More and more people are moving to 5.1 sound systems, but 2.1 still kicks some butt with some good music. OC-Zone has the new Altec Lansing that's THX certified.
There have been a lot of new PSU companies popping up lately. Compucase tries their luck in the market with their new PowerOP 525W PSU. SystemCooling finds out if it has what it takes. "If you've never heard of Compucase, you're not alone.
No we're not looking for additional help, but Aftermath is. See what kind of help they really need. "Aftermath Reviews are looking for poeple to join our team.
People still make these things? I think burning at 32x is already fast enough, but engineers continue to push things to the limit. Viperlair has AOpen 52x CDRW that still provides good use.
SimpleTech? Never heard of them. Is their high end ram worth the money over other well-known brands? RojakPot finds out so you don't have to find out the hard way.
Room 112 is where the playas roll. Tower 112 is for the silent overclockers. Ok my analogy is stupid. Anyway, OCIA has the all copper tower that's gigantic. "Place 4 more nuts on the brackets and tighten each one down carefully.
Speaking of power supplies, Gurureview has some FSP power supplies to suit your needs. 350w might be cutting it close, but that 400w kit with the fans are pretty nice. Great for modded cases.
Modguidez has a new and improved gallery section. I like that Cooler Master setup. Check it out. "We are very proud to introduce our new and improve case gallery section.
This power supply looks freakin tight! No more cable clutter for sure. OverclockersOnline was lucky to get one. I want one... "According to Ultra, the X-Connect uses the X-Cable technology, and that incorporates 4 points.
Corsair Memory, Inc., a global leader in ultra-performance DDR memory modules for PC gamers and enthusiasts, today announced their collaboration with Intel® Corporation to supply the official gaming tournament systems for the Cyberathlete E…
Enermax has been fairly quiet the past couple of years. I guess they're working on making some new cases. OCIA has the Seahawk that doesn't look any much different from other cases. "The window is not cut exactly rectangular.
Think Computers looks at this simple and powerful Raidmax PSU which packs quite a punch for the $. DIY's should like this PSU. Your PSU can make or break your system, so make sure you have a good one.
Cube cases are roomy and help keep the system cool. It does come with a high price tag. MODTHEBOX not only has one but a clear one. You can see all the guts and glory.
I still argue this--are the new Intel chipsets worth jumping board for? r&b has the Albatron flavor that hopes to change my mind. "This is an interesting product we will have a look at today!
The Centurion 5 is currently my favorite case. The look is simply stunning. It's not too extreme and not too simple. Viperlair has the "mini-stacker". Stay tuned for our review of it soon.
Here is another Cooler Master power supply up for testing. The shrimps gives it a thorough look over and does a great job testing this power supply. Cooler Master has another great product in their hands.
In need of better CPU cooling? Gurureviews has a ducting kit that seems to provide some good use. I say just get better airflow. "No, not some strange porno device but a ready built ducting kit to fit your cpu fan."
Kingston makes some of the best memory around, so why not try their Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 Hi-Speed USB stick? ViperLair tests it out for you. "Compared against other USB 2.0 Flash drives, the DataTraveler holds it's own very well.
DH got their hands on the OCZ Booster and have cranked out the review, as well as vdimm of course. Check out the performance gains for those BH5s. Stay tuned for our review next week.
This is one ugly case. But hey, it's built for silence and has a bunch of foam pads to absorb vibrations. Still, it's one ugly case. "The AcoustiCase from QuietPC is aimed at those looking to silence their system.
If you're into pimping every part in your case, you should definitely take a peek at MRG Distribution's LED light kit for your RAM. ModFather approves of it here.
If you still have the old Geforce 4 cards, you should be looking to upgrade you cheap mofo. If you're like me and insist on keeping the old thing, get yourself some better cooling like this Vantec Iceberq Pro.
Need a cheap 5.1 surround sound speakers? Aftermath may have your solution. Altec Lansing has always made good speakers. Now you can listen to your gangsta rap while pretending to be cool.
First Crytek takes away patch 1.2 for Far Cry players, now ATI takes away Catalyst 4.7 from benchers. Why did they withdraw the Futuremark certification? Read on to find out.
My old roommate in the college dorms had this keyboard. He just got up, left, and never came back. Wonder what happened to him... Anyway, gurureview checks it out.
