Tech News May 2003

by NewsMay 31, 2003June 29, 2014018

Gigabyte 8KNXP i875P Motherboard Review
TweakTown :: Friday, May 30, 2003
“Intel’s I875P Canterwood Dual Channel DDR-400, 800MHz FSB Pentium 4 chipset has been out for a while now. Many companies have produced motherboards based on this chipset, one company is Gigabyte with their 8KNXP. It has more features than you would want to poke a stick at, but with stick in hand Cameron “Sov” Johnson gives us his impressions and bench tests against Intel’s reference Canterwood motherboard.”

Direct-Die Cooling Project
PimpRig :: Friday, May 30, 2003

“As a commercial fisherman, I became familiar with an adhesive that works with fiberglass and sticks to just about anything you could imagine. It works below the waterline and cures in either water or air. It takes a long time to cure; 7 whole days. I have work clothes that have been washed countless times that have the remnants of this stuff still hanging off them from me wiping this stuff off of my fingers over 5 years ago.”

CritiCool PowerPlant PCI Relay Card review
SystemCooling :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“The CritiCool PowerPlant is a PCI relay card that serves as a portal to bring 120 VAC power into the computer and automatically turns on or off a water-cooling system pump whenever the computer is started up or shut down. For its size and cost, this little card offers some elegant features. But the true brilliance of the CritiCool PowerPlant is diminished by several design weaknesses.”

Black Enermax CS-101812 Server Case Review
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“Out of the box, my first impressions of the Black Enermax CS-101812 Server Case after removing the packaging were very positive. As previously mentioned there are several manufacturers who have used this specific type of chassis design but Enermax has taken it upon themselves to uniquely style this case with some nice changes. The case measures approximately 486mm (D) x 200mm (W) x 427 mm (H) and supports all ATX and Dual Xeon motherboards. The entire exterior is black coloured with the main focus on the front bezel design and aluminum brushed highlights.”

Crossover WS-5 Mission II Water Cooling Kit
Xoxide :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“The Crossover Mission II is the ultimate water cooling kit. This kit comes jam packed with everything you need to watercool nearly any system (AMD, P4). The package comes complete with an 80mm radiator (mountable), compact reservoir/pump, a copper CPU water cooling block capable of cooling AMD socket A/462 and Pentium 4 Blocks, also all necessary tubing, elbows and screws for putting everything together. The kit includes special acrylic blocks that are necessary for mounting the CPU block on a P4 system. Not only will these blocks do the job, but they have been created out of acrylic and small holes in the sides have been added for sliding in LED’s (which are included in the kit). These are ultra bright LED’s, and give you system a sweet glow (pictures below). Overall this system is very compact, serves adequate cooling, and is reasonably priced.”

OCAddiction takes a look at ABIT’s 4th revision of the NF7-S line of motherboards
OCAddiction :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“With the BIOS corruption issue finally under control, the NF7-S is a dream to overclock. Gone are the days of nail biting while trying to tweak every last bit of performance from the nForce2. While in the benchmarks we were shooting for overall performance of the board/memory/cpu configuration, if you take the memory and CPU out of the equation (relax the timings on the memory, and drop the multiplier on the CPU), the FSB that the V2 NF7-S can achieve is astounding. When the CPU and memory are taken out, we hit the magical 250 FSB.”

Triplex Eye Bomb R9500 Pro 128MB review
Overclockers New Zealand :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“The Triplex R9500Pro is around 5~10% faster than your average Ti-4800SE(Ti-4400 8X). The lead could go up to around 40% when FSAA is enabled. This shows that the R9500Pro has a more efficient FSAA than the one-year-old GF4 Ti. If you were not too concerned with the image quality, then you may want to look for an ultra cheap GF4 Ti-4200 to save some cash.”

Thermaltake Xaser Silent Purepower™ 480W PSU Video Review
3dgameman :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“This product stands out from most other power supplies because you can manually adjust the two fans with a dial. They include two fan controllers, one for the front 5 1/4″ drive bay and one for the back PCI slot. Also, this PSU is very quite at only 17dBA under normal operating conditions. Watch the Video to find out more…”

Zalman ZM80A-HP Video Card Cooler Review
OCIA :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“Personally, I am a stickler for noise and prefer to have only the quietest cooling components in my rig. For some, this means watercooling. For others, a high performance heatsink with a low RPM fan will do the trick. Case cooling can be taken care of via some low noise / low RPM case fans. But what about other components inside your system which may require active cooling, such as the video card? The video card is another component which enthusiasts love to squeeze more power out of. While there are a few aftermarket cooling solutions for your video card, the choices could most likely be counted on one hand. Zalman, a company that is well known for making ‘silent pc’ gear, has stepped up and created their own “silent” video card cooler, the ZM80A-HP VGA Cooler. Join along as we give this fanless cooler an in-depth look right here at OCIA.”

