29w ago - Following up on the previous PlayStation 4 rumors, today VG247 (linked above) reports that Sony's PlayStation 4 (PS4) developer kits are now shipping and utilize the AMD A10 series as a base.

Below are the details, to quote: "Developers are currently taking receipt of a new PlayStation 4 dev kit, VG247 has been told today, with a final version slated to appear in January. Yes, it'll have Blu-ray. No, it isn't being made in Japan.

Multiple sources have confirmed to VG247 today that a new version of the Orbis kit is now shipping to developers, and that it's housed in a normal PC case.

There are to be four versions of the dev kit, we were told. A previous version was essentially just a graphics card. The version shipping now is a "modified PC," and the third version, appearing in January, will be close to final spec. A final version will be delivered to developers "next summer".

Some US developers attended a "disclosure meeting" at Sony's offices this week, with a further meeting to take place in the coming weeks. The purpose of the meeting is for Sony to tell studios what the machine is designed to do, to detail hardware and to show a set of presentations.

65w ago - A few months back Sony stated that PlayStation 4 is expected to arrive with rival next-generation consoles, and today Forbes.com reports that PS4 is in development with AMD rumored to be building the system's graphics technology.

To quote: "Sony is working on an as-yet-unannounced new gaming console, former AMD employees say, and the processor designer may play a key role in the new product.

AMD's graphics technology is already used in Microsoft's XBox 360 console. However, Sony's PlayStation 3 - introduced in 2006 - relies on graphics technology from Nvidia.

AMD declined to comment on the project. Sony Chief Transformation Officer George Bailey also declined to discuss Sony's new console, or even acknowledge its existence.

However, at AMD's analyst day last month, AMD Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert identified gaming as one of several trends that will drive revenue growth at AMD in 2012."

182w ago - Gigabyte is readying three new PC motherboards for the latest AMD platform, featuring '333' onboard acceleration.

As it was said, the new tech consists of the latest connectivity: USB 3.0, SATA III (6Gbps). The other '3' is for the fact the motherboard can supply up to three times the rated power of a standard USB port.

To quote: Gigabyte has now put online the complete specifications about these three upcoming motherboards. Despite them resembling the MA790FXT-UD5P, the MA790XT-UD4P and the MA770T-UD3P, one may notice many new features.

First of all, on the high-end model, there are now three PCI-E x16 slots instead of only two, so three videocards can now be set in CrossfireX, running in x16, x8, x8 mode. Having only two PCI-E x16 slots is a big disadvantage to the MA790FXT-UD5P when looking at boards like the MSI 790FX-GD70 having four of them, so this is great.

The next feature is 'Precision OV', which stands for OverVoltage. This means all three motherboards are equipped with a hardware voltage control chip, bringing three main advantages:

• Provides more voltage control options for CPU, NB & memory than before
• HW linear real time voltage control,...

225w ago - AMD has announced a new kit dubbed 'Let the Games Begin' that aims to encourage people to create games related to issues such as the environment and health.

The kit is available for free from GamesForChange.org.

Those who don't wish to download the sizeable 1.5GB kit can check out an online version of it from HERE.

To quote: So you want to make a game for change? Congratulations and welcome!

You're entering relatively uncharted waters, so we've created this Toolkit to help you map out the journey from here to there. The Toolkit is not a technical manual for making a game but provides an overview of the game-making process and guides you through key areas- what questions you need to ask, what decisions you need to make.

Creating a game is a collaborative process, and you'll likely want to partner with an experienced game designer early on. This Toolkit provides you the information to start the conversation, both within your organization and with your outside partners.

Good luck on your journey, and let us know (Contactg4c@gamesforchange.org) how we can help.

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244w ago - The first bit of "Fusion" that AMD is releasing today is an in-house designed software utility that was described to us as being able to "turn a mainstream PC into a lean, mean gaming machine."

Essentially, this Fusion Gaming tool is a utility that automates many of the tweaks that hardcore enthusiasts carry out in order to free up system resources for the purpose of maximizing gaming performance. The utility works by temporarily disabling background services and processes, freeing up memory and CPU cycles in an effort to make games run more smoothly.

AMD demonstrated the application to us clicking the gigantic "Fusion" button on a Windows Vista desktop, which immediately shut down usually active applications such as Skype, Google Talk, as well as many other background services. The utility will not, however, override any applications that have a shutdown or save dialog, meaning that clicking the button will still allow Microsoft Word to prompt if you wish to save before closing.

This utility would be of great use to those who use shared computers, whose family members may have installed many unwanted, useless programs that clog up the system. Those with prebuilt machines with preloaded bloatware may also find that the Fusion button does wonders to free up system resources. AMD told...