New dual chip card comes from ATI

Next generation 40nm

We've just learned that ATI's next generation, let's call it Radeon 6000 series, is going to get a new high-end card. We are talking about a dual-chip card based on new 40nm chips that are expected to get slightly faster than the current generation. The best part is that it comes in 2010.

We see the new performance chips as a tweaked version of the highly succesful Cypress core, but this time they will introduce support for the new HDMI interface as well as new UVD – Eyefinity. Eyefinity will become more functional and cheaper to implement on multiple monitor setups

Of course the core itself will be slightly improved, but we don’t expect a spectacular performance incresase. It will be faster than the current generation, that much is clear, but we still don't know much about Nvidia's answer to this card

Foxconn drops safety nets, organizes worker rallies

Red costumes, song and dance

 

Foxconn is showing the world that it’s not just one of the premiere electronics makers for hire, but that it also knows how to throw a party

The company staged employee rallies in its factories across China in order to boost morale. Tens of thousands turned up and they seem to have had quite a good time. Some sported Spider-man outfits, while others chose Victorian dresses. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past several months, Foxconn has faced a spate of suicides in its Chinese plants and 13 workers took their own lives since the start of the year, hence morale boosters are probably a good idea. Let’s just hope nobody gets the idea to play George Carlin’s 'Life is Worth Losing' during the rallies

Foxconn has also announced that it would remove safety nets installed at some of its dorms and campuses following the suicides. However, the nets will stay in place on several facilities, although it appears that Foxconn has finally realized that safety nets are something that’s supposed to be used on aircraft carriers rather than company buildings

More here

PowerColor rolls out low-profile HD 5750

The HTPC beast

In order to keep HTPC users happy, PowerColor has decided to roll out a new low-profile HD 5750 that features a rather neat looking dual-slot, dual-fan cooler. The new PowerColor HD 5750 should be available in next few weeks with a price set at around US $25 more than a standard version, probably due to the special cooler

The new HD 5750 Low Profile features 720 Stream processors, works at 700MHz for the GPU and 4600MHz for 1GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 128-bit memory interface. The card comes with DVI, HDMI and D-Sub outputs and has support for AMD's Eyefinity. The cooler comes from Arctic Cooling and we are quite sure that it will do a good job in keeping the HD 5750 GPU temps at a decent level, although two small fans might make more noise than we would prefer

According to our info, the card might end up on retail shelves as early as next week, depending on the region. The price should end up at US $25 more than a standard HD 5750, which means that it might retail at around US $150, or €130 in Europe

AMD cuts desktop processor prices

$3 to $22 drop

 

Xbit has gone through AMD’s latest price lists and concluded that the chipmaker has slashed prices on a number of desktop parts

Most of the changes were cosmetic, as AMD was less than keen to shave off more than a few bucks from current prices. However, some processors dropped up to $22, which is quite a nice cut

The Phenom II 965 is now priced at $165, while 955BE, 945 and 925 parts sell for $145. All Athlon 500 series dual-cores now sell for $93. Of course we are talking about prices for 1000-unit tray orders

Bargain hunters are probably a bit more interested in Athlon parts, but they did not see as many price cuts as the Phenoms, probably because they already offer much better value for money than anything Intel has to offer. All Athlon II X4 6xx parts are still priced at $99.99, while X3 4xx parts cost $76. Dual-core Athlon II X2 2xx parts sell for $66 to $69.

LG embraces Tegra 2 processors

For Optimus branded Android phones

 

LG has announced that its upcoming Android phones will be powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 processors. In a strange coincidence, the upcoming Tegra phone is codenamed Optimus, just like Nvidia’s power switching technology

LG plans to use dual-core Tegra 2 parts clocked at 1GHz. The processors feature 1080p decoding, support for HDMI out, displays up to 1680x1050 and cameras up to 12MP. This practically means that the LG Optimus will be the only Tegra-based smartphone, which really can’t be considered a massive success, since the architecture has been around for two years. Of course, there’s the Kin, but it died an untimely death and it’s not something Microsoft or Nvidia like to talk about

Sadly, we still don’t have any details on LG’s upcoming Tegra phones. It appears that the Optimus lineup will feature several phones, but it’s unclear whether they will all use Tegra chips

More here

AMD gains ground against Intel

Intel loses 0.3% share

 

According to IDC beancounters, Intel has lost 0.3 percent of the worldwide processor market share in Q2. Obviously, this bodes well for AMD, as it gained 0.2 percent. VIA also managed to improve its share by 0.3 percent

At the moment Intel holds 80.7 percent of the overall unit market share, while AMD has 19 percent. Intel also lost some share in the mobile market, but it still has a massive lead over AMD with 86.1 percent compared to AMD’s 13.7 percent. However, AMD gained 1.6 percent and VIA managed to scoop up 0.2 percent

Intel still dominates the server market with a 93.5 percent share and its share is still growing. In the desktop market Intel grabbed 72.2 percent and gained 0.5 percent. AMD has a 27.3 percent share and a loss of 0.7 percent, which is somewhat surprising considering AMD has quite a few interesting desktop products in its portfolio. However, AMD’s revamped mobile CPU lineup seems to be doing quite well

Overall mobile processor shipments rose by 6.5 percent sequentially, while server processor sales rose 6.1 percent. Desktop sales dropped by 0.1 percent. It’s obvious that the market is steadily shifting to mobile computing, but desktops still shouldn’t be considered a dying breed

More here

Razer shows its BlackWidow keyboard at Gamescom

With unique mechanical keys

In the wake of Gamescom in Cologne, Razer has decided it is time to launch its latest gaming peripherals, the BlackWidow and BlackWidow Ultimate wired keyboards that feature a unique tactile mechanical key architecture. Both the BlackWidow and BlackWidow Ultimate will be available as of September and, in addition to mechanical keys, will offer all the features that you would expect from a Razer branded keyboard

The new tactile mechanical keys should offer greater precision and accuracy thanks to the key actuation points and should provide a greater response and tactile feedback similar to a mouse click, something that we haven't seen from a keyboard yet. In addition to the unique mechanical keys, the BlackWidow series will feature fully programmable keys with macro recording, five additional gaming keys, a 1ms response time and a gaming mode feature

The BlackWidow Ultimate will include audio jacks, an extra USB port and a backlight illumination system with five levels of lightning. Both keyboards should be available as of next month with a price tag set at US $79.99/€79.99 for the BlackWidow and US $129.99/€129.99 for the BlackWidow Ultimate

