News archive


November-December 2006

Happy New Year!

[31.12.2006]Dear visitors! I would like to wish you and your families a Happy New Year! May 2007 be prosperous and rewarding for you! I hope you'll keep on visiting BenchmarkHQ in the New Year. See you in 2007!

Victoria 4.2 for Windows has been released! New features include: detection of Windows Vista, ability to access physical drives through the Windows API (this feature allows to access IDE, SATA, USB, FireWire, Flash and SCSI drives, including the system disk), numerous bugfixes.

[30.12.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.97 Build 1011 is available for download! This version has some minor improvements, including an improved Chinese language support.

[29.12.2006]AMD64 CPU Assistant 0.5.0.170 is available for download! New in this version: Task Manager functionality, logging feature (logs time, CPU temperature, memory usage, CPU load and frequency).

StatWin Professional 7.5.5.5 is available for download!

[28.12.2006]PassMark PerformanceTest 6.1 build 1001 has been released! Here's what's new: support for Windows Vista, scripting of tests, a lot of minor improvements.

[27.12.2006]Samsung Drive Diagnostic Utility (Hutil) 2.02 is available for download!

[26.12.2006]ProcessLibrary.com, has launched Process Scanner, a little utility, which searches for and identifies all the processes running on the user's PC. The deep scan is fast, completely free and brings interactivity to processlibrary.com; within seconds supplying a list of currently running processes, .dlls and other items running at present or in other instances. The list provides clear, at-a-glance, categorized information on the task functions of each item, color-coded information on the threat risk from safe to dangerous, and advises the user on the type of action to be taken. Learn more...

[25.12.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.2.0.4 Build 1225 RC2 has been released! This release includes support for SIS964, SIS965, SIS966, SIS968, ATI IXP200, IXP300, IXP400 and SB600, ULi 1563, ULi 1573 and ULi 1575 chipsets.

Our friends over at nvWorld.ru have announced the availability of RivaTuner 2.0 Final (2Mb)! RivaTuner is the most powerful tweaking utility for NVIDIA and ATI display adapters running under Windows 98 / Windows 98 SE / Windows ME / Windows 2000 / Windows XP and Windows Vista (x32). The purpose of this utility is to give you access to all the undocumented features of Detonator and Catalyst drivers.
This new version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including:
  • Added ForceWare 97.28 and 97.44 drivers support.
  • Updated databases for Detonator and ForceWare drivers. Added databases for ForceWare 93.28 and 97.44 drivers.
  • Added Catalyst 6.12 drivers detection.
  • Improved hardware monitoring module.
  • Improved low-level graphics subsystem diagnostics module.
  • Special New Year present for all RivaTuner users. Direct3D triple buffering forcing feature, one of the most deeply hidden and most wanted Easter Eggs, is now unlocked and available for everybody!
And much more!

[24.12.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.2.0.3 Build 1224 RC2 has been released! Here's what's new: improved EPP handling, support for nVidia MCP67 and MCP68 I/O hub controllers, minor fixes.

[23.12.2006]Dr.Hardware 2007 Build 8.0.0e has been released! This version has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: Windows Vista support, detailed information about Mozilla Firefox Browser, detection of Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad and Quad Core Xeon, AMD Turion 64 Mobile, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor, the latest AMD Dual Core CPUs (socket AM2, F etc.), improved detection of Intel Pentium 4 D900/Extreme, Core Duo/Solo, Core 2 Duo/Extreme and Dual Core Xeon processors, support for Intel Q963, G965, Q965 and 3000/3010 Server chipsets, support for the newest SiS and VIA chipsets, support for ULi M1695 chipset/ULi M1563/M1573 southbridge, support for Intel ICH8 SATA Controller, support for Winbond W83627DHG chip, improved detection of SATA II harddisks, net drives benchmark, bugfixes, and more!

[22.12.2006]NEW: Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity!

[21.12.2006]FRAPS 2.8.2 is available for download! This is a bugfix release.

