W.I.L. Hardware Tech-News Highlights for July/August 2006

Meet Marvell, a chip outfit has quietly and ruthlessly found a way to thrive in every market it has entered and made its founders into billionaires – link.

Systems

The IBM PC’s 25 year legacy – link.

An interview with Maik Berendt, the founder and director of mCubed, currently one of the most innovative companies in the market for silent products – link.

Building a quiet PC – link.

Minimizing the power consumption of your computer gear – link (PDF).

Tiny, sub-$100, low-power system runs Puppy and other lightweight Linux distributions – link.

MSI Mega mPC 945 SFF PC is an impressive product with a few shortcomings – review.

Acer Aspire 9410 17” Intel Core Duo laptop is capable of WXGA+, has a CrystalBrite technology screen, and comes 1GB memory, a 120GB HDD with 8MB cache, a DVD writer, plus a Geforce Go 7300 with 64MB dedicated memory – review.

MSI Turion 64 X2 dual core notebook at €1,200 looks like a nice alternative to all Centrino notebooks around and it works flawlessly. The performance difference in office work from a desktop machine was indiscernible – review.

Linux-powered home theater system from LixSystems – review.

CPUs, motherboards, chipsets

The Inquirer’s quick guide to designing chips – link. Quick guide to designing motherboards – Step 1, Step 2.

Dual-core desktop CPUs shootout shows it is too early to proclaim Intel’s complete victory over AMD – link.

Quad-core race heats up – link.

Intel vs. AMD “Real Gaming” (i.e., reasonably priced rig) challenge rematch leaves Core 2 Duo as the new winner – link.

– AMD

AMD’s next generation microarchitecture preview, from K8 to K8L – link. K8L quad core on schedule for Q1 2007 – link.

AMD responds to Intel Conroe with an energy-efficient Athlon 64 X2. They will interest mainly where low power consumption and heat dissipation are critical – link.

AMD low power Socket AM2 based Athlon 64 X2 3800+ and 4600+, rated at 35w and 65w respectively, disappoint performance-wise – link.

AMD seeks mates for Opteron server chip development – link.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ CPU boasts the lowest price point of all the dual-core AMD solutions, and should be very popular in quiet systems with its 65W maximum heat dissipation – review.

First look at nVidia nForce 570-based Socket AM2 mainboards from ASUS is not promising – review.

Abit AT8 32x Socket 939 motherboard is Crossfire compatible, has three passive heatsinks which covers the chipset and the southbridge, and comes with a great bundle, above average overclocking capabilities, a good price and Abit’s own uGuru utility – review.

Biostar TForce 6100 mATX motherboard runs on Geforce 6100+410 combination, takes DDR memory, has four expansion slots and eight USB ports. Sound is 5.1 quality and it also has a LAN connector. Dirt-cheap board probably the best AMD budget mobo when it comes to overclocking – review.

ECS NFORCE4M-A is a very basic motherboard, but if you want to build the cheapest AM2 PC in the world, then this might be the backbone of that system – review.

Foxconn C51XEM2AA AM2 motherboard is based on the nForce 590SLI and is AM2-compatible. It has all that most enthusiast builders would look for, including that yellow fan on the chipset and the black finish. It performs equally well and therefore won an Editors award – review 1, review 2.

– Intel

Intel Goes for the Jugular with Core 2 – link.

AMD chips hammered by Intel Conroe on performance and performance per watt, say multiple hardware sites – link 1, link 2.

Intel’s Conroe CPU is the fastest thing out there, and completely lives up to the hype. Not since the AMD 939 A64 hit the market has there been such a huge step forward in CPU power – link.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 CPU can be regarded as a great choice within its price group, but pay special attention to the mainboard you pick if you value overclocking potential – link.

Intel has regained the performance crown. It only took five years, but the company did it, If you are planning to buy a new system, however, be aware that the processor is just one of the parts that need to work in harmony in order to achieve good results – link.

