Tech News May 2003

NewsMay 31, 2003June 29, 20140

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!”

Thermaltake ATX 420W power supply review
Frosty Tech :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003

“We need more POWER! I have reviewed a few power supplies and this is my first one from Thermaltake. They make great heatsinks and cases. I have one of their power supplies on the chopping block. One of the great attributes of this unit was the stability of the power it delivered. I think you would want to check out this offering! Don’t be short changed by a power supply, come in and see for yourself what this unit achieves, I was shocked to say the least.”

Leadtek A300TD 128MB GeForce FX5800 Review
Overclockers New Zealand :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“The aluminium enclosure does more harm than good, as it keeps hot air inside. The heatsink attachment mechanism is less than desirable. Lastly, the A300TD might be incompatible with motherboards that have ram slots close to AGP slot, e.g. Epox 8RDA+, as the back aluminium panel gets in the way.”

TwinMOS Dual Channel PC3200 Review
ViperLair :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“Overclocking was something of a mixed bag. Clock speed-wise, the ram did well. I had expected a little better since these are 5ns chips, but the disappointment was with the SPD settings. We weren’t able to finely tune the timings to Corsair’s levels, especially when jacking up the clock speed.”

Sunbeam Acrylic Case Review
Voided Warranty :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“Trying to keep a neat uncluttered appearance while adding lights, fans, fan controllers, multifunction panels or other electrical items to an acrylic case can be a problem. We’ve got a few pointers on cutting down the number of visible wires running around from one end of the case to the other. Check out what we’ve stuffed inside this case.”

Pyramat 300 Interactive Gaming Mat review
TweakTown :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“It is not very often we get to review products which fall into the “outside of the square” category. The Pyramat 300 Interactive definitely falls into this category. What is it you ask? Imagine a force feedback gaming mat which works with just about any electrical entertainment device on the market and you’d be just about there. Interested yet? If so read on as Cameron “Mr.Tweak” Wilmot tells us all about it!”

Cooler Master ATC-201B SXT Aluminum Case Review
PCStats :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Today we’re going to be looking at the Cooler Master ATC-201B SXT mid tower aluminum case. The first thing I thought when I saw and touched the ATC-201B SXT was that this is a pretty solid case. This is apparent with the black metalic auto paint finish which cover the side panels. The side panels are 3mm thick and the frame is 3mm thick and the entire appearance looked high quality. Of course I would expected that from a case that retails for $255 CDN ($170 US)! Cooler Master equips the ATC-201B SXT with three sleeve bearing 80mm YS Tech fans (FD1281253S-1N ) that are rated for 1750 RPM and can push 26.2 CFM while producing 18.5 dB of noise each. All the case fans have wire grills protecting them so you’re not going to hurt yourself when playing around inside. There’s also an air filter in the front of the case which is useful in blocking out the larger dust particles however it’s near impossible to remove the filter for cleaning.”

Thermaltake Smart Case Fan II review
XtReMoDs :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Some nifty functions that come with this fan are the fan speed modifiers. You can either control the fan speed by an analog dial, which attaches to the fan by a two pin connector, or by a thermal sensor which you can place anywhere within cable reach.”

Watts up? Pro – Watt Meter and Power Analyzer
SystemCooling :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Here’s something a little different. Have you ever wondered how much power your computer uses or how many watts your old monitor used compared to your new LCD flat panel? Have you ever wondered how much electricity your PC power supply consumes or what the true RMS voltage, current or power factor is? Well this nifty little gadget can answer those questions and many more. It’s called the Watts up? and comes in two versions, a standard and Pro model.”

Chaintech 9CJS Canterwood Motherboard review
TweakTown :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Intel’s new flagship Dual Channel, 800MHz FSB desktop chipset, the 875P aka Canterwood, has been met with rave evaluations by the review community as a whole. Chaintech are offering one of the first retail Canterwood motherboards which we have taken a look to date. Read on as Cameron “Sov” Johnson gives us all the dirt on the feature-packed Chaintech 9CJS motherboard.”

PCToys VGA Maxx VGA Card Heatpipe Cooler Review
MODTHEBOX! :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Cooling performance is provided using the included heatpipe. Ultimately, it is a copper pipe with a porous inner lining and a small amount of coolant. The principle is that coolant sealed in the pipe is vaporized at the heat source (taking the heat with it) and rises to the top of the pipe where it cools back into a liquid form releasing the thermal energy to the large air cooled heatsinks. This technology has been previously applied to computing solutions that required passive cooling for space limitations (like a notebook or small form factor PCs), but has since branched out as a supplemental aid to conventional CPU and GPU cooling.”

