Hardware Geeks !

NVIDIA's GeForce 9 Series was first introduced in February of this year by way of the 9600 GT launch. Admittedly, we thought it was interesting to see a new GeForce series launch, not with the flagship card, but rather with a new midrange offering. It makes perfect sense, though, considering that more people can afford midrange cards than can afford high-end, flagship cards. Since this launch, NVIDIA has added to the GeForce 9 Series by introducing the dual-GPU GeForce 9800 GX2 and the GeForce 9800 GTX. So far, the GeForce 9 Series seems to be another successful line from the NVIDIA camp.

In this article, we are going to expand our coverage of the GeForce 9600 GT by doing another round-up of three retail cards: the PNY Verto 9600 GT, the MSI N9600GT OC, and the ASUS EN9600GT SILENT. As you might expect, all three of these cards sport 512MB of GDDR3 and a 256-bit memory interface. What you may not expect is how different these three cards actually are. Two feature custom coolers, one of which is passive, making it silent. Because of these custom coolers, these two cards are dual-slot solutions while the third uses the single-slot reference cooler. Only one of them ships with a factory overclock while the other two utilize NVIDIA's reference clocks. We are eager to see how these three cards compare when it comes to performance, noise and heat. Let's jump right in and take a look at the specifications of all three side-by-side.

PNY Verto 9600 GT • more info • NVIDIA G94 Graphics Processing Unit 650 MHz GPU Clock Speed 64 Stream Processors 1,625 MHz Shader Clock Speed 512 MB GDDR-3 Memory 256-bit Memory Interface 1,800 MHz Memory Clock Speed 57.6 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Shader Model 4.0 (DirectX 10) Support PCI Express 2.0 Interface 6-pin PCI Express Power Connector Supports 2-Way SLI Configurations Single-Slot Cooling System (Reference) HDCP Ready 2 x Dual-Link DVI, 1 x HDTV/S-Video Outputs Warranty: 1 year (plus an additional 2 years upon completion of a registration form on PNY's website)

MSI N9600GT OC • more info • NVIDIA G94 Graphics Processing Unit 700 MHz GPU Clock Speed 64 Stream Processors 1,680 MHz Shader Clock Speed 512 MB GDDR-3 Memory 256-bit Memory Interface 1,900 MHz Memory Clock Speed 60.8 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Shader Model 4.0 (DirectX 10) Support PCI Express 2.0 Interface 6-pin PCI Express Power Connector Supports 2-Way SLI Configurations Dual-Slot Cooling System (Custom) HDCP Ready 2 x Dual-Link DVI, 1 x HDTV/S-Video Outputs Warranty: 3 year limited warranty (2 years Parts & Labor, and the third Year Parts ONLY)

ASUS EN9600GT SILENT • more info • NVIDIA G94 Graphics Processing Unit 650 MHz GPU Clock Speed 64 Stream Processors 1,625 MHz Shader Clock Speed 512 MB GDDR-3 Memory 256-bit Memory Interface 1,800 MHz Memory Clock Speed 57.6 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Shader Model 4.0 (DirectX 10) Support PCI Express 2.0 Interface 6-pin PCI Express Power Connector Supports 2-Way SLI Configurations Dual-Slot Cooling System (Custom, Passive) HDCP Ready 2 x Dual-Link DVI, 1 x HDTV/S-Video Outputs Warranty: 3 year limited warranty

Western Digital's Raptor line of high performance hard drives has been a long-time favorite of PC enthusiasts since its introduction several years ago. When WD's Raptors first hit, their 10K RPM spindle speeds allowed for much lower access times than the more common 7200 RPM desktop drives of the time, and overall relative performance was strong. Many users were put off by the relatively low capacities of the Raptor, which debuted at 36GB and topped out at 150GB, but they were still wildly successful amongst enthusiasts regardless.

As time wore on though, Western Digital's competitors introduced faster and faster, high capacity drives, that began to out-perform the Raptor in a number of key metrics. WD too released some fast, high-capacity drives that out-performed even the fastest Raptor in many scenarios. WD released a number of more eco-friendly drives under their "Green Power" badge as well, which may have led some to believe WD's focus on the enthusiast sector had diminished. However, as you'll see today, that is definitely not the case.

