March 29, 2003
Prescott Yamhill?
"Clue 1: The second Integer Unit has no AGU's (Fast double clocked Address Generator Units)
Clue 2: The second Integer Unit register file has a smaller size, 1.30 x 0.64 mm versus 1.30 x 0.71 mm
Clue 3: The data caches have been shifted in order to balance critical path in 64 bit processing"
64bit using 2x32bit cores... is an interesting article online over @ chip-architect.com... here's the direct link, thanks Planet3DNow.de.
March 28, 2003
Intel Prescott SSE article
X-Bit LAbs have a nice article up dealing with the newest form of SSE to be seen in Intels Prescott CPU. Here's the link. Enjoy!
"If Intel didn’t introduce new instructions in Prescott, we should certainly prefer Athlon 64, which seems to have no drastic weaknesses. And with the today’s state of things, we cannot be sure any more.
Intel offers optimized program libraries and the new instructions to software developers, which are certainly going to be used to the utmost effect. AMD also went this way and announced its libraries fully utilizing x86-64 capabilities.
There is one more circumstance. There have been rumors about Intel going to implement the AMD x86-64 architecture in its Prescott CPUs if this architecture becomes a success. Seems like a sci-fi thing: we haven’t seen anything like that! On the other hand, as AMD is already delaying the launch of Athlon 64, it might include into its new CPU the new Prescott instructions. Then all Prescott-optimized libraries would work well on AMD CPUs. Prescott will no longer have any advantages due to more convenient instructions. Especially, since there should be no big problems with it: AMD CPUs have been long executing flexible 3DNow! operations. In fact, I would expect AMD to introduce these “horizontal” operations with the data due to more suitable processor core architecture, lover frequencies, bigger number of execution units, etc.
We hope AMD will do it as fast as possible, because it will willy-nilly have to implement SSE developments into its processors, as it has always done."
new official 43.45 Detonators
nVidia have released a new set of detonators. 43.45 for Win9x/Me can be d/led here, Win2k/XP here
Besides this there is word that v.50.xx is on it's way! ;)
March 24, 2003
Aquamark homepage
Massive have upped their Aquamark homepage. Get the Aquamark 3 teaser there now and download the benchmark later as soon as it's available. :)
Here's the link.
Besides, they are looking for ppls who would like to mirror the benchmark suit once it's out. So in case you fancy head over!
March 22, 2003
ATi FireGL X1 & Z1 drivers
Tom's HWG have tested the newest release of ATi FireGL X1 & Z1 drivers (english language). Here's the article.
"The tests show that ATi has made significant strides with its drivers. This is particularly evident in Viewperf, where the FireGL X1 takes second place behind NVIDIA's QuadroFX 2000 in five out of six benchmarks. It's a different picture with the application benchmarks. Here, ATi has not succeeded in being consistent with the synthetic benchmarks. In any case, performance has been improved in this area compared to the previous tests. If ATi is able to keep the same pace at improving the drivers, then we estimate that the distance between it and NVIDIA could be reduced to a minimum within the next three to four weeks. "
March 20, 2003
43.03 Detonators
Some new Detonators are available. 43.03 unofficial release... Saw it @ Warp2Search.net... here's the post with a list of mirrors.
March 19, 2003
Leadtek WF A300 Ultra TD myvivo
Dark Crow have psted a short preview of the Leadtek Winfast A300 Ultra TD myvivo. Lot's of nice pictures of the card itself... take a glimpse here.
More Xabre II stuff
Xabre Gamers have posted an interview with SiS about Xabre II. Here's the link.
"XG : Does the Xabre II support n-patches?
SiS : Yes
XG : I see the Xabre II feature the new FMC III technology. How does it work basically? Is it some sort of Z-Buffer compression technique? If yes, what is the compression ratio?
SiS : Yes, we do support some sort of Z-buffer compression.
XG : Does the Xabre II support Hardware Displacement mapping?
SiS : Yes "
Xabre II info
Stuff in german language but still interesting (roadmap): Chip.de have posted some info about SiS' Xabre II. Here's the link.
"Vor allem die sogenannte "Octa-Pipe", eine achtstufige parallel arbeitende Pixel-Pipeline des Xabre II (Codename "SiS 340"), soll die Pfründe im High-End-Segment sichern. "
In short: Especially the so called "Octa-Pipe", Xabre II's (codename "SiS 340") 8 (original says step guess it's pipe) pipe parallel working pixel-pipeline is there to ensure becoming part of the high-end field.
ATI license agreement with Intel
Digit-Life.com also report the followng:
"ATI Technologies signed the license agreement with Intel regarding Pentium M bus. In particular, it enables ATI to develop proprietary chipsets for Pentium M chipsets. ..."
Here's a bit more.
AMD CPU prospects
Digit-Life.com have some information which according to them come from an japanese source... a snip of those goes as follows:
"... And now a surprise: according the same sources, AMD is to release a new processor core – Thorton - with 256Kb L2 cache and 3000+/3200+ and higher ratings. Moreover, they suppose Thorton, having architecture, L2 cache and model numbering similar to Thoroughbred, will feature smaller size and energy consumption. A logical question arises: isn’t Thorton a junior brother of Barton with halved 256Kb SRAM L2 cache? ..."
