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January 2005
Monday Evening (10 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 31-January-2005  21:51:55 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Just recently, ABIT has partnered with the world's number one professional gamer, Johnathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel, to deliver a board optimized to the needs of the gamers. Combining the latest in motherboard technology with Fatal1ty’s gaming experience and knowledge, ABIT gives us an Intel LGA775 platform that is designed to meet the needs of both gamer and extreme user. Today, OCTools will find out if ABIT still hasn’t lost its magic touch. Check the ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE i925XE Motherboard here.

Chris from Yen Industries sent in information for us: Yen Industries helps support Catwalk for a Cause (Tsunami Disaster Charity Evening). Some of Australia 's best talented Fashion Designers showcase their collections to raise some of the much needed financial assistance for the region. Maybe some of the photographers in the OCAU forum might be interested. All the information on it is located in this thread in our Photography Forum.

Legion Hardware has compared the budget Sempron processor up against its big brother, the Athlon 64.

Haven't seen many modding guides around lately, but CaseModGod has a Lighted Wiring Tubes Modding Guide posted up on their site.

Rojak Pot has coverage on the Intel Sonoma Platorm Launch on January 19th, where Intel released the Sonoma Mobile Platform.

Freefrag sent in news about a Product Recall being made for a number of HP L2035 LCD Monitors, the fault being a ground clip incorrectly installed within the inside back plastics panel of the monitor, posing a potential for an electric shock hazard. More info here.

Rojak Pot has a guide showing you how to overclock Centrino motherboards.



Sunday Evening Reviews (2 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 30-January-2005  20:40:38 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Portable/SFF:
Nintendo DS on Internode
Shuttle XPC SN95G5 on Arstechnica
Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) on Trusted Reviews

Audio:
Edirol FA-101FireWire Audio Interface on XYZ Computing
Thermaltake Circle Fire on FastLaneHW
Rio Nitrus MP3 Player on All Hardware Zone

Keyboard/Mouse:
I-rocks X-Slim EL Keyboard on XYZ Computing
Razer DiamondBack on OC-Service
Saitek Cyborg Evo Joy Stick on Club Overclocker

Storage:
SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 512 MB USB Drive on TheTechLounge
R-Driver II USB to IDE cable on Dans Data

RAM:
Neoseeker OCZ PC4200 EL Platinum Edition Memory on Neoseeker

Display/Video:
CMV CT-720D 17-inch 8ms TFT LCD on HardwareZone
XFX GeForce 6600 GT Dual-DVI on Hexus

Cooling:
Danger Den MAZE4 GPU Water Block on Techniz
Cooler Master Aquagate ALC-U01 on Hexus
Danger Den MCT-5 and MCT-40 Liquid on Madshrimps
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound on MikhailTech

Misc:
Socket GPS Nav Kit on TechTastic
Suncore BlueWiFly Combo USB Adaptor on A True Review



Sunday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 30-January-2005  14:30:47 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboards:
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI A64 board on OCModShop.
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe on A1-Electronics.
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe on TBreak.
Soltek K8T890 A64 board on TBreak.
MSI K8N Diamond nForce4 SLI A64 board on XbitLabs.
ASUS P5GD2 Premium i915 LGA775 P4 board on HWZ.

Cases:
ThermalRock OceanDome Aluminium on Techniz.
Enermax CS-718B Maxflow on 3DXtreme.
ATXPowerSupplies 753AB case on ExtensionTech.
AOpen B300 micro-BTX on HWAnalysis, thanks Ambush.
Lian Li PC-7 Plus on OCrCafe.
Scythe Arctic Silentium 1 on Hi-TechReviews.

PSU:
OCZ Modstream 450W on RBMods.
XG Vortec 600W on Controlled-Insanity.



Sunday Midday (2 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 30-January-2005  12:21:19 (GMT +10) - by Agg

VooDoo spotted this story about car black boxes used as evidence in court in the USA. Haight testified that he has performed more than 200 crash tests comparing black-box data in cars with objective external instrumentation, and has found the data to be extremely reliable.

Also in the States, a teenager has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for unleashing a variant of the MSBlast.B worm. The variant of the worm infected approximately 48,000 computers that had not used a security patch.

Still on the legal side of things, it seems linking to mp3's is nearly as bad as hosting them - in Norway, at least. If you think that's strange, how about being arrested for using the wrong browser, thanks Ambush.

Xbit report on PCI Express x1 cards starting to appear - beginning with a Gigabit Ethernet card.

People are trying to second-guess Google again, this time noting they've hired some Firefox programmers and registered a "GBrowser" domain. Hmmm.

Ben noticed Google have released Picasa 2. Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC.

LegitReviews compared Corsair and Kingston laptop memory.

Ambush sent word of a free trial download of Windows XP Pro x64 edition. This is an opportunity for you to begin evaluating Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for your individual business needs and ensuring that your applications will be ready for the commercial release of the product.

TechPowerUp wonder where the missing pipelines went from some MSI GeForce 6800GT cards. Based on this, the cards MSI is selling should be called '6800NU'.

Christopher sent in this giant SATA RAID roundup (translated), with a thread discussing it here in our forums. The same site has a review of Seagate's Barracuda 7200.8 400GB HDD, which is discussed here.



Saturday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 29-January-2005  17:32:18 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Cooling:
Prime Cooler Memory Cooler on Phoronix.
Evercool WC-202 watercooling kit on Tech-Mods.
Swiftech H20-120 REV 3 liquid cooling kit on ViperLair.
Asetek VapoChill Extreme Edition II on XtremeResources.

Networking:
JAHT 5-Port Gigabit SOHO Switch on Techniz.
AC Ryan LAN.Ranger 10m Blue LED network cable on Techniz.
3Com OfficeConnect Wireless 54Mbps 11g Print Server on BIOSMag.

Video Cards:
Gigabyte 3D1 dual-core 6600GT on Hexus.
MSI GeForce 6600GT PCIe on VR-Zone.
128MB XGI Volari V3XT AGP on BigBruin.
ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro 256MB (video review) on 3DGameMan.



Saturday Morning (16 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 29-January-2005  03:36:11 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Shuttle apparently shipped 600,000 XPCs in 2004, thanks thetron. Although Intel-based systems accounted for about 65% of the company's XPC shipments last year, and Shuttle’s AMD-based XPC shipments should soon receive a boost as the company is preparing to ship its SN25P XPC, which will be the first nForce4-based small-form-factor solution on the market.

PC-Perspective looked at the nForce Professional 2200 MCP chipset, bringing PCI-Express to the Opteron. LinuxHardware offer their perspective and also interview Tyan.

TweakTown examined NVIDIA's SLI technology, which combines two video cards for higher performance.

HotHardware have a notebook buyer's guide, while HWZ shed light on projector buying and BigBruin have tips on choosing a case for your PC bits.

HardwareAnalysis think that dual core CPUs aren't such a big deal.

IBM is the subject of more holocaust accusations, this time having to face a trial in Switzerland, thanks fester2001. A gypsy group filed the lawsuit after a 2001 book claimed the company's punch-card machines enabled the Nazis to make their killing operations more efficient.

From GroopA: Basically a new CD drive that can "print" a label on the CD for you as well as writing your data by "burning" the image onto the label side of the media.

"Project Lament" is another hellraiser-inspired PC mod, featured on CaseModGod.

Xbit detailed their PSU testing methodology, thanks Daniel.

China has apparently banned 50 games, thanks Joe. Games given the thumbs-down include The Sims 2, Manhunt, FIFA 2005, Painkiller: Battle out of Hell, Age of Mythology: The Titans, Battlefield Vietnam, Conflict Vietnam, Vietcong: Fist Alpha and Devastation, local news agency Xinhuanet reported today.

I thought I mentioned this earlier, but can't find it now.. anyway, robot soldiers are soon to be fighting in Iraq, thanks Stuart.

There are new versions of 3DMark 05 and 03 available on FutureMark's website.



Saturday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 29-January-2005  02:21:50 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Audio / Visual:
Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones on DesignTechnica.
Bluetake BT400 G5 bluetooth headset on SweMod.
iRiver PMC-120 Portable Media Center on TrustedReviews.
StarTech TV Jockey monitor adapter on BigBruin.
Sonos Music System on DesignTechnica.
Aigo P880 20GB MP3 Player on TrustedReviews.
CTX International X701A 17 Inch LCD Monitor w/ Speakers on TweakNews.
MyFi xm2go portable XM Satellite Radio receiver on TheTechZone.
Samsung YP-T5V MP3 player on PCUnleash.

Case Modding:
Bonzai Mods Custom Fan Grilles v3.0 on Controlled-Insanity.
Sunbeam Case Accessories on OCTools.
Sunbeam Liquid Neon case lighting on RojakPot.
Sunbeam Chameleon case lighting on LANAddict.
Matrix Orbital MX424 Front Panel LCD Screen on VR-Zone.

Storage:
Linksys Network Storage Link on BIOSMag.
Vantec NexStar 2 external enclosures on ArcticSquad.
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB SATA HDD with NCQ on TechReport.
Corsair Flash Voyager USB storage on CoolTechZone.
Seagate Momentus 5400.2 100GB notebook HDD on LegionHardware.
Akasa Integral 3.5" External HDD Enclosure on MikhailTech.



Friday Morning Reviews #2 (0 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 28-January-2005  01:31:58 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboards:
ASUS K8N-DL (nForce4 Pro 2200) Opteron board with PCI-E on GamePC, thanks Christopher.
AOpen i915Pa-PLF LGA775 P4 board on HWZ.
AOpen i915Pa-E LGA775 P4 board on HWZ.

PSU:
Seasonic S12 380W on CoolTechZone.
Logisys Glacier Modded 500W on Hi-TechReviews.
Thermaltake Silent Purepower 410W on XtremeResources.
Logisys Glacier 500W on PimpRig.

Memory:
Crucial 1GB Ballistix PC4000 on PCModdingMy.
OCZ EL DDR PC4200 Platinum Edition on Guru3D.

Cooling:
Titan Vanessa CPU Cooler on PCModdingMy.
Swiftech H20-120 Waterblock on A1-Electronics.
AeroCool HT-101 CPU cooler on TheTechLounge.
Evercool WC-202 watercooler on Techniz.
SilenX IXtrema CPU Cooler on AuphanOnline.
mCubed T-Balancer fan controller on PCModdingMy.



Friday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 28-January-2005  01:22:36 (GMT +10) - by Agg

First up, a report of a TPG notebook recall in the forums. Can't find anything to confirm it on TPG's website, but given we've already had 2 reports of them catching fire from people in the forums, seems prudent to spread the word. This recall is for the battery included with all TPG Widescreen notebooks shipped between 26th July 2004 and 27th August 2004 with serial numbers starting with NB46, and with a battery batch number of AAFT5010000770. ... Customers should cease using any suspect batteries immediately. Please remove the battery from your notebook immediately. Do not use the notebook on battery power and do not charge the notebook with the battery inserted. You can continue to use the notebook on AC Adaptor/Power charger only without the battery inserted.

Video Cards:
HIS X700 Pro IceQ Turbo VIVO 256MB PCI Express on HotHardware.
Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT TDH SLI on NeoSeeker.

