Archive for the ‘computer’ Category

Physicists calculate the end of Moore’s Law, clearly don’t believe in Moore’s Law

If you’re looking for pundits with an end date for Moore’s Law, you don’t have to look far. You also don’t have to look far to find a gaggle of loonies who just knew the world was ending in Y2K, so make of that what you will. The latest duo looking to call the demise of the processor mantra that has held true for two score comes from Boston University, with physicists Lev Levitin and Tommaso Toffoli asserting that a quantum limit would be achieved in around 75 to 80 years. Scott Aaronson, an attention-getter at MIT, expects that very same limit to be hit in just 20 years. Of course, there’s plenty of technobabble to explain the what’s and how’s behind all this, but considering that the brainiacs of the world can’t even agree with Gordon Moore’s own doomsday date, we’re choosing to plug our ears and keep on believin’ for now. Bonus video after the break.

[Via Slashdot]

Continue reading Physicists calculate the end of Moore’s Law, clearly don’t believe in Moore’s Law

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Science

Physicists calculate the end of Moore’s Law, clearly don’t believe in Moore’s Law originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review – NZXT Beta EVO Mid Tower Chassis

This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

Last week I showed you the M59 chasis from NZXT and promised reviews on a couple of their other new cases. Well you can stop holding your breath, as today I’ll be reviewing the Beta EVO Mid Tower Chassis. This is one of their sub-$50 cases, which makes it more of a budget offering. When you start getting into that price range, many cases tend to be lacking in both features and quality. Lets see if that’s the case here.

Features

Being the budget case that it is, it’s not surprising to see a general lack of extra features. You’ll find punched-out holes for cable management, as well as one beneath the CPU (just as the M59 had) and holes for accommodating a liquid cooling setup. You’ll also find room for 6 fans (only one is included) and a screwless installation solution for your optical and hard drives.

First Look

Once again, the budget case won’t win any awards in the looks department. Granted, some people prefer more of the plain black look, with nothing flashy going on. If you’re one of those people, then this will be great for you. You aren’t going to see a side window, or fancy LED lights here. It’s something nice and clean that would look good sitting in an office or at your house. Surprisingly, the interior is also all black, despite the fact that it isn’t visible without the side being removed.

Installation

Just as with the M59, the pre-cut holes work wonders for cable management. Even though there’s no window showing of the inside of your PC, it’s still nice to have all of your cables out of the way. The same hole is also there to access your CPU bracket in the event that you want to change out your heatsink/fan for something a little more heavy-duty.

NZXT has chosen to go with a screwless installation design for your optical and hard drives. I’m not a huge fan of them in general, but I don’t have any specific complaints about their screwless solution. It works well, and does make it fairly simple to install and remove components. The Beta EVO is also setup for a bottom-mounted power supply for better airflow. There is also a removeable air filter for the PSU.

One of the biggest issues I tend to see with budget cases is the quality of the material used. I’ll commend NZXT for not sacrificing quality on this case. You won’t find a sharp edge in the case, and the metal used is thick and sturdy. I always say that you can tell the quality of a case by how heavy  it is. I don’t know the exact weight, but it feels solid when you pick it up.

Verdict

The Beta EVO Classic Series Mid Tower chassis is a good solid budget case. If you aren’t looking for anything fancy and don’t want to spend any more than you have to, then this $49 case might be what you need. However, For the $10 difference, I think that you’d be much happier with the M59. It’s got more in the looks department, and you’ll find things like an SSD bracket and extra fans.

[ NZXT ] VIA [ GamerFront ]

Nvidia To Answer AMD’s DX11 Cards Before The Year’s End

By Chris Scott Barr

Being a gamer, I tend to watch the release of new video cards rather carefully. Well in case you missed it, AMD released the first DirectX 11 cards last month. This allowed them to take the crown for fastest card and left Nvidia in the dust so to speak. Anyone that’s paid attention to these releases over the years will know that Nvida won’t be far behind with their own DX11 cards. In fact, we now know that they will be hitting stores before the end of the year.

Nvida has stated that they will have their latest cards, dubbed the GT300 out in time for ‘Black Friday.’ That gives AMD a 2 month head-start into the market. The big question is whether or not people are going to jump on AMD’s offerings, or wait to see what kind of performance the new GT300 cards show. Either way, it’s going to be an interesting holiday season.

[ Nvidia ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

Thermaltake’s Level 10 Case Cranks Your PC To 11

By Chris Scott Barr

I’m all about having a kick-ass case for my gaming rig. I like having something to show off that not only look cool, but is easy to work with in terms of upgrades. I’ve owned and reviewed quite a few different cases over the years, and I have to say, this new Level 10 from Thermaltake tops them all.

The case was designed by BWM Designworks USA, where they were obviously thinking outside the box. Or rather, they were thinking about what’s usually located inside the box. Instead of having a big rectangle for a case, they chose to outline each component, putting it in its own compartment. Each compartment features its own cooling system, ensuring that you’ll never have to worry about overheating. You’ve got room for six hot-swappable SATA drives and three optical drives. My only concern is that you might not have enough room for some of the longer video cards. Oh, and that little $700 price tag might also be an issue for some.

[ ThermalTake ] VIA [ Dvice ]

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