November 2005

11/30/05

Cost Of Graphics - 11/30/05 @ 8:17 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Email
Joshua Walrath over at PenStar Systems has published an editorial that covers the rising cost of graphics cards. With the recent introduction of the GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB, which is being heavily sought after, will we eventually see graphics cards approaching the $1000 mark?

With comments by NVIDIA, the editorial begins with a look at the early days of graphics cards and moves ahead to cover the costs associated with designing and manufacturing the graphics processing units of today and the future.

This increase in complexity requires more engineers and better tools to work with. End-users demand more features, speed, and quality from every generation of 3D product, and to meet that demand ATI and NVIDIA spend millions to hire and retain engineers, upgrade workstations and server farms to handle the complex designs, and buy new software tools that can handle the massive job of routing and placing millions of transistors and make a working product at the end of the process.

More money is then spent to utilize the latest fabrication processes, as well as create the complex masks associated with these huge designs. One single design can easily eat up $100 million in basic costs for design and production, not to mention all the surrounding costs of running a large and complex business.


Wednesday Roundup - 11/30/05 @ 4:39 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Email/Browsing
Deals
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual Core Processor

Articles, Guides, News
- Updated Firefox Tweak Guide at TweakGuides.com
- System and Component Recommendations at The TechReport

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- The Rising Cost of Graphics at PenStar Systems

System, Components
- Seagate Momentus 7200.1 100GB at Viperlair
- BenQ S53W Centrino Notebook at HardwareZone
- CPU Database at techPowerUp!

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Enermax Liberty 400W Modular Power Supply at Tweaknews

Input Devices
- BLUETAKE Bluetooth Mouse and USB Adapter at Maximum CPU
- Saitek ST90 Joystick at ThinkComputers
- Logitech MX5000 Laser Cordless Desktop at Tweaknews

Audio, Multimedia
- Nu Tech Dark Shadow 256MB MP3 Sunglasses at Big Bruin
- Noise Cancelling or Noise Reduction When It Comes to Headphones at Bona Fide Reviews

Games, Software
- Moving a Beginner to Linux at XYZ Computing


Tuesday Roundup - 11/29/05 @ 12:34 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- MSI GeForce 7800 NX7800GTX-VT2D256E Video Card

Articles, News
- How To Prevent Unwanted Windows Programs From Loading At Startup at The TechZone

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- ATI All in Wonder Radeon X800XL Multimedia PCI Express at Tweaknews
- ATI RADEON X1600 PRO and XT come into focus earlier than expected at HEXUS
- MSI NX6800GS-TD256E (GeForce 6800 GS, PCIe) at HardwareZone

System, Components
- Crucial Ballistix PC2-8000 at DriverHeaven
- ASRock 775Dual-915GL at Phoronix

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- SilverStone Strider ST60F PSU at PC Modding Malaysia
- 5-Way Radiator Round-Up (Part 2) at Phoronix
- Cooler Master Centurion 531 at Viperlair
- Thermaltake Swing ATX Mid Tower Case at BigBruin


Monday Roundup - 11/27/05 @ 11:38 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value Sound Card

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- GeForce 6800 Meets New Contender: PowerColor X800 GTO VIVO at X-bit Labs

System, Components
- Small but Stylish: SONY VAIO VGN-T2XRP-S Notebook at X-bit Labs
- Abit's Fatal1ty AN8 SLI motherboard at The Tech Report

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Thermalright XP_90C & Antec Tricool 120 fan tested on 4800+ at Hardware Overclock Austria
- Asus Extreme AX800 Silencer at gotapex
- Zalman CNPS9500 LED Heatsink at Viperlair
- Zalman VF700-Cu LED at Maximum CPU
- XG Ninja 2 Case at Maximum CPU

Input Devices
- Icemat 2nd Edition Mouse Pad at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- Logitech diNovo Cordless Desktop Kit for Notebooks at X-bit Labs
- Bluetake BT510 Mini Mouse and BT009Si Bluetooth Adapter at TechGage

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Vantec Nexstar GX USB Drive Enclosure and Hub Inbox at Big Bruin


Friday News Roundup - 11/25/05 @ 9:25 am - By: MikeC - Source: Email
Deals
- Dell UltraSharp 2405FPW 24" LCD Monitor

Articles, News
- ATI X1800 XT PE Is Coming Next Week at K-Hardware (German)
- How Chips are Manufactured at HardwareSecrets
- Guide to PC Backup Options at PC Mechanic
- XGI Targets OSS Drivers at Phoronix (Linux)
- Nintendo Revolution Will Be King at BonaFideReviews
- World Cyber Games 2005 Coverage at HardwareZoom

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- ATI Catalyst 5.12 Beta at NGOHQ
- ATI AIW X1800 XL Hands-On Look at Hexus

