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Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume
Along with your first day at school, and (for the boys at least) growing your first peach fuzz mustache, many of you might also never forget your first Sound Blaster soundcard. In the present day (unless you're blessed with youth) only the Sound Blaster can be enjoyed again, and today Creative introduces its new Z-series. The latest PCI-Express cards use the firm's Core3D quad-core sound and voice processor and come in three variants: the Sound Blaster ZxR, the Zx and the Z. As you might have guessed, the more letters, the higher up the food chain it is. The flagship ZxR ($249.99) boasts a 127dB SNR, sockets for swappable Op-Amps, 80mW into 600 ohm headphone pre-amp, plus RCA / optical connectivity (via additional daughter board) and an external "ACM" control module for less fiddling around the back of your machine. You can save yourself $100 with the Zx model, if you don't want the ZxR's "DBpro" daughter board, and the Z edition saves a further $50 at the expense of the external controller. Want to dive into the full specifications? Plug in to the PR after the break.
AMD announces 900MHz version of the Radeon HD 7750, calls it 'the other 7750'
The original Radeon HD 7750 won plaudits for its low-wattage performance and $109 price tag, but now AMD's decided to put out an additional version with 100MHz more clock whizz. The new card also happens to be called the Radeon HD 7750, and it'll sit alongside its doppelganger on the shelves of the world's computer stores just daring you spot the difference. How will you do that? By checking if it requires a separate power supply: the original 7750 was powered entirely through the PCIe slot, limiting its power to 75W and hence its clock speed to 800MHz, while the new one accepts additional power to deliver slightly more grunt and stay ahead of looming competition from NVIDIA. XFX has already jumped aboard with the 7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation priced at $115 after a rebate, and AnandTech says other vendors will follow suit. So, unless you're totally out of power jacks, you know what to look for. Image courtesy of Newegg.
PCIe 4.0 inches towards reality, hits 16 gigatransfers per second (that's a thing, right?)
Don't get too excited just yet, but PCIe 4.0 is coming. PCI-SIG, the body that governs the standard, has announced the next evolution of the interface, which should start popping up in servers, desktops, laptops and even tablets around 2015. Sadly, details are pretty slim on the slot -- final specs aren't expected to be announced before 2014. All we know is that PCIe 4.0 will be able to perform 16 gigatransfers per second (GT/s), which tells us only slightly more than jack squat. It simply means that a PCIe 4.0 card will be capable of transferring 16 billion discrete chunks of data per second, twice that of PCIe 3.0. What that doesn't tell us though, is the size of those chunks. If they're the same size, 4.0 will provide double the current bit rate of 1 GB/s per-lane. If, for some reason, the channel width were halved there would be no speed increase -- but we seriously doubt that's the case. So, will we be looking at 32 GB/s PCIe 4.0 x16 GPUs in a few years? That is a definite maybe.
MSI unveils Z68A-GD80 (G3) PCI Express 3.0 motherboard
The long-awaited debut of PCI Express 3.0 is finally here, and it's come aboard MSI's Z68A-GD80 (G3) motherboard. Rocking Intel's latest design standard, this board's packing two PCIe 3.0 -- one x16 and one x8 -- and three PCIe 2.0 slots, two USB 3.0 ports, and four DIMM slots. What's more, the board offers Click BIOS II, for a consistent interface whether you're tweaking at boot time or boosting clock speeds in Windows, and Virtu's switchable graphics. Unfortunately, for you mother lovers, there's still no word on pricing or availability for the Z68A-GD80 (G3). Full PR after the break.
Micron RealSSD P320h can read 3GBps, write 2GBps, impress millions of geeks per second
Speed may be a relative thing, but whatever you choose to compare Micron's new RealSSD P320h series to, you'll probably find them pretty competitive. Coming in 350GB and 700GB capacities, these PCI Express solid state drives can process data at a rate of 3GB per second and write it at a no less impressive 2GBps. If you're more interested in input / output operations per second, the P320h clocks in at 750,000 IOPS when running Linux or 650,000 with Windows Server as the OS. You don't need us to tell you that both numbers represent screaming-fast performance. Such mighty feats are achieved with the use of 34nm SLC NAND flash memory and Micron's own controller chip. Samples of the P320h are trickling out now and mass production is coming in the third quarter of 2011, and while no pricing info has been offered yet, it's safe to say you'll be needing your company CFO's blessing before making any P320h purchases. Video and full PR after the break.
