Monday, March 14, 2005

High Performance DDR Memory Model Kits Reviewed. DDR PC3200 Performance Memory Shootout

3:05 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

Hexus.net has posted a head-to-head comparison of three high-performance DDR memory module kits. Among the reviewed are Corsair’s TwinXP1024-3200XL, G.Skill’s F1-3200DSU2-1GBLE and OCZ Technology’s PC3200 EL Platinum Rev2 products rated to run at 400MHz frequency. Products were compared in terms of performance at default speed, overclockability and price.

“To sum up, if you want the coolest modules on the block and you’re feeling flush, the Corsair Xpert is in a niche of its own. Paired with Samsung’s TCCD modules, there’s a world of performance to be had from them at modest Vdimm. Otherwise, the G.Skill and OCZ both come recommended at around the £200 mark, with Corsair’s XL PRO and XL PT under that price, too.” summarizes the author.

• Hexus.net: Memory Shootout - Extremely High Performance DDR using Samsung TCCD DRAMs on Socket 939 AMD64

Future of Games Physics. Physics Processor Investigated

2:02 pm | Yaroslav Lyssenko

Games are becoming more and more sophisticated. Faster hardware is needed to cope with billions of calculations needed to finish a single frame in modern games. But not always the answer is faster hardware. Add-in 3D accelerators revolutionized the world of PC gaming in mid 90s, and now it seems that another revolution is on its way.

AnandTech has posted an article covering AGEIA’s PhysX – world’s first Physical Processing Unit (PPU). This chip is specially designed to process complex calculations needed to insure realistic physics models in future games.

“To sum up what the hardware will offer consumers at the outset, here’s what we are looking at: 32000 rigid body objects, soft body objects, fluids, particle systems (40-50 thousand particles), and collision detections. The end result will range from cooler special effects in games (explosions, cloth-like clothing, and massive particle systems) to totally interactive environments (where anything and everything can be pushed, pulled, thrown or otherwise destroyed in a realistic way)” concludes AnandTech.

• AnandTech: A Closer Look At PhysX: Our Take On The PPU

Archive
All Latest News