Dec 18 - 24, 1999
Archive

Friday - December 24th

  PC Accelerator 4000 Released  5:09 PM EST  - Email Us
I noticed over at 3DFiles, that Smartalec has released a new version of their System Tuneup/Tweaking program.  Here is a the link to give it a try:
  New WickedGL Driver & Benchmarks  5:00 PM EST  - Email Us
Wicked3D has released a new version of their WickedGL driver for the Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and Banshee (which you can grab below), and Thresh's Firing Squad has decided to install them and take them out for a spin.  Head over and see how well they work by clicking here.
  Creative WebCam Go Review  4:56 PM EST  - Email Us
Anand Tech has posted a review of Creative Labs WebCam Go.  This inexpensive webcam is great for video conferencing with family over the net, so long as you have a decent connection and it even takes decent still images.

 

  ELSA Erazor X GeForce Review  4:53 PM EST  - Email Us
Sharky Extreme has posted a review of ELSA's Erazor X GeForce 256 card.  Here is a bit on how this board differs from other GeForce boards:

Elsa differentiates the Erazor X from other GeForce 256 boards by matching a non-reference design (the only non-reference design we've seen) with unique screen control and chip monitoring software. Their design is on a smaller board than the reference design, which should spell cost savings for Elsa's manufacturing. The different design also allows Elsa to offer their ChipGuard, SmartRefresh and SmartResolution technologies with some features that no other GeForce card maker has.
  CDI "Cool Case" Full Tower Review  4:50 PM EST  - Email Us
Extreme Hardware has posted a review of CDI's awesome looking, blue "cool case."  Very nice case, head over and check it out.

 

  Powerstrip 2.55.0A Released  4:42 PM EST  - Email Us
Entechtaiwan has released a new version of Powerstrip, here is the info and as usual, a link:

The latest PowerStrip beta, now at 2.55.0A, includes full support for the Savage2K-based Diamond Viper II. Additionally, desktop and overlay gamma correction for Intel chips is now available under NT4 and W2K as well as Win9x, Windows 2000 compatibility is improved all-around, and custom resolutions can be created with the Matrox G200/G400 and TNT/TNT2/GeForce (under Win9x only and provided you are using the latest drivers). This is, in fact, the only PowerStrip build that should be used with a Savage2K or GeForce. In addition to other things, vsync under Win9x can now also be enabled or disabled on the command-line: e.g., "pstrip.exe /agp:2x /clk 166 140 /v- x" tells the PowerStrip to enable AGP 2x transfers, set the memory clock to 166MHz, set the core clock to 140MHz, turn vsync off, and exit. With a little creative use of ordinary Windows shortcuts, the possibilities are, well, you get the idea...  
  ASUS V6600 PURE GeForce Review  4:36 PM EST  - Email Us
The Tech Zone has posted a review of ASUS' V6600 PURE GeForce 256 card with 32MB of 5ns SGRAM.  Head over and see how this card performed.

 

  New Creative Annihilator Drivers  4:29 PM EST  - Email Us
Creative Labs has released new drivers for their 3D Blaster Annihilator GeForce card.  Grab them below:
  10 Gift Ideas For Your Techie  4:25 PM EST  - Email Us
Even though its a tad late, SystemLogic has posted an article which lists ten, relatively cheap items you can buy for the techie(s) in your life.

 

  AOpen AX6BC Pro II Millen Edition  4:25 PM EST  - Email Us
Hardware-One has posted a review of AOpen's AX6BC Pro II Millennium Edition Slot-1 i440BX based ATX motherboard.  Head over and see what they thought of this collector's item.

Thursday - December 23rd

  HPros: Pine D'music MP3 Player Review  3:53 PM EST  - Email Us
We've posted our review of Pine's D'music SM-320V Digital MP3 Player which comes in 32 and 64 MB configurations.  Click here to read about it.

 

  A Look At Hard Drive Performance  1:01 PM EST  - Email Us
What a coincidence!  Just when I was talking about hard drives, I noticed that Ga'ash Soffer over at Voodoo Extreme has written an article which takes a look at hard drive performance and what factors affect it, etc.

 

  Maxtor DiamondMax 40.9GB HD  12:58 PM EST  - Email Us
Power Gamerz has posted a review of Maxtor's DiamondMax 5400 40.9GB Hard Drive.  The only use I see for this drive is for large storage needs without much regard to speed.  If you're a regular user, what do you need 41GB's for?  I would suggest a smaller 7200RPM drive, like 20GB at most.

 

  Hercules Prophet DDR-DVI Review  12:56 PM EST  - Email Us
Since we haven't seen many reviews of this card, I thought I'd post Gamespot's review of the Guillemot/Hercules Prophet DDR-DVI card.  Head over and see what this baby can do.

