Tech News July 2003

 

Exotic Wood Crafts Madrone Burl Case Review @ VH
Virtual-Hideout :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

“They started as steel, then aluminum, and now increasing in popularity, acrylic. But what about wood? Modders and custom PC builders, being a more youthful and technologically advanced genre have desired a more modern style, which has translated into the case industry predominantly conforming to the sleek and modern style of steel, aluminum, and acrylic cases. Since the concept of a case being more than just a bulky beige box is relatively new, there never really has been a market for a traditionally styled wooden case. I’m not saying that this is a totally foreign concept; there are currently a few imitation wood cases covered in a wood design overlay, or even some with a painted wood design. But, from what I can tell, this is the first of its kind.”

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GMC X-21 Trinity Case Review
Mikhailtech :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

After getting through the installation of the Sound Selector, actually using it is a walk in the park. Simply connect the speakers to the audio outs on the SS block, connect a pair of headphones to the front audio port, and everything is ready to go. Pressing the Sound Selector button on the front of the case switches between the speakers and the front audio jack. When the front audio jack is in use the Sound Selector button is backlit by a green led, making it easy to tell which audio output is active.

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Thermaltake Silent Powerpower 480w Power Supply
Think Computers :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003
“How important is a power supply to you? Are you just a normal computer user, and its just the box that site there. Are you an overclocker, and you need more power to reach your best marks. Are you a case modder who wants a cool looking power supply. No which one you are there are many choices out there. Well today we will be looking at ThermalTake’s Silent Purepower 480W Power Supply. It is packed with features so lets check it out!”

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Vantec VAN-400B Ion 400 Watt Power Supply Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003
“The rear panel of the unit has an 80mm exhaust fan protected by a chrome fan guard. The unit includes a standard 115/230V voltage switch, a standard ON/OFF rocker switch, and an AC inlet. Two additional features include a 3-position fan control switch, and an AC output. The AC output is an ideal choice for user’s looking to power an additional AC device, such as a monitor or any water cooling pumps simultaneously with the computer. The 3-position fan control switch has three settings: Auto, Low & Medium.”

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Coolermaster AERO 7+ HSF Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

“At first look, the heat sink looks like your typical copper base with skived fins, but one quickly notices the odd-shaped clear/aqua colored fan that sits atop. It is this unusual looking fan that sets the Aero 7+ apart from other cooling setups. Unlike the common axial type fans you’ll find with most heat sinks, the Aero 7+ uses what’s referred to as a blower fan, similar in design to what you’d find inside the housing of a turbo charger.

Now you may be asking yourself “How is it really better than a normal fan?”, after all, a fan of any kind still just moves air right? Well, to explain it, let’s first take a look at airflow movements created by each type of fan.”

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Zalman ZM400A-APF reviewed @ DataFuse.net
DataFuse :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

“It’s not their first PSU, and it’s not going to be their last, the same is true for their CNPS (Computer Noise Prevention System), exact translation: it doesn’t really prevent noise, it just makes less. Anyways I covered the 300 Watt version of this PSU a couple of months back, but now they’ve crancked it up a notch and painted it black, go with the flow I call this. ”

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Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro II Deluxe Limited review @ Hexus.net
Hexus :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003
“In the absence of pricing information, a bad decision or not, full marks to the Leadtek, a great end of era motherboard for the Athlon XP platform.”

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Vantec Nexus NXP-205 Fan Controller Review @ MODTHEBOX.COM
MODTHEBOX! :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003

“The Nexus NXP-205 Fan Controller connects up to 4 fans and allows you manually adjust the fan speed and noise level. The fan speed is determined by the variable speed potentiometer settings which vary the voltage of the fan from 7V-12V. Each channel will support up to 18 watts. Ultra bright blue LED lights combine perfectly with the black or silver housing. The Nexus Fan Controller is great for Large CFM fans and fits perfectly in your 3.5″ drive bay.”

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OCZ EL DDR PC-3700 GOLD DUAL CHANNEL MEMORY review @ Hexus.net
Hexus :: Tuesday, July 15, 2003
“This review’s primary objective was to investigate whether OCZ’s impressive claims held true. It’s nice when products work just as they were intended to. OCZ’s EL DDR PC-3700 Gold memory is about as good as we’ve seen if high RAM MHz is your thing. The next real performance step, we feel, is to have PC3700 speeds with 2-6-2-2 timings. Is any memory manufacturer brave enough to oblige us ?????.”

