- 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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NVIDIA’s Quad SLI: Demystifying the rumors
To game at resolutions this high with adequate frame rates, two graphics cards just aren’t enough. We’ve also discovered that even NVIDIA’s fastest GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB card begins to chug with NVIDIA’s 16x SLI AA mode. This is where NVIDIA’s Quad SLI technology comes in.
Check out the full look at Firing Squad.
MySpace To Be Made Safer For Users
When News Corp. bought the social-networking Web site MySpace.com last July, the media company got two surprises, one good and one bad,’ the Wall Street Journal reports. The good news: Traffic nearly doubled in the last half of last year. The bad news: MySpace is being criticized for exposing children to risqué content and sexual predators.
MySpace really can’t be blamed for such things happening… but it’s good to see they are taking steps to help prevent it. Check out the posting at Slashdot.
Hardware Roundup for Feb. 17
Ahh, the weekend is finally near. Before you go out to party, check out some of these great reviews. HotHardware is taking some of the most wanted memory around for a spin; the Corsair 2GB 3500LL PRO. If you can find it in stock, then you’d be best to pick some up. Check out all the peripheral reviews going ’round today… seems to be one of everything! Lastly, Hardware Secrets and Legion Hardware both take a look at the X1900 XTX, so check those out if you are intrigued.
- Corsair TWINX2048-3500LL PRO – Hot Hardware
- Kingston HyperX KHX3200AK2/2G – Think Computers
- OCZ EL DDR PC-4000 Gold GX XTC 2GB Dual Channel Kit – ModTheBox
Memory & Storage
- I-Rocks KR-6810 EL Keyboard – Hardware-Review
- Logitech Wireless Living – UK Gamer
- Logitech Wireless Music System – Everything USB
- Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 – A True Review
- Palm Treo 700w Smartphone – XYZ Computing
- Sennheiser HD555 – Red & Blackness
- Silverstone ST30NF 300W Silent PSU – Viper Lair
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI Radeon X1900 XTX – Hardware Secrets
- Gigabyte Radeon X1900XTX – Legion Hardware
Video Cards & Monitor
- Disney’s MovieBeam First Look – Design Technica
- Knoll Life Chair – XYZ Computing
Etcetera & Contests
RIAA now says ripping is illegal
Luckily, its hypocrisy is as boundless as its greed. Remember when the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) was arguing in front of the US Supreme Court in the Grokster case, and it said that ripping a CD that you lawfully own to your MP3 player was “perfectly lawful”? Well, now it isn’t.
Haha, talk about a busy beaver. The RIAA is one company that never seems to even slow down because they continue to come up with these bizarre arguements. Check out the posting at The Inquirer.
Intel tells its employees all about the Clovertown CPU
Clovertown, demonstrated last week, used “early silicon”, said Circuit News. The silicon, it said, came from engineering and that demonstrates “Intel is well into the validation process”. The chip will be well suited to databases, financial services and other such heavy applications.
Now we have an official codename, but they mention it will be best suited for intensive situations such as datacenters and banks. I am sure it will be some time before the normal consumer could take advantage of such a chip. Check out the full posting at The Inquirer.
Sony Reveals 1080p is a Go with Upcoming Playstation 3
In the frenzied marketing run-up to the release of its PlayStation 3, Sony cranked up the heat by offering a survey to its Playstation Underground members about HDTV use and importance. In the middle of that survey Sony let slip a little tantalizing tidbit of info about the PS3 and 1080p, that progressive-scanning holy grail of HDTVocity which amounts to the highest resolution the standard can achieve.
Even if it supports 1080p, it’s up to developers to take advantage of it. Of course, it you want a TV that will support 1080p and then pick up a PS3… wow that’s going to be a lot of cash! Check out the posting at Gizmodo.
Microsoft announces Office 2007 pricing
Microsoft on Wednesday offered further details on the next version of Office, announcing plans for a new home version as well as new server-based products and a new high-end enterprise edition of the desktop suite.