Valve gives Portal 2 a date

February, perhaps sooner than expected

Valve has finally confirmed a release date for the upcoming Portal sequel known as Portal 2. While we knew that it would be arriving in 2011, many might be surprised to learn that it will in fact arrive on February 9th, 2011, which is a bit sooner than expected

The news of the release date also came with the information that Portal 2 would be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms on the same day. It is expected that a Mac release for Portal 2 is also likely, but so far Valve has not confirmed a release of a Mac version; but sources tell us that it is likely that they will do so after the February 9th release on the other platforms

The big news about the Portal 2 release by Valve perhaps isn’t in the game itself, but the fact that Portal 2 will be released for the PlayStation 3. Valve has been closely aligned with the Xbox 360 for console releases and the PC where it uses its Steam platform to distribute and market its titles

The PlayStation 3 release was announced at E3 earlier this year and effectively put an end to the exclusivity that the Xbox 360 enjoyed for Valve titles. While Portal 2 is the first of the current Valve titles to come to the PlayStation 3, sources tell us that if sales are as good as expected, it will not be the last

ATI's 28nm to be built in GF and TSMC

Two of a kind chips

 

This year will still be the year of 40nm chips and only next year will we see some 28nm chips. Both Nvidia and ATI are planning to launch its next, next generation at some point in late 2011.

We've learned that ATI is working on two different chips in 28nm, one for its long time partner TSMC and one for its upcoming star, the one and only Globalfoundries

Globalfoundries has a hard task, as this chip has to be successful and it's the perfect opportunity to make some money in the complex GPU market. In case ATI's chip proves successful, Nvidia should most likely also sign to make its future chips at this fab

Globalfoundries also misses an opportunity with the Ontario chip, AMD’s first 40nm as this will be done by TSMC. The reason is simple, Globalfoundries doesn’t have a 40nm high end process that would fit the needs of complex CPU and GPU design

ATI’s graphics development team has a tougher task to develop two GPUs for two fabs, and we’ve learned from the past that you do need to adjust a chip design for a specific fab - one design for UMC and one for TSMC, which will be the case with Globalfoundries design

The first 28nm GPU from Globalfoundries is expected in late 2011 but we expect to see some prototypes and wafers earlier

Zotac AMPs its GTX 460

GPU clocked at 810MHz

Keeping true to its promise to deliver a factory overclocked GTX 460, Zotac has officially announced its Geforce GTX 460 AMP! Edition card. Featuring a high factory overclock, this card also features a new custom cooler and a slightly different PCB when compared to the reference GTX 460 cards

As it is a case with all other GTX 460 cards, this one also features 336 CUDA cores and has a 256-bit memory interface. The clocks, on the other hand, are set at 810MHz for the GPU, 1620MHz for shaders and 4000MHz for 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Bear in mind that the reference card works at 675MHz for the GPU, 1350MHz for shaders and 3600MHz for memory, so we are looking at a decent factory overclock which is only by 10MHz slower than on the TGT's flagship GTX 460 Ultra Charged seen

The new GTX 460 AMP! features two DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs and comes with support for Nvidia 2-way SLI, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision Surround. The new GTX 460 AMP! is bundled with Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands game and features Zotac's five year warranty

BFG waves a final goodbye

Even to RMA

We already wrote back in May that BFG Technologies has said goodbye to the graphics card market, but back then BFG was promising that it will keep its RMA program alive for some time in order to keep its previous customers happy. Now however, it looks like it's finally over as they have started sending out denials to those that asked for RMA

It appears that BFG Tech has waved its final goodbye, which isn't quite good news for its previous customers who can now forget about RMA. BFG has been sending out a letter saying that it can't honor the RMA and warranty agreement as it is in process of "winding down and liquidating its business" and that, "unfortunately", one of its major suppliers has stopped doing business with it

BFG apologizes for "any inconvenience caused" and you can find the aforementioned letter here

MSI officially rolls out water cooled GTX 480

The MSI GTX 480 Hydrogen

Showcased back at Computex, MSI has now officially announced its water cooled GTX 480, the GTX 480 Hydrogen. Featuring high-quality copper water block, stock clocks and an impressive overclocking potential, this card looks like a real catch for those with decent water cooling systems

As noted, the card is at reference clocks, so you are looking at 700MHz GPU clock, 1401MHz for shaders and 3696MHz for 1536MB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 384-bit memory interface. MSI also used Military Class components like Hi-c CAP, Solid State Chokes and Solid Capacitors, and it features support for Nvidia 3-way SLI, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision Surround. It features two DVI and one mini-HDMI outputs

The Hydrogen water block weighs in at 830g and takes up a single slot. It covers 70 percent of the PCB and features 0.45mm micro-channel design with 1/4" threads. According to MSI, this is enough to keep the temps up to 24 degrees Celsius lower than on the reference card. Of course, such water-cooled cards are dependent on the water cooling system, which plays a key role

The card is already listed with a lowest price set at €541,79.

CoolerMaster HAF X dissected

Review: Top quality, reasonable price

 

Today we welcome the HAF X to our lab, the new case from CoolerMaster's HAF (High Air Flow) series. CoolerMaster timed the HAF X really well as the HAF 932, one of the most popular cases these past couple of years, has started losing ground to newer competing high-end cases. HAF X certainly comes prepared and packs all the bells and whistles, perhaps most notably hot-swappable 3.5’’/2.5’’ trays and USB 3.0 connectors. Just like HAF 932, HAF X comes with large silent fans

Of course we’re talking about a full tower case with a well designed interior. Large motherboards like GA-X58A-UD9 or EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI will fit like a glove, which isn’t something many cases can brag about. All this will set you back some €165, which is about what competing cases go for

The pictures on HAF X’s box are pretty clear and show all the features of the new case. The box is sturdy and pretty easy to carry thanks to the handle. When you take into account that the case itself weighs over 14 kg, it’s definitely something you appreciate

HAF X is a full tower case fully painted in black – both outside and inside. This has become a common feature with higher quality cases, especially those with side-panel windows. A lot of steel went into HAF X which results in the case weighing in at 14.35 kg (net weight). The picture below shows the HAF X right out of the box and the protective plastic still in place





HAF series is pretty famous for its cooling, with the side-panel fan playing a major role. The fan is, as you can see, moved towards the bottom corner in order to provide room for the window. HAF X uses a 200 mm (700RPM, 19 dBA) fan, unlike the HAF 932 which comes with a 230 mm fan



Graphics cards surely won’t mind the fan on the side panel, but that’s not all CoolerMaster did to improve graphics cooling


As you can see, HAF X is higher than HAF 932. HAF X is 599 mm tall (without the wheels), 253 mm wide and 554 mm long. We measured the case by hand so there’s room for error as official specs say the case measures 599/230/550 mm (H x W x L).

