Tech News December 2005

 

OCZ Technology Rally 2GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive @ Viperlair
ViperLair :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
“I have owned a USB drive for years, but never put it to much use, when the Rally arrived I started looking in to what it could be used for and now I don’t think I could live without it. If you are a computer tech there are many many tools that can be run from a USB drive like Everest, CPUID, memtest etc. If your motherboard supports booting from a USB device you can even run Linux from the device.”

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DHzer0point 0.8195 Released!
Driver Heaven :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

What’s new? Dual core/Hyperthreading optimizations from Nvidia Rewritten tweak base, Improving high end pixel shading performance UT2004 and older early DX9/8 improvements Compatibility tweaks still included Fixed Resolutions bug All SLI options, rendering AA/AF, Overclocking options should be available Full Mobility support Hardcoded PCI Latency to BIOS defaults VMR option available and enabled by default

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NEW CONTENT (Software) ATI Catalyst 5.12 Performance Analysis (X1K Edition)
TweakTown :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

QUOTE: “It seems like this is an early Christmas present to those Radeon X1800 users. While we thought the performance from the X850XT was good with the new drivers, we can see that the X1800XT gets more performance and almost across all our benchmarks. Quake 4 again gave us some weird results with the performance being slightly decreased at 1024 x 768 but apart from that the drivers get two big thumbs up from us.”

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PimpRig Review // NZXT Lexa Classic Series ATX Case
PimpRig :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The Lexa is a pretty sleek aluminum case which seems aimed directly at lanparty goers. “Enter a new case design from NZXT called the Lexa. Many of you may have seen cases by NZXT before, and I know what you are thinking…. another anime or robot inspired case, right? Wrong! This case actually looks classy enough to be used on an executive’s desk at some unnamed law firm.”

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The Sapphire RADEON X1300 256MB at CaseModGod.com
Case Mod God :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Summary: The Sapphire RADEON X1300 256MB is a great entry level video card that has all the features of more expensive higher end video cards without the prohibitive price tag. With a street price of about $100 USD it is a true “bang for the buck” video card worth looking into.

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ECS KA1 MVP Extreme Motherboard @ t-break
t-break :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
For some strange reason, the four SATA ports powered by the Southbridge sit right below the two PCI-E x16 slots and putting in a long card such as the 7800GTX or the x1800 blocks access to them. Right next to these connectors is a silver plate with the ECS Extreme logo and we think that ECS should’ve swapped places of these SATA connectors with the plate.

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PCMech: ZoneAlarm
PC Mechanic :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Quote: For this week’s Freeware Frenzy, I will be examining ZoneAlarm Firewall version 6.1.737. I recently had some issues with spyware which proved to me that no matter how many programs you have to get rid of it, preventing it is step one. Since Windows Firewall clearly failed me, I chose to look elsewhere for protection. So I found Zone Labs.

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Raidmax Ninja @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

“Raidmax is back with another case designed with gamers in mind. The case looks cool and does not use excessive plastic parts. Armed with a very affordable price, gaming enthusiasts can finally bring a good looking case to LAN parties.”

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Title: Vantec 701A HDD Cooler @ Techgage
Techgage :: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Quote: Hard drive a little hot around the collar? We are looking at a great looking cooler from Vantec. It’s not an enclosure, but rather straps to the side of your drive. Let’s take it for a test drive.

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Video Game Gift Guide
Designtechnica :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
“A recent brief issued by market analysts DFC Intelligence sums up the situation in gaming industry circles this holiday season nicely, stating simply: “There really is no single standout must-have product.”

We concur… Instead, you’ll simply have to settle for a glut of top-notch titles in diverse genres. But while few individual items are likely to move huge numbers – at least, not in a sector where, like the recording business, 500,000 copies sold means breaking even – it’s largely irrelevant.

Although there will surely be massive confusion at the register this year (you try making sense of the dozens of equally intriguing, yet under-the-radar titles which ship each week), gamers are the clear-cut winners. Think of it this way: Choosing the right piece of software won’t be easy. However, the upside is that across the board, quality is improving, and no matter one’s interests, there’s a perfect match just waiting to be discovered.

Rather than bother comparing apples and oranges, we’ve taken the liberty of assembling a shopping list full of smash hits for children and grown-ups alike. So no matter who you’re shopping for, nobody has to come home empty-handed (or disappointed) as Christmas carols and Chanukah hymns start a-ringing.”

