The TR Podcast 87: The Tri-fecta: 3D transistors, Z68, and Level 10 GT


Plus listener mail, and... that's about it
by Jordan Drake — 6:01 PM on May 15, 2011

The Tech Report Podcast Date: May 15, 2011
Time: 1:25:54

Hosted by Jordan Drake

Co-Hosts: Scott Wasson, Cyril Kowaliski, Geoff Gasior, and special guest David Kanter

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Show notes
This episode is all about quality over quantity. We kick things off by introducing our special guest, semiconductor industry analyst David Kanter. David gives us the low-down on the intricacies of Intel's new 3D transistor technology, including practical thoughts about what 3D transistors mean for the rest of the industry.

Our geeky fab process discussion over, we switch gears with a quick round of listener mail, before diving into the highly anticipated "deluxe" Z68 Express chipset from Intel. Geoff outlines all of the features that make this chipset unique, including the new and peculiar SSD caching system. Finally, Cyril discusses the Thermaltake Level 10 GT, a revamp of one of the most expensive and unusual cases we've ever tested.

Send in listener mail, and we'll answer on the podcast. - jdrake@techreport.com

Follow us on Twitter - Scott - Jordan - Geoff - Cyril - The Tech Report

Listener mail:

Email clients? - from Matt - (0:24:28):

"It's been a while since you all have talked about email clients. I am currently using Thunderbird, but I am thinking about switching it up. Do you have any suggestions for applications that are easy to set up and migrate about 5,000 emails? Or should I consider going with something web based like Gmail?"

Graphics question - from Richard - (0:28:08):

"Would a HD6950 1GB be a reasonable graphics card for your basic Econobox build or would a card like that be overkill? I will be using a 1080p monitor & an Antec Truepower New 550W PSU, all other components as per the basic AMD Econobox."

SSD Caching in Z68 - from Rahul - (0:42:15):

"I have four questions about the SSD caching in the Z68 chipset:
1. Is the caching scheme dependant upon the file system or will it work with any file system?
2. Can I use any SSD or do I need to use Intel SSD?
3. Can I change the caching settings in the BIOS or do I need to install specific drivers? I want to use Linux and would prefer if the settings can be changed irrespective of OS used.
4. I plan on running virtual machines using either Virtualbox or VMWare. Will the SSD cache benefit virtual machine performance?"

Tech discussion:

That's all, folks! We'll see you on the next episode.TR

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