How to boost up your website traffic?   

Website traffic is the important factor that determines the success of any website online. And to achieve your goal, it is necessary to increase website traffic to your site. There are so many ways to get your targeted web traffic and be the topic of people online. Following are some methods discussed.

 

 

ADVERTISING:
To increase the website traffic advertising on Google Ad Words is a helpful process. Google AdWords is popular because they offer PPC.
Another process is to buy advertising on Facebook to promote a website.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:
Search engine optimization (SEO) is simply optimizing website to rank high in the search results. When someone types in a keyword related to your website, you want to be the number 1 result because search engines provide targeted traffic. Off-page SEO is even more important which is all about backlinks.
Tags:
Tagging your content with the right keywords is important like the other methods. Search engines direct online users towards content only with reference to the tags you enter.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Using social media to drive traffic is becoming more and more important as it grows in popularity.
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and many more are popular social media sites. The key to success on social media is to be social.
The key to getting traffic from social media resources is to be an influential part of the conversations going on there. Provide something unique to people and some of the people you come across will visit your website.
Social Media Strategy is the Major Weapon. By posting more and more engaging stuff will call the people to comment more and will like your posts more. Following points are important:

•  Create your presence in all major Social Media websites and link your website to them.

• Share your new posts, updates  regularly on Social Media websites.

• Try to build more audience on Social Media.

• Always post Quality Content
• Post your Content Regularly

Regular posting assures your continuous presence on the blogosphere and will result in good search engine linking and higher PRs and Quality Posting assures your loyal visitors.

Guest Blogging:
 One of the best ways for business owners who are struggling to generate website traffic is to establish his or her self as a credible niche authority. One way to do that is to contribute blog posts to other sites which is called guest blogging.
The first thing that is need to do when optimising your website is research which keywords people are typing in to find your service / products, you can do this for free using the Google keyword suggestion tool.
It'll suggest hundreds of keywords, so you might need to refine your search until you find something that has a good mix of low competition, high searches for both global and local searches and of course fits in with your web page.

Forum Posting:
Find the forums in your industry with the largest user base, start posting there and become an active community member. Most forums will allow you to leave a link to your website in your post signature, so the more you post the more traffic you get.

Article Marketing:
Promoting your websites by publishing articles to various article directories is by no means a new idea but still an extremely effective way to drive traffic.

Add and Optimize Social Media Sharing buttons:
Another way to increase website traffic is to add Social Media Sharing buttons allow your visitors, as well as you to share your stuff on Social Media. These buttons are added to many blogs. But the correct placement of the buttons is what matters. Add the buttons on the eye-catching spots.

RSS Feeds:
RSS has the ability for a site owner or blogger to send out notification of new content or promotions to interested subscribers. Thus, allowing them to stay in contact with previous visitors like never before.
It is an ingenious way of getting back links to your websites and promoting your products and services. RSS feeds are, therefore, a very useful platform for search engine optimization of your website.

Building A Computer Steps

Building A Computer Steps...

I see so many people who settle for store bought specs on computers. Why settle for a range of specs when you can push it to the limits. If you want the best computer possible for the cheapest amount of money possible then lets start with the basics and move onto building it. The first thing you need to do is find out what the computer is going to be used for. Common build-types: Overclocking-Gaming, Regular-Gaming, Upper Office, and Entry-Level Office Computers. Of course there are variations on these types of builds, but most follow these formats. These different types of computers all use different types/quality of hardware. It is important to choose appropriate hardware for each kind of build, so you donÂ’t wastemoney or get an underperforming machine.

Do Your Homework

After deciding what kind of computer to build, its time for some research. A new computer can cost anywhere between $200 and upwards of $3000 (more if you get really crazy). If you are spending that much money, you might as well make sure you do it right.

Choosing Parts for your new computer

Ok, now you know some of the basics of computer parts and perhaps know some parts to avoid, which brand names are good, etc. Now it is time to choose the parts to your computer. This section will focus on some considerations for you as you build your computer.

