News testing completed by bogc66 , March 22, 2000

News new engine installation completed
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Fast delivery news service by bogc66 , March 22, 2000

Our new installed news service should be able to maintain over 30-40 news per day.

More reliable news service by bogc66 , March 22, 2000

Our new installed news service should be able to maintain over 30-40 news per day.

Romanian Siluro review by bogc66 , March 22, 2000

The Romanian version of Siluro review will be online in a few hours.

Universal docking station reviewed! by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Want a cheap docking station for your laptop? It looks as if you can
finally get one.

Aten‘s UC-2000L USB Docking Station solves the problem of how to plug a portable computer into a pile of peripherals quickly and easily, without spending a giant frightening slab of money on a dock thingy from the same people that made the portable PC. Here!

Gigabyte GF-2010D by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Two weeks ago a new videocard from Gigabyte was booted towards the Guru‘s way. It‘s the GF-2010D The flavor is GeForce2 and the tag Pro. The new GF-2010D (GeForce2 Pro based) videocard is equipped with 32MB DDR 5ns memory. The card can be boosted to a 250 MHz core .. not too shabby huh ?

"The memory on this videocard seems to come from a manufacturer we‘ve seen in a previous review, the X-Micro impact4. Ascend, this doesn‘t necessarily have to be a but I have slight reservations about overclocking the card‘s memory. But we‘ll see that in a later part of this review. The memory is rated 5ns and is of course DDR based, thus 2x200 MHz." Here!

Shuttle AK11 review by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

At Lostcircuits you can find a Shuttle AK11 review.

Cyber Cooler HC-160 HDD Cooler by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

At Mikhailtech you can find a Cyber Cooler HC-160 HDD Cooler review. Enjoy :)

XFce Review at Overclockers Melbourne by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Heres a snip from a XFce review that can be found here.
"I choose to use XFce as my main window manager when I use linux. It‘s clean, fast, lets me access what I want quickly. Its easy to configure, I can still run KDE/Gnome apps if I want to, and besides, if I want to show off Linux to a friend, I can always boot into KDE or Gnome using a really kickass theme, yet still use XFce for all my work ;)"

AMD Roadmap - Fresh Release by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

With the release of the Athlon 4 (Palamino) on monday into the mobile foray, a rash of ".pdf" files went whizzing around the internet on Monday evening - one of them being the newly revised processor roadmap. An accompanying article lays sense to all newcomers of just what that chart means and also gives insight as to what Intel have done wrong to make AMD shine !
Read all about it here.

Hitachi CML151XW 15" TFT Flatscreen Display Review by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

"The CML151XW is a 15" TFT display with the distinction of having one of the highest contrast ratios of any 15" flat screen we‘ve looked at so far. With its 350:1 contrast ratio the Hitachi display offers some positively bright whites and dark blacks. It also offers a removable display panel for wall-mounting, and a swivel base - a somewhat rare commodity in flat panel displays.
With its‘ two tone gray exterior the CML151XW is quite stylish and sports the typical dot pitch of 0.297mm. As with most 15" LCD displays the max resolution of this display is 1024x768 pixels. The analog connection on the back side of the panel display means this unit can be hooked up to an existing video card without having to go through the hassle of buying a new adapter card. The display does not however support any digital display connection." HERE!

CPUfx CORE cooler @ Tech-GODS.com by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Tech-GODS has a review up of the massively attractive CORE cooler from CPUfx. If anyone has ever said big isn‘t better obviously has never owned a CORE. Here‘s a snip:
The Core cooler is the latest active cooling solution from a company called CPUfx. CPUfx is also the same company that brings you cooling solutions such as copper shims, radiators, ramsinks, and water blocks. So what makes The Core so unique? Well, The Core was produced from a single, massive 3" 1 lb cube of CNC machined aluminum. This monster even has a slight imprint cut out on top for a perfect fit when used with a 60mm fan. The Core comes with CPUfx‘s very own copper shim and some Arctic Silver thermal paste at no extra charge. CPUfx offers the option of adding a 4500rpm fan, a Delta high speed fan, and a fan grill to be used with the Core. Here!