Overclocking is the most addicting hobby I've ever encountered. Video games are another, but not as much. The reason why an ever-increasing amount of people are becoming addicted and going insane with overclocking is that there is no end.
Need a new case? Want a good Cooler Master? Cooler Master is holding a mod contest. The winners get to choose their prizes! Cooler Master Contest Details
Everyone was hyped about the patch. It boosted Nvidia's performance by quite a bit due to the new SM3.0. It's a shame that ATI had some bugs with it. Crytek was forced to withdraw the patch. Doh well.
Here's more of some glowing mousepads. r&b has a red one. "Last year we had a chance to review some mousepads from Flexiglow and tonite we have the new updated version of their shining mousepads.
Anandtech reviews Nikon's new 5200 model camera. I wonder how this compares to my 3200? "Not only does this camera excel in image quality, but it has a decent startup time and quick Shot-To-Shot times as well.
Buffalo is relatively new to the enthusiast market, though the company itself has been around for a while. Can their new memory hang with the rest? Find out in Anandtech's review of them.
The Cooler Master Stacker is one good idea. The entire front is made up of drive bays. Viperlair has the sexy beast. Thing is, what's with the 2 fans on the bottom in the back?
Enermax has always been a good power supply maker. I believe they were the first to introduce the dual 12v line (correct me if I'm wrong). Now they have something new, continuous fan function. Read on at OCC's review for better info.
Problems, problems, problems. Intel has been having a lot of these since their new chipsets arrived. Apparently, the Prescotts are having static leakage problems which are pushing them to making dual-core processor solutions.
Abit and Corsair have teamed up at CPL. What's the event? I have no idea. But what else can it be if not the usual overclocking and games! I know we have some Insane members who live in Dallas. Time to go check it out. Full coverage here.
The lucky people at [H]ard|OCP got a chance to run idsoftware's official Doom 3 benchmarks. Want to see how that shiny new card you bought stacks up to the competition? Check it out.
This sure doesn't make me feel any safer. Just how much money do they have??? I have less pennies than they have in dollars. The future of portable internet access. HP makes cell phones??? I didn't know that.
This has got to be one cool prize. OCIA has a sword as a prize! Click here to see their contest rules Speaking of contests, our contest is going to end on August 1st, 2004. The prizes may not be as crazy, but it still proves useful.
Need some more help with your soldering skills? Rojakpot's have the GeCube/GigaCube 9600 Pro/XT volt mod guide. Why? Because they don't use reference PCB.
Some of the Insane members have been thinking about getting a laptop. I need one too, for when I'm on the road. Vantec has created a laptop cooler that really comes in handy for those with laptops on 24/7.
Cooler Master has been expanded their products into power supplies. Being new, they sure do look promising. 2x 12V rails will sure stabilize all your needs.
Logitech has always been known for there incredible speakers. They are known to carry quite a punch. I know I love my Logitech Z640's. But how does their new 2.1 model stack up? Virtual-Hideout finds out.
MODTHEBOX has the part 2 of their project of modding their aluminum cube case. Having a cube case is definitely good since it gives more space for slapping on fans. But have you seen the price tag on one of these?
Plextor has always been the top maker in optical drives. They were just a tad too expensive for my liking. Do you need an external one? Overclockers Online has it. "You may be wondering, why would any enthusiast need the UF drive?
Now that the 939 line of boards are popping up, some of you may start asking which ones are best and how they compare. The new technology is a little cloudy, as not many people have gotten ahold of them yet.
External watercooling really comes in handy for LAN parties. But what if the external watercooler doesn't perform all that great? Do what A1 Electronics does..modify it.
I find that the stock heatsink for the A64 proved to be rather adequate for mild overclocking. Nonetheless, there are always other heatsinks available. Ninjalane has the CoolJag K8 heatsink.
Want something different than a RatpadzGS for a mouse pad? You might want to take a look at this Maxdy FlexiGlow FX GamePad that Virtual-Hideout reviews. "I like the way the pad lights up.
I stopped in the OCZ office today and was graciously given the Booster for review sample. Check out these pics for a quick sneak preview. Expect the review to debut on August 2nd or 3rd. Check out these few pictures
Speaking of watercooling, r&b has the latest on the Dangerden TDX waterblock. "We have seen Maze4 and RBX blocks from Dangerden already and tonite we have their new TDX block at our test bench.
