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| Halloween News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Thursday, October 31, 2002, 7:59:17 AM | | Author: hitek |
ExoticPC Romeo DX Case Review @ PimpRig
"I am very impressed with the case, it is incredibly well thought out. What catches the eye first is the beautiful red metallic front bezel, which happens to be removable. The red color goes well with the rest of the case. A very cool feature is the bezels are swappable for other colors and since the color of the rest of the case is silver, which goes with any other color, you can literally change the theme of the case instantly."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec Performance Plus 660AMG Case Review @ Envy News
"Antec was made famous with its Performance tower cases and again roughly a year later with their Performance Plus tower cases and then the Performance II series. It's evident that they're doing well since the quality of their cases, features found in them, and numbers of case accessories have sky-rocketed. Not too long after the release of the Performance Plus series, Antec released the 'AMG' line of cases based on the Plus series. Sporting sexy metallic gray paint schemes, the AMG series is for the true power-user."
More information on this review can be found here.
Reactor High Performance Water Chiller Review @ The ModFathers
(c) 2002 The ModFathers
"The inside of the block is a very unusual, dual-sided maze design, where the coolant spends a good proportion of its time away from the core of the processor. I was interested to see if the thick copper channel walls could conduct the heat from the die sufficiently well to provide decent cooling, especially with the convoluted, narrow channel arrangement - presumably designed to keep coolant flow low in order to maximise heat absorption - The opposite of how some other major manufacturers are designing their current blocks."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec EZ-Swap Review @ System Cooling
"When I first took a look at this product back in May of this year it was only available in dull Beige. At the time, I thought it was a huge mistake, in that so many people were realizing the cooling attributes and sheer beauty of Aluminum Cases, very few (I can only think of one) of which are available in Beige, with most being Black or Silver in color. As you can see in our photo, Vantec quickly realized the need for Black and Silver versions of their "ez-swap" units; you can also see that I placed aluminum 5.25" bay covers on top of each to show the almost perfect match in color, I say almost perfect because each run of cases may be slightly different in shade due to the anodizing process itself."
More information on this review can be found here.
Unreal Tournament 2003 Mapping - Part 2 @ Deviant PC
"So, to be able to see our water we have to add another actor to our room. The actor in question is the FluidSurfaceInfo actor. Open up your actor browser window by clicking on the actor button , expand the Info section by clicking the + sign and then select FluidSurfaceInfo actor."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Creative Audigy Player Review @ ICEHardware
"In this review I'll be looking specifically at the Audigy Player, this is the cheapest package available and fetures the Audigy card itself with minimal extras. This base card is however common among the more expensive bundles too although they vary in the peripherals they contain (more on this later)"
More information on this review can be found here.
Sunbeam 4" CCFL Kit Review @ 8BallsHardware
"After making that mini acrylic PC mod, you're looking for a small and short cold cathode to light up your creation. 8BallsHardware showcases a 4" cold cathode from Sunbeam that fits the ticket, literally."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermaltake Volcano 9 CoolMod Review @ I Am Not A Geek
(c) 2002 IANAG
"The performance results are definitely impressive! The few tweaks Thermaltake made between the release of the Volcano 7 and Volcano 9 are reflected in the improved cooling. The Smart Case Fan II provides even greater flexibility in allowing the user to find the right balance between cooling performance and sound level. The Volcano 9 CoolMod is a definite value at $35, providing cooling performance to be expected of high end coolers in the same general price range, as well as the added bonus of the novel lighting effects!"
More information on this review can be found here.
PS2208B 8-Port 10/100mBit Fast Ethernet Pocket Switch @ LAN Party
"Today, at LANParty.com, we reviewed the PS2208B from Compex, an 8 port 10/100mBit Fast Ethernet Pocket Switch. What makes this switch so special? Is it worth buying it for your upcoming small/mid-size LAN?"
More information on this review can be found here.
Rockin' System Guide @ Ars Technica
"System recommendations are harder to do than most people think, but we've diligently worked to keep our guides up-to-date with the most mouth watering hardware. But reader beware: we're not going to just choose the cheapest stuff or the best stuff and throw it together and call it a system (as many "recommenders" are wont to do). Rather, our guides are meant to reflect real world issues."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Lamps Electronics CCFL Roundup @ GideonTech
"The Cold Cathode industry is obviously taking off, not with just computer add-ins, but in other industries like copiers, automotive, display back lights and so forth. One of the larger manufacturers of Cold Cathodes is Lamps Electronics and they have provided us with 8 cold cathodes for a round up."
More information on this guide can be found here. |  Discuss in Forums |  Top Menu
| Wednesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Wednesday, October 30, 2002, 7:49:24 AM | | Author: hitek |
SkyHawk Jupiter Case Review @ TwistedMods
"Overall, I was fairly impressed with the SkyHawk Jupiter. Everything from the detailed and original front to the processor duct impressed me. A few minor design flaws including the separate PSU plate and cable mess but those would not stop me from buying this case if I were using it for a server or a more stationary computer. Aluminum does have the ability to lower case temps, but you often times have to baby an aluminum case to keep it from being scratched."
More information on this review can be found here.
Heatseaker Pro XPT Review @ Club Overclocker
"The Heat Seeker Pro XPT is an unbelievable high end water cooling system. OCH started out with what is probably the BEST FULL TOWER CASE MONEY CAN BUY known as the Lian Li PC75 USB. Many will argue that this case is the best solid aluminum case on the market today, but with that kind of quality and respect comes with a premium price. The price tag on this case alone is enough to scare most budget computer builders away, that is why you only see this case sold on the internet at high end computer stores."
More information on this review can be found here.
New Water Cooling Products @ Computuning!
(c) 2002 Computuning
"Our good friends at Computuning have been very busy bringing in brand new Water Cooling Products for our Canadian audience. The new products include two new light versions of the popular Space2000+ and H20+ Water Cooling Kits which feature a new 80mm Radiator. For those of you looking for better cooling options be sure to check out the dual 120mm Monster Radiator."
More information on these new products can be found here.
ATI 9700 Pro Video Card Review @ BJorn3D
"ATI has divided up the 256-bit wide memory bus into 4 independent 64-bit controllers (a bit like NVIDIA's crossbar technology). The reason behind this is that normally you won't get more than 64 bit of data send over the bus. If they used a single 256-bit controller they would waste a lot of bandwidth compared to the 4 independent 64-bit controllers. Sending 64 bits of data now only takes up one of the controllers and leaves the other 3 to take care of more data."
More information on this review can be found here.
Abit Siluro Geforce4 Ti4200 OTES Video Card Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Abit Siluro Geforce4 Ti4200 OTES Video Card is an eye catcher with an incredibly designed cooler. This amazing cooler on the core performs very well allowing a high overclock, however, it is loud. Also, since it is based on the nVidia Geforce4 series Video Cards it is very stable and compatible."
More information on this video review can be found here.
PixelView GeForce 4 MX440 128MB AGP 8X VGA Review @ Overclockers New Zealand
"To my surprise and dismay, PixelView uses TSOP package for the GF4 MX-440 8X, instead of BGA one. (Nvidia uses BGA package on their reference board) The -4ns rated Samsung ram chips just made the requirement of 500 MHz operations."
More information on this review can be found here.
Silent HSF Roundup @ DataFuse
"Today we put 4 silent heatsink fans together over at datafuse.net, and give you some lessons in history: 2 of these heatsink fans are from OCZtechnology: Gladiator 2 SE, and the smaller Glacier. You can call their fight the one between david and goliath. The other two competitors are from Zalman: CNPS3100-GP and the CNPS6000-Cu, I know this last one we already reviewed, but it gives a better image because the test setup is updated. These two will take you back to the flower power."
More information on this review can be found here.
Cool Max Rounded 24" ATA133 (Al) Shielded Cable Review @ PCReviewSpot
"Here we have Cool Max's Green rounded ATA-133 IDE cable. Now you may be wondering, what's so good about a rounded cable? Well, let me tell you. You know those ugly, flat, IDE "bus" cables that litter your computer case and disrupt airflow? When you replace them with a few of these, not only is it going to look a whole lot nicer, but instead of blocking airflow like the ugly flat cables (just imagine what would happen if one of those flat ones got stuck in front of your CPU fan), this will allow the air to flow freely around it causing virtually no disruption in air flow."
More information on this review can be found here.
PCReviewSpot Contest
"PCReviewSpot is holding their second contest, sponsored by The Shattered Web. By now you must have seen all the reviews praising Shattered Web's Appilques, well here is your chance to win some!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Swiftech MCX462-U P4 HSF Review @ Review Nation
(c)2002 Review Nation
"First thing I noticed about this heat sink is that it is made in the USA unlike most of the others I have reviewed. And the second thing I saw was there was no clip on this heat sink to attach it to the motherboard Ziff Tabs. Swifteh was founded in 1994 by Gabriel and is an industry leader in active coolers. They make a lot of different heat sinks including some for Pentium 4's and also for AMD Xp's. They also sell water cooling kits for you hard core over clocker's out there. But in this review we are going to be running the MCX462-U through our usual tests to see how well it cools the Pentium 4 CPU. Shall we have a closer look at it and then get to the results."
More information on this review can be found here.
Tacticalboard Review @ LAN Party
"For a long time, I've been complaining that all "true" gamers really had for decent control for FPS games was a keyboard and mouse. I'm adamantly against FPS games on consoles *cough* Halo *cough*, simply because the control mechanism is inadequate. You're not going to fly a 747 jumbo jet with a pong paddle, and the same goes for any competitive FPS game."
More information on this review can be found here.
EPoX EP-4SDA5+ Motherboard Review @ Envy News
"Hot on the heels of EPoX's latest release, we have a review of their SiS648 chipset board for the Pentium 4 platform. Despite its low cost, this board packs great features including RAID and AGP 8x. Tested with PC2100, 2700, and 3200 DDR RAM, the results are quite surprising. What better way to present you this board than by publishing benchmarks with a 'Pre-release Beta' of SiSoftware's Sandra 2003 Pro benchmark suite!"
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Tuesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 29, 2002, 7:51:24 AM | | Author: hitek |
Koolance EXOS External Water Cooling Review @ [H]ardOCP
"Koolance is at it again, this time around they have taken their OEM style cooling and went external with the whole concept. What do you mean by "external"? Simply that Koolance has taken every component of their previous systems and fit it neatly into a self contained overhead unit that bears the trademark Koolance "hood scoop" look, but is no longer built into an entire case. This now allows anyone to purchase an EXOS and basically set it on top of any system they're currently running and within minutes have a complete water cooled PC without a single permanent modification to their current case. When the time comes to move on to a different case or system, you can now take your water cooling system with you."
More information on this review can be found here.
ExtremeMHz Flagship Case Part II @ ExtremeMHz
(c) 2002 ExtremeMhz
"Planning a water cooled system can be a tricky proposition. Aside from a few driving principles that we will discuss in this article I encourage everyone who attempts water-cooling to experiment with different configurations and to ultimately design your unique system based on extensive testing and by examining empirical data. What may
indeed work well for some, may not apply to your particular circumstances. It may be the engineer in me, but I have found that the planning and experimentation phase to be the most rewarding and satisfying aspect of any project."
More information on this project can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9700 Video Card Review @ OCAddiction
"It's DX9 ready, Smoothvision, HyperZ, and TruForm have been improved (you can run AA, and ansio comfortably now) and VideoShader just rocks. It makes streaming video smooth, and actually watchable now. Plus you get the old stand by's of multi monitor support (I couldn't go back to using a single monitor now), DVI for LCD's, and TV out if you wanted to hook it up to your multimedia center. ATI has also introduced HDTV support on the 9700."
More information on this review can be found here.
TREK 16MB Smart ThumbDrive Review @ OCIA
"After the ThumbDrive is installed a few Found New Hardware windows will come up on the screen and eventually go away. Once those windows go away, your ThumbDrive is ready for use. Since this is a SMART Thumbdrive, you do NOT have to install any drivers to make it work, unless you are using any version of Windows 98. In which case you will need the CD that came with the ThumbDrive to get it to work for the first time. After the drivers are loaded you should not have to load the drivers again. Also note that this ThumbDrive is compatible with Mac OS 8.6, 9.x and 10.x"
More information on this review can be found here.
Corsair XMS PC3500 RAM Review Update
"I recently had the opportunity to test this RAM in a more suitable test system. This rig consisted of a 2000xp chip (unlocked), Epox 8K5A2+ Motherboard, ThermalRight SLK800 HSF, 420watt PSU, GF4 Ti 4400, Win XP Pro, etc. We were able to attain a max stable FSB of 210. To get this speed, we had to lower the multiplier to 8.5 and raise the DDR voltage to 2.8 as well as the CPU core voltage up to 1.85 This gave us an overall speed of 1785 MHz. All RAM timings were set to their most agressive values."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lite-On 48x Internal/24x External CD-R/Ws Review @ VN Roundup
"No more zoned writing, ladies and gentlemen. The 48125W will not hold you back on the write speed by sanctioning write speeds based on how far along you are in the burn process. Unlike its 40125S brother, the 48125W has matured in that writing is performed at a constant angular velocity (CAV). Starting off at 20x, the drive will continue to etch at an increasing rate until the 48x speed limit is reached or the CD creation process is completed (whichever comes first)."
More information on this review can be found here.
Rounded vs Flat Cables @ The ModFathers
"There is a large amount of rumour and scepticism about rounded cables not performing as well as standard flat ribbon cables. When our friends at Tekheads asked us to take a look at these rounded cables from Akasa. We wanted to try and shed a bit more light on this issue."
More information on this review can be found here.
Painting a Case Fan Guide @ Modtown
"I have been asked so many times how you paint a case fan, so I decided to chuck together a little guide to help you guys out. This will tell you how to take the fan apart without destroying it so you can paint it whatever colours you like."
More information on this guide can be found here.
EPoX Factory Tour @ VR-Zone
(c) 2002 VR-Zone
"The EPoX factory is just located in the building next to their office and of course it is always interesting to visit their factory and see how EPoX boards are being made. Victoria, the marketing manager who is always kind enough to bring me around and tour EPoX factory premises."
More information on this tour can be found here.
6 Port Dual Voltage BayBus Fan Controller Review @ ExclusivePC
"As computer technology grows, components inside get hotter. We have found ourselves with the need to cool components such as the CPU, RAM, and Video Processor more than we ever have before. And the way most of us do this is by adding fans to our case to increase the air flow, but there is one side effect to all of this, noise. Whether it's an intake or exhaust fan, they all make noise. And with most case fans running at 12v full speed, they tend to be loud and annoying to most or even all of us...Now comes along a new BayBus with the ability to control not four but six fans, CrazyPC's 6-port BayBus Fan Controller."
More information on this review can be found here.
Midiland PowerStixx Review @ Monkey Review
"Despite all the short comings, MidiLand has a winner set of speakers on their hands. The Powerstixx 'Beauties and the Beast' Speaker System are an amazing set of desktop speakers. What you get from the Powerstixx Speaker System is a premium sound that is powerful. I have tested the setup with everything from Mozart to thrash; Rap to Pop it all comes out clean with tons of bass."
More information on this review can be found here.
Sky Hawk USA Jupiter Case Review @ TweakTown
"So you want an aluminum case but you don't have the time or skills to modify it properly. What are you to do? Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at the Sky Hawk Jupiter Case. It offers an aluminum construction, factory mods and some other items that make it an intriguing enclosure. But of course, we'll also be looking at it's cooling potential and everything else that we can think of. Come see if this is the case for you!"
More information on this review can be found here.
ColorCases X Series Case Review @ Whining Dog
"With the slew of aluminum case reviews out on the net, it's not often that we get a chance to look at cases that are targeted to individuals who aren't willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a high end case. Most people just want a case that works. With that in mind, ColorCases.com delivers a low cost yet nice looking premodded case with their X Series lineup. However the case that we review today is a mixed bag of a solid steel chassis surrounded by flimsy plastic parts."
More information on this review can be found here.
Zalman CNPS6500b-Cu Review @ myWORLD Hardware
"Quietness and performance. These are the two main components that are most talk-about when it comes to cpu cooling. We often think that when getting a quiet cooling solution, the cooling performance will decreased dramatically. But if we chose performance, quietness will be neglected. So, it's kind of hard to chose a suitable cooling solution that can really satisfied us if we required Quiet and Performance to tag along together. How to accomplish that?"
More information on this review can be found here.
Dremel Case Mod Contest Winners Announced!
(c) 2002 Neima
"Thank you to all the case modders for making the Dremel Case Mod Contest a success! There were many creative entries and it was very difficult to narrow the entries down to the top three winners. Congratulations to those who won and thank you to all for using Dremel!"
More information on this contest can be found here.
ThermalRight SK-6+ Cooler Review @ Overclockers Cafe
"In this narrower SLK configuration, the air from the fan, blows through the fins directly onto the mainboard keeping the hot stagnant air from just sitting there keeping the base warm. The thinking behind the more traditional SK ‘squarish’ base is that the additional metal will help pull heat laterally away from the processor helping to evenly distributive the heat along the length of the cooling fin."
More information on this review can be found here.
XFX Graphics Geforce 4 Ti4200 Review @ Techware Labs
"XFX Graphics is a relatively new combatant in the fierce competition of the video card manufacturing, however from the performance perspective you never would have known that they were new. The secret to their success? They already have a lot of experience in the game of making top-notch components and cards as the company is a subdivision of Pine Technologies. In this review we are looking at XFX's Geforce 4 Ti4200 64MB, we will be examining all aspects of this card, and whether it is a card worthy of your purchase."
More information on this contest can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Monday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Monday, October 28, 2002, 8:08:46 AM | | Author: hitek |
Setting Up A Water Cooling System Guide - Part 1 @ Virtual Hideout
"One of the most serious mods for a computer is to overclock it. Forget case windows, flashy lights, and shaved drive faces, overclocking your computer will actually give you a gain in performance. There is one minor drawback of overclocking: heat. The heatsink that comes with a CPU is designed exactly for the temps that the CPU will generate. When you overclock a CPU, it will produce much more heat than normal. Chances are, that a plain old air cooled heatsync will not have enough cooling power for this much heat. That is why we can turn to water cooling for help. Ask anyone on the street if you can have water inside with a computer. They will think you are crazy! Water cooling is a method of cooling a computer's hardware, that may not be as well known, but has great results when done correctly. This guide will help you plan and build a watercooling system for your PC."
More information on this guide can be found here.
AMS Mid Tower Converted To Water Cooling @ System Cooling
(c) 2002 System Cooling
"I was looking for a mid-tower case I could easily adapt to water cooling and came across the AMS gTower from America Media Systems. It is the model CF-1006 in silver and blue. It is an attractive aluminum case with a blue tinted acrylic front panel. The case is also available in silver with a clear acrylic front panel. A full tower version is also available. While this is not intended to be a review, the case and it's features are worth mentioning since you may not be familiar with it. Next to the polished power and reset button on the front panel are easily accessible USB, Firewire, headphones and a microphone jack. The harnesses are not hard wired so you can unplug and remove the wiring from the case if you choose not to use them. A blue power led and orange hard drive led shine brightly through the acrylic. It is a wide case and that feature will come in handy during the water cooling conversion."
More information on this project can be found here.
ThermalTake Xaser II 5000 Plus Case Review @ Otakupc
"The case is impressive in appearance, the lightly textured black paint matches the plastic front bezel perfectly. The full width hinged locking front cover is of extremely high quality, a 3 piece assembly of anodized aluminum. The base piece contains the chromed lock, and a sturdy spring clip to keep it shut securely even if unlocked. It is countoured to the curve of the case bezel, drilled - with plastic rods inserted to allow viewing of the LED's."
More information on this review can be found here.
Quietening the SOHO Enviornment: The BlowBox Project @ Spode's Abode
"I am getting a lot more requests to "do something about the noise" in the SOHO work spaces. This one turned out great! We reduced the noise by probably 75% and the client was thrilled. Now if I could just figure out how to quieten down their LaserJet 420 They might actually be able to get some work done!"
More information on this project can be found here.
Next Generation Fans Roundup @ Tweakers Australia
"No matter how outrageous or extreme any of these cooling solutions may be, the driving force behind each of these unique concepts is usually some type of fan. Fans play an important, but simple role in each and every application, although it didn't take long for select companies to once again raise the bar, and make their products more tempting than the next. Shapes, sizes, speed, features, design, and noise are just some of the variables that have arisen from this competitive industry, which is why we have come up with this ongoing article, giving you the lowdown on each non-standard item we get our hands on. So read on, as we take a look at some of the latest and most innovative next generation fans on the market today."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec Nexus Multi-Function Panel Review @ IPKonfig
"Fan controllability has become an extra device for fighting noise control. If you look around the web you'll find many different types of controlling devices, all quite easy to use and operate--but all have one common drawback: most models require adjustments from within the case. Nexus has built a unique device that allows you to make changes from outside the case, straight from a drive bay. While it only controls one fan, the CPU fan, it does have some bonus features of value to pretty much anyone."
