Items tagged with pci
You’d think that an enthusiast-level storage device (one that’s likely to sit near a PC’s case window, we might add) would look cooler than the Plextor M6e. Well, Plextor solved that at CES 2015 this week when it unveiled the M6e Black Edition. The PCI Express SSD now feature its own metal chassis and a deep red heatsink. The Plextor M6e Black Edition PCIe SSD on display at the Aria hotel in Las Vegas during CES 2015. Plextor’s Global Sales Manager Lear Wu showed us the M6e Black Edition, which offers some speed improvements over the original M6e. It has the same Marvell 88SS9183 controller as its predecessor, but Plextor tells us that device is capable of 105K/100K IOPS for random read/write...
Read more...
Haven't heard too much news from Fusion-io lately, but the company famous for making PCIe-based solid state storage "a thing" is back in a big way. The company has today announced that it is bringing the power of its ioMemory technology to visual effects professionals with the Fusion ioFX. According to the company, the new monster is "designed to eliminate data bottlenecks that slow the creative production process for digital artists, the Fusion ioFX enables creative professionals to meet deadlines while exploring more artistic possibilities by bridging the performance gap between workstations and today's powerful digital content creation applications." It's based on the ioMemory platform that...
Read more...
Have you ever heard of a DSP? Chances are you have. Digital Signal Processors are found frequently in various audio products, and increasingly, in more and more mobile products. Texas Instruments is now looking to expand the reach of their DSPs in a big way. Just as solid state storage struck new ground by becoming compatible with PCI Express (Fusion-io!), DSPs may soon be functioning there as well. PLX Technology has just announced a collaboration with TI that will eventually result in a solution that brings DSPs and PCI Express 2.0 together. The goal here is to broaden the capabilities of new designs in applications such as wireless infrastructure communications, DSP farms, digital media, test...
Read more...
If rumors floating around the 'Net are true, Intel is set to drop support for the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus when it launches its next-generation 6-series of chipsets with support for Sandy Bridge-based LGA1155 processors. In case you're wondering, no, neither Sandy Bridge derived processors or their accompanying motherboards will allow for the use of current Core i5/i7 hardware. As far as we're concerned, PCI can't die quickly enough. Intel began working on the standard 20 years ago and made it the preferred interconnect standard for second-generation Pentium systems as early as 1994. By 1999-2000, modern motherboards had all but dropped ISA (Industry Standard Architecture)...
Read more...
So, there's good news for those hoping to make their existing machine last a little bit longer. And there's bad news for those always looking for the next big leap in computing technology. The PCI SIG, the working group responsible for the forward movement of the PCI bus, has just confirmed that the release of PCIe 3.0 will be delayed by a significant amount. The standard was originally expected to be ratified by the end of this year, yet now the specification isn't apt to be passed off until Q2 2010. You might say that Q2 2010 doesn't feel that far away, and in our eyes, you'd be right. But remember, that's the date that the specification will be passed off; it'll be some time yet before actual...
Read more...
Scythe, the Japanese company that specializes in the art of CPU cooling, has come up with a novel way to attach additional internal storage to your PC. The solution goes by the name of the Slot Rafter and allows you to attach up to four additional HDDs or SSDs to your system by slotting a mounting module in a spare PCI slot (nowadays, they’re all spares) within your PC. The module has no electronic elements to it, the “card” sticks out of the PCI slot and screws to the bracket mount, just like a regular expansion card. You can then attach one to four additional 2.5-inch drives to the mounting hardware. Mounting holes are provided for two 80mm fans on the bottom of the device to improve...
Read more...
BFG Offers FREE Upgrade to PCI Express from AGP cardsFor a limited time graphics card maker BFG Tech is offering registered BFG AGP Video card holders an upgrade to the equivalent BFG PCI Express version. If AGP card holders want to shell out an additional $50 they can upgrade to a higher level card as specified by BFG.BFG, states on their website that as PCI Express is the standard for video cards going forward, AGP is no longer going to be supported. They are encouraging users with AGP slot motherboards to upgrade their computer mainboard to one with PCI Express slots and take advantage of this offer to make the transition easier.The upgrade options and paths as specified by BFG: ...
Read more...
