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February 2003 |
Friday, the weekend is almost here, and I have to work all weekend. Oh well, some news will cheer me up.
There are some really low people around these days. Forum regular RaZ woke up this morning to find his motorcycle stolen. He gives a good description of the bike (1985 Yamaha FZ 750) in this thread.
For the audiophiles among us, there is an article at Sudhian all about combining Computing and High Fidelity Sound. Give it a read.
VR-Zone get down and dirty with a Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro Ultimate Edition. While you're there, read what they have to say about the Gainward FX Ultra/1000 Plus.
From nza at Hardware Avenue, "Codemasters have finally shown some progress with the PC RaceDriver series in the form of a downloadable demo. This demo features the Australian specific V8 Supercar style of gameplay". Read more here.
There is a review of a Shuttle XPC SN41G2 PC at HardwareZone. I love these Shuttles. :)
Hexus review a Corsair TWINX Memory Kit with 2x256MB 3200LL.
BurnOutPC have decided to add a CD drive to their Darth Vader PC. I giggle every time I look at that thing.
Digitimes report the immanent arrival of the 400Mhz FSB Athlon XP Barton CPU. They're due out in May. Via and SiS are said to be among the first to have supporting motherboards available.
Epox 8RDA+ owners can find a how-to guide to modding the VDD voltage. You can also read a lot of the same info here and here.
R&B play with some Laser Cut Fan Grills.
3Jane found some info about using a DV Camera/Firewire as a data storage device with claims of up to 10GB on a 1 hour tape uncompressed or 15GB compressed. Read more here.
Just for a laugh, some funny warning signs put out by the US. "If you have set yourself on fire, do not run". From PsyKo Billy.
I think we have linked this flash thingy before but it's fun if you like to make paper planes. Thanks koopz.
Sabretooth spotted an article about tech trends for 2003. Gillette's just ordered half a billion RFID chips to put on its razors: one day soon, you'll be walking around with enough transponders in your clothing and stuff you bought to be tracked from Mars. Just thought you'd like to know.
VooDoo sent in this funny thread over on the StraightDope forums, about a killer blimp.
With all the talk of war and terrorism lately, even potatoes aren't immune. Also, people are apparently letting the US Govt know how they feel, by picking up the phone.. thanks Tori.
A few people noticed this odd marketing approach for a Visiontek video card. ATI’s SMOOTHVISION,™ anti-aliasing, kicks the CRAP out of visual distortion resulting in smoother looking images. HI-RES 32-bit, 3D gaming up to 2048x1536 means when ‘intense applications’ come out to play, XTASY 9100 says: “ BI-A-TCH! GO MAKE ME A SAMWICH!!” Bizarre.
Hoopstar's latest project is a Wurlitzer Jukebox MP3 PC, looks pretty good!
ExplosiveLabs compared two nForce2 motherboards, from EPoX and Chaintech.
Dan. Letters. Yay.
TheInq have some insight into where in the market AMD is positioning Operon. AMD wants to position its X86-64 Opterons in a different class to Xeons and the existing, Barton core, Athlons.
Quite a few people pointed out that ISOnews has apparently been taken down by the US Govt for being naughty naughty people.
A1-Electronics compared a pile of CPU coolers, some air, some water.
No flash timewaster this time, but a spooky flash psychic thing from Daniel. 3 out of 3 correct for me, so far. Go on, tell me how it works then.
Reviews:
EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on 3DXtreme.
Raidtronics Aluminium 288 case (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Logitech Elite Duo cordless mouse+keyboard on AseLabs.
Spire SkiveStream socketA cooler on ForumOC.
Compaq Evo N1020v notebook on HWZ.
OCZ Gladiator II HSF on Bjorn3D.
Tyan Trinity S2662 Granite Bay based P4 DDR motherboard on HotHardware.
Thermaltake HardCano 8 fanbus on ViperLair.
GeIL PC3500 Platinum Ultra DDR memory on OCAddiction.
EPoX 8K9A2+ KT400-based socketA DDR motherboard on OCModShop.
TweakMonster EL Applique Kit on Icrontic, thanks Jason.
An article at a german site claims to have deciphered the information sent to Microsoft when you connect to Windows Update. Apparently, information about all the software and hardware installed on your PC can be sent to Microsoft. Not just Microsoft software, any software.
Digit-Life have had a look at some high-end video cards. Well, one high-end and one not so. The Wildcat VP560 & Wildcat VP970 3D accelerators.
Toms Hardware have thrown a P4 CPU at a VapoChill and set their sights on 800Mhz FSB. Did they get there? Read it and find out. Thanks Daniel
Sudhian review the MSI Metis 266 Small Form Factor PC. I can't get enough of these little machines. I want one.
I don't usually recommend opening up a perfectly good hard drive as personal experience has shown that they often tend to die shortly afterward. In this case, 000patto000 (yes, I spelt that right) has gone about it in the right way and put a window and an LED in his drive. The results look great.
For those who might not have been aware. Overclocking your PDA will void your warranty. From PsyKo Billy.
There is an article over at Whirlpool telling us that ISP iGreen Communications has been placed under administration at the request of Optus. Could this be the beginning of the end for iGreen? Link from Peter.
Iroquois notes that Sun Microsystems will be using Athlon XP-M processors in their Blade Servers. Read more here. Also from Iroquois, some screenshots of Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2, and Roxio are planning to open a legitimate Napster service this year. Now that will be exciting!
The people at Digital-Daily have put the Athlon Barton and XP cores head to head. I was a little surprised at some of the results from this. The budget CPUs seem to be a bargain yet the high-end chips seem overpriced. Although thats looking at things from an overclockers perspective only.
Forum regular Falkor, has all the details for an OCAU Sydney BBQ & Cruise on the 23rd of March. Have a look in this thread for more info. This would be a good chance to get together with some of your like minded OCAU'ers for a meet 'n greet. The cruise sounds nice as well. :)
China and the U.S., Canada, the European Union, Japan and the Russian Federation are getting together to build a Fusion Reactor. The dream of cheap and virtually unlimited electricity has moved a step closer, a little step at least. Thanks Greg.
"Tennis balls. We import 14 million of them each year, but no one seems to know where they go". I know where a lot of mine have gone. I've lost count of how many I've sent down into the depths of the roadside drainage system. Tennis Victoria are going to try to answer the missing tennis ball mystery.
GForce, Quatro, Parhelia, Radeon, etc... They don't match up to the La Video Loca Bitchin' Fast 3D2000. It's a chop job so don't get to excited.
Febs found todays flash time-waster. A rather good rendition of Donkey Kong.
Reviews
Sunbeam Laser LEDs at Monkey Review
Hercules 3D Prophet 9500 Pro at The Guru
Matrix Orbital MX212 LCD-USB at ExtremeMhz
Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM at Mikhailtech
Gigabyte SINXP1394 (SiS655) Motherboard at TweakTown
Silver X-Window Diamond-Bubble 5 LED Case at OCIA
PC Toys Mouse MAXX Yellow Flame Mouse Pad at OCIA
CNC-CPU ST92 CPU Cooler at Legion Hardware
Tyan's Trinity KT400 motherboard at TR
P4 Spark 7 Heatsink at Furioustech
Cooler Master XDream HAC-V81 Socket A Cooler at HardCoreWare
Sunbeam Tech 4-LED Fan
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Thursday, 27-February-2003 00:57:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Sabretooth has reviewed another glowy spinny thing from Sunbeam Tech - and they're surprisingly inexpensive. Is this the next trick bit for your box?
Click for the review!
Shave your Thingy!
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Wednesday, 26-February-2003 22:52:27 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Just a reminder that forum-goer Thingy is going to shave his head to help raise money for the Leukemia Foundation. If you'd like to get involved, jump in and sponsor him!
Forum Record!
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Wednesday, 26-February-2003 22:18:09 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Quick batman, to the forums! Only 4 away from the current record, 528 users. :) Be part of history!
Update: Most users ever online was 537 on 26th February 2003 at 10:19 PM.
Update 2: Most users ever online was 542 on 26th February 2003 at 10:51 PM.
Woohoo! :)
Some more info about those DNA Computers. This time, at National Geographic. Thanks alx-e and CerealKiller.
Heatseekerz have a guide to modding your machine with LEDs. They use an HX08 and show you how to drive the LEDs from your parallel port and control them with a small program you can write yourself.
Hammerman found some pics of some Opteron servers over at VR-Zone. 2 way and 4 way Opterons. Nice!
Jason from IBM pointed this article out to me. Multi-Core Multithreading is set to be implemented in the IBM Power5 CPU due for release next year.
Another article about EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) at ZDNet.
There is some pics and info about Abit's NV30 using OTESIII Technology over on Toms HArdware.
Reviews
FIC AU11 nForce2 Motherboard at VR-Zone
XFX GeForce 4 Ti 4200 8X AGP at VR-Zone
Chaintech Zenith 7NJS nForce 2 Motherboard at OCNZ
ABIT AT7-MAX2 KT400 Motherboard at OCAddiction
PURE Digital SonicXplosion DVD Sound Card at TechSpot
Abit BG7E i845GE Motherboard at Hot Hardware
Samsung Syncmaster 152T 15 inch LCD Monitor at Futurelooks
Speeze Easystream 2 CPU Cooler at R&B
NHL 2003 PC Game at 3DAvenue
Crucial PC2700 DDR333 Memory at TweakTown
Gyration Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse at VoidedWarranty
MSI Ti4800SE-VTD8X Video Card at AMDWorld
Tuesday Night
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Tuesday, 25-February-2003 20:40:13 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Intel and AMD have both cut CPU prices over the last few days, with discounts reaching as high as 21% for Intel and 31.8% for AMD.
Viperlair have been fiddling with fan speeds and voltages.. their article is about the simple "7 volt trick" to reduce fan noise.
Apparently Sun Microsystems is going to use AMD chips in their thin Blade server line: Sun will use the Athlon XP-M with processor speeds starting at 1.2GHz.
Sudhian wonder What drives your upgrades? in their latest editorial.
I think I missed this earlier, but AnandTech have posted their IDF Day 3 coverage, with some interesting up-and-coming goodies looked at.
From thetron, two LANs in Hervey Bay, QLD: There's a Overnighter Lan on Friday, starts @ 4pm, Venue is Pialba Neighbourhood Center. Netfest is on again, Very poor turn-out last event. Where: The Torquay Hotel, When: This Sunday from 8am-4pm.
Apparently there was a nanotechnology conference in the USA recently, and C|Net have some info from it.
Flash timewaster: Flash Flash Revolution, from Rage.
Interesting Forum Threads:
GF FX pushed back again in Video Cards
Are you ready.. for more? (ATI) in Video Cards.
Which intel board is comparable to nForce2? in Intel Hardware.
A few Prometia questions in Extreme Cooling.
Active Computer Speaker Systems - Comprehensive Listing in Audio Visual.
