Computex 06 in pictures

We wrote much about Computex last week, and the products and trends we were seeing. So as a final wrap up, we thought we'd bring you some of the sights of Computex....

This strange looking creature greeted us on the opening day of Computex 2006.

It may not be considered PC at European or US high-tech exhibitions, but at Computex, girls wearing few clothes on the stands is almost a requirement. And they're a little more interesting than the 150th motherboard that day....

Greenpeace mounted a demo outside the exhibition's main hall, protesting against the use of toxins in high-tech products. They may not affect you and I directly, but much of our discarded wasted is sent to third world countries for dismantling by children,  many of whom suffer from lead poisoning. Full story.

The world's tallest building, Taipei 101, at night. Part used by companies for meetings during Computex. Intel announced its latest chipset on the 84th floor, and the view was the most interesting point of the proceedings...

Origami style ultra mobile PCs were not high on the agenda in Taiwan, with few companies displaying them. THis one, from ECS, may hit the UK streets - ECS wasn't sure. But with the usual three hour battery life, it's hardly the all day device Microsoft talks about. But, we like the concept, and look forward to early issues being ironed out.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 13, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Mac Mini-like PC updated

AOpen has followed up on the tiny, Mac Mini-like, PC it launched at Computex last year with an updated Viiv compliant model.

To accompany the new MiniPC, it is also bringing out its take on the burgeoning external hard disk backup products, with 128bit encryption.

The Viiv MiniPC MP945-VXR comes out at the end of the month and weighs just 1.3kg – the weight of some of the smaller ultraportable laptops we get into our labs.

Again it uses a mobile CPU, this time Intel’s Core Duo processors – but it won’t support the Merom Core 2 Duo chips due out soon. Internally, its other components are also from notebooks – its memory and 2.5in hard disk.

Aimed at digital home enthusiasts (and offices with space problems), the black-cased PC also comes with a remote control for its TV functions.

Also in black, and the same size, is he ST201, its secure external hard drive box. It will work with any PC though. It can handle a 12 digit code, using keys on its facia, to secure data.

If the wrong number is keyed in, the had disk is locked. If a thief removes the hard disk from the box, the data is still secure, said AOpen, because it is encrypted on the disk.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 12, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

ECS works on living room friendly Vista PC

The EKT is a concept design for a media PC that is very firmly meant to sit under your TV in your living room.

It won’t be out until Jaunary (once Vista is widely available), but maker ECS said it will be equipped with Intel’s Conroe Core 2 Duo CPU and use the new G965 chipset, which is aimed at digital home machines. This will also use Intel’s new GMA X3000 integrated graphics, again, built for entertainment PCs.

It is HDMI complaint and uses three TV tuners, so you can watch one channel and record two more at the same time. If sitting it under the TV doesn’t appeal, it can be wall mounted, when the LCD display can be swivelled so that it is still visible.

The machine on show at Computex was still a little noisy, but that was because the Bios hadn’t been tuned.

By its release ECS hopes to get noise when idle down to 24dBs and 28dBs when under full load, such as when recording. Under normal playback only conditions, it will be about 26dBs, which is fairly standard for consumer electronics devices.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 12, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Twinhan works on dual channel PC Express TV tuner

We’re seeing a lot of new TV tuners at Computex, and Twinhan is working on an internal digital card for notebooks.

The company wouldn’t say which laptop makers plan to fit the Hybrid DVB-T Mini Card in their machines, but as it was being demonstrated in a BenQ notebook, I’d say that’s a fair bet for starters.

It would mean there’s no need to use an external tuner with your laptop, and should be with manufacturers by August. So it will be the fourth quarter until we see them in machines.

It is also one of the few manufacturers to build a device using the PC Express Card slot (the so far little used, but much faster, replacement for the PCMCIA slot on notebooks).

The Duo DVB-T Express Card will be available later this year, and Twinhan admitted that “right now there’s not much demand” for Express Cards.

