Digital Archaeology: Hewlett Packard xw4100

Digital Archaeology: Hewlett Packard xw4100 | PeakD: The HP Workstation xw4100 was an entry level workstation featuring a Pentium 4 processor. Based on a bit of googling, it seems to have been a popular choice for video editors. At least I found a couple of generally positive reviews from video publications. This machine features:

Maximum PC (January 2004)

Maximum PC (January 2004)

Maximum PC, known as 'boot' in its earliest days, was my favorite PC specific magazine. It was also still around until a few years ago. The January 2004 issue includes:

Regulars

• In/Out - Letters from readers about using an AMD64-FX CPU with an Opteron motherboard dual-GPU cards, motherboard recommendations, the nForce3 chipset, the remaining life for EIDE drives, upgrading a Pentium 4 machine, and more.


• Quick Start - A look at a few pocket sized PCs including one by oqo that includes a 1 GHz Transmetta Crusoe CPU and 256 MB of RAM, a look at some new games including Madden 2004, Knights of the Old Republic, and Deus Ex, and more.


• Head2Head - Comparing online music services iTunes, MusicMatch, Rhapsody, and Napster.


• WatchDog - Poor OS X performance on G3s, Belkin router spam, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the January 2004 issue of Maximum PC}

Reviews

• HyperSonic Sonic Boom desktop PC - This PC features a yellow case, 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition overclocked to 3.37 GHz, 1GB of DDR400, an ATI Radeon 9800 XT), two Western Digital WD360 10,000rpm SATA drives, and more for $3,384.


• Hewlett-Packard Pavilion ZD7000 laptop - This laptop features a Pentium 4C @ 3.2GHz, 1GB DDR333 dual channel RAM, nVidia GeForce FX Go5200 video, 40GB hard drive and more for $2700.


• ATI 4600 64Bit desktop PC - This PC features a Chieftec case, 430 watt power supply, an AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 CPU @ 2.2GHz, 1GB registered DDR333 RAM, 256MB nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra video card, two 36GB Western Digital Raptor drives, and more for $3650.


• PNY Verto GeForce FX 5950 Ultra video card - nVidia's new top of the line card gets a positive review here.


• Serial ATA Drives - Several Serial ATA hard drives are reviewed including the Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 250GB, Western Digital Caviar SE WD250JD, Hitachi Desktar 7K250 (the highest scoring in this review round-up), Seagate Barracuda 7200.7, and Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 16 300GB (the largest drive in this review round-up).

_{Table of Contents from the January 2004 issue of Maximum PC (continued)}

Features

• Hardcore Hardware - A look at hardware and technologies that will appear in PCs in 2004. These include Serial ATA 2.0, Intel's Prescott Pentium 4 CPU, AMD's Newcastle, DDR2 memory, BTX, dual layer DVD burners, 802.11n, nVidia NV40 based video cards, ATI R420 based video cards, and more.


• Meet the Mach L - An overdesigned PC featuring an 3.2 GHz Pentium 4, 2GB of PC4200 RAM, Raid 0 array of four 18GB 15,000rpm SCSHI drives, Radeon 9800 XT video card, Asetek's Vapochill Case, and more.


• The Softies - Maximum PC's 2nd annual software awards featuring the 10 best applications and utilities of 2003. These include Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP, DVD X Copy Platinum, Cakewalk Project 5 Soft Synth Workstation, JBuilder, Adobe InDesign 2.0, POPFile, Spybot Search and Destroy, iTunes, Trillian Pro 2.0, and Mozilla Firebird.

_{Back cover of the January 2004 issue of Maximum PC}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/07/12/maximum-pc-january-2004/

PC World (December 2005)

PC World (December 2005)

At one time, you could find PC World on the shelves of every book store and in many grocery stores and other places that carried magazines. Sadly, it disappeared with almost every other computer related magazine (and most magazines in general for that matter). The December 2005 issue includes:

Future Tech

• What's New for 2006 - A look at upcoming technologies and products in 2006 including Windows Vista, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, Web 2.0, better and cheaper LCD displays, WiMax, Intel based Apple computers (RIP), and next gen game consoles like the Xbox 360.

