Tom heeft ergens een werkende Camino chipset met Rambus DRAM RIMM vandaan weten te halen. Uit z'n benchmarks blijkt dat de BX chipset vooralsnog sneller is dan de Camino (beide op een 133Mhz bus). Komt nog bij dat Rambus DRAM op dit moment 6,5 maal zo duur is als PC133 SDRAM, dus Intel lijkt de zaken voorlopig niet echt lekker voor elkaar te hebben:

It seems pretty obvious that Camino plus RDRAM is a very questionable solution right now. The performance increase over today's top of the line systems seems marginal, however the costs are exorbitant. Running Camino at 100 MHz FSB is even less sensible, because the CPU still corresponds with the system at the same speed as with BX. We users can demand more performance and a lot lower prices. This will have to happen until September 5, 1999, unless Intel wants to experience their very own Waterloo with Camino or 'i820'.

Check de preview bij THG.

Ik zag bij Ace's Hardware deze posting over de mogelijkheid om K-Zevens op een (high-end / SMP) Slot-B mobo te draaien:

Ok, at the ongoing PC Expo in New York, Alpha Processor Inc. is demo'ing its new Alpha-21264 750 Mhz, which is expected to come out in July. More interestingly a 1 Ghz versions of the processor, which runs under regular air-cool condition, is also demo'ed along with a Slot-A motherboard, UP1000, and a Slot-B motherboard, UP2000. For further details check out this News.com report.

Now, a lot of people have been wondering about the possibility of running a K7 on an Alpha Slot-A or Slot-B motherboard. According to Alpha, yes, this is possible. To make things even more interesting Alpha's new Slot-A motherboard, UP1000, uses a chipset that is a hybrid between AMD's very own K7 chipset, Irongate (AMD-751), and ALI's M1543C!! PC Watch Japan has a great shot of this UP1000 motherboard. Also appears on PC Watch is a photo of the Slot-B UP2000 and a photo of the 1 Ghz Slot-B Alpha processor. Special thanks to Daiki for this wonderful tips.

De foto's: links een UP1000 en rechts een UP2000:

The Adrenaline Vault bekijkt de Elsa 3D Revelator shutter glasses. Hier heb je een stukje uit hun review:

I used the 3D REVELATOR with a variety of games, not all with presets. Thief: The Dark Project had a preset, but the visual effect was very hard to notice; probably because of the already dark environment. Descent3 Demo2, on the other hand, became even more dizzier than normal, with the each passageway inviting you deeper and deeper. Need For Speed III benefitted a little from the visual effects, and so did Need for Speed: High Stakes, which didn't have a preset. Midtown Madness' environment lent itself well to the 3D enhancements, but some double lines were apparent. (Another game without a preset.) Finally, the ever-popular benchmark 3DMark99 has a preset, and with it the already dazzling demo movie becomes a multi-layered one, reminding me of watching dazzling IMAX films on the LARGE screen.

Het volk bij Computingpros.com vond het nodig om een review van de Elsa Erazor III op hun site te planten. De kaart draait op een wat magere 125/150MHz, dus wat betreft prestaties hangt-ie aan de onderkant van het TNT2 clubje:

Well, judging from the scores and features the ERAZOR has I can only recommend it as a budget TNT2 card. If you plan to buy the plain vanilla model with 32MBs of SDRAM it would make for an excellent no frills, good performance TNT2 card. If you buy the one with the 3D Revelator glasses then you might get a little more fun out of your card. The card also has excellent documentation which is a plus. Since the unit I received only contained the necessary things to test it with I can't elaborate on what software package it will come with.

Okee, hier hebben we er al +/- 10.000 van gezien. De bedoeling van Beyond3D was dan ook om iets dieper te gaan. Hier een blurb uit hun V3-3000 in-depth review:

I believe that Voodoo3 offers among the best, if not the best, 16-bit color output. This fact can be very important for people who want a card that can provide them super high frame-rates. No card will be able to satisfy those people at 32-bit color (at least not yet), so those people will run at 16-bit just for the speed. If they do that they might as well use the highest quality 16-bit output out there. Read the tech articles linked above to know why Voodoo3's 16-bit output is so good that some consumers described it as : “equal to 32-bit” (note that this is not a fact for all game situations, e.g. multi-layer transparency effects like smoke and fog still suffer from noticeable dither patterns).

