January 14 - 20, 1999
Archive

• Fixes the NEC ATAPI ZIP drive incompatibility problem.
• Supports the Intel Pentium III 450 and 500 Mhz Katmai CPU.
• Supports the Intel Celeron 366 Mhz CPU option, up to 400 Mhz compliance.
• Supports the clock multiplier up to 8 times.
• Solves the problem of Windows98 not being able to shut-down properly when the ACPI function is enabled.
• Supports DMI 2.3 . You have to input /CD parameter to Clear DMI pool data while updating the BIOS.

• Award Flash Utility (version 6.6 - 25 KB)
• Abit BH6 BIOS Update (version HN - 135 KB)

Restart in dos mode and made sure both are unzipped in one directory.  Then type:
awdflash BH6_HN.bin /py /sn /cc /cd and then when its done, restart and load setup defaults in the BIOS.

The rumors are false. The Intel Celeron processor 300a is a key part of this processor family for low-cost PCs. The Pentium II processor family, which is designed for high-performance PCs, also is strong and is offering a variety of speeds. The Pentium III processor, which is due later this quarter, is set to deliver even more power to high-performance desktop PCs.

Best,
Seth Walker
Intel PR

 

The Forzando plus has a very unique design compared to other speakers found today. While today most speakers are looking more and more like something from the future, Midiland  has choosen to go with a more retro design. The speaker case is a thick white plastic with a brown material covering the front. The logo on the in the front sports a script font which fits the retro design. The speakers are a good size as the speakers and subwoofer are not oversized, making the Forzandos great for most users who are trying to conserve space. The Forzando plus's design is perfect for the consumer who prefers a classier look for their home PC sound system.

Intel removed the Slot 1 version of the Celeron 300A from distributors this week. Tech Data and Synnex both had thousands of units on order, with ship dates from mid-January through early February. Now those backorders have been canceled by Intel, and the product is listed as discontinued.

 

The reason why I say current top speed is that FireWire is still developing, there are still plans to increase the bandwidth of FireWire by leaps and bounds. On the 1394 roadmap, there is already 50MB/s, 100MB/s, and 125MB/s versions of FireWire on their way. There are no plans for higher bandwidth versions of USB, most likely it will stay at 1.5MB/s until it dies off.

 

Logitech's Formula Force is another in the seemingly endless series of force feedback steering wheels we've seen parade through the marketplace. Unlike the Microsoft wheel, the Formula Force uses wires and pulleys rather than gears for its internal drive mechanism. This makes for a somewhat smoother feel than the Sidewinder, which can feel a bit "notchy" at times.

 

Of course, we can't forget about the 3D features. In gaming, the 3D performance is what most gamers are searching for. The Riva TNT is more CPU dependent over the 3DFX competitors. So if you are running a Pentium II 233, a 3DFX card might be a better choice. Now the name TNT comes from the cards Twin Textel 32-bit pipeline. This allows it to draw multiple textures in a single pass. Another feature to look at when comparing 3D cards is the 3D color depth. The TNT is capable of generating 32-bit color, the 3DFX currently only supports 16-bit. 32-bit color can be awfully slow currently, but it's awfully pretty. As the types of 3D support, the TNT supports DirectX and OpenGL. A good majority of 3D games supports one or the other. The lack of Glide support is a downside for the TNT.

 

While you're waiting for the PowerVR Series2 to actually start shipping later this month, you can content yourself with the knowledge that it claims to be the first fully integrated 2D/3D graphics board.  Also some of the world's biggest arcade and console suppliers have committed to using the all-singing, all-dancing graphics chip. 

Both Sega and Midwest Amusement have announced they will use the chip in their latest offerings.  Sega's Dreamcast super console (the one powered by Microsoft Windows CE) and an arcade machine called the Naomi are already using the chip in Japan, and a family of PC-based arcade systems from Midwest Amusements, due out later in 1999 will use it outside Japan.

