Techiton

AMD has just released two cards in the 7000 series geared towards entry to mid level gaming.  The Radeon HD7770 and HD7750 consume low power and deliver a good performance but the price to perfromance ratio does not deliver as seen in the reviews.

It is based on GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture built on 28 nanometer processor technology and runs on the new PCIe 3.0 bus interface. The HD7770 is codenamed the Cape Verde XT and the HD7750 is Cape Verde Pro.

Out of the two, the HD7750 seems a better deal, it is a great entry level gaming card and good for HTPC setups as it does not require a high power supply.

Reviews:
Tom's hardware - AMD Radeon HD 7770 And 7750 Review: Familiar Speed, Less Power
Anand Tech - AMD Radeon HD 7750 & Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition Review: Evading The Price/Performance Curve
Guru3D - AMD Radeon HD 7750 and 7770 review
Neoseeker - XFX & Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 Review
Techspot - AMD Radeon HD 7770 & Radeon HD 7750 Review
Hardware Secrets - AMD Radeon HD 7750 Video Card Review
PC Perspective - AMD Radeon HD 7770 and 7750 Cape Verde GPU Review
The Tech Report - AMD's Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition
Hot Hardware - AMD Radeon HD 7770 and 7750 GPU Reviews


AMD Radeon HD 7750 Specifications:

Core Frequency	800 MHz
Memory Frequency	1125 MHz
Memory Size	1 GB GDDR5
Memory Bus Size	128 bit
Memory Bandwidth	72 GB/s
Stream Processors	512
TDP (Max Power)	55 W
Idle Power	10 W
Price	US$109

AMD Radeon HD 7770 Specifications:

Core Frequency	1000 MHz
Memory Frequency	1125 MHz
Memory Size	1 GB GDDR5
Memory Bus Size	128 bit
Memory Bandwidth	72 GB/s
Stream Processors	640
TDP (Max Power)	80 W
Idle Power	10 W
Price	US$159

AMD's Radeon HD6570 and HD6670 are the entry-level graming graphics card launched in early 2011. The HD6570 comes in two main versions - DDR3 and the GDDR5 while the HD6670 is GDDR5. Codenamed Turks, they are the fastest graphics card today that do not require an external power source and they are also low profile cards which means they are perfect for HTPC or small CPU cases.
The specifications for both the cards are listed below.

AMD Radeon HD 6570 DDR3 Specifications:

Core Frequency	650 MHz
Memory Frequency	900 MHz
Memory Size	512 MB - 2 GB (DDR3)
Memory Bus Size	128 bit
Memory Bandwidth	28.8 GB/s
Stream Processors	480
TDP (Max Power)	44 W
Idle Power	10 W
Price	US$69

AMD Radeon HD 6570 GDDR5 Specifications:

Core Frequency	650 MHz
Memory Frequency	1000 MHz
Memory Size	512 MB - 1 GB (GDDR5)
Memory Bus Size	128 bit
Memory Bandwidth	64 GB/s
Stream Processors	480
TDP (Max Power)	60 W
Idle Power	11 W
Price	US$79

AMD Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 Specifications:

Core Frequency	800 MHz
Memory Frequency	1000 MHz
Memory Size	512 MB - 1 GB (GDDR5)
Memory Bus Size	128 bit
Memory Bandwidth	64 GB/s
Stream Processors	480
TDP (Max Power)	66 W
Idle Power	12 W
Price	US$99

Source: AMD

AMD has launched its new generation of graphics card - the 6000 Series. Code-named "Barts", two cards,  both of the 6800 Series are available now - HD 6850 and HD 6870. These two new cards are not the fastest graphics card out there and are not to be misunderstood to be in the same league as the HD 5850 and HD 5870 respectively. Even though they are named like the previous high-end graphics card they are aimed at the mid-range gaming market.

From AMD's press release, "unprecedented levels of game performance, best-in-class energy efficiency, and an unmatched feature set starting at $179 ... designed to be “perfect graphics cards” for gamers .. provide more than 30 percent greater game performance than competing product"

Microsoft's XBox 360 sales figures for US have increased for the last month of July, it has overtaken Nintendo DS sales for the first time in three years. Just two months back Microsoft had redesigned the XBox360 to sport a slim design and include wifi connectivity. The sales for xbox 360 have doubled compared to the same month last year.