How does the preferences system work in elections? in Media & Current Events.
Switch off alternator for extra power? in Motoring.
Reviews:
Eyegonomic T17 TFT Monitor on Keptech.
Thermaltake VolcanoII Xaser Edition socket cooler on A1-Electronics.
Xaqua GF4 Water Block on PCAbusers.
RACHAL Computer Exhaust on TwistedMods.
Gladiator 2 and Dominator 2cu CPU coolers on LegitReviews.
The Australian Wireless Association are holding a field day. "There will be live demonstrations of a variety of equipment including VoIP hardware, locally setup WPOP's running the custom Debian based Wireless Distribution which has been designed for the network by the Routing Working Group. Other equipment on display will include a variety of antennae and other wireless hardware". Find out more here.
AcesHardware have mirrored a post from the Linux Kernel Mailing List in which Linus has a say about coding for the x86. Read the post here.
leperMessiah found an article on Business Week which said "Intel Corp., the dominant maker of processors for PCs, loosened its tight links with Microsoft and started making chips for Linux. This made it possible for corporations to get all the computing power they wanted at a fraction of the price". I just went back to finish reading it and the article seems to have been edited. I wonder why!
Planet Savage have a the Mini-ITX form factor with VIA's Epia M9000 and Lian-Li's PC-402A. Nice little PC.
Dan has had an idea. It's not a new idea, of course, and it's not a good one, either. But it sure sounds like fun. Make everyone who wants to use a computer take a license test.
Some more info about EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) and the plans to relace the current BIOS. Also, a new tool that lets users hide secret messages in almost any executable file. Thanks Nigel.
DVD+RW has been accepted as an official DVD Recording Standard. The DVD-RW people wont be happy.
wild has found a few interesting things on Akiba. The 3000+ barton CPU, some nVidia Quatro Graphics cards, and a USB powered toothbrush. For those long LANs.
Reviews
Logitech MXT700 Cordless Optical Mouse video review at 3dGameMan
Coolermaster ATC-220 ATX Case at 3dXtreme
Colorcases Mars-X Case at G3D
MSI GeForce4 Ti 4800-SE at Hexus
Coolercases Green Cold Cathode at WorldOC
Innovatek Acoustic Matting at PC-Arena
Seagate Barracuda SATA V hard drives in RAID at Club OC
ASUS P4G8X Deluxe & P4GE-V at VR Zone
Corsair TWINX512-3200LL Memory at 3DVelocity
Monday Night
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Monday, 24-February-2003 23:30:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Tech-Report have their take on the whole 3DMark03 controversy posted on their site.
Intel's Developer Forum is currently on, with coverage from HardWareZone and Sudhian.
ArsTechnica have an article about understanding Moore's Law.
Apparently the 4-digit ATM pin isn't as secure as you might think, thanks the1.
Interesting Forum Threads:
Futuremark answer some questions in General Software.
Sir Smokealot Mod in Modding & Electronics.
OCAU Wallpaper 1600x1200 in Graphics and Programming.
Reviews:
Belkin cordless keyboard and mouse on LANAddict.
60mm-80mm Fan Adapter on ExtensionTech.
Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 SATA RAID card on ClubOC.
Gainward GF4 Ultra/750-8X Ti4800 video card on NeoSeeker.
AMD AthlonXP 3000+ Barton-cored socketA CPU on HardwareAccelerated.
X-Pider Aluminium Case on OCClub.
Vantec CopperX cooler on ThinkTechie.
Swiss+Tech Util-Key 6-in-1 Keyring Tool on Bjorn3D.
ChromeII Pump and CrazyPC Radiator on IPKonfig.
Asus P4G8X Granite Bay-based P4 DDR motherboard on DebiantPC.
Leadtek K7NCR18G-Pro IGP nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on Tech-PC.
CoolerMaster Neon LED Fan on DVHardware.
Speeze 7T268B1M3 CoolCat CPU cooler on 8Balls.
ExtremeMHz have finished off their dual watercooled project.
More letters from Dan! Well, letters to Dan, really.
NVIDIA held a conference called "Dawn to Dusk", featuring their GeForce FX video chipset in Moscow recently. iXBT have their coverage posted.
MadShrimps (no idea) show how they installed the Koolance PC2-C watercooling kit into an Antec case.
DPReview have info on a new PC Card standard. NEWCARD incorporates stuff from USB2 and PCI-X, sounds pretty good.. thanks eDust.
Jono spotted this detailed nForce SoundStorm review.. our quicker look here.
Flash timewaster: Domo-Kun's Angry Smashfest from Chris.
Interesting Forum Threads:
Who else has a box of leftover parts in the corner? in Overclocking & Hardware.
TV fault diagnosis in Audio Visual.
Epox 8K3A+ and Leaky Capacitors (pics) in Overclocking & Hardware.
Serious Samurize in General Software.
CPU Guide: Overclocking and Cooling in Overclocking & Hardware.
Iinet Guide in Networking & Internet.
Reviews:
Zalman ZM80-HP video cooler on CaseJunkiez.
TwinMOS 7-in-1 USB card reader/writer on MikhailTech.
Creative Audigy Platinum 2 sound card on AusMusician.
Logitech Z-640 5.1 speakers on Virtual-Hideout.
HiPro Digital Thermometer on Digital-Explosion.
IBM / Hitachi 180GB DeskStar HDD on Digit-Life.
Samsung DVD-L100 Portable DVD Player on TweakNews.
Sunbeam CCFL Fans on BoogleTech, our review here.
Microsoft Bluetooth Wireless Mouse on HardCoreWare.
SunBeam UV-Sensitive Fans and Cold-Cathode Fan Grills on BurnOutPC.
120mm Aluminium Fan Filter Review.
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Sunday, 23-February-2003 17:34:17 (GMT +10) - by Sciby
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In my house dust gets everywhere - mostly up my nose - but most definitely into my PC. While I can't really filter my nostrils without some sort of kleenex-rubber band system, I can filter my PC intake fans. In the past, most fan filters have been pretty rubbish, but are these new aluminium mesh filters any good? Whitey Ford has reviewed a couple of them and gives us the lowdown...
Click for the article!
Intel may be taking a very long road for the production of 64-bit PC chips as reported on c|net @ News.com. Intel President Paul Otellini, said in an interview that Intel may not be compelled to produce a 64-bit desktop chip until 2008 or even 2009. This had something to do with lack of applications, existing circumstances in the memory market, and the inherent challenges in getting the industry and consumers to migrate to new chip. Great Read.
The Inquirer reports that the R350 will be named Radeon 9800 PRO with a non-pro version be released as well. The inquirer also reports that the fastest version Radeon 9800 PRO should be 40 percent faster than a Radeon 9700 PRO. Cards should hit the retail in April leaving Nvidia very little time to have the fastest product. Apparently the 9900 label will be reserved for 256Mb.
Also reported on the Inquirer is that Intel will be keeping Centrino branding to itself in its new mobile chips . Basically what this means is that unless a notebook uses the full Intel chipset and Pentium M processor combination, it can't be called Centrino.
ExtremeMhz have posted part 2 of their Dual Watercooled Systems article. Yum!
HardwareExtreme have a Palm PDA Roundup for you. Plenty to look at here.
Lots of mail over the last few days telling us that Samurize 0.8 is out. This is not a final version and there are still a few bugs to be sorted out, but it does mean that the final should be available soon. If, like me, you have been waiting months for this, then now is the time to head on over and have a play with the preview. For those who don't know, grum00 has this to say about Samurize. "It's a proggie you use to show info on the desktop. You configure it to show what you want. Can display a whole vareiety of things like drive usage, uploads, downloads, winamp song playing, cpu usage, mem usage etc etc. You can also use scripts to get info from some websites and display it. Therefore, you can get things like the current weather, sports scores etc. all on your desktop."
Australia is the eighth largest internet user in the world with 10.5 million people online, according to news.com.au. I wonder if that refers to the physical size of the users or the number of them! Thanks Liew.
DVDHardware have a guide to building a HDD selector switch for the dual boot people.
You can find some fantastic laser cut window mods over on Crazy PC. The detail in these things is excellent.
PCStats had a problem with one of their in-house machines lately. After taking the machine apart they discovered that they had been hit by the blown capacitor bug. They aren't the only ones though, as many people with boards from a variety of manufacturers have had the same problem over the last year or so. Cheap and nasty components.
There's a good article over at Sudhian about just why it is that so much of our time and PC resources are spent playing games. "...the alien might wonder in his massively-parallel enhanced-latency brain, "these people have enough intelligence to do something a bit more intellectually challenging with these primitive machines? No wonder their screen savers are all searching for intelligent life..."
More weird and wonderful things to do with a small form factor PC. Some of these are great.
Reviews
Corsair XMS DDR3500 Ram at BiT-Tech
Spire MicroFlow IIT & HDD Cooler Video Review at 3dGameMan
MSI K7N2 nForce2 motherboard at A1 Electronics
SanDisk ImageMate 6 in 1 Card Reader/Writer at Bjorn3d
ESens Optical Mouse at PCReview
NoiseControl Enermax EG365AX-VE PSU at WorldOverclockers
Gladiator 2 HSF at Liquid Ninjas
Plextor PX-W4012TS SCSI CD/RW at PCHardware
Beantech Igloo 3 Case at Nexus
Speeze Easy Stream II Heatsink at Furioustech
Soltek SL-75FRN-L nForce2 Motherboard at club OC
Abit KD7-RAID Motherboard at Digital-Daily
Samsung SM-348 CDRW-DVD Combo Drive at The Tech Zone
Friday Afternoon
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Friday, 21-February-2003 16:15:45 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Think we've got too many forums? Find it all too confusing? Gibbon has a cool idea for trimming down the number of forums you see when you enter the forums - good if you only hang out in a few, as I imagine most people do!
VR-Zone have some impressive Tbred overclocks posted in their database.
Paul spotted this console in a joystick thing from the good old days of monochrome graphics.
eDust reckons Intel want to get rid of BIOSes and replace them with EFI.. Extensible Firmware Interface. I remember a while ago people complaining that they could never have a truly open-source PC, because the BIOS is closed-source. Maybe this is the solution?
Also from eDust: An article here about the first Windows/Intel mobile phone. It uses Windows Smartphone 2002, running on an Intel PXA262 CPU. I can just imagine installing service packs on these. He also says PCI Express will replace AGP buses.
Dan's departed from tradition and played with some shiny things. Equally surprising, he's also replied to some letters.
Here's an awesome toaster PC from Sennan.
This German page has some benchmarks of Intel's upcoming P4 motherboard chipset Springdale with DDR400. You can work out what they mean from the graphs and it's pretty impressive.. they may be Intel-provided and pre-production though, so here's your grain of salt.
This sounds like a real pain in the neck from Nigel..
NVHardPage has been updated, for tweaking your NVIDIA video card and drivers.
