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Directx10 posts

NVIDIA ION LE hack adds DirectX 10 support, raises interesting questions

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 30th 2009 at 12:04PM

If myHPmini forum member runawayprisoner is to be believed (and why not?), rather than featuring some sort of dumbed-down hardware, the sole difference between the NVIDIA ION and the XP-friendly ION LE is that the latter has DirectX 10 support disabled in the device drivers. Indeed, when the full-blown ION drivers are hacked to recognize the ION LE device ID, not only do you get to run DX10, but performance increases markedly as well. Of course, DX10 is Windows 7 only, but you should conceivably be able to take your ION LE machine, install Windows 7 and the driver hack, and get on with your life (and save a few bucks in the process). Why bother with the charade, you ask? Theories abound, but we think it's a pretty good guess that NVIDIA is merely adhering to Microsoft licensing requirements here, and that in the long run crippling an existing chipset is cheaper than developing an entirely new one for an OS that's likely to be phased out sooner than later.

[Via SlashGear]

Kohjinsha dual-screen swivel netbook prototype hands-on (video)

by Ross Miller posted Oct 6th 2009 at 6:13AM

Sure, gScreen is slowly mastering the art of grainy video teasers with its dual-panel portable, but here at its CEATEC booth, Kohjinsha's got quite a looker of its own, on display in a very clear and well-lit case. We're looking at two 10.1-inch LCDs each capable of outputting at either 1024 x 600 or 1366 x 768 resolution, and if one is all you need, it's a sliding mechanism to hide the other monitor. What's more, the base of it swivels, although we didn't get to see it twist behind 15 degrees so we're not sure the extent of its flexibility. Powering the DirectX 10-compatible little guy is an AMD Athlon MV-40, along with a 2.5-inch SATA HDD, up to 4GB DDR2 memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium, all for a hair under four pounds. There is a bit of bulk in its height, about 1.7 inches at its tallest and 0.75 inches at its shortest, but that's something we're willing to live with considering the value we're getting with the screens. The rep we spoke with says it's still in prototype phase at this point with no price or release date on the books, unfortunately, and the battery life is something of a mystery -- we can't imagine powering two bright displays is doing its energy reserves any favor. Video after the break.

Gallery: Kohjinsha dual panel netbook prototype hands-on

Continue reading Kohjinsha dual-screen swivel netbook prototype hands-on (video)

NVIDIA clings desperately to XP with the DirectX10-hating ION LE chipset

by Tim Stevens posted Aug 4th 2009 at 8:21AM

Anything that makes our netbooks, nettops, and smartphones into slightly less mediocre video performers is okay in our book, so we're fond of NVIDIA's ION platform and are looking forward to finding out exactly what the company has up its sleeve for ION 2. We weren't, however, expecting an even cheaper revision of the chipset, but that's exactly what's been announced this morning. NVIDIA is creating ION LE, a sibling of the existing ION that does everything its big sister can do except support DirectX 10. The idea, of course, is to lower costs while providing all the functionality XP-packing netbooks and nettops need, but as Windows 7 sits at home getting made up for its débutante party we have to wonder just how much longer Microsoft's old faithful will be on the market -- and how much longer DX9 will be relevant.

[Via SlashGear]

Point of View Mobii netbook has Ion inside, psychedelia outside

by Vladislav Savov posted Jul 21st 2009 at 7:56AM

Just by looking at the Mobii ION 230, you can tell it's a netbook keen on standing out from the crowd. This desire extends through its internals, which rely on NVIDIA's Ion platform to power an Atom N230 CPU, usually a nettop part, alongside an upgradeable 1GB of RAM and 160GB HDD. Hence, while battery life might take a comparative beating, graphical and processing ability should be appreciably superior to your run-of-the-mill netbook. Point of View promises flawless 1080p playback and DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0 support, with an HDMI-out if you don't feel the 10.2-inch display at 1024x 600 resolution does those features justice. You'd be wrong to expect anything more than a slideshow in graphically intensive games, but it's good to know the netbook market is getting a juiced-up option, and fret not, there's a conservative black paintjob available too. European prices are expected around the €349 ($495) mark and availability should hit within the next few weeks.