Mouse, Keyboard Etc:
I-Rocks Beetle Mouse on HardwareHounds.
BenQ M310 Wireless Mini Optical Mouse on HWZ.
Saitek Gamers Keyboard on ATrueReview.
A4Tech Wireless BatteryFree Mouse on XYZComputing, our review here.
MonsterGecko Pistol Mouse FPS on HWHell.
Razer Viper and Razer Diamondback Professional Mice on Xbit.

Cases:
Enermax MaxFlow CS-718 Fulltower on ExtremeMHz.
Enermax CS-718 on OCrCafe.
Scythe Arctic Silentium 2 (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Chenbro Gaming Bomb II on ViperLair.



Thursday Afternoon (7 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 27-January-2005  13:55:00 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Microsoft are taking aim at pirates, with access to patches and updates being restricted to people proving they have a real copy of Windows. More info here, thanks Scott and Aza2001.

Bit-Tech looked at three PSUs targeted at enthusiasts.

UtopiaTech compared NVIDIA drivers from DNA, TechConnect and NVIDIA themselves.

Ambush spotted a TheInq report about the LGA775 pin-bending problem being solved. Is this really a big issue? Anyone actually damaged a mobo yet? Chainbolt's thoughts about moving the pins from the CPU to the socket in his Extreme Edition review were interesting: The pins of a PGA CPU might bend or break - that would ruin in our case a 1000 US$ CPU. A LGA CPU has no pins; they are embedded in the socket itself. The CPU has "lands" instead that cannot be damaged like pins. Breaking or bending the board embedded pins is rendering a 200$ motherboard useless. Guess which situation is preferable?

If a TFT monitor is in your future, you might want to read the buyer's guide and 10-way roundup articles on SpodesAbode.

ExtremeTech cover alternative browsers to Internet Explorer.

A1-Electronics are the latest to look at Intel's Sonoma mobile platform, while BTX is examined on HWAnalysis.

LostCircuits report on SLI with GeForce 6600GT video cards.

Xbit looked at nine 2.5inch HDDs of 40GB capacity, and two laptops from Acer and ASUS.

Bit-Tech's mod of the month is PuzzleBox, apparently inspired by Hellraiser.

ArsTechnica have a mini-guide to Mac OSX, for new Mac Mini owners.

Ambush also sent in this three-wheeled electric bike on carbongeek. The Magnet is powered by a 550cc motorcycle engine combined with an electromagnetic motor in each wheel.



Interesting Forum Threads (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 26-January-2005  19:29:59 (GMT +10) - by Agg

A quick snapshot of what's going on...

A64 IHS Removal Guide - With Detailed Results in AMD Hardware.
1U copper heatsink to go onto a 9800 Pro, Will it be a problem? in Video Cards.
The Mega 6600 Series Card Thread! in Video Cards.
Home Theatre PC - how to get started in Newbie Lounge.
Circular Quay - Panoramic Long Exposure! (pics) in Photography.
Great storm photo in Photography.
Powerline Ethernet Devices in Networking & Internet.
24 Pin PSU - will a 20 Pin do?? in Overclocking & Hardware.
Kayl's Autocascade in Extreme Cooling.
Life expectancy of USB memory sticks in Storage, Backup and Memory.
List your top 10 PDA programs in Portable and Small Form Factor Computing.
This is why you should change your oil frequently in Motoring.
Porsche Mt Buller sprint 21-23 January in Motoring.
Global warming - near point of no return? in Current Events.
President George W. Bush starts World War 3 in Current Events.
iMacDV Slot load into a new case - rack mount in Modding & Electronics.
Runners - Do you listen to music while running? in Sport, Fitness & Health.
Fire!! (exploding PC) in The Pub.
Why doesn't OCAU overclock? in The Pool Room.



Australia Day Reviews (6 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 26-January-2005  00:28:02 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Mouse:
eXactMatT Mouse Pad on ExtensionTech
Steelpad S&S Professional Gaming Mouse Pad on Pimped Out Cases
Black Icemat 2nd Edition on Pimped Out Cases

Display/Video:
Benq PB 6100 Projector on Overclockers Online
Inno3D GeForce 6600GT PCI-E & AGP on PCmoddingmy
MSI NX6800-TD128 on TCMagazine
ViewSonic NextVision N3000w 30in TFT TV/Display on Trusted Reviews

Audio:
Dell Pocket DJ on Rojak Pot
Apple iPod shuffle on Hardware Zone
LTB USB Pro 5.1 Headphone Set on LAN Addict
Apple iPod and iPod Mini on Arctic Squad

Cooling:
CoolJag JVC558A on Phoronix
Swiftech H20-120F Watercooling Kit on BurnOutPC
Zalman VF700-Cu GPU Cooler on Rojak Pot

Storage:
AkasaIntegral 2.5in External HDD Enclosure on MikhailTech
Vantec Nexstar 2 on RBmods
Fujitsu MAT3300NP 10K rpm SCSI drive on storage Review
InnoDV MiniDrive-USB2 on PCmoddingmy
512MB Corsair Flash Voyager on BigBruin
Scythe Silent Box 3.5" HDD Enclosure without FAN on OCWorkBench
Corsair Flash Voyager on Phoronix
Ultra 4 in 1 USB 1.1 128MB Drive on Pimprig

SFF/Portable/HTPC:
Shuttle XPC SB77G5 on Hexus
JVC Mini Note on Trusted Reviews
Tranquil PC T2.e/MCE2005 on Hexus

Cases:
Raidmax Samurai Black on FastLaneHW
Sunbeam Transformer Gaming Case on A True Review

Network:
D-Link Air Premier 802.11a/b/g Wireless Network on Bjorn3D
3Com Travel Router on BIOS

Misc:
Saitek X52 Flight Control System on Trusted Reviews



UGBox's new site! (25 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 25-January-2005  23:40:49 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

From the UGBox team: UGBox has just released Version 2.0 of the ImageStore, along with a flashing new website. New Image Store features include support for multiple image types, movable watermarks, and different output options for different image types. This should make it more convenient for everybody to use! Thanks for all of the support from the OCAU community! Comments can be posted in the UGBox Forums.

For those that don't quite know what UGBox is, they are the kind people that offer free image hosting for OCAU forum members. They also host our very famous quotes from our IRC Chatroom.



DigitalNow DNTV Live! DVB-T Tuner Card (16 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 25-January-2005  16:35:20 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Jeremy Quirke has reviewed another digital TV tuner card for us, from DigitalNow. The last one he looked at worked well, but was let down by software. Is this one any better? Find out in this 4-page review, with plenty of info and screenshots.


Click for the review!



nForce Pro brings PCI-Express to Opteron (1 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 25-January-2005  13:04:03 (GMT +10) - by Agg

NVIDIA announced nForce Pro, an Opteron motherboard chipset providing PCI-Express, SATA, complete RAID functionality including RAID5 and native Gigabit Ethernet. Designed for cost-effective server and workstation environments - including blade servers, computing farms, computer-aided design (CAD), digital content creation (DCC), and visualization platforms - the NVIDIA nForce Professional MCPs are the first and only solutions to offer support for PCI-Express and other advanced technology solutions, including integrated client-based security features, TCP/IP offload, fault tolerant storage designs, and optimizations for NVIDIA Quadro® workstation graphics solutions, including multi-display and NVIDIA® scalable link interface (SLI) environments.

Coverage on Anandtech, LegitReviews, OCModShop, and ViperLair. For the latest on the AMD side of things, check out our AMD Hardware forum.



Tuesday Midday Reviews (1 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 25-January-2005  12:50:11 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Memory:
Corsair XPERT Memory preview on CoolTechZone.
Corsair PC2-5400 C4 Pro Series on ByteSector.
Mushkin 1GB DDR2 PC2-5300 DC on TechNiz.
Corsair TWINX1024-3200XLPRO on PCModdingMy.

Motherboards:
AOpen i915Pa-EFRII LGA775 P4 board on HWZ.
Soltek K890TPro-939 A64 board on LegionHardware.
Gigabyte GA-81915P Duo Pro-A LGA775 P4 board on ClubOC.
Soltek K8T890 A64 board on TBreak.

PSUs:
OCZ ModStream 520W (video review) on 3DGameMan.
OCZ ModStream 520W on PCModdingMy.
Logisys Pitbull 500W on ExtremeMHz.
Ultra Products Ultra 600W on Hi-TechReviews.
Ultra X-Connect 500W on DVHardware.



Fight disease and keep OCAU #1! (5 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-January-2005  16:28:19 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Time for a reminder about Folding@Home. If you haven't heard of it, it's a distributed-computing project that simulates protein behaviour. This research can be used to help find cures for many diseases, including cancer, alzheimers and "mad cow" disease. Installing a background task on your PC allows Folding@Home to use your idle CPU cycles - the ones you're not using - to process this data. There is a worldwide race to produce the most data, and currently OCAU's team is the #1 team in the world.

However, there are lots of other teams with their eye on the crown. Team OCAU is being hugely outproduced by several of these teams and at the current rate we'll lose the #1 spot in less than 2 months. To see how you can help, look at our Join OCAU's Team page. To find out more, check out our Folding Page and our Team OCAU DC Forum. That forum is one of our busiest sub-communities, all working hard for some really worthwhile causes.



One contest ends, another begins.. (1 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-January-2005  15:14:43 (GMT +10) - by Agg

The winners of our recent Yen Industries torch giveaway are listed here, so congrats to them.

Hot on the heels of that contest is another, kindly sponsored by HD Audio Visual. One lucky winner will score a Coolmax CR-550B 550W Silent PSU! First runner up gets an Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer, while the second runner-up gets two Arctic Cooling Arctic Fan 3 kits. To enter, post in this thread with your answer to this question: Why would you buy a Coolmax PSU? The "best" answer will win - yes, we're keeping the criteria vague. :) This contest will run for 2 weeks. Good luck!



Happy Birthday Agg (10 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-January-2005  09:04:42 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Best wishes to Agg today, as he is another year older, and of course another year wiser! ;) Happy birthday Agg!
If you want to join in and say happy birthday aswell, you can in this thread.



Six Smaller P4 Coolers (0 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-January-2005  03:09:39 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Today we have the second and final part of our P4 cooler roundup. If you've got one of the zillions of S478 P4 systems out there using the default cooler, be aware that there are some cooler, quieter options that don't cost that much. Some of these can be used on other CPU types as well:


Click for the roundup!

The earlier article, which looks at larger, higher-performance coolers, is here.



Monday Morning (5 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 24-January-2005  00:47:48 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Wired have an article about World of Warcraft being a victim of its own success. If you are a fan of such games, remember to keep your password secret - even from loved ones.

Anandtech have a guide to taking better portraits with your digital camera. If you're into photography, check out our Photography Forum. I'm told it's now one of the busiest photography communities in the country.

DansData reports on hurdles on the upgrade path, regarding LGA775 and BTX. Of course, he couldn't resist slipping a few letters in also.

Leon spotted an Akiba report on 64-bit P4 CPUs appearing for sale in Tokyo. The subtitle says "Incorperating EM64T (64bit) Pentium 4's have finally hit the shelves for retail sales. All four models from 3.20Ghz to 3.80Ghz range were previously banned from sale were suddenly allowed for sale." Theres a few pics on the page, interesting black and white boxes, shows the barcode and info on the side, etc. Only other interesting part is the bottom line which reads something along the lines of "With the release of the new 64bit P4's there is growing agreement that the release of the 64bit Windows is being pressured for release".

