Desktop PC Hardware

PALIT REVOLUTION R700 HD 4870X2 2GB DDR5 Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:05:44 +0000

PALIT REVOLUTION R700 HD 4870X2 2GB DDR5

Inorder to fill the high-end graphic card market and become the fastest of the graphic card industry, ATI installed 2 GPU chip HD 4870 in one board, and so the ATI HD 4870X2 was born. Seizing the chance, Palit decide to manufacture a graphic card using this chip of their own too.

To cool off this card Palit used the one not referenced by ATI. Palit uses their own choice of cooler, the result is an HD 4870X2 graphic card which takes up 3 slots from your motherboard. Though big in size, the cooler really work quitely.

The card also comes with complete set of connectors from DVI, HDMI, VGA and diplay port are available in this graphic card. If you need 2 DVI connectors, Palit included an HDMI to DVI adapter.

No S-Video

The test for this card is running smoothly. All the test given were completed succesfully. The result given by this card is also satisfactory regarding to its high-end class. Using a very high resolution and maximum detail while playing a game is very recommended as the performance of the card shouldn’t be restrained.

Conclusion:
If you’re choosing this type of graphic card make sure you have plenty of space available in your computer case. Because it consumes lots of space thanks to its cooling device. This graphic card is also very suitable for enthusiats and hard core PC gamer.

Specifications:
Chip: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 2 GB
Core Clock: 750 MHz
Memory Clock: 950 MHz
HDTV output: not available
DVI output: available
HDMI output: available
Jenis Memory: GDDR5
Memory interface: 512-bit
Package: HDMI to DVI Converter, CrossFire Bridge, 6 pin to 8 pin Power Converter, Driver CD, Quick Installation Guide.

Benchmark:
3DMarks Vantage : P10277
Company of Heroes DX9: 195.2
Company of Heroes DX10: 83.3
F.E.A.R.: 271
Quake 4: 194.3

This product is tested with this testbed system:
Mainstream Mobo: MSI P35-NEO2 FIR
Extreme Mobo: ASUS Maximus
ATI Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD3870
NVIDIA Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT
Memory: Corsair DDR2-PC6400, DDR2-PC8500, DDR3
Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM, Raptor
Power Supply: Tagan 700W, 800W, 1100W
Flash Memory: Kingston UFD, SDHC, SD, MicroSD, CF
Keyboard & Mouse: Genius USB, optical
Optical Drive: AOpen DVD-RW 2012S
Cooling System: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro/64Pro dan Accelero X1/X2

source CHIP Magazine.

Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:43:43 +0000

Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3

This time Manli released their new product the Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 to enable them compete in the mainstream market. This graphic card is using the 9600 GT chipset which had been downgraded on the stream processor from 96 core to 48 core but with overclocked core and memories.

This graphic card is already equipped with Artic Cooling HSF to overcome the heat during workload. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with steel holder to keep the graphic card straight. The effect is that the graphic card looks a bit bended, eventhough it doesn’t interfere with its performance.

The card is stable enough at testing. Chip magazine tried to test it by playing Company of Heroes with 1024 x 768 screen resolution. It can be said that the card could play the game at medium setting.

Arctic Cooling HSF

Looking at the test results it can be said the card is quick. Eventhough it only has 48 Streaming Processors the overclocking did quite an effect and overall it offers a very good performance. Another testing using CUDA shows a good performance that would make it suitable for playing with images with Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Conclusion:
The Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 is a card with good performance. A good choice for its class and it comes with very good HSF.

Specifications:
Chip: NVIDIA Geforce 9600OC ™
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 512 MB
Core Clock: 650 MHz
Memory Clock: 900 MHz
Shadder: 1625 Mhz
HDTV output: Available
DVI output: Available
HDMI output: Not Available
Jenis Memory: GDDR3
Memory interface: 256-bit
Package: Quick Guide, CD Driver, HDMI Donggle, DVI, Donggle, SPDIF, PCI Converter

Benchmark:
3DMarks Vantage : P4175
Company of Heroes DX9: 59.8
Company of Heroes DX10: 33.7
F.E.A.R.: 143
Quake 4: 155.7

source CHIP Magazine.

AMD/ATI Beats Nvidia to the 1 GHz GPU Milestone

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:04:08 +0000

An interesting news we found about the ATI vs nVidia graphic card race. Here’s the complete story

AMD boasted today that it has delivered the world’s first 1 GHz GPU. Is this a new product? Not exactly.

What AMD has done is that it has taken an ATI Radeon HD 4890 graphics card, which normally runs at 850 MHz, and overclocked it to 1 GHz at the factory – air cooled – and voila, you have yourself the world’s first shipping 1 GHz GPU part.

In fact, if you had your own Radeon HD 4890, you might be able to reach 1 GHz too. Of course, AMD does have the advantage of binning parts to make sure that those with the most headroom get separated for this new SKU.

