For Socket 3, I personally Prefer the AMD 5×86 ADZ not the ADW) 133Mhz PR-75 Chip.  The
difference between the ADZ, and the ADW, is fairly big.  The ADZ can handle a
temperature of 85 Degrees Centigrade, while the ADW can only handle 55 Degrees Centigrade.
  Because the ADZ can handle A LOT more heat, it makes it a candidate for
overclocking.  Because of the Internal Bus Clock Multiplier of 4, (33MHz x 4 =
133MHz), to overclock, all you have to do is knock the bus up to 40MHz, and you’ll get
160Mhz.  The Processor will then perform at Pentium 90 Levels.  (That’s what I
have mine running at).

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/this-old-pc/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/that-chips-got-nuts/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/that-chips-got-nuts/#comments Sat, 19 May 2001 13:35:21 +0000 mdockter I’m sure we’ve all heard the expression “that truck’s got nuts.” For those that haven’t, that simply means that the truck in question is very powerful. Most vehicles \”with nuts\” usually have more than one of everything: eight cylinders, dual exhaust systems, the list goes on and on.

That same expression can be applied to computers.  Where high power is needed (servers and workstations), multiple systems are the norm. Six hard drives, dual ram channels, and 2 or more processors. In the x86 server market, Intel has always held the crown (and 100% of the market share). Within the next few months, AMD will attempt to change this by producing a processor based upon their AMD Athlon that will be able to run in dual configuration. It’s known by variuos names; it’s code name “Palamino”, the AthlonMP, and the Athlon4 (bypassing the Athlon 2 and 3, which weren’t really needed in the first place). The name doesn’t really matter, just like the color of a truck. What matters is what\’s inside!

The Northbridge to CPU relationship of the AMD and Intel multiple processing platforms can be summarized by my infamous interstate analogy. Think of the processor, either Intel or AMD, as the source of a large amount of traffic (downtown at 5:00) and the Northbridge as the destination (home). The Intel processors (downtowns) all share the same interstate…just like PCI cards all share the same PCI bus.  Remember, AMD inherited many of the motherboard qualities from the now extinct Alpha platform (jeers to Compaq for discontinuing the Alpha processor), so each processor (downtown) has it’s own bus (interstate) to connect to the Northbridge. This of course will reduce traffic jams, or what is commonly referred to by engineers as bottlenecks. There are also many disadvantages to the AMD platform when it comes to the server market: support. My real world job (yes folks, pcmech.com isn’t my real job…it pays worse than a volunteer job…and I need to eat…really!) has a total of 5 servers for use in managing and controlling 600 computer lab workstations. Excluding our test server, which is actually a Small Form factor Dell workstation that we commandeered for such a purpose, all of our servers were built to be servers…dual processor capabilities…special RAM, SCSI Hard drives, and INTEL processors. It is going to be an uphill battle for AMD to gain the support of the main server manufacturers and be included in major production and sale of such servers -  which is where the money is.

Time will tell if the AthlonMP processor will gain support…if it does at all. I feel that it is an advantage not to have RAMBUS DRAM as a trailing platform.  Many other factors come into consideration, including the stability of the chipset (only known working MP chipset for the Athlon is the AMD 762 which is currently very expensive).  As an AMD stockholder and home enthusiast, I can only hope that AMD gains market share and that someday I’ll know of someone who owns an AMD based server. As a server administrator, I can only pray for stability and will pay top dollar to achieve it because of the sheer fact that I don’t like getting calls at 11:00 at night saying that no one in our computer labs can print because the File/print server is down due to a hardware failure.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/that-chips-got-nuts/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/i-need-some-killer-chronicanybody-got-the-hookup/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/i-need-some-killer-chronicanybody-got-the-hookup/#comments Sat, 12 May 2001 10:48:01 +0000 mdockter I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but nothing makes me higher than getting behind the keyboard of a super fast system. I’m not just talking about a system that can load Windows up in under 30 seconds, I’m taking about a computer that seems to have a program open before you even think of opening it. That’s what I call speed!

