Tech News February 2005

Trapped under ICE: Extreme FX-55 overclocking @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Saturday, February 05, 2005
“When you have the fastest CPU (at stock speeds) on the planet, you just have to push it further, although phase change cooling can get your underway, LN2 is bound to give you the edge. Let´s pour a few litres on this blazingly fast A64 FX-55 to see how high it can fly.”

Check it out

Corsair Flash Voyager Review @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“Corsair, the manufacturers of the XMS high performance DDR and DDR2 memory lines, and the soon to be released XMS XPERT, have been manufacturing a line of flash memory that has been getting a lot of attention lately, the Flash Voyager. In this review today, we will be trying out the Corsair 512MB Flash Voyager thumb drive.”

Check it out

CaseBuy EZ Power Supply Tester @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“In this review, we will be testing the CaseBuy EZ Power Supply Tester. This product is used to test your power supply for any sign of failure. Efficiency and affordability is the resulting factor we should expect to see from the CaseBuy EZ Power Supply Tester. A device that can test your power supply with ease, and offers a peace of mind assuring that no damage will result from the testing process. The sheer brilliance of this device eliminates a need to swap out power supplies in order to test multiple PSU’s.”

Check it out

Corsair Flash Voyager Review @ Overclockers Online
Overclockers Online :: Saturday, February 05, 2005
“The Corsair Flash Voyager simply rocked against the competitors! It’s essentially twice as fast in both reading and writing compared to the SanDisk and VisonTek models. There’s also a significant increase in the number of operations per second.”

Check it out

ASETEK Waterchill review at Techwarelabs
Techwarelabs :: Saturday, February 05, 2005
“The upper bounds of air cooling’s usefulness have already been passed by serious overclockers, and even regular systems can demand better cooling than OEM solutions have to offer. Asetek’s all-in-one water-cooling kit, WaterChill, offers a fantastic way for new users to enter the arena of watercooling. The setup procedure is easy and well documented, and the results in temperature and noise reduction are more than any air-cooling system could offer.”

Check it out

Akasa AK-688 Black Knight Heatsink Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“The cooler itself is a bit on the heavier side given that it’s a block of copper. It measures in at 90 x 70 x 40mm, so it’s about the same size as the stock Intel cooler. The clips used for attaching the heatsinks generally follow Intel’s reference design, but with a twist. The “legs” can bend outward so you can place the fan fixture on top of the cooler and line up the hooks one by one without a problem. This is a very versatile and worry-free approach. The latches on the clips are a little stiff but after a few bends they loosen up, so no complaint there.”

Check it out

CoolJag JVC558A Review @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“This is the second CoolJag product that we have had the pleasure to get our hands on. At first, we were expecting somewhat of a heavy heatsink and noisy fan but we were happily proven wrong. Let’s see how the Skiving fins compare not only to the AMD stock fan, but also to its brother the CoolJag JAC103C.”

Check it out

AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN Power Supply Review @ PCStats
PCStats :: Saturday, February 05, 2005
“Additional features and frills such as pretty lights, UV reflective coating, fan controllers, etc. are nice, but beside the point. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the latest PSU to cross our bench, the AOpen Silent Power AO400-12AHN. This 400Watt unit comes armed with a bristling array of cables as well as a rear mounted knob which controls the speed of the LED-lighted 120mm fan mounted on the bottom of the PSU.”

Check it out

Silverstone SST-LC04B HTPC Review @ ModdersHQ
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“HTPC’s (Home Theatre PC) have quickly become a familiar site among computer enthusiasts. Even though an HTPC is nothing more then a glorified desktop case, appearance and function are what keeps us from using our old IBM workstations in conjunction with our home entertainment systems. Silverstone has been a front runner in the HTPC case market and today we are taking a closer look at the SST-LC04B”

Check it out

Antec TriCool Review @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, February 05, 2005

“With the overwhelming demand all of us place on our computers when we overclock them, it’s no wonder why we need to load our cases full of fans. In this review, we have to present the Antec TriCool LED fans, which not only will improve the airflow throughout your system, but also the overall looks of the machine.”

Check it out

Networking Basics Article @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“A network is a group of computers, printers, and other devices that are connected together with cables. The sharing of data and resources. Information travels over the cables, allowing network users to exchange documents & data with each other, print to the same printers, and generally share any hardware or software that is connected to the network. Each computer, printer, or other peripheral device that is connected to the network is called a node. Networks can have tens, thousands, or even millions of nodes.”

