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The presentation portion of the conference was over. Now we were free to walk around and visit each company. I got to play with Chaintech's HandiGator and gawk at their motherboards, check out exactly what was going on with Intervideo, as well as take quite a few pictures of the HydroCool, and find out some more about nVidia's 5900 and Ultra 400 platform.
Intervideo showed off WinCinema and their IR remote control (which is completely compatible with Windows Media Center.)
I got to spend some one-on-one time with the HydroCool…
Tubes run in and out of a modified PCI slot cover to the PC, and cool the CPU. Although Corsair said they had chipset and GPU coolers in the making, neither debuted at the conference.
The only other object connected to the HydroCool was not an A/C power cord - it was a black cable which connected the HydroCool to a custom-made PCB on the modified PCI slot cover, which feeds the HydroCool power, and allows the HydroCool to have some access to the PC. The CPU cooler sports a thermistor, which allows the HydroCool to monitor temperatures, and, in dire situations, shut down the computer.
I got to see just how fast the HydroCool could actually cool the CPU - Robert pulled one of the hoses out, a little water dropped out, and the CPU temperature started steadily climbing from its' constant 28.5 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees Celsius or so, at which point Robert put the hose back on, and about 10 seconds later, the temperature was once again down to 28.5. However, that is a rough estimate of the time it took for the HydroCool to cool the CPU down. The cooling block is made of copper, with a nickel plating.
Robert also told me that he had more ideas in store for a possible second revision of the HydroCool, one of which is easy to remove fan filters.
At nVidia's side, I got to see the woman with the butterfly wings dancing around (quite nice shadows, might I add…) as well as the fire-monster demo. We also got the privilege of seeing something nVidia has been working on for about ¾ of a year - overclocking from windows. If the motherboard manufacturer allows for it, certain BIOS hooks can be accessed from windows, and changed. We watched a quake3 demo go by, a simple change in a slider, and all of a sudden, 50 more fps appeared. The only thing that was not accessible was the multiplier and the AGP clock [I believe.]
Although the interface is said to possibly change, slider-control for FSB is quite nice.
ChainTech Interview:
We had a chance to sit down with Milton Fang to ask him a few questions passed through our forums...
Q: You said that after many heated debates, that your high end video card was decided to be called Apogee, mainly, due to the fact that Zenith was a revered product line, and there might be more to put into the VGA cards than what is in them now. What can we expect in later dates, feature-wise from Chaintech?
A: Suggestions from media, but some things we think about is maybe even better cooling solutions, or perhaps tv-out, DVI, tv-tuners. A lot of our ideas come from the media and our end users, which is how we came up with our features.
Q: What chipset will you be using with your k8 sulution?
A: It is still undecided, but it will be between the VIA and the nVidia nforce2.
Q: What exactly is the deal with the Gas Turbine fan on your Apogee GeForceFX?
A: Gas Turbine is a technology used in Jet Engines, which might or might not have been proprietary, and we have implemented it into our fan designs. The interaction with the air, it creates a sort of vortex that funnels the air up to 30% better. It is angled differently, and is missing a corner, which enhances the cooling.
Q: Will there be revisions to allow the top buttons on your remote control to be programmable?
A: Yes. It will be.
Q: When do you expect your Canterwood and K8 solutions to be out (respectively)? Your Apogee video cards?
A: Canterwoods - retail channel by June, K8 - up to AMD, Apogee VGA retail by mid June.
Q: Was the move to gold plating simply for the looks, or do you honestly believe it will enhance transfer rates?
A: Gold has been proven to enhance the transfer rates, which is why they have gold fingers (connectors). It might help, but it also helps the aesthetics.
Leaving on a jet plane...
All in all, Chaintech reloaded was a whole lot of fun. Going out to Bourbon Street was quite an experience, as was the private Jazz concert we all went to. I got to meet some of the people I had only known through writing, got to experience New Orleans, and learn a hell of a lot about stuff I like. I don't think I would have missed it for the world.
WeI'd like to thank Chaintech for inviting us, and thanks to the manufacturers who were nice enough to demo some cool stuff. It was also a lot of fun hooking up with other web editors, and if anybody found a digital camera at that bar we went to, . I seemed to have misplaced it. 
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Chaintech Reloaded: New Orleans is known for Jazz, Cajun Food, and Mardi Gras; and this year was the site, at the DoubleTree Hotel, of Chaintech's first US press/media conference: Chaintech Reloaded.
