AMD was the first to announce the upcoming Fusion processor that combines the power of CPUs and GPUs. Now Intel strikes back and presents its own Fusion-like solution that is supposed to be released in Q3-Q4 2009.

The Intel hybrid platform is codenamed Havendale and will feature a CPU with integrated GPU capabilities as well as an Ibex peak chipset which will be a single-chip solution, fusing the Northbridge and the Southbridge together. Even though the hybrid processor integrates an iGFX GPU, the motherboards will still support external PCIe graphics.

According to Fudzilla, the CPU part of the Havendale is only a dual-core, Nehalem derived 45nm model. OK, it’s not a six-core, but it comes with integrated memory controller on the CPU side of the chip. The processor is DDR3-only compatible and it interconnects with Ibex peak directly through a memory interface (DMI).

In order to provide decent graphics performance, Intel is going to interconnect the Ibex peak unified chipset with the GPU through Intel's Flexible Display Interface (FDI). Additionally, the new chipset has an input/output part and something known as a Manageability engine, already present in Intel’s 4-series Northbridge.

Although it’s not a high-end processor, the integration of a CPU and a GPU will mean lower power consumption and greater performance at the same time.

We know Roadrunner is the fastest supercomputer on Earth (for the moment at least), but how much does it cost to assemble and maintain such a behemoth? Millions of dollars? Not that much for a government-funded project. I guess the guys who assembled the Roadrunner didn’t take into consideration what NVIDIA CUDA can provide for their endeavors. CUDA forces all unified stream processors found in a GPU to work as separate CPUs. So if we have two NVIDIA 9800GX2 cards, that would amount to 2X256 processors running at around 1,4 GHZ. This setup alone can turn you computer into a miniature supercomputer that can solve complex equations and coordinate impressive simulations. How about 8 of these cards working in parallel?

MIT graduate students Nicolas Pint, David Cox and James DiCarlo have managed to assemble an impressive 16-GPU system composed of eight 9800GX2 video cards donated by NVIDIA. That would translate into 2048 processors that would deliver more than 20 TFLOPS. The CUDA architecture will soon be adopted by ATI, as well, and that means we will get to use 1600 processors on a single Radeon 4870X2 card. Sure, the ATI unified processors are clocked at a lower frequency than those found on NVIDIA’s cards. Still, eight 4870X2 will net you the power of 6400 processors clocked at around 800 MHz.

Ubergizmo informs that the high-throughput method the three students promote can also use other ubiquitous technologies like IBM's Cell Broadband Engine processor (found in Sony's Playstation 3) or Amazon's Elastic Cloud Computing services. What puzzles me is the fact that the team is also involved in the PetaVision project on the Roadrunner, so why didn’t they use the CUDA architecture? That would have cut the costs drastically. I reckon the Roadrunner had been designed before the CUDA architecture actually got released.

I can hardly wait to get my hands on the HD 4870X2 video card from ATI. I’m not really an ATI fanboy, since I currently own an NVIDIA 8800 GTS card. It even crossed my mind to get a second card and try the SLI mode. That was because of Crysis, but now I’m set on buying an ATI card. However, if you are an NVIDIA fanboy and you can’t really afford to buy a Dual GTX 280 solution, here’s a pretty good alternative coming from ECS.

Elitegroup Computer Systems claims that this is a high end graphics gamer pack that should meet the needs of the most demanding hardcore gamers out there. It is known as GeForce 9800GTX+ Hydra Pack and combines two NVIDIA N9800GTX+-512MX-W graphics cards with a special ECS Hydra Cooling System in order to provide outstanding overclocking capabilities.

The two cards support Nvidia PhysX as well as Nvidia CUDA technology and the included cooling system is said to deliver around 20 percent better cooling efficiency compared to similar liquid cooling systems. Other features of this pack include support for the second-generation PureVideo HD Technology, which provides high-definition video decoding acceleration and post-processing and 512MB of GDDR3 memory on the graphics cards. Overclocking these babies is pretty much hassle-free and the water block system will efficiently cool the cards even when you push them to the limit.

Strange enough, the gaming pack seems to be already available, but there is no official info on the price.

While IT analysts point out that computer mice might go extinct in the next 5 years, making way for mind-control interfaces, it is possible that the digital rodents are going to suffer some weird mutations, probably benefitting from alien technology. If that sounds a bit cryptic to you, check out the Alien Mouse concept and you’ll know what I mean:

Apparently, the guy who designed this mouse, MIzanur Rahman, was looking to enhance ergonomics in a drastic way. Actually, Rahman says that his idea was to create a mouse that would strictly adhere to the principles of ergonomics and provide maximum comfort by molding itself to the user's hand with a body constructed of soft gel and cellulose. Hey, that sounds like Moldable Mouse 2.0. It even features a pulsating central core that reverberates throughout the frame to help relieve stress and possible injuries.

Cool futuristic appearance, but how exactly do we control this thing? The designer explains that all functionality is handled by the sphere-shaped section at the top. A central joystick is flanked by fairly standard right and left click buttons, but the good thing of the peculiar controls layout is that the mouse never needs to be physically moved.

The Alien Mouse is still in concept stage and I reckon if the designer doesn’t step on it in the next 5 years, we might not get the chance to test it… Maybe it’ll be exported to some alien worlds.

I own a pretty good Chieftech PC case, but I think it’s time I changed it with some new, gaming and modding oriented one. There are many case makers out there, and one of the newer companies that entered this market is known as NZXT. The guys over at NZXT seem to be offering solid cases which have a cool design, as well as some useful features. Right now I’m tempted to give the new Guardian 921 a try.

Guardian 921 is the latest gaming rig chassis for PC fans coming from NZXT. The case itself seems to have already been modded and takes a place in the NZXT Crafted Series line. There’s enough room to stuff this case with quad-SLI configurations and up to four hard drives.

The case is built from 0.8mm and 1mm steel. Other features of the case include built-in temperature monitoring and silent cooling with three 120mm fans included. Guardian 921 has eSATA, HD audio, mic and dual USB ports on the front.

“With the Guardian 921, we’ve reached an optimal balance of pricing and performance” said Johnny Hou, Chief Designer at NZXT. “This chassis is perfect for the PC Gamer/enthusiast who’s looking for a phenomenal building block for their new rig without breaking the bank.”

The new case is expected to retail this month for $89.99.