PURE Digital - a division of Imagination Technologies - announced ZXR-750, the world's first integrated 7.1-speaker system. The stylish silver ZXR-750 provides quality audio for surround sound games and movies. It will be available from July 2003 for £99.99 (inc. VAT UK). ZXR-750 provides straightforward playback of 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 audio sources - maximising the potential of new Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES material.1 However, with PURE?s groundbreaking SurFE (Surround Field Enhancement) technology the system can also deliver eight channel playback (7.1), from 5.1 source material. With SurFE, the two rear channels from any 5.1 source are converted into four discrete side and rear channels. This means that movement of sounds behind the listener tracks perfectly smoothly between the speakers, delivering the listener right into the centre of the action.

Just spotted this bit of info at AMDboard.com:

We are stunned to learn that MSI has produced the first motherboard socket 940 dual Opteron that works with Athlon 64 (socket 754) too! The board is named K8D Master2 FAR and, at time of writing, we're not fully certain if the board will request any kind of adaptor to fit the Athlon 64 into the Opteron socket or if AMD is not going to produce a socket 940 version of the Athlon 64!

Xbitlabs.com reports that its is now confirmed that Intel is playing the same bad socket joke it is known for again and current platforms from a lot of mainboard makers will not be compatible with Intel Prescott processor coming out this Fall. According to roadmaps I have just seen, a huge Taiwanese mainboard maker will start to offer mainboards with appropriate features and capabilities to support Prescott in the second half of August. Rancho*: We already reported earlier about the questionable support capabilities of today's i865/i875 mainboards. It appears that it is actually a fact of foresight with motherboard makers if current models can support Prescott or not. Asus says, or at least claims, that their P4P800 is able to: New power design supports Intel next generation Prescott CPU. I would suggest now that this has become an issue to inquire at the vendor if the model you desire has this option. If not, better buy something else.

Erste Hinweise auf die Existenz einer Radeon 9800 SE konnten zuerst in der Änderungsliste der offiziellen Catalyst 3.5 Treiber, entdeckt werden. Da ATI allerdings am 28. Juni einen Relaunch ihres Internetauftritts durchgeführt hat, verweisen wir an dieser Stelle auf unseren Artikel in dem noch das Original erhalten blieb. ATI hat nämlich die Liste im Zuge des Relaunch ebenfalls überarbeitet. Informationen über die 9800 SE sind recht schwierig zu finden. Nach und nach tauchen aber doch einige Informationen auf, die wir für Euch zusammengetragen haben, inklusive 2 Fotos der Platinen.

The first reference to the Radeon 9800 SE could be found in the original Catalyst 3.5 release notes, that have been revamped after ATI launched their new website on June 28, 2003. Information about this card has been rare but with time passing, more and more specs have been revealed and we have gathered all the known specifications for you including two board photo's. German translation available over here

Following Kingston, OCZ Technology yesterday revealed the availability of PC4000 DDR500 EL DDR Gold Edition memory modules, featuring HyperSpeed and Extended Voltage Protection technology. OCZ HyperSpeed® technology denotes specific OCZ EL DDR ICs built and selected for their ability to run at the highest possible frequency. EVP protection allows the modules to tolerate higher voltage without compromising stability. OCZ PC4000 EL DDR Gold Edition will be shipping in 256MB and 512MB modules, as well as hand matched and tested 512MB (2x256MB) and 1GB (2x512MB) Dual Channel kits with rated timings of CL 2.5-4-4-7 at 2.8 volts. OCZ PC4000 EL DDR Gold Edition includes a gold layered heatspreader and is backed by OCZ's industry-best tech support along with hassle-free lifetime warranty service. Each module is hand-tested in the ABIT IC7-G to ensure maximum stability and performance.

Plextor, one of the leading companies for the development and production of CD-ROM drives, CD-Recorders and CD-ReWriters is expanding its range with its first Dual Format drive: PX-708A (internal) and PX-708UF (external), which writes DVD's at 8-speed, rewrites at 4-speed using the DVD plus format. With the DVD minus format, this drive writes at 4x and rewrites at 2x. The PX-708A reads DVD-ROMs at 12x. The PX-708A / PX-708UF both come with a tray load mechanism.

ABIT is proud to announce their latest motherboard for the AMD platform, the KV7. The KV7 is powered by the long-awaited VIA KT600 chipset, which features both support for DDR 400 and a 400 MHz front side bus, making it ready for the latest games and applications. And of course the KV7 comes with serial ATA RAID 0/1 and is loaded with ABIT Engineered features for overclocking fanatics, like Softmenu? MAX FID and TweakGuard?.

Just spotted this bit of info at NvNews.net:

Take this with a pinch of salt but a website has what it claims to be an AMD Athlon64 3400+ and AMD Athlon64 motherboard. Basically it's nudies of an ASUS board with supposedly VIA's KT800 chipset and the Athlon64 3400+.

Toms Hardware Guide have posted their 24 Board Intel 865/875P Roundup! Here's a snip.

In the next few months, two chipsets will set the pace for the Intel P4 platform, namely the 875P as the top model and the somewhat cheaper 865 with its derivatives. It is also apparent that the Grantsdale chipset, which is not due to be released until mid 2004, will expand the current generation. The two modules are therefore designed to last a long time and are ideal as upgrades or for OEM use.