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Shuttle XPC SN41G2 Review
Overclockers New Zealand :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“Shuttle XPC is by no means the fastest PC on the planet, however, it is not far behind the performance leader, Epox 8RDA+. Shuttle proves to us that size does NOT matter. Gone are the days where small and integrated PCs were considered as “sub-standard” when it comes to upgradability and performance. Heck, the XPC can even accommodate the latest ATi R9800Pro on its 200W PSU.”

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Pentium 4 800MHz FSB CPU Round-up @OCAddiction.com
OCAddiction :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“The big thing that comes into play with these 200MHz FSB Pentium4’s when overclocking is the memory you’re using. With the PCI and AGP divider you can simply lock them at 33MHz and 66MHz respectively with no substantial performance hit and overclock the FSB until your hearts content. With the memory that isn’t necessarily so. With the memory the higher DDR bus you have your performance scales right along with it. With a bus that is default at 200MHz you need some memory that can carry the mail”

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OCZ 512MB (2×256) PC-3200 Dual Platinum Memory Kit Video Review #322:
3dgameman :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

The OCZ 512MB (2×256) PC-3200 Dual Platinum Memory Kit offers excellent performance, overclockability and is very well priced. This memory is CAS 2, 4.5ns and goes well beyond its default of 400MHz DDR. Bang for the buck this memory is hard to beat and will certainly give overclockers something to smile about. The Watch the Video to find out more…”

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Shuttle SN45G nForce2 Ultra 400 XPC review @ Hexus.net
Hexus :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
“This cube is the fastest AMD one yet. It’s stable, fast, tweakable, feature rich and relatively quiet. One almost begins to question the wisdom of large boxes when this little wonder can accomplish so much. If we had to be critical, and we often are, we’d question the return to the tacky-looking fascia. The previous nForce2 (SN41G2) and SB61G2’s overall look was classier. This one, it has to be said, does look a little ‘cheap’ in direct comparison. Other than this, this is another fine example of how to pack speed and features into a small form factor. There’s no stopping Shuttle, it seems.”

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Crucial PC3200 DDR400Mhz Review @ MonkeyReview
Monkey Review :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

As you can see from the results, the Crucial PC3200 held its own nicely even when compared to memory that had superior timings. Unfortunately, despite all our best efforts, the memory wouldn’t boot at any other timings while running at 200MHz. For that reason, we opted to skip the overclocking phase of the review. Our opinion is to look elsewhere if you’re intending on doing memory overclocking…..

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Cooler Master CoolDrive 3 Hard Disk Cooler Review Posted!
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“Don’t you just love 7200 RPM hard disks? They are blazing fast! Too bad they are also so HOT!!! As a result, most hardware enthusiasts now rely on a variety of fans and hard disk coolers to keep their ultra-fast hard disks running cool.

Today, we are going to take a look at one of the cooler looking hard disk coolers in the market – the Cooler Master CoolDrive 3! Does it work as well as it looks? Read on to find out! :)”

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Chenming 301KE Aluminum Case Review
PimpRig :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“While installation on the 301KE is a fairly simple process, there are a few oversights. The lack of a removable motherboard and the non-removable opposite side panel namely. The real problem that the non-removable side panel causes is in wire management.”

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Xoxide X-Sonic Mid-Tower Case Review @ VH
Virtual-Hideout :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“Manufactured by Chenming, the X-Sonic is a relatively low-priced Mid-Tower ATX case that continues Xoxide’s line of affordable aluminum cases. Gone are the days where the only aluminum cases were high-priced Lian-Li models; the market is now flooded with lower-priced aluminum computer housings that almost anyone can afford. But a downside to this is that there are many sub-par and low quality aluminum cases that you simply would not want your computer to be in. Does the X-Sonic unfortunately fit into this category, or is it worthy for your system?”

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Riva3D’s OCZ PC3200 Premier Seriers RAM Review
Riva3D :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
OCZ Technology market’s this stick of RAM as memory that’s “designed for users who want great performance at a lower price point.” At $79.00 for 512 Megs, on newegg.com, it’s one of the cheapest PC3200 sticks out there. But how does it perform? We’ll be taking a look at that today, and we’ll find out soon enough.

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Coolermaster ATCS 630 review @ Hexus.net
Hexus :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
“A few years back when I first started messing around with computers, I can remember those horrible beige desktop cases that housed all the technical components. Recently Cooler Master have released a new model to add to there current range of cases. The Cooler Master 630. There are 2 models within the Cooler Master 630 range. ”

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Pyramat PM300 Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“So I had set up my Microsoft Xbox to test the mat up against DVD playback and in game sound. I first prepared myself to test the lounge factor. I wondered exactly how comfortable the mat was. After my initial sit I was amazed. This thing was not going to make my legs fall asleep or make me get uncomfortable at all, at first at least.

