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Intel has officially introduced its six-core monster for high-end gaming boxes--its first desktop chip packing that many processing cores.Dell Alienware boxes are expected to use the Core i7- 980X six-core processor.As previously reported, the Core i7- 980X Extreme Edition processor was introduced at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

The chip is based on Intel's newest 32-nanometer process technology. Generally, the smaller the manufacturing process, the better the performance. Most Intel processors still use "fatter" 45-nanometer technology.
Like other Core i series processors, it features Hyper-Threading, which can double the number of tasks--or threads--a processor can execute. The technology, which is not offered on prior-generation Core 2 chips, allows a six-core processor to handle 12 threads.
"The Core i7-980X Extreme Edition is the fastest desktop processor we have ever tested, bar none," HotHardware.com said in a review published on Wednesday. "Factor in support for AES-NI, HyperThreading, and bump the shared L3 cache up to a cool 12MB, and you've got the makings of one seriously fast CPU." (AES-NI, or Advanced Encryption Standard New Instruction, is a technology for boosting security, available on Intel "Westmere" 32-nanometer processors.)
As many users will elect to build their own systems, motherboards already available from vendors such as Gigabyte (e.g., the EX58A-UD5) and Asus can take the new 980x chip. Game box suppliers such as Falcon Northwest and Dell's Alienware unit are also expected to offer configurations with the new processor. (Update: CNET has reviewed the Falcon Northwest Mach V, saying: "record-setting application performance thanks to overclocking and Intel's new six-core Core i7 chip.")
Intel also introduced GPA (graphics performance analyzer) v3.0, which helps PC game developers analyze and optimize game performance. The updated development platform supports multicore optimizations and includes support for DirectX 10.1 and 64-bit game executables, Intel said.
Intel recently rolled out Core i3, i5, and i7 processors for laptops, which can also take advantage of GPA v3.0.
GDC attendees can see demonstrations of games enhanced using Intel GPA and running on Intel's newest HD Graphics, including such titles as Atari Star Trek Online, Electronic Arts Tiger Woods Golf, Intel said. Developers can download the new Intel GPA suite of software tools here.

After devoting last year's installment of the Rock Band franchise entirely to The Beatles, Harmonix and MTV Games are getting back to their roots. The pair announced via Facebook today that Rock Band 3 is set for release this holiday season.

Electronic Arts will once again be handling distribution duties.
EA, MTV Games, and Harmonix are ready for an encore.
The Facebook status update promises that Rock Band 3 "will innovate and revolutionize the music genre once again," but provides no other details. Platforms, new features, song lists, and other details will be revealed at a later date.

While it will have been two years since Rock Band 2 hit shelves, the rhythm franchise has not been inactive. In addition to the Beatles game and weekly updates to the downloadable catalog of songs, last year saw the series try to broaden its appeal with Lego Rock Band, and this year will see punk act Green Day receive its own dedicated game. Harmonix also just launched the Rock Band Network, a separate (and more open-ended) online storefront that allows all manner of independent artists (and some of their studio counterparts) to make their songs downloadable, provided they take care of the developmental heavy lifting.

Anda suka main Warcraft? Anda suka main Total Annihilation? Atau Command & Conquer? Kalau iya mungkin Anda juga sudah pernah memainkan Starcraft atau paling tidak pernah mendengarnya. Saat ini StarCraft 2 Beta sudah dinikmati pada mulai bulan Februari ini oleh sebagian orang saja untuk melakukan testing dan menemukan bug dan kekurangan yang bisa diperbaiki sebelum StarCraft 2 Final dirilis.

Blizzar, produsen Warcraft dan Starcraft sudah menyiapkan versi final Starcraft 2 untuk dirilis sebelum Juli 2010 ini.

StarCraft 2 menjanjikan perbaikan grafis total dari game originalnya. Kita juga masih dapat menggunakan taktik untuk mencapai kemenangan dengan spesies Zerg, Protos maupun Terran sehingga Anda tentu masih mengenali kelebihan-kelebihan spesies-spesies tersebut.

Bentuk mahluk-mahluk yang ada masih mirip dengan versi aslinya, tetapi tentu ada penambahan dan peningkatan di sana sini.

Dukungan multiplayer Battle.net terutama interface/antar muka mengalami banyak penyempurnaan terutama dari segi kemudahan.

Anda bisa mengunjungi situs StarCraft 2 di

It looks like gamers can finally start taking the Mac platform seriously. Confirming recent stirrings, Valve announced Monday that it will bring its gaming service Steam, and Source, its proprietary gaming engine, to Macs.
Started in 2003, Valve is now arguably the biggest online distributor of games.

By last month, Valve revealed that it had more than 25 million active Steam user accounts and, at any given time, about 2 million gamers are using the service. There are more than 1,000 games available on Steam. Not all of them will be immediately available on the Mac platform as this will depend on developers.
According to Valve, Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and a new feature, called Steam Play, allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. This means a gamer can play the PC version of a game via Steam Play, then continue on the Mac version without having to pay extra.
Valve's library includes titles it developed: Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series, which will be available in April. As these games belong to Valve, they will likely be the first games ported to the Mac platform.
John Cook, director of Steam development at Valve, revealed that games will be ported to Mac as native versions, as opposed to via an emulation, and in the future Valve will release games simultaneously for Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. Cook said the first Mac Steam client is currently in beta testing.
If nothing changes, Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. That game is due in the fourth quarter.