From Iroquois: Barton v Hyper-Threading at linuxhardware. Print a document from your mobile! Mandrake 9.1 RC1 and Red Hat 8.1 Beta 3 available. Fad has some comments on 9.1 RC1: included in this release, and will be in 9.1, support for radeon laptop video cards, like the 7500 ive got, it works great.
Flash timewasters: toilet humour from reax and cable vs dsl from Ding.Chavez.
Interesting Forum Threads:
FAH Benchmark Top 100 List in Team OCAU.
Windows XP passwords rendered useless in Windows Operating Systems.
Funny education / medical quotes in The Pub.
Chilli lovers of Melbourne! in Geek Food.
1/16th Model Plane (amazing, but biggish pics in Other Toys.
Reviews:
Abit KD7 KT400-based socketA DDR motherboard on OCClubCanada.
Zalman ZM80A-HP video card cooler on ClubOC.
Asus CRW-52224A CDRW drive on HardwareFusion.
Crucial 512MB DDR333 memory on ClubOC.
OCZ Gladiator II cooler on ViperLair.
Thermaltake Volcano 11 cooler on LegionHardware.
Highpoint RocketRAID 1542 e.SATA/SATA HDD adapter (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Thermalright SLK900U quiet cooler on SilentPCReview.
Cooler Master IHC-L71 Heatpipe Cooler on HardCoreWare.
Sunbeam Rheobus II on MonkeyReview.
News Comments System
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Thursday, 20-February-2003 20:03:17 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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We now have a news comments system on OCAU. This lets people give feedback and opinions instantly about the various news postings on the front page of the site. You'll see that the title bar for this news post has a note indicating the number of comments about it. Clicking that will take you to a forum thread where you can make a comment about this news post if you feel like it. Each news post automatically has a comments thread created for it.
Please note that you must be a forum member to make comments on news, and those comments are not viewable from the main page of the site - only from within the forum system.
Many thanks to Panadol for making it all work! :)
BoPC have posted their review on the Radeon 9500 from BulletPC which has been modified to a 9700. Is it any good? Read here to find out.
Toms Hardware have a marathon CPU Benchmark article for you. Included are 65 CPUs from 100 MHz to 3066 MHz.
You will find a DIY Water Cooling Reservoir article over at IANAG.com. Or you could just do away with the reservoir completely.
Like to mod your case but don't have the tools. Madshrimps have some ideas using common kitchen knives. Adult supervision may be required. :)
While we're on the topic of case mods. I've seen a lot of cases, some good, some great. Even some that are just plain silly. I don't know what to think about this case. A robot! Thanks Jordan.
How about a window for your CD-Rom Drive, and some nice LEDs to match. The ModFathers show you how. Looks neat.
Andypoo found this in his wanderings. Drugs are bad, or so I'm told, but the "Kansas Department of Revenue" still want dealers to purchase tax stamps for their drugs. I can see it now, the mad rush of drug lords beating down the tax office doors, cash in hand.
Reviews
M-Systems DiskOnKey Flash Drives Video Review at 3dGameMan
Lamps Electronics Tricolor CCFL Kit + Sound Sensitive Module at 8BallsHardware
Cooler Master HAC-V81 at Adrian's Rojak Pot
Shuttle AK37GTR KT400 PC at AMDWorld
OCZ PC 3500 EL DDR at The Crucible
W-Force Superpanel Multi-Function Display at Modsynergy
Kingston PC 3500 DCDDR at Nexus
X-Trac HS mousepad at R&B
Albatron Medusa Ti4800SE Video Card at OcPrices
Tweakmonster EL Window Applique at Furioustech
Thursday Morning Take 2
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Thursday, 20-February-2003 03:52:42 (GMT +10) - by Mred32
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BiT-Tech have posted their report on day one of the Intel Developer Forum 2003. They question Intel CEO Craig Barrett on case modding.
A pen which remembers everything you write. The future of transistors. Quantum computing. DNA computing, and a credit card which also stores 5gb of data. These are some of the things you can read about on ZZZ #161.
ocelotx tells us that OCAddiction have taken a look at the fastest video card money can buy. The article has been /.ed so the site might be a bit up 'n down.
This from Jason. The recording industry in Australia are now targeting students and university computer systems in their crackdown on mp3 file swapping. "In the Federal Court in Sydney today, record companies will try to seize evidence of song swapping by students using the computer networks of the universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania". More info here.
Soltek have jumped onto the small form factor wagon with the release of their Soltek Qbic EQ2000 PC. Big things come in small packages.
SiliconAngel notes that Microsoft's new Bluetooth Wireless Desktop is starting to hit the shelves. And yes...shame about the price. Also, if you happen to have an unwanted Asus Cubx motherboard hanging around, drop a line here.
Thomas from accelenation has updated his video card history sheet with all the big hits and misses from 2002. Have a read and a look at the last 7 years of PC Graphics.
For the Sydney folk, the Hexidecimal LAN is happening on the 22nd of this month.
And from Sparksy, a funny/silly flash thing called Icon War. I giggled.
Reviews
Acoustipack Sound Reduction Material at A1 Electronics
Lindows OS 3.0 PC Operating System at MeetTheGeeks
Albatron Ti-4280PV GeForce 4 Ti4200 AGP 8X at OCNZ
Unreal II: The Awakening at ThinkTechie
Yamaha TSS-1 Sound System at Planet Savage
Tyan S2495 KT400 Motherboard at HotHardware
MSI K7N2G-ILSR nForce2 Motherboard at PCStats
Thermalright SLK-700 Socket-A Cooler at Viper Lair
Abit IT7 Max2 Rev 2.0 Motherboard at TweakTown
Mercury KOB N884L GeForce 4 MX440SE 64MB DDR Video Card at TweakersZone
Hellraiser's PC's..
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Thursday, 20-February-2003 02:42:29 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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A couple of interesting machines in Hellraiser's PCDB entry. A fan-overkill machine and this custom perspex case which looks great:
Click for the PCDB entry!
Early Thursday Morning
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Thursday, 20-February-2003 02:32:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Those crafty hax0rs have gotten more credit card numbers.. info here thanks Leo and here thanks Enfz.
Zeke sent in this interesting visual thesaurus.. the interface can be a bit overwhelming though, try looking up "take".
Here's a nice custom cube from bYrd, while Dunedain has a well-finished watercooled setup.
Sniper spotted some more KT400A info on TheInq. He also notes that Athlon64 has won an award before it's even been released.
Krypt0n spotted (on /.) this article about why nerds are unpopular. Jealousy, obviously. :)
This site is looking for beta testers of some new software to help organise, edit and publish photos from digicams. Check it out if you want a free copy of the program at the end!
Funny tech support humour site from Andrev.
Digit-Life have taken an in-depth look at the somewhat controversial NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra 128MB video card, their latest and greatest, which some feel isn't anywhere near as great as it should have been. Can't give you my opinion because we didn't get a review unit!
Meanwhile, their sister site X-bit Labs has looked into the effect of core temperature on P4 chips. P4's are meant to slow down when they heat up too much, but do they, and when?
le_foxx sent in an article about vendors turning GSM phones into walkie-talkies. The three, traditionally rivals in the GSM network space, are jointly defining technology specifications to enable "push to talk" on GSM networks with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) data extensions.
Chris sends word of a Gnome invasion in Blackwood, SA.
Slasdot had a thing a few days ago about the 25th Anniversary of the BBS. Funny, you can partly blame my addiction to BBS's about 10 years ago for bringing OCAU into existence in its current form.
Reviews:
Abit BE7-RAID i845PE-based P4 DDR motherboard on HardOCP.
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro video card on SLCentral.
KingWin KWI-450WABK PSU on ClubOC.
VIA EPIA M9000 mini-mobo and CPU on Hexus.
SkyHawk AL-4378D case on Monster-Hardware.
Philips DVDRW228 DVD+R/RW drive on DesignTechnica.
D-Link 2.4/5GHz Dual-Mode Wireless products on HardCoreWare.
OCZ EL-DDR PC3500 DDR SDRAM on Guru3D.
Gibboz Ghetto DivX Box
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Wednesday, 19-February-2003 18:03:39 (GMT +10) - by Mred32
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Some of the entries in our PCDB are works of art. Some of them just work. You decide which group this one belongs in. :)
Click for the PCDB entry
Adrian's Rojak Pot have updated their BIOS Optimization Guide yet again with 10 new BIOS options and 1 updated BIOS option.
PC-Reviews have an article which tells you how to safely remove the heatsink from your video card. I have seen images of GPUs ripped off the card so this might be worth a read.
TweakTown go on a Pentium 4 overclocking adventure, taking a 2.4GHz processor to its maximum with explanations along the way of clock speed increases and their effect on 3DMark2001SE scores.
You can find a small round up of five of the more popular KT400 based mainboards at OverclockerCafe.
Beyond3d have put some video cards through a 3DMark03 Performance Test. The cards used are all of ATI’s Radeon 9000 Series, a GeForce 4 Ti4200 and 4600 and Matrox’s Parhelia. Also, over on the [H], you can read ATI's official statement with regard to the release and use of 3DMark03. They like it.
Maximum Overdrive" is the title of this article on Wired. Its an interview with an overclocker and makes a good read if you're new to overclocking and want to know more. It's an electrical smell, a plastic smell, only there's something else," says John Sylvia, his mouth lost in a bushy beard and his arms tattooed to the knuckles. "There's a fear factor that goes along with the smell. You know something went bad" How many of us have experienced that smell?
From mickeylieu. "Visa and Mastercard have said the hacker could look at as many as 2.2 million accounts after breaching the security system of a company that processes credit card transactions on behalf of merchants". Time to double check your credit card statement. Read more here.
eDust found this. A coin operated mobile phone charger. I need one of these just for my wife!
Have a read of this Weblog. Larry Page, Google Co-Founder, President of Google Products, Computer Science Ph.D. and student "On Leave". There are all sorts of interesting and humorous bits 'n pieces.
Here is a little flash thingo for you. Its for those who have received their "Anti-Terrorist Kit". Its an important message from the Prime Minister.
On a more serious note, we have a thread in our forums in which you can read a letter from a lady who suffers from a debilitating illness called "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalopathy (CFS/ME)" and "Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)". I think most of you just went "what?" as I did when I first read that. The lady in question, Kelly, is asking for help to promote awareness of this illness. Please help me in my quest to raise awareness and understanding (and hopefully in the end, a CURE). I’m not asking for handouts, however the charitable institution, CFS/ME Victoria would quite welcome any tax-deductible donations. What I am asking is if anyone is willing to support the cause and hold fundraisers or promote the awareness of the illness in anyway?" A worthy cause to help raise your karma levels.
