BIOS Guide Updated!        02:25 PM IDT     Adrian Wong

I just posted the new revision 6.30 of the BIOS Optimization Guide. Here is the list of changes in the new revision :-

Added the following new BIOS options :-

• PCI Master Read Caching
• USB Mouse Support
• USB Mouse Support Via

Rewritten the following BIOS option with new details :-

• Read-Around-Write
• Passive Release
• OS Select For DRAM > 64MB
• PNP OS Installed

For these updates and more, head over to the BIOS Optimization Guide!

Comments?

News From The Net

Computer Chaos has just been given a new look with a new logo and site layout! Check them out! :)

PC Hardware posted a short article about ACPI. Here's a blurb - "Readers can find out what ACPI is, how to remove it even if the computer BIOS doesn't have an ACPI disable setting and how to troubleshoot ACPI problems. With so many ACPI related posts on every forum on the net we should ask if ACPI usage is reliable or recommended. We tried to answer to both questions." 

BlueSmoke posted the following :-

• IBM Deskstar 40GV hard disk review!
• IBM Deskstar 60GXP hard disk review!

GideonTech posted a review on the Cyber Cooler P-5700 copper cooler! Here's a snip - "It comes in measuring at 60x50x4 mm (L x W x H) and contains 30 copper fins. A unit is a lot smaller than most of test samples from other companies. It comes with a small sleeve bearing fan, but it packs 7000rpms of power. It blows a measly 17.1CFM at about 30dB of noise though. There is nothing on the packaging that tells you this. The box itself is rather generic, which I think is used for all their coolers."

VoidYourWarranty posted a DIY column by a guest writer. The latest column is about how to build a plexiglass waterblock hold down for Socket A CPUs! Here's a quote - "Well, my waterblocks need a holddown. I looked at the design on OCMods, but I don't like it because it doesn't look very firm, and it uses the socket mounting ears.   I personally have never had problems with the ears, but I have shaved them pretty badly, so I really wouldn't want my waterblock to come off like [H]ard|OCP's Steve's did in the past.  I had seen dangerden's design some time ago and liked the idea. I decided I would use that. But I thought it needed a little extra pizzaz."

The Microfin Cooler!        04:15 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

As more and more manufacturers start churning out copper coolers, what's to distinguish one from all the others? The fan? Nah... with certain exceptions, most of the fans are pretty standard. The clip? Well... clips are important for installation and removal but when it comes to cooling performance, they don't do much, do they?

No... in order to differentiate their copper coolers from others, manufacturers are coming up with all sorts of heat sink designs. From mundane thick fins, they are now producing heat sinks that boggle the mind. Some of them are so radical that one wonders if they actually work.

Today, Ken Ng takes a look at one of those new copper coolers rolling out of the factories. It's the model P from Dynatron Corp.'s DC1206BM series of coolers. At first glance, it looks just like a normal cooler. But under the shroud lies Dynatron's secret - Microfin!

What's Microfin and how well does it work? Well, read the review to find out! Here's a snip from that review :-

Well, on this newer model P of the DC1206BM series, I think Dynatron Corp has taken some pointers from these guys and improved the shroud design. It is now strong and solid. It no longer feels like it would bend easily. Kudos to them for improving the shroud!

Comments?

News From The Net

PC Hardware posted a Cooler Interface Material Installation Guide! Here's a snip - "The results proved us that without any interface material the CPU can easily burn even with a high quality cooler! So, without a thermal interface our CPU reached 62C, with improper installed thermal grease it reached 48C and with proper installed thermal grease the temperature reading was around 44C. Take notice that we used a Duron, which does not have the power requirements of a Tbird and we also used thermal grease, not thermal compound."

GideonTech posted their LAN Box Project Part III! Here's a clip - "After a few months of putting it off, we've got off our butts and slapped everything together.This Lian Li has a window, baybus, blowholes, handle, neon and every other thing you can think of. Perfect for our next LAN event!"

Void Your Warranty created a computer box out of an old subwoofer! Here's a snip - "Why even start with a case? A quality mod used to begin with an expensive Antec or In-win case. But, if you're gonna cut on something, why not find something that isn't expensive and won't be missed if you mess it up? Some very creative people have made computer cases out of some unlikely sources. How about the guy that made a computer case from sheets of Plexiglas?"

MadOnion just updated the list of the Fastest Webmasters!

Win2K Guide Updated!        02:35 PM IDT     Adrian Wong

I just posted rev. 3.9 of the Windows 2000 Hints & Tips Guide with the following updates :-

• Added a new tip on how to make the COM port settings permanent.
• Updated the Command Prompt In Any Directory tip (both Folder Option and Registry Fix methods) with the correct commands for the tip to work in both the Folders bar as well as the main Explorer window in LFN mode.

The Command Prompt In Any Directory tip has been a pricky one, leading to many revisions. However, this time, I think we have finally licked it. Check out the updated tip to get the proper commands for the tip to work in both the Folders bar as well as main Explorer window in long filenames mode! :)

Comments?

News From The Net

PC Abusers just posted a review of the Digital Doc 5.0 - a well-designed system add-on which allows you to simultaneously monitor 8 heat source/fan combinations within your computer as well as your +5 and +12 voltage.