The flip side of that equation also means that any GPUs that aren’t able to hit the 1 GHz mark on just air cooling will be relegated to just the old “regular” pile, which will cap speeds at which the Radeon HD 4890 will run.

Look out for these juiced up video cards from Asus, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, Gecube, Gigabyte, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), ITC, Jetway, MSI, Palit Multimedia, PowerColor, Sapphire Technology and XFX.

Stay tuned for our hands on with one of these cards where we’ll put it up against a ‘vanilla’ reference board.

Interestingly enough, this is the second time that AMD has beat an arch rival to the 1 GHz milestone. Back in 2000, AMD beat Intel to the 1 GHz punch with its Athlon. Remember that? Take a trip with us down memory lane as we look back on Chris Angelini’s review of the AMD Athlon 1 GHz during his more innocent and much younger days.

source: Tom’s Hardware US

PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:15:30 +0000

The PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT comes with a generic documentation, but the documentation within the driver CD is much more comprehensive. Besides giving an instruction of how to install the card physically, it also gives how to use the nVidia control panel, the rest within the CD is DirectX 9c.

The features and the performance this card gives is not too special compared to others alike, but this card could be maximized for watching HD films that runs on HD 1080p. While testing, there were no film that had a jagged effect displayed.

PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT

The results for this graphic card is satisfying and could compete evenly with rivals in its class. The 1 GB memory feels to be too much as other cards of this type could already runs very well with 512 MBs of memory.

The HSF which comes with the card have done the job very well, but it’s supported by two holder pins. So, becareful when you try to install in on a PC.

Conclusion:
If you’re choosing this card for its 1 GB of memory then it would be an unwise choice, but with its low price and performance this card is very acceptable. Unfortunately Prolink didn’t shipped the card with a stronger supporting pins.

Pros:

Cheap price

Cons:

Minimum documentation

Benchmark Results:
3DMarks Vantage : P1471
Company of Heroes DX9: 48.9
Company of Heroes DX10: 17.2
F.E.A.R.: 68
Quake 4: 74.1

Source CHIP Magazine

Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless Router Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:55:05 +0000

If you remember the Linksys WRT54G router which has square box design with dual antennas in its back with a dominan blue and black color on its body. But in this series Lynksys has change the entire characteristic drastically. Linksys WRT54G2 now looks so slim and covered with black shiny plastic material that it gives the product a very minimalistic design.

The antenas are now located inside the body. On the front you’ll see indicator lights and a button for quick setup. This device is a wireless brodband router. With it you could start a small network in a home or SOHO that will connect to the internet using broadband or ADSL connection. Just plug the UTB cable from the modem to this Linksys WRT54G2 at the back of the device, and now yout internet is instantly shared.

Pros:

Mimalis design
Easy network setup

Cons:

Hot while transfering data

Specifications:

Interface: 100 Base-TX
Support: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
Frequency Range: 2.412 - 2.462 MHz
Antenna: 2 (internal)
Port 10/100: 4 port
Dimention: 203 x 35 x 160 mm
Weight: 0.28 KG
OS Support: Windows Vista/Xp/MacOS

source CHIP Magazine

Toshiba MK5055GSX 500GB HDD Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:45:57 +0000

It can’t be subjected that notebook sales have already passes desktops sales, and so notebook users will eventually need an aditional space for their notebooks. Toshiba now tries to offer a new HDD type MK5055GSX which has a capacity of 500 GBs. A very good option for notebook users who needs to increase the space within their notebooks.

The tests shows that the Toshiba MK5055GSX HDD is equipped with 8 MB cache and read at an average rate of 59.7 MB/s. The writing speed is about 59.3 MB/s average, this data shows that the HDD has a quite fast transfer rate, eventhough it spins at 5400 RPM. The read and write access time is about 20.4 ms and 20.5 ms respectively.

Spesifications:
Capacity: 500 GB
Interface: SATA 3 Gb/s
Buffer: 8MB
Rotation Speed: 5400 RPM
Dymention: 100 x 69.85 x 9.5 mm
Weight: 102 g

Altec Lansing FX3022 2.1 Speaker Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:31:35 +0000

Altec Lansing is back with their unique design, the twin tower design in this FX3022 series. A longthrow 1.5″ driver is placed at the top of each speakers, and at the bottom of each speakers is hidden a 4″ subwoofer that faces the bottom. But this so-called compact design must pay a price, an external adaptor is required to power this speakers.

The sound quality of the speakers is surely undoubtable, it’s very good. The sound level is quite balanced and clear. Altough it looks small, the downfiring concept of the submoofer gives a round feel of the bass with balanced intensity. Unfortunately this speakers is not suitable to run on its maximum level, because the low tone is not very deep. Placement of the speakers will also determine the sound quality. An ideal place would be a wooden desk to place this speakers.

