W.I.L. Hardware Tech-News Highlights for 2008: 2

Systems

Building Your Own Home Theater PC, using the new integrated AMD platform - link.

Ars Technica's System Guide: HTPC edition - link.

Extreme Gamer 22DBA PC by EndPCNoise is a silent near-ultimate gaming machine utilizing the most advanced technologies available - review.

Ultra low-cost notebooks will not become best-sellers, say analysts - link.

World's cheapest ($250) Linux-based laptop? - link.

Everex's gPC mini is a small, quiet, powerful $500 computer with a hip Linux-based OS designed for MySpace users and others who appreciate the entertainment value of PCs - link.

One Laptop Per Child 2.0 coming; will project survive to see its launch? - link.

Via's OpenBook initiative fails at actually being open - link.

CPUs, motherboards, chipsets

– AMD

Where is AMD going? Not away - link.

AMD'x Phenom X3 8750 is a triple-core application of their K10 micro-architecture - review.

AMD unveils "highly-efficient" quad-core AMD Opteron CPU - link 1, link 2.

Images released of AMD's upcoming 6-core silicon-on-insulator 45nm Istanbul CPU, slated to arrive in early 2009 - link.

– Intel

Intel launches an inexpensive Core 2 Duo E7200 CPU from the Wolfdale 45nm family. Even though it has somewhat limited functionality, its performance and low power consumption give it strong advantages, and AMD has no real alternative - review.

Intel's Atom architecture: the journey begins - link.

What you need to know about Intel's Nehalem CPU - link.

The launch of Intel's Centrino 2 platform (Montevina) has been delayed once again - link.

Gigabyte's GA-EP35-DS4 mainboard: a short step away from ideal - review.

– Other

Via takes the wraps off Isaiah: Meet the Nano. It is the first x86 processor not built by AMD or Intel that may be capable of taking on both companies within its target market space, and its capable of handling demanding multimedia tasks that put a significant load on its single core - link 1, link 2.

Preliminary Via Isaiah tests show excellent performance - link.

Via talks up Isaiah dual-cores, 45nm transition - link.

Via has announced a mini-ITX motherboard that combines the C7 CPU and VX800 chipset - link.

Graphics

Open source ATI driver achieves 3D success - link.

The Open Graphics Project's long-awaited open source graphics card is ready for order by developers - link.

Asus's EN9600GT Silent Edition graphics card offers solid performance, both in gaming and in video playback, and generates no noise - review.

Asus's EN3650 Silent graphics card is an excellent choice for a silent PC. Gaming performance is lucklustre, and HDMI connection to TV or monitor was not working - link.

The best graphics cards for the money: May 2008 - link.

Passing the single-GPU torch: nNidia 9800 GTX - review.

Memory, storage

Memoright solid state drives are clearly the best system hard drive you can possible use, with one major disadvantage: price. The transition from conventional HDDs to Flash SSDs has begun, as the results are convincing enough to make decision makers rethink their storage media strategies - link.

Super Talent reveals new solid state drive with up to 120GB capacity - link.

64GB solid state drives on the desktop: Samsung and OCZ go "mainstream" - review.

EMC: The age of high-end flash has begun - link.

Analysis: A 1TB HDD for $200 is great, but SSD is still the future - link.

Intel introduceds 32GB flash chips, targets solid-state drives - link.

2GB mini-USB flash drives roundup - link.

10 HDD roundup compares latest 2.5" drives' performance vs. 3.5" ones - link.

Using spindown to prolong the life of old hard disks - link.

Samsung's F1 750GB and 1000GB drives are the quietest 7200 RPM drives currently available, by a small margin - link.

Western Digital's WD6400AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM HDD is a very quiet desktop drive offering excellent performance and high capacity at a sweet price. What is not to like? - link.

Western Digital's single-platter 320GB Caviar SE16 single-platter 320GB HDD is one of just a handful 7200 RPM desktop drives at the cutting edge of quiet (make sure you are getting the "second sample" version) - review.

Western Digital's VelociRaptor wins a Triple Crown: fastest, quietest, and lowest power desktop model. It will probably dissuade most DIYers from moving to solid state drives for some time - link. The VelociRaptor 2.5" 300GB 10k rpm is getting rave reviews everywhere - link.

Analysts expect DVD to dominate PC space until 2012, despite Blu-Ray rampup. Similar to DVD and DVD burners, Blu-ray will need 3 to 5 years to reach mass-market volumes - link.

Cases, power supplies, cooling

Zalman's ZM1000-HP is a quiet, hard as that is to believe, kilowatt PSU - link.

Little coolers for a big processor: AURAS TwinW, APACK ZEROtherm CF900 and Scythe Shuriken vary in performance, but all three proved indisputable quieter and more efficient than the standard boxed cooler from Intel - link.

Old new coolers from Zalman, Tuniq, Noctua and Thermaltake for the overclocked Intel Yorkfield CPU - link.

Cooler Master's Hyper Z600 CPU cooler looks very impressive, but it does not take the heavyweight heatsink crown - link.

Noctua's NH-C12P CPU cooler proved to be the best top-down cooler tested to date. It is also a formidable alternative to tower heatsinks - link.

Noctua's NH-U12P is possibly the best heatsink tested so far. Only downside is cost - link.

Scythe's Zipang 14cm fan "blow-down" CPU cooler is an excellent top-down cooler. It does not quite catch the best of the biggest tower heatsinks, but it comes close. The only beef with the Zipang is the mounting system - link.

Thermalright's HR-01 Plus tower cooler provides very best low airflow cooler performance - link.

Xigmatek's HDT-S1283 & SD964 "heatpipe direct-touch" CPU coolers: As far as value goes, the HDT-S1283 is in a league of its own. The HDT-SD964 is also a good performer, matching the best similar sized coolers tested in the past. The stock fans are noisy, however - link.

Zerotherm's Zen FZ120 CPU cooler performs well, its mounting system is secure, and the installation procedure is straightforward. The stock fan is a weak point - link.

11 fans for two super-coolers and one system case - roundup.

Miscellaneous components and periferals

ASUS's Xonar D2 PM discrete sound card is a great performer, but lacks a Linux driver - link.

AudioEngine's A2 speakers' tiny size, appealing simple looks and operation, and well-thought out details exude an impressive level of quality. It is hard to believe so much good sounding music can come from such wee speakers - link.

Twelve 22" monitors tested - roundup. • Six 24" LCD monitors tested - roundup. • 19" LCD monitor roundup focuses on solutions using TN matrixes - link.

Samsung's unique dual-display SyncMaster 2263DX monitor successfully combines 22" and 7" monitors - link.

How much can you improve network throughput with a high-end Network Interface Card? - link.