Designtechnica posted an editorial on Quantum computers. Are Quantum Computers really the stuff of science fiction or are they more of a reality than you think?

Rizenet just posted their review of Compex's 16-port DS2216 switch! Here's a snip - "The DS2216 is jam-packed full of networking features: port-based Priority settings, port trunking, a large backplane capacity, and "N-Way Auto-Negotiation" as COMPEX likes to call it. However some of it's other strong points are actually the physical design of the DS2216."

OtakuPC is giving away two CPUfx CORE coolers!

Speedcorp has just updated / produced the following articles :-

• Choosing a Linux Distribution
• Booting Multiple Operating Systems
• Configuring a Home LAN with DSL, PPPoE, Linux

Void Your Warranty has a new guide on how to make an auto-sensing power strip that automatically turns peripherals on or off with the PC! Here's a quote - "One of the most annoying things about my watercooling system used to be that I would forget to turn the pumps on (or off). Slow baking is not good for the CPU, so to prevent this from ever happening, I devised a simple circuit to power my pumps up and down with my computer. Sure, there are commercially available models, but those are expensive. You can build one for less, DIY style."

3dXtreme posted a review of the OCZ Titan 2 MX400 SE video card! This is the Geforce2 MX solution offered by OCZ Technology featuring increased GPU and RAM speeds with cooling provided by ThermalTake's Blue Orb.

Bandwidth Issues...        08:20 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

From the number of e-mails I'm getting about "wrong pages" or "missing links", it looks like there are many new visitors to ARP. So, I'm going to run through it all again. ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things, like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc...

Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, try this solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

Comments?

Gainward GeForce2 Pro/500 XP        07:50 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Just received this press release from Gainward announcing the release of their GeForce2 Pro graphics card - the Gainward GeForce2 Pro/500 XP "Golden Sample"! What's so great about this card? Check out the features it packs :-

• NVIDIA GeForce2 Pro GPU
• 64MB of 4.0ns DDR memory
• Video-in/video-out (VIVO) for both composite video and S-video
• Digital video recording
• Digital video editing
• Digital video compression/decompression
• "Enhanced mode" boosting performance by 25%

For more details, check out the press release here!

Comments?

News From The Net

Computer Chaos posted the second part of their Volcano 6 series of coolers review! Here's a snip - "The Volcano 6 Cu is geared for those that don't like the noisy 7000 RPM fans that come on the Cu+, yet still need decent cooling for their Socket A or Socket 370 CPU's. Personally I don't even notice the fan noises anymore but it seems like the majority of people prefer the quieter fans so this heatsink should be a good choice for the masses. These fans only draw 2.04 watts of power compared to the 4.44 watts that the 7000 RPM version requires. I would feel safe running this fan of the header supplied on the motherboard rather that using the 3pin to molex adapter that I use to power the fan on the Volcano 6 Cu+."

GideonTech posted their review of the ThermalTake Volcano 5 cooler! Snip - "One of the most important elements that I value on any heatsink is the clip design. Thermal Take usually considers the request from many users on a simple clip that works. Definitely something that does not require a jack hammer to put in. The clip on this unit is just 'adequate' to say the least. I say this because it was hard to put on with my bare fingers. After a few minutes of toying with it, I whipped out my small flat headed screw driver and took care of business. The clip itself had no area to push down on! The clip did have a small notch situated in the middle for a flat screwdriver to push down on."

Chillblast posted their review of the CoolerMaster ATCS 210 case! Here's a clip - "We free it from it's polyeurothane prison and behold the wondrous sight. Immediately it's obvious this is not the 201. The look is brushed aluminium and the most noticeable feature is the plexi-glass front."

VoidYourWarranty just finished the review of the Philips Rhythmic Edge (PSC 703) sound card! Here's a snip - "Overall, I had very few problems with the drivers. They seemed to be stable, meaning I experienced no random lockups. If Philips were to add an EQ and brush up on the look of the drivers, I think drivers would be a lot better overall. Functionality is a first priority though, and so far it seems like Philips has that down pat with the supplied drivers."

A Minute Of Silence Please        06:35 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Late last night, I caught the news about the terrorist attack on NYC and the Pentagon and I was so shocked that my jaw literally fell. It sounded so unreal. I mean, Tom Clancy wrote about a similar type of attack in his book - Debt Of Honor but it's one thing to read about it and another to see it happening!

My heart goes out to all Americans out there, especially those who were there and those who lost friends and relatives in that attack. I know how you must be feeling. Even though I'm not an American, I feel nothing but outrage at this cowardly attack. Yes, it was cowardly, alright.

Those suicide bombers should not be seen as heroes or martyrs. What noble deed have they done? They are nothing but deluded cowards who have chosen to attack unarmed civilian targets instead of military targets. This is nothing like Pearl Harbor.

There was absolutely no justification for such an attack and I can't imagine how those hijackers and their fellow terrorists could ever commit such crime against fellow human beings in the name of God. Does God stand for murder? Or does he stand for peace?

America would be justified in attacking whichever country that chooses to hide and support those responsible for that attack. Let those responsible be brought forward and punished. Terrorism should not be tolerated.

Last night, I was supposed to be posting a new review. But after such a disaster, that will have to wait. Let us pray for the victims of flying bomb attacks and hope that this will be the last we will ever see.

