Ready for some more motherboard porn to drool over? ASUS have just sent over the latest photos of their new Republic of Gamers Crosshair IV Extreme ‘board – for AMD’s latest AM3 socket processors including the Phenom II X6 hexacores – that pairs the AMD 890FX chipset with dual BIOS, an onboard Lucid Hydra 200 for improved multi-GPU performance, and support for ASUS’ RoG Connect with remote Bluetooth control.
The Crosshair IV Extreme builds on the existing Crosshair IV Formula announced last month, and sets huge gobs of overclocking in its sights. That includes on-motherboard hardware buttons to control BIOS settings, one-touch automatic overclocking with Turbo Key II, and ASUS’ Core Unlocker which activates any dormant cores in the CPU.
There are also six SATA ports, the usual bevy of PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (with CrossFireX support, naturally) and more USB ports than you can shake a metaphorical stick at. No word on pricing or availability, but hopefully the alluring close-ups in the gallery below will tide you over until we know more.
If you’re a Pre or Pre Plus owner who has been watching longingly as we’ve covered the recent spread of overclocking hacks for the thing, but didn’t quite feel up to wading through page after page of forum discussions to figure out just how to apply them, the process just got a easier. Like, a whole lot easier. Super PreKernel enables you to go to 550, 600, 720, and even 800MHz with just a single tap. And, when it’s time to put on those fake glasses and play Clark Kent, you can drop back down to 500MHz just as easily. It’s all thanks to a number of Palm-loving hackers who have put together a truly moving video demonstration of the whole process that’s embedded below. We encourage you to enjoy it now, because the selection of copyrighted musical accompaniment for the clip will probably result in it surviving about as long as a bottle of Superman’s chosen hair product.
One NVIDIA GTX 480 graphics card is potent; two are impressive and three, in SLI setup, is probably overkill for all but the most avid (and deep pocketed) of gamers. So, what do you call four GTX 480 boards in a single machine? CyberPower Inc. have apparently been experimenting with the EVGA GTX 480, showing a new quad-card rig on their Facebook page.
What we’re still left wondering about is any sort of benchmarking figures, together with just how CyberPower plan on cooling the cards. We’re hoping there’s a considerable liquid cooling system on its way, since otherwise you could happily roast a small suckling pig above its toasty surface.
AMD’s rumored plans to take on Intel Turbo Boost have been confirmed, with the company quietly acknowledging that their upcoming hexacore processors will support a dynamic clock boost technology called AMD Turbo CORE. Like with the Intel system, the six-core AMD Phenom II CPUs will be able to overclock up to three heavily-taxed cores by up to 500MHz, while the remaining cores are left idle (saving power and reducing heat output).
It’s a simpler system than Intel Turbo Boost, which uses more dynamic clock speed alterations, but AMD reckon the reduced complexity will mean that other CPU management technologies – such as Cool’n’Quiet – will continue to work as expected. All Phenom II processor models will react in the same way, with a preset Turbo CORE maximum speed.
AMD are planning a Black Edition six-core Thuban processor with a basic core clock speed of “over 3GHz, substantially” and Turbo CORE support, but the technology will also be used in other six-core and four-core processors throughout the Phenom II X6 and X4 range. Performance is expected to fall a little short of Intel’s rival processors, but the AMD chips are tipped to be more competitively priced.
Given all the Cortex A8 processor clocktweaking going on we admit to being just a little surprised to be reading the first overclocking reports on the eminently hackable N900 only now. Nevertheless, owners are seeing significant speed improvements after updating their stock 600MHz QWERTY sliders with recompiled kernels (no CPU voltage hacks required). Although speeds in excess of 1GHz have been tested (1,050MHz still boots), it looks like 900MHz is the maximum stable clock speed you can expect before the doors rattle off — but that’s only after a weekend of testing. If things continue to go well then you’ll see tweaked kernels of various clock speeds released for download soon enough — something that should keep the device humming right through the commercial launch of MeeGo whether Nokia likes it or not. Check the video after the break and then follow the latest developments in the maemo.org forums by hitting up the source link below.
Nokia’s N900 is already the device of choice for those who like to tinker with alternative software, but how about overclocking the 600MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor by 50-percent? That’s just what Maemo forum member Lehto has managed to do, releasing several new kernels that can drive the N900’s core clock speed from a mild 700MHz boost to 950MHz. In fact, he reckons he’s had his N900 going even faster.
Lehto – perhaps sensibly – isn’t releasing the faster kernels until he’s sure there won’t be reports of bricked or burnt out N900s (and unhappy owners looking for his blood). Still, the end result is a device that works significantly faster, though at the expense of battery life and, potentially, machine lifetime.
Actual performance can be dependent on climate, temperature and even whether you’ve got a “good” or “average” Cortex A8 chip in your phone. Interestingly, the N900 uses the same processor as the iPhone 3GS, though the Apple smartphone makes for a far less user friendly hacking experience.
