God Bless America.

News Archive: February 2003

February 2003

OCZ Gladiator II Copper Cooler Review #274 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:58 PM EST

"The OCZ Gladiator II Copper Cooler like the original Gladiator Cooler performs very well. With a large copper block and a 7000RPM fan this cooler is clearly designed for fast AMD CPU's all the way to 3100+ and will make many overclockers very happy. It does all this at a very reasonable price. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Zalman ZM-F1 "Silent" 80mm Case Fan Review @ hardcoreware
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:57 PM EST

If you're running a case that is silent enough to sleep beside, and you're reluctant to add some case fans due to the assoiciated noise, you probably also have no need to turn on the heat in your room, because your case will be as hot as an oven.

While this may be a good thing in the winter, you might want to consider adding a "Silent" case fan, such as this one from Zalman. Find out if a fan that makes no noise can cool well enough to be worthwhile!

Check it out at: hardcoreware

EPoX 8K9A2+ VIA KT400 Motherboard @ MHW
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:54 PM EST

"After installing the 8K9A2+ and setting the BIOS settings to optimal I proceed to format and load Windows XP. XP though, refuses to load, randomly locking up, blue screening and even rebooting during installation. Next boot I go into the BIOS and set everything to system defaults. No luck it still won't load XP. On a whim, I return to the BIOS and set the chip to 10 X 100. Finally the system is stable and Windows loads fine without lockups."

Check it out at: MHW

Titan Aluminum Fans Review @ Icrontic
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:53 PM EST

The black plastic cooling fans mocked me from inside the aluminum PC case like a dark stain upon the shiny metal. What aluminum PC case can truly be said to be finished without the final adornment of aluminum case fans? Titan provided the answer with sexy aluminum frame cooling fans.

Check it out at: Icrontic

Operation Quiet PC article @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:52 PM EST

“One question I personally get asked quite often is ‘How can I make my PC quiet enough so that I can sleep with it in my room with it still switched on?’ The answer I usually give is to switch it off - no point in wasting electricity. However a number of companies are beginning to cater for people wanting a beast of a PC without the 75dB+ sound levels associated with it. QuietPC here in the UK offers a wide range of suitable equipment to this end and they were kind enough to send us a number of their products so that we could see just difference you could expect.”

Check it out at: Envy News

Crucial PC3200 256MB DualDDR review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:49 PM EST

“Have you been drooling over PC3200 DDR offerings by GeIL, Corsair, and Mushkin? Without a doubt, these are premium companies with Grade-A products targeted at the Enthusiast market. However, much like a $50 Gap T-shirt, you can also get an $8 Fruit of the Loom T-shirt that is identical in every respect. Enter the Crucial PC3200 DDR-SDRAM product line; performs exceedingly well and will not clear-out your wallet or max out your credit cards. The catch? There isn’t one; Crucial backs it up with a Lifetime Warranty and no-B.S. customer satisfaction policies.”

Check it out at: Envy News

Shuttle SN41G2 XPC Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:47 PM EST

Tonight on HotHardware.Com we’ve taken a look at the latest addition to Shuttle’s XPC line of small form factor PCs, the SN41G2. This nForce2 powered, barebones system is crammed with more features than any of its predecessors, and even sports a new case design.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Samsung Syncmaster 191n 19" TFT LCD Monitor Review @ MonkeyReview
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:46 PM EST

The unit sports some relatively decent specs, 25ms response which seems to be the norm these days. We see a 500:1 contrast ratio and a brightness level of 250cd/m2. The contrast ratio seems to be the only real change between the 171n and the 191n in terms of screen performance. With that said, the only real difference between the two is the larger screen area, a better contrast ratio, and a few additional features which we will discuss next.

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Plasma TVs Explained @ Designtechnica
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 28, 2003 at 8:41 PM EST

Designtechnica gives an in depth look at how plasma televisions operate and how they are different than traditional CRT televisions.

Check it out at: Designtechnica

I/O letters #18 @ Dans Data
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:21 PM EST

This time, how to H4XX0R your own B0XX0R, P4 overclocking, turning your mouse blue, getting an inter-house wireless link up, discovering something nasty about some external FireWire boxes, dealing with WinXP's broken 3D refresh rate settings (again), and driving up your power bill in the name of SETI@home studliness, or not, as the case may be.

Check it out at: Dans Data

Darth Vader PC Part II Article @ BurnOutPC
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:20 PM EST

"I was amazed at the attention I received from my Darth Vader PC. Some of the emails I received had great suggestions. I think the question that was most relevant was "where's the CD drive?" The problem is that there was no place to put a drive in the original. So I came up with a completely new design..."

Check it out at: BurnOutPC

WinBackup Review @ ICEHW
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:18 PM EST

The program is designed to help you backup your vital data. The software is aimed at beginners and professionals alike and takes into account the importance of security in computing today by providing strong encryption....

Check it out at: ICEHW

Gigabyte SINXP1394 SiS 655 Motherboard @ GamePC
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:17 PM EST

Today at GamePC, we're looking at the newly released Gigabyte SINXP1394 motherboard for the high-end Pentium 4 market. This motherboard utilizes the new SiS 655 chipset, which allows for dual channel DDR operation at up to 400 MHz, AGP 8x, and support for Intel's latest and greatest P4 chips. We look over the board and its features, clear up some of the misconceptions about the SiS 655 and HyperThreading, and of course, run a boatload of benchmarks.

Check it out at: GamePC

Samsung ML-1430 Laser Printer Review @ GideonTech
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:16 PM EST

"The ML-1430 is nearly identical in every way to its predecessor, the 1210. The build and weight is the same, even the cartridge used can be interchanged. One major difference is the page per minute that this new unit can output. The 1210 boasted a 12 page per minute speed, the 1430 has increased that to 15 PPM."

Check it out at: GideonTech

EPoX 8K9A2+ Mainboard Review @ OCModShop
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:15 PM EST

"Overclocking with the EPoX 8K9A2+ was very simple and very impressive. Because every setting that you would need to change to overclock can be done through the BIOS there is no need to open up your case and mess with jumpers or DIP switches. The way I always overclock is to get the highest possible FSB while keeping my system stable and increasing the overall speed of my CPU in Mhz. Because of all the voltage and memory options with this motherboard I had no problem at all overclocking my 1800+ Thoroughbred to 1.780Ghz with a FSB of 200!"

Check it out at: OCModShop

GeIL PC3500 Platinum Ultra DDR Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:13 PM EST

"The memory, based on my other experiences with GeIL, seems to be very well made with solid performance.  They even throw in a few nice things like the tin coated copper heat spreaders which will look very nice in any case, a nice acrylic case (doesn't do much but it sure is pretty), installation instructions for you newbies out there, and of course the lifetime warranty."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Thermaltake Hardcano 8 VR Review @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:12 PM EST

"Thermaltake's idea is not a unique one, but one we are seeing a lot more of in the market just recently. The unit's looks are nothing to write home about but will appeal to some looking for a simple blue aesthetic to go with there themed system. There are no flashy lights or LED's so if this is something you are looking for, look elsewhere; the unit is designed to be functional and simple above all else."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Tyan's Granite Bay Trinity S2662 - Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:11 PM EST

Tonight our roving Left Coast Writer, Chris Angelini, unveils his latest efforts with Tyan's new Granite Bay board, the Trinity S2662.  Powered for the Pentium 4 with Dual Channel DDR Memory support, this board certainly was built of the same rock solid stability that we've come to know and love Tyan boards for.  However, as we all know the toys and creature comforts are all the rage these days with motherboards.  Check out what Chris thought of Tyan's latest P4 workhorse.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Spire SkiveStream Socket-A Heatsink Review @ ForumOC
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:10 PM EST

"Overall, my experience with the SkiveStream was positive. Its ease of installation and effective performance make it a good choice for mid-range CPU cooling. This is by no means an overclocking heatsink. At 42 degrees Celsius, on an Athlon XP 1500, overclocking using this cooler would result in a burned out chip rather quickly. However, if you are looking for a cooler that is easy to install and will not break your budget or your CPU, this is one to consider."