Hardware One heeft een review van de Yamaha 6416 CD-Rewriter in elkaar geplakt. Zoals het typenummer reeds doet vermoeden gaat het hier om een her)brander die leest op 16-speed, schrijf op 6-speed en herschrijft op 4-speed:

Its superior design allows the drive to achieve a very good read speed of 16X not found on many CD-RW drives today. If you are not picky, this speed should be adequate for use as your default CDROM reader. In any case, the best thing about the drive is its 6X write ability which would be one of the fastest in the market.

Hardware One heeft er ook nog eens een heel verhaal bijop gehangen over de werking van CD-Rewriters. Wellicht interessant om te lezen.

Entech heeft versie 2.51 van Powerstrip gereleased. Nieuw is support voor de Intel 752, 3DLabs Permedia3 en Matrox G400:

PowerStrip 2.51 released In large part a routine maintenance release, PowerStrip 2.51 nevertheless includes a number of small refinements as well as preliminary support for the Intel752, Permedia3 and MGA-G400. Amongst other things, the new release refocuses on gamma correction - now enabled by default - and includes support for custom refresh rates at resolutions up to 2048x1536, and frequencies as low as 50Hz, for chips from 3dfx, Intel, Matrox, NVidia, Rendition and S3. The 647kb package gives real meaning to the word "unified", by transparently providing clock controls, performance tweaks, custom refresh rates, screen adjustment, gamma correction, power management, memory optimization, and user-defined monitor profiles to some 60 chipsets from 13 different chiphouses under 4 distinct operating systems - including Windows 2000.

EnergySaver 1.01 released

A stand-alone DPMS screen saver for Windows NT is now available here. While compatible with Windows 95/98 as well as Windows 2000, the screen saver is specifically designed for NT 4.0 users, who - after over two years and five Service Packs - still lack native display power management support. The 1.01 update gives you the rather unusual option of "stealing" the visuals from other screen savers, including OpenGL, Glide and Direct3D screen savers.

Powerstrip 2.51 kun je hier neer komen halen.

AGN Hardware heeft een review van de nieuwe USB Zip drive in elkaar gedraaid. Hier is een stukje over de installatie van de drive:

Whoa! I’m loving USB already! The installation was by far the fastest and simplest installation that I have ever done. I hot plugged the USB Zip drive while the computer was running and Windows98 instantly detected the new hardware and requested that I insert the driver CD. The drive appeared in the Windows Explorer shell as “Removable Disk” immediately after the drivers finished installing. I didn’t even have to reboot! The entire installation took approximately 30 seconds.

AGN HW heeft ook benchmarks waaruit blijkt dat de drive ongeveer 2,4 maal zo snel is als de oude parallele Zip.

Adobe heeft vandaag Photoshop 5.5 aangekondigd:

Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the newest version of Adobe(R) Photoshop(R), the world's leading professional image editing software. Photoshop 5.5 software once again sets the standard--providing the first integrated solution for professionals who need to produce the highest quality images for both Web and print. Photoshop 5.5 includes Adobe ImageReady(TM) 2.0 software, the cutting-edge Web production component that interacts seamlessly with Photoshop software to provide a complete creative environment. This eliminates the need for customers to use multiple applications, which restricts both creativity and productivity. Adobe Photoshop 5.5 is part of Adobe Systems' complete family of digital imaging products, which includes Adobe Photoshop LE, Adobe PhotoDeluxe(R), and Adobe ActiveShare.(TM)

Adobe will demonstrate its unique line-up of digital imaging products--which serves the entire range of users including Web and graphics professionals, business professionals and consumers--at next week's PC Expo in New York City (Booth #4334). Adobe Photoshop is already the most frequently used professional Web graphics software application today*, and version 5.5 significantly extends its Web functionality. Whether designers are optimizing Web images with Web-safe colors or taking advantage of powerful slicing and JavaScript rollover capabilities, Adobe Photoshop 5.5 software delivers the ideal balance of creativity and productivity tools.

