Evaluation: Microsoft Xbox 360 Gaming Console
Designtechnica :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
“The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system places you at the center of the experience. Available this holiday season in Europe, Japan, and North America, Xbox 360 ignites a new era of digital entertainment that is always connected, always personalized, and always in high definition.
Xbox 360 gives you access to the games you want to play, the people you want to play with, and the experiences you crave when and where you want them.”
X-Micro Mini DisGo 20 GB Review
Hardware Secrets :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
“Nowadays with broadband Internet, DVDs and hard disk drives over 120 GB the necessity for high-capacity mobile storage is greater than never. You may need to copy some files at a friend’s home or even make a backup. Flash USB drives are a convenient way to carry data around, but they are not available with capacities beyond 4 GB yet. X-Micro has just released a very small external hard disk drive that promises to fill this gap, named Mini DisGo.”
ASUS AGEIA PhysX Expansion Card Due in February @ CoolTechZone.com
CoolTechZone :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
“We are all aware of AGEIA and its desire to bring a PhysX processor for physics processing in order to make games look and feel more realistic. We all want the characters to move and act realistically, and that’s exactly what AGEIA’s PhysX will accomplish once it debuts. However, in order for the technology to work, it requires an expansion card for the motherboard.”
NEW CONTENT (Visual) XFX Heated Up – Overclocking the 512MB 7800GTX
TweakTown :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
QUOTE: “We will have a look at the graphics card and the package that XFX supply as we would in a normal review but our main aim here today is overclocking the GeForce 7800GTX 512MB to see exactly what we can get out of one of these bad boys. We’ll stick it on our healthily overclocked AMD Athlon X2 test bed system with the impressive ASUS A8N32-SLI motherboard which has full 16x PEG slots.”
Alienware Aurora ALX system review
Tech Spot :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Reviewing products can be a privilege. Car reviewers get to drive new Ferrari’s even before they are displayed in the showroom. Movie reviewers encounter films like the final Star Wars saga before us maniacs can fulfill our destiny. Vacation reviewers travel the world, as part of their occupation, and sip on exotic drinks while their feet become trenched in warm, Caribbean waters.
So, you ask, what’s so great about reviewing computer products? Luckily we also manage to get our hands on unreleased parts many times. But when it comes to whole systems, how about Alienware? Yes, I said Alienware. I was blessed with one of the most powerful gaming computers in the world. The Lamborghini of computers. A computer that was built with only one thing in mind. Doom 3. I guess you could fill that void with your personal favorite, visually stunning, performance-starving game, as this machine can drive it all. There is not a game on the shelves that can challenge such a work horse. Gone are the days of looking at minimum requirements. Gone are the days of turning off high quality graphical features. Gone are the days of turning your graphics card up by one more MHz to try and cram out that extra FPS in 3Dmark, so you can post your results online with some dignity. Gone are the days of connecting duct work from your window AC unit to thrust cold air onto your overclocked processor that is stable for about 20 minutes. Those days are gone!
Neoseekers Review of the Asus Geforce N7800 GT
Neoseeker :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
“The version of the card which we have for review cannot even be found on the market right now though, and we’re almost grateful for it as we can only imagine what the implications of the different (and arguably more attractive) appearance would be on the cards price.
Asus have always charged a premium for their video cards, so this comes as no suprise really, but it’s unfortunate nonetheless. They make fantastic motherboards and notebooks among other things, but we feel that their efforts in elevating the Asus brand name to premium class status in the video card segment are misplaced. Then again, a Lexus is just a Toyota, and there are undoubtedly many people who like brand uniformity inside their systems, and so for them the price differential doesn’t equate to much.
For those of you in the market for a 7800 GT, we would recommend you look at the less expensive-yet-identical offerings from the many other companies selling 7800 GT based cards. Seeing as this card is not even available for the time being, it would appear that that might be the only option – which makes everything a whole lot simpler.”
Cowon iAudio U3 Mini MP3 Player @ CoolTechZone.com
CoolTechZone :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
“In addition to having the standard Cowon features, the iAudio U3 has a 160×128 color screen that supports 260K colors. Cowon has made the device somewhat interesting in that you can now change the GUI color theme to make your U3 attractive and matching with your style.”
