God Bless America.

News Archive: March 2003

July 2003

AOpen AK79D-400 Max Motherboard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:42 PM EST

"With the K7 near the end of its lifespan, it seems as if every mainboard manufacturer worth its salt is making one last big push with socket A boards. Since nVIDIA recently rehashed the highly successful nForce2-SPP chipset under the moniker of the new nForce2 Ultra 400 name there is no better time than the present. Of course you'll recall that nVidia's nForce2-SPP chipset officially supported the 400 MHz based AthlonXP processors, but it was starting to get old (nForce2 has been around for about 11 months already!) so it was time for a refresh. When nVIDIA released the C1 stepping of the nForce2 they decided to rename the chip the "nForce2 Ultra 400." I suppose any new stepping technically deserves a new name. ;) In this review, PCstats will be testing out the spiffy AOpen AK79D-400 Max mainboard which, obviously, uses the "new and improved" nForce2-Ultra 400 chipset. The Ultra name may be more symbolic than descriptive, but I would expect a little extra performance?"

Check it out at: pcstats

Highpoint RocketRAID 1520 Card @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:37 PM EST

"Well basically the HPT372a processes the data and moves it thru the PCI bus, but the data coming into the card first passes through a Marvell 88i8030 Serializer-Deserializer chip (1 for each channel). So what does this mean for the end user? That basically you will be limited by the HPT372a to ATA133 speeds, and not the 150 speeds promised by the SATA interface."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

GigaCube Radeon 9600 Pro Game Buster Review @ Extreme Overclocking
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:34 PM EST

GigaCube has been around since 1990. They provide gaming solutions and all of their video cards are solely based on ATi's chips. Their goals are simple, "strong creativity, straightforward, and success." Today we have the opportunity to take a look at one of their video cards, the Radeon 9600 Pro Game Buster. The 9600 Pro is a budget/performance graphics card. It is targeted at the mainstream market for users who want DirectX 9 and 8x AGP support, but do not necessarily need the fastest gaming card on the planet. The card is a little different from the others we have reviewed. The heatsink also has some LEDs giving it some zing for end-users with window modifications on their case.

Check it out at: Extreme Overclocking

MSI NBox FX5900U-VTD256 Ultra Videocard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:32 PM EST

"Back in the days when 3Dfx was king and nVIDIA still a pre-pubescent teenager, manufacturers differentiated themselves by clocking videocards higher then what was advised, and some even included large software bundles to tip the scale. In this wonderful period videocards were rarely based entirely on the reference design, then came what I like to call the "dark ages"... In the 'dark ages', manufacturers did nothing exciting with their products and followed the reference design down to a tee. Not only that, but most products arrived on store shelves with the software bundles cut out. Games if they were included, were old, out of date, or titles that never carried much weight anyway."

Check it out at: pcstats

Highpoint RocketRAID 404 Card @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:28 PM EST

"SATA maybe making headway in the marketplace, but the 404 card can provide you with a speed boost for your current drives, peace of mind or both. And with its ability to add a total of 8 devices, can be a great way to get some extra storage into your existing setup."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Soyo P4I875P Dragon 2 Motherboard Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 31, 2003 at 7:24 PM EST

"The Soyo 875 motherboard is the company's latest addition to their exceptional Dragon line of motherboards, which so far have been big on features, value and performance. Will this board continue the trend set by its predocessors?"

Check it out at: OcPrices

ABIT IS7-G (Intel Springdale 865) Motherboard Review at 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 8:04 PM EST

"Today 3dXtreme has the great pleasure of reviewing the ABIT IS7-G motherboard. The ABIT IS7-G is based on the Intel Springdale (865) chipset. Our IS7-G is already loaded with the new version 1.4 bios that unlocks Game Accelerator Technology also known as GAT. ABIT has managed to unlock a PAT like feature previously only found on the pricer Intel 875 Canterwood motherboards. With this new jump in performance the IS7-G has become a real contender beating out some of the $200+ Intel Canterwood boards, however is there a price to pay for this extra "free" performance? Well take a look at that a bit later....."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

Chaintech Zenith 9CJS 875P Canterwood Motherboard Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 8:02 PM EST

"With a package and onboard feature bundle that has it all, the Zenith 9CJS is THE one stop product for the performance enthusiast who wants it all in one purchase. With the included 7.1 channel audio, dual LAN, remote control, extensive front panel and all around good looks coupled with decent performance, this product would be a recommended buy for anyone wanting a "turn key" approach to building an elite computer.."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

ASUS P4C800 875 'Canterwood' Motherboard Review @ Beyond3D
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 8:00 PM EST

"As the 875 chipset is tailored towards the high-end, it must feature obviously something extra to make it more appealing to those that want to pay for increased performance. What separates 876 from 865 is Intel's "Performance Acceleration Technology" (PAT).

Check it out at: Beyond3D

Enermax CS-328 Micro-ATX Chassis Review @ Tech-Dreams
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:56 PM EST

There is a big market today for minimal computer hardware. As LAN partying is becoming more popular, people want small cases to be able to transport their systems with ease. Granted, some choose to get the biggest case possible with 50 hard drives and water/TEC cooling systems in them, but for those not wanting to win the case mod contest, compact cases are the smart way to go.

Check it out at: Tech-Dreams

Chaintech 9CJS Zenith Mainboard Review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:53 PM EST

Presenting the king of the hill, the master of ceremony, the numero uno - the Chaintech 9CJS Canterwood i87PE motherboard; packed with an insane number of in-box goodies that redefines the term 'Features'... A quote from the review:

"The Zenith lineup is the pride and joy of Chaintech's Socket 478 family of mainboards. Targeted at the enthusiast and power user segment, these motherboards arrive built upon the highest performance chipsets at the time of their manufacturing. The name Zenith also carries with it all the extra bells and whistles one could wish for in a motherboard. The Zenith 9CJS is quite possibly the most luxurious of all Canterwood boards on the market."

Check it out at: Envy News

FIC RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB Video Card Video Review #333 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:51 PM EST

"The FIC RADEONT 9600 PRO 128MB Video Card is the little bother of the super fast 9800 Pro, however, it's still an amazing card. This card offers great gaming performance, crisp 2D, dual display and many more features. While this is not the fastest Video Card on the planet it has definite bang for the buck. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Building a button interface @ Modasylum
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:49 PM EST

Gooood Morning!#@#$  Man have we got a guide you need to check out!!  Today Marsupial, shows you how to build a button interface from scratch that you can plug into your serial port to do just about anything you can imagine, from run macros, keystrokes, winamp etc..  You gotta check this one out!!!  A news post would also be greatly appreciated.

Check it out at: Modasylum

Vantec NEXUS 3.5" Multi Fan Controller Review @ Tech-Dreams
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:40 PM EST

Since the beginning of modding times, the essential goal has been to increase overall system performance. In previous years, a lot of the system performance aspect has been over turned by the quest for beauty. Many mods these days are designed to look good. Even though the style aspect is more at the forefront of today's modding scene, the quest for performance will never die. Vantec, a leader in the modding (for both performance and style) market has produced yet again another great product - the NEXUS Multi-Fan Controller.

Check it out at: Tech-Dreams

Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D Super Tower Case Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:35 PM EST

"One of the highlights of the Xaser III V1000D is a centralized all-in-one fan control and temperature monitoring solution. Thermaltake has included a Hardcano 9 Fan Controller, which occupies the top 5.25" drive bay, making the unit accessible even when the front aluminum swing away door is closed. The Hardcano 9 is capable of controlling a total of 4 fans, each adjustable by a designated aluminum knob. A LCD display provides up to the minute temperature readings in both Celsius and Fahrenheit ranging from 0 ºC ~ 90 ºC (32 ºF ~ 194 ºF)."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Enermax EG651P-VE 550W (Review) Review @ ipKonfig
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 30, 2003 at 7:33 PM EST

Today's never ending demand for power sure does make the power companies work more. Regardless of power consumption around the United States, Enermax jumps in to kick off even more wattage, about 550W to be exact. Here's a look at the latest and greatest from Enermax, the Enermax 550W.

