Itc Hardware

GIGABYTE GA-H67M-D2 B3

2011-07-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

Hybrid EFI Technology combines the benefits of GIGABYTE's mature BIOS platform including stability and compatibility with 3rd party products with 3TB+ HDD support from EFI technology, allowing GIGABYTE to offer the best of both worlds through a quick and easy BIOS update using GIGABYTE's @BIOS utility that is freely available from the GIGABYTE website.

Socket LGA1155, Intel H67, DDR3 Dual Channel, 2x PCI-e 16x 2.0, SATA III, Audio

Detail Specifications

CPU Socket	LGA1155
Supported CPU	Support for Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/ Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1155 package (Go to GIGABYTE's website for the latest CPU support list.)
Northbridge Chipset	Intel® H67 Express Chipset
DIMM Sockets	2 x 1.5V Dual Channel DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
Supported Memory	Support for DDR3 1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
Max Memory	16 Gb
Expansion Slots	1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) 2 x PCI Express x1 slots
Serial ATA Controller	2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (SATA3_0, SATA3_1) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices 4 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_2~SATA2_5) supporting up to 4 SATA 3Gb/s devices
Supported RAID	Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
Display Output	D-Sub, DVI
Audio	Realtek ALC889 codec
LAN	1 x Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
USB	Up to 14 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (8 on the back panel, 6 via the USB brackets connected to the internal USB headers)
BIOS	2 x 32 Mbit flash Use of licensed AWARD BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b
Internal I/O	1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector 3 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x system fan header 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x serial port header 1 x clearing CMOS jumper
External I/O	1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 1 x D-Sub port 1 x DVI-D port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s connector 1 x RJ-45 port 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone) 1 x RJ-45 port 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/ Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)
Form Factor	mATX
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty by Authorized Distributors

MSI E350IA-E45 Motherboard Review

2011-07-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago at CES AMD launched their Fusion APU, their first product to combine a CPU and GPU on the same chip. Initial models are aimed at the mainstream and budget markets and were accompanied by announcements from various manufacturers of motherboards which support the new "APU" and Hudson M1 chipset.

One of the first manufacturers to announce their APU based system was MSI and today we have that very product, the E350IA-E45, on our test bench. In a selection of predominantly real world tests including media encoding, gaming and HD playback we will look at the performance of the new platform and find out who the consumers are who will benefit most from the first Fusion models.

BIOS and Software

MSI use an Aptio Setup utility for their American Megatrends BIOS and it has a similar layout to most other motherboards. As noted earlier the option is available to overclock the system memory to 1333MHz, rather than stick to AMD's 1066MHz specification. Temperature and voltage monitoring are also available as is M-Flash for quick and simple BIOS updates from a USB drive.

The E350IA-E45 supports System Monitor so that we can keep track of the CPU/GPU and memory use within Windows and in addition to this MSI supply Norton Internet Security with the board. Also, as this is an AMD platform, users should be able to take advantage of AMD software such as Fusion Media Explorer. FME is shown in the video above and is a tool which assists with managing our videos, pictures and music while taking advantage of AMDs CPU and GPU technology.

Detail Specifications

AMD Zacate E350 Dual Core, AMD Hudson M1, DDR3 Single Channel, VGA, SATA III, USB 3.0, Audio

Supported CPU	Zacate-FT1 APU
Northbridge Chipset	AMD Hudson M1
DIMM Sockets	2 DIMM's
Supported Memory	Single Channel DDR3 800/1066/1333* (OC)
Max. Memory	8 GB
Expansion Slots	1 PCI Express x16 slot with x4 operation (PCI Express Bus SPEC V2.0 compliant)
Serial ATA Controller	4x SATA 6Gb/s ports by AMD® Hudson M1
Onboard VGA	Available VGA Max Share Memory Up to 512MB
Audio	Chipset integrated by Realtek® ALC887
LAN	Realtek PCI-E GbLAN controller RTL8111E
USB	2x USB 3.0 ports by NEC® uPD720200F1
Internal I/O	1 x ATX 24-pin power connector 1 x ATX 4-pin 12V CPU power connector CPU x 1 / System x 1 FAN connectors 1 x Front panel audio connector 1 x Front panel connector 2 x USB 2.0 connectors 4 x Serial ATA 6Gb/s connectors
External I/O	1 x PS/2 keyboard or mouse 1 x Graphic Card port 1 x HDMI port 6 x USB 2.0 ports 2 x USB 3.0 ports 1 x RJ45 LAN jack 1 x Coaxial SPDIF-out port 1 x Optical SPDIF-out port 1 x 6 in 1 audio jack
Form Factor	Mini-ITX Form Factor
Dimension	17.0cm(L) x 17.0cm(W)

Intel DG41WV Review

2011-07-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Explore the great multitasking performance and legacy features of the Intel® Desktop Board DG41WV. This board is designed to run with Intel® Core™2 Quad and Intel® Core™2 Duo processors in the LGA775 socket. Offered in micro-ATX form factor and populated with a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, 2 DIMMs slots for DDR3 memory, eight back panel USB 2.0 ports, you can build a feature-rich system with these expansion capabilities.

