Sapphire Technology Limited, the only partner of AMD workstation graphics (except Japan) today announced — ATI FireGL™ and ATI FirePro™ 3D workstation graphics cards have completely passed all Solidworks 2009 tests and gained global certifications. Meanwhile, two mid-range models — ATI FireGL™ V3600 and V5600 have been certified by the other two SolidWorks’tools — COSMOS 2008 and eDrawing 2008. COSMOS 2008 is designed for the SolidWorks models and predict how they will behave in the real situations. Whereas with eDrawings viewer, anyone with a PC can interpret and understand 2D and 3D design data. SolidWorks users can enjoy the most stable work and optimized performance by using AMD workstation graphics.
Solidworks is outstanding for 3D mechanical CAD field, also offer a wide range of simulation products. They have innovative creativity and the biggest users’ community. The newest version “Solidworks 2009” speeds up to 65% over SolidWorks 2008. SolidWorks has added lots new features, such as SpeedPak Technology, apply filters and Sort BOM by Column, sensors monitor, electrical component library etc. By using AMD certified workstation graphics, you can spend more time on productivity, less time at work.
Here introducing a special feature in Solidworks2009-- Vertex Buffer Objects. VBO is activated by default in SolidWorks 2009 and ATI FireGL™ and ATI FirePro™ are completely support. It is a buffer which is stored on the GPU memory and when activated, the application stores vertex data for triangles and lines in this location. VBO is a way for an application to render data without repeatedly accessing the computer’s sub systems suchas the hard drive and therefore help achieve higher operational performance. Additionally, the other fantastic function “RealView Graphics” which was released in SolidWorks 2008, it is hardware support of advanced shading in real time. By applying appearances and scenes, your models come to life without going through rendering processes such as PhotoWorks. Your system must have a workstation class graphics card capable of supporting RealView. See the SolidWorks Hardware support web site for a complete list of supported graphics cards and drivers, and you will see ATI FireGL™ and ATI FirePro™ series are passed with all strict testing.
Why Choose ATI FireGL™ and ATI FirePro™:

http://workstation.sapphiretech.com/archive/newsletter/eng/0175/eng_8_20090211_9157.pdf

For more product information, please visit Sapphire and AMD website: http://workstation.sapphiretech.com/

April 6th is gonna be a big day for AMD as they are going to launch a slew of new cards. As we have told you back in February, Radeon HD 4890 (RV790) is slated for April release and the confirmed date is now 6th of April. Interestingly, we also heard RV740 is pulled in from May to early April release so AMD will probably launch the new cards on the same day.

Radeon HD 4890 (RV790) is still 55nm based and is basically a higher clocked version of RV770. The RV790 card comes with 10 layers PCB and is 9.5" long witha new dual slot cooler. We told you previously, there are 2 versions; standard and OC edition. The OC edition will come later in April. The price for standard 512MB edition is US$199 while the price for 1GB OC edition is US$299.

Radeon HD 4750 and 4770 is 40nm based and we already have seen a preview of it. Price of HD 4750 is expected to be around US$99 while HD 4770 is priced at around US$119. Apparently, the yield is so good that AMD decided to pull in from May to early April release to give GeForce GTS 240 and 9600 GT a run for its money.

It is clear now, that AMD's next performance GPU, theRV790 will be built on the 55 nm manufacturing process. To build on this information, sources tell German website Hardware-Infos that one of the factors that will help the new GPU perform better and run at higher clock-speeds than its predecessor, the RV770 does, is the newer improved 55 nm manufacturing process it will be built on. Going by the foundry-partner codename "55GT", the RV790 may get a little help from its superior silicon fabrication, which invariably makes it more expensive to manufacture.

One of the reasons behind why AMD is starting its 40 nm GPU lineup with a mainstream GPU such as RV740, is that the 40 nm process needs further development by foundry companies. It hasn't developed to the level that safely permits manufacturing high-end GPUs with stellar transistor-counts. For the same reason, NVIDIA's 40 nm conquest will be flagged off by the entry-level GT218 GPU. High-density circuits builton the current 40 nm process are known to be very prone to electrical leakage.

RV790 engineering-samples undergoing testing are known to be coming in two flavours according to the source: a base model and an overclocked model. The base model comes with the same exact clock speeds as the RV770XT: 750/900 MHz (core/memory), while the overclocked model is known to come with clock speeds of 850/975 MHz (core/memory). To achieve that 100 MHz increment in core frequency, the voltage is known to be stepped-up from 1.24 to 1.30 V. Products based on this GPU are known to surface by April.

