Below is the retail price of the variou brand of AMD Radeon HD 7970 graphics card. You can get them from Sim Lim Square.

Asus 7970 3GB – $928
MSI 7970 3GB – $928
PowerColor 7970 3GB – $888
Sapphire 7970 3GB – $888
XFX 7970 Black Edition 3GB – $938

AMD Launches AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6990M — World’s Fastest Single Mobile Graphics ProcessorNewest Addition to AMD Radeon(TM) Family Raises the Bar on Unprecedented GPU Power for Mobile Gaming Enthusiasts
SUNNYVALE, CA, Jul 12, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — AMD AMD -0.59%  today launched the AMD Radeon(TM) HD 6990M GPU — the world’s fastest single mobile graphics processor — an uncompromising GPU that delivers massive computing power to mobile users. The AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPU was measured to be up to 25 percent faster than any other announced notebook enthusiast GPU(1). Furthermore, hardcore gamers can experience additional gaming performance through AMD CrossFireX(TM) technology.
Ultra-fast performance and portability is imperative for enthusiast mobile gamers who crave technology that helps deliver an incredible gaming experience with the latest graphic-intensive titles. With the arrival of the AMD Radeon 6990M GPU and the recently launched AMD A-Series Accelerated Processors (APU), AMD is pushing graphics capabilities to the limits for a wide range of notebook form factors and price points while enhancing the experience through technologies like AMD CrossFireX(TM) and Dual Graphics(2,3) (using a combination of AMD Radeon GPUs or an AMD Radeon(TM) GPU and an AMD APU). AMD CrossFireX technology combines the output of two GPUs that helps deliver increased performance, allowing gamers to immediately notice higher resolutions and greater image quality. With two AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPUs and AMD CrossFireX technology enabled, the notebook gamer can appreciate exceptional performance scaling in their favorite games.
“There’s always been a belief that when it comes to mobile computing you need to make performance compromises. Today AMD demolishes that myth,” said Matt Skynner, corporate vice president and general manager, GPU division, AMD. “The AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPU, which not only packs AMD Eyefinity technology with unprecedented specs, also provides full Microsoft DirectX(R) 11 and Stereo 3D support. Bottom line, this processor is epic and it’s here — now.”
The AMD Radeon HD 6990M also represents a significant upgrade from AMD’s current gaming notebook graphics solution, the AMD Radeon HD 6970M, raising the bar from both a performance and image quality perspective. With support for DirectX(R) 11, users can expect ultra-fast frame rates and superior image quality, which gives gamers every advantage their desktop computers once enjoyed exclusively. With AMD Eyefinity technology users can immerse themselves in an ultra-rich environment that supports up to six displays.(4) The AMD Radeon HD 6990M graphics processor also delivers AMD App Acceleration technology(5), which uses the power of the GPU to improve video playback, streaming and faster web browsing with Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla Firefox. AMD HD3D technology(6) ensures mobile users aren’t just watching videos or viewing pictures — rather they become immersed in a truly stereoscopic 3D environment backed by an open ecosystem with supporting software and hardware.
“At its core, the Alienware brand is about pushing the limits and finding new extremes in gaming performance,” said Arthur Lewis, Vice President and General Manager for Alienware. “By offering two AMD Radeon HD 6990M graphics processors in our flagship M18x laptop, Alienware and AMD have come together to provide gamers the ultimate mobile experience.”
As the PC gaming technology leader, AMD is dedicated to delivering the fastest technology and industry support needed to help create the best possible gaming experience on the PC. Whether it’s driving up frame rates, extending quality settings or pushing clock speeds(7), the AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPU is the ideal notebook for hardcore gamers looking to run the industry’s most demanding DirectX 11 games such as Dragon Age 2, DiRT 3 and Shogun 2.
“We’re excited by the new AMD Radeon HD 6990M GPU for enthusiast Clevo notebook users, specially implemented in our X7200/P170HM/P150HM gaming product lines,” said Stephen Chien, Sales and Marketing Vice President, Clevo. “With 2GB GDDR5 memory along with 1.6 teraFlops of raw compute power and 1120 stream processing units, those notebook users will reign supreme. The AMD Radeon HD 6990M will help users achieve intense effects and blazing fast frame rates for outstanding performance.”
“Eurocom high performance notebooks offer exceptional performance with the addition of AMD Radeon HD 6990M graphics,” said Mark Bialic, President, Eurocom. “Our customers can expect record breaking gaming with unmatched realism and blistering speeds in all Eurocom systems powered by AMD Radeon HD 6990M in both single and AMD CrossFireX configurations!”

Digitimes reports that AMD has announced it will start selling its new A8-3850 and A6-3650 APUs on July 3, challenging Intel’s Core i3-2120 and Core i3-2100 with quad-core A8-3800 and A6-3600 CPUs set to launch at a later time. There will be about 20 new A, FX and E series CPUs to be launched in the second half of 2011.

The A8-3850 and A6-3650 APUs both feature quad-core designs and discrete graphics-level integrated GPUs, and support AMD’s exclusive software such as Catalyst driver, OpenCL as well as Vision Engine Control Center to allow upgrades and improvements in performance and stability.

Motherboard makers also revealed that AMD will release eight more APUs including A8-3870, A6-3500 and E2-3200 in the fourth quarter with four high-end APUs including FX-8150 set for September, and another four high-end APUs including FX-8170 for the first quarter of 2012.

