Mike Chin's blog

Not the kind of diamonds that might have glittered in your mind, but... Innovation Cooling is giving away 100 syringes of IC Diamond 7 Carat thermal compound to SPCR forum members. In return, Innovation Cooling seeks test data on how well the thermal compound performs in your system. Check out the details here.

Madshrimps' first CPU Cooler Roundup of 2009 reportedly took 200 hours of testing, and features 23 different products that can be compared to 72 Intel/AMD heatsinks they've tested in the past. It's one of the few sites outside SPCR that takes noise consistently into consideration in assessing heatsink/fans. * Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

A recent article by The Register describes how Apple is filing patents about computer silencing. Most of the concepts mentioned are old hat for SPCR, namely noise/thermal management of components for not only low measured noise but also low annoyance factor. It's interesting to see a major computer maker taking the matter seriously enough to try to patent the concept of automated noise management based on user preferences. It's doubful that such a system would actually work well enough to make it worth implementing. It's easier and cheaper to make inaudible computers using the principles and practises we've been honing at SPCR for years. On the other hand, business is not always about effectiveness but marketability. Apple has a knack of pitching to the public, and for some consumers, anything they touch is gold. - Discuss this news in the SPCR forum.

FrostyTech reports: "Diamond thermal paste? Yup, the penultimate material for thermal conductivity has been turned into thermal paste by Scottish company called Electrospell. Electrospell's Thermodimeâ„¢ diamond heat transfer compound is an ultra high thermal conductivity thermal interface material composed of pure surface-modified diamond microcrystals (1-micron diameter) suspended in a special carrier fluid." Several times higher rate of heat transfer over conventional TIM is claimed. - Discuss this news in the SPCR forum.

Madshrimps compares the performance/noise balance of 35 different 120mm fans from AcoustFan, Aerocool, Arctic-Cooling, Cooler Master, Coolink, CoolJag, Delta, Gelid, GlobalWin, mCubed, Nexus, Noctua, NoiseBlocker, Papst, Revoltec, Scythe, Sharkoon, SilenX and Xthermal. Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

A chorus of reviews on the web today sing the praises of five new AMD Phenom II processors for AM3, prompting some to proclaim a new era of serious competition for Intel, the undisputed king of x86 processors for the past several years.

Anandtech - Xbitlabs - Legit Reviews - HotHardware - Benchmark Reviews - PC Perspective

Vancouver, the home of SPCR, and the rest of Canada (as well as much of the US) has been hit for the past week with serious winter weather. A Canada-wide white Christmas is expected, the first time since 1971. All this may even impact SPCR editorial content delivery. Meanwhile... Happy Holidays, everyone!

Intel chose the day before the voting day of the 2008 US presidential elections to lift the news embargo about its latest processor. Naturally, the tech web sites are overflowing with articles today about Intel's Core i7; they've had upwards of a month to prepare. Intel could have lifted the news embargo after the elections, but perhaps Intel bigwigs felt even obsessed computer geeks might be distracted by tomorrow's outcome at the polls. Here are some of the reports on Core i7 released today, in no particular order: The Tech Report * Hardware Secrets * Lost Circuits * Tweaktown * Benchmark Reviews * Hexus * Hot Hardware * Driver Heaven * Tom's Hardware * Ars Technica * Mad Shrimps * Legit Reviews * bit-tech.net * HardOCP * AnandTech -- Discuss Core i7 in the SPCR forums.

New list, low prices.

Daily Tech says new reports from a competitive market research firm indicates netbooks and bargain notebooks are driving global PC sales in a market where concerns over the global economic crisis have pushed budget PCs to the fore. According to Gartner, netbooks are leading the increase in sales, although it is not that clear whether sales are being driven by new models or by cannibalized older models that have seen their prices slashed. One fact not mentioned is that the popular budget models are less speedy, and much more energy efficient than their bigger, pricier conventional counterparts. For computer users, it's one way to go on an energy diet; we all need to get used to the idea. Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

A number of readers have asked for an SPCR investigation into MS Windows Home Server, which is available as OEM software, as well as appropriate hardware to run this OS. Popular opinion on WHS seems inordinately high for a MS OS; some people feel it's the best thing MS has produced in years. We're working now to deliver an article on WHS and building a power-efficient home server silent enough to not put it in the closet, hopefully by the end of this month. In the meanwhile, here is Missing Remote's recent comparison of the HP MediaSmart Server vs two homebrews variants, and Microsoft's home page on WHS. * Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

The Tech Report has a review of Intel's soon-to-come high end X25-M SSD today. Ditto Ars Technica, Legit Reviews, PC Perspective, and Hot Hardware also has a comparison of four SSDs and a WD Velociraptor.

But by far the most comprehensive and authoritative review comes from Anandtech, one of the oldest PC tech sites: Anand's investigative 17-page review of Intel's MLC-based SSD is a must read for geeks. These make for an interesting snapshot of the current state of solid state drives, a subject of great interest for anyone interested in silent computing. Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

Two articles in RAM (Reseller Advocate Magazine) this month struck deep. RAM's perspective is that of the reseller rather than the consumer, and its insights are often considerably more reality based than typical tech web sites. The 2008 Race for Mobility is a well-balanced, in-depth look at both Intel Centrino 2 and AMD Puma notebook platforms. AMD Redefines Performance examines the way that AMD is carefully targeting the performance sector of mainstream buyers.

Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

The July issue of Ode— which describes itself as a magazine "about positive news, about the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better" — was devoted entirely to noise or conversely, peace and quiet. They called it the Silence Issue, and featured many interesting articles on acoustics from health, business, science and other points of view. Included is an article about a vsit to Orfield Labs in Minnesota, an anechoic chamber reputed to be the quietest place on earth.

Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

The July issue of Ode—
which describes itself a magazine "about positive news, about the people
and ideas that are changing our world for the better" — was devoted
entirely to noise or conversely, peace and quiet. They called it the Silence Issue,
and featured many interesting articles on acoustics from health, business, science
and other points of view. Included is an
article about a vsit to Orfield Labs in Minnesota, an anechoic chamber reputed
to be the quietest place on earth. Discuss this
news in the SPCR forums.