If you didn’t have time to head down to SUNTEC CITY for the tech show. We have prepared a 4 page highlights of the show. Together with our scanned price lists, I am sure you will have made the best purchase be it a new broadband plan, phone, notebook, accessories etc.

So head over to this link and check out the highlights.

Sony Ericsson held an Asia Pacific Region Press Event “EVOLVE, ENGAGE, EXCITE” at the new Resort World Singapore, Sentosa. At the event, Sony Ericsson new tie ups with MTV and also the Digital Ambassador “The Wonder Girls”. Sony Ericsson also presented for the first time the 5 phones that were previously announced – the Xperia X10, X10 mini, X10 mini pro, Vivaz and Vivaz Pro to the regional media.

Check out the videos and pictures at the link below

What to look for at IT SHOW 2010 (11-14 Mar 2010)

We have a IT show every quarter in Singapore. In a few days time, we will have the IT SHow 2010. To be held at Suntec, this event will span 5 floors where most of the telcos, IT vendors will showcase and clear their stocks at rock bottom prices.

In fact, IT show 2010 is also a good time for manufacturers to showcase some new products. Sony for example, will be showcasing its 3D TV that is scheduled to launch in the 3rd quarter of this year. (You can read about our coverage of the SONY 3D BRAVIA LCD TV here). iCell, the local wireless@SG operator would also be selling its own brand e-reader at the show. Do watch out for it.

For students, it is also a good time to bring back a cheap netbook or notebook as most vendors will be selling their latest Atom and Core i3/Core i5 Intel notebooks at the show. The best steal would still be the AMD based notebooks which are generally way cheaper than the INtel counterparts.

On the mobile front, the 3 telcos will be fighting one another for customers to expand their user base. We wouldn’t be surprise if they bundle more goodies for mobile broadband, fixed line broadband, IPTV/Cable TV and voice lines for better deals.

So watch out for more news and price list information in our forum at this link http://forums.ocworkbench.com/forumdisplay.php?f=77

3G, 3.5G and now 3.95G or LTE we call it. In a technical preview of LTE by MobileOne (M1) Singapore, we were able to witness the strength of this new mobile technology which will be “long term” for operator M1.

We also witness how it streams 1080P HD video without delays, file transfers and speedtests run on it. So, how does it perform, is it capable of reaching 100Mbps (CAT 3) ? Check out the article for more

Read about M1’s LTE performance and plans

Samsung Showcases Product Lineup for Continued Growth in
Southeast Asia & Oceania at Inaugural Samsung Regional Forum
 
Full HD 3D Solution to Be Available this month; Digital Camera, IT and Home Appliance Categories Key Strategic Areas for Region’s Success in 2010
 
SEA FORUM, SINGAPORE – March 2, 2010 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. set an exciting course for continued growth in the Southeast Asia & Oceania region today as the inaugural Samsung Southeast Asia & Oceania Forum opened at the SUNTEC Singapore Convention Center. Samsung unveiled its breakthrough lineup of Full HD 3D solutions that will be available to the Southeast Asia & Oceania market later this month. The company also showcased innovative new offerings in the areas of digital imaging and home appliance and aggressive growth plans in the IT sector.
 
Before hundreds of media and partners, a team of executives from throughout Samsung Southeast Asia & Oceania led a showcase of Samsung’s 2010 product lineup, highlighted by the company’s award-winning solution of full HD 3D entertainment products announced earlier this year. A range of new home appliance products was highlighted by the union of sleek design and advanced technology in the areas of refrigerators and washing machines. The display division heralded the arrival of Samsung’s new eBook while the newly merged PC and printer divisions showed off a new design ID for notebooks and netbooks as well as one-touch functionality for all printers.
 
For more details please read
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/SAMSUNG/Samsung-SEA-Forum/p1.htm

Today AMD lanuch its new series of integrated chipsets. The AMD 890GX chipset integrates Radeon HD 4290 DX10.1 graphics which runs at 700MHz with sideport memory support. The 890GX comes with a RV620 core with 40 unified Shaders, a 64/128 bit memory interface. It supports ATI AVIVO HD and UVD 2.0.

