Content and news by Rob Williams

Almost nothing in an enthusiast computer is left un-modded these days. Whether it is functional mods done to heatsinks, motherboards, processors, or aesthetic mods done to cases and fans, almost everything you can imagine can be done to a computer. However, modders sometimes find it hard to find the perfect matching peripherals for their newly decked out system. Today we have a product from Hiper Group that just might solve some of your peripheral matching dilemmas, the Hiper Clavier Aluminum Keyboard.

I didn’t think I’d really like a metal looking keyboard, but this one looks great! Check out the full look at Phoronix.

Being an affordable mainboard costs can be cut a little. One of my personal wishes finally was introduced .. as stated you need to enable SLI mode on the mainboard if you are using two GeForce graphics card in a SLI setup, which normally can be done with that little SLI card that sits securely on your mainboard and needs to be be flipped around. Some manufacturers ditched that SLI card and allow that change from the BIOS or even automatically. Albatron is such a company, and this mainboard has a digital switch, you seriously don’t have to do a thing. Lovin’ it!

Check out the full review over at Guru 3D! You can also have a chance of winning an Albatron Mars PX915P4 Pro motherboard, and you can check that out here.

These Security features as well as the reliability are the reasons the forces as well as Nasa (mmmmm… Doom3 or HL2 in space anyone) uses these disks, come on can you imagine a normal HDD surviving a Tank ride for too long? No… nor can I, Infact to be honest I don’t think a normal HDD would survive in any of the Army’s or Navy’s computer or equipment in the field. Ok we are not the forces (although Vman is in touch with his Darkside and Rack has gone all yoda on us)

Check out the full article over at Xtreme Computing!

Whether you are a gamer looking for a little more out of your video card, or a multimedia enthusiast that has had to give up gaming performance in the past for a top of the line multimedia card, the X800XT AIW deserves a serious look.

Head over to Viper Lair for the full review!

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

If you are interested in checking out the latest NGO drivers, grab them here!

FRANKFURT, Germany, Aug. 16, 2005… Steganos GmbH, a leading provider of
security and privacy software for consumers and small to medium-sized
businesses, today announced the immediate availability of Steganos Internet
Security(TM) 2006 and Steganos AntiSpyware(TM) 2006 in the North American
market.

The latest version of Steganos Internet Security — a comprehensive package
that protects users from the Internet’s greatest threats — contains five
key components: Steganos AntiVirus(TM), Steganos Personal Firewall(TM),
Steganos AntiDialer(TM), Steganos AntiSpam(TM) and the newly added Steganos
AntiSpyware(TM). The package enables users to tailor their own security
programs, installing only those modules that they need or want.

Check out the official website for more info!

This cooler is quite ground breaking! It’s based on a vapor chamber technology which utilizes an evaporation process. The chamber is located just above the CPU copper base & is filled with refrigerant gas. All this, three copper pipes & lots of fins result in great cooling performance. It’s also extremely light, weighing in at 355 grams with fan. Watch the Video to find out more…

Check out the full review over at 3D Gameman!

Enough of that… I am writing this piece to introduce something that I think a lot of people should know about. It’s going to piss a lot of people off and make a lot of people laugh as well from what I have seen so far of it. In the wake of all of what is going on with video games and more, I can see where the ‘Liberals’ are trying to take us. They are trying for the Orwellian 1984 etc. They want to control all of us, in what we see, hear, and do. Look around, the UN is trying to do it all over the world, they are trying to be the World Police. Look at the corruption in the UN, and they want to tell all of us what to do? They want to be our conscience? Anyway, It’s a new comic book called ‘Liberality for All’

Check out the full article over at Think Computers.

CPU coolers don’t always have to provide better performance with each new design. The Scythe Katana brings in great performance
with great silence. It also cools the small components around the CPU socket.

