[H]ardNews 13th Edition

9600SE Comparo:

Matthew Roberts drops us a link at the ATI site that gives the lowdown on the 9600SE compared to the rest of the 9600 family. Also, Best Buy did drop us a line today and let us know that all of their stores would have the US$129 video card that comes with a free full version of Half-Life 2. Hell, I am tempted to go get one and give the card to my Mom.

HyperX:

MetkuMods puts a couple of Kingston's PC3500 sticks on the OC grill and come away with some pretty tasty results. Mmmm, pass the ranch.

Kingston HyperX PC3500 modules are absolutely brilliant memory. Considering that you can get memory that is capable to 250MHz 2-2-2-5, you just cannot pass these.

5600Ultra:

OCModshop reviews a card that is popular with almost 2% of our readers, the XFX 5600Ultra.

It was a little behind in some of the DirectX 8 testing however it excelled in the DirectX 9 testing.

Before you got nutso, no, he did not compare it to any of the ATI DX9 cards.

XPC Vs. XPC:

Dan stops replying to letters long enough to actually review some hardware for change. He must have run out of toys. ;)

The two black boxes in the above picture are the XPC SB65G2 and SB62G2models - as you may have gathered, Shuttle aren't big on memorable product names. Like the other current XPCs, they also come in silver versions, but we've known for a long time that black is faster. Both colours of enclosure are made from aluminium.

[H]ardNews

So Long Tax Ban?

WASHINGTON -- A five-year ban on Internet taxes expires at the end of the week and there's a push in the Senate to make it permanent.

Motorola 4-Mbit:

AUSTIN, Texas — Aided by a key contribution from a Russian scientist who died young, Motorola Inc. is claiming to have essentially solved one of the major challenges facing magnetoresistive memories, with technology it has incorporated in 4-Mbit MRAM samples shipping now to select customers.

DIE SPAMMER DIE:

E-mail infrastructure and services company IronPort Systems Inc. is closing $29 million in Series C funding, with $14 million coming from new strategic investors and the remaining $15 million from previous investors.

I would suggest investing with these guys before Infinium.

Cha-Ching:

The University of Wisconsin Madison has filed a suit against Sony and Toshiba, claiming that technology being used in the creation of the PS2's Emotion Engine infringes a patent which was filed by the university in 1986.

[H]ardNews 11th Edition

Etc. From Hell I:

We had some server issues here today and we got a bit behind on our "Etc." news so here is the mother load for you.

USB HD Enclosure @ ViperLair - XPC Review in German - The Linux Barbie OS - Logitech Speakers that Kick Butt @ FastLaneHardware - Super Silent 520Watt PSU @ SystemCooling - WinAmp Remote @ ViperLair - iRock MP3 Player @ AllHWZone - Wireless MS Mouse @ 3DVelocity - Altec Lansing Headphones @ Gruntville - 7n1 Card Reader @ 8BallsHardware

Etc. From Hell II:

iPaq @ TrustedReviews - 20GB MP3 JukeBox @ TechTastic - Samsung Monitor @ Bjorn3D - Zalman Theater Headphones @ PCTechZone - MX700 @ AseLabs - External DVD burner @ Bjorn3D - Plextor DVD @ GotAdex - Mitsu 22" Monitor @ WorldOCers

Modding:

Sunbeam Overclock Kit - RaidMax Case @ ClubOC

[H]ardNews 10th Edition

9600SE Hits Shelves:

Huh? What? Is this a mistake? No it is not and Best Buy is selling the card currently, but I am not sure in how many stores. We have talked to ATI about this and we are yet to receive any official information on 9600SE specifications. One thing is for sure, it is a US$130 video card that has a US$50 game tucked inside.

UPDATE: ATI did just inform us of the basic specifications of the 9600SE: 325MHz Core; 200MHz (400MHz effective) Memory; 4-pipe architecture; 64-bit memory interface. This of course does pale in comparison to the 9600XT and 9600Pro.

[H]ardNews 9th Edition

AMD, Intel & 64-bit:

I see some people batting around rumors and speculation about Intel and what they would have to do in order to move to a 64-bit CPU. While many will run off profusely at the keyboard with little more than an anonymous mail from a hotmail mailbox, there are some facts here that we have been able to verify that are going to be key to the equation. This is a major factor that goes unmentioned.

First let me ask you this. Why do current Athlon64s utilize the "SSE2" instruction set? Isn't that technology proprietary to Intel? Of course it is. Then why would Intel allow their intellectual property to be exploited by AMD? The answer is a simple one. Intel "gave" it to AMD.

Much the same way AMD will "give" Intel the AMD64/x86-64 instruction set.

We confirmed with AMD's Damon Muzny several weeks ago that AMD and Intel have an agreement about sharing technology. While we have asked for more details beyond that, none have been given. One thing was certain to us after the conversation, and that was that Intel will have the ability to utilize the x86-64 technology developed by AMD. At what cost exactly is unknown to us.