Digitimes meanwhile report that a dual-core desktop CPU from Intel, nicknamed Presler, will show up in Q1 2006.

Hexus went to the ATI Mobility Radeon X700 launch, and also have an interview with ATI about their desktop graphics lines.

PC-Perspective have pics of a dual VIA-processor Mini-ITX motherboard, while LegitReviews attended a demo of Kingston PC-6000 DDR2 memory, running at a handy 750MHz.

Canis sent in this amusing technology gone wrong story.

PC-Perspective have a hardware leaderboard posted, while SharkyExtreme have a Value Gaming PC buyers guide.

If you're bored on the 5th of February, get to Brisbane or Melbourne and attend one of those LANs.

zeb00 sent in this Shockwave timewaster, a wakeboarding/skating game.

Interesting Forum Threads:
The SLI tips/troubleshooting/results thread in Video Cards.
And you thought High Definition Video was good in Audio Visual.
Passive watercooled shuttle in Extreme Cooling.
PCB Prototyping in Modding & Electronics.
Are you prepared (for bushfire season)? in The Pub.



Saturday Afternoon Reviews #2 (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 22-January-2005  13:42:25 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Video Card:
XFX GeForce 6600GT 128MB on AuphanOnline.
HIS Radeon X600 XT VIVO on LegitReviews.
Sapphire Tech Hybrid X700 Pro 256MB PCIe on PimpRig.
Sparkle GeForce 6600GT AGP 128MB on OCNZ.
ATI Radeon X600 XT on ViperLair.
Gigabyte GeForce 6200 on PCModdingMy.
MSI GeForce 6600GT 128MB on Hexus.
ATI X600 Pro AIW on HotHardware.
Gigabyte GV-3D1 Video Card & GA-K8NXP-SLI mobo on HWZoom.
ATI Mobility Radeon X700 on Bit-Tech.
ATI Radeon X800 XL on Guru3D.
Albatron GeForce 6600GT PCIe on VR-Zone.

SFF / Portable:
Acer TravelMate 8100 Centrino notebook on HWZ.
Soltek QBIC EQ3901 SFF on SFFTech.
Intel Sonoma Centrino Mobile Platform on Hexus.

Misc:
Antec TrueBlue 480W vs. NeoTEC V4200 420W PSUs on OC-Service.
CaseBuy USB Vacuum Cleaner on TechTastic.
Canon PowerShot S1 IS Digital Camera on TheTechZone.
iWAND 3-in-1 PC DVD Media Remote Control on PDAToday.
NEC 338 3G Mobile Phone on TrustedReviews.
VLSystem L.I.S. POP LCD Screen on ExtremeMHz.
nTren Sound MP3 Watch on ATrueReview.



Saturday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 22-January-2005  13:22:26 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboard / CPU:
Albatron PX915P Pro i915P P4 board on HWZ.
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI S939 SLI A64 mobo on NeoSeeker.
Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI S939 SLI A64 mobo on PC-Perspective.
ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe A64 on BIOSMag.
Pentium-M Overclocking on a DFI motherboard on MadShrimps.
Chaintech VNF4 Ultra VE S939 PCIe on Xbit.
AOpen i855GMEm-LFS Pentium-M mobo on TrustedReviews.
Jetway ATi RX480 + ULi M1573 HD Audio A64 board on OCW.
Soltek K8TPro-939 on A1-Electronics.
ABIT AG8 i915P P4 board on HWZ.

Input:
Wacom Intuos 3 Graphic Tablet on Moditory.
Steelpad QcK+ Mousepad on PCModdingMy.

Memory:
Kingston 1024MB PC2700 SODIMM laptop memory on MikhailTech.
Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000 on NeoSeeker.
PDP Systems Patriot 1GB PC3200+ XBLK on PCStats.
Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X1024-5400 1GB DDR2 on OCTools.



Saturday Midday Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 22-January-2005  12:54:28 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Storage:
Vantec EZ Swap 2 HDD rack (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Kingston 2GB Data Traveller Elite on ControlledInsanity.
Vosonix Xs Drive Super VP6210 cardreader / media player on Hardware-Pacers.
Corsair Flash Voyager USB thumb drive on NinjaLane.
Corsair Flash Voyager 512MB on OCIA.
Corsair Flash Voyager 512MB on Hi-TechReviews.
X-Micro USB2.0 Flash Stick on RBMods.

Printers:
Lexmark P6250 All-in-One Inkjet printer/scanner/fax on TrustedReviews.
Brother HL-2070N Low-Profile Laser Printer on BIOSMag.

Case & Modding:
StarTech MutantMods Products on RBMods.
Aerocool Spiral Galaxies midtower on OCOnline.
CoolerMaster Cavalier II CAV-T02 on XtremeResources.
Aerocool Spiral Galaxies on 3DXtreme.
Sunbeam Lighting Mods on BigBruin.
ACRyan Backy port relocator on OzCaseMods, our review here.
Sunbeam Chameleon case lighting from Bjorn3D.
Enermax Venus MicroATX case (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Lian Li PC-60Plus aluminium midtower on AMDReview.

Cooling:
Silverstone SST-FP53 HDD cooler on Moditory.
Thermaltake Schooner Fanless VGA Cooler on Techniz.
Alphacool Cape KC42-X2 waterblock on MadShrimps.
Vantec Nexus Fan & Light Controller on AusPCWorld.



Interesting Forum Threads (2 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 21-January-2005  13:11:50 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Haven't done this in a while. If you're not a member of our forums - why not? All you need is a non-free email address to join one of the busiest online communities in the country. Be warned though, they can suck up all your free time. :)

Interesting Forum Threads:
Freeware List in General Software.
Troubles? Here's a procedure list in Troubleshooting Help.
I BROKE MY TRAY (DVD) in Troubleshooting Help.
Dual graphics for Intel now available in Intel Hardware.
New Centrino platform "Sonoma" launched in Intel Hardware.
New P4 has HUGE BTX Cooler! in Intel Hardware.
DFI Lanparty 875P-T LGA775 Benchmark Adventures (many pics) in Intel Hardware.
Winchester (A64 939 90nm) Overclocking Results and Discussion in AMD Hardware.
AMD 2500+ - All you A64 lovers! in AMD Hardware.
NVIDIA SLI - a marketing gimmick? in Video Cards.
Gainward GF6800U in Video Cards.
Albatron 6600GT and the terrible noise, what to do? in Video Cards.
2 6600GT's vs 1 6800GT in Video Cards.
MSSQL boxes: Opteron vs Xeon in SMP & Clustering.
Sound card for recording band in PC Audio.
Time wasters from the news page in Games.
Official World of Warcraft Discussion in Games.
Romantic restaurants in Sydney? in The Pub.



Friday Morning (1 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 21-January-2005  11:14:32 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Torr noticed a WSJ article about region-coded hardware. Try putting a printer cartridge bought in the U.S. into a new H-P printer configured to use cartridges purchased in Europe and it won't work. Software in the printer determines the origin of the ink cartridge and whether it will accept it.

FutureLooks have their CES2005 photo report, while TheTechZone consider the state of the industry after CES.

SCO have scored some points in their legal battle with IBM, with a judge saying IBM does have to provide them with access to the source code in question.

Intel's next-generation mobile platform, Sonoma, is covered in articles here on HWZ and here on ARP. Viperlair meanwhile have an interview with Intel covering Dual Core technology.

eCoustics offer some advice about speaker placement, with the front of the speaker not the only important side.

ABIT isn't having a good year - now there's a pending class-action lawsuit regarding faulty capacitors on some motherboards a while ago.

e4engineering have an article about a new kind of wireless security attack, the "Evil Twin", thanks timbot.

HardOCP have an editorial about NVIDIA's SLI, revealing one aspect consumers might not be aware of. AMDReview meanwhile have an SLI technology overview and t-break compared some different SLI setups.

LegionHardware compared thirteen GeForce 6600GT video cards.

From SKiB: The Airbus A380 has been released, and it dwarfs the 747 in all aspects.



Thursday Night Reviews #2 (3 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 20-January-2005  23:50:41 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Memory:
Corsair XMS TwinX512-3200C2 Rev. 4.2 on XtremeResources.
Wintec AMP-X DDR2-5400 on GruntVille.
Corsair TWINX 1024-3200XL v1.2 & TWINX 1024-4400C25PT on HotHardware.

Input:
MonsterGecko Pistol Mouse FPS on Phoronix.
JAVOedge Bluetooth Keyboard on SLCentral.
Razer Diamondback 1600dpi Gaming Mouse on ExtremeMHz.
Saitek Cyborg Evo Wireless Joystick on TheTechLounge.
A4Tech Navigator Opto 518 SWOP-80 Mouse on OC-Service.
Deck LED Backlit Keyboard on LANAddict.
Logitech MX-1000 Laser Mouse on TechPowerup.

PSU:
Seasonic S12 500W (video review) on 3DGameMan.
FSP Silent Solution Kit PSU on PCModdingMy.
Ultra X-Connect 500W Modular PSU on OCrCafe.
OCZ PowerStream 520W on LegitReviews.
Fortron Source AX500-A Blue Storm 500W on ClubOC.
Seasonic PowerAngel Power Meter on CoolTechZone.



Thursday Night Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 20-January-2005  23:34:47 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Audio:
iRiver H320 mp3 player on HWAccelerated.
Edifier*R501 5.1 Six Channel Surround Computer Speakers on TweakNews.
Ultra Products 128MB MP3 Player / Flash Drive on CaseModGod.
MSI Mega Stick 256MB MP3 Player on VR-Zone.
HCT DH-720G Portable Home Theater - Surround Headphones

Networking:
Buffalo USB WiFi Adapter on TrustedReviews.
Always On Wireless WiFlyer on ATrueReview.
Zoom ZoomTel X5v 5565 VoIP ADSL Router on TrustedReviews.

PDA / Laptop:
Dell Axim X50v PDA on TrustedReviews.
Sony VAIO FS-Series Value Laptop on BIOSMag.

Small Form Factor / Barebones:
Shuttle SB77G5 XPC LGA775 SFF on TweakTown.
Soltek Qbic EQ3901MAY-300P mini barebones on TechReport.
Trigen Kloss KL-i915A mini barebones on TechReport.



Wednesday Evening Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 19-January-2005  19:27:55 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Memory:
Patriot 1GB DC DDR2 PC4200+XBL on Techniz.
Corsair XMS DDR2 PC5400 on OCWizard.

Cooling:
Arctic Cooling 3 Ultra TC CPU cooler on SilentPCReview.
Zalman CNPS 7700ALCU CPU cooler on Tech-Mods.
Thermaltake HardCano 13 A2259 Fan Controller on TweakNews.
Koolance PC3-720 Water Cooling kit on HWHell.
CoolJag 103C CPU cooler on Phoronix.
Cooler Master Hyper 48 CPU cooler on Pimprig.
Zalman VF700-AlCu video card cooler on NeoSeeker.

Cases:
Antec SLK3000B midtower on SilentPCReview.
Sunbeam Black Transformer fulltower on ExtremeOC.
Sunbeam Samurai on SpodesAbode.
Enermax Venus MicroATX on 3DXtreme.
Enermax CS-718 MaxFlow on PimpRig.
AeroCool Spiral Galaxies tower on Hi-TechReviews.



