MSI Released HD4350 Low Profile Cards For HTPC

MSI today unveils its R4350 series graphics cards, the R4350-D512H and R4350-D256 graphics cards utilize the ATI Radeon™ HD 4350 GPU core (codenamed RV710), with 80 stream processors. Both R4350-D512H and R4350-D256H use low profile design, which is suitable to install in the barebone or HTPC small chassis.



MSI, the world’s leading manufacturer of graphics cards, today unveils its R4350 series graphics card. Officially announcing a full range of high, medium and low-end R4000 series products this quarter. All enthusiast R4800, mainstream R4600 or entry-level R4350 series, comes with the high performance of DirectX® 10 games, as well as a price that is so affordable. The R4000 series full range of graphics card is the most value choice in the market.

2X specifications of previous generation
The latest R4350-D512H and R4350-D256 graphics cards utilize the ATI Radeon™ HD 4350 GPU core (codenamed RV710), with 80 stream processors. Double previous generation ATI Radeon™ 3450 specifications to provide the extreme DirectX® 10 gaming performance, up to 1.7 times the previous generation performance. Users can easily enjoy the DirectX® 10 games by using the entry-level graphics card.

Designed for HTPC
Both R4350-D512H and R4350-D256H use low profile design, which is suitable to install in the barebone or HTPC small chassis. The second-generation 55nm manufacturing process can reduce power consumption and heat of R4350. Even it only uses passive cooling design with zero-noise, it can still save energy and maintain low temperature under full speed operation. In addition, it supports UVD 2.0 decoding engine which allows R4350 series graphics card to 100% accelerate decoding MPEG-2/VC-1/H.264 movie format in Blu-Ray disc. Even with the entry-level CPU, the system can playback the next -generation Blu-Ray movie disc properly and smoothly.

The GPU of R4350 has built-in audio codec. Through the simple adapter, DVI will be converted to HDMI output with 8 channel LPCM surround sound. Users do not need to transfer SPDIF sound from motherboard or audio card into graphics card, just a simple HDMI cable enables it to output video and audio directly to a TV or projector.

R4350 series graphics card is perfectly designed for HTPC (Home Theather PC). There are many advantage to use computer as a media player. It is flexible enough to support a wide range of audio and video formats. The software can be upgraded to improve compatibility, and HTPC let the media player have full PC functionality, and can play DirectX® 10 games as well. Low profile, energy efficient, zero-noise, MSI R4350 series graphics card is the best solution for HTPC.

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/MSI_Released_HD4350_Low_Profile_Cards_For_HTPC/6091.html

Biostar TPOWER X58 Board Photos & Specs

CPU
Support Intel socket 1366 Nehalem Core i7 Extreme/ Core i7 45nm processors
Support Intel QPI (Quick Path Interfase) up to 6.4GB/s transfer rate

Memory
Support 6-DIMM DDR3-2000(OC)/1600/1333
Support Tri-Channel up to 192bit data bandwidth



Chipset
Intel X58 / ICH10R chipset
Support Dual PCIE X16 slots
Support both SLI and CrossfireX dual graphics technology

Expansion Slots
2 x PCIE X16 slots
1 x PCIE X4 slots (3rd PCIE X16 slot)
1 x PCIE X1 slots
2 x PCI slots



eSATA
2 portseSATA2 up to 3.0Gb/s data transfer rate
Support SATA RAID 0/1

SATA
6 ports SATA2 3.0Gb/s

LAN
Dual GbE



IEEE1394
Support 2 ports IEEE1394a by Ti 43AB22

Audio
Support 8+2 channel HD Audio by ALC888S
Support optical S/P DIF audio interface
Support coaxial S/P DIF audio interface

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Biostar_TPOWER_X58_Board_Photos_%26_Specs/6088.html

Kingston Launched HyperX PC3-16000 2GB Kits

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the release of 2GHz HyperX® DDR3 memory modules. Shipping immediately in 2GB memory kits, the new HyperX PC3-16000 memory offers gaming enthusiasts top-of-the-line Enhanced Performance Profile (EPP) ready memory with EPP profiles pre-programmed on the modules.



“Two Gigahertz is now the sweet spot for many benchmarking enthusiasts and Kingston’s new 2GHz HyperX DDR3 memory is fully tested at specified frequency and timing values so it’s ideal for anyone seeking to boost performance,” said Ann Bai, Product Manager of Memory Module, Kingston. “For the enthusiast or benchmarker seeking to push their rigs to the current edge of overclocking performance, these 2GHz modules complement the best motherboards on the market that support DDR3 with overclocking performance and features.”

With the addition of the 2GHz kit, Kingston now offers a full slate of DDR3 memory products available in a variety of speeds and capacities. Kingston HyperX is backed by a lifetime warranty and free technical support. For more detailed information, please visit the Kingston web site at www.kingston.com/asia.

