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Latest Rage3D Articles
 Nvidia HybridPower™
Hybrid Power Guide and Investigation
May 15th, 2008 in Rage3D Articles
Most SLI users and high end enthusiasts can appreciate the growing power and heat requirements of the high end enthusiast market. This is an area HybridPower™ aims to provide much needed alleviation to this problem. When there are 3 Way and Quad SLI setups out there capable of pulling anywhere from 160 to 250 watts the question comes to mind. Do you really need your high end SLI setups to power your internet browsing experience where you will spend likely half of your PC usage?
 Catalyst Drivers
Hotfix Schmotfix - A Rage3D Look at the Vantage Hotfix
May 12th, 2008 in Rage3D Articles
Releasing hotfix drivers for synthetic benchmark is evil. EVIL! Synthetic benchmarks are useless and irrelevant - or something. Join Rage3D as we measure ATi's Vantage Hotfix on our Usefulness Meter.
 Cooler Master Hyper Z600 CPU Cooler
Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Review
April 30th, 2008 in Cooling
The criteria used to select a CPU cooler varies from person to person. Some are looking for something silent, some are looking for the ultimate in cooling to aid in their overclocking endeavors, and some are looking for the balance point between those two extremes. Cooler Master appears to be targeting all three groups with their upcoming Hyper Z600 CPU cooler, an enormous cooler designed to run in one of three modes: passive, with a single 120mm fan, or with two 120mm fans in a push/pull configuration. Introduced at ceBIT 2008 with an expected release date in late April, will this cooler have what it takes to earn a place of honor in your air-cooled system? Join Rage3D as we review the Cooler Master Hyper Z600.
 Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed - DX10.1 Addendum
April 29th, 2008 in Rage3D Articles
Soon after our initial investigation, Ubisoft hastily announced the removal of DX10.1 support from Assassin's Creed via a future patch. With the reasons of removal being unclear (the official statement is on the cryptic side), questions regarding the differences in Image Quality (IQ) between the DX10 and DX10.1 pathways prompt us to investigate further.
News Headlines
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Firefox 3 RC 1 Released
May 16, 2008 at 11:47 PM by FiggyG
HP, Microsoft Work On Patch For SP3 Casualties
May 16, 2008 at 04:17 PM by PeaceKeeper7114
Well this one is not Microsoft's fault at all. How are they supposed to know that HP would use the wrong driver on AMD system images. In addition, they even warned of this back in the '04 timeframe.


eWeek now says Microsoft is working together with HP on a fix. An HP spokeswoman told eWeek, "We are of course working diligently with Microsoft on a software update and will be proactively distributing a patch to customers this week through our automated HP Update service that will prevent this error from occurring." Users will also be able to head to hp's website and search for patch SP37394. "When the update is available, the search results screen will list the update with instructions for downloading and installation," she added.



Source: The Tech Report
Friday Hardware Review Roundup
May 16, 2008 at 01:40 PM by Lupine
Western Digital Raptor 150 Gb 10K SATA Hard Drive @ TechwareLabs
NesteQ ECS5001 500w Modular PSU Review @ Virtual-Hideout

OCZ Vendetta 2 CPU Cooler Review @ Technic3D
Seagate's Barracuda ES.2 1TB SAS Hard Drive @ HotHardware.com
LaCie Mini Hub 500GB USB 2.0 FireWire External Hard Drive Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Lian Li PC-A09B Classical Series Mid-Tower Case @ Benchmark Reviews
Alienware Area-51 ALX System Review @ HardwareLogic.com
DFI LanPartyDK X38-T2R Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane
Vantec NexStar eSata/USB Hard Drive Dock Review
@ Futurelooks
CoolIt Dual Drive Bay VGA Cooler NV Reference Series @ Bjorn3D
NZXT Tempest Mid-Tower ATX Case Review @ Bigbruin.com
Enermax Pro 82+ (385W) PSU @ Driver Heaven
OCZ Reaper HPC PC2-8500 4GB Memory Kit Review @ Virtual-Hideout
VIA Preps 45nm, Dual-core Chips For 2009
May 16, 2008 at 11:23 AM by PeaceKeeper7114
Definitely good to see VIA getting on the Dual Core bandwagon and this should help boost performance in the HTPC and low power PC's.