Wednesday Afternoon (25 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 19-January-2005  14:26:41 (GMT +10) - by Agg

SilentPCReview looked at CES2005 from a quiet perspective. Xbit meanwhile talked to NVIDIA about their Sony PS3 involvement.

RipNet have some basic online security steps to consider.

Dan has more letters. In this issue: Magnet shopping, Zen gaming, mini-Dictaphone options, Soldering Gizmo #2637, a quote that ain't mine, and those wacky Nigerians.

Tech-Report cover GeForce 6600GT's in SLI for ultra high framerates. Anandtech meanwhile looked at "morphing" nForce4 Ultra into nForce4 SLI.

ArsTechnica have a report on some new Amiga technology, namely a Micro-AmigaOne motherboard and a copy of the OS 4 Developer Pre-Release.

Tweaktown take a look at the new ATI Catalyst 5.1 drivers, as do Hexus.

AuphanOnline did a little A64 overclocking.

Xbit wonder if AMD will bring DDR2 support anytime during 2005.

Sometimes it's not good to get the scoop, as one Apple fanboy has found out, having to find himself a laywer to defend an Apple lawsuit regarding announcing pre-release products - thanks McGyverrr.

I'll leave you with these pics, which a few people sent in from various places around the net, but we'll mirror them locally. I'm told they're from a teen magazine in 1983 and feature our favourite hunk, the world's sexiest programmer, in full "strike a pose" mode. Go Billy G!

 

Hmm, sudden wave of nausea. Actually, if you scroll down on this site, they claim the pics were taken in 1985 and not for a teen mag, but rather, as promo pics shortly after the launch of Windows 1.0.

(*uncontrollable dry retching* - Sciby)



Wednesday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 19-January-2005  11:09:03 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboards:
Soltek SL-K8TPro-939 on NeoSeeker.
ASUS P5GD2 Premium i915P LGA775 on PCPerformance, it features in our review here.
Gigabyte K8NXP-9 NF4 Ultra on Digital-Daily.
ATI Xpress 200p (RX480) motherboard chipset on Digital-Daily.
Abit AA8XE Fatal1ty (i925XE) on Digital-Daily.
Winfast NF4UK8AA-8ERKS NF4 Ultra on OCW.
Abit AA8XE Fatal1ty (i925XE) on TechReport.
Intel Desktop Board D915PCY on HWZ.

PSU:
Thermaltake PurePower 680W on Techniz.
FSP Blue Storm AX500-A on SilentPCReview.
CaseBut EZ PSU Tester on Techtastic.
OCZ ModStream 520W on OCModShop.

Video Cards:
ATI Radeon X850 XT PE on Digital-Daily.
ATI Radeon X800 Pro on ViperLair.
Albatron PC6600GT on ByteSector.
Sapphire Radeon X800 on Beyond3D.
Gigabyte GV-3D1 Dual 6600GT on HWZ.
ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro on DesignTechnica.



More Press Releases (7 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 18-January-2005  16:50:37 (GMT +10) - by Agg

mCubed and Altech announced the T-Balancer, a high-end controller for air, water and semi-passive cooling. Marketed towards the maximum performance gaming community who require the ultimate in cooling including a multitude of case fans, this controller not only allows maximum tuneability but also monitors various system temperatures, essential in any overclocked systems to identify areas requiring the maximum amount of cooling. More info here.

Asetek, who produce the VapoChill and other cooling products, sent out some pictures of their facilities in Broenderslev, Denmark. Check them out here and here.

SilverStone expanded their desktop case lineup with 6 new models. They're quite stylish and seem to be aimed at the home theatre PC market. We have pics and info here.

SilverStone also announced four "performance cases". These are tower cases aimed at workstations and enthusiasts, more info here.

Foxconn has released their first own-brand motherboards. Foxconn, the global leader in OEM motherboard manufacturer is the worlds largest motherboard manufacturer turning over about $10 Billion US a year and building motherboards and other components for the likes of Dell, HP/Compaq and Intel. They have now decided to enter the retail market under their own brand and Altech is pleased to introduce their first high quality, entry level motherboards. Pics and info of the four motherboards can be found here.



Tuesday Midday (4 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 18-January-2005  13:05:51 (GMT +10) - by Agg

CES2005 coverage continues: CoolTechZone have MP3 players, motherboard plans and final tidbits. XYZ have part 2 of their coverage posted, plus a funny report on their CES experience, which wasn't all gadgets and glamour.

HardOCP have seven X800 cards video cards compared.

BigBruin consider LCD vs CRT for your next monitor.

MadShrimps have an A64 S939 memory roundup, with 8 sets of "ultra high performance" DDR based on Samsung's TCCD chips.

So_Chumpy spotted this mobile personal server. The specs are impressive for such a small unit, featuring dual 425MHz PowerPC processors, 1GB of flash or a 20GB hard drive, and 64MB of DRAM. Security is also embraced with a biometric scanner for file encryption, and a 2048-bit encrypted VPN connection to Realm System's SBOA router allows for updates (or can disable a stolen unit entirely.)

Biology meets microchips to create tiny robots, reports Reuters.

AppleTalk AU have a Mac Mini buyer's guide, incase you're thinking of making the switch. While I'm over here on the wrong side of the fence, here's a MacWorld 2005 report from ArsTechnica.

CaseModGod add some bling to the back of a PC, with LED-encrusted PCI slot covers.

Sony's Creation Box can apparently make your old TV look a lot better. The outlines of distant trees sharpened, glass looked shinier and the sense of landscape perspective was enhanced. Shame about the $5k USD pricetag for now.

Still on TV's, eCoustics report on HDTV vs standard, being all about the pixels.

Anandtech report on HDMI, being the replacement for the DVI connector on video cards, but also carrying audio.

CNET wonder what Google are up to, displaying an interest in dark fibre all of a sudden. Dark fiber refers to fiber optic cable that's already been laid, but is not yet in use.

The FBI have arrested a tsunami email scammer recently. Just got another email from someone else trying the same thing.. scumbags.

ATI has released Catalyst 5.1 drivers for Windows and Linux.



Tuesday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 18-January-2005  02:07:59 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Cooling:
PolarFLO TT CPU Waterblocks on A1-Electronics.
Kingwin Ultra Cool Laptop Cooler on ClubOC.
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 LGA775 CPU Cooler on TweakNews.
Scythe Kamakiri SCKKR-1000 CPU cooler on Tech-Mods.
Scythe Verticool CPU cooler on Whisptech.

Storage:
Corsair Flash Voyager 512MB on RojakPot.
Seagate 5GB Pocket Hard Drive on Bjorn3D.
Vantec NexStar 2 External 5.25" Enclosure on Techniz.
LG GSA-4163B Triple Format Dual Layer DVD Writer on ExtremeMHz.

Cases:
Superpower XP03P Gaming Case on Hi-TechReviews.
Sunbeam Samurai on BigBruin.



Press Releases (2 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 18-January-2005  00:23:42 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Gigabyte announced what they claim is the first Intel motherboard supporting dual PCI-E graphics. GIGABYTE engineers have discovered a way bridge two PCI-E graphics cards GPU signals together, dramatically improving 3D rendering, fill rates, and light shadings. (see figure right). Dual Graphic Link technology enables users to experience more realistic 3D graphics animations, and improves overall graphics performance by more than 50%. This sounds like nVidia's SLI, but not on their nForce product. Board picture here, more info in a 373KB DOC here.

DFI launched LANParty NF4 SLI-DR and LANPartyUT NF4 Ultra-D motherboards, thanks bsbozzy. For the overclocking minded enthusiasts, both motherboards now support memory voltage from 2.5V to 4.0V, CPU core voltage up to 2.1V, chipset voltage from 1.5V to 1.8V, HTT ranging from 1.2 to 1.5, adjustable multiplier control up to 20x and a large range of Async settings. 4.0v VDIMM! More info on their site here.

Apacer introduced an "OK Series" of memory products. Apparently OK stands for "Over Clocking".. okey dokey. The series include the models, DDR-500 (PC4000), DDR2-600 (PC4800) and DDR2-667 (PC5300), with capacity from 256MB to 1GB. Thanks to Apacer OK series, game players will enjoy the sense of speed in every game. Product picture here, more info in 72KB DOC file here.

ASUS released the DRW-1608P Internal DVD-Rewriter Supporting 6X DVD+/-R Double Layer Technology and 16X DVD+/- Write. FlextraSpeedTM continuously monitors the recording media and sets the optimal writing speeds to ensure best recording quality. The results are enhanced accuracy and reliability when reading/ writing/ re-writing across a broad range of certified media in different formats. More info here.

Gigabyte also formally announced the release of their TurboForce edition X800 graphics accelerator, the GV-RX80256D. As the first ATI based graphics accelerator card to feature Gigabyte’s exclusive TurboForce technology, the GV-RX80256D allows the user to tweak performance up to 11% above the card’s standard settings. Additionally, the GV-RX80256D features Gigabyte’s industry leading SilentPipe cooling technology that boosts reliability while reducing noise due to its solid state cooling mechanism based on a proprietary heatpipe design. Card picture here, more info in 348KB DOC file here.



Monday Evening (2 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 17-January-2005  22:42:45 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Hackers are using the newest DRM technology in Microsoft's Windows Media Player To install spyware, adware, dialers and computer viruses on unsuspecting PC users. More info over on Yahoo. Another reason to use Media Player Classic.

TheMatr|x sent in news about MP3 now going Multichannel - 5.1.

Veritas and Symantec have, or are about to be merged. The combined company will be uniquely positioned to deliver information security and availability solutions across all platforms, from the desktop to the data center, from consumers and small businesses to large organizations and service providers.

Rojak Pot has their Bog Book Contest Results posted.

BTX is slowly starting to get used in new motherboards, long after its original introduction to the market back in 2003 by Intel, and PCStats has an article all about it.

Controlled-Insanity has been playing with mousepads, check out their review here where they have been testing out the new XTrac Pads.

Drivers who leave P and L plates stuck to windscreens on hot days risk their cars catching fire, an car industry group has warned. Full story on News.com.au, thanks MoNk{LAH}!

Hexus have gone retro and reviewed a Commodore 64 DTV, which is essentially the C64 within a retro-style joystick.

More CES 2005 Coverage over on XYZ Computing.

Amdboard has information on the Tyan Thunder K8WEX Dual Opteron Boards, along with all their specs.

There is a OCAU Folding Tsunami donation thread over on our forums, thanks Anson.



DDR2 Takes Off: OCZ PC2-4200 Rev.2 and ASUS P5AD2-E (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 16-January-2005  18:34:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Chainbolt has examined OCZ's PC2-4200 Rev.2 DDR2 memory, testing it on the ASUS P5AD2-E motherboard. He tries to find out if this combination will bring the performance increase that was promised by DDR2, but as yet has been elusive:


Click for the review!



