3DX posted a new review of the AOpen AK86-L Motherboard.

Here's a clip:
"Today 3DXtreme has the pleasure of reviewing AOpen’s latest offering for the AMD Athlon64 platform, the AK86-L motherboard. The AK86-L is based on VIA’s K8T800 chipset. At this time there are really only two major competitors in the chipset battle for AMD64 motherboards. VIA and Nvidia, both offering the top performers in this area and we are seeing an increase in the amount of motherboards based around their offerings. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and it seems that these level out the playing field. The winners in this battle right now are the users who find motherboards full of features. AOpen has always been known for providing motherboard solutions that cater to the user who wants as much control as possible. I’m sure we won’t be disappointed with the AK86-L."

Quote:
"Overclocking enthusiasts love to keep their desktop PCs cool. But what about us laptop users? Sure, many companies have done laptop cooling pads, but here is one design I haven't seen before. COOLMAX has created an X shaped dual 60mm fan laptop cooler. At the very least, it seems to be more convenient than the competition with the integrated 4 port USB hub. Continue on as we look at this COOLMAX X notebook cooler..."

Hardware Pacers has posted a review on the Bluetake BT500 Bluetooth Mouse. Here is a snippet:

"BlueTake has constructed a masterpiece combining the elegance of smooth cursor control with the ruggedness that is rudimentary for any portable mouse or Bluetooth device. The BT009X Bluetooth Device is an innovative USB Hub that allows connection to the mouse and to any other Bluetooth device available."

OCIA.net checks out the Raidmax 400w Blue Aluminum PSU in their latest review. Below is a direct quote from the review:

"We recently touched on a sleeper PSU that didn't look all that hot but performed right up there with the best. Now we are jumping back to the other side. We are looking at a blue aluminum PSU that screams overclocker. This little gem has sleek styling and dual fans for added cooling. Did I mention it's blue? I like blue, especially when all my fans are blue LED. Looks aren't everything, of course, and we are here today to test whether the Raidmax can hold up to both standards: Looks and performance."

Article Snippit:

"To find a flaw or imperfect in a Samsung LCD monitor in my experience is almost impossible. With not even one broken pixel noted or seen in the sixteen LCD monitors that have been reviewed by Tweaknews, saying that Samsung LCD monitor is a safe buy is a huge understatement.

The 173MW follows this trend by working flawlessly and not having one problem other than the substandard gaming. But, you have to remember, poor gaming on an LCD is common and they are not meant for this purpose in the first place. If an LCD monitor does game well then you can consider it a bonus."

Nvnews have thrown up their review of Nvidia's GeForce FX 5950 Ultra graphics card!

XFX furnished nVNews with their top of the line card, the NVIDIA GeForce FX5950 Ultra. Our evaluation of this card will attempt to reveal what it has to offer gamers who seek the latest in high performance video cards. While numerous reviews have been published on the NVIDIA GeForce FX5950 Ultras from the various manufacturers, this is XFX's first FX59xx series card. In this review we will use NVIDIA's newest Forceware driver release, version 56.56. What new developments and enhancements do these drivers offer? We will get to that in a moment, but first let's cover the specifications of XFX's new high end video card.

Article Snippit:

"Simpletech has done a great job with their Nitro memory. The memory performed great in our benchmarks, and overclocked very well. The modules were nice and stable and did not overheat.

Simpletech didn't just stop at performance however. They created a very nice package that will appeal to modders as well as overclockers. The red PCB modules look fantastic, and they matched my ATI card perfectly! The biohazard symbols add a touch of flare too."

Quote:
"If you haven't noticed Sunbeam lately, you should. They have been producing new products at an astounding rate, and I would have trouble keeping up on them if I were doing just Sunbeam reviews. Regardless, maybe YOU have seen this before; if not, how about an 80mm Dual CCFL fan grill, with a UV reactive casing? Sound cool? See if you like it..."

OCIA.net checks out the Transcend Xabre 400 Video Card in their latest review. Below is a direct quote from the review:

"NVIDIA and ATI. Not too many people know of (or care about) other graphics chipset manufacturers. Well, among the lesser known manufacturers lies SiS. Yes, the same manufacturer many of you know for their northbridge chipsets on motherboards. Today we will take a look at Transcend's Xabre 400 graphics card. This card has been on the market for a while, but lets see if it can still be a viable alternative for someone looking to save a few bucks."

Hankering for some A64 loving but worried about the price? Check out The Crucible's review of Albatron's K8X800 Pro II. The board retails at about $110 USD and performs about as well as the ASUS K8V Deluve.

