I don't get it. Netbooks even more so than notebooks are meant to be used anywhere and everywhere, which means frequent handling and varied light conditions. But manufacturers are making them least suitable for their intended use - shiny surfaces that highlight every fingerprint and scratch, and mir...

BTW, I would definitely not rely on "full format" to securely delete previous data. Are you sure it writes the partitioned space? Are you sure it doesn't perform a read or verify pass to surface scan it for bad sectors? If you are sure it writes, does it actually apply to all formatting tools (all ...

I have a WD10EACS (3-platter version) and HD103UI. In terms of idle noise there's not much between them. Both are far less audible than my most recent 7200RPM drives (Samsung HD501LJs and HD400LD, which I'm led to believe are similar in noise level to the F1). I don't have much to say about seek noi...

The manufacturers rated thermal limit while in operation was 55c. So my conclusion? Stay under your manufacturers rated thermal limit and your fine. I believe the 55 degree figure you're referring to is a non-operating environmental temp limit, not a drive temp one. It can be a bit difficult to fin...

I think the spin-up anomaly I described earlier is due to some compatibility issue between the HD103UI and the Sunplus chipset in the Nexstar 3. I have three Nexstar 3's with the following PCB types and chipsets: PA-988 REV1.1 Sunplus SPIF215A PA-988 REV2.0 Sunplus SPIF225A PA-989 REV1.3 Oxford Semi...

I bought a HD103UI yesteday and have a weird issue with it in my Vantec Nexstar 3 enclosure. You switch on the enclosure, and seemingly nothing happens for about 9 seconds. I say seemingly because when I put my ear against the enclosure, I hear what sounds like a seek noise. But it's not until that'...

Has anyone installed a Thermalright XP-120 on this board (using the optional AM2 adaptor)? If not, does anyone have suggestions for a cooler? My requirements are that it's compatible with this board in an Antec NSK-3480, that the fan is easily replaceable, and that it has downward airflow to cool th...

After two years of blissfully quiet service, my SD11G5 is dead thanks to a power surge during a nasty storm. I'm now planning to put together a replacement but haven't really been following hardware news for the past couple of years, so I'm not sure what's available. I checked Shuttle's website, and...

thanks, hopefully it was cancelled because they have a core 2 version coming instead :) When I said "Core version", I meant the Socket M platform supporting both Core and Core 2. I don't know much about those other systems you mention, but looking at the pics, it appears to be just a pre-configured...

The SD12G5 is the Core version of the SD11G5, and is listed on Intel's website:

http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reselle ... 270207.htm

But today I read on the Sudhian forums that it's been cancelled

Speaking from memory (haven't done a side-by-side comparison), I'd say the seeks on my SP2504C are nowhere near as muted as those on my SP1614N. The AAM setting doesn't make much difference, whereas enabling AAM on the SP1614N made a big difference. The SP2504C's seeks seem to be roughly the same no...

Some passive X1300s from HIS:

X1300 128-bit 450/500MHz


X1300 Pro 128-bit 600/800MHz

vincentfox wrote:Hey man my last big splurge on high-end video was a pair of Creative Voodoo2 SLI cards. Dropped $500 on those. Boy that was a sweet setup for it's day.

And completely silent Didn't even have heatsinks, if I recall correctly.

Here are a couple more reviews with power consumption figures for the X1000 series: http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleid=734 http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/262/5/ My shoulders slumped when I saw the figures for the apparently power-hungry (particularly at idle) X1300. Howev...

I note from your other post that the MZ855-II is actually quite a bit larger than the Mac Mini, so perhaps "Mac Mini-shaped" would have been a more appropriate title for this thread. Look forward to your comments on the noise level and whether the fan can easily be substituted if need be. Unfortunat...

Looks like this little unit is finally appearing in stores after it was first shown off a few months ago, and there's now a review in English (well, two different ones from the same person). Have to use the Google URLs to bypass the registration page: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=6&url=h...

Excellent! Unfortunately, when I look at the picture, it doesn't just say that "ABIT is acknowledging the silent PC market". It also says "this chipset runs so damn hot, it needs a heatpipe to cool it!". Some of us hate recent P4 CPUs because they're difficult to cool silently, while others hate th...

It's been discussed here as well, and the subject of your post is incorrect. The 2600+ and 2800+ are confirmed as not support CnQ, but this does not necessarily apply to the 3000+ and higher 90nm models.

I was checking the AMD forums today to see whether there were any updates on the CnQ situation and all I found was this post from a couple of weeks ago, which suggests that the S754 3000+ doesn't support throttling. Has anyone seen any reports from someone who has actually received a 3000+/3100+ 90n...

The 2600 and 2800+ are almost confirmed as not having CnQ. The 3000+ is still an unknown but the Inquirer article that originally revealed the 2600/2800+'s lack of CnQ suggests the 3000+ does have it. The 3100+ has always had CnQ, but the availability of 90nm parts isn't clear. The situation is made...

There is tenuous confirmation that the 2800+ lacks CnQ and that the same is true of the 2600+ in this X-bit review . AMD still hasn't updated its tech docs, leaving CnQ on the 3000+ unconfirmed. Anyone have any info yet on this model? The lack of clockspeed/voltage throtting on the 2600/2800+ is a r...

I have a motherboard (I think it is the mobo) that hisses. It isn't a whine at all. It sounds like a hiss (sssssss). My Gigabyte 7N400 (nForce2) does the same. It's not that loud, but can make itself heard when the intensity of the hissing varies with CPU load, which is annoying. The noise comes fr...

I was referring to the tomshardware article today and noticed that the table appears to have been updated since it was first published, adding power consumption figures with CnQ enabled. I'm pretty sure they weren't there before, because a few days after the article appeared I was almost going to se...

How about buying one of these fan adapters and a really silent 80mm fan? Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't think there was any chance at all of finding such an adaptor, but on your prompting I did a search and found this one (they've even got a 70mm to 120mm). The problem is that by the time I fa...

Thanks everyone for the feedback. The HSF are made by Ajigo. You can find more information in their web page and some reviews in Frostytech, although none are too detailed and it's difficult to find exactly what HSF is the one you have. I found two articles at FrostyTech but they were both for Socke...

I've been starving for pre-purchase info on the stock coolers included with the Sempron 3100+ and Athlon 64 CPUs. While there are brief anecdotes scattered around the place, the difficulty in finding a proper review is irritating given that practically every A64 purchased comes with one. I'm looking...

I'm interested in your experience with this, since it might save me a bit of money when I get my Sempron3100/A64. What RPM range are you observing with the Fan Mate connected, and how are the noise levels and temperatures?

The thing that caught my eye during the launch was the nTune (previously System Utility) program. The product info says things like "wizards allow automatic tuning for the best performance or the quietest operation", "detect that you’ve inserted a DVD and will set the system to quiet operation", "si...

Technology and quality has been improved now so new XP boards and all 64 boards should support HALT. I'm not really up to speed on the matter, but my understanding was that Halt is insignificant for cooling Athlon XPs; what matters is Stop Grant and bus disconnect. There's some info here . In any c...

Are all SP80s with JVC motors whiny? Based on what I've read, a minority of the drives with JVC motors are whiny, but it's a significant enough number that you should be aware of the issue and buy from a store that will let you return it if you're dissatisfied (most stores will only replace a drive...