More information on this review can be found here.
CaseMods.com Bezel Cover & Appliqué Review @ Think Computers
(c) 2002 Think Computers
"The only thing I have to say about these products from Casemods.com is that they are a 100% winner. They get my seal of approval, I would recommend anyone who owns a Chenming/Antec/Chieftec case to pick one of these bezel covers to spruce up your case. This is a completely different product. I think this is the first step out there towards a different case mod. I know people are kind of getting sick of seeing the same mods done all the time, but this bezel cover is truly unique and a step in the right direction for mod uniqueness."
More information on this review can be found here.
Swiftech MCX-462+ review @ Phlux.co.uk
"The fan mounting mechanism is an interesting one. Instead of using long screws, it uses pushpins. This is a really convenient way to mount it, but there is one problem: if you want to use a Delta fan, in particular an 80cfm one, you would have to somehow modify it. I am not one to take defeat so easily, so I went to the bench grinder and scraped off the obstructions of the delta, and mounted it with two pushpins."
More information on this review can be found here.
ABIT IT7-MAX2 Motherboard (Socket 478) Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The ABIT IT7-MAX2 Motherboard is without a doubt is one of the best motherboards on the planet for the Intel P4 CPU. With onboard HTP374 RAID, 5.1 Audio, 10 USB 2 ports, 2 Firewire ports, LAN port, etc. and is unbelievable at overclocking with stability to boot!"
More information on this review can be found here.
CoolMax Aluminum Triple LED Fan PSU Review @ Overclocker Cafe
"The look of it however, mounted in an aluminum case was surprising. The view from inside the case or through a case window made the two blend together for a very professional look. Factor this in with the tri-color LED exhaust fan and the CoolMax unit is a nice addition for the obsessive case modder."
More information on this review can be found here.
New Case Gallery Open @ Overclockers Club
"After months of downtime, the OCC Case Gallery is back online with a lot of exciting new features! As a registered member (which is free, btw) you can submit as many cases as you want. You can also submit up to six images per case entry, and a comment about each image! Other features include favorites, ratings, user comments, plus several other features. If you're already registered in our forums, you won't need to re-register. Just simply, login with the same username and password."
More information on this case gallery can be found here.
Harmony Remote Control Model SST-745 Review @ Ascully.com
"The Harmony Remote is the first internet powered universal remote control. With Smart State Technology, the Harmony Remote controls all of your home entertainment components with a single button press."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lux-Design 420 Watts UltraGlow PSU's Available!
(c) 2002 Lux-Design
"Brand new modified 420 watt PSU's which are P4 ready and ATX certified. If you are looking to replace or buy a new PSU, this item is a really great and cool looking at a great price. What more can we say? A must on your shopping list.
- Complies with ATX 2.03 ( PFC option )
- +5V Standby at 3.0A
- +3.3V Remote sensing
- Thermal Fan-speed Control
- Energy Star /Green Power
- 115/230 Vac switch-able
- New for ATX12V as Compared with ATX Power Supply
- PS/2 Form Factor
More information on this new product can be found here.
Platinum XP Case Review @ PC Abusers
"These days the big craze going around is modding cases. It use to be that you would have to buy a case, then start cutting and drilling to mod it yourself. Windows, extra blow holes, and about anything else you can think of. Now the majority of case manufacturers are doing it themselves! The Platinum XP is a Mid-Tower case with a Side X-Window that includes a 80mm fan in the middle of it. It’s a nice dark gray color with a silver front."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermaltake Volcano 9 Review @ Viper Lair
"Upon first glance, the Volcano 9 appears very much like the Volcano 7. Ok, let's be frank, it is a Volcano 7, except it isn't blue. The Volcano 9 has 23 aluminum fins, just like the Volcano 7, and it has the same copper insert as its older brother. Personally, I think they should have stuck with the same all-copper design as the Volcano 7+."
More information on this review can be found here.
Graphics Card Overclocking Guide @ Xtrememods
"Now, we all make our CPU faster (well, try anyway!), but what about the GPU? It's just as important (if not more) these days - with CPU speeds reaching new heights, and games getting bigger and more demanding. You really don't want your Graphics card to be the bottleneck in your system, holding back your super-fast CPU. With Graphics cards becoming more overclockable, it now means that you can save money on your graphics card, by buying a slightly lesser spec model and then overclocking it to the speed of the higher spec model! The bottleneck in my system was the Geforce, as it was basically cheap and nasty. It had a below average memory speed and a pitiful frame rate. Something had to be done!"
More information on this guide can be found here.
UV Fan Painting Guide @ Mikeoct.net
"You should carefully reassemble the fan, replacing the bearings, the cir-clip, the plug, the stickers, and then test it to be sure it still runs well. When I completed the fan from my Volcano 9, I noticed the rpms were at 4400 instead of the factory speed of 4800 probably because I had to destroy the METAL cir-clip it had, and replaced it with the plastic cir-clip from another fan I was willing to destroy. Later on the speed increased to 4687 so I’m not really worried about it."
More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Weekend News Edition .. | | Date Posted: Saturday, October 26, 2002, 5:59:16 AM | | Author: BigDaddy |
Soldam Pandore Quatre Barebones System Review @ WhiningDog
"The SS51G provides the best all around bang for the buck since the barbones system can now be found for under 300 dollars and that of course includes the motherboard and cables. Those of you who find money is no obstacle and who want an extra drive bay will find that the Soldam Quatre is a great alternative to the SS51G. Keep in mind that the case is of course bigger and will take up just a bit more desktop space. The Quatre is also louder than the SS51G though quieter than the gBOX. All told, it’s hard to justify the addition of the second drive bay when you consider how much more the Quatre is compared to the SS51G."
More information on this review can be found here.
Complete UV Setup @ Twisted Mods
"As case mods become more advanced, the usual Blue, Red and Green die out. People are usually looking for something with a little more “umph” in it. Lately, a LOT of people with water-cooling have been resorting to UV responsive items to match their UV responsive water. What about the rest of us? Don’t worry – people without water cooling are not singled out anymore! CuttingEdgeCaseMods.com sent us this kit of 4 items to take a look at in able to give you a better idea of what’s out there."
More information on this review can be found here.
Inverse Blue LCD Review @ Bit Technologies
(c) 2002 Bit-Tech
"The LCD itself looks like an inverted version of the LK-204-25-PC, in that it is backlit from the side using two white LED's. The blue background is white light shining through crossed polarises. Matrix Orbital have set the display's polarising sheet to be in phase with the display panel, so that text appears white and contrast is optimised."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec Nexus Multifunction Panel Review @ ipKonfig
"If you look around the web you'll find many different types of controlling devices, all quite easy to use and operate--but all have one common drawback: most models require adjustments from within the case. Nexus has built a unique device that allows you to make changes from outside the case, straight from a drive bay. While it only controls one fan, the CPU fan, it does have some bonus features of value to pretty much anyone."
More information on these products can be found here.
Crucial DDR PC2100 SODIMM @ Explosive Labs
"The surprising amount of people that have laptops nowadays can be seen by visiting any large university. This has all lead to a higher demand for laptop memory. We have all heard the benefits of increasing physical memory. In all but a few rare cases, the only option for laptop users to increase performance, other than buying a whole new laptop, is increasing memory. Laptop users don't have the same luxury of upgrading individual components like desktop users."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro REview @ HardOCP
"The Radeon 9500 Pro VPU is exactly the same as the 9700. It's clocked at 275MHz and has the same features as the 9700 and 9700 Pro. The big difference is a reduction to a 128-bit memory bus operating at 540MHz. At 128-bits wide, the memory bandwidth is reduced to 8.8GB/sec at 540MHz."
More information on this review can be found here.
Frontier Labs NEX IIe MP3 Player Review @ Bjorn 3D
"Frontier Labs brings a lot to the table with their NEX IIe MP3 player. It's got a great combination of user friendly features and expandability and works without the need for any sort of proprietary software."
More information on this review can be found here.
New Contest @ Overclockercafe
"Between now and Sunday November 3rd get your name in the hat to win some kick ass stuff. Just answer the question below that will change daily (no more than one entry per day please) and that's it, your entered."
Prizes include the winner's choice of heatsink, thermal paste, cold cathode, copper memory spreaders and copper mesh rounded cables. More information on the contest can be found here.
New Forums @ RipNet-UK
Want to get a pulse for what's happening on the other side of the pond? RipNet has just opened up their forums, with sections on modding, overclocking, gaming, and in true UK style, a virtual pub called The George and Dragon for general discussions. The new forums can be accessed here.
October 2002 Giveaway @ Tweakers Australia
"This month Tweakers Australia is giving away a Thermaltake prize pack including their latest heatsink the Volcano 9, a Cystal Orb for keeping your motherboard's chipset cool, a Hardcano 5, a Memory Cooling Kit, and two Smart Case Fans - All courtesy of Anyware Computer Accessories. We're also accepting entires on a worldwide scale, so what are you waiting for!"
More information on the contest can be found here.
| Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| T.G.I.F News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Friday, October 25, 2002, 10:51:38 AM | | Author: hitek |
ECS AIO A950 P4 Barebones Review @ DeviantPC
"A primary selling point of the A950 is ease of installation. It does work straight out of the box; like a laptop all that is needed is the power cable plugging in, and the mouse and keyboard connections and basically that's it. No hassle, no troubleshooting it works from the word go."
More information on this review can be found here.
Radeon 9500, 9500 Pro and 9700 Video Card Review @ BJorn3D
"When ATI released their Radeon 9000 Pro and the 9700 Pro they had 2 cards that catered for both the mainstream users as well as the high end users. However – ATI had left a big hole in the middle. If you couldn’t afford a 9700 Pro the chances were that you still wanted something better than a 9000 Pro. To close up the huge gap between these 2 cards ATI now has announced 3 new cards that are intended to fit in nicely in the lineup, the Radeon 9500, the Radeon 9500 Pro and the Radeon 9700."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec Hard Disk Drive Cooler Review @ Overclockers Canada
"Cooling is a very important subject, and for some users (especially overclockers), getting the most cooling is a top priority for them. This may even include devices that regular users don't normally consider, such as your hard drive. Why would you cool your hard drive then? Apart from keeping the overall system temperature from becoming too hot, a cooler device also runs for alot longer. Even a few degrees difference will help to maintain the device's integrity over a period of time. With 7200RPM hard drives now running in excess of 40-50°C it gets pretty toasty in there. We're about to see how well the Antec Hard Disk Drive Cooler handles the daunting task of keeping it cool."
More information on this review can be found here.
New Window Kits Available @ Lux-Design!
(c) 2002 Lux-Design
"Lux-Design has added a few new window kits to their product line for your modders looking to add some variety to your cases. The Window Kits come standard or pre-modded with 80mm blowholes. Choose from a variety of coloured, top and side panel window kits."
More information on these products can be found here.
VIA KT400 Motherboard Roundup @ TweakTown
"It's always hard to make a decision on what motherboard you will spend your hard earned dollars on once a new chipset or processor is released to the highly competitive motherboard market. Assisting you as best as possible, today TweakTown presents us with a mini roundup of four VIA KT400 based motherboards for the Athlon series of processors from Abit, MSI and Soyo!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Unreal Tournament 2003 Tweak Guide
"After the long wait and all the media hype, Unreal Tournament 2003 is finally here! But now that you've forked out the cash for the latest and greatest in gaming, how can you make sure to get the most out of your fragging experience? To find out, come join TweakTown as they take a hard look at not only the in-game settings, but also the secret settings that hide within the game's .ini files. Check out this comprehensive guide for yourself!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec 480W True Blue PSU Reviewed @ OCAddiction
"With the True series power supplies, you get dedicated output voltages on the critical +5V, +3.3V, and +12V lines. As you load up devices on the 5V line (ex. PCI cards and drives), the draw will not affect the 3.3V (your CPU), and 12V (fans, etc). This is a welcome addition for overclockers as the voltage to your CPU will not experience any significant drops."
More information on this review can be found here.
Skyhawk PSR-4616-B7 Case Review @ Modtown
"At a price of around $80 USD, I assumed that this case may not be up to scratch, being almost 'budget'. I was happily proved otherwise over the course of my review this is a well designed and well constructed case."
More information on this review can be found here.
Pro/LAN Case Project @ ProCooling
(c) 2002 ProCooling
"The primary goal of this project was to put a high performance water cooling system into a mini/mid tower case for extreme portability. Since the function of the system is to be for LAN parties, then the secondary goal was to make it eye catching and above all professional. The case chosen was the Lian Li PC-50, reviewed here earlier. The PC-50 is actually the smallest case that I have ever owned. It has the familiar Lian Li brushed aluminum finish and front intake holes seen on most of their other cases. I personally dig the look, so I wasn't interested in making a lot of changes to the lines of the case. Instead, I was primarily concerned with taking an already cramped case and squeezing in a lot of extra cooling."
More information on this project can be found here.
Soltek SL-85ERV VIA P4X400 Motherboard Review @ TechPC
"Performance memory wise is not the best I've seen, the SiS645DX chipset easily beats the P4X400 with memory clocked at the same speed, CPU performance wise this board seems to be spot on. Overall this board is not the fastest board on the market, but by no means is it the slowest. The stability of the board is top notch, not had a single BSOD while I the board has been in use, even when overclocked."
More information on this project can be found here.
Exclusive Tt Spark 7 HSF Review @ Overclocker Cafe
"Thermaltake has fallen in love with their Smart Fan II. Truth be told, we have too. The Smart Fan II is extremely versatile in that it allows three ways to control the speed (air volume and noise level) so you can adjust things to your needs at hand. The Smart Fan II on the Spark 7 is the slightly smaller brother of the original unit. It is a 70mm jobber as opposed to the 80mm ones you see around. Being 13% smaller restricts its raw performance somewhat."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec CCK-6012 1U Heatsink Review @ OCIA
"You have heard me mention a few times already about the small size of this heatsink. For comparison, I snapped a few shots of the Vantec cooler alongside a Swiftech MCX462."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Thursday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Thursday, October 24, 2002, 12:16:12 AM | | Author: hitek |
Shuttle XPC Office Tour @ VR-Zone
"VR-Zone has visited Shuttle HQ at Taiwan and managed to caught up with the man behind the popular Shuttle's XPC series, Mr Ken. Ken has revealed how the first Shuttle's barebone system was created and how it evolve into today's XPC design concepts. Also there are some nice XPC prototypes lurking around in his office and we have managed to capture a photo of the new copper heatpipe cooler meant for the upcoming SN41G2 XPC based on nForce2."
More information on this tour can be found here.
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP KT400 Motherboard Review @ Tweakers Australia
"Situated next to the memory sockets are the IDE and RAID connectors, which can support a total of eight ATA133 devices compliments of the VIA VT8235 Southbridge and the Promise PDC20276 RAID Controller. The VT8235 Southbridge is located to the right of the second PCI slot, which integrates an updated version of the VIA V-Link chip interconnect, bridging the North and Southbridge at 533MB/s compared with the 266MB/s limitation of the KT333 chipset's V-Link architecture."
More information on this review can be found here.
USB 2.0 External Enclosure @ Viper Lair
"The hard drive, with a preconfigured version of Windows, constantly hung during bootup, followed by a reboot. The CD Rom bootup worked better, and allowed me to reinstall Windows, but performance was painfully slow. Given the lack of USB2.0 support in the initial release of Windows XP (hence, no installation USB2.0 support), this is my guess on why it took so long."
More information on this review can be found here.
Serial ATA Technology Article @ Explosive Labs
"In the rapidly moving computer industry, there are rarely the kinds of revolutionary changes like what is about to take place in secondary storage segment. Soon the hard drives and configuration methods that have existed since the origins of the personal computer will change forever. The basic IDE technology has been around for nearly twenty years. When the lifetimes of other computer components like CPUs and video are measured in months, twenty years ago seems like prehistory."
More information on this review can be found here.
PCMods.Com Acrylic Case Kit Review @ Virtual Hideout
(c) 2002 Virtual Hideout
"Let's face it, acrylic cases aren't anything new. They're also not too common either, which makes them rather special, and the fact that most of them look sweet doesn't hurt either. So, what's so special about this one? Well, it's clear and sweet looking. One problem with acrylic is not only the fragility of it itself, but also its surface. So, as you can imagine shipping these things as a whole can be quite a task. That's why PCMods has stepped up and is now offering this acrylic case, or acrylic case kit. If you know about working with acrylic, you'd probably be hesitant to buy anything with acrylic and kit in the title. Don't be afraid though, this isn't a few large sheets of bare acrylic with a few diagrams and measurements. Essentially all you need for this one is a set of good hands, a screw driver, and some free time."
More information on this review can be found here.
Xoxide Dual Voltage 6 Port Baybus Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Xoxide Dual Voltage 6 Port Baybus (with Blue/Red LED's) will control up to 6 fans and each fan can be set at a high or low speed or off. Also, installing this unit is very simple with the instructions provided. For those who need many fans to keep their system cool then this is the product for you."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Zalman CNPS 6000-Cu HSF Review @ OCIA
"There is nothing more pleasing than sitting next to your high end, top of the line, Billy-Bad-Butt PC. What isn't all that pleasing is the noise that your heatsink's fan gives off trying to keep your overclocked chip from bursting into flames (ok, so maybe it would just get too hot and lock up the system, but you get the point). I have long strived to find that one heatsink fan combo that gives good performance, but is also easy on the ears. If this sounds anything at all like you, than keep reading. If that 7,000 RPM fan in your case doesn't phase you in the least bit, I suggest you stop reading here. Today we will be checking out Zalman's CNPS 6000-Cu HSF combo in an ongoing effort to find a cooler which is easy on the ears yet doesn't lack anything in performance."
More information on this review can be found here.
KDS Rad5-C LCD Review
"One thing that I've always liked about LCD screens was that there could be no misunderstanding about the viewable area. You don't have to deal with that 15" screen, 13.8" viewable crap. On LCD screens, the screen size *is* the viewable area. So this 15" monitor we have sitting here has a viewable area that is almost as large as a 17" CRT one. Schweeeet!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Everglide Giganta Mouse Pad Review @ The ModFathers
"These pads offer high precision mousing and slick surfaces; they are aimed mainly at gamers. These pads are made out of "compressed, extruded, thermoform, high density Polystyrene." The Giganta mouse pad is the largest of the group."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermaltake Volcano 7+ Copper HSF Review @ Overclockers Canada
"Before I start, you guys are probably wondering: "Why would I review a Volcano 7+ when there are superior models already out for quite some time now?" Of all the reviews that I've seen so far on a Volcano HSF, I've yet to find one that is tested against a Pentium 4 CPU. Even if a Volcano 9+ is released, it will most likely be tested using an AMD processor, since up to this point and a little beyond the latter CPU is the one that requires more cooling power. Thermaltake also has another solution for the Pentium 4, known as the Spark 7, but from what I know, availabilty on that particular item is very low, and as such not very many people have actually heard about it. Because of these reasons, I've decided to bring back an older item and put it to the test using a socket 478 environment."
More information on this review can be found here.
VoyeurMods SF50 Modded Aluminum Case Review @ PCReviewSpot
(c) 2002 PCReviewSpot
"Now modding has been quite in the shadows and part of the minority for a while now, but with the introduction of aluminum, better looking, and easier to cut cases, modding has taken a jump! Modding can be quite tedious for the beginner, especially if you have just recently acquired a dremel and want to learn how to use it before lobbing off your fingers. Voyeur Mods has taken a big step (along with others), and now offer pre-modded cases! Windows, blow holes, lights, molding, etc; pretty much whatever you want done, they will do it - and as everything, it comes at a price. Today we will be taking a look at the SF50 Modded Case."
More information on this review can be found here.
Jab-Tech Dual Cathode Kit Review @ Review Nation
"Case lighting through cold cathodes has been around for quite some time, although when you want more than one cathode in your case you have to spend the money on an extra inverter, not to mention all of the wires everywhere due to having the extra tube and inverter, and lets just face it. It's a mess! Jab-tech has supplied us with an easy solution to this, a dual inverter for your CCFL's. The dual inverter pretty much lets you supply power to two cathodes through one inverter, which eliminates wires, mess, and is much cheaper!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Bonzai Expandable USB Mini-Drive @ BJorn3D
"In reality, this device is simply an SD/MMC to USB adapter. Similar to the wired products often used for docking media from digital cameras and media players."
