Tech News
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The Soltek SL-75FRN-L Motherboard Throwback
One of the coolest motherboards I reviewed back in the early days was the Soltek SL-75FRN-L, or Golden Flame. This was a NVIDIA nForce 2 based motherboard supporting AMD XP based processors. The “Golden Flame” name came from the unique gold PCB, gold anodized North Bridge heatsink and yellow expansion slots.
What made the motherboard so fun was the dual channel DDR memory support from the chipset and the ability to unlock AMD XP processors by jumping across two pins on the CPU socket. Some enthusiasts would wrap the wire around pins on the processor why others would solder the connections on the back of the motherboards. For me I found dropping a small wire in the socket worked just fine.
With the wire trick you were able to fully unlock the CPU and were presented with adjustable multipliers along with Front Side Bus adjustments. Provided you didn’t crack the processor installing the heatsink.
Back in the day I reviewed two of these motherboards and kept the best one in my hardware collection. Sadly after Soltek shut down some 8+ years ago we lost one of the most creative motherboard makers in the industry.
This could be argued but the Black PCBs you see on most motherboards today was started by Soltek. Before that most companies were using Green, Brown and Red. As it would turn out the “alternative” colors were rather toxic making them difficult to get past the environmental regulations.
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Microsoft software update breaks Windows 7 using Asus Motherboards
I sometimes wonder what the Windows 10 end game is. They are giving away free upgrades to just about everyone and now issusing patches that not only install "nagware/malware" (eg the GWX.exe program) but are also breaking systems that were otherwise working perfectly.
All of this is costing Microsoft money and that kind of gamble usually means there is something big coming and it will likely cost us a LOT of money.
Once upon a time (well, in March), Microsoft rolled out a patch for PCs running its Windows 7 operating system. The patch, however, was incompatible with PCs outfitted with Asus motherboards, causing those PCs to crash under certain conditions. The damage wasn't widespread because the patch was labeled "optional," which meant a relatively small number of people installed it. Both Microsoft and Asus were aware of the conflict, according to Forbes.
But on April 12, Microsoft changed the status of the patch "recommended," which meant that anyone with Automatic Updates enabled would receive the patch. The result? A lot more people with PCs featuring Asus motherboards discovered that their computers would freeze or refuse to boot.Honestly, I'm one of the Windows 7 hold-outs. Not so much because I scared of upgrading but rather that I like what I have and it does what I need. Sure when more DX12 games come out I'll take the plunge but if I was an Asus user getting directed to a Microsoft website claiming that the issue they caused can be solved by upgrading to Windows 10 would infuriate me to no end.
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Adidas wants to Sell Golf Division because China
Stepping away from computer hardware for a moment with a story that addresses global market conditions and how it is changing the way big businesses think.
In this Bloomberg story Adidas is seeking buyers for the Taylormade Golf brand. They are planning to abandon the golf equipment industry so they can focus on their clothing lines. This may seem like a shock to avid golfers who use Taylormade products but when it comes down to making money it would seem the golf industry isn't working for them.
The businesses on sale could fetch 470 million euros, John Guy, an analyst at MainFirst Bank AG, wrote in a note. Adidas shares fell 1.5 percent to 111.70 euros as of 11:46 a.m in Frankfurt.
Outgoing Chief Executive Officer Herbert Hainer is cleaning up Adidas’s operations as he sets the table for Kasper Rorsted, who takes the reins in October. Adidas got into golf when it bought French ski and skate company Salomon in 1997, but younger consumers are staying away from the game, and it isn’t popular in emerging markets like China and India. Sales plummeted 13 percent last year as the industry has been beset by discounting.
‘‘The golf market is not growing at the moment but it’s also not falling further,” Hainer said during a call with reporters. The portion Adidas plans to keep is producing solid returns and the company is cutting labor and manufacturing costs, the CEO said.I want to call attention to something in the Bloomberg article that explains why they are selling off Taylormade, China. Yes it would seem that golf isn't popular with young people in China and with sales neither going up or down in the world market they have determined that the segment is dead.