The real questions are simple. How quickly could Intel implement the X86-64 instruction set? And. Would Intel want to implement the AMD contrived x86-64 instruction set or would they rather use something of their own?

Dan Niles, Lehman Brothers' ace analyst, believes that Intel is going to release a rival to AMD's 64-bit hybrid x86 chip, the Athlon64, in the first half of next year and that it could trash AMD's processor sales.

One thing is for sure, Intel will not be calling it “AMD64” should they decide to utilize the instructions...or would they have to.

UPDATE: I did just finally find a great link from 2001 that summed up the agreement mentioned above.

[H]ardNews 8th Edition

ForceWare:

While you might think so, NVIDIA's ForceWare has nothing to do with Ben Kenobi or his panties. This does however have to do with NVIDIA mainboard owners.

NVIDIA® System Utility™ is the ultimate utility for accessing, monitoring, and adjusting your system components, including temperature and voltages with clear, user-friendly control panels. Overclock your system for highest performance or underclock it for near silent operation. All changes are performed within the Microsoft® Windows® interface – enabling full functionality without the need to make changes in the BIOS and reboot your system.

Now we know what you are thinking, "Can I use it?" Well here is your answer on compatibility.

[H]ardNews 7th Edition

Athlon 64 Reviews:

Our buddy Josh over at PenStarSys gets down and dirty with his Asus K8V Deluxe. Make sure you OCers give this one a read as Josh gets into some theories surrounding OCing the VIA K8T800 chipset for Athlon64.

In my basic overclocking attempts I was able to reach the 215 MHz mark with few problems, but stability was anything but good. Most applications would run at 215 MHz, but there were others that would crash very easily. Problems typically started to show up around 205 MHz in some situations. My memory has been able to go up to around 223 MHz with relaxed timings, so that was not the bottleneck.

Sudhian follows up with their own review of the K8V Deluxe as well.

Its built by a top-notch manufacturer, offers a wide array of features, excellent integrated options, is reasonably priced, and also happens to be based on the fastest Socket 754 chipset we've seen yet. The only two groups of people that might not find this product to their liking are overclockers / enthusiasts looking for a maximum degree of tweak-ability and / or buyers that've been burned once too often by VIA's early chipset offerings.

We published our own [H] review of the Asus K8V Deluxe early this morning as well. In the OCing section we do cover some of the limitations of the chipset. Actually we have facts straight from VIA on how the thing works when altering bus speeds so all you enthusiasts will want to read up.

[H]ardNews - Blair's Tech

No Duh?

Hollywood loves a sequel, but there's one it's desperate not to have any part in. Think of it as a horror script with the working title "Subpoena 2: Curse Of The File Swappers," in which consumers are pursued by large companies. "You just don't sue your customer," says Ron Wheeler, senior VP of content protection at News Corp.'s $11 billion-a-year Fox Entertainment film and television group.

A Diverse ATI:

ATI Technologies Inc. announced last week that its Imageon 2250 multimedia co-processor is being used in new camera phones shipped by Motorola Inc. Having recently displaced rival Nvidia Corp. as the graphics processor supplier for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 2, the Motorola deal is being viewed by some as a turning point for ATI as it strives to expand outside PC graphics.

New Copyright Protection:

The Darlings, who live in the U.K., have a company motto: Genius at Play. As mottos go, it's clever and catchy, but doesn't quite capture the quirky brilliance of their recently released antipiracy software, Fade. Macrovision, a company that specializes in protecting the digital rights of software, plans to introduce Fade - and similar antipiracy software - to the United States this year.

WaterWorld II:

The modified oil-drilling platform is being built to support the US Government's Sea-Based Test X-Band Radar (SBX) - part of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the United States' Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) - which will track, discriminate, and assess 'incoming' target missiles.

Virtual Gaming:

Now, 27,000 beta users later, the real test comes. Will paying customers flock to There's metaverse? The company thinks people will want to race flying shopping carts, join clubs for dragon owners and even pose as journalists for in-world publications like the Caldera Sun-Times enough to pull out their credit cards for subscriptions.

Listen, Legally:

Armed with a clever idea and a $60,000 grant from Microsoft Corp., two students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have wired the campus for sound. They've built a system to deliver popular music to student dormitories, without the illegal file swapping that's goaded the recording industry into a furious round of copyright lawsuits.

[H]ardNews 5th Edition

K8/A64 Review:

[H]ard|OCP (Hey that's us!!) has published a review of the "Deluxe" version of the K8V from Asus. If you have been waiting to get into wireless, this may be the mainboard for you.

Considering the cost of a WAPs, that is a great deal. The Asus K8V-Deluxe will be worthy of your hard earned dollars, just as soon at they get a few of their BIOS glitches worked out.

HTPC on your TV:

Huh? Now that you have all that fine digital content on your PC, this will help you get it to your TV where it might be a bit easier to watch sometimes. HTPCNews covers the Hauppauge MediaMVP.

