News

The Feds, err.... Alan Greenspan decided not to change intrest rates. Whether this is good or bad is beyond me, but they are at 1.75 right now which seems insanely low.

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The Fed, in issuing its vote, said the economic weakness that emerged this spring has been prolonged. This is largely due to continuing lackluster markets and heightened fears that more financial shenanigans will emerge as chief executives and chief financial officers have to sign off on the accuracy of their earnings reports, it said.

HardOCP has a PR from Intel saying that they are ready to jump to 90nm!

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Advanced transistors: Intel’s new 90 nm process will feature transistors measuring only 50 nm in length (gate length), which will be the smallest, highest performing CMOS transistors in production. By comparison, the most advanced transistors in production today, found in Intel Pentium® 4 processors, measure 60 nm. Small, fast transistors are the building blocks for very fast processors. These transistors feature gate oxides that are only five atomic layers thick (1.2 nm). A thin gate oxide increases transistor speed.

Okay, what happens when they can't break the below one atom size layer

I should have another review up today or tomorrow. How's that for speed?

Powercooler PCH247H @ Reviewnation.
Zalman Fan Control @ Casetest.
Triplex Ti 4600 @ Radiativenz.
Quadro4 900 XGL @ SimHQ.
Triplex Ti 4200 @ Hardware-test.
eVGA Ti4400 @ OCAddiction.
i845E roundup @ Explosive Labs.

By the way, did you check out my review ?

The Tech Report has put up a review of the Celery 1.7Ghz processor. And talk about bad performance. Ouch. This puppy should never have been released, this cpu's performance is so bad. Why? Already saddled with the burden of the low IPC performing P4 core, Intel saw fit to make matters worse by not adding enough L2 cache to it's core, which is something that really helps to boost performance to a decent level for the P4 core.

Intel's Celeron 1.7GHz processor
Low-IPC special

Friends shouldn't let friends buy Celeron's.......

I finally got a review up! Haha! This is one of the coolest mouse I've seen to date!



Isn't that so cool? Now back to Earth and Beyond (Other site on hold for awhile)!

This is one of the most unique mouse I've ever seen. Does it also function as well as it looks?Next Page »

AMDZone seems to love this mobile Athlon chipset from ATI.

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It has taken a while, but finally AMD fans can have a laptop with quality 3D and 2D graphics with the ATI IGP 320M and the Compaq Presario 900 series. Testing has shown that the new ATI mobile video solution far out distances the next best competitor, the VIA S3 Twister KN133. In addition it also holds up well against the desktop SiS 740 based ECS desknote. ATI has provided best in class 3D performance while also adding great DVD playback support, and continuing their tradition of excellent 2D graphics.

Just an update, I will be putting one review up today (Hopefully)! My camera software is still lost and I'll have to do some wacky stuff to get the pics on my computer...

XFX Ti 4200 @ Ascully.
3D Glasses @ Guru3D.
Cooler Master Heatsink roundup @ Mikhailtech.
Epox 8K5A2+ @ tBreak.

Here is a Power color Radeon 9700 at Akiba.

Nullsoft has cut the final release version of the wildly popular WINAMP out to the masses for consumption. So download this puppy and load her up with a few MP3's and jam away baby!


WINAMP3 Final

A new beta version has shown up over at ieXbeta and is available for download over there. It's a web installer and has a termination date of Oct. 31. No information on what's been updated to this build is available as of yet.

DirectX 9.0 Beta 2

Ever wonder just what those 'services' are that Windows XP runs in the background? Well Black Viper's got a ton of info for you on both XP as well as Win2K's services and tells you exactly those services are doing and gives you suggestions on different configurations. Black Viper has recently updated his listings, with more explanations and a new section on some mystery services that you might have been curious about. Take my advice though and take your time to examine each service that you may want to alter or make a list of the ones that you do, so that you can go back and set it back to a default setting if something gets upset.

Black Viper's Windows XP Home and Professional Service Configurations

The creator of XP-AntiSpy has put out version 3.6 of this handy little utility, that let's you get control of some of Windows XP's spyware functions and other irritating aspects. Best of all about this utility is that is free! It doesn't get any better than that.