Check it out at: ForumOC

Tweakmonster EL Applique Kit Review @ Icrontic
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 8:09 PM EST

Case modification has become an art form and has led to some highly unusual results. One standard among “case modders” have been lights. Neon, Cold Cathode, black lights and EL have all been used. There are pros and cons to each of these.

Check it out at: Icrontic

Chaintech Zenith 7NJS VS Epox 8RDA+ Nforce2 Motherboards Shootout @ Explosive Labs
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:27 PM EST

If you recall back to the summer of 2001 during Computex, NVIDIA shocked the world (hardware world that is) when they announced the release of the nForce chipset for the AMD platform. VIA, the leading manufacturer for AMD chipsets at the time was already receiving fierce competition from SIS and now NVIDIA. Knowing what NVIDIA was capable of when they took 3dfx out of business, VIA and SIS knew they had their work cut out for them if they did not want to end up like 3dfx. Well they did not have much to worry about as the original nForce turned out to be plagued with flaws and extremely high prices. Not to forget to mention the huge time gap between when the original nForce was announced and when consumers began to see them on retail shelves.

Check it out at: Explosive Labs

Logitech Elite Duo Review @ ASE Labs
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:24 PM EST

"This is simply the best keyboard and mouse combo I've ever owned. With optical and wireless technology, Logitech nailed this one."

Check it out at: ASE Labs

Raidtronics Aluminum 288 Case Review #273 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:23 PM EST

"The Raidtronics Aluminum 288 Case has all the essential items you would expect from a budget mid tower case and more. It has four 5.25", two 3.5" exposed and four X 3.5" internal drive bays. Also included is a side window with a 80mm clear fan and another 80mm fan at the rear which provides good air circulation. This product combines style and functionality at a very reasonable price. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Epox 8RDA+ (Nforce2 Chipset) Motherboard Review @ 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:21 PM EST

"The Epox 8RDA+ at stock speed performed very well however it was during the overclocked testing that the Epox 8RDA+ really shined. I have been running this motherboard with the front side bus set at 200 mhz for about 2 weeks now and with 100% stability. I have been able to push this combo a bit farther with the highest front side bus setting of 202mhz at 1.75 volts, this being the highest FSB I have ever been able to achive..."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

Cooler Master XDream HAC-V81 Socket A Cooler Review @ hardcoreware
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:20 PM EST

Today we look at a heatsink that has no business selling for as low as it does. The $10-15 Cooler Master XDream performs like a heatsink twice its price! But does it have anything holding it back?

Check it out at: hardcoreware

Innovatek SoundDampening mats reviewed @ BurnOutPC
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:18 PM EST

"When trying to find that line between performance and the ever increasing noise levels, its important to choose the right heatsinks, with the right fans, the right power supply, case fans etc. When doing so, it is easy to forget that the 7k delta on your HSF is a screamer. These mats will help you with your noise issue. Now, I wouldn't call my system totally silent, however the pitched noises that came of my PSU are more tolerable. Vibrations disappearing are an added bonus too. You'll have to see for yourself if they work for you. They did for me!"

Check it out at: BurnOutPC

Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM Review @ Mikhailtech
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:17 PM EST

There's nothing particularly exciting about the physical aspect of the drive. It's about the size of a burner and comparable in weight. The front is painted a nice black color (though not an annoying reflective vinyl-ish black, just "black") with the white DVD label we've all come to love. There's the standard headphone jack (useless), the volume control (useless), the play/fast forward button (useless), and eject button and a green LED. For some reason people like to have lots of buttons even if they never use them (and very few people will plug headphones into a DVD-ROM to listen to music using the analog codec).

Check it out at: Mikhailtech

Sunbeam 80mm UV CCFL Fans Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:14 PM EST

"Out of the packaging the fans have great aesthetic appeal and measure approximately 80mm x 80mm x 25 mm. Each fan is based on a sleeve bearing design and is capable pushing 31.73 CFM at 2700 RPM with a noise level of 28dBA. On the front portion of each fan is a round CCFL tube which fits the entire diameter of the fan. The round CCFL tube is secured to the base of the fan itself using four mounting screws. The CCFL tube has its own separate wire connections which are powered by a standard 12v inverter. The specifications for this product state that the CCFL tube has a brightness factor of 28,000 cd/m2 with very low power consumption at 2.4 watts."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Gigabyte SINXP1394 (SiS655) Motherboard Review @ TweakTown
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 7:09 PM EST

"When SiS first began jumping into the Pentium 4 chipset race, some folks turned their heads the other way. But they have made a huge impact in this market niche and continue to do so today. Come join Cameron "Sov" Johnson as he takes a look at the Gigabyte SINXP1394 Motherboard based on the new SiS655 chipset. With such buzz words as Dual Channel DDR support and onboard Firewire, things are looking to get interesting!"

Check it out at: TweakTown

Top Ten Shareware/Freeware Apps/Utilities Update @ MHW
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:25 PM EST

"After all these years it still amazes me that you can find within the PC hardware community PC savvy guys (gals too, I guess) that can OC a spanking new P4 or Athlon XP so much as without blinking an eyelid, spend weeks lowering case temps by 1 deg C and building H20 cooled systems but when it comes to the most mundane task such as using an FTP client to transfer a mere zip file they look at you as if it's practically quantum physics."

Check it out at: monster-hardware

Silver X-Window Diamond-Bubble 5 LED Case Review @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:23 PM EST

"The holes for the 4 fans are immediately visible. I think that the configuration of small holes could impede airflow and this is used on front and back. I was surprised though when I placed the fans in and felt the amount of air coming in. Even with the restriction there is more than sufficient air intake when the 4 intake fans in front and intake fan on the door are on. With only two exhaust fans and the power supply exhaust I was a little worried about positive pressure build up until I notice the rows of ventilation holes at the top of the case. Any positive pressure would quickly be vented there. Nice touch."

Check it out at: OCIA

PURE Digital SonicXplosion DVD review @ TechSpot
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:22 PM EST

The SonicXplosion DVD touts itself as being the “world’s first complete home cinema sound card”, a fairly bold claim. On a basic level the SonicXplosion DVD is a repackaged TerraTec SiXPack 5.1 bundled with WinDVD 4. This is by no means a bad thing as the SonicFury was a repackaged Santa Cruz – highly regarded by many.

Check it out at: TechSpot

Antec Lanboy Portable Chassis @ GamePC
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:20 PM EST

Today at GamePC, we've taken a quick look at the new Antec chassis built for LAN gamers, the appropriately named Lanboy. The Lanboy is a lightweight aluminum ATX chassis with an integrated acrylic side panel window and 350W power supply. While being roughly 2x the side of Shuttle's XPC family of systems, the Lanboy has some great things working for it, price, compatibility, and hey, it comes with a carrying case!

Check it out at: GamePC

ABit NF7-S Mainboard Review @ LostCircuits
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:19 PM EST

After some absence of ABit products here, we are back with looking at the nForce2 chipset-based NF7-S. Built around the SPP / MCP-T combination of core logic on a salmon-colored PCB, the NF7-S has quite a bit to offer, from a three-phase power supply to a 5-bit multiplier selector and the bundling of the SATA to PATA adapter dubbed a Serillel converter.
The layout of the NF7-S has some unique features as well, from the omission of the first PCI slot to pushing out of the DIMM slots to the far right periphery of the PCB, which clears the AGP area but interferes in some housings with the mounting of any hard disk drive. Overall, the experience with the NF7-S could not have been much more pleasant, in some cases, the board exceeded our expectations. We further have some details on the controversy regarding the DIMM slot mapping to the individual memory controllers as well as the alleged bus threshold of 333 MHz FSB Athlon processors.

