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NVIDIA's $99 Jetson Nano is an AI computer for DIY enthusiasts
Sophisticated AI generally isn't an option for homebrew devices when the mini computers can rarely handle much more than the basics. NVIDIA thinks it can do better -- it's unveiling an entry-level AI computer, the Jetson Nano, that's aimed at "developers, makers and enthusiasts." NVIDIA claims that the Nano's 128-core Maxwell-based GPU and quad-core ARM A57 processor can deliver 472 gigaflops of processing power for neural networks, high-res sensors and other robotics features while still consuming a miserly 5W. On the surface, at least, it could hit the sweet spot if you're looking to build your own robot or smart speaker.
Tesla's latest acquisition means better batteries for its future cars
EV owners know what it's like to live with range anxiety, but Tesla's latest investment might make those travel concerns easier to live with. Earlier today, the company confirmed its plans to purchase San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies in a $218 million deal that should see the electric car maker produce more efficient, longer-lasting batteries for its vehicles.
Razer's new 'Blade' laptop has a touchscreen that won't kill battery life
Beating last year's Blade is a tall order, but Razer hopes throwing a fancy new 14-inch, 3,200 x 1,800 touch display into its 2015 gaming laptop will help it do just that. The outfit's using an Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO, for short) panel, and all those pixels are powered by NVIDIA's GeForce 970M GPU that runs on Maxwell architecture. In terms of memory, there's 16GB of RAM (double that of last year) in addition to a maximum 512GB of solid-state storage. All that to say, much like our laptop buyer's guide choice from last year, games will almost assuredly look gorgeous and perform incredibly well here.
NVIDIA's newest GPU crams in tons of power without a hefty price
If you've been tempted by NVIDIA's high-end GTX 970 and 980 video cards, but couldn't justify their high prices, the company's latest entry is made for you. NVIDIA is rounding out its Maxwell family of video cards today with the GTX 960, a desktop GPU that it describes as hitting the "sweet spot" when it comes to price and performance. It's far more powerful than the entry-level GTX 750 and 750 Ti announced a year ago, but at $199 it's significantly cheaper than its high-end siblings (though some variations may be a tad more expensive). Just how powerful is the GTX 960? Enough for you to be able to play modern games like Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed: Unity in 1080p with the highest settings and still get a silky smooth frame rate of 60 FPS -- at least, according to NVIDIA. Expect to see video card makers roll out their GTX 960 cards over the next few weeks.
Alienware's Alpha game console is ready to invade your living room
Eager to get a truly TV-oriented gaming PC without waiting until the official Steam Machine launch in 2015? Alienware is more than happy to oblige: at long last, it's shipping the Alpha console. You can now shell out $549 or more to get a living room-friendly Windows PC with a custom interface designed to work with an included Xbox 360 gamepad. Don't expect an ideal Far Cry 4 machine out of the box, however. Every system can play some modern titles thanks to GeForce GTX 860M graphics, but that base system comes with a modest Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive; you'll have to pay $699 if you want more memory and storage, and at least $799 if you want a faster CPU. This doesn't include a mouse and keyboard, either. Nonetheless, the Alpha could be a solid pick if a PS4 or Xbox One just won't cut it.
NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture brings desktop-class performance and improved battery life to notebooks
Read through NVIDIA's Maxwell desktop GPU announcement, and you might think you were looking at a feature set designed for laptops: lower power consumption, new anti-aliasing technology and a downsampling feature that can force any monitor to display 4K content. It sounds almost like a dream feature set for a portable gaming machine and, well NVIDIA agrees -- today it's officially launching the GeForce GTX 980M and 970M GPUs.
NVIDIA's latest GPU crams 4K images on 1080p displays
Back in February, NVIDIA trotted out the very first desktop GPUs to feature its new Maxwell architecture: the GeForce GTX 750 and 750i. These entry level cards were paragons of efficiency, but they were hardly strong examples of what the company's latest graphics technology was truly capable of. No, NVIDIA revealed those graphics cards today -- the GeForce GTX 980 and 970 desktop GPUs. The new flagship GPUs still benefit from the efficiency gains made by the first generation Maxwell cards, but lean far more heavily on performance. If you're a PC gamer with a GTX 680 or 560 in your tower, these are the cards NVIDIA wants you to upgrade to.
MSI's '3K' gaming Ultrabook lands in the US for $1,999
When we reviewed MSI's GS60 Ghost gaming Ultrabook, we suggested that you hold out for the "3K" (really, 2,880 x 1,620) display of its higher-end cousin, the Ghost Pro. Well, it's here -- you can now buy the Ghost Pro 3K in the US starting at $1,999, complete with that extra-sharp 15.6-inch screen and a 4.4-pound, 0.8-inch thick body that should be easy to carry. You'll also get GeForce GTX 870M graphics that can handle the high resolution, and resource-intensive games should be happy with the quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7 processor, 16GB of memory, 128GB solid-state drive and 1TB hard disk.
