Celebrating Earth Day 22nd April April 23, 2008

Earth Day is one of two different observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. The United Nations celebrates an Earth Day each year on the March equinox, a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. A second Earth Day, which was founded by U.S. politician Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in the late 1960s, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22.

Asus water cooled, triple GPU card April 23, 2008

ASUS has unveiled what it claims to be the world’s first on-board triple GPU solution with the concept model ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G graphics card. With three RV670PRO GPUs onboard, users can enjoy a 139% improvement in speeds when compared to single-GPU solutions. Additionally, the EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a MXM module for upgrade possibilities and two exclusive extra DVI outputs.

It also features a specially designed water cooling solution – ensuring efficient heat dissipation for stable performance. On top of all this, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with a world-exclusive large onboard memory size of 1.5GB – designed to provide feature-rich DirectX 10 gaming and the best multimedia playback at ultra-high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

Now if you’re slavering over this piece of water cooled, graphic goodness, just hold on a second. As we’ve written above, its still a concept model so until ASUS actually anounces an actual for sale model, we just have to hold on to our horses. Until then just read on for more info on this card and its specifications.

As the world’s first onboard triple GPU solution, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G is able to elevate 3DMark06 scores from 4880 to 11662 – an astonishing 139% speed improvement when compared to the single-GPU solutions *. Gamers can now truly feel the exhilarating rush of extreme gaming performance only with the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY.

The EAH3850 TRINITY comes with the MXM module design that allows users to obtain the flexibility to upgrade the MXM VGA module in regards to GPU and memory size with lower costs. The EAH3850 TRINITY also utilizes a specially designed water cooling solution that effectively dissipates heat away from the three GPUs through heatpipes that are specially connected to the main board of the graphics card instead of the GPUs. Due to the fact that the water cooling solution works exceptionally well even with upgraded GPU and memory, the hassles of displacing the thermal module when upgrading the MXM VGA module is avoided for minimized upgrading costs. On top of all this, the EAH3850 TRINITY is equipped with two extra DVI outputs for a maximum of four-display video outputs.

Memory size is paramount if one does not want to suffer from graphic bottlenecks. With most current and upcoming games requiring high video memory requirements; plus the fact that game developers still constantly increasing the estimated video memory size, the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G is able to truly deliver a world-class graphical performance – allowing users to fully enjoy games or movies without lag or stuttering even at very high resolutions and maximum quality settings.

In line with the Rock Solid promise of quality from ASUS, the EAH3850 TRINITY comes with several solutions to provide top quality graphic performance. The temperature of the newly adopted DIP Spring Chokes is 5~10°C lower in comparison to traditional Toroidal Coil Chokes; while the Japan-made polymer capacitors lowers power loss to provide more stability. Users will thus feel at ease while enjoying extreme performance with ASUS’ uncompromising quality only with the ASUS EAH3850 TRINITY.

Specifications

Specifications

Model	EAH3850 TRINITY/3DHTI/1.5G
Graphics Engine	Radeon HD 3850
Video Memory	1.5G DDR3
Engine Clock	660MHz
Memory Clock	850 MHz (1.7GHz DDR3)
Memory Interface	256-bit + 256-bit + 256-bit
DVI Max. Resolution	2560 * 1600
Bus Standard	PCI Express
DVI Output	DVI *4
HDCP compliant	Yes
HDMI Output	Yes, via DVI to HDMI adaptor
D-Sub Output	Yes, via DVI to D-Sub adaptor
HDTV Output	Yes, via HDTV Out cable
TV Output	Yes, via S-Video to Composite
Thermal Solution	Water Cooling System
Adaptor/Cable Bundled	DVI-to-D-Sub adaptor DVI-to-HDMI adaptor HDTV-out cable Power Cable
Software Bundled	ASUS Utilities & Driver

Microsoft reduces price of Vista April 23, 2008

Microsoft has announced a price revision for its Windows Vista operating system. In Asia, Malaysia is the only market to enjoy the adjusted pricing offered thru local IT partners, and is one of the only two countries in the world to adopt this strategy. Depending on the editions of the Windows Vista, price adjustments range from 10 to almost 50 percent.

This is reflected in its OEM licensing offering, a move which presents the easiest and most attractively-priced option for purchasing Windows Vista preinstalled in a PC, as well as its stand-alone retail packs. According to Mr. KT Ng, Director, Client Business Group, Business Marketing Organization, the strategy will also increases the product’s relevance to the mainstream IT industry in view of the dropping prices of computer hardware and peripherals. As a result, the overall package is now more affordable to consumers, in addition to increasing user confidence in its genuine products.

Microsoft firmly believes that the increased affordability of Windows Vista Home Premium will enhance digital empowerment to a wider cross-section of Malaysian consumers and users and allow more to experience the rich features of a digital lifestyle. It will also ensure consumers and users’ computer are well protected from security attacks.

Abit’s new AMD motherboard April 23, 2008

abit has announced their latest AMD platform motherboard, the A-S78H, supporting ATI Hybrid CrossFireX Technology. The A-S78H is based on the AMD 780G chipset with ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics and the SB700. It supports AMD AM2+/AM2 processors running HT3.0 up to 5200MT/s. It has four 240-pin DIMM sockets offer a maximum of 8GB memory capacity for Dual Channel DDR2 1066 modules. 1 x PCI-E X16, 1 x PCI-E X1, and 2 x PCI slots hold enough potential for further expansion and system upgrades with different add-on cards.

The ATI Hybrid CrossFireX Technology offers multi-GPU performance capabilities by enabling the integrated graphics processor and a discrete graphics processor to operate simultaneously with combined output to a single display for blisteringly-fast frame rates. Enabled hybrid graphics cards models so far include ATI HD2400XT, HD2400Pro, HD3470 and HD3450 based VGA cards, providing the ultimate visual experience.

Stay tuned for pricing and availability. Read on for specifications.

Specifcations

abit A-S78H
CPU Support	AMD Socket AM2/AM2+ Processors
System Bus	AM2+ runs HT3.0 5200MT/s, AM2 runs HT1.0 2000MT/S
Chipset	AMD780G chipset with ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics/SB700 chipset
Expansion Slots	1 x PCI-Ex16, 2 XPCI-Ex1, 3x PCI
LAN	Gigabit Ethernet
Memory	4X240-pin DIMM sockets support max. memory capacity 8GB Dual channel DDR2 1066/800/667
SATA	6XSATA 3Gb/s connector
Audio	5.1-Channel HD
abit engineered™	abit SoftMenu, abit EQ