June 9 - 15, 1999
Archive

The grip it gives a mouse is awesome. We're talking pixel-perfect aiming in all shooter games. However, one BIG problem I noticed for people (me included) who rest their wrists on the edge of the mousepad, is that the four little rubber feet on the bottom (which are there so the pad doesn't slide everywhere while you play) are placed very close to the center. So if you put anything more than a feather's weight on the edge of the pad it will tilt and wobble in a way that is completely unacceptable. But rather than accepting that as just a horrid flaw and give the Everglide a bad review, I fixed it.

• ELSA Winner II Driver (Win9X - 0303-0001 Beta - 2.43 MB)
  
  
  

• Savage4 Reference Driver (WIn95 - version 8.09.02)
• Savage4 Reference Driver (WIn95 - version 8.09.02)
  
  
  

Overall, even though the record speed (4x) is no greater than the speed of my current Panasonic CD recorder, I still consider that the Blaster CD-RW would be a worthwhile upgrade for me. Adding the re-writeable capability along with packet writing gives me unlimited hard drive space at less than $3 a gigabyte. There are very few other things that would allow me this sort of additional storage space at this sort of price. Overall this was an excellent product, and it will be getting nominated for the GA-Source Stamp of Approval. I will keep you all posted as to how the process goes.

The exceptionally low CPU utilization rate in UDMA Mode 4 (Ultra ATA/66) is a major plus for multi-threaded applications and multitasking.  I have to mention also that the drive is exceptionally quiet compared to WD's Caviar drives leading to a sense of security that the drive is indeed well designed and crafted.  Temperature also does not seem to be a factor as the drive remained an exceptional cool 80-84°F throughout the test period.

Dirk Meyer, an AMD vice president and architect of the K7, said at an industry dinner on Thursday night that the chip will be faster than an Intel Pentium III chip with an equivalent megahertz rating on key performance measures, including crunching numbers for a spreadsheet or creating graphics and video for a game. He said AMD’s tests show the K7 beating comparable Intel chips by 7% to 42%, depending on the software being run.

The 810 market is an interesting one, most hardware junkies won't find themselves drooling over the thought of integrated video, however as the base for a cheap second system or a system to give to growing children, a novice family member, or even yourself as another 'net surfing box, boards like the MX3W will definitely get the job done.  And with AOpen behind the driver's seat, you can expect your second (or third, or fourth) system to purr without even the slightest hiccup.

We have enhanced our May 26th release of the Creative mini-GL driver by adding support for the high-resolution 512x512 pixel textures used by Quake III Test. The 3dfx Voodoo chipset family architecture does not support texture sizes greater than 256x256 in hardware. While support for higher resolution textures is available in more advanced chipsets such as the S3 (3D Blaster Savage 4) and NVIDIA TNT family (Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT and 3D Blaster RIVA TNT2 Ultra), cards based on the Voodoo family of chipsets are forced to down-sample these high-resolution textures to fit within the 256x256 limitation. We have engineered our mini-GL driver to introduce a technique* that brings support for 512x512 textures to the Creative Voodoo family of cards. This unique enhancement is not available with any other Voodoo OpenGL driver. You will see the benefits of this feature throughout the game by moving the texture detail slider to the high end in the Quake III Test graphics options menu before entering an arena. Also, the quality of the text in the main menu (a 512x512 texture) is enhanced. This is demonstrated in these screen shots.

• Creative mini-GL Quake III driver
  
  
  

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- ELSA Inc., a world leader in computer graphics add-on and peripheral solutions, today announced the immediate availability of the much-anticipated 32MB ERAZOR III 2D/3D desktop graphics accelerator. Propelled by the immense power and unsurpassed 3D features of the NVIDIA(TM) RIVA TNT2 (TwiN-Texel) 128-bit graphics processor, the high-performance ERAZOR III enables PC applications and entertainment graphics to achieve their maximum potential. Bundled with the ERAZOR III, is the revolutionary ELSA 3D REVELATOR stereo eyewear which offers PC game players an entirely new, immersive game experience by bringing IMAX®-like reality to the standard PC. By transforming pseudo-3D game graphics into life-like, stereoscopic 3D, the 3D REVELATOR delivers the ultimate immersive gaming experience.

So why update the BIOS? If you are having compatibility problems, usually brought on by a new hardware installation, updating the system BIOS may solve the problem. Other times, updating the BIOS is done in order to add new functionality to the hardware such as Plug 'N Play.