[Via Netbook News]

Windows 7 WARP system to allow for DirectX 10 CPU acceleration

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 28th 2008 at 12:34PM

We've already heard that Microsoft plans to make use of GPU acceleration in Windows 7, but it looks like the company is also going to be doing its part for the GPU-less out there, with the OS's new so-called WARP system promising to allow for DirectX 10 acceleration using nothing more than a plain old CPU. Among other things, that's apparently being done to avoid a recurrence of the Vista-capable debacle that happened last time around, when some systems that were said to be capable of running the OS were, in fact, anything but. According to Microsoft, WARP (or Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform) will work with as little as an 800MHz CPU, although it says it'll work better on multi-core processors with SSE 4.1. To really put it to the test, Microsoft apparently even went so far as to run a few Crysis benchmarks with the system, and managed to clock in a blistering 7.36 fps frame rate at 800 x 600 on a Core i7-equipped PC, which is actually slightly better than what Intel's current integrated graphics were able to eke out.

S3's Chrome 500 graphics processors handle Blu-ray, HD video

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2008 at 9:33AM

Movin' on up in the world, are we S3? Just a month after the VIA-owned S3 Graphics returned to the scene with its Chrome 400 line of discrete graphics cards comes this, the predictably named Chrome 500 series. The new line is capable of handling Blu-ray / streaming HD video playback and provides support for DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.0 applications. You'll also find a built-in Dolby 7.1 digital surround sound processor, GPGPU (General Purpose GPU) technology, ChromotionHD (which offloads video processing from the CPU) and compatibility with DisplayPort / HDMI / DVI (with HDCP). The first off the blocks is the 512MB Chrome 530 GT (pictured), and the bargain-bin-styled $44.95 should work wonders given the economy.

Intel brings DirectX 10 to integrated graphics, NVIDIA says not so fast

by Donald Melanson posted May 6th 2008 at 5:16PM

Intel has been boasting of DirectX 10 support for its various integrated graphics options for some time now, but it's only just recently gotten around to actually releasing a Vista driver that brings its GM965 and G35 Express chipsets up to speed. Of course, NVIDIA just couldn't help itself from getting a few (more) digs in at Intel's expense, and it's now kindly provided a few benchmarks to show just how badly Intel's integrated DirectX 10 solution stacks up against the bleeding-edge DirectX 10-ready games it now ostensibly supports. They couldn't find a single game that was able to crank out more than 5 fps, even at a lowly 1280 x 1024 resolution and with the usual graphics intensive settings turned off. Then again, 4.4 fps in Crysis is pretty much par for the course.

Read - Crave, "Intel updates graphics with multimedia capabilities"
Read - Hardware Secrets, "Are Intel chipsets really capable of running DirectX 10 games?"

ASUS' G35 series motherboards natively support DirectX 10

by Darren Murph posted Apr 13th 2008 at 9:37PM

Integrated graphics sets that handle DirectX 10 like it's their job are a dime a dozen, but ASUS has nevertheless managed to find bragging rights in its G35 series of mobos. Hailed as the "world's first Intel platform" with onboard graphics capable of supporting DirectX 10 natively, the aforesaid motherboards won't require a separate GPU in order to handle the simplest of DX10 demands. Of course, we wouldn't expect the GMA X3500 to run circles around Crysis frame rate tests, but we suppose they'll do for the casual fans in attendance. Per usual, ASUS has left us high and dry in regard to pricing, but the trio of boards should be available as we speak.

[Via I4U News]

AMD releases ATI Catalyst 8.3 drivers, enables CrossFireX

by Darren Murph posted Mar 4th 2008 at 5:02PM

Get ready to burn through your allowance, kids, as AMD is getting set to loose its Catalyst 8.3 drivers for all to indulge in. What does the download net you, exactly? Why, CrossFireX support, of course. Starting today, users can link up any combination of RV670- and R680-based products -- that includes the Radeon HD 3850, Radeon HD 3870 and Radeon HD 3870 X2 -- in order to acquire triple- and quad-GPU performance within Windows Vista. Additionally, the drivers also introduce ATI Hybrid Graphics support in Vista, which was boasted about already when the firm unveiled its upcoming 780G chipset. Check out the read link for the full list of changes, and keep an eye on the firm's support page for v8.3 to surface any moment now.

Microsoft already trimming Windows 7 features, DirectX 11 on the outs?

by Paul Miller posted Feb 9th 2008 at 4:10PM

It might be a bit early for us to be talking Windows 7 feature cuts, but that said, isn't it a bit early for Microsoft to be talking Windows 7 feature cuts? If The Inquirer's "reliable sources" are to be believed, Microsoft is giving DirectX 11 the boot from its next version of Windows to keep hardware requirements down -- apparently the DirectX 10 requirements of Vista were enough of that sort of trouble for one decade. Obviously there's no official word on Microsoft at the moment, so we'll reserve judgment for the time being -- and hey, maybe no DirectX 11 wouldn't ruin our year -- but with the endless quantity of features cut from Vista still fresh in our memory, this is certainly not an encouraging sign if true.

