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Archived News - what WAS new:

I think I put something up about this a few weeks ago. Anyway, the current crop of Athlon/Duron motherboards limit the maximum cpu core voltage to 1.85V. But someone discovered that by adding a little 24kOhm resister to the motherboard, one can up the maximum voltage to 2.32V. That's probably dangerously high, but this mod does allow you to choose a number of voltages between 1.85V and 2.32V.

Well this write up on Tom's shows you how to do it for an Asus A7V (I still have to try this), but the AMDZone link below shows you how to do it to an Abit KT7.

Oh, and in case you're wondering WHY someone would want to up the voltage: it helps overclocking, a lot. Upping the voltage a touch above 1.85V can be the kick-in-the-ass the Athlon/Duron needs to get above that magical 1GHz mark. Keep in mind, it does reduce the life of your cpu, but it's difficult to determine by how much. Look at it this way, if it reduces the life of your cpu from 10 years to 2 years (just say...), well big-deal, most overclockers don't hold on to their cpus for more than 18 months anyway.

*NOTE: this will definitely void your warranty(s) and there's a significant chance you will fry your cpu, so please, don't be stupid. I mean, "Please be careful." And remember to keep you cpu COOL.
Related links:
AMDZone Abit KT7 voltage upping article

My original post from 9/08/00

PC-nrj article on voltage upping the Asus A7V

The original article from a Japanese site

Asus
Manufacturer of the wonderful A7V motherboard

If you have a DVD drive and don't know what software to use to watch DVD's on your PC, this article is for you. I'm sure most people just use whatever DVD software comes with their DVD player, but you might want to read this article and see if there are any features you're missing.
I still have to find an Win2k compatilbe DVD player.

That's gotta hurt

CNet has a few articles about Apple Computer, Steve Jobs' recent fiscal Q4 earnings announcements and the resulting investor reaction. There are many reasons for this: Many say that Apple isn't selling as many G4 systems as it had anticipated, among other things. Related links: Register story on Apple's Q4 earnings warning Earnings warning analysis from MacEdition *the usual warning for Mac-sites, they seem to be long on emotion, short on facts, logic and reality (kinda like...), so bring some salt.

A letter received by Hexus from Krystale Jean of Soltek reveals that they have received AMD Athlon (T-bird) processor with the multiplier pin(s) removed. This pretty much makes overclocking a pain.

Tweak3D has a 4 page write up on tweaking Microsoft's latest. If you have WinME and want to squeeze the last d0rp of juice out of it, definitely give it a read.
Related links:
CNet WindowsME superguide
I thought *I* was your superguide!

From The Register, "Sources close to Intel said that its next generation of IA-64 processor, codenamed McKinley, has already taped out, a term which means that the chip company has advanced its plans for the chip by a clear 12 months." McKinley is planned to be the successor of Itanium (aka Merced), Intel's first P7 chip. The Itanium is a 64-bit processor and the first based on Intel and HP's joint IA-64 (EPIC) architecture. Intel has delayed Itanium numerous times and there are reports that Itanium has difficulty running at speeds above 800MHz.
Related links:
Intel IA-64 home

09/29 - Update: CNet is now reporting that Intel has cancelled its plans for Timna processor. Timna was Intel's codename for its low-end (read cheap-ass) integrated "system-on-a-chip." Integrated chips include features normally found on individual "cards" such as video controllers, disk controllers, and network interfaces all within the CPU itself in an attempt to reduce overall system cost.
Related links:
Register story on Intel canceling plans for Timna chip


CNet is reporting that Intel has delayed the launch of it's latest addition to the Pentium processor line, the Pentium 4. Intel has tenatively moved the release date from October 30 to the week of November 20 of this year. No reason was cited in the article.
Related links:
2000 Microprocessor Forum (µPF) - cool stuff if you're into chips
(I stole this link from JC's, who mentions that Intel's P4 will miss this now)
Register story on Intel delaying Pentium 4

