Plini - Tarred and Feathered

Learn about these most beautiful abandoned places in the world - 33 of them

Mankind has abandoned many things over his course of evolution. The first on that list is the things that he built. Here are 33 images of the most beautiful, abandoned places on Planet Earth.

1.) Christ of the Abyss at San Fruttuoso, Italy

2.)Kolmanskop in the Namib Desert

3.) Abandoned dome houses in Southwest Florida

4.) The remains of the SS Ayrfield in Homebush Bay, Australia

5.) The abandoned Wonderland Amusement Park outside Beijing, China

6.) Fishing hut on a lake in Germany

7.) Holland Island in the Chesapeake Bay

8.) The Kerry Way walking path between Sneem and Kenmare in Ireland

9.) Pripyat, Ukraine

10.) 15th century monastery in the Black Forest in Germany

11.) Kalavantin Durg near Panvel, India

12.) The remains of the Pegasus in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica

13.) Angkor Wat in Cambodia

14.) The Maunsell Sea Forts in England

15.) Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England

16.) Częstochowa, Poland's abandoned train depot

17.) Sunken yacht in Antarctica

18.) Abandoned distillery in Barbados

19.) Hafodunos Hall in Llangernyw, North Wales

20.) 1984 Winter Olympics bobsleigh track in Sarajevo

21.) Craco, Italy

22.) Russian military rocket factory

23.) Abandoned mill from 1866 in Sorrento, Italy

24.) Cooling tower of an abandoned power plant

25.) House of the Bulgarian Communist Party

26.) Abandoned city of Keelung, Taiwan

27.) Lawndale Theater in Chicago

28.) North Brother Island near New York City, New York

29.) Abandoned Blade Mill, France

30.) El Hotel del Salto in Colombia

31.) Asuncion, Paraguay

32.) The Tunnel of Love in Ukraine

33.) Nara Dreamland in Japan

Bonus - This list cannot be complete without, 
34.) Crashed Plane in Iceland

AMD Announces FirePro W9100 16GB Workstation Graphics Card | EDGE Computing

Featuring 16GB of GDDR5 memory, the FirePro W9100 is the latest workstation-class graphics card from AMD. The W9100 packs three times the power of its predecessor the W9000. Get your FirePro W9100 from EDGE Computing!

The AMD FirePro W9100 is based around a 28nm implementation of the Graphics Core Next 1.1 'Hawaii' architecture, an upgrade from the GCN 1.0 'Tahiti' of its predecessor. Although full specifications aren't due to be announced until early next month, the company has confirmed an increase from 2,048 stream processors to 2,816 and from 128 texture units to 176. The result: five teraflops of single-precision compute performance, or 2.67 teraflops of double-precision.

AMD Mantle adds 23% Performance Boost to Thief, TrueAudio blows mind, Get Thief starting $14 STEAM KEY

AMD has brought in Mantle for Thief and boy, is it impressive. Today also marks the day when AMD debuts the first public demo of its TrueAudio technology. Also, 5% discount coupon for THIEF below!

Thank you for your visit to the EDGE Computing Blog. We focus on building high-performance, affordable AMD Desktops.

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We’re going to focus on a hands-on comparison of two platforms using two midrange GPUS — the R9 270 and the R7 260X. AMD has released a great deal of supplementary information regarding its own performance expectations, however, so we’ll refer to that to flesh out our analysis in several respects.

This time, we’ve chosen CPU and GPU configurations that are more likely to represent what people at home are playing with or contemplating for future purchases. Improving the performance of the R9 290 and R9 290X is important for competitive positioning against Nvidia, but the number of people with an A10-7850K and an R9 290X is quite small. The R7 260X and R9 270 (and the HD 7790 and HD 7850 they replaced), on the other hand, are two of AMD’s most common mass-market GPUs. So, what can owners of these products expect?

