Weekend Hardware Reviews

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When you purchase RAM, you normally receive the sticks in a simple OEM anti-static bag or a plastic container. However, when purchasing Ultra Product’s high-end modules, you now receive them in a mahogany box. Does this RAM really deserve to be packaged in such a pristine container, and can it compete with big name manufacturers like Corsair, Mushkin, and OCZ? At Phoronix we will be checking out the Ultra Dual Channel 1024MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (2 x 512MB) - Premium Wood Box.

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The overclocking ability of this card is really what impressed me the most. Achieving more than a 20% gain in core and memory clock is nothing to sneeze at. I'd be very interested in finding out just how much higher these cards could go if given some more powerful cooling and something to cool the rear memory chips.

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The OCZ PC3200 Revision 2 memory delivered slightly faster speeds than the Corsair XMS 3200XL at DDR400 (2-2-2-5) and costs significantly less (around $280 vs. $315). This difference in cost may be the single most determining factor for someone that is shopping for DDR400. Keep in mind that with slightly looser timings operation up to DDR500 should be easily possible making this memory the perfect compliment to any system from an AMD64 based rig to an overclocked Intel P4 based rig. We award the OCZ PC3200 Revision 2 Memory the 3DXtreme Editor’s Choice Award based on the performance and price of this product."

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Today, RAM comes in many flavors varying in speed, bandwidth, and size. Finding the right RAM solution for one's needs can be a tedious process; with a vast number of companies barraging the public with proposed solutions and complicated jargon, one is often overwhelmed and uninformed regarding the best solution at the best price. Today we review of one of the most impressive high-end solutions available, namely Corsair's CMX512-4000PRO.

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Mike has checked in with a review of the AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 processor today which is based around the new Socket 939 platform. After taking a quick look at what the processor has to offer in terms of features we get down to the real issue and see how the expensive beast can really perform in today's current games such as Doom 3 against an older overclocked Athlon XP processor.

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In this review PCstats will be looking at the GA-8KNXP Ultra-64. Although this board is impressive across the scale, it does seem as though Gigabyte's engineers simply adapted the already successful GA-8KNXP Ultra motherboard for extra duty; tossing in two 64bit PCI slots and an Adaptec SCSI controller into the mix. Obviously based on the reliable and proven i875P chipset, the GA-8KNXP Ultra-64 motherboard supports the usual assortment of Socket 478 Pentium 4 processors from 533MHz to 800 MHz FSB...