ASUS Announces P5K3 Premium with 2GB Onboard

ASUS' P5K3 packs 2GB DDR3 memory onboard

ASUS this week announced its latest P5K3 Premium motherboard based on Intel’s P35 Express chipset, but with a twist. The P5K3 Premium does away with traditional memory slots and integrates DDR3 memory onboard instead. ASUS packs the P5K3 Premium with 2GB of DDR3 1333 MHz memory, or what ASUS calls Turbo D3 Onboard Memory. The memory has latencies between CL7-to-CL10.

ASUS laid out 2GB of DDR3 memory in a dual-channel configuration for optimal performance. The onboard memory is also set up in what ASUS calls a perfect T-Tree design, where the memory controller has access to each pair of memory chips. ASUS claims the T-Tree design reduces clock cycle timing by 50% compared to traditional fly-by designs, which grants the memory controller access to each module.

ASUS guarantees memory overclocks above 1500 MHz, nearly matching the speeds of high-end overclocking memory. However, ASUS recommends at least a 1066 MHz front-side bus processor to achieve memory speeds above 1500 MHz.

Other notable features of the ASUS P5K3 Premium include support for upcoming Penryn-family processors and 1333 MHz front-side bus processors. Expansion capabilities of the P5K3 Premium include two PCIe x16 with CrossFire compatibility, two PCIe x1 and 3 PCI slots. ASUS also installs a JMicron JMB363 controller for one ATA133 and two e.SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, in addition to the six internal SATA3.0 Gb/s ports provided by the Intel ICH9R.

Analog Devices provides audio via eight-channel high-definition audio codec. Dual Gigabit LAN is also standard. A large copper heat-pipe cools the P35 Express, ICH9R, VRMs and DDR3 memory.

Expect to pay quite a chunk of change when the board hits retail in the coming weeks.

Intel Readies Itanium 2 9100-Series

Intel gives the Itanium 2 one last hurrah before the QuickPath makeover next year

Intel is preparing to launch the next iteration of its dual-core Itanium 2 processors, Montvale. The next-generation Montvale-based Itanium 2 replaces the current Montecito-based Itanium 2 9000-series. Intel positions the Montvale-based Itanium 2 processors towards mission critical tasks, with scalability from two to 512 processor sockets – for up to 1024 processor cores.

The new Montvale-based processors retain the Itanium 2 name, but with a different processor number. Montvale-based processors will carry the 9100-series processor number to differentiate from the Montecito-based 9000-series. The new Itanium 2 9100-series has minor upgrades over the 9000-series.

New to the Itanium 2 9100-series is Demand Based Switching, or DBS, with Enhanced Intel Speedstep Technology. DBS allows the higher-end Itanium 2 9100-series models to enter a low-power state during idle periods. The feature is only present on the Itanium 2 9140N, 9140M, 9150N and 9150M. Despite DBS being present on the higher-end Itanium 2 9100 models, all dual-core 9100-series processors have 104-watt TDPs.

Intel continues to manufacturer the Itanium 2 9100-series on a 90nm fabrication process, as with Montecito. The biggest upgrade the Itanium 2 9100-series brings to the table is a faster 667 MHz front-side bus on three of the new models. Intel’s previous Itanium 2 9000-series were limited to 533 MHz front-side bus, at maximum.

Intel Dual-Core Itanium 2
Processor Number	Clock Speed		FSB	iL3 Cache	Q4'07 Launch Price
9150M	1.66		667 MHz	24MB	$3692
9150N	1.60		533/400 MHz	24MB	$3692
9140M	1.66		667 MHz	18MB	$1980
9140N	1.60		533/400 MHz	18MB	$1980
9130M	1.66		667 MHz	8MB	$1552
9120N	1.42		533/400 MHz	12MB	$910

Intel offers the Itanium 2 9100-series in five different models, as long as its 1.66 GHz or 1.6 GHz. However, Intel offers the Itanium 2 9100-series in different iL3 cache sizes to designate different model numbers. Three iL3 cache sizes are available – 24MB, 18MB and 8MB. Intel also designates Itanium 2 9100-series processors with an M suffix for 667 MHz front-side bus and N suffix for 533/400 MHz front-side buses.

The ugly duckling of the Itanium 2 9100-series lineup is the 9120N. This model is the only Itanium 2 9100-series without a 1.66/1.60 GHz clock speed. It has a lower 1.42 GHz clock speed with a 533/400 MHz front-side bus. The Itanium 2 9120N is the only dual-core model with a 12MB iL3 cache. Despite the lower clock speed, the Itanium 2 9120N has the same 104-watt TDP as the higher-clocked models.

All dual-core Itanium 2 models, with the exception of the 9130M, can execute up to four threads.

Intel Single-Core Itanium 2
Processor Number	Clock Speed		FSB	iL3 Cache	Q4'07 Launch Price
9110N	1.60		533/400 MHz	12MB	$696

Intel also has one single-core Itanium 2 9100-series in the lineup. The Itanium 2 9110N has a 1.60 GHz clock speed and 12MB of iL3 cache. It also has a 533/400 MHz front-side bus. The single-core Itanium 2 has a 75-watt TDP rating. Intel prices the Itanium 2 9110N at $696.