Being a duo, it has can support two Freeview digital channels at the same time, so you can watch one, record another.

But, as ever at the moment, beware that elsewhere in Europe has a much stronger DVB-T signal than the UK, so to get all the channels, you will most likely have to hook it to your main household aerial.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Doubts over UK signal strength for handheld digital TVs

It was the handheld TV that caught our eye. Honest.

It’s MSI’s new D310 digital TV. A DVB-T device, it will be available worldwide and is obviously aimed at anyone that just can’t live without the telly.

But you won’t get a signal if travelling above 20 miles an hour, MSI said, which means either convincing your driver to slow down, or grabbing a quick bit TV while waiting for public transport.

It has a 4.2in TFT display with an embedded antenna (plus an external antenna jack). It will also play mp3 and mpeg 4 video, and has slots for SD and MMC cards.

Over at ECS it had a couple of handheld TVs due for release, using 3.5in (called EM-3511) and 4.2in (EM-3535W) QVGA displays.

The latter also comes with an internal hard drive of 10GB or 12GB. ECS claimed that the signal was good up to 100km/h, although we’re sceptical. Certainly that won’t be the case in the UK, with our weaker DVB-T signal.

Battery life is still an issue at three hours – you won’t be using these handhelds so much on long journeys.

At Computex the image quality for both was pretty good, but they were in areas of controlled lighting, so the real test will be what they are like to use when out and about.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 10, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: My USB stick is smaller than yours

The folks at Apacer claim on their stand at Computex to be releasing the smallest USB memory stick in the world, with a capacity up to 1GB.

The Handy Steno AH123 (above) is quite cute, and is tiny, but in the next door booth Kingston, while not making the same claim, also has a range of tiny USB sticks about to come out. And if anything, the Data Traveller Mini looks slightly smaller (next to the phone). 

It also has the Data Traveller Mini Fun (below), again with capacities between 256KB and 1GB, but clearly aimed at the female and children's market. In the next version, you'll be able to clip two together to increase their capacity.

Kingston is also moving into the multimedia player market, bringing out the pretty small KPEX (Portable Entertainment Experience). It can be used to watch video, playing games, viewing photos and listening to mp3s.

It has a capacity of 1GB or 2GB, includes a miniSD card slot and has a 2in screen and intgrated voice recorder. It will start from about $120.

A company rep said Kingston wants to diversify its business, and has set up a team to develop more mulitmedia devices.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 9, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Asus moves into modern art

When the clever chaps over at Asus aren't designing and making motherboards and graphics cards, they're turning their hands to modern art. 

This model is of Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, and part used for the Computex exhibition. It's made entirely from printed circuit boards and took about one month to build. You can see from the people walking past just how tall the model is.

Last year I visited the Asus head office here in Taipei and in the reception is a massive picture of the Mona Lisa, over a metre high and again made only from PCBs.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 9, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Geil overclocks DDR2 memory to 1200MHz

Geil is bringing out 1GB 1200MHz DDR2 Cas 4 memory, aimed at hardcore gamers and overclockers.

The memory is overclocked from 800MHz, but not the fastest on show here at Computex – Corsair is running some at 1250MHz.

According to Geil, it achieves this by testing the memory during manufacture, and only using those without any defective ICLs that could pull down the speed. It costs $350.

The company also has the David 201 about to hit the shops. This strange named device is a 1GB Bluetooth mp3 watch. Aimed at sportsmen, you wear it like any normal watch but it connects wirelessly to the headphones that are sold with it, so can listen to music while running, etc.

Bluetooth headphones are usually pretty unsightly, and these are almost no exception. They’re a little big, but don’t look too bad. The sound quality was okay too. The watch itself is a little big too – hence the reason it’s aimed at men and not women, and has a touch sensitive screen to adjust sound volume.

The next generation, due towards the back end of the year, will include a heart monitor and pedometer.

It tells the time too.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 9, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Hitachi silent over future for 200GB notebook drive

Despite launching its 200GB perpendicular 2.5in notebook hard disk a couple of days ago at Computex, Hitachi is still being annoyingly guarded about the product.