Leadtek A340TDH 128MB GeForce FX5200 review
Overclockers New Zealand :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Leadtek has always offered a very comprehensive package and the A340 is no different. In my mind, this is the best compromise between price and package. You do not want to bundle excessive games or accessories which may results in increased price. ”

Chenbro PC6112222 Case Review
3dXtreme :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Overall the Chenbro PC61122 is another solid case with some unique features. This is the second case we’ve reviewed from Chenbro and are admittedly we have been rather impressed with the build quality and little extras that Chenbro puts into their cases…”

EVERCOOL Water Cooler WC-101 review
XtReMoDs :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Every geek (that I know of including myself) dreams of a computer that purrs like a kitten, yet has the power of a lion. Getting away from air cooling is the quickest way to help with noise; water cooling is a level above air cooling and is a good deal quieter. Water can absorb more heat, faster, then conventional fan cooling. The down side to water cooling is the risk of water leaking onto the electrical components of your computer. Water + Electronics = Bad News! In the past you had to worry about leaks and drips. Not anymore, Evercool has come up with a kit comes pre-built and contains everything in one container. The question is, will it do the job and cool the CPU better and quieter then a HSF (Heat Sink Fan)? ”

Antec’s TrueControl 550Watt review
DataFuse :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Nowadays enthusiastic computer users manage to push their CPU to a power consumption of 100Watt and above, they have dozens of accessories that consume lots of power. 300Watt PSU’s (Power Supply Unit) just don’t cut it anymore. It’s time to look for an upgrade, something that manages to find an equilibrium between performance, stability, price and silence. Let’s see if Antec has what it takes with their 550Watt TrueControl. ”

Bandwidth Capping Article
ViperLair :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“But bandwidth capping at ridiculously low limits isn’t a solution for the long run since the majority of those who have limits don’t seem to understand that with the speed of broadband it is entirely possible to use up your quota in few days with gaming, streaming media and entertainment. How many of you like surfing for wallpapers for your PC? Looking at a couple of hundred 1600*1200 bmps or jpegs can eat into your quota quite rapidly.”

Sunbeam Rheobus Kit #1 Review
8Balls Hardware :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“Sunbeam provides a solution to the problem with their rheobus kit. For the uninitiated, a rheobus is essentially a device that allows the user to control the amount of power going to a set of connected fans, giving control over the speed of those fans. ”

EluminX Illuminated Keyboard Review
Furioustech :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“Let there be light! Have you had a situation in which you wanted to see your keyboard and not have a light on? I have the answer for you. A keyboard that is backlit, not only that but it is great for gaming and word processing. This is one brilliant product, so do not miss this review. I think it will put some light right were you need it!”

Cremax Moble Hard Drive Racks Video Review
3DCenter :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“The Cremax Mobile Hard Drive Racks are available in a few different models but all are excellent for transporting data. Thankfully even large ATA Hard Drives are getting much cheaper and therefore it makes a very affordable removable solution. Also, Cremax offers USB2 models which means it doesn’t tie up another IDE connection but still offers fast transfer speeds. Watch the Video to find out more…”

ABIT IC7-G Review
OCAddiction :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“Here is where the IC7-G excels over all other current solutions. You can see that running in Single Channel mode the IC7-G is running only slightly faster than most solutions while the BH7 at a 4:5 CPU/Memory ratio is surpassing it in memory bandwidth performance. However once we kick into DC mode the IC7-G leaves everything else behind; by quite a bit I might add. Showing 5351/5353 in memory is nothing short of incredible. Clearly Intel has done their homework in implementing Dual Channel and it certainly shows here.”

Intel 3.0C 800MHz FSB Pentium 4 CPU Review
OCAddiction :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“Obviously in order to utilize the benefits of this new 800MHz CPU Intel needed to introduce a new chipset, and thus the 875P Canterwood was born. The new chipset is fairly exciting and incorporates some of the latest industry standards you would expect with a top notch performer, such as AGP 8X, Native SATA support, Dual Channel DDR and a 200MHz FSB (800MHz Quad Pumped). Intel fans will no longer be left out whereas previously AMD users enjoyed the benefits of a higher FSB and AGP 8X. And while yes, Granite Bay did have DC and AGP 8X, it simply was not a chipset aimed at the desktop performance market.”

Xoxide Xenosys 1000 special offer!
Xoxide :: Thursday, May 08, 2003

“Every Xoxide Xenosys system is carefully tuned, tweaked, and tested. Our systems are overclocked from their birth, and built to stay that way. All systems are burned in for a 48 hour period, in which any slight imperfection is given immediate attention. We are confident our results speak for themselves. These systems were designed to overcome, overpower, and lift the bar on the performance industry. We have done exactly that.”