Its blue, it's silver, and it pumps out lots of wattage. So that must mean we are reviewing an Enermax 550 watt power supply. With the first look at this power supply you can't help but to be giddy as a schoolgirl. The power supply is dark blue with a near mirror finish, silver braided cables with a rubber PVC tube around the loom--much like you would see on rounded IDE cables. It's eye candy for sure. But enough with the eye candy, let's move on to the specs.

Check it out at: ipKonfig

Soltek SL-5600-XD Review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 7:27 PM EST

With so many Radeon reviews out there and the GeForce FX 5900 finally beating the ATi camp, we decided to bring you a review of a cost-effective FX review from Soltek... A quote from the review:

"Budget Gamers - they are a tough crowd to please. They represent the market segment that wants the most bang for their buck. Getting the top-of-the-line performance card for a modest outlay of cash are not two variables that usually stick side by side. That said, this is where NVIDIA and now Soltek have stepped in with the GeForce FX 5600 series of cards; a budget card with DirectX 9 features and some very adequate performance for the games of today."

Check it out at: Envy News

GF FX 5200 vs. R9200 @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 7:25 PM EST

OCAddiction takes a look at both nVidia and ATi's budget cards to see which one comes out on top. With both cards being in the same price range, it'll be interesting to see which one is a better performer.

"At 2X AA, the FX5200 and R9200 look about the same. But stepping up to 4X AA, the Radeon seems to have the edge. Pull them out side-by-side, and compare 12 and 6 clock positions and you will see; the Radeon smoothes out the jagged edges a bit better than the FX5200. Remember though, when it comes to such budget video cards, 4X AA isn't really practical at all (as you will see), so the R9200 doesn't gain much value from this."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Gigabyte GA-7VT600-L Review @ mbreview
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 7:21 PM EST

Hey all, today we have yet another motherboard review for you, this time of the Gigabyte GA-7VT600-L budget board. This board offers up some good performance, and Chris found that this board allowed him to overclock his AthlonXP farther than he ever was previously able to on any VIA based motherboard! If you're in the market for an cheap, but effective KT600 motherboard, you'll want to take a look at this review!

"Overclocking our hardware with the 7VT600-L was surprising and exciting. This was the first time we were able to overclock the FSB to a new level on a VIA chipset based motherboard. However, most users will probably not be able to duplicate the same results that we achieved since we used an air conditioner. Only time will tell if this feat was accomplished by luck, or with the skillful engineering from VIA or Gigabyte. We can only hope that manufacturers will send us their KT600 solutions in the near future so we can show our dedicated readers some more overclocking results with motherboards using this chipset."

Check it out at: mbreview

Albatron PX865PE Pro Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 7:17 PM EST

"Here at OcPrices we've been testing Albatron products since their first i845E and G motherboards, and Albatron has impressed us again and again with superb motherboards and video cards. They really have risen to compete with the world's best board makers in an incredibly short amount of time. Today we have a look at Albatron's new PX865PE Pro Springdale motherboard. Does it continue the trend of excellence? Read on to find out."

Check it out at: OcPrices

Xoxide X-500 Aluminum Mid-Tower Case Review @ VH
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 at 5:41 PM EST

"Looking at the bare specifications and numbers, the X-500 is pretty normal for a mid-tower case of its class. At just under 20" in height, it's not too tall, but at the same time, is not too small so that interior space is cramped. Four 5.25" drive bays compliment its dimensions, along with two external 3.5" drive bays and four 3.5" HDD bays. Four 5.25" drive bays is about right, as you could easily fill all the drive bays and have your needs provided for. A single front 80mm fan provides intake in that area, and with it and the side (window) 80mm fan operating, airflow ought to be balanced pretty well against the two 80mm exhaust fans. Though there are four fan placements, the front intake fan position is empty, and you must provide a fan to go here."

Check it out at: Virtual-Hideout

Albatron KM18G Pro (nForce2) mobo review @ overclockercafe
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 28, 2003 at 8:22 PM EST

Budget nForce2 motherboards abound.  Albatron's entry into the fray is their KM18G Pro board.  With onboard sound, LAN and video, the KM18G Pro makes a very cost effective option for a working computer.  Of course as far as gaming is concerned, the onboard video needs to be shown the door.  However, for a street price of around $100 you get a lot for you money.  Here is a snip of the review.

"From the vibrant colors to the added ability of TV out using the motherboards own onboard video Albatron has produced a very nice board. I know that looks don't matter when it comes down to performance; however this is a 'budget' board. Just as with the Chaintech, its onboard video will save you some money if this is going to be in someone's box that isn't into gaming and just wants a computer to work with and get online."

Check it out at: overclockercafe

VL System's Lost In Space (LIS) VFD Indicator Review @ Tech-Dreams
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 28, 2003 at 8:16 PM EST

A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to review the Lost In Space (L.I.S.) LCD Indicator by VL Systems. While it was visually stunning, the LCD was hard to read from certain viewing angles and still had some minor flaws at the time. Today, however, VL Systems has given me the opportunity to review a similar product, the L.I.S. VFD Indicator, which uses a VFD display rather than a LCD display. It also builds upon the L.I.S. LCD by offering new features and functions.

Check it out at: Tech-Dreams

Kyle's Flash Guides Part 3: The Shape Tween @ KEPtech
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 10:03 PM EST

There are two types of tweened animations in Flash, one is the Motion Tween, and the other is the Shape Tween. I have already introduced 2 guides earlier on, Motion Tweens and Motion Tween Effects. Today we will take a look at the Shape Tween, and also Shape Tween effects, since Shape Tweens are simpler and doesn't involve as much as the Motion Tween.

Check it out at: KEPtech

The New Sony CLIÉ PEG-UX50 - Evolution of the PDA @ Adrian's Rojak Pot
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:58 PM EST

"Looking for a new Palm PDA? Jason takes a quick look at the new Sony CLIÉ PEG-UX50 Palm PDA! See what he has to say about this revolutionary PDA!"

Check it out at: Adrian's Rojak Pot

Sapphire Atlantis 9800 Pro Ultimate Review @ Tweak3D
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:45 PM EST

Today we've looked at Sapphire's Atlantis 9800 Pro Ultimate, a Radeon 9800 Pro equipped card that features a Zalman heat pipe cooling solution.

Check it out at: Tweak3D

Cooler Master Wave Master Aluminum Case Video Review #332 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:43 PM EST

"The Cooler Master Wave Master Aluminum Case is truly a piece of artwork with smooth lines, great looks and is well constructed. It offers lots of space to install all kinds of computer gear and even comes with a removable motherboard tray. Included as well are 2 USB ports, 1 firewire port, mic and headphone jack. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Linux vs. Windows article at RipNet-UK
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:42 PM EST

RipNet-UK has a new article on line examining the relative merits of Windows and Linux as a desktop operating system. It's an interesting piece and will no doubt generate some widely differing opinions!

Check it out at: RipNet-UK

Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD Soundcard Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:39 PM EST

"This has to be by far the best budget soundcard I've ever put my hands on. For $29.99 you can get full surround sound support for your PC, and the multimedia software to go with it. The software suite definitely helps this card as it provides users with everything they need to fully take advantage of the cards capabilities via PowerDVD and/or Hercules Media Station."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Sapphire 9800 & 9600 PRO Ultimate Edition's Review @ beyond3d
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:37 PM EST

A while after ATI introduced the Radeon 9700 PRO Sapphire a slew of Radeon 9700's appeared from board vendors, although most of them differed very little from the reference specification bar the shape and colour of the heatsink employed. Sapphire decided that with their Atlantis Radeon 9700 PRO Ultimate Edition' they would take this to the extreme and ship in with Zalman's passive heatpipe cooling solution. Now that ATI's refresh line are fully on stream Sapphire are ready to follow on from the original 'Ultimate Edition' with not one, but two Ultimate's...

"With the success of Radeon 9700 Ultimate Edition Sapphire have struck and exclusivity deal with Zalman and are going ahead with more versions. With the refresh of the ATI line in the spring, the Radeon 9800 PRO was an obvious choice for receiving the silent treatment, however Sapphire have also decided to move this on to 9800's smaller brother, the 9600 PRO."

