Tech News May 2006

NewsMay 31, 2006June 29, 20140

Blackberry 8700g Review
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 15, 2006
People in a high-demand workplace need to constantly keep updated on information. Whether it’s checking e-mail, making phone calls, or viewing stock prices, most people you encounter will all be using the same tool: the Blackberry. T-Mobile’s Blackberry 8700g is the best Blackberry to date. Its combination of sophisticated styling, excellent navigation, and high-powered applications make it a must-have for communication on the go. You’ll definitely want to read on to find out why every power user in today’s workforce needs a Blackberry 8700g.

2006 E3 Booth Babes – Day 2
The Tech Zone :: Monday, May 15, 2006

The Booth Babe hunt continues. We got another 7 pages of the hottest booth babes of E3. We even managed to track down some celebrity booth babes like Jenny McCarthy and Paris Hilton! Enjoy and make sure the boss is not watching.

Aerocool XFire CPU Cooler
Think Computers :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: “Aerocool is a great name for a company that makes cooling products don’t you think? The name alone is sleek and conjures visions of futuristic looking things and technology. Today for review I have the AeroCool Xfire CPU cooler, and it truly does look sleek and futuristic. Looks aren’t much if you don’t have the performance to do with it, so read on to find out just how well the Xfire can perform…”

Mushkin HP 3200 2GB Dual Kit
Driver Heaven :: Monday, May 15, 2006
The HP3200 2GB kit that we have here today may not be the fastest kit available on the market, however it does not cost much more than low end RAM modules. To further make the deal sweeter, it is backed up by a lifetime warranty, carries heatspreaders and boasts 2/3/2 RAM latency at 200MHz (400MHz DDR) which are nearly the fastest any DDR RAM can handleat those speeds and fantastic for a 2GB kit. However the overclocking capability and performance of this kit remain in question, so let us have a closer look at it.

Battle of the Backups
Short-Media :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“Human nature being what it is, the easier it is for you to regularly do a comprehensive backup of your data the more likely it will be that you’ll do it. Part of this article will explore two different programs which can automate the task to a large extent, increasing the odds that should misfortune strike it will be merely a nuisance – and not an unrecoverable calamity.”

Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake Flight 7
Phoronix :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Summary: “Ubuntu, one of the Linux distributions leading the desktop movement by Mark Shuttleworth, has come out this morning with Flight 7 for Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake. Contained in this release are LiveCD installer improvements, updated multimedia framework, additional look and feel polish, latest version of popular applications, and other minor improvements. While it is relatively stable and almost the final version, it is still not recommended to install Flight 7 on production machines. We at Phoronix have coverage from Ubuntu Dapper Drake Flight 7.”

The World’s First 3D Gaming Mouse
The Tech Zone :: Monday, May 15, 2006

The Game O’ 3D gaming mouse opens up new frontiers for gamers to explore, by offering enhanced movement options and flexibility. For example, in FPS, Game O’ offers gamers a way to move forward, backwards, sideways, jump, crouch, pitch, yaw and roll without using the keyboard. Gamers’ left hands are free to execute commands that were mutually exclusive with WASD keys. In RTS and RPG titles, gamers are able to issue game commands while simultaneously adjusting the screen view during online battles, as they no longer have to move the cursor to the edge of the screen to move the camera.

Unitek-Colors-IT ATX-L8029 Case Review
Technic3d :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: “The Unitek-Colors-IT ATX-L8029 Case is meant for price-conscious customers. See you at Technic3D Review whether it can arrive also good”

ASUS A8R32 MVP Deluxe
Lost Circuits :: Monday, May 15, 2006
ATI’s line of chipset is the latest buzz in the menagerie of core logic. An insane overclocking potential, combined with 32 PCIe lanes dedicated entirely to graphics processing are the main charms enticing the novice along with the hard-boiled overclocking fanatic. Crossfire in the purest form includiung the possibility of using two ATI X1900 XT processors complements the platform by taking advantage of a 16 MB/sec path for feeding the graphics monsters with data and inter-GPU communication for coordination of the different workloads.

On paper, all this and more seems like a perfect solution but what happens in reality? In most systems we have looked at, increasing the bus speed also increased system performance – even if we kept the overall CPU clock speed the same. So what are we to expect if we are taking advantage of the insane clocking potential of the chipset without raising the CPU clock? Or rather, are the benchmarks going to tell us something about the tricks that ATI/ASUS used to enable the speed demons. Think wait states, think skews – and by the end of the day, there is still the possibility of overclocking the PCIe bus to make the hard disks spin faster than their rated 7200 rpm and turn a Barracuda into a Raptor! — Or maybe not?

Trashing an Aiwa Sound System
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 15, 2006

“After setting my Siemens cell phone on fire and smashing my DVD player using Tae Kwon Do moves, I promised to destroy that famous Aiwa shelf system where its CD player stops working after some time.”

NEW CONTENT (Visual) AGEIA PhysX and Ghost Recon – Gaming at the next level
TweakTown :: Monday, May 15, 2006
QUOTE: “Finally we leave thinking about the performance hit that has been spoken about a lot. There is no doubt that the AGEIA card in GRAW does impact performance – the VGA card has to render more detail due to the AGEIA card. Losses as high as 20 frames per second have been spoken about but with that said, the Radeon X1900XTX at 2560 x 1600 didn’t give us any major loss of FPS that affected our game play. The other thing is the PhysX in GRAW feels as it’s been kind of taped on and not written from the ground up. When we get a chance to look at the card again we will try Cell Factor which is designed around the AGEIA technology to see just how it performs. This will give us a better indication of how future games will perform with this technology as it matures.”

Noctua NH-U9 and NH-U12 CPU Coolers
Big Bruin :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: The Noctua NH-U9 and NH-U12 can now be included in a class with the cooling elite; joining such well performing coolers such as the Zalman Fatal1ty, Thermalright HR-01, and Thermaltake Big Typhoon. I had a great first impression of the Noctua coolers from the moment I opened the box, and I was not disappointed once I had tested their performance.

Gigabyte Poseidon Chassis
t-break :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Inside the case we have five of 5¼” screw-less bays and two 3½” screw-less bays along with an internal HDD bay at the bottom that can take three more drives. We like the screw-less design from Gigabyte that secures the drives very tightly preventing you from wasting any time with installing/removing the drives using traditional screws.

Spire DiamondCool II and VertiCool II
Pro-Clockers :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: We have being reviewing Spire products on PC for a good little while. And during that time we have seen some really sweet products come from them. From their Italian designed Pininfarina cases to their popular DiamondCool heatsink. Today, Spire was cool enough to send over their latest coolers, the DiamondCool II and VertiCool II. And let’s see how they compare.

Antec P180B Performance One Chassis Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: “The Antec P-180 or P-180B cases are true Antec all the way and definitely a viable mid-sized solution that won’t disappoint you. It has style and class which is good for any personal or professional user. As I pointed out in the beginning, this is what Antec is all about.”

E3 – Day 1: Mass Chaos & Booth Babes
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: “You could spend as much as two days trying out every video game or console demo at the event. It just takes up so much space and they are so spread out. Its quite easy to zone out and forget which booths you have already visited. Sensory overload starts to set in after day 2 of games, swag, and trying to keep track. The major software, video game, and hardware vendors spend a couple days giving their lectures and promotions of upcoming titles and releases.”

Web Guide to Digital Scrapbooks
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 15, 2006
You might think of scrapbooking as the hobby of your prim and proper aunt or grandma, arranging pictures and mementos for posterity. But it’s far more than little old ladies; in fact, scrapbooking is a $2.5 billion a year industry, and that’s a figure that buys a lot of memories.

But these days, instead of photos, scissors, and glue, more and more of those happy pasts are being preserved digitally. Not, however, for web pages. The scrapbooks still exist, printed up or e-mailed to friends and relatives. But all the work is done on computer.

Testing the 3D Performance of Your PC With Quake 4
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“One of the best ways to benchmark the performance of your PC is running a heavy 3D game, since it will pull the maximum performance your video card, CPU, memories and hard disk drive can deliver. Quake 4 fits nicely in this role for PCs found on the market today. In this short tutorial we will teach you how to use Quake 4 to measure the performance of a PC.”

Zalman VF900-Cu Dual Heatpipe VGA Cooler
Big Bruin :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: Zalman continues to innovate in the field of high performance, low noise cooling. The VF-900Cu provided excellent cooling performance and was able to do so with absolutely no noise. Even at full speed, the cooler was quieter than the stock unit it replaced, and it kept the X800 GTO almost 10 degrees Celsius cooler!

Etymotic ETYCOM Mobile Phone Headset Review
CoolTechZone :: Monday, May 15, 2006

“Etymotic has been manufacturing quality earphones for decades. Unlike other consumer electronics manufacturers, Etymotic doesn’t update its product line too often, but when it does, the new products are revolutionary and truly worthy of attention. We did a roundup of Etymotic earphones two years ago and were thoroughly impressed with the company’s superb noise cancelling earphones. Since Etymotic is a premium brand with earphones that are designed for professionals and audiophiles, its products carry a hefty price tag.”

All Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition Models
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“Pentium D is a dual-core version of Pentium 4, and Pentium Extreme Edition is a Pentium D with HyperThreading technology enabled. Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition CPUs can be found using two different core versions: Smithfield and Presler. In this tutorial we will talk about these two core versions and we will also list all Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition models released to date.”

