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Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

If you’ve been putting off that purchase of Popcorn Hour’s evolutionary A-110 HD media streamer or all new B-110 motherboard, here’s a decent compilation of facts and opinions to help you make up your mind once and for all. The cats over at DigitalReviews took the time to not only detail, test out and report back on the newest duo from the company, but it also revisited the original (and heralded) A-100 in order to give a better comparison. Overall, critics did tend to prefer the A-110 over its predecessor, but the minor list of changes made it a hard sell for folks teetering on upgrading. The B-110 was seen as an even tougher sell, with only the hardcore DIY crowd likely to even find it worth investigating. Nevertheless, we won’t spoil the rest for you — head on down to have a look for yourself.

[Thanks, Anton]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Integrated graphics sets that handle DirectX 10 like it’s their job are a dime a dozen, but ASUS has nevertheless managed to find bragging rights in its G35 series of mobos. Hailed as the “world’s first Intel platform” with onboard graphics capable of supporting DirectX 10 natively, the aforesaid motherboards won’t require a separate GPU in order to handle the simplest of DX10 demands. Of course, we wouldn’t expect the GMA X3500 to run circles around Crysis frame rate tests, but we suppose they’ll do for the casual fans in attendance. Per usual, ASUS has left us high and dry in regard to pricing, but the trio of boards should be available as we speak.

[Via I4U News]

 

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

AMD’s deliverance of two 45-nanometer CPUs wasn’t the only thing new from the company today, as now we’re getting wind of an all new motherboard GPU that’s DirectX10 compatible. The AMD 780 Series is hailed as “the industry’s most advanced” mobo GPU, and is slated to be “widely available” in a variety of boards in Q2. Essentially, AMD’s hoping the chip will enable casual gamers to join in on the fun without having to fork out big bucks for pricey discrete graphics cards, but for those that eventually do pick up such a device, the ATI Hybrid Graphics technology ensures that the power from both will be harnessed in order to boost overall performance. Check out the read link for all the nitty-gritty, and head on past the break if you’re scouting a couple of educational videos.Continue reading AMD unveils DirectX10-compatible 780 Series motherboard GPU

 

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Source: Darren Murph

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Filed under: Desktops

Okay, try not to let your mind get blown by the possible time-space paradox we’re about to illustrate, but MSI’s supposedly introducing a new ECOlution motherboard at CeBIT with an “air powered cooler” that operates on the Stirling Engine Theory to transform the thermal output of its chipset into the kinetic energy necessary to power that same chipset’s fan. Of course, as the fan cools the heatsink it deprives itself of energy, supposedly the piston affixed to the crankshaft pulls back down, giving it another potential surge when its heat rebuilds. Supposedly it works at 70% efficiency, so we’ll just let the thermodynamics geeks in the audience mull over the possibility and audacity of it all — they certainly seem to have given up on Steorn at this point.

Update: CG video demo posted after the break, via TweakTown. Thanks, Lin.Continue reading MSI ECOlution motherboard transforms chip heat into fan power

 

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Source: Ryan Block

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Filed under: Desktops

Those who have stuck with Dell through the ups and (mostly) downs that have revolved around the XPS 700 are finally in luck, as the XPS Motherboard Exchange Program has officially launched. Notably, all XPS 700 and 710 purchases made through June 30th, 2007 are eligible for this program, and while XPS 700 customers will receive the 720 hardware kit gratis, those with a 710 can snag the same package for $250 (plus shipping). The kit itself includes a XPS 720 motherboard, red or black front panel I/O assembly, all applicable cabling, a mouse pad (huzzah?), and an installation sheet for those who decide to pass on the on-site installation — which, by the way, is free for XPS 700 owners and up to $150 for 710′ers. Furthermore, current 700 clients can snap up the Intel QX6700 CPU “at 25-percent off the then-current price,” but you better get a move on, as the program expires promptly at midnight (CST for those cutting it close) on October 13th.

[Via Direct2Dell, thanks David]

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Source: Darren Murph

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