System, Components
- Sapphire Pure Innovation Motherboard Review at bit-tech
- G.skill F1-3200PHU2-2GBZX Memory Review at PureOverclock.com
- Digital Caviar SE16 250GB Hard Drive Review at XYZ Computing
- Seagate 500GB Barracuda 7200.9 Hard Drive Review at ARP

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Raidmax Glacier CPU Cooler Review at Bigbruin
- SilverStone FN81 and FN82 Fan Review at Techgage
- Zalman TNN300 Fanless Aluminum Chassis Review at GamePC
- PrimoChill X-QPack H2O SFF Case Review at GruntvillE
- XG Dragon Special Edition Case Review at ThinkComputers.org

Input Devices
- Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Mouse Review at Hardware Pacers
- Razer Green Copperhead Gaming Mouse Review at techPowerUp!

Audio, Multimedia
- Logitech QuickCam Fusion Review at Futurelooks

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Lexmark E342n Laser Printer Review at TrustedReviews
- High End Audio Cable Design - Part 4 at The TechZone
- Talk Back: Rob Enderle's Holiday 2005 Buyer's Guide at Designtechnica
- Holiday Season Shopping Extravaganza at Hardware Analysis

Games, Software
- UFO: Aftershock (PC) Review at Strategy Informer
- Sniper Elite (PC) Review at Strategy Informer
- NFS: Most Wanted Tweak Guide at TweakGuides.com


Wednesday Roundup - 11/23/05 @ 3:23 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Email
Deals
- Linksys Wireless G 54Mbps Cable/DSL Router

Articles, News
- Supermicro: Going Servers Was the Right Decision at X-bit Labs

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- 5-Way Radiator Round-Up (Part 1) at Phoronix
- Lighted Blue Card Cooler XT at Hi-techreviews
- Cooler Master RealPower 550W at techPowerUp!

Audio, Multimedia
- Compro VideoMate U900 - Tiny USB TV Box at HardwareZone
- Digital Signal Processing Explained at The TechZone

Miscellaneous Hardware
- OCZ Rally 512MB USB Flash Drive at BigBruin


ForceWare 81.95 - 11/22/05 @ 6:42 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Forum
NVIDIA has released WHQL certified ForceWare driver version 81.95 for Windows XP/2000 32-bit, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition. Issues resolved since version 81.94:

Single GPU Issues Resolved

  • There is a possible incompatibility between the ForceWare graphics driver and the current WDM driver.
  • GeForce 7 Series: Modifying any Performance and Quality Setting using the system tray icon turns off Gamma and Transparency Antialiasing.
  • GeForce 6800 Ultra: Textures are corrupted upon the first time entering a zone in Guild Wars.
SLI-Related Issues Resolved
  • GeForce 6 and 7 series, SLI: Updated F.E.A.R. SLI profile to achieve better SLI performance and compatibility.
  • GeForce 6600, SLI: Blue-screen crash occurs when starting a new game in Civilization 4 with antialiasing enabled in the NVIDIA control panel.
Feedback here.


GeForce 7800 GS - 11/22/05 @ 6:19 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Forum
AnandTech has a posted a brief story on NVIDIA's internally announced GeForce 7800 GS. Based on their preliminary benchmarks, the performance of the GeForce 7800 GS is between the GeForce 6800 GS and GeForce 7800 GT. They are scheduled to have a full review in the next few days.

The card we benchmarked came with a 375MHz core clock and a 1000MHz memory clock. Even with an entire quad disabled, our internal testing proved that the card was ample competition for ATI's X1800XL. Currently, we are working on enabling the disabled quad and/or overclocking the 7800GS up to 7800GT and GTX speeds.

With a good price point, the GeForce 7800GS could easily become 2006's rendition of the Radeon X800GTO^2. A 16 pipe version of 7800GT would easily best a GeForce 6800GT or 6800 Ultra (at least on paper), but with current drivers we've already witnessed higher performance than that.

Discussion here.


Tuesday Roundup - 11/22/05 @ 10:21 am - By: MikeC - Source: Email/Browsing
Deals
- Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB Hard Drive

Articles, News
- Xbox 360 Zero Hour Event at Krunker
- Xbox 360 - Back to the Future at The FiringSquad
- Xbox 360 Launch Coverage at bit-tech
- Xbox 360 Review at HardOCP
- MSI Factory Tour at HardwareZone

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO² Review at Beyond3D
- ATI All-In-Wonder X1800 XL Review at Viper Lair
- ATI All-In-Wonder X1800 XL: All I Want? at X-bit labs

System, Components
- VIA K8T900 Chipset Peview at bit-tech
- VIA K8T900 Chipset Peview at Hardware-Mag.de
- VIA K8T900 Chipset Peview at The TechReport
- EPoX EP-9NPA+ SLI vs. Tyan Tomcat K8E at planet3dnow.de
- GeIL Ultra PC2-5300 DDR2-667 Review at Phoronix (Linux)
- GeIL ONE Winbond BH5 1GB Dual Channel Kit Review at NGOHQ