How does this chispet perform when compared to a similarly clocked Intel Clarkdale solution ? Click the link to find out. http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/AMD/AMD-890GX-Radeon-HD-4290/p1.htm

ECS 890GXM-A basic feature set is similar to any AMD 890GX board you see in the market. By virtue of the chipset AMD 890GX+SB850, it supports the AMD Radeon HD 4290 DX10.1 graphics that clocks at 700MHz with sideport memory. The SB850 also supports 6 ports of SATA 6Gbps in RAID 0,1,5,10 configuration. The chipset on board officially supports the future 6 core processor Thuban.

The board supports 4 DDR3 slots of up to 32GB of DDR3-1600(OC)/1333/1066/800 memory. ECS A890GXM-A being a board from the Black Label series definitely has something to horn about. This board features Dual GigaLAN, 15u Gold Contact, eJIFFY, Cooltech III, 4most Display (HDMI,DVI-D, D-SUB and DisplayPort), eSATA. There are also power on/off, reset buttons on the PCB and a Clear CMOS button at the back panel which aren’t found on other boards we tested so far. Although most manufacturers will go for USB 3.0, ECS left it out on board but has a version of the board that bundles in the add on card to support it.

The board also comes with 3 full length PCIe 2.0 slots supporting CrossFire X. So you have the extra PCIe 2.0×4 slot for an additional graphics card for 3 way crossfire. In addition, the board also has quite a flexible BIOS which allows you to increase the voltage levels applied to the CPU, NB etc.

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/ECS/A890GXM-A-Review/g1.htm

Gigabyte’s GA-890GPA-UD3H is based on the AMD 890GX+SB850 chipset. This new chipset features support for future 6 core CPU from AMD (Thuban) and now supports the native 6Gbps (SATA3) interface for HDD/SSD in RAID 0,1,5,10. It also has an integrated ATi Radeon HD 4290 (DX10.1) graphics with 128M sideport memory support. Just like its predecessor 790GX, it supports ATI CrossFireX, Hybrid Graphics.

Gigabyte’s GA-890GPA-UD3H features on its branding of “333″ – USB 3, Power 3X and SATA 3.0. As we all know, Gigabyte started the trend of embedding the NEC USB 3.0 chip on its P55 and H55 board last year. It had since released new models for both platforms. With the new AMD 890GX which offers better bandwidth, you can now get true USB 3.0 performance as the NEC USB 3.0 controller is now connected with 5Gb/s using native PCIe x1 2.0 from the AMD 890GX chipset.

On top of that, Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H comes with Ultra Durable3 that is 2oz copper PCB, 50,000 hrs Japanese solid caps and Dual BIOS. It incorporated a 4+1 power phase design for maximum stability. For the energy conscious, it has an Easy Energy Saver feature too. It is EuP Ready as well.

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/GIGABYTE/GA-890GPA-UD3H-Review/g1.htm

One of the models that will be shown is the ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3. This board, just like other AMD 890GX boards supports the AM3 Phenom II processors including the future Thuban 6 core processors. It also support Hybrid CrossFire and CrossFire X (Dual PCIe x 8). It also has option to overclock the Sideport memory and wide range of voltage adjustments in the BIOS. By virtue of SB850 south bridge, ASUS brings SATA3 (6Gbps) support to the boad.

The board comes with 4 DIMM slots that can accommodate up to 16GB of DDR3-1866(oc). It has 2 PCIe express 2.0×16 slot supporting ATI CrossfireX (dual 8x), 1 PCI express 2.0 x 4 and 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x 1, 2x PCI slots. Storage wise, it has 1 UDMA 133 for 2 PATA devices, 6 SATA 6Gbps ports with RAID 0,1,5,10 support and 1 eSATA 3Gb/s port (SATA on the go) port. The board also supports 12 USB 2.0/1.1 ports and 2 USB 3.0 ports using NEC controller chip. The on board 8 channel audio uses Realtek ALC892 CODEC and Gigabit Ethernet LAN is based on Realtek 8111E chipset.

