Data Backup Part II, Gigabyte GV-RX80L256V X800XL, and more!

Hey folks! Tonight we've got a few reviews, and a couple of press announcements. One is from Intel, and the other one is from... HAVOK! Yes, HAVOK has announce a new technology of theirs which they've named "Hydracore". So what's so special about this? Hydracore takes advantage of multi-core CPU's, which is great news for gamers everywhere. A.I., physics, character animation, can be evenly spread across multiple CPU's. Great stuff indeed :) Goodnight all.

Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 Processors Get Faster Bus Architecture

SANTA CLARA, Calif, July 18, 2005 - Intel Corporation today introduced two Intel^(R) Itanium^(R) 2 processors which deliver better performance over the current generation for database, business intelligence, enterprise resource planning and technical computing applications.

For the first time, Itanium 2 processors have a 667 megahertz (MHz) front side bus (FSB), which connects and transfers data between the microprocessor, chipset and system's main memory. Servers designed to utilize the new bus are expected to deliver more than 65 percent greater system bandwidth over servers designed with current Itanium 2 processors with a 400 MHz FSB. This new capability will help set the stage for the forthcoming dual core Itanium processor, codenamed "Montecito," which will feature the same bus architecture.

"Intel continues to bring new capabilities to the Itanium architecture, evolving the platform to further improve performance for data intensive tasks," said Kirk Skaugen, general manager of Intel's Server Platforms Group. "Looking forward, we are coming up on the next major milestone for the Itanium processor family - dual-core server platforms based on Montecito. We are extremely excited about the customer and industry feedback we are getting, and the preliminary performance results we are seeing on Montecito-based systems will further expand Itanium's leadership in its targeted market segments."

Itanium-based servers continue to make strides in three target market segments: RISC replacement, mainframe migration and high-performance computing. Today, more than 40 percent of the Global 100 corporations have deployed Itanium-based servers and 79 of the TOP500 list of the world's fastest super computers are powered by Itanium processors. The ecosystem continues to grow with more than 3,600 applications available, while eight of nine RISC vendors and six of seven mainframe vendors sell mainframe-class Itanium-based servers.

The improved front side bus bandwidth allows for 10.6 gigabits of data per second to pass from the processor to other system components. In contrast, the current generation 400 MHz FSB transfers 6.4 gigabits of data per second. The ability to move more data in a very short period of time is critical to compute intensive applications in the scientific, oil and gas and government industries.

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Gigabyte GV-RX80L256V Radeon X800XL Review @ GruntvillE.com | Image

"The installation went well, with no Significant issues to be noted. One nice thing about this card is the lack of a power source; No extra molex is needed to run this particular card. This minimizes messy wires for that neat freak. Now some may think this card is large, and depending on your motherboard layout you may have space issues. The card comes very close to the heat-sink fan on my Asus P5WD2-Premium. It may be close, but it did not pose a problem."

Sunbeamtech Pro Series EL Keyboard & Blueflame ELMouse Review @ 3DXtreme

"The Pro Series Illuminated Keyboard and Blueflame Illuminated Mouse arrived recently for us to put through them through the paces. I believe the keyboard is the answer to the Saitek series of backlit keyboards and the mouse is an illuminated 800 DPI optical mouse. The Blueflame mouse is Sunbeam's answer to the Logitech MX-510 series of mice. Let's see how these new Sun Beam products perform."

Hiper Type-R 580W Power Supply (N. American Version) @ PimpRig

"I've already seen Hiper's staff in action when there was a hiccup during testing on a previous PSU review, and they immediately went way beyond what one would expect to ensure that their equipment didn't didn't have a design flaw. Turned out it didn't, and after seeing Hiper's response I have a lot of confidence in their technical support staff."

Data Backup Part II: Several backup methods @ BonaFideReviews

"In the first part of this article series, I talked about the three main threats to the data on your computer. I talked about the need for a data backup solution that protects your data properly. In this article, I'll outline the most common data backup solution options available to you."