Moss Technology (Substitute Page)

The latest rumors and speculations point towards a new portable gaming system from Microsoft under the XBOX gaming name. The chance is high since both Sony and Nintendo already have their own portable gaming systems out on the market, Playstation Portable and Nintendo DS, respectively. Microsoft as already made two moderately sucessful consoles, the Xbox and its sucessor the Xbox 360. Out of three major console companies, Microsoft is the only one that doesn't have a portable console on the scene. Team Xbox makes its case for a portable Xbox system and how the device might look.

Team Xbox envisions a system with a QWERTY keyboard, directional pad, trackball and four action buttons (concept design above). The Xbox Portable (XP) might look like the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 (below). As for the cpu, it's a toss up between Transmeta's Efficeon and Intel's procs. When it comes to mobile and handheld devices; low power consumption, small size, and low cost are key factors. There’s a company that has specialized in the development of advanced microprocessors that are excellent at accomplishing the aforementioned things. That company is Transmeta. The gpu is basically decided, the NVIDIA GoForce 5500 handheld gpu spanks everything that ATI throws at it. The list of specs of this little wonder is simply outstanding for a handheld graphics processor. The graphics are on par with the Xbox 360, and are far superior to the graphics used by the PSP and the DS.



No matter how good the hardware is, the fate of the final product rests on the software. SOFTWARE. Not the hardware, this is why the PSP with all its advanced hardware couldn't dethrone Nintendo from its postion as the portable handheld ruler. Even though the PSP had a slew of features it never had any good titles. That’s why the Nintendo DS is giving the PlayStation Portable a run for its money. Furthermore, the Nintendo DS became America's top-selling video game system of any type in June, and the new Super Mario Bros. grabbed the No. 1 spot on the U.S. video game sales chart in June for the second month in a row with 453,000 units sold. As for pricing, Microsoft has to walk a fine line with the XP. Nintendo’s DS is sitting on store shelves for $129 while Sony’s PSP retails for $199. Microsoft would be wise to price its unit between those two price points or not to far above the PSP’s price of entry to capture the attention of gamers. Special thanks to Dailytech and Team Xbox

Posted by tlmoss at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments

At 19 inches high, 9.5 inches wide, and 24 inches long, the new chassis is shorter than the old model (24 by 8.5 by 21 inches), but it's more voluminous, most notably from its extra 3 inches in length. We like that the new case isn't as tall, and it stands a better chance of finding a spot under your desk (the old chassis couldn't fit anywhere). The hands-down coolest feature of the new case is its lighting system. The new chassis has five external lighting locations. Through a custom-built software interface, you can change each light to virtually any color you can imagine. Better, you can also program certain behaviors to the lights to tie-in to application or general system activity. You can set the lights to turn off automatically when a DVD movie starts, and you can make them blink when you have a new e-mail message. Alienware isn't the first desktop vendor to give case lighting a practical use, but it's by far the most fully realized.

Posted by tlmoss at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments

Apple is recalling MacBook Pro batteries that were manufactured between February and May of 2006. These batteries where sold only with the 15-inch Macbook Pro. Affected batteries are ones with model number A1175 and have a 12-digit serial number ending with U7SA. U7SB or U7SC. According to the support release:

We recently discovered that some 15-inch MacBook Pro batteries supplied to Apple do not meet our high standards for battery performance. To give our users the best experience possible, we will replace these batteries for customers free of charge. The affected batteries do not pose a safety risk. You may continue to use your current battery until a replacement arrives.

Even though the note says that the batteries won't pose a safety risk, the best idea is to not use your Macbook Pro until the replacement arrives, just in case. Apple is conducting the recall through its website, but for those who need switch out more than three batteries will have contact Apple directly. Apple said that the shipping time will vary between 3 to 5 days, depending on avaibility. The Macbook Pro family has been a target of numerous problems since its release earlier this year. Apple recently announced official support for customers with MacBook Pros that exhibited the whine noises. Customers are asked to call Apple directly for this issue. Special thanks to Dailytech.

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A couple of companies such as Gateway, Dell and Alienware have already released computers with Intel's brand Core 2 Duo inside (the darn thing came out yesterday!) Online retailers have already started selling Core 2's to the public but at prices 50$ more than suggested. A slew of new computers came today, two new ones from Gateway, and three Dells (one workstation and two desktops.) Many boutique builders with names you've never even heard of also released a couple. Samsung also release a desktop equipped with the Core 2 Duo. And we can't forget Alienware's new Core 2 gaming desktops: the Alienware Area-51 7500 and the Area-51 ALX. Both feature Alienware's new P2 chassis, which I think is the best lookin' chassis I've ever seen, can be equipped with Core Extreme processors, NVIDIA SLI graphics solutions and can support up to four SATA hard drives in a RAID configuration. The Area-51 ALX also allows you to add the yummy NVIDIA Quad-SLI. Alienware's Area-51 7500 starts at a $1,799 while the Area-51 ALX is way into the dream PC category at $5,999. Special thanks again to Dailytech.