Thing is in Asia, golf is considered an elitist sport instead of a hobby sport like elsewhere in the world so it would seem strange that they determine the worth of an entire segment on a region where it doesn't apply.
Of course the opposite is true when it comes to the Adidas clothing where sales in China are growing. Let’s see if we can figure out why. Oh ya.
- Golf Clubs: $1100 USD can only play if a club member
- Adidas workout shirt: $50 USD can run around outside.I can understand the draw, China is big for everyone but just because sales are bad in a certain region doesn't mean you give up, you change your focus. For instance Hardware vendors make the majority of their profits in China and even change the design to better match what the Chinese want. (Ever wonder why there is so much gold on a motherboard?) This is also why enthusiast level gear is so difficult to get in the States.
Sadly, this might mean the end of Taylormade as we know it. Sure some large equipment manufacturer may pick them up. My guess would be Spalding or Wilson but unless they dedicate similar effort into development and marketing the sales will decline and eventually fade away.
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You need a 20-year-old Compaq laptop to maintain the F1 supercar
I found this story this morning and thought it was really quite interesting. We all know that you can "tune" or reprogram any modern car with a Laptop. You simply interface with the ECU and tweak whatever setting you want. If you are using an aftermarket ECU like a Haltech there is a USB plug and some software however, on a 2001 Chevy S10 Xtreme (like mine) you need a device like HPTuners to make the connection to the ECU.
Well it would seem McLaren needs a similar device to program their F1 Supercar and that device only runs on the certain Compaq laptops that were built in the 90's, around the same time the F1 Supercar was built. The programming software runs in DOS which only adds to the level of effort.
"The reason we need those specific Compaq laptops is that they run a bespoke CA card which is installed into them," explains a McLaren spokesperson to Jalopnik. "The CA card is an interface between the laptop software (which is DOS-based) and the car." If you've never heard of a CA card, then Jalopnik commenter Mike Herbst helpfully explains it's a Conditional Access card. Modern PCs use smart cards or USB keys with special access codes to access sensitive systems, and the CA card was used as custom hardware as part of an integrated system for security and copy protection.
What makes this story really interesting is that only 106 F1 cars were ever built there are only 100 left for McLaren to service and while the car can cost around $10 Million dollars it only works because of a computer that most people would have recycled by now.
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The Forum is Gone but don't Fret New stuff is Coming.
The winds of change are blowing again and for once we are upwind of the wastewater treatment plant.
Almost a year ago I decided to add a Forum back to Hardware Asylum and spent some time building a forum theme and re-integrating it back into the main site. I had cross posted links and an almost seamless experience between the two. My concern with adding a forum back was if it would become a maintenance nightmare and if anyone would actually use it.
It would seem the answer is “No” for both and I have since disabled the forum integration. You can still access the forum using the old URL but it won’t be linked on the main site for the time being.
One good thing did come out of the experiment which I think will work out for the best.
A Redesign
When I ask people about Hardware Asylum one of the comments I get is that the design is old. While I don’t always agree there are some things I have never liked and others that are just a carryover from Ninjalane.com.
For instance the carousel at the top partially hides the current review and I doubt anyone has bothered to click though to see what else is listed. I’m also lacking on social media integration and the Tech News is just pathetic.
As a result I have been working on a redesign to change the overall layout of the homepage that will better display reviews at the top with better access to past articles and a larger section dedicated to the Hardware Asylum Podcast. The design will also better support any YouTube “stuff” we will be doing in the future and hopefully translate into more excitement for the Hardware Asylum brand.
Look for the design changes later this month.
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GIGABYTE Z170X-Gaming 3 Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
I'm not sure the Z170 market is all that confusing but the different versions of motherboard can be. Do I go Gaming 7 or will Gaming 3 be enough? This is why reviews are beneficial, at least to some degree.
A good rule of thumb is that lower numbers usually mean lower cost and that cost comes out of the product either in component quality or number of components. With gigabyte products you are assured to have something good in any of the "channels" Gaming and OC are the two big ones right now and all follow the Ultra Durable line of product development using quality components and thick copper PCBs.
