Enermax Ships MODU87+ amp; PRO87+ Series

Enermax MODU87+
Enermaxhas recently announced the MODU87+ & PRO87+ series, adding on to its line-up of performance PSUs.


Enermax MODU87+ Top View


Enermax PRO87+


Enermax PRO87+ Top View

The modular MODU87+ series (500, 600, 700 and 800W) and non-modular PRO87+ series (500 and 600W) are 80Plus GOLD certified and feature three 12V rails, Enermax’s DHTT (Dynamic Hybrid Transformer Topology) and a Hybrid Capacitor array. It is also equipped with a silent 139mm fan (with Twister Bearing Technology), capable of up to 1000 RPM, for cooling. Available in end January 2010, they can be purchased from major retailers and e-tailers in Europe at a MSRP starting from 135.90 Euro incl. VAT (MODU87+ series) and 119.90 Euro incl. VAT (PRO87+ series).


“Enermax sets new standards for most demanded PSU wattage range between 500 and 800W: Thanks to its new high-performance AC technology, the Modu87+ and Pro87+ PSU series reach an incredible peak efficiency of up to 93 per cent at 230V. Record-breaking results Enermax achieves as well with the patented cooling technology of new PSU. The path-breaking fan control guarantees optimal and silent running due to unmatched 330 RPM at low load and a maximum of 1,000 RPM at full load.”


News via [Bjorn3d]

Asus Ares Support in Catalyst 10.3a

Out of curiosity, we took apart the latest installment of beta Catalyst just to see what AMD has up its sleeves. The Asus Ares "monster," which has already gained legendary status before hitting the shelves, turned up in this copy of 10.3a Catalyst.
Of course we did not find any Asus product brochure for the Ares hidden in here, but the "DEV_689C" device ID used by the Ares is shared with the Radeon HD 5900 series.
It sure ain't bad for Asus, having official driver support for a deviant design.

Apple predicted to become direct mobile service provider

A veteran wireless industry strategist has predicated that Apple will launch a direct wireless service for the iPad and iPhone, while Google will follow suit.

Whitey Bluestein, who has advised companies on mobile strategy for over two decades, told attendees of the Informa MVNO Industry Summit in Barcelona that Apple was likely preparing a major new move into the wireless service market.Citing a series of Apples pending patents from 2006 onwards, one of which deals with network architecture required to become a wireless service provider, Bluestein postulated that Apple will change how it approaches wireless for its products in the future.He predicted that the launch of such a service, which would provide phone, data, voice and roaming, would be “in the near future,” citing an extension of the network architecture patent in Autumn of last year.He speculated that Apple will likely offer mobile data plans with iPads, rather than selling them with AT&T or Verizon data plans, which could upset its former partners. However, this would give Apple direct control and a larger slice of the profits, though it will have to fork over an initial investment to make up for the subsidies offered by existing operators.Bluestein suggested Apple will avail of its popular iTunes Store, where there are 250 million accounts, to offer activation, data and international roaming plans.Other plans could include an ala carte model for providing iPhone customers with voice, data and message plans as an alternative to their existing mobile operator.Bluestein also believes that Google will follow suit, taking advantage of its ability to acquire companies and services to fill the gaps in its system.“The battleground is set, but Apple will be the first mover,” said Bluestein. “Google will have to scramble because it lacks retail distribution, experience with subscriber services and the iTunes ecosystem of content. iTunes and the iTunes Store provide Apple with one-click buying and customer care. Google can acquire most of these capabilities, as it has before, but it is not a core competency of the company.”

Asus' U30s second generation Core i notebook gets reviewed early

Notebooks with Intels second generation Core i processors are slowly starting to trickle out into the market, but so far weve only seen 14 and 15.6-inch models from Asus. However, an early review of one of its upcoming 13.3-inch models the US30s which is an interesting mix of portability and features. This is likely to be Asus budget 13.3-inch model judging by the features, so we can expect a higher-end version to be announced at some stage as well.

The U30s should be a direct replacement of the current U30Jc model, but with several key feature changes beyond the CPU and chipset. The chassis actually appears to be mostly identical to the older U30Jc which means that the U30s still packs an optical drive, something that results in it being a rather chubby 13-incher. The model on review came with a Core i5-2410M processor; although wed expect it to be available will several CPU options.

