Asus AX800 Pro/TD Review & Some News
Hey All! As we alluded to earlier this afternoon, the PRs have been steadily flowing in today. I'm here to give you another sampling and hardware news and to let you know that We've just posted a review of Asus' Radeon X800 Pro powered AX800 Pro/TD. This card ships with a very comprehensive software and accessory bundle, which even includes a webcam, and it sports a uniquely colored PCB. We evaluated its image quality, and compared its performance to 5 other video cards, including a 12-pipe GeForce 6800 and a 16-pipe GeForce 6800 GT. We used the latest drivers available for all of the cards and did some overclocking as well. Overall, we have over 300 different benchmark results posted, with most of them taken using custom demos. Click here to check it out!
When you're done reading our review, here are some other assorted articled to keep you busy...
Titan TWC-A04 Water Cooler Kit Review @ Overclocker Cafe:
"From the looks of it, it appears as if this hose was incorrectly cut or trimmed by hand after manufacture and very well may be a fluke. Below is my repair job that took all of 90 seconds. While I think this is a fluke and the damaged piece was easily replaced, in the end, it gets down to, did the unit leak or not?"
Thermaltake Silent Tower Heatpipe Heatsink Review @ CoolTechZone:
"Thermaltake has been producing heatsinks for a long time and while there aren't very many new things happening in the air cooling industry, sometimes we get surprised to see what's in the market. We have seen pretty much the same design from every manufacturer who produces heatsinks, but today we are in for a big surprise."
Intel 925X/915G Motherboards and CPU's review @ Bytesector:
"Intel Corp. has been manufacturing processors and chipsets for many years now. A leader in the processor market and a dominant force in the chipset market, Intel has now brought out their latest, possibly the most deadly (for other companies), combination in years. They recently brought out the 915 and 925X chipsets and both of these chips are so full of new technology that they almost scream for attention (not that they have to). The new chipsets sport the following new technologies: DDR2 (i915 supports DDR also), PCI Express (x16 and x1), Socket T (775), Azalia audio codec, a new demanding power configuration, Intel's Matrix Storage Technology and the Graphics Media Accelerator (on the i915G)! What a mouthful, but is all this stuff really that great? Are these new technologies worth buying now or should you be waiting until the dust settles?"
Slipstreaming Windows XP SP1a @ Viper Lair:
"For those of you unfamiliar with the term slipstreaming, it is basically the process of integrating service packs or hotfixes into an application or Operating System install. The whole point of this exercise is to speed up deployment of OSes and applications by reducing the time needed to download service packs to each PC that is configured."
"The two gems in the lineup are the Qbic 3401a and the Condor. Remember how I commented that the Qbic looked porky? It was for a good reason. This bad boy can house 2 optical drive and 2 3.5" drives. The possibility of two optical drives is pretty impressive as it is the only SFF box in our roundup with the ability to do this. I'm under the impression that Soltek may be the only manufacturer who allows 2 optical drives."
Beginners Guides: Flashing A Motherboard BIOS @ PCStats:
"Upgrading the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of your computer's motherboard, also sometimes called 'flashing,' used to be a complex operation full of potential perils for your PC. The task involved downloading the correct BIOS file, the proper CMOS chip flashing software, rebooting the PC into DOS mode, applying the correct commands and then waiting in suspense until the update finished. All the while there was a lurking danger - if something went wrong, you would be left with an essentially unusable motherboard... Not an operation for the novice, and not one that even PC enthusiasts approached with enthusiasm. Since BIOS updates can add new features and considerable stability to their products, it was definitely in the manufacturer's best interest to find an easier and more fault resistant way for consumers to update a BIOS."
Interview with ATI's Richard Huddy and Kevin Strange @ 3DCenter.Org:
"Many readers are somewhat in the dark about both tasks and scope of 'developer relations', particularly from an IHV point of view. Hence we organized an interview with two of ATI's most outspoken developer relations people."
1GB Corsair XLPRO Ultra-Low Latency TwinX Memory Kit Review @ RojakPot:
"Everyone is abuzz about the new Corsair ultra-low latency XL memory modules. Boasting an ultra-low latency of just 2-2-2-5 at 400MHz DDR, these memory modules are the fastest PC3200 memory modules in the market. Today, PsYkHoTiK takes a look at the top XL memory kit - the 1GB Corsair XLPRO Ultra-Low Latency TwinX Memory Kit. He will show you what the new XL memory modules are all about and how well they perform. Check it out!"
Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro2-W @ Legit Reviews:
"Just wanted to let everyone know that we just posted a piece on the Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro2-W motherboard. This under $135 i865 motherboard really does pack some punch for the budget buying crowd & it comes with WiFi!"
Asetek VapoChill LightSpeed Review @ Hexus:
"The brilliant mounting mechanism, peerless cooling performance (now unmatched since the Mach II GT is no more) and stylish enclosure allow Asetek to raise the commercial phase-change CPU cooling bar."
Phew! To paraphrase the immortal soup Nazi, "No more news for you!" Good night folks! Enjoy!
