DFI nF4 SLI-DR Expert w FX-57 @ 3.9GHz!

We took this new motherboard from DFI for some overclockingtests and put a naked FX-57 under some cascade cold treatment. With a betterboard layout/design and more tweakable options in BIOS, we are able to overclockthe FX-57 to 3.9GHz and is stable under 3DMark benching. We will write a reviewon this fine board soon but now more OCtests continue. If you have any comments or questions, please reply atour forums.

Dragon Quest X Online now has 40,000 players in Japan

Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online, has been reported to have reached a number of more than 40,000 players in Japan as of November 6, 2012, within a time period of about three months after its initial release. For comparison, Final Fantasy XI, which is also developed and presented by Square Enix over 10 years ago last 2002, gathered only around 10,000 players within the same three-month period. This shows that the reception of the game is exceedingly a lot more than what was expected. The game is also noted to have been sold in over 70,000 copies in Japan.

Dragon Quest X is currently the first online Dragon Quest game. It presents the same fundamental gameplay system of older titles, while having many more features that are usually available to standard MMORPGs. It currently has two game modes. The first one is the standard pay-to-play version, and the other is the time restricted "kids time" free-to-play version. The upcoming Wii U version of the game is supposed to be filled with lots of other extra features that would make your adventure experience in the game more fun and exciting.

The very first Dragon Quest game was released for the FamiCom (NES) console more than two decades ago, in 1986. It was one of the very first pioneers of the Japanese RPG genre known today, and have since then grown to be played on numerous other titles on other consoles through the years. With the largely positive reception of the game in Japan, could we expect an international release soon?

Source: 4Gamer, Square Enix (JP)

Enjoy your favorite songs on the new Genius SP-i500 iPhone speaker dock

Featuring a stylish black finish, theGenius SP-i500iPhone speaker dock claims to beperfect for playing music from your iPhone. The dock can charge your iPhone or iPod while itplaysyour favorite songsfrom the 1.5-inch high quality audio driver with a total output of2 watts. It also has a line-in jackto supportother device input. On top of that, Genius also includesa Musical Alarm app that you can download to your iPhoneforuser to setupones own alarm schedule;the SP-i500 also has a snooze keywhich you can combine with the apps.

The Genius SP-i500 is sceduled to be available next month at US$49.90.

Ex-CUDA VP joins AMD Fusion Program

Following rumours around the internet, Manju Hegde has indeed joined AMDto lead the AMD Fusion Experience Program. Mr. Hegde was the co-founderand CEO of Ageia, creators of PhysX. Following Ageia's sale to Nvidia,Mr. Hegde has been Vice President - CUDA Technical Marketing at Nvidia.

Manju Hegde's services will be a valuable addition to AMD's Fusiondepartment, as well as benefiting GPU Compute capability of ATI Radeonproducts, directly or indirectly.

AMD realizes that the major advantage of the first generation Fusion APU - Llano - is the GPU component. The CPU is based on aging Phenom II cores are likely to end up being far inferior to Intel's upcoming Sandy Bridge architecture, despite whatever optimizations 32nm may bring. Sandy Bridge is likely to be a stellar CPU with an adequate IGP - butgaming and compute seem beyond the capabilities of an Intel GPU in theshort term, at least. This is where Llano excels - the GPU part - a DX11 GPU with upto 400 SP. Unfortunately, most applications even today do not make use of the GPU for most everyday applications. If AMD were to promote GPU Compute for a wide array of applications, it could surpass Sandy Bridge.

This work is no doubt very familiar to Mr. Hegde, who has been promoting Nvidia's own GPU Compute initiative, CUDA, at Nvidia. It is also a sign that AMD is aggressively beginning to promote Fusion, and Manju Hegde is a prized asset for AMD.

Reference: TechPowerUp

ATi R520 Is Lead Free, RoHS Design

The enthusiasts-class X1800 will sport a new Ultra-High-Performance 3D Engine, Quality display and video engine, high-speed memory controller, Xilleon TV encoder, Dual-DVI / Dual-link DVI, HDTV, HDCP board options. R520 is based on lead-free, RoHS board design and is Crossfire ready. There will be two versions available at launch : X1800XT and X1800XL.As for mainstream segment, X1600 will sport a new 3D, Video and display architecture available in 512MN, 256MB and 128MB configurations. It has DVI, VGA, S-Video out and is Crossfire ready as well. There will be two versions available at launch; X1600PRO and X1600XT. As for budget segment, X1300 is the follow-up to RV370 and sports high-end video technology at value segment pricing. It comes with 128-bit, 64-bit and 32-bit memory interface and has 32MB to 512MB frame buffer configurations. There are two versions available at launch; X1300LE and X1300 PRO and HyperMemory variant to be available as well.

ASUS unveils VG23AH 3D IPS LED Monitor

The ASUS VG23AH claims to offer crisp, clear visuals with superb audio from its built-in 3W stereospeakers to provide users with cinematic 3D home theatre experience. It features 178-degree lateral and vertical wide-viewing angle with 80,000,000:1 ASUS SmartContrast ratio, and the companys exclusive Splendid Video Intelligence Technology for colorful visual in full high definition 1080p. The monitor also has a wide range of connectivity options including dual HDMI 1.4 ports, single-link DVI, and D-sub, which allow for compatibility with an array of media devices. You can also swivel, tilt and adjust the height adjustment for comfortable viewing experience.

The ASUS VG23AH incorporates Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR) 3D technology that can separate 3D images delivered to the left and right eye simultaneously to deliver flicker-free images. It also comes bundled with battery-free 3D glasses, and offers six preset video modes (Scenery, Theater, Game, Night View, sRGB and Standard) which can be selected via a hotkey. Pricing information is not available at press time, though ASUS states that the VG23AH will be available in June.

Specifications

Panel Size/ TypeVG23AH 23.0” (58.4cm) Wide Screen (16:9) WLED/ IPSTrue Resolution1920 x 1080Brightness (Max.)250cd/m²ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR)80,000,000:1Viewing Angle178°(H) / 178°(V)Display Colors16.7 millionSPLENDID Video Intelligence Tech.Yes (Theater, Gaming, Scenery, Night View, sRGB,Standard; 6modes)QuickFit Virtual ScaleDocument, Photo and Grid Modes3D TechnologyFPR 3D Technology and ASUS All-in 3D TechnologyStereo Speaker3W x 2 stereo, RMSInput/ Outputual HDMI 1.4 (support Blu-ray 3D), DVI-D, D-Sub,PC Audio Input(3.5mm Mini-jack), 3.5 mm Earphone JackTilt/ Swivel/ Height Adjustment+15° ~ -5° / +150° ~ -150° / 0 ~ 100mm