- 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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ThermalTake Mini Typhoon Review
When the Thermaltake Mini Typhoon arrived I was impressed with the bling factor. Once I got over the shininess of the copper I began to have second thoughts about attaching it to my motherboard due to its weight. The Mini Typhoon weighs in at a chunky 1.2 pounds with a large amount of it at the head of the unit. The fit and finish of the Mini Typhoon is equal to the detail that Thermaltake puts into their computer cases..
Head on over to DV Hardware for the full review.
HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect Sound Card Review
With DTS becoming nearly as common in home theatre receivers as Dolby Digital, it was only a matter of time before the DTS equivalent of Dolby Digital Live became available in a sound card. Well, that card is here. It is the HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS Connect – the world’s first Dolby Digital Live and DTS Connect certified sound card – and the subject of this review.
Check out the full review over at A True Review.
Cooler Master Real Power 550W Contest
The most important piece of information for every contest is how to win. At Overclockers Online we like to keep things simple. All you need to do is agree to the terms of the contest and fill in a little ballot. That’s it!
Check out all the contest details and enter at Overclockers Online.
HIS X1600 Pro IceQ Turbo DL-DVI 128MB PCIE Video Review
The HIS X1600 Pro IceQ Turbo DL-DVI 128MB PCIE Video Card has all the latest technologies: SM3, ATI AVIVO, and much more. While this is clearly not a hardcore video card, it does offer major value. If you are not a serious gamer, or simply can’t afford an X1900 series card, then this is a great alternative. This product makes it easy to get in the game at a great price! Watch the Video to find out more…
Head on over to 3D Gameman for the full video review.
CeBit 2006 Part 1 & 2
This is our Day 1 coverage of Cebit 2006, the biggest electronics expo in the world. We have reports from the memory manufacturers A-Data, G.SKILL, Kingmax, OCZ Technology and Patriot.
Our second day of Cebit coverage includes the companies GeCube, Sparkle, Sirtec, AOpen, Zalman and ABIT. Among the highlights are dual-GPU X1600 from GeCube, quad-12V rail PSUs from Sirtec and overclocking with Crotale at ABIT’s booth.
Ultra Fan Commander + 3 Titanium Fans Giveaway
It’s time for the VH Weekly Giveaway #2! Each giveaway will run from Sunday to Saturday, with a new one each Sunday morning. This week we’re giving away the super cool Ultra Fan Commander and I’m throwing in 3 Ultra Titanium Fans to get you going!
We have taken a look at these products in some previous reviews, and they are great! Don’t hesitate, go to Virtual-Hideout and enter!
GNOME 2.14 Review
GNOME’s interface has been improving systematically with each of the last three or four releases. In version 2.12, for example, the emphasis seemed to be on the wholesale sprinkling of icons through the interface, sometimes as gingerbread, but often when they simplified and made sense, such as the options in the Add to Panel dialogue. Now, in version 2.14, the focus is on flattening the levels of menus, tabs, and dialogs that users have to go through to reach selections.
Head on over to Linux.com for the full review. I’ve never been much of a GNOME fan, but now I’m curious.
Senators renew call for .xxx domains
On Thursday, two Senate Democrats, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana, introduced a bill called the “Cyber Safety for Kids Act of 2006.” The 11-page measure would require the U.S. Department of Commerce to work with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that oversees domain names, to develop plans for a domain name system that would house material deemed “harmful to minors.”
I do actually agree with why they want a .xxx zone, but it’s another thing to actually see it happen. With all the pornography on the internet, you would think they should have done this back in 1995 before it exploded. Read more @ News.com.
An Interview with Greg DeKoenigsberg (Fedora)
On the heels of the much-anticipated Fedora Core 5 launch, we
have managed to conduct an interview with Greg DeKoenigsberg. Greg
DeKoenigsberg presently serves as Red Hat’s Community Relations Manager
and is on the Fedora Extras Steering Committee. Today in this interview,
we posed him questions regarding this release that is to be released on
Monday, March 20, 2006. There are also other pertinent questions to the
future of the Fedora Project as well as other general Linux outlooks.
Check out the great interview right @ Phoronix.
Icy Dock MB452UK-BK External Removable HDD Rack Review
Consumers familiar with external hard enclosures of the past will note that
the MB452UK-BK bares a close resemblance to Vantec’s MRK-103F EZ Swap
enclosure that was released on the market 4 years ago. The Icy Dock MB452UK-BK
External Removable HDD consists of a two piece coloured plastic and aluminum
housing. The external panels are held in place via a series of mounting screws
and aluminum mesh filters.
Check out the full review @ ModTheBox.
