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Monday, August 31, 2009

Dual Core Atom Netbooks!

I think we will be seeing netbooks powerful enough to replace your laptops.

And imagine, ATOM going to Mobile phones!!!



Netbooks have been on a strict single-core Atom diet. But one model that has appeared in Japan is gorging itself on a dual-core Atom processor and Nvidia graphics.

Japanese technology Web site Akiba Hotline says a Netbook made by Shenzhen Weibu Electronics will soon hit the market that uses a dual-core Atom 330 processor and Nvidia 9400M "Ion" graphics--the same graphics used in Apple MacBooks.

These silicon specifications have become fairly common in so-called Nettops--tiny Atom-based desktop computers--but have yet to catch on in Netbooks. One reason: the Atom 330 has power consumption requirements double that of a single-core Atom (though the 330 is still low, at 8 watts, compared with mainstream Intel laptop chips, which typically are rated at 25 watts or higher).

The 330, like other Atom processors, supports hyper-threading, a feature also found in Intel's newest Core i "Nehalem" processors. With hyper-threading, the operating system sees a single processor core as two cores. For example, a dual-core system would be seen as having four cores, thus potentially improving multitasking--or doing tasks (threads) simultaneously.

The 1.6GHz Atom 330, because of its two cores, also integrates twice the cache memory (1MB) of single-core Atom chips.

The "N10A" Netbook from Weibu is expected to go on sale "soon" for 49,800 yen, or just under $530. It will come with 1GB of memory, a 150GB hard disk drive, Web camera, and 802.11 g/b wireless. It will not come with a pre-installed operating system, according to Akiba Hotline.





More info/Source here:
Novel Netbook packs a dual-core Intel Atom chip

Weird Circular Icons Showing up on your Iphone

I encountered this problem today and found a solution.




As you can see on my mail, phone and Ipod icon (the circle lowest left icon), there is another circlular icon on top of them.



This happened after I updated 4 application/packages in Cydia and one of them was the ap called backgrounder which allowed you to make aps run in the background so they do not need to reload anymore every time you access them. I usually use backrounder for Yahoo Messenger or IM+.



Anyway, if you have the same problem, there is a simple solution.



Go to backgrounder>Preference>Global>Badges>Turn off.



That's it.



Well, backgrounder should not have set this turned on by default because I am sure a lot of people will be wondering what the heck these icons are. I thought I was infected with a virus. Lol!

The badges signify which application are running in the background which is good. But I would prefer they use a more discreet icon. Oh well, that is what I am going to do, make a less discreet icon and try to SSH it :-D



If you dont want to use these badges, you can alway install mQuickDo which has a task manager and allows you to see which aps are running in the background.



Now you tech-know!



Ciao!



Source of my solution: http://www.devilx.net/2009/05/23/backgrounder-causes-strange-circle-badge-on-iphone-app-icons/

Monday, August 17, 2009

Asus ATI Radeon EAH4770 Formula
Reviewed by Poldopunk, official hardware reviewer of mytechisland.