Here's more.
PURE DIGITAL LAUNCHES POCKETDAB 1000
Came in but I missed it at first..., there is another PR from ImgTec/ Pure announcing the PocketDAB 1000:
"PURE DIGITAL LAUNCHES POCKETDAB(tm) 1000
Personal DAB Digital Radio
London, 19th March 2003: PURE Digital - a division of Imagination
Technologies (LSE:IMG) - has launched the PURE PocketDAB(tm) 1000, a stylish
handheld portable DAB digital radio that will be on sale in May 2003 from
major retailers and independent hi-fi dealers nationwide for just £169.99
(RRP inc. VAT). PocketDAB 1000 will be on display at The Smart Show 2003,
April 6 - 8, Birmingham NEC, Stand 137."
"The PocketDAB 1000 is the premier handheld DAB digital radio for the
discerning radio listener on the move. With more than 16 hours of battery
life1 the PocketDAB 1000 enables the user to enjoy DAB's improved reception,
station choice and audio-stability anywhere that broadcasts are available.
The PocketDAB 1000 has modern, attractive styling, with its striking
anodised aluminium casework and blue backlight. Its portability is enhanced
both by the unit's light weight and the absence of a cumbersome telescopic
aerial - in fact the PocketDAB 1000's aerial is built-in to the unit's
headphones for maximum usability and performance.
With the PocketDAB 1000 users can enjoy the great choice of DAB digital
radio stations wherever they go2 - including DAB exclusive stations like
Core, OneWord, talkSPORT,
6 Music, Radio 1Xtra and BBC 7.
PocketDAB 1000 has been designed for ease of use with a central joystick for
navigation and separate controls for key functions like display settings,
presets and EQ. Stations are simply selected by name and the PocketDAB 1000
automatically tunes in, eliminating the fine-tuning and re-tuning required
by analogue portables. PocketDAB 1000 automatically remembers the user's ten
most listened to stations in a favourites list for fast selection. Stations
can be ordered alphanumerically, by multiplex, by favourite and by active
stations for maximum ease of use.
PocketDAB 1000 features an easily readable blue backlit LCD with two lines
of 16 character alphanumeric display as well as six graphical icons for
volume, battery life, time, favourites mode, EQ and signal strength. The
backlight is activated by any key-press and times out after five seconds
during battery operation. DAB radio stations broadcast text that appears on
the display and can include news headlines, sporting results, track
information, call-in telephone numbers and much more, depending on the
station being listened to.
PURE Digital is the leading supplier of DAB radios in the world. Its product
range includes the DRX-701ES DAB tuner, winner of What Hi-Fi Sound &
Visions' Tuner Product of the Year 2002, EVOKE-1, the first DAB radio under
£100, and the premium portable DAB radio, the PURE DRX-601EX. Other new
products include the DRX-702ES DAB/AM/FM tuner and the EVOKE-2 DAB/FM radio.
The PocketDAB 1000 is based on the Diablo DAB digital radio module,
developed by Frontier Silicon and The Technology Partnership (TTP) using
licensed technology from Imagination Technologies' Metagence and Ensigma
divisions. Diablo is the smallest, most power efficient, and lowest cost
handheld digital radio solution on the market.
Technical Specification
Materials: The PocketDAB 1000 is constructed with rugged anodised aluminium
front and back panels.
Processing: PocketDAB 1000 is based on Frontier Silicon's Chorus FS-1010
Diablo-C module.
Buttons:
* Info button - switches bottom line of display
between DLS, Program Type, Date etc.
* Menu button - accesses setup functions such as
service list order and Autotune.
* Preset button - cycles through list of presets which
user can set or select.
* EQ button - cycles through list of EQ presets.
Navigation / volume control:
* Up, Down, Left, Right and Select navigation keys for
menu operation (including station selection) and volume control.
Keypad Lock:
* Keypad lock switch on topside edge of unit prevents
accidental button-operation while the unit is in-pocket.
Headphones: In-ear type with integrated DAB aerial
Power:
* Supplied with 3 x Duracell Plus Alkaline AA cells.
* DC jack for external 4v power supply (supplied).
Weight: Approx 170g (inc. batteries)
Dimensions: Approx 110 mm x 65 mm x 20 mm
Editors Notes
1 Duracell Plus
2 DAB Coverage is currently more than 80% of UK population - check
www.digitalradionow.com
information about available stations.
About Imagination Technologies
Imagination Technologies Group plc is an international IP licensing company
that develops, licenses and supplies market-leading graphics/video cores,
real-time DSP-enabled multithreaded processors, communication and broadcast
technologies for the consumer entertainment and PC markets. It supplies both
licensable IP (Intellectual Property) and related advanced development tools
to leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies worldwide.