One common source of confusion is the prices of similar products. For example, one 512 MB stick of RAM can cost between $50 and $250. People may find them asking themselves what the difference between two similar looking parts, but very different prices. When similar parts have very different prices, this is where your choice of the type of computer is vital. Expensive parts are normally intended for Overclocking or Gaming computers, while the cheaper parts are normally intended for Office Computers.

Brand names of parts is another thing that should be considered when building a computer. Just like many other things, brand names may determine the reliability and performance of a part. Some manufacturers just choose to make products in favor of quality, while some in the favor of value, and some are in between somewhere. The key here is matching your needs with the appropriate budget and performance needs. This is also where your research comes in handy. Without research you would never know that a certain part is prone to problems.

Another thing to consider, while building, is upgradeability. By the way computers go, in a year or so, the one you build will be out of date. Choose parts that have room for expansion and easy replacement. Again, research is important here.

One more thing to consider is your performance needs. Remember when you picked out which computer type you were building? That is defining your performance needs. Someone who uses a computer for word processing, email, and web browsing will not need a high-end video card. On the other hand, video cards are the most important part of the computer when it comes to gaming.

Checklist for a computer build:

CPU

Motherboard

RAM

Video Card

Hard Drive

Optical Drive

Power Supply

Case

Speakers

Monitor

Mouse

Keyboard

Operating System

I wont say which CPU, Motherboard, etc to pick. That’s what your research should have told you. Just make sure you have everything on that list, and you should be all set.

Step One: Mount Your Motherboard

To start, open up your case’s box, take out the case, and open it up. Usually this involves unscrewing a few thumb screws on the back of your case and sliding the side panels off. Take a good look around your case and get acquainted; note where the hard drive bays are, where your CD drive will go, whether the power supply mounts on the top or the bottom, and so on. There should also be a bag of screws inside your case; grab that now and set it aside because we’ll need it in a few minutes.

Open up your motherboard box and take out the I/O shield, which is the metal plate that protects the ports on the back of your motherboard. You should see a rectangular space in the back of your case where this should go. Snap it into place. This takes quite a bit of force, so make sure all four sides are snapped in securely.

Next, pull out your motherboard and line up the ports on the back with the IO shield. You should see that the holes on your motherboard line up with screw holes on the bottom of your case. There are probably more holes on your case than there are on your motherboard, so note which ones these are, and grab your motherboard standoffs from your bag of screws (they have a male screw end on one side, and a female screw hole on the other side). Screw the standoffs into those holes, and set your motherboard on top of them. Screw your motherboard screws into the standoffs so the motherboard is snugly mounted.

Step Two: Install Your Processor

Open up your processor’s box and gently take it out. Your processor is one of the more fragile parts of the build, so this is one step in which you’ll want to be careful. Find the coner of your processor that has a gold arrow on it, then look at your motherboard’s processor socket for a similar arrowed corner. Line these two arrows up; this is the direction your processor will go into the socket.

Lift up the lever on the processor socket and put your processor in (Intel motherboards might also have a cover you have to lift up first). Pull the lever down to lock it into place. Again, do this gently it shouldn’t require any feats of strength on your part, so if it isn’t falling into place easily, something’s wrong. Take it out and try re-setting it, make sure your two arrows are lined up, and of course, double check that your motherboard and processor are of the same socket type.

Once your processor’s in, grab the cooler that came with your processor (remember, if you got an OEM processor you have to buy a cooler separately). It should already have some silver thermal paste on the bottom. If not, you’ll need to pick some up from the computer store and put a very thin line on your processor I usually use about the size of a grain of rice or two, that’s all.

Set your cooler on top of your processor. If you have an Intel cooler, you’ll need to press down on the four pins until the click, and then twisting the top of the peg so they lock into place. You can find more info on this in your processor’s manual (it takes a few tries, trust me). AMD coolers, like the one in the above video, are much easier just hook the two latches on the sides onto the motherboard’s square pegs, and pull the lever down to lock it into place.

