The Vast Web of Insecurity
PC Mechanic :: Friday, December 08, 2006
I wanted to point out an interesting comment made by a few members about my last article concerning efficient use of technology in counting election votes. A majority of the responses I received pointed out security needs — how the nation as a whole can trust the integrity of the ballots cast. When writing the article, I gave the topic little thought — I dismissed such notion as a non-issue. The fact is security IS an issue. The system used for counting ballots should be no different than the system running your computer right now — more than likely, Microsoft Windows, which, like all operating systems, has vulnerabilities. Then I question myself in a broader issue: Why has security been such a big issue in recent years? How has technology or more specifically the mode in which we communicate using technology, come to deserve a label of mistrust?
Is Your Site Down Again?
PC Mechanic :: Friday, December 08, 2006
Obviously, if you have a web site for your business, you must monitor its availability. But how? The answer to the question has three parts. First, choose a reliable hosting provider. Second, monitor your site for availability. And third, be prepared to take up the issue with your hosting service provider. A few weeks ago, I wrote an entire column on how to Select the Right Hosting Service. So I will limit this column to the final two parts. Monitoring a site for availability is a task that screams for automation. An application that can seek a response from your site at regular intervals would be ideal. As it happens, there are subscription services that will monitor your site at regular intervals. But they also lighten your wallet at regular intervals. Regular readers of this column know that I prefer free (free, in my vocabulary, means no advertisements either), no-strings-attached alternatives to paid services. I found one for this purpose too – Site 24X7.
CoolIT Freezone Peltier/Water Cooling Hybrid CPU Cooling System
Club Overclocker :: Friday, December 08, 2006
When I find out that I am going to review a product, usually I will surf around the internet, and try to get a feel as to how a product is performing. Researching the FreeZone, however, I found that there were a lot of conflicting opinions. Some were happy with the product, others argued that the premise was unworkable. Today, we are going to cut through the mystery and see what is fact, and what is fiction.
Tagan TG900-U95 900W Power Supply
3dgameman :: Friday, December 08, 2006
“The Tagan TG900-U95 900W Power Supply performs very well, and that’s to be expected from a 900W Power Supply. If that’s not enough power, Tagan has a 1100 watt model. Who needs this kind of power? If you are a serious gamer with a quad video card setup and have lots of other hardware, you require a high wattage power supply to keep everything running. While this power supply has plenty of sleeved/shielded leads they are not modular. Watch the Video to find out more…”
Zalman ZM600-HP Power Supply
Pro-Clockers :: Friday, December 08, 2006
Zalman’s newest power supply is the ZM600-HP. The ZM600 is the first PSU in the HP lineup. The ZM600 boasts 600 watts of pure quiet power and is completely ATX 2.2 compliant. Those who think that the HP in the name stands for high powered or high performance (Hotpants? – Ed) would be awfully wrong. The HP stands for heat pipes, as the PSU uses these to aid in the cooling process. And the 120mm Zalman fan doesn’t hurt either. Lets see if the ZM600-NP has what it takes.
VIZO Orbiter Hard Drive Cooler Review
Futurelooks :: Friday, December 08, 2006
Noooooooooo! I have hard drive failure! What made my hard drive fail? Overheating is one of the most common reasons for hard drives to fail. VIZO has a solution to deal with the heat and make your PC look cool at the same time. How good is it? Read on to find out!
Sans Digital MS2UT eSATA RAID Enclosure
Bjorn 3d :: Friday, December 08, 2006
QNAP is one of the many new companies which aim to satisfy the growing need for external storage solutions. In this product review, I will take a close look at their MobileSTOR MS2UT eSATA RAID enclosure. This enclosure offers RAID-0 and RAID-1 capability, with high-speed transfers available up to 1.5Gbps through the included eSATA cable, or 480Mbps with USB2.0.
Gigabyte Aurora 570 Chassis
t-break :: Friday, December 08, 2006
The first thing I noticed about the Auroro570 is that the entire chassis is now made of aluminum which is a good thing. Like the previous model, the side window can either be a fully transparent acrylic or steel mesh- I prefer the latter. Also like the previous model, the chassis comes in black or Silver. Gigabyte has also extended the body so you a have a 10% more room inside- again, a good thing.
