Content and news by Rob Williams

Tom’s Hardware Guide has expended some serious effort in our review of Windows Vista, to let us dig beneath the surface. We spent about 500 hours with the most current version, putting this new Windows operating system through its paces. In this review we also include more than 130 screenshots, and provide an overview of all the many different programs, settings, and functions that this new Microsoft offering delivers.

Toms take the usual 40-page in-depth look at a product. This time Vista is on the testbench, and for the mostpart, they like what they see. Of course it’s still ‘ultimately’ buggy, but it is still a fair way from release. Check out the full article here.

What can I say? FluidXP really had nothing to prove, yet they improved an already outstanding product and dropped the price as well. While Fluid XP+ is still at a price point somewhat higher than the competition and the performance testing is extremely close, it would seem to have a slight edge that the extreme performance crowd will flock to. I also didn’t see any of the dye related problems that plagued the first batches of PCIce.

If you are looking for some great coolant that comes in various colors, this may be worth your attention. The bad? It costs near $40! Check out the full review at PC Apex.

Besides comparing the E1705 and the M1710, we will also take a closer look at the construction of both systems, and we will provide more information on the included components and overall system design. Naturally, both of these laptops are still in the desktop replacement (DTR) category, so if you’re looking for a thin and light notebook computer, you will want to look elsewhere.

If you are looking for a desktop replacement, then you’ll want to check out the in-depth review at AnandTech. Just because it’s a DTR, there’s no reason for it to weight 20lbs ;)

The specification is obviously high end, but one thing strikes us – is it really high-end enough to justify the price tag? We’ve been staunch defenders of Alienware’s right to charge through the nose for quality in the past, but we can’t help but feel that in this case, those forking out the large amount of cash required will be a little disappointed. Most of the major boxes are checked – the FX-60 and the 7900 SLI are clearly big winners. However, the 2GB of RAM is on four 512MB sticks, which reduces the speed – this is a rookie system building mistake, and is an unnecessary bottleneck in what should be an explosive system.

As always, this Alienware is a very solid system. But for the $4,000 pricetag, is should be offering a lot more to the consumer. Check out the full review at Bit-Tech.

Yesterday The Inquirer reported AMD was going to release Athlon 64 FX-62 and Athlon 64 X2 5000+ processors for socket 939. The source for the information was from the AMD processor price page where it listed the two models available for socket AM2 and Socket 939.

However, this is incorrect and it was only a misprint on the AMD website according to our AMD Public Relations representative, Damon Muzny. Muzny wrote to say, “While I was out on Thursday and Friday a number of you good folks noticed that there was a misprint on AMD’s website. Specifically, our pricing page incorrectly stated that the X2 5000+ and FX-62 would be available in a 939-pin flavor. That typo has been corrected and the pricing page now should read correctly.”

In the business side of things, it would be foolish for AMD to release 939 versions if they want to push AM2. So this is to be expected, really. Check out the full posting at DailyTech.

For the first time, you’ll be able to see the people that you play with day in and day out. It may be quite a shock to the system when you discover that, the school mates that you thought you had, are actually big hairy men with beards!

Check out the full new posting at Hexus.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. – May 31, 2006 – AMD (NYSE: AMD) announced today the next milestone in digital entertainment with the AMD LIVE!(tm) PC – a full-featured, easy-to-use media center PC, designed to enable consumers to organize, distribute, share, and enjoy their content collection throughout the home and on the go. Leading OEMs including Acer, Alienware, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Gateway, HP, Sahara, and Tsinghua Tongfang, as well as system builders in North America, Western Europe, and China, will have AMD LIVE! PCs, powered by the award-winning AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 dual-core processor, starting in June. The AMD LIVE! Entertainment Suite, a collection of services and applications designed to enhance the PC experience, is also available today at www.amdlive.com.

You can read the full press release here.