Gigabyte today has annunced its first AMD “Dragon Platform” qualified motherboard with AM3 Phenom™ II processors support, the Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P. The board is based on AMD 790FX + SB750 chipset and features Ultra Durable 3 technology with 8+2 power phase design. It supports Dual Channel DDR3 1666+ and has 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface for Crossfire, 2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN with Teaming functionality, Power/reset/Clr CMOS onboard button for power users and 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio supporting Blu-ray playback.

Here's the official press release :

GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today is pleased to announce the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P, their first AMD “Dragon Platform” qualified motherboard with next generation AMD AM3 Phenom™ II processors support, enabling the very latest in definitive high performance platforms for work, home and play.

Sportting the new AMD AM3 socket, the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P allows users to elevate their rig beyond the standard limits with support for support the highest performing ever 45nm AMD Phenom™ II processors featuring HyperTransport 3.0 and integrated DDR3 memory controller. The first motherboard to provide DDR3 memory support for the AMD platform, the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P isable to reach memory speeds up to 1666+MHz (OC) for blazing fast memory access for today’s latest applications and games with greater energy efficiency. Build with top-notch high performance engineering, the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P features the highest quality 8+2 CPU VRM power phase design, able to handle the power demands from 140W CPUs with ease.

No performance platform would be complete without the very latest in graphics technologies and the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P doesn’t disappoint. Equipped with the AMD 790FX North Bridge, the GA-MA790FXT-UD5P offers Dual x16 PCI-E 2.0 graphics interfaces to deliver up the latest ATI CrossFireX™ support for the ultimate gaming platform. Plugging in dual graphics cards also enables support for up to 4 monitors, ideal for users wanting to boost their productivity by maximizing their multitasking capabilities.

Getting the most performance out of your system has never been easier as the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P delivers AMD OverDrive™ support, allowing high-end users the ability to fully customize and monitor the performance and settings of their system. In addition, high-end performance junkies will love the latest EC AOD-ACC Embedded Controller, which allows AMD Phenom™ II Black Edition CPUs to be overclocked using the AMD OverDrive™ utility further than was previously possible.

The GA-MA790FXT-UD5P is the latest edition to the GIGABYTE lineup of Ultra Durable™ 3 motherboards. Featuring the industry's first consumer desktop motherboard design to introduce 2 ounces of copper for both the Power and Ground layers, GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 3 motherboards deliver dramatically lower system temperature, improved energy efficiency and enhanced stability for overclocking. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 3 motherboards also feature Japanese Solid Capacitors boasting 50,000 hours of operation, Ferrite core chokes with higher energy efficiency compared to the commonly used iron core chokes and Lower RDS(on) MOSFETs that features a lower resistance, which reduces power consumption and heat generation. The GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 3 series motherboards promises to provide the stability, reliability and longevity essential to meet the power needs of high-end processors and other components running today's most demanding applications and games.

Advanced connectivity options are key to any high end system, and the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P delivers with a combined total of up to 10 SATA 2.0 device support. In addition to the 6 SATA 2.0 (3Gb/s) ports from the SB750 (with RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD support), the GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P provides an additional 4 SATA 2.0 ports through the onboard JMicron controller (JM363 & JM322 with RAID 0, 1, and JBOD support), enabling GIGABYTE's Smart Backup technology which allows users to connect up to 4 SATA 2.0 devices for effortless hardware-based RAID data protection on-the-fly. The GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P also features Dual Gigabit LAN connections with Teaming, which allows 2 single connections to act as 1 single connection for twice the bandwidth to improve overall throughput.

Other Unique GIGABYTE Features

Ultra Durable™ 3 Design

The GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P is yet another example of GIGABYTE engineering at its finest with its revolutionary GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 3 design, featuring 2 ounces of copper for both the Power and Ground layers which dramatically lowers system temperature by delivering a more efficient spreading of heat from critical areas of the motherboard such as the CPU power zone throughout the entire PCB. GIGABYTE’s Ultra Durable™ 3 also lowers the PCB impedance by 50%, which helps to reduce electrical waste and further lowers component temperatures. A 2oz Copper layer design also provides improved signal quality and lower EMI (Electromagnetic Interference), providing better system stability and allowing for greater margins for overclocking.

