Tech News November 2003

128MB W@lk Key USB 2.0 Flash Drive @ Bjorn3d
Bjorn3D :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“The W@lk Key might not be the fastest performer in flash drive land, but it has a couple things going for it that the competition is lacking. First, it is very stylish. The aluminum casing looks great, is light and should be very durable. Keep in mind that Plexuscom also makes a plastic W@lk Key. The second feature that most of the competition lacks is the small, slim form factor. The fact that the W@lk Key will not get in the way of your other USB devices is a big plus in my books.”

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Zalman ZM-RS6F 5.1 Real Surround Sound
DataFuse :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“When word around the campfire was that Zalman was about to introduce a 5.1 Headset I didn’t really believe people were serious, but a couple weeks later, Zalman send me one. These days – while the economy is bad – I can imagine companies try to introduce products that aren’t really part of their production-field, just to cranck up their profits, I’m not saying Zalman is doing bad, not at all, but when looking at one of these products you’ve got to keep in mind that the manufacturer is new to all this. ”

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myWORLD Hardware Special Review Coverage: Tri-Cool (Wavemaster, Aerogate II and Musketeer)
myWORLD :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“.. One of the chassis that we are going to look at will be CoolerMaster WaveMaster! Along together in this review coverage, we have included some new CoolerMaster’s accessories as well that are Musketeer and Aerogate II! And hence forth, I’ve decided to call it, Tri-Cool review! Three cool CoolerMaster product review coverage at one go!..”

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Zalman CNPS7000A-Cu Cpu Cooler Review @ Tech-Dreams
Tech-Dreams :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“For years now we have seen a variety of different designs from manufacturers of heatsinks. Zalman by far, has some of the wildest designs on the market. Not only are their designs wild; but they are also effective and quite attractive. Zalman founded in 1999 has grown quite popular in the computer cooling market mainly because of their effective low noise cooling products. Today we get to review one of Zalman’s new monsters, ehm, I mean, models. Ok, it is actually a monster! Let’s take a look.”

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Gigabyte M1600A Multimedia DVD-ROM Review
PCStats :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“It looks like a car stereo and performs some of the same functions, but is far from that. The M1600A from Gigabyte is both DVD player and audio console combined, and what’s more, it will run with the rest of the PC turned off. Dial in your favourite FM radio station while slugging it through a long word document, or after a hard day when the last thing you want to do hear is noisy cooling fans. The M1600A plays CD’s and MP3 CD’s, with or without the computer powered up, and features FM radio presets and a very cool electoluminescent/VFD sound level display up front. The DVD/CDROM lies hidden behind the front control panel, and with the push of a button that easily folds down so that disc’s can be changed. A control card and AC/adaptor are part of the reason why the M1600A can operate autonomous from the rest of the PC. The control card provides the power backup, FM radio antenna connection, and in/out audio jacks for the M1600A.”

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SilenX 400 watt 14 dBA Power Supply Review #370:
3dgameman :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“The SilenX 400 watt Power Supply is very quiet at about 14dBA which is virtually inaudible. Not only is it silent but still has all the power needed for the most demanding currently computer systems. It’s definitely one of the quietest Power Supplies on the planet. This unit comes with one 80mm fan, 6 molex and 2 floppy connections and connections for most motherboards. This product offers the best of both worlds; power and silence. Watch the Video to find out more…”

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SiS 655FX Chipset Reference Motherboard
PCStats :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“Today we have the opportunity to take a close and personal look at the newest member of the SIS chipset family for the Intel Pentium 4 processor; the SIS 655FX. There’s more to the 655FX than just a dual channel memory controller and 800 MHz FSB compatibility though, the brand new SIS 655FX and accompanying SIS 964 Southbridge each contain some very innovative technologies developed by SIS. These technologies give the SIS655FX a performance level equal to that of Intel’s very popular i865PE ‘Springdale’ chipset, and in some cases, to that of the high end i875P ‘Canterwood’ chipset. Remarkable you say? With the 655FX, SIS are introducing an interesting new technology known as ‘HyperStreaming’… but more on that in a moment. By default the SIS 655FX supports Intel Pentium 4 processors running on a 400-thru-800 MHz FSB. The chipset also packs in a dual channel PC3200 memory controller, meaning it can provide the Pentium 4 with up to 6.4GB/s of bandwidth.”

