Over the past few weeks we have taken a look at the cards from the NVIDIA stable - the GTX 470 and the GTX 580 which were both amazing cards in their own right and achieved high scores in our tests. But now it's time to take a look at the Red side, AMD's. They recently launched the 6800 Series of GPUs and XFX was kind enough to send us one. The AMD HD 6850 is based on the ‘Barts’ core and in comparison to previous generations offersimproved tessellation, eyefinity and performance.The first thing that we noticed as we took the card out of the box was how small and light it was. At just 235mm in length, it should fit in almost any modern chassis. In comparison, the GTX 470 and GTX 580 look like hulking monsters. XFX have used a non-reference design and have used dual fans to help with heat management. The copper heatpipes jutting out of the side help in giving it a more rugged look, but at the same time they also make direct contact with the GPU which helps in cooling. One very cool design, although superficial, is the XFX logo carved into the I/O panel. It doesn’t serve a purpose, but it looks good.In terms of connectivity options, the XFX HD 6850 has two DVI-D ports along with one Displayport 1.2 and one HDMI 1.4a port. On the other end of the card; we have a single 6-pin PCIe connector that takes care of all its power needs.

ASUS' Republic of Gamers (ROG), a brand synonymous with gaming and overclocking, today presented a host of innovations and products designed to provide users with the ultimate experience in high performance gaming and overclocking. These include ROG's exclusive MemOK! one-click memory rescue tool for effortless and worry-free memory upgrades, the limited edition ASUS ROG MARS GTX 295 graphics card that shatters all existing graphics benchmarks, and the world's most intelligent graphics card—the ROG MATRIX GTX 285. Other highlights include a 120 Hz 3D-ready Gaming Monitor that provides users withan immersive gaming experience, and the ASUS W90 notebook—a mobile gaming powerhouse that has recently set a Guinness World Record in overclocking. With such an impressive line-up, ASUS is once again poised to set the gaming and overclocking scene alight.

ROG: Empowering Gamers and OC Enthusiasts around the World with the Ultimate Gaming and OC Experience.

Established in 2006, the Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an initiative by ASUS to provide the very best hardware and technologies to the gamers and overclocking enthusiasts of today. Through extensive research and development, product testing and the constant pursuit of gaming and overclocking perfection, ROG has become a badge of honor for pro-gaming and overclocking champions the world over. With numerous 3DMark Vantage world records for the Entry, Performance, High and Extreme presets under its belt, ROG is the final word in extreme performance and absolute dependability.

MemOK!: Any Memory is A-Ok!

Memory compatibility issues are often the bane of system upgraders, and ASUS is the only motherboard manufacturer in the world that has devised an ingenious tool solely to tackle memory-related problems. Called MemOK!, ASUS' exclusive motherboard feature takes the guesswork and anxiety out of memory upgrading, restoring user confidence and peace of mind. In the event of a boot failure after installing new RAM, all the user has to do is press an easily accessible button on the motherboard and MemOK! will automatically load the failsafe settings needed to ensure a successful system boot. MemOK! is able to rapidly detect and resolve memory issues—even if bad or unstable memory is used! MemOK! is available on the newly released Rampage II GENE, Maximus II GENE and the Crosshair III Formula motherboards.

ROG MARS GTX 295 Graphics Card: Limited Edition, Unlimited Power!

The new ASUS ROG MARS is currently the fastest graphics card in the world and a dream come true for gamers everywhere. An unprecedented combination of dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 GPUs, an awe-inspiring 4GB onboard memory and the world's first 1024-bit memory bandwidth, it is 23% more powerful than stock NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards. The ROG MARS GTX295 graphics card also features an improved thermal design that boasts a 65% increase in heat pipe coverage and a 20% heat dissipation rate—thus delivering extreme cooling, even during graphically intensive operations. The ultimate result is non-stop adrenaline-pumping graphics and special effects for a truly unique and simply breathtaking gaming experience. The ASUS ROG MARS will only be available as a limited edition, and each graphics card will be assigned a unique serial number. With only 1000 units slated for production, the ASUS ROG MARS is a masterpiece of power and performance that every hardcore gamer and overclocker must own.

ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX 285: Rule Your Game with the World's Most Intelligent Graphics Card

The latest ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX 285 graphics card comes equipped with the Super Hybrid Engine for automatic hardware load monitoring and adjustments, delivering 15% lower GPU noise and increasing overclocking stability for up to a 10% increase in performance. A 5-level LED display allows users to keep track of the loading of the GPU. One of the highlights of the ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX 285 is the new iTracker2, which retains its predecessor's robust hardware monitoring capabilities and five scenario GUI modes, but now also features exclusive memory timing settings, BIOS burning and a recovery application to provide gamers with advanced control of their graphics card. With a simple click of the Safe Mode button, users can now boot their systems in safe mode even when the BIOS has crashed, and iTracker2 will automatically recover the BIOS. Keeping the ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX 285 cool is the Extreme Cooler, which intelligently makes timely fan speed adjustments according to GPU loading, and comes with 46.5% more heatpipe coverage—increasing heat dissipation efficiency by 12%.

ASUS W90: Guinness World Records' Fastest Notebook

ASUS is proud to announce that the ASUS W90 has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the fastest notebook in the world. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 processor and equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics solution with 1GB of GDDR3 VRAM, the ASUS W90 achieved an unprecedented 3DMark06 score of 20324 at a recent overclocking gathering in Norway. This announcement comes shortly after the ASUS W90 clinched CNET's coveted Editors' Choice award. In the review, CNET's Joshua Goldman, the reviewer, said the multimedia powerhouse delivered "mobile gaming performance [that] is tough to beat", pointing out that the W90 had "outpaced all other notebooks in the processor-intensive performance tests" he conducted when running in overclocked mode.

The ASUS W90 sports an exterior design reminiscent of high performance sports cars. Head-turning looks aside, it provides users with the absolute best in multimedia entertainment and gaming. The setting of a new Guinness World Record solidifies its reputation as the epitome of extreme performance and irresistible style.

ASUS G51 and G60: Immersive Gaming through High Definition Sight and Sound

Sporting a futuristic, robot-inspired 'mecha' design, the new ASUS G51 and G60 notebooks are equipped with Altec Lansing speakers—augmented by EAX Advanced HD and CMSS technologies—that provide stellar 3D surround sound to users for gaming, music or movies. An extreme performance NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics solution provides true-to-life visuals, further supported by PhysX Technology which brings real-world realism and particle physics to games. The ASUS G51 and G60 deliver their spectacular visuals on full high definition displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

BFG Technologies®, Inc., the leading North American and European supplier of advanced NVIDIA-based 3D graphics cards, power supplies, and the Phobos™ High-Performance Gaming/Home Theater System, announced today the BFG GeForce® GTX 285 H2O graphics card with ThermoIntelligence® Water Cooling Solution.

The BFG NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285 H2O 1GB graphics card features a totally silent, exceptionally efficient BFG ThermoIntelligence® copper water block. Co-developed by BFG and Danger Den™, this singleslot solution delivers up to a 42°C lower GPU operating temperature than reference cooling solutions, and is backed by BFG's lifetime warranty and 24/7/365 free technical support.

“BFG innovated the idea of offering pre-built water cooled graphics cards back on the GeForce 6800 Ultra and then extended that initiative by partnering with our friends at Danger Den for full coverage copper blocks starting with the GeForce 8800 GTX”, said John Malley, senior director of marketing for BFG Technologies. “Our industry leading experience in providing top-of-the-line pre-assembled water cooling solutions continues with the GeForce GTX 285 H2O, and offers customers a rock solid product that is backed by our famous lifetime warranty and 100 Day Trade Up Program.”

BFG GeForce® GTX 285 H2O with ThermoIntelligence Water Cooling Solution

* Memory: 1GB GDDR3
* Core Clock: 666MHz (vs. 648MHz standard)
* Shader Clock: 1512MHz (vs. 1476MHz standard)
* Memory Data Rate: 2484MHz
* Processor Cores: 240

About BFG ThermoIntelligence Custom Cooling Solutions
BFG Technologies is at the forefront of high performance custom cooling. That experience has lent itself to the development of the ThermoIntelligence series which has been specifically designed to meet the cooling demands of the discerning PC gamer and enthusiast. Featuring custom air and water cooled solutions, the ThermoIntelligence series provides exceptional thermal performance without the drawbacks of traditional custom and aftermarket solutions.

Eligible for the BFG Trade Up program
Within 100 days of purchase, the BFG GeForce® GTX 285 H2O graphics card can be traded up to a BFG graphics card of greater performance and price, and the customer only pays the difference in price, plus applicable taxes and shipping. Currently the Trade Up program is only available in North America. Learn more at www.bfgtech.com/tradeupprogram.aspx.

