Alienware Area-51 7500 Desktop

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University of Antwerp makes 4000EUR NVIDIA supercomputer

Researchers at the University of Antwerp in Belgium have created a new supercomputer with standard gaming hardware. The system uses four NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics cards, it costs less than 4000EUR to build and thanks to NVIDIA's CUDA technology it delivers roughly the same performance as a supercomputer cluster consisting of hundreds of PCs!

This new system is used by the ASTRA research group, part of the Vision Lab of the University of Antwerp, to develop new computational methods for tomography. The guys explain the eight NVIDIA GPUs deliver the same performance for their work as more than 300 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processors. On a normal desktop PC their tomography tasks would take several weeks but on this NVIDIA-based supercomputer it only takes a couple of hours. The NVIDIA graphics cards do the job very efficiently and consume a lot less power than a supercomputer cluster.

The research group ASTRA, part of the Vision Lab of the University of Antwerp, focuses on the development of new computational methods for tomography. Tomography is a technique used in medical scanners to create three-dimensional images of the internal organs of patients, based on a large number of X-ray photos that are acquired over a range of angles. ASTRA develops new reconstruction techniques that lead to better reconstruction quality than classical methods.

Although our reconstruction techniques are very powerful, they have an important drawback: they are quite slow. As the 3D images that we normally deal with can be rather large (typically 1024x1024x1024 volume elements, or more), advanced reconstruction methods can sometimes take weeks of computation time on a normal PC.

Here's a look at the specifications of the FASTRA desktop superPC. The main reason why they configured an AMD system is because they couldn't find a motherboard for the Intel platform that could fit four GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics cards. Another interesting note is that this system doesn't need SLI, their application uses the NVIDIA CUDA programming model which makes all eight GPUs work in parallel. The researchers say they don't need SLI during a reconstruction as every graphics card communicates directly with the CPU, no inter-GPU communication is needed.

AMD Phenom 9850 processor + Scythe Infinity CPU cooler

4x MSI 9800GX2 graphics card

4x 2GB Corsair Twinx DDR2 PC6400 memory

MSI K9A2 Platinum motherboard

Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB HDD

ThermalTake Toughpower 1500W Modular PSU

Lian-Li PC-P80 Armorsuit case

Windows XP 64-bit

The biggest problem of the system is that these four dual-GPU graphics cards are cramped together and generate quite a lot of heat. The FASTRA uses aircooling and with the sidepanel removed the GPUs run at 55 degrees Celsius in idle, 86 degrees Celsius under full load and 100 degrees Celsius under full load with the shaders 20% overclocked. They have to run the system with the left side panel removed as the graphics cards would otherwise overheat but they're looking for a solution for their heat problem. 

The medical researchers ran some benchmarks and found that in some cases their 4000EUR desktop superPC outperforms CalcUA, a 256-node supercomputer with dual AMD Opteron 250 2.4GHz chips that cost the University of Antwerp 3.5 million euro in March 2005  You can read more about the FASTRA GPU SuperPC project over here. The site contains lots of background information, info on the hardware they used, more photos and benchmarks. More videos that explain what the project is all about can be found at YouTube.

In the video below Dr. Joost Batenburg takes you to the ASTRA-lab where he shows what tomographical reconstructions are and what the role of FASTRA is: Basically the ASTRA researchers have created a very affordable computer system that can perform their tomography work very efficiently. For specific applications GPUs are much faster than CPUs, for the tomography work the NVIDIA-based FASTRA system outperform a real supercomputer that's much more expensive, takes up more room and uses a lot more power. The Vision Lab is now planning to build a cluster of such systems, which will allow for real-time reconstruction of large 3D volumes.

In the future we'll see many more applications that will take advantage of the computational power of GPUs to significantly speed up specific tasks. Later this summer NVIDIA will unveil new software that will make HD video transcoding much faster and the firm will also roll out a software update that will add AGEIA PhysX support to all GeForce 8/9 and GeForce GTX 200 series graphics cards. Another application that benefits greatly from GPUs is Folding@Home, ATI GPUs are already supported for quite a while and soon NVIDIA GPUs will also get folding support. Adobe is also playing with GPU acceleration for Photoshop but the firm says this is just an experimental feature that may not be present in the next version of Photoshop...

via dvhardware 

Bacteria-Run Computer Solves Math Puzzle

A new living computer, bred from E. coli bacteria instead of stamped from silica, has for the first time successfully solved a classic mathematical puzzle known as the Burnt Pancake Problem.

