OCZ

HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro IceQ Turbo 512MB

2007-09-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

If you have ever been in the market for a graphics card, you are undoubtedly familiar with the constantly changing graphics card market. About every 8-10 months, new GPUs are introduced by NVIDIA and ATI, and after their introduction, dozens of graphics cards built by their add in board partners come to market. Because these add in board partners all use the same graphics chips supplied by the two major graphics card companies, they have to use their marketing savvy to create extra value and incentive for consumers to buy their products.
Over the years we’ve seen companies bundle the hottest new games, add new video connections, new cooling units, and even build their cards on unique colored PCBs. All of these strategies help to differentiate products from one another, and a company that has been doing this since their first line of X800 graphics cards is HIS, short for Hitech Information Systems. HIS has become widely known for using premium cooling solutions and pre-overclocking their graphics cards to provide a considerable amount of value and performance to gamers and enthusiasts alike.
Today we’ll be looking at one of the newest additions to the HIS product line, the ~$130 HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro IceQ Turbo 512MB PCI Express graphics card. Join us as we take a closer look at the card and see how it stacks up to the competition in the $100-$150 graphics card space.

Model Name HIS HD 2600 PRO IceQ Turbo 512MB/256MB DDR2 PCIe
Chipset Radeon HD 2600 PCIe Series
ASIC Radeon™ HD 2600PRO GPU
Pixel Pipelines 120 stream processing units* (Unified)
Vertex Engines 120 stream processing units* (Unified)
Manu. Process (Micron) 65nm
Transistor Fill Rate
Memory Size (MB) 512 / 256
Memory Type DDR2
RAMDAC (MHz) 400
Engine CLK (MHz) 650
Memory CLK (MHz) 1050
Memory Interface (bit) 128
Memory Bandwidth
Max. Resolution 2560*1600
Bus Interface PCI-Express x16
VGA No
2nd VGA No
DVI Yes
2nd DVI Yes
TV-out No
HDTV (YPrPb component output) No
Video-in Yes
TV Tuner No
FM Tuner No

When we opened the HIS Radeon HD 2600 Pro IceQ Turbo’s box we found that the card shipped with a DVI to VGA adapter, an S-Video Cable, HDTV output cable, and an HDMI adapter. The HDMI adapter is a new addition to the Radeon HD 2000 series of graphics cards and allows you to output 5.1 audio and video to a HDMI ready television. Also included in the bundle is the standard user manual and driver disk, along with a paper that gives you access to Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch through Valve’s Steam service.

Corsair VX450W 450W Power Supply

2007-09-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

It’s a fact that extremely large, high-wattage power supplies tend to get the most press online, as the vast majority of PSU manufacturers are caught up in the never-ending competition of trying to get the highest wattage products out there. While this competition has fostered innovation in this market, in addition to pushing down prices of lower-wattage power supplies, the negative effect that it’s had is that most people believe that ultra-high wattage power supplies are an absolute necessity with today’s mid-range to high-end systems.
This is a myth which power supply manufacturers are happy to let people to buy into, since they can see increased sales on high-dollar power supplies which are overkill in many circumstances. While it doesn’t hurt to get a power supply with an available wattage level higher than what is needed, in some cases we’re seeing people purchase power supplies with 4-5x the maximum power load level than their system requires. In the vast majority of system configurations on the market, even newer ones, you’ll be hard pressed to push past 400W of actual power usage. Unless you’re dealing with a couple of Radeon HD2900XT or 8800 Ultra graphics cards, it’s unlikely that you’ll even get close to touching 700-800W.
We’ve always held power supplies which are relatively low-wattage but extremely efficient at their rated level in high regard. Power supplies which simply do their job without the need for gimmicky features, simply providing clean power with close to inaudible noise levels, all without charging you an arm and a leg. Companies like Antec and SeaSonic have held down this market quite well over the past few years, although newcomer Corsair’s power supply units have been surprisingly solid. Their first units, the HX series, were a hit with an interesting modular cable configuration and ultra low noise levels for high-powered configurations.
Corsair is taking much of the same technology which was prevelant in their HX-series power supplies and bringing it down to a lower price point. Earlier this month, they introduced the VX-series power supply lineup. This simple linup consists of 450W and 550W units, and are targeted at single processor, single graphics card systems who want near inaudible noise levels, solid power, and a reliable manufacturer name. We recently got our hands on the 450W unit for a trial run. Extending Corsair’s legendary reputation in performance and quality, the new Corsair VX family of power supplies features the industry’s most efficient power management and ultra-quiet design for mainstream users. Unlike most power supplies in the market, the Corsair VX incorporates a single +12V power rail that delivers continuous power under heavy loads. This conservative design ensures reliable operation in today’s most demanding system configurations and adds compatibility for future platforms. The unique combination of rock solid performance and incredible value puts the Corsair VX family of power supplies in a class of its own. Ideal for home theater PCs and ENERGY STAR PCs, the VX line maximizes energy savings and minimum noise generation thanks to double-forward switching circuitry design. Each Corsair VX power supply is backed with an industry-leading 5-year warranty and 24/7 on-demand customer service.

Specifications
450W Rated Warrage
Single "Ultra-Quiet" 120mm Cooling Fan
Up to 85% Efficiency Under Wide Load Range
99% Active Power Factor Correction
ATX12V 2.2 Standards Compliant
Single High-Wattage +12V Rail
High Quality Japanese Capacitors
5 Year Warranty, 100,000 Hour MTBF
1 x 24-pin/20-pin Primary ATX Connector
1 x 8-pin/4-pin Secondary ATX Connector
1 x 6-pin PCI Express Power Connector
6 x Serial ATA Power Connectors
6 x 4-pin Molex Power Connecotrs
2 x 4-pin Floppy Drive Power Connectors
Extra Long Cables to Support Full-Size ATX Chassis
Looking over the specifications, the VX450W has just about everything we would expect from a PSU of this caliber, although there are some interesting aspects which should be noted here.
The power supply’s rated 85% efficiency is a great selling point, as the industry’s focus on “green” power supplies has taken root with consumers. Corsair claims that their unit is efficient between 81-85% across all voltage levels, which means very little power is wasted and turned into excess heat. High-efficiency power supplies also consume less power themselves, which is good for your power bill. Corsair claims that a typical system using this power supply will use around 225 watts on load (which is a fairly solid estimation), and at this level, the power supply will be 85% efficient.
Corsair has opted for a single +12V rail on this model, which supports up to 33A and 396W off a single line, which an interesting design choice. There have been countless arguments online regarding the merits of single vs. dual (or quad) +12V lines for high-end systems. Our feeling is that for single GPU based systems, running everything off a single highly-rated +12V rail will be just fine, and our tests have shown that this does not present any issues.
Since the power supply is targeted at mid-range systems, only one 6-pin PCI Express graphics card power connector is included by default. If you want to run a multi-GPU system with this power supply, it’s certainly possible using Molex to PCIe power adapters, although if you’re going into multi-GPU territory, Corsair’s higher-wattage HX series are likely a better choice. While it only officially supports one graphics card, you’ve got a full server-grade set of Primary (24-pin) and Secondary (8-pin) +12V ATX connectors, meaning the system can handle single, dual, and quad-core based systems without issue. This unit can also be used for multi-processor systems, if need be, although this isn’t the market which Corsair is targeting here. Also note that the unit does not have EPS12V certification.

Western Digital Scorpio WD2500BEVS 2.5-inch SATA HDD

2007-09-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

Most of you probably already know that 2.5" notebook hard drives typically aren't as big or fast as hard drives found in desktop machines. In case you aren't aware, most laptops are sold with 5400RPM hard drives that range from 60GB to 100GB. In contrast, most desktops are currently sold with 7200RPM hard drives with capacities of up to 1TB. Just like desktop hard drives, though, laptop hard drives have gotten quite a bit bigger and faster over the last couple years.
While desktop hard drives hit 1TB (1,000GB) a while ago, laptop hard drives recently reached 250GB. At least one manufacturer will have a 320GB laptop hard drive available soon, but that still doesn't get us anywhere near 1TB in our laptops. Thankfully, though, if performance is your main concern, you can get a 7200RPM laptop hard drive now if you chose to do so.
Today, we have one of the largest laptop hard drives on the market in our labs, the 250GB Western Digital Scorpio WD2500BEVS. At 5400RPM, it may not be the mobile speed king, but this 2.5" SATA hard drive offers a plethora of nice features, like an 8MB cache and WD's WhisperDrive and ShockGuard technology. Plus, the benchmarks might just surprise you about how well a 5400RPM drive can perform. Read on to see how well the Scorpio WD2500BEVS performs compared to a 100GB 5400RPM 2.5" hard drive and a 500GB 7200RPM 3.5" drive.

PHYSICAL SPECS Capacity: 250 GBInterface: SATA 1.5 Gb/sSpindle Speed: 5400 RPMCache Buffer: 8 MBHeight: 9.5 mmLength: 100.2 mmWidth: 69.85 mmWeight: 0.117 kgPERFORMANCE SPECS Seek Times Average Latency: 4.20 msRead Seek Time: 12.0 msTrack-To-Track Seek Time: 2.0 msTransfer Rate Buffer To Host (Serial ATA): 1.5 Gb/s (Max)Buffer To Disk: 600 Mbits/s (Max)Acoustics Idle Mode: 24 dBA (average)Seek Mode 0: 26 dBA (average)Power Requirements Read/Write: 2.50 WattsIdle: 2.00 WattsStandby: 0.25 WattsSleep: 0.10 Watts

FEATURES Massive capacity - Whether they are in an external drive or a notebook computer, WD’s 250 GB 2.5-inch drives offer the most available capacity for space-hungry operating systems like Windows Vista™, plus plenty of room left over for photos, music, and video. Fast and efficient - With 5400 RPM spin speed and 12 ms access time, even the most demanding customer will appreciate the performance achieved by WD Scorpio drives. Quiet - In a notebook drive, silence is golden. WD’s exclusive WhisperDrive™ combines state-of-the-art seeking algorithms to yield one of the quietest 2.5-inch hard drives on the market. These algorithms also optimize the way a drive seeks for data, which significantly improves power consumption. So now silence (and longer battery life) is golden. Reliable and Rugged - WD's ShockGuard™ technology protects the drive mechanics and platter surfaces from shocks. WD's SecurePark™ parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface resulting in improved long term reliability due to less head wear, and improved non- operational shock tolerance. Tested for Compatibility - We perform tests on hundreds of systems and a multitude of platforms in our FIT Lab and Mobile Compatibility Lab to give our customers confidence that our drives will work in their systems. 3 Year Warranty

If you are already familiar with desktop hard drives, not much (other than the physical size) will surprise you about the appearance of the Scorpio WD2500BEVS. As you can see in the images above, the drive has a white label with black informational text on the top and green PCB on the bottom.
The Scorpio WD2500BEVS is a SATA drive, and as such, it features the same SATA power and data connectors that you are used to seeing on desktop SATA drives. For those of you wondering, yes, that does mean you could install this drive in your main desktop rig at home if you so desired. The benefits of installing a drive like this in a desktop system are that it requires considerably less power than a 3.5" drive, it is relatively quiet, and it is physically small, which means it doesn't take up much room.
The Scorpio WD2500BEVS achieves its quiet acoustic profile by way of Western Digital's exclusive WhisperDrive technology, which is essentially a set of seeking algorithms optimized to yield a low noise level. These algorithms will also help extend your laptop's battery life since they also affect the way the drive seeks for data, improving (lowering) power consumption. In addition to WhisperDrive, the Scorpio WD2500BEVS also boasts two technologies, ShockGuard and SecurePark, to keep your data safe.

Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6

2007-09-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Gigabyte has almost always been a well respected brand amongst PC enthusiasts, but it seems the company has come on very strong in the last year or so. Gigabyte has released a number of highly praised motherboards is recent months, like the GA-P35T-DQ6 and GA-965P-DQ6 2.0 that were all lauded for their feature sets, performance, and overclockability.
In this article, we're going to showcase yet another Gigabyte-built mobo - the GA-N680SLI-DQ6 - that seemingly out does every other current desktop motherboard in a number of key areas. How do four Gigabit LAN controllers, 10 SATA ports, 100% solid capacitors, and a unique wrap-around, passive, cooling apparatus strike you? And did we mention the board is based on NVIDIA's nForce 680i SLI chipset and has three full length, PCI Express x16 slots for multi-GPU action?
As you'll see on the pages ahead, Gigabyte has gone all out with the GA-N680SLI-DQ6. If you're a fan of Intel processors and also want to run a pair of GeForce cards in SLI mode, you're going to want to flip through the next few pages to see just what the GA-N680SLI-DQ6 is made of...

BIOS
2 4Mbit flash ROM
Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 1.0b
Chipset
NVIDIA NFORCE 680i SLI MCP (Northbridge: C55XE, Southbridge: MCP55PXE)
Marvell 88E8052/88E8056 chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Marvell 88E1116 phy (10/100/1000 Mbit)
Realtek ALC888 DD audio codec
T.I. TSB43AB23 1394 chip
Processor
LGA775
Support Intel Core 2 Quad/Core 2 Duo/Pentium D/Pentium 4 Processor
Supports 1333/1066/800/533 MHz FSB
Internal I/O Connectors
1 24-pin ATX power connector
1 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
1 4-pin PCIe 12V power connector
1 floppy connector
1 IDE connector
10 SATA 3Gb/s connectors
1 CPU fan connector
1 system fan connector
1 power fan connector
1 front panel connector
1 front audio connector
1 CD In connector
1 S/PDIF In connector
3 USB 2.0/1.1 connectors for additional 6 ports by cables
2 IEEE 1394a connectors for additional 2 ports by cables
1 TPM connector
1 LPT connector
1 Power LED connector
1 Chassis Intrusion connector
Form Factor
ATX
30.5cm x 24.4cm

Rear Panel I/O
1 PS/2 keyboard port
1 PS/2 mouse port
1 serial port
1 IEEE 1394a port
1 S/PDIF out port (optical)
4 RJ-45 port
4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
6 audio jacks
Expansion Slots
2 PCI Express x16 slots
1 PCI Express x8 slot
1 PCI Express x1 slot
3 PCI slots
H/W Monitoring
System voltage detection
CPU / System temperature detection
CPU / System / Power fan speed detection
CPU warning temperature
CPU / System / Power fan failure warning
CPU / System smart fan control
Other Features
Supports @BIOS
Supports Download Center
Supports Q-Flash
Supports EasyTune (Note 2)
Supports Xpress Install
Supports Xpress Recovery2
Supports Xpress BIOS Rescue
Memory
4 DDR2 DIMM memory slots
Supports up to 8 GB memory
Support Dual Channel DDR2 800/667/533 unbuffered DIMMs
Supports 1.8V DDR2 DIMM
Supports DDR2 667/533/400 DIMM
Supports ECC type DRAM

nForce 650i SLI Shoot-Out: MSI P6N SLI vs Abit Fatal1

2007-09-05T23:39:00.000-07:00

bank account's ability to fund another upgrade. That's when we fall back on the always practical approach to maximizing our bang for the buck. Thankfully, this usually doesn't equate to buying products we're too ashamed to put in a modded case. Many companies cater to the more value conscious crowd while still bringing in enthusiast-oriented features.
One example of a product that offers a lot of bang for the buck yet maintains a fair amount of enthusiast-oriented features is the NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI chipset. MSI and Abit both offer nForce 650i SLI motherboards that pack a lot of great features in, at very reasonable prices. Of course, most gaming enthusiasts probably drool over the $200+ nForce 680i SLI boards, but they simple cost too much for many of us. For $50-75+ less, you can buy an nForce 650i SLI board and enjoy most of the essential features found on the 680i SLI board. For a detailed look at the differences between the various nForce 600 Series motherboards, check out the table below.

The main difference between the 650i SLI and 680i SLI that seems to concern gaming enthusiasts is that the 650i SLI's PCI express slots have x8 electrical connections instead of x16 in SLI mode. The simple fact of the matter, though, is that SLI in dual x16 mode hasn't proven to offer significant benefit over SLI with dual x8 PCI express slots. As you can see in the tablet, the 650i SLI also lacks a third PCI express slot. In addition to the reduction in PCI express lanes, the 650i SLI chipset also lacks official support for SLI-ready memory with EPP (although some 650i boards like the Abit board in this article do support it) and most of the networking-related special features.
For most users, even enthusiasts, however, these extra features and capabilities are unlikely to be missed. In this article, we'll compare the MSI P6N SLI Platinum to the Abit Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI and get a better idea of just how well the 650i SLI chipset performs.

AMD 690 Chipset Update: More Power, More Performance

2007-09-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

Back in February of this year, we took a look at the AMD 690 series chipset and praised it for its affordability, power efficiency, and strong performance relative to its competition. Since then, the 690 series chipset has gone on to be somewhat of a success for AMD with over 35 different motherboards based on various flavors the chipset currently and more on the way.
Not content with the status quo, engineers at AMD have taken the 690 series chipset and optimized it further through some BIOS and software level enhancements that result in marked performance gains in a number of situations and also introduce some new features. We've got a motherboard from Gigabyte on the test bed that feature the latest updates and thought we'd compare its performance to the unaltered board we evaluated when the chipset was first introduced in an attempt to see just how much the platform's performance has changed.

CPU Support:
AMD Sempron, AMD Athlon 64, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core and AMD Athlon 64 FX
PCI Express Interface:
1 - x16 Graphics
4 - x1 PCI Express links
2D Acceleration Features:
Highly optimized 128-bit engine, capable of processing multiple pixels per clock.
Supports a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 @ 32bpp
Game Acceleration including support for Microsoft's DirectDraw
3D Acceleration Features:
Full DirectX 9.0 support
3D Texture support, including projective 3D textures
Anti-aliasing using multi-sampling algorithm with support for 2, 4 and 6 samples
New generation rendering engine provides top 3D performance
Support for OpenGL format for Indirect Vertices in Vertex Walker
Motion Video Acceleration Features:
Enhanced MPEG-2 hardware decode acceleration
MPEG-4 decode support
Hardware acceleration for WMV9 playback
Supports top quality DVD and time-shifted SDTV/HDTV te levision playback with low CPU usage
TV Out:
Integrated TV encoder from ATI's Xilleon products with on-chip -DAC with integrated AVIVO engine
Supports Macrovision 7.1 copy protection standard (required by DVD players)
Supports the formats of YPbPr component out
SurroundView:
SurroundView feature allows support for up to three independent monitors for systems equipped with an additional ATI discrete graphics card

Multiple Display Features:
Dual Independent displays including two digital outputs
Resolution, refresh rates, and display rates can be completely independent for the two display paths
Both display controllers support true 30 bits per pixel throughout the display pipe
Supports both interlaced and non-interlaced displaysIntegrated HD Audio controller for HDMI audio data
Display Support:
Supports a maximum resolution of 2048x1536 @ 32bpp
DVI/HDMI:
Supports a TMDS interface, enabling DVI or HDMI 1.2
1650 Mbps/channel with 165MHz pixel clock rate per link
HDCP 1.1 support on data stream with on-chip key storage
Supports HDMI audio together with Realtek's driver providing single control for user on all audio adjustments
Supports HDMI audio enhancements, such as equalizer, 5.1 channel, surround sound effect, karaoke and head phone virtualization
Universal Connectivity:
A-Link Xpress II i/f to AMD Northbridges; providing high bandwidth for high speed peripherals
10 USB 2.0 ports
SATA Gen 2 PHY support at 3.0Gb/sec bandwidth
4 ports SATA AHCI controller supports NCQ and slumber modes
ATA 133 controller supports up to UDMA mode 6 with two drives (disk or optical)
HPET (high precision event timer), ACPI 3.0 and AHCI support for Windows Vista
UAA (Universal audio architecture) support for High Definition Audio and MODEM
PCI v2.3 (up to 6 slots)
LPC (Low Pin Count), SPI (New Flash Bus), and SM (System Management) bus management and arbitrations
Legacy PC compatible functions, RTC (Real Time Clock), interrupt controller and DMA controller

Asus Blitz Formula and Extreme P35 Motherboards

2007-09-05T23:30:00.001-07:00

If you're a PC hardware enthusiast - and chances are pretty good that you are if you're reading HotHardware - Asus is a company that needs no introduction. Asus' track record for building quality products targeted squarely at power users is well known and documented, so we'll forego the history lesson here and get right to the point.
A couple of motherboards recently landed in the lab that filled a large void in the marketplace. Just after the introduction of Intel's new Core 2 Duo and Extreme processors with 1333MHz front side bus frequencies, if you wanted a motherboard that officially supported one of the new CPUs, that also had a balanced (and flexible) PCI Express lane configuration for better multi-GPU CrossFire support, you were basically up a creek. NVIDIA's nForce 680i SLI chipset supported the new processors, but we all know there is a large contingent of enthusiasts who prefer using Intel processors with Intel chipsets. Them's the breaks. Unfortunately, the P35 chipset was the only game in town with true 1333MHz FSB and CrossFire support, and like the P965 that came before it, its PCI Express lane configuration was unbalanced. With the P35, the first PEG slot got a full 16 lanes of PCI Express connectivity, while the second slot got only 4. In addition, those 4 lanes powering the second slot were connected to the Southbridge, which then in turn has to interface with the Northbridge over another link, adding latency to the equation. This setup works fine for single-GPU configurations, and admittedly works fine for CrossFire, but it doesn't offer optimal performance.
Asus saw the need for an enthusiast-class motherboard based on the P35 chipset, but with a more flexible PCI Express configuration. And leveraging what they undoubtedly learned from designing the PW564-WS , engineered the Blitz Extreme and Blitz Formula motherboards, complete with a PCI Express switch that allowed them to connect the P35 Northbridge's PCI Express lanes to a pair of PEG slots. Asus didn't stop there, however, and also outfitted the Blitz boards with a hybrid air / liquid cooling apparatus and a number of other features that are sure to please.

