GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion breaks XTU world record and highest DDR4 memory frequency

HWBOT lit up today with some more scores from GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion coupled with DDR4 and 5960X CPU. First score was the highest DDR4 memory frequency done by hicookie. New DDR4 frequency top score was set with Corsair DDR4 memory and it stands at DDR4-4326 (2163.3MHz).

HWBOT score link: http://hwbot.org/submission/2745882_hicookie_memory_clock_ddr4_sdram_2163.3_mhz

It comes with a video validation showing oscilloscope measurements confirming the frequency.

The latest XTU world record was also broken by dinos22 on GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion motherboard. New world record XTU score is at 3039 points running 5920MHz CPU frequency on Intel 5960X CPU powered by a 1500W Corsair PSU.

HWBOT score link: http://hwbot.org/submission/2746285_dinos22_xtu_core_i7_5960x_3039_marks

Top 10 Best-Selling Games of 2014

As spotted on Forbes.com today, the NPD Group came out with the top 10 video games of 2014. Arguably, someone’s best game is entirely a subjective matter, looking at the sales number of each games is not a clear indicator that the game is awesome. But at least it gives us a good look at how well the main players such as Activision, Rockstar, Ubisoft and the likes are doing… So here is the USA’s Best Selling line-up for 2014.

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
2. Madden NFL 15 (Not available for PC… boooooo!)
3. Destiny (Not available for PC… damn damn?)
4. Minecraft
5. Super Smash Bros (for 3DS and Wii U…)
6. NBA 2K15
7. Watch Dogs
8. FIFA 15
9. Call of Duty Ghosts

How about you, are you a COD fan? What were you favorite games for 2014? Which one do you think will make the list for 2015?

Hamas denounces Charlie Hebdo's new edition

(dpa) - Hamas, the Islamist movement in control of the Gaza Strip, has denounced the cartoon of a weeping prophet Mohammed in the first edition of Charlie Hebdo after the deadly attack by Muslim extremists at the Paris offices of the French satirical magazine.

The Palestinian group‘s official newspaper, Felesteen, Thursday said that insulting the prophet is not warrented by freedom of expression.

It published a cartoon showing a hand making a stop sign opposite another hand with a paintbrush resembling the devil. The first hand appears with the slogan "Anything but the Prophet," and the one with the brush reads "Freedom of speech."

Charlie Hebdo‘s first issue after the attack on Wednesday featured a crying cartoon of the prophet holding a "Je suis Charlie" sign under the headline: "All is forgiven."

Senior Hamas leader Izzat Risheq said the decision to publish that cartoon "poured oil on the fire."

Report: Abbas 'Willing' to Give Israel a Break on ICC

A Lebanese newspaper reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi that the Palestine would not file a case against Israel in the International Criminal Court if negotiations resumed “in the coming weeks.”
According to the report in the Al-Ahabar newspaper, Abbas made the comments to Sisi during their meeting in Cairo Wednesday.

Several weeks ago, State of Palestine formally requested
membership in the ICC. Last week, Palestine recognized the ICC's jurisdiction to investigate Israeli war crimes committed during last summer's Gaza war. The ICC can prosecute individuals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since July 1, 2002.

Israel police kill Palestinians in W. Bank and Negev

Israeli police have killed an Arab Israeli man during clashes with stone-throwing Bedouin protesters in the southern Negev region, sparking anger with the Arab communities in the area, an Arab Israeli lawmaker said.

"We, the Palestinians in Negev, have lost another man. This is another sign that the Israeli police are dealing recklessly when it comes to our lives," MP Taleb el-Sana told The Anadolu Agency.

According to al-Sana, Sami al-Jaar, 20, was killed late Wednesday during clashes between Arab protesters and Israeli police in the Negev city of Rahat.

"They could have captured him rather of killing him. Now, the whole Negev is boiling with anger," he added.

In a statement, the Israeli police said that two policemen were injured in clashes with stone-throwing individuals in Rahat, asserting that its personnel were in the city to pursue criminals.

Israel refers to Palestinians who remained in their homes and cities after the creation of Israel in 1948 as "Arab Israelis."

There are around 1.6 million Arabs in Israel, accounting for around 20 percent of the country's population, according to official Israeli figures.

Claiming that most land in the Negev Desert is "state property," the self-proclaimed Jewish state has repeatedly demolished Bedouin homes in the area.

Palestinian Deficit Heading to $2Bn, Says PA Insider

The cost of reconstructing Gaza is taking its toll on the Palestinian Authority's budget.

The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) is likely to face a US$2 billion deficit in 2015, a Palestinian official warned Wednesday.

Although financial contributions from the United States and the European Union have been sinking for two years, according to an anonymous official who spoke to Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Gazan reconstruction costs are also largely to blame for the P.A.'s financial shortfall.

An estimated US$7.8 billion is needed for Gaza to recover from Israel's assault in 2014.

Over 2000 Gazans were killed during the fighting, which left hundreds of homes and businesses in ruins, and public infrastructure decimated.

Palestine's economy minister Mohammad Mustafa has stated donor countries need to boost aid to the P.A.

“Starting from next year, the Palestinian budget will need additional external support worth US$1.3 billion to fulfill its obligations to the citizens,” he stated in October, according to the Middle East Monitor.

