Novelties and tendencies of international IT exhibition Computex
Videocards
Seven years ago, when NVIDIA let out the notorious series of videocards GeForce FX on the basis of chip NV30, to indignation of players there was no limit. More simple on architecture of the videocard from strong and independent at that time ATI tore the advanced ruler possessing huge functionality. New, more thin technical process did not help even: all singularities with which the new chip flaunted, simply have not been claimed by games of that time. Transited years, ATI now is subdividing AMD, some generations of videocards were replaced... And the situation repeats. Canadians again let out the excellent chip which is development of their last products, — ATI Cypress, NVIDIA answers with a board of absolutely new architecture — very perspective, aimed at the future, with possibilities amazing imagination... And thus desperately losing in applications of today. Almost not having chances to implement the megaabilities for short life cycle.
While engineers make all efforts to finish the new child to mind, business is entered by experts in marketing. The original product is cut on a part, reduced the price, pasted over with labels and goes straight to a mass customer. Here struggle goes any more for a speed, not for gigahertz and not for gigabytes. Priority value is received by the price and consumer characteristics: noise, a thermal emission, power consumption, a complete set. This round of struggle also reflects Computex on which announced videocard GeForce GTX 465 which as the vendor hopes, players of an average hand will buy.
And here principal problems here begin. Because heart of this model all the same дорогущий, hot chip GF100 from the same 3 млрд transistors, as at топовой models GTX 480. The rejected chips are selected, unoperated units are disconnected, frequencies are underestimated. But the new representative of family all the same inherits the bad genes of high models. Even the recommended price in 8400 roubles hardly probable allows GTX 465 to compete to competing decisions, especially if to consider the considerable margin on new products in the beginning of sales. In July GTX 465 cost from 10 300 roubles, thus for 9900 it was possible to buy Radeon HD 5830 (loss in tests of 0,5 %), for 11300 — Radeon HD 5850 (a scoring of 13.3 %), and for 11 800—GeForce GTX 285 (a scoring of 5.1 %), Possibly to deliver more modest price list the high cost price of the videocard did not allow — it is known after all that on manufacture the spoilage percent is very great. At the expense of the lowered frequencies and smaller number of operating units GTX 465 consumes less energies, but the chip all the same turned out very hot and gluttonous. Certainly, the rights there was representative NVIDIA of Henri Drju, declaring in interview DlgiTimes that gamers and the enthusiasts selecting топовые products, care of accounts for an electricity a little. But even оверклокеров can afflict a turbojet roar of system of cooling what to speak about buyers of inexpensive videocards?
Here NVIDIA the army ретейлеров — ASUS, EVGA Galaxy, MSI to the aid comes, Palits PNY, ZOTAC and many other things dress videocards in different fashionable одежки. Company Sparkle, for example, presented the versions GeForce GTX 465 and GeForce GTX 470, everyone in two variants. The first variant — on the basis of five теплотрубок and one fan, the second — on the basis of two fans. Coolers support self-cleaning function: the first 30 seconds they are twisted in the opposite direction, throwing out collected dust from blades. Very successful idea; similar, someone from engineers Sparkle led a lot of time with the vacuum cleaner, clearing the hammered heat sinks. However and it not a limit. Gigabyte presented dispersed model GeForce GTX 470 Super Overclock, equipped already three fans which rotational speed can be supervised independently.
In general though NVIDIA also lost battle, war is not finished, as soon as problems will be solved with spoilage by manufacture of difficult chips and there will be more simple chip for an average price range, operations inflame with new force. For now fight is moved to the lower price segment: when number surrendered, in the Network there were images of videocard GeForce GTX 460 on 40-nanometer chip GF104 which NVIDIA should present officially in July.
Thethird measurement in each house
People dreamed of the present three-dimensional image for a long time. It seemed, just about and it goes to masses. But the virtual helmets were the expensive, points-anglify with multi-colored glasses gave serious loading on eyes, and polarizable technology was to adjust with some difficulty for house usage. Dream embodied NVIDIA, creating a pop type points which in aggregate with the monitor scanning frequency from 120 hertz play back quite comprehensible three-dimensional picture. Thus it appeared that in new measurement almost all games and films are subject to transfer.
Imagine the following pattern: experts in marketing NVIDIA with failure chip GF100 in one hand and with technology 3D Vision in another sit, And before them there is a missing buyer and waits, than it will entice this time. We add two plus two we receive the project 3D PCt which supported practically the increasing companies.
