Tech News July 2004

Super Talent 350W 4-in-1 Computer Combo
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“If you’re a budget conscious buyer, you know that very often, very low priced merchandise is often lacking in a number of areas, and style is a big one. The folks at Case-Mod.com have come up with something that bucks that trend though, namely, their Super Talent 4-in-1 Computer Combo, which included a pre-modded case with a 350W PSU, plus matching keyboard, mouse and speakers. After reading the specs and and checking the price, I decided to give it a whirl, and see how well this budget setup could perform.”

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Thermaltake SilverRiver 3.5” External HDD Enclosure
TweakTown :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“Thermaltake have been in the game of supplying computer cooling products to the world for the best part of 5 years. Recently they’ve began thinking outside the square which is evident with the release of their SilverRiver 3.5” External HDD Enclosure. Mike checks out the USB 2.0 device and compares performance against an internal HDD on the IDE channel.”

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PolarFlo TT CPU WaterBlock Review
GruntvillE :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“In similar fashion to the PolarFLO Universal block before it, the TT block is available in multiple colors. The differences are that there are currently fewer of them, and it is as a two-tone design. Currently they are shipping blocks with 4 finishes; chrome (pictured above), chrome/red, chrome/black, and chrome/blue. To be honest, the new appearance options are pretty darn sharp. The two-tone look provides a nice contrast with the chrome. ”

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AMD Socket 939 Athlon 3800+ Review
Techwarelabs :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“AMD recently launched its socket 939 processor, which incorporates a dual channel memory controller and a host of other features. The 939 is targeted at high-end gaming and intensive workstation applications. TechwareLabs tests the 3800+ and answers the question everyone will ask: does the Socket 939 deliver the high end performance it promises?”

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PCI Express Graphics Arrive – nVidia PCX hits the market
TweakTown :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“In the making for around 3 years from Intel and a group of other companies, the PCI Express graphics bus is finally alive. Today we take a look at two nVidia PCX graphics cards, the PCX5750 and the PCX5900, dissected them from head to toe and compared their performance and new technologies against each other.”

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Frontier Labs NexKube
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“The Frontier Labs NEX KUBE is an attractive, versatile MP3 player / USB 2.0 Flash Disk. It has a few flaws, but it does a lot of things well. The unit is quite stylish with its silver finish and its flashing blue LEDs. I really like NEX KUBE; I take it with me to break the monotony on long bicycle rides (50+ miles).”

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Cable Organizer Saddle Clips
Phoronix :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“With computer case windows becoming ever so popular, routing your cables neatly to their proper destination is a concern among many computer enthusiasts. Cable Organizer, a manufacturer of cable organization products from military gear to computer cords, recently sent out several different types of their saddle cord clips, and in this review, we will present our findings about these clips.”

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Lian-Li PC-V2000 ATX Case
AMD Review :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“After playing with the Lian Li PC-V2000 for several weeks or more, I was satisfied and unsatisfied by the case. The V2000 is identical to the V1000, and I will highlight the areas that are worth mentioning.“

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AOpen Aeolus 6800 Ultra DVD256(E)
Hexus :: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

“If the best of the best is what you’re looking for, the Aeolus’s no-nonsense approach translated into a keen price, makes the performance, features, image quality and noise seem very very attractive.

Excellent.”

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Vantec Nexstar 3.5″ USB/Firewire Hard Drive Enclosure Review
Virtual-Hideout :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“..while most of their products are targeted at the modders/overclockers, their latest one is something everybody could use in their everyday PC operations. We’ve all had to move large pieces of data from one PC to another or simply backing up our PC or archiving our humongous MP3 or video collections at some point of time. We’ll also probably share our files with friends and family members and one of the best ways is to use an external HDD Enclosure, much like the Vantec Nexstar we’re looking at today.”

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ASUS A8V Deluxe Motherboard Review
Sharky Extreme :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“Today on Sharky Extreme, we’ve posted a review of the ASUS A8V Deluxe motherboard, a K8T800 Pro powerhouse with all the onboard features.”

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Verax Polargate AL S Pentium4 Heatsink Review
Frosty Tech :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“The Verax Polargate AL S can be characterized as a Pentium4 socket 478 heatsink, but compared to just about any other CPU heatsink on the market, it is radically different. For starters, Verax have equipped the Polargate AL S with two of their ultra-quiet CAIRdB fans, back to back. The fans draw air in, and because there is a clear plastic divider between them, the exhaust is directed towards the bottom, or side of the fan where it enters the stacked aluminum fin heatsink. Verax’s heatsinks have never been the kinds of coolers for overclocking as they focus on noise suppression first, and cooling second. Still, the Polargate Al S does take a few steps towards higher cooling performance which may interest some mainstream consumers.”

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Gigabyte K8NSNXP Skt 754 NF3 250 Motherboard Review
GruntvillE :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“While I would have liked to seen an integrated audio solution (like the Soundstorm system integrated into nForce2), we can’t blame Gigabyte as NVIDIA did not include one in this round of chipsets. That’s not to say the Realtek ALC850 audio controller is a slouch in the audio department. This 8-channel (7.1) audio codec is fully AC ’97 2.3 compliant and features 16-bit, 8-channel audio with auto-jack sensing which basically auto detects the speakers/devices currently plugged in and adjusts output accordingly; no more guess work.”

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Cooler Master Stacker
ViperLair :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“Though it’s not that important yet, the ability to go from ATX (and the various flavours) to BTX is something that separates the CM Stacker from the rest of the field. At $165 USD, this case isn’t cheap, but if you’re keeping an eye out for the future, this is a case that will “switch teams” for you if the need arises.”

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Beginners Guides: Converting Videotape Into Video Files
PCStats :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“As you may have noticed, the VCR is a dying technology. DVD players are now equivalent in price, and their disks have practically crowded VHS tapes right off the shelves of your neighborhood video store. Give it another three years and you may be hard pressed to find a new release on tape. So what happens when your VCR finally breaks? In this PCstats Guide, we’ll provide some simple guidelines to converting your old videotapes into video clips that you can store on your computer, or send around to friends and family. Once you have converted your old videotapes into the new digital format, you have several options open to choose from. You can store your flicks on the hard drive indefinitely, or place them on a recordable CD-R/RW for storage.”

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ECS PF1 Deluxe Photon Motherboard
TweakTown :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“We are taking a little flash-back today as we look at the year old ECS PF1 Deluxe Photon Motherboard. We’ve seen attempts in the past from ECS to make it big in leagues besides OEM and watched them fail. How does the this ECS Springdale motherboard fair against some of the biggest names in the enthusiast motherboard business? Read on and find out!”

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DFI LanParty NForce II Ultra Revision B
The Tech Lounge :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“Not even a year ago we wrote a glowing review of the DFI LanParty NFII Ultra. Great performance, exceptional overclocking, plenty of extras and great looks made this board a favorite. So why would DFI update such a great board? More features of course!! LanParty boards are of course already filled to the brim but DFI saw some things that they could add to an already impressive package. They replaced the HighPoint ATA RAID controller with a Silicon Image 4-port SATA RAID controller. They removed a serial port to add SPDIF output. They even added heatsink mounting holes. So in the move to accommodate these features, and with the extensive component relocation, will we speak as highly about this new revision? It doesn’t take a mind reader to know that I’m about to say.you will just have to read on to find out.”

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Thermaltake Xwing Bluetooth Wireless Optical Mouse Review
Tweaknews :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“Now don’t get me wrong, I know that this mouse is really not suited for everyday extended office use but is more targeted towards laptop users and/or Lanparty gamers that don’t want to drag around the heavier corded version. This package is very small, very light weight and can be considered a small wireless optical version of your everyday run of the mill mouse.”

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VisionTek X800 Pro Review
InsaneTek :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“The X800 Pro, being $100 cheaper than the 6800 Ultra and X800XT, is a much more reasonable alternative. But is it worth the upgrade if you have a 9800 Pro or equivalent card? Is it worth the $400 to upgrade that old dusty card that has sat in your case for the past year? That’s what we are going to find out today folks.”

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ViewSonic 17″ VA720 LCD Monitor
TechFreaks :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“For the $330 price-tag, the monitor delivers a great performance and is a recommendable solution for someone looking for something a bit nicer than their current CRT. I can’t recommend this monitor for someone who has a performance demanding agenda, such as a hardcore gamer or avid movie watcher. The lack of DVI certainly doesn’t help the VA720’s appeal but is still ideal for the office workplace and moderate home users. And at its current retail price, the VA720 is almost a steal.”

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Antec SmartBlue 350W Power-Supply
TechFreaks :: Friday, July 23, 2004

“If you have the choice between the 350W SmartPower and the 350W SmartBlue, I might opt for the SmartPower because they generally run cheaper and the LED fans were anything but impressive. The SmartBlue 350W nevertheless proved true of deserving the Antec name and even for those on a budget, there is a power-supply option for you that delivers performance at a reasonable price. ”

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Lian Li PC-37A Aluminum Case Review
Mikhailtech :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“Lian Li didn’t waste any space with the 37A. The front is loaded with everything you’d expect in a mid tower: 5x 5.25″ bays, an external 3.5″ bay and a pair of hidden 3.5″ bays. This is quite a feat considering the case is barely over a foot tall. Also up front are the power/reset buttons, power and HDD status LEDs, a vent, Lian Li’s signature case badge, and a hidden port panel. The only way Lian Li was able to cram everything in was by mounting the PSU sideways. ”

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Gigabyte K8NSNXP Skt 754 NF3 250 Motherboard Review
GruntvillE :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“While I would have liked to seen an integrated audio solution (like the Soundstorm system integrated into nForce2), we can’t blame Gigabyte as NVIDIA did not include one in this round of chipsets. That’s not to say the Realtek ALC850 audio controller is a slouch in the audio department. This 8-channel (7.1) audio codec is fully AC ’97 2.3 compliant and features 16-bit, 8-channel audio with auto-jack sensing which basically auto detects the speakers/devices currently plugged in and adjusts output accordingly; no more guess work.”

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AOpen GeforceFX 5900XT Review
3dXtreme :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“A few months ago this video card would have been considered top of the line or close to it, but with the emergence of the ATI X800 series and GeforceFX 6800 series it has been bumped into the mainstream market. As such, pricing for this video card is not much more than that of the NVIDIA 5700 or ATI 9600XT making it an even more attractive buy considering its performance.”

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Gigaram 2*512MB PC 3200 Dual Channel Kit
Overclockers Online :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“What happens when two different companies use the same IC on their modules? Is there a huge performance difference? Find out as I take my new Gigaram sticks out for a test drive.”

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Corsair Memory Giveaway
The Tech Lounge :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“Corair Micro is sponsoring our latest giveaway with four sets of TwinX1024-3200XLPRO high speed memory! Four lucky winners will receive a 1 GB set of dual channel PC3200 XL Pro memory. The contest starts on July 15 and will end on July 31, 2004. ”

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Kingston HyperX PC3200 CL2 1GB DDR Kit
GideonTech :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“The long awaited low latency version of the Kingston HyperX modules have arrived. We will be taking a look at the 1GB sample and see how it stacks up. Was it worth the wait?”

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ICY BOX External Hard Drive Review
Short-Media :: Thursday, July 22, 2004

“External hard drives are very convenient but aren’t as fast as the same hard drive that is connected internally and directly to a PATA or SATA header, however, the ICY BOX may just change that.”

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