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Kingston_Launched_HyperX_PC3-16000_2GB_Kits/6087.html

Sapphire Unveiled Cheap HD 4550 & 4350 Cards

SAPPHIRE is introducing two new graphics families aimed at mainstream users. The new SAPPHIRE HD 4550 has 80 stream processors, core clock speeds of 600MHz and 512MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 900MHz (1.8GHz effective). The SAPPHIRE HD 4350 has a similar architecture, and has the same 80 stream processors and 600MHz core clock speed, but uses the more cost effective DDR2 memory running at 400MHz (800MHz effective). All the other features are similar to the SAPPHIRE HD 4550.

Read full article here;

Albatron Released 780G Mini-ITX Board

Albatron Technology has announced the KI780G Mini-ITX mainboard featuring the AMD 780G chipset, claiming the top-dog spot in the Mini-ITX market. This Mini-ITX board’s most distinguishing feature is the AM2+ socket and support for powerful 4-core, 3-core AMD Phenom™ processors. Not only does the KI780G define a new class of performance Mini-ITX mainboards, it boasts the most complete set of functionality on par with many ATX boards on the market.



AM2+ socket and Phenom Processors
Recently, AMD had upgraded the AM2 socket to what is called the “AM2+” socket, which allows for powerful Phenom 4-core and 3-core processors. When used with Phenom processors, the HyperTransport transfer rates can reach up to a sizzling 3 GHz! The KI780G is able to handle up to 65W processors.

Graphics – Bluray, 3D gaming and dedicated on-board GFX memory
Integrated graphics has come a long way and the AMD 780G with its integrated ATI HD3200 graphics engine is “proof in the pudding”! Used with the latest AMD CPUs, the KI780G graphics is capable of handling even the most demanding, hi-content Bluray labels.



As for serious 3D gaming, the KI780G provides a PCIe X16 slot which employs four of the lanes but can still accept any PCIe X16 VGA card. As the 4-lane bandwidth is not as important as having a good GPU for 3D gaming, the KI780G has been shown to handle hardcore 3D games as long as it is used with an adequate VGA card.

Another nice feature on this board is “128MB side-port DDR2” memory dedicated for use with the VGA card, increasing 3D performance by 10% and eliminating the need for the graphics system to borrow shared system memory.

Home Sweet Home Theatre PC – Audio, Connectibility, Internet and Storage
In addition to the great graphics facilities, the KI780G has everything you need to build your Home Theatre PC; a complete set of monitor connectors including HDMI; full 8-channel audio capabilities plus SDPIF in/out; and up to 10 USB 2.0 channels for the rest of your hi-tech gadgets. You can store all of your pictures and videos on up to four SATA II drives while protecting your valuable data with RAID disk management. This board is equipped with a GBit LAN connector supported by a Marvel LAN chipset.

Don’t worry, be happy – 100% Solid Aluminum Capacitors!
If you experienced or heard about swelling, leaking and even exploding capacitors, you needn’t worry with the KI780G – it comes with all 100% Solid Aluminum Capacitors promising the most durable, stable capacitors as any mainboard on the market!

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Albatron_Released_780G_Mini-ITX_Board/6082.html

Four New HD4600 Series Cards From Palit

Palit Microsystems, leading graphics card manufacturer, today unveils a series of new Radeon™ 4600 series graphics cards. The new Radeon™ 4670 GPU and Radeon™ 4650 GPU are not only designed for redefining the HD gaming experience but also designed for breaking-through efficiency.



For the Radeon HD 4600 series, Palit has designed several models. Palit Radeon HD 4670 Super equipped with 512MB of GDDR3 memory on a 128bit interface bus is designed for performance hunters; it is equipped with 4-in-1 display outputs, which includes DisplayPort, HDMI, Dual-link DVI, and CRT, making it a future proof graphics solution.



Expanding upon Palit’s family of 1GB cards, the Radeon HD 4650 Super+1GB with 1024MB king-size memory allows users to escape from memory capacity bottlenecks. Continuing the famous pre-overclocked Sonic product line, Palit has also released Radeon HD 4650 Sonic with pre-overclocked memory and core speed, allowing users to enjoy better performance. In addition, Palit is also releasing Radeon HD 4650 Super with 512MB of super size DDR2 memory on a 128bit-bus providing a variety of products for users with different needs.

Palit Radeon HD 4600 series graphics solution with 320 stream processing units provides enough power to tackle the most demanding HD games and applications. With full support for Microsoft DirectX® 10.1, Radeon HD 4600 series graphics cards allows users to play today and prepare for tomorrow. Palit Radeon HD 4600 series graphics cards feature ATI PowerPlay™ technology, delivering high performance when needed and conserving power when the demands on the graphics processors are low. If you are not satisfied with the performance of one graphics card, Palit Radeon HD 4600 series are ATI CrossFireX™ ready enabling users to experience multi-GPUs performance.

Source: http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Four_New_HD4600_Series_Cards_From_Palit/6079.html