AMD promises $500 Trinity ultrabook-style systems

ARS Technica reports AMD is poised to undercut Intel's ultrabook with cheap "ultrathins", a new class of Trinity APU based laptops that could be marketed for as little as $500.

AMD has been showcasing laptops based on its upcoming Trinity processor at CES this week. The company is hoping to bring thin and light Ultrabook-style machines�though AMD calls them "ultrathins," to avoid Intel's trademarks�to market for as little as $500. This would substantially undercut Intel-powered Ultrabooks, which currently start at $800. Intel hopes to reduce the Ultrabook entry price to $700 by the end of the year.

Each Trinity chip will contain a CPU and a GPU. The CPU will be a second generation Bulldozer core, codenamed Piledriver. The GPU portion will be based on AMD's Southern Islands architecture, which made its debut late in 2011 with the launch of the Radeon HD 7970.

AMD promises $500 Trinity ultrabook-style systems - More news at DV Hardware

MSI notebook unit to focus on gaming models

MSI senior vice president Henry Lu announced the company's notebook business is now focused on gaming models because these systems are more profitable:

Sources from the notebook industry pointed out that MSI's notebook shipments in 2011 decreased by at least 60% from 2010, while its all-in-one PC shipments in 2011 were also 70% below its original target, causing MSI to start reconsidering its personnel and product line up strategies.

Compared to the notebook business, MSI's motherboard business continues to perform steadily, while its graphics card business also seeing improvements in both shipment volume and ASPs, with ASPs even having a chance to break US$100, an increase of about 10%.

MSI notebook unit to focus on gaming models - More news at DV Hardware

Scythe Kaze Master Pro Ace fan controller launched

Scythe introduced the Kaze Master Pro Ace, a new fan controller that will be sold in the EU for 34.90EUR (excl. VAT).

Japanese cooling expert Scythe is expanding its product portfolio by the new Kaze Master Pro Ace fan controller. The built-in technology is based on the already announced Kaze Master Pro 5.25 fan controller, which now comes with classy aluminum front panel design. Hence allows it to match more pc chassis on the market, especially pc chassis with an aluminum front panel.

New Kaze Master Pro Ace fan controller allows users to adjust fan speed of up to fans separately as well as monitoring up to 6 temperature sensors. Adjustments of fan speeds are being made using the 6 potentiometers located in the lower part of the aluminum front panel. Using the other two potentiometers located on the sides, it is possible to choose 2 of the 6 channels to be displayed on the built-in VF-Display (Vacuum Fluorescent Display).

Connected fans speed is controlled by altering of the output voltage. Each fan channel can be separately regulated in a voltage regulation range between 3,7 and 12 Volts. Users are able to monitor the actual fan speed on the VF-Display in 30 rpm steps up to the maximum fans peed of 9990 rpm. Temperature values can be displayed both in degrees Celsius or degrees Fahrenheit. Kaze Master Pro Ace is able to measure temperatures in the range between 0 and 100�C or 32 and 199,9�F.

Furthermore Kaze Master Pro Ace fan controller is equipped with various safety mechanisms. Hence alarms users visually and audibly when safe values are exceeded. Audio alarm signals can be turned off using a jumper on the rear side of the fan controller. All relevant information in regards to safety mechanisms is explained in detailed in the supplied multilingual user manual.

Scythe Kaze Master Pro Ace fan controller launched - More news at DV Hardware

AMD Bulldozer hotfix provides just limited performance boost

TechPowerUp reports the new hotfixes from Microsoft for AMD's Bulldozer processor provide only limited performance boosts in a small number of applications:

The reviewer put FX-8150 through synthetic tests such as AIDA64 (CPU benchmarks, FPU benchmarks), Cinebench 11.5, MaxxPi (multi-threaded PI calculations), WPrime, Twofish AES, 3DMark (Vantage and 11), ComputeMark; and some real-world tests such as WinRAR, Resident Evil 5, and Battleforge. Barring Resident Evil 5, where the patched FX-8150 produced 4% higher performance and WinRAR, where it produced 3% higher performance, there were no significant performance gains noticed.

AMD Bulldozer hotfix provides just limited performance boost - More news at DV Hardware

Lian Li PC-V700 mid-tower spotted at CES

TPU spotted Lian Li's PC-V700 at CES 2012. This new aluminium mid-tower fits ATX and Micro-ATX motherboards, it measures 210mm x 400mm x 496mm (W x H x D) and supports four fans.

Its only exposed drive bay on its front is a valved 5.25-inch. Other drive bays include three hot-swap capable 3.5-inch bays (side), four conventional 3.5-inch bays, and two 2.5-inch bays.Cooling fans include one 140 mm front intake, two 120 mm top exhausts, and one 120 mm rear exhaust. It features 8 expansion slot bays letting you use a double slot graphics card installed in the lowermost expansion slot. Front panel connectivity includes audio, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, and an eSATA port (extended from the motherbaord).

Lian Li PC-V700 mid-tower spotted at CES - More news at DV Hardware

SilverStone TJ04-E mid-tower case revealed

SilverStone revealed the TJ04-E at CES 2012, the successor to the TJ04 case which was launched in 2004. This new mid-tower is currently available for pre-order at 129EUR, with availability slated for later this month.

Known as the TJ04-E (E is for Evolution), the new chassis has an exterior that resembles the TJ04, but comes with a 'vastly' improved interior that can hold up to four 5.25-inch drives, nine 3.5-ich hard drives, six SSDs, and graphics cards up to 17 inches long.The TJ04-E measures 214 (W) x 489 (H) x 489 (D) mm, it weights 9.6 kg, and features a steel structure, an aluminum front panel, ATX and micro ATX motherboard support, tool-free mounting for 5.25-inch drives, a custom HDD cage with built-in heatsinks and SATA cables, an I/O panel with two USB 3.0 ports, three pre-installed 120 mm fans (one on top, one on the right panel, one at the rear), and, optionally, a side window.

Source: TPU

SilverStone TJ04-E mid-tower case revealed - More news at DV Hardware

Cooler Master TPC 812 vapour chamber CPU cooler shown off at CES

VR Zone reports Cooler Master has a vapour chamber CPU cooler on display at CES 2012. The TPC 812 has a copper base, six U-shaped copper heatpipes, a vapour chamber block in the middle, an aluminium fin array and a 120PWM fan.

The HSF uses the same fan bracket as the V6 and newer Hyper coolers, and supports Intel's new LGA2011 socket.

According to Cooler Master, the TPC 812 can handle over 240W of heat and performs close to or better than entry-evel single-radiator watercooling kits. Pricing is said to be around the $100 mark though, which seems quite excessive.



Cooler Master TPC 812 vapour chamber CPU cooler shown off at CES - More news at DV Hardware