Cheap Dolby 5.1 speakers, cheap DVD Writer, cheap everything

UK
A true Dolby Digital 5.1 compatible system available for only £29.99+VAT. That's what Morgancomputers Videologic Digitheatre LC system is all about. This six piece 5.1 surround system will astound you. Literally. It is composed of five satellite speakers with 60W RMS output. Equivalent to 1000W PMPO. The product carry a full one-year warranty. The Digitheatre LC was launched nearly four years ago, when six-channel sound cards were scarce - remember the SB Live 5.1? The system was sold at £249 four years ago. 3Dsoundsurge says that "the DigiTheatre system delivers a fantastic sound experience for DD 5.1 movies. So good that it will rival many more expensive home theater systems. The only real flaw is the lack of proper 4-speaker gaming mode and a minor flaw is the lack of a headphone jack (which is an all too common flaw)". Firingsquad gives it a 80% score and says that it truly excels and musical reproduction is rich and clear. µ

US
There is no much you can do to match the Yamakawa DVD writer price found at ecost for only $14 after rebate. Based on Pioneer technlogy, it is compatible with both DVD-R and DVD+R. The Yamakawa 8x8 Dual DVD Writer is Yamakawa's first 8x8 dual format writer, designed and produced in a technology partnership with Pioneer. The new DVR-Y08 is capable of writing at 8x speed on DVD-R discs whose standard is being ratified in the DVD Forum and +R discs that are designed for this recording speed. The new drive also records high-speed DVD-RW and +RW discs at up to 4x speed, and CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 24x speed.

Yamakawa engineers focused on improving the writing/recording quality and reliability for high-speed writing. New technology accommodates for variances in blank media. Some of the technological advancements include: The new-developed Liquid Crystal Control System for precise recording onto the surface of discs that may be warped or of uneven thickness. Smart Laser Driver to provide a precise laser pulse control and achieve more reliable recording for high-speed writing. Precision Recording Technology, which utilizes an auto-adjustable writing technique to enable recording under the best conditions for each disc characteristic at all times.

This technology enables the Yamakawa 8x8 Dual DVD Writer to achieve optimal initial writing performance and helps to minimize the normal deterioration of re-recordable discs due to repeated writing. As a result, the quality for repeatedly used DVD-RW discs is up to 10 times better than previous writers.

A Defect Management System that enhances the writing reliability further, while maintaining read compatibility with other DVD-ROM drives, DVD players and DVD recorders. An Ultra Dynamic Resonance Absorber that reduces vibrations that can affect performance during high-speed recording and playback of some discs. With this feature, the high precision servo system remains stable during both high-speed recording and playback. µ

France
If you want to give your brand new PCIe system a new graphics card but without taking a mortgage, then check this out. Yourland sells the Leadtek Winfast PX6000 TD for only Eur 157. It uses the latest PCI Express x16 to connect to your PC. The GPU is a Nvidia Geforce 6600TD. The core is clocked is 300Mhz while the DDR1 memory is clocked at 275MHz. The card bears some features that unfortunately positions it at the lower rung of the video card range. FOr example, it has a small heat sink fan and no heat sink for the memory. For the rest, it comes with the games Prince of Persian and Splinter Cell as well as DVI, TVO and Dsub connectors. Features that have been kept from the 6800 range includes Shader Model 3.0, Ultra Shadow II, CineFX as well as the 110nm process technology. As for performance, do not therefore expect miracles. The 6600 scores signigicantly less than the 5900XT. In fact at the level of the 5800. Ceteris Paribus, don't expect more than 5000 3dmarks compaerd to more than 12000 3dmarks for the X800. So don't throw your Ti4200 card just now. The 6600 will probably become one of the more popular PCI-e mid-range cards. µ

Singapore
Over at Cybermind, ECS is holding a sale. The A535 notebook which is probablyt the cheapest laptop in Singapore comes in at only S$1099, around £350+VAT. It has a mobile Athlon 2200+ processor with PowerNOW technology. Only 128MB memory accompany the laptop though and we can guess that part of it will go to the graphic module but you have a large 20GB hard disk to store your information. You also are provided with four USB2.0 ports as well as TVO and VGA. Surprisingly on this model, you will find a Gigabit ethernet LAN and a 56K modem. Other noteworthy specs include an eight-cell LiTion battery, a CDROM and a superb 14.1-inch XGA TFT LCD screen. Note that you won't get Windows OS or any floppy with that one.. µ