Check it out at: beyond3d

Shure E2c Earphones @ Geekshelter
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:34 PM EST

"If you're the type of person who travels a lot and loves music, then you would want the best audio entertainment possible. For over decades, Shure has been providing mankind with those needs by giving the richest sound quality you can find on the market. They have brought that quality to the consumer line with their E series. Today, I show you the E2c earphones. Sporting in-ear technology, high energy drivers, and rich sound, they are just great for the mobile music enthusiast."

Check it out at: Geekshelter

Sapphire Atlantis 9800 Pro and 9600 Pro Ultimate Editions Review @ Extreme Overclocking
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:31 PM EST

It seems like we have been reviewing a lot of video cards lately, but this time we have something really special. Sapphire is a large manufacturer basing their video card solely on ATi's chips. They have made cards such as the Atlantis 9800 Pro and 9600 Pro, which we reviewed awhile back. Today we take a look at these two cards once again, but this time there is one slight difference, these are the ultimate versions. What makes these cards appealing is their silent heatsink design, which keeps the processing core cool, and your PC a little quieter.

Check it out at: Extreme Overclocking

Enermax X-Point CS-528 Review @ GruntvillE
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:29 PM EST

"Removing the front faceplate we can see that, as is the same in back, we are provided with two 80mm fan mounts as well as several oval shaped holes that are used for routing of the faceplate wiring. One interesting point for would-be modders is the array of tiny circles below the two 3.5" bays. They're just about the right size for your average LED and could provide for some interesting lighting through the front faceplate grill."

Check it out at: GruntvillE

X-Elite Case Review @ Overclocker Café
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:27 PM EST

Today over at the Overclocker Café they have one of Xoxide’s pre-modded cases up on the bench, the X-Elite.  While it is a pretty standard case it does have a few noteworthy extras.  Here’s a snip.

The oversized square recessed area you see behind the teardrop illuminates as your power lamp.  What is interesting about this is that the LED that lights this area is a color switching number.  Meaning the light changes between white, red, green, blue, yellow, teal, and violet.  The change is a soft transition which adds quite a bit to the effect.

Check it out at: Overclocker Café

Remember the future? It's MRAM, not DDR. Big changes coming (Editorial) @ ipKonfig
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:25 PM EST

Well, we're not saying that just yet; DDR is the latest bestest RAM memory technology available. We got here by making baby steps in the clock speed of individual memory cells, increasing bus data rates, and using multiples of those rates. But the CPU is still waiting on memory access. It really looks like the current memory technologies will never "catch up" to the feed needs of processors. Two, three, or more layers of caching and the required guessing about what data should be held close to the vest help, but are actually fudges, albeit fairly effective ones.

Check it out at: ipKonfig

VIA P4PB Ultra Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:21 PM EST

"The VIA P4PB Ultra and specifically the P4X400 chipset are much better than the previous Pentium IV offerings from VIA.  Add to that the features and accessories that come with the P4PB Ultra and you have a pretty decent motherboard package.  I have to admit the P4PB Ultra exceeded my expectations.  After dealing with motherboards based on the P4X266 and P4X333 chipsets VIA has gotten it right with the P4X400 chipset.  It is really a shame about the legal hassles VIA had with Intel and that mainstream motherboard manufactures didn't pick up this chipset. "

Check it out at: OCAddiction

FIC AU13 nForce 2 @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 9:17 PM EST

"The jump to DDR400 proves to be quite an improvement for the AU13. The AU13 had no problem running the benchmark at 220 MHz, although things got rough after that. So far I am very impressed by the performance and stability of this system."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Lian Li PC-6070 PC case Review @ dansdata
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:30 PM EST

Lian Li's PC-6070 PC case has a massive aluminium door on the front, and lots of sound-deadening rubber inside. And it genuinely is significantly quieter than its Lian Li brethren. The reason WHY it's quieter has less to do with the sound-blocking stuff, and more to do with the three built-in fans, though.

Check it out at: dansdata

X-Micro Bluetooth Modem and Dongles Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:26 PM EST

"If you need a dongle to connect your PC to your mobile phone, bluetooth enabled PDA or access to other compatable hardware like printers and keyboards, the X-micro USB Bluetooth dongles will be of interest. Also, if you are still stuck on 56k, or want a convenient emergency connection to the internet then their 56k modem will also be right up your street."

Check it out at: OcPrices

Albatron FX 5200 Ultra Video Card Review @ Extreme Overclocking
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:24 PM EST

Albatron has worked closely with NVIDIA since the release of the GeForce 4 line of video cards. Since then, the company has designed cards using all of NVIDIA's latest chipsets and more recently, the GeForce FX line. Albatron has been noted as producing some of the better video cards in terms of features and overclocking. Today, we are going to take a look at the Albatron GeForce FX 5200 Ultra video card. It is the budget chipset of the FX line but still offers features such as DirectX 9 support.

Check it out at: Extreme Overclocking

Video associated with Dual Display capabilities on the ATI All In Wonder Video Cards @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:23 PM EST

This is the associated video to supplement the written article on Dual Display capabilities on the ATI All In Wonder Video Cards. Please visit the below link and the Video is listed there.

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Beginners Guides: Installing Windows XP @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:21 PM EST

"Installing Microsoft operating systems has never been a particularly trying task, assuming that your hardware is working correctly. Keeping Microsoft operating systems from acquiring an assortment of viruses, useless icons, spyware and garbage programs which eventually clog up your beloved PC like bright green pond scum is a whole other issue. Thankfully, that's not the focus of this article. While both WinXP Home and Professional are based on the same core operating system, which in turn is based on Windows 2000, there are substantial differences in their individual capabilities. WindowsXP Pro is a direct successor to Windows 2000 Professional, with all the capabilities of the former, a business-oriented client OS. WindowsXP Home, at least in function, is more like a spiritual successor to windows 95/98/Me, a decidedly non-business-centric OS."

Check it out at: pcstats

3acooler Zebra AlCu1 AMD CPU Cooler Review at 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:19 PM EST

"Today 3dXtreme is proud to review the Zebra AlCu1 AMD CPU heatsink from 3acooler. This is a heatsink with an innovative design that hopes to make a big impact in the heatsink market. The Zebra AlCu1 is the only product currently available from this new company and we are happy that 3acooler has given us a chance to look at their first product...."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

Cooler Master Musketeer LLC-U02 Review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:18 PM EST

All for One, and One for All. Thick chocolaty coating with a tender fluffy nougat center? Three musketeers? Which ever comes to your mind, we'll have a third scenario for it to focus on, once you read our review... A quote from the review:

"Cooler Master makes some wicked bay enhancements; to say their designs are flashy just does not cut it. Chromed out and backlit, they are extremely hard to miss when mounted. Sleek and stylish, they not only add to the aesthetics of the machine, but provide useful information about what cannot be normally seen from the outside. The Cooler Master Musketeer is the system monitoring bay for one, and for all."

Check it out at: Envy News

RaidMax Scorpio-668 case Review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:15 PM EST

It looks like a TT Xaser case, has a sprinkling of Chen Ming, and a ounce of Antec PlusView thrown-in for good measure. Stir, shake, and pour over crushed ice. Lo and behold, the RaidMax Scorpio case - destined for Jr. Modders the world over... A quote from the review: "RaidMax, a firm which carries a great line of computer cases, but judging by their name, one would expect a line of large RAID array systems. The Scorpio-668 case product which they market comes in 5 styles; black, blue, lime, silver and yellow. The case we received today for review was blue and one thing is for sure - it's sexy. Sporting multi-colored LED fans, blinking and pulsing front-panel lights, and a roomy interior, this is one case that will appeal to the inventive folk out there."

Check it out at: Envy News

Antec LANBoy Mid-Tower Case Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:13 PM EST

"The Antec LANBoy Mid-Tower Case utilizes a feature made popular with the Chenming and Chieftec series cases by incorporating a removable drive cage. Removing the internal drive cage is completed by adjusting a metal locking clip in the locked and unlocked position. Once unlocked, all that remains is removing the drive cage by pulling straight back and mounting a hard drive by screwing it on both sides."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

XinCom XC-DPG402 Review @ lostcircuits
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:12 PM EST

Home networking has come a long way since we posted our first networking article over 5 years ago. At the time, the features were still extremely limited and anybody who could get simultaneous internet access to work by means of proxies like Wingate or Sygate was already considered one of the "illuminati". Security features sounded like a foreign language that nobody had any clue about but then, they were not really necessary since almost everybody was still on dial-up.