A visit to its stand to find out more yielded a string ‘can’t say’ and ‘no comment’ answers. So, we don’t know the product roadmap. Nor do we know the price to buy it stand alone, or how much extra cost it will add to the price of a notebook.

Hitachi wouldn’t say which notebook manufacturers are planning to use it, or even if any makers had agreed to take it – although we find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t.

We have no idea when we are likely to see even larger capacities in these Serial ATA drives, but we can tell you that they spin at 4,200 rpm.

But the ‘non’ spokesman did let slip that Hitachi is developing a 1.8in perpendicular disk for use in products such as mp3 players and satellite navigation devices, although didn’t give any indication of a release date.

So expect to see massive storage capabilities in these types of devices in the not too distant future.

You can learn more about how perpendicular drives work here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 9, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Dual channel digital TV tuner to watch even more telly

TV device manufacturer KWorld has a PCI tuner and high resolution TV adapter about to hit the UK market.

The PCI-E Dual D DVB-T tuner lets you watch two channels at the same time. Although not a function that will be used all the time, you can tune into different digital (Freeview in the UK) stations, and have the TV windows open to whatever size you want. It’s not picture in picture, as the windows function and sit separately in your monitor.

Over here in Taiwan, there are about 130 analogue stations and only a handfull of digital channels, so it expects its dual analogue version to be more popular here. In the UK though, with only five terrestrial channels, the dual analogue seems a little pointless.

The PCI-E Dual D tuner is out in June and is expected to cost £99, but expect to need to hook it to your roof aerial as it may not work with the travel aerial due to the poor DVB-T signal in the UK.

The 1680 TV Box connects to a PC monitor and allows you to watch TV without turning on your computer. This is not a new idea – we’ve tested similar devices in the past from AverMedia. But it also connects to a games console and supports a resolution of 1680x1050, or up to 1600x1200 when using a 4:3 screen size.

Pamela Wang, a sales and marketing manager at KWorld, said: “It’s for people that want good resolution and an easy way to watch TV on an LCD monitor.”

It will also work with an Xbox 360 and Playstation, but there was no indication of price.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 9, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Gigabyte rebrands its motherboards

Gigabyte is going through a rebranding exercise with its motherboards, giving them a new naming convention and packaging.

It has a bunch of motherboards due out in the coming weeks to support Intel’s new P965 chipset. Chief among these is the high end GA-965P-DQ6, aimed at gamers.

The Conroe-ready board is cooled by two separate heat pipes. The pipe from the southbridge isn’t connected to the pipe from the northbridge, which said Gigabyte, makes for more efficient cooling.

It also uses a solid capacitor (denoted in the name by the letter ‘D’), which gives the moterboard a longer life – the company is claiming it adds five years, a quad bios (denoted by the ‘Q’).

There is a Crazy Cool heat sink underneath the processor, which Gigabyte says reduces the CPU temperature by 10 per cent.

Gigabyte has two more Conroe motherboards coming out in the June/July timeframe, the GA-965P-DS4 and GA-965P-DS3. The ‘S’ stands for several things, including smart and SLI.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 8, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Abit develops digital iDome speakers

Better known for its motherboards, Abit is pushing into the digital home sector with its new iDome 500 speakers.

Initially sold as 2.1 systems, but likely to be 5.1 in the future, the speakers are digital, which, says Abit, means that any music or sound is played through them as it is meant to be heard. The company goes as far as claiming they are the first pure digital speakers on the market, because they do not need to convert sound to analogue during the amplification process.

“You are listening to the recording exactly as it was meant to be heard. There’s nothing to interfere with the way it was meant to sound, because there’s no conversion,” said Abit PR manager Peter du Preez at Computex.

They avoid having to convert the signal by using fibre optics, and cost $250 as a 2.1 system, or $200 without the sub woofer.