Futuremark Corporation has announced that Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) is joining its handheld focused benchmark development programs! Marvell has enrolled in Futuremark's Handheld BDP, VGMark BDP, and has licensed Futuremark's recently announced SimulationMark ES2.0 benchmark.
Futuremark Corporation has created a family of industry standard handheld platform test suites which enable the full spectrum of companies in the delivery chain to properly validate their products' and technologies' performance. 3DMarkMobile06 is the OpenGL ES 1.0 and 1.1 graphics performance gauge. SPMarkJava06 is an extensive Mobile Java MIDP 2.0 and JSR184/M3G performance measurement tool. VGMark07 provides vector graphics performance measurement. SimulationMark ES2.0 enables pre-silicon performance testing of OpenGL ES 2.0 designs. Read on.

Intel has released the Processor Identification Utility 3.3!

[20.12.2006]AMD64 CPU Assistant 0.4.1.164 is available for download! Here's what's new: improved nForce 4 clock generator frequency control, minor improvements and bugfixes.

[19.12.2006]Filemon 7.04 is available for download! This release fixes some minor bugs.

[18.12.2006]NEW: AMD64 CPU Assistant is designed to monitor the temperature of a AMD64 CPU core using the processor's on-die thermal sensor!

[17.12.2006]Crystal Dew World has updated its products:
[16.12.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.2.0.2 Build 1216 RC1 has been released! Here's what's new: support for nVidia MCP61 and MCP65 I/O hub controllers, improved EPP handling, bugfixes.

[15.12.2006]SIV 3.19 has been released! New features include: validated Windows Vista V6.00 Build 6000 support, Intel Core 2 (Conroe) E6850, E6750 and E6650 processor support, Winbond W83627DHG sensor support, reporting of PCI Vital Product Data and PCI Express Maximum and Negotiated Link Speed and Width (Lanes), reporting of SMX Safer Mode Extensions, minor improvements and bugfixes.

[14.12.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.96 Build 1007 is available for download! This version adds support for the Dutch language and has an improved installer.

Belarc Advisor 7.2.1.8 is available for download!

[13.12.2006]Palm: Speedy 6.3 has been released! This version includes benchmark values for Palm Treo 680.

[12.12.2006]Advanced HostMonitor 6.51 is available for download! This version has a couple of minor improvements. Visit the official page for details.

[11.12.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.2.0.1 Build 1209 Beta 1 has been released! This version allows to transform an ordinary DDR2-SDRAM memory into EPP-compliant one. Now you can create your own firmware with modern Enhanced Performance Profiles and edit them in minutes. Thaiphoon Burner supports two types of EPP: Full and Abbreviated.

[10.12.2006]System Analyser 5.3p has been released! New features include: improved Intel Core 2 information, HD Audio support, updated device database, minor improvements, bugfixes, etc.

[09.12.2006]Crystal Dew World has updated its products to add support for Socket F and some other new devices:
Advanced HostMonitor 6.50 has been released! This version has a couple of minor improvements and bugfixes. Visit the official page for details.

[08.12.2006]Fresh Diagnose 7.48 has been released! It includes a new module called Console (MS-DOS Box) Configurations.

[07.12.2006]TestLAB 2006 6.2.5 is available for download!

[06.12.2006]Intel has released Desktop Control Center 2.2.0002! IDCC enables you to perform stress tests to verify system stability and to conduct performance testing to measure the impact of system configuration changes. The easy-to-read system gauges provide feedback so you can observe the effects of various system modifications in real-time. This easy-to-use console dynamically displays temperatures, speed, and usage percentages, allowing you to verify system stability and check performance gains without rebooting into the BIOS.
This version is currently supported only on the Intel D975XBX2 board. It is not backwards compatible with any previous versions of Intel Desktop Control Center.
The Intel Desktop Control Center version 2.1 is supported on these Intel Desktop Boards: D975XBX, D955XBK, D955XCS, and D945PVS.
If you have one of the following boards, please, use version 1.3.00.63: D925XECV2, D924XEBC2, D925XCV, D925XBC, D915PBL, D875PBZ, D865PERL.
[05.12.2006]HMonitor 4.3.0.1 has been released! New in this version: AMD K8 internal core(s) temperatures reading, Intel CORE family internal core(s) temperatures reading, SMSC SCH5017 sensor chip support, Abit AB9, AB9 Pro and Tyan S2925 (Tomcat N3400b) mainboards support, nVidia nForce MCP51, MCP55 SMBus support, minor improvements, etc.

VSO Inspector 1.2.7.76 has been released! This version includes a couple of bugfixes, as well as the latest Patin Couffin 37 drivers.

[04.12.2006]PassMark DiskCheckup 2.0 Build 1003 is available for download!

