Tech News
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ABIT's MAX 3: The Rise of Cooling
Published: Friday, July 25, 2003 | By: DennisDon't get me started on the movie reference, T3 is so full of holes it isn't funny
Anyhow mega w00t for Abit, the IC7 Max3 is launched today and features maximum everything! Here is a snip of one of the features.
"Protect your privacy and keep anyone from snooping into your information. Lock down your hard disk, not with a password, but with encryption. A password can be cracked by software in a few hours. ABIT's SecureIDE will keep government supercomputers busy for weeks and will keep the RIAA away from your Kazaa files."
All I have to say is, nice!
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PNY GeForce FX5900 Ultra Review @ Bleeding Edge
Published: Friday, July 25, 2003 | By: DennisHere is one of the shortest video card reviews that I have seen in recent times and is actually quite nice.
Not much info on the video processor but there are some benchmarks.
" The install CD includes a rather bizarre program called Verto 3D World. A desktop interface powered by 3DNA. A 3 dimensional world where you can explore your PC in a unique way. Browse to your favorite web pages, or just go upstairs to the patio and shoot some hoops." -
Cookie Regulation in Force in Sweden
Published: Friday, July 25, 2003 | By: DennisSomeone in Sweden is a little to paranoid about cookie usage. For those of you that don't know much about cookies here is a short intro. A cookie is a small text file that is created and stored by your browser on instruction from a website and can only be read by the web domain that created them. Ad companies use cookies to track where people go but also use the information to record banner sale information including what site they should give the commissions to.
Now you can stop the creation of cookies but by doing so you also have restricted yourself from using many of the advanced features of the web. For instance when you login to a website (username and password) a cookie is created to help tell the website who you are and how long you have been hanging around. These cookies are what we call "sessions" and are also destroyed after 20min of idle time or when your browser is closed. Now if a user disables cookies in their browser they also disable these and other "basic" web features that have become commonplace over the past few years.
"The user shall be provided with the opportunity to decline the use of cookies during the web site visit ("current session"). The Act does state that the user must accept cookies, provided that so called "normal request routines" are used when the cookie is set and provided that the user may turn off cookies in his web browser. "
This kind of makes me wonder if they even know what they are talking about. -
Unincom Clear 4-LED Fan Review @ Xtremods
Published: Friday, July 25, 2003 | By: Dennis" Overall, I was pleasantly suprised by the Unincom Clear 4-LED Fans. I expected worse testing results from their first impression as 4-pin-molex-only fans which retail for under $5, but they got their jobs done and looked good while doing it, although they were on the loud side for a budget case fan."
These fans remind me of the Coolermaster Neon LED fan that we reviewed not to long ago, just "crappi3r".
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AOpen AX4SPE Max Review @ HardwareZone
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2003 | By: DennisSpringdale is the name of the game these days especially considering the insane overclocking ability of the i865PE and performance-enhancing BIOS hacks.
"he new AOpen AX4SPE Max now comes with a new feature known as V4 Power Engine. Sounds like a race car? Yes it does and that's what AOpen actually associated this feature with. The V4 engine is actually the 4-phase PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) power supply circuitry that's found on the board. Unlike most motherboards which comes with a 3-phase power supply, AOpen claims that a 4-phase supply will make your system more stable and cooler." -
Cooler Master CoolDrive 3 Review @ VoidedWarranty
Published: Thursday, July 24, 2003 | By: Dennis"Well, there she is folks! As you can see this hard drive cooler looks pretty damn cool. It almost makes my computer look like it has a set of eyes. You may also notice that I have taken the liberty of VOIDING the WARRANTY by removing the print that was on the front of the unit. This can be done with a rag and some acetone."
I will agree, the cooler does look very good though I've noticed that although the CoolDrive 3 does an excellent job removing heat from your HDD it does so in an uneven manner. ie: the front of the drive is cooled, whereas the back of the drive gets hotter than if there was no cooler at all. -
Asus P4P8X Review @ TechJuice
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | By: DennisYou have to be a little careful when buying a Springdale enabled motherboard since there is more than one style of i865 chipset on the market, the i865PE and i865P. The PE version supports the new 800Mhz FSB whereas the cheaper i865P only supports the 533Mhz FSB. The chipset can still reach 800Mhz on some motherboards by overclocking but it remains unclear if you get the DDR400 memory controller or not. (DDR400 is only enabled with 800Mhz FSB processors on the Springdale and Canterwood chipsets)
"So if this board will do 800MHz, how about 1000MHz. We hooked up the alcholcooler to see what we could get out the Asus P4P8X. Why alcohol? Because we have been trying a new types of fluids for maxium heat transfer, and it was the closest liquid to the bench. We are professionals. Don't try this at home." -
Abit IC7-G Review @ HardwareZone
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | By: Dennis"The IC7-G is the answer to overclockers and fans of ABIT motherboards - particularly those who wants the performance of the Intel 875P chipset and ABIT's famous overclocking track record. The IC7-G is a well designed board (except for badly positioned IDE connectors) that should appeal both power users and beginners with its well-balanced range of features."
I would suggest that if you are in the market for a Pentium 4 system seriously consider getting a board with the i875P chipset. It isn't the most “bang-for-your-buck” but you do get the best performance and the chipset loves to overclock. -
Taipei Computex 2003 Expected to be Biggest Ever
Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2003 | By: Dennis"The Computex 2003 exhibition, which will be held from September 22-26, is expected to be the largest ever, according to organizers Taipei Computer Association (TCA) and China External Trade Development Council (CETRA).
A total of 1,195 companies have registered as exhibitors, up nearly 8% from last year, occupying a total of 2,471 booth spaces. “The number is still increasing, as the show is still two months away,” said Nick Chang, sector chief of CETRA."
The cool part this is that Ninjalane will be there, provided I can find a hotel room. -
PNY GeForce FX 5900 Ultra Review @ Extreme Overclocking
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | By: Dennis"The FX5900 beat out our Radeon 9800 Pro in a number of tests. In fact, the 9800 Pro was only faster in three out of our twenty tests. The 5900 Ultra was faster but not by enough to notice. This makes purchasing the fastest video card from NVIDIA a tough decision. We personally do not think that the small gain in performance is worth the extra $100 dollars over a 9800 Pro. For enthusiasts it will come down to things like image quality, driver support, and for some, which company they are loyal to (if any)."
I can't remember the last time the competition between two flagship video cards has been so close. Even at extremely high frames, the difference between the two seems to be minimal.