Imagination Technologies Group plc has its corporate headquarters in the
United Kingdom and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange
(FTSE:IMG). See: www.imgtec.com
About PURE Digital
PURE Digital - a division of Imagination Technologies - produces a range of
innovative, award-winning products in the consumer entertainment and PC
markets. The product range today addresses areas including digital radio;
digital home audio; PC graphics / video and audio; and in the future will
extend to digital video for TV / DVD and wireless LAN for effective digital
media distribution in the home. PURE Digital also designs and licenses
advanced production-ready systems for consumer electronics, arcade, gaming
and hi-fi companies.
See: www.pure-digital.com
Contact:
David Harold/Julia Horne
tel +44 (0)1923 260 511
fax +44 (0)1923 270 188
email: david.harold@pure-digital.com
PURE Digital
Home Park Estate
Kings Langley
Herts WD4 8LZ"
VIDEOLOGIC SONICXPLOSION DVD PRICE DROP
Just in (thanks Julia ;) is a PR announcing a major price drop of VideoLogic's SonicXplosion DVD...
"VIDEOLOGIC SONICXPLOSION(tm) DVD PRICE DROP
Best PC Home Entertainment Solution Now Even Better Value
London, 19th March: PURE Digital - a division of Imagination Technologies -
announces that it has reduced the price of its ground-breaking VideoLogic
SonicXplosion DVD sound card by £20 to just £59.99 (UK RRP, inc. VAT).
SonicXplosion DVD is the first - and still the only - sound card product to
support all major home theatre standards, including DTS, Pro Logic II and
Dolby Headphone 'out of the box'."
" SonicXplosion DVD is the best choice for home entertainment on the PC with
the broadest range of DVD playback features including: DVD movie playback
with cinema-style 5.1 digital surround sound, including DTS decode for the
latest DVD soundtracks and Dolby Pro Logic II for 5.1 music and movie
playback; Dolby Headphone for spacious virtual surround; and the full 5.1
version of Intervideo WinDVD 4.
PURE Digital has also dropped the price of the SonicXplosion soundcard,
which features the same excellent hardware as SonicXplosion DVD but without
the extensive software package, from £59.99 to just £39.99 (UK RRP, inc.
VAT).
Says Jag Mann, Product Manager, Multivision: "SonicXplosion and
SonicXplosion DVD offer Multivision customers the complete PC digital audio
experience, with 5.1 surround sound output for extreme gaming and home
cinema, and great music making features. Being the first PC sound card to
offer the latest home cinema technologies, it's both comprehensive and
cutting edge, which we have come to expect from VideoLogic products."
Movies
Unlike other sound cards, SonicXplosion DVD includes full 6-channel Dolby
Digital decoding in the box via its fully featured Intervideo WinDVD 4
player. As well as Dolby Digital - the DVD audio standard - SonicXplosion
DVD features full support for Dolby Headphone, which lets users experience
the surround sound effects from Dolby Digital DVD movies over any
conventional stereo headphones;
Dolby Pro Logic II, which provides 5.1 channels of surround sound from any
stereo source; and DTS, the high quality sound format for DVD and DTS Audio
CDs.
Key Audio Features
SonicXplosion DVD provides broad support for in-game surround sound
including EAX 1.0/2.0(tm) and enables both digital optical input and output
for digital audio creativity. A huge selection of full-featured software
applications is included for music creation and playback, MP3 music, power
gaming and more including the stunning new Storm Music Studio 2.0 from
Arturia. SonicXplosion DVD features up to six discrete output channels for
movies, music and games; a powerful MIDI engine with high-quality 8 MB
sample set; 64 hardware voices and up to 976 software voices; support for
all popular audio standards, including DTS, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Pro
Logic II, DirectSound, DirectSound3D, EAX, Sensaura, A3D and DLS.
Wide Range of Software Included
SonicXplosion DVD also sets a new standard for bundled software with over a
dozen full applications and numerous demo, freeware and shareware programs
including: the full six-channel version of Intervideo WinDVD; VideoLogic
JetAudio v4.83 (full version); Arturia Storm 2.0 (full version); VideoLogic
Internet Telephone (full version); and an extensive selection of additional
software.
Digital Music
SonicXplosion DVD offers a wealth of features for desktop music production,
turning the PC into a pro-quality music and sound editing system with
features including: super low-noise analogue circuitry for better than -97db
signal to noise ratio; 18-bit A-D converter for high resolution recording;
six 20-bit D-A converters for high precision playback; a 10-band hardware
graphic equalizer; an 8 MB DLS-compatible wavetable synthesizer; and support
for an optional GS-compatible digital wavetable daughter board.
SonicXplosion DVD's on-board optical digital output also allows CD audio,
MP3, and other digital music files to be transferred to MiniDisc or DAT in a
pure digital format at 48 kHz. The optical digital input accepts digital
streams at 32, 44.1 or 48 kHz for maximum versatility.
3D Technology
In addition to providing up to six output channels, SonicXplosion DVD
supports the major 3D audio standards. Using Sensaura's key technologies -
Multidrive, MacroFX and EnviromentFX - SonicXplosion DVD accelerates
DirectSound3D, A3D and EAX 1.0/2.0, reducing the load on the PC CPU and
freeing it to handle faster game play and sharper AI. SonicXplosion DVD
features per-channel speaker test and speaker positioning control for
surround sound optimisation.