Reviews
Albatron Geforce 4 Ti4680P Turbo at MonkeyReview
Lamps Yellow CCFL Fan Grill at ExtensionTech
IOGear's MiniView III USB KVM at Sudhian
256MB Flash Drive USB Pen at The Tech Zone
Logitech Z-640 5.1 Computer Speaker System at Tweaknews
Sony Clié PEG-NZ90 PDA at HardwareZone
OCAU is #1... and #8 :)
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Tuesday, 18-February-2003 14:51:21 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Each quarter, Hitwise ranks the Top10 websites according to user visits, across each of the 150+ categories and certifies the achievement of each site that has qualified with a Hitwise Top10 Award logo.
Hitwise is pleased to announce that www.overclockers.com.au recently ranked No. 1 in the Computers and Internet - Hardware category.
Hitwise is pleased to announce that pcdb.overclockers.com.au recently ranked No. 8 in the Computers and Internet - Hardware category.
This means we've been in the #1 position for 12 months running now. Congrats and thanks, guys!
The U.S. government has told America's patriotic hackers to leave Iraq alone. Hacking is usually illegal, even when its hacking the enemy. Thanks for the link alx-e.
Digit-Life have posted their January 2003 Issue of 3Digest, the biggest monthly video comparison around.
X-bit labs have a Quad Band Memory Technology article where they play with some ram from Kentron.
You can find a guide to building a home system over at ASE Labs.
DataFuse.net are already having a cry about the state of the computer/technology scene in 2003. Read about it here.
Use your excess ear wax as an innovative way to reduce friction between mouse and pad!!! Well, not quite, but over on Mikhailtech, they review some Mouse Wax.
Is your start menu a bit slow on your W2K or Win Xp OS? Have a read on VoidedWarranty. A registry tweak to speed it up.
VR-Zone managed to catch up with Matt Dunford, Intel Client Performance Manager, and get him to share with us some of his views on the much debated 3DMark2003. Read it here.
These bits from Iroquois. Boeing plan to offer net access in their aircraft for the ultimate in wireless networking. Also, Symantec claim they knew about the Slammer Worm before anyone else, but failed to let the world know. Well done guys!
eDust found this article about using bacteria to store information. Computers of the future may very well be alive and kicking...or sliding around. More can be read about it at New Scientist.
Reviews
Corsair (2x256) PC-3200LL Dual Channel Kit Video Review at 3dGameMan
TwinMOS GoGo Egg Card Reader at Digit-Life
Transcend JetFlash Thumb-Drive at Spode's Abode
Sunbeam Tech Green Lazer LED at ExtensionTech
ABIT KD-7 Motherboard at athlonxp.com
Spire HD05040B FlowCooler at IANAG
Gainward GeForce4 PowerPack! Pro/600-8X XP Golden Sample at Planet Savage
CoolerMaster Aluminium Mouse Pad at DVH
Western Digital WD800JB HDD at WinHQ
EliteCool Pre-Lapped SLK 800 Heatsink at Nexus
Sunbeam round cold cathode fan at R&B
Cooler Master ATC-220B VX1 at Viper Lair
YOPER Operating System
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Tuesday, 18-February-2003 13:05:57 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Iroquois, submitter of large chunks of news text, has sent in a quick look at the YOPER Linux distribution. Check out his thoughts with screenshots etc:
Click for the article!
Monday Night
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Monday, 17-February-2003 21:36:09 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Unfortunately Realtime Systems, long-time supporter of OCAU, have decided to shift their focus away from Corsair memory and other PC goodies. I'm sure the whole community thanks you for your dedication over the years, Jim.. good luck with your future endeavours!
Sudhian have an nForce2 motherboard roundup posted, while NeoSeeker checked out a few GF4 Ti4200 video cards and OCIA compared some socket478 coolers.
PC-Reviews have a P4 voltmod for you.
From z3us: Amazing drivers for all emu10k-based cards. ~2mb with huge amounts of features.
HWZ have been VapoChilling a Barton, as you do.
DVHardware have a guide to making UV Reactive fans.
MonkeyReview have coverage of the Chaintech Evolution Event from a few days ago.
Interesting Forum Threads:
3DMark 2003 trickery? in Video Cards.
Learning PHP in Graphics and Programming.
Downpipe Waveguides in Networking and Internet.
4 drives in RAID-0 on a 2-channel controller? in Storage and Backup.
Poll: Most important hardware development for 2003 in Overclocking and Hardware.
Why do you lift weights? in Sport, Fitness and Health.
Wooden Case #1 in Modding & Electronics.
Wooden Case #2 in Modding & Electronics.
Reviews:
MSI Ti4600 8X video card on ClubOC.
Koolance PC2-601 watercooling kit on Bit-Tech.
OCS Enhanced Radeon 9700 Level III SE video card on OCAddiction.
PCXmods X-Trac Eels teflon tape for mouse feeties on ExtensionTech.
Geil PC3200 Dual DDR memory kit on PimpRig.
MSI GNB Max Granite Bay based P4 DDR motherboard on LegionHardware.
Serial ATA Converter on ExtremeMHz.
Compaq EVO N1015v notebook on HWZ.
EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on Bjorn3D.
MSI VT2D8X GeForce4 Ti 4600 AGP8X on HotHardware.
Xoxide X450 Aluminium Midtower case on Virtual-Hideout.
search.overclockers.com.au
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Monday, 17-February-2003 16:50:22 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Something a little silly today - thetron made up a search engine for OCAU, powered by Google. I thought it was pretty funny so made it our official search page:
http://search.overclockers.com.au/
Now we just need to work out why our recent articles don't appear in the Google search index..
The start of a new working week. Here is the news...
aXis has built himself a 2.4GHz (wifi) slotted waveguide from a piece of downpipe. For a grand total of $7-, this thing works well.
DV Hardware's first how-to guide is about cheap teflon tapes for your mousefeets. They must be starting with the easy stuff before working their way up. :)
Rage found an interesting looking case with the PSU on the bottom. Here is another view of it at the Akiba site.
If you haven't heard of The Penny Black project before, it's Microsoft's attempt at cutting the amount of spam by making the sender pay for the email they send. It has some merit and although any real implementation is still some way off, it is the kind of scheme that governments around the world are looking into to help stem the spam flood. Link supplied by leperMessiah.
A couple of pieces from nEoLIthIc. Star Wars fans are trying to get the original trilogy released on DVD. Also, some dates and details about the release of GTA Vice City for PC.
Madshrimps have finished a flashy and effective mod of a Lian-Li case. They call it Project LiquidLi.
Rodney took some photos of the Sydney Anti-War protest. They can be found here, and Michael found this picture of ATI's R350.
Viper Lair have a good read, all about the state of review sites on the net. "Basically, smaller websites, in order to gather more review samples, are often subject to manufacturer arm twisting to print up a "nice" review, mentioning (or fabricating) the strengths, and ignoring the weaknesses. Trust me, you can spot these reviews a mile away. The problem is, people are reading them, clicking on sponsor links, driving traffic up. The sponsors, as ecstatic as they could be, fire more stuff off to the tech site. Wash, rinse, repeat".
Spode recently checked out the Sun Microsystems developers conference and wants to let us all know what went on.
Johnnie5 found a useful program. Its called WebReaper. "WebReaper is web crawler or spider, which can work its way through a website, downloading pages, pictures and objects that it finds so that they can be viewed locally, without needing to be connected to the internet".
Steve sent this link in. A serious but simple security flaw in WindowsXP that allows people with physical access to the PC, to bypass the password protection.
If everyone lived a lifestyle like mine, we would need 5.1 planet Earths to live on. That's the report from a quiz that Lil found. Have a go and see how wasteful you are.
s3tTz noticed that the internet is soon to have an appointed Patron Saint. A CyberSaint!
Reviews
ABIT KT400 Motherboard at AthlonXP.com
Compaq Evo N1015v Notebook at Amdmb
Compaq Presario 900 Notebook at X-bit labs
X-Trac Pro HS Optical Mouse Pad at Modsynergy
Palit Daytona GeForce4 Ti4200-8X at Planet Savage
Zalman VGA Heatpipe Cooler at TweakTown
NBA Live 2003 at Planet Savage
Trek 16Mb Thumbdrive at BoPC
Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 Motherboard at 8Balls
Just back from the Sydney protest. Took lots of pics! Anyone one else take pics? If so email me them please!
Stalking just got a little more freakier with the aid of GPS and mobile technology.
You could soon be checking your mail whilst climbing Everest with the plans for the world's highest netcafe.
It appears that the online mag Salon may be closing down. /me wonders about my subscription.
Kevin Mitnick, got his corporate website hacked by someone called Bugbear. It appears his problem was that he was using IIS. :P
The brilliant cartoon, The Simpsons, have hit their 300th episode. Despite it's "ups and downs" it's still 13 years of hilarious genius. * I am evil Homer!* *I am evil Homer!*
Břrk! Břrk!
CyberCPU have done a comparison of hard drive performance using a serial ATA adapter that you might want to check out. The results are not surprising but they did reveal some interesting points.
Nigel from Customtech Computers says he has found a bug in 3DMark03 that will open the gates for the cheats. Try it for yourself. It works.
The people at Modfathers have a series of "mods for beginners". This time they make a few simple changes to a USB and Hard Drive caddy to make it into a cool looking feature.
Sudhian have a great new article where they tell us how to mod our wives and girlfriends for better compatibility. Its dated February 14th, 2003. :)
leperMessiah sent this one in. The makers of the Opera web browser have hit back at Microsoft after having been hit themselves. "Users accessing the MSN site will see the page transformed into the language of the famous Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show: Bork, Bork, Bork!" hehe. leperMessiah also notes that in the UK, more than 390,000 people claim to follow the Way of the Jedi. Read it here. What next, The way of the Teletubbie?.
From New Scientist, "THE broadband Internet revolution may be coming to Australian homes much sooner than expected thanks, ironically, to third-generation mobile phone technology". Read more here.
Many more letters answered by Dan.
Reviews
AMD AthlonXP 3000+ Barton CPU at PCStats
Asus A7N8X nForce2-SPP Motherboard at PCStats
Combat Flight Sim 3: Battle for Europe at 3DAvenue
ThermalTake Aquarius II Watercooling Kit at PC-Arena
Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro 2 at Virtual-Underground
Plextor 24/10/24U USB2 External CD-RW Drive Video Review at 3dGameMan
Vantec Fan controller at R&B
SunBeamTech Rheobus Kit 2 at SubZeroTech
"How To Host A LAN Party", thats the theme of a new article over at LAN Addict. I would suggest lots of pizza and softdrink, a few beers, driver disks, an empty hard drive, oh...and a few computers wouldn't go astray.
There is an upcoming motherboard from Abit, the ABIT BH7 board made for overclockers. You can read more about it at VR-Zone.
LiamC has posted a piece about Barton and how it fits into AMD's roadmap. He makes a few good point in this article.
If you liked the look of the Glowy Spinny Thing that Sabretooth reviewed the other day, then you will like the look of these Glowy Spinny Things. Mmmm...more lights.
