Asustek K8V-X

Advantages VERY stable, good price for performance
Disadvantages Now slightly outdated 754 socket, no PCI-Express

...at a low temperature of 28C, with the othercomponents not that hotter, I thought that it could take some more thrashing! I was pleased to see full support for overclocking (1MHz FSB increments), and it handled it very well - I managed to overclock my Althon 64bit 3000+ quite nicely. Overall this board it highly recommended for a total novice or an experienced builder. It sets the CPU up automatically, has SATA support and has some nice features such as ASUS MyLogo and Instant Music - plus its and ASUS, and you cant really go wrong with them!... Read review

Advantages Fast, Overclockable, Dual-Channel, high compatibility
Disadvantages None

...I bought a 2x 512MB matched pair of these last year at twice today's price. This 400Mhz, low-latency RAM is perfect for gaming, overclocking, and intensive applications. It has an aluminium cooling heatsink on each stick, which keeps it very cool (I have my sticks overclocked to 420Mhz (860Mhz dual-channel) and they run at a very nice 30C under load. The sticks are ideal for dual-channel enabled motherboards to get some of the highest ram speeds available. The stock timings are 2-2-3-5. For AMD dual-channel, it is recommended to adjust these to 2-2-3-10. For Intel, leave as-is. Compatibility is excellent: I have had these in an ASUS A7n8x Deluxe, and an ASUS K8V, with no problems at all. Read your mobo manufacturer''s recommended ram list prior to buying though. (ONLY ADJUST SPEEDS AND TIMINGS IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU... Read review

Advantages Very fast good 3d playes all games
Disadvantages Not the fastest

...I Purchased the Sapphire Radeon 9600 Atlantis 256ddr video card on 31/03/2004 I think that with this card you get a lot of power for your money, it can cope with everything I have chucked at it with ease. I think it could do with better cooling on the board but as long as you have goo case cooling fans you will have no problems (its good to always have good case cooling anyway). I wouldn't say it was the quickest card I have used but I think it will be quick enough for most people. I use the video card on a asus K8v motherboard and a AMD 64 3200+ processor running Direct X 9b (the latest direct X on 18th April 2004) I recomment downloading the latest drivers from the web for the video card and keep your direct x upto date. I hope this helps... Read review