More information on this review can be found here.
Quad Blue LED 80mm Fan @ DataFuse.net
"Nowadays I want my rig to run pretty silent, this 80mm fan is a little bit louder then a regular one, but this is I think the only negative thing about it. It looks real great, I just wanted to take of my side panel just to show off with the blue glance coming out of my case. It's a pretty solid performer and everything is included: screws, connectors and the fan guard. Overall: this is a real nice product."
More information on this review can be found here.
Akasa Rounded Cables Review @ Tech-Dreams
"Tired of looking at those ugly, flat, gray cables through your case window? Tired of performing origami on your cables in order to make them look nice and tidy? Perhaps you are just starting out with a computer modification project and need an easy project to kick things off. Well, no matter what the reason, rounded cables are have become fairly common since they help with the airflow inside your PC case and assist in cleaning up the tangled mess of cables running throughout your machine. Today, we'll be taking a look at two different sets of rounded cables from Akasa."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Wednesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 22, 2002, 11:59:18 PM | | Author: hitek |
New Product Showcase @ Directron.com
 
(c) 2002 Directron
"Directron's main man Michael recently toured Asia and visited the following trade shows:
(1) China High-Tech Fair, Shenzhen, China
(2) 3C Expo in Dongguang China
(3) Electronics Fair in Hong Kong
(4) World PC Expo in Tokyo
(5) The famous PC/Electronics District in Akihabara, Tokyo
The result is a fascinating look into some new products that will hopefully make they're way into the North American market. The thread is a few pages long and covers everything from new case releases, 120mm LED fans, accessories, monitors and keyboards."
More information on these new products can be found here.
CrystalFontz USB LCD Review @ DDR Zone
"Until now LCD’s have been interfaced with PC’s by either the Parallel or Serial ports. Parallel LCD’s require a significant amount of time and effort to prepare, and it isn’t hard to make a mistake in the process, leading to a painstaking troubleshooting period and the possibility of a damaged or destroyed LCD. Serial LCD’s solve much of this drama by being far more 'plug and play' than their parallel counterparts allowing the user to simply plug in a cable, install the software and enjoy the candy. USB on the other hand supplies power, data and true “plug and play” to the LCD."
More information on this review can be found here.
Albatron GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo Review @ Technoyard
"Albatron claims their newly released GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo is capable of performing under GF4 Ti 4600 specifications, but still remaining in the price range of a Ti4200. Find out how true this claim is as we put it through its paces. The overclocking ability of this card is simply astonishing."
More information on this review can be found here.
EPoX 8K9A2+ KT400 Motherboard Review @ VR-Zone
"VR-Zone has posted a review on the new EPoX 8K9A2+ board based on the VIA KT400 chipset. This new board supports 333Mhz FSB Athlon XP, DDR400, AGP8X as well as Serial ATA. EPoX has been pretty innovative ecently to include Magic Light into their chipset cooler which certainly looks real cool and also nice blue rounded IDE cables. More interestingly, you no longer need to unlock your T'Bred on this board since it has an unlocking feature. I have managed to increase the FSB all the way up to 226Mhz at most aggressive timings of 2-2-5-2-1 and the memory performance is simply amazing at this insane FSB."
More information on this review can be found here.
Abit KD7 Raid KT400 Motherboard Review @ Overclockers New Zealand
"The performance is KD7's Archie's heel. The results indicate that KD7 is on par with the good old KR7A, a "KT-266A" chipset. Due to the lack of performance and the sky high price, I do not see why people will want to purchase Abit KD7-R. (Not even the fine selection of overclocking features and the fact that I am an Abit fan are going to save Abit)."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Review @ IPKonfig
"For starters, 8 parallel rendering pipelines. Now since you asked, we'll explain this a little. First, the 8 parallel rendering pipelines are combined with 4 parallel geometry engines, providing faster 3D gaming performance. Comparing this to the ATI Radeon 8500, which has 4 parallel rendering pipelines, the Radeon 9700 more than doubles its pixel pipeline throughput to 19.4Gb/s. That's quite a bump."
More information on this review can be found here.
ThermalRight SK7 HSF Review @ Overclocker Cafe
(c) Overclocker Cafe
"Another benefit of this design is that in using an 80mm fan, the fan hangs over both sides of the sink. The SLK-800's base is much narrower allowing the fan to keep hot air circulating out from under the base. The SK7 while employing a more traditional base design achieved the same goal but by the fan's overhang."
More information on this review can be found here.
Neng Tyi Nexus KN02 HSF Review @ TweakTown
"For those who have been asking for inexpensive heatsinks for your systems, take a peek here as TweakTown takes a look at one of the cheapest coolers to recently hit the market. Of course, inexpensive doesn't take away the necessity for reasonable performance. We've put this Nexus cooler through the standard gauntlet to see if it will suit the needs of those looking for a more reasonably priced cooling solution. Let's see how it fared against some other low-cost sinks!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Unreal Tournament 2003 Mapping - An Introduction @ DeviantPC
"The Unreal virtual world is known as a subtractive space which means that as we define shapes we'd like to have in the world we have to subtract them from the world itself. Try to imagine the world as one big solid, with each object you subtract removing mass from it. In other words, you're not building rooms you're hollowing them out!"
More information on this guide can be found here.
Swiftech MCX462+ Heatsink Review @ Tech-Dreams
"The MCX462+ still resembles the older MCX462 with some slight modification. The original MCX462 had a 3/8" thick copper base, where as the MCX462+ carries a massive 1/2" thick copper base. Both models carry the same unique Helicoid pin design made of High Thermal Conductivity Aluminum Alloy press fitted into the copper base (371 Helicoid pins). The MCX462+ measures in at 3" x 3" x 1.66, a .10 of an inch bigger than the MCX462, it also weighs 3.2oz more than the MCX462 totaling 23.2oz."
More information on this review can be found here.
Akasa PAX.mate Acoustic Absorption Mats
"In the battle against heat, computer enthusiasts, overclockers, and modders seek out new weapons. Most of the time, these weapons are some pretty powerful fans that can move a lot of air. Unfortunately, the downside to all this power is in the amount of noise produced. But what exactly is noise? Noise is totally subjective and means something different for each person. Some people might be able to tolerate and even sleep with 60mm Delta fans screaming in their ears, but not me."
More information on this review can be found here.
Radeon 9700 vs the Ti4600 Shootout @ TechPC
"With the introduction of the new Radeon 9700 last month many people are asking what the difference is between the Radeon and the nVidia GF4 Ti4600 cards. This review sets out to explore the differences based on real usage and in particular the gaming arena."
More information on this review can be found here.
Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP TV Tuner Card Review
"Overall I think this is a great card for the home user who just wants to do the basics with TV on the PC. For the price, the features and kit you get is very impressive and beats some of its rivals who are a lot more expensive. The quality of the TV and radio output is very good which is one of the most important aspects of the card. The only thing I think lets the card down is its recording software. While everything else is quite easy to work, the recording takes a lot more effort and setting up. Hopefully Leadtek can do something to fix it by releasing a patch or updated version of the TV software."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Tuesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 22, 2002, 12:13:22 AM | | Author: hitek |
Shuttle XPC SS51G Review @ Viper Lair
"Given it's small size, and robust features, the usefullness of the SS51 is almost limitless. It can be a great LAN rig (with the proper video card), a corporate PC, a router, fileserver, or even a TiVO. Really, even when it's served it's purpose as a performance gaming PC, it can do almost anything else you want with it."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec 660AMG Professional Series Case Review @ Techniz.co.uk
"The case comes with two fans already installed, on in the back(blowing out) and one in the side panel (pulling in). I decided to remove the side fan and place it a the front of the case. In it's place a put my tri-light led fan - this really does look cool in the dark."
More information on this review can be found here.
SkyHawk Jupiter Aluminum Case Review @ Bjorn3D
"SkyHawk's Jupiter case is a very unique and great looking case. If you are at all interested in an affordable aluminum case with some cool features, you should definitely take a look at the Jupiter. The LCD/light module is very innovative and will surely make your friends a little envious."
More information on this review can be found here.
Modifying the Cooler Master ATC-710 @ System Cooling
(c) 2002 System Cooling
"When I received this Cooler Master ATC-710 I basically knew what I was getting. I've read about it quite a bit and being an owner of an Antec SX-830 case I knew that this was going to be a very well built case, with lots of room and was going to be user friendly. I thought about modding this case for a few days. I wanted to add to make it a bit more exotic and not loss what I consider a great monolithic looking case. I liked the clean front panels so I decided to leave them alone. But to bring this case more to life I decided to do some cutting, painting and lighting up."
More information on this project can be found here.
3 Akasa Product Reviews
"In the laboratory today we have three offerings from Akasa. The subjects of our mad scientist testing will be the AK-785CU heatsink/fan combination for the Athlon XP CPU, PaxMate acoustic absorption mats and two sets of ram sinks, also known as heat spreaders or passive memory coolers."
More information on this review can be found here.
GigRigz "Cyber Athletic Supporter" Review @ PimpRig
"Anyone who's been to a few LAN parties can tell you the hardest part is not finding the LAN, or getting whooped in Counter-Strike, or even drinking warm Coke. It's always the chore of tearing everything down and then putting it back together again. Products like CaseAce's GearGrip have been around for awhile to help hardcore LAN gamers with this arduous chore, and it was only a matter of time before similar accessories appeared on the market."
More information on this review can be found here.
AMD Athlon XP 2200+ Thorougbred CPU Review @ Mikhailtech
"Since the core is built on 0.13 micron process, the voltage required to run it was lowered from 1.750V for the Palomino to 1.650V for the TBred. This, combined with the thinner traces, should really make the CPU run a lot cooler, but then again the smaller the core the harder it is to dissipate the heat. The OPN (Ordering Part Number) has also changed from the "old" Palomino. For instance, the Athlon XP 2000+ based on Palomino core would have had the following OPN: AX2000MT3C, where AX represents the core, Athlon XP "Palomino", 2000 is the rating and the other digits represent the voltage, FSB, maximum temperature for the core and package type (socket or slot). The OPN for the Athlon XP "Thoroughbred" I tested is: AXDA2200KV3C."
More information on this review can be found here.
PC3200 DDR Roundup @ OCAddiction
"I should also point out that only PC1600, PC2100, and PC2700 (the ones in bold) are currently certified by JEDEC. Which is the reason Via and SiS have withdrawn their official support for 400MHz memory at the moment. If a speed is not certified then compatibility issues can come up between the memory modules SPD and the motherboard's bios or chipset. Something you should be aware before picking up a few new sticks of RAM. Also, for those of you new to system building, just because you buy 400MHz memory doesn't mean it will automatically run at those speeds. You must raise your front side bus, memory bus or change the CPU:Memory Ratio to increase the memory bus to 200MHz. This will also overclock your processor unless you have an unlocked AMD CPU that you can lower the multiplier. But of course most of us want to overclock our processor so this isn't a problem."
More information on this review can be found here.
Next-Cool WaterCUBE GT3 Waterblock Review @ Tweaknews
(c) 2002 Tweaknews
"The unit looks good and is watertight. The clamp has a good design and should certainly be looked at by other waterblock manufacturers. With the noise reduction in mind water-cooling isn't half bad if you can stand the stress. "Is my pump still on? Did I fasten the hoses correctly?" Making sure you have all the parts is about 75% of your entire project."
More information on this review can be found here.
Gainward 650TV (Ti4200 64MB) & 650XP (Ti4200 128MB) Video Cards Video Review @ 3DGameman
"Both the Gainward Geforce4 PowerPack Pro 650TV (64MB) and 650XP (128MB) Golden Sample Video Cards are top quality products that perform very well. Whether you choose the 64MB or the 128MB version either will satisfy your 3D game needs and more."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Albatron GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo Review @ Technoyard
"Albatron claims their newly released GeForce 4 Ti4200P Turbo is capable of performing under GF4 Ti 4600 specifications, but still remaining in the price range of a Ti4200. Find out how true this claim is as we put it through its paces. The overclocking ability of this card is simply astonishing."
More information on this review can be found here.
CaseMods.com Custom Case Review @ Think Computers
"A little while ago I was contacted by Josh at CaseMods.com. He wanted to know if we would like for him to make a custom case for us. I told him that would be great. He said I could pick from anyone of the cases that they make custom cases out of. They include: the Chieftec 601 case, an Additronic case, and a Supermicro case. My favorite out of the 3 was the Chieftec. He asked me what all I wanted done to the case. I said just put a window in it and make sure it says ThinkComputers on it. It was a vauge description on my part, but Josh said he could handle it. He said he could have the case to me in a few weeks."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec Window Mod Guide @ Twisted Mods
(c) 2002 Twisted Mods
"Get out your sheet of 1/4” plexi-glass. Remember to measure twice and cut once. Measure the inside dimensions of where you are planning to place the new plexi-glass panel. You only want a small area between the plexi-glass and the bezel frame. Measure your plexi glass so that it just BARELY fits between the two side pieces in the door. You can use a sharpie marker to draw the outline on the plexi glass to double check the fit one more time before cutting. Then take your rotary saw or jigsaw and to cut the plexi-glass."
More information on this review can be found here.
Oracle Graphics Custom Appliqués Review
"Since the beginning of case mods, windows have been the "thing to do". After a while, rectangles, circles and "L" shaped windows became old news and users began looking for NEW ways to spice up their cases. I have seen a lot of modders, from novice to paid professionals using appliqués on windows, and it truly does add a great effect. Through time, the standard "etch" gray color became over used and this led to the true art in appliqués when every color from clear to black appliqués came about."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Monday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Monday, October 21, 2002, 1:38:06 AM | | Author: hitek |
Abit KD7-RAID Motherboard Review @ Liquid Ninjas
"At first glance, some might dismiss the KD7-RAID as little more than a KX7-333R plus a whistle or two. But after considering the AGP X8 support, improved V-Link architecture, onboard sound and LAN, CPU internal diode temperature monitoring, ATX12V1 connector, USB 2.0, plus a ton of cool new BIOS features (which we'll cover in a moment), the KD7-RAID seems to offer much more than you might think."
More information on this review can be found here.
6-port Bay Bus Review @ Virtual Underground
"Two thumbs up. The design is professionally done, along with the construction quality parts were used, not a small detail left out. I would recommend this product to anyone looking to control fans, or even light kits. Plug your cold cathodes, neons, or el wire into the baybus, use the off/12v switch capabilities!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Linksys Wireless Network Equipment Review @ Phlux.co.uk
"The router features include a hardware firewall and virus scan, and can force all of the nodes to run zonealarm, and pc-cillin. Everything including wireless modes are easily changed through the router's password protected configuration panel, based at its home address, usually 192.168.1.1. By default the router runs a DHCP server, which allows the PC's networked to it to automatically configure their IP addresses, which was the reason for restarting each system after changing the settings in "home networking wizard."
More information on this review can be found here.
Prometeia Vapor Phase Change Cooling Case Review @ XtremeSystems
"This year along came a new company in Denmark, Chip-con ApS , and the newest generation of "direct die" Vapor Phase Change Cooling units: the Prometeia, introducing with it the highest heat removing capacity of all commercially produced vapor phase change cooling units available today!. With this greatly improved cooling capacity also comes a new development in anti condensation techniques which just also happen to be one of the easiest mounting methods for an evaporator I have ever seen. To some extent even easier than some heatsink's or waterblock's. The system leaves little or no chance of crushing or chipping the CPU. A novice can mount the evaporator the first time with complete success."
More information on this review can be found here.
Make Your Own Mini-Fanbus and Control Device Power Extender @ Virtual Hideout
(c) 2002 Virtual Hideout
"Back when I started VH, Cliff A and Fanbus.Com was a big inspiration for me. His inventions, though simple, were sort of godsend for the modders out there. One in particular was the fanbus. It's as simple as any device could be but yet the functionality of it could not be ignored. It provided a central position for the fan freaks to connect all that fans in their cases to a single point without the hassle of struggling with all those wirings and the multitude of connectors. That also inspired me to construct my very own unit, similar in design to Cliff's, in which I outlined in a guide I wrote here. As time passes by, the design of the Fanbus changed. One in particular is the MicroBus, pioneered by PCMods.Com. It has the same basic functions to the original fanbus but they drastically shrunked the size. With the reduction in size, the new Microbus can now go virtually anywhere in your case, out-of-sight."
Nice work! More information on this guide can be found here.
Heatsink Lapping Guide @ The ModFathers
"When you first buy a heatsink, regardless of the price you pay or the supplier you get it from, they are not going to be perfect. Each heatsink is made slightly different and each one will have slight defects. For this reason many people Lap or smooth the bottom of their heatsinks in an attempt to get the best possible contact with the core of the processor."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Lian Li Mobile HD Rack Review @OCAddiction
"Heading into the review I was unsure what to expect from the Lian Li Mobile HD Rack. After getting to know the product I was actually quite pleased with both it's ease of use and performance. Install was a snap and I have seen no problems so far. If your looking for a simple way to swap a HD between PC's, this may be the item for you."
More information on this review can be found here.
FannerTech Speeze/Spire Falcon Rock II reviewed @ myWORLD Hardware
"When we last saw Eagle Stream by FannerTech, the cooler performed quite well. I do have nothing to complain about the cooler at all but I do want to admit that the Eagle Stream it's a bit tad noisy. Looking back at our some previous quiet rated HSF reviews, WhisperRock II ran quietly but performed poorly and Zalman CNPS 6000, it performed very well and very quiet indeed but consumed a lot of space yet heavy."
More information on this review can be found here.
Ahanix dboX Case Review @ TweakTown
(c) 2002 TweakTown
"With so many choices out there for enclosures, it is beginning to get difficult to choose. Come join TweakTown as they take a look at the Ahaniz dboX Case. It has features and looks combined, but how can it handle the demanding stresses that we put on it? Come see for yourself!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Asus A7V8X Mainboard Review @ 8BallsHardware
"Asus's A7V8X is their latest in VIA-chipset based motherboards for socket A systems. It comes with a host of features incorporating advanced technology such as AGP8X, DDR400, Gigabit LAN and Serial ATA. DDR400 is an unofficial standard, and hasn't been ratified by JEDEC. That gives chip/memory/etc makers a hard time in ensuring that their DDR400-based products work properly."
More information on this review can be found here.
Soltek SL-75DRV5 Motherboard Review @ Voided Warranty
"This board uses the VIA KT333 chipset. One thing that I like about this board is the lack of onboard crap that most other boards have. Personally I could care less about USB 2.0 as I don't have any devices that would use it. When I do have or need something that is USB 2.0 compatible, it will probably be time for a new board anyway."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lite-On LTR-48246S 48x24x48x CD-RW Drive Review @ 3DXtreme
"While this drive doesn't offer much in the way of increased performance for users of the 40x CD-RW Drives and above, it deserves he Editor's Choice Award for pushing the limits of CD-RW technology. Anyone looking to upgrade from a slower model CD-RW, this is the king of the hill!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Wampa's Budget Case Mods Part 2 @ Casejunkiez
"Now, there were only a few more things I wanted to do before I painted the case. The first was to drill a front 120mm hole to suck fresh air into the system. After buying a 120mm grill and 120mm fan, I was ready to size up the hole and get it drilled. In the first picture, you can see the progress in drilling the front bezel. I made sure to go slower with the drill, since if you go too fast you can melt / deform the plastic. The plastic shavings also get everywhere, and the smell is horrible (who knows it could be toxic so a dust mask and eye-wear is recommended)."
More information on this case project can be found here.
Logitech Z640 5.1 Speaker Review @ PCReviewSpot
"Mention the name Logitech and the word speakers to an enthusiast computer user as little as one year ago, and you would probably get a smirk of disgust upon their face. Do the same thing now, and that same user would probably perk their ears in interest. Ever since Logitech introduced their “Z series,” they have been making trends in computer audio. A couple of their key selling points are: their cost(inexpensive, great bang-for-the-buck) and the massive amounts of bass that the subwoofer pumps out. Let’s see if the new Z640’s live up to that standard!"
