Lenovo ThinkPad T410

The Lenovo ThinkPad T410, the latest addition to the T-series, is said to be one of the best notebooks for business in recent times. Not only does it perform well, it also scores with its superb battery life. It is thinner and more attractive than its predecessors and is priced at $1, 269 (Rs. 58, 971); powered by Nvidia graphics.

It has a good, solid design and is fairly easy to carry. The keyboard, with its strong tactile feedback has a good design, like all other ThinkPads and the accurate touchpad supports multi-touch gestures like pinch in/out to zoom. The 14.1-inch LED backlit screen serves well while watching movies and playing games and has a webcam on top of it. It is shipped with either integrated Intel GMA HD Graphics or the Nvidia NVS 3100M (256MB DDR3) and both perform remarkably

The ThinkPad comes with a lot of different configurations: the processor can be either 2.4GHz Intel Core i5-520M, 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-540M, or 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-620M. We have already specified the GPU variations and when it comes to storage, if you are not going for the 128GB SSD, then hard drives with sizes 250GB, 320GB or 500GB are available, in either 5400rpm or 7200rmp speed.

It comes with a one year warranty that can be upgraded to three/four years. The ThinkPad T410 not only keeps up with the high level, it also proves to be even better than its predecessor, T400, by offering more enhancements.

Acer Launches new multitouch and 3D products

Their new products include notebooks, Projectors, and all-in-one PCs.

New Acer Aspire 5738PzG series notebook which comes with a large 15.6" multi touch screen, and comes with Windows 7 to make full use of the feature. The laptop is priced at Rs. 43,500 excluding taxes.

New Aspire 5600 series All-in-One (AIO) PCs. The AIO comes with a full 1080p HD enabled 23" multi-touch screen, with a powerful configuration: a Intel Core 2 Quad processor 2.33GHz (Q8200), 4GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, and a 512MB graphics card.

The AIO PC will also come with an inbuilt DVD RW, and TV Tuner. Loaded with Window 7 Home Premium and a suite of Acer application to help ease users into their new touch environment. The series is priced at a starting point of Rs. 60,000 excluding taxes.

Among their new 3D-enabled products is the new 5738D 3D Notebook, and the X1261 3D-ready projector.

The new notebook uses a combination of a special 3D "coating" on the screen, and polarized glasses to bring you a 3D experience. It will also come with a software which will allow it to display videos, images, and games in 3D. The notebook is HDTV ready and comes with a connector which will allow it to be used with an external screen -- although you will in most certainty lost he 3D functionality in this case. The notebook will also come with 4GB memory, and an option of either a dual-core Pentium, or a Core 2 Duo processor. The netbooks will start at a price of Rs. 43,000 for the Aspire 5738DzG.

The new X1261 porjector showcases "2500 ANSI Lumens brigtness, a contrast ratio of upto 3700:1 a native XGA resolution & a lamp life of upto 4000 hours." It is capable of displaying 3D images by projecting both right-eye and left-eye images which can then be viewed using an appropriate 3D glasses to get a 3D effect.

GigaByte launches mid-range GV-R5700 series of DX11 graphics cards in India

Gigabyte GV-R575D5-1GD graphics card, based on the ATI Radeon HD5750

GigaByte Techology, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, has released two new graphics cards based on ATI’s new Radeon HD 5700 series in India.

The first is the GigaByte GV-R577D5-1GD-B, which comes with 1GB DDR5 RAM and is based on the ATI Radeon HD 5770 architecture. The second card is the GigaByte GV-R575D5-1GD, which also has 1GB DDR5 RAM and is based on the ATI Radeon HD 5750 architecture.

The GigaByte HD 5700 Series graphics cards provide support for Microsoft DirectX 11, ATI Eyefinity Technology, ATI Stream technology, Quad mode ATI CrossFireX multi-GPU, UDV 2 and PowerPlay; thus offering an immersive HD gaming experience and unrivaled performance.