This is Sunbeam's last contest. Like the ones before, just answer the 4 questions and you'll be entered to win a great prize. A total of 3 winners will be chosen! Sunbeam Chameleon Giveaway
Viperlair has the fastest memory Kingston currently offers for DDR. The KHX4300 offers great performance. Stay tuned for our review soon, as soon as I return from my trip.
Here's another small watercooling kit that's made for simple plug-n-play. OCC has the drive bay sized Kingwin. "Many manufacturers are including a secondary radiator in their kits designed to cool both the GPU and CPU.
And to finish it off, OCIA brings out the other big competitor in the watercooling world. Swiftech has one of the best complete watercooling kits available. They include everything you'll need.
Want to see a sweet looking notebook? RojakPot got the chance to see Asus launch their new W1000N model. This thing is packed with features. "The ASUS W1000N looks like a great notebook. I absolutely love the design.
You read it right. Microsoft is ready to take out Sony..in the video game console industry. It's speculated that the next gen Xbox can take out PS3. Ooooo. Big fight now.
If you're smart enough to be a hacker, why would you be dumb enough to hit the government? Intel has made a boo boo with the new Alderwood and Grantsdale. There isn't much performance increase and the overclock was rather weak.
The Rojakpots sure have an article for everything you need. Check out their 9600 Pro/XT voltage mod guide. Perfect for those looking to squeeze more performance.
Just two days after it goes gold there are already petitions to Congress to stop the "unholy release of Doom 3." They are complaining about its "madness and violence" which will lead kids to becoming worshippers of evil.
Crucial has been a fine memory maker ever since the days of SDR. I remember I hit 200FSB with their PC133. Their DDR line hasn't been such a great hit. This is all about to change.
GlobalWin goes for something different with this "open reservoir evaporative cooling system." But can it take the heat? [H]ard|OCP finds out. "The Jefi is a definite conversation starter and head turner.
SATA, IDE, RAID, USB, SCSI...the world of DVD drives and HDD's is a confusing one. Anandtech clears that up for you with their price guide on optical and magnetic storage.
Michael Dell has stepped down. Everyone needs a break after making too much money. Think Rollins has what it takes to improve the unsatisfactory Dell technical support?
The Rojakpots modded a 9800SE to a full fledged 9800 Pro. That's a mighty good upgrade. They go a bit further and compare it to the FX5950 Ultra. The price/performance ratio does make the mod worthwhile.
There are many new companies showing their new watercooling ideas. r&b takes a run with the new Alphacool waterkit. I say if you wanna watercool, do it right. If not, stick with aircooling.
Cooler Master has been making some fine products lately. They've stepped into the realm of power supplies. Systemcooling checks out whether it should belong in your system, as a power supply is the most important component in the PC.
Everyone has shown their liking for the new Corsair XL memory. Madshrimps takes one extra step and find out the performance on two of the top chipsets.
Looks like Adrian got his BIOS Optimizations published. He has his own book. Wow. The cover is pretty nice. "Hello everyone! Just received the updated cover for the BOG book! Take a look at it! Let me know what you think about it!
Think you've memorized the number key placements? Think again. Tontie has you pounding away. This game is freakin fun. I finally found use for my numberpad. Tontie
That's right people, the game has gone gold and will be here in almost all stores by August 5th (though some will get it earlier). PCGamer has given it a 94% in their latest issue. The game is finally here.
We were the first to review the Gigaram PC3500 sample. Seems like Simon at Overclockers Online got a hold of Rich and asked for some as well. These are very nice sticks my friend. Great performance at a decent price.
LAN Addicts have upgraded their video cards and now they don't need this one. They're giving away the Crucial Radeon 9600XT. It's an awesome card for the price...wait what price?
This thing looks spiffy. The Rojakpots have a cell phone lookin PDA. "Whats up with Smartphones? Are they mobile phones? Not really. Are they PDAs? Well, not really either. They are a fusion of mobile phone technology with PDA technology.
Secretly, I'm a big fan of Nvidia cards. I'm so happy that they're making the comeback with 6800 cards. OC-Zone has a nice blue budget card perfect for casual gamers.
With the summer heat scorching your system, why not have some better heatsinks to help cool it? InsaneTek's current contest has heatsinks available to suit your system. Got the best joke? Hurry and join. Contest Rules and Joke Submissions
ViperLair takes a look at this very nice 1GB CompactFlash stick made by Kingston. Hmm, I need a new CompactFlash stick for my Nikon 3200, but this one is a bit too expensive for my needs.