HD_Speed has been updated to version 1.5.2.59!

[03.12.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.1.0.2 Build 1202 RC1 has been released! New in this version: improved Timing Profile Editor, support for the DDR2 specification, bugfixes.

[02.12.2006]Battery Eater Pro 2.70 is available for download! Here's what's new: Italian language support, improved stability, new version of the Gauge utility, minor improvements and bugfixes.

StatWin Professional 7.5.5.2 is available for download!

[01.12.2006]ASUS has released PC Probe II 1.04.05!
Crystal Dew World has updated its products:
[30.11.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.95 Build 987 is available for download! It has a couple of minor improvements and bugfixes.

Thaiphoon Burner 3.1.0.0 Build 1128 Beta 1 has been released! This version includes the Timing Profile Editor that allows to easily edit DRAM timings.

[29.11.2006]Futuremark Corporation has released free updates to its 3DMark06, 3DMark05 and PCMark05 benchmark suites! Downloadable patches update 3DMark06 to version 1.1.0 and PCMark05 to version 1.2.0. New features include: Windows Vista support, Internet Explorer 7 compatibility, improved start-up speed by optimizing the SystemInfo component, updated SystemInfo component with support for the latest CPU and graphics hardware, bugfixes.
With these updates, Futuremark introduces a new online result view mode for all editions of the benchmarks, including free versions. Additionally, the Result Analyzer offered in all versions will enable users to get an online analysis of their system, and compare their results. This new online service is one of the key components of Futuremark's next generation of PC benchmarks. Read on.

DU Meter 3.50 Build 2882 has been released! This version introduces Windows Vista compatibility, adds command-line parameters to facilitate automatic report creation from batch files or other scripts, has reduced memory consumption and fixes several bugs.

TaskInfo 7.0.4.208 is available for download! This is a bugfix release.

[28.11.2006]EVEREST Ultimate Edition 2006 BETA Build 816 is available for download! New in this release: Vista Sidebar support, ACPI BIOS information, Extended OpenGL information, chipset information for nVIDIA nForce 650i, 680i Series, GPU information for nVIDIA GeForce 8800 (G80) Series, physical CPU information for Athlon 64 X2 (aka Brisbane-512), Opteron (aka Santa Rosa), Intel Core 2 Extreme (aka Kentsfield) and Intel Xeon 5300 Series (aka Clovertown), Motherboard Clock Generator information, and much more!
System Information for Windows (SIW) 1.65 has been released! New features include: on-die thermal diode (aka Digital Thermal Sensor) support for Intel's Core Duo/Solo, Core 2 Duo/Extreme, Xeon 5100 and all AMD K8 chips, Extended Network Info, Enhanced Video Monitor module, Spanish Language support, bugfixes, etc.

StatWin Professional 7.5.5 is available for download!

[27.11.2006]Alchemy Eye 8.5 has been released! Here's what's new: Registry monitoring, %ALERT TIME% macro in the server alerts, minor improvements and bugfixes.

Crystal Dew World has updated its products to add support for Intel Xeon (Clovertown):
[26.11.2006]TaskInfo 7.0.2.206 has been released! This update includes a number of minor improvements and bugfixes.

PassMark WirelessMon 2.0 has been updated with build 1008! It has a couple of bugfixes.

[25.11.2006]SiSoftware Sandra XI b (2007.2.11.17) has been released! This version fixes a few bugs.

[24.11.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.94 Build 984 is available for download! This is a bugfix release.

Thaiphoon Burner 3.0.2.0 Build 1123 Final has been released! It includes support for Intel 6300ESB and 631x/632xESB I/O Controllers.

[23.11.2006]ASTRA32 1.50 has been released! New features include: Report Wizard, ability to save a report file in CSV format, detection of SCSI devices manufacture date and start-stop count, detection of CD/DVD firmware date, detection of HD-DVD read features and DVD-R DL, DVD+RW DL, HD DVD-R, HD DVD-RAM read-write features, eading of SPD information on nVidia MCP61, MCP65, VIA VT8237A, VT8251 south bridges and SiS 760 chipset, detection of Intel Quad-Core Xeon, Intel Dual-Core Xeon (Tulsa), AMD Dual-Core Opteron (Santa Rosa, Santa Ana) and AMD Geode LX, updated devices database, minor improvements and bugfixes.