XP-AntiSpy

Curious about the different types of memory out there and how they work? Ace's Hardware has put up thier third installment in thier series. Check it out it's a good read.

Ace's Guide to Memory Technology: Part 3

Found some various stuff on cooling for you to read.

VapoChill @ Chillblast.
Vantec Chipset Cooler @ OcCafe.
Tidy kit @ Voidedwarrenty.
CoolerMaster HSC-V62 @ BurnOutPC.

Well anyway, back to work.

I just want to give a small update about whats happening on the site. For one, I should be getting all the various toys that I have reviewed by Sunday at the latest. They won't go up on that day though . Another thing that is troubling me is the forum usage. THERE IS NONE! I know what I have to do. A good old giveaway will get people in them. But this time I'm making the point count (not posts) over 1000 points to be considered for a prize. I'll let you know when this will start, and what the prize is when I pick it out. For now, I have to get my Jeep serviced.

This controller is huge!

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If you are a typical male like me and I'm sure you are, you love video games especially arcade video games. I also know that many of you probably want to have your own arcade inside of your house. You can emulate games on your computer and use a keyboard or gamepad but I'm sure that you feel that you are missing the real arcade feel, I know I was. X-Arcade (http://www.x-arcade.com) is a company that makes a real arcade controller which can be hooked to your computer and will interface perfectly with your PC, and Mac. There are also adapters so that you can get to connect this awesome controller to your Dreamcast, Playstation, Playstation 2, Gamecube, and X-Box. I know your thinking, hey what's the big deal I can play all of those things with my keyboard or gamepad or joystick but let me show you why this is much better, the X-Arcade controller totally blows all of those
away.

Making sure your case is Tidy is important.

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Tidying you case has more than one advantage… Not only does it look a helluva lot better through your nice new window, but it also improves airflow and lowers temperatures. In this article, I'll show you how to make your case tidy, make it look awesome, and all at a very affordable price. So let's get to tidying our case… RN STYLE!...

What is this free country coming to?

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In a July 25 letter released late Thursday, 19 lawmakers from both sides of the aisle asked Ashcroft to prosecute "peer-to-peer" networks like Kazaa and Morpheus and the users who swap digital songs, video clips and other files without permission from artists or their record labels.

The Justice Department should also devote more resources to policing online copyrights, the lawmakers said in their letter.

"Such an effort is increasingly important as online theft of our nation's creative works is a growing threat to our culture and economy," the letter said.

Wow, how much lobbying did they need to do for this!

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Named the "Digital Software Security Act," the proposal essentially would make California the "Live Free or Die" state when it comes to software. If enacted as written, state agencies would be able to buy software only from companies that do not place restrictions on use or access to source code. The agencies would also be given the freedom to "make and distribute copies of the software."

"The legislative intent is that for software to be acceptable to the state, it is not enough that it is technically capable of fulfilling a task, but that the contractual condition for purchase and/or licensing must satisfy a series of requirements regarding the license," the proposal states.

I've been doing minor stuff, most of it you won't notice I bet. I'll get around to updating the code later tonight. I created help pages for posting and a forgot password page as well!

I will be coding this entire day, so if you want features for the site or find bug, either post them or email me.

Here comes an endless weekend for me, I'm going to finish that Xabre review by Sunday!

Fuzzy comparison of NV30 and Radeon 9700 @ Tech-Report.
Under the P4 heatspreader @ Systemcooling.
Physics lesson for overclocking @ AMDMB.

There has been alot of talk above the Clawhammer debuting at 3400+, this does NOT mean that it will be 2.6Ghz! There will be a new formula to determine PR rating. I have seen these slides in a packet that AMD gave to me at PC Expo. Nothing new.

Corsair PC3200 @ Tech-PC.
Innovatek watercooling @ OCModShop.
OCZ's Gladiator w/ 60mm Stealth Fan @ Reviewnation.

