasts a twin tower design, eight 6mmcopper heat-pipes, a copper base, uniquely shaped aluminumfins, and comes with two fans. The Assassin is compatible with

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all Intel LGA 775/ 1155/ 1156/ 1366 and AMD AM2/ AM2+/AM3 processors.

News via [Softpedia]

Genius Ships Ring MouseSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/genius-ships-ring-mouse/12219.html

May 16th, 2011

Genius has begun shipping its Ring Mouse in North America.The unique finger-attached mouse connects to the PC via a 2.4Ghz radio, has two buttons, an integrated rechargeable lithiumion battery, and allows users to control its movement througha 1000 DPI touch sensor.

Genius has begun shipping its Ring Mouse in North America.The unique finger-attached mouse connects to the PC via a 2.4Ghz radio, has two buttons, an integrated rechargeable lithiumion battery, and allows users to control its movement througha 1000 DPI touch sensor.

The Ring Mouse, bundled with a carrying case, portable USBcharger and ioMedia software, is availalbe from authorizedresellers and e-tailers at a MSRP of US$70.News via [Electronista]

Tt eSports Readies New MekaG Unit Mechanical KeyboardSource: http://vr-zone.com/articles/tt-esports-readies-new-meka-g-unit-

mechanical-keyboard/12218.html

May 16th, 2011

Thermaltake is preparing to update its Meka series of gamingkeyboards with the introduction of the Meka G Unit - thefirst mechanical keyboard to feature on-board memory andindividually backlit keys.

Thermaltake is preparing to update its Meka series of gamingkeyboards with the introduction of the Meka G Unit - thefirst mechanical keyboard to feature on-board memory andindividually backlit keys. It boasts a 1.8m sleeved cable withgold-plated USB 2.0 connector, the ISS (Instant Shift System)advanced macro key shifting function (gamers can access all60 macro keys in one profile), Cherry Black switches (with aMTBF of 50,000,000 clicks), seven multimedia keys, and ahub with two USB 2.0 ports and audio connectors. The MekaG Unit is expected to debut at Computex 2011 (May 31st - June4th).News via [Techpowerup]