Need for Speed: The Run Review

Need for Speed: The Run System requirements: MINIMUM PC REQUIREMENTS OS: Windows Vista SP2 32-bit DirectX: DirectX 10 Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Equivalent Memory: 3 GB Hard Drive: 18 GB Graphics card (AMD): 512 MB RAM ATI Radeon 4870 or higher performance Graphics card (NVIDIA): 512 MB RAM NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT or higher performance Sound card: DirectX Compatible Keyboard or Gamepad or Steering Wheel DVD Rom Drive Online: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection RECOMMENDED OS: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit DirectX: DirectX 11 Processor: 3.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad or AMD Equivalent Memory: 4 GB Hard Drive: 18 GB Graphics card (AMD): 1024 MB RAM ATI Radeon 6950 Graphics card (NVIDIA): 1024 MB RAM NVIDIA GeForce GTX560 Sound Card:...

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More Rumors Suggest Radeon HD 7900 GPUs Will Use XDR2 Memory

Rumors regarding the use of XDR2 memory in AMD's next-gen Radeon HD 7900 graphics cards refuse to die and recently these have been brought once again to our attention by a Chinese website. According to MyDrivers, AMD will design its Radeon HD 7900-series graphics cards based on the Tahiti core to work with both GDDR5 and XDR2 memory. Certain higher-end SKUs based on Tahiti will use XDR2, while the more cost effective versions of these GPUs will pack the same GDDR5 memory we all have come to know and love in our graphics cards. Of course that these rumors are largely unsupported and that they should be taken with a huge grain of salt, but all this talk about Rambus' XDR2 memory surely makes me wonder if there is any truth behind these allegations. I...

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SMSC LAN9730 Converts USB 2.0 into 10/100 Ethernet

USB and Ethernet are two different connectivity technologies, used for distinct applications, but it so happens that SMSC decided it was time the latter enjoyed the power efficiency benefits of the former. SMSC just issued an announcement in which it reveals the LAN9730, a fully-integrated Hi-Speed Inter-Chip (HSIC) USB 2.0 to-10/100 Ethernet device. HSIC is based on the company's patented Inter-Chip Connectivity (ICC) technology and allows the USB protocol to be delivered over short distances via LAN while still retaining software compatibility with analog USB 2.0. The primary advantage of this so-called industry's first item is that any device requiring an Ethernet port will consume considerably less power. “Performance, flexibility...

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Nvidia's Upcoming GeForce 600M-Series GPUs Get Detailed – Report

We all knew for quite some time now that the beginning of 2012 will mark the introduction of a series of new mobile graphics cores from Nvidia that take the 600M-series designation, but now additional details about the specs of these GPUs made their way to the Web. Nvidia's GeForce 600M notebook graphics card range will be comprised of 13 solutions according to the info provided by ComputerBase, these being split into three series depending on their target market. The fastest of these were designed to meet the needs of enthusiasts and their code names carry the “E” moniker to suggest their membership to this GPU series. Nvidia plans to launch five enthusiast notebook graphics cores in total, the fastest of which being the GTX 680M known...

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AMD Trinity APU Performance Revealed by Leaked Internal Benchmarks

In the first part of 2012, AMD is expected to release its next-generation APUs based on the Bulldozer-derived Trinity architecture and the first internal company estimates detailing the performance of these chips were just leaked online. The AMD slides made their appearance in the most recent DonanimHaber video bulletin and were captured by the TechPowerUp publication. While the quality of the images is lacking, they still manage to give us a pretty good idea about the performance of AMD's A8, A6 and A4 series of APUs based on the Trinity architecture when compared to their current Llano counterparts. In terms of visual performance, judged by running the 3DMark Vantage benchmark, AMD's next-gen APUs seem to be on average 32% faster than...

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AMD Radeon HD 7000M GPU Series Unveiled, Specs Included

AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cores should make their entrance in the market not too long away from now and recently the specifications of a wide series of the mobile version of these GPUs were leaked on the Web. As it has been reported previously, on the notebook front, the HD 7000-series will be comprised of five different graphics cores addressing the needs of a wide range of users ranging from the low-end to the enthusiast sectors. Sadly, little is known about the most powerful of these GPUs, based on the Wimbledon, Heathrow and Chelsea designs, apart from a preliminary set of operating frequencies and the memory installed, but AMD's the mid-range and entry-level solutions are a lot better documented. According to ComputerBase,...

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Asus Transformer Prime Coming Soon to Staples Stores

We got some good news for those of you that have been waiting impatiently to get their hands on the world's first quad-core tablet. Staples has now put its well known “coming soon” stamp on the Asus Transformer Prime.  Mobile Syrup has spotted Asus' Nvidia Kal-El powered 10-incher on the Staples website right between the original Transformer tablet and the BlackBerry PlayBook. As many of you surely know by now, Asus has promised to launch the Transformer Prime in December of this year, the 32GB model being priced at $499 (371 EUR), while the 64GB version of the tablet will retail for $599 (445 EUR). Apart from the Nvidia SoC, the Prime also includes Wi-Fi, 1GB of RAM, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera that can shoot 1080p videos, and...

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PR 1.1 Update for Nokia N9 Now Widely Available

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has just announced that a new software update is being pushed out to its Nokia N9 users, the PR1.1 firmware that was made official a few weeks ago.  The company says that the update has started to make an appearance on devices out in the wild, and that the new features and improvements it packs inside will soon be delivered to more users out in the wild. The update was already sent to some Nokia N9 devices out there (our review unit received it), and should land on other devices as well in the coming days or weeks. Among the main enhancements that the new software update is bound to deliver to devices, we can count the charging and calendar notifications that are now available on the standby screen,...

