Mac Mini PC counterpart reviewed

OC WORKBENCH has some more information about the launch of the ULI M1697 K8 chipset which promises to be an even better performer than the already exceptional 1695. Asrock, Abit, Epox and Jetway have got their board ready. Go over there to find non Nvidia boards running SLI x16 being displayed using two chipsets as well as eSata examples. Ocworkbench also has two more articles covering features and performance of the board. Go by my words and earmark the Asrock 939GLAN-SATA2 for being a straight away winner.

More PSU review, this time at Madshrimps.com. The one they review comes from the little-known Skyhawk/Eagle Technologies. The PSU called the GM670SC Power one will theoretically offer Peak Power between 640w and 730w. With its brushed metal powder coat, it wins some points for its finish. Madshrimps have also found a surprising use for the Audio Standby feature offered by the PSU.

The OCZ EL DDR PC3200 Gold GX XTC 2GB Memory modules are reviewed at 3DXtreme.net. You will very rarely find anything less than 2GB being reviewed nowadays as if lesser capacity kits have disappeared from the surface of the earth. These memory modules feature new XTC - Xtreme Thermal Convection - heatspreaders. Performancewise, they are up there with the better memory modules and won't cost you the earth.

AMDzone reviews the Thermalrock Eclipse Tower casing. Thermalrock, like Asrock, is a spin off brand from a well known one. In Thermalrock's case, that of cooler specialist Thermaltake. The Eclpse is made up of aluminium and therefore not only weighs quite a bit less than its competitors but scores points for aesthetics.

Akibahira news tests the brand new Fujitsu T70M super sub-laptop which packs more punch than the previous generation. It comes without the CF flash of its predeecssor but includes a more powerful processor, a huge 2.5-inch HDD, 512MB memory, still loads of slots and some tricks that makes it worthy of consideration and a potent competitor to the likes of the Libretto or Panasonic's micronotes.

Page 52 of the February 2006 edition of PC Pro contains an exclusive review of the Evesham Mini PC, whose format is reminescent of the the Mac Mini. It is powered by a Pentium M 2GHz, 512MB memory and a 80GB HDD. No separate graphics card but you do get a DVD writer and GbE as well as goodies such like DVI ports and Svideo. The price is pretty affordable but overall, it still lacks the appeal and the finish of the Mac mini. µ