Consistent Adobe Tools

Based on the Adobe standard user interface, Adobe Photoshop 5.5 software allows users to move smoothly and quickly between environments without breaking the creative flow. Photoshop now includes a set of advanced features for optimizing and compressing Web graphics. For more advanced Web graphics tasks, such as JavaScript rollovers, animation, and image slicing, a "jump to" button quickly transfers the image to Adobe ImageReady.

"Photoshop 5.5 really helps me transport my print designs to the Web," said Andy Makely, a Senior Graphic Designer for USWeb/CKS in Atlanta. "With one click, my design jumps from Photoshop into ImageReady and I'm ready to slice it up, optimize the images and save everything as HTML. Being able to preview my work in a browser from ImageReady is the icing on the cake. This kind of integration really streamlines the Web design process."

Create Superior Web Graphics

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 provides new tools for creating and optimizing the most advanced Web graphics. Multiple LiveView panels in Photoshop 5.5 software's new Save for Web window let designers quickly find the best compression options, translating into shorter image download times and higher quality Web graphics. The new Lossy GIF feature dramatically reduces file size, as much as 10-50% smaller than previously possible, with minimal loss of image quality. Advanced Web features are available in the Adobe ImageReady software component, where designers can slice large graphics into HTML tables with the new Slice tool and create powerful JavaScript rollovers without writing a line of code. Layer-based animations and image maps make these a snap.

Expand Creative Possibilities

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 software addresses the tedious and time-consuming task of image-masking with the new Background Eraser and the Extract Image command. Users can quickly create instant transparency with the color decontamination capabilities of these tools so images can be cleanly composited on another background, saving hours of working with complex selections. Photoshop 5.5 software's new creativity features extend even further with the new Art History Brush, which allows users to create an entirely new genre of images by interactively applying realistic paint strokes.

Adobe Photoshop 5.5, when paired with Adobe GoLive(R) software, provides a complete professional Web solution. Photoshop also features tight integration with the family of award-winning Adobe solutions--including Adobe After Effects(R), Adobe Illustrator(R), Adobe InDesign(TM), and Adobe Premiere(R)--to enable users to create compelling designs, digital imagery and motion graphics for the Web, multimedia and print.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 is expected to ship in July for an estimated street price of $609 (U.S.). Registered Photoshop 5.0 and ImageReady 1.0 users in North America will be able to upgrade for the special estimated promotional price of $129 (U.S.) after rebate until May 2000. All other registered users of previous versions of Adobe Photoshop will be able to upgrade for an estimated street price of $199 (U.S.). For more information customers can call 1-800-492-3623 or visit http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/photoshop/main.html.

Ja, er is weer een nieuw BIOS, het KK bios. Sommigen van jullie hadden hier al in de beta fase naar gekeken, en echt goed werkte die niet. Logisch blijkt nu, want het gaat om een BIOS revisie voor de ABIT BH6 v1.1 BH632KK.EXE

In de toekomst zullen er ook wel weer nieuwe BIOS versies
voor de oude BH6 komen, dus hoe zie je het verschil?
nou, door die BH32KK dus.

Of je een V1.1 hebt kun je eventueel op je moederbord bekijken, maar ik geef je weinig kand aangezien de KK versie het eerste (en dus vanuit de Fabriek meegeleverde bios is voor deze hardware revisie.

Voor de 1e BH6 blijft het bios voorlopig bij versie BH6LH.EXE

The Land of Tarwal (dat klinkt wazig) heeft een comparison gepost waarin 11 portable MP3 players vergeleken worden:

On September 14, 1998, Diamond Multimedia announced the Rio PMP300, the world's first affordable portable mp3 music player. This was the beginning of the portable mp3 revolution. Although Diamond was not the first company to come up with a pocket sized mp3 player they were the first company to make one widely available. Following suit, Creative Labs announced a portable mp3 solution of their own earlier this year called the Nomad. After this a huge flow of companies started to announce their own designs.

