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ST-Ericsson's U8500 platform gives your next smartphone wicked 3D powers

by Darren Murph posted Nov 4th 2009 at 5:13PM

It's one thing for ARM to develop a potent GPU meant to add impressive 3D capabilities to devices that were previously forced to run the likes of "Snake," but it's another thing entirely to see a platform and semiconductor company come forward and take it one step closer to the mainstream. ST-Ericsson has done just that with its U8500 platform, which is the first to integrate ARM's Mali-400 graphics processing unit into a solution that can be easily fitted into future phones. Think your iPhone 3GS GPU is mighty enough? Hop on past the break and mash play -- it'll make those fancy water reflections you're currently drooling over look downright ugly.

[Via B4Tech, thanks Chris]

Continue reading ST-Ericsson's U8500 platform gives your next smartphone wicked 3D powers

Asustek announces a 1.1 Teraflop, Tesla GPU powered supercomputer

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 28th 2009 at 1:18AM

Some of us love nothing more than a portable and convenient netbook -- something that Asustek knows all too well -- but how about those of us who need real computing power? To that end, Taipei's choice for all things ultraportable has just announced its very own 1.1 Teraflop supercomputer. Dubbed the ESC 1000, this (albeit large) desktop-sized machine sports a 3.33GHz Intel LGA1366 Xeon W3580 microprocessor and three CUDA-based Tesla C1060 GPUs, the likes of which we last saw in Dell's Precision "personal supercomputer" line. Shipping with 24GB of DDR3 DRAM (1333MHz) and a 500GB SATA II hard drive, the machine is said to have a cost structure of $14,519 over five years. We're guessing that you'll be able to both surf the net and watch HD quality video on the thing, although you probably won't be taking it along with you to Crazy Mocha any time soon. According to a company spokesperson, this thing is ready to ship now, although a launch date and street price have yet to be determined. One more pic after the break.

Continue reading Asustek announces a 1.1 Teraflop, Tesla GPU powered supercomputer

Maingear, CyberPower and iBuyPower gaming desktops pick up ATI Radeon HD 5870

by Darren Murph posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 5:24PM

ATI's Radeon HD 5870 GPU has already taken its rightful place within a few of Alienware's newest desktops, but as with most every major GPU launch, a few of the smaller guys are also taking the opportunity to offer gamers the option to pick one up inside of a new rig. Maingear's Ephex, F131, Prelude, and Dash can all be ordered up right now with the staggeringly potent graphics card, and if none of those suit your fancy, CyberPower would be more than happy to have your business. In fact, it has squeezed the DirectX 11-friendly GPU into the Gamer Xtreme 4200 (starts at $999), Gamer Xtreme 5200 (starts at $1,393) and the AMD-based Gamer Dragon 9500 (starting at $927). Still on the hunt? iBuyPower has an eerily similar trio, though their lineup starts at just $819. Hit the read links below if you feel like putting together a system for kicks, but don't blame us when the order button presses itself.

Read - Maingear rigs
Read - CyberPower rigs
Read - iBuyPower rigs

Continue reading Maingear, CyberPower and iBuyPower gaming desktops pick up ATI Radeon HD 5870

ATI Radeon HD 5870 blazes onto the scene, receives approving nods

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 4:17AM

Watch out now -- the evergreen revolution has arrived, right on schedule and with the promised DirectX 11 and Eyefinity in tow. AMD's new flagship graphics part, formerly known under the Cypress codename, is built on a 40nm process, sports an appropriately inflated 850MHz engine clock speed, 1600 stream processors, 153.6GBps memory bandwidth, over two billion transistors, and the freshly minted HD 5870 moniker. There'll be a HD 5850 as well, which makes do with a 725MHz core clock, 1440 stream processors and slightly slower (or is it just less fast?) GDDR5 memory, but only the headline device has been made available to reviewers, so let's see what they thought.

HardOCP whipped out their special Gold Award for the ocassion, noting that it "doubles performance, yet remains within the same power envelope." The Tech Report crew agreed wholeheartedly, commending the "admirably low" power draw, noise levels and GPU temperatures. In fact, a pretty universal consensus shows that the new card spanks everything else out there in terms of performance, and makes a very compelling value proposition -- a significant feat for a card that's aimed at the usually less price-conscious enthusiast market. Hit up the read links below to revel in the full glorious details.