I am pleased to say that the Diamond Viper V770 Ultra has surpassed even my wildest dreams. I never though I could run games at resolutions as high as 1280x1024 without swearing at the computer for its low performance. What I didn't like however was the fact that it can't be overclocked past 175/200 whereas I know that other cards can. I was also disappointed at the drivers Diamond provided. Their performance is extremely low and the InControl Tools aren't enough to make you keep them loaded. It's also rather expensive at the moment but as more TNT2 Ultra solutions make their way onto the market, the prices will drop. Nonetheless Diamond's TNT2 Ultra solution is one of the best, if not the best. For me 640x480 , 800x600 and 1024x768 don't exist! It's high res from now on! If you are thinking " I've got a TNT1, why should I get a TNT2? " the answer is, cause it's a whole lot better!

The 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP graphic accelerator is an impressive card.  High performance and excellent visual quality make the Voodoo3 3000 one of the best solutions on the market for those still squeezing life out of the Super 7 platform.  On the plus side 3dfx based boards are as compatible with the Super7 platform as anything around.  Driver support for 3DNow! seems to be coming along quite well considering the superior scores the AMD K6-2 and K6 III processors got in my benchmarks.  The quality of the graphics is noticeably improved over the Banshee or Voodoo2 line making this a great upgrade option.

This new 19-inch monitor from veteran manufacturer ViewSonic is a member of the new generation of "perfectly flat" displays. Although it uses a (relatively) standard aperture grill tube, the PT795 achieves its flatness by first adding a layer of glass that optically corrects the underlying curved image--it's essentially a weak lens. Flat glass is then added on top of the curved glass, and that's what you see. At first glance, the display appears almost concave, because we're all used to seeing curved images.

The nVIDIA NV10 is the planned successor of the successful TnT-2 series. The graphics processor is expected to deliver approximately four times the graphical performance of the TnT-2. It will bring a new level of realism to computer generated images by integrating acceleration for hardware transformation and lighting features. At present, these functions are performed relatively slowly by the central processing unit. The resultant reduction in processing load will allow programmers to increase the complexity of their products in other directions.

I was very impressed with the Viper V770 Ultra, especially with the increased performance it provides over the Viper V550 in both 16-bit and 32-bit color.  All benchmarks ran without problems even at an overclocked speed of 175MHz core and 200MHz memory.

Please tell us how Creative Labs feels about this lawsuit, and does 3dfx even have a case here?

It is baseless and they have no case. John added and explained, that the wrapper's code is completly different than 3dfx's and their is no copyright infringement issues involved.

• Abit BX6 R2 BIOS (version KU - 136 KB)
• Abit BH6 BIOS (version LH - 134 KB)
• Award Flash Utility (version 7.78 - 29 KB)
  
  
  

However, where the Erazor III is lagging in clock speed, it more than makes up for in features. This thing comes packed with a lot of extras. The "ViVo" stands for Video In/Video Out, and that is what it has. We're talking multiple video inputs, multiple video outputs, video editing software, software DVD players, a full-featured driver set….the works. On top of all that, there are the 3D Revelator glasses. If you don't know what these things are, you're gonna find out!

There has been a constant battle between Hewlett Packard and Epson over which has the better printer. Well, in my opinion, Epson wins. After personally owning some Hewlett Packard and Canon printers, the quality of the Epson is stunning in comparison. Epson has struck gold here, especially since some consumers had complained that 1400x720 dpi printing was slow on their 700 and 800 series. Epson answered the call and came up with the fastest Inkjet printer today, and the best quality. The only gripe I have is the price at $449.00 USD. It's a little on the pricey side, but its still cheaper than Hewlett Packard's Professional Inkjets by approximately $50.00 USD. If you are looking for a high quality, fast Inkjet printer, look no further because this is your printer.

Following the rare yet finally present trend of competing with ABIT's BH6/BX6R2 on all platforms, the 6163 features both a jumperless CPU setup controlled from within the Award BIOS as well as the ability to adjust the core voltage of your installed CPU.  The clock generator on the 6163 supports the 66/75/83/100/103/112/124/129/133/138/143/148/153MHz FSB settings as well as the 1/4 PCI clock divider for use when taking advantage of some of the higher FSB frequencies.

There are a lot of SoundBlaster Live! and Live! Value owners who want the most from their new sound cards. For some, this means great 3D positional sound in games; for others it means great sound quality in DVD's; for a lot of people it means doing more things musically, with your computer. In a nutshell, the Optical Digital I/O card provides digital connectors found in professional audio systems and Mini-Disc and it also enables SB Live! Value owners to hook up Creative's FPS 2000 speakers through the Digital DIN connection.

