Sapphire offers cut-price Radeon 9800 PRO

Jan 30 2004 @ 07:31AM by MikeC

The Inquirer reports that Sapphire fires another volley in the ATi/nVidia price war. After nVidia dropped the price of their FX5900 XT to $205, Sapphire is now offereing the better Radeon 9800 Pro for a mere $14 more.

"At this price, you won't get the fabled/famous Half Life 2 voucher but you will get a real high-end part that can only be beaten by Radeon 9800XT and Geforce FX 5950 Ultra cards. And both of these cost at least $400 or more."

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Evercool Extended Cooling System Review

Jan 30 2004 @ 07:15AM by MikeC

For those out there who know what a turbo timer is, then you'll appreciate what Evercool has brought to the table. Heat takes a while to dissipate, and when your fans stop working when you turn off your computer, the heat doesn't magically go away. Big Bruin takes a look at this "computer timer" from Evercool.

"When you shut down a computer, what happens to the CPU temperatures? Do the temperatures increase enough to cause damage or decrease the processor?s life? We set out to find the answer to these questions with the help of the Evercool Extended Cooling System (Model ECS-01). The Cooling System works by allowing fans to continue running for roughly five minutes after the computer has been shutdown."

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Corsair TwinX1024-XMS4000 Pro 1024 MB Dual Memory Kit Review

Jan 30 2004 @ 07:11AM by MikeC

3DXtreme reviews this dual memory kit from Corsair.

"Today 3Dxtreme is proud to present this review of the Corsair TwinX1024-XMS4000 Pro 1 GB Dual kit. This new kit from Corsair is a 1 GigaByte matched memory pair designed for Intel Pentium 4 motherboards like the Dual Memory Channel, Intel Canterwood Chipset (875P). In order to take full advantage of this product a CPU that can run at a 250 Mhz Front Side Bus is required. This memory kit will allow the user to run their memory synchronous to an overclocked CPU targeted for a 250 Mhz Front Side Bus and the advantage to this will be laid out in the following pages..."

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Enermax CS-800TA-S Review

Jan 30 2004 @ 07:08AM by MikeC

Viper Lair reviews this enclosure from Enermax.

"The Enermax CS-800TA-S is a case that caters to the former. Its large size and fair number of cooling features is something enthusiasts may be interested in and today, we'll see if it is worth your consideration."

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Intel Jumping into the X86 64-Bit Fray

Jan 29 2004 @ 04:13PM by ace

News.com is reporting that Intel is set to demo a 64-bit version of the the Xeon and Pentium 4 lines in late Feburary.

Adding 64-bit features would let "x86" chips such as Intel's Xeon and Pentium overcome today's 4GB memory limit but would undermine the hope that Intel's current 64-bit chip, Itanium, will ever ship in large quantities. A CT demonstration would send the message that prospective Itanium customers should put Itanium purchases on hold, said Peter Glaskowsky, editor in chief of In-Stat/MDR's Microprocessor Report.

Intel kind of dropped the bomb on the Itanium. Delays, cost overruns, and underwhelming performance in x86 emulation mode has kind of dampened adoption. AMD is in an advantageous position with the Athlon 64 and needs to leverage its position in the market before Intel comes roaring in to slug it out. Check out the rest of the piece here.

 

NV40 Specs

Jan 29 2004 @ 07:25AM by MikeC

Xbit Labs posts some NV40 specs up. They got their info from German site 3DCenter.de The facts here are unofficial, but should still give us some ideas what the new nVidia graphics core should look like.

"The new NV40 products will reportedly be sold under GeForce FX 6xxx brand-names and will be formally announced in March 2004, maybe at GDC or CeBIT shows. Actual graphics cards are expected to make it on store shelves by April or May, the article suggests."

