Thread: Anandtech News

If you had asked me back in 2008 who I thought would be leading the SSD industry in 2013 I would’ve said Intel, Western Digital and Seagate. Intel because of its commanding early lead in the market, and WD/Seagate because as the leaders in hard drives they couldn’t afford to be absent from the long term transition to SSDs. The days of having to explain why SSDs are better than mechanical drives are thankfully well behind us, now it’s just a question of predicting the inevitable. I figured that the hard drive vendors would see the same future and quickly try to establish a foothold in the SSD market. It turns out I’m really bad at predicting things.
Like most converging markets (in this case, storage + NAND), the SSD industry hasn’t been dominated by players in the market that came before it. Instead, SSDs attracted newcomers to the client/enterprise storage business. Not unlike DRAM, owning a NAND foundry has its benefits when building a profitable SSD business. It’s no surprise that Intel, Micron and Samsung are some of the more frequently discussed SSD vendors - all of them own (either partially or fully) NAND foundries.
Whether or not ownership in a foundry will be a requirement for building a sustainable SSD business is still unclear, but until that question gets answered there’s room for everyone to play in the quickly growing SSD market. This year, Seagate re-enters the SSD market with a serious portfolio. Today it not only announces two 2.5” SATA drives, including its first client-focused SSD, but also a 2.5” SAS product and a PCIe SSD solution.
The products that we’re focusing on today are the two 2.5” SATA drives: Seagate’s 600 and 600 Pro.


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Synology is one of the few NAS vendors to successfully pull through multiple units in our labs without any showstopper failures. The quality and breadth of the feature set offered in the DSM (Disk Station Manager) firmware is unrivaled in the SMB / SOHO NAS industry. Out of the very few factors that might force users to reconsider going the Synology route is the pricing of their units.
In order to cater to budget-conscious consumers (and users trying to experiment with their first NAS), Synology carries the j series (DS112j / DS212j / DS413j etc.). These products are all based on a single core Marvell ARMADA 300 SoC, the Marvell 6281. The single-threaded single custom Marvell ARM core runs at 1.2 GHz in the MV6281 SoC. Today, Synology is updating the j series lineup with the 2-bay model for 2013, the DS213j.
Gallery: Synology DS213j


In order to make the DS213j an attractive option for consumers, Synology is using a FPU-enabled version of the 6281. The amount of DRAM is also being doubled from the previous generation (the new model has 512 MB of x16 DDR3 DRAM). The presence of a FPU should make some of the tasks such as photo viewing / thumbnail generation faster.
The DS213j runs on DSM 4.2 with all its feature-rich apps. Synology promises compatibility with future versions also. The unit is slated to start shipping worldwide today (Availability in the US is slated for later this month). I will update the article with pricing information later today (Update: The MSRP is USD 219.99).



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Today Sony is launching their newest line of laptops, the VAIO Fit series. There will be two different lines, the Fit and the Fit E, and all of the new laptops are "thin and light" and feature aluminum exteriors. Sony didn't provide detailed specifications, but it sounds like the VAIO Fit series is going after users that like the idea of an Ultrabook but aren't willing to pay the higher price premiums. That likely means entry level models will come with conventional HDD storage rather than SSDs or hybrid solutions, though Sony does note that SSDs and hybrid options are available on higher spec models.
Noteworthy features of the VAIO Fit laptops include 1600x900 HD+ LCDs on the 14" model and 1080p displays on the 15.6" models, with both sizes offering optional capacitive touchscreens. Sony also touts improved webcam functionality and high quality audio and states, with the 14E and 15E including "big box speakers" as well as a subwoofer on the 15E. All of the laptops also feature full-size backlit keyboards, with a numeric keypad on the 15" models. Finally, the VAIO Fit laptops will also feature Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing users to share website URLs and other data with compatible NFC devices.
As with other recent announcements, the timing is enough to let you know that the models being discussed today are using Ivy Bridge (3rd Generation Intel Core processors), but we may see updates after the Haswell launch. Processor support tops out at Core i7 (presumably dual-core), with Core i3 and i5 also available. NVIDIA Graphics will also be an option, though the specific GPUs aren't listed.
The Fit 14 and 15 will be available in mid-May and will start at $649 and $699 respectively. The Fit 14E and 15E are apparently the lower-spec models and will launch at prices of $549 and $579.
Gallery: Sony Announces VAIO Fit Series of Laptops