Sunday Midday Reviews (2 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 16-January-2005  11:56:00 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Storage:
Transcend StoreJet 2.5" External HDD on CoolTechZone
Seagate ST650211USB Mini External HDD on Xbit
Verbatim 90X Store 'n' Go PRO USB 2.0 Drive on D-Silence
Vantec EZ Swap 2 on PCmoddingmy
WD Caviar SE WD1200JB on OC-Service
Corsair Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drive on Bjorn3D
Fujitsu Dynadisq on IGN

Cooling:
Zalman CNPS 7700-Cu CPU cooler on OCIA
TITAN Vanessa CPU Cooler on Techniz
Swiftech MCX462-V HSF on MHW
Swiftech H20-120 water cooled heatsink kit on A1 Electronics
Hypercool 4+ Heatsink on Hi-Tech Reviews
Silverstone LC11 HTPC Case on 3dGameMan
ATake Pipe VGA For Dual Heat-Pipe VGA Cooling Kit on Big Bruin
Thermaltake POLO 735 Extreme on Legit Reviews
Spire Coolwave II (LGA 775 Heatsink) on Hi-tech Reviews
Dangerden TDX775 on RBmods

Misc:
ATake EasyView 4 Port USB KVM Switch on Mikhail Tech
Clievideo Palm Webcam on Rojak Pot
I-Rocks X-slim Keyboard on Hardware Hounds

Audio:
Thermaltake Xpeaker Panel on Mikhail Tech
iRiver H340 Portable Jukebox on Inside Project
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 4 Pro on 3DVelocity
Altec Lansing MX-5021 on Overclockers Online

Videocards:
Albatron GeForce 6600GT (PCI-E) on Overclocker Cafe
ATI All-In-Wonder X600 Pro on Viperlair
Radeon X850 XT Platinum Edition on Guru3d
XFX GeForce 6600GT PCIe on VR-Zone
Gigabyte X800 Pro on PCmoddingmy
Sapphire Radeon X850 XT PE on Trusted Reviews
Crucial Radeon X800 Pro on Xtreme Resources
NVIDIA GeForce 6200 on Beyond3D

SFF/PDA/Systems:
Soltek EQ3501-300P on Legion Hardware
Soltek EQ3901-300P on Hot Hardware
Tapwave Zodiac palm-powered multimedia handheld on BIOS
Travla C158 - mini-ITX Case on Trusted Reviews
Mesh Elite 560 DVI-Xtreme on Trusted Reviews
Soltek Qbic 3901a Socket 939 SFF on Neoseeker

Modding:
Sunbeam Mini Baybus on A True Review
Vantec Modding Kit on Virtual-Fusion



Sunday Morning Reviews #2 (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 16-January-2005  11:14:05 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Phones:
Sony Ericsson V800 on Trusted Reviews

Mouse:
SteelPad QcK+ Mousepad on Aselabs
The Mouse Paw on A True Review

Display:
Panasonic VIERA 32" TC-32LX20 LCD TV on Bytesector

Software:
SJ Nemo's WebEditor 6.0 Suite on BIOS

RAM:
Corsair XMS Xpert Preview on Hexus

Network:
MSI SW8G 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch on PCStats

CPU:
Intels Pentium 4 570J on Hardware Analysis

Networking:
SMC Gigabit Networking Equipment on OCModShop

Cameras:
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 4MP on ByteSector

Laptop:
Panasonic Y2 Notebook on DesignTechnica



Sunday Morning Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 16-January-2005  10:14:18 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Lots of reviews to be posted throughout today, so stay tuned. :)

Motherboards:
MSI K8N Diamond nForce4 SLI board on HWZ
Foxconn NF4 Board preview on OCWorkBench
ASUS P5AD2-E Premium – 925XE on TweakTown
Gigabyte K8NXP-9 Motherboard on Tbreak
ECS KN1 Extreme on Hexus
Asus P5AD2-E Premium i925XE on OCPrices
MSI 925X Neo Platinum (Intel 925X Express) on Hardware Zone
Abit v Epox - Socket 939 on Bit-tech
Foxconn WinFast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS Socket 939 SiS Motherboard on EOC
EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra Mainboard on Xbit Labs

Cases:
AeroCool Spiral Galaxies Case on ClubOC
Logisys UV Red Acrylic Case on Phoronix
SuperPower XP02 Gaming Case on 3DXtreme
SunBeamTech Transformer Case on TechTastic
Thermaltake Shark ATX enclosure on Tech Report
Logisys Blue Dracula Special Edition Case on GruntVille

PSU:
Seasonic S12-600 600W on PC-Per
Enermax EG495AX-EV on ClubOC
Aspire Chameleon 550w PSU on Overclocker Cafe
EZ Power Supply Tester on MetkuMods
OCZ PowerStream 470W on Virtual-Fusion
CaseBuy EZ Power Supply Tester on Phoronix
SilenX 400w 0dBA Luxurae PSU on OCModShop



Elvis's MAME Cabinet (20 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 15-January-2005  15:58:12 (GMT +10) - by Agg

MAME cabinets seem to be a popular project at the moment. Playing oldschool games on an arcade machine powered by a PC is pretty cool. Elvis has one that turned out well and his PCDB entry shows how it all came together:


Click for the PCDB entry! (5 pics)

For more info, see his website here.



Saturday Afternoon Reviews (11 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 15-January-2005  14:52:33 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Got back last night from a very pleasant 3 days in Auckland. One of the highlights was drinking vodka in the "Minus 5" bar, which is carved entirely from ice - including the walls, furniture, the bar itself and the "glass" you drink from.

Video Cards:
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP on PCStats.
Albatron Trinity GeForce 6600GT AGP on 3DXtreme.
MSI NX6600GT-VTD128 GeForce 6600GT AGP on PCStats.

Input:
I-Rocks X-Slip EL Keyboard & Cross-Direction Optical Mouse on ClubOC.
Saitek R440 Force Feedback Wheel and Pedals on TrustedReviews.
I-Rocks Slim EL Keyboard on Hi-TechReviews.
I-Rocks Cross-Directional Mouse on Hi-TechReviews.
A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse on PDAToday, our review here.
A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse on CaseModGod.
Logisys Phone Smart LED Keyboard on PimpRig.
Logisys KB602BK EL Keyboard on MikhailTech.

Memory:
PDP Systems PDC22G44200+XBLK 2GB DDR2 kit on HotHardware.
G.SKILL Extreme Series PC4800 512mb Dual Channel Kit on OCTools.
Corsair TWINX1024-3200XL v1.2 on ViperLair.
Geil Ultra Platinum Series PC4200 (DDR533) and PC4400 (DDR550) on Xbit.



Thursday Evening (7 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 13-January-2005  23:16:07 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Bern sent in news about Nasa releasing a free global climate model which is available for high school and university computers. More info here.

Rojak Pot has the ATI Radeon to FireGL Mod Guide Rev. 4.1 posted.

From The Inquirer: KASPERSKY LAB said that it has confirmed the first report of an infection of a phone using the Symbian OS and Bluetooth infection in the wild, in Russia. Thanks again Bern. :)

The Tech Zone has posted information on Basic Applied Cryptography, aka Identity Theft.

AMD have announced the release of their offering of a mobile wireless processor based on AMD 64-bit technology that will rival Intel's Centrino offering.

Dan has more letters posted. In this issue: Fast LCDs, floppy mousemats, USB audio adventures, lawsuits, and scams, scams, scams.

A new ATITool version has been released, version 0.0.23. Grab it from Tech Powerup, here.

If you are game enought to play with your new 6800, then have a look at OCIA's guide on Unlocking/Overclocking the nVidia 6800 videocard.

ExtensionTech has a closer look at Microsoft's Antispyware.

Incase you didn't already know, Zzapped sent in news about Alienware products now available in Australia.

HardwareZoom has a triple nVidia 6600GT shoot-out review posted, which definately seems like its the middle-range card to get at the moment.

TCMagazine has been playing with drivers again, this time they have compared the 66.77, 66.93, 67.03 and 6750 forceware drivers.

From Overclocker Cafe: The Overclocker Cafe' ran into a fluke with the NVidia GeForce 6600 GT GPUs where in certain situations higher screen resolution equaled higher frame rates. Not only were we stumped but so were the manufactures. After a bug report circulated around NVidia for we did get an answer to the riddle. The 6600 GT GPUs actually scale their settings back in some situations. More information in their article.

Neoseeker looks at nVidia SLI technology and do some testing with a pair of 6800GTs.

All the popular formats of audio compression (MP3, WMA, OGG) have been described and compared in Sudian's latest article.

PC Perspective has just published a preview of the upcoming Corsair Xpert memory technology that features a 10 character LED display on the out side of the module. Though this is just a technology preview, the real modules should be coming along very soon.

Matt sent in news about Microsoft Online Seminars, which is a free resource for aquiring more information about their products, developing and many other topics.

From Skit: Not long after the rumours were posted on slashdot.org, the new iPod has been released. The iPod Shuffle.



Wednesday Evening (7 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 12-January-2005  22:16:16 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Live the digital life in stylish simplicity. Just 6.5 inches wide and 2 inches tall, Mac mini provides what you need to have more fun with your music, photos and movies — right out of the box. More details on Apple's site. Sounds pretty groovy, thanks andru!

TheWedgie sent in news about a very useful feature for Virgin Mobile users; they have just launched a new service called Dialling Under the Influence. From today simply dial 333 plus the phone number you don’t want to call when drunk...

The Tech Zone have a guide on how to get the most out of your Digital Camera. I think I might of posted this before but its worth a look for people who may have missed it before.

Rob found these devastating satellite before/after pictures of the tsunami that hit the Indonesian region on Boxing Day.

From Tweak Guides: The Windows XP Tweaking Companion (XPTC) has been updated to Version 1.02. The changes in this version are minor, mainly improvements in formatting and some minor tweak revisions and clarifications. If you're using an existing version of the XPTC without any problems you don't have to download the latest version. However to find out more about the changes, or if you haven't yet tried this free-to-download ultimate XP Tweaking resource, head to TweakGuides.com's XPTC page.

If you are interested in seeing Windows load on an iMac, then you might want to check out this. They have purged an iMac of its previous components and replaced them with PC parts.

Ars Technica has published a guide to ripping and encoding music.

Bern spotted this article on Slashdot about a breakthrough in JPEG Compression.

More CES 2005 coverage posted on eCoustics, The Tech Lounge, The Tech Zone, Cool Tech Zone, Tech Report, and PC Perspective.



Tuesday Evening Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 11-January-2005  18:33:47 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Powersupply:
Thermaltake PurePower 680W Power Supply on Bjorn3D
ThermalTake Silent PurePower 680W on Bytesector

Videocard:
Gigabyte GeForce 6600 GT AGP on Legion Hardware
Gigabyte 3D1 Single Slot 6600GT SLI on Neoseeker
HIS X700Pro IceQ Turbo VIVO 256MB PCI-E Video Card on 3DGameMan
ASUS Extreme AX600XT/HDTV (RADEON X600 XT) on Hardware Zone

Mouse/Keyboard:
Logitech MX1000 Wireless mouse on Pyroreport
X-Trac Mad Wax - Wax for mousepads on Hard-H20
BTC 6300CL Backlit Keyboard and M960M RF Wireless Optical Mouse on Tech-Mods
Thailand Display FlexKeyboard on 3DVelocity
Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse on BigBruin

Misc:
CaseBuy USB Vacuum Cleaner on Phoronix
Proaim: Virtual Alignment Trainer on Auphan Online
Sunbeam Lightbus and Chameleon on Rbmods
Samsung ML-2251n Printer on Overclockers Online

Cooling:
Aerocool HT-101 Heatsink on Oz Case Mods
Evercool WC-301 Watercooling Kit CPU on Tech-Mods
Evercool WC-202 Water Cooling Kit on Madshrimps

Ram:
Mushkin PC2-5300 DDR2 on Viper Lair
Corsair Twin2X1024-4300C3 DDR-2 Memory on PCStats

Motherboard:
Abit Fatal1ty AA8XE Motherboard on PcPerspective
ASUS A8V Deluxe 939 Motherboard on 3DX

Case:
SunBeamTech Black Samurai Mid-Tower Case on EOC
Cooler Master Praetorian on Artic Squad

Audio:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook on TrustedReviews



Ces 2005 (2 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 11-January-2005  18:20:31 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

VR-Zone, Designtechnica, TechIMO and PC Perspective all have coverage posted on this year's CES (Consumer Electroncs Show) posted.