The Intel® Desktop Board DG41WV is Microsoft Windows Vista
Premium and Windows 7 WHQL certified.

View features and configurations for DG41WV

Socket LGA775, Intel G41, FSB 1333/1066/800MHz, DDR3 Dual Channel, PCI-e 16x, VGA, SATA II, USB 2.0, Audio

Detail Specifications

CPU Socket	Socket LGA775
Supported CPU	At product launch, this desktop board supports: Intel® Core™2 Duo processor Intel® Core™2 Quad processor
Northbridge Chipset	Intel® G41 Express Chipset
Front Side Bus	1333/1066/800 MHz
DIMM Sockets	2x 240-pin DDR3 SDRAM
Supported Memory	DDR3 SDRAM Unbuffered, Non-ECC, Dual Channel
Max. Memory	4
Expansion Slots	1 x PCI Express x16 bus add-in card connector 1 x PCI Express x1 add-in card connector
Serial ATA Controller	4x SATA Controllers
Onboard VGA	Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
Audio	Available
LAN	1 Port (10/100/1000 Mbps)
USB	Available
BIOS	Intel BIOS in a 16 Mb SPI device
Form Factor	mATX
Warranty	1-year Limited Warranty by Authorized Distributor

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Review

2011-07-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
Recently we saw the first desktop six-core processor reviewed here at OCC, the Intel Core i7 980X and the power that the hex-core's bring to the table. Today we are looking at AMD's offering to the six-core market, the Phenom II X6 1090T processor. The AMD Phenom II series has been strong in the mainstream market and has been providing great computing power at a lower price tag than its competitors. They have been designed to allow you to build a complete system for less then the cost of most single components from other manufacturers. This price to performance ratio has given them a good market share from gamers and enthusiasts not wanting to break the bank just to have cutting edge
technology. This is the same case with the Phenom II X6 1090T processor. While the Intel six-core the 980X currently retails for $999, the AMD Phenom II X6 1090T will list for around $300 at launch, meaning that you could buy a whole system for less than the cost of the 980X alone. With a clock speed of 3.2GHz and new features such as AMD Turbo Core technology, the new Phenom II X6 1090T sounds like the CPU that everyone has been waiting for. So how well does it really do? There is only one way to tell, so let's dive in and take a look at the components and get to what everyone wants to really see...

Closer Look:

The new AMD Phenom II X6 1090T is AMD's first entry into the six-core processor market. The Phenom II X6 1090T is a socket AM3 processor clocked at 3.2GHz and is manufactured using a 45nm process. The 1090T has a total of 9MB cache which breaks down to 6MB shared L3 cache and 3MB L2 cache, 512KB per core. For memory support, the Phenom II X6 1090T, just as with other Phenom II processors, can support both DDR2 memory up to 1066Mhz and DDR3 memory up to 1333MHz. The processors runs on the HyperTransport 3.0 bus for up to 4,000MT/s full duplex. This particular processor has a maximum TDP of 125 watts and a maximum temperature threshold of 62°C. The voltage required for operation is between 1.125v to a maximum of 1.40v. One new feature that the Phenom II X6 1090T processor brings to the table is called Turbo Core. What Turbo Core does is when the processor is not needing the full power of the six cores, it will shut down half of the cores and then increase the processor speed from the stock of 3.2GHz to an increased speed of 3.6GHz on the remaining three active cores. This gives you a boost in performance when operating at less power and heat. The physical appearance of the Phenom II X6 1090T looks as any other Phenom II processor however; in the die shot below you can see the difference with the additional two cores added to the design.

Detail Specifications

Class	Phenom II
Socket	AM3
L2 Cache	6x512 Kb
Front Side Bus	HyperTransport™ up to 2000 MT/s
Items Included	Heat Sink + Fan
Core	Thuban
Number Of Core	6
Clock Speed	3200 MHz
L3 Cache	6000 Kb

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Review

2011-07-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

MD knows that we're impatiently waiting for some traction on Fusion. And while we expect to see its first notebook-oriented Fusion-based processors featured in actual products at CES, we're still a ways away from seeing the technology in action on the desktop.

In the meantime, AMD is trying to tide us over with a steady stream of frequency bumps. It seems like that has been the case for a while now, but as the company improves its 45 nm manufacturing process, it's able to reliably get incrementally more headroom to boost performance--even if it's only bit by bit. This strategy isn’t viable long term, of course, especially in the face of Sandy Bridge launching in January at CES, aiming
for the same mainstream market. It tided the company over in 2010, though, allowing it to offer excellent prices on processors that performed very well, despite Intel's lock on the high-end segment.

Perhaps the best part of this approach is that, every time AMD introduced a new model over the last year, the faster processors have adopted the MSRP of the models they replace. This time is no different, and the result is a wave of price drops dribbling down the Athlon II and Phenom II product lines.

