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+ - Intel removes "free" overclocking from standard Haswell CPUs->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "With its Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, Intel allowed standard Core i5 and i7 CPUs to be overclocked by up to 400MHz using Turbo multipliers. Reaching for higher speeds required pricier K-series chips, but everyone got access to a little "free" clock headroom. Haswell isn't quite so accommodating. Intel has disabled limited multiplier control for non-K CPUs, effectively limiting overclocking to the Core i7-4770K and i5-4670K. Those chips cost $20-30 more than their standard counterparts, and surprisingly, they're missing a few features. The K-series parts lack the support for transactional memory extensions and VT-d device virtualization included with standard Haswell CPUs. PC enthusiasts now have to choose between overclocking and support for certain features even when purchasing premium Intel processors. AMD also has overclocking-friendly K-series parts, but it offers more models at lower prices, and it doesn't remove features available on standard CPUs."
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+ - GeForce GTX 780 graphics card uses de-tuned Titan GPU->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Nvidia's GK110 graphics chip is a 7.1-billion-transistor monster. It powers the firm's compute-focused Tesla K20 and its ultra-high-end GeForce GTX Titan graphics card. Today, a de-tuned version of the chip makes its debut in the GeForce GTX 780. This new card has three of GK110's 15 SMX units disabled, allowing Nvidia to use GPU silicon that didn't make the grade for its Titan and Tesla products. The GTX 780 also scales back GK110's support for double-precision FP math, which is important for compute applications but unnecessary for games. Speaking of which, the GTX 780 nearly matches the gaming performance of the thousand-dollar GTX Titan. It's quieter under load and costs a staggering 35% less, too. The $650 asking price is still incredibly steep, but this is just the first member of the GeForce 700 series. Nvidia is expected to fill out the family with less expensive cards."
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+ - HGST intros world's first 1.5TB notebook drive->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "For years, three-platter notebook hard drives have been too thick to actually fit into most notebook drive bays. HGST's Travelstar 5K1500 is different; it squeezes three platters into a notebook-friendly 9.5-mm casing. Shrinking the drive's circuit board and internal mechanics allowed HGST to cram in the extra platter. Thanks to the additional disc, the Travelstar boasts 1.5TB of storage—50% more capacity than its 9.5-mm peers. The platters spin at only 5,400 RPM, so this isn't a high-performance model. To make up for the slower rotational speed, notebook makers are expected to combine the 5K1500 with separate caching SSDs."
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+ - WD explains its software-based SSHD tech->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Seagate and Toshiba both offer hybrid hard drives that manage their built-in flash caches entirely in firmware. WD has taken a different approach with its Black SSHD, which instead uses driver software to govern its NAND cache. The driver works with the operating system to determine what to store in the flash. Unfortunately, it's Windows-only. You can choose between two drivers, though. WD has developed one of its own, and Intel will offer a separate driver attached to its upcoming Haswell platform. While WD remains tight-lipped on the speed of the Black's mechanical portion, it's confirmed that the flash is provided by a customized SanDisk iSSD embedded on the drive. The iSSD and mechanical drive connect to each other and to the host system through a Serial ATA bridge chip, making the SSHD look more like a highly integrated dual-drive solution than a single, standalone device. With Intel supporting this approach, the next generation of hybrid drives appears destined to be software-based."
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+ - Intel details Silvermont microarchitecture for next-gen Atoms->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Since their debut five years ago, Intel's low-power Atom microprocessors have relied on the same basic CPU core. That changes with the next generation, which will employ an all-new Silvermont microarchitecture built using a customized version of Intel's tri-gate, 22-nm fabrication process. Silvermont ditches the in-order design of previous Atoms in favor of an out-of-order approach based on a dual-core module equipped with 1MB of shared L2 cache. The design boasts improved power sharing between the CPU and integrated graphics, allowing the CPU cores to scale up to higher speeds depending on system load and platform thermals. Individual cores can be shut down completely to provide additional clock headroom or to conserve power. Intel claims Silvermont doubles the single-threaded performance of its Saltwell predecessor at the same power level, and that dual-core variants have lower peak power draw and higher performance than quad-core ARM SoCs. Silvermont also marks the Atom's adoption of the "tick-tock" update cadence that guides the development of Intel's Core processors. The successor to Silvermont will be built on 14-nm process tech, and an updated microarchitecture is due after that."
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+ - Haswell integrated graphics promise 2-3X performance boost->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Intel has revealed fresh details about the integrated graphics in upcoming Haswell processors. The fastest variants of the built-in GPU will be known as Iris and Iris Pro graphics, with the latter boasting embedded DRAM. Unlike Ivy Bridge, which reserves its fastest GPU implementations for mobile parts, the Haswell family will include R-series desktop chips with the full-fat GPU. These processors are likely bound for all-in-one systems, and they'll purportedly offer close to three times the graphics performance of their predecessors. Intel says notebook users can look forward to a smaller 2X boost, while 15-17W ultrabook CPUs benefit from an increase closer to 1.5X. Haswell's integrated graphics has other perks aside from better performance, including faster Quick Sync video transcoding, MJPEG acceleration, and support for 4K resolutions. The new IGP will support DirectX 11.1, OpenGL 4.0, and OpenCL 1.2, as well."
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+ - AMD details next-gen Kaveri APU's shared memory architecture->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "AMD has revealed more details about the unified memory architecture of its next-generation Kaveri APU. The chip's CPU and GPU components will have a shared address space and will also share both physical and virtual memory. GPU compute applications should be able to share data between the processor's CPU cores and graphics ALUs, and the caches on those components will be fully coherent. This so-called heterogeneous uniform memory access, or hUMA, supports configurations with either DDR3 or GDDR5 memory. It's also based entirely in hardware and should work with any operating system. Kaveri is due later this year and will also have updated Steamroller CPU cores and a GPU based on the current Graphics Core Next architecture."
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+ - Microstuttering compromises performance of $1000 Radeon HD 7990 flagship->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Slashdot's early coverage of AMD's dual-GPU Radeon HD 7990 relied on data collected with Nvidia's FCAT tools, which capture frames just before they hit the display. FCAT is great for quantifying smooth frame delivery, but it doesn't track interruptions earlier in the pipeline that can produce perceptible jitter in the game animation. Those interruptions can be measured with Fraps, correlated with FCAT data, and complemented with video samples to achieve a much deeper understanding of actual performance. Combining those tools to evaluate the 7990 reveals microstuttering that produces choppier gameplay than a single-GPU Radeon with half the theoretical horsepower (and a much lower price). AMD has prototype frame pacing software that can smooth out the stuttering in some games, but there's no timetable for its release. Right now, you're better with the $400 Radeon HD 7970 than you are with AMD's $1000 flagship."
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+ - New Seagate hybrid drives hampered by slow mechanical guts->

