Event Coverage

HardwareZone's 10th Anniversary: The 1998 - 1999 Era

Birth of the HardwareZone Forums

Birth of the HardwareZone Forums

The forums however didn't start along with the inception of SHZ, but it was added on quite shortly. Growing from just the Hardware Clinic, and then expanded to encompass a Software Clinic, it was jointly known as the PC Clinics for a while before the more laidback Eat-Drink-Man-Woman forum was created to embrace all the 'off-topic' threads which were irrelevant for the main forums. The forums were an integral catalyst to the popularity of the overall SHZ portal as it became a place for techies and novice to gather, learn, share and speculate on the many technology topics that arose. By late 1999, the forums section grew to hold 13 specialized discussion groups:-

 The forums listing during the late 1999 timeframe. Too bad we don't have any other screenshots of this stage of the forums.

Combined with the constant news, reviews and hardware pricelist updates, it kept the cycle of hype, knowledge and discussions ongoing. The overclocking database further asserted the techie factor of the site as those were days when overclocking was attempted only by the elites. In addition, it proved to be useful as people gathered statistics and possibilities to plan their overclocking attempts as well figure out which processor would be a suitable investment for their experimentation and fun factor.

Speaking of fun, we did mention before that a very early version of GameAxis existed since late in 1998 to hold matters pertaining to the gaming world, which naturally is in close symbiosis to the hardware world. After all, a significant reason for upgrading to the latest cutting edge technology was because of the new games that are always on the horizon and always promising a new level of gaming realism and entertainment. Thus HardwareZone's foray into the gaming world was a very logical extension. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any screenshots of the early GameAxis prior to the year 2000. But hang in there as our next article will touch on Y2K.

So to wrap this time segment, by the end 1999, these are the various sections/services offered by Singapore Hardware Zone:-

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Hardware Price Guide
  • Overclocking Database
  • Member's Cafe (special information and promotions)
  • An unofficial IRC channel
  • GameAxis sister site
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