Monday News

Today, we'll be looking at the Abit AT7-MAX2 Socket A motherboard which uses the VIA KT400 chipset. When Abit launched their MAX (first series) motherboard, they shocked everyone when they didn't included PS/2 ports! I don't think the computer industry was ready to give up their PS/2 ports, not yet anyway. Abit's whole idea about the MAX series motherboard was to get rid of older and outdated legacy ports like the PS/2 ports, Serial ports, Parallel port, and ect. They also gave the MAX series USB 2.0 thorought, along with on-board sound and LAN. Since then, Abit has came out with the MAX2 series motherboard and it includes some new technologies such as the Serial ATA (SATA 150). Abit has also brought back the PS/2 ports! I think that was a very good call on their part, and they should do much better with the MAX2 series motherboards because of that. How does the AT7-MAX2 stack up? Read on and found out!

Out of the box, the BeanTech BT-80 Clear Acrylic Computer Case is very well constructed and the amount of engineering effort to put this product together is phenomenal. The case measures approximately 490mm (W) x 205mm (H) x 450mm (L) and supports all Flex, Micro, Full ATX motherboards. A series of counter sunk screws secure all the panels together with the top portion of the case supported by two horizontal acrylic rods. The front bezel is very stylish and well laid out accommodating all the necessary features found on standard steel or aluminium based ATX cases

The large amount of expansion room will ensure that this case will last you many years of good service. I am also surprised at how quiet this case actually is. Wahoo's foresight to use Panaflo fans, which move plenty of air, while remaining nearly silent, was another testament to their attention to detail.

To wrap things up, the Aopen MK77M-V is a beautiful, small board that packs a big wallop. Its attractive colors will make it a favorite with case modders that love to show their systems off. Its value price makes it affordable for those of us on a strict budget. Even the enthusiast can still have some fun tweaking this board in search of the best achievable overclock.

Age of Mythology is the latest "Age of ..." RTS game from Ensemble Studios. One of the big things that separates Age of Mythology from the rest of the RTS games is inclusion of a new resource Favour..