W.I.L. Hardware Tech-News Highlights for January 2005

The Tech Report’s chooses the best hardware of 2004, starting with the AMD Athlon 64 3500+ – link.

Tom’s Hardware Guide Readers’ Choice Awards 2004 results are out – link.

Gadgets, gizmos fall out of Consumer Electronics Show 2005 – link. News, reviews, gadgets and more from CES 2005 – link 1, link 2.

AnandTech’s CES 2005 coverage – link 1, link 2. ExtremeTech’s CES 2005 retrospective – link. PC World’s CES 2005 picks and pans – link.

Why FireWire excels as a consumer electronics connection standard – link.

First PCI Express x1 add-in cards begin to emerge – link.

DivXNetworks is a legitimate video codec vendor that is leveraging its huge underground network of users to become a formidable competitor to Microsoft, Real Networks, Apple, etc. The codec has the potential to become as ubiquitous for video as MP3 was for audio. DivX 6, presently in beta, will provide higher levels of compression, improved video quality, and interactive video menus – link.

Throw away hardware is the name of the game – link.

Systems

The Homebrew PC in 2005 – link.

AnandTech’s guide to economically upgrading your system – link.

AnandTech’s latest entry level system buyer’s guide – link.

AnandTech’s latest mid-range system buyer’s guide – link.

Thin client dogs set to bark yet again? – link.

64-Bit desktop computers coming soon – link.

Results of ExtremeTech’s “Fastest Geek” contest 2005 – link.

Gateway introduces four new low-cost EMachines desktops (note: a PC World poll of desktop owners found EMachine owners the happiest) – link.

A take on the workstation market today – link.

Soltek’s EQ3901A is a top barebones SFF for Athlon 64 is an attractive product with a disappointingly high price – link.

Trigem’s Kloss KL-I915A SFF is a strong first effort, but a few rough edges still need to be smoothed – review.

Enabling TV on a PC – link 1, link 2.

How to stuff a mini-PC inside a Mac mini case – link.

-- Silent PC news

A guide to silencing your PC – link.

Computing’s silent revolution destined to hit the mainstream any time soon? – link.

A silencentric summation of the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show – link.

-- Apple

Apple unveils CD-sized (6.5”x6.5”x2”) Mac Mini, one ounce iPod, and a revamped version of AppleWorks called iWork – links 1, 2, 3, 4.

Apple’s computer business is long overdue a relaunch – analysis. Discussion here.

Apple’s Mac mini will woo a lot of frustrated Windows users, synergy-seeking iPod owners and those who simply appreciate attractive tech – review.

The Mac Mini preview – link.

Mac Mini price is significantly less than an equivalent DIY PC ... or so the claim goes – link.

How to disassemble your Mac Mini without cracking it open too much – link.

Low-priced Mac starter system has enough oomph to do most jobs – link.

Does the Mac Mini Stack Up? A comparison – link.

Trying out Linux on the Mac Mini; more value comparisons with PCs – link.

The Mac Mini experience – link.

Will Mac Mini lead the charge to smaller desktops? – link.

10 of the most notable products released by Apple that failed – link.

Apple updates G4 PowerBooks with Bluetooth 2.0 – link.

CPUs, motherboards, chipsets

AnandTech’s latest CPU price guide – link.

Get ready to buy CPU chips by the kilo – link.

Chipsets, motherboards, and memory and the Consumer Electrionics Show 2005 – link.

The Economist rekindles open design chip debate – link.

Intel and AMD’s 2005 plans revealed – link.

Intel and AMD prepare for notebook chip battle – link.

Buying a processor on a budget – link.

-- AMD

AMD64 PCI Express chipsets nVidia nForce 4 compared with ATI 200 Series – review.

Athlon 64 vs. Athlon 64: 130nm 3500+ compared with 90nm version – review.

AMD readies new mobile “Turion” processors, which will consume 35 watts or less of power – link 1, link 2. Discussion here.

Socket 939 Athlon64 motherboards have finally arrived en masse – roundup.

EPoX’s 9NPA+ ultra mainboard is based on nVidia’s nForce4 Ultra chipset, and shows interesting potential at what is likely to be a low price point – review.

EPoX’s nForce3 Ultra-based 9NDA3+ is an excellent product, targeted at overclockers, with good price/quality ratio – review.

Technically savvy X-bit labs readers prefer AMD64 over Pentium 4 CPUs – link.