I took a close look at 11 of the most popular and unique portable mp3 players, the Creative Labs Nomad 32mb and 64mb version, the Rio PMP300 and Rio PMP300 SE from Diamond Multimedia, the u-fi from Cambridge Designs, the MpMan CL10, the Samsung yepp, the Varoman+ from Varovision, the I-jam, the mPride from Remotesolution and finally the RCA Lyra.

Check de review hier.

GamePC heeft een korte review gepost van de Aureal SuperQuad, het high-end reference design dat o.a. door Xitel wordt toegepast bij de Storm Platinum. Hier heb je een stukje:

There is nothing truly spectacular about Aureal's SuperQuad. As an OEM-only card, it is probably the least expensive of any Vortex2 board. No bundle is present, only a driver disk with the Aureal A3D demo programs. What that also means is that optimizations made by other manufacturers are not present. We can see this is evident in the benchmarks above. Also board enhancements made by Turtle Beach show it is possible to lower the signal-to-noise ratio present in the design. Turtle Beach also provides a much higher quality MIDI synthesis wavetable with their Quadzilla. The Diamond MX300 holds the edge due to the possibility of adding the MX25 S/PDIF digital output card, an add on that should be available before too long.

Mijn opmerkingen:
- De Aureal reference drivers zijn het meest up-to-date (sneller, nieuwe features enz.).
- De Superquad is standaard voorzien van een S/PDIF uitgang, de MX300 niet.

Hardware Central heeft een review van de Maxi Gamer Xentor 32 in elkaar gekwakt. De kaart die HWCentral getest heeft draait op 175/183Mhz, maar ik heb begrepen dat nieuwere Maxi Gamer TNT2 kaarten worden geleverd met de standaard Ultra TNT2 settting van 150/183MHz. Helaas geen overklok info in de review, daarom maar dit stukje:

This card is fast in Direct 3D. In fact, at higher resolutions the TNT2 based cards are the performance kings. Even in Open GL the TNT2 cards are very competitive with the entire range of Voodoo 3 cards and start to overtake the Voodoo 3's at higher resolutions. As games become more complex and utilize larger textures the TNT2 cards will overtake the Voodoo 3's as the current performance leaders. Since TNT2 cards in general are very fast and the Xentor is one of the highest clocked of these TNT2's I can wholeheartedly say the performance on the Xentor is top notch. By the way, I hear the Xentor also provides good if not spectacular DVD decoding which is brought to life by the included Xing DVD software.

AGN3D heeft Need for Speed: High Stakes gereviewed, en hoe: volgens mij was die gast ongesteld ofzo toen hij deze review schreef, want de game wordt genadeloos afgekraakt, lees maar.

It’s probably safe to say that I wasn’t thrilled with this game. Playing High Stakes is a real downer and it just reminds me of other past games that were much better. I would go as far as to say that this legacy of Need for Speed should just end. Electronic Arts is not willing to push the genre into a new realm of gaming excitement so I see no point in continuing the series. Need for Speed 4 will inevitably come out next year and I truly hope it’s guided by a new vision.

Op sommige punten kan ik hem nog wel gelijk geven, maar zo erg is het nou ook weer niet, toch??

HardOCP heeft een review gepost van deze brute Swiftech cooler:

Dat is een behoorlijk heftige constructie. Effectief blijkt-ie ook, HardOCP krijgt er een C300A die normaal gesproken niet verder gaat dan 464MHz mee op 527Mhz!:

The 300A has only ever been able to run at 464MHz stable with good cooling applied. We had once gotten it to 504 but only with the L2 latency so high that it effected the performance of the CPU and still was NOT stable. So where did the MC2000 and MC1000 get us? Both coolers got us to a STABLE 527MHz. Yeppers. I think I will shut up and let that sink in for a minute....

Check HardOCP.com voor de review.

