Content and news by Rob Williams

What Guru of 3D are about to test today is a fanless PSU, a heavy beast as the PSU is actually cooled down by big internal heatsinks. The “Calmer” from Amacrox.com as stated is rated 300 Watts and although that does not say everything, we can however assume it is sufficient for low and mid range PC’s and Home Theater PC’s that require silence.

Check out the full review over at Guru 3D!

Pfäffikon/ Hong Kong, 29.08.2005: Swiss cooling manufacturer ARCTIC COOLING launches
a new version of the NV Silencer 5. The 3rd Revision now includes an additional passive
memory cooling for the 7800 models. Thanks to the DHES (Direct Heat Exhaust System) the
award winning NV Silencer 5 continues to provide not only easy installation but excellent
cooling performance while still operating extremely quietly. The same technology enabled
ASUS EN7800GTX TOP Limited Edition to reach higher clock rates and become the fastest
graphic card on the planet. ARCTIC COOLING’s long-lasting ceramic bearing i.e. 6 years
warranty sets the standard.

For a full view of the cooler, click here. You can be sure to see our review of this cooler in the coming month.

Our very first look of the Nvidia 7800 GTX video card rocked us out of our seats. Gigabyte’s solution is a good overclocker,
provides great performance, and comes with a decent bundle.

If you are in the market for a GTX, head over to InsaneTek for the full review!

What can I say? HDA-DXM is one of the most noticeable “upgrade” that I had done in the past year. Being able to use my external AMP under DIGITAL mode and multi-channel digital input is a true bliss. I can hear enemy crawling up from my back trying to stab me in BattleField2. Monsters in Doom3 can no longer hide in the corner, as I can hear them breathing. HDA-DXM made my AMD64 gaming rig complete with its real-time Dolby Digital Live Encoding.

Check out the full review over at Overclockers New Zealand.

Late last year we had the opportunity to try out the Tech
Station computer test bench, which is manufactured by the people at
HighSpeedPC. Today, we have our hands on the latest revision of their
tech station kit with the Standard HSPC Tech Station v2.0. Will these
alterations in the revision warrant an upgrade for current users or
better yet recruit new HighSpeedPC customers? Today we’ll be sharing our
opinions on this open-air workstation.

Head on over to Phoronix for the full review!

Well its time for another contest! This time we are giving away a Seasonic 380Watt Power Supply! All you have to do is be one of our forum members with a minimum of 5 posts per week and 10 posts by the time the contest is over. The contest will run from September 1st to September 15th so jump in the forums and start posting!

Check out the full contest details at Think Computers.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California and LAKE FOREST, Illinois – September 01, 2005 – AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games and BFG Technologies®, Inc., a leading U.S.-based supplier of advanced 3D graphics cards and other PC enthusiast products, announced today that they have entered into a retail distribution agreement. Under the contract, BFG Technologies will manufacture, sell, market and distribute personal computer add-in cards powered by the AGEIA PhysX™ processor to retail, e-tail and distributors in the United States, Canada and the European Union member states.

Wow, good stuff! AGEIA is sending out impressive PR’s lately.. things are only getting better! Check out the full PR here!

Tycoon City: New York is a 3D world building or Tycoon game, where you get the chance to play out a rags-to-riches story in the greatest city in the world – New York. Starting from humble beginnings, you build up your empire until you are the most powerful and respected entrepreneur in…..

Everywhere you turn online these days you hear the word “podcast” or “podcasting.” No, it’s not some broadcasting method used by Martians, even though it might sound like it. A Podcast is just an audio file that is syndicated via an RSS feed, that you download and listen to with your computer or a portable device such as an iPod. What makes it different from an ordinary RSS feed is the audio component included in the “enclosure field.” Think of it as a feed that talks to you.

Check out the full article over at Bona Fide Reviews.

Still got a good AGP system? Not paying £350/$800 for a new motherboard and graphics card? Good, then read on. In this review we demonstrate that you don’t need to fork out so much money, or spend lots on all these new PCIe cards and motherboards. AGP is down, but not out, as this will show. Read on..

Check out the review of the 6800GT at TekBunker.

Everybody can upload up to 16 images to show off his creation. Other users can discuss the cases and also rate the submissions. Out of all gallery entries submitted until Sep. 15th one random case will be drawn and the winner will receive a Thermaltake MUSE 5.25″ external HDD enclosure. This competition is open to people from all countries.

Be sure to check out the gallery and look at the contest details here.

If you want the best processor on the market there is little doubt that it is going to be based on the AMD Athlon64 architecture. If you are a true gaming enthusiast you’re best off going with an Athlon64/FX processor, those of you who need a multimedia powerhouse should stick to the dual core AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+. For the answers to “why” that is, keep on reading…

If you are considering the best of the best when it comes to Dual Core, check out the full in-depth review at PC Stats.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – September 1, 2005 – AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, today announced that it has acquired Meqon Research AB, a physics development company based in Sweden. Known for its forward-looking features and multi-platform support, Meqon recently earned international acclaim in the games world for its physics technology incorporated in 3D Realms’ Duke Nukem Forever and Saber Interactive’s TimeShift.

Wow, this can only be a good thing! Check out the full press release here.

