Tech News September 2003

Computex 2003 Day 3
Ninjalane :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Ninjalane has just posted a day three pictorial for your readers enjoyment. Be sure to also check out the DFI 865PE Infinity review.”

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Innovatek Tank-O-Matic Review
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“The Innovatek Tank-O-Matic comes pre-assembled and ready for use right out of the box. The unit is comprised of a solid clear plexiglass cylinder which measures 50mm (W) x 280mm (H) and weighs 540g (without water). The Innovatek Tank-O-Matic is capable of holding approximately 280ml of fluid which should be sufficient for any standard water cooling system. The Tank-O-Matic can be mounted in the vertical or horizontal position and to simplify the process Innovatek has included two handy plastic clamps. The plastic clamps snap around the base of the plexiglass cylinder and keep the unit stationary once installed. The back portion of the clamps has a small opening to insert a hex screw to secure the Tank-O-Matic to any flat surface.”

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New Review – Allied 500 Watt PSU
TweakTown :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Well, we’re back at it with another new name in the power supply market. Though these folks have been around for a while, they aren’t a name that is always heard of when it comes to a PSU. Come join Mike “Darthtanion” Wright as he takes a look at the Allied 500 watt Power Supply. It boasts an abundance of power, and quiet, cool operation. We’re going to stress it out a bit and see if it can live up to it’s own claims!”

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Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro Review
GruntvillE :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Crucial Technologies, a division of Micron, is long recognized for their quality memory products and decided to venture into the peripheral market a few years ago. In the summer of 2002 they started offering the Radeon line of video cards debuting with the Radeon 8500. Now in 2003 they have the “128MB Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro”. We will compare this card with the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and look into the benefits of buying this card from Crucial vs. another reseller.

We’ll also look at some new developments implemented in this card and why Valve, the developers of Half-Life 2, prefer ATI hardware for the game. We’ll be sure to share nVidia’s stance on the issue as well.”

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Crossover Mission II Water Cooling Kit
ViperLair :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“The pieces that were included were very good, however the fact that the first sample I received had a leak on the water block itself is not a good sign. This was not an isolated occurrence as The Tech Lounge had the same problem with their first review sample as well. Testing the water cooler before you put it on the CPU is a good idea as the problems we had shows.”

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Zalman ZM-WB2 Water Block
The Tech Lounge :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Zalman has been alive and kickin ever since they unleashed the Super Flower heatsink back in 2000. The heatsink claimed quiet, yet cool performance which was hard to come by at the time. Three years later, Zalman has extended their product lineup and is producing some of the best quiet heatsinks to ever hit the market. After Zalman’s success with air cooling products, they took the dive into water cooling. Zalman now produces the ZM-WB2, a high performance copper water block to cool the latest AMD and P4 CPUs. Does Zalman’s quality and craftsmanship carry over from air to water? Well, read on my friend. Read on. NOW!”

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Crucial’s Hi-Speed USB 7-in-1 Card Reader
Bjorn3D :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Crucial’s foray into another product line has yielded more success and a great product. It is listed at US$25.99 on Crucial’s website and is a great value for the speed and multi-format support it delivers.”

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Akasa AK 03-BK Fan Control Pro
SystemCooling :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“How many of you have looked at one or another of the many fan controllers out there and thought “I’d love to have one if it only matched my case”? Though a fan controller’s main function will always be to manage the speed of your fans, is it too much to ask to be able to find one that works with today’s custom case colors? Akasa thinks not. They’ve provided us with their latest fan controller / thermal monitor which not only gives needed functionality but also does it with excellent looks.”

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Computex 2003 Coverage – Day 3
TweakTown :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Day 3 of Computex in Taiwan concluded yesterday and we visited Kingmax Technology, Cyber Link, XFX, Thermaltake and Cooler Master as well as attending the VIA Technology Forum.”

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AMD Athlon FX-51 Processor Review
Sharky Extreme :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“Today Sharky Extreme’s posted a review of the AMD Athlon FX-51 processor, including a wide range of application and gaming benchmarks:”

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Zalman ZM-2HC1 Heatpipe HDD Cooler
myWORLD :: Thursday, September 25, 2003

“As you’ve known by now, Zalman is a company who is very well known for its range of quiet cooling solution or Computer Noise Prevention System products or in short, CNPS. From the very initial review, we took a look at Zalman CNPS6000-CU and we’re truly amazed how it cooled down our CPU testbed without making a single noise. Later on, we managed to experience and review more Zalman products and we did find that their products are truly and totally quiet without compromising performance.”

