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Thursday, October 11th, 2012

    Time Event
    3:13a
    NVIDIA 306.97 WHQL Drivers Available

    Continuing their 304 Series drivers, NVIDIA has just released their 306.97 driver update for desktops and laptops. Along with updated SLI and 3D Vision profiles for a few games, the driver notes specifically call out improved support for Borderlands 2 and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria. The new drivers come just under a month after the last WHQL release, the 306.23 drivers. I also noticed a few compatibility issues with Total War: Shogun 2 that came with the 306.23 drivers have been fixed with the latest update, though overall performance is largely unchanged in most titles. Here are the direct links to the various drivers:

    Desktop 32-bit Windows Vista/7/8
    Desktop 64-bit Windows Vista/7/8
    Mobile 32-bit Windows Vista/7/8
    Mobile 64-bit Windows Vista/7/8

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    10:00a
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Launch Recap

    Earlier this week we reviewed NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 650 Ti. As this was a hard launch many of NVIDIA’s partners have had their cards available for purchase from day-one, so we’re here to provide you with a summary of what’s available with this week’s launch.

    Before we dive into things we wanted to quickly point out that because of NVIDIA’s GTX 650 Ti Assassin’s Creed III promotion, prices are being distorted some. Manufacturers appear to be paying $5-$10 for the game, causing the price of most of these cards to come in over NVIDIA’s $149 MSRP. The only card initially available at Newegg at $149 is EVGA’s reference clocked card, which doesn’t include Assassin’s Creed III.

      ASUS EVGA EVGA SSC Galaxy
    Part Number GTX650TI-1GD5 01G-P4-3650-KR 01G-P4-3652-KR 65IGH8DL7AXX
    Core Clock 928MHz 928 MHz 1071 MHz 966MHz
    Memory Clock 5400 MHz 5400 MHz 5400 MHz 5400 MHz
    Dimensions in inches
    (dimensions in mm)
    8.39” x 4.72” x ???
    (213.11 x 119.89 x ???)
    6" x 4.38" x ???
    (152.4 x 111.25 x ???)
    6" x 4.38" x ???
    (152.4 x 111.25 x ???)
    6.88" x 4.37" x 1.51"
    (174.75  x 111 x 38.35)
    Outputs 2x DVI-D, VGA, HDMI 2x DVI-I, Mini-HDMI 2x DVI-I, Mini-HDMI 2x DVI-I, Mini-HDMI
    Included accessories N/A DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin
    Warranty 3 year 3 year 3 year 3 year
    Price (Newegg) $154.99 $149.99 $159.99 $159.99

     

      Gigabyte Triangle Gigabyte Windforce MSI
    Part Number GV-N65TOC-1GI GV-N65TOC-2GI N650Ti PE 1GD5/OC
    Core Clock 1032 MHz 1032 MHz 993 MHz
    Memory Clock 5400 MHz 5400 MHz 5400 MHz
    Dimensions in inches
    (dimensions in mm)
    ??? ???

    9.06” x 5.16” x 1.38”
    (230 x 131 x 35)

    Outputs 2x DVI-D, VGA, HDMI 2x DVI-D, VGA, HDMI 2x DVI-I, Mini-HDMI
    Included accessories 4-pin to 6-pin 4-pin to 6-pin DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin
    Warranty 3 year 3 year 3-year parts/2-year labor
    Price (Newegg) $159.99 $174.99 $159.99

     

      Zotac Zotac AMP
    Part Number ZT-61102-10M ZT-61103-10M
    Core Clock 941 MHz 1033 MHz
    Memory Clock 5400 MHz 6200 MHz
    Dimensions in inches
    (dimensions in mm)

    6.03" x 4.38" x 1.39"
    (153.16 x 111.25 x 35.31)

    4.37” x 6.03” x ???
    (111.15 x 153.162 x ???)

    Outputs 2x DVI-I, 2x HDMI 2x DVI-I, 2x HDMI
    Included accessories DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin DVI to VGA, 4-pin to 6-pin
    Warranty 2 year (Lifetime with registration) 2 year (Lifetime with registration)
    Price (Newegg) $169.99

    Unlisted
    ($179 MSRP)

    Card dimensions should be taken as an estimate rather than a precise measurement, as manufacturers haven’t standardized the unit of measurement for their cards. Some cards were measured in inches while others were in metric. I’ve done the necessary conversions to both formats, but the physical product does not always match the dimensions given on the spec sheet.

