CES 2005: Chipsets, Motherboards, and Memory
by Wesley Fink on January 13, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Final Thoughts
CES has come and gone, and along the way, some 140,000 people walked the CES Halls during the event. For the gadget geek, this show was an amazing resource, even if it wasn't quite as satisfying for Computer enthusiasts. Next year, CES promises to be even more massive, with additional halls that try to capture some of what was lost with Comdex. CES is already a strain on Vegas transportation, so a more massive CES is not a pleasant thought when you consider how to get from point A to Point B.Computex is still the show that most excites us computer types, but CES this year was filled with lots of promise for the future. If most of the companies exhibiting at CES could just figure out how to really spin "convergence" to truly include intelligence (computer technology), CES might emerge as a premier event in the Computer Press calendar. For now, CES provided a few bright flashes, but we are still looking to Computex-June-Taiwan for the sizzle.
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MarkM - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
>For those still in the AGP camp, DFI also had the nForce3 250 socket 939 LanParty on display, but not in final PCB.Well, that is depressing, "not in final PCB?" I figure that means it's at least another moneht before I'll ever see it. I was really trying hard to wait for this board for my 939/AGP build, but everyone else may be talking about the "Athlon 128" before it finally materializes! :)
PrinceGaz - Friday, January 14, 2005 - link
I don't want SLI either, but the second x16 slot will work as a x1 in "single graphics-card mode", so you don't lose anything by going for the SLI capable board. The Asus SLI board effectively gives you three PCIe x1 slots then.It's probably worth holding off just slightly longer anyway because AMD's E0 revision A64 cores should be out soon, which as well as the SSE3 instructions, are expected to be manufactured using the latest strained-silicon process which further reduces power-consumption and increases overclocking potential.
sophus - Friday, January 14, 2005 - link
#5 I'm TRYING to wait for nforce4 non-SLI also.but only the gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 is available for about $150.is it wrong to want AMD + PCIe? late january couldn't come sooner...
I wanted a nice SLI rig but the initial prices are too steep for my liking.
geogecko - Friday, January 14, 2005 - link
#5. No, actually, there are two of us. Any word on when the A8N-E Premium will be available? This board looks perfect for the HTPC community, with the low profile chipset passive cooler.Where is it ASUS???
smn198 - Friday, January 14, 2005 - link
What do you think the chances are that once we have dual core, we will get 939 dual socket boards? I'd be interested!Swaid - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - link
#15If it's what I am assuming they are talking about, is that there is no need for a bearing surface since the whole fan housing is suspended in a magnetic field... Sure all other case fans are turned by an alternating magnetic field, but they are also not suspended by that same (maybe?) field. This would greatly reduce friction and cut down noise. It would be nice to see a diagram of this to know what they are specifically talking about. Sounds exactly what #16 said... Using MagLev technology (just on a smaller scale).
Decel - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - link
Actually, I believe that they're using MagLev..PrinceGaz - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - link
Hehe, I take my (virtual) hat off to DFI's marketing division for coming up with that magnetic-field nonsense. All fans regardless of their bearings effectively spin in a magnetic-field, that's what is making them spin.Its strange that when they say it "reduces friction, wear and tear, and heat generation", that they don't include the first thing someone might notice about a chipset fan-- noise. Instead they claim the fan operates more efficiently without any proof.
Don't get me wrong, I may buy a DFI mobo when I build my nForce4 box, but marketing bull like this really turns me off.
Momental - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - link
"the Fatal1ty AN8, based on the same nF4 ultra chipset, but geared toward top gaming with a price of over $300"Did I read that correctly??? ABit will be coming out with a motherboard that retails for THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS?? Umm.........yeah. What does it do besides make the most fantastic cup of Columbian coffee and amazing brownies?? I'm no cheapskate, by any means, but ya gotta be kiddin' me. That's some serious coin for a board.
Wesley Fink - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - link
#11 and #12 - We asked DFI your questions and they are answered in the Press release:"both nForce4 chipset based motherboards feature Japanese aluminum electrolytic capacitors, magnetic levitation north bridge cooling fan with fan speed control, and all aluminum heat sink on mosfets. The conductive polymer (electrolytic) aluminum solid capacitors provide high resistance to over-voltage and reverse voltage as compared with other capacitors, making them the ideal choice for overclocking and mission critical motherboards. To further provide maximum cooling on-board, both motherboards feature DFI’s first magnetic levitation chipset cooling fan that moves almost twice the air compared to standard chipset fans while producing extremely little noise. Thanks to magnetic levitation technology, the spinning fan blades “float” in a magnetic field and thereby dramatically reduces friction, wear and tear, and heat generation."
We have also corrected the description to the more accurate "Magnetic Levitation".