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Ultra X-Finity 500W ATX Power Supply Review at PimpRig
- Coolmax CXI-600B PSU Review at PC Modding Malaysia

Input Devices
- Palm Z22 Handheld Review at CoolTechZone

Audio, Multimedia
- Kodak CX7530 5.0MP Digital Camera at ThinkComputers.org

Miscellaneous Hardware
- The 12 Days of Christmas Bona Fide Style at BonaFideReviews
- Buying Guide: Holiday 2005 Gifts at DesignTechnica
- Enermax Laureate Drive Enclosures at Big Bruin

Games, Software
- Gun (PC) Review at Strategy Informer


Monday Roundup - 11/20/05 @ 9:05 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual Core Processor

Articles, News
- Emergency Spyware Guide at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- Technology Pretensions at PC Mech
- Mobile GPU Comparison Guide Rev. 4.2 at Adrian's Rojak Pot

System, Components
- Epox EP-8NPA SLI at PC Modding Malaysia

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- MIPS RAM Freezer at techPowerUp!

Audio, Multimedia
- Toshiba 6x burn speed dual layer drive (Model SD-R5472) at TechNeek

Miscellaneous Hardware
- 5GB Pocket Hard Drive Pictorial at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- SilverStone PSU Muffler at TechGage
- ViewSonic N3250w 32 Inch LCD Television at XYZ Computing

Games, Software
- Kubuntu v6.04 (Dapper Drake) Flight 1 at Phoronix
- The Matrix: Path of Neo at Strategy Informer


ASUS 7800GTX TOP - 11/19/05 @ 4:13 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Email
3DAvenue has posted a review of the ASUS Extreme N7800 GTX TOP PCI-E 256MB graphics card, which features higher core and memory clock speeds than the reference GeForce 7800 GTX.

The cooler featured on the ASUS 7800GTX TOP is similar to what we are seeing emerge from a lot of videocard companies lately - that is, a dual slot design that has an exhaust for dumping the air out the back of the case, shaped in a manner that reminds you of a hair dryer. The reason such cooling was adopted rather than a more standard solution was because the 7800GTX TOP actually comes pre-overclocked right from the beginning.

In fact, the clock speeds here are 486MHz on the core and 1350MHz on the RAM, as opposed to the 7800GTX's default clocks of 430MHz on the core and 1.2GHz on the RAM. This is also a somewhat emerging trend with enthusiast videocard brands, but it isn't so common that you'll find one from every vendor, so the 7800GTX TOP here from ASUS is still quite unique in this regard.


New NVTray Utility - 11/19/05 @ 3:59 pm - By: MikeC - Source: ForceWare Forum
rewt, who manages the web site H4ck 3D, has released NVIDIA Tray Tools or NVTray. NVTray allows driver seetings to be easily modified and also unlocks a variety of settings, such as alternative modes of antialiasing (which are not officially supported by NVIDIA). Nice work rewt!
  • Support for Windows x64 Edition
  • Based on Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
  • Ability to customize both OpenGL and Direct3D settings independently
  • Optimizations customizable for OpenGL and Direct3D modes separately
  • Supports many more Antialiasing modes than the default NVIDIA control panel
  • AFR/AFR2/SFR/SLIAA SLI rendering modes supported
  • Compatible with future drivers and the new NVIDIA Control Panel



Friday Roundup - 11/17/05 @ 9:05 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value Sound Card

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- The Dual Channel Advantage at 3D Velocity
- A Digital Photography Odyssey, Volume 1: The Digital Lens at XYZ Computing
- Mobile graphics card ranking at 3DChip
- XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 256MB PCIe at HEXUS
- HIS IceQ X700 128Meg AGP Videocard at Tweaknews

System, Components
- Kingston HyperX KHX7200D2K2/1G (DDR2-900 SDRAM) Memory Modules at X-bit Labs
- OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Gold GX XTC at techPowerUp!