While this bacteria-based computer is more proof of concept than practical, a living computer might one day solve complex mathematical problems faster than silicon supercomputers.

"The computing potential of DNA far exceeds that of any other material," said Karmella Haynes, a researcher at Davidson University and lead study author. "If we figure out how to increase that capacity in a practical manner we will have much more computing power."

The Burnt Pancake Problem works like this: Imagine you are a diner owner. To promote your delicious fare, you want to create a golden pyramid of pancakes. Using a spatula, you have to rearrange an existing stack of different-sized pancakes, each of which is burned on one side. The aim is to sort the stack so the largest pancake is on the bottom and all pancakes are golden side up.

Each flip reverses the order and the orientation (i.e. which side of the pancake is facing up) of one or several consecutive pancakes. You want to stack them properly in the fewest number of flips.

If there are only a few pancakes, it's a relatively easy problem to solve. But as the number of pancakes increases, the possible number of solutions skyrockets.

For six pancakes, there are 46,080 possible solutions. For 12 pancakes, there are 1.9 trillion permutations.

A traditional, silica-based computer would run through every single possible solution to the problem, one at a time.

In a biology-based computer, each bacterium becomes a single computer that runs a different part of the problem simultaneously. Since a million bacteria-based computers can fit into a single drop of water, all of them working together could speed up the calculations dramatically...

via dsc.discovery 

This is the story of Helmer. A linux cluster in a IKEA Helmer cabinet

3D computer rendering are very CPU intensive and the best way so speed up slow render problems, are usually to distribute them on to more computers. Render farms are usually very large, expensive and run using ALLOT of energy. I wanted to build something that could be put in my home, not make too much noise and run using very little energy... and be dirt cheep, big problem? no computer stuff cost almost nothing these days, it just a matter of finding fun stuff to play with.

I wanted to use Intel Quad core 65 nm or better. I surfed the web and found 6 of then at a good price. Then I looked after the cheapest motherboard that could run these. The result of my investigation was the Gigabyte S-series GA-G33M-DS2R/S2 card.

The most amazing is that this machine just cost as a better standard PC, but has 24 cores that run each at 2.4 Ghz, a total of 48GB ram, and just need 400W of power!! This means that it hardly gets warm, and make less noise then my desktop pc.

Render jobs that took all night, now gets done in 10-12 min...

via blog.makezine 

Dell Packs More Punch in New Green Small-Business PC

ROUND ROCK, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dell today announced the Energy Smart Vostro™ 410 desktop, delivering industry-leading performance and expandability in a system designed exclusively for small businesses. The latest in a series of energy-efficient products and initiatives designed to drive unprecedented customer savings, the Vostro 410 starts at $599 and saves customers up to 47 percent in annual energy costs¹. For more information, visit www.dell.com/vostro, and share your feedback on the new small-business blog.

The Vostro 410 is available tomorrow in North and South America and the United Kingdom. It will be available to customers in Asia June 2 and the rest of Europe, the Middle East and Africa June 5.

“Small businesses are increasingly concerned about rising energy costs,” said Frank Muehleman, vice president and general manager, Dell Small and Medium Business. “With the Energy Smart Vostro desktop, we’re able to save our customers money and collectively cut down on CO2 emissions, while delivering the features and functionality they require - especially high-performance processing power, graphics technology, fast networking and maximum expandability.”

Direct customer feedback guided Dell to design and deliver the Vostro 410 desktop six months earlier in the product cycle than originally planned. Customer-driven enhancements include:

• Outstanding desktop performance with Intel® Core™2 Quad processors, 512MB graphics cards and 800MHz system memory;
• A larger “tower” design to allow the desktop to grow according to business needs with space for up to four hard drives vs. two in the Vostro 400 and up to 3TB of local storage and memory;
• More expansion slots (six vs. standard four) and bays (four vs. standard three), holding up to six PCIe/PCI cards to increase configuration flexibility;
• Gigabit Ethernet for fast wired network access;
• Continuation of Dell’s 30-day worry-free return policy; and
• Available with no trial ware and free services including 10GB of Dell DataSafe Online Backup, Dell Network Assistant and Dell Automated PC TuneUp.