Following the launch of its Llano APUs in 2011, AMD plans to release 32nm Trinity-series APUs in 2012, which will support DirectX 11 graphics technology and target mainstream and high-performance desktop and notebook segments.

Performance preview of AMD LIano vs Intel Sandy Bridge

In a few more weeks, the Intel Sandy bridge will face a new challenger, the AMD LIano. AMD LIano is the new processor series that is based on AMD Fusion, integrating the graphics processor into the same package of the processor. Also known as APU, it will compete head to head to Intel Sandy bridge which also power an embedded graphcis processor within.

While Intel H55 or Z68 can be paired up with the Core i3/i5 processors for it’s graphics capabilities, the AMD LIano processors have to be paired up with the A75 series motherboards with Socket FM-1.

So, how does the AMD LIano performs against the Intel Sandybridge? We take a look at two comparison running different processors on INTEL and AMD platform for 3DMark Vantage and PC Mark Vantage.

The scores are preliminary based on early beta drivers.

In our News Coverage @ OCWorkbench, we will cover the new products launch or seen at Computex Taipei 2011. If you are a manufacturer or vendor who likes to have your product exposed here, do feel free to drop us an email.

Here is a list of news articles on Computex Taipei 2011 [It will be updated daily]

Computex Taipei 2011 News Coverage AMD Client Platform Roadmap

Computex Taipei 2011 News Coverage AMD announces Trinity, talks Llano, launches Z series at Computex

Computex Taipei 2011 Kingston launches Wireless storage device Wi-Drive for Apple iPad®, iPhone® and iPod touch® users

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Sharkoon Flexi-Drive Ultimate with Eight-channel MLC Architecture | Write Speed up to 120 MB/s, Read Rate up to 200 MB/s

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage ADATA demonstrates fastest RAM Disk scoring 6GB/s READ and 9GBs WRITE

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage MSI displays Afterburner App for Android, the World’sFirst Android-based Overclocking Utility for Graphics Cards:

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage MSI launches Military Class II standard boards – Z68A-GD80, 990FXA-GD80, Big Bang-Marshal (B3)

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3-iSSD integrates mSATA for speed enhancement using ISRT

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte X79A-UD3 Intel X79 futuristic board on display

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte A75-UD4H sighted

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage G.Skill showcases its latest SATA 3 SSD, Phoenix II Pro, and ultra high performance desktop memory series

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte makes Z68 Gaming Board – GA-Z68-Gaming

Computex Taipei 2011 ASUS UX21 subnotebook challenges Mac Air with it’s super thin design

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage ASUS showcase dual socket LGA1366 and LGA2011 ROG motherboard “DANSHUI BAY”

Computex Taipei 2011 MSI shows sub 300 dollars 7″ and 10″ WindPad

Computex Taipei 2011 GIGABYTE Launches New AMD 900 Series Motherboards Delivers 4-way SLI™ andCrossFireX™ Support for the First Time on the AMD Platform

Computex Taipei 2011 Qualcomm’s new chipset to be featured on Taiwan tablet PCs

Computex Taipei 2011 ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX available in market

Computex Taipei 2011 Shuttle launches Tablets based on Nvidia Tegra2

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage ASUS CrossHair V Formula AMD 990FX board Video

Computex Taipei 2011 INTEL Shows X79 mainboards ASUS CIX79 Deluxe, ASROCK X79 Extreme4, Gigabyte GD X79A-UD3 and the MSI X79A-GD65

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage ASUS unveils PadFone, a tablet that comes equipped with an integrated smartphone docking station

Computex Taipei 2011 ASUS CrossHair V Formula AMD 990FX board sighted

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte announces S1080 Windows 7 tablet with USB 3.0 and optical drive dock

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Exclusive Performance preview of AMD LIano vs Intel Sandy Bridge

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage NVIDIA to showcase Tegra 3 mobile quad core processor

Computex Taipei 2011 Coverage Gigabyte showcase AMD Fusion board A75-UD4H

Computex Taipei 2011 ECS A75F-A(v10) AMD Fusion motherboard on show at Computex

Computex Taipei 2011 ECS unveils it’s ECS Black Extreme A990FXM-A Motherboard

Computex Taipei 2011 Gigabyte announces GA-990FXA-UD3 AMD 990FX SB950 AM3+ motherboard

Computex Taipei 2011 ASUS Padfone, Android 3.1 for Transformer update

Computex Taipei 2011 ECS to showcase AMD 990FX board A990FXM-A (V1.0)

Computex Taipei 2011 GIGABYTE Offers Bundle on Z68XP-UD3-iSSD Motherboard featuring 20GB Intel® SSD 311 Series to support Intel Smart Response Technology

Computex Taipei 2011 Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 will have PCIe based SSD slot to support Intel Smart Response Technology

Computex Taipei 2011 AMD’s LIano and Bulldozer delayed to August ? [updated]

Computex Taipei 2011 – AMD A75 boards to be displayed by major brands

Computex Taipei 2011 – ASRock to showcase AMD 990FX board 990FX Extreme4, AMD A75 board A75 Extreme6 and Intel Z68 board Fatal1ty Z68 Professional at Computex Taipei 2011

ECS Presents A75 Series with the latest AMD A series APU with AMD Hudson D3 chipset and AMD FM-1 socket

