Many enthusiasts are avoiding DDR3 RAM for their computer systems because despite the higher frequencies DDR3 can operate at, much of the benefit of the higher frequencies is lost to timings not as tight as what DDR2 offers.

At Computex Aeneon is showing its line of DDR3 RAM called Xtune. Aeneon Xtune RAM on display is DDR3-1866 CL10 modules. Aeneon says these modules are aimed at gamers and overclockers using high performance desktop platforms including the Intel X38, X48 and P45 chipsets as well as the NVIDIA 790i Ultra chipset.

The new Aeneon Xtune modules are available in 2x1GB dual channel kits with support for XMP and EPP2.0. The 1866MHz speed of the RAM can be achieved at standard voltages.

Aeneon is also introducing an Xtune DDR3-1600 CL9 line that offers 4GB dual channel 2x2GV modules. Aeneon probably isn’t a name as readily identifiable to gamers and overclockers as Corsair or OCZ. Aeneon is the retail arm of DRAM maker Qimonda. Qimonda is also the provider for ATI’s GDDR5 memory that will be used in ATIs upcoming video cards.

DailyTech reported Qimonda was the GDDR5 supplier for ATI in May 2008. The first video cards from ATI to use the GDDR5 RAM will be from the forthcoming HD 4800 series.

Source from dailyTech

ASUS 7-inch digital photo frame acts as SideShow display

Computex 2008 is underway on its first day and OCZ is out of the gate with a barrage of stuff, some of which you will expect to see from OCZ like RAM and flash drives, some of the gear is new for OCZ.

OCZ is launching a new DDR3 RAM product for its Flex series called the Flex II PC3-17000. OCZ is tight lipped on the specs like timings for the RAM so all that is known right now is the speed. OCZ is also releasing some new gaming peripherals including two keyboards and a mouse.

TweakTown has some pics of the new OCZ gaming peripherals including a new gaming mouse pad, gaming mouse and new keyboards. It’s unclear if OCZ will offer the new mouse pad for retail sale or if it will only be bundled with some of the gaming notebooks that are forthcoming.



The OCZ gaming mouse is called the Dominatrix and is a wired design that looks to be ambidextrous. Specifications for the mouse are unavailable. OCZ also has a pair of new keyboards one appears to be called the Alchemy Elixir and looks exceedingly similar to the Razer Tarantula right down to the blue keys in rows on the side of the keyboard. I’m wondering if it’s a rebrand of the Tarantula. Another OCZ keyboard on display looks enough like the Logitech Di Novo Edge to give me pause. The main difference is that the OCZ version appears to be larger and is wired.

OCZ is also showing off a couple new flash drives with one called the Spyder that is tiny and looks a bit like a slightly enlarged mini Kart with 8GB of storage. OCZ also has a larger standard style flash drive called the Diesel with 16GB of storage space.

Asus has introduced a new photo frame with a feature that will make it much more interesting. The UFOTO UF735 digital photo frame can be used as a SideShow display for Windows Vista users. The frame is a 7-inch unit and uses a USB plug to connect to the host PC. PC Magazine reports that the device also can accept photos from USB keys and CF/SD/MMC/MS/xD memory cards. Pricing is unknown at this time.

Source from DailyTech

With great speed comes great capacity in Panasonic's new SDHC offering

A few days ago, SanDisk announced a 32GB SDHC flash media which boasted not only the highest capacity on the market, but also the fastest speeds -- the Ultra II 32GB SDHC memory card will have a maximum read rate of 15 MB/sec and a write rate of 10 MB/sec.

Today, SanDisk does not have the fastest 32GB SDHC card on the block as Panasonic has announced its own 32GB SDHC flash media within the Class 6 speed bracket. There are 3 classes of speed associated with SDHC cards. Class 2 specifications list transfer rates of at least 2 MB/sec or higher, Class 4 specifies a speed of 4 MB/sec and up, and a Class 6 memory card would have speeds of over 6 MB/sec.

Though SanDisk's recently announced product falls under the Class 6 specifications, Panasonic's RP-SDV32GU1K 32GB SDHC card boasts maximum data transfer rates of up to 20 MB/sec under optimal conditions. It also states, since this 32GB card is manufactured using industrial-grade memory, the RP-SDV32GU1K can withstand a wider range of temperatures; -13 F to 185 F as opposed to 32 F to 158F of typical consumer-grade SDHC media.

Panasonic's RP-SDV32GU1K will be available in April, according to the press release, and will be aimed at shooters of high-definition video and professional photography. Pricing has been set at a whopping $700, twice the amount of SanDisk's 32GB offering.


