News for Week of September 13th to September 18th

DirectX 7.0 Features
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: GA-Source Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft is about to release DirectX 7.0 and here are some of the main features within this new API:

Preview of the new Intel "Camino" Chipset.
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: Reviewzone Added by: Kim Heise
This has been a really slow weekend in terms of tech news but this article is worth the read.
The Reviewzone has a preview on the upcoming Intel "Camino" chipset that is to be launched on September 27th. Here are some of the specs on the new chipset taken directly from the article:

Note the second item-There is a possibility that the overclocking days are over and this would mean that I would hope to avoid this chipset ;) I am hoping that Abit or Asus will release a version of the chipset that allows overclocking.

Some quick important notes from the article:
The article also states that the author tried to purchase 128MB RIMM (Rambus RAM) and the price was $825.00 for 128MB!!!! Apparently there will be an option to add standard DIMMS to these motherboards but then it defeats the purpose of the new chipset.
They run through the basic benchmarks comparing the new chipset to a top-end BX board and there is NO performance gains. In the Quake3 benchmarks the BX chipset beat the new Intel "Camino" chipset by almost 20 frames!!

I agree with the article in the conclusion that if this is the best Intel is going to be provide then users will be moving to the better AMD K7 architecture by the hundreds. At this point the AMD K7 is still the system to upgrade to.

Microsoft releases Windows Year 2000 Product Analyzer V2.0
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: Win98Central Added by: Kim Heise
Win98Central reports that Microsoft has released the new version of the Year 2000 product analyzer. This useful tool scans all your drives and looks for Microsoft programs to make sure they are ready for the new year. You can download the new version here.

AMD/Intel price comparison
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: CPU Review Added by: Kim Heise
In case you were wondering about current CPU prices for the latest Intel Pentium III and the AMD K7 the people over at CPU Review have a price list dated September 12th. Here's the bottom line from their article:

As soon as Abit or Asus release a AMD K7 motherboard I'm going to pickup one of the speedy new AMD CPUs.

Microsoft in the hot seat again
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: The Register Added by: Kim Heise
France has announced that Microsoft has been put under the magnifying glass because the government is wondering why one can't find a PC that doesn't have Windows installed.

Gigabit Switches Inch Closer To Reality
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: TechWeb Added by: Kim Heise
Just when you think that we have reached the speed limit over standard copper someone manages to pull a new rabbit out of a hat. Take a look at the article at TechWeb to see if the 48 million packet/sec is fast enough for you. Here's a clip from the article:

Extreme Networks and Foundry Networks were showing new gigabit switches. And through the auspices of the Gigabit Ethernet Alliance, a handful of vendors demonstrated interoperability of the first products that support Gigabit Ethernet connectivity over regular Category 5 copper wiring.

The Summit7i will start shipping in the last quarter of this year. Pricing for the Layer 3 100/1000-T switch starts at $19,995, or about $625 per port.

PC133 RAM. Is it worth it?
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: TheTechZone Added by: Kim Heise
The TechZone did some in depth testing comparing PC100 RAM and PC133 RAM to see if it made any difference in terms of performance. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these two RAM types, the PC100 RAM is certified to run reliably at 100mhz front-side bus speed and the PC133 is certified at 133mhz.
It appears based on their article you will be lucky to see a single frame rate increase in any given game. For the extra $30 difference for PC133 over PC100 this doesn't seem worth it. If you were to by a new system today then the PC133 RAM might be worth the upgrade because Intel's next generation chipset will directly support the faster PC133 RAM.

Creative launches two new EAX based soundcards
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: GameCenter Added by: Kim Heise
Creative will unveil two new sound cards based on the EAX SoundBlaster Live technology. The first is the X-Gamer ($99) which is based on the EAX 2.0 technology. The X-Gamer will also include a couple of games: Thief: The Dark Project, Descent 3 and The Need for Speed: High Stakes. The second card known as the MP3+ is basically identical to the X-Gamer except the software bundle is focused on music. Software titles included with the MP3+ card are SoundForge XP, Lava Player (which is very impressive) and Cakewalk Express Gold. The MP3+ is also priced at $99.

Overclocking: Which motherboard to get?
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: Bxboards Added by: Kim Heise
BXboards tests five high powered motherboards for overclocking performance and compare overall features. Looks like the classic Asus P2B-F still scores as the fastest overclocking board over the other five motherboards. The five boards tested were the Abit Bx6-2, AOpen AX6BC, Asus P2B-F, Iwill BD100Plus and the MSI 6163. Overall I prefer the Abit Bx6-2 for it's "tweaking" features and the benchmarks only show marginal differences.

Sega delays Dreamcast Network
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise
Over a ZDNET they report that the Sega Dreamcast online gaming network has been delayed to the second half of 2000. This is unfortunate since Sega needs all the help they can get to jump back in the market. The Sony Playstation 2 will not be far off by the second half of 2000 and may make it tough on the new console system. The article doesn't state why the Dreamcast games network is being delayed.

First Plug
Posted: 09/16/99     Source: N/A   Added by: Kim Heise
I am honored to see that Mike over at nv News has given me my very first plug for this web site. I've been visiting Mike's web site for many years and was always impressed with his work. Thanks Mike.

US to free 128-bit crypto for export
Posted: 09/16/99     Source: The Register   Added by: Kim Heise
The US government will later today announce plans to relax the controls the country has long imposed on the export of strong data encryption technology, a White House spokeswoman has told US newswires. According to the spokeswoman, Attorney General Janet Reno, Commerce William Bill Daley, Deputy National Security Adviser Jim Steinberg and Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre and will unveil the plans this evening.

