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ThermalRight Ultra 90 Cooler for K8 Review
Whether you are wanting super cooling or a quieter unit, the multiple fan clip points allow the end user to select most any fan they want. As you could see from our ‘curiosity tests’, running the Ultra 90 without a fan is no more advisable than it is on any other actively cooled heatsink – so don’t. Aside from construction quality and several other very positive points we’ve noted, what I liked the best was ThermalRight’s getting back to basics and making this cooler fit onto the OEM socket lugs. Its refreshing on several levels to not have to worry about mainboard removal just to install a cooler and I applaud ThermalRight for doing this.
Check out the full article at Overclocker Cafe.
The ATI Linux Experience
Just another update for those staying tuned to the Phoronix
Redblog. It is now day 10 in this 50 day ATI Linux review, and so far it
has proved to be quite a satisfactory experience. ATI Linux has
certainly been criticized in the past, but from the first-hand
experience thus far it has been satisfying — except for the sub-par
frame-rate performance, compatibility problems with a few distributions
(namely Fedora Core 5), and a few other minor issues. Of the topics
covered so far in this unique blog-like review, include Linux game
compatibility, FSAA performance, Big Desktop, and other ATI CATALYST
Linux details. For those not familiar with this red Linux endeavor,
checking out the preface and introduction would be recommended.
Check out the full article at Phoronix.
Tyan Tiger i7520SD Preview
After looking at the Tyan Tempest i5000XL yesterday, today we
are featuring a small preview of the Tiger i7520SD S5365. Rather than
taking the Woodcrest LGA-771 route, the Tiger i7520SD features the
Lindenhurst Chipset and wields dual mPGA479 sockets for use with Intel’s
Xeon LV Sossaman processors.
Check out the full article at Phoronix.
Power Supply Cross Reference Module Article
A few months ago I was approached by one of our site sponsors, ATXPowerSupplies.com, in regards to a power supply cross reference guide they had in development. This guide would allow a visitor to enter the manufacturer, make and model of their computer and have a compatible replacement power supply recommended to them and available for purchase. Anyone who has done computer repair work knows it can be next to impossible to find a replacement power supply for a manufactured PC.
Check out the full article at OCIA.
Computex 2006 – Part 4
Here is part 4 of Computex, which will also likely be the last part since things are wrapping up.
Once again, techPowerUp! has another roundup of companies they have checked out.
Arctic Cooling displayed their new PSU project at the show. They emphasize extremely high power conversion efficiency, up to 90%. Another product was the Fusion Supporter which improves the voltage quality and stability of your video card.
Arctic Cooling, DFI, ECS.
NGOHQ has even more Computex updates:
If you have been following our coverage so far, it goes without saying that we are running out of steam. We have been going strong for 4 days straight, starting with some serious Jet-Lag and continuing with less than adequate sleep. For this reason Day 3 is devoted to nothing else but the finest Booth Babes we could find.
Hexus doesn’t believe in stopping to breathe, as seen by their vast coverage:
- Flybook VM : an ‘airplane friendly’ notebook
- FOXCONN wax lyrical at Computex 2006
- All-in-one PSP charger, battery and cradle
- Rys takes one for the team!
- Flybook go anywhere with a 3.5G notebook
- Compro’s new gadgets impress this tired hack.
- Disney and A-DATA cash in on media cards
- EPoX’s Optimus series motherboards set to make an immediate impression
- Biostar’s mixing it up with innovative products
Motherboards.org has Day 1 and Day 2 coverage.
What a way to spend a first day – caught up in the contests and products of Gigabyte, impressed by the diversity and quality at ECS, and absolutely gobsmacked by Corsair’s performance. If there anything more that I can ask for? Well, actually yes, there is. Tomorrow’s article will cover Intel’s Keynote, as well as ASUS and Thermaltake’s booth, among others. I will also be taking a look at overclocking an ES Conroe chip on completely stock everything, and seeing where that’ll go.
Dell succeeds with Linux, plans to distribute SUSE
Although Red Hat is currently Dell’s distribution of choice, the computer builder plans to support and distribute Novell’s increasingly popular SUSE Linux distribution as well. According to Parker, Dell is “in the process of approving Novell/Suse Linux as a ‘tier 1’ offering.”
Sadly this will still not be available on consumer desktops yet, but it’s only a matter of time. It’s good to see Dell finally starting to give customers a choice.