In 2012, a funding shortfall left the P.A. unable to pay public worker salaries. Palestinian officials blamed the shortfall on a handful of donors failing to fulfill financial pledges.

On Wednesday, Iraq pledged a new US$28.7 million to the P.A., according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.

“Iraq has taken this step despite the dire circumstances it has been undergoing, especially those related to the approval of the new Iraqi budget,” WAFA quoted Iraq's Arab League representative Diya Dabbas.

Qatar has also handed the P.A. US$25 million in aid this week.

Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian at Gush Etzion

Israeli forces opened fire at two Palestinians near the Gush Etzion Junction between Bethlehem and Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday evening, killing one.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Ma'an that two Palestinians "were involved in a criminal incident" in the area, and one was shot by Israeli soldiers after he attempted to flee the area.

The man was "injured seriously and died in the evening," he told Ma'an, adding that the other was arrested.

Israeli news website Israel National News, which is known for its right-wing leanings, said that incident occurred as the 30-year-old victim was "attempting to steal a car in the parking lot of the Rami Levy supermarket branch" in the area.

The supermarket, while located inside the Jewish-only settlement, is located immediately beside the junction and is thus open to Palestinians as well.

The Israeli news site said that military police had launched an investigation into the incident.

CES 2015 Coverage

Not all of us have the opportunity to go to the Consumer Electronic Show held every year in Las Vegas. But luckily for us, the internet is overloaded with coverage  giving us an insider look at what was presented during the show and teases us whit the future technology that is about to hit our (online) store shelves.

That is not different for GIGABYTE. The Neopolitan ballroom of the Caesars Palace where GIGABYTE was located received a lot of focus from the media. The show is not over and YouTube is now filled with coverage. Here are a few:

New Egg on GIGABYTE press event

New Egg on GIGABYTE at CES

LinusTechTips

Paul's Hardware (GIGABYTE  coverage starts at 3:38)

PC Perspective on the X99-SOC Champion

Pc Perspective on the BRIX

And a bonus cool video from The Verge

Steam Daily Deal: 3DMARK 80% OFF

Congrats, you built yourself a gaming computer. As this provides you with hours of great high quality gaming fun, you jealous friend decided to do the same. Then follow that inevitable “My computer is better than yours”. Arguments flow, your CPU has more core, his system has more and faster memory, you have two graphics card in SLI, his system is overclocked…  stop it. There is only one way to settle this argument. If you want to measure all of that power that’s enclosed in this awesome mighty gaming rig of yours, 3D Mark is one of the best benchmark out there to give a go at it. And yes, as it is mentioned in the title of the post, it is at 80% off!!! But hurry up, at the moment of writing, only 40 hours were left to this deal…

http://store.steampowered.com/app/223850/

http://www.futuremark.com/support/downloads

“We designed 3DMark for gamers, overclockers and system builders who want to get the most out of their hardware. 3DMark is a complete PC benchmarking tool kit for those who are serious about performance. And it's no longer just for Windows. With the new 3DMark, you can compare your scores with Android, iOS and Windows RT devices too.

• The latest version of the world's most popular benchmark.
• Includes eight stunning tests for DirectX 11, DirectX 10 and DirectX 9 hardware.
• Test everything from tablets to desktop gaming PCs.
• Compare scores with other Windows, Android and iOS devices.
• Compete for the fastest PC on Steam with Steam leaderboards.
• Easy to use, no technical know-how needed.”

Wish you all some happy benching time!

GIGABYTE X99 SOC Champion Debuts at CES 2015 with One More WR Under its Belt

Today, Jan. 5th 2015, GIGABYTE held it’s pre-CES Press Event in the Caesar’s Palace Neopolitan ballroom. One of the main focus of that event was the launch of a new overclocking board, the GIGABYTE X99-SOC Champion.
 

 http://www.gigabyte.us/press-center/news-page.aspx?nid=1342
One of the main feature of the X99 SOC Champion is the SMT mounted DIMMs for improved signal quality and their location which is closer to the CPU socket. The DIMM’s shorter trace path enables the DDR4 memory to communicate faster with the CPU, enabling the overclockers to reach higher DDR4 memory frequencies. Additionally, the motherboard includes a CPU Mode Switch; this switch allows the overclockers to switch between CPU default socket mode and OC socket mode.
The Press Event was crown by a live overclocking demonstration held by GIGABYTE famous overclockers Dinos22, Sofos1990 and HiCookie. The skilled trio managed to impress the crowd with a 1 World Record, 3 Global First and 3 Hardware First on the X99-SOC Champion! Nice going guys! Here are the submissions:

 

3004 Marks on XTU with Intel Core i7 5960X

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722703

2317 Marks on XTU with Intel Core i7 5820K

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722904

84470 Marks on 3D Mark Vintage with x1 GPU

http://hwbot.org/submission/2722892

Ian from Anandtech already had a look at the X99-SOC Champion. Although he couldn’t test the board on its true intent, LN2 overclocking, Ian gave the Champion a good thorough testing. You can read the results and his opinion here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8804/gigabyte-x99-soc-champion-motherboard-review-low-cost-x99-overclocking

Here are a few pictures of the event: