Tech News February 2005

Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

”

We recently reviewed Zalman’s VF700-AlCu, which was impressive in terms of cooling performance and silence. I attributed the VF700-AlCu’s excellent performance to its design, which is clearly derived from the successful CNPS line. As if improving their VGA cooling line was not enough, Zalman revamped the CNPS series itself by releasing the more extreme CNPS7700 series (available in both aluminum/copper or copper). Today, we have the honor of reviewing Zalman’s CNPS7700-AlCu.

”

Check it out

Review: Sunbeam Lightbus @ GideonTech.com
GideonTech :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
“Today Sunbeam was nice enough to send over a Light Bus and some of their CCFLs. Basically the Light Bus is used to control just about anything that can be powered by 12v. With a nearly limitless combination of settings, you can count on some nifty effects.”

check it out

Future of ATI’s Overdrive
techPowerUp! :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
ATI will introduce Overdrive 4 with the next Catalyst Driver scheduled in March. Previously you could only overclock your GPU core with Overdrive, and only by a rather small amount. Now you can overclock both core and memory and the frequency range will be increased to 75% of the next higher class product.

check it out

News – OvisLink 4-port KVM Switch
Techniz.co.uk :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
“The KVM-104 is an digital KVM switch that allow using two computers with only one set of keyboard, monitor and mouse. Best of all, it comes with a very stylish housing to compliment your decor of your home or office. Comparing to the old data switches that frequently wears down and cause signal degradation, the KVM-104’s digital switch mechanism guarantee high signal quality and long term usage.”

check it out

Wi-Fi Hotspot Security Tips @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
You’ve set up your Boingo account, you’re hanging out at the Home Turf sports bar in LAX and you figure you’ll do a little business or check your e-mail while sipping a Chardonnay. Well, that’s the point of Wi-Fi hotspots; being able to take care of a few things while in a relaxing atmosphere. Don’t, however, get so relaxed that you ignore security and give all your confidential information to some unscrupulous hacker.

check it out

Lian Li V2000 Tower Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

”

The entire Lian Li V-Series comes standard with billet aluminum wheels. Now if your desk is slanted, this could pose a problem but Lian Li thought of everything. The wheels come with a brake! The brake consists of a billet rectangle attached around the center of the rear axel and a metal plate. When the brake is engaged, the rectangle is pressed against the plate keeping it from spinning. When the brake is disengaged, the plate is slid back and allows the rectangle and axel to spin freely. Yup, there’s a parking brake to ensure your case doesn’t sneak out and try to take a spin when you’re sleeping. What’s that you say? Your desk is slick as glass and it’s slanted?

”

Check it out

PimpRig Review // Enermax Black Knight (CS-527) Case
PimpRig :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
“An interesting (and patent-pending) feature of this case is the stealth drive-bay covers. Both the 3.5″ and the 5.25″ bay covers don’t come out like your usual blanks, but they slide down, nesting behind one another.”
BR<>

check it out

Arctic Cooling Freezer 4 Heatsink Cooler Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

“The second stage of cooling added into the Freezer 4 is the inclusion of four copper heat pipes that are interconnected to a solid copper base. One of the distinct advantages of using heat pipe technology in PC cooling is that it provides some excellent benefits in terms of improving thermal transfer. Arctic Cooling has expanded diameter and bonded each heat pipe allowing this unit the ability to transfer heat up to 200 watts.”

check it out

[Phoronix] Voice Recognition Editorial
Phoronix :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

“I still remember my first encounter voice recognition software. I was at a friend’s house sometime during 1997 and he had just gotten a new software package. It came with a headset that had a microphone. It looked cool, not that it was my first time seeing a headset with a microphone, but this was different, it was at someone’s house rather than on TV. Then he showed me how he could open up different applications and perform easy tasks like saving a file and such just by speaking to the microphone. The software only recognized some words and it also had to be very clearly spoken. In addition, it also required a sample of your voice before it would function properly. Nonetheless, it was cool.”

check it out

Enermax EG701AX 600W PSU @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
”

While the Enermax EG701AX-VE-SFMA24P does not have modular cables, many reputable PSU makers will probably tell you that ideally, you’ll want cables drawn directly from the PSU to your components for the best reliability. The EG701AX was just that; a solid and reliable PSU with plenty of power when you need it.

”

Check it out

X-raypad Thunder9 Review @ PCmoddingmy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

”

After much observation, comparing and testing, I concluded that the Thunder 9 is worth the RM 120 price tag. In terms of maintenance and precision, Thunder 9 clearly has stood up to its expectations. I would also recommend the rough surface BK2 to lower sensitivity users and the BK1 to the people who love higher sensitivity.

