Asus to launch Moblin-powered Eee PC soon?

We already knew Asus has been mulling the launch of an Android-based netbook before the end of October, but apparently the open source future of its Eee PC line doesn’t end there. According to a story at NetbookNews.de citing an unnamed “safe source,” the company will also launch a Moblin netbook in that timeframe.

The Linux-based operating system designed and tuned specifically for Atom-powered devices was originally an Intel project, but its development has since been turned over to the Linux Foundation. Besides offering a sleek and streamlined user interface, Moblin should integrate with a number of online services and keep calendars, tasks, appointments and media content easily accessible and synchronized.

Asus’ first system pre-installed with Moblin will not be a new model, according to NetbookNews, and is likely to be found in the company’s Seashell range of Eee PC netbooks. There’s no mention of price or exactly which regions the Moblin-based netbooks will be available in, but the report does suggest the company is actively working with Google as well to put out a Chrome OS netbook at some point in the not-too-distant future.

By Jose Vilches, TechSpot

VLC hits 1.0 milestone with new features and file support.

Our favorite media player, VLC, has finally reached the 1.0 milestone today. This major release introduces numerous bug fixes along with new formats, new codecs and a handful of new features. For those of you not following the release candidates, these include instantaneous pausing, frame-by-frame playback, better live recording and finer speed control during playback.

Overall it is the same solid application capable of playing just about anything you throw at it, but people working with less-common formats may find VLC’s newfound support for AES3, Dolby Digital Plus, True HD/MLP and Blue-ray Linear PCM decoders appealing. More details about the release can be found in the change log and on the VLC features page. The open-source media player is of course still cross platform, which means it’s available for all supported operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

By Jose Vilches

Dell intros Vostro all-in-one workhorse.

Dell has spiced up their Vostro line with a pretty sleek looking all-in-one. The system is ideal for a business atmosphere, and it’s a perfect fit for cubicles. Along with the typical kickstand, the Vostro all-in-one comes with a VESA mount which can be used as a display arm or wall mount.

Its specs are pretty modest, but are both sufficient and suitable to the target. At its best, Dell’s all-in-one ships with a 19” display, an Intel Core 2 Duo and GMA4500 HD, up to 2GB of RAM and 250GB HDD, wireless peripherals, a webcam, Ethernet with an optional 802.11 adapter. As a true workhorse, it also houses parallel and serial ports and Dell offers a Backup and Recovery Manager as well as video conferencing software.

The Vostro all-in-one has an entry price of $629, which seems fair enough if you compare it to the competition. It’s expected to debut in North America on August 11, and is already available in Japan and China.

By Matthew DeCarlo.

Windows 7 to be sold on USB drives?

Microsoft is reportedly considering offering Windows 7 on USB thumb drives so that netbook owners can upgrade their machines. The company had planned to offer Windows 7 via DVDs and download, but the proliferation of these optical-drive-lacking machines apparently has Redmond looking for alternative means of distributing its operating system.

Of course, there are ways of getting Windows 7 onto a netbook. Buyers with an external DVD drive can simply hook it up to their netbook, for example, or those purchasing the downloadable version could load it on their own USB drive. However, the idea is to make installation on netbooks easier for the less tech-savvy, and avoid paying a tech support guy to get the job done for them.

Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny such a move, but the company has previously gone out their way to emphasize how any version of Windows 7 will run on a netbook; so naturally they want to capitalize on the market’s popularity. According to CNet, this is just one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try and make it more convenient to upgrade machines that don't come with CD or DVD drives.

By Jose Vilches

Microsoft's antivirus beta coming Tuesday, looks to be trim.

Microsoft has announced that a beta version of their upcoming free antivirus software, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), will be released June 23. The application will provide real-time protection against viruses, spyware, trojans and rootkits. Up until Tuesday when the pre-beta version leaked, it had only been touched by the hands of Microsoft employees and select testers.

The coming beta will be publicly available to 75,000 users which speak English and Portuguese. It will come as a 32 and 64-bit standalone installer for Windows XP, Vista and 7 users. Redmond says that 75k is a target figure and they’ll consider an increase if necessary. Following the initial beta,

Microsoft plans to launch a Beta Refresh or possibly even a Release Candidate over the summer. The finished product is expected to arrive by Windows 7’s release date of October 22.

