The Secrets of PC Memory: Part 4
Bit-Tech published the fourth part of their ongoing feature looking into the technology behind PC memory.

We follow on from the previous part by looking at DDR3 memory and how it's different to DDR2, and where memory technology might need to go in the future.

For better signal quality at higher speed grades, DDR3 adopts a so called "Fly-by" architecture for the commands, addresses and clock signals. This effectively reduced the number of stubs and signalling length from the DDR2 T-Branch architecture to a more elegant and straightforward design.

The Fly-by topology generally connects the DRAM chips on the memory module in a series, and at the end of the linear connection is a grounded termination point that absorbs residual signals, to prevent them from being reflected back along the bus.

We recently asked Aaron Boehm, an Application Engineer at Micron about how important the Fly-by topology is to DDR3. He said that the Fly-by design was "very important in DDR3. Probably one of the biggest advantages of moving to the Fly-by topology is that we are able to achieve a much faster slew rate for the signal. This gives us a bigger data-eye, which is very important in DRAM.

The Secrets of PC Memory: Part 4

Intel Skulltrail Platform
Driver Heaven takes a look at the Intel Skulltrail Platform

Skulltrail. Even the name sounds mean. If you haven't heard the codename before now then we have a treat in store for you today. Skulltrail is a high end desktop PC platform based on Xeon class workstation processors. How does Dual Cpu, 8 Cores, four graphics card slots, dual 1600mhz front side buses with a total of 25.6 GB/s of bandwidth grab you?

Great, now that I have your attention, let me preface the testing. Driver Heaven missed the NDA launch a while ago. Not because we were being lazy, but we decided to spend considerable time with the system and explore some avenues no one else has touched upon yet, such as installing a full set of four modules to get Quad memory bandwidth and testing it with both high end Crossfire and SLI components, we also worked with Intel and received a newer BIOS for testing, but more on that later.

If this isn't enough we then decided to overclock the hell out of it with watercooling to give you guys the best and most thorough review we can. If you are lucky enough to have the money to afford a system like this when it is released then you will definitely want to know how it performs under every situation, both with real world testing and with synthetic benchmarks. Turn the page to find out what Skulltrail is all about.

Intel Skulltrail Platform



ASUS P5N-T Deluxe Review
InsideHW.com posted a review on the ASUS P5N-T Deluxe

This time, we are reviewing the new nForce 780i chipset, provided by ASUS, based on the newest Nvidia motherboard solution which should provide quite some novelties for gamers. With this chipset, Nvidia officially supported Penryn processors and, most of all, promoted the 3-way SLI.

ASUS P5N-T Deluxe Review

CoolIT PURE Silent Liquid CPU Cooler Review
Techgage posted a review of CoolIT's latest CPU cooler, the near-silent PURE.

Having the ability to overclock a Quad-Core processor while keeping your machine quiet used to be a pipe-dream, until CoolIT's latest CPU cooler came into the picture. With the PURE, we managed a nice 3.67GHz clock on our QX6850, all while being able to hear our hard drives over the cooler.

CoolIT PURE Silent Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Intel's SkullTrail Platform, Playground for Titans?
LostCircuits posted a review on Intel's SkullTrail Platform

Awhile back we looked at Intel's V8 system, kind of a proof of what is technically feasible using off the shelf components. Even though the performance in truly multithreaded applications was impressive, the gaming performance was somewhat lackluster, primarily because of the use of FBDIMMs and only a single PCIe graphics slot. On the other hand, the entire platform was never meant to become the backbone of a gaming rig in the first place. Then came the QuadFX platform with a promising architecture but it failed to impress compared to even AMD's in-house competition. Meanwhile, there is a new generation of CPU out there based on Intel's P1266 45 nm process and with a 12 MB L2 cache per package. There is also the recurrent rumor about Intel supporting SLI, or rather nVidia allowing Intel to support it in view of the AMD-ATI marriage.

Well, something's happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear ...

This time we are not having the carrot juice, rather we are embarking on a rather grizzly adventure on the SkullTrail, looking at the architecture and the core assignment of different applications and then try to come up with some halfway educated guesses why some software behaves the way it does, once it is confronted
with eight individual cores and caches and two largely independent memory subsystems. That part actually turned out to be easier than we thought.

Intel's SkullTrail Platform, Playground for Titans?

OnAir Solution GT Mobile HDTV Tuner Review
Overclockers Online posted a review on the OnAir Solution GT Mobile HDTV Tuner

There's no shortage of the good things the OnAir GT can provide for you. For what's packaged in the box and what you are paying for, my viewing pleasures with the OnAir GT have been extremely positive. The picture, simply stated, is HDTV quality. Every channel you get is crystal clear. As well, the analog channels are at your fingertips should they be of watchable quality. The simplicity of the OnAir GT, from software to hardware, makes it a very viable solution for any family.

OnAir Solution GT Mobile HDTV Tuner Review

ASUS Maximus Formula Intel X38 Motherboard Review
ThinkComputers.org posted ASUS Maximus Formula Intel X38 Motherboard Review

If you know what a motherboard is, chances are pretty good that you have heard of Asus. Between their enthusiast and OEM motherboards, they have built a significant number of the motherboards in PCs throughout the world. They also build nearly every other component found in a PC...video cards, sound cards, power supplies, LAN and WLAN products, chassis, optical drives, and whatever else. The Maximus Formula is among the latest Asus Intel X38 boards utilizing DDR2 memory. Will it prove to be the excellent board that Asus' P35 boards are? Stay tuned to see!

ASUS Maximus Formula Intel X38 Motherboard Review

Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler Review
Virtual-Hideout posted a review on the Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler

The foot print of the DuOrb is much smaller and lighter than the stock heat sink which is always a nice result. And, the DuOrb does look better adding a bit more flash to a pricey graphics card with a somewhat boring stock cooler. Unfortunately, the included video memory sinks are plain gray, aluminum. This doesn't do the cooler justice and steals away a bit of its potential. Matching copper sinks would definitely compliment the DuOrb better and keep the look more balanced. The Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler is otherwise a good performer and would make your 8800 series graphics cards stand out. Due to the limited designs of stock VGA coolers, it's nice to have a better option made from copper. If you need better cooling and your current card configuration just can't keep up, give the DuOrb some consideration.

Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler Review