CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system.

CPU-Z is a diagnostic tool that provides information on your CPU, including: processor name and vendor, core stepping and process, processor package, internal and external clocks, clock multiplier, partial overclock detection, processor features, supported instructions sets, L1 and L2 cache information, location, size, speed, and technology.

Changes in version 1.53 :

• Intel Core i7 930 & 950, Core i7 980X "Gulftown", Xeon W3565.
• Intel Mobile Core i7/i5/i3 "Arrendale" (LV and ULV).
• Intel "Clarkdale" platform improved support. 
• AMD Phenom FX-5000, Athlon II X2/X3/X4, Athlon L110.
• AMD AM3 socket detection improved.
• VIA VX800 and VX855 chipsets support.
• ATI Radeon 2100 and Radeon X1250 support. 
• DirectX 11 detection fix.
• Hardware virtualization support now reported as instructions set.
• New HTML report with less information

Download

Even though 2009 has been a rather unfavorable year for the IT market in general, and especially for semiconductor manufacturing, the fourth quarter still seems to be going strong, with system builders still placing hefty amounts of orders with both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. FBR Capital Markets is quite optimistic about the closing quarter of the current year.

"Potential 2010 catalysts include some corporate refresh benefits from Windows 7 (consumer sell-through seems reasonably robust so far); additional netbook, nettop, and consumer ultra-low-voltage (CULV) units; and increased touch-panel applications," analyst Craig Berger wrote in a research note.

Notebook builds are expected to grow by 10 percent compared to the previous quarter (quarter-over-quarter/QoQ) and desktop shipments are rather strong as well, even though the actual QoQ percentage is down by 16%. This implies that the total fourth quarter builds are no longer expected to drop by 2%, with estimates suggesting a total decline of only a 1%. AMD showed somewhat less growth, specifically about 3-4%, due to it being more focused on the desktop segment instead of the more popular mobile market.

On the other hand, AMD revenues are expected to fall seasonally to around $1.4 billion in Q1 2010, implying that the actual decline would be of four to eight percent. The way this market decline can coexist with actual company growth shown by AMD and Intel is explained by the possibility of OEMs and ODMs using existing inventories in building systems.

"Oftentimes Intel's CPUs are put into PCs at the last possible moment, so some PC builds in 3Q end up as Intel CPU shipments in 4Q

ICD

" We recently got a chance to check out NVIDIA's 3D Blu-ray ecosystem, and while we're sure we'll be all 3D Blu-ray'd out by the time CES is over, it was our first chance to see the new tech in action, and it seems pretty raring to go. Specifically we got to check out a movie film (we can't say which for legal reasons) on a fancy new upcoming Acer LCD (the 24-inch G245, pictured above) that does 120Hz and can be synced with NVIDIA's 3D shutter-based glasses. The 3D looked just fine, on par with other movies we've seen from NVIDIA in the past, and close to what we've seen in theaters, with the exception being that this is being delivered on a backwards-compatible, consumer-friendly Blu-ray disc. 3D Blu-ray is encoded in a new MVC-AVC format, which passes through a regular 1080p video for incompatible hardware, but provides a 3D image for the software and decode hardware capable of sussing it out. Right now NVIDIA's 3D Blu-ray capable on existing GeForce GT 220 and GT 240 GPUs, along with its upcoming Fermi cards due next year. Software is even more plentiful, with Arcsoft, Core, Cyberlink and Sonic all promising to by ready for 3D Blu-ray titles when they start shipping next year. Once the 3D Blu-ray spec is formally announced we're sure the floodgate will open even wider, but for now it seems NVIDIA has a nice jump on the tech, and we're sure they wouldn't mind pocketing a few of your gaming dollars in the meantime ".

Guru3D Rig of the Year 2009 Poll

target=_selfHey everybody, we'd like to ask you to vote this Christmas week for the Rig of the year. As you guys know we have a segment here on Guru3D.com called Rig of the Month. This year due to circumstances we only where able to publish ten Rig of the Month entries, but from these ten we like to pick the Rig of the Year.

The winner of the Rig of the Year (as voted by you guys) will walk away with spanking new shiny 120GB OCZ Solid State Disk shipped to the winners home address for free.

