Computex still floods the internet with news of future products, this one comes from a back room MSI filled with new technology. The people at HotHardware entered, saw and reported.
"The idea behind Luxium is pretty simple, it is essentially an enclosure that houses an external PCI Express x16 slot and is connected to your PC through an external PCI Express interface (ExpressCard in case of notebooks). As you may have guessed, Luxium�s value proposition is to bring high end desktop graphics capabilities to computers without [it]."

There is a couple of things MSI must be cautious about for this to be a good solution:
1- It's cost must be acceptable when compared to how many upgrades the user will be able to perform. Of course, it's not up to MSI to decide when PCI Express is replaced or if it will be backwards compatible trough all of it's revisions. What they can do is adjust the price according to the length of it's usefulness.

2- They ought to give the card enough bandwidth. The company has already had trouble getting the GeForce 8800GTX to work. Even if they solve that, what kind of guarantee is there that the next generation of PCI Express cards won't have that same problem?

Actually, both points have to do with the added cost of this box to the graphics card itself. True, if nothing else, it's a way of getting the ultimate 3D performance out of a laptop, disregarding price, but those that don't care about anything else will still buy the desktop PC and (if) the mobile one.

Later this year, when it's released, you will have the opportunity to merge the mobile and the desktop worlds. Hopefully.

Changing CPU, HDD or memory may not be that much of an improvement, but what if we add the GPU into the mix? Now we're talking.

In the past, and a recent past at that, having the option to upgrade the graphics processing unit of your laptop asked from you much more money than it was worth. Not only because of the price of the GPU itself, but of the laptop you wanted to upgrade. Asus notebooks aren't cheap, but there's reason to believe that if they don't want to lose this market they will behave themselves.
Thanks to the MXM Type II module it houses, the CS90S will accept a variety of nVidia (ATI will have to wait) GPUs, up to the GeForce Go8600 that was on display at Computex.

MXM modules are installed similar to a SO-DIMM, and there are four types that correspond to differents sizes and/or GPU support. The version here is an updated MXM which includes a heat-spreader in the design. This will allow the use of standardized heatpipes and will leave thermal as your only worry when purchasing a new module down the road. Current MXM (Mobile PCI Express Module) Type II reach 25 watts, that's your limit with this notebook. And when we say "PCI Express", we mean "16 lane PCI Express".

The problem with MXMs is that you don't find them easily. And lack of competition is also bad news if we talk about price. Again, if this market is to exist, it needs affordable parts.

According to digitimes AMD would currently be shipping its ATI Radeon HD 2400 and ATI Radeon HD 2600 series GPUs to Asus, Club 3D, Diamond, Gecube, Gigabyte, HIS, MSI, Palit, PowerColor, Sapphire and VisionTek. Graphics cards based on these processors are expected to be available at online retailers within a few weeks.

The ATI Radeon HD 2000 series was partially launched on May 14, with only the 2900 XT being immediately available. The other two members of the family were temporaly delayed, which raised fears that past paper-launches could be revived. If we are to trust AMD on this information, the schedule for a summer launch date for the parts that missed the party will be met.

What we need now is a good DX10 game to test those cards and see if they really are better than "old" hardware. Under DX9, at least, it looks doubtful.

Five and seven months after the release of Windows Vista and the first DX10-capable graphics card (respectively), we star to see some action in the form of games and demos. First, the demo for "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition" was made available for download. Soon followed "Call of Juarez", another demo. And a few weeks later, "Company of Heroes" became the first game that will really take advantage of your DX10 graphics card. ExtremeTech uses its built-in performance test to review it.

Compared to the DX9 version, the patched one falls into the single digits at times (around a third of DX9). Average frame rates are still quite playable for a strategy game, but minimum frame rates are the ones that should stay above 20 fps not to get noticed, much more above 10 fps.

High-end cards still deliver enough performance to make the game playable, but don't expect midrange or budget DX10 cards to be able to play it, except at very low resolutions.

