We just caught sight of three new Asus laptops, but it looks like that’s not all the company has up its sleeve, with its ultra-portable U1E model now also making its first appearance. This one boasts an even smaller form factor than the company’s just-announced 12.1-inch, 3.3 pound U6S laptop, in this case shrinking things down to an 11.1-inch WXGA display and a mere 2.2 pound carrying weight (albeit with only a 3 cell battery). Otherwise, you’ll get an Intel Core Duo ULV7500 processor, up to 2GB of RAM, a 100GB hard drive, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, with an external DVD burner thrown in for good measure. A nine cell battery is also available for those that actually want to get some work done, with it apparently promising upwards of six hours of running time. Look for this one to be available next month, in Italy at least, for €1,999 (or $2,844).
Source: www.engadget.com
CRYSIS DEVELOPER Crytek has finally weighed in to the DirectX 9 v DirectX 10 debate, spelling out for gamers what the differences in technology will mean for its upcoming PC title.
There appear to be differences between what the single player will offer and what the multiplayer will bring to the table. Speaking about the multiplayer aspect, according to a posting detailed here, the DX9 version won’t have the spectacular physics advertised in trailers and demos so far, nor will it have a day and night cycle.
This means that the shoot-down-trees gameplay simply won’t exist in the DX9 version, at least in multiplayer, with players reduced to passive interaction with the environment, rather than the active carnage that has previously been promoted.
The company cited high server load and low performance as the reasons for dropping these features from DX9 version of the game. To get the full multiplayer experience, including the high-end interactive physics, gamers will need to be running a fully DX10 rig, which means a GeForce 8-series / Radeon 2-series and Windows Vista.
Gamers with DX10 rigs will be able to play on DX9-specific servers, but not the other way round.
How this will translate into multiplayer is still unclear. Is the interactive physics being dropped from the DX9 version entirely, or is this simply a multiplayer limitation? As with everything regarding Crysis, information is drip-dropping its way out slowly, but we suspect all will be revealed only when the game is actually sitting on a shelf.
Acer has announced the Ferrari 1100, which is the latest addition to the PC maker’s Ferrari-branded notebook series.
According to the Acer’s website for the German market, the Ferrari 1100 is an ultraportable laptop featuring a 12.1-inch display, and an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor. This notebook incorporates the ATI Radeon X1250 integrated graphics, a Dolby certified surround sound system, a hard disk drive of up to 250GB, and a slot-loading DVD burner. The Acer Ferrari 1100 has a built-in 802.11a/b/g/draft-N wireless module, and a fingerprint reader, the press release says.
The laptop features a carbon fiber chassis, and weighs below 4.4 pounds.
It comes with Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows Vista Business, or Windows Vista Home Premium preinstalled.
Currently there is no information on pricing and availability.
Source: laptoping.com
In January 2008, Intel will launch “Santa Rosa Refresh“, an update to its current Centrino laptop platform. The Refresh will include “Penryn”, the mobile processor produced using 45nm technology, and improved graphics capabilities, the chip maker announced during the ongoing Intel Developer Forum 2007 in San Francisco.
“With the ‘Penryn’ mobile processor, Santa Rosa Refresh-based notebooks receive enhanced performance and battery life features. Graphics improvement for Santa Rosa Refresh focuses on unlocking advanced graphics technologies for an enhanced visual experience, especially with DirectX 10-based applications. Santa Rosa Refresh notebook PCs also contain the Mobile Intel 965 Express chipset family, Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N network connection, Intel 82566MM and 82566MC Gigabit Network Connection, and optional Intel Turbo memory,” the press release says.
Intel Centrino Roadmap: “Santa Rosa Refresh” and “Montevina” Platforms
During the IDF 2007, Intel also showed its “Montevina” notebook platform, which is expected to be released in mid-2008. Along with the “Penryn” CPU and the new chipset supporting DDR3 memory, “Montevina” will offer the option of integrated WiMAX wireless technology. The next-generation platform will also incorporate HD-DVD/Blu-ray support, as well as enhanced data manageability and security features. According to Intel, “Montevina” has approximately 40 percent smaller components than those in current “Santa Rosa” platform, so we can expect smaller and lighter Centrino-based notebooks to hit the market after the “Montevina’s” launch.
Activision has announced the launch of Enemy Territory: Quake Wars for PC in European Union and Australian stores. North America will have to wait for it until October 2nd.
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars offers the ultimate multiplayer action, either online or offline with computer controlled players. ET: Quake wars is set in the year 2065, where Earth’s Global Defense Force battles the invading alien Strogg.
In addition to that, Splash Damage has released the first patch for ET: Quake Wars. The new update brings a small list of fixes and tweaks. The most important ones are Fixed performance drop of soft particles on some graphics cards, improved bot control of the GDF titan tank, fixed players occasionally not being able to change the mission they are on.
You can check out the full list and get additional download mirrors here.
It looks as if three-way SLI is closer than anyone would’ve expected and the upcoming GeForce 780i and 780a chipsets will support this natively.
The good news here is that those that own a board based on the 680i chipset can also enjoy three-way SLI and it might be as soon as this year.
The first cards to have support for three-way SLI will be the 8800 Ultra and GTX with more cards to follow. We can’t see too many people investing in this though, considering the cost of three high-end graphics cards.
A new SLI bridge connector will also be needed and it’s anyones guess where you’ll be able to get one of those from for your 680i board.