Availability
The BFG GeForce® GTX 285 H2O graphics card with ThermoIntelligence Water Cooling Solution will be available starting the week of March 9, 2009 at leading online retailers in North America and Europe. A more highly overclocked version—the BFG GeForce GTX 285 H2OC with ThermoIntelligence Water Cooling Solution—is planned to be released within a week. Visit www.bfgtech.com for more information.

Today ASUS is all over the place, promoting all kinds of products. Now is the time for the Formula video cards line-up, inspired by Formula 1 race cars. ASUS is already showcasing a few products from the line-up at CeBIT 2009 (where else if not there). The part that brings the cards' name is actually the heatsink. From above it resembles the shape of a F1 car. Despite that, theheatsink is nothing so revolutionary. It is combination of anti-oxidizing aluminum fins, five copper heat-pipes and a dust-proof fan. The whole cooling occupies two PCI slots. ASUS forgot to mention if the cards will be supercharged, sorry I mean overclocked. Pricing and availability information is also missing, neither we know if the cards will be with NVIDIA or ATI GPUs.

As NVIDIA gears up to give GeForce GTS 250 a gala CeBIT launch, its partners seem to be ready with their products, and press-shots. Gigabyte will be one of the first to be out with a GeForce GTS 250 based graphics accelerator that uses the company's own design, GV-N250ZL-1GI. For those new, the GeForce GTS 250 is simply a re-launch of the NVIDIA's 9800 GTX+ accelerator. It is based on the same G92b core and uses identical specifications.

Gigabyte's first accelerator sports the Ultra Durable PCB construction. The PCB consists of 2 oz (56.6 g) copper layers that help spread heat and minimize ground electrical noise. It also consists of the all solid-capacitor, ferrite choke, low effective RDS on MOSFETs design. The most interesting featureof this card is its cooler: a Zalman VF1050. Heat is drawn from the GPU-contact block using four heatpipes that convey it to a dense array of copper fins, nucleated by a PWM-controlled fan. The clock speeds on this card remain close to the reference speeds: 740/1850/2000 MHz (core/shader/memory). It might hit the stores after NVIDIA makes the GPU official.

MSI Computer, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, is pleased to announce the newest addition to its Gaming Notebook Series - GT627. The new GT627 is the first in the MSI Gaming Notebook series to feature the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS graphics processing unit (GPU). This revolutionary GPU delivers blazing-fast mobile gaming and supports NVIDIA CUDA technology enabling MSI customers to experience the wide range of CUDA-based applications-such as heart-stopping GPU-accelerated game physics and video conversion. The GeForce 9800M GS also saves power and increases computing efficiently by handling video decoding, allowing the CPU to focus on other tasks.
"We are excited to offer the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS GPU in the GT627 Gaming Notebooks," said Andy Tung, Vice President of Sales, MSI US. "This GPU will allow us optimize performance and deliver unparalleled graphics for gamers on-the-go."

"Whether viewing or editing photos, finding directions, playing a game,or watching a hi-def movie, the MSI GT627 with the NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GS GPU runs silky smooth, with amazing visuals," said Rene Haas, General Manager of the notebook business unit at NVIDIA. " With the GeForce 9800M GS handling the graphics, video and physics acceleration, MSI customers will be ready for the visual computing movement."

MSI has also equipped the GT627 with a spacious 15.4" WSXGA (1680x1050) LCD, 2W internal speakers, and weight cartridge laser mouse to enhance the mobile gaming experience. The GT627 also features MSI's proprietary Turbo Drive Engine, which can overclock the notebook's Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (Penryn, FSB 1066) by as much as 15% at the touch of a button when in AC mode. When on the go, users can conserve the GT627's battery by taking advantage of the MSI's Eco Engine technology to switch between five power settings to ensure efficient power consumption.

MSI housed the powerful GT627 in its stylish anodized brushed aluminum gaming case. This solid enclosure features stamped aluminum sheeting in both the LCD lid and palm rest for increased protection and durability. However, despite the reinforced casing and a 6-cell battery, the GT627 weighs just over six pounds making it one of the most portable gaming notebooks in its class. Additionally, MSI also included an 802.11 b/g/n wireless modem and a Blu-ray player to make it a true mobile entertainment center.

NVIDIA has already upped the ante with the release of its latest 55nm-based GT200 GPUs, which have been launched under the form of two new graphics cards, the GeForce GTX 285 and the dual-GPU GTX 295. However, these two cards have been designed for computer and technology enthusiasts looking for high-end graphics solutions. Mainstream users are likely to choose one of the other GT200-based cards, including the new GeForce GTX 260, which has just been featured with a 55nm graphics processor. This is the GPU upon which Palit has just released its newest graphics card, the GTX260 Sonic 216SP, designed to provide users with the full-performance potential of NIVIDIA's 55nm-based GT200 GPU.

