09> 0 74470 81182 4 ® September 2006 • Vol 6 Issue 09 Frontside 6 What’s Happening 12 Digital Economy 13 The Saint Changing Times The Experts Alex St. John The Saint page 13 Spotlight Alex “Sharky” Ross The Shark Tank page 30 Anand Lal Shimpi Anand’s Corner 48 Pentium’s End page 28 Intel Core Exposed 55 Something Old, Something New Intel Core 2-Compatible Motherboard Roundup 64 CPU’s Core 2 “Extreme Machine” Barry Brenesal Making The Fastest Even Faster The Cutting Edge page 92 Rob “CmdrTaco” Malda Mike Magee The Department Shavings From Of Stuff The Rumour Mill page 83 page 98 Rahul Sood Wagging The Dog Copyright 2006 by Sandhills Publishing Company. Computer Power User is a trademark of Sandhills Publishing page 99 Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction of material appearing in Computer Power Useris strictly prohibited without written permission. Printed in the U.S.A. GST # 123482788RT0001 (ISSN 1536-7568) CPU Computer Pete Loshin Power UserUSPS 020-801 is published monthly for $29 per year by Sandhills Publishing Company, 131 West Chris Pirillo Open Sauce Grand Drive, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501. Subscriber Services: (800) 424-7900. Periodicals postage paid at Dialogue Box page 79 Lincoln, NE. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Computer Power User, P.O. Box 82667, Lincoln, NE 68501. page 78 Did you find the hidden CPUlogo on our cover? Turn the page for the answer. Hard Hat Area PC Modder 31 Tips & Tutorials 32 GeForce 7800 GT Voltage Mod Page 24 The Making Of A Mainstream Powerhouse 36 Mad Reader Mod Smokin’ Gets On Track Heavy Gear 38 Advanced Q&A Corner 42 X-Ray Vision: Nanocrystal Displays Next Big, Big Thing In 16 Dream Hardware Display Technology 44 White Paper: RuBee 17 A Cool, Dry Place PREY We Put Six Waterless Coolers Adding Flexibility To The RFID Market Tips & Tricks Page 87 To The Test Loading Zone 94 Software Tips & Projects Remote Access On The Cheap 22 Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 70 The Bleeding Edge Of Software 96 Warm Up To Penguins Inside The World Of Betas A Look At SuSE 10.1 & XGL 23 Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 71 Up To Speed Upgrades That’ll Keep What’s Cooking 24 Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP You Humming Along HP LC3760N 37-inch HD LCD TV 70 Video Encoder Roundup 98 Shavings From The Rumour Mill Five Programs For Your The Desktop Is Not Dead, 26 Vantec NexStar LX NST 375LX File-Conversion Needs Long Live The Desktop Sunbeamtech NUUO Series 75 GoldSolution Software Driver Magician 2.8 99 Wagging The Dog 550W SLI PSU Atka Software Aura Intel Will Change The Way 76 Paragon Software Disk Wiper 7.0 It Does Business 27 Asus EN7950GX2 MoviX 102 Technically Speaking 78 Dialogue Box An Interview With Dr. Albert van 28 Anand’s Corner Muse, Sick Breemen, Leader Of Philips’ iCAT Intel Is Good Again 79 Open Sauce Robotics Project On The Internet, Someone 106 Under Development 30 The Shark Tank Knows You’re A Dog A Peek At What’s Brewing Got A Socket AM2? In The Laboratory Caught In The Web Back Door 80 The Web Finally Gets Mobilized Cell Phone Browsing Gets Real 108 Q&A With Jerry Bautista 83 The Department Of Stuff The Future Of CPUs & GPUs download.txt CORRECTIONS: Digital Living On page 64 of the August issue, the second part of the DDR2 memory chart should be labeled 84 Road Warrior “DDR2 At Various Clock Speeds & A CAS 5-5-5-2T Setting,” and not “. . . CAS 6-6-6-2T Setting.” New Samsung Digicams, Energizer Energi To Go, Mobile Gear In The Classroom & More Infinite Loops 86 At Your Leisure Page 27 Games, Gear, Movies & Music Strange stats and other oddball 92 The Cutting Edge items from computing's periphery Tell Me A Scary Story, Daddy. Tell Me About Computer Viruses. 82, 95, 104 CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee (For questions about your subscription or to place an order or change an address.) [email protected] Toll Free:(800) 733-3809 Fax: (402) 479-2193 CCoommppuutteerr PPoowweerr UUsseerr P.O. Box 82667 Lincoln, NE 68501-2667 E D I T O R ’ S N O T E HHoouurrss Mon. - Fri.: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST) Sat.: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) L ast month we took an up-close look at AMD’s new Socket AM2 plat- Online Customer Service & Subscription Center http://www.cpumag.com form, which is laying the groundwork for some very big things to come. WWeebb SSeerrvviicceess Exciting stuff to be sure, but seeing as how AMD has been the perfor- (For questions about our Web site.) mance leader in the high-end desktop market for several years now, we’re not as [email protected] blown away by great new AMD tech as we are by this month’s spotlight sub- (800) 733-3809 ject: Intel’s Conroe CPUs. AAuutthhoorriizzaattiioonn FFoorr RReepprriinnttss Reprint Management Services Officially dubbed the