Comments?

News From The Net

Thermaltake's Latest Try        04:25 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Thermaltake enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame when they first introduced their Orb coolers. However, many soon found out that it doesn't work as well as it looks! Since then, overclockers have stayed away from their Orb coolers. However, Thermaltake has recently released their latest type of Orb coolers - the Dragon Orbs.

Chai recently tested their top Dragon Orb model - the Dragon Orb 3 which sports a copper core and a 7000 rpm fan! Wow! So, does Thermaltake have a real winner now? Or will the Dragon Orb 3 go the way of the other Orb coolers? Read Chai's definitive review of the Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3 copper cooler to find out!

Check out this clip of the review :-

Dragon Orb comes in three flavours :-

• the Dragon Orb 1 with an all-aluminum base,
• the Dragon Orb 2 with an aluminum base and twin radial fin design and finally,
• the Dragon Orb 3 with a solid copper base.

It also comes with two types of fans - a slower 4900 rpm model and the faster 7000 rpm model. The sample I received was the Dragon Orb 3 with the 7000rpm fan. In another words, I will be reviewing their ultimate Dragon Orb model.

Comments?

Bandwidth Issues...        03:20 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Since I'm still receiving e-mails about this problem, I'm going to run through it all again. ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things, like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc...

Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, try this solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

Comments?

You Think It's Funny?        02:40 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

One disturbing thing that the news networks keep replaying is the video of the Palestinians and Pakistanis celebrating the death of thousands of people at NYC and DC. I can't imagine how these people could celebrate the death of people who are no different from them.

Do they hate those people working in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon so much that they actually approve the depraved actions of those despicable terrorists? Do they even know who they are?

People are people, no matter where they live or what they believe in. But those people seem to have forgotten that. Such an inhuman act is against everything that every major religion on Earth stands for. What they did was stupid and uncivilized.

Now that we have seen what these people really think and feel, it's time we reconsider our opinions of them. It takes two hands to clap, after all and terrorists do not just sprout from Hell.

Comments?

News From The Net

Chillblast posted a preview of the Zalman 5000 cooler! Here's a snip - "We have finally got our act together and are getting back onto the road of much review-oughtness (word, honestly). To highlight this fact, we took some time off (as a little "thank you" to ourselves) and sub-contracted a preview out to another chemical specialist." You can read our definitive review of the Zalman CNPS5000 Plus cooler!

The Overclocker Cafe just finished up a Thermal Paste Roundup! Here's a snip - "Most folks don't just overclock a little, they push it right to the edge.  Think about it; we find our "sweet spot" by bumping things up and up and up until they fail.  Then we kick it down a notch and run with it.  With things so close to the edge even the smallest difference in anything can have an impact.  Take for instance thermal paste.  If some high dollar paste will help get the heat to the heatsink faster and cool down the chip just a hair more, that may be enough to reach the next plateau."

ABIT's Growth Report        05:35 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

I just received this short report about ABIT's growth in a time when recession appears to be setting in :-

Abit Computer reported August revenues of NT$750 million, growing 71.6% month-on-month. Much of this growth can be attributed to contributions from new boards carrying the AMD 760 and Intel 845 chipsets. The company expects September revenues to surpass NT$1 billion. Of this projected amount, boards carrying the P4 processor should contribute 30%; VGA (video graphics array) cards will generate about NT$150 million.

Comments?

News From The Net

Computer Chaos posted their review of the ThermoEngine V6 cooler by Thermosonic! Here's a clip from that review - "I must admit, this heatsink is nice and compact in size and very well put together.It is made from one solid piece of aluminum with 48 fins to transfer the heat away from your CPU. It has a nice molded plastic mounting area for your 60mm fan of choice, and you typical mounting clip that requires the use of a flat head screwdriver for installation. This unit weighs in at 258.6 grams which pales in comparison to the GlobalWin CAK 38 or the Thermaltake Dragon Orb which both weigh in somewhere between 400 and 500 grams."

The Overclocker Cafe just posted their review of the Windtunnel IV ATX case from The Cooler Guys! Here's a snip - "The PC speaker is also mounted to this lower fan cage. The cage was reasonably easy to remove. There were two small locks that popped out easily with a flat head screwdriver to keep the bay secure. I'm not really sure why you would need these. The ones on this case went into the "screw cup" we all have at home. Our air movement tally is up to around 195 CFM now and this does not count any air sucked out through the PSU."

PC Hardware reviewed the ECS K7S5A2 motherboard based on the SiS735 chipset! This is the newer version of the K7S5A and although the name doesn't suggest important changes the boards don't even look the same.

Upcoming ABIT Boards!        11:45 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

ABIT has a whole slew of new motherboards lined up for release during the coming months. Although the release and shipping dates may vary quite a bit, I have roadmaps from ABIT that will roughly give us an idea of what's coming up and when ABIT expects to release them.