"Draw images and show ya mates" is what Haroc had to say about this site. A virtual whiteboard.
Agg mentioned that Kazaa 2.1 is out now. BasS-InJecTeD has let us know that KazaaLite 2.0.2 is out now, just the same as Kazaa except minus all of Kazaa's adware and spyware.
NVIDIA has released their latest drivers, version 42.68 for all 3DMark03 testing and benchmarking. This is an optimized driver release for 3DMark03, although I couldn't find any mention of them on the nVidia website. Some people are claiming a score increase of as much as 200 points. You can download the driver from HardwareExtreme.com.
Modtown have a preview of the Nintendo Gameboy Advance SP. If you are a console fan, this one looks sweet.
Nigel tells us that Blu-ray is on the way. If you haven't been following the development of this new technology, here is a glimpse. "The Blu-ray Disc enables the recording, rewriting and play back of up to 27 gigabytes (GB) of data on a single sided single layer 12cm CD/DVD size disc using a 405nm blue-violet laser". More info can be found here.
Now I know what I want as my next hobby! Remote controlled battleships. We have all seen those little boats getting around the local park pond, but this adds a new dimension to the fun. "These vessels engage each other in combat on ponds across Australia, endeavoring to punch holes in each others hull with their cannon until one of the vessels sinks or flees. Yes, the cannon really do fire, the vessels really do take damage and sink". Have a look here and see for yourself. Thanks K@OS.
Flash time waster for today is GridLock. I got stuck in this one for a while, but only made it to level 16 before I bailed.
Reviews
Crucial PC2700 512MB DIMM at BiT-Tech
Albatron GeForce 4 Ti4800-8x Medusa at Club Overclocker
ECS Desknote i-Buddie XP Portable PC at Digit-Life
Seagate Barracuda ATA V with Serial ATA interface at Digit-Life
GlobalWin CAK4-88T Heatsink and Fan w/LED at GamersHell
Gigabyte MAYA II GV-R9500 Pro 128MB at HWZ
MSI 648 Max (SiS 648) Motherboard at HWZ
CoolMax Scorpio Internal Round IDE Cable at Modsynergy
OCZ 512MB (2x256) PC-3200 Dual Channel Memory Kit Video Review at 3dGameMan
IDE to Serial ATA Converter at Club Overclocker
Spire 3A16S2 chipset Cooler at CyberCPU
Tweakmonster BGA RAMsinks at OCC
Vantec NXP-201 Fan Controller at Inside-hardware
X-Arcade PC Gaming Controller at OCAddiction
Zalman's ZM80A-HP passive GPU cooler at The Tech Report
Site Issues..
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Saturday, 15-February-2003 01:34:41 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Had some server problems over the last couple of hours.. fixed now!
Friday Afternoon
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Friday, 14-February-2003 14:04:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Thinking of building a watercooled system? Check out these recent PCDB entries for some inspiration: one_nil, Duallayerformat, ukei and Steveman09.
Ma Baker says you should shave your thingy. Or at least, help Thingy shave himself. Go on, it's for charity. :)
Kazaa 2.1 is now out, thanks Comit. This download includes additional applications that are bundled within the software's installer file, some of which may be provided by parties other than the developer of this download. These applications may deliver advertisements, collect information, overlay content or graphics on the Web site you are viewing, or modify your system settings.
Digit-Life compared a few barebones systems from various manufacturers.
HardwareAccelerated have turned their hand to financial analysis, with info from a conference call with NVIDIA about their financial results and other market info.
MadShrimps compared five IDE HDD's at the top end of the market.
Xbit have a memory market overview for Feb 03.
2CPU have a video card roundup posted. Furthermore, we will hit you with a smorgasbord of benchmarks on both a dual Athlon MP system and a dual Xeon workstation.
Dan has yet more letters. The mind boggles.
Apparently Kevin Mitnick, the world's most infamous hacker, (yawn) has been hacked recently. Twice.
Cyeca spotted this assistance page for various Microsoft products.. including columns written by "Crabby Office Lady", riiight.
MaximumOC have some voltage mods for Ti4200 and Ti4600 video cards.
OCWareHouse made a blowhole Woo hoo. Actually, I remember my first blow-hole.. heh. Not a bad first-time mod for someone wanting to start hacking away at their case.
Sabz found this crazy pencil modding site. Insane! Someone has way too much time on their hands.
Funny 404 Page from The PooBaa.
Reviews:
AcoustiPack Case Damping Kit on SilentPCReview.
Plextor 40/12/40S SCSI burner on CDFreaks.
PCCG Dual Cold Cathode Fan Grill on FragWare.
Sunbeam Laser LED's on BurnOutPC.
Asus GeForce4 MX V9180 video card on Digital-Daily.
Spire FalconRock II socketA cooler on TechSeekers.
ProLink PlayTV Box TV-to-Monitor adapter on OCOnline.
Beantech Igloo 2 ally case on CyberCPU.
Computer Exhaust System RACHAL on ViperLair.
PCToys NB MAXX NorthBridge cooler on OCModShop.
EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on TechSeekers.
MSI K7N2G-L and ISLR nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboards on 3DVelocity.
Albatron Ti4680 video card on Bit-Tech.
AMD AthlonXP 3000+ Barton-cored socketA CPU on A1-Electronics.
Sunbeam UV CCFL Fans on MonkeyReview.
Lightning Shots..
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Friday, 14-February-2003 14:02:42 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Totally off-topic, but what the hell, it's Friday.
 
 
Click pics to enlarge!
From Sam: These shots were taken a few weeks ago in Australind WA (A couple of hours drive form Perth) I took them with a Samsung Digimax 350SE. It was on a timer to take a photo every 1~ second or so. I was actually pretty lucky to get these shots because a few minutes after these were taken, the storm stopped. Out of the 200-300ish shots i took, these are the best 4.
3DMark03 Rumblings..
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Friday, 14-February-2003 13:32:18 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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There's something of a furor surrounding 3DMark03, the latest version of this popular 3D benchmarking tool released a few days ago. In case you missed it, we have a mirror of the (184MB!) install file here. A lot of people are questioning the rendering methods used in the benchmark and the huge disparity between results shown by, well, anything vs the Radeon 9700. Most of the reviews have a strong questioning of the relevance of this benchmark, particularly for comparing how different video chipsets handle the kind of work they'll need to do in actual games. NVIDIA have even gone so far as to say they don't consider it a valid benchmark, which is a big change from their previous support of 3DMark2001. 3DMark03 combines custom artwork with a custom rendering engine that creates a set of demo scenes that, while pretty, have very little to do with actual games. It is much better termed a demo than a benchmark.
Anyhoo, reviews on Tech-Report, THG (thanks Dave), Bit-Tech, ExplosiveLabs and HardWareMania (with ATI Catalyst 3.1 drivers). Scroll down for some further comments on HotHardware's news page. HardOCP have an interesting take on the whole shebang, which is rebutted in this editorial on Bit-Tech.
What's my take on it all? Will we use 3DMark03 in our reviews? Of course. We'll also use 3DMark2001SE-330, Quake3 timedemos, benchmarks in current games and whatever else looks like an interesting way to test cards. If one benchmark seems to look way off the curve in terms of results, then we'll note that in the review. I think using any one benchmark in isolation is a pretty bad idea regardless. Also, 3DMark03 is still a serious workout for any system, so where we're not directly comparing video cards (say, a motherboard comparison using the same video card) it'll be a definite addition to our benchmark suite.
Schrambo found this piece of worrying news on the Symantec site. The guy who wrote the bugbear virus is working on another, trickier version along the lines of a megaworm. Great :(
GideonTech has another guide for you. This time it's how to hook up a Remote to start up your computer.
OCAddiction have got a Pentium P4 and an AthlonXP, both clocked identically at 2.4Ghz, and pitted them against one another. "Performance ratings be damned, we want to see which one is faster when they are clocked the same. With both set at 18x133 (2.4Ghz) we turned them loose in today’s most popular CPU benchmarks to see which would come out on top".
Now that you have all downloaded 3DMark03 from gamearena or AusGamers, you can go and read some other reviews and info about it at XBit Labs or BurnOut PC or Hothardware or Overclockers.com. We even have a thread about it in the forums here.
The Modfathers show you how to add a second PSU to your system.
Worlok found this guide to watercooling your ... umm ... mouse and keyboard!
More letters answered by Dan. While you're there you can check out his review of Creative's MuVo MP3 Player.
Those clever (but sometimes unlucky) people at NASA have released a picture of the universe when it was a baby. They have precisely dated the universe at 13.7 billion years old. There is also some info on CNN.
GotApex put some Dual Channel DDR266 through its paces on a Granite Bay motherboard.
It looks like the designers and engineers at AMD actually have a sense of humor if this site is to be believed. A microscopic swipe at Intel. Thanks Xin.
Danger Den puts some watercooling goodness to the test. "Not a low price but a high quality , that is the sum of all in this test of MAZE3, BlackiceExtreme, Z-Block, GF4 block and more, don't miss this one i had so much fun to do this test".
And a cute little flash game called ... well I think its called Get Chicken. Thanks Gregg.
Reviews
Chill-Tek Next-Cool Watercube WaterBlock at Bit-Tech
Abit BG7E 845GE Motherboard at Accelenation
Antec LANBOY Case at The Tech Zone
Brother HL-1850 Laser Printer at Bjorn3D
Compex PS2216 Switch at Techware Labs
Enermax CS-3181L Rainbow Light LCD Black Case at 3dXtreme
JPI Performance XLR120 Radiator w/Scoop at ExplosiveLabs
Matrix Orbital MX212 USB LCD at Hexus
Matrix Orbital MX212 USB LCD at PC-Arena
MSI Ti4600 8X at Nexus hardware
Logitech MX-700 Cordless Mouse at PimpRig
Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 motherboard at R&B
Custom Case 16x2 LCD at Modders Au
Xoxide Spider-X Case at SubZeroTech
Samsung SW-240 CD-RW Drive at HardwareExtreme
Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9700 & Radeon 9700 Pro Ultimate Edition at Digit-Life
Soltek 75FRN-L nForce 2 Motherboard at Overclockers NZ
30,000 members in Forums!
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Wednesday, 12-February-2003 23:59:10 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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A very special welcome to duck_boy, who is registered member number 30,000 in the OCAU Forums. :)
8BallsHardware have a DIY guide to Rounded IDE Cables. A cheap way to neaten up that tangle in your case. If I can do it, anyone can.
Andrew Balsa has some info and screenshots showing what the Linux desktop will look like on Athlon/64. "That´s my on-going review of the Mandrake Linux 9.1 pre-release series,with a ton of screenshots".
Starfury has written a mini review of the latest Battlefield 1942 add-on, "Road To Rome". Read it here.
