Tech News January 2005

by NewsJanuary 31, 2005June 29, 20140195

Gigabyte’s SLI based nForce4 board
t-break :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

The BIOS also features some old Gigabyte-specific options and a new one. The older features like Dual BIOS and QFlash are there for safety purposes while MIB and CIA allow you to dynamically adjust the speed of your CPU and memory modules. Gigabyte also adds RGB to this list which stands for Robust Graphics Booster and basically overclocks your VGA card.

Crucial Gizmo! High Speed USB 2.0 Drive
The Tech Lounge :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“”The reign of the floppy disk is finally coming to an end. 3.5″ diskettes have been around forever and while they have had a good run, their physical size, minute storage capacity and dreadfully slow access times are a constant reminder that they are a thing of the past. Even rewritable CDs can be a bit of a pain these days. With their large size and delicate surface that needs to be protected, many people have been looking for other methods of portable storage. USB drives, also known as thumb drives, aren’t anything new but have recently been given a lot of attention from manufacturers and consumers alike. The first generation of USB drives offered a very nice portable solution that you could simply toss in your pocket, but they were still relatively limited in their capacities and were quite costly. As of late, manufacturers have been revising their drives and offering more affordable solutions. Today you can find thumb drives in capacities up to 2 GB and others that are literally smaller than your thumb!”

VL’s Editor’s Choices of 2004 @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“Some things caught our attention, and other things not so much. In the end, we saw some interesting technology, and put together a list of what we felt is truly deserving of recognition, and one company guilty of dipping its hands into the well once too often.”

Also be sure to check out our best of 2004 article here at OCmodshop.

Basic System Buyer’s Guide – January 2005
Mikhailtech :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“With a good Socket 754 motherboard still out of our budget by $20 or more we’re left with a Socket A solution. NVIDIA’s nForce chipset still reigns supreme on the AMD platform. This month we decided to spend an extra $4 and opt for a much more potent nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset which supports dual channel memory (our previous pick was the non-Pro, non-Ultra version of the board). The added memory bandwidth accounts for a significant performance boost. While primarily an OEM builder and not big on enthusiast-herding features, Biostar makes rock solid boards that do have some overclocking settings. The M7NCD Pro has 3x DIMM slots for up to 3GB of memory (though we only recommend populating 2 banks for dual channel support), 2x UltraDMA 133 channels for up to 4 devices, an 8x/4x AGP slot, 5x PCI slots, 2x onboard USB2.0 ports (with support for 6), integrated Realtek 8201BL 10/100M LAN, and integrated Realtek ALC650 6-channel AC97 audio.”

BYTECC Hotdrive HD-201U2 @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“There have been several times, that for both business and personal uses, we wish there would have been a device as portable as a thumb drive, while offering the storage capacity of an IDE hard drive. The device in this review is a 2.5″ IDE hard drive enclosure, which not only includes the enclosure but a leather wallet for housing the unit and a noise-dampening patch.”

Cooler Master Centurion ATX Case
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“Cooler Master did a wonderful job with their tool-less design, both locking systems did a great job securing their individual components without issue and made installation a breeze. Their new design, with the individual covers secured by screws instead of plastic clips also ensures that your new case will keep its clean, undamaged look for as long as you own it.”

CaseBuy EZ Power Suppy Tester
HardwareHounds :: Tuesday, January 11, 2005

“Today’s review is for all you technically inclined readers out there or for anyone who just seems to have a lot of bad luck when it comes to computers. I have in front of me the EZ Power Supply Tester from CaseBuy Tech. Simply put, this device is a must have for anyone who repairs, builds and/or troubleshoots computers on a regular basis.”

A4Tech Easy Go Optical Notebook Mouse Review
Mikhailtech :: Monday, January 10, 2005

The cable is approximately 2 feet long. This is optimal length for a notebook (since the mouse is never far from it), but a bit short for desktop use, especially if it has to be wired up, under, over, or around a desk. One of the best features of the Easy Go is its ability to wrap up completely. The cable can be fed through the back and locked into place via the rectangular block. It then wraps around 3.5 times before the USB connector snaps into the hole in the back. It not only makes the mouse compact, but also reduces the annoyance caused by trying to take a mouse out of a laptop bag only to find it tangled with your power cord/headphones/LAN cable/etc.

Prime Cooler Hypercool III+ & Hypercool 4+ @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Monday, January 10, 2005

“Prime Cooler, a cooling manufacturer, was established in 1998, but a lack of distributors has made their products almost unheard of. We recently got our hands on the Hypercool III+ and 4+ which are Prime Cooler’s flagship products. Can these two massive copper radial heatsinks prove to be a viable alternative for enthusiasts trying to get the maximum potential out of their processor?”