AMD UK Launch by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Today in London AMD Launched the Mobile Duron CPU, also they did a display of the Mobile Athlon 4 Unit, and had VIA there as one of there core partners. Hexus went along to this press event and had a look around, here is a little information from the event as well as some pictures. It explains all the different features of PowerNow and the new Chipsets from VIA (KN133 and KT133A) for the laptop platform.
You can find the whole story here.

Apacer 128MB pc150 SDRAM review by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Here‘s a quote from the Apacer 128MB pc150 SDRAM review.
" I found out that Apacer offered 128MB pc150 rated SDRAM modules, in
the likes of BGA packaging, similar to KingMax‘s TinyBGA packaging on their memory modules. I decided to see for myself whether or not this new variant of SDRAM from Apacer could offer any performance benefit compared to my older 128MB pc133 Apacer memory module using Infineon memory chips. " Here.

Visontek Geforce 3 Review @ The Game Den by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Gamers rejoice! The most highly anticipated video card of the year is finally here. nVidia’s new GeForce 3 video chipset is more than just an update to their older GeForce GTS cards. In fact, the introduction of this third generation graphics wonder meant shrinking and tweaking the core to find ways to make it 20 or 30% faster. Since the intro of the first GeForce, nVidia’s graphics adapters routinely exceed the optimum frame rate for games (60+FPS), so the focus begins to shift to image quality and speed. The GeForce3 is shaking up the gaming industry’s view of what is achievable in consumer level computer graphics. Read the entire review here.

Tt 128mb PC2100 DDR Review by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Who would have ever thought Thermaltake would venture into the memory business? Memory from a heatsink manufacturer? It‘s an extremely brave move with the memory market in the toilet! When I first heard about Thermaltake‘s new line of memory, I thought that they didn‘t stand a chance competing against the likes of Micron, Corsair and all the other big names in memory. What could Tt possibly offer that isn‘t already covered by the big names in memory?!?! One thing Tt definitely has going for them is KILLER LOOKS! Here.

AMK 33336 Custom Mid Tower Case by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

"The latest offering from AMK Computers based in Canada is this baby. The AMK 33336 is a very clean, feature filled, slightly taller mid-tower case with a few tricks." The whole story here.

Visiontek GeForce2 Ultra Review @ Chick‘s Hardware by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Chick‘s Hardware have posted the a review of the Visiontek GeForce2 Ultra videocard.
Here‘s a snip:
"The GeForce2 Ultra, is NVIDIA‘s 2nd fasts graphics chipset on the market and VisionTek have had a go at making a video card out of it. Have VisionTek got what it takes to take on the more established names in the retail sector? What does the VisionTek got to offer? Find out in our review..." Here.

MidiLand S4 4060M Speaker System Review @ Chick‘s Hardware by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Chick‘s Hardware have posted the a review of the MidiLand S4 4060M 2.1 speaker system, it doesn‘t cost all that much, but is it any good?
Here‘s a snip:
"MidiLand won our Editor‘s Choice Award for their excellent 5.1 Surround Sound speaker system, the MidiLand S4 7100. This time we take a look at their new 2.1 system, the S4 4060M. Will they fare better or worse, how is the sound quality? Is it a good gaming solution? Are they value for money?" Here.

Addtronics 7896A Tower Case Review @ Chick‘s Hardware by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Chick‘s Hardware have posted the a review of the Addtronics 7896A Tower Case, one of the most talked about tower cases on the market, but are there any hidden flaws?
Here‘s a snip:
"Want a case that has good expansion room, high quality and sturdy assembly, good accessibility, cooling and looks good? Well then, we take a look at one of the most talked about tower cases on the market, the Addtronics 7896A Tower Case." Here.

