Corsair Accelerator 60GB SSD Cache

As each generation of hard drives grew in capacity at a breakneck pace, storage space on spindle-based drives was rarely an issue. However, performance gains from one generation to the next have always been, at best, incremental. Now, with solid state storage in its ascendency, the opposite is true: SSDs offer massive performance but miniscule storage capacity relative to their cost. With the aptly named Accelerator 60GB cache drive, Corsair hopes to sell consumers on a solution that will give them the best of both technologies with none of the associated drawbacks.

Much like OCZ’s Synapse, the Corsair Accelerator relies on Nvelo’s Dataplex software to meld with the user’s existing hard drive into one “hybrid” storage solution. While this approach does require a certain amount of processor overhead, allowing the software to decide what gets cached on the speedy SSD and what can reasonably be tucked away on the slow-but-steady HDD has its merits. Namely, it allows for increased storage flexibility and performance while also keeping the associated hardware costs relatively low. As the Dataplex solution is fairly robust with only moderate CPU requirements, we have no concerns with Corsair’s decision to follow OCZ in this regard.

What is questionable is the actual solid state drive they have included as part of the bargain. Rather than using a Corsair Force 3 60GB for the Accelerator, Corsair has instead opted for their Nova Series 2 60GB drive. Unlike the competition, this drive uses the less capable SF-2181 controller. Furthermore, it has only the typical 7% overprovisioning found with the standard Nova Series 2 drives which could cause an issue for long term durability when used for caching purposes. This is completely different than OCZ’s Synapse series, which relies on a more capable, 100% over provisioned SF-2281-based Agility 3 60GB drive. With an online asking price of $90—or just ten dollars less than that of the Synapse 64GB—the Accelerator will have to be impressive if it hopes to overcome its potential limitations.

To keep things as fair as possible, we will be pairing the Accelerator with the same 1TB hard drive we tested the OCZ Synapse with. This will allow us to find out how much performance is possible from a truly budget setup and judge theAccelerator’s overall efficiency and effectiveness.

Compared to that of the OCZ Synapse, the Corsair Accelerator’s exterior is more robust and reassuring. While some SSD makers use a metal-and-plastic solution, the Accelerator’s outer shell is a full metal affair that seems like it could shrug off damage that would leave a Synapse in pieces.

Unfortunately, the interior architecture of the Accelerator is not as satisfying. Not only is the PCB half the size of what is normally found in SandForce-based devices, but so too is the number of NAND ICs greatly reduced. Whereas 16 dual-layer NAND modules are housed within most solid state drives, this model has only eight. This means that the density of the chips is higher than that of most contemporary 64GB SSDs. However, the Accelerator may not be able to take advantage of this moderate potential increase in performancefor the simple reason that (unlike any other SandForce-based drive we have reviewed to date) the Accelerator does not use an SF-2281 controller and relies instead on the slower and less capable SF-2181. 

Read More

AMD A10-4600M(Trinity) high-end processors AMD

While Intel is currently dominating the high-end processors AMD has been successful on another front with their low power APUs; processors with graphics built-in. The APUs have been especially popular on notebooks as they offer a lot of performance per watt and even come with decent graphics capabilities built in.

Today AMD is presenting the next generation APUs: Trinity, also called 2012 A-series APUs. The goal with this generation of APU’s is to offer more performance, better media capabilities, better game performance and all that while still offer long battery life.

FEATURE OVERVIEW

If we compare Trinity with Llano we notice that the chip is slightly larger and has a few more transistors.

The 2012 A-Series mobile APUs will be available in various configurations from dual core up to quad core with a 17”, 25” and 35 W TDP design. The 17W APU will be half as power hungry as the best Llano APU, making it ideal for the new small thin Ultrathin notebooks that AMD want to sell.  The “Piledriver”-cores are derived from the Bulldozer architecture.

3rd generation AMD Turbo Core technology makes sure that the power is automatically shifted between the CPU and GPU depending on application needs.

The APU now supports DDR3-1600 as well as low power 1.25V DIMMS. The ISA instruction sets have added support for the FMA3 and F16C instruction sets in addition to AVX, AVX 1.1, and AES.

Inside the APU we find a “Northern Island” HD74/5/600-based GPU (codename Thames), which comes with enhanced DX11-support and other improvements like an improved tessellation unit.  The GPU-core can be combined with an discrete card giving us Crossfire-support in a notebook.

One cool new feature is the fact that the APU now supports DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort 1.2 and that together in Eyefinity meaning that a notebook now could support up to 4 screens.

