Internet News

Reviews of the new Western Digital VelociRaptor have popped up on the web today; perhaps a news embargo was lifted today. It's a 2.5" 300GB 10k rpm update of their 3.5" 150GB Raptor 150... and it looks to be better in every way. We should have a sample to examine soon. In the meanwhile, here are some of today's reviews: Storage Review, The Tech Report, Legit Reviews, PC World, Hot Hardware. And the official WD announcement.

A great number of CPU announcements have come down the pipe recently. First it was VIA announcing their new Isaiah CPU, picking up where the C7 left off. Then it was Intel with their Silverthorn and Diamondville (now both known as Atom).

Scythe has been busy too, releasing two new heatsinks. The Zipang (which appears to be an archaic name for Japan) and the Orochi (a legendary dragon with 8 heads and 8 tails). Both are massive- the former weighs 815g, while the latter is a frightening 1285g), and use 140cm fans.

MSI has generated a lot of press recently with their announcement of a northbridge cooler powered by a Stirling engine. While it is interesting, it doesn't appear scalable at this point.

Computing appears to have come full circle in the past forty years, moving from server-client nodal networks to multiple independent desktops, and now — with the energy and environmental crises upon us — expanding a desktop PC into many PCs using virtual machine technology. Since VMware introduced the hosted Virtual Machine Manager in 1999, interest in x86 virtualization has been growing steadily. Userful, a company based in Calgary, Alberta, is now giving away virtualization software that gives consumers a second computer for free. Simply connect an extra monitor, USB keyboard, and mouse to your standard computer box and this software allows two users to work on the same PC at the same time.

Discuss this news in the SPCR forum.

We've been dubious of claims for vast differences in CPU cooling effected by TIM (thermal interface material, often referred to as thermal goop or grease, but Madshrimp's recent roundup incorporates good testing methodologies, and is both interesting and provocative.
SPCR forum thread about this news.

Zonbu has just released a VIA 1.5GHz C7-M laptop with a 15.4" WXGA screen. It's made by Everex and equipped with the same Linux OS used in their desktop Mini. Details are sketchy, but the laptop appears to employ the same external online storage service along with a 60GB conventional 2.5" hard drive. Zonbu's 5% discount for SPCR buyers extends to the notebook as well. Use coupon code SILENTPC or just click this link to receive your discount.

"The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. To accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between Nov 12 and Nov 26, in the U.S. and Canada, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution."

Program end date extended: You now have until Dec 31, 2007 to make your donation and receive your gift.

It's not about silent computing, but it's compelling... Sometimes, you're free floating on the web, and you don't even recall how you got there, but there you are... or here I am at 2AM on a Tuesday night, unable to get to bed because I can't stop listening to a personalized stream of music from an Internet radio station that's got me mesmerized... all after naming just one performer I was in the mood for: Madeleine Peyroux. Pandora describes itself as "a new kind of radio -- stations that play only music you like." So far, it's batting a higher average than any radio station I've ever listened to, and this is just after a couple hours.

Scott Wasson posted this timely question last night to open a lively discussion at The Tech Report. His comments and questions reflect some of my own thinking; the responses are well worth a look, too.

PCs to Be Seen, Not Heard is the title of an Oct 11/07 article by technology columnist Peter Wayner in the New York Times. It provides a good overview of the current "silent PC" sector, and features key players, including EndPCNoise, Antec, Zalman, Atech, QuietPC... and yours truly. Discuss this news in the forums.

It falls in the don't-hold-your-breath news category, but the BBC reports that a collaboration between Purdue University and Intel has resulted in the development of...

"...a prototype device that creates a 'breeze' made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips. The 'ionic wind', the scientists say, will help to manage the heat generated by increasingly powerful, yet ever-shrinking devices. Conventional cooling technologies using fans are limited because they can suffer from air-flow problems. As the spinning blades waft air over a chip, the molecules nearest to the chip can get stuck and remain stationary, hindering the cooling effect. But the new experimental wind engine employs a different strategy.

Building on the success of their (SPCR reviewed) HX-series power supplies, Corsair has released the VX series, emphasizing efficiency and noise reduction. According to JonnyGuru, the fan used is a lower-speed sibling of the very quiet Adda fan employed in the HX-series.

The Athlon X2 BE series of low-power processors has finally hit the street. Digit-Life has a full rundown on their name, their performance, and their power consumption, as compared to Intel's latest power sippers.

Acoustic foam seems to be catching on in a big way- first NZXT announced a case with pre-applied foam, now Cooler Master is getting in on the action. Their Cosmos case is targeted directly at the silent PC enthusiast, with rubber gaskets, an airflow guide, and plenty of foam. Hexus has a 13-page review.

Eco PC Review has an article on EPEAT, the Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool funded by the EPA. It's a "green mark" program for computing products, the first in the US. Long overdue, not without flaws but still a welcome start. Discuss this news in the SPCR forums.

Eco PC Review is a new web site dedicated to bringing news, information and analysis to educate people about the environmental impact of computers. This is a issue that is not widely understood, and we are only just beginning to get an inkling of what all those electronic thinking machines might be doing to the environment. A majority of people in the developed world are computer users and the ubiquity of computers is almost complete, yet the questions about their eco-footprint are only beginning to be asked. There is much to be learned and solved.

While silence is not the first thing that comes to mind when NZXT is mentioned, their new Hush case is quite interesting. Rubber padding, acoustic foam, and 120mm fans are all steps in the right direction.

Tweaknews are the first to get their hands on the new BTF95 from Zerotherm. This fanless model, based on the BTF90 previously reviewed here at SPCR, keeps up with the stock AMD heatsink with no noise output.

The Cooljag Falcon 92 appears to be a strong contender for a place in SPCR readers' hearts. Both aluminum and copper versions were run through their paces this week at FrostyTech.

Some combinations of CPUs and motherboards in current laptops are producing an annoying, "intermittent high frequency buzzing noise" that has actually been identified as a problem by Dell. The problem was first noted last year in MacBook Pros, but has since been heard in some Dell and HP notebooks as well. The afflicted models run Intel Core 2 processors. Dell's tech support notes state,