EVGA launches Geforce GTX 650 Ti Boost Superclocked

Alongside reference one

 

It appears that EVGA will be taking up the Geforce GTX 650 Ti Boost challenge as has launched two versions, the reference clocked GTX 650 Ti Boost and the Superclocked factory overclocked version

In case you missed it, the GTX 650 Ti Boost is based on GK106 GPU with a total of 768 CUDA cores and comes with either 1GB or 2GB of GDDR5 memory paired up with a 192-bit memory interface. The reference GPU clock is set at 980MHz but it can "boost" up to 1033MHz. The memory works at 6008MHz

Although both announced EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost graphics cards use the same blower style cooler, the Superclocked version works at 1072MHz for the GPU base and 1137MHz for the GPU boost clock while 2GB of GDDR5 memory remained at reference 6008MHz

Both cards are compatible with EVGA's PrecisionX 4.0.0 overclocking/monitoring software and come with a standard 3 global warranty, something that EVGA is quite proud of. According to EVGA, both cards should be available pretty soon with a price of US $169.99 (€139/£123.00 exc VAT) for the reference one and US $179.99 (€147/£130.00 exc VAT) for the EVGA GTX 650 Ti Boost Superclocked version

You can find them both here

Nvidia releases Geforce 314.22 WHQL drivers

In case you want to play Bioshock Infinite

 

Nvidia has released a new version of its Geforce driver, the Geforce 314.22 WHQL. The launch coincides with the appearance of Bioshock Infinite and the GTX 650Ti Boost, the new driver brings quite a few performance improvements in Bioshock Infinite and various other games

The new driver brings performance improvement of up to 41 percent in Bioshock Infinite, up to 60 percent in Tomb Raider, up to 23 percent in Sniper Elite V2 and up to 13 percent in Sleeping Dogs, all on GTX 680 graphics card and when compared to 314.07 WHQL drivers. The new driver will also work on other graphics cards and bring some performance improvements as well but but with different results

The new driver also brings some improvements for GTX 680 SLI systems with up to 21 percent improvement in Sniper Elite V2, up to 14 percent in Sleeping Dogs, up to 10 percent in Star Craft II and up to 15 percent in Civilization V. It also adds or updates SLI and 3D Vision profiles for some games

You can find the new driver here

ADATA slims down its SSDs

Down to 7mm

 

ADATA Technology has announced that all of its, existing and forthcoming, solid state drives will feature a thinner and lighter case making them extremely suitable for slim-design notebooks and Ultrabooks

According to ADATA, the new 2.5-inch 7mm SSDs will be 26 percent thinner and somewhat lighter with no loss of speed, capacity or durability. In order to make them backward compatible, all SSDs will also ship with a 2.5mm plastic holder that will make them fit snuggly in the existing 9.5mm slots

With this move, ADATA aims to remain a leader in solid state technology

Kingston announces new HyperX memory kits

Black PCB and signature heatspreaders

 

In order to celebrate its 10th anniversary of its HyperX brand, Kingston Technology has announced new HyperX Beast and entry-level Black line of DDR3 memory kits that will use black PCB and matching Black signature heatspreaders

The HyperX Beast, aimed at enthusiasts and overclockers, will be available in various dual and quad-channel kits in capacities from 8 to 64GB and speeds of up to 2400MHz. According to Kingston, the HyperX Beast 2133MHz 64GB and the 2400MHz 32GHB kits are the fastest and highest capacity certified Intel XMP-ready kits on the market

The HyperX Black line aimed at entry and mid-range markets, will be available in 4GB and 8GB modules and thus as an 8GB of 16GB dual-channel kit and will be available with 1333MHz and 1600MHz frequencies

According to Lary Yang, HyperX business manager at Kingston, they managed to match good looks with high performance with the new HyperX Black and Beast lineup

The HyperX Beast and Black line will be available in variety of CAS latencies and will need 1.5 to 1.65V of voltage

You can check out more about the HyperX Beast here and you can find the HyperX black line here

Nvidia officially launches GTX 650 Ti Boost

Battles AMD on two fronts

 

Nvidia has officially launched its newest mid-range graphics card in order to counter the recently launched AMD Radeon HD 7790.

