Abit AW9D-MAX Motherboard
Viper Lair :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“The Abit EQ is a nice touch for those who track system health constantly as well as allowing the user to manage the system within Windows quite easily with the included software. Add to this, every LGA775 CPU up to the X6800 Extreme is currently supported, giving the buyer a wide range for CPU choices. The storage connections are plenty and we doubt anyone will have a problem of running out of places to plug in their hard drives.”
ATI R300: Open v. Closed Drivers
Phoronix :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“Five months ago to the day, we had compared the open-source and fglrx display drivers here at Phoronix for the ATI R200 generation components. However, how do the drivers compare for the newer R300 generation components? We at Phoronix have analyzed the open-source and official closed-source drivers and have some interesting results to share today.”
ATI’s secret plans: RD790 and more 4 video cards together?
Madbox PC :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“We have some fresh and confidential info from ATI, see what are they preparing for next year (chipset and video cards). We have som info from upcoming chipsets (including RX790). And maybe we will see some 4 video cards arrange with RD790.”
Samsung 225BW LCD Display Review
XYZ Computing :: Friday, October 13, 2006
The hottest thing right now in the display market are widescreens. There has been a huge upsurge in the demand for these products, as well as increased supply and more reasonable prices. I had a chance to work with Viewsonic’s VX2025wm 20″ widescreen LCD a gaming LCD that combined a widescreen display with some great performance specifications. In this review we will be working with Samsung’s 225BW 22″ LCD. Like so many new displays it uses a widescreen 16:10 display but this time we get to see Samsung’s take on it. At 22″ this display has a large size but that is not all it has going for it- it also has a reasonable, sub $400 price tag and some great features.
OCZ EvoStream 600W PSU Preview
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“In this preview, we will be checking out OCZ latest PSU which sets it apart from crowd. Thanks to the experiences they’ve learnt from the PowerStream, ModStream and GameXStream PSU series, OCZ is ready to launch yet another exciting line up of power supplies in the EvoStream series. Supporting from 600W to 700W, their new EvoStream PSU series is backed by quad +12V rails designed specifically for the most demanding computing environments of PC enthusiasts, power users and gamers. Like the ModStream, the EvoStrem will feature modular connectors as well, but this time it will be 100% modular.”
Patriot DDR2-1066/PC2-8500 1 GB Memory Kit Review
Hardware Secrets :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“With the introduction of AM2 socket by AMD all new high-end PCs are finally using DDR2 memories. Right now the standard DDR2 speeds are 533 MHz, 667 MHz and 800 MHz, but Patriot was one of the first manufacturers to release 1,066 MHz models. These models are not only targeted to both Intel and AMD overclockers but also to regular users that have an Intel CPU running externally at 1,066 MHz and want to match the memory with the CPU external speed to achieve the maximum performance your system can deliver. Patriot has released a 1 GB kit (PDC21G8500ELK, 2x 512 MB modules) and a 2 GB kit (PDC22G8500ELK, 2x 1 GB modules), both with 5-5-5-16 timings. We will review the 1 GB kit and compare it to its main competitor from Corsair, TWIN2X1024-8500, which is also a DDR2-1066/PC2-8500 1 GB memory kit with 5-5-5-15 timings. ”
AMD X2 AM2 4200+ EE Review
Neoseeker :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“While it may not be of as much technical interest knowing that these are essentially standard Athlon 64 chips, for those who run clusters of folding boxes or have a requirement for a low-draw server setup, these chips may fit the bill perfectly. The reduced power draw will definitely lead to long term savings for those who will be running their systems under load for extended periods of time. Also due to the lower draw, the heat output of these chips will be less than their normal-volted brothers which will be ideal for those running HTPC setups who are concerned about noisy fans and space constraints.”
Antec TruePower Trio 650 Watt Power Supply Review
Club Overclocker :: Friday, October 13, 2006
Antec has a reputation for providing some of the most impressive power supplies on the market. From the outstanding NeoPower 480 to the ultra quiet Phantom 500, Antec has set the bar pretty high when it comes to power supply quality. With the introduction of the TruePower Trio 650 power supply Antec hopes to built on this reputation for quality and stability. Let see how well it stacks up here at the Club!
Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe VDIMM Pencil Mod 
PC Modding Malaysia :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“A few weeks back, we reviewed the Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe (VER 1.0) motherboard. This motherboard is based on the Intel P965 Express chipset and it is the best overclocking motherboard in its price range. Clocking in at 472MHz FSB maximum, the TForce P965 Deluxe is a dream enthusiast’s board that doesn’t cost a fortune. However, the only down turn was lack of DRAM voltage (VDIMM) which was limited to 2.2V (2.15V actual). Luckily, we have a trick up in our sleeves that will put this board right on track. This Vmod can also be applied to the newer TForce P965 (non-Deluxe) and TForce 965PT granted the layout is exactly the same. This VDIMM mod is so easy that you need only a sharp pencil, a steady hand and a digital multimeter of cause.”
CoolerMaster NotePal P1 Notebook Cooler Review
OCIA :: Friday, October 13, 2006
“Of course laptop coolers of various forms have been around for years, from special insulating pads to stands to things with fins and fans, but for every different type you see there are a myriad of mixed reviews over whether they’re actually very effective or not. I must admit I’m a bit of a skeptic and never bought into these kinds of products, but when Cooler Master, who’s been in the PC cooling business for 10 years, said they were sending over one of their new Notepal P1’s, I couldn’t wait to try it out.”
AM DeadLink 2.8
PC Mech :: Friday, October 13, 2006
Do you frequently bookmark fun and interesting websites? Have you amassed a collection of links that were useful at one time but have since forgotten what most of them were for? We’ll I’ve got you covered in this week’s FreewareFrenzy. I’ll be examining AM DeadLink v2.8.
HIS X1650 Pro IceQ Turbo PCIe Video Card Review 
XYZ Computing :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
This review is going to take a quick look at the HIS X1650 Pro Turbo 256MB Dual DVI video card. As soon as it was released this card started to take flak from analysts because while it is branded the “X1650 Pro”, it is actually a revamped X1600 XT. Some manufacturers, like HIS, have incorporated a few slight changes to the speeds of the core or memory, but the fundamentals are largely the same.
Power consumption and Vista’s Aero interface
Tech Report :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Much has been made of Windows Vista’s new Aero interface, and for good reason. The GUI is loaded with luscious eye candy, including the liberal use of transparency, and even a few 3D effects. That eye candy doesn’t come cheap, though. Aero relies on graphics hardware to accelerate the interface, and requires a DirectX 9-compatible graphics card that supports Shader Model 2.0 and has at least 128MB of memory. Those requirements are pretty steep for an operating system, but they also raise an interesting question: if Aero is accelerated with graphics hardware, will system power consumption rise as a result? We decided to test and find out.
Vantec Nexstar3 eSATA enclosure
Club Overclocker :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Portable hard drives have always been a great way to take large files with you. Just last year I was on an extended trip and wanted to take some DVD’s with me. Instead of taking all of the DVD disks with me, I ripped them to a hard drive and away I went. Transferring those large files to the portable hard drive really took some time. The fastest transfer available at that time was USB 2. Now Vantec has changed all of that and released an enclosure that is capable of transferring through eSATA.
XtracPads Ripper XXL
Nippy Chips :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
The XtracPads Ripper XXL is an excellent addition to your workspace period. If you have the room for this enormous mousing surface it’s worth the twenty-five dollars. This is not only great for an all purpose work mat; for anything and everything. It is also great for a Keyboard/Mouse combo mat. This concept fixes the idea of those stupid gelly things you put on your keyboard because it cushioning your wrists evenly. Also its fabric surface is smooth for mice when paired with the included Teflon pads.
CoolerMaster Mars CPU Cooler Review
Virtual Hideout :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“So you want to try something new that has a bit of originality and can replace your boring CPU cooler? The CoolerMaster Mars can definitely fill both of these requirements. While it is not an overclocker’s choice, the Mars performs and looks much better than any stock cooler that comes with most any processor.”
Sapphire X1650Pro review
Driver Heaven :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“Not everyone can afford a Conroe X6800 and an SLI system, so today we are covering the Sapphire X1650 pro card which is very reasonably priced at the low to mid range sector. Only question is, can this card power the newest games at a reasonable resolution?”
Kinc flies by 90,000 with 3DMark 2001
Nordic Hardware :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
The key to the success was a new processor which could be clocked to 5.1GHz and another PowerColor X1950XTX which was able to handle the temperatures of real cooling.
