AMD Radeon HD 7970 could get 'GHz Edition', put the hurtz on NVIDIA

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/07/amd-radeon-hd-7970-ghz-edition/

AMD's Radeon HD 7770 and 7870 reference cards already sport 1GHz clock speeds, but so far the high-end flagship 7970 has been stuck at 925MHz. That'd be no big deal, perhaps, were it not for rival NVIDIA's benchmark-stealing GeForce GTX 680, which autonomously adjusts its clock speed on the fly and easily hits 1.2GHz under the right conditions. But while NVIDIA has yet to roll out its full stack of 28nm cards, AMD is finding plenty of time to play catch-up. According to Australian site Atomic MPC, the company has revealed that the manufacturing process of its next-gen GPUs has improved to the point where the same average voltages can yield much higher clock speeds. Recent chips can reach 1.25GHz without struggling, which means a conservative "GHz Edition" of the 7970 can now safely be rolled out, of course with scope for much higher overclocking on third-party boards with more robust coolers. By the time the battle between Red and Green reaches full-swing, it might not be so easy to call a winner.

AMD Radeon HD 7970 could get 'GHz Edition', put the hurtz on NVIDIA originally appeared on Engadg! et o n Mon, 07 May 2012 08:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Augmented Reality Sand Box Is More Fun Than Anything You Had as a Kid [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5908142/this-augmented-reality-sand-box-is-more-fun-than-anything-you-had-as-a-kid

Technology is transforming the way kids play and learn. But this new sand box is a complete revelation: using Kinect to gather depth information it teaches kids about topography and can even simulate water without making a mess.

Put together at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center, which is part of UC Davis, this pit uses a Kinect and a projector to overlay interactive topographical maps and real-time water simulations depending on the height of the sand.

Kids can use their hands or shovels to play in the sand, and then a color-coded map of the varying height appears. Open your hand out over the sand, and simulated rain pours down, before gently flowing depending on the surface geography and settling in the lowest-lying areas.

The sand box is expected to turn up at the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington, Vermont, which was one of the collaborators on the project. [UC Davis via Reddit via The Verge]

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BMW, Daimler partner on ultra-light Visio.M city EV

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/04/bmw-daimler-partner-on-ultra-light-visio-m-city-ev/

If you like the idea of German electric vehicles like the BMW i3 and i8, but you're worried they may be more than you really need when they arrive next year, you'll be glad to know that a more to-the-point EV auf Deutsch is on the way. Along with Munich's Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), BMW, Daimler and 14 others are jointly developing the Visio.M urban runabout. While it should only muster the equivalent of 20 horsepower, it should be about 45 percent lighter than a Smart Fortwo -- important when you want to use a small battery to keep the cost down. The project is also tackling safety and other chronic problems with tiny electric cars. TUM's MUTE prototype (pictured here) is serving as the testbed for the technology being rolled into the Visio.M, although the €10.8 million ($14.2 million) in funding from Germany's Federal Ministry for Education and Research is expected to produce something more original when the EV project reaches its eventual close.

Continue reading BMW, Daimler partner on ultra-light Visio.M city EV

BMW, Daimler partner on ultra-light Visio.M city EV originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 May 2012 22:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ariel Atom-inspired simulator touts world's first 180-degree spherical projector screen (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/05/ariel-and-motion-simulation-tl1-race-simulator/

The Ariel Atom is arguably one of the greatest bangs for the buck in terms of sports car performance, so it's no surprise that the automaker has paired up with Motion Simulation to design a particularly special simulator for both hardcore fans as well pro racing drivers and pilots. The TL1 has the world's first 180-degree spherical projection unit (technically, three projector screens acting as one) to give you that advance view of the apex without display bezels getting in the way. Its seat not only adjusts to fit different breeds of cars and aircraft but, if you opt for it, tucks in a motion transducer that will properly jolt you when you hit a bump in the road. What may please extra-serious racing game fans the most is the off-the-shelf nature of the computer needed to drive the TL1 properly: as long as your graphics hardware can handle the extra-wide 5760 x 1200 resolution, any typical Windows XP or Windows 7 desktop will do. The real question is whether your wallet can handle it, as the £11,500 ($18,573) PC-less starting price will make it tempting to buy a real Atom instead.

Continue reading Ariel Atom-inspired simulator touts world's first 180-degree spherical projector screen (video)

Ariel Atom-inspired simulator touts world's first 180-degree spherical projector screen (video) originally appeared on Engad get on Sat, 05 May 2012 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel's PCI-E 910-Series SSD reviewed: blazing fast, even under pressure

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/06/intels-pci-e-910-series-ssd-reviewed-blazing-fast-even-under/

Intel's not one to mess around when it storms a new market, and its jump into enterprise-level PCI Express SSD seemed no exception. Now, a full review by Hot Hardware of its 400GB ($1,929) and 800GB ($3,859) 910-series confirms that while not as stupid-fast as some, the 2 GB/s read and 1 GB/s write speeds are still sublime. On top of that, throughput holds steady even when the device is besieged by thousands of IO demands. A lack of bootability and on-board RAID were complaints, but these SSDs are intended for datacenters, not your gaming PC. And for its target market, the lowish $4.82 price per GB and chart-topping 14 Petabyte max endurance are also endearing qualities. Given its history of SSD reliability, Intel is bound to draw a crowd of corporate admirers to its 910 series -- even though it's fashionably late to the boardroom.

Intel's PCI-E 910-Series SSD reviewed: blazing fast, even under pressure originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 May 2012 04:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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