Today, Western Digital is unveiling the brand new Velociraptor WD3000GLFS 300GB hard drive. Like the previous generation Raptors, the new WD Velociraptor sports a 10K RPM spindle speed, but the drives are actually quite different. As you'll see, this new Velociraptor is simply in a league of its own, thanks to some innovative design choices.

*Note: MTBF now estimated at 1.4M hrs.

When AMD first announced plans to introduce triple-core processors back in September of last year, reaction to the news was mixed. Some felt that AMD was simply planning to pass off partially functional Phenom X4 processors as triple-core products, making lemonade from lemons if you will. Others thought it was a good way for AMD to increase bottom line profits, getting more usable die from a single silicon wafer and mitigating yield loss. We were somewhat perplexed by the first reaction. This is an age-old strategy in the semiconductor space and after all, the graphics guys have been selling GPUs with non-functional units for years. AMD was simply borrowing a play from ATI's playbook.

If you take a step back and think about it though, who really cares outside of the enthusiast niche'? Isn't it the ultimate quality of the end-product what's most important? If tri-core processors end up outperforming competing dual-core chips, and are less expensive than quad-cores, wouldn't salvaging otherwise unusable die from a wafer be a good move on AMD's part?

Without actual product, it's tough to argue either way, of course. But thankfully, AMD has delivered their first batch of triple-core processors and we can finally put the whole debate to rest.

AMD Phenom Retail Box

AMD Phenom X3 Processors Specifications and Features

AMD Phenom X3 8750

As you probaly expect, the new AMD Phenom X3 8750 looks exactly like any other socket AM2+ processor outfitted with AMD's standard heat spreader. The chip also uses the same packaging and socket as current Phenom processors; it is only the silicon underneath that has changed.

The AMD Phenom X3 8750 is a 2.4GHz processor manufactured using AMD's 65nm Silicon on Insulator process technology. The chip has a Max TDP of 95W and has official support for a 1.8GHz memory controller and HT 3.0 frequency with Dual Dynamic Power Management technology. Although some AMD processors have support for a 2GHz memory controller and HT3.0 link frequency, not every CPU is rated for these high-end frequencies. Also note the "50" in the processor's model number. That "50" means the CPU is based on the recently released B3 revision to the Phenom core which does not suffer from the infamous TLB errata.

Samsung 2243BW 22" Widescreen Monitor Specifications and Features

While the Samsung 2243BW may be aimed at business use, its specifications suggest that it should be capable of quite a bit more than just spreadsheets and word documents. With good viewing angles, decent 5ms response time, good brightness and excellent 1000:1 static contrast ratio, the 2243BW should be well equipped to handle any multimedia you may throw its way. The 2243BW is actually slightly better specified than the wildly popular Samsung 226BW, one of the most widely and highly recommended 22" monitors.

One sign that gives away the 2243BW's business orientation is the prominently displayed TCO'03 certification badge. TCO is a series of certifications for office equipment that stipulate requirements for products to help improve the working environment. The requirements for each TCO certification focuses on four main areas; ergonomics, emissions, ecology and energy. The certifications are categorized in years, although this does not mean a TCO certification for one year is necessarily better or more up to date than another. Instead each certification is meant for a different class or group of office product. The TCO group of certifications cover a wide variety of products including computers, mobile phones, printers, furniture and of course, monitors. The TCO'03 certification that the Samsung 2243BW bears, for instance, specifically pertains to monitors. TCO'03 certifies that any monitor bearing its mark meets a minimum level of specification concerning display resolution, brightness, contrast, reflections, color reproduction, ergonomics, electromagnetic emissions, electrical safety, energy usage and environmental impact (ecology). All TCO'03 certified displays manufactured after 2006 are also required to meet the RoHS directive. While the TCO'03 isn't a mark of distinction like a THX certification would be for speakers, it does somewhat guarantee that a certified product will be relatively pleasant to use in an office environment.