07/30/00 posted by Chuck

11/17/00 posted by Chuck

I have posted my review of the Radeon 32 meg DDR video card.  I had planned on making this a shootout between the Radeon and a similarly equipped Geforce board, but that didn't work out, I explain why in my has announced that it will no longer be making video boards, but they will once again start licensing their chips for real card makers to use on their boards.  Sheesh!  What will become of my once favorite board maker, STB?  How will 3DFX ever catch up to nVidea as far as chip technology is concerned?  In my opinion you're seeing the beginning of the end for the once king of 3D. 

11/16/00 posted by Chuck

Once again I must apologize for the long wait between updates.  I have good excuses though!  I've been sick (yea, sick, that's the ticket!), I've been busy and I've also been caught up in this election business.  I am posting two new reviews and I have a rant that I've been working on, you may see it posted in the next few days if I get the time.

10/28/00 posted by Chuck

The 32meg ATI Radeon DDR board has arrived and is now residing inside my new Duron based computer.  I've run a bunch of tests and played some games and I really like what I see.  I've got the review coming up as soon as I can type it.  Look for it in the next couple of days! 

10/15/00 posted by Chuck

Wow, I've really been lax on the updates.  I'll try to do better.  I've got my Duron overclocking article done and it's a wowser.  I had lot's of trials and tribulations throughout this one and I have no doubt that my article will garner me some serious hate mail from more than one source. I've documented it all, and have pictures to go with it. 

10/04/00 posted by Chuck

I've finally got the next review done, I've had the Abit KT7 motherboard up and running for a couple of weeks now, so it's good to have the first of several reviews of the board, the AMD Duron processor, the GlobalWin heatsink/fan and the rest of the stuff.  I have some neat overclocking results to post also, so check back often!

09/25/00 posted by Chuck

The first of the new batch of hardware tests is the Shuttle 591P Socket 7 motherboard. 

09/20/00 posted by Chuck

Sorry about going 10 days between updates, but I've been so busy I've hardly had time to go to the can.  I've got a bunch of new tests/reviews done, including an Abit KT7 motherboard with a Duron 600...which I overclocked to 900.  I will start posting all the new stuff within the next day or so.

09/10/00 posted by Chuck

Sorry it's been so long since the last update.  I was on vacation for a week and it's been catch up time since I've been home.  I have a bunch of stuff waiting to be tested and reviewed, including an Abit KT7 mother board and an unlocked Duron 700 processor, which I'm going to see how far I can overclock! I've also got a new rant coming on, so check back in a few days!

08/30/00 posted by Chuck

Intel has recalled all their 1.13GZh processors due to problems first noted by Tom at www.tomshardware.com.  Methinks Intel, in their desire to stay in front of AMD has pushed the Pentium III beyond it's capabilities....at the expense of the consumer.  Intel screws the public again.  Surprise, surprise!

08/29/00 posted by Chuck

Gamespot has made all their .pdf format Game Guides available for free download, so if you're a gamer like me head on over to to get the ones you want!

08/26/00 posted by Chuck

I spoke with Chris Kim at Hansan Systems yesterday concerning my review of the Explorer III case.  He apologized for my problems getting the 300w power supply and promised to address the 2 small problems I had with the case. If you read the article you know that they were 2 very small problems on an otherwise great case.  He struck me as a man who not only wants to promote his company's product but also wants to make that product the best it can be.  If you're in the market for a case definitely check out.

08/25/00 posted by Chuck

  • I'm in the process of getting more hardware for testing.  Bear with me, my consulting business has kept me hopping lately, but I'm going to spend the next few days schmoozing for hardware.  Well, when you're 6'4" and 240 you don't exactly schmooze, it's more like....well, never mind what it's like!

  • Interested in having one video card that can do it all?  Great 2D graphics, blazing fast 3D graphics, TV tuner, video editing and DVD decoder?  Run over to Toms Hardware and read review of ATI's latest All in Wonder card.

08/17/00 posted by Chuck

  • Check out my rant(?) on Maximum PC magazines Dream Machine 2000

  • Well isn't it amazing, once I told Network Solutions that I'd documented all the hours on hold and lack of support and was going to write to my Attorney General they found all my "lost" faxes and emails.  Wow, now that's what I call amazing!  LOL

08/14/00 posted by Chuck

  • Check out my rant on Today's Computer Consultants

  • Still no satisfaction from Network solutions...spent another hour on hold and listened to another idiot there but still it's not fixed.  I've documented the whole sorry thing and I'm going to send it off to my state Attorney General, but first I'll give them one more chance.