Digital Storm's revamped gaming laptops boast extra-speedy NVIDIA graphics
If you've been waiting for a gaming laptop that wrings the most performance out of NVIDIA's new GeForce 800M graphics chips, you may want to check out Digital Storm's freshly revamped laptop line. The Javelin, Lance, Krypton and Behemoth all carry fast dedicated video, ranging from the GeForce GTX 860M (in everything but the Behemoth) all the way to dual GTX 880M chips in higher-end Krypton and Behemoth models. Beyond that, you're mostly paying for screen size and frills. The Lance starts things off at $1,196 for a 15.6-inch 1080p screen, a quad-core 2.4GHz Core i7, 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive. Step up to the $1,430 Lance and you'll get both improved cooling and audio alongside minor spec bumps; the $1,478 Krypton adds a 17.3-inch screen, while the $2,289 Behemoth takes a big leap forward in speed with a GTX 880M GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state primary drive. All of Digital Storm's latest portables are available to order today.
NVIDIA says most laptops die after 50 minutes of gaming, claims new GPUs will double stamina
Thanks to the appearance of a curiously thin MSI gaming laptop at CeBIT a few days ago, we had an inkling that NVIDIA's new batch of laptop GPUs were inbound. Indeed, the 800M series has just become official, with a number of features geared toward portability and battery life. For a start, the lower half of the stack -- the 830M, 840M, 850M and 860M -- has been endowed with the company's latest Maxwell architecture, which allows gaming credentials to be claimed by thinner and lighter machines. The new Gigabyte P74 is a decent example: It contains an 860M inside a 21mm-thick chassis and we managed to play BioShock Infinite on it, running at 1080p and max settings with a frame rate above 40 fps -- that's a level of performance that NVIDIA says would have required a 55mm-thick laptop three years ago. The other big promise with this generation concerns battery life, and it comes courtesy of a setting called "Battery Boost."
MSI supercharges its high-end gaming laptops with NVIDIA Maxwell graphics
It happens every time. NVIDIA unveils its latest GPU architecture, and all your favorite gaming laptops are suddenly getting refreshed internals. And why not? The new silicon promises screaming performance, improved battery life and support for GeForce Experience's ShadowPlay and GameStream features. Naturally, MSI couldn't wait to get its hands on the new technology, and has outfitted its GT Dominator and GE Apache gaming laptops with NVIDIA's new 800M Series GPUs. That said, most of the GT and GE notebooks internals are the same as yesterday's models: fourth-generation Intel Core i7 processors, dual-SSD "Super RAID" storage configurations and customizable LED keyboards. If you're ready to leap into the next generation of PC gaming, however, you've got options. Fans of the GT60 and GT70 series can pick up machines rocking NVIDIA's GTX 870M and 880M GPUs from $1,500. MSI's slimmer GE Apache laptops will start at $1,300, opting for the less powerful GTX 850M and 860M GPUs. We fully expect even more laptop manufacturers to announce GPU refreshes in the coming days, but if you can't wait, MSI is ready right now.
Razer refreshes its Blade gaming laptops with NVIDIA Maxwell GPUs, multitouch support
"Thin and powerful" aren't words we tend to associate with gaming laptops; Razer has always been an exception. The company's Blade and Blade Pro laptops have been challenging our preconceptions for almost three years now, but the shadow of compromise has hung over each iteration of the product in some form or another. Last year, it was the 14-inch model's low-resolution display -- a thinly veiled bottleneck that kept gamers from over-taxing the machine's GPU. That won't be an issue for the laptop's 2014 refresh: Razer announced today that it's outfitting the Razer Blade with a 3,200 x 1,800 IPS panel with multitouch support, a Intel Core i7-4702HQ processor and NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 870M (3GB GDDR5) GPU. It's a loud answer to the issues we had with the last generation. It also takes it one step further from the new 17-inch Razer Blade Pro.
MSI gaming laptop packs next-gen NVIDIA graphics and '3K' display into Ultrabook thickness
A nice little surprise here at CeBIT: A 15.6-inch laptop from MSI that gave us an early look at one of NVIDIA's unannounced 2014 laptop GPUs. MSI's reps at the event wouldn't reveal anything about the new graphics chip (which we guess is based on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture) except that it should be able to handle many of the latest games at high settings on their unit's optional "3K" (2,880 x 1,620) display. The laptop itself is called the GS60 Ghost Pro and it's a pleasure to look at and to hold -- it's just three quarters of an inch thick (19.5mm) and 4.4 pounds (1.99kg) in weight. Check out the gallery below and you'll see that the machine has an understated design that should help it to appeal not only to gamers but also to power users looking for configurations up to Core i7, dual SSD storage (in Super RAID, if you wish) with additional HDD, plus 802.11ac WiFi. Expect units to start shipping in April priced between 1,600 and 2,000 euros ($2,200 to $2,800) depending on your spec choices.
