W.I.L. Hardware Tech-News Highlights for July/August 2007

The top 10 (hardware and software) products of the past 40 years – link.

Systems

Guide to how to build your own PC – link.

The business PC is not going away (at least not yet), but as virtualization gets more mature and flexible (and as graphics cards get virtualized, too), and as competition heats up, a variation on the “thin client” concept may yet prevail – link.

A brief hands-on with the Intel classmate PC – link.

Everex unveils $298 open-source desktop – link.

A few open source applications can turn a Nintendo DS into a truly versatile computing device – link.

– Notebooks

One Laptop Per Child project’s software update problem – link.

Cut-price laptops coming forth – link.

ThinkPad T61p is top-of-the-line powerful, and is certified to run Red Hat, SLED 10, and Turbo Linux – link.

Lenovo to offer SUSE Linux preloaded on ThinkPad notebooks – link.

HP releases its first mass-market Linux PC – link.

Why gaming laptops are a complete joke – link.

Palm’s Linux-powered Foleo has potential, but only if Palm can stop denying that the device is actually a laptop – link.

CPUs, motherboards, chipsets

Exhaustive 2007 comprehensive CPU comparison project published, as Intel officially introduces new Core 2 processors that utilize faster FSB1333 system speeds – link.

Intel’s desktop processors still lag far behind AMD’s offering in energy efficiency. AMD also currently offers the cheapest dual-core processor. Finally, AMD processors are very suitable for use in quiet systems – link.

Low power server CPU shoot-out shows advantage to AMD, but not due to the CPU itself – link.

AMD and Intel next-generation desktop chips due before year-end. Meanwhile, impending Intel price cuts make it tough to resist upgrading or building a new system today – link.

High end motherboards need special features – Part 1, Part 2.

Newbie overclocking guide – link.

– AMD

ECS AMD690GM-M2 is a socket AM2 motherboard with on-board video based on the first chipset from post-AMD acquisition ATI, AMD 690G, that is clearly targeted to digital home PCs. It has several flaws, but will perform almost like a high-end motherboard if you disable its on-board video and install a “real” video card on it – link.

AMD planning to integrate a GPU and CPU onto the same chip by 2009 – link.

AMD’s upcoming K10 micro-architecture previewed – link.

Albatron Mini-ITX KI690-AM2 is serious competition for Via’s offerings in the same form factor – review.

Test group claims AMD server chips still lead on power efficiency – link.

AMD invests $7.5 million into Transmeta, impressed by lawsuit against Intel ... uh, their low power IP – link.

AMD Socket AM2+ and AM3 65nm and 45nm CPUs will be backwards compatible with AM2 motherboard – link.

– Intel

Intel 45nm quad-core Harpertown model numbers and clock speeds unveiled, slated for Q4 launch, promise to make AMD’s life difficult – link.

QX6850 is Intel’s final tuning and one last refresh of the 65nm Kentsfield. It ran fine at around or above 4.2GHz with decent $150-class water cooling, and that is as high as you will go on Intel until the 45nm chips come out – link.

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 is 4 cores at 3GHz. The only real drawback of the newcomer is its relatively high price reaching $1,000 – link. QX6850 tested with MSI’s P35 Diamond motherboard with Kingston DDR 3 memory. The results are ... promising. Not earth shattering – review.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.67GHz desktop CPU’s combination of reduced price, increased performance and lower heat output makes it a compelling buy – review.

Intel’s Core 2 Quad Q6600 compared with Core 2 Duo E6850. Which one you like better depends on your intended tasks and your appetite for overclocking – link.

Biostar TP35D2-A7 and TP35D3-A7 Deluxe motherboards are reasonably priced with excellent PCB design and rich features – review.

– Other

Pico-ITX Motherbard first impressions – link.

Graphics

Best gaming cards for the money, July 2007 – link.

General purpose computing on graphics processors to shine after 2010, says AMD – link.

nVidia GeForce 8 series drivers issues are limiting the performance under Linux. Additional information along with benchmarks showing the frame-rate differences between Windows XP and Linux – here.

Free ATI drivers for Linux by Christmas? – link.

Dell said it wants to offer ATI-based Linux systems but is hamstrung by a lack of drivers – link.

Video card utilities help you get the most out of your hardware – roundup.

Many are dissatisfied with the state of high-end gaming hardware requirements – link.

Best gaming cards for the money for July 2007 – link.

AMD applies make-up to the face of its ATI Linux Control Center – link.

Sapphire’s HD 2600XT, utilizing long-delayed RV630 graphics chip, guns for value segment – review.

Memory, storage

Can data be stored on single atoms? – link.

DDR3 SDRAM a revolution or evolution? Performance results are pretty ambiguous, but it has considerably lower power consumption. Its advantages will show up in time – link. DDR3-1600: technological breakthrough or marketing trick? – link.

OCZ launches 1.8 GHz DDR3. Realizing its potential without overclocking will require the next-generation Intel and AMD architectures – link.

Super Talent and TEAM introduce DDR3-1600 DIMMs. At 2-3 times the price of excellent DDR2 parts they are a tough money pill to swallow. However, few computer parts offer the kind of breakthrough performance advantage of these new DDR3-1600 kits. And this means that the entry price for decent but pedestrian DDR3 will drop – link.

How much faster does 4GB of memory allow Vista to run? – link.

SanDisk Extreme IV flash card delivers superb performance compared to the previous series cards in virtually every parameter, when you insert it into an Extreme series reader with a FireWire interface – review.

New flash memory chips are faster, more reliable, cheaper, smaller in size and at least comparable in storage capacity compared with ultra-small (1”) HDDs – link.

Should you care about hybrid HDDs? – link.

Seagate, trapped by relentless price-cutting and the rise of flash memory, maps a new way out – link.

Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 is first off the block with a 1TB HDD. Speed looks great, pricing looks high at same price as two 500GB drives – link. Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 HDD offers a record- breaking storage capacity, an extremely high sequential speed, an enlarged buffer for more performance, and fast processing of multiple data threads – review.

Samsung SpinPoint T166 HDD series delivers a near perfect combination of performance, quiet operation, thermal management, and price – review.

Seagate 7200.10 500GB, while lacking in pure performance when compared to the other 7200rpm drives, it would still be a very solid choice for a gaming machine – review.

Fujitsu Handy Drive 120GB 2.5” form-factor with 4,200rpm spindle speed portable storage device is great if you want low power consumption and low price from a renowned brand, and speed characteristics are not very important – review.

120GB 2.5” external HDDs from Western Digital and Transcend stretch USB bandwidth limits – review.

Data Robotics Drobo the data robot USB backup device is easy to handle, well-manufactured and helps home users to administer and manage large amounts of data, but at $500 it is expensive for a consumer device – review.

ICY DOCK’s MB559US-1SMB is a eSATA enclosure with pizzazz – review. Galaxy Metal Gear Box 3500SASP is an SATA/USB 2.0 enclosure on a budget. Noise measurements in both cases singled out the primary problem with all the external enclosures tested to date – review.

The Raid migration adventure – link.

Sub $100 HD-DVD player planned – link.

Cases, power supplies, cooling

NMEDIAPC’s HTPC 288 SA is an affordable case for an all-purpose HTPC system with the capacity to run midrange PC applications. It proved to be free from compatibility issues – review.

Four new cases in the mainstream price segment from Asus, Gigabyte and Cooler Master tested. Gigabyte Poseidon is the cheapest while Gigabyte’s cases are the quietest – roundup.

Gigabyte’s Odin GT 800W PSU is the first to come with software to monitor and control the power supply. If you are looking for a quiet, high-efficiency PSU, it will fit the bill. If you are willing to risk overheating, you can even modify the fan speed to help keep noise levels low at higher temperatures – review.

IC Diamond 7 Carat Thermal Compound indeed helps cool things off – review.

Cooler Master NotePal W1 notebook cooler, something that is slowly becoming a necessity these days – review.

Four Spire coolers tested vs. four overclocked Kentsfield cores in the summer heat, and fail to impress – roundup.

Scythe Katana II and Kama Cross coolers are specifically optimized to work quietly and cool the mainboard’s round-the-socket components. Their indisputable advantages are their very low noise levels, universal and simple retention mechanisms for each platform, free positioning of the heatsink on a mainboard with any type of CPU socket, and low weight. But there are more thermally efficient coolers available that at comparable or lower cost – reviews.

Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme cooler compared with seven top competitors, and shows itself to be a superior offering – review.

CoolJag’s Falcon 92-Al and Falcon 92-Cu coolers impress as efficient, quiet and rather compact, and are sure to find their place on the market and in PC enthusiasts’ system cases – reviews.

XIGMATEK’s HDT-S963 cooler is routinely efficient and quiet, and VERY efficient (but quite noisy) when necessary. It will be a good choice for quiet system lovers as well as for benchers with limited budget – review.

Zalman VNF100 and Gigabyte V-Power GPU coolers are each pretty successful, each in its own way. Neither are cheap, and both highlight that will all the various graphics card layouts, fewer universal cooling solutions are coming out – reviews.

CoolIT’s Freezone air-, liquid- and thermo-electrical cooling system can cope with an overclocked quad-core processor that generates almost 200W of heat. But does its performance match its price? No – review.

Zalman CNPS8700 LED and Thermaltake V1 coolers tested. The former is intended for compact system cases and for people who prefer quiet coolers. The latter has a somewhat higher performance as well as an original exterior which is going to please owners of transparent system cases and modders – reviews.

ZEROtherm’s BTF90 cooler uses fins shaped like butterfly wings. It would be a great choice for a low-noise PC that can still overclock well. However, the BTF90 will not fit slim cases, rack-mount system designs, or under a power supply that mounts above the motherboard – review.

Thermalright Ultima-90 cooler has a design similar to other Thermalright heatpipe towers, only in a slightly smaller package. It performs nearly as well with a quiet, high-output 92mm fan like the Panaflo H1A as it does with a 120mm fan. Other than the Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme, it performs as well as any cooler – review.

Miscellaneous components and periferals

16 multi-function inkjet printers compared – link.

Compro VideoMate E500 is very interesting PCIe based TV tuner card. – review.

Logitech’s MX Air rechargeable cordless mouse lets you sit back in a chair and command a computer with movements through the air. It is just about the coolest thing we have seen in a good while – review.

Samsung SyncMaster 931BW 19” LCD monitor is hard not to recommend, given the modest price – link.

Samsung SM226BW 22” LCD is the most impressive performing 22” monitor on the market at the moment. Coupled with its gorgeous looks and its reasonable price, this makes it a real winner – link.

22” monitors roundup – link.

D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit router is a draft 802.11n compliant device that delivers up to 14x faster speeds and 6x further range than 802.11g. A great choice for a small office due to its network security options, QoS, and remote administration tools – review.

Neuros OSD Linux-based personal video recorder + media center fulfils “Web TV” vision – link.

I returned my iPhone. I was tired of Apple’s adult-proof keyboard. I was tired of AT&T’s piddling wireless network. But most of all, I was embarrassed that I had bought the thing in the first place – link.

Less than a month after the launch we can look back to the hyperbolic ventilations of Apple’s Poodle Press and ask, “What on earth were they thinking??” – link.

In search of the ultimate Linux handheld – link.

The OpenMoko Neo 1973 may actually deliver what many were hoping for with the iPhone, but it has a long way to go to get there – link.