[Thanks, Isaac]

HP's Pavilion Slimline s3330f PC does Blu-ray and HD DVD

by Darren Murph posted Jan 3rd 2008 at 12:23AM

A slim PC destined to handle both of the major high-definition movie formats? Say it ain't so! Turns out, HP is indeed doling out such a machine, and it's so eloquently dubbed the Pavilion Slimline s3330f PC. Here's a look at what this mighty mini-tower will be packin':

2.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor
2GB of DDR2 RAM
500GB 7,200 RPM SATA drive
HP Pocket Media Drive Bay
Single LightScribe-enabled optical drive that reads Blu-ray / HD DVD and writes to dual-layer DVDs
NVIDIA's 256MB GeForce 8500 GT
802.11b/g WiFi
Built-in NTSC / ATSC TV tuners
Front-mounted 15-in-1 multicard reader

Furthermore, you'll find 6 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, audio in / out, DVI / HDMI ports and a wireless keyboard / mouse bundled in along with a whole suite of software. Intrigued? Be on the lookout for this one to land later this month starting at $949.

NVIDIA reveals GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB

by Darren Murph posted Dec 11th 2007 at 10:43AM

Not even two months after NVIDIA tempted gamers on a budget with the GeForce 8800 GT, the outfit has loosed a new beast just in time for those eleventh hour holiday shoppers. Based on 65-nanometer fabrication, the 8800 GTS 512MB boasts 128 stream processors, twin dual-link DVI ports, PureVideo HD technology, DirectX 10 support, a 650MHz core clock / 970MHz memory clock and hardware decode acceleration for smooth playback of "H.264, VC-1, WMV and MPEG-2 HD and SD movies." According to the company, this card provides some 25-percent more processing power than NVIDIA products previously offered at the same price point, which, if you're wondering, is around $299 to $349.

[Via HotHardware]

NVIDIA launching GeForce 9 series next February?

by Darren Murph posted Nov 30th 2007 at 3:26PM

Details are unsurprisingly light on this one, but DigiTimes has it that NVIDIA is gearing up to launch its next-generation GPU just after the Lunar New Year in February 2008. Reportedly, "sources at graphics card makers" have revealed that the GeForce 9 series will include the D9E -- a "high-end product that adopts 65-nanometer manufacturing," supports DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 -- and the mid-range D9P, which will supposedly adopt 55-nanometer processing. Apparently, the former will be the first product in the new family, while the latter won't see light until June, but of course, we'd take every ounce of this with a healthy serving of salt for the time being.

Eurocom's quad-core D900C Phantom-X laptop gets official

by Darren Murph posted Jul 29th 2007 at 10:34AM

Good news for those waiting in tense anticipation for a confirmation on Eurocom's quad-core lappie: it's for real. Dubbed the D900C Phantom-X, this powerhouse will reportedly pack Intel's "newest line of quad-core processors," up to 750GB of internal HDD space, your choice of NVIDIA GPUs running in single or dual SLI, a Blu-ray optical drive, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and a slew of ports including USB 2.0, FireWire, DVI, S-Video, a multicard reader, optical and analog audio in / out, and a gigabit Ethernet jack for good measure. 'Course, you'll also find integrated Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11a/b/g, stereo speakers, a built-in microphone, and an optional TV tuner that could certainly make you question the necessity of your desktop. So, you big spender you, go on and get your order in now and let the bragging commence -- if you've got the $2,999 it'll take for the base configuration, that is.

[Thanks, Mark B.]

Commodore unveils lineup of US-bound gaming desktops

by Darren Murph posted Jul 12th 2007 at 11:31PM

Unlike some companies we've seen, it appears that Commodore Gaming is actually keeping its word, as the company has just now released the final details on its lineup of flashy US-bound gaming rigs. The Cg, Cgs, Cgx, and Cxx machines progress gradually from least extreme to highly 1337, and all four can be customized to suit your every fantasy. To give you an idea of what's on tap (if you've got the coin), the Cxx packs a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 processor, twin 500GB 7,200RPM hard drives in a RAID 0 array, 2GB of Corsair RAM, DVD-RW optical drive, an 850-watt power supply, Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sound card, Windows Vista, and dual 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPUs to boot. As far as pricing goes, word on the street is that the base system will start out around $1,700, but we'll know for sure when these come stateside in Q3.

[Via CNET]