Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3GB Review

Asus GeForce GTX 590 3GB Review 

Despite a tradition of releasing range topping dual-GPU graphics cards since 2006, it’s been over two years since we’ve seen a new multi-GPU graphics setup from Nvidia. Back then it was the GeForce GTX 295 1,792MB, tearing up the benchmarks with its dual GT200b GPUs and going head-to-head with the Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB.

Since then, though, Nvidia’s fortunes have dipped and risen like the metaphorical rollercoaster. The first generation of Fermi GPUs, based on the GF100 architecture, proved much too hot, power hungry and noisy even on single-GPU cards. This left the dual-GPU Radeon HD 5970 2GB uncontested as the fastest single graphics card for some time. 

GeForce GTX 590 3GB Specifications:

The GTX 590 3GB is equipped with two full size GF110 GPUs. As each has the maximum amount of 512 stream processors possible with the Fermi architecture, this means the GTX 590 3GB boasts a whopping count of 1,024 stream processors. With a core frequency of 607MHz, these stream processors run at 1,214MHz. Both these clock speeds are roughly 20 per cent less than those of the GTX 580 1.5GB.

The use of two full-specification GF110 GPUs also means the GTX 590 3GB boasts eight rasterisers, (2 x 4) and 32 tessellation units (2 x 16). It also sports 120 texture units (2 x 60) and 96 ROPs (2 x 48).

Meanwhile, the 3GB of GDDR5 memory is split between the two GPUs, so each GPU can still only address 1.5GB. The memory is clocked at 853MHz (3,414MHz effective), which is roughly 16 per cent lower than that of the GTX 580 1.5GB and 10 per cent lower than the GTX 570 1.3GB's RAM. The card has a combined memory bandwidth of 327.8GB/sec (2x 163.9GB/sec), running via dual 384-bit memory interfaces.

 The decision to use such conservative clock speeds might seem odd, but it has allowed Nvidia a good deal of flexibility elsewhere. The most obvious is the card’s cooling system, which shares similarities with both the HD 6990 4GB and Nvidia’s single-PCB version of the GTX 295 1,792MB. The two 520mm² GPUs are arranged symmetrically at either end of the card, with the power delivery circuitry in the middle. Each GPU is topped by its own vapour chamber heatsink assembly, with a single radial fan in the centre of the card blowing air over both. This does mean that half of the card’s heat is exhausted directly into your case, though.

Peeking underneath the cooler, you can see that the card’s power delivery circuitry is suitably meaty. Each GPU is serviced by five power phases, with each GPU’s 1.5GB of GDDR5 memory powered by two phases. This means the card boasts a huge 14+1 power phases, all fed by the pair of 8-pin PCI-E power connectors. Like the HD 6990 4GB, the GTX 590 3GB breaks the PCI-E power spec of 300W combined board power, but it seems as though manufacturers are now attaching less importance to this standard. Nvidia recommends a 700W PSU for systems running a GTX 590 3GB.

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Asus Rampage IV Gene X79 Motherboard

This is the latest X79 motherboard from Asus and by the looks of it this is a pretty amazing little board. It features a Micro-ATX form factor, but it comes with just about all of the bells and whistles that you’d find on a full size ATX board. It’s also in their ROG line of motherboards, so you know it’s meant to perform. So let’s have a look at the features of the chipset first and then we’ll go over the specific features of this motherboard.Intel has made some rather significant improvements over their last generation of enthusiast level chipset. This new X79 chipset is meant to replace the venerable X58 chipset that has been so popular. This new chipset supports Intel’s latest 2011 socket processors that are manufactured using their latest 32nm manufacturing process.

When you look at one of these for the first time, you’ll notice that there is something very different about them. There are now ram slots located on both sides of the CPU socket. This has the effect of enabling the CPU to address memory across four channels instead of either two or three. There is a very good reason why these aren’t located on one side of the socket. If they were, this would increase latency between processor and ram depending on how much further the ram sticks were from the socket. So to solve this problem Intel put the ram slots on either side of the socket.