Intel Woodcrest crowned king of Server CPUs. It has two cores, runs at 3GHz, has 4MB L2 cache and a 1.33GHz FSB. On a performance per watt basis, the new Woodcrest is up to 58% faster than the Opteron 285 – review.

Asrock ConRoeXFire-eSATA2 motherboard is an entry level mobo that fears no one, especially not brand names. It supports HD Audio, SATA and eSATA2, NCQ, Crossfire, GbE and Firewire – review.

Foxconn FoxOne 975x motherboard is based on the 975x chipset, meaning that it is compatible with all recent processors on the market. The card is well endowed – review.

Supermicro X7DAE dual processor, dual core motherboard offers all the best bits from Intel. The rig breaks some records well and truly – review.

– Other

Socket 479 (Pentium M) VIA C7s spotted – link.

Via C7 model numbers revealed – link.

Graphics

The rendering of Angelina Jolie – link.

Faster, quieter, lower: Power consumption and noise level of contemporary graphics cards – link.

7 games and 1 week: Games vs. GPUs – link.

SLI vs. Crossfire benchmarks – link.

Testing shows that two SLI 7300GT cards, which can be passively cooled, are faster in most cases than a single 7600GT card – link.

ATI PowerColor X1900 GT a worthy rival to GeForce 7900 GT in mainstream market – review.

Gigabyte GV-NX76T256D-RH “Silent Pipe II” is indeed a noiseless gaming graphics card – review.

MSI NX7600GT-VT2D26E graphics card comes with twice the memory as the 6600GT, two dual link DVI output connectors and more TV output options. You can therefore get 7900GTX power for around £200 if the review is to be believed. This is a dual slot card with a silent heatsink – review.

Sapphire X800GTO 256MB video card is a good choice if you want to upgrade your old AGP video card – review.

Memory, storage

DDR still outselling DDR-2 RAM – link.

Applied Materials says that memory in general, mostly dominated by flash, is about to overtake logic in production volume, and that strained silicon should be good down to 32nm – link.

Crucial PC2-8000 DDR2 memory modules 2GB kit runs at 1GHz and covered by a standard aluminium heatspreader. It gets the “100% kickass” rating – review.

Super Talent 2.5” IDE 8GB flash disk drive shows clearly that Flash is still behind conventional HDDs in some fields, but costs are low enough to envision using them in some vertical sectors – review.

SilentPCReview updates recommended HDD list – link.

9 external enclosures for 3.5” HDDs compared – roundup. Hard disks are cheap as chips, but external enclosures cost a fortune – link.

Logysis HDD silence is supposed to reduce noise by over 9%. It is compatible with 1” high HDDs and fits in 5.25” drive bays – review.

Western Digital Scorpio WD1200BEVS 120GB, 5,400 RPM HDD is another quiet notebook drive – review.

Fujitsu MHV2120BH 2.5 5,400rpm, 120GB HDD has a SATA interface and supports NCQ, which makes it a good choice for new mobile computers – review.

Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 ATA-100, 7,200rpm, 100GB HDD is the fasted so far in its class – review.

Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Edition 100GB, USB 2.0 external HDD is not a speed record-setter, but looks good enough from other perspectives – review.

Cases, power supplies, cooling

Big quiet wood case PC project an original DIY project – link.

Antec NSK3300 MicroATX Tower with SFX12V 3.0 compliant PSU should be fine if you are building a budget ordinary system that needs to be quiet (not silent) – review.

Lian Li PC-101B “Classical Silent” mid-tower case is the first aluminum case from which one can build a quiet system without much effort, but for $200 it should take less effort – review.

Lian-Li PC 9300 is a budget friendly HTPC case, costing $107 with a 235w mATX PSU. Not many issues, although you will have to be careful about how to put things in there – review.

PC Design Lab QMicra is an unusual all-aluminum SFF computer case is for performance-oriented users who want something small and quiet but refuse to make cooling or performance sacrifices to achieve it. In absolute terms, it will not be small, light, or quiet compared to what is possible with a more modest system – review.