The Classics Deserve First-class Treatment ASUS Announces Xonar Essence STX PCI-e Audio Card with 124dB SNR Audio and Built-in Headphone Amplifier for Extraordinary Audio Performance Taipei, Taiwan, November 12, 2008 – Aimed as the culmination of searching for the very essence of sound, the new ASUS Xonar Essence STX range of audio cards delivers the purest, cleanest audio to offer users the ultimate audio experience ever from a sound card. Equipped with carefully-selected components, and ASUS’ exclusive Hyper-grounding and EMI Shield design, the Xonar Essence STX is capable of achieving an industry-leading 124dB SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) in signal clarity. Furthermore, full-driving for any...
Read more...
A few months ago, ASUS jumped into the audio card market with both feet with the introduction of their Xonar product line. One of the first models to market was the premium Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 sound card. The D2 boasted a superb retail package with all of the cabling, software and extras one would need thrown in, along with a slick, eye-catching design, for around $180. Not only did the Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 deliver on all fronts, but it also proved to be solid competition for Creative, who still has somewhat of a stranglehold on add-in audio card marketTo further infuse themselves into the audio card market though, ASUS didn't stop with the Xonar D2...
Read more...
Just a few years ago, if someone said that integrated audio would deliver great performance with many of the features of a full-blown add-in card, it might have raised an eyebrow or two. Today, however, thanks to vastly improved integrated technologies, today's integrated audio solutions are often more than satisfactory for a large portion of consumers. Nonetheless, there are those who want a better audio experience, which can only be delivered from the likes of an add-in card.A few months ago, ASUS jumped into the audio card market with both feet with the introduction of the Xonar product line. One of the first models to market was their premium...
Read more...
Crystal Clear Audio for Gaming and Home Entertainment The ASUS Xonar DX PCI-e 7.1 soundcard delivers 35 times cleaner audio than integrated motherboard solutions FREMONT, CALIFORNIA (March 17, 2008) - Providing an alternative to flat and murky motherboard audio, ASUS, leading manufacturer of high quality computer components, releases the Xonar DX soundcard. Engineered for pristine, clean audio quality with a 116 dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), the Xonar DX is equipped with innovative technologies such as Dolby Home Theater and DirectSound3D Game Extensions 2.0 (DS3D GX2.0) offering immersive home theater audio and rich gaming sound features. 35 Times Cleaner Audio QualityToday’s motherboards...
Read more...
Late last year, NVIDIA released a pair of new 8800-series graphics cards based on their G92 GPU. The new cards were designed to keep NVIDIA's products at the top of the food chain at their respective price points, while also being a bit more affordable. The first of the two was the GeForce 8800 GT. It brought high-end performance to the mainstream crowd mostly due to its 112 stream processor configuration and 65m G92 GPU. The G92's shrink to 65nm from TSMC's 90nm process used with the G80, brings with it lower power usage, but also lower prices due to a reduced die size, enabling NVIDIA to set the MSRP for the 8800...
Read more...
ASUS Xonar Series Revolutionizes the PC Audio Soundscape -- World’s first PCI-Express audio card Xonar D2X and the smallest USB audio station Xonar U1 revitalize gaming audio and simplify home theater upgrades -- FREMONT, CALIFORNIA (November 27, 2007) – Adding to the success of the company’s entry into PC audio, ASUS®, worldwide leader in component and notebook design and manufacturing, today extended its product offerings by introducing the world’s first PCI-Express (PCI-E) interface audio card Xonar D2X; and the stylish USB based audio station Xonar U1. The Xonar D2X is the first sound card in the industry to address the audio challenge for gaming under the Windows Vista®...
Read more...
There haven't been too many law suits that have this kind of far-reaching industry-wide consequences: PCI-Express itself has come under attack by Microlinc LCC according to their latest filing in Texas.Perhaps the strangest part of all is that this suit will put even rivals AMD and Intel on the same side, not something that is accomplished that often:“As a result, Intel is named alongside nine other companies that the plaintiff believes are contributing to the perceived infringement. Intel's rival AMD is included for using PCI Express for its mainboards, as is NVIDIA. Large computer makers Apple, Acer, Dell, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba are all accused of aiding Intel by building desktops...
