Intel Details 2011 Processor Features, Offers Stunning Visuals Built-in

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• Intel detailed several new and improved features for its upcoming 2^nd Generation Intel® Core™ processor family for laptops and PCs. This will be Intel's latest processor, with a rich visual experience built-in.
• Expected to be in production later this year with new laptops and PCs available starting in early 2011.
• Chips will further expand Intel's battery life and performance leadership.
• First public demonstrations of Intel's next-generation Xeon™ server platforms, for both dual and multi-processing servers.

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13, 2010 - Intel Corporation revealed today several significant design features for the company's 2011 2^nd Generation Intel® Core™ processor family at the Intel Developer Forum. The new and enhanced features will further extend Intel's chip performance and battery life leadership, and add a number of visually related features built right into the chips.

Codenamed "Sandy Bridge," the chips will be based on Intel's first new "visibly smart" microarchitecture produced on the company's cutting-edge manufacturing factories, or "fabs," at 32-nanometer (nm is a billionth of a meter) process technology with second- generation high-k metal gate transistors.

"The way people and businesses are using computers is evolving at an explosive rate, fueling demand for an even more powerful and visually appealing experience," said Dadi Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Architecture Group. "Our upcoming 2^nd Generation Intel Core processor family represents the biggest advance in computing performance and capabilities over any previous generation. In addition to offering these features inside Intel-based laptops, we plan to scale these advances across our server data center and embedded computing product portfolio."

The processor family will include a new "ring" architecture that allows the built-in processor graphics engine to share resources such as cache, or a memory reservoir, with the processor's core to increase a device's computing and graphics performance while maintaining energy efficiency.

The 2^nd Generation Intel Core processor also includes an enhanced version of Intel® Turbo Boost Technology. This feature automatically shifts or reallocates processor cores and processor graphics resources to accelerate performance, tailoring a workload to give users an immediate performance boost when needed.

Laptops and PCs powered by the 2^nd Generation Intel Core processor family are expected to be available early next year.

New Visual Experience - Visibly Smart
Intel's new processor graphics delivers enhanced visual features focused on the areas where most users are computing today:  HD video, 3-D, mainstream gaming, multi-tasking and online socializing and multimedia.

To obtain and view video faster, Perlmutter demonstrated hardware accelerated video editing using the architecture's dedicated silicon for media processing, which allows users to quickly convert video to other formats.

The 2011 chips also come with Intel Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX). AVX delivers improved performance, rich functionality and the ability to better manage, rearrange and sort data. A new 256-bit instruction set accelerates floating point intensive applications such as digital photo editing and content creation.

Intel also demonstrated a dual processor, next-generation Intel® Xeon® processor server running Vidyo* video conferencing software that utilizes the 32 threads available on the system, and takes advantage of the AES New Instructions set (AESNI). Next-generation Xeon™ processors for 2 socket servers and workstations run 8 cores and 16 threads per processor and are on schedule for production in the second half of 2011.

For more information on the Intel Developer Forum 2010, visit the press kit at www.intel.com/newsroom/idf

About Intel
Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel, the Intel logo, Atom and Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
http://www.d-bc-repair-computer-solutions.co.uk/prices

When Building PC Gaming Cases, Thing's to think about

When building a gaming rig your components are paramount, and any PC builder will know that looking after them means investing in a decent case.
Making the wrong choice can lead to bad performance, serious headaches and forking out extra cash, so make sure you consider the potential pitfalls.