Once Sandy Bridge hits, AMD is going to have a hard time leaning on its current approach. We're simply expecting too much pressure on its higher-end models from Intel's LGA 1155 lineup. For now, the Athlon II and Phenom II processors remain viable options for enthusiasts looking for plenty of performance without dropping a lot of cash. Remember, we still don't have official pricing on the Sandy Bridge parts, so it could turn out that AMD retains its value proposition moving into 2011.

This time around, AMD is refreshing the Athlon II X3, Phenom II X2, and Phenom II X6 families. Even the Thuban-based six-core X6 can overclock up to 4 GHz relatively easily. So, it's not a stretch to expect another speed bump or two from some of AMD's lower-clocked parts as we traverse through the next year, even once Bulldozer-based parts start shipping.

Knowing that day is coming, is it worth sinking money into a new Socket AM3 platform now? Both Intel and AMD are gearing up for a next-generation battle, after all. Let's take a closer look.

Detail Specifications :

Class	Phenom II
Socket	AM3
L2 Cache	6x512 Kb
Front Side Bus	HyperTransport™ up to 2000 MT/s
Items Included	Heat Sink + Fan
Core	Thuban
Number Of Core	6
Clock Speed	3300 MHz
L3 Cache	6000 Kb

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black

2011-07-14T00:46:00.000-07:00

It's about time AMD released a properly new processor architecture. Until that happens, it's stuck with execution cores that largely date back to 2003. With that in mind, can the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition really be a plausible performance processor?
AMD has certainly made life easier for its top quad-core chip by pricing it competitively. The Phenom II X4 965 BE is cheaper than Intel's entry level quads, the Core i5 750 and Core i5 760. However,
at 3.4GHz the 965 is clocked much higher than the Intel opposition.

However, the 965's biggest challenge might just be the cheaper of AMD's new six-core processors. The Phenom II X6 1055T is yours for an extra £10 or so. That's awfully tempting. Of course, what the 1055T doesn't have is an unlocked CPU multiplier. That's an enthusiast-friendly feature that usually makes for easier and more effective overclocking and could tip the balance in favour of the quad-core 965.

Quad Core, 3.4GHz, HyperTransport, 2MB L2 Cache, Socket AM3

Detail Specifications

Socket	AM3
L2 Cache	2048 Kb
Architecture	45 nm
Clock Speed	3.400 MHz

INTEL Xeon X5670

2011-07-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series automatically regulates power consumption and intelligently adjusts server performance according to your needs. Enabled by Intel® Intelligent Power Technology, these processors shift into the lowest available power state, while Intel® Turbo Boost Technology intelligently adjusts performance according to your needs.

Detail Specifications

Class	Xeon
Socket	LGA1366
Items Included	Optional
Instructions	Instruction Set: 64-bit Instruction Set Extensions: SSE4.2
Core	Westmere-EP
Number Of Core	6
Architecture	32 nm
Clock Speed	2.933 MHz
Features	Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) Intel® Trusted Execution Technology AES New Instructions Intel® 64 Idle States Enhanced Intel® Speedstep Technology Intel® Demand Based Switching Execute Disable Bit
Other	Max Turbo Frequency: 3.33 GHz Max TDP: 95 W
QuickPath Interconnect (QPI)	6.4 GT/s

CLUB3D Radeon HD 6990 (CGAX-69996)

2011-07-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

The Club 3D Radeon HD 6990 graphic processor harnesses the power of dual GPUs to unleash unrivaled performance and flawless image quality, making it the definitive solution for those who refuse to compromise.

Featuring 4 GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory, the Club 3D Radeon HD 6990 is the definite solution for ultra-high resolution gaming across up to six simultaneous displays. Play the most advanced DirectX 11 capable games in uncompromising "Eye-Definition" with the Club 3D Radeon HD 6990.

New Radeon Antilles GPU x 2

Two powerful cores in one graphics card. Work with the most demanding applications stunningly fast. It is perfect for your online and Blu-ray video experiences with an unprecedented level of smooth visual quality. Set the bar for beautifully smooth image quality with Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA) and Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)

75% Faster

The Radeon HD 6990 running in OC mode is on average 67% faster than a single-GPU competing product when playing games at 2560 x 1600.

On average you can expect a 60% to 100% increase performance in high resolution applications when two of the Dual GPU cards are configured in Quad CrossFire.

* 75% faster on 3D Mark 11 tested on a AMD Pherom II x6 1090T@3.2G with Windows 7 64 bit against competing product

Volterra Regulators

Club 3D introduces the latest generation of programmable Volterra regulators for increase efficiency, higher current capacity and overclocking.

With a combination of Japanese Pure Ceramic SuperCapacitors, it provides lower power temperature and less power draw.

450W of Cooling Power

The Club 3D Radeon HD 6990 runs on Dual Vapor Chamber. Vapor Chamber allows liquid to boil into a vapor state and circulate near the GPU and then turns back into liquid circulating through the plate. This allows heat to be transferred evenly on the cooler fins and as a result the fan does not have to spin as fast, keep the ambient noise low and temperatures down.

With higher cooling capacity it is ready for overclocking when needed.