The GigaByte HD 5700 Series graphics cards feature ATI's latest 2nd Generation TeraScale graphics engine, boasting the power of more than 2 teraFLOPS with 800 and 720 stream processors respectively. With 1GB GDDR5 memory, the GigaByte HD 5700 Series provides twice the data per pin of GDDR3 memory at the same clock speeds.

Utilising the ATI Eyefinity Technology, each gamer can run up to 3 displays from a single graphics board and expand the field of view across all displays. This is perfect for gamers who like to enjoy the ultimate gaming experience with innovative “wrap around” multi-displays.

Furthermore, benefiting from ATI Stream Technology, end-users can easily unleash the massive parallel processing power of GPU for physics, artificial intelligence, stream computing and ray tracing calculations, and tackle demanding tasks like video transcoding with incredible speed.

In addition, GigaByte HD 5700 Series graphics cards fully support for Microsoft DirectX 11 for life-like realism and stunning 3D gaming effects. Gamers can get striking 3D visual effects and dynamic interactivity with DirectX 11 support, including features like Tessellation, HDR Texture Compression, Multi-threading and DirectCompute.

In order to provide the best digital audio/video interconnection between a computer and display monitor or home-theater system, the GigaByte HD 5700 Series graphics cards are capable of outputting DisplayPort s

ignals. The DisplayPort interface can support higher resolutions, richer colour depth, and increased refresh rate performance, delivering 10.8Gbps of bandwidth over previous generations of connectivity options such as DVI, LVDS and VGA, as well as normal HDMI – thus making it compatible with large-screen home theatre displays.

And if you are concerned that all this will take up a lot of power, worry not: The GigaByte GV-R5700 series is equipped with ATI PowerPlay technology for breakthrough power and consumption, maximising performance per watt by delivering the highest level of high performance when needed and conserving power when the demand on the GPU is low.

The HD5770-based GigaByte GV-R577D5-1GD-B can be bought now for Rs. 10,900.

The HD5750-based GigaByte GV-R575D5-1GD retails at Rs. 9,900.

Gigabyte GV-R577D5-1GD-B graphics card, based on the ATI Radeon HD5770

Nvidia rolls out SLI compatibility for Core i7 and i5

Nvidia Corporation announced that Intel and the world’s other leading motherboard manufacturers – including ASUS, EVGA, Gigabyte and MSI – have all licensed Nvidia SLI technology for inclusion on their Intel P55 Express Chipset-based motherboards, which are designed for the upcoming Intel Core i7 and i5 processor in the LGA1156 socket.

As a result, customers who purchase a validated P55-based motherboard and Core i7 or Core i5 processor (when available) can equip their PCs with any combination of Nvidia GeForce GPUs, including Quad SLI, for the ultimate visual computing experience.

“SLI technology is a perfect complement to the processing prowess of our new Core i7 and Intel DP55KG desktop board,” said Clem Russo, VP and General Manager of Intel Client Board Division at Intel Corporation.

The announcement marks Nvidia SLI technology's availability for all consumer PC platforms, including the Intel Core i7, Core i5, Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo processors, as well as those based on the AMD Phenom II CPU. In addition to raw graphics performance, NVIDIA GeForce GPUs also provide gamers with additional capabilities not found on any other discrete graphics solutions, including PhysX technology for deeper gaming immersion, and stereoscopic 3D gaming with 3D Vision technology.

“Only the best-designed motherboards are capable of tapping into and reaping maximum benefits from the powerful synergy between SLI technology and the P55 platform,” said Joe Hsieh, General Manager of ASUS’ Motherboard Business Unit. “ASUS has honed the art and science of motherboard design with the ASUS P7P55 Deluxe and ROG Maximus III Series motherboards, which deliver unparalleled performance and stability.”

MSI Launches New 9800GT Based Graphics Cards

MSI unveiled two new energy saving graphics cards - N9800GT-MD1G and N9800GT-MD512. These cards use MSI's latest generation of capacitors, Hi-c CAP, and solid state chokes (SSC) for better, more stable overclocking. Also, there is no need for the additional 6-pin power, which increases compatibility with many older SMPS models. Output ports include DVI, D-sub (VGA) and HMDI.

The new N9800GT series employ the latest SSC(Solid State Choke) that decreases the high-frequency buzz noise often caused by traditional choke when running under high electrical currents. The graphics engine runs at 550MHz and memory runs at 1.8GHz equivalent speed. As indicated by the product names, the two versions have 1GB and 512MB of GDDR3 memory.

Nvidia Cancels Bonus Plans for CEO, Other Executives

Nvidia on Wednesday revised its compensation plan for the current fiscal year, saying it was canceling performance-related compensation for most top executives in an effort to cut costs.

The company has canceled bonuses related to company or individual performance as they would not be appropriate "in light of the current economic environment and our cost-reduction efforts," Nvidia said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's 2010 fiscal year will end Jan. 31, 2010.

Nvidia previously offered cash compensation to certain officers, directors and managers based on individual and corporate targets, according to the SEC filing. Executives not eligible for performance-related payoffs this fiscal year include Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

The revised compensation plan does not apply to Chief Financial Officer David White, who was hired in February. Nvidia also could change plans in the future and pay bonuses to other executives, the company said in the filing.

Huang in the past has said the company is taking steps to cut costs and conserve cash, though plans haven't been explicitly detailed.

Nvidia is chasing new revenue streams with new products in the face of the recession and increased competition from rivals Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Late on Tuesday, Acer announced its new AspireRevo nettop, a small desktop PC that is the first desktop based on Nvidia's Ion platform. Ion couples the Nvidia GeForce graphics card with Intel's Atom CPU. Nvidia is also looking to enter the cell phone market later this year with its Tegra processors.

The company reported revenue of US$481.1 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, a 60 percent drop from its $1.2 billion revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008. The company also recorded a net loss of $147.7 million during the quarter, which ended on Jan. 25, compared with a net profit of $257 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Sparkle Launches Geforce GTX285 Graphics Card

Based on the GeForce 200 Series’ second generation unified architecture, the Sparkle GTX285 is clocked at 648MHz (core) and 1476 (shader clock). It has 240 stream processors and enables DirectX 10 gaming in ‘extreme HD’ (2560x1600) resolutions. The press release claimed that the 2GB version is the first batch of GTX285’s with that much memory.

The GTX285 can work in 3-way SLI mode that allows three similar / equivalent cards to work together to deliver high frame rates even at high quality settings. The Sparkle Geforce GTX285 cards are launched by Abacus Peripherals who claimed that the high performance thermal compound used in the cards ensures optimal thermal dissipation even after years of use.

Video card From GeForce and ATI Radeon

If you bought a new video card two or three years ago, you've probably noticed that newer games aren't running as well right out of the box. Those GeForce 7900 and Radeon X1900 cards were fantastic when they were new, but game developers have caught up with more power-hungry graphics effects. Frame rates have started to dip, and you might have had to reduce the game-resolution and image-quality settings to get system performance up to acceptable levels. Lowering the image quality isn't a desirable long-term solution, so it's probably time to upgrade that video card.

We've gathered together a collection of video cards currently available online in the $150 to $250 price range. We originally planned to make $200 the hard price ceiling, but we found the ATI Radeon HD 4870 and the GeForce GTX 260 Core 192 sitting just above the cap and we had to get them into the comparison because both cards offer a considerable amount of graphics performance. Note that you'll find a lot of these cards priced far above our estimated street pricing, but we used the lowest prices we could find at major online retailers for our estimates. These basic video card packages generally ship without a pack-in game, so if you see a card at a much higher price, check to see if it comes with a game bundle such as Far Cry 2.

These cards aren't the top-of-the-line performance champions, but they'll have enough power to get you through a couple more years of PC gaming, and you can put the money you save on the video card toward buying more games and paying for that massively multiplayer online habit.

GeForce GTX 260 Core 192

The original GeForce GTX 260 that Nvidia launched in June 2008 came with 192 processing cores and a $399 price tag. Nvidia had to lower the GTX 260's price to $299 after AMD released the highly affordable ATI Radeon HD 4870. Later in the year, Nvidia started shipping an improved GeForce GTX 260 with 216 processing cores.

Cards based on this new GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 GPU are selling for $299. The problem is that the video card makers still have a lot of the original 192-core GeForce GTX 260 chips to unload. The GeForce GTX 260 is the most expensive card in our roundup, coming it at $229, but it has a lot of firepower and is considerably more affordable than it was just a few months ago.

Est. Retail Price: $229

ATI Radeon HD 4870

The ATI Radeon HD 4870 is the second $299 card that's starting to approach the magical $200 price point. Its closest competitor is the GeForce GTX 260, which has a slight edge in frame rates and in games with PhysX support, but the Radeon has a few features that make it attractive for PC owners looking for a balance between gaming and utility. That's not saying that the card isn't good for gaming.

The Radeon HD 4870 can run all the latest games at high resolution thanks to its 800 stream processing units and GDDR5 memory, but the card is also great for PC game enthusiasts looking for home-theater support. The card supports full HDMI output with 7.1 surround sound.

Est. Retail Price: $219

ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2

The ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 is a dual-GPU card from the previous graphics generation. We included the card in our comparison because you will still find it online at close to $200, but you'd be wise to avoid buying one of these cards new because the Radeon HD 4870 has made them obsolete. The Radeon HD 3870 X2 comes with 640 stream processors, 320 from each onboard GPU, but that's well below the 4870's stream processor count, and the 3870 X2 card also uses slower GDDR3 memory.

Est. Retail Price: $219

GeForce 9600 GT SLI

The dual-card value proposition Nvidia and AMD have tried to sell us with SLI and CrossFire is that you can buy a card now and add a second one later if you need more power. The only problem with that argument is that if you wait more than a year to buy that second card, chances are you'd be able to buy a completely new card that's more powerful than two of the old cards put together. The cost of the new card would of course be more expensive than the older card, which would likely have dropped in price, but the performance gap between a new card and an older SLI setup makes the decision to complete the matching set a bittersweet choice. The main benefit is that if you've already sunk your money into a single GeForce 9600 GT card, spending another $100 on a second card will get your system's graphics performance close to what you'd get with a single $200 card.

Est. Retail Price: $200 ($100x2)

GeForce 9800 GTX+

The GeForce 9800 GTX+ leads the trio of cards under $200 for players who can't justify reaching for the GeForce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 4870. Nvidia introduced the GeForce 9800 GTX+ this summer around the time AMD launched its Radeon HD 4800-series GPUs. The GeForce 9800 GTX+ has the same number of processors as the regular GeForce 9800 GTX, but has higher clocks speeds thanks to a smaller manufacturing process. Moving down from 65nm to 55nm allowed Nvidia to increase core clock speeds from 675MHz to 738MHz and shader speeds from 1690MHz to 1836MHz. The GTX+ originally sold for $229, but the price has drifted down as the prices of more powerful cards have also moved down.

Est. Retail Price: $189

GeForce 9800 GTX

A $20 price difference might not seem like a big deal at the high end where cards can cost $400 or more, but the price difference becomes more important when card prices get below $200 and a $20 difference can mean more than 10 percent of the cost of the card.

The GeForce 9800 GTX may be slower than the GTX+, but some people might be willing to give up 9 percent in performance for a more affordable card. Adventurous card owners can also try overclocking to recoup the lost performance.

Est. Retail Price: $169

ATI Radeon HD 4850

It seems unfair to stick the ATI Radeon HD 4850 into the same comparison as the Radeon HD 4870, but we found several 4850 cards floating in the $159 to $185 price range. The Radeon HD 4850 has 800 stream processors, just like the Radeon HD 4870, but it has a slower core clock, 625MHz compared to 750MHz on the 4870, and comes with only GDDR3 memory. All of the multimedia features, including high-definition video playback and HDMI output support, are the same, but the differences in core clock speeds and memory bandwidth make the 4870 a better choice for games.

Est. Retail Price: $169