Tech News September 2004

 

CoolerMaster Praetorian Case Review
OCIA :: Wednesday, September 22, 2004

“The first thing that caught my eye here was the rear 80mm fan; particularly the fan grill, or better yet, lack thereof. I am a big fan of free-flowing air (no Pun intended), and CoolerMaster’s choice to not include a rear fan grill on the frame of the case was definitely a good one. Instead, the case fan grill is a simple wire grill, which can be removed should you be inclined to do so. Also, notice that the power supply bracket is removable. This bracket attaches directly to your power supply, which is then slid into the case from the backside and fits nicely into its own “holding station”. More on this later. The final thing that stands out with the rear of the case are the thumb screws used to hold the case panels on. These screws are also used to secure the removable motherboard tray.”

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Pioneer DVR-108 16x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive Review
3dXtreme :: Wednesday, September 22, 2004

“The DVR-108 is capable of writing at speeds up to 16x maximum on DVD-R and +R discs that are designed for this recording speed, as well as specified 8x media. With 16x media not yet available, Pioneer’s DVR-108 is allowing customers to write on currently available 8x media at faster speeds by capitalizing on Pioneer’s over specification technology, a writing strategy designed to allow the DVR-108 to record at higher speeds with certain media. The double-layer technology extends data storage capacity on DVD recordable discs from 4.7 gigabytes to 8.5 gigabytes. The new drive is also dual format, which support DVD-R and DVD-RW disc formats as well as the +R and +RW formats to eliminate consumer confusion.”

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Asus A8V revision 2.0: Exploring Max HTT Adventure
Madshrimps :: Wednesday, September 22, 2004

“The purpose of this article is to explore the limits of the Hyper transport bus (HTT) on this retail board. The HTT is the speed at which the cpu communicates with the motherboard, while different than a traditional Front Side Bus (FSB) that many of use as a common term, a higher HTT speed will increase overall performance much the same way and is the reason that people have sought to overclock their P3/P4, Athlon, and Athlon XP CPUs by raising their FSB to highest max stable.”

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OCZ PowerStream 420W Review
InsaneTek :: Wednesday, September 22, 2004

“OCZ Technology is well known for their awesome overclocking memory and customer service. They focus primarily on making the best overclocking products for enthusiasts around. We had a look at their DDR Booster a while back and it was definitely a good recommendation for overclockers who don’t wish to do voltage modifications. That little piece of hardware made my life much easier. OCZ continues the trend of convenience with the introduction of their new power supply. It features external adjustable potentiometers, silent fans, and EMI shielded power cables. Knowing OCZ’s quality, this power supply should not fail to satisfy everyone’s needs.”

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PSU Fan Mod Guide
Phoronix :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“As modding various computer parts becomes more popular many manufacturers are releasing their newest products already pre-modded. Many of these mods can be very handy to have but more often than not, it simply isn’t quite the way many of us wanted the mod. In today’s guide to modding a PSU we will show you how simple it is to replace the fans in your power supply.”

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Budget Digital Camera Buyer’s Guide
The Tech Zone :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“There are many advantages to getting a budget digital camera over a high end unit. The first being you won’t feel as bad if your break it or get it stolen. Just because it’s a budget camera doesn’t mean it takes cheap pictures. All the cameras profiled in this buyer’s guide offer great photo quality and an abundances of features. Although these cameras are designed for point and shoot operation, most of them offer some creative control of color and exposure settings.”

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X-Ray Pad Round-Up
Phoronix :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“Until now, one of our mousepads was a plastic advertisement glued to a piece of chipboard. Due to such a coarse surface, the mouse feet had grinded down overtime and now were non-existent. However, X-Ray Pad recently sent out several of their latest products, and since then our mousing experience has never been the same.”

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ThermalRight SLK-947U Heat-Sink
TechFreaks :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“Heat-sinks are a product often skimped on for builders needing to cut corners to stay within a budget, especially heat-sinks retailing at $20+. ThermalRight, widely regarded as the king of heat-sink manufacturers, is also known for charging $40+ for the majority of their cooling products. In this review, I look to see if high priced heat-sinks can justify their hefty price-tag with performance. ”

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Silent VGA Cooler Showdown Review
ModdersHQ.net :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“Today ModdersHQ looks at 3 of the best silent VGA coolers in a head to head review of Zalman’s ZM-80D Dual heatpipe cooler, Arctic Cooling’s VGA Silencer (Rev.3), and ThermalTake’s Fanless VGA Cooler.”

