Zalman
ZM600-HP: $159
www.zalmanusa.com

When it comes to POWER supply innovation, most vendors have a tough time adding unique features. After all, power supplies aren't generally considered high-profile components and they all perform a similar function. Sure, some supplies come with LED lighting, some include modularization. Zalman's ZM600-HP boasts this and more.

When you talk about the ZM600-HP, divide its spec sheet into performance, classic Zalman cooling, and differentiating extras. On the performance front, cite a 600W maximum power output. No less than four 12V rails back that number, dishing out 16A of current on each. And whereas many PSUs sling plenty of power yet operate inefficiently, the ZM600-HP is rated at up to 84% efficiency.

Those attractive specs are enabled, in part, by solid concessions for cooling. For example, Zalman plants a copper heatpipe and aluminum fin array on the supply's main output diodes. In turn, the supply's cooling fan doesn't have to work as hard, so noise output drops. Pricier circuitry, extra diodes, and parallel FETS all cooperate to minimize heat output. Of course, Zalman is also known for its flair in design. The ZM600-HP sports a cooling fan with blue LED lighting, complementing the all-black chassis nicely. It features modular connectors, as well, enabling a customizable degree of connectivity. All cables come sheathed and secured by heat shrink tubing. Zalman supports NVIDIA's dual-card SLI graphics technology with a pair of 6-pin power connectors and backs the whole package up with a three-year warranty.

Iomega
StorCenter Pro 200D 750GB w/ Print Server: $2,499
www.iomega.com

for customers wanting a NAS SOlution for their small business, perhaps with a little personal application use on the side (think SOHO clients), check out Iomega's 200D. On the outside, the 200D looks much like Iomega's consumer-class StorCenter drives. The major difference is that the StorCenter Pro runs Windows Storage Server 2003 and supports Microsoft services for Unix, Novell, and Mac. This is a serious appliance with features like dual Gigabit Ethernet for failover, an Ultra 320 SCSI backup interface, file filtering, reporting, multiple device management with load balancing, Active Directory Services, and Windows Print Server support for up to five users.

Deep down, Iomega is using a 2.5 GHz Celeron processor with 512MB of DDR and three 250GB, 7,200 RPM SATA drives. Holy cow, you may be thinking, only three low-cap SATA drives for $2,500? The next step up is $3,999 for the 1.5TB StorCenter Pro 250D. The emphasis with these products is less on total capacity than the functionality a group can enjoy with those shared storage resources.

Unlike some small office-slanted NAS boxes, Iomega here dispenses with UPnP support—real businesspeople don't stream music, right? But the StorCenter Pro does deliver RAID 0, 1, 5 (enabled by default), and JBOD across the box's three 250GB SATA drives, each of which is cold swappable on removable trays. The 200D is overkill for home users, probably even most SOHO clients. But for small offices or workgroups, especially those with multiple platforms, Iomega offers a persuasive deal.

Maxtor
OneTouch III Turbo Edition (1.5TB): $799
www.maxtor.com

Here's a little story. We have a friend...yeah, that's it, a friend...with a PC in his office sporting a 1.0TB internal JBOD (two 500GB drives) for multimedia storage and a single 300GB primary C: drive. This friend was a little smart. He knew he needed an external backup drive to protect his system and media files, and he owned a 500GB USB drive. Mind you, he got this back when he had a 300GB C: drive and only a 300GB media drive, neither of which were even close to full. Only later did he swap the second 300GB for a larger JBOD. He kept meaning to add more external storage, but he never got around to it. Of course, the JBOD failed one day. You know how the rest of the story goes. Much irreplaceable data lost. Many tears. Mass angst.

Moral: Internal desktop storage scales quickly, but external storage should scale even quicker. Pick a safety number for your customers. Should the backup drive(s) represent 100% of the total internal capacity? Maybe 130%? Whatever seems prudent, external backup is increasingly critical to an ever-wider audience, and having a direct-attach solution is important because it can be quickly tucked under an arm in an emergency.

All praise about style aside, Maxtor's OneTouch III, Turbo Edition is a tremendously versatile device, hosting USB 2.0, 1394a, and 1394b connections in addition to client software that makes converting between RAID 0 and RAID 1 a 10-second operation. The drive piles on value by including software for management, security, backup scheduling, system rollback, and multi-PC synchronization. This is the most capacity you can now pack into a two-drive enclosure, and no other desktop external we've tested provides a simpler end-user experience paired with quiet, stable performance and exceptional manufacturer support.

ASUS
Striker Extreme: $399
usa.asus.com

Expensive, yes, but the NVIDIA 680i SLI-enabled Striker Extreme borders on being a work of art. Check out that insane heatpiping on the power circuitry and chipset. Three full-length PCI Express slots, one x8 and two x16, make this the most robust graphics platform in the desktop market. Unlike most competitors, ASUS pays exhaustive attention to audio, too. A bundled card delivers 7.1 HD Audio as well as coax and optical digital out via ADI's 1988B codec chip, thus reducing noise by staying off the PCB. VoIP fans will love the included Andrea Electronics two-element array microphone. Overclockers will get to tweak until the cows come home thanks to ASUS' legendary and extensive BIOS options.

The specs alone on this board are dazzling: 1,333 MHz front-side bus, 1,200 MHz support for SLI-Ready memory, Intel quad-core CPU support, NVIDIA MediaShield RAID spanning six internal SATA connectors and two eSATA ports, dual Gigabit Ethernet, eight fan connectors, two FireWire ports, on and on. There's even an LED to illuminate the outer I/O shield so LAN partiers can find their plugs in the dark. Wicked!

The sprawling bundle pack, which includes titles ranging from Ghost Recon to InterVideo Media Launcher to Kapersky Anti-Virus, would seem anticlimactic if it weren't so sweet.