* Low RDS(on) MOSFETs are specially designed to produce lower switching resistance for faster electric current charging and discharging.
* Ferrite Core Choke Design - Low Power Loss
Ferrite core chokes comprised of a compound of iron oxide and other metal elements whose properties hold energy much longer than common iron core at high frequency.
* All-Solid Capacitor Design - Longer Life
Solid capacitors contain a solid organic polymer, while electrolytic capacitors use a common liquid electrolyte, hence, the terms solid capacitor versus electrolytic capacitors.

Easy Energy Saver
GIGABYTE now makes it even easier for users to take advantage of power savings with the new GIGABYTE Easy Energy Saver. Featuring an advanced proprietary software design, GIGABYTE Easy Energy Saver is able to dynamically adjust CPU power depending on workload, delivering just the right amount of power needed for the task.

Dolby Home Theater® - Enjoy a Rich Home Theater Surround Sound Experience

* Dolby Home Theater places listeners in the middle of the action, giving their PCs a powerful set of tools to deliver a cinema-style experience in vivid surround sound.
* Delivers vivid surround sound for music, movies, and games, using two to eight speakers or any set of headphones.
* Designed to automatically deliver the best possible listening experience.

Smart Backup – Plug & Play Hardware RAID

GIGABYTE's Smart Backup allows users to connect up to 4 Serial ATA devices for effortless RAID data protection. Dual onboard RAID controller chips automatically configure RAID setup without user intervention, making it easier than ever for users to enjoy enhanced data transfer performance, low CPU utilization, real-time backup on-the-fly and protection against HDD failure.

DualBIOS™ - Patented Dual Hardware BIOS Protection

DualBIOS™ is a GIGABYTE patented technology that automatically recovers BIOS data when main BIOS has crashed or failed. Featuring 2 physical BIOS ROMs integrated onboard, GIGABYTE DualBIOS™ allows quick and seamless recovery from BIOS damage or failure due to viruses or improper BIOS updating.

2 Gigabit LAN through Teaming

* Teaming functionality enabled allows 2 single connections to act as 1 single connection for twice the bandwidth, improving overall throughput with lower CPU utilization.
* Prevents network downtime by transferring the workload from a failed port to a working port.
* Receive Side Scaling balances the network traffic load evenly between 2 CPU cores in order to improve performance.
* Adjusts power consumption automatically according to your LAN cable lengths, up to 10% power savings.

EasyTune6

GIGABYTE has completely redesigned EasyTune6 from the ground up to make it easier than ever to manage and monitor your hardware resources as well as tweak your system settings in order to achieve maximum system performance. Whether you are an overclocking enthusiast, or a computer novice, EasyTune6 provides the tools you need to quickly and effortlessly fine tune your system.

Onboard Quick Switches

Onboard Power, Clear CMOS and Reset buttons allow for quick and easy tweaking for power users working in an in chassis environment.Specifications

*
AMD 790FX + SB750 Chipset
*
Ultra Durable 3 Technology with copper cooled quality for lower working temperature
*
Revolution energy saving design with Easy Energy Saver technology
*
Supports socket AM3 45nm AMD Phenom II series processors
*
Advanced 8+2 power phase design for 45nm CPU highly efficiency support
*
Dual Channel DDR3 1666+ for remarkable system performance
*
2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface with ATI CrossFireX support for ultimate graphics performance
*
2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN with Teaming functionality
*
Power/reset/Clr CMOS onboard button for power users
*
Blu-ray playback supported by high quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio
*
Supports Dolby Home Theater audio to enjoy a rich surround sound experience
*
Patented DualBIOS with dual hardware BIOS protection

Advanced Micro Devices has plans to release its dual core Neo processor by the end of this year. The AMD-dual core Athlon Neo is slated to be part of the chip maker's platform code-named Congo and designed for a line of ultraportable, affordable laptops.

AMD has unveiled its single core new processor, Neo for the ultraportables last week at CES based on Yukon platform. , which includes a chipset and ATI graphics controllers. Even the platform was announced on HP Pavilion dv2.

The leaked specifications for the dual-core Neo chips indicate that the dual core processor will be part of the Congo platform, which will deliver better performance and integrated graphics capabilities to ultraportable laptops.