You can find an review (in English) of the new "Unreal II:The Awakening" over at teccentral.de.
HEXUS have posted a mammoth 20 page review of ATI's All In Wonder range of graphics cards and discuss the technology behind them. They put the ATI Radeon 9000 Pro All In Wonder to the test.
Waratt has some good and not so good news for us. "WD company unleashes its new hard disk drive called WD Raptor. More importantly, the novelty with 10 000rpm motor is not intended for customers, but for enterprises at this point, hence, none of your 10 000rpm dreams will come alive today". More info on the drives from WD here.
If your the sort who loves to mod your case...fans, neons, perspex, and all the flash bits, you probably should not read this thread from Jesse. It seems some people just don't get it. :)
We have mentioned this before but destructy sent the link in again. The BMW company have a series of clever video ads that you can now order on DVD. Have a look at their site.
HWZ have a posted a preview of new Nokia N-Gage mobile game deck. Nokia did a showcase of this unit in Sydney and HWZ were there to see it.
SFF Tech have posted part #4 of their Shuttle XPC & Linux Revolution article. This time the topic is Windows Under Linux.
Rowan found an article on PCWorld showing a credit card sized HDD that can hold up to 5GB. Just don't sit down with it in your wallet!
An interesting item sent in by TheHippo. Universities are having trouble attracting IT students. "Student demand to take up IT degrees this year has dropped as much as 30 per cent at some universities". Full article on news.com.au.
ZZZ time again. Number 160 is here.
Seeing as the World Cup is on, todays flash game is Last Man Standing. Thanks Pasan.
Reviews
Thermaltake Volcano 9 Coolmod at BiT-Tech
Belkin USB 8-in-1 Media Reader/Writer Video Review at 3dGameMan
Vantec Aeroflow VP4-C7040 heatsink at A1E
Plextor PX-W4012TS and PX-S2410T CD-RW at CDRInfo
New Motion Muzic AERA at Bjorn3D
Trust 632AV Lcd Power Camera at BurnOutPC
The Log Cabin Mini-ITX PC at ExtensionTech
Philips DesXcape Tablet PC at Designtechnica
Tyan Trinity 510 P4X266 Motherboard at OverclockedCafe
Coolsonic CS1662K Copper Skived Heatsink at FrostyTech
Arrgo 52x24x52x CD-RW at HWZ
Abit NF7-S Motherboard at PC Hardware
Belkin OmniView 4-port KVM/audio/USB/PS2 Switch at PCStats
PCChips M847LU SiS 746 + Xabre 200 Mobo at Techware Labs
Superflower 320w power supply at R&B
Aluminum Frame Case Fan at Geekshelter
Altec Lansing AHP10 Headphone at The Tech Zone
Antec Lifestyle Series Sonata Case at SilentPCReview
Asus Geforce 4 Ti4400 V8440 at Viper Lair
MSI Metis 266 SFF Small Form Factor PC at Viper Lair
3DMark03 now available!
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Wednesday, 12-February-2003 13:02:43 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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That's right, the latest incarnation of this popular 3D benchmark has been released. It's a whopping 185MB download!
Telstra users will want to download it here from GameArena. AusGamers have a mirror here.
If you'd like to post what score you achieved, please do so in this thread. General discussion about the relevance, features and appearance etc of 3DMark03 should go in here - thanks!
Klipsch Promedia 2.1 Speakers
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Tuesday, 11-February-2003 23:35:09 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Noah checked out this computer speaker system from a manufacturer more famous in the hi-fi and professional speaker arena..
Click for the review!
Brisbane Motor Show 2003 Pictures
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Tuesday, 11-February-2003 17:36:28 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Narkov wandered down to the Motor Show in Brisbane on the weekend and sent along about 100 photos which we've hosted on our server. Check them out here.
Click for the pictures!
There's a thread discussing them here in our Motoring forum.
Tuesday Afternoon
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Tuesday, 11-February-2003 14:22:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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More GeForceFX Ultra confusion.. there's a review on c|net I think we missed, but this site says the GeForceFX Ultra probably won't even make it to retail shelves in any volume. Digit-Life have some info on Chaintech's non-Ultra (I assume) card. HardwareAccelerated have a look back at the GFFX so far.
AMD now have a product info page about their Athlon XP 3000+ Barton-cored CPU. More reviews: Digit-Life, HardOCP, Hexus, PCWorld, motherboards.org, 3DVelocity, LostCircuits, HardwareReview and AMDZone.
People suffering with pair gain (and hence no broadband) will be pleased to hear this news, thanks Sabz.
There's a new virus out! Sounds nasty. :)
VIA and SiS are apparently happy about Athlon64 delays, thanks Timbot.
ATI have paid $8M USD to shareholders, settling a class action lawsuit.
ATI's Catalyst 3.1 drivers are out now, thanks Anthony, who says: I noticed improvement in both visual quality and performance. There's some release notes here.
Reviews:
YUAN XpertVision R9000 and R9700 video cards on Digit-Life.
Radeon 9700 Pro video card on OCProjects.
Logitech MX700 Wireless Optical mouse on LANAddict.
Antec LANBOY case on Bjorn3D.
Seagate Cheeta 10K.6 SCSI HDD on MBReview.
Glowy Spinny Thing!
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Tuesday, 11-February-2003 01:39:06 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Sabretooth checked out this new cold-cathode fan. It spins and it glows, what more could you ask for?
Click for the review!
Monday Night
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Monday, 10-February-2003 20:31:35 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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XP3000+ Barton stragglers: DeviantPC, SimHQ and AnandTech. Official word from AMD here.
Apparently WD have a 10,000rpm desktop HDD on the way, thanks Waratt.
EnvyNews checked out the SMC 22Mbps Wireless Broadband Router and a Logitech Cordless Optical Trackman trackball.
It's a tight fit for the twin heatsinks in this system from Cozzmo.
Interesting Forum Threads:
READ ME: Trading on OCAU in For Sale.
Best fake I've ever seen (Radeon 9900 Pro AIW) in Video Cards.
Is a sunroof a good idea? in Motoring.
Poll: Have you prepared for terrorist attacks? in Media & Current Events.
Lapping comes out very dull finish? in Overclocking & Hardware.
Built a ghetto shroud for my radiator (pics) in Extreme Cooling.
Green mouse mod in Modding & Electronics.
Wooden Boxen (updated) in Modding & Electronics.
Help choosing a new P4 motherboard in Intel Hardware.
Barton reviews are up! in AMD Hardware.
Random pics..
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Monday, 10-February-2003 19:57:11 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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A couple of funny things. Lil sent in the one on the left, titled "Australian Palmpilot". Boney sent in the one on the right, mirrored from here - CNN making an interesting comment about the Space Shuttle's abilities..
 
Click each image to enlarge..
AMD's Barton Core Athlon XP 3000+ CPU Released
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Monday, 10-February-2003 19:38:26 (GMT +10) - by Mred32
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The waiting is almost over. AMD's new CPU, the Barton core, has been released with a PR rating of 3000+, and a true speed of 2,167MHz. After several delays and refinements, then more delays, those of you with a few spare dollars will be able to rush out and buy one in the near future. Was it worth the wait? Can the Barton hold its own next to the P4 3.06 GHz? The first batch of reviews are finally in and from what I have read, there have been mixed reactions. Here they are.
Barton Core Athlon XP 3000+ CPU Reviews at BiT-Tech, AMD World, X-bit labs, Aceshardware, HotHardware, HWZ, Sudhian, AMDMB, TTR.
Adrian's Rojak Pot have added another 12 new BIOS options and 5 updated BIOS to the BIOS Optimization Guide. There is over 155 BIOS option listed now.
Another LAN is in the works for those in Melbourne. The MR LAN event is on the 22nd/23rd February. Full details and rego here.
Dan has put up another letters column. Find it here.
EliteCool have a video guide to applying Arctic Silver to a socket A CPU.
I you feel that your Radeon 9700 is still to Slow, how about four of them on the one card. I wonder what these retail for?
At MHW there is an article all about STDS (Sudden Tbred Death Syndrome). It is a technical piece that tries to explain just why CPUs sometimes die when overclocking and overvolting. Does that really need much explaining?
ModSynergy have reviewed the Mouse Bungee. We have our own review of it here. All sorts of images pop into my mind every time I read "Mouse Bungee". Weird!
Have you worked out where you will put your new fridge magnet? Correct placement is vital. And don't forget to keep all the other useful information from your anti-terrorism kit close to hand. Thanks for the link Tron.
The Linux on iPod page link was sent to me from Migishu. All the info you want is here.
Thats about all for the moment, here are some reviews.
Reviews
YUAN XpertVision RADEON 9000 64MB at Digit-Life
Vantec AeroFlow Vp4-c7040 at BoPC
Thermaltake Hardcano 8 VR at Hardcoreware
Vantec Nexus Fan Controller at Hexus
Intel D845PEBT2 Motherboard at Hexus
Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200-8X at Mikhailtech
Zalman Heatpipe GPU Cooler at IANAG
Zalman Heatpipe GPU Cooler at OCtools
Zalman Heatpipe GPU Cooler at Nexus
Thermalright SLK 900 at Nexus
Abit NF7-S nVidia nForce II Motherboard at DigitalDaily
Just a short news update for you, as it is so hot in here that I'm starting to melt.
Voided Warranty have a small article about a registry hack for changing the owner of your computer. Article here. (Yes, I know.)
TweakTown have a Tweaking Win XP article. From basic tweaks to some not so basic. Worth a read.
There has been a rush of these articles lately. This time ClubOC have an XP2400+ Overclocking article for you. These things do seem to be the next "Great Overclocker".
Weq sent this link in. For those of you on Data limited broadband plans like me, 3Gb, 6Gb or 12Gb per month is sometimes difficult to maintain but we manage. These people in the UK are getting very upset because their ISP has introduced a cap of ... 1Gb per Day!!!
The next Lanstock Lan is open for rego's. Fun, prizes and giveaways is the order of the day. Go register now. Thanks XiTatiON.
Hardware Accelerated take a look at the GeForce FX and its performance and market placement.
Virtual-Underground want to show you how to make a quiet PC.
There have been quite a few new entries in our PC Database of late. Some of them have had a heap of effort put into their creation. Click here for all the latest entries.
Reviews
MP3i Creator at KepTech
Xoxide Black Hawk Case at GamersHell
PalmOS 5.0 Based Palm Tungsten at Digit-Life
Antec Hard Drive Cooling System at TweakTown
Xoxide 120mm LED Fans & Laser-Cut Fan Grills at PimpRig
BiT-news have posted part #2 of their Prometeia review. This is the bare caseless unit that has drained more than a couple of wallets. "The cooling performance of the Prometeia is truly phenomenal, it is definitely the best everyday cooling solution available".
Also, X-bit labs have posted part #2 of their Thermaltake HardCano HDD Cooler review.