Vizo Starlet Cable Binding Kit 
Dragonsteel Mods :: Friday, December 08, 2006
” Our friends at Vizo have sent us another great and useful product for review, it is the Starlet Cable Binding Kit. This kit has enough stuff in it for many jobs, and is well worth buying it, you could do several computers with it. The Starlet Kit has everything you need, there’s over 30 feet total of varying lengths of braiding, heat shrink tubing and zip ties as well, everything you need to get your system looking great and alleviate the cable mess you might have in your case. Read on to check it out… ”
Installing Windows Vista For N00bs Posted! 
Tech ARP :: Friday, December 08, 2006
“Welcome, my young Padawan. Learn to install Windows Vista, we shall. Make you a master, we will. Cheerleader too, will you get. Soon, you will see. ”
SilverStone ST50EF-Plus-SC PSU Review
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, December 08, 2006
“The power supply looks and feels like the high-end brothers and everything is kept within the black theme. It also features a silent running 120mm fan which stayed pretty silent under heavy loads. In short, this is the power supply that you should be checking out if you plan to build a decent HTPC or SFF rig. The cables were short and perfect for any chassis that does not have much space for cable hiding/routing. The overall build quality was top notch and for $90, we didn’t expect such exceptional package with the ST50EF-Plus-SC. The rails held up pretty well as the +5V and +3.3V showed exceptional stability without any fluctuations.”
BIOSTAR TForce 590 SLI Motherboard Review
Motherboards.org :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
The Biostar TForce 590 SLI motherboard is an excellent purchase choice for those wanting a Socket AM2 platform for their next computer. The hype surrounding the new Intel Core2 CPUs means that most people wanting the high-end will want to go that route, as a Core2 Duo CPU is faster in most respects than the equivalently priced AM2 CPU.
Lian Li PC-A10B
techPowerUp :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
The PC-A10 is a fantastic case. All the little things that Lian Li does over and over again make this case stand out from the crowd. The anti-vibration mounts for the fans, drives and side panels, the removable motherboard tray, PSU tray and drive cages, as well as the tool-less design make this case a pleasure to work with.
Antec SpotCool Flexible Fan System Cooler Review 
Virtual Hideout :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“I can easily recommend this SpotCool for anyone with a motherboard that’s looking for that perfect cooling system to fit into tight spots and cool that certain hot area (yea, that’s just about everyone!).”
ECS’s PX1 Extreme motherboard
The Tech Report :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
LONG A STAPLE in the budget world, ECS recently turned its attention up market with an “Extreme” line of motherboards geared toward enthusiasts. ECS’s first Extreme offerings were reasonably solid boards, but despite flashy colors and neon extras, they lacked many of the tweaking and overclocking options that enthusiasts have come to expect. Undeterred, and apparently eager to improve, ECS pressed on and introduced a new wave of Extreme boards, including the PX1 Extreme for Intel’s new Core 2 processors.
At first glance, the PX1 looks promising. The board is built around Intel’s latest P965 chipset—complete with a Viiv-compliant ICH8DH south bridge—and features passive chipset and VRM cooling, dual PCI Express x16 slots, two Gigabit Ethernet controllers, and eSATA and Firewire connectivity. A BIOS update also gets you support for CrossFire configurations and even Intel’s latest quad-core processor.
Of course, it’s easy to fill out a spec sheet. To really appeal to enthusiasts, the PX1 Extreme also has to deliver competitive performance and impeccable stability alongside all of the tweaking and overclocking options that ECS boards have typically lacked in the past. Read on to see if it does.
Seasonic M12 Modular 600W Power Supply Review
Madshrimps :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“Gone are the cheapo power supplies of yesteryear. Processors today from both Intel and AMD require a power supply that can deliver a steady diet of power. The Seasonic name has become the standard of barrier in power supply from a distant land, China. We are looking into one of the new M12 Modular series today rated at 600 watts from Seasonic.”
Corsair HX620W Power Supply Review
Techgage :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
Corsair knows their stuff when it comes to performance memory, but how about power supplies? Despite the fact that they are new to the PSU market, they prove that they are not newbies. After taking a look at their HX620W, we walk away impressed.
Synology Cube Station Review
Maxit Mag :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“A small footprint, terabytes of capacity, RAID redundancy, ADS support and stylish design make the CS-406 the Swiss Army knife of NAS Appliances. With built in features such as create your own website, schedule data backup, digital media adaptor for music share, continuous file download without a PC and lots more, it could just be the best product ever for high powered lifestyles. Let’s go!”
