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For
a start the USB port seems to play up when you attach a Mouse
(haven't tried other devices yet), it seems to let you use the
Mouse for a couple of minutes before completely disconnecting
it so that it just stops dead on the screen. This doesn't bother
me so much because I'm happy with my 'Serial' Mouse but it is
still annoying as I paid good money for this MS Mouse. You'd
also expect an MS Mouse to work with an MS O/S properly and
it has done under Intel based systems. I fiddled with the BIOS,
installed the proper drivers and it still did it. To this day
it still does and if anybody knows why then please let me know
how to fix it.
Further
problems
There's
not a doubt in my mind that this Athlon can outpace a P3-550
and even P3-600 of similar set-up. My entire games collection
ran super speedy with the TNT2 + Athlon combo firmly in-hand.
I'm pleased to see that the Athlon isn't just a firm CPU, it
can also push 3D like no other CPU I have ever seen and is easily
a worthy upgrade for even the upper mid range 500 that I have.
However if you're an emulation enthusiast then beware because
as many will know, AMD CPUs and emulation do not always go hand
in hand as with any Intel CPU. I found several N64 Emulators
and PlayStation ones either didn't work or don't run (bleem!
/ nemu etc.), as they would have previously.
I
also found the new IDE UDMA-4 Bus didn't get along with my Creative
DVDx6 drive, for some reason it suddenly became incompatible
with certain CDs and would go so far as to hang the entire system
while it tried to access them. In putting the drive back into
my P3-450 I found it worked perfectly, odd to say the least.
Aside from those annoying problems, which are quite a serious
hindrance, I loved it. The Athlon is a speedy set-up; it's well
made and very stable but does seem to have a couple of small
problems with USB and the IDE controller. Thankfully most people
won't be in a situation to notice this and will find their system
as happy as a spring bunny with wet dew on the grass.
Here
ends this months editorial, expect a full review of the Creative
encore DVDx6 Kit in the coming days. Contact me if you know
how to fix this USB + Mouse problem. In addition, sorry if I
made any mistakes in this editorial, I didn't have the time
to go through it =(
by
Mark 'KILLZAT' Jackson
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