New 3DMark 2001 Record

NordicHardware has news of the most recent 3DMark record with this overclock of a Geforce 8800 GTX core to 997 MHZ. The setup was able to net a whopping 90,274 3DMarks.

Kinc has been very active lately and been working hard in our test lab to push XFX's GeForce 8800 GTX to new heights. The goal is of course to set new world records, but also to warm up before our overclocking at DreamHack. We earlier reported about how Kinc managed to push the card's GPU to over 1GHz and he has now performed some tests at 997MHz and managed to set a world record for single cards with over 90,000 points in 3DMark 2001; 90,274 to be more precise.

Choosing The Right Vista

VIA Arena has a very good guide to choosing the right Vista for your needs. There is a handy chart that shows you which features are in the different versions of Vista and what they mean to you. This is good reading for those of you planning to upgrade to Vista.

At a glance, here is a list of features that are not in every edition of Windows Vista. If the table cell is highlighted in blue then the corresponding features are in the corresponding edition of Vista. This should be your first place to look. If there are features you need or want you'd better get the edition that has them.

Which Linux Is Best For You?

If you have been contemplating the jump over to Linux, or maybe you just want to give it a try but you don’t know Ubuntu from Red Hat, this article might help.

System builders considering a Linux desktop are faced with a dizzying array of choices. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of Linux distributions to choose from. Narrowing the field of contenders basically comes down to what works best for both the system builder and its custom

Sony Replacing Defective Cameras

Sony says it will replace defective Cyber-shot cameras sold between 2003 and 2005. Apparently there is a problem with the LCD display on 8 models that can prevent the camera from displaying images correctly or stop it from taking pictures at all.

The liquid crystal displays in eight models that went on sale from September 2003 to January 2005 may not show images correctly or the cameras may not be able to take photos at all, Sony said in a statement. Of the over 1 million models sold, Sony expects 4,000 could need repairs, the company said.

AMD Processors Still In Short Supply

A Chinese newspaper, citing motherboard makers and distributors, says that AMD processors are still in short supply. Supply is expected to get better by the end of the month.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily cited distributors as saying there is still no breakthrough in AMD CPU supply and motherboard makers as noting the Intel CPU shortage seems going to ease. Motherboard makers indicated that both Intel and AMD informed them the tight CPU supply is expected to ease in late November, the paper said.

Wii for Kids

A Wii is up for sale in our forums, you just have to have someone vouch for you and some kids to make happy.

Intel Strengthening Core 2 Duo Lineup

According to this report at DigiTimes today, Intel has plans for at least seven new processors next year. Processors range from the entry level 1.6GHz E4200 to the high end Core 2 Duo E6850.

Intel originally planned to launch the 1.6GHz E4200 in the fourth quarter of this year to compete with AMD's Socket-AM2 Athlon 64 x2 3600+, but later on, the launch was suspended to make way for the 1.8GHz E4300 CPU, the sources indicated, without elaborating on what prompted Intel to delay the appearance of the E4200.

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is the one day each year that we all acknowledge the things we have to be thankful for. While all of us in the [H]ard|OCP family have many things to be thankful for in our personal lives, the many things we are most thankful for is you, our readers. So, on this day of thanks, we want to wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at [H]ard|OCP

VIA Announces Corporate Restructuring

DigiTimes is reporting that VIA has announced a corporate restructuring that will divide the company into three core business groups; CPU Platform, System Platform and Multimedia Consumer Electronics.

Wen-chi Chen will remain as the company's president and CEO and become the general manager of the CPU Platform group, while two existing senior vice presidents will head System Platform and MCE. AMD's merger with ATi and Intel's cooperation with Nvidia plus trailing Nvidia and ATi in graphics chipset technology have rendered VIA Technologies less competitive in the chipset market.

Better Than Expected Earnings For Dell

I’ll bet you Dell is thankful for the better than expected earnings that helped boost the company’s stock price. After several quarters of sagging performance, analysts believe this might be just what Dell needs to turn things around.

Some analysts said the results, which propelled Dell (DELL) shares up 8.6% in extended trading on Nov. 21, will buy more time and goodwill for company Chief Executive Kevin Rollins, who has faced heightened pressure to turn the company around.

Say No To Extended Warranties

Most of you have known for years not to fall for the ol’ “extended warranty” pitch that most retail chains try to sell you but did you know that Consumer Reports also advises against extended warranties? Something to think about and pass along to your not-so-tech-savvy friends during the holiday shopping season.

This holiday season, shoppers are expected to spend a whopping $1.6 billion on extended warranties for laptops, flat-screen TVs, other electronics, and appliances. And almost all of it will be money down the drain. Retailers are pushing hard to get you to buy extended warranties, or service plans, because they're cash cows. Stores keep 50 percent or more of what they charge for warranties. That's more than they can make selling actual products.

Steam Now Accepts PayPal

Valve has posted a Steam Client update that, among other things, allows for customers to buy games on Steam and pay with PayPal. Pretty handy for PayPal users.

Updates to the Steam Client have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include: Added support for PayPal; customers can now shop on Steam and pay using a PayPal account. Fixed Source engine mods not launching correctly on 64-bit systems. Fixed case where Steam could run multiple instances simultaneously on a single machine. Fixed Steam store not showing game install status correctly when a large number of games were installed.