MSE appears to be pretty lightweight and has modest system requirements. Installed, it consumes about 11MB of space and requests that 140MB of additional hard drive space is available. For XP users it is recommended to have a CPU with a clock speed of at least 500MHz and a minimum of 256MB of RAM. Vista and 7 users are suggested to have a 1GHz CPU and 1GB of RAM.

By Matthew DeCarlo

Microsoft Morro screenshots leaked online.

Back in November, Microsoft announced plans to kill its Windows Live OneCare subscription-based security suite and replace it with a free antimalware solution; codenamed “Morro.” The software giant only said at that time that the new offering would be available in the second half of 2009, but it appears some testers are already taking it for a spin, and Neowin has managed to obtain some screenshots of the upcoming suite.

The leaked screenshots show an interface somewhat similar to Windows Defender, offering the typical variety of options such as quick, full and custom scans, as well as virus and spyware definition downloads and scheduled scan settings. There’s not much more we can infer with regard to the software’s functionality from these shots, but ZDNet is reporting that Morro will be almost entirely cloud-based, although exactly how that would work remains unknown. Morro is expected to provide simple anti-malware features and compete with similar free products from other providers. Although it will likely debut in its final form around the same time Windows 7 launches, it should be available as a separate download to avoid anti-trust concerns, and will also work with Windows Vista and XP.

By Jose Vilches

Microsoft Office 2010 tech preview hits torrent sites.

Testing of Microsoft’s Office 2010 suite wasn’t supposed to start until July and on an invite-only basis, but in what's become a pretty common pattern, leaked copies of the still unfinished software have already trickled onto a number of torrent sites. Both the 32- and 64-bit editions of the application suite were available for download earlier than planned, mirroring Windows 7, which has had all major development milestones as well as numerous interim builds leaked ahead of the official releases.

It’s not known if the leaked version, build 14.0.4006.1010, is the same that Microsoft will begin delivering to select testers at the start of July. Among the notable changes in Office 2010 are a revamped Outlook e-mail client that will feature the "ribbon" interface, and the simultaneous availability of new, browser-based versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. If you are interested in trying the leaked version, a quick look at your favorite torrent site should yield some results – know that this is not exactly considered legal, though, and be sure to double check your source to avoid any potential Trojan infections.

By Jose Vilches

AMD plans price cuts for Radeon HD 4800 series.

Starting from next month AMD will cut prices on their Radeon HD 48XX lineup by as much as $50. With their 40nm RV870 series expected to arrive in September, the move is largely seen as a way to lower inventories and make room for new stock. It should also help the company better compete with Nvidia in the all-important mainstream and value segments. Prices for the Radeon HD 4890 card will reportedly be lowered from $249 to $199, while the HD 4870 will be priced at $149, down from $199 – a quick search at Newegg already shows a factory overclocked version of this GPU from PowerColor priced at $154. Lastly, the Radeon HD 4850 is expected to go below the $100 mark. By comparison, the cheapest GeForce GTX 260 is available for around $165, while a GTS 250 currently sells for some $130 and a 9800 GT for $100.

by Jose Vilches

iPhone 3G S announced, the S is for speed.

As expected, Apple has unveiled a new version of the iPhone at its Worldwide Developers Conference today. Officially known as the iPhone 3G S, the design of the device won't change much from its predecessor, but it's what's on the inside that matters. This version sports a faster processor, longer battery life, improved camera with video recording, and a digital compass. It also comes with larger capacities, going all the way to 32GB.

Although it lacks the often rumored front facing camera, squashing hopes for video calls as a result, the new iPhone does have a 3 megapixel camera with auto focus, auto white balance, auto exposure, and a nifty tap to focus feature. Additionally, the camera is capable of recording 640x480 resolution video at 30fps with audio, allowing some basic editing as well in a similar fashion to iMovie.

The new iPhone will also be able to access 3G data connections of up to 7.2 Mbps, where available, and support a number of new features like built-in hardware encryption for data security and integration between the digital compass and mapping applications to automatically orient the map to the direction the user is facing. Apple added built in voice control as well to start calls, find songs, and other information on the phone.

The iPhone 3GS will run the upcoming 3.0 software and should be available June 19 in 16GB and 32GB flavors for $199 and $299 respectively. Those who don’t find these updates enticing enough may be interested to know that the current 8GB iPhone 3G will remain available for $99 with a two-year contract.

By Jose Vilches,

NEC introduces the extraordinarily wide CRV43 display.

