The Zone

Pata-pata-pon-pon! Sony's quirky PSP game, soon to be released in English is getting a Be@rbrick! While the game has already garnered much attention in Japan with its quirky gameplay and minimalist yet tribal-influenced art, the Be@rbrick will be available in the 100% size and will be used for promotional activities. In other news, GeForce 8 owners might jump in joy if NVIDIA were to release PhysX firmware that enables any 8-series card to act as a full-fledged physics engine. Thanks to the use of CUDA as one of the backbones of NVIDIA's graphics technology, the green giant was able to port its PhysX IP (intellectual property) to CUDA when they bought Ageia a couple of weeks back.

Operating using the Sterling Engine theory, whereby the ebb and flow of heat waves are able to push a balanced piston which in turn, rotates the fan to cool your northbridge, the fan on the MSI ECOlution motherboard is simply a sight to behold. Check out a video on a 3D diagram, but we do have questions - will it generate at least 5cfm? Will it work vertically (as hot air rises and the piston will only be just another wall)? Since the mechanism is in fine balance, will the ubitiquous dust bunny ruin operation?

All this and more when the motherboard is realsed...soon!

After the release of NVIDIA's GeForce 9600 GT and its soon to come GeForce 9800 GX2, how will AMD-ATI counter it after just releasing its own dual GPU card (the HD 3870 X2)? With its HD Radeon 3600 and 3400 series barely doing better than most 8500 or 8600 cards out there, is AMD-ATI hoping for a somehow untouched market of HD video computer users to come to their rescue? Which is basically all that the 3600 and 3400 series will be able to offer.

However, we just recently got our hands on a reworked HD 3870 that was both single slot design and gave comparable performance to an overclocked 8800 GT. If AMD-ATI can encourage other card manufacturers to follow suit then maybe AMD-ATI has a chance of hanging on instead of trying in vain to go head to head for the latest and greatest path that its competitor is going for. After all, to repeat that age old adage, its not how big your package is, its how you use it! 

Extreme Tech recently did a shootout on Terabyte hard drives that are available on the market, and surprise, surprise! Most of the very latest models are superbly up to spec on what consumers want, whether be it high MBTF values, silent operation, data transfer speed and price/performance ratios. Check out the shootout here, and see which drive is perfect for you! Last thing we heard, you can get both Seagate and WD winners for below RM1.2k in Plaza Low Yat.

'Twas a great journey that we went through, from the days of Need For Speed: Most Wanted to the adrenaline rush that is Crysis, from Region 3 to Region 1 and Region 3 back again, and when you became the only original component from my previous machine. Today, you have passed on to silicone heaven, and I will miss the times when you refused to read my backup DVDs thanks to bad dye. Living through Nero, CDBurnerXP, Alcohol 120% and a host of other DVD recording programs ain't hard for you wasn't it?

Any reccommendations for a new DL DVD burner?

With the release of NVIDIA's 9800 GX2 we're seeing more and more multi GPUs pre-daisy chained together and embedded into a single graphic card. With what started as two graphic cards stuck together (the GeForce 7900 GX2) we now see two GPU's pre-crossfired on a single PCB (AMD-ATI's Radeon HD 3870 X2) or pre-SLIed like the current multi-GPU on a stick, the 9800 GX2. Will we see more multi GPU graphic cards using the same concept in the not so near future? Perhaps a pre-triple SLI 8800 GTX GX3 or 8800 Ultra GX3? Or maybe a quad crossfire HD 3870 X4?

Time will tell, but with actual development of new GPU's using smaller fabrication processes taking up too much time and effort (and both companies just having released new GPU series), its unlikely that either NVIDIA or AMD-ATI will begin rolling out a new series of GPUs more powerful than the current single card multi-GPU. My only question is, will these multi GPU cards get thicker or longer?

Check out our Elite Gaming Rig that's to be unveiled VERY soon! Boasting a Phenom, high-speed memory, a Terabyte of hard drive space and two graphic cores in a sweet water-cooled chassis, it will definitely make an impact!

Kingston, the world's most recognisable memory dealer has launched a contest that will definitely bring the creative side out of you! Dubbed the HyperX Girl Design Contest, it is up to you to create the perfect spokesperson for the HyperX line of performance memory. How to join? Go to www.hyperxgirl.com!

With the recent release of the Crysis patch, many issues such as bad performance and loading time from a single Pre-CrossFired X2 were solved. Gone were the slow downs and the flickering clouds or foliage in the background. However, after recent testing with two crossfired X2 cards, we found that performance is just plain laggy in Crysis even without any anti-aliasing on. Although older games such as Quake 4 and Company of Heroes literally flew using the double CrossFired X2 cards, there are still issues with some of the newer games apparantly, like Crysis's super slowdown.

So to early adopters of the double crossfired X2 config, be patient and wait for the next Crysis patch, but for people waiting on the fence or just about to blow that big wad of cash caveat emptor.

usb.brando.com.hk, the best site for all your USB-induced fetishes has released the mother of all USB hubs -

Yes! Insert your SATA hard drives in the same NES ROM fashion, and it accepts both 2.5" and 3.5" sizes with ease, and supplies enough power for an additional four USB ports over a single USB connection. This means that your hard drives will be exposed on your desktop, what better time to break out that Raptor X that you've been hiding in your closet system! Check out this link to buy it for a mere 82 bucks! In other news, Top Gear's Stig has been caught testing a NASA space truck=

Our graphic designer is one lucky gal. Her 5 year-old G5 recently had a hard drive crash and is now in posession of the world's fastest drive - in her G5. Somewhere out there, some kitties has just passed on.

Ever since 3-way SLI came out, trying to do so with the 8800 series was just another excuse to overheat your casing, overburden your PSU and fill up the remaining PCI-e slots on your mainboard. Now with the 9800 GTX (which is 3-way SLI capable), there's finally a valid reason to do 3-way SLI. However, with a single 9800 GTX card capable of running Crysis on high settings and 16X AA there doesn't seem to be much point, unless you're prepping for future games and their even more resource hungry requirements.

3-way SLI 9800 GTX for Crysis 2 maybe?

Didn't expect a triple GPU on a single card to come so soon ("More Multi GPUs on stick" 19/03/2008) but here's ASUS's HD 3850 X3 Trinity. Featuring 3 HD 3850 GPUs on a single watercooled card. The card manages to fit in all three GPUs using MXM modules at a hefty 1.45kg weight (wonder if it's gonna need supports for those tall tower setups?). Can't wait to see it its worth the trouble.

How soon do you think we can expect an X4 coming out?

The PC Fair official launch included a real cannon full of confetti! 

It was a tiring weekend but it was totally worth it with the response that HWM and GameAxis recieved from the crowd at PC Fari (I) 2008. Although there were several issues regarding the unfair abuse of PIKOM tag-holders such as exhibitors and visitors who sneaked in, we will implement a system that is fair and just to both our readers who deserve that all-important free gift and to exhibitors who love the mags. Here are some shots that were taken during the fair by both FatCatLim and myself, enjoy and we welcome any feedback from you guys! More pics after the jump!