HyTek Computer - News Archive: May 2001

Samsung Yepp YP-30S 64MB MP3 player
posted by 1gigkid on Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 3:17 AM EST

"Thinking of purchasing an MP3 player to enable you to take your digital music collection with you away from your computer? Take a look at the sleek and stylish Yepp YP-30S, a 64MB, easy-to-use yet featured-filled player from Samsung."

Clash Of The OC'd Titans: Athlon XP 2300+ vs. Pentium 4/3000
posted by 1gigkid on Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 2:53 AM EST

"We've probed the limits of both the Athlon XP 2000+ and the Pentium 4/2000 (Northwood core). The Athlon XP 2300+ cannot quite keep apace of the Intel Pentium 4/3000, but the values that we measured are very impressive. In order to outperform the Intel Pentium 4/3000, AMD must switch over to 0.13 Micron in order to enable higher clock speeds."

Seagate Barracuda IV 7200RPM Hard Drive
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 at 12:05 PM EST

OnePC.NET has completed a review of the Seagate Barracuda IV 7200RPM hard drive for your viewing pleasure!

"The new Barracuda IV line of 7200RPM hard drives from Seagate features technology to minimize sounds, prevent damage from physical bumps and, of course, improve performance. Find out if it's the be all and end all of hard drives."

SimpleDevices new SimpleFi
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 at 1:13 AM EST

Designtechnica takes a looks at SimpleDevices new SimpleFi. Ever wanted to listen to your mp3s on your home system but didn't want to buy an excessively long cord? Don't want to run devices using HomePNA? Tired of being stuck listening to internet radio stations on your computer? Enter the SimpleFi. The SimpleFi is a wireless audio server that connects to your computer to access music.

"I can't think of a single local radio station that I like. With the I could listen to streaming music in any room of the house. With its software, you can create playlists that you can access on the SimpleFi's LCD panel.”

Spiral Wrapping your cables
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 at 1:02 AM EST

"Now comes only hard part in the whole process. You have to bend the ribbon cables into thinner segments and wrap the spiral wrap around that. I'm not going to say exactly how many strands of the ribbon should comprise each fold, because honestly, it isn't important. So long as you don't damage the cable in the process, the bending won't degrade performance. If you feel it will cause too much of a performance loss, you should probably be reading a review of those fancy $25 Japanese silver cables...this is a $2.49 fix that works real well."

Arkua 6258 HSF Review
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, January 29, 2002 at 12:58 AM EST

"While the performance of this heat sink is top-notch, I can only imagine how well it would perform if the copper slug matched the CPU's core perfectly. Since it didn't manage to knock the CoolJAG out of it's top spot, I won't be using it in my main machine. But due to it's very light weight and excellent performance I will most likely use it in my next computer project.....my LAN box."

Designtechnica creates the HTPC project
posted by 1gigkid on Thursday, January 17, 2002 at 9:13 PM EST

Ever wondered if you could integrate your computer into your home theater system? Well it might be easier than you think. Come join us as we attempt to build an HTPC from choosing the parts to building the actual system and reviewing it through a series of articles. Stage one of the HTPC (home theater PC) project explores the advantages of building a HTPC, which parts we would pick at a first glance and why.

We're now completely back...
posted by Andrew on Wednesday, January 16, 2002 at 9:35 PM EST

Well, after we waited for our web host to finish things up with our new account, and spent hours trying to transfer everything, our forums are back (as well as our main site). This is temporary while we ship our server to a colocation center in Canada. If there are any problems (other than the forum time zone, which will be fixed when we ship our new server), please e-mail us at forums@hytekcomputer.com.

Temporary server
posted by Josh on Wednesday, January 16, 2002 at 9:50 AM EST

You should now be seeing the site on our temporary server. We are still waiting for DNS to update so you should notice a few changes within the next day or so. Keep in mind we still have to switch back to our server once it arrives at its new home and is plugged in. The forums should be up with in the next few hours.

Well for the past few days I have been dilarious with the flu and unable to function. Andrew has been hard at work preparing for the move and working out some pain in the ass problems we have run into. Everything is going pretty smoothly and we are working on getting the forums up temporary until our server is moved to its new home. E-Mail and the website should be accessible at all times throughout this move and if you have any questions, feel free to email us.

Reviews are finally done!
posted by Josh on Saturday, January 12, 2002 at 11:26 AM EST

Well I have finally finished two reviews and Andrew is working on a wireless article. Check out the Intel Pentium 4 Nortwood review here and the Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse Explorer review here.

Klipsch 2.1 Promedia Speakers
posted by Josh on Saturday, January 12, 2002 at 11:23 AM EST

The Klipsch Promedia 2.1 speakers have been out for quite awhile now, but still are still considered top of the line for their class. Today OCA has these sweet speakers inhouse and gives 'em the shakedown. A little on the pricey side for a 2-channel speaker system, but with this price comes clarity, quality and powerful sound. Here's a snip from the review:

"Of course with the set you get both satellite speakers, the subwoofer enclosure, all connecting cables, an installation guide, and some little felt pieces you can stick to the bottom of the speakers to prevent them from possibly scratching your desk or sliding. On the left speaker you have a volume control and a subwoofer volume control. I point this out because many speaker sets I looked don't have a separate subwoofer control so you are at the mercy of what the techs at the factory choose to set it at. Also, on the left speaker you have a headphone jack and as a surprise to me a miniplug to connect an MP3, CD, MiniDisc player, or whatever you want that has a miniplug output. Its nice to actual buy equipment that has more features than I originally expected."