Intel does not have any new chipsets in the pipeline for the Itanium 2 9100-series. The Itanium 2 9100-series will continue to use the Intel 8870 with its DDR-200 memory controller. The Intel E8870 only supports 400 MHz front-side bus processors. Third-party chipsets are required to take advantage of faster 667 MHz and 533 MHz front-side buses.

Intel’s next Itanium, the follow up to Montvale, will not arrive until 2H’08. Tukwila will be a quad-core processor with Intel’s QuickPath, formerly known as common system interface, technology. Tukwila will have a 65nm fabrication process and will drop into a new Boxboro MC

Expect Intel to debut the Itanium 2 9100-series next quarter, after the current Itanium 2 9000-series is EOL in August. platform.

Canggihnya Robot Transformers

Sam "Spike" Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), anak SMA yang cupu abis, enggak pernah membayangkan kalau kakeknya telah menjadi penemu terbesar abad ini, yaitu dengan menemukan bangkai robot alien raksasa Megatron di Kutub Utara.

Robot Megatron ini sedang dalam misi hendak menghancurkan Bumi. Sam yang cupu banget enggak sadar kalau niatnya ngejual kacamata kakeknya lewat situs eBay bikin robot-robot temannya Megatron mencarinya karena di kacamata itulah ada peta posisi Megatron. Untungnya, ada Autobots yang membela umat manusia.

Maka, pertempuran pun enggak bisa dihindari. Robot-robot jahat berdatangan ke Bumi untuk membantu membangkitkan Megatron yang selama ini beku. Sementara itu, Bumblebee yang tampil dalam bentuk mobil Camaro juga segera manggil teman-temannya, para Autobots yang dipimpin oleh Optimus Prime.

Adegan-adegannya seru banget. Bayangin aja, semua Autobots itu selalu menyamar jadi mobil. Mereka baru bertransformasi jadi robot saat diperlukan. Paling asyik pas adegan mereka bertransformasi dari mobil jadi robot atau sebaliknya. Mobilnya keren-keren lho. Optimus jadi truk, Autobot Jazz jadi Pontiac Solstice GXP, Ratchet jadi Hummer H2, Ironhide jadi GMC Topkick seri 4500.

Lawan mereka, Megatron, juga canggih soalnya dia selalu berubah dari pesawat yang bergerak cepat jadi robot raksasa. Teman-temannya, Strascream jadi pesawat jet F22 Raptor yang sebenarnya masih dalam tahap uji terbang dalam dunia nyata. Enggak heran, waktu syuting dengan prototipe-nya, Dephan AS mastiin kalau enggak ada telepon genggam atau alat perekam boleh nyala selain kamera buat film.

Ada beberapa hal yang loe perlu tahu tentang film "Transformer" yang di AS baru bisa dilihat tanggal 4 Juli ini. Setelah ngetop tahun 80-an akhir sebagai animasi, baru 20 tahun kemudian teknologi bisa bikin versi filmnya.

1. Setiap gambar yang menggunakan CGI (computer generated image) dalam film ini di-render, perlu 38 jam. Bandingin dengan film "Toy Story" (1995) yang rata-rata butuh 2-3 jam. Padahal, jelas komputer zaman sekarang kan lebih cepat.

2. Pembuatan film ini didukung penuh Departemen Pertahanan AS. Mereka ngasih pinjam helikopter-pesawat CV-22, pesawat F-117, sampai C-130 yang merupakan pesawat kargo.

3. Gara-gara banyak banget fans berat "Transformer" yang suka dengan suara Peter Cullen untuk robot Optimus Prime dalam versi-versi film ini sebelumnya, produser tetap minta dia yang jadi pengisi suara. Perhatiin deh, waktu dia bilang: "Megatron".

4. Dari puluhan robot yang pernah ada dalam seri "Transformer", yang pasti ada tuh Optimus Prime, Bumblebee serta Decepticons Megatron dan Strascream. Waktu bikin film ini, banyak juga robot-robot yang dicoba-coba buat masuk ke dalam cerita. Akan tetapi, yang tetap cuma empat robot tadi.

5. Kalau diperhatiin banget, tulisan di mobil polisi yang jadi samarannya Robot Starscream itu bukannya "melayani dan melindungi" seperti biasanya ada di mobil-mobil polisi, tetapi "menghukum dan memperbudak".

6. Walaupun banyak banget dibantu komputer, sutradara Michael Bay ngotot supaya adegan berantem antarrobotnya harus senyata mungkin. Makanya, sebagian besar dana 150 juta dollar AS dihabisin untuk bikin 15 adegan berantem di film ini.

7. Untuk bikin transformasi dari robot ke mobil atau sebaliknya, para pembuat ini menggunakan persamaan matematika. Jadi, setiap gerakan dan bagian dalam robot bisa ditemukan di mobilnya juga.

