Dell To Intro AMD Powered Server, PC amp; Notebooks

Dell kills off Mini 10 netbooks

Just a few years ago, netbooks dominated the portable computer market with their small form factor and affordable price tags. But that has changed with the increasing popularity of tablet devices, andthe slim and stylish Ultrabooks which were launched recently. The netbooks have gone quiet and slowly becoming non-existent. According to a Dells spokesperson,the product line isfinished and the focus would be shifted to "thin and powerful" notebooks, which may mean that the company is also releasing their own line ofUltrabooks. With the entry-level netbook product line being killed off, it leavesthe question on what would occupyinthat place. Well, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is just weeks away, and perhaps the company would have some announcements on that.

Source: Techcrunch

Europe to get universal smartphone charger

We all love our smartphones for what they are capable of, but that fondness can, and usually quickly turns into one of loathing when the aforementioned device decides to run out of battery juice at the most inconvenient moment possible, and the charger your friend uses is incompatible with your device. Yep, that sounds like one of the most common ways to ruin your entire day.

However, it seems that the EU is all too keen on ensuring that such situations never happen again, at least in its own territories. To that end, the EU Commission has rolled out an initiative that will see the adoption of a universal charger for popular data-enabled smartphones sold in the region and is expected to be available for consumer use by the end of 2011.

Of course, this might be much ado over nothing, since the aforementioned universal charger consists of little more than the standard micro-USB port which most smartphone OEMs currently make use of for their devices today. However, not all OEMs have adopted micro-USB as the charging port of choice, and as such the EU has reportedly deemed it fit to continue its campaign to make sure that every single manufacturer eventually plays nice with the universal charging port.

Curiously, Apples name shows up in the list of original signatories who have agreed to support the universal charging standard in spite of having been using its own proprietary cable for a long time already. Then again, the specifications for the universal charger explicitly allow for the use of adaptors. Interesting.

Source: One Charger For All via The Awesomer

Dell Quietly Updates Online Store With IPS Panel-Totting ST2220T Touchscreen Monitor

Ever since OS X first debuted multitouch support in its first Macbook Air, operating system developers have been scrambling in an effort to add in such features into the next iteration of their operating system. The result is that Windows 7 now boasts built-in support for multitouch, while Linux distros are starting to see some rudimentary support via various kernel modules and the X.org display layer.

But even then, having such support means nothing if one does not have a device which is capable of taking advantage of these features. Fortunately, OEMs have been moving to respond to the new demand by introducing touchscreen monitors said to be capable of such features. And today, it appears that the choices for multitouch monitors just got a little better with Dell's latest entry, the 21.5-inch ST2220T monitor.

At first glance, the ST2220T monitor appears to be nothing more than the typical touchscreen monitor sold by most OEMs in the market today. However, a quick look at its product page reveals that the ST2220T is more than what it seems, According to Dell, the ST2220T makes use of an A-frame which offers extremely wide tilting angles to suit a user's specific needs and environment. In addition, Dell boasts a high dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1 for exceptional clarity and detail reproduction.

The real draw though, stems from the fact that Dell's ST2220T touchscreen monitor does not make use of the standard twisted nematic panels found in most typical LCD monitors. Instead, the ST2220T sports premium IPS panels which are said to be vastly superior to twisted nematic panels in terms of accurate colour reproduction and viewing angles. Dell claims that the IPS panels used for the ST2220T are capable of viewing angles up to 178 degrees (vertical and horizontal) with response times as low as 8miliseconds with overdrive, so users are not likely to experience ghosting in most normal circumstances.

Of course, with such specifications, one would expect the Dell ST2220T to cost a small fortune. And the good news is that users will not have to sacrifice an arm or a leg to pay for the monitor: Dell's website states that the ST2220T is currently available for sale at S$529, but online buyers get to enjoy a huge discounted price of only S$399. Which, when one thinks about it, is actually rather reasonable for a monitor making use of IPS panels. So if you are having a hard time thinking of what to do with that Christmas money of yours, here is a very good suggestion on what it could be spent on without having to suffer the wife's wrath.