It will also be available at http://computextaipei.wordpress.com

Taipei, Taiwan, 17 May, 2011 – GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to present overclock edition of GeForce® GTX 560 graphics card (GV-N56GOC-1GI). With NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 560 GPU and high speed GDDR5 memory, GIGABYTE GTX 560 Overclock Edition delivers outstanding 1080p gaming experience. What’s more, it features GIGABYTE’s new WINDFORCETM 2X thermal solution with king-size 100mm inclined fans and Direct Heat Pipe Touch technology. With these innovative technologies, new WINDFORCETM 2X runs at only 31 dB within full loading. GIGABYTE GTX 560 Overclock Edition also adapts GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA materials and guarantees best gaming experience. It also features NVIDIA 3D VisionTM, 3D VisionTM Surround, SLI, CUDATM, PhysX®, and Microsoft DirectX 11 technologies.
 
New WINDFORCETM 2X – Super Cool! Whisper Quiet!
GIGABYTE always dedicates to providing the best thermal solution for serious gamers. New WINDFORCETM 2X features two 100mm inclined fans and four pure copper heat pipes. With 100mm fans, the card is virtually silent that its noise level runs 31dB at full loading. Each fan has 30.5 CFM airflow to enhance heat dissipation. With king-size fans and inclined fan design, heat can dissipate quickly by the most effective airflow. New WINDFORCETM 2X also adapts Direct Heat Pipe Touch technology. This means that heat pipes physically contact with GPU directly. Processor’s heat will transfer to heat pipes and fins.
 
Ultra Durable VGA
The patent technology of GIGABYTE – Ultra Durable VGA Technology, guarantees better overclocking capability, lower GPU temperature, and great power efficiency. It features 2 oz PCB board, Samsung and Hynix memory, Japanese solid capacitors, Ferrite/Metal core chokes, and Low RDS (on) mosfet. With industry’s leading quality, GIGABYTE GTX 560 Overclock Edition graphics card can once again makes the most critical gamers satisfied!

ECS New GeForce GTX 560 Graphics Card Presents the Powerful Graphics Ability with CoolFast Technology
Taipei, Taiwan, May, 2011 – Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the world’s leading motherboard, graphics card, barebone system, and notebook manufacturer unveils the newest ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 graphics card with DirectX® 11 solution. GeForceTM GTX 560 graphics card are built with an NVIDIA® GeForceTM 560 graphics processing units (GPU) come with 336 CUDA cores and 256-bit GDDR5 1024MB at 4000 MHz memory clock to present the breathtaking calculating speed for graphics.
CoolFast for 20% More Heat Dissipation
ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 graphics card designed with cutting-edge welding technology—CoolFast to connect the bottom of cooler with heat pipe; in this way, the heat will directly transfer to heat pipe without the intermediary of a piece of copper to achieve higher heat dissipation. The advanced cooler technology would help to improve 20% more cooling ability.
 
DirectX® 11, the Whole New Age of Gaming Experience
With NVIDIA® CUDATM technology, ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 fully fulfills gamer’s requirement for the latest DirectX® 11, Open CL and Open GL 4.1, which will become mainstream requirement for high-performance games. ECS GTX 560 also contains NVIDIA® PhysX® technology enabling more dynamic and realistic gaming interaction and NVIDIA® 3D VisionTM ready for 3D performance and entertainment experience.
 
Multi-Output, Solid Design
Moreover, ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 equips with dual DVI-I and mini-HDMI outputs to multiple your enjoyment of vision. Besides, ECS GTX 560 built up with all solid capacitor to ensure the longer lifespan of the graphics card. All solid capacitor design also makes sure more stable current to protect your graphics card.
 
The First Choice for Performance
As the new member of NVIDIA® performance level, ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 presents high cost/performance ratio for gaming users. As an advanced version of GTX460, ECS GTX 560 amazingly reveals up to almost 40% more gaming power performance combining CoolFast cooling technology supports the latest graphics language DirectX® 11 achieving satisfied performance. ECS GeForceTM GTX 560 proves itself to be the top choice of high-end graphics cards.

ASRock to introduce 3 Intel Z68 boards next month – Z68 Extreme4, Z68 Pro3 and Z68 Pro3-M

ASRock will be releasing 3 new boards based on the INTEL Z68 chipset next month. Z68 chipset bridges the best of both Intel P67 and H67 chipset, allowing you to overclock and tap the power of the graphics capability within your processor even with an additional graphics card is installed.

There will be 3 models, Z68 Extreme4, Z68 Pro3 and Z68 Pro3-M. The first 2 are ATX boards and Z68 Pro3-M is a mATX board.

All 3 boards supporst the 2nd generation Intel Core i7/i3/i3 LGA 1155 processors and K-series processors.

The Z68 Extreme4 being the highest end of the trio comes with 3x PCIe2.0 x16, supports ATI Quad CrossFireX, QUad SLI and has 2 PCIe 2.0 x1 slots. Z68 Pro3 only has 1 PCIe 2.0×16 and 3 PCIe 2.0×1 while the Z68 Pro3-M has 1 x PCIe 2.0×16 and 2 x PCIe 2.0×1

For graphics, all 3 boards uses the Intel HD graphics and has output ports D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI and DIsplayport. The Z68 Pro3 only has D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI.

