- Qualcomm Launches Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform
- AMD Launches Ryzen PRO 7000 Series Mobile & Desktop Platform
- Intel Launches Sleek Single-Slot Arc Pro A60 Workstation Graphics Card
- NVIDIA Announces Latest Ada Lovelace Additions: GeForce RTX 4060 Ti & RTX 4060
- Maxon Redshift With AMD Radeon GPU Rendering Support Now Available
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Hardware Roundup for June 21
- LanWar 2006’s 8 Best Case Mods – Think Computers
- Thermaltake Armor Jr. Aluminum Computer Case – TweakNews
- Zalman HD160 HTPC Case – PC Apex
Cases & Enclosures
- Scythe Mine CPU Cooler – Big Bruin
- Silverstone Nitrogon NT06 CPU Cooler – Red & Blackness
Cooling
- Memory Corp Biometric USB Memory Key – Trusted Reviews
- SyncMAX PC2-5300 DDR2-667 Express Memory – PC Stats
Memory & Storage
- AMD AM2 3500+ Overclocking Adventure – Virtual-Hideout
- Foxconn NF4SLI7AA-8EKRS2 – Motherboards.org
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Music Gremlin MP3 Player and Service – Digital Trends
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ASUS EN7900GT – GamePyre
- Galaxy GeForce 7300 GT gDDR3 256MB – Guru3D
- Gigabyte GeForce 7300GT Turbo Force – Legion Hardware
- HIS and ATI tag team to deliver cool’n’quiet GT Crossfire – Hexus
- Leadtek WinFast 7950 GX2 TDH – Bjorn3D
- NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 Graphics Card – Rojak Pot
Video Cards & Monitor
- eMachines T6528 – HardOCP
- Lenovo’s ThinkPad T60p – BIOS Magazine
Etcetera, Complete Systems & Contests
Hitman Blood Money Review
But not everything is superb, and that is especially true for the animations (that are quite jerky) and rag doll physics (which are exaggerated). This in itself isn’t too bad but the major problem is that it completely ruins the game’s wonderful immersion. When you see a body bend unrealistically in a small nook because the physics engine is too rudimentary or see Mr. 47, the main character, bend and open something at unnatural speeds, like a robot, you can’t help but feel that IO Interactive could have done a little bit of extra work to polish this aspect of the graphics.
Check out the review at Driver Heaven.
Frozen Chip from IBM hits 500 GHz
EETimes is reporting this morning that IBM and Georiga Tech have demonstrated a 500 GHz Silicon-germanium (SiGe) chip, operating at 4.5 Kelvins. The ‘frozen chip’ was fabricated by IBM on 200mm wafers, and, at room temperature, the circuits operated at approximately 350 GHz.
It’s too bad that there are no pictures, or benchmarks to show off the true power of the beast. Either way, this is still an impressive feat.
Mother and Daughter Sue MySpace.com for $30 Million USD
A 14-year old girl and her mother have filed a $30 million lawsuit against the popular social networking site MySpace.com. The 14-year old claims she was abducted and sexually assaulted by a 19-year old man she met on MySpace.com. The suit alleges that because MySpace has no age or identity verification measures in place and does not prevent strangers from contacting users under the age of 16 that the site is negligent in the assault that occurred.
At what point did the girl think, “Wow, this is not the same guy I was expecting.” Even after clueing in, she would still get in the car? While I agree that age verification should be put into place on MySpace, a lot of this should be the parents responsibility.
Join Bjorn3D in a Battlefield 2 game and win great prizes
On Saturday the 24th of June we at Bjorn3D will stress-test our Game Server by hosting a 64 people Battlefield 2 game.
The server will open up at 4:00PM Eastern and we will play for a few hours after that. Everyone helping us will have the chance of winning cool prizes from XFX. How do a XFX 7900GT VIVO, XFX Headphones + mic and a XFX gamepad sound?
Check out their site for more info!
