Ik kwam bij EETimes nog een nieuwsbericht over droppende DRAM prijzen. Vooralsnog zijn er geen tekenen die erop wijzen dat er een eind aan de dalingen komt:

The spot price for a 64-Mbit PC-100 DRAM dropped below $4 this week — a historic low for the 64-Mbit density, according to several sources.

[...] DRAM prices have been in sharp decline since May, when 64-Mbit prices were in the $6 range. Six months ago, DRAM vendors regained profitability when prices approached the $10 range, but manufacturers' hopes for a good 1999 have evaporated. Infineon Technologies AG and several Taiwan-based DRAM manufacturers have been the low-price leaders in recent months, he said.

[...] The only bright spot in the picture is that many corporate buyers are loading up PCs with more memory, partially in anticipation of Microsoft Corp.'s release of its Windows 2000 product.

Ik kwam op de frontpage van Ace's Hardware een interessante analyse tegen van de Celeron SMP performance:

On Tom's and BXbord's test they show FSB speed is very important in the dual clelron performance as both cpus have to share the same bus. This fact also lead to the rendering benchmarks on the K bench where the PII beats the celerons by 22% in the lightwave tests, and having a better memory test score, because it needs to access the memory bus less often by having a larger cache. So basically one can see for compiling and very small multithread SMP ware programs dual celery system can work wonders. But if you has some memory intensive works to do a dual PII/III setup is still much more desirable.

So just like JC had said only a few special benchmarks such as rc5 gets a near 100% boost. One should expect about 55% gain on 3D rendering speeds and linux compiling, about 20% on compiling in VC++, about 7% for other smp aware apps, and next to nothing gain in other softwares including games. Thus the need for the dual is determined by one's own software.

Oftewel: de (vrijwel nergens meer verkrijgbare) C300A is de beste Celeron voor SMP.

Ook Planet Hardware vond het nodig om een review van Elsa's Erazor III bij elkaar te plakken. PH heeft - in tegenstelling tot CG Review - meer succes met het overklokken van de Erazor:

While the Erazor is clocked at a moderate 150 MHz memory clock and a 125 MHz TNT2 core clock, it can be significantly raised with the use of third party software. While running tests on the board, we found that the board could be successfully overclocked to 160 MHz for the memory clock, 145 MHz for the core. Not as much as we hoped for, performance won't be noticeably changed at these overclocked levels. After 160/145, visual artifacts started to appear on the screen during 2D and 3D tests, and compromised the board's overall stability, so let's call 160/145 the board's "sweet spot" if you will. Of course, every board is different, so when you pick up your Erazor III board, your luck may be better or worse. Also, numbers will greatly improve if additional cooling is applied, the non-Ultra Erazor III only comes with a chipset-sized heatsink, whereas most other TNT's have some form of active cooling.

USB Workshop heeft een review van Diamond's nieuwe Rio 500 portable MP3 player online gezet. Hier heb je het lijstje met de specs:

- 64MB onboard memory, expandable to 96MB with memory cards
- Supports Windows & Mac (iMac, G3)
- USB port for blazingly fast downloads
- Skip free design - no moving parts
- Access to RioPort.com for premiere audio content and information
- Automatic bookmarking features for listening to spoken audio
- Rio software for encoding, managing and playing digital audio files
- AudibleManager software for spoken audio content (Windows 9x only)
- MetaTrust security enabled (Windows 9x only)
- Upgradeable firmware provides future compatibility
- Uses a single AA battery for more than 13 hours of continuous play

GA-Source heeft een artikeltje gebakken over de Unified drivers van Creative Labs, waar zoals bekend een glide wrapper in verpakt zit:

The speed of the unified drivers is actually astounding. I ran Unreal in Glide faster than the Direct3D support or OGL support. Jokingly, it runs in Glide more accurate than I'd like. The bad filtering and poor color dithering appears much like the Voodoo2's ugliness.

Why are the unified drivers so fast? In this instance, Creative is a lot like an ex-magician. They've worked with Glide before, to make their drivers for the old 3dfx boards they sold, they have experience with Glide and good technical knowledge of it. An ex-magician will be able to perform the trick with much more accuracy than someone who has little knowledge of magic, so in comparison Creative has an ace up their sleeve.

Verder nog in het artikel nog juridische stuff (Glide wrapper - mag dat?). Check 't hier.

