- 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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OCZ EL 2GB DDR500 Gold GX XTC Memory Review
OCZ has pulled it off again, offering a kit that performs as well as one of their pricier kits and featuring the new XTC heatspreaders. If you are looking for memory, look no further than OCZ…
Head on over to 3D Xtreme for the full review.
ATI PowerPlay Reanalyzed
Last year we had taken an in-depth look at ATI’s PowerPlay
technology upon the support within the Linux fglrx display drivers. Now
that Fedora Core 5 has been out for some time, and there have been quite
a few monthly releases since that point, we are now back today as we
re-examine ATI’s PowerPlay using once again the Mobility RADEON X300. In
this examination, we will also be using additional benchmarks beyond
what was done in our original benchmarking fiesta, and we will be
examining its power consumption when using the AC adapter and simply not
the battery. Continue as we examine this technology once more, and get a
better understanding if this implementation is for all mobile users.
Check out the full article at Phoronix.
Patriot Memory PDC22G8000+XBLK Rev.2 DDR2-1000 Memory Review
Patriot Memory has been trailblazing some new paths for flexible DDR2 this year; memory that can run at multiple speeds with multiple CAS latency settings. This versatility makes it possible to apply a single pair of DDR-2 in a couple different ways. The Patriot PDC22G8000+XBLK Rev.2 memory is a “jack of all trades” DDR-2 module. This pair of dual channel DDR-2 RAM is capable of running with timings as tight as 3-3-3 under DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) speeds, and with timings as tight as 4-4-4 under DDR2-1000 (PC2-8000) speeds…
Check out the full review at PC Stats.
MSI K9N SLI Platinum AM2 Motherboard Preview
Today, we have some images of the new MSI K9N SLI Platinum for the upcoming AM2 socket. We know that we are not the first to forward pictures of this board to the internet, but we just want to give the readers a little bit more insight on what is coming in the near future from MSI.
Check out the full preview at Pro-Clockers.
OCZ Platinum PC4000EB 2x1024mb kit Review
We get a chance to look at one of OCZ’s top performance 2x1gb ddr1 kits, the Platinum 4000EB. OCZ has left a good impression on us, these modules do not change this: Good performance for a good price is always a winning combination.
Check out the full review at EclipseOC.
Razer Copperhead Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Manufacturer of gaming equipment Razer has been the market for quite some time now, and has grown to become one of the world’s best-known pro gaming peripheral manufacturers. Arguably best known for their mice, one of their finest yet was the Razer Diamondback released quite some time ago. Today, CYberwizardpit.Net brings the sequel to the highly-acclaimed Diamondback; the new Razer Copperhead. Will it sink or swim in today’s competitive world of professional mice? This review attempts to do just that, and puts the Copperhead to the test.
Check out the full review at CyberWizardPit.
The Future of Linux’s Coexistence with Windows
All too often the desktop operating system market is looked upon as some sort of epic struggle between Microsoft and Linux. This “versus” mentality is fun to perpetuate but it is not at all helpful and increased interaction between the two would certainly help everyone involved. No one is expecting cooperation just yet, but a mannerly coexistence is certainly in order. This article goes over some reasons why it should happen and why, one day, it will.
Check out the full article at XYZ Computing.
1.8" Hard Drives: Small is Beautiful
There’s a saying that “big is beautiful”, but when it comes to PC storage, big is out. A look at the past 15 years reveals the obvious trend: hard drives are shrinking in size. For many years, 5.25″ drives were the standard, but they were replaced by 3.5″ units. The advantages of reduced platter diameters are quicker access time and faster rotation speed, both of which are pillars for performance. 2.5″ drives have been the standard for portable equipment for several years, and have also been used for stationary hardware of late, but the 1.8″ form factor is now also picking up steam.
If you have seen just how small a 2.5″ HDD is, then you can imagine just how small 1.8″ would be. You can check out the full article at Toms Hardware.
AMD replacing faulty Opteron chips
Advanced Micro Devices is trying to track down and replace as many as 3,000 faulty Opteron processors that could produce “inconsistent results” under an unusual circumstance. The potential problem affects a number of single-core Opteron 152, 154, 252, 254, 852, and 854 processors manufactured in late 2005 or early 2006, AMD said Friday. The company hasn’t seen the problem in production use, but has seen it in a test that combines high processor temperature, high outside temperature and a large number of floating-point mathematical computations.
Check out the full posting at News.com.
Faking a Company
What happens when pirating a movie, an application, or a game is not enough for you? Well, you take the next step and pirate a whole company. It happened to Japanese electronics giant NEC. Counterfeiters had set up what amounted to a parallel NEC brand with links to a network of more than 50 electronics factories in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
This is incredible! It’s hard to believe that a company can get away with impersenating another for any length of time. Check it out at Slashdot.
Both Sides of Wii
Yesterday Nintendo released the official name for their next console. Formerly the Revolution, and now simply called Wii, reaction has been strong among gaming fans. A Brian Crescente article in the Rocky Mountain News looks at why Wii is bad, from a marketing perspective. Chris Kohler, over at Game|Life, looks at why Wii is good because of its iconoclastic nature. And, always happy to help with the irreverent, Games.net examines why Wii is weird.