This MP3 Player has "SOUL"… by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

The Soul MP3 CD Player by AVC technologies is one of the few on the market that can play burned CD-R‘s. Unlike regular memory module based CD players, the SOUL is relatively cheap at $150 and so is the choice of media at around a buck a CD-R. All you have to do is supply the CD Burner and the library of songs to burn to them. Here‘s a clip:
"Most MP3 players on the market utilize Compact Flash technology, a system where MP3’s are stored on small cards about the size of a calculator wrist watch. These cards come in different storage increments; 16MB, 32MB, 64MB and 128MB. These storage options also have varying prices ranging from barely affordable to ludicrously expensive. This price issue has been a long time short coming of portable MP3 player market on the whole. The designers at Soul saw this problem and the result is the Soul Portable MP3/WMA/CD-R Player." Here‘s the whole story.

Visiontek GeForce 3 Review by BoyGenius , May 16, 2001

Amdmb.com has posted a review of the GeForce 3 card from Visiontek. It has quite a showing. Lots of interesting and somewhat new benchmarks are used such as Vulpine, Dronez and Aquamark. Read all about it here.

Computer Architecture: RISC, CISC, and EPIC by BoyGenius , May 18, 2001

A paper on RISC, CISC, and the upcoming EPIC architecture has been posted at Icrontic. The author goes in depth into how each architecture works, and what the future holds. This is definately one of the defining papers on computer architecture. Here.

3D GameForce, Taking the Blinders Off by BoyGenius , May 18, 2001

Today 3D GameForce unveil John Namest‘s first article for 3DGF, entitled ‘Taking the Blinders Off‘. In it, John shares his thoughts about gaming, movies, and everything in between. It‘s an interesting read, and a good sign of things to come.

In case you missed the news yesterday, John is the newest member of the 3DGF staff. He will put his knowledge of 3D, virtual reality, and gaming to good use producing insightful articles and cutting-edge reviews for you. Here.

Memory Man‘s Infineon 256mb PC133 Review at ClubOC by BoyGenius , May 18, 2001

We‘ve got more memory to show off! This latest "big stick" is more of Memory Man‘s hand picked SDRAM but this time it‘s based on Infineon chips. The sticks may not be 100% Infineon but the performance and stability is what counts and this one definitely delivers both! Here.

AwareMag.com Reviews 4 Copper Warriors! (Heatsinks) by BoyGenius , May 18, 2001

AwareMag.com just released a heatsink roundup that compares four of the latest heatsinks that implement copper. Copper is the hot material of choice right now and companies are utilizing it in new and old ways in an effort to gain the maximum cooling efficiency. We grouped the CAK38 from GlobalWin, ThermalTake MiniCopper Orb, the new Taisol CGK760092, and the Spring Spread SBCT601CAF-1B together and let them have at it!! There are some definite performers in this group and others have great designs which need a little more engineering to be really successful. Here.

KT133 FAQ Updated by BoyGenius , May 18, 2001

The bad-ass KT133/KT133A FAQ at Icrontic has been updated yet again. In another massive update, they have added support for many new motherboards, and a chuck load of new BIOS files. Get yer hinies over there and check it out!! Here.

OCZ Micro BGA PC-150 (128MB) by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

Memory has become a very good tool for overclocking today. Among this it has also proven to gain a little extra performance by simply providing more speed from the memory. In the days of 586 overclocking was simple enough by changing jumpers on the multiplier on the motherboard to push the Mhz higher. Well nowadays it‘s pushing the FSB. Here.

3D Benchmark Guide by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

In his article the Guru of 3D will explain some aspects of 3D benchmarking and to show you a few good benchmarks and outline how they work. The article will be looking at benchmarks that are suited to games and graphics performance.
Here‘s a clip: "To make sure that your are benchmarking correctly (ie. achieving the maximum available score) there are a few things that need to be done. One of the most important aspects is CPU utilization and system resources. What good would it be if you would test a piece of hardware while a background utility is using up memory and is utilizing the CPU 10% every few seconds. You need to disable each and every-one of them." Here.

Multi-Function HDD Rack/Cooler Review by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

Still searching for that perfect HDD cooling solution? Well, search on. Today Mikhailtech presents you with their newest lab-rat, the Multi-Function Drive Rack. Featuring, well, features and cooling (among other things), this is one to consider, especially for the super-low cost. Here.