This chipset also uses Intel’s Express Platform Controller Hub technology. Intel has actually been using this technology for a while and what it does is it removes the need for two separate chips. AMD still uses a North Bridge and a South Bridge for their chipsets and Intel has been able to reduce this to just one. This is beneficial because it reduces temperatures and power consumption. During our testing the heat sink on this chipset never became too hot to touch. This is a dramatic improvement over the incredibly hot running X58 chipset. This should be beneficial to overclocking and overall performance.These new boards also include support for the new PCIe 3.0 architecture. This effectively doubles the bandwidth of PCIe 2.0 and should eventually translate into better gaming and peripheral performance. There are hard drives that currently able to take advantage of the added bandwidth. This really won’t be completely supported until Intel’s next generation of processors becomes available though. Graphics cards aren’t going to be able to take advantage of the added bandwidth yet simply because they never maxed out the bandwidth from the previous generation of expansion slots. Once graphics cards become powerful enough to need the extra bandwidth though, these boards will be capable of providing it.

                                                       Well, the first feature is pretty obvious. This is a ROG (Republic Of Gamers) board that comes in a Micro-ATX form factor. That’s pretty amazing. This means that you can have pretty much the same performance and features of the full ATX board in a smaller form factor so that it will fit in more case and system configurations.

 This board features SupremeFX III audio support that just sounds incredible. With the right speakers there is no question that this is some of the best integrated audio that you could buy. Everything sounds very realistic and crisp. There is no distortion when volume levels are turned up like you’d experience on most integrated audio solutions. This is due to the shielding that Asus has put over the chip to keep it from experiencing interference from the other components. This was very well thought out and it definitely makes a difference in terms of audio performance.

 Now let’s talk about esthetics. This is one beautiful motherboard. It has the typical black and red ROG styling, which looks amazing. It features nicely designed black heat sinks for the MOSFETs and V-Regs. And even though it comes in such a small form factor it still has power and reset buttons located right on the board. There is even a Debug LED located at the top, right corner of the motherboard. You will also still get the usage of up to 4 dimms of memory even though this is a smaller form factor. You really need to see this board to believe it. Asus has crammed this board with just about every feature of their Formula version.

 ROG Connect has become a very popular and useful feature of these boards. Essentially you have the ability to tweak your system via a connection between the motherboard and a laptop computer. You’ll be able to adjust your clock speeds and voltages, as well as monitor all of your settings and Post codes in real-time.  This is something you just have to see for yourself. It’s a truly amazing way to enhance your performance remotely, much the same way that racecar drivers tune their cars. There really isn’t anything else like it and it works really well. Just remember that you will need a separate system with an available USB port to take advantage of this feature.

 This board comes with some really useful software as well. This board is bundled with a free version of DAEMON Tools Pro Standard that allows you to back up and manage all of your storage files. This is a great piece of software because it works with optical drives, hard drives, and virtual drives. There is also a full copy of Kaspersky Anti-Virus software with a one year license. Kaspersky is one of the most trusted names in the industry and another reason they were chosen for this board is because of its extremely low resource usage. For Asus to include such an amazing piece of software, for a year’s worth of service, is really cool. With this list of incredible features, Asus has ensured that this is going to be a very popular board for the enthusiast community.

 Asus has also given this board a nicely populated rear I/O as well. It has a single PS2 keyboard and mouse combination port for those that are still using these legacy devices. Next to this is a clear CMOS button that will make it incredibly easy to clear your CMOS, without having to open your case. Situated next to this button is your S/PDIF out for connecting your motherboard to a digital audio device. Next this button is the ROG Connect button for enabling the usage of external ROG support. This button also works as a BIOS Flashback button as well, so that you don’t even need to have the system on to flash your BIOS. Next to this are three USB 2.0 ports and the ROG Connect port. Sitting next to these is your Intel Gigabit Ethernet port for LAN connectivity and two USB 2.0 ports. Next to these are an eSATA port and two USB 3.0 ports for Super Speed USB devices. Lastly, you’ll find your standard 7.1 analog audio connections.