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Weekend News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Saturday, October 19, 2002, 12:01:28 PM | | Author: hitek |
GigaByte Radeon 9000 PRO Review @ DeviantPC
"The majority of these tests show that the Radeon 9000 PRO puts out some impressive figures up to and including 1024*768, after which the card is struggling. For a budget card intended for the budget market where one would assume people are not wanting to play games at 1600*1200 at 4 speed Anti-Aliasing, the Radeon 9000 PRO provides an excellent solution."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lian-Li PC6085 Aluminium Case Review @ RipNet-UK
"The PC6085 is similar in many respects to the PC7 that we reviewed, but it also boasts a number of features not found with its lower-priced cousin. The black aluminium is the first and most obvious difference. In addition the PC6085 has a guarded 80mm upper exhaust fan, LEDs built into the front panel, thumbscrews galore, a removeable motherboard tray, built-in fanbus."
More information on this review can be found here.
Quick and Easy Fan Wiring Hot-To @ Virtual Hideout
(c) 2002 Virtual Hideout
"The other day while I was re-wiring my case fans, as I always do, I made me think of all the people out there that don't wire up there fans to be neat. I've seen a lot of different fans in my time. I learned along time ago that routing the fan wires is one of the biggest improvements you can make to a cases interior. There is nothing worse than seeing a bunch of fans , probably using 3pin-4pin adapters, with their wires looking spaghetti inside the case. Especially those with windows installed, and cathodes, etc. It's always bugged me to see someone show me their case mod, or I see a case in the CCG with fan wires strung all over the case. It just looks like crap. The same reason rounded cables are made to tidy up your IDE cables, you should put the same kinda consideration into your fan wires and connections."
More information on this guide can be found here.
OC System Enhanced GeForce4 Ti4600+ 128MB Video Card Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The OC System Enhanced GeForce4 Ti4600+ 128MB Video Card is one fast card who's default speed it 315MHz/740MHz and with a great cooler on the core and heatsinks on the memory it can be overclocked even further. Also, nVidia based graphics cards are known for their overall compatibility and stability."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Asus P4S8X SiS 648 Motherboard Review @ TweakTown
"Asus has long made motherboards with the enthusiast in mind. No matter the chipset or processor being supported, they have been there. Come join TweakTown as they delve into one of their latest offerings; the Asus P4S8X Motherboard. Using the new SiS 648 chipset, we will look at a number of areas to see if this newcomer can stand up to the Asus reputation."
More information on this review can be found here.
ECS I-Buddie 4 Desknote Review
"Many of us know ECS as a Taiwanese company specializing in OEM based computer products. Recently though they've partly branched away from this sector and started to recognize the Overclocker as a valuable segment of the market. One of the new products that is helping the company in this endeavor is their new innovative ECS I-Buddie 4 Desknote desktop replacement PC. Simply put, it's a cost effective notebook based on PC desktop technology."
More information on review can be found here.
Thermaltake 420W Silent PSU Review @ Tweakers Australia
"Another excellent feature is what Thermaltake call over voltage protection. The way it works is fairy common sense, as pretty much does what it says. It protects your power supply by cutting out after a certain amount of voltage. If the voltage goes above the specified voltages it will cut out and prevent the death of your new power supply. It really is a handy feature and anything that prevents you from having to buy another PSU due to too much voltage is definitey a good thing. Thermaltake has set the trip point fairly high, so dont expect to see any downtime unless there really is a reason for it."
More information on review can be found here.
Vantec AeroFlow TMD Cpu Coolers Review @ Ascully.com
"Vantec are really pumping out the products recently. This time they have built a CPU cooler that not only looks awesome, it cools like a dream. On top of all that it utilizes the latest in fan technology the TMD fan from YStech."
More information on review can be found here.
Zalman ZM80-HP Review @ DataFuse.net
(c) 2002 DataFuse.net
"This product uses no fans at all, just 4 heatsinks and a heatpipe, so you get no noise what so ever out of your grapics card anymore. I know the fan on your graphic card uses almost no power, but with this cooling unit you do not have to worry about the fact that your fan could fail and wreck your expensive GPU."
Very sweet! More information on review can be found here.
MSI K7D Motherboard Review @ WTFILL33T
"Most people don't consider dual CPU rigs to be ideal for gaming or overclocking. That general rule still holds true to some extent, but MSI has certainly taken some steps in the right direction for the Dual enthusiast crowd. By giving us the multiplier, FSB, and VCORE bios settings most overclockers crave they have helped to bring dual CPU rigs closer to the mainstream overclockers and gamers. at least somewhat."
More information on review can be found here.
Sennheiser HD-497 Headphones Review @ Viper Lair
"The headphones very comfy after they adjust to your head for a few hours (self adjusting headband), you need to position the cups themselves right though, which is pretty simple. These are not as comfy as some other big-name headphones, but enough to wear for hours on end blasting your favorite tunes."
More information on review can be found here.
Samsung SyncMaster 172T Review @ Monkey Review
"The SyncMaster 172T has to be one of the finest monitors I have seen to date, very sharp looking as well as amazing performance. Versatility is top notch with the features like wall mounting, Dual PC's, Compact and much more. The only real drawback to this guy is the lack of an S-video in jack, so there is no way of watching standard TV on it. When comparing the SyncMaster 172T's price to a CRT monitor there is a major price difference but that price is coming down gradually. Comparing the 172T's price to other LCD monitors and it is in fact competitively priced."
More information on review can be found here.
EasyDisk Removable USB HD Review @ Alltechbox
"The EasyDisk USB hard drive is an excellent mean to transfer files from a PC to another and thanks to its size and lightness it is perfect for notebook users. Thanks to the adoption of the USB 1.1 you can use it within few seconds on every new system!"
More information on review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| T.G.I.F News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Friday, October 18, 2002, 12:12:22 AM | | Author: hitek |
Corsair XMS PC 3500 RAM Review @ OCIA
"These are some pretty hefty claims for sure. FYI, XMS Stands for eXtreme Memory Speed. This XMS branding is aimed at high-performance computer users who demand only the best, such as overclockers. Corsair uses 5.0 nanosecond chips on both the 256 MB and 512 MB versions of this XMS 3500. These 3500 modules are pretested on an Asus A7V8X board and are guaranteed to run at the specified speeds. Not only are they pretested on the A7V8X, but they have also been benchmarked over multiple motherboards, chipsets and processor configurations. A lifetime warranty is provided on these modules. Lifetime warranties are a great thing."
More information on this review can be found here.
CoolerMaster Pro-Studio Review @ Twisted Mods
"When it comes to noise, I am absolutely disgusted! Hearing the Tornado fans from Vantec at full throttle has got me thinking about nothing but sound absorption! I know that if I ever ran even ONE of those fans in my case, I would be doing all I could to keep my room from sounding like the launch pad on an aircraft carrier. For this very reason, the one and only Cooler Master has created, "Pro Studio," a "Professional Studio Class Noise Absorber Kit" for your every day PC."
More information on this review can be found here.
ThermalTake Blue Orb Chipset Cooler Review @ Overclockers Canada
"The CPU is not the only item that requires extensive cooling. There are other components that are also in need of active cooling in order to withstand the heat build up that's coming from the other system components, like the chipset of either your motherboard or graphics card. I have here the Blue Orb Chipset Cooler from ThermalTake, a well-known company specializing in cooling products. This cool-looking item works on either your motherboard's chipset, or you can toss it on to your graphics card if necessary."
More information on this review can be found here.
Atlantis Vs Maze3 Vs Neptune Waterblock Shootout @ CoolHardware
"Water temperatures will be constantly monitored to try and produce the most accurate results. After each block has been tested i will either leave the radiator running untill the water gets to the correct temperature or if that causes any problems, i will resort to adding some ice to speed up the process. All settings within the BIOS will be kept the same (including voltages). All software running while the tests are in progress will be kept the same (including background applications)."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lux-Design Rheobus V.3 Now Available!
"For people who have large 120mm fans pulling in excess of 10W, something bigger and more powerful is needed. It is for this market that the Rheobus V.3 was developed. The Rheobus is the device that outshines the rest, quite literally, with 4 UltraBright BLUE LEDs, as well as aluminum knobs and high quality rheostats. We tried to incorporate everything that the public told us that they wanted in this device. The variable speed setting can be adjusted to whatever speed you prefer, making it perfect for reducing noise. So, instead of leaving all 4 fans on all the time, you can instead turn down two and run 2 at a higher speed, cutting down on the noise immensely."
More information on this new product can be found here.
Shuttle SB51G i845GE SFF Box Review @ OCWorkbench
"Shuttle launches SB51G on the same day Intel lifted it's NDA on the Intel 845GE chipset. Shuttle SB51G is a Pentium 4 board based on the new Intel 845GE integrated chipset. It supports the Pentium 4 Socket 478 400/533CPUs. From the looks of the specifications, it looks very similar to the earlier SS51G based on the SIS 651 SS51G we reviewed before. One of the most important difference is that this box will run the future 3G Hyperthreading processors. Some drawbacks is that there is no ATA-133 support."
More information on this review can be found here.
Four-Channel ATA RAID Controllers Comparison @ X-bit Labs
"The most frequently used IDE RAID array configuration is an array of 2 hard disk drives united either in RAID 0 array to increase the data processing speed, or in RAID 1 array to ensure higher reliability. Far not everyone can afford to build a four-drive array, and those who had the opportunity usually preferred a SCSI configuration. However, you will never find a SCSI solution today, which will be able to successfully compete with RAID arrays of IDE drives in terms of cost that is why we have every right to state that there is an objective need in high-capacity IDE RAID arrays."
More information on this review can be found here.
Sapphire 9700 Atlantis Pro Review @ [H]ardOCP
"Sapphire is a name you have probably heard more of recently with the introduction of the Radeon 9700 Pro from ATI. Sapphire manufactures and distributes video cards based on ATI chipsets. While they may have come to light only recently, they have been in the business since ATI opened up to OEMs and AiBs in June of 2001. They do carry a wide range of video cards from the Xpert98 all the way up to the Radeon 9700 Pro. Sapphire claims they do adhere strictly to ATI production criteria including QC and outgoing systems to ensure their boards are as high quality as those made by ATI. They are based out of Hong Kong with offices in the US, Canada, Germany and the UK."
More information on this review can be found here.
P4 2.8 Overclocking @ The Tech Zone
(c) 2002 The Tech Zone
"For a high overclock, the choice of motherboard and RAM is very important. All Intel CPUs are multiplier locked. That means the only way to overclock them is by increasing the front side bus speed. The Abit IT7-MAX allows users to increase front side bus speed by 1MHz at a time, ensuring that you will find the maximum limit of your CPU. Another feature of the IT7-MAX is its ability to keep the PCI and AGP speed locked at 33MHz and 75Mhz independent of the front side speed. This will ensure that your video card or PCI devices are not the bottleneck in your overclocking efforts."
More information on this guide can be found here.
KT400 Athlon XP Motherboard Roundup @ ExtremeTech
"VIA has been shipping new chipsets for the AMD processor line roughly every six months. Sometimes revisions, such as the KT266E revision of the KT266 appear even sooner. The KT400 is, in many ways, an enhanced version of the KT333 chipset, which was released earlier this year. This chipset now forms the heart of a bunch of new high-performance motherboards for AMD's Athlon XP. We looked at six motherboards, plus one KT333 board as a backwards reference. All the KT400 motherboards have a varying array of features, but do share some commonalities."
More information on this review can be found here.
Koolance EXOS Performance Test @ Overclockers.com
"In filling the system, you first fill the reservoir and when full, run the system to circulate water through the radiator and waterblock. To do this, use a 12 volt power supply, ideally with an on-off switch. When you first run it after the first fill, the reservoir will empty as water fills the radiator. Shut down the power, fill again and power up, repeating these steps until the reservoir stays full under power. At this point, the system is ready to go."
More information on this review can be found here.
Bench vs. System Testing: The Pros and Cons
"It is perhaps timely and appropriate to consider the respective merits, and deficiencies, of the principal methods of testing CPU watercooling components; System Testing and Bench Testing. And the word component defines the crux of the issue."
More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Thursday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Thursday, October 17, 2002, 10:40:56 AM | | Author: hitek |
Hardware Store Water Cooling Guide @ The ModFathers
"Well when I first set off to watercool my system, I had visions of drill presses, hunks of copper, etc., all costing me an arm and a leg. Very quickly I realised you can make a complete watercooling setup from the local hardware store."
More information on this review can be found here.
Understanding Bottlenecks @ Viper Lair
"To understand how video cards work, almost all modern video cards need a decent CPU to go with it. If the video card is too powerful (for example, a GeForce 4 ti4600), and the CPU is too slow (a Pentium 2 266), the video card is wasted because the CPU can't deliver info as fast as a video card can take it. We're not saying that the video card won't be an improvement over an ATI 16MB Rage, but don't expect 300fps, that's for sure."
More information on this review can be found here.
CDROM Modding Guide @ Pimpmiester's Mods
(c) 2002 Pimpmiester's Mods
"There is something about watching your CD spin around inside the player, it certainly attracts people when I have it on display at a swap meets etc. Originally after having seen a few versions of this mod around I thought I would give it a go but maybe with a few different twists. Having a top window already, but perhaps not in the ideal position I went about making a front window so it could be viewed from all angles."
More information on this review can be found here.
HighSpeedPC XP Unlocking Kit @ OCIA
"Once you have found this area, it is recommended to clean this surface with a pencil eraser to remove any layered debris left from the manufacturing process. The first step is to use one of the included tape tabs to cover the L3 bridges just below the L1 set. This is done as a precautionary measure. Since in the first step we will be filling in the gaps, I chose to cover both the top and bottom dots of the L1 bridges, just leaving the gaps visible. You then want to apply a SMALL amount of gap filler to this open area."
More information on this review can be found here.
Overclocking for Newbies Part 1 & 2 @ Mikeoct.net
"Your first option would be to lower the FSB in increments of 2, and then in 1 until you have a perfect overclock. The second one would be to slowly raise the VCore setting. This will add voltage to the CPU, and hopefully enough to get your system to boot. This, however, adds a lot of heat. Some computers don’t have that option though. Rarely, there is a third thing you can do to get more speed out of your system. If you have an option called CPU/Memory Ratio, it should be set one of these, in order from best to worst – 4:5, 4:3, 1:1, Auto. That brings us to RAM, another thing you can overclock."
More information on Part1 of this guide can be found here. Part2 of this guide can be found here.
SkyHawk Jupiter Case Review @ OCModShop
"The LCD/light module has seven different colors to chose from which are: red, dark blue, violet, green, yellow, white, and light blue. There are 2 different modes for the colors; Auto mode which automatically changes the colors every two seconds and manual mode which is one color only that you can set. The LCD/light module will display the system power status, HDD status, time, and temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit which is read from the thermal probe. The time button is actually the mode button, it lets you set the time, and color of the display. The right button moves between time and temperature and while in temperature the left button changes it from Celsius to Fahrenheit. The LCD is really easy to use and works really well. The thing I do not like about this display is that the time is only in military time rather than AM/PM, it would be nice to have the option to change it."
More information on this review can be found here.
GeIL PC3500 433MHz DDR Platinum Series Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The GeIL PC3500 433MHz DDR Platinum Series memory will not disappoint whether you are non-overclocker or hardcore overclocker who wants 433MHz DDR speeds and more. I was easily able to break the 433MHz DDR rated speed with excellent benchmark results. This memory is stable, fast, lifetime warranty and well priced."
More information on this video review can be found here.
New Motion Combo Firewire & USB Converter Unit Review @ TweakTown
"High-speed CD-RW drive, CHECK. DVD drive, CHECK. Two speedy hard drives for unheard of storage space, CHECK. Brand new DVD-RW drive. More and more people are falling victim to the problem of no more IDE ports for peripherals. Too many new products are hitting the shelves that need these valuable resources, but most motherboards are limited to four devices. Come join TweakTown as they take a look at the New Motion Combo Converter Device. It tackles this very problem by utilizing your system's USB or Firewire ports. Let's see if it can tackle the demanding needs of a Power User!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Zalman Multi Connector 1 Review @ Modtown
(c) 2002 Modtown
"Ever run out of molex connectors to power your fan(s)? Or just wish to make your internal cabling a bit more tidier? Enter the Zalman Multi Connector 1. This little device will allow you to connect a maximum of four fans (two that run on 5v and two that run on 12v) using only one molex connector from your power supply."
More information on this review can be found here.
Gainward GeForce4 PowerPack! Ultra/650 XP Golden Sample & Ultra/650 TV/DVI Golden Sample Reviews @ Explosive Labs
"The Gainward GeForce4 PowerPack! Ultra/650 XP Golden Sample and Ultra/650 TV/DVI Golden Sample are code named by Gainward as their top two GeForce4 Ti 4200 cards. The Gainward has dubbed their GeForce4 Ti lines as Ultra/650, Ultra/700, and Ultra/750, which are for their GeForce4 Ti 4200, Ti 4400, and Ti 4600 namesake, respectively. However, despite their namesake, there are quite a bit of differences between the two, and it is not just the fact that one has 128MB and the other has 64MB."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec Trueblue 480W Power Supply Review @ Monkey Review
"All in all, this power supply couldn't produce a single flaw during testing. The great new technologies and the sweet looking LED's add a lot to a generally bland PC part. Performance is way up there and the price isn't too bad compared to the value you're getting for your buck. I am giving this guy a perfect score and our editor's choice award. If you're looking for performance and a good looking power supply, I strongly suggest any of the Antec TrueBlue power supplies."
More information on this review can be found here.
Red/Blue Quad LED Fans Review @ MrPCPro
"But the clip is right were the strip is the most vulnerable to get snagged. I shot a clip to try and illustrate the problem(downloadable above). As you can see in the clip I could move the strip enough that if it got caught installing or removing it from the fan cage it would ruin the conductor strip. I, being the analytical sort, improvised a genius plan to protect this conductor and used the most technologically advanced adhesive known to man."
More information on this review can be found here.
CoolerMaster Neon LED Fan Review @ Twisted Mods
"Since the beginning of computers, proper cooling has been essential. As the modding community has progressively become larger many manufacturers have taken the initiative to take cooling a bit further by using. LEDS! One of the greatest known aluminum case manufacturers of all time, Cooler Master, has followed the trend with one of their newest products - The BLUE neon led fan."
More information on this review can be found here.
GORE: Ultimate Soldier Review @ Review Nation
"Let's get something straight. This is not a deep game. Gore flows from the same vein as TimeSplitters and Serious Sam, games that require players to have twitch reflexes along with a sense of finesse and style to win. If you think you fit the bill, then Gore is a great way to spend $20 for a few hours of mindless fun."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Wednesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Wednesday, October 16, 2002, 12:27:17 AM | | Author: hitek |
Fanstorm Fan-Controller Review @ Xtreme PC Tech
(c) 2002 Xtreme PC Tech
"Today most computers require at least some type of cooling. High Performance computers require the most cooling. Even if you have a 1.0 Ghz CPU, your computer still requires some type of extra cooling. ALL electronic components create heat, it is caused by the flow of electricity causing friction. The faster it travels more heat is made. Heat can cause severe damage to your computer, such as performance decreases, component failure, system crashing, and the risk of burning out chips."
More information on this review can be found here.
Voltage Regulating Rheostat Style @ Ghetto Mods
"It seems like case modding is almost going mainstream these days. Nearly any mod you can think of can be ordered pre assembled from distributors, but where's the fun in that. Sure, you can go out and spend 40 bucks on a rheobus bay, but why not use a little of your brain, save yourself a little money and build one from scratch. This is how you make a fan speed controller. We will be using a LM317 voltage regulator to achieve speed control. This offers some advantages over a rheostat, in that it is much cheaper, and it can drive high power fans, up to 18 watts."
More information on this review can be found here.
Crystalfontz LCD Display Kit Model 632 Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Crystalfontz LCD Display Kit Model 632 offers clear contrast, fast response, very easy to setup and connects to a standard serial port. Also, this unit offers a unique feature called Scrolling Marquee which scrolls a message across the display."
More information on this review can be found here.
Fashion PC's Imperial Case Review @ BlargOC
"You've probably already figured out that the case has been supplied to me in black, but it is also available in silver and ivory. You've also no doubt worked out that it's a midi tower ATX case. I was pleased to find that although quite small everything is spaced out nicely on the inside. Working from top left clockwise you can see the cut-out for the power supply unit, note that a PSU is not supplied with the case, the drive bays running down the right side of the case, then the included 80mm case fan seated in the usual place under the PSU cut-out back over on the left."
More information on this review can be found here.
