- 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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Sony Shows How Desperate They Really Are
Well done Sony. You have managed to show you have no creativity what-so-ever and, when it comes to gaming, all you know is hardware. Today Sony revealed it’s “new” final version of the PS3 controller. Looks exactly like the PS2 controller doesn’t it? Instead of redesigning the controller, they simply went back to the original but they threw in an extra gimmick; the controller senses 3D movement.
This is pretty sad actually. The PS, PS2 and PS3 all essentially use the exact same controller. Does this mean Sony’s lazy, or that it’s just *that* perfect? Check out the full posting at Bona Fide Reviews.
BFG Ageia PhysX Physics Processing Card – Analysis and Showcase
When Mountain View California start-up Ageia announced a new co-processor architecture for Desktop 3D Graphics that offloaded the heavy burden physics places on the CPU-GPU rendering pipeline, the industry applauded what looked like the enablement of a new era of PC Gaming realism. Of course, on paper and in PowerPoint, things always look impressive, so we waited with baited breath for hardware to ship. That day has come and we’ve fully tested a new card shipped to us from BFG Tech, built on Ageia’s new PPU.
Check out the full article at HotHardware.
Primed For Pole Position: Logitech G25 Racing Wheel Delivers Ultimate PC Gaming Experience
LOS ANGELES — May 9, 2006 — Today at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3), Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) unveiled its most advanced gaming wheel ever, the Logitech® G25 Racing Wheel, enabling people to bring the most lifelike racing experience into the home. But amateurs beware: The limited-edition G25 wheel´s uncanny realism could lead to moments of extreme exhilaration and fear.
You can check out the full release here.
Realistic Racing for Xbox 360 Gamers: Logitech Unveils DriveFX Wheel
LOS ANGELES — E3 — May 9, 2006 — Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) today unveiled the Logitech® DriveFX™ Wheel, the company´s first licensed wheel for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Logitech´s newest gaming companion combines high-quality materials and advanced axial-feedback technology, delivering Xbox 360 owners the best possible driving experience.
You can check out the full press release here.
More Options for PC Gamers: Logitech Adds Performance Mouse, Keyboard to G-series Family
LOS ANGELES — E3 — May 9, 2006 — Today at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3), Logitech (SWX: LOGN) (NASDAQ: LOGI) announced that it has extended its award-winning family of G-series peripherals to offer high-performance gaming features to a broader range of gamers. The Logitech® G3 Laser Mouse offers Logitech´s gaming-grade, extreme-performance mouse engine in a compact, ambidextrous design, and is priced more affordably than the company´s higher-end Logitech® G5 and Logitech® G7 gaming mice. The Logitech® G11 keyboard is offered without the built-in display of the acclaimed Logitech® G15 keyboard, but with all the other gaming features, including 18 fully programmable keys that make it easy for gamers to replace complex button sequences with custom one-touch commands, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that provide backlighting for translucent characters on the keys.
You can check out the full press release here.
Novell Delivers an Open, Low-Cost Alternative to Microsoft
MARKHAM, Ont. – May 9, 2006 – Novell today announced the Novell® Open Workgroup Suite is now available worldwide, giving customers an open, low-cost alternative to the Windows-centric solution many perceive as their only option. The first workgroup suite for the open enterprise that provides organizations with a flexible and cost-effective solution based on proven, standards-based software, the Novell Open Workgroup Suite includes server and desktop components with powerful management tools, collaboration capabilities and the most advanced open source office products in the market. Compared to a similar Microsoft* solution, the Novell suite can save customers up to 70 per cent.
You can read the full press release here.
Futuremark Corporation Named Red Herring 100 Europe Winner
Saratoga, CA – April 8th, 2006 – Red Herring today announced that Futuremark Corporation is a recipient of Red Herring 100 Europe, a selection of the 100 private companies based in the EMEA region that play a leading role in innovation and technology.
Check out the full press release here.
Hardware Roundup for May 9
- Antec P180B Performance One Chassis – Virtual-Hideout
- Thermaltake Aguila Aluminium Case – Xtreme Computing
- Gigabyte Poseidon – T-Break
- Unitek-Colors-IT ATX-L8029 Case – Technic3D
Cases & Enclosures
- Aerocool XFire CPU Cooler – Think Computers
- Corsair Nautilus500 Water Cooling System – techFEAR
- Noctua NH-U9 and NH-U12 CPU Coolers – Big Bruin
- Spire DiamondCool II – Pro-Clockers
- Spire VertiCool II – Pro-Clockers
- Swiftech Mcres Micro Reservoir – Red & Blackness
- Thermalright HR-05 Chipset North Bridge Heatsink – A1-Electronics
- Thermalright Ultra-90 – Legion Hardware
Cooling
- Kingwin KF-25 Data Dock – ModTheBox
- Mushkin HP3200 2GB Dual Kit – Driver Heaven
- World-exclusive: OCZ Mini-Kart 1GB Flash Drive – techPowerUp!