“The changes we’ve made to the Vostro 410 aren’t moderate improvements but an unrivaled combination of performance and expandability for a small-business PC,” said Muehleman. “For customers running complex spreadsheets or databases, multi-tasking frequently and heavily, or using video-intensive applications, you can’t beat the Vostro 410.”

In addition, Vostro customers can take advantage of Dell’s new services portfolio, ProSupport, which gives them the ability to customize and tailor services to fit their technical expertise and business needs. With growing demand for mobile technology among small businesses, Dell also recently announced its refreshed line of Vostro laptops.

To complement the Energy Smart Vostro 410, Dell announced today worldwide availability of its first EPEAT Gold-certified display – the E207 20-inch widescreen flat panel monitor. More than 25 percent of its plastics are made from recycled materials, plus flat panel monitors save customers up to 28 percent in annual energy costs when compared to using a boxier CRT monitor². The E207 display starts at $259.

Dell’s Commitment to the ReGeneration

On World Environment Day 2007, Dell announced it would partner with the ReGeneration – people of all ages who care about the environment – to become the “greenest” technology company on the planet. The company has since pledged to become the first in its industry to neutralize the carbon impact of worldwide operations by the end of 2008.

Dell offers the industry’s only free recycling program for consumers and an award-winning suite of asset recovery services for businesses. Launched in January 2007, Dell’s “Plant a Tree for Me” program helps customers offset the CO2 emissions related to their use of IT products. Expanded to corporate partners in September 2007, “Plant a Forest for Me” enables organizations worldwide to share best practices and facilitate the planting of trees in sustainably managed reforestation projects.

For more information on Dell’s energy and environmental initiatives, visit www.dell.com/earth. To join with the company and thousands of others in lending a voice and saving the planet, visit www.regeneration.org.

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.

Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc.

Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.

¹ Based on testing by Dell Labs in May 2008 and Dell energy calculations comparing a Vostro 410 with Energy Smart settings vs. the same configuration without Energy Smart settings. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.

² Based on testing by Dell Labs in May 2008 and Dell energy calculations comparing a Vostro 410 system with Energy Smart settings and a 17-inch flat panel vs. the same configuration with Energy Smart settings and a 17-inch CRT. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability...

via businesswire 

AMD to roll out Griffin processor as ‘Turion Ultra’ at Computex

Mountain House (CA) - Computex Taipei 2008 is just around the corner and news of what we can expect to see at the conference is already trickling in. Nvidia will release its new GeForce GTX 280 and 260 GPUs, AMD its Radeon 4850 and 4870 as well as its Puma notebook platform.

According to our sources at a top-tier OEM/ODM, AMD will be announcing Puma as well as the Griffin processor on June 3 (local time), the first day of the show. Puma will consist of the Griffin CPU, which we now know will be called “Turion Ultra”, a mobile version of the 780G chipset (RS780M), the Mobility Radeon 3200 graphics chip (integrated in the mobile 780G chipset) as well as Wi-Fi chips from the usual suspects (Atheros, Broadcom, Marvell, Ralink).

Puma will show up in all major notebook form factors (12.1”, 13.3”, 15.4” and 17" and will be on display with ATI Mobility Radeon 3450, 3650 and 3850 discrete graphics chips. SSDs will be available as an option, albeit in a very limited fashion: Puma will aim for the volume business and consumer markets and SSD simply are still “too expensive” for these segments. That scenario should change with the arrival of AMD’s 2009 Shrike mobile platform (better known for its Fusion processor), which is expected to see a greater adoption of SSD devices.

At this time, we have no information whether Puma and its Turion Ultra will be available in volume from day one. Stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Despite the fact that a first Intel Montevina notebook has been announced already, don’t expect the platform to debut at Computex. Montevina notebooks are likely to have a significant presence at the show, but our sources indicated that the platform will not be launched until later in the month...

via tgdaily 

Vigor Gaming Announces AMD GAME!-Branded Force Recon SP Desktop Gaming Rig

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vigor Gaming, a developer of custom gaming rigs and high-end peripherals, is partnering with AMD to offer a series of desktop gaming PCs configured for high-definition gaming with the new AMD GAME! logo.

The Force Recon SP will be the first Vigor Gaming system that’s AMD GAME!-branded to insure that customers are buying a system suited for gaming with the right graphics and processor components.