The crazy shrimps have done it again. This is one cool mod. Where do I plug my keyboard? "It's a 1/10th scale 2001 Ford Taurus Superspeedway R/C car body.
Although there are new releases of the K8T800 Pro and the nForce3 250, the K8T800 chipset still offers good performance. Lan Addict has the Albatron version that sports a new blue PCB.
Heatsink manufacturers generally look to produce as much surface area as possible. They often make larger fins, ridged fins, or oddly shaped fins to fulfill their needs.
Well we sure don't see this very often. r&b has a review on a wireless NIC, Belkin to be exact. I prefer Netgear myself. "Wireless.... yes got to love that word. No cables and a nice clean floor.
Silverstone makes one of the best looking cases. It's just a shame that they cost an arm with a side of legs. Systemcooling has this classy case perfect for a HTPC system. "The market for HTPC (Home Theater PC) is expanding daily.
Here's another external enclosure for hard drives. Viperlair checks out the CoolMax. You know what'll be even better than using hard drives with these? Get yourself a 2GB USB pen drive. I think Kingston retails theirs to be about $800.
Although aircooling will remain as the standard cooling, many people have moved on to watercooling for better performance. Here is a small watercooling kit that ThinkComputers have reviewed.
Shuttle sure is quick with their new SFF system. Intel just recently released the 915 chipset and Shuttle comes out with their small form. It's just a shame that it's not worth all the performance increase.
RojakPot shows you step by step how to voltmod your 9800XT to achieve higher clocks and better stability. Make sure you have some good cooling on your card before trying this.
I was bored today and realized that I haven't played the addicting helicopter game in a while. I have a screenshot of my highest score of 3300. Can you beat my score? Start The Fun
Feel the need for a massive 400gb HDD that is the first of its kind? Nuff said... "There's not much to say about the performance of Hitachi's Deskstar 7K400 other than it's competitive with anything else out there today.
I know everyone wants one of these. It's small, handy, and holds lots and lots of songs. Can you really fill it up with MP3s? I know I can. "What's even more slick is the iPod's integration with iTunes' Smart Playlists.
Here's Kingwin's version of portable enclosures. OCC has both varieties--3.5" and 5.25". I wonder if I can use a floppy? It would be nice if I could use it for a floppy.
Lan gamers are always modding and looking for lighter cases. The Rojakpots have a micro ATX case that's called the Hornet. Does it look appealing to you? "It has always been a real burden to lug a heavy tower case to LAN parties.
Thermaltake has an all-in-one kit for tuning down the noise in your computer. r&b takes a look and see if all that's included is all that great. "You guys have probably read about this Polo12 kit from Thermaltake; am I right?
Small digital peripherals are getting increasingly popular. I'm sure that someone will agree with me when I say that the small memory cards should just be one standard form. Since it's not, OCIA checks out the Vantec 8 in 1 card reader.
Systemcooling gave away 3 kits of Corsair XL. They've added a fourth kit for a lucky winner. Don't miss out. "Since we recently celebrated the 4th of July we have added a 4th kit of Corsair TwinX1024-3200XLPRO 2-2-2-5 to our giveaway.
Anandtech sees just how far they can take the available DDR2 memory. Seemed to perform a bit better than they expected. "The most amazing test results came from all the new DDR2 memories that we tested.
ATI introduced a new kind of AA called Temporal AA. It helps increase IQ if your video card can produce more than 60fps. Driverheaven has a small file to fix a problem that some people have been having.
OCZ has been focusing on the overclockers community for quite some time now. LAN Addicts bring you their new product - the perfect overclocker's power supply. What is better than external adjustable pots??
I just wanted to let you all know that Doom 3 will be here by the time QuakeCon2004 starts on August 12-15. Yes, in what has seemed like forever, it is finally on its way here.
Nvidia stepped into the motherboard realm just a couple of years ago, but only for AMD. ATI likes to oppose and went the Intel route. Looks like a pretty good integrated board, much better than the Intel graphics of course.
OCModShop takes a look at this Logitech MX510 mouse. If you want the best mouse out there, this is just about the best that it can get. I know I enjoy my MX500.
If you're running a small network in an office or something, then a printer server can come in handy. I find it useless since my printer is connected to a 24/7 PC. r&b has the belkin wireless printer server. "Ahh the future without cables!