In the confusing world of Z170 motherboards one stands out. At just $150 but packing some of the most desirable features around, it is nearly impossible to beat.
Personally I would much prefer a MiniITX Gaming 3 over a full sized motherboard mostly because if I am going full sized I want full sized features like Multi GPU support, better cooling, audio and network. Otherwise get the same features in a small package and give up on expandability, you won't need it anyway.
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ASUS GTX 950 2 GB @ techPowerUp
GTX 950 might be one of the slowest cards in the Maxwell light up but it also doesn't require any external power. The card might not be good for gaming like an overclocked GTX 960 but you can save a few bucks on the PSU needed in your build and lower your monthly power bill.
That is assuming you actually pay a power bill.
A while back the GTX 750Ti was the low power card to have. It wasn't fast but after strapping an external VRM to the GPU it actually scaled quite well under LN2.
ASUS recently released a GTX 950 that runs without additional power connector, making it the fastest graphics card in this performance class. In our review we will test how the board deals with the 75 W power limit and how that affects performance.
EVGA announced one of these cards recently and the first thing that came to mind was. Hey a dedicated PhysX processor, how cool is that.
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Guru3D Rig of the Month - April 2016
As I immerse myself back into the modding world I have started noticing how the modding world has changed and yet remained exactly the same.
One change I have noticed is how detailed these mods have become which is something I brought up in my "How to build a watercooling loop" article citing that casemods are being treated like building a show car instead of a weekend activity to personalize your system.
Despite how the mods have changed people still struggle to get their works noticed and in some cases require "incentives" to even get started. aka contests.
A long running competition at Guru3D is "The Rig of the Month" where users submit their casemods for a chance to be featured in the month end article.
It is time for the April edition of the Guru3D Rig of the Month 2016. This months build is build bu a guys that is a semi-pro modder, and that shows. His rig is all red and called, Project Eris as built by Adam Braithwaite aka DarwinPC.
The case is extremely clean and built in the famous InWin D-Frame mini complete with watercooling and red and black color theme. I suspect the plethora of MSI hardware was a deciding factor in their decision.
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Asustek denies plans to split company businesses
This is an interesting story and makes you wonder how it even started.
Asustek Computer has refuted a rumor that the company is considering separating its Open Platform business group, which includes motherboard, graphics card, monitor and peripheral product lines, and the System business group, which includes PC, smartphone and tablet product lines, to form independent companies.
Following Ted Hsu's return as Asustek's Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), rumors have spread that Asustek is planning to spin off its Open Platform business group - which is expected to see over NT$6 billion (US$185.73 million) in profits from its motherboard/graphics card businesses in 2016 and more than NT$10 billion if profits from monitor, network, smart home and gaming peripheral products are included - into an independent company.As many of you know Asustek did the whole "lets spin this company off" thing before when they created Asrock. The idea there was to create a company who could compete in the ultra low end market without impacting the bottom line of parent company.
Funny thing is ASrock has created some really high-end products over the past several years with some big names backing their marketing plans. Fatal1ty and Nick Shih come to mind as famous examples. The other interesting thing to note is that while Asustek and ASrock are "separate" companies they both use the same component supplier and have remarkably similar PCB designs.
It is almost like they came from the same place. humm
I would have to agree with Digitimes though, splitting the company would be a mistake.
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Biostar Racing Z170GT7 (Intel LGA-1151) @ techPowerUp
Biostar. Once the premier brand of "get this on the cheap" they have been making strides to become a legit enthusiast name. This might be a hard sell for anyone having built a PC back in the 90's but, they are still around which means they did something right.
The Biostar Racing Z170GT7 is a fully-featured high-performance platform that includes an LN2 switch. Unlike previous motherboards from Biostar that were affordable with more basic features, this one has everything a gamer would want and does very well in our testing.
The Biostar Racing series seems to be checking all the boxes when it comes to features and style. I mean just look at that PCB!!. It even comes with separated audio and dual BIOS support for that added bit of safety while overclocking.
I hate to say it but I might have to get one just to try it out.