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Thermaltake Silent PurePower 480 Watt PSU
Overclockers Online :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“Knowing of Thermaltake’s short presence in the computer parts industry might be a surprise to some, considering the quality of the products they continually release. Believe it or not, Thermaltake was formed in 1999. The following year in 2000, they put a spin (no pun intended) on the heatsink industry with the world’s first turbine CPU cooler, the Golden Orb. Despite their short presence in the computer parts industry, they continue to distribute quality, mostly affordable, products to the consumer market. Today we will take the Silent Pure Power 480watt Power Supply on a run for it’s money. ”

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The ASUS PEG Link & NVIDIA Article
Tech ARP :: Monday, September 20, 2004

” ASUS was initially very tight-lipped about the mysterious PEG Link Mode. But recently, they have been forced to announce and even hype it up! In fact, they now promote it as “a new graphics enhancement technology” for their i915P- and i925X-based motherboards. Today, we will take a look at the ASUS PEG Link Mode and see what it’s all about. We will also run a few tests to see what it does for NVIDIA cards! Come and check out the results! ”

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T-Balancer TBAN-XL Review: The Knobless Fan Controller
Madshrimps :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“World´s most advanced fan controller? But how, it has no knobs to turn? An Austrian company made a stand-alone high tech unit which can be controlled completely from within Windows. Is it any good? Find out in this review.”

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Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 DVR Review
Designtechnica :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“If we had written this review only a few weeks earlier, we would have given the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 a poor rating because of the extreme remote lag and its odd recording behaviors. However, a recent software update has made the Explorer 8000 a highly responsive and useful DVR. There is absolutely no remote lag – something that even TiVo and ReplayTV can’t claim – and its recording options are much better than they were before the update.”

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InsaneTek Case Modding Contest
InsaneTek :: Monday, September 20, 2004

“This is just a reminder that there are still 4 weeks left of time for your case modding project. There is still plenty of time for modders to submit their work and get a chance to win some great prizes.”

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Thermalright XP-90 Review @ Phoronix
Phoronix :: Sunday, September 19, 2004

“Thermalright, a company that specializes in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of cooling components, recently released their XP-90, which sports four large heatpipes and an incredibly finished copper base. Although it may look nice, is the Thermalright XP-90 really a top-notch performer?”

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Jetart NP5000 Notebook Cooler Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Sunday, September 19, 2004

“The anterior of the cooler is the best part. Here you’ll find four USB2.0 connectors, a 5th USB connector for the provided cable, an AC adapter jack, and a dial that controls the speed of the two internal 70x70x10mm Y.S.Tech fans, ranging from 1800-2600RPM. As you can see, the USB hub in particular is very useful as it provides 3 additional ports (there are actually 4 free ones, but you’re using one of your laptop’s so it’s only 3 extras). For testing I fired up my trusty Dell Inspiron 8200 of two years.”

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Seasonic Power Angel Power Monitor Tester @ PimpRig
PimpRig :: Sunday, September 19, 2004

“So, what exactly IS a Power Monitor Tester? Quite simply, it’s a multi-meter designed specifically to monitor and measure electricity usage in atypical 120V electrical/electronic appliances. In other words, Seasonic’s words to be exact, “Identify power-wasting appliances. Forecast electrical expenses.”

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Evercool SCPA Fan Controller and ECS Review @ Frosty Tech
Frosty Tech :: Saturday, September 18, 2004
“Given the upsurge in LAN gaming events where we all like to show off our PC’s like miniature hot-rods, it’s not uncommon for the once utilitarian fan controller to be sporting a billion blinking LEDs of every imaginable colour. The Evercool SCP-A falls into that category with three dials surrounded by a changing colour fixture. As the RPM on the attached fan increases, the colour changes from blue to purple to pink (fastest). A red light indicates an error with the fan in question, and an alarm also wails away.”

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PQI Turbo 1GB Ultra Low Latency PC3200 @ Systemcooling
SystemCooling :: Saturday, September 18, 2004

“Recently, some high performance memory manufacturers have revisited good old DDR400 memory, and spruced it up for use with even today’s fastest systems. The memory we’re looking at today, PQI’s Turbo 1GB Ultra Low Latency PC3200, is a perfect example of this trend. It is still DDR400 memory, but it’s designed to operate with very tight timings, which helps it gain back some of what it loses in sheer speed when compared to faster offerings. Then again, maybe it doesn’t lose much after all because, as you’ll soon see, this memory has some looooong legs!”

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Tt Fanless 350w PSU review @ Overclocker Cafe
Overclocker Café :: Saturday, September 18, 2004

“When I first heard about a fanless power supply, I had my doubts. When you get down to it, the hot air has to go somewhere and without any circulation how would it do this? Thermaltake got around this issue by thinking outside the box or rather putting the convection fins outside the box. The most notable feature you see right off is that on opposing sides of the unit are areas where copper convection fins extend out of the power supply housing (25mm on one side and 63mm on the other.)”

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Wireless Buyer’s Guide @ TheTechLounge
The Tech Lounge :: Saturday, September 18, 2004
“Are you looking to go wireless or do you have an existing system you want to upgrade? If so, then read on. If not, why are you here? After all, going wireless sounds pretty easy… Just get an access point and some wireless PCI or PCMCIA cards and you are free to surf the net, print, share files and do all the things we do with computers minus the hassle of being tethered to a wall. But if it’s so easy why hasn’t everyone and their brother made the switch to wireless? The short answer of course is that it is not as easy as you might expect. This is the reason why I want to inform you, the wireless buyer, on what to look for and hopefully, how to get as much out of your wireless experience as possible.