The first pitfall is space. Buying a case without thinking about the types of kit you're going to be housing is tantamount to a peanut allergy sufferer buying a bag of Revels.
Buying a dedicated gaming case should give you enough room for gargantuan graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon 5970 or the GTX 480, but if you're planning to overclock, then extra room will be needed for larger fans, or even water-cooling systems.
In case design, thermal dynamics are just as important as aerodynamics are to F1 car design. Heat has to be dissipated as quickly and easily as possible. Check how many fans there are on the case, and whether there are ventilation holes to allow heat to dissipate from the case naturally.
The endless march of technology, and the spiralling amount of data we store, can also be a pitfall for PC enthusiasts, and making the wrong case choice can cause problems in the future. At the very least you should make sure your case has enough room for extra drives.
If all that isn't enough to think about, there are a few more features that can turn a bog-standard box into a champion chassis. Look for front USB ports, eSATA, and speed control – so you can turn down the deafening fans while you're watching a film.
If noise is an issue generally, look out for rubber-sealed parts that reduce vibration. Also, look out for cases that give you the ability to hot-swap HDDs, which can be handy.
If all that's got your head spinning, fear not, because we've rated six of the best cases to make life easier for you. Let's sort the wheat from the chassis…

Manufacturer: Antec

Web: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/

Subtle isn't a word in the DF-85's vocabulary, and at chassis school it presumably only learned the words 'exterminate' and 'bestia.'
This is a serious-looking gaming case, and won't be to everyone's taste. It's cavernous, with tonnes of room for long graphics cards. Expansion won't be a problem. The DF-85 has room for terabytes of data too – there are nine hard-drive bays, with extra room for two 2.5-inch SSDs.
Unfortunately, 3.5-inch installation is a bit of a pain, and you need to screw in your drives to the mountings, accessed by secret doors on the front of the case. This will nullify vibrations, but if you're regularly fiddling with your set up, this will get tiresome. What's more, you'll need to keep the large bag of screws around just in case.
However, the SSDs can be inserted into a port on the top of the case, which is handy. There's a panel for hiding your cables, but there isn't much room, and the wires started getting in the way as soon as we mounted the motherboard.
The cooling is fantastic; two 140mm and two 120mm fans occupy the top and rear of the case, with three 120mm fans on the front, which come with a variable control.
Verdict: 82%
Lian Li PC-V354 -

Manufacturer: Lian-Li

Web: http://www.lian-li.com/v2/index.html

Lian-Li has released the PC-V354 for space-conscious gamers. This mini-tower fits Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX motherboards, but not the full-form ATX size.
However, for a Micro-ATX case, it's still pretty large, and there's plenty of room to make a decent gaming PC, thanks to the ability to hold cards up to 350mm long, and store terabytes of data.
Access to the PC-V354's innards comes via eight tiny screws, so tinkerers should stay clear of this one. Once your PC is assembled, you'll want the case to stay closed for a long time. Once the screws are out, you'll find room for seven 3.5-inch hard discs, and one optical drive. Cooling comes from three 120mm fans, which are vital in a case of this size, where heat can build up very quickly.
A nice touch is the fan control on the back. Since Micro-ATX cases are often used for watching films and other living-room entertainment, this is a welcome feature, as is the vibration-dampening hard-disk cage inside the case.
The presence of an SD card slot on the front gives away its family-friendly credentials, but gamers shouldn't dismiss the V354, as there's no reason this case can't be a formidable games rig.
Verdict: 75%
Corsair Graphite 600T -

Manufacturer: Corsair

Web: http://www.corsair.com/

If the Doctor travelled the universe in a PC case, he'd chose the 600T. This Tardis-like chassis has space for the biggest graphics cards and the largest fans.
Cooling is taken seriously, too. There are two 200mm fans – one on the top and one at the front – plus a 120mm exhaust fan on the back. Each comes with a removable dust grill.
The plastic feels similar to a corporate Dell PC, which is a bit disappointing. However, it's lightweight, and we didn't have to reach for the plasters to stem the flow from our bleeding fingers while handling the case.
The optical drive bays are tool-free, so there's no need to fiddle around when you start swapping components. Not only this, but the HDD bays are split into two cages, which are completely removable, so if you buy a long graphics card you can whip out one of these to make the space available.
The speed dial controls up to four fans, and is located on the front panel, along with four USB ports and one USB 3.0 port.
The 600T has also nailed cable management. Feed the cables from your components through the holes on the back panel, then reintroduce them near their intended destination, leaving you with a mess-free case.
Verdict: 90%
Akasa Infiniti Zor -