DDR2-1000 by Geil and Supertalent
Driver Heaven :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
In the last few months we have seen some insanely fast memory released with some heavy competition between manufacturers such as Corsair and OCZ. This performance comes at a premium and really only the most avid enthusiast would consider these products. As with all sections of the industry, by choosing a slightly lower specified product it is possible to save money and still achieve some excellent performance. Today we have two products in for review which aim to do exactly that, let’s take a look at Super Talent and Geil’s take on DDR2-1000.
Mushkin HP2-6400 Memory
Modders Inc :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
With DDR2-800 still in the early stages, PC users have to often pay a lot more for the latest and greatest memory products. The Mushkin High Performance (HP) Series memory is just what the doctor ordered. Mushkin offers the HP2-6400 at an affordable price with all the features enthusiasts want.
Sytrin KuForumla VF1 Plus GPU Cooler Review 
XS Reviews :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“Sytrin are known for their innovative designs of mixing Air Conditioning with PC cooling. They have used this technology to develope their own air conditioned cases and CPU coolers. Today however, I am testing another unconventional product, a GPU cooler with a coaxial fan. Can Sytrin follow up with their previous successes? Lets see.”
Swiftech H20-Apex Ultra Watercooling Kit Review
Madshrimps :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“Swiftech is an institution in the water-cooling field. They are a true pioneer bringing water-cooling into the homes of many countless PC-enthusiasts. Today we review their H20-220 Apex Ultra, a water-cooling kit anyone can love. Based on the APOGEE water block, the kit features a dual 120mm radiator and powerful pump for overclocking performance or can be setup for near silent operation.”
NVIDIA: A Year in Review 2006
Phoronix :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“This year is quickly coming to a close and we are here again with what has become a yearly ritual for Phoronix. Time and time again with each NVIDIA and ATI Linux driver release we thoroughly examine the change-log as well as dissecting the performance changes through our rigorous benchmarking process. Now for this article we are retesting all of the major display drivers released this year to see how they compare as a whole and commenting on some of the most prominent advancements made throughout the year. In this article we will be examining the NVIDIA proprietary display drivers. Our ATI A Year in Review article will be published later this month after the 8.32 fglrx driver release. Without further ado, we present the NVIDIA AYiR 2006!”
Sempron 3000+ and Celeron D 331 Review
Hardware Secrets :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“We finally got to review processors designed to the low-end market, i.e., the most inexpensive processors in the market. Nowadays Intel has the advantage on the high-end market, but who gets to be the best at the low cost PC market? Read our review and find out.”
OCC NZXT Zero Crafted Chassis Review
Overclockers Club :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“Neither flashy nor plain, the Zero weighs in with a whopping 8 fans, seven of which are 120mm! Along with its “ultimate cooling solution” it is dead quiet and is quite an eye catcher without the fancy lights and gizmos that many people hate. NZXT is a new company, established back in 2004, but since then, it has pumped out some very beautiful cases and power supplies designed for the gamer and enthusiast. The company has been rapidly gaining a reputation as one of the best chassis manufacturers out there.”
Quad-Core Lust and Vista: Getting Ready For Megatasking
Digital Trends :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“With the entry of AMD’s 4×4 platform into the market and Intel clearly pushing the future of quad-core, let’s talk about why you might want one. ”
XFX 8800 GTX: SLI Performance
Bjorn 3d :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
Let’s cut to the chase, as those of you that have read my reviews know is my style: I thought it might be fun to do a short addition to the first review as since writing it I have made some rather significant upgrades to my test rig and also added a second XFX 8800 GTX running in SLI. Now that I have your attention, just a few words on what to expect. First, this addendum will only contain the outline for testing the SLI configuration and the test results as anything more would be a rewrite of the article I’ve already published.
Windows Vista Preview
HW Upgrade :: Thursday, December 07, 2006
“Microsoft has officially released their new operating system, Windows Vista, to business customers; however, it will not be available to the common user until the end of January. After taking Microsoft several years to develop, here is a preview of the successor to Windows XP. The changes range from a new graphical interface to stronger system security.”
All Sempron Models
Hardware Secrets :: Wednesday, December 06, 2006
“Sempron is an AMD CPU targeted to the entry-level market, i.e. to users that don’t need a high processing power and are more worried with price than performance. Sempron main competitor is Celeron D from Intel and you can read our tutorial Sempron vs. Celeron D for a technical comparison between these two CPUs.”
