Content and news by Rob Williams

NVIDIA set out to top the Radeon X1800 XT, and, from our game play testing, they have managed to do so. By our count, three of the games from our test evaluation suite showed the Radeon X1800 XT and 512 MB GeForce 7800 GTX at “equal” playable settings, Battlefield 2, EverQuest II, and Serious Sam 2 (when HDR is disabled with AA). The remaining five games showed the 512 MB GeForce 7800 GTX offering a higher level of game play with more performance. None of the games we evaluated showed the Radeon X1800 XT performing at a higher level than the 512 MB GeForce 7800 GTX, — they performed equally well or the Radeon X1800 XT was slower. We were quite impressed by the Quake 4 and F.E.A.R. results in particular.

Now the choice comes down to X1800XT vs. 7800GTX 512MB. The 7800GTX 512 looks to be about $50 more expensive, but it does perform better in a few tests. For $649 though, this hobby just keeps getting more and more expensive! Check out the full review at Hard|OCP, Bit-Tech, Driver Heaven, Guru 3D, PC Per, Hexus and Tech Report.

That weekend went by far too fast, but now it’s time to get back to work and read some reviews! Extensive Mods takes a look at a new case from PowMax, that is definately tough looking! OCIA is taking a look at the Zalman 9500, which is by far one of the coolest looking coolers ever. Lots of keyboards and mice are being reviewed today, including the MX5000 Cordless Laser desktop which can be found at XYZ.

Cases & Enclosures
• NZXT Lexa Tower – Mad Shrimps
• PowMax Mega Assault Black ATX Case – Extensive Mods

Cooling
• Zalman CNPS9500 CPU Cooler – OCIA

Memory & Storage
• Sony DRU-810A Optical Storage Drive – Design Technica

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• Enermax Liberty 620 Watt PSU – Think Computers
• Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3100 Keyboard and Mouse Duo – Bonafide Reviews
• Logitech G5 & G7 Laser Mice – A1 Electronics
• Logitech MX5000 Cordless Laser Desktop – XYZ Computing
• Mini Keyboard Roundup – Trusted Reviews
• Sunbeamtech X-1300 Gaming Mouse – System Cooling

Video Cards
• Gigabyte GeForce 7800 GTX Turbo Force – Legion Hardware
• XFX GeForce 6600 – Viper Lair

Etcetera
• Kingwin Nighthawk USB/SATA External Rack – Overclocker Cafe
• Memory Pointer Review – ASE Labs
• NVIDIA 1.0-8168 Drivers Leaked (by ASUS) – Phoronix
• Plexiglass Basics: What you need to know – Case Mod God
• Podcast: DT Goes Mad! Nigerian 419 Style! – Design Technica (Right Click link and save as)
• Power Supply Giveaway – Pro-Clockers
• Powering Up A Standalone PSU Guide – Rojak Pot
• WickedLasers Starphaser Giveaway! – MVKTech

At launch, the Xbox 360 is going to have backwards compatibility for a long list of games, provided the Xbox 360 in question sports a hard drive. Additional titles will be added through updates in the future, but at more than 200 titles, the list is already considerably large. But is it sufficient?

I have personally noticed a lot of games I own are not listed there, but I hope they will be in the future. I am actually surprised to see one of my favorite Xbox games, Quantum Redshift is on the list. Head over to Ars Technica for the news posting, and click here for the list!

The Redmond, Wash., software maker has determined that the “rootkit” piece of the XCP software on some Sony BMG Music Entertainment CDs can pose a security risk to Windows PCs, according to a posting Saturday to a Microsoft corporate Web log.

In addition to a fix, their Anti-Spyware program will be updated in the near future to help block against this happening in the first place. Kudos to Microsoft, because God knows this is going to be severely exploited. Check out the full posting at News.com.

We took this new motherboard from DFI for some overclocking tests and put a naked FX-57 under some cascade cold treatment. With a better board layout/design and more tweakable options in BIOS, we are able to overclock the FX-57 to 3.9GHz and is stable under 3DMark benching. We will write a review on this fine board soon but now more OC tests continue.

I first heard of this board a few days ago, but I already want it. The additions and improvements on the board itself are sweet, including an extra PCI slot and an improved sound system. Take a look over at the VR-Zone forums, where Samino took the board for a ride and hit 3.9GHz on his naked FX57 with cascade!

PCLinuxOS, a start-up KDE engineered distribution, has
recently released their v0.92 Test 3 build that contains an updated
Unionfs stable version as well as fixes largely when it comes to the
livecd-installer. Bundled with PCLinuxOS v0.92 is everything from the
LimeWire P2P application to a scientific calculator. Even though
PCLinuxOS hasn’t yet gained much momentum from the desktop Linux
community, its intentions are definitely in the right direction and we
look forward to seeing how this distribution “shapes up” after passing
its development stages.

This is a great looking distro.. it has a friendly looking skin! I particularly like the look of the control panel. Take a look through the full pictorial over at Phoronix.