ASUS EAX 1900XTX Video Card Review
So the bottom line on the card is this. A X1900XTX provides the best image quality experience bar none on the market today. I guess I have to make a decision as to where I rate the EAX 1900XTX card though. At a retail price of $650, and a Newegg price of $639 as of this writing, this product is deserving of a hot product award.
Check out the full review @ Motherboards.org.
Interview with Ctrl-Alt-Del Writer Tim Buckley
ThinkComputer.org’s Alex Billington spent some time with Ctrl-Alt-Del writer and artist Tim Buckley at the Digital Overload LAN in Rhode Island over the weekend to chat about his love for games and more.
Check out the full interview @ Think Computers.
Icemat Siberia Headphones Review
Sound is an integral part of every computer advocate’s life: from listening to music to experiencing the intense and sometimes frightening in-game sound effects. The world of designing headsets that have great sound, look great, and are all cost effective is a demanding and competitive market. Icemat, previously only a mouse pad manufacturer, has taken an interesting step forward into the audio market with a release of some MP3 players and the Icemat Audio Siberia headphones. In this review we’ll be looking at how confident of a step they took and how the sound quality of these headphones compare to another top-of-the-line headphone model as well as their durability for traveling LAN partiers and their level of comfort.
You can check out the full review @ Think Gaming.
MSI RX1800XT-VT2D512E RX1800XT Review
Looking at memory bandwidth requirements, videocard’s also surpass CPU’s here as well. A single Pentium 4 operating on an 800 MHz front side bus (FSB) has access to up to 6.4GB/s worth of bandwidth. A dual core Pentium D will realistically can use up to 12.8GB/s, but only half is available. By way of comparison, ATi’s smoking hot Radeon X1800 XT has access to up to 48GB/s bandwidth. That’s eight times what a Pentium 4 will use!
You can check out the full review over @ PC Stats.
Sharp Announces 65-inch LCD Monitor
Sharp on Thursday announced what it claims is the world’s largest professional LCD monitor, a 65-inch model that will be available this June. At press time, a spokeswoman for Sharp said that the company had not named a price for the new PN-655 LCD monitor, which features 1920 x 1080, two megapixel high-definition resolution.
The response time for the monitor is an impressive 6ms, but when top end 30″ LCD’s can push 2560×1600, 1920×1080 for something this huge seems odd. Either way, 65" is an impressive size for an LCD. It’s probably better that we don’t know the retail cost of it yet! Read more @ Extreme Tech.
How Dell Support Takes a Compliment
Here’s the compliment he posted through Dell’s Web site: “No problem! I just wanted to tell you that I just received the 1905FP monitor that I ordered last week, and it’s awesome. Not only that, but it arrived just 5 days after I ordered it, and it was a breeze to set up. I can already tell that it’s the best $500 I’ve spent in a long time. Thanks!”
I’ve never been a fan of Dells customer service. In fact, I despise it, and this may just be the reason why. For a good laugh, read more @ NY Times.
Xbox 360’s Firmware Hacked
A hacker who calls himself “TheSpecialist” stated that he has installed his own custom firmware into the Xbox 360. He claims that with the custom firmware, he is able to create directly bootable backups of original DVD games. The firmware, claims TheSpecialist, circumvents the Xbox 360’s content checking by ignoring the required disc signatures that are present on retail games. However, TheSpecialist states that he will not release his firmware due to obvious piracy concerns.
Just like the original XBox, it appears that even if a bootdisk or firmware update is released, you may as well forget about ever signing on to Xbox Live. Since not too many people have a spare 360 and Xbox Live is one of the best features of the console, I can’t see too many people even wanting to install it anyway. Read more @ Daily Tech.
Philips Recalls Almost 12,000 Flat Panel TV’s
Arcing capacitors have caused Philips to recall select Ambilight flat panel (read plasma) TVs. Because the TVs make use of flame retardant materials, damage was only sustained to the TVs and not homes. This is the first time I’ve heard of TVs having this type of issue. How safe are LCD and DLP TVs from this type of thing?
The originating article is currently under a Slashdot attack, but if you happen to own a 42" or 50" Philips plasma TV with the Ambliight feature then you may be affected. You can view the specific models on this page. Read more @ Design Technica. Source: Slashdot.
Xbox Live users get free tunes?
Xbox 360 gamers will soon be able to enjoy a full year of exclusive artist content and music videos completely free thanks to a deal announced today between Microsoft and Epic Records. A different artist will be featured each month, starting with our own Natasha Bedingfield, who is currently taking the US by storm with two recent Top 10 hits. She also currently hold the title of Number 1 Most Downloaded Pop Song on iTunes.
