Hardware 23 - Socket to 'em

Hardware 23 - Socket to 'em

Posted on 9th May 2011 at 11:49 by Podcast with 5 comments

This week, Clive, Harry, Paul and Antony discuss Folding@home, going through what it's all about and what hardware you should be using to generate the most points per day.

Also on the agenda are some of our thoughts about factory-overclocked graphics cards. We discuss where in the market these provide real value, and when you?d be better of trading up to a better GPU altogether.

Harry also treats us all to a very long comprehensive run down of the current state of the SSD market, and what developments we can expect to see there over the next few months.

Finally, we take a look at AMD?s soon to be retired Phenom brand, and discuss what AMD got right and wrong with this chip-generation. We also take a look back at the conclusions we drew from our first experiences with Phenom-branded processors, and how our thoughts back then compare to our thoughts now.


As always, we've also set up our weekly competition, the lucky winner of which will walk away with a Speedlink Strike FX wireless gamepad. This gamepad is compatible with both the PC and PlayStation 3, and functions at distances of up to 10m.

As ever, the bit-tech hardware podcast features music by Brad Sucks, and was recorded on Shure microphones. You can download the podcast direct, listen in-browser or subscribe through iTunes using the links below. Also, be sure to let us know your thoughts about the discussion in the forums.

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U.S. Scrutinized Ensign, but Senate Dug Deeper

Then they charged the aide with breaking the law.

On Thursday, a unanimous Senate Ethics Committee ? in a rare public report that corroborated virtually all of Mr. Hampton?s central assertions ? said it found compelling evidence that Mr. Ensign had not only broken the law, but that he could have been expelled from the Senate had he not made the decision last month to quit first.

But the Justice Department has yet to take any action against Mr. Ensign nearly two years after allegations of impropriety first surfaced. In fact, they told his lawyers last December that they were not pursuing criminal charges against him at the time.

Mr. Hampton, the main witness, who is now awaiting trial, has filed for bankruptcy, lost his Las Vegas home to foreclosure and is going through a divorce from his wife, Cynthia, after Mr. Ensign, once his best friend, admitted having an affair with her.

Legal experts and others interviewed pointed out that prosecutors have a different standard than the Senate committee, which does not have to present a criminal case to a jury. But the Senate?s harsh report ? contrasted with the Justice Department?s inaction ? provided further evidence for those who complain that the agency has seemed skittish about taking on public officials following the fiasco that resulted from the 2008 corruption case against the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, which was ultimately dropped amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct.

?They?re more careful now, because they weren?t careful on the Stevens case, and it backfired,? said Richard W. Painter, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, who served as an ethics lawyer in the White House under President George W. Bush.

Stephen M. Ryan, a former federal prosecutor and Senate investigator who now works as a corporate lawyer in Washington, said he was surprised to see that Ethics Committee investigators, despite their relatively meager resources, appeared to have done a more thorough job investigating the case than their counterparts at the Justice Department.

He said the Justice Department?s public integrity section, which handled the investigation, ?has fallen on hard times if this case has no appeal to them. It is pretty easy to get a single count of obstruction or a false statement here. In a salon you could explain this one over a beer.? He added that ?if I were the attorney general, I would have some serious questions about the judgment that the people applied. ?

The Senate also took a far tougher stance than the Federal Election Commission.

Against the recommendation of its lawyer, the election commission also declined to take action against the senator after it said it could not disprove sworn statements from Mr. Ensign and his parents about a $96,000 payment to the Hamptons that they said was a gift. The Ethics Committee said the money in fact appeared to be an ?unlawful? severance payment and that Mr. Ensign made ?false and misleading? statements about it to investigators. It also said the former senator appeared to have destroyed e-mails relevant to the investigation.

An election commission official, who asked not to be identified while the case was pending, acknowledged that the commission took the senator at his word, whereas the Senate dug deeper. This official expressed anger to learn the true circumstances behind the $96,000 payment.

