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

A writer’s hardware wishlist includes All–in-One motherboards and slim slot DVD writers for desktops – link.

Systems

AnandTech’s July entry level buyer’s guide is out (cost would come in at apx. $600) – link.

A dual-everything system is built and evaluated – link.

– Small Form Factor machines

Building a compact Pentium M PC: a potent SFF system based on a 27W processor (now if only Pentium Ms were cheaper) – link.

Shuttle’ Intel P4-based SB81P can replaceme any desktop PC – review.

– Notebooks

For less than $700, you will have a hard time finding a better Linux laptop computer than the Acer TravelMate 2300 – review.

Samsung’s X50 HWM 760 has a resolution of 1600x1050, a 2GHz Pentium-M, DVD writer, X600 graphics, 80GB HDD … in all great balance between price and performance – review.

CPUs, motherboards, chipsets

AnandTech’s July CPU price guide tries to sort through all the new dual core and 64-bit options – link.

AMD and Intel fight will get dirty, fast – link. 9 major firms agree to AMD discovery requests – link. Gutless PC vendors terrified by nightmare AMD Intel clash – link. AMD alleges Intel compilers create crash code for its chips – link.

Have we traded one tyrant for another with AMD’s recent successes? – link.

What is coming up in CPU technology – link.

Cell architecture explained, (version 2) – link.

AMD to integrate PCIe onto chip, Intel to follow later – link.

– AMD

Athlon 64 Revision E has added support for SSE3 instructions, and a number of internal architecture improvements. It also unofficially supports fast DDR500 memory, but this does not appear to help performance much – link.

Sun says it will help AMD develop the Opteron – link.

Affordable dual core AMD X2 on the way – link … while AMD Socket A slides into oblivion – link.

AMD’s 3GHz Athlon 64-FX “due Q1 2006” – link.

The Athlon 64 X2 3800+ is tested, and found to offer incredible value for the money with similar performance to the 4800+ at 40% of the price – review. X2 3800+ gets top marks – review.

An nForce4 Ultra chipset-based motherboard roundup reveals huge variations in performance, with Epox’s 9NPA+ and DFI’s LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D winning join honors – link.

9 Socket 939 motherboards tested and reviewed – roundup.

ULi’s M1695 chipset allows simultaneous support for PCIe, AGP and PCI graphics cards. Performance-wise it compares well with the nForce4. ULI is set to rule the entry level market if they execute well – review 1, review 2.

If you are in the market for a new Socket 939 board, then boards based on the ULi M1695/M1567 should definitely be on your shopping list. If you plan to use AGP on your new PCIe board, then ULi M1695/M1567 is the only board that you should have on your shopping list. Review – Part 1, Part 2.

Albatron’s nForce 4-based K8SLI crams a fully-featured Athlon 64 SLI motherboard into just about the smallest space imaginable, and does it with only one or two compromises – review.

DFI’s NF4 DAGF motherboard is an entry level mobo that seems to have gone well beyond the reviewer’s expectations – review.

Foxconn’s nForce 4-based Winfast NF4K8AC-8EKRS has some very good specs for an affordable price – link.

– Intel

A technical write up of the perfomance and power consumption features of the Pentium M – link.

Aopen releases i915Ga HFS ATX Pentium M motherboard – link.

Time for Intel to stop frying eggs: Pentium 4 is toast – link.

Intel pitches upcoming 65nm Pentium M-based “Sossaman” server chip – link.

Asus’s P5WD2 Premium i955X mobo is expensive, but you do get a lot for your money and the performance results are beyond reproach – review.

Foxconn’s Intel Express i955X chipset-based 955X7AA-8EKRS2 is made for budget-conscious users who are do not mind mild overclocking but crave a stable motherboard – review.

– Other

IBM extends PowerPC architecture with dual-core, low-power chips – link 1, link 2, link 3.

Open chips take aim at hardware world – link.

Graphics

Dual graphics cards: nirvana or nightmare? – link.

nVidia’s steps up graphics war with C51G chipset that has integrated graphics has 6200 TC (Turbo Cache) inside – link.

(Very) high-end nVidia 7800 GTX GPU-based graphics cards reviewed – MSI NX7800 GTX, EVGA e-GeForce 7800 GTX, Gigabyte 7800 GTX, BFG GeForce 7800GTX OC, EVGA 7800GTX KO edition, XFX GeForce 7800 GTX Overclocked.

MSI’s NX6800GT-T2D256E GeForce 6800 GT-based card features good gaming performance, a very rich set of accessories, support of Shader Model 3.0 and floating-point color, and a relatively quiet cooling system – review.

Leadtek’s GeForce 6800 GT-based WinFast PX6800 GT is extremely fast and reliable, quiet, highly overclockable, and supports nVidia’s SLI technology – review.

Matrox releases world’s first PCIe 1X graphic card. It is passively cooled, and includes an open source display driver for Linux – link.

The PCIe ATI All-i–Wonder X800XT card is quick, does not cost the earth, and offers a set of features that you will not find elsewhere – review. ATI adds digital TV to All-in-Wonder line – link.

Memory, storage

Crucial’s 2GB Ballistix Tracer dual-channel DDR2-667 set means you can finally have a full 4 GB of ultrafast memory in your PC, with both low latency and high bandwidth – link.

SanDisk’s holiday advice is to spend, spend, spend on flash memory and related products – link.

3 Secure Digital cards and one MMC card reviewed – link.

SanDisk’s Ultra II SD Plus USB/SD card is not quite perfect, but it is revolutionary in the best possible way – review.

Gigabyte’s i-RAM provides affordable solid state storage, whose usefulness will truly vary from one user to the next – review 1, review 2.