    ASUS (Product Page)

    This card is among the largest of the lineup, due to its second fan, which should be taken into consideration with some setups.

    EVGA (Product Page)

    & EVGA Super Superclocked (Product Page)

    By skipping the Assassin’s Creed III promotion on their entry-level card, EVGA boasts the least expensive card of the competition by a slight margin. Meanwhile, for an investment of $10 you can get the Super Superclocked version (reviewed here) which includes Assassin’s Creed III along with a hefty factory core overclock of 15%. Based on NVIDIA’s reference design, the cards are also among the most compact of the bunch.

    Galaxy (Product Page)

    As with many other GTX 650 Ti cards launching today, Galaxy is seeding the market first with a factory overclocked model, with a shipping clockspeed of 966Mhz. Otherwise, Galaxy’s sole GTX 650 Ti is a fairly standard card, featuring a single-fan open air cooler and NVIDIA’s standard port configuration of 2 DVI ports alongside a mini-HDMI port.

    Gigabyte Triangle (Product Page)

    Gigabyte’s GTX 650 Ti “Triangle” is their entry-level GTX 650 Ti card, based on a short PCB (presumebly NVIDIA’s reference PCB) and equipped with an open air fan & heatsink combination that Gigabyte calls their Triangle cooler. Like Gigabyte’s other GTX 650 Ti this features a fairly large factory overclock, with the card shipping at 1032MHz.

    Gigabyte Windforce (Product Page)

    This card, which we have reviewed more in-depth, is the 2GB product for Gigabyte’s 650Ti line and is equipped with Gigabyte’s Windforce 2X cooler, which is composed of two 100mm fans mounted over a large aluminum heatsink. While the dimensions were not specified, the cooling system requires more space than most cards in the lineup due to the second fan. Like the Triangle this card ships with a 1032MHz factory overclock.

    MSI (Product Page)

    The largest card in the lineup, this card also has a 3-year parts and 2-year labor warranty, like most MSI graphics cards. MSI is offering a mild factory overclock here shipping the card at 993MHz.

    Zotac (Product Page)

     

    Zotac is the only company in this lineup with a 2-year warranty, while also charging the highest premium for its cards. However, with product registration you can upgrade to an extended limited lifetime warranty, which may explain the increase in cost. Zotac also offers a factory overclock on this model –making them the only vendor to not offer a true reference clocked card – but at 941MHz the difference is trivial at best.

    Zotac AMP! Edition (Product Page)

     

    The Zotac AMP has all the features of the Zotac 650 Ti above, but it also is the only card in the lineup with a factory overclock on its memory, with Zotac having bumped it up to 6.2GHz. In our launch-day review this was among the best cards we reviewed, but also among the most expensive.

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    6:00p
    The AnandTech Podcast: Episode 8

    As we march towards our review of the iPhone 5 (and some other really cool stuff you'll be seeing later this month), episode 8 of our weekly podcast got pushed back a bit - but here it is. Ian shares some of his latest test data on reducing POST times for newer motherboards in anticipation of Windows 8. We recap some of the Haswell Architecture piece that went live last week. Vivek joins us to talk about the 2nd gen Razer Blade as well as his perspective on anodizing thin aluminum surfaces. Brian talks about the T-Mobile acquisition and new phones from HTC.

    The AnandTech Podcast - Episode 8
    featuring Anand Shimpi, Brian Klug, Vivek Gowri & Dr. Ian Cutress

    iTunes
    RSS - mp3m4a
    Direct Links - mp3m4a

    Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

    Outline - hh:mm

    Ian On Reducing POST Times - 00:02
    Smartphone Boot Times - 00:10
    The Haswell Architecture Article - 00:20
    Virtualized Cellphone Base Stations - 00:30
    2nd gen Razer Blade - 00:40
    NGFF SSDs - 1:02
    Need for SFF Upgradable DRAM - 1:07
    New Kindles/Nook  - 1:14
    T-Mobile Acquisition - 1:38
    HTC One X+/One VX - 1:46
    Vivek on Scuffgate - 1:51

    As always, comments are welcome and appreciated. Let us know what you liked, hated and want to hear more of.

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