CZ PC2-6400 Special Ops Edition Urban Elite 2GB Kit Review
Big Bruin :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Before we get to benchmarking, let’s see how well the OCZ Special Ops Edition Urban Elite DDR2-800 can be overclocked. I would not consider myself an expert overclocker, and might expect more experienced overclockers to get better results that I did, but things went pretty well, anyway. Everest was reporting the memory operating at 1020MHz DDR2. 220MHz faster than the rated speeds isn’t a bad bump, and it equates to a 27.5% increase!
Building A Wooden PC
Bjorn 3d :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
For the design to stand out from existing cases it couldn’t be square and conventional. so I started out with a quarter moon shaped design with a staggered top lined with fans, in theory this improved cooling as heat rises and that’s where the majority of the fans would be. However the design still looked amateur.
Tech Myths B.U.S.T.E.D. Rev. 1.2! 
Tech ARP :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“Join us today as we take a look at the most common and possibly the most stupid tech myths in the world, and BUST them!
Noctua 120mm Fans Review 
Dragonsteel Mods :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
” Up on the review block today are two interesting fans from a company called Noctua, these fans are made to be silent and efficient, they even come with special silicone grommets instead of the standard mounting screws to insure quietness. Noctua sent me two versions of their NF series of fans, and 800RPM version and a 1200 RPM version. The fans are interesting because of the way they are shaped and also because of their color, I’ve never seen brown fans before until now. Brown fans are not a bad thing, just different is all, and different is always good. Read on to learn more about these cool fans and to learn a bit more about Noctua… ”
Kororaa 0.3 XGL + AIGLX LiveCD
Phoronix :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“After Kororaa had faced GPL legal issues for including the proprietary NVIDIA and ATI drivers, the closed-source kernel modules have now been removed so this distribution can continue in their XGL + AIGLX LiveCD production. Kororaa 0.3 includes the open-source display drivers for the Intel and ATI components, meanwhile NVIDIA users are out of luck for any XGL or AIGLX action. This new release also includes the Linux 2.6.18 kernel.”
OCZ Tempest Heat Sink Fan Cooler
Legit Reviews :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
The OCZ Tempest has been out for a long time, but how does it hold up to Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors? Today Legit Reviews looks at the Tempest with the E6300 processor run at 1.86GHz and 2.80GHz to see how the tempest does at stock settings and when overclocked nearly 1GHz on the core. The Tempest is tested against Aerocool Xfire and the Intel retail box heat sink fan for this review.
Enermax Phoenix ATX Mid-Tower Case Review
3d Xtreme :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Unfortunately, the market has been flooded by these Cases with the large side panel fans and this leaves the rest of the features the only true distinction. The Phoenix is packed with features however – tool free drive bays and PCI slots with plenty of cooling options. Enermax delivered a killer Case with the Phoenix and we are very impressed with the results.
OCZ V12 CPU Cooler
Hardware Secrets :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“OCZ is going to release a new CPU and chipset air cooler line this month with a product line codenamed V12. We had the chance to take some snapshots of this new air cooler line from OCZ. They don’t have a commercial name yet.”
Neoseeker Mystique 632 Halloween Giveaway and Review
Neoseeker :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Neoseeker is giving away a nice Halloween Mystique 632: this is a black all aluminum case with orange blow highlights – perfect for Halloween! Here’s the contest entry form:
PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW Power Supply Review
Madshrimps :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
“Describing any review involving PC Power & Cooling products is more difficult then one might think. How do you describe a company to which so many accolades have already been attributed? Today we have the honor of testing the Turbo-Cool 1000W (1kW) PSU”
Sharkoon Swift-Case Combo 3.5″
techPowerUp! :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
Sharkoon has an extensive line-up of external enclosures for all types of drives. The Sharkoon Swift-Case 3.5″ Combo is made of shiny, brushed aluminum and gives the user the choice between USB 2.0 and Firewire. The case is incredibly solid and looks quite nice. We take a look if the installation and performance keeps us smiling with joy or frowning in frustration.
ProCase Noah Review
Epia Center :: Thursday, October 12, 2006
” I’ve seen a fair share of Mini-ITX cases but this is certainly one of my favourites and I’m currently having a hard time deciding what to use it for. As an HTPC? A server-setup? A general-purpose machine?”