Winfast’s NF4UK8AA-8ERKS is the first nForce 4 Ultra motherboard from Foxconn, and is worthy of consideration – review

AMD plans to take Intel head on in 2005, but recognizes weakness in its own positioning – link.

AMD readies Taylor, Trinidad and Socket S1, M1. Mobile fun ahead with “Tiger Team” and Ivanhoe – link.

AMD readies Socket M2 for forthcoming processors (due in 2006) – link. But Socket 939 has a good lifespan ahead, says AMD – link.

nVidia targets servers, workstations with nForce Professional chipsets – link. nVidia nForce Professional brings huge I/O to Opteron – review.

AMD Athlon64 vs. Sempron: the Sempron is ideal for office based computers, or for those that only wish to play the odd game now and then, but for hard-core gaming go with the A64 – link.

-- Intel

First BTX motherboards hit shelves. PCs using the new standard should be quieter, thanks to fewer fans – link.

Intel announces a major shake-up that will see it reorganize its key operations around technology platforms rather than separate products – link.

Son of Centrino to be called ... Centrino – link. Intel revamps Centrino – link 1, link 2.

Intel’s Sonoma mobile platform gives mobile PCs a much needed boost in performance as well as power saving capabilities, and a much faster integrated graphics solution – review.

AOpen i855GMEm-LFS desktop Pentium M motherboard should become very popular with anyone looking to build a low-noise PC, but you will need deep pockets – review.

Via unveils new Pentium 4 chipsets – link, reviews.

Intel’s chipset and processor roadmaps summarized – link.

Intel gets lauch of new Centrino processor family right – link.

-- Other

Transmeta may power down chip making business, and focus on selling its intellectual property instead – links 1, 2, 3. Discussion here.

Transmeta launchs fanless reference design to help it pitch its processors at home entertainment systems companies – link.

Transmeta readies sea change, with big announcement scheduled soon – link. Is Transmeta’s future hopeless? – link.

Via still working on NanoITX size, power – link.

Via’s next-generation CPU, “Esther”, which has been designed to take the chip family beyond 2GHz, will ship as the C7 in Q4 (2 quarters later than anticipated) – link.

Graphics

State of the graphics industry in 2005 and beyond – link.

Desktop Graphics Card Comparison Guide from Adrian’s Rojak Pot – link.

Tests of SLI technology reveal that two graphics boards really are better than one – link.

nVidia, ATI answer ExtremeTech readers’ questions – Part 1, Part 2.

New top end PCI Express professional graphic cards are now hitting the shelves. What life is left in the AGP 8X bus? Professional cards from ATI, Wildcat, and PNY are compared – link.

S3 and XGI are still working hard to elbow their way into the graphics market. Products they are pinning their hopes upon in 2005 include an ultra low-power chip – link.

-- ATI

ATI announces TV WONDER ELITE, an add-in card that can receive digital television and offer quality that is on par with contemporary high-end TV-sets – link.

ATI predicts majority of notebooks to feature PCI Express by summer – link.

Seven PCIe and AGP Radeon X800 video cards compared – roundup.

ATI’s Mobility Radeon X700 gives mainstream laptop 3D a boost – link.

ATI’s FireGL V5000 is a very solid workstation card for the money if it is implemented in the proper environment – link, review.

-- nVidia

nVidia targets thin-and-light notebooks with new GeForce 6 Go – link.

nVidia’s GeForce 6200, which will soon be the company’s entry-level chip, outperforms its previous generation FX class board by a wide margin. Pricing will be crucial – review.

nVidia’s SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology allows the use of two video cards at once and improves video performance – link.

13 GeForce 6600 GT graphics card from 8 makers reviewed – roundup.

GeForce 6200 is nVidia’s new budget graphics chip. Options are 128 or 256MB of on-board graphics memory or “TurboCache” technology which taps into main system RAM, which is definitely slower – review.

Memory, storage

Micron claims industry first with 667MHz Fully-Buffered DIMMs – link.

Elpida’s DDR SDRAM Super Self Refresh technology trims power consumption with no loss in performance – link.

Memory makers to reach DDR/DDR2 shipments crossover by mid-2005 (but newer technology has yet to display a price/performance advantage) – link.

Toshiba to ship 2GB, 0.85”, “phone HDD” by month’s end, 4-8GB drives to follow – link.