Seagate NL35.2 Series, ST3500641NS 500GB drive
Bjorn3D :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Today, we’re going to review a drive that may play a role in in removing one of the remaining two check marks, longevity. Seagate recently introduced the new NL35™ series of SATA drives which they call ‘Near Line’ that takes direct aim at the workstation/entry-level server environment. A quote from Seagate states: ‘The NL35™ Series drives are designed for workloads that fall between enterprise workloads and desktop computer or entry-level server workloads. NL35 Series drives are not appropriate for true high duty-cycle enterprise workloads.’ Hmmm! A niche market for drives or a stepping stone to the future? Please join me for a look at the Seagate ST3500641NS, 500 GB SATA Drive to ascertain if the differences this product brings to the table truly indicate this product’s future is as bright as the manufacturer’s literature suggests.

Corsair Nautilus500 Water Cooling System
TechFEAR :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Summary: “Anyone that’s in the market for an inexpensive water cooling kit should take a look at the Corsair Nautilus500. With a quick installation and robust cross-compatibility with various socket types it’s one of the most complete kits on the market.”

Flicker Free Monitor
AuphanOnline.com :: Monday, May 15, 2006

quote: “If you own a CRT monitor, you should make sure that the refresh rate of your monitor is set up properly so it does not flicker. Save your eyes and this guide will show you how to do it.”

X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect
HTPCnews :: Monday, May 15, 2006

“One would want a technology like DTS Connect if a person has a home theater audio setup and were dealing with sound sources that are not already in a compatible surround sound format (Dolby Digital or DTS) but surround sound is desired. The common examples of this are gaming and WMV-HD videos (which uses Microsoft’s proprietary 5.1 audio codec).”

SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF 750W
Phoronix :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: “If the popular 500~600W power supply units are not enough to suit the growing needs of computer enthusiasts, SilverStone Technology has released a phenomenal 750W continuous power PSU. With providing just over the equivalent of one horsepower, the SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF features quad +12V rails, dual PCI-E 6-pin connectors (plus the option for two more), industrial grade components, and active PFC. Is SilverStone’s ST75ZF the new front-runner for high-end power supplies?”

Scythe KAMARIKI II 550 Watts Extra Silent PSU Review
Madshrimps :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Scythe has come a long way in the last three years in offering PC cooling the quiet way. I still remember the look of the web page first appeared in the summer of 2003. Today, we are taking a look at Scythe’s first power supply entering the U.S. market; KAMARIKI II 550 Watts Extra Silent.”

XGene Imperial 2.4G Wireless Keyboard+Trackball Review
FastLaneHW :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Description: There are many reasons to invest in a wireless keyboard. Some people like to place the keyboard out of sight when it’s not in use. The same could be said for their mouse. For other folks, just having wires laying on their desktop looks too messy. Gamers on the other hand usually go for the wired devices unless wireless mice and keyboards are very responsive – any lag can spell death in a first person shooter game like Doom III. Can a wireless keyboard and trackball combo meet the needs of all these people? We are going to find out by reviewing the XGene Imperial 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard +Trackball device.

How-To: Compile a Linux Kernel
OS Weekly :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “The kernel is the core piece of most operating systems. It is a piece of software responsible for the communication between hardware and software components. As a basic component of an operating system, a kernel provides abstraction layers for hardware, especially for memory, processors and communication between hardware and software. It also provides software facilities such as process abstractions and makes interprocess communication easier.”

Aerocool Silver Lightning fans
Pro-Clockers :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: We all know that Aerocool is fast making a name for themselves in the world of cases and cooling. The success of the ExtremEngine line of cases and front panel devices have been a pretty big success for them. Being no strangers to cooling fans, Aerocool was nice enough to send over their entire line of Silver Lightning cooling fans. From sizes ranging from 80mm to 140mm, there is surely one or two to meet your needs.

Wolf Claw Devour
Driver Heaven :: Monday, May 08, 2006
One of the benefits of owning a PC is that you have a massive choice of peripherals. If you want to buy a steering wheel to play racing games? no problem. If you want a game pad for those consoleish platformers then again, no problem. What if you are into FPS style games in a big way?, is there anything out there which is better suited to gaming than a standard keyboard? Of course there is and today we are going to take a look at one such product. The Devour from Wolf Claw/PD Scientific.

AM2 Performance Preview
t-break :: Monday, May 08, 2006
We managed to acquire a sample of the Athlon64 3500+ AM2 CPU and decided to quickly test a few of our standard applications. However, keep in mind that the numbers we’re posting are from a beta CPU using a beta motherboard with a beta BIOS. Lets look at the CPU-Z screenshot of the CPU.

SunbeamTech Nuuo 550w PSU Review
OCIA :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“The Nuuo 550 was introduced last fall. It was the first modular PSU to be certified by nVidia for use with SLI. With the mad rush by all PSU manufacturers to get out new models of power supplies suitable for use with the power hungry NF4 Ultra SLI chipset and multiple video cards, many buyers may have overlooked Sunbeam’s offering. Now that things have settled down some, and SLI is reality, with modular construction and it’s very attractive price, the Nuuo 550 should stand out as a serious consideration.”

MSI K8N Diamond Plus Motherboard
TweakTown :: Monday, May 08, 2006

QUOTE: “The K8N Diamond Plus motherboard uses the nForce 4 SLI x16 chipset, the newest beast from nVidia. This chipset gives you a total of 32 PCI Express lanes for graphics cards alone; this means you get full speed PCI Express x16 slots. MSI uses a small interconnected heatpipe and fan design to keep the two chipsets as cool as possible – and this is especially great news for end-users who like to build quiet computers. That’s right – nForce 4 SLI x16 is a two chip solutions. nVidia worked this by placing the extra 16 lanes on the Southbridge chipset and uses a 1600Mhz Hyper Transport link to connect the Northbridge to the Southbridge.”

Thermaltake PurePower 600AP (600W)PSU Review on Technic3D
Technic3d :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Is that new PurePower 600W PSU from Thermaltake better than the ToughPower? See you at the Review on Technic3D”

The Great Microsoft Office for Mac Pro with Virtual PC Giveaway!
Futurelooks :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Face it! With the introduction of INTEL based MAC’s, the platform became cool with many PC enthusiasts overnight for one reason: Running WindowsXP Pro. But what about the folks that don’t have an INTEL MAC? Well, we’re giving away something that will make your non INTEL MAC cool again.

Lian Li PC-201 Server Case Review
Overclocker Café :: Monday, May 08, 2006

The Overclocker Cafe’ has posted their review of the newest Lian Li server case, the Lian Li PC-201. Encompassing many of the design features of the PC-V series, the PC-201 brings features like a compartmentalized design, expansion room for 12 hard drives and four 120mm fans to bear on the server market. The case is so large and roomy, its appeal should be broad. Here is a snip of the OC Cafe’s review.

The Lian Li PC-201 has an enormous appeal to a spectrum of users. System administrators will love it because of the expanse of drive combinations and roomy insides capable of handling even extended ATX mainboards. Modders will love it because of the room the drive area offers for a separate area for cooling fan, radiator and pump in a water cooling kit. Keeping all the H2O stuff separate makes for a clean look and piece of mind.

Ageia: First Look
Techgage :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: Ageia started out as a killer concept but now that concept is reality. Today we take a look at that reality and touch on what offers and what it will offer in the future.

BlueGears B-Cool Fan @ ThinkComputers.org
Think Computers :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Cooling, every computer needs it, so why not do it in style? Cooling for your computer comes in many different shapes, colors and sizes. Today I am taking a look at a cool little product from Blue Gears; it is the B-Cool 80mm fan. What makes this fan unique is that it has a built in temperature display that shows the temp of the incoming air on while the fan is spinning, the LED display is actually parts of the spinning blades of the fan. This is a cool little product that will really add some style to your computer. Let’s get a better look at it…”

Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 Cooling Review on Technic3D
Technic3d :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “The Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 is very quiet and inexpensive. As well it is the 775 Cooling real. See you at Technic3D Review.”

Seasonic S12 600W Power Supply Review
PCStats :: Monday, May 08, 2006
There are a lot of expensive power supplies on the market but unfortunately most are expensive due to gimmicks like flashy LED fans, see through PSU containers and detachable cables. What you should look for instead is for a power supply that has passed industry certification (like nVIDIA’s SLI certified PSUs) and do your homework by posting in computer forums asking the more experienced users what they think of certain models. This way you can get yourself a truly reliable power supply, not some pretty piece of junk.

2x1GB DDR Memory Roundup: Corsair, Mushkin and OCZ
Pure Overclock :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “Games such as Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R, Quake 4, and more recently Oblivion are setting an obvious trend that will only continue. If you’re a serious gamer then you really should have 2GB of fast system memory, and if you currently have 2GB of ‘ value’ stuff but are looking to upgrade, then the kits on test today from Corsair, Mushkin and OCZ are perfect replacements.”

SilverStone TJ08
Overclockers Online :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: The TJ-08 is quiet, cool, and the perfect size to play any role it may need to take on. Whether it be a home theater system, desktop publishing powerhouse, or easy to move gaming system; the TJ-08 excels with quiet function and incredible cooling.

