High Tech - News, Reviews and Tests
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Plextor PX-708A DVD±R/±RW Recorder Goes 8XNov 21, 2003 - in Reviews
The race for Xs is still on and Plextor has gone into the lead with the PX-708A, what Plextor claims is the first commercialized 8X DVD recorder. At this speed, a 4.38 GB DVD+R takes under 9 minutes to record. That is about the same as a CD in just over a minute. What we wanted to know was whether the reliability and compatibility of blank supports suffer from this breakneck speed.
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Elitists On The Test Bench: Ultra320 Hard Drives With 15,000 RPMNov 19, 2003 - in Reviews
Whenever high performance in a hard-drive subsystem is needed for servers and workstations, only SCSI hard drives with speedy 15,000 rpm will fit the bill. All four manufacturers offer corresponding models, which we pitted against each other.
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Avant-Garde: Four boards for AMD's Athlon 64 FXNov 17, 2003 - in Reviews
The Athlon 64 FX has been out for only a few weeks, but the 64 bit contender has already made a name for itself. But because of the few unit counts in the market and the uncertainty factor over a new technology, many boardmakers remain hesitant about jumping in. We tested Athlon 64 bit boards from the big three that have taken the plunge: Asus, Gigabyte and MSI - thus divide up the market between them. Here is what we found.
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SATA Hard Drives Run Riot: Maxtor, Hitachi, Western Digital 250 GBNov 14, 2003 - in Reviews
They hold 250 GB, spin at 7,200 rpm, work on 8 MB of cache and are bared on Serial ATA (SATA) technology. Despite the eyebrow raising features they all share, the emerging breed of SATA storage devices offer individual surprises.
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USB 2.0 Sound: Creative Labs Audigy 2 NXNov 14, 2003 - in Reviews
Creative Labs has introduced its first USB-2.0 external sound card. Does this external card manage to surpass the constraints posed by a USB connection? Is its performance on par with internal sound cards? We put the device through a comprehensive series of tests to find out.
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RAIDCore Unleashes SATA to Take Out SCSINov 14, 2003 - in Reviews
Storage startup RAIDCore has introduced its first device, the RC4000 Serial SATA, which the company claims will render Ultra320 RAID controllers from Adaptec and LSI Logic virtually obsolete in the entry and mid-level server segment. We put all five of the adapters, each with eight hard drives, to the test. Is SCSI's day over? Our benchmarks speak for themselves: Start sounding the SCSI death knell.
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Cooler and Quieter Barebones PCs?Nov 10, 2003 - in Reviews
Mini-PCs are all the rage. But are OEMs stepping up to the plate to address barebones systems' noise and heat issues? Are Mini-PCs' performances improving as well? THG tested seven of the latest barebones systems based on P4 and Athlon 64 chipsets to see.
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A New Graphics Kid on the Block: XGI VolariNov 7, 2003 - in Reviews
A new player dares enters the graphics card market that ATi and Nvidia have dominated for so long. XGI (eXtreme Graphics Innovation), based in Taiwan of course, comes at the market leaders with a line of cards for a whole lot less money. We look at XGI's product range, and offer results of a beta model from XGI's top model Volari Duo V8 Ultra.
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Cost-Defying Single-Channel Platforms: Chipsets from NVIDIA and VIANov 7, 2003 - in Reviews
With its dual-channel RAM interface, NVIDIA's nForce2 Ultra 400 is still the performance champion. But not everyone can afford to spring for a new processor, a motherboard and two DIMMs in one fell swoop. We tell you how to cut costs by using a cheaper single-channel platform.
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17" LCD Part V: Four Panels ComparedNov 5, 2003 - in Reviews
The previous tests showed that vendors offering LCD monitors with 20 response time milliseconds were serious about attracting the attention of the gamer and high-end digital photography crowd. Today, we review the new Christmas-buying-season 17" LCD stars: the Hercules ProphetView 920 Pro, the NEC LCD71VM, the Samsung 172X and the Viewsonic VP170m. Which one will win the best screen of the year prize? We also disclose Hyundai delivery problems and analyze the bogus elements of vendors' performance claims.
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Intel Brings Low-Cost 848P to Budget MarketNov 3, 2003 - in Reviews
Intel has modified its 865 chipset for FSB800 and single channel DDR400 memory. The result is the low-cost 848P that will compete in the SiS and VIA budget chipset sector. Its benchmarks also offer some surprises.
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Mobile Gaming: Nokia Phone Meets the GameboyOct 30, 2003 - in Reviews
The famous Finnish mobile phone manufacturer has decided to take on the mobile game deck sector. Now this being the sole reserve of Nintendo and its range of Gameboys, the task will not be an easy one. But Nokia has gone for an extremely versatile product with high technological potential. So, does such a combination give it the edge?
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Arco's RAID-based Storage Has No Smoke and Many MirrorsOct 28, 2003 - in Reviews
A long-time supplier of data security and hard disk back up devices, Arco sent THG two of its latest systems for review: the DupliDisk3, which adds RAID-1 functionality to existing Ultra-ATA systems, and the EzCopy, an external stand-alone device that promises to duplicate entire hard disks without a PC. We take a close look at both of these devices and compare them to established solutions.
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Red-Hot Stuff: 11 DVD Burners ReviewedOct 27, 2003 - in Reviews
What do you want to know about the performance of this holiday season's crop of DVD burners? What don't you want to know? We tested and compared eleven DVD burners based on 74 benchmarks. In case you are not going to memorize every score and test, some of the essentials were overall performance, DVD ripping, audio grabbing and stereo sound quality. So get ready to start burning DVDs.