CPUfx DTS440 Blue Adonised Shim Review by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

Overclockers Melbourne have reviewed the new CPUfx DTS440 shim.
Heres a snip: "The process of "Anodizing" aluminum or titanium oxidizes the surface several microns thick and this allows for a very strong shell to encapsulate the metal, further ensuring the shim will protect the cpu well. apart from being ultra strong, this shim is just plain sexy." Here.

Gigabyte 7DXR Motherboard Review by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

Amdmb.com has reviewed the Gigabyte 7DXR motherboard based around the AMD 760 chipset. This motherboard had a VERY good showing, being the first DDR motherboard to offer full overclocking options along with being very stable. Be sure to check this board out! Here.

Antec DataChute PCI Review at Icrontic by BoyGenius , May 21, 2001

The cool thing about the DataChute is that it has PCI interface. You plug in the PCI card, run the SCSI-like wire to the 3‘1/2" bay (provided), and you‘re ready to go. The unit allows for two PCMCIA cards to be read at one time. The good thing about the PCI interface is that you have an incredible amount of bandwidth as opposed to USB or serial readers. Here.

DDR Athlon 1.33 Review: Synthetic Benchmarks by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

Part 2 of the AMD Athlon 1.33GHz Review at cpureview.com is here. Here‘s a quote: "The new 1.33GHz Athlon processor with its 266MHz front side bus is definitely capable of great performance." Here.

OCZ PC-180 Micro-BGA 256MB SDRAM Review by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

With this OCZ PC-180 RAM RAM will no longer hold back your FSB overclocking. Other parts in your system will die before the RAM does! Lee managed to do a couple benches at 163Mhz FSB on his KT7A which is at the motherboards limits! Here.

Hercules Game Theater XP by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

The Hercules Game Theater XP is the first of Hercules‘ sound products to incorporate a "Rack" design, which in turn gave Hercules the flexibility to load up on extra features. Click here for the full story on this innovative new product...

D-Link DI-713 Wireless DSL/Cable Router + Switch Review by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

Let‘s face it folks. Routers are here to stay. Just looking at multi-user DSL account costs a month makes some of our heads spin. The solution? A router of course! Today those monkeys at G3D:Gaming In 3D have a router that offers something more though. It supports network connections via wireless transmissions AND the traditional 10/100 Ethernet ports. Be sure to check it out. Here.

ATI Radeon 64MB DDR Video Card Review by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

An ATI Radeon 64MB DDR Video Card Review has been posted at pcstas.com
Here‘s a quote: "It‘s not for me, it for my DAD!" That‘s what I‘ve been telling everyone when I picked up a retail Radeon 64 VIVO. I figure I might as well check out what all the hoopla was about. Yes my dad actually does play games (mostly simulators) and ATI has always had a good reputation for having good image quality. The card also has a TV-Out so ‘pop‘ can watch DVD‘s movies on the 35" TV instead if his dinky 17" monitor. In terms of performance, I wasn‘t expecting anything close to my V7700 Pro (GeForce 2 Pro) but I hoped that it would adequate." Here.

SiS 735 Preview by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

VR-Zone today has done up a preview on the SiS 735 reference board featuring the SiS 735 DDR Single chip solution. The SiS 735 integrates the Northbridge and the Southbridge into a single core logic and featuring implemented its own bus called the Multi-threaded I/O Link connecting the 2 bridges and providing I/O bandwidth up to 1.2GB/s. Here.

TAISOL CGK 742092 Review by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

Octools has just posted a review of Taisol‘s CGK 742092 Heatsink.
Here‘s a snippet: The Taisol CGK 742092 is forged, not extruded. Meaning it was created and formed while it was still in its liquid stage. By doing so, there will be more density and surface area for more effective heat transfer. Here.

Review of the Gigabyte GA-7VTX VIA KT266 socket A mainboard by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

Just when it seems that the tide of new chipset is beginning to ebb, VIA seems to have picked-up some wind in its sails, and presented the market with its new KT266. The Gigabyte GA-7VTX, which we‘ll be reviewing here, is based on that very same chipset, and comes with support for DDR memory, and 133MHz FSB CPUs as a result. Here.

