DarkVision Hardware
- AMD Radeon HD 4870 is 20% faster than GeForce 9800 GTX
OCWorkbench published a chart with a performance comparison of the GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 9800 GTX, Radeon HD 4850 and Radeon HD 4870:
It is said that the HD 4850 is 20% faster than the 8800GT and HD 4870 is 20% faster than the 9800GTX.
As we all know, GeForce 9800GTX is only 10% faster than the 8800GT. We are able to get a clearer picture of the performance of these 4 cards as shown in the diagram below.
In 3DMARK06, Radeon HD 4870 will be 32% faster than 8800GT, 22% faster than 9800GTX and 12% faster than 4850.
AS for 4850, it will be 20% faster than 8800GT and 10% faster than the 9800GTX.
AMD Radeon HD 4870 is 20% faster than GeForce 9800 GTX - More news at DV Hardware
- Ten addons for Internet Explorer
It's not hard to find lists with dozens of great plugins for Firefox but I can't remember the last time I saw such an article for Internet Explorer. Anyway, ExtremeTech just compiled a list of ten fantastic IE add-ons:The problem with IE add-ons is that most of them cost money. Finding decent, free ones is hard enough; even searching for free IE add-ons turns up scores of IE toolbars and little else. Toolbars! It seems like virtually every company with a product of some sort has an IE toolbar, evidently trying to capture the success of the ubiquitous Google Toolbar. Do we really need toolbars for casual game publishers, or for jazz radio?
We spent hours digging through the toolbars and other freebies to find ten totally free IE add-ons that don't suck. We split them into two categories: Useful Stuff and Fun Stuff. Each entry links to the Windows Marketplace page where you can find more information and a download link for each add-on.Check it out over here.
Ten addons for Internet Explorer - More news at DV Hardware
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 and 260 specifications
Turkish computer site Donanim Haber got their hands on the specifications of NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX 280 and GeForce GTX 260 graphics cards:
GeForce GTX 280:
512-Bit
1GB GDDR3
240 Stream Processors
PhysX Ready
CUDA Technology
PureVideo HD technology
Full MS DirectX 10 Support
Open GL 2.1, SLI, PCIe 2.0 Support
2nd gen. Unified architecture delivers 50% more gaming
performance over 1st gen. through 240 shader processors
GeForce GTX 260:
448-Bit
896MB GDDR3
192 Stream Processors
PhysX Ready
CUDA Technology
PureVideo HD technology
Full MS DirectX 10 Support
Open GL 2.1, SLI, PCIe 2.0 Support
Source: Donanim Haber
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 and 260 specifications - More news at DV Hardware
- Gaming performance: Windows XP SP3 vs Windows Vista SP1
Now that the third service pack for Windows XP is available ExtremeTech decided to do one more game performance roundup. In this article they compare the performance of several games on Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista and Windows Vista SP1.
Of course, with the release of a new service pack comes a huge, pressing question: How does it compare to Windows Vista and its own recent update, Service Pack 1, in the game performance department? Vista, of course, has been plagued by criticism that games run on it don't perform as well as they do in Windows XP, even though most of the problems were due to early graphics drivers and have gradually been worked out.
Come with us as we install XP SP3 and take it for a test drive, and more importantly compare it to Vista SP1 with a batch of performance tests. Though DirectX 10 is Vista-only, many a gamer has sworn not to upgrade; will XP SP3 cement their decision, or has Vista and its drivers matured enough to change a few minds?
Check it out over here. The reporter concludes the performance gap between Vista and XP has finally evaporated due to more mature drivers for Microsoft's latest operating system.