Mozilla.org heeft gisteren Mozilla Milestone 7 gereleased. Een overzicht van de download locaties:

Milestone 7 -Completed June 22, 1999

• Release Notes
• Executable Programs and Sources -Full Circle Enabled builds allow transmission of crash data back to Netscape, improved crash analysis, and posting of crash related information to the netscape.public.mozilla.crash-data news group...
• Win32 Install Zipfile with Fullcircle
• Win32 Install Zipfile
• Linux i686 tar format with Full Circle
• Linux i686 tar format
• Mac 8.5 Install with Full Circle
• Mac 8.5 Install .bin
• XP Source Tarball  (available soon at ftp://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla/releases/m7/TGZ )

(thanx Diederik! )

AMD Insider heeft het een en ander aan onderzoek gedaan naar de naam 'Athlon'. Het blijkt dat die naam al door een aantal bedrijven geregistreerd is:

Although this may not rule out the possibility infringement suit by another company (like the register mentioned), like the Register reported. Likewise, neither does it rule out AMD using the name Athlon or eventually trademarking that name. You would think, though, that if AMD was to use the name Athlon, they would have already begun the trademark process? On the contrary, how can you rule out the Austin 360 article which confirms the K7 is Athlon, the Register Article which says the K7 is definitely Athlon, and News.com's article on the Athlon name. And, what was the Athlon FAQ page doing on AMD's web server? JC has mirrored that page here.

How about that other possible K7 name: Alereon? A trademark search shows no trace of any trademark for Alereon. Like the name Athlon, there is also some evidence Alereon might be the name. Although circumstantial, AMD has registered the domain name Alereon.com.

Check AMD Insider voor het volledige artikel.

Tweak3D heeft een artikeltje gepost over de Sega Droomkast. Dat ding heeft een of andere super Hitachi CPU die 3 maal zoveel floating point operations uit zou moeten kunnen voeren als een 450MHz PII. Het apparaat draait op WindoosCE, wat het erg simpel zou moeten maken om PC spellen naar de Dreamcast te porten:

Tweak3D: PC Conversion should be a piece of cake due to Windows CE support and a flexible graphics chipset: Given the DC's impressive graphical power, I'm keen to know whether we'll be seeing games like Half Life, Unreal Tournament, or Quake 3 on the DC; Is there any possibility of a mouse peripheral being released for the hardened FPS fans?

Stephen: I guess it's up to developers to come aboard and write games for the Dreamcast now, as the hardware and programming tools are ready and waiting. As mentioned, games like Half Life and Quake would run incredibly well on the Dreamcast, and the Neon 250 PC card proves that the Power VR chip has the visuals quality and power to make these games look absolutely fantastic. A mouse peripheral is not on the release schedule for Dreamcast at the moment, so I can't make any comment on its appearance in the near future. What I can say is that the Dreamcast's Universal Serial Bus could support such a peripheral, as well as other devices like the Iomega Zip drive, which is due for release in late '99.

Ik lees bij Betanews dat Creative nieuwe Windows 9x drivers heeft gereleased voor de 3D Blaster Riva TNT2:

- Solves intermittent system lockups during soft reboot or reinstallation of drivers
- Also solves system lockups when using applications such as Creative Digital Audio Center

Download 3D Blaster RIVA TNT2 Drivers for Windows 95/98 [break]Tevens heeft Creative Labs nieuwe Linux drivers gepost voor z'n Banshee en Savage4 kaarten:[/break] - Download 3D Blaster Banshee Linux Driver 1.01 - 904 KB
- Download 3DB Savage4 Linux Driver 1.0 - 912 KB

Yup, nog meer S3/Diamond. We hebben al een paar S3 interviews gehad van o.a. GA-Source en Beyond3D. Planet Riva heeft een Q&A'tje gepost met Diamond, de andere kant van de deal:

Planet RIVA : Will S3 and Diamond Multimedia merge into a single company and if so, under which name? Also will Diamond Multimedia's future products be released under the name of S3 or Diamond Multimedia?