Check it out at: LostCircuits

Abit's BG7E i845GE Motherboard Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:17 PM EST

Tonight on HotHardware.Com, we've taken a look at Abit’s i845GE based motherboard, the BG7E.  Abit didn’t include RAID or Serial ATA on this board, but it does have integrated video and it turned out to be a decent overclocker.  Performance was very good as well, drop by and take a look.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Gyration Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse Review @ Voided News
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:15 PM EST

"Welcome back to another Voided Review! Today we are going to take a look at the new Gyration Cordless Mouse. I'm not going to bore you with a bunch of meaningless crap."

Check it out at: Voided News

ABIT AT7-MAX2 Motherboard Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:14 PM EST

"The AT7 MAX2 has been a pleasure to have on the OCA workbench. The board layout, minus the AGP lock down tab issue, is well thought out, and easy to navigate when installing/troubleshooting/upgrading hardware. With the exception of the VIA KT400 chipset not having the 1/6 divider, overclocking went well. If your looking for the +200 FSB overclocker, look elsewhere, if your looking for a motherboard with more bells and whistles than you'll know what to do with, and features that will last through a couple of upgrade cycles, the ABIT AT7 MAX2 is for you."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Crucial PC2700 DDR333 Memory Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 10:12 PM EST

"Being one of the most crucial "pardon the pun" components in your computer, good ram is needed for system stability, optimal performance and successful overclocking adventures. Throughout my computer building and testing experience, a slow, poor quality stick of ram can sap away motherboard and cpu speed and render you computer more or less untweakable. Today I will be looking at Crucial's pc2700 DDR333 ram and putting it through its paces. Crucial memory has been touted as being one of the best ram manufacturers in the world with great memory and customer service. Let's see if they live up to their name....."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Seagate Barracuda SATA V hard drives in RAID! @ Club Overclocker
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 9:21 PM EST

Serial ATA hard drives, although still a little hard to find, are finally available! Thanks to Seagate, we can now take advantage of the performance SATA has promised. Seagate has sent over not one, but TWO 120gb Barracuda Serial ATA V hard drives. Sure, I've been wanting to try out a single SATA hard drive for a long time, but I've been looking forward to running SATA RAID even more!

Check it out at: Club Overclocker

Extreme Alterations' Akasa Pax.Mate @ XtReMoDs
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 9:08 PM EST

"If you have one of these extreme computers then you need extreme cooling. But if you use traditional ways of cooling, you will have very loud fans. For exactly this reason I was so excited about writing this review on Extreme Alterations' Akasa pax.mate acoustic absorption mats. This material claims to reduce fan noise and stop case vibration."

Check it out at: XtReMoDs

Eyegonomic T17 TFT Monitor @ KEP Technologies
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 9:06 PM EST

Eyegonomic were founded in 2000 developing flat-panel displays ranging from 5 to 42 inches using the highest quality parts. The T17 is manufactured from 4.4kg of pure aluminum and uses the highest quality panel available from Samsung.

The monitor packs a price of £1159. “Why the cost?” Well, there is a simple explanation for that and it’s not the cost of the materials. The simple fact is that every one of these monitors are built entirely by hand to order. The client’s name is on the monitor from start to finish. In the process, you have the option to customize your monitor. Different colour options are available and they will engrave your personal or company logo into the casing.

Check it out at: KEP Technologies

Coolermaster ATC-220 ATX Case Review @ 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 9:05 PM EST

"Other than the price there is nothing bad that can be said about this case. The Coolermaster ATC-220 features a factory installed window in the side panel. This is the first Coolermaster case that has a factory window."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

Logitech MXT700 Cordless Optical Mouse Video Review #272 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 9:04 PM EST

"The Logitech MX700 Cordless Optical Mouse is by far the best cordless mouse currently on the market. With it stylish looks, great performance and excellent feel it's a product that really stands out. If you are in the market for a cordless mouse, stop looking because this is it. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Changing a Fans Voltage/Speed @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:59 PM EST

To cut down on fan noise, you can either buy one of those new silent ones, or slow it down with an easy voltage mod. It's simple to do, though don't stand in any puddles while performing this mod. "This kind of mod works best on case fans, as reducing the speed on them doesn't have as big an impact on temperatures as your Heatsink fan. That's not to say you can't do this on the fan to your HSF, just bear in mind that reducing the voltage reduces the fans speed, and therefore its CFM will be reduced."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

60mm-80mm LED Fan Adapter Review @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:57 PM EST

“While the 60mm to 80mm fan adapter concept isn't entirely new, neither is the same adapter with a 60mm LED fan. Is it just aesthetics, or can it actually work as a CPU cooler? Guess what? I'll take a look. Not at all on a screaming AMD system, but a reasonable system that is overclocked. Probably a system you might still have laying around, or going to be scrounging up for a family member. I'll be using my TV Box for testing this one out… Also, AutoDeletePro is offering a special bundle deal for the fans used in this review.”

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Alienware Founder Interview @ Ownt
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:56 PM EST

We talk with one of Alienware's founders, Alex Aguila. He talks to us about how Alienware came to be, and what they are planning in the near future. In that future we get some exclusive details concerning their upcoming new case design, codenamed 'Predator'. Along with all these juicy details we find out a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes of the building of a Alienware system and what special treatment it goes through before being shipped off to the customer. Ever wonder what games the founder of Alienware plays? Yeah, we got that too.

Check it out at: Ownt

Transcend 30x 128MB CompactFlash card review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:54 PM EST

“Personally, I had not heard of Transcend until now. Those of you who may have known them will know they are a leading memory manufacturer based out of Taiwan. Back in 1988 they got their start producing two products, the 'JetMate' laser printer driver, and the 'KeyPro' software protection system. Today they make memory modules in just about every format, and even motherboards with the latest chipsets. I have in my possession one of their latest products - a 30x 128MB CompactFlash card.”

Check it out at: Envy News

Vantec CopperX review @ Thinktechie
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:41 PM EST

"The CopperX created by Vantec is a rather tall Heat sink. At first glance you notice it’s made of solid copper. Along in the package came thermal paste and an adapter that converts a 4 pin to a 2 pin so that you can provide power to the fan without blowing the fan header on your motherboard. The heat sink itself is made up of several thin fins on top of a slightly thinker layer of copper."

Check it out at: Thinktechie

SINGED Gaming Rig 2 - Scorpio TA-10BD Full-Tower Case Project @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 24, 2003 at 8:39 PM EST

"It is well known that concepts and ideas tend to change over time. The original Singed Gaming Rig started off as a three month project with a common goal to design a great modified computer case. Part of the problem with the original project, was while most of the focus was towards aesthetics and appearance, little was spent in terms of performance. The system components were under powered by today's standards and overall the system really didn't feel like a powerful gaming rig. Towards the end of 2002, I worked on a budget and started assembling various system components that I knew would work well for this new project. One of the goals that I adapted from the previous article was not to deviate away from the original design. I wanted the same colour scheme and to migrate away from an air cooled system to a complete water cooled system."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Zalman ZM80-HP VGA Cooler Reviewed @ Casejunkiez
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 10:09 PM EST

"Zalman made their name a couple of years ago with the release of their very unusual cooling alternatives for modern PC's. It all started with the 'flower' type heat-sink that aimed for a balance between performance cooling, and quiet operation.

