Entry level Crossfire board scrutinised

TAI CHI is the name of a Chinese kind of yoga which is popular with grey haired people around the world. But this Tai-Chi system case from Thermaltake. It is an ATX 20Kg casing with 2-mm aluminium panels and two huge handles. The photo of the casing actually ressembles a huge heatsink fan. It has a water cooling kit build in and a whole lot of accessories. Quite a lot of photos out there; the price of the taichi is quite high but then, it is probably one of the better casing systems out there, when compared to the Typhoon.

Another nifty article from Phoronix and Michael Larabel. Asrock has released the XFire-eSATA2 and it is reviewed there. The board is a LGA775 mobo and will support future CPU like Cedar Mill. It is based on the 945PL intel chipset and has six slots, including a AGI express Slot. Other features include Asrock's new Stepless Overclocking, 5.1 audio codec, LAN and four DDR2 memory slots. Now the board is eSATA compliant, which may explain the four SATA cables in there. Quite a few of you it appears are critical of Asrock's production quality. If you're interested though in the general performance of the platform and its Linux compatibility, well worth having a look. AMDZone tests the Kingwin AS-3000 water cooling kit. Never heard of the brand before. The kit being tested though seems to be fairly attractive with aluminium being used as primary buid material. The unit really looks cool and fits in two empty bays. You get a green LCD, a control knob and a fan with a blue LCD. Ideal for those looking to impress. Installation is more than easy and this goes for the price as well. AMDzone did explore the overclocking capabilities of the kit and overclocked a 130nm FX55 to 3.2GHz, quite a feat indeed.

Doomed PC tested the Genius Ergo 525 Laser mouse - our's coming soon. It is a cheap laser equipped gaming mouse with a 6MP sensor and seven buttons including one which allows you to change the sensitivity on the fly. Nice but not enough though. Still, you couldn't go that much worse with it. I've got it right on my desk and will report to you soon about it.

Squeezebox is not the name of the latest stress relieving device on sale in pharmacies. It is actually a media player. Equipped with a wireless connection to your network, it allows access to any music files from any room inside your house. It is a slim box with a fluorescent displau and integrated CPU and memory. Just like a small computer indeed with a passive heatsink. Its main advantage is its wide range of audio format supported - with the native exception of iTunes. Worthwhile if you are a techno/audiophile.

Gateway is having a big comeback after the purchase of emachines. They have released the FPD2185 21-inch monitor which is one of the sleekiest and most impressive entry level LCD TV around. It is pivotable and offers a superb neo-widescreen format. The bezels are thinner than on most screens that size and there's that technology from Faroudia, the DCDi which makes it even more desirable. That said, its one year warranty could be better and there's not cable. µ