Tech News for Friday November 19th
1999.
Microsoft posts DirectX 7.0a to testers with release
candidate.
Posted: 11/19/99 Source: Win98Central Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft has posted DirectX 7.0a release candidate to
beta testers and we should be seeing the final version available to the public
sometime next week. No news yet on what's being updated/fixed in this update.
Quantum 3D AAlchemy.
Posted: 11/19/99 Source: Systemlogic Added by: Kim Heise
No, it's not a spelling mistake - Quantum's new video
card based on 3dfx's Voodoo4 & 5 processors is called the AAlchemy.
Before you read the specs make sure you are sitting down so you can read how
much this card is going to cost. Here goes:
Quantum3D AAlchemy General Features
8 to 32 3dfx VSA-100 Chips
Up to 2 GB video memory and 100 GB/sec bandwidth
Up to 3.2 billion 32-bit, 4-sample AA pixels per second
Estimated Price - Up to $40,000
Wow! - up to $40,000 for a video card?
More bug fixes from Microsoft.
Posted: 11/19/99 Source: Microsoft Added by: Kim Heise
In case you have missed the news that Microsoft has
posted a few major fixes on their LiveUpdate web site. The new fixes include
"The Shutdown" bug for Windows 98 and the latest security updates.
Don't forget Internet Explorer 5.01 is out and good luck trying to download it.
For some strange reason Microsoft has only opened up one server to distribute
the new version and the performance is very slow - if you are lucky to get
connected.
Hitachi Debuts DVD-RAM Camcorder
Posted: 11/19/99 Source: PCWorld Added by: Kim Heise
This has to be one of the most exciting news of the
day but it looks like it's going to be months away until we see the consumer
version. No more clumsy tapes for camcorders. Here's a clip from PCWorld:
Hitachi unveiled at Comdex the prototype of a new digital video 110 camcorder
based on a re-recordable version of DVD--the first optical disk camcorder for
consumers, and the first to use a new version of DVD-RAM.
The DZ-MV1 camera records video in MPEG2 format and the new
single-sided 8-centimeter DVD-RAM disk holds up to 1.4GB of data. The small form
DVD-RAM, like its larger 12-centimeter sister, comes in a cartridge. Both disks
are the subject of standardization talks within the DVD Forum and specs are
expected to be approved within the next six months, says Takeshi Hoshino, an
interface designer from Hitachi's Tokyo Design Center.
Tech News for Thursday November 18th
1999.
Site news update.
Posted: 11/18/99 Source:
N/A Added by: Kim Heise
News has been somewhat slow the last couple of days in spite
of Comdex. I would have loved to witness Comdex this year but did not have any
available time to be there. Maybe next year....
A couple of big news items at Comdex is 3dfx's announcement of their new series
of Voodoo cards, AMD's new processors, Intel's i820 chipset, a whole slew of
manufacturers releasing video cards based on nVidia's GeForce 256 and I almost
forgot to mention the "talk" of the show is Microsoft and everyone's
speculation of what will happen to the software giant.
At this point I haven't heard of anything that was overly exciting at Comdex but
there may be more reports and updates trickling in with some interesting items
as time goes by. The whole 3dfx saga has left me unimpressed with their new
series of Voodoo cards because we were all hoping for something impressive at an
affordable price - not $600. The biggest surprise was Cyrix's new
"Joshua" processor since rumor had it the company had quit the CPU
race - competition is good.
I'm not sure what to make of Scott McNealy and Larry Ellison's blasting of
Microsoft. I just seem to feel that they would handle their business practices
no different from Bill Gates had their companies grown as big as
Microsoft.
Intel had better be careful as the market is not as black and white as it used
to be. The stunt of releasing their i820 chipset with the RAMBUS problems still
in place is a very foolhardy move and not to mention that their new
"Coppermine" Pentium III CPU's are rarer than hen's teeth.
For more updates from Comdex you can visit Sharky
Extreme, Ars
Technica and Tech-Report.
McNealy, Ellison call for Microsoft break-up.
Posted: 11/18/99 Source: ZDNews
Added by: Kim Heise
Two of Microsoft's fiercest competitors Scott McNealy
of Sun Micro Systems and Oracle's Larry Ellison are calling for Microsoft to be
broken up into smaller companies. The two CEO's appeared separately at Comdex
and proceeded to blast Microsoft and how the companies monopolistic practices
have damaged the computer industry.
Windows 2000 release candidate 3 is out.
Posted: 11/18/99 Source: NT
Compatible Added by: Kim Heise
The word is that Windows 2000 RC3 Build 2183 is out.