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Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz Extreme Edition Processor
PCStats :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“What, then, is the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition that is purportedly giving AMD’s long-anticipated Athlon 64 a run for its money? Well, if you found a lot in common between AMD’s Opteron and its Athlon 64 FX, then you’re sure to see the similarities between Intel’s Xeon and the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. There are some obvious adaptations, of course. To begin, the core is fitted to a Socket 478 package, meaning it is a simple upgrade for those who have already invested in an 875P or 865-based motherboard. Also, Xeon’s existing 533MHz front side bus isn’t potent enough to compete with Intel’s desktop lineup. Thus, the processor operates on an 800MHz front side bus, yielding a 3.2GHz operating frequency.”

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Highpoint e.SATA Kit V2.0 Review
TweakTown :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“Serial ATA drives are great. They are quick, use thin cables and don’t break the bank account in the process. Though what happens if you want to run drives external to your case? You turn to Highpoint with their e.SATA Kit V.2.0, of course!”

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9800 Pro Heatsink Modification @ Nexus Hardware
Nexus Hardware :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“The 9800 Pro is without a doubt, an incredibly powerful card. However, stock cooling leaves much to be desired. Its stock cooling allows for good overclocking but doesn’t take the card to its full potential. Let’s take a look at how we can improve our card’s performance.”

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Scythe Kamakaze CPU Cooler (Socket 462/370/478) Review #369:
3dgameman :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

The Scythe Kamakaze CPU Cooler is very versatile and fits the Socket 462, 370 and 478. This cooler comes with an adjustable fan controller so keeping it very quiet is a definite plus. It has a smooth copper base surrounded by aluminum and approximately 500 mounted pins to help dissipate the heat. Also, installing or removing this cooler is very easy because of the great clip design. Watch the Video to find out more…”

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M-Audio Sonica Theater Review @ Short-Media.com
Short-Media :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
7.1 audio couldn’t be easier. M-Audio’s Sonica Theater simply plugs into an available USB port on a laptop or PC then it’s a matter of connecting it to powered speakers or a home Theater amplifier. The Sonica Theater is portable, small and convenient with big theater sound. Just who is the Sonica Theater ideally suited for and is it worth the $100 USD sticker price?

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Epox 8HDA3+ K8T800 Athlon64 Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“With the fresh taste of enthusiast friendly motherboards in our minds, you can imagine that expectations are quite high for the brand new Epox 8HDA3+, a VIA K8T800 and VT8237 based motherboard. The AMD Athlon64 processor was released in two pin configurations, the first socket 754 and second socket 940. While there are an abundance of socket 754 motherboards making their way to the retail channels ever so slowly, the handful of socket 940 motherboards seem to be taking an even slower route. The Athlon64 FX-51 may be available if you look very closely, but its lifespan is short, and I don’t expect there to be much of a rally behind motherboards which support it in the face of an upcoming socket 939 version.”

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PimpRig Guide:: Working With Acrylic
PimpRig :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“I decided to dedicate an entire ANTEC mid, to house all the watercooling appurtenances, other than the Block and the hoses leading to it. This afforded me the opportunity to do a how-to on Building your own Reservoir and Finishing Clear Acrylic.”

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Plextor PX-504UF External High-Speed DVD+R/RW CD-R/RW Drive Review @ Tweaknews.net
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“Well, as my wife said; “It’s a very nice muffler.” Certainly, the unit is sleek and stylish… however few will pay for aesthetics alone.