Connectivity
SonicXplosion DVD offers a broad range of connectivity features including
optical digital in and out, three line-outs for 2, 4 or 6 speaker system
connection, switchable line in / amplified headphone-out, mic in (dynamic /
condenser mono mic in with +20 db or +40 db gain), and MIDI/joystick
interface (on additional backplate). As many users now have multiple optical
drives in their PCs, two uncoupled CD inputs are provided.
The optical digital input of SonicXplosion DVD can be synchronized to 32,
44.1 and 48kHz and full status information, like whether the stream is copy
protected, is available from the software control panel. The digital output
keeps connected to the outside world at 48kHz and lets users connect to DAT,
MiniDisc or other equipment. Used with the WinDVD software the digital
output can provide Dolby Digital and DTS data streams to a dedicated
external decoder if the user prefers not to decode those surround sound
formats directly on the PC.
SonicXplosion DVD is backed up by the very best in free lifetime support
including: technical support hotlines, Internet based support, and a
five-year hardware warranty.
Editor's Notes
All trademarks belong to their respective companies and are hereby
acknowledged.
About Imagination Technologies
Imagination Technologies Group plc is an international IP licensing company
that develops, licenses and supplies market-leading graphics/video cores,
real-time DSP-enabled multithreaded processors, communication and broadcast
technologies for the consumer entertainment and PC markets. It supplies both
licensable IP (Intellectual Property) and related advanced development tools
to leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies worldwide.
Imagination Technologies Group plc has its corporate headquarters in the
United Kingdom and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange
(FTSE:IMG). See: www.imgtec.com
About PURE Digital
PURE Digital - a division of Imagination Technologies - produces a range of
innovative, award-winning products in the consumer entertainment and PC
markets. The product range today addresses areas including digital radio;
digital home audio; PC graphics / video and audio; and in the future will
extend to digital video for TV / DVD and wireless LAN for effective digital
media distribution in the home. PURE Digital also designs and licenses
advanced production-ready systems for consumer electronics, arcade, gaming
and hi-fi companies.
See: www.pure-digital.com
Contact:
David Harold/Julia Horne tel +44 (0)1923 260 511
PURE Digital fax +44 (0)1923 270 188
Home Park Estate email: david.harold@pure-digital.com
Kings Langley
Herts WD4 8LZ"
March 18, 2003
Opteron releases?!
AMDBoards have some first information about Opteron release dates and names here:
"To help you with the Opteron numbering, we have enclosed the official AMD literature explaining it.
Avril°°°: Opteron 141, 142, 241, 242 , 841 et 842
Mai°°°: Opteron 143, 243 et 843
Juin°°°: Opteron 144, 244 et 844"
First digit describes the scalability, 1xx means single CPU, 2xx meand for dual CPU use and 8xx for 8 CPU systems. The last two are just model numbers to let you know that i.e. 244 is faster and/ newer than 242 etc.
Nero Digital set to become the next big standard
"Ahead Software to preview complete MPEG-4 audio and video solution encompassing full ISO/14496-2/3 compatibility, and state of the art audio, High Efficiency AAC in MPEG (aacPlus)."
Another announcement totally different stuff... DVD quality at 80% the size? Here's the PR.
AMD Intel & publicity article
"Unless you are looking for AMD…AMD isn’t easily seen. You can’t go more than 50 feet without tripping over an Intel ad in newspaper, radio or television. Can you hear the Intel jingle in your head? Do you remember the dancing lab workers dressed in shiny costumes looking like a toxic chemical “phat” crew on their way to American Bandstand?"
Something to read in case you're interested in Ircrontic's AMD, Intel analysis. :) Here's the link.
GDC material
The now complete GDC material of ATI and nVidia can be downloaded or checked online here (ATI) and here (nVidia).
RenderMonkey 0.9 Beta
ATI have released a new build of their RenderMonkey Toolsuite. Here's more.
"Bugs fixed in version 0.9 build 18 release:
1. PR #80: "Save As" dialog should display the file name of the current workspace
2. PR #104: Ctrl-Z (undo) closes HLSL pixel shader editor window in some circumstances
(only if you editing newly added shader)
3. PR #137: Artist Editor sometimes inadvertently changes the active effect
4. PR #152: Cube maps arent loaded with mipmaps
5. PR #153: "phase" not syntax colored in ps asm
6. PR #155: Diffuse effect in bump.xml doesn't render correctly: problems with tangent space generation
7. PR #169: Texture Loader dialog should display the name of the texture variable in the dialog title
8. PR #170: Model loader dialog should display the title of the model variable
9. PR #164: wood.xml vertex shaders refers to non-existent variable freq
10. PR #176: Disable "Add Texture Reference" from texture object menu once one is added
11. PR #177: Disable "Add Render State Block" after one is added to the pass from pass node menu
12. PR #182: Stream Mapping Editor should display the name of the node it is editing"
Mystical Lighting
"Mystical Lighting lets anyone apply photo-realistic lighting and shading effects to digital images. With this software you can enhance the ambiance of your images and improve its beauty. Mystical Lighting includes 16 visual effects, over 400 presets for instant results and an infinite variety of looks."