?I hate it when people lie to us,? the official said, adding: ?If somebody submits a sworn affidavit, we usually do not go back and question it, unless we have something else to go on. Maybe we should not be so trusting.?

While the Justice Department would not discuss its evidence in the case, it said Friday it would look at the new allegations.

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Nvidia shows new GTX 560 running Duke Nukem Forever in 3D

Confirming earlier rumors, Nvidia has officially acknowledged the existence of its non-Titanium GeForce GTX 560. While the GPU-maker wasn't gracious enough to reveal the card's full specifications, it says the GTX 560 will rest between last year's GTX 460 ($150-$170) and the new GTX 560 Ti ($240) in terms of pricing and performance. It also shared the card's benchmark results in three upcoming games: Duke Nukem Forever, Alice: Madness Returns, and Dungeon Siege III.

Referencing Valve's hardware survey, Nvidia noted that the most popular graphics card on Steam is 2008's GeForce 9800GT, while the most used resolution is 1920x1080. The company says this forces many gamers to make compromises in performance, graphical fidelity, or both in order to play modern titles at such a high resolution. Based on our recent budget graphics roundup, this is increasingly true for the GTX 460, which isn't ideal for maxing out demanding games.

That's precisely where the GTX 560 steps in: it's supposedly a bit snappier than the GTX 460, while it's expected to cost a little less than the full-fledged GTX 560 Ti. Nvidia says its upcoming entry will deliver solid performance when running the latest games at 1080p, even with PhysX and 3D Vision enabled. Additionally, when paired up in SLI, two Titanium-less GTX 560s will offer enough muscle to play games at 5760x1080 using Nvidia Surround without breaking the bank.

According to the company's benchmarks, the GTX 560 maintained "rock solid" frame rates while running Duke Nukem Forever at 1080p with stereoscopic 3D enabled. Likewise, the card ran Alice: Madness Returns maxed out at 1080p with stable performance. The company demonstrated its Nvidia Surround technology with Dungeon Siege III, running the game almost entirely maxed (8x AA instead of 16x) at 5760x1080. The GTX 560 offered "consistently smooth" frames.

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/43794-nvidia-shows-new-gtx-560-running-duke-nukem-forever-in-3d.html

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Google News for mobile starts including local news

Google has announced a new feature for Google News: "News near you." It does exactly what you would expect: start paying attention to the news relevant to the city you're in and surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, the feature seems to be limited to the US English edition of the service. Furthermore, it only works on Android smartphones and the iPhone. To use the feature, head to Google News on your mobile phone and you will automatically be redirect to the mobile version of the website.

Once there, a pop-up will ask you if you want to share your location. If you say yes, news relevant to your location will appear in a new section called "News near you" which will be added at the bottom of the homepage. You can reorganize the sections later via the personalization page.

Finding local news on your smartphone can be potentially much more useful than local news on a computer. On the other hand, local news can sometimes also be less important than the big picture. Thankfully, Google lets you turn this feature off at any time either by hiding the "News near you" section in your personalization settings or by adjusting your mobile browser settings to disable location tracking.

Location-based news first became available as part of Google News in 2008, and today there's a local section for hundreds of cities, territories, and countries in the world. Google leverages thousands of sources for local news by analyzing every word in every story to understand what location the news is about and where the source is located.

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/43793-google-news-for-mobile-starts-including-local-news.html

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Rumor: Apple to release iPhone 4S worldphone with A5, HSPA says Analyst

Jeffries analyst Peter Misek has put out a note about the iPhone model being released later this year, reports Business Insider. He claims that it will be called the iPhone 4S, features Apple?s dual-core A5 chip and will be compatible with Sprint, T-Mobile as well as Verizon and AT&T.

As with all of these rumors from analysts, it is hard to say whether they?re based on fact or actual real-world evidence.