Other than the standard chipset functions, one of the key feature on this board is the Core Unlocker. With a simple switch, it unlocks the hidden cores on your dual or tri core processor and turn it into a quad core processor (some processors might not be stable when hidden cores are enabled). It also has GPU Boost which gives instant iGPU level up in real time.

Turbo EVO is present on this board which gives you the ultimate OC in terms of stability and performance on the processor used using the option CPU Level UP! Other features include MemOK! EuP support.

Read Review :

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/ASUS/M4A89GTD-PRO-USB3-Review/g1.htm

If you remember, users are excited with Phenom II X3 710 or Phenom II 550BE as such processors have hidden cores that can be enabled by ACC feature which is supported on the SB710 or SB750 south bridges. Unfortunately, this won’t work with AMD 890GX as it is now paired with SB850 south bridge since the ACC feature is no longer available.

ASRock seems to have found a way to enable the hidden cores without ACC, they call it UCC (Unlock CPU Core). Not only 890GX board, ASRock also implemented it on entry level board NVIDIA N68 boards.

Below is a video which demonstrates how it is done using the ASRock

Sony today announces the new BRAVIA 3D TV LX900 and 3 other new BRAVIA series of LCD TV. So how does it work and what is installed ?

The new 3D BRAVIA LX900 will be available in Singapore in Summer 2010 and the BRAVIA EX400, BRAVIA EX300 and BRAVIA BX series are now available at all Sony authorized retailers. Suggested retail pricing are as follows:

Read our coverage to find out more.

Gigabyte, being the leader of innovation always surprises us with interesting boards. Today, we take a look at its Intel H55 chipset mainboard – GA-H55M-USB3.

From the name itself, you can easily guess it is a mATX board based on Intel H55 chipset. This new series of chipset supports the Clarkdale processors with integrated graphics built inside the core. It supports Intel Core™ i7/ Core™ i5/ Core™ i3 LGA1156 processors. This is further enhanced with its Ultra Durable™ 3 technology with 2oz copper PCB design, Smart 6 technology for smarter PC management and Dynamic Energy Saver™ 2 technology enables best energy efficiency.

In terms of multimedia, the Intel HD Graphics integrated with the processor delivers smooth playback of HD contents through its integrated HDMI, DVI or Display port interface. It also supports Dolby Home Theater audio to create a stunning surround sound listening experience using a high-performance DAC with 108 dB Signal-to-Noise ratio playback chipset.

Quite different from other vendor’s H55 solutions, this board comes with NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 with superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps. It also has 3X USB power delivery for greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices. The board also supports EuP standard.

Read Review

It is easy to join in the contest. Follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ocworkbench or join our FAN page at Facebook. Retweet or mention the following in tweet/facebook

“Register in OCWORKBENCH contest at http://forums.ocworkbench.com and win ASRock SATA3 (6bps) card”
Answer a simple question Yes/No answer at this link http://forums.ocworkbench.com/showth…589#post458589
Winners will be notified via email.

Contest begins on 13 Feb 2010 and ends on 27 Feb 2010 (2 weeks). This contest is open to all international readers and we will ship it to you for free.

Answer this question to WIN ASRock SATA3 (6Gbps) card

Is the ASRock SATA3 card the most flexible SATA3 card solution in the world ? Yes / No ?

You can reply or PM me the answer.

BIOSTAR TH55XE is the one of the 3 Intel H55 chipset BIOSTAR launched. It is a mATX form factor board and supports the supports Intel 32nm Clarkdale Core i5/i3/Pentium 45/32nm series processors. For maximum stability, BIOSTAR introduces an all solid state power capacitors, 7 phase CPU power supply, new generation of energy-saving “Dura Max” technology, accurate circuit design, and Japan made PSE capacitor that ensures product durability and stability.