For those among us who aren’t suffering from the economic destitution, NEC has unveiled a new display with an estimated street price of $7,999. Setting the price aside for a moment, the monitor is pretty impressive. I imagine it’d make for an awesome viewing experience – as one might expect from a 43” 32:10 (2880x900) display


NEC’s beastly monitor features a 200cd/m² brightness, .02ms rapid response, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, wide color gamut with 100% sRGB coverage and 99.3% Adobe RGB coverage, DVI-D and HDMI 1.3 input, USB 2.0 connectivity, and front panel controls with an on-screen GUI for configuring advanced display parameters. It also ships with a three-year parts and labor warranty, including the backlight.

The monitor is meant to see use in several industries including professional graphics, higher education, government, and financial. It will be available for shipment this July. If your wallet can handle the brag-fest that is the CRV43, you may be interested in Kingston’s 12GB kit of RAM for a measly 1,400 bones.

by Matthew DeCarlo on June 4, 2009,

Windows 7 to launch October 22.

Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday that it is planning for Windows 7 to hit retail shelves and start showing up on new PCs on October 22.

To reach that milestone, Microsoft plans to wrap up development of the operating system by the middle or end of next month, Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said in an interview.

"The feedback from the release candidate has been good," Veghte said.

Microsoft made the near-final release candidate version available last month. Shortly after its release, Microsoft finally confirmed that it was aiming Windows 7 for a holiday 2009 release, something that was widely anticipated, but not confirmed by those in Redmond.

In an interview, Phil McKinney, chief technology officer of Hewlett-Packard's computer unit, said that he feels good about Microsoft's launch date.

"We're locked and loaded for the launch," McKinney said. "The quality of code is just absolutely stellar."

The software maker also confirmed, without giving details, that it plans to offer some sort of "technology guarantee" giving those who buy Vista machines close to the Windows 7 launch a free or discounted copy of the new operating system. As with past similar programs, details on pricing will be up to individual computer makers, although Microsoft did say the upgrade program will apply to Vista Home Premium and higher-priced editions (meaning not Windows Vista Basic).

The tech guarantee program is not beginning immediately, but Microsoft did raise the possibility it will offer some sort of lower-cost upgrade to those who are already using Windows Vista.

I've gotten a lot of e-mails suggesting Microsoft do something along those lines, but its comments this week were the first time I had heard it acknowledge that it was considering such a move.

As for the technology guarantee program, it likely means that Microsoft will do some deferring of Vista-related revenue, though Microsoft again did not spell out details.

"Depending on when we do it there will be the associated accounting for it," Veghte said.

Microsoft has said that Windows 7 will come in five different editions in most markets--Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. A "Windows 7 Basic" will also be sold in emerging markets, Microsoft said.

The software maker has yet to announce pricing for the product.

by Ina Fried

Intel New Processors: Core i7-975 XE and Core i7-950.

In fact, new Core i7 processors have nothing innovative about them. It is simply “legalized” overclocking by the manufacturer. We could even say that Core i7-950 is a Core i7-940 with 133MHz higher clock frequency, while Core i7-975 XE is a Core i7-965 XE with 133MHz higher clock frequency. All other CPU specs remained the same, and their clock speed has been increased by simply increasing their clock frequency multiplier by one point.

So, this is what the complete model lineup of the Core i7 processor family looks like today:

I would like to add that formally Core i7 processors only support triple-channel DDR3-1067 memory. Luckily, things are way better in reality. All mass production CPUs support higher multipliers for the memory frequency, QPI bus frequency and frequency of North Bridge integrated into the CPU. Therefore, nothing can prevent you from raising the memory or any other frequency.

Core i7 processors from the Extreme Edition (XE) series also allow changing the primary multiplier that sets the CPU clock speed. Therefore, these processors can be overclocked not only by raising the base frequency, but also in a much simpler way: by raising their clock multiplier.

Intel is launching new Core i7-950 and i7-975 XE models and at the same time discontinues Core i7-940 and Core i7-965 XE. They also promised to stop shipping Core i7-920 a little later, it will be tied up to the Core i5 line launch. As a result, Core i7 processors will remain somewhat elite. The junior models in this lineup do not get cheaper with the time and the entire lineup is not getting any bigger.

