[H]ardNews 1st Edition

NVIDIA SLI Announced:

Our own thoughts on NVIDIA's new SLI are here for your reading pleasure.

And I have to say, if I were about to pull the trigger on a new ATI video card purchase that I knew would be for a long-time install, this NVIDIA SLI technology would certainly make me stop and rethink my position.

SLI is of course being discussed in our forums with a vengeance as well. Get in there and share your thoughts.

UPDATE: Interestingly enough, VelocityMicro is noting that the less expensive GeForce 6800GTs can be used in an SLI configuration as well in their new DualX line of systems.

SLI for ATI:

In a post in our forums, Sean Pelletier of Alienware states that those looking for dual video card or SLI-like solution using ATI video cards will be looking to Alienware. Now there is some breaking news. (It looks as though Sean was required to remove his unauthorized statement.)

Those looking to run dual-ATI cards will likely still be looking at Alienware...time will tell what solution is best...

[H]ardNews 2nd Edition

Modding:

5700LE @ B3D - Prescott Survival Kit @ AMDBoard - 5200U @ OCModShop - Razer BoomSlang @ GlideUnderground - Mini ITX Case @ HiTech - 9600AIW @ TechMods - Zalman Warehoue @ InsaneTek

[H]ardNews 1st Edition

Cooler Master Stacker:

Ratchet at Rage3D has put together one of the best case reviews I have seen in a long time. He covers the new Cooler Master "CMStacker". As you will see, it gives you the ability to "stack" up to 16 drives right up front. This also happens to be the case I am using to build my own new home system now. It has some in and outs, but overall it is working out great for me. Here are a couple of pictures. One thing that you will need is an electric screwdriver to hurry things along.

I am putting an AMD FX-53 in mine that is a 940-pin CPU (since we will not be needing it to test with anymore) and VisionTek X800Pro. She should have about one Terabyte of storage when I am done with RAID0 Raptors for the system and game drive. Also included are an evaluation set of 250GB Maxtor SATA drives that pack in 16MB cache buffers.

H2O Cooler:

ATrueReview looks into Asetek's Waterchill and Cooler Master's new self contained water cooling system that tucks into a 5.25" drive bay.

Each of these water-cooling systems should appeal to different audiences looking to switch to liquid cooling. For those with a compact case and/or are looking for the simplest setup possible, the Cooler Master Aquagate is a worthy choice.

[H]ardNews 3rd Edition

NV40 & R420 Testing:

Part two of the NV40 & R420 performance test at Spode’s Abode is online. The round-up covers the GFFX 5950, GF600, GF6800 Ultra, 9800XT, X800 Pro and X800XT PE.

Following up on Part 1, we have now had a bit more time with the cards in question, so we can give a more accurate comment on their performance. Over the past few months drivers have been released, fixing bugs, increasing performance and image quality from both sides.

Swiftech MCX159-R:

Everyone needs good chipset cooling nowadays. Check out this Portuguese review of the Swiftech MCX159-R . Translator required for reading, pretty pictures and graphs are universal.

The Swiftech MCX159-R impresses since the unpacking time. It looks great, has an excelent construction and it is a top-performer. It can cool any chipset in any situation even if we use high voltages and frequencies.

Corsair PC3200XL Pro:

Another Corsair PC3200XL Pro review has hit the web. This time around the crew at PC Unleash have thrown together a quick and dirty one page review of Corsair’s latest in low latency memory.

The speed of the RAM comes into play in serious applications as well as in the newest, memory-consuming games. Although I have to admit that the 3200XL is not the most cost-effective product, It has succeeded in achieving the incredibly low timing of 5-2-2-2 at 2.7 volts.

[H]ardNews 2nd Edition

Nacona On Monday:

There has been a bunch of different stories about the upcoming 32/64-bit Nacona over the last few weeks but News.com has an article today that says the wait is over, the Nacona will be released on Monday. Comparing the Opteron to the Nacona should make for interesting reviews over the next few weeks.

The 64-bit squabble will heat up Monday, when Intel comes out with its first 32/64-bit chip for workstations and servers. Nocona, the code name of a Xeon chip from Intel, can run both 32-bit software, the kind found on most PCs today, and 64-bit software such as complex databases. The chip is expected to debut at 3.6GHz and lower speeds and come with an 800MHz system bus.

[H]ardNews 1st Edition - Mods & Ends

Case & Power:

NZXT Guardian ATX Case @ 3DXtreme - Akasa PaxPower 460W PSU @ Trusted Reviews - GlobalWIN YCC-1102 MATX @ Systemcooling - QTechnology 460W PSU @ Dirk Vader

Cooling:

Alpha PAL 8150T HSF @ Dark Tweaker

Misc.:

Stealth HTPC Mod @ ExtentionTech - Compro VideoMate USB 2.0 TV Tuner/Capture @ OCAU - Vantec EZ Grip Molex Connectors

[H]ardNews 10th Edition

Online Games = Addictive?