Other HW design includes four memory slots, support dual-channel DDR3-1800/1600/1333 memory frequency, with maximum capacity up to 16G. One PCI-E x 16 provides best graphics extension; there is also a PCI-E x 1 and two PCI slots. There are also 5 SATA 3.0 Gbps + 1 e-SATA interface port for HDD. The board also incorporates a Realtek 8111DL 10/100/1000 LAN adapter, 7.1 channel HD audio support, 1394, rich multimedia IO interface, including HDMI + VGA + DVI fulfill high standard home entertainment environments.

T-series are meant for overclockers. The board comes with a BIOS that is already overclocked out of the box. Just select the O.N.E and you will see the options V6, V9 or V12, select save and exit and you have an overclocked system. For more precise overclocking, this can be done through BIOS or TOVCLOCKER software within Windows.

Read Review

As most countries are still struggling to improve the speeds of its HSPA+ network to achieve 21Mbps. We are pushing forward with 4G LTE. So, will it be able to reach the up to 50Mbps data rate ? Check out the article for details
Read the full details here.

Here is a picture of the device from Samsung which can be connected to the wireless network.

Looks like every manufacturer will be enhancing their boards with USB 3 and SATA 3 on their boards. Just after we saw the new ASRock P55 Deluxe3, ASRock has the X58 Deluxe3 which is based on the INTEL X58 chipset for LGA1366 processor.

Below is the specification of the X58 Deluxe3

Intel® Socket 1366 Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition / Core™ i7 Processor Supports Intel® Dynamic Speed Technology System Bus up to 6400 MT/s; Intel® QuickPath Interconnect ASRock DuraCap (2.5 x longer life time), 100% Japan-made high-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors Intel® X58 + ICH10R Chipsets Supports Triple Channel DDR3 2000(OC)/1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333(OC)/1066 (6 x DIMM slots) non-ECC, un-buffered memory, Max. capacity up to 24GB Supports DDR3 ECC, un-buffered memory with Intel® Workstation 1S Xeon® processors 3500 series Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) 4 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (blue @ x8 / x16 mode, orange @ x8 / N/A mode) (Double-wide slot spacing between each PCI-E slot) Supports ATI™ Quad CrossFireX™, 3-Way CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™ Supports NVIDIA® Quad SLI™, 3-Way SLI™ and SLI™ PCIE x1 Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s 6 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID10, RAID 5 and Intel® Matrix Storage), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug functions 1 x Powered eSATAII/USB Connector Supports 2 x IEEE1394 ports (one port on back panel, one header on board) 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection, supports DAC with 110dB dynamic range (ALC890 Audio Codec) Premium Blu-ray audio support Compatible with Windows® 7 Supports ASRock Instant Boot, Instant Flash, OC Tuner, IES, OC DNA Free Bundle: CyberLink DVD Suite – OEM and Trial; Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB – Trial Free Bundle: 2 x ASRock XFire_Bridge_3S Cards, 1 x ASRock SLI_Bridge_3S Card, 1 x ASRock 3-Way SLI Bridge Card, 1 x ASRock SATA3 Card, 1 x ASRock USB 3.0 Card I/O Panel : 1 x Coaxial SPDIF Out Port, 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port, 6 x Ready-to-Use USB 2.0 Ports, 1 x Powered eSATAII/USB Connector, 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED, 1 x IEEE 1394 Port This model may not be sold worldwide. Please contact your local dealer for the availability of this model in your region.

February. 5, 2010, Taipei, Taiwan – ASRock Inc. the leading motherboard manufacturer proudly launch one of its True 333 series motherboard – P55 Deluxe3. Continuing in P55 Deluxe tradition, P55 Deluxe3 offers the awesome features for PC DIYers and gaming enthusiasts, such as NVIDIA Quad SLI and ATI Quad CrossFireX as well as the most desirable SATA3 (6Gb/s), USB3.0 (5Gb/s), eSATA3 technologies.