The essence is simple: to give to a customer the ready computer supporting three-dimensional technologies. Certainly, it is possible to collect and adjust all most but if you cannot make it — search for the computer with a logo 3D PC. The set гарантированно will include pair of active 3D - points, 120-gertsovyj the display, the suitable graphic processor and complete set of drivers. Moreover, such computers have been presented alive. Game notebook ASUS G51 3D, received on Computex prizes «the Choice of year» and «the Best choice» in a category «Displays and numeral entertainments», we already saw and tested. Except it at an exhibition the first 3D-monoblock MSI Wind Top АЕ2420 3D with the sensor display frequency of 120 Hz, Intel Core processor 15Л7 and videocard ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 has been presented. Such толстячок it is completed with points MSI 3D Infinity Shutter and can appear in a role of the TV set, a disk player or the computer.
And for Computex the first three-dimensional compact videocamera — Aiptek 3D has been presented. Two lenses on five megapixels allow to remove three-dimensional 720р - rollers, and the 2,4-inch screen — to view written down directly in 3D, and it is all for two hundred dollars!
It is possible to tell with confidence that the slogan about the third measurement in each house — not bravado, and the direct guide to action.
Nuclear races
If earlier vendors competed, who makes the fastest processor now, with propagation of mobile devices, as the corner-stone delivered profitability and the maximum power efficiency — technological race was tore on 90 degrees and rushed in a perpendicular direction. And methods of struggle not only extensive (perfection of traditional models of processors), but also intensive: the invention of the revolutionary architecture called once and for all to change at first a niche of mobile computers, and then and all computer park as a whole. Speech, certainly, goes about development AMD and Intel in the field of creation of the general-purpose chips uniting in one chip ЦПУ and a video kernel.
Both companies were marked on Computex by demonstrations of the decisions. At both presentations were similar that any particulars about chips has not been announced. However, AMD caused a stir as regards paranoid шпионофобии; to operating computers anybody even close did not admit, moreover — forbade to photograph a silicon plate with processors Fusion, being afraid that observers from Intel can calculate die sizes, an amount of transistors and its approximate cost. High vice-president AMD Rik Bergman brought the silicon plate sealed in translucent boxing on presentation and even waved with it before journalists, but to photograph close did not allow.
Where demonstration of abilities Fusion on example Aliens vs was more interesting. Predator. If to trust announcements AMD. That the single chip with power consumption to 25 watt provided speed of the order of 20-30 frames per second in mode DX11. It is a performance level inexpensive, but quite decent game system with the separate videocard. For the mobile drawing such indexes really прорывные even if to give a discount for that. That in a presentation roller the player simply ran on jungle and that real chips get on the market God grant next year.
Solid-state mentality
The Flash-memory a solid, confident gait walks on a planet. At first it strangled various diskettes and compact disks. Then, concluding the non-aggression pact with the most powerful, but enough silly army of hard disks for desktop computers, attacked their ally — proud and independent winchesters for mobile computers. After bloody fights winchesters handed over positions on нетбуках and were fixed in a segment of standard notebooks. And here now artful armies of the flash-memory even more often look of 3,5 inches at bastions of full-size hard disks of a format. To attack right now the flash-memory the high price, insufficient capacity, and also small speed for record operations does not allow. But vendors deliver on fronts of more and more tempered fighters.
For a long time already in desktop computers the flash-memory use for operating system loading. The OCZ Technology company continued this tradition and presented to the amazed audience the RevoDrive. It is a superfast RAID of storage on the basis of multi-level chips of the flash-memory of type NAND, made in the form of the separate expansion card for PCI Express slot. It is declared that speed of reading with RevoDrive reaches 540 Mb/with, and speed of record of 490 Mb/and It is the device it is possible to use not only for fast loading of OS, but also for support ресурсоемких games and other difficult programs — video editors, for example. Unfortunately, novelty cost is very high 433 euros for model in volume of 120 Gb and 757 euros for model in volume of 240 Gb.
There are also ordinarier novelties which show solid-state memory production technologies how much promoted lately. For example, thanks to the new controler in 2.5-inch SSD-winchesters of the company of Transcend Information the maximum speed of serial reading grew to 240 Mb/with, and records — to 200 Mb/with that in one and a half-two time more than at former models. Application of such winchesters allows to raise aloud smoothness of operation of many exacting applications, and big, to semiterabyte, it is already enough volume to advance the winchester as the main.
What with traditional hard disks? While they successfully enough reflect attacks in sphere of high-efficiency and inexpensive systems where easily benefit against solid-state drives at the expense of fast rate and volume. Moreover, new development do not stop. So, for example, in connection with growing any popularity of ultrathin notebooks of Hitachi let out a new series of hard disks on 2,5 inches — TravelStar and CinemaStar in capacity 160, 250 and 320 Gb. Their thickness is reduced to 7 mm, power consumption in an active mode makes only 1.8 W, in passive 0,8 W. Sales begin till the end of summer.
The author: OLEGator
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