Opera v9.0 Browser Released
Coming out of Norway this morning is the long awaited Opera 9,
after previous Beta/preview releases. Opera 9 is focused on being
efficient, productive, secure, stylish, and innovative. Some of the new
items in Opera 9.0 include Bit Torrent, content blocker, Widgets, site
preferences, and more. Here at Phoronix we have a few shots up of Opera
v9.0 under Linux.
The new version looks good… I may have to check this one out. I am doubtful it will drag me from Firefox, but it looks like a great release. You can check out a full pictorial at Phoronix, and download the latest version from Opera.
EMC ACQUIRES ProActivity
HOPKINTON, Mass. – June 19, 2006 – EMC Corporation, the world leader in information management and storage, today announced that it has acquired Newton, Massachusetts-based ProActivity Software Solutions Ltd., a privately held provider of content management software for business process management (BPM) . The acquisition is complete and is not expected to have a material impact on EMC revenue and EPS for 2006. ProActivity will be integrated immediately into the EMC Software Group. With its R&D operations in Netanya, Israel, ProActivity joins recently acquired Kashya and nLayers to form a foundation of EMC R&D in Israel, which EMC will continue to enhance over time.
You can read the full press release here.
Hardware Roundup for June 20
- Sunbeam Tuniq2 Case – Overclocker Cafe
Cases & Enclosures
- Cooler Master NanoFusion vs. Arctic Silver 5 – APH Networks
- Cooljag AMA-H AM2 Cooler – Pro-Clockers
- Thermaltake TR2-R1 Ultra silent AMD Athlon & Sempron heatsink – A1 Electronics
- Verax Quattro 1 Ultra-Quiet Heatsink – FrostyTech
Cooling
- Corsair TWINX2048-4400PRO 2GB Memory Kit – MadShrimps
Memory & Storage
- Abit AT8 32x Crossfire 939 – Xtreme Computing
- Intel Core 2 – UK Gamer
Motherboards & CPU’s
- NZXT Precise 650W ATX 2.0 SLi Power Supply – PC Apex
- Yesico Silentcool 560W – TweakPC
- VIZO Master Panel IDE + SATA Front Panel Interface – Extreme MHz
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- AVerMedia AVerTV CardBus Notebook TV Tuner – Think Computers
- Galaxy GeForce 7300 GT GDDR3 – Elite Bastards
- NVIDIA DualTV MCE Tuner Card – Digital Trends
- NVIDIA GeForce 7950GX2 – Driver Heaven
- XFX 7600GT XXX Edition – NV News
Video Cards & Monitor
Kinc and Crotale smash 3D Mark records
Despite the horrible circumstances with heat and a crippling platform, the E6600 processor was pushed to quite extreme frequencies at a maximal bus speed of 450MHz, almost a new definition of “bottleneck”. A definition we had to withdraw a little later on as the heat almost took the overhand.
If a 74,000 3D Mark 01 score doesn’t get you excited, maybe a 13,600 3D Mark 06 score will? It certainly looks like if you ever manage to take a top spot at Futuremark, you will not last long with these guys around.
Corsair set to make Power Supply Units
It is a cool thing to do and it seems everyone wants the part of the action. We saw Zalman doing it and now Corsair is set to follow suit. Its memory competitor OCZ has also been flogging its own Power Supply Units for a while and has had quite some success with it. Corsair is keeping quiet but it won’t be long before you see Corsair-branded Power Supply Units. We hear it wants to jump in to the high-end market rather than entry-level.
Though this comes from the Inq, there is likely truth in this. There was a Corsair branded PSU in their test PC at Computex, so it backs this claim up. I wonder if the PSU overclocks as well as the memory?
Linux 2.6.17 Released
After almost three months, Linux 2.6.17 has been released. The changes include support for Sun Niagara CPUs, a new I/O mechanism called ‘splice’ which can improve the performance greatly for some applications, a scheduler domain optimized for multicore machines, driver for the widely used broadcom 43xx wifi chip (Apple’s Airport Extreme and such)..
There are a lot of changes, but the site that has the list is under a slashdot attack. Read about it at here, and upgrade if you are feeling brave.