I fired up the Xbox and tossed in Sega GT 2002 and started a race. I turned on the power using the super ergonomic power control. Pyramat did a great job with the volume control / power switch. It is attached to the far right of the I/O panel and has a 2 foot cord that can be neatly packed away in the pouch directly below it. I then adjusted the volume to its max output, underestimating the power of the PM300”

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Athenatech A747SC Midtower Case @ bjorn3d.com
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Bjorn3d has posted a quick review of the Athenatech A747SC Midtower case

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Vantec 120mm ThermoFlow Fan @ ThinkComputers.org
Think Computers :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003

“We have just recently reviewed the Antec Sonata Case. If you read the review you know that the case is made for silence. There is already one 120mm fan on the back of the case. There is a spot for one more 120mm fan. So you have to pick out a 120mm fan. There are tons of 120mm fans out there, but if your like me you want one that is quiet and cools well. We have recieved a Vantec 120mm ThermoFlow fan from XPC Gear. So lets see if it can do the job.”

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Spire BFA07B2 Copper Core Heatsink
Frosty Tech :: Tuesday, July 08, 2003
“The Spire BFA07B2 is an AMD recommended heatsink according to the manufacturers website. And from the outset that may seem a little confusing as the BFA07B2 MicroFlow II is basically just a simple aluminum extrusion. Flipping over the heatsink yields a soft copper core inserted into the base which should help improve the thermal efficiency of this small cooler. Based on an older design which did not feature a copper insert, the BFA07B2 can almost be considered a second generation heatsink. The core construction remains the same, but in addition to the copper insert the clip has been modified, and even the fins are shaped differently. Spire have even done something a little different with the power cable coming from the fan. Instead of having three bare wires, they have wrapped the power cord with a white mesh sleeve. Case clutter really isn’t the issue, but presenting a nice tidy image can’t hurt.”

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DFI Lanparty Kt400a motherboard review
Red & Blackness Mods :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“Finally we got some time to have a look at the now famous Lanparty board from DFI. This board comes loaded with stuff…. FrontX, Pc Transpo, Round cables etc… Also it’s got some nice features as 2 x Lan, Raid, Sata etc etc So stay tuned to see what we feel about this board… ”

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NorthPole Chipset Cooler & More
SystemCooling :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“Any die-hard overclocker will tell you. Quite simply, there is no such thing as enough. For that reason, overclockers are always looking for that one product that will give them the edge; that will let them squeeze that last megahertz out of their already super tuned system. Once upon a time, cooling the CPU was enough. Then graphics cards became powerful enough to require cooling of their own. Then system memory got its own cooling. These days, chipsets are what the overclockers are attacking as a way of gaining a few extra megahertz, and it’s a chipset cooler we’re going to be looking at today.”

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Asus P4SDX review
PimpRig :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“Although the technology is no longer cutting edge, the board is stable, fast, and a good choice for anyone wanting hyperthreading and dual channel memory on an Intel platform. The Asus P4SDX with the SiS655 chipset is a combination that is hard to beat and easy to buy.”

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8-Way nVidia nForce 2 Motherboard Roundup
TweakTown :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“Since its announcement from nVidia, nForce 2 has been one of the most hyped up chipsets the industry has seen. Roughly six months ago nVidia brought this chipset to life with a huge bang, with many motherboards sporting the chipset and its many variants. Today Cameron “Sov” Johnson takes a look at 8 of the most popular nForce 2 motherboards on the market putting them all head-to-head to see who has the force.”

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Crucial PC3200 memory review
Bjorn3D :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“We’ve gotten hold of a 1 GB Kit (2×512 MB DIMMS) from Crucial. With no heatsinks it might not be as cool looking as memory from competitors but on the other hand it is cheaper. Is it worth saving a few bucks going with the Crucial? Read our review to find out what we thought.”

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Intel Pentium 4 3.0C 800FSB Processor Review
Tweaknews :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“It’s fast, it’s stable and it is terribly expensive. With a price point that is more than twice the cost of the 2.4C, you really have to do a price to speed comparison to see if the extra US$150+ dollars is really worth the 600Mhz increase. If the retail version of 3.0C overclocks in the same manner as it’s slower siblings, reaching the 3.7-4.0Ghz range should not be a problem.”

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4″ Cold Cathode review
Voided Warranty :: Monday, July 07, 2003

“Now that we have seen what this light can do, let’s see how we can VOID IT’S WARRANTY. After my last hard drive mod TSLI, a storage device repair company requested a hard drive mod be made for them for display purposes. So what better opportunity would I have to void two warranties at once, haha.”

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