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Antec P160W P160 Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case at Tweaknews
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro Evaluation at Hi-techreviews

Audio, Multimedia
- Steel Sound 5H USB Professional Gaming Headset at ThinkComputers
- High End Audio Cable Design - Part 3 at The TechZone

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Evaluation: Fuji FinePix E900 Digital Camera at Designtechnica

Games, Software
- Quake 4 v1.0.5 Performance at Phoronix
- KDE v3.5 RC1 at Phoronix
- X-Micro Mini DisGo 20GB USB Storage at Overclockers Australia
- Cold War at Strategy Informer


Thursday Roundup - 11/16/05 @ 9:27 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- PNY 512MB Secure Digital Card

Articles, News
- Techie Christmas Gift Ideas at The TechZone

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- Your A4-Size Business Companion: Choosing the Best Compact Notebook. Part I at X-bit Labs
- Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO Roundup (PCIe) at HardwareZone

System, Components
- Corsair TWIN2X1024-8000UL at Viperlair
- Dell's Open Source Desktop Systems at XYZ Computing
- OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Gold GX XTC Dual Channel at TechGage

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Sansun SN-C001 The Bat Case at techPowerUp!
- PrimoChill PC ICE at ThinkComputers

Audio, Multimedia
- Evaluation: LG LGDVB418 DVD Player at Designtechnica

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Fall 2005 Buying Guide: Photo Printers at Designtechnica
- OCZ Rally Dual Channel USB Flash Drives Review Rev. 2.0 at Adrian's Rojak Pot

Games, Software
- Nero 7 Ultra Edition at Windows A to Z
- F.E.A.R. at Guru 3D


Wednesday Roundup - 11/15/05 @ 8:58 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe Motherboard

Articles, News
- 2 weeks Left In ThinkComputers Giveaway / Contest at ThinkComputers
- Contest: Apple iPod Video 30GB & Oppo Digital OPDV971H DVD Player at Designtechnica
- Plagiarism - Well And Alive at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- Guide to the Cellular Internet at PC Mech
- x86 - Here to Stay? at HardwareHell
- How To Clean Your Keyboard - A Step By Step Guide at The TechZone
- Shadow the Hedgehog Competition at 3DVelocity

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- ATI RD580: Dual x16 Crossfire Preview at AnandTech
- NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512: Faster, Higher, Stronger! at X-bit Labs

System, Components
- Corsair 2GB Secure Digital 133x at Viperlair
- OCZ High Grade Memory - PC4800 DDR and PC5400 DDR-2 at Tweaktown

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Thermaltake Muse: External Enclosure for 3.5” and 5.25” Devices at X-bit Labs
- Comp Geeks Masscool 520UI Enclosure at LANmaniac
- Antec Super Lanboy Aluminum ATX Computer Case at Tweaknews

Input Devices
- Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser at ThinkComputers

Audio, Multimedia
- First Looks Preview Article: Slim Devices Squeezebox Network Media Player at Designtechnica

Games, Software
- The Movies at Strategy Informer
- Everquest II: Desert of Flames at Strategy Informer
- Benchmarking with F.E.A.R. and Quake 4 at Hartware


Tuesday Roundup - 11/14/05 @ 10:15 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- PNY 1GB Attache USB Flash Drive

System, Components
- MSI M635 AMD Turion 64 Notebook at HardwareZone

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- ePower XScale 570W (EP-570MP) at phoronix
- Turbo-Cool 510 SLI at PC Modding Malaysia
- Antec Notebook Cooler at Tweaknews
- Powering Up A Standalone PSU Guide at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- Shuttle XPC SD31P at The TechZone
- Enermax Liberty 620Watt PSU at ThinkComputers

Input Devices
- Logitech G5 Laser Mouse at TechGage
- Icemat Mousepad at PC Mechanic
- Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3100 Keyboard and Mouse Duo at Bona Fide Reviews
- Logitech MX5000 Cordless Laser Desktop Review at XYZ Computing

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Metapo/Egen Power 150Watt Power Can Inverter at ThinkComputers
- Sony DRU-810A Optical Storage Drive at Designtechnica
- Memory Pointer Review at ASE Labs

Games, Software
- Star Wars Battlefront II at Strategy Informer


7800 GTX 512MB! - 11/14/05 @ 8:22 am - By: MikeC - Source: NVIDIA
Today, NVIDIA is announcing a 512MB version of the GeForce 7800 GTX. The GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB is NVIDIA's most powerful GPU ever courtesy of its blistering clock speeds - a 550MHz core and 1.70GHz memory. The 256MB GeForce 7800 GTX runs at 430MHz/1.2GHz.

Models with even higher clock speeds will be offered by NVIDIA's add-in card manufacturers! Based on NVIDIA's internal testing, a single GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB outperformed a 256MB model by 30-40% at 1600x1200 with 4X AA/8X AF in the following benchmarks.

The tests were conducted using an AMD Athlon FX-57. The suggested retail price of the GeForce 7800 GTX 512MB is $649.

Previews of the GeForce 7800 GTX can be found at the following web sites:

Feedback here.