We got them into the German VNU test lab here at Computex and were pretty impressed with the sound quality. Sadly, they chose to test them playing a German Oompa Lumpa version of Madonna’s Like a Virgin – no wonder those crazy Germans love David Hasselhoff.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 8, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Lost in translation

Attractive Taiwanese girl to Mike Magee, editor of sister site the Inquirer: "Hi, would you like to come to our press conference on Thursday?"

Mike, being charming to pretty Taiwanese girl: "Sorry no, I'm going to be seeing some of your wonderful country."

Now angry, pretty Taiwanese girl: "WHAT! You don't like Taiwan!"

Other Mikeisms:
"I'm Scottish and I like Birmingham."
"Shakespeare was a Brummie."

Posted by Rob Jones on June 8, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The wrong 'Guy' turns up in Taiwan

Remember the incident of the wrong Guy Kewney being interviewed live on the BBC?

Well his infamy stretches so far that he’s just popped up on my TV here in Taiwan, on CNN, with pictures and the presenters talking about the fan base he is building.

The now infamous incident happened when two Guys arrived at the BBC for an interview.

One, Guy Kewney, was there to talk about the Apple legal battle with the Beatles’ record label of the same name. The other, Guy Goma, was there for a job interview, but was mistakenly ushered into a studio and put live on air for his views of the whole battle.

While Kewney watched 'himself' on the TV in the Green Room, Goma did a pretty sterling job of answering questions, although the look of shock on his face as he realises he is on live TV is one of the funniest moments we’ve seen – if you haven’t seen it, you can here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 8, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Summer release for BenQ Blu-ray PC drives

BenQ brings out two Blu-ray optical drives for PCs this summer, but you’ll need deep pockets to afford either

The first, an internal drive out in August, will cost around $700 (model number BW1000). It uses a Sata connector, and write speeds are akin to the early days of CD burners. It can write Blu-ray discs at 2x speeds and double-layer discs, once available, will be written at single speed.

Its external drive (EW100G), which comes out a month later and costs around $800, will connect to a computer via either USB or firewire. Its write speeds are the same as the internal drive.

Both use Walking Optimised Power Calibration and Solid Burn technologies. Walking OPC adjusts the power of the laser while a disc is being burnt to prevent errors. Solid Burn automatically detects the best speed for writing a disc before the process starts.

This algorithm would be all the more impressive if Blu-ray discs had more choices than single and 2x write speeds, but CD and DVD media work on faster burn speeds.

The drives also use a Precision Tilt Control System to make sure that the discs don’t suffer from vibration or noise during the writing process, which can affect the high densities these discs are capable of holding.

Its single layer Blu-ray optical discs, which hold up to 25GB of data, will ship early next year, and not on the launch of the drives.

Currently, BenQ doesn’t support the rival HD-DVD standard, but said it may bring out a drive next year.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Flybook builds 'airline friendly' notebook

Dialogue, makers of the Flybook, is building on its range of innovative notebooks, showing what it is calling an ‘airline friendly’ laptop here at Computex in Taiwan.

A full size ultraportable notebook when closed, the VM’s screen is attached to an extendable column. Once raised, the 12in display’s hinge allows it to be swivelled. Based on Intel’s Montevallo concept, Flybook says this makes it much easier to use when on the move, particularly when there is a train or airline seat immediately in front of it.

Weighing just 1.6kg, the VM uses a 1.66GHz Intel processor, with either 30GB or 60GB of hard disk and up to 2GB of DDR2 memory. It also has a built in finger print scanner, optical drive and web cam. There was no word on price or availability, but we’ll get one in for testing as soon as we can.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Gigabyte developing wireless video graphics

TV tuners are in abundance at Computex, but Gigabyte has a take that we haven’t seen elsewhere – a wireless VGA box to connect a TV and PC.

Still in research and development, the idea behind the white, bland looking box is that if you have a flat screen TV (or TFT) in for instance another room, it can stream a signal from the PC.

In the case of an entertainment PC, that will mean you can watch your TV in a different room to where the PC sits.

