Tech News October 2004

 

Lian Li PC-V1000 Aluminum Case
SystemCooling :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“Looking back a few years, I remember when owning an all aluminum case brought a sense of prestige and absolute quality. Aluminum cases offered sleek and innovative designs, superb cooling and a fit and finish that steel cases could not match. But all of these improvements came at a high price and case manufacturers such as Lian Li, Cooler Master, Chenming and a few others were in fierce competition to win over a handful of potential customers. Recently the progress of all aluminum cases seems to have faded. Today we’re beginning to see more and more so called hybrid case that feature an all aluminum front with steel chassis. What is also noticeable is a bit of a relaxed attitude towards really refining these new cases and making them something special.”

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Etymotic ER-6 Isolator Earphones Review
CoolTechZone :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“Audiophiles want not only the best speaker sets, but also the best pair of earphones and headphones for their portable enjoyment. The high demand from these enthusiasts and the commoners has led to the production of numerous high-end models that are produced by unlimited manufactuers. The enthusiast community, whether it is in computer hardware components or in audio, determines the strength and the path of the product and the market segment while being a rather small group when compared to average consumers. What we, as audiophiles, want in a pair of earphones or headphones is the highest possible quality of music. We want everything to be perfect and even want our earphones to outperform our speaker sets. ”

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Silverstone SST-SP54 VFD display review @ ModdersHQ
ModdersHQ.net :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“Lets say you’re looking for a device with a customizable display that fits nicely in your 5.25 drive bay. You want this device to display such items as CPU temps, Winamps playlist and your folding@home User Rank. Today we are reviewing the SST-SP54 VFD (Vacuum Flurorescent Display), a product that claims to fit the bill by SilverStone.”

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Epox EP-5EGA+ 915G Motherboard Review
PCStats :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“The Epox EP-5EGA+ is a next generation board which is based on the new Intel 915G and ICH6R chipsets. The standard flavour is the 915P, but as you guessed it, the 915G boasts its own Intel GMA900 integrated video package. It also comes with the high bandwidth PCI Express x16 slot for graphics cards, so there are couple options video-wise. If your computing requirements include high bandwidth peripherals like SCSI controllers or standalone Gigabit Ethernet NICs, there are two PCI Express x1 slots that have an amazing 250MB/s worth of bandwidth just waiting to be tapped! That is almost twice the regular PCI bus bandwidth! Of course, there are still four PCI v2.3 slots for your legacy devices, like sound cards, wireless LAN cards, or what have you.”

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Arctic Silencer DIY Guide Posted!
Tech ARP :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“Most of us know of the Arctic Cooling Arctic Silencer graphics card cooler. Their latest iterations have an improved design, utilizing a copper base and thin aluminum fins. Today, I will show you how to make a similar GPU cooler, all for less than S$26 (USD 15)! How did I do it? Check out the guide and you will find out!”

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XGI Volari V3XT @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“With the emergence of the latest graphics processors from both ATI and NVIDIA, enthusiasts are mainly focused on the RADEON and GeForce cards. However, there are other manufacturers other than these two giants. At Phoronix we will take a look at one of XGI Technology’s latest offering, the Volari V3XT.”

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AudioBUG AB-250 FM Wireless Transmitter Review
Futurelooks :: Monday, October 18, 2004

“This ingenious little device will enable you to play your music wirelessly to any FM radio receiver. Read on for more details…”

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uilding The Ultimate LAN Party Computer
The Tech Zone :: Monday, October 18, 2004

So I was reading the latest issue of Mobile PC magazine where they tested 14 “desktop replacement” notebooks and proclaimed in big bold letters “Ding Dong The Desktop’s Dead!” It seems they were so impressed by some of these new breed of desktop replacement laptops that they feel no one needs a desktop anymore. They even went so far as to say these are the new LAN party machine kings.”

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Akasa PaxPower @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Saturday, October 16, 2004

“With the latest computer systems consuming more power than ever before, especially due to x16 PCI Express placing a strain on the power supply, a low-grade PSU will simply fail. In this article, we are going to be testing the PaxPower 460W from Akasa that comes complete with dual 12-volt rails and active PFC.”

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Ground Control 2 review @ ocprices
OcPrices :: Saturday, October 16, 2004
“Ground Control was released four years ago and was a cult RTS game. While it literally horrified many loyal RTS fans by removing the traditional need to build bases and accumulate resources Ground Control impressed many by focussing on combat only. I was one of those who was impressed, so was excited by the news, previews and screenshots that headed my way when it’s sequel started to approach our monitors. The question is can Ground Control II: Operation Exodus live up to the high expectations that the first game has set?”