CPU
LGA775 socket for Intel Core 2 Extreme / Core 2 Quad / Core 2 Duo / Pentium Extreme / Pentium D / Pentium 4 / Celeron D Processors
Support Intel next gen 45nm Multi-Core CPU
Compatible with Intel 06/05B/05A processors
Chipset
Intel P35/ICH9R with Intel Fast Memory Access Technology
Front Side Bus 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz
Memory (Blitz Extreme)
Dual channel memory architecture
4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR3-1333*/1066/800, non-ECC and un-buffered memory
The chipset officially supports the memory frequency up to DDR3 1066MHz/DDR2 800. Due to the tuning by ASUS exclusive technology, this motherboard natively supports up to DDR3 1333/DDR2 1066MHz. Please refer to www.asus.com or user manual for Memory QVL
Memory (Blitz Formula)
Dual channel memory architecture
4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2-1066*/800/667 MHz, non-ECC and un-buffered memory
The chipset officially supports the memory frequency up to DDR2 800 MHz. Due to the tuning by ASUS exclusive technology, this motherboard natively supports up to DDR2 1066MHz. Please refer to www.asus.com or user manual for Memory QVL
Expansion Slots
2 x PCI Express x16 slot, support dual graphics solution
3 x PCI Express x1, PCIex1_1 (black) is compatible with audio slot
2 x PCI 2.2
CrossFire
Support ATI CrossFire graphics cards (both at x8 mode)
Storage
Southbridge
6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports
Intel Matrix Storage Technology supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10.
JMicron JMB363 PATA and SATA controller
1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices
2 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)
LAN
Dual Gigabit LAN controllers, with AI NET2
High Definition Audio
SupremeFX II Audio Card
ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC
Noise Filter
Coaxial, Optical S/PDIF out at back I/O
IEEE 1394a
2 x 1394a ports (1 x back I/O, 1 x onboard)
USB
Max. 12 USB2.0/1.1 ports(6 ports at mid-board, 6 ports at back panel)
BIOS
16Mb AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI2.0a Multi-Language BIOS

Overclocking Features
Crosslinx Technology
Extreme Tweaker
Loadline Calibration
Intelligent overclocking tools:
CPU level Up
AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System)
AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)
ASUS AI Booster Utility
O.C Profile
Overclocking Protection:
COP EX (Component Overheat Protection - EX)
Voltiminder LED
ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)
Special Features
Fusion Block System
LCD Poster
EL I/O
Onboard Switches: Power / Reset
Q-Connector
Q-Fan Plus
ASUS EZ Flash2 / CrashFree BIOS3
ASUS MyLogo3
Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 Keyboard port(purple)
1 x Optical + 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output
2 x External SATA
2 x LAN (RJ45) port
6 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
1 x IEEE1394a port
1 x Clr CMOS switch
Internal I/O Connectors
3 x USB 2.0 connectors supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports
1 x Floppy disk drive connector
1 x IDE connector for two devices
6 x SATA connectors
8 x Fan connectors: 1 x CPU / 1 x PWR / 4 x Chassis / 2 x Optional
2 x thermal sensor connectors
1 x IEEE1394a connector
1 x S/PDIF output connector
1 x Chassis Intrusion connector
24-pin ATX Power connector
8-pin ATX 12V Power connector
1 x En/Dis-able Clr CMOS
1 x EL I/O Shield Connector
Manageability
WOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chasis Intrusion, PXE
Accessories
Fusion Block System Accessory
DIY Pedestal
ASUS Optional Fan
3 in 1 ASUS Q-Connector Kit
UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
Floppy disk drive cable
SATA data and power cables
2-port USB2.0 module
IEEE1394a module
EL I/O Shield
Thermal sensor cables
Cable Ties
User's manual
Software
The hottest 3D Game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Support DVD:
Drivers
ASUS PC Probe II
ASUS Update
ASUS AI Suite
Futuremark 3DMark06 Advanced Edition
Kaspersky Anti-Virus
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6" (30.5cm x 24.5cm)

Intel P35 Express Comparison: ASUS & Gigabyte

2007-09-05T23:26:00.002-07:00

We first took a look at Intel's P35 Express chipset back in May, when it was released into the wild to supplant the still relatively youthful P965 and usher in the era of DDR3 memory and 1333MHz FSB Intel processors. The P965 is a tough act to follow. Despite its intended mid-range market placement, Intel didn't hamper the P965 in any way except for the lack of official Crossfire support. With its excellent feature set and good performance, the P965 presented an excellent value and became many people's first choice for all of their single-GPU needs. For the P35, Intel has wisely chosen not to change the formula. Actually, the P35 Express is an even better value than the P965 was with its official support for 1333MHz FSB processors, DDR3, as well as the yet to be seen 45nm next generation of Intel processors.Besides 1333MHz FSB and DDR3 support, the P35 Express also improves upon the P965 in a number of other areas. One of the biggest improvements in terms of performance is thanks to a newly tweaked memory controller which produced good results in our initial look at the P35. Thanks to its use of the new ICH9 south bridge, the P35 is also able to improve upon the P965 in terms of available features, as you can see in the chipset diagram below.

We have looked at quite a few P965 boards in the past in several reviews and two motherboard comparisons (1, 2) and it's now the P35's turn to receive the same treatment. In our initial look at the P35 Express, we used an ASUS P5K3 Deluxe as our guinea pig. We didn't get a chance to take an in-depth look at the P5K3 Deluxe at that time since we wanted to focus on exploring the new features of Bearlake and DDR3, but we did promise we'd take a better look at it and we're not about to break our word. However, we've decided to make things a bit more interesting and instead of a standalone article, we've decided to pit another P35 Express based board up against the P5K3 Deluxe. Luckily, there are plenty of contenders to choose from. Despite being just a couple months old, the P35 already has very good representation in the retail market, with a surprisingly large selection of P35 based boards available at a wide range of prices. The P5K3 Deluxe is positioned as a premium product, with a price tag to match, weighing in at about $250. We've decided to match it up against another heavy weight, the Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6, weighing in at $240. Both of these boards represent the best that the P35 Express chipset has to offer and then some. Both boards implement DDR3 and they both go above and beyond the P35 specs, each with a couple of extra tricks up their sleeves. First we'll take a detailed look at each of the boards and then we'll introduce them to our test bench for a look at performance.

Asus Crosshair

2007-09-05T23:24:00.001-07:00

For almost as long as there have been PC enthusiasts, it seems that Asus has been there catering to them with feature laden, high-performance products. Nowhere is it more apparent that Asus caters to enthusiasts than with their motherboards. Yes, some of their notebooks and graphics cards are cutting edge as well, but the company has released literally hundreds of enthusiast-class motherboards in their history.
Over the years we have evaluated a myriad of Asus-built mobos here at HotHardware, and with the exception of only a couple of designs, they have all been stand-out products in their respective classes. In this article, we'll be shining the spotlight on yet another stand-out product from Asus, the CrossHair. The Asus CrossHair is the first member of the company's flagship "Republic of Gamers" series of desktop motherboards. It's based on NVIDIA's nForce 590 SLI chipset for AMD socket AM2 processors and sports a number of features an innovations that make it truly unique. There is a lot to cover in this article, so what do you say we get down to business and see what the CrossHair is really made of?

CPUSupport AMD Socket AM2 Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64/ SempronAMD Cool 'n' Quiet TechnologyAMD64 architecture enables simultaneous 32-bit and 64-bit computingAMD Live! Ready
ChipsetNVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCPNVIDIA LinkBoost TechnologyFront Side Bus 2000 / 1600 MT/s
MemoryDual channel memory architecture4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2-800/667/533, ECC and non-ECC, un-buffered memory
Expansion Slots2 x PCI Express x16 slot with NVIDIA(R)SLI technology support, at full x16, x16 speed1 x PCI Express x43 x PCI 2.2
SLISupport two identical NVIDIA SLI-Ready graphics cards (both at x16 mode)ASUS two-slot thermal designASUS PEG Link
StorageNVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP supports:* 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 / 33* 6 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s* NVIDIA MediaShield RAID supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD span cross Serial ATA drivesSilicon Image 3132 SATA controller supports* 2 x External Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s port on back I/O (SATA On-the-Go)* Support RAID 0, 1, and JBOD
LANDual Gigabit LAN controllers support NVIDIA DualNet technologyNVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP built-in dual Gigabit MAC with external Marvell PHY* Support Teaming and fail-over functions* Support TCP/IP Acceleration
AudioSupremeFX Audio Cardfeaturing ADI 1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODECSupport Jack-Sensing, Enumeration, Multi-streaming and Jack-Retasking8 channel audio portsCoaxial, Optical S/PDIF out on back I/O port* ASUS Array Mic* Noise Filter
IEEE 1394aTI 1394 controller supports 2 x 1394a ports
Overclocking Features* ASUS AI NOS (Non-delay Overclocking System)* AI Overclocking (intelligent CPU frequency tuner)* AI Clock Skew* ASUS PEG Link - automatically performance tuning for graphics cards* ASUS O.C. Profile: overclocking configuration-sharing tool* ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)* Extreme TweakerASUS AI Booster UtilityAdjustable FSB/DDR2 ratio.Fixed PCI/PCIe frequencies.

USBMax. 10 USB2.0/1.1 ports
Special FeaturesLCD PosterEL I/OOnboard LEDOnboard switches: Power / Reset / Clr CMOSQ-ConnectorQ-Fan PlusASUS CrashFree BIOS3ASUS EZ Flash2ASUS Music AlarmASUS MyLogo3
Back Panel I/O Ports1 x PS/2 Keyboard port1 x PS/2 Mouses1 x Optical + 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Output2 x External SATA2 x LAN (RJ45) port4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports1 x IEEE 1394a port1 x onboard LED switch1 x LCD Poster
Internal I/O Connectors3 x USB 2.0 connectors supports additional 6 USB 2.0 ports1 x Floppy disk drive connector1 x IDE connector for two devices6 x SATA connectors1 x CPU / 7 x option Fan3 x thermal sensor connector1 x IEEE1394a connector1 x S/PDIF output connectorChassis Intrusion connectorFront Panel Audio connector24-pin ATX Power connector8-pin ATX 12V Power connectorSystem panel connector1 x EL I/O Shield Connector
BIOS8Mb AWARD BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3
ManageabilityWOL by PME, WOR by PME, Chasis Intrusion, PXE
Accessories1 x SLI bridge1 x ASUS Array Mic1 x ASUS Optional Fan1 x ASUS Q-Connector Kit (system panel; Retail version only)3 x thermal sensor cables1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable1 x Floppy disk drive cable6 x SATA cables7 x Cable Ties3 x SATA power cable for 6 devices1 x 2-port USB2.0 module1 x IEEE1394a module1 x EL I/O ShieldInterVideo Media Launcher (OEM version only)User's manual
Support DVDDriversASUS PC Probe IIASUS UpdateASUS AI BoosterFuturemark 3DMark06 Advanced EditionNVIDIA MediaShield RAIDKaspersky Anti-VirusForm Factor ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6" (30.5cm x 24.5cm)

Twin2X4096-6400C5DHX

2007-09-05T04:48:00.000-07:00

General:

Storage Capacity:4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB)
Upgrade Type:Generic
Compatibility:PC
Memory specification compliance:PC2-6400
Memory speed:800 MHz

Memory:

RAM type:DRAM
RAM technology:DDR II SDRAM
Form Factor:DIMM 240-pin
Memory Speed:800 MHz ( PC2-6400)
CAS Latency:CL5
Features:Dual-path Heat Xchange (DHX)
RAM / Chips Organization:128 x 8

Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9 G

2007-09-05T04:38:00.000-07:00

Features :

The Twin3X2048-1333C9 is a 2048 MByte matched pair of DDR3 SDRAM DIMMs. This part delivers outstanding performance in the latest generation of dual-channel DDR3-based motherboards. It has been tested extensively in multiple DDR3 motherboards to ensure compatibility and performance at its rated speed. This memory has been verified to operate at 1333MHz at low latencies of 9-9-9-27.

