The True Gamer's Edge

New 6x86 CPU Soon To Hit The Shops! Reviewed Here!
The Cyrix Cayenne should be one of the most promising Cyrix ever seen!
Cyrix's bad reputation about their, sometimes, 'Dodgy' FPU which they seem to be very keen about to get rid of has pushed them into redesigning it with a greatly increased performance overall. The 'heart' and sole of the Cyrix's next generation Cayenne is very much like the 6X86MX but of course including a raging fast FPU/multimedia engine.
    The Cayenne will have dual FPUs AND MMX units, which will make them easily capable of achieving multimedia and heavy maths instructions at around five times faster that the latest Pentium IIs!
    The Cayenne's ultra fast multimedia engine will even have an additional set of fifteen instructions which will boost 3D graphics, audio, and DVD performance. Because these instructions will be DirectX based in origin there will be no need whatsoever of any new sort of optimized hardware/software to take advantage of this extraordinary performance delivered by this superb processor. All you will need is software that uses DirectX and Hardware which is DirectX supported.
    Because the Cayenne will have a 0.25 micron core like the newer revisions of the 6x86MX the chip will probably stay really cool and its power consumption should be very low as well. It is more than likely that the Cayenne will require a voltage setting of less than 2.5V, which is a feature only present in later motherboards so even socket 7 users will have to upgrade their motherboards as well.
    The first speeds which Cyrix will incorporate should vary from the PR300 to PR400. Although we have no official word from the manufactures themselves yet. We believe that it will make use of the 100Mhz bus rate to achieve these speeds.
    Cyrix will very soon have the technology that will once again put them back on top giving Intel and AMD a run for their money.

Is The AMD K7 The Future?
After AMD signed a manufacturing agreement with Cyrix's manufacturing friends IBM, we found out through research that AMD were hypothesizing over using the P6 bus instead of the trusty Alpha bus. Although Intel's P6 bus isn't, by far, as nearly as powerful as Digital's Alpha bus but it would give AMD a chance to make their CPUs compatible with the slot 1/slot 2 motherboards.
    We  know that the K7 will be a 32-bit x86 CPU which will me mechanically interchangeable with Intel's sot 1 CPUs but the K7 would not be directly compatible with them due to the fact that they now are going to use Digital's Alpha protocols to communicate with the motherboard and the chipset. We also believe that it will have its own specially designed motherboard called "Slot A". This CPU should perform speeds known only by Pentium systems using an outrageous bus of 200Mhz!!!!
    The K7 should still include the latest 3DNow! instructions and maybe this will be further enhanced some what to but them in direct and serious competition with Intel's vast array of chipsets and motherboards.

Does Your Web Page Meet HTML Standards?
Chances are your HTML doesn't meet the standards when you run it through the standards validation tests. The HTML 4.0 standard is a complex thing to meet.
If your page does meet the standard you'll probably see a little banner saying 'HTML 4.0' and a red tick next to it or something like that. Do YOU see one on this page? I don't. Creating Web Pages in accordance with the HTML 4.0 standard makes it possible for devices such as speech synthesizers and braille readers to read the best of what the Web has to offer. Do YOU want your page to meet the HTML 4.0 standard then go to: http://validator.w3.org/ which checks your page's code against the HTML 4.0 standard. It's very quick and is great for telling you what doesn't conform exactly to the HTML 4.0 standard. Why not give it a try you'll be surprised at the results. Here is it's web address again http://validator.w3.org/

Voodoo 2 Told To Pull It's Socks Up! As PowerVR SG Soon To Be Released!
Yes that's right you heard it HERE first! The New PowerVR SG 3D Card is soon to be on the shelves! Image quality issued will be resolved by concentrating on DirectX 6 (found on this very site) conformity; developers will be happier with a triangle engine to hide the infinite planes architecture, and gamers will be pleased to see target performance figures of 60fps and a fill rate of 120megapixels/sec. Pricing should be competitive due to the low memory requirements of the architecture!
More news will be posted HERE as soon as known.

Virus Alert For Microsoft Word!
Users of Microsoft Word have been warned of a new virus that takes their documents from infected hard drives and covertly posted them to newsgroups! Stolen Word documents have appeared in alt.hacker and alt.windows95. The illegitimate posts are tagged with fake subject titles such as "New virus warning!" Thankfully, the new virus is not very common and can ONLY be spread by computers with the Forte Agent Newsreader installed.