Before I continue, I will say that I am an official AMD stockholder. I own AMD stock and promote AMD Products because I feel they are quality for the dollar, I do not promote them because I own stock.

Rumor has it that on the 15th of May, AMD is set to announce it’s Palamino core Athlon Processor. It’s name is a very interesting one for John Q. Techie. Athlon 4. It is named this way for what I see can only be two reasons.

1. The same reason the K6-III and K6-2 were named, to compete with the Pentium II and Pentium !!! processors. It started when Intel named the i586 the Pentium…it’s all in the name folks.
2. It’s the fourth Athlon core, following the K7, K75, and the Thunderbird.

What is the interface of this new chip? No problems in this department, it’s Socket A all the way.
What’s needed for this new chip? For most of us, just a BIOS update. It might help to have a motherboard with the ability to provide a bunch of power to the processor as it is predicted that this chip will reach 2GHz.
What’s new about it? It is said to run at a lower power…possibly 15% or more less wattage than the current Thunderbird core which is known to suck the juice and kick out the heat, much like a drunken chronic smoker.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to upgrade to this new chip, spending it’s initial cost. I’ll leave you guys this to chew on: How well will this puppy overclock if it need less power, and still uses .18micron copper process, or even SOI technology licensed from IBM?

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/i-need-some-killer-chronicanybody-got-the-hookup/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/hes-got-a-pretty-good-idea/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/hes-got-a-pretty-good-idea/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2001 07:45:18 +0000 mdockter Recently, AMD CEO Jerry Sanders was quoted as saying “You have no idea how tired I am of seeing the Blue Man Group.” Actually, I have a very good idea of how sick you are. The Blue Man Group is about as bad as a cult leader. They bring people into an exclusive group that worships an evil power. On top of it all, they also steal your money. All opinions aside, it has been said that AMD will start a Television Advertising Campaign in the fourth quarter of this year which might start a short time after it’s introduction of the Palomino core, the successor of the current Thunderbird core for the AMD Athlon line of processors.

For AMD Stockholders such as I, this is some pretty good news. Right now, AMD has about 20% of the market share in terms of Consumer PC Processors and TV advertising might finally be able to slowly wean consumers off of the “Intel Inside” and many other advertising slogans. Of course, this might only start an uphill road that will eventually lead nowhere else but down, similar to the road Intel is now on. AMD will need someone or something very catchy to capture the minds of America’s warped and drawn-outs purchasing minds. We all know the kind of thing I’m talking about. Two years ago is was those damn Bunny People…now it’s the evil BMG for Intel. There was the Budweiser Frogs and Lizard, the Clydesdales…the RCA Dogs. Apple Computer even has that annoying guy from Jurassic Park to promote its new G4 processors and they have a far less market share than AMD.

I couldn’t agree more with Sanders’ plan to start TV advertising. AMD needs something catchy and something quick in order to get much more of a market share. In a small town word of mouth is the best way to advertise, but in the worldwide market, the only way to reach people is via the Television while they are on the couch, eating supper, and talking about their horribly slow family computer. Finally I’ll give you guys an idea to play with: Maybe it is a sign of a strong modern-day company to put quality once again over advertisements, a call back to the days of the 1950s.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/hes-got-a-pretty-good-idea/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/life-is-one-big-lie/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/life-is-one-big-lie/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2001 09:59:48 +0000 mdockter Most of the people that work on IT websites also have the distinction of working in the real world IT department. Even I have such the honor to work in such a field. Although still an undergraduate student, I have the honor of serving a Wisconsin State University as a soon-to-be server administrator for the servers overlooking the computer labs. Although that will be my main job, I will have other miscellaneous duties I will not discuss for fear of being called a slave.