The downside though, is that you can’t change channels – unless you walk into the other room. But it will also play games on a TV, although obviously in this case the PC needs to be in the same room. You can also hook games consoles to it, such as a Playstation or Xbox 360, allowing you to use a spare monitor for gaming rather than the TV.

At this stage there’s no indication of price, or when it is likely to come out, but Gigabytes hopes it will make an appearance by the back end of the year.

As a concept, we like the idea. It’s a niche product, but if launched, will interest buyers, although it will need to make it a little more attractive and offer a good range of connections.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 06: Sparkle releases 7950 graphics card

Sparkle today came out with its high end gaming graphics card, based around Nvidia’s Geforce 7950 GX2 graphics processing unit (GPU).

Aimed at serious gamers who want fast graphics performance, the twin GPU card, the SP-PX79GX2, has 1GB of GDDR3 memory (512MB for each GPU), and if you’ve got a monitor good enough, can handle resolutions of 2560x1600.

The SLI-ready card has a core clock speed of 500MHz, and a memory clock speed of 1200MHz. It supports 1080i high definition TV and is HDCP compliant.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 6, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex 2005: e-Bot's a real gamer

Foxconn, which is better known for its motherboards than its PCs, is updating its e-Bot barebone systems with the e-Bot Gamer. It's sold as a barebone to systems integrators, and will run up to a 3700+ Athlon 64 CPU.

As you can see from its design, it is aimed at a younger audience and for Lan parties. It comes with a built-in LCD display, pop-up 7 in 1 card reader, which felt a bit flimsy, and has a moulded handle in the top of the case. The Gamer will be out by end of Q3.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 13, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

MSI shows PCIe/AGP on a single graphics card

This RX800 graphics card from MSI supports both PCI-Express and AGP. A working concept card, it can be used in either slot simply by flipping it around, and uses a bridge to move it from AGP or PCIe mode, depending on the slot it is pushed into.

You can see from the photo that it has connectors at the top and bottom of the card.

MSI is unsure if it will release the card though, because the company doesn't know how popular it would be.

Another concept card on MSI's stand was the fast NX6800Ultra dual GPU graphics card, which boasts a whopping 1GB G-DDR3 memory (2x512DDR3).

It's the top card in the photo, and as you can see it uses heat pipes and a fan to dissipate the heat it generates.

Again, the company is undecided on whether or not to bring the card to market, unsure if their would be enough demand for what we be an expensive card to produce that would come with a high price tag.

The middle card, the NX6600GT-TD256E is coming out. The massive heatsink, which has a fan sitting behind it, was hand-made but it will go into mass production.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 4, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Acon5

Abit's gaming world tournament Acon5 (Abit Contests 2005) has its global final this weekend in Xian, China. UK company Scan made the PCs being used and one was placed next to the coffee bar in Abit's exhibit area in Computex. Walking into the room, at first glance it was easy to mistake it for an espresso machine.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 4, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Liquid metal cools Sapphire's X850XT

Sapphire has been showing off its new Liquid Metal Cooling graphics card, which uses Gallium to cool the card.

The working prototype, based on an ATI X850XT, was on show at Computex and still needs a lot of development work, but the company said it wanted to show the card in action during the exhibition. Gallium is 65 times more conductive than water, and the pipe was only just warm to the touch, even though it had been running for some hours.

The system on show needed two fans and was pretty noisy, but these are the issues Sapphire is ironing out before the card's launch in the fourth quarter. It takes hot air from the card and fans draw the heat out, keeping a constant ambient temperature.

If liquid metal doesn't attract you, there were also plenty of water cooling systems on show, which will be available in the UK over the coming few months.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 3, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More Sima AMD/Intel boards from ECS

ECS surprised the market recently when it introduced a motherboard (PF88 Extreme) that can run Intel, but with the use of a converter card (the Sima A9S) slotted into the board, could then use an AMD CPU instead. It sounded unlikely, but works, and ECS claims no loss in performance. Anyone that swaps out their Intel CPU for AMD has to remove the processor and fan from the board before slotting in the converter card.