HOT NEW DOWNLOAD! DIRECTX6!
Yes that's right DirectX6 can be downloaded direct from this site! Get it while you still can!
DirectX 6  Only 1,515KB! (Please note that this is a zipped file)
Optimize Your 6x86!
This program optimizes the Cyrix/IBM/ST 6x86 (M1/M2) processor. A special address region configuration for the Linear Frame Buffer can also be set up. When enabling Write Gathering for the LFB, writes to it get sped up from 2 to 8 times, thus increasing video performance in LFB modes!
6X86 Opt (101KB)
 
 

CPU BOOSTER!
The Program Intel doesn't want YOU to have! CPU Booster is a premier program that will actually speed up the CPU of your computer from about 60 to 100%.
CPU Booster (216KB)
How To Lower Your Ping Rate The Saint Way!
1. Get A Faster Modem. By upgrading your modem you are lowering the delay from you and the server which is often referred to as the ping rate! Modems just recently have lowered in price. Internal modems start at as little as £45! Where as External modems can go all the way up to £120 sometime even more!
2. Find a GOOD ISP (Internet Service Provider). Find a ISP that supports your type of modem speed like 56K. It's no use having a 56K modem only to find out that your ISP only lets you connect at 33.6K! The BEST ISP will provide a separate 56K Dial-up number offering faster connection times etc.
3. A LOW User To Modem Ratio. Good ISP's are usually the smaller one's in the ISP market like Newnet, Zulu Net and Madhouse Net etc. Don't go straight away for the big one's like AOL or Compuserve etc. because they usually offer HIGH Modem To User Ratios like 20:1 (Which means 20 Users to one of the ISP's Modems) where as the small ISP offer a ratio of about 8:1 like NewNet!.
4. UPGRADE TO V.90. If your modem supports the 'FLASH' upgrade process you can upgrade to the V.90 standard (SEE V.90 - The Standard For 56K for more details about this process and it's benefits) which will offer faster speeds and no incompatibilities! Please make sure that your ISP supports it! Most ISP now support the V.90 standard and 56K Flex & X2.
5. Get A Patch! If you need to lower your Ping rate for Internet Gaming then getting the latest patch usually helps as these patches offer a more compatible game and smother game play. Sometimes games that only supported 33.6K will have a patch that brings the game 56K support making the game utilize the extra bandwidth.
6. Defrag yourself! By defragmenting your hard disk your system will run so much faster and smoothly you will be so surprised at the difference it can make.
7. DownLoad MTU-Speed. This handy little program will change your registry to make it more effective when using your modem. It can improve your ping rate/download times. Please back up the registry before you use it. Also please respect the authors wishes and read the text file before using. MTU-Speed308
8. Forget everything! No don't really I mean clear your memory! No not that one in your head! The one on your computer! Clear all those little icon things in your documents section when you press start. If your using Netscape (which you should be because it's ace and WAY better. All aruments for IE are welcome and if it's a good one i'll even post it here with my reply to your comment!) you will be able to clear your memory and disk cache. Do them both if you like but I think that only the memory one is needed also if your REALLY a ping freak them clear your browser's history (but I don't think it will help but you can always try....). Now that you've done all there will be some crap in your recycle bin so empty it!!!!
9. Don't work in the background STAND OUT INSTEAD! Press ctrl alt and delete and that little close program screen will appear (ONLY do this if you know what your doing or you could close windows or something.....which is nice!) now close down those pesky little blighters working away in your background like virus checkers etc. as these just eat away at your memory.
10. Ram it into there!!! No NOT that!! Dirty boy! Add some more ram to your PC (e.g from 32mb to 64 etc.) but at most you need a maximum of 128mb any more that that and you won't notice ANY difference whatsoever. For the average Quake2 player about 64mb will do just fine but all those TRUE GAMERS out there will know that you've gotta have as much ram as you can afford and be the envy of all your friends!! (That's if you haven't killed them already!)
11. 3D GLASSES are FAB man! PEACE! LOVE! BLAH-BLAH-BLAH! You know what i'm going to say don't you? NO? okay i'll tell you then. Buy the BEST 3D card your bank balance can afford. Voodoo 3 is really COOL as it's the fastest on the market (at the time of me writing this it hasn't been released!). Try to get a 3D card with the most onboard ram you can like 12MB or 16MB (for the speed freaks).Although games don't really eat away at your 3D card's ram at all they will DO in the FUTURE. Games are to be given better graphics in the future by utilizing all that ram on your 3D card for graphics etc. How does a 3D card lower my ping rate? Well that's simple a 3D card does all the vital and heavy 3D processing leaving your processor with hardly anything to do which is great! Also the game will run much faster (of course) and therefore because your system isn't waiting for anything your ping rate just drop! Most people with a low ping rate (LPB) have a 3D card....GREAT!

Game of Ping Pong Anybody?
Ping or latency is the measurement of the delay from the server to the player and obviously the lower it is the better. That said, many remain convinced that ping time equates to final scores - in which case why bother playing? Quake2 is a slower more strategic game than QuakeWorld so it's more suited to changing tactics if you
can't fire - fight quite so well against an LPB (Low Ping Bas!@*d).
    With a higher ping, aiming that railgun becomes almost impossible. However strategic blast damage from grenades and rockets can be just as effective as can weapons with with a bit of spread like the super shotgun.
    Of course you should always try to connect to servers that are the closest to you in terms of latency. Gamespy is superb for this as it will obtain lists of Quake 2 servers and ping them all to report the closest to you - an absolutely essential utility for network Quake2. Here's how ping times add-up:
    <80ms LPB - some kind of leased line with high bandwidth connection. The LPB is mostly likely playing from work or college and their setup is often substandard for perfect multiplayer.
     80-100 LPB - Usually ISDN or cable modem or a less well connected leased line. If it's an ISDN player, they're very serious indeed and you should be afraid very afraid!
     150-250 HPB - Modem users, the pings not great and there's a great range of skills from crap to legendary. Some HPBs learn to deal with the ping well enough to kick most LPB butt!
    >250 HPB - These people have very poor connections and the problem escalates to such a point that even if they're good the odds are against them.
    >1,000 HPB - Just don't bother! Log off. If you're convinced that you're not playing well because your ping time is poor, you can always move Internet service provider. You can also try Wireplay where everyone calls the same boxes and the ping-times are virtually identical (and very, very low). Thrustworld is a games
service that doubles as an ISP so you can play the games limited just to Thrustworld or play on servers via the Internet. Both of which are recommended.