Next year, VIA's processors may have much in common with Intel's current Core 2 Duo CPUs: dual cores, an out-of-order architecture, and 45nm process technology. Quoting sources at VIA, DigiTimes reports that the company will introduce its first 45nm, dual-core processors "by the end of 2009." The chips will most likely be based off VIA's new Isaiah core.



Source: The Tech Report
Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 Service Pack 1 released
May 16, 2008 at 07:52 AM by caveman-jim
VMware's virtualization competitor Microsoft have released Service Pack 1 for their free desktop virtualization product, Virtual PC 2007:

What's new in Virtual PC 2007 SP1
This update for Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 includes support for the following additional Host and Guest Operating Systems:

Additonal Guest Operating System support:
  • Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Vista® Business Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Vista® Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Server® 2008 Standard
  • Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3

Additional Host Operating System support:
  • Windows Vista® Ultimate Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Vista® Business Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Vista® Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3



Discussion Thread
Nintendo ordered to pay $21 million for controller patent infringement
May 16, 2008 at 03:27 AM by klutzon
Nintendo of America Inc has been ordered to pay Anascape Ltd. $21 million for infringing on a patent while designing the Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube controllers. Nintendo say they plan to appeal and expect the $21 million payout award to be reduced significantly.

Scibettra said Nintendo was pleased no infringement was found with the motion-sensing technology used in its wandlike Wii and Nuncheck controllers, which mimic movements by users in games such as tennis and boxing.

Attorneys for Anascape did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tyler-based Anascape also sued Microsoft Corp. for patent infringements on game controllers but reached an agreement with the company before the start of the trial against Nintendo, The Lufkin Daily News reported.

Microsoft said in a statement that terms of the settlement reached May 1 were confidential.

Source: news.yahoo.com
Hybrid Power Guide and Investigation
May 15, 2008 at 04:28 PM by Lupine
Most SLI users and high end enthusiasts can appreciate the growing power and heat requirements of the high end enthusiast market. This is an area HybridPower™ aims to provide much needed alleviation to this problem. When there are 3 Way and Quad SLI setups out there capable of pulling anywhere from 160 to 250 watts the question comes to mind. Do you really need your high end SLI setups to power your internet browsing experience where you will spend likely half of your PC usage?

Hybrid Power Guide and Investigation

Discussion Thread
Former Microsoft manager offers free fix for XP SP3 'endless reboot'
May 15, 2008 at 04:18 PM by caveman-jim
A former Microsoft Corp. security manager has published a tool designed to detect and fix PCs that may be susceptible to "endless reboots" if updated to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Jesper Johansson, once a program manager for security policy at Microsoft and currently an MVP (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional) who works at Amazon.com, posted a link to the tool on his blog yesterday, beating his former employer and Hewlett-Packard Co. to the draw. Neither company has yet come up with a fix or patch for the weeklong snafu.

Johansson's small, 16K VBScript (Visual Basic Scripting Edition) file checks whether the PC is running a processor from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), and if so, examines the Windows registry to see if a device driver meant for Intel-based machines is set to load.

The tool is the latest in the weeklong problem some users have encountered after upgrading Windows XP to the new service pack. Last week, just a day after Microsoft added XP SP3 to Windows Update, reports accumulated of "endless reboots" crippling machines running AMD CPUs. Many of the users said that the out-of-control PCs were from HP.

According to users, Johansson and most recently, Microsoft itself, the problem can be traced to the disk image that HP used to factory-install Windows XP on AMD-based machines. HP, said everyone concerned, used an image created on an Intel-powered PC to install XP on AMD systems; Microsoft had advised computer makers against doing that as long ago as 2004.

Jesper Johansson's blog

Source - ComputerWorld

CBS buys tech news website CNET for $1.75bn
May 15, 2008 at 03:42 PM by Lupine
Mere pennies.

Television company CBS has agreed to buy technology news and entertainment website CNET for about $1.75bn (£900m).

CBS said that the purchase of CNET, which owns sites such as ZDNet and Gamespot, would help to boost its online presence.

CBS has offered $11.50 a share in cash, which is 45% more than CNET's closing price on Wednesday.