ECS C19-A SLI Motherboard Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Today on the test bench I have our 3rd ECS motherboard: the ECS C19-A SLI Pentium 4 (skt 775) Motherboard. What differs this board from our previous ECS boards is that the C19-A SLI is the first board from ECS to formally support NVIDIA SLI in an Intel Platform. Unfortunately it is only implemented as dual 8x pipes or a single 16x pipe for the PCI-e. But again: ‘Budget’.”

2006 Soccer World Cup USB Camera
Daily CE :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“In spirit of this year’s Soccer World Cup, USBGeek has a USB camera that resembles Soccer balls. The camera has a 350K pixel CMOS sensor, ability to e-mail pictures, a built-in microphone, adjustable lens for picture focusing, 360-degree flexible head, solid metal stand, and works at resolutions up to 640×480.”

asetek VapoChill Micro HSF
TweakTown :: Monday, May 08, 2006
QUOTE: “When all is said and done, it appears that the folks at asetek have done their homework. While the concepts of using a refrigerant as a cooling medium have been around for some time, the required condenser and airtight components to go along with it have made the cost terribly prohibitive. The VapoChill Micro gives us the ability to use the same methodology, but in a product that produces very reasonable results without going below ambient, thus taking away the need for all the big dollar accessories.”

Ripper XXL vs. Corepad XXXL Deskpad Comparison
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “If it wasn’t for the bottom right curvature on the CorePad XXXL, these two products would be almost absolutely identical. So honestly, I can’t see spending 1/3 more on the Ripper XXL, even if I do like the rectangle look of it better.”

ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard Review
[H]ardOCP :: Monday, May 08, 2006
ASUS delivers a one-two punch to the competition by releasing the P5N32-SLI Deluxe, using the Intel version of the nForce4 x16 chipset. Just how well does this stack up to its AMD counterpart?

” If we are going to build a system with an Intel CPU, there is no reason we have found to use a motherboard without an Intel chipset. If you are an NVIDIA chipset fan, an “Intel guy,“ and a glutton for unneeded punishment, the P5N32-SLI Deluxe might be just right for you.”

Defining Kernel Panic
OS Weekly :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“Kernel panic is a web comic started and maintained by Christopher Wright. The main characters of this comic are a group of UNIX and Linux server administrators ordered to change the server farm over Nifty Doorways. It’s a humorous way of looking at otherwise complicated, mundane and dry topics, especially for those of you who deal with such scenarios constantly.”

Antec Performance CPU Cooler
Bjorn3D :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Today we’re going to looking at a brand new HSF, simply called the Performance CPU Cooler, just introduced by Antec® a company well known for design and manufacture of cases, fans, and other quality cooling solutions. While well versed in cooling solutions, and even OEM production of several basic HSFs, to the best of my knowledge this is Antec’s first truly ‘High Performance’ HSF to be marketed. Will it meet the mark necessary for success or fall short of the mark as first generation products often due. Join me and we’ll find out together.

SED TV, The Plasma Killer
AuphanOnline.com :: Monday, May 08, 2006

quote: “First there was rear projection LCD, then DLP, then came Plasma. What’s the next big TV technology just on the horizon? Read on to find out..”

News: Incredible CG-Laden Short: “Prey Alone”
Modern Savant :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Yet another fascinating “stumble upon” today; an independent short film titled simply “Prey Alone.” With a $100,000 budget, a small team of producers and actors, and special effects that rival the best Hollywood has to offer, this 15 minute Irish export is not only highly entertaining, but an inspiration to aspiring film makers. Almost the entire movie was shot against a green screen in a few days and a small render farm created the impressive CG over the course of several months.

Corsair 2GB XMS-4400PRO DDR Memory Kit Pictorial Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The latest and fastest DDR memory from Corsair is here! Introducing the new Corsair XMS-4400PRO DDR memory kit!

Join Adrian as he takes a look at this new DDR memory kit which not only boasts a 550MHz DDR clock speed but also a large capacity of 2GB! ”

The “GNU/Linux” and “Linux” Controversy
OS Weekly :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “This famous controversy is there ever since I became aware of operating systems known as GNU/Linux. The GNU General Public License (GPL), which is used by Linux as well as most GNU software, armors both characters.”

News: FEAR Coming to the XBOX 360
Modern Savant :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Monolith’s acclaimed PC shooter is coming to the XBOX 360 this fall. It will feature both the same strong singleplayer campaign from F.E.A.R. on the PC, plus that hectic and innovative multiplayer design we’ve grown to love, courtesy of XBOX Live. The game will be shown at E3 next week.

ECS Elitegroup C19-A SLI Pentium 4 Motherboard
Big Bruin :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: The ECS Elitegroup C19-A SLI offers solid features for anyone looking to build a gaming system around an Intel processor… With Intel gaining ground in the gaming market with its dual core CPUs, coupling that processing power with the graphical processing power of an SLI setup makes boards like the C19-A SLI quite appealing.

Swiftech Apex Ultra Review
Techgage :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: In computing we have many cooling options. Air, water and phase change being the most common in the enthusiast arena. Today we will be looking at a top grade kit from Swiftech and comparing it to a similarly configured kit from the competition and see if there is a clear winner or loser.

Corsair XMS2-8500
Bytesector :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Since my last memory review, Corsair has been busy designing and building the fastest memory on earth. With a previous top memory speed of 1GHz, Corsair saw a need to improve that just slightly to 1066MHz or 1.066GHz. What is 66MHz going to do for you though? In all honesty, not much, but Corsair’s theory is that if the memory runs at the same speed at the processor FSB, then surely performance will be optimal. Right?”

Thermaltake Big Water 745
Think Computers :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Liquid Cooling, I love it! There used to be a time when liquid cooling was for the ‘pros’ and enthusiasts who quite a bit of money to play with, now pretty much everyone can afford the luxury of a liquid cooled computer. Thermaltake is one of those companies that knows what people want and need, they seem to be able to put together quality performance setups with quality parts and still keep the costs down so the average Joe can afford them. Today for review I have their new BigWater 745 liquid cooling system, not long ago I reviewed their Big Water SE and was impressed, let’s see how the 745 compares.”

Speed-Link Power Feedback Leather Wheel Review
Technic3d :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “The new Speed-Link Power Feedback Leather Wheel arrived the Editorship from Technic3D. Which feeling came out see you at the follow Review.”

Scythe “mine cooler”
Hardware OC :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Hardwareoverclock has posted a new heatsink review. Last week we have tested the mine cooler from scythe. Scythe original “Kaze Jyu” 10cm fan is used for Mine CPU Cooler to achieve compact size, high cooling performance all the way up to dual-core users with lowest noise possible.

Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt PSU
ViperLair :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Performance was also pretty good. It produced slightly more stable voltages than the comparison Enermax power supply, especially in regards to the CPU voltage. Though as a note the voltage data was taken using a software program so it isn’t the most accurate, though for a comparison between two power supplies in the same settings it works just fine. As for noise, well there wasn’t really any to speak of, though the Ultra was somewhat quieter than the Enermax.”

Corsair 1GB TWIN2X1024-8500 Review
Techgage :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: Without a doubt, DDR2 memory is becoming increasing popular, especially with an AM2 launch coming up. Corsair has given us some memory that’s worth talking about. While it’s only a 1GB kit, it’s the fastest 1GB kit you can get your mitts on.

ABIT’s new identity
TweakTown :: Monday, May 08, 2006

QUOTE: “ABIT’s upcoming AM2 motherboards are pretty much complete and ready to go. ABIT will release their “Fatal1ty” AN9 32X motherboard in June and boards should be shipping at the same time. On the other hand, ABIT are still working hard on Intel Conroe based motherboards. From what we have learned so far, Intel won’t be releasing any new high-end chipsets till the end of the year and the Conroe processor will use the 975X and 965 chipset. Keep in mind Conroe processors will not work on your current 975X based motherboard due to the power requirement changes of the new CPU which claim to use 40% less power but provide 40% more performance clock for clock.”

NAB2006 – The World’s Largest Electronic Media Show Report
The Tech Zone :: Monday, May 08, 2006
We didn’t like the remake of Chicken Little as well as the original but we guess it had to be updated. However, it’s a perfect parallel to the recent National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Broadcast is falling and IPTV will take over.

VIA EPIA MII 12000
Modders Inc. :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: Are you considering building an HTPC but do not want a full size PC in your living room? Maybe the following has ran through your head… “If I could put a PC into that it would be freaking outrageous!” Well you may just be in luck, at a compact size of 6.75″(w) x 6.75″(d) x 1.5″(h) the VIA EPIA MII 12000 could just make all your custom PC dreams come true. This tiny mother board has every thing imaginable onboard, from the embedded CPU to an MPEG-2 Accelerator, the MII 12000 is a feature rich and versatile product.

TR’s May 2006 system guide
The Tech Report :: Monday, May 08, 2006
WE PUBLISHED OUR FIRST SYSTEM GUIDE about five months ago, and surprisingly little has changed since then. AMD still has the upper hand in the desktop and workstation processor markets, and aside from a new round of graphics chips from ATI and NVIDIA, there have been few major new releases. That doesn’t mean our system guide hasn’t benefited from an overhaul, though. Prices have dropped pretty steeply since last year, and we managed to lower the cost of our four recommended systems while fitting them with faster hardware, more memory, and extra storage capacity. To get more PC for your money than ever, check out our new and improved system guide, May 2006 edition.