The inclusion of Apple?s A5 processor in a new iPhone is a given at this point. The chip currently powers Apple?s iPad 2 and has already been seen in the current iPhone 4 chassis in a prototype phone that has made the rounds. It?s also been rumored to be present in a prototype handed out to major game developers to help them program next-gen games for the iOS platform.

The inclusion of HSPA+ is also very likely as most of the current generation of ?4G? phones are sporting this protocol. HSPA+ is in fact, not 4G at all. Instead it?s a newer, albeit faster 3G protocol, but the marketing departments of most of the major phone manufacturers have decided that it?s fast enough for them to sell as 4G. The lack of maturity of true 4G chips is stated by Misek as the reason that Apple will go with HSPA+ instead.

4G chips are indeed relatively new and power hungry. Many true 4G devices like the Droid Charge, one of the current crop of LTE devices, have relatively short battery life in comparison to 3G devices. Apple has made a large effort to focus on getting the best battery life possible out of the iPhone, as evidenced by the long segments on battery performance during keynotes. This focus could lead them to put off 4G until it is more mature and less battery intensive.

As far as the worldphone rumor goes, it definitely makes sense from a manufacturing perspective. Apple would no doubt like to produce one phone that works with all of the major carriers world wide. It would cut down on production cost, limit the amount of SKUs that they would have to stock and give customers more carrier flexibility, which would spur sales. This also comes down to chipset maturity however.

In their teardown of the Verizon iPhone 4, iFixit discovered that it was using a Qualcom MDM6600 chip which is capable of communicating with GSM/HSPA+ networks like T-Mobile and AT&T as well as CDMA networks like Verizon and Sprint. The GSM portion of the chip is not being used on the Verizon model of course, but it would be a matter of programming to make it compatible with either standard.

But then there?s the name. We?re unlikely to see a new iPhone next month, as we have been accustomed to for the last several years. Instead, it should arrive late this year, in time for the holiday season. The change in release schedule could very well be an effort by Apple to ensure that the next iPhone maintains a significant industry advantage in technology and software.

Remember that most other manufacturers have only just begun to release devices with similar or better specifications to the iPhone. Especially in categories like screen resolution and battery life.

With this delay, it makes less sense to us than ever that the next iPhone would be called the ?iPhone 4S?. The iPhone 3GS was an anomaly, a side-step from Apple?s normal release schedule. The speed bump was necessary in order to make sure that the user experience of the phone kept up with the rapidly expanding capabilities of the apps on the App Store.

An iPhone 4S moniker makes little sense for this next iPhone, especially if the later release date means that Apple is given more time to bring their next offering right back to the top of the hardware scale.

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Source: http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/05/13/rumor-apple-to-release-iphone-4s-worldphone-with-a5-hspa-says-analyst/

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HTC Flyer starts landing in Europe

HTC has announced that its first tablet, the HTC Flyer, is available in as of today in Europe. The HTC Flyer combines natural touch and pen interaction and is available in two models: a combined 3G and WiFi (£600 or ?650) model and the WiFi-only model (£480 and ?500). The combined 3G and WiFi HTC Flyer features 32GB of onboard memory which can be expanded with a microSD card of up to 32GB, while the second version only starts you off with 16GB. Both versions come with the HTC Flyer Magic Pen works with HTC's Scribe Technology for an alternative to fingertip interaction.

As well as being available to purchase in retail outlets, HTC fans can also order the Flyer directly from the htcflyerstore.com website. The HTC Flyer is now available in the following territories: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.

HTC officially unveiled the 7-inch device at Mobile World Congress 2011 three months ago. The HTC Flyer touts a 1.5GHz single-core Qualcomm CPU, 1GB of RAM, an aluminum unibody construction, and a 1024x600 resolution. Other features include a 5MP camera on the back, 1.3MP front-facing camera for video conferencing, HSPA+ support, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

The device is powered by Android 2.3 (codenamed Gingerbread) rather than Android 3.0/3.1 (codenamed Honeycomb). This is unfortunate because the latter is specifically designed for tablets. HTC is more concerned with getting its tablet on the market as soon as possible than having it run Google's latest and greatest.

