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Intel’s 510 Series SSD sports500 MBps transfer over 6 Gbps SATA

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Storage,

intel 510 series ssd

Intel today announced the latest solid-state drive (SSD) family in its product line: the Intel SSD 510 Series, which is also the company's first to use the 6-Gbps SATA III interface.

According to Intel, the drives in the 510 Series offer "the fastest sequential read and write speeds of any consumer SATA SSD available today," and feature read speeds of up to 500 Mbps and write speeds of up to 315 Mbps—respectively more than twice and more than three times the rates of Intel's current 3-Gbps SSDs. (OCZ announced its own 6-Gbps SSD series, the Vertex 3, last week, and made similar performance claims.)

The 510 Series SSDs are constructed using Intel's 34nm NAND Flash memory, and are targeted at gamers, enthusiasts, and professionals (particularly media creators) who need fast transfer rates. Intel claims the 510 Series is just one of a number of major SSD products it plans to introduce in 2011.

Click to continue reading Intel’s 510 Series SSD sports500 MBps transfer over 6 Gbps SATA


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NVIDIA shows off quad-core Tegra tablet processors

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds,

nvidia tegra 2

Nvidia announced some new Tegra chips aimed at powering some upcoming tablets and smartphones this week. The code-named "Kal-El" chips are able to display some amazingly high def video streams, both on the devices displays and on large TVs. In the demonstration, the stream was being decoded on a developmental device, scaled down to that tablet's screen at 1366 x 768 resolution, and displayed on a connected 30-inch, 2560 x 1600 TV. The company says tablets with the new chips should come out around August, with phones following for the Holidays. Check out videos at the link below.

Read More | Engadget

Sony cautions gamers that their controllers may explode

exploding controller

is warning consumers of knock-off controllers that look identical to the first party controllers, as they may be prone to exploding or igniting.

“SCEA advises consumers to be cautious when buying PlayStation 3 wireless controllers from uncertain sources as the quality, reliability and safety of counterfeit products is uncertain, and in some cases, may be dangerous. It is possible that some counterfeit product may ignite or explode, resulting in injury or damage to the user, your computer entertainment system, or other property,” warned Sony. 

Whoever is manufacturing these counterfeits has brought new meaning to controller vibration. Al Qaeda, is that you?

Read More | IGN

Official Final Fantasy XIV PC Controller

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: MMORPG, PC, Role Playing Games,

FFXIV

Sunflex created this official Final Fantasy XIV controller licensed by Sqaure Enix for use by PC aficionados. It is definitely inspired from the same aesthetic as Sony’s PlayStation controllers, albeit it has a bit of a boomerang look to it. However, while you could just as easily play with a less awkwardly designed Xbox 360 controller, the PlayStation look is definitely more traditionally acceptable for a Final Fantasy game, no? you can pick up the controller alongside the release of the game, which happens on September 30th.

Read More | Kotaku

The shared anniversary of Playstation and Dreamcast

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Culture, SEGA, Sony,

September 9th marks the anniversaries of two systems that found their place nestled in the bosoms of video game culture in their own different ways. The PlayStation solidified itself as the first console to reach 100 million units sold (the PS2 has since surpassed this), while the Dreamcast remains a cult favorite among gamers. Both consoles helped to revolutionize the way that video games are played today, and we owe them a bit of gratitude on their American birthdays.

Click to continue reading The shared anniversary of Playstation and Dreamcast

Read More | Sega Forums

Xbox 360 wireless controller with transforming D-Pad coming November 9th

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hardware, Release Dates, Xbox 360,

Xbox 360 D-Pad redesign, button down side

Microsoft is set to release a newly redesigned wireless controller with a transforming D-Pad this November. It’s no secret that the D-Pad on the Xbox 360 isn’t exactly popular with gamers, so the company supposedly went back to the drawing board, and came up with a D-Pad can be changed from disc-form to “plus” form just by turning the D-Pad itself. In addition to that change, the controller also has concave analog sticks, matte silver color, and gray A, B, X, Y buttons as well.

The catch? While the controller seems like it would be awesome, you can only get it as part of the new Play & Charge Kit which will be available on November 9th for $64.99. Yeah, even if you don’t need another Play & Charge Kit, that’s the only way you’ll be getting this controller, as Microsoft won’t be making it available as a standalone product. $64.99. Microsoft is definitely doing all they can to get more money out of Xbox users these days.

Gallery:


Final Project Natal hardware to be white

Project Natal White

In the grand scheme of things, this is just a minor detail, but it is still worth noting that it appears that the final look of the Natal camera motion sensor accessory will be white. In all the teasers for the product, it’s been black, and in live demos, Microsoft has always gone out of their way to cover up the camera so that no one would get a peek at what it looked like until they were ready. That said, German site RTL did a video feature on Project Natal, and in that video you are able to get a look at the camera.

Read More | Gamertag Radio

Nintendo DSi XL: Hands on

Nintendo DSi XLYou know, when I look at the Nintendo DSi XL, I can’t help but notice the similarity in form factor to ‘s iPad (though the DSi XL was released first - thanks for catching that, astute readers!). Nintendo recently announced the US release of the n-th iteration of the DS, now focusing on a bigger screen. Come to think of it, both companies have a penchant for constantly releasing new SKU’s of existing hardware every few months with minor tweaks to inexplicable demand by an attention-deficit public, all while making the people who just bought their newly-outdated hardware feel small and relatively ashamed.

Either way, we got our hands on one at the GDC in San Francisco. Hit the jump for relevant deets.

Click to continue reading Nintendo DSi XL: Hands on


Holiday Gift Guide for the Gamers

Gamer Holiday Gift Guide

“... Or how I blew your college fund on sparkly trinkets.”

Thanksgiving is now over, and so the spirit of crass materialism rides in on a chilly breeze. The holidays are almost here, meaning that you’re likely going to need to drop some hard earned ducats on the people who make it a point to hound you year-round. That being said, if you’re not a hopeless misanthrope like myself, you might already be thinking about what to buy for others. Or for yourself. I’m not going to make any judgment calls, you selfish bastard. I don’t have time for jolliness. I’m like Dorian Gray, all ash and suffering on the inside.

So here’s a list of some fun things your can buy for the gamer in your life this year. Some of it is older, some of it is more obscure, but nothing is obnoxiously expensive, per se. Have fun, you wacky kids.

Hit the jump for the list. If you have any suggestions of your own, please leave them in the comments. Oh, and if you want more, non-game-related gift ideas, check out our full Holiday Gift Guide!

Click to continue reading Holiday Gift Guide for the Gamers


Google Announces Chrome OS Partners, includes Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo

Google Chrome OS PartnersEver since the Google was announced, many have been wondering which partners would be working with Google to release new devices based on the ambitious operating system. As it turns out, Google is answering those questions, releasing a short list of partners that they’re working with.

Today, Google has announced that they’re partnering with Acer, Adobe, ASUS, FreeScale, Lenovo, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, QUALCOMM, Hewlett-Packard (.)

Click to continue reading Google Announces Chrome OS Partners, includes Acer, ASUS, HP, Lenovo

Read More | Google Chrome Blog

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