Tech News December 2004

Jetart JACSH1 VGA Cooler Review @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“Jetart Technology has been established since 1989. In the early years, we started from ODM business for domestic and overseas customers. Our ODM business includes lines of computer peripherals, electronic parts and other relating products. Their main product including the AMD & Intel CPU Coolers, Chip Coolers, HDD Coolers, System Coolers, Case Fans, DC Fans, LED Fans, Heatsinks, Chip Cooling Kits, Notebook Cooler & Watercooling. Lately, they have just launching their new VGA cooler which is the JACSH1. This cooler is one for all nVIDIA & ATi VGA cards.”

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Gigabyte 3D Rocket Cooler Pro Review @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, December 31, 2004
“When you hear the name Gigabyte, you most likely think of motherboards or video cards. Or, you could think of one of the company’s many other products, but CPU coolers might be one of the last things you think of, if you even think of it at all.

Gigabyte has been in the cooler business for only a short while, but it still has managed to make its impression felt with its unique and innovative solutions. The latest cooler from Gigabyte is of the ‘universal’ variety, which means it can be used on all of the modern Intel and AMD sockets: 478, 775, 754, 939, 940 and A. The choices for LGA775 cooling have finally started to grow, and it’s nice to see Gigabyte add to those choices with the 3D Rocket Cooler Pro (GH-PCU22-VG).”

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FIC P4M-RS350 Motherboard Review @ ViperLair
ViperLair :: Friday, December 31, 2004
“The P4M-RS350 itself is a complete package that gives you the ability to upgrade the graphics when you have the money to do so. It carries competent performance and enough onboard solutions that voids the fact there is only 3 PCI slots available.”

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DFI LANParty UT 915P-T12 LGA775 Motherboard Review @ SystemCooling
SystemCooling :: Friday, December 31, 2004
“Some people are laboring under the assumption that DFI is a relatively new company. In fact, that couldn’t be further from the truth. They’ve been around quietly doing their business in an unspectacular style for over 20 years now. The reason for this assumption is that they were almost exclusively an OEM supplier for a very long time, and their products were not the kind that inspired the interest of the enthusiast market. That all changed a year or two ago when DFI introduced their LANParty series of motherboards, boards that had unheard-of style, with their brightly colored UV reactive components, to go along with what proved to be excellent performance. The board we’re looking at today, the DFI LANParty UT 915P-T12, is one of the newest members of the LANParty stable, and we’ll find out if the board is a worthy successor to the LANParty name and reputation.”

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Shuttle XPC SN96G5 Barebones nForce3 Ultra Socket 939 Review @ hardCOREware
hardCOREware :: Friday, December 31, 2004
“If you’re looking to build a Small Form Factor system based around a Socket 939 Athlon64 CPU, the brand you will likely look at first is Shuttle. This is because Shuttle not only started the whole ‘barebones SFF system’ craze, but stuck with it, and revised their platforms over the years.

Today we’re looking at the XPC SN96G5 from Shuttle. It uses their own proprietary format motherboard, based on the NVIDIA nForce3 Ultra chipset. It’s the 5th generation of this particular chassis, so form-factor wise, it’s about as good as it gets for now. However, there are some glaring issues with this system that kept us from going crazy over it – Read on to find out!”

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Corepad Magna Review @ GruntvillE
GruntvillE :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“I have three optical mice that I’d tried with the Corepad Magna. Other than my new MX1000 Laser mouse (which now performed even better with the Magna and none of the jumping and skipping I’d noticed with other pads when picking up the mouse), I’d also tried out my Logitech Cordless Optical mouse, Microsoft Optical WheelMouse and Sky’s Logitech DiNovo Bluetooth MX900. All three mice showed a noticeable improvement in tracking, along with far less mouse “lag” time.”

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How To Get The Most Out of Your Digital Camera @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“Point and click. The new life of digital cameras gives us all the opportunity to capture images as we go. Whether you simply hit the shutter button to take pictures of your friends and family or if you want to have your camera with you at all times in order to capture the beauty of life wherever you find it, getting the most out of your digital camera can be easy.”

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Raidmax Samurai 908 Gaming Case Review @ OCIA
OCIA :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“The case is tool-less. And, though there is no window in the case, Raidmax thoughtfully used black tool-less hardware instead of beige. The interior is sturdy steel, sprayed with a dull gray finish. All edges are rolled to keep you from cutting your fingers, even the back edge of the mobo tray.”

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Leadtek WinFast A400 Ultra/GT TDH Review @ Hexus
Hexus :: Friday, December 31, 2004
“The most obvious selling point of these two WinFast A400 boards is the cooling solution. Not only does it look the part, but it’s quiet and extremely effective too. Both the GT and Ultra variants we’ve looked at have exhibited impressive overclocks, and the A400 GT is almost irresistible when you look at the potential headroom in both core and RAM clocks.”

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Thermaltake Liquid Cooling System Components Review @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“Thermaltake already has become the global leader in Thermal Industry. Initial focussed primarily on CPU Coolers, high performance heat sinks, DC fan, PC chassis and power supply. Today, we are reviewing water cooling accessories which is the Water Level Indicator and Flow Indicator. Both of them are made by the pure aluminum and high quality arcylic.”

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MGE Extreme Gamer Quantum Case Review @ MODTHEBOX!
MODTHEBOX! :: Friday, December 31, 2004

“One of the more predominant features of the MGE Extreme Gamer Quantum Case can be found towards the bottom portion of the front bezel. The advanced LCD controller is a full color unit that is capable of controling up to 7 fans, time, date and multiple temperature display. A series of 7 buttons are used to navigate and set the required parameters within the LCD control center.”

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SilenX Ixtrema 120mm Copper CPU Cooler @ PimpRig
PimpRig :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004

“Due to the similarities in size and shape with the Zalman, clearance most likely will be a problem. Once again my AGP slot was blocked and it was difficult to install RAM in one of the slots with the cooler installed. I was not able to find a compatibility chart on the SilenX web site but with the exception of socket A applications it should be the same as Zalman’s list.”

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ASUS EXTREME AX800 XT PE/2DHTV @ HEXUS.net
Hexus :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
“It’s hard to recommend any graphics card that costs more than a reasonable PC. £430 is an awful lot of money to be spending on a present card when a refresh is just around the corner. In that case, as comprehensive as it is, ASUS’ AX800 XP PE/2DHTV package is simply too expensive to be considered by all but the very well-off enthusiast. Performance freaks should look towards SLI’ing a couple of 6800 GT cards, and for the rest, I’d recommend obtaining and overclocking the cheapest X800 XT you could lay your hands. The money you save will be better spent elsewhere.”

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AMD Athlon XP Heatsink roundup: December 2004 @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
“The Thermalright SI-97, Scythe Kamakiri and Spire VertiCool compared using a variety of fans and reference heatsinks. Does the new generation Athlon XP coolers deliver good value for money? Read on to find out”

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OCLabs B3 PlexyBlock Review @ PCmoddingmy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004

“My first impression with this OCLabs B3 PlexyBlock is that it is very small when compared with other water cooling water blocks out in the market. This B3 PlexyBlock sized only at 50 x 50 x 25mm, without the barbs. It is is just slightly bigger than the AMD64 processor. The whole block looks like chrome while the lid was made of acrylic. This has got the be the shinniest looking water block in the streets! Besides the PlexyBlock, OCLabs also has Monoblock for their water block products, but the MonoBlock doesn’t come with the acrylic lid. You might want to get this kind of water block for your next modding project, wouldn’t you?”

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Seagate 5GB USB 2.0 Pocket Hard Drive Review @ Everything USB
Everything USB :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
” The 5GB bus-powered USB hard drive, measuring just 2.7″ in diameter, fits easily in your pocket with the minimalist circular housing, while the 4-inch USB cable retracts snugly inside the case as to not get lost. It also comes loaded with software to easily create partitions and a boot disk.”

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Lian-Li PC-V1000 Case @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
“Overall, many of the V1000’s issues are workable, and if the aesthetics are to your liking, you’ll probably be very happy with the case. Personally, we think Lian-Li needs to rework some of the design details and improve the cooling performance before we give this case a recommendation.”