Source: Dell Singapore

EVGA Introduces 9800GX2 Superclocked, KO amp; SSC Cards

EVGA is now introducing an update to the fastest graphics solution, the EVGA9800GX2 Superclocked, KO and SSC. Up to 86.4 Billion/sec Texture Fill Rate onthe SSC Model gives you the ultimate in extreme performance. 100% testingensures the highest level of performance and stability possible. This same levelof testing and quality allowed Vince “k|ngp|n” Lucido to hit nearly 30,000points with a single EVGA 9800GX2. EVGA makes the GX2 even more extreme givingyou the ultimate in high-definition gaming performance. Specs at a glance : 2x65nm GPU’s @ 675MHz, 256 Stream Processors at 1674MHz, 2.1GHz memory clock.

Dassault Syst Atilde; uml;mes endorses first 3DVIA Virtools

Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced its
endorsement of the first 3DVIA Virtools course in Singapore. New York University Tisch School of the Arts Asia will be offering the “3D Interactive Studio Using Virtools” workshop from March 24 to 28. The five-day course is aimed at training the growing community of Dassault Systèmes’ 3DVIA Virtools users in Singapore.

The intensive workshop will cover 3D design, introduction to the Virtools roadmap, creating a game, designing applications for scientific virtualization, and introduction to virtual worlds and communities.

3DVIA Virtools is a complete development and deployment platform with an innovative approach to interactive 3D content creation. The 3DVIA Virtools production process facilitates prototyping and robust development up to large-scale, immersive or online, life-like experience delivery.

New York University Tisch School of the Arts, one of the world’s leading arts schools, set up the Asia campus in 2007. 3DVIA Virtools is used in Tisch School of the Arts Asia’s Animation and Digital Arts program. Jean-Marc Gauthier, Director of Animation and Digital Arts MFA program and Assistant Arts Professor will be the workshop instructor.

“3DVIA Virtools users in Singapore are looking for more knowledge and skills training to use the software. As experienced 3DVIA Virtool users ourselves, our school will share our expertise so that more people can use this tool more effectively and creatively for 3D design, animation and gaming,” said Gauthier, an interactive artist, author and entrepreneur whose work ranges from computer games to animation and virtual spaces.

The school has capacity for 12 participants for the “3D Interactive Studio Using Virtools” workshop, which will be held at its premises at 3 Kay Siang Road.
“This workshop is just the start. As the number of 3DVIA Virtools users is increasing around the region, we may work with Tisch School of the Arts Asia to offer more workshops to regional users,” said Joseph De Bonnafos, Business Development Manager, 3DVIA of Dassault Systemes Singapore Pte Ltd.

Those interested in attending 3D Interactive Studio Using Virtools can email pd59@nyu.edu or visit http://www.tischasia.nyu.edu.sg/object/virtoolstraining.

Exclusive hands on pictures of ASRock's new Gen3 motherboards

Last week details of ASRocks new PCI Express 3.0 motherboards appeared on the web and today we bring you exclusive hands on pictures of the Z68 Extreme3 and Z68 Extreme7. ASRock will be using the new styling for all of its upcoming motherboards, so expect a lot more black and gold in the future, the only exception being the Fatal1ty boards of course.

Neither board holds any real secrets beyond the specs that were posted last week, but this is the first high-resolution, detailed picture of the Z68 Extreme3. A couple of things with missed with regards to the rear I/O of the Z68 Extrem3 includes a PS/2 port and optical S/PDIF out. The board also sports a POST80 debug LED which is an unusual feature for a board this far down in the pecking order. The Z68 Extreme3 is in our opinion looking like the Z68 board to get from ASRock if youre looking for something that wont be horrendously expensive, yet offering a well-balanced feature set.

Moving on we have the Z68 Extreme7 and were still quite flabbergasted that ASRock has made a board like this. All of the heatsinks are screwed on and the attention to detail is very high. Some interesting things that we thought we should point out is that ASRock is using two SATA 6Gbps controllers from ASMedia for this board, but more interestingly it also has a pair of Broadcom Ethernet controllers. A peculiar addition we also noticed is a pin-header for a PS/2 port, although no actual port is supplied as far as were aware.