The new office will be known as Office 2007, which helps give the product a fresh appeal. Standard Edition will drain $400 and the Professional will drain $500 from your wallet. The Home and Student Editions at $150 seem like a great deal though. Check out the article at News.com.
First OS X Virus?
Mac Rumors reports on what may be the first virus to affect OS X, disguised as screenshots for the upcoming OS X 10.5 Leopard. From the report: ‘The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but was actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise. An initial disassembly reveals evidence that the application is a virus or was designed to give that impression.’ The virus is said to also spread via Bon Jour instant messaging.
It’s unclear what the ‘virus’ is meant to do, but it’s more like a trojan because it requires the user to activate it. Check out the full posting at Slashdot.
Google Stands Ground on Google.cn
Google gave testimony on Friday to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations. They discussed their decision to build google.cn in China. Elliot Schrage, the vice president for global communications and public affairs at Google describes how these China-based servers fit in to Google’s mantra of ‘Don’t be evil.’ Google hopes to use this as an opportunity to help bring global censorship into the spotlight of American politics. Will it work?
Check out the posting at Slashdot.
Hardware Roundup for Feb. 16
Hardware-Review is taking a look at the NZXT Lexa which we also took a look at a few weeks ago. They liked it enough to award it a 9.5/10 and a Seal of Approval, so you know it’s good! AnandTech has a great roundup if you are looking to purchase a top end X1900 card. They are taking a look at five different cards, which can help with your final decision. Of course, if you are still in the AGP era, you can check out CoolTechZone for their 7800GS review.
- NZXT Lexa – Hardware-Review
Cases & Enclosures
- Evercool Silver Knight – Think Computers
- Swiftech H2O-220-Apex Ultra – Overclockers Online
- Titan Eagle VGA Cooler – A1 Electronics
Cooling
- GeIL Ultra Platinum PC4000 Dual Channel – 3D Gameman
- OCZ 1GB EL PC3500 Gold GX XTC – UK Gamer
Memory & Storage
- Saitek A-250 Wireless 2.1 Speaker System – Big Bruin
- Tagan EasyCon 580W Modular PSU – PC Modding Malaysia
- Ultra X2 550 Watt Power Supply with Flex Force Cabling – Pro-Clockers
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- MSI GeForce 7800GTX – UK Gamer
- NVIDIA 7800GS AGP – CoolTechZone
- PNY Geforce 6 6600GT 128MB – PC Hardware
- PowerColor X1300Pro Bravo VIVO – Overclockers Online
- PowerColor X1900 XTX – Technic 3D
- X1900 XT/XTX Roundup – AnandTech
Video Cards & Monitor
- Electronic Signatures – Understanding Laws and the Affects – Bona Fide Reviews
- Sony Ericsson w800i Mobile Phone – Design Technica
Etcetera & Contests
Futuremark Begins Development of New Vector Graphics Benchmark
Saratoga, CA and 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona, Spain – February 15th, 2006 – Futuremark, creators of world’s most widely used benchmarks for handhelds and PCs, announced they have established an open development program to define and create VGMark07, the OpenVG Benchmark. This new benchmark will provide handheld industry companies developing OpenVG API enabled hardware with objective and accurate cross platform comparisons of OpenVG performance.
Read the full press release here.
AMD to launch 5000+ and FX 62 at Computex
OLD TAIPEI will be a grand place to launch a few of the new AMD marchitectures. We will see the Live® (Liver) platform launch, the socket AM2 launch. Last but certanly not least will be the dual core Athlon 5000+ and the dual core for gamers Athlon FX 62 launch. AMD will announce these marchitectures on the 6th of June at Computex 2006.
Besides the fact that Faud should get a proof reader, this is a great news! So soon after the FX60, the FX62 will look to be the killer CPU to own. Check out the posting at The Inquirer.