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OCZ ModStream 520W PSU @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
“While we wouldn’t call this our PSU of the year, the ModStream is definitely on our short list. It has the aesthetics and reliability that enthusiasts desire, and is backed by one of the best warranties in the business which demonstrates OCZ’s confidence in their products.”

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Seasonic S12 – 430 Watt Power Supply Reviewed @ hi-techreviews.com
Hi-Techreviews :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004
“It used to be we took our power supplies pretty much for granted that ugly box that had a mass of wires running out of it which we relegated to the top portion of our cases and pretty much forgot all about. Times have certainly changed with the current processors and video card demanding more and more current as we try to make do with old power supplies that were never intended to operate under the types of loads we are punishing them with today.

Today we are reviewing a power supply from Seasonic that can best be described as state of the art; it conforms to the current ATX12V 2.01 guidelines, with both ATX 2.0-24-pin power connector and the latest ATX12V 2.0 connectors for hooking up a pair of SATA drives. The Seasonic S12 – 430 watt power supply also operates at a extremely high efficiently of nearly 80%. All in all this is one power supply worth checking out. ”

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Zalman CNPS7700-Cu 120mm CPU Cooler @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Wednesday, December 29, 2004

“Founded in 1999, Zalman is a relative newcomer to the computer industry. However, in the short time they have been around, they have built up quite a reputation. Zalman has a wide variety of low noise cooling products for virtually every component of your system. Their newest drool-worthy CPU cooler comes in the form of the Zalman CNPS7700-Cu flower heatsink. If you have been keeping track of Zalman’s product offerings, then this should look pretty familiar. The design is essentially the same as the CNPS7000-Cu, but on a larger scale. Sporting a 120mm fan and weighing in at no less than 918g, this beautiful chunk of copper is sure to have the ladies, or at least your processor, purring happily along.”

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Corsair Flash Voyager 512MB USB Flash @ PCStats
PCStats :: Saturday, December 25, 2004
“In this review, PCStats is testing Corsair’s new rugged Flash Voyager 512MB USB 2.0 drive. With a retail price of $73 CDN ($59 US), the Flash Voyager is priced around the same as most other 512MB USB flash drives. It boasts read speeds of 19MB/s, and write transfer speeds of 13MB/s.”

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VIA Epia MII @ Hexus
Hexus :: Saturday, December 25, 2004
“From our looks at VIA’s Mini-ITX systems previously, it stands out that the biggest leap in progress for the Epia range has been the increase in clock speeds over time – While the CLE266 north bridge has always handled DVD/MPEG-2 playback and handled it well, low clock speeds for the VIA C3 processor hampered DiVX and other MPEG-4 codec playback in the past. Now the MII sees an Epia system sat at the 1.2GHz mark, this performance issue has been eased considerably…”

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Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu Cooler Review @ Neoseeker
Neoseeker :: Saturday, December 25, 2004
“We take a look at something that is quiet and big today at Neoseeker. No, we’re not giving Santa a physical – we’re taking a look at Zalman’s CNPS7700-AlCu CPU cooler. With the fan exceeding the dimensions of a CD, the Zalman is not likely something that will fit in a stocking yet due to its tapered design, it should fit in most motherboards despite its size.”

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PCI-Express Roundup: Mainstream Video Card Mania! @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Saturday, December 25, 2004
“PCI-Express if firmly upon us, Intel has seen to this and AMD will be joining the fray shortly. A few select individuals have been able to obtain high end samples of PCI-Express cards, however for most people these cards are simply priced out of their reach. This leaves the mainstream segment, and as this name suggests, the mainstream cards are targeted at the average consumer. So will “average” do for you? Let’s find out!”

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Internet vs. Brick & Mortar Shopping @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, December 25, 2004

“Over the last couple of years I have flip-flopped between online shopping and taking a trip to the mall for buying Christmas presents. Last year 90% of my shopping was done via the Internet but this year I moved back to the mall. During the year, I usually buy a lot online. Anything that requires power is pretty much purchased at an online store. Books, surprisingly enough are almost an even split because I do like to visit the bookstore as well as Amazon.”

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