Manufacturer: Akasa

Web: http://www.akasa.co.uk/

The finger slices from the sharp, unpainted innards of the Akasa Infiniti Zor sum up the rough-and-ready nature of this case. The outside is black, flat and unassuming, and inside it looks like someone's stripped it out for decorating and sanded down the walls.
The back is dotted with unmarked screw holes, for which Akasa supplies a map to explain the myriad motherboard fixtures. The Infiniti Zor makes you work to get your PC set up.
Attaching drives means screwing together a bracket before attaching it to the case. There's room for six 3.5-inch hard drives, and up to 11 optical drives, but SSD owners are less well-catered for.
Cooling is also limited, with two front-mounted 120mm fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan to the rear. This pales in comparison to some of our bigger chassis, and is more suited to moderately powerful PCs built on a budget.
The biggest bugbear however, is the total lack of extra features. Forget fan speeds and external disc mounts. Akasa hasn't even added front USB ports, so you'd be forever reaching around the back to just to access your USB ports. We have no idea why this case costs so much. Avoid.
Verdict: 50%
Thermaltake V6 BlacX Edition -

Manufacturer: Thermaltake

Web: http://uk.thermaltake.eu/

The Thermaltake V6 BlacX is fiendishly small for a gaming case. Within seconds of fitting the motherboard, the cables were causing problems, as was the back plate, which we had to completely remove to accommodate the motherboard's ports.
Build quality is also questionable. This is particularly evident on the drive bays, which have an overcomplicated system for installing the drives. It's tool-free, so you won't be needing your screwdriver, but we can't promise you won't need a hammer shortly afterwards.
One trick up the V6 BlacX's sleeve is the top-mounted port for hot-swapping 3.5-inch hard drives. This is a neat feature, and is very easy to use, although its placement and implementation leave a lot to be desired. Having a 3.5-inch hard drive sticking out the top of your PC is far from attractive.
There are two fans fitted to the case – one 200mm fan mounted on the top, and another 120mm next to it, on the back plate. This sort of cooling set-up isn't going to dissipate enough heat to cool the biggest rigs, but if your PC tastes are a little more frugal, the £56 price tag makes this one worth a look.
Verdict: 65%
CoolerMaster HAF 912 PLUS -

Manufacturer: Coolermaster

Web: http://www.coolermaster.com/

The CoolerMaster maintains a slightly less futuristic look than the Antec, but there's no denying the similarities of their styling.
As you might expect, CoolerMaster has come up with a great case with plenty of storage, and while there aren't as many fans as in the Antec, the two monstrous 200mm ones on the front and top are certainly effective at shifting heat.
While this is by no means the biggest case in our test, there's plenty of room for hard drives, with seven bays in all. You can remove one of the hard-drive cages to make way for a long graphics card, should the need arise.
Hard drives require a little bit of assembly using noise-dampening plastic strips, but it's nothing too taxing.
Inside, the CoolerMaster has some effective cable management, although room behind the motherboard is limited, and you can't easily remove the second panel for better access like you can on most of our other cases.
You'll find two USB ports and an eSATA on the front panel. We were impressed with the CoolerMaster chassis. It's one of the cheapest cases in our test, and if you're looking for quality, but your needs are modest, you could do far worse than this one.
Verdict: 89%

http://3dgameman.pgpartner.com/

%5Dh'a%5CV%5C%3D12'f%5Cbf%5C%5DV%5Cta%5C%3D212'%3D0'%3D211'%3D352'dim'%5C%3D212'%3D0'%3D211'%3D352'vdim'%5Cbox1'b%5Cva%5CFFFEF0'fC%5CDBD9BB'eC%5Csites_youtube'i%5Chv-0-0'a%5C%5Do%5CLauto'f%5C&sig=ZZkDqi-fGDU9QahZd4hEldcxnUs" width=425 height=355 type="youtube" props="align:left;borderTitle:YouTube Video;showBorder:true;showBorderTitle:true;" origsrc="1y8T8QAsDZs">When building a gaming rig your components are paramount, and any PC builder will know that looking after them means investing in a decent case.
Making the wrong choice can lead to bad performance, serious headaches and forking out extra cash, so make sure you consider the potential pitfalls.

