Motherboards with Hybrid SLI finally appear

Foxconn introduced an interesting little PD-S2900 projector at Computex today. The projector is tiny measuring in at only about 4” x 3.6” x 1.4” and it has a resolution of 858 x 600 with 55 lumens of brightness. Foxconn says that a even smaller version is coming with 25 lumens of brightness and a 854 x 480 resolution.

Super Talent showed off its new 1.8-inch SSD at Computex called the MasterDrive KX. The very thin drive will be ideal for UMPC systems and will come in 30GB, 60GB, and 120GB priced at $299, $449 and $679 respectively.

Zotac showed new motherboards today at Computex like the GeForce 9300. This board is special because it is the first Intel board from NVIDIA that features the new Hybrid SLI, GeForce Boost and Hybrid Power features NVIDIA has been talking up since CES. NVIDIA is expected to reveal more details about the GeForce 9300 architecture later this Summer.

The board supports Intel processors up to the Core 2 Extreme with a 1333MHz FSB. Users can run up to 8GB of DDR2800 RAM and integrated outputs include VGA, DVI and DisplayPort. The board uses a Micro ATX form factor.

Zotac also introduced a nForce 610i-ITX mainboard that supports Intel processors up to the Core 2 Quad with a 1333MHz FSB. The little board can hold up to 4GB of DDR2 800 RAM and has an integrated VGA output. Expansion slots on the board include a PCIe x1, dual SATA, IDE, and 8 USB 2.0 ports along with a COM port and a 10/100 LAN jack.
Zotac representatives mention that the 610i-ITX may ship with DVI instead of VGA in some markets, though does not have a firm release date for the board yet.

ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 unveiled at Computex 2008

ASUS made another interesting product announcement at Computex 2008 today. The company gave a preview of its upcoming Xonar HDAV1.3 HDMI-ready sound card. The card is HDMI 1.3a compliant and offloads audio processing from high-definition video.

The Xonar HDAV1.3 can decode lossless audio formats from Blu-ray films including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio at 24-bit, 96-192 Khz. The card runs on a PCI Express x1 slot and can deliver up to 7.1 surround sound.

To reduce noise Asus uses analog audio with 120db signal-to-noise ratio with distortion as low as 0.0004% on all 7.1 channels. To handle the video portion of Blu-ray discs ASUS integrates a Splendid HD video processor that provides a clear image form Blu-ray titles without having to rely on the CPU of a computer.

This means that users of desktop systems that don’t have a discrete graphics card or a high-end CPU can enjoy Blu-ray movies and high definition sound by installing one card into their computers. The brain of the Xonar is the ASUS AV200 codec chip that features digital to analog convertors. This card is the first in the Xonar family to use opamp sockets to allow for solder-less modifications to customize sound to the individual’s liking.

A deluxe version of the HDAV1.3 offers all the same features as the standard card plus adds a HDAV H6 surround channel expansion card. ASUS declined to comment on pricing and availability for the HDAV1.3. With ASUS’ low end Xonar card—the Xonar DX 5.0—retailing for $89 it’s a safe bet the HDAV1.3 will go for well over $100.

ATI XGP allows Puma platform notebooks to game like desktops

ATI made another big announcement at Computex today of a new external video card platform for notebook computers called the ATI XGP (External Graphics Platform). The ATI XGP is an external PCI Express 2.0 graphics device.

ATI says that the device is externally powered and externally cooled so it won’t place demands on the notebook. Bandwidth in both directions is reported to be 4 Gbytes/s; ATI says that other external graphics solutions were limited in bandwidth.

The XGP platform is optimized to work with the new AMD Turion X2 Ultra notebook platforms that DailyTech reported on earlier today. Initially according to ATI, the XGP will use Radeon HD 3800 series graphics cards and the first units will utilize the Radeon HD 3870.

When using the XGP with a notebook featuring integrated ATI graphics, CrossFireX is available to enhance performance further. The ATI XGP also provides additional USB 2.0 connectivity for attaching other USB devices like Blu-ray players and more.

Matt Skynner, vice president of Marketing for AMD’s Graphics Product Group said, “With ATI XGP Technology, notebooks can switch between everyday computing and hard-core gaming with a simple plug-in that’s also portable enough to bring powerful 3D performance on-the-go.

This technology allows users to choose notebooks with slim, lightweight and elegant designs, yet enjoy the full performance of a traditional desktop gaming rig wherever it’s convenient.”

A specially designed PCIe 2.0 self-attaching cable connects the XGP to the notebook. The cable is designed by Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited. The graphics muscle from the HD 3870 should allow users to buy a lower performance notebook including ultra portable units and then attach the ATI XGP for gaming. The XGP also allows the attachment of multiple displays as well. AMD declined to comment on pricing and availability for the ATI XGP.

NVIDIA hasn’t officially backed a similar platform using its technology. However, ASUS did show off an external graphics solution using a NVIDIA video card at CES is 2007 called the XG Station.

Aw, snap. Our Chinese branch just happened upon Acer’s totally unmistakable new gaming rig at Computex, and while they couldn’t spend enough time with it to confirm or deny whether it really was faster, better, stronger or longer than anything else, they did manage to capture a few shots. Granted, that little “Don’t Touch” sign technically makes this a hands-off, but either way, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the close-ups found in the read link below.

Sun is betting big on the SSD in enterprise environments

Sun has put its weight behind solid state drives (SSDs) and is in the initial stages of planning a business strategy around the emerging technology. Sun executive vice president John Fowler believes the SSD is the future of enterprise computing.

Fowler and other Sun executives told reporters today that Sun would be integrating SSDs into the majority of its hardware and software offerings. Looking back, Sun was on this path before this announcement since it already has a version of its Solaris ZFS software available that is optimized for use with SSDs.

Sun announced that it will offer its own line of SSD drives later this year intended to give users of its hardware and software improved performance, power savings and reliability. Sun will offer 2.5” flash-based drives by the second half of 2008 and 3.5-inch drives will be introduced later. Fowler is quoted by eWeek saying, “Flash today is not about bulk storage … but it’s about performance. The question for us is going to be adoption rate … because people’s adoption rates of storage is really variable.”

According to Fowler, Sun expects the adoption of SSDs in the enterprise environment to begin in earnest this year for customers running high-performance computing environments. Mainstream enterprise will begin adopting SSDs later.

Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff told eWeek, “It’s possible all this will occur. But these things don’t happen overnight, particularly in storage, where enterprises are very conservative.” The risk in Sun putting so much weight behind SSDs according to Haff is that enterprise customers may not buy the products.

Sun isn’t the only major league manufacturer betting big on SSDs for the future of enterprise computing. Intel’s own line of SSD drives were going through in-house testing in April and should be on the market later this year.