All of the following items are also included with each system:

Black Lian-Li Warrior aluminum case
Enermax A7 Front access panel
Seven total cooling fans, with speed control for the 120mm ceiling blowhole (for quiet or extreme uses)
Silver Rounded drive cables
Dual Blue cold cathode lighting
Wire management optimized for airflow
Enermax whisper series dual fan power supply
Abit NF7 Revision 2.0 /w LAN/Audio, running 200Mhz FSB overclocked (syncronized to Dual DDR)
AMD AthlonXP 1700+ JIUHB steppings 1.5V stock 1470Mhz, overclocked at 2300Mhz (Yes, that’s 56%, at about 90 Fahrenheit)
ThermalRight SLK900U with 92mm Quad Blue LED fan
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro, software overclocked
Zalman ZM80 Heatpipe

512MB Dual DDR 400Mhz Samsung PC3200 with copper heat spreaders

Zalman ZM-MFC 1 Multi-Fan Speed Controller review
SystemCooling :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“I know you’ve seen plenty of fan controllers and you must have read your share of reviews about them. There are those that have knobs and those that have toggle switches. Maybe you thought that it would be really cool if you could combine those to different types of controllers to make one unique unit. Well if those were your hopes then Zalman is rises to the rescue.”

Via P4PB Ultra P4X400 Motherboard Review
Tweaknews :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“The P4PB Ultra motherboard is Via’s flagship (as of this date) motherboard and is manufactured to target the performance enthusiast genre of computer users. Like most motherboard manufacturers, the board is only part of your purchase. As a bonus, the consumer will receive a whole buffet of extras to compliment their new computer and to get it looking and performing at its best.”

Turbocase X-Sonic Black Aluminum Case Review
Tweaknews :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“You just can’t ask for more value for US$89.99. Let’s add it up. You have a black aluminum, windowed case that has a removable harddrive rack, an included 350watt power supply, easy optical drive installation, two included tri-LED fans and front USB ports for under $100. I think that is the dictionary definition for VALUE.”

Athlon XP 1800 overclock alert (2800)!
Overclockers New Zealand :: Thursday, May 01, 2003
“I don’t want to push the V/Core as I want to run the 92 Sunon fan @ 7V. Thus I settled on a V/Core of 1.65V. The end result? The CPU is stable @ 2264MHz which is a bit higher than AMD’s XP-2800+ (2250MHz). Please ignore the voltage detected by CPU-Z, as its measuring VDD. The CPU sit at 42 degrees with a room temperature of 23.4 degrees. (detected using Epox temp probe). You’ve got to admit that this is pretty good value for money. ”

Asetek WaterChill watercooling kit review
Hexus :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“Performance-wise, the Asetek WaterChill didn’t disappoint. Even when the radiator’s fan was set to 7v via the control system, the performance exhibited toppled that of a premier air-cooling solution. Asetek have promised availability of graphics card and chipset blocks in the near future, thereby giving the user even greater appeal.”

AVC 3x P4 Heatsink Roundup
Mikhailtech :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

From what I could see, the fins are also melted on the part that comes in contact with the base, so maybe AVC forgot to mention the soldering or my eyes played tricks on me (after all, it’s a very small space between those fins and I could be seeing things that aren’t there). Because these fins aren’t very solid, the fan could not be attached using the traditional four screws, so AVC went for a more subtle approach and used a cover, or shroud, that protects the fins from bending and holds the fan in place.

Xitel PRO-HIFI-Link: the quest for crystal clear audio
Futurelooks :: Thursday, May 01, 2003
“There are many reasons for USB audio devices. Not only are they easy to setup and get going, but they also take the audio processing device away from the noisy environment of a PC’s case. Xitel kicks it up a notch again with their latest product.”

Samsung Msys-835P Digital Multifunction Printer review
Tweaknews :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“Overall, this is a great product which should get your office up and running at peak efficiency in no time. All you have to do now is get your employees as efficient and problem free as your office hardware. That is something I am not trained to review, well, maybe if she’s cute ;).”

The Home Entertainment PC Part 3
Short-Media :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“In Part 3 the goal for the HEPC is to utilize a PCI sound card that would deliver the highest quality sound to a home theatre amplifier for playback of digital music files by way of a digital interface. Secondary to that was DVD and game sound. Everyone should ask themselves a few questions before asking questions of others. Properly assessing needs, desires and present equipment can save a sound card buyer from a wasted and useless expenditure. Specs aren’t everything and what ISN’T listed is as important as what is.”

Gizmos, Gadges and Goodies Guide
TweakTown :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“Each month here at TweakTown we receive many smaller, cheaper and interesting computer products which we cannot transform into a full blown review on its own. So none of you miss out on any of these funky items, we have initiated our very own monthly Gizmos, Gadgets and Goodies Guide, by Shawn “Toxic” Baker, filled with a range of different computer products from all edges of the globe for your viewing pleasure!”