Thermalright SLK-900U Copper Heatsink Review
Frosty Tech :: Thursday, May 29, 2003

“The full copper 587 gram Thermalright SLK900U is one mean ‘little’ cooling machine. It looks somewhat like a Toblerone which has gone through the “six million dollar man” program and has the attitude to back that up. The Thermalright SLK900U heatsink arrives in a rather inconspicuous small cardboard box with a pile of wire clips, screws, springs among other parts. The heatsink comes sans fan, but that flexibility allows you to determine just how loud and annoying the heatsink will be, and choose the best parts for the job. Judging by the way Thermalright heatsinks tend to get snatched up by performance cooling freaks, the 80mmx38mm Vantec Tornado fan was our first cooling choice. Blasting off with over 67dB of noise, this fan spins at a finger-cutting 5700RPM so do yourself a favour and find a way of installing a fan grill on this puppy that actually works with the Thermalright’s fan retention wire clips. I haven’t got a solution to this oversight, but if you do, please let us know. For low noise operation we selected Zalman’s 92mm x 25mm thick ZM-F2 fan. It spins at about 2800RPM and creates a measly 46 dB of noise which is hardly noticeable. Given these two different sizes of fans, rotational speeds, and CFM output it will be interesting to see just how the Thermalright SLK900U reacts thermally!”

Extreme Alterations Monday Madness!
Extreme Alteration News :: Friday, May 23, 2003

“Looking to light up that case but can’t fork out the money? Well Extreme Alterations got your back! This Monday as our Monday Madness item, from 8-10PM (CST) we will be having EVERY color of our Dual CCFL kits for 14.99 (Reg – $21.95) They are rated the brightest by the elite review sites out there!”

Blue UV Reactive Case
Xoxide :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“This new clear acrylic case is perfect for the show-off hardware enthusiast. With a completely clear all-acrylic design, your case interior will be highly visible at all angles. Perfect for lighting and fan mods, this case can be custom fitted to your specifications. The case comes in an easy to assemble format, with detailed instructions on assembly. The design is sturdy, proven, and ready to be fitted with all new hardware on the market. There are five 80mm fan holes placed in key spots on the case.”

Thermalright SLK900U HSF Review
GruntvillE :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“One of the other things that make the SLK-900U unique is that you can mount just about any type of fan on it, from a 70mm to 92mm. The “stock” fan that ThermalRight suggests is a Delta 92mm fan that moves an impressive 110.18CFM at a noisy 55dBA. However, most vendors on the web sell the unit without a fan so you can pick and choose which one suits your needs. For this review we will be using a ThermalTake Smart Case Fan-2 80mm fan which at full speed runs at 4800RPM, 48dBA, and moves 75.7CFM.”

VIA EPIA M9000 Mainboard review
Overclocker Café :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“The modding possibilities with the M9000 are endless. As such, its appeal will be to one of two audiences. The first being the audio/videophiles as the foundation for home entertainment control or any number of media related jobs. The other group (meaning many of us) is the case mod folks looking to do something different. You can probably think of any number of hip mods off the top of your head. To be honest, I originally had planned on posting this review a number of weeks ago but I have been searching for a child’s lunchbox complete with superhero painted on it to serve as a case.”

Criticool PowerPlant review
Monkey Review :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“For anyone who has set up a liquid cooling kit which utilizes an AC powered pump, you can relate to the pain in the rear that it can be, when forced to cut a hole in your new or used case to allow the power cord (w Ground) a place to escape to, the inside of the case. For those of you wishing an alternative to a hole in their tower, those of us looking for a little more control over our pump, or those of you who just have a hard time remembering to turn on the pump before the system, the Criticool PowerPlant might be what you desire.”

Overclockers New Zealand have updated their DDR Guide II
Overclockers New Zealand :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“The Mushkin Enhanced Dual Black High Performance Level II 3200 512MB and 1GB have similar overclocking potential. The Mushkin Level II’s performance is marginally lower the famous Corsair XMS range; however, given the price difference, Mushkin Level II would be a better choice for the price sensitive customers.”

ABIT IS7 Springdale Motherboard Review
OCAddiction :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“The only real difference between this 865 and it’s bigger brother, the Canterwood i875, is the fact that the 875 features Intel PAT (Performance Acceleration Technology). While this is certainly a nice feature, it’s anticipated performance gains appear initially to have been overstated a bit. When you look at this board and compare it to the ABIT IC7 you come to realize that the PAT is the only real difference between the boards and their $20+ price difference and it makes you have to wonder if it’s worth it. But hey, we’ll let you decide that for yourself in the benchmarks section of this review.”

Flexiglow Lazer Beam Kit Review
GideonTech :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“Tiny bright lights in a translucent housing, with the ability to turn 180 degrees. Sounds like a good time for light freaks like us.”

Crucial’s PC3200 DDR Memory review
I Am Not a Geek :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“Crucial’s PC3200 DDR Memory definitely offers great performance and bang for the buck, with a price tag of $44.99 (US) you can have high performing ram without a high price, not to mention the limited life time warranty.”