The GTX 650 Ti Boost is based on the same GK106 Kepler GPU as the GTX 650 Ti and the GTX 660, the new card features 768 CUDA cores, 64 texture units 24 ROPs, works at 980MHz base and 1033MHz boost clock and will be available with either 1 or 2GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 6008MHz and paired up wtih a 192-bit memory interface

By launching two versions with 1GB or 2GB of memory, Nvidia manages to battle both the HD 7790 1GB graphics card in the US $149 range as well as the Radeon HD 7850 2GB in the US $169 price range. Few days earlier, or to be precise on Friday, when we wrote about the GTX 650 Ti Boost, Nvidia planed, or at least told its partners, that the GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB will go after the HD 7850 and thus should be priced accordingly at around US $189, but a few days later, Nvidia decided to drop the price down to US $169 in order to better cope with AMD's offering. These prices make the GTX 650 Ti Boost 1/2GB quite a decent match for AMD's offerings on both fronts, but we'll get to details a bit later

Performance and specification wise, the GTX 650 Ti Boost has a lot more to do with the GTX 660 rather than the GTX 650 Ti. The GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB on average, depending on the game and the benchmark, certainly breathes down the HD 7850 2GB neck and is even slightly faster in some if not most scenarios. Unfortunately, Nvidia did a clever thing and most if not all sites are doing the GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB review and compare it to the HD 7790 which honestly does not sound fair as we are not talking about the same price range

Judging by the slides that we saw earlier, Nvidia certainly wanted to go after the HD 7850 and the HD 7790 now simply sounds like collateral damage. Unfortunately, prices go up and down and we are sure that AMD has at least some room to adjust their pricing and offer great value with those bundled games

Currently, as far as we can see, the HD 7850 2GB sells four around US $180 with various rebates at Newegg.com which makes it about US $10 more expensive than the GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB. The HD 7790 1GB should be selling for US $149.99 which is pretty much what Nvidia wants for the GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB graphics card

In Europe, the GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB should go for €149 for the 1GB and €169 for the 2GB version. A quick check of our favorite EU price search engine reveals that you can actually buy the HD 7850 2GB graphics card for about the same amount of money and, of course, the HD 7790 1GB also is pretty much in line with the GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB €149.

We have yet to see a GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB review but judging from these first GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB reviews, AMD's HD 7790 will certainly be in trouble and we are quite sure that they will justify it with the Never Settle Reloaded bundle that adds Bioshock Infinite game coupon. Same thing can be applied to the HD 7850 and the GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB, as although it does come on top, performance wise (in some if not all situations), AMD can easily say that their card has more value thanks to the bundle, which in this case adds both the Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider games

You can check out some of the review links below

Anandtech.com
Techpowerup.com
Tweaktown.com
Hothardware.com
Hardwareheaven.com
Hardwarecanucks.com
Hexus.net
Bjorn3d.com

Archos 97 Titanium hits retail/e-tail

Available at Amazon.com for US $249

 

Archos 97 Titanium has appeared at Amazon.com with a US $249 price tag. Although it was announced back in January, it appears that it is just hitting some of the major US retail/e-tail shops

In case you missed it, the 97 Titanium is a part of Archos' Titanium lineup that also includes the 70 Titanium, 80 Titanium and the 101 Titanium. The premium offering is exactly the 97 Titanium that should be, at least according to Archos, a direct competitior to the new iPad thanks to its Retina-class 9.7-inch 2048x1536 IPS touchscreen and aluminum back casing. It is based on a Rockchip Cortex A9 dual-core chip clocked at 1.6GHz and paired up with quad-core Mali 400MP4 GPU

The rest of the specs include 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage expandable by microSD card slot, front 2-megapixel and rear 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, WiFi, and all the other usual features expected to be found on a similar tablet. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS

You can find it and order it here

Radeon HD 7850 1GB going EOL

  

Too close to HD 7790

 

We managed to confirm with some of our sources that Radeon HD 7850 1GB is indeed EOLed and will not be produced any more. According to our sources, the reason most likely lies in the fact that the HD 7790 gets too close to it, performance wise, and it simply does not make sense for partners to have both cards

Back when we first wrote about the HD 7790, AMD was planning to force its partners not to make factory-overclocked versions as it could cannibalize the sales of the HD 7850 but it looks like it was easier for partners to simply EOL the HD 7850 and stick to reference and factory-overclocked HD 7790 models

Although there are some rumors that the HD 7850 EOL reason lies in the memory chip availability, our sources suggest that it is highly unlikely as that would influence some other cards as well and the real reason is exactly the HD 7790.

On the other hand, a quick check and our sources reveal that the HD 7850 1GB is still widely available and there are is still plenty of stock so it will stay with us, at least for a while