Step Three: Install Your RAM

Installing RAM is very simple. Find the RAM sockets on your motherboard, and pull the two clips on the side down. Line up the notch in your RAM stick with the notch in the socket, and press the RAM down into place. This might take a bit of pressure, so don’t worry about being overly gentle. The clips should snap back into place when the RAM is fully in the socket.

Step Four: Install Your PCI Cards

For your video card (or any other PCI expansion card), find the topmost slot that fits your card and match that up with its plate on the back of the case. Remove that plate and slide the PCI card’s bracket in its place. The card should then be sitting on top of the socket, and all you need to do is press down to lock it into place. Screw the bracket onto the case, and you’re good to go.

Note that if you need to remove it for any reason, there may be a small lever on the back of the socket you need to press before you pull it out.

Step Five: Install Your Hard Drive

Every case is a little bit different in how they install hard drives. Generally, there are two methods: on some cases, you have to pull out a hard drive tray, put the drive in, screw it in securely, and then slide the tray back in. Other motherboards just require you to slide the bare drive into the bay and then screw it in snug after the fact. Check your case’s manual for more detailed instructions on this particular step.

If you’re using multiple hard drives and a big case, it’s usually a good idea to leave some open space between them that is, putting them in the first and third bays instead of first and second. This allows for more airflow between them and will help keep them running cool.

Step Six: Install Your Optical Drive

The optical drive should be pretty self-explanatory. Just pull out the plastic cover on one of your 5.25 drive bays and slide in your optical drive. Screw it into place if necessary.

Step Seven: Mount Your Power Supply

Once everything else is in, it’s time to install your power supply and plug everything in. (Note that if your case came with a power supply, you can skip this step, as it’ll already be installed). It should be pretty obvious where your power supply goes, as there will be a big rectangular hole on the back of your case. Some power supplys mount on the top, while some sit on the bottom of the case. Generally, they mount with the fan facing away from the edge of the case, unless that case has enough space in between the power supply mount and the end of the case to allow for airflow.

Once you set it into place, you should see the holes on the back of the case line up with the screw holes in the power supply. Screw it into place and you’re all set.

Step Eight: Plug Everything In

This can be the most tedious and difficult part of the process, depending on your case and power supply. Separate the cords coming out of your power supply and plug them in individually. These are the ones you should have:

A 24-pin Motherboard Cable: This is the biggest cable on the power supply, which gives the motherboard the electricity it needs to run. It has the very long plug with, you guessed it, 24 little pins in it. Most cases should have a 20-pin with a 4-pin on the same cable, so you can just put them together and plug them into the big 24-pin socket on your motherboard. It should lock into place, and might take a bit of strength to get it in all the way. Push it in until you hear the click and you can’t pull it out with just a slight tug.

A 4-pin Motherboard Cable: You should also have a separate 4-pin cable coming out of your power supply, and a small 4-pin socket somewhere else on the motherboard. This plugs in the same was as the 24-pin cable just push down until it locks into place.

SATA Power and Data Cables: Your hard drives and optical drive plug in via SATA, which contains two cables. One is the skinny black plug coming out of your power supply, which gives power to those drives. The other is a small red cable that should have come with your motherboard; this is the SATA cable that actually transfers data between your hard drive and everything else.

Plug the power cable into the long pin on your hard drive, and plug the data cable into the short pin. The sockets are L-shaped, so they’ll only go in one way. After plugging both cables into the drive, be sure to plug the other end of the data cable into your motherboard, in the sockets labelled SATA. Repeat this entire process with your optical drive.

Molex Power Cables: Your Molex cables power other miscellaneous things in your build, like the case fans. Take the plugs connected to your case fans and plug the male side into the female molex cable on your power supply. This takes a bit of force to get in, and even more force to get out (seriously, these are my least favourite cables of all time).