A snippet from Designtechnia's article: The Designtechnica staff was attending CES in Las Vegas from January 2nd to January 9th and walked through the large 1.38 million square feet Hilton Las Vegas Convention Center. This year’s show featured more than 2400 exhibitors and 140,000 attendees. Are our feet sore? You betcha, but our fix for technology subsided the pain in our shoes. Read on as we show you which products attracted our attention in this multi-part feature.



Monday Afternoon Reviews #2 (4 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 10-January-2005  16:27:06 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Cooling:
Evercool WC-301 Mini Watercooler on OCrCafe.
Thermalright LGA775RM S478 RM for LGA775 motherboards on PCModdingMy.
Asetek VapoChill XE II phase-change cooler on MadShrimps.
Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 4 video card cooler on PCModdingMy.
Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu CPU cooler on SilentPCReview.
Vantec Nexus NXP-301 fan controller on HWZ.il.

Case & Modding:
Sunbeam Thumbscrews on LANAddict.
FRONTX port relocator on WhispTech, we reviewed these years ago here.
CoolerMaster Wavemaster TAC-T01 case on OCWizard.
Raidmax Samurai 903 Gaming Case (video review) on 3DGameMan.
Antec P180 case on SilentPCReview.

Video Cards:
Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT PCI-E on Hi-TechReviews.
Leadtek WinFast PX6600 GT TDH PCI-E on TheTechLounge.
V-Mod Sapphire Radeon 9550 on OC-Service.

Laptops:
Acer TravelMate 382TMi on TrustedReviews.
Rock Computers Pegasus TL on BIOSMag.



OCAU Merchandise (14 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 10-January-2005  16:05:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg

OCAU has a range of merchandise available. There's things to drink out of, things to wear and things to stick to other things.


Click for OCAU Merchandise!



Monday Afternoon (4 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 10-January-2005  15:16:30 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Lots of coolers nowadays employ heatpipe technology. If you're wondering how these mysterious little tubes work, check out this new article on The Heatsink Guide.

LANAddict have a 3-way gaming mouse showdown, with the Mystify Mamba from TerraTec, the Viper from Razer, and the PistolMouse FPS from MonsterGecko. Definite reptilian theme there.

Sniper spotted this 500GB SATA-2 HDD on the way from Hitachi. If that's not big enough for you, Ambush found a 1.6TB RAID0 external storage with USB and Firewire interfaces.

From MrRevHead: After the recent postings about the XBox 2 hardware composition, i thought the following roadmaps may be of interest for some members, apparently Microsoft has applied for a US patent on the design on the 30th of December, 2004 (#20040263519). XBox 2 Patent-related article here.

Hexus looked at some Gainward goodies. TV Tuner, USB sound device and some headphones, all falling under Gainward's "Hollywood@Home" umbrella.

Sudhian have an editorial about performance in 2005 and how Intel, AMD and Apple will continue their fight to be the fastest, in an era where speed increases seem to have reached a plateau.

Just got some amusing spam: I would like to make out the order for the following amount of products from your company: 100 pieces of usb. I will be sending the above mentioned orders to a client in Western Africa. Ahh, those whacky Nigerians. Maybe they'd like some pieces of wireless, too.

From FREF99: I've just seen your post from Sunday about Panasonic Internet cameras, just to let you know I've produced a mobile web cam using cheap components (Atmel CPU,NE2000 network card, standard RC servo's) here's the OCAU forum thread. I imagine my system costs alot less than the panasonic system,OK you need a PC for the USB camera but the results are very enjoyable :-)

Overclex are a French hardware site with an impressive mod posted. It's in French, as you'd expect, but the pictures tell much of the story. Here's one picture to whet your appetite.

ArcticSquad meanwhile are a new Finnish site, with an English-language article about modding Gainward's GF6800LE. They also cover Intel's Pentium4 EE and 925XE chipset, which we looked at recently as well, here.



Monday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 10-January-2005  14:06:07 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Today should be a bit of a news catchup day, so stay tuned this afternoon. Let's start it off with a few reviews...

Memory:
PDP System Patriod XBL PC3200 Dual Channel Kit on ClubOC.
Mushkin 1GB PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 Dual Pack on OCTools.

Mouse Etc:
Icemat 2nd Edition Performance Gaming Pad on ExtremeMHz.
A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse on ATrueReview.
A4Tech BatteryFREE Wireless Optical Mouse on MikhailTech.
Steelpad QcK+ Mousepad on Ripnet.

Audio:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro soundcard on 3DSoundSurge.
AKG's K 271 Studio Headphones on DansData.
RIO Forge 256MB Sport MP3 Player on ARP.

Storage:
Vantec NexStar 2 External 5.25" Enclosure on GideonTech.
Corsair Flash Voyager USB 2.0 256MB on OCTools.
Hitachi 5K80 & Samsung MP0402H notebook hard drives on SilentPCReview.



Random Pics (5 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 10-January-2005  03:00:08 (GMT +10) - by Agg

A few more pics from people:

     

Here's one from Andy: The Xbox 2 has been announced to contain a Multi processing unit and SLI functions. Concerned for customers, Microsoft has adopted a system similar to Steam, where users can bring their system to a station to purchase and download games on the reported 400gb RAID 5 system. However, Microsoft has faced difficulty in shipping and manufacturing delays.


Surely we can do better than these. :) Send any funny/interesting pics to me!



Sunday Afternoon (3 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 9-January-2005  13:10:44 (GMT +10) - by Agg

The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, is well underway in the USA. Coverage on TheTechLounge here and here. CNN report on the hot gadgets for 2005 seen there.

Wired meanwhile have their Vapourware Awards for 2004 posted.

Apple's lawsuits to protect trade secrets may backfire by confirming which rumours are true, thanks Josh.

CareerOne report on dining al desko.. eating at your desk, as no doubt we all do. These days, the nutritious snack aisles in the supermarket may be crammed with a wide array of dips, fruit snacks, rice snacks, bars, rolls, bakes and twists that did not exist when Uncle Tobys launched the simple muesli bar in 1983.

Flexbeta compared the new Microsoft antispyware program with some competing products.

You may be feeling all refreshed and ready for the new year, but is your PC? PCStats have an annual checkup guide posted.

OnlyNewz compared five ATI X800XT PE video cards, from Gigabyte, ASUS, VisionTek, Sapphire and Connect3D.

Firefox apparently has a security flaw which can be used in phishing scams.

From Jaren: Non-volatile integrated Quantum-Optical RAM? I found a website claiming gigantic amounts of storage stored in what looks to be an optical silicon of some sort. Their websites are here and here. They are supposedly at CES 2005, more info here. Their own two websites are very poorly made, using what looks like pictures taken with webcam or a very cheap digital camera. This patented technology boasts 128MB/square millimeter on a 20 micron slab, accessible at 0.6ns, which is Really Fast, considering light goes about 30 cm in 1ns through air. HowStuffWorks shows more evidence of its existence and a quick google search brings up more results every hour. Their prototype laptop is a 4 ghz cpu with no less than GPS, GPRS, WIFI, bluetooth with every immaginable input and output, from modem and lan, to firewire and usb 2 and TV /VGA out. This machine also has a 100 Gig solid state hard drive/ ram, with up to 18 hours of on time and it probably is almost instant on with .6 ns access time. This technology uses the Glendin Effect, described on their website. I want some of that action....

Meanwhile, a company called InPhase Technologies claims to have holographic storage well on the way.



Mini RC "Super Explorer 3" Submarine and Radio Controlled Speedboat (16 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 9-January-2005  02:45:42 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Some light reading for Sunday. Our resident master of the open seas, the Dread Pirate Sciby, has cast a scurvy eye over two little RC toys for the aquatically-inclined. One for above the waves and one below, a speedboat and a submarine.


Click for the review!



Sunday Morning (7 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 9-January-2005  00:31:29 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Lots of people sent word of an antispyware beta program from Microsoft. Some coverage on BuilderAU.

Madshrimps compared six LGA775 CPU coolers. Most of the ones in our recent large P4 cooler roundup fit LGA775 too.

From Hydra: Something i'm sure will waste some time, a quick google search reveals that there are many of those Panasonic Internet cameras out there... Most if not all can be interacted with in some way!

Xbit have an interesting article about Internet2, which is getting off the ground in Russia.

Bjorn3D have contest where you can win some Corsair memory.

CreativeMods have a Modder of the Month posted, with many glowing bits. Pimprig have a feature project also.

Some snippets from XAJIM: Saw this today in the paper regarding some kids who were part of a network of folk who stole money out of people's bank accounts. Also this regarding some big TV's that Samsung is releasing at the CES in Las Vegas. Another CES tidbit, Kodaks new wireless digital camera system.

mpot has a guide to making more printable webpages with CSS.

Chris Nolan sent word that Dell will accept PC's for recycling soon. He said Dell Recycling would pick up the systems from an individual's home or office.

From the PCDB: DefyantsSleeper is a watercooled dual Xeon box - you need to click the pictures to see the assembly details. Googlevich has squeezed two radiators into his setup, while unrestricted's project is a cool MAME arcade cabinet. I quite like the Batman-inspired paintjob of ProjectGotham too!



Saturday Morning Reviews #2 (0 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 8-January-2005  01:02:16 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboards:
MSI K8N Diamond nForce4 SLI on tbreak.
EPoX 9NPA+ nF4 Ultra on OCW.
Soltek K8TPro-939 on ClubOC.
nVidia nForce 4 vs. ATI 200 Series A64 PCI-E chipsets on TweakTown.
Foxconn WinFast 755FXK8AA-8EKRS on HotHardware.
ABIT AA8 DuraMAX i925X Express P4 board on HWZ.
Gigabyte K8NS-939 on Techniz.
Gigabyte GA-8TRX330-L ATI RX330 P4 board on HWZ.
865P and 915P chipset for Socket 775 compared on MadShrimps.
ASUS P5AD2-E on OCPrices.

Mouse Etc:
A4 Wireless BatteryFree Mouse on CreativeMods, our review here.
A4Tech Easy Go Optical Notebook Mouse on MikhailTech.
Steelpad QcK+ Professional Gaming Mousepad on ARP.
Xtrac Mad Dotz mouse feet on ap0calypse.
XrayPad Thunder 8 Dual Surface Gaming Pad on TweakNews.

Small Form Factor / Portable:
TriGem Kloss KL-I915A P4 SFF with a twist on TrustedReviews.
Soltek EQ3901-300P s939 SFF on ViperLair.
IBM ThinkPad T42 laptop with biometric security on BIOSMag.

