Tech News

• Pi record smashed as team finds two-quadrillionth digit - BBC

  Published: Monday, September 20, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Cloud computing to the rescue!  While a cloud computer can be made from any ole computer the current push is to use MiniITX systems for lower power consumption and space savings.  (read: Atom processors) multiply the power of the Atom by 1000x and you have some serious number crunching.
  
  

  Nicholas Sze, of tech firm Yahoo, said that when pi is expressed in binary, the two quadrillionth digit is 0.
  
  Mr Sze used Yahoo's Hadoop cloud computing technology to more than double the previous record.
  
  It took 23 days on 1,000 of Yahoo's computers - on a standard PC, the calculation would have taken 500 years.
  

  
  500 years on a standard PC ?!?, that is a long time.  Then again an EVGA SR-2 equipped with 2x HyperThreaded 6 core processors running at 6Ghz each isn't a standard PC?  Sadly you would still run out of LN2 long before the calcuation had completed.
  
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• HDCP Master Key Confirmed - Blu-ray Content Hacked

  Published: Monday, September 20, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Noticed this last week,  it was only a matter of time before someone figured out the encryption key.  Thing is the solution isn't as elegant as the DVD solution
  
  

  As a practical matter, the most likely scenario for a hacker would be to create a computer chip with the master key embedded it, that could be used to decode Blu-ray discs. A software decoder is unlikely, "but I'd never say never," Waldrop said. 
  

  
  Create a decoder chip, and use that to extract the data you want to save.  Seems like a lot of work, esp considering people have been posting ripped Blu-ray films for quite some time now.  I guess this post is confirming the key they discovered is legit.
  
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• VisionTek CandyBoard @ PureOverclock

  Published: Friday, September 17, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Here is a product we don't normally feature, its a small keyboard that resembles the slide out keyboards you'll find on mobile phones with a touch pad attached.
  
  

  The body of the keyboard has a gorgeous black finish, and is comprised primarily of plastic. Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, this little keyboard packs quite a punch in more than just looks. The CandyBoard has built-in mouse functionality; namely right, left, and scrolling center button, just below the touch pad. As far as the DPI goes, it is set at 500DPI. 
  

  
  The options for something like this are endless, however appear to be limited to non-pc activates, usually having to do with size and laziness issues related to watching TV on your computer 
  
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• Catalyst Driver Updatse on Steam

  Published: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Is it just me or does this sound like a horrible idea? 
  
  AMD and Valve have just announced that the latest AMD/ATI drivers will be available via steam making it extremely easy to update your drivers before playing.
  
  

  With today's exciting announcement from AMD and Valve®, Steam gamers will never again have to worry about finding the most recent ATI Catalyst™ graphics driver. PC gamers can now detect and install the latest ATI Catalyst™ driver for their ATI Radeon™ graphics card directly from within Steam! Gamers using ATI graphics will not only be kept posted on the latest available drivers for their hardware, but with every update they'll know that they're getting the overall best possible gaming experience AMD and Valve can provide.
  

  
  Now we all know that Steam does some crazy stuff in the background, usually just updating game files and reporting back about your computer hardware.  So it stands to reason that steam will now do the same with video drivers and become the new MGA (Microsoft Genuine Advantage) of the gaming world. 
  
  Of course when Microsoft issues an update it usually has been thoroughly tested and ensured to work, however that is not always the case with video drivers.
  
  Granted this is a good thing as most "non-technical" gamers will often use whatever driver comes on the installation CD, but what about the hard-core hardware guys that will often use a certain driver version because it plays their game better?
  
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• Gigabyte X58A-UD7 Review @ ocaholic

  Published: Monday, September 13, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Intel X58 is the current go to chipset for anything performance related.  Its future is somewhat questionable considering its age but so far nothing can. or will, replace it anytime soon.
  
  The Gigabyte model is one of the favorites among overclockers, while I would personally recommend one of the EVGA boards you can't go wrong with the onboard cooling available on any of the UD X58 boards.
  
  

  With the X58A-UD7 Gigabyte has a very well equipped motherboards in its portfolio which is based on Intels powerful X58 chipset. The board also comes with SATA III and USB 3.0 as standard and is therefore ready to support the latest storage technologies.
  

  
  This is where I would normally injects my desire to bench a UD9, the practical application of a UD7 seems to be more fitting for the rest of us with real budgets.
  
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• NVidia GTS 450 Launch Day Reviews

  Published: Monday, September 13, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Today is launch day for a very exciting new product from NVidia that , for once, is targeted at the "mainstream" gamer.
  