ING Notebook Stolen With Employee Data
A burglary of an ING Financial Services agent’s home has left 13,000 District of Columbia workers and retirees at risk. The Social Security numbers and other personal data of the workers were stored on a laptop that the ING worker took home. The theft reportedly took place on Monday, June 12, but the company waited several days to confirm what pieces of data were on the laptop. After a delayed response from the company, it was revealed the laptop was not password-protected and the sensitive data was not encrypted.
Do these companies think? If I have a computer that contains private information of over 10,000 people, you can be bet it would be encrypted, let alone password protected.
One Laptop Per Child
What is needed for the developing world is a new kind of computer. Something durable, able to stand long journeys over poor or even non-existent road systems. A computer that can get a working supply of electricity without needing a stable power infrastructure. A system that can offer networking, web access and all the trappings of a modern western workstation using only free software. Most importantly it has to be a system that can be built from scratch for as little money as possible, with the magic number being touted as only $100 US, meaning that countries can afford to buy them.
If you haven’t heard about the OLPC yet, check it out. It’s amazing just how feature packed the laptop is for a projected $100. They also list direct competitors, but the laptop still looks the best.
Can Ageia’s PhysX Card Bring Real-World Physics to Games?
At $299, Ageia’s card is expensive. Admittedly, enthusiasts are used to paying a lot for their cutting-edge gear, while in this case the actual value that the card offers games has yet to be seen. Graphics cards sold today support HDR rendering and pixel-shader effects, the benefits of which are easy to see in countless screen shots published everywhere on the Internet. However, most people do not know what the advantages of Ageia’s physics card are.
If you are still unsure whether the PhysX is worth it at this point in time, maybe this article will help. It appears the PhysX has really odd behavior during lan play, and they have the video to prove it.
Inside abit
Peter du Preez the Content Editor and Marketing Manager of Abit, graciously invited Driver Heaven to their headquarters in Taipei Taiwan. Along with the questions, we were able to see and show their upcoming motherboard lines for the new Conroe, M2, and Viiv platforms. With the new branding, the new logo, what’s in store for Abit?
If you are an abit fan, then you can appreciate the tour Driver Heaven took. It looks like they may be moving over to heatpipe chipset coolers soon, and the rumor is confirmed: No more GPUs.
Hardware Roundup for June 19
- Silverstone TJ07 – Xtreme Computing
Cases & Enclosures
- Swiftech MCX159-CU – Bjorn3D
- Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II Northbridge Chipset Cooler – Red & Blackness
- Zalman CNPS9500 AM2 Cooler – Pro-Clockers
Cooling
- Patriot Memory 2GB PC2-5300 – Overclockers Online
- Thermaltake Muse eSATA – Technic3D
Memory & Storage
- Processors Price Guide – AnandTech
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Cooler Master iGreen Power Supply – Modders-Inc
- SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF 750w Power Supply – OCIA
- Sunbeamtech NUUO 550W Power Supply – Big Bruin
- Super Talent 2GB MEGA Screen MP3 Player – XYZ Computing
- VIZO Gemini Cordless Optical Mouse – Think Computers
- VIZO UFO 4 Port USB 2.0 Hub – Virtual-Hideout
- Zboard Merc Keyboard – XS Reviews
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Asus EN7900GT – PC Stats
- GeForce 7600 GT and 7600 GS – Technic3D (German)
- Gigabyte GeForce 7300GT Turbo Force – Legion Hardware
Video Cards & Monitor
- Computex Day 4 Coverage – Motherboards.org
- Insider Information on the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 – Digital Trends
- Lenovo 3000 N100 – BIOS Magazine
- Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Preview – Rojak Pot
- NGO NVIDIA Optimized Driver v1.9131 – NGOHQ
Etcetera, Complete Systems & Contests
LanWar / World Series of Video Games 2006
The biggest east coast LAN party to take place every year is held right in Louisville, Kentucky and known as MillionManLAN (and sometimes LanWar). It boasts a 1000 attendee event filled with never-ending fun, professional gaming tournaments, and a special Bring-Your-Own-Xbox section in addition to the normal Bring-Your-Own-Computer. This year the conventional LanWar was tied together with a new organization to host the World Series of Video Games.