PCI-Express Mainstream Roundup Part 2: nVidia 6600 and 6600GT @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Monday, January 10, 2005

“Still saving up your lunch money for a PCI Express graphics card? Salivating in anticipation for Nvidia 6600 series graphics card benchmark numbers? Or just bored enough to read part II of our PCI Express Graphics card comparison? No matter, we got you covered here as we added an Albatron 6600 and a XFX 6600GT to the mix, stirred the pot, and came up with some interesting numbers that just may change your opinion of mainstream PCI Express graphics cards.”

Bjorn takes a look at the ATI Radeon X850 XT PE and X800 XL.
Bjorn3D :: Monday, January 10, 2005

“Earlier this autumn, ATi revealed details about their new PCI-Express video cards, the X850 XT Platinum Edition (PE) and the X800 XL. While the X850 XT PE of course is the new high-end video card, the X800 XL is ATI’s answer to NVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 GT. ATI was kind enough to lend us two reference cards for a quick spin in some of our benchmarks.”

Evercool WC-202 Water Cooling Kit Review @ Overclocker Cafe
Overclocker Café :: Monday, January 10, 2005

“The Evercool WC-202 has a lot going for it to include universal CPU application, almost universal VGA application, trim clean looks on the exposed bezel, lots of copper pipes and fins throughout and all for about $100. Pricing is definitely fair and inline with Evercool’s competitors. The con column was short. A non functional flow meter was a drag as was the difficulty reading the LCD display of the panel.”

SunbeamTech Transformer Case Review @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“We recently reviewed the Samurai case, providing consumers with quality at a decent price. SunbeamTech also produces the Transformer case, which bears a strong resemblance to the Samurai. Today, we’ll see if the Transformer lives up to the precedent set by the Samurai.”

CES 2005 – Lunch @ Piero’s @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Sunday, January 09, 2005

“On Thursday, the opening of the CES show-floor, we attended the Lunch @ Piero’s press event at Piero’s restaurant (what a coincidence). The Piero’s event was much smaller, and much more exclusive than the Pepcom Digital Experience that we attended on Wednesday. While the building was fairly small, being a restaurant and all, there were some very cool products being shown. Some of the more interesting products were from Hush, Zalman, Pioneer, Mad Dog Multimedia, VIA Technologies and Autocom. Jeffrey Stephenson was also there showing off a couple of his custom cases built around VIA’s mini-ITX boards.”

PQI Turbo Memory PC4000 Review @ FastLaneHW
FastLaneHW :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“Today PQI (formerly known as PMI) brings us their Turbo Memory 1GB PC4000 DDR dual channel kit. It’s rated at an aggressive 2.5-3-3-7. It used to be that if you wanted PC4000 memory, you’d have to give up your latency to do so. This appears to no longer be the case with PQI’s new PC4000 sticks.”

A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Sunday, January 09, 2005

“This is not your average mouse and pad. Inside both are rings of copper wire which generate an electric charge. That power moves from the pad to the mouse and vice versa through induction (in layman’s terms, electricity “jumps” from one charged object to another nearby object). Hence the lack of batteries. The benefits are twofold: first, you don’t have to spend money on batteries. Second, even mice with rechargeable packs are still heavier than the corded variety and are therefore slightly harder to move around. This way you get the best of both worlds: the light weight of a corded mouse with the freedom of a cordless one (albeit limited freedom).”

Vantec NexStar 2 External 5.25″ Device Enclosure Review @ GideonTech
GideonTech :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“A few months ago I took a look at the original NexStar 3.5″ Hard Drive Enclosure, and was somewhat less than impressed with it. Since then Vantec has completely redesigned their NexStar line and was kind enough to send us one of their new NexStar 2 5.25″ drive enclosures. Once again armed with support for USB 2.0 and Firewire, the redesigned enclosure just might be a worthy addition to your desktop.”

CES 2005 Day 1 – Walking the Show Floor @ TheTech Lounge
The Tech Lounge :: Sunday, January 09, 2005

“Our second day in Vegas for CES, and our first day on the actual show floor was pretty much what I expected: mountains of new gadgets, people in suits staring at your name tag and scantily clad models trying not to get angry as they are repeatedly photographed.

We started our excursion on opening day in the upper levels of the South Hall. Big name companies like ATI, nVidia, AMD, Logitech, and HP were showcasing anything and everything they could fit into their floor space.”

Thermalright LGA775RM Review @ PC Modding Malaysia
PC Modding Malaysia :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“If you are upgrading to the LGA775 package from your previous 478 package and you happen to own a great CPU cooler such as the Thermalright XP-120 or XP-90, don’t sell it off yet. Yes, this is good news for almost everyone. Thanks to the Thermalright LGA775RM, now you can install your favourite s478 CPU cooler or heatsink directly on your socket LGA775.”