SUNNYVALE, CA – May 30, 2006 – AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced that it
will hold its technology analyst meeting at approximately 8:30 a.m. PT
(11:30 a.m. ET) on Thursday, June 1, 2006 at AMD Headquarters in
Sunnyvale, CA. AMD Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hector Ruiz and
members of AMD’s management team will deliver key presentations
regarding AMD’s microprocessor business. Forward-looking and other
material information may be discussed during the presentations.

You can read the full press release here.

Cases & Enclosures
• Thermaltake Aguila PC Case – Think Computers
• Vizo Luxon HDD Enclosure – XS Reviews

Cooling
• AVC Z7U7414001 Athlon64 Socket AM2 Reference Heatsink – FrostyTech

Memory & Storage
• Corsair Twin2X2048-6400C4 – PC Stats
• Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5 – OC Workbench
• Patriot PC2-5300 2GB DDR2 – Guru3D

Motherboards & CPU’s
• AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ & Sempron 3400+ – Phoronix
• AMD’s Socket AM2 Processors – Tech Report
• MSI 945GT Speedster-A4R Motherboard – Hexus
• MSI 915GM Speedster-FA4 – TweakTown

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• Bluetooth Stereo Headset – A True Review
• CoolerMaster iGreen Power 430watt PSU – Virtual-Hideout
• Cooler Master iGreen Power 500W Power Supply Unit Review and Give Away – Big Bruin

Video Cards & Monitor
• ATi and DX10 – UK Gamer
• Connect3D Radeon X1900 GT – PureOverclock
• Inno3D GeForce 7300GT – NGOHQ
• Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH – Elite Bastards
• Samsung Breathes Life Into the CRT – XYZ Computing
• XpertVision GeForce 7600 GT Sonic – TweakPC

Etcetera & Contests
• AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid+FM – TweakPC
• iRiver U10 1GB Flash Portable Media Player – ExtremeMHz
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-F27 – DigitalTrends
• TerraTec’s Noxon 2 Audio – BIOS Magazine

One of the best things about Auto Assault, is that you can finally strap yourself into a cool looking vehicle and wreck stuff! Does AA have what it takes to become a long lasting MMO, or will it run out of gas early?

Netflix, the most popular online DVD-rental service, has seen tremendous growth since the company’s introduction in 1998. Netflix now has almost 5 million subscribers and offers more than 60,000 movie titles. Movie rental stores like Blockbuster have seen a significant hit in profits due to the unrivaled success of Netflix. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings hopes to push Netflix via downloads by the end of 2006 — even if the market for DVD downloading still has a lot of growing to do. However, copyright issues and the fear of increased piracy are just two issues that stand in the way.

It’s hard to tell whether this will take off or not. Having to burn a movie you downloaded.. and paid for, is not my cup of tea. If you are not supposed to burn them, who really wants to watch movies on their PC? More choice the better I suppose. Read more at DailyTech.

Reports have already been flooding in about how good the new Windows Vista is, with its vastly improved security and user friendliness. Now there is going to be a Windows Vista Ultimate, which will include just about everything, such as Windows Media center, Tablet PC support, integrated search (Google and Dell are sure to love that one), plus a heap of other things most of us would never use for just US$450 or so.

I can’t exactly see the Ultimate version selling that well for that price. They bring up Office 2007 Ultimate also, but that is strictly for business use primarily. If you are going to take the plunge, one thing is for sure.. your wallet will feel it. Check out the full article at IT Wire.

Before you rush out and buy this motherboard, and the four graphics cards to go with it, it’s important to realise that the lack of quad-SLI support with Nvidia’s current driver means you won’t be able to run a four-card SLI system writes Simon Crisp. Indeed, if you put four cards in, the driver recognises that there are four SLI-compliant cards in the Gigabyte GA-8N-SLI Quad Royal motherboard, but politely asks you to remove two of them.

Ouch.. this board is so packed due to four GPU’s, that you will only have one standard PCI slot. Coupled with Quad-SLI not even working, NVIDIA is going to have a tough time getting this to fly. Read more at The Inquirer.