The U30Jc featured Nvidias now almost antiquated GeForce 310M graphics and this is where the U30s really improves on things with a GeForce 520M. In as much as this is an entry level solution from Nvidia, it should still be a huge step up from the old 310M. Asus has also built in support for Nvidias Optimus graphics switching technology which switches over to the Intel HD graphics when the additional power of the GPU isnt needed.

What Asus missed to add was USB 3.0 support which is a real shame, as the U30s doesnt feature an eSATA port so the fastest interface for peripherals is USB 2.0. Bluetooth 3.0 has been thrown in for good measure though, although this is becoming an increasingly common feature on notebooks, but doesnt add much in terms of actually being useful as there are still very few devices that utilizes Bluetooth 3.0.

Battery life is said to be good for up to 6h of light usage and about 4.5h watching HD videos on it. Not amazing by todays standards, but still decent enough battery life for whats expected to be Asus most affordable 13.3-inch model, at least for now. Pricing is estimated to end up sub €1000 (S$1770) including tax fully kitted out with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB 7,200rpm hard drive. In will be interesting to see what else Asus has coming over the next few months as the U30s is really just an upgrade of an old model, but were hearing that we can expect some interesting announcements at Computex in May.

Source: Netbooklive

Apple updates Find My iPhone feature with driving directions

Apples updated version of the Find My iPhone application now includes driving directions, leading users directly to the location of their missing devices.

Former versions of the functionality would trace a missing device to a location, and display that location as an icon on a map. Now, this icon includes a car symbol. Tapping on it induces the device to bring up driving instructions, so that an iDevice owner can find his Apple product with much less guesswork.

The Find My iPhone feature has come in handy before, defeating theft, and possible loss of valuable merchandise. One caveat to the Find My iPhone feature is that robbers can disable it even without knowledge of a users passcode. This does make the application less secure – however, the application is undoubtedly valuable in cases of accidental loss.

One possible objection to the Find My iPhone app is that it is an iOSapplication - meaning that it would seem to require an Apple device to run. So unless you have two different iOS devices, and only one of them is lost, the feature may not seem very useful. However, the functionality is also usable on iCloud.com, using mapping data by Google (Google - rather than Apples own Apple Maps).

Find My iPhone is now a free feature, and has been since 2010. Despite the name, the feature is not limited to iPhones, and will help to track other iDevices like the iPod touch, iPad, and MacBook.

Perhaps in the future, Apple can improve functionality even further with pedestrian directions. Any long term user of an iPhone knows that the biggest suspect location of missing devices is somewhere in the recesses of your own home – and that would not render very useful driving instructions.

Source:CNET

ASRock Unleashes 870 Extreme3 Motherboard

ASRock has launched the 870 Extreme3 motherboard, jumping onto the AMD 870 + SB850 bandwagon. It features AM3 support, 5-phase power PWM, four DDR3-1800 slots, twoPCI-e x16 slots (CrossFireX-ready), one eSATA, five SATA IIIconnectors, Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1 channel audio, 1394a, two USB 3.0ports (courtesy of integrated NEC MPD720200 controller), a debug LED,UCC (Unlock CPU Core) chip function, as well as onboard Power, Resetand Clear CMOS buttons. Pricing has not been announced yet but theASRock 870 Extreme3 is expected to start shipping in end April.


News via [Techconnect]

Antec Preps LanBoy Air ATX Case for Launch at CES 2010

LanBoy Air

Antec, a name synonymous with perfomance PSU and chassis, is announcing the launch of its LanBoy Air ATX Case at CES 2010. The case’s modular designfeatures 9 drivebays (6 x 3.5” bays & 3 x 5.25” bays), 8 expansionslots (for Tri-SLI configurations) and a top-side panel with 2 x USB2.0, 1x eSATA and audio connectors, and has support for up to 12 x120mm fans.


LanBoy Air - Front


LanBoy Air - Rear


LanBoy Air - Actual


LanBoy Air - 120mm Fans Galore


LanBoy Air - Front side panel

To further minimize noisegeneration, Antec had incorporated suspension mounts in the chassis toreduce HDD vibrations. Fully compatible with micro, mini and standardITX motherboards, the LanBoy Air is to be launched at CES 2010 nextJanuary. It is expected to be sold at a MSRP of 200 EUR.

News via [Casandcooling.fr]