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Spicing up the first September weekend a new GeForce drivers has found its way online and is ready for testing, use and abuse. The GeForce 177.98 drivers are dated August 24th and feature support for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9 and GTX 200 series cards.

To download the fresh GeForce 177.98s just follow the links below.

- GeForce 177.98 beta (Windows XP 32bit)
- GeForce 177.98 beta (Windows XP 64bit)
- GeForce 177.98 beta (Windows Vista 32bit)

CPU & Motherboard

- Gigabyte MA78GPM-DS2H Motherboard @ Digit-Life

Storage

- Thecus N5200BR NAS Server @ Legit Reviews

Graphics cards

- NVIDIA 9500 GT @ AnandTech
- ZOTAC GeForce 9800 GTX+ ZONE Edition Graphics Card @ TweakTown
- ASUS ENGTX260 TOP GeForce GTX 260 Graphics Card @ Tech ARP

Enclosures & PSUs

- Mapower MAP-TB32 Dual SATA RAID Enclosure @ Big Bruin
- BFG Tech ES Series 800W Power Supply @ ThinkComputers

Peripherals

- OCZ Dominatrix gaming mouse @ Fudzilla

PCs

- Asus Eee PC 901 netbook @ The Tech Report

Photo and video cameras

- Panasonic HDC-HS100 @ TrustedReviews

Sound

- iLuv i910 Noise Canceling Stereo Earphones @ Futurelooks

Other

- BenQ MP512 ST DLP Projector and Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Player @ TrustedReviews

Patriot Memory has now added three new DDR2 memory kits to its Viper line-up. The highest-end arrival is a 4GB PC2-8000 kit which is able to work at 1000 MHz with latencies of 5-5-5-12 while the other two are 4GB kits that operate at 900 MHz with 4-5-4-12 timings that only differentiate themselves through the color of their aluminum heatspreaders - black for the PVS24G7200LLK and green for the PVS24G7200LLKN (N stands for Nvidia).

"(The) 4GB DDR2 PC2-7200 and PC2-8000 Viper Series memory kits are a valuable addition to Patriot's product line for consumers," says Les Henry, Technical Director for Patriot Memory. "These large capacity, affordable kits, allow consumers to easily upgrade and experience the full potential of their systems."

As all Patriot's Viper, the three fresh kits are backed by a lifetime warranty.

Lavalys has now announced the introduction of the 4.60 version of its increasingly popular system information, diagnostics and benchmarking tool, Everest. Available in both Ultimate and Corporate editions Everest 4.60 includes the following updates:

- CPU power dissipation measurement using state-of-the-art energy-saving technologies including Asus EPU, Asus EPU2 and Gigabyte DES
- Support for the latest mobile systems including AMD "Puma" with Athlon X2 and Turion X2 processors; Intel Centrino 2 with GM45/PM45 chipset and Core 2 Extreme "Penryn" processor
- Optimized CPU and FPU benchmarks for the ultra-mobile Intel "Menlow" platform with Atom processor and SCH controller. Enhanced support for the latest netbooks including Acer Aspire One, Asus Eee PC, HP 2133, Medion Akoya Mini, MSI Wind
- Chipset information, SPD memory module details and memory benchmarks for the latest DDR3-capable motherboard chipsets including Intel "Eaglelake" G43/G45/P43/P45, nVIDIA nForce 790i SLI and nVIDIA MCP79/7A
- Hardware accelerated, multi-threaded AES data encryption benchmark, now on the full range of VIA C7 and VIA Nano processors
- Video card details, OpenGL and DirectX information, temperature monitoring for the latest 3D graphics accelerators including ATI Radeon HD 4850, 4870, 4870 X2; nVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT, GTX 260, GTX 280
- Preliminary support for the upcoming Intel Core i7 "Bloomfield" and Intel Xeon "Gainestown" processors utilizing Intel QuickPath architecture
- Temperature, voltage and fan speed monitoring for even more devices and sensor solutions including Dell Precision workstations, T-Balancer bigNG and miniNG controllers, nVIDIA nForce MCP and SPP on-chip diodes

Both Everest 4.60 flavors can now be purchased from this page.

CPU & Motherboard

- DFI LANParty DK P45-T2RS PLUS (Intel P45) @ HardwareZone
- Gigabyte GA-EP45T-Extreme Motherboard @ Legit Reviews

Memory

- Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 RAM @ Techware Labs

Storage

- Four-Way SSD Round-Up, OCZ, Super Talent, Mtron @ HotHardware
- 400GB Hard Disk Drives in RAID 0, RAID 5 and RAID 10 Arrays. Part 2 @ X-bit labs
- Western Digital VelociRapter 300 GB HDD @ Techware Labs
- ATP 4GB ToughDrive Camo @ BCCHardware
- UNITEK eSATA/SATA One Touch Backup Multi-Dock @ Dragon Steel Mods

Graphics cards

- S3 Graphics Chrome 440 GTX 256 MB @ techPowerUp
- ASUS EAH3850 X2 1GB Graphics Card @ Virtual-Hideout
- Inno3D GeForce iChiLL 9800 GT @ Hexus
- Leadtek GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB Extreme Video Card Review @ TheTechLounge

