Quadro FX 4500 SLI breaks SPEC records

OUR MATE Brian, from 3Dprofessor, sent us that preview of the Quadro FX 4500 in single and SLI mode. Brian is ecstatic, to say the least, about that product. More pictures are available on request. Anyway, in a nutshell, the workstation he built shattered quite a few records in specview perf. A full review will follow. Be aware though that the benchmarks are a little tricky.

Biostar walks on the steps of Shuttle with that iDEQ 350G SFF computer. That SFF is dual core compatible. It comes with a new version of Realtek's audio module, onboard video as well as a few IO ports. Note though that it has only one PCIe and one PCI slot for expansion. Apart from that, the inside of the beast is better than what was expected. Not spectacular but nonetheless a worthy product.

OCPrices puts six http://www.ocprices.com/index.php?rev_id=270SLI AMD nForce Motherboards to the test in one of those memorable roundups. Abit, Asus, DFI, Gigabyte, MSI and WInfast/Foxconn are represented. That segment - enthusiast - has matured and prices are bound to stagnate while new entry level SLI motherboards will remove the barrier to entry. The winner is clearly the DFI but at a price, 70% more expensive than the cheapest one.

Epox was not included in the above roundup but OCworkbench tests the EP-8NPA motherboard which is a socket 754 model. Even if it sounds "entry level", that model offers all the sweeteners that you may find on the more expensive models from Epox. Six expansion slots are present with ten USB connectors. The system is compared to a host of other chipsets - no ULI in sight. Your only solution is you have a socket 754 processor.

VR-zone tests one entry level server motherboard from Asus, the P5MT - which shares the same name with one old Asus Pentium 1 motherboard. Compatible with Intel's dual core processors, the chipset used in this case is the E7230. Two PCIe GbE LAN connectors make it perfect as a information hub. Again no extraordinary product and you might end up paying for something that you don't need.

Motherboards.org does not only review motherboards. This time around, the site has a look at the ATI All in Wonder X800XL PCIe Video card - probably one of the most all rounder video cards around. It is not as expensive as a 7800GTX but it does manage to stick with the likes of the 6800GT and the X800XT. And that solution is more elegant than buying two separate cards, you will reckon. µ