”

Check it out

Swiftech H20-120-FB Water Cooling Kit Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
”

Swiftech updates their popular H20-8600 water cooling kit, a new compact and silent pump and a large radiator and accompanying 120mm fan can make the H20-120 a true performer. Read on to find out how hard it can help push an A64 FX-55 and X800XT-PE towards overclock-heaven.

”

Check it out

Plextor PX712A DVD R/RW Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

“When testing an optical drive there are a few things you need to consider. First and foremost is performance, both speed and accuracy. Next is reliability and media compatibility. As we all know, not all media is created equal. Finally there is the aesthetics of the drive, both visual and audible. Does the drive look good and how much noise does it make? Anyone who had one of the first generation 52x CD readers knows how important the sound factor is as those things sounded like a jet warming up when they spin up.”

check it out

HighSpeed PC HSPC Tech Station Review @ XtReMoDs
XtReMoDs :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

”

The main purpose of the tech station is to allow easier access to your computer parts. It comes with an anti-static mat for the motherboard to lay on as well as rubber pads to allow the power supply and cd/dvd drives to sit on. With this it is much easier to work on your PC. It is also ideal for people who have multiple PCs to test at once or certain parts to test, such as memory. The average user probably wouldn’t need a tech station due to its size. It is very small and really wouldn’t be ideal for a case replacement, unless you are into that sort of thing.

”

Check it out

Sunbeam Transformer Case @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
”

It is hard to imagine that once computer cases were all beige and dull. Today you actually have to look hard for a beige case, and most cases now have one or more cool feature that makes it stand out. The case I’m reviewing today makes you think of the old Transformer comic, and it is no surprise that the name reflects this – the SunBeam Transformer.

”

Check it out

The Search for the Perfect Linux Distribution @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Thursday, February 17, 2005

”

The criteria for picking the four are as follows. The first and most important consideration was that the installation procedure had to be simple and easy to understand. The distributions should have good hardware detection and multimedia support. They should be easy to update and installing new software should not be a chore. Another criteria were the level of support and help available around the Internet. In the end, this became a major criterion, since the chosen four distributions have a lot of resources available – on their own websites as well as on other websites.

”

Check it out

ASUS P5GD2-Premium Motherboard @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, February 17, 2005
“The ASUS P5GD2-Premium is based off Intel’s i915P chipset and sports all the newest features that this chipset offers: PCI Express, DDR2, SATA, etc…”

check it out

The Matrix Online (BETA) Screenshots @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“Now that the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) has been lifted for the upcoming MMORPG, “The Matrix Online”, we have a few screenshots from our BETA testing experience. Although the game won’t be released until Spring of 2005, expect more information and screenshots to be released soon.”

Check it out

AOpen i915Pa-PLF mainboard review
Overclocker Café :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“There are four options available; Performance, Normal, Automatic and Silent. Power Master will also control the smart fan speed allowing for increased/decreased fan speed depending on the actual CPU usage at the time. It’s quite a nifty feature, and it does work very well. For our testing purposes, we will provide results with the Power Master set to Normal as well as Performance to give you an idea of how well this feature works.”

Check it out

Corsair Voyager Giveaway @ SystemCooling.com
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“Just in case you didn’t get the love you deserve on Valentine’s Day we’ve teamed up with Corsair to bring you 4GB of love. This love will come in the form of four 1GB Flash Voyager USB drives that we’ll be giving away. The rules are simple just send an email with the subject line “Corsair Voyager Giveaway” include your name and email address in the body to contest@systemcooling.com. The giveaway will run from Feb. 15th to the 28th, at the end of which we’ll randomly draw four lucky winners. Contest is open to the world. Please note that your name and email address will be forwarded to Corsair for marketing purposes. Basically all you’ll get is Corsair’s Monthly Newsletter which you can unsubscribe from later on. If you have any questions please drop by the forum. Good luck to you all!!!”

Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4PRO DDR675 Review @ PCmoddingmy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

”

The Corsair TWIN2X1024-5400C4PRO is a fantastic piece of hardware. It has plenty of headroom for overclocking and also large aluminium heatspreaders that helps to keep the memory cool. It ran perfectly stable at the rated speed of 675MHz with timings at 4-4-4-12. Moreover, the LEDs that run on the modules is definitely a head turner as it is pretty bright and performs as memory usage indicator. Priced at USD335 / RM1273, it is currently the best bang for your buck!

