Tech News
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Spyware is annoying
Published: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 | By: DennisWell its been a trying past few days with me battling a nasty spyware infection on my home workstation, it appears to also be a losing battle. The story goes a little something like this.
There I was minding my own business and all of a sudden I get 10 IE popunders advertising everything from commission junction to real-estate. Knowing exactly what had happened I quickly downloaded my favorite virus scanner (haven't had a virus infection in over 2 years so I never reinstalled the scanner) and updated my spybot database and proceeded to flush out the infection.
Slowly one by one the 8 or so trojan/virri that had somehow infected the system where removed until I got down to one that no matter what I tried would not go away. I even tried some of the donateware scanners rumored to be the "fix" but with no avail. One the system tested clean in safe mode I rebooted and BAM! popunder city.
Sadly the last resort is a re-format meaning new HDD for data transfer and a couple days worth of installing software and tweaking settings until everything is back the way I like it.
On the positive, the first tine I'll be installing is my virri scanner and some sort of password to keep the sneakernet users from using my workstation.. -
Vizo Voyager Hard Drive Cooler Review @ Mikhailtech
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007 | By: DennisNo one really understands the need for hdd cooling, in some cases you don't really need it and in others it becomes a necessity. Our thoughts on the matter are that a cool HDD is a happy HDD.
Hard drive cooling is a bit of acontroversial topic. Most drives are perfectly fine with whatever circulationgoes on inside a case, but others can get quite hot. Dedicated coolers arenever a requirement, but they can add to peace of mind that your equipment isrunning at optimal temperatures. The past couple weeks we've taken a look atseveral models. Today's contender is a bit different: it's wider and has acouple fans.
This little unit looks pretty cool and even comes with fan guards/filters. Not sure why you'd need them for an underdrive cooler but then again I'm sure someone will be dumb enough to stick their finger in there. -
NL: Review Block - Motherboards
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007 | By: DennisThe hot item at Computex 2007 was the 3 series chipset from Intel supporting 1333Mhz FSB and in some cases DDR3. While it will take several months and a few processor upgrades to take advantage of the 1333Mhz FSB and DDR3 the enthusiast market has already found the silver lining in the 3 series, extreme overclocking!
- Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard Review @ Hardware Secrets
- ECS P35T-A Intel P35 Express Motherboard Review @ Legit Reviews
- ECS P35T-A Motherboard Review @ HardwareLogic
- Asus Blitz Formula and Blitz Extreme @ HotHardware
- Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6 DDR3 board @ Hardwareoverclock Austria
- ECS P35T-A Motherboard Review @ Hardware Secrets
- Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R Motherboard Review @ Hardware Secrets
Of course we'll have our own P35 and other 3 series motherboard reviews as well so stay tuned. -
Danger Den DD-29XT HD 2900 XT Waterblock @ techPowerUp
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007 | By: DennisIs products like this that take me back to when there was a Ninjalane line of custom coolers. Granted they were still in prototype phase but damn they looked good.
Danger Den is considered to be one ofthe best companies around when it comes to high performancewatercooling hardware. Taking a similar approach used on their previousTyee waterblock, Danger Den designed a full coverage waterblock for theRadeon HD 2900 Series, the DD-29XT. The waterblock and can cool boththe GPU, Memory and Voltage Regulators efficiently and promisesdramatic results. -
Noctua NC-U6 Chipset Cooler Review @ OCModShop
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007 | By: DennisWe recently reviewed some of the Noctua case fans and found them to be some of the coolest fans ever. So what do you suppose you can expect from their North Bridge cooler?
Noctua is aiming to deliver high quality computer products and proudlyproclaim their products are "Designed in Austria". Their answer to thechipset cooling problem is the Noctua NC-U6 chipset cooler, which is ahigh-rising copper and aluminum heatsink with heatpipe technology thatlooks rather impressive.