ProCooling News: CK42’s CPU Over-Temp Detector/PSU Shutdow by BoyGenius , May 25, 2001

CK has come up with a way to fix this, and has devised a fairly simple electronic device to cut the power the instant the temp goes over a certain level without needing to use a DD5, any software, or your existing machine at all. VERY interesting, and worth a glance.
Quote:
" This tutorial will show you how to build and install a circuit that will attempt power down your PSU when your CPU reaches a pre specified temperature. After this occurs, a momentary switch will need to be depressed in order to reset the relay after the CPU temperature has reached levels below the triggering threshold." Here.

Samsung SyncMaster 800TFT 18.1" LCD Display by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

For those of you who work with programs like AutoCAD, Microstation, Maya, or Photoshop all day, the leap from a good quality 19" CRT display to a flatpanel can be an expensive proposition. However, the benefits can be substantial in terms of image quality, picture sharpness, and decreased eyestrain.
A flatscreen display like the Syncmaster 800TFT fills one such role in the high-end TFT marketplace. Sitting comfortably at 18.1" with a resolution of 1280x1024, this is not a display to be trifled with. It has a dot pitch of 0.2805mm (typical LCD dot pitches run around 0.297mm) which brings to life, very clear and crisp imagery. The LCD panel has the widest possible viewing angle of 80/80/80/80 degrees. Here.

RosWell Review by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

Hexus.net have reviewed there RosWell cases. What have they done? Well they have firstly removed the right panel (the one which is above the motherboard tray, and they have done a little mod to it to make it look even sweeter. What they have done is put in a window for the case. This allows an easy view to the components. I hear you at the back are shouting.. You want to know what‘s the point in seeing inside the case when you can‘t actually see in it when it‘s dark inside the case. What they did do was to make the case look even smarter by putting in a neon light - not a normal neon light but a neon strip. Here.

Thermaltake PC2100 DDR review by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

The Overclocker Cafe‘ just finished up a review of Thermaltake‘s new entry into the world of high performance of PC hardware; DDR RAM. What‘s different about their memory is the hip looking "heat-spreaders" included. The Overclocker Cafe‘ has been fortunate enough to have a guest writer, Tuan Nguyen, from Tweak3d to do the review. Here is a snip of the Tt review.

"Enter a DDR memory solution created by Thermaltake. Yes, the same company that makes Golden Orbs, Chrome Orbs, Super Orbs, and those other orbs. If you’re an avid overclocking you can find many reasons to attach heatsinks to your hardware, and on certain components, it does prolong the life of what you’re overclocking." Here.

Mult-Function Drive Rack/Cooler Review by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

Still searching for that perfect HDD cooling solution? Well, search on. Today we present you with our newest lab-rat, the Multi-Function Drive Rack. Featuring, well, features and cooling (among other things), this is one to consider, especially for the super-low cost. Here‘s a quote:

If you got one of those super hot burners sitting in your rig or just need to cool something in a 5.25" bay then you have the option of sacrificing this one and fitting up to two 80mm fans in there. Personally I also think this doesn‘t have much of a point to it because it will simply re-circulate the air that‘s already in your case. This would keep it from working at full capacity because it will use a) already warm air and b) it will warm the air inside the case further due to re-use. But for those fan freaks out there this may well be worth the trouble, especially if you have lots of bays and need to solve that CD-RW cooling issue.
Here.

EPoX 8K7A+ review by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

Here‘s a qoute from EPoX 8K7A+ review that has been posted on lostcircuits.com: "With the 8K7A+, EPoX has finally released a board that is, once again, a true contender for the title of the currently hottest mainboard on the market. Based on the AMD761 North Bridge in combination with the VIA VT82C686B South Bridge and featuring everything that was missing from the ASUS A7M266, while still maintaining enormous stability and overclocking potential. Still, the 8K7A+ falls short in a few areas but those shortcomings are mostly documentation and a few glitches here and there. In terms of hardware, the most severe concerns are regarding the on-board sound and the voltage adjustments." Here.