Diamond Multimedia : We have not made a decision yet. Both Diamond and S3 have brand equity. We will however, take advantage of the Diamond brand name as we believe this represents a substantial value to both of us.

Check Planet Riva voor de overige twee vragen.

Ik krijg zonet een mailtje van Glenn / FPS3.com dat-ie een review gepost van de Diamond V770 Ultra. Hier heb je een stukje over de bij kaart geleverde InControl '99 tools:

InControl '99 comes bundled in with Diamond's drivers and is a wonderful tool for any gamer. InControl '99 automatically detects any OpenGL or Dicret3D software the first time you run it, and creates an individual profile so you can tweak the 3D settings from your desktop. It's a quick and painless way to add a few FPS to your favorite game. InControl measures the speed of the V770 Ultra in "Boost Levels." Boost Level 5 will get the speed to 175/200, which is pretty damn fast. If you are worried about heat from overclocking, Diamond is one step ahead of you. The V770 Ultra comes with a fan that keeps everything very cool, so you can overclock with a free conscious!

Check de review bij FPS3D.com.

Ook Gamecenter heeft een artikeltje gepost over de overname van Diamond door S3. Hier heb je een stukje copy/paste over de achterliggende reden van de overname:

In a Gamecenter interview, Ken Potashner, president and CEO of S3, explained the reasons for the acquisition: "There were two primary reasons [for the merger]," Potashner said. "One, we wanted to be able to diversify our technology base, leveraging our skills and competencies in high-growth markets like Internet appliances and home networking. In addition, Diamond is a graphics board supplier; we see tremendous synergy in codesigning our products and great economics with that integration."

Nog een artikel bij Forbes: een Q&A met Howard Lincoln, een of andere hoge gast bij Nintendo. Er wordt wat geluld over het verleden en de toekomst van Nintendo. Verder ook nog dit stukje over de samenwerking tussen Nintendo, IBM en Matsushita:

DT: The announcement of the relationship between Nintendo and IBM and Matsushita Electric marks a pivotal moment for Nintendo's hardware development. What was Nintendo seeking in this $1 billion technology-sharing agreement with IBM and the multiple-compatibility announcements regarding Matsushita's DVD-drive products?

Lincoln: The purpose of setting up the deal with IBM was twofold: First, Nintendo benefits from the unmatched credibility of IBM as a manufacturer of high-powered CPU chips, especially copper technology chips. Second, we wanted to capitalize on IBM's ability to manufacture copper chips in volumes. Basically, IBM combines for us the best product technology and the greatest reliability.

Nintendo has a very powerful brand name. What we were looking for in partnership with IBM, as well as Matsushita, was people to help build our brand and to provide unmatched technology. Matsushita was called to help us get away from the ROM cartridge model. Matsushita and Nintendo actually have had a long joint relationship in the past. We're particularly excited about their participation in helping us build a counterfeit-proof chip.

Beyond3D heeft een interview gepost met Paul Crossley van S3, met uiteraard de overname van Diamond door S3 als onderwerp. Ik heb er ff twee belangrijke vragen uit gepikt:

4. Will Diamond continue to produce boards based on other chipsets (such as NVIDIA, 3DLabs, etc)?

Yes. Diamond currently has purchase agreements in place with companies such as NVIDIA and will continue to service the needs of customers with products based on this non-S3 silicon.

5. Will companies such as Creative and others still be able to produce boards based on S3's chipsets?

Absolutely, S3 has substantial relations with add-in card makers worldwide and we will work with each of them to determine what's the best strategy for them. Savage4 and follow on products can offer them competitive advantages in the market and we will help them in any way we can.

Voor de overige 9 Q&A'tjes moet je richting deze page fietsen.

De 1.88 Detonator drivers voor de Hercules Dynamite TNT en TNT2 kunnen nu ook direkt bij Hercules neergehaald worden. Hier heb je de info en download locaties:

Hercules has put out new drivers for its Dynamite TNT/TNT2/Ultra video cards. New in this version:

- This driver supports all models of the Hercules Dynamite TNT, TNT2, and TNT2/Ultra.