Monday Roundup - 11/13/05 @ 9:16 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Dell Inspiron 6000 Notebook

Articles, News
- BIOS Optimization Guide Rev. 8.5.4 at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- The 8 Basic Steps of Image Editing at MEMAP
- Dell, seeking sales growth, embraces style, luxury at News.com

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- XFX GeForce 6600 at Viperlair

Audio, Multimedia
- KOSS HQ1 Vibration Stereophone at HardwareZone
- Vantec AVOXJukebox at Hi-Techreviews

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Toshiba MK1032GSX 100GB 2.5" SATA Hard Disk at 3DVelocity
- Xbox 360 Manual (PDF)
- Hi-Res Zelda Ocarina Of Time at 4 color rebellion

Games, Software
- Splat Magazine Renegade Paintball at Strategy Informer
- Serious Sam 2 at Strategy Informer
- Podcast: DT Goes Mad! Nigerian 419 Style! at Designtechnica


Saturday Roundup - 11/12/05 @ 10:00 am - By: MikeC - Source: Various
Deals
- GeForce 6800 GS

Articles, Guides, News
- BFG Technologies Call of Duty 2 Bundle Details
- Call of Duty 2 Tweak Guide at TweakGuides.com
- Sony, Rootkits and DRM Gone Too Far at Sysinternals

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 Review at HardwareZone

System, Components
- Games Against CPUs: Part II at X-bit labs
- Asus A8N32-SLI nForce4 SLI X16 Motherboard at PC Perspective

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Silentmaxx ST-11 Pro Review at PC Technic3D - German
- Evercool Ice Storm HDD Cooler Review at PC Modding Malaysia

Games, Software
- NFS Most Wanted Demo Feedback Thread


Leadtek PX7800 GTX - 11/12/05 @ 9:18 am - By: MikeC - Source: Email
Hexus has posted a review of Leadtek's PX7800 GTX TDH MyVIVO Extreme 256MB graphics card along with Sapphire's Radeon X1800 XT. The Leadtek Extreme uses heatpipe based cooling, which allows the card to run at a core speed of 490MHz and memory speed at 1250MHz.

In terms of cooling design, the card-long heatsink uses four heatpipes that attach to a central portion which, in turn, attaches to both the G70 core and RAM chips underneath. Once heat is transferred from the GPU and RAM modules through to the heatsink, the heatpipes then transfer this heat to a collection of cooling fins on the outer sections each side. The 40 fins on each side help increase the cooling surface area and the central, large 92mm fan, right in the middle, pushes the heat out into the case and, to some extent, behind.


NV Silencer 5 Rev. 3 - 11/12/05 @ 8:59 am - By: MikeC - Source: Email
Techgage has posted a review of the updated NV5 Silencer from Arctic Cooling. Revision 3 will fit GeForce 7800 GT and GTX based graphics cards.

I think my favorite feature of the Silencer though, would have to be the fact that it shoots all the heat out the back of your tower. This will not only help the graphics card, but the entire computer. Instead of having a cooler that shoots off heat inside your computer, it will get rid of it immediately, and that should in turn keep the inside of your computer cooler overall.


XFX GF 6600 DDR2 - 11/11/05 @ 5:32 pm - By: MikeC - Source: XFX
Ed Piotrowski has posted his review of the XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 graphics card. Targeted at the budget gamer, the XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 sports 256MB of memory running at 800MHz and 400MHz core clock speed.

A $100 graphics card certainly can't be all things to all people. Naturally, the enthusiasts will be passing this right up for something far more powerful. But for the mainstream market, primarily those running on integrated graphics cards, this 6600 DDR2 is an excellent value-based solution. Even if you don't game, the fact that this card sports dual DVI makes it a good choice for people who want to drive a pair of digital displays but don't want to spend the money on a GeForce 6800 GT or better.

The XFX GeForce 6600 DDR2 should begin to appear in online stores next week.


Friday Roundup - 11/11/05 @ 8:12 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Patriot Memory Signature Line 1GB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory Kit

Articles, News
- Talk Back: Fighting Commoditization Of The Encoder Business at Designtechnica
- St. Louis LAN Party Raises $2k for Charity at Legit Reviews

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- ATI Catalyst 5.11 Performance Analysis (X1K Edition) at Tweak Town
- Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT with Silent-Pipe II at HardwareZoom
- ATI Catalyst 5.11 Performance Analysis and Driver Download! *Exclusive* at Tweak Town

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- OCZ PowerStream 520watt ATX Computer Power Supply at Tweak News
- PrimoChill ICE UV Blue Water Cooling Fluid at BigBruin
- Seasonic S12-600W PSU at Viperlair

Audio, Multimedia
- 1GB Apple iPod Shuffle at BigBruin
- Blue Laser Wars - Blu-ray Vs. HD DVD at The TechZone

Miscellaneous Hardware
- OCZ Rally Dual Channel USB Flash Drives Review Posted! at Adrian's Rojak Pot

Games, Software
- Need for Speed Most Wanted Demo Out at GamersHell


Cyber Snipa Game Pad - 11/10/05 @ 10:30 am - By: MikeC - Source: N/A
Clay has posted his review of the Cyber Snipa PC Game Pad.