All 3 boards has 7.1ch HD audio with Z68 Extreme4 with one step up supporting THX TruStudio.

In terms of audio, Z68 Extreme4 has 4 SATA3, 1 eSATA3, 4 SATA2. Z68 Pro3 has 2 SATA2, 4 SATA2 while the Z68 Pro3-M has 2 SATA3 and 3 SATA2 ports.

The Z68 Extreme4 has the most USB ports. It has 4 USB 3.0 (2 front, 2 read) and 10 USB 2.0. The Z68 Pro3 has 2 USB 3.0 and 8 USB 2.0. The Z68 Pro3-M has 2 USB 3.0 and 10 USB 2.0 ports.

All 3 boards supports the Intel Smart Response, Lucid Vartu and XFast USB.

ASRock XFast USB Technology redefines the new standard in high performance computing. Proving once
again to be the pioneer in motherboard industry, ASRock XFast USB Series Motherboards integrate with
the latest XFast USB Technology which delivers the world’s fastest USB data transfer speed. The ASRock XFast USB technology can even boost USB 3.0 performance up to 185.52%!

With Lucid Virtu software, next-generation PCs with 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ processor platforms will
dynamically assign tasks in real time to the best available graphics resource based on power, performance and
features.

CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 trial now supports Intel® Quick Sync Video hardware transcoding and is optimized for second generation Core i7, i5, and i3 processors to accelerated conversion of all your favorite media files for your favorite portable players. Now you can easily display your favorite movies, songs and photos on iPhone, iPad, PSP, Xbox, Youtube, Facebook etc. Compile, convert and enjoy images and songs as much as you want and enhance your videos to new levels with TrueTheater Technology.

For users who are tempted to connect the SSD and HDD on ASRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard, the Intel Smart Response Technology can make the SSD become the “Cache of the HDD” to boost up the HDD
access speed.

Even when the system is power off (in ACPI S5 mode), On/Off Play Technology still allows users to enjoy
the great audio experience from the portable audio devices through the PC speaker.

The ASRock Z68 Extreme4 is also equipped with ASRock On/Off technology for music playback and a free bundle of the Front USB 3.0 panel and Cyberlink Mediaespresso 6.5 trial is included in the package.

Taipei, Taiwan, March 25, 2011 – GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch its latest premium graphics card – GV-N590D5-3GD-B. With two NVIDIA GeForceTM GTX 500 series GPUs on a single board and high speed GDDR5 memory, GV-N590D5-3GD-B is the world’s fastest DirectX 11 graphics card on the planet for gamers who need top performance. GV-N590D5-3GD-B features all innovative technologies including Microsoft DirectX 11, NVIDIA 3D VisionTM Surround, Quad NVIDIA SLI, CUDATM, and PhysX®. To cater to professional hard core gamers, GIGABYTE presents GV-N590D5-3GD-B premium packaging with GV-N590D5-3GD-B graphics card and GIGABYTE gaming mouse M8000Xtreme. Gamers can conquer all blockbuster games easily with GIGABYTE GV-N590D5-3GD-B premium packaging.

Heart-Pounding Gaming Experience
GV-N590D5-3GD-B features two GeForceTM GTX 500 series GPUs on a single board with 1024 CUDA cores (512 CUDA cores per GPU) and 3072MB memory size (1536MB per GPU). It delivers massive tessellation performance under its GPU architecture and can provide incredibly detailed environments and characters. In addition, GV-N590D5-3GD-B is equipped with one mini DisplayPort and three dual link DVI outputs to enable panoramic gaming across multiple screens from a single card.

Ready to Conquer with GV-N590D5-3GD-B Premium Packaging
Serious gamers deserve the most powerful gaming gear and GIGABYTE GV-N590D5-3GD-B premium packaging is designed for this. Combining GV-N590D5-3GD-B with M8000Xtreme gaming mouse in one package, gamers can beat any game easily with this special kit. M8000X gaming mouse supports high resolution up to 6000 DPI gaming grade precision and has built-in 32KB GHOSTTM engine supporting 70 onboard macros. Its powerful macro editor is able to record, read, and edit the desired scripts. In addition, M8000X’s gen-2 GHOSTTM Engine software features drag & drop structure. All settings can be easily done once dragging the drag icon on assigned macros. M8000X also provides the option to adjust and balance mouse weight ranging from 6g to 38g.

MSI Unveils N550GTX-Ti Graphics cards Featuring Cyclone II Cooling and Propeller Blade Technology

Runs 23 Degrees Cooler than Reference Board with 20% More Airflow and 10% More Overclocking Potential

[Taipei - Taiwan] Leading global graphics card and motherboard maker MSI today officially unveils the N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GD5 and N550GTX-Ti-M2D1GD5 graphics cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti GPU.  With 1GB, 192-bit bandwidth graphics memory, the MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GD5 features the new Cyclone II cooling solution. MSI’s exclusive “Propeller Blade” technology provides improved cooling performance with 20% more airflow compared to conventional fans. Matched with the popular Cyclone Heatsink, the result is an operating temperature 23 degrees lower than the reference board under full load! The latest MSI Afterburner V2.1.0 overclocking utility¹ can also adjust the GPU voltage of the graphics card, boosting overclocking performance by more than 10% to fully unleash the card’s potential². The new MSI N550GTX-Ti graphics card utilizes the latest Military Class components to extend service life and durability. The N550GTX-Ti graphics cards also support NVIDIA’s proprietary PhysX and 3D Vision technologies so you can enjoy stereoscopic 3D entertainment in the comfort of your own home!

