September
09, 2004
4GB of Corsair PC3200 XL Giveaway
"Viper
Lair and Corsair Memory will be giving away four 1GB Corsair
TwinX1024-3200XL PRO kits. Yes, that means four readers have
a shot at winning some kick ass ram. All that is needed is
for you to enter in your email. That's it."
Get
the full details here
Also
in the News
VIA Releases Custom DOOM 3 Multiplayer Map
Available
from VIA Gamers Arena, VIAVGA DM1 further extends this year’s
major PC game release to the multiplayer arena
"VIA
Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon
chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today released
VIAVGA DM1, a custom made multiplayer map for DOOM 3, the stunning
new PC game from id Software.
VIAVGA DM1 has been
developed by the editor of VIA’s official
games website VIA Gamers Arena, Josh 'b0rg' Holmes, using the
feature-packed DOOM 3 level editing program, DOOMEdit, and has
been created with a focus on fast free-flowing game play. Unlike
the other heavily detailed Quake III engine benchmarking custom
maps Josh has developed for VIA, VIAVGA DM1 has been optimized
to run with smooth and consistent frame rate speeds for chaotic
multiplayer action.
“The creation of VIAVGA DM1 was inspired by strong community
demand for more DOOM 3-based multiplayer maps, as well as the
uber-coolness of DOOMEdit,” said Josh Holmes, editor of
VIA Gamers Arena. “The new lighting and shadow rendering
technology in DOOM 3 really appeals and it was a lot of fun experimenting
with all of the new bells and whistles. I've been pleasantly
surprised with how many new features I have been able to incorporate
into VIAVGA DM1 and still maintain acceptable frame rates.”
Incorporating original assets from DOOM 3, the design and layout
of VIAVGA DM1 has a similar feel to many Quake III Arena multiplayer
maps, featuring several main combat zones connected via tighter
corridors, ducts and hallways. Containing a mixture of open areas
for free-range (rocket jumping) action and various confined areas
for close quarter combat, VIAVGA DM1 is littered with strategically
placed weapons, armor and ammo as well as destructible light
fixtures, exploding gas tanks, volatile movable barrels and other
devious deathtraps.
VIAVGA DM1 accommodates
one-on-one games for two players, ‘Free
For All’ (FFA) games for up to 4 players, and more if used
in conjunction with user-made mods, and for team deathmatch games."
More information
and a gallery of images are available on the VIA Gamers Arena
website at: www.viavga.com/default.asp?PageID=120.
VIAVGA DM1 can be downloaded from: www.viavga.com/demos/viavga_dm1.zip.
Also
in the News
BFG 6800 OC 128MB
Author: Adam
Erker
"The
war between the graphics giants will go on and on for eternity
at this point, so the biggest news is always who has the biggest
weapon at the time. There always seems to be someone with a
bigger gun, but finding out just how much more heat the competitor
is packing is becoming more and more of a challenge. Enter
NVIDIA's big gun -- the 6800 series of video cards."
Read
the full review
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in the News
Asetek Antarctica vs. Swiftech MCW6000 Waterblock
Author: Randy
Torio (quicksilverXP)
"It
is unbelievable how many people are water cooling these days.
The other day, I noticed a father buying his 12 year old son
a Corsair Hydrocool External Water Cooling system at Fry's
Electronics. You know water cooling is becoming mainstream
when a 12 year old kid can buy a kit at Fry's Electronics.
In fact, many of our Case Modding Contest submissions have
impressive water cooling systems inside (or outside) of their
boxes, which proves how much of a modder's and cooler's dream
water cooling can be. Today, we have the privilege of testing
out two of the latest water blocks by two distinguished companies:
Asetek and Swiftech."
Read
the full review
September
08, 2004
Epox 8RDA6+ Pro
Author: Chris
Tom
"Epox
includes some great features with the 8RDA6+ Pro. You will
rarely find an Athlon XP board featuring the Gigabit Ethernet
and SATA RAID from Nvidia. You also won't often find 6 SATA
ports on an Athlon XP board. Epox also includes Firewire, SPDIF
audio output, and plenty of accessories like rounded cables,
a screwdriver, and small heatsinks for components."
Read
the full review
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in the News
Windows XP SP2 Performance
Author: Carl
Nelson
"Even
though it is widely known that SP2 offers a lot of cool new
features and security enhancements, you might be reluctant
to install it, because nobody knows what it will do for system
performance.