So, we've got (obviously) a spindle speed of 10,000rpm, a seek time of 6.5 ms, and 1.8 gigs per platter. This latest IBM drive, however, weights in heavy at the buffer. Four megs of buffer to be exact. Wow. As is the norm for SCSI drives, the unit is backed by a 5 year warranty.

 

There are a few things that hold me back from giving the Phoenix a full recommendation. The Banshee's longevity really comes into question, the lack of AGP 2X support and other features that put the TNT, Savage3D, and G200 ahead troubles me. Also, since the review is being conducted on a Super 7 system, 3DNow! support becomes a factor in my decision.The fact that 3Dfx still hasn't released even a little MiniGL patch disappoints me. Still, it's not so bad because the Banshee isn't as CPU dependent as the TNT.

 

• DirectX 6.1 (Win98 - 6.1 Final - 6 MB)

 

3DC: Voo3oo claims 366MPix/s already for Q2. You once planned to come to market in Q2 too. So good news, you top 3Dfx in case of speed, or not?

It seems that a lot of people have been misled by switching from MPix to MTex figures. Now that nVidia, 3Dfx and some others have dual rendering pipeline, thus gettin two textures for free per pixel. They have
started to talk about MTex instead of MPix because the number is twice bigger. If you look closely 3Dfx info about V3 it has performance of 366Mtex/s, which is equal to 183Mpix/s. Now the same figures for Glaze3D are 400Mpix/s and 800Mtex/s !

3DC: V3 does not support 32bit-Rendering because of the speed-drop. Does your Design drop a lot when switching from 16bit to 32bit or is it optimized for 32bit-Rendering?

Glaze3D is optimized for 32bit rendering.

 

The first thing one notices when opening up the package is the PCB is not your standard green, but rather brown/black. This is so not to clash with the gold parts. That's right, everything on this card is gold-plated. I told you they didn't leave their pro audio roots behind. This way, you can be sure you're not losing any quality (provided you have some gold-plated stereo cables as well).

• TweakIt (Win9X - 3.0.8 Build 6 - 828 KB)

 

It is certainly true that most of us would have loved to see AMD's K6-3 kicking Intel's butt in this comparison and that includes me too. However, the K6-3 seems to be farer away than it seemed at the end of last year. So we should be fair and congratulate Intel on a job well done. The new Celerons are performing very well. We still have the bitter taste of Intel's new overclock-protection and the cheesy 'ZX-66' chipset in our mouth though and this is certainly another reason why none of us will embrace Intel for the release of Celeron 366 and 400. Nevertheless are those new CPUs offering one highly important thing: very high computing power for very little money. And that brings me back to AMD. Without Advanced Micro Devices we would never have come to this situation, so let's thank them for giving Intel a tough competition and let's hope that K6-3 will be out soon.

 

All things considered, 3D audio is still quite immature as a medium: purchasing either card will put you in the category of early adopter. However, once you experience the 3D effects of some of the latest games, you won't regret taking the plunge. Yes, we think 3D audio is that good. And it's here to stay.

 

The cooling is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. Without proper cooling you will not get the Celeron past the factory specified 400Mhz speed. I used in total 11 fans and 1 air purifier to provide the cooling that the processor needed to run at 600MHz. Here is the breakdown of placement:

• 4 - ball-bearing fans and a heatsink on the Celeron
• 4 - ball-bearing fans positioned at the top of the case
• 1 - Power Supply Fan less than one inch away from the processor
• 2 - Suction Fans (one at the back, one at the front)
• 1 - Hepa Air Purifier (Take heat out, shoot cool air in)

 

• Super7.net's K6-2 (CXT Core) 380 & 400 MHz Review
• Hammer Computing's AMD K6-2 (CXT Core) 400 MHz Review

 

The idea behind the KryoTech technology is actually quite simple, and is yet very complex in it's own right. Stick a vapor phase refrigeration cooling unit at the bottom of the system's case, and run the cooling gas up to the CPU, where it's collected and circulated by KryoTech's patented KryoSocket around the CPU. This KryoSocket surrounds the CPU, cooling it down to an ungodly -40 to -50 degrees celsius, while keeping the CPU from forming condensation on or around it. If you don't realize how cold that actually is, consider this. The standard open-cased system runs around 25 - 30 degrees farenheit (77-86 degrees farenheit), and forced-air cooling methods like fans and heatsinks only take off around 10 degrees farenheit off that.

