Digital Inke

Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category

Even though external graphics cards have failed to capture the imagination of the computing market, Nvidia is still keen on developing such solutions and is currently working on an external GPU for notebook computers.

This information was unveiled by the Fudzilla publication which talked with Rene Haas, General Manager of Nvidia’s notebook division.

Nvidia’s representative hasn’t revealed too many details about the state of this external graphics solution or about its specs, but it seems like it will be based on a 28nm core, which means that the GPU will arrive in 2012 at the earliest.

As far as the interface used for connecting the external graphics core to the computer is concerned, Intel’s Thunderbolt technology is the most likely candidate as its one of the few solutions, if not the only, available at this time that can offer the required bandwidth.

The Thunderbolt technology was developed in order to provide a unified interface with enough bandwidth to replace all the current connection buses, such as SCSI, SATA, USB, FireWire or PCI Express.

Although this first iteration of Thunderbolt is still far away from reaching that goal, it still manages to join together the PCI Express and the DisplayPort interfaces and can provide, in theory, 20Gbps of upstream and 20Gbps of downstream bandwidth (via two 10Gbps bidirectional channels).

Thunderbolt can also daisy chain up to 7 devices and deliver a maximum of 10W of power without requiring any additional connectors.

Since Thunderbolt was introduced, quite a few companies have announced their support for the technology, but, as we speak, the only computing devices to include this interface are built by Apple and Sony.

The latter already uses an external GPU, developed by AMD, for the latest generation of the VAIO Z notebook, which connects to the system via a Thunderbolt interface.

In the last quarter of 2011, AMD is expected to launch its first 28nm graphics cards from the Radeon HD 7000 product series, and the latest leaks to reach the Web suggest that the top parts from this range may use AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture and high-speed XDR2 memory from Rambus.

According to Expreview, the launch of the Radeon HD 7000 graphics cards family will resemble that of the current Radeon HD 6000 solutions, as AMD will first introduce a couple of mainstream solutions into the market.

These will be the first graphics cores developed by the company to be built using the 28nm fabrication process and will use the Thames and Lombok cores.

Just like the Radeon HD 6900 series, these two cores are based on a VLIW4 (very long instruction word) architecture and are paired with GDDR5 memory.

If the information uncovered by Expreview is correct, then the highest performing Radeon HD 7000 solution to be launched in Q4 2011 is the HD 7870.

This features similar specifications with the current Radeon HD 6970, but thanks to the advanced fabrication process AMD managed to increase the GPU clock speed from 880MHz to 950MHz, while also decreasing the power consumption of the card from 250W to 120W.

As impressive as all this may sound, the Radeon HD 7900 series, which will be released most probably in the first quarter of 2012, manages to be even more thrilling as this will be based on AMD’s Next Generation Core (NCG) architecture detailed at the company’s Fusion Developer summit, which took place in mid-June.

We talked about this new arch in detail in some of our previous articles, so we are not going to get into this now, but the key aspect of NCG is that it will improve the performance and functionality of GPGPU computing.

Together with the all new architecture, AMD will most probably also introduce XDR2 memory developed by Rambus, which its manufacturer claims it can double the bandwidth of GDDR5, while using 30% less power.

Judging by the information leaked, the top part in the Radeon HD 7900 family is going to be called the HD 7970 and it includes 2048 shaders clocked at 1GHz, 128 texture units, 64 ROP units, a 256bit memory bus and 2GB of XDR2 video buffer.

This will work at an impressive 8000MHz, while the total power consumption of the card is rated at 190 watt.

Finally, is quite a bit early to tell if these specifications are indeed true, but all the rumors published until now seem to confirm the fact that a part of the Radeon HD 7000 graphics cards will be based on the Next Generation Core architecture. (via Nordic Hardware)

So many things have been shown at this year’s IFA trade show, especially on the display market, that the new 3D monitor that LG put on display might be one of, if not the most normal of them all.

One of the things on display at LG’s booth in Berlin, Germany, is the Cinema 3D D237IPS.

We actually have two fellow editors there, taking all pictures of many items, and this happened to be among them.

The name alone is enough to gleam the major elements that define the panel, namely the screen size (23 inches diagonal) and the IPS display.

For those that like numbers, the aspect ratio is of 16:9 and the native resolution is the expected 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (Full HD).