Perhaps, because "Company of Heroes" was developed for DX9, the DX10 patch is inefficient. Still, a trade-off of a huge drop in performance for a small visual enhancement it's hardly what you all were hoping for.

CoH gives no reason to upgrade, neither

Using a decent computer (E6600, 2GB PC6400, 975X, GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit), those elite bastards put nVidia's latest drivers to the test. The reference point here is ForceWare 158.18 WHQL.

The applications used for benchmarking were all DirectX 10:

- Company of Heroes (Version 1.70).
- Lost Planet: Extreme Condition demo.
- Call of Juarez demo.

The last one gets almost no performance increase, which comes as no surprise because Call of Juarez is an ATI biased game. The other two seem to have received a little more attention. Lost Planet sees a large improvement with a performance boost between 15% and 20% depending on settings. Company of Heroes gets the most from this driver update. Being the first game that you can buy which is prepeared for DirectX 10 (even if it's via a patch) and the main target for driver developement right now. At 2048x1536 with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering enabled, we find ourselves with a raise in framerate up to 100% using ForceWare 158.45.

Keep in mind that DirectX 10 supporting titles are just starting to appear. There's still a lot left to do with regard to performance improvements through driver tweaking and optimisation. Once final code from games made from scratch for the new API begin to arrive, we should see the real benefits of NVIDIA's x10 cards.

AGP, there you have a market segment that just refuses to disappear. With every new generation of graphics cards we are told that support for that interface is lost, and yet products are released. HIS tought AGP deserved DirectX 10 too, so they are preparing an HD 2600 XT, which is based on AMD’s upcoming RV630 graphics processing unit (the one that has been delayed because of it being 65nm).

As with any GPU that natively supports PCI-Express, a bridge chip is needed. In this case, HIS will use ATI's RIALTO to get the card working on AGP. Bridge chips are usually a nightmare for retailers and distributors, due to higher failiure rates, but you as a consumer should not be worried about that. Warranties are there for something, are they not?

The card is polished with an HIS IceQ cooling solution, which promises to be “faster, cooler & quieter". Compared to what? I prefer when manufacturers resort to trusted desings.

Link: Bit-tech.

Digitimes reports what most of us were expecting since AMD bought ATI: they are going to enter in the discrete graphics card market next year.

"At this stage all plans are still rather vague, according to the sources, with Intel scheduled to deliver a more complete roadmap and specifications in the fourth quarter of this year. However, according to most of the sources, Intel will aim for the mid-range market in the initial stages with pricing targeted around US$300."

If they can deliver a competitive part, consumers should benefit from lower prices and better performance in the mid-range and entry-level segments. This won't be something easy, because a powerfull graphics card needs good drivers to work efficiently; and you can ask ATI how difficult a task that is. Intel has the means to produce solid hardware, but they lack the experience needed to develope corresponding software.

Other benefits from them entering in the graphics sector would be the real possibility of power savings in the GPU world. The ideas of partial shutdown, dinamic reduction of voltages and frequencies, or superior manufacturing capabilities are just mouth-watering.

"[Silent Pipe 3] utilizes natural convection inside the chassis to disperse heat. Similar to the principle of turbulence in fluid dynamics, Silent-Pipe 3™ introduces an all-new concept of VGA card cooling - Inner Turbulence Fluid Mechanics Design. Utilizing a series of layered long and short fins with trapezoid punches, Silent-Pipe 3™ transforms laminar (smooth) air flow into turbulent (rough) air flow inside the heat sink, increasing the heat exchange ratio and enhancing overall thermal performance". That's what the proud manufacturer has to say, but there's a review about Gigabyte's GeForce 8600GTS at Hardwarelogic that raises some questions about the last implementation of this cooling desing.

Since no comparison with the second generation of Gigabyte's propietary heatsink is offered, it's difficult to say if it's actually better. The GeForce 8600GTS doesn't draw as much power as 8800 models (that would have been a chalenge): 43W, more or less what Silent Pipe II had to deal with. And you can't directly compare temperatures of this card with those obtained in other systems.