"What really sets the Cyber Snipa apart is what it is missing. Drivers, there are none. No driver CD is included, no firmware to download, no profiles, nothing. I'll admit, my first reaction to this was a bit negative. I mean, what piece of hardware is worth its salt without drivers? However, I quickly changed my tone. The simplicity and no-nonsense of it all was refreshing. So, what we have here is a condensed keyboard that you can map any game's commands to just as you would to a regular keyboard."


Thursday Roundup - 11/10/05 @ 8:00 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard

Articles, News
- Guide To Avoiding Common Digital Photo Mistakes at The TechZone
- 3 Weeks Left in HUGE Contest (80+ Prizes) at The TechLounge

System, Components
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500GB SATA 3 Gb/s Hard Drive at BigBruin
- ASUS V6-V Notebook and Pakuma Akara K1 at HEXUS
- ECS KN1 EXTREME SLI 1.0a Motherboard at Futurelooks

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Cooler Master AquaGate Mini R120 at OverClockers
- Antec Minuet II Micro ATX Case at ThinkComputers

Miscellaneous Hardware
- XFX's Revo64 Serial ATA RAID card at The Tech Report

Games, Software
- New Virtual Skipper 4 Demo at Strategy Informer
- Contemporary CPUs and New Games: No Way to Delusions! at X-bit Labs


ASUS 4-Way SLI - 11/09/05 @ 4:27 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Forums
X-bit labs is reporting that ASUS has demonstrated a 4-way multi-GPU system, which was based on two of their dual-GeForce 7800 GT graphics cards.

The 4-Way graphics solution consisted of two ASUS EN7800 GT Dual graphics cards each equipped with a pair of NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT graphics chips and 512MB (256MB per GPU) of GDDR3 memory as well as ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Revision 2.0 mainboard powered by NVIDIA nForce4 SLI 16x core-logic.


NVIDIA Financials - 11/09/05 @ 4:09 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Email
NVIDIA reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 ended October 30, 2005. For the third quarter of fiscal 2006, revenue was $583.4 million, compared to $515.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2005, an increase of 13 percent.

Revenue for the nine months ended October 30, 2005 was a record $1.74 billion, compared to revenue of $1.44 billion for the nine months ended October 24, 2004.

"Two years ago, with gross margins in the high twenties, we set a corporate objective to achieve gross margins in the high thirties. Seven quarters later, we delivered," stated Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA. "Through cross-functional profit improvement initiatives, we are re- architecting business and operational processes that will drive sustainable advantages going forward."

Huang added, "Looking ahead, with our GPU and MCP product families continuing to lead the competition, we expect significant growth in our desktop, notebook, and handheld businesses."

Third Quarter Fiscal 2006 Highlights:

  • Gross margin improved to 39.1 percent, an increase of 130 basis points sequentially from the second quarter fiscal 2006, and 680 basis points year-over-year.
  • NVIDIA regained the leadership share position in the desktop GPU segment with 50 percent share, according to the Mercury Research Third Quarter 2005 PC Graphics Report.
  • NVIDIA simultaneously introduced and shipped the NVIDIA nForce 400 media and communications processor (MCP) and GeForce 6100 integrated graphics processing unit (GPU) family. They represent the first integrated GPU solution in the industry to support DirectX 9 and Shader Model 3.0, as well as deliver high-definition video processing for high-definition televisions.
  • NVIDIA is now the third largest core logic supplier in the world, according to the Mercury Research Third Quarter 2005 PC Processors and Chipsets: Market Strategy and Forecast Report. NVIDIA nForce MCP revenue has increased 100 percent year-over-year and has achieved record revenue for five consecutive quarters.
  • Apple announced the first ever Power Mac to incorporate the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 as its first workstation graphics card and is the only professional solution currently offered.
  • The NVIDIA Quadro workstation product line increased its revenue 24 percent from the third quarter fiscal 2005 and again achieved record revenue.
  • NVIDIA launched and shipped its flagship notebook GPU -- the GeForce Go 7800 GTX -- with leading Tier One and system builders worldwide.
  • Motorola and Sony Ericsson launched their brand-leading new 3G mobile phones -- the Motorola RAZR and Sony Ericsson W900i Walkman -- all based on NVIDIA GoForce GPUs.
An earnings conference call is currently taking place.


XFX GF 6800 GS - 11/09/05 @ 3:06 pm - By: MikeC - Source: N/A
The GeForce 6800 GS is finally beginning to appear on PriceGrabber searches. Although the XFX GeForce 6800 GS is currently the the only model listed, it happens to be an overclocked model with a core speed of 485MHz (up from 425MHz) and memory clock of 1100MHz (up from 1000MHz).