The first pitfall is space. Buying a case without thinking about the types of kit you're going to be housing is tantamount to a peanut allergy sufferer buying a bag of Revels.
Buying a dedicated gaming case should give you enough room for gargantuan graphics cards such as the AMD Radeon 5970 or the GTX 480, but if you're planning to overclock, then extra room will be needed for larger fans, or even water-cooling systems.
In case design, thermal dynamics are just as important as aerodynamics are to F1 car design. Heat has to be dissipated as quickly and easily as possible. Check how many fans there are on the case, and whether there are ventilation holes to allow heat to dissipate from the case naturally.
The endless march of technology, and the spiralling amount of data we store, can also be a pitfall for PC enthusiasts, and making the wrong case choice can cause problems in the future. At the very least you should make sure your case has enough room for extra drives.
If all that isn't enough to think about, there are a few more features that can turn a bog-standard box into a champion chassis. Look for front USB ports, eSATA, and speed control – so you can turn down the deafening fans while you're watching a film.
If noise is an issue generally, look out for rubber-sealed parts that reduce vibration. Also, look out for cases that give you the ability to hot-swap HDDs, which can be handy.
If all that's got your head spinning, fear not, because we've rated six of the best cases to make life easier for you. Let's sort the wheat from the chassis…

Manufacturer: Antec

Web: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/

Subtle isn't a word in the DF-85's vocabulary, and at chassis school it presumably only learned the words 'exterminate' and 'bestia.'
This is a serious-looking gaming case, and won't be to everyone's taste. It's cavernous, with tonnes of room for long graphics cards. Expansion won't be a problem. The DF-85 has room for terabytes of data too – there are nine hard-drive bays, with extra room for two 2.5-inch SSDs.
Unfortunately, 3.5-inch installation is a bit of a pain, and you need to screw in your drives to the mountings, accessed by secret doors on the front of the case. This will nullify vibrations, but if you're regularly fiddling with your set up, this will get tiresome. What's more, you'll need to keep the large bag of screws around just in case.
However, the SSDs can be inserted into a port on the top of the case, which is handy. There's a panel for hiding your cables, but there isn't much room, and the wires started getting in the way as soon as we mounted the motherboard.
The cooling is fantastic; two 140mm and two 120mm fans occupy the top and rear of the case, with three 120mm fans on the front, which come with a variable control.
Verdict: 82%
Lian Li PC-V354 -

Manufacturer: Lian-Li

Web: http://www.lian-li.com/v2/index.html

Lian-Li has released the PC-V354 for space-conscious gamers. This mini-tower fits Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX motherboards, but not the full-form ATX size.
However, for a Micro-ATX case, it's still pretty large, and there's plenty of room to make a decent gaming PC, thanks to the ability to hold cards up to 350mm long, and store terabytes of data.
Access to the PC-V354's innards comes via eight tiny screws, so tinkerers should stay clear of this one. Once your PC is assembled, you'll want the case to stay closed for a long time. Once the screws are out, you'll find room for seven 3.5-inch hard discs, and one optical drive. Cooling comes from three 120mm fans, which are vital in a case of this size, where heat can build up very quickly.
A nice touch is the fan control on the back. Since Micro-ATX cases are often used for watching films and other living-room entertainment, this is a welcome feature, as is the vibration-dampening hard-disk cage inside the case.
The presence of an SD card slot on the front gives away its family-friendly credentials, but gamers shouldn't dismiss the V354, as there's no reason this case can't be a formidable games rig.
Verdict: 75%
Corsair Graphite 600T -

Manufacturer: Corsair

Web: http://www.corsair.com/

If the Doctor travelled the universe in a PC case, he'd chose the 600T. This Tardis-like chassis has space for the biggest graphics cards and the largest fans.
Cooling is taken seriously, too. There are two 200mm fans – one on the top and one at the front – plus a 120mm exhaust fan on the back. Each comes with a removable dust grill.
The plastic feels similar to a corporate Dell PC, which is a bit disappointing. However, it's lightweight, and we didn't have to reach for the plasters to stem the flow from our bleeding fingers while handling the case.
The optical drive bays are tool-free, so there's no need to fiddle around when you start swapping components. Not only this, but the HDD bays are split into two cages, which are completely removable, so if you buy a long graphics card you can whip out one of these to make the space available.
The speed dial controls up to four fans, and is located on the front panel, along with four USB ports and one USB 3.0 port.
The 600T has also nailed cable management. Feed the cables from your components through the holes on the back panel, then reintroduce them near their intended destination, leaving you with a mess-free case.
Verdict: 90%
Akasa Infiniti Zor -

Manufacturer: Akasa

Web: http://www.akasa.co.uk/

The finger slices from the sharp, unpainted innards of the Akasa Infiniti Zor sum up the rough-and-ready nature of this case. The outside is black, flat and unassuming, and inside it looks like someone's stripped it out for decorating and sanded down the walls.
The back is dotted with unmarked screw holes, for which Akasa supplies a map to explain the myriad motherboard fixtures. The Infiniti Zor makes you work to get your PC set up.
Attaching drives means screwing together a bracket before attaching it to the case. There's room for six 3.5-inch hard drives, and up to 11 optical drives, but SSD owners are less well-catered for.
Cooling is also limited, with two front-mounted 120mm fans and a single 120mm exhaust fan to the rear. This pales in comparison to some of our bigger chassis, and is more suited to moderately powerful PCs built on a budget.
The biggest bugbear however, is the total lack of extra features. Forget fan speeds and external disc mounts. Akasa hasn't even added front USB ports, so you'd be forever reaching around the back to just to access your USB ports. We have no idea why this case costs so much. Avoid.
Verdict: 50%
Thermaltake V6 BlacX Edition -

Manufacturer: Thermaltake

Web: http://uk.thermaltake.eu/

The Thermaltake V6 BlacX is fiendishly small for a gaming case. Within seconds of fitting the motherboard, the cables were causing problems, as was the back plate, which we had to completely remove to accommodate the motherboard's ports.
Build quality is also questionable. This is particularly evident on the drive bays, which have an overcomplicated system for installing the drives. It's tool-free, so you won't be needing your screwdriver, but we can't promise you won't need a hammer shortly afterwards.
One trick up the V6 BlacX's sleeve is the top-mounted port for hot-swapping 3.5-inch hard drives. This is a neat feature, and is very easy to use, although its placement and implementation leave a lot to be desired. Having a 3.5-inch hard drive sticking out the top of your PC is far from attractive.
There are two fans fitted to the case – one 200mm fan mounted on the top, and another 120mm next to it, on the back plate. This sort of cooling set-up isn't going to dissipate enough heat to cool the biggest rigs, but if your PC tastes are a little more frugal, the £56 price tag makes this one worth a look.
Verdict: 65%
CoolerMaster HAF 912 PLUS -

Manufacturer: Coolermaster

Web: http://www.coolermaster.com/

The CoolerMaster maintains a slightly less futuristic look than the Antec, but there's no denying the similarities of their styling.
As you might expect, CoolerMaster has come up with a great case with plenty of storage, and while there aren't as many fans as in the Antec, the two monstrous 200mm ones on the front and top are certainly effective at shifting heat.
While this is by no means the biggest case in our test, there's plenty of room for hard drives, with seven bays in all. You can remove one of the hard-drive cages to make way for a long graphics card, should the need arise.
Hard drives require a little bit of assembly using noise-dampening plastic strips, but it's nothing too taxing.
Inside, the CoolerMaster has some effective cable management, although room behind the motherboard is limited, and you can't easily remove the second panel for better access like you can on most of our other cases.
You'll find two USB ports and an eSATA on the front panel. We were impressed with the CoolerMaster chassis. It's one of the cheapest cases in our test, and if you're looking for quality, but your needs are modest, you could do far worse than this one.
Verdict: 89%

PC Technology News and Analysis

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Reports: Dell May Want To Acquire AMD

Reports that Dell (NSDQ:Dell) is looking to acquire AMD (NYSE:AMD) emerged on Tuesday, raising the value of AMD's stock by five percent, as uncertainty looms over the chipmaker following the resignation of several top-level AND executives in the past month.




