Quake 4 v1.1 Patch

Today is the day for patches isn’t it? First WoW now the Quake 4 v1.1 patch. The patch weighs in at a whopping 120MB and includes four new multiplayer maps.

The QUAKE 4 1.1 Point Release update is now available. This highly anticipated patch addresses a number of issues throughout both single and multiplayer, with a heavy and attentive focus on improving the multiplayer experience. Such improvements include: a fixed pure server system, a new AddonPak autodownloading system, voice chat in multiplayer, a forcemodel option, brightskins, smooth stair-jumping, a one-minute warning for tournament matches, Hyper-Threading Technology and Dual Core support as well as a ton of multiplayer specific fixes which have been requested by the community and discovered during our own gameplay.

Cooler Master Centurion 534

PCPerspective has just finished up their review of the Cooler Master Centurion 534 and to top things off, they are giving the case away. Head on over, read the review and see if you can’t win yourself a case in the process.

Cooler Master has added yet another new case to its Centurion family of computer enclosures and it may be the best yet. It’s sleek, stylish and very distinctive. The aluminum bezel with black metal mesh down both sides to enhance cooling, adds a touch of class to its presentation especially with the blue LED fan lighting up the lower half of the bezel.

Triple GPU Water Block Shoot-Out

3DXtreme has a trio of GPU water blocks battling it out to see which block is the best. The review features water blocks from the best in the business including Swiftech, Danger Den and AquaXtreme. Here is a quote:

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the performance of these three waterblocks against each other. We have already reviewed the Maze 4 in the past and don’t feel it is necessary at this time to really go into depth with each of these blocks designs other than what you will see below. They all pretty much mount the same with similar mounting hardware.

HTPC How-To

The crew at Corsair (yes, the memory makers) have put together a HTPC system guide that walks you through the process of building your own home theater PC. I wonder if they used Corsair memory? I'm kidding, I'm kidding .

While picking our parts, we decided to focus on making this thing as quiet as possible. There are a variety of ways to do this. One way is to pick components that require very little power and thus output less heat.

XFX GeForce 7900GT & 7600GT

Overclockers New Zealand has both the XFX GF 7900GT and the 7600GT rounded up and reviewed today. For comparison purposes, be sure to read our 7900 series evaluation here.

Nvidia's 7900GT is an excellent choice for the performance seekers, offering a new level of performance, which is faster than the Nvidia's previous flagship card 7800GTX. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, as the 7900GT is essentially a higher clocked 7800GTX that is built on the advanced 0.09mm manufacturing process.

Silverstone LC17B HTPC Case

ViperLair has a review of a great looking HTPC case, the Silverstone LC17B. According to the review, not only is the black brushed aluminum case aesthetically pleasing, it is well designed and an improvement over previous models.

The case is a true HTPC type of enclosure, not unlike a standard desktop form factor case. It's no sleek and slender unit though, measuring close to seven inches in height. This was not a problem for us since our home theater shelves are adjustable but this is something to consider if your shelving is prebuilt and measured.

Intel Bringing Cedar Wood Program

According to DigiTimes, Intel has formed a program called “Cedar Wood” with partners including motherboard makers AOpen, MSI and Gigabyte. Here is a snippet from the news article:

Similar to the “Mobile Alliance (MA)” program set for launch at the end of this month, Intel’s Cedar Wood is aimed at reviving the clone desktop PC market, the sources noted, without giving specific numbers as a goal. Intel’s Mobile Alliance targets an eventual market share of 30-35% in the notebook market and a 60-70% share of the desktop replacement market.

Z-RAM Interview

Lost Circuits has a very interesting interview with Jeff Lewis, VP of Worldwide Marketing at ISi, creators of Z-RAM. Don’t know what Z-RAM is? Hit the link and find out, here is a quote to get you started:

Conventional DRAMs are made of capacitors and transistors where the capacitor stores the data and the transistor opens or closes the passgate for the data to enter the system. Innovative Silicon Inc (ISi) have turned the difficulties of manufacturing this standard memory type on an SOI process into a feature by leaving out the capacitor - and guess what, it still works.

Intel Wants Modular Notebooks

Intel wants the notebook industry to go modular, making LCDs, hard drives, optical drive, power adapters and more to be interchangeable. Don’t look for overnight changes, the article says 3 – 5 years, but this is definitely the right direction to be heading in.

Intel has identified seven component categories—hard disk drive, optical drive, LCD panel, battery pack, customizable notebook panel, power adapters and keyboards—that can be built on common building blocks, making them interchangeable and readily available for replacement or upgrade.

Toshiba HD DVD Player $439

AVS Forum has wrestled an exclusive price and availability for their members in regards to Toshiba’s HDA1 HD DVD Player. Head on over to the AVS Forum, register, then head on over to HiDefLifestyle.com to get your preorder in while you can! Expected arrival is 3/31.

Get ready for outstanding resolution, stunning colors and dynamic sound with this high-definition DVD player from Toshiba. Backwards compatibility with standard DVDs means you can enjoy all the titles in your current collection. Video upconversion via the HDMI interface scales standard DVD video output to 720p or 1080i, delivering true high-definition picture quality. The heart of the unit is the new blue laser, which allows more information to be stored on the disc. The advanced disc drive boasts a data transfer rate that is more than 3 times greater than standard DVD players, maintaining a consistent brilliant video signal with clean color separation. The time has come for a home-theater experience that truly exceeds your expectations.

It’s good to see that the Toshiba HDA1 will be able to up-convert standard definition DVDs. How well remains to be seen. Either way, expect Hi-Def content over HDCP enabled HDMI or DVI only.

HD Hubbub

The more we learn about next-gen DVD formats, the more confused people are going to get. Reading through the linked article just depresses me .

Turns out, most of the 20 million high-definition TVs sold over the past three years aren't capable of displaying the disks in their full resolution. Worse, at least one major studio intends to downgrade the picture even more unless consumers hook their players up through a special, pricey cable aimed at preventing piracy.

Honestly, I don’t think the general public is going to bite on either format until there is broad hardware support, cheaper prices and a compelling reason to upgrade…none of which exist so far.

Shuttle SD11G5 XPC

Digital Media Thoughts has posted a review of Shuttle’s SD11G5 XPC. If you want a nice Pentium M powered SFF the SD11G5 is certainly worth a look.

Shuttle has hit a home run with the SD11G5. Despite my major frustrations with the optical drive bay button, the SD11G5 is a powerful blend of stylish design, clever engineering, and powerful hardware. If you're looking for a silent desktop PC that still packs some serious punch for productivity and digital media editing, the SD11G5 is tough to beat.