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Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo 915P Motherboard @ PCStats
PCStats :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“The Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo will support up to 4GB of DDR-2 or DDR memory (though not at the same time); which is one the nicer features of the 915P chipset.There are two sockets for DDR-2 RAM, and four sockets for DDR RAM. Onboard components consists of an IDE RAID controller, IEEE 1394b fireware, four SATA channels, three PCI x1 slots, 7.1 channel Intel ‘High Definition Audio’, a PCI Express based Broadcom 5751 Gigabit NIC, a second PCI-based Gigabit Marvel NIC, an 802.11G wireless LAN card, and twin BIOS’. The software bundle includes all the typical fodder, including a copy of Norton Internet Security 2004.”

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Coolmax Ultimate OS Backup Drive @ FastLaneHW
FastLaneHW :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“Viruses, worms, Windows system crashes, not a problem if you are the proud owner of Coolmax’s new Ultimate “OS” backup drive. Your Windows XP system restore feature did not work, once again not problem with the ultimate “OS” back up drive from Coolmax.”

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Native Command Queuing & Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.7 @ ViperLair
ViperLair :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“For most home users, there will be no tangible benefit from Native Command Queuing. While benchmarks may look nice, our real-world tests said otherwise. That is not to say that NCQ is useless altogether, but for the majority of desktop computers, you’re not going to see a performance gain as you would with a jump to a newer processor. However, in situations when Hyper-Threading is being tapped, we saw some improvement in the results that would not be seen without a major hardware upgrade.”

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Chenbro Xpider II Case Review @ Envy News
Envy News :: Friday, October 15, 2004

“No, this case does not belong to Spider-Man. Chenbro has transplanted their Gaming Bomb’s successful designs into a completely new line of ATX cases: The Xpider II. Chenbro has taken into consideration the questions and ideas handed to them by consumers and gamers worldwide in the hopes to better the Gaming Bomb’s design and provide a distinct case, in terms of features, with a distinct look. Was it successful? Read on to find out.”

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PC Case Buyer’s Guide @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Friday, October 15, 2004

“It is possible to build a fanless, or nearly fanless case, but it’s more costly and you will sacrifice some level of performance depending on your budget. A more practical solution is one with fewer, larger, slower spinning (and therefore quieter) fans. This is what office/quiet computer users and HTPC builders should strive for. Pick out a case with good airflow and preferably 120mm fan slots (instead of 80mm ones). You will get the same/greater airflow with less noise. Chances are it won’t be bling, but that’s not a main priority when building a “peaceful” PC. HTPC cases will rarely have 120mm fans due to their desktop form factor, so consider purchasing quiet 80mm fans. It’s not going to be the most demanding system so heat output will be lower.”

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T-Balancer Temperature and Noise Balancer Review @ OCIA
OCIA :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“Face it, geeks are gadget freaks. We love neat “stuff”, especially those cool little gadgets designed for our computers. Many of us are also very concerned with fan noise. If you have read my earlier reviews, you have found that I have become somewhat anal about having a quiet rig. Well, I have discovered the mother of all “silent PC” gadgets, the mCubed T-Balancer.”

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Thermalright XP-90 Review @ InsaneTek
InsaneTek :: Friday, October 15, 2004

“Thermalright has been busy coming up with great quality heatsinks at an affordable price. They listen to their customers and come up with excellent cooling solutions. First, they beef up the NB-1, resulting in the all copper NB-1C. Then, they blow up their heatpipe heatsink to accommodate large 120mm fans. The XP-120 reviewed recently was amazing. The heatsink was massive and provided excellent cooling with quiet operation, something extremely difficult to do. Yet, everything has its downfalls. The XP-120 does not fit all motherboards. The large heatpipes and fins get in the way of capacitors on some motherboards. The XP-120 also comes with a rather steep price tag. The massive heatsink comes in at a retail price of $49.95. It’s true that the performance is worth the money, but there is also the risk of having compatibility problems. On that note, the XP-90 steps in.”

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Image Design Contest @ Overclockers Online
Overclockers Online :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“We will be giving our lucky graphics designer a Zalman ZM80D HP VGA cooler! Albatron has just stepped in and said they’ll be giving away one of there video cards to make this contest even better! Get your entries in before November 15th 2004!”

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10 Tips To Safe Online Shopping @ The Tech Zone
The Tech Zone :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“The internet has changed our buying habits. Many people have found the convenience of online shopping to be a great experience. You can easily click and see the product. You have a fun time shopping, browsing, reading and getting informed about products. And you don’t have to take time out from your busy schedule to fight traffic, crowds and lines to buy the perfect gift for your recipient.

No wonder Internet business generated $301 billion in revenue last year, by a University of Texas estimate.

If you compare shopping online to offline you would think as far as security goes, it would favor offline shopping, right? Not really.”