ASTRA 5.30 is available for download! Here's what's new: ability to save a report file in CSV format, detection of SCSI devices manufacture date and start-stop count, detection of CD/DVD firmware date, detection of HD-DVD read features and DVD-R DL, DVD+RW DL, HD DVD-R, HD DVD-RAM read-write features, eading of SPD information on nVidia MCP61, MCP65, VIA VT8237A, VT8251 south bridges and SiS 760 chipset, detection of Intel Quad-Core Xeon, Intel Dual-Core Xeon (Tulsa), AMD Dual-Core Opteron (Santa Rosa, Santa Ana) and AMD Geode LX, updated device database, bugfixes, etc.

RightMark CPU Clock Utility 2.2 has been released! RMClock is a simple utility designed for realtime CPU frequency monitoring and realtime adjustment of the CPU multiplier (FID) and voltage level (VID) of the supported CPUs via processor's power management model specific registers (MSRs).
This new release includes a wealth of new features and improvements, including: independent CPU info display for each physical/logical CPU present in the system, detection of several AMD K8 NPT (revision F) CPU cores, CPU temperature graph display, advanced chipset settings support for ICH8 family southbridges, support for Quad-Core Intel Core 2 Extreme CPUs, support for mobile Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom core), proper detection of AMD Athlon 64 FX dual-core processors, minor improvements, bugfixes, etc.
[22.11.2006]CPU-Z 1.38 has been released! New features include: support for VIA P4M890, P4M900, NVIDIA 650i and 680i chipsets, support for AMD Athlon 64 FX-7x, Intel Core 2 Duo E6850, E6750 and E6650 processors, support for Socket 775 Xeon processor, new command line parameters ("-txt" and "-html").

Victoria 4.0 for Windows has been released!

[21.11.2006]Advanced HostMonitor 6.42 has been released! This version has a couple of minor improvements and bugfixes. Visit the official page for details.

[20.11.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.94 Build 983 is available for download! This version adds support for the Greek language.

[19.11.2006]Crystal Dew World has updated its products:
[18.11.2006]CoreTemp 0.94 has been released! This little utility lets you monitor Intel's "Core", "Core 2" and all AMD K8 chips' die temperature. The temperature readings are very accurate as the data is collected from a Digital Thermal Sensor (or DTS) which is located in each individual processing core, near the hottest part.
This version includes some minor improvements and bugfixes.
ASUS has released PC Probe II 1.04.03!
[17.11.2006]SiSoftware Sandra XI (2007.1.11.17) has been released! This version further builds on the re-written user interface as introduced in 2007, adding UI improvements like:
  • New benchmark comparisons: 'difference' bars to quickly see differences in values.
  • Ability to contrast benchmark results against other variables in charts.
  • Theme framework: you can now load different themes and customise the colours of charts; allows users to truly make Sandra look the way they like it.
From the GUI, you can make scripts from all the wizards to perform common tasks such as creating reports and Burn-in. What's more, you can load and modify the scripts once you have created them. These scripts can be saved for later use or shared with others.
While talking about sharing, Sandra XI now allows you to export your results and share them with colleagues, send them to friends, and post them on news groups. Once you have exported some test results, these can be imported into another install of Sandra (providing it is the same version). This is available on all versions of Sandra 'out of the box', and Sandra Enterprise extends the result storing by providing the 'Data Repository', a single database for storing results from a remote machine.
Besides, this new version adds support and compatibility for the latest hardware!

[16.11.2006]Belarc Advisor 7.2.1.7 is available for download!

[15.11.2006]Thaiphoon Burner 3.0.1.0 Build 1101 Final is available for download!

[14.11.2006]SIV 3.18 has been released! New features include: Intel Core 2 Quadro (Kentsfield) and Intel Xeon Quad Core (Clovertown) support, System Management BIOS V2.5 support, updated PCI Bridge information to include the Memory Mapped I/O ranges, minor improvements and bugfixes.

[13.11.2006]Advanced HostMonitor 6.40 has been released! This version has a number of improvements and bugfixes. Visit the official page for details.

[12.11.2006]PC Wizard 2006 1.71 has been released! It has a wealth of new features and improvements, including: support for AMD Athlon 64 "Brisbane", Intel Core 2 Duo E6650, E6750 and E6850, support for VIA P4M890 and P4M900 chipsets, support for User Account Control (UAC), preliminary Windows Vista Performance Rating support, preliminary support for Intel Celeron M 520-530, Pentium E1060-E1040-E1020, improved Windows Vista support, and more!