HAF X surely kept the toughness of its older brother; the front panel is similar at a glance, but it comes with a few important differences

As you can see the I/O panel somewhat evolved from the HAF 932 and now we have two USB 3.0 ports



The HAF X’s control panel holds the power On/Off and reset keys, as well as the front panel fan’s LED control switch. The switches can be covered/protected by sliding a cover over them



Both HAF cases feature six 5.25'' bays, but HAF X’s bottom two have been converted to SATA HDD/SSD drive bays. We’re talking about hot-swappable trays that take 3.5'' or 2.5'' drives. We’re a bit disappointed to see that HAFX doesn’t come with FDD holder, which is commonly used for card readers or fan controllers and came with HAF 932. We honestly think that €165 should buy a full case with all the accompanying accessories



The HAF X’s top panel will take two 200 mm fans (700 RPM, 19 dBA), whereas HAF 932 (picture below, right) comes with one 230mm fan (you can replace it with three 120 mm fans or add another 120mm).

The front fan is 230 mm (700 RPM, 19 dBA) and has a LED lamp just like the HAF 932, although HAF X’s “older brother” doesn’t come with LED on/off switch

HAFX comes with dust filters on top, side and front fans as well as on all 5.25’’ bays, but peculiarly enough, CoolerMaster decided not to include them below the PSU



The rear panel shows the roomy insides – you can see there are 9 expansion slots, with a wire mesh for better airflow. The panel comes with a 140 mm fan (1200 RPM, 19 dBA), but you can replace it with a 120 mm one if you see fit



CoolerMaster didn’t forget water cooling enthusiasts and the top of the case features pipe holes.

 

As you can see, there’s more room inside HAF X than you’d wish for



As you can see from the picture below, the air duct can hold a 120mm fan (note that the fan is not included). The same picture shows how the PSU cables are nicely hidden using the plastic cover. Note that this component is optional and can be removed at any time



We’ve already said that HAF X’s side fan (200 mm, 700 RPM, 19 dBA) is smaller than HAF 932’s, but CoolerMaster devised a plastic frame which funnels air towards the graphics card


The picture below shows the difference between HAF X’s and HAF 932’s side panels

The L shaped window allows for a nice view of the HAF X’s insides




HAF X is slightly taller than the HAF 932, which will prove to be key when mounting motherboards higher than E-ATX. There's also room for a triple 120 mm-fan radiator in the roof

Maximum supported graphics card length is 322 mm, meaning it will take pretty much any graphics card. Your CPU cooler of choice should be up to 175 mm high, and mounting it should not be a problem as the case has a hefty hole in the motherboard tray

Of course, every high-end combination requires plenty of cables, but HAF X allows plenty of room for neat cable management as evident from the following picture





The PSU is mounted at the bottom but we found it pretty strange that there’s no dust filter here





HAF X retained the HAF 932’s optical drive securing mechanism – by pushing the CoolerMaster logo button, the drive will be fixed in place



The picture balow shows the front 230 mm fan which blows air on the HDD tray. The first bay from the bottom will take two 2.5'' drives, whereas the rest will only take 3.5'' drives. The bays are removed towards the windowed side panel, which is pretty practical except for the scenarios when you have to connect/disconnect power



Since there's no set-in-stone method of testing cases, we thought it's best to go the practical way. We've been using our HAF X for more than a month and it's been our faithful compadre throughout other tests as well

Will HAF X take an XL ATX motheboard?.

Without blinking – in fact, HAF X is our first case that could comfortably take EVGA's x58 Classified 4-Way SLI motherboard, which is 34.5cm long



As the motherboard’s name states for itself, Classified 4-Way SLI can take up to four graphics cards. Unfortunately, if all four are dual-slot, then it won’t fit in HAF X. The reason is that the first PCI-E slot isn’t at standard distance from the CPU socket but rather positioned a bit lower, leaving the first two slots on the case unusable. The last slot on the motherboard is in line with the last slot on the case, so it will take only single slot cards. This is very important for 4-Way SLI graphics setup owners and the same goes for Gigabyte’s GA-X58A-UD9; just like EVGA’s, this motherboard requires 10 expansion slots for a 4-Way VGA system (with dual slot cards).


What is the maximum CPU cooler height supported?.

Your CPU cooler of choice should be up to 175 mm high, and mounting it should not be a problem as the case has a hole in the motherboard tray


Regarding the hole in the motherboard tray behind the CPU, it was big enough for all motherboards that we have tried except for the extraordinary big EVGA 4-Way Classified, as you can see from the picture below






Will HAF X take currently longest graphics cards?.

Without a doubt – you’ve got all the headroom you need. In fact, currently longest graphics card, the HD 5970 (picture below), will fit without problems. Video cards can be up to 322 mm. Note however that the card’s length renders the Air-Duct unusable



Does Air duct help with graphics card cooling?.

Air duct is basically a piece of plastic with room for a 120 mm fan, which helps with cooling. On the other hand, HAF X already boasts enviable airflow, so the Air duct is probably an overkill if you’re using only one graphics card

The holes on the side are used to route power cables, as most newer graphics cards come with power connector(s) on top, rather than at the end, which was the case with the 9800GT (picture below).

We used Gigabyte’s passively cooled Geforce 9800 GT card, where Air duct lowered idle GPU temperature from 41°C to 40°C and operating temperatures from 73°C to 70°C. We strapped our Air duct with CoolerMaster’s 120 mm A12025-22CB-6AP-C1, which ran at maximum RPM like the rest of the fans in our test



We performed the same test, but this time with a GTX 480. FurMark GPU temperatures were at 91-92°C with the Air duct, with the card’s fan running at about 3640 RPM. The temperatures remained the same after we removed the Air duct, but the card’s fan sped up to about 4440 and was much louder

Note that the Air duct should have maximum and probably optimum impact in rigs with two or three dual slot graphics card, since such setups are usually a bit crammed and in dire need for fresh air. Such scenarios should really like the Air duct although you can’t use them with HD 5970 cards, due to the card’s length.


