Content and news by Rob Williams

Rob Williams

Rob Williams

Rob founded Techgage in 2005 to be an 'Advocate of the consumer', focusing on fair reviews and keeping people apprised of news in the tech world. Catering to both enthusiasts and businesses alike; from desktop gaming to professional workstations, and all the supporting software.

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Rob's Recent Content

Quake IV Demo Released

If you’ve been waiting it out for a demo of this popular shooter, then your wait is finally over. Head over to FileShack to grab the file, which comes in at 326MB. It does not include multi-player, but we should be seeing that available in a demo in a week or two.

Published on November 24, 2005

ATI ‘approves’ Radeon X1800 XT overclocking

This is certainly a new spin on things. Will we be seeing ‘pre-overclocked’ ATI cards on store shelves in the future? Of course, this is nothing new to NVIDIA fans, since BFG and eVGA have been overclocking their cards for a while. If this proves true though, it’s evident that ATI is scared of NVIDIA and obviously need to do something to win back a lot of it’s customer base.

TI has told graphics card makers it will sanction attempts to overclock its Radeon X1800 XT chip – provided they take full responsibility for the “potential fallout”.

So suggests a leaked confidential advisory obtained by Anandtech. If accurate, the memo reveals a major change on ATI’s part – to date, the company has not approved of attempts to overclock its chips by more than a handful of megahertz.

Take a look at the full posting at The Register.

Published on November 24, 2005

ATI Founder Quits After 20 Years

ATI chairman and founder K Y Ho has decided to call it a day, and is quitting the company to “spend more time with family and pursue my personal interests”. Ho created ATI in 1985 and served as its CEO until 1 June 2004. On that date he handed the mantle of power over to Dave Orton, who joined the company in April 2000 as its President and COO. James Fleck, currently an independent director, will take over Ho’s role as chairman, albeit in a non-executive capacity.

End of an era? We’ll see how this plays out in ATI’s future. Check out the posting here.

Published on November 24, 2005

Perfect Launch? Not for the Xbox 360 it seems

Since the Xbox 360 was released two days ago, there have been numerous reported incidents all over the internet. The primary complaint is that the system is unstable, with games crashing at random, along with the entire system. I can vouch for this, because I have had this happen during NFS: Most Wanted and Project Gotham Racing 3 game play. Some have had far worse crashes than me, however. Some screen shots floating around show many artifacts on the screen after a crash, which forces you to manually shut off the system.

Other complaints are related to heat dissipation and noise level, both of which I can verify again… are very noticeable. I highly doubt that the reported crashes are due to overheating, but rather system instabilities or bad code in the games. The problem seems to be most prevalent with PGR3, so it’s possible that there was a bad pressing, although I have had very little issues with my copy.

There is a lot to read on these problems though. You can check out the quick posting over at News.com, and see some user feedback. X-Box Scene has been doing an excellent job keeping up on top of things also. Check out their forums to see what the users are saying. If you are one of the users affected by these problems, speak out! Believe it or not, there are official forums for the 360, so vent and read others opinions there.

Published on November 24, 2005

Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev 2 Review

Here we have the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 VGA cooler. These coolers are becoming an industry standard of sorts when it comes to top of the line video cards. HIS started the trend and now many other top manufacturers like ASUS have added them to their high end offerings.

Leave it to such a modest company to produce such an awesome product, that’s certainly leading the way with air cooling. Check out the full review of this great product over at NGOHQ. For a look at Revision 3 of this cooler, you can check out our review here.

Published on November 24, 2005

Hardware Roundup for Nov. 24

Happy Holiday! It doesn’t seem that too many websites are taking a break today though, because there are reviews a plenty. If you are still deliberating about picking up the new 7800GTX 512MB edition, you may want to check out Cool Tech Zones review. If you are willing to hand over a hefty sum, then you will certainly have the high-end of all high-end… for a few months at least ;)

Building a small form factor PC? SilverStone produce some of the *best* HTPC cases and both Sudhian and Madshrimps are taking a look at one today. The biggest problem with SFF though, is the constant high heat situation. PrimoChill has come to the rescue, by offering a SFF water cooling case, which Grunt Ville is taking a look at. It’s expensive, but if you want the best cooling for your SFF, it may be a smart move.

If your PC is kick ass, then you will want sound to match. Red and Blackness seems to love the Creative T6060 5.1 sound system. The entire set looks classy and is a great size. It’s not extremely powerful compared to other speaker sets on the market, but it’s certainly worth the price.