With improving infrastructure of the internet, and broadband access becoming widely available, this safety of remote accesses quickly turned into a quagmire. Hack attacks as originally performed almost exclusively by those who just tried hacking for the hack of it has developed into some very serious business and, among other things has superseded narcotics as the number one source of income of organized crime.

Check it out at: lostcircuits

MSI K7N2 Delta-IL SR - nForce 2 Ultra 400 Mobo - Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:08 PM EST

Today, we are going to take a look at the latest revision of the nForce2, the nForce2 Ultra 400.  Our first opportunity to test the nForce2 Ultra 400 comes from MSI Computer in the form of the K7N2 Delta-ILSR.  

In typical MSI fashion, this board comes with all the trimmings to make it a leader among its peers in both features and performance.  Click the link below to take a closer look at the K7N7 Delta-ILSR and see how its performance stacked up to the competition.

Check it out at: HotHardware

DFI LanParty KT400A Review @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:06 PM EST

"Maybe I've been a bit spoiled with the ABIT NF7-S, but 200FSB was in no way attainable with our TBred 2400+. Considering I could do an easy 12x200 on my nForce 2, this proved to be extremely frustrating. I lowered the multiplier from 15 to 11, and the highest OC I managed was 191, but to say it was rock solid would be a flat out lie. The best, stable environment I managed was 11x189."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

PCALAN Coverage @ Nexus Hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at 8:05 PM EST

The 4th annual PC Abusers LAN was held July 18th-20th. Upon arrival we prepared for a genuine good time, and we were impressed with the outcome. PCALAN was kindly sponsored by AMD, Corsair, BFG, Plantronics, Ideazon, KDC Computers, Kool Cases, Bawls, Bullet PC, Crazy PC, Google Shack, Voyeur Mods, Mad Lights, and Shattered Web. Approximately 94 participants came to take place in the action.

Check it out at: Nexus Hardware

Gigabyte P4 Titan 8PENXP i865PE Motherboard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 7:07 PM EST

"Competition has always benefitted the end user because it has the effect of driving down prices, and typically increasing the number of features that come standard. With the upsurge in the tech sector these last few months, competition has reached a fevered pitch, and the goal is your hard earned spending money. As the movers and shakers shell out product after product, Gigabyte, who are one of the larger manufacturers in the industry, have been quietly making waves amongst the hardware community. One such example is the P4 Titan 8PENXP which is based on the mainstream i865PE Springdale chipset. The i865PE chipset has shown that it's a very powerful solution, rival to Intel's i875P in terms of performance! With that in mind, and the relatively low price, it's no wonder manufacturers have multiple boards based on the highly successful i865PE chipset. But with so much competition, how does Gigabyte separate itself from the rest? Well, for starters the Gigabyte 8PENXP motherboard is possibly one of the most equipped i865PE motherboards on the market. Standard features of the board consist of Serial ATA/Serial ATA RAID, Ultra 133 IDE RAID, IEEE 1394, 5.1 audio, Intel CSA enabled Gigabit LAN, dual BIOS's and Gigabyte's special DPS2 (Dual Power System)."

Check it out at: pcstats

TT Silent PurePower 480W PSU Review @ ASE Labs
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 7:04 PM EST

" When you pick up the latest and greatest hardware product, I'm sure you seldom think of if that piece of hardware will drain too much power out of your power supply. Even though you may think that box in your case has an infinite supply of power (after all, it is plugged into AC), it isn't. In this review today, we'll see how the Thermaltake Silent PurePwer 480 watt PSU handles itself. Now let me give you a little lesson on power supplies. "

Check it out at: ASE Labs

Vantec Nexus Fan & Light Controller (NXP-301) Video Review #331@ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 7:03 PM EST

"The Vantec Nexus Fan & Light Controller adjusts up to 3 fans and two cold cathodes. The great feature of this product is doing this both in one unit. Also, the fans can be adjusted from 0 to 12 voltages and the two cold cathodes which are included can be turned on, off or sound activated. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro Videocard Review @ PCstats
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 7:01 PM EST

"ATi are laying down the same game plan set by nVIDIA many years back, releasing new VPUs every six to eight months. The Radeon 9800 Pro VPU was released seven months after the highly successful Radeon 9700 Pro and the upcoming 'R420' is on course for a late September release. The Radeon 9800 Pro VPU is really nothing more than a higher clocked 'R300' core that has been tweaked for just a bit more performance. We'll get into the specifics in a moment, but as you're about to see it really does improve performance nicely. In any event, the highly successful Radeon 9800 Pro we are examining now came to market from an unlikely source - Crucial, a division of Micron, and a tier one memory manufacturer. Crucial ventured into the highly competitive world of videocards in the summer of 2002, originally releasing a Radeon 8500LE. Their videocard caused quite a stir in the hardware community due to the use of 6ns DRAM, however the performance of the card was not able to live up to expectations. Crucial appear to have improved on their mistakes, and the Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro was one of the better 9700 Pro's on the market due to its more competitive price and awesome warranty. Today we'll be checking out Crucial's new Radeon 9800 Pro videocard. The same questions arise; does this card live up to the Crucial name and expectations? You'll just have to read on to find out!"

Check it out at: PCstats

Ricoh PCI-PCMCIA Adaptor Review @ OCM
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 6:58 PM EST

"Overall, this device is top notch. Installation is a breeze, and the support for the new Cardbus specification allows for the latest in PCMCIA technology to be used in your home PC. The fact that the device supports hot-swapping of cards is also note-worthy, as this will prevent down-time when installing a new card, as powering down the system is not required."

Check it out at: OCM

Ahanix Iceberg II from ExoticPC @ GruntvillE
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 6:57 PM EST

"Here we have the CPU block, made out of blue anodized aluminum and big enough for both the P4 and AMD chips. You can see the blue acrylic around the edges; this is for the P4 mounting. Since the kit comes assembled you'll need to specify AMD or Intel P4 when ordering. The good news is that the clips for the Socket A are included in the kit if you change your mind at a later date. Also above is the pump and reservoir. As you can see the kit included a submersible pump that is already installed in the reservoir with all the hoses attached. Keep in mind that the pump, like most, runs on 120v (standard AC power) and therefore will require to be plugged into its own outlet and running before you fire up your machine."

Check it out at: GruntvillE

GeIL Ultra PC3500 Golden Dragon Memory Review @ PCstats
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 6:54 PM EST

"Style is playing a larger and larger role these days in the design of computer hardware, and for good reason. Why have a bland beige box sit next to you when you can have a "flashy" black or brushed aluminum case with iridescent blue lights glowing inside? I know a few novice computer users who are buying systems that have case windows, and LED fans which until recently were strictly the domain of the "computer geek". I know it's true, because I'm a geek too. Memory manufacturers can realistically only so much to flash up their modules, and the most popular method is simply to wrap the DIMM's with various colours of aluminum or even copper heatspreaders. GeIL, a company that has some of the flashier DIMM's out there, just released their Golden Dragon line of memory - possibly the best looking DIMMs on the market some might say? GeIL incorporated advanced WLCSP (wafer level chip scale package) technology into the Golden Dragon memory line, and aside from the functional reasons to go in this direction, it does look rather cool. To protect the naked silicon DRAMs from damage, the manufacturer added a transparent plastic cover over top."

Check it out at: PCstats

Xoxide's X-Hurricane Case Review @ hightekpc
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 6:50 PM EST

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how many new creative, unique, and downright dangerous cooling methods appear in the modding community, the tried and true method of forced air cooling remains the standard for economy, effectiveness, and beastly-sounding cases.  Xoxide knows these rules better than everybody else, and their new X-Hurricane line proves just that. This case is well-deserving of its name, packing a full six 80mm fans with three more 92mm fans thrown in.