With Congo, AMD plans to use the dual-core Athlon Neo processor along with its own RS780M chip set that includes a SB710 southbridge. Neo chips consume maximum of 15 watts assuring improved battery life to users. Neo chips are pitched as an effective combination of graphics, processor and chipset for a balanced computing performance. They are not the straight forward competitor to Intel’s Atom, which is what the analysts and vendors are updating.

No release date is mentioned as of now.

BIOSTAR MICROTECH INT’L CORP., a professional manufacturer of motherboards today announced the BIOSTAR TA760G M2+ / A760G M2+, powered by ATI’s latest IGP-based chipset, the AM2-compatible 760G. 760G, a value-conscious alternative to the impressive 780G, is paired with AMD's SB710 south bridge and offers integrated Radeon 3000-series graphics.

* AMD AM2+/AM2 Platform
* Support latest AMD Phenom/Athlon/Sempron processors
* AMD 760G / SB710 chipset
* Dual-Channel DDR2 -1066/800/667/533
* Integrated HD3000-based graphics (DX10)
* Solid Capacitors designed in CPU VRM area# Support AMD Hybrid CrossFire X Technology
# 2 x PCI Slots, 1 x PCI-E x1 2.0 Slot, 1 x PCI-E x16 2.0 Slot
# 6 x SATA2 3Gb/s Connector, 1 x IDE Connector
# 4 x USB 2.0 Port, 3 x USB 2.0 Header
# Realtek RTL8111C - 10/100/1000 Controller
# Realtek ALC662 6-Channel HD Audio
# Micro ATX Form Factor Dimension: 24.4cm X 21.5cm ( W x L )

XFX seems to be ready with its initial lineup of graphics cards. Some European retailers have even begun listing their products and pricing. While there's nothing really interesting about the way XFX is pricing its cards, the way it's cards seem to be certainly interesting. Pictured below are its first two models based on the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and HD 4870 graphics processors.

Some surprises: Both use black coloured PCB, neither are 100% reference ATI design, and in fact, XFX designed its own cooler for the Radeon HD 4850 512 MB (model: XFX HD485X-YDFC). The Radeon HD 4870 in the picture is the 1 GB variant (model: HD487A-ZDFC). Bothaccelerators use AMD reference clock speeds. These cards will be released within the first two weeks of this month. More information as we come across.

While NVIDIA has released a number of new graphics cards for the gaming market over the last year and a half, we have seen relatively few updates to their workstation lineup in that same timeframe. It's been since mid-2007 that we saw the last major performance update to the QuadroFX lineup with the launch of their flagship QuadroFX 5600. While the monstrous G80 GPU-based QuadroFX 5600 has no doubt had competition since its release, it's been able to effectively hold off competing ATI products to reign as the performance champ throughout this last year and a half or so.

Early in 2008, NVIDIA released the QuadroFX 3700 board priced at the more cost-conscious (only $1,700) high-end workstation market. Using the less powerful, but more efficient G92 architecture, it delivered raw GPU performance close to that of the QuadroFX 5600, but had only 512 MB of memory and overall lukewarm specs given the price tag. Nevertheless, NVIDIA still held the performance crown with the QuadroFX 5600, and all was well in the workstation realm.

Now, as we've seen in the labs, ATI is assaulting that performance crown with their new FirePro lineup of workstation graphics cards. The top-tier FirePro V8700 model which we looked at a few weeks back uses ATI's exciting new RV770 graphics processor and was able to wallop the QuadroFX 5600 board in terms of performance while also being a lot less expensive. Of course, NVIDIA is right there with a solution of their own to compete against the newly rejuvenated FirePro lineup, but the question is, are NVIDIA's new models enough to stave off a newly energized ATI?

Two new models just hit the QuadroFX lineup. On the high-end, theyhave the QuadroFX 5800 card, using the same powerful GT200 architecture which powers the GeForce GTX 280, coupled together with 4 GB of memory and a 512-bit memory interface. Of course, this beast costs $3,499, and it's going to be a tough sell in this economic market, powerful as it may be. Perhaps the more reasonable solution is the card we're looking at today, the QuadroFX 4800, the QuadroFX 5800's little brother.

The QuadroFX 4800 is a much more palatable high-end solution, coupling together a GT200 graphics processor with 1.5 GB of memory and a price tag nearly half that of the QuadroFX 5800. Let's find out how NVIDIA's massive GT200 graphics processor handles workstation-class loads instead of crunching pixels in Crysis...