These are heatpipe coolers that not only are very light but also do a pretty good job at keeping these cool and quiet. -
NL: Review Block - Cases
Published: Friday, August 17, 2007 | By: DennisIts been awhile since we've had a serious look at the current state of computer cases, granted you can still find the standard pre-mods in various levels of quality but the stuff of interest is the new style of case that takes things to the next level in terms of style and functionality.
Keep in mind these new style cases are pretty hard to find in the mainstream market unless you know what you're looking for.
- In Win Mt. Jade BK623 Case Review @ HardwareLogic
- Antec Sonata III ATX Enclosure Reviewed at Metku
- Antec Sonata III ATX Enclosure Review @ Virtual-Hideout
- Xclio 3060 Plus ATX Case with 36cm Fan Review @ Bigbruin
- NZXT Lexa Blackline Case Review @ OCIA
- Lian-Li PC-A70ATX Case Review @ Virtual-Hideout
For more hot case action check back here in the next couple weeks. -
Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H Motherboard Review @ OCC
Published: Thursday, August 9, 2007 | By: DennisGigabyte has always amazed me, First they get carted around in custom limos at Computex, Next they create a brand name around using blue PCBs and gaudy motherboard component colors, and lastly ignore any and all media presence in their show booths despite the desperate attempts for attention by rearranging their motherboard displays. It's just plain amazing.
When building an HTPC, most look to achieve the HD standard at a minimal cost, so to accommodate this we are seeing more motherboard manufacturers produce boards with onboard HD video and sound. Some have HDMI capabilities, which will also carry sound, and some choose to use DVI as the way to transport the HD digital image. With straight DVI, these motherboards must have an additional sound source onboard since, at this time, DVI is incapable of transferring sound by itself. We are also seeing two formats of motherboards that are equipped with the HD qualities, Micro-ATX and ATX. Micro- ATX allows for a smaller system case which will be more compact, whereas ATX will require a normal sized case and may not fit in most entertainment centers. -
The FPS That Could Article @ Mikhailtech
Published: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 | By: DennisI wasted a good week of my after work free time playing this game, haven't quite finished it yet but restarted from the beginning several times just because.
It's no secret that an overwhelmingmajority of computer enthusiasts also happen to be gamers. After all, what goodis the latest $500 video card if all you're doing is watching movies? Most ofyou have no doubt heard of FEAR, though some have not. It's not the newest gameout there (in fact it was released in 2005), but it continues to be one of themost successful first person shooters of all time. Created by Sierra andMonolith, FEAR has been called by many the best FPS game/expansion of the pasttwo years. This isn't a review per se, but rather an experience with the gameand a look at what makes it great. Beware of spoilers.
What is really fun is to play this game, near full volume (or with headphones) at around 11pm with all of the lights off. Talk about creepy... -
Abit Fatal1ty F-190HD Motherboard Review @ Virtual-Hideout
Published: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 | By: DennisNormally I wouldn't post something like this but these MicroATX boards have gotten quite powerful and by the looks of it this one from Abit is all business.
Manycompanies, including Abit, has known for quite some time that HTPC systems ofall kinds would soon be out there for the choosing. It's no surprise to seeAbit systems paired up with many HTPC systems when you are configuring yourcomponents through E-tailers and Retailers alike. Abit has a new and aggressivelook to their new flagship HTPC motherboard; the Fatality F-190HD. -
DFI Infinity P965-S Dark Review @ InsideHW
Published: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 | By: DennisIts amazing to me how many people complain about DFI's timing to the market saying they are always late. Truth be told by comparison they are late but DFI isn't a huge company either so instead of rushing a half ass product to market they sit back and release the "right" product to market complete with stability, performance, and spending less on support tickets.
Although many expected DFI to launch P965 chipset-based motherboard among the first manufacturers, DFI was the last to do so. To make the paradox even greater, DFI did it shortly after the presentation of P965 successor - the Intel P35 chipset. Was DFI Infinity P965-S worth waiting for?
Be sure to check out our latest Infinity "Dark" Review featuring the nVidia 650i chipset.
