More ATi and X800, Cooling, and Other Goodness

Good morning HotHardware fans!  What a crazy couple of weeks, huh?  First the NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra hits, and then just over two weeks later ATi plays their hand and unveils the X800 XT and X800 Pro.  On top of that, Rob got back from his honeymoon, Jeff moved to NC, we launched the new site and finished a couple of reviews in between!  I'm sure I speak for the rest of the crew when I say it feels like we've just finished running a marathon!  The good news is, there's still a lot of exciting stuff on the horizon - We're still tweaking the site, Intel and AMD will be bringing some good stuff to market shortly, and we hear some other graphics companies may have a treat or two on the way.  For now though, you're going to have to settle for some news...be patient grasshopper...

 Interview with ATI's CEO, Dave Orton @ Beyond3D: <--- This is full of good information...

"What we are now moving towards is actually a unified design team of both east and west coast, that will develop our next generations of platforms, from R300 to R400 to R500 to R600 to R700, instead of a ping-pong ball between them both. Within that one organization we need to think about where do we architecturally innovate and where do we not in order to hit the right development cycles to keep the leadership, but it will be one organization."

 Radeon X800 XT or GeForce 6800 Ultra? Tough choice! @ HardwareAnalysis:

"This is just one of those days when you have to pass judgment on two products that are both excellent but designed from two different perspectives. At one hand you have ATi's Radeon X800 XT, small, quiet, low power, but with plenty of processing power. On the other hand there's Nvidia's GeForce 6800 Ultra, big, powerful, lots of raw processing power and plenty of new features, but also requiring more power. The Radeon X800 XT reminds me of a polished ruby, as there's already a solid base of drivers because it is based on a previous architecture, the Radeon X800 XT will therefore be able to shine from the start, but will also not be much more than that, a polished ruby."

 Review of the iRiver iFP-395T @ Whiningdog:

"iRiver America has an excellent MP3 player in the iFP-395T. If you're thinking of purchasing a player for the gym then go ahead and give this device a whirl. You might end up liking it over the much heralded competition."

 Intel Pentium 4 3.4 GHz Extreme Edition @ GamePC Labs:

"Today at GamePC, we've taken a look at one of the first final production units of Intel's 3.4 GHz Extreme Edition processor. After a day of more than two months after the initial launch, and a rumored core revamp to support higher clock speeds, the fastest EE chip is finally hitting the market."

 Microcool Northpole Chipset Cooling Kit Review @ TwistedMods.com:

"The Northpole Chipset Cooling Kit from Microcool is very innovative, new product in the cooling enthusiast market. The construction and materials are all top-notch quality, the manual is easy to follow, and installation is a breeze. Overall the Microcool Northpole Chipset Cooling Kit is a very good investment for anyone who wants to keep their system running at cool temperatures if overclocking or not."

 Scythe Samurai P4/K7/K8 Heatsink @ Systemcooling:

"About six months ago, we introduced you to the Scythe Kamakaze heatsink. During our testing, we found it to be a capable and quiet heatsink, and well worth the price. Now, Scythe has introduced a new heatsink, the SCSM-1000 Samurai. Where the Kamakaze used a decidedly Alpha-esque pin cooling setup, the Samurai uses thin copper fins, with a unique twist. Today we're going to find out if the Samurai is able to keep pace with today's hot processors."

That's going to have to hold you over for now!  Stop back later though, we'll have more news posted a little later.  Peace.