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Hercules 3D Prophet II GeForce GTS 2 review

Another rarity appears - yes we've done a review.  Why pay for an Ultra when you see what this will do for half the price?

Source: RipNet UK
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Case mods gallery

If you think adding a couple of cooling fans is modifying your case then you should take a look at these.  Now featuring over 500 weird and wonderful case designs.

Source: Virtual Hideout
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Has RIP been beaten?

In the latest twist to the tale of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act it seems that fairly simple encryption can render the snooper software impotent.  Shame.  The section of the Act that has raised most hackles is that it gives the Government the right to demand cypher keys from individuals - but software is available where you are not told anything about the key you've used, making RIP pretty toothless.  Here's a snip:

"It is technically impossible to have an effective law, because of the state of cryptography. RIP says you have to give a key but you can use an ephemeral key - where you never knew what the key was."

Source: The Register
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1.1 Gig Athlon versus 1.5 Gig P4

In the red corner we have the heavyweight contender from Intel, and in the blue corner the ageing but still formidable slugger from AMD.  Who'll be left standing at the end of the contest?

Source: PC Powerzone
Discuss in our forums

The advantages of two CPUs

If you still aren't convinced of the benefits an SMP system will give you then check out this article.  It runs a P4 against dual P3s and an Athlon, with plenty of bench marking to back up the conclusions.  Here's a snip:

Windows 2000 has virtually consumerized dual processor support.  There are two ways to take full advantage of dual processor capability.

Make use of computationally intensive multithreaded applications (usually workstation related).  Computational throughput can increase by something less than 2x.

Make use of various background applications (business or consumer related) while performing other work in the foreground.  Each task will assign itself to a processor and things will run very smoothly.

Under either of these two scenarios, can a uniprocessor P4 compete with a dual processor system?  Currently, the P3 is our best tool to evaluate this question, after which we can estimate how a dual Athlon system might perform. 

Source: InQuest

 

Abit VP6 review

The first review I've seen of this board, Abit's successor to the massively popular BP6 twin Celeron motherboard (well I've got one).  One2Surf take a look at the dual Pentium capable VP6 and find it extremely impressive when running the 733MHz Pentium III.  Seeing as they ran it under Windows 98 SE they'd have probably found it even more impressive if the system had been able to use both processors!

Source: one2surf

 

The Pentium 4 Bible

That may sound a little over the top but this really is a gold mine of information.  Have a taste:

The Pentium IV is the first major revision Intel has embarked upon since the original Pentium processor. Buried under this article is a treasure-trove of information on Intel's latest gem. What’s the limit of the Pentium III? How much does the i850 chipset cost? How did the Intel Engineers decide on the Pentium IV? If it has something to do with the Pentium IV in even the most remote way, it is in here. Interested in reading everything you ever wanted to know about the Pentium IV?

Source: Tech Extreme

 

ASUS P4T Pentium 4 I850 motherboard review

Staying with the P4 Gamers Depot take a look at one of the few motherboards available for Intel's new chip.  This board also ships with an adapter plate so you don't need to buy a new case to house it.  Here are some of the features:

Supports Intel Pentium 4 CPU
Intel 850 Chipset
400MHz Front Side Bus Support
PC800/PC600 RDRAM Support
AGP 4X/Pro Slot
ATA-100/66/33 Support
4 USB Ports
5 PCI Slots / 2 CNR Slots (one shared)
4 RIMM Sockets for up to 2GB memory  

Source: Gamers Depot

Copper processor shims tested

These have been in the news quite a lot around the Net recently.  Socket processors are prone to damage when you install (or remove) their heatsinks; such damage can be terminal and that's bad news for your PC and your wallet.  These copper shims fit neatly over the CPU and protect it - they should also help heat transfer to a degree ( ha ha).  This article tries out ready made shims for both Intel and AMD chips.

Source: Club Overclocker

Orb / capacitor clearance problems?

Many motherboards have snags that when you try to fit an Orb cooler to your CPU you find that the motherboard capacitors get in the way.  Well rather than carving chunks off your Orbs like I did (eye-watering I can tell you) why not move the capacitor out of harms way?  This short guide shows you how.

Source: ipKonfig.com

AOpen 16x DVD drive

More and more 16x speed DVD drives are now hitting the market - making my drive seem more and more antiquated by the day!  The 1640 Pro from AOpen also reads CDs at 40x, and gets a pretty impressive 9 out of 10 from ExamPC.

Source: ExamPC

Crucial PC133 RAM review

Probably still one of the most cost effective upgrades there is, particularly as RAM prices are low at the moment.  Also PC133 prices are only just above what you'll pay for plain old PC100, so why not get yourself some future proofing?  For a little while, anyway.

Source: Fast Hardware

Hard drive and case coolers

Ask any overclocker what one of the biggest problems his system has and you'll probably get the answer HEAT (or that it won't clock fast enough).  Apart from obvious sources like CPUs, power supplies, and graphics cards your hard drive will also generate a lot of heat when it's being pushed hard - not good for the drive or the PC as a whole.  This review puts a selection of case and hard drive coolers through their paces. 