In fact, just about all of the Zalman lineup of cooling products are aimed at quiet cooling, while trying to maintain a good balance with adequate cooling. The product we are looking at here follows in the typical Zalman tradition of quiet cooling, but this time they have moved away from the motherboard and on to the video card. Catering for the fan-hating crowd, Zalman have created the ZM80-HP cooler for VGA cards. This passive cooler uses heat-pipe technology to facilitate cooling without the need for a fan, but there are some obvious drawbacks."

Check it out at: Casejunkiez

Chrome II Pump & CrazyPC Rad (Review) @ ipKonfig
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:57 PM EST

“Today's water-cooling products have taken a very surprising turn for consumers. The most notable changes are size and ease of installation. Companies have gone from internal, to external, and back to internal kits. The kits we're seeing now are much smaller, and fit most any location in a computer case.”

Check it out at: ipKonfig

Asus P4G8X Mainboard Review @ DeviantPC
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:55 PM EST

"The real disappointment of DCDDR solutions is the price! This board retails for almost twice as much as one based upon the Intel i845E/PE chipset (single channel), and offers a only a small performance increase. That said, if money is no object, there is a performance gain to be had, and so feel free to lighten your wallet!"

Check it out at: DeviantPC

Lian-Li PC-6070 Aluminum Case Review @ OnePC
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:53 PM EST

"If you think all of Lian-Li's mid-tower cases are essentially the same, you would've been right... until now. The PC-6070 is their newest and most radical case yet, and we have the world's first review of it."

Check it out at: OnePC

TwinMOS 7-in-1 USB Card Reader/Writer Review @ Mikhailtech
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:49 PM EST

Speaking about the slots, this reader has a total of 4 slots. The upper left one is used for Compact Flash I and II and MicroDrive cards, the lower left is used for SmartMedia cards, while the upper right slot is for MultiMedia Card and Secure Digital formats. The last slot, situated in the lower right, is used for MemoryStick cards. Installation is very easy, I am sure that even the most inexperienced user will have no major problems installing the card reader. All you have to do is plug the cable on the back of the drive into the USB cable, which you will plug into a corresponding port in the back (or front) of the computer.

Check it out at: Mikhailtech

Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speakers Review @ VH
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:45 PM EST

"As of late, Logitech needs no introduction when it comes to speakers. Ever since the introduction of their Z-560 speakers over a year ago, they have earned the respect that is needed for them to compete with the heavyweights in audio entertainment. However, Logitech did not neglect the entry-level and value markets, and included in their "Z" lineup the Z-340 and Z-540 systems which were geared towards those markets. Just as their Z-560 turned heads, these lower-end systems also garnered praise for their quality and low price. Just last year, Logitech released two new speaker systems in its new "Z" fall-2002 lineup, one of which was the Z-640. Today, we'll be looking at this system to see if it lives up to the legacy of its predecessors."

Check it out at: Virtual-Hideout

DYMO LabelMANAGER PC Review @ ASE Labs
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:43 PM EST

If you're like most people, you've got files upon files of paperwork. You know that you need to keep records around for at least five year. All of this comes at a cost of having to index everything. Keep those folders, cd trays, book binders, equipment, etc. labels easy to read and fun to make.

Check it out at: ASE Labs

HiPro Digital Thermometer Review @ Digital-Explosion
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:40 PM EST

"Heat has forever been the fly in the ointment for the overclocker. Many succesful overclocks are highly dependant upon the temperature of your computing kit. So we thought we'd bring you something snazzy but functional and came up with the HiPro Digital Thermometer."

Check it out at: Digital-Explosion

Samsung DVD-L100 Portable DVD Player Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:39 PM EST

"I know my first impression was that those portable DVD players must be really expensive and you must have to be rich to afford one. Maybe a couple years ago this may have been so, but not anymore. Reading this review will expose you to a truly unique product packed full of great features for the home, the office and mainly for the road."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Logitech vs. Microsoft: Who Makes the BEST Wireless Mouse? @ hardcoreware
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:37 PM EST

By now I'm sure you've heard that the Logitech MX700 is "the best wireless mouse for gaming EVER" from more than a few people. With excellent tracking capability, and a recharging base this would be hard to deny.

However, Microsoft is stepping in with a new contender, using Bluetooth for connectivity. Does the Microsoft mouse benefit from the increased bandwidth available from Bluetooth? If so, it definitely has a chance to dethrone the MX700...

Find out if it was successful!

Check it out at: hardcoreware

SunbeamTech Cold Cathode UV Sensitive Fans reviewed @ BurnOutPC
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 9:34 PM EST

"I will again express my opinion about this product in 2 words, KICK ASS. This product is very innovative, and new, the price is probably quite good too because Sunbeam products are cheaper then other vendors. Sound activation is very very good. More information can be found on the sound activated cold cathode review and such on Burnoutpc.com. Overall KICK ASS."

Check it out at: BurnOutPC

Blown and Leaking Motherboard Capacitors - A Serious Problem? @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:16 PM EST

"While it may be true that we go through a lot more motherboards at PCstats.com than an average consumer will in a lifetime, it's the boards that fail which seem to get noticed most - especially when they force a dreaded system reinstall. This particular Slot A motherboard was recently retired from active duty because the computer it was in became unstable, and too unreliable. This system had in fact been reinstalled a few times when no physical capacitor failure was visible, but this last time a quick inspection within the case had shown disastrous events underway. After ripping the computer apart to try an diagnose the strange problems which seemed to point to Windows 2000 instability issues, or possibly bad memory or hard Drive, we found half the low-ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) aluminum capacitors on the board in pretty bad shape."

Check it out at: pcstats

Unreal Tournament Mapping Guide Part 3 @ DeviantPC
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:13 PM EST

The subject we will be covering in this instalment of our guide is terrain. This is a much vaunted feature of the Unreal Tournament 2003 engine and has been used to great effect, not only in the supplied maps, but also by map makers from the community since then. Although to the novice, UED user terrain generation may seem to be a daunting prospect, in reality the editor makes it fairly straightforward offering many ways of achieving the desired result.

Check it out at: DeviantPC

Spire cooling products (MicroFlow IIT & HDD Cooler) Video Review #271 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:11 PM EST

"The MicroFlow II socket 462 cooler has a copper core surrounded by aluminum which allows great heat dissipation. While the fan is quiet this cooler not meant for the hardcore overclockers. The HDD cooler is constructed from aluminum with two quiet fans which cool and extend a HHD's life. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Crazy PC Laser Cut Inferno Max side panel Review @ monster-hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:10 PM EST

"What Crazy PC has done here is likewise somewhat ambiguous they have taken a case side panel and cut and mod it into something that you could hang on your wall and call it art. The only thing I can think of to compare it to is what Jessie James is doing with motorcycles and with his new television show Monster Garage (Gotta love that title)."

Check it out at: monster-hardware

Beantech Igloo 3 @ Nexus Hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:07 PM EST

"With many cases available on the market, choosing which one best suits your needs can be difficult. Today we have another aluminum model to look at. Beantech is a somewhat new addition to the performance case scene, their clear cases have been relatively well received, but not much has been said about their aluminum cases."