- AMD 3DNow! optimizations have been incorporated. Users of AMD cpu's with 3DNow! will notice increased performance in many 3D games and other applications.

- Sub-picture blending for software DVD programs is now supported.

- Improved performance in Quake 2 and Quake 3 Arena.

De Win9x drivers kun je hier downloaden.

Ik kwam via AMD Zone bij dit K7 artikel van Forbes, waarin prijzen worden genoemd voor de 500, 550 en 600Mhz versies van de AMD K7:

The upcoming K7 chip, which is supposed to offer AMD some relief in the coming years, is likely to be announced later this month and is being dubbed "Athlon." In quantities of 10,000 units, a 500 MHz K7 will sell for $298, while the 550 MHz version will go for $459 a chip and 600 MHz chip is going out of the door for $686 a chip.

Een inkoopprijs van $298 voor een 500Mhz K7 klinkt redelijk, of niet?

Of dit goed nieuws is voor de GP2 fans weet ik niet. In ieder geval zullen zij nog tot begin 2000 moeten wachten voordat de langverwachte opvolger van GrandPrix 2 gereleased zal worden. Dit is een mailtje dat Grandprix2.com ontving van Hasbro's PR:

"Right now GP3 is slated for release in the 1st quarter of 2000. No game builds are available yet."

So it looks like we all have to wait for a little longer ...

Xlr8yourmac heeft een artikeltje gepost over het overclocken van de G3. Dat het mogelijk is om een G3 te oc'en was al langer bekend, nu hebben ze ook uitgevogeld hoe het voltage van de proc omhoog gekrikt kan worden. Het resultaat is een G4-400 op 500MHz:

I was able to increase the clock speed to 473MHz (95.5MHz bus x 5). My machine simply would not boot at 500MHz. I then tried sticking my PCM and heatsink in the freezer for a few minutes. With no fans blowing on it (since that would just have heated things up faster) I was able to run at 500MHz for about 12 seconds before the machine crashed. (Note that you shouldn't do this a lot since if nothing else, the condensation can potentially damage things.)

Last night, I did some more soldering. I moved the resistor in R4 over to R5 for a core voltage of 2.4V. Since then I've been running at 500MHz stably (so long as the cache is running at 5:2 or slower). I have a single 2" cpu fan blowing on my heat sink. The machine immediately dropped into OpenFirmware when I tried booting at 519.7MHz (94.5x5.5). I didn't bother with 550MHz. I'll see over time how stable this setup is. I've not been running it at this speed/voltage for very long yet.

Sharky Extreme heeft hun Weekly CPU Prices column geupdate met o.a. wat info over de release van de AMD K7 / Athlon:

Lots of rumors flying around about this piece of gossip, our favorite version being that Dell has actually instructed AMD to withhold the launch of their new K7 CPU line until Dell is ready to roll out their K7 PC packages and marketing promotions in August.

The punchline though is that we hear AMD has actually AGREED to this, and that the true launch of the K7 (not the "paper launch" which occurs in two weeks, but the actual time AMD begins shipping K7 CPUs in bulk) will now be held until August 1st per Dell's request.

Twintexel heeft een interview gepost met Kevin Bachus, DirectX Product Manager bij Microsoft. Hier heb je 'm vraag:

Why is Microsoft DirectX7 Beta 1 [ build: 4.07.00.0166 ] removed from several servers at your request?

DirectX 7.0 is still in beta test phase and not quite ready for public distribution. Although some web sites illegally posted our beta runtime components, we strongly suggest that users not install updated components of DirectX until we release, and will actively pursue sites that pirate our system components. The DirectX beta program is designed to support software developers integrating new features into their applications and hardware manufacturers developing new device drivers.

Check Twintexel voor het volledige interview.

Microsoft heeft Service Pack 5 voor de Nederlandse, Franse, Duitse, Italiaanse, Portugeese, Spaanse en Zweedse versies van Windows NT4 gereleased. De download locaties vind je op de SP5 Download site.