June 1 - 8, 1999
Archive

Dxr stands for Dynamic eXtended Resolution and Creative says that this technique beats the quality of the pictures on a Laser-disc, i wouldn't know I never watched filmes on Laser-disc, I'm sure they are telling the truth cause the picture quality was crystal clear. This new card relieves the CPU of work when the audio and video goes directly to the decoderboard. This card supportes high res and fullscreen in 32-bit color and it does the job very nicely. Creative says that they succeeded almost to eliminate the small error that can occurr when there is objects moving in highspeed, and once again, Creatives claims seem to be true. Me and my friends (had to call in expert help here, cause my friends call me blind, I don't understand why :)  ) watched very closely and we didn't experience any visual artifacts.

• 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra Driver (Win9X - RC 1.81)
  
  
  

• FastCard (Win9X - version 1.14 - 212 KB)
  
  
  

• Creative Labs 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra Review
• Microsoft Force Feedback Pro Joystick Review
  
  
  

MILPITAS, Calif. - June 07, 1999 - Creative Technology Ltd. (NASDAQ: CREAF), the leading provider of multimedia solutions for personal entertainment, today announced the company's plans to offer broadband internet access solutions. Utilizing Lucent Technologies WildWire™ DSP1690-based chip set, Creative will offer internal PCI-based solutions for broadband connectivity for OEMs, system integrators and retail. Creative will also utilize Centillium's Optimizer™ chip set to be the first to market with an external USB-based solution that is ideal for home use. These solutions combined provide a family of flexible broadband options for the retail, OEM and system integrator channels that offer up to 1.5MBPS of download capacity - up to 26 times more bandwidth than 56K modems. Creative plans to offer these solutions through its channel partners and retailers beginning in Q3 of this year.

• Logitech Wheel Mouse USB
• Logitech MouseMan Wheel
  
  
  

PowerStrip 2.50.03- Under NT 5, the PowerStrip assumes that the display driver works properly with Windows 2000 (some don't), and that the driver is lying if it reports support for DDIGammaRamp (some do). If the first assumption is wrong, a fix is already designed into the program - refer to the Release Notes for details. If the second assumption is wrong, this can also be corrected but there is little reason to do so as the PowerStrip's DirecDAC routines are generally faster that the Windows API equivalent.

Performance Tuner 1.00.01 - Like the PowerStrip, the Performance Tuner assumes driver compatibility and benefits from the same fix if compatibility problems are encountered. A bug when running Windows NT 4.0 has also been squashed.

MultiRes 1.12 - MultiRes now provides better support across a network, and properly enumerates available refresh rates.

So what do I think about the Alpha as an effective cooling solution? Well, not only does it keep the temperature on my CPU below 32C, but it also allows me to run a rock solid system at 533MHz.

The 3D Blaster Savage4 is cheap. For $100, we can't complain too much about a lack of performance or strangely missing features. But we can point to the Diamond Stealth III S540 and say that's where Sharky Extreme readers can find a Savage4Pro based card that delivers on the chip's full performance potential, along with a better driverset, an included game, and a core that operates without hesitation at 125MHz.

The latest and probably final revision of the FIC PA 2013 shows that, if there is an end of the SS7 platform coming up, it will be an end at the height of its performance. With the outstanding performance shown by the PA 2013 in most every days applications there is no reason yet to abandon the SS7 platform.

So I am overly happy with this controller. And I am VERY happy I chose it over the others out there. If you want to get a Force feedback wheel, this wheel is my recommendation. It is good enough that pbrain is trying as hard as he frickin' can to get his hands on one.

The Castlewood ORB drive, uses 3-1/2" removable media that is virtually the same as that which makes up your PC's hard drive, with a capacity of 2.2 GB, more than any other product in its category. The company touts an impressive 12.2 megabytes per second maximum sustained data transfer rate, a considerably faster transfer rate than any removable media product available today. The Orb drive also boasts a substantial increase in reliability over it's competition, with an estimated MTBF (mean-time-between-failure) rating 50 percent better than other removable cartridge products. Since ORB removable media drives are actually true hard drives, they can outperform other removable media drives, such as; magneto optical, high-density floppies, optical DVD and tape. With a maximum sustained transfer data rate of 12.2 MB p/second, the ORB can readily record streaming audio and video. And there is no limit to the number of times an ORB disk can be recorded upon. The ORB also offers a random access feature, making disk data searches and retrieval quicker and easier.

Capable of supporting Intel’s dual Celeron PPGA 370 CPU, TwinMagic provides significant price-performance benefits.  Users can simply plug into one Slot 1 or the motherboard’s single socket to realize substantial gains in the power and performance of their desktop systems. Legend QDI’s TwinMagic is powerful enough to perform on both the personal computer & server levels. 