Ram Sinks/Arctic Silver Review by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

Today, Hardware Daily offers a 2-in-1 review of some OCZ Ram Sinks and Arctic Silver Adhesive. Anyone who is thinking about overclocking their video card should benefit from this article. Here is a blurb:
"It is proven that using ram sinks on video ram will increase the overclockability of the video card ram. The reason for overclocking the video ram is because most video cards nowadays faces a problem with memory not fast enough. Basically, overclocking the GPU is useless because the memory is not processing data fast enough. Therefore, overclocking the memory is crucial for performance in gaming." Here.

Rounded cables and the truth by BoyGenius , May 28, 2001

The Overclocker Cafe‘ has just finished up it‘s review on some vinyl covered rounded IDE cables. Everyone has been saying two things about rounded cables; one is that they cool your case temperatures down and the other is that they look super cool. We find one to be VERY true and the other to be well... exaggerated. Here is a snip.

"That’s right, I’ll say it, no. Rounded cables do not lower your case temperature. If you have six hard drives and 20 feet of IDE ribbon cable then you may be able to lower your case temp with rounded cables but not the average user. The rationale behind rounded cables is that the wide ribbon cable blocks air flow within the case inhibiting clean and efficient circulation. I don’t know about you but my ribbon cables have never been wadded up in front of the power supply." Here.

12X Lite-On LTD-122 DVD-ROM Review Posted! :) by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

Adrian‘s Rojak Pot just posted a review of the 12X Lite-On LTD-122 DVD-ROM drive! Here‘s a clip of the review : "Just like other drives in the market, when the disc starts to spin, there is some weird spindle sound. Even my old 24X LG CD-ROM drive creates some noise when spinning up. You can control the whining noise by using Nero Drive Speed to adjust the maximum spinning speed." Here.

Matrox G550 Analyitical Information by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

Chick‘s Hardware have posted their thoughts and analysis of the specifications of Matrox‘s upcoming G550 chipset, just what Matrox are and have been up to? They do some serious detective work and have figured out (what they think) will be Matrox‘s plan for revolutionising "video" conferencing. Time for some more rumours...
Here‘s a snip: "Matrox. Still one of the biggest and best graphics cards companies in the world. They haven‘t really had any luck in the 3D gaming market so far, so they have concentrated on the 2D side of things, introducing us to flash features, high quality colour and DualHead. So what have Matrox been up to since the release of their G450 card? You‘ve heard the rumours of the, but their new card will be based on the G550 chipset, what are the specs and what else will Matrox bring in to the mix with this card? Find out in our analysis report..." Here.

P4 Review@Hexus.net by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

Hexus.net have finally uploaded their P4 review, it talks about architecture changes and other features of the P4 it is covers a lot of information so make sure the coffee is handy ;) Snip:-Intel needed to kill this CPU quickly (AMD‘s new 7th Gen processors), so they started new and clean. They had the Pentium Pro, P2, P3, Xeon and Celeron 2 which were all the old "style" running in the P6 architecture. To try and combat the market Intel added things like SSE and MMX which were in competition to AMD‘s 3DNow technology. They also changed the format of the interface from Slot 1 to Socket 370. The other changes they have done are on DIE cache and other small changes, but they carried on working on the same original template. Here.

Antec SX1030/40B SOHO File Server Review by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

Let‘s face it folks. When it comes to cases, looks is one of the most important factors when buying a case. Well, the Antec SX1030/40B is one of the "coolest" cases we have ever seen in a long time - hence the reason why Alienware uses them in their lineup of systems I suppose. Surf on over to G3D today to get a peek at this sleek, black case. "The Antec SX1030/40B has one main thing that makes it stand out in a crowd of other reputable cases from well-known companies like Addtronics and Enlight, and that is it‘s stunning looks. This case is one of the best looking cases for around $100 that I have seen in a long time." Here.

ABIT VP6 Review @ Extreme Overclocking by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

Extreme Overclocking has just posted a review on ABIT‘s VP6 Dual P3 Motherboard. This board is very user friendly and has excellent overclocking ability & system stability. Also the board earned the "Extreme Overclocking Editor‘s Top Pick" award! Here.