Submitted by crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Seagate announced its third-generation hybrid drives last month, revealing a full family of notebook and desktop drives that combine mechanical platters with solid-state storage. These so-called SSHDs are Seagate's first to be capable of caching write requests in addition to reads, and the mobile variants are already selling online. Unfortunately, a closer look at the Laptop Thin SSHD reveals some problems with Seagate's new design. While the integrated flash cache reduces OS and application load times by 30-45%, overall performance appears to be held back by its 5,400-RPM mechanical component. Seagate's last-gen Momentus XT hybrid spins its platters at 7,200-RPM, and it's faster than the new SSHD in a wide range of tests. The upcoming desktop SSHDs will also have 7,200-RPM spindle speeds, so they may prove more appealing than the mobile models."
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Games

+ - Frame capture tools produce new insight on game benchmarking->

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "A revolution is unfolding in the world of game benchmarking. Instead of using FPS averages that obscure brief but perceptible moments of stuttering, reviewers are increasingly moving to more representative metrics based on frame times. Their efforts are being bolstered by Nvidia, which has developed a suite of tools that allows for a deep analysis of the contents of the individual frames sent to the display. These "FCAT" tools will be freely distributable and modifiable, and some portions will be open-source. Examining the data they generate has produced new insight into how modern graphics cards really perform in games. The display output analysis made possible by the FCAT tools exposes "runt frames" that can make up only tiny slivers of the screen, rendering FPS averages especially meaningless. It also suggests that disruptions in smoothness can be measured both early in the pipeline, using Fraps, and later on, where FCAT takes into account frame metering technologies that can massage the flow of frames to the display."
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AMD

