Tech News August 2004

Asetek KT03-L20 WaterChill Kit Review
Overclocker Café :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

“The Asetek kit is billed as an entry level kit including everything you need to water cool your rig. To be quite honest, the absence of a reservoir and relay isn’t exactly what you want to do in an “entry level” kit to make things easy. Hey Asetek, throw in the extra parts, jack up the price accordingly and eliminate any potential frustration and confusion the “entry” end user may have.”

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Thermaltake XTunner Remote Controlled Fan Controller Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

“I have to admit to you, for ~US$20, you really can’t go wrong with the XTunner. Sure there are other options on the market that have a boatload more feature and capabilities, but they also have the much higher pricetag to deal with. The XTunner allows the computer enthusiast to finally get control over their computer’s case fans and with the slight touch of a remote control have them adjusted perfectly for their current work environment and load.”

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Cooler Master Cool Drive 6 @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004
“If you need the cooling, the device does the job well, plus it has the added benefit of controlling your fans, monitoring temperatures as well as allowing you to keep an eye on your hard drive storage space and speed.”

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Case Modding Contest @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004
“This month’s InsaneTek contest giveaway will be based on the case modding theme. For those who have or will do case mods, be sure to join in on the fun. There are a total of 4 prizes and each prize can go towards your next case modding project”

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Silverstone SST-FP54 VFD Display Review @ Short-Media.com
Short-Media :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004
“Sundial Micro’s economic answer for a highly-configurable, low-content data display device that’s easy to install and configure was to put the SilverStone SST-FP54-B VFD display in our hands for a test drive.”

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OCIA.net has posted a review of the Logitech Z-2200 2.1 Speakers
OCIA :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

“Once upon a time, I owned a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speakers. I purchased these speakers just over a year ago, dropping off nearly $ 200 USD for the setup. I was very pleased with the performance of these speakers, that is, until the left channel died a few weeks ago. It is just my luck for the speakers to malfunction just a month shy of the 1 year warranty. So then began my search for a suitable replacement. I had to look no further than Logitech for said replacement. Boasting 200 watt RMS, 400 watt peak power, would the Logitech Z-2200’s have what it takes to compete with my beloved Klipsch system, or dare I say, outperform them?”

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Thermaltake Silent PurePower TWV480 Total Watts Viewer Review @ Hardware Pacers
Hardware-Pacers :: Wednesday, August 18, 2004

“As back as some of us can remember, we always tried to bring out our computer at its peak performance which sometimes involved overclocking certain parts. When we overclocked such as the CPU, it drained more power, however we did not how much. With today\\\’s new power hungry CPUs and especially with extreme cooling such as with vapor, it is very important to monitor if there is enough power provided for the system. Today Thermaltake introduces a new revolutionary product that displays how many watts are used up on the front panel. As we go further into the review, we will finally see various power consumptions when the computer is idle or fully active at its overclocked state.”

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Enermax Noisetaker EG475AX 475 Watt PSU
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

“It is safe to say that the EG475AX is one of those enthusiast items: Sleek Metallic Blue color, Gold-plated fan grilles, Silver mesh cable sleeving, Gold-Plated Power connections, Dual cooling Fans with user-adjustable speed, special 4 Pin Molex for high-end GPUs, copper-plated case to reduce EMI, to name a few. Other features include automatic input voltage and frequency sensing, Full ATX 1.3 Compliance including dual 12V rails, SATA-Compliant 3.3V/5V/12V Power Connections, Fan Monitoring Header, Thermally Controlled Fan speed, as well as Overvoltage and Overcurrent protection are built into the unit as well.”

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Counter-Strike: Source Beta Pre-Loading Phase 2
Valve Software :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004
“Pre-loading of the Counter-Strike: Source Beta to owners of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and the ATI\HL2 bundle begins today. On Wednesday, this second phase of the beta will open and the beta will be playable to this group.”

For more information on the Counter-Strike: Source beta, please visit this link

Thermaltake XTunner Remote Control Rheobus Review
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

“A click on the remote and an immediate response to the next lowest setting. Hey, I am getting to like this! Each successive push of the button results in a lower fan setting. The corresponding LEDs turn off with each click of the button. The changes in fan speed are quite noticeable. The lowest setting was really a comfortable humm. The remote works from quite a distance and the angles seem to provide good response. Except for the purpose of review photographing, I have all my rigs below the desk and had no problems controlling the fans at all.”