Mantle under Thief

We tested two configurations: The Intel Core i3-4330 and the AMD A10-7850K using both the R7 260X and the R9 270. Windows 8.1 was installed on both systems with all appropriate patches. AMD’s latest Catalyst 14.3 beta driver was installed. Thief has a built-in benchmark and we used it for testing; programs like Fraps can’t monitor a Mantle application for frame rates yet. Game details were set to Very High Quality, but with two changes: SSAA (Super-sampled antialiasing) was disabled, while anisotropic filtering was bumped to 16x.

VisionTek CryoVenom AMD Radeon R9 290 Review - The GPU with a Warranty

Liquid cooling solves the thermal challenges presented by AMD's Hawaii GPU much more elegantly than a big heat sink and loud fan. But the requisite parts also add cost. Does VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 290 deliver maximum performance at a fair price?

Enthusiasts are the folks who appreciate the benefits of lower temperatures, and most of us also put high value on less noise, too. The fight between cooling performance and acoustic pollution became particularly acute in AMD’s Radeon R9 290 graphics cards. More so, even, when the company was forced to override its firmware-based fan ramp through a driver in order to deliver consistent clock rates.

Where we once saw performance variance as large as 15% from one board to the next, that “fix” still has us finding variations up to 5% caused by slight changes in room temperature.

Most of us would pay to avoid those issues, and the $400 Radeon R9 290 was supposed to be cheap enough to encourage value-minded adoption of high-end graphics hardware. But in our search for an answer to the 290’s reference cooling woes, many of us forget to ask the right question: how much would we be willing to spend on better performance and lower noise, while giving up our warranty coverage? Based on today's online prices, water block manufacturer EK thinks the answer is around $120 (add $30 for the back cover).

VisionTek does its math a little differently. On the product page of its CryoVenom R9 290, the company values your time building a water-cooled R9 290 at $100, as you also sacrifice its warranty. The marketing gets a little fuzzier as VisionTek calculates that a $120 cooler, a $30 back cover, and your $100 of time pushes the cost of a $400 Radeon R9 290 to $651.

Even if you disagree with those numbers, though, a do-it-yourself configuration with an original $400 card, the EK cooler, and the company's backplate would cost at least as much as the original $550 VisionTek CryoVenom R9 290.

Right now, some of you are probably thinking that a $550 liquid-cooled Radeon R9 290 would be one heck of a deal in a market loaded with $600 air-cooled cards, and you’d be right. Acknowledging the crazy market pricing for Hawaii-based Radeons, VisionTek admits it needs to charge more to cover cost increases on certain board components. As a result, the company recently bumped its CryoVenom up to $600 for new orders.

As of this writing, the CryoVenom R9 290 isn't available to order, though. So, there's no way for us to know if that $600 price tag is going to hold up over time. What we do know is that the cheapest R9 290s go for $550 on Newegg, so you'd still be getting $150 worth of liquid-cooling equipment and a one-year warranty at a substantial discount. But again, that's simply not something we can vouch for on a card you can't buy right now.

Steam OS Newest Alchemist Beta Update is LIVE – Includes AMD 14.1 Mantle API Drivers

“Steam OS” has just received the Alchemist Beta Update 93 with the newer AMD 14.1 Drivers, the same drivers which house the Mantle API.

The latest Alchemist Beta Update for Steam OS has rolled out and along with it brought the 14.1 Beta AMD Drivers along with some other improvements.

This latest ‘Alchemist Beta Update’ can be downloaded from here.

The “Steam OS” update not only adds AMD’s 14.1 Beta Drivers but interestingly it also adds Mantle API, which the change log does not mention explicitly, but is readily deduced from the fact that 14.1′s critical component is Mantle API. 

Considering that in all probability “Steam OS” finally has the much coveted Mantle API it appears that it is moving in the right direction. It also means that two of the potential game changers (“Steam OS” and Mantle API) are now coming in one packaging. Do keep in mind however that though the AMD 14.1 update includes Mantle API getting it to actually run, or support thereof on the world’s first Gaming OS, might be a whole different story. The fact that the change log does not explicitly state that doesn’t help either.