Gaming performance: Windows XP SP3 vs Windows Vista SP1 - More news at DV Hardware
- Rainbow Six Vegas 2 performance and IQ tested
HardOCP checked out the performance and image quality of several graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA in Rainbow Six Vegas 2:
We are testing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 with six different current video cards. In the high end, we will be looking at an NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2, a GeForce 9800 GTX, and AMD's ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2. In the more mainstream performance market, we'll be examining performance of the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, the GeForce 9600 GT, and the ATI Radeon HD 3870. These six video cards provide us with a good cross-section of the video cards our readers have expressed that they are most interested in. These video cards also allow us to expose Vegas 2 to single and multi-GPU products from both GPU manufacturers.
Check it out over here.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 performance and IQ tested - More news at DV Hardware
- EA: PC gaming still booming
EA CEO John Riccitiello says the PC gaming market has been growing for several years and has been categorized wrongly by focus on retail sales:"One of the things we try to look at at EA is the total business represented on PC game software, and we're seeing a growth in business there. It's been growing for several years," Riccitello said during a financial conference call yesterday.
"It's just been categorized wrongly by looking simply at the box side of the equation, he added. "The fastest growing [sector] is subscription, microtransactions-based and casual games, many of which are pretty much centered on the PC."
Riccitiello comments help explain EA's latest approach to PC gaming. Several of its upcoming titles, including BattleForge and the free-to-play multiplayer shooter Battlefield Heroes, are heavily centered around microtransactions.
"The box-side [sales] of PC [software] is soft. It's been soft for some time," he noted. "Were it not for The Sims and World of Warcraft box sales, [retail would] be a pretty dismal sector."
EA: PC gaming still booming - More news at DV Hardware
- HTC aims to sell 2 million Touch Diamond phones this year
DigiTimes reports HTC expects to ship 2 million Touch Diamond phones this year:
HTC launched the Touch Diamond in Taiwan on May 13 in cooperation with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), the largest carrier in Taiwan. Later, HTC plans to launch the Touch Diamond in more than 30 countries, Chou noted.
HTC actually began to develop the Touch Diamond in late 2006, and it took the company about one-and-a-half years to come out with the smartphone with a 3D touch interface, Chou stated.
CHT will initially purchase about 20,000-30,000 Touch Diamond handsets from HTC, CHT indicated, noting that CHT is expected to sell a total of 200,000 HTC smartphones in 2008.
HTC aims to sell 2 million Touch Diamond phones this year - More news at DV Hardware
- Beta testers not impressed by Windows Live Messenger 9.0
ARS Technica reports many beta testers are frustrated by Microsoft's Windows Live Messenger 9.0:The first Windows Live Messenger 9.0 Beta build was released in November 2007. The release brought the ability to sign into Messenger from up to four computers at once, the ability to choose customized sounds for your sign-in and for your contacts, URLs in Personal Status Messages, and Animated Display Pictures. However, features requested across the many Messenger programs such as Tabbed Conversations and the ability to decline a group conversation invite were nowhere to be seen.
Since the first beta release, there have been no new builds, no information leaks... effectively nothing. Something is just not right in the Windows Live Messenger department, and the beta testers are feeling it too. An anonymous tipster e-mailed me that the third top-rated suggestion in the Windows Live Messenger 9.0 Beta program, is entitled "Unsatisfied with this Beta Program." The suggestion, which is more of a complaint, is a very lengthy one, but here's the core of it:
I've been browsing through the various bug reports and suggestions that have been submitted to date, and one after one they are all being marked as either Won't Fix or Postponed, and I can safely say that with my experience with these WLM Beta programs, that whenever a suggestion or Bug is marked as Postponed, it never actually finds its way in. So I think I speak for many when I say, what's the point? Why do you run this program if you just continuously disregard our feedback? It's obvious that when you start these programs, that you already have a clear image of what you want and don't want to implement into the client, so why bother? And why waste our time?
Beta testers not impressed by Windows Live Messenger 9.0 - More news at DV Hardware
- Alone in the Dark trailer
Here's a cinematic trailer of Atari's upcoming Alone in the Dark game.
The game will be available by the end of June.