Core 2 family of processors, these chips represent more Toll Free: (800) 290-5460 than just faster new CPUs; they are a tangible reassertion of Intel as a techno- (717) 399-1900 ext. 100 logical force to be reckoned with. People who have been following this industry Fax: (717) 399-8900 [email protected] for more than a couple of years remember when Intel was the de facto choice www.reprintbuyer.com for high-performance procs; we’ve wondered for a long time just when the EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff company would flex the muscle of its multi- [email protected] billion-dollar R&D budget and do Fax: (402) 479-2104 131 W. Grand Drive what it seems now to have done. Lincoln, NE 68521 Intel’s top dog, the Core 2 SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss Extreme X6800, is a monster, but (800) 382-4552 consider this line from Anand’s col- Fax: (402) 479-2193 http://www.cpumag.com umn on page 28: “. . . the truly impressive part of Intel’s Core 2 AAddvveerrttiissiinngg SSttaaffff Toll Free:(800) 848-1478 lineup isn’t at the very high end, but Fax: (402) 479-2193 rather the 2.4GHz E6600. The 120 W. Harvest Dr. Lincoln, NE 68521 E6600 is faster than AMD’s flagship Athlon 64 FX-62, and at just $316 TThhee GGaanngg costs less than 1/3 as much.” EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff::Ronald D. Kobler / Christopher Trumble / Blaine Flamig / Trista Kunce / Corey Russman / Rod Scher / Calvin Wow. Clinchard / Katie Sommer / Kimberly Fitzke / Katie Dolan / Of course, we hardly expect Raejean Brooks / Sally Curran / Michael Sweet / Nate Hoppe / AMD to step quietly aside and Sheila Allen / Joy Martin / Linne Ourada / Ashley Finter / Holly Zach / Tara Simmons / Barbara Ball / Leah Houchin / Sarah let Intel bask in the glow of this Gabelman / Marty Sems / Chad Denton / Kylee Dickey / Josh achievement; AMD will be Gulick / Andrew Leibman / Vince Cogley / Sam Evans / Jennifer back, and we can’t wait to see Johnson / Nathan Lake WWeebb SSttaaffff:: Dorene Krausnick / Laura Curry / Kristen Miller CCuussttoommeerr SSeerrvviiccee::Lindsay Albers what it has in store for us. For SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss::Connie Beatty / Matt Bolling / Patrick now, though, enjoy our Core 2 Kean / Charmaine Vondra / Miden Ebert / Kathy DeCoito / coverage in this month’s Spotlight Stephanie Contreras / Nicole Buckendahl AArrtt && DDeessiiggnn::Lesa Call / Aaron D. Clark / Fred Schneider / Aaron Weston / Carrie section, starting on page 48, and be Benes / Ginger Falldorf / Sonja Warner / Lori Garris / Jason Codr sure to check out our usual lineup of / Andria Schultz / Erin Rodriguez / Lindsay Anker AAddvveerrttiissiinngg columns, reviews, and interviews, as SSaalleess::Grant Ossenkop / Liz Kohout / Eric Cobb / Ryan Donohue / Bob ChesterMMaarrkkeettiinngg::Mark Peery / Marcy Gunn well. Have a great September; we’ll see / Kelly Richardson / Travis Brock / Jen Clausen / Scot Banks / you next month. Ashley Hannant / Lana Matic / Jeff Ashelford / Brynn Burtwistle Chris Trumble, Publication Editor, CPU Gotcha. Here it is. W h a t ’ s H a p p e n i n g (cid:127) H a r d w a r e Compiled by Steve Smith We’ll be sorely disappointed if Sony’s Wall Socket vs. Wi-Fi: ultra-packed, ultra-mobile wunderkind 200Mbps & Counting doesn’t show up somewhere in the next James Bond film. Before investing in that Pre-N Wi-Fi equipment, home networkers might consider just plugging their laptop network connectors into the wall socket. The new generation of powerline adapters push high-speed data via existing home electrical systems at a promised 200Mbps. Just plug one Netgear Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter ($129) into your router and wall socket to send a high-speed signal throughout your home grid. A second adapter plugs into any wall socket and sends the stream into any Ethernet device, whether a laptop, game console, or home media server. Netgear claims the latest iterations are 12 times faster than previous powerline techniques, and if they are any more reliable and consistent than some of the Pre-N Wi-Fi rigs we have been trying, then we’re willing to have a go. ▲ Sony’s Ultimate Micro Ever laugh at a spec sheet? Sony’s newly released VAIO UX180P ultra-mobile PC ($1,799) is redefin- ing miniaturized excess. The 1.2-pound, 6-inch wide XP Pro PC runs a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo CPU (533MHz FSB) with 512MB DDR2 memory and a 4,200rpm 30GB hard drive. There’s a 4.5-inch SVGA LCD above and a pop-down 64-key QWERTY pad below. Not bad for a paperback- sized PC, huh? But that’s only the beginning; the unit packs two1.3MP digital cameras and has both 802.11a/b/g andCingular WAN connectivity. Oh, and Bluetooth, too. And like any VAIO, the 180P is fully video and MP3 playback-capable and is bundled With Netgear’s new Powerline HD Ethernet Adapter