Sunbeam Dual CCFL's Review
"One being the huge acrylic blocks on either end (and glued in place may I add!). These ensure that the frail cathode isn't going to come out of the tube and break in transit. Secondly the wires that connect the cathode to the inverter are protruding from one end. Anyone who has owned a cathode before will know just how annoying it is to have wires dragging over the top of your cathode and basically being too short to be practical. The Sunbeam cathodes eradicate all this evil and are dare I say it? Perfect!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Gigabyte GA-8IEXP Motherboard Review @ MBReview
"As soon as you open up the box, you know you're in business. I don't think I have ever come across a board in recent times that has been this packed with extras. It's tough to decide where to start, so let's just get a "quick" rundown of the included items and other goodies. The GA-8IEXP comes along with a color fold-out type set of instructions that covers what each of the slots, jumpers, etc. on the board are, along with every step you'll need to know to get your new or upgraded system up and running smooth. This is the nicest presentation of this information I have seen in the testing lab yet."
More information on this review can be found here.
Overclockers Hideout SLPR-2002 Water Cooling System Review @ Monster Hardware
(c) 2002 Monster Hardware
"Fully feature loaded all aluminum mid-tower case with the best available water cooling system on the planet. The Z4 intercooler kit installed in this system is not a cut rate or scaled down version. All parts are of the same quality found in any other high end system sold on this site. CNC machined and silver plated Aqua sinks are used along with our long life super dependable magnetic drive pump with 4 PSI of pressure. This is an incredible value for anyone wanting a versatile and upgradeable system."
More information on this review can be found here.
Cornea Systems MP704 17" LCD Monitor Review @ OCAddiction
"Today, LCD flat panels have become very popular as computer monitors. As opposed to CRTs, LCDs are much smaller, less straining on the eyes, use less power, and damn good looking. The technology behind them now is considered to be much more advanced than any "super flat" CRT. Not only are they thin in general, but the screen surface is as flat as flat gets. The only two major concerns among enthusiasts with LCDs are that a) they refresh slower than CRTs and fast animation will look blurry or glitchy and b) they are not worth the price."
More information on this review can be found here.
BenQ FP567 15" LCD Monitor @ OCIA
"On December 5, 2001 Acer Communications and Multimedia announced a change in name and global brand identity. The new brand is BenQ, and operates independently of Acer. BenQ has an annual output of over 3 million monitors which ranks them among the top 5 computer display manufacturers. Their LCD and CRT monitor products range from 14" to 21" (Various Viewable's). Now you know that BenQ is not some new kid on the block."
More information on this review can be found here.
Creative Audigy2 Sound Card Review @ Digit Life
"So long awaited sound cards of the next generation from Creative, this undoubted leader on the market of multimedia solutions for PC, have finally arrived onto the market. They've got a plain name of Audigy2. The Audigy cards released last year were just a preparation for the today's triumphant procession. The mysterious words "24 bits", "higher resolution sound" and others have finally assumed material form. The Audigy2 was surely equipped with several more advanced features."
More information on this review can be found here.
Build A Budget Gaming Computer @ EliteGuild
"Unfortunately as a student I didn't just have $1000 lying around to buy a whole new top-of-the-line system. This is when I started looking at building a "budget gaming computer". Gone are the days (thankfully) when you needed to spend $3000 to build a good gaming system. This guide is to prove that gone are the days of even having to spend $1000 a good system. I set out to build a solid system that would meet and exceed all practical needs one may have. While you won't be winning any "benchmark drag races", you will still see blazingly fast frame rates and great system response."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Poorman's Mouse Feet Guide @ GideonTech
"I love my mouse, having big hands, it is the perfect mouse for me so when the little pads wore off I had to find a solution. I went online to take a look at a company's product, which is a slippery tape that you put where those little pads used to be, but it was 20 dollars with shipping, which I felt was really high. So I started looking around at what I had around the house. After remembering that I had a roll of aluminum tape, used for air conditioning duct's, I thought that might be the ticket."
More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Tuesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 15, 2002, 10:42:51 AM | | Author: hitek |
Via Eden EPIA-5000 Motherboard Review @ Pheaton.com
"With the small form factor mod becoming a viable subsection of case culture, The release of all in one solutions like the mini ITX form factor has increased the possibility of fitting a fully functional computers into a ridiculously small spaces. In this article we take a look at VIA's Low cost. low heat solution, the Eden EPIA-5000."
More information on this review can be found here.
ThermalRight AX-478 P4 HSF Review @ Overclocker Cafe
"ThermalRight reminds us that good performance doesn't always have to come at the cost of an arm and a leg. Priced at $26, while out performing the Tt Volcano 7+ regardless of which fan we used is a noteworthy feat."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermalright SLK-800 Copper Heatsink Review @ Ascully.com
"Thermalright are at the top of the food chain when it comes to exotic Heatsinks. The sink we are looking at today is at the cream of the crop for Thermal rights. The SLK-800 is very special in many way's and is possibly the ultimate air cooler for today's systems. We will take a look at the product over the course of this review and also have some very interesting benchmarks to boot."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec Thermaflow Temperature Controlled Case Fans
"Vantec are really on a roll at the moment. Yet another of there superb cooling products came my way this week. This time it's the latest in there line of case fans, the Vantec Thermaflow! So, what's different about the Vantec Thermaflow ? On first inspection they look like any other ordinary case fan, but dig a little deeper and you will realize they are anything but ordinary. Read on for more details."
More information on this review can be found here.
Noise Control "Magic Fleece" Review @ Virtual Hideout
(c) 2002 Virtual Hideout
"Well, after days and days of testing and listening, I've got a few conclusions for this product. First off, it's MUCH better suited for a system WITHOUT front intake fans. I still have the same trademark intake fan noise from the front of my Antec 1080AMG. I can also clearly hear my dual Maxtor 40GB 7200 rpm hard drives spinning away just behind the vented front bezel. However, as I've said earlier, if you happen to be watercooling your system and you do NOT have the front intake fans right behind the bezel, this system "should" significantly reduce the noise coming from the front of it. This kit did make my system "feel" more solid when I "kicked it's tires" so to speak. You know, when you tap your hand on the top or side you get that "ting". As in a typical system you might get a hollow or clangy sound by tapping the shell of your case. That's usually from the panels rattling, or hitting the chassis.Not with this installed as it basically bonds the thick sheets of fleece to its exterior panels."
More information on this review can be found here.
Enermax 305B Pre-Modded Black Case Review @ 3DXtreme
"The window boasts the biggest mod to the case. One of the great things about this case is that it comes ready to use. The window is already mounted onto the side wall of the case. At the center of the window is a blow hole that comes with a translucent blue 80mm fan already mounted on it."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermaltake Silent PurePower 420 Watt Power Supply Unit Review
"Thermaltake has been producing some very high quality products lately and I believe this shows the level of dedication to their customers. I have no problem suggesting this Power Supply Unit to anyone from a novice to an Overclocker."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro Review @ LANParty
"Today's video card market isn't what it used to be. As with much of my LANPartying brethren, I long for the day when buying a video card was easy; back when a Voodoo 2 was faster than a Voodoo 1, but slower than a shiny new Voodoo 3 (which, if rumours were true, not only would accelerate your gaming, but also cook an egg in 30 seconds flat!). Now, thanks to some "ingenious" marketing, a GeForce 4 now can be slower than a GeForce 2, and a Radeon 9000 doesn't necessarily beat out its lesser-numbered counterpart. Confusing? You bet. But fear not, your friends at LANParty.com are here to help you find your way out from under the mass of numbers and acronyms that is the modern video card, as we set the record straight on ATI's Radeon 9000 Pro!"
More information on this review can be found here.
FannerTech Eagle Stream Reviewed @ myWORLD Hardware
(c) 2002 myWorld Hardware
"AMD cooler just can't get enough of heatsinks! Manufacturers just love to produce heatsink fans for the AMD cpu! Why? Because, most of us love AMD cpu which has good performance and value for money. Although these days when you bought the AMD cpu, a basic heatsink fan was included, but we just can't get enough of it as it provides basic cooling purposes."
More information on this review can be found here.
Gainward GF4 Pro/600-8X MX440 AGP 8X VGA Review @ Overclockers New Zealand
"The Gainward's GF4 MX-440 8X is a solid "low-end" card, with BGA memory package and VIVO function. Its performance is acceptable for the average gamer. The low heat dissipation makes it an ideal choice for small factor PCs (e.g. Shuttle VG25). When overclocked, it can perform on par with a stock GF4 Ti-4200 under certain games/resolutions."
More information on this review can be found here.
ThermalTake GF4 Copper Cooling Kit Review @ OCIA
"When the package arrived I was impressed. The cooler was solid in weight and feel with an attractive copper cooler and the gold anodized aluminum memory sinks. It came with 2 sets of RAM Sinks and a cooler with a 3 to 4 pin molex adapter which led me to believe that maybe it has a little more oomph than the standard cooler. The kit came with a double sided adhesive tape with enough tabs to attach the memory sinks and there was a packet of thermal grease for the core cooler. The core cooler did not require adhesive tabs because it is connected via two spring loaded plastic push pins attached to the copper cooler."
More information on this review can be found here.
4 LED fan and Tricolor RGB Cold Cathode Review
"I must admit I was skeptical of the effect but once I placed it inside the box I was impressed and my son came running into the room and asked if that was for his box. I said go away kid, Christmas is 3 months away and your birthday already passed but his persistence paid off. So we placed it in his Lian Li and took some pics. Nice!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Cooler Master Neon LED Fan Review @ Modtown
"There are four LEDs mounted in this fan, one in each corner. Looking at the pictures above, you can hardly see them or the circuit which powers them. This is a great move by Cooler Master. Instead of using a flexible PCB or similar, they have opted for very, very thin wire and used tiny SMD resistors. This makes the whole circuit almost 'invisible' at first glance."
More information on this review can be found here.
PlexCombo 20x10x40x12 DVD Drive and Burner Review @ Review Shack
"The drive was easy enough to install, just like anything else. Set your jumper, connect the IDE, connect the power and then your audio cable and your good to go. You might wanna put in some screws though too, that helps. After I got it installed and ready to go (I'm using it here as my master drive with my other CD-RW as my slave) I fired up my system and put in a cd. I noticed something immediately, it is slow. The read rates from a normal cd are just slow. The benchmark results are listed below. The burn speeds are real nice though, the module we have here is a 20x one. The DVD-ROM speed is 12x, that's pretty good combined with a read speed of 40x. I know 40x doesn't sound that slow but to me it seems like it because I have something a good bit faster then that."
More information on this review can be found here.
Creative Labs SBS250 Speakers Review @ Spode's Abode
"These speakers will suffice for anyone who just needs a cheap pair of speakers for occasional music listening and multimedia use. They aren't anything particular special at all. But at £19.99 and with a pretty sleek look - you can't argue."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec 1080AMG Case Review @ KEP Technologies
(c) 2002 KEP Technologies
"Antec for many years have captured the business of much of the PC enthusiast audience with their Performance series of cases. Nowadays, you turn to the back of a PC magazine and it is a struggle NOT to find a Performance case featured with a system. The word has certainly gone out to a lot of OEMs that the Performance case is the perfect balance of excellent airflow, price-without-compromise, as well as manly good-looks."
For those of you who don't know, KEP Technologies was formerly known as Antec Asylum. More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Thanksgiving News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Monday, October 14, 2002, 1:14:10 AM | | Author: hitek |
Happy Thanksgiving from MTB!
On behalf of the staff at MTB, we would like to wish all our fellow Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving. Now is the time to enjoy a nice turkey dinner with friends and family, as well as say a prayer for those less fortunate. Here is today's holiday news edition..
Volcano 9 "Coolmod" - An Athlon XP Bites the Dust @ PCReview Spot
"I'm extremely shocked and dissapointed with this. Now I'm going to have to turn up with a Athlon XP 1600+ from somewhere, fast, because no it wasn't even mine, it was my sisters'. I'm not saying that this reflects Thermaltakes reputation, it was my personal experience, and possibly the CPU could have fried independently of the HSF, but I doubt it. Another XP bites the dust!"
Ouch! More information on this review can be found here.
MSI KT3 Ultra2-R KT333 Motherboard Review @ Viper Lair
"Previously, the KT3 wasn't able to hit 150FSB, but now we got as high as 154. I did manage to get up to 165FSB, but that meant lowering the multiplier down to 7. Honestly, I'm not convinced the lower multiplier trade-off is worth it, but that's up to you to decide."
More information on this review can be found here.
SOYO-KT400 DRAGON Ultra Motherboard Platinum Edition Review @ Technoyard
"The chipset we all have been waiting for is finally here; the KT400 chipset promises to be the performance seekers dream come true. Does it deliver or is it just another marketing gimmick. Find out as we take a look at SOYO's newest KT400 board, the KT400 Dragon Ultra Platinum Edition."
More information on this review can be found here.
ASUS P4T533-C Motherboard Review @ Tech Dreams
"Whether you are building a house or a personal computer, you need to start out with a solid foundation. If you have a substandard foundation, then the rest of the structure suffers. When it comes to a computer, you will need a motherboard that will let you get the maximum performance out of your complete system. Anything less, in my opinion, would be a waste. Today, we are going to continue the series of reviews on the Pentium 4 computer system I built for my brother by taking a close look at its foundation - the ASUS P4T533-C motherboard."
More information on this review can be found here.
Meridian M-2015 Aluminum Mid-Tower Review @ System Cooling
(c) 2002 System Cooling
"Billed as an economically priced aluminum case that pays strict attention to durability, style and cooling friendliness the Meridian M-2015 seems to have met its designer's goals! It is by far the heaviest mid-tower aluminum case we've ever had the pleasure to examine; weighting in at 7.3 kg or about 16 lbs. The case is constructed using 1.6mm thick aluminum, which easily explains its weight."
Great front bezel design. More information on this review can be found here.
AMS gMONO Case Review @ OCAddiction
"Installation of components was a breeze. I didn't find any awkward angles that hamper fast motherboard or card installation. All mounting holes lined up well and all the screws went in without a hitch. The case has provisions for 2 USB ports, a headphone jack, and 1 IEEE 1394 "Firewire" port in the front. The plugs for the front USB mounted easily enough on the mainboard header. You won't get any cuts or abrasions from installing your components in this case as all metal edges are folded. If there were any sharps spots, the sandpaper man must have taken care of them."
More information on this review can be found here.
Modders at IDF Provide a 'Case Study' in PC Innovation @ Intel.com
"For PC enthusiasts, the sport of case modding is the 21st century version of hot-rodding. Dissatisfied with the traditional beige box, a new generation of visionary designers has emerged from the ranks of gamers and tech enthusiasts to drive PC design in bold new directions. On the inside you will find a regular PC configuration with processor, hard drive and video card. But on the outside you have something entirely new: cool neon lights, cylindrical, spherical and even organic shapes, as case modders blur the boundaries between art and technology, limited only by the power of their imaginations."
More information on this report can be found here.
New Product Release: Vantec Nexus Multi-Function Panel
"Vantec is in the process of preparing an upcoming new product called the Nexus Multi-function Panel. This panel is designed to provide effective PC management and features stylish interchangeable faceplates in three different colors to give your PC a brand new look."
More information on this new product can be found here.
HeavyDuty Pro Case Handles Review @ Twisted Mods
"Whether you are carrying your case into another room or transporting it across the state to a LAN party, case handles are absolutely the easiest and quickest way to pick up a case and go. MNPCTech, one of my favorite modding sites, gave us the chance to look at their Industrial Strength Case handles."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Review @ Explosive Labs
(c) 2002 Explosive Labs
"The Radeon 9700 Pro offers an explosive DirectX 8 card which is capable of handling games at very high resolutions with antialising features enabled. Running in AGP 8X mode will result in 2.1GB/s of bandwidth, something quite impressive. Aside from that the chip is loaded with four vertex shaders, eight pixel pipelines, and a 256-bit memory interface. The R300 is a .15-micron chip with a transistor count of over 110 million transistors, which is higher than any other GPU to date."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI AIW Radeon 8500 DV Review @ MrPCPro
"Looking at the card you can notice two strange things; a slivery box that is the cable decoder, and a floppy power connecter! Now there is not too much to say about the cable decoder, but the power connector is just the weirdest thing ever. Nowhere in the manual was such a connector mentioned; and neither was it mentioned on ATI’s website. Being as curious as we are, we risked our life and the board to figure out what it was, so went ahead and connected a spare floppy power supply jack to the connector, and booted the machine."
More information on this review can be found here.
Intel 845GE Chipset Review @ Tweakers Australia
"Well now that Intel has finally stepped into the light, official support for DDR333 has made its way into these new chipsets, along with a few other improvements as well. Along with the release of the three new DDR chipsets, Intel also provided an updated version of the 850E RDRAM chipset for the P4, incorporating support for dual-channel PC1066 that was recently validated by Intel. Today however, we will be looking at the 845GE chipset in detail, and comparing it to the former 845G chipset, along with the 845E and 850E chipsets."
More information on this review can be found here.
Digital Doctor 5 Review @ The ModFathers
"Normally when you receive an item to be reviewed it is something that you have not used before; so you have to try to create the knowledge and enthusiasm from the start. When the Digital Doctor 5 arrived from our good friends at Tekheads, it was with a smile that I opened the package."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lian Li LCD Thermometer Giveaway
"The first half a million hits on a new site is always a milestone, one we sailed through yesterday morning. To celebrate we are giving away a Lian Li LCD Thermometer to one lucky person. All you have to do to win this is email me before midnight GMT Monday 14th October. No question, nothing, just an email address I can reply to."
More information on this giveaway can be found here.
The "E.T.PC" Project @ Mini-ITX
(c) 2002 Mini-ITX
"Peter Li staged his own alien autopsy and went one stage further strengthening and then filling E.T.'s guts with an EPIA 800. Ouch. He's added some nice touches, like a voice module and the obligatory finger light. Peter is planning to make a series of Mini-ITX-inside o'Toys as Christmas presents for his close friends and family. Let's just hope the children don't have to give up their fluffy toys for such butchery first."
More information on this project can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Weekend News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Saturday, October 12, 2002, 1:57:25 AM | | Author: hitek |
Meblin's Mods' IR PC Remote Control Review @ PCReviewSpot
(c) 2002 PCReviewSpot
"Do you have a DVD drive on your computer? Tv-out? Perhaps even speakers? These days most people can answer yes to these questions, I know I can. Most people have probably at one point or another, wondered why they don't just use their PC to control everything (stereo, dvd, tv, etc). You probably came up with several reasons, but one of them being that you had no remote to control them with, and didn't want to get up every minute to adjust the volume, change channels, tracks, or what not. Well, today we are going to solve that problem with the Infra-Red (IR) PC Remote from Meblin's Mods."
More information on this review can be found here.
Flex Advanced Keyboard Review @ EnvyNews
"Aimed at on-the-go professionals, the Flex Advanced keyboard is the perfect marriage of portability and flexibility. Paramedics, enforcement officers, LAN gamers, and eccentrics alike will appreciate the durability and feature-filled functions of this spill, muck, and bio-waste resistant keyboard."
More information on this review can be found here.
PC Buyers Guide October 2002 @ TweakTown
"You've all been waiting for it and now its here! Come join TweakTown as they give us the newest edition of the TweakTown Buyer's Guide. With some very interesting additions to the PC world this past month, it is time to see what was worthy to be added to the ranks of the best. Come see for yourself!"
More information on this guide can be found here.
pcToys Power Maxx Aluminum Power Supply Review @ System Cooling
"In this day and age most people are coming to realize the importance of the power supply that drives their computer systems. In days past, just about any power supply would be sufficient, but not today. Our modern systems and peripherals require more and more power, and under-rated or marginal power supplies are the cause of many of the crashes and instability problems end-users deal with every day. You constantly hear people saying that they are using an AMD or Intel approved power supply and still having all kinds of problems."
More information on this review can be found here.
Californeon Lightstrip Review @ RipNet-UK
"I wasn't really sure what to expect when I switched the PC on but the result was very impressive. The glow is very good and it adds a touch of style and ambience to the case. Even in daylight it is bright enough to be seen clearly. Also, the instructions said that the inverter would hum when in use, but it was so quiet that it couldn't be heard at all amongst the fans."
More information on this review can be found here.
Phone Modding Guide @ ICEHardware
(c) 2002 ICEHardware
"The next generation of mobile phones are upon us, the standard is now to have colour screens, polyphonic ringtones and the like. So, where does this leave you? Most likely with an out of date phone that shares the same appearance as a few billion other phones. Sure you can change the facias but if you want to be a little more unique then why not consider modding your mobile, you never know you might even pull some new chix."
More information on this guide can be found here.