Source: TechnoYard

Case modding - the next installment!

Hard OCP have posted part two of their case modding guide.  Having assembled your weapons it's now time to go to war on your PC!  This time they look at the planning stage and then cutting your case into very small pieces - gulp.

Source: Hard OCP

Vergence Audio speakers review

Got some money to burn?  Thought of spending $1650 on a set of speakers not worry you?  Then you ought to check out this review of the Vergence speaker system.  Good points are listed as:

Powerful and precise sound; separate amplifier for each speaker; rugged design; many tuning options

Bad points include the price, somewhat unsurprisingly, and a smell of paint (?) from the speakers...

Source: Geek.com

Blue Orbs for the Pentium 4

Still on the subject of having too much spare cash, if you've splashed out on a P4 then you want to be sure you've got some decent cooling for it.  Take a look at this brief preview of the ThermalTake Indigo.

Source: Insane Hardware

VIA KT133A chipset review

This chipset provides a useful stepping stone between the KT133 and AMD's DDR 760 chipset, allowing users to keep their PC100/133 memory for the time being but also keep open the upgrade path to a 266MHz FSB for newer Athlon processors.

Source: VIA Hardware

Build your own baybus

If you have overclocked your PC then chances are you've installed some extra fans to help keep it nice and cool.  And you may well have found yourself running out of power connectors.  So why not build a baybus which will allow you not only to hook up all your fans to one power supply, but also to control the speed of individual fans?  PC Powerzone will show you how, and if it all looks far too difficult they'll even make one for you!

Source: PC Powerzone

AMD overclocking guide

Mid-week and another guide appears.  Looks like it may be a busy weekend for some.  If AMD is your preferred flavour pop across to Tweak Town and have a read of their guide - it's only 14 pages!

Source: Tweak Town

Oh no it isn't!

Third rate actors and John bloody Inman - yes the dreaded pantomime season is looming (the Brit visitors will understand).  Anyway I digress.  Seems quite a few sites, including this one, picked up the VP6 story.  Hardly surprising given the success of it's predecessor the BP6 (yes I do use one).  And it appears that just as many of us were wrong!  Abit has officially stated that stories of a recall are false, and the VP6 will be released on schedule.  So all you Abit fans can climb down off the window ledges now, okay?

Source: Insane Hardware

Abit VP6 recalled

Yep, bad news for dual CPU system lovers I fear.  At least one US hardware retailer, Micro Barn, is warning customers not to order the dual Pentium capable VP6 - any orders they receive will be cancelled.  Any more I find on this will be posted ASAP.

Source: 2cpu.com

CPU installation guide

Okay I know we usually post the "how-to" stuff at the weekends when you've got loads of free time (!) but if you've just got your hot little hands on a new processor you want to play with it now, right?  And if you haven't got a clue where to start then this guide is for you.

Source: Sharky Extreme

Multiple operating systems

There are many reasons to run a multi-boot system.  Maybe you like Windows 2K or NT but find your favourite game only runs under 98, maybe you prefer Linux.  Whatever the reason there is no need to be in the dark about running a dual boot machine - just read this article!  Makes it all very simple really...

Source: PC911

Standard Pentium III heatsink vs. Alpha

How does an Alpha heatsink and fan stack up against the Pentium 3's OEM HSF?  No contest, you might think, and you'd be right.  However it's interesting to see, particularly if you intend to overclock, just what a difference a decent cooler makes.  And if you don't intend to overclock, why not?

Source: OC Factory

Sonic Blue home networking kit

How many PCs do you have at home?  If it's more than one you may well have considered linking them into a network.  This can now be done through the existing phone cabling in your house, Technoyard talk you through it.

Source: TechnoYard

Alpha PEP66 Slot cooler review

This is an improved version of the original PEP66 that has proved so popular with Slot 1 users in the past.  Modifications made by Alpha will allow it to fit some socket boards.  But how's it perform?  Go and take a look!

Source: Club Overclocker

Titan Twin Orb review

We've heard a lot lately about Orbs of various sizes and colours (I've got two in my PC), and the latest offerings from GlobalWin, Alpha and so on.  But this new boy is really interesting - it's like two Golden Orbs stuck together and squared off, and is reputed to be able to handle Athlons running at up to 1.5 GHz; those are hot processors.  The article also looks at the old problem of how these coolers attach to your CPU, or more specifically how they manage to kill your CPU while you attempt to attach them!

Source: Case Modders Australia

Carnivore concerns in the US Senate

The FBIs new e-mail surveillance toy is subject of a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation at the moment.  There are worries that privacy is at risk due to Carnivore's capability for archiving ISP traffic - maybe some Senators are twitched about what this meat-eater may find lurking in their accounts?

Source: The Register

New un-metered access deal from Freeserve

The goal posts continue to move as rapidly as ever in the UK ISP market.  Freeserve are launching a new package, Freeserve AnyTime (well any time you can get a connection) that will cost £12.99 a month.  They insist this can turn in a profit - though as they are having to heavily subsidise users of their current un-metered service, charged at £10 a month, the margin is going to be slim I'd have thought.

Source: The Register

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