Fujitsu Siemens Computers has launched a new laptop called AMILO Notebook SA 3650 and with a 13.3" widescreen display there is little doubt that mobility comes before performance. Under the hood we find an AMD Athlon X2 processor, up to 4GB RAM, 7.1 HD audio, Bluetooth, 802.11n WiFI and integrated graphics circuit in the form of ATI Radeon HD 3200. It is no coincidence we mention the graphics last because the graphics is what makes AMILO SA 3650 stand out. The integrated graphics circuit is nothing out of the ordinary, AMILO GraphicBooster on the other hand is.

AMILO GraphicBooster is anexternal unit that is simply connected to the notebook to boost gaming performance. Not just some simple software optimizations either. GraphicBooster sports a discrete graphics circuit that takes over the job from the integrated graphics circuit.With an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 graphics circuit under the hood AMILO GraphicBooster, according to FSC, offer up to 470% better gaming performance than the integrated Radeon HD 3200 circuit. This makes it possible to boost 3D performance dramatically with a relatively convenient unit. GraphicBooster measures 180x130x33.5mm and sports everything from HDMI, DVI-I and USB2.0 ports.

The concept of an external graphics unit is not new, but with the slim notebooks of today it is an interesting alternative for those who wants to give their computer a substantial performance boost when needed.

WITH NVIDIA'S GTX 295 announcement just around the corner, the satanic rumourmill - as Nick fondly puts it - is in overdrive once again, fuelled by leaked specs and a vivid imagination, it seems.

What are we talking about? Well, several Chinese forums were a-buzz today with talk of a RV775XT and RV775Pro, alleged derivatives of the current RV770 marchitecture with some odd bits and pieces of additional tech - smaller dies on the same process without a re-design, for example. This included a return to GDDR4, die sizes mysteriously shrinking on a 55nm process, and some extra stream processors and TMUs.

The most interesting part of the posts was the one about DAAMIT having refined the fabbing process resulting in better yields that would allow it to put out parts with lower redundancy, that is, less silicon set aside for the eventuality of a manufacturing defect. This would mean some serious cherry-picking taking place and a limited supply of cards, at best, not to mention the economics of the thing...

We rang up ATI's Chris Hook about this and he clarified several points about those specifications. The general consensus is that someone compiled fragments of possible products and put them in a nice looking table. While, in good PR fashion, not admitting or denyinganything we threw at him, he did help us figure out what's wrong with the info.

ATI won't be launching anything in January, that's more or less guaranteed. A refresh to the current range of cards will be launched over the course of 1H-09, but not as early as January (CeBIT sounds like as good a time as any). That will include a delayed RV740 derivative and a suped-up RV770, which should receive the HD 49xx moniker. GDDR3 and GDDR5 will remain the memory bits and pieces, but ATI has dropped GDDR4 for good... too expensive and too much like GDDR5, said the Cap'n. Now the juicy bit is that AMD has narrowed down the 40nm parts launch to the first half of 2009 too, so between the derivatives and the shrinks there will be plenty of options on the market in 2009.

Last, but certainly not least, the 58xx series cards will be reserved for Q4 2009 and will pair up with Microsoft's DirectX 11 launch. So fanbois and fangoils, you'll have to wait a while.

There was more but we were sworn to secrecy, under penalty of death by Sasquatch buggery. We'll keep it to ourselves.

ATI videocard owners take note - AMD has released new Catalyst drivers, v8.12, for both Windows XP and Vista. The new Catalyst release brings with it performance improvements in several DX9 and DX10 games, including up to a 25 percent boost in Crysis (DX10) for both Single and Crossfire mode. More recent releases, such as Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3, also receive a claimed performance boost by up to 10 percent and 15 percent respectively.

Many bug fixes accompany 8.12, such as improved HD video playback no longer causing Vista to stop responding, better support for connectingan All-in-Wonder card to a Yamaha receiver via an HDMI cable, and several more.

The new drivers also unlock the ATI Stream compute acceleration capabilities built into Radeon HD 3870, HD 3870 X2, and all HD 4000 series graphics cards. Similar to Nvidia's CUDA technology, ATI Stream is a set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD GPUs to work with the CPU and accelerate applications other than just graphics. To show off the technology, AMD has made available its free ATI Video Converter utility.