Check it out at: hightekpc

Albatron PX865PE Pro II Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 23, 2003 at 6:48 PM EST

"Albatron has some onboard features that make them special compared to others.  Their Bios Mirror makes flashing bios almost fail proof, since with a bad update you can go into the second bios and then re-flash the man bios.  Their second feature is the Voice Genie.  It's a diagnostic program that tells the user what problem has been encountered when something goes wrong.  A Pretty cool feature compared to the plain old LED diagnostic found on some boards.  The dipswitches control AGP protection, Bios Mirror, and the Voice Genie language selection.  The AGP protection makes sure that the video card installed is either agp4x or agp8x.  No older card could be used. "

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Samsung Spinpoint SP1604N Review @ MonkeyReview
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:22 PM EST

"In the last couple of years we've seen hard drives explode to massive sizes. At this point it could prove to be a challenge for quiet a few of us to even come close to filling them through normal usage. Today on the block we've got the Samsung SpinPoint SP1604N, a nice n big, 160GB, ATA-133 HDD from Samsung Electronics. The size of the drive's going to appeal to a lot of people but there are a few key features which really add to this drives value."

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Dual Display capabilities on the ATI All In Wonder Video Cards Article @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:19 PM EST

"As many of you know the ATi All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro and other AIW cards do not come with dual VGA output like the Radeon 9700 series. In fact, ATi does not advertise the ability to use multiple computer monitors with the AIW 9700 Pro. But as some of you know, I've been tinkering with the idea of using a DVI-I splitter with my AIW 9700 Pro to see if the DVI-I output supported multiple monitors, just like the Matrox Parhelia. So."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

OCZ EL DDR PC3700 Gold Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:16 PM EST

"The Canterwood and Springdale have radically changed the high end memory market. When the i845PE was king, even PC3500 was mostly overkill, as most boards had the proper 4:5 memory ratio for DDR 333, so even at 160mhz FSB, which is near limit for most P4"B" processors, memory speed would still be only hitting 400mhz. The new chipsets and the new 800mhz bus Pentium4s have changed all that. PC3500 went from overkill to necessary for serious overclocking, and even faster memory has been introduced. Today we'll be looking at one of the new PC3700 "Gold" series from OCZ"

Check it out at: OcPrices

Epox 4PCA3+ i875P Motherboard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:12 PM EST

"When the news came down the wire that the Epox 4PCA3+ i875P motherboard was on the testing block I have to admit I was a little excited. You see, Epox are one of the few manufacturers that can make my [techie] pulse rise. This isn't because of any grand marketing schemes, promotions, or bundles of software and USB break-out boxes in the box. Nope, this impression is one which has been built over many months, and over experiences with many different motherboards from Epox. And if the past is any indication of what to expect in the future, then the 4PCA3+ has a lot to live up to. For not only are Epox motherboards typically fast, they are also typically very good overclockers; and as you may have realized, I'm all for hitting the high numbers! Now, onto more tangible points that you can actually take away and use as a guide in your path to choosing the right i875P motherboard. For starters, in the last several months I've noticed a broad trend cropping up in the motherboard industry. IDE headers are disappearing and being replaced by multitudes of Serial ATA headers. Typically they SATA component consists of just two headers, but now more often than not we find four SATA headers and just two 'legacy' IDE. I understand the future is in Serial ATA but I still have quite a few large capacity IDE drives that are far from being tossed out with yesterdays BX chipset. It's easy to see why a quiet grin swept across my face the second I saw not four, but six IDE headers on this motherboard. With the right sized hard drives one could make very nice use of the on board High Point HPT374 controller indeed."

Check it out at: pcstats

OCZ 2x256MB PC3200 Dual Channel Platinum Memory (Review) @ KEPTech
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:10 PM EST

System memory has become an ever-so crucial part of overclocking and in computers in general. Major players in the game are no longer just Crucial and Kingston. Out of darkness it seems over the last couple of years many new players in the game have shown up offering high performance RAM with the ability to clock higher than its rated specifications. Some of these new companies with that goal in mind have gained a lot of spotlight in the world of high technology such as Mushkin, Corsair, GEIL and of course OCZ. Today the review consists of a product from OCZ. That product if you haven't read the title yet (cause that happens quite too frequently) is the OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel Platinum.

Check it out at: KEPTech

PNY GeForce FX 5900 Ultra Video Card Review @ Extreme Overclocking
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:08 PM EST

It is time again for a new video card to try to compete with the Radeon 9800 Pro. The GeForce FX5800 originally was supposed to be the competitor with the ATi chips but as we all know, there were a few issues that made the card a bad performer. The 5900 Ultra is the what the 5800 Ultra should have been and maybe a little more. Today we take a look at the PNY 5900 Ultra graphics card and compare it to the two fastest cards we have, ATi 9700 Pro and a Sapphire 9800 Pro. We hope to find out if this $500 video card can out perform our 9800 Pro.

Check it out at: Extreme Overclocking

Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless Joystick @ Bytesector
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:06 PM EST

Logitech has revolutionized the world of gaming, forever! For years, hardcore gamers have dreamt of a cordless joystick that could provide them with liberty, precision, control and power. The controller combining a brilliant aluminium trigger with a high adrenaline pumping, precise twist handle and packaged with Logitech’s 2.4 GHz Cordless freedom technology will definitely increase enthusiasm for realistic gaming!

Check it out at: Bytesector

ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 9800pro Videocard Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:04 PM EST

"With no competition in sight, ATI's All-in-Wonder 9800pro is nothing less than a dream card for the computer enthusiast. Not only does it handle any game on the market with the quality at maximum, it does so with amazing framerates. Gaming aside, you just have to understand the capabilities of this card for it's price. With a one card solution, you practically turn your computer into a home theater system, a gaming system and a full featured multimedia center."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Athenatech Pearl White A100 Mini-ATX Case @ XtReMoDs
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:01 PM EST

"There’s is not much diversity form the every day Mini-ATX cases that are shipped out now a days you get a square front and a window on the side. Well after a while that gets boring, you need to spice things up a little with some style. If you are tired of the pre-modded windowed cases then you might be interested in Athenathech’s Pearl White A100 case."

Check it out at: XtReMoDs

Vantec Nexus NXP-301 Review @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 10:00 PM EST

"Rheobuses seem to be getting more and more common. That is a great thing for the community as a whole, actually. Not everyone wants to listen to a whirring PC, wherever the location of their box is. There have only been a few good variations of rheobuses so far. This is one of them. The NXP-301 has a built-in inverter to control a dual set of CCFL's in sound activation mode, or turn them on/off. While that seems very neat, let's take a closer look..."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Raidmax Scorpio-668 Silver Case Review @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 9:56 PM EST

"The rear fans come installed along with the door fan.  The 3.5 inch drive bays are removable using a lever action lock which locks firmly.  The lower 3.5 inch bracket has an 80 mm fan bracket in the front to ease the task of cooling those hard drives.  The rear 80 mm fans connect with a standard 4 pin molex.  I wish they had been 3 pin, but they do the job.  The included hardware was more than enough to get everything screwed down."

Check it out at: OCIA

ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro 128MB Video Card Video Review #330 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 9:55 PM EST

"The ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 Pro 128MB Video Card is simply the best all around video card currently on the planet. This product will easily fulfill all your video needs. Whether it's video editing, watching TV, gaming or all of the above this card will certainly satisfy. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Arctic Silver Céramique @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 9:52 PM EST

"Arctic Silver have been working hard on a new compound that isn't conductive, and infact doesn't contain silver at all. The new compounds name is Ceramique and as the name describes, this is a ceramic based solution."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Die Another Day DVD Review @ MonkeyReview
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 9:49 PM EST

"Bond, James Bond" oooh the words just make me want to reach for popcorn. This time around I have the pleasure of reviewing the latest James Bond movie: Die Another Day. The longevity of James Bond movies is due to the fact that through all the cheesiness, the movies are based on pure, unadulterated escapism. Probably the best way to sum up Die Another Day is a real snow romp. After 20 films the Bond formula is still there, and it st...

