MSI Media Live, the latest addition to MSI’s Media Center PC family, will be showcased at the CES 2007 in Las Vegas, on January 8-15. It is based on AMD Live! Platform and powered by AMD64 dual-core processor.
It has NVIDIA integrated graphics with DirectX 9.0, High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) support and the 8 channel High Definition Audio, according to MSI.
Micro-Star International (MSI) will display a series of its Media Live audio/video PC systems based on the AMD Live! platform at the 2007 International CES in Las Vegas, Digi Times reports according to company sources.
MSI’s Media Live PCs will join a rank of 64-bit dual-core AMD Live!-based desktops introduced by other PC vendors, including the Pavilion m7575tw from Hewlett-Packard (HP), the AcerPower 1000 from Acer and the E520 from Dell. The AMD Live!-based PCs are expected to compete for the spotlight at the show with Intel’s Viiv-based counterparts expected from Dell, HP, Acer, AOpen, Shuttle, Genuine C&C and Synnex Technology International (Lemel), the report says.
Shuttle Europe today introduced the XPC mini X 200 series. These Small Form Factor (SFF) PCs measure only 55 mm in height with a surface barely the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Along with Core 2 Duo processor support, DDR2 memory and a standard 3.5 inch hard drive, the Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset based Shuttle XPC mini X 200 is equipped with a hybrid TV tuner and dual monitor support, the company says.
The Shuttle XPC mini X 200 launches with two base configurations: the Shuttle XPC mini X 200MA targeting Media Centre users and the Shuttle XPC mini X 200BA for use in offices. Also, numerous other individual configurations are available.
Shuttle announced the launch of 1337 SDXi gaming small form factor desktop PC system featuring Intel QX6700 processor with four cores, dual AMD ATI Radeon X1950XT CrossFire graphics or optional XFX GeForce 8800 GTS and a liquid cooling.
Based on Intel 975X chipset, Shuttle 1337 SDXi features 2GB of Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 memory with support for up to 8GB of RAM, and Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA hard drive spinning at 10,000rpm. The HDD storage can be upgraded to 400GB SATA at 7200rpm.
Vigor Gaming Computer will debut its Vigor Force Recon QX4 gaming desktop system, based on AMD Quad FX4 dual-socket processor platform, at CES 2007.
The Vigor Force Recon QX4 is powered by a pair of the latest AMD Athlon 64 FX-74 dual-core processors. Besides gaming, the Vigor’s Force Recon QX4 is a desired rig for post-production work, audio/video editing and content creation, streaming high-definition content, and running multi-layered business applications, the press release says.
NewEgg is about to announce availability of AMD Quad FX bundle, which consist of Asus L1N64-SLI WS mainboard and two paired dual-core Athlon 64 FX 70,72 or 74 CPUs using Socket F (1207FX).
The Inquirer reports the Asus-made Quad FX – also known as AMD 4×4 platform – motherboard should end up priced at $349 but is likely to drop very soon to suggested $299 while the CPUs will costs $999 for pair of two FX74, $799 for pair of FX72 and $599 for the slowest two FX70 processors.
AMD has unveiled elements of its forthcoming processors and other chips planed to arrive in next two years, such as HyperTransport 3.0, use of L3 cache shared between the CPU cores, use of DDR3 memory, PCI-Express 2.0, shift to DirectX 10 and use of hybrid graphics in laptops. AMD also showed details of desktop, notebook and server/workstation processors roadmaps for 2007/2008, as same as a concept of the future multi-core chips called Accelerated Processing Units, during company’s Financial Analyst Day held this week.
Regarding desktop processor and chipset roadmap, AMD plans quad-core CPU introduction in mid-2007, featuring Level 3 cache shared between the cores. At the same time, AMD will introduce CrossFire chipset family for use with multiple graphics cards. This AMD platform will incorporate HyperTransport 3.0 providing faster chip-to-chip and board-to-board communications. HT 3.0 extends HyperTransport 1’s 800 MHz clock to 1.8 GHz, 2.0 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 2.6 GHz, while the PCI Express 2.0 will double the bus standard’s bandwidth. DirectX 10 graphics in AMD’s desktop platforms will also debut in mid-2007, while the new AM3 CPU socket will be introduced in 2008.