Barron's on Tuesday reported that Dell is considering acquiring AMD in what would represent a major shift in strategy for the Round Rock, Texas-based manufacturer. The report says AMD is a valuable target for Dell as it would allow the company to offer new capabilities based on IP acquired from AMD, including both AMD's x86 CPU technology as well as its graphics processing business. AMD's purchase price is currently valued at about $6 billion, according to the report.



AMD declined to comment on the story citing its policy not to respond to rumors and speculation.



A report from Bloomberg surfaced later on Tuesday citing Wedbush Securities analyst Patrick Wang, who said the resignation of AMD executives may have led to speculation that Dell wants to acquire AMD, as a shakeup in the chipmaker's leadership could provide Dell with a newfound -- albeit unlikely -- opportunity.



“There is no management team there,” Wang said. He added that Dell acquiring AMD remains “a far-fetched possibility.”



Nevertheless, in recent years Dell has begun offering more AMD-powered products, particularly in the server market. AMD launched its latest Opteron 6100 series server processors last week, while AMD launched its Opteron 6100 series and Dell, on the same day, launched the Dell PowerEdge C6145 server based on the new AMD Opteron 6100 server chips.



AMD said it will offer its new Bulldozer architecture for servers in the third quarter. However, according to Bloomberg, Wang says there's been some speculation that manufacturers will soon launch systems based on AMD's new Bulldozer chip, which may have also contributed to the rise in AMD's stock value. According to AMD, the Bulldozer processors will be up to 50 percent faster compared to previous offerings and include more memory throughput than current server chips provide.



AMD's chief executive officer Dirk Meyer resigned unexpectedly last month, and AMD replaced him with its CFO and senior vice president Thomas Seifert on an interim basis while the company's board of directors searches for Meyer's replacement.



At the time, Wang said Meyer’s departure was “shocking,” given the role he had played in turning the company around
Page 2 of 2




Meyer, a 14-year AMD (NYSE:AMD) veteran, took over for ex-AMD CEO Hector Ruiz in July 2008 at a time when the chipmaker was facing a bleak future after racking up seven consecutive quarterly losses.



Bloomberg's report says Meyer left after a dispute with the board over AMD's struggles to win back market share in the server segment, and gain market share in the rapidly growing mobile PC segment.



Last week, Sunnyvale, California-based AMD said two more of its top executives are stepping downas well. Chief Operating Officer Robert Rivet and strategy head Marty Seyer resigned effective Feb. 8, although Rivet and Seyer will remain with AMD briefly to help facilitate the transition, according to AMD.



AMD said its Corporate Strategy team will now report to Harry Wolin, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. John Docherty, AMD's senior vice president of manufacturing operations has taken over responsibility for all aspects of AMD's product manufacturing process, AMD said.



AMD said Doherty now leads AMD’s Global Operations organization, which includes AMD’s Assembly, Test, Mark and Pack operations, Supply Chain, Global Supply Management, Global Logistics, and Sales & Operations Planning.



After the initial five percent jump since the rumor of Dell (NSDQ:Dell) possibly acquiring AMD began circulating, AMD gained 35 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $8.60 by the close of New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Tuesday.



AMD Reschedules 32nm Product Launch Again: Llano Comes Ahead of Bulldozer.




AMD's 32nm Roadmap Changes Another Time, Llano Becomes Closer, Desktop Bulldoze Later Than Expected



[01/21/2011 06:00 PM]

by Anton Shilov

Advanced Micro Devices this week again reiterated its roadmap for chips to be made using 32nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) gate-first high-K metal gate (HKMG) process technology. The interim chief exec promised to launch code-named Llano accelerated processing units in Q2 2011, but to delay the highly-expected Bulldozer chips to "summer".



