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- Matrox DualHead2Go
- Asus EN7800GT
- Overclocking 64-bit
- Albatron 915SLI
- Ballistix DDR
- Flash Recovery Guide
- PCstats Weekly Tips |
Dually 7800GT's, Notebook Monitors and Plenty More!
Hello,
One of the greatest aspects of today's computers is
that just about everything can be 'supersized'. One CPU not good enough?
Go dual
core. Need more memory bandwidth? Dual channel DDR covers
that. Likewise, if one videocard isn't cutting it, a second
can always be added into the mix for SLI or CrossFire gaming (if the
necessary motherboard and chipset combo are there first, mind you).
For better or worse, the
Jacob Two Two of the computer world is here to stay.
Thus, we start this
PCSTATS newsletter with twin Asus EN7800GT
videocards in SLi - twice the punch of a single Geforce 7800GT, but
not as expensive as dually 7800GTX's. Following this, PCSTATS has a test
report on some nice dual channel Crucial Ballistix
PC4000 DDR, and the Albatron Mars
PX915SLi motherboard which packs in twin PCI Express x16 slots for SLI
compatibility. Since we're on a roll, we might as well also consider the
effect that twice as many bits have when Overclocking in
Windows XP 64-bit Edition.
Lastly, we have a new
item from Matrox called the DualHead2Go for you to read about today.
This hardware (you guessed it!) brings dual screen monitors into the realm
of possibility for notebook aficionados. There's nothing quite like
trumping a co-workers flashy 17" notebook screen with two 19"
LCDs side-by-side. ;-) Check out PCSTATS'
review for all the benefits and restrictions that Matrox's device
brings to the table.
Happy holiday season
folks!
The Matrox DualHead2Go Analog Edition is a device
that enables multi-display functionality from mainstream lap tops or
desktop PCs. It works with a computers' analog monitor output, and splits
the display signal between two external monitors by pretending to be one
extra-wide display. The host PCs graphics solution does all the
processing, so the device is pretty compact, lightweight, and quick to set
up. The pocket book sized DualHead2Go is compatible with a collection of
recent Intel, nVidia and ATI mobile graphics chipsets, at desktop spanning
resolutions of exactly 2048x768 (60, 75, 85 Hz) or 2560x1024 (60Hz). This
limits the usefulness of the DualHead2Go in some respects, as its two
supported resolutions are not universally supported by all notebooks, or
driver versions.Continue Here>>
The nVIDIA GeForce 7800GT vs. ATi Radeon X1800 XL
standoff looks like it is shaping up to be a pretty titanic battle, but
which card will triumph is up to consumers. One example of what the
GeForce 7800GT is capable of is Asus' EN7800GT 2DHTV/256M/OSP/A PCI
Express x16 videocard. Built with the massive 320 million transistor
GeForce 7800GT 'G70' core, the Asus EN7800GT packs in 256MB of GDDR3
memory. The card supports nVidia's Scalable Link Interface (SLI) for dual
videocard gaming like all current generation nVIDIA parts. The bright blue
videocard incorporates twin DVI connectors so users can attach digital LCD
displays. Component output (HDTV, Y, Pb, Pr) and S-Video output comes
standard via a breakout-box. The software package includes a couple of
games and some multimedia applications.Continue Here>>
When one overclocks in
the 32-bit world, we expect higher results. After all, a faster
computer should lead to faster processing no matter the application,
right? The next logical question is whether benchmarks would see similar
results in a 64-bit
computing environment? PCStats thought it would be interesting to see
how overclocking is affected on the WindowsXP x64 Edition platform by
illustrating both 32-bit and
64-bit benchmarks for an AMD Athlon64 4000+ based system. Would the
test platform be stable enough to overclock successfully? Would WindowsXP
x64 Edition require a more stable processor than its 32-bit counterpart
does?Continue Here>>
nVidia's Scalable Link Interface (SLI), just three little words that until recently have
separated top of the line graphics performance, and AMD and Intel
platforms. Albatron is one of the more innovative motherboard
manufacturers, and its team of engineers has actually figured out a way of
running SLI on the budget Intel 915PL chipset! We will get into how
the 915PL is turned into an SLI chipset in just a moment. Since the
Albatron PX915SLI is based on the Intel 915PL chipset, the motherboard
only supports Socket 775 Pentium 4 processors that run on a 533/800 MHz FSB. The two DIMM slots will handle a maximum of 2GB of PC3200 DDR RAM
which will run in a dual channel configuration. Continue Here>>
On the test block today is a 1GB set of dual channel DDR from Crucial.
Sold under the Crucial Ballistix name, this pair of 512MB
PC4000 DDR modules have been well received by the enthusiast
community. The 184 pin (unbuffered, non ECC) DDR DIMMs are dual channel
compatible and have a default rated speed of 250 MHz, or PC4000. Default
timings are very conservative at
3-4-4-8. To reach an overclocked speed of 250 MHz, the memory is rated
for use with voltages as high as 2.8V.Continue Here>>
The flash memory-based USB key has become
commonplace faster than just about any other computer peripheral in recent
memory. But
despite all their obvious advantages, USB drives and other flash
memory devices like compact flash and SD cards are not without some
problems and pitfalls of their own. In this Beginners Guide, PCSTATS is
going to look at how flash memory works, what can go wrong with it, and
how to recover
and protect your data in case the worst does happen.Continue Here>>
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PCstats Weekly Tech Tips: NetBIOS Security |
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NetBIOS is one of those nice features built into Windows that can allow hackers to take a WindowsXP computer. To protect yourself, it is recommended that anonymous access be disabled.... and with a few clicks of the mouse this feature can be disabled easily.
First you'll need load up regedit (Start -> Run then type regedit and press the OK button) and follow this path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> System -> CurrentControlSet -> Control -> Lsa. From there, in the right hand window, right click and create a new DWORD value and give it the name 'RestrictAnonymous' and set its value to '1'. Close regedit, reboot the system and you're set.
Now a hacker cannot take over your machine through an anonymous NetBIOS connection.
All of the PCstats Weekly Tech Tips have been archived in the Forums for your reference. |
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PCstats Issue
No.198
Circulation: 184,915
| This Issue By |
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Editor-in-Chief
. Max P.
Weekly Tips
. Colin S.
|
PCSTATS Q & A:
Send in your tough tech
questions today! |
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