Overclockers Club news Feed

Asus Launches New EAH Graphics Cards For ATI's 5000 Series

2009-11-24T05:16:20+01:00

Asus has recently launched three new cards for their 5000 series lineup, the EAH5970/G/2DIS/2GD5, the EAH5750 FORMULA/2DI/1GD5 and finally, the EAH5770/2DI/1GD5. The EAH5970 and the EAH5770 are equipped with Asus Voltage Tweak Technology, which enables the user to boost GPU voltages using SmartDoctor for a raise in performance up to 31%! Both EAH5750 Formula and EAH5770 feature very efficient coolers, plus Asus Xtreme Design solutions for a reliable high quality product. The three cards feature all 5000 series technologies like Eyefinity and support for DX11. For more specifications please check the three images in the bottom of this article. Voltage Tweak allows the user to boost the voltage of the GPU for a raise in the Core clock and Memory clock. The EAH5970 reported a 31% score increase in 3DMark Vantage Extreme using Voltage Tweak. As you can see you can get that performance boost very easily. Both the EAH5750 Formula and the EAH5770 have improved cooling solutions from their reference counterparts. While the EAH5750 Formula uses an aerodynamic cooler and a heatsink with Micro Surface Treatment, the EAH5770 features a tuning-fork shaped heatsink for higher heat dissipation surface area while being 15dB quieter than the reference one. This means both cards run cooler and more stable with good headroom for overclocking, something that both of them have already proven they are good at.

Hardware Roundup: Tuesday Edition

2009-11-24T05:08:44+01:00

It should come as no surprise that there are several Radeon 5000-series videocard reviews in today's roundup, but we also have some news out of the Nvidia camp with a look at the upcoming Fermi architecture. As for the AMD graphics cards, we get a look at the PowerColor HD 5770 and HD 5770 and HD 5750 cards from Sapphire (both of which were reviewed by OCC here). Also in the roundup is the NZXT Lexa S computer case (also reviewed by OCC here) and more, so make certain you check out all of the reviews by using the links below.

Cases
NZXT Lexa S case @ Neoseeker

CPUs
Intel Core i7 860 LGA 1156 Processor @ ThinkComputers

Gaming
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Xbox 360 @ TweakTown

Motherboards
ASUS Maximus III GENE @ Bjorn3D
GIGABYTE P55A-UD6 (P55 Express) Motherboard @ TweakTown

Networking
Trendnet 300Mbps Wireless N Travel Router @ Rbmods

Operating Systems
Beginners Guides: Safe Mode in Windows For Crash Recovery @ PCSTATS

Power Supplies
Corsair HX650W Power Supply @ DriverHeaven

Video
Inside Fermi's graphics architecture @ Tech Report
PowerColor HD5770 Video Card @ [H]ardOCP
ATI Catalyst 9.11 New Features Analysis @ Neoseeker
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 @ Techgage
Sapphire HD5770 Videocard @ Tweaknews

Miscellany
HotHardware and TechVi Video Podcast - No 4 @ HotHardware

Sony May Open One Complete Storefront

2009-11-23T11:22:35+01:00

Earlier last year, the Sony Connect store closed down due to customers going elsewhere for DRM-free music files as well as other reasons. This in turn left the company without an online music store. Later however, it opened MusicPass for its portable music players and kept other online access points for other products open. With its PlayStation console, it currently has the PlayStation Network, and with its other variety of online stores, it is easy to see how users can get easily confused on where to go for their files and media. Sony is however considering the thought of opening up one storefront area online for consumers to purchase and download all of their media files, codenamed for now as the Sony Online Service. This new online shop should encompass all of the different areas of the company, including the Sony Ericsson phone, Walkman music players, Bravia televisions, and even its PlayStation video game consoles. It is expected that most users of the PlayStation network will not migrate over to the new service easily after being so adapted to the current system, but the new idea should make buyable media that much more easier to those people who continue to use along with support Sony and their products.

Jailbroken iPhones Being Attacked Again

2009-11-23T09:20:07+01:00

The first worm for the iPhone simply Rickrolled the user, but attempts since then haven't been so nice. The attacks are able to take place because the user hasn't changed the default password on their jailbroken phone, as users who don't jailbreak aren't affected by any of these attacks. The attack is once again SSH based, and once on the phone changes the root password. The only way to get rid of the worm at this point is to wipe the phone. The worm looks through your SMS database, and some versions are said to be able to upload that database to the creators. In addition, accessing an unnamed Dutch bank will lead users to a fake site where the hackers can steal the login information.

Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition

2009-11-23T04:26:32+01:00

It's the start of another week and our roundup has several reviews to get you started. OCZ's dual-channel 4GB DDR3 PC3-15000 offers reasonable performance at a reasonable price. In the graphics card department with have a nice mix of reviews covering a GeForce GT240 card from XFX along with the ASUS Radeon EAH5850 and HIS HD 4850 cards.