Looks nice, they've got a "gallery" here... might be interesting if you're into doing digital picture amelioration.
NewTek to Premiere Video Toaster
"All-in-One Live Broadcast Production Suite Boasts Hundreds of New Features Including Real-time,
Multi-Format Editing with Spline Control , 3D Positioning and Seamless Integration with Other Production Tools."
Press release can be found here.
MSI MEGA PC
MSI have announced a new "infotainment station" on CeBit, the M(SI)E(ntertainment)G(aming)A(ppliance).
Here's more...
"Either the brilliant orange MEGA PC based on SiS 651 chipset or the cold green MEGA PC based on VIA KM400 chipset will offer the Plus version (with onboard TV and 6-in-1 card reader functions) to satisfy your needs for infotainment."
March 15, 2003
AGP 4x MOD info updated
We've updated the AGP 4x on Kyro 2 MOD article by adding the new layout information as well as the noTVout bios.
Minor updates will follow uncluding 32MB bios files...
And more modded ATI drivers
There is a new driver available which does Radeon 9500->9700(Pro)->9800(Pro). According to some posts in various forums it at least give a performance benefit which is quite high for the effort. Have a look here for the driver.
Seen on Rage3D.com and Warp2Search.net, ... :)
CATALYST 3.2 for all
Just found some info about modded Catalyst 3.2 drivers on Warp2Search.net. Here's more info as well as the download.
"These drivers where made to allow people installing the
catalyst 3.2 drivers on a laptop and desktop PC.
Use them AT YOUR OWN RISK."
Lost vikings demo
Well, Blizzard have released an online demo of The Lost Vikings due to the upcomming release of this classic's Game Boy Advance version. In case you'd like to play with the noresmen again just click here.
Oh, and check this out -> X
March 14, 2003
Different Kyro 2 layout
tibial-pin posted a comment mentioning a different Kyro 2 layout. It would be nice to receive a picture from both sides of the card to track the A2 pin and make sure the right solder pads are bridged so please send in a picture from the back of the card. TIA
tibial-pin has taken some more pictures and it seems like on his board R12 is the one to be bridged. We might know it soon. :)
O.K. DocEvil (nice teamwork, thanks ;) just let me know that we have a successfully modded R12 board so for everyone with R12 that's the one to bridge, the article will be updated shortly!
Athlon XP 3600+ with 400 MHz FSB clock
Unfortunately in german language (a nice translation might help) is a nice article @ chip.de which shows how to get some Athlon XPs to run with a 400MHz FSB clock. Here's the link.
Important part is...
... to get an adjustable resistor of 1 KOhm, the CPU and an nForce 2 board along with some tools to solder and work with. The adjustable resistor is soldered onto the board onto the piece on the left above 1st DDR bank named/ labeled "3037A" as shown on their pictures (first and last). Next glue the adjustable resistor to the AGP slot at good reach and set the system up with CPU, ram and cards. Power on and enter the BIOS. Under "Enhanced Settings" set the FSB clock to 200MHz and set the CPU multiplicator accordingly. The AGP frequency should be set to 66MHz and the DDR ram clock to 200MHz. Now goto "Voltage/ Frequency" and raise the CPU voltage to 1.75 till 1.8V and the DDR voltage to 2.9V (highest possible). Finally goto "PC-Health-Status" and make sure that you slowly raise the Vdd voltage to 1,76 Volt via the adjustable resistor.
Take care because as always you do this on your own risk. However it seems results are looking good and now head over to take a look @ those pictures and benchmark results.
Catalyst 3.2 drivers
ATI have released their Catalyst driverpack v3.2. More info and the binaries can be found over @ DriverHeaven.net. Just click here.
Releasenotes are up here.
March 13, 2003
Mandrake probs solved
Vlad has posted an update in the Pvr-Net.com forums which goes as follows:
"For all of you who had experience crashes in Mandrake 9 with Beta3 drivers I think I have a fix for that. (if you are ready to play with your system that is)
You have to recompile your kernel and make sure that GRsecurity is EXCLUDED. Install in and then recompile and install the PowerVR drivers. Make sure you download the source package though
And yes we are working on gcc 3.2 drivers.
Vlad Stamate
www.powervr.com "
Here's the thread.
AGP 4x mode article translated
Well, thanks to Loewe for allowing me to present you the deferred Power Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 AGP 4x mode modification article translated into hopefully understandable english. In case there are any mistakes (I tried hard sticking to the original) please let me know otherwise enjoy modifying your graphics card once again! ;)
Here's the translation.
March 12, 2003
VR-Zone does Centrino
We've also received a mail from VR-Zone's Visionary about his new article about Intel's new little toy Centrino. Here's the link and here comes the info:
"VR-Zone has done up a review on the new Intel Centrino Mobile Technology comprises of 3 key aspects; Pentium-M codenamed "Banias", Intel 855 Chipset family and a Wi-Fi module that will deliver performance, extended battery life and wireless connectivity to the mobile consumers today. We conducted our testings using the Samsung X10 notebook which sports a real sleek look and light in weight too. Samsung X10 is based on Pentium M 1.6Ghz, 855PM chipset as well as NVIDIA GeForce 4 440 Go GPU."