Oh, it just gets better and better. Hot on the already pretty sparking heels of the 5870 EYEFINITY 6/6S/2GD5 comes the card we’ve perhaps really been waiting for, the ASUS Republic of Gamers MATRIX 5870. First spotted in the wild last month, the ROG MATRIX 5870 takes ATI’s new Radeon HD 5870, tickles the core GPU clock speed to 894MHz and then throws in ASUS’ Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) that automatically overclocks the card depending on what it’s being used for. So, ASUS reckon, you’ll see an average 19-percent performance boost in FPS games set to maximum detail, or a whopping 50-percent boost to 2D graphics.
All that happens with nary a move from the user themselves, everything being automatic. However, for those that like to get their hands a little dirty there’s the iTracker2 engine, which makes overclocking the 2GB of GDDR5 memory more straightforward by handling memory timing adjustment itself and scaling things back if the system starts to become unstable.
There’s also a custom fan/heatsink system that pushes 22-percent more air through the card than the ATI reference design, and which ASUS reckon sees the ROG MATRIX 5870 running at least 13-percent cooler. Ports include HDMI, DVI and DisplayPort. No word on pricing, but we can’t see this coming cheaply.
Press Release:
Engage Total Game Control with the Confidence of Sheer ASUS ROG MATRIX 5870 Power
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) pulls another feat with a massive graphics card packed to the gills with extensive overclocking and game-defining features.
The ROG MATRIX 5870 isn’t just the new kid on the block, it’s the freshly appointed king, bestowed with everything serious gamers could possibly wish for.
Based on the ATI Radeon 5870 reference, MATRIX 5870 exceeds the standard design in every way, delivering both raw horsepower for fast, precision gaming, and refined controls that lead the way in overclocking and tuning.
Be the Ruler of Thy Game
The new MATRIX 5870 lays down the law with prodigious computing muscle. It has 2GB of GDDR5 RAM running at 4.8GHz, true 256-bit interface, and 894MHz core clock. But these are just the preliminaries – where the MATRIX 5870 shines, like all ASUS ROG cards, is the extra features and attention to detail.
On the path to gaming bliss, optimizing resources is pivotal, since power alone can go to waste. This is where the Super Hybrid Engine (SHE) comes in, harnessing all that goodness towards better gaming. It tracks the strain put on hardware to deliver optimum power when needed, switching between intense action and normal operations automatically. The results are an average 19% boost in extreme heavy-duty first person shooter titles set to max detail and a tremendous 54% reduction in GPU power noise when doing regular 2D graphics, all with no interruption to users.
Getting on the Superlative Track
Overclocking aficionados crave the minutiae of performance, and MATRIX 5870 accommodates this with the included iTracker2 engine, a hardware-software bridge that opens up numerous avenues for accurate tuning.
Users can overclock GPU RAM safely with exclusive memory timing adjustment and no worries about crashes—iTracker2 measures tolerances in real time and goes back to safe levels if the card is pushed too far. And while the information revealed by iTracker2 is extensive, users can opt for one of five preset overclocking profiles for fast and easy performance gains—experimentation is half the fun.
The other half is sitting back and reveling in newly-unleashed power as games run faster and more furious. Here, too, iTracker2 indulges, affording constant monitoring of GPU performance so every change made can be assessed and learned from.
Hot Action Keeps a Cool Head
Sounds like the MATRIX 5870 is fixing to fly off the grid, but its thermal design keeps that eruption from ever transpiring. First, it features a custom fan-heatsink combo delivering 22% higher air pressure than required in reference. Then there are the usual quality materials used in every ROG graphics card, with their trademark heat dissipating properties showing the way for hassle-free overclocking. The MATRIX 5870 runs at least 13% cooler than reference, and that’s just for starters. It’ll be a cold day in hardcore-land before this one gives in to high temps.
It’s Always On
Obsessive gamers and overclockers have even more to look forward to with the latest rendition of ProbeIt, an ASUS innovation that lets users get nice and intimate with their favorite piece of gaming hardware. ProbeIt uses points on the graphics card itself that, when accessed using a multimeter, give instant voltage measurements for the GPU core, PCI-E bus, board and memory. The upshot for dedicated tweakers is obvious—checks whether overvolting experiments are taking effect, and compare figures reported by software to actual readings from the hardware. It never stops for true gearheads—nor do we want it to.
