Covering All The Bases: Video, Cases, Motherboards & More

Good evening all!  We may be a little later than usual with the news today, but we didn't forget ya! We just got caught up in some testing this morning and didn't get a chance to update the main page.  So, without further delay, here's a healthy sampling of news that should keep you busy for a while.  Enjoy!

Intel Continues To Accelerate 64-Bit Capability Across Product Lines With Platform For Embedded Storage Solutions

Emulex Selects Intel TXN31011 Optical Transceiver for HBA

STORAGE NETWORKING WORLD, Orlando, Fla., Oct. 26, 2004 - Intel Corporation today expanded the 64-bit capabilities of its product line with the addition of an Intel Xeon processor-based platform with Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T) aimed at the storage industry.

Intel also unveiled a key optical design win with Emulex Corporation and a new compiler for storage applications.

Intel introduced the 64 bit-capable Low Voltage Intel Xeon Processor 2.8 GHz with 800 MHz System Bus, which is aimed specifically at storage applications, such as controllers for storage networks. The new processor features Intel EM64T to extend memory addressability of storage systems beyond 4 Gigabytes that eliminates performance penalties associated with large storage applications, such as data base programs.  Read More...

NASA's Intel Itanium 2-Based System Fastest in World

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 26, 2004 - Intel Corporation today announced that its latest Intel Itanium 2 processor powers the world's fastest supercomputer.

Intel has congratulated NASA and SGI on building Project Columbia, a system that boasts a world-record speed of 42 trillion floating point operations per second (42 teraFLOP/s) and was deployed in less than six months.  Read More...

 [H]ard|OCP $1500 System Guide:

"Given the right amount of money, in this case $1500 dollars, we outline an approach to piecing together a system that'll not only turn a few heads but will make many of your buddies green with envy. We did consider price to performance ratios in selecting the equipment, but tried to go with components that were a bit above the "mid-level.". This system will give you a decent amount of headroom in the overclocking arena as well, should you choose to take that route. Our system guide covers all components necessary, with the exception of OS and monitor, required to construct an entirely new system. The components selected include the following: CPU, CPU HSF, motherboard, memory, video card, case, power supply, hard drives, CD-RW/DVD-RW, keyboard/mouse combo, and speaker package. The guide assumes that you will only need to provide a monitor and an OS to install on this killer rig."

 ThermalTake Hardcano 12 Review @ TwistedMods:

"Thermaltake's latest and greatest on the system monitoring front is the Hardcano 12. It combines the sleek look of a car stereo deck with the powerful control of a Digital Doc system to create a highly useful and undeniably attractive system monitoring unit...This product has been such a great seller lately that even resellers are on backorder as ThermalTake is unable to create them fast enough to meet the customer demand."

 Biostar K8NHA Grand Review @ AMDZone:

"Biostar has embraced the AMD64 platform with motherboards and small form factors. We have looked at several of their boards. Today we look at their latest Athlon 64 board based on the nForce 3 250GB chipset. The K8NHA Grand builds on their previous nForce 3 boards. Let's take a look at the specs before we get into the review."

 Asetek Hard Drive Cooler @ Bjorn3D:

"A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed the Asetek WaterChill cooling kit. This water-cooling kit contained both CPU cooling, GPU cooling and chipset cooling, and as far as I could see, there wasn't anything missing. Asetek, however, found one more piece in your computer to cool, and today I am reviewing the Asetek HD Cooler. Yes, you read right. Asetek has released a cooling block for hard drives, allowing you to lower the temperature of your hot running drives."

 ATI's Radeon X700 XT and Radeon X700 Pro @ Hexus:

"This article serves two purposes. We'll take a look at the new XT, paying close attention to its thermal characteristics before looking at performance, and I'll also publish some numbers and thoughts from that initial look at the PRO. It was only 5MHz away on the core clock from matching ATI's final set clocks, so while its results are gleaned using an older driver build that ATI aren't especially happy with, it'll serve as a nice reference point for when we get a final PRO board to look at."

 SilverStone Timjin 5 Case Review @ OCIA.net:

"The case comes with the typical screws, stand-offs, and fiber washers... though there are much more than normal. The manual (the first installation manual I have received with a case) has lots of photos, and does a pretty good job of helping you get the job done. The slot cover is to cover the AGP slot, if you happen to be using the case for a server. The keys lock the bezel, preventing unwanted access to the optical drives."

 Xtrac Ripper XL Mouse Pad @ TechTastic.ca:

"Some people say bigger is better and X-trac seems to believe that when it comes to mouse pads. They have designed one of the biggest mousing surfaces we've ever seen called the X-Trac Ripper XL!"

 NVIDIA's SoundStorm and AMD's Strained Silicon Info @ Penstarsys:

"On my front page I have posted some interesting facts and thoughts on both NVIDIA's future SoundStorm offerings (there really are none) and AMD's recently announced strained silicon products. Quite a bit of good info here, and a quick read for those interested."

Phew!  If that doesn't kill half of your night, I don't know what will!   Be cool brothers and sisters...