AnandTech Article Channel |
- The Making of NVIDIA's Project SHIELD
- Intel Releases 180GB SSD 335
- Fractal Design Launches Core 3000 USB 3.0
| The Making of NVIDIA's Project SHIELD Posted: 01 Feb 2013 10:15 AM PST NVIDIA put up a blog post recently that goes into some of the details of how Project SHIELD came together. There's plenty of marketing hyperbole in the blog post, but if you've ever wondered what it would be like to be one of the top engineers at a company like NVIDIA, this will give you some ideas. 14-hour work days for weeks or even months? Yup, it sounds like that's exactly what some of the people were doing, but that's what passion looks like I suppose. The jury is still out on whether or not Project SHIELD will be a success, but you have to give credit to NVIDIA for at least trying something different. Plus, the blog post is an entertaining read, and if you need one more reason to like the idea: Project SHIELD can play Crysis (by proxy). 
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| Posted: 01 Feb 2013 09:37 AM PST Intel released the SSD 335 in October last year but the initial launch included only the 240GB version. Today Intel is adding a 180GB model to the SSD 335 lineup. If you recall from our SSD 335 review, the SSD 335 is essentially just SSD 330 but with smaller lithography NAND (20nm vs 25nm). It's still based on SandForce's SF-2281 controller but with customized Intel firmware. The SSD 335 will also be sporting a new case design (see the picture above) later this quarter; drives available today will still have the old plain metal design.
Intel is reporting similar performance at both capacities, although I should note that Intel has always been fairly conservative when it comes to published performance specs (for example, most SandForce OEMs claim up to 90K random write). NewEgg is already listing the 180GB SSD 335 and it's currently priced at $180, which is actually $10 more than 180GB SSD 330 (although I would expect the price to drop once more resellers get the SSD 335 in stock). 
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| Fractal Design Launches Core 3000 USB 3.0 Posted: 01 Feb 2013 09:16 AM PST Last year, we looked at Fractal Design’s Core 1000, their entry level chassis that can be had for under $40. It performed “okay”, which is about all you can expect from a budget case. The newly redesigned Core 3000 looks to change more than a few elements of the Core 1000, and in fact other than the “Core” branding it bears little in common with the Core 1000. It’s bigger and heavier for one, measuring 200mm x 444mm x 480mm (7.87” x 17.48” x 18.90”), so this is no longer intended as a small PC box. It also comes with three fans standard: a 140mm fan in front, 120mm fan in back, and 120mm fan up top. Here’s the full list of specifications.
Other items not specifically listed in the above table include an upper HDD cage that can be rotated or removed, allowing the installation of even the largest GPUs (Fractal Design lists GPU clearance as 270mm with the cage or 420mm without—I’m not sure any GPU will ever need 420mm of clearance again, or at least I hope not). Dust covers are also included for the PSU and front fan positions, and the HDD/SSD trays are equipped with silicon vibration dampening grommets. The Core 3000 USB 3.0 is currently available in some markets, but the US does not appear to be among them. We expect that to change within the coming weeks, and given the popularity of Fractal Design that will likely be sooner rather than later. Of course, the other big change is the doubling of the MSRP, which was inevitable given the improved features, but it looks like the Core 3000 should be competitive with other similarly priced offerings. 
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