Memory & Storage
- ASUS A8R32 MVP Deluxe – Lost Circuits
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Bluetooth Headset Roundup – XYZ Computing
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Sapphire TOXIC Radeon X1900 XTX – Hexus
Video Cards & Monitor
- ASUS S6F Leather-Clad Laptop – BIOS Magazine
- Blackberry 8700g – Digital Trends
- Linux: Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake Flight 7 – Phoronix
Etcetera & Contests
Ageia PhysX & You
By now you have certainly seen some “reviews” of Ageia’s PhysX PPU (Physics Processor Unit) cards. I have been struggling a bit with how to present our opinions on this hardware, but I think I have come up with a succinct answer for our readers. Instead of saving this for a final page and paragraph, I am just going to tell you what you need to know now. If you are thinking of buying an Ageia PhysX card here soon, save your hard earned cash or invest it elsewhere in your system. As of today, the PhysX PPU is simply not going to deliver a gaming value worth the purchase price. Does this make it bad hardware?
Yet another brutally honest piece from Kyle, but there is a lot of truth here. If we don’t soon see more and more companies touting PhysX enabled games, the card could go the way of the dodo. Check out the full article at HardOCP.
Buyer’s Guide 2006, Part 1
For this latest graphics card buyer’s guide, we reviewed 27 cards using either ATI Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce chips. Of those, two are designed for the AGP interface, while the rest use the PCI Express (PCIe) bus. To be eligible for inclusion in our buyer’s guide, the candidates must reach our lab in their retail packages. This means that we expect the final hardware version of the card in its final shipping box, with the software bundle and all necessary cables.
This is not an ultra high-end roundup, but a cluster of entry level cards, midstream and high-end to help you figure out how many frames per second you want for your buck. Check out the detailed article at Toms Hardware.
ATI sued over HDCP claims
ATI, it’s alleged, said many of its graphics card are sold as HDCP ready, or HDCP compliant. “These representations were false and the cards cannot transmit content pursuant to the HDCP specification. ATI has begun to revise its website marketing materials to delete reference to video cards being HDCP ready or compliant,” the filing claims.
Check out the full posting at The Inquirer.
Silicon Graphics Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Silicon Graphics Inc., a long-struggling maker of high-performance computers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A group of bondholders agreed to trade their debt for a stake in the company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday morning in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.
Losing three major players in the company recently doesn’t help anything. You can check out the full news posting at Wall Street Journal and check out the quick posting at The Inquirer.
Solving the ESRB’s "modder problem:" stop taking responsibility for the actions of others
Once again the curious and complex interaction of a game with its modding community has raised the question of the usefulness of ratings. In the case of Oblivion, modders have found a way to access a “skin” that, when applied to female characters, renders them topless. Is this Bethesda’s fault, the modder’s fault, or is the system just broke?
It doesn’t look good for the ESRB to be changing ratings on games ‘often’, so it’s no wonder people are starting to ignore them. Either way, many blame the modders for the uproar in these re-ratings. Ars Technica offers a couple ideas of how this could be prevented in the future.
eBay Used For Shoplifting Pre-Sales Efforts
At a recent conference on retail fraud, there was apparently an entire session devoted to eBay’s role in the loss prevention world. Among the points in the article is that many loss prevention groups know they should be looking on eBay, but claim they don’t have the time to go after obvious thieves they spot there.
There’s speculation that some people who thieve and sell on eBay, will post their auction before they have the item. Once a bid or buy it now is made, they will go steal the precise color and size of the item you won. Crazy stuff. Read the full posting at TechDirt.
4 out of 10 Americans Play Video Games, According to Poll
According to a poll compiled by the AP and AOL Games, 40 percent of Americans play PC or console video games. The survey of 3,024 adults in the U.S. was done several weeks ago in late April. Even with the immense popularity of role playing games and first-person shooters, board or card games are still the most popular among casual gamers, according to the poll.
It’s too bad they don’t mention how many women and men make up the 3,024. The times are changing, and that number will likely only continue to rise. Check out the full posting at DailyTech.
Announcing Intel Core 2 Duo
Intel’s first generation desktop Core processor, Conroe, will carry the moniker Core 2 Duo, suplementing the 65nm Netburst Presler micro-architecture. Notebook processors, earlier dubbed Merom, will also carry the Core 2 Duo moniker even though the processors are very different than the desktop Core 2 Duo chips. The highest end desktop processors, previously named Extreme Edition, will be labeled as Core 2 Extreme opposed to the mainstream Core 2 Duo.
Finally, it’s good to have a name in front of the code name. It’s noted that the Core Extreme chip will be the first release, followed by the rest of the Conroes. Check out the posting at DailyTech.