Enclosures & PSUs

- Eagle Consus I-Series SATA to USB 2 Bay JBOD External Storage @ Guru3D
- Nexus Clodius Case @ Rbmods
- Thermaltake Vi-On Actively Cooled SATA/USB2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure @ Tweaknews
- Cooler Master Silent Pro M 500W @ DriverHeaven

Cooling and modding

- Titan Cool Idol TTC-NK75TZ CPU Cooler @ ThinkComputers

Peripherals

- NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse
@ TweakTown
@ Overclockers Club
- RAZER Lycosa Gaming Keyboard @ OC3D

PCs

- Dell Inspiron Mini 9 @ AnandTech

Photo and video cameras

- Panasonic Lumix FX37 @ TrustedReviews

Other

- CenOmax 7" Digital Photo Frame @ Techware Labs
- Vizo Mirrorbox Card Reader @ techPowerUp
- Razer Goliathus Speed Edition Mouse Pad @ Bjorn3d
- HTC Touch Pro @ HardwareZone
- Pure Digital Evoke Flow internet radio @ RegHardware
- Nokia 6210 Navigator and Ricoh Aficio SP 4100N Mono Laser Printer @ TrustedReviews

Not at all shocked by Google's Chrome, the Opera Software devs have continued work on their next desktop release and delivered the RC (release candidate) version of Opera 9.60 Beta 1. This new build includes:

- Added Core version (currently "Presto/2.1.1") to the User-Agent header
- Sites using HTTP Auth are now saved in typed history
- Added setting to prevent bookmarks from showing in the Address field auto-completion drop-down
- Properly stop loading pages with iframes when closing the page or pressing stop
- Fixed problem where dynamically added xml-stylesheet processing instructions were ignored
- Removed the document project from iframe objects for compatibility with Gecko, WebKit, and the Acid3 test
- Added support for the caller property on functions
- Fixed yet another case of having to press the back button twice
- Improvements to feed preview page
- Made feed preview page template location customizable
- Made reloading Speed Dial while offline actually reload all thumbnails
- Fixed Opera Link issue where notes could end up blank after being synced
- The Opera Link queue file is no longer created before using Link
- The fraud protection dialog now works when using a proxy
- Made it possible to remove Speed Dial search again by unchecking the "Use as default Speed Dial search"
- Fixed text input on Windows Tablet PC Edition 2005
- Fixed open/save of images in Opera Mail when using the image context menu
- Made all top-level access points (except All Messages) selectable
- Fixed a problem deleting drafts from the Drafts view
- UNIX: Additional fixes to flash plugin handling. Freezes when using flash should now be mostly gone.

To download the Opera 9.60 Beta 1 RC, for Windows, UNIX or Mac OS check out this page.

It's a known fact that if there's something strange in your neighborhood you gotta call the Ghostbusters, but for more common g33ky problems like running out of space for new hard drives, the call on line is rather blurry, or it was until today. Coming to rescue those who have to fit in more 3.5-inch HDDs in their PC case, Scythe has now released the Hard Disk Stabilizer x4, a little kit that enables the mounting of four drives into the space of three 5.25-inch bays.

Seen below, the Stabilizer x4 is easy to install, comes with antivibration screws and will likely require some active cooling when hooking up more than two HDDs to it. Scythe's Hard Disk Stabilizer x4 can be found for just under $11.

Europe's own ZaNa Design has now updated its flash drive offer by introducing the ZaNa Silver series. Featuring some stylish casings which, depending on the model, are made out of sterling silver with wood, carbon fiber or Swarovski crystal inserts, the new flash drives weight just 7 grams and have support for Microsoft's ReadyBoost technology.

The water resistant ZaNa Silver drives have USB 2.0 interfaces, offer read speeds of up to 21 MB/s and come in 2, 4, and 8GB capacities. All the drives are backed by a 12 month warranty and can be purchased from ZaNa's website.



ZaNa Silver Carbon

Patriot Memory has now introduced a couple of new kits to its DDR3 Viper memory line-up. Coming in 2 and 4GB flavors, the Viper pairs are certified to work at 2000 MHz with 9-9-9-24 latencies while powered at 2.0V.

"Patriot's DDR3 2000MHz memory kits are perfect for PC gamers and enthusiasts," said Les Henry, Technical Director of Patriot Memory. "Capable of handling the demands that high-bandwidth multimedia programs and PC games require, the 4GB PC3-16000 2000MHz memory has the perfect combination of density and speed to push systems beyond what is currently imaginable."

Patriot's new memory also comes with EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles) 2.0 support, is cooled off by aluminum-made Viper Heat Shield heatsinks and are backed up by a lifetime warranty.

Redmond-based Microsoft has just announced that for this month's patching Tuesday it is cooking up four patches, all of them being rated 'Critical'. The fixes target issues found in Windows operating systems, Office suites, Internet Explorer, the .NET Framework, SQL Server and Visual Studio. According to Microsoft, all the bugs could lead to remote code execution so watch out for these new updates when they'll be released, on September 9.