If you own a graphics card designed by Palit Microsystems, you are already aware of the fact that a “Sonic” model is basically a factory-overclocked version of the basic card. This is also the case with the new Palit GTX260 Sonic 216SP, which combines a 55nm GPU, equipped with 216 stream processors, with a custom dual-Fan cooling solution, ready to deliver a high-end gaming performance while maintaining the power consumption andoverall power efficiency enabled by a 55nm GPU.The card has been featured with a core frequency of 625MHz, while the 896MB of GDDR3 RAM memory has been clocked to 2.2GHz. According to the company, its latest GeForce GTX260 graphics card is 9 percent faster than other GeForce GTX260 models, the performance boost being provided by the overclocked graphics core. The dual-fan cooling solution boasts two PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) fans and three heat-pipes, enabling a better overall cooling, consequently providing better performance.
The card also comes with NVIDIA's own technologies, including CUDA, PhysX and Stereoscopic 3D, all of which enable better performance in gaming and non-gaming applications. Palit hasn't delivered any details regarding pricing and availability of the card.

Several days ago NVIDIA claimed it would push GeForce 9600GT Green Edition graphics card, and now we got more details about it.

GeForce 9600GT Green Edition is quite similar to GeForce 9600GT in specification, except for a little bit reduction in frequency. The core/shader clock has dropped from 650/1625MHz to 600/1500MHz respectively, while the memory clock keeps unchanged at 900MHz.

Besides, its voltage has reduced from previous 1.1V to 1.0V, and the power consumption falls from 96W to 59W. Theexternal power connector has been removed.

The price and availability of GeForce 9600GT Green Edition are unknown yet, but we guess the pricing won’t be far from that of existing edition.

The ability to drive big displays now comes in a small package with the release of the NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 420, the industry’s only low profile professional graphics solution designed for maximum display real estate with a small form factor (SFF) computer. Featuring NVIDIA nView® display software and support for four 30-inch displays at 2560x1600 high resolutions, business professionals can maximize productivity through increased desktop real estate and easy to use display management tools.

Built to meet the needs of today’s most demanding business professional, the Quadro NVS 420 professional graphics solution offers stability, ease-of-use and wide compatibility. In addition it has been thoroughly tested to ensure compatibility with the leading business applications.

“The convenience of small form factor computers can now finally be matched with remarkable business graphicsand digital display capabilities,” says Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Solutions, NVIDIA. “The Quadro NVS 420 transforms these small form factor machines into business graphics powerhouses.”Among the cutting-edge display features incorporated into the Quadro NVS 420 GPU are:

* Support for up to four high-resolution 30 inch. (2560x1600 resolution) displays
* NVIDIA nView display software, which allows users to spread their work across single, large or multiple displays and maximize productivity through user friendly desktop and application management features
- Display gridlines for maximizing a user’s desktop space by dividing up the displays into multiple regions
- Virtual desktops that allow users to launch applications on up to 32 different desktops
- Extended Windows Taskbar spans across multiple displays so the application window buttons can be spread over multiple displays

Equipped with large frame buffer and high memory bandwidth, the Quadro NVS 420 GPU is fully capable of the performance required by many digital signage installations, providing crystal clear 2D and 3D content as well as HD video. For extreme resolutions, the DisplayPort connectors offer more screen real estate from a single graphics card on an SFF system. Enabling EnergyStar-compliance, the Quadro NVS 420 has low maximum and idle power levels and is built with a high quality variable-speed fansink for a quieter working environment.

With a host of enterprise-friendly features, a dedicated NVIDIA Quadro NVS Enterprise support team and compatibility with most hardware and software specifications, the Quadro NVS 420 business graphics solution delivers a stable environment designed for peak functionality and a seamless enterprise deployment. The inclusion of NVIDIA Unified Driver Architecture (UDA) simplifies the upgrade process by ensuring forward and backward compatibility with NVIDIA software drivers.

The NVIDIA Quadro NVS 420 GPU will be available this February at a price of $499 (USD) MSRP. For more information on NVIDIA technologies and products, please visit: www.nvidia.com/quadro

Apple is expected to refresh its line of mini desktop computers sometime around March this year, NVIDIA insiders have confirmed to the folks at tom's hardware. The device is allegedly smaller in size, thanks to the Ion platform it employs. Apple is also believed to have gained preferential treatment from NVIDIA, who allegedly has sent out mere blue prints of Ion to the rest of its partners.