In conclusion to our discussion of the new CPUs features, let us offer you a few CPU-Z screenshots that will provide more info on the newcomers’ specs:

The screenshots are pretty much what we expected them to be, except for one little thing. Namely, new CPUs have new D0 processor stepping. However, this is not a total surprise to us. We have long known about this processor stepping. Moreover, you can even purchase CPUs using this new processor stepping. Core i7-920 based on the new semiconductor dies have been selling since early May. Now this new stepping has also come to the top models, which is a good reason for us to take a real close look at it now.

by Ilya Gavrichenkov

AMD Challenges Intel With Dual-core Neo Chip.

Advanced Micro Devices on Monday said it had started shipping the dual-core Athlon Neo processor for thin and light laptops, upping the ante in its battle with rival Intel, which offers processors for similar laptops.

The new Neo chip will be an upgrade over the single-core Neo processor launched by AMD in January. Laptops with the dual-core processor will offer faster processing and graphics performance, said David Schwarzbach, senior manager for platform marketing at AMD.

Neo chips are designed for thin and light laptops that can deliver full functionality at affordable prices, AMD says. AMD fits Neo chips into a category of consumer PCs it calls "ultrathin" laptops, which falls between netbooks and expensive ultraportable laptops like Apple's MacBook Air. AMD contends that netbooks, though cheap, provide limited functionality, while ultraportables are too expensive, with prices above US$1,500.

Some ultrathin laptops in the market today come with screen sizes between 12.1 inches and 14 inches, and weigh between 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms) and 4 pounds. AMD said dual-core Neo will be in laptops priced between $750 and $999. The chip operates at a clock speed of around 1.6GHz and draws up to 18 watts of power. Pricing for the chip wasn't immediately available.

Laptops with the new Neo chips are being shown at the Computex trade show in Taiwan. Hewlett-Packard -- which already ships the Pavilion DV2 laptop with a single-core Neo -- will refresh the laptop with the new chip, Schwarzbach said. HP's laptop will become available on Monday, while other Neo-based laptops will become available in September.

Ultrathin laptops are as portable as netbooks and provide adequate performance to run most applications, like high-definition multimedia, casual gaming and productivity applications, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. If ultrathin laptops become hot, the losers could be PC makers like Sony, Toshiba and Apple, who have been overcharging consumers for expensive ultraportables, Brookwood said.

AMD's Neo could potentially face competition from Intel's low-power processors for ultrathin laptops -- also called CULV (consumer ultra-low voltage) processors -- that may be introduced at Computex. Laptops with Intel's CULV chips -- like Lenovo's IdeaPad U350 and MSI's X-Slim laptops -- have already been announced.

The updated Neo chip will be part of AMD's upcoming Congo platform for ultrathin laptops. The platform will include integrated graphics based on the Radeon 3200 graphics core, a major upgrade from the earlier Radeon 1200 integrated graphics. That should enable faster decoding of high-definition content and provide a better multimedia experience, Schwarzbach said.

Most netbooks offer limited graphics capabilities, which could draw users to ultrathin laptops, Insight 64's Brookwood said. On a platform level, AMD holds an advantage over Intel on graphics capabilities, Brookwood said.

"When it comes to integrated graphics, it's hardly a contest between Intel and AMD. AMD wins hands down," Brookwood said.

By contrast, Intel's chips offer better performance-per-watt than Neo chips, Brookwood said. Intel's chips are manufactured using the 45-nanometer process, which brings more energy efficiency to laptops than the older 65-nm process used by AMD for Neo chips. But the dual-core Neo could help laptop users do more tasks simultaneously than Intel's single-core CULV chips.

But processor speed won't be a major factor in driving adoption of ultrathin laptops, Brookwood said. The thin and light size will appeal more to consumers, and the battle could be around pricing and style.

"Nobody will buy these products to edit movies or to do a lot of Photoshop-like work," Brookwood said.

AMD on Monday also announced dual-core desktop chips that are manufactured using the 45-nm process. The Phenom II X2 550 runs at a clock speed of 3.1GHz and includes 7MB of cache. It is priced at $102. The dual-core Athlon II X2 250 processor operates at a speed of 3.0GHz and includes 2MB of L2 cache. It is priced at $87. Both processors will come as part of a chip package that supports faster DDR3 memory.

Agam Shah, IDG News Service

AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE and Athlon II X2 250.

AMD has made a successful transition to the 45nm fabrication process, giving the Phenom II series the necessary breathing room to prove it has what it takes to go head to head with the Intel Core 2 range. Their most recent launch in the form of the Phenom II X4 955 consisted of a 3.20GHz part with support for the AM3 socket, while retaining compatibility with older AM2 boards.