We still find it hard to get our minds off that graphics monster, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 card from Palit. However, it looks like users are bound to get the exact same graphics card from two of ATI's partners, namely Palit and the ex-NVIDIA exclusive Gainward. That's right, pictures of a tri-slot Gainward graphics card, looking strangely familiar to Palit's behemoth, have recently surfaced on the Internet.

It could be that the tri-slot, dual-fan, heat-dissipating solution has become the latest in the design of high-end graphics cards, since we couldn't otherwise explain why Gainward decided to create a card that uses the same cooling solution as the one designed by its competitor Palit. In addition, the Gainward card is also said to have been featured with the same factory overclocked core and memory speed, so it's safe to say that it will deliver the same level of performance as Palit's proprietary design.Turning to the available technical specifications of the overclocked "Spartan," enthusiasts will be happy to hear that the card comes with no less than 2GB of GDDR5 memory, working at a speed of 3800MHz, while the two graphics processors have been set to work at a 750MHz core frequency. Expected to become part of the company's range of "Golden Sample" cards, the yet-to-be officially unveiled product also includes features such as D-Sub, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort connectivity options, for users who want to connect it to different high-quality displays.

Unfortunately, it appears that a few other features are also similar to those of Palit's graphics monster, in that they both lack a specific release date and price point, at least for the time being. However, no matter which of the two cards will be released first on the market, users are bound to get the same level of performance from either one.

eMachines introduces new eMD620-5777 notebook PC which is essential for mobile computing at an affordable price. It is ideal for multimedia projects, day to day use, research and social networking.

The eMD620-5777 notebook features 14.1-inch widescreen display with 1280×800 resolution, 802.11b/g WiFi, 160GB hard drive, AMD Athlon 2650e processor (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB), 1GB of DDR2 memory, integrated ATI Radeon X1200 graphics and up to 1919MB of ATI’s HyperMemory. The preinstalled Corel WinDVD and NTI CD/DVD Maker software lets you burn music and other content on the CD/DVD with the multi-format Dual-layer DVD-R/RW drive.The notebook PC includes two built-in high-definition stereo speakers, headphone/speaker jack, microphone jack and two USB 2.0 ports. It runs on Windows Vista Home Basic and comes pre-installed with eMachines GameZone, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Works 8.5 with Office Home and Student 2007 Trial and 60-day trial of Norton 360 Version 2.0.

eMachines eMD620-5777 notebook PC is priced at just $429.99 (approx Rs. 20,973). It is available at Best Buy.

With the launch of ThinkServers, Lenovo has expanded its popular Think range of enterprise computing solutions in India. Lenovo’s ThinkServer range comprises of ThinkServer TS100 Rack, ThinkServer TD100 Tower, ThinkServer TD100x Tower, ThinkServer RD120 Rack and Thinkserver RS110 Rack.

The ThinkServer TS100 Tower and RS110 Rack are aimed at small offices for simple applications, whereas the ThinkServer TD100 Tower, TD100x Tower or RD120 Rack is developed for medium-sized businesses that involve additional capabilities. All the ThinkServers come pre-loaded with management tools that include:
# ThinkServer EasyStartup – A hardware configuration tool to get the servers up and running quickly
# ThinkServer EasyUpdate – An update utility to easily identify, download and install hardware and firmware updates
# ThinkServer EasyManage – A full featured tool that works with LANDesk to manage the performance of one or more servers from a single console.The ThinkServer servers work with Microsoft Windows Server or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.

All these ThinServers incorporate Easy LED Diagnostics that enables server administrator to easily diagnose hardware issues; and Advanced ECC Memory to smoothly minimize the chances of system downtime due to memory failure.

The ThinkServer TS100 Tower and RS110 Rack are single-socket servers, while the ThinkServer TD100 Tower, TD100x Tower or RD120 Rack are double-socket servers.

The ThinkServer TS100 Tower is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo and Xeon 3200 Series processor and sports Intel 32101CH9R chipset, an 8 GB Memeory, SS/HS 4×3.5″ SATA/SAS or HS 8×2.5″ SAS storage, CDRW/DVDROM drives and ATI ES1000 graphics with external DDRII 64 MB memory.