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Today Sony is launching their newest line of laptops, the VAIO Fit series. There will be two different lines, the Fit and the Fit E, and all of the new laptops are "thin and light" and feature aluminum exteriors. Sony didn't provide detailed specifications, but it sounds like the VAIO Fit series is going after users that like the idea of an Ultrabook but aren't willing to pay the higher price premiums. That likely means entry level models will come with conventional HDD storage rather than SSDs or hybrid solutions, though Sony does note that SSDs and hybrid options are available on higher spec models.
Noteworthy features of the VAIO Fit laptops include 1600x900 HD+ LCDs on the 14" model and 1080p displays on the 15.6" models, with both sizes offering optional capacitive touchscreens. Sony also touts improved webcam functionality and high quality audio and states, with the 14E and 15E including "big box speakers" as well as a subwoofer on the 15E. All of the laptops also feature full-size backlit keyboards, with a numeric keypad on the 15" models. Finally, the VAIO Fit laptops will also feature Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing users to share website URLs and other data with compatible NFC devices.
As with other recent announcements, the timing is enough to let you know that the models being discussed today are using Ivy Bridge (3rd Generation Intel Core processors), but we may see updates after the Haswell launch. Processor support tops out at Core i7 (presumably dual-core), with Core i3 and i5 also available. NVIDIA Graphics will also be an option, though the specific GPUs aren't listed.
The Fit 14 and 15 will be available in mid-May and will start at $649 and $699 respectively. The Fit 14E and 15E are apparently the lower-spec models and will launch at prices of $549 and $579.
Gallery: Sony Announces VAIO Fit Series of Laptops





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After entering the PC memory market about a year and a half ago, things have for the most part been quiet for AMD’s fledgling memory operations. With DDR3 enjoying a long, prosperous reign as the memory of choice for PCs, memory is not a fast-moving field that has the kind of rapid innovation and quick product turnovers as AMD’s GPU and CPU businesses do. But with that said, even as a commodity product there’s still periodic bumps in capacity and performance, and that’s what AMD is announcing today.
Joining AMD’s existing 1600MHz (RE1600) and 1866MHz (RP1866) Radeon Memory products today is a new SKU, the 2133MHz (RG2133) Gamer Series. The RG2133 is a middle of the road 2133MHz part, sporting a CAS 10 latency (10-11-11-30) and a voltage of 1.65v. In keeping with AMD’s other memory products they aren’t using any flamboyant heatsinks here, so these are simple DIMMs enclosed in a heatspreader, keeping the DIMM height at a low profile of 30mm.

AMD Memory Specification Comparison
	RE1600	RP1866	RG2133
Kit Speed	1600MHz	1866MHz	2133MHz
Subtimings	9-9-9-28	9-10-9-27	10-11-11-30
Voltage	1.5v	1.5v	1.65v
Size	2 x 8GB	2 x 8GB	4 x 4GB
Price	$95	$125	$155

As with AMD’s other memory products RG2133 memory is being manufactured and sold in 16GB kit form. The DIMMs are 4GB each – unlike AMD’s other speed grades which are 8GB these days – so the full 16GB kit is 4x4GB rather than 2x8GB. Meanwhile AMD continues to contract out the actual manufacturing of their memory products, and while they haven’t named the manufacturer of the RG2133 DIMMs they’ve said that they’re keeping the same manufacturer as with their other products, which would mean it’s once again Patriot doing AMD’s manufacturing.
For AMD the primary benefit of introducing another speed grade of RAM is not only to keep themselves competitive in the memory market, but also to work the fact that AMD’s APUs greatly benefit from increased memory bandwidth. Even though the GPUs in AMD’s APUs are lower performing than AMD’s discrete GPUs they’re still memory bandwidth starved to a very large degree, and as we’ve seen even back in 2011 with Llano most games benefit from additional memory bandwidth. So by pairing RG2133 memory with Trinity/Richland, AMD can significantly improve their GPU performance in many cases even with the same silicon.