Today we look at the XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512 XXX Edition.
Bjorn3D :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
In that preview article, I talked about the XFX GeForce 7800 GTX 512 XXX Edition graphics card. Today, it’s time to take a closer look at that card as promised. Those three letters (‘XXX’) might already have your head in the gutter, but here’s what XFX wants you to know about its XXX Edition cards.
‘Products marked with the label XXX have a new level of graphics performance and experience. During selection of the components, the absolute top is being separated from the masses, including the GPU’s. During the production, only the best yield [top 10%] has been selected to go forward into the XXX production. During this extensive tuning process, the products are being pushed to the max and then made ready for the assembly process. This is why we have called this level of graphics cards eXtreme, eXtreme and eXtreme again, visualized into the ‘XXX’ logo. The three X’s stand for eXtreme overclocking, eXtreme performance and eXtreme cooling.’
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000 1GB Kit @ ModGuidez.net
Mod Guidez :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Gold GX XTC Dual Channel @ Pro-Clockers
Pro-Clockers :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
NZXT Lexa Classic case @ Pro-Clockers
Pro-Clockers :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
OCZ Rally 512MB USB Flash Drive
Big Bruin :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
5-Way Radiator Round-Up (Part 1) @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Cooler Master RealPower 550W
techPowerUp! :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Cooler Master has engineered a great PSU which has a PCI-Express Power connector and can supply 12V from three rails. Most PSUs have only one or two. For the visual aspect there is a Watt Viewer which goes into a drive bay and automatically displays the current power consumption of your computer – without the need of additional software.
SilverStone Strider ST60F 600w SLI Power Supply Review
OCIA :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Zalman CNPS9500 LED High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler Video Review #620
3dgameman :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Enermax Laureate Drive Enclosures
Big Bruin :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Lighted Blue Card Cooler XT Evaluation @ hi-techreviews.com
Hi-Techreviews :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The 12 Days of Christmas Bona Fide Style @ BonaFideReviews
Bona Fide Reviews :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Quote: “We have searched high and low, to the furthest corners of the known… internet to find great gifts that will make all your relatives jealous of your gift giving prowess. We know, that’s not what Christmas is supposed to be all about, but it’s still nice when mean old Auntie Bertha glares at you for giving the gift that outdoes her hand knitted yarn ball yo yo. Read on and choose those that fit in with your gift giving needs.”
The Lost Chapters @ Bytesector
Bytesector :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
“Fable: The Lost Chapters for PC falls into my line of sight and I gasp. It has been too long since the original Fable, and I must have another fix. I walk slowly, almost awkwardly towards the shelf as my hand caresses the box. The box fits so well into my fingers, it seems as though this was meant to be. I return home as my new found sweetheart and I prepare to engage in the glory that is installation. I slowly unclothe her plastic covering and anti-theft stickers and inset her into my system. After a grueling 4-disc tease, we are finally ready. I begin.”
Turbo-Cool 510 Express / SLI Review
PC Modding Malaysia :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The power supply we have here comes all the way from well reputed manufacturer who started making power supplies since 1985 (I was a baby back then!). Being one of the big-timers in PC power supply industry, PC Power & Cooling is now highly praised for manufacturing Ferraries of all power supplies. Since 1986, their high-performance Turbo-Cool power supplies have been receiving great reviews and product recommendations. With the current gaming system drawing up more power than ever, thanks to NVIDIA SLI and ATI CrossFire, the demand for high-powered power supply is increasing.
check it out
PimpRig Review // PrimoChill PC ICE Non-Conductive Coolant
PimpRig :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
“PC Ice retains its non-conductive nature much better than distilled water, from this stand point it should prove somewhat safer in a water cooled PC. It however is not an insulator, it will carry a slight charge when polluted.”
Readers Annoyed with Laser Technology in Gaming Mice @ CoolTechZone.com
CoolTechZone :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
“These comments didn’t necessarily include questions for Logitech or Razer, but many readers reiterated their experiences with their laser mice, how they remedied the annoying surface tracking issues they experienced and overall advice for budding buyers.”