20% More Airflow with Exclusive Propeller Blade Technology

The MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GD5 graphics card is equipped with the new Cyclone II Heatsink module featuring MSI’s innovative Propeller Blade technology. Air channels on the edge of the fan blades expand airflow coverage and increased airflow by 20% compared to conventional fans! Oversized 9cm PWM fans, large nickel-plated copper Heatsink base and high-density circular radiator fins all serve to dissipate heat rapidly away from the GPU, enabling the new N550GTX-Ti Cyclone II 1GD5 to run 23 degrees cooler than the reference board under full load!

GPU Overvoltage Support from MSI’s Exclusive Afterburner Overclocking Utility

The latest Afterburner V2.1.0 overclocking utility from MSI not only supports advanced fan speed control based on GPU temperature, but can also store up to five sets of fan speed settings based on different usage scenarios. Real-time monitoring of GPU temperature, frequency, voltage, load and fan speeds give the users complete control over every aspect of the graphics card. The new Kombustor V2.0.0 burn-in utility allows enthusiasts to keep a continuous watch over overclocking stability. An additional feature is the Predator video capture function that allows gamers to capture classic moments in games and share them across the web. Afterburner 2.1 can also be used to adjust the GPU voltage of the N550GTX-Ti graphics cards to increase their overclocking potential and unleash the card’s full performance.

Solid State Chokes and Ultra-Long Life Capacitors

The MSI N550GTXTi graphics cards uses Solid State Choke (SSC) to prevent high-frequency “BUZZ” noise from overclocking or high loads. All Solid Cap long-life capacitors also provide over 10 years of service life. The use of these Military Class Concept components reduces the chance of system crashes or instability over time, delivering the most stable user experience.

Support for 3D Vision Display Technology

The new N550GTX-Ti graphics cards support PhysX physics acceleration and 3D Vision technology. With 3D high-definition video set to become the new de-facto standard in visual technology, the MSI N550GTX-Ti graphics cards are without a doubt the best choice for 3D gaming and AV entertainment. The included HDMI 1.4a port supports the 7.1 channel TrueHD and DTS-HD lossless high-quality audio standards to provide the best sound experience.

GIGABYTE Unveils NVIDIA GeForce^TM GTX 550 Ti Overclock Edition Graphics Cards

10cm fan makes the card virtually silent

Taipei, Taiwan, 16 March, 2010 – GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to present overclock edition of GeForce^TM GTX 550 Ti graphics card: GV-N550OC-1GI. Built with NVIDIA’s latest 40mn GPU and GDDR5 memory, GV-N550OC-1GI has extraordinary overclocking ability and outperforms generic GTX 550 Ti graphics card by 6% (3DMark Vantage Extreme mode). In addition, GV-N550OC-1GI is equipped with GIGABYTE’s latest in-house cooler design. With this new cooler and GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA materials, GV-N550OC-1GI runs much cooler and quieter than standard GTX 550 Ti graphics card does. Also, GV-N550OC-1GI provides all innovative features including NVIDIA 3D Vision^TM, SLI, CUDA^TM, PhysX®, and Microsoft DirectX 11 technologies.

GV-N550OC-1GI masters the balance of overclocking ability and graphics card stability to provide gamers with a reliable gaming environment. Also, as opposed to the stereotype, GIGABYTE is able to maximize fan size to 10cm with the latest cooling design, this fan also includes a pure copper node inside. With a 10cm fan, the card is virtually silent that its noise level runs from 21.7 dBA to 28 the loudest. With these innovations, GV-N550OC-1GI runs 8.7% cooler than generic GTX 550 Fan sink.

GIGABYTE’s own Ultra Durable VGA Technology guarantees better overclocking capability, lower GPU temperature, and great power efficiency by using 2 oz PCB board, Samsung and Hynix memory, Japanese solid capacitors, Ferrite/Metal core chokes, and Low RDS (on) mosfet. With industry’s leading quality, GIGABYTE graphics cards are able to satisfy the most critical gamers.

Gigabyte E350N-USB3 AMD Brazos Mainboard Review Intro
Bluetooth 8 Mar 2011

AMD has been busy with developing the APU for some years. With Intel releasing it’s latest H67 processors with embedded graphics, AMD’s game plan is to tackle it’s competitor from bottom up, e.g. low processor speed high performance graphics at a good price point.

Known as the AMD brazos, the GA-E350N-USB3 comes with an APU and the Fusion Controller HUB (FCH). The APU integrates a CPU and a graphics processor inside one unit. The embedded graphics is a DX11 AMD Radeon HD 6310 class graphics. The mainboard supports only 2 DIMMs running single channel memory architecture of up to 8GB of DDR3-1333(OC)/1066.

As this board is meant to be a low power deskbook, it only has a TDP of only 18W, making it a direct competitor to the Atom processors from Intel.

Other specifications of this board include 1 full length PCI e 2.0 slot running at PCIe x4. On board 8 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0 (NEC) ports, SATA 6Gbps x 4.3 display ports D-SUB, HDMI and DVI-D. The audio uses Realtek ALC892 w Dolby home theatre.

Below is the unboxing of the package.

