LG Flatron L226WTQ Review

General Overview:

Typical price: £210

22-inch widescreen display with 5,000:1 contrast ratio

Fantastic image quality, excellent contrast and good value make this a real winner

[Brief Story]

The most ardent peddler of contrast ratio figures is LG. It's impressed us with the 3,000:1 Fantasy and Black Jewel ranges, and now it's about to unleash a 5,000:1 model -- the LG Flatron L226WTQ. It promises brilliant whites, dark blacks and is available to buy for around £210.
That is what bothers reviewers of the new LCD monitor of LG. The LG Flatron L226WTQ-BF is a good-looking piece and has excellent positive aspects in it. Here are the stats:

2) Analog, Digital, VGA PC Interface

3) Native Resolution: 1680 x 1050

What is bothersome though is a minor nitpick: it has no Built-In TV Tuner which I find hard to believe with monitors thiese days. However, it somehow makes up for it with its fast feature enhancers like its OSD(On Screen Display) menu which allows you to navigate several screen properties i.e. color temperature, brightness and contrast.

The catch? It reportedly depends on your video card. Aaarggghh! Still, a good-looking piece that would look great on any place it happens to perch itself.

Weaknesses:

We found it difficult to find any problems with the L226WTQ. If we're nitpicking, we can point out the fact that the 5,000:1 contrast mode is only available in the monitor's 'movie' mode. You have to physically enable this each time you need it, which can be quite annoying.

Also frustrating is the fact it's not height adjustable. You'll have to lower your chair or place it on a pile of books or magazines to get it in the ideal ergonomic position -- with the top of the screen in line with your eyes. The L226WTQ can't be used in portrait mode and doesn't have a built-in USB hub.

The resolution of 1,680x1,050 pixels isn't particularly high considering the size of the panel, but it's the same as the vast majority of rivals so we can't moan too much about it. LG has installed an 'ez Zooming' button to switch to a lower resolution and make icons and text appear larger. It's a nice idea but we hardly ever used this feature. Finally, the silver (or grey depending on who you ask) bezel isn't particularly attractive. Go for the black version if you can, as it's far more attractive.

Read More

New DirectX For gamers

One of the most exciting developments in Windows Vista is the groundbreaking graphics technology. Many of the newest Windows games take full advantage of the next-generation graphics technology in Windows Vista called DirectX® 10. DirectX 10 provides an incredibly detailed experience for gamers of every type, and enables game creators to increase a game's level of realism, enhancing details and complexity in gaming worlds, apply effects like dynamic lighting and weather, and much more.While Windows Vista is fully compatible with games and hardware that use older versions of DirectX, the new DirectX 10 features are available with a DirectX 10 compatible graphics card and games designed to take advantage of this new technology. Adding a DirectX 10 card to a PC running Windows Vista is like turbocharging your gaming experience. Existing games (most of which were written using DirectX® 9) get world class performance, while unlocking the new generation of gaming graphics with DirectX 10 optimized games.

Overview

Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.

System Requirements

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000; Windows 2000 Advanced Server; Windows 2000 Professional Edition ; Windows 2000 Server; Windows 2000 Service Pack 2; Windows 2000 Service Pack 3; Windows 2000 Service Pack 4; Windows 98; Windows 98 Second Edition; Windows Home Server; Windows ME; Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (32-Bit x86); Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 x64 Edition; Windows Server 2003 x64 editions; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit x86); Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 Datacenter; Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V; Windows Server 2008 Enterprise; Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V; Windows Server 2008 Standard; Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V; Windows Small Business Server 2003 ; Windows Vista; Windows Vista 64-bit Editions Service Pack 1; Windows Vista Business; Windows Vista Business 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Basic; Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Home Premium; Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition; Windows Vista Service Pack 1; Windows Vista Starter; Windows Vista Ultimate; Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit edition; Windows Web Server 2008; Windows XP; Windows XP 64-bit; Windows XP Home Edition ; Windows XP Media Center Edition; Windows XP Professional Edition ; Windows XP Professional x64 Edition ; Windows XP Service Pack 1; Windows XP Service Pack 2; Windows XP Service Pack 3; Windows XP Starter Edition; Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Download From Microsoft

Read More

Windows 7 Beta is Available

Whats new in it?[ Special features]


1. It is fast and easier:
Windows 7 was built around your feedback, so you'll see a lot of things you've asked for. You asked us to make everyday tasks faster and easier, make your PC work the way you want it to, and make new things possible. And that's exactly what we're doing.