Does Air duct affect other components’ thermals?.

The Air duct’s main task is to cool graphics cards, but it indirectly affects hard disk temperatures. Most of this is reflected on the disks in hot-swap bays, as they aren’t cooled by the front 230 mm fan

In order for the hard disk, or an SSD drive, to be cooled by the Air duct, the latter must be positioned higher so that the air reaches the bays (like on the picture below). Thanks to the Air duct, we recorded 2°C lower temperature on the hard disk in the hot-swap bay (36°C without and 34°C with the Air duct).



The Air duct will help with cooling hard disks in 3.5'' drive bays, but you'll have to mount it to be level with the disks

The picture above shows the case where Air duct didn’t improve hard disk thermals; the HD was mounted in a second bay from the top, so the Air duct can’t reach it. We performed an hour of Everest’s “Stress local disks” which pushed the temperature to about 32°C. After we moved the HD one spot up, the temperature dropped to 31°C.


Will the side panel fan’s Air duct get in the way of tall VGA coolers?.

The side panel fan’s Air duct is a useful addition that’s fixed to the fan via four screws – so if it bothers you, you can take it off in a minute. In most cases you won’t find it to get in the way and it will cool all reference design graphics. Furthermore, it can easily be combined with the previously discussed Air duct. The only problem you might encounter is if you’re using extremely tall non-reference coolers, such as Thermalright’s Spitfire, as the Air duct won’t let the panel back in place (picture below).



After taking the Air duct off (picture below), the “problem” was remedied. Good news for those who own or are looking to buy Thermalright’s Spitfire VGA cooler is that, thanks to HAF X’s size, the cooler can be turned downwards (like on the picture above), which means there’s no need to buy a smaller CPU cooler. Note that Spitfire is indeed huge and will in most cases fit only when turned upwards, but there’s a risk of it getting in the way of tall CPU coolers



After we took the Air duct off, there was enough room for another fan on Spitfire, meaning there’s plenty of room left in the HAF X


Will an Air duct mounted on a side-fan affect GPU temperatures?.

The side fan’s Air duct comes mounted like on the picture below – with a channel on the side facing the power connectors. This is done so that PCI-E power cables can be connected to PCI-E connectors on the graphics card

With our 9800 GT we had no worries about whether the cables are touching the Air duct as the connectors are placed at the end of the card. So, we pretty much tried every possible Air duct position to see just how it affects the CPU (Core 2 Extreme X6800 with passive cooler CM Hyper Z600) and graphics (9800 GT passive).

We made all the fans really quiet this time around – the fan in the back ran at 540 RPM, top one at 480 RPM, front fan at about 420 and the side one at 480 RPM

The Air duct’s default setup, which is blowing air towards the end of the card, hasn’t proven to be effective with our passively cooled 9800 GT. FurMark managed to push the GPU up to 90°C whereas the CPU reached 79°C under Prime95.

We then rotated the Air duct by 180°, so that the air flows towards the case’s back panel, GPU temperatures ducked to 86°C but CPU temperatures climbed from 79°C to 81°C.

Naturally, the CPU is best cooled when the Air duct is positioned to blow directly at it. In this case, CPU temperature was at 74°C  and the GPU hit 87°C.

Our passively cooled 9800 GT really liked when we pointed the Air duct downwards. GPU temperature was at 84°C but the CPU was at the hottest point in our test (82°C).

The difference between using the Air duct in its default position and using just the fan (without the duct) amounted to 3°C      on the GPU

With all the fans running at maximum RPM and the Air duct in its default position, our 9800GT’s temperatures didn’t go over 73°C in FurMark. The same scenario saw our passively cooled Core 2 Extreme X6800 at 62°C. We compared these results to those scored by HAF 932 case, where the GPU ran at 74°C and the CPU at 59°C. We suspect that HAF 932’s bigger fans (230 mm fan on top and a 230 mm one on the side panel) are responsible for this


Additional graphics cooling means

CoolerMaster really wanted to make sure that HAF X does anything and everything to improve graphics cooling. It’s time to talk about the VGA bracket with an 80mm fan




We didn’t test the VGA bracket as users get a choice of using either the Air duct or the VGA bracket on the side panel – both can’t fit at the same time

Additionally, those who have more graphics cards will find the VGA bracket to come in handy during transport, as it lessens the strain on the PCI-E slots

How did HAF X handle optical drive setup?.

HAF X offers four 5.25'' bays. Setting them up is much easier than on other high end cases – all you need to do is pull the protective cover off and place the drive without having to remove the front panel



The locking system (picture below) is simple yet eficient and we've already seen on earlier CoolerMaster cases



We couldn't pass up the chance to try out our Scythe KazeMaster ACE 5.25'' fan controller, which gave us much trouble in Obsidian 800D case. In normal circumstances, optical drive locking mechanism should suit Scythe 5.25'' fan controller, but Obsidian 800D's locking mechanism was placed a bit too deep. Needless to say, HAF X had no problems with this



We used KazeMaster ACE 5.25'' to check the height of 5.25'' bays as this controller has been tailored to fit standard 5.25'' bays. Optical devices are not exactly 5.25’’ tall, they’re usually a tad less so you won't have problems mounting them in pretty much any case, but our testing revealed that KazeMaster ACE won't fit in all 5.25'' bays. In this case however, all four of HAF X's bays were a perfect fit


Does an FDD bracket or 5.25''-to-2.5'' bay converter come in the box?.

While the pricing would suggest so, it unfortunately isn't the case. Despite the fact that an FDD bracket is often used for card readers/fan controllers and that it has been bundled with HAF 932, CoolerMaster didn't include it this time around


Does HAF X have hot-swap bays for 3.5'' or 2.5'' drives?.