Posted by tlmoss at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

There used be a clean distinction between PC gamers and console players, but with the arrival of the Xbox 360 everything changes. The Xbox 360 made the lines a lot more fuzzier. Basically the Xbox 360 is a mid-ranged gaming PC that Microsoft shoved into a sleek package, so sleek in fact it makes you wonder how they did it. The Xbox 360's user interface is almost as good as TiVo's in terms of slick presentation and ease of use. But as good as it seems the 360 has its flaws. While Microsoft is finally amassing a good library of games, Sony and Nintendo race to finish their consoles. Those two companies better hurry because the Xbox 360 will be a hard temptation for gamers to resist for too long. Features: The Xbox 360 has two versions of the Xbox 360 currently avaiable. There is the $299 Core System which delivers the basics: the console, a single wired controller (boo, hiss) and a standard composite A/V cable. The $399 "premium" bundle includes the console, a wireless game controller, a communications headset for Xbox Live, a component A/V cable, an Ethernet networking cable, and (most important) a snap-on 20GB hard drive. The 20GB hard drive is absolutely necessary to play games designed for the old Xbox and enjoy the 360's more advanced media features. The 360 was designed ground up to be ready for HDTV era. The 360 includes Dolby Digital audio, can play more than 200 games designed for the original Xbox, and Microsoft is finally added more games to the library after the post-launch lull. The Xbox 360 has a customized IBM PowerPC CPU, boasts three processing cores running at 3.2GHz each, each offering two hardware threads, while the ATI graphics processor is said to be able to pump out 500 million triangles per second. But, for now the Xbox 360 is the console to buy. Special thanks cnet.

Posted by tlmoss at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Watching Apple's new 30-second ads, I'm thinking Apple had just run out of ways to be cool. And in the one that stays that you can run windows on a Mac, the point of getting a Mac is for the OS and the programs. The hardware sucks and Macs cost way to much, and if you're run windows on a Mac, I think you head's on backwards. Anyway, for all you people who hate the new mac ads click here. Enjoy!

Posted by tlmoss at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Last week ATI announced details of its new Radeon X1950 and X1900 graphics cards based on the R580 core (which came out this January), with has 48-pixel-shaders, the R580 features a robust memory controller capable of utilizing many different types of memory, including the brand-new GDDR4. Both Hynix and Samsung have started revenue shipments of GDDR4 memory several weeks ago. The main difference between the X1900 and the X1950 is the the X1950 has an added benefit of a new cooler, GDDR4 memory, and different frequency clocks. Special thanks to Kristopher Kubicki and Dailytech.

Posted by tlmoss at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments

When Sony first brought the PRS-500 to CES this past January, everyone ooooed and awwwwed. And I agree the Sony e-Ink Reader is a totally awesome device. (Click the picture to enlarge). Using a new feature called e-Ink, the reader 'paints' the words on to the sreen. This way it doesn't have to use all its power to keep the screen from going out (in other words the exact opposite of a LCD screen.) Hence, the eBook has an exactordinary battery life. The PRS-500 was scheduled for Spring 2006 launch but was pushed back twice, first time to Summer '06, than second time (today) to Fall '06. That leaves us with a question will we see the PS3 before we hold the PRS-500 in our hands? Special thanks to Dailytech

Posted by tlmoss at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

The XPS 700 was shoved into gamer's faces near the end of May this year, with a 3.73GHz Pentium Extreme Edition processor and an NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP. At the time, Dell also offered up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, 1.5TB of storage and dual GeForce 7900 GTX graphics cards. But with the coming of Intel's Core 2 procs for the desktop market; it was time for an upgrade. Intel's Core 2 processors are cooler and faster across the board when compared to Pentium-D and Extreme Edition processors, so Dell has taken the opportunity to upgrade its XPS 700. Although CNET was given the opportunity to review a Core 2 Extreme X6800-based XPS 700 a few weeks ago, customers haven't been able to lay their hands on one yet. Plus, since the Core 2 Duo proc is so much faster, cooler and quieter. You run the dang thing without using a fan for hours on end with the temps going up a few degrees. And unlike the Pentiums which got their ass handed to them everytime they faced an Athlon, the Core 2's kick AMD off a cliff. Cough. Current XPS 700 users will be able to upgrade to a Core 2 after BIOS problem is fixed. But for all the unlucky people who ordered a XPS after July 18 will have to wait a little bit longer to get your machine. But the good thing is Dell will give you an offer to upgrade to a Core 2 proc for no charge (take it by all means!!!) But...Dells weblog says this...unfortunately, this offer will extend your wait time—due to contractual arrangements, we can’t provide a specific delivery time at this point. We apologize for not being able to give you a ship date at this time.That is all. Special thanks to Dailytech.