    Motherboards & CPU’s
  • ECS KN1 SLI Extreme – [H]ard|OCP
  • Championing 64-bit & Dual-Core – HardwareZone
  • Updated AMD Socket 754 Athlon 64 & Sempron Motherboard List – A1 Electronics
    Etcetera & Contests
  • Contest: Apple iPod Video 30GB & Oppo Digital OPDV971H DVD Player – Design Technica
  • Contest: Four Zboards – two Call of Duty 2 keysets and two AOE III keysets – 3D Xtreme
  • Holiday 2005 PC Case Buyers Guide – Think Computers
  • XGI Targets OSS Drivers – Phoronix
Published on November 24, 2005

10 million Xbox 360s by the end of 2006

Microsoft corporate vice president Peter Moore has given the first firm indications of the company’s sales ambitions for the Xbox 360 over the coming year, which see ten million consoles being shipped by the end of 2006. “In the first 90 days, I believe we’ll be somewhere between two and a half and three million units worldwide,” he said, echoing projections made by Xbox division CFO Bryan Lee at an investment conference earlier this month.

Well, that looks to be near 7 times more than we currently have in population, so it should be a good holiday season. Check out the full posting at Games Industry.

Published on November 23, 2005

NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GS Mini Review

A month ago, we revealed the existence of the GeForce 7800 GS. Today we have a mini review of it for our readers. First of all, you may want to print this article. Not because we write so well, but because it’s not everyday you hear a story like this one.

Check out the full review over at NGOHQ!

Published on November 23, 2005

LaCie presents.. new LEGO-shaped hard drives

The Brick design was created by renowned designer Ora-Ito who has worked on some interesting projects for Heineken, Adidas, the band AIR, L’Oreal, Vogue and many others. It’s the first of several cool HDD designs we’re rolling out in the next 6-12 months, all by different well-known designers. As Ora-Ito says: why should data storage be boring!? All are available for pre-order today. The red 250GB Brick is in stock now and other Desktop Editions will ship end of December. Mobile Editions will ship January 2006.

    Desktop Editions

  • LaCie Brick Desktop Edition (USB) 160GB White – $119.99
  • LaCie Brick Desktop Edition (USB) 250GB Red – $149.99
  • LaCie Brick Desktop Edition (USB) 300GB Blue – $199.99
  • LaCie Brick Desktop Edition (USB) 500GB Red – $399.99
    Mobile Editions

  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB) 40GB White – $119.99
  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB) 80GB Blue – $149.99
  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB) 120GB Red – $299.99
  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB/FW) 40GB Blue – $119.99
  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB/FW) 80GB Red – $169.99
  • LaCie Brick Mobile Edition (USB/FW) 120GB Blue – $329.99

Check out the product page here!

Published on November 23, 2005

Hardware Round for Nov. 23

Well since I can barely drag myself off the Xbox 360, I will make this quick ;)

    Cases & Enclosures
  • Bytecc Backup Star One-Touch Backup External Enclosure – A True Review
  • Nikao Dragonfire Case – Extensive Mods
  • Vantec NexStar GX USB2.0 Hub & HDD Enclosure – PC Stats
    Cooling
  • 5-Way Radiator Round-Up – Phoronix
  • Zalman CNPS9500 LED High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler – 3D Gameman
    Peripherals & Power Supplies
  • Razer Green Copperhead Gaming Mouse – techPowerUp!
  • Saitek Eclipse Illuminated Keyboard – Think Computers
    Video Cards
  • Asus EN7800GT 2DHTV/256M/OSP/A Videocard – PC Stats
  • ATI All-In-Wonder X1800 XL – Hexus
  • GeForce 6800 XT 256MB – Guru 3D
Published on November 23, 2005

NZXT Lexa Classic Case Review

Some may consider NZXT to be the new kid on the block. And they are right. But when the new kid moved in they bought alot of new toys to play with in the form of new ideas. With a couple of legendary cases under their belts like the Nemesis and the Trinity made some of the older kids gather around and see what the fuss was all about. NXZT stepped away from the their robotic creations to come up with a new classic case. The Lexa. And it is bound to catch the eye of everyone in the enthusiast market.

Head on over to Pro-Clockers to check out the full review.

Published on November 22, 2005

Hardware Roundup for Nov. 22

Woot, Xbox 360 launch day! Congrats to all who were actually able to get one, because they are selling out fast. I am lucky to have pre-ordered mine, so it will keep me pre-occupied for quite some time. If you are in the mood for tech reviews, and of course you are, check these ones out.

    Cooling
  • Evercool Neon Crab & Spider Fan Filter – Techniz
    Memory & Storage
  • Western Digital Raptor WD740GD – Techware Labs
    Motherboards & CPU’s
  • GeIL Ultra PC2-5300 DDR2-667 – Phoronix
  • OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 Gold GX XTC Dual Channel – 3D Gameman
  • OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 Gold GX – Case Mod God
  • VIA’s K8T900 Chipset Preview – Tech Report
    Video Cards
  • ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon X1800XL 256MB – Driver Heaven
  • Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO² and GTO Ultimate – Beyond 3D
Published on November 22, 2005

Xbox 360 Launch Game Reviews

If you are going to be picking up a spanky 360 tomorrow, you may be clueless still as to what games you want to buy. I’ve compiled a quick list of my favorite reviews and previews for each game, that are published to date. Over the course of the next few days, more reviews will become available, especially for games that currently only have previews.

