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PCs

directx

Microsoft: DirectX 11 To Use GPU For Parallel Processing

DirectX 11 is coming, and it looks pretty awesome. Sure, you get advancements in shading and better support for multi-core machines, but what's really got our heads turning is the concept of letting programmers use the GPU in your video card to do some of the heavy lifting, meaning your graphics chip becomes a second, parallel processor. While the idea itself isn't new, this is the first we've heard of DirectX using such technology and we're sure it'll have PC gaming fanboys drooling when it rolls out, whenever that happens to be. [Joystique]

hosed

Email Reveals Nvidia and ATI May Have Colluded to Inflate Prices

A graphics card can cost you almost as much as a bona fide Batman gadget, especially when you get up to ridiculous amounts of power and performance, but that ludicrous price is actually less ludicrous than it could be, because of the cutthroat competition between ATI and Nvidia, right? Not so fast. An email Nvidia sent by Nvidia senior VP of marketing, Dan Vivoli, to ATI's president and COO, Dave Orton made public by the judge in an ongoing anti-trust suit against the two companies reveals that they both see eye-to-eye on prices. Namely, that they should be higher: More »

dell

Dell Linux Systems Now Shipping With Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron

Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron has been out since April, but Dell wanted to do a whole bunch of testing and add support for stuff like fingerprint readers, Bluetooth, HDMI and MP3/WMA/WMV out of the box before rolling it out on their Linux systems. It's shipping on 'em as of this second. [Dell via Direct2Dell]

apple

Apple Now #3 U.S. Computer Maker, Behind Only Dell and HP

Last Friday might've been the most important day of the year for Apple, but today's looking pretty shiny too: Gartner estimates that sales of 1.4 million Macs last quarter effectively make it the number three computer maker in the US, trailing only Dell and HP, thanks to a swoopy 38 percent growth in Mac sales. More »

great ideas*

Wal-Mart Getting Its Own Geek Squad, Courtesy of Dell

If I ran Wal-Mart and was brainstorming ideas to pump up customer satisfaction, offering Dell tech services would be near the bottom of my list. Free Snickers would probably be near the top. Anyways, you can guess which one Wal-Mart is actually going with. More »

ati

ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Previewed: ATI's Fastest Single Graphics Card Ever

ATI fanboys, your time may have come with the R700-based Radeon HD 4870 X2. It's a $500 multi-GPU card that basically straps together a pair of Radeon HD 4870s with 2GB of onboard memory to create ATI's fastest single card ever. (It's not your imagination, they're really stepping with the Nvidia-killing, which is sweet.) Benchwise, it actually beats Nvidia's monster GeForce GTX 280 running in SLI in a couple of games, like Age of Conan. More »

sony

PlayStation Network Finally Gets Single Sign On for All Platforms

A small, but happy change in the PlayStation Network: Starting this fall all PlayStation users will have a single sign on that works across PS3, PC and PSP. One. That works across all three platforms. Simplicity and logic, meet Sony.

case mod

Famous Batmobile Tumbler Case Mod on eBay

About a year ago, the Batmobile case mod lit up the internets with a design crafted from a Wal-Mart R/C Tumbler. The mod still kicks ass, but the specs were lame a year ago and are now...one year lamer. Still, it would make for a unique web surfing device and a great way to celebrate the opening of the new movie. Plus, its pretty cheap at the moment (although there is still a week left). [eBay via Geekalerts]

packard bell

Packard Bell (!?) Launches Gaming Desktop Line

Packard Bell—previously referred to as Packard Hell and Packard Smell—is diving head-first into the gaming PC market with the ipower X2.0, a gaming rig that features full customization at a decent price. It's aimed squarely at offerings from Acer and Ares. The Intel-based machines give customers their choice of ATI or Nvidia graphics, disk drives, audio options, TV tuners and other add-ons. In addition, the PC features advanced cooling, including a silent water cooling system. The boxes are expected for this holiday season at about $2000, and we're hoping they're nothing like the PBs of the past. [Trusted Reviews]

drobo

New Drobo Arrives, And It's Packing FireWire

The original Drobo was a highly regarded, easily expandable storage "robot" that could be stuffed with a new SATA drive whenever you required more space. But it was slow, even for a USB drive. Today a new Drobo has been announced that's equipped with two FireWire 800 ports and an upgraded processor. What's that mean? They claim it's now fast enough for video editing. The hollow version starts at $499. And if you're willing to settle for an older Drobo, that's on clearance for $349. [Drobo]

desktops

Acer Aspire X1200 Series Mini-PCs Stuff HDMI Jack, 9 USB Ports and More in a Tiny Space