Memory
OCZ DDR3 PC3-15000 Platinum Series 4GB Memory Kit @ TweakTown

Notebooks
Asus' UL80Vt 14-inch notebook @ Tech Report

Storage/Hard Drives
AMP 4GB USB Drives @ DriverHeaven
Seagate Barracuda 2TB Sata 3 (Sata 6Gb/s) (ST32000641AS CC11) @ Bjorn3D

Video
XFX GeForce GT 240 Video Card @ Motherboards.org
HIS HD4850 VGA Card @ Overclocker Cafe
ASUS Radeon EAH5850 @ Techgage

Smoke in Your Mac is an OSHA Violation

2009-11-22T09:01:54+01:00

Two complaints have surfaced against Apple from people who had their repair claims denied by Apple techs. Two different users reported that Apple denied their repairs because the computers contained smoking residue. Apple refused to work on these computers as they were ruled to be an OSHA violation. Both Macs were covered under the Applecare warranty program, but neither of them were fixed. One user was able to clean his computer with compressed air, while the other appears to be up a creek without a paddle. There is no mention of smoke damage voiding the users warranty in the Applecare contract.

GPU-Z 0.3.7 Available

2009-11-22T02:10:59+01:00

The latest version of GPU-Z, 0.3.7 is now available. Updates in this version include full support for the ATI Radeon HD 5970 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 240 video cards, the option to show if a card is compatible with CUDA, PhysX, OpenCL and DirectX Compute, and enhanced accuracy of ATI GPU load monitoring. This new release also has the ability to show the amount of video memory in use for NVIDIA graphics card users, along with other various fixes and updates. GPU-Z 0.3.7 can be downloaded for free here.

MSI Prepares H57M-ED65 mATX Motherboard

2009-11-22T01:52:37+01:00

Intel's LGA-1156 socket is due to get some new additions early next year including dual-core variants and on-die graphics. These new members of the 1156 family will need a new home: the Intel H57 Express chipset which enables support for on-die graphics.

MSI has unveiled pictures and features of its first H57 offering, the H57M-ED65 mATX motherboard. It features a 10-phase VRM to keep the CPU fed with power and MSI's signature DrMOS heatsinks. This board has no PCI slots and contains two PCIe x16 slots and two PCIe x1 slots instead. Eight SATA 3Gbps SATA ports are available (two are from an extra storage controller) and one legacy IDE connector. The board features an array of video connectors supplied by Intel's Flexible Display technology (on-die graphics) including DVI, VGA, HDMI and Display Port. Other connectivity ports such as USB, FireWire, eSATA, Gigabit Ethernet and 8-channel audio are located on the back panel. Enthusiasts are also catered for with the MSI OC Genie and on-board power/reset buttons. I'd expect to see this board in MSI's H57 line-up in Q1 2010.

Thanks to TechSweden.org for the pictures of MSI's new motherboard.

Hardware Roundup: Weekend Edition

2009-11-21T19:55:22+01:00

It's no surprise that AMD Radeon 5970 and Nvidia GT 200 cards are still prevalent in the roundup as both cards were just released last week. Also released last week was Google's Chrome OS and we're treated to a hands-on look. We also have games, a solid state drive ad an HTPC case in this weekend's roundup for you to check out.

Cases
Thermaltake SD100 mini ITX Home Theater Chassis @ Legit Reviews

Gaming
Command and Conquer 4 (Preview) - PC and Assassins Creed II Review (PS3 & X360) @ GamingHeaven

Operating Systems
Google Chrome OS hands-on (Dev Build November 20, 2009) @ TweakTown

Storage/Hard Drives
OCZ Colossus 3.5-in Solid State Drive @ PC Perspective

Video
Leadtek GT 220 @ Bjorn3D
Sapphire 5970 Cfx and HIS 5970 CFx @ DriverHeaven
Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5970 2 GB Video Card Unboxing and Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5970 2 GB Graphics Card @ Motherboards.org (YouTube links)
ATI Catalyst 9.11 Windows 7 Driver Analysis @ TweakTown

Miscellany
PCPer Podcast #82 - Flash 10.1, AMD Radeon HD 5970, Kingston SSDNow 40GB, MSI NF980-E65 Motherboard and more! @ PC Perspective

California Passes TV Power Consumption Regulation

2009-11-21T09:52:20+01:00

The California Energy Commission has passed a new energy standard to apply to all televisions that will need to be followed fully by 2013. The regulation targets all televisions under 58 inches, and requires a 33 percent decrease in energy consumption by 2011, and 49 percent by 2013. The move to LED back lighting by LCD manufacturers has already put them on track to meet these new regulations. However, the more power hungry Plasma television may have a much tougher time meeting these requirements. Panasonic unveiled its NeoPDP technology at CES last year, which would allow for one third the energy use of older models.

Hardware Roundup: Friday Edition

2009-11-20T20:32:15+01:00

AMD is dominating the videocard news these days with its 5000-series graphics cards and the recent release of its Radeon HD 5970 is just adding fuel to the flames. OCC just published a review of the Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC and our roundup also includes a look at HD 5970 CrossFireX performance along with a review on the Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 card (also reviewed by OCC here). There's more video news surrounding the latest AMD cards with the Eyefinity Challenge coverage and a word on the shortages that have been plaguing the 5000-series cards. AMD's Athlon 2 X3 435 processor also gets covered (you can check out the OCCC review here).