The catch as always will be pricing. 2133MHz memory carries a distinct premium, so although faster memory will improve gaming performance it’s not a “free” upgrade. Builders and buyers will be looking at a $155 price tag for a 16GB RG2133 kit, $30 more than the RP1866 kit. However short of adding a discrete GPU, this is going to be the best way of improving AMD’s iGPU performance for the time being.
On a final note, AMD will once more be bundling licenses for their branded version of Dataram’s RAMDisk software with their memory. RG2133 kits will come with a license good for a 64GB RAM disk (note that you can’t actually get 64GB of RG2133 into a system at the moment). All other AMD memory products will continue to ship with a license for a 6GB RAM disk. The usefulness of AMD’s RAMDisk software remains questionable at best, but as AMD’s pricing is generally competitive it’s essentially a freebie with an otherwise solid memory package.

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After entering the PC memory market about a year and a half ago, things have for the most part been quiet for AMD’s fledgling memory operations. With DDR3 enjoying a long, prosperous reign as the memory of choice for PCs, memory is not a fast-moving field that has the kind of rapid innovation and quick product turnovers as AMD’s GPU and CPU businesses do. But with that said, even as a commodity product there’s still periodic bumps in capacity and performance, and that’s what AMD is announcing today.
Joining AMD’s existing 1600MHz (RE1600) and 1866MHz (RP1866) Radeon Memory products today is a new SKU, the 2133MHz (RG2133) Gamer Series. The RG2133 is a middle of the road 2133MHz part, sporting a CAS 10 latency (10-11-11-30) and a voltage of 1.65v. In keeping with AMD’s other memory products they aren’t using any flamboyant heatsinks here, so these are simple DIMMs enclosed in a heatspreader, keeping the DIMM height at a low profile of 30mm.

AMD Memory Specification Comparison
	RE1600	RP1866	RG2133
Kit Speed	1600MHz	1866MHz	2133MHz
Subtimings	9-9-9-28	9-10-9-27	10-11-11-30
Voltage	1.5v	1.5v	1.65v
Size	2 x 8GB	2 x 8GB	4 x 4GB
Price	$95	$125	$155

As with AMD’s other memory products RG2133 memory is being manufactured and sold in 16GB kit form. The DIMMs are 4GB each – unlike AMD’s other speed grades which are 8GB these days – so the full 16GB kit is 4x4GB rather than 2x8GB. Meanwhile AMD continues to contract out the actual manufacturing of their memory products, and while they haven’t named the manufacturer of the RG2133 DIMMs they’ve said that they’re keeping the same manufacturer as with their other products, which would mean it’s once again Patriot doing AMD’s manufacturing.
For AMD the primary benefit of introducing another speed grade of RAM is not only to keep themselves competitive in the memory market, but also to work the fact that AMD’s APUs greatly benefit from increased memory bandwidth. Even though the GPUs in AMD’s APUs are lower performing than AMD’s discrete GPUs they’re still memory bandwidth starved to a very large degree, and as we’ve seen even back in 2011 with Llano most games benefit from additional memory bandwidth. So by pairing RG2133 memory with Trinity/Richland, AMD can significantly improve their GPU performance in many cases even with the same silicon.

The catch as always will be pricing. 2133MHz memory carries a distinct premium, so although faster memory will improve gaming performance it’s not a “free” upgrade. Builders and buyers will be looking at a $155 price tag for a 16GB RG2133 kit, $30 more than the RP1866 kit. However short of adding a discrete GPU, this is going to be the best way of improving AMD’s iGPU performance for the time being.
On a final note, AMD will once more be bundling licenses for their branded version of Dataram’s RAMDisk software with their memory. RG2133 kits will come with a license good for a 64GB RAM disk (note that you can’t actually get 64GB of RG2133 into a system at the moment). All other AMD memory products will continue to ship with a license for a 6GB RAM disk. The usefulness of AMD’s RAMDisk software remains questionable at best, but as AMD’s pricing is generally competitive it’s essentially a freebie with an otherwise solid memory package.