“A large portion of the Apple Mac community is waiting for Apple to refresh the Mac Mini line. We learned today that the next generation of Mac Mini computers will be based on Nvidia's Ion platform,” the source reveals. “An Nvidia partner confirmed to us that Apple was the first to receive samples of Nvidia's Ion platform, which we covered extensively during CES. In fact, Apple received prototype units long before Nvidia partners who opted to work on Ion. We're told that some partners still only have blue prints of Ion,” the report shows.

Being considerably smaller in size, the Ion platform may well lead to the reduction in size of the new Mac mini, the site pointsout. Undoubtedly, Apple will not only beef up the mini inside, but will also add a redesigned case to the unit(s) launching in March, around CeBit.

As far as pricing goes, the new mini is expected to cost no more than $700, for a high-end model, and around $500 for the low-end SKU. This could well be the case with the new minis, as NVIDIA itself stated in the past that it expected Ion products to start at roughly $400, the same source points out.

Older Mac mini rumors said that two port versions were expected to show up on the device, one for use with Apple's old monitors, the other (MiniDisplay Port) for use with the company's new Cinema displays. A new firewire 800 port is also rumored for the new-generation Mac mini.

It may be 2009, but the GeForce 9M series, just introduced last summer, is already last year's news: yesterday, Nvidia announced the new GeForce 100M series at CES.

Engadget reports that the GeForce 100M series' first three members exceed the performance of comparable GeForce 9M series GPUs by 17 to 35 percent. Initially, the GeForce 100M family includes:

* The entry-level GeForce G105M contains eight processor cores producing 38 gigaflops and running at 1.6GHz. It supports up to 512MB of DDR2 or DDR3 memory accessed over a 64-bit memory bus.
* The mid-range GeForce G110M features 16 processor cores producing 48 gigaflops, and runs at 1GHz. It features the same memory bus, memory type support, and memory clock speed as the G105M, but supports 1GB of RAM.
* The high-end GeForce GT 130M features 32 processor cores producing 144 gigaflop performance, running at 1.5GHz. It also supports faster DDR3 memory than the G105M/G110M, and * offers a 128-bit memory bus. It supports up to 1GB of RAM, and can run in up to two-way SLI configurations.

Lenovo's new Y-series IdeaPad computers, which we told you about earlier this week, will be the first to include members of the family: The top-end Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 will be powered by the GeForce GT 130M, while the lower-end Y550 and Y450 models will use the GeForce 110M part.

Hit Comment and let us know if the GeForce 100M series is the GPU family you'll be demanding in your next laptop.

Sunnyvale, California-based AD has unleashed a new product as part of the company's range of ATI Mobility Radeon graphics solutions. Designed to boost the performance for portable computer systems, the chip maker has unveiled, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, its latest Mobility Radeon HD 4000-series graphics chips, its next-generation series of notebook graphics processors. According to the company, the new solutions are capable of providing up to twice the performance capabilities of their predecessors, the HD 3000 series of mobile GPUs.

"We’re proud to highlight ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4870 as the first notebook GPU to support specially designed, ultra-high bandwidth GDDR5 graphics memory to unleash the full-throttle gaming experience normally reserved for the high-end desktop gaming rigs," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager of AMD, Graphics Products Group. "Now, notebooks equipped with one or a pair of these speedy graphics processors can take on just about any PC game and run them smoothly at their maximum option settings."

The new Mobility Radeon HD 4800-series graphics processors are the industry's first solutions that boast the GDDR5 memory technology, enabling twice as much memory bandwidth as the GDDR3 and GDDR4 standards. This significantly increases the performance capabilitiesof all the upcoming gaming laptops designed by leading PC makers. Meant for gaming, these new 55nm notebook GPUs are capable of providing up to 800 stream processors, compared to the 320 stream processors available for the HD 3800 series of graphics chips.In addition, the new Mobility Radeon HD 4000-series GPUs have been designed with energy efficiency in mind, providing a balance between optimal performance and reduced power consumption. According to AMD, its high-performance Mobility Radeon 4870 GPU is capable of providing a 60-percent increase in performance-per-watt, coming with technologies such as the ATI PowerPlay, ATI PowerXpress and ATI Switchable Graphics.

Systems running on the HD 4000-series graphics processors have already been designed by leading system makers, such as ASUS, MSI and others, with availability expected to begin as early as Q1 2009.

ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of NVIDIA-based motherboards and graphics cards, kicks off day two of the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show with a early preview of the next-generation mini-ITX platform for Intel processors powered by NVIDIA’s GeForce 9300 graphics processor – the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi. The new ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi combines the powerful GeForce 9300 graphics processor with Intel processors for an unchained high-performance platform that’s big on performance but miniature in size.

The powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9300 graphics processor that forms the heart of the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi packs 16 high-speed stream processors that are configurable for DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.1 and CUDA-enabled applications. The ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi also featuresa high-performance NVIDIA PureVideo HD video processor that decodes Blu-ray high-definition video formats in hardware and enhances standard-definition content to near-high-definition quality levels.
“The ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi is the perfect platform for home theater PCs. Pairing power-efficient Intel processors and a PureVideo HD enabled graphics processor with a mini-ITX form factor allows the ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi to fit nearly anywhere without sacrificing high-definition video playback capabilities desired by home theater PC users,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC Internation.

The ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi is engineered for high-performance applications and packs a full-length PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, enabling compatibility with powerful ZOTAC GeForce graphics card upgrades. The mini-ITX board also features NVIDIA Hybrid SLI technology for GeForceBoost compatibility with select GeForce 8 and 9 series graphics cards.

“Our ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFI delivers the best of both worlds – a powerful mGPU for video processing and a full-length PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot and HybridSLI compatibility for power hungry users that want to pair a mini-ITX platform with powerful PCI Express graphics cards such as our ZOTAC GeForce GTX 200 and 9 series,” Mr. Berger added.

The ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi also features compatibility with DDR2-800 MHz memory, high-definition audio, SATA 3.0 Gbps and integrated 802.11b/g wireless network connectivity.

General Details

* New ZOTAC GeForce 9300-ITX WiFi platform
* NVIDIA GeForce 9300 mGPU
* 16 stream processors
* Hybrid SLI compatible
* Microsoft DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 compatible
* NVIDIA CUDA and PhysX ready
* NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
* Full-length PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot
* HDMI (w/Audio), DVI (w/Audio) and VGA outputs
* HDCP compliant
* Integrated 802.11b/g WiFi
* Intel Core 2, Celeron and Pentium support – Socket LGA775
* 1333 MHz front-side bus compatible
* 2 DDR2 DIMM slots
* DDR2-667/800 compatible
* Up to 8GB of DDR2 memory
* ZOTAC Extended Warranty

As NVIDIA celebrates the launch of its two new flagship products: the GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285, Sparkle made an addition to its mainstream graphics lineup with a 1 GB variant its GeForce 9600 GSO accelerator (model: SX96SO1024D3-HM). Traditionally, the G92 graphics processor in the 8800 GS, 9600 GSO should have a 192-bit memory bus, but with this particular card, Sparkle chose a 128-bit memory bus and added 1 GB of GDDR3 memory.

The card features a dual-slot cooler for the GPU. Its core is clocked550 MHz. Its 96 stream processors are clocked at 1375 MHz. The memory runs at 800 MHz (1600 MHz DDR). It supports NVIDIA CUDA and PhysX technologies and is SLI capable. It will be priced around US $100.
*

1GB Extreme Fast Large-capacity GDDR3 memory
Today‘s game, such as Crysis, Alone in the Dark 5, Stalker: clear sky, they normally use a large number of bump texture, transparent texture to describe faces of characters and render realistic gaming scenes, so these games put higher demands on the capacities of video memory. The current situation demands at least 512 MB video memory to run these games. Compared with ordinary GeForce 9600 GSO graphics cards on market, SPARKLE GeForce 9600 GSO 1GB Graphics Cards come with incredible large 1GB GDDR3 video memory can let mainstream users to pass the 3DMark Vantage High Test which strictly demand at least 512MB video memory, providing much more detail information to mainstream users for better understanding its graphics capability.

*

2nd Generation PureVideo HD
High-definition video decoder and post-processor delivers unprecedented picture clarity, smooth video and accurate color for movies and video.

*

Cooling System
Exquisitely made cooling fans or passive cooling system with heat-pipe, which have high performance thermal compound ensures optimal thermal dissipation even after years of use.

*

Full Microsoft DirectX 10 support
World’s first DirectX 10 GPU with full Shader Model 4.0 support delivers unparalleled levels of graphics realism and film-quality effects.

* NVIDIA™ PhysX
GeForce GPU support for NVIDIA PhysX technology, enabling a totally new class of physical gaming interaction for a more dynamic and realistic experience with GeForce.