Speaker design licensed to Terratec
A new press release from ImgTec/ Pure right in from Julia (kudos! ;):
"PURE DIGITAL LICENSES AWARD WINNING SPEAKER DESIGNS TO TERRATEC
First Products Debut At CeBIT 2003
London, UK, 12th March 2003: PURE Digital - a division of Imagination
Technologies - announces that it has exclusively licensed the design of its
ZXR speaker range to Terratec, one of the leading multimedia brands in
Europe. ..."
"... Terratec will manufacture its own version of the award winning speaker range
under licence from PURE Digital. Terratec will debut the first of these
products, the HomeArena TXR 335 and the HomeArena TXR 665, at CeBIT 2003 in
Hanover, Germany from 12th - 19th March. The deal with Terratec will expand
the reach of these products in Germany and Europe.
Using years of professional audio experience, gained through the development
of PURE's award winning DigiTheatre, Sirocco and LiFE 4/10 ranges, this
speaker range has been engineered to outperform systems costing
significantly more. The range has won numerous awards including PCW's Highly
Commended Award, PC Format's Buy It! Award and Computer Buyer's Best Buy
Award.
About Terratec
In 1994, TerraTec Electronic GmbH set out to make its mark from the Lower
Rhine town of Nettetal, Germany. Since then, Germany's largest manufacturer
of sound cards has evolved into one of the largest multimedia enterprises in
Europe. Its product portfolio ranges from professional audio systems
"TerraTec Producer", video, graphic and TV cards for PCs to hifi consumer
products for digital radio and MP3. TerraTec has demonstrated its innovative
power in the multimedia sector with its "EWS Technology" and "4G Sound"
standards. The company has an international reach and generated sales of
around EUR 24 million in the last business year. See: www.terratec.com
About PURE Digital
PURE Digital - a division of Imagination Technologies - produces a range of
innovative, award-winning products in the consumer entertainment and PC
markets. The product range today addresses areas including digital radio;
digital home audio; PC graphics / video and audio; and in the future will
extend to digital video for TV / DVD and wireless LAN for effective digital
media distribution in the home. PURE Digital also designs and licenses
advanced production-ready systems for consumer electronics, arcade, gaming
and hi-fi companies.
See: www.pure-digital.com
Contact:
For Terratec
Christoph Müllers tel +49 (0) 2157 / 8179-918
Herrenpfad 38 fax +49 (0) 2157 / 8179-22
41334 Nettetal email: press@terratec.de
Germany
For PURE Digital
David Harold/Julia Horne tel +44 (0)1923 260 511
PURE Digital fax +44 (0)1923 270 188
Home Park Estate email: david.harold@pure-digital.com
Kings Langley
Herts WD4 8LZ"
March 11, 2003
Developers on F-Buffer
Already 3 days old but still work a look in case you don't know it already is a post on Beyond 3D that tried to get some F-Buffer questions answered. Here's the link.
Damn... it's 4 days, sorry! Too late here, hehehe! ;)
Renderman shader viewer
ATI have released a new demo showing off some renderman shading action, here's the info from Rage3D:
"This package contains a standalone viewer that demonstrates how to translate and view various shaders written in the RenderMan Shading Language on graphics hardware that supports DirectX 9.0 Pixel Shader version 2.0 or OpenGL ARB_fragment_program. The RenderMan Shading Language is described in The Renderman Companion: A Programmer's Guide to Realistic Computer Graphics by Steve Upstill and Advanced RenderMan by Anthony Apodaca and Larry Gritz. Several resources are also available on the internet."
Counter Strike 64bit
According to Planet3DNow Valve will support AMD 64bit systems... here's their snip:
"These server operators are extremely sophisticated, and were some of the earliest adopters of Linux," said Gabe Newell, Valve managing director. "We expect them to be leading-edge adopters of the AMD64 platform. AMD's approach to 64-bit computing looked great on paper, and it's nice to see that with real processors and development tools that it fulfills that promise. Every PC developer should be looking to get their server code and development tools running in 64-bits right away."
Here's the link (german language)... :)
AGP 4x mod
Thanks to Bustis for the heads up and here we go: Mitrax/ deferred Power have released a mod article which shows how to enable AGP 4x for Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 boards. You can find it here. (german language only ATM)
mail lost
I've received a mail from Mr. Adler just before my mail client crashed and the mail was lost. Please send you mail again and I'll try to read it without losing tha ;) mail in the first place. :) TIA
March 10, 2003
nVidia demos
nVidia have put their tech demos online. You can now download Dawn, Toys, Ogre, Time Machine and Video FX here.
To "enjoy" these demos on GeForce 4 hardware make sure you have the NV30 emulator installed, it's slow but you can actually -> have a look <- at the demos.
Soyo bioses
They fix Barton 3k+ recognition... get them for SY-KT400 DRAGON Ultra (revision 2AA6) and for the SY-KT400 DRAGON Lite (revision 2AA7).