At $245 the Phenom II X4 955 remains to this day AMD's flagship desktop processor, offering top performance for a competitive price. And from there you can tell that the rest of AMD's desktop offerings belong to the mainstream or value sectors. With the arrival of the X4 955 last April, the older 940 and 920 CPUs received a heavy price cut with both selling for around $190.

The triple-core Phenom II X3 range is made up of the 720 ($140) and 710 ($120) models which come clocked at 2.80GHz and 2.60GHz respectively.

However, as of today it will be possible to get your hands around the Phenom II architecture for even less as we present you with the Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor. The Phenom II X2 550 is based on the same specifications as the rest of the Phenom II family, but featuring half as many cores being a dual-core processor. The new processor operates at 3.10GHz, so about 100MHz slower (per core) than the flagship X4 955, and is expected to sell for a compelling $102.

AMD is also breathing new life into the Athlon brand with today's launch of the Athlon II X2 250. This new dual-core Athlon is the first of four models scheduled for release, of which the X2 250 should be the fastest part clocked at 3.0GHz. Rumor has it that there will also be triple and quad-core versions of the Athlon II, which sounds like an interesting proposition but likely to become quite confusing as well if these myriad of processors are all going to sell with a ceiling of $250.

The Athlon II X2 250 is also set for immediate release at $87, effectively undercutting Intel's Pentium E5400 processor.

On the next few pages we will take a closer look at both processors specs, run our usual suite of benchmarks, test power consumption levels and overclocking performance of these new AMD CPUs.

ATI Radeon HD 4890 vs. Nvidia GeForce GTX 275.

Gamers looking to spend some $250 on a brand new graphics card were given two new options last month when ATI unleashed their Radeon HD 4890 and Nvidia countered with the GeForce GTX 275.

Starting with the Radeon HD 4890, this new card is in essence an overclocked Radeon HD 4870 with far greater overclocking abilities. ATI has fine-tuned the RV790 XT core allowing for incredible core frequencies. Although the default core speed of 850MHz is a moderate bump over the 4870, many users are reporting overclocks in the order of 1GHz and beyond, which makes for an interesting update.

The GeForce GTX 275 is also a derivative from an existing product, borrowing its GPU from the GeForce GTX 295, which is a dual-GPU graphics card. The GTX 275 uses a 55nm GPU featuring the same amount of SPUs and TAUs as the more powerful GeForce GTX 285, while only as many ROPs as the GeForce GTX 260. Nvidia has then increased the core and memory frequencies of the GeForce GTX 275 when compared to the dual-GPU GeForce GTX 295.

On paper the GeForce GTX 275 is a lot like the GeForce GTX 285, a graphics card that costs an additional $100. The key difference between these two products, other than the slightly different core configurations, is their memory bus width. The more expensive GeForce GTX 285 gets the 512-bit bus, whereas the GeForce GTX 275 features a 448-bit bus, or about 20% less bandwidth at its disposal.

As luck would have it, the GeForce GTX 275 was not just a quick and easy counter for the Radeon HD 4890, it was the perfect counter. Prior to the launch of these two cards the Radeon HD 4870 and GeForce GTX 260 were already doing battle. The Radeon HD 4890 was meant to outclass both products and conquer the $250 price range but evidently that didn't go as planned.

Today we will put both cards to the test and find out which is faster in a wide range of games using the latest drivers. We will also be looking at their maximum overclocked performance to help you decide which is the best value option for enthusiasts and PC gamers alike.

NEC introduces world's first USB 3.0 host controller.

NEC has unveiled the world’s first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 host controller. The new standard is backwards compatible with its predecessors, USB 2.0, 1.1 and 1.0. Supporting transfer speeds of up to 5Gb/s, on paper, the µPD720200 is ten times the speed of USB 2.0.


NEC states that their new host controller makes it possible to broaden the boundaries of digital electronics such as PCs, TVs and DVD recorders. Their SuperSpeed USB 3.0 chip only requires 70 seconds to transfer 25GB of video content on a Blu-ray disc, which compares to 14 minutes when using USB 2.0 at 480Mb/s. The increase in transfer speed is expected to allow system designers to quickly transfer large-volume data quickly and efficiently.