Features

• Software-Giant Killers - Free and low-cost alternatives to high-priced software. Some products looked at hear include OpenOffice 2.0, Thunderbird, AVG Anti-Virus, ZoneAlarm, GIMP, Picasa (RIP), Musicmatch Jukebox 10, CutePDF 3, and more.


• Color Lasers Get Affordable - Ten color laser printers are reviewed and compared with prices ranging from $400 to $700.

_{Table of Contents from the December 2005 issue of PC World}

Reviews & Rankings

• Disc-Burning Suites - In the comparison here, the author recommends Nero 7 Ultra Edition for experts and Roxio Easy Media Creator 8 for novices.


• Mobile Phones - A look at the Motorola Rokr E1 (the first iTunes compatible phone) and the Sony Ericsson W800i Walkman phone. Both emphasize combining MP3 playback with phone functionality.


• Top 10 Desktop PCs - A look at the top "power" and "value" systems. The winner in the Power category is the Xi Computer MTower 64 AGE-SLI which includes a 2.4 GHz Athlon 64 X2 4800+, 256MB EVGA e-GeForce 6800 Ultra graphics, a 19-inch Viewsonic LCD and 600GB of drive space for $3699. The top system in the Value category is the CyberPower Gamer Ultra 7500 SE which features a 2 GHz Athlon 64 3200+, 256MB EVGA e-GeForce 6600 graphics, 17-inch ViewSonic LCD and 160GB of drive space for $1075.


• Graphics Card - The ATI Radeon X850 XT CrossFire Edition is tested here. It's not officially reviewed here but the recommendation from the author was not to upgrade to this model. Expected price was $449.


• Top 10 Notebook PCs - The top "Desktop Replace" model in this round-up is the Acer TravelMate 8100 featuring a 2 GHz Pentium M 760, 15.4-inch wide screen, and a DVD+R DL/DVD+-RW drive for $1999. The top "All-Purpose Notebook" was the HP Compaq nx6125 featuring a 2.2 GHz Turion 64 ML-40, 15-inch screen, and DVD+-RW drive for $1249.


• GPS Software - A look at Streets & Trips 2006 with GPS Locator. This type of package has been obsoleted by things like MapQuest and Google Maps.


• Backup Software - Reviews of Norton Ghost 10 and Tru Image 9 both of which get "Very Good" ratings here.

_{Table of Contents from the December 2005 issue of PC World (continued)}

Departments

• Up Front - The editor discusses recent changes to PC World's product reviews and rating system.


• Letters - Letters from readers about AMD vs. Intel, online speeds, resetting Windows XP admin passwords, file search tools, and more.


• Consumer Watch - Watchdog web sites for charitable donations, software heartbeats and security risks, and more.

News & Trends

• $500 Laptops - Basic laptops hit new low prices as the reach the $500 level. Three are looked at here including the Dell Inspiron 1200, the Acer Aspire 3003LCi, and the HP Compaq Presario M2000. They have 256MB to 512MB of RAM and feature either Mobile Sempron or Celeron M CPUs.


• U3: Portable Programs on a USB Drive - U3 is a technology that allows U3 compliant apps to be run securely from USB drives securely.


• Moving Your Number to VoIP? - These days, most people don't even have landlines but at the time a lot of people were moving over to cheaper VOIP options though apparently the wait could be a while. I still have a Magic Jack number...

Digital World

• Ten HDTV Myths - Things you need other than a hi-def TV to actually display hi-def content, how bigger isn't necessarily better, how a high resolution set won't necessarily result in a better pictures, and more.


• Gadget Freak - An overview of recent gadgets including the Tao XM2Go portable satellite radio, Firefly's kid friendly cell phone, the iAudio X5 MP3 player, and more.