Nvidia is certainly making a comeback with the new 6800 line. I love it when these things happen. [H] has the BFG 6800Ultra OC. BFG is known for its great tech support--an extra plus.
Corsair Memory, Inc., a global leader in ultra-performance DDR memory modules for PC gamers and enthusiasts, today announced new XMS2 5300 speed modules at low latencies.
With all the new video cards costing more than $300, are you really able to spend so much on it? Driverheaven has a comparison of a couple of low end cards that will suit your every day needs.
Overclockers Online brings you the newest addition to Philips sound cards. I used to own a couple of Philips sound cards, and I must say that they were great. Remember the acoustic edge?
RojakPot has updated their guide to include over 180 graphics cards. It's a nice library that shows the specs of just about any video card you can think of.
We were the first to introduce the ZM80D VGA cooler. Systemcooling is the first to introduce the AeroCool solution, and all fanless too. It's a shame they didn't have the Zalman to compare it to.
Who here still runs an overclocked AXP? I certainly do. My trusty JIUHB 1800+ is running nice and smooth at 2.3ghz. With AMD's new 64 bit CPUs, is it worth upgrading? I ask myself that sometimes.
Now here is something new, with a good idea behind it. r&b has an ide to usb adapter that'll make every overclocker happy. I certainly can use one of these to transfer my data before reformatting.
Farcry is the current popular game and the first to provide use for the new Shader Model 3.0. The new patch, v1.2 that allows the use of SM 3.0, does wonders with the Nvidia card. ATI fanboys should watch out for the NV40 now.
InsaneTek would like to wish you a happy July 4th. Celebrate well and safe. BBQ lots of hot dogs and burgers. Play fireworks and blow crap up. All in all have a fun and safe weekend. We all deserve it.
As faster video cards have appeared on the market, many enthusiasts have found that the cooling systems on most newer cards are very loud and have rather ineffective cooling.
Here's something you don't see every day. Madshrimps does a movie on CD-Rom testing. "Nowadays the performance of a cdrom player is unimportant for the modding and oc'ing community. All those fancy graphs and numbers, who needs them!
OC-Zone has a copper block to house them noisy harddrives. Owners with Raptors will need one of these to calm those babies down. "The Smart Drive 2002C revealed a good surprise at all.
Here's part 8 of the Rojakpot's BIOS guide. Looks like they something wrong with a couple of the functions. "Thanks to Jan Kivar, I found a major mistake in the CPU Thermal-Throttling and Clock Throttle BIOS features.
Thermaltake used to be a silent heatsink contender. Nowadays, they're making everything possible. First the cigarette lighter, now light up mouse pads. OCC has the new gamma pad. Anyone like purple?
Viperlair has a quick giveaway. It doesn't last very long. Hurry and get your cool OCZ gear . "Gladiator 3 HSF for Athlon XP, Ultra 5+ (Arctic Silver 5) and OCZ T-shirt packages to 5 randomly selected forum members."
Viperlair cooled their CPU with the asetek WaterChill Kit. This new kit comes with the new Antarctica waterblock. This has no relation, but I watched a preview of Aliens vs Predator that will take place in Antarctica.
The Rojakpots are at it again with an update on the 9800pro mod guide. This time they have 4 extra pages of updates and new information. Do these mods really improve over just overclocking them?
Everyone here wants an X800 Pro. The new guys at Ratepcmods are giving one away. The contest lastest quite a long time and does require you to "work" for the prize. Check out what's for second and third place.
Need a good optical drive? Driverheaven has the new lite-ons that show performance. I wonder how much these babies cost? "For years, Lite-On has provided high-end optical storage devices to the consumer for low-end prices.
Having smaller things is always better, YES it is always better. r&b has a pretty decent small sized digital camera that'll suit your every day needs. Hey I used to have that cellphone!
The Rojakpots have update their mod guide with six new pages of information. I think this only really applies to workstation users. But hey, they said that this guide allows the modder to more than double the performance.
Need some ram? Systemcooling teamed up with Corsair to give out 3 sets of the new Corsair XL Pro memory. We also have a current contest for some Geil ram. It's certainly not as good, but the contest is more fun.
A Radeon 9550? I still use a 9500np. Is ATI going backwards? Overclockers Online has the 9550 VIVO from HIS. HIS was the first to bring out the VGA Silencer coolers.