The advantage of being able to choose either USB or Firewire makes the drive very versatile. The included software is fairly robust, though still user-friendly. DVD Builder is a great application for parents wanting to backup family videos. And the DVD+R format is still more widely supported by DVD-ROMs and home DVD players.”

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Solarism Flex-View LM-1730 17in LCD Review
Mikhailtech :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Resolutions scale from 800×600 up to the native 1280×1024. First off, a 17″ LCD isn’t the same as a 17″ CRT. The former doesn’t “inflate” specifications but rather provides 17″ of viewing area, whereas the CRT only has 16″ of viewable width. Also, because 17″ is a diagonal measurement, native resolution may vary from screen to screen (you’d be hard pressed to find 1280×1024 on a 17″ widescreen display). And because LCDs are optimized for only one resolution, the rest don’t appear nearly as good. Using a GeForce3 Ti200, 800×600 looked fine. 1024×768 (which is what I switch to when doing Mikhailtech work, as the site is meant to be viewed at 1024+) actually looks really good. If you never saw the native 1280 you couldn’t tell the difference; blur here is almost nonexistent. 1152×864 is incredibly blurry (keep in mind that some of this may also depend on the video card). Because of the physical dimensions of the screen, 1280×768 is too warped to be legible. 1280×720 created an indiscernible image. 1280×960 is a bit distorted and blurred though doable.

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TS Heatronics NCU-1000 Pentium 4 Heatsink Review
Frosty Tech :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
Heatronics NCU-1000 heatsink is a remarkably simple device. A 5mm copper baseplate sits below the bottom of the Akachi heatpipe that stretches out in a “U” shape to a total length of about 315mm, and a stainless steel plate sits on the opposite side, held in place with four screws. The Akachi heatpipe, or Heatlane heatpipe as the company are marketing it, then increases its total surface area with the aide of dozens of folded aluminum cooling fins. What goes on inside the Akachi heatpipe is similar to a standard tubular heatpipe, but the technology has a few distinct differences. First of all, where a standard copper heatpipe uses water as a working fluid, this Akachi pipe uses a slightly more exotic hydroflurocarbon-134a (HFC-134A).

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Mushkin High Performance Black PC4000 Memory @ Viper Lair
ViperLair :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“There is no question that Mushkin has a real quality product here with the High Performance Black PC4000. The construction quality is top notch, from the PCB to the heatspreaders. Performance was flat out excellent, and the overclocking was above average as well.”

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Antec TrueControl Psu @ Techniz.co.uk
Techniz.co.uk :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“The time comes when you need a power supply for your PC, one that will be quiet and reliable. Those attributes are what the Antec True Control 500w psu have. The installation and operating of this power supply were just like any other – just this psu has a few extras.”

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OCZ Gladiator 3 HSF Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“Today we’ll be taking a look at the tiny, all copper Gladiator 3 heatsink from the folks at OCZ. For those of you who didn’t know, OCZ does indeed make more than just high performance memory, expanding their services off into areas such as thermal compound and even water cooled components. When stacked up against most of the common coolers on the market today, this unit would definitely be dwarfed in the shadows due to its size. Will its meager 60x60x30mm core allow it to go toe to toe with the big boys or will the CPU under its care succumb to an early heat related death? Read on while we look and see what the tiny titan has in store.”

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Aspire ATX-AS500W See-Through Power Supply
SystemCooling :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“For a long time, the lowly power supply was one of the most-neglected pieces in any modded box. Not so anymore, as sleeved wiring, LED fans, and other modifications have become increasingly popular. The power supply we’re looking at today, the Aspire ATX-AS500W, includes all of these enhancements and more. It’s undoubtedly built to look great, and by the end of this review, we’ll know if its performance can keep pace with its appearance.”

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[POC News] Lighted USB Cables Review
PimpedOutCases :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
PimpedOutCases has a review on lighted USB cables!

