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Intel Announces New Supercomputer Chip, Partnership with NEC

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:04:50 -0600

Intel has announced a new version of its Nehalem-EX series CPUs for use in supercomputers. The chips are part of the Xeon family and are optimized for use in supercomputers. The new six-core chips will run at higher clock speed than the current eight-core versions. A single computer will be capable of running 256 of the new CPUs. The new Nehalem-EX chips should be available next year.

Intel also made it known that they were partnering with NEC to develop new supercomputing technologies. In a joint statement, the two tech giants said they would, “push the boundaries of supercomputing performance.” Initially, the two companies will focus on boosting memory speed and scalability.

NEC plans to use advances gleaned from their work with Intel in future supercomputers that utilize Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), an extension of the x86 architecture. A vector processor design is capable of processing multiple operations simultaneously. Current Xeon chips have strong scalar processing, meaning they run operations one at a time. AVX will also be used in Intel’s Sandy Bridge microarchitecture expected in 2011.

NEC MultiSync EA241WM

Michael Brown — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:30:25 -0600

You don't always get what you pay for

NEC’s EA241WM has a number of features that set it apart from the rest of the displays in this field: It’s the only model to support a full complement of ergonomic features (tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustment); it’s the only model with an integrated USB 2.0 hub; and compared to its competition’s flimsy construction, this monitor is built like a Mack truck.

It’s also the most expensive and least consumer-oriented model we tested, with an MSRP of $450 and native resolution of 1920x1200 (versus 1920x1080). And while the monitor does support HDCP, it’s not equipped with an HDMI port (NEC will provide a free DVI-to-HDMI adapter, but doesn’t put one in the box).

The NEC EA241WM comes with NEC's NaviSet software, which provides a graphical user interface for controlling the monitor's brightness, contrast, and color environment.

The EA241WM’s tiny thumb-stick controller is one of the best tools we’ve used for making minute adjustments to a display’s brightness and contrast levels. The NEC performed better than any of the other monitors in DisplayMate’s black-level test, with virtually no backlight contamination of a black screen. In spite of its precision controls, this monitor performed poorly when it came to differentiating between black and dark shades of both gray and colors. This was particularly bothersome in the opening scene of Watchmen, because important details were lost in the dark shadows.

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First Certified USB 3.0 Product Available

Ryan Whitwam — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:01:41 -0500

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) today approved the first SuperSpeed USB 3.0 product. The product in question is a host controller from NEC Electronics. Having this certified host controller will be a boon to other manufacturers, as they will be able to easily test products using the USB 3.0 spec.

The controller, known as the µPD720200 host controller, uses a PCI Express Gen 2 interface bus. This allows 2 USB 3.0 ports to be easily added to any system supporting the PCI Express bus. Analyst firm, In-Stat, estimates nearly one-third the market will support the SuperSpeed standard by 2013.

NEC Electronics originally announced the µPD720200 in May, but the product has just now been certified. “NEC Electronics has supported the development of SuperSpeed USB technology since the earliest efforts, and it is gratifying to help make the technology become a reality,” said Masao Hirasawa, General Manager, SoC Systems Division, NEC Electronics Corporation.

Check out the press release here. [warning, PDF]

NEC, Casio, and Hitachi to Combine Powers for Mobile Handset Manufacturing

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:00:54 -0500

Japanese electronics manufacturers Casio, NEC and Hitachi have decided to merge their mobile phone divisions. The merged entity will be ready to lock horns with local and international competitors by April next year. Casio and Hitachi are already part of a joint venture they constituted in 2004. With NEC joining the existing joint venture, the resulting entity will, immediately after its birth, acquire the bragging rights that belong to the second-largest handset maker in Japan.

The latest entrant will be the largest stakeholder in the new business with a 66 percent stake, while Casio and Hitachi will hold 17.34 percent and 16.66 percent, respectively. The three are not only eyeing the jam-packed Japanese market, but also the global market. Japanese handset makers have not been able to have an impact on the world stage. Though they seem to posses the goods to shatter their global jinx to smithereens, the world has never really warmed up to the relatively more advanced Japanese cellphone technology.

The Japanese have pioneered many advancements in mobile technology, from e-mail to electronic payments. All said, their lack of success is not entirely incomprehensible. The fact is that Japanese handset makers have never tried to tailor their products to international tastes.

Image Credit: Geek

Integrated Circuits with Zero-Power Standby Could See Use This Year

Paul Lilly — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:23:40 -0500

Despite the recent push towards going green, power management on the PC has a long ways to go, but a new breakthrough could shakes things up in a big way. Both Rohm Co Ltd and NEC of Japan are working on what's called zero-standby-dissipation IC technology, which is an integrated circuit that waits in Off mode for an input before instantly turning itself on, and then turning right back off.

Already in prototype form and expected to ship in quantity before 2010, the innovative chips are made from nonvolatile logic and merged memory. By making the entire chip nonvolatile, the integrated circuits consume no power when in standby mode, only turning themselves on when power is needed. And because of the logic circuit, the chips do not need data retention, which means power to the entire chip can be cut in standby.

"This technology has enormous potential in applications such as games, where the system is usually sitting and waiting for player input," says an un-named source at Rohm.

Lots more details here.

Image Credit: Rohm

USB 3.0 Equipped PCs Will Be Shipping by End of the Year

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:58:29 -0500

Taiwanese manufacturers might have positioned themselves to begin shipping SuperSpeed USB (aka USB 3.0) before the curtain falls on the year 2009, according to the July issue of Nikkei Electronics Asia. The magazine believes that it was quite evident from the various prototypes on display at the SuperSpeed USB Developers Conference held in Tokyo May 20-21, 2009 that the commercial rollout of the next-gen USB interface in PCs is nigh.

Japanese company NEC Electronics Corp shipped samples of the first USB 3.0 host controller in early June and expects to churn out a million every month beginning this September. The first devices based on the interface will most certainly be external hard disk drives, with more exciting applications like hd video streaming expected to follow later.

NEC Pshaws TN Panels with Pair of Premium 24-Inch LCDs

Paul Lilly — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Forget about those wimpy TN panels, NEC has instead decided to shoot straight for the high end with its two latest 24-inch LCD displays, the LCD2490WUXi2 and LCD2490W2. Both monitors sport IPS (In Plane Switching) panels for better color accuracy, a wider viewing angle, and higher credit card bills.

On the spec sheet, NEC rates both models at a 1,000:1 static contrast ratio, 320cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time, and 1920x1200 native resolution. Both also come with DVI and VGA inputs. Other similarities include about a 96.7 percent coverage of the sRGB color spectrum, 12-bit color lookup tables, and ambient light sensors. Where the LCD2490W2 separates itself from the base model is with the inclusion of a SpectraView color calibrator.

No word yet on availability, which gives you a bit of time to save up the $1,100(LCD2490WUXi2) and $1,300 (LCD2490W2) these two models command.

Image Credit: NEC via Electronista

NEC Releases Pictures, Price For Beautiful 43-Inch Curved Monitor

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:30:24 -0500

This week NEC announced a 43-inch, curved monitor that will sport a 2ms response time.

The CRV43 “ultra-widescreen” display will pack a native resolution of 2880x900, and thanks to LED backlighting, feature a response time of just 2ms. For those of you that are looking to get one of these for yourself, start saving now – it’ll cost you $7,999.

Though, for those of you that have gaming running through your blood, no length is too great in order to have the baddest rig on the net. And, adding this to your setup will without a doubt put you near the top of the stack.

Image Credit: NEC

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Intel Announces New Supercomputer Chip, Partnership with NEC

NEC MultiSync EA241WM

You don't always get what you pay for

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