PCWorld magazine is reporting that Microsoft has learned that, "A mysterious problem affecting certain high-speed systems running Windows Me and possibly Windows 98 could cause data loss at shutdown." This problem apparently only affects users with 933MHz or faster processors. They are also reporting that Microsoft is fixing the problem for future shipments of Windows and is also working on a patch for current Windows users. For current Windows users PCWorld is saying, "In the meantime, vendors suggest turning off power management, which turns off the Windows Me automatic shutdown feature. Then you just need to save your work and wait a few seconds before you shut down, to avoid data loss."
Related links:
Microsoft
Makers of Windows98SE and ME operating systems

SharkyExtreme has a little write-up on Tyan's AMD-760 chipset (DDR) based Trinity A762 motherboard. I won't spoil it for you, but Sharky finds out what Ace's and Anands have already seen: DDR is slightly faster than SDR in some situations, slightly slower in others. See for yourself.
Related links:
Tyan
Makers of the Trinity A762 motherboard

These numbers have been out-there for a while, but I guess The Register is just confirming the Pentium 4 pricing. If you're too lazy to click above (I hear ya), "The 1.3Ghz P4 is priced at $635, while the 1.4GHz variant will set you back $805."
I read somewhere that Intel may be setting pricing a little lower to compensate for the fact that motherboards may be more expensive and you will have to run RAMBUS RAM which we all know costs a bit extra.
Before you jump on the P4 bandwagon, keep in mind that Intel will release a successor to P4 a few months after P4's release, and a new packaging as well (Socket 423 will be replaced with Socket 478), requiring you to purchase another motherboard.
Related links:
Intel
Makers of Pentium4 (and eventually, dare-I-say, Pentium5) processors
Ixbt-labs
Has a nice write-up on Pentium4 and motherboard manufacturers

A startup named Absolutefuture.com (I keep telling you guys: there are no good domains left) is set to release a new email messaging system that would allow users to send encrypted messages directly to other users. Contrast this to the current email system where (typically) unencrypted copies of email messages are left across (often times) many intermediate servers leaving a paper-trail that law enforcement or others can follow.
In my opinion, it's about f'in time. oops. Seriously though, email is terribly insecure. Employers and other regularly archive all email messages to and from companies. And how many times have you heard of people dredging up 10 year-old email to prove that you did or didn't do something (Bill Gates, cough).
I was thinking of doing something like this, but it's a little beyond my abilities.
Related links:
Absolutefuture.com
SafeMesssage secure email product to be introduced soon
PGP
offers email and other security / encryption products and services

I redid the top banner and left menu. Trying to clean-up the look a little bit. Let me know what you think! Ah, what am I talking about: I don't give a rat's-ass what you think !

Btw, here's a little gem for you fans of this site (what are YOU thinkin'?)

click for larger image (29.8k)

It's an image of me hugging a PowerMac 630-something... who-cares? Savor-the-flavor, 'cus me even touching a mac is a pretty rare, and me smiling is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. If you consider that I had to leave my house, now we're talking impossible odds!


And formula1 (racing) is at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend. It's been 10 years since formula 1 last raced in America. Qualifying Saturday is at 2pm ET, Race on Sunday is 2pm ET also. These guys do 215 - 220 mph down the front straight: it's unbelievable. Definitely check it out!
And we wish all the drivers Good Luck!
Related links:
Visit the official Formula1 Indy website
AtlasF1
has excellent coverage of all the Formula1 happenings
CNNSI
also covers Formula1


Did I remember to mention that I'm "tha number-one stunna" - ha ha?

Ace's Hardware has got ahold of a Micron Hurricane DDR board and put it through its paces. Ace's runs some low-level memory tests along with the standard real-world benchmarks. Does DDR SDRAM provide enough of a performance boost to justify a new motherboard and RAM? Go see for yourself how DDR fares against SDR SDRAM.
Related Links:
Anandtech DDR Preview (09/14/00)
Wonderboy put up some of the first benchmarks of DDR SDRAM.