VIA Hyperion 4in1 v4.46
Via have released their Hyperion drivers v4.46, you might get the files from the following locations:
.Planet3DNow
.Majorgeeks.com
.Guru3d.com
.hardwareonline.dk
"- Update VIA AGP driver to v4.41a
- Fixed overwrite issue
- Fixed the K8 CPU cache Flush syntax error in Viagart.sys (miniport
driver)."
March 07, 2003
SBLive to Audigy2... well, sort of...
Just found a nice link on Warp2Search.net, it's the one here which leads to a site offering the YouP-PAX III Final WDM Driver for the Creative Live! series. Have a look and try them but handle with care. :)
March 06, 2003
RenderMonkey? Collaboration
ATI and 3DLabs together are pushing RenderMonkey... here's the press release.
"GDC booth #827, San Jose, CA ? ATI Technologies, Inc. and 3Dlabs®, Inc. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd., today announced a cooperative initiative to accelerate the development of the RenderMonkey? shader development tool suite, which is available free of charge from both ATI and 3Dlabs. Under the terms of this agreement, ATI will continue to evolve the core RenderMonkey framework, and both companies will develop plug-in modules that support the industry standard Microsoft DirectX® HLSL and OpenGL® 2.0 GLslang high-level shading languages. RenderMonkey will be distributed, free of charge, by both companies."
"... The latest generation of programmable graphics devices ? called Visual Processing Units (VPUs) ? is creating the biggest revolution in graphics architecture in over a decade. VPUs can be programmed to undertake sophisticated cinematic quality graphics rendering as well as general-purpose imaging, graphics and vector processing. High-level shading languages will be the preferred way for ISVs to program these powerful devices ? but there will need to be a new generation of tools to enable programmers to code, visualize, debug and manage shader programs.
RenderMonkey is a hardware-independent tool suite created to advance the development and use of shader programs in 3D applications. It is currently being used by game developers and content creators to speed their shader development. ATI and 3Dlabs will work together to further develop RenderMonkey, and work closely with tool vendors to integrate RenderMonkey functionality into digital content creation applications.
?Industry standard shading languages and flexible, developer-friendly toolsets are the key enablers of the cinematic revolution,? said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President of Marketing and General Manager, Desktop, ATI Technologies Inc. ?ATI initiated the development of RenderMonkey to ensure that software developers and content creators are able to fully realize the potential of our cinematic VPUs. We are delighted that 3Dlabs shares our vision and philosophy of working collaboratively with the industry through non-proprietary initiatives.?
?3Dlabs and ATI both believe that industry standards and cooperation are the most efficient way to cultivate and develop the necessary industry infrastructure and market opportunities for next generation programmable VPUs,? said Neil Trevett, Senior Vice President Market Development, 3Dlabs, Inc. ?We applaud ATI for creating RenderMonkey and look forward to working together to provide a sophisticated, hardware independent development environment used to catalyze the widespread deployment of DirectX and OpenGL shaders.?
Copyright 2003 ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.
3Dlabs and Wildcat are registered trademarks of 3Dlabs Inc., Ltd. in the United States and/or other countries. OpenGL is a registered trademark of SGI. All other brand and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby recognized as such."
FX 5600 and 5200 preview
3Dgpu have posted their preview of nVidia's GeForce FX 5600 and 5200. Here's it.
"The 5600 Ultra is the successor to the Ti4400 and Ti4200, whilst the 5200 Ultra and non-Ultra are the MX's. As you can see, NVIDIA are no longer using the MX name for their mainstream/value cards. The beauty of the 5600 and 5200 cards are that they both support all DirectX 9 features, nothing has been cut out, so you can soon get a DirectX 9 video card for less than $100."
WoW gameplay movie
Blizzard have released a new movie showing of some gameplay action from World of Warcraft. Here's the place to get the file from.
ATI tech demos
Some new tech demos are available from ATI, these are the chimp demo and the lava cave screensaver, more info and those binaries you need are available here.
more on RadeOn 9800
Thanks to Vladimir and Pupstah for their link info in the forums, seems like Anand, Tom's and HardOCP have their RadeOn 9800 articles up too... :)
Same thing with Beyond3D! ;)
RadeOn 9800 Pro benchmarks
Chip.de do feature some RadeOn 9800 Pro benchmark results here.
It's one page of their RadeOn 9800 article which can be found here... german language though! ;)
March 03, 2003
nFR 0.5
For those interested in the new 43.00 Detonators recently released (see some posts below) there is a new version of the nVidida File Remover which might come in handy once you want to do a clean install of those new Detonators.
You can find the site and files here.
New Parhelia drivers
Matrox send us some new drivers for our Parhelia, v5.88.061 can be obtained here.
XP3200+ preview
Lost Circuits have a preview of AMD's Athlon XP3200+ up.
"To be honest, the performance gain achieved by the Athlon when running in "XP3200+" mode took us a bit by surprise. Sure enough, we expected something to happen but everything being equal and just changing the FSB from 166 to 197 to get a performance increase of 7-8% was more than what we were hoping for. On the other hand, we are finally at the point where we were supposed to be a long time ago, remember, the original Athlon release already projected FSB settings of 400 MHz data rate and that was almost four years ago."
Read the whole article right here.
