Tech News
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DDR spot prices rocket amid Taiwan political turmoil
Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | By: Dennis"Spot prices for 256Mbit (32Mbitx8) DDR shot up by over 6% yesterday in Asia, driven by aggressive buying amid political unrest in Taiwan after the island’s contested presidential election, according to DRAMeXchange.
Strong demand drove average spot prices for 256Mbit (32Mbitx8) DDR 266/333/400 above US$5, said DRAMeXchange after the market closed yesterday. Spot prices have reached the highest level in six months."
It kind of makes you wonder how a simple election could be related to DDR chip prices. Then again these are reporters just making up.. errr reporting the news.
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Intel to employ new naming scheme
Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 | By: DennisThe end of an era..
"Intel has informed its clients in Taiwan that it will employ a new naming scheme for its 90nm processors, starting at the end of the second quarter, according to sources at Taiwanese PC makers.
Instead of using gigahertz, or clock speed, to describe and distinguish its chips from each other, the chip giant is likely to use numbers in the ranges of 300, 500 and 700 to label its chips built using a 90nm process, said the sources." -
Albatron PX875P Pro Review @ Ohls-place
Published: Monday, March 22, 2004 | By: DennisSome people might think that P4 is already showing it's age after the release of AMD's Athlon64 series. I think even after all these years it can still put up a good fight against newest AMD's CPU's. What's next from Intel, and how well will it do, still remains a question. So if you're looking for a motherboard to put the good ol' P4 in, here is something from Albatron that might interest you.
"Albatron's latest addition to their already strong arsenal of Intel based motherboards is the PX875P Pro based on the new Intel 82875P chip which offers up to 1200 MHz FSB speed. So we decided to see what this new blue colored beast was capable of doing and ran it through a few benchmarks and came away with some interesting results. You will have to read the review to find out what they were." -
Danger Den RBX Review @ Crazymodders
Published: Monday, March 22, 2004 | By: DennisCrazymodders review the latest and greatest from Danger Den. The waterblock continues the ongoing battle between the acclaimed 3-barb design waterblocks for those few precious degrees.
"If you look a bit closer you can see that a part of these grooves have a wave-like shape instead of just being dead straight. This peculiar shape raises the turbulence of the water, entering the waterblock, which makes the water absorb more heat thus improving overall performance of the block. Last but not least there are about 45 very shallow holes on the bottom on the inside of the block. These holes are actually called Heat Voids and add to raising the turbulence of the water, every way of improving the block's performance has really been employed by Danger Den."
Here is our own review of the same waterblock for comparison reasons. Check it out. -
PowerColor Radeon 9800XT 256MB Review @ Hexus
Published: Monday, March 22, 2004 | By: DennisHere is something for those looking for one of the fastest video cards out there. The prices for these things are still high, but probably not for very long. The releases of nVidia's NV40 and ATI's R420 will traditionally lower the current video cards' prices significantly.
"PowerColor, then, has to position its 9800XT on the basis of price. It doesn't contain enough novel or value-adding features to warrant purchasing for anything other than low price, and priced at around £320, it's one of the cheaper retail 9800XTs. Overall, our advice is simple. If you require a no-nonsense Radeon 9800XT card the PowerColor version is as good as any." -
Back from the Islands
Published: Sunday, March 21, 2004 | By: DennisWell I made it back all safe and sound. It’s going to take me a few days to catch back up but that happens with most vacations. I’d like to thank Sycorax for posting news while I was gone.
In my vacation downtime I was able to check out a few forum threads that cropped up after I posted the new Demonic XTC (P4) review. It would seem that a few people are concerned about the aluminum bits that can be purchased with Demonic XTC waterblock. Since copper and aluminum don’t exactly get along on a chemical level there is a general concern about corrosion. I honestly don't know if the anodized aluminum will react with the copper though can say for certain that on the Pentium 4 edition the aluminum parts don't ever come in contact the copper block. However since the mounting posts do pass thru the waterblock on the AthlonXP version I can see the potential problem.
I will be talking to the mfg and see what their opinion is on the matter and report back with my findings.
In the meantime I’m still on "Hawaiian Time" so hang loose.
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NL: Friday Night Block-o
Published: Friday, March 19, 2004 | By: DennisYea, I know, there are better things to do on Friday's night, but just in case anyone will be reading this, here is a compilation of reviews that didn't make it to their own news' section for one reason or another. Enjoy.
- Thermaltake's Polo 735 Review @ TechTastic
- CeBIT coverage @ Digit-Life
- Logitech diNovo Review @ SweMOD
- Koolance CPU-300-V10 Water Block Review @ Viper Lair
- M-Audio Revolution 7.1 & Sonica Theater Review @ myWorldHardware
- Giga-Byte PCU21-VG Cooler Pro Review @ NextGen Electronics
- Seasonic Super Silencer 460W PSU Review @ OCIA
Well, that's it for now. Enjoy your Friday and your weekend. I know I will
. Oh, and in case all the partying will make you forget this site, here is a reminder 
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Chaintech Apogee AA5700U Videocard Review @ PCStats
Published: Friday, March 19, 2004 | By: DennisChaintech has been known for making impressive looking video cards and shipping them with quite a few extras. Their nVidia FX5700 Ultra is no exception. So if you're looking for one of the best bangs for the buck, check this one out.
"Let's be utterly frank for a moment, the AGP slot's days are numbered. That being the case, there are still many millions of AGP motherboards in the world, while virtually no computers in the hands of consumers use PCI express yet. It may be some time before the balance swings in favour of PCI Express, so videocard manufacturers are continuing to produce their products for consumers looking to upgrade older machines. After all, it is all about playing the games we like at the best possible visual quality isn't it?"
In case you missed it, here is our own review of Chaintech Apogee 5700 Ultra. -
Checking in from the Island State
Published: Friday, March 19, 2004 | By: DennisHello everyone, just thought I would see how things are running. I didn't say anything but I've been out of town since Wed (3/17) visiting some friends in Hawaii (Waikiki Beach, Honolulu) and will be here until Sat (3/20) night. I don't plan to post any pictures from my vacation but you can imagine how it is.
and no, I haven't seen Asia Carrera yet though it is rumored that she lives on the beach around here someplace. -
NL: PC Case Showdown
Published: Friday, March 19, 2004 | By: DennisLooking for something to put those brand new components in? I know it's the inside that matters, but it's always nice to have something to show off to your buddies
. We compiled this block-o from different recent reviews that should help you choose the right PC case.
- CrazyPC Lian Li Case w/ Biohazard Mod Review @ A True Review
- Comp USA Black ATX Case Review @ Creative Mods
- Thermaltake Damier Xaser V V6000A Case Review @ Futurelooks
- Case4U Mona Designer ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case Review @ Tweaknews
And in case that's not enough (no pun intended), you can always come back and look at our own case reviews, here, at Ninjalane.