As it happens, a UK online retailer has listed a price for the Z68 Extreme7 and as we mentioned last week, its going to be expensive. The board is listed at £250 (S$490) which makes it one of the most expensive Z68 boards out there pretty much only beaten by Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z so far.

Wed like to pick up on something here, namely PCI Express 3.0. According to ASRock, any current 6-series motherboard should at least in theory work with PCI Express 3.0, but as soon as you involve lane switches you run into problems unless the switches are PCI Express 3.0 compliant. Sandy Bridge does not have hidden support for PCI Express 3.0 and you wont be seeing any performance advantage until Ivy Bridge comes out, or at least this is not something that ASRock has seen in their testing.

Weve put a few more pictures of the boards on the next page, alongside with a few pictures of the Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3. Do note that the boards we looked at were pre-production boards and the heatsink finish isnt that of final products. ASRock is also running a competition at the moment where you can win one of its new Gen3 boards, so if youre keen on getting one, head over to the competition website.

Dell teases unnamed 15-inch ultrathin notebook PC

Are you the kind of user to believes that notebooks should come with large displays in order to make it easy for the mobile professional to read through walls of text without having to squint like how it is done on smaller-sized notebooks? Well, if you are, you are in luck: Dell has officially announced the existence of a brand-new 15-inch notebook up its sleeves which it touts as one of the thinnest such notebooks to exist, and has even released a few teaser images to show off just how thin and well-designed the notebook is.

Of course, Dell had taken measures to ensure that it did not reveal any more information than it needed to in order to capture the audiences attention, and the press release we were issued with seems to confirm that fact. However, Dell did mention that the ultrathin 15-inch tablet will be powered by either an Intel Core i5 or an i7 processor, and that the casing used to house the notebooks hardware is less than an inch thin. More importantly, the images released by Dell seems to suggest that the unnamed notebooks casing will be built out of metal instead of the tough plastic favoured by most OEMs today.

As expected, the press release contains no information about the notebooks release date and pricing, though Dell did mention that it will be keeping us in the loop for any further updates about the unnamed notebook, so do check back for updates.

DFI INFINITY NF570 SLI-M2 G

Only two months before the end of the year, Channel’s sales promotion is allaround. Players who want to assemble a new system will not let this chance slipby. Besides, several CPU socket transactions are being formed this year. Gameplayers and overclocking players should have all focused on the fiery market ofmotherboards. At this time, pro-gamers who desires advanced game performance orplayers who have just begun playing games are all searching for a suitablemotherboard to suit their satisfaction. If this kind of motherboard exists, itwill not only meet advanced users’ upgrade requirement for assembling computers(for example, it can support the latest advanced AM2 CPU, run with the fastestDDR2 800 RAM, and support the most fancy gaming graphic solution--- NVIDIA SLIplatform), but will also allow rookie gamers to own ordinary devices and meettheir assembling requirements with reasonable prices under the uttermostlimitation. Would this motherboard be the "dream board" that you are searchingfor? Today, DFI announces the launching of INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard,and it is the "dream board" that gamers looking for.

INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G Motherboard supports AMD's latest AM2 processor andis integrated with NVIDIA's powerful nForce 570 SLI chipset. It also supportsthe best graphic solution NVIDIA SLI, DDR2-800 RAM, RAID0, RAID1, RAID0+1, andRAID5, which not only meet high end players' assembling requirement, but is alsoqualified to be used in a Game Servers. On the other hand, this motherboard ownsexcellent overclocking potential, and has a reasonable price, so it is verysuitable for various levels of players and users.

In addition, to satisfy different requirements for different players, withthe launching of INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard, DFI also launchesINFINITY NF570 M2/g motherboard and INFINITY NF550 M2/g motherboard.

