Kingmax Mars DDR2-1066 Memories

Known for their overclocking performance, Kingmax memory products havequietly transitioned into the DDR2 era. Since the days of PC-100/133, Kingmaxwas the world’s first to launch proprietary TinyBGA-packaged PC-150 memorymodules and the only brand to offer lifetime warranty for its products, quicklymaking it one of the top three memory brands in Taiwan. Today, as DDR2 is nowthe reigning standard, all memory products are completely BGA packaged – atechnology Kingmax has been building up for the past eight years. Kingmax hasalso invested US$ 10 million to purchase the T5593 testing system, once againunderscoring Kingmax’s DDR2 strengths. Without any entry barriers, Kingmax hassuccessfully and smoothly launched three JEDEC memory modules, i.e. DDR2-533,-667 and -800. All three memory modules have been introduced in quick successiondue to tight scheduling for new products using DDR2 modules. Expecting aless-than-massive demand – compared to the DDR era – in the overclocking market,we have adopted a steadfast business approach, supplying consumers with memoryproducts of the best quality. 100% compatibility and performance make them thebest choice for your personal and notebook computer.

A brief glance at trends in product development shows that Northbridge chipsets,including Intel 945/955 and 965/975 and NVIDIA nForce 680i/650i, can alldirectly support 1066MHz; and Intel has also launched a stream of CPUs,including dual-core X6800, E6700 and E6600 and quad-core QX6700 and QX6600,enabling 1066MHz FSB support. In fact, the latest CPUs, codenamed E6850, E6750and E6650, already have FSB supporting 1333MHz. In the foreseeable future, DDR2memory modules will be starting off at the frequency of 1066MHz. Foroverclockers pursuing extreme performance, this is undoubtedly an exciting pieceof news.

Given the outlook, Kingmax is ready with DDR2-1066 512MB/1GB Mars series memorymodules to leverage these computing advances. Utilizing Nanya chips, which areinherently high quality and comparable with Micron D9 chips, and backed witheight years of experience in BGA packaging, each of Kingmax DDR2-1066 512MB/1GBMars series memory modules is shipped at close to 10% overclocking headroom,meeting overclockers’ extreme speed demands.

Kingmax is the world’s first memory module maker with its own advanced packagingand testing equipment, completing a vertically integrated supply chain. Everystep after purchase – from chip cutting, testing, packaging to finished producttesting – is independently completed at Kingmax’s own packaging plant. Sevenyears earlier, Kingmax developed the BGA packaging technology and successfullyapplied it en masse in SDRAM and DDR products. In fact, its TinyBGA packagingtechnology – a proprietary patented technology in the memory field, is highlyacclaimed in the industry. Kingmax is thus fully prepared to face up to thedemanding challenge of BGA packaging, whether in terms of technical readiness,upgraded facilities or personnel training.

Kingmax consistently focuses on developing lead-free manufacturing processes.Not only does it use lead-free IC chips in its high-quality DDRII eco-friendlylead-free memory modules but has also adjusted parameters, such as temperature,and welding material used in PCB and SMT production line. In addition, Kingmaxlead-free memory modules have passed high-temperature reliability testing,completely meeting RoHS standards, and meet environmental requirements in theUnited States, Japan and China while ensuring product performance. For Kingmax,a lead-free manufacturing capability adds strength to the development of itscompetitiveness in the future.

KINGMAX Mars DDR2-1066 Long-DIMM memory product features:
- 240-pin DDR2 1066MHz
- CAS Latency: 5-5-5-15
- Memory bandwidth: 8.5GB/sec (dual-channel 17GB/sec)
- Voltage: 1.8V, saving approximately 50% power, consumption: excellent heatdispersion
- Capacity: 512MB/1GB
- Worldwide free lifetime warranty

Microsoft Fixes Windows XP SP2 Laptop Battery Drain Problem

The Core Duo battery drain saga that was originally reported by Tom's Hardware has resurfaced. Anand Shimpi later correctly proved that the battery drain bug had absolutely nothing to do with Core Duo, but was actually a problem with Windows XP SP2. Just yesterday, Microsoft got around to publishing a fix for the problem.

The problem apparently plagues Windows XP notebooks that cannot correctly enter into processor idle sleep states, or C-states. When the processor cannot enter these states, the processor idles, but at a higher state. The result is wasted battery life and a slightly warmer CPU.

There are many reasons why Windows XP SP2 does not let the CPU enter into the correct state, but the one reason seemed to revolve around notebooks that have USB controllers that do not turn off. The original ASUS Core Duo notebook, for example, had an integrated web camera that would leave a USB controller enabled at all times. Microsoft stresses that the patch does not fix notebooks with that particular problem -- it only repairs the ACPI driver that governs which C-state the processor should reside.

The patch only exists for x86 versions of Windows XP, Service Pack 2.