Now it is planning to release two new converter boards in late July/early August based on its original Sima A9S. The Sima A4S is again aimed at anyone that wants to switch from Intel to AMD, but is quite niche because it will convert to AMD's Turion mobile CPU - I can't see too many people taking this path.

The second, the I9S, is interesting though because it converts a Pentium desktop CPU to a Pentium M, an idea that is catching on among those that want to run cooler, quieter systems without a detrimental loss in processing power. (Sorry the picture's not great, but all boards were behind perspex.)

PCW has run several articles recently looking at using the Pentium M in a desktop, but it currently requires a specialist motherboard. ECS is now providing an alternative option, although it should be remembered, you'd still need to buy the PF88 Extreme H motherboard from ECS.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

 

Posted by Rob Jones on June 3, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Move over Mac Mini - You're too Big

Aopen, which has shifted from a barebone supplier to building and selling complete systems, is making the small form factor even smaller.

The popularity of small form factor (SFF) PCs have grown steadily over the past couple of years, especially among those that want smart, sleek machines, and they certainly shook full-size case makers out of their slumber. Shuttle dominates the sector, but it and most of its rivals still supply mainly as barebone systems that the customer then has to build. But that is shifting, and Aopen leaped to complete build.

Now it is trying to add its own stamp on the market with two new machines, the XC Cube M2855-11 and Pandora. The XC Cube is half the size of standard SFF cases, and comes in two designs, as a single optical drive PC and with a two optical-drive extension unit.

The main PC is based around Intel's 855GME chipset with a Celeron CPU, 1GB of DDR400 Ram, and 80GB hard drive and comes with a 17" TFT.

The PC and extension box can be hooked together via USB to work as a single system. The extention unit can be hooked to any PC, Aopen said. Both come out in July and are aimed at being used in the study or living room. The unit shown here is the main PC.

Pandora makes the XC Cube look huge, and comes in at 1.3l in size, smaller than a Mac Mini. Despite its good looks though, it is not quite as stylish as the Apple machine. It's a prototype, so may change before it finally comes out in September. The system on display was running Pentium M, so is quiet but with decent performance using the 915GM chipset, and comes with a slot loading optical drive, inbuilt wireless, two USB ports and firewire.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 3, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Xeyes or cross-eyed?

Walking around the many stands at Computex you see some products and they make you go 'wow!'. Then you come across others that make you go 'hmmm'. And that's the case with Leadtek's Xeye, which has been around for quite some time but we just couldn't ignore.

It can be used to magnify images - stills or moving - from small screens, such as PDAs, giving you a large virtual screen in front of your eyes (the company claims 50" in its literature). It can connect to a portable TV tuner, a portable media player and so on and also be used to play games. Leadtek says it means you won't need to 'carry around a heavy video monitor'.

As you can see from the photo, you won't win any fashion awards with this wrapped around your face. It does work, but in our opinion, not that well. When we tried it, the screen kept breaking up, with the image (which was a Taiwanese TV programme) going very blocky. The image was dark around the edges, the connection lead was too short and you could see the outside world in your peripheral vision, which was really annoying.

I spoke to another Computex delegate at the stand who tried it, and he said he was getting a pillar down the centre of his vision when using it.

So, we'd say nice idea, but wait until they've improved its looks and performance.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

 

Posted by Rob Jones on June 2, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Earthquake rocks Computex

We were hit by an earthquake not long after midnight, with a magnitude measuring somewhere between 5.6 and 6.

I'd not long got back to my hotel, having bailed out of Carnegies bar, which was heaving to the point where you could no longer get to the bar and was sitting in my room when it was jolted pretty violently, leaving furniture rocking after it had finished. It didn't last long, but the hotel confirmed it was an earthquake and not the guy upstairs!