Anyways, the Update also comes with specific instructions: “AMD graphics users, please make sure to reboot as soon as the “SteamOS” reboot required’ notification pops up after the driver update is applied. Otherwise you most likely will be unable to play any games until you do” said Valve engineer Pierre-Loup.

This is what the full Changelog of the “Steam OS” Alchemist Update reads:

• Fixed a critical APT bug resulting in packages sometimes being erroneously erased during updates (many thanks to Michael Vogt and Simon McVittie)
• Added support for detecting hybrid configurations and using the driver corresponding to the primary VGA output by default
• Fixed a bug where “Preparing hardware drivers…” would be erroneously printed during startup
• Preinstalled all the languages that are supported by Steam client to enable a localized SteamOS desktop
• Fixed lightdm so the desktop Region and Languages control panel can change the per-user language
• Fixed “Metro: Last Light” on Intel graphics by backporting GLX support for ARB_create_context from newer X servers
• Added Thai and CJK fonts
• Fixed steamcompmgr to properly focus “CID the Dummy”
• Updated AMD graphics driver to 1:14.1~beta1.3-1 from Debian jessie
• Updated gnutls26, file, xserver-xorg-video-intel packages to incorporate upstream Debian fixes

AMD Radeon Dual 290x Graphics Card is possibly a Rumor, But Proof of Existence is Here

The rumor mill is spinning once again, and this time the focus is on AMD and its Hawaii XT GPU used in their flagship Radeon 290x card. These rumors strongly suggest that “Vesuvius” — allegedly AMD’s codename for a dual-GPU graphics card — is real, and that its release is imminent.

Whispers of Vesuvius reach back to November 2013 when notorious (but not always accurate) Chinese website VR-Zone reported that it was indeed on AMD’s roadmap. Vesuvius would essentially be a followup to the Radeon 7990, sporting two Hawaii XT GPUs. In simpler terms: a dual 290x card in a single SKU.

Then, earlier this week. VR-Zone again claimed that Vesuvius was real, and pointed to the existence of a customized card called ARES III by Asus (Ares is Asus’ line for dual NVIDIA NVDA -0.19% and AMD graphics cards). As translated by WCCFTech, VR-Zone asserts that the ARES III will release in the 2nd quarter of 2014.

The technical details continue, with the site explaining that ARES III — and the reference card AMD has designed — will require three 8-pin PCI-E connectors, a rated TDP of about 500W, and 8GB of GDDR5 memory (4GB on each GPU).

Now before you stock up on fire extinguishers, take solace in knowing that the ARES III will feature a hybrid air and water cooled setup.

Why am I positive this will shake out as more than a rumor? AMD’s product history offers a compelling dose of proof. The 5990, 6990, and 7990 have set a fairly consistent, years-long precedent, and this elite battle of dual-GPU releases has been waged between Nvidia and AMD for some time. In the middle of 2011, we saw the GTX 590 from Team Green. Middle of 2012? The GTX 690.

Nvidia skipped 2013, and AMD took advantage by releasing the Radeon 7990. While it was an absolute beast at benchmarks, it was derided for its noise and thermal inadequacies. This means two things: 1) Nvidia’s GTX 790 is long overdue and 2) AMD’s engineers have something to prove, and you can bet AMD won’t let Nvidia release the GTX 790 uncontested.

An argument can be made that Nvidia’s 790 is long overdue…

As my audience is aware, I’m a gamer and a cryptocurrency miner, so my heart started racing when I estimated what kind of hashrate a dual 290x would kick out. And very briefly, my wallet ached at the prospect of mining farms snatching this up en masse, resulting in more price inflation and product scarcity. I don’t believe that will happen.

Mining farms and people with massive deployments of GPUs will have zero interest in the work involved in setting up a ton of liquid-cooled cards. I see this dual 290x release (what will they call it, by the way? 290x-x2?) as a way to get back in the good graces of enthusiasts and hardcore PC gamers.

Just to cover the bases, I did reach out to AMD and they opted not to offer a comment. I then spoke with my rep at Asus, who gave me this response: “The ARES III is in the rumor mill but there is no official confirmation if we will do a dual Hawaii card or not.”

Graphics card releases are always a bit of a chess game. Is AMD waiting for Nvidia to unveil their latest dual-GPU solution at Nvidia’s own GPU Technology Conference later this month, or is Nvidia waiting for AMD to fire the first shot? While officially neither of these products exist, their release is only a matter of time, and PC gamers are in for a thrilling next few months.

AMD announces Radeon R9 280 graphics card, hopes Litecoin miners stay away

AMD's high-end R9 graphics card range is getting a lower-priced option with the Radeon R9 280.

Spec-wise, the R9 280 is almost identical to AMD's Radeon HD 7950 with Boost, which first launched in August 2012. It has clock speeds up to 933 MHz, with 1792 stream processors, 112 texture units and 32 ROP units. It has 3 GB of 5 GHz GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit interface, and has a typical power draw of 250W. Hexus notes that the R9 280 will mainly square off with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 760.

There are a couple of differences from the Radeon HD 7950, however: Compared to the R9 280, the older card's boost clock speed is lower, at 925 MHz, but the 7950 also consumes less power at 225W. As we've seen with the recently-launched R7 250X, AMD has been rebranding some older cards to fit within its new R5-R7-R9 naming scheme.

Although benchmarks from the new card aren't available, earlier tests of the Radeon 7950by Eurogamer show the card managing at least 30 frames per second in 1080p on most newer games with graphics cranked up to very high or ultra settings. In Bioshock Infiniteand Tomb Raider, the card cleared 60 frames per second on ultra settings.

At a suggested price of $279, the R9 280 is just $20 cheaper than the R9 280X that launched last October. The 280X has a higher boost clock speed at 1000 MHz, higher memory clock at 6 GHz, 128 texture units and 2048 stream processors.

The problem for AMD is that it's been having trouble stocking R9-series graphics cards at anywhere close to suggested pricing, likely because of interest in the cards for cryptocurrency mining. AMD cards have proven better than Nvidia for mining currencies such as Litecoin, which has led to inflated prices and supply shortages.

As AnandTech notes, AMD acknowledged the supply problems in a press statement: “Following the exceptional demand for the entire R9 Series, we believe the introduction of the R9 280 will help ensure that every gamer who plans to purchase an R9 Series graphics card has an opportunity to do so,” the company said.

We'll see if AMD can make good on its word. The first R9 280 cards are due to launch this week in limited capacity, followed by wider availability next week.

MWC 2014: AMD takes fight to Intel with 'authentic' strategy after 'too technical messages'

AMD, whose chips are in the Xbox One, Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Wii U consoles, is focusing on explaining what the brand represents, after admitting its consumer marketing became fragmented by "too many technical messages".

Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, AMD senior vice president and chief marketing officer Colette LaForce said the company recognised last year it did not "have a very strong grasp on our brand" and is now focused on enabling its consumers reach it "more closely". 

LaForce said AMD is now focused on trying to ensure it has "a very authentic conversation" with its "fans", in contrast to its major competitor Intel focusing on big spending mass-market campaigns and sponsorship deals.

AMD senior manager of global communications Gary Silcott added that this has included engaging with brand advocates such as a man who asked for a computer running on an AMD chip in order to propose to his girlfriend.

Silcott explained: "I got an email – and I probably get five or 10 of these emails a week – and he told me a little bit of a hard luck story about his computer dying and over time I could sense he was sincere.

"Before I hit send on the order I said we would like you to film it – he did all the production itself so it was organic – and the film went viral. We have really loyal fans."

These fans, which AMD calls its "enthusiast community", are also now able to get rewarded for their loyalty via a rewards programme AMD is running in partnership with gaming enthusiast website Raptr.