MEDIA SUPPORT

The 2012 A-Series mobile APUs now comes with something called AMD HD Media Accelerator.  The AMD HD Media Accelerator will take advantage of new hardware assisted video conversion using the new AMD Accelerated Video Converter. The new AMD Accelerated Video Converter block supports multi- stream H.264 HD encoding, video quality optimizations and numerous interfacing features to support video conferencing and wireless display capabilities.

One slightly weird feature is that there will be plugins available for all major browsers that incorporates AMDs Steady Video feature that stabilizes shaky video. We are not sure we really want our Youtube-video to be stabilized instead of being shown as intended but it will be there if you need it.

Read More

New Fan Controller

The new Adjust 108 fan controller from Fractal Design offers a simple yet clean option to adjust the speed of your case fans. With a brushed aluminum front panel and smooth moving sliders, it does not only emanate quality but also robustness and preciseness.

The Adjust 108 Fan Controller manages a total of six fans with a maximum of 36W per channel, while grouped three by three for ease of use. With a bi-color LED beneath each of the six sliders, the controller shows the speed of the fan not only by the slider itself but also through the color of the LED; white indicates a low RPM and blue a high RPM.

Key features

• Stylish, minimalistic front in aluminum
• 6 channels
• One LED per channel
• Intensity jumper for the LEDs
• Uses only one 5.25″ bay

vidio credit : http://myworld.ebay.com/godemonlineinc/

Read More

HP Folio 13 Ultrabook Review

There are only so many people willing to spend $1,300+ on a finger-thick machine, and many of them are already loyal Apple customers. The reality is, the average consumer wants to believe they're buying a premium product, but they don't necessarily want to pay premium prices. It's a tough nut to crack and most PC makers have failed when it comes to ultrathin notebooks, whether by charging too much or cutting too many corners.

LG's $1,500 X-Note Z330 is incredibly thin (0.58in/14.7mm) and light (2.67lb/1.21kg), but its internals are identical to ultrabooks that are 50% cheaper or more. Conversely, Acer's Aspire S3 stormed out of the gates last October with an accessible sub-$1,000 price, but it was criticized for having a cheap plastic chassis, poor audio quality and viewing angles, a stiff keyboard, a short battery life and tons of bloatware to boot.

Striking a balance between both extremes, HP's Folio 13 kicks off at an attractive $900 while packing the same core componentry you'll find in even the priciest of ultrabooks. The system has been available for a couple of months so our review isn't particularly timely, but after purchasing a unit a few weeks ago we thought it deserved attention considering how many system makers have gotten the formula wrong, despite Intel's guidance.

HP Folio 13-1020us  13.3" 1366x768 LED-backlit display Intel Core i5-2467M (1.6 - 2.3GHz) Intel HD Graphics 3000 4GB of DDR3 RAM 128GB SSD (SATA 3Gb/s) 1 USB 2.0 (right) + 1 USB 3.0 (left) 1 HDMI v1.4 port (left) SD Card reader (left) Gigabit Ethernet (left) Audio-out / mic combo jack (right) 802.11b/g/n / Bluetooth 4.0 HD webcam + mic Backlit chiclet keyboard 6-cell 59WHr battery (9 hours) 12.54" (L) x 8.67" (W) x 0.7" (H) / 3.3lbs

External Overview

Visually, the Folio 13 is reminiscent of HP's Envy and Elitebook lines, which also to say it's reminiscent of Apple's MacBook Pros. HP has done an admirable job employing a minimalist professional look on its premium notebooks. The Folio 13 has brushed aluminum on its top cover and around its keyboard/touchpad, while the bottom has a soft, rubbery coating. Both surfaces do an impeccable job minimizing fingerprints.

While I'm on the subject, the 1366x768 TN panel leaves a lot to be desired in the way of viewing angles and contrast, especially compared to the 13.3-inch MacBook Air's 1440x900 panel. I find myself frequently adjusting the display to minimize the washed appearance and glare. To be fair, you could say the same about an unfortunate number of $1,000+ notebooks, and the Folio 13's $900 MSRP helps soften the blow.

The single-piece touchpad sits flush with the aluminum deck. It looks great and it works well enough, though it isn't perfect. The surface requires frequent cleaning because it loses its slick feel after little use, while the mouse click buttons are stiff and imprecise (clicking toward the bottom corners doesn't register sometimes). On the bright side, multitouch gestures such as two-fingered scrolling and pinch zoom are handy.

As with its other externals, the Folio's Dolby Advanced Audio sound bar blends into the design well. It's placed between the display hinges, so you'll never have to worry about accidentally covering a speaker. Quality-wise, the audio is flat, but it's also very loud and clear, which is probably desirable for a business-oriented ultrabook.

As with all ultrabooks, connectivity is fairly limited but the Folio affords an SD card reader which is notably absent from many of its competitors. The card slot is on the left alongside a USB 3.0 port, an HDMI 1.4 port, and a gigabit Ethernet jack, while the right is sparsely populated with a single USB 2.0 port as well as an audio-out/microphone combo jack. Naturally, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi is present, as is Bluetooth 4.0.

Internals & Performance

The Folio's Core i5-2467M and 128GB SSD ensure you have a consistently snappy experience while casually sipping power. The dual-core Sandy Bridge chip carries 3MB of L3 cache, handles four threads via HyperThreading and has a 17W TDP. It also packs an on-die HD Graphics 3000 GPU, which is perfectly suitable for a machine that won't be used for anything more intensive than playing browser games or 720p videos.

HP was stingy on details about the SSD, but Windows reports the drive as Samsung's MZMPA128HMFU, better known as the PM800, a year-old mSATA module found in various systems by Samsung, HP, Dell and others. It's powered by the Samsung S3C29MAX01 SATA 3Gb/s controller (same as in 2010's Samsung 470 Series SSDs) and offers respectable performance with peak reads and writes quoted at 250MB/s and 210MB/s.

The single SO-DIMM slot is maxed out with 4GB of DDR3 RAM which is plenty for tasks an ultrabook is likely to face. That aptly summarizes the system's overall performance: it's very fast for anything within realistic expectations (i.e. not maxing out Skyrim). When browsing, playing casual games or using apps like MS Word, Fireworks or Postbox, I can't spot a notable difference between the Folio and my desktop.

Benchmarks Results

Synthetic Tests	Folio 13	ThinkPad X1	Envy 14 (2011)
3DMark 06
3DMark Score	3472 3DMarks	3750 3DMarks	7486 3DMarks
PCMark Vantage
PCMark Suite	8594 PCMarks	7607 PCMarks	5734 PCMarks

Application Tests	Folio 13	ThinkPad X1	Envy 14 (2011)
iTunes Encoding Test	01 min 44 sec	01 min 15 sec	--
File Transfer Test
Small files	1 min 2 sec	1 min 23 sec	1 min 21 sec
Large file	45 sec	1 min 2 sec	52 sec

The iTunes encoding tests consist of converting 14 MP3s (119MB) to 128Kbps ACC files and measuring the operation's duration in seconds. For the file transfer test, we measure how long it takes to copy two sets of files from one location to another on the same hard drive. On the small files test we transfer 557 MP3s, totaling 2.56GB. For the large file, these same MP3s were zipped into a single file measuring 2.52GB.

Gaming Performance	Folio 13	ThinkPad X1	Envy 14 (2011)
Far Cry 2
1024x768, Medium Quality	26.3 fps	26.5 fps	41.8 fps
1366x768, High Quality	24.9 fps	17.9 fps	35.1 fps
StarCraft 2
1024x768, Medium Quality	14.4 fps	15.2 fps	67.5 fps
1366x768, High Quality	11.4 fps	10.4 fps	45.2 fps

HP Folio 13 Specs

• 13.3" 1366x768 LED-backlit display
• Intel Core i5-2467M (1.6GHz - 2.3GHz)
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Intel HD 3000 Graphics
• 128GB SSD (Samsung PM800, SATA 3Gb/s)
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Specs

• 13.4" TFT 1366 x 768 display (with Corning Gorilla glass)
• Intel Core i5-2520M (2.5GHz - 3.2GHz)
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
• Intel HD 3000 Graphics
• Hitachi 320GB 7200RPM hard drive
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

HP Envy 14 (2011) Specs

• 14.5" HD BrightView Infinity LED 1366 x 768 display
• Intel Core i5-2430M (2.4GHz - 3GHz)
• 6GB DDR3 SDRAM
• AMD Radeon HD 6630M
• Western Digital 750GB hard drive
• Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

Closing Thoughts

At 3.3lbs (1.49kg), HP's offering isn't the lightest around, nor is it the thinnest at 0.7in. In fact, it's toward the upper limits of both attributes with most ultrabooks weighing 2.4-2.9lbs and measuring 0.51-0.67in thick. However, I wouldn't appreciate the system more if it were smaller, nor would I likely notice a 0.5lb/1mm difference. It's also tough to bash on the Folio's size disadvantage considering its solid build quality.

I ran two battery tests: one while looping a 720p rip of Inception, the other using Powermark's default "Balanced" profile, which provides mixed workloads including Web browsing, word processing, gaming and playing videos.