Specifications:

2048 Megabytes of DDR3 Memory- Two matched CM3X1024-1333C9 modules
Implemented using 64M x 8 DDR3 SDRAMS
100% tested at 1333 MHz in high performance DDR3 motherboards
Each Module pair is tested together at 1333MHz
Tested and packaged in pairs- Packaged together immediately following system test
SPD programmed at:- JEDEC standard 9-9-9-27 values at 1333 MHz
Legendary Corsair reliability and service
Lifetime Warranty

Corsair XMS3 DHX TWIN3X2048-1600C7DHX G - Twinx 2 Go

2007-09-05T04:32:00.000-07:00

Twin3X2048-1600C7DHX G est une paire de barrettes DDR3, qui profite du système de refroidissement DHX (Dual-Path Heat Xchange) développé à l'origine pour la gamme Dominator. Ce kit a été testé à 1600MHz avec des temps de latence de 7-7-7-20 sur un large éventail de carte mères compatibles DDR3 pour assurer une compatibilité maximale et des performances sans compromis.

La performance de la DDR3
Système de refroidissement DHX permettant de maintenir une température de fonctionnement idéal même aux fréquences les plus élevées.
Testées pour des timings de 7-7-7-20 à 1600 MHz
Garantie à vie par Corsair

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe- nForce590SLI

2007-09-02T22:52:00.000-07:00

CPU-Sockel : Sockel AM2 - 940 Pin
Bauformat : ATX
Chipsatz : NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI
Grafikkarten Bus : PCI Express
PCI Express (x16) Steckplätze : 2
PCI Express (x4) Steckplätze : 1
PCI Express (x1) Steckplätze : 1
PCI Steckplätze : 2
ATA/ATAPI (40-polig IDE) Anschlüsse : 1
max. Bus-Transferrate : 133 Mb/s
Serial ATA (7-polig SATA) Anschlüsse : 8
1. SATA Controller : NVIDIA nForce5
1. SATA Max. Übertragungsrate : 300 MB/s
2. SATA Controller : Silicon Image 3132
2. SATA Max. Übertragungsrate : 300 MB/s
Raid Level : 0 / 1 / 5 / 0+1 oder 10 / JBOD
FrontSideBus / Hyper Transport Spec : 1000 MHz
Speicher Bänke : 4
Arbeitsspeicher Typ : DDR2-800
max. Speicherausbau : 8192 MB
Serieller Anschluss : Ja
Parallel Anschluss : Ja
SoundChip : -
Sound Channels : 7.1
Analoger Audio Eingang/Ausgang : Line-Out 4x (Klinke) / Line-In 1x (Klinke)
Mikrofon 1x (Klinke)
Digitaler Audio Ausgang : Koaxialer Digitaler Ausgang
Optischer Digitaler Ausgang
LAN Chipsatz : NForce 590SLI MCP built-in
Anzahl der LAN (RJ-45) Ports : 2 x
LAN Geschwindigkeit : 1000 MBit/s
USB Type : USB 2.0
USB Anschlüsse extern : 4
USB Anschlüsse intern : 6
Firewire Schnittstelle : Ja
Passive Kühlung : Ja

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe - nForce570SLI

2007-09-02T22:51:00.000-07:00

CPU-Sockel : Sockel AM2 - 940 Pin
Bauformat : ATX
Chipsatz : NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP
Grafikkarten Bus : PCI Express
PCI Express (x16) Steckplätze : 2
PCI Express (x1) Steckplätze : 2
PCI Steckplätze : 3
ATA/ATAPI (40-polig IDE) Anschlüsse : 1
max. Bus-Transferrate : 133 Mb/s
Serial ATA (7-polig SATA) Anschlüsse : 6
1. SATA Controller : NVIDIA nForce Raid5
1. SATA Max. Übertragungsrate : 300 MB/s
2. SATA Controller : JMicron JMB363
2. SATA Max. Übertragungsrate : 300 MB/s
Raid Level : 0 / 1 / 5 / 0+1 oder 10 / JBOD
FrontSideBus / Hyper Transport Spec : 1000 MHz
Speicher Bänke : 4
Arbeitsspeicher Typ : DDR2-800
max. Speicherausbau : 8192 MB
Serieller Anschluss : Ja
Parallel Anschluss : Nein
SoundChip : ADI 1988B
Sound Channels : 7.1
Analoger Audio Eingang/Ausgang : Line-Out 4x (Klinke) / Line-In 1x (Klinke)
Mikrofon 1x (Klinke)
Digitaler Audio Ausgang : Koaxialer Digitaler Ausgang
Optischer Digitaler Ausgang
LAN Chipsatz : Nvidia DualNet
Anzahl der LAN (RJ-45) Ports : 2 x
LAN Geschwindigkeit : 1000 MBit/s
USB Type : USB 2.0
USB Anschlüsse extern : 4
USB Anschlüsse intern : 6
Firewire Schnittstelle : Ja
Passive Kühlung : Ja

1GB DDR3-RAM, PC1375, Kingston HX, CL7

2007-09-02T22:48:00.001-07:00

Herstellerlink.de :
Kingston
Speicher
Speicher Größe :
1GB
Speicher Anzahl :
1 Modul
Speicher Sockel :
DIMM
Arbeitsspeicher Typ :
DDR3-SDRAM 1375Mhz (PC3-11000)
Anzahl der Pin :
240
Voltage (min./max.) :
1.5 bis 1.7 Volt
Geschwindigkeit
CAS latency (CL) :
7.0
Ras to Cas delay (tRCD) :
7
Row Precharge (tRP) :
7
Precharge delay (tRAS) :
20
Sonstiges
Chips Configuration :
128x64
Speicher-Besonderheiten :
Unbuffered
Herstellergarantie :
10 Jahre
Herstellerproduktlink :
nicht vorhanden (Produktlink melden)

Nvidia Gainward GF8800GTX 768 MB 2xDVI Aktiv

2007-09-02T22:45:00.002-07:00

Die Gainward GF8800GTX verfügt über 768 MByte GDDR3 Speicher, der über eine 384 Bit breite Schnittstelle angebunden ist. Die GPU taktet mit 575 MHz, der Speicher mit 1800 MHz. Der GeForce 8800 GTX ist die erste DirectX 10 GPU (Shader Model 4.0) und verfügt über 128 Unified Shader Einheiten, die mit 1350 MHz laufen, ist HDCP-geeignet und unterstützt Dual-Link DVI und HDTV-Ausgabe. Die Karte besitzt zwei 6-pin PCIe Stromstecker und benötigt ein leistungsstarkes Netzteil.
Anbindung: PCIe x16
Grafikchip: GeForce 8800 GTX
Taktfrequenz: 575 MHz
Shader Version: 4.0
Pixelpipelines: -
Vertex-Shader: -
Speicher: 768 MB
Typ: GDDR3
Zugriffszeit: -
Taktfrequenz: 1800 MHz
Speicheranbindung: 384 Bit
RamDac1: 400 MHz
RamDac2: 400 MHz
Eingänge: -
Ausgänge: 2 x DVI-I Ausgang 2 x Dual Link 1 x S-Video Ausgang
Über Adapter: -
Treiber: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista
Zubehör: Anleitung, 2x DVI auf VGA Adapter, Komponentenadapter,
Stromadapter, Software (Treiber CD, PowerDVD 6, muvee)
Besonderheiten: SLI-fähig, 2 Slotblenden
Kühlung: aktiv
Weitere Info`s: Unterstützt DirectX 10, OpenGL und HDCP. 128 Unified Shader Units mit 1350 MHz Takt

SAPPHIRE HD2900XT 512MB

2007-09-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Die Sapphire HD2900XT ist die aktuelle Highend PCI-Express Grafikkarte mit ATI Grafikchip. Eine 512-Bit Speicheranbindung, 1,65 GHz GDDR3 Speicher und eine auf 740 MHz getaktete GPU sorgen für eine ordentliche Portion Grafik-Power. Direct X10, HDCP, Avivo Technologie, 128 bit HDR und weitere Features sind bei dieser Karte einfach Standard.
Anbindung: PCIe x16
Grafikchip: Radeon HD2900XT
Taktfrequenz: 740 MHz
Shader-Version: 4.0
Speicher: 512 MB
Typ: GDDR3
Zugriffszeit: -
Taktfrequenz: 1650 MHz
Speicheranbindung: 512 Bit
RamDac1: 400 MHz
RamDac2: 400 MHz
Eingänge: -
Ausgänge:
2 x DVI-I Ausgang davon 2 x Dual Link
1 x ViVo
über Adapter:
2 x VGA Ausgang
1 x HDMI
1 x Komponenten Ausgang (3x Cinch)
1 x S-Video Ausgang
1 x VideoCinch Ausgang
1 x S-Video Eingang
1 x VideoCinch Eingang
Treiber: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista
Zubehör: Anleitung, Treiber CD, PowerDVD 6, 2x DVI auf VGA Adapter, DVI auf HDMI Adapter, CrossFire Brücke, ViVo Kabel-Peitsche, 1x S-Video auf Komponenten Adapter
Besonderheiten: Karte belegt 2 Slots
Weitere Info`s: DirectX 10

ASROCK 4Core1333-FullHD

2007-09-02T11:41:00.002-07:00

LGA 775 for Intel® Core™ 2 Quad / Core™ 2 Extreme / Core™ 2 Duo / Pentium® XE / Pentium® D / Pentium® Dual Core / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® / Celeron® D, supporting Quad Core Kentsfield processors
ATI™ RS600 + SB600 Chipsets
Compatible with all FSB1333/1066/800/533MHz CPUs
Supports Dual Channel DDRII800/667/533 with 4 DIMM slots, maximum capacity up to 8GB
Integrated ATI™ X1250 graphics, supports H/W T&L, DirectX 9.0, Max. shared memory 512MB
1 x PCI Express x 16 slot
Untied Overclocking : During Overclocking, FSB enjoys better margin due to fixed PCIE/ PCI Buses
Hybrid Booster - Safe Overclocking Technology
Dual VGA Output: Support DVI-D and D-Sub ports by independent display controllers
Supports HDCP function with DVI-D port, to enjoy better quality with High Definition HDCP Encryption contents
Supports 1080p Blu-ray (BD) / HD-DVD playback with DVI-D port
Supports PCIE Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
Supports 2 x IEEE 1394 ports (one port on back panel, one header on board)
4 x SATAII 3.0 Gb/s, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 0+1, JBOD and RAID 10) , NCQ, AHCI and "Hot Plug" functions
Chipset embedded HDMI Audio which supports HDMI signal through DVI-D port by using DVI to HDMI adapter (not bundled)
7.1 CH Windows® Vista™ Premium Level HD Audio (ALC888 Audio Codec)
Windows® Vista™ Premium 2007 Logo Ready
ASRock DVI_1394 I/O: 1 x VGA/DVI-D Port, 1 x VGA/D-Sub Port, 1 x IEEE 1394 port

MSI P35 Diamond

2007-09-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

Top Performance with Rich FeaturesTaipei, Taiwan (Tech Messenger) -- Micro-Star International (MSI), one of the leaders in motherboard manufacturer launches its latest P35 Diamond motherboard based on Intel® P35 Express chipset and the new-generation DDR3 structure. The new MSI P35 Diamond motherboard includes several exclusive features and the newest technology for upgrading future models offering its consumers to experience the advantage of “Ready for PC2008”.

