Congratulations Europe, Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2 Is Coming Your Way

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Well done, Europe—you’re getting Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2. Publisher Ghostlight announced this morning that the game has met its pre-order goal and will be released in European territories.

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Additionally, since the game is confirmed for release, you can still go ahead and pre-order it, now with the knowledge that you’ll definitely get a finished product. Meanwhile, everyone who pre-ordered prior to August 30th will have their names included in the game’s manual.

Read more stories about Devil Survivor 2 & Nintendo DS on Siliconera.

Gravity Rush Crossover Ready For Ragnarok Odyssey Ace's Launch

Since we're talking about crossovers, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace will have costumes, cards, and other decorative items from Gravity Rush. Players will be able to dress their hunter up like Kat or Alias. GungHo Online Entertainment will release the DLC on August 29, the same day the PlayStation Vita launches in Japan.

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Ragnarok Odyssey Ace has collaborations with fifteen games including Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate, Dokuro, and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles.

Read more stories about PlayStation Vita & Ragnarok Odyssey Ace on Siliconera.

Fate Zero Visual Novel Now On Japanese Smartphones

The developer Pocke has released a visual novel adaptation of the novel/anime series Fate/Zero for iOS and Android devices.

Titled Fate/Zero: The Adventure, the app will contain fully voiced scenes, original illustrations by the studio ufotable, and original scenarios in addition to routes from both the anime and the novels by Gen Urobuchi (the scriptwriter of Madoka Magica, also known as 'Urobutcher').

 

The story is a prequel to Type-Moon's Fate/stay night, depicting the Fourth Holy Grail War in which seven mages and seven Heroic Spirits fight to obtain the power of the Holy Grail. The protagonist is Kiritsugu Emiya, a notorious magus killer who has abandoned his hopes of becoming a hero and saving humanity.

Fate/Zero: The Adventure is available for 3,000 yen.

Read more stories about Android & Fate/Zero: The Adventure & iPad & iPhone on Siliconera.

drakengard 3 s weapon switching system in action

Zero, the heroine (antagonist?) in Drakengard 3, is armed with a sword, spear, chakram, and claws. Players can switch weapons in battle and as seen in this livestream, each weapon is assigned to a different face button. Zero also has different combos assigned to each weapon.

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The chakram has a lot of horizontal range but doesn't deal as much damage. The sword that Zero switches to shaves more HP off enemies. Zero isn't alone in the game, she has two companions traveling with her. Access Games, the developers behind Deadly Premonition and Lord of Apocalypse, are developing Drakengard 3 and they added more platforming elements. Good thing Zero has an air dash!

Read more stories about Drakengard 3 & PlayStation 3 on Siliconera.

Video The birth of a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard

The Nan-Ping factory is very flexible and Gigabyte manufacturers multiple lines of products at once. Sadly, on the day we visited things were quite slow, as the company had already shipped most of its Z77 motherboards to its customers already, but a few production lines were still operational. Keep in mind that these production lines can output some quarter of a million motherboards a month, not taking into account other products.

Gigabyte recently updated one of its production lines to include a new SMT machine that can fit 15 SMD components a second to a motherboard, up from 10 components per second when compared to the machines used in the other production lines. The company is also busy working on an automatic solution for adding capacitors to the motherboards, but sadly we werent allowed to film this machine, as its a custom made solution for Gigabyte.

Overall its very interesting to see whats going on and how advanced parts of the manufacturing process is, while other parts are required to be done by hand. Theres a reason why motherboards cost what they cost, as its not just a matter of PCB and components going on there, but its a really advanced manufacturing process which involves both a lot of people and very expensive machinery.

ZOTAC Introduces FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series

Full Press Release

HONG KONG – Apr. 28, 2011 – ZOTAC® International, a leading innovator and the world’s largest channel manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and mini-PCs, today introduces the new FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series – a world-class mainboard that combines the power of AMD Radeon™ HD graphics processing with class-leading energy-efficiency for the ultimate flexible mini-ITX form factor.The ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series features the AMD E-350 APU platform that incorporates a dual-core 1.6 GHz processor with Microsoft® DirectX® 11 compatible AMD Radeon™ HD 6310 graphics for the ultimate synergy of CPU and GPU performance. The combination enables flawless high-definition Blu-ray and streaming Internet video playback capabilities for a visually rich computing experience in a mini-ITX platform.“We carefully designed our ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series to integrate as many user-requested features as possible. The result is a mini-ITX platform that offers best-in-class performance, energy-efficiency, features and expansion while only relying on passive-cooling for a silent computing experience,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC® International.DisplayPort, DVI and HDMI video outputs enables the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series to connect to the latest digital monitors and television sets with ease while an included DVI-to-VGA adapter retains compatibility with analogue monitors. HDMI audio bitstreaming, Optical S/PDIF and 8-channel high-definition audio capabilities deliver maximum audio fidelity to all digital and analogue audio sources with the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series.Expansion options are vast with the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series and include a physical PCI Express x4 slot, eSATA, four SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports, up to six USB 2.0 and 4 USB 3.0. The PCI Express x4 slot features and open-end that enables physical compatibility with PCI Express x16 devices on the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series.The ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series integrates 802.11n WiFi technology for high-speed wireless network transfers while Gigabit Ethernet is available for lightning-fast wired networking.It’s time to play with the ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series mini-ITX platform.General details• New ZOTAC® FUSION-ITX WiFi A-series platform• AMD E-350 APU Platform (dual-core, 1.6 GHz)• AMD Radeon™ HD 6310 graphics processor• 2 x DDR3-1066 SO-DIMM slots• Support up to 8GB memory• DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-I & VGA (with included adapter) outputs• PCI Express x4 (open-end) expansion• 4 SATA 6.0 Gb/s• 1 eSATA• 4 USB 3.0 ports (2 on back panel, 2 via pin header)• 6 USB 2.0 ports (4 on back panel, 2 via pin headers)• Hardware accelerated Blu-ray playback ready• Dolby® TrueHD & DTS-HD™ Master Audio bitstream capable• Digital S/PDIF output (optical)• 8-channel high-definition audio• Microsoft® DirectX® 11 compliant• Onboard 802.11n WiFi• Gigabit Ethernet• Mini-ITX form factor

Self-guided bullet will improve shooter's accuracy by 90

Snipers are outdated because soon there might be a homing bullet. Larry Shipers, a mechanical engineer, claims that his prospective self-guided bullet can improve a shooter’s accuracy by as much as 90%!