Shuttle SB61G2 Springdale XPC review
Hexus :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“Performance-wise, the SB61G2 didn’t disappoint with a discrete Radeon 9800 Pro hogging the AGP port. Performance was just where we’d have put it beforehand, that is, sandwiched between the Canterwood and i845PE (200FSB) chipsets. The very fact that such performance can be attained from such a little package is a bewildering thought. You can add whatever extra the cube doesn’t feature by utilising the single PCI slot.”

Coolermaster Cooldrive3 review
DataFuse :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“It looks sweet, nobody can deny the fact an alu cover with blue led’s doesn’t cut it, but besides from that, buying yourself a 5$ fan will do the same and even more. Other people might see this as a 5 star product, but I wouldn’t spend my money on it, it doesn’t really add any value to your system. But if you are going for the looks, you gotta go with the cooldrive 3. ”

Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D sale!
Xoxide :: Thursday, May 15, 2003

Thermaltake has released the newest Xaser to their line of cases and it looks really nice. Xoxide has them in stock and ready to ship for only $152! be sure to head on over and pick one up!

Features:

Record & adjust pre-setting Temp.
Temp. Alarm Function °C / °F
display switch
4 channel adjustable fan speed knob
Thermaltake elegant E-LED blue light in front panel
All aluminum front panel
Two way lock in front panel
2 USB2.0 & IEEE 1394 firewire

Mic x 1 & Speaker x 1

Thermaltake Volcano9 Coolmod review
GruntvillE :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

“You may have noticed an enormous amount of wires coming off this unit in the contents pic. Well there are a lot of wires but you don’t have to use them all. You can use the unit with a rheostat that allows you to trim the voltage at the turn of a small knob or allow heat to control the speed of the fan. It also has 4 pair of wires coming off the Coolmod grill. The grill is clear acrylic and has 4 LEDs, 2 blue and 2 red. The two pair of wires that run from the blue LEDs located at the top and bottom of the grill connect to your motherboard power indicator header. The other two pair of wires running from the side mounted red LEDs connect to your motherboards HDD indicator header. The end result is quite nice looking; giving you a nice cool blue look while idling and flashes of red from hard drive activity give it an eerie purplish glow. I can’t imagine there are too many people out there that won’t enjoy it’s great effects and colors.“

Revision 7.7 of The Definitive BIOS Optimiztaion Guide
Tech ARP :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

“Ever peeked into the BIOS and got your brains scrambled with all the mumbo-jumbo? Maybe it’s time to check out the most comprehensive guide on BIOS options! Currently in Revision 7.7, the Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide from Adrian’s Rojak Pot now covers 196 different BIOS options!”

Zalman 400A-APF PSU review
myWORLD :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“I went ahead and opened up the power supply to see just about the biggest heatsinks that I have ever seen in a power supply. I am really impressed with how well the inside of this power supply is cooled. I really like that they did a good job with the internal cooling of this unit, because of that the fan wont have to run as fast which means it will be quieter.”

AMD Athlin XP 3200+ review
Short-Media :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
AMD comes charging out of the gate on the 400 MHz Front Side Bus Athlon XP 3200+. Frame rates are going to jump as AMD continues to push the performance envelope. The Athlon XP 3200+ is here and we took a unique twist to the round of benchmarks. Should the 3200+ be on your shopping list? A lot depends on what you have already.

Cooler Master ATC 220B Aluminum Case
OCAddiction :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

“Cooler Master cases are a work of art. They have long been the Ferrari of cases, and the ATC 220B series has the ‘look’ to be one of the standouts. Cooler Master took the ATC 210B and added a back-lit etch to the front door, and BAM! instant AHHHH!! factor. Before we get too far into the goods, ATC stands for Active Thermal Convection. Cooler Master designs their ATC series cases with the mindset that the aluminum case itself is acting as a heatsink. With the thought being that an aluminum enclosure will dissipate internal heat quicker than a comparable steel case.”

Prolink PlayTV USB2.0 Review
TweakTown :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“So you still haven’t broken down and gotten a TV/Multimedia input device for your system? Well come on in and join Mike “Darthtanion” Wright as he takes a look at the latest offering from Prolink; namely the PlayTV USB 2.0 device. It offers a TV tuner, the ability to import nearly any type of media content and is USB 2.0 compatible. Let’s see what happens when we put this new toy to the test!”

Zalman 400A-APF PSU review
Overclocker Café :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

“I went ahead and opened up the power supply to see just about the biggest heatsinks that I have ever seen in a power supply. I am really impressed with how well the inside of this power supply is cooled. I really like that they did a good job with the internal cooling of this unit, because of that the fan wont have to run as fast which means it will be quieter.”

Opera 7 – Any Closer to competing with Big E?
Futurelooks :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Not really mod or overclocking related, but here ya go.

“Looking to stand out from the Computer Crowd? Try using OPERA! This latest release of the wild child of the browser market adds in lots of new functionality. But is it any closer to taking over as the browser of choice? Will it dethrone Internet Explorer? Let’s find out!”

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