Chris Morris covers massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) and the impact they are having on the industry, you and the legal ramifications of “addictive” game play. More and more you are seeing court cases that involve everything from suing over online “property”, abuse and neglect all being blamed on the game industry. As always, some really good reading:

"Oh, don't worry... In the gaming world, addicted means something different than in the real world. You see, here it's something to strive for. Heck, everybody's trying to paint their games as addictive. Some companies even use the word in their marketing and advertising."

[H]ardNews 9th Edition

Soltek Qbic EQ3801 SFF:

People looking to put together a nForce 3 powered, Athlon64 small form factor system will certainly be interested in this Soltek Qbic EQ3801 SFF review at SFFTech.

Today, when looking at an Athlon 64 based SFF, the decision comes down to features and aesthetics. However, offering the only nForce 3 250Gb SFF on the market today, Soltek is the clear choice for those looking to invest in nVidia’s latest AMD chipset.

You have to admit, that is pretty funny. I imagine that it is hard NOT to be the “clear choice” for a SFF with AMD’s latest chipset when you are the only company with a nForce3 250Gb SFF.

High Performance Windows:

Microsoft has been working with the Cornell Theory Center on parallel computing and says they will have a high performance version of Windows ready by second half of 2005 that is designed specifically for parallel computing.

Microsoft is developing a version of its Windows Server 2003 operating system that's designed to handle applications running across dozens of single- or dual-processor computers working in parallel, the company said Wednesday.

[H]ardNews 8th Edition - Mods & Ends

Cases:

CoolerMaster Cavalier 4 HTPC Case @ Viper Lair - Logisys Armor Gaming Case @ Fastlane HW - Travala C138 MiniITX Case @ Hard-h2o

Cooling:

CoolerMaster Hyper 6 HSF @ XYZ Computing

Misc.:

Simple Talent USB 2.0 Flash Drive @ CoolTech Zone - Samsung Yepp MP3 Player @ PCStats - Actiontec Bluetooth Headset @ NewTechInfo

[H]ardNews 7th Edition

RIAA Lawsuits Not Working:

The New York Times has an Op/Ed that says the RIAA lawsuits aren’t working. We have said for a long time that song swapping is not the reason that CD sales are in decline. Personally I believe there are many other factors with far greater impact on CD sales than file sharing, and suing your customers sends the wrong message. I believe this author is right on the money when they say “Given its hold in our culture, downloading, in some form, must be part of any solution to this impasse”.

In other words, at the exact moment file-sharing activity rose, so did CD sales. These numbers supported an economic study by Profs. Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman S. Strumpf. Their findings indicated that file sharing had no measurable effect on music sales. "At most, file sharing can explain a tiny fraction of this decline," the professors concluded.

[H]ardNews 6th Edition

SiS Chipset Roadmap:

Our friends at the Tech Report have taken a look at the SiS desktop roadmap and laid out their thoughts on the direction SiS is heading and what it means to you. Good Stuff.

Enthusiasts tend to view SiS as a low-end player, and given the company's strong presence in budget motherboards, it's easy to see why. However, few enthusiasts are aware that SiS also makes high-end chipsets that perform well enough to run with the fastest core logic offerings from Intel, NVIDIA, and VIA.

ASUS AX800 Pro/TD:

If you are in the market for an ATi X800 video card be sure to check out the ASUS AX800 Pro/TD reviewed by the crew at Legion Hardware.

Overall, if it's performance you want its performance you will get with the ATi Radeon X 800 Pro. It would seem ATi’s recent experience in making first class high-end products has served them well.

XFX GF 6800 Ultra:

The other high-end video card that has everyone’s interest is NVIDIA’s GF 6800. Hexus has the XFX branded GF 6800 Ultra reviewed today for your viewing pleasure.

If you're prepared the pay the price however, there's a lot to recommend with the XFX. A good games bundle, attractive presentation and VIVO capability are the highlights, the board's intrinsic performance does the rest.

Craig Barrett On Itanium 2:

Intel’s CEO, Craig Barrett, says the Itanium 2 is ready for battle. The article quotes some interesting questions and answers from an interview with Mr. Barrett. Thank Joe Alpert for this one.

[H]ardNews 5th Edition

Motorcycle Computer Mod:

We have all seen the CarPC mods, but have you ever seen a Motorcyle PC mod? Long time [H]’er, Jeremy Erb, sent in this link to a motorcycle PC mod that is pretty damn spanky. Now all he needs to do is make a motorcycle jacket for the driver that has a keyboard and ratpadz built into the back of the jacket so that the passenger can surf the net or play games while he’s driving.