Check out the full review of this cooler over at InsaneTek.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.– August 16, 2005 – At GC 2005, AGEIA™ Technologies, Inc., the pioneer in hardware-accelerated physics for games, today announced that Digital Jesters has signed a publisher-wide agreement with AGEIA to license the AGEIA physX™ SDK and utilize the AGEIA physX™ processor for its next-generation games. The first of these is Bet on Soldier: Blood Sport, a futuristic first-person shooter with a twist—the combatants kill for cash in a televised reality-show-from-hell, and players can wager in-game money on whether they can defeat an opponent in a certain time period.

Check out the full press release here!

The Evercool VC-F117 Nighthawk is not one of those ordinary stock coolers but it was designed to cool down current high end graphic cards as they produce much more heat than older high end graphic cards. Its performance is a lot better than stock coolers; most of the time unless the graphic card’s stock cooler is already equipped with high end cooling device such as heatpipe cooler. Overall Evercool VC-F117 Nighthawk is another good choice for you if you are looking for a decent graphic card cooler which will able to serve you well.

Head over to PC Modding Malaysia for the full review! Expect our review of this product in the upcoming weeks as well.

In the following pages of this review, PCSTATS will be benchmarking and overclocking a 1GB set of Crucial Ballistix PC2-4200 DDR2 memory (2x 512MB) which come packed in bright yellow/orange aluminum heatspreaders. By default Crucial’s Ballistix PC2-4200 runs at DDR2-533 speeds with memory timings of 4-4-4-10, at a voltage of 1.8V. Crucial has always been on the conservative side of ‘enthusiast’ level gear, but we’re hoping that this Ballistix DDR2 RAM will still be up to the overclocking challenge.

Check out the full review over at PC Stats!

OCZ has recently released some new memory geared for gamers. The memory comes clocked at DDR433 speeds, with tight 2-2-2-5 timings.. at a respectable 2.8v. We are going to see just how great this memory is, and how well it overclocks. So let’s get to it.

A program manager from the Visual Studio team has made word, via a blog post, that the new version of Visual Studio 2005 (Codename Whidbey) will be released to manufacturing (RTM) within sixty (60) days from today, August 16 2005. Currently, there are only a mere few bugs left and the team is hoping end development on Visual Studio 2005 by mid October 2005. Novemeber 7th is the target launch date.

Check here for the original post. VS2005 has been in development for a while, so it’s good to see it’s nearing release!

A New Jersey teenager was last week sentenced to five years in youth detention for taking part in a denial of service for hire scam. Jasmine Singh, 17, pleaded guilty to two counts of computer theft over attacks on online sporting goods stores said to have cost victims $1.5m. Judge Frederick DeVesa in Superior Court, New Brunswick also ordered Singh to pay $35,000 compensation.

Owned, I guess. Check out the full post at The Register.

Microsoft’s J Allard has said that the Xbox 360 will be released in differing versions over the next five years. “It’s something we’re not ready to announce yet,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a one-size-fits-all [approach] over the next five-year horizon.” Relatedly JamesO writes “Microsoft is saying that anywhere up to 40 games could be released for the Xbox 360 during its launch period, but which of those will make or break the console’s launch? Pro-G choose their ten most important Xbox 360 launch games. Not the ten best launch games, but the most important for the success of the Xbox 360.

Check out the full post over at Slashdot.

There is a battle of epic proportions shaping up between Sony and Microsoft over the storage, delivery and management of digital media in and around the home. At stake for Sony – its continuing dominance of home entertainment electronics as it enters a new era. For Microsoft, it’s about winning or losing new territory for the Windows OS as the market for productivity PC’s matures.

Check out the full article over at Hexus!

Even after a huge announcement last week, with their new Laser mice and gaming keyboard, they went ahead and announced even more desktop combos.

Logitech® Cordless Desktop™ S 510 Media Remote (Logitech® Cordless Desktop®
S 510)
Take command of music, photos and video files on the PC – at the desk or
from across the room.

