Renesas launches new USB 3.0 host controller

85 percent more power efficient than the current model

WE BROKE THE news about Renesas new USB 3.0 host controller back in April.  Back then we reported that the new controller was going to have a reduced power consumption, but at the time we didn’t know by how much. Renesas has finally unveiled the new host controller and has managed to reduce the power consumption by 85 percent when no peripherals are attached to the controller’s ports.
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The iPad beater is here

At least if you like to beat up your Pad

JUNIPER SYSTEMS HAS announced its new Mesa Rugged Notepad and if you’re the kind of person that likes to take your “pad” with you wherever you go, no matter the conditions, then this is the product you’ve been waiting for. Juniper Systems claims that it’s the world’s first rugged notepad, although we’re not entirely sure that this statement is correct, although as they’re not calling it a tablet but rather a notepad, they might just be right.
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GTX 460, Cash Cow or Market Share Tourniquet?

Component Price Breakdown

What a difference a “4” makes.  The NDA on Nvidia’s new midrange GTX 460 (GF104) cards was lifted last night to a general reception of “right performance at the right price”.  No doubt, after reading over many different reviews this card appears to be the real deal at the $200 price point (for now). Despite the glowing reviews however one nagging question remained; considering that GF104 has an estimated die size of 320mm2  (which is nearly 96% of AMD’s high end Cypress part at 334mm2), can Nvidia actually make money on this part, or is it simply designed to put pressure on the market share laceration that’s been bleeding out lately.
 
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Gigabyte’s Cloud OC and Hotkey OC gets official

Overclocking a different way

IT’S NOT EASY to differentiate yourself as a motherboard manufacturer these days when it comes to hardware features, as very few things are exclusive to one manufacturer, bar possibly power regulation design and a few other little features. This means that we’ve started to see a lot more in-house software features, some of them rather good, while others have proven to be less useful. Today, Gigabyte announced two new software features for overclockers, Cloud OC and Hotkey OC.
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It’s GTX 460 day

Better than expected at $200, but you want the $220 model

NVIDIA DID INDEED launch the GTX 460 today and if all the reviews are anything to go by, the new cards have proven to be better than expected in terms of performance, at least compared to the early leaked numbers. The $199.99 price point we guestimated from the European pricing also proved to be correct for the 768MB models, but if you’re going to get a GTX460, do yourself a favour and spend an extra $20 on a 1GB card.
Updated
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Nvidia changes desktop G86 for no reason

Bumpgate: Deny, spin, duck dodge

Editors Note: From time to time, SemiAccurate will be republishing some older articles by its authors, some with additional commentary, updates and information.  We are mainly reprinting some of the oft referenced articles that originally appeared on the Inquirer. Some will have added content, but all will be re-edited from the originals as per contractual obligations. You may see some slight differences between the two versions.
This article has had some of the original links removed, and was published on Monday, August 25, 2008 at 5:15PM.
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Nvidia 55nm parts are bad too

Bumpgate: Changed for ‘no reason’ once again

Editors Note: From time to time, SemiAccurate will be republishing some older articles by its authors, some with additional commentary, updates and information.  We are mainly reprinting some of the oft referenced articles that originally appeared on the Inquirer. Some will have added content, but all will be re-edited from the originals as per contractual obligations. You may see some slight differences between the two versions.
This article has had some of the original links removed, and was published on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 7:47PM.
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Nvidia chipsets are defective too

Bumpgate: Only 630, 7050, 7100 and 7150 changed for no reason

Editors Note: From time to time, SemiAccurate will be republishing some older articles by its authors, some with additional commentary, updates and information.  We are mainly reprinting some of the oft referenced articles that originally appeared on the Inquirer. Some will have added content, but all will be re-edited from the originals as per contractual obligations. You may see some slight differences between the two versions.
This article has had some of the original links removed, and was published on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 5:50PM.
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Why Nvidia’s Chips are defective

Bumpgate: Part One – A long and complex story

Editors Note: From time to time, SemiAccurate will be republishing some older articles by its authors, some with additional commentary, updates and information.  We are mainly reprinting some of the oft referenced articles that originally appeared on the Inquirer. Some will have added content, but all will be re-edited from the originals as per contractual obligations. You may see some slight differences between the two versions.
This article has had some of the original links removed, and was published on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 8:00PM.
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Why Nvidia’s duff chips are due to shoddy engineering

Bumpgate: Part Two – The underfill

Editors Note: From time to time, SemiAccurate will be republishing some older articles by its authors, some with additional commentary, updates and information.  We are mainly reprinting some of the oft referenced articles that originally appeared on the Inquirer. Some will have added content, but all will be re-edited from the originals as per contractual obligations. You may see some slight differences between the two versions.
This article has had some of the original links removed, and was published on Monday, September 1, 2008 at 9:46PM.
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