Source from DailyTech

SuperTalent today announced its new Project X DDR3 memory kits, which it deems the most advanced DDR3 memory kits available. The new Project X DDR3 modules feature a large passive cooling solution that provides more surface area and aluminum mass. The Project X cooler somewhat resembles Corsair’s DOMINATOR cooler, found on DDR2 memory modules.

"These kits support obscene clock speeds, carefully tuned latencies, and incorporate an advanced thermal dissipater that makes them as sexy as they are fast," Super Talent Marketing Director Joe James said.

SuperTalent offers two Project X kits, which the company hand tests with ASUS P5K3 Deluxe motherboards, in dual channel configurations. The available Project X modules come in 2x1GB kits with speeds of DDR3-1800 and DDR3-1600. Timings for the DDR3-1800 kit is 7-7-7-21 and requires 2.0-volts, while the lower speed rated DDR3-1600 kit has 7-6-6-18 timings and requires 1.8-volts.

Expect to pay $599 for the DDR3-1800 and $549 for the DDR3-1600 “sexy” modules. The modules should arrive at retailers in the next week or so, as Super Talent is shipping the modules out today.

Source from DailyTech

Any DSLR camera owner can tell you that when it comes to shooting 10-to-12 megapixels or larger RAW format images, you need a giant memory card. Most of us might think the 8GB SDHC cards are still pretty big, but not Toshiba.

Toshiba (requires registration) announced they will have humongous 32GB and 16GB SDHC memory cards in the market soon. The Toshiba 32GB SDHC card, model SD-M32G, is set to be available in January 2008 and will be a class 4 speed card.

The 16GB SDHC card, model SD-M16G, will be available much sooner in October of 2007. The 16GB SDHC card will sell for about $350 when it hits market in October.

If you think that’s a lot of coin for a memory card wait untill you hear this, the 32GB SDHC card will retail for a cool $700. These SDHC cards will also be good choices for those with expandable PMP devices and phones using SDHC cards with the bank account balance to afford the high price. Toshiba also announced they intend to sell a 8GB microSDHC card starting in January 2008. Samsung also announced recently they are planning to market a 8GB microSDHC card.

Toshiba says the 32GB SDHC, 16GB SDHC and the 8GB microSDHC cards will all have the same 6MB/s maximum write speed and require 2.7-3.6V to operate. The class 4 specifications say these cards must each sustain a minimum 4MB/s write speed.


Source from DailyTech

Today, the enthusiast angle is still a strong driver for DDR2 development, but manufacturers are basically trying to achieve better performance through radical cooling designs (such as OCZ's Flex-XLC hybrid cooling memory) and hand picking chips to ensure overclocking capacity. You can find enthusiast DDR2 memory in the speeds of 1200MHz, but the last real DDR2 specification to meet the JEDEC standards was DDR2-800. Every other high-speed DDR2 memory you see today above DDR2-800 can be considered custom factory-overclocked memory. Their speeds, timings and voltage requirements can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, the JEDEC standard for DDR2 specifies operating voltage of 1.8V. However, all DDR2-1000 and above memory modules run outside of the specifications anywhere between 2.1V to 2.35V in order to function properly.

Then in May this year, Micron announced sampling and production of the first DDR2-1066 chips that are actually able to run at a stock voltage of 1.8V through their 78nm fabrication process. This is the first big announcement for DDR2 memory as it could possibly see the setting of a new official JEDEC standard for DDR2 memory and running into favor with AMD, which will not be moving to DDR3 till 2008 at the very earliest. Micron's new DDR2-1066 chips operate with a CAS Latency of 7.0 however, which may very well cripple its performance advantage seeing that standard DDR2-800 memory have dropped to CAS 4.0 and even 3.0, while regular enthusiast DDR2-1066 in the market run at CAS 5.0.

This is where Micron's German rival Qimonda AG comes into play. Through their AENEON brand, Qimonda has essentially beat everyone to the punch by launching their new AENEON XTUNE DDR2-1066 memory into the retail channels. The XTUNE is the performance model of AENEON's memory lineup and this DDR2-1066 memory is not only guaranteed to operate at a stock 1.8V at 1066MHz, it also runs at CAS 5.0 latency and carries NVIDIA's Enhanced Performance Profile (EPP) timings. That's a triple bonus in a single stick of RAM and we intend to put the AENEON XTUNE DDR2-1066 through its paces to find out just how well Qimonda's newest DDR2 wonder-RAM will fare. In this review, we will be testing the AENEON XTUNE DDR2-1066 2GB dual channel kit (AXT760UD00-19D).

More....

Source from HardwareZone