Microsoft has posted an updated version of their ever-so-popular TweakUI utility.
That reminds me. I'm working on completely redoing the files area. It's about half-way done.

This is a registry hack "for Windows 2000 and Athlon/Duron systems using the Nvidia GeForce and Matrox G400 video cards." If you own an AMD Athlon or Duron processor, a GeForce or G400 card, run Windows2000 and experience stability problems, this fix might be for you. It's not known if GeForce2 or G450 users need this fix.

Related Links:
Nvidia
Makers of the GeForce256 and GeForce2 series video cards
Matrox
Makers of G400 and G450 video cards

VoodooExtreme has a little interview with coding guru John Carmack of Id Software. Carmack is responsible for a lot of the technology behind games like DOOM and QUAKE. This interview is kinda technical, but if you're interested in cutting-edge game technology, it's a look.
John Carmack interview: part 1, part 2, part 3.

Ole Lange is working on an OpenGL rollercoaster simulation he calls No Limits. I'm trying to learn OpenGL so it caught my interest. Right now, the demo (v.0.1a) only lets you ride one track and look around, but it's still pretty impressive in my opinion. This is an early beta so expect some bugs.

Ars-Technica has done a little write-up on the basics of Microsoft's business-end file-system, NTFS (NT File System - Some people think NT means New Technology, others say it's the codename for Intel's i860 chip. While still others say WNT is VMS with each letter incremented). They compare NTFS with FAT (File Allocation Table) which is the file-system MS uses on its consumer-end operating systems (like Win9x). The file-system is the way the operating system handles storing information on the hard-drive. It involves issues like performance, capacity and security. If you're too lazy to read the article (I hear ya), all you have to know is this: NTFS good, FAT bad.
Related Links:
File Systems section
of the (huge) NT Faq

Technet guide to choosing between FAT and NTFS
The straight dope from the horse's mouth.

SharkyExtreme now has a weekly RAM price-guide. I suppose this is useful, but what's next, a weekly CAT5 cable price-guide? Come on.
And if you want my 2-cents, always buy real name-brand not "name-brand" name-brand memory. If you buy generic RAM to save a few cents, and then your computer is all flaky, don't come cryin' to me. I'll say, "I told you so," or, "I told you not to buy cheap-ass generic RAM," or something to that effect.
My personal recommendations, Crucial (Micron) or Mushkin.

I saw this a couple days ago but I forgot to post it. ZDNews takes a look at what Steve Jobs has in store for those "Don't start in with logic again!" saying, give new meaning to the term "die-hard", zealots known as MAC users.

Apple has been promising a new operating system longer than I've been promising to clean my house, and it's a toss-up as to which will happen first. I plan to clean around the end of December or January and that's right about when OS X (ten) is scheduled for release.

Apple is also working on an unprecidented number of codenames for products (e.g. aqua, rhapsody, darwin and cocoa). And everyone knows, cool codenames * hype = success. Or wait... it's gotta be your FUD... no... mistake...

In all seriousness though, it's interesting to see what Apple has on-tap for its next-gen operating system. I've also been getting the feeling that more and more developers are hopping on the OS X bandwagon. As we say here in the Hammerville flats, "Maybe somethin's a brewin'."
Related links:
Apple - Don't post news about unreleased products or we'll sue you and shut you down and take away your children and/or pets!

The web wonder-boy is at it agian. This time he's got his hands on a 1GHz AMD Athlon system with DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM. This system is using an AMD 760 chipset and sports a 266MHz front-side-bus and PC-2100 (that's a marketing term) DDR SDRAM. Anand explains different speeds of DDR SDRAM,

"DR SDRAM, however, is currently offered in two flavors: PC1600 and PC2100. Running at 100MHz DDR (effectively 200MHz), PC1600 DDR SDRAM achieves a maximum theoretical transfer rate of 1.6GB/s, equal to that of PC800 RDRAM. Likewise, PC2100 DDR SDRAM runs at 133MHz DDR (effectively 266MHz) and offers 2.1GB/s of memory bandwidth."