Dual Bios Overdrive
The Club 3D Radeon HD 6990 comes default from factory at 830 Mhz. You can now switch into Overdrive mode at a flick of a switch.

POSITION 2: Default factory settings at 830 Mhz and 1.12V

POSITION 1: Overdrive mode at 880 Mhz and 1.175

Multi-Monitor
21.6 Gbps bandwidth

This graphic card is optimized for AMD Eyefinity Technology and supports the latest generation of display connectivity.

The card features 4 Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs with 21.6 Gbps of bandwidth and high bit rate audio. Mini-DisplayPort gives you the flexibility to "Daisy Chain" multiple monitors with a single output and also convert to any desired output. Please refer to Club 3D accessories website for more information.

Recommended adapters (active links)
Mini DisplayPort to HDMI cable CAC-1101
Mini DP to DVI-D Single-Link cable CAC-1100
Mini DP to Active DVI Single-Link Cable CAC-1152

PowerTune

AMD PowerTune allows you to maximize game performance by increasing the board power limits or decrease them, allowing for improved power draw and thermals in apps that are very intensive on the GPU. It is "the feature" for enthusiast and overclockers.

AMD APP Technology

AMD APP technology is a set of advanced hardware and software technologies that enable AMD graphics processing cores (GPU), working in concert with the system’s x86 cores (CPU), to accelerate many applications beyond just graphics. This enables better balanced platforms capable of running demanding computing tasks faster than ever, and sets software developers on the path to optimize for AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs).

AMD PowerPlay™ Technology
AMD PowerPlay™ Technology is designed to enable power saving profiles that help reduce power consumption when the GPU is idle or in minimal use in comparison to previous AMD products. This dynamic power management enables the GPU to automatically adjust power between low, medium and high states for a tremendous power efficiency advantage. For example, when receiving and composing emails little demand is on the GPU and it runs in a low state, whereas when gaming, there is high demand on the graphics engine and the GPU runs in a high state.
Since the GPU consumes less power it also produces less heat ultimately contributing to reduced system temperatures and fan noise delivering consistent performance levels for a seamless user experience.

PDF Download:
Radeon HD 6990 Datasheet (EN)
Radeon HD 6990 OC Switch (EN)

High Resolution Image:

Radeon HD 6990

ATI Radeon HD6990, 4GB DDR5, 256-bit, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, HDCP, PCI-e 2.1
Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI-e 16x 2.1
Graphic Chipset	ATI Radeon HD6990
Engine Clock Speed	830MHz
Memory Provided	4GB DDR5
Memory Bus	256-bit
Memory Clock Speed	5000 MHz
Display Output	DVI: 1x Dual Link DVI-I CRT: via Dongle HDMI: via Dongle Display Port: 4x Mini-DisplayPort HDCP ready: YES
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty By Authorized Distributor

HIS AMD Radeon 6990

2011-07-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Let's get the obvious (and most-important) news out of the way first: The dual-GPU AMD Radeon HD 6990 is the fastest video card ever. If you are looking for the ultimate tool for improving and speeding your games' graphics, this is it. It trounces the competition, including its own illustrious predecessor, the ATI Radeon HD 5970, and delivers the kind of frame rates in DirectX 11 (DX11) titles we didn't think possible even a few months ago. Simply put, we adore this card's capabilities, and must award it our Editors' Choice. But—and this is a big but—it's not for everyone. Bearing a faint-worthy sticker
price of $699 list, power bill–inflating electricity usage, and all the standard caveats associated with top-tier gaming cards, the Radeon HD 6990, part of AMD's new Antilles family of cards, is aimed squarely and only at wealthy, reckless, and frivolous gamers who believe that having the best (and biggest) hardware is its own reward.

Design and Features
There's no doubt about it: Everything about the 6990 is big, starting with its specs. It packs 5.1 teraflops of compute power. It has a core base clock speed of 830 MHz. It has 3,072 stream processors, 192 texture units, and 64 ROPs. It's got a frame buffer of 4GB of GDDR5 memory, operating on a 5-Gbps, 256-bit memory path.

In case all this isn't quite enough for you, it's possible to go just a little bit bigger. As with some other 6000-series cards, there's a dual-BIOS switch (located next to the I/O bracket) that lets you engage a built-in overclocking option. Flip it to increase the standard clock speed from 830 MHz to 880 MHz, and the voltage from 1.12 volts to 1.175 volts, for a new compute power level of 5.4 teraflops. This is a remarkably easy way to squeeze yet more performance out of the card, though as we'll see it doesn't come without some sacrifices.

The 6990 is also physically big. Like the 5970, it measures 12.5 inches in length, making it the longest card you can buy. Trying to house it in anything less than a full-tower case is taking a real chance, and we even hit a snag in our spacious Thermaltake Element V: We had to rearrange the hard drives to get the 6990 to fit, because the SATA data and power cables just stuck out a few millimeters too far. Like many other cards of this size, the 6990 also boasts a bulky heat sink and fan assembly, which means it will block a second expansion slot next to the PCI Express (PCIe) x16 slot you install it in.