 

Although its FPU is definitely not its strongpoint, the Winchip 2 can definitely make use of its 3DNow! support in games and does allow for some gaming pleasure to be taken from your system. The implementation of 3DNow! on the Winchip 2 is inferior to that of the K6-2, however it is present. If you are a true gamer, you're probably going to want to save up and shell out a little more cash for a processor with a better FPU, as the Winchip 2 is still primarily a Windows 9x business application processor.

If you have an old Socket 7 motherboard, then this processor may be well worth $50.

The APX 4620 speaker set is a mixed bag of nuts with some cashews and regular peanuts mixed in for good measure. The subwoofer is a cashew, made of out quality materials and delivering a delicious taste that is sure to please about anyone. The satellites on the other hand are nothing more than common peanuts, that are going to be hard pressed to impress anyone and most likely will leave a dry salty taste in your mouth. I do have to admit that there is plenty of innovation that make the speakers stand out from the crowd, but is standing out enough?

 

Audio is hot. Although the three-dimensional gaming delivered by the newest graphics accelerators has garnered much of the attention, PC audio has been evolving at a frenetic pace as well. The result is immersive, high-quality sound that brings the game experience to life and makes button-down applications such as videoconferencing and voice-recognition more user-friendly.

 

As you have read STB has produced yet another winner, which comes as no surprise to me. The BlackMagic 3D has everything you could possibly want in a 3D accelerator including the popular SLI option. The BlackMagic 3D has a list price of $160, although if you shop around you may be able to find it for around $140. Bottom line is if your looking for a 3D accelerator than look no further because the BlackMagic 3D delivers everything the most demanding gamer would want.

 

Pentium 3 - 560 81.0 fps
Pentium 3 - 500 77.1 fps
Celeron - 550A 80.2 fps
Pentium 2 - 500 76.6 fps
Pentium 2 - 450 73.1 fps
Pentium 2 - 400 72.2 fps
Celeron - 333 64.1 fps

 

The GA-630 is fast and affordable. Utilizing its 125mhz SGRAM and 250Mhz RAMDAC its more than able to keep up with the more well known "Name Brand" models out today. As far as Super Socket 7 users on a budget, this is the board for ya. As everyone is well aware, 3dfx based products are far superior for the SS7 user due to its strength in facilitating the FPU deficient...ie..AMD K6s'. The chip fan is always welcome, and the board color itself, blue, is very individual. Kinda stands out amongst sea of green.

 

• Diamond Monster 3D II Driver (Win9X - 2.07 - 2.26 MB)

 

The KS-188 is a full-tower case with five 5.25" external bays, one 3.5" external bay and seven (yes, that's right, seven!) 3.5" internal bays. Dimensions are 24.4" high, 7.8" wide and 16.6" deep. It's available with either a 250W or 300W power supply. Antec manufactures their own line of power supplies, which they claim are "more energy efficient, run 40% cooler, and are 80% quieter than standard versions." While I can't vouch for their energy efficiency, I will say that the power supply fan is so quiet I can barely tell it's on. This case is actually part of Antec's value line, but I found its features more attractive than their premium tower case. You can check out the both lines at http://www.antec-inc.com.

 

First, we have sold over 400+ Retail Celeron 300A's and 100+ OEM Celeron 300A's in the last month or so alone. Out of the Retail Celeron 300A's, we have had as far as we know 100% success rate at 450MHz with no more than 2.2v, but usually 2.1v, with most of these doing 464MHz flawlessly also. So to say that OEM and Retail CPU's are the same is totally untrue.