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AMD Changes the Game with ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 Series DirectX® 11-Compliant Graphics Cards, Harnessing the Most Powerful Processor Ever Created

World's Most Advanced Graphics Processor Allows Consumers to Expand, Accelerate and Dominate Their PC Experience with First Full Support for Microsoft DirectX 11

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMD (NYSE: AMD) today launched the most powerful processor ever created1, found in its next-generation ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series graphics cards, the world's first and only to fully support Microsoft DirectX® 11, the new gaming and compute standard shipping shortly with Microsoft Windows® 7 operating system. Boasting up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power, the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series effectively doubles the value consumers can expect of their graphics purchases, delivering twice the performance-per-dollar of previous generations of graphics products. AMD will initially release two cards: the ATI Radeon HD 5870 and the ATI Radeon HD 5850, each with 1GB GDDR5 memory. With the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards, PC users can expand their computing experience with ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology, accelerate their computing experience with ATI Stream technology, and dominate the competition with superior gaming performance and full support of Microsoft DirectX® 11, making it a "must-have" consumer purchase just in time for Microsoft Windows® 7 operating system.

"With the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards driven by the most powerful processor on the planet, AMD is changing the game, both in terms of performance and the experience," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Products Group, AMD. "As the first to market with full DirectX 11 support, an unmatched experience made possible with ATI Eyefinity technology, and ATI Stream technology harnessing open standards designed to help make Windows 7 that much better, I can say with confidence that AMD is the undisputed leader in graphics once more."

Dominate your competition with Microsoft DirectX® 11 support

With the ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards, gamers will enjoy gaming supremacy and the ultimate advantage, realizing incredible HD gaming performance and the most engaging experience possible with DirectX® 11 gaming done right:

* Designed and built for purpose: Modeled on the full DirectX 11 specifications, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards delivers up to 2.72 TeraFLOPS of compute power in a single card, translating to superior performance in the latest DirectX 11 games, as well as in DirectX 9, DirectX 10, DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL titles in single card configurations or multi-card configurations using ATI CrossFireX™ technology. When measured in terms of performance experienced in some of today's most popular games, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series is up to twice as fast as the closest competing product in its class,5 allowing gamers to enjoy incredible new DirectX 11 games – including the forthcoming DiRT™2 from Codemasters, and Aliens vs. Predator™ from Rebellion, and updated version of The Lord of the Rings Online™ and Dungeons and Dragons Online® Eberron Unlimited™ from Turbine – all in stunning detail with incredible frame rates.
* Generations ahead of the competition: Building on the success of the ATI Radeon™ HD 4000 series products, the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards is two generations ahead of DirectX 10.0 support, and features 6th generation evolved AMD tessellation technology, 3rd generation evolved GDDR5 support, 2nd generation evolved 40nm process technology, and a feature-rich compute shader, all geared towards delivering the best gaming experience money can buy.
* The ultimate in game compatibility: The DirectX 11 API was developed on AMD graphics hardware and represents the cornerstone of DirectX 11 gaming. All initial DirectX 11 games were developed and/or continue to be developed on AMD DirectX 11 hardware. With more than 20 DirectX 11 games currently in development, this innate optimization for ATI Radeon graphics cards, in combination with monthly ATI Catalyst™ driver releases, help ensure a stable, reliable and high-performance experience for the latest games.

Accelerate with ATI Stream technology

With the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics card, PC users can unleash Windows 7 and realize the potential of a better computing experience to help do more with their PC:

* Harness the home supercomputer: One ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics card would have been one of the top 10 supercomputers in the world just six years ago – today that same processing power can be found in your home PC, working with high-performance CPUs to deliver a superior experience.
* Windows® 7 done right: Windows 7 is the first compute-capable operating system and the ATI Radeon HD 5800 series of graphics cards with ATI Stream technology accelerate it like nothing else, being the first and only card to support DirectCompute 11.
* Create and do more, faster than ever before with ATI Stream technology: Enjoy new features, functionality and improved performance in top media, entertainment and productivity applications made possible by ATI Stream technology.6
* Most expansive support of industry standards: The ATI Radeon HD 5800 of graphics cards fully support both DirectX 11 and OpenCL, ensuring broad application support now and the future.