Many in the PC industry have high hopes for DDR and some vendors (AMD is one) are betting everything on the prospect that DDR will be the memory of the future.
Related Links:
AMD - Makers of Athlon processors and chipsets.

It looks like AMD may actually do something to stop overclocking after all:
"AMD wants to stop the overclocking of its processors. They will be removing the pins on the bottom as well as eventually redesigning the surface of the chip and remove all the bridges that can be used to overclock as well."
There's also word of SMP (dual-cpu) support sampling in December to be available Q1 2001.
Read up...
I originally saw this on VoodooExtreme, and they got it from AMDZone.

I'm a little out-of-the-loop, but Billy's little brother "Flounder" is recovering from a bout with The-Big "C" (cancer). We all hope he stays healthy and wish him a speedy recovery!!!

Lately I've been spending a lot of time learning to program OpenGL. I'm working on a fireworks program right now. (There's a small screensot on the left)

I'll be posting the source and executable and asking for comments soon.

If you're interested in OpenGL programming, you should definitely check out NeHe for tutorials and other goodies.

I'm also getting my feet wet in 3D StudioMAX. I've messed around with AnimationMaster but now I want to learn some 3DSMax and produce some cool images with that.

I'm sorry but as of today, an AMD Athlon (thunderbird) 900MHz can be had for $266. If you're into overclocking, a 700MHz t-bird can be had for $134. Your mileage may vary, but my 700 is hummin' right along at 918MHz. I don't know what language you speak, but in english there's only one word for that, it's cheap.
A few notes. Although these are great prices, DDR (Double Data Rate) SDRAM compatible motherboards should start appearing in October. If you buy a new (SDR) mobo now, you may have to buy a new one in a few months if you want DDR.
And another thing: keep in mind those prices are what I like to call "internet prices." They represent an imaginary price that is far below what you will end up paying. That's just how it works. Expect to pay approx. $15 for "shipping" (yeah I know...) and another $30 or so for an alpha fan (unless you're a lamer).
The guys at Ars pointed this out to me...
Related links:
GamePC - Need a motherboard?- I recommend the Asus A7V (really?) I "got mine" at GamePC.
CoolerGuys - Need an HSF (HeatSink/Fan)? I recommend the Alpha FC-PAL35T (or newer). Coolerguys are in Bellevue, WA.
Memman - also sells Alpha fans. They're in Louisiana I think.


PS - updates-a-comin'
I'm working on updating the site. No new content, but I will be bringing all the pages up to the current look. Just a tidbit for those courageous souls who venture past the TC homepage.

Wired is reporting on a company called Zimtu (yet more proof that all good domain-names are indeed gone) that will allow you to protect some of your private data while selling some of it.

"Zimtu is developing software that foils the attempts of e-commerce companies from collecting data on you. Such privacy software, which uses proxy servers and cookie-monitoring applications to keep your info from getting to the marketers, isn't new.

But Zimtu has added a twist: You can select which personal information you want released to marketers, and Zimtu will sell that data. The company will give you half of what it makes on the deal."

To me, this is like being so upset at people breaking into your house and stealing your things that you enter an agreement giving one burglar exclusive rights to break into your house and steal your things and he helps keep other burglars out of your house and gives you half of what he makes. What a bargain!
Related links:
EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) huh?

This is like non-news, but someone else has found out that some of the "users persistence" features (I don't even bother to put quotes around features anymore) of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser can aid web-sites in tracking users without their knowledge or consent. Sound familiar? Microsoft says that giving up your privacy is a small price for you to pay for all the marvelous features and benefits of the web. And Microsoft knows what's best for you.

According to CNet News, F*ckedCompany.com is for sale on eBay. I linked to F*ckedCompany a few months ago because I thought it was funny that some of these dotcoms with their "get-rich-quick" attitude were getting a little of what they deserve. Apparently F*ckedCompany is getting what it deserves, a couple million from some fake-bidder on eBay. Wait a minute...