Warden char
Blizzard habe presented another new character from the frozen throne. This time around it's the Warden... here's more. :)
43.00 Detonators
They come from PNY but are available on several sites already, the new 43.00 Detonators. It's said they do have performance advantage in Generals and some other new games so surf over to Warp2Search.net for a small collection of mirrors... right here.
March 01, 2003
New drivers from Creative
There seem to be new SB drivers for everyone... Warp2Search.net's got the info and more right here.
"Creative is pleased to announce the availability of the latest Sound Blaster Live! Driver update. This update contains optimized support for Windows 2000 and XP, and is designed for use with all versions of the Sound Blaster Live!"
Two fine new Generals maps...
... are available on CNCdz.com:
- Desert Hijinx download
- Korea DMZ v3.0 (updated) download
"Desert Hijinx comes with two versions of the map, one for multiplayer online use and one for skirmish mode use. The map takes place some where in the Middle East. With global warming over the past 20 years water has become scarce in the region with many lakes and water reservoirs going dry. Of course oil is still a hot commodity with no plans to stop pumping until the entire region is dry."
download
"The 38th Parallel separates the Korean people by a Demilitarized Zone established between the United Nations who support the southern half of the peninsula, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea who control the northern half of the peninsula. The Demilitarized Zone or DMZ for short, between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified military borders in the world and the two nations constantly stand on the brink of war...There are 4 player spawn locations. Two exist in the DPRK of North Korea and two in the United Nations sponsored lands of South Korea, below the 38th parallel. It is known that the DPRK government of the North have Nuclear Reactors which produce weapons grade plutonium. Through advanced research, the DPRK has also secured tons of biological and systems exist in the Northern half of the DMZ. The United Nations has outfitted the Southern half of the DMZ with United States Airfields and Particle Cannons. Each player begins with one of these pre-installed military installations and must capture them in order to use them. Made with the the Generals CkMp/DEM Tool."
download
Update: Here are some more new maps directly downloadable from cncden.com...
"Alpine Village Campaign: This is one beautiful map to behold, not to mention the fun you'll have playing on it. There's a little Alpine village and farms nestled among the mountains with a train running through the mountains and throughout the breathtaking landscape. A lazy winding river runs near the center of the map with both train and vehicle bridges connecting the sides. Adequate money and lots of room to build. This map is well worthy of a download. Highly recommended! Comes in both a day version and a night version of the map."
download (night version)
download (day version)
"Abandoned Experiments: An excellent 8 player map with some very good detailing and landscaping. A river divides the map down the middle with many bridges to cross over. Comes complete with a train, bunkers and buildings to garrison, and lots of money to fight control over. Oil Derricks for added income along with Oil Refineries to capture."
download
"Desert Storm: A 4-player map that has lots of eye appeal. Real nice map layout. Has two trains around the map, so watch out or they'll run ya over...hehe. A town is located in the center of the map with lots of buildings to garrison. Adequate funds and room to expand your base. Highly recommended download!"
download
Updated the Korea DMZ map link because due to the release of an updated version the old one got deleted.
ATI & nVidia article
Tech Report know it, "ATI and NVIDIA: jealous lovers?" here's it, have a ncie read_! ;)
nVidia, ATI and MSI
News is spreading which comes from the following info @ finance yahoo:
"8:34AM NVIDIA estimates trimmed at FBR on large design loss; target $11 (NVDA) 12.57: Friedman, Billings, Ramsey has learned that NVDA has lost a large design win at Micro-Star (one of its largest customers) to ATYT; firm now believes that other designs at Micro-Star are at risk, given that they had been an NVDA-exclusive customer; additionally, firm believes NVDA's new GeForce FX line will ramp more slowly than expected due to low yields on both discrete and board-level products; trims FY04 rev/EPS ests to $1.80 bln/$0.61 from $1.83 bln/$0.63 (consensus $1.82 bln/$0.59). Price target is $11."
Goldman Sachs conference presentation
nVidia's presentation can be downloaded as PDF here.
This was the conference ATI mentioned to release the R350 in 30 days (was held February 24). 3Dcenter's had the news.
Soyo KT400 Dragon review
For our german speaking reader here's a nice article of the Soyo KT400 Dragon. They were looking for an nForce 2 mem performance beater (now for everyone, in short) and found it, the KT400 Dragon with the official performance optimized bios. Link is here.
Edge drivers
Philips have released new drivers for their soundcards Acoustic Edge and Seismic Edge. Here're the files. Win9x is version 2.59 and WinNT version 1.89.
Cinebench 2003
Maxon have released a new banchmark. This fine one to benchmark your hardware with can be found here.
"CINEBENCH 2003 is the free benchmarking tool for Windows and Mac OS based on the powerful 3D software CINEMA 4D R8. The tool is set to deliver accurate benchmarks by testing not only a computer's raw processing speed but also all other areas that affect system performance such as OpenGL, multithreading, multiprocessors and Intel's new HT Technology.
CINEBENCH 2003 includes render tasks that test the performance of up to 16 multiprocessors on the same computer as well as software-only shading tests and OpenGL shading tests on huge numbers of animated polygons that will push any computer to its limits."