The rest of the figures are decent to impressive, though not unheard of on a market that is already close to reaching and even surpassing the Full HD standard as mainstream specification.

A dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 is paired with a brightness of 250 cd/m2 (100 cd/m2 in 3D) and a GTG response time of 5 ms.

Indeed, this item has support for the 3D mode, and even comes with 2D to 3D conversion, as well as Super Energy Saving and auto brightness control.

Finally, a VESA mount is included in the offer and, for connectivity, LG threw in D-sub, DVI-D, HDMI 1.4 and a headphone out.

Under normal circumstances, this product wouldn’t get called in any way normal. The mere fact that it supports 3D would be enough to ensure that.

However, the simple fact is that this LG Cinema 3D D237IPS had the misfortune of being brought to the same show as Philips Gold and Platinum Edition Smart Led TVs and, more importantly, the 8K4K Sharp LCD that puts everything out there, and Full HD in general, to shame.

Those so inclined can look at the any of the products we got our hands on here.

Note: Fellow editors Cosmin Vasile and Sorin Nita are on the floor at the 2011 IFA Show and are keeping us posted with pictures and live reports on the latest product previews and launches.

With just how many companies convened at IFA, 2011, it would have been strange if Philips had missed the occasions, but this was not the case, the company having revealed a pair of displays.

This year’s edition of the IFA trade show, in Berlin, Germany, is bound to have already stirred some wide ripples.

A couple of our colleagues are actually on site, taking photos and shooting videos of various items on display there.

Users can go here if they wish to get a taste of the variety, and abundance, of technological implementations.

It turns out that Philips made a point of not letting the occasion slip past without some new product launch on its part.

As such, the company designed a 3D panel, as well as a model which, to make things even more intriguing, boasts the exclusive LightFrame technology.

The 3D panel is aimed at gamers and has a diagonal of 27 inches, an aspect ratio of 16:9 and Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels). It is offered in a bundle with active shutter glasses.

The other panel, and which might even be considered more interesting, has a proprietary technology which, Philips claims, will lessen users fatigue.

Specifically, the LCD has the LightFrame technology, essentially a frame which casts a blue light and calms whoever is in front of the panel.

Three steps of intensity can be chosen, in addition to having it turned off completely, should one so desire.

Finally, the LightFrame is completely black when not active, unlike those of previous models, which were transparent.

Philips should have the 3D gaming monitor and the Moda Series LightFrame panel up for sale before the end of the ongoing year (prices are unknown). Those who want massive TVs with top-grade specs can check out things like LG’s 72-inch monster instead.

Note: Fellow editors Cosmin Vasile and Sorin Nita are on the floor at the 2011 IFA Show and are keeping us posted with pictures and live reports on the latest product previews and launches.

With the tendency towards portable Flash storage, one might no longer be on the lookout for optical media, but Samsung still has faith in the storage media, as made clear by its new ODD.

Ever since the CD (compact disk) was invented, optical media has been on a constant advancement, always incarnating in a newer and better disk format.

Nowadays, the DVD and Blu-ray disks are the main subject of discussion when it comes to such things, with BDXL and CDs a distant third.

Unfortunately, optical media as a whole has not been going through its most golden of ages, mostly because of NAND Flash storage and portable HDDs.

With USB-connected drives of all sorts becoming so incredibly popular in a short time, disks aren’t as hyped up and well-selling as they used to be.

Nonetheless, they remain the primary means of distributing such things as movies and software programs, including operating systems, among other things.

As such, they, and the drives that read them, aren’t going to disappear any time soon, although many laptops, especially smaller entry-level ones, tend to not include them by default.

Thus, Samsung put together a new portable ODD (optical disk drive) of the Blu-ray writing variety, dubbed SE-506AB.

Is is a black, glossy product, has a slim form factor and uses the same Universal Serial Bus interface as the majority of external storage solutions, regardless of type.

It also has a low enough power draw that it makes do with the energy provided by said interface, instead of needing an extra plug.

Finally, prospective buyers might want to weigh in their decision making process the fact that Samsung used a lead-free soldering technology (a design that “complies with international environmental regulations that limit the use of hazardous materials”) in order to make it even more eco-friendly than just low power consumption would on its own.

The Samsung SE-506AB.will start shipping soon, if it hasn’t already, for the price of $140.