 This board was put through our entire list of benchmarks to stress it to its limits. Not only did it endure our litany of tests, but it also produced some amazing scores. It pretty scored just under its big brother, the X79 Rampage IV Formula. To get a better understanding of how amazing that is take a look at the review for that board that’s already been posted on this website.

 For a board of this size to produce such amazing scores is just nuts. Asus has really gone all out with the way that this board was designed in terms of both performance and stability. Our scores speak for themselves. There really isn’t anything that can compete with it in this form factor. This board also comes in at a little under 300 dollars. That puts it in the mid-range pricing for this platform. When you take into account how small the board is and the incredible scores that it posted, you get an idea of the amount of time that it must have taken Asus to develop this board.There isn’t any other mATX board that can compete with this one in terms of performance and stability. It gave us no issues at all with regards to installation and setup. This board was a pleasure to work with and to see it chewing through our benchmarks. There is no question that if you’re looking for an mATX form factor in this platform, this is the one to own.

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Chinese hackers crack India’s top defence secrets

The computer systems of scores of Indian embassies, military establishments and corporate bodies, as well as the email account of the Dalai Lama, were hacked by a Chinese cyber spy ring as reported by Hindustan Times.

Hundreds of documents, including classified files, were stolen, says a Canadian cyber security team that monitored the ring — the Shadow Network — for eight months.

The Shadow Network focused on India, especially its military. The Canadians, in effect, hacked the hackers and saw many documents themselves. 

“We snuck behind the backs of the attackers and picked their pockets,” team member Ronald Deibert told NYT.

The Chinese hackers stole foreign ministry reports on India’s policy in West Africa, Russia and West Asia. They got National Security Council secretariat assessments of security situations in Assam, Nagaland, Tripura and Manipur as well as the Maoist problem.

The penetration of India’s defence establishments was remarkable. Three air force bases, two military colleges and an array of military institutes like the Army Institute of Technology, Pune, were broken into.

The Canadian team saw the hackers access over 300 military documents.

The hackers seemed interested in any defence information they could find: from sensitive issues like live fire exercises and Project Shakti — the army’s artillery command system — to more innocuous material like personnel files.

“This is a very serious, broad spectrum assault,” said strategic technology expert Ajay Lele, whose own agency, the Institute for Defence and Security Analysis (IDSA), was robbed of 180 documents.

The Shadow Network broke into computers of analysts and stole reports on India’s missile systems. It hacked those of academics and journalists for work on Kashmir. Data was also stolen from firms like Tata and DLF. The Canadians informed

Indian intelligence on March 24 and were instructed on how to dispose of the classified data.

The ring is believed to be based in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province. The cybersleuths, based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, avoided saying this was government-approved but did say it was “possible”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said: “We have from time to time heard of this kind of news. I don’t know the purpose to stir up these issues.”

However, the Indian security establishment has little doubt the Shadow Network is cast by Beijing. Says K. Santhanam, former IDSA head: “These rings are normally consortia in which Chinese academia, intelligence and military work together.”

Indian officials said the foreign ministry server was breached last year and a security audit “traced the Internet protocol addresses left in the wake of the hacking back to mainland China”. The air force too reported an officer’s account being hacked last month and the Net trail led back to China.

The hackers had a clear India focus, says the report. Of 130 Net protocol addresses compromised, 62 were from India.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 Slim and Kinetic revealed

Microsoft officially reveals Xbox Slim and Kinetic motion control system. Rumors have placed the price of the Kinetic standalone unit at £149.99. You can get the new 4GB 360 Slim bundled with the Kinect for £249.99. 4GB 360 S is due for release on 20th August. But both can be pre-ordered. Another thing is that some dealers are selling the 360 S 250GB for a cut price of £189.99, with Argos offering 3 games alongside the console for a total of £199.99.

The new Xbix 360 Slim contains, a 250 GB hard drive, and built in wi-fi. The power adapter for the console has also cut down its size. Slim 360’s hard drive can be replaced. Data from older hard drives can be transferred to the new unit via a cable (sold separately for $19.99). But the bad part is that the older hard drives themselves, are not compatible with the new 360.

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