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YouTube's HTML5 Video Player Is on Par with the Flash-Based One

YouTube has been working on its HTML5 video player for more than a year now, but the project has remained mainly experimental. Still, the latest versions now seem rather complete and on par, feature wise, with the regular Flash-based player. As Google Operating System noted, the HTML5 player is pretty much ready to take over the Flash based one. That said, that probably won't happen any time soon. Google could decide to start advertising the HTML5 version to users and start offering them the option to switch, but that depends on how stable the player and, importantly, how well browsers out there handle it. The HTML5 YouTube player is available as an experiment. If you decide to join, all YouTube videos will be streamed via HTML5, except...

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Ice Cream Sandwich Successfully Ported on HTC Hero, Not Ready for Full Use

After Nexus S and Galaxy S II, another Android smartphone receives an unofficial Ice Cream Sandwich update, the old HTC Hero, also known as T-Mobile G2 Touch. It appears that the folks over at XDA have successfully ported the Android 4.0 on the HTC Hero, though the ROM is not yet ready for full use due to several bugs and issues. The XDA team that developed the Ice Cream Sandwich ROM for the Hero claims that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options are fully supported, but there are some problems with calling / data features. Some SIM cards may encounter problems connecting to the network. According to the developers, these problems are not related to the phone's radio. However, the XDA team will probably release an updated version of...

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Inno3D Adds 2GB of Memory to the GTX 560 Ti and GTX 560

Chinese graphics card maker Inno3D has just announced that it has developed a new series of Nvidia GeForce solutions based on the GTX 560 Ti and GTX 560 designs that were both paired with 2GB of video buffer. Inno3D brought this change to Nvidia's GPUs in order to improve their performance when used for running multi-monitor setups at high resolutions or in games that feature high-quality textures such as Metro 2033 or Shogun 2. Both graphics cards announced today by Inno3D look extremely similar, although they target slightly different market segments. Their most distinctive feature is the cooling solution that was designed in-house by Inno3D and relies on several heatpipes from drawing the heat produced by the GPU from its surface and...

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Nokia 801T Spotted in China, Confirmed with Symbian^3

Although Nokia plans to release its new Windows Phone 7.5 Mango devices, the Lumia 800 and 710 in China in early 2012, it looks like another Nokia smartphone has been spotted in the Mainland. According to the folks over at GSMArena, the unannounced Nokia 801T features dual-more quad-band GSM and TD-SCDMA network support and is expected to be launched in China with Symbian^3 on board. At least that's what the official specs sheet says. However, there is also the possibility that the official document that leaked recently is old and Nokia will update it ahead of the phone's launch. If the smartphone will be release with Symbian^3 in the end, Nokia will probably update its software to Symbian Anna or Belle afterwards. Just by looking at the...

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Download Free Ubuntu Desktop Migration eBook

Canonical, through Sonia Ouarti, announced a couple of minutes ago (November 21st) the immediate availability for download of the "Five Golden Rules for a Successful Ubuntu Desktop Migration" eBook. Written for small businesses and enterprises, this free eBook from Canonical contains about 9 pages with information about how to migrate your desktops and employees to a free and open source desktop environment. "This new, free ebook will show you why moving to Ubuntu is easier than you think. It's really not the headache that people would have you believe. As long as you stick to five key principles." The Canonical Desktop team says that this eBook can be used as a workbook to plan a project, and that they are here to help you smoothly and...

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Intel's 15W Pentium 350 CPU Now Available, Targets Micro-Servers

While most of us won't associate Pentium processors with servers, Intel seems to have another opinion in this regard as it recently made available the Pentium 350 CPU that has a TDP of just 15W and targets micro-server systems. In March of this year, Intel announced that it plans to ship a series of low- and ultra-low power processors for this type of servers and the Pentium 350 is the first one of these chips to arrive. As a result of its newly found role, the Pentium 350 resembles much more the Xeon E3-1220L rather than the ULV version of consumer Pentium or Core i3 processors, according to CPU-World. What this means is that similarly to the 1220L, the new chip includes two computing cores, 3MB of Level 3 cache memory, and support for...

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Nikon D800 Pictures and Specs Leak, Packs 36MP Full-Frame Sensor

Keenly awaited by many professional photographers out there, Nikon's D800 DSLR was just pictured in a series of leaked images that just made their appearance on the Web together with some of the camera's specifications. Quite a few changes were brought by Nikon to this professional DSLR when compared with its current predecessor, the D700, and the most important is definitely the addition of a new 36MP full-frame image sensor. This is seconded by an Expeed 3 image processor, the combo enabling Nikon to offer a 100 to 6,400 ISO range, that can be expanded to 50 – 25,600. Furthermore, the D800 will use the same 51-point AF system found in the D3s, but this time this will get a new face recognition mode. The video recording capabilities of...

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RIM Admits Faulty BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930, Working on Software Update

It looks like Research in Motion is having a really bad year. After three days of BlackBerry outage, it appears that some of the company's BlackBerry 7 smartphones are now making the headlines, namely the Bold 9900 and 9930. Lots of BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 owners have started to complain about a critical issue that renders their devices useless after charging them overnight (or any interval of time that is just as long). Many carriers that are currently selling these two BlackBerry smartphones reported a high number of returns due to this issue. There is no working solution to this date, so operators were forced to replace all faulty units that were still under warranty. According to the latest reports, there are users who replaced...

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