The Albatron K8X800 Pro II is basically a clone of the ASUS K8V Deluxe, except that the K8X800 Pro II has far better onboard sound and lacks the Promise SATA raid controller. Not that this is a bad thing, the K8X800 Pro II has proven to be a worthy competitor. Keeping pace with it's far more expensive brethren. Being compared to the fastest Socket 754 board we have yet tested is a testament to the work Albatron has put into this board.

[H]ardOCP have a new article out entitled Overclocking the Prescott 2.4A! So what's so special about this cpu, well it's called a Prescott Pentium with a 533MHz Quad Pumped FSB and no HyperThreading! Here's a snip.

One very important issue that can be confusing needs to be mentioned here. The Prescott 2.4A is not the same as the previous ?2.4A? Northwood CPU that is still for sale in retail channels. Should you decide to buy a 2.4A and want the same spec CPU that is used for this article, you will want to purchase a CPU that is the SL7E8 specification. As of writing this, the SL7E8 is the only Prescott core 2.4A available.

AMDZone have thrown up their review of AMD's Athlon 64 2800+! Here's a snip.

If you thought AMD was finished with lower rated Athlon 64's you were wrong. They have now released a 2800+ model running at 1.8GHz with 512KB of L2 cache costing in the $170s. Despite this release the Athlon 64 3000+ remains near the $200 mark. With the recent FX53 release their desktop Athlon 64 line runs from 1.8 to 2.4GHz which is enough of a spread to field a pretty impressive mid range to high end desktop line. We have an OEM version of the 2800+ in our labs for testing, and what follows is a comparison of it to the entire Athlon 64 line, and to the 3.2GHz P4 Northwood. In future articles we will look at overclocking, and compare to Prescott.

SilverStone is known to many people in the HTPC market as a producer of affordable HTPC cases who listen to the public and try their best to give us what we want. After the LC03 had made its ways around the various review sites and received some constructive criticism, SilverStone set out to make a good case, great. What they ended up with just happens to be exactly what the doctor ordered. In an HTPCNews Exclusive, I present you with the SilverStone LC03-VFD .

Today TweakTown are comparing Athlon XP HSFs in a Mini-Roundup from Scythe with their Arctic Cooling 2L, Vantec with their AeroFlow 2 and Thermaltake with their POLO 735.

PC lights are a delight to have in a PC. Modding being the latest trend among computer users, lights add a great deal to the overall decor of the case. There are variety of lighting products available in the market for PC use. They range from $2.99 lighted fan grills to the most expensive lights that can cost up to $29.99. Sunbeam is not new to the modding community.

Just got word from our bro's over at Driver Heaven that their Prometeia Mach II review is out! and version 3.0 of Driver Cleaner has also been released.

The Mach II unit is an impressive sight to behold and is styled to match the Lian Li PC60 case which sits atop it - basically the lower refrigeration unit is attached with a hole cut through to allow the evaporator to cool your CPU. You can of course find other cases to mod but I was supplied by Extreme Prometeia a full setup, ready to build. According to the Nventiv site, assembling the Prometeia is as easy as ?fitting a heatsink?, while I didn?t run into any major problems myself I would class myself as a fairly experienced builder and I can see several areas which would prove very daunting to a beginner level builder.

CDRLabs have thrown up their review of Lite-On's first stand alone DVD recorder the LVW-5005!

Today, we bring you a review of the LVW-5001's big brother, the LVW-5005. This new DVD recorder has all of the features found on the LVW-5001 and then some. Featuring Lite-On's new All Write technology, the LVW-5005 can write to both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW media and is the first stand alone DVD writer with the ability to record audio and video directly to CD. This new DVD recorder also includes things like a built in TV tuner, progressive scan output, and a front mounted DV Link input connection. Of course, this is only a taste of what the LVW-5005 has to offer.

What thermal compound do You use? I guess the best in the market, but which is the best? We take for closer look, nine popular compounds based on silver, copper and silicon. In alphabetical order, there are:

TheCrucible takes a look at Thermaltake's newest heatsink the Polo 735. This is the first in the new Combo Cool line. These heat sinks come with the ability to mount on AthlonXP Athlon64/FX and Pentium4 systems. The performance is pretty good too. TheCrucible compares it to an SLK900U and MCX462-V.

Overclockers club have thrown up their review of Aerocool's HT-101 Heatsink! Here's a snip.

Aerocool is rapidly making a name for itself in the performance air cooling market. They have been very successful in the past with their use of super conductor tubes (Heatpipes). Back in January I looked at the Deep Impact DP-102 and today we will be looking at another unique super conductor tube based heatsink the High Tower HT-101. Can Aerocool repeat the success they had with the DP-102? Read on to find out!