The battery tests came in well under HP's advertised 9-hour autonomy at just over 4 and 6 hours. However, the display, processor and integrated graphics core ran at their maximum settings and both tests are probably more taxing than you'd put the machine through if you used it for light tasks with Windows' Power Saver profile. In such a scenario, I imagine it's possible to squeeze up to 8 or even the claimed 9 hours.

As for the user experience, HP has committed the typical crime of shipping its machine with bloatware. Along with a dozen of HP's own clunky applications, you'll find a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security 2012, Bing Bar 7 for Internet Explorer 9, Snapfish Picture Mover and more. This is especially annoying on an ultrabook, because the recovery partition occupies 18GB of the SSD, leaving Windows with 96.9GB after formatting.

Assuming the display and bloatware don't scare you off (and they probably shouldn't, honestly), the Folio 13 ought to be toward the top of your list if you're shopping for an ultrabook. The system's nearly fingerprint-proof finish, professional aesthetics, comfy backlit keyboard, lengthy battery life and snappy performance make it an easy sell at $900. Here's hoping the coming wave of Ivy Bridge ultrabooks are equally solid.

Credit : http://www.techspot.com/

Read More

AMD R-464L, AMD R-272F APU Vs i7-2710QE

Here is the first benchmark about the next AMD APUs products with "Trinity" core inside, AMD will release new APUs products based on the new "Trinity" SKU core with a lower power consumption and will be branded as "R-Series", expecting that it will be similar to mobile "Trinity" editions.

A PDF file leaked on AMD website show an interesting comparison between the Sandy Bridge CPUs from Intel and the new AMD R-464L, AMD R-272F, according to external resources, the AMD R-464L specifications are 4 cores, which clocked at 2.3 GHz, and using an HD 7660G GPU requiring 35 Watt TDP to run stable, based on these number the new AMD R-464L can be a rebrand of the mobile A10-4600M chip, the R-272F APU can be a dual-core one and use a lower GPU.

Moving to the benchmark result, the snapshot show that the AMD R-464L perform 106% faster than Intel i7-2710QE sandy bridge based CPU which use the Intel graphics HD 3000, and the AMD R-272F is 45% faster when using graphics applications, and even when compared with the new intel graphic HD 4000, the AMD R-464L could easily win,

Read More

LG to produce “unbreakable” flexible OLED displays

While flexible OLED displays are most attributed to Samsung, fellow Korean company LG are also planning to bring flexible OLED displays to mobile devices with their new display production line. While it may seem LG is stealing Samsung’s idea, LG is apparently using a different production process.

Aside, the above flexible prototype is not one straight from LG’s factory, instead it is a device developed by Universal Display Corporation. A company that appears to be have the same goal as LG and Samsung in mind.

In order to achieve this LG is preparing a 3.5-Gen OLED plant that will be able to pump out displays with plastic substrates, which puts the flexible in front of flexible OLED. Saying this, we may not see fully flexible phones and other devices for some time. Instead the flexible displays will be will be thinner, more durable and less prone to impact than current glass based displays. The flexible OLED display could also end the need for Corning’s Gorilla Glass on phones.

Read More

iCam for iPhone 5

Apple iCam: A Modular Concept Camera That Uses an iPhone for Brains

The Apple iCam is a concept camera by Italian designer Antonio DeRosa that imagines a future where cameras are modular and powered by smartphones. Smartphones have already invaded the compact camera market in recent years, but their small lenses and sensors keep them from being seen as suitable alternatives to more advanced cameras. The iCam camera changes that by adding a large sensor and interchangeable lens system to the mix. Simply attach your iPhone 5 to the case and you’ll have yourself a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera with a huge LCD screen, fast processor, internet connectivity, and countless photo apps!

Read More

Logitech Master Security System and Add-On Camera

For expanded security coverage, Logitech also introduced the Logitech Alert 700n Indoor Add-On Camera. This stand-alone night-vision camera is easy to add to your existing Logitech Alert Master system so you can see what’s going on in other rooms or locations.

The Logitech Alert 750n Indoor Master System and the Logitech Alert 700n Indoor Add-On Camera both offer high-quality HD video (960 x 720 @ 15fps), a 130-degree wide-angle and powerful night vision that delivers up to twice the viewing area compared to standard cameras. This makes it easier to recognize people and other objects more clearly, day or night. You can see up to 50 feet in complete darkness with high-powered illumination, so you’ll never again find yourself afraid of the dark.

“By bringing our night vision capabilities to indoor cameras with the Logitech Alert 750n Indoor Master System and the Logitech Alert 700n Indoor Add-On Camera, you get a premiere security system package,” said James Lopez, general manager of digital video security at Logitech. “The wide angle lens gives you the ability to see up to twice as much viewing area, even in complete darkness. And if there is motion on your property, its automatic alerts let you know about it in an instant – even if you’re out of town.”