  The GTS 450 is the product of extensive research by nVidia to find the perfect combo of price and performance for the majority of consumers that may not have some of the latest gear at their disposal.
  
  Also, be sure to check out our review of the nVidia GTS 450, its on the list down there somewhere

  -  NVidia GeForce GTS 450 Video Card Review @ Ninjalane 

  - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 SLI Video Card Review (ASUS, EVGA, MSI) @ Legit Reviews
  - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 SLI @ techPowerUp
  - Gigabyte GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review @ Hardware Canucks
  - GeForce GTS 450 Launch Review (Gainward, Gigabyte, Zotac) @ HardwareHeaven
  - NVIDIA Launches GeForce GTS 450, Affordable DX11 Graphics
  - Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB Video Card @ Tweaktown
  - Gigabyte GeForce GTS 450 1GB @ PureOverclock
  - News: Nvidia's GeForce GTS 450 graphics processor
  - MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GB Review @ KitGuru
  - GeForce GTS 450 review roundup with 10 cards @ Guru3D

  Lots of dupes this time around, we only posted reviews from a single site once.

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• Funky Kit Review: OCZ RevoDrive 50Gb SSD PCI-Express Card

  Published: Sunday, September 12, 2010 | By: Dennis

  This is a pretty cool product, not sure I would want to afford one right away but given this or slow SSD's, sign me up.

  In this review, we'll be taking a look at the OCZ RevoDrive 50Gb SSD PCI-Express Card. It's one of only a few solid state drives on the market that's in the form of a PCI-Express card, and is aimed at the higher-end and enthusiast market. The card features internal RAID 0 powered by Silicon Image Sil 3124 controller, and has a total capacity of 46Gb (usuable) driven by 2 SandForce controllers. It can be used as primary boot drive or for data storage. What makes this card extremely appealing is the internal RAID 0 feature. RAID 0 is also know as data "striping" and allows a massive boost in performance.

  Keep in mind the Revo is 2x SSD drives on a single board piped directly into a PCI Express slot.  Its like a hardware RAID card, without the drives attached and doesn't support RAID 5.

  Food for thought, 3 RevoDrives in the same system, you could then do software RAID 5 across the cards for a RAID 50 total.  

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• NL: Review Block: Video Card Blowout

  Published: Sunday, September 12, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Too many video card reviews today (and in previous weeks)  Here is a short list.

  nVidia Cards
  - HEXUS reviews :: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 470 Super Overclock graphics card
  - Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1GB @ PureOverclock
  - Point of View GTX 460 Beast Edition Review @ HardwareHeaven
  - eVGA GTX 460 1GB Superclocked SLI review @ KitGuru
  - ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU 1 GB @ techPowerUp
  - ECS Black GTX 460 review @ t-break
  - Point of View GeForce GTX 460 TGT Beast 1 GB @ techPowerUp
  - Palit GTX460 Sonic Platinum 1GB Video Cards in SLI @ Bjorn3D
  - POV/TGT GeForce GTX 460 BEAST @ Hardwareoverclock
  
  AMD/ATI Cards
  - Gigabyte Radeon HD5770 Super OverClock Edition Review @ Real World Labs
   

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• eVGA Classified SR-2 review with Quad SLI GTX 480 on LN2

  Published: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Now for a little insanity to start your day.  How about several thousand dollars of hardware covered in insulation and super chilled to perfection.

  Best quote ever:
  
  Usually if the screen goes blank or I have to restart, I take the card out and heat it up, then clean it off before putting it back on for another run. It sounds like a lot of work but it's better than wondering if your RMA will go through or not... I've broken so much hardware by waiting for it to heat up again, water dripping into the PCIe slots and all over the front of the DVI connectors.

  So far we have not been lucky enough to a) review the EVGA SR-2 or b) destroy computer hardware due to water damage. 

  All in due time.

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• ASUS EAX5870 V2: Cypress Hill @ InsideHW

  Published: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 | By: Dennis

  Here is an example when product naming goes "very" wrong.  In this news posting we present "how the powers of the herb open up the mind, seek deep inside, and tell me what you find" Cypress Hill (the real one)
  

  I guess it was a video card.

  Although we were positive that we'd already seen every possible version of Radeon HD 5870, ASUS has surprised us with a new "premium" model. EAX5870 V2 is an improved version that should appear in sufficient quantities on the market, unlike the limited edition Matrix version that we've spoken about in the news back in April

  Ya I laughed too, but the card does look good. 

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