$5 Window Mod Guide @ Twisted Mods
"To accomplish this mod you will need automotive door edge molding, Plexi-glass and double sided tape. I purchased the two 27" lengths of black molding from Carquest for $3.18, the double sided tape from Walmart for $1.47 and a piece of 11"x11" scrap plexi-glass from Ace hardware for 25 cents. Total cost of the window.. $4.90. After buying the parts needed for the window mod I got the idea of putting an Antec blue LED fan in the window and also creating my own applique since I had the fan and ink jet window decal paper already. The fan and homemade applique are not included in the above mentioned cost but still keep the cost well below $25.00 when included."
Nice work! More information on this guide can be found here.
ABIT SR7-8X Motherboard Socket 478 Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The ABIT SR7-8X motherboard is one of the first AGP 8X products on the market sporting the SiS 648 chipset. This product has onboard audio, LAN and USB2 support at a fantastic price. Also, it's an excellent product for stability and performance; however, hardcore overclockers might be left wanting more!"
More information on this video review can be found here.
"SuperCooled P4" Prometeia Review @ VR-Zone
"The first introduction of Kryotech's SuperG and Asetek's VapoChill two years back spark a new chapter in overclocking where processor can be super cooled to the negative temperature. Therefore, the concept of phase change cooling does live on till now and new kid on the block, Chip-Con, a Danish company work around and improved on the technology and came out with Prometeia, the latest hit thing on the market currently. We shall be looking at the components of the Prometeia, installation procedure and most importantly the performance of the cooling system."
More information on this review can be found here.
Kool Cases Santa Fe Case Review @ Club Overclocker
"While enclosures from companies such as Lian-Li and Kingwin continue to rack accolades for innovative design and superb functionality, the price of these units are very high and can break the budget of any PC construction plan. Fortunately, our friends at KoolCases have found an enclosure that includes a factory installed widow mod that retails for a very moderate price. Falling in the sub $75 dollar range does not mean that the enclosure is equivalent to a stripped out hunk of metal, as this case also includes a swing-out motherboard tray."
More information on this review can be found here.
ColorCases 'X-Bee' ATX PC Case Review @ 3DVelocity
"As PC enthusiasts and modders show their prowess online, many entry-level tinkerers want to have the same visual and performance gains acquired through modifying their PC cases. However, Adding windows, extra fans and alternative buttons can be an intimidating prospect to the newcomer on the scene. However, manufacturers have been quick to satisfy the needs of those who desire all the bells and whistles, but aren't ready to plunge right in with a dremel tool, a sheet of lexan, and a box of fans."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| T.G.I.F News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Friday, October 11, 2002, 1:53:13 PM | | Author: hitek |
MTB Case Gallery Updated!
The MTB Case Gallery has finally been updated and I apologize to those of you waiting to get your entries submitted. The case gallery currently has over 100+ featured cases and there are some very nice and unique entries. I had to exclude a few cases because the pictures were too blurry or the descriptions were incomplete. Please make sure you follow our submission guidelines if you want your case entry added.
More information on this case gallery update can be found here.
Antec Performance Plus 660AMG Case Review @ TweakTown
"With many cases becoming more pleasing to the eye, what is a manufacturer to do to try to stand out from the crowd? Come join TweakTown as they take a peek at the Antec Performance Plus 660AMG enclosure. With the reputation of Antec, we can't wait to see what they have in store for us this time. Come find out if they can live up to their past endeavors!"
More information on this case gallery update can be found here.
Geil DDR-433 Platinum Memory Review
"DDR-400 is still yet to be approved as an official industry standard by JEDEC. This hasn't stopped several companies releasing DDR-400 memory, and even faster. Geil is one such company who accelerated in this area who went ahead and released their DDR-433 solution. TweakTown took time to put the memory through their usual torture tests to see how it stood up to the challenge with the most aggressive timings they could possible throw at it."
More information on this review can be found here.
GlobalWin YCC8870 Case Review @ RipNet-UK
"The case has a cool looking brushed aluminium finish that other reviewers have suggested is painted, I for one don't think so ... the surface looks as if it has been lacquered to protect the finish. Anyway, the case looks damn fine, very professionally finished to a high standard. I'll say from the outset you'll either love the looks of the case or hate them, there seems to be no middle ground on this one. I myself think it looks quite stylish, then again you haven't seen my dress sense!"
More information on this review can be found here.
ClearCase DCi CM 42 Review @ Twisted Mods
(c) 2002 Twisted Mods
"The creators of the case took the time to bevel the edge on the front and top pieces, not to mention how they also took the time to pay attention to smaller details such as sanding, and torching the edge of ALL the included acrylic pieces for a nice shiny/finished off effect. The next thing I noticed were the blue drive bays.the drive bays consisted of 1/4" acrylic and had sanded and torched edges as well. If there's one thing I can't resist in a case, it's the fine details."
More information on this review can be found here.
Kingwin 450 Watt Triple Fan PSU Review @ Overclocker Cafe
"The selector switch gives you the option of auto, low, and medium. With the selector switch set to 'medium' the unit was anything but silent. Not annoying just very noticeable. In low mode, things were pretty much silent. Set in the auto position, the fan speed is controlled by a temperature probe embedded in the PSU's heatsink."
More information on this review can be found here.
Samsung SM-322 CDRW/DVD Drive Review @ Monkey Review
"Samsung has put together a real winner here. I'd say that this would be a great buy for use as a DVD/CDRW combo drive. But honestly, this little peach here is a great addition to most systems that have 3 drives doing all the work. Unless you like giving up all of your 5 1/4 " drive bays to the same stuff, I'd say get this if upgrading to a 12x DVD drive is in your future, and if you have less than a 12x CD-R drive."
More information on this review can be found here.
Hairong F306 ATX Mini Tower Case Review @ TweakersZone
"If you are looking for a no fuss, cheap mini-tower case for a low end PC, then this is one case that you should consider. It is a very simple, but stylish case."
More information on this review can be found here.
Abit GeForce 4 Ti4200 OTES Review @ DeviantPC
"The clockspeeds are equivalent to those of a Ti4400. Abit I think have stayed with the Ti4200 naming so as to attract people who are looking at cards in that segment of the market. In this case the Abit Ti4200 OTES would be THE card to go for. The price is very similar to that of a Ti4200 with all the added performance of a Ti4400, and as we will show on the next page, great overclocking potential."
More information on this review can be found here.
Jet Cooled Project @ The ModFathers
(c) 2002 The ModFathers
"Cooling using air has been the most popular form of cooling since PC's first came into existence, most cases these days have a reasonable a mount of thought put into how air will get in and out. As always I like to take things one-step to far when it comes to cooling. A friend of mine had a nice wall mounted extractor that wasn't in use and was begging to be used for something, so I obliged."
More information on this project can be found here.
Thermaltake Hardcano 5 Review @ PCReviewSpot
"As you can see in the graphs, the fan is capable of keeping the drive a full 7C below what it would normally be. This 7C could translate into a few years more of life for your drive! Overall this is a great product that has a great many uses. You can hook up virtually any fan to the fan switch, the thermal probe can be used to record temperatures on a limitless amount of things such as RAM, hard drives, cpu's, gpu's, north bridge chips, and even ambient case temps."
More information on this review can be found here.
Adomax's Crystal Optical Mouse Review @ VN Roundup
"If you've had a chance to use or see a newer iMac machine you surely would have noticed the strange new button-less mouse that Apple has designed, the Apple Pro Mouse. Unfortunately, this chic transparent mouse is expensive and only works with Apple computers. Luckily, Adomax offers a similar looking button-less mouse for the PC for much less."
More information on this review can be found here.
Xoxide Green/Red Baybus Review @ Mikeoct.net
"The installation of the template is pretty simple. You remove the covering on the double stick tape already on the template, make sure the template is centered on your faceplate, and apply pressure to make sure that the template stays in place while drilling out the holes."
More information on this review can be found here.
Quad Led Fans Review @ Think Computers
"We saw different color fans and even clear fans! About a year ago PCMods came out with the LED fan. It actually had a LED on one of the fins of the fan. It looked great, but cost around $40US so it did not catch on. Then about 6 months ago the "LED fan" came out. It was a clear fan that had two LED's in the center of the fan. They were only $6US!! They caught on so fast! It was an easy and cheap way to add something unique to your case."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Thursday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Thursday, October 10, 2002, 1:50:37 AM | | Author: hitek |
Modding the AMS G-Mono Case @ OCIA
(c) 2002 OCIA
"Our plans for this case include adding a top 80mm blowhole, as well as modding out the front bezel to allow for better airflow. Myself and playa-k took a trip to Striker777's house to do the modding, as the is the official "tool owner". The first logical step is to remove all of the hardware from the case (metal shavings + system inside = NO NO!)"
More information on this case mod project can be found here.
Unlocking the Athlon XP 0.18 Micron XP Chip @ OCAddiction
"There are a few different guides to unlock one of these processors. My technique however is easy to do, it's reversible, and will not damage your processor if a mistake is made. For example I tried to use the method that tells you to fill in the trenches, laser cuts, between the L1 bridges with super glue then take an Exacto Knife and scrape off the excess so the L1 bridges are exposed. But me being a little clumsy I took a chunk out of the organic layer on top of the processor and exposed the ground underneath. No matter what I did after this point the processor could not be unlocked. I have unlocked 3 XP processors with the method here and all 3 unlocked the first time with no problems."
More information on this review can be found here.
Networking 101 Part 1 @ Furioustech
"So you got yourself a few computers now do you? And you want to connect them together? Well today I am going to write what I like to call a "self help guide". I will be going over the many forms and advantages of networking and how they work. This guide will not be filled with all that mumbo jumbo rocket scientist talk but more of a laid back "normal" person style to help understand it better."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Computer Farming on the Cheap with VNC @ System Cooling
"Budget farming is the best way for a person to boost their output in a DC project, but even a relatively cheap farm can get expensive when you start factoring in multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice. KVM switches can help reduce the cost, but at anywhere from $100-$300 for the switch, depending on the quality and size, and $20 or better for each set of cables, even this option can begin to exact a toll on the wallet. However, assuming all of the machines on your farm are connected to a network, there is an excellent alternative that will not only give you all the functionality you need, it also has another benefit that makes it almost irresistible to the budget farmer - it's FREE! The name of the alternative is VNC."
More information on this guide can be found here.
EluminX - World's First Commercially Available Illuminated Computer Keyboard
"The EluminX(TM) Illuminated Keyboard from Auravision(TM) is a patented computer keyboard with internal luminescence or lighting -- the first commercially available computer keyboard that remains totally visible even in dark or low-lit workspaces. The EluminX(TM) Illuminated Keyboard eliminates the glare from task lighting, eases eyestrain, and makes the keys easy to see. A perfect solution for late night web surfers, gamers and computer users."
More information on this new product can be found here.
Corsair XMS 3200 Memory Reviewed @ myWORLD Hardware
(c) 2002 myWorld Hardware
"Memory, be it SDRAM, DDR SDRAM or RDRAM, play the most important role in a particular computer system. Usually we get memory upgrades without thinking what's it primary functions as we always assumed that our computer will run 'faster' after upgrading! No doubt, memory upgrade does really benefit a lot as faster and bigger amount of ram, we could load programs much smoother and run some heavy application such as graphic editor, CAD and so on, without any "hiccups!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Asus A7V8X KT400 Motherboard Review @ Overclockers New Zealand
"The general layout is similar to the previous A7V-333 with minor changes around the socket area and power connectors. The ATX connector has been moved to the bottom right hand corner which is a better location than beside the socket area. The raid port is facing forward instead of upward. I wonder what is the logic behind it. I am happy to announce that Asus retains the four mounting holes around the socket area. This board is Alpha 8045 safe. You do not need any modification to fit an alpha 8045. The four HSF mounting holes around the socket are small ones and grounded. Thus, potential Alpha 8045 users should not use shoulder washers."
More information on this review can be found here.
Abit IT7-MAX2 and Media XP Review @ DeviantPC
"Another addition to the IT7-MAX2 is the inclusion of 2 Serial ATA150 ports. Although true SATA drives are very few and far between, only Seagate comes to mind, Abit does supply a single connector to hook a regular parallel ATA drive to a SATA port. Serial ATA is quickly becoming a common inclusion on new boards, Abit as far as I can tell though are the only manufacturer to add Serial ATA RAID to the list of features on the IT7-MAX2. It does allow for future flexibility and means the board will not be out of date in 2003 when serial ATA comes to the fore in the market."
More information on this review can be found here.
Compex NP16 Bundle Review @ Hardware Masters
"The NP16 is basically a regular 10/100 Internet gateway with a built in 4-port switch and wireless capabilities. The key word is "capabilities". The NP16 itself does not include an antenna required to setup a wireless network. In order to utilize the wireless portion of this product, one needs to buy a separate 802.11b PCMCIA card and insert it into slot on the gateway."
More information on this review can be found here.
Promise FastTrak SX4000 RAID Controller Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Promise FastTrak SX4000 RAID Controller is excellent for both server or home environment because it offers performance at a reasonable price. Also, there is no doubt this card is very flexible with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD array options."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Copper OCZ Goliath 2 SE HSF Review @ PCReviewSpot
"As you can see, the heat sink is made from a skived-fin design. These ultra-small fins have been proven to dissipate heat very quickly and efficiently, thus are now becoming quite popular. We have already reviewed several skived heat sinks here, but none of them have been manufactured from pure copper. This should prove to be quite interesting, since the thermal conductivity of Copper is 402 W/mK, which is almost twice of Aluminum, 226 W/mK. The only other [semi] practical metal that bests copper is silver, with a slightly higher thermal conductivity of 422 W/mK."
More information on this video review can be found here.
A Newbie's Guide to Overclocking Memory @ Overclockers.com
"To understand overclocking, you need to realize that there is a single clock which controls all operations made by the computer. The various operations (for example graphics) are slaved to the clock. The clock measures time in what is typically called a tick, or cycle, or the clock refresh rate and reflects a discrete measure of time."
Excellent guide! More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Wednesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Wednesday, October 9, 2002, 1:31:52 AM | | Author: hitek |
Clear PC Press Release!
Victoria, BC, Canada
The Upgrade Path Computer Co..
October 9th 2002
ClearPC to Sell Direct for a Limited Time - Only $99!
(c) 2002 ClearPC.ca
The most highly modded and reviewed acrylic chassis in the world, "ClearPC," is on sale now direct from the manufacturer for just $99 + shipping. All prices are in USD.
Cheers,
-Frank Goluza, Owner, ClearPC
The Upgrade Path Computer Co..
If your looking to purchase one of the best Canadian manufactured Acrylic Cases, now is your chance. This is one great deal! More information on this sale can be found here.
Chieftec WX-01BL-D Case & SPX-01BL-F Side Panel Review @ Modtown
"I have to say I own a Chieftec case also in blue, my model is TX10-BLD and at first glance I can't see any difference between them apart from the front grill, and the fact it comes with 360w PSU where as mine came with a 340w PSU. Chieftec seem to be lagging behind other case makers in the development front."
More information on this review can be found here.
SkyHawk SH-400A8H PSU Review
"A PSU is almost like the 'heart' of the computer, pumping life throughout it, and without one nothing much can happen. Today I take a look at the Skyhawk SH-400A8H PSU, which is a high-end 400 watt unit. This little guy is very impressive and will produce more than enough juice to power even the most demanding setups."
More information on this sale can be found here.
Cooler Master ATC-201-B-ST Case Review @ System Cooling
"One year ago this month, I reviewed the original version of the Cooler Master ATC-201 and I was impressed with its high level of cooling friendliness right out of the shipping carton. In June of this year I reviewed the second version that was designated the Cooler Master ATC-201C SX. Like its older brother it was extremely cooling friendly and came with a lower price tag; that made a lot of people happy. Now, we have yet a third version of this most popular case and you're seeing it here at SystemCooling.com for the first time anywhere!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Intel I845GE Chipset Review - DDR333 for the Pentium 4 @ TweakTown
"It has been a long time coming. Finally, Intel yesterday released the i845GE and EP chipsets for the Pentium 4 platform with official support for DDR-333 through a new memory controller. This comes at a time where SiS and VIA have had their DDR333 solutions (and faster in the case of VIA with their P4X400) out for several months already. Do you really need to upgrade your motherboard to the latest and greatest? Follow Cameron "Sov" Johnson has he gives us an answer to this question."
More information on this review can be found here.
Xoxide 80mm Fankit Review @ Mikeock.net
"You have finally modded your case, but some of your fans have died. You also decide that you need some sort of flashy grill to show off within that new case. So what is the solution to this? Get the new Xoxide 80mm fan kit. This is a decent price, around $10, and offers pretty good performance."
More information on this review can be found here.
Unreal Tournament 2003 Giveaway @ Overclocker Cafe
(c) 2002 Overclocker Cafe
"Between now and Thursday October 17th, you can get your name in the hat to win a copy of the latest greatest first person shooter out, Unreal Tournament 2003 from the Overclocker Café’.
More information on this contest can be found here.
Altec Lansing ACS251 Surround Sound System Review @ LANParty
"The prodigal phineas returns to the review scene with a snazzy overview of the Altec Lansing ACS251 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System. For a mere $99, the system offers a surround sound experience at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. Does the age old addage of "you get what you pay for" hold true in thespeaker world as well? Be sure to check out the review, fortified with plenty of meaty goodness, and a healthy dose of poorly translated French!"
More information on this review can be found here.
CD Repair Tools - Dr Fix It vs SkipDr @ Spode's Abode
"Resurfacing is a two stage process, the pink discs don't require any fluid and grind off the surface layer. The yellow discs use a repair paste, and basically do the resurfacing. It also comes with a cleaning kit, which cleans a disc without any grinding, but instead using an isopropanol reservoir. It also comes with a deep scratch pad (which is for manually removing some of the deeper scratches) and a cleaning cloth - for removing residue left behind after the grinding process."
More information on this review can be found here.
Procase Cubid 2677R mini-iTX case Review @ Hardwire
"After the Eden motherboard review, the next stage in the project is getting an actual case. I was debating over whether or not I should making one, but here we are reviewing the Cupid 2677R Mini ITX case which seems ideal. When planning the project it had to be small and quiet, making it unobtrusive. This case is small – 295mm wide by 63mm high by 27mm deep. It has the makings of a quiet case, thanks to its special DC-DC PSU, but more info on that later. Lastly, it is unobtrusive, being small, slim, and black."
More information on this review can be found here.
MS Multimedia Keyboard Review @ Envy News
"It's that time of the year again; fall, the season of change and renewal for both nature and hardware manufacturers. It's the time when computer companies unleash their new product refreshes, hoping to beat their competition with new and exciting products. Everyone is doing it, and so are the sleeping giants such as Microsoft. In one fell swoop, Microsoft unveiled new Mice and Keyboards, both wireless and corded - in bold new colors and boxes. The war rages on, in input peripheral market dominance."
More information on this review can be found here.
Mac vs. PC: A Basic Guide To What Is Right For You @ Geekshelter
"I recently started working my creative juices thinking of a way to bring you a guide that would show you in-depth coverage of Mac and PC, side by side for not only one specific group of computer user, but instead for many. On the following pages, you will find information pertaining to heavy design users, gamers, casual users, power users etc. So if you have even ever wondered about “The other side” or even how to improve the side you’re already on, you will definitely want to tune in, sit back, relax and read this guide."
More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Tuesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002, 2:26:09 AM | | Author: hitek |
The Prometeia Cooling System Review @ Active Hardware
"Overclocking enthusiasts have a number of tools at their disposal through which to practice their chosen art without overheating their CPUs. In fact, even user's for whom Overclocking isn't a consideration often find such cooling systems to have compelling advantages over the stock heatsink and fan units that come with most processors. Proper cooling not only improves overall system stability, but also long term reliability; keeping components, such as microprocessor's, from suffering undue stress due to excessive heating can often improve their life spans."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro Video Card Review @ Ascully.com
"The Radeon 9700 PRO is the world's fastest* and most advanced graphics board, featuring ATI's Radeon 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU). Through a combination of incredible 3D rendering performance, sophisticated real-time visual effects, unsurpassed image quality and cutting-edge video features, it takes the PC entertainment experience to a totally new level."
More information on this review can be found here.
AMS gTower All Aluminum Case Review @ OCAddiction
(c) 2002 OCAddiction
"The next thing that truly impressed me was the weight of this case. It is by FAR the very lightest case I have EVER worked with. I could almost pick it up with one finger it's so light, and after lugging around steel cases for the past few years, this is certainly a welcome nicety."