By the first quarter of the year 2002, you can expect ABIT to release eight different motherboards - five for the Intel platform and three for the AMD platform. Here's the list of new motherboards you can expect from ABIT in the near future :-

• ABIT BL7E - Intel i845 chipset
• ABIT VX7-RAID - VIA P4X266 chipset
• ABIT SD7-RAID - SiS 645 chipset
• ABIT BD7-RAID - Intel i845 chipset
• ABIT BD7II-RAID - Intel i845 chipset
• ABIT KR7A-RAID - VIA KT266A chipset
• ABIT KS7 - SiS 735 chipset
• ABIT NV7 - NVIDIA nForce chipset

Check out the details here - Intel motherboards, AMD motherboards.

Comments?

Bandwidth Issues...        11:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Just in case the bandwidth problem is still there, I'm going to run through it all again. ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc...

Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, try this solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

Comments?

News From The Net

Cooler Computer (a brand new site) posted their first review - a review of the Samsung SM-308 DVD/CD-RW drive! Here's their pimpage - "Samsung a company that’s known for great quality and never having the highest prices in the market have this, a 8X4X32X8X DVD/CD-RW/R combo, but does this combo stand to compete against a regular CD/DVD/CD_RW/R drive or will it destroy them all?"

GideonTech posted a review of the Super Power Zephyr midtower case! Here's a clip - "The back of the case is a little different than what most tweakers and case modders may be accustom to. There is a piece of plastic covering most of the back area. Exposing only the PCI/ISA slots, I/O panel, and the power supply. For the case modders, you'll probably want to chop away at the plastic covering that 80mm rear exhaust fan. You may also want to do the same for the exhaust hole for the power supply."

Thermaltake Contributes!         09:50 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Here's something Chai received from Thermaltake :-

Hi,

After the tragic event that took place on 11th of September, any normal human being have felt the pains and sorrows. On the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, Thermaltake USA Inc. will donate 1,000 units of Volcano 6Cu to CoolerGuys.com for sale. In which, all of the proceeding during the sale of Volcano 6Cu will be donated to help the recovery of this disastrous event.

Kenny P.H. LIN
Thermaltake Taiwan

So, if you are thinking of buying the Thermaltake Volcano 6Cu cooler, get it from CoolerGuys. That way, the victims of the barbaric attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will benefit from your purchase. Way to go, Thermaltake!

Comments?

The New War         09:00 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Time's Richard Stengel wrote a rather sobering article on the new war that America is now engaged in and why everyone should take another look at the tragedy and what it means for the free world. Check it out.

Comments?

Woah!!!        08:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Here's a CNN report on the targeting of Arab Americans. Although it's understandable that many people may not look at Arabs or those from the Middle East with fear and anger, everyone should keep in mind that the number of such rabid Arab terrorists are extremely small.

According to Time, the estimated number of terrorists in Osama bin Laden's camps is seldom above 2000. Compared to the number of Muslims in the world, that's really a very, very small number. So, the next time you see someone of Middle Eastern origin or a Muslim, remember that they are people too. Targeting them makes you no different from the terrorists. We should help them fight against the distortion and smearing of the principles of their faith by fighting ignorance.

Remember - terrorists of any faith or origin are the enemies, not people who look different or practice a different religion.

Comments?

On The Horizon        07:30 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Ken Ng just wrote to me that ScribblePDA.com will be sending him some interesting stuff for reviews. Here's a look at some of them :-

We will also be getting some Nanotherm Ice and Blue thermal pastes with new formulation that is supposed to make them the best thermal compounds around. Whether that claim is true or not, we will test them and let you know.

Not to be outdone, the Arctic Silver guys are also coming out with something new. What it is exactly, we weren't allowed to tell yet. But we will also be getting samples of those... ah hem... new stuff so you can expect a detailed review of the... "new stuff" too.

While Ken and Chai mess around with thermal goop, I'll be working on a new revision of the BIOS Optimization Guide. Hope to have it out soon. In the meantime, if you notice anything wrong with any of the explanations given in the guide or if you wish to add your contributions to the guide, feel free to e-mail me directly.

Finally, although I have been trying to buy more bandwidth, I haven't been able to get hold of Crowz, our host. I hope he wasn't in New York on Tuesday... I'll continue trying to contact him. Hopefully, we can get some additional bandwidth to relieve the bottleneck that's giving everyone headache.

Comments?

In Malaysia Too?        06:45 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Just read on CNN that one of the terrorists involved in the WTC and Pentagon attacks previously met with another guy implicated in the USS Cole bombing in Kuala Lumpur! Imagine that! Not only that, CNN also mentioned that Malaysia may also be harbouring one or more of Osama bin Laden's terrorist cells. Now, that's certainly alarming...

Comments?

News From The Net

Radeonic posted some info on ABIT's new motherboards that they saw when they went to ABIT Innovation 2001! 

BOG Rev. 6.40!        06:35 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide has just been updated with details of the following new BIOS features :-

• Refresh Interval
• Refresh Mode Select
• SDRAM Idle Limit

Sorry if the explanations are a bit long. I just started writing and the next thing I knew, well... there you have it. Heheh... :)

Again, if you have any comments about or contributions to this guide, just e-mail me or post them in the forums.

Comments?

Bandwidth Issues...        06:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Still getting e-mails about this so I'm going to run through it all again. ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc...

Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, try this solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

Comments?