Printers:
Xerox Phaser 3150 mono laser on TrustedReviews.
Samsung CLP-500 Colour Laser on TechTastic.

Networking:
Belkin 802.11g Wireless USB Print Server on PCStats.
Buffalo Wireless Router on TrustedReviews.



Saturday Morning Reviews (1 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 8-January-2005  00:14:21 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Case:
NZXT Nemesis & Nemesis Elite on PimpRig.
Sunbeam Samurai on ATrueReview.
SilverStone LC11 Micro-ATX HTPC Case on 3DVelocity.
Cooler Master Centurion 5 (video review) on 3DGameman.

PSU:
Enermax Noisetaker AX 2.0 485W on ExtremeMHz.
Logisys Pitbull 500W on OCIA.
Silverstone Zeus ST52F on TechIMO.
Enermax EG701AX-VE(W)SFMA V2.0 600W on BigBruin.

Memory:
PQI PC4200 1GB Turbo Memory Kit DDR2 on HotHardware.
Corsair XMS Xpert series on LegitReviews.
Mushkin 1GB PC2-5300 DDR667 on PCModdingMy.
Corsair 4400C25 DDR on Anandtech.
Corsair Rev2 PC3200XL TWINX 2-2-2 DDR on Bjorn3D.



Friday Night Reviews (2 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-January-2005  23:26:16 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Cooling:
Prime Cooler Hypercool III+ and Hypercool 4+ CPU coolers on Phoronix.
Evercool WC-202 Water Cooling Kit on OCrCafe.
Coolermaster CoolDrive 5 Hard Drive Cooler on ExtremeMHz.
Spire PacificBreeze II Notebook Cooler on PC-Base.
Evercool Mini Watercooler WC-301 on PCReview.
Cooler Master Hyper 48 CPU cooler on MadShrimps.
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 video card cooler on Phoronix.
ATake PipeTower K7/P3 CPU cooler on Phoronix.
Asetek WaterChill KT03A-L30 CPU Power Kit w/ Triple Radiator on OCTools.
AeroCool VM-101 video cooler on ClubOC.
Thermaltake Liquid Cooling System Components on Techniz.

Video Cards:
PCI-Express nVidia 6600 and 6600GT comparison on MadShrimps.
ATI Radeon X850 XT PE and X800 XL on Bjorn3D.
MSI Nx6800 Ultra AGP on RBMods.
ATI Radeon X800 XL on Hexus.
Gigabyte 3D1 Dual-Core GeForce 6600GT on LegionHardware.
PowerColor X600XT PCI-Express 128MB on TheTechLounge.

Audio:
ThermalTake Circle Fire music-oriented 5.25" bay device on ByteSector.
Philips PSC724 Ultimate Ege Six Channel Soundcard on TweakNews.
Creative Zen Micro mp3 player on DVHardware.
SanDisk 256MB Flash Drive & mp3 player on 3DXtreme.
EasyTech PN510U MP3 Player in our forums.



Intel's MatrixRAID Examined (5 Comments) (link)
 Friday, 7-January-2005  02:17:55 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Chainbolt has taken an in-depth look at Intel's MatrixRAID technology. As mentioned in the earlier 925XE review, this allows you to use both RAID0 and RAID1 at the same time, with only two hard drives required. Is it the perfect combination of speed and redundancy on a budget? Find out in this 4-page review:


Click for the review!



Thursday Midday (18 Comments) (link)
 Thursday, 6-January-2005  12:40:43 (GMT +10) - by Agg

FoderMe says a date and venue has been set for the third annual melbourne bbq. Sunday the 23rd by the banks of the yarra across the river from rod laver arena. If you're in Brisbane, Ambush says Oryp Cainam is hosting an OCAU BBQ at his house this coming Saturday 08 Jan. Brave man!

MWP says this HyperCube is one of the most incredible mods he's ever seen. See part two of the project here. Where do people find the time to do this stuff?

XAJIM sent word of a fake AMD CPU report on Xbit. A report over Sin Chew Daily web-site claims the local police had discovered a workshop that remarked microprocessors made by Advanced Micro Devices to sell them at higher price-points.

I think thetron is saying something about grammar checking in Openoffice, but I can't be sure. According to Openoffice user message. Their won't be the grammar until June later this year when they begin Alpha testing. I wait can for it :P We're all waiting, tron. :)

CSM has one of the first reports on this year's Consumer Electronics Show in the US. No doubt we'll be hearing plenty more about it over the next few days. Another early story is the first Palm OS wristwatch launch.

Apple have beefed up their Xserve G5 rackmounted servers. The PowerPC G5 processors come with more than 35 gigaflops of processing power per system and a front side 1U server system bus, running at up to 1.15 GHz and providing up to 9.2 GBps of bandwidth per processor and up to three 400GB drives, achieving 1.2TB of hot-plug storage.

The two Mars rovers are celebrating the first anniversary of their arrival on the red planet. I can picture them now, doing donuts in the martian soil and exchanging robotic-arm high-fives. Meanwhile Russia has decided to enter the space taxi business, charging the USA for carrying their astronauts to the International Space Station.

Apparently some World of Warcraft players are unhappy about the performance of an Australian server. If you agree, sign their petition. Has anyone ever seen one of these online petitions produce a response from a company?

Ellen Spertus, who in 2001 was voted the "Sexiest Geek Alive" (and accepted her award wearing a Gallery Serpentine corset) continues to develop opportunities for women in computer science.



Wednesday Evening Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-January-2005  18:15:11 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Input:
Razer Diamondback Optical Mouse on XYZ.
Logisys Phone Smart LED Keyboard on Hardware-Pacers.
Microsoft Optical Desktop with Fingerprinter Reader on CoolTechZone.
Saitek Cyborg EVO Wireless Joystick on FutureLooks.
Razer Diamondback Gaming Mouse on Tech-Mods.
MS IntelliMouse Explorer for Bluetooth and Logitech MX900 bluetooth mice on TheTechZone.
A4Tech NB-30 Battery-Free Optical Mouse on TechFreaks, our review here.
Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse on TheTechZone.

PSU:
MGE XE Vigor 500W on Hi-TechReviews.
Thermaltake Purepower 680W on TweakNews.
SeaSonic S12 430W on 3DVelocity.
Ultra X-Connect 500W on ByteSector.
CaseBuy EZ PSU Tester on HWHounds.

Storage:
Crucial Gizmo! USB2.0 Flash Drive on TheTechLounge.
Asour VPC-1000B Multimedia DVD Optical Drive on PCModdingMy.

Misc:
HighSpeed PC Tech Station on ViperLair.
JAHT JN-1110R32C Gigabit Ethernet Adapter on Techniz.
Danger Den TDX LGA775 Waterblock on LegitReviews.
Dell W2600 26-inch LCD TV on BIOSMag.
Cooler Master CoolViva VGA Cooler on Tech-Mods.
Samsung Q30 Ultra-Portable Notebook on TrustedReviews.
Matrix Orbital MX421 LCD Kit on Bjorn3D.
Mushkin PC2-5300 DDR2 memory on MadShrimps.



Check your forums email! (10 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-January-2005  16:27:55 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Please take a moment to check the email setting in your forums UserCP. We're receiving hundreds of bounced emails every hour now, from people who have not updated their email after changing ISPs or jobs. It only takes a few seconds to check and/or update it, so please make sure it's correct, thanks.


Wednesday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-January-2005  13:27:34 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Case:
NZXT Nemesis on ClubOC.
Cooler Master Centurion on LegitReviews.
NZXT Nemesis Elite aluminium gamer's case on Tech-Mods.
Cooler Master Cavalier desktop on PCPerspective.
Enermax CS527 tower on SpodesAbode.
MGE Sidewinder on BurnOutPC.

Video Card:
Gigabyte Radeon X800XT on LegionHardware.
HiS Radeon x700 Pro 256MB on Guru3D.
Abit RX300 SE-Guru PCI-E on TrustedReviews.

Networking:
Gigabyte Turbo G Wireless on TweakTown.
D-Link Express EtherNetwork DI-604 ethernet broadband router on PC-Base.

Mini-PC:
G5 8300mc media-center small form-factor PC on SFFTech.
Soltek QBiC EQ3901M Barebone SFF (AMD64 939) on 3DXtreme.
Shuttle XPC SN95G5 A64 S939 SFF on LegionHardware.



Press Releases (1 Comments) (link)
 Wednesday, 5-January-2005  04:39:28 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Catching up on press releases, so some of these are from late last year. I just spent a little while making a press release system based on our article/review engine. So now we can host some of the press releases we previously couldn't. Just makes things a little easier all around. Anyway...

AMD introduced the AMD Alchemy Au1200 processor for portable multimedia, thanks Simon. The Au1200 processor has been optimized for personal media players (PMP) and enables a new generation of conveniences and features, including scalable DVD-quality displays, effortless video content transfers directly from digital video recorders, and long-lasting battery life so consumers can stay mobile longer. More info here on their website.

ASUS announced what they claim is the World’s First AMD Motherboard Supporting SLI Dual-PCI Express Architecture. The A8N-SLI Deluxe adopted several exclusive designs including a special layout tailored for thermal issues, the EZ Plug for dependable power supply to satisfy the high power demand of two PCI Express graphics cards, and the EZ Selector for easy activation of SLI (Scalable Link Interface) mode. More info here.

ASUS also announced a new 1RU Dual-Xeon server. The dual-Xeon architecture with up to 16GB DDR333 RAM and 3 SCSI HDDs enabled by the onboard SCSI controller provide both powerful processing capability and large capacity for data storage. One 64-bit, full-length and full-height PCI-X slot ensures outstanding scalability, while dual-Ethernet connection supports Gigabit LAN as well as 10/100Mbps speeds for sufficient bandwidth during network communication. More info here.

Altech Computers announced the availability of a new ELSA video card range using ATI's workstation chipsets. At the top of the heap is the all powerful ELSA ATI FireGL V7100 powered by the ATI FireGL V7100, which offers the highest performance in the brand-new PCI-Express workstation series. ELSA’s ATI FireGL V7100 delivers the fastest, most accurate and superior quality graphics for professional applications. More info here.

Gigabyte unveiled their latest DVD burner, the GO-W1616C, supporting both 16X DVD+/-R and 4X DVD+R double layer writing. In addition, with GIGABYTE I.B.S technology, it prevents buffer under-run problems eliminating the creation of CD and DVD coasters. Furthermore, i-Speed Technology can intelligently adjust reading speed and innovation technology i-Burn 2 Technology will automatically adjust optimum burning speed during the recording process according to media type therein providing safety and quality throughout your burning process. 40KB product pic here, more info in a 581KB DOC here.

Tyan have a new A64 motherboard, the Tomcat K8E. This chipset takes advantage of the new features found in the nForce4 Ultra, including first time support for x16 PCI- Express graphics interface technology, including 2 of the newer PCIe and 4 standard PCI slots, allowing an incredible range of expansion support for a wide variety of applications. More info here.



Tuesday Evening (8 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 4-January-2005  22:15:21 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Voidyourwarranty has an article on PC Security which they describe as a sticky subject. You can't teach it without first going over the ways of how one attacks a system. The best way to guard against an attack is to know how an attack is done in the first place. Thus, the purpose of these articles.

