Cray Inc. and Intel Corporation announced yesterday that they signed a multi-year agreement to advance high-performance computing (HPC) on Intel microprocessors while delivering broad new Intel and Cray technologies in future Cray server systems. The collaboration of these two industry leaders will result in HPC systems that will help solve some of the world's most complex scientific, engineering and humanitarian challenges.

The two companies plan to explore future supercomputer component designs such as multi-core processing and advanced interconnects. As a result of this collaboration, Cray and Intel plan to develop a range of HPC systems and technologies over the next several years. “Cray's commitment to Intel is a testament of our commitment to HPC and the strength of our hardware and software roadmap and many-core research,” said Patrick Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. “Throughout Cray's history, it has been an innovator in high-end HPC while Intel has pushed the boundaries of processor technology.

I missed this one over the weekend, but it seems that New Orleans is about to lose its municipal Wi-Fi network as EarthLink plans to halt its participation in the citywide project on May 18, an EarthLink spokesman said Friday. Many municipal Wi-Fi networks have had problems, so this isn't a shock. Wonder if WiMax would have been a better choice for the long run.

The Internet service provider had tried a three-pronged approach before it decided to terminate the network, said Chris Marshall, EarthLink's VP of corporate communications. First, EarthLink tried to sell the network outright. Second, it sought to transfer ownership of the network to the city of New Orleans. Finally, it tried to transfer the network to a third party. All three approaches failed. “We were unable to find a buyer — either the city or an outside buyer,” Marshall said, noting that New Orleans city officials and customers have been informed that EarthLink will remove its network. Subscribers are being offered alternate EarthLink high-speed broadband or dial-up services in place of Wi-Fi.

Around 100 laptop designs based on Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming Puma laptop chip platform are being readied ahead of the chips' scheduled launch in June, according to a company spokesman. Two months ago on a trip to visit AMD we got a chance to see the Puma platform being tested, so we know it's nearly complete!

AMD plans to launch its Puma laptop platform during the Computex trade show in June, where many of the upcoming laptops based on the chips are expected to be on display. Pairing greater power efficiency with improved graphics, Puma is based on AMD's upcoming Turion X2 Ultra processor, previously known by the code name Griffin. Puma also includes a chipset with integrated graphics and an ATI Radeon HD3400 discrete graphics chip. Wireless connectivity is provided by a third-party chipset with support for 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n Wi-Fi networking.

AMD is planning to launch two 45nm Phenom X4 CPUs (Deneb) in 2008 with core frequencies of between 2.5-2.8GHz and 2.4-2.7GHz, with both adopting 6MB L3 Cache and having a TDP rating of 95W, according to sources at motherboard makers. In addition to the current triple-core CPUs, AMD will launch the Phenom X3 8550 with a core frequency of 2.2GHz in the third quarter (production beginning in the second quarter) and the company will launch more triple-core CPUs in the fourth quarter.

AMD will announce the final order date for its 125W Phenom X4 9750 by the end of the second quarter and the CPU will be replaced by a 95W version which is available this quarter while the 95W Phenom X4 9850 will appear before January of 2009. The company is also planning to launch an updated version of its upcoming Phenom X4 9950 (schedule to launch in June) at the end of the fourth quarter.

Antec has launched the Twelve Hundred PC enclosure, the next evolution of its best-selling Nine Hundred case. With an advanced cooling system, a spacious design and other convenient features, the Twelve Hundred is an excellent choice for gamers and other high-performance PC builders. The case will retail for approximately $209.95 and is backed by Antec's Quality 3-Year Warranty.

The Twelve Hundred features an exceptionally robust cooling system, designed to accommodate even the most demanding gaming PCs. This system is composed of a top 200mm TriCool fan, two rear 120mm TriCool fans and three front 120mm fans. All TriCool fans come with 3-speed control, enabling users to optimize their balance of cooling and quiet. Two additional 120mm fan mounts give builders the option to provide cooling to the graphics cards and the CPU. The Twelve Hundred also comes with a water cooling platform that can be used to position a reservoir or a pump. A perforated front panel and a washable air filter help to take in air more efficiently and reduce dust build up. The case also includes an advanced cable management system that allows cables to be tucked out of the way for unrestricted airflow.

Walton Chaintech today introduced its new APOGEE GT DDR2 1150 and 1200 memory module 4GB KIT (2GB x 2 pc) facilitating customers with more competitive price, high capacity and efficiency. APOGEE GT DDR2 1150 and 1200 modules use top quality 128M x 8 BGA chips, with a highest capacity reaching 4 GB in size for faster graphics rendering, 3D gaming, and performance computing. In this 4GB kit, two 2GB modules are included with guaranteed compatibility and occupy less memory slots for better space management.

APOGEE GT DDR2 1150 and 1200 memory module 4GB KIT is specifically designed to be made with 8-layer PCBA with strictly refined quality and JEDEC standardized stability. In terms of bandwidth and speed enhancement, the bandwidth of APOGEE GT DDR 1150 has been expanded to 9.6 GB/s. A 50% growth is performed compared with the current mainstream DDR2 800 (6.4 GB/s). With dual-channel configuration support and a latency of CL 5-5-5-15, APOGEE GT DDR2 1150 and 1200 clearly position itself at the top level of speed and performance among other overclocking memory modules. The famous fin-shape heatsink with a touch of APOGEE red is featured with each pair of modules and helps reducing the heat during the overclocking operation and increase stability of this pair of memory modules.

3DMark Vantage is a gaming performance benchmark that is used to measure native DirectX 10 and multi-core CPU performance with large amounts of physics, AI and graphics on PC's running Microsoft Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. 3DMark Vantage shows the user where their gaming system performs at its peak or doesn't have the horsepower, and how to get the most performance possible out of their hardware for today's and tomorrow's games.

Find reviews from around the web in our forums! The following is from High Tech Reviews' article on the CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 1000 watt Power Supply:

As more and more people are configuring their systems to
operate in either nVidias SLI or AMDs Crossfire configuration
the demand for a power supply that can not only provide enough power
for both video cards, but for all of the accessories that go it. As
an example the cooling system we are using is comprised of a six TECs
(thermoelectric coolers) which are notorious for drawing a great deal
of current. The Real Power Pro 1000 handles everyone of the
stresstest programs we tosses at it and all the while the voltage
stayed within +-5%.

This past Tuesday we did an article on the Diamond Viper Radeon HD 3870 1GB video card and it turns out some of the details in that article were incorrect. When the Diamond Multimedia launched the first 1GB ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics card they had the memory interface incorrectly labeled as 512-bit. Legit Reviews contacted the Diamond Multimedia marketing department and they confirmed it was really just 256-bit.

Intel has unveiled two Mini-ITX-based motherboards, Elko and Fly Creek, for entry-level PC and multimedia PC markets, respectively.

Elko will adopt Intel's 945GC chipset, while Fly Creek will adopt its G45 chipset featuring the GMA X3500 graphics core for better multimedia performance. Tom Rampone, general manager of Intel Channel Platforms Group said there is market demand for smaller-size PCs, but current nettops do not meet the requirements for entry-level or multimedia markets. The two new motherboards satisfy these markets. Rampone added in saying that Intel expects Mini-ITX to replace Micro-ATX and become the mainstream for future low-cost, entry-level and multimedia PC markets.