Apple Corp. Loses iTunes Case Against Apple Computer
The Beatle’s holding company, Apple Corp., has lost its trial case against Apple Computer, makers of the widely popular iPod and computers. Several months ago, the Beatle’s music company ended up taking Apple Computer to court because it claimed that iTunes infringed on rights that the Beatle’s had owned for several decades.
In the end, the reason Apple won this case, is because iTunes is used to distribute music and that’s it. If iTunes was used to create music, it could have ended up in the other direction. Check out the full posting at DailyTech.
Yahoo Go – The World’s First Genuine Personal Entertainment Guide?
With the release of Yahoo Go, Terry Semel believes he now has a solution that could link virtually every facet of our digital lives into a single coherent user experience (bridge the gaps between the solitary ‘islands’ of our various entertainment experiences). Yahoo! will now be everywhere you are: on your office PC, on your mobile phones, and, as of yesterday, even on your living room TV.
Check out the full article at Digital Trends.
Toca:3 Drive Racer Review
Though there’s a lacking storyline, the wide branching storyline, slick and stylish graphics, along with that little bit extra brought on by just how fumed the other drivers on the road can get with you, TOCA Race Driver 3 really holds it’s roots in this corner of the racing simulation market. Through a huge series of impressive races, you’ll learn how to handle the most beastly cars along the performance racing roads, a feat that only the very few with talent (read, not me) will be able to accomplish. With that in mind, any fans of any racing title out there on the digital roads won’t have any problems digging into this title – it’s worth the drive!
Check out the full review at GamePyre.
Hardware Roundup for May 8
- Cooler Master Centurion 534 Case – ModTheBox
- Lian Li PC-201 Server Case – Overclockers Cafe
Cases & Enclosures
- Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 Cooling – Technic3D
- Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus – Overclockers Online
- Zalman VF900-Cu Dual Heatpipe VGA Cooler – Big Bruin
Cooling
- Seagate NL35.2 Series, ST3500641NS 500GB – Bjorn3D
Memory & Storage
- ECS C19-A SLI – Virtual-Hideout
- VIA EPIA MII 12000 – Modders-Inc
Motherboards & CPU’s
- corepad Victory – Cooling-Station
- Scythe KAMARIKI-2 550W Power Supply – Think Computers
- Sneak Peak of a One Of PSU from Ultra Products – Modders-Inc
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ASUS EAX1600XT Silent – Motherboards.org
- HIS X1800GTO Turbo 256MB – 3D Gameman
- MSI NX7900GT-T2D256E (GeForce 7900GT) – 3D Chip
- PowerColor X1900 GT – Technic3D
Video Cards & Monitor
- Linux: ATI: Open v. Closed Drivers – Phoronix
- Linux: GNOME v2.15.1 – Phoronix
- Contest: May Swiftech Giveway – XYZ Computing
- Rock’s Pegasus 330 – BIOS Magazine
- TR’s May 2006 system guide – Tech Report
Etcetera & Contests
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT Graphics Card Review
If you loved the performance and value of the NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT, you will fall in love with the new NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT.
Not only is it fast, it’s also very affordable. A gamer’s dream come true. Check out the review and find out why!
Check out the full review over at Rojak Pot.
Vizo USB 2.0 Lan Dock Review
If you have a laptop and take it from home to the office then you know about port replicators. What a port replicator is, is a dock that you plug all your connections into (LAN, USB, Printer, etc.). Then you sit your laptop right on top of it with the provided connection (think iPod connector). This is great if your laptop has a port replicator port on the bottom, but what if it doesn’t? Well today we are looking at a product from VIZO that does everything a port replicator does but uses a USB 2.0 connection and is half the size! This saves you the setup time of connecting everything. All you have to do is plug in 1 cable and you’re ready to work!
Check out the full review over at Think Computers.
Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt PSU Review
Performance was also pretty good. It produced slightly more stable voltages than the comparison Enermax power supply, especially in regards to the CPU voltage. Though as a note the voltage data was taken using a software program so it isn’t the most accurate, though for a comparison between two power supplies in the same settings it works just fine. As for noise, well there wasn’t really any to speak of, though the Ultra was somewhat quieter than the Enermax.
Check out the full review over at Viper Lair.
Logitech mm28 Speaker Giveaway
Virtual-Hideout is giving away not one, but Two Logitech mm28 Portable Multimedia Speakers this week. That’s right…this week! We don’t do monthly giveaways around here, it’s a new prize every week and this week it’s two prizes and that means two winners!
Check out the full contest details at Virtual-Hideout.
SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF 750W Review
If the popular 500~600W power supply units are not enough to
suit the growing needs of computer enthusiasts, SilverStone Technology
has released a phenomenal 750W continuous power PSU. With providing just
over the equivalent of one horsepower, the SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF
features quad +12V rails, dual PCI-E 6-pin connectors (plus the option
for two more), industrial grade components, and active PFC. Is
SilverStone’s ST75ZF the new front-runner for high-end power supplies?
Check out the full review over at Phoronix.