Expand the PC experience with ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology

Enjoy multi-monitor computing with seamless enablement of the biggest game environments ever seen:

* The ultimate in seamless flexibility: Arrange one to three displays using the ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 and ATI Radeon™ HD 5850 graphics cards, or up to six displays using the forthcoming ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 Eyefinity6 graphics card, in a variety of configurations – any mix of portrait or landscape.
* See them before they see you: Unlock the potential of multi-monitor gaming at up to 12 x full HD resolution, the largest game environments ever displayed.10 Experience more visual detail and expanded battlefields that your gaming competitors may lack.
* Enjoy visual computing in eye-definition: Virtually obsolete scrolling by taking advantage of vast desktop real estate to put more information at your fingertips. Enjoy the best of today's latest visually-enhanced online applications – social networking, video conferencing, video entertainment, and satellite imagery – all in stunning detail.

Ecosystem support

* The ATI Radeon™ HD 5800 series of graphics cards is supported by a dozen add-in-board companies, including ASUS, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, GIGABYTE, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), MSI, Multimedia, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE Technology, VisionTek and XFX.

Supporting Quotes

"By incorporating the ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 graphics processor's revolutionary DirectX 11 and ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor capabilities into the Alienware desktop gaming system, Dell Gaming continues to lead the industry in delivering performance, immersion and visual experience levels that shatter all previous limitations," said Arthur Lewis, head of Dell gaming group.

"I had high expectations of AMD's new DirectX 11 GPUs, but nothing really prepared me for the breathtaking experience that I'm now enjoying," said Dirk Ringe, vice president, EA Phenomic. "Frame rates are so silky-smooth at ultra high-resolutions, even with all effects turned to max, that the new hardware makes previous hardware look like a quaint antique! The quality of the rendering in BattleForge is something that I used to dream about only a year ago – and the flexibility and power of DirectCompute 11 opens our eyes to a multitude of new possibilities. We applaud AMD's and Microsoft's vision in creating the DirectX 11 API and this amazing new hardware and we can say without hesitation that it represents the future of gaming."

"We were simply astonished by the performance of the DirectCompute 11 hardware in AMD's DirectX 11 GPUs," said Ruslan Didenko, project lead, GSC Gameworld. "By meeting the full DirectX 11 hardware spec AMD has created a beast of a GPU that is light years ahead of its DirectX 10.1 and DirectX 10 predecessors. We strongly recommend a full-on DirectX 11 GPU from AMD as very simply the best way to experience our stunning new game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. A vision of loveliness, in every gut-wrenching detail!"

"Trinigy remains committed to supporting the game development industry with top-notch game engine technology that combines efficiency, creative freedom and performance," said Dag Frommhold, managing director at Trinigy. "We're extremely excited to be working with AMD to support their DirectX 11 graphics processors. AMD's quality drivers and hardware complement our commitment to game developers perfectly by empowering them to produce higher-level in-game graphics than ever before."

Read - Hot Hardware review
Read - AnandTech review
Read - Driver Heaven review
Read - HardOCP review
Read - Hexus review
Read - PC Perspective review
Read - Tech Report review
Read - Legit Reviews

Eyes-on with Intel's Pine Trail CPU/GPU hybrid and new Gulftown gaming chip (update)

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 2:06PM

See that tiny little thing? That's not just a CPU, it's Intel's next-gen Atom Pine Trail CPU / GPU hybrid, and it's set to pop in all sorts of devices here at IDF. Intel was demoing it in a nettop running 480p video, ~~but they assured us it was capable of 1080p playback~~ ~~-- we'll believe it when we see it, obviously~~. Also on display here at IDF: demo machines running 32nm Arrandale chips, with Intel's Clear HD video playback system, and the next-gen Gulftown gaming chip, which has six cores and will slot right into your X58 mobo to provide more power than you possibly need sometime next year. Check it all in the gallery!

Update: So the first Intel rep we spoke to was a little confused -- Pine Trail only supports 480p playback, although it can apparently do 720p if pushed. Native HD isn't on Intel's roadmap until the next generation of these chips, so If you want HD right now, Intel's pointing manufacturers to the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which usually ends up costing about $30 extra at retail. So to recap: Intel's integrating graphics into its CPU dies, but in order to play back HD content, you still need a separate video processor to handle the decoding. How very efficient.