Seagate Announces 300GB 15K RPM Cheetah
new drive is a 300GB beast, which at first doesn’t seem like very impressive in terms of specifications. However, this drive spins at a blistering 15,000 RPM and at that speed, no other line of hard drive is faster.
Don’t drool just yet. This is for SCSI only, and expensive. We need these on S-ATA..
NVIDIA Announces HDCP-Aware PureVideo HD
With PureVideo HD, NVIDIA touts that better quality video can be seen, but essentially, PureVideo HD is an HDCP-aware version of its current technology. NVIDIA says that while the technology will be available in its GeForce 7000 series of GPUs, not all cards and products will support it, as not all boards will include the necessary HDCP transmitter.
This is all great and everything… but only available on 7600 cards? Hopefully we will see some 7900 action soon.
AGEIA Responds To ATI’s Triple Play
FiringSquad this week reported a response from AGEIA which attempts to explain the lack of value in ATI’s solution. According to AGEIA, measuring the performance of physics processing by simply looking at the number of gigaflops in a GPU is analogous to saying that “the more wheels I have on my car, the faster I will go.”
Many people said that AGEIA needed a killer app, which is true. The same goes for ATI though, and currently they haven’t announced a single supported game. Maybe AGEIA has nothing to be scared of afterall.
Hardware Roundup for June 9
- NZXT Lexa Mid-Tower – Phoronix
- RAIDMAX X-1 – Modders-Inc
Cases & Enclosures
- ATMT HD362-P External Hard Disk – UK Gamer
- ATP ToughDrive 1GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive – Think Computers
- Corsair Twin2X1024-8500 – techFEAR
- EasyATA & EasySATA – Bjorn3D
- OCZ EB 2Gb PC3700 Kit – XS Reviews
Memory & Storage
- ASRock 939SLI-eSATA2 PCIe SLI AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 – OC Inside
- Intel’s Common Building Blocks For Notebooks – Legit Reviews
Motherboards & CPU’s
- MobiBLU DAH-1500i Cube 2GB MP3 Player – XYZ Computing
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- GeForce 7600 cards go head to head at TR – Tech Report
- HIS X1600 Pro IceQ3 Turbo Single and CrossFire – Viper Lair
Video Cards & Monitor
- 2006 Home Entertainment Show Wrap-up – Digital Trends
- Sapphire ATI Radeon Ultimate X1600PRO – TweakNews
- Sapphire Radeon X1600 XT Ultimate Edition 256MB – Hexus
- Sharp Aquos LC-37P70E – BIOS Magazine
Etcetera & Contests
Corsair runs DDR 2 at 1250 MHz
Our chap used PC6400 C4 memory and managed to get 2GB of the memory working at an amazing 1250MHz. We reached 11843 MB/s in Sandra benchmark – almost twice as much as you would get with Intel’s 955X chipset with PC 5300 memory at CL3. Corsair can brand this memory as PC 9600 and will be ready to ship in a month or two. The chap was using Asus AM2 board powered with Nforce 5 and managed to overclock Athlon 64 FX 62 at 3129 MHz. The FSB was running at 312.9 MHz and you actually do need this kind of the speed to show the real teeth of this memory.
I am impressed mostly by the fact that it’s a 2GB kit. Usually with new mindblowing speeds, they start off with 1GB, but Corsair doesn’t believe in the low-road apparently.
HIS Unveils Three Concept Radeons
Users that want an AGP graphics upgrade but fear incompatibility when building a new PCI Express based system may be interested in another new HIS product. The new HIS X1600 Pro Dual DVI Dual Interface card offers compatibility with PCI Express and AGP equipped systems. The ATI Rialto bridge chip provides AGP compatibility while a couple of internal switches allow the switching between PCI Express and AGP interfaces. Samples shown at the show required a few jumpers changed to switch between PCI Express and AGP but HIS stated shipping models will have an auto switching system. Aside from the dual interfaces the X1600 Pro based card has the usual 500MHz core clock and 800MHz DDR2 memory with a 128-bit interface. CrossFire compatibility is retained in PCI Express mode while a single dual-link DVI port is added into the mix.
HIS is quite innovative, although I can’t see any of these products hitting the retail market. Either way, an AGP/PCI-E Hybrid is a cool idea.
Windows Vista Beta for Download
As expected, the Windows Vista Beta 2 is available for public consumption, but their servers are currently under huge load. Wait a while and try again if you want to give the new OS a try.
