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- Biostar GF7050PV mobo
- 8800GTS in SLI
- Asus 8800GTS
- eSATA Enclosure
- Guide: Mobo BIOS
- Biostar 690G Mobo
- PCstats Weekly Tips
Newsletter Archives
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nVidia's Native HDMI Geforce 7050PV Motherboard Chipset
Hello,
Last week you saw what AMD's 690G
chipset was capable of, this week nVidia releases the follow up to its
extremely popular Geforce
6150. The GF6150 was the workhorse of the Home Theatre
PC world, and an all around great platform for budget-minded PC
builders too. The new Geforce 7050PV chipset continues
that legacy with HDMI compatibility, Geforce
7-series integrated graphics, TV-out and even the nForce 630a southbridge
integrated in. PCSTATS offers you an exclusive look at the new Geforce
7050PV in our review of the Biostar
TF7050-M2 Socket AM2 motherboard today. The AMD 690G stands up well
to nVidia's Geforce 7050PV, and both solutions really underscore how easy
it is to build an HD-friendly home theatre PC.
PCSTATS is the first in North America to test Biostar new
Geforce 7050PV based TF7050-M2
motherboard, so take a look. Next we have the Asus
EN8800GTS-320MB videocard in all its glory, and then a round of SLI
tests with a pair of nVidia
Geforce 8800GTS-320's. The real question is whether two in SLI are
better than a one Geforce 8800GTX.... you might be surprised by the
results. An external eSATA hard
drive chassis gets a brief once-over before we dive into PCSTATS Guide
to Flashing a
Motherboard BIOS. Updating the BIOS can help sort out memory
incompatibility, and allow older motherboards to recognize
newer CPUs. Lastly PCSTATS takes another look at the Biostar TA690G
AM2 motherboard and its AMD 609G chipset.
By request, this weeks TechTip tackles custom searches in
FireFox, and while you're trying that out be sure to add PCSTATS
News RSS
feed to your browser.
Thanks for
Reading,
Max Page
Editor-in-Chief - PCSTATS
Both nVIDIA and AMD have seized on the
consumer's lust in anything "HD" and consequently chipsets such as the
GeForce 6150, recently introduced AMD 690G, and today's nVIDIA GeForce
7050PV are set to be the hottest ticket in town. The Biostar TF7050-M2
motherboard is a diminutive MicroATX platform that looks mighty
fine. It's AMD platform, supporting every
x86-64 Socket AM2 up to the latest Athlon X2 6000+ (Sempron
included). The GeForce 7050PV incorporates GeForce 7 series graphics onboard which is DirectX 9.0C
compatible, and shares up to 256MB of system memory. Onboard goodies
include four 3Gb/s Serial ATA II ports (RAID 0,1, 0+1, 5), one IDE
channel, a Gigabit network jack, a 7.1 channel High Definition Azalia
sound card including two channel audio for HDMI. There is much more to it,
but I'll the review speak for itself... Continue Here>>
The nVIDIA GeForce 8800GTX is the undisputed king of
graphics cards right now, but on the next notch down the GeForce 8800GTS
320MB offers a heck of a lot of value and that's hard to pass up. Doing the
math, for the price of one super high end PCI Express videocard,
you could have two 8800GTSs running in SLI! This is definitely an enticing
option, but which route really is the faster choice? In this review
PCSTATS will lay down the benchmarks and fiddle with the resolutions so
you know for certain what choice, dual Geforce 8800GTS-340's or a single
Geforce 8800GTX videocard offers the best bang for your buck. When it
comes to high resolutions, that is where gaming is headed.Continue Here>>
Gamers these days have it easy. Back in 'the
day' even if with a high end videocard 1600x1200 resolutions and
anti-aliasing were not realistic options if you played competitively
online. These days, you can play with all the eye candy maxed out on
almost all but the latest game titles. The games look a heck of a lot
better too. In this review PCSTATS tests the awesome Asus
EN8800GTS/HTDP/320M PCI Express videocard. This Geforce 8800GTS-320 lives
up to the hype, and comes with one of the best software packages available
for its class. In the box is a full copy of Ghost Recon: Advanced
Warfighter, which just happens to be one of the hottest shooter
titles of 2006. The game looks particularly splendid when played over the
Asus EN8800GTS/HTDP/320M videocard too. Take my advice, turn up the
resolution to 1600x1200 and kick in AA and AF to get the full
affect. Continue Here>>
Upgrading the BIOS (Basic Input Output
System) of your computer's motherboard, also sometimes called 'flashing,'
used to be a complex operation full of potential perils for your PC. The
task involved downloading the correct BIOS file, the proper CMOS chip
flashing software, rebooting the PC into DOS mode, applying the correct
commands and then waiting in suspense until the update finished. All the
while there was a lurking danger - if something went wrong, you would be
left with an essentially unusable motherboard… Not an operation for the
novice, and not one that even PC enthusiasts approached with enthusiasm.
