Friday News

If there was anything to criticize about the NF7-S initial revision then it was the rather limited voltage range in the BIOS based SoftMenu III overclocking utility. ABIT has substantially improved the voltage options in revision 1.2. Originally the NF7 did not offer more than 1.85 volt for the CPU and 2.7 volt for the memory. This has been increased to 2.3 volt and 2.9 volt respectively.

Today's customers are gaining the necessary knowledge to trust digital media; thus digital media is being used more and more. This causes the individual users to need more and more storage space on items like digital cameras, MP3 players, and other handheld electronic devices. So if you are in the market for an upgrade in memory for your device that can utilize compact flash memory, then a Transcend or Kingston module may be for you...

For those of you that read Part 1 of this guide, you know that we started our search for 3DMark performance by establishing a solid platform, namely the operating system. From there, we turned our attention to the system BIOS, where we tweaked and tuned our way to a 2000+ point increase in 3DMark score. In Part 2, we're going to explore the video card itself, along with its associated drivers.

The water-cooling market is already quite large, and it continues to grow. One of the latest additions to the pool of equipment available for the consumer is the new PolarFLO waterblock by Horse of Iron, Inc. I was sent this water block without seeing photos first, so I was not sure what I was getting into. I expected your average, copper rectangle with some barbs stuck out the top - but what I got was the complete opposite. The PolarFLO water block is a radical new design, as I will explain throughout this review. Without even testing this water block I knew it had something special. A professional, manufactured construction, and a high performance appearance make the PolarFLO has to be one of the best looking water blocks I have worked with. The body of the PolarFLO is made of anodized aluminum, with a sold copper base. The 1/2" ID hose barbs are plastic, with a 1/4" thread so easy swapping is possible if needed. The water block also comes with a Y fitting if needed for the out-barbs, and nonconductive mounting hardware for quick and secure installation.

I have to commend Albatron for putting out a very nice board. The PX845PEV-800 should please both overclockers and those who simply demand a solid, dependable motherboard. For performance, this board stands up to any of the 845PE boards currently in the market. And best of all it’s priced to sell with a price of $98 ($145 Cdn.) compared to the Asus P4PE board which has a street price of about $120 ($170 Cdn.).

Take the speed and stability of the Nvidia Ti4600 and throw in some TV In/Out action along with an outstanding software bundle and you get this retail package. MSI is a well known manufacturer of quality computer components and this is another notch for their belt.

While not everyone can afford an expensive case, the new revision of the Z40 Insight from Xoxide is a real pleaser of a budget case. With a preinstalled side UV reactive window from the manufacturer, support for four 80mm fans, and 11 drive bays, what else can you ask for? All this coming in it at under $50 dollars, without a power supply, is this your next case? Continue on as I put this case through a review.