Posted by tlmoss at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

After years of releasing nothing but slow and power hungry processors, Intel is back and unless AMD does something soon, very soon, then tommorrow, July 27th is it's doomsday, for tomorrow is the that Core 2 Duo. Core 2 Extreme X6800 kicks AMD's butt, even it's brand-new FX-62. The Extreme beats AMD's best by 70%, 70% on average!!!. It beats the FX-62 in everything, games, video editing, you name it and the C2E wins all out. If thats not embarassing, the 316$ E6600 also beats the FX-62 (which twice as much as the E6600!) in most benchmarks. I'm not the type of reviewer who reviews 1000$ procs (aka X6800) but more of the type of cpus you and I might get our hands on. The E6600 is on the outer edges of my budget.

Current Pricing
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800................................2.93GHz 4MB $999
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700.......................................2.66GHz 4MB $530
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600.......................................2.40GHz 4MB $316
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ ...................................2.6GHz 1MB $301
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ ...................................2.4GHz 1MB $240
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400.......................................2.13GHz 2MB $224
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ ...................................2.2GHz 1MB $187
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300.......................................1.86GHz 2MB $183
Intel Pentium D 945............................................3.40GHz4MB $163
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+...................................2.0GHz 1MB $152
Intel Pentium D 915............................................2.80GHz 4MB $133
Intel Pentium D 820............................................2.80GHz 2MB $113
Intel Pentium D 805............................................2.66GHz 2MB $93

Scores*:
*The E6400 wasn't avaliable during benchmarking. Special thanks to Anandtech for providing the graphs


According to Sysmark 2004 score the E6300 is on par with the 5000+ and Intel's former king the 965 Extreme Edition. The other three Core 2's take up 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with the FX-62 trailing far in the distance.



AMD was the king of the gaming arena, as you can see the Pentium D's didn't stand a chance, but as in every other benchmark the Core 2's are the winners. The FX-62 still trailing behind the Extreme and the two 4MB cache Core 2 Duo's. The E6300 got a little behind but is on par with the more expensive 4600+. Surprisingly the budget Core 2 Duo, the E6300 beat the crap out of its respective (and the more expensive) AMD procs. The E6300 occisiaonally came very close the FX-62.

In other words AMD fell behind and it will be hard to catch up with Intel having such a lead.

Posted by tlmoss at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments

AMD and ATI are about to merge, no one knows for when, but in the next days. Dave Orton (ATI on the left) and Hector Ruiz (AMD) shake on the deal. The new company will keep the AMD headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, and the previous ATI headquarters will act as the business center. NVIDIA is AMD's #1 supplier of core logic for AMD platforms and is also a direct competitor of ATI for control of the graphics card and intregated graphics share of the market. NVIDIA will almost definitely approach Intel with much more vigor than in the past. The deal still needs the approval from the AMD and ATI shareholders. Special thanks to Kristopher Kubicki and Dailytech.

Posted by tlmoss at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments

"Yesterday, Samsung announced that the company has started mass producing its GDDR4 memory for graphics cards. GDDR4 is now JEDEC sanctioned and commercially “ready” for video card manufacturers. GDDR4 is the memory successor to GDDR3 both of which are unrelated to the JEDEC DDR3 memory standard. The new GDDR4 memory has a data transfer rate around 2.4Gbps on a 32-bit bus. Samsung is shipping the new 80nm memory in 512Mb configurations, which is likely configured in 16x32 layouts. Samsung also claims that this 2.4Gbps GDDR4 showed a 45% power savings when compared to 2.0Gbps GDD3." The quote before is by Sven Olsen. The reduction in power is sorely needed for current graphics cards consume way to much power almost as much as the thermal-nucleur Pentium D's. And hopefully the reduction of power usuage might make the GPU's run a bit cooler

Posted by tlmoss at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

There aren't many water-cooling systems out there that are cheap and good at cooling. Some leak, some make you think that you have downgraded your system. The Nautilus 500 from the famous memory manufacturer Corsair, stands out as a shining example to prove that water-cooling might actually be worth it. The Nautilus cools extremely well, doesn't cost much and easy to install, according to Corsair's website it takes only eight minutes to install. Really the only knock against the Nautilus is that it only cools the processor, but for this price I'm not surprised, most water-cooling systems don't get GPU waterblocks 'til their in the 3xx price range. And this isn't really a con just a personal preference, I don't really like external water-cooling systems. So let's recap, good cooling,, easy installation, and a barebones price, make this the water-cooler to have.

Pro: Excellent cooling, easy to install, and cheap. Water-cooling doesn't get better than this :)

Cons: Pump is somewhat audible, and Socket 939 installation requires undue force.

Verdict: 9

$159.99

Posted by tlmoss at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments