Tech News March 2005

SkyHawk PowerONE 570W Power Supply @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

When the SkyHawk PowerONE is powered up the LED’s inside the case light up giving the clear fans a nice subtle blue color. One of the other features that the PowerONE came with is a third 12v rail and Audio Standby…

”

Check it out

Rumored Logitech MX518 Mouse emerges
Everything USB :: Wednesday, March 09, 2005
”

Slated to ship in April 2005, the $49.99 USB mouse will sport quick-shift controls above and beneath of the scroll wheel, allowing switching between 400, 800 and 1600-dpi without additional driver. For flexibility, SetPoint software will allow up to 5 levels of resolutions to be set as well. This feature will purportedly give hardcore gamers the speed and precision they need in any types of games.

”

Check it out

Intel’s BTX Form Factor – An Analysis and Opinion @ HEXUS
Hexus :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

I can count the number of commercially available BTX mainboards and chassis’ in this country on one hand. I can count the number of UK retailers selling packaged Pentium 4 processors with the Type 1 BTX Thermal Module on the fingers of no hands. Intel are happy for that to happen, too. Softly does it with BTX was the message conveyed to us during recent conversations. While BTX itself is a full platform shift, it’s going to happen in incremental steps.

”

Check it out

Corsair XMS XPERT Series Memory With Programmable Display @ Tech-Mods.Net
Tech-Mods.net :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

If you have ever had the opportunity to drive a fine tuned sport car, you would have noticed the dashboard had large gauges. This is for good reason; giving the driver important information at a quick glance. Well with High end computers there is no reason to be any different, the more you know what your system is up to the better. Corsair the company that brought you the LED activity lights with their XMS pro series memory modules has taken it a step further. Today we will be looking at the new XMS Xpert line of memory modules Corsair has to offer. The XMS Xpert memory modules

”

Check it out

Koolance VID-NV2-L06 GPU Cooler @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

Last month we gave the world its first look at the new Koolance PC3-725BK water-cooled case system. During that review, we also had a glimpse of their VID-NV2-L06 GPU cooler for the nVidia 6800 series. Today, we’re giving this cooler the full treatment, and we’ll find out if it performs as well as the PC3-725 did.

”

Check it out

Patriot 1GB 3200+ XBL Dual Channel Memory Kit Review @ Adrian’s Rojak Pot
Tech ARP :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005

”

You may not have heard of PDP Systems but they may just have the best-performing Samsung TCCD-based memory modules.

”

Check it out

Foxconn WinFast NF4K8MC-ERS nForce4 Motherboard @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

NVIDIA has come a long way since they released their first nForce chipset several years ago. I don’t think anyone expected a video card company being able to compete with companies like Intel and VIA but if you got a AMD CPU these days chances are high you are using a NVIDIA chipset on the motherboard.

NVIDIA’s latest chipset, the nForce 4, has gained a lot of attention mainly for its support for 2 NVIDIA PCI-Express card in SLI-mode. The chipset is available in three versions. SLI, Ultra and non-Ultra. Those who want to save a few pennies and do not need the SLI feature can get motherboards using the cheaper nForce4 non-Ultra chipset. Today I am testing one of those cheaper motherboards, the Foxconn Winfast NF4K8MC-ERS, the little brother to the Foxconn nForce 4 motherboard Shane reviewed a few weeks ago.

”

Check it out

A.C.Ryan RyanPower2 450w Modular PSU @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Tuesday, March 08, 2005
”

Overall, the AC Ryan 450w modular power supply is an excellent unit. The only negative thing that I found about it is that there were not enough mini 4-pin connections for my setup. Aside from that, the voltage levels all stayed at proper levels, the modular cable system makes my case look a whole lot cleaner, and actually makes installation easier since I don’t have to hunt around for my cables.

”

Check it out

Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2 PC2-5300 reviewed @ XtremeResources
Xtreme Resources :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“The era of DDR RAM is slowly coming to the end and DDR2 is replacing the older format o­n the newest Intel platform. Companies began manufacturing DDR2 RAM in small quantities just a few months ago because of the low demand but production is projected to be in massive quantities by the end of the year. O­nly a very few select companies have made DDR2 modules for the enthusiast and overclocker to this day. Even fewer manufacturers took a step forward and offer 1GB capacity modules for the enthusiast who believe that size does matter. Crucial took the step forward and offers 1GB modules from their top of the line of Tracer Ballistix DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM.”

Check it out

Intricate Designs Dremeling Guide @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“In modding, if you want to do things the old fashioned way (yourself), then there are many different types of skills you must master. One of the most popular tools in the modding world is the Dremel. Dremels can be used for tons of different chores in a mod, however the most common one would be cutting a window. This guide has been written to show you the steps and techniques in dremeling a complex and detailed cutout.”

Check it out

DFI’s Vivian Lien @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Saturday, March 05, 2005
“Later this month I’ll be bringing you my thoughts on DFI’s newest motherboard, the NForce 4 SLI-DR for socket 939, so, as a primer, I spoke with Vivian Lien to give you guys…and gals, an idea of where DFI is coming from, and where they are going.”

Check it out

Texas Gaming Festival LAN Party Coverage @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“The Texas Gaming festival is a successful LAN event that has been taking place in Dallas, Texas for the past few years. Over the years, it has become one of the top most visited and sponsored LAN events in the nation with attendance easily surpassing the 500-attendee attendance. This year was no different. In fact, this was perhaps the most successful attempt at a LAN event especially when ATI decided to launch its X850 XT PE 512MB graphics card officially.”

Check it out

Xeon Heatsink Review @ AMD Review
AMD Review :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“I would like to share a tidbit about the new Xeon heat sink that comes with the retail version of the Xeon 800FSB Processors. In an era where people fancy products that are smaller, thinner, and lighter, Intel took an opposite approach when they designed their new heat sinks. Intel’s new heat sink is 2.39lbs (the heaviest I have ever seen) compared to an AMD Opetron heat sink that is 0.88lb.”

Check it out

Arctic Cooling A64 Freezer Heatsink Review @ ModdersHQ.net
ModdersHQ.net :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“Arctic Cooling has a real winner here with the A64 Freezer. It’s both powerful and silent. The Venus12 used to be my 24/7 HSF, but once I put in this A64 Freezer I haven’t looked back once… If you want great performance at low sound levels this is for you.”

Check it out

March 2005 Giveaway @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Saturday, March 05, 2005

“Today we announce this month’s Sidewinder Computers-sponsored giveaway at Mikhailtech. We’re giving away a pair of low-noise, high-performance accessory bundles to a couple lucky winners!”

Check it out

Logisys Janus Case Review @ CoolTechZone
CoolTechZone :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Computer enthusiasts want to spend every last penny of their disposable income on the latest and greatest hardware. They always want a faster graphics card, a new microprocessor, faster RAM, a new motherboard, a bigger (storage wise) or faster hard drive and a better case, in that order. So, is the penny-pinching hardware buyer going to want to put a lot of money towards his case when he can put a lot of it towards a next generation graphics card? The answer is an obvious “No”. Not everyone needs cases that cost as much as a 200GB hard drive, which is why the sub-$100 market has been getting more features because of the huge amount of manufacturers vying for your money.”

check it out

First Albatron nForce4 SLI motherboard spec and photo posted
AMDboard :: Friday, March 04, 2005
Albatron announced yesterday the release of the company’s very first NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI motherboard the ALBATRON K8SLI. With a Socket 939 sporting AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Athlon 64 FX, the K8SLI has a smaller, space saving form factor (7.7″ x 11.5″). In addition, Albatron managed to squeeze out more space by eliminating a “switch” card between the two VGA cards that was initially speced by the NVIDIA SLI reference board. Aside from the SLI features, the K8SLI also features the ABS (Albatron BIOS Security). The ABS is a small circuit board with a backup BIOS chip and is attached to the mainboard next to the on-board BIOS. This detachable circuit board provides the luxury of easily replacing it in emergency BIOS situations as opposed to sending in the entire mainboard for repair. The K8SLI performance increase of 1.7 times is quite a quantum leap as far as VGA processing is concerned which goes to show that two VGA cards are better than one. Enthusiasts and gamers can now look to dual VGA card technology to provide the answer to increasingly challenging graphics animation software. AMDboard has the specification and photo at

check it out

A4Tech NB-30 Battery Free Wireless Optical Mouse Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Well in today’s review I will be looking at the A4Tech NB30 wireless and batteryless mouse. This concept was confusing me from the get go, and I couldn’t possibly see how this would work well, let alone work. Basically the mouse works by receiving electromagnetic inductive energy, this eliminates any radio frequency interference of a regular wireless mouse, and gives constant power without warranting batteries; though only if the mouse is touching the mousepad. I will bring you to the realm of the batteryless mouse and show you what to know before you spend the money on this new computer peripheral.”

check it out

Thermaltake Big Typhoon @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Quote: “When it comes to cooling products, everyone’s probably heard of Thermaltake. Since 1999, Thermaltake has been manufacturing cases and cooling products. I’ve never really used a Thermaltake product before, so I can’t really say much about their past coolers. As companies began to implement heatpipes, Thermaltake did the same with their new line of coolers. Today we have the Thermaltake Big Typhoon up for review. Let’s go ahead and take a look at how this thing performs.”

check it out

ArctiClean Thermal Material Remover
Mikhailtech :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Given the minor time investment in cleaning the heatsink, I was pleasantly surprised by ArctiClean’s ability to get rid of the leftover compound. It’s not a miracle solution; it took several “passes” to get most of it off. But, as you can see the difference between plain rubbing alcohol and ArctiClean is quite noticeable. It’ll still take some time and lots of rubbing to get rid of all the paste, but it’s a great start. I also used ArctiClean on a copper heatsink which used a ceramic-based compound. It came off completely with the cheaper alcohol and ArctiClean didn’t account for any noticeable difference. It seems that the degree to which rubbing alcohol will work compared to ArctiClean depends on the compound in question. Arctic Silver, as we saw earlier, doesn’t come off too well with Isopropyl, but white paste does. I then decided to clean off a CPU which was placed below the aforementioned copper heatsink. It too had a ceramic compound on it.

check it out

AOpen i915Pa-PLF Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Friday, March 04, 2005
The AOpen i915Pa-PLF motherboard is a socket 775 Intel Pentium 4 solution designed for mainstream users getting ready to upgrade a little of everything. Obviously based on the Intel 915P chipset, this blackened-PCB motherboard supports current 800/533MHz FSB Socket 775 CPUs (Celeron or Pentium 4), and requires a PCI-Express compatible video card. AGP videocards are not supported at all.”

check it out

TTIC NPH-775-1 & NPH-K8-1 CPU Cooler Review @ PCModdingMy
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Overall the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 are both a good CPU cooler. The thing that we did not like was the noise that the stock fan produced. The installation was also a little complicated due to the fact that motherboard removal was required. On the other hand, the performance that this cooler showed was a little disappointing. Not forgetting that the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 is fully copper and comes with a single heat column with a nice copper base. If you think that the NPH-775-1 and NPH-K8-1 appeals to you, you might want to grab one for your LGA775 or K8 setup.”

check it out

Interview with Paul Capello, a.k.a. “Crimson Sky” @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Friday, March 04, 2005

“Case modding (short for “modification”) is the art of building and customizing computers. In the skillful hands of a master case modder, boring beige computers are transformed into bold and beautiful works of PC art that can either stand out in a crowd—or blend seamlessly into any environment, such as the living room, kitchen or office. From Austin to Zurich, craftspeople and hobbyists are busy creating works of modern industrial art that is helping to push computer technology, manufacturing and creative thinking— forward into the new century.