You will be able to download either the 32-Bit or 64-Bit version, or both. If you are in the mood for even more Beta goodness, I highly recommend you check out the Office 2007 beta also. I have been using it for a few weeks and have become a fan.
Wii Classic Games for under $10?
During a Japanese marketing event yesterday, Nintendo President Saturo Iwata revealed that games for the Nintendo Wii’s virtual console will be available for $4.50 to around $8.99 per game. The virtual game console will allow gamers to play older games from Nintendo consoles is expected to be one of the key selling points for the Wii console. The price of game downloads is aimed to be competitive with the Microsoft XBOX Live Arcade service, which charges users between $5 to $12.50 for Arcade titles.
This shouldn’t really be a surprise… nobody is going to pay more than $10 for an old game unless they are a huge fan. They are comparing it to the Xbox Arcade, but I hope to see Wii’s service have a far better selection.
AllofMP3.com Responds to Accusations of Legitimacy
The British Phonographic Institute (BPI), official trade association for British record companies, has announced that it plans to sue AllofMP3.com, because the site is illegal under UK law. Instead of suing British music listeners using the service, the BPI has decided to only sue the site. The BPI also claims that the site is not licensed to sell music in the UK.
The future is bleak for AllofMP3.com. It’s a great site with an intense selection, so it will suck to see it disappear.
PQI Introduces 64GB NAND Flash 2.5" Disks
Today, PQI is showing off new drives that mimic Samsung’s 32GB Flash-SSD. PQI, with the help of Samsung NAND flash memory chips, has new 64GB IDE and 64GB SATA 2.5″ storage solutions for mobile users. The drives, which are due for release in August, are by nature more rugged, lighter, cooler and more efficient than traditional hard drives with a spinning disc. And best of all, there are absolutely no moving part so no more listening to your hard drive whir while you’re typing away and no more clicking and thrashing as you open up Photoshop or perform other disk-intensive operations.
It’s great to see this finally happen, but I really, really don’t want to know what these will cost.
Computex 2006 – Part 3
Day 2 has come and gone, so there is more Computex fun to be had.
Once again, Hexus has a huge round-up.
- Galaxy show off dual core 7600GT!
- Large-memory Quadro FXs break cover
- BenQ showcase a Blu-ray combi external drive
- World’s first fully HD compatible LCD Monitor
- And the winner of best company name goes to…
- Arctic Cooling have a rubber fetish!
- Zalman want to cool your living room… sort of.
- Mixed messaging from NVIDIA?
- The utterly gratuitous booth babe article
techPowerUp! has taken a look at what Thermaltake has to offer.
Thermaltake has released more products than any other manufacturer at Computex. Among the highlights are a huge home theater case which looks like a big audio rack and has space for two systems. For visitors of lan parties a Shuttle-like case is offered which takes all standard size components and supports SLI. Several new watercooling products have been announced, including a watercooled passive PSU. A whole load of air and watercooled GPU coolers are new too.
Is NVIDIA going to invade the processor market?
Here at Computex we have the privilege of meeting a lot of companies’ employees ranging from CEO`s all the way down to Customer Service. We were very fortunate to speak with someone from Nvidia at a restaurant. We can not say who this person is, or what position this person holds. According to Him/Her, Nvidia will invade the processor market in the long future, telling us that it could take years but eventually – it will happen.
In addition to that speculation, NGOHQ provides their day 2 reports.
Today we have a lot of cool stuff from Computex. This time we chilled out our hormones and went to look for some hardware. We have pictures of SLI motherboards for Conroe, that are based on the Nvidia nForce 500 series. We also have some pictures of Abit motherboards, Dual GeForce 7600GTs from Galaxy, some sweet Nvidia rigs, Intel’s booth, Inno3D, and more babes. If you don’t read this article, you will have no idea what you’re missing.
We will post more news as it comes in..