The companies said the combined group would have "significant additional exposure" to online advertising.

The deal will make CBS "one of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the United States", with 54 million US users and 200 million worldwide, CBS said in a statement.

The deal is subject to approval by regulators and CNET shareholders.

Other CNET sites include News.com, TV.com, Mp3.com and MySimon.

CBS will combine them with its own websites such as CBSSports.com and CBSNews.com.

Source: BBC
HP to buy EDS for $13.9B
May 15, 2008 at 11:42 AM by Lupine
May 12, 2008 (IDG News Service) Hewlett-Packard Co. said this morning that it has signed a deal to acquire IT outsourcer Electronic Data Systems Corp. for $13.9 billion, or $25 per share.

The deal has been approved by both companies' boards of directors and is expected to close in the second half of this year. HP said that acquiring EDS will more than double its services revenue to an annual total of $38 billion.

Source: Computerworld
Thursday Hardware Review Roundup
May 15, 2008 at 10:52 AM by Lupine
OCZ EliteXStream 1000W Power Supply @ 3dGameMan
MSI Wind Notebook Preview @ ChileHardware (Google Translate)
Lian-Li PC V1010 Case Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Dust-Off Keyboard Quiver LAN Party Travel Bag Review @ Futurelooks
OCZ Freeze thermal compound review @ Elite Bastards
Razer Piranha Gaming Communicator & Destructor Gaming Mat @ Driver Heaven
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and Red Scorpion CPU Coolers Review @ Madshrimps
Corsair Survivor 32GB Flash Drive @ TechwareLabs
Wednesday Hardware Review Roundup
May 14, 2008 at 10:26 AM by Lupine
Asus Crosshair II Formula @ Neoseeker
OCZ SATA-II 32GB 2.5-Inch SSD OCZSSD2-1S32G @ Benchmark Reviews
EVO-G MP1 Mousepad Review @ HardwareLogic
Ultra X3 800Watt Modular Power Supply Review @ Tweaknews.net
NZXT Tempest @ Phoronix and Bjorn3D
Aeneon XTune 2GB DDR2-1142 Dual Channel Memory Kit Review @ Bigbruin.com
GeForce 9800 GTX Extreme Overclocking Experiment @ Madshrimps
Xigmatek HDT-SD964 CPU Cooler Review @ Technic3D
Kingwin 700 Watt Mach 1 Power Supply @ TechwareLabs
Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 Graphics Card Review @ Bigbruin.com
May 13, 2008 at 04:06 PM by Lupine
The Sapphire Toxic 512MB Radeon HD3870 graphics card offers strong performance right out of the box, but if you have any interest in overclocking you can turn it into a real powerhouse. There are really no negatives to discuss in terms of performance, quality, and overall appeal. The card performs well, it stays cool and quiet, and the bundle of accessories is generous.

Read the full review @ Bigbruin.com
Tuesday Hardware Review Roundup
May 13, 2008 at 04:04 PM by Lupine
XFX GeForce 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog Edition review @ Elite Bastards
Solio H1000 Hybrid Solar Charger @ TechwareLabs
Quad SLI Review @ CHW (Spanish)
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive Review @ ThinkComputers.org
OCZ Technology 4GB Rally2 USB Flash Drive @ Viper Lair
Corsair Voyager 32GB Flash Drive @ TechwareLabs
GeForce 6, 7, 8 (and 9) Cards Finally Get New Vista, XP Drivers
May 13, 2008 at 02:22 PM by PeaceKeeper7114
Good news for nvidia users which are using GeForce 6, 7, & 8 series video cards as nvidia has finally released new updated WHQL drivers.

At last! After a six-month lull during which it focused solely on GeForce 9-series graphics cards, Nvidia has finally released new ForceWare drivers for older GeForce 6, 7, and 8 offerings. Numbered 175.16, the new drivers are available for Windows Vista x86, Windows Vista x64, Windows XP, and Windows XP Pro x64. These drivers also support new 9-series GeForces and 8-series "motherboard GPUs," effectively closing the gap between Nvidia's software support for new and old hardware.