Computer Gaming Review heeft een review van de Elsa Erazor III in elkaar gefloept. De kaart is alleen nog maar verkrijgbaar in de vanilla TNT2 versie op 125/150MHz. De overklokbaarheid is niet geweldig, volgens CGR:

You should be able to bump it up 15MHz for the graphics clock speed and memory clock but anything higher and it doesn't seem stable. Be warned: overclockers stay away. [break]Voor video-editing is-ie beter geschikt, het ding heeft 3 video inputs:[/break] They don't call this baby ViVo for nothing. The ERAZOR III has a total of 3 different video inputs, 1 for the higher quality S-Video and then 2 composite inputs and the same for video outputs. This allows for a wide variety of configurations with your TV, camcorder, etc. And to play with all these nice features are video editing tools. MainActor V3 (not Voodoo 3, silly! allows you to morph, blend, and dazzle your friends with all the cool effects to your videos. Definitely a big plus which helps the ERAZOR III stand out from a crowded market. ELSA also included a software DVD program, which is always a nice benefit if you'd like to watch DVD's on your PC. Not to mention ELSA bundles a variety of game demos which is nice because it lets you test out your new hardware but shouldn't affect the cost like a full version of a game, which most probably wouldn't care about. The TV-Out is also nice allowing for play up to 800x600. While typically I'd say this is a novelty feature, with all the added software ELSA's included to go along with the ERAZOR and the video input it adds nicely to the overall package.

Goed nieuws, want Micron gaat wegens overproduktie z'n DRAM prijzen omlaag gooien:

Confronted with nearly six to seven weeks' worth of inventory, DRAM maker Micron Technology has beenforced to offer special price-cutting deals with several major PC OEMs.

[...] At the end of its first fiscal quarter, Micron carried one month of DRAM inventory. But Micron' s DRAM bit output increased 17 percent, while shipments rose only 8 percent, bringing the company's DRAM inventory to worrisome levels.

Surf richting Techweb voor het volledige artikel.

Riva Station heeft een klein beetje informatie en een foto van een Asus VR-100 set. Met deze set kun je ook een 3D bril aansluiten op je 'oude' v3400 videokaart.

You can see a image of the ASUS VR-100 Shutter glasses above. This kit allows the use of the VR-100G glasses on an ASUS V3400 TNT card. There is a VESA glasses connector available. This should allow the use of the ELSA 3D Revelator glasses on this card. But I didnŽt test that yet.

Wat verschrikkelijk gaaf zou zijn aan deze set is als je inderdaad de Elsa Revelator zou kunnen aansluiten op je Asus.

Hoewel ik het eigenlijk een beetje vroeg vind om nu al veel screenshots te gaan lopen posten van dit spel, wil ik jullie de allereerste 4 niet onthouden.

Waarom ik het een beetje vroeg vind? Nou, Alone in the Dark 4 wordt niet verwacht voor Q4 in 2000 !!

De screenshots vind je hier.

Zoals al eerder op deze site gepost, komt er weer een South Park spel aan. Dit keer de beurd aan een race spel: Carting.

Klik hier voor de screenshots.

Er wordt op dit moment onderhandeld met Fox over een opvolger van AvP. In ieder geval zeker zijn een tweetal expansion sets voor dit kassucces.

MCV is reporting that Aliens vs. Predator developer Rebellion is preparing multiple expansions for the game, which sold close to 200,000 units in its first 21 days in stores. The plan is to release one before the end of the year and a second one by Easter 2000. Rebellion CEO and co-founder Jason Kingsley also told the business publication that they are negotiating with publisher Fox Interactive about a sequel, and that the success of the game has stirred up interest in the long-rumored movie.

David Laprad van The Adrenaline Vault bericht over een nieuwe auto voor Need 4 Speed IV

Electronic Arts has released a new car for its arcade racing title Need for Speed: High Stakes. The five megabyte download includes a Ferrari 360 Modena and can be obtained from the game's official website. Here is EA’s description of the car: Ferrari's newest car, the 360 Modena, is perhaps the company's most advanced production car to date. Named after the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, the 360 Modena uses Ferrari's first all-aluminum frame, body, and suspension combination. With additional improvements in every element of the car's design, the 360 is lighter, stronger, and faster than its predecessor, the popular F35. The 360's 90 degree V-8 produces a top speed of 185 mph and a zero to sixty time just under four-and-a-half seconds. Combined with technical advancements in the drive train and transmission, the 360 is a well balanced, strong performer that lives up to Ferrari's racing heritage. The 360's body design, inspired by the classic 1963 250LM, is so aerodynamically efficient, it produces almost four times the downforce than the F355 at top speed. This design alleviates the need for spoilers and air dams, resulting in a body that is sublimely elegant. With accents such as the split front grille, sculpted air intakes and integrated headlamps, the 360 Modena makes the Ferrari lover's heart race and passions flare.

Je kunt de update hier downloaden.

