Posts by Jimmy Wolfee

June 23, 2012June 26, 2012

AMD to launch 7970 GHz edition

As you all may know that as per the latest benchmark reports Nvidia’s GTX 670 and GTX 680 kepler based graphic cards beats the hell out of AMD 7970. AMD 7970 in spite of having 3GB VRAM and more memory width, was beaten up by both of these Kepler based GPUs from Nvidia. In response to this AMD has nothing to do except to lower the price of their 7970. But now today AMD has launched the all new 7970 GHz edition.

AMD 7970 GHz is named because the core clock of this new graphic card is 1 GHz or 1000 MHz . This will give some performance boost to the performance of the original 7970. 7970 GHz edition is just a overclocked version of the original chip with increased bandwidth. AMD 7970 GHz edition will also be some what costlier than original GPU by approximately 100$.

The latest benchmarks reports from Toms Hardware indicates that the new AMD 7970 GHz edition is now comparable to GTX 680 and beats GTX 670 in almost every test they performed. This new GHz edition chip some times even beats GTX 680 at some high resolution tests (2500 X 1600) which require more VRAM for smooth experience.

The major difference between the original and the new GHz edition is given below in the table.

Feature / Tech Spec	7970 GHz edition	7970 original	GTX 680
Main clock	1000 MHz to 1050 MHz (Boost)	925 MHz	1006 MHz
Memory Clock	1500 MHZ	1375 MHz	1502 MHz
Video RAM	3GB	3GB	2GB
Memory Bus Width	384 bit	384 bit	256 bit
Memory Bandwidth	288 GB per second	264 GB per second	192 GB per second
Texture Fill Rate	134 Gtex/sec	118 Gtex/sec	128 Gtex/sec
Transistor Count	4.31 billion	4.31 billion	3.54 billion
Power TDP	250W	250W	195W
Indian Price	NA	Rs. 35,000	Rs. 33,000

June 23, 2012June 26, 2012

Windows Phone 8 OS based smartphones to feature dual core Krait CPU

So at last Windows OS based smartphones will also have dual core or quad core models. This became possible only after the recent launch of Windows Phone 8 OS by Microsoft this week. Windows Phone 8 will be able utilize more than one core on the CPU chip there supporting present generation dual core and quad core processors from snapdragon.

Now Qualcomm today officially declared that the upcoming Windows Phone 8 based smartphones from Samsung, Nokia, HTC and Huawei will be powered by their S4 chipset which feature dual ‘Krait’ cores. This is the same chipset which is used in Galaxy S3 also (US version only).

The graphics on this chipset will be handled by latest Adreno 225. Adreno 225 will be able to play DirectX based 3D games and also supports Full HD video capturing. Not only this, because of the S4 chipset Windows phone from now onwards will be able to use high resolution HD displays also which is not possible in Windows Phone 7.5.

Another important feature of this chipset that it supports 4G or LTE signal. It has a 4G or LTE modem built on to it which will enable smartphone to use LTE data service. But this will not be compatible with upcoming 4G service in India. This is because in US they use FD LTE technique for providing LTE service which is compatible with this chipset but here in India operators rely on TD LTE technoque for providing 4G service.

June 23, 2012June 26, 2012

Updated for 2012: Which graphic card to choose for your computer?

As you all know that the two top graphic chip manufacturers are Nvidia and AMD. Both are fighting neck to neck for winning the best GPU award in almost every category. Nvidia is present in this category from the start of the GPU era but AMD on the other forays into the GPU market after acquiring ATI. Let us leave this history behind and go straight to some useful discussion.

Choosing a graphic is definitely a very confusing task now a days. A low level or HTPC based GPU from both these chipmakers start from as low as Rs. 1,500 and can go as high as Rs. 65,000 for dual GPU high end cards. Your need and budget will be the deciding factor in choosing your first GPU.

Also note that there are some performance difference between the present ultra high end cards from Nvidia and AMD with Nvidia having the upper edge. But the performance difference is not that high that you will go into depression that you have purchased a AMD card. Also previously AMD was known for low price and low power consumption and Nvidia on the other hand is known for high power consumption and more performance . But today scenario is same for AMD but Nvidia has lowered the TDP value of its present generation Kepler based graphic cards thereby snatching a market share from market from AMD in the form of customers who usually go low power consumption cards.

Budget is the next big thing. The amount of money you want to spend on GPU is really a deciding factor. If you have spend 20,000+ rupees on a GPU to watch just full HD movies than this is a sheer wastage of money. You can do the same thing with a Rs.1,500 GPU also.