"We have entered a new phase with our 32nm ramp and are now sampling thousands of Llano products to a wide variety of OEMs and ODMs as they prepare for production in Q2," said Thomas Seifert, interim chief executive officer of AMD, during a conference call with financial analysts.



Back in early November it was, reported citing unofficial sources, that AMD would commence commercial manufacturing of code-named Llano accelerated processing units (APUs) for desktops and mobiles in July '11, which is Q3 2011.



Meanwhile, microprocessors with Bulldozer micro-architecture were supposed to hit the mass production sometime in April '11, according to unofficial sources.



"We have begun sampling our 32nm Bulldozer-based Orochi parts in volume with customers worldwide. We expect Orochi for desktops to ship in production in early summer and the Orochi for servers in late summer," said Thomas Seifert, interim chief executive of AMD.



The CEO confirmed that the company had started to ship samples of its microprocessors based on the Bulldozer micro-architecture to customers "in volume". While sampling seems to be on relative schedule, the precise roadmap outlined by the company means delays with mass availability of the chips.

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Arma 2 Operation Arrowhead Alliance Forces Trailer [HD]

Standalone




You don’t know shooters until you have played ArmA II. ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is the standalone expansion (meaning you don’t need ArmA II to play Operation Arrowhead) to the super-realistic military simulation FPS on the PC, ArmA II. A few years after the conflict in Cheramus a new war rages in the Green Sea region. The battle gains momentum and coalition forces led by the US Army are sent to Takistan to quickly restore peace and prevent further civilian casualties.



You will think you enlisted



The real heart of ArmA II is in the gameplay. This game is astoundingly unforgiving but in the right hands, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience when it all comes together. Any situation where enemies are shooting at you can (and often will!) result in instant death by being shot in the face from 300 meters by an enemy you didn’t see. If you are like many hardcore simulation gamers, however, this is a welcome change from the run and gun mechanics of many modern ‘realistic’ FPS combat games.



ArmA II brings this intensity to a new level. You will very quickly develop a paranoid habit of diving behind a solid object any time you even think you might have heard the dull thud of a bullet hitting the ground near you. If you don’t you will get shot very quickly. The same game mechanics apply to your enemies, however, as you can easily sneak into an excellent position behind cover and get the drop on them. It has never been so satisfying to rain lead death onto your enemy, landing carefully aimed bullets into a roving patrol, or blowing the treads off an unsuspecting tank with a well placed rocket from 200 meters away. The average distance for a running firefight in ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is somewhere between 100 and 300 meters.



Epic flight



Most games don’t have this kind of enormous game area to play in. You will notice this the first time you are granted the privilege of flying one of the game’s aircraft. After the somewhat difficult task of learning the simulation-quality flying controls, you will realize just how massive an area you have been given to play in. Successfully strafing a tank with rockets from your attack helicopter at a low altitude and living through the experience long enough to gloat about it is quite probably one of the most adrenaline-packed moments in any type of flight simulator I can think of.



In ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead it may also be one of the more difficult moments to achieve. It is not easy flying a helicopter, and ArmA II doesn’t hold your hand through the experience. The combat jets are even more challenging, but the rewards of dropping a huge missile directly into the target being painted by a teammates laser target designator and narrowly evading the anti-aircraft fire arcing across the horizon is going to be forever etched into my mind as a true moment of gaming glory. As well, the importance of getting a decent flight yoke and taking the time to set it up properly cannot be emphasized enough, if you are serious about playing in cooperative online battles.



Can your PC handle this?



The graphics are on par with what was experienced in ArmA II. They will challenge your video card unless it is on the higher end of the performance spectrum. Not necessarily from the advanced graphics effects, but from the sheer size and scope of the game world. It is not unusual to be able to see more than one village or town from a single vantage point on top of a hill, including tanks, aircraft, infantry, and many other actively moving objects. Graphics can be scaled drastically either higher or lower than default, in order to tune the game’s performance for low end systems or for advanced gaming PCs.