Operation 3Dfx had een link naar deze uitgebreide (p)review van de 3e generatie Permedia chip, met als codenaam 'Create!'. Het belangrijkste aan de chip lijkt het Virtual Texturing te zijn. Vergelijkbaar met de texturing eigenschapppen van de Savage chipset.

Virtual Texturing, I think, is the most important feature on the Permedia3. Virtual Texturing most importantly, works independent and invisible to the game, thus providing seamless integration into ALL games. Virtual Texturing alleviates a lot of strain from the on-chip memory, and cuts down on the use of the AGP bus. To put this in perspective, just think about what effects of Virtual Texturing when you start to run Unreal Tournament and Quake III with scenes with large textures. Most other cards (other than maybe the Savage4) will have to slow down as larger textures are pushed through the bus, while the Permedia3 chops up textures into manageable chunks and keeps sending things through at the same speed.

Je vind hier veel informatie over 3Dlabs in het algemeen (als bedrijf) en de Permedia 3 chip in het bijzonder. Alles wat je wil (en niet wilt) weten over deze chip vind je er.

Easy CD Creator 4 van Adaptec is onderweg. Als je niet kan wachten tot v4 uit is met MP3 ondersteuning, kies dan voor Nero 4.0.3.0

Adaptec ''Easy CD Creator 4 Deluxe'' Will Burn MP3s Adaptec is jumping on the MP3 bandwagon with Easy CD Creator 4, the latest revision of its popular CD-R software. But while the new version gives users the ability to burn MP3s, that function is just the tip of the improvement iceberg. Adaptec recently showed Maximum PC the new version of Easy CD Creator, and we were surprised to find that it offers a totally unique feature (at least to Adaptec)--the ability to add fades between tracks, providing the illusion that the songs have been mixed together. The company has also included its Take Two image-based disaster recovery program, which supports compression, sector skipping, and CD spanning, so you’ll never be without a backup in the event of a drive failure. The new version also incorporates a new and fully-improved interface, the ability to edit video clips, access to the CDDB online CD Disc Recognition Service, and a fully rebuilt disc sleeve creation interface. Look for Easy CD Creator 4 sometime this fall. Retail pricing is expected to fall under $100.

Ahead Nero.
Adaptec Easy CD Creator.

Zoals ik eergister al in 1 van mijn KON postings melde zou er een patch uit gaan komen voor AvP. Die is er nu.
De The Adrenaline Vault bericht ons erover.

What are you doing reading the news section? Go download the much anticipated Aliens vs. Predator save game patch! Finally, the creatures in this game will understand the true wrath of a resurrected opponent. Although we hope you have a safe holiday, your virtual enemies are all but assured the opposite.

AMD Zone had beloofd gisteren met meer info over de overklokbaarheid van de Athlon te komen, maar tot dusver heb ik er weinig nieuws kunnen ontdekken. Dit kwam ik bij Ace's Hardware tegen, maakt de zaken al iets duidelijker:

Sorry for the lack of updates today, the server was down for some technical difficulties but Brian has fixed it. Anyway, it amazes and amuses me that people are already worrying about how overclockable K7 is, and whether or not it is even possible to overclcok a K7. For crying out loud, stop worrying, we can't even actualy buy a K7 yet! Well if it's of any consolation at all, I found out from a reliable industry insider that K7 is NOT and will NOT be multiplier- or clock-locked. However, overclocking a K7 is not gonna be easy at all. Why?

As I was telling JC earlier today, we need a special programming device to alter the multiplier of K7. This device that connects to the "gold finger connector" on a K7 can also change the L2 cache speed of a K7. The bad news is only AMD and some chipset and motherboard vendors currently have that programming device. In other words, it may be next to impossible to overclock a K7 at home initially. . . but you never know, things may change. As JC said, Abit may decide to market such a device .

En die "gold finger connector" zie je hier rechts bovenaan op de PCB:

Over de mogelijkheid om de busspeed van de Athlon omhoog te gooien wordt niets gezegd (niet mogelijk!?).

Future Games Network heeft een previewtje gebouwd rondom Soldief of Fortune, wat best wel een kewl spel lijkt te gaan worden. Hier heb je wat info over de storyline:

For those who haven't been following the title, here's a brief overview (if you'd like specific details, make sure you check out the official site). You are a "soldier of fortune," a skilled mercenary who makes a living performing covert operations around the globe (similar to one of the many mercenaries featured in the magazine "Soldier of Fortune" upon which this game is based). Throughout the game, you travel to cities and hotspots all over the world (including New York City, Iraq, Tokyo, Kosovo, and Russia) and perform your mission by whatever means possible. If you survive, you get paid handsomely and move on to another mission. If you get caught, you die. And, unlike most first person shooters, you'll probably do much more of the latter if you forget that a handful of bullets can bring your mission to a quick conclusion.