HAF X comes with two hot-swap bays for 3.5'' or 2.5'' drives, accessible via the front panel. Out of six 5.25'' bays, the bottom two can be used as hot-swap ones. The masks are pretty similar to those of 5.25'' bays, so they’ll look nice as well


Hot swap bays are really well made and they didn’t miss the guide rails once. In comparison, this hasn’t been the case with Corsair’s Obsidian 800D, where inserting bays would sometimes result in missing the guide rails and having to try again



The pictures below show the hot-swap control board with the accompanying connectors. The first picture is from the front, just after we’ve taken the bays out; the second photo shows the same thing pictured from within the case





The printed board requires a 4-pin molex cable (which supplies power to both hot-swap SATA power connectors) and up to two SATA cables. We ended up using a SATA cable with an L-shaped connector, as standard connectors get in the way of the the fan if the Air duct is placed higher to cool hot-swap bays


How many 2.5'' bays will fit into HAF X?.

HAF X will take up to four 2.5'' drives. We’ve shown that two will fit into hot-swap bays whereas another two 2.5'' drives will fit into a specially designed bay within the 3.5'' drive bracket. Only one from 5 bays will take 2.5'' drives, whereas the rest is intended solely for 3.5'' ones

The specially designed bay will take two 2.5'' drives one below the other, so you’ll get somewhat of an SSD sandwich like on the picture below




Any difficulties in mounting drives?.

Although mounting SSDs or HDDs is pretty simple and straightforward, the fact that you’ll have to remove the right side panel to access cables doesn’t work in this case’s favor


Does HAF X come with USB 3.0 connectors?.

HAF X comes with two USB 3.0 connectors on the front panels, and since current motherboards come with USB 3.0 connectors on the I/O panel, the blue cable you see on the picture below is used to connect the front panel to the motherboard. One cable will take care of only one connector, so if you need two USB 3.0s – use two cables. Note that the USB 3.0 cables are long enough to reach the panel whichever way you take them

How does cable management work?.

CoolerMaster obviously thought this out to a great extent. The cables can be hidden from sight and thus have a positive effect on the looks as well as airflow. There are plenty of holes in the metal to allow for easy cable routing but the case would greatly benefit from brackets to which the cables could be tied and thus be routed even better. The picture below shows a mini cable forest – so you can imagine how it gets when there are more HDDs and optical drives



The brackets used for cable management are usually located around holes, and we’d really like to see them on more places around the case so that the cables can be fixed rather than piling up on certain spots. In fact, it gets pretty irritating when it won’t allow the side panel to close



We’d very much like to see some of the newer cases to come with a special channel for all the cables. The following photo will drive our point further – the channel could run up to the blue cables, where you currently see two holes. Furthermore, a few “tying-points” wouldn’t hurt either



Of course, we’re paid to be nitpicky so don’t be discouraged – HAF X is in no way behind any of the high-end cases when it comes to cable management. We however didn’t bother much with aesthetics (as you can see from the photo below) so we were content to see the side panel close unhindered



HAF X does offer something we haven’t seen on other cases – a special bracket that will hide the cables going from the PSU on the bottom of the case (picture below). The cables that you won’t route behind the motherboard can be arranged and hidden from sight







Are the fans loud? How efficient are they?.

HAF X comes with four preinstalled fans which we controlled via Scythe’s KazeMaster ACE controllers. However, the fans are pretty quiet at maximum RPM so there was really no need to control them. All the fans have 3-pin connectors and the only thing we’d like to see are slightly longer cables

Air intake is handled by two fans – 230 mm (700 RPM, 19dBA) on the front panel (bottom) and one 200 mm (700 RPM, 19dBA) on the side panel. Air outtake is also left to two fans – a 140 mm (1200 RPM, 19dBA) on the rear panel and a 200 mm fan (700 RPM, 19dBA) on the top panel.
CoolerMaster made sure that HAF X is a worthy successor to the popular HAF 932 and it certainly is one of the best cases we've seen so far. HAF X is a full tower case with plenty of space and quiet yet very efficient cooling

HAF X will definitely appeal to enthusiasts and hard core gamers alike and its features speak for itself. Quality cooling, compatibility with pretty much any motherboard and graphics card form factor, USB 3.0 connectors, hot-swappable drive bays, hot looks – HAF X has it all

To demonstrate the fact that it has more room than you’ll probably ever need, we strapped it with our EVGA 4-Way Classified SLI motherboard and the former fit like a glove. Nine expansion slots on the rear panel allow for setting up to four video cards and four large but quiet fans will make sure cooling is top notch. Since this is a pretty hefty case, HAF X comes with wheels

Xbox 360 commercial used PS3 footage

Commercial banned

 

A Final Fantasy XIII commercial for Xbox 360 has been pulled by the British Advertising Standards Authority for using PS3 footage

One user apparently complained about this, and after careful examination, the ASA found him to be right. They say that they “noted there was a discernible difference in the picture quality of the two - the PS3 image in video sequences appeared sharper and colours were more vivid than those of the XBOX 360

ASA banned the commercial from British television although it will matter little as the game was launched a while back. Still, it does make you think whether Xbox 360’s quality benchmark is exactly what the PS3 can do. Not to mention what kind of user discerns PS3 and Xbox 360 graphics at a glance

More here

Intel segments its market in six levels

Lot of changes

Intel has decided to shuffle its market segments and to add some more names and market segments to its already complicated portfolio

Up till recently Intel had value, essential, mainstream, performance and the extreme market. In the past the value market included Atom, Celeron and Pentium products and as of last update Pentium moved to the legacy market segment

Core i3 before was aligned as essential and as of recent update it is a transactional part of the segment. Core i5 got an upgrade from a mainstream to mainstream performance market of the market while Core i5 and i7 are now part of Premium Performance market, up from previous performance market segment

Core i7 Extreme was part of the extreme segment on the market alignment roadmap and in the new roadmap it remained on the same market segment

So now instead of value, essential, mainstream, performance and extreme market Intel has value, legacy, transactional, mainstream performance, premium performance and extreme market segment

This market segmentation is likely to stick for a while, as the Sandy Bridge generation scheduled for early 2011 will simply update the current Core i3, i5 and i7 segmentation and it doesn’t look like Pentium and Celeron brands will be gone anytime soon

Yahoo starts serving Microsoft searches

A year in the making

 

A year after Yahoo and Microsoft agreed to shove Bing on Yahoo search, it is all finally happening. Searches on Yahoo from the US and Canada are starting to use Microsoft's search engine

Any paid search results will not be delivered by Microsoft until autumn, that is unless Bing fails to come up with the goods. Yahoo vice president Shashi Seth said that most users won’t be able to tell the difference, but the relevance should be better, he admitted