Hardware Roundup for June 8
- Xilence X1 Case – Technic3D
Cases & Enclosures
- Aquacomputer Aquatube res + Aquadrive dual HDD cooler – Xtreme Computing
- Extreme Cooling Technologies Prometeia Mach II GT – PC Apex
- Zalman CNPS8000 Cooler – Pro-Clockers
Cooling
- OCZ 1GB Ultra-Slim Mini-Kart – Legion Hardware
- Super Talent DDR2-1066 1GB CL5 Dual Channel Memory Kit – Think Computers
Memory & Storage
- Abit AN8-32X – Driver Heaven
- MSI K8N Diamond Plus – HotHardware
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Logitech G5 – TenTonHammer
- Logitech G15 – Overclockers Club
- OCZ GameXStream 600W PSU – 3D Gameman
- OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU – ModTheBox
- OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU – Overclocker Cafe
- OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU – OCIA
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI and Physics Acceleration – Pure Overclock
- Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide Rev. 10.8 – Rojak Pot
- Sapphire “Ultimate” x1600 PRO 256MB – Virtual-Hideout
Video Cards & Monitor
- Lenovo 3000 V100 – Digital Trends
- Linux UMPC Updated – XYZ Computing
Etcetera & Contests
Google Unveils Online Spreadsheet Program
Google hopes to continue to steal users away from Microsoft products with its latest offering. Google Spreadsheet will aim to battle Microsoft Excel while trying to chip away at the dominance of Microsoft Office. The program will be free online without users being forced to download it.
If this was a standalone application, I may understand the usefulness. But, how many times have you performed large tasks like this in your browser, only to lose all the work when the browser crashes? And since Google knowingly stores all GMAIL e-mails after they are deleted, what’s stopping them from holding onto your spreadsheet information? Maybe it’s the security buff in me, but it doesn’t sound THAT great to me.
ATI Responds to NVIDIA’s GeForce 7950GX2
ATI however, has come forward to say that new GeForce 7950GX2 boards provides almost no improvement over the previous generation, all while costing a hand and leg. In fact, ATI goes to show that in many performance benchmarks — synthetic and real-world — NVIDIA’s GeForce 7950GX2 actually loses to a single Radeon X1900XTX in the majority of tests.
Why ATI’s internal tests conflict with most every independant review on the web is odd. I am not one to take sides, but the results in their graphs just don’t add up. A X1800XT 50% faster than a 7950GX2 in HL2?
Computex 2006 – Part 2
Computex is full underway now, so there is a larger roundup today.
Hexus has a massive round-up of Day 0 and 1, so get your reading glasses on.
- New memory from OCZ, super fast and looking slick
- Do more with a Toshiba hard drive… in your phone!
- The Toshiba Portege R200… it’s a lightweight!
- K-PEX, Kingston’s portable media player
- Come and finger OCZ’s Biometric USB Stick
- Broadwater running packed with Kingston memory
- GeForce 7900 GT and GTX mini-roundup: eVGA and XFX
- Foxconn hold love-in with favourite platform bedfellows
- FSP Group join the kilowatt club
- Foxconn show off GeForce 7950 GX2 SLI
- ATI demo Havok FX physics acceleration on Radeon GPUs
- The iPod Nano-killer is here?
- Jet turbine drives airflow in XClio chassis
- Albatron’s passively-cooled card is just the ticket..
- A-DATA’s new gadgets. Fancy a solar-powered USB stick?
techPowerUp! has a few roundups of their own. They are visiting all the interesting booths and relaying the new products to you.
Zalman had an awesome HTPC on display. It comes with an integrated 7″ touchscreen TFT. The display has a native resolution of 1024×768 which makes everything crystal clear. A more affordable version of that case comes without LCD screen but is low-profile and takes up to six harddisks. The cooling products have been improved as well. Here we see coolers for AM2 and a new Fatal1ty VGA cooler.
Scythe, Thermalright, Topower, Zalman
E3 is not the only conference with booth babes! NGOHQ has a few pictures of some of the babes on the showfloor, and even insults Toms Hardware in the process.
The people are friendly, and Computex has finally started today. Just in time, as our patience has finally reached its limit. Many looked forward to it, and others worked really hard to make it happen. Computex is not just about hardware and technology, its also about meeting people, and if your lucky, attending parties. In our area, we know a lot of people, and have met friends from the internet that we have been working with for years.
AnandTech also has many interesting things to share with us. How do Core 2 X6800 benchmarks sound? For the first time we’ve seen from any Core 2 chip, it completely obliterates the FX-62 in gaming benchmarks. It’s not a small margin either. In some of the tests, improvements with the X6800 improved game performance from 25% – 50%! This is really a chip worthy of drooling over.
Did you know that DX10 GPU’s will require 300W? Neither did I. Either way, it didn’t stop companies from getting a head start on new power supplies, like this one from OCZ. It’s an internal PSU that sits in a drive bay, but is used only to provide power to your GPU/s.