Big connectivity is possible, though this also represents a big departure for AMD. Outputs include one dual-link DVI port and four Mini DisplayPort jacks, letting you run Eyefinity setups with as many as five monitors at once. In case you're not exactly drowning in Mini DisplayPort–capable monitors, don't worry: All versions of the 6990 will ship with three adapters: one passive Mini DisplayPort–to–single-link DVI; one active Mini DisplayPort–to–single-link DVI; and one passive Mini DisplayPort–to–HDMI.

Then there's the question of the 6990's big power usage. We'll get into this more later, but you'll want a beefy power supply before you even consider installing this thing. And make sure that, via either your PSU's native connections or Y-cables, you have access to two eight-pin PCIe power adapters, because you'll need them. (This is a rarity—previous front-of-the-pack cards, like the 5970 or Nvidia's GeForce GTX 580, required one eight-pin connector and one six-pin connector—but understandable given the card's power demands.) AMD restricts the 6990's power usage to 375 watts in regular mode, and 450 watts when overclocked, with the typical average gaming draw at about 350 watts and 415 watts, respectively.

In all cases, that's a lot, and even if the board idles as claimed at 37 watts (in both standard and overclocked mode), excessive power draw is a real concern. A new technology AMD calls PowerTune is designed to help alleviate this, and let the 6990 operate safely beyond 300 watts. PowerTune dynamically adjusts the engine clock on the fly based on an ongoing assessment of the GPUs' power usage—this lets it run within its TDP budget at the highest-possible clock speeds. The Catalyst Control Center software gives the user some control over the power containment, in case they want to push the boundaries of performance further still.

All this additionally requires big design changes to deal with performance and heat dissipation issues. A new symmetrical design places each of the GPUs at opposite ends of the cards, with regulators in the center—according to AMD, this maximizes power delivery to the chips and their associated memory. A completely enclosed shroud, which contains dual vapor chambers and phase change thermal interface material, keeps the card cool.

Performance, Power Consumption, and Noise
Of course, the primary thing that anyone seriously considering the 6990 cares about (and should care about), is performance. And this card's, as we've said, is unparalleled. We hit it with our entire arsenal of DX11 benchmark tests—all at the highest typical resolutions (1,920 by 1,200 and 2,560 by 1,600), with the details maxed out—and the 6990 made mincemeat of them. It then proceeded to bake that mincemeat into pies and feed them to not just Nvidia's performance leader, the GTX 580 (we also tested Zotac's overclocked version), but also the 5970, earning across the board the best scores we've seen.

The 6990's numbers in the fresh and still-demanding 3DMark 11 were unbelievable: 8,901 using the Performance preset (1,280 by 720), and 3,285 using the Extreme preset (1,920 by 1,080). In Aliens vs. Predator, it nabbed 77.2 frames per second (fps) and 48.4 fps; in the Heaven Benchmark it slid to an easy and smooth 46.4 fps and 35.2 fps. Just Cause 2 saw 68.4 fps and 48.7 fps, Lost Planet 2 returned 51.5 fps and 42 fps, Metro 2033 came in at 54.3 fps and 35 fps, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat rang in at an impressive 91.2 fps and 61.5 fps.

All these numbers, by the way, are with the 6990's overclocking switch off. Flip it, and you see even better results: 9,175 and 3,419 in 3DMark 11; 79.9 fps and 50.5 fps in Aliens vs. Predator; 48.5 fps and 37 fps in the Heaven Benchmark; 70.2 fps and 50.6 fps in Just Cause 2; 53.4 fps and 43.6 fps in Lost Planet 2; and 94.5 fps and 64.3 fps in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The only stumble here was in Metro 2033: The overclocked 6990 earned 52.7 fps at 1,920 by 1,200, not enough to beat the base clocking, and edged just barely over with 35.3 at 2,560 by 1,600. No, the overclocking won't blow out every title, and even if it's rather gentle at the AMD-recommended boosted speeds, it's still a noticeable improvement—for no more money. Is there anything the 6990 can't do?

Well, yes. The 6990's Antilles heel is its power consumption. Which is, as we've stated, excessive. Granted, this was to be expected given its dual GPUs and the astounding frame rates they generate. But we weren't quite prepared for what we saw—and AMD has just lost one of its perennial pluses over Nvidia.

At idle, our test system with the 6990 installed pulled a respectable 148 watts of electricity. This is just slightly higher than the two Nvidia cards (143 and 144 watts), and even lower than the 5970 (154 watts). With the 6990's factory overclocking engaged, we didn't even notice a significant change—149 watts is what our power logger reported.

But at full load, running a version of our 2,560-by-1,600 Metro 2033 benchmark, the base-clocked 6990 used a whopping 413 watts of power—compared to 358 for the reference GTX 580 and 360 for Zotac's version. With the overclocking on, the 6990 leaped up to 446 watts—an average over about three minutes that saw significant time spent upwards of 500 watts. This, more than anything else, chains the 6990 to "fearless enthusiast" territory, a place you shouldn't even consider visiting unless you really know what you're doing and have the hardware to back it up.