Read more...
Asus makes bold claims about their new Xonar sound card being the “best” PC audio card on the market currently. We took the product to task in an effort to prove out these claims. At the very least, perhaps a company with the Hardware and Software Engineering resources that Asus has, can deliver reasonable audio fidelity and hopefully a better set of drivers than the likes of Creative’s X-Fi debacle.Read on:ASUS Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 PCI Sound Card...
Read more...
Claiming to be the best at anything is bold. From professional athletes to product manufacturers, stating you or your product is the best out there opens things up for closer scrutiny. Being the best at what you do, or what you make, means near flawless execution. Regardless of the context, one thing is certain, if you claim you are the best at what you do, you better be prepared to back those statements up. This is the position ASUS has put themselves in, stating that their latest product is the best of its kind, period.In this HotHardware showcase we're going to take a look at a new sound card from ASUS called the Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 PCI Surround...
Read more...
How about a 80, 160, 320 or 640Gig NAND Flash drive on PCI Express card? Sounds interesting, right? What if we told you such a product could hit an amazing 800MB/sec sustained data rate? OK, so it's an expensive Enterprise SAN type product but great oogly-moogly! That's some blinding speed. Salt Lake's Fusion-io is poised to release such a product to market. "The ioDrive™ is the industry's first, NAND based enterprise storage solution that provides access rates comparable to DRAM with storage capacity on par with disks — being able to improve both memory capacity and storage performance by 100x. The ioDrive™ leverages Fusion-io's proprietary ioMemory™ architecture to strip...
Read more...
We continue to bring you breaking coverage from IDF today with a look inside keynote talks from Gordon Moore and Pat Gelsinger. Snip: “Pat next focused on Intel’s current and future I/O innovations. He talked about the Tulapi SOC (System on a Chip) accelerator and then spoke of USB 3.0. According to Pat, USB 3.0 will offer a 10X increase in performance over USB 2.0 and will use both copper and optical interconnects. He also held up a couple of prototype USB 3.0 cables to show the room what they looked like.” - Direct Link...
Read more...
Over the last few years, a relatively simple PC technology, the TV tuner, has helped to transform the way that millions of people use their personal computers. TV tuners - in conjunction with smaller form factors - have helped to create a new category of PC, the HTPC, that blends the audio and video capabilities of your television with the raw power and productivity of your home computer.Although the PC TV tuner has become a very important part of millions of computer systems all over the world, the fundamental technology behind the PC tuner has barely changed over the last 9 years. Most tuners simply use an analog coax input to take video in and use an embedded chip to convert the video stream...
Read more...
W e’ve just a posted a new article here at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features and image quality of AMD’s brand new ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCI Express. Here’s a snip from the piece: "The most obvious physical change to the ATI TV Wonder 650 PCIe is of course the fact that the card now uses the PCI Express interface. The ATI TV Wonder 650 PCIe has kept its half-height PCI design, which allows it to fit easily into low profile HTPC systems." ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCI Express...
Read more...
Charlie from The Inquirer has been lurking behind closed doors at IDF in Bejing and stumbled upon a couple of HP workstations with interesting GPU configurations. One machine had a pair of NVIDIA GPUs, the other a pair of ATI GPUs. What they both had in common, however, was that they were PCIe 2.0 compliant. "That was a move that took me, personally, by complete surprise. Neither set of cards were identified, but they both were running two cards on 5Gbps links. It was only about a month ago that NV showed off their chips behind closed doors at the PCIe SIG meeting. ATI wasn't there. Now, they are both here, and both are working." Check out the pics and more of the story...
Read more...
Many companies and haven risen to challenge the almighty sound-card maker that we all know as Creative Labs. Sadly, not too many of them have success that lasts more than a generation or so. So who is next and how long will they last? Well the who is ASUS. How long, might be up to debate, but ASUS is a company that has plenty of other business to fall back on while they get their sound card business on its feet. "It seems that ASUS has decided to enter into the audio segment with their latest Xonar D2 and D2K sound cards. The difference between Xonar D2 and D2K is the interface where D2 is on PCI and D2K is on PCI Express x1. We aren't sure what sound chips are on those cards at this point of...
Read more...