Yahoo still competes with Microsoft in the way the search results are presented. To do that the search engines are going deep to provide a lot more local detail. Yahoo said that it has had to look at restaurant menus, so that it can display results not just for Spanish restaurants in a given neighbourhood but for those serving paella

All bets are off for mobile search too. Yahoo recently developed a “Sketch a Search” application on the iPhone, which allows users to narrow a search by drawing a target area on a map

According to ComScore Yahoo has been making a bit of a comeback lately and regained some of the ground it has lost in the past year on search share. Currently it has 20.1 per cent of the US market. It looks like video search has increased its share

 

Modder makes all-in-one Keyboard/Trackpad Mac

MacStories links us up with an modder who seems to have an affinity for the EEE Keyboard, but retains his love for the Mac

and a sweet trakpad

Would it be so hard to see Apple doing something like this?  We'd at least like the see the keyboard-trackpad combo...but maybe in a top-bottom fashion, more like a laptop.  Magic

 

 

MSI working on new graphics cards

GTX 460 Hawk, GTX 480 HydroGen and GTX 480 Lightning

In order to keep the hype going until Nvidia comes out with a new chip, MSI is working on some new cards that should show up pretty soon and give its competition a run for its money. MSI is going to launch a custom version of GTX 480 and GTX 460 cards and names like Lightning and Hawk are pretty much something that we already seen from MSI

The first one that will be announced is the GTX 480 HydroGen, a water-cooled GTX 480 that will have a decent overclocking potential and most probably a nice factory overclock. Paired up with MSI's Afterburner overclocking utility, this one might break a record or two in the right hands

The next one is the GTX 460 Hawk, a custom GTX 460 that has been mentioned and rumoured for quite some time. This one will most probably end up with Twin Frozr II cooler, and should have a quite good overclocking potential as well. Despite its 675MHz clock, the card should easily achieve 800MHz and even over with some voltage tweaking. The GTX 460 Hawk will use MSI's Military class components, will need two 6-pin PCI-Express power connecotrs and will have a voltage measure points. The card should be available this month if all goes well

The last but not least is the MSI GTX 480 Lightning, a top notch GTX 480 prepared exclusively for overclocking. The card should be similar to previously released Lightning cards, which means that it will shine at overclocking and when paired up with a bunch of LN2 should give out great results. This one is planned sometimes later, and as MSI's MOA finals are coming soon we are sure that MSI will have it ready by then

Qualcomm readies 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon

ARMed to the teeth

 

Qualcomm has announced that it will start shipments of its flagship Snapdragon processor aimed at high end smartphones and tablets

The QSD8672 is a 45nm dual-core clocked at 1.5GHz and shipments are scheduled for Q4. Qualcomm VP of product management Mark Frankel noted that the first devices based on the new chip should appear on the market in early 2011.

The 8672 packs some rather interesting features as well. It can automatically adjust clocks on individual cores, thus allowing devices to place one core into idle more while running the second one at 1.5GHz. It also supports 1080p video and it will allow vendors to integrate HDMI into their designs with ease

More here

PC still to get Lost Planet 2

Despite poor sales, it will be released

 

As we know now, the sales of Lost Planet 2 did not perform even close to what Capcom had expected for the title. When this news was announced, some speculated that Capcom might kill Lost Planet 2 for Windows-based PCs, but instead they have not only confirmed its release, but have released a 955MB benchmarking demo for the title

The PC version of the game will show up on retailer shelves on October 15th and it will be available as digital download soon after that. What perhaps is the bigger news beyond the release date is the news that the game will only be offering support for DirectX 9 and 11. No DirectX 10 support will be offered, so those with a DirectX 10 card will be forced to play the game in DirectX 9 mode

The demo is actually two demos in one, the first of which is a benchmark demo for the game itself that will give you a clear indication if your PC is able to handle Lost Planet 2. The second is a benchmark breaker that attempts to push your PC to the limit to see how much performance you can really get out of the hardware that you have. The DirectX 11 mode of the title features a number of interesting effects that really show off what DirectX 11 can do, provided that you have a DirectX 11 capable video card

The game will also support Nvidia’s 3D Vision and 3D Surround Vision technology which should provide for some interesting game play for those that wish to experiment with it. Of course, the 3D mode requires the right hardware and is optional

PC Users who want to give it a try can download it here

DICE helping Criterion with NFS title

Adds manpower to reach release deadline

 

Sometimes help comes from the most unlikely sources, and we had to do a double take when we heard that DICE was helping Criterion with the latest Need for Speed title called Hot Pursuit. The pairing adds additional manpower to both EA-owned studios and leads some abilities that that were new for both sides

While DICE is known primarily for its FPS Battlefield titles working on a racer was something new for them; but not for Criterion who has been working on racing titles for a long time, so long, in fact, that many consider Criterion the gold standard of racing studio developers

DICE supplied about 15 to 25 members that were primarily assigned to work on the artistic elements of the game. These DICE artists primarily worked on the environments that appear in the game. Criterion is said to have wanted such a diverse mix of environments for the game that DICE was able to use the experience they had in delivering everything from desert, mountain and tropical environments to add to the experience for the player while the story takes place

While Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is a new title for Criterion, it is said that the open world environment in the game is about four times as big as what we saw in Criterion’s last release, which was Burnout Paradise, that many racing fans claim was one of the largest and most unique environments seen in a racer game to date

According to what we are hearing, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is still slated to arrive in November in time to find a place under the tree for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Wii. The Wii conversion is being handled by Exient. Some have been asking if the name shares anything with the Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit title that EA released for the PC and first generation PlayStation; and the answer to this question is “No.” While it carries a similar name, it does not share anything from that release

Overheating iPod explodes on rush-hour Tokyo train, delays commuters

Apple points cause to bad batch of batteries

Apple seems to be getting a fair share of negative attention from the press these days. Last wednesday, Apple Japan began offering customers first-generation iPod nano replacements for an affected batch of devices deemed at risk of overheating. On Friday, an Apple manager was arrested and charged with accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from Asian suppliers of iPod and iPhone accessories

This morning, the company faces a similar PR disaster with the explosion of an overheating iPod on a Tokyo rush-hour commuter train after passengers complained of a strong burning smell. According to a report from Reuters, the train came to a halt for eight minutes around 8:20am JST in western Tokyo's Setagaya Ward while officials investigated the cause of the smell, said a spokesman for Tokyu Corp