your house is already to the teeth with multimedia software. Half the lap- tops in our office are now shrinking in shame. ▲ wired to deliver streams of hi-def data at high speeds through a wall socket. The Mini-Me Drive We love miniaturized storage, but we don’t love the greater risk of losing or misplacing such tiny devices. Pexagon’s (www.pexagontech.com) answer is the myDrive LOST-N-FOUND program, which links an ID number engraved on the back of your drive to your contact info, which is stored in Pexagon’s database for $9.99. The new Store-It puts 20GB ($149) or 60GB ($229) in a pocket- sized slab that weighs just a hair over 4 ounces. Our test unit was plug-and-play simple and didn’t require drivers for the USB 2.0 connection. The Store-It’s bundled software can automatically back up selected files with a Pexagon’s 1.8-inch, simple press of the EZ-Touch Button Backup on every pocket-sized hard drive. We feel safer already. ▲ drive gets personal with custom laser etching available on every drive. 6 September2006 /www.computerpoweruser.com What’s Happening (cid:127) Hardware MP3s Finally Take To The Airwaves The MusicGremlin ($299) is hungry and wants to eat the middleman out of the current digital distribution model—namely iTunes and your PC. The first Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 player is an 8GB device with built-in 802.11b capability and embedded software that connects directly to the MusicGremlin online music store. Not only can you browse and buy songs from the player itself, but sharing features let you peruse friends’ playlists or send and receive songs from others. If you like, you can even order songs from the PC interface and have them download to the Gremlin the next time you boot it up. ▲ The first Wi-Fi-enabled MP3 player, the MusicGremlin, claims to connect directly to its own online music service for downloads. HH aa rr dd ww aa rr ee MM oo ll ee Logitech’s newest gaming mouse is shaped for A Mouse For Sweaty Gamers “fingertip gripping” and smooth gliding. With ultra-high resolutions and even customized weights in some mod- els, what special features are left to add to gaming mice? Logitech’s G3 Laser Mouse ($59.99) promises a DayGrip surface for improved finger- tip control and less slippage due to sweaty gaming hands. And although we don’t actually know exactly what polytetrafluoroethylene is, the G3 apparently uses the material for oversized bottom pads that make for a superior glide. We’re guessing it stands up to all of the gamer hand sweat the company expects to drip all over the desk. ▲ Super-Cooled & Super-Fast Think your custom rig is overclocked? Try 500GHz! Georgia Institute of Technology, work- ing with IBM, cryogenically chilled a silicon-germanium chip to -451 degrees Fahrenheit in order to push it from a normal speed of 350GHz to 500GHz. Scientists said they were surprised by the good results and now need to find out if the super-cool temps altered the molecular struc- ture of the chip at all. Yeah, we modders would like to know this because we’re pretty sure our GeForce 6800 is not rated for a -451-degree F PC. ▲ Tough, Light, Sexy When it comes to laptops, ruggedness often comes at a price, usually in the form of extra weight. Like most everything else in our “What’s Happening” section this month, Panasonic is shrinking ruggedness down to an astonishing 2.8 pounds with its new eLite W4 Toughbooks. Starting at $2,199—we said light, not cheap—the W4 uses magnesium alloy to protect the screen and a flexible cabinet design that disperses pressure from movement and bending. And if you want to cringe a bit, visit the Panasonic.com site for video of researchers dropping Toughbooks in lab trials to test their durability. It’s enough to make a geek faint. ▲ CPU/September2006 7 W h a t ’ s H a p p e n i n g (cid:127) C h i p W a t c h Compiled by DeanTakahashi Cswitch Unveils A Configurable Communications Chip Silicon Valley startup Cswitch has unveiled a Configurable Switch Array chip that’s designed to bring the speed of a custom chip and the flexibility of a field-programmable gate array into one device. Founded by Doug Laird, the company has raised $44 million to create the new chip. This new chip is designed as an array of processors all interconnected together via a 2GHz bus for the purpose of processing Internet packets. The chip is also cre- ated for bandwidth up to 100Gbps and is fast enough to be coupled with network proces- sors, handling the toughest functions in products such as network routers and switches. HP Makes Manufacturers can program the chip with tools from Magma Design Automation. Laird says the company can configure the chip quickly, and it can perform as fast as custom chips Documents & that take as much as two years and $20 million to create. The chip gets as much as 10 times Wristbands the performance per watt of an FPGA. ▲ Trackable