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GeForce FX5900 to FX5950 Ultra "Flash Mod"

Jan 29 2004 @ 07:21AM by MikeC

ClubOC has an interesting educational artical out today about flashing your GeForce FX5900 to a GeForce FX5950. However, if you do decide to follow this guide into flashing your videocard, you're doing this at your own risk. More than a few people have tried this already and have ended up with fragged video cards. Surely the huge disclaimer at the begining of the article should deter some of you from doing it. If not, here's a snipit of the article:

" I was searching around the net the last couple of days, and found quite a few recent news postings about bios flashing a GeForce FX5900 128mb video card and turning it into a 128mb FX5950 Ultra (the 5950u is a 256mb card). The default clocks on the 5900's are 400mhz core and 850mhz memory. The clocks on the 5950 Ultra are 475/950. My first thought was that my BFG FX5900 card will overclock to 483/936 without artifacts, so how much would I gain? The forum posts I found claimed that the 5900 using the 5950u bios will overclock even higher than before the flash. Common knowledge is that the 5950u is the same card as the 5900 and uses the same GPU, but has 256mb of faster memory on board. The memory difference is not an issue because the bios will recognizes the 128mb as "normal" and works fine. Being one that likes a challenge and has a bit of nerve, (and a Radeon 9700 Pro to fall back on) I looked into this further."

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Gigabyte GeForce FX 5700 Ultra Review

Jan 29 2004 @ 07:14AM by MikeC

Neoseeker reviews Gigabyte's GeForce FX 5700 Ultra videocard.

"The 5700 compares favorably to the 9600 XT and that was reflected in our previous analysis of the card, but the introduction of the 5900 variants in the same price range puts the 5700 is a very difficult position."

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ABIT AN7 Review

Jan 29 2004 @ 07:11AM by MikeC

HardOCP reviews Abit's AN7 motherboard featuring the uGuru processor.

"The AN7 is the latest ABIT AthlonXP board featuring both the nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset and the much hyped uGuru processor technology. The NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset supports all AMD socket 462 based processors including their performance line of 400 MHz FSB processors. The chipset also offers full support for PC3200 DDR memory running in Dual Channel mode. Similar to most current motherboards on the market, the AN7 is a feature complete solution, requiring only CPU, DRAM modules, video card, and drives. The following components are integrated in to the board itself: 2 ATA 133 IDE ports; 2 SATA-150 ports with built-in RAID0 and RAID1 support through the Silicon Image controller; integrated NVIDIA 10/100 Ethernet controller; 6 total USB 2.0 capable ports(4 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header supporting 2 ports); 3 IEEEE 1394 capable ports (1 in rear panel, and 1 onboard header); 6 channel audio featuring NVIDIA?s SoundStorm technology and S/PDIF optical input and output ports; and the standard serial, parallel and PS/2 ports."

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Overclocked FX-51 for Sale

Jan 28 2004 @ 01:24PM by MikeC

For those enthusiasts out there with tons of cash, and you find that your FX-51 isn't fast enough for you, well a company out there called Nventiv is selling an overclocked FX-51 system. This system is clocked at 2.7GHz and comes bundled with 1GB of RAM a 120GB hard drive and a DVD recorder and sells for roughly $4000.

"DANISH COMPANY, Nventiv, is offering what it claims is the fastest available AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 based system. The SYS ColdFusion FX is clocked to 2.7GHz, up from its original clock of 2.2GHz."

The Inquirer has the details.

 

HiS Excalibur Radeon 9600XT Turbo Review

Jan 28 2004 @ 01:18PM by MikeC

Guru3D reviews the Radeon 9600XT from HiS. With the recent controversy about Half Life 2 vouchers not being bundled with some 9600XTs on the market, it's nice to know that HiS has indeed included a coupon with this videocard.

"What gives this card even more value is the fact that you'll notice there's a Half-life 2 coupon in the box which saves you 40 bucks on the game. Now if Valve could manage to get their act together and actually release the game in this life-time we'll all be very happy. Rumors right now are slated at a release date of September 2004."

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Gigabyte GA-K8VNXP Review

Jan 28 2004 @ 01:12PM by MikeC

Bjorn3D reviews this K8T800 motherboard from Gigabyte.

"As with the great layout, Gigabyte was thinking about the consumer when the connectors were chosen for this board. Whatever could be color-coded was color-coded, and that's no exaggeration. Even the front panel connectors were color-coded. However, Gigabyte did not stop there. With a relatively large plus sign on each appropriate pin, the polarity was clearly marked on each colored set of pins on the front panel connectors."

