Dec 31st 2007

I hope you have enjoyed your holiday. In this issue of the BGCG ezine and also the last day of 2007, I am going to give you a glimpse into the core components in 2008 and if you are keen to upgrade your computer, this is the time to find out what to expect for the coming year.

Processor

Duo core CPU has taken the lime light in 2007, with Intel Core 2 Duo leading the pack. In 2008, you are going to see quad core in action. AMD released their first quad core CPU ‘Phenom‘ back in Nov 2007. This Phenom CPU is positioned in the mid-range segment with a very affordable price. The fastest Phenom is only 2.3GHz which is a far cry from its 64 X2 3.2GHz processor. It seems that AMD is not concerned about competing with Intel’s over the fastest speed, but rather competing on a performance/price basis.

On the other hand, Intel is set to release its prized design: 45nm Penryn Core 2 Quad CPU in the first quarter. This performance enhanced CPU offers greater energy efficiency and it is faster, cooler, and less power-hungry. The first Penryn for consumers, the Core 2 Extreme QX9650 that runs at 3GHz on a 1,333MHz front-side bus is already available in the market for $1099.99. Price is expected to fall with volume shipments of mainstream speeds in early next year.

My thought: If budget is a constraint to you, then AMD Phenom quad core CPU will be a great choice. It is definitely not on par with Intel’s Penryn, but the affordable price makes it really attractive. In addition, if you are thinking of changing to quad core CPU, I would advise you to wait till second quarter of 2008 where more applications (and games) that supports multi core are released. By then, the price will have also drop to a cheaper range.

Motherboard

Graphics card support

Don’t be surprised to see the motherboard in 2008 to support four video cards configuration. AMD launched its spider platform in Nov 07, which includes its 790 chipset that supported a four video card configuration. For sure, we are going to see more of this in the coming year.

CPU socket

Intel Penryn will be physically compatible with socket 778, but since there are voltage changes and chipset incompatibilities, most probably your current socket 778 motherboard will not be able to support the new processor. AMD users should have no worries since the Phenom works fine on current AM2 motherboard.

PCI-Express slot

We will also see more widespread adoption of the new generation PCI-E 2.0. This slot has the same physical configuration as its predecessor and is backward compatible. What is different is that it doubles the speed to 8Gb/s, and could probably go up to 16Gb/s in the near future. Newer boards with the X35 and 790 chipsets are already starting to support the PCI-E 2.0 slot.

My thought: Prepare for an overhaul in the motherboard department.

Memory

There is not much news on the memory side. Although DDR3 is already available in the market, the adoption rate has been pretty low. In the coming year, you can expect the memory speed to go up to 1600MHz and the capability to increase to 8GB.

My thought: There is no doubt that DDR3 is replacing the DDR2 as the standard. The adoption rate will rise when the price of the RAM falls to an acceptable range. At this moment, DDR2 still reign.

Hard Drive

The demand for storage is high, especially with the launch of high definition video. Your usual 750GB hard disk is no longer going to be sufficient. In year 2008, expect the hard disk storage to increase to 1.5 - 1.75 terabytes. In addition, SATA interface could increase from current 3.0Gb/s to 6.0Gb/s.

My thought: I am not sure if SATA 6.0 is as good as it claims since the current drives are not fully utilizing the maximum transfer rate. Hard drive prices have always been very competitive. Avoid the latest technology and you should land yourself in a great deal.

Videocard

The year 2008 will see the best of DirectX10. As more and more DX10 games are released, we will be seeing more and more DX10 video cards from ATI and Nvidia. At this moment, the video card that performs well in DirectX10 costs from $300 onward. Expect to see the price to drop as the technology become more mature.

My thought: Looking at how Nvidia dominated the video card market for 2007, there’s no way that ATI is taking this down so easily. ATI fans…expect to see a fight back from ATI.

Conclusion

Year 2008 is going to be an interesting year. Expect to see new technology, components, applications and games to release. One thing that you definitely have to keep a close watch on…and that is your wallet. Don’t break your bank!

Meanwhile, BGCG wishes you a Happy New Year.

PS: BGCG is revamping. Look out for the brand new site that is going to deliver more punch, information, articles and updates.

Damien