Upgrading the BIOS is a different
procedure. The motherboard manufacturer provides a file which will
overwrite the default file on the CMOS chip itself, providing the
motherboard with a new or updated set of controls. Continue Here>>
Connecting an external hard drive to your computer is a quick and simple
way to expand storage capacity. The DataTec DS350 is a compact aluminum external eSATA hard drive enclosure that stands upright, or rests horizontally. The
unit connects to a desktop PC over one eSATA cable, and only over eSATA. Continue Here>>
Biostar has been releasing some really cool products the last little
while, the Sigma-Gate GeForce 7600GS being one of the
neatest videocards to pass through the PCSTATS test labs in all of 2006 in
fact. Today though, PCSTATS is excited to be testing out the Biostar
TA690G AM2 motherboard; a MicroATX platform ideal for home theatre PC
application. This board stands out because of the comprehensive video
outputs it has. A standard analog video output isn't too astounding, but a
digital DVI port, S-Video TV-output and an HDMI video output all on one
motherboard is pretty darn unique! With its' ATI Radeon X1250 Graphics on
board, the Biostar TA690G AM2 provides a good solid platform for office
applications and the like, without the need to install a stand alone
videocard. Continue Here>>
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PCstats Weekly Tech Tips:
FireFox Customized Search Tool and RSS Feed
By Colin S. |
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A lot of readers liked last
week's tip on how to change the default search engine in
Internet Explorer 7. Many asked how to do the same
thing in FireFox.
If you don't like using the default Google search tool, you
can choose to use something else. Click the triangle pointing
down next to the Google 'G', that will allow you to select
FireFox's default search engines or sites. If you don't see
the site or option that you want, select "Manage Search
Engines..." an that will open up a new window. To add more
options then click the "Get more search engines..." link, that
will bring you to Mozilla's add in page and from there you can
select one or more of the 22 predefined sites. If you don't
see what you want, at the bottom are
instructions for making your own custom search plugins for
Firefox.
While you're in Firefox, create a Live
Bookmark and subscribe to PCSTATS' RSS News feed!
To do this go to Bookmarks > Manage Bookmarks (or
Organize Bookmarks) > in the Bookmarks Manager click File
> New Live Bookmark > in the Feed Location box enter https://www.pcstats.com/rss/rss.xml
, in the name field enter
"PCSTATS News" and click okay. While still in the Bookmarks Manager, drag and
drop the new Live Bookmark you've just created to
the 'Bookmarks Toolbar Folder' and close the manager. Now you will
see the new RSS Feed you've just created on the Firefox Toolbar.
Click on it and you will instantly see all the latest
tech news from PCSTATS! Let PCSTATS
know what you think about this Tech Tip, and be sure to stop
by PCSTATS Forums and post your comments or questions.
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Join the PCSTATS Forums Today @ forum.PCSTATS.com! | |
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PCstats Issue
No.244
Circulation: 152,075
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