pci express
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OCZ gets official with Z-Drive PCI-Express SSD
Technically, OCZ outed this here PCI-Express SSD way back at CeBIT in March, but it's just now making things super official. Now available with a fresh face and hard specifications, the Z-Drive is aiming to take on wares by firms like Fusion-io and provide blistering transfer rates to anyone who buys in. Essentially, this device removes the SATA bottleneck by employing the PCIe architecture and four Vertex controllers configured in four-way RAID 0 array. Curious about performance? Read speeds can hit upwards of 510MB/sec, while write speeds top out at 480MB/sec -- plenty respectable in our eyes. OCZ's planning to push these out in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB capacities, and while final pricing is still being kept under wraps, we're told that it'll be kept "competitive."
Fusion-io breaks out roomy, nimble ioDrive Duo SSDs
While it's going to be tough for Fusion-io to get its ioDrive any faster in the near term, it ain't so tough to make the world's fastest storage more capacious. Shortly after pulling The Woz in as its chief scientist, said outfit has just revealed the next-generation ioDrive, predictably coined ioDrive Duo. The PCI Express-based solution throws 160GB, 320GB, 640GB or 1.28TB of stupid fast SSD storage directly onto your motherboard, enabling it to boast sustained read bandwidth of 1,500MB/sec and write bandwidth of 1,400MB/sec. The smallest three will be available next month for prices we don't even want to guess, while the 1.28TB model is slated to ship shortly after OCZ's 1TB Z Drive in the latter half of 2009.[Via HotHardware]
NEC produces Wireless USB host controller, on the hunt for end products
Oh sure, Wireless USB products are out there, but they're pretty far out there. We're talking deep back shelf type stuff. NEC Electronics is hoping to get the cord-free version of the well known peripheral standard into more and more gizmos by cranking out the uPD720171 Wireless USB host controller. The unit was designed with the PCI Express bus interface in mind, and it can also provide laptops with connectivity via the ExpressCard slot. The company claims that the $10 device can handle transfers up to 480Mbps within a range of three meters, but you'll be waiting a little while yet before testing out said claim in a finalized product.[Via SlashGear]
PCI Express 3.0 details surface
PCI 2.0's doubled-up speed boost was something to celebrate, but think again if you're looking for such a bump with PCI Express 3.0. The PCI SIG started eking out some details about the new standards, and as of now it looks like PCI express 3.0 will see transfers speeds of 8-gigatransfers per second, compared to 2.0's 5.0-gigatransfers per second. Channel width and transfer protocol will ultimately determine the amount of information transferred, of course, so the new standard could have some tricks up its sleeves. The good news is that PCI Express 3.0 will use the same connector and will be backwards-compatible with 2.0. PCI Express' specifications should be complete in 2009 with a rollout in 2010, so don't go stressing about your motherboard's I/O options just yet.
Creative reveals Fatal1ty-approved Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
Considering that you've already spent way too much on that totally over-hyped Killer NIC, why not humor yourself further by snagging a sound card with Johnathan Wendel's prints on it. Proving once again that everyone does indeed have a price, famed gamer Fatal1ty has placed his highly respected seal of approval on a new duo of sound cards from Creative. The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series and PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series devices boast the X-Fi enhancements you've come to expect, vivid new designs, unmistakable packaging and the assurance that the latter is the "official sound card of the CGS." As for pricing, the Pro edition is available to pre-order for $149.99, while the CGS model adds in an internal I/O drive and demands $199.99. Hit the read link for more detailed specifications and way too much gloating.[Via CustomPC]
DViCO launches PCIe-based FusionHDTV7 dual HDTV tuner card
Heads-up, OTA lovers. DViCO has just announced the formal launch of its FusionHDTV7 PCI-Express card, which claims to be the "world's first dual HD (digital or QAM) tuner PCIe card." The device is designed to pick up digital (ATSC) / analog (NTSC) terrestrial signals, and the twin silicon tuners also provide picture-in-picture support as well as the ability to watch and / or record two high-definition broadcasts simultaneously. And at just $140 (available now), we have a feeling this one's going to be a fan favorite.[Via TVSquad]
ViewCast intros Osprey-450e PCI Express capture card
Certainly not your grandmother's capture card, ViewCast's Osprey-450e is aimed directly at the professionals browsing the NAB Show aisles in Las Vegas. The quad-channel capture card takes advantage of the ultra-speedy PCI Express interface and comes "optimized for live streaming video applications with features such as logo bitmap overlay with transparency, positioning controls and the ability to automatically detect and adapt on-the-fly when the input video format changes from movie frame rates to television frame rates." ViewCast even threw in "additional internal video inputs and four additional balanced audio inputs that can be utilized as alternatives to the rear panel connectors." Not a clue what the company plans on charging for this gem (nor any idea what it looks like -- that's the Osprey-440 shown), but we're sure all that will be revealed shortly after the show floor closes down.