ASUS Launches the HD 6990 Graphics Card

Dual-core design optimizes the latest and fastest-ever AMD graphics technology for winning gaming performance

Singapore (March 8, 2011) – PC gamers have a new standard-setting graphics card to look forward to in the form of the ASUS HD 6990. A true powerhouse, it uses dual HD 6970 cores on one printed circuit board, doubling the power while maintaining streamlined energy draw requirements. With ASUS exclusive Voltage Tweak, it pushes the card to run at up to 1245 MHz* for sheer gaming performance in the highest possible resolutions and with all effects and details turned up to maximum. The HD 6990 represents the very top-end of AMD-sourced technology.

• Based on AMD Antilles GPU architecture, the HD 6990 offers hardcore PC gamers and DIY builders the fastest dual-core graphics card ever produced using AMD technology. It represents the pinnacle of the Windows® 7 and DirectX® 11-optimized Northern Islands series of GPUs from AMD.
• Massive 4GB of GDDR5 video memory surpasses anything previously deployed in the Northern Islands series, giving games and other applications enormous breathing room for enhanced visuals. The extra memory comes in especially handy for DirectX™ 11 tessellation operations, where high quality textures put great demand on resources. 
• The ASUS HD 6990 comes at 830MHz and the exclusive Voltage Tweak overvolting utility allows users to push clock speeds by as much as 50%* with adequate cooling.
• The two cores run in 2-way CrossFireX™ engaged by default on one board, eliminating inter-GPU latency and ensuring the fastest possible performance with the most bandwidth ever achieved on a single-board AMD-based card. Two HD 6990 cards can be put together for instant quad CrossFireX™.
• AMD Eyefinity™ multi-screen technology enables the driving of up to five monitors via a single HD 6990. The card also supports AMD HD3D™ technology for 3D gaming and movie watching on a compatible TV or monitor.

*Actual performance may vary based on system configuration and other prevailing conditions.

MSI announces the world’s most powerful graphics card: Radeon R6990-4PD4GD5 Revolutionary dual-core, 4GB GDDR5 design supports up to display outputs on a single card with AMD Eyefinity technology

[Taipei - Taiwan] Internationally renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer MSI is popular with enthusiasts and professional consumers via great graphics performance and our expertise in research and design. After succesfully launching its all-new R6900/R6800 series of graphics cards, MSI today announces its top model AMD Radeon R6990-4PD4GD5 graphics card, equipped with two AMD Radeon HD6900-series graphics processors and the world’s first desktop card with 4GB GDDR5 memory. This places the R6990-4PD4GD5 as the highest performance graphics card in existance today! The R6990-4PD4GD5 supports AMD’s exclusive Eyefinity multi-display technology, with 4 mini DisplayPort 1.2 outputs on it that offers up to a maximum 5 display outputs from a single graphics card. In addition, R6990-4PD4GD5 also supports the legendary graphics card overclocking utility – MSI’s Afterburner. Enthusiasts can adjust clock speeds of GPU and memory, and monitor information like voltage, temperature and usage of memory via Afterburner. Also, power users can measure the stability of overclocked graphic card with the MSI graphics card testing utility Kombustor V2.0. R6990-4PD4GD5 supports the latest DirectX11, OpenGL 4.1 graphical standards, features found on the most demanding performance applications and games.

Number One Performance with Revolutionary 4GB Memory
An advanced 40nm graphics architecture design on the dual-GPU R6990-4PD4GD5 allows superior visual computing power with improved process efficiency, maximizing performance when compared to a single core graphics card. The revolutionary 4GB GDDR5 memory on R6990-4PD4GD5 raises not only the smoothness of high resolution gaming, but also efficiency of multi-display image processing. R6990-4PD4GD5 has powerful specification that exceed the demand hardcore gamers and power users, achieving No. 1 performance on the planet.

AMD Eyefinity multi-display technologyMSI’s R6990-4PD4GD5 supports AMD exclusive Eyefinity multi-display technology, with 4 mini DisplayPort 1.2 outputs that offer a maximum 5 display outputs from a single graphics card. Each output supports display resolution up to 2560×1600, greatly raising the visual real estate available to professional users and game players. Also, DisplayPort 1.2 enables the transmission of Stereoscopic 3D and 7.1 channel sound in the lossless TrueHD and DTS-HD sound formats for the ultimate in audio-visual experience. MSI’s R6990-4PD4GD5 graphics card carries the latest DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 graphical standards, allowing users to take advantage for the ultimate gaming experience.
MSI Afterburner overclock utility supported w/ all-new Predator video capture
MSI is entrenched in the hearts of power users after recently releasing the most complete utility for graphics card monitoring and overclocking. The newest Afterburner 2.1.0 release not only supports adjustment of GPU/memory/PLL voltages, advanced fan-speed control, information monitoring, and 5 customized profile setting are also featured. Afterburner 2.1 also introduces the new Predator in-game video capture function, allowing exciting gaming moments to be recorded . Gamers can bask in their glory and share them with the world using online video hosting sites. The popular graphics card testing utility Kombustor V2.0 provides graphics card stability test, and the new KMark mode measures a graphic card’s true performance using several different display effects.

All-Solid Caps for High Stability and PerformanceThe MSI R6990-4PD4GD5 graphics cards implements an all-solid capacitor design. Under high load environments over an extended period of time, the aluminum core can still maintain extremely high stability, reducing the uncertainty due to system instability or hardware component failure. This ensures the optimal user experience under mission-critical performance scenarios!