The end of a floppy era (or not) – link.

You have lots of data. You need to keep it safe. What are your options? – link. Single-PC backup savvy – link.

– Hard disk drives

AnandTech’s July storage price guide is out, and shows PATA cost per GB below $0.40 and SATA cost per GB less than $0.50! – link.

Exploring external HDD storage options – link.

Space age hard drives to revolutionize storage – link.

Samsung’s P120 200GB HDD continues the legacy of the P80 by increasing the maximum capacity of Samsung’s offering while keeping the noise level unchanged: The best in the industry – review.

Cornice is adding a 4GB drive to its line of 1” “Storage Element” HDDs – link.

Nearly all of Seagate’s HDDs will use perpendicular recording technology by the end of 2006, with 2.5” notebook drives and then 1” drives benefiting first – link.

Hitachi’s 7K400 400GB HDD is huge, but loud (but perhaps a superior choice to 2 smaller drives if you need the capacity) – review.

– Optical drives

Six DVDR drives from 6 different manufacturers tested. A surprising number have problems with some of the tested media – link.

TDK’s new ScratchProof technology they have started implementing on their DVD-R and DVD+R discs is great news for users who want better protection against accidental physical damage to their discs – review.

The battle for the successor to DVD continues. The winner will be the format consumers flock to – link. Sharp develops 100GB optical disc – link.

Cases, power supplies, cooling

Antec’s P180 advanced super mid-tower case is the most unique and well-designed full size case the reviewer ever used. It is clear that a lot of thought went into thermal and acoustic design considerations and the final results seem to show that it is a success in all aspects, but some knowledge of thermodynamics and acoustics is necessary to get the most out of it – Part 1, Part 2.

Antec’s Sonata II piano black steel ATX mid tower case is a great case, very quiet at a modest price, with some cooling enhancements and a larger PSU vs. the original Sonata – review.

Aspire’s X-QPack Micro-ATX form factor case should be of interest to many, due to its low heat and noise, and reasonable cost – review.

Keeping your computer’s case cool – link.

The Foxconn TP-230 case’s unique fastening mechanisms, extreme design precision and excellent manufacturing quality, along with stable and reliable thermal operation of the cooling system, make this product worth your attention – review.

In-Win’s PSU’s are especially suitable for low-power and mid-power PCs – roundup.

Coolmax’s CU-400T and 600T detachable cable PSUs are capable of working in a quiet system if it is not too demanding. However, there are a number of small disconcerting issues about these products – reviews.

Scythe’s Kamaboko SCKBK-1000 integrated heatsink/fan for socket 478/754/775/940/939 lives up to its billing as a quiet heatsink, but is not appropriate for hotter CPUs – review.

Cooler Master’s Real Power 550 RS-550-ACLY ATX12V 2.01 / EPS12V 2.1 550W PSU is a well-built product, but there are plenty of quieter alternatives out there – review.

Tuniq’s Tower 120 Cooler is 155mm high, weighs nearly 800g without a fan, and comes with a 120mm 9-blade fan with a fan controller. Its performance will surely conquer more than one – review.

The Noiseblocker Driveguard and X-Swing noise reducer are designed mainly to reduce noise from your HDDs and extend their life through cooling, and do their job pretty well – review.

Miscellaneous components and periferals

Creative Labs’ I-TRIGUE 3600 supplies stylish design, miniature size, acceptable sound quality for a portable solution … at too high a price – review.

Irispen’s Translator Executive pen scanner could be a real boon for anyone who quickly wants to translate and understand a foreign printed text, but it is a niche product – review.

An in-depth look at 4 ultra-compact digicams – roundup.

Ricoh’s GX8 8.2 megapixel digital camera: You will struggle to find a camera in this price bracket that offers so much functionality or that produces such good images – review.

Fuji’s FinePix F10 Zoom digicam is built well, simple to use, and produces some stunning images – review.

– Monitors, printers

Six 17” LCD panels compared. Are 17” LCDs destined for extinction like the 15” LCD’s? – roundup.

How low does LCD response time go? Different ways of reporting the spec obscure the hard numbers – link.

HP’s L2335 low response time and high resolution sub-$1000 23” LCD competes well with similar Dell offerings – review.

Sharp has developed a new LCD panel that is capable of showing different images when viewed from the right or left hand sides – link.

How long inkjet-printed photos last depends on who you ask, experts say – link.

Dell’s Laser Printer 1100 is fantastic value for money – review. At just $99, the Dell Laser Printer 1100 marks the beginning of the end journey for monochrome laser printers – review.

Samsung’s SPP-2040 dye-sublimation photo printer produces very good pictures with natural and accurate colors – review.

Epson’s Stylus Photo R320 printer produces great photo output, including borderless printing, combined with a nice range of features including standalone operation and CD/DVD printing, at a great price – review.

Is your printer spying on you? – link.

– PDAs, mulimedia players & handsets

What is hot in handhelds? The latest PDAs and applications – link.

Sharp’s Zaurus SL-5500 Linux-based PDA is cool but not without its problems, short battery life among them (many, but not all, shortcomings were addressed in the subsequent SL-5600 model) – review.

OQO’s Model 01 handheld PC is a fully featured PC that is small and light enough to be with you all day, every day – review.

Dell is aiming at iPod’ 90% market share – link.

Sony’s Network Walkman NW-HD5 is a lean mean little player that knocks spots off the iPod in terms of size, battery life, sound quality and even price, even if it does not have the same unquantifiable cool – review.

Sony Ericsson’s K750i handset is fantastic: the camera alone is almost worth it, but add MP3, radio, all-points covered connectivity, and the simple Internet set-up! – review.