In an update to the news from yesterday, FrostyTech has an explanation from "Jai" of InsaneHardware that I read to say that it was all a hoax (something I seem to be especially susceptible to lately).
I have no idea what's going on here... I can't get InsaneHardware to come up. I just wish these f*ckers would just grow-up and not waste peoples' time. Whatever I guess...
All I can say is I'm SORRY for posting false news and perhaps a little research on my part instead of just taking everything at face-value.
In related news, Overclockers.com has a little explanation of something to do with AMD chips. I've read it five times and I still have no idea what they're talking about.

The answer should be obvious... This is an undoctored image I captured this morning on WindowsME as I was trying unsuccessfully to install my Microsoft Joystick. I don't know who gets the blame for this one. My guess is Bill, but who's to say?

Don't tell me you didn't see this coming from a mile away. InsaneHardware is reporting that they have an AMD Duron chip with the multiplier pins missing. I'm going to pre-announce that a japanese hardware site will find a work-around for this a few days. It's probably only a matter of time before AMD switches all Athlon thunderbirds to pin-missing models, so if you want 900+MHz on the cheap, you may want to move quickly and snap up one (or two) of the remaining overclockable chips.

Here's a snippet: "But as galling as the verdicts have been, the judiciary — with every curt dismissal of every nerd-approved argument — is doing the plugged-in set an enormous favor. Because if anybody needs a lesson in the way the real world works, it's the geeks."
OUCH. Truth hurts, read on.

Own an Asus A7V motherboard and sick of running your AMD Athlon or Duron at 1.85V? Need more juice to get to some more of that OverClocked lovin'? PC-nrj shows you how to modify your A7V to allow for higher CPU voltages (VCore). Ok. Don't be stupid now: This WILL void your warranty and there's a good chance you will fry (read "ruin") your motherboard, processor or both. So proceed at your own risk.

I got this link from AMDZone (where I only have to navigate past a dozen activeX warnings)
Related Links:
The original article from a Japanese site

This little table on Ace's gives us some insight into what we can expect from ASUS and the same probably applies to other motherboards as well.

Bert McComas explains Intel's manufacturing and pricing strategy for the coming quarters.

Hello. I haven't had a chance to update the site recently. I've been really busy with school (Diablo2), finals (Diablo2), work (Diablo2), "gaming" (Diablo2), friends (yeah right, Diablo2) and I just don't have time to update the site (mainly because of Diablo2).

Seriously though, I will have some free time in September to update the site and maybe bring it up to speed before school starts up again in the fall.

I am going on vacation starting about 4 hours ago. I'm headed to SanFrancisco, CA to pay my good friend Aaron a visit and LEAVE HAMMERVILLE. Picutre trying to give a cat a bath. Ok, that's the flight attendants trying to get me BACK in the plane for the return trip to 'Hammer.' Yeah, I'm sure I'll miss it when I'm gone (yeh!). I take about 3 days off from waiting-tables every 2 years so you can bet your sweet-ass I'm going to enjoy the next 6 days.

And as for Diablo2. If you want to not have a life. If you want to not leave your house for days-at-a-time. If you want to lose your job, your wife, your kids. Buy this game. And get a comfy chair.

Anyway, if there's anything you'd like to see done with the site (shut down) please write me an email and I'd be glad to get to it next week!

Oh yeah:
Just to update Project 950 one last time:
To refresh your memory, Project 950 was my attempt to push a $170 700MHz Athlon Thunderbird processor to 950+MHz.
After purchasing an Alpha FC-PAL35T hsf I've been running at 918MHz rock-solid for two weeks now? It's all a blur. Anyway, I can say without any hesitation that an AMD Althon Thunderbird and Asus A7V make just about the best upgrade I've ever seen. "Borrow" the money from your parents if you have to: do this upgrade. If you consider yourself a nerd, you're nuts not to. Just go to any web-site on the links page and read what people say about the T-Bird and A7V.



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