Today we will be talking to world-renowned case modder, Paul Capello (a.k.a. “Crimson Sky”). Many of you may know Paul from his website, TheBestCaseScenario.com, or from following his worklogs such as “Doom 3: Project Mars City” and “Project Nighthawk: Skunkworks F117A.” We are working with Paul to create some exciting new content for TheTechLounge, but before we get into that let’s find out a little bit about the man that created these incredible works of art.”

check it out

Swissbit’s 2 Gig Twist Pro Flash Drive @ TechTastic.ca
TechTastic :: Friday, March 04, 2005

Flash Drives have become increasingly more popular lately. These mini dynamos provide a nice portable solution to transfer files to and from the office or what have you. Typically flash drives come in flavors of 16-512 megs. But what if you need more storage and it still needs to be small and portable? Well the folks at Swissbit have you covered with their large capacity flash drives called the USB Twist Pro. These USB 2.0 compatible flash drives come in two huge sizes to fit your needs 2 and 4 gigabytes!

check it out

A4-Tech NB-30 battery free wireless mouse reviewed @ DataFuse.net
DataFuse :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“We’ve all seen it happen. First there was the optical “look-at-it-glow” mouse then the wireless mice came quite fast afterwards, and the combination of the two was inevitable. A couple of months ago the laser “watch-out-for-the-eyes” mouse made its introduction. But this tops it all off: The battery free wireless mouse from A4 Tech”

Check it out

Intel 65nm Yonah Processor Spotted @ Legit Reviews
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“While walking around Intel’s Spring 2005 Developer Forum we spotted the 65nm Yonah processor up and running on the Napa Platform. Since Yonah is due out in 2006 it was unexpected, but a welcomed sight to say the least…”

Check it out

Intel 660 3.6Ghz & 3.73Ghz Extreme Edition 64bit Pentium 4 Processor Review
Tweaknews :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“With Windows x64 Edition nearing its’ full release date, Intel has released their 64bit capable 6XX and Extreme Edition line of processors to tackle the new 64bit challenge and the nice thing is if you own a Intel® 925XE Express or i915 based chipset motherboard, 64bit computing is only a processor and a BIOS flash upgrade away. Let’s see what the new line of Intel processors have to offer….”

Check it out

HEXUS.feature – IDF Spring 2005: Day 1 Keynote : Pat Gelsinger
Hexus :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“We always like speaking with Pat and attending his keynote’s, often some of the most insightful outlooks on the industry come direct from this man. This Spring IDF was no different, in his keynote speech Gelsinger, the man who is no longer CTO is now heading up Intel’s Digital Enterprise division, announced that data now compiles to their Moores Law theory in doubling every 12 to 18 months. However, to keep up with demand, it’s important to have scalable architecture ready to cope with the increase.”

Check it out

Intel’s 64-bit Technology: Come Late, Stay Quiet.
PCStats :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“As you may know, Intel recently brought legacy compatible 64-bit technology to its Xeon and Pentium 4 lines of processors. This move was inevitable when you take into account the huge success that AMD has had with its Opteron line of 32-bit/64-bit chips as compared to Intel’s Itanium (‘I-tanic’) Server processors. Intel needed to close this gap, and they have. The question is, why is Intel being so quiet about it? Compared to AMD’s triumphant buildup and release of its 64-bit server and Athlon64 desktop processors, Intel’s recent incorporation of 64-bit x86-compatible instructions into its chips could be classified as pretty much invisible. If a thousand-pound elephant could tiptoe, that would be what Intel did in bringing 64-bit to their products.”

Check it out

Shuttle SB86i XPC @ t-break
t-break :: Thursday, March 03, 2005

“When the unit is powered up, a blue horizontal line lights up making the unit look very cool. Unfortunately, Shuttle uses an orange LED light for hard drive activity placed in the middle of this blue light which does not look that great. We think that Shuttle should’ve used a different shade of blue for this purpose. While the front of the unit is white, the sides are steel which also looks good but we think that an all white design might’ve looked better.”

Check it out