EETimes heeft een artikeltje gepost over problemen met lage yields bij chip bakkers die met koper aan de slag gaan:

"The yields people are seeing for copper are not fantastic," said Dan Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research Inc. (San Jose, Calif.), "although for some people they aren't that bad." He stressed that the learning curve from aluminum to copper is long, steep and expensive. Companies hoping to put off buying the pricey tools until the technology seems fairly stable might encounter a nasty surprise. "Copper is not a plain-vanilla process, and you can't just buy the tools and run them out of the box," Hutcheson said.

While Hutcheson noted that chip companies with the most advanced copper programs may be seeing yields of 40 to 50 percent, that's significantly below the 60 to 70 percent range that today is considered desirable for leading-edge technology. Other chip companies that are just beginning their copper development efforts may have yields close to zero. "Using copper is a multi-damascene integration nightmare, and that's what's catching all these companies unawares," said Hutcheson.

Uiteraard gaan we ons nu meteen afvragen of dit gevolgen heeft voor de produktie van AMD's Dresden fab (waar vanaf volgend jaar koperen Athlons vandaan moeten komen).

Firingsquad heeft een review gepost van de G400 Max. Hier heb je wat info over Dual Head technology:

Matrox's DualHead technology differs from traditional multi-monitor support because the second output device can be anything from an additional monitor, a TV, or a flat panel display. Additionally, the second display output can function at a different refresh rate than the primary display device. That way, you can lose a lot of the flicker that usually is resultant from using a TV as a display device.

The second display, though, does not have the full power of the first. The reason why is because it does not connect to the G400 MAX's super fast 360MHz RAMDAC. Instead, the Cathode Ray Tube Controller (CRTC), which controls the second display output, goes through the MGA-TVO chip for analog signals, which causes it to be limited to 1280x1024 maximum resolution (for the second display device).

Verder benchmarks en de inmiddels gebruikelijke bump mapping screenshots. Firingsquad heeft trouwens een vette lijst van games met bump mapping support.

Er zit weer eens een foutje in de i810 chipset. Dit keer blijkt de real-time clock onder bepaalde situaties verkeerde data weer kan geven:

The glitch -- or erratum, as Intel calls it -- can cause the chip set's real-time clock to display incorrect date and time, officials said.

The real-time clock, which is a part of the chip set, updates the time once per second, but during the update alerts the system that it is doing so. Because of the erratum, a signal that is supposed to be sent from the clock alerting the rest of the system it is busy may not get sent. As a result, incorrect data can be displayed.

"If it occurs, it may result in invalid data being read in the date and time display fields of the real-time clock," said Intel spokesman Dan Francisco. "However, the actual values themselves wouldn't change."

Some applications get their time information from the real-time clock, which also supplies timing information to a PC's BIOS software.

The fix consists of updated BIOS software, which ensures that a system knows the clock is being updated. As a result of the glitch and its resulting fix, which OEMs are in the process of implementing, some 810-based products may be delayed.

Check dit artikel van ZDNet voor meer info.

Ik lees bij Voodoo Extreme dat Creative nieuwe TNT drivers gereleased heeft. Hier is de soep:

Today Creative Labs posted release candidate drivers for its RIVA TNT family of graphics products. These beta drivers are built on NVIDIA reference release 2.04, which includes texture management improvements for Quake 3 Test, among other things. Also, Creative has optimized the 800x600 TV-out (available on the 3D Blaster TNT2 Ultra) to eliminate black borders seen with the reference drivers. The drivers are available for download here: http://www.soundblaster.com/hotgraphics/drivers-w9x.html

Zelfs geregistreerde domeinen zijn niet veilig voor hackers, zo blijkt dus maar...

Domain name registrar Network Solutions was hacked again this morning. Visitors to the site were redirected to the Internet Council of Registrars (CORE), a competing registrar, and the Net's new administrator, the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Reports are circulating that the hackers made it into the root DNS servers and changed or corrupted some domains, but no was is sure how bad the damage is.

Maar goed dat ze van tweakers.net afgebleven zijn, anders hadden we toch HEEEEEL boos moeten gaan worden !
lees

Hot Hardware heeft een interview gepost met Brian Burke van 3dfx. Het interview gaat grotendeels over de V3-3500TV (da's een Voodoo3 op 183Mhz met allerlei TV/in en TV/out frutsels), aan het eind wordt de verwachte release date genoemd:

Dave: -- Finally, I'll ask the too often asked question that you marketing types hate to answer.... :-) When will it ship?

-Brian: Easy, end of July .