Next generation ATI chipset previewed

YOU WILL find some information and most importantly some very nice photos about the forthcoming $100 laptop from Nicholas Negroponte's OLPC - One Laptop per Child - initiative. This thing is a killer and should send tsunamis everywhere around the world. Its specs are not great - 500MHz Processor, 1GB flash and 1MPixel display, USB and WiFi enabled. You can bet that some will look to block that initiative with all their might. Strange though that there is a Win Logo on the keyboard when it is supposed to run Linux.

3Davenue has a 1-page review of the high end Asus 7800GTX TOP graphics card, arguably the best from the number uno motherboard manufacturer. The card, as usual, is overclocked out of the box, is covered with an Arctic Silencer type cooler and is a dual slot model. On top of that it comes with a VIVO dongle. While its performance is top notch, so is the price though.

Lesnumeriques pits Gogole Earth against Nasa's World Wind earth simulation software in a friendly comparison. Microsoft's Virtual Earth or Globe Explorer have not been included. It does not cost you a single penny to get both software on you computer. Google's solution though appears to be generally better and is gradually getting a public recognition through its regular apparition in the news.

Digitlife has a very interesting article about the Seagate Savvio 10K.1 hard disk drive which is a server oriented 2.5-inch SCSI hard disk drive. If you are in the market, looking for server, workstation or professional hard disk drives, this is the review you should read as it includes other models from Seagate - Cheetah, WD's raptor, Maxtor Atlas, Hitachi's Ultrastar and Fujitsu's. The first part of the article was published some times back and there seems to be a third, RAID-oriented article in the pipeline.

Anandtech checks the next generation RD580 chipset, the one which is supposed to replace the Rx480 family. Codename Manta, like the Ray, they compared it to the Asus A8N32-SLI deluxe, complete with a pair of 7800GTX SLI and X1800XT Crossfire. It's hard to think that this is the fourth generation AMD ATI chipset. As for performance, while this is only a preview, Anandtech was adamant that this platform is probably even better than what the best from Nvidia. Overclocking capabilities were by far the best they ever saw for any platform but the price tag remains to be seen.

Overclex, a French hardware website, reviews the Noctua-NH-U12-et-NH-U9NH-U12 and the NH-U9 from Austrian website Noctua. These are two heat sinks with no fans, made of aluminium and copper. Simultaneously, they also tested the Aerocool Turbine 1000. Overall, those three components seems to be quite performing, combining good overall capabilities with an honest price and great looks. µ