2.4-GHz Pentium 4 Makes a Surprise Appearance

A new Pentium 4 processor running at 2.4 GHz, as yet unannounced by maker Intel, has appeared in the component shops of Tokyo's Akihabara district.

Sato Musen began selling the chips over the weekend but has already sold out of its initial supply, a salesman at the shop says. The shop received a single tray of the chips from an undisclosed source and does not know when further chips will be available, the salesman says. However, he says Intel is expected to officially launch the chip in early April.

Intel last introduced new chips in the Pentium 4 line on January 7 this year when it announced the 2.2-GHz version of the chip.

That announcement signaled a move to more advanced 0.13-micron architecture for the product line, something which enabled Intel to double the amount of onboard cache memory to 512KB. At the same time, a 0.13-micron version of the existing 2-GHz Pentium 4 was also introduced.

Few Details
According to the company's most current price list, the 2.2-GHz chip is priced at $562 in quantities of 1,000, which is a standard measurement for processor prices. The 2-GHz version that was introduced in January costs $364.

Both prices have remained unchanged since the chips were introduced although are likely to be reduced when the 2.4-GHz chip is introduced.

In Akihabara, the 2.4GHz chips were selling for around $579.

An Intel Japan spokesperson declines to offer any details of the new chip.

"It is not an officially announced product," Hiasashi Nagai says. "We cannot give you the exact [launch] date but we plan to release it shortly."

"When Intel announces the products officially, many PC makers also announce their PCs at the same time so we actually start shipping to the industry well in advance," he says. "So sometimes we see some products get to the market before the launch date."

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Just Plug It In: Networking Via Power Circuits

No new wires. That's the mantra of almost everyone contemplating a home or small-office network, which is why wireless networks have become so popular. But a new standard that uses existing electrical wiring, HomePlug, could offer users a real alternative to wireless.

We tried out the first HomePlug networking products and found them easy to install, robust, and fast. They're especially suitable for hooking up desktop systems in larger homes and in small offices where wireless options may not be practical because of signal attenuation (related to distance from an access point).

HomePlug isn't the first technology to use existing wiring: The HomePNA standard for networks using telephone circuits was first published more than three years ago, and other power-line products have launched in the past. But previous power-line efforts were hampered by a combination of poor performance and a lack of standards, and HomePNA networks using telephone wires are hampered by the relative scarcity of telephone jacks in most homes. HomePlug, which lets you network devices by plugging an external adapter into a standard wall outlet, delivers performance superior to that of 802.11b wireless networks at only a small price premium--no more than $25 to $50 per computer.

For our tests, we tried out three paperback book-size, preproduction Linksys Instant Powerline products: two EtherFast 10/100 Bridges and one USB adapter (each at a street price of $149).

Making Connections
To network two PCs, we hooked one of the EtherFast 10/100 Bridges to the first system's standard ethernet port, and the USB adapter to the second PC's USB port. To add Internet access, we plugged the second EtherFast 10/100 Bridge into a conventional network router, which in turn was connected to a broadband modem (see diagram). Alternatively, if you have static IP addresses for your computers, you can substitute a hub for a router. By the time you read this, Linksys expects to release a $179 router with HomePlug technology built in, eliminating a box. Other vendors that expect to ship HomePlug components in the next few months include GigaFast, Netgear, Phonex Broadband, and SMC Networks.

We tested the adapters in a single-family home and in a condominium in a 29-unit building, using them to transfer files and surf the Web. The network ran flawlessly everywhere we plugged in, except for one outlet in the single-family home (HomePlug engineers say wiring quirks will occasionally cause this, but typically a nearby outlet will work just fine).

In these informal tests, the network appeared largely unaffected by our use of power strips and household electrical appliances, a problem that had plagued previous power-line networking systems. However, audiophiles who use special power conditioners to "clean up" electrical signals could run into problems if they plug a HomePlug unit into the conditioner, as the filtering system might perceive the network traffic as noise and filter it out.

The HomePlug specification protects your data from the prying eyes of others on your power grid by using DES encryption--as opposed to the RC4 algorithm, whose implementation in 802.11b has known security flaws--that works at the MAC address level (the unique identifier for each piece of hardware). Officials at Intellon, the chip maker that developed the HomePlug spec, say that hacking into a HomePlug network would require cracking the government's DES encryption standard.

Faster Than 802.11b
HomePlug's theoretical maximum speed of 14 megabits per second is slightly faster than 802.11b's 11-mbps top speed, as well as the 10-mbps speed of older ethernet networks. Because typical broadband Internet access tops out at 1.5 mbps, neither network type gives you an advantage for Web surfing. But we were surprised at how much faster HomePlug was than 802.11b for file transfers. Transferring an 11MB file between our two HomePlug-equipped notebooks took only about 30 seconds, compared with 1 minute, 15 seconds when we substituted 802.11b PC Cards. Intellon engineers say this probably happened because HomePlug allowed data to flow directly between the two side-by-side notebooks (even with the router installed), while the 802.11b traffic had to move via the more distant router and back.

Additionally, HomePlug is not subject to other wireless traffic or to interference from walls and doors, all of which can significantly slow down 802.11b signals, especially if larger distances are involved.