2. Improved taskbar and full-screen previews

The taskbar at the bottom of your screen is what you use to switch between the applications you've got open. In Windows 7 you can set the order in which the icons appear and they'll stay put. They're easier to see, too. Click once on the new large icons or bigger preview thumbnails and you're ready to go. You can even see a full screen preview before switching to the window.

3. Jump Lists

With Windows 7, we focused on keeping the things you use most right in front of you. One example: The new Jump List feature. It's a handy way to quickly reach the files you've been working with. To see the files you've used recently, just right click on the icon on your taskbar. So right-clicking on the Word icon will show your most recent Word documents. Plus, if there are other files you want to keep handy, you can just pin them to the Jump List.

4. New ways to work with Windows

To see all your desktop gadgets, just drag your mouse to the lower right corner of your desktop. That'll make all the open Windows transparent—making your desktop, and the gadgets on it, immediately visible. Want to minimize all your windows? One click and it's done.

Now you see them

Now you don't: See through to the desktop with invisible windows

New nokia 5800-Review

Configuration details:

Call quality was never an issue with the 5800, as it easily lived up to our expectations of a Nokia-branded phone. Ring tones sounded quite loud and we were happy with them even in noisy environments. The vibro alter was of moderate strength.

You also can mute the 5800’s notification sounds and ringtones simply by flipping it face-down.

So, first things first, when the 5800 Tube is going to arrive? On December 5th it will kick off in Russia and several other markets; however the rest of Europe won’t see it until early 2009 solely because Nokia don’t want to tear up their own portfolio before the Christmas season. The 5800 XpressMusic will retail for 279 Euros before subsidies and rebates on all European markets. Intestingly, while they will face some deficit early on, nobody is going to alter the phone’s price tag. It’s vitally important for Nokia to stick to the price point they announced several days ago to get themselves another bestselling phone.

Nokia’s first touchscreen smartphone isn’t a mixed bag by any means. Going for it are a stable OS, decent sales package that very few other phones have, and a wealth of multimedia features onboard. For a moment it may feel like a perfect phone, but there is no such thing, right? In fact it does have some glitches in the way of software (for example when adding the Birthday field the phone automatically closes the contact menu), but we certainly expected to see more of them in this newly designed operating system.

On balance the 5800 Tube offers pretty decent sound quality, audible stereo speakers, WiFi connectivity, and a sizable display that will remain the best on the market for a quite a while. Frankly, I can hardly find anything to criticize the 5800 for, given how little it goes for - there has never been a phone like this before and now it raises the bar to a wholly new level. Well, it’s about time I wrapped it all up - no point in praising this phone any further, I suppose.

Another thing of note about the 5800 Tube is that it simply won’t face any challenges on the market - the Apple iPhone is a steep, fashion-savvy offering that has been deprived of many standard features, so a comparison between these two phones would seem a little too far-fetched. It does have smoother and more eye-candy menus, similar video capabilities, but that’s about it - in fact the iPhone packs in around a tenth of what the Nokia 5800 has to offer in terms of functionality. It wouldn’t be right to put them in one league and then berate the iPhone for lacking so many useful feats. So let the iPhone remain the ultimate choice for all fashion-conscious users, while the Nokia 5800 will be the way to go for everyone who is after a well-rounded do-it-all solution.

The revolution is already here and its name is “Nokia 5800 XpressMusic” - there will be no other similarly geared and at the same time well-balanced phone in 2009. It sports an unparalleled price/quality ratio and changes the rules for all phone makers out there, including Nokia itself.