P55 Deluxe3 Introduction
P55 Deluxe3 supports Intel® CoreTM i7 / i5 / i3 and Pentium® G6950 Processors with Intel® Turbo Boost technology in the LGA1156 Package. Unprecedentedly designed with Intel® Turbo Boost Monitor which allows you to monitor the CPU Turbo Boost frequency more conveniently! P55 Deluxe3 is an ATX form factor motherboard, features ASRock DuraCap (2.5 x longer life time) – 100% Japan-made all solid capacitor design. Equipped with 4 DIMM slots capable of supporting world’s fastest DDR3 2600+(OC) memory, GLAN, 2 PCIE 2.0 x 16 slots (single at x16; dual at x8 / x8), supporting ATI™ CrossFireX™, Quad CrossFireX™, NVIDIA® SLI® and Quad SLI®. For audio aspect, P55 Deluxe3 features 7.1 CH, VIA VT2020 audio codec with Premium Blu-ray audio support (DAC with 110dB dynamic range). Ultimate components include C.C.O., 2 x SATA3 6Gb/s connectors, 1 x Powered eSATAIII/USB2.0 connector, 2 x USB3.0 connector, smart switch design, Dr. Debug and CPU/Chassis Fan Multi-Speed Control.

For software aspect, P55 Deluxe3 is compatible with Instant Boot, Instant Flash, Smart BIOS, EZ OC, OC Tuner, OC DNA, IES, Good Night LED and ASRock Software Suite. Certainly, ASRock P55 boards are all compatible with Microsoft® Windows® 7. To realize the green computing concept, ASRock P55 Deluxe3 has also achieved the European EuP standard.
ASRock Exclusive True 333
The ASRock True 333 Onboard motherboards born to bring the truth and presents an exactly true computing standard by combining the world’s highest speed transfer technologies. As the industry’s leader, ASRock is keen on providing the most demanding technology and has once again proof its innovative capability by True 333 series mainboards. ASRock True 333 series motherboards deliver the unmatched performance with the onboard acceleration of the latest USB3.0 from NEC with advanced 10X faster speed 5Gb/s; SATA3 technologies from Marvell with up to 6Gb/s data transfer speed, and the most convenient connectivity of eSATA3 devices.

ASRock True 333 Bridge

As we know, Intel P55 Chipset only provides PCI-E 1.0 x1 bandwidth (2.5GT/s). However, it is definitely not enough for the latest SATA3 (6Gb/s) and USB 3.0 (5 Gb/s) bandwidth. Other 333 series motherboard may use the PCI-E 2.0 lane which comes from CPU for the SATA3 and USB 3.0, but it will suffer the PCI-E VGA slot downgrade from x16 to x8 or can’t run SLI/CrossFire. Thus, ASRock integrates the True 333 Bridge on P55 Deluxe3 and it provides the PCI-E 2.0 bandwidth for SATA3 and USB 3.0. Choose ASRock P55 Deluxe3, you don’t have to suffer anything!

ASRock True 333 P.K. Other 333
Do you desire the real speed computing? Of course, you do! ASRock True 333 series motherboards can run the PCI-E for VGA card, SATA3 and USB3.0 at full speed together at the same time. However, other 333 series motherboards can only run one of them at full speed at one time. If you are an eagle-eyed user looking for the true exciting computing, ASRock True 333 series motherboard can satisfy you with a completed and qualified PC experience!

BIOSTAR “TA890GXE” Preview

Taipei, Taiwan, Feb 2, 2010 – BIOSTAR MICROTECH INT’L CORP., a professional manufacturer of motherboards today announced its compatible motherboard lineup “TA890GXE” constructed supporting AMD AM3 processors as well as upcoming Thuban 6 core processor and with DDR3 support. The 890GX is basically an upgrade of the 790GX with internal graphics core remains at 700MHz, added DX10.1 and UVD 2.0 support. It can be setup to run Dual 8x crossfire. The south bridge SB850 is an upgrade from SB750, it includes SATA3 (6Gbps) but no USB 3.0 support yet.