• FullOn3D TNT-2 Performance Check (1.76 vs. 1.88)
• BXBoards TNT/TNT2 Benchmarks (1.76 vs. 1.88)
  
  
  

Unlike the Celeron fans which were integral to overclocking, the P3 fans are less crucial since PIII are not very overclockable anyway. However, since the PIII is such an expensive processor, it makes sense to get a high quality cooling solution. From the benchmarks that we conducted and the testing method considerations (see above: Method of Testing), is it quite clear the TennMax P3 TF Cooler performs quite well, continuing TennMax's tradition of high quality and innovative cooling devices. Overclocking is also quite feasible with TennMax's P3 Cooler, though in extreme situation, additional case fans may be needed. Put the perfomance together with a low cost of $28 + SH, the TennMax fan is definitely a good investment.

I've been asked several times to add an option to install the Voodoo3 Overclocker panel under the Windows 98 Advanced panel instead of the main Display Properties panel. So I've added a checkbox to the installer that allows you to do this if you're running under Windows 98. I've also been asked a lot to put the version number in the panel so now the installer and main panel display the version number.

• Voodoo3 Overclocker (Win9X - version 2.4 - 111 KB)
  
  
  

There are several good points to the K6-III 400.  The price is now well under $200.  It is a bargain.  It costs less than a PII 400.  Much less than a PIII 450.  Sure, you can buy a Celeron 300A and overclock it if you feel lucky, but the K6-III 400 smokes them all in Windows performance.  If you have a super 7 board it is a no-brainer upgrade.  Don't fret if your board doesn't support a 2.4V core.  Mine ran at 2.2V stable up to 428 MHz.

Essentially, the new "FC-PGA 370" configuration is nothing more than a Pentium III in a low-cost socket, similar to the 370-pin pin grid array (PGA) socket used by Intel's low-cost Celeron microprocessor, according to sources close to Intel. Intel will use "flip-chip" technology to bond the die to the package.

• Riva TNT/TNT2 PCI Driver (Win9X - version 1.88 - 957 KB)
• Riva TNT/TNT2 AGP Driver (Win9X - version 1.88 - 957 KB)
  
  
  

• CL Unified Driver (Win9X - version 1.11)

Setting new marks in all six major performance categories by significant margins, the Quantum Atlas 10k's blazing performance easily dethrones the Cheetah 18LP. The drive has taken its place (temporarily, alas) in my personal system and has already proven to be noticeably faster than both the Cheetah and MAG3182LP in everyday use. Performance like this stands alone without regard to other factors such as heat and noise- the fact that the drive combines stellar performance with commendable heat/noise levels makes it all the more attractive. What more can I say? The Quantum Atlas 10k is currently the fastest drive in the world, and the drive you should purchase if you're a performance-oriented user.

As we said in our last report, we've seen a working K7 (a good thing indeed) and were left optimistic about the performance. Once again, the worries seem to sit firmly with AMD's track record for not being able to deliver. It didn't exactly inspire us with confidence when virtually all (apart from the three mentioned above) the Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers revealed that they currently did NOT have a Slot-A based product in the works. Even if the second round of OEMs were to get in on the act today, the market still won't be awash with Slot-A based mainboards.

ASUS’ combination of features and quality would definitely make the V3800 the board of choice if it wasn’t for one very important factor, cost. All of these features come at a cost to the user, and a cost that quite a few gamers don’t want to or can’t afford to pay. The ASUS V3800 TVR as reviewed here, with the TV-in/out and the VR-out, retails for $199.99. Keeping in mind that the 125/150 default clock of this board is considerably lower than the 175/183 default of the Guillemot Maxi Gamer, as well as the 175/200 of the Hercules Dynamite TNT2 Ultra which are both priced around the $199 - $229 mark, the V3800 doesn’t seem to be the most cost effective product on the market for the gamer on a budget. You do get what you pay for in this industry, but you need to make the decision, support for nerdy glasses (and a handful of other features) or blazing performance ;)

• Viper V770 Series Driver (Win9X - version 4.01 - 7 MB)
• Viper V770 Series Driver (WinNT - version 4.01 - 2.2 MB)
  
  
  

The same issue is arising. Prettiness or speed? For some, they want the card that gives them the most FPS, period. For others, they are willing to take an FPS hit to get better graphics. The bonus of the Dynamite Ultra is that the hit that you take for having the TNT2 is pretty small, as it performs closely to the Voodoo3 in terms or sheer speed.

An erratum that affects the Pentium III's SSE or Streaming SIMD multimedia instruction set is keeping Intel's new 810 chip set from working with the chip.

The erratum, called MaskMovQ, is a Pentium III glitch. And while Intel has created a workaround for it, the 810 doesn't support it, making it incompatible with the Pentium III. Intel isn't supporting the workaround in the chip set because the 810 was not designed or validated to work with the Pentium III, said Intel spokesman Dan Fancisco.

TennMax is best known for their Stealth V2 Cooler, which helped many hardcore overclockers obtain un-heard of speeds with their Voodoo2. Now, Voodoo3 owners have a valuable ally in the battle against heat, the Stealth Voodoo3 Fighter.