PCI Express makes the 3.0 leap, doubles bandwidth over PCIe 2.0 spec
First Bluetooth, then USB and now PCI Express. It's clearly the era of version 3.0, and given that the PCI Express specification has been humming along at 2.0 speeds for over two years now, we'd say an update was definitely due. Thankfully, the PCI-SIG has announced the availability of the PCIe Base 3.0 specification to its members today, and the highlights are certainly notable. There's a new 128b/130b encoding scheme and a data rate of 8 gigatransfers per second (GT/s), doubling the interconnect bandwidth over the PCIe 2.0 specification. And since we're sure you're fretting it, we'll go ahead and affirm that it maintains backward compatibility with previous PCIe architectures. We're also told that based on this data rate expansion, "it is possible for products designed to the PCIe 3.0 architecture to achieve bandwidth near 1 gigabyte per second (GB/s) in one direction on a single-lane (x1) configuration and scale to an aggregate approaching 32 GB/s on a sixteen-lane (x16) configuration." A lot of technobabble, sure, but one thing's for sure: your next graphics card is bound to murder your current one if paired with a PCIe 3.0 motherboard.
OCZ RevoDrive X2 PCIe SSD reviewed: blisteringly fast in every conceivable way
Hard to say why OCZ Technology pushed out revision two of its RevoDrive so soon after the original launched, but it's hard to complain with numbers like this. Just in time to shock the performance hound in your life with an outlandish Christmas gift comes the RevoDrive X2, and this here PCIe SSD solution has now been benchmarked to the hilt. The bottom line? It's fast. Really fast. In fact, Hot Hardware calls it "simply one of the fastest PCI Express based SSD solutions" that they have tested, noting that it went toe-to-toe with Fusion-io's ioXtreme while costing a good bit less. Critics over at Tweak Town echoed those thoughts, and while both teams felt the $680 asking price for a 240GB model was a touch pricey, neither felt that it wasn't worth it if you've got the coin laying around. Hit the links below for more charts than you'd ever want to see as an eight grader.
OCZ amps up performance on RevoDrive X2 PCIe SSD: 740MB/sec, up to 120k IOPS
Blink, and you've probably missed it. Just four short months after we saw OCZ Technology's original RevoDrive reviewed (and subsequently adored), along comes revision two. The RevoDrive X2 PCI-Express SSD looks, feels and smells the same as the first, but the performance is obviously looking north. The unit we saw introduced at Computex was capable of hitting 540MB/sec, while the X2 pushes that to 740MB/sec and up to 120,000 IOPS -- "nearly triple the throughput of other high-end SATA-based solutions." Furthermore, this guy packs double the SandForce SF-1200 controllers (four versus two in the original), and it retains the onboard RAID 0 design that you've come to know and love. It's available as we speak in 100GB to 960GB capacities, but there's nary a mention of price; something tells us that you're probably not the target market if you have to ask. %Gallery-106194%
CalDigit brings USB 3.0 AV Drive to the Mac, still working on peace in the Middle East (video)
With Intel showing signs of jumping on board, USB 3.0 is looking more and more like the one next-gen interconnect to rule them all. Them all except for Apple, of course, who has notably thrown its support exclusively behind Light Peak. The chums at Cupertino have no interest in newer, bluer revisions of USB, but enterprise storage firm CalDigit thinks that many Apple lovers will. It has developed USB 3.0 PCIe and ExpressCard adapters (plus the necessary drivers) that will bring 5Gbps transfers to Macs, and is releasing its CalDigit AV Drive to match, up to 2TB of external storage with 145MBps transfers. (It also sports FireWire 800 compatibility if you're not ready to cross the interface picket line just yet.) That PCIe adapter will set you back a not entirely unreasonable $59, while the 1TB external drive is $199. No price on the ExpressCard adapter or 2TB version yet, but all are said to be shipping presently. Update: As bhillyer70 pointed out in comments, these are now available in the CalDigit store. The 2TB drive will set you back $299, while the ExpressCard adapter is listed at $69 and sports this somewhat troubling disclaimer: "CalDigit does not guarantee USB 3.0 performance on all Macs or when used in conjunction with third party products. The driver has been optimized for CalDigit certified products." Perhaps we should re-open those peace talks...
Atheros and Wilocity embrace 'tri-band' wireless wares, 60GHz wireless PCIe
The amount of dual-band products (you know, those that support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands) is slowly growing, but already a pair of companies are thinking about the next big thing: tri-band. Atheros and Wilocity have both been eying that 60GHz stuff that the WiGig Alliance is pushing around these days, and now they're announcing a collaboration to "build tri-band wireless solutions that combine the ubiquity and coverage of WiFi with the multi-gigabit performance of the Wireless Gigabit Alliance's 60GHz technology." The new gear would enable all sorts of backwards compatibility, and while there aren't too many details being shared just yet on exactly what kind of kit is in the pipeline, we do know of one particular tidbit. That tidbit, of course, is wireless PCI Express, or wPCIe. Developed by Wilocity, this black magic would essentially enable PCIe devices to be docked outside of the desktop and have their signals beamed to a receiver card within the desktop. Think external graphics, storage arrays, etc., all sans cabling. It's being reported that wPCIe can push data at up to 5Gbps, and if all goes to plan, the spec should scale easily to 7Gbps. Be sure to give the links below a visit for a deeper dive, and get ready to give that SFF machine you've often overlooked... well, another look.