If you gotta go the desktop route, Acer's got three mini-PCs packed heavy with ports that don't take up a ton of space. Measuring 10.6" x 4" x 14.4", about the same as a hardcover book, the X1200s have an HDMI port—like Dell's leaked mini, aka the green PC, but unlike the smaller Asus Eee Box, which only has DVI—plus two PCIes, nine(!!) USBs, FireWire, front and back audio jacks, a DVD SuperMulti drive and a 14-in-1 card reader. Under the hood, it comes standard with 4GB RAM, the better to power the AMD dual-core processor with Nvidia GeForce 8200 integrated graphics to run Vista (now with SP1!). The PCs are out now for $450 to $700, a config which includes a 500GB drive and 22" LCD monitor. Check out the press release after the jump. [Acer] More »

averatec

Averatec Makes iMac-Like All-In-One PC For $1249

Averatec's joining the XPS One and HP Touchsmart IQ506—among others—in the all-in-one PC game. What's notable about Averatec's beside its super generic "All-In-One PC" name? It's cheap. At just $1249, you get a 2.4GHz Intel E4600 Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, nVidia GeForce 8400, a 22-inch screen and a copy of Vista Home Premium. It's not a performance monster, but it is a fairly affordable all-in-one for the space conscious. On the other hand, [PRNewswire via Digital Trends]

acer g24

Acer G24 World's Highest Contrast Gaming Monitor (50,000:1)

Acer's G24 gaming monitor is apparently the only one badass enough for its Predator gaming PC. Besides being slathered in the same hue of rusty orange, according to Acer, this 24-incher is the world's highest contrast monitor, with a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Stuff should pop big, in other words. More »

mods

Caption Contest: The Poor Leopard PC

My attempt: "Hunting season really needs to start earlier this year."

Surely, you can do better. [MetkuMods via Unplggd]


notebooks

Leaked Shots of Asus Eee 904 & 905 Laptops Show Half-Baked Idea

Shots of the rumored Asus Eee 904 and 905 leaked, and they look like we expected—big keyboard and a small screen with way too much plastic around it. (If the screen gets too large, they aren't allowed to use Windows XP.) There's also a 903 model in the shots, but it just looks like a slightly updated 900. I get what they're onto here: The small size of the EeePC is nice, but the keyboard on the 900 is still too tiny for my fat fingers. But honestly, how long before Asus just makes full-sized laptops? Oh that's right, they already do. UPDATE: Asus confirms the 904 HD, with HDD instead of SSD, but not the 903 or 905...yet. [903, 904 & 905 via i4u]

pcs

Lenovo IdeaCentre K210: Desktops Are Still Cool, Right Guys? Guys?

Lenovo is preparing to release a fancy new desktop, the IdeaCentre K210. Featuring specs up to an Intel Core 2 Quad processor, 3GB of RAM, optional Blu-ray drive, multicard reader, webcam with VeriFace recognition and anti-bacterial keyboard, none of the specs will scream ultimate gaming machine, but the PCs start at just $379 (with the 22-inch monitor costing an extra $299). As for the style, it's pretty much how I picture a sci-fi movie from the early '90s depicting computers of the future—shiny, but with the same basic shape they had when Sandra Bullock could pass as a hacker. Read on for the entire spec rundown. More »

notebooks

New Eee PCs from Asus Will Have Small Screens, Big Keyboards

Asus is working on a couple of new Eee PCs, the 904 and 905, say sources of DigiTimes. The models take the 8.9" screen from the 900 and 901 and mash it up with the bigger keyboard on the Eee 1000, which doesn't seem like a very good idea to us because the mini-notebook appeal is precisely its compact size. The new models may replace the current 900 series line entirely, but that, along with potentially increased battery life and storage capacity, is still up in the air. The price, however, are expected to remain the same. [DigiTimes]

ati

ATI Radeon Graphics Cards Running Nvidia PhysX Are Faster, Stronger, Awesomer

After Nvidia picked up PhysX, it was obvious ATI would probably get left out of Nvidia's efforts to spread the love to graphics cards and x86 CPUs (hence ATI hooking up with Havok). (Physics engines, for the uninitiated, are what make your body bounce around with aplomb after getting stuck with a grenade in Halo 3.) But some modders have fixed that and ported PhysX to ATI's Radeon 3800 cards, instantly improving benchmarks. More »