Weird is an understatement. “Wii” just doesn’t sound like a console name to me, but at least Nintendo likes to take chances. Check out the posting at Slashdot.
Domain names potentially as ubiquitous as social security numbers
While more and more businesses are taking advantage of the innovation and power offered by the Internet by registering domains, an equal number of individual users are registering for domain names as well. In fact, with the Internet becoming such a ubiquitous part of everyday life and commerce, one can imagine a day when every individual and every corporation will have a domain name just as they do a social security number or corporate tax ID.
Check out the full editorial at Bona Fide Reviews.
Hardware Roundup for April 28
- Thermaltake Armor Jr. VC3000BWS Case – Pro-Clockers
Cases & Enclosures
- Antec Performance CPU Cooler – Think Computers
- Corsair Nautilus500 External Cooling Kit – Viper Lair
- Noctua NH-U9 & NH-U12 CPU Coolers – Virtual-Hideout
- Spire VertiCool II Heatpipe CPU Cooler – TweakNews
- Thermalright HR-01 – Overclockers Online
- Thermaltake Tide Water Plus for SLI and Crossfire – TweakPC
Cooling
- Nova’s Drive Erase Pro – BIOS Magazine
- OCZ 512MB Rally Flash Drive – Legit Reviews
- OCZ DDR 3700 Platinum XTC 2GB – Red & Blackness
- OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 Gold GX – Modders-Inc
Memory & Storage
- MSI K8N Diamond Plus nForce4 SLI x16 – PC Stats
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Coolermaster Musketeer Mult-Function Panel – Overclockers Club
- Logitech G7 – Hardware-Review
- Plantronics Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Headset – ThinkCE
- Scythe Kamariki II PSU – Motherboards.org
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI Radeon X1800XT vs. NVIDIA GeForce 7900GT – Legion Hardware
- Interview with ATI’s Neal Robison – Guru3D
- Mixed Vendor 7900 GTX SLI – Bjorn3D
- MSI NX7300GS TD256E – HotHardware
Video Cards & Monitor
- Apple iPod Nano – XYZ Computing
- Asus W5F 12-inch Core Duo Notebook – PC Perspective
- Kodak V610 – Digitial Trends
Etcetera & Contests
Building A Low Cost SLI Gaming System: Part One
If you are looking for a PC and walk into a company that sells systems, one of the first questions you should ask yourself is “What is the system’s primary usage going to be?” If you are searching for a gaming machine, it is usually overpriced or underpowered right out of a box. This is what I have seen through watching others buy pre-built machines. I play games all the time. Just don’t tell anyone okay, my boss thinks I’m working here. Therefore, I have developed a genuine feel for how smooth and visually aggressive a system is running games from a user’s point of view. Contrary to a sales representative’s pitch however, is that a gaming system’s components do not have to cost a fortune to function well.
If you are a budget gamer and really, really want SLi, then check this article out. For $600, they built a system that includes dual 6600GT’s. Check out the full read at Motherboards.org.
Cyberathlete Professional League coming to an end?
In 2005 the World Tour organised by the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) gave away $1m in prizes to pro-gamers at 10 events held around the globe. But the tour has been cancelled for 2006, leaving many pro-gamers wondering how to make their lifestyle pay.
The article at BBC is a little sketchy on whether it’s cancelled for only this year or upcoming years also. It doesn’t give a clear reason as to why, either. The CPL is a rather legendary event, so here’s to hoping it will stick around.
Got Windows Piracy Spyware?
Man, I couldn’t believe it was Microsoft who finally got my system infested with spyware! An unkillable process? Popup windows? A prompt you have to click at logon? My GOD!!! But it’s ok. You CAN get rid of it.
I have yet to hear from anybody, or even see screenshots for that matter, or this nuisance. Either way, if for whatever reason you have it and need to rid it, the Inquirer is here to help.
Seagate announces 750GB hard drive
Seagate’s new Barracuda 7200.10 is a Serial ATA drive and comes with either 8MB or 16MB of cache. As is the case with all of Seagate’s drives, the 7200.10 has a 5-year warranty. Suggested retail price is US$559 and the drives are supposedly in transit to distributors.
Your chance are the largest desktop HDD in existence will soon be possible. $560 is not a modest sum of money either, so you best have the need for such a massive drive. Check out the full posting at Ars Technica.
US Government Unfairly Buying Intel Over AMD?
AMD says that some government bodies are buying Intel-specific products for big price premiums but technically, the products offer identical or less features and performance. AMD says that being brand-specific costs more tax payers’ money. In fact, AMD says that a whopping $563 million could have been saved in taxpayer dollars, had the government been brand-neutral in its purchases.