Xbitlabs have thrown up their Contemporary Socket A Chipsets: NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400, NVIDIA nForce2 400, SiS748 and VIA KT600 article!

We reviewed 4 new chipsets for Socket A processors. Hopefully you will find our article helpful when deciding on the configuration of your future Athlon XP platform.

Der Hardwarehersteller EPoX hat für sechs seiner Pentium-4-Mainboards BIOS-Updates herausgebracht, die Knackser bei der Musikwiedergabe über den Onboard-AC97-Soundchip beseitigen sollen. Von Sound-Problemen erlöst sein sollen nach BIOS-Update die Mainboards EP-4PCA3+ (BIOS-Datei: 4PC33703.ZIP), das EP-4PCA3I (4C3I3703.ZIP), das EP-4PGAI (4PGA3703.ZIP), das EP-4PDA und die Varianten EP-4PDAI sowie EP-4PDAEI (jeweils 4PDA3703.ZIP). EPoX stellt seine BIOS-Updates unter www.epox.de/techsupp/downloads.asp zum Herunterladen zur Verfügung.

Kingston Technology released two specialty DRAM modules designed specifically for high-end PC enthusiasts on Tuesday. The official press release is still not available though. Although no memory controller currently supports either DDR466 or DDR500 memory, Kingston is releasing "HyperX" branded modules based upon both types of specialty PC memory manufactured by Winbond, according to a Kingston company spokeswoman. But customers should be prepared to pay for the extra performance; the modules are about twice as expensive as Kingston's more standard DDR400 memory modules. Users will have a choice of 256-Mbyte, 512-Mbyte, and 1-Gbyte unbuffered modules. Kingston will offer "kits" of the 512-Mbyte and 1-Gbyte module offerings, providing paired DRAM modules that have been specifically tested for compatibility with one another. Both modules will use a 184-pin pinout and use 3-4-4-8-1 timings, or CAS Latency 3, and will include an aluminum heat spreader. The modules run at 2.65V. You can order those here.

XabreGamers has more info regarding the upcoming S3 DeltaChrome, including the release schedule of the VPU. The DeltaChrome is S3 Graphics' upcoming GPU which supports both DX9 and OpenGL 1.4, PS and VS 2.0 and a lot of other goodies.

AMDZone's Chris Tom writes down performance numbers from the nForce 3 Pro powered Asus SK8N. He compares it to the Athlon XP 3200+ and the P4 3.2GHz performance using 242 and 244 Opterons at default and overclocked speeds. Enjoy.

Xbitlabs Andy Yaschenko has thrown up his 10 page CPUs With 64bit Architecture: Evolution or Revolution? article. Here's a byte (or two):

We are facing the transition from 32bit to 64bit technology. But are we ready for that? In this article we are going to take a look at the processor market to see if there is real need in this transition and what the solutions will be the pioneers in the 64bit world.

Laut US-Presseberichten hat der Prozessorhersteller AMD aus Versehen eine Zusammenfassung seiner geplanten Veröffentlichungstermine für weitere 64-Bit-Prozessoren an Journalisten geschickt. So wurden nun die genauen Einführungstermine für die Athlon-64-Prozessoren für Desktop- und Notebook-PCs sowie für einen schnelleren Dual-Prozessor-fähigen Opteron bekannt. Der Opteron 246 soll am 4. August 2003 sein Debüt feiern, um dann das schnellste Mitglied der bisher aus den Modellen Opteron 240 (1,4 GHz), 242 (1,6 GHz) und 244 (1,8 GHz) bestehenden 2-Wege-Serie zu werden. Eine Taktrate wurde noch nicht genannt, die bisherigen Taktraten lassen aber auf runde 2 GHz schließen. Für den 22. September 2003 gelistet wurde der 8-Wege-fähige Opteron 846 und - kurioserweise - nochmal der Opteron 246. Vermutlich war stattdessen eher der 1-Wege-Opteron 146 gemeint und ein Vertipper die Ursache. Eine weitere Erklärung wäre, dass die Termine noch nicht ganz feststehen. Mehr Infos: Golem.de

Xbitlabs.com reports that the initial pricing of Intel code-named Prescott processor was revealed by an unofficial source today. The fastest Socket 478 chip from Intel with 800MHz Quad Pumped Bus and 1MB of L2 cache in addition to loads of other improvements will cost you $640 in quantities starting from 1000 units at launch this year.

Just spotted this scoop at Adrian's Rojakpot.

Has anyone heard of the new AMD Athlon FX? No? That wouldn?t be surprising since I have never heard of it until now! Athlon FX is apparently going to be AMD?s official name for the new Athlon XP Thorton core.

Iwill has revealed a new Pentium 4 mini PC system called ZPC. With delicate appearance, stylish design and profound performance, ZPC is quite suitable for today's fashion geeks. Iwill's ZPC comes with a slim and light box as a book-sized P4 barebone. The dimension is ultra-compact as 18.4 x 26.3 x 5.4(cm) which perfectly matches even the smallest of spaces in home or office. The ZPC features an advanced method of cooling system called Radiator Cooling Technology to solve the thermal issue in a mini PC. It let heat disappear directly from the bladed heat sink to the chassis.