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Sparco Racing Cockpit Pro for PS2 @ DH
Driver Heaven :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“The PS2 has seen some extremely remarkable racing titles, including the painstakingly realistic Gran Turismo 4 to the fast paced action found in Burnout Revenge, but games as captivating as the aforementioned deserve to be played with something more fitting than a measly controller. The Driving Force Pro wheel from Logitech allowed gamers to be immersed into the whole racing experience, but it still possessed a few problems. While the Driving Force Pro is undoubtedly the best wheel available for the PS2, finding a place to properly set it down can be quite a challenge. Luckily, the Sparco Racing Cockpit Pro was created for the truly hardcore driving fanatics.”

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The Future Of Wireless Technology @ The TechZone
The Tech Zone :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
If you are a part of the modern information age today, you would have noticed that everything these days is moving at a blistering pace. It wasn’t that many years ago that we were tethered to our walls if we wanted to talk to someone that wasn’t within earshot. These days you are hard-pressed to find a place that average everyday users like you or I would go where a mobile phone will not get coverage. If we indeed do happen to find such a place, we are outraged at the inconvenience. It is surreal to think that something that sounded like science-fiction such a short time ago is now so ingrained in our society today that we seemingly cannot live without it. Well brace yourself for Round Two, because Internet connectivity is about to come of age as well.

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Thermaltake Purepower 520W Power Station PSU @ Techniz
Techniz.co.uk :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“The Thermaltake Purepower 520W Power Station is a totally silent and powerful PSU. With the black and stylish housing and the unique P.S.T and modular design will really attract a lot of enthusiast. With the dual 12V rails of power, it will support many peripheral devices without any problems. It also equips with 120mm blue LED fan in the PSU and the rear side of the 5.25″ P.S.T is also having the blue LED light that will really decorate the interior of the chassis. Furthermore, this PSU is ready with dual PCI-E connector to be use for the Nvidia SLI or ATI CrossFire technology…”

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Zalman ZM460-APS 460W Power Supply @ ThinkComputers.org
Think Computers :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Quote: “When someone mentions the name Zalman most people think of great performing and cool looking heatsinks. I know quite a few people that have Zalman HSF’s in their computers and I am one of them. A lot of people swear by them, and easily recommend them to everyone, I personally have use Zalman HSF’s in computers that I have built for others. Did you know that Zalman also makes power supplies? Today for review I have one from Zalman that is touted as “Noiseless”, is it? How will it perform in my power hungry system? Read on to find out the answers to these and other thought provoking questions!”
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Corsair TwinX 2048-3500LLPRO @ Pro-Clockers
Pro-Clockers :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Quote: Corsair has been around the computing world for a very long time. There is not one person that would not recognize the name when it comes up in a conversation about anything computer related. From the COOL water cooling kit to digital memory for your camera, they are in the middle of it all. And with the gaming community needing alot of ram to run these graphic intense memory hogging video games, Corsair has once again met the needs of our community. By providing us two gigs of high performance memory with excellent timings in the 3500LLPro.

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Gigabyte GV-RX18L256V-B X1800 XL Videocard Review
PCStats :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“Gigabyte’s GV-RX18L256V-B Radeon X1800 XL videocard is a pretty nice single-slot PCI Express x16 videocard! The Radeon X1800 XL GPU is clocked at 500 MHz, and backed by 256MB of Samsung GDDR3 memory that hums away at 1 GHz. The videocard supports video In/Video Out (VIVO) and High Definition Television (HDTV) output. Other goodies included with the package are a DVI-to-analog converter, an S-Video cable, a VIVO cable, a Component output cable and for some reason, a molex splitter cable. The software bundle consists of Xpand Rally, Counter Strike Condition Zero, Power Director and PowerDVD.”

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SilverStone Strider ST60F Modular Power Supply @ SystemCooling
SubZeroTech :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“The new SilverStone Strider ST60F is a fully modular power supply unit (PSU) rated for 600 watts continuous load that offers power and flexibility in one package. The ST60F is SilverStone’s new flagship product in their Strider family of switching power supplies, which includes seven models ranging from 360W to 600W. The Strider ST60F PSU combines the core circuitry from the powerful SilverStone Zeus ST65ZF with a quieter running 120mm cooling fan and modular cables”

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MGE XGBOX Dragon Elite Aluminum ATX Computer Case Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“I have to applaud XG for their Dragon chassis. It is always a gamble to market a product with styling as over-the-top as this. While I’ve seen other manufacturers wrap an outdated, mediocre chassis in some superficial bling to milk some more dollars out of it, MGE has used a new chassis design with nice features and aluminum construction to bring a quality product to the marketplace. The overall fit and finish is excellent and its distinctive styling really grabs your attention.”

