05.18.07
Crysis Multiplayer in DirectX 9
New videos showing game’s multiplayer in DirectX 9 mode. 
Download from one of this links:
DirectX 10 in action
Guru3d site published a video, showing a difference between DIRECTX 10 and DIRECTX 9 in new Dx10 benchmark Call of Jaures Dx10.
It is possible to download:
- Complete record of demonstration in the Dx10 mode (158 Mb).
- Comparison of Dx10 and Dx9 (fireplace, 17 Mb).
- Comparison of Dx10 and Dx9 (mountains and rocks, 14 Mb).
And from the nzone site it is possible to download two treylers of “Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventure” game and to compare new API to old one:
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Demo
The demo of game “Lost Planet: Extreme Condition” working in the DIRECTX 10 mode recently appeared on the nzone site, (379 Mb).
Download here.
For those, who don’t use Windows Vista and don’t have Dx10 video card, a demo, working in the mode of DIRECTX 9 (363 Mb) is availiable. Download here.
The AMD Phenom Processor
www.amd.com:
SUNNYVALE, Calif. — May 14, 2007 — Delivering a four-core foreshadowing of innovations to come for PC enthusiasts worldwide, AMD (NYSE: AMD) unveiled the upcoming AMD Phenom™ processor family name and publicly demonstrated the first all-AMD enthusiast platform, codenamed “FASN8.” The industry’s only true quad-core client processors are expected to deliver the ultimate visual experience, especially when paired with AMD’s new DirectX 10 ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series, which began shipping today (see related press release: “AMD Introduces the ATI Radeon™ HD 2000). AMD expects true quad-core and dual-core AMD Phenom-based desktop systems will ship in the second half of 2007.
In a demonstration in San Francisco, AMD previewed an eight-core platform, codenamed “FASN8,” pronounced “fascinate,” to show the first AMD silicon-based next-generation eight-core platform. The demonstration platform includes two true quad-core AMD Phenom processors, the new DirectX 10 ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, as well as an upcoming AMD next-generation, high-performance chipset, due in the second half of 2007. This platform illustrates AMD’s leadership in developing a single solution with increased levels of integration to boost real-world performance.
“AMD has always enjoyed a great bond with the enthusiast community, and the introduction of the AMD Phenom processor family will take our relationship to new heights,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD’s desktop division. “We continue to focus on listening to and addressing users’ evolving needs. AMD is confident the performance enhancements enabled by true quad-core client technology in computing-intensive environments will allow them to realize new possibilities and find new inspiration.”
Only AMD Delivers True Quad-Core.
AMD Phenom processors will be uniquely designed to facilitate intelligent uses of energy and system resources that are reliable, virtualization-ready and energy efficient, driving optimum performance-per-watt. All AMD Phenom processors will feature resources like an integrated DDR2 memory controller, HyperTransport™ technology links, and 128-bit Floating Point Units, for improved speed and performance in floating point calculations.
With the true quad-core design offered by the upcoming AMD Phenom processors, cores communicate on the die rather than through a front side bus external to the processor – a bottleneck inherent in other products that are packaging two dual-core chips to form quad-core processors. Additionally, AMD’s Direct Connect Architecture on-chip ensures that all four cores have optimum access to the integrated memory controller and integrated HyperTransport links, so that performance scales well with the number of cores. This design is also highlighted by a unique shared L3 cache for quicker data access and Socket AM2 and Socket AM2+ infrastructure compatibility to enable a seamless upgrade path.
“AMD’s quad-core processor rollout will put more computing horsepower at PC users’ fingertips,” observed Nathan Brookwood, research fellow at Insight 64. “Quad-core innovations come at a time when many users are finding that the combination of Microsoft Vista™, multi-threaded applications and DirectX 10 no longer delivers the crisp performance they experienced on last year’s fastest systems running last year’s software. The AMD Phenom processor’s ability to deliver significantly more performance within the same power and thermal envelopes as its dual-core antecedents should make this quad-core processor a fitting follow-on to earlier AMD dual-core processor offerings.”
For enthusiasts who demand cutting-edge performance on their system, AMD Phenom FX processors are designed for systems that offer extreme megatasking capabilities. True quad-core platforms and octa-core platforms with the Dual Socket Direct Connect (DSDC) Architecture can provide enthusiast-class features and performance, to enable our customers to deliver professional-grade results. Moreover, AMD’s quad-core processors and unique eight core solutions, with four processing cores on one die, coupled with the latest platform technologies, including the new ATI Radeon HD 2000 series, can deliver the ultimate enthusiast PC platform. AMD Phenom X2 and X4 processors will offer true quad- and dual-core advanced technologies for seamless multitasking and optimum energy efficiency.
Novint Falcon Controller
“Videogames and force feedback have been fair-weather friends for years, from motorized steering wheels that go spastic when you slam into a wall, to entire seats that tilt and lurch as your F-16 banks out of harm’s way. But playing with the Novint Falcon feels like nothing you’ve tried before.”
AMD Introduces the ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series
www.amd.com:
Sunnyvale, Calif. — May 14, 2007 –AMD today introduced the ATI Radeon HD™ 2000 series, a top-to-bottom line of ten discrete graphics processors (GPUs) for both desktop and mobile platforms. This family of GPUs delivers The Ultimate Visual Experience™ through best-in-class immersive high-definition gaming and high-definition multimedia playback.