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Soltek SL-K8AN-RL 'Black Thunder' Motherboard Review

Jan 28 2004 @ 01:06PM by MikeC

Ninjalane reviews this Athlon 64 motherboard from Soltek.

"Looking to keep on top of the latest and greatest hardware money can buy? Having trouble in the money department? Look no further than the Soltek SL-K8AN-RL, a perfect solution for the Athlon64 hungry system builder on a budget."

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Athenatech A106 Designer Micro-ATX Case Review

Jan 28 2004 @ 01:03PM by MikeC

TweakNews reviews a case from Athenatech.

"For the price, this is an excellent flex ATX/micro ATX case. The sleek front with the hidden devices allows you to use it in your home theater. The 60mm fans would ensure a quiet entertainment box. All that would be required is a graphics card capable of supporting a good video out stream, such as the AIW 9800 Pro. As a server box, this case would most likely handle all of your needs."

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Early Prescott Benchmarks

Jan 28 2004 @ 09:20AM by ace

The Inquirer has released some early benchmarks of the Prescott based P4.

It's already known that this CPU has a longer pipeline and more cache memory, with 16KB of L1 and 1MB of L2 cache, and that it's warmer than a Northwood based P4 at the same clock speed. It's cooled with an Intel traditional top line cooler but it ends up 10 or even more Celsius degrees hotter than the Northwood core. The machine we tested was stable, but it will be hard, probably impossible to clock these chips at 3.8GHz.

The Inq goes on to a few numbers comparing the Northwood and the Prescott at 3.2 Ghz and to be brutally honest the numbers are somewhat underwhelming and so far it seems very similar to the Northwood if not a bit slower overall. This is not unlike the transition that AMD made while moving to the Barton core where they had faster TBreds at the same clock rating as a slower Barton.

 

Gigabyte GV-N57U128D FX 5700 Ultra Videocard Review

Jan 27 2004 @ 06:33AM by MikeC

PCStats reviews Gigabyte's GeForce FX 5700 Ultra videocard.

"Considering the Gigabyte GV-NV57U128D is intended for the mainstream market it is really a toss up to which is faster, the Radeon 9600XT or the GeForceFX 5700 Ultra... but one thing is for sure, they're both solutions which would keep you very happy in the game. With its cooling setup, the manufacturer appears to be focusing on low noise primarily, so if you're into overclocking do yourself a favour and opt for a third-party cooling system. I suspect such actions will give you a little more headroom as you try to bump up the core speed."

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P4 Cooler Roundup

Jan 27 2004 @ 06:25AM by MikeC

Digital Daily has a P4 cooler roundup of some existing coolers as of Q4 of 2003.

"The emergence of first Prescott processors once again revealed that the problem of heat emission is increasingly hampering the rise of clock speeds. To put it right, the major problem is the increased of leakage currents, and the increased heat emission is the consequence of this phenomenon. However, that does not change the fact of the matter: everyone who buys computers in 2004 will face the need for effective cooling."

Read the roundup

 

Swiftech MCX462-V Heatsink and MCX159-R Chipset Cooler Review

Jan 27 2004 @ 06:20AM by MikeC

OCIA reviews two coolers from Swiftech, the MCX462-V processor cooler and the MCX159-R chipset cooler. Both these coolers are extremely large and impressive looking.

"Everything I have heard about the Swiftech coolers online proved to be true. The innovative design of the heatsink and clips provided for easy installation in a very tight area. If you are looking for a great heatsink cooler combination then the Swiftech MCX462-V heatsink and MCX159-R chipset cooler provide a powerful 1-2 punch combination to knock that heat out of your PC. Swiftech provides no frills packaging and state of the art performance to provide real value to their customers."

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Catalyst 4.1 Driver Report

Jan 27 2004 @ 06:10AM by MikeC

Got an ATi card? Want to update your drivers but are unsure? FiringSquad has a report out on the new ATi 4.1 Catalyst drivers. They take a look at everything including ATi's latest addition to their driver package: Overdrive.