The AMD GAME! initiative was launched to let PC buyers and do-it-yourself gamers know that their system meets a benchmark for playing the latest games in Microsoft Windows Vista. A Vigor Gaming system stamped with the AMD GAME! logo will feature everything the buyer needs, including a clear set-up process, to be able to play new and demanding games right out of the box. Vigor and AMD will revise product requirements and specifications at least every six months so that consumers will always keep pace with technology.

“AMD GAME! is the equivalent of a PC seal of approval to assure consumers their system is branded for gaming performance. Simple and clearly identifiable ways to ensure levels of performance is a great way to meet customer expectations and educate them on the right choices for their gaming experience,” said Steven Chien, Director of Sales at Vigor Gaming.

Two categories of desktop configurations, aimed at different types of gamers, will be offered by Vigor Gaming with many self-build options for the Force Recon SP that go beyond the minimum AMD GAME! bar.

The basic Force Recon SP configuration is intended for mainstream gamers playing at a resolution of 1,280x1,024, and will require at least 2GB of DDR2 RAM, an AMD Athlon X2 5600+ processor, dual ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics cards, and the AMD 770 chipset or nVidia nForce 500 series chipset. A Force Recon SP built to these specs would have a MSRP of around $1,845.

For more serious gamers Vigor will offer the Force Recon SP under the AMD GAME! Ultra configuration, which requires a 2GB of DDR2 RAM, Phenom X4 9650 processor (Vigor offers a Phenom 9850 CPU in this configuration), ATI Radeon HD 3870 graphics, and an AMD 770 chipset. This system, designed for optimal performance at 1,600x1,200 resolution would list for $2,733.

The Force Recon SP comes loaded with Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit Home Basic Edition with original DVD. Vigor offers a number of options such as custom painting for any system as well as free overclocking. Vigor Gaming desktop PCs are all backed by a three year limited parts and labor warranty. All models are available direct from Vigor Gaming at www.vigorgaming.com.

About Vigor Gaming

Vigor Gaming, headquartered in City of Industry, California, is a manufacturer of leading-edge gaming technology, peripherals, and extreme computing rigs. Founded in 2004, Vigor’s engineering team consists of seasoned computer hardware veterans whose charter is to deliver performance, craftsmanship and durability. For more information, contact Vigor Gaming at 1-866-907-3536, sales@VigorGaming.com...

via businesswire 

Dell XPS 730 H2C Performance Gaming System

Dell's XPS branded products have come a long way since they first appeared in 1993. Starting life as a performance trim for the Dimension product line, Dell has nurtured XPS into a well-known and respected premium performance brand. While not all XPS branded products are specifically targeted at gamers, gaming has always been at the core of the product line-up. The XPS brand's flagship desktop and notebook products have always been heavily gaming oriented, but it looks like that is set to change.

The XPS 730 is Dell's latest XPS flagship desktop product, the fourth generation of the XPS 700 series, and it may be the last. Or at least the last XPS flagship product as we currently know them; large, aggressively styled behemoths sporting the latest hardware and adorned with colorful LED lighting. A week after the XPS 730 was launched, news regarding the demise of XPS as a gaming brand began to circulate. Since its acquisition of Alienware in the summer of 2006, Dell has effectively been operating two separate gaming brands with directly competing products. It was speculated that some changes, possibly in the form of consolidation of the two brands, would eventually be in order. It is now fairly clear that Dell is to focus on Alienware as its premier gaming brand in the future.

While Dell has only now acknowledged that the XPS brand will give way to Alienware as Dell's premier gaming brand, there have been numerous signs that such a move was in the works. Since Dell brought Alienware into the fold, they have been busy introducing new, non gaming oriented products to both the XPS desktop and notebook line-ups. Starting with the XPS M1330 notebook and its derivatives and then the XPS 420 desktop, Dell is busy converting XPS into a premium multimedia brand. While the XPS brand of the future may still include gaming systems, they will not be the high-end flagship systems of today.

So it is with a slight bit of regret that we begin our review of the XPS 730 H2C, possibly the most exciting and last generation of the flagship XPS 700 series...

via hothardware 

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Alienware Redefines “World’s Most Powerful” with Relaunch of Area-51 ALX Desktop

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The best just got better. Alienware – the leading manufacturer of high-performance desktop, notebook and entertainment systems – has announced the relaunch of its acclaimed Area-51 ALX desktop. Long held as the standard for elite, ultra-high-performance computers, the all-new ALX shocks the industry as the first and only desktop to offer the 3.2GHz Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX9770 overclocked to an unimaginable 4.0GHz.