AMD’s Socket AM2 to support DDR2 800 MHZ
WE ALL expected that AMD planned to support DDR 2 400, 533 and 667 but very few of us expected that the firm plans to include DDR 2 800 MHz on its list. Before February, the plan was to support all memories up to DDR 667 but AMD eventually decided that it can and will support DDR 2 800 MHz from the outset.
It’s great to have DDR-800 official support, and I assume this is because their testing’s have proved to be in their favor. Well, that’s what I like to think anyway. Check it out at The Inquirer.
Did Someone Not Pay Attention? Rootkits Found On New DVDs
You would think, given all of the negative publicity surrounding the Sony BMG rootkit fiasco, that any company releasing content with copy protection would be careful to make sure that copy protection didn’t use rootkit-like functionality. If you thought so, unfortunately, you’d be wrong. Digg points us to an F-Secure blog post claiming that the German version of the DVD Mr. & Mrs. Smith has some new copy protection that at least has “rootkit-like cloaking technology.”
It’s not going to stop now apparently! Check out the posting at TechDirt.
Microsoft to release patch for power drain bug
Through our extensive collaborative research, we can report that an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) driver in Windows XP Service Pack 2 is the sole cause of the unusually high power drainage observed by all three teams. Today, Microsoft confirmed to TG Daily that it is developing a new patch to fix this particular driver bug, whose nature is somewhat different of those those addressed by earlier Microsoft Knowledgebase postings.
It’s good to know that this is being worked on, but really, if it was an ACPI driver issue you would think they’d find out sooner. Check out the article at TG Daily.
Memory: Is more always better?
Have you ever wondered what all of the fuss is about when it comes to memory? Memory manufacturers are going out of their way to sell you what they consider to be the best memory on the market for gamers, while also trying to push you into spending more money on more memory because – according to the memory makers – 2GB of memory is now becoming the industry standard for gaming systems.
If you are confused as to which route to take, then you should read the in depth look at Bit-Tech.
Inside Newegg
On a recent trip to Los Angeles we were given the opportunity to take a tour of one of Newegg’s warehouses. While we’ve been able to tour Newegg’s facilities in the past, this time they let us publish pictures and take you on a virtual tour of their facilities – effectively letting us follow the path of an order after it is placed online. Newegg sweetened the deal even more by working with us to give away some of their product to you all, but more on that later.
This is a great walk through, although the pictures are currently slow loading. There’s also a contest paired with the article, where you could win an X2 4600+. Check it out at AnandTech.
Hardware Roundup for Feb. 15
Happy mid-week! If you are looking for a bluetooth headset, and I know many people who are, then you should check out Legit Reviews today. The Plantronics 640 is feature packed and is offered at a decent price. It also looks pretty cool! In another audio related review, XYZ Computing takes the Altec Lansing IM7 for a test run. With these speakers, you can mount your iPOD and stream music off of it. It’s bulky looking, but the styling is great. For you DDR2 buffs, Neoseeker is testing out some Ballistix sticks that roll in at PC2-6400 speeds! Motherboards.org is offering a new 7800GS AGP review, so check it out if you are looking to upgrade.
