Belkin
FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 PCI Express Card: $159
www.belkin.com

Even the most mainstream motherboards are including PCI Express connectivity these days, and, slowly but surely, the corresponding add-in cards are starting to emerge. Belkin’s F5U602q FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 upgrade card does a great job of underscoring the performance benefits of PCI Express.

And it’s not just technology for technology’s sake, either. FireWire 800 is theoretically capable of transferring 100 MBps, nearly saturating the aging PCI bus on its own. A PCI Express x1 slot accommodates up to 500 MBps of concurrent bandwidth. The potential gains are very real when you’re transferring information from a DV camera or performing a backup with an external hard drive, such as Maxtor’s OneTouch II FireWire 800 Edition. USB 2.0 connectivity is an added bonus.

Though somewhat pricey at $160, Belkin’s F5U602q offers an ideal upgrade path for any motherboard servicing high-bandwidth peripherals. It leverages two external FireWire 800 ports and one internal port. The same number of USB 2.0 ports complements your platform of choice.

If you’re tasked with upgrading an older PCI-only system, Belkin does sell a FireWire 800 PCI board for $80. It’s not going to give you the same level of performance, but the difference isn’t going to be significant.

Seagate
Barracuda 7200.9 500GB Hard Drive: $375
www.seagate.com

The SATA specification has been maturing for a couple of years, incorporating new features and performance attributes. We’re now at a point where most motherboard chipsets support the full range of core and optional components, and those that don’t are positioned primarily toward mainstream configurations. Corresponding hard drives have been slower to materialize. Some of the most recent models feature 3 Gbps signaling. Others incorporate NCQ (Native Command Queuing). And a few boast 16MB of data cache. But the spec sheet knight-in-shining-armor with all of the sexy extras had previously eluded us.

Seagate’s new Barracuda 7200.9 is the first SATA product family to really knock our socks off. Performance is almost guaranteed by a 3 Gbps interface and NCQ support. Data buffers weigh in at up to 16MB, depending on the model you choose. Meanwhile, dense 125GB platters subtly improve transfer performance.

On the capacity side, Seagate is selling the Barracuda 7200.9 in sizes ranging from 40GB to 500GB with seven intermediate steps in between. It also comes in an ATA-100 package for those upgrading legacy parallel platforms. That means you can familiarize yourself with one product line, which incidentally offers the best of SATA, and sell to almost any customer.

Seagate’s other advantages persist here. First, there’s the five-year warranty—unprecedented in the industry. Then you have acoustics. Seagate continues its reign with one of the quietest offerings around. Finally, you can count on the Barracuda 7200.9 in higher-end environments where its hot-plug, staggered spin-up, ClickConnect compatibility, and LED capability are more likely to impress SMB customers.

INTEL
D101GGC Motherboard: $70
www.intel.com

Intel has never been a company to rely on others for platform support. When it wants to push a mobile initiative such as Centrino, it manufactures the processor, chipset, and wireless module to make it happen. Consequently, Intel has a solid reputation for delivering glitch-free operation, which is especially critical in the workplace.

It speaks volumes to ATI’s progress as a chipset manufacturer then that Intel is now offering a branded mainstream motherboard sporting its Radeon Xpress 200 chipset. The D101GGC fits in a microATX form factor and still manages to offer a lot of modern technology. It supports single-core Pentium 4 processors, a pair of DDR memory modules at speeds of up to 400 MHz, high-def audio, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, PCI Express expandability, and SATA hard drives.

Although it won’t be your top performance choice, the D101GGC should be on your short list when pricing out affordable business workstations. There are a couple of angles to explore here. First, compare the nimble Radeon Xpress 200 IGP to Intel’s integrated Extreme Graphics core. ATI’s offering is faster, hands down. Moreover, it’s ready for Microsoft’s upcoming Vista operating system—a qualification that your customers can appreciate if they’re looking to maintain equipment three or four years.

Then there’s the value in selling Intel, a company sensitive to reseller needs. You get a three-year manufacturer warranty and an opportunity to pre-install eight different software titles your customer might find useful, including Norton Internet Security and Musicmatch Jukebox. Think about the $70 asking price, as well. Compared to pricier Intel 915- and 945-based value boards, most of which cost twice as much, this D101GGC is a no-brainer. The one catch: You don’t get dual-core processing support. Intel genuinely wants to keep the D101GGC in mainstream builds with attractive prices.

Altec Lansing
inMotion Portable Audio System: $99
www.alteclansing.com

Portable Media Players or PMPs, are super hot right now. They’re mostly intended for private use, though. In other words, you might sell an MP3 player with headphones or a portable DVD player with tiny built-in speakers. But what if your customer wants to share an audio book with a roomful of associates or watch a movie with some friends? Altec Lansing’s inMotion 4 Portable Audio System conveniently attaches media devices with an 1/8” mini-plug output. Anything with a headphone jack should do the trick. And dual inputs mean you can actually connect a pair of devices at the same time. The unit is powered by four AA batteries and delivers up to 18 hours of playback per charge.

Altec Lansing bundles a universal power adapter and a rubberized base. The audio cable is retractable for simple storage. Plus the system collapses down, making it easy to carry around in a laptop bag. And at just 28 ounces, the weight’s not bad, either.

At two watts per channel, don’t expect staggering sound levels. You can count on respectable frequency response, though, from 60 Hz to 20 kHz. Sleek design, admirable performance, and a modest price should be enough to earn consideration from anyone buying a portable media player without thinking about speakers.