• Spectra 2500/3200 Driver & Utils (Win9X - 2.11.01 - 5.84 MB)
• Spectra 2500/3200 Driver Only (Win9X - 2.11.01 - 923 KB)
  
  
  

• ATI Rage 128 Driver (Win9X - 6.11 - 5.2 MB)
• ATI Rage 128 Driver (WinNT4 - 4.3.40 - 2.6 MB)
• ATI Rage PRO Driver (Win9X - 5.37 - 6.2 MB)
  
  
  

Taipei, Taiwan, June 1, 1999 - Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. of Taiwan today announced plans to produce motherboards optimized to support the yet-to-be-released AMD-K7^™ microprocessor. The new motherboard, which is expected to go into mass production early in Q3, will optimize the many enhanced features of both the new processor and the new AMD core logic (chipset).

Key features will include 5 PCI slots and a 200 MHz front side bus (North Bridge-to-CPU) which is based on the Alpha EV6 protocol.. Comprehensive hardware health monitoring, ACPI 1.0 and APM 1.2 power management, and Super I/O capabilities will also be standard. The motherboard will be produced in the ATX form factor.

• Powerstrip GX (Win9X/NT4 - version 1.0 Beta - 222 KB)
  
  
  

• Support Windows 95(OSR2.1)/Windows 98/Windows 98SE.
• ALi AGP Driver 1.60 adds registry key to help Windows98 Device Manager to display proper chipset driver properties, like Provider, Date & Version.
• Support AMD K6-2 CXT core/K6-III MTRR feature. When ALi AGP Driver 1.60 detects an AMD CXT core CPU, it sets up MTRR to enable this feature.
• S3 Savage3D is not stable on M1621 system, ALi AGP Driver 1.60 has solved this problem.
• ALi AGP Driver 1.50 does not work well in Win98 with the Savage4. System may turn into BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). ALi AGP Driver 1.60 has solved this problem.
• System may turn into BSOD when executing Turok on Intel i740 and M1621 based system. ALi AGP Driver 1.60 has solved this problem.
• Solve system poor performance for Intel i740 in Windows 95. Need Intel i740 driver version v3.2.
• Asus P5A bios 1005 sets up M1541 GAT mode and this will cause problem in ATI Rage 128. ALi AGP Driver 1.60 has solved this problem.
• Add support for nVidia TNT2.
• Add support for 3Dfx Voodoo3.
• Fix nVidia TNT playing DVD frame drop.
  
  
  
• ALi AGP Driver (Win9X - version 1.60)
  
  
  

Basically you can tell if a mousepad is good within the first 10 seconds of use. The Everglide mousepad is the smoothest yet best tracking mousepad I've ever used. It is ungodly smooth. I was afraid that it would be really smooth but have zilcho tracking. This isn't the case however. The surface of the Everglide mousepad has tiny bumps which give excellent tracking but don't hinder the smoothness. Other vinyl pads are very smooth but the mouse just slips away since it has nothing to "grab" onto when you stop moving. Using the Everglide mousepad is actually less work because it is so effortless to use.

Most interestingly was the identical line being touted by the aforementioned sources with regards to the projected performance of the NV10, which is said to be somewhere in the region of four times that of the TNT2 (the current 350MegaTexel/second fill rate is already high). Many of you will already know that NVIDIA is aiming to take 3D graphics into the 'next stage of realism' by sporting hardware T&L (transformation & lighting), clipping and geometry features on-chip but what if we told you that this will be backed up by a 64MB-128MB memory specification? Obviously full AGP 4X support will increase the memory bandwidth considerably too.

• Xentor 16/32 Driver (Win9X - version 1.3a - 1.01 MB)
  
  
  

While the 3D Blaster isn't the best 3D card on the market, it's by no means the worst. If you want high frame-rate, fast and smooth 3D gameplay with realistic graphical effects at resolutions of 640x480 or 800x600, it's a good choice. The 3D Blaster's limitations are perhaps reflected in the price - a relative snip at £99 for a 32Mb card. Owners of older PCs with no AGP graphics abilities can pick up the PCI version for the same price.

• Diamond Viper V770 Driver (Win9X - version 1.02 - 6.8 MB)
• Diamond Viper V770 Driver (WinNT4 - version 1.0 - 2.3 MB)
  
  
  

On the surface, there's nothing that makes this Gigabyte entry stand out from the crowd - no onboard sound or video, no exotic tweaking options or bus speeds. However, performance and stability that were both well above average are what really differentiate the GA-6BX7 from the seemingly endless supply of plain-jane Socket-370 boards. For those of you that rely on your computer every day for real work, the Gigabyte GA-6BX7 is hard to pass up in the Socket-370 market. If Gigabyte keeps this up, they might not be such a secret any more ;)

EH : Could you explain how the lightgun technology works? In other words, how does the computer detect where the gun shoots?

Brandon : What happens is similar to the way a console light gun works except we have fine tuned the technology so that it is compatible with high resolutions and the full scope of refresh rates. The problem in the past has been that any gun designed for the PC required an interface card. Our technology is different in that we simply intercept the video signal and gather information via that connection. During the shot process a rapid white flash is executed which paints a white canvas for our hardware to interpret the current gun's position. Then we receive that data and provide it to the system which in turn is used by the game software in determining where the shot location should be displayed.