“There’s room for innovation here, but moving that controller around — it’s something that’s not mainstream for most games,” he said. He recalled a Microsoft-made controller from several years ago that allowed 3-D movement. “It’s tough because sometimes you move the controller, and you don’t [mean] to fly into the ground. You just want to put the controller down,” he said. “People aren’t that good at totally standing still. Even pilots actually sit in a chair when they do their flying. So there’s a lot to be learned about these controllers.”

I am still not really sold on the motion sensing side of gaming, but it should make quite an impact. Bill actually makes some good points. I would think you’d almost get dizzy after a gaming session of swaying yourself all over the place. Check out the full read at Gizmodo.

One in six UK workers have partaken of alcohol during working hours, a shock YouGov survey of 1,500 full time employees commissioned by Royal & SunAlliance has revealed. Or rather, one sixth of the Brit workforce has been “under the influence of alcohol at work in the last six months”, while two million wobbly employees have pulled a hangover-induced sickie during the same period.

That’s a lot of drunkeness! This is quite an interesting posting… it almost seems as though Soccer is the root of the problem? Check it out at The Reg.

As Fathers Day approaches the time for selecting gifts for your dad grows shorter and shorter. MobilityGuru is ready to help you select the stopest of stope stuff for this auspicious occasion. Whether you’re living on a beer or a Champaign budget, we’ve got something your dad will love on his special day.

This is some good stuff, and ranges from inexpensive, to “I will need a bank loan”. Check it out at Mobility Guru

Besides the above specifications, AMDs platform design guides states that systems are recommended to focus on thermal dynamics as well as acoustic performance. Launch preparation documents stress that Live! compliant systems must keep noise to a minimum, and in some cases, produce almost no noise at all. Furthermore, AMD documents recommend that only fluid-bearing SATA hard drives be used to cut down on noise.

Its interesting to note that the entertainment version of the Live would include either a 35W or a 6W Dual Core CPU. Lets see if this will prove a Viiv killer. Check out the full posting at DailyTech.

Ever since I learned about them, I have wanted a super computer. A SUPER computer was something only the ultra nerds in national laboratories and giant Hollywood studios got to play with. Today I have a super computer, and most of you reading this do too.

Check out the interesting read over at Hexus.

BEIJING – May 30th, 2006 -Shenzhen Domain Network, Advanced Micro
Devices (NYSE: AMD), and Huawei Technologies today announced the
formation of a strategic collaboration to empower online gaming in
China. The three companies will work together to support an online
gaming network, brand communications, marketing and promotions.

You can read the full press release here.

Cases & Enclosures
• Inter-Tech CA-01 Emotion Case – Technic3D
• Lian Li PC-V800 Case – Overclocker Cafe

Cooling
• BlueGears 120mm b-Ice & b-Cool Temp Display Fans – Virtual-Hideout
• Corsair Nautilus 500 – Technic3D
• Scythe Ninja Plus Heatpipe CPU Cooler – Rojak Pot
• SilverStone Nitrogon NT06 CPU Cooler – ModTheBox
• Scythe Quiet Drive Internal HDD Silencer – Pro-Clockers
• Sunbeam Silent Storm – techPowerUp!

Memory & Storage
• Crucial’s Gizmo! OverDrive – XtremeComputing
• Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.10 750GB – Tech Report

Motherboards & CPU’s
• ECS C19-A SLI – techFEAR
• InnoVISION invades motherboard market once again – NGOHQ
• Interactive AMD Athlon 64 product ID guide version 2.1 – OC Inside
• MSI RD480 Neo2-FI 30-day Test Drive – techFEAR

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• Altec Lansing AHS615 Gaming Headset – Think Computers
• ExactPad Accuracy One Pro Mousepad – A1-Electronics
• Razer Copperhead – 3D Gameman
• SilverStone ST60F 600W Modular PSU – Bjorn3D

Video Cards & Monitor
• GeForce 7950GX2 on sale already – NGOHQ

Etcetera & Contests
• Garmin i3 SatNav – UK Gamer
• Sling Media Slingbox Personal Video Broadcaster – XYZ Computing
• What’s With All This Dolby Stuff? – Digital Trends