Intel, Micron Introduce 25nm Flash Memory

Intel and Micron officially announced 25nm process technology.

Intel and Micron Technology announced today that a new era in storage, smartphones, and media players has begun with the introduction of 25-nanometer NAND technology. Not only is this the smallest process for NAND flash memory, but currently the smallest process for semiconductor technology in general. Who said bigger was better?

The joint venture between Intel and Micron will be manufactured by IM Flash Technologies. The 25nm process will cram a whopping 8 GB of storage on a single NAND chip. Intel's announcement today paints a pretty picture on the NAND's actual size: measuring just 167mm2, it's small enough to fit through the hole in the middle of a CD, but packs 10 times the data capacity of the disc.

With that said, manufacturers can cram more storage into their devices, or use the extra room to throw in a new feature. In any case, the number of chips to provide the same amount of storage space has been cut down to half the load. As an example, a 256 GB solid-state drive used 64 NAND chips now only requires 32. A 16 GB flash card now only need two chips, whereas a 32 GB smartphone now only needs four.

Tom Rampone, vice president and general manager, Intel NAND Solutions Group, said that the new 25nm processing should speed up the adaption of solid-state drives. "Through our continued investment in IMFT, we're delivering leadership technology and manufacturing that enable the most cost-effective and reliable NAND memory," he said.

Currently Intel is sampling the 25nm, 8 GB NAND, and plans to kick it into high gear with mass production in Q2 2010.

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Nvidia Found Guilty of Infringing Rambus Patents

Rambus rolls on with its memory technology patents.

In summer 2008, Rambus claimed that "a number of Nvidia products" with memory controllers for SDR, DDR, DDR2, DDR3, GDDR, and GDDR3 SDRAM infringe upon 17 Rambus patents, leading to the expected lawsuit.

Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that Nvidia violated three of five patents held by Rambus which could lead to a possible U.S. ban on the import of some Nvidia products.

"We will continue to vigorously protect our patented inventions for the benefit of our shareholders and in fairness to our paying licensees," said Rambus General Counsel Tom Lavelle. "We would be interested in having productive settlement discussions with Nvidia."

Nvidia, expectedly, isn't so eager to set up any sort of payment schedule. According to Reuters, Nvidia is waiting for a decision from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office later this year on whether or not Rambus has full claim to some of the patents involved in the current dispute with Nvidia. If Rambus is found to not have full claim, it would change the outcome of the ITC's ruling considerably.

"We're going to continue to take the necessary steps to move forward with our arguments, not necessarily just with the ITC, but certainly in the Patent and Trademark Office," said David Shannon, Nvidia general counsel.

News of this comes just after Rambus' $900 million settlement with Samsung over patent disagreements.

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Lian Li's T1 Pitstop PC Case Looks Like a Spider

Danger!

It takes a lot to produce a really innovative computer case. Sure, enthusiasts produce a lot of great case-mods but for every truly great chassis we see from a manufacturer, there are ten 'nothing special' cases.

We're not sure if the T1 Pitstop from Lian Li falls into the great or 'meh' category, but they sure did go all out marketing. The T1 Pitstop is an open air a Mini-ATX case with room for a full size PSU. Oh and it's shaped like a spider.

Check out the extremely cheesy and slightly annoying video below.

Lian Li Spider Chassis

Source : Tom's Hardware US

God of War PC Case Mod is Awe Inspiring

We love non-traditional case mods, and I'm personally a huge God of War fan. This latest case mod is those two worlds collided.

A LAN party in Brazil was graced by a stunning Kratos case mod that held a full PC inside the figure with flashing LED lights on the outside. Details are scant at the moment, but a short video clip proves that this thing is real. Check it out below:

god of war kratos case mod

(Translated source.)

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Thermaltake, Nvidia Jointly Launch Gaming Case

Nvidia Edition cases hitting the market along with Fermi.

While stopping over at Thermaltake's suite, we noticed a custom designed case with an Nvidia logo on the front.

Although not fancy, the case delivers an efficient layout with one specialty: dedicated air channeling for Nvidia's upcoming Fermi-based graphics cards.

Called the Element V Nvidia Edition, the case has multiple large intake fans, as well as a specialized cooling duct that would partially cover the ends of Fermi cards. Thermaltake told us that this way, a dedicated intake fan will draw in cool air from the outside and direct the air flow right into the intakes of installed cards. Designed for multiple graphics cards, Thermaltake told us that Nvidia officially recommends the use of Fermi-certified cases when running multiple cards.

On the side sits a large panel fan and the are fans on the top of the case that help draw hot air out of the system too. We asked if "Nvidia Edition" cases are going to be available from other vendors and were told that for now, Thermaltake is the only maker.

Availability will be at the end of Feburary/early March and will retail for $179 USD.

Check out the photos for details!

More on CES 2010

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Drool: Maingear's New OC'd Core i7 Gaming Rigs

Well, I'll be damned if Maingear hasn't just given me that Friday feeling on a damp and dreary, rainy Thursday.

Maingear yesterday announced that it has started shipping a bad-ass new line of gaming rigs that are enough to make your pulse quicken. Ranging from $2,249 to a dream crushing $5,149, the top of the line F1X packs an overclocked Core i7, maintenance free X20 watercooling, 12GB of triple–channel DDR3 RAM, a Blu-ray burner, and last but certainly not least, an 80GB SSD to complement the 1.5TB of regular HDD storage.

Peep the specs below and if anyone happens to have a spare five grand lying around and is feeling philanthropic, you know where to find me.

And, if you're one of those harsh but realistic people who thinks believes knows it's not just what's on the inside that counts, these machines are also super sleek.

Oooh pretty!

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Intel Shows Off the Best Core i7, i5 Case Mods

So... would this be a best case scenario?

We all love a good case mod, and so does Intel. In fact, the chipmaker challenged the mod community to come up with the greatest case mods ever using Core i7 and Core i5 parts (though some made it through using previous generation parts).

Intel set up the challenge to all enthusiasts in Belgium, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States – and now we know all the winning entries.

The image below has a sampling of the winners, but the full details of each system can be found here.

Interestingly, we reported on the U.S. winner's entry in an earlier story. Congrats!

Those with the best mods will receive gift cards worth up to US $1,500; Intel processors; an Intel Atom processor-based netbook; a Flip HD pocket camcorder; a 160GB Intel solid-state drive and other prizes.

Tell us which one is your favorite!

Follow us on Twitter for more tech news and exclusive updates here.

Source : Tom's Hardware US