Still not confused by the multitude of differently named cards in its Memory Stick line-up, Sony has now announced yet another series of memory cards, the Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX. Aimed for use with DSLR cameras, the new cards come in 4 and 8G capacities, have an 8-bit parallel interface and offer maximum read and write speeds of 20 MB/s and 15 MB/s respectively.

Backed by a 10-year warranty, the Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX cards will start shipping next month and come bundled with a USB adaptor.

Flash memory specialist SanDisk seems to be in high demand these days as, in addition to the rumors regarding Seagate's acquisition interest, Samsung has now confirmed that the company is considering a purchase too.

Although nothing has been decided as of now, by acquiring SanDisk, the number one NAND flash manufacturers (Samsung) will be able to grab an even bigger piece of the flash market but, most of all, it will save some $350+ million in licensing fees per year while also getting money from other companies that make use of SanDisk's patented technologies. Bets are now open for those who want to guess who'll end up buying SanDisk. Samsung, Seagate or somebody else?

According to some freshly-baked rumors HP arch-rival and PC builder Dell will be going all-out with its cost-cutting campaign and sell most if not all its manufacturing facilities. Apparently, Dell has already been talking with potential buyers like Asian contract manufacturers and is hoping to shed its factories in the next 18 months so as to increase its profitability.

Dell is said to be so determined to get rid of the fabs that it's willing to simply close down those for which a buyer isn't found. We'll see.

Professionals-prone network LinkedIn has just inked a deal with General Electric's CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel). The collaboration between the two will see CNBC.com integrate LinkedIn's community and networking functionality, CNBC airing content generated by LinkedIn members and will give LinkedIn's 27 million professionals the ability to consume and share breaking business news and content from CNBC that ranges from articles and blogs to financial data and video content.

According to LinkedIn's CEO, Dan Nye, the CNBC deal will help "users stay on top of the latest in their field of business and more importantly, will enable them to share that information with their professional network - at the speed of business." Nice.

This weekend only on Steam, id Software games are 50% off. This includes the id Super Pack for only $34.99 (over $200 worth of games). Or take 50% off individual titles such as Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein, Commander Keen, Heretic, and Hexen. Offer ends Monday, September 8.

Officially released yesterday the Inspiron Mini 9 netbook hasn't been very inspiring towards it maker as Dell forgot to mention that the Atom-powered portable PC also has a built-in 3G card. This feature enables Mini 9 users to get themselves a mobile broadband plan and get online from anywhere that's somewhere without needing an external modem.

Not wasting any time Vodafone has already announced that it will be pairing up the Inspiron Mini 9 with mobile broadband in key European markets. The carrier didn't reveal the costs of such an offer but it will certainly do so soon enough.

Reported being in existence just last week, the Republic of Gamers-branded Matrix series GeForce 9800 GT has now been officially unveiled by Asus. Codenamed EN9800GT MATRIX/HTDI/512M, the new G92(b)-powered card has a black PCB, a stealthy black dual-slot cooler and a quite interesting batch of features which includes:

- Integrated hardware and software for total graphics card control
- Accurate adjustments of the GPU and memory voltages
- Complete monitoring of the GPU/memory/Power IC/ambient temperatures
- Complete monitoring of the GPU/memory/board power consumption
- Automatic control of fan speeds according to advanced GPU loading detection
- Power savings that surpasses generic boards
- Customizable functions to add a new level of control for gamers

In addition to those above, the new card comes with 512MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 1800 MHz, 112 Stream Processors set to 1500 MHz and a 612 MHz core clock, DirectX 10 and SLI support, plus DVI and HDMI connectivity. According to Asus, when needed, the card can have its GPU, shaders and memory set all the way up to 750, 1753 and 2000 MHz respectively and that's a pretty serious overclock for a (lower) mid-range product. The Matrix series GeForce 9800 GT has yet to hit the stores and no price tag has been announced for it. But it's coming.

The still Deneb-less Sunnyvale company known as AMD has more tha 'just' the first Black Edition tri-core in plan for Q4 as it is also preparing to expand its energy efficient CPU line-up. Nothing too special here though as the parts set for release are the K8-based single-core Athlon 2650e and the dual-core Athlon X2 3250e. Clocked at 1.6 GHz and 1.5 GHz, the 2650e and 3250e will work with AM2/AM2+ motherboards and can brag with some mobile CPU-like TDPs - 15W and 22W respectively.

The Athlon 2650e and Athlon X2 3250e are expected to be released in November. No word on prices though.

A beta steam client is available for steam users should they wish to take part, the specific changes are listed inside. A general Steam client update was also released on September 3rd.

Likely happy with the success of its iPlayer the BBC is now planning to expand its online business by introducing a music service. Set to feature live recording from its TV and radio shows, the service will give people two choices - to stream tracks for free or pay a (small) fee and download the content desired.

The upcoming music service is said to have the support of EMI with other major labels currently negotiating their participation with BBC. According to reports, the service will be launched next year in January at the earliest.