Read More

CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600 review

While this PC's looks might not suit all tastes, the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600 is well made and offers decent performance. Having designed it primarily as a gaming system, the company has done a good job of making this machine look the part for the money.

The CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600's shiny black case features two front-facing columns filled with faux bubbles and a transparent side panel that offers a clear view of the components inside. Both features are illuminated in blue, but you can turn off the lights if you wish.

Other components are less striking - the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600's 450W power supply is pretty basic, for example - but there's plenty of expansion room. Vista Home Premium 64bit is preinstalled, so you can upgrade from 4GB to 8GB of RAM by simply popping in an extra pair of memory modules.

A 320GB hard drive is larger than the 250GB we would expect at this price point, but the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600's 19in Hanns-G monitor lets the system down. This analogue-only screen provides far poorer picture quality than those with digital connections.

Noise is also an issue with the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600. The cooling fans run at high speed, making the system rather loud in operation.

Water controlled motherboard is used in it

A 1GB nVidia GeForce 9500 GT delivers a respectable graphics performance, although it's no match for the HD 4650 found in some of the competition. Nonetheless, the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600's graphics card will deliver a decent gaming experience, provided you keep the screen resolution and quality settings to low levels.

Based on a 3.16GHz Intel Core 2 DuoE8500, the CyberPower Gamer Infinity 600 has plenty of power to run modern applications and scored 115 points in our WorldBench 6 real-world speed test. Although this score was beaten by the Arbico, we feel that the extra hard-drive space and superior OS make the CyberPower better value for money. The PC also comes with a three-year warranty.

Read More

HP - Compaq dc7800 Ultra-slim

Here's a neat trick. In addition to being “ultra-slim”, the latest member of the HP Compaq dc7800 family can be made to almost disappear. OK, maybe not, but it can be made to take up hardly any room and be positioned out of sight, simply by buying the custom monitor/stand designed to go with it.

The HP monitor isn't compulsory: any monitor can be used if you prefer. However, opt for the HP L1906i (£149 + VAT) and, in addition to a nice 19-inch flat panel display, you get a solid metal stand to which the monitor and main PC processing unit can be attached.

Of course a screwdriver is needed to attach the PC, positioning it behind the display and clear of the desk, but it's an easy enough job which took us about five minutes. You even get a pull-out tray to take the separate AC adapter, further minimising the footprint. The 1,280 x 1,024 resolution monitor then clips in place with a nicely counterbalanced mechanism to slide it up and down as well as tilt the screen for comfortable viewing, with the overall result a very stylish and usable desktop system.

Configuration:

The processing unit itself doesn't quite live up to the “ultra-thin” billing, but it's pretty close, with several configurations available to suit different applications and budgets. Ours was fairly high-end, with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 6750 processor and sockets for up to 4GB of memory.

Unfortunately, only 1GB is supplied as standard and, given the Windows Vista operating system that comes with this model, we would have liked a lot more. But that's easily accommodated, using notebook-style SODIMM modules with a similarly notebook-style, 2.5-inch, 160GB hard disk and

Unwanted features:

We were also a little disappointed by the integrated Intel graphics controller. It's fine for general office work, but best avoided if you intend to run any 3D modelling or other graphics-intensive applications. All the more so given that there are no expansion slots, so installing another graphics card isn't an option. However, connectivity shouldn't be an issue, with a Gigabit Ethernet port and an impressive eight USB 2.0 connectors as standard.

As well as the stylish design and small footprint, we found the dc7800 Ultra-slim to be a lot quieter than most desktops, thanks to the use of low energy components more commonly associated with mobile computing systems. These require minimal cooling and a lot less power than a standard PC's, the dc7800 consuming around 80 watts in use and 10 in hibernation mode.

The external AC adapter also helps keep the noise down, although we would have liked a louder speaker and were far from impressed by the somewhat flimsy mouse. The keyboard was better, but a set of good quality wireless peripherals would have been a nice finishing touch on an otherwise good looking and well designed device, clearly aimed at the business rather than home user market.