Ten tips to pass on to less Quake2 literate friends.
1>Avoid environmental hazards-try not to play with lava.
2>Standing is silly. Crouching is even sillier. Pogoing like a kangaroo is crazy it just doesn't work and its hard to aim straight.
3>Avoid typing "cheats 1","god" or similar in a deathmatch. They don't work, everyone can see what you are doing and it makes you look like an ass and they know
you cheater!
4>Gettin' shot? Only using the keyboard for the controls? It's not a coincidence. Use the damn mouse to aim.
5>Respawn sites do not make good picnic sites. Silly isn't it?
6>Always let go of the grenades! I mean it!
7>BFG does not stand for Big Friendly Girl - steer clear. I mean trying to take on a LPB holding a BFG with only a shotgun hardly the best tactic ever is it?
8>Get a good name. Like Deadmeat.
9>Always clean your balls regularly. The mouse ball, that is. (Stop laughing.....please?)
10>LPB? Fair enough. Never apologize for other people's hardware inadequacies.
 

Which Chipset?
Chipsets are the link between CPU and motherboard, each variety of CPU (486,Pentium,MMX,Pentium2) requiring a different chipset. Intel dominates: other
companies do make chipsets, but primarily for other CPUs such as AMD and Cyrix chips. Here are some of Intel offerings.....
    *430FX: The first really successful Intel chipset, also called Triton. It uses older EDO RAM (not today's faster SDRAM), doesn't support multiple CPUs (what does?) and can only handle up to 128Mb of RAM (Do you really need more?).
    *430HX: Or Triton 2. Supports up to 512Mb of memory (Now come on, only servers need that much or the TOO serious gamers), multiple CPUs and USB and DMA bus mastering. Aimed at the professional market. But can't use SDRAM (shame).
    *430VX: Very popular-it's often used in home and desktop PCs-if somewhat stunted. It supports a maximum of 128Mb of RAM and only a single CPU, but it's
quick, with support for FPM, EDO and SDRAM, as well as USB and DMA bus mastering.
    *430TX: Designed to support the Accelerated Graphics Port and the Ultra DMA hard drive standard. It  can't cache memory above 64Mb, but does at least
support SDRAM.
    *450GX/KXL: For use with the Pentium Pro system, and aimed at the high end of the market. The GX can support four CPUs at once.
    *440LX: Can handle two CPUs, and includes AGP, USB and Ultra DMA support. Can also handle SDRAM.
    *440BX: Designed to run the new 350, 400 and 450 MHz Pentium 2s. The system bus can run at 100 MHz (Great!).
    *440EX: Anyone silly enough to buy a PC equipped with Intel's stripped-down Celeron (Pentium 2SX) CPU will need this chipset.
    *440NX: Not even here yet, but it'll support the Pentium 3 and the slot Two architecture.

V.90 - The Standard For 56K
      What does the new modem standard mean to your Net access speed?
A new standard called V.90 has been established for 56Kbps modem technology. For the last year had to put up with the competition of K56Flex and x2 technologies head-butting each other and causing hassle for ISPs and confused customers. If you bought a K56Flex modem you needed a ISP which supported the Flex technology.
If you bought a US Robotics x2 modem you would have needed a ISP which supported the x2 technology. The two technologies are nearly the same, but different enough to make them incompatible. Many ISP have managed to offer support for both Flex and x2, but the standard has been needed to enable 56K technology to
thrive in the future. V.90 is expected to be ratified in September of this year.
    So now we have V.90 and several more months of chaos as owners of 56Kbps modems attempt to upgrade and achieve whizzy speeds with their ISP.
    Upgrading is a simple matter of downloading the appropriate installation file from your modem manufacture's web site and running it on your computer, according to the manufacture's instructions. If you have a 56KFlex modem, there's no point in upgrading until your ISP does. Once you upgrade your modem will not be backwards compatible with the 56KFlex technology and connections. If, however, you have a x2 modem you can upgrade as soon as the upgrade software becomes available. X2 modems which are upgraded to V.90 will be able to make 56Kbps connections to x2 hardware.
 
 

If you any of you True Gamers have any gaming tips to add to this page just E-MAIL me using the link below. Title the message GAMING TIPS.