Check it out

OCZ ModStream 520W Review @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“Ultra Products was the first to introduce the world’s first fully modular power supply. The power supply was great for case modders, because it allowed great cable management. Well, OCZ is here again with a similar approach. OCZ knows that overclockers not only need the best performance possible but a nice tidy system too. The solution is the OCZ ModStream. The ModStream caters less to overclockers but more to the general public and case modders who want a nice looking system.”

Check it out

MSI Mega View 561 20GB Portable Media Player Review @ GideonTech
GideonTech :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“After seeing a review for a portable media player I searched for an easy to use player that would be cheaper but still have good functionality. I eventually came across the MSI Mega View 561, a 20GB unit that costs less than $400.”

Check it out

Quad Desktop Anyone? @ Hexus
Hexus :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“MSI DBS (Dual Bridge System) Technology supports dual PCI Express graphics card with PCI Express x16 and PCI Express x2 interface onboard. The PCI Express X2 slot onboard is an open-ended slot for ordinary PCI Express X1, X2 add-on card or PCI Express X16 graphics card population.”

Check it out

Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 4 Review @ techPowerUp!
techPowerUp! :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“Arctic Cooling is the first video card cooler manufacturer to use a heatsink base manufactured from copper. The ATI Silencer 4 just does awesome on all settings. If you are looking for a good cooler for your X800 you must definitely consider the ATI Silencer 4. Its cooling performance is excellent no matter what the fan speed is. Memory cooling works pretty well and gives you a bit more overclocking headroom.”

Check it out

The State of Linux Gaming Article @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Friday, February 04, 2005

“It’s 2005 and the Linux juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down. Everywhere you look, Linux seems to be gaining steam. Home users are finally finding that they can use a Linux distribution without learning esoteric text commands. Everyday Linux is becoming more user-friendly and accessible. In fact, distributions have matured to the point where they can be the only operating system on a home computer. Except for one thing – Gaming.”

Check it out

ABIT RX600 Pro-GURU Review @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“The ABIT RX600 Pro-GURU was the first card from ABIT that featured vGURU technology. Today we take a look at this card and see how it performs and give the vGURU software a test drive. It looks like vGURU is going to be a feature on many of ABIT’s upcoming cards…”

Check it out

Asetek Waterchill Antarctica Water Cooling System Review @ Tweaknews
Tweaknews :: Friday, February 04, 2005

“Seeing that this is the first of many water cooling product reviews to be posted on Tweaknews.net, you might as well come in with a bang or in this case, a strong gurgle. Asetek have been in the water cooling market for quite some time and it definitely shows. Along with the outstanding quality and workmanship, detail, and efficiency, my first voyage into Asetek water cooling has resulted in a very positive experience…”

Check it out

Performance Computing – Q1 2005 (AMD64 and SLI Overclocked) @ TweakTown
TweakTown :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“It has been 14 months since our last Performance PC article was published where we collected the best performing computer parts around and built up one of the quickest and most expensive systems of its time. Today we bring you our much anticipated follow-up taking a look at exactly what almost $5,000 USD worth of hardware gets you. Based around an AMD Athlon 64 system with SLI, we have oodles and oodles of performance to play with. Read on as we bring you our recommended Performance Computing system for Q1 2005.”

Check it out

AeroCool CoolPanel Control Panel Review @ SystemCooling
SystemCooling :: Friday, February 04, 2005

“Today we’ll be taking a look at a product that has great potential to make your computing life easier. The Aerocool CoolPanel is not just a fan controller, fan speed monitor and temperature monitor; it also boasts an 8 in 1 card reader, dual USB ports, a firewire port, two SATA connectors along with a host of audio ports and a video input. Will all these features come together to form a great control panel? Let’s find out.”

Check it out

TriGem KLOSS KL-I915A Review @ Hexus
Hexus :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“It’s not as cheap as Shuttle’s SB77G5 XPC but for the extra £50 it’ll take to snag a KLOSS, you get more than £50 worth of extra value in this reviewer’s opinion.

An innovative take on SFF chassis partitioning and the cooler for the processor are the final big highlights on a well presented and desirable mini barebones computer system.”