To this end it's worth noting that the Ultra-slim also supports Intel's VPro technology, enabling it to be managed remotely whether powered up or not, with the software agents required pre-installed along with other HP security and management tools.

Look Alive:

At least a gamer couldn't complain about the 5-millisecond response time of the L1906i monitor. Though it's faithful to the old 4:3 aspect ratio (1,280 by 1,024 pixels) instead of following today's widescreen fashions -- and accepts only old-school analog VGA input instead of adding a DVD connector -- the 19-inch flat panel wears its Core 2 Duo backpack well.

A 500:1 contrast ratio isn't exceptional these days, but text and edges were sharp, while 270 nits of brightness kept colors looking clear and vivid, with no bad pixels to be seen on our review unit. You swivel the screen by moving the whole monitor, but the IWC stand provides tilt and a welcome 5.1 inches of height adjustability, as well as the abovementioned shelf to stash the keyboard during idle times. Neither portrait/landscape pivoting nor audio speakers are built in, though HP offers a snap-on speaker bar for $35.

Along with a three-year parts, labor, and next-day-onsite-service warranty, the dc7800 comes with a full array of HP and Intel software for IT managers, including credential-manager and drive-encryption utilities for security. InterVideo's WinDVD is also preinstalled for after-hours movie-watching.

Inside view of CPU

With the LCD-monitor tsunami washing CRTs off desktops everywhere, you can expect to see more and more PC makers unite the display and PC as a desk-space-saving duo. The HP Compaq dc7800 is a versatile example, even if it sacrifices expandability for size and its price climbs as you add extra options. It's a worthy addition to the growing ranks of cool cubicle choices.

And if you don't want to mess with mounting brackets, its desktop footprint is just as small if you put the PC on your desk and the monitor on top of it.

Read More

MSI X38 Diamond Motherboard Review

With the arrival of the X38 chipset, enthusiast can look forward to replacing motherboards with the Intel 975X chipset, which had a number of heating and power issues. The new chipset bears a higher front side bus (FSB) than its predecessor, and has many new important improvements such as the PCI Express 2.0 and the support for DDR3 technology.

The X38 was designed for the enthusiast/overclocker’s population, and so having an abundant supply of tool is nearly a must. We explored the motherboard box to find out four SATA cables, an IDE and floppy cable, three Molex-SATA power cables, an eSATA cable and an IEEE 1394 external module. The X38 chipset has native Crossfire support, hence it would only be right if Crossfire ribbons were provided, which MSI has kindly included. Also, we see the X-FI Xtreme Audio and the SkyTel solution that we saw in the P35 Diamond’s bundle as well. For those of you who don’t already know, the SkyTel solutions allows you to connect your normal phone to the PC and turn them into a VOIP phone.

The Circu-Pipe design seem to be MSI’s number one cooling solution. However, this current one is a little different from the one we saw on earlier MSI boards. The circuit connects the northbridge, southbridge and the IDT (Integrated Device Technology) chip. Previously, the heatsink over the southbridge was quite high, which didn’t allow wider graphics cards to be installed. This time, MSI has gone with a flatter copper block and they’ve positioned it further away from the first PCIe x16 slot. The Circu-Pipe solution did manage to keep the board cool at around 30°C to 40°C. All the ports were situated at accessible locations so no issues there. With the new X38 chipset, two graphics cards can run at full potential simultaneously. MSI has spaced out the first two PCIe x16 slots to cater to larger graphics card. However, the PCIe x1 slots will probably be blocked by bigger cards. The last two PCIe x16 slots only use four lanes, hence the different coloration. Even with the PCIe x1 slot blocked, you can still install the X-FI Xtreme Audio card in one of the last two PCIe slots. Aside from those, MSI has put in a LED display as well as power and reset buttons, which are really useful when doing some overclocking.

Our testing was done using the following benchmark equipment - an Intel core 2 Extreme X6800 processor, a pair of 1GB XMS3 DDR3-1333 RAM from Corsair, and an NX8800HTS with compliments from MSI. The X38 Diamond scored 7,536 on CPU, 5,998 on memory, 11,706 on graphics, and 5,474 on HDD, giving an average PCMark score of 8,092.