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AOpen DRW8800 8X DVD Burner
ViperLair :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

“AOpen has delivered an adequate drive for those of us who require +/- support, and at a very nice price point of $75 USD. Although the drive is not as fast as the ASUS, it is a suitable drive for those of us who don’t burn DVDs 24×7 as the MIAA thinks we all do.”

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Arctic Silver and Nanotherm kiss and make up: Cooperation announced!
Madshrimps :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004
“Their upcoming new thermal interface might well be a mix of the both company’s current top products. Nanotherm’s PCM+ uses phase-change to conduct heat and combined with Arctic Silver’s experience in the sector things are looking promising.”

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Universal 3.3V VDIMM Mod
Phoronix :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

“Sick of low vdimm voltages? Tired of complicated Vdimm mods that aren’t stable or that max out at 3V? Get to the heart of the matter with this universal 3.3V VDIMM Mod at Phoronix!”

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Antec FanPal Review
Mikhailtech :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

Like similar geek gifts of this genre, the FanPal is essentially an 80mm fan with a fancy desktop mount used to complement your already rainbowed PC. It comes in a shelf-like package though copper inserts prevent resealing after it’s been opened. There’s only one flavor to choose from: this silver/aluminum red-green-blue lit doohickey with a grill Spiderman fans are sure to appreciate. It also has an adjustable stand.

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The Radeon 9800 Pro To Radeon 9800XT Mod Guide Rev. 5.0 Post
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, August 17, 2004

“Even with the introduction of a new class of GPUs from ATI and NVIDIA, your Radeon 9800 Pro card is still something to be reckoned with! In fact, many Radeon 9800 Pro cards can be given a further boost in performance by modding them into full Radeon 9800XT cards!”

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5000th Forum Member Giveaway
GideonTech :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“We’ve reached the 5000th member on our forums. So to kick off another 5000, we’re giving away a tasty Kingston PC4300 1GB DDR Dual Channel Kit.”

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512MB OCZ Premiere PC3200 Memory
TechFreaks :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“At $94 a stick from NewEgg, I was able to get an easy 300MHz overclock resulting in a noticeable performance gain. For those who don’t OC, I had no problems running the RAM at more aggressive timings. The Premiere line is a welcomed step up from most Value RAM while keeping an affordable price-tag.”

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AeroCool Jetmaster Jr Gaming Case Review
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“The aesthetic appeal of the AeroCool Jetmaster Jr Gaming Case is achieved when the system is completely powered on and the lights are turned off. The bottom portion of the front bezel which looks like a jet engine is illuminated by a red center jewel as well as a 120mm Quad LED fan. The Quad LED 80mm fan equally lights up the laser cut “T3″ grill giving it an eerie glow. Two additional 80mm Quad LED fans placed on the rear of the case would finish off both the cooling as well as the lighting required for the case interior.”

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The definitive guide to benchmarking with DOOM 3
TweakTown :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Doom 3 is finally here and we are tipping many gamers around the world are dieing to benchmark their system with one of the most anticipated games to hit computer screens ever. We’ve posted the definitive guide to benchmarking with DOOM 3 which includes information on exactly how to benchmark the game and the issues to look out for. It’s benchmark time!”

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ASUS P5GD2 i915P & P5AD2 i925X Premium
Hexus :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Intel’s 900-series of chipsets attempt to modernise motherboard design from almost every angle. The cost of such modernisation is mediocre speed and, perhaps, limited overclockability. ASUS has done a good job in releasing a couple of boards that are packed to the rafters with useful features, from dual Gigabit LAN to integrated WiFi. Given the P5GD2 Premium’s P5AD2 Alderwood-matching performance, it has to be the pick of the two. So if you absolutely want to run the latest cutting-edge kit, it’s a good a choice as any. My reservations, however, lie more with Intel’s chipset than with ASUS’ efforts.”