In fairness, 2,560-by-1,600 displays aren't that common, even among the hard-core gamer set. Many of them these days have multiple smaller displays instead. But that's just another variation on the same problem, as you have to factor in the juice for the other monitors as well. Any way you look at it, the 6990 is an expensive power proposition—on top of the already dizzying price of entry.

It's also a potentially loud proposition. A lot of power means a lot of heat, and that requires a lot of cooling—and thus a lot of fan noise. Though our Thermaltake case has a lot of fans in it (including one 200mm one in the side panel), we never had any trouble hearing the 6990 during its moments of heaviest processing. For serious users, this isn't that much of a problem—you do get used to it after a while—but we can't claim we didn't notice it.

These are as close as the AMD Radeon HD 6990 comes to flaws, but if you're prepared for them—with a robust bank account, power supply, and strategy for cooling your case and dampening the noise that comes from it—then this card is completely worth it. For everyone else, the more-conservative (and, at right around $500, less-expensive) GTX 580 is a better choice: It's the best single-GPU card out there, will cost less both upfront and over the long haul, and doesn't have quite the noise issues we saw (heard?) with AMD's dual-GPU card. And if Nvidia's own rumored two-GPU product comes to fruition soon, Nvidia's single-GPU performance advantage could catapult that card into the lead. But until then, as the 6990 is capable of playing pretty much every game currently on the market with all the settings cranked to the skies, something the GTX 580 simply can't do as well, we rank AMD's card as a superlative piece of hardware that well-off gamers will rightfully cherish for a long time to come.

AMD Radeon HD 6990, 4GB DDR5, 256-bit, D-Sub, DVI, PCI-e 16x 2.1

Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI Express x16 (PCI Express 2.1)
Graphic Chipset	RadeonTM HD 6990 GPU
Engine Clock Speed	830Mhz
Memory Provided	4GB DDR5
Memory Bus	256 bit
Memory Clock Speed	5Gbps
Max. Video Resolution	2560*1600 (Single Display)
Display Output	Display Port, DVI
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty By Authorized Distributor

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6990

2011-07-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Immerse yourself with AMD Eyefinity technology and expand your games across up to six simultaneous displays. Purpose-built to dominate your gaming competition in the most advanced DirectX 11 titles, the AMD Radeon HD 6990 is quite simply the fastest graphics processor in the world. Experience the incredible power of dual GPUs armed with full support for Microsoft DirectX 11 and scalable geometry processing, for unrivaled performance and flawless image quality. Unleash even the most demanding applications and tap into stunning video quality with AMD EyeSpeed visual acceleration
technology. Get unrivaled graphics. Get Radeon in your system.

AMD Radeon HD 6990, 4GB DDR5, 2x256-bit, DVI, HDMI, PCI-e x16 2.0

Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI-e x16 2.0
Graphic Chipset	RADEON 6990
Chipset Features	40 nm Chip
Engine Clock Speed	830 MHz Core Clock
Memory Provided	2x2048 MB DDR5
Memory Bus	2x256 -bit
Memory Clock Speed	5000 MHz
Max. Video Resolution	Up to 2560 x 1600* *Using DVI Dual link, DisplayPort, HDMI
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*

XFX Radeon HD 6990 HD-699A-ENF9

2011-07-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

Feel the adrenaline rush with the XFX HD-699A-ENF9 graphics card. Integrating Dual GPU with amazing total 3072(1536x2) Stream Processing Units, 4GB GDDR5 high-speed memory and an array of breakthrough features, this high-powered beast creates
unrivaled performance for the hardcore gamers to power through even the most demanding game titles, forever changing the way your look at and play video games.

AMD HD3D technology with full DirectX 11 support, four Mini-DisplayPort 1.2 outputs and a Dual-Link DVI port, gives players ultra-high resolution gaming across up to four Eyefinity displays simultaneously. In addition, AMD’s exclusive anti-aliasing platform, Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA), reduces and smoothes jagged lines to enhance visual qualities without lowering frame rates associated with standard anti-aliasing. Not all games have anti-aliasing support, but MLAA can enhance your graphics on any application.

ATI Radeon HD6990, 4GB DDR5, 256-bit, DVI, Display Port, PCI-e 16x 2.1

Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI Express 2.1 x16
Graphic Chipset	Radeon HD 6990
Engine Clock Speed	830MHz
Memory Provided	4GB DDR5
Memory Bus	256-bit
Memory Clock Speed	1250MHz (5.0Gbps)
Max. Video Resolution	2560 x 1600
Display Output	DisplayPort, DVI
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty By Authorized Distributor

PlayStation 4 Release Date of the New Console - Sony

2011-07-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

Sony is planning PS4 release in 2012, report by "Digitimes", The Taiwanese Daily based on leads provided by well positioned equipment manufacturers for Sony. Foxconn and Pegatron, the two assemblers for Sony has claimed that they are going to start PS4 asse4mbly line in late 2011.