 

  Weekly CPU Prices Updated  12:52 PM EST  - Email Us
Sharky Extreme has posted this weeks CPU price list.  In case you're trying to find the cheapest processor for your Christmas gift to yourself :), head over and check out this list.  However, you may be a little disappointed to find that a few prices rose quite a bit, especially on the new P3's since its holiday season.

 

  Soyo SY-6BA+IV Slot-1 Mobo Review  12:48 PM EST  - Email Us
Thresh's Firing Squad has posted a review of Soyo's awesome SY-6BA+IV Slot-1 i440BX based motherboard.  This board has great overclocking capabilities, has UDMA/66 support and is stable as a rock at 150MHz FSB!

 

  MS Sidewinder Gamepad Pro  12:43 PM EST  - Email Us
Extreme Hardware has posted a review of Microsoft's Sidewinder Gamepro Pro.  Overall rating:  7.5/10.  Don't bother getting this joystick if you want to use it to play FPS games, just stick with the keyboard/mouse.

 

  Plextor PlexWriter 8/4/32A CD-RW  12:40 PM EST  - Email Us
Hardware-One has posted a review of Plextor's PlexWriter 8X Write, 4X Re-Write, 32X Read CD-ReWriteable drive.  If you want one of the fastest, reliable and fully featured drives, this is a good choice!

 

  Intel To Make Graphics Chips Again  12:37 PM EST  - Email Us
CPUReview has posted an interesting article which puts forth some speculation on whether or not Intel is going to produce graphics chips again.  The main force driving this theory is that Intel has licensed all of 3DLabs patent portfolio.

 

  6-Way SDRAM Roundup  12:36 PM EST  - Email Us
Overclockin.com has posted a roundup of 6 pieces of SDRAM ranging from PC66 to PC133 speeds.  Head over and check out which choice is best for your application.

 

  Zoom USB Channel 2 Modem Review  12:33 PM EST  - Email Us
SystemLogic has posted a review of Zoom's USB Channel 2 modem.  Here is the interesting part of this modem (besides the fact that's its USB):

"The Channel 2 feature of the USB modem is not a technical name for a task it performs but the name of the registered technology Zoom Telephonics uses to enable voice calls while the modem is online. This is similar but not exactly like the technology that Actiontec uses on their Call Waiting Modem that has similar features. The Zoom Channel 2 is the technology that the modem is based on and the highlight feature of it. It works by monitoring the phone line while the Internet connection is alive for a familiar tone that signals when an incoming call is coming in (if call waiting service is available, call your local phone company for information). If the modem hears the tone while it is online, it can do one of three things, configured by the user:

1) Hang up the connection when an incoming call is detected. This is useful if waiting for an important call.

2) Sound an alert from the modem speaker to alert user of incoming call. This is useful if you are in the mood to hang up the Internet connection to talk. After the connection is terminated manually by the user, the normal phones ring.

3) Disable the alerts and Channel 2 feature."

Wednesday - December 22nd

  Viewsonic PS790 19" Monitor Review  6:51 PM EST  - Email Us
GamePC has posted a review of Viewsonic's PS790 19" Monitor.  This is not a purely flat CRT, but its almost flat and still has excellent image quality.  After buying my Samsung 700IFT, I would never go back to non-Flat CRT's, they are so awesome!

 

  Diamond Viper II Savage2000 Review  6:45 PM EST  - Email Us
AGNHardware has posted a review of Diamond/S3's Viper II Savage2000 based video card which has 32MB of SDRAM.  They've posted some benchmarks comparing it to the Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator and the Diamond Viper V770 Ultra.

 

  MSI MS-6167 Athlon Mobo Review  6:42 PM EST  - Email Us
BXBoards has posted a review of MSI's MS-6167 Slot-A Athlon ATX motherboard.  This board, like most others, is based on AMD's 751 chipset, head over and see if it's right for you.

 

  NVIDIA Interview - Michael Hara  6:37 PM EST  - Email Us
Planet GeForce has posted their interview with Vice President of Corporate Marketing of NVIDIA.  Check out this shot in the face to 3dfx:

PG: Okay, I know this next one is asking for it. Any idea of when the NV15 is going to be released? Perhaps around the same time as the release of 3dfx's next line of products?

