- 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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KDE 4 Screenshots
Screenshots of the upcoming and much talked about KDE 4 have appeared at Planet Diaz. They include screenshots of the control panel, system tray, tabbed views, music and mail views, plus a mockup or two. I don’t know what the Gnome guys are up to, but KDE is starting to look seriously cool.
Bah, well the website hosting the pictures is down, so you may want to wait a bit to see if you can access it. Check out the Slashdot posting for the info.
Corsair Launches 667MHz DDR2 SO-DIMM Memory for the New Intel Centrino Mobile Platform
Fremont, CA (February 13, 2006) – Corsair® Memory, Inc., a worldwide leader in high performance memory and watercooling products for enthusiasts and overclockers, today launched ValueSelect™ 667MHz DDR2 SO-DIMM memory to support the latest Intel® mobile technology. Available immediately in 512MB and 1GB modules, Corsair’s new DDR2 SO-DIMM is ready to turbo-charge the new Centrino® Core™ Duo and Core Solo based notebooks.
Check out the full press release here.
How To Use MD5
An important part of data recovery is knowing that the data which is stored is correct. This process is generally easier said than done, after all, how can you tell that data is complete and accurate? As important as this is, this is not something you would think can be easily accomplished without lots of time or some very fancy equipment. Using a MD5 checksum you can do exactly that- verify the integrity of your data.
Checking MD5 is not just for geeks, it’s an important part of verifying data. HDD Saver gives you the scoop on what MD5 is and how to use it. Check out the full article here.
Hardware Roundup for Feb. 14
If you are looking to pick up a new 2.5″ hard drive, then first check out Tech Reports round-up! You may not think that there are advantages for one over another, but their benchmarks prove different! Speaking of storage, if you want to have 1GB in your pocket, you can check out PC Apex for their review of the Corsair Voyager. ATI cards certainly are reigning today in terms of reviews, which five different cards to choose from!
- Mascot 2.5-inch HDD USB External Enclosure – A1 Electronics
- Thermaltake Eureka – TweakPC
Cases & Enclosures
- Cooler Master Hyper L3 Cooling – Technic3D
- Coolink HDD Cooler – XS Reviews
- Thermaltake Tide Water All-In-One Liquid VGA Cooler – OCIA
- XSPC X20 universal Liquid Cooling Kit – Xtreme Computing
Cooling
- 2.5″ Serial ATA hard drive round-up – Tech Report
- Corsair Flash Voyager 1GB USB Drive – PC Apex
Memory & Storage
- Logitech G7 – Red & Blackness
- Razer Diamondback Plasma Edition – Laptop Gamers
- Ultra Products X2 PSU – Motherboards.org
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- ASUS Extreme AX1300Pro Silent – Legion Hardware
- ATI A-I-W X1900 – GamePyre
- ATI All-In-Wonder X1900 256MB PCIE – 3D Gameman
- ATI Radeon X1800 XT CrossFire – SimHQ
- HIS X1600XT IceQ Turbo Edition – Viper Lair
Video Cards & Monitor
- FreeGeek.com Interview – Design Technica
- X-Micro Bluetooth Stereo Media Phone Kit – Think Computers
Etcetera & Contests
Super Talent Announces World’s Fastest 2GB DDR2 Kits
San Jose, California – February 13, 2006 — Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of DDR and DDR2 memory modules, today announced a new 800 Megahertz, 2 Gigabyte DDR2 memory kit. Super Talent’s new T800UX2GC4 is a matched pair of 1GB PC2-6400 Low Latency DDR2 modules.
Read the full press release right here!
NVIDIA Launches GoForce 5500
NVIDIA today has announced a new addition to its GoForce family of mobility GPUs called the GoForce 5500. Aimed squarely at gamers on the move, the GoForce 5500 brings advanced features that were previously unavailable to the handheld market. Besting even ATI’s top Imageon processors, the GoForce 5500 delivers features not found anywhere else.
Wow, it’s sad that this ‘cell phone gpu’ pretty much has more capabilities of the one in my laptop! Very interesting though, it shows that NVIDIA is preparing for the future… and likes to one-up ATI whenever possible. Check out the news article at Daily Tech.
Dungeons & Dragons Online Gone Gold
WESTWOOD, MA, February 13, 2006 – Turbine, Inc. announced today that DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINETM: StormreachTM has gone gold and is in final production. The world’s first online roleplaying game based on the legendary pen and paper DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game, and voted the “most-anticipated MMO,” by IGN.com readers, is currently scheduled to ship on February 28, 2006. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS).
Check out the full press release here.
Nvidia’s GeForce 7800GS Becomes a Better Buy
Two weeks ago, Nvidia unveiled its upgrade option for AGP gamers worldwide. Although this launch was a sight for sore eyes, the suggested retail price for the GeForce 7800GS was $350 to $400, depending on the model. Is it worth upgrading to another AGP card when it costs so much?
If you are still considering a move to a better AGP card, check out the exhaustive article at Toms Hardware.