The download is available for beta testers.
Tech News for Wednesday November 17th
1999.
Internet Explorer 5.01 released.
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: Voodooextreme Added by: Kim Heise
Saw this note over at Billy's site that Microsoft has
released IE 5.01. Just follow this
link to download it.
What really has me confused is that I am beta tester for IE and Microsoft had
stated that the next release would be IE 5.5. I suspect that 5.01 has some
security fixes but does not include any new features.
Intel "Coppermine" 800mhz to ship in Q1 of 2000.
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: The
Register Added by: Kim Heise
The Register reports that sources at Intel are
reporting that the 800mhz "Coppermine" P3 chips are slated to ship
sometime during Q1 of 2000. The original roadmap has listed the 800mhz
"Coppermine" P3 being shipped in Q2 2000 but due to stiff competition
from AMD and now Cyrix the CPU giant has changed it's deadlines.
On a related note, Intel has also stated the shortage for the latest Pentium3
"Coppermine" CPUs should ease up in Q1 2000.
Cyrix unveils new "Joshua" socket 370 processor at
Comdex.
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: Ars
Technica
Added by: Kim Heise
Cyrix has put a new processor in the spotlight to
compete with Intel's Celeron processor. The specs are very impressive with a
256L2 cache running at full clock speed, 133mhz front-side bus, 3Dnow
instruction set and starting at 466mhz. Last but not least the chip does not
have a multiplier lock which means it's the perfect chip for overclocking.
Windows 2000 Build 2183 = RC3?
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: Betanews
Added by: Kim Heise
Betanews reports that Windows 2000 release candidate 3
is supposed to be unveiled today at Comdex. Microsoft has posted beta build 2183
up on the Windows 2000 beta site so hopefully this is the same release candidate
3.
I will let you know when it's official. Please don't email me
where you can get a copy.
Intel i820 chipset still plagued with the same
problems.
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: ebnews
Added by: Kim Heise
I saw this article over at ebnews that took me by
surprise. Apparently Intel never fixed the problems with RAMBUS bug on the new
i820 chipset and all they did was simply remove the extra RIMM slot. The RIMM
socket is just the name for the new RAMBUS socket on the motherboard. Here's
what Intel had to say about it:
The loss of the third RIMM will limit the
mixture of memory devices with x4, x8 and x16-bit configures. "This could
cause the loss of a little bit of flexibility, but it is not limiting the amount
of memory on the motherboards," the Intel spokesman explained.
Tech News for Tuesday November
16th
1999.
Intel finally launches delayed i820 chipset.
Posted: 11/16/99 Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
After many delays and problems Intel has finally
launched the i820 chipset on Monday. The new chipset adds support for the over hyped
RAMBUS memory and offers few other major enhancements. It would be worthwhile to
wait for later generations of the new chipset until they iron out the quirks. If
you wanted to purchase a new system this year then a current revised version of
the previous chipset (BX) would be a wise choice.
Microsoft to launch Windows 2000 release candidate 3 this
week.
Posted: 11/16/99 Source: TechWeb
Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft announced at Comdex on
Monday that the delivery of the final beta code of Windows 2000 Release
Candidate 3 will be made available to testers this week.
Kryotech "SuperG" AMD K7 1000mhz PC.
Posted: 11/16/99 Source: Kryotech
Added by: Kim Heise
Kryotech is selling a new system based on AMD's K7
Athlon CPU clocked at 1GHz speeds for around $2,450 for the
"bare-bones" configuration. KryoTech will be displaying the SuperG
this week at the South Carolina Department of Commerce technology initiative
exhibit (Booth #L1963) during COMDEX FALL '99 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SuperG
will be formally unveiled on Tuesday evening at the Team SC reception to be
hosted by South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. The reception will be held at the
Desert Inn starting at 6:00pm.
Specs on new 3dfx cards.
Posted: 11/16/99 Source: 3dfx
Added by: Kim Heise
Fresh from 3dfx's web site here are the bottom line
specs on the new 3dfx cards:
Voodoo 5 6000 AGP
128MB Graphics Memory
1.33 - 1.47 Gigapixels per second
32-bit color rendering
T-Buffer Digital Cinematic Effects
Voodoo 5 5500 AGP
64MB Graphics Memory
667-733 Megapixels per second
32-bit color rendering
T-Buffer Digital Cinematic Effects
Voodoo 5 5000 PCI
32MB Graphics Memory
667-733 Megapixels per second
32-bit color rendering
T-Buffer Digital Cinematic Effects
Voodoo 4 4500 AGP and 4500 PCI
32MB Graphics Memory
337-367 Megapixels per second
32-bit color rendering
Comments on new 3dfx cards.
