Today's cheapo hardware buys

UK
Employeesales.co.uk might not sound too much of an IT company but behind this name is an outstanding Fujitsu Siemens UK reseller, at least as far as prices are concerned. For example, it has an Intel P4 3GHz with a 865PE motherboard - no VIA or ALI, 512MB PC333 memory, a 80GB hard disk, an ATI Radeon 9200SE with 128MB and TVOut, a 16x DVD Drive, a DVD Writer, integrated sound, modem and network card.

Also in the bundle are Two desktop speakers, four USB 2.0 ports, firewire ports, keyboard and mouse and Windows XP Home Operating System. The Cordant M as it is known is basically an office PC housed in a grey tower. You will easily forgive its looks when you know its price - £297+VAT and the fact that there is a six month onsite warranty.

It is a very good buy especially when you factor in the AGP port, the DVD writer, the amount of memory provided and the Intel 3GHz processor. Unfortunately, I haven't found more information around the internet concerning this seemingly exceptional machine. Only the graphic card might give you some problem and upgrading it will not leave a whole in your pocket. A similar system from another well-known refurbisher costs more than £100 more with a slower processor. µ

France
It may be an old model but the Toshiba 3110CT sub laptop on sale on ebay.fr is a worthy replacement for anyone's Libretto. Specswise, it is long dated but can still run Windows 98 and Office 2000 pretty well.

It has a Pentium II 300MHz CPU with 64MB memory and a 6.4GB hard disk. A CD Drive and a floppy disk can be used as secondary storage. The Screen is a diminutive 10.4" TFT and is most at ease with a normal SVGA resolution even though paning can be enabled.

It has PCMCIA, modem, USB and several other ports available even without any docking station. The seller is also providing with a car charger and with two Li-Ion cells. With five days left, bids are only at 221 Euros, slightly more than £100+VAT but is bound to increase. For readers information, this laptop has a footprint smaller than an A4 and weighs only 1.3Kg. µ

Singapore
The fall of the 17" LCD monitor prices is looming. Benq Singapore is selling their FP731 LCD screens for S$599, less than £160+VAT. ON top of that, one of their Singapore resellers Bellsystems.com.sg is giving out a free M310 wireless optical mouse, itself worth around S$30. The same monitor costs a not-so-mouth watering £243.21 at ebuyer - all inclusive. The FP731 offers a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 and a true 17-inch screen size, equivalent to a 19" CRT monitor.

It has a 25ms response time, a pixel pitch of 0.264mm and a contrast ratio of 250:1. All these features place the FP731 well in the middle of the TFT pack.

Available in beige or black, it also features a Kensington lock, auto scaling, a DSub port as well as some more proprietary options. Designwise, the FP731 has rather wide bezels but easily available control buttons. Its stand supports easily especially as it houses the power supply. At 45w power consumption is a third of a similar sized CRT monitor and at 4Kg, its weight is only a fraction of a 19" traditional monitor. The M310 is a wireless opticak mouse perfect for notebook. It featuers a wireless receiver which can be stored literally in the mouse, automatic power on/off and a 800dpi sensor. The travel mouse pouch is also included. µ

USA
Amazon is selling a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS platinum sound card for only $128.99 after rebate, which translates to less than £65+VAT, not much less than Ebuyer. The Audigy ZS is the pinnacle of Sound Blaster's family. It deatures 24-bit multi channel playback, 100dB SNR, support for Dolby digital 5.1 and DTS as well as firewire connections. Together with Playcenter 3 software and low latency ASIO driver support.

The Audigy 2ZS is perfect for anyone looking to explore the realms of professional audio. The card features loads of onboard and external connectors and is on a par with Intel's eight channel audio. Another jewel in the crown is the THX certification it has received, perfect for precise speaker calibration. "The ZS has become the non-professional sound card that offers the best audio quality on the market" according to tomshardware while ebuyers reviewer mentions the fact that it supports EAX4.0, which might interest gamers. µ