Your always willing hardware buys o'the'day

IF YOU know of any good value IT sales (auctions, rebates, one-off, clearance, surplus, classified ads) going around in the United Kingdom, France, USA or Singapore, don't hesitate to contact me, at least 24 hours before the sales end.

Singapore
Cybermind comes forward again with the best value for money gamers computer so far - even if the price does not include an OS license. The 4.5Kg G900 is all that you can dream of. That Pesonal Entertainment Computer is build by none other than ECS. It features a P4 3.0Ghz processor - supporting 800MHZ FSB and HT - with a single 512MB PC3200 SODIMM module, leaving one empty slot should you want to upgrade.

The hard disk is small by desktop's standard at 40GB and its 5400rpm spin speed will get you asking for more. But what will literally get head turning is the ATI Mobility M11 Radeon 9700 with its dedicated 128MB memory as well as athat sublime 17-inch WXGA widescreen LCD; both of which provide with happiest combination you might have looked for. Other features are nothing short of being stunning.

First the chipset used is a SIS648FX, the higher end of the P4 range at SIS with excellent performance across the spectrum. You also get a Dual Format DVD Writer and a 6-in-1 card reader but unsurprisingly no floppy disk drive. The G900 also include a Mini PCI card TV tuner with Coaxial connector and it supports PAL, NTSC and SECAM and comes with a fully fledged remote control to enjoy TV programmes. Of course, you can use it to record your favourite films using its PVR functions courtesy of ECS proprietary software package.

The laptop also omes with an Audio DJ function though I doubt it will prove to be a popular one - even then, it comes with a built in 5.1 speaker system as well as 5.1 channel plus SPDIF support though a AC97 sound module. Unlike some Desktop Replacement laptops, this one come with a battery pack - a 12 cell one which gets recharged in four hours and has a battery life of three depending of course on usage. Communication wise, the G900 is well fed with Gigabit Ethernet onboard, a 802.11g compatible Mini PCI WLAN card and a fax modem onboard. Last but not least, you get a Firewire and four USB2.0 ports.

The only thing that might be missing is the bezel-integrated webcam that some are shipping. At A HREF="http://www.cybermind.com.sg/pricelist/notebook.gif" target="_blank">S$2999 here, it is cheaper and more powerful than similar laptops.

UK
I desperately need a helping hand here. I have never heard of an ATI Radeon 9500 All in Wonder card but Retekdirect say that the card which is on sale A HREF="http://www.retekdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Video_Cards.html" target="_blank">here is one of these cards. ATI's website as well as various searches on google have yielded nothing. Anyway £59+VAT is not a huge sum to pay for an All in Wonder Pro card especially if it is powered by a Radeon 9500. It has a four pixel pipeline architecture and 128-bit 128MB DDR memory. The core supports DirectX 9.0 as well as SMARTSHADER 2.0, SMOOTHVISION 2.0, FULLSTREAM and VIDEOSHADER. The card is a pulled one and comes naked without any cables, breakout box or software but with a 30-day warranty. If the photo they present on their website is right, it seems that the card is manufactured by ATI itself, the HSF on the GPU bears the ATI logo and does cover memory modules. There is one DVI connector as well a one S-Video and one coaxial connection. Obviously you do get a TV Tuner and performance is still sufficient enough to fight off most pretenders to the throne of Midrange champion. For example, the 9500 performs better than a FX5600 Ultra or the 9600 that replaced it. Buy it while you can.

USA
This is almost definitely a typo..but thanks to Shuo Pan for this A HREF="http://www.a2zcomp.com/buy.asp?REF=12&SKU=EVFX6800U" target="_blank">link. A2Zcomp is selling a Geforce 6800 Ultra for $5. The eVGA e-Geforce 6800 Ultra actually sells for over $500 in other shops. Even then it is the cheapest 6800 Ultra in the A HREF="http://www.buyxg.com/store/item.asp?id=747&catID=131" target="_blank">US at $505 at Extreme Gear.

The EVGA card features a Geforce 6800 Ultra with 256MB 256bit DDR3 memory with Dual DVI and S-Video. The DDR3 memory used is is clocked at 550MHz but it can theoretically be clocked up to 616MHz - 1.6ns memory while the core runs at 400MHz. Like all 6800 Ultra cards, this one is massive, requiring one free PCI slot to accommodate the backplate - reminescent of mammoths like some 3DLabs or E&S cards. The card includes the usual DVI-Dsub converters, two in this case, cables, manuals, drivers and surprise, surprise, Farcry.

Interestingly enough, and to EVGA's credit is the Step-Up program. In a nutshell, it allows you to upgrade within 90 days of purchase, your EVGA graphic card for something better or different, for pratically free, provided that you return back your card with all the accessories in its original state. Very useful if you'd like to upgrade to PCI Expres for example. The card is covered with an oversized HSF covering bot the GPU and the memory. Performance is outstanding as one might have expected from such a card. The sweet spot found by neoseeker was 465MHz/1.22GHz, not far from the theoretical limit.

The card might not have any bling-bling features as many of it scompetitors but it sure does provide with a very impressive solution to your DOOM III headaches. So impressive that Maximum PC gave it its Kick Ass stamp of approval for becoming the fastest card they ever tested. µ