Click here to see a large version
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One of the most sought-after graphics card in the world is the ATI Radeon HD 4770 because of its price to performance ratio. Let’s face it, not many people can afford the likes of 4890, 4870, or even the 4850. Usually, entry-level to mainstream users are limited to a 500-watt power supply which means upgrading would entail another cost not to mention the fact that these upper echelon cards generate a lot of heat, and yet again, another upgrade into your system that you would need to look into. The 4770 is a gift from AMD to entry-level to mainstream users and today, we are looking at how Asus packages AMD’s gift.
Before we start checking out the card, let’s review the specifications of the 4770 pitted against Nvidia’s offering; the 8800GT/9800GT and the 9600GT. Yes, the 4770 is targeted against these two green cards that have already established a name for themselves when it comes to price over performance ratio. On top of the 4770, we have the legendary G92 chip, the 9800GT; below it is the 9600GT.
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From the table alone you can clearly see that this card is something unique. In fact, it is the world’s first 40nm GPU which promises less power consumption and obviously, lesser heat footprint. With the smaller die-size, the card’s power consumption is set at 80 watts, just 5 watts beyond the PCIE slot can support. The extra 5-watts is taken from the PCIE power connector. I’m sure sooner or later; even low-powered versions of these cards will eliminate the need to connect a PCIE power connector similar to what is happening with the 9600GT and 9800GT variants. I asked permission to disassemble the card earlier to take a photo of just how small the die is but there was no answer so I took it as a no. Before you start cursing the gods why the memory bus is limited to 128 bit which may slow down memory bandwidth, you have to understand that this card is paired with GDDR5 memory which compensates for the limited bandwidth. Sooner or later I’m sure a 256-bit variation of this card will surface and by then, it would no longer be with this group but somewhat higher, maybe even higher than where the 4850 is right now.
Asus EAH4770 Formula Features
Just how unique this 4770 is from Asus you might ask. The reference cooler design is already sufficient the 40nm watt GPU but the problem lies with the noise the fan makes if one decides to run it at full speed. Asus basically addressed that with the EAH4770 Formula.
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For starters, you’ll notice the fancy formula-1 heatsink. The fan and heatsink is specifically designed to lower down temperature and noise. During my tests, I fully configured the fan to run 100% and yet, it is still dead-silent. It runs so quiet that I would have to check if the fan is actually spinning from time to time. Another thing worth mentioning is that, Asus equipped the card with what they call “Ultimate Armaments” where they basically installed a combination of the best components for durability and performance. The EAH4770 has solid capacitors, low-RDS mosfets, covered chokes and EMI shield for the connectors. Not only that, they’ve added multiple OCP (over-current protection) for the graphics card which protects your other components (the PSU mainly) in case the primary OCP fails but enough of that, let’s take a closer look at the card itself.

Packaging Accessories and a Closer Look of the EAH4770 Formula
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Err, there’s not much really to look at the packaging since the card arrived in a plain-looking cardboard box with foam to protect itself from shipping. This of course isn’t the retail packaging where I’m sure it’ll contain fancy prints and information of what’s inside but I believe in the saying, do not judge the book by its, in this case packaging . As far as the accessories are concerned, there really isn’t much. You get the following: support cd, installation manual and a two-molex-connector to PCIE adapter. No adapters you say? No worries, all the connectors you need are embedded on the card itself, have a good look later on.
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While some people would love the design, others would simply hate it but again, the design has a purpose and it’s not just in there for the bling-effect. As Jeremy from Fine Upgrades would call it, “tamiya graphics card” .
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Here’s a close-up shot on the fan and the heatsink. The fan blades are clearly optimized for high-static pressure output where the air sucked in is dissipated to the heatsink with ridges to increase the air friction and consequently, better heat transfer from heatsink to air.
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From this angle, you can clearly see the power delivery for the card. Solid capacitors, check; Covered ferrite chokes, check; OCP protection, check; Low-RDS mosfets, err, wait a minute. Asus, whatever happened to the low-RDS on mosfets as promised? Photo on the right shows the lone PCIE power connector which completes the 80-watt TDP, if I’m not mistaken; the chip beside it is a PWM controller.
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The Qimonda chip you see here is the GDDR5 memory used by the card. Video RAMs really do not require heatsinks so seeing it here bare-naked isn’t something to be worried about unless you plan on overvolting these fragile little things which would require PCB modifications. The left side is the revision which I feel including here because I failed to see the *cough* full low-RDS on mosfets that was advertised.
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You’re now looking at the gold fingers for quad-crossfire configuration but then again, that would be impractical given that there aren’t many cheap motherboards in there that offer this feature. Finally, we have the backside view of the card, it looks pretty busy. Black PCB would have been much appreciated but getting a red one is better than the boring green PCB. Last picture explains why the lack of adapters, Asus puts 3 types of display ports on the card; Display Port, VGA and DVI.