* NVIDIA™CUDA Technology
CUDA technology unlocks the power of the GPU's processor cores to accelerate the most demanding system tasks such as video transcoding delivering up to 7x performance over traditional CPUs.

ASUS, world-leading producer of top quality graphic solutions, has today introduced the world’s fastest dual and single GPU graphics cards incorporating the latest generation of NVIDIA GPUs—the GeForce GTX 295 and GeForce GTX 285 chipsets; with the ASUS ENGTX295, ENGTX285 ULTIMATE, and ENGTX285 TOP graphics cards. With an outstanding 3DMark Vantage Extreme Preset score of 9126, the ENGTX295 leads the pack as the world’s fastest graphics card; while the ASUS ENGTX285 ULTIMATE and ENGTX285 TOP deliver 10% and 5% improvements respectively in gaming experiences when compared to reference designed boards. Furthermore, in order to show that ASUS cares for all gamers, both the ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series graphics cards will come bundled with a special coupon to obtain up to $25 or 10% off on a total of 5 games or CUDA applications at the NZONE webpage.
Up to 10% Performance Upgrades
The ENGTX285 ULTIMATE and ENGTX285 TOP’s core, shader, and memory clock performances are boosted from 648MHz up to 712MHz and 670MHz, from 1476MHz up to 1620MHz and 1550MHz, and from 2484MHz up to 2760MHz and 2600MHz respectively. This generates an astounding 10% improvement in terms of GPU performance for the ENGTX285 ULTIMATE when compared to any other reference designed board. Suchextraordinary performance upgrades help to elevate the ENGTX285 ULTIMATE and ENGTX285 TOP’s 3DMark Vantage Extreme Preset score from 6003 to 6607 and 6298—an astonishing 10% and 5% improvement in speed when compared to any other reference designed board. With such overwhelming performance boosts, get ready to feel the adrenaline rush of gaming like never before—only with the ASUS ENGTX285 ULTIMATE and ENGTX285 TOP!

Exclusive ASUS GamerOSD for Versatile Graphics Usage
The ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series also come equipped with the exclusive ASUS GamerOSD that unleashes the true power of ASUS’ VGA cards. This handy feature delivers GPU overclocking from onscreen displays during gameplay—allowing users real-time performance upgrades whenever required. In addition, GamerOSD can also provide users with the option to record live gaming action or broadcast live over the Internet with ease.

SmartDoctor for the Most Powerful Overclockability
ASUS garners yet another world’s first with the ASUS SmartDoctor—an overclocking utility capable of tweaking the Shader Clock on GPUs. With this application, users will be able to overclock the Shader Clock and Engine Clock independently for astonishing performance boosts, without the hassle of rebooting or re-flashing their BIOS.

Value-added Coupon Offer to All Gamers in Holiday Season
To further provide users with added gaming value, the ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series graphics cards will now come with a limited edition coupon. This coupon will allow them to obtain up to $25 in value or 10% off on up to 5 games or CUDA applications at the NZONE webpage. With over 200 game titles like Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and Call of Duty: World at War, users will be spoiled for choice for the hottest and latest games. The latest CUDA applications like Badaboom are also offered on the site for users interested in unlocking the true power of their graphic card’s GPU cores to help accelerate the most demanding graphical tasks.

Speak Visual with Graphics Plus
The ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series graphics cards are also outfitted with CUDA technology—which not only provides world-class gaming experiences, but also offers the brand new Graphics Plus pack enhancements. Users can experience jaw-dropping PhysX gaming effects, Stereoscopic 3D, and lightning fast video and image processing all accelerated by the GPU. Regardless of whether users are experiencing new worlds of realistic physical motion and massively destructible environments, strapping on their GeForce 3D Vision glasses to game in true Stereoscopic 3D, transcoding HD videos in minutes to their portable video players, or rapidly editing digital images using Adobe CS4, the ASUS ENGTX295 and ENGTX285 Series graphics cards can do it all with mind-blowing performances.

LEADTEK Research Inc., world acclaimed for its extreme visual graphics leading brand technology, proudly announces its latest WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ with a new graphics card packaging design. Based on the Best-in-class NVIDIA GTX 260 chipsets, this thoroughbred graphics card delivers advanced performance with the best cooling silent fansink. Its overclocking capability is sure to bring users a fantasy visual effect. Together with the launch of the graphics card, Leadtek debuts a new packaging design. The latter replaces the former robots with a series of top speed cars as the key visual. This original concept aims to vaunt Leadtek’s corporate spirit of “high quality & speedy performance” that gives users an altogether new visual impression.

WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ is powered up with 2nd Generation NVIDIA Unified Architecture and enables the rendering of multiple, true-to-life characters in complex and dynamic virtual worlds. Inaddition, the latest parallel computing architecture with massive independent processing cores enables GTX 260 EXTREME+ to execute the most intricate non-gaming applications via CUDA language. This includes acceleration of the art design application - science simulation application or transcoding of video to a personal video player up to 7X faster than the CPU.

And on top of all this, with WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+, there’s the Hybrid SLI technology solution. The new technology is based on the SLI and Hybrid Power technology and increases graphics performance with GeForce Boost for intelligent power management with Hybrid Power.

The latest NVIDIA PhysX technology gives games a real lift with hugely destructible environments and ultra-realistic physical interaction. Gamers, one and all, get drawn convincingly, with sweating palms and racing hearts, into a virtual but realistic gaming environment as lifelike characters behave with incredible authenticity
And users are now able to experience the red-hot ‘zinging’ performance of WinFast GTX260 EXTREME+ with the bundled award-winning real-time strategy and RPG game – OverLord. In this highly rated game each decision directly affects the character and results in a quite unique climax, all to the accompaniment of superb music and, for the most part, voicing.

While in all honesty, you’ll probably never need a quad-core processor in your laptop, it’s nice to think about. And while you’ve got that on your mind, know that Acer has already heard your thoughts, and are answering them with the release of their new Aspire 8930G laptop, featuring an Intel Core 2 QuadMobile Processor Q9000.

According to Acer the notebook will feature “ four processing cores, 12MB of shared L2 cache, 1066 MHz Front Side Bus and clock speed rates upto 2.53 GHz.” To them, this makes the notebook an idealoption for “extreme users.”

And heck, as long as you’re being extreme you can be smart. The 8930G will run you a very reasonable $1,799 with the Q9000, an Nvidia GeForce 9700 GPU and a Blu-ray drive standard.

Due to show up at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in 2009, the new HP Firebird 803 designed by Voodoo has surfaced early with leaked photos and specifications. Unlike the previous firebird, this design is much smaller, however it does come with its draw backs. To get such a small design, the entire unit is custom built and appears to follow no standard layout or format, i.e ATX, BTX, etc. As such one would imagine that upgrading components would be very limited, so this is more likea laptop or games console in which what you buy is what your stuck with. The tower also appears to be watercooled, but to further reduce the size and heat output, the power supply has been made external and judging by the pictures it's roughly twice the size of a normal laptop power supply.
Specifications:

* NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset
* Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor
* 4GB of RAM
* Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards
* Two 320GB SATA drives
* Blu-ray
* 5-in-1 card reader
* 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVI dual-link
* Bluetooth
* 802.11n WiFi

NVIDIA hasn't confirmed its work on a nettop platform for Intel's Atom processor. It has indicated that the Atom market is interesting, while we have also been hearing rumors that it is actually working on two new Atom chipsets. The first pictures of what looks like a nettop from NVIDIA has been posted and we even get a view of the actual board, housed inside a mini-PC that indeed looks like an NVIDIA creation.

The computer is said to be a reference design of NVIDIA's nettop platform and we neither believe or hope that any will use this exact design. The connectors are spread around the sides of the case in what seems likea real hole orgy.The most important is what we find inside the case though, a single-chip chipset with MCH, GPU and ICH functions. This reference design supports Intel's Atom 230 and dual-core Atom 330 processors, one SO-DIMM DDR3 module, USB 2.0 ports, SATA ports, Gigabit LAN and one DVI-I output, located on the back.
All this has been squeezed onto a motherboard of the Pico ITX format measuring only 7x10cm. Something that really opens up for even slimmer and better designed nettops.

DFI is ready with the first LGA 1366 motherboard in the micro-ATX form factor, the DFI LP JR X58-T3H6, dubbed LANParty Junior, which supports the latest Core i7 processors by Intel. The motherboard measures 245 x 245mm. Despite its smaller size, it has a respectable feature-set: 6-phase CPU power circuit, six DDR3 DIMM slots for triple-channel memory, two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots supporting both ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI, an additional PCI-Express x4 slot, and HDCP capable ALC 889A HD audio.

The BIOS features CMOS Reloaded, Voltage Tuning for vDIMM, vNB, vCore, vSB, vHT, frequency tuning in increments of 1 MHz, adjustable CPU multiplier, andABS technology system. The board features as many as 7 fan headers, onboard power and reset switches, and diagnostic LED display. There is no word on the pricing or availability at this point in time.