Most boards come with some notable flaws but we haven’t found any on the X38 Diamond. Sure the price is a bit steep, but you get a large assortments of features and tools at your disposable. Hook up Crossfire rig and you’ll be having a ball when gaming.

Read More

Kingston DDR3-1375 CL7 Review

When DDR3 technology started entering the market, Kingston released a module from its HyperX series, called the DDR3-1375 CL7 (CAS Latency) alongside two more memory sticks. The new DDR3 broke the 1,066MHz mark and reached a clockspeed of 1,333MHz. However, Kingston has tweaked the clockspeed to reach 1,375MHz, hence the name.

The memory kit consists of a pair of 1GB memory modules, with latency timings of 7-7-7-20. Now some of the DDR3-1333 RAM out there has the same latency. What puts Kingston’s new DDR3 RAM above them is not only its clockspeed, but its voltage requirement of 1.7V compared to 1.8V that other RAM need. With an MSI X38 Diamond motherboard, we ran some benchmarks on Kingston’s memory card. Do note that the memory bus speed supported was only 1,066MHz. PCMark awarded it with a score of 6,1001. On Sandra, the memory latency recorded was 86 ns (nanoseconds), while the memory bandwidth was 5,766 MB/s. The bandwidth between the cache and the memory was 26 GB/s. As for how far it can go with overclocking, we didn’t try it because because vendors generally don’t encourage it. However, there were some references to sites that mentioned Kingston’s DDR3-1375 being able to reach 1,500MHz with CL8.

Kingston used the same heat spreaders that their DDR2 modules had, but Kingston has announced that their future DDR3 lineup will be equipped with a new design. They are still sticking to blue for their HyperX series.

With quad core CPUs and the X38 chipset out, it seems that DDR3 is starting to be considered as a mainstream product. If you needed to know what good DDR3 RAM is out there, Kingston is one of them without a doubt.

Read More

Team Xtreem DDR3-1866 CL8 2GB Kit

When DDR3 entered the market, many were reluctant to transition as Intel was the only one that utilised the technology. Not to mention the extra cost of upgrading your motherboard in order to support DDR3 memory. But as time passed, prices dropped and now NVIDIA has joined in on the DDR3 game. With more people willing to purchase DDR3 RAM, the quest to provide the best performance has started. Team Group Inc. shows us how much they can push with their Xtreem series.

With the Intel X48 chipset and nFroce 790i providing a FSB support of 1.6GHz, there is now better headroom for higher speeds. With this in mind, Team Group has essentially overclocked their memory modules to a whopping 1,866MHz. At a high speed like this, normally you won’t go very far with lower timings. Fortunately, the Xtreem DDR3 modules run at 8-8-8-24 timings compared to the stick 9-9-9-24 timings. However, this overclocking has resulted in a power requirement of 1.9V, which is just a bit more than the stock voltage levels.

The kit comes with two 1G modules that are passively cooled by black aluminum heat spreaders, which seems thicker than other memory modules that we’ve tested. This could provide better conduction, however, we don’t have a proper measurement to prove it otherwise. Its stated that a four to six centimetre fan can be included upon user request.

Gamers will be pleased with Team’s Xtreem DDR3 RAM, however, the price is still quite high even though it has gone down. But as long as you have the money, we don’t see why you shouldn’t get this pack.

Read More

Nokia E71 Smartphone Review

Tagged as the successor to the similarly shaped E61, the Nokia E71 is indeed a veritable improvement in so many ways. The form factor alone trumps the old. The E71 feels ultimately tough and robust while dressed to kill in chrome metal. It looks professional and feels expensive. But despite the heavy metal impression, the E71 weighs a mere 127g. The size is noticeably smaller than the E61 too. The plus point means that it’s now more pocket-able and looks less chunky. But the natural detraction is the smaller QWERTY keypad which loyal E61 users will definitely moan about. We feel it’s still manageable. The best positive notion is in fact the better build of the keypad, which is now more rigid allowing you to feel every button press with a responsive click.