Dell has finally announced the launch of the XPS M1730, the gaming notebook that should replace the M1710.
As rumored, new XPS M1730 will feature the physics dedicated card from AGEIA. It is the AGEIA mobile PhysX chip, the same one we saw and wrote about during the Games Convention. According to AGEIA, this little piece of hardware will allow far more complex physics without the performance drop.
The new XPS is also the first notebook with NVIDIA’s fastest SLI mobile solution. We are talking about two 512MB Geforce 8700M GT cards in SLI. The display of the M1730 can produce 1920×1200 resolution at stunning 7ms of refresh time.
Besides all the internal additions, Dell’s new XPS will feature a small LCD made by Logitech, called Logitech GamePanel LCD. The LCD can show system status and it probably works good with FRAPS. Dell’s LightFX system is also updated and it features lighting for the keyboard and the choice of 16 colors for ambient effects. It also features the 2MP CCD camera and dual digital array microphones.
The cheapest solution starts at $2,999 with Core 2 Duo T7700 at 2.4GHz, while the top model can be yours for a mere $4,486 with Core 2 Extreme X7900 at 2.8GHz.
Toshiba today announced the addition of NVIDIA SLI technology to its Satellite X205 17-inch gaming notebook series. The dual NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video cards in SLI mode are available in the Satellite X205-SLI1 and the Satellite X205-SLI3 configurations.
“Both models feature dual NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processing units (GPUs) with combined 512MB of dedicated video RAM and are compatible with Microsoft DirectX 10, ensuring that gamers can take full advantage of the cutting-edge graphics technology that are available within today’s ultra-realistic gaming titles,” the company’s press release says.
The Toshiba Satellite X205-SLI notebooks are based on the Intel “Santa Rosa” mobile platform with the Core 2 Duo processor, and feature a HD DVD drive, an HDMI output port for connecting to an HDTV, a S/P DIF output port for 5.1 surround sound stereo, and Bluetooth v.2.0+EDR technology compatible with wireless gaming controls and other accessories. These laptops have built-in Harman Kardon stereo speakers with a subwoofer.
Starting at $1,999.99, the Toshiba Satellite X205-SLI1 has the Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 processor at 2GHz, 2GB of DDR2 system memory, 240GB of storage space using two 120GB 5400rpm SATA hard drives, and a 17” glossy display with 1440-by-900 pixel native resolution.
The X205-SLI3 comes with the Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor at 2.2GHz, a 2GB RAM, two 160GB 5400rpm SATA HDDs for a total of 320GB of storage, a 17” glossy display with 1680×1050 native resolution, and and external USB HDTV tuner. It is priced at $2,499.99.
Along with a HDMI, S/P DIF, and Bluetooth, the Satellite X205-SLI laptops feature the Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n) module, Ethernet LAN and 56k modem connections, a built-in web camera, VGA and S-Video outputs, six USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, a 5-in-1 media card reader, a FireWire port, and a fingerprint reader.
The X205-SLI starts at 9.37 pounds, and has the Flare Carmine lid texture.
These noteoboks ship with Windows Vista Ultimate operating system.
Source: laptoping.com
Asustek plans to release the ASUS U6S 12.1-inch ultraportable notebook, featuring the Intel “Santa Rosa” mobile platform, a dedicated video card, and a 3.5G HSDPA support.
Although the majority of ultraportables in the market come with slower ultra-low or low voltage processors, the ASUS U6S features the full-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 at 2.2GHz. The laptop has the NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G graphics with 128MB of dedicated video memory, which manages a 12.1” 1280-by-800 pixel LED backlight display. This laptop supports up to 2GB of RAM, and incorporates a 250GB hard drive at 5400rpm rotational speed, as well as a DVD burner.
Along with a HSDPA module, the ASUS U6S provides Intel 4965/a/b/g/draft-n wireless connectivity, a Gigabit Ethernet, a 56k modem, and a Bluetooth. Regarding ports and slots, this ultraportable features HDMI, VGA and SPDIF outputs, four USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, and a 8-in-1 card reader.
According to the translation of the NotebookItalia’s article, its 0.3 megapixel web camera has a sort of face recognition functionality. For enhanced security, there are a fingerprint reader and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM).
The notebook weighs around 3.86 pounds with a six-cell battery, providing up to five hours of run time reportedly. The published images of the U6S reveal that it has leather-covered palm rests.
The ASUS U6S is expected to hit the European market next month, with a price tag of 1,999 Euros (approximately $ 2,834). There is no info on its availability in the United States.
The laptop will ship with Windows Vista Home Premium.
Source: laptoping.com
Rumors about the R600Pro card have been floating around the net for some time. The first solid proof of such a card were the beta drivers. Now the second one, and this one is even more solid, is the listing of a card on the HIS web site.
HIS offers the HD 2900 Pro 512MB GDDR3 VIVO PCIe and sheds some light on the cards specifications. Apparently the card is not that different from the HD 2900 XT. It has the same 512-bit memory interface and 320 stream processors.
The only difference that we could notice was the lower clock speeds. HIS’ Radeon HD 2900 Pro features 600MHz clock for the GPU and 1,600MHz for memory, which is not that much lower than the 740MHz/825MHz (1,650MHz) of the reference Radeon HD 2900XT. HIS also announced its suggested retail price of $249 for the 512MB GDDR3 version.
You can find the mentioned specifications on the HIS web site.
(@ Amazon)
