CyberPower
CP1500LCD UPS: $179
www.cyberpowersystems.com

When you think of battery backup, you probably don't visualize much style. Then again, most folks try to hide their power protection under desks or inside racks. CyberPower's CP1500LCD will likely be the first UPS at which your customers will want to look. Not only is it more attractive than any of the company's previous offerings, but it also boasts a blue backlit LCD that reports battery capacity, load capacity, and a handful of other status alerts.

And yet, form follows function. The CP1500LCD offers up to 170 minutes of power from eight outlets, one of which is spaced for larger transformers. Phone, fax, modem, and network interfaces are all protected with a connected equipment warranty up to $500,000. Bundled PowerPanel software monitors the unit's status in case your customer tucks the CP1500LCD under a desk (although it would certainly be a shame). Should the app detect a power outage and a depleted battery, it'll automatically save and close open files, then shut down the system as though an administrator were right there guiding the process.

CyberPower offers LED-equipped models, one at 1500VA and the other at 1285VA. The CP1500LCD is particularly attractive because it offers the highest possible run time available from a 15A electrical socket. Anything more and you're looking at an infrastructure upgrade for customers with small server racks.

Intel
Core 2 Extreme X6800: $999
www.intel.com

You've seen Core Duo for laptops. You've seen the Woodcrest-
based Xeon for servers and workstations. Finally, Intel is making its biggest move of 2006 by introducing the Core 2-series of desktop processors, which combine the Pentium D's rich feature set and Centrino-class power efficiency in one dual-core, high-performance package.

The Core 2 Extreme X6800 is king of the new product line, operating at 2.93 GHz on a 1,066 MHz front side bus. Don't let the lower clock frequency deceive you—the Core architecture prioritizes efficient operation and even at just under 3 GHz, an X6800 will outperform any other desktop processor available.

Unlike Intel's older dual-core chip that consisted of two separate dies on one package, the Core 2 Extreme is just one piece of silicon manufactured using 65nm lithography with two cores and 4MB of unified L2 cache. Value-added features include Virtualization Technology, the Execute Disable Bit, and 64-bit extensions.

Enthusiast customers will love the X6800's performance attributes and feature list. But the real clincher is its thermal footprint. Rated at 75W, Intel's flagship is a good deal more power-friendly than AMD's standard Athlon 64 or the outbound Pentium family. The Core 2 Duo, comparably equipped but better suited for more mainstream customers, is even more attractive at 65W. Both processors are compatible with motherboards based on the 975X Express chipset or the newer P965 Express.

The Core 2 Extreme screams power user, but it illustrates the potency of Intel's architecture nicely. Budget-minded customers might be more interested in the Core 2 Duo E6700, which is nearly as fast, but significantly less expensive.

ASUS
M2N32-SLI
Deluxe/Wireless Edition:: $229
usa.asus.com

AMD's new AM2 socket platform is here at last, and the top AM2 board on today's market is unquestionably the M2N32-SLI from ASUS. In addition to its legion of overclocking options, noise slaying and very slick-looking heat piping, and readiness for the AMD LIVE! platform, ASUS delivers one of the hottest SLI foundations available. The board is based on NVIDIA's new flagship core logic, the nForce 590 SLI. This delivers full x16 bandwidth to both graphics slots along with NVIDIA LinkBoost capabilities, DDR2-800 support, hardware-based firewall, NVIDIA's formidable MediaShield RAID implementation, nTune system optimization, and all the other nForce goodies you know and love.

Of course, ASUS goes way beyond core logic value. The WiFi AP Solo part of this bundle ties an external antenna onto the integrated 802.11g module, configurable in either client or access point modes, and keeps the wireless functionality active even when the rest of the PC is in sleep mode. A basic Andrea desktop array microphone is included, enabling crystaline, largely noise-free response for VoIP apps without the need for a cumbersome headset. There's dual Gigabit Ethernet, seven internal SATA ports, one eSATA connector, 7.1 audio with both coax and optical digital output, integrated DTS upmixing, 1394a, RoHS compliance, and a wealth of basic ASUS upgrades, such as customizable boot logos, eight-phase power, and heatsink channels actually built into the back of the PCB for peerless cooling.

Many enthusiast boards get loaded down with frilly eye candy and software bundles no one needs. ASUS has spared a lot of expenses here—the stupid ones. There is nothing flighty or non-essential in this M2N32-SLI package. This is a very intelligent, well-crafted board showing ASUS at the height of its potential. We doubt you'll find a better AM2 board than this before AMD's 4x4 arrives.

VIA
EPIA-CN13000: $185
www.via.com.tw

If you've been through our cover story on CPUs, you know that the VIA C7 processor can pack a lot of value into a very small space. The CN13000 motherboard features a 1.3 GHz C7 topped with a practically silent fan and may not set any new speed records, but for environments ranging from kiosks to home media centers to car PCs, this is a terrific option.

The board sports integrated S3 UniChrome AGP graphics (notable for its inclusion of VIA's Chromotion CE video engine) along with VIA's own 1625M HDTV encoder chip. Between these two, you get hardware-based MPEG-2 decoding, MPEG-4 acceleration, adaptive de-interlacing, video de-blocking, and other optimizations you need in contemporary media center platform.

Considering the board is only 17cm x 17cm, VIA crams a lot onto one PCB: one PCI slot, one DDR2 socket, two parallel ATA ports, two SATA ports (configurable as RAID 0 or RAID 1), VGA, composite, and S-Video out (configurable for dual-display), intelligent 5.1 analog audio output, 10/100 Ethernet, and more. The entire board sips only 16W on average and is RoHS-compliant.

Don't overlook the business application potential here. The suitability for a low-cost digital signage PC is strong, not to mention a surveillance recorder, compact children's PC, and practically anything that would benefit from the on-board AES engine and VIA's PadLock platform. For the right customer set, the CN13000 offers considerable value at a rock bottom price point.