"As expected, ATI rang in the new year with another CATALYST driver release, version 4.1 to be exact. If you don?t recall, ATI?s CATALYST driver team has committed itself to releasing a new driver every month, so we expect to see twelve driver releases this calendar year. As ATI?s first driver release for 2004, last week?s driver was dubbed 4.1, with the ?4? signifying the year the driver was released and the one designating it as the first driver released this year. More than a few of you have commented about this naming system in the news comments, but it looks like ATI is sticking to their guns on this one so everyone will have to get used to it by the time October 2004 hits."

Read the report

 

The Shuttle ST61G4 XPC Review

Jan 27 2004 @ 06:01AM by MikeC

HotHardware has a review on Shuttles new XPC based on the ATi Radeon 9100 IGP.

"Shuttle continues the tradition with the new ST61G4 XPC we'll be looking at today on HotHardware.Com. This XPC is packed with features like SATA RAID and a new super-quiet 250W power supply. In addition, courtesy of ATi's RS300 chipset, it sports the best integrated graphics on the market. At the center of the RS300 chipset is ATi's Radeon 9100 IGP, a DirectX 8.1 compliant integrated graphics processor clocked at 300MHz (Details Here). The RS300 is also equipped with a 128-bit dual-DDR memory controller and is compatible with all of Intel's socket 478 CPUs, including the P4 Extreme Edition. The IXP150 Southbridge used on the ST61G4 lacks any integrated LAN or Firewire support, but those features are available thanks to on-board controllers from Broadcom and VIA. On paper, the ST61G4 is a winner, but we all know good specs don't always equate to high-performance in the real world."

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Intel Drops Centrion Prics

Jan 27 2004 @ 05:53AM by MikeC

Intel has slowly been lowering the price of their Centrino packages. It's not a significant drop however. But in this day and age, any price cut is a welcome.

"The cuts amount to little more than a buck off the price of each Centrino package - which comprises a Pentium M CPU, i855 chipset variant and a Pro Wireless 2100 mini-PCI card - yielding a fractional percentage drop: between 0.2 and 0.36 per cent."

The Register has the article.

 

Abit DiGiDice Review

Jan 27 2004 @ 05:50AM by MikeC

Xbit Labs reviews Abit's new barebone system. The system promisses to be an overclocking friendly system with tons of other features including a perfume set that lets your DiGiDice smell nice and fresh.

"Well, the manufacturers seem to be inventing all possible and impossible sorts of things trying to convince the user that their system is the best. But I have to admit that ABIT retains the title of the most extraordinary: it is a really original decision to make the barebone system not only pleasing for the eye, but also pleasing for the nose. I bet you will also find this solution quite charming, because the rosy oil odor is definitely much nicer than the smell of the heated textolite coming from your system case."

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HP To Do Opteron

Jan 27 2004 @ 05:42AM by MikeC

The Inquirer reports that HP will start producing quad Opteron servers in February. This could give Intel a run for their money as the Opteron chips can run both 32 bit and 64 bit applications meaning administrators can have more powerful systems and still keep their exisiting software. The Opteron is essentially an inexpensive way to build a high end performance server.

"HEWLETT PACKARD will announce its four way Opteron servers in February, as it appears to be owning up to the existence of four way AMD beasties."

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Intel Gives AMD a Helping Hand

Jan 26 2004 @ 12:45PM by MikeC

Intel seems to have given AMD a helping hand in boosting performance on their Athlon 64 platform. With their new V8 Compiler, they were supposed to boost performance on applications on Intel based platform. However with a little tweaking, it can be used to boost performance on AMD platforms as well.

"The chipmaker may be miffed to learn, however, that its compiler can help boost the same apps by a similar margin on rival AMD's Athlon64 platform, when suitably tweaked."

The Inquirer has the article.

 

Chaintech FX 5600 Personal Cinema A-FM6P/N

Jan 26 2004 @ 12:36PM by MikeC

GruntVille reviews Chaintech's FX5600 personal cinema.

"Installing this card requires a little more than your normal Graphics card. Once the card itself is secured it the AGP slot, there are a number of additional things that need to be done before firing up the rig. I found out that in order to achieve an uneventful installation of all the available features, all the accessories need to be plugged in before the machine is turned on for the first time."

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