Source: The Tech Report
Tuesday - PC Game Reviews & Previews
May 13, 2008 at 01:13 PM by Pirate Neilsouth
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures @ GamesRadar , IGN & AtomicGamer
Alone in the Dark @ GameSpot.
Stronghold Crusader: Extreme @ VideoGamer.com.
Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition @ Gameguru Mania.
Turning Point Fall of Liberty @ Crispy Gamer.
SBK-08 Superbike World Championship @ GameSpot.
War Rock @ RPG Vault.
The Agency @ the Seattle Times Newspaper.
Trials 2 Second Edition @ Out of Eight.
Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War - Soulstorm @ Gas Bandit Gaming.
Napoleon’s Campaigns @ The Wargamer.
XIII Century: Death or Glory @ Crispy Gamer.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate @ Neverwinter Nights 2 Vault & WarCry.


Click here to discuss this topic in our PC Gaming Forum !
Dell To Shelve XPS Gaming Desktops
May 13, 2008 at 07:52 AM by PeaceKeeper7114
I'm a bit bummed to see this move by Dell, because these were relatively cheap gaming desktops with halfway decent hardware. I wouldn't buy a OEM built desktop myself as I love to build my own . However, I do know a couple of people personally who bought one of these models off the DFO site, and have both been satisfied.


Following its purchase of Alienware all the way back in May 2006, Dell has continued selling high-end PCs for gamers under its own XPS brand name. That's about to come to an end, says Engadget.

Quoting a report by the Wall Street Journal, the gadget site claims Dell is about to shelve part of its XPS line and rely solely on Alienware for high-end, gaming PC sales. The change will reportedly come into effect next month, when Dell will discontinue "four models of XPS performance PCs." The move may very well hit the XPS Gaming Desktop range, which includes four models: the XPS 630, XPS 720, XPS 720 H2C, and XPS 730.



Source: The Tech Report
Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor Family Expands with New Low-Power Options
May 12, 2008 at 02:00 PM by Lupine
AMD introduces five new Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors, offering superior Performance-Per-Watt with Ultimate Energy Efficiency:

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- May 12, 2008 --AMD (NYSE:AMD) today introduced the industry’s first energy-efficient x86 server processors with four processing cores and an integrated memory controller all in a low 55-watt ACP thermal envelope. Blade and rack systems based on five new low-power Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ HE (Highly Efficient) processors are now widely available from global OEMs and solution providers.

“Our new Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors were designed to help datacenter managers who see power consumption and virtualization as the keys to solving their overall performance equation,” said Randy Allen, corporate vice president and general manager, Server and Workstation Division, AMD. “These new processors which feature AMD’s advanced power management and virtualization innovations offer a compelling platform for power-conscious datacenter managers who are changing the way they think about performance.”

Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE processors are available in both the 2300 and 8300 Series for two-, four- and eight-way rack servers and blades. The new processors have set new performance records among comparable x86 energy-efficient processors, such as top scores for SPECfp_rate2006 in both two- and four-processor configurations, offering businesses of all sizes the exceptional scalability and efficiency benefits of AMD’s unrivaled Direct Connect Architecture.

Source: AMD Press Release
Overclocked Radeon HD 3650 Showdown @ hothardware.com
May 12, 2008 at 01:22 PM by Lupine
HotHardware.com evaluates the features, performance, overclockability and value of two factory overclocked Radeon HD 3650 cards, the ASUS EAH3650 TOP and the HIS Radeon HD 3650 IceQ Turbo. Although they're built using the same GPU, these two cards are actually quite different. They have completely different coolers and memory, and are clocked differently as well. Head on over to the site and check them out...

Overclocked Radeon HD 3650 Showdown, ASUS vs. HIS
ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe Motherboard Review @ HardwareLogic
May 12, 2008 at 01:20 PM by Lupine
HardwareLogic takes on the 780a chipset equipped Asus M3N-HT Deluxe motherboard:

Making sure every possible niche is covered, Asus provides AMD users a high end, SLI capable motherboard with several unique features. The Asus M3N-HT Deluxe dishes out goodies like the brand new 780a chipset, 3-way SLI capability, Hybrid SLI, ESA, HyperTransport 3.0, PCIe 2.0 and the sexy Cool Mempipe. Is this the motherboard you've been waiting for? HardwareLogic straps the M3N-HT onto the test bench and drops the knowledge on you, raw and uncut.