_{Back cover of the December 2005 issue of PC World}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/05/01/pc-world-december-2005/

Maximum PC (March 2004)

Maximum PC (March 2004)

Maximum PC, known as 'boot' in its early days, was my favorite computer magazine. It was published from the late 1990s until just recently. It made me a little sad when this one ceased publication but I can't really say it was a surprise. It was really the last significant computer print publication still being published in the U.S. as far as I am aware. The March 2004 issue includes:

Regulars

• In/Out - Letters from readers about buying MP3s from other countries, EULAs and kids, Dolby encoding, the Radeon 9600 XT, and more.


• Quick Start - An overview of the changes in Windows XP Service Pack 2, CPU naming schemes, why games don't ship on DVD, modding your iPod, the exponential growth of digital cameras, moral choices in games, Creative acquires Sensaura, the OQO uPC, a 4GB 0.85-inch hard drive, the Creative Portable Media Center, dual layer DVD recorders, the Phantom fanless power supply, and more.


• Head2Head - Yahoo vs. Hotmail! Yahoo was the winner here and it is still around. Hotmail sort of went away.


• WatchDog - Copyleft.net appears to go out of business, issues with counterfeit Xbox controller to PC adapters, hard drive sizes, and more.

_{Table of Contents from the March 2004 issue of Maximum PC}

Reviews

• Vicious PC Assassin desktop system - A PC in a clear case that features an AMD Athlon 64 3400+ CPU, MSI K86-Neo (Socket 754, VIA K8T800 chipset) motherboard, 1GB DDR400 RAM, an ATI Radeon 9800 XT video card, two 36GB Western Digital Raptor hard drives (10,000 RPM), and more for $3000.


• Belkin Bluetooth GPS Receiver - Sure, every phone has GPS today but in 2004 if you wanted to, for example, to have GPS capability on your Pocket PC then you would need an external receiver like this for an extra $300.


• Kyocera FineCam SL300R - A 3.2 megapixel digital camera with an interesting form factor for $400.


• AOpen AK86-L 64-bit mobo - This Socket 939 motherboard features VIA's Apollo K8T800 chipset and supports the new Athlon 64 3400+.


• Albatron K8X800 PROII 64-bit mobo - A similar motherboard to the one above. One of the small differences is that it features a whopping 6 PCI slots (vs. 5).
• MSI K856 Neo-FIS2R 64-bit mobo - One of the earliest motherboards to support the Athlon 64. It has three memory slots but will only support two and DDR-400 speeds.


• Toshiba e805 PDA - PDAs were what people used in addition to phones when phones were still dumb. This one features Intel's PXA263 processor running at 400MHz with 128MB SDRAM and is among the first to feature a VGA (640x480) resolution screen.
• Creative Labs Wireless Music MP3 streaming box - A device designed to stream your MP3 music collection wirelessly.


• Slim Devices Squeezebox MP3 streaming box - Similar to the above but this one gets a perfect 10 rating. The idea is that you install a piece of software on the PC hosting your MP3 collection then plug this device into your stereo system (or headphones or whatever) then use the provided remote to control playback.


• Addonics 18-in-1 Multi-Function Recorder - A portable USB 2.0 DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive that also provides slots for CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Sd cards, MMC cards, and more.


• Mad Dog Entertainer 7.1 DSP soundcard - A decent (but not perfect) sound card for a bargain price.

_{Table of Contents from the March 2004 issue of Maximum PC (continued)}

Features

• Join the Wireless Revolution! - A guide to adding wi-fi to your home. Includes tips on positioning your access point, making any printer a wireless network printer, protecting your wi-fi network (which meant enabling WEP in this case) and more.


• P4 Prescott - A look at the new Prescott version of the Pentium 4. Changes include a new SSE3 instruction set, redesigned pipeline (that would supposedly take the Prescott to speeds of up to 5 GHz), double the cache, and a die shrink. This article makes the point that it could have been called the Pentium 5. At the end of the day, it didn't end up being much faster and didn't scale to higher speeds nearly as well as expected.

_{Back cover of the March 2004 issue of Maximum PC}

Read more: https://www.megalextoria.com/wordpress/index.php/2024/04/25/maximum-pc-march-2004/