NZXT's Sentry LXE touchscreen fan controller turns you into Storm, minus the cheese
We know, you're probably scoffing at those mortals still using "fans" to "cool their gaming rigs," but unless you've thrown down the cheddar on a swank liquid cooling solution, you'll probably find yourself at least mildly interested here. NZXT has taken a break from the mice and keyboard routine to break out a rather unique piece of kit in the Sentry LXE. This touchscreen fan controller connects to one's desktop via PCIe, and from there provides finger control of up to five internal fans. Users can adjust each one individually, set it to automatically keep the machine at a given temperature or create a silence that would spook even the Reaper. As you'd expect, there's an inbuilt temperature alarm to notify you if temps head north of a designated point, and all this fun awaits you in exchange for a low, low $59.99. Head on past the break if you're in need of a video demonstration.
Green House delivers USB 3.0-friendly PCI Express interface card
Like it or not (and honestly, why would you not?), USB 3.0 is upon us, and we're guessing it's just a matter of time before every single USB peripheral in the entire world is equipped with SuperSpeed support. Exaggerations aside, there's still a good chance that you'll snap up an item or two over the course of your life that could benefit from hastier transfer rates, and that's where Green House comes in. The Japanese-based outfit has just revealed a USB 3.0-compatible PCI Express interface card, enabling mildly ancient desktops to gain USB 3.0 support by simply slapping a card into a free PCIe slot. The company claims that you'll see maximum data transfer rates of 5Gbps, but you'll have to wait a few more months to snag it for ¥3,780 ($42).
PCI Express 3.0 specification formally delayed, products pushed to 2011
We've been enjoying (or just dealing with, depending on perspective) PCI Express 2.0 since early 2007, and it now looks as if we may still be utilizing said protocol come early 2011. Way back in June of '08, we began to hear whispers that the next iteration of the technology would be finalized by the end of this year, but now the PCI SIG has formally delayed the release of the specification until the second quarter of 2010. What does that mean for the consumer? Try coping with the fact that you won't see a PCIe 3.0 product until 2011. As the story goes, the delay was needed in order to "maintain backward compatibility with current PCI Express standards," and while the technical details of all that may interest some, it's the awfully unfortunate setback that's most notable here. But hey, at least all those PCIe 1.0 cards that are still totally relevant will work with your next (next-next?) PC![Via Reg Hardware]
CasaTunes pipes multiple audio streams to multiple rooms
Need another option for streaming multiple jams to multiple places? Enter CasaTunes, which is debuting a pair of devices along with accompanying software today at CEDIA. The CasaTunes XLi sits neatly within just about any desktop PC, and when connected to a CasaTunes XLa or third-party amplifier (plus speakers, natch), users can stream five separate sources of music to up to six rooms. Yeah, as in it'll manage which tracks are being pumped to which rooms. The entirely more professional CasaTunes XLe (pictured) is a rack-mount version of the XLi that adds support for 12 rooms and can be scaled up to support four boxes (or 48 rooms). There's built-in support for playing back songs coated with Microsoft's DRM, though there's no mention of any others. As for pricing / availability, expect the XLi to ship in September for $999 while the XLe departs sometime in Q4 for $1,699. Full release is after the break. %Gallery-30203%
Saber's DA-1N1-I analog / digital combo PCI TV tuner
While most of the hybrid tuners we see 'round these parts are of the USB variety, Saber's DA-1N1-I is looking out for those of us needing a new occupant in a lonely PCI slot -- but we'd be careful calling it a "hybrid." This low-profile "combo" card should be ideal for HTPCs, and offers up an analog NTSC tuner with hardware decoding as well as a QAM-capable ATSC tuner for grabbing those high-definition OTA broadcasts. Meant to operate in Windows Vista and MCE scenarios, this sucka can even be installed beside a clone of itself for freaks that would actually use a dual analog / dual digital tuner setup, and the low, low price of around $99 ought to garner quite a bit of attention.