8. Hanya ada dua robot yang benar-benar dibuat untuk film ini, yaitu Autobots Frenzy dan Bumblebee. Bumblebee dibuat oleh John Frazier yang namanya sudah jadi legenda dalam dunia efek khusus. Tingginya 5,18 meter dan lebarnya 3,9 meter. Beratnya sih lumayan, sekitar 4 ton. Robot ini rencananya akan keliling dunia dalam rangka promosi film "Transformers". (EDN)

AMD Announces ATI Radeon HD 2600, HD 2400 Series

AMD occupies the $50-to-$149 price points with new value and mainstream offerings

AMD today announced the ATI Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600 series graphics cards, over a month after the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT. AMD has also lifted the performance NDA on ATI Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600-series graphics cards and reviews should be popping up. The value and mainstream ATI Radeon HD 2400 and HD 2600-series introduce ATI DirectX 10 compatible graphics processing to $50-to-$149 price points.

The ATI Radeon HD 2600-series arrives in three variants, one HD 2600 Pro and two HD 2600 XT models. AMD positions the ATI Radeon HD 2600-series at $89-to-$149 price points. The ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro features 600 MHz core clock and 500 MHz GDDR2 memory on a 128-bit memory interface. The Stepping up to the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT raises the core clock to 800 MHz with two memory choices.

AMD offers the ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT with 800 MHz GDDR3 memory or 1.1 GHz GDDR4 memory on a 128-bit memory interface. All ATI Radeon HD 2600-series graphics cards have 120 stream processors and available with memory capacities between 128-to-512MB.

ATI Radeon HD 2000-Series
Model Stream processors Core clock Memory clock Memory interface
HD 2900 XT 320 740 MHz 825 MHz 512-bit
HD 2600 XT 120 800 MHz 1100 MHz 128-bit
HD 2600 XT 120 800 MHz 800 MHz 128-bit
HD 2600 Pro 120 600 MHz 500 MHz 128-bit
HD 2400 XT 40 700 MHz 800 MHz 64-bit
HD 2400 Pro 40 525 MHz 400 MHz 64-bit

Taking over the low end is the ATI Radeon HD 2400-series, available in Pro and XT flavors. The ATI Radeon HD 2400-series occupies $50-to-$85 price points. AMD equips the ATI Radeon HD 2400-series with 40 stream processors and 64-bit memory interfaces. The ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT clocks in at 700 MHz core with 800 MHz GDDR3 memory. The ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro has lower specifications with a 525 MHz core clock and 400 MHz GDDR2. AMD ATI Radeon HD 2400-series graphics cards are available with memory capacities ranging from 128MB-to-256MB.

Expect ATI Radeon HD 2600 and HD 2400-series graphics cards to pop up at retailers in early July. The usual board manufacturers should have cards, including ASUS, Diamond, Gigabyte, PowerColor, Sapphire and other partners.

AMD Phenom X2 GE-Series Details Unveiled

AMD drops the Phenom X2 TDP to 45-watts

AMD plans to cut power consumption of its mainstream Phenom X2 processors with the Phenom X2 GE-series, according to the company’s latest roadmap. The Phenom X2 GE-series joins the Phenom X2 GS-series in late Q1’2008, after the Phenom X2 GS-series makes its debut. AMD has three Phenom X2 GS-series in the pipeline with launches beginning in Q4’2007 and more models added in Q1’2008.The new Phenom X2 GE-series matches the recently released Athlon X2 BE-series in terms of thermal design power, or TDP, at 45-watts. AMD Phenom X2 GS-series processors have 65-watt and 89-watt TDP ratings.The low power Phenom X2 GE-series will have three models – the GE-6600, GE-6500 and GE-6400. AMD’s Phenom X2 GE-6600 clocks in at 2.3 GHz, coincidentally, the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 clocks in at 2.4 GHz. The middle of the Phenom X2 GE-series consists of the 2.1 GHz Phenom X2 GE-6500 while the 1.9 GHz Phenom X2 GE-6400 occupies the bottom of the lineup.
AMD Phenom X2 GE-series

Model CoreFrequency L2 Cache L3 Cache HT3 Bus
GE-6600 2.3 GHz 2x512KB 2MB ~ 3200 MHz
GE-6500 2.1 GHz 2x512KB 2MB ~ 3200 MHz
GE-6400 1.9 GHz 2x512KB 2MB ~ 3200 MHz

All Phenom X2 GE-series processors share the same features. AMD equips the Phenom X2 GE-series with an HT3 bus with speeds equal to or in excess of 3.2 GHz. AMD has yet to set the official speeds of the HT3 bus on Phenom X2 GE-series processors. Phenom X2 GE-series processors are identical to the GS-series, in terms of cache configurations. The Phenom X2 GE-series feature 512KB of L2 cache per core and 2MB shared L3 cache. Expect the AMD Phenom GE-series to drop into a Socket AM2+ platform in Q1’2008.