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Thermalright XP-120 Heatsink Review
Short-Media :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Thermalright has come back with a vengeance. Their latest heatsink, the XP-120, is truly unique.”

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Kingwin KH-525U Drive Enclosure
SystemCooling :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Portable drives have been around for some time now. Portable CD burners, portable hard drives. And as my esteemed colleague Howard noted in an earlier review, it’s much more cost effective to buy an enclosure and add your own drive to it. But today, just having a portable drive is not enough. We work hard at making our rigs look good. Why should we be saddled with a butt ugly drive enclosure? Well, today we’ll take a look at a new part from Kingwin that not only will support your drives, but can look good while doing it.”

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Shuttle AN51R Mainboard Review
Overclocker Café :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“The CMOS clear button on the rear I/O panel was a pleasant find as were the on/off and reset buttons beside the panel connectors. Its layout was exceptional. Connector and cable plugs are grouped so as to avoid unnecessary clutter. This is especially demonstrated by the 3-pin Molex connector fan header placements.”

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ASUS DRW-1604P 4X DL and 16X DVD±R Worldwide Exclusive
CDRInfo :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“The ASUS DRW-1604P supports 16X DVD±R, 4X DVD±RW and 4X DVD+R DL writing according to the official specifications. As a CD recorder, it supports 32X CD-R and 24X US-RW writing along with 40X CD-ROM reading.”

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Swiftech MCX159-A North Bridge Cooler Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“The MCX is an impressive piece compared with the stock cooler. The base is a solid hunk of copper and has a good heft to it. There is no doubting the mass here, as it easily outweighs two other active coolers in my possession. The copper base is home to 96 vertical rods that penetrate the copper base. The vertical rods look a lot like machine screws with the heads cut off, and at first I thought this was a little strange. As I thought about it though, I realized that the threading on the rods is an excellent way to increase the surface area for heat dissipation. With 96-1″ screws, you get a lot of linear inches of surface area (someone care to calculate the total surface area?). The rods are topped by a tall fan with big, broad blades. The kit includes the cooler, mounting hardware, instructions, thermal paste, and the fan.”

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Raidmax Cobra 822 Gaming Case Review
Madshrimps :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Often considered just an option for cheap budget pc enclosures, Raidmax is trying to break into a very recent niche in the market – the mid-range gaming case, complete with a pre-modded window, glowing front door, and led fan on the side.”

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Beginners Guides: Firewall Setup and Configuration
PCStats :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“To prepare yourself for today’s Internet environment, you need the holy trinity of computer security: effective antivirus/anti-spyware software, regular updates and a firewall. We’ll be looking at the latter today, in detail. In this guide, we will walk you through every procedure involved in setting up and configuring a hardware or software firewall to protect your computer or network. We will also cover how to circumvent the problems firewalls can often cause to applications, and tackle the issue of hosting a game, web or FTP site on a firewall protected system. In short, this should be the last firewall article you’ll need to read. As for the first article you should read, our original guide to firewalls and Internet security contains more information on how firewalls work and the kind of threats you face on the web.”

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AMD Athlon 64 3000+, Budget Gamer’s Perspective
ViperLair :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“I’d imagine not a whole lot of you are ready to drop $1200 for a CPU, motherboard and video card combo. For the price of the Socket-939, you can pick up an A64 3000+, K8T800 based motherboard, and a decent mid-ranged video card. For gamers on a budget, I think the choice is obvious.”

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ePower Lion EP-450P5-L1
Phoronix :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“Bothered by noise? Well, now you don’t have to be! Introducing the ePower EP-450P5-L1’lion’ power supply. ePower has designed this power supply specifically for noise reduction. It’s incredibly large internal heatsinks help to keep it cool at the lowest fan speeds.”

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Smart Drive 2002 Silent & Cool HDD Enclosure
SystemCooling :: Thursday, August 05, 2004

“We all know hard drives can get hot and become noisy at certain times. The heat issues may not be as big of an annoyance as the excessive noise. And combating the noise is not always as easy as getting rid of the heat. Today we’ll be taking a look at new product supplied to us by the good people at Sharka Computers called the Smart Drive 2002C. The Smart Drive claims to be able to silence that hard drive crunching and rattling and at the same time keep it cool.”

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