Today we're looking at exactly what SP2 does for performance,
compared directly to SP1. We used a full suite of benchmarks
to test performance in office applications, content creation,
web browsing, and gaming. You might be surprized at the results!"
Read
the full review
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in the News
ASUS P5AD2 Premium Wireless Edition
Author: Hubert
Wong
"The
fact is, Intel changed a lot at the beginning of this Summer
with the 915/925 release, and it required a lot of manufacturers
to come up with compelling products that take advantage of
all these new features, and at the same time, provide an enjoyable
computing experience. We think ASUS did just that with the
P5AD2 Premium."
Read
the full review
Also
in the News
ASUS P5AD2
Premium Wireless Edition
Author: Hubert
Wong
"The
fact is, Intel changed a lot at the beginning of this Summer
with the 915/925 release, and it required a lot of manufacturers
to come up with compelling products that take advantage of
all these new features, and at the same time, provide an enjoyable
computing experience. We think ASUS did just that with the
P5AD2 Premium."
Read
the full review
September
07, 2004
Waffer PC AirCon PAC 400
Author: John
Chen
"With
summer heat still around, there is no doubt that your system
temperatures rise a couple of degrees. I live in Southern California,
right where the deserts are supposed to be. I must say that
it is still extremely hot. On a typical good day, temperatures
reach about 75°F inside my house; and on a bad day, they
can hit as high as a blazing 85°F. It's certainly not healthy,
not to mention comforting, to be in such a heated place. What
would most people do when they're hot? They turn on their air
conditioner. While we complain about heat, our PCs must be
screaming for help. With each degree that rises in ambient
temperature, it causes increased component temperature inside
your case. Luckily for computers, Waffer Technology has invented
their PAC 400, which acts like an air conditioner just for
the computer system."
Read
the full review
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in the News
Logitech Cordless Desktop LX 501
Author: Rafal
Zak
"Today
we will be looking at the Logitech Cordless Desktop LX 501.
Call me old-school, but I was never a fan of multimedia keyboards
nor wireless devices. I'm a gamer and few years back wireless
technology was not as mature as it is today. The LX 501 however
is a very slick combination when it comes to functionality
and usability. For the past two weeks of using this combo I've
been starting to like it. To the best of my knowledge LX desktop
models are available in Europe as well as North America. Kind
regards to Logitech Poland for sending us a sample."
Read
the full review
Also
in the News
Logitech Cordless
Desktop LX 501
Author: Rafal
Zak
"Today
we will be looking at the Logitech Cordless Desktop LX 501.
Call me old-school, but I was never a fan of multimedia keyboards
nor wireless devices. I'm a gamer and few years back wireless
technology was not as mature as it is today. The LX 501 however
is a very slick combination when it comes to functionality
and usability. For the past two weeks of using this combo I've
been starting to like it. To the best of my knowledge LX desktop
models are available in Europe as well as North America. Kind
regards to Logitech Poland for sending us a sample."
Read
the full review
September
04, 2004
AC Ryan & VL
Slogan Contest
"AC
Ryan teams up with Viperlair and GameChronicles to hold another
contest! AC Ryan keeps it simple this time again and wants
to hear your new slogan for AC Ryan."
Get
the full details here
Also
in the News
Ultra Products X-Connect Power Supply
Author: John
Chen
"Ultra
Products is finally catching people's attentions. Their new
power supply is a computer enthusiast's dream come true. The
unit itself is fully modular, meaning that you only use the
connectors you need. It's always hard to tuck away cables and
find good hiding spots, thus Ultra has taken away that messy
work. Not only is the power supply fully modular, it has its
aesthetics as well."
Read
the full review
September
03, 2004
4GB of Corsair PC3200 XL Giveaway
"Viper
Lair and Corsair Memory will be giving away four 1GB Corsair
TwinX1024-3200XL PRO kits. Yes, that means four readers have
a shot at winning some kick ass ram. All that is needed is
for you to enter in your email. That's it."
Get
the full details here
September
02, 2004
ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0
Author: Hubert
Wong
"What
we've seen today is a very flexible TV tuner, that is both
easy to use and offers excellent image quality. If you're a
notebook user or an enthusiast with limited expansion port
real estate, and you'd like some TV-In capabilities, the ATI
TV Wonder USB 2.0 is worthy of your consideration."
