32863141
submission
Dr. Damage writes
"Nvidia first unveiled the more expensive graphics cards in its new GeForce lineup, but today, the GeForce GTX 670 arrives, and The Tech Report says there's no reason to buy anything else. They prove it by driving a six-megapixel, triple-monitor array competently with a single video card and measuring performance using some intriguing, latency-focused metrics."Link to Original Source
19903858
submission
Dr. Damage writes
"Nvidia's new GeForce GTX 590 poses an interesting question to the subset of folks who buy $700 dual-GPU graphics cards: does performance rank above all else, or do considerations like board size and noise levels matter more? This latest high-end GeForce isn't quite as fast as AMD's similarly outrageous Radeon HD 6990, but it's smaller and substantially quieter. Based on the numbers, the Radeon's louder fan may be easier to hear than the card's slightly higher frame rates are to see."Link to Original Source
14562866
submission
EconolineCrush writes
"Intel's Xeon 5600 series is the latest batch of CPUs to tap the company's cutting-edge, 32-nano fabrication process. Code-named Westmere-EP, these new server and workstation CPUs add two cores and 4MB of cache per socket while remarkably staying within the same thermal envelopes as their predecessors. When pitted against the last Xeon generation, the new chips predictably offer better performance and power efficiency. Intel's power-optimized Willowbrook server motherboard may be even more impressive, as it enables a dozen-core Xeon L5640 system to consume just 66W at idle."Link to Original Source
14360046
submission
J. Dzhugashvili writes
"A member of the Tech Report forums reports that his iPad's charging cord literally melted in the middle of the night, and the iPad it was connected to became searing hot—hot enough that the user dropped it and caused some damage. Melted charger cables and searing-hot (or combusting) batteries are nothing new, and they've led to mass battery recalls in the past. After getting in touch with Apple, however, the user was simply told he was responsible for damaging the device by dropping it, and that the iPad was out of warranty for having jailbroken software installed."Link to Original Source
14353528
submission
EconolineCrush writes
"Apple might have an answer for the iPhone 4's antenna issues, but a potential problem with the iPad could be tougher to fix. At least one user's iPad nearly combusted while the device was plugged in, melting the charging cable in the process. Similar problems prompted mass notebook battery recalls a few years ago, although this seems to be the only case of iPad-related melting reported thus far. Have any Slashdot users observed similar behavior with their iPads?"Link to Original Source
14278240
submission
J. Dzhugashvili writes
"If you read Slashdot, odds are you already know about WiGig and the 7Gbps wireless networking it promises. The people at Atheros and Wilocity are now working on an interesting application for the spec: wireless PCI Express. In a nutshell, wPCIe enables a PCI Express switch with local and remote components linked by a 60GHz connection. The first applications, which will start sampling next year, will let you connect your laptop to a base station with all kinds of storage controllers, networking controllers, and yes, an external graphics processor. wPCIe works transparently to the operating system, which only sees additional devices connected over PCI Express. And as icing on the cake, wPCie controllers will lets you connect to standard Wi-Fi networks, too."Link to Original Source
14243702
submission
EconolineCrush writes
"Bargain-priced nettops have intriguing potential, but you usually have to accept the manufacturer's default configuration. Not so with Zotac's Zbox HD-ID11, which is available as a barebones affair sans hard drive, memory, and operating system. The Zbox comes with a dual-core Atom CPU, an Ion GPU with HD video and Flash acceleration, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and even Gigabit Ethernet. Although Wi-Fi reception is a little flakey, the system runs nice and quiet and handles HTPC duties and light gaming with aplomb. The Zbox also plays well with XBMC Live, making it easy to roll your own home-theater PC without paying the Windows tax, which counts for a lot given the nettop's $220 street price. This could be the ultimate budget HTPC for savvy DIY types."Link to Original Source
14056272
submission
EconolineCrush writes
"Nvidia has long pushed its PhysX game physics middleware as a prime candidate for GPU acceleration. However, it seems that the company may have also taken steps to ensure that PhysX performs poorly when run on a modern CPU. Despite the fact that physics calculations lend themselves to parallel processing, games tend to implement PhysX with a single thread. PhysX also relies largely on x87 code rather than SSE instructions. The latter should run faster and make life easier for developers, and Nvidia has taken advantage of similar instructions with its console-specific PhysX implementations. But not on the PC, which smells like a willful attempt to hinder PhysX performance on anything but an Nvidia GPU."Link to Original Source
14030400
submission
EconolineCrush writes
"SSDs hardly offer compelling value on the cost-per-gigabyte scale. But what if one considers performance per dollar? This article takes a closer look at the value proposition offered by today's most common SSDs, mixing raw performance data with each drive's cost, both per gigabyte and as a component of a complete system. An even dozen SSD configurations are compared, and results from a collection of mechanical hard drives provides additional context. The data are laid out in detailed scatter plots that clearly illustrate the most favorable intersections of price and performance, and you might be surprised to see just how well the SSDs fare versus traditional hard drives. A few of the SSDs offer much better value than their solid-state competition, too."Link to Original Source
13814820
submission
J. Dzhugashvili writes
"Slapping together a lean, mean gaming machine has never been easier, especially with the trend of bargain-basement pricing in the CPU market. The latest edition of The Tech Report's build guide outlines a hexa-core gaming rig that costs only $850 to put together, not to mention a quad-core hot rod for $550. Both configurations have DirectX 11 graphics, bells and whistles like 6Gbps Serial ATA and USB 3.0, and quiet, highly efficient power supplies with equally discreet enclosures. Considering what you can get with careful component selection, a Phillips-head screwdriver, and some elbow grease, it's a wonder anyone still buys overpriced gaming PCs from Dell or HP."Link to Original Source