Albatron PX865PE Pro II i865PE Springdale Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Thursday, May 22, 2003

“With the release of mainstream i865 chipsets today there will be soon an influx of new Pentium 4 motherboards on the market from which to choose. Albatron have never been one to sit ideally by and pass on a technology advancement; so grab a coffee and get ready to follow long as we test drive the all new Albatron PX865PE Pro II motherboard. The PX865PE Pro II is of course based on Intel’s freshly launched i865PE Springdale chipset, which coincidentally enough, actually launched in spring. Boasting support for 400MHz, 533MHz and 800MHz FSB based Pentium 4’s (Northwood or Prescott core) processors, the Springdale chipset forms the basis of Intel’s ‘mainstream’ dual channel DDR chipset strategy. The only downside to Springdale is that the i865 no longer carries on support for older ‘Williamette’ based Pentium 4 processors, or even socket 478 Celeron CPUs for that matter. After testing the AOpen i865 AX4SPE MAX motherboard we were generally impressed with what it brought to the table. Stock performance was good, and the board was loaded to the gills with features. We expect the Albatron PX865PE Pro II will have a lot of “goodies” as well, and hopefully offer a little more in terms of overclocking.”

MSI FX5200-TDR128 Review
ViperLair :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“The end result was a 296 core, and 285 memory (up from 250/250 stock). As you’ve probably noticed, this differed from our maximum OC of the core and memory accordingly. This is because one part ran stock, while we OC’d the other part. When putting the two together, we had various levels of success (or failure, depending how you view it), and the 296/285 OC was the fastest, and most stable video card overclock.”

GeForce4 Ti 4800 SE Review
Hexus :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
” A reasonable offering on a card that’s a little past its prime. The bump up to 8x AGP specification does little or nothing for performance. We had have hoped for a speed increase to accompany the new name. Unfortunately, that never came to be. Priced at around £160, there’s better value to be had elsewhere.”

Samsung Syncmaster 191N 19″ LCD Review
GideonTech :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
“A lot of people say first impressions are important. Samsung is often the leader on quality design and styling. Their previous LCD units are beautifully crafted, and this model definitely follows suit. I’ve always been a big fan of thin borders around LCDs. I believe it gives it a more elegant look and feel. The silver on black design of the 191N is smooth and blends in nicely on the desk…”

Nvidia GeForce FX5900 Ultra Review
Hexus :: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
NVIDIA have got it right this time. Key performance determinants such as pixel-pushing power, bandwidth, and driver support seem to be in place. These allow one to enjoy high resolution gaming with high levels of image enhancing algorithms working away in the background”

MSI FX5200-TDR128 Videocard Review
PCStats :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“When we opened up the FX5200-TDR128 package and took a look around at what is included we found lots of games and useful software in addition to several other neat items. Still, the FX5200-TDR128 manages to maintain its aggressive price point. I guess it’s not surprising that MSI are the number 1 videocard manufacturer in the world! Today we’re going to be checking out one of MSI’s latest budget videocards, the MSI FX5200-TDR128. Based on the GeForceFX 5200 GPU, the card sports 128MB of 4ns TSOP-II Samsung memory, has TV-Output capabilities and even a remote control. Other hardware goodies included in the bundle are a DVI to analog adapter, S-Video to S-Video cable and a media breakout box.”

ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9000 PRO Video Card Video Review
3dgameman :: Sunday, May 11, 2003

“The ATI ALL-IN-WONDER 9000 PRO Video Card is packaged with a ridicules amount of goodies but still very affordable which makes it one serious bang-for-the-buck product. This product has great 3D performance, TV tuner, excellent Video playback, great 2D image quality and much more. Watch the Video to find out more…”

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro review
OCAddiction :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“Another, more important, improvement of the R350 GPU is higher clock speeds. The clock speed of the RADEON 9700 PRO is 325 MHz and ATI has managed to improve the core clock speed of the RADEON 9800 PRO to 380MHz. Not bad. That is a 17% increase in core clock speed even with staying with the .15u manufacturing process that was used on the R300 GPU.”

Powercolor’s Xabre 600 Pro review
Techwarelabs :: Thursday, May 01, 2003

“As the spotlight focuses on the battle raging between Nvidia and ATI for the top slot in the high-end video card competition, the release of middle-of-the-road, affordable cards, that don’t occupy an AGP slot, and render the neighboring PCI slot useless, often slip by unnoticed. SiS would like to believe the Xabre 600 is on the line between the enthusiast, extreme performance market and the mainstream, quality performance markets, allegedly making it a worthy contender for press attention, especially as they lead the GPU market to the 0.13u process. Are the technical feats achieved in the Xabre 600 enough to warrant your money? Read on to find out…”

previous post

Asus vs Abit

next post

Zalman ZM-MFC1 Fan Controller Review