RIAA Bans The Reselling Of iPods With Preloaded Music
“Selling an iPod preloaded with music is no different than selling a DVD onto which you have burned your entire music collection,” the RIAA said in a statement to MTV.com. “Either act is a clear violation of U.S. copyright law. The RIAA is monitoring this means of infringement. In short: seller beware.” Many people have been selling their used iPods online with thousands of songs preloaded on them.
Well, this seems like a valid arguement really… for once. There’s no doubt that the RIAA is trying their best to find anything to add to their ‘hate’ list. Check out the article here.
Crucial Interview with Paul Motion
Tweak3D: Your Ballistix memory series seems to be doing well since its launch several years ago however people still recall the names OCZ Technology and Corsair more often, how is Crucial tackling this?
Crucial’s Paul Motion: The Ballistix line is our high-performance range of memory which is aimed at gamers and performance enthusiasts. As you know, this area of the computing world demands nothing but the best and that is exactly what Ballistix strives to deliver. To stay strong in this arena, we have an impressive line up of high performance DDR and DDR2 Ballistix, in various speeds and densities to suit all needs. As well as the stunning performance, they also have a unique style, with gold heat spreaders and black PCBs. If that’s still not enough style for your rig, we also offer Ballistix Tracer, which has chasing LEDs mounted to the PCB that monitor the performance of the memory. The more stress you place on the memory the faster the LEDs move.
Check out the full interview at Tweak3D.
Don MacDonald – Intel talks Viiv
A couple of weeks ago, Intel held the launch party for its latest technology: Viiv. If you’re not already familiar with Intel’s newest platform, Viiv is the combination of dual-core Intel processors, networking and motherboard technology combined with some special software sauce to form a new breed of living room PC We went along to the party to have a chat and see what was going on.
To see what VIIV is and where it’s going, check out the interview at Bit-Tech.
Intel’s Pentium M 760 versus AMD’s Turion 64 ML-44
ALTHOUGH INTEL HAS BEEN STRUGGLING on the desktop front of late, things on the mobile side have been going just fine, thank you. In fact, the Pentium M has been doing so well that Intel’s desktop line will eventually be migrating to a processor based on a similar architecture. Heck, even Apple joined in on the fun. Near the top of the heap is the Pentium M 760, which features a 533MHz front-side bus, an operating frequency of 2.0GHz and a whopping 2MB of L2 cache.
Check out the full in-depth article at Tech Report.
Novell Delivers Cross-Platform Compliance Solution for the Open Enterprise
WALTHAM, Mass. – Feb. 13, 2006 – Novell today announced Novell® Audit 2, a set of new tools for customers to monitor and audit user access and other network events across the enterprise, a critical requirement in complying with regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and Basel II. Available immediately, the new solution creates a centralized view of network events across multiple platforms and enterprise applications to simplify compliance audits and reports. As a result, customers can control user access to information and resources, streamline auditing processes, and verify regulatory compliance more accurately with less staff.
You can read the full press release right here.
An Approach to Safer Browsing
The Internet is filled with security potholes in the guise of adware, spyware and viruses. What if we found an extreme way to bypass those potholes and make your Internet experience safe once again?
This is a great guide that covers the bases well. Check out the read at techFEAR.
Hardware Roundup for Feb. 13
Happy Monday! There is a ton of stuff going on today, including reviews. If you are looking for a new AMD CPU to get your hands on, you may want to consider an Opteron. Xbit Labs is taking a look at the Optie 165 which is a lower end Dual Core version, but still has wicked potential. They have proved that it has overclocking potential, but I am sure it could even be pushed further if you have a great cooling setup. For a look at a good midrange card, check out the review of Sapphires X1600XT card over at Byte Sector. It packs a nice punch for the pricepoint, and is one of the few cards with Blue PCB!
- Antec P150 – XYZ Computing
- SanSun Bat – Overclocker Cafe
- Silverstone LC17 HTPC – Bjorn3D
Cases & Enclosures
- AeroCool Video Magic (VM-102) Fanless VGA Cooler – Hi-Tech Reviews
- Zalman CNPS9500 – Techneek
Cooling
- G.Skill F1-4000USU2 2GB – Technic3D
Memory & Storage
- AMD Opteron 165 – Xbit Labs
Motherboards & CPU’s
- Act-On MicMouse & Optical Mouse – PC Modding Malaysia
- Be-Quiet P6 DarkPower PSU – Driver Heaven
- Logitech G15 – CoolTechZone
- Matrix Orbital MX610 – Think Computers
- Thrustmaster Rally GT Force Feedback Pro – TweakPC
- Ultra Products 2nd Generation X-Finity 600W PSU – Big Bruin
Peripherals & Power Supplies
- Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide Rev. 10.0 – Rojak Pot
- PowerColor Radeon X800 GTO 128MB PCI Express Video Card – Bona Fide Reviews
- Samsung 244T – Overclockers Online
- Sapphire Radeon X1600XT – Byte Sector
Video Cards & Monitor
- Acer Aspire 9504WSMi – Trusted Reviews
- ARP-Zalman Survey Contest – Rojak Pot
- Asus DRW-1608P2S – Trusted Reviews
- BIOS Optimization Guide Rev. 8.8.1 – Rojak Pot
- Last few days of the CPU magazine giveaway – Case Mod God
- Palm Treo 650 – Design Technica
- Vizo Master Panel – Pro-Clockers
Etcetera & Contests
Konami: The Regiment Review
Konami sent us its new tactics Shooter, The Regiment.Perhaps we will see whether it an equal representative of the tactics Shooter present and or others inspire can.