According to DigiTimes, Sony has high hopes for its next console, expecting 20 million units shipment on launch next year.

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But i a telephonic interview with "Investors Today", Sony Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Masaru Kato also indicated toward New Sony PlayStation 4 Vita game console:

For the home equipment the PS3 still has a product life. But this is a platform business, so for the future platform - when we’ll be introducing what product I cannot discuss that - but our development work is already under way, so the costs are incurred there.

Though there are no confirm reports available on the graphical capabilities of new Sony PlayStation 4 Vita device, but the sources said that console will boast a Kinect like feature, allowing users to play games with only the movement of their bodies.

Sony PS4: PlayStation 4 Release Date of the New Console
Here under is a Sony PlayStation 4 leaked launch trailer to be watched for you:

It should be noted that earlier reports suggested both Microsoft and Sony would launch their new game consoles in 2014. Officially, Sony and Microsoft still stand with their stance of not launching new consoles anytime soon, so that they can milk enough their existing PS3 and Xbox360 console.

But seeing the user expectations and excitement at E3 2011, it seems that market forces and factors will compelled the world largest gaming giant to revisit their strategies.

However, it is clear that, if Sony does release its new PS4 console next year, it will have to face very tough competition by upcoming Nintendo Wii U and Xbox 720, as Microsoft too will not be able to afford sitting out of the race, in this case. Nintendo Wii U, already announced to be released, promises better graphical capabilities and a new controller that boasts a 6.2 inch touch screen.

ZOTAC GTX 590

2011-07-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Completely transform your gaming experience with the ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 590, the fastest graphics card with Microsoft® DirectX® 11 technology ever produced. The ZOTAC GeForce® GTX 590 delivers out-of-this-world performance by combining a pair of Fermi graphics processors working together to enable an unprecedented gaming experience with phenomenal visuals, clarity and
immersion.

Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI Express 2.0 x 16 (Compatible with 1.1)
Graphic Chipset	GeForce GTX 590
Engine Clock Speed	1024 (2 x 512) Stream Processors
Memory Provided	3072MB (2 x 1536MB) DDR5
Memory Bus	768-bit (2 x 384-bit)
Memory Clock Speed	3414 MHz
Max. Video Resolution	2560 x 1600
Display Output	DVI 3 Dual-Link DVI Supported Yes HDMI 1 x Mini-HDMI 1.4
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty By Authorized Distributor

POINT OF VIEW GeForce GTX 590 OC Specifications

2011-07-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Earlier today NVIDIA and their partners launched the GeForce GTX 590, their new top of the range graphics card. With two GTX 580 based GPUs in one exceptionally designed product we have been impressed by the card in both our single card review and quad SLI article. Now though
it's time to take things to the next level... Today NVIDIA released their updated driver, 267.84 and we have taken that, 5 recently released games (including Crysis 2, BulletStorm and Shogun 2) and tested at 1920x1080 and 5760x1080 with the 6990 and GTX 590 overclocked to their limit. Read on to find out which is faster when both are pushed as far as they will go on a heavily overclocked Intel Core i7-990X. This isn't about features... It's about finding the fastest gaming card in the latest games..

Detail Specifications

Graphic Interface	PCI-e 16x 2.0
Graphic Chipset	NVidia GeForce GTX590
Engine Clock Speed	608 MHz
Memory Provided	3072 MB DDR5 (2x 1536MB)
Memory Bus	768-bit
Memory Clock Speed	3414 MHz
Display Output	3x Dual Link DVI-I, 1x Mini DisplayPort
Package Contents	Contents May Vary*
Warranty	1 Year Limited Warranty By Authorized Distributor

Intel® Core™ i5 vPro™ Processor - 2nd Generation

2011-07-10T22:49:00.000-07:00

The visibly smart performance of the 2nd generation Intel® Core™ vPro™ processor family will make you and your users take notice. You’ll see improved security, manageability, and cost-effectiveness. Your users will enjoy enhanced multitasking and better adaptive performance, along with stunning graphics, all from one processor.

Protect. Manage. Perform

The 2nd generation Intel Core vPro processor family offers intelligent, hardware-assisted security features that help you quickly deploy security patches across PCs, remotely unlock encrypted drives, and manage data security settings, even when the PC is off. You can also help protect your organization’s sensitive data with optional Intel® Anti-Theft Technology (Intel® AT).

The 2nd generation Intel Core vPro processor family provides intelligent hardware-assisted security and manageability features, as well as improved multitasking and performance that adapts to users’ needs to increase productivity. This smart performance, along with the built-in visual capabilities, translates into benefits visible in the most important area of your business - the bottom line.

Product information
Learn about processor numbers

Intel® Core™ i7 vPro™ Processor Family - 2nd Generation

2011-07-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

Protect. Manage. Perform.

The 2nd generation Intel Core vPro processor family provides intelligent hardware-assisted security and manageability features, as well as improved multitasking and performance that adapts to users’ needs to increase productivity. This smart performance, along with the built-in visual capabilities, translates into benefits visible in the most important area of your business - the bottom line.