Fusion-io's ioDrive puts power of a SAN on a PCIe card
In a recent demonstration at DEMOFall '07, Fusion-io showed off its newest PCIe device, which reportedly "places the power of a SAN (storage area network) in the palm of your hand." Essentially, this single device boasts up to 640GB of storage capacity, delivers 100,000 IOPS (input / output per second) and can achieve sustained data rates of 800Mb/sec (read) and 600Mb/sec (write)." In marketing terms, the ioDrive can perform "nearly a thousand times faster than any existing disk drive," and it can reportedly be integrated into existing data centers or workstations without any alterations to your infrastructure. Next quarter, the outfit will begin shipping the card in 40GB, 80GB, 160GB and 320GB configurations (with the 640GB flavor to follow suit), but unfortunately, official prices have not yet been divulged. Oh, and be sure to check out a video of the ioDrive's unveiling here.[Via TGDaily]
Diamond planning HD 2900 XT-based 2GB VFX 2000 pro GPU?
Diamond is no stranger to packin' an awful lot of RAM onto graphics cards, and apparently, the forthcoming VFX 2000 Series Professional Workstation GPU will keep the legacy alive. According to Hot Hardware, Diamond is readying a 2GB (of GDDR4 memory, no less) professional card based on the R600 (now known as the HD 2900 XT), and reportedly, "the card's PCB has been modified from the standard HD 2900 XT reference design to support the workstation-class features inherent to the FireGL line of professional graphics cards." Still, there's no word yet on what frequencies the GPU and RAM will hum along at, but word on the street has this beast launching "in the coming weeks." Click on for another glimpse.
Apple offers PCI Express RAID Card in Mac Pro
As if Cupertino didn't give you enough to chew on today, it looks like the Mac Pro received a small update as well. 'Course, it seems pretty minute until you check out the pricetag ($999, for those wondering), but nevertheless, users looking to maximize their machine can now opt for a PCI Express RAID card to come built right in. The card promises "up to 304MBps of sequential read performance in RAID 0" and supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 0+1, and Enhanced JBOD. Moreover, it sports 256MB of cache and an integrated 72-hour battery for protection, and while the machine ships with each hard drive individually configured in the Enhanced JBOD level, you can migrate the drives into a RAID setup of your choosing without reinstalling OS X by tapping into Apple's RAID Utility software.[Thanks, Alex]
Magma ExpressBox mates PCI Express with ExpressCard
Desktop users longing to take advantage of ExpressCards on their machines have long since been quieted, but for laptopers looking to somehow stuff a PCI Express card into that diminutive slot, your prayer has been answered. Magma's ExpressBox / Express Box Pro allows users to operate a PCIe card up to 6.604- / 12.283-inches in length by handling up to 250MB/sec, providing dedicated power and cooling solutions, and playing nice with Windows XP, Vista, and OS X. The breakout box sports a fliptop lid for quickly changing out PCIe cards, and after installing the appropriate drivers, users will have full functionality of a PCI Express card right on their portable machine. Notably, these iterations only support cards that require 55-watts of power or less, and the company notes that gamers wishing to cram power-sucking GPUs into these boxes need to wait for the next revision before giving it a whirl. Even still, you better need the PCIe portability mighty bad to rely on one of these, as the ExpressBox and ExpressBox Pro will run you a stiff $729 or $749, respectively.[Via Macworld]
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]
Ageia building PCI Express version of PhysX card
Nothing much to see here, but Ageia is apparently prepping a PCI Express version of their PhysX card -- which is currently only available in PCI form. The new card boasts of zero performance improvements, since the original isn't even close to maxing out a PCI bus, but doesn't PCI Express just sound more exciting? We suppose if you've got all your PCI slots full-up with a sound card, Killer NIC and some AI Processing, a free PCI-E x1 slot might be your only option, but otherwise we can't imagine a huge demand for this card when this starts shipping sometime October-ish. Ageia also launched a new version of the PhysX SDK today, with Vista 64-bit and Linux support, along with a new "Realitymark" benchmark system to convince the unwashed masses that buying a PCI E dedicated physics card with near zero game support is a decent value proposition.