45nm & DDR3 Ready Guarantee the Outstanding PerformanceThe new MSI P35 Diamond motherboard supports the latest Intel® FSB1333 and the upcoming 45nm multi-core processors which include the hottest Core 2 Quad/Duo/Extreme and other Intel processors based on Core architecture. In addition, it supports the next generation DDR3 memory structure as well, providing more advantages in performance and possibilities when overclocking. The current frequency of DDR3 starts from 1066 MHz and goes higher, at the same time consumes less power than DDR2, saves up to more than 25% power in the same frequency. Based on these several advantages and innovative design by MSI R&D, the P35 Diamond motherboard is one of the top motherboards which gain incredible performance with high performance DDR3 memory modules.

Exclusive Cooling Solution “Circu-Pipe”The new MSI P35 Diamond series is also equipped with exclusive fanless cooling design called “Circu-Pipe”. “This original and unique heat-pipe design is the revolutionary innovation to maximize the efficiency of temperature-reduce inside of the system” said Vincent Lai, marketing director of MSI. The Circu-Pipe offers a heat reduce efficiency of more than 20% after 2 hours full-load operation compared with the former heat-pipe design. Its fin-typed heatsink around the heat-pipe not only reduces the heat efficiently but also saves space to make sure the MSI P35 Diamond will not cause any structure conflict or problems from larger CPU cooler or graphic cards.

P35 Diamond
Intel® P35 Express Chipset Based
Supports LGA775 Intel Core™ 2 Quad/Duo/Extreme Processors
Supports FSB 1333/1066/800MHz
Supports Dual Ch. DDR3-1333/1066/800
2 PCI Express x16 slots ( 1 runs x4 speed) supports ATI CrossFire
4+1 SATA2 3Gb/s support Matrix RAID
2 eSATA2 Support Matrix RAID @ back I/O
Supports 7.1Ch. X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Supports MSI SkyTel VoIP function
Supports Gigabit LAN

ASUS EAH2600XT/HTDP/256M

2007-09-02T11:31:00.002-07:00

This graphics card is based on a 65nm RV630 GPU and includes 256MB DDR3 memory on 128-bit memory interface, and 120 stream processors shaders. The card features 800/1400 MHz core/memory clock speeds, 35.2GB/s memory bandwidth, and integrated HD encoder. Comes with TV-Out and dual DVI connectors. DirectX 10 API and pixel shader 4.0 technology support. CrossFire and HDCP capable.

G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK

2007-09-02T11:29:00.001-07:00

G.Skill er ikke den mest kjente produsenten her til lands, men er regnet som en av de ledende aktørene innen entusiastrettet minne i det store utland. Produsenten har høstet mye ros for sine "high-end"-moduler.
Dagens testobjekt går under det kryptiske navnet F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK, og er et 2 GB-sett (2 x 1 GB) spesifisert til å operere ved DDR2-800-hastighet (800 MHz effektivt) med tilgangstidene 4-4-3-5 2T ved 2,0 - 2,1 Volt.
Modulene inngår i G.Skills HK-serie, som ifølge produsenten selv skal rette seg mot den mer prisbeviste entusiasten.

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3P

2007-09-02T11:25:00.001-07:00

General
Tipo de producto: Placa base
Factor de forma: ATX
Anchura: 30.5 cm
Profundidad: 24.4 cm
Procesadores compatibles: Pentium 4, Pentium Extreme Edition, Pentium D, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme
Compatibilidad con procesadores de 64 bits: Sí
Socket del procesador: LGA775 Socket
Soporte multipolar: Dual-Core
Tipo conjunto de chips: Intel P965 Express / Intel ICH8R
Velocidad máxima del bus: 1066 MHz
Tipo BIOS: Award
Controlador de almacenamiento: ATA-133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID)
Conectores de alimentación: Conector de alimentación principal de 24 espigas, conector ATX12V de 8 espigas, conector de alimentación auxiliar de 4 espigas
Procesador
Cantidad instalada (máximo soportado): 0 ( 1 )
Memoria
Tecnología de RAM admitida: DDR II SDRAM
RAM instalada (máx.): 0 MB / 8 GB (máx.)
Velocidad de la memoria RAM soportada: PC2-4300, PC2-6400, PC2-5300
Características de la RAM: Sin memoria intermedia, dos canales DDR
Audio
Audio salida: Tarjeta de sonido
Códec de audio: Realtek ALC888
Modo de salida del sonido: Sonido envolvente de 7.1 canales
Cumplimiento de normas: High Definition Audio
Telecom / conexión de redes
Conexión de redes: Adaptador de red - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
Características
Configuración manual: Frecuencia de CPU, voltaje interno de procesador, voltaje de la memoria, frecuencia del bus de memoria, relación del FSB (CPU:memoria), frecuencia de ranura PCI Express x16, voltaje de chipset
Monitorización de hardware: Temperatura interna de CPU, temperatura del chasis, tacómetro de ventilador de CPU, tacómetro de la caja del ventilador, voltaje del sistema, protección contra sobrecalentamiento de la CPU, tacómetro de ventilador de la fuente de alimentación
Características de hardware: DualBIOS, Q-Flash, C.O.M. (Corporate Online Management), refrigeración de chipset mediante heatpipe, soporte para tecnología ATI CrossFire

G.SKILL F3-10600CL8D-2GBHK

2007-09-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

G.Skill F3-10600CL8D-2GBHK (2GB DDR3 Kit)

-----------------------------------------------------

Da die Zeit nur sehr kurz bemessen war, die wir für diesen Review zur Verfügung hatten, sind die Testergebnisse nicht so ausführlich, wie ihr es von DriverHeaven gewohnt seid; aus demselben Grund mussten wir auf die graphische Darstellung der Testresultate verzichten.Der "Kampf" um den schnellsten und leistungsstärksten RAM-Speicher geht in die nächste Runde!Kaum ist die DDR2-Generation in vollem Gange, werden auch schon DDR3-Module gefertigt und ausgeliefert. Kein Wunder, denn immer wieder erscheinen aufwändigere, systembelastende und speicherfressende Applikationen /Spiele/...Ein Zeichen aufzuhorchen und zu reagieren! Und das mit erstaunlicher Wirkung! Speichergiganten, wie G.Skill, SuperTalent und Corsair, gehen mit der Zeit, sodass bereits stark an den DDR3-Boliden gearbeitet wird - mit beeindruckenden Ergebnissen. In unserem Test stellen wir euch G.Skills neustes Meisterwerk vor: Das Modell F3-10600CL8D-2GBHK aus der DDR3-1333-Serie!Hinter dem langen Modellnamen versteckt sich ein 2x1GB Dual Channel Kit mit einem Takt von 1333Mhz (PC3-10600) und einer CL von 8-8-8-21

Technische

Daten:

# Modell : F3-10600CL8D-2GBHK (1GB x 2)

# Überblick : PC3-10600 (DDR2-1066) 8-8-8-21 Dual Channel

# Kapazität : 2GB (1GB x 2)

# Takt : 1333MHz DDR3 (PC3-10600)

# Latenzzeiten : CL 8-8-8-21

# Spannung : 1.65 V

# Error Checking : Non-ECC

# Registered/Unbuffered : Unbuffered

# PCB : 6 Layers PCB# Type : 240-pin DIMM

# Garantie : Lifetime

[Vergleich: SuperTalent arbeitet mit Latenzen von 8-8-8-16 und 1.8V]

AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+

2007-09-02T11:17:00.001-07:00

AMD has just launched a new dual-core processor working at 3GHz speed. Now the top AMD processors run at a higher frequency than the top Intel Core 2 processors. But will this be enough for them to regain their performance leadership? Find out now!

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Dual Core Processor (3GHz, 2x1MB, 1GHz Bus, Socket AM2 - MPN: ADX6000CZBOX)
Price Range: $169.90 - $297.00 from 30 Sellers
Rebates & Special Offers:

$5.00 Bonus available
Description: This is an AMD Athlon processor with a frequency of 3GHz, 2GHz FSB, and 2MB L2 cache.

AMD’s major hopes for regaining their success as the processor manufacturer are closely connected with the promising K8L micro-architecture that is due to come in the second half of this year (for details see our article called AMD's Next Generation Microarchitecture Preview: from K8 to K8L). So far AMD Athlon 64 X2 processors can only compete with Intel CPUs in the budget and mainstream price range. AMD has been pursuing very aggressive pricing policy for the last few months, offering their dual-core processors at very attractive prices.

However, this doesn’t prevent AMD from manufacturing the expensive products for hardware enthusiasts as well, such as the Quad FX platform that we have reviewed recently, which includes Athlon 64 FX-7X processors. Although AMD Quad FX platform lost to the competitor solution from Intel, the quad-core Kentsfield CPU, from almost all standpoints, it proved once again to all users out there, that AMD still bears huge engineering potential.

Today AMD made one more step of similar nature: they announced new dual-core Athlon 64 X2 6000+ processor. And although this CPU turns out the today’s fastest AMD processors for Socket AM2 systems, we are not expecting it to hit any tremendous heights. The working frequency of the new Athlon 64 X2 6000+ got only 200MHz higher than that of the Athlon 64 FX-62, which loses to top Intel Core 2 processors in almost all the tests. So, the 200MHz seem to be hardly sufficient for successful competition against the today’s performance leaders.
Therefore, the new AMD announcement is primarily curious from the technological rather than performance standpoint, as the company managed to increase the working frequency of its mass 90nm processors with K8 micro-architecture to 3.0GHz. And of course, Athlon 64 X2 6000+ can be of certain interest to the owners of older Socket AM2 systems, as a great upgrade option, although not the best one from the price-to-performance prospective, because of the $459 price AMD is asking for this new processor.

Intel 8-Core Media Creation PC

2007-09-02T11:14:00.000-07:00

O AMD-jevem konceptu 4 x 4 smo nekajkrat pisali takoj po Intelovi predstavitvi mikroarhitekture Core 2 in predstavitvi prvih štirijedrnih procesorjev. Koncept 4 x 4 je predvideval uporabo platform (matičnih plošč, pomnilnikov in procesorjev) iz sveta delovnih postaj strežnikov, s čimer naj bi drastično izboljšali vse znane rezultate predvsem v igrah – saj naj bil bi sistem »ultimativni« igričarski PC … No, tudi Intel ni zanemaril takega scenarija in tako smo dobili na test Intelov 8-jedrni sistem. Testni sistem sestavljajo matična plošča Intel S5000XVN (na veznem čipovju 5000X), na kateri sta dva vmesnika LGA775. V njiju smo namestili par štirijedrnih Xeonov X5365, sistem pa začinili še s 4 x 1 GB pomnilnika FBDIMM ... Ironično, pri vsem sta nas še najbolj presenetila odlična izdelava in koncept hladilnikov procesorjev, ki so popolnoma bakreni, čeprav izredno težki, a z robustnimi ventilatorji – nekaj, kar na namizju Intel ne ponuja, v »prvi ligi« pa je očitno to privzeta ponudba. V paketu je bil še močan, 850W napajalnik, ki je pogoj za stabilno delovanje sistema, saj je vsak procesor odgovoren za porabo do 150W (skupaj že 300), precej pa lahko odpade še na zmogljivo grafično kartico (reža PCIE x16) ter pomnilnik in diskovje …
PROTI: Sistem, katerega cena naj bi se gibala v več tisoč evrih, je bolj koncept kot izdelek, ki se prodaja v dvo- ali večmestnih količinah. Kot je koncept poimenoval Intel, gre za delovno postajo za ustvarjanje medijske vsebine, kar pomeni, da bo bolj kot za igričarje primeren za resne aplikacije, še zlasti grafične, video, matematične in 3D-modeliranje… Za igričarje sistem danes ne ponuja očitnih prednosti, ki bi upravičile tako naložbo, in ker v Sloveniji ne poznamo niti enega igričarja, ki bi bil pripravljen tako neracionalno razmetavati denar, smo se omejili na splošni vtis, ki ga je sistem pustil, in nismo merili razlik v (danes še vedno veliki večini eno- ali dvonitno pisanih) igrah.

AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350

2007-09-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

Those hoping for nail biting, teeth clenching battles should apply elsewhere - the CPU war these days is a one horse race. If reports out of Taiwan are to be believed, initial performance results from AMD's Barcelona fail to impress and we've got at least a quarter before the race can even potentially get competitive. But as we've seen lately, you don't need chart topping performance to bring excitement to the game.
By aggressively cutting prices, AMD actually made most of its product lineup below $300 competitive with equivalently priced Intel offerings. Granted that AMD won't be making a tremendous amount of money by doing this, but the end user stands to benefit, especially those with Socket-AM2 motherboards looking for faster CPUs.
Today AMD follows with yet another affordable CPU introduction; priced at $91 and $86 respectively, the Athlon X2 BE-2350 and 2300 aren't designed to take the performance crown from Intel, but rather they are decent dual core performers with a mere 45W TDP.
These two 65nm processors run at 2.1GHz and 1.9GHz, and are architecturally no different than the Athlon 64 X2s we've been reviewing for a while now. Carefully selected as chips that can run at lower operating voltages and thus lower TDPs, these two processors are designed to be a more available version of the Energy Efficient Small Form Factor X2s that were introduced last year. While they have a higher TDP than the 35W Athlon 64 X2 3800+, AMD insists that availability of these 45W parts won't be a problem. At the time of publication we couldn't confirm AMD's claims, so we'll just have to wait and see. Prior to today's introduction, the lowest TDP widely available from an X2 was 65W, so the release of 45W parts is designed to fill a gap in AMD's product lineup.

At the price points AMD is targeting with the BE-2350 and 2300, Intel doesn't really have a good competitor. While you can get older Pentium 4s for less than $100, you wouldn't really want to from a power and performance standpoint. The closest Intel has to offer is the Core 2 Duo E4300, which we've been able to find online for $113.50, thus making it the best competition we can find. Note that both of these chips are more expensive than the X2 3800+, currently priced at $83 and running at 2.0GHz. The slight premium comes from the lower yield on these chips, and resultant lower TDP.
Keep in mind that Intel's closest competition is more expensive throughout the course of this review, because after AMD's latest price cuts you can truly get some powerful CPUs for less than $100.

Intel 1333MHz FSB CPU pricing details appear

2007-09-02T05:19:00.000-07:00

HKEPC has gathered details on the upcoming Intel 1333MHz FSB based processors, including very interesting pricing information.
According to Taiwan's motherboard industry, Intel will release the new versions of the Conroe based processors in the third quarter of 2007.
The E6540 and E6550 both clock in at 2.33GHz, and the E6750 runs at a slightly higher 2.6GHz.
Pricing for the E6550 is set at $163 and respectively, and the E6750 will come in at $183. Pricing for the lower-end E6540 is yet to be announced.
At the top of the list is the E6850, which keeps to a 65W TDP, but runs at 3GHz, and is priced at a massively competitive $266.
The E6550, E6750 and E6850 all come with the new Intel Trust Execution Technology (TXT), but the E6540 lops this off and should come in slightly cheaper than the similarly rated E6550.
Each of the processors detailed above, will come coupled with a 4MB L2 cache, and have two cores each.
A new quad-core Q6700 All processors in this range will come with Intel's Virtualization technology (VT), Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST), x86-64 instruction set extensions, and the usual Intel XD/execute disable bit technology.
It seems DAMMIT has a huge price war in the later half of 2007 on its hands.

MSI RX2600XT-T2D512EZ

2007-09-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

HDMI and Audio Feature Support(Optional)

HDMI and Audio Feature Support(Optional)The ATI Radeon HD 2600XT has a built in HDMI with HD audio support for one-plug HDTV connectivity. This unique feature is enabled with an intelligent DVI to HDMI adapter. The benefit of this approach is to preserve the traditional dual-DVI-I connectivity (with VGA support) that gamers demand while offering a seamless connection for big-screen HD gaming. No internal SPDIF or other audio cabling is required.

• Fully DirectX 10.0 compliant, including full speed 32-bit floating point per component Operations- Full symmetry on both heads.- Shader Model 4.0 geometry and pixel support in a unified shader architecture:- Full speed 32-bit floating point processing per component.- High dynamic range rendering with floating point blending, texture filtering and antialiasing support.- High performance dynamic branching and flow control.- Advanced shader design, with ultra-threading sequencer for high efficiency operations.- Advanced, high performance branching support, including static and dynamic branching.- Full anti-aliasing on render surfaces up to and including 128-bit floating point formats.- Support for OpenGL 2.0

Anti-Aliasing Filtering

- 2x/4x/8x modes.

- Sparse multi-sample algorithm with gamma correction, programmable sample patterns, and centroid sampling.- Temporal anti-aliasing.

- Adaptive anti-aliasing mode.

- Lossless color compression (up to 8:1) at all resolutions, up to and including widescreen HDTV.

Anti-Aliasing Filtering

- 2x/4x/8x modes.

- Sparse multi-sample algorithm with gamma correction, programmable sample patterns, and centroid sampling.

- Temporal anti-aliasing.

- Adaptive anti-aliasing mode.- Lossless color compression (up to 8:1) at all resolutions, up to and including widescreen HDTV.Anisotropic Filtering- 2x/4x/8x/16x modes- Up to 128

-tap texture filtering.Advanced Texture Compression (3Dc+ )

- High quality 4:1 compression for normal maps and luminance maps.- Works with any single

-channel or two-channel data format.

- New vertex cache and vertex fetch design, to increase vertex throughput from previous generations.

- New multi-level texture cache to give optimal performance, greater than 8x the previous designs.

High efficiency ring bus memory controller

- Programmable arbitration logic maximizes memory efficiency, software upgradeable.

- Fully associative texture, color, and Z cache design.

- New hierarchical Z & Stencil buffers with Early Z Test.

- New lossless Z-buffer compression for both Z and Stencil.

- Fast Z-Buffer Clear.

- Z cache optimized for real-time shadow rendering.

Integrated HD Audio Controller (Azelia) and Codec

- Integrated HD Audio codec supports linear PCM and DolbyR Digital (5.1) audio formats for- HDMI output.

- Uses Microsoft UAA driver.

- Internally connected to the integrated HDMI interface, hence no external cable required.

- PCI device id : AA10h (Azalia), AA11h (Audio Codec).- Support for basic audio (32, 44.1 or 48 kHz stereo) and DolbyR Digital or DTS at the same sample rates.
DVI/HDMI Features- Fully compliant with the DVI electrical specification.-

Fully integrated DVI/HDMI Interface- Supports one single link DVI or one HDMI link (HDMI output on single-link TMDS1 only).

- Meets Vista logo requirements.- 1650 Mbps/channel with 165 MHz pixel clock rate per link.- Supports industry standard EIA-861B video modes including 480p, 720p and 1080i. For a full list of currently supported modes, contact your AMD CSS representative.

Avivo Display System -

- Dual DACs & MPEG 1/2/4 decode and encode acceleration

- Dual-link support for display resolutions up to 3840x2400 per display output.

- Flexible support of the following configurations: CRT + DVI/HDMI, TV + DVI/HDMI, DVI/HDMI + DVI/HDMI.

- Maximum pixel frequency of 400 Mhz.- HDCP support available on all DVI and HDMI links with integrated key storage for up to two simultaneous outputs including dual-link DVI. (Note: HDCP available only to HDCP licensed buyers).

- iDCT/DCT and color space conversion- HW DXVA parser support for iDCT- MPEG-4 Simple Profile support- All-format DTV/HDTV decoding.
HDCP - High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection HDCP is a content protection specification to protect digital entertainment content across the DVI/HDMI interface. The HDCP provides a robust, cost-effective and transparent method for transmitting and receiving digital entertainment similar to DVI/HDMI-compliant digital displays. HDCP encrypts the data transmitted between the DVI/HDMI connector on the graphics adapter and the display. To provide this support, both the graphics adapter and the display need to have an HDCP transmitter and receiver respectively.
• CrossFire Multi-GPU Technology- Scale up rendering performance and image quality with 2 or more GPUs- Integrated compositing engine- High performance dual channel interconnect PERFORMANCES• Memory interface: 128-bit• Engine Clock Speed: 800MHz• Memory Clock Speed: 1400MHz• Stream Processing Units: 120 • Texture Units: 8

P5K PREMIUM WiFi-AP Edition

2007-09-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

To celebrate its 18th Anniversary, ASUS has released the 3rd Generation Black Pearl Special Edition P5K Premium motherboard. This new motherboard utilizes specially-designed technologies that provides overclocking up to 100% faster speeds in water-cooled systems; and stays 40ºC (72ºF) lower than other thermal solutions. The P5K Premium also comes equipped with built-in native DDR2 1066 memory support that can be overclocked to DDR2 1400. Additionally, it is able to provide users with stable CPU power and 30% reduced power ripples during heavy loading; while signal delivery is enhanced with low cross-talk for even faster speeds. Furthermore, it provides cooler operations, enhanced 8-channel HD Audio with built-in AI Audio 2 and a host of innovative tools and features.