The Radeon HD 6990 aims to return AMD to the king the GPU roost, and the card upsizes just about everything. Simple extrapolation of the cards dimensions based on the photos indicate that the HD 6990 will go outside the 10.5″ GPU standard, appearing to be approximately 12-inches in length. It features only a single DVI connector, with 4 display ports allowing for 5 display Eyefinity on a single card. Power is provided by dual 8-pin PCIe connections, indicating a potential power draw of around 300W, but you can expect AMD’s PowerTune technology to keep it all in check.

MSI Releases Afterburner V2.1.0 Graphic Card Overclocking SoftwareNew Predator Feature Enables In-Game Video Capture at Any Time

[Taipei – Taiwan] MSI, the leading motherboard and graphics card manufacturer in the world, announced today that its Afterburner V2.1.0 overclocking utility is now available for all gamers to download worldwide. The new version of Afterburner not only supports the latest NVIDIA GeForce 500 and AMD Radeon HD 6000 series of graphics cards* but also adds the Predator in-game video capture function. Gamers can now capture all of their most classic moments in their favorite games and share them online using sites like YouTube. Third-party software is now also supported so that gamers can develop their own interface for adjusting their graphic card settings through Afterburner! In addition, Version 2.0.0 of the popular graphics card testing utility Kombustor is also being released alongside this major update. Gamers can use the new KMark mode to measure a graphic card’s true performance using several different display effects. Results can even be uploaded and compared with the graphic cards of other users around the world! Download the latest versions of the MSI Afterburner V2.1.0 and Kombustor V2.0.0 to experience for yourself the fun and power of these two overclocking and testing utilities!  
MSI Afterburner V2.1.0
 
Kombustor V2.0.0
*NVIDIA GeForce 500 series includes GTX 580/570/560 Ti; the AMD Radeon HD 6000 series includes HD 6970/6950/6870/6850.

SPARKLE Introduces Calibre X570 Graphics Card With Accelero Xtreme Cooling Solution 　

Taipei, Taiwan – February 17, 2011 – SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today proudly introduced the Calibre X570 graphics card , delivering intense cooling performance and the broadest set of features for gamers who demand the best.

ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme Review – Intro
Bluetooth 13 Feb 2011

Gamer’s board are usually high end boards because of the requirements. High bandwidth is necessary as a difference of 1 fps would be lethal in gaming. Of course, that not only involves the network, it also involves the graphics capability and support of multiple cards.

In the past, we see that AMD boards supports CrossFire X or SLI. The limitation is that you have to buy a pair, tri or quad to work. This seems to be limiting as you might have to give up your old card in favour of the higher performance. With ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme with Lucid Hydra technology, you can now run SLI, CrossFireX and most importantly mix and match AMD and NVIDIA cards and they do no need to be of the same model to speed up your graphical perforamnce. That definitely helps you to save some costs during upgrading process. It has 5 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (dual @ x16, triple @x16, quad@x16 x16 x8 x8) and 1 x PCI 2.2 slot.

So what does the board support ? The ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme supports the AMD Phenom™ II/Athlon™ II/ Sempron™ 100 Series Processors (AM3 CPU). This motherboard supports AMD® Socket AM3 multi-core processors with unique L3 cache and delivers better overclocking capabilities with less power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR3 1333 memory support and accelerates data transfer rate up to 5200MT/s via HyperTransport™ 3.0 based system bus. This motherboard also supports AMD® CPUs in the new 45nm manufacturing process. It has Core Unlocker to unlock the hidden cores of your Phenom processor. There is also USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support on board.

AMD 890FX Chipset is designed to support up to 5.2GT/s HyperTransport™ 3.0 (HT 3.0) interface speed and dual PCI Express™ 2.0 x16 graphics. It is optimized with AMD latest AM3 and multi-core CPUs to provide excellent system performance and overclocking capabilities

On top of all these, it has RC Bluetooth.  Just simply push the button from the Back I/O on the RC Bluetooth card, overclockers can real-time monitor the desktop PC system status & tweak its parameters – such as voltages and frequency on the fly. When users want to use ordinary bluetooth functions, just simply push the button once again & enjoy all the wireless convenience brought from RC Bluetooth.

Alternatively, Plug and Overclock – Tweak it the hardcore way! Monitor the status of your desktop PC and tweak its parameters in real-time via a notebook—just like a race car engineer—with ROG Connect. ROG Connect links your main system to a notebook through a USB cable, allowing you to view real-time POST code and hardware status readouts on your notebook, as well as make on-the-fly parameter adjustments at a purely hardware level.

ON board is the iROG, The iROG is a special IC which enables several ROG highlitghted functions that gives users full disposal of the motherboard at any stage! This design allows advanced user control and management to be processed purely at a hardware level. iROG greatly increases fun during overclocking for PC enthusiasts and it offers system maintainence and management with more control and efficiency

The board also supporst 2 BIOS with 2 BIOS settings. You can flash back to the old BIOS any time. The board also has Probelt, you can measure the voltage levels using a multimeter direct from the mainboard.

Other features include loadline calibration to maintain ample voltage for CPU during overclocking. The Voltminder LED also shows the voltage levels usnig different colours to ensure that you don’t overvolt the components (CPU,NB,SB,Memory).

