With support for dual-core CPUs and the latest graphics, motherboards are packing more muscle than ever before. One such monster for the Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, and the Pentium EE is the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe Motherboard (see figure 1). It features NVIDIA’s nForce4 SLI x16 chipset, in an ATX form factor that supports up to 8 gigabytes (8GB) of DDR2 800/667/533 non-ECC memory and a blazing fast 1066MHz front side bus. The P5N32-SLI SE offers more than enough expandability options with its 7 internal PCI expansions slots (2 x PCI Express x16, 1 x PCI Express x14, 2 x PCI Express x1, 2x PCI). The back panel of the P5N32-SLI SE sports a plethora of external ports: 1 x Parallel port, 1 x S/PDIF Out (Coaxial + Optical), your typical PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse ports, and 1 x External SATA, 2 x RJ45, an 8-Channel Audio I/O, and 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports. the P5N32 also has two Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33, and four Serial ATA 3 Gb/s controllers and supports NVRAID: RAID0, 1, 0+1, 5, and JBOD on Serial ATA drives (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”).

The P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe features NVIDIA’s SLI technology which takes advantage of the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express bus and features intelligent hardware and software that allows two Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) to efficiently work together to deliver mind blowing graphics and performance. NVIDIA’s SLI technology offers twice the PCI Express bandwidth of the X8 SLI solutions making use of the two full-bandwidth 16-lane PCI Express links (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”). ASUS’s 8-Phase Power Design builds a more steady power supply environment for the CPU and generates less heat than conventional power design. Moreover, with this strong power pump, the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe can perform better when over clocking the processors.

The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe motherboard supports the next-generation hard drives based on the Serial ATA (SATA) 3Gb/s storage specs, delivering improved scalability and doubling the bus bandwidth for high-speed data retrieval disk writes. As a plus the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe offers an external SATA port on back input output panel that is designed for external SATA devices; is hot-swappable compliant and supports up to 16 devices with port-multiplier functions (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”).

The P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe features “Stack Cool 2” technology, which is a fan-less and zero-noise cooling solution. It effectively transfers heat generated by the critical components to the other side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board) for effective heat dissipation. The fanless design provides a cool environment without all the typical problems associated with fanless solutions. Cooling fans, over time, become noisy as the ball bearings wear out. The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe can be purchased at ZipZoomFly, http://www.ZipZoomFly.com, for about $209.99 to $214.99. If you’re a serious pc gamer or power user the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe motherboard is for you.

The Hard drives discussed in this report have been tested with two industry benchmark applications: PCMark05 and HD Tach. The PCMark05 Test measures the performance of your PC and determines its strengths and weaknesses. The HD Tach is a physical performance hard drive test that checks the hard drives actual physical performance. In This article I will talk about two hard drives the Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 and Seagate NL35.2, both 500GB and 3GB SATA drives.

Each drive was tested by Computer Power User magazine’s Marty Sems, singly on a fully updated system with an Athlon FX-55 (2.6GHz/1MB of L2 cache), 1GB (2 x 512MB) of PC4400 DDR RAM at 400MHz, with a 1.5Gbps Western Digital Raptor 74GB Hard drive, and Windows XP Professional with service pack 2. The Nvidia nForce4 chipset on the DFI LAN-Party NF4 SLI-DR main-board provided the 3Gbps/NCQ SATA controller.

The Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 was the first hard drive to ship with a half a terabyte of storage capacity. The 7K500 was PCMark05’s clear favorite between the two 7,200rpm hard drives in this report, almost matching the 10,000rpm Raptor’s scores. The 7K500 sports a 3GB SATA interface and has a seek time of 8.5 ms, with 16MB of Cache. The 7K500 cost $379.99 and comes with a three year warranty. For performance the 7K500 is definitely the better choice. It can be purchased on-line from Hitachi, http://www.hitachigst.com, or bought in your favorite computer electronics store.

The 500GB Seagate NL35.2 is rerelease of a Barracuda 7200.9 with modified firmware . The Seagate NL35.2 also has a 7,200 RPM spindle speed and a 16MB of Cache. Although it did beat the Deskstar 7K500’s Windows XP start up time, its seek time is only 11ms which makes it slower of the two drives tested. The NL35.2 has a 1-million hour MTBF rating because of its build, tolerances, and testing . The NL35.2 did well in HD Tach benchmark test conducted by Computer Power User magazine’s Marty Sems. The Seagate NL35.2 is your best choice for 24/7 reliability. The Seagate NL35.2 cost $384 and also comes with a three-warranty. The NL35.2 can be purchased directly from Seagate, http://www.seagate.com, or from a retailer.