Digital Signal Processing Explained @ The TechZone
The Tech Zone :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
It happens that many people have no idea what Digital Signal Processing means, although they hear more and more often these words, today. Considering the name, Digital Signal Processing, people are lead towards thinking that this procedure deals with digital signals. No; Digital Signal Processing is a method of improving the quality of the analog signals, only. Indeed, the naming used is rather improper, because it relates to all types of digital processing, only that the methods, and the techniques used in DSP deal only with signals that are analog in nature. In the digital signals case, we can only compress, encrypt, and translate them to other digital formats; these (different) procedures do not require any DSP techniques. Using the DSP name when referring to digital signals causes confusion.
What is a Motherboard?
PCreview :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
“Two of the biggest makes of CPUs at the moment are Intel and AMD, yet you cannot buy motherboards that support the use of either: it will support one or the other, due to physical differences in the connectors. This is often referred to as a type of ‘platform’; for example, an ‘Intel platform motherboard’ means a motherboard with an Intel CPU. Furthermore, you must choose a specific type of processor; for example, an AMD Athlon 64 or Pentium 4. Therefore, you must choose which CPU you want before you can choose your motherboard. Both Intel and AMD processors are capable of running the same applications, but there are differences in price and performance depending on which one you choose.”
News: VIA’s K8T900 chipset previewed at TR
The Tech Report :: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF the nForce4 chipset, NVIDIA threw a mighty big elbow into the guts of its would-be competitors in the Athlon 64 chipset market. By limiting support for its SLI multi-GPU technology to its own core-logic chipsets, NVIDIA hogged the spotlight for high-end enthusiast motherboards and carved out a sizable chunk of the market for the nForce4. ATI recently followed suit with its Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire Edition chipset, aiming to leverage its own graphics prowess into chipset profits.
At long last, VIA says it’s ready to fight back in earnest, and the chipset maker has enlisted the help of its sister company, S3 graphics, in making its push. The new K8T900 north bridge features a more robust PCI Express implementation that can divvy up its PCI Express lanes into two set of eight for better multi-GPU support, and it’s paired up with the long-awaited VT8251 south bridge, sporting a full slate of next-gen I/O capabilities. Alongside this new chipset comes a new GPU family, the Chrome S20 series, ready to fire in a double-barreled GPU configuration known as MultiChrome.
But can the K8T900 really match up to the nForce4 SLI? Will S3’s MultiChrome offer compelling performance on the K8T900 chipset? And what would happen if you could run a pair of high-end GeForce cards in SLI on this new VIA chipset? Read on for the answers.
World Cyber Games Results @ The TechZone
The Tech Zone :: Monday, November 21, 2005
SINGAPORE – It was the moment of truth today for more than 39,000 spectators at the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2005 Grand Final in Singapore with the completion of four of the eight championship matches – Warhammer, Need for Speed, Dead or Alive Ultimate and Halo 2. The day ended with Brazil leading the national ranking chart, followed closely by USA and Japan. With home-ground advantage, host city Singapore also climbed the national ranking chart to take 5th place after 24-year old Wilson Chia bagged a silver medal for Dead or Alive Ultimate. Japan’s Tomoyuki Inui claimed the gold medal.
Abit AW8-MAX v1.0 (i955X) @ Phoronix Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=5111
Phoronix :: Monday, November 21, 2005
Thermaltake Power Station 520W PSU
Big Bruin :: Monday, November 21, 2005
OCZ PC4000 (2GB) Gold Edition Memory Review
Overclocker Café :: Monday, November 21, 2005
My game play is all about Battlefield 2 right now. The OCZ EL-DDR PC4000 Gold Edition kit has proved without a doubt to me that two gigs are a very worthwhile investment for gamers. You could get a rough feel for this in our graph but within a game, you get the emotionally positive feedback that does not translate well into rote figures and results. If you are not a gamer, I think you may be better off saving your upgrade dollar right now as the benefit isn’t earth shattering elsewhere.