Read
the full review
September
02, 2004
dual core Opteron 90nm first glimpse
Author: Chris
Tom
"We
have taken a look at AMD’s demonstration of AMD’s
90nm dual core Opteron here in Austin. We have a picture up
comparing the 130nm Opteron to the single and dual core 90nm
Opteron. This is just a taste of our upcoming article on what
AMD had on display today."
Read
the full review
Also
in the News
S3 Graphics and Club-3D Announce OmniChrome Hi-Def Multimedia
Video Graphics Solution at ECTS 2004
"Club-3D
first to market in Europe with S3 Graphics OmniChrome S4 multifunction
AGP8X PC graphics board with TV-tuner, video input and native
Hi-Def™ HDTV
S3 Graphics
and Club-3D today announced the availability of the eagerly
anticipated
OmniChrome Hi-Def™ multimedia AGP
card solution for the PC add-in board market. The Club-3D OmniChrome
S4 retail package will include a remote control and feature an
unprecedented software bundle that includes InterVideo’s
latest revisions of WinDVR™, WinDVD® and WinDVD Creator™ to
maximise OmniChrome’s extensive feature set.
Omnichrome
is the only board in its class to feature the unique Chromotion™ Programmable Video Engine which significantly
enhances the media playback experience, enabling an extensive
range of real-time video processing operations and, as with the
entire S3 Graphics DeltaChrome family of products, OmniChrome
benefits from an ultra-high quality, Hi-Def™ HDTV capability
to fully visualize the video output of any source without the
need for quality reducing conversion dongles or other patch solutions.
“We are very happy to be first to bring OmniChrome to
Europe,” said Judith Ma Tseng, President of Club-3D. “The
Club-3D OmniChrome board is a great addition to our line up of
S3 Graphics based products and is one of the most highly featured
graphics solutions in its class, representing great value for
money.” Club-3D is a leading supplier of high quality graphics
solutions in Europe.
“The introduction of OmniChrome solutions in Europe by
Club-3D is an important event for both our companies and further
reinforces our commitment to supply the important European PC
graphics market place with high quality, feature rich PC graphics
products,” said Dr. Gerry Liu, VP of Marketing at S3 Graphics. “Featuring
our Chromotion video display engine and native HDTV support,
OmniChrome provides the optimal solution for home digital entertainment
enthusiasts, bringing TV to life with great video graphics and
highly flexible PVR and VOD functionality.”
With the
press of a button, OmniChrome users will be able to launch
InterVideo’s WinDVR™, enabling full control
over OmniChrome’s on-board TV Tuner. The Electronic Program
Guide (EPG) will allow users to schedule the recording their
favorite programs in DVD quality MPEG-2, while pausing live TV
and time-shifting can be also be controlled by remote or an intuitive
keyboard and mouse interface. WinDVD®, the world’s
most popular DVD playback software, is compatible with a wide
range of digital media formats including DivX and VCD.
Users of
analogue video devices will be able to bridge the digital divide
and
capture real time video using S-Video, composite and
component input directly into wide range of digital formats and
perform Hi-Def digital media playback at HDTV resolutions using
the board’s native Hi-Def video-out functionality.
InterVideo’s WinDVD Creator™ adds
further value to the Club-3D OmniChrome package, enabling users
to edit, transform
and merge the captured video content into new movies for recording
in various formats including DVD, VCD, WMV-9 and DivX. DVD Creator
offers sophisticated linear and non-linear editing capabilities
and allows for the inclusion of digital pictures and music in
the final movie creation."
Also
in the News
Intel Pentium 4 550 (3.4 GHz LGA775) Processor
Author: Chad
Unrein
"Although
its current processors are not quite outperforming the ability
of these interfaces, Intel Corporation decided recently that
it was time to introduce a new package for their flagship Pentium
4 line of processors in order to get ahead of the curve a little
bit. The engineers at Intel chose a design that is quite different
than any other mainstream CPU available today. The processor
design itself has not changed; the packaging of the processor
is what has changed. Intel is still using the recently released
Prescott core (replaced Northwood) for their Pentium 4 line-up."
Read
the full review
Also
in the News
Zalman Reserator 1
Author: Scott
Mikules
"Water
cooling has made several changes within the last two years
with introduction of easy kits, and external units, making
them more portable also. But now Zalman comes out with their
version of a fan-less watercooling kit, and from what we've
seen--the only version currently on the market for the consumer
side."
Read
the full review