MSI unleashes the R6870 Hawk with Propeller Blade technology

Propeller Blade brings 20% more airflow and up to 21℃ lower temperatures

【Taipei－Taiwan】After having swept through the global market with the dominating N460GTX Hawk, world-renowned graphics card and mainboard manufacturer MSI announces the next-generation Hawk series, the R6870 Hawk graphics card. Equipped with the advanced Twin Frozr III thermal design, the all new R6870 Hawk is the world’s first graphics card to use propeller blade technology. When compared to traditional fans, the air flow is increased by 20%, allowing the GPU temperature to be up to 21 degrees lower.  Furthermore, it uses the 8+2 phase PWM design to provide the GPU with 2 times the power supply, along with triple overvoltage functions that allow further evolution of R6870 Hawk’s overclocking capability. The R6870 Hawk has the most perfect performance blend of cooling, power components, stability, and high performance found on a graphics card today.

MSI exclusive propeller blade technology: Air flow increased by 20%

The R6870 Hawk is equipped with the advanced version of Twin Frozr III cooling design with the MSI-exclusive propeller blade technology. When compared with traditional fan blade design, it not only increases the air flow by 20%, but the grooved surface on the fan blade further extends the range of air flow, removing more heat generated by the graphics card’s materials and parts. Additionally, dual 8cm PWM fans, SuperPipe technology and a nickel-plated copper base allow the heat to be removed quickly and effectively. When compared to the reference design, the GPU temperature is decreased by up to 21 degrees, completely validating the excellent cooling effects of the next-generation Twin Frozr III thermal design.

Considering the diversity of graphic card users, MSI has developed the exclusive P/S Switch function for users to adjust fan speed between the Performance Mode and Silent Mode. The former emphasizes an enhanced cooling power that can significantly reduce GPU temperature to keep the graphic card at the optimal working condition, while the latter stresses on quiet operations for users to keep noise minimal while playing games or watching a movie. As both modes deliver excellent cooling performance, even the pickiest power users can always keep the environment under control according to their needs.

PWM enhancement and triple overvoltage support Over-clocking potential outbreak

In order to provide users with the optimal display performance, the R6870 Hawk uses the 8+2 phase PWM design. Compared to the 4+1 design for the reference design, it provides twice the power support, increasing overclocking stability. Together with MSI’s exclusive Afterburner overclocking software, the R6870 Hawk supports GPU/Memory/VDDCI triple voltage adjustment, increasing the overclocking potential!

Besides the unique power and voltage design, through V-Check Points users can easily use a multi-meter and monitor the GPU/Memory/VDDCI voltage status. Overclocking is also made easy and simple on the R6870 Hawk by using the Afterburner overclocking software to monitor all aspects of graphics card performance, as well as save up to 5 user-defined overclocking profiles.

Carefully selected top-class materials

MSI’s R6870 Hawk graphics card uses the newest Military Class Components such as Hi-C CAP, Super Ferrite Choke (SFC), and all-solid capacitors to enhance the overclocking headroom under high-load conditions.  Hi-C CAPs have a lifespan 8 times that of traditional solid capacitors, increasing GPU stability and lifespan of the graphics card, while SFCs improves efficiency by 10% while increasing the maximum current output by 30%.

ASUS Introduces the All-New GT 440 Graphics Card with Super Alloy Power

NVIDIA’s Fermi technology combines with exclusive ASUS innovations for smooth home theater PC entertainment and DirectX® 11 gaming

Singapore (February 7, 2011) — An instant upgrade over integrated graphics, the new ASUS GT 440 graphics card is ideal for driving multimedia center PCs while enabling smooth gaming. It features ASUS exclusive technology Super Alloy Power, which delivers a 15% performance boost*, 35°C cooler operation* and 2.5 times longer lifespan*. The GT 440 further ships factory-overclocked at 822MHz, or 12MHz more than reference cards, and comes with ASUS’ Voltage Tweak for easy overvolting for up to 50%* faster clock speeds. The proprietary ASUS Dust-proof Fan contributes additional protection against heat and wear and tear, while GPU Guard strengthens the card for an extended product lifespan.

Product highlights

• ASUS factory overclocks the GT 440 to 822MHz, which is 12MHz over reference. This delivers DirectX® 11 and Windows® 7-optimized performance, with support for the newest effects in PC graphics, including enhanced tessellation and real-time ray tracing.
• The ASUS GT 440 includes Super Alloy Power technology, featuring a special alloy formula used in power delivery components such as capacitors, chokes and MOSFETs. It instantly lowers average operating temperatures by 35°C*, extending product lifespan 2.5 times* and improving overall performance by 15%*. This gives users access to greater overclocking potential, as the GT 440 can withstand higher-grade operation than its reference counterparts.
• Taking advantage of the better power delivery offered by Super Alloy Power formulation, ASUS exclusive overvolting utility Voltage Tweak is capable of increasing clock speeds by up to 50%*.
• ASUS Dust-proof Fan design ensures up to 25%* longer fan lifespan than generic offerings due to its double-sealing build, which repels dust and other debris to improve cooling and longevity. It runs quieter than the coolers on reference cards, creating a more pleasant environment for home theater enjoyment.
• ASUS GPU Guard doubles printed circuit board strength and endurance, helping protect the card against fracturing and cracking.

Specifications