Check it out at: Nexus Hardware

Palm PDA Showcase @ Hardware Extreme
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:06 PM EST

"Basically, like an organizer but it not only handles your daily appointments, setting alarms or reminders as such, it also acts as a good company during your long waits at the queue for your next train or sharing a head wreaking puzzles with a friend. And now, there are even more functions integrated with it; playing great tunes, capturing pictures, and double up as a mobile phone too. The list will go on beyond your wildest imagination. Wow, simply exciting! "

Check it out at: Hardware Extreme

Z40 Insight Case *Black* Review @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:05 PM EST

The rear of the case provides for dual 80mm exhaust fans. Unfortunately you will need to supply your own fans for this case. Those with a few extra fans lying around should have any problem with this. Those looking for a totally new solution might wish to pick up some fans along with their case purchase. Vents to the left of the add-in card slots will also help to vent the hot air from inside the case. Plenty of room is given at the top of the case for the power supply. This case does not come with a power supply. Again, this is good if you already own a power supply. Those needing a PSU should pick one up separately. A small ledge is in place to help support the power supply."

Check it out at: OCIA

Sunbeam Rheobus II Review @ MonkeyReview
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:04 PM EST

Once we had everything setup, which is aided, furthermore, thanks to the included colored setup documents. It was time to test it out. Quickly we noticed that when simply turning the knob on (below 7v), the LED would light up red, and by turning the knob up more, at least to the point that the fans begin to rotate(7v+), the LED will then change to a blue color. The rated 20W that’s available to you should be able to offer up more than enough juice to power at least one fan per channel, if not more.

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 e.SATA/SATA Adapter & RocketMate 1000 eSATA to IDE Enclosure Review @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:02 PM EST

The newly developed e.SATA by Highpoint supports the secure, two-way transmission of data across the Serial ATA interface at a speed of up to 1/5Gb/s. It is much faster than USB2.0(480Mb/s) and IEEE1394(400Mb/s). e.SATA connections allow data to flow both ways between your PC to control hard devices in an easy and creative way.

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Koolcases.com Red Nest PC Case Review @ Icrontic
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, February 21, 2003 at 7:00 PM EST

Once more Koolcases.com has given us the pick of the site and like most of us we went by looks. The Koolcases.com Red Nest PC case caught our eye due to the front LED illuminated decorative strips. Is the Red Nest all show now that the it is in our hands?

Check it out at: Icrontic

Crucial 512mb DDR333 Review @ ClubOC
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 10:41 PM EST

Crucial has been a big name in the memory business for a long time.  They have always been known for high quality memory.  It wasn't too long ago that memory was one of the most overlooked components when building a system. Most people would just get the cheapest memory they could find, assuming that all memory is created equal.  Most of us now know that memory is a very important part in building a system, and most of us would never allow generic memory in our system.  When you are overclocking, it is even more important to have top of the line memory.  There is nothing more frustrating then to start getting errors when you know the problem is that generic memory you settled for.

Check it out at: ClubOC

OCZ Technologies Gladiator II @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:36 PM EST

"The base comes polished and does not have any machining discrepancies whatsoever. The clip is one I'm growing fond of - it uses all 6 notches on the CPU socket to hold the cooler in place, which is useful as this cooler isn't a lightweight."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Spire CPU Cooler Mini-Roundup @ XtReMoDs
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:35 PM EST

"With hundreds of CPU coolers on the market, which one is right for you? Do you want a super loud one that gives you the best performance? Or should you go with the tamer CPU cooler that gives you enough cooling power and is quiet?"

Check it out at: XtReMoDs

Hearts of Iron Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:31 PM EST

"...Hearts of Iron therefore is the perfect combination of all three of these aspects of my personality, as it’s a strategy game set in WW2 where you choose to play as any nation in the world, with world conquest being the primary goal. How could this game possibly fail?"

Check it out at: OcPrices

Cooler Master IHC-L71 Heatpipe CPU Cooler Review @ hardcoreware
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:29 PM EST

Many say that heatsinks are getting less and less interesting. It all depends on how you look at it, and what you are looking for in a heatsink. You may be looking for something to get your CPU's up to extremely high clock speeds, or you may be looking for something that allows you to have your PC running next to your bed while you sleep but still performs well.

If you are in the latter category, you may want to check out the Cooler Master IHC-L71. This is a full copper heatsink using heatpipe technology, and a quiet fan. Is it enough to stand up to a small hot room in Hong Kong?

Check it out at: hardcoreware

Letters #30 @ Dans Data
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:24 PM EST

This time, my arguable wisdom is sought on running audio and video cables through a house, maximum network lead lengths, Playstation 2 video output options, how to turn your MP3 player into a Christmas tree decoration and/or wait forever for firmware updates, strangely bright LCD monitors, the never-endingly fascinating topic of using PCs to heat your house, and what the heck happened to hand scanners.

Check it out at: Dans Data

MSI K7N2G-ILSR nForce II mainboard Review @ Hardware-Test
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:23 PM EST

Over time we have tested quite a lot of products from MSI. MSI is a large manufacturer in the filed of graphic-cards and motherboards. They do however manufacture other things like CD_ROM and CD-RW’s. We know MSI for turning out quality products at a reasonable price. This test covers their latest mobo for AMD CPU’s and is based on Nvidia’s brand new nForce 2 chipset.

Check it out at: Hardware-Test

SFF Battle - Shuttle SN41G2 vs. SB51G XIB @ GamePC
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:21 PM EST

Today at GamePC, we've done a bit of a comparison between two of the niftiest little cases on the market, Shuttle's SN41G2 nVidia nForce2 XPC and Shuttle'2 SB51G XIB Intel 845-GE XPC. These systems can both run absolute top of the line hardware, so we stocked these boxes with the best processors, memory, and graphics cards to see what kind of performance we could get from them.

Check it out at: GamePC

Silicon Image Serial ATA Controller Review @ Techware Labs
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:20 PM EST

"Serial ATA, while late, is here! This review explores the new SATA technology with the Silicon Image 3112 SATA controller. While SATA is not terribly faster than traditional ATA, it does have many benefits and improvements.  Read the review to see how it performs with a SATA Seagate hard drive."

Check it out at: Techware Labs

Sapphire Radeon 9700 Atlantis Pro “Ultimate Edition” Review @ TweakTown
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:19 PM EST

"We've been seeing the Radeon 9700 Pro boards for a while, but when someone comes up saying they have one called "Ultimate Edition", it makes you ask why. Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at the Sapphire Radeon 9700 Atlantis Pro "Ultimate Edition" and find out for yourself if it lives up to the name. We're looking at upgrade paths in this review so lets see if this graphics board has what it takes to earn your hard-earned dollars!"

Check it out at: TweakTown

Tt Volcano 11 Review @ Overclocker Café
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:18 PM EST

Looking more closely at the way the fins are attached to the base we see they are folded on the end and in someway bonded to the base.  This method of fin attachment has always been hit or miss.  If it is done right there is no problem.  If it is done wrong, leaving gaps between the base and the point of fin attachment, the efficiency of the convection process gets thrown down the tubes.

Check it out at: Overclocker Café

CoolerMaster AFP-U01 CD Faceplate Review @ Mikhailtech
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:16 PM EST

Now, this problem can be solved in a number of ways. The easiest way is to paint the drive in the color of the case, preferably using a special metallic paint for cars. Besides the fact that you lose the warranty on your drive, you can damage it by getting paint inside, on the electronics and loading mechanism. Also, metallic car paint is quite expensive. Another way to match the drive and case is to hide the drive. For this you must use one of the drive bay covers that come with the case. You simply attach the cover on the drive.

Check it out at: Mikhailtech

Soltek SL-FRN L Golden Flame (nForce2) Review @ LostCircuits
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:11 PM EST

Not the biggest player in the US market, Soltek have had a few 15 minutes of fame in the past with budget oriented performance boards for the enthusiast. If this sounds like a paradox, the nForce2-based "Golden Flame" series is living proof that the concept is viable and can even be dressed up in attractive colors reminiscent of a potato-beetle (or so). A golden PCB without the actual weight of the heavy metal, canary-yellow DIMM and PCI slots as rallye stripes and a few surface components to accent the color scheme appear more a fashion statement than a commitment to serious technology.