Note that some fans, like the one on your CPU, might have a smaller connector that actually plugs into your motherboard instead of the power supply instead of via Molex. The small headers will be labled CPU FAN or SYS FAN. This not only gives power to your fans, but also lets you control their speed with certain programs.

Front Panel Audio, USB, and FireWire Connectors: Most cases have a few ports on the front, which can include but are not limited to USB, FireWire, headphone, and microphone jacks. You should see some small cables coming out of the front of your case labelled things like USB, HD AUDIO, and 1394 (which is FireWire). Plug these into their corresponding 8-pin headers on the motherboard usually labelled USB, AUD, and 1394, or something of the sort.

Power Switch and LED Connectors: Lastly, you should have a few small cables labelled POWER SW, RESET SW, HDD LED, and so on. These connect the switches and LEDs on the front of your case to the motherboard, so you can actually turn your computer on. They all consist of only one or two pins, and all plug in on an 8-pin header somewhere on the motherboard. This varies from build to build, so you’ll have to check your motherboard’s manual to see how they all plug in. Your motherboard may also have a small speaker that plugs into an 8-pin connector, which you’ll find in your motherboard box and will be listed in your motherboard’s manual.

A Note on Cable Management

As you’re doing all this, you want to be wary of where you’re putting these cables. Generally, you want to keep them as out of the way as possible. The more they’re tangled up in the middle of your case, the more they’re going to block airflow from your fans, causing your computer to run hotter, louder, and possibly even overheat. Your case may have come with some zip ties to help you wrap them up and get them out of the way. Some cases even come with built-in cable management features, like clips or holes through which you route these cables to keep them out of the way.

Cable management is a beast unto its own, and it differs from case to case, so it’s just something you’ll have to fiddle with. I could do an entire night school on cable management, but I won’t. If you have a particularly complicated build where a few simple zip ties won’t suffice, I recommend checking out NCIX Tech Tip’s cable management guide, which will take you through some more advanced cable management techniques.

Turning It On

When you’re done, plug in the power cable in the back, flip the power switch on, and press the power button on the front of your case. If all goes well, your computer should turn on and, if you plug a monitor into your video card (or motherboard, if you don’t have a video card), you should see what’s called the POST screen. From there, you can head into your BIOS setup by pressing a key on your keyboard (usually DEL).

At this point, it’s probably time to start cleaning up. I usually don’t throw anything away but the actual garbage. I keep all the screws, brackets, and miscellaneous pieces I didn’t use in the motherboard’s box, and that becomes my “build box”. That way, in future builds, or if I upgrade that build, I always have extras of everything on hand just in case. It’s come in handy on more than one occasion, so I can’t recommend this enough if you have any pieces left over.

Common Troubleshooting

If your computer didn’t turn on, don’t panic. First, recheck everything inside. Is your processor seated correctly? If your RAM all the way in its socket? Are your cables plugged into the right sockets? (this is a big one). Run through the entire process again to make sure you did everything correctly.

If your system turns on but makes a beeping noise instead of going through the POST screen, then you have an error. If you can find your motherboard’s BIOS manufacturer (either by watching the POST screen or by searching online), you can diagnose these error codes to find out what’s wrong with your system using these pages:

AwardBIOS Beep Codes

PhoenixBIOS Beep Codes

Also remember that Google is an extremely useful tool. If you’re having issues but can’t figure out what’s wrong, try searching the net or posting on a computer building forum like /r/buildapc. If nothing seems to help, you might have a faulty piece of hardware, like your power supply or motherboard, and you should go about exchanging it for something that works. I wouldn’t jump to this conclusion too quickly, though dig around in your case and do some research to make sure you didn’t just plug something in incorrectly.

Once you’ve got a working computer, congratulations! You’re in the home stretch, now all you need to do is install an operating system. That will be a whole different talk at Best Technology some other time.

 

Take a look at one of the possible builds you could do in the future. This is how I enjoyed the experiment of building a computer without store spec limits.