Current bullets, when fired, spin at such a fast rate that it is theoretically not possible to alter its axis of revolution. Shipers’ simple solution to this—he calls it his “secret sauce”—is to make the bullet not spin. If the bullet doesn’t spin, then added technology can provide guidance like it does for a self-guided missile.

The 0.50-caliber bullet has an optical sensor in the nose, a battery powered 8-bit processor with included guidance algorithm, and four tiny motored fins in the tail to help it accomplish its mission. Wind and other environmental factors can throw a bullet off course by as much as 30 feet, but Shiper claims that his bullet’s trajectory is only altered by a few inches in his computer simulation.

A smooth-bored barrel is required for the bullet to function correctly, but the bullet can be loaded into a standard cartridge without any modifications. Shiper states that electronics mockup in demo bullets withstood the initial launch. The only problem now is finding funding for Shiper to build a complete prototype.

Source: popsci.com

Scythe Kama Cross Heatsink Review

We have been missing out on Cooler reviews ever since our last attempt at Zerotherm, and today we'll be looking at the latest offering from Scythe after their much controversial logo change.

Today, we will be taking a look at the latest offering from Scythe, the Kama Cross.Featuring a unique cross flow design coupled with 3 heatpipes, how will this particular cooler fare against our almighty Pentium XE 955 heatload? We'll take a look in this review. Before we continue, let's take a look atsome briefspecifications of the heatsink.

Specifications:

Overall Dimensions: 140x120x132mmFan Dimension: 100x100x25mmFan Speed: 1500rpmNoise Level: 22.0dBAAirflow: 42.69cfmBearing Type: SleeveWeight: 530gSocket Compatibility: Intel 478/775, AMD 754/939/90/AM2

MSI Announces Bravo EX628 and 41 Windows 7 certified notebook models

[Taipei] MSI announces the all new 16-inch Bravo EX628 featuring the highest audio and video specs for an entertainment notebook. Utilizing the latest Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology, a high performance ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4670 graphic card, and a 16:9 aspect ratio LCD cinema display, the EX628 is capable of providing brilliant image quality.Hi-Fi speakers are located on both sides of the touchpad, a subwoofer is housed underneath the base, and second generation Dolby® surround sound enables a professional-grade acoustic performance. When paired with MSI's exclusive Cinema Pro technology, whether watching a movie or gaming, you’ll be able to enjoy a highly authentic audio and video experience.

Extraordinary Audio & Video
The ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphic card (with 1GB memory), 16-inch 16:9 aspect cinema display, and the latest Intel® Centrino® 2 processor, grouped with 2 speakers and a subwoofer, gives the EX628 the hardware advantage to strengthen your audio and video capabilities. Also, MSI’s exclusive Vivid image enhancement technology enhances color saturation, giving the EX628’s display more color layers and richer detailed images.

The EX628's most extraordinary feature is MSI’s Cinema Pro technology. With a dedicated Cinema Pro function key on the keyboard, watching a movie requires the mere push of the dedicated key to access MSI’s independently designed theatre mode for more detailed imagery. At the same time, Dolby® surround sound and subwooferprovide a cinematic audio and video experience.

High-end Audio & Video Specs
The EX628 offers the highest and most comprehensive specifications for audio and video interface. A built-in HDMI digital terminal, E-SATA (USB Combo), and a 2-megapixel webcam give you the ability to display clear images on a large television screen. With an external device access speed of up to 3GB/s, you can instantly and effortlessly share content with others. What’s more, the EX628 is also capable of reading Blu-ray discs with up to 50GB of storage capacity, so you can enjoy outstanding High Definition 1080p image quality and multi-channel audio outputs.

Source: MSI

EX628 SpecOperation SystemGenuine Windows Vista® Home PremiumSupport type @launchIntel® Core™ 2 Duo ProcessorChipsetIntel®PM45+ICH9MLCD16"1366x768 HDVGAControllerAti Mobility Radeon HD 4670VRAMDDR2 1GMemoryTypeDDR2 667/800MhzConfigDDR2 SO-DIMM x 2 slotMaximum4GB ( 2048MB x 2 )AudioSpeakerHD Audio, 2 Speakers+ 1 SubwooferWebcam2.0 M WebcamCommunication56K Fax / MODEM1LAN10/100/1000 GB LANBluetoothBluetooth V2.0+EDR(Optional)Wireless LAN802.11 b/g/nI / OHDMI1Card reader3-in-1(Support SD,MMC,MS)Mic-in / Headphone out1 / 1USB 2.03RJ11 / RJ451 / 1D-Sub1E-SATA1Express card1StorageHDD form factor160 / 250 /320 GB SATA Optical DriveDVD Super-Multi / Blu-rayBattery6/9 CellsKeyboard103 keysPowerAC Adapter90WPhysical CharacteristicsDimension374x246x26.8-35mWeight2.7kg (With 6 Cells Battery)