Alone in the Dark trailer - More news at DV Hardware
- VH Visits the Intel Hawthorn Farm Campus
Over the last couple years, I've been attending various LANs and tech events looking for that other side we rarely get to see. InfernaLAN is just one of the many events sponsored by INTEL and wide variety of vendors and integrators including Patriot Memory, Corsair, BFG, S3 Graphics, IBuyPower, PowerPC, and Alienware.
It was here that I met many of Intel's finest incognito. These guys take their personal systems as seriously as any enthusiast, cooled with the latest DangerDen water cooled blocks and assembled in some of the sweetest cases created by man. I thought that if they are this much fun and cared enough about what they do to show off all these demo systems, then I really need to see what it is they do.
Well, a couple weeks after, I received a call with an invitation to visit Intel's mysterious Hawthorn Farm Campus where much of the desktop motherboard and processor magic happens. The dates were picked, test hardware assembled, and the tour schedule set.
Read more at Virtual Hideout.
VH Visits the Intel Hawthorn Farm Campus - More news at DV Hardware
- MSI gets greener
Bit Tech offers a sneak peek into MSI's new products. The site briefly talks about the Wind notebook, unveils MSI has plans to release low-power in-car products and gives some insights on MSI's green design/resource/technology plans:While MSI launched its ECOlution products at CeBIT, it further expanded on its green movement by highlighting to us that not only is its packaging was now made from recycled materials, and can easily be recycled but the ink will be made from biodegradable Soya substrate. The entry level Neo products you buy from June/July onwards will now come in a simple shade of yellow because of this because they use less ink and the basic recycled cardboard colour is now visible.
MSI was also keen to note that all its components sourced were RoHS compliant, even for countries that don’t enforce this, although it didn’t go as far as to specify environmentally sustainable resources and divulge into the overall MSI Carbon Footprint (which is probably "considerable" given the air travel for 40 journalists plus staff to Austria...).
MSI gets greener - More news at DV Hardware
- FrostyTech Top 5 Heatsink Chart - May 2008
Looking for the best heatsink out there? Frostytech's Top 5 Heatsink chart lists the 10 Best Intel & AMD heatsinks that we've tested in one handy location. Heatsinks are ranked by lowest temperature and lowest noise output for both Intel and AMD processor platforms. Find the heatsink you like and read a detailed review for the official thermal and acoustic test results!
Check it out at Frostytech.
FrostyTech Top 5 Heatsink Chart - May 2008 - More news at DV Hardware
- Music Services Compared
We're now in an era where everyone and their brother seem to have digital music featured on their site. And it's all blown up in a way industry insiders had hoped, but no one really anticipated. Labels have their own music shops where tracks can be bought. Streaming downloads have become more important. Portable music players are now ubiquitous, after slimming down in size but seeing storage capacities grow, with video playback now a vital component on many models.
Music on cell phones is also quite standard as features go today, with many handsets made to double as music players. In short, wherever you go, whatever you're doing, you can take your music right there with you. Helping illustrate just how prolific music's online presence has become, remember, three years ago MySpace and Facebook were barely twinkles in their parents' eyes. Now, they're giants just starting to dip their toes into the record biz, either directly or indirectly, and act as vital showcases for so many bands, signed and unsigned alike.
Read more at DigitalTrends.
Music Services Compared - More news at DV Hardware
- Top Spin 3 trailer
2K Sports released a new trailer of Top Spin 3, an upcoming tennis game for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and DS consoles. It will be released on May 23.
Top Spin 3 trailer - More news at DV Hardware
- NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Performance Scaling in Modern Games
Digit Life decided to find out what parameters affect performance in modern games most of all. Besides, they haven't analyzed how performance is affected by CPU/GPU/video memory clock rates for a long time already. So they decided to test a G92-based graphics card and determine main rendering bottlenecks in modern games.
Check out the results over here.
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Performance Scaling in Modern Games - More news at DV Hardware
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