The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series of products introduces immersive DirectX® 10 gaming enabling the next generation of visual effects at every price point. The line-up boasts many firsts for the graphics industry, including a powerful second-generation Unified Shader Architecture (USA), a 512 Mbit memory bus designed for full performance high dynamic range (HDR) rendering, and new Unified Video Decoder (UVD) technology for high-fidelity HD multimedia playback.1 The mid-range and entry-level GPUs are the first graphics products in the industry to use an energy-efficient 65 nm process technology to achieve silent, passive cooling, high performance and lower power consumption.2 The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series also builds on AMD’s Windows Vista™ leadership. Having been the first graphics company to introduce a WHQL driver for Windows Vista, ATI Catalyst™ drivers continue to deliver industry-leading game compatibility and an extremely stable user experience in Windows Vista™.
“This new family of GPUs from AMD delivers an immersive gaming experience for the next generation of games and applications for Windows Vista™ and DirectX® 10,” said Kevin Unangst, Global Director Games for Windows, Microsoft Corp. “Cutting-edge DirectX® 10 games combined with the ATI Radeon HD 2000 series of products are ushering in a new era of gaming on Windows.”
The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series was designed to deliver compelling gameplay experiences never seen before in DirectX 10 games. The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series brings gamers astounding frame rates at all resolutions, advanced visual effects, and breathtaking realism for what AMD calls immersive HD gaming. The new cards were optimized for dynamic geometry acceleration, complex pixel processing and expanded non-graphical compute capabilities for more advanced characters and animation, more detailed environments, and more realistic real-world physics simulations. For gamers wanting even more horsepower, The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series also features native ATI CrossFire™ technology, opening the door for a wide variety of multi-GPU configurations and eliminating the need for any master cards.
“ATI Radeon HD 2000 graphics cards provide us with more than incremental speed increases,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve®. “Through the ATI Radeon HD 2000’s performance and unified shader model we are able to create characters in real time that reach beyond anything seen in any game, and rival the characters seen in animated feature films. Gamers will be able to experience these advances later this year when Half Life® 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress® 2 and Portal™ will be made available through Steam to those who purchase a new ATI Radeon™ HD 2900 XT.”
ATI Radeon HD 2000 Series Desktop Line-Up
Available immediately, the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT is expected to be priced at an incredible USD $399 (SEP) including Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two from Valve.5 This price enables more consumers than ever to enjoy the best in discrete graphics.
Rounding out the family are the ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 and ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 series, bringing feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and smooth multimedia playback to customers looking for entry-level and mid-range graphics options. The ATI Radeon HD 2600 and ATI Radeon HD 2400 cards is scheduled to ship in late June with pricing to be announced.
Numerous add-in-board partners including Asus, Club3D, Diamond Multimedia, GeCube, Gigabyte, HIS, MSI, Palit, PowerColor, Sapphire and VisionTek will offer ATI Radeon HD 2000 series graphics cards. System integrators worldwide, including Falcon Northwest, Maingear, Vadim, and Velocity Micro, will also be supporting the ATI Radeon HD 2000 series bringing gaming platforms to market.
ATI Mobility™ Radeon HD 2000 Series Mobile Line-Up
For unparalleled graphics performance on the go, the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 2600 series combines the ultimate DirectX® 10 gaming experiences with the graphics performance gamers demand in a high-end mobile system. Thin and light notebooks featuring ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 series can multitask with ease using the new Windows Aero™ interface, run the hottest upcoming DirectX® 10 games or play exciting new HD DVD and Blu-Ray™ discs. Those in the market for a value notebook will enjoy great performance in Windows Vista™ and astonishing multimedia using the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 2300. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2000 products feature ATI Avivo™ HD technology and UVD to deliver outstanding HD DVD™ and Blu-ray™ disc playback, and ATI PowerPlay™ 7.0 power management for long battery life and optimized performance-per-watt operation.6
Notebooks from OEM partners including Acer, ASUS, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-Siemens Computers, Gateway, HP, LG, Packard Bell, Samsung, and Toshiba, and ODM whitebook partners including Arima, ASUS, ECS, First International Computer Inc., and MSI, will be available beginning in May.
QRIO falling down and then standing up
A little info about this robot:
“Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation announced the development of a prototype small biped entertainment robot “SDR-4X” that can adapt its performance to its environment and situations found in the home to further develop the possibility for a biped-walking robot. Richer communication with people can be realized by a variety of sensor systems, performance control software based on memory and learning, and a flexible biped walking mechanism.
While improving the output performance of small actuators that drive each joint, a newly developed “Real-time Integrated Adaptive Control System” controls a total of 38 joints in the robot’s body in real time, based on information from various sensors gathered in real time. More advanced movements are realized by enabling biped walk on irregular and tiled surface plus posture retention control under external pressure. In addition, stable and flexible walk can be achieved by the real time production of walking patterns such as pace and rotation angle in accordance with various situations. Using two CCD color cameras for image recognition, the SDR-4X can detect the distance between itself and an object by processing the parallax of the two cameras. These cameras allow the robot to perceive the figuration of an object and range between itself and the object to automatically produce a route in order to make its way around the object.”