+ - Affordable Radeon HD 7790 has Trinity-style power management-> 1

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Today AMD unveils Bonaire, a new graphics chip that will power the $150 Radeon HD 7790. This GPU is based on the same Graphics Core Next architecture as current-generation Radeons, but it employs more advanced power management tech inherited from AMD's Trinity APUs. An on-chip microcontroller manages power states, enabling quicker transitions between a greater number of frequency and voltage states. Thanks in part to that mojo, the 7790 draws 24% less power under load than the Radeon HD 7850 it replaces. The new model also runs two decibels quieter. In games, it delivers lower frame latencies than the 7850 and competing GeForce cards, which translates to smoother gameplay. The 7850 does have higher FPS averages in some titles, suggesting that AMD's recent latency optimizations may not be applied evenly in the latest drivers."
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Input Devices

+ - Mechanical keyboard boasts USB 3.0 port->

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "For years, high-end keyboards have offered extra USB ports for mice and other peripherals. Gigabyte's Aivia Osmium goes one step further by including a USB 3.0 port for high-speed external storage. It also ticks all the usual boxes for a premium keyboard: Cherry MX mechanical switches, adjustable backlighting, audio jacks, and programmable macro keys. The macro support even extends to mouse input. Unfortunately, the USB 3.0 connectivity appears to be a little flaky; it works flawlessly with some device combinations but inconsistently or not at all with others. That's a shame, because there's real utility to having a SuperSpeed USB port at your fingertips."
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Hardware

+ - Cherry MX green keyboard switches emulate IBM Model M feel-> 1

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Slashdot has already covered the four main flavors of Cherry MX mechanical key switches: red, black, blue, and brown. Now, there's a green MX variant that emulates the feel of the buckling spring switches in old-school IBM Model M keyboards. The green switches combine tactile feedback, an audible click, and a stiff spring that requires 80g of actuation force. They're a stiffer version of the MX blues that more closely matches the characteristics of IBM's buckling spring design. Previously reserved for use with space bars, the green switches have now taken over an entire Cooler Master keyboard. And, unlike the old Model M and contemporary copycats, the new CM Storm Trigger has modern conveniences like an integrated USB hub, LED backlighting, and programmable macros."
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Data Storage

+ - Seagate new SSHD hybrids have dual-mode flash caches->

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Seagate's has revealed its next-generation hybrid drives, and for the first time, there's a 3.5" desktop model in the mix. The new family of so-called SSHDs includes standard and slim notebook variants with 500GB and 1TB capacities, plus 1TB and 2TB desktop versions. All of them combine mechanical platters with 8GB of NAND in a dual-mode SLC/MLC configuration. The SLC component is largely reserved to cache host writes, while the MLC portion is filled with frequently accessed data to speed read performance. Despite MLC NAND's lower write endurance, Seagate claims the SSHDs have more than enough headroom to last at least five years with typical client workloads. More impressively, the mobile SSHDs are supposed to be faster than the old Momentus XT hybrid even though they have slower 5,400-RPM spindle speeds. The mobile models are slated to start selling shortly at $79 for 500GB and $99 for 1TB, while the 1TB and 2TB desktop flavors are due in late April for $99 and $149, respectively. Unlike other NAND caching solutions, Seagate's tech requires no software or drivers, making it compatible with any OS."
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Ubuntu

+ - Linux-friendly mini PC fast enough for Steam games->

Submitted by
crookedvulture
crookedvulture writes "Barebones mini PCs have been around for a while, and the latest one from Zotac is pretty unique. For $270, the Zbox ID42 offers a Sandy Bridge CPU, a discrete GeForce graphics processor, and all the integrated I/O and networking you'd expect from a modern PC. You have to add your own memory, hard drive, and operating system, but the latter shouldn't cost you a dime. The Zbox works well with not only Windows, but also Linux. Ubuntu even recognizes the included remote, which can be used to wake up the system, control XBMC, and navigate Steam's Big Picture interface. Team Fortress 2 for Linux is actually playable, albeit at a relatively low resolution and detail level. The hardware seems better suited to casual games. Zotac also makes a Plus version of the Zbox that comes bundled with RAM and a hard drive, but it costs an extra $130, and you can get much better components if you add them yourself. The user-friendly chassis makes filling out the system a trivial undertaking."
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