Intel cuts prices on the Pentium III and Celerons up to 15%
Posted: 09/16/99     Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise
It seems AMD's announced price cuts have scared Intel into cutting the prices of their chips yet again. ZDNET reports that on Sunday (09-19) Intel will be cutting their Pentium III and Celeron CPU's by up to 15%. According to the article 600mhz Pentium III chips will be reduced from $669 to $615, 550mhz Pentium III chips from $487 to $423 and the Celeron 500mhz chip will be reduced from $167 to $153.
This is always good news for the consumers.

US West targets mass market with $19.95 DSL
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: MSNBC Added by: Kim Heise
This is good news or bad news depending on who you ask. If you are lucky enough to get DSL in your area then this is good news for you. I don't wanted to get started on this one but I hope to see DSL in my area before Summer 2000 :(

AMD ships 700mhz Athlon Chip and prices to be cut on October 4th
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: The Register Added by: Kim Heise
The Register reports that AMD is currently shipping the 700mhz Athlon chip in volume and prices are to be slashed on October 4th to compete with Intel. This is good news for us who are eagerly waiting for these new speedy chips to hit the streets.

nVidia TNT2 & Geforce256 Comparison
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: GPU3D Added by: Kim Heise
There is a article over at GPU3D comparing the specs on the TNT2 and the GeForce256 for those of you who are looking to upgrade. In a nutshell on the specs, here is a piece from the GPU3D article comparing each chip:

TNT2	GeForce 256
NVIDIA TNT2 128-bit	NVIDIA GeForce 256, 256-bit GPU
AGP 4x/2x	AGP 4X with Fast Write
Up to 32MB Memory	Up to 128MB Memory
2 Pixels/Clock	4 Pixels/Clock
Optimized Direct 3D and OpenGL	Optimized for OpenGL and Direct3D acceleration with complete hardware support for DirectX 7.
300MHz RAMDAC	350 MHz RAMDAC
	Hardware Transform and Lighting
	Cube Environment Mapping
5 Millions Triangles/sec	15 Millions Triangles/sec
250 Millions pixels/sec	480 Millions pixels/sec

Microsoft Live Update Additions
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: Microsoft Windows Update Added by: Kim Heise
Microsoft has posted several new live update patches that can be updated via Internet Explorer 5.0.
The new updates are:

Virus Information Alert
Posted: 09/16/99 Source: Internet Week Added by: Kim Heise
Antivirus experts are urging computer users not to open a year 2000 countdown program that comes in the form of an e-mail sent by Microsoft on Tuesday.

The e-mail was not sent by Microsoft, and the enclosed attachment is not a Y2K countdown program, but rather a Trojan virus. If users attempt to open the alleged program, the virus can install itself onto the user's computer and then is capable of sending data and information from that system across the Internet.

Addonics Announces 4X Pocket CD-RW Drive
Posted: 09/15/99 Source: Gaming Source Added by: Kim Heise
It's about time someone released a product like this. Here's a snippet from the article:
<SNIP>
Available immediately, Addonics' 4 x 4 x 20 Pocket CDRW drive will be priced at $499 with either PCMCIA or USB interface cable. Price includes the Adaptec's Easy CD Creator and Deluxe CD software, which has a retail value of $89. The USB version for the iMac will be priced at $529 and is bundled with Adaptec's Toast CD software.

The drive, which measures 6.4" x 5.4" x .8" and weighs around 14 OZ, is one of the smallest CDRW drives available in the market. The drive works with CD-R and CD-RW media discs. Each disc can hold about 74 minutes of audio or about 650MB of data. The Pocket CDRW is suited for many personal and business uses such as: archiving data; software distribution; recording or playing personalized CD-audio discs or running CD-ROM applications. By writing data in the UDF (Universal Disk Format), the CD-R or CD-RW media can be read by other CD ROM drives. With this data compatibility, the CD-RW becomes a viable replacement for floppy drives and a very attractive large capacity removable storage alternative.
<SNIP>

Intel Releases 466mhz, 433mhz Celerons for Notebooks
Posted: 09/15/99 Source: ZDNET Added by: Kim Heise
It looks like Intel has released the 466mhz (~$209@1K) and the 433mhz (~$159@1K) portable Celerons. Gateway and Dell are already getting ready to release these with some speedy new laptops.

CPU Overclocking Guide
Posted: 09/15/99 Source:3D Rage Added by: Kim Heise
The folks over at 3D rage have a very detailed article on overclocking your CPU. This will help you decide what cooling to use and how to go about overclocking your system.

GeForce256 Specs Guide
Posted: 09/15/99 Source: SystemLogic Added by: Kim Heise
For full technical specs on four upcoming nVidia GeForce256 cards take a look at this article that contains in-depth specs on the Leadtek WinFast GeForce256, Elsa Erazor X, Creative Labs 3D Blaster GeForce256 and the Guillemot Maxi Gamer 3D Prophet.

Windows 2000 Hits Release Candidate 2
Posted: 09/15/99 Source: ActiveWin Added by: Kim Heise
Activewin reports that it has been officially noted that Win2k build 2128 is Release Candidate 2.

3COM Palm Pilot spin-off company unveils new PDA
Posted: 09/15/99 Source: CNN Added by: Kim Heise
CNN reports on the new company Handspring which has unveiled their new Palm PDA based on the classic 3Com Palm Pilot OS but has a faster CPU and is more expandable. Suggested prices are $149 for the 4MB Visor and $249 for the 8MB Visor Deluxe. The Visor Deluxe is available in 5 colors.

Last modified: Friday, April 04, 2008