More information on this review can be found here.
NVIDIA's NV18 and NV28 AGP8x Video Card Review @ BJorn3D
"Let's make this perfectly clear upfront: The new releases from NVIDIA are not their response to ATi's Radeon 9700. They aren't even completely new products. Instead, the NV18 and NV28 are incremental updates to the current GeForce4 MX and GeForce4 Ti products. The new iterations incorporate Intel's latest AGP specification, 3.0 (read here for more information from Intel). The marketing name for the new spec is AGP 8X."
More information on this review can be found here.
Geargrip Pro Computer Carrying Harness Review
"If lugging your PC back and forth to LAN games is becoming a drag, then you might want to look into a more efficient way of doing things. CasAce's GearGrip Pro computer harness may just be the best solution to come along so far."
More information on this review can be found here.
Zalman CNPS Roundup @ Viper Lair
"As for the coolers, they work well enough, though the CNPS3100-Plus may not be the best choice for overclockers. Both heatsinks are remarkably quiet, and this is something that is gaining popularity for a lot of users tired of the noise."
More information on this review can be found here.
DION-MX MP3 64MB Player Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The DION-MX MP3 Player (64MB) is very small, affordable, functional and cute. It's capable of playing your MP3's, recording voice and you can even input your own logo/image."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Bitsmodding Dual CCFL Review @ Monkey Review
"Let's be realistic for a moment, if we could possibly get more lights into our towers we probably would, and for most of us, if we could get a second cold cathode tube into our towers we would. Well luckily, for those of us that would like to do this, companies such as Bitsmodding have given us an alternative to modding existing wiring or adding a second inverter and switch."
More information on this review can be found here.
Epox 8K5A2+ Motherboard Review @ PC-Arena
(c) 2002 PC-Arena
"Epox has been making quite a name for itself in the overclockers market in the last few years, and today I'm going to be taking a look at one of their latest motherboards, which is based upon the Via KT333 chipset."
More information on this review can be found here.
Shuttle SB51 Preview @ Sudhian Media
"Shuttle paid us a visit over the weekend and brought a new toy along for us to take a peek at. Although it is a pre production version, the new toy is the SB51. The SB51 is very much the same as the SS51 but with one major change - the chipset. The SB51 still has 1/1 AGP/PCI, but this time is using the new Intel 845GE chipset."
More information on this review can be found here.
Samsung 172T LCD Review @ Modfactor
"The Samsung 172T is by far one of the most unique LCD monitors on the market. I have not seen any LCD that has even come close to the style and performance of the 172T. This 17" LCD outperforms a lot of the LCD monitors currently available. It was designed for high performance usage and therefore the standards are quite high for a monitor such as this. The silver and black styling also makes this monitor look like so unique because there isn't a monitor on the market that looks nearly as good as this one. It is so thin and compact that it makes anyone drool when they see it, especially when they see how clear, bright, and crisp the image is."
More information on this review can be found here.
DDR RAM Guide Updated - A-Data DDR400 DDR @ Overclockers New Zealand
"Back in the early days of PC-2700, we had Samsung CTL-CB3, which was an incredible overclocker. It was used on practically all of the high-end modules. In the PC-3200 age, the WinBond BH-5 chip seems to be the next CTL-CB3. (Corsair are using this chip, hand picked, for their XMS-3200 module) From the pictures above, we can see that A- Data also uses the WinBond HB-5 chips on their PC-3200 range. From the datasheet, the HB-5 is rated at DDR-400 with a voltage of 2.6V. This is a good sign, as some DDR-400 modules require 2.8V to operate. We shell see how it performs in the following tests."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Monday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Monday, October 7, 2002, 1:20:37 AM | | Author: hitek |
MTB HTPC Project - Cooler Master ATC-600 Case Mod Arrives!
(c) 2002 MODTHEBOX.COM
"Two months and 11 pages later, MTB is proud to present our long awaited case modification article. In this case modification project we cover the complete transformation of a Cooler Master ATC-600 Desktop Aluminum Case into an HTPC Multimedia System."
More information on this case mod project can be found here.
AMD Overclocking Guide October 2002 @ TweakTown
"After hearing all the writings and arguments between the Intel -vs- AMD folks, you have finally decided to go the AMD route. But how can you overclock it? Come join TweakTown as they bring you an updated AMD Overclocking Guide. It will cover the process of overclocking the processor, setting the BIOS and even some general troubleshooting tips and hints. Let's revisit just what makes the AMD line of processor so special!"
More information on this guide can be found here.
Swiftech MCW462-UHT Waterblock/Pelt Review @ Xtreme Systems
"My review will be different from most, in that rather than evaluating the MCW462-UHT with a more commonly used watercooling system loop which would include radiators, I’ll be using my custom built R-22 Phase Change chiller to feed this puppy –30c coolant. I have been running this particular system since February with great success in my overclocking and 3Dmark benchmarking endeavors, utilizing a Maze style block purchased from OCHideout, the Z-4. With so many of the top overclockers today utilizing peltiers or phase change cases such as the Kryotech and Vapochill to achieve incredible overclocks, it was time to see how much further I could push a couple of cpu’s my son and I have in our arsenal."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Water Cooled Lian-Li PC70 Article @ System Cooling
(c) 2002 System Cooling
"The Lian-Li PC70 is a popular case for both air and water cooling. The PC70 has been subjected to many modifications, and the article will cover some of the ones I made to it. I air cooled in this case prior to water cooling, but retained some of the air cooling mods made to the case. There are many options available to water coolers these days. You can buy a configured case and add your components and go. Or you can purchase a kit or individual components and install them in a case you choose. My ultimate goal was a quiet water cooled system that performed well using a mildly overclocked dual CPU motherboard. I opted for individual pieces and chose two Danger Den acrylic topped Maze3 water blocks, a Black Ice Extreme radiator, an Eheim 1250 water pump, and ½" Tygon hose. Coolant is distilled water with Redline Water Wetter, using a 4 ounce to the gallon mix. System flow is 95GPH."
More information on this project can be found here.
Thermaltake Xaser II 5000 Case Review @ Tobitech.de
"For 5 1/4" disk drives one must use the provided rails. The disk drives are not screwed directly in the housing. One must takes 2 of the guide rails and fasten them directly to a CD-ROM disk drive."
More information on this review can be found here.
Coolermaster HSC-V62 Socket A Thermal Sensing Cooler Review @ 3DXtreme
"This cooler was developed to help keep today's high speed processors cool, but it also paid special attention to the environment of the computers' workplace by building in technology that will control the fan on the cooler, based on what the workload at the current time needs."
More information on this review can be found here.
Directron Sound Card Controlled CCFL Kit @ Virtual Hideout
"Sound sensitivity in neons and cold cathodes has been around in the modding scene since they were first introduced to us modders a couple years ago. However, now sound activated cold cathodes are taking a turn from before responding to ambient sound to now with this product from Directron responding to the sound output of your sound card! This is not your every day cold cathode light kit. This new product is different from all those other cold cathode lamp kits in several major ways."
More information on this review can be found here.
Tt G4-VGA Cooler Review @ OcHardware
"We all want the best cooling that we can get when we decide to overclock our systems. People pay plenty for a good processor heatsink and then some for case fans. The one thing people almost always overlook, is their graphics card. There are a lot of GeForce 4s out there that come with a rather cheap GPU heatsink/fan and no ramsinks at all. Luckily, ThermalTake has realized that people need cooling products for their graphics card too!"
More information on this review can be found here.
CrazyPC Rectangle Red Window Kit Review @ Mikhailtech
"As with any other window mod, the first step is to mark the location of the window. The molding that I chose to use with this window is not designed to have the window mount in it, but rather behind it. This has to be taken into consideration when measuring the area to be cut. After tracing the outline of the window, mark half an inch inside of each and move the window and retrace. Be sure to trace the corners properly."
More information on this review can be found here.
Clear Case Kit Review & Tropical Fish Mod @ System Cooling
(c) 2002 System Cooling
"The computer case market has exploded in the last few years and manufactures are always trying to create something new and unique. There are cases that cater to the high performance market that provide that best possible cooling and are assembled with the highest quality. Then there are mid-range cases that provide sufficient cooling and performance at a price that won't cost you and arm and a leg. And then there are those cases that leave you asking, why! This case falls into none of those categories. It creates its own category, which I can only describe as fun. So, let's get down to the fun stuff."
More information on this project can be found here.
Gigabyte GA-7VAXP MotherboardReview @ AusPCWorld
"Well you may have heard about the new Gigabyte GA-7VAXP from our exclusive news release of the announcement of this board a few months back. Today we finally have our hands on it. The Gigabyte GA 7VAXP motherboard featuring the VIA KT400 chipset, Firewire, AGP 8X and everything else you could imagine jam packed into the latest AMD board from Gigabyte."
More information on this review can be found here.
D-Link AirPlus Wireless Networking Product Review @ Digital Domination
"Just imagine, surfing the net by the pool, chatting over IRC on the couch or my favourite: cable internet in bed. Yes! Cable internet in bed! Heaven! With wireless networking all this and more is possible. Wireless networking provides an enormous convenience advantage over traditional ethernet networks, but unfortunately they are rather slow compared to 100Mb ethernet and while we wait for faster wireless links we are stuck at 11Mb, that is until D-Link step in. There are a lot of 802.11b 11Mb wireless products out on the market at the moment, but D-Link's AirPlus range is rather special."
More information on this review can be found here.
Everglide 'Works' Gaming Mat Review @ Phlux.co.uk
"Some people may think that it is hard to get excited about a mouse mat and that one mouse mat is the same as next. For those people like that out there you will just have to trust me when I say that Everglide and Ratpadz are some of the best mouse mats out there and once you use one you will never look back."
More information on this review can be found here.
Hercules 3D Prophet 8500 128MB Video Card @ PCReviewSpot
"Hercules has always been regarded as a very high-performance video card manufacturer. They have always produced high-quality, cool looking, and very overclockable video cards around Nvidia’s chipsets… wait a second, if Hercules builds video cards around Nvidia chipsets, then why do we have a Hercules 3D Prophet 8500 128MB for review today? Well, the answer lies within some poor relationships when the PowerRV Kyro II was first introduced. Hercules decided to produce Kyro II video cards, and Nvidia decided not to send Hercules any more chipsets. Wow, that’s harsh."
More information on this review can be found here.
TREK Thumbdrive SMART 16mb Storage Device Review @ Tech-Dreams
"Have you ever burnt a CD with less than a 100 megabytes on it, or have you ever tried saving some files from work on a floppy so you can bring it home? How many floppies did you need? Personally I feel it's a waste to burn anything less than 100 megabytes on a CD, and a hassle to cram files onto a floppy drive especially when writing data to a floppy is extremely slow. But nonetheless you have no choice so you burn it to a CD or copy the files to a floppy and lug the jewel case or floppy home or wherever. Did I say no choice? Sorry I was wrong, you do have a choice, a choice given to you by Trek, and it's called the Thumbdrive SMART. The Thumbdrive SMART is a small portable storage device allowing you to freely store information by connecting the unit to a USB port."
More information on this review can be found here.
Modifying Your PC Case Made EZ @ Review Source
"This article is designed to help all you would-be case modders out there. You know who you are, always drooling over the fantastic cases you see in case galleries, but never thinking you could actually try it yourself. Well, it's not really all that hard, you just need a few basic tools and some imagination."
More information on this guide can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Weekend News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Saturday, October 5, 2002, 10:15:22 AM | | Author: hitek |
Install and MOD Your Own LCD DIY Guide @ PimpRig
"I always wanted to have my own LCD display, to make it display system info, text etc. So, I began looking for prices, and places were I could buy one. I was getting very upset when I saw the LCD I wanted, over $100. Then I thought, “you idiot!” DIY! This guide will explain how I got the LCD display, I wanted, for about $30 all together."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Ahanix EX110 Case Review
"From a modding perspective the the front USB, FireWire, Headphone and Mic ports also seem to have enough room for a few more switches to fit within this area if they are the flush mounted type. This could come in handy when hiding Cold-Cathode and Fan switches which only add to this cases expandability and user friendly design."
More information on this review can be found here.
Installing a Case Window DIY Guide @ ICE Hardware
(c) 2002 Ice Hardware
"Ever since the advent of case modding the installation of windows into cases has consistently been one of the most popular and effective alterations you can do. While the designs and variety may have increased the basic principles for fitting them have remained the same. In this retrospective guide I'll be looking at techniques I used in the fitting of a window into my PC70 in the hope that it will help those unsure of themselves or convince those who are in two minds."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Tiny PC Project @ Spode's Abode
"The two most useful ports for me were the 2 TV outs. This is highly uncommon (perhaps even unique) for motherboards. The phrase "do we dare to dream" comes to mind. The possibility for putting it on any kind of screen TV or monitor made me very excited (which is bad as I have the black outs and the victorian clothing, pesky council)."
More information on this project can be found here.
Koolcases Sante Fe Case Video Review @ 3DGameman
"If you are in the market for an affordable case with a preinstalled window and neon light kit included then be sure to consider the Koolcases Sante Fe Case. This case also includes a nifty fold out motherboard tray which is very handy when installing/removing a motherboard and/or replacing a cooler, etc."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Case Mod with 160mm Fan @ Tobitech
"TeKILLA presents his Case Mod. The case has a green cold cathode, 2 ultrabright blue LEDs as a status LED and 160 mm Fan more than 220 V runs applied all varnished in signal-red."
More information on this project can be found here.
Integrated 3D Graphics Motherboard Shootout @ Techware Labs
"In the recent past, integrated video was seldom a viable solution for hardcore computer gamers. Enthusiasts shunned from motherboards with integrated video, and opted to buy ones without it, in additional to a much faster ATi or Nvidia-powered graphics accelerator. Today, the picture is beginning to change. The last few integrated motherboards sported decent graphics chipsets, like the Nvidia NForce (GeForce2 MX), ATI IGP320 (Radeon VE), or Intel 845G. Techware Labs will take a look at the current integrated 3D video chipsets on the market and how they perform in the latest 3D software."
More information on this review can be found here.
New Products @ Lux-Design!
(c) 2002 Lux-Design
Lux-Design has informed MTB of some new goodies added to their product line. If you are looking for the popular UV reactive cables, fans and PSU cover in Canada look no further. Here are some of the new products listed:
-UV PSU Mod
-UV Sensitive 80mm Fan
-Rounded ATA66/100/133 Cable - 18-inch Silver UV
-Rounded Floppy Cable - Single Device - 18-inch Silver UV
-Ultimate Hard Drive Cooler (Silver, Beige & Black)
-Thermaltake G4 Cooler
-Vantec Iceberg Copper Cooler
-IceKube DIY Acrylic Case
More information on these products can be found here.
ABIT Siluro GeForce4 Ti4600 Review @ Tweakers Australia
"The GPU cooler is also made from aluminium, and is designed to not only look great, but also serve its purpose well. Removing the ramsinks reveals they are adhered to the memory chips with very sticky thermal tape, although thankfully there is a good amount of thermal paste under the GPU cooler. Just like the Ti4400, the Ti4600's PCB has a black/brown finish, contrasting well with the silver heatsinks."
More information on this review can be found here.
AVC Heatsinks Reviewed @ myWORLD Hardware
"AVC, which stands for Asia Vital Components, are rather new to me as I've never heard of them before. Infact, they do exist for as long as 10 years and this year they are celebrating their 10th anniversary."
More information on this review can be found here.
TwinMOS 256MB DDR400 Memory Review @ TweakTown
"JEDEC have only just approved the PC2700 memory standard, and we are already seeing a lot of memory manufacturers coming out with their DDR400 modules even though JEDEC are still in the works of approving it. TweakTown takes a look at one such PC3200 module from up and coming Taiwanese company, TwinMOS. Does it have what it takes to compete with the well known memory brands in overclocking tests? Read on and find out!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Radio Shack Indoor/Outdoor Digital Thermometer Mod @ GideonTech
(c) 2002 GideonTech
"We shall take advantage of Radio Shack’s Indoor/Outdoor dual display digital thermometer. First off, why use this? One, it’s on sale at $9.99, which is much cheaper than a Compunurse. It displays two temps at the same time, compared to a Compunurse with only one. What else? It’s readily available, just go in a local Radio Shack and get one. It’s cheap, so a modding disaster won’t hurt (well, not that much). And also, hopefully, nobody has done this before, so that makes this very special. And of course, it’s a good excuse to mod. I guess that’s the only thing all of you are waiting to here. So with that explained, let’s move on."
More information on this project can be found here.
Hard Drive Window Mod Guide @ LAN Addict
"A few months ago I was intrigued by a small number of Hard Drive Modifications in which they put varied windows however none of which offered documentation on how they did such a mod, or even showed detailed instructions on how they did it. Now I've tried once before, on an aging hard drive and it was a dismal failure, after which many of my peers questioned my mental capacity claiming Hard Drives cannot be modified, and opening a drive in the open without being in a Clean Room would destroy the data on the drive and render it useless. Well, here arose the challenge, I had decided to prove them wrong. After browsing the internet and seeing a few articles, few tidbits of information I decided to set my eyes on a smaller hard drive from Ebay, it ended up being a $35 6GB Quantum Fireball, nothing fancy but at least I knew I wouldn't be wasting few precious saved dollars I had."
More information on this project can be found here.
Warcraft 3 Strategy Guide Mini Review @ Ascully.com
"Brady games were kind enough to send us their latest strategy guide. This new guide is for Blizzard's latest blockbuster, Warcraft 3. It's a 288 page soft cover book with just about everything you could want to know about the game. The print quality and design are excellent with every page covered with eye candy graphics and images from the game. The layout is easy to use and it's easy to quick reference any information you are looking for. Each section is designed and laid out the same so no matter what mission you are on, the chapters look the same for easily guiding you through the game."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| T.G.I.F News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Friday, October 4, 2002, 12:48:54 AM | | Author: hitek |
Water Block Round-Up @ [H]ardOCP
"The scope of this review will cover basic water block performance on both the AMD & Intel platforms under heavy overclocking conditions. Testing will also be conducted with the use of a 122W TEC (Peltier). Hopefully the results we provide here will assist water cooling enthusiasts, as well as those who have never used an H20 set-up, in understanding what they need from a water block."
More information on this review can be found here.
AMS G-Mono Mid-Tower Case Review @ OCIA
(c) 2002 OCIA
"These days, everyone wants an aluminum case. Aluminum cases offer great looks, light weight, ease in modding as well as better cooling due to the aluminum construction (or so some people claim). The only downside of these cases are the higher prices you will pay. Unfortunately, not everyone has a money tree in their backyard (I know I sure don't). Oftentimes the guys without the fat bankrolls have to opt for less than stellar looking cases that typically have very little when it comes to cooling ability. Dull beige cases come to mine when I think of "value" or "budget" cases. Fortunately, times are changing and we poor guys no longer have to be stuck winning the "ugly rig award" at the LAN parties. Could it be possible to have a truly "kick ass" looking rig that offers good cooling ability for under $50? We hope to find that out and more today as we check out the AMS G-Mono Mid-Tower Case from Case-Mod.com"
More information on this review can be found here.
Sky Hawk ALP-4350 Case Review @ ReviewNation
"What are the deciding factors you choose to square in on when you buy a case? Size, ease of use, cooling, price, etc. Well today we get to look at Sky Hawk's ALP-4350 aluminum mid tower case which has proved to be one of the nicest looking cases in its class as well as having quite a few nice features. I found a few flaws in the case, but the looks and good points of the case greatly overcome the flaws, lets take a closer look."
More information on this review can be found here.
Tt CoolMod Review @ Overclocker Cafe
"This is a must for any case modder in my book. The only down side is the wiring. Each LED has a separate wire. These four wires bind into two for connection to the mainboard. If you slap this in "willy nilly", your case will look like a pasta strainer full of spaghetti with all the lines."
More information on this review can be found here.
ATI Remote Wonder Review @ Tweaknews
"Ah yes!, I called it! It was only time until the proverbial "god box" came the the home and work computing environment. Since the release of the ALL-in-Wonder line of cards from ATI, the introduction of the remote wonder being bundled with already a great package has spurred ATI to release the Remote Wonder as a product all on its own. Has this gamble by ATI's marketing department paid off feature wise, well staytuned and decide for yourself."
More information on this review can be found here.