There’s a never ending debate on whether or not AMD CPU’s are well suited for ‘government’ or ‘business’ applications, but I think the answer is obvious. If the performance and stabilty is there, it does seem strange that hundreds of millions are spent needlessly on more expensive and equally capable processors. Of course, this is the same government that shells out billions upon billions for warfare, so is this really a surprise? Read more DailyTech.
OCZ Technology Launches the GameXStream Power Supply Line
Sunnyvale, CA—April 26, 2006—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and components, today announced the launch of the extremely powerful GameXStream Power Supplies—a new line of PSUs for performance-minded gamers. After their first power supply release in June 2004, OCZ has become known as a pioneer in high-performance PSUs for overclockers and gamers. With the release of the 600 and 700 watt GameXStreams, OCZ offers affordable power solutions that are among the most powerful power supply units on the market today.
You can read the full press release here.
Hardware Roundup for April 27
- Bluegears B-Cool 80MM Fan – 3D Xtreme
- Corsair Nautilus500 Water Cooling System – Think Computers
Cooling
- Kingston U3 DataTraveler – BIOS Magazine
- Mobile ATA hard drives compared – Tech Report
Memory & Storage
- ASRock 939NF4G-SATA2 – Phoronix
- Foxconn 975X7AA – Hardware Logic
- Preview: ABIT KN9 SLI with Socket AM2 – TweakPC
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Ulti-mat Silver Edition – A1 Electronics
- Ultra Products X2 550w Modular Power Supply – Virtual-Hideout
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Asus EAX1900XTX 512MB – ByteSizedReviews
- GeForce 7950 (Quad SLI) to support SLI Anti-Aliasing x32 – NGOHQ
Video Cards & Monitor
- 2006 Mothers’ Day Gift Guide – Digital Trends
- Advanced MP3 Players Pebble – UK Gamer
- Fujifilm S3 Pro Digital Camera – XYZ Computing
- HyperKore Laser Etched Window Kit – GideonTech
- Maxfield G-Flash Metal MP3 Player – BIOS Magazine
- Contest: PowerColor Video Card Giveaway – XYZ Computing
- Voodoo PC OMEN CrossFire a121x – Tested And Burned In – HotHardware
Etcetera & Contests
Guild Wars Factions Ships Worldwide
Guild Wars Factions Ships Worldwide One of the Year’s Most Anticipated Games Hits Store Shelves This Week April 26, 2006 (BELLEVUE, WA) – ArenaNet®, developer of the award-winning online roleplaying game Guild Wars®, and NCsoft® Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announce today that one of the…..
Piracy > Child Porn
THE NEW look Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) seems to be giving the world an unusual moral code. Details of the upgraded act, which has the blessing of the music and film industry and the Bush administration, are now coming to light. It appears that the DMCA will have a maximum sentence of ten years inside for the crime of software and music piracy. It will also give the FBI the powers to wiretap suspected pirates.
They later compare that downloading and burning a music CD and selling it.. puts you in the exact same category as a pedophile. Of course this type of legal corruption is nothing new, but it’s not usually this blatantly obvious. Read more at The Inquirer.
Why AMD really needs DDR 2
Actually, I honestly think AMD *needs* to move to DDR2, latency issues or no latency issues. You need to look at this from the perspective of the 90% of people out there who don’t know about latencies or the “truth” behind DDR vs. DDR2. These are people who look at 2 equally priced systems (AMD and Intel) and see the “DDR2” and think that it must mean it’s twice as fast, or faster, or more modern, etc.
This is no doubt the case with anything, and is why retailers can get away with charging $600 for a 5900XT. The question really is, will AMD’s popularity skyrocket once AM2 is launched with DDR2 support? Read the full posting at The Inquirer.
Download E3 playable demos onto your Xbox 360
It is our goal to bring E3 home to Xbox Live members as best we can, all the videos and the news as quickly as possible,” vowed Peter. “We will give you the flavor of what’s going on, on the show floor and some of the stuff that we are showing and debuting here. Xbox Live members should be able to play many of the demos that even the celebrities will be testing out at E3.
Now THIS is cool. In the past, people who’ve stayed home have always missed out on the great demos showcased at E3. If this proves true and the demos are numerous, this is going to be a huge win for Xbox. Check out the quick news posting at Hexus.
First Looks at Seagate’s Full Disc Encryption Technology
Once the Momentus FDE drive is installed in a notebook PC and a password is set during the first boot, the onboard ASIC, or application specific integrated circuit, will be ready to encrypt data on-the-fly. Upon startup of a system the user will be asked to enter a password to allow access to the disk’s contents. As a user’s system writes data to the disk it will be encrypted with a 192-bit TDEA or 3DES encryption algorithm. The algorithm involves using three 64-bit keys to do an encrypt-decrypt-encrypt function with the keys in that order. A string is encrypted with key 1 followed by a decryption with key 2 and is again encrypted with the 3rd key.
This is nothing short of amazing, though it seems so ‘simple’. How many laptops have been stolen and had important data stolen? This looks like it will be a fantastic way to protect yourself and company from ever having this happen. Check out the full interview with Seagate over at DailyTech.