December 27 - 31, 1998
Archive

• Experimental Gapless Playback (a.k.a. continuous playback) support via new output plug-in.
• Improved CDDB support.
• New info-on-demand reading mode. Faster for HUGE playlists.
• New bar analyzer mode for built-in visualization. Rocks!
• Better directory and drive adding support (you can add a whole audio CD by typing the drive letter, i.e. 'd:\')
• Added SHOUTcast title reading to Nitrane.
• Improved HTTP streaming (non-blocking)
• Made http:// optional in URL location for you lazies out there.
• Built with VisC++6, faster and smaller than previous Winamps.

• Winamp (Win9X - 2.06 - 521 KB)

For your convenience, the latest PowerStrip build supports optional command-line parameters that allow you to shift clock speed(s) via an ordinary Windows shortcut. Syntax is as follows: pstrip.exe /clk MClk SClk, where MClk is a mandatory integer specifying the new memory clock, and SClk is an optional integer specifying the new core clock where asynchronous PLLs are available. Examples: pstrip.exe /clk 110 100 sets the memory clock to 110MHz and the core clock to 100MHz, while pstrip.exe /clk 125 sets the memory clock to 125MHz. Note that changes take effect in real-time, and there are no confirmation prompts, so use with caution.

• PowerStrip Beta (Win9X/NT4 - 2.31 - 685 KB)

 

1. Graphics Blaster 3D Fixes and Updates:

• DirectX 6.0 compatible drivers (v4.10)
• Blaster Control 2.0

• Creative Labs Graphics Blaster 3D/MA334 Driver (Win9X - Rev 3 - 1.7 MB)

2. 3D Blaster Banshee Fixes and Updates:

This is an updated version of the 3Dfx Banshee OpenGL drivers (v1.46) which add support for the following games:

• Sin
• Half Life
• Heretic 2
• Hexen 2
• GLQuake
• Quake 2

• Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee OpenGL Driver (Win9X/NT4 - 181 KB)

 

This update:

• Includes driver version 1.05
• Allows Dialog box button text to be shown correctly if large fonts are being used
• The "No" option in the License text dialog box can now function

• Creative Labs Graphics Blaster TNT Driver (Win9X - Rev 2 - 1.4 MB)

 

At only $130-$150 the Dynamite TNT is a fantastic TNT-driven product for gamers looking for a true AGP 2X part that's based on the nVidia TNT technology. It's just as fast as the competition's TNT boards, it costs less, because you're not paying for a bundle, and it offers a cooling fan and superb driver support. There's just really not much more to want in a 16MB TNT-driven solution. The only feature this board is missing is TV-Out support, but since most gamers don't always have a TV in close proximity to their PC; it's a feature most gamers won't be missing.

 

Unlike the Microsoft and ACT LABS offerings, the AVB wheel has what I would call futuristic styling with the wheel actually being more of a yoke, with a non-slip strip running along the length of it. Two LEDs hide behind the strip to indicate whether power is being supplied to the unit and if force feedback effects are being produced. Also unlike the other two wheels, a power switch is present right on the base. This is a handy inclusion that prevents you from having to unplug the power brick when the wheel is not in use.

For overclockers, the Dragon 4000 is an excellent pick thanks to that big green heatsink. It's the only Banshee I've tested where the core could be overclocked a significant amount - 15% on my particular board. As always though, your overclocking results will vary.

The BJ5000 is a feature-packed printer with a price that is half of what I expected. The inclusion of an excellent bundle to get you up and running in the print world, is also a surprising addition. The photographer in all of us will also appreciate true photo-quality printing for a reasonable price in the comfort of your own home. I am sure Bill Clinton will really appreciate being able to upload and print those photos of Monica, without having the photomat guy sell them to the National Enquirer. The final icing on the Canon cake is their warranty program, where for the first year, you can exchange for a new printer if yours is damaged.