Here is an interesting article sent in by leroyputz. "It is a $4.5 million project to provide free, recycled computers to every residence in inner-Melbourne's Atherton Gardens estate". Full article here.
IBM plan to build another mammoth server utilizing 64 of their new Power5 processors. The new machine will be called Armada.
I guess it was bound to happen eventually, Linux on iPod. An Australian programmer has managed to get a cut down version of Linux to load and run on his iPod. It is still in the early stages but does look promising. Link by Soandso.
A short flash animation for the Linux lovers and loathers alike. It made me laugh.
SnowSurfer thinks he has found a better anti-spyware tool than Ad-aware. Its called Spybot and its free. I am yet to give it a try, but I will.
Todays flash time-waster is Reflections. How many levels can you get through?
Reviews
Soyo P4I 845PE I845PE Motherboard at OCNZ
Sunbeam EL Strip at Dvhardware
Seagate Serial ATA 120GB 7,200rpm Hard Disk at LAN Addict
AthlonXP 2600+ 333Mhz FSB CPU at OCAddiction
Chaintech GeForce4 Ti-4200 8x at OCC
Chaintech 9EJS1 ZENITH 845PE at Viper Lair
Thermaltake Smart Fan 2 at Viper Lair
VLSystem L.I.S Blue Platinum LCD at VH
Late Saturday Night
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Sunday, 9-February-2003 00:50:31 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Sudhian have an editorial where they claim if you're not running a dual system, you're not really a hardware enthusiast. After reading this many of you will go on continuing to call yourself a hardware enthusiast, but you are not. Well gee, I spose I'd better shut the website down then. Oh, but wait, I own four dual systems.. I just don't see the benefits outweighing the cost for a desktop machine - and that's after having a dual box as my main desktop machine for over a year. Frankly, I think enthusiast SMP died with the P3. We still see the occasional hardcore guy forking out the cash for dual Xeons or a dual socketA motherboard, but nothing like the armies of BP6 / VP6 / 694D owners from a couple of years ago. Anyway, end rant - I've just been thinking about this stuff lately for an article I'm writing for APC mag.
A few people pointed out this cloaking technology clothing. Sadly, for the moment it needs a special viewfinder to work, so it's not going to fool passers-by.
Jamie notes that HardOCP are saying the GeForceFX is canned rumours are probably true. I wouldn't do anything drastic until we hear something official from NVIDIA, but it's not like you can rush out and buy them just yet anyway. GeForceZone have a Q&A session with Gainward about their card.
Apparently Linux dominates the movie industry now, thanks Isometrix.
TheInq say HyperThreading 2 will be a feature of the upcoming Prescott processors, thanks Rave.
Silly website name of the week would have to be DigitalFerret.com.. who have reviewed some case fans and a Cold Cathode kit.
Xbit compared the QuadroFX and ATI FireGL X1 professional graphics cards in 3DS Max 5.
spg spotted a demo of Black Hawk Down available on AusGamers. A helicopter crashing simulator perhaps? While we're talking of wholesome quality entertainment, I notice they have a Bikini Karate Babes demo too. Phil points out the BF1942 Linux Server available for download as well.
Chris says floppies are on the way out, finally.. but he couldn't resist pointing out that Apple shipped floppy-free computers in 1998.
Reviews:
Unreal II game on GamersDepot.
Sunbeam round CCFL fan kit on M6.
MSI G4Ti4600-TD8X video card on PCStats.
SVC Baybus on FuriousTech.
Coolsonic CS1672A heatsink on FrostyTech.
FXF GeForce4 Ti4200-8X video card (video review) on 3DGameMan.
SunBeam Round Cold Cathode Fan on TheModFathers.
Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on AthlonXP.
Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe video capture card on AthlonXP.
Asetek Vapochill PE phase-change cooler on ExtremeOC.. our review here.
Akasa AK821 copper heatsink on FrostyTech.
Eumax DW-45 copper heatsink on FrostyTech.
Albatron GF4 Ti4800 video card on NexusHardware.
SmartDisk 80GB USB 2.0 portable HDD on Bjorn3D.
Xoxide Dual Cold Cathode case lighting kit on OCWareHouse.
PCMods Power-Down Protector on ForumOC.
Corsair PC3500 XMS memory on OCClubCanada.
Albatron GF4 MX480 on 3DXtreme.
The weekend is almost upon us again, so here is some news to help get you there...
You can find and article all about upgrading systems based on socket 423/478 platforms over at Sudhian.
A lot of people have sent in this piece of news. "GeForce FX canned? Nvidia refuses to comment". Truth or rumour? I don't know.
The people at BiT-Tech have had a play with a Prometeia. Part #1 of the review has been posted.
A1 Electronics have posted a quick preview of DDR-II memory. I expect that it will still be some time before we see any on the local shop shelves but I am looking forward to seeing it in action.
If you are thinking about getting your MCSE Certification, Viper Lair have an article titled What Does A MCSE Certification Get You?. This might be worth a read before you put your money on the table.
There is a short interview with John Carmack over on Beyond3D.
Hard disk drives that can hold terabytes of data might not be very far away if this technology has any say in it. Although as Comit puts it, "Personally I hope we're rid of mechanical storage before we get that far though".
This from Andrew, "There is an article up on the IEEE website regarding leaking capacitors found on many motherboards. Part of the apparent cause is an error in the formula (stolen Intellectual Property) for the electrolyte used". Read the full article here.
Our own networking guru, NBK, has built himself a solar powered wireless bridge project, connecting a Cisco wireless bridge to relay a signal. It looks like a lot of thought went into putting this together. Well done.
3DMark 2003 is due for release some time in the next month or two. BlargOC have several screenshots for you to preview.
K@OS tells us that version 6 of Ad-Aware has been released. If you don't use Ad-Aware or you don't know what it is, then you really should head on over and check it out. Its the best anti-spyware tool around and its free.
F1DarkFlash found a handy utility called GSpot. It will scan your video files and tell you which version of which codec they are encoded with. It seems to do the job well for me and its also "free for personal use".
Reviews
Gyration Ultra Cordless Optical Mouse at Spode's Abode
Sony W10 PC System at Designtechnica
Logitech's Z-680 5.1 Channel Speaker System at HotHardware
Seasonic SS-300FS/SS-400FS Active PSU at Modsynergy
Xoxide Z-40 Insight Case at WinHQ
SanDisk Cruzer 64MB at Envy News
TDK 48x24x48 CD-RW at HWZ
MSI K7N2G-LISR nForce2 Motherboard at HWZ
Xoxide SS Warrior Aluminum Case at PimpRig
OCH Neon Paint Kit at ClubOC
Evercool TRI-LED 80mm Case Fan at Tweaknews
SONY DRU-500A DVD+-RW/DVD+-R Drive at Digit-Life
Coolermaster Xdream Cpu cooler at R&B
Crucial Radeon 9700 Pro at Envy News
MSI KT4 Ultra KT400 Socket A Motherboard at Techseekers
Apparently, the Quake 4 videos that I linked to yesterday are fake. Thanks to the people who kindly (and not so kindly) pointed that out.
Digit-Life have a DVD-Rom Roundup. They include the Pioneer DVD-117LJ DVD-ROM, Sony DDU1611 DVD-ROM, TEAC DV-516E DVD-ROM and Toshiba SD-M1712 DVD-ROM.
Dan has reviewed some more coolers, here and here.
Mikhailtech have a guide to placing a 5" LCD Screen in the side of your case.
Mitchell tells us that "American Power Conversion is recalling their Back-UPS CS. Only certain models are affected but all should double check. Apparently they can be a fire hazard" More info here.
It looks like conventional batteries are old hat. How about using your clothing to power your computer. I wonder what kind of voltage one could get from a pair of undies!
Digital Domination are giving away an EPOX 8K9A2+ motherboard. You have to sign up and tell them why you think you deserve it, or need it. Its open to Australian residents only.
The folks at LAN Addict have a SATA Overview for you. They include some basic, and some not so basic information.
If you're after a fan controller, or Rheobus, TweakTown have a Rheobus Round-Up with the low down on five of the top sellers.
Western Digital are going to Launch a 10,000rpm Desktop HDD on the 11th of February. More info here. Thanks MasterPooh.
Reviews
Antec PlusView 1000AMG Case at DataFuse
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro at 3dXtreme
MOVA 256MB USB Pen Drive at Guru of 3D
Skyhawk Galaxy Lx Aluminium Case at DVHardware
OCS L2 Enhanced Radeon 9700Pro at MHW
Innovatek Tank-o-Matic Reservoir at Modtown
3R System Neon Light Mid-Tower Case at Omega Hardware
Taisol CGK760172A Copper Base Heatsink at Frostytech
Albatron GeForce4 Ti4800SE Videocard at Pcstats
ABIT OTES 8X Video Card Review at OCAddiction
Adaptec 29320-R Ultra320 SCSI Card at Club Overclocker
Albatron's Medusa GeForce4 Ti 4680P graphics card at The Tech Report
MSI GF4 MX440-T8X at Viper Lair
Leadtek K7NCR18D-Pro nForce2 Motherboard at VR-Zone
AOpen AX45-4D Max SiS655 Motherboard at VR-Zone
Beantech BT-80 Crystal Clear Acrylic case at BiT-news
Gigabyte GA-8PE667 Ultra 2 Mainboard on i845PE Chipset at X-bit labs
Xitel HiFi-Link at Futurelooks
Forum Record
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Wednesday, 5-February-2003 23:00:52 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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We're pretty close to breaking the online-users record tonight, which is strange - Wednesday isn't normally a record-breaking night in the forums!
Anyway, jump in and be a part of history (maybe :) ).
Wednesday Afternoon Take Two
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Wednesday, 5-February-2003 14:55:48 (GMT +10) - by Mred32
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News just to hand: Forum member Creative, has just broken 20,000 in 3DMark. You can read all about his excitement in this Forum Thread. A number of people sent that in...thanks guys and well done Creative.
Agg posted a link to some Quake 4 Screenshots this morning. Rave has now sent in a link to some Quake 4 videos.
InformationWeek have an article which quotes Microsoft as saying "it may have to cut its software prices because of increased popularity of open-source offerings". That can only be good news. Read more here.
The SQL Slammer Worm which nearly slowed the Internet to a halt two weeks ago, "spread around the world in only ten minutes". Read the details on Reuters.
At Symantec you can find their Top 10 Tips for Setting a Secure Communications Policy. Some good ideas for the work environment. Thanks Schrambo.
guerny found a place in New York where you can buy keyboards, mice, monitors and cases made from wood. These look fantastic! I want one of those keyboards.
ThinkTechie have a window mod guide with a twist. Its called "The Two Towers".
Malendariel sent news that there is a new version of Soldat available. Version 1.1. He calls it "This is the best 8Mb you will ever download". Thats some claim to fame.