In some cases, such as the grass and trees, the game shows a distinct lack of beautiful detail, but that lack is made up for in the details present in all of the military units which the player will be much more focused on. The day/night cycle is represented in an almost realistic time frame, the stars in the sky are fully realized and can even be used to navigate, if desired.
 
Forgettable audio




The sound is not the best I’ve ever heard in a game. While it gets the point across it just feels a little underwhelming. In many cases the sound effects, especially gunfire and explosions, just sound muddy and don’t have the same punch as is heard in other FPS games. Overall, I’m not completely dissatisfied with the sounds as they do provide some depth to the game, I just feel that more time and effort could have been taken to give them a more visceral and real sound, considering the depth and attention to detail taken with the other aspects of the game.



This of course leads to a discussion of the voice acting in the game. The voice acting in Operation Arrowhead is very difficult to classify as ‘good’. The only way I can call the voices in Operation Arrowhead good is when comparing them to the voice acting in ArmA II’s original campaigns. In the original campaigns, the voice overs are as bad as any I have ever heard in a game. I am not sure if the developers are not natively English speaking people, because if they are not, this oversight is completely understandable. There is a wild incongruity between the words being spoken in the game and the complete lack of any kind of predictable emotion in the voices of the actors doing the speaking. Operation Arrowhead, by comparison, has mostly resolved the absolutely atrocious voice acting in the original campaigns. The voice acting in the plot-related in-game speech is not terrible, although it could certainly be improved. Speech for the normal in-game actions, such as AI squad mates responding to orders or reporting spotted enemies is made up of individual words patched together to form sentences. The tone of voice changes with each word, and the result sounds like somebody reading a shopping list out loud more than forming a sentence; broken sentences like, "Unknown. Man... very close! at. 12... o’ clock" become something you just get used to hearing.



A crash course in collision



The physics in ArmA II are not great. You can ram a tree with an armored personnel carrier and it will fall over, but in a random direction not even related to the direction you rammed it from. All ground vehicles are somewhat plagued by solid objects on the ground, which sometimes present insurmountable obstacles even though they are only a foot tall.



A rock a foot high can, very possibly, bring a tank to an immediate stop and potentially even damage the treads or the armor itself. There are numerous glitches and issues surrounding the game physics while on foot or in any vehicle. While Operation Arrowhead does seem to have resolved some of these issues that were found in ArmA II, the experience is still not quite as smooth as it could have been.



For the hardcore



Overall, ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead brought many improvements to the ArmA II gameplay. New features have been added that in some cases make some cumbersome gameplay elements a little less cumbersome such as the new feature that allows you to access nearby containers from your inventory screen and quite a few others too numerous to mention. Other new features add a great deal of depth to the game, new types of mission objectives, new gameplay elements such as the ability to control the new helicopter drones, and other well thought bits of gaming goodness.



In addition to a huge package of gameplay, ArmA II and Operation Arrowhead are also full of something else: bugs. All games have them, some more than others. The more complicated the game is, the more bugs it seems to have, and this rule holds true for ArmA II. While it would be unfair to say that Operation Arrowhead has as many bugs as ArmA II, it would be a lie to say they have all been fixed. In fact, it is probably fair to say that Operation Arrowhead retains most of the bugs found in ArmA II. I will not go over the list here, as there are better places to find information about it, and countless forum discussions beating that horse to death; suffice to say that if you play ArmA II or Operation Arrowhead, you will find bugs, and you won’t like them. But if you are willing to overlook these annoyances for the literally hundreds of hours of immersion and entertainment that can be had in the Combined Operations package, you will be glad you took the time to do it.



Those gamers looking for a game that will let them run full speed into a room full of enemies and blast them all to death with a shotgun while simultaneously lobbing grenades everywhere would be encouraged to look elsewhere. However, for any fan of the Arma franchise or military action combat simulations, ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead is a great addition to the series; new features, a HUGE new map, new vehicles, new missions, new factions, these guys have been busy. It is impossible to find a more realistic example of a military combat simulation that encompasses such a huge variety of gameplay into one neat package.


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