[H]ardNews 1st Edition

DOOM 3 1.1 Patch:

ShackNews has let us know that they are hosting the DOOM 3 1.1 patch at FileShack. The download comes in at just over 17MB and is essentially the same thing as the BETA 1.05 patch that is out now with a few minor fixes added. Grab it if you want it.

Activision sends along a new DOOM 3 patch, which is no longer beta and now updates the game to version 1.1. The change list is pretty much identical to the 1.05 beta one, but there is an extra singleplayer fix which people had been asking for: "Fixed issue when switching between flashlight and previous weapon after using the PDA"

PCGamer / Half-Life 2 Interview:

HalfLife2.net has a little info on the Steam / retail packages posted as well as a small interview with Chuck Osborne, Senior Editor at PCGamer. The interview covers PCGamers hands on review of Half-Life 2 and what can be expected from their “World Exclusive” review. Thanks to David Petkofsky for the heads up.

[H]ardNews 12th Edition

ATI Vs. NVIDIA:

An interesting presentation just fell into our hands that looks to be an ATI original meant to be used by ATI sales staffers. It focuses on the ATI Radeon X700 series video card and the way it matches up to the NVIDIA 6600 series competition. It seems as though last week an NVIDIA based sales presentation was circulating although we never got a chance to verify its authenticity.

The ATI presentation goes as far as to accuse NVIDIA of being a "one trick pony" and having to use old benchmarks to make a new video card look good. ATI goes on to point out that "End-users don't play benchmarks...they play games...," but I am sure we will continue to see synthetic benchmarks noted where it behooves them to do so.

The entire slide show is posted below. We also invite you to review our X700 preview in which we use real-world gaming experiences to evaluate the hardware. When it was said and done, the NVIDIA 6600 series looked to come out on top when using the latest games from today...and really playing them...not just benchmarking them with demos.

[H]ardNews 11th Edition

Meqon Interview:

HomeLAN has an interview with Meqon’s CMO Marcus Lysén posted today that is really worth reading. We posted a link yesterday in our 7th edition to the Meqon’s downloadable physics demos that you really should check out if you haven’t already.

George Broussard, 3DRealms main man, weighed in over at ShackNews on integrating the new physics engine into Duke Nukem Forever.

16.7 Megapixel Camera:

Canon has a new 16.7 megapixel camera that has a wireless transmitter to boot! Holy cow, could you imagine that? And a wireless 820.11 b/g connection so you can transmit your pics right over to your laptop. Wow.

An optional wireless adaptor (also released today) delivers high speed IEEE802.11b/g wireless LAN and 100 Megabit per second wired LAN support.

[H]ardNews 10th Edition

FTC Wants Your Comments:

Groklaw has all the info on how to submit your comments, questions and requests to the FTC to participate in the E-Mail Authentication Summit held by the Federal Trade Commission and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Just remember, if you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Well, something like that.

I just noticed that September 30 is the deadline to submit written comments or requests to participate in the Federal Trade Commission-National Institute of Standards and Technology's "Email Authentication Summit."

[H]ardNews 9th Edition

Gainward 6800GT 2400/Ultra GS:

The Gainward 6800GT 2400/Ultra Golden Sample makes an appearance on the Neoseeker review bench today. Nice card, good cooling, worth the price premium? Read the review to find out.

We always like to see and encourage non-reference solutions and Gainward never fails to disappoint on that front; we have a reference board layout with the Golden Sample but the styling and cooling of the 2400/Ultra is unlike any card from any competitor out there.

9800Pro To XT Guide 5.1:

Adrian’s Rojak Pot has posted version 5.1 of the Radeon 9800Pro to XT mod guide for all of you who want to flash their way to a faster card. Even though the guide covers the 9800 series of cards, there is a poll in our forums that is tallying the amount of successful flashes versus failed flashes on the X800Pro to XT. Something you might want to take into consideration before attempting to BIOS flash any video card regardless of make and model.

Even with the introduction of a new class of GPUs from ATI and NVIDIA, your Radeon 9800 Pro card is still something to be reckoned with! In fact, many Radeon 9800 Pro cards can be given a further boost in performance by modding them into full Radeon 9800XT cards!

[H]ardNews 8th Edition

MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum:

If you are upgrading to a 939 pin Athlon64 processor, this MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum motherboard might be what you are looking for. Those crazy crustaceans seemed to really like the board. Read the whole review to see why.

Overall, I must say I'm very impressed with this motherboard. MSI has certainly improved their standing in my mind with the performance orientation and attention to detail involved when designing this board.

Albatron K8X800 Pro II v2.0:

If upgrading to a socket 939 isn’t on your radar, there are still plenty of socket 754 motherboards out there to choose from. This Albatron K8X800 Pro II v2.0 reviewed at 3DXtreme seems like a viable candidate.

The Albatron K8X800 Pro II v2 motherboard is a solid piece of hardware. Bundling so many features it’s almost mind numbing.

Antec Aria:

HTPC News has the Antec Aria mATX case in house for a little review action. Because you can add any motherboard you like the Aria is a good way to get a small form factor PC without going the traditional SFF route.

I would recommend this case to anyone looking in to a SFF type HTPC system. It offers much more flexibility than a traditional SFF PC, and can be upgraded later on with a new system board.