The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 has already gained speed, but it may gain even more of an advantage once the USB 3.0 Promoter Group finishes their latest pet project.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 is the most recent iteration of the Universal Serial Bus standard and has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 5 Gbps (4.8 Gbps).

It has already gained native chipset support on some motherboards and has more or less made it into every recent desktop and notebook.

Still, there is always room for improvement, and the USB 3.0 promoter group intends to prove, and live up to, this mantra.

Apparently, what the group now wants is to make the specification even more versatile by removing the need for a PC.

What this means is that, with the USB On-The-Go (OTG) spec, any electronic devices with USB connectivity will be able to directly link to each other.

This will mostly benefit such things as phones, cameras and other items that have their own user interfaces, while flash drives and other storage units will, obviously, not be able to do much on their own.

OTG and Embedded Host Devices, which need fast synchronization or streaming of rich data, will, likewise, draw great benefits form this technology.

“The USB 3.0 promoter group continues to optimize its specifications in order to meet the evolving requirements of the industry,” said Brad Saunders, the chairman of USB 3.0 promoter group.

“The availability of the USB On-The-Go 3.0 and Embedded Host supplement addresses the industry’s need to transfer rich data using fast synch-n-go mobile devices.”

The USB OTG 3.0 and Embedded Host supplement will, as a bonus, come with power saving benefits and has backwards compatibility with USB OTG 2.0.

What remains is to see how long products with this capability built into them will take before finally making their debut in force.

LG may have launched two new monitors just a short time ago, but the LCD market is, overall, not doing too well, a fact reflected in how the company decided to revise its financial expectations for next year.

Liquid crystal displays are everywhere nowadays, the same way virtual memory server mostly any electronic out there.

Unfortunately, there are less than pleasant traits that LCDs and RAM products share, one of them being marketing performance.

Memory modules and kits have been selling poorly for about a year or more, leading to very low prices as demand refuses to pick up.

Apparently, while not as serious, the situation is similar on the display front, to the point where LG can’t afford to be too optimistic about what next year will bring.

This revelation will probably contrast sharply with the more cheerful of recent events, such as AMD’s decision of who will be CEO and IBM’s ambitious 200,000 HDD project.

Some may have thought, and rightly so, that the 2.9 trillion won spending of 2009 was very low for a company of LG’s caliber.

It turns out that the target spendings for 2012 will only barely exceed the 2009 sum.

More specifically, the company changed its budget, which had already been revised, to 3 trillion won, the rough equivalent of $2.8 billion.

In other words, LG will spend 33% less money on operations next year than it intended to until now.

To compound the problem, LG also reduced its capital-spending budget for 2011 about a month ago, from 5.5 trillion won to 4.5 trillion.

Finally, LG will not be building any new panel manufacturing plant in 2012, suggesting that there is already a surplus of panels.

What remains is to see if analysts are proven right in their predictions that demand will continue to stay underwhelming.

Sony’s S1 and S2 tablets have been the subject of rumors, reports and even official word on the company’s part, but the latest leak suggests that the latter slate might end up being named differently once shipments begin.

The tablet industry continues to be a fairly uncertain space, though not in terms of whether or not it will continue to exist.

By uncertain one means the fact that a new tablet can never really know for sure if it will take off or fail to gather a following.

This is, no doubt, the reason most slates have so much in common, both hardware-wise and in terms of software.

Still, while the S2 tablet from Sony does share the same platform as many others, as well as the Android operating system, it can hardly be called similar.

Indeed, the product definitely stands apart by virtue of its dual-display construction, reliant on two 5.5-inch displays, one of which occupies what would otherwise be dedicated to a keyboard, were this a netbook.

According to Engadget, there is now a name to go with the codename, Sony Table P in fact, its availability being scheduled for next month (September 2011).

The Tegra 2 SoC (system-on-chip) is the platform chosen to power it, while 4 GB of built-in flash storage exist as well.

The obligatory card slot exists, of course, and there is even a 2 GB SD card bundled with the product, or so the report says.

Furthermore, Sony threw in 512 MB of RAM (the processor and video parts would not work without it after all), as well as a 0.2 megapixel webcam.

All in all, the dual-display Tablet P has a weight of 370 grams, quite a bit less than the Tablet S (600 grams), which has 16 GB or 32 GB of storage and 1 GB of RAM.