NVIDIA updates its mobile roadmap: Logan and Parker, mobile SoCs packing Kepler and Maxwell GPUs
Thought the new Tegra 4i was the bees knees when it we saw it last month? Well, NVIDIA gave us a bit more info on the next steps in the Tegra roadmap, Logan and Stark Parker. It turns out that these next two mobile platforms will both utilize NVIDIA's CUDA technology, with Logan packing a Kepler GPU and Parker running a Project Denver 64-bit ARM CPU and a next-gen Maxwell GPU. Logan arrives early next year, while Parker won't be in devices until sometime in 2015.
The Wii U accessory onslaught begins in the Scribblenaut-iest way
With a new console comes a world of new accessories. I encountered my first Wii U accessory in PDP's booth, and it's glorious. To go with the Wii U version of Scribblenauts Unlimited, PDP has concocted a cover for the WiiPad designed to mimic Maxwell's "rooster hat."Now that it exists, every Wii U controller that isn't in a rooster hat is a missed opportunity.
NVIDIA's Kepler GPU still (kinda, sorta) on schedule for 2011 debut
Back in September of last year NVIDIA pledged that the successor to Fermi, Kepler, would arrive in 2011. Since then, things have been rather quiet on the next-gen GPU front. In fact, rumors have started to circulate that the 28nm-based chip would be pushed back to 2012. Turns out those rumblings aren't entirely inaccurate. While the latest polygon pushing silicon will start being churned out before it's time to buy a new calendar, final products won't start shipping until next year, as a company rep told TechSpot. Kepler's descendent, Maxwell, is still expected to land sometime in either 2013 or 2014, but there's plenty of time for that timetable to slide back a bit too.
Scribblenauts' Maxwell now available for pre-order in toy form
The adorable Scribblenaut himself, Maxwell, is heading to toy stores this June. First, he's an action figure, complete with a pencil and notebook used to create anything you can dream of. Then while you're dreaming, you can hug a little plush Maxwell, available for $10 plus shipping.
NVIDIA reveals Fermi's successor: Kepler at 28nm in 2011, Maxwell in 2013
Not a lot of details to be had, but NVIDIA wants you to know Fermi isn't the company's be-all, end-all GPU -- "hundreds of engineers" are already hard at work on Codename Kepler, expected to go to production this year and ship in 2011. Kepler's based on a 28nm process, we're told, and will thankfully deliver an estimated 3 to 4 times the performance per watt compared to Fermi, and hopefully run cool. If you built your last PC to last, however, you might wait for Maxwell in 2013, supposedly bringing a sixteen-fold increase in parallel graphics-based computing just two years after that, including advanced features like the ability to autonomously process some content independent of a CPU. Update: Does this roadmap mean we should expect new GPUs from NVIDIA every two years? Jen-Hsun Huang wouldn't commit to that, but said that there will be "mid-life kicker" product launches in-between each new NVIDIA chip to keep the wheels turning.
Super Scribblenauts features a reprogrammed Maxwell
Upon playing Super Scribblenauts, it becomes readily apparent why you'd want to use the D-pad to manipulate the game's hero, Maxwell. So why wasn't that an option in the first game? Joystiq asked 5TH Cell Creative Director Jeremiah Slaczka, and were told that the original touch-screen input didn't draw any complaints -- at least not from casual players. "We haven't gotten any emails from casual users," he told us this week, "that are like, 'Hey, I don't like the controls.' It's the hardcore users that are like, 'I play Mario all of the time, and I'm a hardcore gamer, and I'm used to these kinds of controls, and what's what I want." Though controlling Maxwell directly with the D-pad may seem an obvious choice, it wasn't the first time around. "Maxwell's actually an AI," Slaczka said. "So it wasn't just like throw the D-pad controls in." Maxwell was programmed to respond to the rest of the game's systems rather than just follow button directions, and so it didn't occur to the developers to control him directly. "You'd have to overwrite all of the code that we'd built up for him. So in the second one, we basically did that." The team "stripped out" all of the behaviors and responses that had been coded, and created the option for "one-to-one player control." For his own part, Slaczka says he doesn't care which option players use, but he'll stick with the stylus. "This isn't a platforming game," he said. "This is a puzzle game. Unfortunately, it has a platforming-type feel to it. So we said for the second one, that's fine, we'll address it, we'll give you both. And we actually fixed up the stylus controls, too, so Maxwell doesn't run away as you tap -- when you let go he stops. So we made it way better."
Schizophrenic man kills, says GTA told him to do it
Ezekiel Maxwell, a 17-year-old paranoid schizophrenic on "skunk cannabis," stabbed a woman to death because the "gangster voices" from Grand Theft Auto told him to do it. Although this incident is just being reported now as part of Britain's supposed "skunk cannabis" epidemic, the murder actually occurred last September. Maxwell believed he was Carl Johnson from GTA: San Andreas when he committed the murder and believed the game was telling him to "stab a woman for seven days, it had to be a black Afro-Caribbean woman." The voices took over his thoughts and "made him do things." According to reports he was playing GTA and smoking skunk cannabis for months to the exclusion of everything else before the killing. Maxwell has since been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yesterday he was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after pleading guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