The programme allows fans to download software to get information on how to optimise their system and also enable fans to accrue points and win prizes, coupons and free games.

Social media activity supporting AMD’s strategy has enabled the company to grow its social followship by 30-40% and grow fans of its Facebook corporate page to 1.4m.

LaForce added: "If you look at our sales with 38% growth from Q4 2013 over Q4 2012 it shows our marketing strategy is working well for us."

The company is now running an "If it can game" campaign in Europe featuring computer characters including Lara Croft and Sonic the Hedgehog that states if AMD technology can power the most sophisticated gaming consoles built today "imagine what it can do in your PC".

AMD Announces Embedded Radeon E8860 GPU

For the integrated market, there are several levels of capability that manufacturers need to consider.  This is a market driven by sales, thus OEMs that require specific resources are usually catered for.  Thus despite the fact that AMD have an aggressive APU line up on the embedded side (and have the embedded related warranties and support), there is scope for something more powerful.  This is the purpose of the E8860.

The E8860 is a 37W multi-chip-module FCBGA part, with the package measuring 37.5mm x 37.5mm.  The GPU has a PCIe 3.0 interface and implements 640 SPs at 625 MHz.  The GPU uses GCN similar to the HD7000 series, and is paired with 2GB of GDDR5 at 1125 MHz (4.5 GHz effective).  Aside from the usual DX11.1, OpenCL 1.2 and OpenGL 4.2 compatibility we normally see with this GCN, AMD offer a variety of SKUs to cater for the following display output requirements:

AMD E8860 MXM 3.0 (A) + 5 DisplayPort
AMD E8860 PCIe + 2x DVI + mDP
AMD E8860 PCIe + 5x mDP
AMD E8860 PCIe + 4x mDP LPX

Performance is officially listed as achieving P2689 in 3DMark-11 when paired with an AMD R-464L APU.  So the big question here is if the E8860 can be paired with either a BGA or socketed APU in dual graphics mode.  On the consumer side at least, this could result in some nice GPU performance if an APU could be paired with something like this, leaving a PCIe x8 slot for other devices.  It could even act as a mid-range part in the laptop space, although 37W will need to be catered for, or a mini-ITX motherboard where the other PCIe lanes are used for SATA controllers for extra storage.

Due to the use in the embedded market, interested parties will need to contact their local AMD representative for pricing and information.

Source: AMD

AMD, Bluestacks bring APU-optimized Android inside Windows

Advanced Micro Devices has optimized a version of Android for tablets and PCs containing its chips, and will sell it on new PCs through retail stores in Europe.

AMD doesn’t intend that Android will replace Windows on those devices, nor will it offer a dual-boot option. Rather, it will sell a version of the Google-backed OS packaged as a Windows executable by BlueStacks, a software company in which AMD Ventures owns a stake.

BlueStacks’ version of Android runs from within Windows, allowing it access to PC hardware including cameras, accelerometers or gyroscopes, and to the Windows file system.

“It’s a virtualized Android experience as a Windows app. The two worlds can talk to each other,” said AMD’s senior director for mobility solutions, Kevin Lensing, showing off the software on the company’s stand at Mobile World Congress.

Playing Angry Birds with Bluestacks.

The software forms part of another demo in which AMD uses the front-facing camera on a tablet as a gesture-based controller. The demo software draws on the graphics processor to track the user’s index finger and move the cursor accordingly. Bending the finger generates a click. In this way, Lensing was able to play the Android version of “Angry Birds” on a Windows tablet without touching the screen and without the need for additional controller hardware.

The BlueStacks dual-OS Android system will go on sale in the second half of this year, initially through European retailers. AMD said the first will be Elkjop Group, which operates in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. It will be sold with desktops machines, notebooks, tablets and hybrid devices containing AMD processors.

Under the BlueStacks software, applications can be downloaded from a number of app stores, and run either within a Windows window, or full screen, AMD said.