Trouble Shooting Procedures

Trouble Shooting Procedures...

When I come onto any problems with computers I check over this list every time. I thought I would share this list with you guys. Keep in mind every computer varies based on what kind of hardware it has installed in it. Once you have found the major problem based on this list then you will have to dive deeper into solving that problem. This will take a little homework on your part but can easily be done to find the right compatible parts for your existing computer. WHENEVER INSTALLING NEW HARDWARE MAKE SURE POWER CABLE TO POWERSUPPLY IS DISCONNECTED, EVEN WHEN ATX POWERSUPPLY IS OFF THE 5V STANDBY RAIL IS STILL ACTIVE. CAN’T INSTALL WINDOWS Problem: various errors during windows installation 1. Check for faulty ram. 2. Check for damaged installtion media. 3. Check for faulty power supply. 4. Check for faulty optical drive. HARD DRIVE NOT DETECTED Problem: hard drive cannot be detected 1. PCI bus out of specification, can cause problems 2. Power cable faulty or not plugged in 3. IDC cable in incorrectly or faulty CHECK BOTH ENDS 4. Master/Secondary conflict, disconnect all other devices on chain. 5. Check jumper settings. Some drives have a “single drive” setting, and won’t work properly as a “slave” or “master” if they are the only drive in the chain. 6. As a last resort, ie.won’t work at all after everything has been tried and warranty is no longer valid (not if it’s a new HDD), try the freezer method (freeze the hdd in freezer then try again) NEW CPU NOT WORKING Problem: Cpu does not work. 1. Cpu incompatible with board 2. Chipped core(only for coppermine/athlon/durons) 3. Socket arm not down 4. BIOS may need reset 5. Fan failier protection may cause motherboard to shut down if there’s no power draw on the cpu fan socket, make sure fan is plugged in if this applies to your board. NEW MOTHERBOARD WONT POWER UP Problem: mobo wont post. 1. Check if grounded properly and there’s no shorts 2. Remove all unrequired hardware(soundcard, ide cables etc) 3. Make sure ATX cable is plugged in 4. Make sure your ram and CPU is compatible with this board 5. Dont forget to plug in the atx power button 6. Check bios reset pins 7. Check keyboard wakeup jumper(serious) 8. Check for correct CPU jumper settings. (If Applicable) CONSTANT CRASHES IN WINDOWS Problem: BSODS etc 1. Check VIA 4in1 drivers(if applic.) 2. Set cpu back to stock 3. Set ram back to stock 4. Apply SB live+via patch(if applic.) 5. Remove all hardware one at a time until problem disapears. CONSTANT RESETS WHILE UNDER LOAD Problem: resets under load 1. Check powersupply handling capability, test rails with a multimetre NOT ONBOARD VOLTAGE MONITORING 2. Not enough voltage for overclock 3. Overclocked too far 4. videocard,cpu overheating 5. faulty wiring or possible shorting 6. Check All capacitors around the mosFETs supplying power to the cpu, especially if you have an abit/epox board Burns failing Problem: burning errors 1. Check power(SERIOUS) possible faulty molex plug 2. Enable burn proof 3. remove burner drivers from control panel 4. update your burner software(nero imho causes least problems) 5. Has it happened since installing windows XP? check compatibility. 6. Update firmware 7. make sure DMA is ENABLED IN CONTROL PANEL 8. Put device on seperate chain 9. Make sure PCI bus is relatively in spec(no more than 37mhz) 10. Buy a CD-ROM Lens cleaner, the laser maybe dirty CPU @ XX DEGREES. TOO HOT? 1. Check the fan is functioning 2. Have you applied thermal paste? 3. Apply thermal paste only VERY thinly (almost translucent) 4. Heatsink seated properly? 4a. Socket arm down all the way? 4b. Heatsink collar correct way? 4c. Heatsink not tilted? 5. CPU voltage and speed correct 6. System cooling? If you system is not unstable, there really is no problem unless you wish to start tweaking Remember – too hot is a variable thing: What’s hot for an Intel CPU may be normal operating temp for an AMD. LAN NOT COMMUNICATING 1. Both computers on same subnet (eg. 192.168.0.X) 2. Using straight-through cables on switch/hub? 3. using cross-over cables for direct? 