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News Archive for: Wednesday, Feb. 1st, 2006 Goto Current News Page |
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| Another report on $12 USB Sound Card (notes on Garageband/Gaming) |
"
Hi Mike,
I recently picked up one of those Soundmax SD-102's previously mentioned on your site. (see Jan 16th news page Quicksilver owner report on Low-Cost USB Audio out dongle-Mike) For 12$ I am extremely pleased with it. For others to note it is
sold as "ALPHA OME USB EXT SOUND CARD 5" at microcenter.com online.
It is pretty nice, the only thing I have noticed is that since it does not seem to support 44.1khz audio out, both garage band, and some games seem to have problems getting audio out. Garage band refuses to select the output saying that it is not 44.1, although I still haven't upgraded to garage band 3, so maybe that will help. The only game I have tried so far is quake 3, and it was doing storage things, all the sound seemed to be sped up (at least 3x as
fast). Microcenter claimed that it has "limited availability" so hopefully
that doesn't end up being a problem for anyone. Looks like it will be great for doing anything else with audio, but I cant say I would recommend it for garage band or gaming.
(I asked if the OS X Audio/Midi utility showed other rates for it-Mike)
The Audio midi utility shows 48khz(only) as the rate, I tried manually
entering 44100hz, but it just defaults back to 48000hz every time.
-Dave
"
There's also been reports of basic Core Audio support for other USB audio cards, like creative labs models which a reader said
are often very cheap also. (He got one for under $5 he said on ebay.)
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| Rate Your CPU Upgrade Reports Database Updated |
| The Rate Your CPU Upgrade database has been updated with 2 new reports (entries later today are added the next newsday morning). Total to date: 10,177. Here's a summary of the reports added (search by brand/mac model for full reports - latest reports always shown first):
- Powerlogix G4 Dual 1.3GHz (7457) in (Sawtooth) G4/AGP (rated 9)
- Sonnet G4 Dual 1.8GHz (7447A) in (Quicksilver) G4/AGP (rated 10)
(Full reviews of G4 and G3 upgrades compared to stock CPUs, including real world apps/game tests, install info, etc. are linked at the CPU upgrades page. OC/CPU module articles are on the Systems page.)
(Warning - Overclocking may not be reliable and could lead to hardware failure or corrupted data.) You can find the full reports by searching the database selecting the indicated Mac model and upgrade card brand/type. If you've upgraded the CPU on your Mac, please post an entry in the database. Search the database for entries from most every upgradable Mac model *before* you buy. (Searchable by mac model/upgrade brand).
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| CDRW/DVD/Hard Drive/Storage Compatibility Database Update Listing |
| The Drive Compatibility Database had 1 new report added this morning. (Entries later today are added the next newsday morning.) The database includes reports on CDRWs, Combo DVD-CDRW, DVD-ROM, DVD Burners, Hard Drives and Removables (tape drive, ORB, ZIP, MO drives, NAS, CF/Smartmedia readers, etc.) in all interface types (IDE, IDE RAID cards, SATA, Firewire, SCSI, USB, adapters). Current total - 15,518 reports. (searching by drive type/brand, mac model etc. listed below will show the full reports, most recent first - does not include updates to previous reports) iApps burn support mentioned in reports unless otherwise noted.
You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches).
For guides to installing CD/CDRW/DVD drives or Hard drives in many mac models, see the IDE Articles page. The Firewire articles page also has guides on case kits, installing drives, etc. If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. make sure you add a report to the database. (If you post an updated entry - make sure you use the same name, etc. as you did before so I can find your past entry. Thanks.)
(Incomplete entries are deleted. Do not post questions in the database, it's for drive reports not questions on what drive to buy - for that try searching the database for reports from owners of your mac model on the drive type/brand/interface, etc. you're interested in.)
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OWC SPECIALS!
(see full list)
= MEMORY =
4GB (2x2GB) Mac Pro RAM (800MHz) $111.50
4GB (2x2GB) Mac Pro RAM (667MHz) $106
4GB (2x2GB) PC6400 for 2008 iMacs $58.75
4GB (2x2GB) PC2-5300 SODIMMs $57.50
2GB PC2-5300 SODIMM $29.75
1GB DDR400 DIMMs $28.25
512MB PC-133 SDRAM $30.75
= WIRELESS =
802.11N/g/b PCI, PCMCIA or USB adapters under $50
802.11N/G/B Router $65
= TV TUNERS/DVR =
ElGato Turbo.264 (RFB) $57.50
EyeTV 250+ w/clear QAM $130
= CPU UPGRADES =
7448 2.0GHz $375
OWC G4 1.4GHz w/2MB L3 $215
7447A 1.6GHz $225
G3 1GHz ZIF upgrade $99.75
= HARD DRIVES =
500GB 7200rpm/16MB cache $69
WD 640GB 7200rpm/16MB Cache $74.75
1TB SATA HDs from $107.75
1.5TB Seagate HD $175
EliteAL eSATA/FW800/400/USB 2.0 Case Kit w/SW $75
1TB EliteAL FW/USB 2.0 $190
1TB EliteAL SATA/FW800/400/USB2 $227.50
= NOTEBOOK HDs =
500GB Samsung M6 HD + USB 2.0 Case Kit $175
250GB 7200rpm Notebook HD + USB 2.0 Case kit $112.75
320GB/7200RPM/16MB cache $107.50
200GB/7200RPM/16MB cache $72.50
= GRAPHICS CARDS = ATI HD 3870 PCIe $217.99
ATI 9800 Pro AGP $205
ATI 9600 Mac/PC AGP $179
= SOFTWARE =
Prosoft Data Rescue II $57.50
Mac Office 2008 $225
XLR8YourMac.com T-Shirts $14.99 Support this site!

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