Nothing would kick off my day better than some Natasha Beddingfield. There’s no doubt that if the service is free for now, it will cost something in the future. I think I will stick to ripping my own tunes to the console :-) Read more @ Bit-Tech.
NVIDIA Talks G80
The spokesperson stated that they’re “increasing the flexibility of the programmability, enabling the artists to express themselves in a free way.” That doesn’t tell us a great deal about their hardware configuration, but they have stated that programmers will be able to express themselves by programming in a unified shader pipeline.
Whether a unified shader pipeline will actually benefit end users will not be seen for some time. If they do choose to launch a form of G80 at the end of the year though, it would be just in time for Windows Vista which will support DX10. Read more @ Bit-Tech.
Hardware Roundup for Mar. 17
The CNPS9500 LED has easily proven to be a superb choice for your current CPU, but now Zalman has released an AT version which is strictly for your Intel 775. Pro-Clocker’s and R&B both take a look at this new cooler today. When compared to the LED it doesn’t have a real advantage, but will still prove worth the cash. If you are not fond of the 9500 styling, [are you nuts?], then maybe the TT Golden Orb II would better suit you. Think Computers takes a look at that great cooler, and despite installation hassles it proves to be a solid performer.
Xtreme Computing is taking a look at my personal favorite in the memory department, the Corsair 2GB PT4000. They got a very stable DDR540 overclock out of them, and with luck you can bring them even further. Have any doubts about throwing down some cash for an X-Fi sound card? Read today’s review of the Fata1ty version at Tech Report, and you’ll know by the end of the article whether the cards for you. Have a great weekend everyone!
- Antec Take 4 Quiet 4U Rackmount Enclosure – Virtual-Hideout
- Cooler Master Wave Master – Hi-Tech Reviews
- Lian Li PC-V600 Mini Tower Case – System Cooling
- Thermaltake Matrix VX – techPowerUp!
- Zalman HD160 HTPC Enclosure – Madshrimps
Cases & Enclosures
- Thermaltake Golden Orb II CPU Cooler – Think Computers
- Zalman CNPS 9500AT Socket 775 Heatsink – Pro-Clockers
- Zalman CNPS 9500AT Socket 775 Heatsink – Red & Blackness
Cooling
- Corsair XMS TWINX2048-4000PT – Xtreme Computing
Memory & Storage
- ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe – Viper Lair
- DFI NF4 SLI-DR Expert – [H] Enthusiast
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Creative’s Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty – Tech Report
- Enermax Noisetaker 701AX 600 Watt Power Supply – Pro-Clockers
- Logitech MX 3000 – The Tech Zone
- SilverStone SST-ST56F Power Supply – Bjorn3D
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ASUS EN7800GT TOP Silent – Elite Bastards
Video Cards & Monitor
- Acer Aspire 1691 WLMI Notebook – UK Gamer
- Beginners Guides: Essential USB Memory Drive Projects & Tips – PC Stats
- Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router – Windows A – Z
Etcetera & Contests
Halo 3 no more — meet Forerunner
According to the post, Bungie’s next project will be a Halo game for the Xbox 360, currently codenamed, Forerunner. In Halo lore, the Forerunners are a technologically advanced race that mysteriously vanished from the universe.
Joystiq notes that this could potentially be a joke, only becase the magazine is released in April [Think April Fools]. I don’t care what name it’s under, it’s going to rock! Check out the full posting at Joyqtiq.
PS3 Delayed – Is it game over for Sony?
Early this morning while most of us still lay asleep, on the other side of the globe industry shaking news was finally revealed about the ever elusive PS3. It has been nearly a year since 2005’s E3 PS3 conference and with little to no further knowledge being disclosed to anyone about anything, we’ve been feeding off of “Target” Videos and Tech Demo’s for what feels to be an eternity. It would seem Sony had left us completely in the dark. Fortunately today Sony decided to hit the light switch. At 8am in Tokyo, Japan a wide-eyed Ken Kutaragi took the stage with a full arsenal of information about the PS3.
Check out the full posting at Bona Fide Reviews.
GNOME 2.14 Released!
Released on schedule, to the day, it is the culmination of six months effort by GNOME contributors around the world: hackers, documentors, usability and accessibility specialists, translators, maintainers, sysadmins, companies, artists, users and testers. Due to their hard work, we have another great release to be proud of – thanks very much to every contributor!
You can find out what’s new, and grab the download on the official site!
Lenovo to axe 1,000 jobs
CHINESE firm Lenovo, which acquired the IBM PC Co last year, is set to lay off around 1,000 people, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report said the move is being made to save costs, and it will shift its HQ to Raleigh in North Carolina, away from New York state.
Well, that can’t be a good sign. Source: The Inquirer.