For performance The Hitachi Deskstar 7K500 is your best bet its performance in both PCMark05 and HD Tach were excellent. For longevity, The Seagate NL35.2 is the pick with its 1-million hour MTBF rating. When purchasing a drive one must decide what is most important: short-term performance or long-term reliability.

Portable MP3 players have come a long way since their humble beginnings in the late 1990s. The world’s first MP3 players, The Eiger Labs MPMan F10 and the Diamond Multimedia Rio PMP300 were shipped with 32 Mbytes of internal memory. MPEG Audio Layer III (MP3) the standard for audio compression that makes any music file smaller with little or no loss of sound quality redefined how music enjoyed and launched a new industry (Bellis). In October 1998, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Diamond’s Rio PMP300 violated the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act. The Feds ruled in favor of Diamond, which paved the way for the development of the MP3 portable player market. Apple was one of the first companies to take advantage of this new industry when it developed and released the iPod. Microsoft entered the game in 2006 with its Zune. The iPods and the Zune are very popular MP3 players and are similar in features they offer. However, they are also very different. By discussing their Features, Ease of Use, and Synchronization software, I will compare them and discuss both types of MP3 players in some detail. I will then give my pick and my reasons why.Ease of use is one of the most important selection criteria one must consider before purchasing a MP3 player. Apple’s 30GB iPod features a simplistic user interface called the click wheel. It allows the user to select, adjust the volume, pause, play, and seek music, videos, and podcast with just a thumb. Other then the click wheel there is a hold switch and an earphone jack that sits on top of the device. The 30GB iPod weights in at 4.8 oz, and the 2.4″ x0.4″ x4.1″ body makes the device easy to handle. In contrast, Microsoft’s Zune weighing 5.6 oz with a 4.3×2.5×0.7 body is a lot thicker, blockier, and heavier than the 30GB iPod. The Zune has no buttons on the sides, only a hold switch and an earphone jack on top, and a USB/accessories port on the bottom. The three control buttons are simple and are flush with the body. The heavier and bigger Zune does not fit as comfortably as the IPod and it is cumbersome to control.

Features are very important in a player and both the iPod and the Zune have what consumers are looking for, however they differ in a several ways. The 5G iPod has a bright 2.5-inch LCD display, a sleek design and 3.5-hour video battery life. The iPod supports gapless playback, an instant search feature, and enhanced games. Movies are available for purchase from the ITunes or sync with your own. The iPod has Notes, Calendar, and Phone book features and can synchronize with your calendar and or contact program. The iPod supports MPEG-4 and JPEG photo playback and can be used as an external hardrive. The iPod does not feature a built in FM Radio or Wi-Fi like the Zune. Microsoft’s Zune plays audio, and displays video and photos just like the iPod but sports an impressive 3-inch (4:3) screen. Unlike the iPod, the Zune offers a FM radio and Wi-Fi capabilities and works well with Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace software. The integrated wireless allows limited sharing of songs and photos. However, the Zune Marketplace does not offer video content and cannot play protected content. The Zune is not backward compatible with WMA-DRM9. Unlike the iPod, the Zune cannot be used as a hard drive.

Apple and Microsoft both have developed software that allows users to synchronize music to their players. Apple’s iTunes not only allows users to preview, purchase and download content but rip their current CD collection as well. Free podcasts on every topic from gardening to learning how to speak Spanish are offered on iTunes. In addition to music, iTunes also allows users to purchase games, movies, TV shows, and audio books and synchronize them to their IPods. iTunes helps organizes user’s audio and video libraries and play everything from your Mac or PC, Then synchronize it to your iPod to bring it along. iTunes is very easy to use and allows you to Burn your own custom CDs, iTunes is a free download from Apple.com. Like iTunes, Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace software allows you to purchase music and sync with your Zune. It allows you to synchronize your music, videos, and pictures to your device, and it allows you to sync up with an Xbox 360. You can Rip and burn CDs and create playlists just like iTunes. However, the Zune Marketplace software only works on windows and not MAC (Technical Specifications).

In conclusion, I like the 3″ screen of the Zune, the built in FM stereo, and Wi-Fi Features. however, I love the ease of use of the iPod and the fact it fits perfectly in the palm of my hand, it is easy to take out of my pocket, and adjust the volume or change tracks with just one hand. Apple has been in the industry since the beginning and has worked out the bugs of previous models. Over the last few years Microsoft’s has been trying catch up and the Zune and it has not been the “IPod killer” that it was billed to be. Ease of Use, seamless UI, and easy synchronization are the reason why I chose the iPod over the Zune. Even thought I like the big 3-inch display and the built in Wi-Fi. I will save my pennies for Apple’s next iPod release.