 

• Diamond's MX300 Review
• Elsa's Erazor

 

What distinguishes Marvel is the inclusion of hardware dedicated to video compression/decompression. When combined with the Marvel's TV-out capabilities, this opens up the possibility of desktop video editing. You can capture full-resolution video at 30 frames per second, edit it, and then output it to a TV or VCR. You can also use the Marvel as a digital VCR, recording full-screen video to the hard disk.

The first thing you notice in the results we obtained lies in the Direct3D performance of the Beast SuperCharged. This baby delivers high scores faster than Pizza Hut, beating the Dynamite TNT in eight of the nine Direct3D benchmarks we ran. Of particular note are the amazing scores in the 800x600x32bpp tests where the Beast SuperCharged was nearly 20% faster than its TNT-based stable mate.

The K6 execution units are a bit too powerful for the K6 decoders. The K6 decoders are the bottleneck in the K6-architecture. So, by making sure that those decoders are always well fed by fast and large L1-L2-L3 caches, performance is maximized. This is the main reason why the K6-3 is such an excellent performer and benefits more from its full speed L2 cache then any PII core.

 

Diamond has, in our opinion dealt a heavy blow to Creative Labs stronghold on the market place, by not being a "me-too" company.  Releasing ground-breaking products like the MX300 proves that Diamond is a company to be reckoned with in the sound card arena.  This is by no way a means of trying to inflate their egos or anything like that.  It's just that when you are graced with this kind of technology, one must stand up and take notice, and give credit where credit is due.  Throw in complete AC-3 support for Dolby Digital and it also acts as a nice center piece for a home/PC theater.  Our only hope is that A3D2.0 will become a standard API for all PC game titles, due to its ability to provide believable 3D-sound from 2 speakers/headphones, and phenomenal 3D-sound with 4 speakers.  We have no higher recommendation for a gaming sound card than the MX300.

With the 40X, Kenwood decided to go with CLV instead of CAV to enable the drive to maintain a constant sustained transfer rate. This can be seen from the graph of the CD-ROM read speeds versus the distance from the center of the track. With the Toshiba 32X drive, the speed of the drive is slowest when reading from the center of the CD-ROM and reaches its maximum of 32X at the edge of the CD-ROM. So only if the CD data extends to the outside tracks do you really get the maximum transfer rate. However, with the Zen, you get the same transfer rate of 40X regardless of the track read on the CD-ROM.

 

• Added support for new K6-2 processors (350MHz ...)
• Added support for upcoming K6-3 processors
• Added display of bus clock multiplier for these CPUs
• Added rounding for measured clock frequencies to 10s

• CPUIdle (Win9X - version 5.2 - 289KB)

 

The ASUS V3400TNT-TV is a ton of fun and great for many uses. For users looking for TV-Input/Output, great 2D/3D performance, this is your card. As far as I know, no other NVIDIA TNT based card offers all the TV features that this card supports.

On the other hand, if all you care about is performance and don't want to use the other features or spend the extra money, then there are better choices. If you like the fan and TV-Output, go for the Canopus Spectra 2500. If you just want a bare card with great performance, the Creative Labs Graphics Blaster TNT may be perfect for you. If you want a blend of those two, go for either the STB Velocity 4400 or for the plain ASUS V3400TNT.

• TweakIt Build 3 (Win9X - version 3.0.8 B3 - 815KB)
• DirectControl (Win9X - version 2.0.8b - 113 KB)

 

These speakers are not like others, these have a slim, sleek design to them and they look good basically anywhere. They also fit most everywhere, so there should be no space problem. They each come packed with their own tweeter and a midrange driver, with on the fly 3D Sound access. The main speaker has the Satellite Volume, Sub Volume, Push Button 3D and the Power Button all packed nicely on the side. The Subwoofer stands about a foot tall and could be annuisance when you are trying to jam it into that tight corner under your desk. I found a place for it, so I hope you can too.