[H]ardNews 7th Edition

Catalyst Beta Drivers “HotFix”:

There is a new set of Catalyst Beta drivers out, released as a “hotfix” to address performance / game issues. Download them if you need them. The package weighs in at just under 22MB. The reasons given for the beta release are:

GameSpot On Phantom Slip:

Following up on last weeks reports, GameSpot has an article confirming that the launch of the Phantom console / game service has slipped to an unspecified date in 2005. According to the GameSpot article, most of the information given is taken directly from a statement sent to the press by Infinium Labs. Interesting reading.

Infinium Labs today said it would delay the launch of its on-demand game service from November 2004 to an unspecified date in 2005.

If you want to know more about Infinium Labs and have not read our articles Behind the Infinium Phantom Console and Inside the Infinium Labs Phantom Console, we suggest you give them a read. You might also want to check out where Infinium Labs is suing HardOCP for what we said in one of those articles as well.

[H]ardNews 6th Edition

[H]ardForum [H]appenings:

Welcome to today’s edition of [H]ardForum [H]appenings. Most of you will be thrilled to know that Mashie’s DOOM 3: Hell Inside project has been updated with more pictures of this awesome SFF mod. It looks like Deal of the Day might be this 250GB hard drive for $130. The hottie girl gamers (Frag Dolls) thread has gotten a little attention after the Frag Dolls themselves responded. Definitely a thread to check out if good looking girl gamers are your thing. There is a poll asking if your X800Pro to XT flash ever failed…handy information to have if you are considering taking the plunge. Speaking of flashing your video card BIOS, this guide to safely flashing your 6800GT OC BIOS should help you get the job done. As always, there is well over 100,000 other threads to participate in if none of these flip your switch. We’ll see you in there!

[H]ardNews 5th Edition

ATi Radeon X300:

TweakNews has reviewed the ATi Radeon X300 video card today and the general consensus is that if you need a cheap, non-gaming video card the X300 is a good choice. Gamers need not apply.

What I will be stating is that if you are moving to the new Intel LGA775 specification or the new Athlon64 PCI Express motherboard and you just need a basic 2D videocard, the X300 based alternatives on the market will make you more than happy.

Kodak 3D Stereo Display:

Primotech has a little info on the recently unveiled Kodak 3D Stereo Display. I don’t see this coming to a desktop near you anytime soon, the display itself is as big as a bus. The tech is pretty cool though.

Kodak officially unveiled their next-generation Stereo 3D Display earlier this month at the iGames Expo in New York City. The team showcased the machine with the aid of EA's NASCAR Thunder 2004.

WinXP Performance Guide:

IANAG have updated their Windows Performance Guide with more tips and tweaks to get every last bit of performance out of your WinXP install.

Please read this title very carefully because this guide is ONLY intended for Performance related tweaks. There's millions of other "tweaks" that other guides use but have nothing to do with performance. In this guide I'm ONLY including what actually has some kind of affect on performance.

[H]ardNews 4th Edition

H-1B Visa Changes?

The super hot topic of H-1B visas is being discussed in the Senate right now. It would seem big business is essentially pushing for more exemptions while labor groups fight against it.

There's a push in Congress to change guest visa programs, including a proposal to create a new exemption to the annual cap of 65,000 new H-1B visas. Legislation under serious discussion in the Senate would exempt foreign students graduating from U.S. schools with master's and doctorate degrees.

IBM Invests In RFID:

IBM has invested $250 million into RFID, creating a whole new RFID division at IBM. IBM is currently amassing a team of about 1,000 for the new RFID division.

IBM announced Monday a $250 million investment in RFID (radio frequency identification), an emerging technology that is being mandated by the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the Department of Justice, but that has seen little adoption elsewhere.

Troubles At ALi:

Amidst posting huge losses for 2004, Ali is also shuffling management and sell off businesses in an attempt to get back on track.

ALi expects to see a full-year net loss of NT$708 million in 2004, compared to NT$5 million in net income in 2003, according to a September 24 company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

[H]ardNews 2nd Edition - Mods & Ends

Cooling:

CoolerMaster X Dream III vs. Ultra Vortex - Waffer PC AirCon PAC 400 @ Phoronix - Swiftech H20-120-P @ Overclockers Online - Thermalright XP-120 HSF @ InsaneTek

Etc.:

Raidmax RX-520XP Titanium 520W PSU @ Buddha's LAN Room - Vantec NexStar 2 - 3.5 Hard Drive Enclosure @ Hi-Techreviews - X-Micro EVA MP3 Player @ HardwareHounds - RD3XP GladiatorRound IDE Cable @ ARP - Zonet ZUB6110 Bluetooth Class 2 USB Dongle @ BigBruin - Antec NeoPower 480W PSU @ ClubOC - Antec Phantom 350 Fanless PSU @ SilentPCReview

Cases & Modding:

Kingwin Mutant X Mid-Tower Case @ System Cooling

[H]ardNews 1st Edition

Half-Life 2 Pre-Loading Phase 4:

For all of you folks out there who have the first three in the bag already, Phase 4 of the Half-Life 2 pre-load is available via Steam. Grab it now if you have Steam, if not…you really should think about getting Steam powered.

The fourth phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today. This will allow users to download the majority of Counter-Strike: Source in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game.