Testing, Benchmarks and Overclocking
I still haven’t figured out how to make Call of Duty 5 and Crysis work on my machine, so basically, we’re stuck with Far Cry 2. Then again, I added a new game as per a recommendation from a friend – Street Fighter IV. The game offers superb graphics even though it doesn’t consume too much resource. The following is the system configuration of my testing.
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As you can see, I left the clockspeed of the processor at 2.2 GHz because the system wouldn’t POST when using the 3.2 GHz overclock I’ve always had with my system. For some reason, the system would just cycle on restarts the minute I installed the graphics card. I already tried loosening the memory settings thinking it was the cause but it still wouldn’t work. Increasing the PCIE Frequency beyond 100 MHz doesn’t make any difference still. Despite of this drawback, I’m sure the processor won’t be the bottleneck factor to this as these as entry-level cards. The software used on my testing is listed below:
 3DMark Vantage
 3DMark ‘06
 Furmark 1.7.0
 Far Cry 2 (DirectX 9 and DirectX 10)
 Street Fighter IV


FutureMark 3DMark Vantage and 3DMark ‘06

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3DMark Vantage and 3DMark ’06 are synthetic benchmarking software that tests the gaming capability of your system. 3DMark Vantage has been accused of favoring Nvidia graphics card because of PhysX which is why I included the un-biased 3DMark ’06. Higher is better.

Furmark 1.7.0



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Furmark is a stress-testing and a benchmark utility using OpenGL to generate the image. As you can see, there’s not much difference between the two cards where if anti-aliasing is completely disabled, the 4770 takes over the lead. These differences I suspect, is because of the more mature drivers for Windows 7 from Nvidia compared to the newcomer, 4770.

Street Fighter IV

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Click here to see a large version

Street Fighter IV is a classic game but instead of the 2D action that you get, this one’s 3D with cool special light effects. The game is basically made for Nvidia. Do not be misled by the graph beside it, it’s simply the same. It looks exaggerated but they pretty much have the same FPS at 75 frames per second. It’s interesting to see that the 4770 beats Nvidia where this game is optimized for. Video settings are maxed out for this particular game and you can clearly see both cards are capable of taming this game down.

Far Cry 2

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Far Cry 2 is a game that was developed by the same guys who created Crysis; this is a first-person shooter that offers an open world where you’re free to explore ala Grand Theft Auto except that this game comes with realistic graphics and awesome storyline. I had mixed results with this test so I had to do it twice to make sure. As you can see from the graph, the 4770 beats the 9800GT to a pulp on DirectX 9 mode with both 8x anti aliasing and no anti-aliasing, however, when switching to DirecX10, the 9800GT leads the score but not by much – negligible, so to speak.

Overclocking

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ATI Overdrive is an application that comes with the driver. Simple and easy to use, you’ll have both options of manually setting your own frequencies or you can let the system overclock the card for you – I chose the latter. The stock GPU frequency of the 4770 is 750 while the memory clock is set at a measly 800 MHz With auto-tune, the program over clocked the card to 820 MHz for the GPU while 840 MHz for the memory. Maximum temperature with this setting is 75c, I’m sure I can still make it higher but I’ll leave it up to you. Asus did a good job with the cooler design as even when running the fan at full-speed, it’s completely inaudible.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The 4770 is an awesome card, this and partnered with Asus’ Formula engineering and you have a killer combination. While the heatsink/fan combo of the EAH4770 Formula may not appeal to everyone, the performance and feature it offers makes up for it. For someone who already has the 8800/9800 GT, this card may not be your choice for upgrading but if you want to drop the temperature in your system without sacrificing performance, this may be it, run this on crossfire and it beats the 4890 at a lesser price and a lesser power consumption. For the people who are still in the entry-level GeForce 7xxx or the entry-level Radeon 3xxx series still, then this is the answer to your prayers, you simply cannot go wrong with the EAH4770 Formula.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Asus OC Station
Reviewed by: Poldopunk - The Official MyTechIsland Hardware Reviewer

When it comes to overclocking, I have always been a BIOS type person. The software utilities that usually comes with motherboards is left uninstalled as not only do they consume disk space (although minimal), they also take up memory allocation and in turn slows the startup process of the operating system. Although, you can disable them from starting automatically, I find most utilities available are not quite suitable for squeezing out every bit of performance the system is capable of. I’m sure that this mentality isn’t unique to me, majority of enthusiasts would prefer BIOS tweaking over software. But what if a hardware-based overclocking peripheral is available? Would it make sense to ditch the BIOS in favor of this device? Will it once and for all put BIOS overclocking to rest and this peripheral take over the entire process?
Click here to see a large version
Click here to see a large version
Click here to see a large version

