X-bit labs

Saturday, February 19, 2005

Reviews of ABIT’s Top-of-the-Range Fatal1ty Mainboards Emerge. ABIT’s Premier Intel 925XE Mainboards Reach Reviewers

ABIT’s “dream” mainboards dubbed Fatal1ty AA8XE mainboards that were announced back in mid-October, 2004, have reached reviewers and received affirmative critical acclaims from web-sites like ExtremeTech and HotHardware.

The Fatal1ty AA8XE supports Intel Pentium 4 processors in LGA775 form-factor with 1066MHz processor system bus, will allow to install up to 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 memory, support 4 Serial ATA ports with RAID, 1 Parallel ATA-100 port, PCI Express x16 port, 2 PCI Express x1 slots, 2 PCI slots, Dual LAN, 8 USB 2.0 ports, 3 FireWire ports and other.

The mainboard comes with numerous enhancements, such as Fatal1ity gaming panel that is an upgraded version of ABIT’s 3rd Eye which displays all the current information available on the 3rd Eye and also provides USB, audio, FireWire, Serial ATA power/connector as well as CMOS reset button with safety cover.

In addition to Fatal1ty gaming panel, the AA8 Fatal1ty is supplied with numerous additional features, including OTES “Fatal1ty Signature Edition” – a special cooling system that cools-down components of mainboards, such as MOSFETs and capacitors with installed heat-sinks, redesigned Pulse Width Modulation system for advanced power stability and signal strength as well as uGuru with Fatal1ty Game Guru system – a complete system monitoring and management with a game configuration utility.

“The Fatal1ity AA8XE is one of the best 925XE based boards we’ve tested. Its layout works well, and it has some nice extra features, including the audio jacks on a riser card to help reduce noise. The extra cooling on the northbridge and power circuitry deliver what overclockers need. We pumped up the front-side bus speed by 15% with a stock Intel cooler, and the system was rock solid through several days of tests. With more exotic cooling, there's no telling how high you can go: Your CPU is likely to give out before the motherboard runs into problems,” ExtremeTech web-site said concluding its article.

“Throughout our entire battery of benchmarks, the ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE posted scores that were comparable to, or slightly better than two other i925XE based motherboards, including the Asus P5AD2-E which we granted an ‘Editor's Choice’ award a few weeks back.  When its performance is compared to competing Intel chipset based motherboards, the ABIT Fatal1ty AA8XE should be considered among the best,” reviewers from HotHardware believe.

• ExtremeTech: A Motherboard for Enthusiasts.
• HotHardware: ABIT’s Fatal1ty AA8XE.

HP Hires Headhunter to Find Replacement for ex-CEO. HP’s New CEO to Be Found “With Highest Levels of Confidentiality”

HP announced it had appointed Russell Reynolds Associates to handle activities related to the search for a new chief executive officer of the company. The search will be managed by Andrea Redmond and Charles Tribbett, co-leads of the firm's CEO/Board Services Practice, along with their team.

“As we expect this search to be managed with the highest level of confidentiality, we will not comment further until we are ready to announce our new CEO,” HP said in the statement on the matter.

Earlier this month the Board of directors of Hewlett-Packard Company announced that Carleton S. Fiorina stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Robert P. Wayman, HP's chief financial officer, was named chief executive officer on an interim basis and appointed to the board of directors. Patricia C. Dunn, an HP director since 1998, has been named non-executive chairman of the board.

Industry analysts said Ms Fiorina was fired because of her disagreement with HP’s Board of directors on the further directions for the company. The course the Board wants to choose for the firm is unclear, just like the requirements the directors want the future CEO to meet.

• Press Release: HP Board Appoints Russell Reynolds Associates for Chief Executive Officer Search.
• Forbes.com: HP Names Firm to Find Fiorina Successor.
• Computerworld: HP Hires Headhunter to Find Replacement for Fiorina.
• eWeek: HP Hires Russell Reynolds for New CEO Search.

Microsoft Recalls Power Cords for Xbox Consoles. Some Xbox Power Cords Can Cause Fire

Microsoft Corp. announced that it will voluntarily replace the power cords on 14.1 million Xbox consoles worldwide. The company said in at least 30 consoles worldwide, failures of power cords are reported to have caused minor injury or minor property damage: in 7 instances, customers reported sustaining a minor burn to their hand, in 23 instances, customers reported smoke damage, or minor damage to a carpet or entertainment center.

“The replacement power cords are designed to protect consumers and their Xbox consoles from rare electrical component failures that can pose a fire hazard. Fewer than one in 10 000 consoles have experienced these component failures, and, in almost all instances, any damage caused by these failures was contained within the console itself or limited to the tip of the power cord at the back of the console,” the company said in its statement.

In all regions except Continental Europe, Xbox consoles manufactured before Oct. 23, 2003, require a replacement power cord. In Continental Europe, consoles manufactured before Jan. 13, 2004, require a replacement power cord. To replace your cord, customers should either fill-in application at Xbox web-site, or call special toll-free numbers.

While waiting for the new cord to arrive, consumers should turn off their Xbox consoles when not in use.

• Press release and List of Toll-Free Numbers: Microsoft Announces Xbox Power Cord Replacement.
• Xbox.com: Replacement Cord.