Well, quite the opposite is true, it is not just eye candy that we got here but one of the fastest boards we have ever seen. In light of that, some beauty marks like the missing SoundStorm become negligible. If it is fast, does it still overclock and what other tradeoffs are there or is it really all gold that flames?

Check it out at: LostCircuits

Do It Yourself: Water Cooling Reservoir Article @ IAmNotAGeek
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:10 PM EST

"Water cooling components are not cheap. Key components consist of the radiator, CPU block, and the pump, while the less expensive components consist of tubing and radiator fans. There is sometimes the added cost of the reservoir, which almost always adds around 40-100 Canadian dollars to the total. Keeping this cost in mind when I decided to water cool, I opted to make my own reservoir and save my money. Reservoirs are fairly simple things, an input on one side and an output on another. Why pay so much for such a simple thing?..."

Check it out at: IAmNotAGeek

Kingston PC 3500 DCDDR @ Nexus Hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, February 20, 2003 at 9:09 PM EST

"We previously wrote a review on a Kingston HyperX PC3500 512MB module, and now we are back with more! This time, we’ll be testing 2 sticks Kingston HyperX PC3500 256MB running in dual channel DDR (DC DDR) configuration on an Epox 8RDA+ along with an AMD Athlon XP 2700+ microprocessor. We’ll see if these modules are capable of supporting DC DDR and able to run lower timings at higher speeds. HyperX is a fairly new line of product for Kingston. Let’s see if this is what you’ve been looking for! "

Check it out at: Nexus Hardware

Dremel MultiPro 395 & Flex Shaft Attachment Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:17 PM EST

"The Dremel MultiPro 395 is simple palm sized electric motor attached to a rotating shaft. The versatility of the MultiPro 395 comes from the fact that it can be wielded like an engraving tool and has a larger number of add-on accessories and attachments. As an all-purpose tool the Dremel MultiPro 395 is capable of being used with different attachments which include abrasive wheels, drill bits, wire brushes, polishers, engraving bits, router bits, and standard or re-enforced cutting wheels. The MultiPro 395 features a re-designed click and set-on setting which allows you to match the speed of your existing job as well as a new comfort grip housing for better control and handling."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Albatron Medusa Ti4800SE Video Card Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:16 PM EST

"The GeForce4 Ti architecture has been one of nVidia’s most successful product lines in the company’s history. Millions of NV25 based cards made their way to happy owners over the last year or so, and the cards were able to hold off the threat of the Radeon 8500 for quite awhile and carry the top crown for nVidia. Unfortunately for them, these days nVidia has to deal with a very different ATi. With the uncertain future of the NV30, (first 100,000 units were expected, then 10,000, and now maybe even less than that) it appears that the AGP 8x version of the Geforce4 Ti architecture, or NV28, is going to hold down the nVidia fort well into 2003. Today we’re looking at the middle child of the NV28s, Albatron's Geforce4 Ti4800SE."

Check it out at: OcPrices

M-Systems DiskOnKey Flash Drives (DiskOnKey Pro, Classic and Classic 2.0 products) Video Review #270 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:14 PM EST

"Flash Drives make transferring and transporting data extremely easy and very convenient. The Classic and Pro models are both USB1.1 and the Classic 2 model is USB2. All models are great however their Classic 2 product transfers data at blistering speeds which is even better news for an already "must have" product. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

BulletPC Radeon 9500 To 9700 Reviewed @ BurnOutPC
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:12 PM EST

"Well, this has been quite a mess hasn't it? This review was probably the most stressful one that I have done to date. I was pretty worried that I fried the first card, thank god for Rage3d forums for all the information that was available to help me in this. Most important factor here. We started off the review with a modded 9500 with 8 pipes unlocked and performing like its bigger brother, the R9700. We are ending with a 9500np"

Check it out at: BurnOutPC

Thermalright SLK-700 Socket-A @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:08 PM EST

"In terms of overclocking, I attempted to get by a couple of hurdles we've had with in our Athlon XP 2400+ review. One overclock that has always eluded us was the 15x166 OC. The other OC that has failed was 12.5x199. Unfortunently, we didn't have any more success. I should add that we did match the overclocks that the Swiftech MCX462+ managed."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

ABIT to the MAX - IT7 Max2 Rev 2.0 Review @ TweakTown
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:07 PM EST

"ABIT have had a very strong tradition of producing high quality motherboards with features right in the line of what enthusiasts want. Today Cameron "Sov" Johnson takes a look at their latest Intel based solution, the IT7 Max2 Rev 2.0 based on the i845PE with Hyper-Threading support for the Intel Pentium 4 platform. With future-proofing features for upcoming processors, does it have what it takes to be your next board? Read on and find out!"

Check it out at: TweakTown

MSI K7N2G-ILSR nForce2 Motherboard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:06 PM EST

"In this review, we will be testing out MSI's nForce2-IGP motherboard; the K7N2G-ILSR. The MSI K7N2G-ILSR is based on the nForce2-IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) and is teamed up the MCP2-T southbridge. Unlike the no frills K7N2-L the K7N2G-ILSR is very well equipped with serial ATA/IDE RAID, a 10/100 LAN RJ45 jack, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, 6-channel audio, TV-out (RCA composit and S-video) and of course nVIDIA's integrated video. With all that on board it may seem pretty unlikely that you would actually need to add single expansion card to this board, but with five free PCI slots and an ACR (the blue one) you have plenty of room at your disposal. If the nForce2's integrated video isn't powerful enough for your applications there is also an 8X AGP port which from our own experience works really well with an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro video card... just don't tell Nvidia we said so."

Check it out at: pcstats

Mad Dog Multimedia Raptor Geforce 4 Ti 4200 Video Card Review @ 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:04 PM EST

"Throughout testing the card has run numerous benchmarks overclocked without a single crash, lockup or reboot. I have been gaming and testing with it now for about 12+ hours and it has been flawless."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

Tyan S2495 KT400 Motherboard Review @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 8:03 PM EST

Now that NVIDIA's nForce2 chipset has become mainstream, it seems as though many other AMD based motherboard chipsets just pale a little.  We know at least one chipset maker that would disagree with this of course, VIA.  VIA's KT400 offering has a lot of the same bells and whistles that the nForce2 provides.  With the KT400 you get AGP 8X, DDR400 ( though not guaranteed ), support for AthlonXP 333MHz front side bus processors, USB 2.0, and ATA 133 to name a few.  So, if Dual Channel DDR is not all that important to you, then the KT400 chipset should be.  Although we may not see some of the same benchmark restuls we see from an nForce2 motherboard, the KT400 gives us a fair amount of bandwidth and a lot of integrated features to boot.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Unreal II: The Awakening Review @ ThinkTechie
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, February 19, 2003 at 7:59 PM EST

"You have been selected to be the Marshall of a Terran Colonial Authority ship on a backward patrol route. Your mission is to defend the interests of the Terran corporations which hold control, in lieu of a government. Enter the world of Unreal II: The Awakening to be the next champion of the Terran Colonial Authority."

Check it out at: ThinkTechie

Soltek SL-75FRN L nForce2 review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:37 PM EST

Tired of paying $150 US or more for an nForce2 motherboard? How does $99 US sound? Oh, yeah, it’s also metallic gold in color, and packs a solid overclocking punch – what’s not to like about the Soltek SL-75FRN L? Here’s a snip:

“It is a hard thing to imagine; something so important like the motherboard now being the least expensive, but advances in technology and manufacturing have brought costs down and lower than most of the other case components have in the last few years. However inexpensive motherboards have become, you generally get what you pay for - as the annoying saying goes. In the case of Soltek, a small outlay of revenue will go a long way. The Soltek SL-75FRN L nForce2 motherboard packs a solid punch, delivers on flashy esthetics, and includes several potent features.”