Read the full review at HardwareLogic.com
Weekend Roundup & Monday Hardware Reviews
May 12, 2008 at 11:34 AM by Lupine
Overclocking The NVIDIA Quadro FX1700 @ Phoronix
Super Talent Pico: World Smallest Flash Drive @ Bjorn3D

DDR3 RAM: System Memory Technology Explained @ Benchmark Reviews
Corsair Survivor 32GB Ultra Rugged USB 2.0 Flash Drive @ Futurelooks
Palit GeForce 9600GT 1GB Sonic Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers.org
NZXT Cryo LX Notebook Cooler Review @ ThinkComputers.org
Abit IX38 QuadGT Socket 775 Motherboard @ 3dGameMan
FSP 500 Watt Blue Storm II Power Supply Review @ HardwareLogic
Intel’s Next-Generation Enthusiast Platform Begins to Take Shape
May 12, 2008 at 11:29 AM by PeaceKeeper7114
It's great to see some information on the next generation high end chipset which will support the Nehalem.

While basic features of Intel’s next-generation desktop platform based on code-named Bloomfield processors are commonly known, more precise, but still rather general, specifications were kept under wraps. Apparently, the chipset that will enable Intel’s forth-coming high-end platform is called Intel X58 and will support one physical central processing unit (CPUs) as well as up to four graphics processing units (GPUs).

According to slides, which resemble those that come from Intel Corp., published by Expreview web-site, Intel’s next-gen high-end desktop Intel X58 chipset will consist of X58 PCI Express bridge as well as ICH10 input/output controller hub. The X58 is projected to feature four PCI Express 2.0 memory controllers to support two graphics cards with two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots or four graphics cards with four PCIe 2.0 x8 slots.

Source: X-bit Labs
AMD K10 Architecture @ InsideHW
May 12, 2008 at 10:45 AM by Lupine
A few months ago, the American company Advanced Micro Devices – AMD, as the second biggest manufacturer in the processor market, launched the new K10 microarchitecture onto the market, in the form of a server solution codenamed Barcelona. Barcelona is the new Opteron which brings many novelties in the fields of virtualization, multi-socket scaling, as well as many improvements in multithread software synchronization.

The launch of a new microarchitecture is always an exciting event. The K10 processor generation is a new architecture, even though it may be based on the previous one. Therefore, it’s not all down to increasing cache memory, speeding up the bus, reduction and improvement of the manufacturing process and similar cosmetic treatment. The entire success of this processor family is depending on its basis. Common practice shows that a good architecture (with good potential) can be well differentiated into lower product categories which are more competitive on the wider market. A high-end processor with a high number of operations per cycle is very fast at a relatively low clock. A processor with less cache and transistors is usually easier to make in large quantities. It is pretty certain that the actual generation of K8 processors will soon be fully replaced by newer and more efficient derivatives of the K10 processors in different pricing categories.

Read the full editorial at InsideHW
Hotfix Schmotfix - Rage3D Looks at the Vantage Hotfix
May 12, 2008 at 01:27 AM by Lupine
Releasing hotfix drivers for synthetic benchmark is evil. EVIL! Synthetic benchmarks are useless and irrelevant - or something. Join Rage3D as we measure ATi's Vantage Hotfix on our Usefulness Meter.

Hotfix Schmotfix - A Rage3D Look at the Vantage Hotfix

Discussion Thread
Saturday - PC Game Reviews & Previews
May 10, 2008 at 04:46 AM by Pirate Neilsouth
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures @ GameZone.com.
Aliens: Colonial Marines @ Gameplayer.
Europa Universalis: Rome @ Boomtown.
Penumbra: Black Plague @ 2404.
Mass Effect on GameSpot, GamesRadar, & IGN.
The Tomorrow War @ Hooked Gamers.
Dead Space @ the Official Blog.
Empire: Total War Empire @ GamesRadar.
LEGO Indiana Jones @ Eurogamer.
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King @ 1Up, GameSpot, GameSpy, GamesRadar, & IGN.
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