Quake 4 gameplay video on the GeForce 6800 GS! (2.7MB 320x240 MPEG-1)

Not bad for $215 at Newegg


Wednesday Roundup - 11/09/05 @ 8:22 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- SanDisk 1GB miniSD Card

Articles, News
- Interview with Futuremark on the Next 3DMark at Beyond3D
- Facing The Evil Twin at The Tech Zone
- The Convergence of Monitors and Televisions at XYZ Computing
- Xtreme Resources Computer System Benefit Raffle Reminder at Xtreme Resources
- Late 2005 Process Thoughts at PenStar Systems
- Buying Guide: Chic Laptop Bags For Fall at Designtechnica
- Mobile GPU Comparison Guide Rev. 4.1 Posted! at Adrian's Rojak Pot

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- Diablotek nVidia GeForce 6600 256MB at ThinkComputers
- Samsung SyncMaster 204T 20" Silver LCD at Bona Fide Reviews
- XGI Technology Volari 8300 (XG47) at phoronix
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS (PCIe) at HardwareZone

System, Components
- Mushkin Redline XP4000 2GB at techPowerUp!
- Biostar GeForce 6100-M9 TForce Motherboard at TweakTown

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Asus Vento 3600 ATX Case at Futurelooks
- Enermax Liberty 620W Modular PSU at Viperlair
- Thermaltake Golden Orb II at 3D Velocity
- Titan TTC-G3T Notebook Cooler at TechGage

Games, Software
- Pro Evolution Soccer 5 at Strategy Informer


GeForce 6800 GS - 11/08/05 @ 4:41 pm - By: MikeC - Source: Email
The crew at x-bit labs have posted a huge preview of the GeForce 6800 GS. They check out performance in 17 different games, which include titles such as Pariah, Project Snowblind, Age of Empires 3, and Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War. Performance is compared to GeForce 6800, GeForce 6800 GT, Radeon X1600 XT, Radeon X800XL, and the GeForce 6800 GS overclocked at 500MHz/1360MHz.

The excellent overclockability of the GeForce 6800 GS needs to be mentioned, too. The combination of the GeForce 7800 GT printed circuit board with the 0.11-micron NV42 chip proved to be very overclocker-friendly. We managed to speed up our sample of the card from the default 425/1000MHz to the impressive 500/1360MHz. The ensuing performance gain lifted the speed of the card to the level of the more expensive GeForce 6800 Ultra and this is probably not the limit. We could have achieved higher frequencies if we had replaced the cooling system for something more efficient.


Tuesday Roundup - 11/08/05 @ 8:00 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- SanDisk 1GB Cruzer Mini USB Flash Drive

Articles, News
- PC Silencing Guide - Part 1 and part 2 at GamersHell

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- Leadtek GeForce 7800 Roundup at Beyond 3D
- ATI Radeon X1K Overclocking – Testing R520 and RV530 at TweakTown

System, Components
- Foxconn WinFast 6150K8MA-8EKRS (nForce 6150/nForce 430) at HardwareZone
- ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 at techPowerUp!
- Gigabyte 8VT880P Combo Motherboard at Viperlair
- Comparison overview with 25 AMD Socket A Motherboard at OC Inside
- GigaByte GA-K8N PRO-SLI Mainboard at BigBruin
- Crucial Ballistix PC4000 2GB Memory at Legit Reviews

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Nikao Dragonfire Case at ThinkComputers

Audio, Multimedia
- Explanatory Guide: How To Record & Play Music From A DVD at Designtechnica
- High End Audio Cable Design - Part 2 at The TechZone

Games, Software
- GoblinX Mini v1.2.1 at Phoronix


Monday Roundup - 11/07/05 @ 1:00 pm - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- MMI FujiPlus FP-988D 19" LCD

Articles, News
- NVIDIA Shop-Decor Competition at VR-Zone
- 2005 SEMA Show Coverage at The TechZone

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS at Noticias3D
- Connect3D X800 GTO at PureOverclock

System, Components
- AMD Athlon64 3400 "Newcastle" at Ultimate Hardware

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Spire Pacific Breeze Laptop Cooler at XYZ Computing
- ECS KN1 SLI Extreme Mainboard at BigBruin

Audio, Multimedia
- Logitech Z-4 Speaker System at Designtechnica

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Logisys Wireless Remote MultiFunction Panel at ThinkComputers
- Samsung SF-565P Laser Multi-Function Printer at Futurelooks


GeForce 6800 GS - 11/07/05 @ 8:11 am - By: MikeC - Source: NVIDIA
We have posted a brief preview of NVIDIA's GeForce 6800 GS, which is being announced today. It has been a hectic weekend, but also enjoyable as we played around with Quake 4, FEAR, and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast.

The GeForce 6800 GS is designed around the NV42 core and utilizes the PCI-Express interface. The 110nm fabricated GPU operates at a reference clock speed of 425MHz while add-in graphics cards will be outfitted with 256MB of GDDR3 frame buffer memory running at a frequency of 500MHz.