It just so happens that I work with a large crew of undergrad students right now. It’s around 15, and among us are a wide range of minds and personalities. We have the HR guys, the Mac guys (one of which can’t even install Mac OS X properly…yet I somehow can…), and use PC guys. We also have a group of three undergrads that do the hardware work. Their work entails keeping the mice and keyboards clean as well as fixing any hardware issues that arise such as messed up disk drives, bad memory…anything else that’s inside the case. They are a diverse group of fellas; one is from Saudi Arabia, another is of Asian decent, and the third if a former high school jock turned hardcore geek. He is by far older than I as he is returned to the UW system to get is Information System degree, after receiving a B.A. degree a few years back.

Keep in mind that he is a “hardware guy” because that fact comes in very important in the upcoming story. He recently informed me that he is going to be purchasing a computer. That’s right, not building, but purchasing. It took me quite a good deal of time to pick my lower jaw back up from the ground. After that, I proceeded to drill him with the usual questions: “Are you an idiot?”, “How can you do such a thing?”, “Have you no shame?” His answers were: “No”, “I have no time to build my own.”, “No, I have no shame.” I finally broke down and had to ask him just what he was getting. For an educated hardware guy, there are really only two choices if you are low enough to buy instead of build: Compaq with AMD Athlon and SDRAM, or Compaq with AMD Athlon and DDR SDRAM.

His response was one of fierce debate between him and I: “1.5GHz Pentium 4 with PC800 RDRAM from Dell.” My experience with Dell was all but good, as mass purchase of Pentium !!! computers resulted in about a 10% RMA rate on parts, mostly floppy and ZIP drives. You should all know by now my feelings about the P4 and Rambus. You can get much more power for your dollar with a 1.33GHz AMD Athlon and PC133 SDRAM. As I started to explain this to him, it was obvious that he knew little of the finer dynamics of purchasing a PC. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy and can fix them with the best of them, but when it comes to buying them, it seems that the evil Blue Man Group has got him in a trance. After talking with him about the benefits of AMD, he was obvious that he thought RDRAM was much better than SDRAM just because of the bigger numbers (marketing scheme), as well as that infamous GHz number.

After my hardest attempt, he has still settled with Intel. I must give my respect to Intel for running such a machine that is an advertising heavyweight, but I must also find Intel and spit upon them for the lies they tell just to get ahead. It has recently become obvious to me that this world is nothing but a big lie thanks to recent events in my personal life over the past six months to year. Because I’m feeling really stupid right now, I will make a feeble attempt at becoming smarter by writing something profound in french. I suggest you read it and take it to heart because it is very true:

Ceux qui indiquent la vérité peuvent avoir une route dure à marcher, mais qui la route mène à peu de nuits sans le sommeil et le bonheur pour toujours à la fin.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/life-is-one-big-lie/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/smc7004wbr-wireless-broadband-router/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/smc7004wbr-wireless-broadband-router/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2001 12:00:00 +0000 mdockter Imagine this situation if you will: You own/rent a home/apartment. For one reason or another, all the walls are finished off with wallboard of some sort, all the wires you ever thought you’d need are inside of the walls and are poking out through jacks. Power Outlet’s, Cable TV outlets, and Phone outlets are all wired into the wall. Five or so years ago, those walls would not have posed a concern when it comes to computers because the only wires home machines used to communicate with other computers was the phone line.

Times have certainly changed; PCs can be built for around $500. Many homes have more than on PC, one for the kids, one for the parents, and possibly a few more if you’re a transistor head like myself. Without some sort of Ethernet or other networking, your only option to transfer files is the good old floppy disk. The only way to share an Internet connection is to use Home Phoneline Networking kits. Home Phonline kits run about US$100, but usually only offer 1Mbps of bandwidth, which is enough to share a broadband Internet connection, but that, is about it. You’ll still need to designate a machine that will do the actual sharing, called a server.

SMC has been big in the SOHO networking market for quite some time now. Like any company that knows what’s going on around them, they have jumped into the Broadband router market. A Broadband router is essentially a normal Networking Router, but has DHCP abilities, along with a limited amount of configuration that is available to the administrator. For example, the SMC7004WBR featured in this review is configured to only route packets between the Internet, and an Internal Class C network (Net Mask of 255.255.255.0).