S775,QuadCore,P35,FSB1333,2xPCIEx16,RAID,2xGbLAN,1384a,ATX
P5K Premium/WiFi-APThe 3rd Generation Black Pearl Special Edition P5K Premium motherboard
- Support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi

-core CPU- Intel® Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 Processors

- Support next generation 45nm muti-core CPU

- Intel® P35 chipset

- Dual-channel DDR2 1066/800/667 MHz

- Dual Gigabit LAN

- WiFi-AP
SpecificationCPU
LGA775 socket for Intel® Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / *Pentium® 4 ProcessorsCompatible with Intel® 05B/05A/06 processorsSupport Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-Core CPUChipset
Intel® P35 / ICH9R with Intel® Fast Memory Access TechnologyFront Side Bus
1333 / 1066 / 800 MHzMemory
4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2 1066*/800 / 667 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memoryDual channel memory architecture"* The chipset officially supports the memory frequency up to DDR2 800MHz. Tuned by ASUS Super Memspeed Technology, this motherboard natively supports up to DDR2 1066MHzPlease refer to http://www.asus.com/ or user manual for Memory QVL."Expansion Slots
2 x PCI-E x16 (blue @ x16 mode, black @ x4 or x1 mode) supports CrossFire Technology2 x PCI-E x13 x PCIStorage
Southbridge- 6 x SATA 3.0 Gb/s ports- Supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10JMicron® JMB363 PATA and SATA controller- 1 x UltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices- 2 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (SATA On-the-Go)- Supports SATA RAID 0,1 and JBODLAN
Dual Gigabit LAN controllers, featuring AI NET2Marvell88E8056® PCI-E Gigabit LAN controllersRealtekRTL8110SC® PCI Gigabit LAN controllerWireless LAN
ASUS WiFi-AP Solo54 Mbps IEEE 802.11g and backwards compatible with 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b- Software Access Point mode - Station mode:Infrastruceure mode and Ad-Hoc modeAudio

ADI® AD1988B 8-channel High Definition Audio CODEC- Coaxial / Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O- ASUS Noise FilterIEEE 1394
IEEE 1394a controller supports 2 x 1394a ports (one at midboard; one at back panel)USB
10 x USB 2.0 ports (4 ports at mid-board, 6ports at back panel)ASUS AI Lifestyle Features ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution:
- ASUS Fanless Design:Heat-pipe solution - ASUS Fanless Design:Stack Cool 2- ASUS AI Gear2- ASUS AI Nap- ASUS 8-Phase Power Design- ASUS Q-Fan 2 ASUS Crystal Sound:
- ASUS AI Audio 2- ASUS Noise Filter ASUS EZ DIY:
- ASUS Q-Connector- ASUS O.C. Profile- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3- ASUS EZ Flash 2- ASUS AI Slot DetectorASUS WiFi@Home- ASUS WiFi-AP SoloOther Features
ASUS MyLogo 3Multi-language BIOSOverclocking Features Intelligent overclocking tools:
- AI NOS™ (Non-delay Overclocking System)- ASUS AI Booster utility Precision Tweaker:
- vCore:Adjustable CPU voltage at 0.0125V increment - vDIMM:16-step DRAM voltage control - vChipset:4-step Chipset voltage controlSFS (Stepless Frequency Selection)- FSB tuning from 200MHz up to 800MHz at 1MHz increment- Memory tuning from 667MHz up to 1333MHz for DDR2- PCI Express frequency tuning from 100MHz up to150MHz at 1MHz increment Overclocking Protection:
- ASUS C.P.R.(CPU Parameter Recall)Back Panel I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 Keyboard1 x S/PDIF Out (Coaxial + Optical)2 x External SATA1 x IEEE1394a2 x RJ45 port6 x USB 2.0/1.11 x WiFi-AP Solo antenna jack8-channel Audio I/OInternal I/O Connectors
2 x USB connectors support additional 4 USB ports1 x Floppy disk drive connector1 x IDE connector1 x COM connector6 x SATA connectors1 x CPU Fan connector4 x Chassis Fan connector1 x Power Fan connector1 x IEEE1394a connectorFront panel audio connector1 x S/PDIF Out HeaderChassis Intrusion connectorCD audio in24-pin ATX Power connector2 x 4-pin ATX 12V Power connectorSystem Panel(Q-Connector)BIOS
16 Mb Flash ROM, AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.3, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3Manageability
WfM 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXEO/S Compatibility
Windows Vista/XPAccessories
UltraDMA 133/100/66 cableFDD cable4 x Serial ATA cables1 x 2-port Serial ATA power cableI/O ShieldUser's manualASUS WiFi-AP Solo manual3 in 1 Q-connector1 x 2-port USB2.0 / 1-port IEEE1394 moduleASUS WiFi-AP Solo omni-directional antennaSupport CD
DriversASUS PC Probe IIASUS UpdateASUS AI SuiteASUS WiFi-AP Solo WizardAnti-virus software (OEM version)Image-Editing SuiteForm Factor
ATX Form Factor, 12"x 9.6" (30.5cm x 24.4cm)

Ninja Mini CPU Cooler

2007-09-02T04:33:00.000-07:00

Specification for Ninja Mini CPU CoolerModel Name:Ninja Mini CPU Cooler Model #:

SCMNJ-1000

Compatibility:

Intel:Socket 478 All Speeds

Socket T / (LGA)775 All Speeds

AMD:

Socket 754 All

SpeedsSocket 939 All

SpeedsSocket 940 All SpeedsSocket AM2 All Speeds

Dimension:

110x110x115mm (Overall)

80x80x25mm (Fan)

Fan Speed:2300rpm (±10%)

Fan Noise:24.4dBA

Air Flow:

32.2CFM

Weight:580g

Installation Manual:

Ninja Mini Manual (English/French/German)

Features for Ninja Mini CPU CoolerLow-Profile Height

Compare to the regular Ninja CPU Cooler (height 160mm), this Ninja “Mini” CPU Cooler has the lower height of 115mm, ideal heatsink for HTPC or Living-Room PC Systems!

Ready for 80mm or 92mm Fan Mounting

The default silent fan (80x80x25m) can be easily exchanged to another 92mm sized fan with 25mm of thickness for high performance user

(92mm Fan Clips are included).

Improved Mounting SystemsNever stop the improvement of mounting systems, the Ninja Mini CPU Cooler has the improved mounting mechanism with easier than ever mounting for all sockets!

Universal Socket Compatibility with AM2Ninja Mini CPU Cooler is compatible for socket 478/754/939/940/AM2 & LGA775. All in one solution for your PC system.

The OCZ Vindicator CPU Cooler Review

2007-09-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Last fall, Legit Reviews showed the world the first images of a new prototype OCZ heatsink that was internally known as the 'V-12'. This cooler has since been renamed the Vindicator for marketing purposes and is already on the market for about US $55 for that that are looking for an aftermarket air cooling solution for their processor. The heat sink has undergone a few changes since our original story published last year, but OCZ Technology has informed us the updated cooling fan and lower heat sink have only helped performance. Other than a few changes here and there the overall appearance is the same and the Vindicator still uses the six U-Shaped heat pipes to help get the heat away from the processor. The OCZ Vindicator CPU cooler is compatible with AMD 754/939/AM2 and Intel LGA775 CPU sockets, so if you have one of those processors you are in luck!

The OCZ Vindicator comes in a nice plastic box with a handle on top that looks like it belongs on a store shelf. The one bad thing about this packaging is that the heat sink is easily damaged due to it as you can see the bottom fins are bent in the image above. OCZ is aware of this situation and is working on a 'fin guard' that will protect the fins from getting bent together. OCZ sent out another cooler for us to use and just like the first one it had damaged cooling fins.

Once I took the Vindicator out of the box, I quickly found out just how massive this heat sink is when I sat it next to the OCZ Tempest. The OCZ Vindicator has 23 sets of pure aluminum fins that are pressed onto the six copper heat pipes to make up what is known as the high-stacked fin array. The Vindicator stands at 110mm(L) x 110mm(W) x 150mm(H), but remember that the fan does add an additional 25mm to the width of whatever side of the cooler that it is mounted to.

One of the features that stood out to me when I looked over the cooler is the fact that the cooling fins have enough space between them to actually see the copper heat pipe between each fin. This means that the cooling fins are gapped far apart, albeit this is something I haven't seen much as most coolers are jam packed with fins. The other thing I couldn't tell is if the cooling fins were actually adhered to the copper heat pipes by anything other than pressure. There was no sign of solder (like on the OCZ Tempest) or adhesive (like the Thermaltake Big Thyphoon VX) to hold them in place and aide in better contact with the heat pipes.

Flipping the Vindicator over it can be seen that installing the OCZ Vindicator CPU Cooler is just like installing the Intel retail box fan as it uses the same retention mechanisms. This is a nice touch and makes for quick and simple installation. The base of the heat sink was flat and had a nice finish, but a few machine marks could be seen and felt on the bottom.

Corsair XMS4400

2007-09-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

An erster Stelle schauen wir uns die absoluten High-End-Module von Corsair an. Die Speicherriegel kommen, wie mittlerweile üblich, im TwinX-Pack daher - sprich 2x512 MB. Geschmückt sind die Module mit einem schwarzen Heatspreader. Auch zu diesen Modulen gibt es eine Platinum-Serie mit einem silber-farbenen Kühlaufsatz. Auf diesem besagten Heatspreader sind mit diversen Schriftzügen und Aufklebern alle Bezeichnungen und notwendigen Informationen rund um die Module enthalten. Wer denkt, der Heatspreader wird nur mit der kleinen Metallklammer gehalten, irrt. Dazu kommt ein Wärmeleitpad auf dem Heatspreader, welches sich gewaschen hat. Er sorgt dafür, dass die beiden Teile des Heatspreaders bombensicher an ihrem Platz auf den 2x8 Chips sitzen.

Mit ein wenig Gefühl und einem guten Hebel kann man einen Blick unter die Schale werfen; die Garantie geht hierbei aber mit Sicherheit flöten. Zum Vorschein kommen Hynix Speicherchips, welche in letzter Zeit nicht gerade häufig anzutreffen waren. Wer noch ein paar ältere SDRAM-Module sein Eigen nennt, der dürfte auf dem einen oder anderen vielleicht Vorgänger der aktuellen Chips haben. Schauen wir uns diese Hynix-Speicherchips aber mal ein wenig näher an. Das D5 am Ende der Bezeichnung eines einzelnen Chips steht hierbei für die maximale Takt-Freigabe der Speicherchips. Diese D5 ist bis jetzt aber auf der offiziellen Homepage nicht aufgeführt, dort findet sich zwar ein pdf-Dokument, welches die komplette Chipbezeichnung erklärt. D5 taucht hier allerdings noch nicht auf. In einem ähnlichen Dokument zu DDR2 SDRAM gibt es dann doch solche Bezeichnungen. Wenn man diese beiden kombiniert, liegt der Schluss nahe, dass die Chips mit der Bezeichnung D5 für DDR500 bzw. DDR533 stehen. Somit wären sie für 250 bzw. 266 MHz freigegeben - Corsair betreibt sie mit garantierten 275 MHz. Doch genug der Speicher-Theorie, ab zur Praxis.
Eingebaut, PC gebootet - alles funktioniert. Als Erstes werfen wir bei DDR400 ein Blick auf die Modul-Informationen, in unserem Fall mittels AIDA32. AIDA32 präsentiert uns beim Auslesen der SPD-Informationen die richtige Modul-Bezeichnung, zeigt aber bei der Speichergeschwindigkeit "nur" PC4200 bzw. DDR533 an. Es scheint sich also tatsächlich um die besagten DDR533-Module zu handeln, die Corsair mit einer Betriebsgarantie bei DDR550 versehen hat. Gut, das soll nicht weiter unsere Sorge sein, schauen wir lieber, was die Module im Alltag können und ob sie das halten, was PC4400 verspricht

HIS HD 2600XT IceQ TURBO 512MB DDR3

2007-09-01T13:01:00.002-07:00

MSRP: 119 EUR / 129 USD
Hey everyone and welcome to a new review. This time our old friends from HiS have submitted their latest technology in the form of a Radeon HD 2600 XT with no less than 512MB memory. The new 2600 products for the past few weeks have finally penetrated the market a little. As you guys probably now by now; AMD has launched no less than five desktop graphics cards. In the high-end range you'll see the 80nm fabrication process Radeon HD 2900 XT. AMD's ATI also launching an all new Radeon 2400 and 2600 series (low- and mid-range). These products will be based on the latest 65nm fabrication production process.Let's have a brief overview of the five new graphics cards and on the next page we'll go a little deeper into the silicon that is Radeon HD 2000.
Radeon HD 2900 XT
Radeon HD 2600 XT
Radeon HD 2600 Pro
Radeon HD 2400 XT
Radeon HD 2400 Pro
All products including the 2600 are DirectX 10 compatible products, so you'll understand that we'll also talk a little about DX10: the Unified Shader Architecture with those lovely stream processors; a new function on the 2000 Series called Tessellation and last but not least, Avivo HD.
As stated, today's product is a HiS product, and in their line-up they always offer an IceQ version usually combined with a "Turbo" tag. Today's product is no different. Not only does it come with 512MB memory which is quite something for a mid-range product, it also comes pre-overclocked and has that IceQ cooler slapped on top of it.
Good stuff, grab some popcorn, let's startup the review. Next page please.