With A Wireless Chip Solar Demand Creates Shortage Of Silicon Wafers HP’s researchers have developed a Polysilicon, a critical material both semiconductor chips and solar cells use, is in short supply wireless data chip, dubbed these days. Demand has become so pronounced, says Jim Walker, an analyst at Gartner, that Memory Spot, that sticks on any suppliers are scrambling to line up more product. A case in point is SunPower, which has object for identification purposes. agreed to pay $250 million to DC Chemical, one of Korea’s largest chemical companies, to The chip bridges the physical and line up a supply of polysilicon over the next four years. Starting in 2008 DC Chemical will digital worlds, letting people tag start production in a new factory that will be able to make 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon documents or hospitals store med- each year. DC Chemical will use money from SunPower to finance the new factory. This ical records on a patient’s wrist- past May SunPower said it would spend more than $500 million over several years to M.Setek, which is building its first polysilicon factory in 2007. ▲ band. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice (2 to 4mm²), has a built-in antenna, and manufactur- Watching The Chips Fall *Retail price ers can embed it within a sheet of ** Manufacturer's price per 1,000 units Other current prices, if indicated, are lowest OEM prices paper. HP envisions users buying Here is pricing information for AMD and Intel CPUs. available through Pricegrabber.com the chips in packages like buying a CPU Released Original Last month’s Current book of stamps; where users can price price price peel the chips off the package and AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 1/10/2006 $999** $901 $799 stick them anywhere. The chip AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 5/23/2006 $1031** $1031** $1045* transfers data at 10Mbps, or 10 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+ energy efficient 5/16/2006 $417** $417** $417* AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+ 5/31/2005 $537** $346 $355 times faster than Bluetooth, and AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4400+ energy efficient 5/16/2006 $514** $514** $514* has a storage capacity of 256Kb to AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4400+ 5/31/2005 $581** $450 $442 4Mb. These features make the new AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4600+ energy efficient 5/16/2006 $601** $601** $601* chip more functional than a typical AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4600+ 5/31/2005 $803** $535 $539 RFID chip. The Memory Spot can AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4800+ energy efficient 5/16/2006 $671** $671** $671* access data via a read-write device AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4800+ 5/31/2005 $1001** $620 $620 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 5000+ 5/23/2006 $696** $696** $682* that manufacturers can build into Intel Pentium Processor Extreme Edition 965 3.73GHz dual-core 3/22/2006 $999** $999** $999** cell phones and handhelds. Among Intel Pentium 4 640 3.2GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 2/21/2005 $273** $201* $176 the applications that could use Intel Pentium 4 641 3.2GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 65nm 12/27/2005 $218** $207* $207 HP’s new chip are audio photos, Intel Pentium 4 650 3.4GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 2/21/2005 $401** $271* $269 where the chip can add music, Intel Pentium 4 651 3.4GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 65nm 12/27/2005 $273** $269* $249 commentary, or ambient sound to Intel Pentium 4 660 3.6GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 2/21/2005 $605** $395 $329 accompany a photo; documents Intel Pentium 4 661 3.6GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 65nm 12/27/2005 $401** $400* $400 Intel Pentium 4 670 3.8GHz 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 5/26/2005 $849** $610* $615 (the Memory Spot would contain Intel Pentium D 820 2.8GHz dual-core 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 5/26/2005 $241** $171* $164 the history of modifications to it); Intel Pentium D 830 3GHz dual-core 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 5/26/2005 $316** $214* $189 and other uses include enhancing Intel Pentium D 840 3.2GHz dual-core 2MB cache 800MHz FSB 90nm 5/26/2005 $530** $335* $373 security for identity cards or cir- Intel Pentium D 930 3GHz dual-core 2MB 800MHz FSB 65nm 12/27/2005 $316** $176 $164 cumventing counterfeit tags on Intel Pentium D 950 3.4GHz dual-core 2MB 800MHz FSB 65nm 12/27/2005 $637** $324 $317 prescription drugs. ▲ Intel Pentium D 960 3.6GHz dual-core 2MB 800MHz FSB 65nm 5/1/2006 $530** $530** $541 8 September2006 /www.computerpoweruser.com