MH: No specific time table yet. I believe that 3Dfx's next product and ours will be close to each other - only in time, not in performance:-)
  Coppermine 500 & Slocket 2 Review  6:32 PM EST  - Email Us
Kyle over at HardOCP has posted his review of the Pentium III Coppermine FC-PGA 500MHz CPU using IWill's Slocket II converter card.  Here is the great intro:

Yeah, that is right.   I stuck it in slowly about 50 times and then I about chunked the damn thing against the wall.  I was convinced the Cumine 500E was a chunk of dung on it's best day.   Well, let this be a lesson to all you newbies and people who think like me, who think we know it all on a brief occasion. READ THE DAMN MANUAL! After I figured out the only obstacle to smoking some serious CPU butt was my reluctance to use new drivers and setting the jumpers correctly, the 500E did not seem so bad.  In fact it is the CPU that is going in my box as soon as I get it open.
  Sharky's Private Eye: Volume 6  6:06 PM EST  - Email Us
Sharky Extreme has posted Volume 6 of their Private Eye editorial.  In this edition they talk about the latest and best stuff on the market, such as the fastest processors, which GeForce DDR to get, sound cards, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

 

  Afterburner Athlon Oc'ing Card  5:58 PM EST  - Email Us
Wow, a lot of overclocking related news today.  Hot Hardware (with a nice new site design) has posted a review of the Afterburner Athlon Overclocking card.  You just plug this baby on the top connector of the CPU and turn the knobs.

 

  The Myths & Realities of Overclocking  5:55 PM EST  - Email Us
Real World Tech has posted an article on the myths and realities of overclocking CPU's. Quite a bit of interesting and technical information.

 

  Overclocking FC-PGA Coppermine  5:52 PM EST  - Email Us
Anand Tech has posted the first part of their article on overclocking the Pentium III Coppermine FC-PGA chips.  People are calling this new CPU the next Celeron 300A in terms of overclockability.  Head over and see how its done, and just how high you can go.

 

  Sirocco Crossfire 4.1 Speaker Set  5:43 PM EST  - Email Us
3DSoundSurge has posted a review of VideoLogic's very attractive looking Sirocco Crossfire 4.1 piece speaker system with a separate amplifier unit..

 

  A Couple of Dan's Data Reviews  5:40 PM EST  - Email Us
Dan's Data has posted a couple new reviews for you to check out today:

While they were at it, they also threw up an article which tells you why your computer sound system may not sound as good as you think it should and they give you tips on how to make it sound better.

Tuesday - December 21st

  MSI MS-6163 BXMaster Review  11:46 AM EST  - Email Us
The Lost Circuits has posted a review of MSI's MS-6163 BXMaster i440BX based Slot-1 ATX motherboard.  This new board has awesome overclocking features, and the Promise UltraDMA/66 controller chip built-in.

 

  AOpen AX6BC Pro II Millen Edition  11:44 AM EST  - Email Us
Dan's Data has posted a review of AOpen's new AX6BC Pro II Millennium Edition Slot-1 i440BX based motherboard.  These boards are definitely going to be a collector's item, and they are actually good boards too!

 

  Intel's Socket Plans & 2K Roadmap  11:41 AM EST  - Email Us
HardOCP has posted some screenshots which show what direction Intel is moving towards (100% socketed PC's).  They have also posted Intel's roadmap for 2000.

 

  More 800MHz CPU Reviews  11:32 AM EST  - Email Us
Here are a few more Athlon 800 and Pentium III 750/800 processor reviews, in case you are interested:
  Chaintech 6WEX2 S-370 Mobo Review  11:27 AM EST  - Email Us
iXBT Hardware has posted a review of Chaintech's 6WEX2 i810E based Socket-370 motherboard.  This small board has integrated audio (AC'97 2.1 codec) and 2D/3D video (i752 graphics core), 4 PCI slots, 0 ISA slots and 2 DIMM slots.

 

  Athlon Scientific Code Benchmarks  11:21 AM EST  - Email Us
CPUReview has posted some great information and benchmarks of a P3 500, an old SGI machine and an Athlon 600 running a few different scientific computation codes.  The articles brings some very good points to the table.

Monday - December 20th

  AMD Athlon 800MHz Review  9:37 AM EST  - Email Us
The Tech Report is the first site to post a review of AMD's Athlon 800MHz CPU (announced today). The results are good, yet speeds look like they are tappering off as the processors get faster, due to two reasons:  system components can't keep up and the cache runs too slow on the higher MHz processors.

 

  Creative Annihilator PRO Review  9:35 AM EST  - Email Us
got apex? has posted a review of Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator Pro GeForce 256 DDR board.  They were even able to get the board up to 140/350 MHz core/memory speed, head over and check out those benchmarks!