The OCZ Vertex Series delivers the performance and reliability of SSDs at a lower price per gigabyte than other high speed offerings currently on the market. The OCZ Vertex Series is the result of all the latest breakthroughs in SSD technology, including the first model on the market to use the Indilinx Barefoot controller, blazing read/write speeds, and 64MB of onboard cache.

This years entries are:

•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - December 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - November 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - October 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - August 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - July 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - June 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - May 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - April 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - March 2009
•   Guru3D Rig of the Month - February 2009

We'd like to ask you, the reader, to have a browse of 2009's Rigs and vote for your favorite.

ATI Catalyst  9.12 hotfix Driver

Right along with the WHQL release ATI decided to also launch a hotfix driver that addresses certain specific issues -- and there are truly some significant changes in this one.

Should you be interested, we have a discussion thread open on these drivers right here.

Download:

ATI Catalyst 9.12 hotfix Win 7 | Vista (32|64-bit)
ATI Catalyst 9.12 hotfix Windows XP (32|64-bit)

Fixes for the following issues:

• Resident Evil 5
  

Lately pretty much anything relevant in news and articles that involves graphics products are linked somehow with ATI. as it's the only only developer right now offering DirectX 11-capable graphics cards.

Though they have yet to announce their own Fermi family products, NVIDIA reportedly doesn't see AMD's 60-day head start as something noteworthy in the grand scheme of things.

"To us, being out of sync with the API for a couple of months isn't as important as what we're trying to do in the big scheme of things for the next four or five years. We're just around the corner from preparing our next GeForce and the experience of what you'll see in 3D, what you'll feel in physics, and the improvements you get in graphics will be obvious to the market," said Michael Hara, senior vice president of investor relations and communications of NVIDIA.

According to NVIDIA, the short-term advantage that AMD has been enjoying so far will be overshadowed by the transition from purely graphics-oriented GPUs to units capable of parallel computing tasks. Granted, the advanced visual features of DirectX are not overlooked by the GPU maker, but the company is fully confident that Fermi will reclaim the market.

"This 60-day lag between these events of when our competition has DX11 and when we're coming to market will absolutely seem insignificant in the big picture," Hara stated. "We're almost there. In Q1, the world will get to see what we've done with Fermi."

Among the advanced capabilities offered by DirectX 11 (which was released along with Windows 7) are support for multi-core processors and DirectCompute that enable developers to fully utilize the parallel processing capabilities for graphics processors for operations such as video editing. DirectX 11 also supports tessallation allowing for the rendering of smoother curved surfaces.

"We go through revolutionary changes every three of four years, and that's exactly where we're at today. The next big evolution in the API world has come with DirectX 11 (DX11), but we believe that's a part of the experience," Hara added.

What do you think ?

EVGA introduced the EVBot, an overclocking and monitoring device that enables on-the-fly adjusting of voltages, frequencies and other settings of your processor, memory and graphics card.

The EVGA EVBot is a useful tool for tweakers and overclockers to maximize their system and have fun tweaking their EVGA products. With the ability to adjust on the fly voltages, clock frequencies and much more, the EVGA EVBot unleashes the full potential of your select EVGA motherboards or graphics cards! Optimistic Booster allows EVBot to take over and increase CPU frequency for a short amount of time. (ex. up 4MHz ever 4 seconds, down 3MHz every 3 seconds) This allows you to obtain the highest performance possible for a benchmark run.

Simple and straight forward to use, and best of all, no drivers needed! Just plug and play.

Features:

• On the fly voltage adjustment
• On the fly clock frequency adjustment
• No software required, no CPU overhead
• Opt Booster max
  

ATI released the last Catalyst driver for 2009, version 9.12 for Windows XP 7 and Vista. Highlights of the ATI Catalyst

Enermax Aurora Micro Wireless HTPC keyboard review

We test the Aurora MicroWireless Keyboard with Trackball from Enermax. A handy aluminum HTPC media keyboard with a lot of functionality, range and great design.

When you search this product you'll be able to spot it for roughly 75 USD/EUR, and that is a fair price considering the build-quality, functionality and materials used. It is not a flimsy plastic HTPC keyboard in your living room, no -- it's a stylish peripheral.

For HTPC aficionado's it's of course a very handy keyboard. Also for more generic usage on that 1920x1080P screen the keyboard offers you a little more functionality. You can easily browse the web with it, startup programs, select files, insert a weblink etc. These are the advantages of a HTPC keyboard.

Check out Guru3D's review here.