Check out the full read at Think Computers.
Thermaltake Muse LanDisk Review
The Thermaltake MUSE LanDisk is an external enclosure for one 3.5″ HDD. In addition to USB connections it also supports 10/100 MBit Ethernet making this a nice entry-level NAS system. The installation is extremely easy and can be performed without tools in a few minutes. When connected to the Ethernet interface a nice and easy to use web-based configuration page is available to change the settings.
Check out the full read at techPowerUp!.
OCZ EB DDR PC-3700 2GB Platinum XTC Dual Channel Kit
The package consists of two 1024MB memory modules which have been implemented
using DDR SDRAM chips. The part number designation of this particular package
is suited to run on dual channel supported motherboards at 466MHz DDR (2.8v)
with a low latency setting of 3-3-2-8 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS).
Check out the full read at ModTheBox.
Sapphire quietly launches X1800GTO2
Sapphire is a well-known ATi partner. Their graphic cards and motherboards are popular world-wide. It seems that Sapphire has shipped many X1800GTO2 units to world-wide shops already. Sapphire introduced the GTO2 line with their X800 boards. The GTO2 name is quite popular due to its price, overclocking, and its high potential unlocking extra pipelines.
Check it out at NGOHQ.
Two Large Tech Stations Giveaway
Virtual-Hideout is at it again with their 14th consecutive weekly giveaway! Up for grabs this week is not one but TWO Large Tech Stations courtesy of HighSpeedPC.com! These babies are a must have for every computer geek. Entry is simple, just clean your workspace and submit a picture! Contest ends June 24th!
Check out the full details at Virtual-Hideout.
Why You Don’t Surf For Porn If You Work For The Government
Data leaks are bad. Data leaks by government agencies are slightly more irritating. But how about a data leak at a government agency, thanks to a state employee getting a computer infected with a trojan by surfing porn? In another triumph for reactive security, the trojan sat on the computer undetected for four months, and only came to light after the employee got caught surfing porn at work and was fired.
Hard blocking porn from the computers could have prevented this to begin with, but now you know.. don’t surf porn at work.
IcyDock MB453SPF-B SATA Multi-Bay Backplane Module Review
The IcyDock MB453SPF-B multi-bay backplane module is a box the size of a couple optical drives stacked on top of one another that stores a handful of serial ATA hard drives in compact, individually hot swappable drive caddy’s. When internal hard drive space in a computer case is full, or if quick access to hard drives is called for, this box will allow you to add up to three SATA hard drives in the space normally occupied by two 5.25″ optical drives.
Now this is a great looking product. It would be useful if you need to hot swap OS’ constantly.
AAC On Their PureXS Conroe Powered Gaming PC
LR — With Intel’s next generation processor coming out, Core 2 Duo, what are your thoughts on the gaming industry? Should we expecting a busy summer or should buyers wait for Vista to launch in 2007.
AAC — That is a hard question to answer. Conroe is going to be something special. Between it and AM2 there will be many new products available. If I was buying now I would definitely make sure the system I build is ready for Vista. But I am expecting this summer to be pretty busy once people see the new processor (Core 2 Duo).
Check out the full interview at Legit Reviews.
Alien Trap Nexuiz v2.0
Nexuiz, an open-source multi-platform game designed for
classic death-match game-play, has come yesterday with Nexuiz version
2.0. Nexuiz v2.0 comes just days after its one year anniversary of their
inaugural v1.0 release. While this isn’t like some free and open-source
games that have poor graphics, Nexuiz 2.0 is surprisingly good, and even
supports High Dynamic Range! Nexuiz 2 brings several competitive
features to the table such as a single-player campaign mode, new
particle effects system, and more. We at Phoronix have taken a quick
look at this latest update.
I have to admit, this game is looking good. Going to download it and give it a try.