FoxIt
PC Mechanic :: Monday, May 08, 2006

I have never been a fan of Adobe Acrobat Reader. It constantly needs updating, runs slowly and locks up in IE. So I when I came across Foxit Reader from Foxit Software, I wanted to try it as an alternative.

Seagate 120 GB 2.5 inch Portable Hard Drive Review
Futurelooks :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Mass storage in the palm of your hand. The Seagate USB portable hard drive stores a large amount of data in this compact size. In its sleek rounded design, it is almost stylish enough wear. Now carrying your whole digital library is as easy as storing it on this one drive and taking it where you go.

Intel ViiV vs. AMD Live!
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“In the war to see who establishes a standard for digital entertainment computers archenemies Intel and AMD present their weapons: at one corner Intel with their ViiV platform – which is the digital home concept that Intel is pushing for ages with a new name – and at the other corner AMD with their Live! Platform. In this article you will learn the main specs for each platform and will see what you will be able to do with them.”

Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset Review
Legit Reviews :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Using the Plantronics Pulsar 590A to listen to music in the office, computer lab, or while traveling is sweet since Plantronics has given the user everything they need to connect and communicate with any device out there. The Universal Adapter is worth its weight in gold. Being small and rechargeable the Adapter goes wherever you need it to go to interface with whatever device you need…”

MSI K9N SLI Platinum Preview
Madshrimps :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “AMD’s new platform is right around the corner, socket AM2 will be officially launched before the end of the month. MSI has their enthusiast SLI board ready for the masses; let’s take a sneak peak at its features.”

Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus
Overclockers Online :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: It doesn’t take much analyzing to conclude that this is an awesome product. The KuFormula VF1 Plus not only performed extraordinarily well, but it was also easy to install, well made, quiet and aesthetically pleasing. It is unbelievable that the KuFormula VF1 Plus can perform 30 degrees Celsius colder than the Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 revision 2.

Ageia PhysX PPU
Hexus :: Monday, May 08, 2006

We got our hands on a PhysX PPU, gave it a good poke and prod, took a look at the developers’ API and of course, tried the thing out in one of the latest PhysX-enabled games.

I chose to use GR:AW (pre-release code) for our first look at what a PhysX board will get you performance wise in a current game, using that to explain how the hardware is likely to shape up in the first generation of supporting titles that will mostly use effect-based physics to tack on extra visual effects.

TwinMOS Ultra-X 140x 4GB Compact Flash Card
Hardware Zoom :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote – From our bencmark results, the TwinMOS Ultra-X 140x 4GB Compact Flash Card has proven itself to be the fastest card around that offers up to 8GB storage capacity. This will be a great choice for digital photographers who want to capture more images without swapping between a few flash cards. The high read/write speed also helps to make the playing back and recording much smoother. Many flash-based multimedia players can take advantage of the large capacity offered by TwinMOS Ultra-X 140x, to store up to 8GB of audio and video files in a single card. Most importantly, the TwinMOS Ultra-X is backed with product life time warranty, so your investment will be protected.

ECS KA1-MVP Extreme Xpress 1600 Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The ECS KA1-MVP Extreme is one of the new breeds of ATi CrossFire Xpress 1600 motherboards. The board supports Socket 939 Athlon64/X2/FX processors as well as up to 4GB of PC3200 system memory thanks to the four dual channel DDR-RAM slots. Other standard features include two network cards (one Gigabit, one 10/100), an additional Silicon Image SiI3132 Serial ATA II/RAID controller, IEEE 1394a and 7.1 channel audio. ”

Sneak Peak of a “One Of” PSU from Ultra Products at Modders-Inc
Modders Inc. :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: Have you ever seen a Red X2 PSU from Ultra Products? Neither have we until we got one in our hands! This all Red (including cables) Power Supply looks great. I wonder if this will be a new trend for them? Check out the other photo’s to see this One Of PSU.

CoolerMaster & OCIA.net May Giveaway
OCIA :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“CoolerMaster has been sponsoring reviews and giveaways here at OCIA.net for several years now and we are pleased to be working with them again on what is easily the biggest giveaway news in site history. Each month this year, Coolermaster will be sponsoring a different giveaway here in the OCIA.net forums just for you guys! CoolerMaster is committed to giving back to the community as shown here by their efforts and generosity.”

Enermax Laureate Hard Drive Enclosure
XS Reviews :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“As computer software becomes more complex and more refined, the file size tends to increase. So as computer users we have to move to bigger hard drives and multiple hard drives. Since some cases can only support a few hard drives this can present a slight problem for those that need a bit of extra space. However, to make it possible to have that bit of extra space you can opt for an external drive. Again though, this presents problems. How do you protect that ever so important HD? Well there are many companies that offer external HD enclosures, but none perhaps as established as Enermax, the kings of the PSU. How will their experience port over to a different type of hardware? Lets find out.”

Vizo Gemini cordless optical mouse
Pro-Clockers :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: Small hands, quick access or usage with a laptop or lack of space. These are all reasons why an individual would want to use a smaller mouse. In shopping around for such a mouse would lead you to a lot of chooses to pick from. Vizo was kind enough to send me the Gemini in their box of plenty.

Tech Bits: HD DVD vs. Blu-ray
GideonTech :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“Just when you finished replacing all your VHS tapes with DVDs, you heard that there are two new kids on the block, HD DVD and Blu-ray. They both claim that they’re the successor to DVD, and that eventually they’re going to replace it completely. If you’ve been watching this fight from the sidelines, confused by the differences between the competing standards, keep reading, and we’ll explain some of the technical details behind the marketing hype.”

Bjorn3D 10 Year Birthday Contest
Bjorn3D :: Monday, May 08, 2006
The prizes are:

1st Place will get: XFX 7900GT VIVO with TombRaider Game
2nd Place will get: 2 XFX 7600GT’s for SLI with GRAW Game
3rd Place will get: XFX Headset with Forcefeed back and Mic and XFX GamePad.

DigiDock AC-2220 FM Transmitter Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote – ” Almost everyone you know has a portable media player. Even you do too. But doesn’t it suck when you can’t listen to the same music in your car?

Well, today, we will show you just how that might be possible with the DigiDock AC-2220 FM Transmitter! ”

A-Data Vitesta DDR2-800
techPowerUp! :: Monday, May 08, 2006

AData is well-known in the overclocking scene as a high-quality memory brand which offers good overclocking on all their memory modules. We have their Vitesta DDR2-800 kit on the testbench and were impressed that it could be overclocked to DDR2-900 without any problems. Even though the default timings of 5-5-5-15 are a bit slow, they can be tightened down to 3-2-2-4 when running lower clocks. Another plus is that this memory will work great even at stock voltage of 1.8V.

Asetek WaterChill Xternal Water Cooling Review:
3dgameman :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“There are many external water cooling kits on the market, but few are as hardcore as the Asetek WaterChill Xternal. This kit has everything needed for a complete water cooling solution. It comes with three waterblocks; one for the CPU, GPU, and Chipset. All have an acrylic top with a thick smooth solid copper base. The main unit houses a great pump, viewable reservoir, large radiator, and four 120mm fans. One very unique feature with this system is that it can be connected to your computer’s USB and controlled with custom software. It even comes with an LCD. As external water cooling kits go, this product is king of the hill! Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

OCZ DDR2-1000 Platinum XTC EL
Phoronix :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: “OCZ Technology once again has hit the market with another innovative creation. Satisfying our benchmarking craves this afternoon is the OCZ DDR2 PC2-8000 Platinum XTC Enhanced Latency. Will these 1GHz DDR2 modules be the next step in desktop computing?”

Scythe Kamariki-2 550W
Bytesector :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“When I was told I was reviewing a Scythe product, I immediately assumed it would some sort of CPU cooler. Why? Well, if you read around the web, you\’ll find that Scythe has produced some of the best CPU coolers around; they happen to have over 30 coolers to their name. Then I was told it was a PSU, and while they haven\’t produced a whole lot of power supplies, I am eager to test out the Kamariki-2 based solely off their reputation for quality, which they have built in the cooling market. The Kamariki-2 looks good on paper, as it provides some nifty extra features, good supply of molex connectors and is easy on the eyes.”

Cooler Master May 2006 Contest
Overclockers Online :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: This month we’re giving away Cooler Master’s newest power supply – iGreen Power 430W! Everyone can use a free high efficiency power supply to curb those rising electricity prices. The most important piece of information for every contest is how to win. At Overclockers Online we like to keep things simple. All you need to do is agree to the terms of the contest and fill in a little ballot. That’s it!

NuForce revisited, Reference 9.02, no small miracle?
Hardware Analysis :: Monday, May 08, 2006

A few weeks ago we evaluated the NuForce Reference 8 amplifier which turned out to be somewhat dissapointing. Today we look at the NuForce Reference 9.02, which according to NuForce is leaps and bounds above the Reference 8, but is it?

Vizo USB 2.0 Lan Dock
Think Computers :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “If you have a laptop and take it from home to the office then you know about port replicators. What a port replicator is, is a dock that you plug all your connections into (LAN, USB, Printer, etc.). Then you sit your laptop right on top of it with the provided connection (think iPod connector). This is great if your laptop has a port replicator port on the bottom, but what if it doesn’t? Well today we are looking at a product from VIZO that does everything a port replicator does but uses a USB 2.0 connection and is half the size! This saves you the setup time of connecting everything. All you have to do is plug in 1 cable and you’re ready to work!”

Evesham Technology V32EMRO-ZE3 32-inch LCD TV
Hexus :: Monday, May 08, 2006

The prices of LCD TVs has fallen dramatically in the last six months, with a number of big-name manufacturers offering their low-end 32-inch models for under £1,000. Even with that in mind, Evesham’s HDMI-equipped V32EMRO-ZE3 is attractively priced at £749, which includes delivery and a standard 3-year on-site warranty.

The Ultimate Guide to Video iPod
The Tech Zone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Alright. So after all that hype about having a practical way of watching TV and movies while on the go, you have finally gone and bought yourself the new iPod. Now what? Well, let’s see. There are so many options squeezed into one slim, 2.5” LCD screen media center that it’s going to take a lot of time going over each one of them. So let’s do take it one at a time, shall we? This guide is going to take over all the options you’ve got and how to convert absolutely anything and everything – DVDs, TiVo video, messy AVIs, muxed MPEGs and more to iPod compatible video.

All Seeing Eye
PC Mechanic :: Monday, May 08, 2006
As the security conscious internet user I am, I have a typical arsenal including Spybot, AdAware, Windows Defender, HijackThis, and ZoneAlarm. So naturally I was curious about the All Seeing Eye, a self-proclaimed way to avoid the “confusion and extra work for users to be able to monitor all necessary aspects of their computers.” I’ve never felt that a monthly double-click to run AdAware was confusing and extra, but hey, to each their own.

Seagate 500GB Barracuda 7200.9
Techgage :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: There seems to be a problem that’s constant with computers throughout the years. That problem is not enough storage space to feed our habits. Whether or not you actually need *this* much storage, there’s no denying it’s supremeness.

OCZ Platinum PC-3700 2GB
Driver Heaven :: Monday, May 08, 2006

It wasn’t that long ago many would have said using 2Gb of memory in a normal desktop system would be overkill, however in recent times it has definitely become more of a necessity for the hardcore gamer. Titles like Battlefield 2 benefit from the increased memory volume and general desktop use can also be improved if you are multitasking with a few demanding applications.

Today we are going to take a look at a 2Gb kit from OCZ to see if moving from some older 1Gb memory can show any performance benefit and as this memory is capable of running low timings at DDR466 we also take a look at the overall improvements at those settings.

Enermax NoiseTaker II 600w Review
eXtreme Hardware :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Review Quote: “The NoiseTaker II PSU from Enermax worked flawless from the get go. All of the features and specs worked the way they should have. Install was a breeze and the thing even looks cool! If you want a good SLI or gaming PSU then look no where else then the Enermax NoiseTaker II. We did find a few things we didn’t like about the PSU like not all the cables being sleeved which sucked but you can sleeve them yourself or just route your cables and do basic cable management and you will be fine.”

Spire SP601B3 VertiCool II™ CPU Cooler Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “The VertiCool II kept the CPU temps just below the stock cooler. The size of this cooler is comparable to other coolers of the same size and performs like those coolers also. See, size does matter in some situations. My favorite part of the whole cooler is the UV Fan”

O2 XDA Mini-S: Phone or Pocket PC?
Short-Media :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “You might be looking at that measly 200MHz processor and thinking it’s a bit slow, but using the Mini-S doesn’t feel that way. There’s occasional slow down when converting the screen from portrait to landscape, but nothing too drastic. In any case, this article is about what you can do with the Mini-S, not its performance stats, so let’s leave the benchmarks on the bench where they belong and get some real-world experience with it.”

Scythe KAMARIKI-2 550W Power Supply
Think Computers :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Today for review I have another product from Scythe, the Kamariki 2 power supply. In relation to other PSU’s out there the Kamariki is small in size, but don’t let the size fool you, it’s got more than enough power for even the most power hungry systems out there. Not only does it have the power but it also seems very stable and reliable, and it looks really cool doing all this with some added cool features as well. Let’s check it out…”

Ultra X2 550W PSU – Titanium @ hi-techreviews.com
Hi-Techreviews :: Monday, May 08, 2006

One of the first modular power supplies to be released was the original Ultra X-Connect, this supply went on to be a record setter for Ultra Products. Never being a company to sit on their laurels they immediately started work on the next X-series power supply. Their newest version is named the X2, so come on along as we put it through a few stress tests to see how well it handles the pressure.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB SATA Hard Drive
Beyond3D :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: Seagate really does have the Steve Austin of hard drives on their hands with the Barracuda 7200.10, as it really is better, stronger, faster. One thing the 6 Million Dollar Man didn’t have going for him was being “bigger”, which is obviously something the 7200.10 does have. At 750 GB it is the industry leader in size.

Yahoo Go – The World’s First Genuine Personal Entertainment Guide?
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“With the release of Yahoo Go, Terry Semel believes he now has a solution that could link virtually every facet of our digital lives into a single coherent user experience (bridge the gaps between the solitary ‘islands’ of our various entertainment experiences). Yahoo! will now be everywhere you are: on your office PC, on your mobile phones, and, as of yesterday, even on your living room TV.”

Windows Vista, a true resource hog?
Hardware Analysis :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Microsoft’s successor to Windows XP is starting to take shape as we move towards the release date. But isn’t Windows Vista in fact turning out to be a true resource hog?

Antec Take 4 (4U Rackmount Enclosure)
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

As is my practice, prior to receiving any item for review I do as much preliminary research as is feasibly possible into both the forthcoming products features and the market that the manufacturer is hoping to gain credibility in. Antec®, as it turns out, is targeting the home media lab, the home music studio, and both the home and small business server markets. These thoughts alone were certainly stimulating and rekindled my idea of a home system of this type from days gone by. When this enclosure first arrived and I was able to view it first hand I felt with a minimum degree of certainty that this just might be the product that I had been searching for. My initial thoughts were that Antec had arrived at a pleasant compromise between the utility of the previously mentioned server environment with a design that could be used effectively by the Computer Enthusiast. Please join me to see if those initial thoughts were accurate while we investigate the inner workings of the Antec’s Studio Series Take 4 Rackmount Enclosure.

Corsair Nautilus 500 Review
Neoseeker :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
“Watercooling kits of this type are intended to ease users in the transition from air coolers to watercooling with the idea being for users to move towards a much higher performing cooling solution. A common problem with some of these water kits is that they can fail to really achieve either goal at all, sometimes offering worse performance than even good air coolers. The Nautilus, thankfully, isn’t one of those offerings. It beats out the G-Power, one of the best air coolers that we use, and it doesn’t sacrifice simplicity in its search for high performance.”

G.Skill: F1-3200PHU1-512NS – a bargain?
TweakTown :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

You don’t need 2GB memory? What about less than that but with the quality of G.Skill?

Deck – The Legend Backlit Keyboard
PC Apex :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“First let me comment on the main feature of this keyboard which is certainly its most striking feature as well. The LED lighting. Even when the room is well lit as in the 2nd pic, the key characters are very well illuminated.”

Linux File System Inodes
OS Weekly :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Quote: “Inode stores basic information about a regular file, directory, or other file system object. The inode number is a unique integer assigned to the device upon which it is stored. All files are hard links to inodes. Whenever a program refers to a file by name, the system conceptually uses the filename to search for the corresponding inode. Many computer programs often give i-node numbers to designate a file.”

“CPU Heatsink Roundup May 2006”
Madshrimps :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Quote: “Eight new heatsinks are compared to 21 other air cooling solutions from different manufactures. We have some promising entries from Spire, Aerocool, Scythe, Thermaltake and Tuniq for you today.”

Kingwin KF-25 Data Dock 2.5″ HDD Enclosure Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Quote: “Over the last few months, Kingwin has sent me quite a lot of products to review for them. So far to date, all of their products have lived up to expectations and performed well. The product under the scope today will be the Kingwin KF-25 Data Dock. This is a unit that fits into a standard 3.5″ floppy drive bay and provides an USB port and 2.5″ HDD enclosure. The kicker here is that these items are removable and can be used on other computers as an external USB hub or removable HDD.”

PCXMods Mouse Grips Review
XS Reviews :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“You touch it all the time, and the feeling has to be right; your mouse is your key input to your PC. That’s why PCXmods decided to make Mouse Grips. They are small pieces of self-adhesive rubber that can be placed anywhere on your mouse to make using your mouse even better.”

Virtual-Hideout Visits the Koolance Factory Store
Virtual-Hideout :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Quote: “Pretty much everyone has heard of Koolance and probably seen one of their dreamy machines cooling one serious gaming pc. Virtual-Hideout wanted to know who Koolance is and what they are about. Join us as we go inside one of the world leaders in watercooling!”

Thermaltake Eureka Extended ATX Tower Case
hardCOREware :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

With the increasing popularity of using server-oriented motherboards in personal systems to achieve dual- or quad- core computing, you may have to consider getting a bigger case to accommodate such needs.

The Eureka from Thermaltake is a full aluminum tower case, supporting the Extended ATX ‘spec’, which is about 3″ longer than standard ATX motherboards. It doesn’t strive to offer much more than that – a couple fans and a nice design are about it. Is the Eureka worth the $160 Thermaltake is asking?

Maxtop CSX-CM03B Mid Tower Case
Big Bruin :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Quote: Since the Maxtop CSX-CM03B Mid Tower Case does not have anything that screams for attention, it would be a good option if you wanted it for a home office, family room, or possibly to serve as a home theater computer (HTPC). It could sit in a corner, and you would barely notice that it is there.