Central Brain Identifier 8.2.0.8 Build 1112 R8 is available for download! Here's what's new: recognition of the following mobile/low-power AMD64 processors (revision E6/F2): TMSMT40BQX4LD, TMSMT37BQX4LD, TMDML44BKX5LD, TMDML42BKX4LD, TMDML40BKX5LD, TMDML37BKX5LD, SMN3000BKX2BX, SMN3300BKX2BX, SMN3600BKX2BX, SMN3100BKX3BX, SMN3400BKX3BX, SDD3200IAA2CN, SDD3500IAA2CN, SDD3000IAA3CN, SDD3400IAA3CN, ADD3800IAT5CU, ADO3600IAA4CU, etc.
[11.11.2006]BenchMem 0.1.4 is available for download!

[10.11.2006]Crystal Dew World has updated its products to add support for AMD Geode LX:
S&M 1.8.2 is available for download!

[09.11.2006]nVidia Corporation has released nTune 5.05.18.00! nTune is the ultimate utility for accessing, monitoring, and adjusting your system components, including temperature and voltages with clear, user-friendly control panels. Overclock your system for highest performance or underclock it for near silent operation. All changes are performed within the Microsoft Windows (XP and XP x64 Edition) interface – enabling full functionality without the need to make changes in the BIOS and reboot your system.
This release supports the following products: nForce 220, nForce 220D, nForce 415 and nForce 420D; nForce2 and nForce2 400; nForce2 Ultra and nForce2 Ultra 400; nForce2 400R and nForce2 Ultra 400Gb; nForce3 150 and nForce3 PRO 150; nForce3 250, nForce3 250Gb and nForce3 PRO 250; nForce4 Pro 2200, nForce4 Ultra, and nForce4 SLI; nForce 590 SLI, nForce 570 SLI, nForce 570 Ultra, nForce 550.
[08.11.2006]Hard Drive Inspector 1.93 Build 978 is available for download! This is a bugfix release.

[07.11.2006]HWiNFO32 1.71 has been released! New features include: recognition of some Xeon MP CPUs, preliminary branding for Kentsfield, Clovertown and Conroe-L, random read disk benchmark, support for Winbond W83793 sensor, recognition of AMD Athlon 64 and Athlon 64 X2 for socket S1g1, recognition of Intel Timna, Tulloch, Poulsbo, Bearlake, Clarksboro and Seaburg MCHs, recognition of nVidia nForce 680i SLI, updated device database, bugfixes, etc.

Fresh Diagnose 7.46 has been released! Here's what's new: improved Device Drivers and ATA/ATAPI Devices modules.

HDDScan 2.8 has been released! New features include: S.M.A.R.T. support, IDE Features control for some USB/FireWire hard drives, minor changes and bugfixes.

[06.11.2006]PassMark BurnInTest 5.1 Build 1014 is available for download! This release has some minor improvements and bugfixes, including an ability to use the Parallel port test on Windows x64 Vista.

[05.11.2006]Active SMART 2.51 has been released!

Central Brain Identifier 8.2.0.7 Build 1105 R7 is available for download! Here's what's new: L3 cache information (cache size, cache associativity, cache lines per way, number of cache lines, etc.) for AMD64 Rev. G processors.
[04.11.2006]BurnInTest for Linux 1.0 build 1007 is available for download! Just as its counterpart for Windows, BurnInTest for Linux allows all the major sub-systems of a computer to be simultaneously tested for reliability and stability.
[03.11.2006]Crystal Dew World has updated its products:
[02.11.2006]TestLAB 2006 has been released! This version inlcudes a new interface, new tests, support for the latest hardware, etc.

[01.11.2006]HD_Speed has been updated to version 1.5.2.58!

Dr.Hardware 2006 Build 7.6.0d (German version) is available for download! Here's what's new: support for AMD Turion 64 Mobile, AMD Athlon 64 X2 and Intel Core 2 Extreme processors, better detection of various dual core processors, support for nForce 5, Intel Q963, G965 and Q965 chipsets, support for ULi M1695 chipset/ULi M1563/M1573 Southbridge, bugfixes, etc.