Although the GeForce 6800 GS is replacing the GeForce 6800, its specifications are closer to that of the GeForce 6800 GT, which currently ranges in price from $275 to $300. The GeForce 6800 GS has fewer pipelines and vertex processors than the GeForce 6800 GT, but it matches and exceeds the GeForce 6800 GT in memory bandwidth and geometry processing, which is partially the result of a 21% increase in the GPU clock speed.

More GeForce 6800 GS Previews


Friday Roundup - 11/04/05 @ 10:06 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Acer Aspire 3002LCi Notebook

Articles, News
- How To Secure Your Emails at The TechZone
- 3DMark Triple Crown Achieved! at Hardware Asylum

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- Sapphire X800 GTO Ultimate at Pure Overclock

System, Components
- MSI P4N Diamond at Viperlair
- Upcoming Intel and AMD processors, first looks at Hardware Analysis
- Gigabyte K8N51GMF-9 nForce 430/GeForce 6100 Mainboard at HEXUS

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Enermax Liberty 500W Modular Power Supply at BigBruin

Input Devices
- Razer Copperhead 2000 dpi Precision Gaming Mouse at Hi-Techreviews
- Logitech Harmony 659 Remote at ThinkComputers
- Razer Copperhead 2000DPI Laser Mouse at TechGage

Games, Software
- iolo System Mechanic Pro 6 at TechGage
- Black & White II at Strategy Informer


Thursday Roundup - 11/03/05 @ 7:02 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB Hard Drive for $218 at Newegg

Articles, News
- Intel Lindenhurst Xeon DP Platform Discussion at HEXUS
- Does Violent Video Games Really Lead To Aggressive Behavior? at The TechZone
- November 2005 Giveaway at The Tech Lounge
- VoIP & Internet Phone Services Compared Explanatory Guide at Designtechnica

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- XFX GeForce 6600 256 MB gDDR2 at Guru3d
- Workstation Graphics Card Comparison Guide Rev 3.3 Posted! at Adrian's Rojak Pot
- HIS X700 ICEQ 128MB at Viperlair
- Sapphire Radeon X800GT PCIe (256MB BGA DDR3) at HardwareZoom

System, Components
- Seagate Momentus 5400.2 120GB Hard Drive at BigBruin

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- Vantec Lapcool 3 Notebook Cooler at ThinkComputers

Audio, Multimedia
- Novatron iamm NTD-35 Multimedia Player at 3D Velocity

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Thecus N4100 NAS at HardwareZone

Games, Software
- Dungeon Siege II Review for PC at Futurelooks
- ID3-TagIT 3: MP3 Tagger at PC Mechanic


Wednesday Roundup - 11/02/05 @ 6:41 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB Hard Drive (OEM) at Newegg - $218

Articles, News
- The AnandTech Saga Continues at NGOHQ
- The making of the new Damagebox at The Tech Report
- ThinkComputers New Layout Giveaway / Contest at ThinkComputers

System, Components
- G.SKILL F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ PC4000 at techPowerUp!
- ECS KN1 SLI Extreme at Viperlair

Cases, Power Supplies, Cooling
- NZXT Lexa Pre-Modified PC case at Guru3d
- Vantec LapCool 3 (LPC-401) at phoronix
- Ultra X-Finity FlexForce 500W Power Supply at TechGage
- Asetek Waterchill Xtreme KT12A-12VX Liquid Cooling Kit at Xtreme Resources

Input Devices
- Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5000 Laser at The TechZone

Audio, Multimedia
- Samsung YH-MT6 1Gb Digital Audio MP3 Player at Tweaknews

Miscellaneous Hardware
- Samsung SPP-2040 Photo Printer at XYZ Computing
- Transcend JetFlash 120 1GB Flash Drive at BigBruin


Tuesday Roundup - 11/01/05 @ 6:57 am - By: MaxPower - Source: Various
Deals
- eVGA e-GeForce 7800 GT Video Card at Newegg

Articles, News
- Ageia Sets the Record straight regrading the competition at GDHardware
- Blizzard's 2005 Blizzcon: Day 1 at Legit Reviews
- Exploring the performance impact of memory latency at The Tech Report
- How RFID Is Impacting Our Lives at The TechZone
- Plagiarism by Anandtech at NGOHQ

Graphics, Drivers, Displays
- HIS IceQII Radeon X800GTO Turbo PCI Express at TweakNews

System, Components
- Corsair XMS2-5400UL at phoronix

Audio, Multimedia
- SanDisk Digital Audio Player - Revisited at The TechLounge

Games, Software
- The Lord of the Rings: the Battle for Middle-Earth II movies at Strategy Informer
- Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird v1.5 at phoronix


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