The number of units sold in US for the month of July 2010 is as following:

1. XBox 360 - 443,500
2. DS - 398,400
3. Wii - 253,900
4. PS3 - 214,500

Total Worldwide sales is as following:

1. PS2 - 145 million
2. DS - 129 million
3. Wii - 71 million
4. XBox 360 - 42 million
5. PS3 - 38 million

[Source: Wikipedia]

Intel's newest and fastest generation of processors are based on the Nehalem microarchitecture and are branded under the names - Core i7, Core i5 and Core i3.
They were first launched in late 2008 and are the successor to the Intel Core2 brand. They are available both for the desktop and laptop platforms.
Below is the price list in US$ and links with details specifications:

Desktop Lineup:
Core i7-975 (3.33 GHz) - $999
Core i7-960 (3.20 GHz) - $562
Core i7-950 (3.06 GHz) - $562
Core i7-920 (2.66 GHz) - $284
Core i7-870 (2.93 GHz) - $562 $294
Core i7-860 (2.93 GHz) - $284
Core i5-750 (2.66 GHz) - $196
Core i5-670 (3.46 GHz) - $284
Core i5-661 (3.33 GHz) - $196
Core i5-660 (3.33 GHz) - $196
Core i5-650 (3.20 GHz) - $176
Core i3-540 (3.20 GHz) - $133 $117
Core i3-530 (3.20 GHz) - $113

Mobile Lineup:
Core i7-920XM (2.00 GHz) - $1054
Core i7-820QM (1.80 GHz) - $546
Core i7-720QM (1.60 GHz) - $364
Core i7-620M    (2.66 GHz) - $332
Core i5-540M    (2.53 GHz) - $257
Core i5-520M    (2.40 GHz) - $225 

Last Updated: Sunday, July 25, 2010

Related Post:
Intel 2010 Core processor price and specs
Intel i7-870, i3-540, E6600 and E5500 price drops

Intel has dropped the price of 2.93 GigaHertz Core i7-870 by a massive 48%, the US$562 chip now costs US$294. It has also dropped the prices of the Core i3 chip i3-540 by a small 12% to US$117.

Apart from the Core processors, two pentium processors also have their prices reduced. The E6600 now costs US$75 and the E5500 now costs US$64 a price reduction of 11% and 15% respectively.

The Core-i3 is now more in reach of the budget buyer, but the Core-i5 and Core-i7 is still expensive with prices staying above the US$200 mark. Budget buyers are going for laptops instead of desktops as laptops with fast processors are getting cheaper.

Nvidia has launched a new graphic card which it says "its tailor made to hit the gamers' sweet spot" with its price and performance factors. It is a new member of the 400 series family, codenamed GF104 (Fermi) and features solid support for DirectX 11.

The GTX-460 comes in two versions - 1 GB and 768 MB memory size, the former with 256-bit memory bus and the latter with 192-bit. In terms of price they differ by only US$ 30 which makes the 1 GB version a better choice. Nvidia states in its site that the GTX-460 has 4 times faster FPS (frames per second) versus ATI's Radeon HD 5830 in Microsoft DirectX 11 SDK test. The card has support for Nvidia's 3D Vision, which means you will be able to watch and play in 3D through their wireless glasses.

GTX 460 Specifications:
RAM Size: 1024 MB / 768 MB GDDR5
Memory bus size: 256 bit / 192 bit
GPU frequency: 675 MHz
Core frequency: 1350 MHz
Memory frequency: 3600 MHz
Stream Processors: 336
TDP: 160W / 150W
Price: US $229 / $199

In a performance comparison between Intel's latest Quad Core Core i7 processor and a two-year-old Nvidia graphics card - GTX 280, Intel have released that their CPU can't match the graphics chip's parallel processing performance.

The article in ComputerWorld states that on average the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 was 2.5 times faster than the Intel 3.2GHz Core i7 960 processor, and more than 14 times faster under certain circumstances.
The comparison by researchers was designed to test the parallel processing capabilities of the chips.
As its name suggests, parallel processing involves tackling multiple tasks simultaneously as opposed to serial processing, which requires handling tasks in sequential order.
GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) has many cores (GTX 280 has 30 cores) that are used to draw graphics on the screen but the CPU (Central Processing Unit) has fewer cores (Core i7 has 4 cores). Hence the more number of cores helps in parallel processing.

Source: Computerworld.com

Intel's Quad-Core Core i5 750 which is clocked at 2.66 GigaHertz will soon be replaced with a faster clocked Core i5 760 at 2.8 GigaHertz.

According to source xtreview, the new processor will not support hyper-threading too. The i5-750 reaches 3.2 GigaHertz with turboboost so we can expect the i5-760 to exceed this. There is no word on the price but it will not be cheaper than the current chip of $196.