 

  Intel P3 750/800 & 800B Review  9:30 AM EST  - Email Us
Even though they were just announced and won't be available for a while, Sharky Extreme has posted a review of Intel's new Pentium III 750, 800 (100MHz FSB) and 800B (133MHz FSB) CPU's.  They have posted benchmarks, comparing all these processors with AMD's Athlon 700 and 750.

 

  Abit WB6 i810E Mobo Review  9:25 AM EST  - Email Us
Hardware Central has posted a review of Abit's WB6 Slot-1 motherboard which is based on the i810E chipset.  Overall rating of 4/5, but if you're hardcore about performance, you don't want an i810E board, especially if you already have a BX board.

 

  AMD Athlon 750MHz Review  9:23 AM EST  - Email Us
Gamers Depot has posted a review of AMD's 750MHz processor. This cache divider issue with the higher speed models is making me weary.  At that speed (and price), they should find a way to make the damn cache faster, instead of making the whole processor slower!

 

  Another Abit BE6-II Mobo Review  9:19 AM EST  - Email Us
The Tech Zone has finished up their review of Abit's new BE6-II Slot-1 i440BX based motherboard.  We've seen quite a few of them already, but if you need another opinion, head over and check it out.

 

  ELSA Erazor III Review  9:16 AM EST  - Email Us
Ga'ash over at Voodoo Extreme has posted a review of ELSA's Erazor III TNT2 board.  GeForce cards may be too expensive, so TNT2 cards are beginning to become a great buy.

 

  Alpha P3125 Heatsink Review  9:14 AM EST  - Email Us
Overclockin.com has posted their review of Alpha's awesome P3125 Heatsink.  With this baby, they were able to get a P3 450MHz SL35D CPU at 675MHz.

Sunday - December 19th

  Yamaha YMF744 2013 Drivers  12:40 PM EST  - Email Us
I noticed a link over at 3DSoundSurge to some new drivers for cards based on the Yamaha YMF744 chip.  Here are the details and a links to download:

I saw a post in the Hoontech forum that SCFN (Sound Card Fan Network), a Japanese site, has new Windows 95/98 drivers (2013) for the yamaha 744 chip that they got from Hoontech. If that link is slow you could instead try this link.

I just tried them and they support 32 3D streams and uses the 1030 Sensaura engine which means support for I3DL2 and EAX 2.0. I'm not sure but it probably works with other YMF744 based cards too. I have not even played a game with them yet so no idea about stability or even if the 32 3D streams actually are audible or not but I can say it cause a performance hit of about 20% with 32 streams and 10% with 16 3D streams when sample rate is 44.1 kHz. Considering it's still not up on Hoontech's site they may be beta but still worth to try them.

The post also mentions that several Korean sites says Yamaha is closing it's sound chip department. Yamaha never confirmed this to us but there is a lot of other signs that this is the case and it's doubtful they will even continue to develop new drivers.
  Abit BE6-II Slot-1 Mobo Review  12:35 PM EST  - Email Us
The Firing Squad is getting busy this weekend!  They've also posted a review of Abit's BE6-II Slot-1 i440BX based ATX motherboard.  This board, a Coppermine 700 and that ASUS V6800 would be the beginnings on a dream system.

 

  ASUS AGP-V6800 GeForce DDR Review  12:33 PM EST  - Email Us
Thresh's Firing Squad has posted a review of ASUS' AGP-V6800 Pure GeForce 256 DDR card.  Now we're talking baby!

 

  ELSA 3D Revelator Glasses Review  12:15 PM EST  - Email Us
Sharky Extreme has posted a review of ELSA's 3D Revelator stereoscopic glasses.  These things actually work and add a whole new depth to games.  You can also check out our review here.

 

  New WCPUID and SOFTFSB Releases  12:10 PM EST  - Email Us
ClockingFiles has let us know that H.Oda has released new versions of his popular CPU identification and overclocking utilities.  Grab them below:
  Razer Boomslang vs. MS Explorer  12:05 PM EST  - Email Us
Dan's Data has posted a comparison between the Razer Boomslang 2000 DPI mouse and Microsoft's Intellimouse Explorer.  Both of these mice are extremely high precision mice, but do not use the same technology.

 

  Boatload of ASUS Software/Drivers  11:57 AM EST  - Email Us
ASUS has released a bunch of new software/beta drivers for your downloading pleasure, grab them below:
  Intel i840 Preview  11:48 AM EST  - Email Us
Bill over at CPUReview has posted his preview of Intel's i840 chipset which will be aimed mostly at high end workstations/servers. Quite a bit of interesting information, especially contrasting the i820 chipset.

 

  Diamond Stealth III S540 Drivers  11:44 AM EST  - Email Us
Diamond/S3 have released new drivers for the Diamond Stealth III S540 series of cards.  Grab it below:


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