Powered by Intel Xeon 3000 and 5000 series processor, the ThinkServer TD100/TD100x Tower features Intel 5000 ICH7R chipset, a 32GB/48GB Memory, SS/HS 4×3/5″SAS or SATA OR SS/HS 8×3.5″ SAS or SATA storage, CDRW/DVDROM drives and ATI ES1000 graphics with external DDRII 64 MB memory.

Next is the Thinkserver RS110 Rack that comes equipped with Intel Celeron, Pentium Dual, Core 2 Duo/Quad and Xeon 3000 Series processor, Intel 3210ICH9 chipset, an 8 GB memory, SS/HS 2×3.5″ SATA/SAS or SS/HS 4×2.5″ SAS storage, CDRW/DVDROM drives and ATI ES1000 with DVO graphics.

Lastly, the ThinkServer RD120 Rack employs Intel Xeon 3000 and 5000 processor, Intel 5000 ICH7 chipset, a 48 GB memory, CDRW/DVDROM drives and a storage options such as 6 x 3.5 inch HS SAS or 4 x 3.5 inch HS SAS Plus tape, 8 x 2.5 inch HS SAS Plus Tape, DDS6 Internal Tape Option supported on either 2.5-inch SAS or 3.5-inch SAS.

Lenovo’s ThinkServers are expected to hit the Indian market by this month for a starting price of Rs 45,000.

Normally, when we see an Apple rumor, we look the other way. Barely anything that "leaks" from Apple has any truth to it, so we scroll down on our RSS feeds and look for something else to care about. This time, however, it s different. The last rumors came true to an alarming degree, so we'll attach some credence to this one. That is, unless it turns out to be bollocks.

AppleInsider now tells us that in the next month or so, we might see Apple updating the iMacs as well. Obviously, the idea would be to have a spanking new product line ready for the traditional blow-your-savings-on-cool-stuff festival (also known as Christmas).

However, the updates won't just be driven by business--there will be technology reasons as well. For one, since the last update in April this year, Intel has developed the Centrino 2 platform, which is already featured on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. Secondly, there s the shift to NVIDIA's graphics solutions--it is quite likely that the new iMacs will ditch the ATI chipsets.There may be more news on October 21--though not likely--when Apple holds a conference to announce its quarterly results.

Gainward has introduced an improved version of the generic ATI Radeon HD4850. The graphics card we have in our labs today features a faster GPU and memory and has 1GB of DDR3 memory. Before starting with our usual presentation of the card's features and specifications, let's say a few words about AMD's HD48xx series.

ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series GPUs is a "TeraScale graphics engine " according to AMD, promising to offer HD gaming and Blu-ray/HD content playback with incredible visual fidelity.The new graphics engine combines the power of one teraFLOPS, 800 stream processors and next generation GDDR5 memory. It also supports tessellation, DirectX 10.1 and scalable ATI CrossFireX technology.Like their predecessors, the ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series graphics cards offer optimal performance and efficiency with platform-independent intelligent power management. Regardless of platform, these graphics cards deliver the power needed during gaming while conserving energy at idle or when demand is low.According to the system requirements, the Gainward HD4850 1GB GS needs a PCI-e based PC with one X16 lane graphics slot and a 450Watt (or greater) power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin connector. For CrossFire configurations, a 550 Watt PSU with two 6-pin connectors is recommended.

Our sample comes with a different cooling system than the generic ATI Radeon HD4850, potentially offering better conditions for overclocking. Our sample comes with a massive 700MHz core (625MHz for generic HD4850) and 1000MHz of memory (vs 993MHz for generic HD4850) clocks. As we have mentioned, it has an 1GB memory onboard (0.8ns) with a bandwidth of 256bits.

- Retail package

Below you can see the photo of the retail package of the Gainward HD4850 1GB GS. The graphics card is available for approximately €180.All the included box contents are well-packaged and secured. In the box you will find a printed manual, a driver's disc, a power adapter and the DSub15-to-DVI converter. No retail game is included.

Hear that noise? It's the sound of DirectX 10 (and 10.1) failing to make much of an impact on the PC gaming scene. The slow adoption of DX10 can't be blamed on a lack of hype or anticipation, and gamers might need to prepare themselves for round 2. ATI, stil the only videocard manufacturer to offer DX10.1 compliant silicon, is casting an eye towards 2009 and telling whoever will listen that DirectX 11 is on the horizon.