4. Cable broken? 5. Network hardware functioning (hub, switch, NIC) 6. Ping each other? 6a. Ping but don’t see – do you have access permissions 7. you are using a non-internet IP address (192.168.0.x, 10.x.x.x) 8. Plug and play operating systems set to yes in the bios can cause lan failures SKIPPING MUSIC WHILE PLAYING GAMES/OTHER ACTIVITIES Problem: mp3s are skipping while im playing games 1. Switch to Waveout in winamp 2. Increase buffer length 3. Increase priority of mp3 playback 4. Increase block size SYSTEM RANDOMLY REBOOTS 1. if using XP or 2K, check to see if the automatically reboot on error function is turned off. (right click on my computer–>properties–>advanced–>start up and recovery[settings]–>system failure–>untick automatically restart) also appropriate for XP and 2K restarting instead of shutting down. 2. check for faulty ram (You can use GoldMemory to test it) 3. check for faulty power supply. 4. Scan for viruses. 5. if your keyboard has them, physically remove the “Power”, “Sleep” and “Wake” Up buttons as you might be bumping the, ERROR MESSAGE: “There was a problem installing this hardware :Hardware Name. An error occurred during the installation of this device. The data is invalid.” Problem: Blue Screen When Trying To Install Hardware And/Or Drivers: FIX: To fix this problem, go to Start, Run… and type “regedit” without the quotes, to run the Registry Editor. Navigate your way down to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\ENUM\P CI and you will see a number of keys in the form of “VEN_xxxx”, where xxxx are strings like “1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_00011103&REV_04″. Under each of these folders will be another folder with a long numerical name. Open each folder and look for the “DeviceDesc” which matches the hardware you are trying to install. Right Click on the “VEN_xxxx” for that device and select ‘Permissions’ and then tick “Allow” for “Full Control”. Close Regedit and then continue with the installation of your device. You should not need to reboot after you close regedit but some people have found that they do. RECOVERING FROM A BAD BIOS FLASH Problem: System will not boot following a bios flash: Firstly, only flash your bios when it abosolutely necessary. If you are not sure what you are doing, then take your computer to some one who does. With AMI BIOS you can use the “Quick Flash” Method that is described in a file in AMIFLASH.ZIP. If you use this method, hold the magic keys DOWN with one hand and switch the PC ON with the other hand – just don’t release the keys). Continue holding the keys DOWN until the FDD starts reading the floppy (you can give up after 5 minutes if nothing happens). This method won’t work if the boot block is erased. Find AMIFLASH.ZIP at: AMI | American Megatrends Inc. Other Options: Modern motherboards have a boot-block BIOS. This is small area of the BIOS that doesn’t get overwritten when you flash a BIOS. The boot-block BIOS only has support for the floppy drive. If you have a PCI video card you won’t see anything on the screen because the boot-block BIOS only supports an ISA videocard, although the procedure will still run. Award: At boot-up, the boot-block BIOS will look for and execute an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on a bootable diskette. Copy an Award flasher & the correct BIOS *.bin file onto a floppy and execute it automaticly by putting awdflash *.bin in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. AMI: The AMI boot-block BIOS will look for a AMIBOOT.ROM file on a diskette. Copy and rename the correct BIOS file on the floppy and power up the PC. The floppy doesn’t need to be bootable. You will see the PC read the floppy, after about 4 minutes you will hear 4 beeps, this means the transfer is done. Reboot the PC and modify the CMOS for your configuration.