Nevertheless, what should really bother you about this passively cooled card is the fact that the cooler does not make contact with the card's memory chips. Something that kept it in the past, from outperforming rival desings like the one from Asus, which cooled worse, but cooled everything.

The card itself features four Samsung K4J52324QE-BJ1A 1.0ns GDDR3 (the same chips used on the much more expensive 8800GTS and GTX) operating at 700MHz (1400MHz effective clock speed). The problem is that the memory bus is only 128-bit wide, so you can figure out by yourself if the effort was worth it.

Last but not least, if you want an entertainment center PC or SFF system, don't forget your case needs good airflow, as the card gives off a fair amount of heat and the whole Silent-Pipe 3 depends on it to work properly.

There've been lots of rumors recently about the R600, and derivatives, being the last product to be sold under the ATI name. Those rumors would place the R700 directly under AMD's umbrella. If they turn out to be true, ATI would leave the scene with a GPU that'll surely lose against nVidia's 8800.

It's too early in the game to crown a performance king: drivers are immature, DX10 games must be released and die shrinks could help. In particular, the little brothers (2600 and 2400) will do much better, thanks to they being fabricated on 65nm. But the performance per watt gap is so big that bridging it would be nothing short of a miracle. Not because nVidia's doing great, we said recently that they should put their act together in the energy bill department, but because we have here a 80nm chip that consumes far more power than a 90nm one.

Right now, you can find dozens of articles around the web about the 2900, but if you want reliable power consumption figures, xbitlabs is a must. There, you'll see the 681 million transistor monster eating 131W, while the 700 million behemoth gets "merely" 161W. Some sources place that number between 200 and 250! The graphics card industry still has a lot to learn about the evolution that has taken place in the CPU arena in recent years. AMD is in a better position to exploit those lessons, not so soon though.

ATI Direct x10 has arrived!

ASUS has released the new EAH 2900XT/G/HTVDI/512M – a cutting-edge graphics card that features the latest generation AMD HD2900XT GPU. The new ATI Radeon™ HD 2900 GPU is designed to unleash the gaming power of DirectX® 10; with an excellent audio/video experience through HDMI and Avivo™ HD technology – providing gamers with an unparalleled gaming experience. The release of the ASUS EAH2900XT will come bundled with 4 explosive game titles which include the highly anticipated first person shooter game S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl, and Valve’s “The Black Box” game bundle suite – consisting of 3 first rate games: Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal.

Exclusive Only to ASUS EAH2900XT: Special 4 Game Bundle

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl from THQ

The ASUS EAH2900XT will be exclusively bundled with THQ and GSC Game World’s critically-acclaimed survival horror First-Person Shooter (FPS) game S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl. “S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl is a very visually engaging open-ended FPS, so the graphical portions of the game are very detailed and requires a graphics card with powerful performance and high quality to bring out the best portions of the game,” said Ian Curran, Senior Vice President of international publishing, THQ.  “ASUS’s EAH2900XT is certainly up to the task, and THQ is pleased to bundle S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadows of Chernobyl with ASUS’s high-end performance graphics card.” 

“The Black Box” from Valve

Additionally, Valve offers a voucher coupon that allows users free copies of 3 upcoming titles from Valve’s “The Black Box” game bundle. This offer includes Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal, and the games will be available via downloads through Steam – Valve’s online platform for PC games, when they become available later in 2007. In the meantime, users will be able to enjoy a free copy of Valve’s Day of Defeat.

Full DirectX 10 and Windows Vista Compatibility

Of course the ASUS EAH2900XT comes equipped with AMD’s latest ATI Radeon™ HD 2900XT GPU – which delivers powerful graphics performance, improved stability and an immersive HD gaming experience for Windows Vista™. The latest ATI Catalyst™ software is designed for quick setup of graphics, video and multiple displays; and automatically configures optimal system settings for lifelike DirectX® 10 gaming and visually stunning Windows Aero™ user interfaces.