Tis the season for you to go and spend your hard earned money on things you most likely don’t need, or the person you are getting it for doesn’t need either, but we still do it anyway. So in the spirit of the Holidays we decided to make your gift giving and maybe receiving a bit more painless and easier. We’ve come up with, a Memory buyers guide, featuring 4 of the top Ram manufacturers out there today. There are many companies out there that make ram now, but these four are in my opinion the top 4 manufacturers. We will be looking at 3 offering from each company, High End, Low End and DDR2. The companies are Corsair, Crucial, OCZ and GEIL, the companies are in no particular order of preference just an order. Since the new shift is toward 2 gigabytes of ram, that is what we will be focusing on, but some choices will be 1 gig sets.

This is a pretty good guide, and although it only covers four companies, I agree with most of the choices. Hands down, it looks like the Corsair PC3500LL took the top rank with them. Take a look at the full guide at Think Computers.

It doesn’t seem to be such a busy day, even for a Sunday, so we will skip the hardware round-up today.

Shipping with ATI’s v8.19.10 display drivers is a technology
that Linux mobile users have long awaited to enjoy and that is
PowerPlay. ATI’s PowerPlay is a power management technology that is
designed to dramatically reduce the power consumption of ATI MOBILITY
RADEON GPUs by adjusting the core and memory clock speeds along with the
voltage supplied to the chip. By adjusting the GPU, the laptop battery
life and heat-output can often be dramatically improved. Today with us,
we have the first Linux preview for this battery-saving technology.

It’s about time ATI! Check out the full look over at Phoronix.

What we’ve learned today is that both ATI and NVIDIA’s partners know how to put a decent package together. Both cards, although expensive, offer something the other doesn’t, and neither is a bad buy. That’s not a review cop-out; it’s the plain truth.

Both cards performed extremely well, so it would be a tough decision in the end. It would really depend on which card you could get cheaper I suppose, unless you are a hardcore ATi buff. Check out the full look at Hexus.

The weekends finally here, now it’s time to relax. Weekends are not usually that busy for new hardware reviews, and this weekend is no exception! There are a couple great ones though, such as the Antec case that Computing on Demand is taking a look at. If you are looking for a case that has more class than flash, then check it out. If you are an Intel user, there are two DDR2 reviews for you to look at today, both being Corsair. If you are all psyched up for the new X1800XT, you may want to check out Hexus in regards to a Hard-On edition!

Cases & Enclosures
• Antec P-180 – Computing on Demand
• MGE XG Dragon Aluminum Case – Driver Heaven

Cooling
• Evercool Ice Storm – PC Modding Malaysia
• Thermaltake Polo735 Athlon64 Heatsink Frosty Tech

Memory & Storage
• Corsair XMS2 5400UL – Madshrimps
• Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400PRO – MBReview
• Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000KD 400GB SATA – PC Stats
• X-Micro Mini DisGo – 3D Gameman

Motherboards & CPU’s
• Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe – PC Perspective

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• iOne Lynx-Q5 Gaming Mouse – Tech-Mods
• Microsoft Wireless Optical 5000 – Red & Blackness

Video Cards
• ATi RADEON X1800 XT Hard-On Edition – Hexus
• HIS Radeon X800 GTO IceQ II – Hardware Secrets

Etcetera
• Advanced Guides: VPNs and Internet Connection Security – PC Stats
• ATI v8.19.10 Linux Performance – Phoronix

Arctic Cooling has just updated their popular NV Silencer to support the 7800GT, and that’s exactly how we are going to test it! The cooler still uses the proven design of blowing hot air out the back, and looks great while doing it. Is it better than stock though, and possibly water cooling?

When City of Heroes was released in 2004 it was pretty clear that the universe filled with superheroes was only halfway done. Just as Star Wars wouldn’t be the same without the Sith Lords, no life of a hero can be complete without some super villains to fight. With City of Villains Cryptic and NCsoft’s online RPG becomes a much more complete experience.

Check out the full review over at Boom Town.

Most PC games are made to be played with the keyboard and mouse, and that’s a bit of a problem, frankly. There are plenty of great games that would shine on the PC, if only the developers could rely on everyone having a game pad. Scarce though they are, many PC games support, and are played best with, a decent game pad—sports games and the occasional platformer (Psychonauts, Rayman), for instance.

Expect our review of this product in the coming weeks. All I can say is, FINALLY. A fully functional and comfortable controller to use on the PC. Check out the first looks at Extreme Tech.

In the end, I honestly fail to see what makes this title so special. There have been so many titles over the years that do the exact same thing that it’s not even funny. Now, while id may have been trying to stay true to the legacy, and would be touted as “retro gamers” on that part, a title like this honestly can’t stand on it’s own in 2005. The lack of storyline coupled with the stale Gameplay sprinkled with the archaic and poor texturing leaves much to be desired, and while the soundtrack might try to pump you up and get you going, the rest of the game just does a better job dragging you down.

Check out the honest review over at GamePyre.

The NGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver is a tweaked version of the NVIDIA ForceWare driver. The main purpose is to satisfy the users with better performance and image quality. The Driver has support for all Geforce cards.

Great, I need both versions! If you want some wicked fast and optimized drivers, definitely head on over to NGOHQ.

We saw an opportunity with the Katrina disaster to help people with the resources we have. Gamers are usually portrayed as an antisocial branch of society, uninterested in anything outside of the virtual worlds they enjoy. Recently, they’ve even been branded as budding criminals because of the controversy surrounding people who go out and kill someone and then say a game made them do it…

Having fun and raising money for charity.. great stuff! Take a look over at Legit Reviews.

Ahh, we are so close to the weekend, so don’t plan on heading out until you’ve had your daily review intake. There are a lot of power supply reviews happening today by a variety of makers. If you need a power boost, today is definitely the day to read up. If you are interested in SLi, Motherboards.org has a great article with dual XFX 7800GT’s. The performance is so good.. is GTX really necessary?

Dell has horrible customer service and they don’t sell AMD, but they do have open source systems! I would assume that if someone wanted a PC with open source software on it, they may be more apt to build their own computer, but I could be wrong. At either rate, XYZ has a nice writeup on the possibilities with those systems. Overclockers Online has upgraded their contest to include a new item, so check that out as well!

Cooling
• Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 Rev3 – InsaneTek
• PrimoChill ICE UV Blue Water Cooling Fluid – Big Bruin
• Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 Athlon64 Heatsink – Frosty Tech

Memory & Storage
• Buffalo Ministation 40GB Portable Hard Drive – Cache-Community
• OCZ Rally Dual Channel USB Flash Drives – Rojak Pot
• SanDisk ImageMate USB 2.0 CompactFlash Reader – Cyberwizard Pit

Motherboards & CPU’s
• Epox 9NPA+ SLI – AMDZone
• Foxconn WinFast 761GXK8MC-S Motherboard – PC Stats

Peripherals & Power Supplies
• BTC 6301URF Low Profile Keyboard & Optical Mouse Combo – Techniz
• Enermax Liberty 500W Modular PSU – Xtreme Computing
• OCZ PowerStream 520W – Tweak News
• Seasonic S12-600W PSU – Viper Lair
• SilverStone Strider ST60F 600W – InsaneTek

Video Cards
• Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT w/ Silent Pipe II – Hardware Zoom
• XFX 7800GT SLI – Motherboards.org

Etcetera
• ATI Catalyst 5.11 Official – NGOHQ
• Case Window How-to Guide – Pro-Clockers
• Dell’s Open Source Desktop Systems – XYZ Computing
• Epson Stylus Photo R220 Photo and CD/DVD Printer – Cache-Community
• 1GB Apple iPod Shuffle – Big Bruin
• Talk Back: Fighting Commoditization Of The Encoder Business – Design Technica

Contests
• Overclockers Online Give Away Prize Addition! – Overclockers Online
• Winners of the Crucial Ballistix Tracer Mod Competition – CaseModGod

After a brief tutorial level where your conscience (portrayed by a chubby devil who sounds like he’s from New Jersey, and an angelic sage floating on a cloud) guides you through the basic controls of the game. You then witness a scene where your people, the Greeks (the name is merely coincidental – you are in another world, and none of the gods of the Greek pantheon are mentioned), are being ransacked by mighty Aztec warriors. Before the Greek capital is destroyed, you are able to save a few townspeople. After whisking these refugees away, you set about the work of restoring the greatness of the Greek people.

Check out the full review at Game Chronicles.

Start developing an FPS and you should know that you are entering the most crowded market on the PC. A genre where a few towering giants look down with scorn upon the many pretenders flinging themselves desperately against the base of their colossal contributions to the field. If you want to stand out you need two things: some flash graphics and a fresh approach. With a market as overpopulated as this one, even a new angle wrapped in some standard graphics may be enough. This must have been the thinking behind Bet on Soldier as this marginally original spin on the shooter is decked out in the kind of graphics which only serve as an exemplar of what 50 years of Communist oppression will do to an artistic aesthetic. Although bafflingly, Kylotonn is not an eastern European development house but is based in Paris.

Wow, this is one game that didn’t do too well! Check out the full review at Ferrago.

According to our friends from HKEPC, some manufacturers have received a copy of 3DMark2006 Beta for internal testing but there is no scoring function yet in the beta copy for confidential reasons. There is particular game test in 3DMark06 which is similar to the Game Test 3 “Canyon Flight” of 3DMark05 but now it utilizes lots of HDR and SM3.0. Certainly the sea monster looks a lot better indeed from what we have seen. Things are not looking too rosy for ATi previous generation cards such as X300/500/600/700/800 that don’t support SM 3.0 but it is fine for NVIDIA GeForce 6 series.

Depending on how in-depth 06 uses SM3.0 and HDR, that could really have a huge role in the scores. It looks like ATI may be left behind before it even has a chance. Check out the look at VR-Zone.