Gallery: Intel Pine Trail, Arrandale, and Gulftown

OTOY uses AMD GPUs, black magic to put Crysis on iPhone

by Darren Murph posted Sep 14th 2009 at 9:04PM

No need to dust off your spectacles -- Crysis on the iPhone has been achieved. Just last week we took a peek at the graphical enhancements on the iPhone 3GS, but this demonstration didn't rely on the factory goods from Apple. Instead, a recent OTOY demonstration put to use some of AMD's newest GPU technology in order to play back one of the leading-edge 3D titles on a smartphone. In short, OTOY renders the game on remote servers and then sends information to a recipient; needless to say, an HDTV displayed all sorts of artifacts, but on a screen that's just a few inches large, those flaws become invisible. So, is this really the killer app to supplant Apple's own App Store for gaming on the iPhone? We get the feeling OTOY needs at least few clean-cut commercials with little-known underground music before they can bank on that.

[Via SlashGear]

Ask Engadget: Best ultraportable laptop for gaming?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 27th 2009 at 9:03PM

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Ron, who would just be happy with an ultraportable with an actual, bona fide, worthwhile GPU.

"I am looking for a 12- or 13-inch ultraportable that can also play modern games at a reasonable level, for less than $1,000. I know the brainiacs out there can help me out. Love the site, thanks!"

We know for sure that Dell's Studio XPS 13 has the guts to pull off a few modern titles, but we know there are far more options out there than that. So, who here has a super small laptop with a discrete GPU worth bragging about? Don't hold back now, vaquero.

ASUS' well-rounded G51 gaming laptop reviewed, lauded

by Darren Murph posted Aug 17th 2009 at 1:39PM

NVIDIA's world-beating GeForce GTX 260M GPU hasn't presented itself in too many gaming laptops just yet, but somehow or another it found its way into ASUS' bargain priced G51VX. Originally showcased back at Computex, this 15.6-inch rig is amongst the cheapest portable gaming machines in its class, packing a 2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,368 x 768 panel, 320GB (7200RPM) hard drive and a 1GB GeForce GTX 260M handling the graphical duties. The benchmarking gurus over at HotHardware sat this here machine down for a stern talking to, and while they could've stood for the resolution to be a bit higher and the battery life (1.75 hours) to be a tad longer, the actual performance was top shelf. Put simply, it was deemed a "well balanced machine that's a winner at this price point," offering up a far nicer GPU than any other competitors in the $1,000 range. Tap that read link for a look at the full review -- we get the feeling you'll like what you see.

Sony finally admits NVIDIA chips are borking its laptops, offers free repair

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 11th 2009 at 12:09PM

Last summer, while Dell and HP were busy pinpointing and replacing faulty NVIDIA chips in their notebooks, Sony was adamant that its superior products were unaffected by the dreaded faulty GPU packaging. Well, after extensive support forum chatter about its laptops blanking out, distorting images and showing random characters, the Japanese company has finally relented and admitted that "a small percentage" of its VAIO range is indeed afflicted by the issue. That small percentage comes from the FZ, AR, C, LM and LT model lines, and Sony is offering to repair yours for free within four years of the purchase date, irrespective of warranty status. Kudos go to Sony for (eventually) addressing the problem, but if you're NVIDIA, don't you have to stop calling this a "small distraction" when it keeps tarnishing your reputation a full year after it emerged?

[Thanks, Jonas]

ATI Stream goes fisticuffs with NVIDIA's CUDA in epic GPGPU tussle

by Darren Murph posted Aug 10th 2009 at 8:57AM

It's a given that the GPGPU (or General-Purpose Graphics Processing Unit) has a long, long ways to go before it can make a dent in the mainstream market, but given that ATI was talking up Stream nearly three whole years ago, we'd say a battle royale between it and its biggest rival was definitely in order. As such, the benchmarking gurus over at PC Perspective saw fit to pit ATI's Stream and NVIDIA's CUDA technologies against one another in a knock-down-drag-out for the ages, essentially looking to see which system took the most strain away from the CPU during video encoding and which produced more visually appealing results. We won't bother getting into the nitty-gritty (that's what the read link is for), but we will say this: in testing, ATI's contraption managed to relieve the most stress from the CPU, though NVIDIA's alternative seemed to pump out the highest quality materials. In other words, you can't win for losin'.