Nokia E71 Specifications :

Frequency : Quad-band EGSM, WCDMA (HSDPA)

Screen : 2.36” 320 x 240 QVGA TFT

Connectivity : GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Others : A-GPS, 3.2 Megapixel camera

Weight : 127g

The screen size has been downsized to 2.36”. The QVGA 320 x 240 pixels may not shout of a highest quality display but acceptable considering this to be a business phone. Connectivity checks every box, ranging from Quad-band GSM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi to even Bluetooth. Naturally, the E71 comes packed with a host of work-related applications. QuickOffice is one such item which should please the busy executive on-the-go. In addition, there’s even a built-in dictionary. Also, the included Assisted-GPS with Nokia maps worked well in providing directions.

The E71 has a few features which suggest it’s not just work and no play! The new ‘switch mode’ lets you quickly alternate with a second customized profile. You change your shortcut buttons, wallpaper, email settings and etc. So as the clock turns 5.30PM and the tie comes off, simply switch modes to let the phone adapt to your ‘after work’ lifestyle. You can happily snap pictures of your escapades too. The 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash works well, although fall short of the quality imposed by 5 megapixel variants in other more multimedia-themes phones. It is though missing a lens cover, which leaves the plastic more vulnerable to scratches.

The sleek chromatic E71 sees a major improvement over the bulky E61, and despite the smaller keypad, still types considerably well. The zippy device performed smoothly even when a host of apps were running in the background. A major plus sees the E71 turn from serious to seriously fun, thanks to the new ‘switch mode’ feature.

Read More

ECS - PF88 Extreme review

Overview:

ECS is well known for thinking up innovative solutions for motherboards, but the company's developers have surpassed themselves with their latest motherboard; the PF88 Extreme. As a basic Intel board this is very well priced, but with the addition of the A9S SIMA card, it transforms into a reasonably priced Socket 939 AMD board.

When you first look at the motherboard you could be forgiven for thinking it's one of the new Intel Socket 775 SLI boards, as there are two PCI-E graphic slots. But on closer inspection the long slot and two rows of jumpers that separate the two reveal the truth. The reason for two graphic cards slots is quite straightforward; once you add the SIMA card into its slot it covers one of the PCI-E slots.

The basic PF88 Extreme is a well laid out Socket 775 board using an SIS 656 Northbridge combined with an SIS 965 Southbridge, and has four DIMM slots supporting up to 4GB of either dual channel DDR2-533 or DDR-667, DDR2 memory.

By using the SIS chipset, the PF88 Extreme offers something over the usual Intel 915/925 series of boards, namely two ATA/133 ports, which is very useful if you are still using an ATA drive as well as an optical drive; at least you can use both with this board.

SIS's 965 chipset offers more support for hard drives in the form of four SATA ports which can be set up in either RAID 0, 1, 0+1 or JBOD arrays. Just for good measure there are two more red-coloured SATA ports which are controlled by a Silicon Image Sil3132 chip. This offers SATA 2 support for these two ports which means NCQ (Native Command Queuing) as well, something not offered by the SIS chipset.

Adding to the features list are three PCI slots, integrated Gigabit Ethernet, FireWire and eight channel audio (Realtek ALC850), so as it stands the PF88 Extreme looks like a well featured, good value Intel motherboard.

Add another £27 (plus VAT) and the whole dimension of the board changes. For this money you get the A9S SIMA converter card which supports Socket 939 AMD processors. The card comes with an SIS 756 PCI-E compatible Northbridge which controls the two DDR400 DDR1 DIMM slots.

Disadvantage:

Unfortunately, lack of space between these memory slots and CPU socket means you have to use either the older style of AMD cooler or an appropriate sized third-party cooler, since the standard 939 cooler is just too large.