Tokyo subway attendants respond to overheating iPod subway incident - Source 9 to 5 Mac

"When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart," a local spokesman said

Thankfully, no injuries were reported, and the exact iPod model that caused the ordeal is still unknown. At this time, Apple Japan has made no immediate comment. Interestingly enough, there been a total of 60 such incidents in Japan, including four cases involving minor burns, according to the ministry

While the situation certainly brings Apple's PR image into murky waters, we can't help but imagine the mindsets of the thousands of Japanese rail commuters who questioned the ability of the timely Denentoshi railway system to meet their productive lifestyle needs

Microsoft Internet Explorer turns 15 years old

A gradual decline in value, yet millions of users strong

Today, Microsoft's infamously beloved Internet Explorer web browser has turned 15 years old. As the folks over in Redmond celebrate throughout the corporate offices this afternoon, we can't help but remind ourselves how many countless security issues and overwhelming stability issues the browser has faced over its aging years. Perhaps with some hard liquor, we might appreciate its value in the Windows ecosystem more than the consensus deems it to be worth

Nevertheless, while Internet Explorer has faced many ups and downs, it still ranks as the most popular browser on earth by a solid 60.74 percent market share lead in August 2010. The first version of the browser, Internet Explorer 1, released to the public on Wednesday, August 16, 1995. It was slightly more than 1MB in size, and didn't realistically do too much. It was based on Mosaic, the famous early web browser known to have popularized the World Wide Web

Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.0 released on August 16, 1995

In November 1995, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 2, the first cross platform web browser to be compatible with both Windows and Mac. It also introduced support for JavaScript frames, SSL, cookies and newsgroups. Starting with Internet Explorer 3 in August 1996, Microsoft started bundling its proprietary browser with Windows, leading to a dramatic increase in market share and reducing the foothold that Netscape had in the consumer space

Over the years, Internet Explorer rose in dominance as it integrated "revolutionary" features such as Active Desktop (Windows Desktop Update), Channels, Web Publishing Wizard, bi-directional text support for international users, Compatiblity Mode (between IE4 and IE5), the Images Toolbar, Print Preview, an Information Bar, and eventually a pop-up blocker. But it wasn't until early 2004 that Microsoft faced serious competition in the web browser market when Mozilla Firefox came onto the scene. Several journalists around the net even advocated a switch from IE to Firefox, citing reasons like the ability to install malicious software through ActiveX exploits and IE's horrible track record with spyware prevention. Microsoft eventually responded to the negative press with Internet Explorer 6, a version of the browser primarily focused on improving security, privacy and stability. Unfortunately, many of us know how that vision turned out in the latter half of the decade

In 2010, Microsoft intends to keep its proprietary web browser alive and well with the imminent release of Internet Explorer 9. The first public beta is expected to release at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 15. The new version of the browser boasts a central focus on hardware acceleration capability and (finally) an adherence to open web standards

WiMAX 2 standard to be finalized by November 2010

Average theoretical downlinks of more than 100Mbps

According to a recent report from ComputerWorld, the WiMAX Forum industry group has been hard at work on a successor to the now popular WiMAX standard available in over 148 countries

 

 While the US wireless industry starts rolling out LTE networks from major carriers in 2011, the industry group hopes to have the WiMAX 2 standard ready to face the competition by early 2012.

Since 2006, the IEEE has been developing the new WiMAX standard, known as 802.16m. In April 2010, Intel announced plans to collaborate with large mobile industry giants Samsung and Motorola with the goal of accelerating the interoperability of 802.16m. The trio of companies formed a group tentatively named the WiMAX 2 Collaboration Initiative with the sole purpos of testing 4G applications over WiMAX 2 networks

According to Declan Byrne, marketing director of the WiMAX Forum industry group, the 802.16m WiMAX 2 standard is expected to be finalized by IEEE in November 2010, with intentions to certify devices based on the standard throughout 2011. "The standard is due to be finalized in November, then hardware is expected to be ratified through 2011 before getting bolted to towers in 2012 where it will, thankfully, be fully compatible with O.G. WiMAX devices," says Byrne

The WiMAX 2 standard is expected to bring theoretical download speeds of up to 100Mbps, according to WiMAX Forum Vice President Mohammad Shakouri. In contrast, Sprint's initial Xohm WiMax offering, which debuted commercially in 2008, delivered downlink speeds ranging between 3.7Mbps and 5Mbps. Although the new standard boasts major speed provisions over its predecessor, Shakouri states that WiMAX 2 signals shouldn't be expected to propagate any further than currently WiMAX technology. Both standards have a radius limit around 31 square miles per access point

The IEEE has also noted that 802.16m will also be backward compatible with 802.16e, the current WiMAX standard used by mobile network providers in the United States.In other words, wireless ISPs should have no trouble upgrading to the new standards, the upgrades should come at relatively low costs, and access point technicians should have very minimal networks disruptions during the transition process

Although WiMAX 2 may be approved to roll out as early as 2011, it shouldn't be expected to deploy in the US until early 2012. Clearwire is currently the only major US carrier to operate a wireless network based on the existing 802.16e WiMAX 1 standard. The company has also announced that it will be satisfied with its current WiMAX network for the next few years. However, the company made headlines when it announced plans to conduct trials of LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G network infrastructure in Phoenix, Arizona. Declan Byrne, marketing director of the WiMAX Forum industry group, said he was "surprised" by Clearwire's interest in deploying a nationwide LTE network, but believes the company is still committed to WiMAX and that the company could possibly operate both LTE and WiMAX networks in the US simultaneously

All in all, both LTE and WiMAX 2 technologies have garnered the interests of many wireless industry experts as the worldwide spectrum crisis continues to widen. Cisco Chief Technology Officer Padma Warrier recently projected that she expects a total of 1 trillion wireless devices to be connected to the Internet by 2013. "The Internet is no longer just an information superhighway, it's a platform," Warrior said, citing the increased adoption of mobile-to-mobile technologies and the exponential growth of apps. The biggest reason for growth is within the realm of video consumption. Industry experts project the amount of mobile video streaming to become approximate two-thirds of all mobile Internet traffic in 2013. As a company, Cisco believes mobile Internet traffic will reach around 1.3 exabytes in just three years from now. With the advent of high definition Stereoscopic 3D content streaming to mobile devices very soon, the projected numbers and growing mobile traffic concerns are not easily ignored