Simply answered this tiny box acts as a client to a PC that's setup with Hauppauge's server software to stream MP3 audio, JPG and Gif images, and Mpeg related video over a LAN (wired or wireless) to your TV.

ATI Drivers:

A driver editorial is afoot over at GamersDepot that focuses on the latest version of Catalyst drivers to officially hit the Net.

The last few builds of Catalyst have done a great job of marrying the likes of performance, quality and compatibility – in fact; we’ve never had any issues with them. Enter in now the Catalyst 3.8 drivers – ATI’s “Most significant driver release ever” and you have the makings for a can of worms for both users of their products and the company itself.

[H]alloween:

It just simply would not be our fave holiday that starts with an "H" around here unless some reader did not carve our logo into a big orange gourd. Hey check it out, it was carved with a machete and then they set it on fire!!! Matthew Angeleri gets first props this week. Can you outdo him without getting the fire department called on you?

[H]ardNews 4th Edition

Linux Centrino WiFi:

MONTREAL, QC Oct. 27, 2003 - Linuxant inc., a world-class supplier of consulting, software development and professional support services is announcing the immediate availability of DriverLoader™ 1.2, a revolutionary compatibility-wrapper allowing standard Windows NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification) drivers shipped by hardware vendors to be used as-is on Linux x86 systems.

Mo betta DriverLoader action Mon... Thanks Dat Phan.

Memories:

Half Gig Heaven at AllHardwareZone with Corsair's 512MB TwinX package, but if that does not blow your skirt up, make sure you don't miss out on EnvyNews' and the tale of their Kingston HyperX PC4000.

A64-FX-43?

Seems as some of those merchants in Akiba's market space seem to think that an Opteron 140 is the same thing as an FX-43? No such CPU has been announced by AMD, so I guess we will wait and see for the official word.

CPU Pricing Down:

If you have been waiting to buy a CPU, this may be your lucky week. Intel and AMD are both dropping their pants. Before you get too excited, there will be no pricing drops on Athlon64 CPUs, but we might very well see some better deal on 2.4Cs from Intel.

[H]ardNews - NV ED

NV Quadro:

LostCircuits spends some time with the latest and greatest from NVIDIA when it comes to workstation cards, the FX3000. It seems as though NVIDIA is still ruling the roost when it comes to this market segment.

The original Quadro4 line of specialized OpenGL cards laid the groundwork for the later revisions based on the GeForce4 and, finally, the Quadro FX family of cards. Starting at a low of US$ 295.- or less street price and extending up to US$ 1,700.- at the high end, nVidia offers a match for anybody's needs.

NV Sys Utils Preview:

NVIDIA brings "CoolBits" to mainboards and 3DVelocity shows us a little of what is going on with it. I have seen all of what NVIDIA wants to do with this application and it has been sizing up nicely. Actually the coverage and explanation in this particular article are pretty poor, but do keep your eyes peeled for more coming today.

MSI NV 5900:

Get your translator loaded up and head over to 3DChip for a review of MSI's FX5900 offering. Just FYI, there is a newer flagship out from NV if that is what you are looking for.

[H]ardNews 1st Edition

Conductive Inks:

We have been hearing more and more about printable circuits. Well Blair dropped me a link where the technology is helping enhance people's lives.

Conductive ink was used to print circuits on tray mats for Australian McDonald's. A light on a toy that came with meals lit up if it followed a maze-like circuit on the mat.

Say What?

Did you hear me? Then obviously you need a new sound card. ipKonfig looks into the AudioTrak ProDigy 7.1 that is based on VIA smokin' chipset.

Quality and performance is what this sound card is all about, and that's putting it mildly. There are many sound cards available on the market for the buyer, but the AudioTrak ProDigy 7.1 brings new class to a simple solution.

Big Sticks:

Getting ready to gear up for a bunch of new holiday games? May we suggest a Gig of Ram to go with them? PCXtreme turns us on to Corsair's TwinX XMS3700.

Corsair memory is undoubtedly the best on the market today for the PC enthusiast or overclocker, and if you have an i875 (Canterwood) or i865 (Springdale) motherboard in your system, then you owe it to yourself to get the maximum potential out of your system with Corsair's TwinX memory.

Mandrake Bites:

Looks as if Mandrake's latest OS can cause some CDRom issues. SMH has the news and a link to a list of drives that can be affected. The patch can be found here. Thanks ZBChick and David Ridgway.

Party Time:

DFI LANParty Time that is, at Datafuse. Remember that the new CMOS Reloaded feature is backwards compatible on all DFI LANParty boards.

Looking at the default performance and stability this board definitly satisfied me, the extensive amount of features like Firewire, Dual Lan, UV Sensitive and SATA (although I would have loved more then only 1 port) really make this a full package.

Soltek SFF:

Hexus shows us another competitor in the Small Form Factor category, but considering Soltek no longer has any support in North America, they are hard to suggest to most of our readers.

[H] Sighting:

PS-RagE shows us where we showed up on his Motorola....