”

Check it out

Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI @ HEXUS
Hexus :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005
”

The GA-K8NXP-SLI oozes of being an enthusiast’s motherboard, and it shows throughout, from the thoughtful packaging which doubles as a test bed for the board through to the comprehensive set of overclocking features available in the BIOS. Performance is also generally on a par with other nForce4 boards we’ve seen, and the whole system was rock-solid stable throughout. The appearance of Gigabyte initiatives such as DPS and Dual BIOS add to that feeling of powerful stability, even in a worst case scenario such as a BIOS failure or power surge.

”

Check it out

Enermax Venus Micro Case @ Tech-Mods.Net
Tech-Mods.net :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005
“Today I’ll be reviewing the Enermax Venus CS 10068-S3 case. Back in 1990 Enermax Technology Corporation was founded and is well known worldwide for excellence and high-end products this case is no exception to their standings. The Venus is a Micro-ATX case with great potential to become a HTPC or LAN rig for your next gaming fiesta !”

Check it out

The Cyrix Hotplate @ RabidHardware!
Rabid Hardware :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

”

Welcome to the 21st century. The age of conservation, renewable materials and Jolene Blalock. As we’re urged to replace our gaming equipment on a weekly basis, many tonnes of silicon, lead, and copies of Daikatana make it into our planet’s landfills.

Aspiring to save the planet but don’t know how? Why not do it over breakfast with your very own energy-efficient CPU-powered hotplate.

”

Check it out

Corsair Ships DDR2 SO-DIMMs for Mobile Intel® 915 Express Platform
Corsair :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Corsair Memory, Inc., a global leader in ultra-performance DDR memory modules for PC gamers and enthusiasts, today announced immediate availability of a new line of DDR2 PC2-4200 SO-DIMMs designed to support Intel’s newest mobile computing platform.

Corsair’s three new SO-DIMM modules are rated at DDR2-533:

VS1GSDS533D2 1GB, DDR2-533, 200-pin SO-DIMM
VS512SDS533D2 512MB, DDR2-533, 200-pin SO-DIMM
VS256SDS533D2 256MB, DDR2-533, 200-pin SO-DIMM

All three parts are included in Corsair’s Value Select family of desktop and laptop memory, and are guaranteed compatible with 915 Express–based laptop computers. Further information and specifications on these and other Corsair products can be found at Corsair’s web site www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/valueselect.html

Thermaltake’s Silent 775 Heatsink @ TechTastic.ca
TechTastic :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“Today we take a look at one of the first aftermarket heatsink/fan combos available to cool Intel’s Prescott CPU from Thermaltake, their Silent 775. To keep this beast quiet, Thermaltake has opted to use heatpipe technology along with their funneled 90x90x25mm fan that centralizes airflow and provides high air pressure and better cooling.”

Check it out

IBM’s CELL Processor: Preview to Greatness?
PCStats :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“IBM, in cooperation with fellow industry giants Sony and Toshiba, recently announced a new processor, called the Cell. The Cell processor contains a powerful 64-bit Dual-threaded IBM PowerPC core but also eight proprietary ‘Synergistic Processing Elements’ (SPEs), essentially eight more highly specialized mini-computers on the same die. It’s these SPEs that make the Cell architecture special, as you might guess. IBM describes the product as a ‘System on a Chip.’ Like IBM’s Power5 processors, multi-processing is build right into the die.”

Check it out

Akasa PaxPower 460W PSU @ Hexaplague-Hardware
Hexa Plague Hardware :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“Now, I’m no stranger to 120mm fans, but this is the first PSU I’ve seen with a 120mm fan installed and it looks good, really good. Next impression was the actual look of the PSU which is very high quality. In the past a PSU was a functional item, that was it. Now, with PC users becoming more and more proud of their PC’s, Akasa have focused on the look of their product”

Check it out

JAHT Bluetooth Accessories
Techniz.co.uk :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

“The JAHT JBT-0402HF is portable headset solution that uses Bluetooth wireless technology to provide basic call handling between the headset and the compatible phone, easy-to-wear and free your hand to make calls, answer calls ¡V all by voice command where supported by JBT-0402HF. With Bluetooth technology, you can construct a wireless working environment. As illustrated, the notebook with the JBT-2001U and JBT-0402U can communicate with a mobile phone, PDA, and other computers. If the Bluetooth server has network connection or physically attaches to a fax machine, Bluetooth clients can share these services easily. In a conference, all co-workers can obtain synchronized information via Bluetooth, reducing paperwork.”

Check it out

Corsair Flash Voyager Flash Memory Drive Review Rev. 1.1 @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

”

Corsair is well known for their high speed memory modules, they have also started selling flash memory products!

Today, we will take a look at the Corsair Flash Voyager USB flash memory drive. In particular, the 512MB model. Let’s find out how well it fares!

”

Check it out