• PC remote includes controls for music and streaming audio, PC
  navigation and photo viewing. It also has controls for navigating Logitech®
  MediaLifeâ„¢ software
• Ambidextrous 800 dpi optical mouse
• Smart power management – all three components have up to 6 months of
  battery life, on/off switches, battery indicator lights
• Keyboard includes buttons for manipulating images and music,
  including Rotate and Shuffle. The Rotate button can be configured to turn
  images 90 degrees left or right
• Retail Price: $99.99 ($79.99 without the remote)

Logitech® Cordless Desktop® MX™ 5000 Laser
The Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser is a smart desktop with an LCD
display on the keyboard to give you instant feedback. This keyboard and mouse combination also has smart power management and Logitech
SecureConnectâ„¢ wireless technology.

• Built-in LCD screen displays important information such as e-mail and
  IM notifications and digital music playback information.
• Bluetooth® 2.0 EDR micro-receiver allows people to connect compatible
  Bluetooth devices to do voice over IP with a headset, transfer pictures
  from a mobile phone, listen to music through Bluetooth headphones, and much
  more.
• Logitech SecureConnect wireless technology ensures a plug-and-play
  setup and enhanced security
• Touch-sensitive controls on the keyboard can be used to control
  volume, music commands, and zooming for images.
• MXâ„¢1000 Laser Cordless Mouse for Bluetooth for precision tracking on
  virtually any surface
• Retail Price: $149.99

Logitech® diNovo™ Media Desktop™ Laser
Logitech’s highly acclaimed diNovo Media desktop provides easy, remote
access to media files (digital imaging and music) on the PC and now comes with an MX laser mouse and Bluetooth 2.0 Enhanced Data Rate.

• Rechargeable MXâ„¢1000 Laser Cordless Mouse for Bluetooth provides
  precision tracking on virtually any surface.
• Bluetooth 2.0 EDR micro-receiver allows people to connect compatible
  Bluetooth devices to do voice over IP with a headset, transfer pictures
  from a mobile phone, listen to music through Bluetooth headphones, and much
  more.
• Unique keyframe technology for superior typing experience and reduced
  typing noise
• MediaLife software lets you browse music, videos and photos from a
  distance
• Separate MediaPadâ„¢ has an LCD display that alerts you to IM buddy
  status and incoming emails and the built-in calculator eliminates the need
  for an external or Windows calculator
• Retail Price: $199.99

Logitech® Cordless Desktop® MX 3000 Laser
Combines a precision laser mouse with the superior comfort of Logitech’s
low-profile, zero-degree tilt keyboard design at an affordable new price.

• Logitech SecureConnect wireless technology ensures a plug-and-play
  setup and enhanced security
• Laser mouse – unmatched precision and control
• Music controls – easily access and control digital music, with
  Shuffle and pre-set audio buttons on the mouse or keyboard
• Powerful navigation – smooth scroll and zoom controls on both
  keyboard and mouse, increasing efficiency and comfort
• Smart power management – long battery life with battery status
  indicator on both keyboard and mouse
• Comfort – low-profile, Zero-Degree Tiltâ„¢ design for maximum comfort
• Retail Price: $99.99

For all the press releases for these products, you can check them out here!

It is with great pleasure we award this ThermalRock Mystic our Editors Top Award for a desktop computer case for its thoroughly modern style, quality of manufacture and we just think it is great.

Check out this stylish case review at A1 Electronics.

THE AVAILABILITY OF INEXPENSIVE dual-core Pentium D processors has some enthusiasts seriously reconsidering the Intel platform, and for good reason. SMP’s creamy smoothness is hard to resist, and once you’re hooked, there’s no going back. AMD may have a better dual-core design and superior performance in many applications, but even the least expensive Athlon 64 X2 costs 50% more than a Pentium D 820. Heck, even the Pentium D 830 is cheaper than the X2 3800+. Oh, how times have changed.

For the full comparison, check out the article at Tech Report.