Some SFF Systems, Low-Latency RAM, Modding & Other Assorted Goodies
Whoa! I've only been offline for about 8 hours, and already our news box is chock full of goodies! For a geek like me, there's not much better than waking up to a healthy sampling of hardware related articles. I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee, slammed down a pastry and some toast, and now I'm going to settle in for some good reading. When I'm done with that, I'm going to button up a review of Asus' excellent Radon X800 Pro! I figure some of you might want to do the same (minus that part about writing a review), so here's enough hardware news to keep you busy for most of the morning - just don't spill any coffee on your keyboard...
Shuttle's XPC SK83G SFF System @ The Tech Report:
"ON THE SAME day that AMD launched the first Athlon 64, Shuttle unveiled an XPC cube for the new processor. The nForce3-based SN85G4 was one of the first Athlon 64 platforms available—an impressive feat for a small form factor system. However, what was impressive nine months ago is considerably less inspiring today. While the SN85G4 remains a competent Athlon 64 platform, the cube's nForce3 150 chipset is beginning to show its age. The SN85G4 also lacks integrated video, making it less than ideal for value markets and corporate applications."
Thermaltake XTunner 4 Fan Speed by IR Remote Control Kit Review @ Futurelooks:
"The XTunner is made for the computer enthusiast who wants the works for his computer case. With CPU running warmer and hotter, more people are adding on a lot more fans to help keep the CPU and devices inside the computer cool. Fans make noise, sometimes a lot of noise. This kit is here to lower the noise level when appropriate."
Designtechnica Editorial: I Want My TechTV!
"I spent the last 11 months watching TechTV as often as I could. The network helped me find plenty of ideas for articles, news items, or products to review for Designtechinca, but more than that, it entertained and educated me. And Leo, his Screen Savers co-host Patrick Norton, and the rest of the cast helped hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people with tech problems. Leo even spent all day on the day after Christmas doing his Call for Help-athon in which he answered as many calls as he could from people who just got new gadgets and didn't know how to use them."
"Mac.Ars takes on the .Mac gap, covering the evolution of .Mac from its beginnings in OS 9 as the free iTools to its ever-deeper integration with OS X as a US$99 per year product, and wondering if .Mac subscribers will decide not to renew in light of the free alternatives."
Gaming Bomb Review @ PCUnleash:
"If you have only looked at a picture of the Gaming Bomb, you might have thought that the design isn't exactly what you would have expected. However, can you relate to the experience of going with a friend to a movie for which you had pretty low expectations? When you finish watching the movie, you realize that the movie was actually a lot better than you ever would have guessed. Chenbro's Gaming Bomb can be compared to that in a sense."
AOpen XCCube EZ18 nForce2 SFF System @ Bjorn3D.com:
"When it comes to AOpen's XCCube EZ18, style is the first thing that strikes me as making it unique from the countless SFF choices available today. With its white exterior and silver accents, it has a very stylish and sleek look that makes a fashion statement (and it better considering that AOpen's marketing concept with it is 'Living Art'). Keep reading to find out if the 'compact, cute, cozy' EZ18 has the features and performance to match its great looks."
OcPrices reviews Case modding equipment:
"Mutant mods.com is a relatively new manufacturer of case modding equipment, and an offshoot of the respected www.startech.com, which offers a source for hard to find computer parts. They were kind enough to send me a few of their snazzy flashy glowy products for review, namely a bubble tube, an EL rounded IDE cable and an LED fan. All of the products came in branded Mutant mods packaging, and arrived in just a couple of days all the way from the states."
Steelpad 3S Mouse pad review @ EXHardware:
"The Steelpad 3S is a fairly large aluminum mouse pad which comes in a nice matte black finish and it feels very rigid and tough. There are absolutely no sharp edges on the pad as all the corners are curved and cut very precisely. The surface is very flat and smooth with a laser etched Steelpad 3S logo on the bottom left of the pad. According to Steelpad, the surface is hardened to ensure durability and is also fiber polished. A strip of Steel PadSurfer which is made of solid teflon tape is also included with the pad and is designed to reduce friction between the feet of the mouse and the pad."
Corsair TwinX1024-3200XLPRO RAM Review @ SystemCooling:
"Walk softly and carry a big stick... or two! That would be applicable for our review subject today, 1 GB of Corsair TwinX1024-3200XLPRO RAM. I shouldn't have to go into detail regarding the Corsair name. Think high performance computing and Corsair will always be on the short list of players. And with the 3200XLPRO, they are taking some of the work out of getting extremely low latencies out of DDR RAM."
"If and when NVIDIA get round to giving ForceWare Multimedia the polishing it sorely needs I'll be happy to recommend it; the hardware is good. It could do with tuning digital terrestrial television, but that should appear in due course (although sadly not with the current hardware revision)."
"The past two articles showed you how to keep your computer safe and what program is better at removing spyware. This time around, I'll be showing you how to remove any spyware that already infected your machine."
That should be enough to keep you occupied for a while! If not, check back a little later! I'm sure we'll be able to dig up some more goodies!