AeroFlow Heatsink w/TMD VA4-C7040 Review @ IPKonfig
"The quality of cooling gear on the market has had its ups and downs, but Vantec again steps forward with another fine product. Though there is much similarity between this heatsink and a few in the past, it has improvements that I've rarely seen in its competitors. Think back to the ThermalEngine heatsink. We then saw the Dr. Thermal heatsink intro the outer fin design to capture the spotlight. The ThermalEngine, though made of pure aluminum when first released, later sported a copper core to boost performance, and succeeded quite well in doing so."
More information on this review can be found here.
Case Modding 101 @ OCAddiction
(c) 2002 OCAddiction
"The window kit comes with everything you need (except the dremel) to properly install in your PC side panel, to include the acrylic window itself, side molding, molding lock, a washer so you can trace with proper distance around the window and clear instructions on how to do it. Instructions you say? BAH! Trust me, read them, they are very helpful in this scenario."
This is a nice begginners guide which shows you how to mod your case using pre-made kits. More information on this guide can be found here.
Memorex 40MAXX CD-RW Review @ Tech Dreams
"CDs are perhaps the most popular media for storing programs, files, and other data in today's society. Why do you ask? Well, CDs are extremely versatile, practical, and offer a large amount of space (650 to 700 megabytes) for less than a dollar per disc. Combined with a CD-ReWritable drive, storing update files and drivers for your computer, copying of your personal documents, and making backups of critical operating system files on a CD becomes quick and easy."
More information on this review can be found here.
Act-Labs USB Gun Review @ Monkey Review
"Even though there were some minor glitches and nuisances, this gun definitely is worth a try. The light gun is a decent new addition to the gaming rig, and for the nominal price, it's not like you're buying a new console every few months. However, be prepared to deal with some problems before you get the full effect of gunning down zombies."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Thursday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2002, 12:21:47 AM | | Author: hitek |
Audio VU Meter Guide @ Heatseekerz
"In this article, I will tell you how to easily build a sound VU-meter. There’s no need to know electronics nor to have special exotic tools, just follow my simple instructions. I’ve seen quite some VU-meters, all with a separate circuit board, but I wanted it behind the VU-meter’s leds. This is not the easiest solution, but it sure is the neatest one."
More information on this guide can be found here.
Gigabyte GA7VXP KT400 Motherboard Review @ Overclockers New Zealand
"VIA released another "new" Socket462 chipset to the market, the KT-400. People are asking, what are the improvements over KT-333? The answer? Not many, I am afraid. The memory controller is left untouched thus do not expect a 'huge' increase in performance when running at the same FSB and memory ratio. The new features are: AGP 8X support, increased bandwidth between the north and south bridges, and unofficial DDR-400 support. The unofficial support for DDR-400 really makes you wonder why they name it as KT-400? I personally think the DDR-400 is a temporary solution and maybe superseded by KT-400A or KT-466 with unofficial support for DDR-466. Anyway, enough rants on KT-400, let get on with the Gigabyte's KT-400 offering, 7VAXP."
More information on this review can be found here.
Thermalright SLK-7 Heatsink Review @ System Cooling
"We are again pleased to bring you one of the first, if not the first, review of yet another new "AMD Socket A" cooler from the stables of Thermalright, the SK-7. Even with the tremendous success of their two 80mm coolers; first the AX-7 and then the high performance SLK-800, there was still a gap that needed filling. To some, the high performance SLK-800 was too expensive while others were uncomfortable with the narrow base and loud fan required to achieve maximum performance. The AX-7 on the other hand, became an instant favorite with those who wanted great performance with the ability to use a lower noise producing fan. The only problem with the AX-7 was that it did not fit all "Socket A" motherboards."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec's AeroFlow Preview @ DataFuse.net
(c) 2002 Datafuse.net
"Vantec provided us with their newest product: The Vantec Aeroflow. This product is not yet available so I have the opportunity to call this a preview. As you can see, the AeroFlow manages to keep the temperature below 40 °C even on full load. You can clearly see that this fan outperforms the others."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lite-On 48/24/48 Review @ Techware Labs
"Faster writing was the focus of the major CD-RW companies in a viscious and fast race to the bottom (or to the top) of the burning industry. The 24x was the top of the line just last year. Since then, we have seen drive speeds skyrocket from 24x to 32x to 40x and now up to 48x. At some point, however, a thirty second time difference is not enough of an impetus to get those with 40x writers to upgrade, especially considering that most users only use their CD writers occaisionally after the thrill of fast burning wears off. There is one facet of the CD-RW industry, though, that is not yet tapped: rewriting. Lite-On has come out with a new CD-RW that is finally increasing the speed of what should come to be the new, larger, and faster floppy. Enter Lite-On's new LTR-48246S 48x24x48 CD-RW drive."
More information on this review can be found here.
Matrox Parhelia Video Card Review @ Viper Lair
"The quality of ansiotropic filtering as well as FAA give this card very nice, and gives a quality boost even when the software doesn't support all the fancy new DirectX 8+ features. There is a problem with the amount of samples that ansiotropic filtering on the Parhelia uses, as it is only 2X or 16-tap where other cards can use 64-tap (8X) ansiotropic filtering. If Matrox can give the option for higher levels of ansiotropic filtering it would be a very nice."
More information on this review can be found here.
MIST Silent Twin Cooler Review @ Spode's Abode
"The unit itself consists of an aluminium heat sink with a 4 mm thick copper base. The fins are very thin, and the construction of the base ensures that the fans won't work "against" each other. The bottom copper finish is quite nice and level and I did not find any lapping necessary. It isn't exactly clear as a mirror, but not too far from it. Total weight is 376 g, and total size measures 95 x 66 x 69 mm."
More information on this review can be found here.
ESGN Nanotherm Silver Thermal Paste Review @ Overclockers Club
(c) 2002 Overclockers Club
"To many, a few degrees may not seem like much but to me it means a lot. A few degrees may allow you to overclock your CPU a little more or it may even make your CPU last a little longer by keeping it cooler. I have to admit that NanoTherm Silver is very easy to clean up versus Arctic Alumina and especially AS2 & AS3. NanoTherm Silver is also very easy to apply, due to the "wet like" texture. I really recommend you check out this thermal paste and try it out for yourself and do your own comparison as I'm sure you will find similar results."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lego Computer Case Project @ LAN Addict
"Our first step was to create the base of our computer, which we found seven large blocks, and other assorted pieces to work quite well. This is by far one of the major steps of your Lego Computer Case, not only will your decisions now shape and mold your case, but changing this section would mean construction of a completely different case. Be smart and look at the sizes of your components first to make sure you'll have plenty of room to fit your components and also realize that the lego walls will take up a small, but significant space."
More information on this project can be found here.
Logitech Optical Mouse Mod @ Twisted Mods
"This is a simple-cheap way to modify something on your computer. It's affective and noticable as well! These also make GREAT gifts so if you've got a friend who is a computer FREAK then you might think of doing something like this for them!"
More information on this guide can be found here.
Celtic Dragon and Celtic Cross Fan Grills Review @ Furioustech
"If you are looking for something that will set your case off from any other you have ever seen, I think I have found the product for you! Today I will be reviewing the Celtic Dragon Knot and the Celtic Cross fan grills supplied to us by 2cooltek.com. Obviously this review is not going to be that long because these are just fan grills, but I hope I can help you all on a decision if you want to go for plexiglass fan grills or not."
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec Thermoflow Fans Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Vantec Thermoflow Fans are temperature controlled which makes them a perfect choice for anyone who prefers an automated cooling system. With four flavors (60mm, 80mm, 92mm and 120mm) your options are excellent for choosing the appropriate fan(s) for your setup."
More information on this video review can be found here.
NT Gas Station Project @ Mini-ITX
(c) 2002 Mini-ITX
"For some unexplainable reason I've wanted a gas can PC for 4 or 5 years. When the VIA Mini-ITX made it's way to my attention I ordered one and a smallish power supply then started searching for the right container to put it in. Being male limited me to purchasing the very first one into which everything would fit. I will be keeping my eyes open for the perfect portable plastic petrol pot."
More information on this case project can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Wednesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Wednesday, October 2, 2002, 12:13:59 AM | | Author: hitek |
PC In A Breadbox Project @ SilentPCReview
(c) 2002 SilentPCReview
"The Breadbox PC began with a search for a mini-ITX case at local shops here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where the latest in high tech is available - as long as it is smack dab in the middle of the mainstream. Mini-ITX cases apparently are not. A Mini-ITX case simply could not be found, and the Taiwanese case makers who promised samples all the way back in the spring seemed to have forgotten about their promises."
More information on this case mod project can be found here.
Xoxide X300 Affordable Aluminum Case Review @ PCReviewSpot
"Overall we found this case to be very pleasing, but get this though, after 5 minutes of using the light, it crapped out on us! Yes, that means stop working, went out, died, whatever you want to call it. I was quite shocked at this, we would like to mention that this is no fault's of Xoxide's because, one, it quite possible could have been damaged in the shipping process and two, the light is not made or manufactured by Xoxide, so they really have no quality control over it; but definitely still a worth mention."
More information on this review can be found here.
CaseETC Cold Cathode Review @ Voided Warranty
"I finally opened it up and I installed the switch by drill/dremmeling the hole to fit the switch. Then I finally installed the inverter and the cathode. I turned on my computer but it doesn't work!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Vantec Copper Round IDE Cables @ Viper Lair
"Let's get a couple of myths out of the way about rounded cables. To begin with, they do not improve access speeds to your hard drive, or do anything for performance, in fact, poorly designed rounded cables can be detrimental. Secondly, they do not do much for case cooling if you're neat about cable management. Well, I guess I kind of contradicted myself there, as they will help if your cables are dangling all over the place, blocking airflow, but all it'd take is some tie wraps and some creative routing and you'll be fine."
More information on this review can be found here.
PicoDisk Crypto Review @ Bjorn3D
"The PicoDisk Crypto is yet another USB flash device but this one stands out due to it's encyption capabilities. If you transfer around a lot of data and have a need to keep it from prying eyes the Crypto maybe just what you're looking for."
More information on this review can be found here.
Belkin 8-Port Network Switch Review @ BlargOC
"Belkin products are synonymous with quality and this product, part of their ever expanding network range does not disappoint. Without further a-do on with the review. In the box you get the 8-port 10/100 switch, AC power adapter, CD-ROM containing user guide and finally a hard copy of the user guide."
More information on this review can be found here.
Project Culance @ Bit-Tech
(c) 2002 Bit-Tech
Bit-Tech's resident "MODINATOR" Macroman is at it again with a fantastic transformation of a stock Koolance PC2-601W case. For those of you not familiar with the PC2-601W, this is the Koolance Water Cooling system installed in a Antec SX1030 Mid-Tower Case. You can read his project worklog from start to finish and the best part is that this project is currently up for sale."
More information on this case mod project can be found here.
Modding the ABIT IT7-MAX2 for Improved Clocking Review @ Tech PC
"In my initial testing of the ABIT IT7-MAX2 I was only able to get the processor upto 2800Mhz stable, which was mainly due to the motherboard only supporting up to 1.7v, which gave an actual voltage of 1.63v. So I decided to take things a little further with the IT7 MAX2 as I knew it was capable of more. I started out by obtaining a modified BIOS which allows you to get the memory up to 3.2v. In testing I was able to get the memory up to 2.98v actual, which is a decent 0.2v improvement and will aid gettings those memory speeds that little bit higher when overclocking."
More information on this case mod project can be found here.
Leadtek Winfast TV2000XP TV Tuner Card Review
"The card itself is quite compact and so will not cause any problems due to length. The tuner on the card however is quite bulky so if you were to use it in a computer with all the PCI slots being filled then a little rearrangement of the cards maybe necessary to allow it to fit in properly. Once I had found the right PCI to slot it in the rest was easy. It was a very nice fit into the slot and I didn't have to push overly hard to seat it properly."
More information on this review can be found here.
Antec Truepower 430 Watt Pwer Supply Review @ Tweaknews
"Now, you might think that this powersupply is noisy... Think again. The Powersupply and the three casefans make LESS noise then the boxed cooler on my AMD. To be honest my SCSI drives are annoying me right now because I can hear them rattle. Now that's a first. I guess Antec was really telling the truth about their Antec Low Noise Technology."
More information on this review can be found here.
OCA 64MB GeForce4 Ti 4200 Roundup @ OCAddiction
"Here is a basic look at each card, what it comes with, what we were able to overclock it to, and our general thoughts on each of them. Notice by the overclocked speeds it says "Max STABLE Overclock". Stable means just that, stable. These are the highest speeds we could get the cards to run and suffer no visual anomalies even after 30 minutes of hardcore gaming. These cards can all truck through 3DMark at higher speeds, but not without looking like ass, and that's just not acceptable."
More information on this review can be found here.
irock! 520 Digital Audio Player Review @ 8BallsHW
"Music formats have come and gone over the years. We've been graced with the wonders of Vinyl, flop of 8-track, psuedo-joys of cassette, and the not-quite perfect compact disc. Most were semi-portable, but Mpeg Layer 3 ushered in a new age of portability for music. The market was initially barren at first then waves of hardware came onto the playing field. Recently we were fortunate enough to be provided with an iRock 520 mp3 player to put through the rigors of testing."
More information on this review can be found here.
Dual Voltage Baybus Review @ Think Computers
"Today we will be looking at a dual-voltage baybus. What is the difference between a Baybus and a dual-volatage baybus? Well the dual voltage Baybus allows you to control the voltage that each fan gets, as the regular Baybus just turns the fans on and off. Why would you want such a thing? One answer NOISE!! Well we all hate noise, and just by changing the voltage on a fan can reduce noise greatly."
More information on this review can be found here.
AMD Athlon XP2700+ (Thoroughbred) Review @ DeviantPC
"In marketing, numbers mean everything; higher is always better. Applied to processors this means clock speed. Intel, with the extended pipeline in the P4, holds the advantage over AMD as they can push higher and higher ramping up speeds seemingly without effort. AMD on the other hand has only just broken the 2GHz barrier Intel passed in August last year with the Thoroughbred 2400+; a year after Intel managed the feat. Even the move to a 0.13 micron manufacturing process has not enabled AMD to ramp up the clockspeed as Intel have."
More information on this review can be found here. | Discuss in Forums | Top Menu
| Tuesday News Edition.. | | Date Posted: Tuesday, October 1, 2002, 12:05:28 AM | | Author: hitek |
e-Cube Mini Barebones System Review @ GiBTEK
(c) 2002 GibTEK
"There's been a lot of small form factor cases coming onto the market supporting various platforms and have received a lot of interest. If you had asked me a a year or two ago I would have said "Bigger is better, I need loads of cooling" Having since made a couple of trips away to LAN parties in the UK this has proved a major logistical nightmare moving these monumental towers of destruction. If getting them in and out of the car is not bad enough, try a few flights of steps, duffle bag and a 19' monitor. I needed to lighten the load before something snapped. I saw these mini cubes my saviour, only to fine out there was no AGP slot to home my latest sher-wing graphics card, until now!"
Some readers might recognize this unit as the g-BOX in North America. MTB Labs covered this product a few months ago and here is our comparison review. More information on this review can be found here.
Blue Matrix MA-01BLD Full Tower Case @ Furioustech
"The past year or so Chieftec has made a massive impact on the computer chassis market with the cases like Chieftec Scorpio TX-10WD Mid-tower, Dragon, and several other cases with the same general design used. We also know that Chieftec cases are being used by several other manufactures like Chenming, Antec, and even Enermax. But all these re-marked cases have some form of markings indicating that they are Chieftec cases. Today I will be taking a look at the Blue Matrix MA-01BLD Full Tower Case. This case is also going to be featured in several upcoming modification articles in the near future. So enough of the hog wash, let's get to the review!"
More information on this review can be found here.
Lian Li PC-6089 Aluminum Case Review @ Explosive Labs
"This case is truly spectacular in many ways. I liked what Lian Li did with this case and I am very happy with the design and structure. It's very sturdy and will last you a long time. The airflow is very good thanks to the many intake and out take fans located throughout the case. I brought this case to a LAN party a while ago and I got a lot of positive comments. It's an ideal choice if you are interested in having a case with killer looks and sufficient enough cooling for the most part."
More information on this review can be found here.
Lian-Li PC6085B Case Review @ Modtown.co.uk
"Inside of the case feels very roomy, this is ideal for doing any alterations if you don't want to slide out your motherboard tray. The hdd cage is a nice idea that I like a lot. The drives sit vertically in the cage that allows the 2 front intake fans to blow cool air directly over them helping to keep them cool. This cage is also removable by undoing 2 thumbscrews and sliding out."
More information on this review can be found here.
Romtec Trios 2 PX-920T2 Multi Drive Selector Video Review @ 3DGameman
"The Romtec Trios 2 is an excellent product which makes selecting drives a snap. Whether it's used as muti-boot device or simple a way of selecting different drives, the functionality is fantastic."
More information on this video review can be found here.
Swiftec MCX-4000 Heatsink Review @ Envy News
(c) 2002 Envy News
"Every once in a while, we get something in that we don't know if it belongs on a pedestal behind a velvet rope or hard at work in a computer. When the visual awe wears off and it's time to get to work, the works of art sometimes remain just that - works of art. Today we look at a work of art that not only looks good but gets some major work done as well: SwiftTech's MCX-4000 P4 heatsink is the focus of today's review."
More information on this review can be found here.
Nexland PRO 400 ISB SOHO Review @ AusPCWorld
"The unit features two rows of LAN activity LED’s (and one row for Duplex), one for a Tbase10 Network, one row for a Tbase100 Network. These allow you to see which network speed is being used, and which ports are using the SOHO. This is a nice feature to include, although these LED’s have been placed on the back of the unit. So if you were to get any use out of them you wouldn’t be able to see the WAN, or LAN error lights. The SOHO is capable of delivering over 8MB of bi-directional throughput to the computers connected to the network. This is much faster than any residential Internet connection would need."
More information on this review can be found here.
CoolerMaster Ultra Series Rounded Cable Review @ RadiativeNZ
"The cables themselves come in a metallic mesh casing which (in my opinion) looks a lot more stylish than the standard coloured ones. To help minimise EMI they are shielded in aluminium foil, which extends all the way up and into the connector. As well as this, they have a tinned copper wire which can be grounded for extra protection."
More information on this review can be found here.
Intel/AMD CPU Overclocking Database @ Tweakers Australia
"Tweakers Australia has just updated their Intel/AMD CPU overclocking database with the new 2.6GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processors, as well as the new AMD XP2400+ and XP2600+ processors. This means that you can now search the ever growing database to see just how well people have managed to overclock their CPUs. If you have overclocked your CPU, we encourage you to add your record into the database as well!"
More information on this database can be found here.
Belkin Regulator UPS 650 Review @ PCArena
"Theres not usually a lot which can stop an avid computer user. However a power cut is usually one of them. Today I'm going to be taking a look at the Belkin Regulator Pro Silver Series 650VAC UPS. For those of you who don't know, UPS stands for uninterruptible power supply. The theory behind a UPS is battery backup, when the power fails, a battery takes over to continue powering the computer. This then allows the safe shutdown of the device, to prevent data loss, or in the case of a short cut, powers the device until the electricity source is restored."
More information on this review can be found here.
Asus V8440 Geforce 4 Ti4400 Review @ Monkey Review
"Well I think most of you know that I am happy with this card, yet I am not thrown back by the features or perhaps the lack of, but again, I knew what I was buying and can't hold it against the card. I would have liked to see Video In, but you need to go with the V8440 Deluxe in order to get that feature. All in All it's a good performing card without the overly high price, that's where the good part lies. Asus did a good job on this guy and aside from the lack of video in and newer games it's a great purchase and a good showing from Asus."
More information on this review can be found here.
Samsung SyncMaster 171MP LCD Monitor @ Futurelooks
"It's been a while since I've had an LCD monitor on my desk. To say that I was pleased when the Samsung SyncMaster 171MP showed up was an understatement. The 171MP has an excellent list of features and expands on its predecessor the 170MP. Hopefully it will live up to its impressive feature set."
More information on this review can be found here.
Stomp Inc.'s MySoundStudio Review @ Think Computers
"I must say, that after spending some time mixing a track or two, MySoundStudio allowed me to alter music in many different ways, and in some ways that I didn't think possible. While I cannot go into every single aspect of the software, I will say that there are some other features that MySoundStudio Offers. For example, you can use it to open video files and edit the sound, rip audio CDs into computer audio files, and more. While those who are adept in sound editing programs might finds this software very easy to use, beginners can easily be overwhelmed with such an array of tools presented to the user for editing. However, just from looking at the interface you can tell that Stomp has put forth great effort to gear the software to inexperienced users as well."
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