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Vantec NEXUS NXP-305 Fan and Light Controller
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The Vantec NEXUS NXP-305 combines a 3-channel fan controller with a pair of sound activated cold cathode fluorescent case lights. The unit is almost identical in function to the larger Nexus NXP-301, but is designed to fit into a spare 3.5” drive bay. The NXP-305 is available in either a silver or black finish.”

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Enermax CS-EN5688 Case Review
3dXtreme :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“Looking at this case shimmer in the light is just awesome! Enermax did a great job with the paint on this series using a high gloss automotive paint. The case comes complete with 4 rubber feet, security screws w/keys and all the motherboard mounting hardware needed….”

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Swiftech MCW5002-P Waterblock Review
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“On the Extreme Cooling end of the spectrum you have systems with ½” ID tubing, CPU blocks with high flow and turbulence, single 120mm or dual 80mm or 120mm radiators, and pumps pushing over 300gph. While these systems will still be quieter than most air cooled setups, they are geared towards keeping a CPU cool under heavy overclocking. This is the category where you’ll find companies like D-Tek, Danger Den, Swiftech, and Polar-Flo.

So today, as the first in a series of high-end CPU waterblock reviews we bring you the latest from “Big Blue”, Swiftech, the MCW5002-P. This is a high flow, high turbulence waterblock for extreme cooling with ½” ID connections and is available for AMD, P4 and XEON chips. So without further delay, let’s dig in!”

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Vantec Iceberq4 Pro Premium VGA Cooling Kit
8Balls Hardware :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“Practically all graphics cards nowadays come with cooling systems designed to remove heat from the GPU for optimum performance, as well as safeguarding your precious investment from toasting away. For the most part, the stock cooling solutions on graphics cards are usually adequate for the task. Some users on the other hand, prefer third party solutions which potentially perform better, as well as gaining extra points in the aesthetics department. ”

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JetAudio iAudio CW300 MP3 Player
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The iAudio CW300 is basically an MP3 player, but it is actually much, much more than that. As you will see later, the CW300 is also an FM radio, a Voice Recorder, and a Data Storage Device! The multitude of uses for the CW300 will certainly make it an attractive product to consumers. If the features and capabilities of this device aren’t enough, it also looks amazing. The CW300 is actually an updated version of the CW200. Some of the improvements over the CW200 include longer battery life, more output power, additional accessories, optional remote control, and included high-quality headphones. Find out what we thought of the CW300, go read the review!”

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Vantec Ion 400W power supply
Red & Blackness Mods :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“There are tons of power supplies out there but only a few that are really quiet and that are still able to perform well. We have brands such as Vantec, Zalman, and Antec that are the best ones I have seen and today we are having a look at one of these brands. Vantec is on our testbench and to be more exact it’s the Ion 400W which seems to be a really nice product. It’s has dual fans but is supposed to still be really very quiet. Lets have a look”

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Cool & Overclocked
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The other day I was sitting around with nothing better to do, so I decided to put together a system out of some of the unused parts sitting around the test lab to use as a cruncher for the Seti@home DC project. As it was going together, it occurred to me that for all the overclocking going on in the lab, and all the tinkering I’d done, on literally dozens of machines, I had never once done a full comparison of the overclocking potential of a completely stock cooling system versus the premium cooling that equipped most of the lab machines. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t recall ever doing ANY overclocking of any of the systems with the stock cooling in place. Since I had all the components right in front me, I decided to do just such a comparison.”

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DFI 865PE Infinity Motherboard Review
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“And they aim to do it again with a new approach to BIOS settings. While launching its new Infinity series of mainboards targeting overclockers on a budget, DFI is also bringing out CMOS Reloaded, which enables the user to select/tweak, define, save, and rename the CMOS. Currently, CMOS Reloaded allows you to save two distinct CMOS configurations.”

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SilverStone Strider SST-ST360 Power Supply Review
Voided Warranty :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“After removing the power supply from the package, I noticed there was no exhaust fan. It had been replaced with hundreds of small vent holes. Only thought that came to me was how the heat produced by the power supply would be drawn out. Even though having no exhaust fan seemed a bit odd, I won’t make any judgements until I see the performance.”

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Aerocool Aeropower II Titanium PSU
ViperLair :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The lowest recorded 12v under load is 12.04v and the lowest recorded for the 5v rail under load is 5.08v. The OVP and OCP (Over Volt/Current Protection) would appear to be doing there things as well with no sign of too high voltages; everything is within a nice medium.”