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Albatron GeForce FX5900PV Videocard Review @ pcstats
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 7:35 PM EST

"The FX5900PV comes in a nifty carry case which through us for a loop as I thought Albatron had sent a notebook by accident! The Albatron GeForceFX 5900PV is packed securely in a block of antistatic closed-cell foam inside the nylon notebook style bag, which also includes a full version of Duke Nukem: MP, a five game demo/lite CD, Power Director and Power DVD among other items. Because the card supports VIVO, Albatron also a VIVO break out box a S-Video to S-Video, and a composite to composite cable. An analog to DVI converter is also bundled in with the package as well. Unlike 99% of the GeForceFX 5900PV Ultra's which are built by Flextronics (nVIDIA's board partner), I'm pretty positive that the Albatron GeForceFX 5900PV is actually built by Albatron. Albatron have always used a blue PCB for their videocards and the GeForceFX 5900PV is no different. As you can see Albatron uses a rather large copper plated aluminum heatsink that has three 'wise' fans (we'll get a bit more into that a bit later)."

Check it out at: pcstats

Corsair TWINX1024-3700 Review at 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 21, 2003 at 10:04 PM EST

"Today 3dXtreme has the great pleasure of reviewing Corsair’s new XMS3700 TwinX memory. Our review will look at the 1 GB package containing two hand tested 512 meg sticks of ram..."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

256MB ATI Radeon 9800 PRO Review @ Beyond3D
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 21, 2003 at 10:02 PM EST

"So, with 6XFSAA enabled at 1600x1200 a total of 95MB of on board RAM is required, which means that 128MB boards are able to produce this level of AA as it fits into the frame buffer OK, however it only leaves 33MB of RAM for textures and vertex data buffered locally. A number of titles these days already require more space than this for texture and vertex storage, hence if 6X FSAA were used at 1600x1200 then some data would need to be accessed across the AGP bus. "

Check it out at: Beyond3D

Xoxide X-Turbine Case Review @ Overclocker Café
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 21, 2003 at 10:00 PM EST

You can tell at first glance that the X-Turbine is set up to be a high flow case.  What immediately grabs your attention are the two 80mm case fans. These two fans are blue tri-lighted LED fans that come included with the X-Turbine.  The wire grill work over the fans will do a great job at keeping fingers and pencils out of the fans but as for dust... not so much.

Check it out at: Overclocker Café

Cooler Master Centurion Case Review @ GruntvillE
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 21, 2003 at 9:59 PM EST

"No surprise, there is an opening for the PSU (not included) at the top. Above the PSU, is one plastic thumbscrew to hold the top panel in place. I think Cooler Master must have been trying to save a few cents here with this plastic cream colored thumbscrew. In my opinion, it's kinda cheesy. One aluminum thumbscrew would be an easy replacement for this plastic thumbscrew, and it would look a lot less tacky. Even a black plastic thumbscrew would have a little more appeal. Under the opening for the PSU is an 80mm fan hole for rear exhaust (fan not included). The holes for the opening are shaped like fan blades, which I also think is different, though it's somewhat prohibitive to airflow. Of course, this could be easily fixed with a dremel."

Check it out at: GruntvillE

MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R Review @ MBReview
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 21, 2003 at 9:56 PM EST

"The MSI 865PE Neo2-FIS2R offers some serious performance, especially when run in "Ultra-Turbo" mode. You'll need some real high quality, high performance RAM to run in this mode, but it's well worth it for the added performance. The overclocking capabilities of the 865PE Neo2-FIS2R rival that of the IS7-G, and actually best the IS7-G by a small margin. I haven't seen a motherboard to date that offers the voltage selections that the 865PE Neo2-FIS2R bring to the table."

Check it out at: MBReview

Corsair 1GB TwinX-4000 Memory (Review) @ ipKonfig
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:17 PM EST

Power is great, stability is great. Place those two together and you get memory modules from Corsair Memory, and they're what we're looking at this time. But rather than just being memory that does the job, these go much further. Corsair's latest memory modules plunge in at 500MHz of DDR speed, with decent latency timings as well. As we've seen with Corsair's TwinX, which are rigorously tested for Dual Channel DDR motherboards, lower latency is a key factor for a more stable Dual Channel DDR memory module--that is for right now, at least. It's a company that's well known mostly because of speed, and workmanship. Most all gamers find them to be some of the best performance memory of choice. I personally have been a huge fan of Corsair memory for quite some time. I've even had the pleasure of meeting some of the individuals that work at Corsair Memory as well. It's a great company that cares about its customers, and those like myself who test their products. So without further ad, here's the worlds fastest memory: XMS4000!

Check it out at: ipKonfig

Asus P4C800 DLX i875P Motherboard Review @ PCstats
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:14 PM EST

"It's kind of funny that even newbie computer users know the ASUS name, and speak of the "legendary" quality given their limited experience with computers. Name recognition certainly goes a long way in a crowded marketplace, and I'm sure the 'suits' at ASUS cherish it. There's good reason of course why Asus is held in such high regard, even with novice users; the build quality is widely considered reliable (but sometimes bland), and the products perform well, and last. Heck, my dad's old Asus P3V4X is still running to this day! Asus also seem to eke just a bit more performance out of their products than the rest of the crowd, and while you may not notice it in real life situations, it always looks good on the benchmark charts. As with the nForce2 launch, Asus motherboards based on the i875P Canterwood and i865PE Springdale chipsets were almost immediately available for retail sale upon the chipset release. Being at the forefront of a new chipset release is one of the key factors in getting market share - or in other words your hard earned spending money."

Check it out at: PCstats

Altec Lansing XA3051 5.1 Speaker System Video Review #329 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:12 PM EST

"The Altec Lansing XA3051 5.1 Speaker System offers 56 watts of total continuous power with 4 satellites, center and a subwoofer. While there is no wireless remote control, there is a wired digital controller included. This system is very easy to setup and has great overall sound at a very reasonable price. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

Enermax UC-A3FATR2B Fan Controller Review @ Envy News
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:08 PM EST

Removed your floppy drive ages ago? Been wondering what to put there that would be cool? Enter then Enermax 3.5-inch Fan Controller with blue backlit LCD screen. A quote from the review:

"Fan Controllers - you know them, you might even use them. They are those case bay products with switches or dials that slow your noisy fans down or shut them off. The premise is you are able to use your computer quietly while writing reports, but when you need maximum cooling power for things like gaming, you turn your fans on/up even though it is a bit noisy. Most are 5.25-inch bay products, but few have occupied the spot where your 3.5-inch floppy drive used to be. Enter the Enermax 3.5-inch Fan Controller."

Check it out at: Envy News

Samsung SyncMaster 153B 15 Inch Black LCD Monitor Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:05 PM EST

"For a budget monitor, the 153B is no slouch in the feature or performance department. With a release price supposedly going to be in the US$250-$325 range depending on the retailer and availability. Add in the fact that it includes speakers and can be adjusted for longer document viewing and you would have the recipe for a smart, cost effective LCD purchase."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Kingwin KT-424 Case Review @ overclockercafe
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:03 PM EST

Kingwin has been striving and has been a fierce competitor of Lian Li in the aluminum case market.  Kingwin has released their newest gauntlet in this fight, the KT-424.  A clean new look and tons of features make the KT-424 an outstanding alternative to some of the other high end PC case products. Here is a snip of our review.

The lower drive cage sports something I haven't seen before.  Notice how the HDD mounting holes each have a rubber grommet in them.  There grommets dampen out any vibration and subsequently noise your hard drive may make if otherwise attached directly to the metal of the rack.  Every little bit helps you know.

Check it out at: overclockercafe

Gigabyte's GV-R98P128D Radeon 9800 Pro Reviewed @ HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 11:01 PM EST

Tonight on HotHardware.Com, we've taken a look at a Radeon 9800 Pro based video card from Gigabyte, the GV-R98P128D.  We benchmarked this card using the latest Catalyst 3.6 drivers, and compared it to a 128MB GeForce FX 5900, a Radeon 9600 Pro and a similar Radeon 9800 Pro.