 

Microsoft Digits – 3D Hand Gesture Computer Interaction

Microsoft Digits – 3D Hand Gesture Computer Interaction

Microsoft’s research lab in Cambridge, UK has developed a new way to interact with the digital world using intuitive hand gestures. “Digits” uses 3 different IR cameras to track the positions of fingers with respect to each other.

One of the applications for this technology includes 3-D spacial interaction with a mobile device. By assigning gestures to certain functions, the user could conceivably control any aspect of a device. This also allows for vision free control of the device. In example used in Microsoft’s video, they assigned the the “thumb’s up” to answer an incoming call.

Other applications include sign language interpretation and endless possibilities for gaming. Could this be the new controller for XBox 720? Guess we will have to wait to find out.

XBOX

XBOX

Xbox 720 specs

The next Xbox is to be as popular and last as long as the Xbox 360 – without the frankly appalling hardware failures which blighted its early days – it's going to need some reliable and powerful components.

Rumours suggest that the console will contain a revision of AMD's 7000 series graphics, which is based on its 28nm Graphics Core Next (GCN) Southern Islands tech.

Anonymous sources are being quoted on VG247 as saying that the graphics setup in the Xbox 720 will be "like two PCs taped together" which sounds like waffle to us. What does that even mean?

The same sources say that the two GPUs in the Xbox 720 "aren't structured as they are in a normal dual PC set-up," with each chip working separately to draw different items simultaneously.

Again, this sounds rather wooly to us, so let's try and make some sense of it...

Perhaps it depends what the source is referring to as different 'items'. The traditional usage of multi-GPU tech is Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR) where each GPU renders a frame in turn; if the source is saying that is not the case in the Xbox 720 then it will be a whole new usage of twin graphics chips.

It's also possible the confusion here could be arising from the difference between AMD's old GPU architecture, used in the Xbox 360, and the new Graphics Core Next technology. The old Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architecture of AMD's last gen GPUs essentially batched up instructions before outputting them.It's possible this simultaneous rendering of different items could be referring to using the twin GPUs to display 3D outputs – where each chip is rendering a different angle of a scene to generate the 3D effect. This would then minimise the stress that 3D gaming puts on graphics chips.Still, if that secondary GPU is lying dormant during non-3D gaming it would be rather wasteful, so the GPUs must surely still be used concurrently to render the games.

But GCN is made up of more independent microprocessors capable of carrying out more instructions concurrently.

Either way, the inclusion of AMD 7000 series graphics would put the new Xbox on a par with the current rumoured specs of the Sony PS4 which is in turn expected to also contain AMD Southern Islands graphics as well as an AMD x86 CPU.

Are we really to believe that the 'next generation' of games consoles would essentially be out of date mini AMD PCs, with just the operating systems and scale of fun-sucking DRM the only levels of differentiation? We can't see that being the case, and a report in April 2012 suggests that Microsoft does indeed have something more exciting up its sleeve.It would put the two consoles on level footing in terms of performance as they will essentially contain the same hardware, though by the time they actually go on sale they would to be hopelessly out of date compared to modern PCs.

Xbox World reported that the Xbox 720 will pack a 16-core CPU, which would certainly add some much needed muscle to the maybe-possibly underpowered graphics.

Latest rumours suggest that the 720 will lag behind the PS4 on specs, though the same reports say the next Xbox will have twice as much RAM. Make of that what you will.

Xbox 720 to be called Xbox Infinity?

Microsoft recently went on a domain name shopping spree, snapping up a whole bunch of Xbox-related URLs. One of them, and the one that immediately catches the eye, is Xbox8.com. Could this mean that the next Xbox could be called the Xbox Infinity? It's just speculation at the moment, but it's possible!

It's also entirely possible that Microsoft could call it the Xbox 720, but we reckon it'll have something a bit more exciting up its sleeve.

Noted Microsoft blogger MS Nerd outed the name Xbox Loop, claiming that the long-awaited console will be "far smaller", cheaper and quite Kinect-focused when it finally lands on our shelves.