Walking into your favorite computer store, you will be inundated with a wide variety of products to choose from. The two that will stick out mostly will be 802.11b and 802.11g. The 802.11a standard is also present, but tends to be used in higher-end products that also carry a high-end price tag. For the average home user who doesn’t feel the need to break the bank right out of the gate, it is the b and g standard that will take center stage.

I will now make things easy on you… If you are looking to go wireless now, I recommend that you choose a 802.11g setup. For details on why, read on – unless you have already bolted for the nearest wireless distributor.”

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OCZ PC3500EB Platinum DDR Memory Review @ PCStats
PCStats :: Saturday, September 18, 2004
“OCZ’s recently released PC3500EB Platinum Dual Channel Memory kit consists of two 512MB sticks, and comes from the familiar family of OCZ’s Enhanced Bandwidth line of memory products. The timings of these two 512MB PC3500EB Platinum DIMM’s are not the tightest we’ve ever tested, but they’re much better than the average for PC3500 DDR. Each stick is rated to run at 217 MHz with memory timings of 2.5-3-2-8 on AMD systems, and 2.5-3-2-6 on Intel rigs with a supply of 2.8V.”

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Blackfire 4 UV-LED Lighted Fans and Backy Review @ OCIA
OCIA :: Saturday, September 18, 2004

“I found the Backy to be an interesting device. The device installs into an unused expansion slot on the backside of your computer. Its function is to give easy access to 4 pin Molex and 3 pin power connectors, without having to remove your side panel.”

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OCZ PC3200 Platinum rev. 2 dual channel review @ OcPrices
OcPrices :: Saturday, September 18, 2004
“Lately there has been somewhat of a resurgence of ultra low-latency DDR, with Corsair’s XL grabbing a lot of headlines. Never one to rest on their laurels, impressive as those laurels may be, OCZ has fired back in force with their new PC3200 Platinum rev. 2, which is based on the same new Samsung chips as Corsair’s XL. So how fast is it? Read on.”

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Asus Crux P4 XB7N Heatsink Review @ Frosty Tech
Frosty Tech :: Friday, September 17, 2004
“Up until this point, Asus had not sold heatsinks under its brand name, and was known primarily as a videocard and motherboard manufacturer. The Crux P4 is the first Asus heatsink to be tested by FrostyTech, and thanks to its thermally controlled fan, is also one of the quietest ones for its class. Our digital sound meter measured its lower-end noise output at a meager 38.5 dBA, excellent compared to most Pentium 4 coolers. When temperatures rise, expect sound levels to follow suit through to 52.9 dBA.”

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Ultra Dragon Glossy Blue Case @ ViperLair
ViperLair :: Friday, September 17, 2004
“The basic design of the Chieftec case has not changed for over two years, but it still remains one of the nicer looking cases today, at least in our opinion. The Liquid Gloss paint job looks fantastic, and the big case window is something CCFL fans are going to love.”

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Gateway AR-230 Home Theater DVD Recorder Review @ Tweaknews
Tweaknews :: Friday, September 17, 2004

“The Gateway AR-230 can be summed up as being an affordable and high quality DVD Recorder with all features and ease of use as your standard everyday VHS VCR. It is easy to install and configure, makes recording a DVD child’s play and has every feature seen in its’ competitor’s products without the expensive pricetag.”

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Crucial Ballistix 1GByte PC4000 184-pin Memory Review @ Hexus
Hexus :: Friday, September 17, 2004
“It’s always difficult to make absolute recommendations based on the results obtained from a couple of modules. However, if the performance of the sample pair are representative of the vast majority of Crucial Ballistix PC4000 modules, I’d have no hesitation from recommending them to a wide range of enthusiasts. The test pair seem to break the long-held belief that high-speed RAM, along with associated high timings, cannot be run at moderate speeds and extremely low latencies. Priced at around £190 for a 1GByte pair, Crucial Ballistix PC4000 modules sit alongside equivalent modules, in both price and specification, from the likes of Corsair, OCZ and GeIL.”

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Logisys Dracula Case Review @ Mikhailtech
Mikhailtech :: Friday, September 17, 2004

“As previously mentioned, the “mouth” slides up to reveal a pair of USB ports and two audio jacks. There’s also a punch-out for a firewire port, though no actual port. Hmm. The power button is big enough for even the largest of fingers and the reset button is nothing small either. Kudos to Logisys for the size and the labels. In general, this is the part of the case that makes it what it is. Though purely subjective, it’s one of the best designed (visually anyway) cases I’ve seen to date.”

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DDR-2 533MHz Memory Royal Rumble @ TweakTown
TweakTown :: Friday, September 17, 2004
“It’s been a long time in the works but we are finally ready with our DDR-2 533MHz Memory Royal Rumble of September 2004. We check out and compare the performance of memory modules from Kingmax, Crucial, TwinMOS, Mushkin, Corsair and Kingston. If you are on the market for a new set of DDR-2 memory, you cannot miss this article.”

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