Pros:

High quality sound
Unique design

Cons:

Bass sounds sometime’s dissaponting

Spesifications:

Subwoofer: 4” / 9 W / 4 ohm
Satelit: 1,5” / 3,5 W / 12 ohm
Freq. Respons: 40 Hz – 16 kHz (-10 dB)
S/N Ratio: >85 dB (@1 kHz input)
RMS: 25 W (total)

Source CHIP Magazine

Viewsonic VX2262wmp LCD Monitor Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:16:35 +0000

Viewsonic is trying to reach the heart of its consumer with their latest product that has a characteristic combination of style and performance. Behind its stylish black glossy beauty it has a very interesting spesification, such as 1680×1050 resolution and a fast response time of 2 ms.

Viewsonic vx2262wmp

When the CHIP team first try this product, the default LCD brightness feels a bit too high so we need to calibrate a little. But for the rest this LCD gives a very good color range. HD video testing of this LCD displays a very good detail. The same results goes to photo testing and text display. It’s also very suitable for gaming as it has a very quick response of 2 ms.

The menu button on the bottom

This 22″ wide LCD looks preety solid even though it got a small leg. The base is solid because it’s reinforced with steel plating. Two WOW speakers are also beautifully hidden, but this makes the menu button hard to be found.

Pros:

Onboard speaker

Cons:

No DVI

Spesifications:
Type: 22” widescreen
Resolution: 1680×1050
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Response Time: 2 ms
Weight: 5,6 kg

source CHIP magazine

ECS GF 9500GT 512MB GDR3 128 BIT Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:37:03 +0000

This ECS graphics card combines 32 stream processors within the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT GPU with 512 MB DDR3 memory. Ecs uses the Qimonda chip for these memories. This kind of chip is known for their overclocking capabilities.

HSF for this graphics card is very standard. It’s small and doesn’t look like other heavy-duty HSF. The SPD/IF connector for this graphic card is located at the left side of the SLI slot. Around the GPU you could see 4 pieces of DDR3 memories on each side of the card.

ECS GeForce 9500gt

Eventough the package comes with standard contents, the documentary is quite informative. Presented in four different languages the documentary also includes the way to install the card properly, how to install the SPD/IF, and the driver instalation.

The testing with games and 3DMark Vantage concluded that this graphic card is able to deliver a very good performance in its class. The HSF even though quite small does a very good job in cooling it down, even at its maksimum payload.

SPD/IF connector

In the overcloking test, the score is quite satisfiying. The core clock could be raised up to 600 MHz from the original 550 MHz. The memory clock could also be raised from 1600 MHz to 1650 MHz. The result is the performance increases by 10 percents.

Conclusion:
The product is an example of a graphic card suitable for HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer), especially because it provides an HDMI output. The performance itself is very good, and can play older games with quite high details.

Spesifications:
Chip: NVIDIA Geforce 9500GT™
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 512 MB
Core Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 1600 MHz
Shader: 1375 Mhz
HDTV output: Available
DVI output: Available
HDMI output: Available
Jenis Memory: GDDR3
Memory interface: 128-bit
Package: Quick Guide, CD Driver, HDMI Converter, DVI Converter, SPD/IF

Benchmark:
3DMark Vantage : P1991
Company of Heroes DX9: 53.3
Company of Heroes DX10: 28.2
F.E.A.R.: 78
Quake 4: 89.1

The product is tested with the following testbed system:
Mainstream Mobo: MSI P35-NEO2 FIR
Extreme Mobo: ASUS Maximus
ATI Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD3870
NVIDIA Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT
Memory: Corsair DDR2-PC6400, DDR2-PC8500, DDR3
Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM, Raptor
Power Supply: Tagan 700W, 800W, 1100W
Flash Memory: Kingston UFD, SDHC, SD, MicroSD, CF
Keyboard & Mouse: Genius USB, optical
Optical Drive: AOpen DVD-RW 2012S
Cooling System: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro/64Pro dan Accelero X1/X2

source CHIP Magazine

Prolink PRO 1901W LCD Monitor Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:56:24 +0000

Prolink launched PRO1901W LCD for entry-level market. We can say such things because they had remove the DVI connection on this this LCD 19″. At the highest resolution of 1440×900, it seems LCD has a calibration problem because the position does not center correctly. Although the problem is not found in the other (lower) resolution, the picture quality is also unsatisfactory.

Prolink Pro 1901w

Finally, of all other resolution the most comfortable resolution to use only at 1280×780 @ 75Hz. at this condition the LCD display provides quite well performance in its class. With only a simple press of the automatic settings button, it shows an adequate result. This LCD is suitable for browsing. However, it’s still lacking and some flaws still can be found, such as the noise / grain, a less dense black, and the whites
tend to yellow.

Simple footing of the monitor

This LCD display looks very solid with its cyclic footing. The back is reinforced with aditional covering, and propably for some people will be having difficulties while trying to put the cables for this monitor.

Pros:

Onboard speakers

Cons:

No DVI connector

Spesifications:

Type: 19” widescreen
Resolution: Up to 1440×900
Contrast Ratio: 700:1
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Response Time: 5 ms
Pixel Pitch: 0,2835 mm

Translated from CHIP Magazine.