What can you get for a hundred bucks these days? - ATI introduces the Radeon 4770
Posted by Robert Dow and Alex Garovi on April 28th 2009 | Permalink
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Hardware Review
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A damn powerful graphics AIB—ATI introduces the Radeon 4770 Resistance is futile – you will buy a new AIB We test a lot of things here at Mt. Tiburon Testing labs, mostly stuff that has a pixel associated with it, and sometimes things that just amuse or interest us. Last year, we became concerned with the narrow focus in evaluating graphics add-in boards (AIBs) and felt the emphasis on just the highest 3DMark Vantage score or the highest frames per second (FPS) score (using Fraps) in a game was not helping the consumer, or the manufacturers of AIBs understand the total…
What you can do with 55nm and a gig
Posted by Kathleen Maher on April 2nd 2009 | Permalink
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The HD 4890 is a dual-slot solution with two DVI-connectors FIGURE 1: The HD 4890 compared to its competitors.ATI announced two new top-of-the line single GPU AIBs this week: the HD 4890 and the HD 4890 OC. Both AIBs are based on the RV790 GPU. The new GPU is a revamped "shrink" version of the RV770, the GPU that powers the HD 4870. The RV790 is built on a 55nm process and it has 959 million transistors. ATI turned up the core clock to 850 MHz in the standard HD 4890 and 900 MHz in the OC version, which represents a…
The Nanovision Mimo UM-710 - USB powered external monitor
Posted by Kathleen Maher on March 3rd 2009 | Permalink
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According to the compact little manual, getting the Mimo display up and running should take about a minute. So okay, it took me longer. First, there was a bit of head scratching about how to attach the microphone as the instructions told me to do, but ohhh, this is a 710, it doesn’t have a mic.
Nvidia’s GeForce GTS 250
Posted by Robert Dow and Alex Garovi on March 3rd 2009 | Permalink
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Nvidia’s “new” AIB isn’t new at all; it’s the branding and marketing effort that is getting the true overhaul. It’s not the fastest card in the world, but it’s got style, vive and brand—who needs anything else?
Lenovo Elite ThinkPad W700ds
Posted by Jon Peddie and Robert Dow on March 3rd 2009 | Permalink
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Probably one of the most impressive machines we’ve played with in a while, the Lenovo dual-screen ThinkPad W700ds comes with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core2Duo processor with 4GB of DDR3, a 17-inch 1920 x 1200 main screen, a 10.4 inch 1366 768 second screen driven by a Nvidia FX 3700M, a 1.3 Mpixel camera, and a Ultanav tablet.
AMD Introduces the Phenom II
Posted by Kathleen Maher on February 18th 2009 | Permalink
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At this point, it is almost impossible for AMD to take on Intel from a technology perspective. By all accounts, the i7 processors by Intel are a huge performance step forward. Plus, with 32nm processing on tap for Intel later in the year, AMD is looking to take on their rival on different fronts; the obvious one being the cost/performance ratio.
Testing the new Nvidia monsters
Posted by Jon Peddie and Robert Dow on February 4th 2009 | Permalink
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When ATI’s half-sized half-price HD Radeon 4870 opened up a can of whoopass on Nvidia’s GTX 280, a lot of folks in the industry where all too willing write Nvidia’s epitaph. Fools. I’ve said it publicly and I’ll say it here: I’d never underestimate Jen Hsun Huang, he’ll always manage to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
Nvidia breaks the 20,000 mark
Posted by C. Robert Dow and Jon Peddie on January 19th 2009 | Permalink
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“In computer graphics too much is not enough”—Jon Peddie 1980
The new GTX 295 dual-GPU AIB from Nvidia is a beast—period. The $499 (MSRP) AIB has a pair of die-shrunk 55nm GTX 280 chips and the GPUs run at 576MHz while the memory is clocked at 999MHz.
Canon PowerShot XS10IS; Learning to live within limitations
Posted by Kathleen Maher on January 9th 2009 | Permalink
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If there is any activity guaranteed to teach you that you usually get what you pay for, it’s buying cameras. I don’t know how many times I have succumbed to a cheap camera when what I really wanted was the top-of-the-line camera.
The HP MiniNote 1000 XP for the road
Posted by Kathleen Maher on January 9th 2009 | Permalink
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A few companies have embraced the netbook, or mini notebook—some perhaps against their better judgment. If you talk to these companies, they will tell you that the mini-note class is not intended to replace a regular laptop or a desktop—it’s intended to be an on-the-go computer. Their low-power processors are designed for long battery life, as opposed to the kind of heavy-duty processor you might need for image and video editing. And, if you start thinking that you don’t really do that much video editing and only a little bit of image editing, you are thinking in directions that Intel and the computer OEMs don’t really want you to go.