Today we will look into another innovation from Asus, the OC Station. This device came along with the Crosshair III Formula that I recently reviewed. This is another addition to Asus’ tagline ‘Inspiring Innovation’ but we shall see to if it has perfected this piece of equipment. Asus boasts that this device offers pure hardware-based overclocking as such that one can overclock even while in a middle of a game. Since the device relies on the hardware-aspect, there’s no program limitation, you can simply focus your overclocking on this device regardless of what program is running in Windows. First, let us take a look as to what this device has to offer…specifications!

Specifications
As you can see, you can’t just use any motherboard for this, heck; you can’t even use just about any Asus motherboard. Your motherboard has to be one of the following and must have the following:

Motherboard Model Motherboard BIOS Firmware Update Utility Firmware Asus EPU AI Suite
(CPU Level Up
Rampage II Extreme 1406 1.02.02 v. 02.031 EPU-6 Engine 1.01.14 S1.05.30
Rampage II Gene 0809 1.02.02 v. 02.031 EPU-6 Engine 1.01.14 S1.05.30
Maximus II Gene 0504 1.02.02 v. 02.031 EPU-6 Engine 1.01.14 S1.05.30
Crosshair III Formula 0302 1.02.02 v. 02.031 EPU 1.00.22 S1.05.30

Display 3” Color TFT LCD (3.0 inch WQVGA)
Key Features Pure hardware-based overclocking support
Adjustable system voltages, frequencies and fan speeds
Real time display of temperatures
Photo Slideshow
Stylish design with 30-degree-tilt moveable faceplate
Supports ROG exclusive CPU Level Up and ASUS EPU
Seamless integration with ROG exclusive CPU Level Up and ASUS EPU-6 Engine

* To work well with CPU Level Up and ASUS EPU, ensure that you've updated AI Suite to S1.05.27 and EPU-6 Engine (Intel platform) to 1.01.11; EPU (AMD platform) to 1.00.18 or later version, and launch the firmware update utility to achieve data processing.
Other Special Features Boot Debug Code: Post Code, String
Alarm thresholds with audio alerts
8 sets of OC Station's profile settings available
I/O Ports POWER: 1 x ATX 4-pin Power Connector
GP: 1 x 20-pin Connecting Port
FAN: 4 x 3-pin Extra Fan Connectors
Power Voltage: +12V,+5V,+5VSB
Power Consumption : 5A Extra Fan x4 (12V) = 4A; System(+5V,+5VSB) Max = 1A
Accessories 1 x Data connecting cable
1 x Screw set
1 x User guide
Software Support DVD:
- Drivers and applications
Installation Requirements 2 x 5.25" Bay required for installation
1 x 4-pin power cable from PC's power supply unit
Compatibility Motherboard:
ROG Rampage II Extreme, Crosshair III Formula, and Rampage II GENE
*Visit the ASUS website at ASUSTeK Computer for the latest motherboard support/compatibility lists.
**Update the motherboard BIOS to the latest version for better compatibility

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The reason for the limited compatibility lies in the motherboard connector. These models are the only ones that have it, in case you forgot how it looks like; it’s a combination of a USB port header and a header labeled only as GP. Another probable reason regarding limited support is that this is aimed solely to enthusiasts and overclockers and the best motherboard to pair it is none other than Asus’ ‘Republic of Gamers’ motherboards. Now that I’ve explained bits of things, let’s try to take a look at the package and photos of this thing in action. Supposedly, this equipment was to be used in the recent Asus Overclocking Show that was held in SM a few weeks back but it didn’t came in early enough. When Jeremy contacted me for another review set, I was merely expecting the Crosshair III Formula; little did I know that this small guy came with it.
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Click here to see a large version

The OC station comes with only the things you need; Support CD, Quick Installation Guide, screws and the cable. After all, this is a peripheral so there’s not much to expect when it comes to freebies except for the things to get you started. The packaging is built with sturdy material which protects the OC station from damages during shipping and the OC station itself is packed with a plastic bag to prevent scratches while in transport.