The DDR3 memory support will show up in AMD powered desktops in mid-2008, along with new single-, dual- and quad-core parts. The DDR3 SDRAM (Double Data Rate 3 Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) is the successor to DDR2 SDRAM. The DDR3 promises a power consumption reduction of 40% compared to current DDR2 modules, according to the Wikipedia.
AMD Desktop Roadmap – Source: AMD
The laptop platform refresh will include processors update, as same as use of hybrid graphics and forthcoming wireless 802.11n standard, according to the unveiled company’s public roadmap.
The mobile ‘Hawk’ processors will debut in second half of next year with an 800MHz DDR2 memory support. Additionally, in 2008, AMD’s Griffin processors and ‘Puma’ notebook platform will bring low-voltage portable computing, PCI Express 2.0, HyperTransport 3.0 and DirectX 10.
An interesting feature in next generation AMD-based notebooks will be hybrid graphics, scheduled to arrive in 2007. It is a combination of integrated and discrete GPUs. According to AMD, simply plugging in or unplugging the laptop’s AC adaptor will automatically flip between the discrete and integrated graphics. The battery life is to be saved by using less power-demanding integrated graphics chip, when laptop is unplugged from power supply.
AMD Mobile Roadmap – Source: AMD
In the field of server and workstation computing, AMD Opteron CPU roadmap announces a quad-core processor code-named Barcelona, which will come out mid-year in 2007. The CPU will be aimed at two-socket and four-socket platforms, according to the reports. At the same time, Budapest will debut as a quad-core Opteron offering for one-socket servers and workstations. The Budapest will shift Opteron platforms to HyperTransport 3.0.
In the first half of 2008 the quad-core Shanghai will be introduced featuring HT 3.0 and L3 cache. It will still have DDR2 (not DDR3) options, according to the AMD’s officials.
AMD Opteron Processor Roadmap – Source: AMD
The mentioned Accelerated Processing Units represent a future of multi-core chips that include a mix of processor cores and other dedicated cores. The dedicated cores could be used for separate physics processing or audio/video encoding for example. According to the reports, APUs may bring specific tailored processors in the future, such as office, gaming or CAD CPUs. This direction of processor development is significantly different from Intel’s strategy, based on adding large number of identical cores to existing dies.
AMD Accelerated Processing Units – Source: AMD
All announced AMD’s processors will certainly be 64-bit units.
AOpen today unveiled XC Cube EZ956 and XC Cube EU965, the small form factor (SFF) Windows Vista Premium Ready barebone systems supporting Intel’s 64-bit Core 2 Duo processors.
Both based on Intel G965 Express chipset, the white AOpen XC Cube EZ956 and black EU965 come with integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3000, which enables use of Vista Aero interface, but also provide a slot for a dedicated PCI Express x16 graphics card. The EZ956/EU965 barebone’s motherboard supports up to 4 GB of dual Channel DDRII memory modules running at 800/667/533 MHz. It has 3 SATA2 ports, HD-Audio 7.1, and 6 USB 2.0 ports.
Velocity Micro, the custom-built PCs manufacturer, recently announced the availability of computers based on Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 and Intel Xeon 5300 series processors. The new Intel’s processors, which fit four execution cores in a single CPU package, can be ordered in Velocity Micro’s workstations and gaming PCs.
For professional applications, Velocity Micro offers the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor in its ProMagix W160 high-performance workstations, and the Xeon 5300 series in its ProMagix Plus W250 line. Velocity Micro will also offer Intel quad-core processors in its Raptor Signature Edition and Raptor DCX custom gaming PCs.
ABS Computers announced its release of the Ultimate X8 Ultra gaming desktop computer, equipped with the newly released Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor and NVIDIA GeForce 8880GTX graphics.
“Power users and computer enthusiasts are excited about the Intel Core 2 Extreme quad-core processor,” said Greg Pearson, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group and President, Intel Americas, Inc. “The Ultimate X8 Ultra is a great example of innovative systems being built around our next-generation Microarchitecture.”
