Tech News
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Block-o-reviews @ Ninjalane
Published: Monday, June 23, 2003 | By: DennisWe present you with yet another installment of Block-o-reviews here, at Ninjalane:
Kanguru Quicksilver External Hard Drive @ Comp-Shop
Thermalright SLK-800U @ Blynk.net
Logitech Cordless Desktop Comfort Duo @ ReviewNation
Ergho Driver Keyboard @ PC Abusers
Zalman ZM-MFC1 @ Datafuse
As always, our block-o wouldn't be complete without a link back to where it started.
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Shuttle XPC SB61G2 @ HardwareZone
Published: Monday, June 23, 2003 | By: Dennis"With dual channel DDR400, support for processors designed for 800MHz PSB, a new Intel Extreme Graphics 2 engine and native SATA support; the XPC enjoys much of the new developments offered in current desktop motherboards;"
A couple of years ago a lot of companies were putting a lot money into development and production of micro-PCs. Unfortunately, they never got that popular. -
Nvidia NV40 Into the Market by Year-End
Published: Monday, June 23, 2003 | By: Dennis"Nvidia and ATI Technologies hope to release their next wave of graphics chips by year-end, sources said. Nvidia’s new graphics chips will be based on the NV40 core, while ATI will release its RV360, R360, and R420 lines of cards.
The NV40 line will be the first 0.13-micron-based graphics core fabricated by IBM, as opposed to long-time fabrication partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), according to sources. Further details of the NV40 line have yet to be released." -
CompuCase Tower Review @ Techware Labs
Published: Monday, June 23, 2003 | By: Dennis"The magnetic latch for the front panel access for the USB, Firewire, and Audio ports is a further testament to the quality construction, as it works almost flawlessly with just a well-placed tap of the finger but doesn't open with randomn bumps of the case."
This is actually a pretty old design with a new pre-modded flair. -
Abit NF7-M Review @ TwistedMods
Published: Monday, June 23, 2003 | By: DennisBy the looks of it Abit has a standard layout for all of their mainstream "gamer" boards. If you don't believe me check out our Abit IS7 Review then compare the layout to the NF7 at TwistedMods.
"Here you notice that there are only five PCI slots. There is an unusually large gap between the AGP and the PCI connections. You can also see the South Bridge, not cooled, and the sticker in place of the RAID chip. This board, instead of RAID, has onboard video however….which is totally and completely unimpressive to me. " -
Corsair Announces XMS3700 DDR Modules
Published: Friday, June 20, 2003 | By: DennisGood News from Corsair!
"Fremont, CA, June 20, 2003: Corsair Memory, Inc., an industry leader in ultra-performance DDR DRAM modules for gaming and overclocking applications, has announced new XMS3700 additions to their popular XMS family of memory modules. These ultra-fast new modules raise the bar for extreme performance, giving PC enthusiasts further headroom for overclocking their memory bus. Corsairs XMS3700 products are available immediately from resellers worldwide.
Corsairs offering includes 256 MByte and 512 MByte modules available individually or as matched “TWINX” pairs. The new additions consist of eight products, the following four clad in either black or silver (PT) heat spreaders:
- CMX256A-3700: 256 MByte, 467 MHz DIMM module
- CMX512-3700: 512 MByte, 467 MHz DIMM module
- TWINX512-3700: 512 MByte, 467 MHz DIMM module pair, kit consists of two matched CMX256A-3700 DIMMs
- TWINX1024-3700: 1 GByte, 467 MHz DIMM module pair, kit consists of two matched CMX512-3700 DIMMs
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And not yet posted on their website. So you heard it hear first.
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Intel asks Mobo Clients to Drop Claim of PAT Support on Springdale
Published: Friday, June 20, 2003 | By: Dennis"Intel has asked motherboard makers to stop promoting 865PE boards as supporting PAT (Performance Acceleration Technology) to avoid depressing sales of its 875 (Canterwood) chipsets.
In response, companies including Asustek Computer, Abit Computer and Epox Computer have stated that their 865PE boards have a functionality "similar" to Intel’s PAT and are their proprietary technology designs. Asustek calls its memory bus speeding function "Hyper Path," while Abit calls its "Game Accelerator.""
I was wondering when Intel was going to speak up about this. -
MSI Enhances Performance with MAT
Published: Friday, June 20, 2003 | By: Dennis"Users of Micro-Star International’s (MSI) 865PE/G Neo2 series motherboards now have an opportunity to upgrade performance. With a simple BIOS update, MSI has made its proprietary Memory Acceleration Technology (MAT) available to users of this high-end board supporting the latest 800MHz FSB (front-side bus) Pentium 4 CPUs. MAT optimizes the data transfer rate between the CPU, north bridge chip and memory, enhancing memory performance and effectively increasing bandwidth by up to 10%."
Abit is going the same with their game accelerator technology. My bet is that by next month we will see just about everyone offering this option. -
Mobo makers see stronger ASP performance
Published: Friday, June 20, 2003 | By: Dennis"First-tier motherboard makers have been reporting better product ASPs (average selling prices) so far this year, thanks to an easing in the price war and introduction of more expensive 865 (Springdale) series boards.
According to data from the companies, Asustek Computer, Micro-Star International (MSI) and Gigabyte Technology all enjoyed higher ASPs for the first five months of 2003 than for the full year of 2002. With an increasing proportion of 865 motherboard sales, board makers expect their ASPs to rise further in the third quarter."
Be sure to check out the price charts at the bottom. -
Jab-Tech Pyramid Smart Fan Controller @ 3dXtreme
Published: Friday, June 20, 2003 | By: DennisNow isn't this interesting its a pyramid that is smart, controls your fans, and even lights up. How cool is that?
"This is one of those products that can't really be rated by a number. If this is the type of product you are looking for then this will cover your needs quite well."