"We are delighted by the positive reactions that HTC Flyer has received since we first unveiled it in February and are pleased to be able to bring it to major markets across EMEA," Florian Seiche, President of HTC EMEA, said in a statement. "HTC Flyer is completely different from any other tablet on the market and we look forward to hearing about the different ways in which our customers use HTC Flyer in their daily lives ? for both work and play."

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Source: http://www.techspot.com/news/43789-htc-flyer-starts-landing-in-europe.html

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Road Repair via Crowdsourcing

In February, the city of Boston developed an app called Street Bump, which collects data from drivers with Android smart phones. Now, after identifying some problems, the city plans to have volunteers refine the app's accuracy.

Traditionally, Boston has relied on public works inspectors to locate potholes. Since 2009, residents have been able to report potholes, graffiti, and other nuisances using the Citizens Connect app for iPhone and Android devices. Users snap a photo and submit the image, which is routed directly to city repair teams. Some other cities already have similar citizen-reporting programs. For example, Minneapolis provides a website where citizens can file pothole complaints.

Street Bump, released by the city in February, requires no direct user involvement. The app, for Android devices only at the moment, uses GPS data to track a device, and detects potholes by using the phone's built-in accelerometer to sense sudden jolts. When multiple phones report the same jolt, the app identifies a pothole that needs to be repaired.

Road tested: An area of Boston that was tested for potholes. Credit: New Urban Mechanics

Nigel Jacob, cochair of the mayor's office of New Urban Mechanics, an organization set up to explore new approaches to civic engagement?and which created both Citizens Connect and Street Bump?says his team was unhappy with the number of false positives that Street Bump produced. "We need someone to do deeper analysis of our data," he says. "The app works well, but it can't tell the difference between a real pothole and a train track."

To improve the app, the city has now posted a bounty of $25,000 on Innocentive.com, a marketplace for crowdsourcing innovation, for a developer to create algorithms that report potholes accurately.

Thilo Koslowski, a Gartner analyst who studies automotive technology, says the success of the app will depend greatly on the accuracy of the data.

"These types of applications are the first examples of self-aware devices and applications that will become an integral part of future smart infrastructures and smart cities," he says.

Jacob says he could see Boston collecting data from drivers in real-time, leading to faster response times and better roads. The city plans to roll out the app to other platforms as well, including the iPhone, in the future.

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The Story Behind Search

This is a tough time to write a book about Google. The first part of the story we pretty much know: Two Stanford brainiacs come up with an algorithm that reinvigorates Internet search. In the process they create unimaginable wealth for themselves and many others. For a time in the mid-1990s, it seemed like Google was destined to rule the Web forever.

Then we started hearing about a new kind of website that had little use for the algorithmic authority of Google, but instead emphasized chilling with your friends. While Facebook and other social media companies might be enjoying a  bubble right now, there's still a reasonable chance that they could permanently shrink the economic value of Google-style search, and with it, of Google itself.

In his new book, In the Plex (Simon & Schuster), technology journalist Steven Levy (previously a correspondent for Newsweek and now one for Wired) deals with this crossroads in the only way possible for someone with a contract to deliver a big book about Google in early 2011.

The volume is, for the most part, a straightforward chronological history of Google, beginning with Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford and ending with Eric Schmidt stepping aside as CEO in January and handing power back to the cofounders (Levy mostly avoids the often-whispered notion that Schmidt was never much more than a figurehead). Most of the book chronicles Google's successes: How they came about, and the trouble they caused for the company as people gradually awoke to the economic force that the company had become. Google, for example, now undergoes intense privacy and antitrust screening in the U.S. and Europe in connection with virtually everything it does.

This is an old-fashioned book?which is meant as a high compliment in this era of facile punditry and 140-character attention spans. Lots of shoe leather was worn out during its reporting, and Levy's writing is full of energy and drive.

As the titles of his earlier books?Insanely Great, about the Mac, or The Perfect Thing, about the iPod?make clear, Levy is enthusiastic about technology and tech companies. Anyone seeking a fundamental critique of Google's cultural impact should instead read Nicholas Carr, author of articles such as "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"

In the Plex tends to give Google the last word, but Levy also gives its critics a chance. An example is Google's decision to scan all of the world's books: the default position in the blogosphere is that objections from book publishers were the last gasp of a dying industry?akin to the Recording Industry Association of America's initial opposition to the very idea of an MP3 player. Levy, though, gives ample room to those who argue, quite convincingly, that Google had arrogantly decided that its own ambitions were the best guide to the public's interest, rather than mere trifles like copyright laws.

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Antarctic Ice Divers

Last November, a team of scientists, funded by the National Science Foundation, began using a pair of autonomous robotic vehicles to gather an information from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf in the Antarctic.

Credit: Vernon Asper

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Report Urges U.S. to Consider Charging Ensign

The report issued Thursday, a result of the most extensive Senate ethics investigation in at least two decades, describes the actions inside the senator?s office as he sought to manage the fallout from an affair with the wife of one of his former senior aides.

Perhaps seeking to cover up the wrongdoing, staff members deleted incriminating e-mails, and the senator himself may have lied under oath to thwart a separate investigation by the Federal Election Commission, according to the bipartisan report.

Mr. Ensign?s actions were so brazen and improper that had he not resigned last week he might have been the first senator expelled in nearly 150 years, said Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who is the Ethics Committee chairwoman.

?This Ensign case was a sad chapter for the Senate,? Ms. Boxer said, ?but a far sadder chapter for those whose lives were affected and destroyed by his actions.?

The Senate Ethics Committee took the unusual step of releasing the results of its investigation into Mr. Ensign, even though it no longer has the power to punish him.

The report cited evidence that Mr. Ensign, a Republican of Nevada, conspired to help Douglas Hampton, his former aide, violate federal law by knowingly allowing him to lobby Mr. Ensign?s office despite a one-year lobbying ban. Mr. Ensign had an affair with Mr. Hampton?s wife, Cynthia Hampton, and the work as a lobbyist was meant to replace Mr. Hampton?s Senate salary, according to a plan the senator and Mr. Hampton devised.

Mr. Ensign may also have violated federal law by asking his parents to make what the Ethics Committee believes was an illegal $96,000 severance payment to the Hamptons, the report said.

Mr. Ensign?s lawyers released a statement Thursday disputing that he broke any laws or rules.

?Senator Ensign has admitted and apologized for his conduct and imposed on himself the highest sanction of resignation,? the statement said. ?But this is not the same as agreeing that he did or intended to violate any laws or rules.?

The Ethics Committee examined more than 500,000 pages of documents, interviewed or deposed 72 witnesses, and issued nearly three dozen subpoenas. It also took the unusual step of bringing in a special counsel ? Carol Elder Bruce, a former federal prosecutor ? to help in the final stages of the 22-month inquiry.

Ms. Boxer and Senator Johnny Isakson, Republican of Georgia, the vice chairman, said the public release of the investigative findings and the referral to the Justice Department were necessary because Mr. Ensign?s actions and abuses reflected on the integrity of the Senate as a whole.

The investigation started after Mr. Ensign admitted in June 2009 that he had had an affair with Mrs. Hampton, even while her husband ? once one of the senator?s best friends ? was working alongside Mr. Ensign in Washington. At the time, Mr. Ensign described it as a personal failure that in no way affected his actions as a senator.

But The New York Times reported in late 2009 that Mr. Ensign had called at least a half-dozen prominent Nevada businessmen in the aftermath of the affair and urged them to hire Mr. Hampton as a consultant, an account confirmed Thursday by the ethics investigators.

While Mr. Ensign cast these phone calls and conversations as typical references for a staff member, the committee found that ?Mr. Ensign used his office and staff to intimidate and cajole constituents into hiring Mr. Hampton.?

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