Manufacturer: AOpen Tech: 440BX Motherboard with plenty of funky features Price: $140

Several mainboards based on Intel's 440BX chipset have been on the market since April of this year, yet very few have distinguished themselves.

Sharky Extreme reviewed the Abit BH6 440BX mainboard earlier this year and found it to be an exceptional product from every angle. Similarly, products we've tested from ASUS have rarely disappointed and are always at the top of our "favorites" list for mainboards.

One company whose products haven't had many opportunities to have been reviewed by Sharky Extreme is Aopen, a Taiwan based manufacturer specializing in mainboards, video cards, and other miscellaneous hardware. When Aopen contacted us about reviewing their mainstream entry into the crowded "BX" mainboard market we decided to accept and put their popular AX6BC product through the paces.

Here's a little more background on AOpen:

AOpen manufactures computer components as part of the successful $7 billion Acer group. This group has more than 22 years of experience in the PC industry and over 700 patents in PC technology.

From bare systems, motherboards, CD-ROM/CD-RW/DVD drives, and monitors to multimedia, add-on cards, and communication solutions, AOpen products offer the ultimate in performance and compatibility, unmatched by any other PC manufacturer in the world.