OCZ Technology to Deliver Optimized Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus SSDs

OCZ Technology announces an exciting refresh of the renowned first generation Vertex and Colossus SSD Series. Called the Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus, the new SATA II solutions continue to implement the proven Indilinx technology while delivering significantly improved performance at their distinctively affordable price points.

OCZ continues to work diligently with the latest technology providers in flash storage with the goal of maintaining affordability for consumers that demand a faster, more responsive PC experience. Pricing and availability of the Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus series will be announced in the coming weeks.

“The original Vertex and Colossus series of Solid State Drives set the benchmark for performance and reliability, and quickly became top-selling solutions for customers seeking all the benefits of SSD technology over traditional rotational media both in mobile and desktop computing,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology Group. “The new Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus further improve on already popular products by delivering higher performance with the latest NAND technology, and make SSDs even more accessible to customers with a lower cost per gigabyte.”

In combination with the latest flash memory, the Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus are based on optimized firmware that boosts performance to new, competitive levels. Additionally, thanks to cost effective NAND and controller technology, the Vertex Plus and Colossus Plus offer lower cost per gigabyte configurations than competing drives on the market, making them excellent starting points into the world of SSDs.

Compared to its predecessor, Vertex Plus features higher sequential speeds along with improved 4KB random write IOPS, while offering excellent uncompressed data performance. Available in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities, the 2.5-inch Vertex Plus Series is an ideal upgrade option for system boot drives, RAID arrays, or as primary laptop storage at an ultra-attractive price point.

Likewise, the Colossus Plus features an internal RAID-0 design with new Indilinx technology that offers superior sequential speeds and over 20,000 4KB random write IOPS, offering incredible performance and instantaneous access compared to traditional hard drive storage. The Colossus will be offered with up to a 1TB (1024GB) of capacity in a 3.5-inch form factor that easily integrates into desktop systems.

NVIDIA Answers Questions About the Surprise GeForce GTX 460 SE

It even hit many of the ‘in the know’ industry analysts by surprise, this morning NVIDIA launched a rather confusing product, the GeForce GTX 460 SE model and with such a similar price point to the GTX 460 768MB, this new mid-range graphics card is leaving consumers a bit perplexed.

On news of the launch, we contacted NVIDIA who provided answers to some questions that should hopefully give you a little better understanding of the card’s market position.

What exactly is the 460 SE?
The GTX 460 SE is the latest great gaming GPU from NVIDIA, designed to provide an outstanding gaming experience for the price.

Why are you launching this?
We are launching the GTX 460 SE to provide more options for our customers.  Many consumers love the price/performance offered by the GTX 460 768MB but would prefer a larger frame buffer.  The GTX 460 SE provides this option.

What is the performance?  How does it compare to other 460 products?
In general, the GeForce GTX 460 SE performs similarly to the GTX 460 768MB. The GTX 460 768MB is the best choice for shader or tessellation heavy applications. The GTX 460 SE is a better choice for applications that are more memory bandwidth intensive.

What are the specs?
The GeForce GTX 460 SE has 288 CUDA cores running at 650MHz graphics clock and 1300MHz processor clock.  It has a 256bit frame buffer interface with 1GB GDDR5 running at 3.4Gbps.

What is the price?
You will see prices similar to the GTX 460 768MB. Check your favorite e-tailer for availability and pricing.

What product does this replace?
It does not replace a product.  It is an addition to our product line-up.

Are you adjusting the prices of other 460 products?
No.
What is happening to the GTX 460 768MB?
It will remain in the marketplace.

Why did you call this product GTX 460 SE instead of using a new number like GTX 455
The GTX 460 SE will deliver a GTX 460 class gaming experience.  Using a number like 455 would imply a worse gaming experience which is not really accurate.

For more information – visit the NVIDIA GeForce Product Page here .

NVIDIA Silently Launches GTX 460 SE Graphics Card

Without any fanfare what so ever, NVIDIA has launched a new budget mid-range graphics card, the GeForce GTX 460 SE.

Initial pricing from EVGA, suggest the new model will compete – at least in price – directly against the GTX 460 768MB, with a listed MSRP of $179.99 USD. The card offers an interesting blend of features,  with 1GB of GDDR5 memory with 256-bit memory bus, exactly like the GTX 460 1GB, however, it is cut down to 288 CUDA cores, and slightly slower speeds of 650MHz Core, 1300MHz Processor, and 1700MHz memory.

Overall, it is a very interesting contender, and we will await the first set of benchmarks to be able to truly gauge the worthiness of an “SE” graphics card.

Updated (12:06PM): New pricing details reveal that card actually will be slightly more expensive than the GTX 460 768MB.

SPECH HERE:

GPU-Z Able To Disable GTX 580 Power Throttling

Less than a week after release, a W1zzard over at TechPowerUp has released a “feature” for GPU-Z that prevents GTX 580 throttling from occurring when running programs like FurMark, Kombustor, and OCCT. The results are temporary, and the throttling mechanism is enabled once again upon system reboot. Full details can be found here.

Man Conned Out of Millions for ''Virus Protection''

That's some real-life malware.

Computer viruses are serious business. Like real viruses, infections must be dealt with quickly and thoroughly. Sadly, just like real-life healers of viruses, sometimes there are crooks out there.

Such goes the story of 58-year-old Roger C. Davidson from Mount Kisco, NY, who has been cheated out of millions after bringing his computer into a repair shop for fear that his machine had been infected with a virus.

In August 2004, he brought his computer to a shop on Main Street. There, Vickram Bedi, 36, the owner of the shop, told Davidson that he indeed had a virus. This wasn't just any computer virus – oh, no – it was a particularly vicious one that had infected all the computers in the shop.

Thankfully, Bedi's uncle was a military officer in India and was put on the mission to retrieve the source of this virus on a hard drive located in Honduras. From there, Bedi learned that the virus was linked to Polish priests who were tied to the conservative Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei. This organization had plans to harm Mr. Davidson.

Naturally, Bedi persuaded Davidson to not only pay for removal of the virus, but also for personal protection. Davidson paid Bedi's shop through credit card payments over the years, which have totaled to over $6 million.

While all of this sounds impossible and a very simple scam to steer clear of, Mr. Davidson was in no way a computer expert. His specialty is in music and he wanted to save his compositions that he stored on his computer.

Danger Den First To Market With GTX 580 Water Blocks

Enthusiasts need not wait for high-end cooling of their new high-end tessellation monster.


Danger Den, a consistent presence in the field of cutting-edge cooling, has been working with NVIDIA for some time on a full-coverage water block for the new GTX 580. Dubbed the DD-GTX580, the block has a monolithic copper base with black chrome finish on top. Two base finishes are available; mirrored at $146.95 USD, and satin copper at $134.95 USD.

This monster block weighs in at nearly 1500 grams and is designed to cool the GPU, RAM, and VRMs.

No word yet on whether or not a forklift and steel support beams will be necessary to install your newly-upgraded GTX 580.

AMD Shows Radeon Roadmap for Early 2011

There's a Radeon HD 6990 waiting for you in 2011.
Although Nvidia is now wearing the crown for having the fastest DirectX 11 graphics part on the planet, AMD isn't going to sit idly and let the competition keep the lead.
In a recent investor conference, AMD showed what its plans are for the Radeon for the near future.
In early 2011, we'll see the Radeon HD 6990 become the new flagship model for the graphics lineup, as well as new entry-level or value-oriented Turks and Caicos GPUs.

Those on the go will also find new Mobility Radeons from the new Vancouver series, which features codenames from the area in British Columbia.