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Antec Overture Desktop/HTPC Case Review @ GruntvillE.com
GruntvillE :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

One nice feature of this case is that it will accept a standard ATX MB. Once the MB and risers were installed, it is necessary to make sure the PSU power lead would reach the ATX power header due to its non-standard location. All turned out decent in that respect, but it is tight and might interfere with a large HSF if you have a similar MB layout. Although with this being touted for quiet computing, large HSFs shouldn’t be an issue. Next, I laid out the front panel connectors and made sure they were long enough to reach around the PSU to the bottom of the MB. Again everything reached, but in some situations the cables will have to cross the MB which might not be ideal for a killer cable management scheme.”

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Biostar iDEQ 200T Springdale SFF System Review @ Bjorn3d
Bjorn3D :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

“In addition to the small size, the iDEQ offers an awesome brushed aluminum finish and construction (except for the front bezel, which is plastic). I am a huge fan of aluminum cases and their typical silver color, so this fits right in with my tastes. The chassis consists of two removable side panels and one removable top panel, a design I prefer over the use of one big removable cover, like Shuttle uses with its XPC line (the SN41G2 for example).”

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Shuttle SB65G2 SFF System review @ Hexus.net
Hexus :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“In summary, the Shuttle SB65G2 is an effortlessly competent barebones unit that’ll appeal to many potential buyers on the basis of performance, portability, features, stability and overclocking potential. It’s not perfect by any means, but you can do a whole lot worse than have the SB65G2 sit on your desk. Ironically enough, the SB65G2’s main threat isn’t from powerful, full-size PCs, it’s from other SFF PCs and Shuttle’s very own SB6xxx and SN85G4 cubes. If you’re determined to go down the Intel route, the SB65G2 is a classy performer in most respects.”

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Crucial 256MB ‘Gizmo’ USB Hard Drive Review
PCStats :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
“So long as your PC is running Windows2000 or higher, you will need no drivers, and installation will only take but a second before you can access and transfer files to and from the USB hard drive as you would any other such device. If your computer is running Win98/98SE, there are drivers at Crucial.com you can download to get the Gizmo up and operational. Drivers are not included in the package however. In the editorial world, when you are faced with carrying around a pack of Zip discs, or one little USB hard drive, the choice is obvious. USB hard drives, like the Crucial Gizmo, simply hold more data, are smaller and more robust, and offer better compatibility. Short of lugging around a laptop with CDRW burner, a USB hard drive of 256MB size is the next best thing when you need to move large amounts of information, and can’t worry about there not being the right kind of drive where you need to go.”

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ABIT KV7 (KT600) mainboard review
Overclocker Café :: Wednesday, November 12, 2003

ABIT has put out their version of the KT600 in the form of the KV7 board. ABIT, long known for high quality and performance products seems to be aiming the KV7 at a more cost sensitive audience. With many of the improvements and additional native support for items found on the KT600, the KV7 very well may make quite a showing.

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Lian-Li 6 in 1 Card Reader
SystemCooling :: Tuesday, November 04, 2003

“With the great number of memory card types on the market today, it’s not uncommon for a single user to have 2 or even more devices that each use different types of memory. Rather than having to connect each device individually to the computer to access it, it’s very convenient to have a single device that can read all of your digital memory media. The Lian-Li Card Reader is just such a device, supporting a total of six different memory card formats, and we’ll be putting it through its paces today.”

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Shuttle SB65G2 with ClearView cover
TweakTown :: Tuesday, November 04, 2003

“Put together one of Shuttle’s latest XPC small form factor computers and a tuned Intel Springdale chipset and you have some serious performance from a little guy packing a big punch!”

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Budget & Budget Buster PCs
Short-Media :: Tuesday, November 04, 2003

“Short-Media challenged our enthusiasts to dream up the cheapest PC around and one that only Howard Hughes would own. They did just that and told us, in their words, what they did to get there.”

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