INTEL
DG33TL LGA775 Motherboard: $145
www.intel.com

INTEL IS IN THE MIDDLE OF a refresh cycle, meaning that the platforms you’re currently selling are in the process of being revamped. The popular G965 is one of the chipsets receiving such attention. Though it isn’t being replaced in Intel’s lineup, you’ll start seeing more emphasis on the G33 and chipset features that better reflect the market’s move to Windows Vista. There’s also Penryn (45nm) support to think about.

The DG33TL motherboard boasts full compatibility with the unreleased next-generation Core 2 processors based on Intel’s 45nm process. In other words, the DG33TL boards you sell today are guaranteed to work with the processors scheduled to emerge in six months or so. That means future support for SSE4, larger shared caches, and lower power consumption can all be promised now.

More important than what the DG33TL can do tomorrow are its features usable today. One LGA775 socket extends support to any of Intel’s Core 2 Duo or Quad CPUs on front-side buses running at up to 1333 MHz. Four 240-pin memory slots accommodate a max of 8GB running at DDR2-800 frequencies. Integrated GMA 3100 graphics with Clear Video Technology accelerates every aspect of Vista, including MPEG-2 decode and adaptive de-interlacing. Eight-channel HD audio, twelve USB 2.0 ports, six internal SATA ports, and official eSATA connectivity keep Intel at the forefront of motherboard-based value-adds.

ERGOTRON
DS100 Triple Monitor Desk Stand: $299
www.ergotron.com

PCS WITH ONE MONITOR ARE THE NORM. SYSTEMS WITH two have a tendency to turn heads. We’re willing to bet few of your customers have ever sat down in front of a PC with three displays. As such, a triple-head setup makes for a great visual demonstration. Put one display up with Word, one with Outlook, and a third with Internet Explorer. Mix in multimedia apps, financial data, or programming software. Part of adding extra zip is an attractive configuration of displays: like-sized monitors, calibrated, on a professional mount.

Ergotron specializes in the monitor mounts you’d use to create a multi-display system or telescoping LCD stand. The company’s DS100 Triple Monitor Desk Stand is particularly attractive because it’s priced reasonably at $299, yet it offers unifying functionality that’s simply not available when you drop a trio of monitors side-by-side on someone’s desk.

You can use one DS100 to suspend three LCDs (up to 21” each) on a single base. The base supports up to 84 total pounds of weight, so it’s quite robust. A cable management system keeps power and data cords from each display out of sight for a cleaner install. And the right amount of curvature ensures a head-on view of each LCD, even as they wrap around your customer. The DS100 is flexible enough to support displays in landscape or portrait modes, along with pan and tilt adjustments.

Add some professionalism to your multi-head displays using a stand like Ergotron’s DS100. They’re not very expensive, and they add a lot of functionality while freeing up space.

SAPPHIRE
PC-AM2RD580 Motherboard $149
www.sapphiretech.com

ATI’S CROSSFIRE XPRESS 3200 CHIPSET IS STILL THE pinnacle of dual-card gaming with Radeon-based graphics. Of course, the core logic is designed especially for AMD CPUs leveraging the Socket AM2 interface, including Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors. More importantly, the CrossFire Xpress 3200 employs a single piece of silicon with lots of PCI Express connectivity—enough, in fact, to provide two x16 links.

The PC-AM2RD580 is Sapphire’s implementation of the chipset, designed as an enthusiast board through and through. How can we tell? Those two PCI Express x16 slots are spaced far enough away from each other to invite a pair of double-wide Radeon HD 2900 boards. One PCI slot and one PCI Express x1 slot extend the board’s peripheral support.

A quartet of DDR2 memory slots accommodates up to 4GB of RAM running at speeds as high as 800 MHz. One onboard Ethernet controller facilitates high-speed Gigabit. And eight internal SATA ports offer 3 Gbps performance with software RAID 0/1. Legacy ATA-133, ten USB 2.0 ports, and high-definition audio all round out the PC-AM2RD580’s ample spec sheet.

Finding value in a board like Sapphire’s PC-AM2RD580 is easy. Either you use it as the foundation for an enthusiast gaming platform, installing high-end graphics and plenty of storage, or you use it in conjunction with mainstream boards, offering compelling multi-monitor configurations and budget gaming.

CHENBRO
PC80568 Micro ATX Chassis: $69
usa.chenbro.com

GAMERS SOMETIMES MEASURE each other up by the size of their towers. But in corporate settings, it’s often small size that makes the coolest, sexiest impression—and for good reason. We’ve talked to a couple of businesses in the last month that have traded towers for tiny tabletop boxes and fallen in love with the extra floor space. With an LCD stacked on top of the chassis, it’s almost as if there’s no computer to take up room.

Chenbro gives resellers an opportunity to create a compact micro tower form factor with its PC80568 case. The microATX tower is diminutive enough, measuring 5.4” wide, 13.8” tall, and 14.7” deep. Minimal volume doesn’t seem to hold the box back at all—it supports one external 3.5” optical drive, one external 3.5” drive for a floppy, and up to two hard drives. Support for microATX motherboards leaves the door open to any number of AMD- or Intel-based configurations.

There’s just one 60mm back panel fan to exhaust air. However, strategically placed ventilation holes all around the chassis ensure cool air circulates freely. Given Chenbro’s official sanctioning of the 3.4 GHz Pentium 4, you can bet more modern processors like Intel’s 65nm Core 2 Duo will run well within the box’s thermal specs.