Core i5 760 Lynnfield Specifications:
Speed: 2.80 GHz
Cores: 4
Cache Size: 8 MB
Memory controller: DDR3 1066/1333 MHz
Socket: LGA1156
Power TDP: 95 W
Price: n/a

ASUS G51 3D is the world's first true 3D-ready notebook and it has recently been named the "Best Choice of the Year 2010" and the "Best Choice" in the "Display and Digital Entertainment" category at this year's Computex.

According to Asus, "the G51 3D, which brings compelling 3D to the masses with its full resolution and fluid 120Hz 3D images, superb 2D-to-3D conversion capabilities and surprising affordability, was selected for its innovative overall design, rich functionality, power saving features and uniqueness. Contributing to the decision was also the G51 3D's accurate surround sound imaging and enthusiast-level hardware specifications."

The notebook comes in two main models - G51J 3D and G51Jx 3D. One of the main difference between the two models is the graphic card, the former uses Nvidia's GTX 260M while the later uses GTS 360M
The notebook delivers true-to-life virtual reality 3D gaming experience with NVIDIA 3D Vision which includes a pair of 3D glasses, transmitter and the 120Hz LCD panel

G51 3D Specifications:
CPU: Intel Core i7 720QM (1.6 GHz with turbo up to 2.8 GHz)
RAM: upto 8GB DDR3 1066/1333 MHz
HDD: 250GB - 640GB 5400/7200 rpm
GPU: Nvidia GTX 260M (1GB DDR3) / GTS 360M (1GB GDDR5) 
Weight: 3.3 Kgs (with 6-cell battery)
Screen size: 15.6 inches HD (1366x768) LED backlit
Other cool features: Blu-Ray DVD Combo, 2.0 Mega Pixel web camera, Altec Lansing speakers, Creative Audigy HD, Nvidia 3D Vision Kit ( 3D Glasses + RF Transmitter), Gaming Mouse, Gaming Backpack

G51 3D pictures:

Asus G51 3D Preview Video:

If your dusty 5+ year old desktops have unexpectedly stopped booting one fine day and all your efforts to bring it up have gone in vain, leaving you to conclude that either the motherboard or the CPU is dead. Then finding an old Intel P4 CPU and a motherboard in 2010 is not the wise thing to do.

If you are looking for a cheap minimum replacement for that old dead machine or just want to build the cheapest desktop that servers as powerful system for basic gaming (not just the bejeweled kind), office usage, software development and well basically everything that your old single core Intel P4 or AMD Athlon could do, the AMD X2 240 can do more than twice as better.

The Athlon II X2 240 is the cheapest dual core processor available today that is DDR3 capable which means your cheap desktop is future-proof, but you will need a DDR3 motherboard and DDR3 RAM to go with this setup. A good cheap and solid motherboard to couple with X2 240 is GIGABYTE MA785GT-UD3H which has ATI HD4200 - one of the most powerful onboard graphics available. Atleast 2 Gigabytes of DDR3 RAM with the motherboard and CPU will not cost more than $US150

AMD X2 240 Specifications:
Speed: 2.80 GHz
Cores: 2
Cache Size: 2 x 1 MB L2 Cache
Memory controller: DDR3 1066 MHz
Power TDP: 65 W
Socket: AM3
Price: US$60

The 1M Super PI Results: (28.14 seconds)

X2 240 CPU-z:

Intel's 2010 core processors for mobile platform will be given an upgrade in the fourth quarter this year. The Core i5 580M will be the fastest Core i5 for laptops when released. Currently, the Core i5 540M is the fastest in this segment and is clocked at 2.53 GigaHertz (3.06 GHz with turbo boost).

The 580M is based on the 32 nanometer processor technology codenamed Arrandale, while the integrated graphics is 45 nanometer based. The specifications are listed below.  

Core i5 580M Specifications:
Speed: 2.66 GHz
Turbo Speed: 3.33 GHz
Cores: 2 (4 threads)
Cache Size: 3 MB
Memory controller: DDR3 800/1066 MHz
Power TDP: 35 W
Price: n/a

Source: gadgetsteria.com

Intel's all new 2010 Intel Core Processor family was unveiled back in January 2010 - a family consisting of the new Core-i3, Core-i5 and Core-i7 processors which are all based on the 32 nanometer nehalem microarchitecture and Intel's turbo boost technology.
A total of 25 new processors are released, not just for desktop platforms but also for notebooks, wireless adapters and chipsets.