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Cooler Master CoolDrive 6 @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Friday, October 15, 2004

“When Cooler Master grafted the Aerogate II multifunction panel onto a CoolDrive 3 hard drive cooler, they immediately had one of the best multifunction devices on the market in the CoolDrive 4. Never one to rest on their laurels though, they came up with a whole new version of this great device. Their newest effort in the hard drive cooling world, the CoolDrive 6 (don’t know what happened to the CoolDrive 5…maybe it’s a secret weapon :-D) aims to better the CoolDrive 4 with some features you’d expect as well as some you’ve never seen before in such a device.”

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Imation 1GB USB 2.0 Swivel Flash Drive @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Friday, October 15, 2004
“If you have a USB flash drive, you probably have a little cap you have to keep track of when you use the device. Imation has a solution for this hassle and risk (we all lose little things, after all) in the form of the USB 2.0 Swivel USB Flash Drive.”

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Silverstone SST-SP54 VFD display review @ ModdersHQ
ModdersHQ.net :: Thursday, October 14, 2004

A quote “Lets say you’re looking for a device with a customizable display that fits nicely in your 5.25 drive bay. You want this device to display such items as CPU temps, Winamps playlist and your folding@home User Rank. Today we are reviewing the SST-SP54 VFD (Vacuum Flurorescent Display), a product that claims to fit the bill by SilverStone.”

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Intel & AMD Dual Core CPU’s Explained @ DataFuse.net
DataFuse :: Thursday, October 14, 2004
“Both AMD and Intel are racing towards the next step of processor technology. Ever since Intel’s Pentium 4 it has become much harder to run cpu’s at higher speeds.

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LeadTek WinFast A400 Ultra/GT TDH 6800 Review @ Beyond3D
Beyond3D :: Thursday, October 14, 2004
“At a glance, the only noticeable difference between the two boards is the additional Molex connector visible on the 6800 Ultra-based card – aside from that, both boards use the same, near-silent two slot cooling solution. Despite its ‘monster cooling’ look, the fan noise from these boards is indeed reasonably quiet, and certainly not noticeably loud over the rest of the components in an average system, even in an open case.”

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Review: XTrac Ripper XL Optical Mousepad @ GideonTech.com
GideonTech :: Thursday, October 14, 2004
“Today we are taking a look at the Ripper XL mousepad from XTrac. With a cloth top, anti-skid rubber backing, and the biggest surface area I have ever seen, this mousepad might be what you have been searching for.”

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Gigabyte GA-8GPNXP Duo @ Bjorn3D
Bjorn3D :: Thursday, October 14, 2004
Of course, companies like Gigabyte like to get in on the action in the enthusiast market. It’s the area where margins are higher and where a company can really get noticed. To that end, Gigabyte developed its flagship 8Sigma line of motherboards. This family of motherboards is billed by Gigabyte as a ‘Fusion of Top Innovations’, and it features support for Intel’s LGA775 Pentium 4 processor, DDR and DDR2 memory, Intel’s High Definition Audio, dual gigabit ethernet, and Gigabyte’s patented U-Plus D.P.S. eight-phase power circuit. I have been fortunate enough to get my hands on the GA-8GPNXP Duo from the 8Sigma line, and that is what we will be taking a look at in this review.

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Arctic Silencer DIY Guide Posted!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, October 14, 2004

“Most of us know of the Arctic Cooling Arctic Silencer graphics card cooler. Their latest iterations have an improved design, utilizing a copper base and thin aluminum fins.

Today, I will show you how to make a similar GPU cooler, all for less than S$26 (USD 15)! How did I do it? Check out the guide and you will find out!”

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ED#28 : Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier Updated!
Tech ARP :: Thursday, October 14, 2004

“I’m proud to announce that my book, Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier : The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide for PCs will be available all over the world by October 15th. We will also be launching a mega-contest simultaneously with prizes worth almost USD 5000! The book is 368 pages thick and will cover many topics on the BIOS. It won’t just be a compilation of the BIOS feature descriptions in our online BIOS Optimization Guide. This will be a complete guide on how to optimize the BIOS and how to recover from any problems that may occur.”

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Designtechnica Looks at the PCMCIA Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook
Designtechnica :: Thursday, October 14, 2004
“Owners of average notebooks (i.e. most of us) are generally happy with the Internet and office related functions our machines provide us. What about multimedia and gaming though? It tends to be the case that the audio we hope for is either at the mercy of highly inferior built-in speakers, or confined to limited stereo options through the headphone/portable speakers jack. To get around this, Creative thinks they’ve found a solution to get us the same high-end surround sound and dramatic audio quality we have on our souped-up desktops at home.”

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Coolmax 3.5 Xtreme Files (F1) Review
Hardware-Pacers :: Thursday, October 14, 2004

“Coolmax’s new Xtreme Files 5-in-1 OS Backup / Data Backup / Restore system is a truly outstanding innovation. This system provides a user with 80GB of storage space to backup files or operating systems, or restore files. This system has a spectacular design and can be used right out of the box for data storage, or after a few simple steps can be used for operating system backups.”

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