Posted: 11/17/99 Source: N/A
Added by: Kim Heise
Just yesterday 3dfx announced a whole batch of new
video cards and I'm a little concerned that the target dates for public release
on the Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 will be a little late. After having a chat with my
friend some thoughts sprang to mind.
By March of 2000 the (nVidia) GeForce will have taken a major foothold in the
graphics card industry and you can be assured that there will be other
competitors out by then. Initially the rumors that circulated the internet
stated that the Voodoo4 was going to be the card with the one billion pixel fill
rate for around the same price as the nVidia's GeForce but now it turns out it's
going to cost you $600 to obtain that performance.
Regarding the memory, the 128MB of video memory is basically 32MB of memory
shared between each processor (Voodoo5 has 4 processors) so nothing unique about
this setup other than having multiple video processors on one board. This
similar design has been incorporated by the new ATI Rage card which has two
processors with 64MB of memory but each chip can only use a maximum of
32MB.
We will have to wait and see how the market unfolds over the
next couple of months.
Tech News for Monday November
15th
1999.
3dfx official press release on the Voodoo4 and Voodoo5.
Posted: 11/15/99 Source: VoodooExtreme
Added by: Kim Heise
I knew the team over at Voodooextreme would find the
press release from 3dfx before anyone else did so low and behold. The press
release is a little lengthy but I think it is worth reading the whole piece.
3dfx Interactive® Inc. (NASDAQ: TDFX) today announced the first
implementation of its new Voodoo Scalable Architecture technology. The initial
advanced processor, the VSA-100™, is a highly scalable design that supports
the integration of one to 32 chips per system, using proprietary programmable
scan-line interleaving (SLI) techniques, to deliver ultimate fill rates and high
visual reality through breakthrough digital cinematic effects. Additionally, the
VSA-100 architecture substantially improves the overall 3D rendering quality by
incorporating advanced full-scene anti-aliasing technology, available for the
first time at real-time frame rates and consumer prices.
The Company also announced the Voodoo4™ and Voodoo5™ board products based on
the VSA-100 processor. Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 are expected to ship in March, 2000.
At the heart of the VSA-100 is a new advanced 3D engine which enables extremely
high fill rates. Sustaining high fill rate is critical to deliver real-time
frame rates at high resolution, with significant depth complexity, digital
effects and the highest visual quality. For the consumer market, products based
on the VSA-100 deliver from 333 megatexels/megapixels per second up to 1.47
gigatexels/gigapixels per second fill rates using 16-128 MB of video memory and
one to four processors per board. In the professional market, Quantum3D will
manufacturer systems that will utilize eight to thirty-two VSA-100 processors
and 128 MB to two gigabytes of video memory to attain fill rates greater than
three gigatexels/gigapixels per second in their Aalchemy product line.
The VSA-100, composed of over 14 million transistors, is fabricated in an
enhanced .25 micron, 6-layer metal semiconductor process. The architecture
incorporates industry standard 3D features including 32-bit RGBA rendering,
24-bit depth-buffer (Z and W), 8-bit stencil rendering, DXTC and FXT1 texture
compression support, 32-bit textures, 2048x2048 texture size support, and
advanced texture and color combine capabilities. Additional support is provided
for both AGP 4x and PCI, DVD hardware assist, and the world’s most powerful
128-bit 2D engine. All VSA-100-based products include support for all major APIs
including DirectX®, OpenGL® and GLIDE® providing the highest possible
software compatibility. The VSA-100 is designed for optimal performance on
current and future CPUs from Intel and AMD.
The Voodoo4 family of products feature single-chip implementations of the
VSA-100 architecture and are targeted to deliver great performance at mainstream
prices. The Voodoo4 4500 will be available in both PCI and AGP versions, and
will feature a single VSA-100 processor and 32 MB of graphics memory. The
boards, which render two fully featured pixels per clock, will deliver between
333 and 367 megatexels/megapixels per second fill rates and are expected to be
priced at $179.99*.
The Voodoo5 family of products feature multi-chip implementations of the VSA-100
architecture including both dual-chip and quad-chip configurations. The
multi-chip capabilities of the VSA-100 allow for the first time, true
full-scene, hardware anti-aliasing at real-time frame rates. True full-scene
anti-aliasing removes visual artifacts, such as “jaggies” and triangle
“popping,” to create smooth images that create a substantially improved
immersive experience for the viewer. Additionally, Voodoo5 products enable
advanced T-Buffer™ digital cinematic effects including motion blur,
programmable depth-of-field, soft shadows and soft reflections.