Below is the price list in US$:

Desktop Lineup:
Core i5-670 (3.46 GHz) - $284
Core i5-661 (3.33 GHz) - $196
Core i5-660 (3.33 GHz) - $196
Core i5-650 (3.20 GHz) - $176
Core i3-540 (3.20 GHz) - $133 $117 (July 2010 Price drop)
Core i3-530 (3.20 GHz) - $113

Mobile Lineup:
Core i7-620M (2.66 GHz) - $332
Core i5-540M (2.53 GHz) - $257
Core i5-520M (2.40 GHz) - $225
Core i5-430M (2.26 GHz) - n/a
Core i3-350M (2.26 GHz) - n/a
Core i3-330M (2.13 GHz) - n/a
Core i7-640LM (2.13 GHz) - $332
Core i7-620LM (2.00 GHz) - $300
Core i7-640UM (1.20 GHz) - $305
Core i7-620UM (1.06 GHz) - $278
Core i5-520UM (1.06 GHz) - $241

The price list for the older Core-i3, Core-i5 and Core-i7 can be found here - Intel Core-i7, Core-i5 and Core-i3 Price List and Specifications

Intel's Socket 775 lineup is slowly coming to it's end with the new Core-i3-i5-i7 processors. The Core2Duo E7500 was released back in January 2009 and it's still available, holding strong in the lower segment CPU. The Core i3-530 is directly competing in it's segment offering a better performance in some applications.

The Core i3 is the obvious better choice when choosing a new system, but those looking for a cheap upgrade on their 775 systems still have something to look for. And if Intel can lower the price of the current on-shelf Core2Duo, those on a budget can still have a great CPU at their hand.

We tested the SuperPi scores of E7500 back in October 2009, we used the motherboard of GigaByte EP43-UD3L and 4 GigaBytes of DDR2 Corsair. At stock we completed the 1M at 18.xx seconds, but we could easily reach a 1 GigaHertz overclock on stock voltage and completed the 1M at 13.6 seconds.

A highly-ranking executive of Intel Corp. said in an interview that the vast majority of customers hardly need high performance graphics. While it is clear that by far not everyone plays video games, the claim still reminds the phrase about 640 KiloBytes of RAM being enough for everyone.

“When people think about graphics, they think about 3D war games and more realism. I'm not going to dismiss this, but (this market) attracts a relatively small amount of people. I think what a significant portion of consumers really want is media,” said Intel executive vice president Dadi Perlmutter, in an interview with Cnet News.com web-site.

The media is really what the vast majority of consumers want and need. They need decoding of highly-demanding Blu-ray (MPEG4-AVC, MPEG4-MVC, VC1) streams along with advanced playback of Adobe Flash 10.1 video, which is something Intel’s  integrated graphics cannot provide. The biggest chipmaker admits that its chips do not offer certain multimedia functionality, however Intel does not seem to consider it a major drawback.

“To be fair, in the past few years, other than this year, AMD with ATI had a better integrated graphics solution than Intel,” said Mr. Perlmutter.

One man said around thirty years ago that 640KB or random access memory would be enough for everyone. Today, even 4GB of RAM may not be enough, but Bill Gates is the richest man on the planet.

[Source: Xbitlabs.com]

AMD has recently launched the fastest graphics card in the world - the ATI Radeon HD5970. It was just last month that AMD was out with HD5870 - the fastest single-GPU graphics card and now they are out with the fastest dual-GPU in a single card.

The HD5970 is a 40-nanometer based card and is compatible with DirectX 11. It has two processors tied together and can work in Crossfire mode with upto 4 GPU's. It is based on the GDDR5 memory interface with a massive 2 GigaBytes of memory. It is power hungry and requires a minimum power supply unit of 650 Watts. The detailed specifications and price are posted below.

HD5970 Specifications:
RAM Size: 2048MB GDDR5
Memory bus size: 512 bit (2x256 bit)
GPU frequency: 725Mhz
Memory frequency: 1000Mhz
Memory Data Rate: 4Gbps
Stream Processors: 3200 (2x1600)
TDP (Max): 294W
Idle Power: 51W
DirectX Support: Version 11
Price: US$599

AMD has launched their new 5800 series of graphic cards called the Evergreen series and one of their first two models are out - the HD5850 and HD5870.

All graphic cards starting with the HD5xxx are part of this new evergreen family which is based on the 40 nanometer fabrication technology and has support for the new DirectX 11. The HD5870 is the fastest single-GPU graphics card available, the HD5850 on the other hand is slower but with lesser power consumption, cheaper and yet a powerful graphics. The detailed specifications and review links can be seen below.