Toms Hardware has a slew of coverage also, including first thoughts on Intels NAND technology. This tech has a simple immediate benefit for PC users… boot time cut in half! It should also improve everyday computing by a significant amount. I can’t wait to learn more on the tech. On the same page, they also delve into ATI’s physics, and also have a video interview with ATI themselves.
HardwareZone has a lot of coverage also, and great pictures to coincide. There are a many pictures of Core 2 motherboards, if you want to check out what you will be using in the near future. TheTechZone touches up on ATI’s physic technology, and has even included a video of it in action.
More computex coverage from around the web as the days pass..
Leading Health And Technology Companies Form Alliance To Improve Personal Health Through Connected Devices
SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2006 – Given the rise of chronic conditions and the rapid aging of the population, the methods of managing health will need to shift from traditional institutional settings to peoples’ everyday environments, including the home. To enable this shift, a group of technology, healthcare and fitness companies have formed the Continua* Health Alliance, an open industry group that will establish an ecosystem of connected personal health and fitness products and services, making it possible for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers to more proactively address ongoing healthcare needs.
You can read the full press release here.
Hardware Roundup for June 7
- iStarUSA Storm S8 Black Computer Case – TweakNews
- Thermaltake Aguila Case – XYZ Computing
- Thermaltake Matrix VX Case – A True Review
Cases & Enclosures
- Thermalright HR01 Passive Heatsink – Pro-Clockers
- Thermalright Ultra-90 Cooler – Technic3D
Cooling
- SyncMax 533Express DDR2 Memory – Viper Lair
Memory & Storage
- Cooler Master iGreen Power 430W PSU – 3D Gameman
- Dual-Layer DVD Burner Roundup – ExtremeTech
- Grado SR60 Headphone – UK Gamer
- Logitech mm28 Portable Speakers – Think Computers
- OCZ GameXStream 700w Power Supply – OCIA
- OCZ Ultra-Slim 1GB Mini-Kart – Extreme Overclocking
- Terratec Aureon 7.1 PCI – Dolby Digital Live Soundcard – Technic3D
- ThermoHawk 200 Thermal Sensor – Virtual-Hideout
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- All-in-Wonder X1900 – Gaming Nexus
- GeForce 7900 GT and GTX mini-roundup: eVGA and XFX – Hexus
- HIS Radeon X1600 AGP – Hardware Secrets
Video Cards & Monitor
- Brewing With Mr. Beer – Bjorn3D
- eDimensional Giveaway Contest Posted – Rojak Pot
- Pioneer VSX-816-K/S – Digital Trends
- The GIMP v2.3.9 – Phoronix
Etcetera & Contests
Xbox 360 gets 125 enhancements
We knew it was coming, and today is the day. There are a slew of new enhancements to the console that will be downloaded next time you connect to Xbox Live. Here are just a few:
- “Download manager” – Marketplace items now download in the background, queue up to six pieces of content
- DVD bookmark support will remember the film’s timing and location when resuming viewing
- Fast-forward and rewind now offered at 2x -16x for any videos saved to hard drive
- “Boot to Dashboard” setting will bypass the loading of any disc in the drive and open directly to Dashboard during power-on
- Begin slideshows from any photo
- Music player now displays which file is currently playing in the playlist
- Music volume level persists between game / reboots
- Separate settings now offered for Game and User volume controls
- Themes can now be set from the “System” blade on the Dashboard
- User-selected music continues play when switching from Dashboard to game or game to Dashboard
- “All Arcade Games” added as a selection in the Xbox Live Arcade area
- Personal gamer pictures allowed as Gamertiles – displayed only to those on your Friends List
- Added support to disable sound effects when navigating Dashboard
- Instantaneous “Change Theme” option added upon downloading new Dashboard themes
- Preserve folder structure of source when viewing photos
You can grab the full list over on the official Xbox site.
Microsoft May Abandon XBOX 360 Backwards Compatibility
1up.com recently reported that it appears to them Microsoft may be abandoning backward compatibility with the XBOX 360. This would be in stark contrast of what Microsoft has said in the past concerning the 360 and backwards compatibility, although admittedly the company has flip-flopped rather vigorously on the issue since the initial launch of the XBOX 360.
While it’s unclear when this would happen, I honestly hope it won’t be soon. I still have many Xbox games that will not work on the 360, and it’s kind of foolish to have to have another entire console there. Check out the full read at DailyTech.