More...

After entering the PC memory market about a year and a half ago, things have for the most part been quiet for AMD’s fledgling memory operations. With DDR3 enjoying a long, prosperous reign as the memory of choice for PCs, memory is not a fast-moving field that has the kind of rapid innovation and quick product turnovers as AMD’s GPU and CPU businesses do. But with that said, even as a commodity product there’s still periodic bumps in capacity and performance, and that’s what AMD is announcing today.
Joining AMD’s existing 1600MHz (RE1600) and 1866MHz (RP1866) Radeon Memory products today is a new SKU, the 2133MHz (RG2133) Gamer Series. The RG2133 is a middle of the road 2133MHz part, sporting a CAS 10 latency (10-11-11-30) and a voltage of 1.65v. In keeping with AMD’s other memory products they aren’t using any flamboyant heatsinks here, so these are simple DIMMs enclosed in a heatspreader, keeping the DIMM height at a low profile of 30mm.

AMD Memory Specification Comparison
	RE1600	RP1866	RG2133
Kit Speed	1600MHz	1866MHz	2133MHz
Subtimings	9-9-9-28	9-10-9-27	10-11-11-30
Voltage	1.5v	1.5v	1.65v
Size	2 x 8GB	2 x 8GB	4 x 4GB
Price	$95	$125	$155

As with AMD’s other memory products RG2133 memory is being manufactured and sold in 16GB kit form. The DIMMs are 4GB each – unlike AMD’s other speed grades which are 8GB these days – so the full 16GB kit is 4x4GB rather than 2x8GB. Meanwhile AMD continues to contract out the actual manufacturing of their memory products, and while they haven’t named the manufacturer of the RG2133 DIMMs they’ve said that they’re keeping the same manufacturer as with their other products, which would mean it’s once again Patriot doing AMD’s manufacturing.
For AMD the primary benefit of introducing another speed grade of RAM is not only to keep themselves competitive in the memory market, but also to work the fact that AMD’s APUs greatly benefit from increased memory bandwidth. Even though the GPUs in AMD’s APUs are lower performing than AMD’s discrete GPUs they’re still memory bandwidth starved to a very large degree, and as we’ve seen even back in 2011 with Llano most games benefit from additional memory bandwidth. So by pairing RG2133 memory with Trinity/Richland, AMD can significantly improve their GPU performance in many cases even with the same silicon.

The catch as always will be pricing. 2133MHz memory carries a distinct premium, so although faster memory will improve gaming performance it’s not a “free” upgrade. Builders and buyers will be looking at a $155 price tag for a 16GB RG2133 kit, $30 more than the RP1866 kit. However short of adding a discrete GPU, this is going to be the best way of improving AMD’s iGPU performance for the time being.
On a final note, AMD will once more be bundling licenses for their branded version of Dataram’s RAMDisk software with their memory. RG2133 kits will come with a license good for a 64GB RAM disk (note that you can’t actually get 64GB of RG2133 into a system at the moment). All other AMD memory products will continue to ship with a license for a 6GB RAM disk. The usefulness of AMD’s RAMDisk software remains questionable, but as AMD’s pricing is generally competitive it’s essentially a freebie with an otherwise solid memory package.

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One question when building or upgrading a gaming system is of which CPU to choose - does it matter if I have a quad core from Intel, or a quad module from AMD? Perhaps something simpler will do the trick, and I can spend the difference on the GPU. What if you are running a multi-GPU setup, does the CPU have a bigger effect? This was the question I set out to help answer.


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One question when building or upgrading a gaming system is of which CPU to choose - does it matter if I have a quad core from Intel, or a quad module from AMD? Perhaps something simpler will do the trick, and I can spend the difference on the GPU. What if you are running a multi-GPU setup, does the CPU have a bigger effect? This was the question I set out to help answer.


More...

One question when building or upgrading a gaming system is of which CPU to choose - does it matter if I have a quad core from Intel, or a quad module from AMD? Perhaps something simpler will do the trick, and I can spend the difference on the GPU. What if you are running a multi-GPU setup, does the CPU have a bigger effect? This was the question I set out to help answer.


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