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How To Crack Passwords @ The TechZone
The Tech Zone :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
One of the key components in performing a security assessment is the acquisition of user account information and cracking of the account password. There are many methods and tools that can be used to crack passwords; however, you must first retrieve the information to crack. And once again, there are many ways of acquiring the account information. This article will illustrate one method of acquiring user account information using a combination of social engineering and open source tools. We will then briefly go over a particular cracking method and tool.

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News – Akasa AllInOne Multi-Function Panel
Techniz.co.uk :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“The multi-functional panel from Akasa which is known as the AllInOne is equip with all the function that you need. It can control up to 2 fan and have 2 temperature sensors to detect the temperature for the various devices inside the computer case. With the LCD back lighted Display is the most unique part of this AllInOne that able to monitor the current fan speed and temperature….”

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Enermax SLI/CrossFire Liberty 400W Power Supply Review #626
3dgameman :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“This product is only 400W but performs exceptionally well, and this particular model is also available in 500W & 620W if additional power is needed. It has lots of features & technologies. The modular design, along with all the leads being sleeved, cuts down the cable mess and increases air flow. Also, it’s SLI & CrossFire ready which hardcore gamers require. Watch the Video to find out more…” ~3dGameMan.com

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ThermalTake Swing @ Bytesector
Bytesector :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
“Yet another case has been released by Thermaltake, and it goes by the name of Swing. Moving away from the recent trend of strong aluminum cases, Thermaltake created the Swing with a plastic face plate which is reflective enough to be a backup mirror. The case may look nice on the outside, but does it live up to the typical Thermaltake standards on the inside? Is it tool-less? What types of features are loaded into the case? How does it compare to other cases? Read on and find out!”

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AOpen i945Ga-PHS Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
“At first glance, the AOpen i945Ga-PHS socket 775 Intel Pentium 4 motherboard is a pretty well rounded platform, it even supports HDTV component output (Y, Pb, Pr) by default! Based on the Intel’s i945G Northbridge, the AOpen i945Ga-PHS motherboard supports Socket 775 Pentium 4/D/XE and Celeron processors running with a 533/800/1066 MHz FSB. The four DDR2 memory slots can accommodate up to 4GB of PC2-6400 unbuffered DDR-2 RAM, while running in a dual channel configuration.”

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Corsair 2GB XMS PC4000-PT Dual Channel DDR Kit Review
OCIA :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

“In order to find the maximum stable overclock, I first set the HT multiplier to 3x and increased the CPU voltage to 1.7v (to factor out the processor as a limiting factor). I used the maximum multiplier for my CPU, which happens to be 9x. Starting at 250 MHz 1:1 and worked my way up from there, increasing memory voltage as needed.”

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Headline: Samsung Spinpoint 250GB PATA (SP2514N) HDD @ TechTastic.ca
TechTastic :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Quote: It seems now days that the need for more hard drive space is in higher demand. Software and games have increased significantly in size, as well as the need to store multimedia files such a video, music and pictures. Today we take a look at what Samsung has to offer with there Spinpoint 250GB PATA (SP2514N) Hard drive.

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Vantec Nexstar3 USB/eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure
Big Bruin :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Z Quote: The aluminum enclosure has a sleek and classic look to it, with a black mirror finish and chrome colored accents. On the one side it shows the logo and the connection labels. The reverse side is blank except for four little rubber feet, if you decide to lay it flat. Once you turn the unit on, the Vantec logo on the front

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Antec ATX 12V Power Supply Tester Review @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
“The Antec ATX12V Power Supply Tester is a simple tool for testing ATX12V (v 1.3 and v 2.0) power supplies without the use of voltmeters and probes. Simply plug the power supply outputs into the 24-pin (or 20-pin) connector to verify voltage of each ATX12V rail. The Antec ATX 12V PSU Tester is perfect for those of us that are constantly tinkering with systems or helping friends and family diagnose problems…”

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AC Ryan UV Acryl Panel at CaseModGod.com
Case Mod God :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Summary: Straight from the box the first thing I could notice was that in a room with standard lighting the edges really picked up the UV in the light… it was starting to glow under a normal light bulb! I can’t wait to see the Acrylpanel under UV lights in the dark.

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Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
Pure Overclock :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Quote: “The results clearly show the Freezer 64 Pro to be one of the best coolers on the market for noise/performance. It’s impressive to see it handle the overclock without dipping into unsafe temperatures. I’ll also add here that this is the quietest cooler I’ve ever used.”

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Func sUrface1030 Archetype Mouse Pad Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Quote – “Wanna get two Func mouse pads for the price of one? Then check out the new Func sUrface1030 Archetype!
R Today, we will be taking a look at this enhanced version of the famous sUrface1030 and see what’s new and what’s great about this mouse pad! ”

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