Fujitsu Introduces World's First 300 GB 2.5 quot; SATA Hard Disk Drive

Fujitsu Limited today announced the development of the world's first 2.5" hard disk drive that offers storage capacity of 300 gigabytes (GB) with a Serial ATA interface. The new hard disk drive "MHX2300BT" will be available in late February 2007. Featuring the highest storage capacity in the 2.5" class, it will be available on a global basis for use primarily in multifunctional mobile PCs and digital TVs.

Fujitsu began selling hard disk drives with perpendicular magnetic recording in October of this year. It has been an industrial leader in introducing high-capacity 2.5" hard disk drives, launching products with 160 GB in September 2005 and 200 GB in May 2006 that garnered high praise from many customers.

MHX2300BT marks the commercial introduction of second generation of perpendicular magnetic recording technology. The new hard disk drive will be offered in 300 GB, the highest storage capacity available in 2.5" hard disk drives, and 250 GB versions, offering the capacity needed to store terrestrial broadcasting digital TV videos. This level of capacity makes these hard disk drives suitable alternatives to the 3.5"drives typically found in desktop PCs, and their small size makes them especially well-suited to flat-panel TVs with built-in recorders.

The new hard disk drives are the RoHS compliant and have read/write power consumption requirements of just 1.6 W, among the lowest in the world, making them environmentally-friendly products. They are also exceptionally quiet, emitting just 2.1 bels of noise at idle.

Source: Fujitsu

Intel Speed Up Yonah CPUs w D-0 Stepping

In order to incorporate speed enhancements for Yonah Based Processors, Intelis converting the Intel Core Duo Processors T2600, T2500, T2400 from C-0Stepping to D-0 Stepping. Intel also plans to conduct conversion of CoreSolo and Celeron M C-0 processors over three phases.

• A BIOS update is required for D-0 Step Products.
• The D-0 stepping is backwards compatible with the C-0 stepping.
• All C-0 products supported under Intel's Stable Image Platform Program (ISIPP)will continue to be supported on D-0 stepping.
• To improve package quality, D-0 Stepping products use a package with ReverseGeometry Caps. The visible package differences are cosmetic only.

Microsoft releases Kinect for Windows with version 1.0 SDK

As promised at CES early last month, Microsoft has just launched Kinect for Windows in the form of the version 1.0 Software Development Kit and a new version of the Kinect hardware thats been tweaked to better suit close range operation at the desk.

At $249 for the bundled Kinect for Windows kit it does seem pretty steep when considering the fact that its possible to just head out, buy Kinect for Xbox 360 for $99, plug that into your PC and download the SDK freely off the internet. The issue is, you wont end up with the same result due to the device being modified to suit much closer distances, right up to just 40cm away while maintaining optimal accuracy and precision.

You may not want to bite just yet given the hefty $249.99 MSRP as seen listed over at Amazon, and the other factor being that were still waiting on developers to create some apps and games thatll hopefully wow many of us into wanting one of these things. Well have to see how that all pans out in the coming months.

Source: Kinect for Windows Blog

Micron to introduce 415MB s Crucial RealSSD C400 at CES

Slightly over a year ago, Micron showcased the world's first native S-ATA 6Gbps Solid-State Drive (SSD). That was none other than the Crucial RealSSD C300.

It offered read speeds of 355MB/s andwrite speeds of 215MB/s.

This year, the successor to the C300 will be born.

The RealSSD C400 will be showcased at CES 2011. Developed on Micron's groundbreaking 25nm NAND flash technology, the C400 will enjoy a boost in overall speeds.

Read speeds have been bumped to 415MB/s, while write speeds will be at a reported 260MB/s.

The RealSSD C400 will be available in both 1.8" and 2.5" sizes, and will range in capacity from 64GB, to a generous 512GB.

As companies race to further innovate, and improve NAND flash technology, it is no wonder that the performance of the C400 significantly outweighs its predecessor.

Dean Klein, Vice President of Memory Systems Development at Micron, has this to say.

"SSDs are bringing excitement back into personal computing. Micron is accelerating this enthusiasm with the RealSSD portfolio, bringing even greater speeds and larger capacities than our previous-generation SSDs."

With this, it is no surprise that a user making the change from an early SSD, to one like the Crucial RealSSD C400 shall experience the same speed boost and wonderment alike to experiencing the sheer performance of an SSD for the first time coming from a mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD).

Source : Micron Official Press Releaseand C400Product Brief

Matrox TripleHead2Go, Connect 3 more monitors to just 1 VGA out!

Matrox, a company that specialize in professional and business displaysolutions has just released a device that could allow users to expand theirdisplays by adding 3 external monitors from just 1 standard VGA port. Thisdevice tricks the system into believing that you have a large 3840x1024pixelmonitor connected, and works on just any PC (or even laptops!) "Matrox Graphics,Inc., the leading manufacturer of graphics solutions for professionals, todayunveiled the new TripleHead2Go, a palm-sized box which uniquely allows a user toadd three 19" monitors with a combined resolution of up to 3840x1024 and anincredible 45" of total diagonal to many workstations, gaming systems andlaptops -- even if those systems only support a single display output"