Computex 2009: Hardware Preview

Am I the only one who is underwhelmed by Lynnfield?

Also - ASUS going the Zotac way with an external 'OC Station'?

I wonder how durable those graphics cards will actually be. :p

What exactly is a power phase? Why are 24 power phases so impressive?

If they can actually put a decent screen and CPU into that XSlim, I would buy that in a heartbeat.

My main PC is a Toshiba Satellite P206 - one of those 17" desktop replacements. I can carry it around without any real difficulty, but I certainly wouldn't mind some of the weight being taken off my shoulders. But I don't want to give up the bigger screen size and resolution it offers - and I definitely don't want to give up the number pad. If MSI can make the XSlim work, it would be a dream come true for some of us.

- Diosjenin -

I'm liking the new Gigabyte X58 board but why are ASUS bothering with that OC station? Personally I think it's an ok idea but why duel bays? Put in a small screen, make it single slot, ditch the USB for power and add an extra moles port, much better.

X58, meh...

I think Intel would see better sales if they just dropped the price of their 1366 boards. From what I understand, the only reason they are priced so high is because Intel isn't allowing any 3rd party chipsets, and therefore can charge an arm and a leg for theirs...

Originally Posted by docodine
What exactly is a power phase? Why are 24 power phases so impressive?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter#Multiphase_Buck

They're probably not really 24-phase - manufacturers and tech journalists like to exaggerate.

im a little concerned by the lack of onboard GPUs on the p55's i have seen so far

Originally Posted by ch424
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter#Multiphase_Buck

They're probably not really 24-phase - manufacturers and tech journalists like to exaggerate.

Originally Posted by From the Review
On its premium boards Gigabyte will start using a massive 24 power phases for the CPU. Those are real phases with one driver per pair of MOSFETs and single choke, not the Virtual ones with one driver shared between many MOSFETs and multiple chokes.

?

EDIT: Fixed

you know: "A whirlpool of extraordinary size or violence."

Originally Posted by ch424

Quote:

Originally Posted by docodine
What exactly is a power phase? Why are 24 power phases so impressive?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter#Multiphase_Buck

They're probably not really 24-phase - manufacturers and tech journalists like to exaggerate.

It is real - I counted the drivers: 1 driver, 2 FET, 1 small choke. Gigabyte makes the biggest un-necessary dick swing to date.

And, uh, yea, I really appreciate the confidence in knowing how to do my job

Are there 2 USB 3.0 ports on the Gigabyte boards? or am I just seeing things.

what's the RoG overclocking chip do?

the Asus OC panel looks like just a flashier version of Abit uGuru panel. wish Abit are still around :(

IMHO the only reason manufacturers include external stations for overclocking is for flashy looks and able to jack up the price. who would want more external crap cluttering up their desktop? monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse is all that's needed on a desktop, everything else should go inside the case.

Originally Posted by wuyanxu
what's the RoG overclocking chip do?

the Asus OC panel looks like just a flashier version of Abit uGuru panel. wish Abit are still around :(

IMHO the only reason manufacturers include external stations for overclocking is for flashy looks and able to jack up the price. who would want more external crap cluttering up their desktop? monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse is all that's needed on a desktop, everything else should go inside the case.

It's an additional purchase not a bundled item, and it goes in your case not on your desktop :)

What RoG OC chip - you mean the MSI Core OC Genie one? I don't know yet, I have a meeting with their performance team tomorrow :)

ill totally be picking up that gigabyte 785g board when it comes out, bought time i retired my 690g board :)

It's good to see what I won't get [any time soon].

The MSI cards could be interesting but for the price, those In-Fail cases are awful, ASUS' OC Station a gimmick nothing more, the Gigabyte boards very interesting, I don't think I'll go AMD for my next CPU so any 785 board is not that interesting.

Nice round-up though! ;)

Any chance we could get a review of one of In-Win's mini-ITX cases? Overclockers has had a couple of their cases available for a few weeks now, and I'd love to see how they perform with the two Zotac 9300 boards (Atom and C2D).

MSI XSlim X600 ultra thin and wide notebook - MacBook rip off anyone?

Originally Posted by pimlicosound
Any chance we could get a review of one of In-Win's mini-ITX cases? Overclockers has had a couple of their cases available for a few weeks now, and I'd love to see how they perform with the two Zotac 9300 boards (Atom and C2D).

We're on the list :)

"MSI GTX 260 Lightening graphics card" Lightening?

Originally Posted by Bindibadgi

Quote:

Originally Posted by pimlicosound
Any chance we could get a review of one of In-Win's mini-ITX cases? Overclockers has had a couple of their cases available for a few weeks now, and I'd love to see how they perform with the two Zotac 9300 boards (Atom and C2D).

We're on the list :)

I love you guys.

did i read that right, they are updating the GTX 275 as well? (im at work and the IE doesnt render the page well :( )

I really like the look of the In-Win Maelstrom case. Hopefully it will sell for a reasonable price. My Coolermaster Centurion needs replacing due to scratches.

I also like the Asus OC Station. The display is really cool.

Originally Posted by yakyb
im a little concerned by the lack of onboard GPUs on the p55's i have seen so far

You won't see onboard GPUs on any P55 motheboards. You'll have to wait for the G55 variants.

I -love- that gigabyte are making the AMD bios hack available on all dual bios SB750, and I assume SB710 boards even though it wasn't mentioned in the article, since it has ACC and its the chipset on the 785G board shown :)