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/smc7004wbr-wireless-broadband-router/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/xsense-mih120-xrouter-review/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/xsense-mih120-xrouter-review/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2001 12:00:00 +0000 mdockter With dial up
Internet service, you can access the Internet from every computer in
the house, as long as every computer has a modem. After a while of dialing up, you might feel that you’ve outgrown standard dial-up
Internet service.Its
slow speeds are too cramping for the daily work you do on the
Internet, so you run out and purchase DSL or Cable Internet service. Now you have a small problem. You only have access to the Internet from one computer, being
the company only will let you rent one external modem to interface with its
respective service. Now
what do you do?

Enter the Xsence
MIH-120 xRouter. The xRouter serves as a virtual Internet connection-sharing
server to up to 252 computers.

Features

• Supports
  a DSL/Cable modem via WAN 10/T network port
• NAT
  security protects your LAN from unauthorized internet users
• Supports
  hybrid networks of Macintosh, PC and UNIX computers
• Easy
  configuration via Web browser
• Doubles
  as a 4-port Ethernet hub

Technical
Specifications:

• Ethernet
  Interface: Four 10/T RJ-45 Ports
• WAN/Internet
  Interface: one 10/T FJ-45 Port
• Web
  Based Management: YES
• Protocols
  supported: TCP/IP, DHCP
• Power
  Supply: 9VAC, 2 A (Adapter Included)
• EMI
  Emissions safety: FCC Class B, CE Class B
• Physical
  Dimensions: 236mm x 142mm x 46mm; 9.29” x 5.59” x 1.81”

Extended
features:

• Virtual
  Server Mapping
• DHCP
  Server
• Upgradeable
  Firmware
• Changeable
  IP address

The Good
XRouter uses NAT technology to share a single Internet service. NAT, or Network Translation, changes the TCP/IP headers and
footers on each packet to it’s own before sending information, then
changes the packet info it receives so that the receiving computer on
the internal network can read the information. This technology is must faster than Proxy technology, where
each computer will have a “session” with the proxy server, and the
proxy server than has “sessions” with the internet servers. That process slows things down, and is horrible for use with
on-line games such as Quake and Half-Life. The XRouter also doubles as a Ethernet hub, so you can run a
network, just as you would from any 10/T Ethernet hub.

The XRouter also
can support up to 252 different computers. To the small business, that means that it only has to purchase
1 high speed ISP account, and the XRouter, which, in the long run,
will save a lot of money, over buying multiple ISP accounts, or a
full-fledge computer server to serve as a Proxy server.

Also, setting up
the XRouter was very easy.I
simply plugged my Cable modem into the WAN port on the back of the
XRouter, and plugged my two client computers into two of the four 10/T
LAN ports, turn on the XRouter, than turned on my two client
computers.The XRouter
automatically assigned the two computers an IP address, and told them
that they would be using it for internet access, a process which is
called DHCP.If one
wishes to configure the XRouter, you simply open up your web-browser,
and type in its IP address.The
IP address it ships with is 192.168.1.1. From there, you can view and change:

• DHCP
  Settings
• Virtual
  Server
• Device
  Admin
• Status
  monitor

The Bad
I feel, that because of it’s whopping price tag of around $250-$300
US, it’s only affordable for small business, and home users that
really want a server, but don’t want to spend $2000 US just to share
their high speed internet connection. For the small business, its only real use is to share Internet
access.If your business
grows, it might need a File server, and maybe even a print server,
which the XRouter does not do.When
your business grows to the point where you do need a server, you also
want the control a server gives you, such as user logins, and file
access control.

Conclusion
The XRouter is a perfect Internet sharing solution for small business,
or home networks.It’s
easy configuration and setup make it a no-brainer, unlike Proxy
Software, and Windows 98 Internet Connection sharing, which uses the
same technology as the XRouter.