The chip measures 10 x 10mm and only consumes up to 1W. Samples of the new host controller are scheduled to be available in June for about $15. The company hopes to have a monthly production of one million units in September. The latest device will be exhibited at the SuperSpeed USB Developers Conference in Tokyo, Japan on the 20 and 21 of this month.

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com

Acer delivers "all day computing" with Aspire Timeline family.

Acer has announced that it will be introducing “all day computing” to the US market with the launch of their Aspire Timeline thin and light notebook family. With its unique design, the company claims the new series averages more than 8 hours of battery life. As such, they will be targeting the road warrior and those constantly on the move.



Remaining conscious of the invaluable balance between portability and power consumption, the company has employed a standard high-capacity 6-cell battery. Naturally, as battery-oomph has been sacrificed, the Timeline series will instead conserve energy with low power components and Acer’s PowerSmart features. Technology assessment firm Principled Technologies concluded that the Aspire Timeline AS3810T and AS3810TZ’s life averaged 9 hours 7 minutes and 9 hours 48 minutes respectively.

The family will host a spectrum of models starting at $598. The models vary between offering an Intel Pentium, Core 2 Solo and Duo ULV processor, 3 to 4GB of DDR3 800MHz RAM, 320 to 500GB HDD, 13.3” to 15.6” 16:9 LED backlit display, 3 to 4 USB ports as well as an 8x DVD drive, Bluetooth 2.0/HDMI support and some without. Common specifications include Intel’s GS45 chipset with GMA 4500MHD, 802.11b/g/n, a webcam, multi-in-1 card reader and Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit.

by Matthew DeCarlo on June 2, 2009

Windows 7 release date not yet official.

There has been some confusion lately about the release date of Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 7. Some sources claimed that 2010 was finally announced as the official release data while others rebuked that story saying that Microsoft did not yet make such an announcement.

It turned out that the 2010 - and 2009 - release dates were based on interpretations or Microsoft press releases, especially the phrase “Development is scoped to three years” caused some confusion. Some sources simply added three years to the release of Windows Vista and assumed that this would be the official Windows 7 release date.

One should understand that the production phase does not end with development. There is much more to it like marketing, producing enough units, worldwide shipping, translations and much more that will probably extend the period quite a bit.

It should also be noted that three years can mean anything from 1095 days to 1459 days which is just one day short of four years. To conclude the article; There is no official Windows 7 release data yet and it is very likely that there will be none anytime soon.

Microsoft expands BlueTrack lineup with new mice.

Microsoft has extended its line of BlueTrack-based devices today with the launch of two new mice as well as its first combo set using the technology. Like its Explorer and Explorer Mini predecessors, the new models promise to work on virtually any surface, from smooth and shiny marble to tough surfaces such as carpet. The Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 is intended for mobile use, and pairs a blue-laser mouse with a 2.4GHz “nano transceiver,” while the full-sized Wireless Mouse 5000 is intended for desktops and has a five-button ambidextrous layout.

Runtime is estimated at up to 10 and 8 months respectively, and each has a proper power switch to both save battery life and prevent the mouse from waking its host computer. Lastly, the Wireless Desktop 3000 combines the regular Wireless Keyboard 3000 with the just-launched Wireless Mouse 5000 to give users a BlueTrack mouse and an RF keyboard without the need for separate USB adapters.

By Jose Vilches, TechSpot.com

Kingston introduces 12GB triple-channel DDR3 RAM kit .

Kingston announced a new product in their HyperX series today, a 12GB triple-channel DDR3 1600MHz RAM kit. Consisting of three 4GB modules, the company is proudly the first to release a kit of its specifications. Naturally, the kit is mostly targeting the hardcore users seeking to max out their x58-based machines.

Senior technology manager at the company, Mark Tekunoff, was boastful of Kingston having been the first to release 2GHz kits, and expressed his enthusiasm about the recently introduced memory. He went on to say that this particular set of RAM was tested on the Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard and was capable of reaching 1,600MHz at 1.65V with respectable 9-9-9-27 timings. The latest HyperX offering has the largest capacity in the series.

For most, having 12 or 24GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM is a sheer novelty – and one that won’t come cheap with this memory. Kingston’s 12GB HyperX kit will launch in the US with an MSRP of $1,400; or about the cost of our “Mid-range Enthusiast's PC.” Although some will buy it regardless, I hope at least a fraction of the purchasers will truly put the RAM to use.

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com