A-DATA Using ''DNA Authentication'' to ID RAM

A-DATA is forced to use an invisible numbering system on all of its DRAM modules.

A-DATA Technology said today that it now must use what it calls a DNA authentication technology in all of its standard DRAM modules thanks to problematic counterfeiting and fraud, a "serious and growing problem" in the DRAM industry, according to the company. A-DATA said that the authentication technology--while not using real DNA--will embed an invisible sequence of a unique DNA into the product label, not the actual DRAM module.

"As a leading manufacturer of DRAM module in the industry, A-DATA is committed to offer the highest quality of DRAM module and solution to the consumers," said Gibson Chen, Vice President and Head of Product Management Division. "Thus, we adopted the DNA authentication technology to protect our intellectual property and our consumers’ interests."

So what does DNA authentication mean to the consumer? This guarantees a true A-DATA product, and not a fake DRAM module stamped with A-DATA's logo. To verify the chip's authenticity, consumers and retailers can simply use a black light pen that will light up the DNA's fluorescent coding. The label itself also utilizes "special designed significant cuts" that keeps counterfeiters from removing it easily.

While this implementation of authentication is interesting, it will only be a matter of time before counterfeiters figure out a way around the new system.

Source: Tom's Hardware US

Intel Prototypes New Cooler for Gulftown CPU

Intel's heatsink and fan goes to the gym, gets beefcake.

Intel retail boxed processors always come packed with a heatsink and fan. While they aren't the most elaborate cooling solutions, they are quiet, efficient, and even adequate for some light overclocking.

Of course, those serious about keeping their hot chips cool will opt for aftermarket solutions. For the upcoming six-core Nehalem-based Gulftown CPU, Intel will be packing it with a tower-style heatsink.

PCWorld.fr snapped pictures of a prototype of the cooler that will be paired with Gulftown. Besides just a bigger heatsink with more fins, the proposed cooler also features four copper heatpipes.

Check out more pictures here.

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Monday Deals: Win 7 OEM, SSD, Gaming Mouse

Happy shopping!

As usual, a big thanks to our partners Logic Buy for sponsoring this post. Be sure to let us know if you take advantage of any of these deals and how it works out for you!

Laptops and Desktops

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LCD Monitors, Storage and Peripherals

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Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM for $105.99 - $10 Coupon = $95.99 with free shipping.

Corsair CMFSSD-128GBG2D 128GB SATA II Solid State Drive for $389.99 - $20 off - $10 exclusive LogicBUY Coupon - $25 rebate = $334.99 with free shipping.

Networking

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Gaming

Spend $80 on XBOX 360, PS3, Wii video games, get $20 off using Coupon Code.

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Left 4 Dead 2 for $54.99 with $10 Amazon video game credit and free shipping.

Portable Electronics, cameras and Phones

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Cool Stuff

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Source: Tom's Hardware US

Asus Unveils First USB 3.0 Motherboard

Asustek has unveiled the first USB 3.0 motherboard.

Asus Wednesday unveiled the first motherboard to support SuperSpeed USB. SuperSpeed USB, also known as USB 3.0, boasts transfer rates of up to 10 times faster than what users can expect with USB 2.0.

The Asus Xtreme Design P7DP55DE-E Premium packs two USB 3.0 ports and, given that the motherboard uses Intel's P55 Express Chipset, which doesn't even support USB 3.0, it's not surprising to learn some folk were a little confused when they first heard the news. However, Asus has enlisted the help of a third party controller, which makes for a pretty handy workaround.

Aside from the two USB 3.0 ports, the Xtreme Design P7DP55DE-E Premium has 10 USB 2.0 ports, six 3GB per second SATA ports, two 6GB per second SATA ports, two PCIe x16 graphic card slots and two Gigabit Ethernet ports.

All together now, ooooh!

Source: Tom's Hardware US

Intel Pulls Out $1.25B to Settle All AMD Problems

Intel digs deep into its pocket once again to settle competition with AMD.

In what could be one of the closing chapters in a long-lasting saga, Intel Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices today announced a comprehensive agreement to end all outstanding legal disputes between the companies, including antitrust litigation and patent cross license disputes.

In a joint statement, the two companies commented, "While the relationship between the two companies has been difficult in the past, this agreement ends the legal disputes and enables the companies to focus all of our efforts on product innovation and development."

Under terms of the agreement:

- AMD and Intel obtain patent rights from a new 5-year cross license agreement

- Intel and AMD will give up any claims of breach from the previous license agreement

- Intel will pay AMD $1.25 billion.

- Intel agrees to abide by a set of business practice provisions.

As a result, AMD will drop all pending litigation including the case in U.S. District Court in Delaware and two cases pending in Japan. AMD will also withdraw all of its regulatory complaints worldwide. The agreement will be made public in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Tom's Hardware US

AMD's Dual GPU Radeon HD 5970 is Fastest Ever

Not bad if you have $600 sitting around.

You may have already noticed on our front page that there's a new king of the graphics card industry tested today.

AMD today announced the ATI Radeon HD 5970, which it calls the fastest card ever created thanks to pairing two HD 5870 GPUs together. After we put it to the test, we're going to agree with this claim (until the next best thing comes along, of course).

The ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics card delivers nearly 5 TeraFLOPS of compute power. Grab two of them together in CrossFireX and you're looking at nearly 10 TeraFLOPS.

"With the arrival of the ATI Radeon HD 5970, the fastest graphics card in the world, we’ve cemented AMD as the unquestioned graphics leader," said Matt Skynner, vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics Group. "With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, the new card, coupled with the awesome power of ATI Eyefinity technology, is the ultimate setup for serious gamers."

For the full story, we're going to hand you over to Chris Angelini's full review complete with benchmarks.

Source: Tom's Hardware US