Alienware’s expert engineers have pushed the QX9770 to its maximum stable output for an intense experience that you can get only from an Alienware computer. Every new Area-51 ALX comes standard with Alienware ALX High-Performance Liquid Cooling.

Powering the Area-51 ALX desktop’s graphics, users have their choice between NVIDIA® Quad SLI® featuring dual NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GX2 cards or an ATI™ CrossFireX™ configuration with dual ATI Radeon™ HD 3870 X2 cards. Rounding out the system’s performance is up to 4GB of Corsair™ Dominator™ DDR3 1600MHz memory. No other system offers this level of raw power and aggression.

“The performance packed into the Area-51 ALX desktop is flat-out unheard-of,”“Alienware has always been committed to building only the fastest, most powerful systems available, and that’s exactly what we’ve done with the new ALX.” says Marc Diana, Product Marketing Manager for Alienware.

“By enabling the Area-51 ALX to operate at blazing speed with a great mix of performance and energy efficiency, the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 is the heart of a system sure to excite any Alienware user,” said CJ Bruno, VP, GM Americas Sales & Marketing.

For more information, visit: www.alienware.com/ALX.

About Alienware

Alienware offers unique and award-winning technology products that incorporate state–of–the–art components, innovative engineering and design, and unprecedented customer service. Alienware has been recognized by INC 500, won the Shoppers’ Choice Award as the Best Performance Desktop by Computer Shopper’s reader survey, had its Alienware Area-51 ranked among “The 25 Greatest PCs of All Time” by PC World and also received PC Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award in its 18th Annual Reader Survey. Alienware systems are available direct within the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. For more information, please visit www.alienware.com or call 1-800-ALIENWARE (254-3692)...

via businesswire 

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Acer Aspire Predator Gaming PC

At an event in Germany earlier this week, Acer launched a new series of gaming PCs branded the Aspire Predator range. We were there to check out the new machine and see how it measures up against what else is on the market.

Interestingly, the company said that it is banking on the anti-Internet angle and it is instead targeting a different market. It’s targeting those that want to get into gaming, but don’t want to wait weeks for an online purchase and then find you can’t take it straight back to the shop if something goes wrong.

Acer realises that there are many boutique system builders out there that are attractive to many purchasers, but it's also banking on the huge brand and an attractive warranty to leverage customers away from the more personalised experience associated with smaller system builders.

However, would you really buy an Acer Aspire if you wanted to game? It’s certainly the high-street purchase for parents who probably already own or have used an Acer before and are happy to buy another. I’m sure they’ll be tempted to buy this for their kids because it comes in a “cool case” that they can show their neighbours for the inevitable woah moment you get when you show technology to people that don’t understand it.

With that said, the case won’t appeal to the minimalist crowd – more likely it will appeal to the same market as those who buy Alienware and who like fast cars. The strong lines, the “spoiler” style handle and the fake tan (metallic copper according to Acer) aesthetics certainly make it stand out to say the least. Unfortunately though, while the sides, front door and main chassis are strongly built, the rest feels a little plasticy and doesn’t hold up as well.

Still, there are few things to like about the Aspire Predator line even if you aren't into neon orange cases housing pre-built systems. There's an attractive warranty covering the Predator range, as well as some fairly beefy system specs and added extras. Read onto check out our initial impressions of the Aspire Predator PCs and find out why it was worth going all the way to Munich to have a look at them.

Initial Impressions

Within two minutes of actually (and literally) going hands-on with the case we’d managed to irreparably break the door off the hot-swappable hard drive cage. Thankfully we were able to have a good look at the system inside, get intimate with the Predator and then move on before anyone noticed the damage.

The four USB ports in the top of the case are well placed but both these and the card reader in the front aren’t hide-able from view. However, we can respect that Acer is going for clear, easy to use functionality from users who are less adept at knowing where to look.

Inside, the hardware was actually surprisingly well-balanced though – we’re used to (and were expecting) some over the top branded nForce 790i Ultra SLI and Core 2 Extreme QX9770 machines for some silly prices. What we found though was a top to bottom line of PCs equipped with DDR2-800 – even the most basic models have 4GB of memory, a 45nm quad-core processor and a couple of graphics cards in SLI. ..

via bit-tech 

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