Tech Bits: Will Co-processors Be Key to Opteron Dominance?
GideonTech :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
“One of the most competitive markets in computing is servers, with companies always looking for more efficient processing to accommodate more complex simulations or decrease operating costs. For years, the X86 segment of the server market was controlled by Intel’s Xeon offerings, but in recent years, a new contender has emerged, AMD’s Opteron. Will the return of the co-processor ensure a victory for Opteron?”

ThermalTake Volcano 4005
Bytesector :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“ThermalTake is known for producing exceptional coolers for processors and cases with thermal efficiency in mind. Back in the days of the AMD AthlonXP, they had a series of coolers labeled under the Volcano name. At the time, my favorite was the Volcano 11 Xaser Edition. This year, ThermalTake has brought the Volcano name back, this time on a waterblock. The Volcano 4005 is a standard ThermalTake waterblock with a radiator attached. Can this cooler actually be an effective cooling solution?”

Laser Mouse Roundup
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“They’ve been on the market for several months now and I’ve had a chance to play with all of them. Laser mice are definitely here to stay. Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to have gotten to play with 5 different laser mice from the likes of Microsoft, Razer and Logitech. And now that I’ve had more time to think (and frag) it over, I’m going to give you my impressions of which ones are hits and which ones you should avoid. I present to you: TheTechLounge Laser Mouse Roundup.”

DFI LANParty UT CFX3200-DR – Another Xpress 3200 Tested
TweakTown :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

QUOTE: “While there isn’t much variation in scores at the benchmark level, we would recommend DFI and the LANParty UT CFX3200-DR to users who want to mod their case and show off a very flashy board, especially under U.V lights. This motherboard not only performs well and contains plenty of onboard features to keep you happy; it also looks good at the same time.”

Mvox MV900 Speakerphone
TechFEAR :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Summary: “The MV900 is a well-rounded Bluetooth/USB speakerphone for mobile phone and computer users alike. It’s equally versed at hands-free use in the car or in the conference room helping close that last minute business deal.”

XTracPads Ripper XXL
techPowerUp! :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
XTracPads is known to produce some of the absolute best performing cloth mats on the market and they have specialized accessories to suit even the most demanding gamer. Over the last years they have produced a variety of different mats, right from the Micro hard plastic mat up to this new Ripper XXL measuring in at an astounding 914mm width, 457mm height. Yes, that’s right. You can put your keyboard on it and still have plenty of space for the mouse.

OCZ EL PC-3200 Platinum XTC Edition 2GB
Think Computers :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Quote: “OCZ, you know the name, you know what it means. To me, having two sticks of OCZ ram in my hand means I have some the best ram available today. It not only gives me bragging rights, it also gives me that edge over my competition and adds to the performance of my computer. Today for review I have a 2 gig kit of OCZ EL PC-3200 Platinum XTC Edition ram, I’m going to throw it up against some other low latency 2gig kits that I have on hand and see just what makes OCZ one of the best.”

Sauerbraten v2006-04-
Phoronix :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Summary: “Sneaking out silently late last month was a 2006-04-26 build of Sauerbraten, which has been tagged the Occlusion Edition. In this new release are lots of new gaming goodness from this Cube-based engine for first person shooters and role playing games, it however does not go without a few bugs. Some of the advancements in this multi-platform game include new occlusion culling, smoother lighting, game-play fixes, and many other optimizations. Overall, it is an incredibly action-packed release and at Phoronix we have a few views from this latest engine.”

ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 ULi M1695 Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“The brand spanking new ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 motherboard is one of the future friendly motherboards, and it looks pretty sweet. Based around the ULi M1695 Northbridge and ULi M1697 Southbridge, the ASRock 939SLI32-eSATA2 motherboard supports all current Socket 939 AMD Athlon64/X2/FX processors. The four DDR DIMM slots can accommodate up to 4GB of PC3200 unbuffered non ECC memory.”

Dh Photoshop guide: finding the right path.
Driver Heaven :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to find 30 or 40 emails in my inbox asking for another photoshop tutorial. I will admit to being pretty sick looking at hardware this week, so I found time tonight to write up a guide covering a tool that many of you won’t be using wen you fire up Photoshop. It is a shame too, as it is probably my favourite tool of them all.

DH guide: Photoshop (part 1)
Driver Heaven :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
I had planned to do a few of these last year, but I haven’t had the time, but due to numerous emails I receive every month I felt one was in order.

Today im going to take you through one of our system review headers and detail some techniques used to get to the final result. It is a simple exercise and should hopefully be entertaining as well as education.

Taking A Look At Freespire
The Tech Zone :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Freespire is very unique for open source Linux distributions, in that it will allow users the choice to download a version that is 100% open-source OR one that includes proprietary software. Freespire is venturing into new territory by offering a free community Linux operating system that includes the option for legally licensed proprietary software pieces at its core distribution. Without this choice, desktop Linux’s market adoption will continue its slow creep toward mainstream acceptance.

SGH-X820 Ultra Slim Phone
Daily CE :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: “Samsung has recently announced the world’s thinnest phone at 6.9mm width, the SGH-X820, apparently beating Motorola to the title, which the company claimed with its popular RAZR series. The X820 is a candybar phone that supports a 2-megapixel camera, has MP3 playback capability, Bluetooth connectivity and TV out option.”

Sony E3 Conference Summary
Bona Fide Reviews :: Monday, May 15, 2006
check it out

E3 started off with a bang as Sony revealed a lot of juicy info about their until-now mysterious Playstation 3 console. The most important bit being the PS3’s price and launch date. The second big, and quite surprising, announcement was on their final controller design that features limited motion-sensing capabilities. Aside from those two major annoucements there was a bunch of stuff shown off including aspects of the online capabilities and game previews. Let’s take a closer look at everything Sony had to say. Image:

MobiBLU B153 MP3 Player
CoolTechZone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“How they did it is pretty obvious: simplicity. No video playback, no color screen, and nothing that would otherwise consume excessive amounts of battery life. On the player, you will find a crisp OLED display, FM tuner and about 2GB of storage. Nothing about the B153 stands out except the exceptional battery life. If you’re looking for a simple (yet capable) player that will go potentially for weeks without a charge, this was made for you.”

Panasonic VDR-D300 Camcorder
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The Panasonic VDR-D300 was one of the most anticipated camcorders of 2006. It’s the first DVD camcorder to use three CCDs for recording video instead of a single imaging device. Panasonic has made a name for itself by incorporating three CCDs into MiniDV models for years such as the legendary PV-GS400. And now they’ve brought the technology to DVD camcorders.”

Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z5 Digital Camera
Daily CE :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“According to Casio, the EX-Z5 is beginner friendly with numerous default settings, such as the ones for outside, night and inside shots. The camera has the ability to switch to an easy mode, which is again a beginner friendly option, since they won’t have to worry about technical features. Personally, one of our favorite technologies is the anti-shake feature. As the name suggests, it stabilizes the image even if you have can’t hold the camera still, which is indeed a common occurrence.”

Motorola SLVR L7 Review
Windows A to Z :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The Motorola cell phone brand sure is popular these days. They’ve been coming out with all kinds of new and flashy phones for consumers. Slim and sleek cell phones are definitely the “in” thing right now and that’s evident from the huge success of the Motorola RAZR. The new Motorola SLVR L7 is a remake of the RAZR. We’ll take a look at it to see if it’s as good as it’s hyped up to be.”

Apple iPod Nano 2GB MP3 Player
Big Bruin :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: The Nano is the best designed MP3 player I have ever seen or used. While they made it look all slick and shiny, it has to lose some points because it’s so easily scratched. I would like to see Apple come out with a more “hardened” version that is meant to take the abuse that a flashed based MP3 player should expect to take.

Sony DCR-HC96
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The DCR-HC96 not only takes MiniDV videos but snaps 3-megapixel (2016 x 1512) stills, making it a reasonable two-in-one digital imaging capture device. ”

Have Laptop will Travel – the Truly Mobile Office
Laptop Gamers :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Well first start with your laptop – make it as light and as powerful as you can afford. I say light, because anything that weighs more than 5lb is going to be one laptop that you really hate after you have hauled it around for a few hours. Some models have CD/DVD units that plug in to the main PC. These are useful if you leave them behind or pack them separately. I prefer them to be included if possible. A small mouse and slim mouse pad – the latter which stores inside the “clam” of the laptop when traveling to protect the screen – completes your basic office.

Kodak EasyShare V570 Digital Camera Review
CoolTechZone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“As if buying a camera wasn’t already confusing enough – with megapixel counts, digital or optical zoom? How much zoom? What kind of memory? What kind of automatic modes and such? Kodak adds a whole new twist to the buying decision. How many lenses? Yes, with the V570, Kodak has released the world’s first dual lens camera.”

Digital Webcam Buyer’s Guide
Digital Grabber :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Webcams are those handy little cameras that attach to your PC and send images to a web page that can be viewed by others. This enables you to share daily life events with friends and family in other parts of the country or the world, or to arrange a video-conference with colleagues and maintain long distance relationships of all kinds. Of course the number of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination. But before you buy a webcam, it pays to understand a little about how the technology of broadcasting images over the Internet works.

Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser Review
CoolTechZone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Continuing with its laser series, Logitech has upgraded its proven diNovo Media Desktop keyboard, keypad (MediaPad) and mouse combo to a laser version. Technically, there’s nothing laser about the product, so to speak, but since Logitech has included an updated mouse, the MX1000 laser, we are assuming this is the reasoning behind the new name. And knowing that laser is the new technology in mice, it makes sense to jump at the opportunity to label anything with new technologies. After all, it’s a stupendous marketing strategy.”

Logitech LX7 Cordless Optical Mouse Review
CoolTechZone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Considering the mainstream mindset, Logitech released its LX7 Cordless Optical mouse late last year. As the name suggests, it’s based on optical technology that defined and revolutionized mice, especially for gamers. Now that we can compare the two technologies side-by-side, is Logitech’s LX7 still a worthy contender? Read on and find out…”

Motorola RAZR H3 Bluetooth Headset
Daily CE :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The H3 Bluetooth headset is designed to be a fashionable accessory with a comfortable form and quality functions, says Motorola in its press release.”

Samsung Helix YX-M1Z XM Player
Daily CE :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Samsung has recently released an XM and MP3 player hybrid. The concept behind the Helix is to allow listeners to enjoy 160 commercial free channels of music, sports and news, while still giving them the option to upload their own music. As Samsung puts it, “This is the ultimate digital experience.”

USB Flash Drive Roundup – May 2006
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“USB flash memory drives are now part of our lives. Smaller and with a capacity higher than floppy disks, these devices are the perfect replacement for the old floppies. This time we brought five new models from Geil (David 100), Kingmax (Super Stick), Kingston (DataTraveller Elite and DataTraveller U3 Smart) and OCZ (Rally) and added them to our previous roundup, so we are comparing nine different USB flash drives. Who is the winner?”

Icemat 2nd Edition Mouse Pad
TechTastic :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: If you’re a hardcore gamer, you’re looking for anything to give you an extra edge over the competition. One way to gain an edge is to use a gaming mouse pad. Today we take a look at a new gaming mouse pad from Icemat, the Icemat 2nd Edition.

RCA HD61LPW175 61″ DLP Review
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“The feature set of the HD61LPW175 covers the basics with CableCard and one HDMI jack. The HDMI input is one of five total inputs, including three back panel jacks (two component/S-Video and one composite) and a side-mounted composite A/V set. A side-mount mini headphone jack is included too. The side-mount input is convenient for plugging in game players and camcorders but it’s composite only, which won’t do much good for DV camcorder users or PS2 players who want to get the most out of their hardware. At the least, S-Video and USB jacks would be nice adds.”

Logitech mm28 Portable Speaker Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “You’ll find yourself using them on just about everything with a headphone jack, and the possibilities there are HUGE. It seems just about every tech gadget out there has a headphone jack now, so for the units with a jack and no speakers, here you go!”

Logitech Left Handed MX610 Mouse Review
CoolTechZone :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
“When we reviewed Logitech’s MX610 earlier this month, we didn’t encounter many anomalies that would prevent us from recommending the mouse. In fact, the MX610 performed exceptionally well, and hosted new features that aren’t available on any other mouse in the market, clearly making it a latest contender in the laser mice series.”

Playing DVD Movies On Your Treo 650 Smartphone
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
“Our DVD Encoding experience ended up working and we were able to play DVD movies on our Treo 650, but it did take two days to figure everything out. The color is a tad washed out, but you wouldn’t know it unless the two images were side-by-side. The Picture Quality was excellent even at the medium quality setting. When it came to audio, the speaker on the Treo 650 wasn’t loud enough, but plugging in a pair of head phones can this problem…”

Globalsat Wireless Bluetooth Entertainment Pack
Think Computers :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Quote: “Bluetooth! Bluetooth! Bluetooth! That’s all we have been hearing about lately! It is no surprise that manufacturers are making Bluetooth products for the most popular MP3 player of all time, the iPod. Bluetooth offers easy wireless connectivity to almost any device out there. Today we will be looking at 2 Bluetooth products from Globalsat that are made specifically for the iPod, the BTH-820 and the BTA-809.”

Logitech MX610 Laser Mouse Review
CoolTechZone :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
“Logitech has made quite a splash in the peripherals industry with its previously launched G5 and G7 laser mice. As the name suggests, the company took the otherwise proven and refined optical technology, and replaced it with a brand new innovation, which improves the overall experience. Initially, there were surface tracking problems across the board with laser mice (we covered the story in detail with replies from Logitech, Razor and a number of mousepad manufacturers), but they appeared to have been resolved over time.”

Sapphire TOXIC Radeon X1900 XTX
Hexus :: Monday, May 15, 2006

We really like recent model Radeons in the high-end space, but not where noise is concerned. Rys recently reviewed an X1900 XTX that attempts to sort that out. Does it succeed?

The reference cooler ATI equipped their Radeon X1800 XT and Radeon X1900 XT/XTX with is effective, there’s no doubting that. Cools the chip well, actively cools the memory; job is indeed a good’un, as they say. Shame it’s the sonic equivalent of a punch in the face, then.

Bluetake BT400 G5 Bluetooth Headset Review
Blue Tomorrow :: Monday, May 15, 2006

Quote: Bluetake Technology Co. really impressed us with its i-PHONO mini Bluetooth stereo headphones, but the best we can say about the company’s BT400 G5 Bluetooth headset is that it’s comfortable to wear. In fact, the headset’s flexible ear hook is designed so well, the headset barely feels like it’s on the ear

Samsung Generation 2 SC-X210L Sports Camcorder Review – Part Two
Futurelooks :: Monday, May 15, 2006

A couple of weeks ago, we ran you through some of the differences between last year’s Extreme Sports Camcorder the SC-X105L and this years new and improved, generation 2 unit, the SC-X210L. This week, we we are going to show you what we found out about this new digital camcorder in the field. Is this one even better for the extreme sports crowd than last years? Let’s find out!

ASUS Extreme Radeon X1900 XTX Video Card @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Monday, May 08, 2006
“There’s pretty much nothing to complain about here in regards to the image quality while gaming. HDR is especially impressive in Oblivion, though it’s not really my game of choice. Battlefield 2, my game of choice, looks fantastic at 16×12, everything on at 6xAA and it runs smooth as butter. Considering how much the card costs, this is something we expect.”

S3 Chrome S27 PCI Express Videocard Review
PCStats :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“If you want to take advantage of Microsoft Vista’s fancy Aero Glass visual interface (and by all accounts you really do) the computer must have videocard hardware capable of at least DirectX 9 with a minimum of 64MB on board memory. And wouldn’t you know it, the new S3 Chrome S27 videocard fits the bill perfectly with a very affordable price too. Funny that. The S3 Chrome S27 PCI Express videocard specs look quite appealing on paper, it has everything a decent graphics accelerator boasts these days; a 90nm manufactured silicon core, eight pixel rendering pipeline, 128MB GDDR3 memory and dual monitor outputs.”

HIS X1800GTO Turbo 256MB Video Card Review:
3dgameman :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“Need to get in the game, but don’t want to break the bank? Well, this video card offers great performance and features at an affordable price. The core speed on this product is 520MHz, which is 20MHz over the default X1800 GTO core speed. 256MBs of GDDR3 memory at 1000MHz is also a plus. It also comes with 12 pixel shader processors that will have no problem powering through the latest games. And let’s not forget, its crossfire ready!” Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

S3’s MultiChrome dual-GPU technology
The Tech Report :: Monday, May 08, 2006

S3 GRAPHICS HAS BEEN making a slow, sustained push for respectability since the arrival of its first Chrome-series graphics processors in 2003. That push continued with the introduction of the updated Chrome S27 GPU last fall, and at that time, S3 hinted at a new wrinkle in its plans. Like ATI and NVIDIA, S3 would be introducing a multi-card graphics capability, dubbed MultiChrome. We got a brief preview of MultiChrome in action back in November, but S3 has been quietly preparing the tech for prime time since then.

The time has come for MultiChrome to make its formal debut, and we’ve spent a few days playing with it in Damage Labs. Has S3 succeeded in doubling up on Chrome S27 GPUs for nearly twice the performance? Let’s find out.

NVIDIA GeForce 6100
Phoronix :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: “In September of 2005, NVIDIA had unveiled the GeForce 6100 series integrated graphics, in conjunction with the NVIDIA nForce 410 and 430. Today we have taken the GeForce 6100 for another spin under Linux with the latest proprietary drivers to see how the integrated graphics are able to fair within a slew of gaming benchmarks.”

nMedia HTPC 300SA Case
HTPCnews :: Monday, May 08, 2006

“So in the end do I think this case is worth considering? Well I think it makes for a very nice slim tower case, there’s no question about that in my mind. For those of you who are looking for an inexpensive HTPC case to either begin your HTPC adventure or add a second HTPC to the network, it should be considered when making your final decision.”

Setting Up A Multi-Monitor System
The Tech Zone :: Monday, May 08, 2006

A big reason why people have not adopted dual monitors is because many simply don’t know how to set them up. Well, after reading this article, you’ll have all the knowledge you’ll need to double your viewing pleasure. Now only will we show you the step by step, but we’ll also show you the equipment to buy and the software to use.

