With DDR3 modules on the horizon, does it really make sense for AMD to adopt DDR2 at this point? These are the rumblings making the rounds on the various columnists' opinion pages, & CTZ is no different. Here's what ol' Gundeep has to say:

"According to information provided by an industry insider, the production samples of desktop DDR3 modules have been sent over to Intel labs to prepare the upcoming platform that will take advantage of such modules. The insider confirmed that Intel has working samples of the modules on chipsets currently unknown."

In round two of their resource hacking guide, the BoxGods go into more detail and show you how to add controls & resources to a file, which will enable you to add images or animations to Windows & other program dialogs. Hack away....

"So, you managed to battle your way through the first part of this series. It seemed that disabling Windows File Protection was the most difficult. With the defeat of WFP, we can now easily move on to more advanced resource hacking."

The TechReport crew has word that a future release of NVIDIA's forceware will be multi-threaded. All the better to take advantage of the emerging dual-core chips, I guess....

"Most imminent on the horizon right now is ForceWare release 75, which will bring a number of improvements for SLI performance and 64-bit Windows, among other things, but release 75 will not be multithreaded. The next major iteration of the driver, release 80, is slated to bring support for multiple threads."

RAM

PDP DDR2 1GB PC2-5600 +XBLK @ OverclockersOnline

Cooling

ZALMAN VF700-Cu VGA Cooler @ Techniz

Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 1 @ Madshrimps

Etc.

Vantec 2.5" NexStar 3 Enclosure @ 3DGameMan

Samsung YP-T7X MP3 Player @ CoolTechZone

The Inq's got the scoop on NVIDIA opening up their dual-board graphics platform for development & an industry-wide certification project. This one's certainly a no-brainer, imo....

"It was mentioned that both i945 and i955X, as well as other chipsets from VIA and SiS are in testing procedure, but that certification depends soley on products making the grade. ATi is invited as well, but somehow I doubt the Captain Canuck Company would join Green Goblin and will just start with the CrossFire counter-standard."

The dual-core Athlon64 desktop chips have begun to emerge into markets overseas. I guess that we should expect to see them within a month, then.

"According to a report from Akiba PC Hotline, AMD Athlon 64 X2 model 4200+ costs from $606 to $609, whereas 4600+ is priced in the range of $910 – $919. The top chip of the lineup – AMD Athlon 64 X2 – is available in some places in Tokyo, Japan for approximately $1135."

If you're in the market for that new flat panel TV, it looks like it might just be worth your time to hold off on buying it until the latter half of the year. Price wars always benefit us, the consumer...

"As panel makers continue ramping up TV panel capacity in the second half of this year, panel prices are expected to start falling once again. In addition, with the LCD TV market growing, LCD TV vendors are increasing the volume of their panel purchases, which should provide them with more leverage when negotiating panel pricing, iSuppli said."

Apple has put iTunes 4.9 on the fast track; look for it within the next three weeks. I'm not sure I agree with the whole goal of, "commercializing podcasts," though...

"As a first order of business, sources say that Apple is developing a user-friendly 'Podcasts' area in its iTunes Music Store that will closely resemble the existing 'Audiobooks' store. A centralized grouping of the latest and most high-profile content will be flanked by listings of Podcast categories and top downloads."

Motherboards

PowerColor AX480A-GF @ Techniz

Audio

Sennheiser PC 155 USB @ BoxGods

Samsung YP-MT6V MP3 Player @ CoolTechZone

Etc.

Actiontec Wireless G Ethernet Adapter @ TheTechLounge

Sytrin NextTherm ICS 8200 Air Con ATX Case @ XtremeComputing

Good stuff here. Still got a couple of Voodoo cards laying around? Well, you might just be able to put those bad boys to work like this guy did. Doom3 on two Voodoo2's doesn't exactly look the same as on newer hardware, but just the fact that he got it to work is teh kewlest ;)

"By using a few third party patches, a gamer has been able to run Doom 3 on an AMD XP 1800+, 256 MB of RAM, and two vintage Voodoo 2 PCI video cards. It looks like a completely different game, though it still is, apparently, very playable with 60 FPS. You MUST check out the screenshots."

The BoxGods are at their modding best again today with a how-to on creating a customized external hard drive enclosure. They use the metallic case that the "Splinter Cell 3 collector's edition" comes in to create something much more unique.

"This mod highlights what modding is all about for me. Being creative by taking an item and modding it into something better. It doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult, require a shop full of tools, or cost a bundle. When your brain conjures it up, and your hands build it, you're modding."

Got any old hardware laying about that you're especially proud of? OSNews has teamed up with several other sites to host a site that's dedicated to showing off your old bits & pieces. It looks to be the most complete database of functional antiquated hardware ever ;)

"Dusty-computing's purpose is to compile and catalog the unique, rare, specially modified, or just plain old-and-outdated computing hardware that's out there taking up space in basements, moldering in storage, or living a happy life, pasts its prime, still in productive use.  We're not after listings of stock PCs or Macs that can be found haunting closets and garages everywhere, but those relics of the truly alternative geek scene."

Etc.

Dell Inspiron XPS Gen 2 @ Hexus

E.C.T Mach2 GT @ Madshrimps

OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum EB (DDR2 800MHz) @ OCAU

OCZ PowerStream 600W @ BigBruin