The GA-660 runs very steady, as with all cards I test, it had been running continuously for 24 hours (I loop some 3D timedemo's). No flaws occurred and the chip does not run hot at all !, compared to the Voodoo3 3000 (on which you can fry some eggs, believe me I tried!) that's an advantage. I overclocked the card with ease towards 166/166 MHz and it ran excellent. On 178/178 the card halted.

SPECint: 23.6 / ~25
SPECfp : 16.9 / ~23

That's 5% in integer and 35% in floating point. That's definately better than I would have dared hope for! Note that these may not be 100% exact as they were obtained from charts at a dinner talk with speaker Dirk Meyer (AMD) - we'll try to get the exact numbers directly from AMD. As an added touch, AMD have also added 19 new multimedia instructions that should aid significantly in things like MP3 playback. More later!

Head over to FullOn 3DNow for some more juicy information!  Also, Ace's Hardware has posted a bit about the K7.

At the heart of this classic David and Goliath struggle is a radical chipset with a 133 MHz front side bus, which under optimal conditions is 33% faster than the competing product from Intel that runs at 100 MHz. If brought to market, this chipset could start nibbling at Intel's $1.2 billion in annual chipset sales.

Under optimal conditions, I doubt it could even match Intel's chipsets in speed even with the 133MHz FSB, but that's just my opinion.

The price cuts have come a month earlier than anticipated.

The Celeron 466 now costs $147/1000, the 433MHz part $113/1000, and the 400MHz Celeron $93. The 366MHz part drops to $69/1000.

The PII/400 now costs $173/1000, a ten per cent reduction.

• GamePC's Guillemot Maxi Gamer Xentor32 Review
• The Tech Zone's Viper V770 Ultra TNT2 Review
  
  
  

The sound quality of these speakers can be summed up in a word. Amazing. It all sounds perfect. The high-pitched squeals ring out in just the right tone, the low-pitched bass rumbling out at you threateningly. The 3D effect of this system, when used with a 3d sound application is quite convincing. Sounds that are supposed to come from behind you actually DO, no simulation involved. It’s great hearing things sneak up from behind you in Alien vs. Predator and The Phantom Menace. The sound channels of this system are very clearly separate. With anything, you can distinctly hear different sounds from left and right speakers. Just adds to the whole surround experience even more.

Q: Initial tests on the K7 FPU are giving contradictory results. How do you expect the FPU to compare to the Pentium III FPU? How much more powerful is this unit on the K7?

Any benchmark numbers on the K7 that you have seen in public are not endorsed by AMD. These are typically pre-production versions of the silicon that may have certain performance functions disabled. You shouldn't put faith in everything you read on the Internet, especially when tests are run on pre-production parts. The K7's seventh-generation design FPU is planned to be the most architecturally advanced floating point unit ever delivered in an x86 microprocessor.

• Epox S2C Slot-1 to Slot-2 Adapter
• Epox GXB-M GX Dual Slot-2
• Shuttle HOT-685 i440BX Baby AT Socket-370

• Quantum Fireball CR 8400 8.0GB 5400 RPM Review
• Western Digital AC418000 18.8GB 7200 RPM Review
  
  
  

There is nothing spectacular about it, it's just an average run of the mill standard TNT2 card with a fan slapped on it. Of course the TNT2 is quite spectacular when compared to other cards, don't get me wrong. The lack of over-clockability of the core and memory are really the most disappointing features of this card. I would not recommend it to those who want higher than guaranteed 150 MHz core/150 MHz memory settings. Forget using PowerStrip and TNT Clk with this card, it just isn't worth the frustration and disappointment of having to reboot your system after locking up your rig.

• ASUS Live3800 (Win9X - version 3.2 Beta 1 - 1.5 MB)
• ASUS V3800 Driver (Win9X - version 1.01 Beta 1 - 2.1 MB)
• ASUS V3800 Driver (WinNT4 - version 1.01 Beta 1 - 592 KB)
  
  
  

• Nitrane 1.60 MPEG audio decoder with MMX and 3DNow! acceleration
• MikMod module decoder plug-in version 1.3
• Self-destructing streaming dialog boxes
• Equalizer presets included
• Cosmetic fixes
  
  
• Winamp (Win9X/NT - version 2.23 - 648 KB)