S3 Graphics DX10 Chips By Year End

2007-09-01T12:59:00.002-07:00

S3 Graphics, a struggling developer of graphics processing units (GPUs) and a subsidiary of Via Technologies, reportedly plans to release a lineup of DirectX 10-compatible Chrome 4 graphics chips by the end of the year. The move will allow it to revive sales of its graphics cards, but will hardly return S3 back into the global market of discrete graphics cards.
The new S3 Graphics Chrome 4 lineup will consist of two chips: the Chrome 460, which is projected to be made using 90nm process technology and is fully compatible with DirectX 10, as well as the Chrome 430, which is expected to be manufactured using 65nm fabrication technology and is clamed to support DirectX 10.1 specification. The new chips will feature native support for HDMI connector as well as HDCP technology and will use PCI Express 1.0 interface.
Both chips will be manufactured by Fujitsu and have already entered the design verification test stage. Volume production is expected to start before the end of the year, reports DigiTimes web-site.
The new chips from S3 Graphics in nearly two years will be aimed at mainstream and entry-level markets, which means that S3 will not compete for high-performance market this round as well, meaning the lack of “halo” effect and lackluster welcome by the market.
Considering that both Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia Corp. are pretty aggressive in terms of releasing new graphics products, even if S3 succeeds in creating chips competitive against contemporary ATI Radeon HD 2600/2400 and Nvidia GeForce 8600/8500/8400, it will not enjoy its victory for long, as both leading GPU designers update their product lineups once every six months. Nevertheless, it still makes sense for S3 Graphics to proceed with discrete GPU development because its parent company Via Technologies needs graphics cores to integrate into its chipsets.
In order to somewhat revitalize sales of its discrete GPUs, S3 and Via will pair S3’s Chrome 4 chips with Via’s microprocessors and chipsets, creating inexpensive low-power multimedia platforms for cost-efficient computers.

AMD Announces SSE5 Instruction Set

2007-09-01T12:58:00.000-07:00

AMD today announced further plans to innovate the x86 architecture by introducing SSE5, a new extension of the x86 instruction set that is designed to allow software developers to simplify code and achieve greater efficiency for the most performance-hungry applications. AMD says SSE5 "helps maximize the output of each instruction and consolidates code base by introducing functionality previously only found in specialized, high-performance architectures, to the x86 platform." According to the press release, such functionality includes:- 3-Operand Instructions - A computing instruction is executed by applying a mathematical or logical function to operands, or inputs. By increasing the number of operands an x86 instruction can handle from 2 to 3, SSE5 enables the consolidation of multiple, simple instructions into a single, more effective instruction. The ability to execute 3-Operand Instructions is currently only possible on certain RISC architectures.- Fused Multiply Accumulate - The 3-Operand Instruction capability enables the creation of new instructions which efficiently execute complex calculations. The Fused Multiply Accumulate instruction combines multiplication and addition to enable iterative calculations with one instruction. The simplification of the code enables rapid execution for more realistic graphics shading, rapid photographic rendering, spatialized audio, complex vector mathematics and other performance-intense applications. More information about SSE5 is available on this page on AMD's Developer Central site. AMD says it's making technical details about SSE5 available to the developer community early in order to "foster an industry dialogue and solicit feedback."According to AMD, SSE5 is scheduled to make its first appearance in the upcoming "Bulldozer" core, which will become available in 2009. Bulldozer will be at the heart of Fusion, AMD's upcoming microprocessor/graphics processor chimera, as well as upcoming eight- and 16-core high-end microprocessors.

The GeForce 8800 GTS with 320 MB memory

2007-09-01T12:54:00.002-07:00

BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB OC editionPricerange 299-339 EUR/USDInfo: BFGtech
XFX GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB XXX editionPricerange 299-339 EUR/USDInfo: XFX Graphics
Nothing is a secret anymore in the hardware industry is it ? I think roughly a month ago the first rumors hit the internet already about today's tested product series. It's quite amazing how hard it seems to be to keep information under control. Yes, hello everyone and welcome to the what is supposed to be the easiest review I have ever written !
Easy you ask ? Yeah man .. easy! See, you take the 640 MB model GeForce 8800 GTS, take away half it's memory, lower the price to roughly 300 USD/EUR and that's EXACTLY what the GeForce 8800 320 MB GTS is. So that makes this an easy review, right ?
Ehm no, not really. As you'll notice in our conclusion this product is really complex to test and compare. Now if you have been following Guru3D.com for a longer time-frame then you know that framebuffer (the local memory on your graphics card) is a very important item for any graphics card. You should also know that less framebuffer always has been an issue for complex image quality enhancements like anti-aliasing. So if you cut away 320 MB of memory from a 640 MB product; at what resolution will that start to take it's toll ? That's exactly what we'll be investigating today.
So, again I hear you asking, ehm but Hilbert dude, bro, mate (and the few girls out there: your royal cuteness), is there really no other difference to be found in the number of shader (stream) processors ? No my fellow hardware enthusiast gamers, it's up-to the transistor count identical to that 640 Mb model. I'll even take it up a notch, if you purchase a faster clocked model of the 320Mb card then it'll produce even better performance than the 8800 GTS 640 Mb model. Well, until you run out of memory that is. So that's a very interesting thing to look at. Today we'll be looking at two brands of the GeForce 8800 320Mb; obviously compare it to the default clocked 640 Mb model, see at what resolution the framebuffer limitation kicks in, and have a look what default faster clocks actually are doing in terms of performance over that 640 Mb model.
Therefore we took BFG's GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB card, the OC model, and we also snagged the "XXX" edition of this card from XFX and we'll have a look at how well they perform in games with the industry standard setting in AA and AF.
This should be an interesting read. Oh and hey, we snagged two cards from BFG so we'll seat them in an SLI compatible mainboard and look at a little SLI action as well.
Let's have a looksie. Next page please.

GeForce 8600 GT & GTS shootout

2007-09-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone and welcome to the spring release of NVIDIA's new mid-range graphics card line-up. What we are to bring you today is something quite extensive. We have an in-depth article planned with NVIDIA's new GeForce 8600 GT and GTS based graphics cards where participating board partners like Sparkle, eVGA BFG, XFX, Galaxy Technology and Point of View have all submitted a card. All these great manufacturers and new products in one big article. A shootout on the actual launch, how cool is that?
Unfortunately, it's now Monday the 14th as I write this and the boards from eVGA have yet to arrive thanks to, who else, UPS! Sparkle won't have their samples ready until next week, so they'll forfeit on this rather big article as well. We'll move forward with what's at hand and we'll even do a little SLI testing with the new cards as well. We'll test the XFX 8600 GT (XXX) and GTS (XXX) boards, the BFG 8600 GTS (OC) board, the Point of View 8600 GTS (EVO) board and from Galaxy Technology both a customized GeForce 8600 GT and GTS.
But first let's have a look at what is being announced today in-depth, followed by a little technical coverage, the good and bad followed by the bundles and pretty much everything you are used to here at Guru3D.com.
And now let the review begin!
Okay so what's happening today is that NVIDIA has released their mid-range DirectX 10 compatible product line. Despite the massive delay at CeBIT I was already able to confirm that NVIDIA's DX10 G84 and G86 cards were ready. NVIDIA, however, decided to postpone the launch to April 17th for various reasons.
Today is all about the GeForce 8600GTS, 8600GT and 8500GT graphics processors. NVIDIA’s GeForce 8600GTS and 8600GT are G84-based GPUs and are targeted at the mid-range market. The lower-positioned G86-based GeForce 8500GT serves as the flagship low to mid-range graphics card. These three cards will be available either now or over the next two weeks. The 8600 GTS will serve a $199 to $229 price point, followed by the 8600 GT ($149 to $159) and the GeForce 8500 GT ($89 to $129).

The new product line is going to look like this:
GeForce 8800 GTX
GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB
GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB
GeForce 8600 GTS
GeForce 8600 GT
GeForce 8500 GT
GeForce 7600 GS
GeForce 7300 GT
GeForce 7300 LE
GeForce 7100 GS

As you can see, a lot of current DX9 graphics cards are going to be EOL (end of life) as the DX10 parts will replace them completely.

Let's analyze a little. First off, the 8800 GTS and GTX are brilliantly performing cards. They have a lot power thanks to the sheer number of Stream processors (shader processors). The GTX has 128 units, the GTS cards have 96 shader units.
If you do some generic math you'd know I expected the mid range products to have 48 shader units, but that's not the case. Merely 32 units are present in the 8600 series and a very shallow 16 on the 8500. Now since we are looking at the 8600 cards today let's keep focus on that one. The 32 shader units inside the GPU is not a lot, but for a mid-range product it could be enough if you give the product the proper what I call "framebuffer performance". The memory on your graphics card is very influential when you look at its bandwidth (the data speed which the GPU can work (read/write/copy) in. So I was surprised to see a 128-bit bus as in 2007 we should have really moved towards a 256-bit bus. 256-bit memory is dirt cheap so that's just not a logical step from my point of view. It's simple, the difference between memory for 128-bit versus 256-bit is half the bandwidth and has a very intense effect on the overall framerate of your games.
I would not be surprised to see 256-bit memory bus mid-range products later on in this year. Next: what's the physical difference between the 8600 GT and GTS you ask? Nothing, except the clocks and likely internal GPU voltage. So if you receive a GT that can overclock well, you could be able to bring it close to GTS speeds and save 50 bucks. Really it's the same GPU yet specified slower. Also good to know, every feature that is present on the 8800 series is also available on this chip architecture. Please read our refernce GeForce 8800 GTX review for full documentation on these features.
So as you can understand the cards all will have full DX10 compatibility, which brings us to Microsoft Vista. I'll leave the driver discussion as it is right now but notice that only the 8600 GTS will have HDCP support straight out of the box.

BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC TI (256MB)

2007-09-01T12:47:00.002-07:00

Info: BFGtechPrice: $154.99
BFG Tech recently released their ThermoIntelligence line of graphics cards. We already reviewed their lovely GeForce 8600 GTS OC2 version. They however decided to move forward with that line and introduce more products.
Four new additions have been made based off one model, the GeForce 8600 GT. You'll now notice an OC, OC2, 256MB and 512MB model of these cards with a ThermoIntelligence slapped onto the packaging.
Today we'll test the BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC ThermoIntelligence; so what we'll do is simple... we'll have a brief peek at the technology that is the GeForce 8600 GT and then chat a little more on what the differences are among the several models and explain to you what exactly ThermoIntelligence is all about. You've also noticed that the product tested is actually an OC version which obviously is proverbial for overclock.
With that being said, let's startup this review where we explain the technical details and test the cards with a game or twelve. Those games include hot titles like DiRT from Colin McRae, S.t.a.l.k.e.r, GRAW, War Front, F.e.a.r. and many more.
Yes, you better prepare yourself for our typical extensive Guru3D review. Oh come on did you honestly expect anything else