Almost done with some reviews!
posted by Josh on Friday, January 11, 2002 at 5:11 PM EST

Well I have been hard at work today trying to finish up some reviews. I didn't have a chance to work on them the other day because I had to deal with a few server issues. Check back later to see them, I just have to add the finishing touches now!

Thermaltake Crystal Orb Review
posted by 1gigkid on Thursday, January 10, 2002 at 10:55 PM EST

Hardware Extreme has just posted up a review of the Thermaltake Crystal Orb. Thermaltake is a company mostly known for their Orb series, whether it is the Dragon Orb, Blue Orb, Super Orb or any of the others we all know that the Orb series has been a series that packs performance and cooling with the best looks around in a heatsink. Find out whether this cooler is better than most other standard heatsink which is included in most nVidia graphics card!

"Being this is made of copper and aluminum with a nickel plate opposed to just aluminum we can expect it to cool even better than the older Blue Orb and so we are able to overclock our videocard a lot more with the added cooling. "

Thermalright SK-6 Review
posted by 1gigkid on Wednesday, January 9, 2002 at 10:00 PM EST

Hardware Extreme has posted a review of the infamous Thermalright SK-6 heat sink. They compared it with a few other coolers and even tested it with a 118W peltier!

"To test this heatsink, which so far has shown to be a very good, one we will throw many situations at it in order to get good results of the performance. I will be testing the SK-6 against a few other heatsinks. Though as expected this heatsink will perform quite well due to its great quality in the construction of it and the material that it is made out of, copper."

Intel Pentium 4 Northwood
posted by Josh on Tuesday, January 8, 2002 at 5:24 PM EST

I am hard at work on a review of the Northwood. Depending on how much work I have tonight between everything else I have to do, I might be able to get it out tonight and if not tonight it will be out tomorrow. Right now I am installing WinXP and its going pretty damn fast so it shouldn't be that long until its ready for some benchmarking. Stay tuned!!!

Wireless Intellimouse Explorer vs. Intellimouse Optical
posted by 1gigkid on Tuesday, January 8, 2002 at 11:19 AM EST

Microsoft's latest introduction to the optical family of mice, is the Wireless Intellimouse Explorer. This product appears to be one impressive piece of hardware that many folks will be in a hurry to purchase and begin using for their home PC's. Yet is it worth the $65+ that you'll need to part with in order to own it? Does the newer features of the Wireless Intellimouse Explorer outweigh the performance and features of the older Intellimouse Optical? Here's a snip from OCA's article.

"Another option with the Wireless Intellimouse Explorer you'll see is the "Power Saving Feature" it provides. According to Microsoft, this is a breakthrough power saving technology that conserves battery life by using "Intelligent Touch" which engages the optical technology when you touch the mouse, and also puts the mouse into "sleep" mode when you remove your hand. This is also a feature that I'm unsure of which MS has yet to fully optimize for current use. Many times I found the wireless mouse unresponsive for a fraction of time before it would move. Almost to be expected given the use of batteries, yet unacceptable in many situations. It was a minor annoyance that turned into an outright hassle after a short period of time. Something that may improve in newer releases of both hardware and software, but currently remains quite aggravating."

Lian-Li PC-82 USB Case Review
posted by 1gigkid on Monday, January 7, 2002 at 12:30 PM EST

OnePC.NET has got a review of the Lian-Li PC-82 USB case. At around $200 USD, it isn't a cheap case, but the extensive quality and features coupled with the fact that it's made from better-conducting aluminum material makes this a great case for enthusiasts.

"Tired of el-cheapo cases that weigh a ton? Do you need a case that's easy to use and boasts many features not found on competing models? Want the coolest looking case on the block? If so, find out what Lian-Li's PC-82 USB has to offer."

Lian-Li PC70 Case Review
posted by Josh on Friday, January 4, 2002 at 9:37 PM EST

Hardware Extreme has posted a review of the Lian-Li PC70 case. You will be surprised by our inspiring review taken on the case. Read the review and find out why we don't like this case. Below are a few interesting quotes:

"When I first saw the Lian-Li at a local computer shop, I thought "Wow! What a nice case." I was, honestly, going to buy one right there till I saw the hefty price tag that came with it. When I looked at the cases they had on display I thought the case was worth 215US$, boy was I wrong.."

"We have numerous complaints with this case. This case is in no way worth its over $200 pricetag. When you tap the top of the case you can feel and hear a vibration through the whole case. This may be due to bad workmanship on the case . When trying to install an hard drive in one of the 3.5" bays the, drive bracket kept us from installing it."

"The inside of case easily gets covered in fingerprints and scratches too. The fingerprints and scratches are highly visible and kind of annoying to look at. This is one of the main reasons I started to dislike Lian-Li aluminum cases."

Extreme Performance Project adds two citys!
posted by 1gigkid on Thursday, January 3, 2002 at 10:03 PM EST

"We want you to be the first to know that a special 2-city addition of the Extreme Performance Project is hitting the road. That means you could win one of 300 even more powerful AMD Athlon XP processors. You can win in person or online. C'mon. What have you got to lose?"

Designtechnica Reviews Panasonics new Allure Cellphone
posted by Josh on Wednesday, January 2, 2002 at 6:12 AM EST

Designtechnica reviews Panasonics new Allure cell phone. This phone is brand new to the market and uses ATT's network service. Features include a speakerphone, voice commands, caller ID, 250 contact locations, 6 display colors, distinctive rings and more.

For those interested in breaking the Nokia mold and trying something new, check out the review to see if this phone is worth your time.

January 2002