Check it out at: Envy News

Pen Drive 2GB USB flash drive review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:32 PM EST

You’ve seen one USB Flash drive, you’ve seen them all! Not this one you haven’t – a 2048MB behemoth. In our (gulp) 19th Flash Drive review, we present you with PenDriveUSA’s Pen Drive 2GB… Here’s a snip:

“So, along came a Pen Drive 2.0 GB model in the mail. To say the least, I was a bit floored by it, since the highest capacity to date in our labs was 512MB from DiskOnKey, and this one quadrupled it. We were also astonished to find out that PenDriveUSA was working on a 3GB model, and to top it off, USB 2.0 versions of both. Packing a decent performance punch, the Pen Drive 2GB is no slouch.”

Check it out at: Envy News

Philips DVDRW228 DVD+R/RW Review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:26 PM EST

With features such as Seamless Link buffer underrun protection and Thermo-Balanced Writing, Philips initial DVD+R/RW offering appears to stand out from the crowd. Philips, a major player in the DVD+R/RW arena, attempts to sway consumers away from the DVD-R/RW format with their new DVDRW228 DVD+R/RW drive.

Check it out at: Designtechnica

Skyhawk AL-4378D Case
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:21 PM EST

Instead of a traditional flat fan back against the rear face of the case, Skyhawk has installed a plastic chamber with another 80mm fan (at 90 degrees to the case rear, they call it a "VentiDuct") that picks up the warm air from the internal fan and CPU fan and vents it through a small rear grill.

Check it out at: Monster-Hardware

D-Link 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Mode Wireless
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:15 PM EST

For the longest time wireless networking has been limited to at most 11MB/s (theoretical) with the 802.11b standard. New standards are starting to emerge, such as 802.11a, which is capable of 54MB/s.

D-Link's Dual Mode products not only support the new 802.11a, but is also backwards compatible with 802.11b. This is not a standard feature of 802.11a. Additionally, D-Link has managed to turbo charge the speed with theoretical bandwidth up to 72MB/s! That's right, finally we have wireless networking with speeds that rival wired networks!

Check it out at: Hardcoreware.net

KT400 Mobo Roundup
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:06 PM EST

The Overclocker Café has just posted up a small round up of five of the more popular KT400 based mainboards. These are the ABIT KD7-G, the AOpen AK77-8X Max, the ASUS A7V8X, the EPoX 8K9A, and the Tyan Trinity S2495. A much more diverse field when you begin to look at the whole package than you might expect. Here is a snip.

"One point I do want to make that actually was an afterthought, that was extremely surprising, was the gameport issue. If you go and drop $100 plus on a board with onboard audio you would think a gameport would be somewhere wouldn't you? Not so. Out of the five boards, each had onboard sound but only two had gameports. These were the EPoX and the ASUS boards."

Check it out at: Overclocker Café

Albatron Geforce 4 Ti4680P Turbo Review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 6:01 PM EST

The card was manufactured utilizing a thicker 8-layer PCB, done in blue. The Medusa offers us 128MB’s of 3.3ns DDR RAM with a 250/550 MHz GPU/RAM clock. Most will quickly notice from the images that we also have a large and elegant looking copper based HSF as well as RAM sinks not only on the top of the card but also on the bottom. I like how the HSF blows air out and through the ram sinks, ensuring at least a little air will be flowing through them.

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Lamps Electronics Yellow CCFL Fan Grill Review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 5:54 PM EST

"As modding becomes more and more popular in the PC enthusiast market, mainstream modding accessories have become more and more innovative. Albeit slow at times for new things to emerge, we all welcome new things to help mod our cases to make them are own don't we? Today, I'll be looking at a yellow two CCFL fan grill from Lamps Electronics. Is this da bomb? It really could be..."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech.net

Pentium 4 Overclocking Adventure
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 5:48 PM EST

We all love overclocking, and the effect it has on our 3DMark scores - some people more than others. Today Tio "Tha Realest" Chaharbaghi takes us on a Pentium 4 overclocking adventure taking a 2.4GHz processor to its maximum with explanations along the way and clock speed increases and the effect on 3DMark 2001 SE scores. If you are new to the Pentium 4 overclocking scene, make time to check out this article!

Check it out at: TweakTown

Tyan Trinity KT400
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 5:46 PM EST

Tyan's release of the VIA KT400-based S2495 or Trinity KT400 adds another player to the AMD Socket A platform. The board features a bit of an awkward layout as, for example, the diagnostic LED panel is almost completely hidden between the ribbon cables above and below the display. Likewise, the proximity of the AGP interface to the DIMM slots makes the use of certain graphics cards, including Tyan's own Tachyon G9700 a risky undertaking. For the overclocking community, the Trinity KT400 features some of the highest voltages, that is up to 3.3 VDD and VDDQ that are applied when 2.675V is selected in the BIOS. In the end we were able to run it rock stable but we have a few reservations about the S2495 nonetheless. The second issue we were concerned with was to compare the older VIA 4-in-1 drivers (4.33) with the new VIA Hyperion drivers (4.43) on identical hardware to get some idea of how much better these drivers really are and which applications might profit as opposed to those that won't.

Check it out at: LostCircuits

3DMark03 Performance Tests
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 5:42 PM EST

Here we take all of ATI’s Radeon 9000 Series, a GeForce 4 Ti 4200 and 4600 and Matrox’s Parhelia and test their respective performances over 3DMark03’s rendering tests. We’ll begin to see if this a true DX9 benchmark, where its bottlenecks are and begin to explain some of the performance numbers we are seeing from the various boards on test.

Check it out at: Beyond3D

Logitech Z-640 5.1 Computer Speaker System Review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 5:36 PM EST

"$100 for a 5.1 speaker system? Logitech seems to be able to supply the goods in style with their z-640 speaker system. The little brother of the THX certified Z-680 has some difficult shoes to fill but it succeeds quite successfully."

Check it out at: Tweaknews.net

Crucial PC3200 Ram is Now Available
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:24 PM EST

Just a heads-up that Crucial is beginning to add PC3200 DDR SDRAM (DDR400) to its high-quality DDR product line. Both 256MB and 512MB PC3200 modules are now available online at Crucial.com. We’ve received a growing number of requests for this higher-speed memory in recent months and are now offering a solution to meet the diverse needs of our customers.

PC3200 is designed for use in motherboards that require a 200MHz front-side bus with an effective front-side bus speed of 400MHz. Crucial’s PC3200 modules have components at 400MHz (200Mhz x 2). They are not overclocked components.

Check it out at: Crucial

Sunbeam Tech Green Lazer LED Review @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:21 PM EST

"While Lazer LED's have been around for quite a while now, perhaps people don't even think about them as a valid source of case lighting. So how about long life, no heat, and not really having to worry about where you are going to mount your lights. If that sounds good to you, join me as I take a short peep at a green Lazer LED from Sunbeam Tech."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Mouse Wax Review @ Mikhailtech
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:20 PM EST

Exactly what kind of compound/mixture is used I have no clue, but it certainly has unique qualities about it (kind of like silly putty). While half an ounce doesn't seem like much, it's actually quite a bit considering you only need one drop on each foot and 2-4 (depending on the size) on the pad. Similar to ethyl alcohol, Mouse Wax dries seconds after you smear it on. Being water based and non-toxic is also a plus, along with the lack of any kind of odor. Although it's intended for use with gaming/plastic mouse pads, it also works on other surfaces (like cloth pads for instance), though not as well.