Product information
Learn about processor numbers

Intel® Core™ i3 Processor - 2nd Generation

2011-07-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

AFFORDABLE BUSINESS COMPUTING

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor

The Intel® Core™ i3 processor provides the basis for an affordable PC. This dual-core processor with 4-way multitasking capability has built-in performance headroom for software upgrades, providing an excellent return on investment.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

With 2nd generation Intel Core i3 processors, you get the following features built in:

Intel® HT Technology◊ allows each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time.
Intel® Smart Cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core based on workload, which significantly reduces latency and improves performance.

Download Product Brief [pdf] >

SPECIFICATIONS

All 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i3 processors feature:

Intel® HT Technology◊
Intel® Smart Cache

Intel® Core™ i5 Processor - 2nd Generation

2011-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

The Intel® Core™ i5 processor delivers the next level of productivity. With Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊, this quad-core processor with 4-way multitasking capability delivers extra speed whenever you need it as well as security features to help protect information and data.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

With 2nd generation Intel Core i5 processors, you get the following features built in:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊ dynamically increases the processor frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom when operating below specified limits.
Intel® Smart Cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core based on workload, which significantly reduces latency and improves performance.
Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions add hardware acceleration to AES algorithms and speeds up the execution of AES applications.

Download Product Brief [pdf] >

SPECIFICATIONS

All 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5 processors feature:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊
Intel® Smart Cache
Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - 2nd Generation

2011-07-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

BEST-IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

The Intel® Core™ i7 processor delivers best-in-class performance for the most demanding applications. This quad-core processor features 8-way multitasking capability and additional L3 cache. With adaptive performance and built-in visual capabilities this 2nd generation processor
brings more intelligence to your PC.

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processors feature Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊ and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology◊, enabling required security applications and protocols to run efficiently in the background without compromising productivity.

Today's more visually sophisticated communication needs will be met with Intel® HD Graphics 2000 Technology, integrated into 2nd generation Intel Core processors. This eliminates the need for a discrete graphics card, reducing power consumption and system cost.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

With 2nd generation Intel Core i7 processors, you get the following features built in:

Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊ dynamically increases the processor frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom when operating below specified limits.
Intel® HT Technology◊ allows each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time.
Intel® Smart Cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core based on workload, which significantly reduces latency and improves performance.
Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions add hardware acceleration to AES algorithms and speeds up the execution of AES applications.

Download Product Brief [pdf] >

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition

2011-07-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition
The ultimate desktop processor

Gear up for extreme processing power
Hardcore multitaskers rejoice. Fly through everything you do on your PC - from playing intense 3D games to creating and editing digital video, music, and photos. With the high performance platform capabilities of
Intel® X58 Express Chipset-based motherboards, along with faster, intelligent multi-core technology that applies processing power dynamically when its needed most, PCs based on the Intel® Core™ i7-990X processor Extreme Edition deliver incredible performance with a rich feature set.

Wield the ultimate gaming weapon for greater performance in 3D gaming applications. Experience smoother and more realistic gaming made possible by distributing AI, physics, and rendering across six cores and 12 threads, bringing 3D to life for the ultimate gaming experience. And take digital content creation to a whole new level for photo retouching and photo editing. Unlock your full potential with Intel's top-of-the-line desktop processor and experience total creative freedom that's limited only by your imagination.

Product information
Intel® Core™ i7-990X processor Extreme Edition

3.46 GHz core speed
Up to 3.73 GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
6 cores and 12 processing threads with Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel® HT Technology)
12 MB Intel® Smart Cache
3 Channels DDR3 1066 MHz memory
32nm manufacturing process technology

- Download the product brief
- Learn about processor numbers¹
- View Intel Core i7 processor Extreme Edition performance benchmarks

Itc Hardware

GIGABYTE GA-H67M-D2 B3

MSI E350IA-E45 Motherboard Review

Intel DG41WV Review

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Review

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Review

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black

INTEL Xeon X5670

CLUB3D Radeon HD 6990 (CGAX-69996)

High Resolution Image:

HIS AMD Radeon 6990

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6990

XFX Radeon HD 6990 HD-699A-ENF9

PlayStation 4 Release Date of the New Console - Sony

ZOTAC GTX 590

POINT OF VIEW GeForce GTX 590 OC Specifications

Intel® Core™ i5 vPro™ Processor - 2nd Generation

Product information Learn about processor numbers

Intel® Core™ i7 vPro™ Processor Family - 2nd Generation

Intel® Core™ i3 Processor - 2nd Generation

AFFORDABLE BUSINESS COMPUTING

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i3 Processor

The Intel® Core™ i3 processor provides the basis for an affordable PC. This dual-core processor with 4-way multitasking capability has built-in performance headroom for software upgrades, providing an excellent return on investment.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

SPECIFICATIONS

All 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i3 processors feature:

Intel® Core™ i5 Processor - 2nd Generation

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

SPECIFICATIONS

All 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5 processors feature:

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor - 2nd Generation

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition

Product information
Learn about processor numbers