Gigabyte GA-8TX-C (P4) motherboard review by BoyGenius , May 29, 2001

cpureview.com have posted their first P4 motherboard review. Quote: "The GA-8TX is definitely a high quality board; the documentation is up to the quality we‘ve come to expect from Gigabyte - and during several days of testing I‘ve not run into any mysterious or other stability problems." Here.

3D Prophet II MX PCI version by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

The Guru of 3D posted an article on the PCI version of the Hercules 3D Prophet II MX, a 32MB SDRAM based GeForce2 MX videocard. For the people stuck to a integrated videocard on their mainboard or just with an older system this videocard is a truly great option ! Here‘s a clip:

"Let‘s face it, a lot of you are on a budget and still are using Pentium PC configurations with only a PCI bus. Other bought this sparkling new PC system at a retailer to find out at home that the videocard is integrated on the mainboard (i810 motherboards) and therefore does not have a AGP port which can be used to upgrade your videocard to good quality mid-range performance.

A few manufacturers did notice this problem and saw profit (no, not Prophet) in it . Good for them as I know a lot of users will like the PCI based GeForce2 MX that we will be testing today." Here.

KingMax TinyBGA 128MB PC150 SDRAMs Review! by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Cool Hardwarez has written a review on the KingMax TinyBGA 128MB PC150 SDRAMs. Here‘s a quote: "Kinda weird but my P2 350 won‘t go higher at 3.5x multiplier but when I put it down to 3x multiplier (the BX Master won‘t do any lower, and kinda weird it can be lowered but not upped) for testing. The processor was maxed to the limits, I am saying so because 3 pieces of the rams managed to do 142Mhz CAS2/CL2 without any problems at all. Above 142Mhz at CAS3/CL3 doesn‘t work too, therefore I conclude the benchmarks at 142Mhz CAS2/CL2." Here.

Review of the EPoX PE-8KTA3+ at active-hardware.com by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

As its name indicates, the EPoX EP-8KTA3+ RAID is the RAID-enabled variation of the EP-8KTA3 motherboard. As such, it comes with all the functionality of the latter, along with the addition of a Highpoint HP370 RAID controller. Otherwise, very little distinguishes one board from the other, and both possess essentially the same Overclocking features. Here.

HWZ Review: Dell Inspiron 8000 PIII 900 and 1GHz with NVIDIA GeForce2 Go by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

The second manufacturer to introduce big-performance notebook systems with NVIDIA‘s GeForce2 Go video chipsets, Dell is the one to beat this quarter. Check out our in-depth review of both their PIII 900MHz and PIII 1GHz systems, each with GeForce2 Go and our brief benchmark comparisons of these two with Toshiba‘s PIII 850MHz Satellite 2800-A621 and Digitek‘s 1GHz MediaPad Elite PX-31000. Here.

Vantec FCE-6030D HS Review! by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Here is a new Heat Sink out by Vantec, this one is the FCE-6030D. It may be smaller than most others, but it packs quite a punch! It also has all the great qualities that you would expect to see from Vantec. Here.

Beta Bites MS Train Simulator Preview by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Beta Bites has previewed Microsoft‘s Train Simulator which just went gold and is due out in stores in early June. There are 24 exclusive screenshots with the preview. Here is a snippet: "There are more camera views in Train Simulator than you can imagine. Front, rear, left side, right side, overhead, passenger, zoom in and zoom out, and your cab views. Here are a couple of reasons for all these views: You may need to watch your rear wheels for slippage, or you may be looking for a town sign on the a side of the rail to pick up passengers, or even identifying mileposts along the way to keep that train on schedule. You have your work cut out for you if you want to drive the train!" Here.

VisionTek GeForce3 Review by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

TweakTown have posted a review of the impressive and expensive VisionTek GeForce3 graphics card with 64mb of 3.8ns DDR onboard memory. The card comes packaged in retail form with an attractive box, this is noteable as this graphics card is VisionTek‘s first stab at the retail market. So how did it perform against a GeForce2 Pro? Check out the review and decide if all your hard earned dollars should be put towards this card! Here.