Check it out at: HotHardware

Xoxide Clear UV Acrylic Case @ Nexus Hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 20, 2003 at 10:59 PM EST

"If you like to show off your hardware and a window just doesn’t cut it; you need a clear case. Xoxide has added a new twist to clear case production. Xoxide has made their case out of UV reactive acrylic. Let’s move on:"

Check it out at: Nexus Hardware

Logitech MX310 Optical Mouse @ Bytesector
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:25 PM EST

This mouse boasts the latest Logitech MX Optical Engine. In addition this enhanced mouse also contain a quick switch program selector, convenient internet navigation buttons (forward and backward), a high precision scroll wheel and it is designed for both right and left handed users...

Check it out at: Bytesector

P4 3.2ghz vs. 3200+: K7 and NW one last time @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:23 PM EST

"As has always been the case, if you want the fastest desktop CPU Intel has to offer, you better have very deep pockets. Intel's top of the line processors have always had a major step up in price over the rest of their CPU's, because Intel knows that there's a market out there who will pay whatever it takes (to a point), to get the fastest processor money can buy. Intel has spent most of 2003 revamping their high end offerings, from their first baby steps into dual channel DDR with the E7205 to full out dual DDR 400 with the new 865 and 875 chipsets. With that accomplished, they have updated the P4"C" line with a new 3.2ghz Pentium 4. Today we've got a retail P4 3.2C to square off against our Athlon XP 3200+."

Check it out at: OcPrices

Enermax X-Point CS-528 Computer Case Review @ Tweaknews
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:21 PM EST

"For the price of ~US$65, you really can't ask for more. It includes a 300 watt power supply, it has a removable motherboard tray, and best of all, it has a side window. Until now, I only thought these characteristics were housed in cases that were valued in the US$100 and up price-point."

Check it out at: Tweaknews

Vantec NXP-201 Fan Controller Review @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:19 PM EST

"There are currently many fan controllers on the market. Some of them sport a lightshow of LED's, knobs, and buttons, while others are plain, simple, and just do the job of quieting down case fans to a bearable level. The Vantec NXP-201 is one of Vantec's older fan controller offerings, but it has stuck around amidst fancier controllers and held its own. Today we'll take a look at the NXP-201 and see just why it has lasted so long in a market where newer products constantly shuffle and fade out."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Vantec Nexus NXP-301 Fan & Light Controller Review @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:16 PM EST

"There are three fan controllers from left to right. I like the quality of this controller. When the fan controller knob is set off there is no leakage, the fan is off. The 4th knob from left to right is the light control. If you look closely you can see a speaker icon on top of the controller. Yes this controller can be set to being sound sensitive. I also liked the green led glow surrounding the knobs."

Check it out at: OCIA

GeIL Golden Dragon PC3200 Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:14 PM EST

"I was able to run the Golden Dragon PC3200 Dual Channel at 280MHz front side bus with a 5:4 CPU:Memory ratio CAS 2.5-7-4-4 Game Accelerator set to Auto and at 293MHz front side bus with a 3:2 CPU:Memory ratio CAS 2-6-3-3 and Game Accelerator set to Street Racer.  I could not run this memory at the F1 Game Accelerator setting or at CAS 2-5-2-2 even at the default 200MHz bus speed.  These settings were verified stable with Memtest86 v3.0."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Acoustic Research 900MHz Wireless Headphones @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Thursday, July 17, 2003 at 7:12 PM EST

If you're a late night gamer, you'll want a good set of headphones to hear potential fragbait sneaking up on you... without waking the wife.

"The 900MHz Wireless Headphone kit includes a nice pair of Headphones, a base station, a power cord adaptor and a Fiber Optic Cable (SPDIF). The unit uses a rechargeable battery that has a decent life span, I have played for up to 3 hours without loss of audio. Manufacturer documents say 4 hours on a full charge. It does not appear to add much weight (the headphones are more substantial than my previous ones, but they are also larger)."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

V-Tech XRAY Mid Tower Case Video Review #328 @ 3dGameMan
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 8:42 PM EST

"The V-Tech XRAY Mid Tower Case has a stylish look, window with LED fan, up to 5 fans for great air circulation and a 400 watt Power Supply is included. While most new motherboards will fit into this case it does not have a removable motherboard tray. Also, the case is steel so it's on the heavy side but that keeps the price down and considering what is included it has great value. Watch the Video to find out more..."

Check it out at: 3dGameMan

GeIL 256MB PC3200 400MHz DDR Value RAM Review @ TechIMO
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 8:40 PM EST

"The variety of memory manufactures is nearly overwhelming these days. Old favorites like Micron, Corsair, and PNY are being challenged by newcomers attempting to capture an ever growing share of the enthusiast marketplace. Today we will be examining memory from GeIL, a relatively young manufacturer based in Taiwan."

Check it out at: TechIMO

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Review @ GruntvillE
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 8:37 PM EST

"ATI has made some great improvements to this card over the 9700Pro. ATI is way ahead of the game, pun intended, when it comes to being prepared for next-generation games. They've gone above and beyond what's required for DX9 and have dubbed it DX9++ compatible. One can only assume it SHOULD make it through all the DX9 revisions OR it's just marketing hype. Marketing confuses most, but the reason I make this statement is nVidia claims that their cards are DX9+ compatible. Coincidence? Maybe."

Check it out at: GruntvillE

DVD Burner round-up @ TechSpot
posted by Babylon5 on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 at 8:35 PM EST

Gone are the days of storage floppies and zip drives. CD-RW drives do an excellent job in making cheap backups and just about every new computer is equipped with one. As computers and software evolve, so will media. DVD burner drives are already optional equipment on many computers, and will probably become a standard within the next year. Are you ready for a DVD burner? We sure are. Read on to learn more about flagship products from 1st tier manufacturers, we test drives from Plextor, Panasonic and Pioneer in this round-up.

Check it out at: TechSpot

Star Trek: Elite Force II Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 8:09 PM EST

"Star Trek fans are only too aware that great games based on this popular Sci-fi series are a rare commodity. Trek games seem to suffer from a curse of being incredibly average, almost like the famous Star Trek film curse where only the even number films seem to do well and the odd numbered ones do badly..."

Check it out at: OcPrices

Crazy PC Lian Li Stealth Case @ Nexus Hardware
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 8:06 PM EST

"The computer modification industry has grown to immense proportions. It has matured to the point where it is absolutely bloated with products. For us, interest in modding started to fade when we could drive to the local CompUSA and choose from a variety of cold cathodes, laser cut fan grills, and LED fans. No longer is modding a sign of elitist computer enthusiasm, it’s merely another market exploited to its absolute max. Therefore, finding a modification product that truly impresses us is rare. However, today we have found that rare product."

Check it out at: Nexus Hardware

Enermax CS-10181 Black Case Review @ OCAddiction
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 8:01 PM EST

"I honestly don't even know where to start on this category as there are so many things that I think warrant mentioning, most of 'em are even good! I'm just gonna randomly throw them at cha rapid fire like..  Let's do it."

Check it out at: OCAddiction

Albatron Gigi Geforce FX5600EQ review @ MonkeyReview
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 7:58 PM EST

"As you can see from the benchmark results, the Albatron Gigi FX5600EQ didn't really have the steam to deliver the kind of marks we had half expected to see. Something else that was realized during our testing was the lack of overclocking potential. We muscled with it for about an hour and the best that we were able to hit was a mere 331/410."

Check it out at: MonkeyReview

Plextor Premium 52X CD-RW - Reviewed at HotHardware
posted by Babylon5 on Tuesday, July 15, 2003 at 7:52 PM EST

HH Tech Editor Jay Gibson gave us his thoughts on Plextor's new 52X Premium CD-RW drive!   52X/32X/52X, now those are shapely figures aren't they?  Check it out!

Check it out at: HotHardware

Antec Sonata LifeStyle Series Tower @ Viper Lair
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:16 PM EST

"While using this case I wanted to test it for three things: Ease of assembly/disassembly, cooling, and my personal taste on how the case looks. While using the case, I intentionally DID NOT look at the instruction manual in order to see how intuitively designed the Sonata is. Simply enough, if the case requires a huge manual to figure out how everything is installed, then there is a problem, and I wanted a case that could be easily used."