Reviews
Creative's Inspire 5.1 Console Speakers at Fusion Networks
Tt Xaser III Case with Hardcano at OCC
Vantec Nexus NXP-201 Fan Controller at OIA
MSI GF4 MX440-T8X at Viper Lair
Wednesday Afternoon
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Wednesday, 5-February-2003 12:50:48 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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From Robert, who had a little too much CNN with his cornflakes this morning: "Hello.Anti terrorist squad.? I'd like to report some suspicious looking characters who hang out on the Overclockers Australia website. Many are young blokes with short haircuts who have openly admitted tampering with the insides of their computers to enable them to run at illegal speeds. They have links to similar radical groups all over the world. By visiting GoogleBrowser and entering the url www.overclockers.com.au you can get an idea of the extent of this evil network. Computer freaks. Bomb makers for sure. They are threatening our way of life. Get them!" That is actually a pretty cool page, but I had to download 5.3MB of Java plugin before I could view it.
NextWish shows why you should probably log off and spend some time with your girlfriend (or boyfriend) occasionally.. although in this case I think he should trade her in and get a new one.
Christian notes that WinXP SP1a is now out.
Hexus have been playing with a microATX system and modding it, of course.
pSYc0de spotted these Quake 4 screenshots and model info.. the last pic is pretty amazing if that's in-game.
BurnOutPC have a lego PC project.
Bit-Tech compared two GF4 MX440-8X video cards, from Leadtek and Albatron.
eDust sfound an interesting PCB production method, using conductive ink printed onto paper.
Gruntville have a guide to casting custom fan-grills.. cool project, thanks i||usionary.
There's a Monster LAN on in Geelong on the 1st-2nd of March, thanks Rave.
Reviews:
Toshiba 2435-S255 laptop on Accelenation.
Asus V9180 GF4 MX440 video card with VIVO on GotApex.
Samsung SM-348B 48/24/48/16x combo drive (CDRW + DVD) on EnvyNews.
Samsung Syncmaster 172B LCD screen on TheTechZone.
OCZ EL DDR PC-3500 memory on 3DGameMan.
Vantec Nexus fan controller on A1 Electronics.
MSI GF4 Ti4600 8X video card on NeoSeeker.
SMC 802.11b wireless networking kit on OCModShop.
Creative Inspire 6700 6.1 speakers on TechSpot.
Corsair TWINX Dual Channel Memory kit on ClubOC.
MSI G4Ti4200-TP 128MB video card on TechWareLabs.
EPoX 4PEA+ i845PE-based P4 DDR motherboard on TweakTown.
Vantec Aeroflow cooler on NexusHardware.
BF1942 v1.3 Patch
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Tuesday, 4-February-2003 23:16:20 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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AusGamers have posted the v1.3 patch for Battlefield 1942. More info and download links here.
Tuesday Morning
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Tuesday, 4-February-2003 01:25:52 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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DSLWebserver.com have a webcam set up, so you can view a live-ish pic of the server that's sending you the picture of the server that's sending you the.. or, to see the server that's sending you THIS page, click here.
Firemoth spotted boob jobs for cows.. no, I don't know either.
There's a new ZZZ online.. in this issue we cover (among other things) an underwater jet engine, that was invented by an AUSTRALIAN. which is always good :)
Reviews:
Abit GF4 Ti4200-8X OTES video card on EnvyNews.
Lian Li Aquarium Side Panel on OCOnline.
Granite Bay P4 Chipset on TomsHardware, thanks Daniel.
Thermaltake Xaser III case on HardCoreWare.
Sapphire 9500 Atlantis Pro video card on TheTechZone.
Skyhawk 400W Aluminium PSU on DVHardware.
Green Lazer LED's on PCDreams.
PowerColor Evil Commando 2 Radeon 9700 video card on Beyond3D.
Spire Falcon Rock II cooler on DansData.
Pyramid 5 Plus fan controller on IPKonfig.
AOpen AX45-4D Max SiS655-based P4 DDR motherboard on Sudhian.
Abit KD7-RAID KT400-based socketA DDR motherboard on OCAddiction.
Sapphire Atlantis Radeon 9500 Pro video card on TechReport.
El-Wrapped Rounded Cables on OCIA.
Leadtek K7NCR18G Pro nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on OCNZ.
Antec TruPower 550W PSU on MikhailTech.
Vantec Nexus fan controller on OCrCafe.
Intel D845PEBT2 P4 DDR motherboard on MBReview.
Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 on DVHardware.
Creative Inspire 2.1 Slim speakers on Digit-Life.
Only a short post for now.
An article up for your customizing pleasures. How to totally customize Windows XP.
While you're at it, here is how you can build a home theater PC!
With NASA in the news at the moment, Matex sent in NASA television. "NASA Television (NTV) is provides real-time coverage of Agency activities and missions as well as resource video to the news media, and educational programming to teachers, students and the general public."
A LAN coming up in sydney you might want to pop into. "The DGC LAN is on again on Saturday 15th of February from 9am to 9pm in Chatswood, Sydney. Details and registration are right here". Thanks Alex.
Have you got PocketPC with an XScale processor? Want to overclock it? Read this then! "... Anton Tomov’s Pocket Hack Master 1.88 a very complete Under/Overclocking utility for the PocketPC."
If you're in a UV mood, here is how you can make your case fans UV reactive using laundry soap!
Boney wants to find out 'what OS are you'. Dang, I'm Win95.
Reviews :
Millennium Mid Tower Case @ NSW Modding
Epox 4PEA+ (Intel 845PE) at digital daily
Project CMBlack by gideontech
Galaxy Quad LED 120mm fans @ burnoutpc
Spire 5R265B1H3 SkiveStream Socket A cooler by cybercpu
Spire 5F271B1M3 FalconRock Socket A cooler at cybercpu
Sunday Afternoon
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Sunday, 2-February-2003 15:56:00 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Apparently an Australian astronomer may be a key eyewitness in the investigation into the recent shuttle accident, thanks Hal.
HardwareAvenue have a guide to Ad-Hoc Home Wireless networking.
Tech-Report have an editorial about the longevity of motherboards, saying that lately we need to upgrade them more often than in the past.
Simon noticed that Messenger Spam (as in the Windows service, not the IM program) may be coming to a PC near you soon.
This Black Pearl motherboard from Asus has some interesting features, including a motherboard heatsink that rotates 360o while maintaining a quiet computing environment and allows users to enjoy audio functions without the need to enter Windows.. thanks Daniel.
TheINQ have launch dates for AMD's new chips, including a further delay for Athlon64.
Digital-Daily have an editorial on the state of the CPU War at the end of 2002.
VR-Zone managed to squeeze DDR522 out of the EPoX 4PEA+ mobo.
Digit-Life have a big roundup of Ti4200-8X video cards.
Dan has more letters. Hooray.
OCModShop have an article on a KT266/KT266A hack to help your CPU run cooler.
Beyond3D have a GeForce FX Q&A article posted.
Interesting Borg Case Mod on ViperLair. Similar to this one from the PCDB.
A1 Electronics have an AMD roadmap up.
There's supposedly an Intel price cut on the way, thanks Cloudwane.
Pimprig reckon that a modded R9500 is the new speed king.
Justakid spotted this interesting gadget, the Palm Butler. The Palmbutler will allow you to play back all your MP3 files on your Radio as a station and view your movies over the antenna cable on any TV in your house. The Palmbutler 'merges' your graphics card signal and sound into the CAI signal and will broadcast the signal towards your TV or Radio. Wireless remote, too.
Reviews:
Sunbeam Cold Cathode Fans on PimpRig.
BitsPower Modding Products on BurnOutPC.
DFI AD77 Infinity KT400-based socketA DDR motherboard on OCWareHouse.
Altec Lansing 5100 5.1 speakers on TweakNews.
DFI AD77 KT400-based socketA DDR motherboard on TechSeekers.
Vantec Aeroflow socketA cooler on HardCoreWare.
Asus V9820S Ti4200-8X video card on HotHardware.
Leadtek WinFast TV2000XP Deluxe TV card on Bjorn3D.
TweakMonster Rev3 Lightstrip case lighting on OCIA.
MSI K7N2 nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on AMDMB.
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra video card on A1 Electronics.
64MB Cig@r Pro USB storage on TechFreaks.
CoolerMaster ATCS 220C case on Hexus.
Logitech Cordless Elite Duo mouse and keyboard on GamersHell.
AOpen AK77-8XN nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard on TechSeekers.
FIC AU11 Chameleon nForce2-based socketA DDR motherboard (video review) on 3DGameMan.
D-Link AirPro Multimedia DI-764 wireless hub on ExplosiveLabs.
Sunbeam Laser LEDs on BoogleTech.
EditMax 11MBs Wireless Solution on PlanetSavage.
Sunbeam Version 2 Rheobus on OCModShop.
From PostModern, in our Geek Food forum: The Brew Ha-Ha judging is drawing near. Entrants are requested to make final checks on their beers, investigate postage methods and post information in the thread. Anyone still interested in entering may do so. Any Ale Style beer with yeast pitched post 23/11/2002 and received by the judges by 28/2/2003 is eligible to enter and have a chance of winning the coveted OCAU Brew Ha-Ha (inaugural) pint glass. 9 beers, 5 brewers. Who will win?
Space Shuttle Columbia Lost
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Sunday, 2-February-2003 09:27:57 (GMT +10) - by YYK
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Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-107) broke apart at an altitude of 61km and velocity of 19,000 km/h, in a fireball as it returned to Earth early today (0100 AEDT Sunday), killing all seven crew members and scattering debris over a wide area.
More info here and here as well as President Bush's statement and NASA's press release.
Sunday Morning
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Sunday, 2-February-2003 02:33:01 (GMT +10) - by Agg
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Darkness noticed we're a step closer to teleportation being a reality. Still about 10 billion steps to go before we can beam over to London for lunch, though.
Virtual-Hideout have a guide to making a DIY Reservoir for your watercooled PC. Lots of this kind of stuff in the Extreme Cooling Club section of our PC Database.
BiT-Tech want to introduce you to my friend and theirs, the Dremel. Very handy little gadget.
Meanwhile, SubZeroTech want to show you how to paint your webcam.. I hope to never be that bored.
Soandso noticed rotting DVD's on SMH.
Reviews:
Seagate Cheetah 10K.6 Ultra320 HDD on ClubOC.
Plantronics Audio90 headphones on PC-Arena.
Sunbeam CCFL Fans on GideonTech.
Stealth-X Midtower Case on OCAddiction.
Thermaltake Spark 7 heatsink+fan on ClubOC.
Iwill 6-in-1 Card Reader on ClubOC (busy lads).
Vantec Nexus Fan Controller on ModTown.
Corsair Low Latency XMS3200LL DDR memory on DeviantPC.
Thermaltake Smart Case Fan 2 on DVHardware.
Connect3D Radeon 9500 Pro video card on Hexus.
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