Fitting the card is a doddle, once you remember to remove the twenty (yes, twenty) jumpers that are arranged on either sized of the SIMA slot on the motherboard. The mainboard comes with two separate BIOS's and the board switches between the two depending on which processor is being used.

The whole thing works remarkably well, and despite our review board being an early sample it worked with few problems once some BIOS issues were sorted out.

Read More

Intel® Desktop Board DG965MQ-Overview

The Intel® Desktop Board DG965MQ is based on the Intel® G965 Express Chipset that supports 1066-MHz system bus, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X3000 (Intel® GMA X3000) with Intel® Clear Video Technology, dual-channel DDR2 800 memory and discrete PCI Express* x16 graphics in the microBTX form factor. Premium features such as support for Intel® Core™2 Processor with Viiv™ Technology∇, Intel® High Definition Audio (enabling 7.1 surround sound), Dolby* Home Theater* certification, Intel® PRO 10/100/1000 Network Connection and 1394a deliver stability and new features for consumers to enjoy a great digital entertainment experience. This Intel Desktop Board comes with the software required to meet Intel® Core™2 processor with Viiv™ technology brand verification requirements, which simplifies the task of building a PC based on Intel® Core™2 processor with Viiv™ technology. The Intel® Desktop Board DG965MQ is Microsoft Windows Vista* Premium Ready. The Intel® G965 Express Chipset fully supports the visually stunning Windows Aero* user interface with amazing transition effects and realistic animations.

Available Configurations

The table below lists the configurations applicable to the DG965MQ board. Features BOX/BLK DG965MQMKR LA DG965MQKR Board Series Media Series Media Series BIOS ID String MQ96510J.86A MQ96510J.86A AA# (Altered Assembly) D37419-xxx D34647-xxx Processor Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Pentium® D, Intel® Pentium® 4 and Intel® Celeron® D Intel® Core™2 Duo, Intel® Pentium® D, Intel® Pentium® 4 and Intel® Celeron® D Performance (04B/05B)/Mainstream (04A/05A) vreg support 05B 05B FSB support 1066/800 MHz 1066/800 MHz Processor Socket LGA 775 LGA 775 Chipset Intel® G965 Intel® G965 Integrated Graphics yes yes Integrated Dual Independent Display capability (DVI-D and VGA) yes yes Intel® Clear Video Technology yes yes Form Factor microBTX microBTX Memory - Maximum Supported 4 GB at 800 MHz 8GB at 667/533 MHz 4 GB at 800 MHz 8GB at 667/533 MHz Memory Frequency (refer to TPS for configuration requirements) DDR2 800/667/533 MHz DDR2 800/667/533 MHz Audio 7.1 High Definition 7.1 High Definition Designed for Dolby* Certification Dolby HT no S/PDIF no no PS/2 yes no Comm Port no no Parallel Port no no LAN Controller Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mbits/sec) LAN subsystem using the Intel® 82566DC Gigabit Ethernet Controller Gigabit (10/100/1000 Mbits/sec) LAN subsystem using the Intel® 82566DC Gigabit Ethernet Controller USB Connectors with Port Disable 6 (Back) 4 (FP Header) 6 (Back) 4 (FP Header) PCI slots 2 2 PCI Express x16 1 1 PCI Express x1 1 1 PCI Express x1 Minicard Slot no no SATA (ports) yes (6/Black/Fully Shrouded) yes (6/Black/Fully Shrouded) PATA (ports) yes (1/Black/Fully Shrouded) yes (1/Black/Fully Shrouded) IEEE-1394a Ports 1 (BP) 1 (Internal Header) 1 (BP) 1 (Internal Header) HD Audio Link Header yes yes Trusted Platform Module no no Intel® Matrix Storage Technology (RAID) yes yes Intel® Active Management Technology with System Defense Feature no no Hyper-Threading Technology Support yes yes Intel® Quiet System Technology yes yes Supports Intel® Viiv Technology yes no Intel® Rapid BIOS Boot yes yes Instantly Available PC yes yes 1 year limited warranty no yes 3 year limited warranty † yes no

Read More