Cheap cards, mice and motherboards cheep

France
The ECS K7S7AG - also known as the PC Chips M847LU - is a peculiar motherboard, probably unique. It is the only motherboard that comes with an integrated Xabre graphic module. E-Soph is selling it for Eur 49, which translates into £27+VAT, not bad for an integrated motherboard with enough firewire to challenge the more expensive nForce2.

The K7S7AG features a rare SIS746 chipset, kinda born-too-soon. Should have support DDR400 but since it came too soon, it can only do so through overclocking. Two DIMM slots are provided to do so. You can also add three PCI cards plus one CNR but no AGP cards which is a shame.

Apart from that, there is six USB 2.0 ports and the usual Ethernet connection and Cmedia six channel sound chip. As for the part interesting us, the Xabre 200 graphic chipset is not integrated as a function of the chipset but interestingly on its own, on a surface of the PCB.

It even comes with its dedicated 64MB 400MHz DDR memory, something that should be strongly underlined. The Xabre 200 therefore goes head to head with the nForce 2 which it surpasses on paper and in real life. The nForce 2 is based on the Geforce 4 MX440 which supports only DirectX 7 while the Xabre has Direct X8.1 support.

Also, ECS has provided interesting software like PC Cilin, WinDVD 4, Smart Overclocking Utility which can be used to overclock the onboard graphics as well as a 3DNA desktop software. Speaking of overclocking, the board provides with some basic oc features like 1MHz FSB stepping and jumperless setting.

Bear in mind finally that the K7S7AG is compatible with the AMD XP Athlon 3200+ which demands a 400MHz FSB. Techwarelabs says of the M847LU, a clone, that it is an "awe-inspiring motherboard" and that it makes "an attractive integrated motherboard solution definitely worth considering for its great performance, loaded features, and exceptional value, all bundled into one sweet motherboard".

Want to improve on the design to compete even better? Use the new Volari V3 graphic which supports DirectX9, bring in the SIS748 or the SIS755 for the Athlon 64, add an AGP slot and one more PCI slot. µ

USA
We have two outstanding products from Tigerdirect. First, a free item. An IBM four button optical navigator mouse with an illuminated scroll wheel. Boxed and new, it will cost you $19.99. With a rebate that expires on the last day of this year, you can get that very good mouse for almost nothing.

Being an optical rodent, it will not need any cleaning or even any surface to move around. It connects to your PC via a PS2 or your USB port. Yes, it has four buttons, which includes the scroll wheel and a side button. The finish is like many IBM products, classy to say the least. With a blue-black colour scheme, it will appeal to many users. Finally, it is quite precise - should help in games, thanks to a 1500 frames per second resolution.

The second product also requires a rebate although it is not free. The PNY Verto Geforce 4 Ti4200 which costs only £59.99 after rebates. With 128MB DDR memory onboard running at and a substantial 8.8GB/sec bandwidth, almost equivalent to a Radeon 9800 with 256-bit memory and twice that of the 9800SE, it will be the perfect value partner for you gaming nights. With a 256-bit Graphic core, a 500MHz effective memory clock and two 350MHz RAMDAC, the Verto Ti4200 trounces the nearest competitor it has in this price sector, the Geforce 4 MX440.

In Call of Duty for example, the AGP8X-enabled card should be as fast as a G4MX440. The card comes nude with one impressive fan covering the GPU and two large RAM heatsinks which tells you that the Verto is destined to be overclocked to Ti4600 speeds. DVI, SVideo and DSub connectors are available. µ

UK
Who would have thought that the cheapest 6800 graphic card in UK would cost so little? The Geforce 6800LE is based on the Geforce 6800 chipset but has the price comparable to the XFX Geforce 5700 Ultra for example. £113+VAT is not exactly cheap, but when we are talking of the 6800LE, then it is something else. The next cheapest 6800 retails for a full 30% extra. Order247 has achieved this miracle of giving us a cheap 6800LE card, when will others follow?

Systemax/Simply Computers and Reserve Computers have them in stock but keep them only for the computers, not for end-users. Order247, a component branch of Carrera does not give much details of it and hopefully things will change. Details are obviously very scarce. It seems though that it is an OEM model and is readily available.

It does feature 128Mb DDR3 memory, but there is still some doubt over whether it will have a DVI and a S-Video on top of the DSub connectors. One more unknown is the core speed which should be 320MHz according to some online reviews. The number of pixel pipelines though is reduced from 16 on the GT and Ultra versions to eight. However, if you are lucky enough, the latest RivaTuner - RC2 15.1 - will allow you through the softmod NV40 to re-enable any unblocked pipelines. As usual, softmodding has its disadvantages if your pipelines are defective.

The 6800LE is at its worst on par with the last generation video cards. With any softmodding and through overclocking, it can achieve up to 400MHz/850MHz effectively making its way as a to topple the FX6800 and the X800Pro. The 6800LE is very much like the 5900XT but 50% faster. Coupled with some cheap but powerful components, it should help achieving Gaming Nirvana at never seen before prices. µ