IOGEAR
Germ Free Wireless Laser Mouse: $39
www.labtec.com

WE SHOULDN'T LAUGH. Several of us at RAM have wives hopelessly addicted to antibiotic soaps, Airborne pills, Febreeze mists, and all manner of allegedly pathogen-blocking, hygienic consumables. So whether or not we place much credence in the ability of the “Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and Silver (Ag) nano-particle compound...to deactivate enzymes and proteins to prevent a wide spectrum of bacteria, fungi, and algae from surviving on the surface of the mouse," the appeal of this product to health-conscious computer users should be immediate. We can't recall ever seeing algae on a mouse, but hey—it could happen. Underwater. Maybe.

Besides, for $40, this is still an attractive, comfortable, high-precision wireless mouse. Thanks to a laser mechanism rather than infrared, the Germ Free has 1600 dpi resolution. IOGEAR claims this will “substantially reduce the amount of injury-producing hand and arm movement." We wouldn't bet money on this assertion, but the symmetrical mouse does come with a fold-up USB dongle, has a six-foot reception range, and even features an on/off switch for preserving battery power. Maybe IOGEAR went a little hog wild on marketing this unit, but it's still an intriguing concept backed by a high-quality peripheral sure to appeal to a certain segment of your customers.

Shuttle
SS21T: $149.99
global.shuttle.com

NOBODY DOES SMALL FORM FACTOR BETTER THAN SHUTTLE, and the company's XPC line has long been a showcase for the latest in AMD processor technologies. Now, AMD's AM2 platform thinks small and sexy with Shuttle's nanoBTX-based SS21T. Two 5.25" optical drive bays sit atop a stealthed 3.5" bay pre-stuffed with a flash card reader. This in turn sits over a reflective panel that tops another stealth panel hiding the twin USB and audio ports. The whole box is only one foot tall and deep and seven inches wide.

If you haven't played with Shuttle boxes in a while, you'll find the T series something of a departure from XPCs of old. There is now a conventional CPU heatsink backed by smart fan management in the BIOS and Shuttle's XPC Tools software. The power supply is a 250W nanoBTX-compatible design, upgradeable to 700W. Not that anyone is likely to need 700W for a system with one CPU socket, one PCI slot, one x16 PCIe slot, two optical drive bays, and only one internal hard drive bay. Backing the CPU are the SiS 761GX northbridge (sporting SiS' Mirage 1 integrated graphics) and SiS 966L southbridge along with Broadcom Fast Ethernet and Realtek's 5.1, AC'97-based ALC655 audio.

Clearly, this isn't a LAN party machine. Rather, the SS21T (and its Intel counterpart, the SS31T) aim to deliver a smaller, slicker alternative to conventional productivity desktops, and for this Shuttle has done a bang up job.

Intel
DG965WH: $149
www.intel.com

WITH WINDOWS VISTA FINALLY HERE, ONE QUESTION YOU have to answer is which components you'll select to be the main choices for your Vista systems. For the mainstream, you want something powerful, dependable, and price-conscious—not always an easy blend to achieve. However, we think Intel's DG965WH fits the bill perfectly. Ignore what you may have seen in prior months about Intel's integrated graphics not being able to handle Vista's Aero interface. We've done the testing ourselves and seen first-hand that with current drivers installed, the X3000 graphics core in the G965 chipset displays Aero beautifully and with nary a frame rate hiccup, even with all of the effects turned on and half a dozen apps open.

With the X3000 comes Intel's Clear Video Technology for optimizing Windows Media and MPEG video, including DVD playback. Ideal for Core 2 Duo-based configurations, this Viiv-compliant board also boasts 1394a support, Gigabit Ethernet, and 7.1 HD Audio backed by Dolby Home Theater certification. The ATX form factor gives plenty of expansion room via one PCI Express x16 graphics slot, three x1 slots, and another three PCI slots. Six SATA connectors allow for plenty of Matrix Storage RAID options, the northbridge is passively cooled for lower noise, and Intel stands behind the DG965WH, as with nearly all of its boards, with a three-year warranty, impressive software bundle, and outstanding support.

This flagship of Intel's motherboard Media Series won't be your cheapest option for Vista systems, but we suspect that in terms of overall value per dollar, it will be one of the best options you find.

Koolance
PC3-724: $549
www.koolance.com

THE PC3-724, AVAILABLE IN black or silver, is an ATX form factor, 10-bay tower weighing in at 22 pounds. Why so heavy for an aluminum case? Because Koolance integrates a 700W power supply, dual 120mm fans (one front, one back for airflow balancing), and a pre-installed liquid cooling system with top-mounted radiator and control unit. If you've done much with liquid cooling, you know that the benefits for noise and thermals are tremendous, but the setup is a time-intensive drag. Here, you still have to use the bundled 1/4" and 3/8" tubing along with optional cooling blocks for CPU, hard drive, and video/motherboard. (No blocks come included with the PC3-724.) But with the radiator and pump assembly pre-installed, at least half of the work is already done before you even touch the screws.

Of course, Koolance does a lot more to make this a drool-worthy chassis. Part of the point in doing water cooling is to show it off, so the PC3-724 has a clear side window and blue LED lighting for the reservoir. The radiator fans can either alter speed automatically or be manually set to any of 10 speeds for better balancing of noise and performance. Hard drives all mount on sliding trays, the attractive beast slides easily on aluminum casters, and judicious case perforations and internal thermal zone isolation further help keep temperatures at their lowest.