The Phantom Game Service @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“While looking around the nVIDIA booth we ran across the Phantom Game Service area and had the opportunity to speak with Richard Skoba from Infinium Labs. As the Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development Richard gave us the run down on the system and some information on the gaming network…”

asetek VapoChill XE II Review @ Madshrimps
Madshrimps :: Sunday, January 09, 2005
“Plug and play subzero cooling for your CPU, is it possible? The latest generation of asetek´s VapoChill Xtreme Edition promises easy installation combined with great performance, all wrapped up in an attractive package. We thermally accelerate an Athlon 64 and P4 up to speed beyond air and water cooling limits.”

Danger Den TDX Block @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Friday, January 07, 2005
“While the TDX has been reviewed many times, there has not been very many instances featuring this block with its fairly recent Socket-775 hardware. I’ve been running several Socket-775 systems with the TDX, and it’s done well with a P4 530 (3.0GHz), and 540 (3.2GHz)…”

Asour VPC-1000B Multimedia DVD Optical Drive Review @ PCmoddingmy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, January 07, 2005

Content: “The Asour VPC-1000B is a exotic thus unique product that you might want to have in your rig. So far I’ve only known of such similar product in the market, which is from another manufacturer and it is OEM from Asour. The VPC-1000B is much nicer because it gives a cooler interface with its vacuum fluorescent display.”

Thermaltake Purepower 680 Watt ATX Computer Power Supply Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Friday, January 07, 2005

“It’s a rare product indeed that I can’t find some fault with. The Thermaltake PurePower 680W is one of those products. Stability, power, features, finish and quality are all first rate. Hell, I’m even using the box it came in, with its nifty plastic carry handle, to store spares. I’ve always considered the PSU to be the most important part of a system, feeding and protecting all the other components. With a retail price of around $170 US, it’s not the cheapest PSU out there, but it’s not the most expensive either and factoring in what you get for your money, it’s a good value.”

Soltek QBiC EQ3901M Barebone Small Form Factor Review at 3DX
3dXtreme :: Friday, January 07, 2005

“The Soltek EQ3901M QBiC had it’s flaws, however those aren’t necessarily flaws of the EQ3901M they are flaws of the whole Small Form Factor genre. Soltek did a good job with the EQ3901M with room for enough hardware to make it a decent gaming rig or media center. The Motherboard gives users plenty of options for overclocking however with the limited space and airflow overclocking isn’t a reality. The performance of the EQ3901M puts it on par with any desktop board, this is nice because moving to a SFF unit doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice performance.” We would appreciate a posting in your Daily News!

MGE XG Vigor 500 Watt Power Supply reviewed @ hi-techreviews.com
Hi-Techreviews :: Friday, January 07, 2005
The MGE XG Vigor 500 Watt Power Supply may just be ideal power supply for the computer user that wants good looks, a well ventilated case, exceptional tight voltage on all the rails and most of all at a price they can afford. With a MSRP of $60.00 this power supply may prove to be the sleeper of the year if our tests are indicative of what this power supply is capable of doing. Where most power supplies are happy to fall within a 5% tolerance on rail voltages the Vigor 500 shocked us by producing results of less than 3%.

Extreme Wireless Networking from Gigabyte – Turbo G emerges
TweakTown :: Friday, January 07, 2005
“Have you ever considered implementing wireless LAN? With some of the initial hiccups of wireless LAN seemingly out the way, now might be a good time to consider adding the freedom and flexible of wireless networking to your home or office. Today we take a look at some of the latest wireless equipment to come from Gigabyte with their Turbo G gear which offers data throughput up their with wired networks.”

PQI Turbo PC3200 DPU 1GB DC Kit @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Thursday, January 06, 2005

“Today, we have the honor of reviewing one of PQI’s best products of their famous Turbo line: the dual channel PC3200 low latency platinum edition. Like many of the low latency modules that we have recently reviewed here at InsaneTek, PQI also utilizes the Samsung TCCD chips in their PC3200 Turbo modules. Whether or not these memory modules separate themselves from the rest of the TCCD pack will be revealed…so read on.”

Sunbeam Transformer Mid-Tower Gaming Case Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Thursday, January 06, 2005

“The Sunbeam Transformer Gaming Case includes what is now a standard amongst most case manufacturers, the inclusion of a pre-modified window on the left side panel. The window deploys a very busy and overly done window design that uses a series of push-in pins to support a sheet of clear acrylic that is aligned on the inside of the case.”

Belkin Pre-N Router
eXtreme Hardware :: Thursday, January 06, 2005

Quote: “A new contender has emerged into the 802.11 wireless playing field. Belkin has introduced the new 802.11n, or at least the pre-version of it. Named the Pre-N router, it operates at 108 mbps, and incorporates MIMO technology that is not going to be released for at least another 2 years.”

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