HW Roundup Soltek's talking mobo

OCWorkbench has had fun checking out the Soltek SL65JVB-X talking mobo based on the VIA 694X chipset. Though having a board chatting to you is fun the reviewer thought 'it is not as good as D-LEDs as D-LEDs can show 16 error possibilities whereas the Voice Diagnostic can only indicate 5 common errors in 4 spoken languages.' OCWorkbench thinks it would be perfect if 'Soltek had chosen to pair up all the 1Mhz stepping, diagnostic voice with a BX or i815e chipset.'

Windows ME has also had the once over from OC Workbench. It posted this on 27 August but because of the UK bank holiday we've not pointed it out until now. The view is that the drivers compatibility problems are no big deal so 'use it first and wait for newer updates from the chipset makers.'

One2Surf has had a good shufty at AMD's 1.1GHz T'bird. It's been doing a comparison with the 1GHz chip based on the performance you get for your money. It likes the T'birds and concludes

.

Jsi Hardware has been

about the Golden Orb Heatsink/fan. Its view is 'if you're in the market for a better cooler for your celeron or cumine, then buy this one!'

And it wouldn't be a round-up without a Asus A7V review. This time

have done the business. The verdict is that though you can't really go wrong buying this board, 'buy the Abit instead! All models of that board have multiplier control and its a LOT easier to use.' ®

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