Dell recently announced Optiplex 740, the company’s first business-use dekstop PC featuring AMD’s processors such as Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 x2 dual-core. Dell Optiplex 740 has four memory slots allowing use of up to 4GB DDR2 memory, and has SATA2 interface with offered up to 250GB hard drive. Regarding graphics, there are Radeon X1300 Pro with 256MB of video memory, or X1300 with 128MB of VRAM. If you prefer NVIDIA graphics solutions, Optiplex 740 provides by default an integrated Quadro NVS 210s graphics offering up to 512MB of shared memory.
The Dell Optiplex 740 currently ships with Windows XP Professional, but it is Windows Vista Capable.
The basic Optiplex 740 has starting price of $608, after instant savings.
ZDNet has recetnly tested Apple Mac Pro, upgraded with a pair of Intel’s quad-core 2.66GHz Xeon 5355 processors. The eight-core Mac Pro was 31 percent faster than the same four-core machine.
“As the Intel Xeon 5355 is pin-compatible with the Xeon 5160 processors that came installed in our Mac Pro, we proceeded to swap out the two dual-core processors with the new quad-core processors. We saw a 31 percent performance increase on the Mac OS X version of the Cinebench test from the two dual-core chips to the two quad-core chips. Although we doubled the number of cores, we didn’t see twice the performance. There are a few reasons for this: the quad-core chips are actually running at a slower speed (2.66GHz) than the dual-core chips (3.0GHz). Also, the extra cores introduce some additional computational overhead to the overall workload. Additionally, our ‘octo-core’ testbed is our own unsanctioned unit, and therefore isn’t benefiting from any of Apple’s inside knowledge, such as firmware and driver updates to better optimise the system for the additional cores”, the reports says.
Benchmarks: the unofficial eight-core Mac Pro Tech Guide in Reviews at ZDNet.co.uk
HP today announced the new HP Compaq dx2250 microtower desktop PC. Based on ATI Radeon XPRESS 1150 chipset, the Comapq dx2250 is available with a range of AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core, AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Sempron processors.
The new business desktop PC supports up to 2GB of DDR2 memory and comes with up to 250GB SATA2 hard drive and a DVD burner. It features integrated ATI Radeon X300 graphics, or ATI Radeon X1300 with 256MB of video memory.
Dell announced it’s XPS 710 gaming desktop PC which can be built to order with the new 64-bit Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor. According to the press release, quad-core QX6700 can deliver “up to 55 percent better performance than an Intel Core 2 Extreme dual-core processor”.
The SLI enabled XPS 710 has four memory slots, bays for four hard drives and two optical drives, and seven expansion slots for single and dual graphics cards and hi-fi sound.
The new system is Microsoft Windows Vista Premium-Ready. The XPS 710 is available immediately worldwide. Prices start at $3,699 for the Jet Black chassis with an Intel Core 2 Extreme Q6700 processor, 750-watt power supply and two-year limited XPS warranty with prioritized support queue. The Special Edition Formula Red model with 1-kilowatt power supply and the same processor and warranty support starts at $3,799.
AOpen recently unveiled XC Cube EZ945(C) small form factor barebone system. A new member of XC Cube series, AOpen XC Cube EZ945(C) supports the 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme (both code-named Conroe) processors.
Based on the Intel’s i945G chipset, XC Cube EZ945(C) provides 1066MHz FSB and DDR II 533/667MHz RAM up to 4GB. According to the press release, the news XC Cube also supports 7.1ch surround sound output and has built-in Intel GMA950 graphic engine. It also has optional video output card to offer HDTV signal.
“To satisfy the requirements of expending functions, XC Cube EZ945(C) equipped 275 Watt power supply unit which is enough for all mid/high end graphic cards and other add-on cards. XC Cube EZ945(C) built-in a 1GB/Sec ultra-high speed LAN connection, four SATA2, eight USB 2.0, three IEEE1394 ports, one PCI-E x16 and one PCI slots for future expending needs,” the press release says.
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