The RIAA said it will be appealing the federal ruling that established payment rates for songs played on Internet radio stations. They want to be shown yet more money! I really don't get these guys sometimes. I understand that the respective people should be getting thier royalties but to try to price the net radio folks out of business will eliminate a quickly growing medium, in which artists can get exposure. This type of medium doesn't generate the same kind of revenue that broadcast radio does. Why can't they shoot for something more reasonable to make all parties happy? Personaly I think they really don't have the artists best interest in mind. I'd like to know really just how much money is going to the artist. Probably not a whole lot. It seems anything that has to do with the internet and music, the RIAA wants to eliminate it, no matter the cost.

Recording Industry Will Appeal Net Radio Ruling

Got an AMD dually board? This is a highly technical article that isn't for the faint of heart, but if you are into getting the absolute best performance out of your system this will explain it quite well. It deals with tweaking the same chipset registers that the bios uses when your system boots up. If you are familiar with the H.Oda programs WPCREDIT and WPCRSET, then you'll know just how capable this program is at getting at all those bios tweaks that aren't in the bios setup.

AMD 762 Chipset Tweaking (MP/MPX) Guide

In this article we are going to look at improving the performance of the AMD's 760MP/MPX chipset which is designed for multi processor use. We have been digging into the white papers on this chipset over the past week to try and find out every last thing we could about this chipset and then figure out how all of you power hungry madmen with the duallies can make it run even faster! If you've been around this site for very long you know all about chipset registers by now.

Looks like Intel is taking a step forward with their new low power chips (More IPCs per clock).

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Like Advanced Micro Devices' Athlon and other competing chips, Banias' performance will actually be better than its numbers might indicate because it will complete more work per clock cycle than the Pentium 4, according to Intel and other sources.

While word of Banias' speeds has leaked out, much of the technology behind the chip, which was designed in Israel, remains under wraps. The chip will include a cache--an internal reservoir of memory for rapid data access--but the size is unknown. Krewell predicts it will be at least 512KB but could be as high as 1MB of some versions of Banias.

This may be some good chip for silent PCs.

Today I'm going to work and hopefully finish the Xabre 400.

Gigabyte GA-81EXP @ AusPCWorld.
Leadtek Ti 4600 Vivo @ Bjorn3D.
Shuttle SS51 @ Lost Circuits.
Asus Ti4200 Pure @ Techseekers.
TT Volcano 9 @ 3DXtreme.
Soltek uATX KT333 @ Tweakers AU.
Albatron KT333 @ Lan Addict.

And finally A system built by lego guys. Truely funny .

HardOCP has a review of this KT333 board from Asus.

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The performance of the A7V333 was on par if not better than the other 333DDR boards we tested against here today as well as the other boards in its class. Couple that with awesome stability and the A7V333 a very nice board to use and do work on. People looking for out of the box performance and stability or a very good gaming box, as long as they are not planning on tinkering with the system often, will enjoy the A7V333.

Here is the scoop on the reviews from this site. Jaton sent me a Xabre 400 which I'm testing right now. That should be done in a week. The KX7 should also be done soon. The Gyration Mouse will also be soon .

TR SLK 600 @ Mikhailtech.
Corsair XMS 3200 @ 3DVelocity.
Radeon 9000PRO @ Tech-Report.
AMD 76x Tweaking Guide @ Neoseeker.
Socket A heatsink roundup @ AMDZone.

Once and awhile something useful comes out of the works.

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The quest for higher performance can cost companies dearly. IBM, citing numbers compiled from third parties, said that about 25 percent of a company's data-center budget goes to providing electricity to run and cool computers. Overall, about 10 percent of the electricity consumed in North America goes to support information technology systems, according to a U.S. Energy Department study cited by Big Blue.

Without consumption curbs, the amount of energy used to power and then cool computing equipment will increase exponentially, IBM executives said.

That's alot of KWs.

So, you want to get that SSF PC setup for the living room, but have been leery to do so because of integrated video? You know the kind. No AGP slot, a spare PCI slot and a real tight fit. Enter Powercolor and thier PCI based video card, powered by a Radeon 7500 core and DDR memory, with a low profile to boot. Sound like a perfect match? Check out the review over at VIA Hardware, as they put this puppy through the pixel paces.
Powercolor PCI Radeon - The Ultimate PCI Video Upgrade