Silverstone TJ08 Mini-ITX case is larger than most SFF cases out there, but has more space inside and a better cooling system (two 120mm fans). It comes with a motherboard tray, takes normal sized ATX power supplies, and it is relatively cheap – review.

Ultra Microfly case might, at $80, look expensive until you find out that it is one of those many neo-SFF cases that are coming to the market. Four expansion slots, five drive bays, two fans, a small LCD an aluminium chassis, a carry handle, a side window and even accepts standard size ATX power supplies. It is even available in three colors – review.

NorthQ 4775-500S 500w PSU carries a number of unique features. E.g., the cable configuration for example allows you to plug in 17 items through eight cables. It has a large 140mm fan and is SLI compatible. Wins the editors choice award – link.

Ultra X2 550W modular PSU, called Ultra Bling by the writer, is compatible with SLI and Crossfire technology and includes UV ready cables. It has a huge 120mm fan, comes with a relatively low price and a limited lifetime warranty, but destabilized at 90% of its rated output – review.

– Cooling Solutions

Measuring heatpipe efficiency – link.

Apack ZeroTherm BTF80 and BTF90 CPU heatsink/fans is capable of adequately cooling almost any processor with the fan at 5 volts. Unfortunately, the proprietary fan is not good enough for use in a system that is silent, and it will not be easy to replace – review.

Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 & Alpine 64 Socket 775/K8 CPU heatsinks are designed for modest systems, and are meant to improve noise, not cooling. With Core 2 Duo and 35W parts from AMD, they could be a budget-minded silencer’s best friend. – review.

Corsair Nautilus500 water-cooling system in questions and answers – review.

Thermalright Ultra-120 Socket 775/754/939/940 CPU heatsink is the new heatsink king for non-passively cooled systems – review.

Titan Amanda TEC (Thermal Electronic Chip) CPU cooler is efficient and quiet, but presents a mixed bag overall – review.

Xilent BAT Quiet VGA cooler impresses with its low cost – review.

Vantec Stingray STG-100 liquid cooling solution offers superior quality not only for the LGA775 and Socket 939, but also the new Socket AM2 platform from AMD – review.

Neither the Zalman CNPS8000 nor the Scythe Mine SCMN-1000 CPU coolers impress – reviews. Zalman’s CNPS8000 is not one of their better products – review.

Zalman CNPS8000 and CNPS9500 CPU coolers are good if used in the right situation – reviews.

Zalman VF900-Cu LED universal VGA cooler features a cute appearance, high efficiency, and a very quiet fan with highlighting, tool-less installation – review.

Miscellaneous components and periferals

Dell Ultrasharp 2407WFP is one of the best 24” LCD displays around, and is also a bargain – link.

What to know about Video Streaming article covers encoding, Bit Rates and Errors. Writeup is particularly useful in designing solutions where Wireless connectivity plays a significant role, just like in a HTPC configuration – link.

With twice the capacity and more versatility, SanDisk Sansa could be the iPod Nano for the rest of us – link. The Super Talent MP3 player lives up to its name – link.

Casio EX-Z1000 digital camera is build the way a digital camera ought to be built, and can also act as a Personal Media player and display superb movies with great sound – review. Acer CP-8660 is a 8MP digital camera with a 6x optical zoom, a big 2.8” LCD display, and a nice design – link.

MSI P610 MP3 player is a serious iPod nano contender. It is 50% cheaper and has many more features – review.

Altec Lansing XT1 thin USB powered speakers gorgeous to the eye and ear, easy enough on the wallet – review.

Samsung SCX-4200 all-i–one laser multifunction device is no larger than an A4 sheet of paper with a 250-sheet paper tray and a simple and effective control panel. Running prices are low and it comes with a decent set of software bundle like ReadIris OCR and a document management application called SmartThru – review.