Currently showing off next-generation technologies at Ceatec, ATI said it expects to launch DX11 GPUs within the next 12-14 months. It's far too early to tell what impact that will having on the gaming community, but on the plus side, DX11 is expected to raise the bar in terms of GPGPU functions and multithreading, as well as bringing support for hardware tessellation for the first time.ATI also says its on track to release GPUs based on a 40nm manufacturing process, though the company stopped short of offering a specific time frame.

Graphics card competition has heated up with the introduction of ATI's HD4800 series -- to offer a more attractive solution to go against the ATI cards, NVIDIA has now introduced the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 graphics card. This particular 260 has slightly more stream processors than the 260 which was originally released: it then had 192 stream processors, whereas the Core 216 variant has 216 stream processors; hence the name. And if you are confused over this entire mess of a naming convention, then you are not alone.

The GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 will sell for a competitive $280 and will go head-to-head with the HD 4870, both in price and performance. The latter sells for anything between $280 and $300. Check out two such 260 offerings from EVGA and Zotac.

Pricing pressure increased on Nvidia's GeForce GTX 260 and GTX 280 when ATI tagged their HD 4800 series cards for $300 only. NVIDIA then slashed the GeForce GTX 260 and GTX 280 prices by a hefty amount in response.Specifications of both cards from EVGA and Zotac are virtually identical. The number of stream processors differs from 192 stream processors in standard GTX 260 card to 216 stream processors as NVIDIA has enabled one more functional block with 24 stream processing units in the existing GT200 GPU. The GT200 GPU can offer a maximum of 240 stream processors -- 24 each in 10 functional blocks. Along with a total of nine such blocks in the GTX 260 Core 216, eight more texture filtering units have also been enabled, bringing the total to 72 texture filtering units.

While the Radeon HD 4870 outpaced the 192-core 260, it will be interesting to see if the 216-core variant can fare better against its arch-rival. Also note that the card still doesn't offer DirectX 10.1 support.

While high end gaming cards like ATI's 4870 and Nvidia's GTX 280 hog all the spotlight, not everyone can afford (or needs) a top of the line card. Picking up the slack at the other end of the spectrum, Nvidia this week silently launched its entry-level 9400 GT graphics card.The 9400 GT comes with 16 processor cores clocked at 1400MHz, a 550MHz graphics clock, and 512MB of memory chugging along at 400MHz. And thanks in part to the 128-bit bus, Nvidia claims the 9400 GT will run twice as fast as the comparable 8-series graphics card.

Nvidia has set the MSRP to $59, which buys support for DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.1, CUDA general-purpose parallel computing, and hardware HD video acceleration. A cursory glance around the web shows the 9400 GT as being a respectable overclocker, but even after pushing the clocks, it looks to be best suited for HTPC and light gaming duties.

According to the most recent details regarding NVIDIA's upcoming graphics products, the Santa Clara-based chip maker is planning to release its very first 40nm GPUs, even before competitor AMD has a chance of delivering its own 40nm-based solutions. Apparently, NVIDIA will step up to the next-generation TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 40G process technology with the introduction of new mobile chips, codenamed N10x.

At this point in time, there are no details regarding availability and official release date but, according to VR-Zone, NVIDIA will try to be the first to offer a 40nm graphics card, thus increasing its chances of gaining the number one spot in the graphics card market. One of the most interesting aspects of the rumored release is the fact that the company is said to be considering applying the new manufacturing technology to its mobile graphics chip business, a division that has recently suffered impressive losses because of some reported faulty chips.Furthermore, the abovementioned website even suggests that NVIDIA could possibly roll out a dual chip solution for its recently released GT200 graphics core. This would ultimately increase the company's chances of regaining market leadership over competitor AMD, which took one step farther by releasing its Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics monster.

No details regarding the future 55nm GeForce graphics cards are available, as neither when the 40nm parts are scheduled to arrive but, given NVIDIA's current situation in the market, 40nm-based graphics cards could just be one of the best solutions for it.

For the time being, AMD's graphics subsidiary, ATI, is the only graphics card manufacturer that has managed to deliver a high-performance video card solution based on the 55nm manufacturing technology. The company's entire Radeon HD 4000-series product lineup has been highly successful despite NVIDIA's latest high-end GeForce cards. The release of the dual-GPU 4870-based card has enabled ATI to claim the leading position in the graphics card market.