Data interface Thunderbolt from Intel company entered the market in February 2011 in the Apple MacBook Pro laptop. By combining in the one interface PCI Express and DisplayPort, it now offers data rates up to 10 Gbit / s. On the more common personal computers the interface began to be applied recently, as part of the laptop and PC top price category.



Intel plans to introduce a new controller interface Redwood Ridge Thunderbolt for use in personal computers in the second quarter of next year. It is likely that the new controllers will form the platform of the Shark Bay for next generation processors under the name of Haswell.


Controllers Redwood Ridge will support completely the same data rate 10 Gb / s, interface DisplayPort v1.1 and function DisplayPort v1.2 Redriver. At present, even the cheapest chips Thunderbolt, 2-channel Cactus Ridge, cost motherboard manufacturers at about $ 20, and many consumers expect that emergence of new generations of controllers will reduce …

TUL Corporation is about to hit the market with an off-beat gaming graphics card, based on AMD Radeon RX 480 GPU. The PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 8 GB GDDR5 employs a retrofitted PCB with the 6+1-phase VRM. The board incorporates a single 8-pin connector, instead of a 6-pin one.



Like the etalon model, the creation from TUL uses the 4th-gen AMD GCN architecture & AMD Polaris 10 GPU. The integrated GPU features 2304 stream processors, 144 TMUs and 32 ROPs. Its clock frequency index makes up 1330 MHz. The core cooperates with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory (256-bit interface) that runs at 2000/8000 MHz frequency (base/efficient). The list of external interfaces boasts three DisplayPort ports, one HDMI and one DVI-D port.


The Red Devil RX 480 8 GB GDDR5 comes equipped with a brand Double Blade III cooler. It consists of four nickel-plated heatpipes (2x 6 mm, 2x 8 mm), an aluminum heatsink as well as three 80-mm fans. The latter are developed on double ball-bearings.


Pricing is …

Xigmatek expands its line of products by a new series of PSUs, entitled Vector S. Currently, the customers can acquire the 550 W model, featuring 123x150x85 mm dimensions and 80 Plus Silver certificate. Its efficiency level achieves 86% on 20%-100% load range. The new-comer is distinguished by a memorable design: it is housed in a magenta case equipped with an unusual ventilation grid and a V-shape insertion.



Xigmatek Vector S550 accommodates a semi-modular cable design: CPU and motherboard power supply cables are fixed, whereas all other cables are demountable. The list of available connectors includes 24-pin ATX, 8+8-pin EPS, a pair of 6+2 PCI Express, three Molex, one Berg, and six SATA interfaces. All internal components are cooled down by a single 135-mm low-noise fan with a stylish LED backlight.


A new PSU model from Xigmatek boasts the integration of a single +12V bus, Active PFC technology as well as a bunch of protection options: OVP, OCP, OPP, SCP, etc. In …