Born for advanced games---NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI (INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/Gmain board only)
When talking about DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G , we have to talk about themotherboard's integrated NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI chipset. The market location ofNVIDIA nForce 570 SLI chipset is locked on game community. It is customizedespecially for game players. This chipset uses FirstPacket™ technology. It setspriority for network data transferring, thereby lowering the transferringlatency of importent file data. It also uses DualNet® technology (When sendingdata to other PCs, via the method of coordination, Dual Ethernet ports offerdouble Ethernet transferring bandwidth). Besides, MediaShield™ Storingtechnology owned by NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI chipset can optimize the managementand performance of HDD and RAID, thereby raising the usage efficiency of HDD,and ensuring the safety of data storage. In addition to the game, it is helpfulfor the processing and backup for a great amount of multimedia data.

An advance 3D graphic rendering INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard only
SLI has been famous for a long time. This NVIDIA unique technology entered themainstream market at the end of 2004, and became the symbol of advanced displaycard. SLI technology supports dual display cards, thereby bringing doublegraphic operation effects and powerful 3D performances for the system. As forgaming, games such as Doom3, Half Life 2, and latest Older scroll: Oblivion,etc., all consume hardware resources extravagantly on 3D rendering and lighteffects recently to create shocking visual effects to attract players. Throughthe 3D operation of totally x 8 SLI technology enhancement, it will demonstratemost realistic, shocking, and fastest game visual to all players. DFI INFINITYNF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard is designed with 2 PCI Express x16 slots, andtotally supports truely high-speed SLI technology(single VGA runs in x16).

Supporting DDR2-800 RAM
Comparing to DDR RAM, DDR2 has high frequency, higher transfering bandwidth, andbetter overclocking performance. DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboardsupports DDR2 RAM up to DDR2-800 specs.

Powerful overclocking performance
Excellent overclocking performance has been the common view from motherboardcompanies to DFI products. Any product launched by DFI, be it LANParty family orINFINITY family, all focuses on product's overclocking performance. Just as theopinion from many high end players, "Performance and endurance of motherboardthat can overclock is better." DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard hasreally given much thought to the BIOS configuration. It offers the adjustmentfunction for CPU Clock doubling, and it can adjust FSB based on 1MHz increment.As for voltage adjustment, under normal situation, DIMM voltage can be as highas 3.2V, north-bridge voltage can be up to 1.8V, and the core voltage can be upto 1.85V.
Extraordinary Cost/Performance ratio

DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboard has excellent performance, but itsmarket location is on the middle range. To buy a motherboard with SLI with amiddle price, the C/P ratio is very attractive. Living under a harsh pressure,the worthy product will bring you happiness.

Plenty of Hardware Ports and Connectors
Beside the extraordinary performance, a good motherboard should not lack forother required useful configurations. DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G motherboardhas a Marvell 88E1115 GbE PHY network port, two IEEE 1394 ports, 4 USBconnectors, and 6 USB ports (totally 10). This can absolutely satisfy theconnection requirement for multiple USB devices. On the other hand, the numberSATAII ports support is 6, and this directly affects the capacity of HDD. It isdirective to multimedia and advanced gaming. There is a coxial S/PDIF-Out portand a fiber S/PDIF-Out port on the back panel of the mainbaord. The serial andparallel ports are all provided.

DFI INFINITY NF 570 SLI-M2/G is launched now. Either looking at theperformance of the product or the price, this motherboard reflects DFI's focusand care for player market. It deserves to be mentioned that because of thestability, superiority, and the quality of DFI's motherboard, many servermotherboard customers like to use it. There are lots of server motherboardcustomers ordering great amounts of DFI's LANParty and INFINITY Seriesmotherboards, and using them on Game servers which harshly requiring theperformance of the motherboard.

Of course, if players' favorite game style doesn't need SLI for now, INFINITYNF570 SLI-M2/g and INFINITY nForce 550 M2/G motherboards launched by DFI thistime also has excellent gaming performance, and can satisfy these players'assembling requirement.

So far, DFI actually launches 3 game motherboards integrated with nForce500series chipsets. They are INFINITY NF570 SLI-M2/g motherboard integrated withnForce 570SLI chipset, INFINITY NF570 SLI-M2/g motherboard integrated withnForce 570 chipset, and INFINITY NF550 M2/g motherboard integrated with nForce550 chipset. This time, in order to offer more choices for different tastes,levels, and requirements of players, we launch 3 motherboards together. Playerswill be able to select their suitable motherboards according to their needs,favorite game styles, and the requirement level for multimedia, without worryingabout "pay more and buy no performances" or "buy a motherboard with some uselessfunctions". This also reflects the focus and care for game player market fromDFI.