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As you can see on the photos above, this thing has 3 buttons; Ok, Back and the Power button itself. The knob is where you’ll be making your selections and incremental changes. Note: keep this knob away from children especially with the voltage selected as it might kill your CPU if the Ok button is pressed. The front panel opens up of up to 30 degree angle allowing you to see the display items even when the computer is put under the desk or with you standing up. Installation is a breeze as you would just have to insert the OC station in a 5.25-inch drive bays, connect the other end of the cable on the OC station and the other end to the GP and USB78 headers and there you have it. Take note that the OC station also has four 3-pin fan headers that effectively makes it a fan controller through voltage controls only. Another thing worth mentioning is that the device takes up 2 trays on your 5.25-inch drive bays.

The Asus OC Station in Action…
The camera that I have is a point-and-shoot sophistication so, there’s not much to expect from it. At first I took the photo with the entire OC station but the image just wouldn’t come up clear so I have to focus and use the camera’s macro shot and this is what I have. Hopefully, it’s clear enough for you guys to see how everything looks in the LCD display.
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As soon as your computer boots to Windows, the OC station also shows you the animated splash screen similar to an ROG-based motherboard should you enable it. The image on the upper right is the how the lcd screen looks if you leave it idle for a few minutes, it’ll show you the date and time with fancy fonts and such. 3rd photo is the slideshow in action, where you can configure the pictures to be shown via the software that comes with the OC station, intervals and enabling the slideshow is configured on the OC station itself.

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Click here to see a large version

The pictures you are looking right now show you system information. I must say the details of the information you see here is very complete; from the BIOS version to drivers, even the operating system and the SPD settings of the memory is available.

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This page here is a link to Asus’ motherboard’s features such as the CPU Level Up and the EPU engine. Of course you would need to install their respective software to get these options running. In case you are wondering, the CPU Level Up option automatically overclocks your system but you would have to leave everything Auto in the BIOS. The EPU is Asus’ energy-saving utility and mind you, it is very comprehensive; if you happen to have supported hard drive, graphics card and PSU, the EPU Engine can configure it for maximum power saving.
Click here to see a large version
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Click here to see a large version
Fan controller and temperature reporting can be found here. The fan names can be renamed to whatever you like and the fan headers with optional fan sensors can be customized to work with the fan speed according to temperature. An alarm can also be configured if a certain temperature is reached which is awesome considering that this is supposed to be an OC station only – you have a full-fledged fan controller with these settings.
Click here to see a large version
Click here to see a large version
Click here to see a large version
Click here to see a large version

Finally, we’re looking at how the OC station is supposed to be – for overclocking. This menu gives you access to all major voltage and frequency options in the BIOS. I had mixed experience with these settings and in my opinion; you’d better off with a multiplier-unlocked processor so you can simply adjust the CPU multiplier. Adjusting the base clock or FSB as seen on the OC station affects the entire frequency of the system (memory, HyperTransport, CPU-NB, etc.); HyperTransport and CPU-NB frequency have no problems adapting to the changes in the settings but the memory frequency has to switch straps which basically locks up the computer as it requires a restart. By using a multiplier-unlocked processor like the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, you can simply overclock the clockspeed by simply increasing the multiplier. The voltage options give you minimum and overvoltage options, you would have to research beforehand what the maximum temperature is for your processor else you’re going to kill it instantly the minute you hit the OK button on the OC station.

Final Thoughts…
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Asus has once again proven that they’re continuously on the front of innovation with the Asus OC Station. This awesome piece of equipment would be a nice addition to your system. It isn’t only a thing for overclocking and fan controller, it also adds the bling factor with the slideshow option. There’s still a room for improvement though, this device should have the option to restart the computer when applying changes to the system that requires an overclock. From my experience, the system would just completely lock up whenever the memory frequency jumps from 1066 to 1333 with the FSB overclocking but other than that, it works like a charm – I even tested the CPU Level Up option while running the Far Cry 2 benchmark on the Crosshair III Formula and the results where instantaneous.
-- Many thanks for Asus for giving me the opportunity to test their latest innovation through the Asus OC Station.