Check it out at: Viper Lair

Albatron FX5600P Turbo Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:15 PM EST

"nVidia's last major GPU series, the GeForce4, was incredibly successful due to the ability to handle several different price points. You had the GeForce4 Ti4600 on the high-end; the GeForce4 MX on the low-end, and the GeForce4 Ti4200 which occupied that sweet powerful-but-affordable middle-class. While the fastest GPU's are nice to dream about, their $400 tags keep them a bit out of reach. It's these middle-range cards that most of us usually end up actually purchasing. When it came time to finally retire the venerable Ti4200 as nVidia's middle child, the FX5600 came in for the replacement. Today I've got one such card from Albatron, and after using their Ti4800SE I've got hopes that this will be another stellar overclocking champ. Can it fill the Ti4200's insanely popular shoes?"

Check it out at: OcPrices

Chaintech 9CJS Zenith Motherboard (Review) @ ipKonfig
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:11 PM EST

There has been much anticipation about the release of the Intel i875P chipset; speed alone will make the Canterwood chipset one of the most heavily demanded in a long time. Chaintech's Zenith 9CJS, its latest Pentium 4 motherboard, takes advantage of this newest chipset. For those not familiar with the Zenith line of Chaintech products, these are the high end models. You will spend a few extra dollars, that's pretty much a given, but you get your money's worth. The Apogee line is the Chaintech mid-range, and the Summit the low-end. The motherboard we're looking at here, of course, is from the Zenith line, the Zenith 9CJS.

Check it out at: ipKonfig

Arctic Silver Céramique Thermal Paste Review @ ExtensionTech
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:09 PM EST

"All heat-producing elements in your computer that utilize a heatsink have some sort of thermal paste or adhesive between the chip and the heatsink. First it was the CPU, but GPU's and northbridge heatsinks soon followed. The point of thermal paste (some manufacturers use thermal adhesive instead) is to remove any air between the heatsink and chip, and filling those microscopic pockets with thermal paste is the best way to do that. Let's take a look at Arctic Silver's newest addition to the thermal paste market, Céramique, and see if it can hold up and even beat its predecessor, Arctic Silver 3."

Check it out at: ExtensionTech

Article - Networking 102: NAT & PAT @ Networks Today
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:07 PM EST

What we are actually talking about is Network Address Translation and Port Address Translation. These are two very common methods of conserving IP’s on the internet, as well as money (most ISP’s charge per IP or range of IP’s). Both NAT & PAT are used by Business and SOHO users, and other than the commands used in their brand of router(s), in pretty much the same way.

Check it out at: Networks Today

OCA Interview with OMEGADRIVERS
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:06 PM EST

OCAddiction gets a chance to sit down with OMEGA of OmegaCorner.com. OMEGADRIVERS have been developing great drivers for both NVIDIA and ATi based cards, but recently nVidia lawyers contacted OMEGADRIVERS to request they take down their logo's and the drivers from the OmegaCorner website. Here's a snip from the Interview.

"With nVidia's excessive "optimizations" in recent driver releases do you think they may be afraid you would uncover more? I don't know what they where afraid of, since I don't reverse engineer the drivers it would be difficult for me to uncover "optimizations" they have secretly made. Unless they count the fact that my next set was going to have their "program detection" disabled :D"

Check it out at: OCA

Abit IS7-G Mainboard Review @ mbreview
posted by Babylon5 on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 9:03 PM EST

"Abit's "Game Accelerator" technology adds a wealth of value to the IS7 and IS7-G motherboards. Performance at stock settings truly wasn't anything special at all. I was expecting to see the IS7-G put up some better numbers at stock settings, but I was a little disappointed to see it fall behind the D865PERL. When we kicked the IS7-G into "F1" mode, everything changed. The IS7-G then took complete control of the benchmarks and, in several cases, blew the rest of the competition out of the water."

Check it out at: mbreview

OCZ 512mb PC3500 Dual Channel Optimized DDR Kit Review @ Tech-Dreams
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 10:04 PM EST

RAM is a very important part of a computer system. It is one of the main causes of system failures and instability so that is why buying and using high quality RAM is so essential to a quality system.  Many times, when choosing RAM, a lot of people will stick with the "Yum-Cha" (vanilla) RAM and not think twice, but us overclockers, enthusiasts and `geeks in general` know that high quality RAM is the only pathway to a stable system.  There are many top quality brands around the market today and I have had the pleasure of looking at one from one of the industry leaders - OCZ.

Check it out at: Tech-Dreams

Exotic Wood Crafts Madrone Burl Case Review @ VH
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 10:01 PM EST

"They started as steel, then aluminum, and now increasing in popularity, acrylic. But what about wood? Modders and custom PC builders, being a more youthful and technologically advanced genre have desired a more modern style, which has translated into the case industry predominantly conforming to the sleek and modern style of steel, aluminum, and acrylic cases. Since the concept of a case being more than just a bulky beige box is relatively new, there never really has been a market for a traditionally styled wooden case. I'm not saying that this is a totally foreign concept; there are currently a few imitation wood cases covered in a wood design overlay, or even some with a painted wood design. But, from what I can tell, this is the first of its kind."

Check it out at: Virtual-Hideout

Corsair TwinX Dual Channel PC3200 XMS RAM Kit Review @ OCIA
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 10:00 PM EST

"Corsair has been a major player in the memory industry for as long as I can remember (late '98). In this short time, I have seen and heard nothing but good things about them. If you remember, we took a look at their 256 MB PC3500 XMS stick a while back and left the review with grins from ear to ear. In the short time since our last Corsair review, many new products have been released in the computer industry. One of the most notable releases in recent times has been that of the Nforce 2 chipset, and more notably, Dual Channel DDR."

Check it out at: OCIA

DFI LanParty VIA KT400a Motherboard Review at 3dXtreme
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 9:58 PM EST

Although the performance of the VIA KT400a chipset failed to be the performance freak I was expecting, I was absolutely impressed with the DFI LanParty KT400a motherboard. You just can’t go wrong with the new LanParty series. Everything you could think of has been included with this package....."

Check it out at: 3dXtreme

OCZ Platinum PC3200 EL DDR Review @ Overclocker Café
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 9:52 PM EST

In an effort to build on to its success, OCZ has put out a "Platinum" version of their PC3200 RAM.  The difference is, the Platinum version sports, as they phrase it, "hand picked" 4.5ns OCZ memory chips.  I'm not exactly sure what hand picked means since the only hand picking I can do is with apples.

Check it out at: Overclocker Café

Golden Sun: The Lost Age @ Bytesector
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 9:51 PM EST

Not long ago, Gameboy Advance owners were privileged to experience Golden Sun. It was a truly great RPG, taking the GBA to its limits as far as graphics and sound. Now a year and a half later the second chapter in the epic Golden Sun story, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, has been released on the GBA.

Check it out at: Bytesector

Vantec VAN-400B Ion 400 Watt Power Supply Review @ MODTHEBOX
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 9:49 PM EST

"The rear panel of the unit has an 80mm exhaust fan protected by a chrome fan guard. The unit includes a standard 115/230V voltage switch, a standard ON/OFF rocker switch, and an AC inlet. Two additional features include a 3-position fan control switch, and an AC output. The AC output is an ideal choice for user’s looking to power an additional AC device, such as a monitor or any water cooling pumps simultaneously with the computer. The 3-position fan control switch has three settings: Auto, Low & Medium."

Check it out at: MODTHEBOX

Acrylic Blue UV Reactive Computer Case Review @ Voided Warranty
posted by Babylon5 on Sunday, July 13, 2003 at 9:44 PM EST

"With case modding being a regular thing to allot of PC enthusiasts, adding a window to your case seems to be one of the first things to do. Why stop at just a window? Acrylic cases aren't exactly new to the case modding scene but have become more and more popular in the last year."

Check it out at: Voided Warranty

Chenming AL-301KEGN Aluminum Case Review @ OcPrices
posted by Babylon5 on Friday, July 11, 2003 at 11:56 PM EST

"When you think of major case makers, you might think of Lian Li or Antec, but the truth is neither of them actually manufactures their own cases. Generally they offer variations on OEM designs. Chenming is the company that makes the chassis for Antec cases, but they also make their own as well, which is what we will be looking at today."

Check it out at: OcPrices