AMD launches the fastest graphics card on the planet - HD5970

HD5850 Specifications:
RAM Size: 1024MB GDDR5
Memory bus size: 256bit
GPU frequency: 725Mhz
Memory frequency: 1000Mhz
Stream Processors: 1440
TDP (Max): 151W
DirectX Support: Version 11
Price: $299

HD5870 Specifications:
RAM Size: 1024MB GDDR5
Memory bus size: 256bit
GPU frequency: 850Mhz
Memory frequency: 1200Mhz
Stream Processors: 1600
TDP (Max): 188W
DirectX Support: Version 11
Price: $399

Links to Review Sites:
Guru3D - Radeon HD 5870 Review
OverClockersClub - Sapphire HD 5870 Review
TechSpot - ATI Radeon HD 5870 Review
HardwareCanucks - Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 Review
AnandTech - AMD’s Radeon HD 5850: The Other Shoe Drops
HardOCP - AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5850 Video Card Review
PCGamesHardware - Radeon HD 5850 reviewed: The DirectX 11 bargain
PCPerspective - AMD Radeon HD 5850 1GB Review - Cyprus gets a bit cheaper

Intel's newest and fastest generation of processors named the Core i7 and the lighter versions named the Core i5 have been released for both the desktop and mobile platforms.

Below is the price list in US$ and links with details specifications:

Desktop Lineup:
Core i7-975 (3.33 GHz) - $999
Core i7-950 (3.06 GHz) - $562
Core i7-920 (2.66 GHz) - $284
Core i7-870 (2.93 GHz) - $562
Core i7-860 (2.93 GHz) - $284
Core i5-750 (2.66 GHz) - $196

Mobile Lineup:
Core i7-920XM (2.00 GHz) - $1054
Core i7-820QM (1.80 GHz) - $546
Core i7-720QM (1.60 GHz) - $364

Last Updated: Sunday, September 20, 2009

For the latest price update, please check this page.

The notebook PC market grew past the 38 million-mark in units in the second quarter of this year. According to DisplaySearch Q3-09 quarterly notebook PC shipment and forecast report, the mini-note PC (netbook) market was particularly strong, growing 40 per cent quarter on quarter.

The strong growth of mini-note PCs drove their share of the portable computer market to 22.2 per cent in Q2 2009. Asus, the pioneer in mini-note PCs, has been steadily losing share because tier-one brands such as Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba have become increasingly aggressive in this segment.

Mini-note penetration in Latin America and Greater China is higher than notebook PC penetration. The low prices of mini-note PCs make these products more affordable for these emerging markets, and these regions have many first-time PC buyers, who are less likely to require all the bells and whistles available on a larger mainstream notebook PC.

In many regions, telecom providers have been offering subsidised mini-notes for several quarters, which helped propel growth. In Western European countries, a number of telecom firms are subsidising 100 per cent of the price of the mini-note when the customer signs a two-year data plan contract.

In North America, telecom providers are aggressively marketing mini-notes with a two-year data plan contract, while some cable providers are offering heavily discounted mini-notes as an incentive to sign a contract for cable TV, internet and phone service. The incentives have been quite successful in Europe. In North America, these promotions were only test-marketed in Q2 2009, so there is insufficient data to determine if they will achieve the same measure of success.

Mini-notes have been a significant contributor to the growth in the portable PC market as their very attractive price points make owning a secondary computer viable for many consumers.

“Mini-note PC screen sizes have increased steadily, from seven inches to 8.9 inches and then to 10.2 inches. However, the higher prices of these larger netbooks diminish their cost advantage. In addition to many key players, Microsoft is planning to increase the asking price of mini-notes. A significant increase to the asking price of mini-notes may deter consumers who are predominantly using mini-notes as secondary PCs,” said John F Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research.

[Source: Business24-7.ae]

Nokia the leader in mobile phone market is soon bringing out a netbook called the Nokia Booklet 3G. Nokia calls it a mini-laptop but it is still in the netbook category as it is powered by Intel's low energy Atom processor. It is set to be released on this early September, 2009.

The Booklet 3G is a 10.1 inch netbook which has great connectivity options including 3G broadband, Wifi, A-GPS, Bluetooth. It has a SIM card slot which supports hot-swappable functionality. It is powered by Intel's 1.6 GigaHertz Atom processor and will come with a storage space of 120 GigaBytes.

The mini-laptop weighs 1.25 Kilograms and will cost around US$800 which is quite heavy in terms of the price. And super bulky if you consider using this as a phone.
Detailed specs are listed below:

Nokia Booklet 3G Specifications:
CPU: Intel Atom Z530 1.60GHz
RAM: n/a
HDD: 120GB
Weight: 1.25 Kgs
Screen size: 10.1 inch HD (1366×768)
Battery Life: 12 hours
Other Features:

• 3G/HSPA Broadband
• A-GPS
• Wifi
• Bluetooth

I/O Ports:

• 3 x USB 2.0
• 1 x HDMI
• 1 x line out
• 1 x mic-in
• 1 x SD Card Reader

Price: Approximately US $800