Internet Sharing Hub MIH-120

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/xsense-mih120-xrouter-review/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/quantum-fireball-plus-lm-ultra-ata66-102gb-review/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/quantum-fireball-plus-lm-ultra-ata66-102gb-review/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2001 12:00:00 +0000 mdockter

With the recent advent of faster processors, bus speeds, video cards, and
memory, it seems like the Hard Drive is being left behind.  For over a
year, the ATA/33 IDE Protocol as well as a 5400RPM spindle speed has been the
standard for Hard Drives.  This combination has preformed very well over
the past year or so, but as with all other parts of the computer, it needs to
get faster.  Quantum, the company that brought us the ATA/66, and now
ATA/100 standard, is leading the way with Hard Drive reliability and performance
with it’s new Fireball LM Plus.  It features the Ultra ATA/66 interface,
along with 7200RPM spindle speeds.  A speed that, until a few months ago,
was unheard of in IDE drives and only found in the high performance SCSI drive
market.

Company History
Quantum Corporation was founded in 1980.  Ever since then, they have
been a major player in the Hard Drive market.  Employing 6,300 workers
world wide, In the 2000 Fiscal year ending on March 31st, sales totaled US$3.3
Billion.  As of that date, it was also the #1 supplier of Hard Drives, with
24% of the market.  Quantum has held that position for the past six
years.  In 1999, Quantum became the first Silicon Valley Company to issue
tracking stock, replacing it’s existing common stock with the ticker symbols DSS
and HDD, which trade the separate performance of the company’s DLT Storage
Systems, and hard Disk Drive businesses. Both stocks are traded on the New York
Stock Exchange.  Below, is a list of their OEM Partners.  Among them
are the most popular Retail computer manufacters in the world, including Compaq
and Hewlett-Packard

Acer	ADIC
Apple Computer	ATL Products, Inc.
Compaq Computer	eMachines
Data General	Dell Computer
Fujitsu	Gateway 2000
Hewlett-Packard	IBM
NEC	Overland Data
Packard Bell	Samsung
Siemens/Nixdorf	StorageTek
Sun Microsystems	Unisys

The Drive
The Drive we tested was the 10.2GB Version of the Quantum FireBall LM
Plus.  The FireBall Plus LM line is the highest performing Desktop Hard
Disk Drives Quantum has to offer at this moment.  It offers both the Data
Protection System (DPS), and the Shock Protection System (SPS).  DPS lets a
user easily verify drive functionality in less than 90 seconds in case troubles
are detected.  This provides the end user with an early warning system so a
backup of the data on the drive can be made, before the whole drive fails. 
SPS fights damage during shipping and installation, which just so happens to be
the leading cause of Hard Drive death, right behind of old age.  Both of
these systems let the user feel confident that their data is safe from loss
because of mechanical failure.  I can assure you that I felt very comfortable
putting a worthless installation of Windows 98 SE on this hard drive (which I
already had on CD) along with WinBench 99, (a widely available benchmarking
program.)  This drive also features technology to reduce noise, but more on
that later.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/quantum-fireball-plus-lm-ultra-ata66-102gb-review/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/cnet-cnig907bp-internet-broadband-gateway/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/cnet-cnig907bp-internet-broadband-gateway/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2001 12:00:00 +0000 mdockter The 56K modem has been around for about two years now. Unlike processor power, dial-up speeds have not doubled in the past 18 months; they have reached somewhat of a ceiling due to line noise and analog-to-digital conversion. By a large majority, Broadband internet connections, such a xDSL and CATV access are becoming more and more main stream, and are even starting to come to the more rural areas of the nation.

The problem with normal Internet access, be it Dial-up or Broadband, is that it’s natively for use with only one computer. As PCs have become cheaper and cheaper, more and more tend to fill out our homes. Personally I have four in my home, including my laptop. All are connected via out-dated 10/T Ethernet, including a 50ft cable that stretched from the Netgear EN104TP hub downstairs, to a Pentium Pro Internet/email workstation upstairs. I am even sharing Internet access by way of Windows 2000 ICS, which is an option in the Networking Properties when two or more NICs are installed into a machine. It seems odd for me to share my Internet connection via my workstation, but that is the way that I had to get things done.