First Core i3-2310 and i5-2410 notebooks go on sale

The first notebooks with Intels dual core mobile Sandy Bridge processors have just started to arrive at retailers, at least if youre lucky enough to live in Taiwan, although other countries should have them soon too and the first two models weve spotted are both from Acer. Intels little chipset snafu has delayed the shipment a bit, although the dual core models werent really expected until about now anyhow.

So what were looking at is the Acer Aspire 4750G and the Aspire 5750G. The first model is a 14-incher while the second one is a 15.6-incher and both models are available with either a Core i3-2310 or a Core i5-2410. We should point out that both of these CPUs differ somewhat from Intels other announced 35W dual core mobile processors, but more on that a little bit later. The Core i3-2310M clocks in at 2.1GHz and it sports Intel HD Graphics 3000 with a base clock speed of 650MHz and it will turbo all the way up to 1100MHz when needed.

The Core i5-2410M is slightly faster at 2.3GHz, but as this is an i5, it will also turbo to either 2.6GHz for both cores or 2.9GHz on one core. It has the same base graphics core clock of 650MHz as the Core i3-2310M, but it will turbo a little bit faster to 1200MHz. So whats different between these two OEM models and the other models that Intel includes on its price list? Well compared to the Core i5-2520M the turbo speed boost is much lower, as this 2.5GHz processor will go all the way to 3GHz with both cores working, thats a 500MHz boost compared to 300MHz for the Core i5-2410M. The graphics will also turbo to 1300MHz, although this is unlikely to be as useful. Finally the Core i5-2410M lacks support for Intels AES, TXT and vPro technology and this to us suggests that Intel has designed it as a consumer CPU, but as a model with turbo boost, something the Core i3s lack.

As for the notebooks, well, Acer has equipped both models with Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics with 1GB of memory, a 640GB hard drive, an optical drive, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and handily a USB 3.0 port as well. Other features include Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI out, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a webcam and various other standard features youd expect to find on a modern notebook. The Aspire 4750G weighs in at 2.25kg and comes with a 6-cell 4400mAh 48Wh battery which Acer claims is good for up to 4.5h of battery life, while the Aspire 5750G weighs in at 2.6kg and features the same battery.

Price wise youre looking at S$1,115 for the Aspire 4750G with the Core i3-2310 processor and S$1,249 for the same model with the Core i5-2410M. The Aspire 5750G starts at S$1,163 with the Core i3-2310, but costs the same as the Aspire 4750G with the Core i5-2410M processor. Acer is currently the only notebook manufacturer to offers Sandy Bridge based notebooks in Taiwan with the B3 stepping chipset from Intel, but it shouldnt take long for other manufacturers to get their products ready as well.

Source: PChome Taiwan

Duke Nukem Forever To Support NVIDIA 3D Vision

Hail to the King baby. Duke Nukem Forever is here to support NVIDIAs 3D Vision. Bash those alien nutballs withNVIDIA Surround technology where gamers can experienceDuke’s alien battles, beer drinking in 3D across three full HD 1080p displays, or in2D across three 2560x1600 displays.

A special Duke Nukem Forever will also be launched after a collaboration between EVGA and NVIDIA. This special edition Duke Nukem Forever bundle includes a fullPC copy of Duke Nukem Forever, an NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 560 graphics card by EVGA, a limitededition Duke Nukem Forever strategy guide art book and mouse pad, and a custom“Radioactive” belt buckle.EVGA folks has a special offer if you are buying this bundle between May and June, more information at their official website here

Dell To Offer Samsung Encrypted SSDs Soon

(Engadget) Available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB options, Dell will be offering Samsung encrypted SSDs as part of the arsenal in the coming months

It is not know what encryption algorithm they are using but it might be a some 128 bit encryption standard. Prices are unspecified yet but they wont be coming cheap.