CPUs
AMD Athlon 2 X3 435 CPU @ Rbmods

Gaming
League of Legends (PC) @ GamingHeaven
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 @ Techgage

Memory
OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel XMP LV 4GB @ Neoseeker

Mobile
Cooler Master SNA95 Slim Universal Notebook Adapter @ ThinkComputers

Motherboards
MSI NF980-E65 Motherboard Review: SLI for AM3 @ PC Perspective

Notebooks
Novatech X16 HD Pro Notebook @ DriverHeaven

Operating Systems
Unearth Region-Specific Windows 7 Themes @ TechSpot

Storage/Hard Drives
AXUS FiT 500E Five-Bay RAID DAS Server @ TweakTown

Video
Eyefinity Challenge in Dallas, TX @ [H]ardOCP
ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB in CrossFireX @ TweakTown
Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 @ XSReviews
AMD speak to Heaven Media (DriverHeaven) regarding HD 5000 shortages @ DriverHeaven

Chrome Operating System Unveiled

2009-11-19T13:14:20+01:00

While it has been talked about for some time since the release of the Google Chrome browser, the Chrome operating system has not been heard about much until now. Google is just today revealing its Chrome operating system to the general public, though no release time or much information at all is being brought forward, besides a possible completion of the project sometime last next year. Awkwardly enough, the operating system runs mainly on a cloud system, with the Google browser being the main interface that users access everything from, including email to word documents. Even regular hard drives will not be supported, and only solid state drives will make it on the list of storage mediums that can be used. Hardware wise, the search engine company is limiting what hardware the new OS will run on, though since it will be open source, it will not be long before mass amounts of different processors, video cards, and sound cards are supported by code edits, though x86 architecture and ARM CPUs are being supported initially. The demo was run on an ASUS Eee PC, even though Google will be selling its own approved hardware when the operating system comes to the masses. Flash is being heavily used throughout the new operating system; however Microsoft Silverlight was not discussed much at all at the unveiling.

Hardware Roundup: Thursday Edition

2009-11-19T04:41:10+01:00

After yesterday's round of reviews on the latest graphics card from AMD, the Radeon HD 5970, we managed to turn up a couple more reviews. Nvidia also released its GT 240 cards this week and we have a look at the Palit GT 240 Sonic videocard (also reviewed by OCC here). Although new videocards always generate lots of excitement, we do have reviews on other items in today's roundup including an unboxing video of the Sapphire 950w/1250w Pure PSUs (OCC reviewed the Sapphire Pure 1250W here) and more, so be sure to use the links below to read all the latest from around the web.

Media Players
Patriot Box Office HD Media Player @ Legit Reviews

Monitors
Samsung SyncMaster LD190G 19-inch Lapfit USB LCD Monitor @ ThinkComputers

Motherboards
ASUS P7P55D Pro @ Techgage

Power Supplies
Sapphire 950w/1250w Pure PSU Unboxing Videos @ Motherboards.org (YouTube link)

Speakers/Headphones
Sharkoon XTactic Digital Surround Sound Headset @ DriverHeaven

Storage/Hard Drives
A-DATA SH93 Waterproof and Shock Resistant Portable HDD @ TweakTown
OCZ Agility 60GB SSD (SLC) @ Bjorn3D

Video
AMD's Radeon HD 5970 graphics card @ Tech Report
Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 2GB Overclocked @ TweakTown
Palit GT 240 Sonic @ Neoseeker
NVIDIA Pushes 3D Vision Outside the Gaming Box @ TweakTown

First Working NVIDIA GF100 Video Card Pictured

2009-11-19T01:37:11+01:00

NVIDIA's Senior PR Manager Brian Burke has uploaded the first picture of a working GF100 video card on the company's Facebook page. For those of you in the dark, GF100 is the codename for the first GeForce GPU based on NVIDIA's Fermi architecture. The card is running Unigine Corp's DX 11 "Heaven" benchmark on a Dell monitor. It seems as though NVIDIA is trying to reassure consumers that Fermi cards are on track for release early next year in light of last month's revelation that the Fermi Card used in Jen-Hsun Huang's presentation was a mock-up. Whatever stage of development Fermi is in, I think NVIDIA should be concerned with the recent launch of ATI's top-end behemoth, the 5970.

NVIDIA GeForce 195.55 WHQL-candidate Drivers Unveiled

2009-11-19T01:10:08+01:00

NVIDIA has unveiled its newest driver, GeForce 195.55. This new driver is NVIDIA's first driver to support the GT 240 video card and GPU acceleration of HD videos in Adobe Flash 10.1 Beta, in line with the recently released ATI Catalyst 9.11. SLI support for new games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Borderlands and FIFA Soccer 10 is also included in conjunction with many minor fixes. You may download the NVIDIA GeForce 195.55 WHQL-candidate drivers for Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP here.