Looking to harness the real power inside of your Pre (or Pre Plus) — and you’ve upgraded to webOS 1.4? If that’s the case, you’re going to love what a couple of Palm-loving hackers have come up with. Namely, a major overclock kernel patch for the device which boosts the CPU speed from a measly 500MHz all the way up to a finger-searing 800MHz (there’s also a more tame 720MHz variation available). The two phone magicians, unixpsycho and caj2008, had previously tapped into the power of the Pre’s CPU on webOS 1.3.5 with a small file that can be semi-easily installed using WebOSQuickInstall and a tiny bit of Linux command-line activity, and now it’s on for 1.4. So far, it looks like phones being tested with the somewhat risky tweak haven’t experienced too much of the normally expected issues (crashes, freezing, phones exploding). Also a surprise is the fact that the creators of the hack say battery life drain is only an additional 2-4 percent hit… though if you’re already struggling to make it through a day, this could be the nail in the coffin. We installed the patch on a Verizon Pre Plus, and we definitely observed a noticeable bump in app load times and improved fluidity when working with the phone — though we’ve already had one major crash. If you don’t mind possibly destroying your phone and must have a faster device right now, you can check out the patch in action and learn how to get it yourself in the video after the break.
Update: From the looks of things, that crash we experienced early on is likely due to a bug in webOS 1.4 and not related to the overclock. Actually, we haven’t experienced any further problems… in fact, the phone is seeming super speedy, and battery life has not taken a substantial hit, verifying caj2008 and unixpsycho’s claims (so far). Someone at Palm should take note — these guys have some good ideas!
We’d already heard rumors from Intel themselves that they were considering some cheaper, overclock-friendly processors for release in the not too distant future, and now those leaky Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers have spilt a few more beans. They reckon two such CPUs are in the works, a 32nm dual-core Core i5-655K which should arrive in early June, and a 45nm quad-core Core i7-875K which will follow on in late July.
The tinkertastic chips would line up against AMD’s dual- and quad-core Black Label processors, which are known for being particularly amenable to overclocking. So far only Intel’s “Extreme” chips have made the process anything less than difficult, and they tend to command top-end prices. Incidentally, the Core i7-980X Extreme – which we benchmarked with impressive results in the iBuyPower Paladin S earlier in the week – is apparently in short supply, with Intel increasing channel pricing for the processor to NT$37,000 ($1,160) from its original NT$35,000 ($1,100) launch price.
We’ve got to hand it to iBUYPOWER. They know how to release the computer that just look fun to use. The Paladin series, announced today, is no difference. This is one of those products that we just want to touch. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that the innards of these things make us want to actually use them. The company has officially announced the latest in their Paladin series, and these are definitely a chip off the old block.
Each of the four different variations of the Paladin are issued with the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor, which makes the system quite the healthy benchmark demolisher. As the press release reads, the new systems are “extremely overclockable, and allow unmatched multitasking capability.” We just love the word overclockable. It’s unique. In any event, iBUYPOWER is banking on the fact that gamers won’t have to worry about how many windows/browsers they have open anymore, let alone if they’re listening to their favorite music or using GameSpeak, due to their machine’s power.
The Paladin F950, F970, and XLC V3 are all equipped with 12GB of DDR3 memory, provide at least 1 TB of storage, and have Blu-Ray Disc players. They all also keep with the liquid-cooling tradition of iBUYPOWER, and offer the “upgrade” for free. Graphics wise, you can choose from an ATI Radeon card, or go with the NVIDIA GeForce variation if you wish. The F970 and XLC V3 are packed with an 80GB Solid State Drive (SSD) and have been upgraded to Windows 7 Ultimate. If you’ve got $2,159 lying around, then you can start shopping now at iBUYPOWER’s website to pick out your favorite piece. Full press release just below.
El Monte, CA – March 18, 2010 – iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator of gaming PCs, is excited to announce four new Paladin gaming systems all powered by the new Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition Processor. The new 6 core processors are extremely overclockable, deliver benchmark shattering performance and allow unmatched multitasking capability. Gamers need not be concerned with having multiple browsers open, team speak, or MP3s files playing while gaming due to the new processor’s revolutionary hyper-threading technology.
The four new configurations all feature the finest components available, including the newest ATI Radeon and NVIDIA GeForce high-definition video cards, which all support DirectX 11 graphics. The Paladin F950, F970 and XLC V3 all pack 12GB of DDR3 Memory, provide at least a 1 TB of storage space and a Blu-ray drive. The fully loaded F970 and XLC V3 also come standard with an 80GB solid state drive and have been upgraded to Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate. Additionally, like all iBUYPOWER desktop systems, the newest Paladin model all feature free liquid CPU cooling.
Gamers looking to get the most out of their new six core systems can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ Power Drive Overclocking Service, which overclocks the CPU by as much as 30% and comes standard on the Paladin XLC V3. Other innovative iBUYPOWER exclusive products and services include the Harmony Sound Reduction System, the Internal USB Expansion System, and iBUYPOWER’s Specialized Advanced Packaging System with expanding foam inserts to prevent damage during shipping.
The new Paladin systems start at $2,159 and are available now at www.iBUYPOWER.com.
Customers with more specific gaming needs can configure a fully customizable system at www.iBUYPOWER.com. All iBUYPOWER systems also come standard with 1 year limited warranty and lifetime technical support.
We’d already heard 