The Voodoo5 5000 PCI will have dual VSA-100 processors and 32 MB of total
graphics memory. The Voodoo5 5000 PCI board, rendering four fully featured
pixels per clock, will deliver between 667 and 733 megatexels/megapixels per
second fill rates and is expected to be priced at $229.99*.
The Voodoo5 5500 AGP will feature dual VSA-100 processors and 64 MB of total
graphics memory. 64 MB of memory allows for higher resolutions and pixel depths
with full-scene anti-aliasing and T-Buffer effects enabled, along with more
memory available for texture storage. The board, which renders four fully
featured pixels per clock, will deliver between 667 and 733 megatexels/megapixels
per second fill rate and is expected to be priced at $299.99*.
The flagship product of the VSA-100 architecture, the Voodoo5 6000 AGP, will
feature quad VSA-100 processors and 128 MB of graphics memory. It will be the
first consumer graphics product to break the one billion pixel per second fill
rate barrier. The Voodoo5 6000 AGP, which renders eight fully featured pixels
per clock, will deliver between 1.33 and 1.47 gigatexels/gigapixels per second
fill rate. It is expected to be priced at $599.99*.
Pricing and Availability
Voodoo4 and Voodoo5 products based on the VSA-100 are scheduled to be in volume
production in the first quarter of 2000. Final board pricing and performance
will depend on memory prices and will be announced in the early part of 2000.
Abit announces "Siluro" video cards.
Posted: 11/15/99 Source: ARS
Technica Added by: Kim Heise
Behind closed doors at Comdex, Abit (even before Comdex
has opened it's doors!) showed off their upcoming series of video cards called
"Siluro". The new Abit video cards will be based on the TNT2 and
GeForce processors which comes as no big surprise. Also announced at the show
was two new Abit motherboards based on Intel's new i820 chipset called the CH6
and CX6.
Asus KM7 motherboard review.
Posted: 11/15/99 Source: FPS
3D Added by: Kim Heise
FPS 3D takes a early look at Asus's much anticipated
(and delayed) AMD K7 Athlon motherboard. Here's a quick piece on what they have
to say:
The first Athlon motherboards on the market were featureless, faceless drab.
Early boards from MSI and Biostar features nothing but the usual configuration
often seen on a cheap BX-based motherboard. The next generation, however,
promises some very exciting things. Many of which have never been seen on any
Pentium motherboard previously. The first of which, the FIC SD-11, introduced
ATA/66 into the Athlon market, as well as the addition of two more USB ports for
a total of four.
IntelliMouse Explorer Review.
Posted: 11/15/99 Source: Extreme
Hardware Added by: Kim Heise
Extreme Hardware have posted a review on Microsoft's
new mouse that apparently is taking the gaming arena by storm because of the
precise movements it allows. This new mouse no longer has a "mouse"
ball so it moves more freely and doesn't clog up with dirt. The mouse has a tiny
camera that takes literally thousands of pictures/sec for some very precise
movement.
Unofficial Voodoo 4 specs announced.
Posted: 11/15/99 Source: N/A Added by: Kim Heise
A couple of news sites have been posting some specs on
3dFX's next generation video card. The early specs on the card are absolutely
incredible, especially the SLI configuration. If you are not familiar with SLI
(scan line interleave) it basically means you can physically insert two Voodoo 4
cards in one system for double the power! With the speeds at over 1 gigapixel
fillrates can you imagine doubling that speed? Wow!
Keep in mind that these specs have not officially been released by 3dFX so
anything can change.
-coming early 2000 to your pc
-capable of SLI
-multi-chip solution
-over 1 gigapixel fillrate
-up to 64 MB memory SDRAM segmented memory
-enhanced rendering and texture capabilities to deliver 32-bit per-pixel color
and Z, source, and destination alpha-blending, stencil buffering, advanced
texture compression, enhanced transparency support, and advanced video
capabilities.
-T-Buffer(TM) technology enables the graphics subsystem to deliver unmatched,
full-scene sub-pixel anti-aliased image quality, along with previously
impossible special effects that significantly enhance visual realism. The
architecture approach will enable wide parallelism for single-pass, full-scene,
sub-pixel anti-aliasing with greater polygon throughput and deep parallelism for
scalable fill rate
-faster texture download
-improved image quality
-enhanced triangle and texture paging throughput to deliver industry-leading
peak textured triangle rates and texture paging performance, capable of
supporting 1280 x 1024 resolution or greater
-dxtc texture compression.
Not sure what most of the techno babble means but I will post more info once
these specs become official.
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