Specifications

a
class
in
kick
-
ass
Awesome PC components
that rocked our world
VELOCD 12/10/32
TDK’s VeloCD CD burner incorporated
Sanyo’s Burn Proof technology and made
buffer underrun errors —and the coasters
resulting from them —a thing of the past.
(Received a 10/Kick Ass in January 2001)
3DFX VOODOO GRAPHICS
Bye-bye, bland graphics. Sayonara, sprites.
3dfx Voodoo Graphics cards transformed our
PCs into monster gaming machines that no
console could touch, and our lives haven’t
been the same since.
INTEL 440BX CHIPSET
Enshrined in our PC Hall of Fame, the 440BX
taught us to expect not just speed and
features, but also reliability and longevity.
IPOD
From the Land of Misfi t Toys in Cupertino,
California, came a gadget so great, it
actually exceeded the hype. And subsequent
versions only got better.
PENTIUM II
Historians may well remember the Pentium
II as Intel’s greatest chip, and perhaps the
last time the company had a clear advantage
over its competitors.
RADEON 9700
In a thrilling leapfrog over the competition,
ATI’s Radeon 9700 introduced support for
DirectX 9 features a year before nVidia had
anything similar to offer. (Received a
10/Kick Ass in October 2002)
ATHLON 64
Although the fi rst Athlon managed to put
AMD ahead of Intel in performance, it was
the Athlon 64 that had Intel following AMD’s
standards. The latest incarnation, the FX-55,
trashed the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition and
offers 64-bit support to boot.
WINDOWS XP
It was a long and painful process
detaching Windows from its DOS roots,
but Windows XP—with its slick interface
and brawny stability—was worth every
minute of the wait. (Received a
10/Kick Ass in November 2001)
KLIPSCH PROMEDIA V.2-400
The 400 watt ProMedia system arrived
when crappy 50W speakers ruled the
land, instigating an arms race among
speaker makers that has continued
unabated to this day. (Received a
10/Kick Ass in January 2000)
QUAKE
3D acceleration, online multiplayer, and
the fi rst fully 3D world made Quake the
only game that mattered in 1996.
versions only got better.
FUN
CORINEX POWERLINE ROUTER
“It’s unbelievably slow and diffi cult to
confi gure. Did we mention it’s worse
than wireless in every way?” (Received a
humiliating 2 verdict in June 2004)
ACOUSTIC AUTHORITY
A-3780
“So there you have it. These speakers
performed quite well during casual
testing but literally exploded during
benchmarking.” (Received a generous 3
verdict in March 2004)
ALTEC LANSING XA3001
“The question isn’t, ‘How bad does it
sound?’ but rather, ‘Is it making any sound
at all?’” (Received a devastating 1 verdict
in August 2002)
OLYMPIA SOUNDBUG
“Its sound is inferior to that of a notebook
PC with even mediocre speakers.”
(Dismissed with a 2 verdict in August 2002)
PYROPRO MP3 PLAYER
“It snaps on to the back of your PDA and
makes your life a living hell.” (We shot
back with a 3 verdict in December 2001)
RICOH MEDIAMASTER
MP9060A
“The MediaMaster produces dozens
of coasters on which you can rest your
favorite beverages.” (Received a well-
deserved 2 verdict in May 2000)
SHARP SE-500 PDA
“Tapping out even the shortest memos is
guaranteed to induce carpal tunnel strain
akin to that invoked by the classic board
game Operation.” (Received a take-that
verdict of 2 in January 1998)
TECHWORKS
ULTIMATE 3D
“Giving the Laguna more
memory for textures is like
giving Tammy Faye Baker more
mascara. The chip may use it,
but the results are hideous.” (We
smeared it with a 1 verdict in
August 1997)
LEK FUTURENOTE
MX200
“Imagine waking up on
Christmas morning expecting
a brand-new BMX bike, only to
fi nd a hamster that suffocated
and died before you had a
chance to tear open the gift-wrap. Sound
harsh? It should—the MX200 certainly
is.” (We unwrapped a 2 verdict in June
1997)
SCSIVision
“While the disc sorely lacks value and
quality components, it did have all of
us on the fl oor laughing at its badness.”
(Received a 2 verdict in January 1997)
TRESPASSER
“Trespasser’s few accomplishments are
buried under a mountain of technical
glitches, visual grossness... sometimes
extinction is the best thing.” (Received a
biting 3 verdict in January 1999)
you were warned
10 truly terrible tragedies
MAXIMUM PC JANUARY 200562
1999’s Trespasser was the Big Game Disaster
before anyone had ever heard of
Daikatana.