Great PC games without hardcore hardware
If you've got more important things to spend your hard-earned cash on than PC hardware, GameSpot has compiled a list of ten best selling games that can co-exist comfortably with outdated rigs. Both Athlon test systems were equipped with only 256MB of memory, but one system used an AGP Radeon 9250 video card, while the other had a PCI Express GeForce 6200 installed.Games that you would expect to see on a list of low-tech wonders (by today's standards) are here, such as StarCraft and Half-Life: Counter Strike. However, I was more than a little surprised to see resource hogs Heroes of Might and Magic V and Civilization IV included, even at lowered texture and shader settings. Indeed, the review team experienced framerate problems with Heroes V on the PCI Express system. Still, each game performed admirably on at least one of GameSpot's test configurations, and with entries like Sid Meier's Pirates! and GTA: San Andreas included on the list, there's something for everyone. We'd like to hear which PC games (ancient and current) you've been enjoying on older setups.
Kuroutoshikou brings ExpressCards to your desktop
Japanese manufacturer Kuroutoshikou looks to be one of the first, if not the first, to bridge the gap between your ExpressCard and your desktop computer with its new PCI Express-based adapter. Just pop the low-profile card into an available PCIe slot, slide in your ExpressCard of choice (54 or 34, it would seem), and in no time you'll be rocking card-based SATA, tuners, and EV-DO as no one intended it -- confined to your desk. As a bonus, Kuroutoshikou will also give you an extra USB 2.0 port. Look for the card to be available in Japan later this month for ¥4,980, or just over $40 US if you're planning on doing the importing thing.[Via Impress]
Sierra Wireless shows voice-capable mini cards
If talking into your laptop is your thing, Sierra Wireless' new line of 3G PCI Express mini cards are poised to make your day. Available in HSDPA 2100 with 1.8Mbps downstream, 3.6Mbps HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100, and 3.1Mbps EV-DO rev. A flavors, the cards go beyond the typical WWAN data devices for your PC by offering voice capability as well. Though we're sure the intended use here is via a wired or Bluetooth headset, we can't help but chuckle at the thought of holding a telephone conversation by holding your laptop to your head all flip-phone style.[Via Slashphone]
MiniPC goes Core Duo with the LF800
Japanese consumers looking for yet another Mac mini-style PC will soon be able to pick up the LF800 from miniPC, which won't run as silently as the ED612E we recently saw from this same company, but delivers a much more impressive set of specs. Instead of that pokey 1.2GHz VIA Eden processor powering the last offering, this model throws down a Core Duo T2300, while also doubling the RAM to 512MB and jacking up the hard drive capacity from 40GB to 250GB. If that particular configuration doesn't suit your needs then you're in luck, because you can also pick up a bare bones model that includes integrated Intel graphics, a PCI-Express x16 slot, and CF reader, along with gigabit Ethernet, FireWire, USB 2.0, S/PDIF, and S-Video ports. Both the fully assembled rig as well as the DIY version will be available sometime this month, with the former going for around $1,080 and the latter priced just under $600.[Via Impress]