Drawbacks? HomePlug is not supercheap--you can purchase 802.11b USB adapters for slightly less. It's also not ideal for notebooks, especially if you're often on the move: No HomePlug PC Cards have been announced, and having the paperback-size adapter as well as a standard AC adapter hanging off the back of your notebook is definitely cumbersome. In fact, people who wish to network both notebooks and desktop systems should consider creating their own hybrid 802.11b/HomePlug network, built around an 802.11b router with at least one extra ethernet port. Plug a HomePlug ethernet bridge into the router, slip an 802.11b PC Card into the notebook, plug your desktops into the wall outlet, and you have the best of both worlds.

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Belkin Nostromo n30 Review

Hardware Editor Glenn Lortscher steps in to review the Nostromo n30 Force Feedback mouse, powered by TouchSense technology. Belkin's Nostromo line of gaming accessories has already established itself as innovative and original... Is this little device just a gimmick, or does it truly add something new?

Source: http://www.tuplay.com/display.asp?i=67&p=1

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Hardware Price Index Update

The Tech Zone has updated their Hardware Price Index for Tuesday Mar. 26. This week you can pick up an Intel P4 1.6A for just $133.00! Add an Abit BL7 RAID for $115.00 and you got yourself a 2.0+ Ghz system for under $250! On the video card side you can pick up the Asus GeForce4 Ti 4600 for just $384.83!

Source: http://thetechzone.com/prices.php?p=1

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Chenming AE-601 ATX Case Review

From Chenbro, to Chenming, as we bring you another review of a great computer case to hold your rig's guts. The CoolerGuys sent over their Chenming AE-601 ATX Case. This looks very familiar to a case many of us know and love. You could almost call them kissing cousins.

Source: http://thetechzone.com/display.php?i=140&p=1

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Gainward GeForce4 Ti4600 review

AKA the "Gainward GeForce4 PackPack! Ultra/750XP TV/VIVO Golden Sample". While still based on the reference design, the Gainward Ti4600 comes to you with a very rich feature set that is sure to please many that are in the market for a VidCard upgrade.

Source: http://www.hardocp.com/reviews/vidcards/gainward/gf4ti4600_ultra750xp/

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Leadtek's GeForce4 Ti 4600 review

You've seen it around and wondered, "just how does that monster heat sink really perform"? Yes, with Dual 5000 RPM fans and enough aluminum bolted on to its front and back side, to set off any decent airport bomb scanner, the Leadtek Winfast A250 Ultra TD GeForce4 Ti 4600 graphics card made its way to the HH Lab and proceeded to kick butt and take names

Source: http://www.hothardware.com/hh_files/S&V/leadteka250ultragf4ti.shtml

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SOYO KT333 and P4X333 Motherboard

Tweakers Australia have got a hold of two very recent press releases from SOYO, detailing some information about their up and coming motherboards featuring the KT333 and P4X333 chipsets.

SOYO K7V Dragon Ultra P4X333: The DRAGON Ultra features an on board Ultra I/O chip, which supports two RS-232 serial ports (16550 UART compatible); one parallel printer port (SPP/EPP/ECP mode); one FDD port (Supports 3 mode, 1.2/1.44/2.88 MB FDD; an IrDA (infrared) port with optional cable for transceiver, and four USB 2.0 ports (2 rear, 4-pin header). The board also features two PCI bus mastering ATA133 E-IDE ports, and Ultra DMA 66/100/133 IDE ports, which support four independent channels to accommodate eight IDE devices, including two for RAID.
Read More: http://www.tweakers.com.au/#105

SOYO K7V DRAGON Ultra and DRAGON Lite: SOYO’s new SY-K7V DRAGON Ultra is the company’s fastest motherboard for AMD processors with its VIA KT333/8233A chipset, DDR333 memory support, USB 2.0 on board, and many advanced and easily customized features. SOYO’s new SY-K7V DRAGON Light offers many of the same features as the DRAGON Ultra such as DDR333 support, but eliminates the RAID and 10/100 Ethernet controllers to offer a more price-conscious motherboard without sacrificing performance.
Read More: http://www.tweakers.com.au/#104

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Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer

"Like other wireless products this IntelliMouse Explorer offers freedom. Also, optical technology means accuracy and no ball to clean!"

Source: http://www.3dgameman.com/vr/microsoft/ms_intellimouse_wireless/video_review.htm

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MSI KT3 Ultra ARU review

Today, thanks to the timely arrival of the MSI KT3 Ultra ARU, and its VIA KT333 chipset, we've finally been ushered into the era of DDR333 memory. Not only does the KT3 Ultra ARU support DDR333/PC2700 memory, though, but also ATA133 drives. And the fun doesn't stop there -- the KT3 also sports a Promise PDC20276 ATA133 RAID controller, a diagnostic panel, a 6-channel Realtek AL650 sound-card, a Bluetooth controller, and Live BIOS, Fuzy Logic III, and PC Alert III technology. The Ultra ARU is clearly jam-packed with features, that much is clear.

Source: http://active-hardware.com/english/reviews/mainboard/kt3-ultra.htm

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MSI Geforce 4MX Review

Today we took a look at the MSI Geforce 4 - in comparison to the ABIT Geforce 4MX

Snip :

The card overclocked marginally worse than the Abit, mostly due to the inferior memory modules used. Out of the box performance however was slightly but measurably higher than the Abit which is a bonus but with the performance not being great to begin with, the card begs to be overclocked and there it falls slightly.

Source: http://www.hexus.net/review.php?review=321

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