 

1) What is a Slotket®? How can I use it? How can I get one? How much are they?
2) What is the difference between the BX6 and the BH6?
3) I have a hardware review site. Can I get one of your boards for a review?
4) What about ABIT boards and the Y2K problem?
5) Does the BX6, BH6 support the new 400Mhz Celerons?
6) Will my board be able to support UDMA/66?

 

• Abit BH6 BIOS (ID: HN)
• Abit BM6 BIOS (ID: HL)
• Abit BX6 Revision 2 (ID: HJ)
• Abit AH6 BIOS (ID: HP)

Rambus provides higher performance by increasing the speed at which data is transferred, as opposed to widening the pipe that transfers the data, McCarron said. Currently Rambus can transfer a peak of 1.6 gigabytes each second (gbps), twice the peak of current SDRAM, Rambus says.

 

Having fought off all competitors throughout the life of the Voodoo 1 and keeping a healthy lead with the Voodoo 2, 3DFX was sitting pretty. Their successful IPO and the subsequent rise of their stock past the $30 dollar mark left the company with abundant amounts of cash. Things were going great with the future very bright for the company. However, far in the distance, a dark storm was brewing.

 

Labtec has always been known for their lower, middle range multimedia speakers. They are one of the first companies to start with the PC market, I have some old school speakers of theirs. They have decided to take on the big boys of audio with the one of latest editions of their Audio F/X Series, the APX-4620. Sporting 70watts of total power, and a 6" subwoofer, these boys are designed to rock your socks off. They have also implemented some high fidelity features in the speakers, most notably the D'Appolito configuration. The D'Appolito configuration is where there is a tweeter driver in between two midrange drivers vertically. In this configuration, the sound image is reproduced with more precision then in a standard configuration. It's because of the size of the wavelengths etc. Also, Labtec has designed this system with 5 amplifiers. There is one 44watt amp for the sub, two 7.5watt amps for the midrange, and two 5.5watt amps for the tweeters. Pretty impressive huh?

 

Disable all your mental pleasure spots for a minute. Open just your ears and pretend you are in a dark room in an unknown place. You can hear roaches scurrying behind you and in front of you Light voices a few feet away. You stand on your two feet and walk toward the door. When you Open it you get blasted with a flurry of street sounds. The sounds echoing off the street don’t Mask the noises from inside the house. You can hear every sound, from all sides. You wake up From a dream, but you find it wasn’t a dream. It was your Diamond Monster Sound MX300 pushing true 3D Surround Sound. Will it replace your old soundcard? Or make you stay with Your current card? Well, I will attempt to assist You in making that call.

 

In our tests, the 1600SW was almost perfect, outperforming our top 18-inch analog LCD, the Eizo FlexScan L66. It displayed razor-sharp, solid-as-a-rock text down to 6.8-point font. And it passed most of our other LCD geometry and image-quality tests with flying colors. Our only real concern is color. The display features true 24-bit color reproduction without dithering. But in our tests, the screen didn't always make smooth transitions between different shades of blue and green, resulting in hues that sometimes appeared a bit grainy. Strangely enough, when we changed our viewing angle and looked at the screen from below, the colors jumped out at us as richly saturated and gorgeous. A second test monitor was better, but it still had a viewing sweet spot that lay a bit below normal.

 

Second, AMD's fatal flaw again plagued the company. A manufacturing glitch, which also contributed to AMD's net loss of $55.8 million in the first quarter of 1998, caused some K6-2 processors designed for 400 MHz to only run accurately at speeds of 350 MHz or below. That forced AMD to lower their prices. Although the lithography error proved to be relatively easy to fix, the flawed chip replacements will be available only in February.

The 850,000 to 1 million microprocessor units affected by the flaw equated to about a $35 to $40 decrease in the average K6-2 price, said W.J. “Jerry” Sanders III, AMD's chairman and chief executive. Essentially, AMD lost “at least” $20 million and as much as $40 million from that flaw alone, Sanders said.