After finding a great deal on a SMP Tyan Motherboard, along with the processors to run it, and the DRAM to hasten it, I decided that I would run a dedicated server. About the same time, CNetUSA contacted me to ask me to review their up and coming Internet Broadband Gateway. Never turning down a chance to play with a new toy I said, “YES!”

That left me with quite a problem on my hands. I purchased a nice ATA RAID controller for my server, as well at $100 worth of HDs to stripe on it…quite an investment on top of the sweet deal I got on the mobo, CPU, and RAM. There was no turning back on either of the options; the server or the Internet Braodband Gateway.

After talking with a PR rep from CNetUSA, I found out that this Gateway also had a Print Server Built in. It was like it was Christmas all over again. This US$175 (MSRP) Gateway device was going to do everything that my server was going to do. Talk about $300 down the drain.

I received the product and quickly began running over the specs. On paper, this thing looks really, really good.

• Internet WAN port for use with an ADSL or Cable modem
  
• Printer Sharing capabilities
  
• Seven (7) 10/100Mbps N-Way Switch ports with RJ-45 connectors built-in
  
• Complete WEB management using standard Internet browser
  
• PPTP and PPPoE support
  
• Users can remote access LAN resources via Internet connection
  
• NAT Firewall and Internet LAN access Filters
  
• Internet and 10/100Mbps LAN connection capability in one (1) device
  
• Multiple LAN Internet users can share one (1) ADSL or Cable modem
  
• ADSL and Cable modem connection support

To make quick work of that, it supports DSL connections by them Direct of PPPoE, as well as most Direct Cable Modem connections. I am not sure if it supports Cable Modem services that require login properly because I was not able to test this feature.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/cnet-cnig907bp-internet-broadband-gateway/feed/ 0 http://www.pcmech.com/article/build-your-own-home-network/ http://www.pcmech.com/article/build-your-own-home-network/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2001 12:00:00 +0000 mdockter Ethernet Choice
The first thing you want to do when attempting to build your own home network, is choose what you want to use for cabling.  For ease of use, and easy expansion, I suggest using 10/t or 100/TX.  10/T and 100/TX both use Cat5 Cabling.  If you look at it, it looks like a phone wire, but has twice as many wires both on the plug and in the wire.  Because I’m suggesting 10/T (which it will not be referred as) I’m also going to write this tutorial as though 10/T is the only choice, because, in my mine, it is.  All other types are inferior in too many ways.

Get some NICs
Now that you’ve settled on what type of Ethernet to use, (thanks to me) you’ll want to get some Network Interface Cards for each computer you plan to put on your network.  Network Interface Cards, are just that, they are a card that interfaces your computer with the rest of the network.  If you can, get cards that will fit into a PCI slot in your computer, if your computer has such slots.  PCI Network cards are much easier to use than any other type of card..  If you can’t get PCI, I recommend ISA cards made by 3COM. They are just as easy to use, and require no jumper configuration.  If you can’t get either, it’s time to shop around, or save up your money.

Another thing to consider when buying NICs is the speed of your network.  You can choose from either 10Mbps (10/T) or 100Mbps(100/TX.)  If you only get 10/T cards, the speed that computer on the network will only be 10Mbps, but if you get both 100/TX cards, and a 100/TX, along with a hub, which I’ll talk about later, you will increase your speed ten-fold.  Don’t expect your speed increase to come without cost.  Generally, 100/TX components cost from two to five times a much, depending on the component.  While on the subject of speed, another important thing to take into account is duplex.  By this time, we should all know how duplex works.  In half-duplex, or normal mode, one card talks, while the other listens, and vice-versa.  In full-duplex mode, both cards can talk and listen at the same time, which means a 2x speed increase. Which means on a 100/TX network, full-duplex will bring throughput up to 200Mbps, under the right conditions.  Full-Duplex equipment will also cost more.

]]> http://www.pcmech.com/article/build-your-own-home-network/feed/ 0