Check it out

Seagate 100GB Portable External HDD Review @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“On the go? Always away from home or the office? Looking for a way to take a big chunk of data along with you wherever you may roam? With the arrival of USB portable drives in sizes all the way up to several GB of data, the desire to go portable with all of your data is fast becoming the norm. Enter Seagate’s portable external USB 2.0 100GB HDD ready to help you out with every storage need you may encounter while on the move.”

Check it out

Thermaltake StarForce Fan Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Friday, February 04, 2005

“The unit itself is an oddity. It’s basically a 92mm fan encased in a slightly tapered cylindrical frame. On top is a Thermaltake logo with multi-color LEDs beneath which steadily change colors every few seconds. Since both the blades and case are UV reactive, there is also a pair of small UV LEDs right next to the fan blades. On the back side is a set of fixed blades which function as part of the frame; supposedly these also make the fan more efficient.”

Check it out

EPoX Bluetooth Flash USB Dongle Review @ The Crucible
The Crucible :: Friday, February 04, 2005

“For the person that is on the go more often than not having a simple way to connect all those cumbersome electronic devices together and keep them is sync is not only more convenient, but a requirement. If you are one of these people take a look at EPoX’s BluetoothT flash USB dongle. Life without wires is a good thing.”

Check it out

Orb Audio Classic Two Speaker Review @ Designtechnica
Designtechnica :: Friday, February 04, 2005
“Based out of New York, employee owned Orb Audio claims that you can have audiophile quality speakers at a fraction of the cost because of the company’s low over head. And believe it or not, they are made here in the USA. Orb Audio offers a 30 day money back guarantee as well as phone support from 9AM to 9PM Eastern Standard time.

With four systems to choose from in both stereo and surround home theater setups, there is a speaker package for anyone’s needs. The speaker system featured in this review is the company’s Classic Two Stereo Speaker System featuring four satellites paired up in a 2.1 system. The Classic Two system has an MSRP of $629.”

Check it out

Soltek SL-K890Pro-939 Review @ Neoseeker
Neoseeker :: Thursday, February 03, 2005
“We managed to overclock the Soltek K890Pro-939 to a maximum stable speed of 280 MHz on the HT bus, with a memory divider of 6:5 (166 MHz), HT multiplier of 4x, and CPU multiplier of 8x. These settings resulted in a total CPU clock of 2240 MHz, memory clock of ~233 MHz, and HT bus clock of 1120 MHz. The SATA1/2 ports appear to be locked, as we did not experience any problems with data integrity.”

Check it out

SunbeamTech Light-Bus & Laser LEDs Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Thursday, February 03, 2005
“When the loud noise of your water cooling radiator fan rig or high performance heatsink fan bothers you a lot, the fan controller (rheostat) will come to the rescue. When your modded case does not have enough lighting or too much lighting, Sunbeamtech has the Light-Bus for you. In fact, this Light-Bus serves a dual purpose duty in controlling the fans and light intensity plus more.”

Check it out

Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB SATA Hard Drive @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Thursday, February 03, 2005

“Maxtor’s DiamondMax 10 line of desktop hard drives covers a wide swathe of products. All the products feature a 7200 RPM spindle speed, and range in size from 80GB to 300GB. They are available in both ATA133 and SATA 150 interfaces, with cache sizes from 8 to 16 MB. The drive we’re looking at today is the top of the DiamondMax 10 line, with its SATA interface, 300GB capacity, 16MB of cache, and NCQ (native command queueing) support to boot. It’s got all the tools, and we’ll find out if the performance is there to match its lofty specifications.”

Check it out

GeCube SilenCool X700 PRO 256MB @ HEXUS
Hexus :: Thursday, February 03, 2005
“GeCube pull off silent X700 PRO running with aplomb, for competetive money, by not going overboard on the bundle. If it lies in your price range and silence appeals, be sure and consider it. GeCube promise that availability will be strong in early 2005. Recommended based on that.”

Check it out

CES 2005 Article @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Thursday, February 03, 2005

“The first thing we do is hit the Intel booth so I can get a personal look at the masterpiece that is Stormbringer. I have to tell you, the pictures suck. Either Hobbes has a really crappy camera, or he is the one of the world’s worst photographers. The case is simply amazing, really, and I am not the only one that thinks so. When we arrived there was a crowd of people standing around the case and poor Alex from Intel trying to answer their questions about the case and what was done to it.”

Check it out