If the IEEE can finalize WiMAX 2 on time, unlike the 802.11n WiFi standard, and successfully deploy to networks to meet the constraints of growing wireless demand, we could all very well be on our ways to utilizing theoretical 100Mbps connections with more mobile freedom than ever before

Blizzard wins case versus pirate server company

$88 million worth of apologies

 

Blizzard Entertainment has won a lawsuit versus a private server company, Scapegaming, and is looking at a payment of $88 million in damages

Scapegaming has been running unauthorized servers for Blizzard’s hit game World of Warcraft as well as using a micropayment system that made the company more than $3 million

With all this in mind, Scapegaming is set to pay $88 million with $85 being for statutory damages. In comparison, only $63,000 goes to cover legal fees

F1 2010 release date is solid

Codemasters excited about sales potential

 

The Codemasters upcoming release of F1 2010 represents a big deal for those who did not own a PlayStation, as for the first time in a long time a Formula 1 video game release will be multiplatform

The bigger news, however, is that Codemasters has confirmed the release date of F1 2010. North America will get to experience F1 2010 on September 21st, while those in Europe will have to sit still till September 24th. The news of the release dates first appeared in a video on the official F1 website, but later was confirmed by our sources

When F1 2010 finally arrives, it will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms. Not since the EA F1 releases of long ago did an F1 title appear on so many platforms, and this includes the already released F1 2009 for the Wii and PSP that were already released

F1 2010 will offer a variety of Codemasters trademark touches from previous recent racing titles such as Dirt 2 and Grid, where the game will offer an immersive experience to give the player the feeling of what it is actually like to be a racing driver in Formula 1. Players will experience all 19 tracks, as well as the different cars from all of the Formula 1 teams

Codemasters is very excited about the release of F1 2010 and has publicly stated that despite the lack of popularity in the U.S., it expects that it will sell 2+ million copies of the game. The folks at Codemasters do think it is possible that the sales of F1 2010 might be helped in part by the lack of a NASCAR title on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC at this time. As one source told us, “…racing fans in the U.S. might be drawn to F1 2010 with the lack of other titles currently available and could lead to better than expected sales in North America, but we look for European sales to be quite strong

One possible snag could have the potential to derail some of those sales (at least on the PlayStation 3 platform) and that is the expected release of Gran Turismo 5, which is expected to arrive in November; but the earlier release date is in favor of the Codemasters camp. Whispers we hear seem to suggest that they are not worried about the other racing titles expected this holiday season, including GT5, and the company expects F1 2010 to sell well

Rage gets a release date

Still some waiting till it arrives

 

During Quakecon this past weekend id Software announced a release date for its upcoming title, Rage. The announcement flies smack into the past id philosophy that a title it is working on will “ship when it is done.” Apparently this time, id has decided to at least give players an idea of when to expect the title to ship

The date selected for release is September 13th, 2011 for North America, followed by a European release on September 15th, 2011. That is the release date as of today, but as always things could change; but we get the impression that this release date is pretty solid, given that it is a year away

The title itself will be released on a variety of platforms including the PC and Mac as well as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 console systems. An iPhone version was also announced at Quakecon with a release date that is said to be ahead of the rest of the platforms. Apparently, there will be little difference among the releases, as all titles are said to look pretty much the same and can all run at 60 frames-per-second

While the release of Rage is still a long time off, what we have seen so far is impressive. Some are already calling Rage perhaps the best game that id Software has ever built, but till it is released we don’t really know if this will be the case. The good news is that we will not have much longer to wait for it to arrive, as we have already done a good part of the waiting

Fable III Limited Edition controller coming

Will arrive in stores starting October 5th

 

Microsoft will be releasing another limited edition wireless controller. This time, the new controller will be arriving to celebrate the release of Fable III. The news of the Fable III Limited Edition Wireless Controller comes only a few short weeks after the announcement of a new Limited Edition Halo Reach wireless controller, which will be released, as well

The Fable III Limited Edition controller was designed by the artists at Lionhead Studios and it takes it design cues from the Crown of Albion. The controller sports a gold look with graphics that are themed to fit in with Fable III. Microsoft has been releasing limited edition controllers with much success according to our sources, so it is only natural that they will continue to release them in conjunction with high-profile title releases

The controller will be heading to retailer shelves on October 5th and will carry a price tag of $59.99 when it arrives. In addition to the wireless controller, buyers will also get a download code to get an exclusive-in game tattoo for use with your character in Fable III. The release on October 5th will give Microsoft and retailers plenty of time to stock up on the Fable III Limited Edition Wireless Controller prior the arrival of the actual Fable III game, which is due to be released on October 26th

UK should drop Microsoft for Linux

It is in the suggestion box

 

The UK government has been asking for suggestions about ways of saving money on its IT and one of them being seriously looked at is a move from Microsoft to Linux

The ideas were two among the 60,000 ideas offered by those who work in the public sector, but just 31 of those were listed on the website for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This top 31 appear to be his short list

The two suggestions: include migrating the whole of government (the NHS, Education etc) from Microsoft products to Linux and open source software like Openoffice. Finally, annul the government’s agreement with Microsoft to provide software and operating systems (OS) to government departments and switch to open source software and Linux based operating systems

The idea is that this would reduce costs by not having to update hardware in line with new Microsoft OS releases. Linux OS and open source software has a lower whole life cost and is less susceptible to viruses. It would support a more diverse spectrum of the IT industry, instead of one corporation; generating additional UK tax revenue

All good stuff, however given that the UK government sees roll outs of new things as to expensive it might not happen. After all the Blighty government is insisting on hanging on to Internet Explorer 6, because of the

cost of upgrading

ASUS designs AMD mini-board

Mini ITX has Ontario inside

Asus has revealed that it's designing a mini-ITX board with AMD's first low-power Fusion chip, Ontario on board

We are guessing that the beast will end up in some home entertainment systems, but who knows. It is possible that the chip will be equal to  Athlon II X2 250U, but with a DirectX 11 graphics chip built in it should end up with just 18W under the bonnet

If it can manage this spec then there will be a viable alternative  to Atom in the mini-ITX market. Asus is keeping details of performance or the boards eventual use close to its chest, although Bit-Tech has clearly been trying. All Asus will say is that it is early days for its board it would not even talk about the possibly of an AMD based EePC