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Athlon 64 One Stop Coverage
Virtual-Hideout :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“A few weeks back we take our first look at Vantec’s flagship controller, the NXP-301. The NXP-301 was a step forward in the fanbus/rheobus arena in the sense that it combines a Sound Activated CCFL Control Unit with a standard rheobus unit. If you’ve always wanted to get a rheobus and a CCFL Kit for your mod project, the NXP-301 was the clear choice. Vantec also included two blue CCFL light tubes so it’s the perfect kit for you to start with. However, the NXP-301 requires a free 5.25″ drive bay for installation. If you have none left or are planning the bay for some other projects, then you’re out of luck. Vantec realized the issue and promptly followed up with the NXP-305, a 3.5″ version of the NXP-301 that we’re gonna take a look today.”

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Title: Zalman CNPS6000-Cu Heatsink Review
Furioustech :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The word is QUIET. Silence is golden, and that is something that the people at Zalman strive for, a quieter PC. In the frying pan is the Zalman CNPS6000-Cu heatsink. How well does it perform? You are going to have to check it out to see. Don’t miss this review your ears will thank you.”

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Corsair TwinX1024 4000 Pro Series Memory
IpKonfig :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“Recently we reviewed the newest memory from Corsair Memory, the TwinX4000 which hit new marks for memory speed. DDR500 gives new meaning to performance, for newer motherboards supporting 800MHz Front Side Bus, like the Intel i875P chipset. In our tests it gave us 1GHz Front Side Bus performance, and pushing our Pentium 4 2.4GHz up to 3.06GHz–on a solid stable system.

Now, we’re looking at the same memory, but with more enthusiast enhancements. Two of the major ones are larger heatsink spreaders and new Activity LED lights on the top of the memory. Sounds interesting? Indeed.

Corsair Memory has kept this under its hat for quite some time, to maximize consumer ‘shock and awe’ at the new offering. To date, no other memory manufacture has produced any similar memory, and it takes cooling to the next level.”

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Chieftec BX Full Tower Chassis
ViperLair :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“Out of the box, you can’t fail to notice the distinct gradient style slats that adorn the central front from top to bottom so we shall start our tour at the front. At the very bottom we find a door imprinted with the Chieftec logo that hides (from left to right) 2 USB Ports, a speaker port, microphone port and also a Firewire port.”

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ABIT KV7 KT600 Motherboard review
OCAddiction :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The CPU socket is well placed and has lost of room around it for normal sized HSF’s and waterblocks as you notice the four motherboard mounting holes on the periphery of the socket. Also notice the small silver strip along the edge of the socket to protect the motherboard from the errant slip of a tool while installing a heatsink. Next you see the highly touted VIA VT-8237 Southbridge chip with the two front panel USB v2.0 headers and the two serial ATA connectors located close by.”

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fUnc Surface 1030 Mouse Pad review
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“I admit it… I’m a gamer. I absolutely love firing up my favorite game and putting my latest Overclock to the test. But when it comes to gaming, your rig isn’t the only thing that will determine how good you can be. Your mouse pad will play a lot into your accuracy and movement in a game. Which brings me to the mouse pad, or should I say mouse Surface known as the fUnc pad or Surface 1030. I bought this mouse surface almost 7 months ago. This isn’t just something a vendor sent in with hopes of a good review. So sit back and keep an eye on your current mouse surface and see if it stacks up to what the fUnc has to offer.”

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Yeong Yang YY-0221B Cube Server Case Review
MODTHEBOX! :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“Out of the box, my initial impressions of the Yeong Yang YY-0221B Cube Server Case were very positive. The exterior has been painted in jet-black and takes on a very minimal design. The YY-0221B is constructed from 1.2mm Kobe Steel and measures approximately 13.4″ (W) x 17.3″ (D) x 13.4″ (H) with a weight of 13.4KG without a power supply. The front bezel is made from recyclable flame retardant plastic parts and features a lockable swing out door. Both ATX and Full ATX form factor motherboards are supported. The overall construction of the YY-0221B is top grade and provides a solid base for many great case modification projects.”

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Scorpio Mid-Tower (Yellow)
Xoxide :: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

“The Raidmax Scorpio is one of the most attractive cases on the market. The brilliant yellow paint finish is sure to get you looks. The case also comes with an 80mm Tri-LED fan preinstalled with the popular Blade Grill in the large side panel window. The front case door has a stylish “X” design with a nifty looking “Z” in the center. ”

Only $54.99

Cooler Master Jet 7
SystemCooling :: Thursday, September 18, 2003

“We can see the headlines now…”Cooler Master, in conjunction with Boeing, would like to present…” Okay. So we’re kidding about the headline, but that was our first reaction when we saw the subject of today’s review, the Cooler Master Jet 7. Topped with a monstrous 80mm radial fan, the Jet 7 looks amazingly like its namesake. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t SOUND like one as wel.”

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