Matrox unveils Extio F1220 remote graphics extender
Although it's not likely that you'll want your optical drives to be 820 feet away from you at all times under normal circumstances, we're sure we could envision a few scenarios where it'd be beneficial (or at least rather nifty). Matrox is adding another unit to its Extio lineup with the F1220 (closeup after the break), which gives users the ability to extend up to two displays, audio, twin FireWire connections, and up to six USB devices 820 feet from the workstation. Marketed for use in "mission-critical systems, media creation, broadcasting, control rooms, and digital signage applications," this remote graphics unit (RGU) supports resolutions up to 1,920 x 1,200, 128MB of graphics memory, and features fanless operation and a Matrox-designed graphics chip within. The unit it connected to a Matrox PCI or PCI-Express Extio adapter and the data is transferred over a "standard multi-mode fiber-optic cable with Dual-LC connectors." As for availability, the firm's latest RGU won't land until sometime in Q2, and while pricing is currently unlisted, you've got a few months to save up for this presumably costly piece if you so desire.[Via PCLaunches]
PCI Express goes 2.0, transfer rate doubles
Folks sure busted out the champagne when PCI Express took the wand from AGP, and while this announcement isn't quite as monumental, doubling transfer speeds ain't nothing to balk at. PCI-SIG, the higher-ups involved in rolling out new PCI Express protocols, unveiled today the PCIe Base 2.0 specifications, which noted that the "interconnect bit rate" would be heading from 2.5GT/s to 5GT/s to better "support high-bandwidth applications." The primary benefits extending from the revamped standard include "faster signaling, increasing the aggregate bandwidth of a 16-lane link to approximately 16 Gbps," and of course, the backwards compatibility with current PCIe 1.1 products. Notably, Intel's "Bearlake" family of chipsets will purportedly support PCI Express 2.0, and if all goes as planned, should start shipping "next quarter."[Via RegHardware]
SMC ships trio of draft-spec 802.11n networking gear
It looks the barrage of draft-spec 802.11n gear being released isn't slowing down anytime soon, and helping the yet-to-be-ratified protocol gain more ground is SMC. Making good on its promise to ship draft-N gear, the networking company has reportedly launched the Barricade N, which utilizes "multi-antenna MIMO support" to connect at rates of "up to 300Mbps," sports a four-port Ethernet switch, and can automatically prioritize duties such as music / video streaming to keep things skip-free. Complementing the new router are pre-N versions of the company's EZ Connect CardBus and PCI wireless adapters, which will give your lappie or desktop the ability to take advantage of the ultra-speedy 802.11n standard. All three devices are purportedly available right now, with the Barricade N selling for $120, the PCMCIA adapter demanding $80, and the PCI card costing $90.
I-O Data unveils internal / external Vista-approved TV tuners
In a bid to become one of the first in what's sure to be a mile-long list, I-O Data is launching two new TV tuners that tout Windows Vista compatibility. Making sure that both laptop and desktop owners alike are satisfied, the firm has released both a PCI flavor (GV-MC/RX3) and an external edition (GV-MC/TZ), but both units handle essentially the same capturing and channeling duties, save for the RX3's handy coaxial input, of course. Both units feature S-Video / composite inputs, 10-bit DACs, noise reduction capabilities, and the assurance of functioning perfectly in Microsoft's forthcoming operating system. Optionally, the couch-dwellers out there can spring for the IR remote kit (¥4,230; $36), which provides your standard volume, channel, and playback controls, as well as a few "Media Center-centric" buttons to keep your PVR on track. Both tuners / converters are slated to hit shelves in "late January" to coincide with that looming OS release date, and while the RX3 will run you ¥12,500 ($105), the TZ will demand ¥14,600 ($123).[Via Impress]
AIseek's Intia Processor provides dedicated AI crunching
With competition for those spare PCI slots already hot between dedicated sound, physics, and even network cards -- all promising to offload some CPU cycles to speed frame rates and enhance performance -- you've gotta hand it to AIseek for pushing out their new Intia "AI processor" in such a climate. The way it's looking from here, we just need more PCI slots, since the AIseek promises all sorts of Artificial Intelligence leetness that just needs to be had. They're saying that they can accelerate low-level AI tasks 200x compared to a lone CPU, giving NPCs better terrain analysis, line-of-sight sense, path finding and the like. AIseek also guarantees NPCs will be able to find the optimal path in any game that uses the chip, pathfinding abilities we've gone without for too long. Basically: more baddies, less stupidity. Unfortunately, the "chip" doesn't quite seem to exist in anything close to a retail form -- AIseek mainly seems to be after VC money right now -- and of course there's always the chicken and the egg problem being experienced by PhysX of no games until people buy the card, and nobody will buy the card without games. All the same, we're hoping for good things from this technology, and would recommend you peep the read link for some simulations of the AI in action.[Via Ars Technica]