  • Amped 3 – IGN – 6.9
  • Call of Duty 2 – Gamespot – 8.8
  • Condemned: Criminal Origins – IGN – 8.7
  • FIFA Soccer 2006 – 1UP – 7.0
  • GUN – IGN – 7.9
  • Kameo: Elements of Power – IGN – 8.4
  • King Kong – 1UP Preview
  • Madden NFL 06 – IGN – 8.0
  • NBA 2K6 – Gamespot – 8.3
  • NBA Live 2006 – 1UP – 7.5
  • Need for Speed: Most Wanted – Gamespot – 8.4
  • NHL 2K6 – IGN – 7.5
  • Quake IV – 1UP Preview
  • Perfect Dark: Zero – IGN Preview
  • Project Gotham Racing 3 – Gamespot – 8.8
  • Ridge Racer 6 – IGN – 7.0
  • Tiger Woods Pro Tour 06 – Gamespot Preview
  • Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland – Gamespot – 6.6
Published on November 21, 2005

Civilization IV Review

What we don’t want to do is spoil your enjoyment by telling you everything about this Civilization IV PC game. We have to say that we are very impressed and once we had got our minds around the changes since our earlier version were even more impressed. We think there is a lot more to do and thus gives one much more enjoyment with the IV Civilization PC game than earlier versions.

Check out the full review over at A1 Electronics.

Published on November 21, 2005

Corsair Expands Flash Voyager Line Up, Begins Shipment of New 4GB Ultra-Durable USB2.0 Drive

Fremont, CA (November 21, 2005) – Adding to its award-winning Flash Voyager USB2.0 drives, Corsair Memory today announced immediate availability of a new capacity – 4GB. Enclosed in the Corsair proprietary all-rubber Flash Voyager housing and boasting water-resistant/temperature tolerant properties, the new 4GB drive allows users to carry more valuable data and applications without compromise. Equipped with a security application and featuring dual channel technology, the 4GB Flash Voyager delivers a perfect combination of functionality, capacity and performance.

Check out the full press release here.

Published on November 21, 2005

GeIL ONE Winbond BH5 1GB Dual Channel Kit Review

GeIL is a modest manufacturer that was founded in 1997. They have made other memory manufacturers stand up and take notice, and have gained a lot of fame in a very short time. Those that may want to know, GeIL stands for Golden Emperor International Ltd. Today we have the chance to review some GeIL CAS 1.5 DDR memory. Memory that runs at this latency is rare and is not easy to find. This DDR can run at 250MHz at CAS 2 with nice tight 2-2-5 timings.

They managed to overclock this to 272MHz and keep the 2-2-2 timings! Of course, it took 3.9v, but even still! Check out the full review over at NGOHQ.

Published on November 21, 2005

Zero-Hour Live Coverage

For those of you that are following the X-BOX360 hype, you may know that tonight is the beginning of Zero-Hour, Microsoft’s official release party of the X-BOX360 to 3,000 lucky winners in a recent contest. OCIA.net’s own Striker777 was lucky enough to score a ticket to the event, and brings us live photos from the top-secret event. Click the picture below to be taken to a thread with updates throughout the night.

Check out the full coverage of this killer event at OCIA.

Published on November 21, 2005

Intel and ECS Contest

Here’s a contest you can’t refuse. Intel and ECS have joined together to bring us an exciting, yet easy, contest. The prizes are
two Intel Pentium D 830 CPUs. I’m sure you can find great use for that thing!

Head over to InsaneTek for the full contest details!

Published on November 21, 2005

MIPS RAM Freezer Review

MIPS Computer is a manufacturer of specialized high-performance water cooling solutions for overclockers. Their products offer excellent build quality made in Germany. This time we test the RAM Freezer which is a water cooling device for DDR1/DDR2 memory. We saw great testing results with Winbond UTT, Samsung TCCD and Winbond BH-5 memory – up to 25 MHz faster without any additional fan noise is very impressive.

It’s about time something like this has come along! It looks to be the perfect solution, so check out the full review at techPowerUp! for the full look.

Published on November 21, 2005

Hardware Roundup for Nov. 21

Happy Monday! If you’ve been waiting for the release of the X1800XL AIW, then your wait is over. Viper Lair says, “Of course, despite the strong gaming performance, the All-In-Wonder X1800 XL is not being marketed as such. The All-In-Wonder X1800 XL real strength is that it is geared to those who do more than play games, and in that respect it is very strong.” If the AIW is not your taste, then German site Tweak PC is taking a hard look at the XFX 7800GTX 512MB version, dubbed the triple X.

    Cases & Enclosures
  • Cooler Master CM Stacker 830 – Hardware Zone
    Peripherals & Power Supplies
  • Flexiglow FG-500W-EZ PSU – RB Mods
Published on November 21, 2005

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