Additionally, the system and add-on camera have motion-triggered recording, which automatically triggers video recording and can be set up to send notifications to your e-mail address and mobile phone, keeping you informed. You can even specify 16 motion-detection zones within the frame.

Cadit : hardwarecanucks

Read More

MSI's Z77A-GD80 Ivy Bridge

It's been a fairly busy day for the TweakTown Taipei team with a visit to GEIL and then we headed on over to MSI who were nearby.

We were shown a few products during our meeting, but the one that stood out to us the most was their upcoming Z77A-GD80 motherboard, which you can get up close and personal with in the video we embedded above. This board supports the upcoming Intel Ivy Bridge processors which if you have been reading TweakTown this past week, you know quite a bit about now.

 What's probably the most interesting feature of this motherboard is that it comes with a Thunderbolt connector. It's the first time we've seen a Z77 board with Thunderbolt onboard and that's pretty impressive. We have heard rumours around Taipei of more boards including Thunderbolt, but at this stage of the game, MSI is out in front in this department.

The chip onboard to provide the Thunderbolt supported is made by Intel, we're not exactly sure what chip it is, but it's labeled with W138TA17, if that means anything to you. It doesn't have any form of cooling (even passive), so we would assume that the chip doesn't get that hot to warrant it.

We really look forward to checking out Thunderbolt performance on this motherboard especially comparing it against the numbers we get from USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 and eSATA. Stay tuned for that in the weeks ahead!

Read More

Apple eyes German TV maker Loewe for acquisition

Ah Loewe. You were my first taste of 100Hz CRT heaven. The latest rumbles that is the belly of the Internet is that tech giant Apple is looking at a guyout of German TV maker Loewe.

Just how much were Apple willing to slide across the table? A cool $113 million, but a company spokesperson stating the report from AppleInsider has "absolutely nothing to do with it".

Where it gets good is that Loewe contacted German website Heise, responding to speculation that suggested Apple had started negotiations with Loewe, bidding $113 million for the company. The deal had reportedly yet to be agreed upon. Loewe were also said to have been "advised by its financial advisor to accept the offer" and that a final decision was "scheduled to be announced internally before 18 May 2012".

Another interesting fact is that one of Loewe's major shareholders is.. drumroll.. Sharp. A company that has been previously pegged to providing panels for Apple's new television sets. Loewe has the reputation, Apple has the money, the deal would make perfect sense.

Read More

Verbatim 500GB USB 3.0

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is the only way to go for PC users as it ensures you'll have faster transfer speeds and when you have a 500GB or larger drive, it can shave a ton of time off your data transfers and data backups. USB 3.0 is also moving ever closer to being the norm, with more and more manufacturers adopting it. For those of you who are unsure what the difference in USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are, it’s all about performance. SuperSpeed USB 3.0 increases transfer speeds up to ten times faster than USB 2.0.

The Verbatim Store N Go SuperSpeed USB 3.0 series is available in the following configurations: 

• 1TB Piano Black 9.5mm - $159.04
• 1TB Piano Black - $121.00
• 500GB Hot Pink 500GB Priced at $103.99
• 500GB Caribbean Blue - $99.95
• 500GB PianoBlack - $88.99

Read More

ROCCAT Headphones

ROCCAT has proven that they understand the sorts of situations gamers deal with, and they used their knowledge to design a pair of headphones.  This will be the second product from ROCCAT we have had the privilege of reviewing.  Previously, we took a look at their Kone[+] gaming mouse, and we found it was well-tailored to the needs of gamers.  ROCCAT obviously knows how to design a product with gamers in mind, so we were excited to see how well ROCCAT can build an audio solution.   

The Kave is advertised as having true 5.1 surround sound, but in reality it is more like a 6.2 setup, with four drivers in each ear cup.  The individual drivers are angled at a 12 degree angle to direct the sound into the ears to give a sense of direction.  The headset also features a microphone for voice-enabled games or chat applications.  

ROCCAT Kave 5.1 Gaming Headset Features:

·         Real 5.1 Surround Sound with speakers aligned at a 12 degree angle

·         Microphone with mute LED - fully rotatable and completely removable

·         Tip'n'control desktop remote for central management of all volume functions

·         Dual sound-profile with movie and game settings

·         Solid aluminum hinges enabling heavy duty use

·         Especially comfortable earcups featuring external noise cancelling, hand sewn 

·         Adjustable vibration unit for a realistic gaming experience

·         Headband with three pads for equal weight distribution

·         Easy to carry folding and compact design

Credit : http://www.legitreviews.com

Read More