“TA890GXE”, among BIOSTAR T-Series product group; ATX form factor with 4 DIMM slots, ATI Hybrid Graphics support, SATA3 (6Gbps), eSATA, IEEE 1394, on-board 128M DDR3 side port memory, GbE LAN, 8 channel audio support, and 100% X.D.C Japanese solid capacitor. In addition, it also adopts BIOSTAR unique “G.P.U II – Green Power Utility”, “D.P.U – Digital Power Unit”, and “BIO-Remote Utility”.

“G.P.U II – Green Power Utility”, it enhance energy efficiency by disabling extra phases while CPU on light loading. It integrated a friendly GUI to monitor CPU resourcing, response and optimized the power saving on your system; it also provides the best power efficiency and remains the same 3Dmark performance while running a heavy loading.

“D.P.U – Digital Power Unit”, on-board digital power control IC that provides ultimate reliability and highest performance control. It guarantees precise control of the power phases to insure maximum operating efficiency and minimum operating thermals. It enables the fastest digital response to CPU demands with digital transient response. Furthermore, it’s the most reliable power solution with thermal control of each phase.

“BIO-Remote Utility”, with on-board Consumer IR header comes with a MCE Remote Controller (optional) certified by Microsoft makes a perfect combination for in-home entertainments. It works with the MCE in Windows 7 to easy access TV, Music, Photo, DVD all kinds of digital media; users can enjoy the digital contents with friendly on-screen menu that is special designed for remote control interaction, provides fun, energizing and integrated digital media experiences.

BIOSTAR famous T-series, “TH55XE” offers m-ATX form factor, a stylish black PCB, supports Intel 32nm Clarkdale Core i5/i3/Pentium 45/32nm series processors. All solid state power capacitors, 7 phase CPU power supply, new generation of energy-saving “Dura Max” technology, accurate circuit design, and Japan made PSE capacitor that ensures product durability and stability. Intel Core i5 / i3 processor with “TH55XE” is a perfect combination that delivers screaming computer power for professional and general purpose users.

Other HW design includes four memory slots, support dual-channel DDR3-1800/1600/1333 memory frequency, with maximum capacity up to 16G. One PCI-E x 16 provides best graphics extension; there is also a PCI-E x 1 and two PCI slots. Five SATA 3.0 Gbps, one e-SATA interface guarantees the best data transfer speed. On-board Realtek 8111DL 10/100/1000 LAN adapter, 7.1 channel HD audio support, rich multimedia IO interface, including HDMI + VGA + DVI fulfill high standard home entertainment environments.

Models	TH55XE	TH55 HD	TH55B HD
Photo
CPU	Core i3/i5/i7 (Socket 1156)	Core i3/i5/i7 (Socket 1156)	Core i3/i5/i7 (Socket 1156)
Power phase	7	7	5
PCIEx16	1	1	1
Memory	4DIMM DDR3 2000+	4DIMM DDR3 1800+	4DIMM DDR3 1800+
Video-out	HDMI+DVI+D-sub	HDMI+DVI+D-sub	HDMI+DVI+D-sub
Audio	8 channel	8 channel	6 channel
Thermal	Heat sink (Chip+MOS)	Heat sink (Chip)	Heat sink (Chip)
Dura-MAX	Yes	–	–
POWER SAVING	G.P.U	G.P.U	G.P.U
Caps	100% Solid	100% Solid	CPU In /Out
1394 / eSATA	Yes / Yes	–	–
Software	TOVCLOCKER	TOVCLOCKER	TOVCLOCKER

More photos

We take a quick first hand look at the Motorola DEXT Android phone in Singapore. This phone comes with MOTOBLUR which is a customised UI over the Android 1.5 Cupcake. See how it works and find out the details in the first look review.

Read it now
http://www.ocworkbench.com/2010/MOTOROLA/motorola-dext-review/p1.htm