08/12/00 posted by Chuck

  • Sorry I haven't posted much in the way of hardware news lately, this problem with Network Solutions (no still no solution) really has consumed me lately.  How many phone calls must one make to solve a problem and how long can one guy spend on hold?

  • Every gamer on a budget should check out the new GeForce 2 MX video boards. You can find reviews and   I expect to have a GeForce 2 MX card here for testing in the next week or two.

08/10/00 posted by Chuck

  • Ouch!  I broke a tooth while eating popcorn the other night and had to wait a whole day to get into my dentist.  That was an $800 bowl of popcorn!

  • Anyone looking for the AMD K6-2+ processor and having trouble finding it should look   So far it's the only place I've found that has them, if someone else has another source let know.

08/06/00 posted by Chuck

  • Still no resolution from Network Solutions.  I've spent a total of 4 hours on hold, gotten so many different stories it's made my head spin, heard more lies and false promises than Clinton himself could spit out and still nothing has been done.  How can this company stay in business?

  • One thing I need to do is post a review of my DSL provider, Phoenix DSL, they've been taking a lot of hits lately and I think it's only fair to air an account of someone who's had both good luck with thier service and the DSL connection. Look for it soon.

08/02/00 posted by Chuck

  • I've been very busy lately, both in the other facets of my business and with the continuing problems with Network Solutions.  If they were a regular business they would have gone under a long time ago.  I've never received such lousy customer service from any company.

  • For all you gamers out there, it looks like the game Heavy Metal has been released...and all you Julie Strain fans too.  Who's not a Julie Strain fan?  My Gawd what a dish!  Check out the websites and get the demo

 

  • Problems with the web host has kept me from updating for the last few days...also problems handling the domain name has caused me lots of problems lately.  I think that Network Solutions deserves to be reviewed.  Is there such a thing as a negative rating?  If so Network Solutions deserves to have the lowest rating possible.  If anything they are worse than US West....and that's saying something!

07/27/00 posted by Chuck

  • I posted the second half of my review of the Hanson Explorer III case, including cooling tests and my ratings of the product.

07/24/00 posted by Chuck

  • Tom's Hardware Guide has a review of the new WD 45 meg hard drive.  If you're interested in a large capacity drive and want one that runs quietly and also dont have a need for the fastest drive in town (it's a 5400 rpm drive) check out his , this may be the drive you're looking for.

  • There's another positive review on AMD's K6-2+ processor over at Ace's Hardware, if you're like me and you want to squeeze on last upgrade out of that old Socket 7 motherboard pop over and check it out.

07/22/00 posted by Chuck

  • I posted my review of the Netgear SB104 Network Starter Kit, check it out

07/20/00 posted by Chuck

  • I posted my review of the D-Link DI-701 Residential Gateway.  It's a hardware router that will let you share your broadband connections with all the computers on your network, and it's a firewall too!  Go read the review.

07/18/00 posted by Chuck

  • I posted the first half of my review on the Hansan Explorer III case.  See it

07/17/00 posted by Chuck

  • I posted my opinion on overclocking in the Opinion section.

  • AnandTech has posted a review of ATI's Radeon video board, check it out

07/16/00 posted by Chuck

  • I just posted an article under Opinions about my Great Case Hunt.  Send your opinions here and I'll post them for others to read if I like what you've written.  I also accept guest reviews, so if you've been dying to write a review of that new piece of hardware and have it published, send it to me.

07/14/00 posted by Chuck

  • Tom's Hardware has a great article on the performance and overclocking of the new AMD K6-2+ processor.  For all of you that have a super socket 7 motherboard and are considering upgrading this is a must read.  You can find the article here.

07/13/00 posted by Chuck

  • Welcome to the launch of the Hardware Maniac.  The webmaster of this site aims to bring you the best of the web's hardware previews, reviews, opinions and to temper them with our own reviews and opinions. I also intend to add a "translation" of each article for the hardware challenged that visit this site. To learn more click on the About Us and the Mission statements in the sidebar menu.  Thanks for stopping by and come back often!

Chuck Bryant