Check out the full review at Technic3D.
Quad Core Chips From Intel and AMD
According to the San Fransisco Chronicle, in an effort to one-up AMD, Intel will be coming out with 4 core cpu’s in 2007.” From the article: “Chips with two cores have been the latest rage, with both Intel and AMD selling those microprocessors as their high-end offering. Apple Computer Inc.’s new iMac, which started selling last month, uses the dual-core chip … Not to be outdone, Randy Allen, AMD’s corporate vice president of server and workstation division, said Friday that his firm is working its own quad-core processor for release next year.
Hah, it didn’t take long for AMD to jump in with the announcement. I don’t want to even think how hot these chips could possible get. Check out the posting at Slashdot.
DFI Infinity NF4 Ultra Review
It has been quite a while since we last featured a DFI, or
rather Design For Innovation, motherboard at Phoronix but today we are
back again with them as we feature one of their products from the
Infinity series — the DFI NF4 Ultra. As the model name implies, the
Chipset used is NVIDIA’s nForce4 Ultra and it also features a Vitesse
Gigabit interface, four DDR-400 slots, and the usual innovations we have
become to appreciate from DFI thanks to their LAN Party series.
Check out the full review over at Phoronix.
Kingwin SK-523SW ATX Chassis Review
Overall, this case is one of the nicer cases I’ve had the opportunity to review to date. The aluminum door ties in with the silver paint on the main body of the case. The CCL is really bright and can light up the room when the door is opened.
Check out the full review over at Virtual-Hideout.
Albatron GeForce 6600 Review
That’s right, 512 MB of onboard memory on a midrange product! To accomplish this, Albatron shifted from the very familiar DDR3 graphics memory to DDR2. The core and memory speeds have also been dropped down from the GeForce 6600 GT. The big question that remains is can a product with half a gig of memory and slower core/memory speeds best a card clocked higher with 1/4 of the memory? How much difference will quadrupling the memory give and at what cost? The 6600 GT retails for around $130 at present so Albatron is taking on a real challenge with development of another card in the 6600 line given the success and bang for the buck of their current offering.
Check out the full review over at Overclockers Cafe.
AOpen i945Ga-PHS Review
AOpen is offering a wide range of products, many of them geared toward living room multimedia. The dual-core capable AOpen i945Ga-PHS is a motherboard designed to be used for building a Media PC. Its outstanding feature is integrated VGA with analog, TV and HDTV output without the need of any addon card. This gives you everything to build a very low profile Media PC.
Check out the full review at techPowerUp!.
Intel shows off its quad core
Just as the bragging rights for dual-core chip supremacy are dying down, Intel gave the first glimpse of a quad-core chip coming next year. Clovertown, a four-core processor, will start shipping to computer manufacturers late this year and hit the market in early 2007. Clovertown will be made for dual-processor servers, which means that these servers will essentially be eight-processor servers (two processors x four cores each).
Obviously it will be quite some time before the home user will ever have a use for a Quad Core CPU, but it’s cool to know they are on the horizon. Check out the full posting at News.com.
Fired for Solitaire?
The Associated Press is carrying a story about a NYC employee fired after Mayor Michael Bloomberg noticed a game of solitare on the employee’s desktop at work. Greenwood, who earned $27,000 a year and had worked in the office for six years, said in a telephone interview that he limited his play time to his one-hour lunch or during quick breaks when he needed a moment of distraction.
Oh man, what a reason to get fired for. Something like this is hardly uncommon, so consider yourself warned! Check out the posting at Slashdot.
Lineage 2 C4 Launches
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9, 2006—NCsoft® North America has released Chronicle 4: Scions of Destiny, an expansion that adds 800 megabytes of new content and features to Lineage® II: The Chaotic Chronicletm, the market’s premier player-versus-player (PvP) massively multiplayer online PC game. The expansion is one of the largest updates released in the MMO industry and is free to current Lineage II subscribers.
You can read the full press release here.
Guild Wars Factions Beta Event Announced
BELLEVUE, WA (February 9, 2006) – ArenaNet®, creators of the #1 selling online roleplaying game Guild Wars®, and NCsoft® Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announce today plans for a landmark event to preview Guild Wars Factions™, the highly anticipated follow up to 2005’s critically acclaimed game Guild Wars. On March 24, 2006, game players around the globe are invited to participate in the Guild Wars Factions Preview Event, an exclusive and one-time opportunity unlike any offered before.
You can read the full press release here.