Rrecent reports indicate that Microsoft's internal codename for the new Xbox is 'Durango'. Sean Tracy, a technical designer at games developer Crytek,said on Twitter: "Enjoying the Durango developers summit in London. So far, great swag and interesting talks". The tweet was very quickly taken down but the codename was out of the bag by then.

What about the Xbox 720 controller?

Many rumours suggest that the second version of Kinect will sit at the heart of the Xbox 720 experience, and we reckon it's a no brainer. A console built around motion detection has lots of promise and it seems highly likely that this is the direction Microsoft is taking, given the way it's currently pushing Kinect hardware and software.

However, you can be sure that the trusty control pad will remain a core component for hardcore gaming. The 360 control pad is wildly popular amongst both console and PC gamers so we can't see the design changing too radically, either.

Microsoft recently filed a patent relating to projecting augmented reality 3D images onto the walls of the room you're gaming in, in an effort to more fully immerse you in the experience.

The codename for this project is 'Fortaleza' and has Kinect at its heart. It is all supposed to work with wi-fi enabled Fortaleza glasses much like Google'sProject Glass glasses.

Xbox 720 to pack Blu-ray and DVR features?

It now seems highly likely that the new Xbox will arrive packing a Blu-ray drive.

Microsoft was, if you remember, a staunch member of the HD DVD Promotion Group and went so far as to launch an external HD DVD drive for the 360. So it represents a bit turn-around for Microsoft to embrace Blu-ray, but it also makes perfect sense.

Read speeds from DVDs are still faster than from Blu-ray discs, but BDs can hold vastly more data. A standard dual-layer BD can contain 50GB of data compared to the Xbox 360's dual-layer DVDs which contain between 8 and 9GB.

Many current Xbox 360 titles come on two or three discs, and with the size of Xbox 720 games destined to dwarf current titles, that extra capacity is a fundamental requirement.

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A document that leaked in June 2012 indicates that the Xbox 720 will come packing 1080p 3D support, Blu-ray player and DVR functionality. This would indicate that Microsoft is trying to position the Xbox 720 as the single does-it-all set-top box in your living room.

Xbox 720 games

It looks as though games developers are already playing with Xbox 720 hardware - a recent job advert from Peter Molyneux's Lionhead studio asks for developers with a background in DirectX 11 - a platform not used by any of the current consoles but is rumoured to be used in the AMD-powered Xbox 720.

It's a bit of a no-brainer that titles are in development from all the big studios if you ask us.

Will Microsoft kill the second-hand games market?

There have been rumours cicrulating that the new Xbox console will feature a system aimed at preventing owners playing used games. That would mean no trading-in of old titles in order to fund the purchase of new ones - a move that would not be warmly received by gamers or highstreet store.

The rumours centre around the concept of the new Xbox demanding an always-on internet connection. That sounds like a horrifying idea to us – say it ain't so!

Xbox 720 release date

All indications are that the next Xbox will arrive in time for Christmas 2013. Microsoft briefly stated that the new Xbox is imminent in an interview with the Verge before swiftly backtracking and issuing a moderately embarrassingdenial.

This is further backed up by a Microsoft job advert which confirms a new Xbox launch is imminent.

Further rumours of an Xbox 720 release date of pre-Christmas 2013 was backed up at the end of November 2012 by a Bloomberg report which citessources at Microsoft and says we are likely to see the Xbox 720 make its debut at E3 2013.

But then! In January, a report from Game Informer suggested that we'd actually see Microsoft bust out an all-singing all-dancing event to launch the Xbox 720 around Game Developers Conference in March.

Why no E3 reveal? Because Microsoft wanted to make a splash away from the noise of the mega-show. Unfortunately, the report indicated that Sony had the same idea for the PS4...

Xbox 720 price

That leaked document we mentioned earlier mentions a $299 (£190) price point which sounds gloriously ambitious to us. Expect the Xbox 720 price to be a bit more than that but assuming the PS4 launches around the same time, expect some competitive pricing.