Check it out at: Mikhailtech

Corsair (2x256) PC-3200LL Dual Channel Kit Video Review #269 Review @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:16 PM EST

"The Corsair (2x256) PC-3200LL Dual Channel Kit offers fantastic performance and reliability in both dual and non-dual motherboards. Even though this memory is rated at 400MHz it surpasses that which is great for overclockers who want to push it to the extreme. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Spire HD05040B FlowCooler Review @ IAmNotAGeek
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:14 PM EST

"Processors, chipsets, memory, and video cards all receive special attention to ensure that they stay cool, which in turn extends their lives and increases performance. But what about the brain of the computer? The hard drive... The Spire HD05040B FlowCooler hard drive cooler is one solution available aimed at keeping your drive temperatures in a safe operating range."

Check it out at: IAmNotAGeek

Home Systems February 2003 Builder's Guide @ aselabs
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:13 PM EST

" Home systems are a different animal. While gaming may rely on shear speed, quality and stability are the keypoints here. We threw in some speed anyway. Check out the Home guide for Feb 2003! "

Check it out at: aselabs

Cooler Master ATC-220B VX1 @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:11 PM EST

"Today I will be reviewing a case which is intended to be aesthetically pleasing and also provide good cooling - the Cooler Master ATC-220B-VX1, a midsize aluminum case. I personally have never used an aluminum case, this will be the first time I've put a computer into a non-steel case - let's see if ruckus people have been making about the superior cooling due to aluminum heat transfer is actually beneficial."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Thermaltake Xaser III cases Review @ Hardware-Test
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:10 PM EST

Thermaltake manufactures lots of things apart from heat sinks. If you visit their homepage you’ll see how large their product line actually is, it’s not only just a few heat sinks. Thermaltake’s newest offering is a complete water-cooling system, which we of course have taken a closer look at earlier. Here we will look at the Thermaltake Xaser III, the newest addition to a line of nice computer cases.

Check it out at: Hardware-Test

Achingly Close To The Top : AMD’s Athlon XP 3000+ Processor @ GamePC
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:09 PM EST

Today at GamePC, we've taken a look at two of AMD's new processors based on their newly updated "Barton" core architecture. The new Athlon XP 2800+ and 3000+ boast 512k of L2 cache and clock speeds above 2.0 GHz. We compare these two processors to the best Intel has to offer in a wide variety of gaming and real-world applications.

Check it out at: GamePC

OCS Enhanced Radeon 9700 Level III SE video card Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:08 PM EST

"So what else is so special about this card you ask? This thing is an absolute BEAST with the Zalman cooler pre-installed and the clock speeds of this card are at almost insane levels. Well above any current product shipping from ATI. From OCSystem, the card comes clocked at a whopping 415MHz Core and 730MHz Memory. If you were looking for the highest performing card available today, this would be it."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

PCXmods X-Trac Eels @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:04 PM EST

"Even having a high performance mouse pad may not be enough to get super slick response out of your mouse. What do you need then? Perhaps this new product from the makers of the X-Trac mouse pads may be it. Enter, X-Trac Eels. Continue on as we take a look at this new contender in the Teflon tape arena."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Geil 1GB PC3200 Dual DDR Kit Review @ PimpRig
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:03 PM EST

"The stats this RAM puts up makes it attractive even if it was a single stick. This kit has two 512MB PC3200 RAM sticks for a total of 1GB RAM. Timings are CAS 2 6-3-3 1T Running @ DDR400Mhz... Niiiiiice."

Check it out at: PimpRig

Socket 478 Heatsink Shootout @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 7:02 PM EST

"What happens when you lock some of the more reputable names in P4 heatsinks in a room? Well it's much like a pack of wild animals. You have a few content with their place in the middle ranks, you have 1 or 2 that just flat out get their butt whooped, and you have a couple competing for the role of Alpha Male (no pun intended I swear, well ok, pun intended)."

Check it out at: OCIA

Start menu is a bit slow on your W2K or Win Xp OS? Article @
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 6:59 PM EST

"Have you ever wondered if there was a way to speed up the way you scroll your start menu on a W2K or Win Xp OS? Well just like everything else on an operating system, this too can be modified under the registry."

Check it out at: VoidedWarranty

MSI VT2D8X GeForce 4 Ti 4600 w/ AGP8X - Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 6:52 PM EST

One of our thick-skinned New Yorkers, Jeff B has taken the wraps off his showcase of MSI's AGP8X driven GeForce 4 Ti4600 card, the VT2D8X.  It comes adorned with some elegantly designed cooling, Dual DVI connectors and a killer gaming bundle.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Xoxide X450 Aluminum Mid-Tower Case Review @ VH
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, February 17, 2003 at 6:49 PM EST

"The last review of a case I did was of their LL-61 Warrior, and while it proved to be an effectively designed case, its price was quite steep for some people. But those same people will perhaps still want a case that is not only aluminum, but looks great and is well-built. There are many advantages to the aluminum case: Heat can be dissipated better, they are easy to transport because of their light weight and they generally look nicer. Today, Xoxide answers the call of the budget aluminum case aficionado with their X450 Aluminum Mid-Tower."

Check it out at: Virtual-Hideout

ABIT KD-7 Mainboard review @ athlonxp
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:24 PM EST

The KD7 takes advantage of the new features in the VIA KT400 that were unavailable with the KT333 from VIA. There is now support for the new AGP 8x specification and support for the new Thoroughbred CPUs with a FSB running at 166MHz. In addition, USB 2.0 support is native to the KT400 chipset as well.

Check it out at: athlonxp

Bitspower 80mm UV-Sensitive Fans Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:22 PM EST

"The fan obtains the power through a 3-pin power connector that connects to a spare motherboard header. Attached directly to the power connector is the thermal sensor. The thermal sensor adjusts the fan rotation and will speed it up as the sensor gets hot or slows it down when cool. At its highest terperature level each fan is capable of pushing 26.97 CFM at 2500 RPM with a noise level of 27.39 dBA. At the lowest temperature level each fan is capable of pushing 21.37 CFM at 2100 RPM with a noise level of 21.84 dBA."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Trek Thumbdrive Reviewed @ BurnOutPC
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:21 PM EST

"I quite liked the Trek Smart Thumbdrive. It is small and compact, and perfect for transferring documents between computers. While it may not bench the fastest, in actual use, its more than plentiful. The 16 mb version is dirt cheap, at MSRP of 29 USD, and holds the equivalent of 11 floppy disks, at many times the speed. Although the clip/keyring design could have been better, using better plastic or situated on the unit rather than its cap, its a minor annoyance."

Check it out at: BurnOutPC

Lexmark X85 All-in-One Print Center Review @ OnePC
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:20 PM EST

"All-in-one units are great choices for users looking to save both desk space and money without sacrificing quality--the Lexmark X85, with a maximum print resolution of 4800x1200 dpi and one-touch scanning and copying, is no exception."

Check it out at: OnePC

Sunbeam Tech Acrylic PC Case Review @ Icrontic
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:19 PM EST

Beware! Naked computer pictures! The Sunbeam Tech Acrylic PC case will leave nothing hidden, unexposed or right out front for all to see. It's a completely clear acrylic PC case that will delight modders. The case surpasses the majority of metal PC cases for design features as well. So it's time to do the full Monty with your PC hardware!

Check it out at: Icrontic

Zalman ZM80A-HP VGA Heatpipe Review @ TweakTown
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 6:17 PM EST

"We've been hearing about these Zalman Heatpipe coolers for the video cards lately, so it is time to see what they are all about. In a nutshell, they are claiming to be able to give sufficient cooling for perfo