I don’t know how much more I can take after the Toshiba Gigabeat, but Philips has tossed two new HDD jukeboxes into the ring, and I can only hope the interface is a bit easier to figure out that some of its predecessors. The HDD1630 ($199), with 6GB of storage and the HDD6330 ($299), with a 30GB are both compatible with MP3, WMV and JPEG files and sport the ubiquitous Playsforsure logo. To be honest, I still have absolutely interest in showing anyone my photos on one of these things, but I’ve certainly seen it done. It tends to be a lot of shots of dogs, pets in general and babies. Whatever.

Check out the posting at Gizmodo!

“IBM has sponsored its own independent research into the total cost of ownership of Linux-based server systems, when compared with Microsoft Windows and Sun’s Solaris operating systems.

“The research, conducted by the Robert Frances Group, found that the TCO of Linux was 40% less expensive than a comparable x86-based Windows solution, and 54% less than a comparable SPARC-based Solaris solution…”

But wait.. that can’t be right. I certainly remember clearly that Microsoft stated that Windows is much cheaper to run than Linux! Check out the full article at Computer Weekly.

Today WinZip released a public beta version of WinZip 10.0, the latest version of the popular archiving software. The biggest change in this version is that the software has finally been broken into two versions – Standard and Professional, offering paying users additional functionality in the Professional version, while allowing others to use the Standard edition without an annoying nag screen.

Head over to /. for the posting, and the WinZip 10.0 BETA page for the download!

Mississauga, ON, September 1, 2005 – Nikon Canada Inc. announces the new COOLPIX S3, one of its new “S series” of COOLPIX cameras. Hot on the heels of the exceptionally popular COOLPIX S1 and S2, the COOLPIX S3 is slim, elegant and ultra-portable. Its 6.0 effective megapixels give you greater shooting performance, and it’s loaded with innovative functions to improve images in-camera. This is digital photography at its easiest and most convenient.

The COOLPIX S3’s sleek aluminum exterior is as comfortable in the hand as it is appealing to the eye. The sharp 35-105mm 3x Zoom-Nikkor ED lens* (35mm equivalent) fits neatly into the camera’s surprisingly slim 19.7mm depth. Making use of Nikon’s “right-angled” optics system, the lens functions throughout its focal range without protruding from the camera body. A large, bright 2.5-inch LCD monitor eliminates the need for a viewfinder, and lets you easily review your shots on the spot. The Graphic User Interface (GUI) further eases operation, letting you select functions by name or icon, while a handy HELP button displays easy-to-understand explanations for menu functions, in your choice of 12 languages.

To find out more about this cool camera, check out the full press release here (.doc).

Mississauga, ON, September 1, 2005 – Nikon Canada Inc. announces two truly revolutionary compact digital cameras, the new wireless COOLPIX P1 and COOLPIX P2. With Wi-Fi capability, excellent imaging performance and an array of advanced features that improve images in-camera, the new models make the digital shooting experience more fun and more versatile than ever.

Wireless shooting brings unprecedented convenience and freedom to a host of desktop publishing, reporting and recreational applications. Built-in Wi-Fi LAN support (IEEE802.11b/g) lets you send pictures directly from camera to computer or printer, without wires and cables. You can send pictures from the camera’s memory card or from the ample internal memory (32MB for the COOLPIX P1, 16 MB for the COOLPIX P2). Wireless printing lets you print your images cable-free on printers supported by Wireless PictBridge. All of the aforementioned functions are virtually effortless to set up and operate, while such wireless capability adds outstanding flexibility to the entire digital photography experience.

You can download the full press release for these cameras here (.doc)!

Mississauga, ON, September 1, 2005 – Nikon Canada Inc. announces the COOLPIX S4, one of the new “S series” of highly portable COOLPIX cameras. A stylish, versatile camera designed for active people, the COOLPIX S4 packs a high megapixel count, a large LCD monitor and tremendous zoom capability into a swivelling body that allows the lens and LCD sections to move independently.

The powerful, swivel-mounted 10x Zoom-Nikkor lens puts the COOLPIX S4 at the head of its class for creative and compositional versatility. Its outstanding 38-380mm performance (35mm equivalent) gives you the freedom to capture everything from extreme close-ups to architecture and panoramic landscapes; while the swivel-mount lens lets you push your imagination to the limit. You can shoot from the waist, or over your head, and even take self-portraits. With the imaging capability of 6.0 effective megapixels, your shots will look great even when considerably enlarged.

Mississauga, ON, September 1, 2005 – Nikon Canada Inc. announces the COOLPIX L1, a quality, easy-to-use digital camera, designed for the active life. Lightweight and compact, the COOLPIX L1 is ideal for family, travellers, sports and outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys taking great pictures. The COOLPIX L1 performs with its 5x optical zooming and range of advanced features to improve images in-camera.

Its powerful 38-190mm Zoom-Nikkor lens (35mm equivalent) gives you tremendous freedom to compose your shots. Zoom in for tight portraits, or zoom right out to capture wide-open scenery, and everything in between. A specially designed CCD delivers higher performance – an impressive 6.2 effective megapixels resolution – within smaller dimensions, making it a highly portable camera. You’ll notice the refinement in clarity at a glance, and the large, bright, easy-to-view 2.5″ LCD monitor makes it easy to compose shots and fun to view them right there on the spot.