Maybe the headline should instead read Computex rocks Taiwan. I would have claimed PCW rocks Taiwan if I hadn't got to my hotel so early last night....

Posted by Rob Jones on June 2, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

But why Pentium M if not Centrino?

PCW columnist Guy Kewney is also here at Computex and you can read his views on Via and its new C7 processor here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 2, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Via launches Centrino rival

Via has launched a mobile processor that it claims will 'help drive notebooks mainstream'. Our impression is that notebooks already are mainstream but the C7-M looks an interesting product and should provide yet more competition for Intel's Centrino platform.

The C7-M goes into production this summer and will be available initially in a 1.5GHz version, with a roadmap going up to 2GHz. No prices have yet been given but Via hints that they will be competitive.

The company claims that the 2GHz part  draws just 100mw idling and has a thermal design power (TDP) of just 20 watts – that is the maximum it could draw going flat out. It comes with a suite of hardware-enhanced security features.

The tiny 30 square-millimetre die is made on a 90nm system-on-insulator (SOI) process and, like its AMD and Intel rivals, it saves power by clocking up or down to match the tasks in hand.

Via is best known for its chipsets but it has been making low-drain processors and eco-friendly small-format motherboards for some time. It bought the Cyrix and Centaur divisions of National Semiconductor in 1999.

Posted by Clive Akass on June 1, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

DDR2 gets faster

Memory makers are pushing the next level of DDR2, with 750-800MHz (depending on who you talk to here at Computex) on the horizon, or in some cases already available.

Talking to motherboard manufacturers here in Taipei, they keep in line with the chipset releases, not memory, so there are few boards on the market that can get the full benefit of 800MHz front side bus. Since Intel launched its new 945P, 945G and 955X chipset a few weeks ago, motherboard manufacturers have been able to natively support a faster front side bus.

A few board makers, such as Asus and Abit have native 800MHz support, but most of the new boards we have seen have been 667MHz FSBs.

Native support for 800MHz varies, depending on who you talk to, but many said it was unlikely until early next year. Memory makers are more upbeat, saying they believe motherboards supporting 800MHz will appear in the third quarter this year.

Corsair already has DDR2 available that can be overclocked to 1066MHz, Kingmax has 800MHz DDR2 available, but not in mass production so it's hard to get, Kingston said it will have 750MHz HyperX available soon.

But, it does mean that DDR2 400MHz will become less popular, with 533MHz taking over as the base level in the near future.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 1, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Massive benchtest scores claimed for ATI CrossFire

As mentioned yesterday, ATI is fighting back against Nvidia SLI with CrossFire, its answer for power gamers that need twin graphics cards. The press launch is in a couple of hours here at Computex in Taiwan, so will mostly likely have happened when you read this for all but the early risers.

The plus side to Crossfire is that you don't need exactly the same cards, so you can pick different X850 cards for instance. The downside is you need the  Xpress 200 CrossFire chipset on your motherboard, so in the early stages that will mean replacing your graphics card and motherboard. That's a big investment for what is promised to be higher performance.

HIS are showing a pair of X850 cards at Computex, running on an AMD RD480 motherboard, which should be out late June or early July, and claimed a 3DMark05 score of 9643, which is massive compared to single card systems but only a touch higher than we've seen for SLI boards in our independent labs tests.

I got them to run the test again in front of me, and it came back at just over 9700. They assured me there had been no tweaks, but we'll get the boards into the labs as soon as possible anyway and see what scores we achieve in our set up. It also needs to be remembered that only the 3DMark05 test was running.

Gigabyte are also claiming a huge score for its newest graphics card, based around a dual GPU Nvidia  6800GT. That's dual GPU on one card, not two, in an SLI set up. The GV-3DI-68GT, which comes out in a couple of weeks, scored 20,460 in 3DMark03. That's a similar score to our tests for SLI cards, but much higher than anything we've seen from a single card. Again, we'll test it as soon as we get a sample.

To read more on the latest components and news from Computex click here.

