The Zone

NVIDIA's latest entry level graphic card to hit the market is the 9500 GT. We managed to get our hands on the 512MB version and found a teeny tiny mighty single-slot titan waiting for us. At first glance it looks like it can barely hold its own weight in terms of gaming performance, but this miniscule card can even run Crysis with a reasonable amount of tweaking! Check out the 3DMark06 score below for an idea about the card but for a more indepth analysis go get the September issue of HWM 2008.

We finally managed to get our hands on the dual GPU HD 4870 X2 graphic card from AMD-ATI. So far, the card looks and feels more or less like a carbon copy of the HD 3870 X2, featuring the same long dual slot design. The card is still heavy as ever but it does boast a 3DMark Vantage score that blows everything including the GTX 280 out of the water. However, there are definite shortcomings. Read the full review in our September issue of HWM.

Intel's performance notebook processor, the Centrino 2 has hit the streets, with plenty notebook makers already beginning the churn out for notebooks with the Centrino 2 processor. We were quite surprised by its performance because it not only tries its best to beat out equal desktop systems, it is also quite successful. Check out the PCMark05 score below. For the full-blown analysis check it out in our September issue of HWM.

NVIDIA's much awaited built-in PhysX is finally getting some support. NVIDIA has released power packs which should whet the appetite for more on their website through their CUDA interface. The power packs contain drivers, tools you can explore, a full game (WarMonger) and a number of demos that should tie you over until a commercial PhysX game comes out (NOT! Most such games are supposedly for next year!). Download them after the jump for a glimpse at PhysX.

After AMD-ATI put out the HD 4870 and HD 4850 it seemed as if it was directly challenging NVIDIA with the HD 4870 against NVIDIA's own GTX 260. NVIDIA has never been one to take this lying down and has fired back a salvo of its own with the 9800 GT, which according to our tests should be nicely positioned against the previously unchallenged HD 4850. Check out our 3DMark06 test below. For a full review and analysis of some of the 9800 GT cards out there, check out our latest issue of HWM (HWM September 2008).

How cute, a colorful way to explain to your kids how terabytes work! 

Howdy folks. HWM was recently invited to a regional product launch in Beijing courtesy of HP Malaysia and we sure liked what we saw

zerotau posted a picture of his workplace the other day, so I thought I'd do the same myself. :D It's not as messy but what's not pictured are the 10 or so product boxes aptly "boxing" me in my cubicle. I'll spare you the utter cluttersome of my workplace surroundings and just quickly describe what's on my desk.

Last month I had to review 5 AMD motherboards and I thought I wouldn't have to write so many reviews of the same type of product for a while.

I thought wrong. OTL

This month seems to be the month of notebooks, as those are mostly what have been given to me to review for the October issue of HWM - 2 normal size notebooks, 3 ultra portable notebooks. In addition, I've 3 graphic cards, 2 motherboards, and a SFF PC sitting idly on my desk, all waiting to be tested. Yikes. There goes my weekend.

Out of all 5 notebooks, only one of them sports the latest AMD Turion 64X2 processor. Can you guess which one is it? ;)

Nothing so sinister about that, actually as the "G" in question is Logitech's first gaming keyboard; the G15! Oh yeah, baby, typing on this super soft keyboard is a charm, but as for gaming, this one is uncapable of creating macros, let alone spare some time for fragging undead zombies on his ancient PC, so this one will just let you drool over some pics for now....

The cool LCD and multimedia buttons......don't ask about the ram; my machine is on XP yet has lesser than 512MB of physical memory LOL

This one almost went under our radar last week. In a seemingly copycat move, HP recently announced that it has acquire specialist high-end PC maker, VoodooPC, for a undisclosed sum of money.

VoodooPC will be a special business unit within HP's Personal Systems Group division, focussed on the niche gaming PC market. The owners of VoodooPC, brothers Rahul and Ravi Sood, will assume the positions of chief technologist and director of strategy respectively in the new business unit.

No word yet if HP will maintain the VooodooPC name or otherwise. Stay tuned as we bring you more developments on this piece of news.

PS: We also don't know if HP is going to bring VooodooPC to Malaysia, but we'll find out soon enough.

Link (PDF)

Hullo, missed me? :D I didn't update the blog last week since I was in Singapore (courtesy of Sendi Mutiara Multimedia) to check out the debut of Hellgate: London and Granado Espada at the IAH Game Conference.

I got to try out both games and they're sweet, especially Hellgate: London. It was really fun hacking and slashing hordes of demon, and the first-person view when using ranged weapons really felt like an FPS even though I was shooting all over the place.

Developers Bill Roper and Kim Hakkyu were like superstars at the event; dozens of people were asking them to autograph their Hellgate/Granado T-shirts and posters (I, too, also asked for their autographs). With so many game journalists circling them constantly, I was lucky enough to get one-on-one interviews with both Bill Roper and Kim Hakkyu, so look forward to their interviews in the upcoming GameAxis issues.

It wasn't all fun and games as upon returning home to Malaysia, a few sample products came in the mail for me to review. Here're a couple of stuff that you can look forward to next month's issue of HWM:

A couple of days ago, a colleague of mine asked about the benefits of using industrial monitors, and since many might not know of their existence, I might as well list down some of the pros and cons of these often-overlooked devices.

Pictured above is a Samsung 42" LCD display with HD capability. Don't be alarmed of the diagonal break in the picture, its a transition frame. More after the jump.

When the Sony PS3 SixAxis controller was presented at this year's E3, many players expressed disappointment not only at the controller reverting back to the old PS2 Dual Shock controller design, but also of the decision to remove the rumble feature of the Dual Shock controller.

In a recent interview from GameDaily BIZ, SCEA President Kaz Hirai said that the decision was made to make the controller more affordable. Quote:

"Is it technically feasible? Absolutely. But the balancing act that you need to do, is to be able to present the controller to the consumer at an affordable price."

"If we have to come up with technology... to isolate the vibration from the sensing, but if that means that the controllers are going to be so expensive, then we're doing the consumer a huge disservice by coming up with a controller that is not very affordable"

So nice to see Sony thinking of the consumers' wallet! Especially a little while ago they said that the PS3 was "too cheap". But is rumble technology that expensive? Immersive CEO Victor Viegas says otherwise.

The second part of the two page feature is here!

The LG M3200C-BA Flatron monitor - with a USD2199 list price that includes HDMI with HDCP, 1080i-ready, 1600:1 contrast ratio and a three year warranty, its more sensible to own than some newer sets. Don't forget that there's a bulk discount price, too!

Continuing where we left off, the main reason for the increase in exposure of industrial monitors is due to two main reasons - affordability and future-ready. While the general public would be more receptive to finished, sleek products for their homes where they can brag about their latest big-screen TV, there is a percentage of the population who would rather DIY their garages instead of pre-ordering one from ACE or Home Depot. They include the average family man who buys supplies in bulk at Tesco, to the up-and-coming studio executive who needs a large, but affordable screen (or screens), or for art directors and the like in the creative industry to fulfill their display needs. (more after the jump)