Hitachi to release HDD line that includes SATA II features, sucha as 3 Gb/s data transfer rate, NCQ and staggered spin-up, which enables the host to individually “spin-up” drives in multi-drive configurations – link.

The Hitachi 80GB 5K80 and the Samsung 40GB MP0402H are both extremely quiet, low vibration notebook HDDs, and not badly priced – reviews.

Hitachi plans big boost for small drives, with 1-inch Microdrive capacity slated to jump to to 10GB – link. Hitachi’s new 1.8” HDDs can store up to 60GB – link.

Philips Electronics, HP develope Plus-format DVD copy-protection system that allows users to record digital TV broadcasts under the U.S. FCC’s broadcast-flag regulation, which takes effect in July – link.

Seagate’s ST650211USB is an external HDD that fits in your pocket, looks like a UFO, and comes in 5GB and 2.5GB capacity models – review 1, review 2.

Six interesting and varied external HDDs reviewed – roundup.

Nine 2.5” 40GB SATA HDDs tested, and show near parity – roundup.

Six dual-layer DVD burners tested – roundup.

Cases, power supplies, cooling

Antec’s SLK3000B, a minimalist midtower case, contains subtle tweaks and refinements that make it the best of the breed yet – review. Antec’s upcoming P180 the ultimate silent case? – link.

MicroATX cases are nearly 50% smaller than a midtower with almost twice the space of a small form-factor PC. Too bad none of the 8 cases tested were very good – roundup.

Silverstone’s flagship Temjin TJ06 case is a unique design that is mostly successful – review.

Several workstation cases evaluated with respect to best power characteristics, best cooling, best design – roundup.

Zalman’s 120mm CNPS7700-AlCu heatsink/fan is huge, and not particularly quiet for its size – review.

The Nexus NX4090 “Real Silent” 120mm PSU is a significant improvement on the already good and quiet NX3500. It has no obvious weaknesses and many strengths – review.

Fortron-Source Power’s Blue Storm AX500-A 120mm fan PSU is not the ultimate in quietness, but is suitable for use in both high and low power applications – review.

Arctic Cooling’s Super Silent 4 Ultra TC heatsink/fan cools only adequately, but in terms of getting the job done quietly is a gem ... at a very reasonable price – review.

Arctic Cooling’s Freezer 64, which utilizes a patented 80mm fan that creates almost no noise, is more than impressive – review.

Sound

PC audio is due for some changes in 2005, including new audio processors and some new speaker systems – link.

The mystery behind multichannel audio (surround sound) – link.

Creative’s Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro is one to seriously consider if you are looking for a one-card solution for everything, and are serious about wanting quality playback – review.

Philips PSC724 Ultimate Edge 6 channel soundcard provides excellent sound quality at a reasonable price. Too bad it does not work on Windows 9x – review.

A pro music studio for a song: The E-MU 0404 Digital Audio System is a $99 2-in/2-out (analog) audio interface card that with the included software delivers very impressive performance at that price point – review.

In search of the ultimate PC speakers – link.

Monitors, printers

CRTs still beat flat-panel TVs, popularity notwithstanding – link.

Can 19” LCDs pass the frag test? The progress the industry has made in bringing 19” monitors intended for gaming is considerable – roundup. PC World’s top 10 19” LCD monitor list here.

NEC’s 2080UX+ 20” LCD is capable of 1600x1200 dpi with a 16ms full cycle response time, and is certainly tempting if you can afford the price – review. LCD response times a real can of worms – link.

Dell’s UltraSharp 1905FP sets the bar for new 19” LCDs – review.

Samsung CLP-550 color laser printer is perfectly suited towards small and medium sized businesses, gets awarded a 10/10 – review.

Color laser printers that print on glossy paper now can cost less than $500. Do you still need an inkjet? – link.

HP’s bad decision to essentially embed region encoding in printer cartridges should have us asking which technology companies are our friends – link.

Miscellaneous components and periferals

12 new generation portable devices (PDAs, smart phones, tec.) let you take data and the Net just about anywhere – roundup.

Dell’s Axim X50v wireless PocketPC is, in the reviewer’s view, the best PDA ever – review.

Olympus and Pentax offer sub-$1000 SLR cameras, and they are worth a look – reviews.

The quality of digital cameras has risen dramatically while prices have plunged – link.

Lusting for a high-tech TV? Wait for prices to fall – link.