Ninjalane has just posted an Interview with DFI that covers some of the new features found on their LANParty nForce4 enabled motherboards. This interview is in audio format and will be streamed from the website once every two hours starting Jan 4th 2005 @ 12:00am MST (3am Eastern, 11pm Pacific) (MST est. stream times 2am 4am 6am 8am 10am 12am etc... ± 12min.)

The Tech Zone has a guide on preventing computer slowdowns and issues, handy article for those fairly new to computers. For some (odd) reason the picture displayed in that article makes me chuckle.

The Top 10 Apple stories of 2004 have been posted on arstechnica.

Tech Report has decided on 2004's best hardware, ranging from CPUs to sound cards.

For those looking at making a cheap basic system, then you might want to look at MikailTech's guide on building one based around the Socket A design.

Being the BBQ season that it is, Sydney-siders might want to check out this thread in our forums about a BBQ being held on the 23rd of this month.

TweakHound have their Super XP Tweaking Guide - SP2 V1.0 Final posted.

eBay will stop using Microsoft's Passport for log-in to their site, and Microsoft have now also stopped marketing its sign-on service to other Web sites. Full story on Information Week.

Looks like the Mars Rovers are living longer than expected, which is allowing both rovers to reach additional destinations and to keep making discoveries. I'm still waiting for pictures of aliens, but chances are slim, I know. :(

Tech Power Up has a handy mod for those X800 Pro VIVO card owners, you can bios flash them to an XT PE!

The company that owns the famed Commodore computer brand has been sold to Yeahronimo Media Ventures, a Beverly Hills, California, digital music distributor. Full story on Yahoo.

More 2004 awards have been handed out, this time at OCW. The results for the 2004 Readers' Awards are out, and in the article they share and analyse some of the results of the polls by their readers.



Pics (13 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 4-January-2005  12:20:02 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Just a couple of random pics that people have sent in recently. On the left is one from reax, which came with the notice "WARNING: HORROR THEMES" and really is too terrible to contemplate. On the right is one from marty, which is self-explanatory. :)

 

Feel free to send me any other funny or interesting pics for the news page!



Tuesday Morning Reviews (5 Comments) (link)
 Tuesday, 4-January-2005  11:26:52 (GMT +10) - by Agg

Motherboard / CPU:
ASUS P5AD2 Premium 925X Express P4 board on HWZ.
DFI 855GME-MGF and Pentium-M Dothan CPU on LostCircuits.
DFI 855GME-MGF and Pentium-M Dothan CPU on HotHardware.
Albatron PX915G4 Pro P4 board on OCOnline.
Gigabyte SLI nForce4 board on t-break.

PSU:
CaseBuy EZ Power Supply Tester on PCModdingMy.
Ultra Products EV X-Connect 500W on Ap0calypse.
CaseBuy Power Supply Tester on ClubOC.

Storage:
Vantev Mrk-200st-bk HDD rack on RBMods.
ByteCC Hotdrive HD-201U2 2.5" IDE enclosure on Phoronix.
Pioneer DVR-S806 16x Dual-Layer DVD Writer on CoolTechZone.
Vantec EZ-Swap 3.5" SATA enclosure on A1-Electronics.
Toshiba 80GB 16MB Cache 2.5" HDD on MikhailTech.
ACRyan XNeon SATA HDD cables with bling on BurnOutPC.
ACRyan XTOR Xilencer HDD silencer on MadShrimps.



Archive Updated (3 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 3-January-2005  13:16:54 (GMT +10) - by Agg

So, here we are in 2005. Still no sign of my flying car. :) Hopefully 2004 was good to you, best of luck for 2005.

The second half of December 2004 was pretty quiet, as you'd expect, but in the first half we had these articles. They've been added to the Article and Review Archive now, so check them out if you missed them the first time they appeared on the news page:

Intel 925XE Chipset and 3.46GHz Extreme Edition CPU review.
Sitecom USB 2.0 VGA Adapter review.
Five Large P4 Coolers roundup.

One very cool thing we saw was the OCAU Mosaic (click the button), a large image containing all the OCAU Forum avatars, arranged into an OCAU logo. See this thread for more info.

We also updated our Sisoft Sandra Mirror page in late November with the latest version, Sandra 2005.



Side-mounted Watercooling (4 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 3-January-2005  10:59:48 (GMT +10) - by Agg

SimonFearbyAUS's PCDB entry has an unusual approach to the problem of fitting watercooling components inside the PC case. He has them mounted, fairly neatly, on the outside of the side panel:


Click for the PCDB entry! (8 pics)



Monday Morning (5 Comments) (link)
 Monday, 3-January-2005  01:02:13 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Rojak Pot's Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide has been updated to version 7.4.

A Melbourne OCAU BBQ is being organised, so if you are interested in attending, then head over to this thread in our forums for all the details.

Ambush sent in news about Steven Spielberg bringing Transformers to the big screen.

The Tech Zone has an article all about IP-Based Video Surveillance, and how it works.

Hardware Logic just announced news on their next benchmark which is currently known as Codename Project LX, which will be the new standard for multi-platform computer benchmarking as we move into 2005. More details in their Press Release.

RivaTuner, the very famous tweaking ultility has been updated to version 2.0 RC 1.5, with support for the new 67.xx - 7x.xx drivers and also other miscellaneous bug fixes. More information on the release here, on Guru3D.

Good news for all the Family Guy fans, 22 new episodes are set for production early this year. There is a thread discussing this in our forums, thanks Domination.

Viper Lair has a guide on Slipstreaming Office 2003, which saves you having to install all the fixes and services packs every time you reinstall office.

The Tech Zone information about creating your own computer games, which they descibe as being easier than what you think.

eCoustics has a guide on understanding terms used by reviewers when describing loudspeakers. For instance, does a term like "chocolaty midrange" have meaning for anyone other than the writer who used it? Does it mean that the sound is smooth, thick, or dark? And is it a criticism or a compliment?



Sunday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 2-January-2005  14:18:55 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Cooling:
Thermaltake Aquarius VGA Waterblock on Techniz
Thermaltake Venus 12 on XtReMoDs
Zalman Reserator 1 on OCIA
Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu 92mm CPU Cooler on The Tech Lounge
Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu cooler on Tech Report
Gigabyte 3D Rocket Cooler Pro (GH-PCU22-VG) on Bjorn3D
Jetart JACSH1 VGA Cooler on Techniz
Thermalright XP-90 Heatsink on Techniz

PSU:
Seasonic S12 - 430 Watt Power Supply on Hi-tech Reviews
OCZ PowerStream 600W Power Supply on ClubOC

RAM:
OCZ DDR booster on Rbmods

Audio:
Logitech z680 Surround Sound Speakers on TechTastic

Motherboard:
ASUS NCL-DS1 Server Board (E7520) on Hardware Zone
Albatron K8Ultra-U Pro ULI M1689 Mainboard on OC WorkBench
FIC P4M-RS350 Motherboard on Viper Lair
Shuttle XPC SN96G5 Barebones nForce3 Ultra Socket 939 on Hardcoreware
DFI LANPARTY LGA775 925X-T2 & 875P-T on Hot Hardware

Mouse:
Three-Way Gaming Mouse Showdown on LAN Addict
Corepad Magna on GruntvillE
A4Tech Easy Go AK-5 on ASE Labs

Storage:
Vantec NexStar 2, 3.5" IDE hard drive mobile enclosure on A1 Electronics
Diskology Disk Jockey on PCMechanic
Corsair Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Flash Memory Drive on Extreme Overclocking

Software/Games:
Kingdom Under Fire on Bytesector

SFF/HTPC/Systems:
Tranquil T2.e - Silent Media Center PC on TrustedReviews
Thermaltake Gaming System on Legion Hardware



Sunday Morning Reviews (2 Comments) (link)
 Sunday, 2-January-2005  09:00:32 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Modding:
Steel Cord Holder on Pimped Out Cases
Steel Gaming Glove on Pimped Out Cases
Sunbeam Tech Specialty Thumb Screws on BigBruin
Sunbeam Lightbus on Lan Addict
mCubed T-Balancer Fan Controller on BigBruin

Video:
HIS Radeon X700 Pro IceQ Turbo on Legion Hardware
Gigabyte GeForce 6600 GT (GV-NX66T128D) on Bjorn3D
HIS X700Pro PCI-E Graphics Card on TweakTown
Asus Extreme AX800 XT PE/2DHTV on Hexus
Leadtek WinFast A400 Ultra/GT TDH on Hexus
BFG 6600GT OC AGP on Neoseeker

Network:
Hotbrick LB-2 Load Balancing router on Guru3d

Case:
SilverStone Lascala 10M HTPC Case on Overclocker Cafe
Cooler Master Wavemaster LE on ClubOC
SilverStone Lascala 10M HTPC Case on A True Review
SilverStone LC03V Case on OCModShop
Raidmax Samurai 908 Gaming Case on OCIA

Display:
Sharp LL-151-3D LCD Monitor on Trusted Reviews
InFocus LP600 - DLP Data Projector on Trusted Reviews
ViewSonic VP171b 17-inch 8ms TFT LCD on Hardware Zone

Misc:
APC TravelPower Notebook Case on A True Review
OKI C3100 - Colour LED Printer on Trusted Reviews
HighSpeedPC Tech Station on Phoronix
NOKIA 6260 on OC WorkBench



Saturday Morning (3 Comments) (link)
 Saturday, 1-January-2005  08:50:14 (GMT +10) - by aftahours

Happy new year my fellow news readers, I hope you had as good as a time as me last night! ;) Anyway plenty of news to catch up on, so let's get to it.

To start off, Joe from Computing On Demand has a rant about AOL in his latest little article called AOL - First Glimpse at Hypocrisy.

The Tech Zone takes a look at what it takes to do 100% legal music downloads.

Unfortunately the death toll from the tsunami has topped 126,000, with Indonesia saying that it has stopped trying to count precisely how many people were killed. More than $1.4bn has donated for the relief effort, but Ryan sent in a link where you can do your part.

Designtechnica recently conducted an interview with Tony Jasionowski, a Panasonic executive who is involved in that company’s recordable DVD strategies. He also is involved in two industry wide organizations – the Recordable DVD Council and RAM Promotion Group. Jasionowski, while definitely in favor of promoting Panasonic’s viewpoints on the DVD recorder market, had quite a few interesting things to say about the current choices and issues facing consumers.

Vec sent in this timewaster, called Crypt Raider.

This weeks Under the Influence story has been posted, this one entitled Are You Ready For Some Football.

Dan has more letters posted, covering hosts files, toy-cam purchasing wisdom, LED-lit shuttlecraft, tungsten hunting, angry quacks, and three more chunks of audiophile nut fun.

The DD crew has a new article up in a series of "Modding Boot Camp" pieces where they will show some of the fundamental skills of modding.

Techspot has an interesting read on Microsoft SPOT service and Suunto n3 Smart Watches. From the article: About four years ago, Microsoft's R&D team came up with a new technology called Smart Personal Object Technology (SPOT) which uses FM radio signals to broadcast information to your wristwatch. After a few delays, the SPOT service was finally launched earlier this year with four companies producing SPOT enabled watches: Suunto, Fossil, Tissot and Swatch. According to the software giant, thousands of watches have been sold since the service launch.




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