ASUS S8200A review by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Notebooks are meant for serious work and ASUS has chosen the above to reduce the costs. S8200A is pretty complete in design. It‘s fashionable stylish finish is really attractive. This product also comes with Global Service Membership, which means that you can get it service in any part of the world if anything is faulty. Here.

60mm --> 80mm Fan Adapters Review at Mikhailtech.com by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Need low noise but good performance? Then why not fit an 80mm on that itty bitty 60mm heatsink of yours. Well, today we take a look at an adapter that makes this possible. So what is it that makes this piece of plastic special? And how well does it perform? Here‘s a quote:

The basic idea is that a bigger fan is more powerful and quieter than a smaller fan. And, just in case you were wondering, no, it’s not even close to being that simple. The airflow of a fan in a real world or a complex physic simulation (not just the fan) is given by the shape and dimensions of the blades, the rotation per minute (rpm) and the pressure the fan can handle. Now, since there are no computer fans that can change shape (but the world is full of them, big ship propellers, any king of helicopter, ...) we only have 3 factors left. Here.

VolcanoII Review by BoyGenius , June 01, 2001

Overclockedcafe.com have posted a review of the ThermalTake VolcanoII HSF. It‘s low cost and decent performance make it tough to beat - especially for those on a budget. It also has a much quieter fan than a lot of the coolers on the market today, great for those who sleep next to their systems or have a system located in a family area. Here‘s a quote: "The fan that ThermalTake uses for the Volcano is the Everflow 4500rpm, which a lot quieter than the screaming Delta fans that a lot of manufacturers are using today. I‘ve gotten used to the sweet hum of the delta fans, so the EverFlow fan was sort of an odd change, actually too damn quiet for me (the silence was eerie)." Here.

PC Hardware Contest by BoyGenius , June 14, 2001

PC Hardware contest will continue until the number of registered users will reach 500. Until now we have only 140 users registered.
Good luck!

Definitive review of the Zalman CNPS3100 CPU cooler posted! by BoyGenius , June 18, 2001

Adrian‘s Rojak Pot just posted the definitive review of the Zalman CNPS3100 CPU cooler! Who‘s Zalman? Betcha never heard of them! :) And what‘s so great about this cooler? Well, take a look at this picture (http://www.rojakpot.com/Reviews/Zalman_CNPS3100/cnps3100_mini.jpg) And here‘s a snip of the review - "I actually did a count of the number of fins to find out exactly how many there are! Well, there are 58 fins altogether. Talk about surface area! Nothing beats the CNPS3100 at that - the CNPS3100 sports an amazing 2800cm2 surface area! And with a thermal resistance of 0.28o C/W?! That‘s just unbelievable." Here.

Swiftech MC-462 review by BoyGenius , June 18, 2001

The Overclocker Cafe‘ has just finished up it‘s review of the Swiftech MC-462, all 1.67 pounds of it! This is the end all, be all of coolers right now if money is no object. There is nothing better for air cooling. Here is a snip of their review.

"In terms of overall quality and performance you simply cannot beat this sink. Downside is that it is $80. But a high end heatsink will run you $40-$60 so you can always say, "since I‘m spending X, I may as well go ahead and get the best." Remember that these results were obtained with the 53 CFM fan and that there is a 68 CFM Delta fan out there for this thing. I can only imagine what another 25% of airflow would do." Here.

BIOS Optimization e-Guide - BIOS Features Setup section posted! by BoyGenius , June 18, 2001

Adrian‘s Rojak Pot just posted another e-Guide based on the BIOS Optimization Guide Rev. 6.0! This latest e-Guide covers the BIOS Features Setup section. Here.

Review of the ECS K7VMA mainboard by BoyGenius , June 18, 2001

The ECS K7VMA is an all-in-one solution for those who like their VIA KM133 motherboards with a touch of ProSavage graphics, and a hint of sound. Though primarily targeted at OEMs and low-budget consumers, the K7VMA also represents a compelling choice for anyone interesting in quickly slapping together a system with little more than some memory, and a processor. That said, Overclocking die-hards, and power-users will probably harbor little interest in the device, as they are not part of the market that ECS is attempting the cater to with their newest board. Here.