- Aspire X-Qpack – Guru3D
- ExBoot 2.5-inch One Touch Portable HDD – Hardware Zone
- Sansun Bat Mid Tower ATX Case – MadShrimps
Cases & Enclosures
- AeroCool Video Magic (VM-102) Fanless VGA Cooler – Hi-Tech Reviews
Cooling
- Crucial Ballistix PC6400 DDR2 – Neoseeker
Memory & Storage
- Altec Lansing IM7 Portable Audio System – XYZ Computing
- Hiper TypeR 580W Power Supply – XS Reviews
- Plantronics Discovery 640 Bluetooth Headset – Legit Reviews
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ATI X1900 XTX Roundup – Trusted Reviews
- XFX 7800GS AGP Extreme Edition – Motherboards.org
Video Cards & Monitor
- Announcing the ARP-Scythe Survey Contest Winners – Rojak Pot
- Archers Etching Mod – Xtreme Computing
- ASUS W5F Notebook: Featuring Intel Core Duo – CoolTechZone
- Globalsat BC-337 SiRF Star III GPS Receiver – Think Computers
- Panasonic TH-42PX50U 42″ Plasma – Design Technica
- Pushing the Frame Rate Envelope – Tech-Hounds
Etcetera & Contests
Nexuiz v1.5 Pictorial
Nexuiz, one of the popular open-source first person shooter
games available for Microsoft Windows as well as Linux on both x86 and
x86_64 platforms, has released v1.5 today. Unlike some of the past
releases, many of the features in this release are prominent from a new
instant action mode to improved artificial intelligence and completely
new menus! In addition, there is now smoother net-code, engine
optimizations, redone sound effects, all new character skins, new
game-modes, new maps, and new characters. For the open-source
enthusiast, Nexuiz v1.5 is definitely worth checking out!
Check out all the new pictures at Phoronix.
Star Wars BATTLEFRONT II Review
In the end, what can we say about Battlefront 2? After hours of gaming, the rather superb gameplay experience was capped off by a sensational story. The game had both decent visuals and a superb audible experience to boot. When the missions became dull (which tends to happen after playing the game for hours on end in one day), the Instant Action mode provided some spice and life to get us back in the spirit.
Check out the full review at Gamepyre!
419er jailed for 376 years
Harrison Odiawa, 38, aka Abu Belgori, managed to extract $1,939,710 from US national George Robert Blake on the promise of a percentage of a bogus $20.45m Ministry of Health contract. The classic advance fee scam saw a duped Blake transfer the “advance payments” after seeing forged documents – including a certificate of registration with the Corporate Affairs Ministry and the aforementioned forged Ministry contract – which convinced him he was indeed about to get rich. Blake raised the cash from his company, Quest Exploration and Development, and his own personal assets.
Wow, this is deadly! It serves the moron right; he’s getting exactly what he deserves. Check out the posting at The Register.
Labelflash vs LightScribe DVD/CD Labeling
Discs printed with LightScribe and Labelflash are both really nice to look at. When we asked THG employees which ones they thought looked the best, they said they preferred the blue-colored discs, perhaps due to the color and more contrasting coating. The selection of discs and burners is much larger with LightScribe, however, a fact reflected in the price of blank discs.
I think I will stick to the good ole marker. Head over to Toms Hardware for a big look at these two unique products.
Google’s Windows Applications Coming to Linux?
Google and CodeWeavers are working together to bring Google’s popular Windows Picasa photo editing and sharing program to Linux. The program is now in a limited beta test. If this program is successful, other Google applications will be following it to the Linux desktop, sources say.
The only Google app I want to see work in Linux is Google Earth, and I am sure I’m not the only one who wants it. It’s good to see a start at least though. Check out the posting at OS News.
Xbox 360 shortage coming to end
Nearly three months after launch, Microsoft’s Peter Moore is saying that the Xbox 360 shortages are coming to an end. Moore’s comments came at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, which kicked off last week. Moore said that “Within the next four to six weeks, anybody will be able to walk into a store and buy an Xbox 360.”
It’s about time! Of course, it’s still another month and a half away, but at least the problems will be over soon enough. Check out the full posting at Ars Technica.
New video game awards show to debut in 2007
Awards shows on television are kind of like Starbucks outlets: nobody will admit to liking them yet they continue to proliferate with no end in sight. In the latest example of the multiplication of the species, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science has unveiled a new annual television show, a co-venture with Dick Clark Productions designed to showcase the year’s best video games and the creative teams that made them possible. The somewhat awkwardly-titled event, “The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Presents: The Year in Games” is set to debut in the first quarter of 2007.
Hopefully this show won’t suck like all the others out there, including G-Phoria. You can read all about the new show at Ars Technica.