Samsung's Ion-infused N510 netbook steeply priced across the pond

by Darren Murph posted Aug 5th 2009 at 7:02AM

€499. $717. Or three easy payments of €171 ($246). That's the price folks in Europe are being asked to pony up for Samsung's admittedly svelte 11.6-inch N510 netbook. As one of the largest netbooks in its class, this machine -- which can purportedly last for around 6.5 hours under ideal circumstances -- also packs NVIDIA's Ion technology, but a sluggish Atom N280 is still manning the ship. If you'll recall, we actually heard that this here rig would surface sometime this summer, but it looks as if those orders may end up pushed to September. Anyone care to place a pre-order? Or are you more interested in those "real laptops" for just north of seven Benjamins?

[Via Blogeee]

BFG gifts GTX 285 and GTX 295 cards with self-contained liquid cooling

by Darren Murph posted Aug 5th 2009 at 6:06AM

Believe it or not, this is far from the first time we've heard of a liquid cooled GPU; in fact, NVIDIA was tossing the idea around way back in 2006, when Quake III and Unreal Tournament were still top titles in the FPS realm. BFG Technologies, which currently holds the greatest name for a graphics card company ever, has today introduced its GeForce GTX 285 H2O+ and GeForce GTX 295 H2OC cards, both of which boast ThermoIntelligence Advanced Cooling Solutions (read: self-contained liquid cooling systems). BFG swears that both cards are completely maintenance free, with the GPUs kept around 30°C cooler under load as compared to standard air cooled models. There's no mention of pricing just yet, but both should be available any moment at NewEgg. Good luck resisting the sudden urge to upgrade.

AMD's integrated 785G graphics platform review roundup

by Darren Murph posted Aug 4th 2009 at 5:29AM

It's mildly hard to believe that AMD's DirectX 10-compatible 780 Series motherboard GPU was introduced well over a year ago now, but the long awaited successor has finally landed. This fine morning, a gaggle of hardware sites around the web have taken a look at a number of AMD 785G-equipped mainboards, all of which boast integrated Radeon HD 4200 GPUs, support for AMD's AM3 processors and a price point that's downright delectable (most boards are sub-$100). Without getting into too much detail here in this space, the general consensus seems to be that the new platform is definitely appreciated, but hardly revolutionary. It fails to destroy marks set by the 780G, and it couldn't easily put NVIDIA's GeForce 9300 to shame. What it can do, however, is provide better-than-average HD playback, making it a prime candidate for basic desktop users and even HTPC builders. For the full gamut of opinions, grab your favorite cup of joe and get to clickin' below.

Read - HotHardware review
Read - The Tech Report review
Read - Tom's Hardware review
Read - PC Perpective review
Read - Hardware Zone review
Read - Hexus review

Continue reading AMD's integrated 785G graphics platform review roundup

ATI's $1,800 2GB FirePro V8750 GPU introduced and reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Jul 28th 2009 at 4:29AM

Need a quick way to blow 1,800 bones? Looking to single-handedly jump-start this so-called "economy" we keep hearing about? Look no further, friends, as ATI just did you a solid. Just four months after the outfit dished out its 1GB FirePro V7750, the company is now looking to strike it rich once more with the 2GB FirePro V8750. Obviously designed for the workstation crowd, this CAD destroying GPU is equipped with more GDDR5 memory than our own four-year old Quake III server, but as HotHardware points out, the clock speed remains exactly the same as the entirely more affordable V8700. When pushed, this newfangled card did manage to best every other rival on the test bench, but not by a wide margin. What you're left with is a cutting-edge device that's priced way out of consideration for most, and frankly, way outside the realm of sensibility. If you just can't shake the urge to hear more, give that read link a tap for the full review.

Read - ATI FirePro V8750 review
Read - ATI press release

AMD's 40nm DirectX 11-based Evergreen GPUs could be ready for bloom by late September

by Ross Miller posted Jul 21st 2009 at 7:43PM

Looks like AMD's heading off trail with its upcoming 40nm DirectX 11-based Evergreen series processors. The Inquirer's dug up some details, and while clock speeds are still unknown, the codenames for the lineup include Cypress at the top of the pile, followed by Redwood, then Juniper and Cedar for the mainstream crowd, and finally Hemlock for the lower end. The series could reportedly be ready by late September, which gives a month of breathing room before DX11-supporting Windows 7 hits the scene. Could this give AMD its much-desired lead over NVIDIA? Hard to say, but things should get mighty interesting between now and late October.