Creative Labs X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Sound Card
hardCOREware :: Monday, May 08, 2006
As onboard audio solutions start to improve (ever so slightly), moving to high definition sample rates, Creative saw the need to come up with something new. That something is X-Fi, a soundcard that performs very well in gaming for a relatively low price.

The “Fatal1ty FPS” version is their “Gamer” solution, which basically adds 64MB of onboard memory which developers have to support directly in their code. Does this make it attractive enough to cost 2.5X as much as a standard X-Fi?

NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT Graphics Card Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Monday, May 08, 2006

” If you loved the performance and value of the NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, you will fall in love with the new NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT.

Not only is it fast, it’s also very affordable. A gamer’s dream come true. Check out the review and find out why! ”

Asus EN7600GT Silent Review
Byte Sized Reviews :: Monday, May 08, 2006

The nVIDIA 7600GT has been almost universally praised as one of the best mid-ranged video cards out there right now, and a very worthy successor to the fantastic 6600GT, a solution that to this day refuses to die. One of the criticisms levelled against it however is a rather noisy stock cooler, which considering its relatively low heat output, seemed rather a shame. Asus has fortunately released a variant that not only reduces noise, but eliminates it all together. Enter the EN7600GT Silent.

ATI and Nokia sign major Multimedia contract
Hexus :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Arguably this story starts with two sweet young Finnish lads in a school playground in Finland, and perhaps we’ll return to the detail of that sometime in the in the future……

GeCube Radeon X1900XTX Graphics Card
TweakTown :: Monday, May 08, 2006

QUOTE: “This brings us to the topic of today’s article, the GeCube X1900XTX. As of this writing, this is the big boy on the block and we plan on putting it through its paces and then overclocking it to see how much extra power we can eke from this behemoth!”

Asus Extreme N6600GT Review – SLI on a Budget
Madshrimps :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “Asus has been around for 20-years, this success is most likely based on their steadfast loyalty to the PC-Enthusiast in all of us. Today we built a “budget” SLI rig running two Asus N6600GT Extremes based on the NV43 GPU which fully supports their 256MB GDDR3 memory compliment. Mated with an Asus P5ND2-SLI the system can handle any 3D-title and definitely put the fun back in performance.”

NVIDIA Quad-SLI vs. ATI Crossfire
techPowerUp! :: Monday, May 08, 2006

At this year’s CeBIT the most controversial and most debated new hardware was NVIDIA’s Quad-SLI, which was awarded “best product of CES” earlier this year. We had the chance to put two identical retail 7900 GX2 QuadSLI and X1900 XTX CrossFire systems right next to each other and evaluate them. One of the surprises was that often one 7900GX2 alone performed better than the Quad SLI pair at low resolutions.

PowerColor X1800 GTO Review on Technic3D
Technic3d :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “As god the Midrange Gamer Graphic Card X1800 GTO from PowerColor really. Technic3D will see that with Overclocking (non Flash).”

ATI X1900 Series Overclocking Guide
Madshrimps :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “You may think you are experienced, or have overclocked before and therefore may think this guide is of little use to you, but I would have to say that you are incorrect. This guide is for both the experienced and inexperienced overclockers. Some parts may be boring for those experienced in the art and they may skip to the highlights and key points of performing this task.”

Sapphire X1800XT Performance Edition
Modders Inc. :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Summary: Sapphire burst into the high end graphics arena with both barrels blazing with their X1800XT “Performance Edition”. This card delivers 512mb of GDDR3 Memory running at 1.5Ghz, and the powerful R520 core clocked at 700Mhz. This 2 slot high end PCI-E graphics card utilizes Shader Model3.0, HDR, and adaptive AA, allowing you to have unparalleled Image Quality along side High Performance. If that wasn’t enough Sapphire includes a great bundle, “Avivo” Technology, and support for digital and analog displays, including HDTV.

NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT Graphics Card Review Rev. 2.0 Posted!
Tech ARP :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote – ” If you have been drooling over the new GeForce 7900 GTX but can’t afford it, you may be interested to know that it is actually not quite the best thing in NVIDIA’s line-up.

That, we think, is a title that belongs to the NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT! Find out why we love it so much that we gave it our Editor’s Choice Award!

ATI: Open v. Closed Drivers
Phoronix :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Summary: “Since Stephen Shankland’s article at CNET entitled New Linux look fuels old debate, we have been overwhelmed with requests to take a serious look at the frame-rate performance differences between the various open-source and proprietary contenders. Our first article on this topic, which will likely be the first of a series of examinations, is looking at the differences between the X.Org open-source ATI Radeon driver and that of ATI’s official but proprietary fglrx display driver. Will open-source breathe new life into old GPU products?”

PowerColor X1900 GT Review on Technic3D
Technic3d :: Monday, May 08, 2006

Quote: “As god the little High-End Gamer Graphic Card X1900 GT from PowerColor really. Technic3D will see that with Overclocking. It becomes hot.”

Mobile GPU Comparison Guide Rev. 5.2 Posted!
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Quote – ” These days, there are so many mobile GPU models that it has become quite impossible to keep up with the different configurations. Therefore, we decided to compile this guide to provide an easy reference for those who are interested in comparing the specifications of the various mobile GPUs in the market as well as those already obsolescent or obsolete.

EVGA 7600GT and ATI X1800GTO
Driver Heaven :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Undoubtedly many sales are generated by having the fastest card on the planet, that?s one of the reasons ATI and Nvidia put so much money into R&D. Where they make the most money isn?t in this market segment however, it?s mainstream and budget cards that generate the big sales figures for both companies and having a killer product in each area at a great price can make or break your whole product range. The current mainstream attempts at killer products come in the shape of the X1800GTO and the 7900GT. We?re taking a look at both today to ascertain which gives you the best value and performance.

Turtle Beach Montego DDL Sound Card Review
eXtreme Hardware :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Review Quote:”After putting the Montego DDL card through the tests we believe that this card is a triple threat when it comes to gaming, movies & music. We did have a small problem with the bass while listening to music but it made up for it in gaming and the movies test. We believe that everyone should give the Turtle Beach Montego DDL sound card a good look over before just jumping onboard the Creative Train. You might just think twice once you heard the Montego DDL Card.”

Silent Hill movie review
Short-Media :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

*Quote:* Movies spawned from games generally don’t work. Doom was terrible, Bloodrayne was awful, and Resident Evil made gamers turn away in droves. Necks twinge and anxiety wells whenever Hollywood and movie studio execs get an idea into their heads to convert a much-loved game into a movie. But in this case, the movie is so engaging that both fans of the game and movie-only viewers will gain equal enjoyment from this film.

ADS Tech Instant TV For Notebooks
Laptop Gamers :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

According to IDC, more than half the PCs sold this year will be notebooks…and the demand continues to grow. Want one that’s a Media Center with all the bells & whistles but the billfold is a little light for all the entertainment features? ADS Tech has the answer for you. It’s called the Instant TV for Notebooks (don’t you like the brilliant name?) and it’ll transform your mobile workstation into a multi-media powerhouse. Think about it. Instead of dropping $2,000 to $3,000 on a Media PC laptop like a Sony Vaio, you can get one of those “good” $300 – $700 notebooks. Then invest a few buck in the Instant TV for Notebook Card bus solution and BAM! you’ve got it all (ok, almost — but at least everything you want).

Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 Review
Techgage :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006
There are many products made for PCs that aren’t directed towards gamers at all. While we at Techgage focus primarily on gamers, we are tech heads to our very core. This calling that we follow can take us to so many places and allow us to tap the full potential of our computes. It is users, like you and I, that cannot be satisfied when our PCs run the latest games at ungodly resolutions with all the eye candy turned on provided by our dual GPU systems.

You know you are one of these people. Why have a computer strictly for gaming when it can do so much more. True, the majority of people use their computers for gaming, word processing or editing video or audio and because of users like these; the modern PC is a wealth of computing power just waiting to be explored. One such example is video. How so? Let me show you.

HIS Radeon X700 AGP Review
Hardware Secrets :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

“With VGA manufacturers releasing only PCI Express-based video cards, owners of AGP-based PCs were simply forgotten. Even though you can find quite easily AGP VGAs on the market, AGP users cannot find the latest releases for the AGP platform. And there are a huge crowd out there willing to upgrade their VGA to newer models without having to replace the whole computer. Thinking about this crowd, HIS released an AGP-based Radeon X700, which should satisfy owners of AGP-based PCs that are anxious to see new VGA models being released for this platform. Let’s see how the performance of this Radeon X700 AGP from HIS is.”

Diamond XtremeSound 7.1 DDL soundcard review
Tech Spot :: Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Diamond Multimedia is a company some of you PC Enthusiast veterans may remember. From my earlier PC owning days, the first add-on graphics card I purchased was a Diamond Monster 3D II 3DFX Voodoo2 8MB. Also way back when this site was called “3D Spotlight” we reviewed some of their most outstanding products like Voodoo and Rendition-based graphics cards, the Diamond Rio 500, and the Monster Sound soundcards. Since those days they have had a quite an interesting ride. That is no longer important though, the brand is back, and they are giving it another shot with a complete product range.

Today we will be looking at one of their new audio products, the CMI8768+ based, Diamond Xtreme Sound 7.1 DDL (Dolby Digital Live) PCI soundcard. Featuring real-time Dolby Digital encoding, 24-bit/96kHz playback, 8-channel analog output, and a relatively low price tag, it’s a compelling product for sure.

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