List of best graphic cards as according to the budget are listed below:

If budget is up to Rs. 5,000

There are plethora of options in this price range from both AMD and Nvidia.

For watching movies and general entertainment my recommendation is Sapphire HD 6450 for Rs. 1,800. This card is beat for watching Full HD movies and is also compatible with Windows 7.

For playing games at low or medium setting at low resolution my recommendation would be Sapphire HD 6470 for Rs. 4,700.

If budget is up to Rs. 10,000

For a low end car in this category my recommendation would be Sapphire HD 6770 for Rs. 6,500. This card is one of the best mid range GPU out there that can play many games at mid to high settings at a decent resolution.

For a high end card in this price range go for Sapphire HD 6580 for Rs. 9,000. This card is definitely a serious performer and can play games at high to ultra settings.

If budget is up to Rs. 15,000

For a low end card in this category go with Sapphire HD 6870 for Rs. 11,000. This card is one step below from 6950 but packs some serious power. It can flawlessly play most of the modern games out there at ultra settings except few.

For a high end GPU in this category go with Asus GTX 560 Ti DC 2 for Rs. 14,000. This card matches AMD 6950 in performance but comes at a lower price tag than 6950.

If some dealer is giving you AMD 6950 from any brand including HIS, Sapphire, MSI or Asus for less than Rs. 15,000 than blindly go for it. It is definitely a great card from AMD and you will not get wrong with it.

If budget is up to Rs. 20,000

For a low end car in this category go with Sapphire HD 6950 for Rs. 16,000.

For a high end card go with Asus or MSI Nvidia GTX 570 for Rs. 20,000 or AMD Sapphire HD 7850 a new generation 22nm based GPU for Rs. 17,500.

If the budget is up to Rs. 30,000

For low end GPU in this category go for Sapphire HD 7870 for Rs. 22,500. It is a new generation GPU based on 22nm architecture.

For a high end card in this category go for Sapphire HD 7950 for Rs. 26,000. A solid card with lot of VRAM for smooth experience.

If the budget is up to Rs. 40,000

The only recommended GPU in this category is from Nvidia that is GTX 680 which is based on latest Nvidia architecture named Kepler. Nvidia GTX 680 beats similarly priced AMD 7970 by a decent margin side by side consuming less power than a 7970 which is a great accomplishment by Nvidia in terms of power efficiency. Asus GTX 680 is what i recommend in this price range which is available at a price range of Rs. 33,000.

Ultra High End Dual GPU cards

This is the most expensive category and is recommended only for hard core gamers and animation enthusiasts. The only card from 22nm generation available in this category is from Nvidia that is GTX 690 which basically has two GTX 680 chips integrated on a single board. The competitor card from AMD in this category is yet to be launched and will be called as AMD 7990. AMD 7990 is presently not available in the market and also GTX 690 is available in very limited quantities. Asus launched GTX 690 in India at a massive price tag of Rs. 71,000. Now it must be lower than that but no shopkeeper whom i know is presently have the stock of this behemoth.

June 22, 2012June 26, 2012

It is confirmed that Android 5.0 is not Jelly Bean

If you go to the US website of Google play store to order Google Nexus HSPA+ than you can see the line written in the side of your shopping cart that this phone is upgradable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. This line definitely proves on fact that the upcoming Android 4.1 will be called Jelly Bean but initially it was rumoured that Android 5.0 will be called Jelly Bean.

Jelly Bean as from the design looks like a minor upgrade to ICS OS. The new design involves some changes to the wallpaper and to the Google search bar.

June 22, 2012June 26, 2012

Android ICS is now available for Sony Xperia S

Sony has recently released the ICS update for their flagship smartphone Xperia S. Xperia S is the smartphone from Sony’s NXT series which came into existence after Sony purchase the mobility division of Ericsson. Despite of being the flagship phone from Sony, Xperia S initially comes with Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS which draws criticism from most of the reviewers. But after the launch of the ICS update for Xperia S, Sony silence all these critics.

The latest will be available to all Sony Xperia S users. Users can update their phone to the latest OS by using OTA (Over The Air) update or via Sony mobile suit. OTA update can be performed if you have a Wi-Fi connection. It is not recommended to preform OTA update on a 2G GPRS network because of low downloading speed.

The update improves the overall functionality of Xperia S. Sony has also used their customized GUI for the new ICS update.

Please note that though it is confirmed that ICS update for Xperia S is now officially available there might occur a situation in which some of the users from certain countries have to wait longer to get the update. This is common for OS update process for most of the companies out there.