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Annual Review: Six GamepadsOct 24, 2003 - in Reviews
Not only are vendors slow to revamp gamepad and other joystick lines, but we never thought we'd have six new offerings for our annual review. Some surprised, some did not.
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NVIDIA Puts Its (New) Cards on the TableOct 23, 2003 - in Reviews
NVIDIA tries to hit back at ATi's launch lead with its news enthusiast and mid-range graphics cards: the GeForce FX 5950 Ultra and the FX 5700, respectively. Does NVIDIA raise the bar for highend and mid-range graphics performance? Do incremental performance gains that both ATi and NVIDIA's new cards offer really matter in game play? Not that much really, but the very good news is that some really great graphics cards out there will become that much cheaper.
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The Athlon Cooler Cometh at 2.8 GHz and Below Zero CoolOct 21, 2003 - in Reviews
Chip-con's cooling base broke clocking records. Now it's Athlon 64 FX-51's turn to show its stuff at 2.8 GHz.
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Optical Mice: Microsoft and LogitechOct 20, 2003 - in Reviews
The optical mouse sector has become a two-rat rat race, dominated by Microsoft and Logitech. We tested MS' and Logitech's newest and brightest gear to counter marketing hype with hard testing data. We also threw in for good measure performance results for the Razer Boomslang, touted by Terratec as the latest and greatest gaming mouse. For those of us who don't know enough about what optical mice benchmarks mean, but are afraid to ask, we have included an optical mice tutorial.
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MO Storage Means Mo SafetyOct 17, 2003 - in Reviews
Hard drives, CDs or DVDs do not offer enough protection against losing sensitive data. One nick or scratch, and the workstation backup you need from a CD or DVD is wiped clean. Enter magneto-optical drives, a less-known but more reliable alternative. We test Fujitsu's latest family of MO products.
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Memory Module with MP3 Player: MuVo NXOct 15, 2003 - in Reviews
Creative Labs tries to build on its USB flash-memory module concept by adding additional MP3 player features to its MuVo NX. With 128 MB of memory and two hours of music storage capacity, the device offers a range of easy-to-use controls, a much-needed LCD screen and plenty of battery life. While the headset leaves something to be desired, the MuVo NX offers plenty of pleasant surprises.
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Facelift: The ATi Radeon 9600 XTOct 15, 2003 - in Reviews
ATi has revamped its mid-range 9600 XT graphics card only a few days after ATi introduced its latest high-end Radeon 9800 XT. What does this card offer that its predecessor does not? And how does it measure up against its rivals from NVIDIA?
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PC Size Means EverythingOct 14, 2003 - in Reviews
Consumers are beginning to latch onto the idea of the Mini PC concept. We test the Bare-bones Shuttle with the Athlon 64 chipset and three other compacts from Soltek, Biostar and Shuttle based on the P4 platform, to see if performance remains on par with beauty.
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Maxtor's DiamondMax Plus 300 GB MonsterOct 8, 2003 - in Reviews
With a behemoth capacity of 300 GB, the DiamondMax is the biggest hard drive so far. Can the 5,400 rpm drive with just 2 MB of cache also deliver the performance for our times?
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DTS and 7.1: Creative Audigy 2 Platinum ProOct 7, 2003 - in Reviews
It seems as if the Audigy 2 were only just launched, and here Creative is already offering not one, but several new versions. So what's new? Should you rush out and buy one?
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China Dispatch: Adventures in Case ManufacturingOct 6, 2003 - in Reviews
How are PC cases made? After Computex in Taiwan, we made the trek to Dong Guan, China to learn about case manufacturing first hand. We spent more than two days watching the process and learning the "ins and outs" of the manufacturing process. We walk you through the full supply-chain gamut: design, engineering, prototyping, testing and production.
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Homegrown Mod Manifesto: How To Build A UV PCOct 3, 2003 - in Reviews
We realize not all of our readers are mechanically gifted alike. So for those of you who can't remember the last time you held a screwdriver but want to build a custom case, we created the first ever THG UV Reactive PC and walk you through the process step by step. Drilling holes for switches and sleeving cables is just some of the tips that you will find here. Believe it or not, it is not really that hard to create a snazzy looking PC with a little planning and some hard work.
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Hitachi DeskStar 7K250: A New King of Performance?Oct 1, 2003 - in Reviews
Starting right away, a third choice in 250 GB hard drives will be available in addition to Maxtor and Western Digital: the Hitachi 7K250. The test will show whether it can gain the performance crown.
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Ready For The Winter Games: ATI Radeon 9800 XTSep 30, 2003 - in Reviews
With the Radeon 9800 XT ATI extends it product line upwards. The XT is clocked higher than the current top product and comes with a bunch of interesting features - not to forget an exclusive bundle of the game Half-Life 2 and ASUS as a new board partner. How the card performs or how the ASUS Radeon 9800 XT looks and much more you can find inside the article...
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Affordable Alternatives: DDR400 Dual-Channel Chipsets for the Pentium 4Sep 29, 2003 - in Reviews
These days, products with VIA's new PT880 and the SiS 655FX are becoming available. Both are meant to slam Intel in the performance desktop chipset segment, both are more attractively priced and both eventually herald the Serial ATA era, since they come paired with new Southbridges. We checked their performance compared to Intel's 875P and 865PE top runners.
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AMD's Athlon 64 Has Arrived: the Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64 (and Intel's P4 Extreme)Sep 23, 2003 - in Reviews
Weeks of tests and sleepless nights: Performance analyses of AMD's Athlon 64 (Clawhammer) and Athlon 64 FX-51 (Sledgehammer) and Intel's P4 Extreme. We offer 46 benchmarks, including nForce3 150 and VIA K8T800 chipset performance results. And THG's video No. 10 is ready for download.
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