News From The Net

Rizenet posted two new reviews :-

• the OCZ QuickSilver 2 thermal paste review - Our Arctic Silver is the original Small Contact Area formula, in a 5.5 gram syringe - as far as I know, Arctic Silver II is not any different than the small contact area formula, other than that it is packaged in a smaller container.
• the TweakMonster Purple AMD shim review - Tweakmonster's shim is the first one I've seen which fits the new AMD Palomino based CPUs. Previous shims, which had cutouts only for the AMD Athlon processor, are incompatible with the new AMD CPUs. So revised shims are essential.

GideonTech just posted a review of the CDI Inwin Alaska custom case! Snip - "Something I enjoy when using a well built case is the ease of installing my components. CDI chose the Q500 from Inwin very wisely. This case comes made from 1.0mm sheet metal, rounded edges on all corners and removable trays and cages. With these very minute additions in the creation of this case, Inwin comes out on top with its usability. This isn't the newest case on the block, there are others but this one has stood the test of time and proved it got what it takes to survive."

VIAHardware posted their preview of the IWill DVD-266u motherboard! Here's a clip - "This new dual Tualatin ready motherboard features DDR memory support, Digital onboard 5.1 sound, onboard LAN and a Highpoint RAID controller. Teamed up with dual Intel Tualatin Pentium 3s with 512k cache, this board has what it takes to take on any platform on the market."

Chillblast reviewed the Epox 8KHA motherboard! Here's a snip - "The review gods seem to be smiling upon the Chillblast residence/crack house since they have managed to wangle us another motherboard to review (little woohoo everyone). Once we unwrapped the little beauty from it's mandatory bubble wrap suit, we became confused - since when did Epox become a fashion house!!?"

The Justice Department?         10:25 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Wow! Is the government ganging up with Hollywood to go after Big Bill and his boys? Check out this screenshot I got from www.msn.com.my :-

LOL! The person who made that typo better remove it ASAP before Bill kicks his butt. :)

Comments?

Who's Marauder?         09:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

The elusive Marauder has finally relented to many requests for his bio page! If you want to know who the person behind reviews of the CyberPocket FlipOut PDA case, the NVIDIA GeForce2 Go and Dell Inspiron laptop, and the Psion 56K Travel Modem is, click here!

BTW, he's the guy with the coolest toys in Team ARP. He even has the new Sony MVC-CD300 digital camera - the one that writes to CD-Rs or CD-RWs!!! If you want to discuss any cool gadgets, just pop over to the forums and he will be there to smash heads with ya!

Comments?

Arctic Silver News         08:30 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

I guess most of you have already heard about Arctic Silver's new thermal paste prototype. We haven't been allowed to tell you its name or show you what it looks like yet. But for now, it's safe to say that it will be cheaper than the "old" Arctic Silver thermal paste and heheh... it's not made of silver... :)

Comments?

News From The Net

MadOnion.com just released this week's list of the Fastest Webmasters! Snip - "Detonator XP played a bit with the order of the list. You now need a score of 6500+ 3DMarks to get into the list. The top score is slightly over 9000, so that's a difference of about 2500 3DMarks. If you love more statistics: 2500 divided by the 20 available spots makes for an average difference of 125 3DMarks between each place. The average 3DMark score of the list is 7585 3DMarks."

OtakuPC posted a review of the Digital Doc 5! Quote - "In the quest for ever increasing performance, cooling, fast becomes an issue.  You can add fans to drop the temperature at the cost of noise.  The OtakuPC uses 7 Fans including a 7,000 RPM fan to cool the CPU.  Although the OtakuPC rarely becomes hotter then room temperature, it's hard to think in the same room as it."

Rizenet reviewed the Iwill KD266 motherboard! Here's a quote - "The KD266 from Iwill is a rather unique motherboard, at least in regards of the chipset it uses, the ALi M1649. If you go to the ALi website you won't even find that chipset listed, but you will find the KD266 listed as an ALiMAGIK motherboard. That's right, the M1649 is nothing but a ALiMAGIK without DDR-RAM support."

The Overclocker Cafe just finished up their review of the Thermaltake Volcano line-up! Clip - "If you are willing to trade some performance for lower sound volume, the Volcano 6Cu is a very good choice. The load temps were only 1.7 degree Celsius off that of the 6Cu+. While at the same time you lose 8 dBA. For those folks impervious to the Delta whine, the higher end performance the Volcano 6CU+ is a winner. The 6Cu+ performs on the same level as the Vantec CCK and it only costs two-thirds the price. I like the idea of a $22 heatsink as I'm sure many of you will." They also posted a review of the Windtunnel III case from the Cooler Guys! Snip - "I do have to say this is one of the better cases I have had a chance to get my hands on. Its sleek sports car like appearance is very pleasing to the eye. The case is a mid tower with three external 5 1/4" bays and one 3 1/2" bay. Internally, it has three more 3 1/2" bays (it has four sets of mounting holes, but only three are usable at a time with standard HDD's.) It has a total of 4 fans not counting the PSU. I have listed the specifications of each fan above. The total CFM of these babies is 256.6 (Ouch), and the loudest is 42 dBA. I do not have to tell you this thing is circulating some serious air."

Void Your Warranty posted their review of the ABIT KG7-RAID motherboard! Here's a snip - "Something else that showed a lack of quality was the DIMM slots being miss-labeled; the DIMM's were simply labeled backwards. Both the manual and motherboard itself showed the wrong configuration, and the system would not give video when using a single stick of DDR in what was labeled the first slot. This isn't anything serious, but it definitely shows that Abit is lacking quality control. After playing with the BIOS and putting my memory sticks in what was labeled the first slot, I did get a video signal but got an error saying pretty much: "Move DIMM 4 to DIMM 1". I hope Abit would fix this in their next revision of their manual, or next revision of this board."

ipKonfig posted a review of the Swiftech MCX370-0A cooler! Here's a clip - "The SwifTech introduces new meaning to the word overclocking. It's design reassembles that of the an Alpha heatsink, but far different from that. The SwifTech has a much thicker base than most heatsinks. The fin design is very different than what we have seen in the past, unless you're familiar with Alpha heatsinks. But the main concept?" They also reviewed the Thermalright SK6 cooler - "How does 70 super thin fins soldered to a heatsink’s base for superior heat transfer sound? Add to this, pure copper from base to fins? Sounds pretty massive when one thinks about it. As well this heatsink has been standing tall on the market, and is also one of the most well known heatsinks being sold everywhere..."

Everglide Contributes!        09:30 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

On September 11, 2001, America was attacked by terrorists. The attacks included the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the crash of flight #93 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. More than 6,000 lost their lives. Untold numbers will be impacted by this horrific tragedy for ever.

In response to the countless injuries, the loss of thousands of lives, and in recognition of those involved in the heroic recovery efforts, EverGlide.com has created a series of commemorative mouse pads to be sold to raise funds for the victims and families impacted by the events of September 11.

Please visit our America Remembers page at https://www.everglide.com/shop/products_category.asp?CategoryID=25.

The United Way and The New York Community Trust have established The September 11th Fund to help respond to the immediate and longer-term needs of the victims, their families, and communities affected by the events of September 11.

PLEASE NOTE THAT 100% OF THE PROFITS FROM THE SALE OF THE EVERGLIDE COMMEMORATIVE MOUSE PADS WILL BE DONATED TO THE UNITED WAY SEPTEMBER 11TH FUND.

That's the way, boys! So, people, if you are looking to get yourself an Everglide mouse pad, get their commemorative mouse pad. Not only that will get you a collector's item, you will also be helping to repair the damage caused by those despicable terrorists!

Comments?

CompactFlash To PCMCIA Slot Converter!        08:15 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

With full permission, we have translated Lee Xiaoming's guide on how to create a converter that allows the E-115 or E-125 to use PCMCIA cards! With this converter, Cassiopeia users can now use PCMCIA network cards to synchronize their Pocket PCs or browse the Internet with PCMCIA modem cards!

BTW, although this hack was created for the Casio Pocket PC, there's a good chance that this converter will work with HP Jornada Pocket PCs as well!

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Bandwidth Issues...        07:50 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Still getting e-mails about this so I'm going to run through it all again. ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc...

Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, try this solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

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News From The Net

ipKonfig takes a look at the coolest rounded cables in the market! Here's a blurb - "Cables today have become a huge fad in today's market of computers. Not only have cable changed drastically due to the demand of ATA/100, soon to be Serial ATA, but looks as well. With people installing windows in their cases, you can be sure that people want the best look inside and out. Looks of course are always not everything, as rounded cables also help in keeping air flow moving a tad bit better inside computer cases as well."

GideonTech finished reviewing the Cyber Cooler P-8000 budget cooler! Here's a snip - "...I do have to commend the good design of this clip. The clips that have the hinge that rocks back and forth are always easier to push down on when installing it onto a motherboard. Some of you may prefer the clips that have screw driver notches. If I could install the heatsink by hand, I rather use that than accidently poking a hole in my board with a screwdriver."

Viper's Lair posted a review of the Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3! Here's a snip - "The Thermaltake made a big impact on the cooling world when the original Golden was first released. It provided decent cooling performance and it looked way cool. Their later products proved less impressive, but they're hedging their bets on their copper assisted Dragon Orb 3. A 7000rpm fan doesn't hurt either..." You can check out our very own definitive review of the Thermaltake Dragon Orb 3 copper cooler!

Kamikaze Crop-dusters?         10:00 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Hmm... here's an interesting notice from the FBI to the members of the NAAA (National Agricultural Aviation Association) :-

Members should be vigilant to any suspicious activity relative to the use, training in or acquisition of dangerous chemicals or airborne application of same, including threats, unusual purchases, suspicious behavior by employees or customers, and unusual contacts with the public. Members should report any suspicious circumstances or information to local FBI offices.

I guess they are worried about terrorists using crop-dusters to distribute chemical or biological agents. <Shudder...> The world is no longer a safe place...

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WTC Relief Auction!         09:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Chai informed me of an auction to be hosted by Hypothermia. In aid of the victims of the World Trade Center disaster, Hypothermia will be auctioning off a CPUFX Inc. donated system with the following specs :-

Iwill DDR  KK266 + RAID motherboard
1.4 AMD "Y" code Athlon processor
VisionTek GeForce 3 graphics card
Enermax Powder Coated Metalic Blue 100% 350W Power supply
Super Cooling by CPUFX INC - Z4 Blizzard CPU Intercooler tm water cooled madness

The suggested retail value is USD 1200+ but hey, this is an auction. So, if you are looking for a similar system and wish to help out the people affected by the terrible attack on the WTC, check the auction out!

Comments?

New Microsoft Mouse!         08:45 AM IDT     Chai

Microsoft has released a new, improved optical mouse with a higher sampling rate - the more ergonomically designed Wireless Optical Mouse. You can get more information about it right here, and if you would like to purchase it online, try here.

The new IntelliPoint 4.0 is also out! The latest and best feature in version 4.0, for me at least, is wheel scrolling acceleration!!! I love this feature a lot although it might take some time to get used to it. And yes, Windows XP is officially supported.

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News From The Net

ABITBoards posted a review of the IOSS RD2 PC Geiger! Snip - "The RD2 has some very unique features.The Display with its various modes can help you trouble shoot or just plain see what's going on with your computer.With the extreme overclocking seen today this information can be helpful in many ways.Having switches on the front of your case to clear the bios or change the settings of your harddrive can save you the time and effort of yanking the side off your caseHaving USB and Firewire connections also can be handy for those using video and game related USB/Firewire equipment."

The Overclocker Cafe just posted their preview of the new Dr. Thermal TI-V77 cooler! Here's a snip - "The Dr. Thermal on the other hand was audible, but by no means came off sounding like a Hoover. The noise factor on the Dr. Thermal got addressed by fattening up the sink to be 70mm square, increasing the surface area for the fins and the ability to mount a larger fan. A larger fan that happened to be tolerable to the ears. High performance with a low sound signature always is appreciated around here."

VIAHardware posted a round-up of the first batch of VIA P4X266 motherboards! Here's a snip - "Some of these brave and/or desperate manufacturers are represented here today, in the first VIA Apollo P4X266 motherboard roundup. Present and accounted for are ACorp, Azza, and Shuttle. Other P4X266 boards will soon be available from AOpen, Chaintech, ECS, and Tyan. Of course, many other P4X266 boards have finished development, but the manufacturers of these boards have far too much invested in i845 development to risk Intel's pricing and supply wrath."

Battery Extender Guide        09:20 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Well, there's no need to worry about that. You can create a battery extender which will provide lots of additional power for your portable device and yet won't cost bankrupt you. How? It's all in the Battery Extender Guide. The theory, the facts and fallacies and of course, the step-by-step instructions on how to build a battery extender that's portable and cheap.

In this new revision, I have updated many sections of the guide with new information and corrections. I have also added notes on the impracticality of adding a diode to the design. Now, that diode "feature" has been the primary advantage that many commercial battery extenders have touted. But frankly, just how useful is it? Read on to find out...

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Slooooow...        01:45 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

I heard from Chai that the situation in Malaysia is equally bad. He also mentioned something about a break in the undersea cable between China and the US. I guess that could be the cause. Must have been the work of that typhoon in Taiwan.

I have some new stuff up for posting but it's going to be a really excruciating experience. Hang on! :)

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Easier Method        01:10 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Chai just told me of an easier method to correct the weird pages that our server sometimes send out when we hit the bandwidth cap. But before we go there, I'll just recap the problem for new visitors.

ARP has a specific bandwidth limit. When we hit that limit, the server starts to do funny things like send you a page different from what you wanted, etc... Here are the most common symptoms :-

• Clicking on a link sends you to a different page or article.
• The page looks abnormal with graphics placed in wrong places.
• The server sends you a 404 error.
• Instead of a full page with text, only some graphics appear.
• The page appears incomplete.

The most damning problem is the fact that refreshing doesn't work. Even if you click the refresh button a hundred times, the problem still remains. So, if you are noticing any of the above problems, just try pressing Ctrl-R to force Internet Explorer to reload the page from the server. This should do the job. But just in case it doesn't, here's the much more tedious but fail-safe solution :-

1. Clear Internet Explorer's cache.
2. Close the Internet Explorer window that's displaying the problematic page.
3. Open a new Internet Explorer window and go to that page.
4. Internet Explorer should reload that page from the server.
5. If the same page is still displayed (unlikely), just click Refresh and Internet Explorer will be forced to retrieve the correct page from the server.

Terribly sorry about this problem, folks! I'll try my best to get this problem resolved ASAP. Thank you for your patience! :)

Comments?

News From The Net

ipKonfig reviewed the Dr. Thermal TI-V77 cooler! Here's a snip - "All of us know of the ThermalEngine heatsink that received great recognition for it's power and looks. Now we have something very similar to the same concept, but this time a pure copper insert, with that wild looking fin design we are all so familiar with. But, a few things can really change..." They also just reviewed the MegaMite chipset cooler! - "Small enough for a women, but made for a man. When it comes to size, this chipset cooler takes the lead in many ways. Not only is the heatsink very small, but the fan pretty much speaks for itself. With today's small chips, they surely pump off some heat!"

OtakuPC takes a look at mouse ergonomics - "What good does an excellent home theatre system do if you have to sit on a hard wood floor to watch your DVD movies?  The same applies to your computer.  You should be comfortable when using your system.  Each of the following products are designed to make your time spent at your computer more comfortable and more relaxing, hence you can spend more time on the computer.”

Radeonic posted their review of the Akasa Round ATA100 IDE cables! Quote - "Rounding of IDE cables had been carried out by some enthusiasts at home long before machine rounded cables appeared on the scene, but making a home rounded cable look good was always a challenge, and the actual process of separating the individual wires, particularly in an 80 conductor cable often ended in mistakes and cables relegated to the trash can."

PC Hardware posted a review of the Promise FastTrack TX4 UltraDMA/100 RAID controller! Here's a quote - "The controller is very fast due to its ability to work with four drives in RAID 0 mode on different IDE channels. The fault tolerant operation is also improved because it allows the use of spare drives in the system. We tested the four devices RAID 0 and RAID 0+1 in Windows 2000 SP2."

Extreme Overclocking posted their review of the VisionTek GeForce3 graphics card! Here's a quote - "VisionTek is an American company founded back in 1988, since then they have been continuously producing high quality video cards among other products. Recently VisionTek shifted from the OEM to Retail market, and since that shift they have definitely been making a name for themselves in the PC community."

The Overclocker Cafe just posted their review of the Vantec CCK-6027 cooler! Snip - "Copper construction, thin fin design, smaller sized (less material), and a lower speed fan all make for a good performing, non deafening, inexpensive cooling solution. The looks of all that shine are pretty hip for you windowed case peeps out there. Overall, the CCK-6027 does exactly what it is designed for, which is to do good, look good, and not put you in the poor house. There are several competing cooling products that perform as well at the same price level but none that look as good as this one." They also posted a review of the Cooler Guys Silver Pro Gamer all aluminium case! Quote - "Let's start with the front plate. That is a lot of ventilation there. At the base of the front you will notice the convenience jacks. These include two USB ports, Audio Jacks and Volume Control, Gameport, and Firewire port. I use quite a number of USB devices here and I can tell you that this is a big plus to any case to not have to reach around the back, to plug stuff in. This also applies to the joystick port. Very nice."

GideonTech posted a review of the Thermaltake 6Cu and 6Cu+ coolers! Here's a snip - "Nearly identical to the Volcano 5, it sports a small piece of copper in the middle. Two versions are available, a slow fan and a faster fan."

BIOS Optimization Guide Updated!          01:00 AM IDT     Adrian Wong

Guess what? Yet another update of the BIOS Optimization Guide! Now at rev. 6.5, here is the list of updates :-

• Added the Read Wait State BIOS option.
• Added IBM's recommendation for the PNP OS Installed option.
• Added a note about disabling PNP OS Installed when using the ABIT BP6 with Windows 2000.
• Updated the Video BIOS Shadowing feature with reasons why the video BIOS should still be updated even if it's apparently only useful for DOS functions.
• Added a note on why Award recommends that SDRAM Bank Interleave be disabled for 16Mbit SDRAM DIMMs.

In addition, Tim Rutter is very graciously hosting the PDF version of the BIOS Optimization Guide Rev. 6.2 for us! So, it's now available if you are interested in getting a copy.

Comments?

News From The Net

OtakuPC posted their preview of the TS Heatronics ZEN cooler! Quote - "Companies are always improving on the same age old concepts.  None, however, have been very revolutionary.  Then something like the ZEN cooler by TS Heatronics comes along.  Breaking the mold in every way, the ZEN cooler functions as different as it looks.  Is this Heatsink all show?  What's is so special about it any way?  As we begin testing, OtakuPC will reveal all!”

BlueScreenOfDeth posted an article on some rather interesting Socket A cooling - "The blower is the heart of this top performance. But it is very cheap, I bought it at Conrad.com for 65 guilders about $ 25,-. The cooler comes at about $ 10,-. Witch some PVC it comes to a total of $ 40,- so it a real poor mans overclockers solution. Also there is no need for an extra case blower, when the blower is at 12V air is blowing out of every opening there is. Also I want to add an external filter on the ingoing air."

Overclocker Cafe posted a short article on Rheostats! Here's a clip - "Rheostats and You. Ok, so it sounds like a film you saw in eighth grade P.E. The thing is, that Rheostats can be much more useful than people realize. To start with, let’s explain what a Rheostat is being that you will hear about it often, but rarely what it does or how it works. The most direct explanation without getting all into electrical resistance and such, is that a Rheostat is a small device that controls the voltage flow via a dial or knob."

GideonTech reviewed the Bits Power Socket Cooler! Snip - "These are slightly different in design, they utilize what they call 'skiving technology'. It makes the heatsink look like it was smashed by a heavy object on its way over here. Odd looking, but it does perform quite well."

My-Rig.com posted a new article on case modding!

Joke Of The Day        03:15 PM IDT     Adrian Wong

Here's something from Ken Ng about achieving more than what you are capable of :-

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%
Here's to achieving 103%
Here's a little math that might prove helpful in the future!
What makes life 100%??

IF,
A B C D E F G H I  J  K   L  M   N  O  P   Q  R   S  T  U   V  W  X  Y  Z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then,
H A  R D W  O   R  K
8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98 % Only

 K  N   O  W  L  E D G E
11 14 15 23 12 5 4  7 5 = 96 % Only

But,
A  T  T  I  T  U  D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100 %

However,
B  U  L   L  S  H  I  T
2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103%

Fuh... Go forth and bullshit, people! :)