Posted by Rob Jones on June 1, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

AMD signs peace pact with Intel

And in a PCW Test Bed exclusive from Computex we have a photo of the pen they used.....

Posted by Rob Jones on June 1, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex: Zalman cranks out world's biggest fan!

I swung by Zalman earlier this morning, and had a long chat with them about various new products they are introducing. You can read the full story here, but in a nutshell, they're bringing out a new super flower cooler, a new 460w PSU, and a barebones case aimed at those wanting to use it as a media center in the living room. Plus I took a look at Zalman's latest Reserator, which came out a couple of weeks ago.

As you can see, this cooler is massive! You can see it here  surrounded by two of its smaller cousins. OK, so I joke. The one in the middle is a model, the others are the real thing. But as I left the stand I overheard two guys talking about it in full belief that this is a real product.  And you just never know with Zalman...

The Reservator 1 Plus (left) and the Zalman TNN300 barebone case (below).

It's pretty usual to see exhibitors attracting attention via very scantily clad women or people dressed in odd outfits. Zalman avoided all these gimicks, sticking instead to their way - coloured fans and water cooled PCs, and a playable PC game (didn't see which) with the volume cranked to the max.

Posted by Rob Jones on May 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Computex Kicks Off

Computex kicked off today, with the annual show opening ceremony. Most of it is in Chinese, so I can't tell you what was said, but it's mainly a show of Taiwanese culture and some awards.

Then we get down to the serious business - the event itself, which now claims to be the world's second biggest technology trade show after Cebit in Germany. It's spread over four halls and various near-by buildings, so there are thousands of exhibitors here, from the smallest manufacturers to large international component manufacturers, plus a fair slice of US and European giants as well.

Posted by Rob Jones on May 31, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Bobby Zamora wows Computex

OK, I've just got back from the Tavern sports bar in Taipei after watching the mighty West Ham win the Championship play-off final. So now I'm showing my colours, but hey, I only landed tonight in Taiwan after 16 hours of travel and yes I am currently on a high. Where there was allegiance among the mainly British crowd in the bar, the colours were claret and blue, with just one Preston fan. But he was good about his team's defeat in what was a close game.

Down to the serious business, Computex itself kicks off in a few hours (tomorrow for you guys in the UK, but it's already well past midnight in Taiwan), so we'll keep you on top of the latest news and gossip from the event throughout the week, reporting not just in this blog, but also in the news pages of PCW and in our newsletter this coming Friday.

photo credit: BBC

Posted by Rob Jones on May 30, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack

Total football at Computex

For any English football fans heading over to Computex in Taiwan, and kicking themselves because they're going to miss the Championship play-off final, PCW has found a bar showing it.

It's on at the Tavern sports bar, and for fans of real football, the game kicks off at 10pm Taiwanese time (3pm UK time).

We'll be there, supporting the mighty.....

Schedule
Location

Posted by Rob Jones on May 27, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Test Bed Goes to Computex

PCW is heading off to Computex this Sunday, where we'll be attending the world's second biggest IT event. It's across four halls plus various hotels and buildings close by, including Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building.

About this time every year the trade show is held in Taipei, Taiwan, and is typically used by major vendors to announce new products and plans. Taiwan, as techheads will know, dominates our sector for components, so it's a great show to visit to get the latest on what we can expect over the coming year. Of course there'll also be the usual US suspects exhibiting, and we do expect to hear and see more about the digital home, so it will be interesting to see what progress there has been since this time last year.

Keep an eye out for regular updates in the Test Bed blog, plus news stories on our site. We've got bags of meetings arranged, but still enough time to wander around the stands looking for those little gems, and you'll be able to keep up with it all here.

The show kicks off on Tuesday 31 May through until Saturday June 4. PCW is staying on though, visiting manufacturers after the event, so we'll keep posting until we fly out on 8 June.

For anyone going for the first time: It's hot, humid and the forecasts are predicting rain and thunderstorms. Much like last year.

Posted by Rob Jones on May 26, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack