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ANTEC
EarthWatts Power Supply: $99.95
www.antec.com |
It’s not easy being green, especially when a client’s power PC drinks wattage like water to light up air-cooled graphics cards, a RAID array, and a handful of case fans. But you don’t need a Flintstones hamster-on-the fan-belt power source to be eco-friendly. Antec’s popular new Earthwatts PSU is appealing to both environmentalists and frugal system builders.
The 650 Watt output meets the “80 Plus” energy standard, certified to run at 80% efficiency. The Earthwatts consumes 33% less energy than common PSUs. And yet, with three 12V output circuits, one (6+2) PCI-E connector, and six SATA connectors, this powerhouse can drive almost any tricked-out PC without breaking a sweat. For added safety, built-in circuitry resists damage from short circuits and over or under-loads. As high-speed and high-power peripherals fill custom PC boxes, energy consumption hits both the environment and your customers’ electricity bill where it hurts. Antec’s EarthWatts 650 is one answer that doesn’t require a constant supply of carrots.
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Asus
ASUS Striker II Extreme: $469
www.usa.asus.com |
For that small but lucrative market of gigahertz-loving PC hot rodders, manufacturers such as ASUS can never put enough overclocking features into a motherboard. The Striker II Extreme feeds the speed addiction with NVIDIA’s latest nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset and a feature set dedicated to the art of extreme overclocking. The Socket 775 design holds all the latest Intel Core2 Extreme/Duo and Quad-core CPUs, with future-proofed support for Intel’s emerging 45nm multicore CPUs. The dual-channel DDR3 memory slots can crank up a frontside bus to 1600 MHz, and this motherboard sports two PCIe 2.0 slots running at 16x speeds for NVIDIA SLI arrays, as well as a third PCIe for the new “3-way SLI” configurations. Yes, we do mean three GeForce cards in one system.
The Striker II Extreme comes with 10 USB 2.0 ports, two FireWire connectors, six SATA drives, and two more eSATA ports for external drives, but the real value add here is ASUS’s deep understanding of the PC speed demon. The Fusion Block System boasts a novel heat sink design combined with heat pipes that provide a single connection for water cooling all components. The CPU Level Up feature in the BIOS simplifies an otherwise arcane overclocking procedure of FSB and voltage adjustments. Even novice clients can designate a target processor speed and let the intelligent motherboard manage the necessary settings. The Striker II Extreme is the Ferrari of motherboards for hard-core PC drivers, but it comes with training wheels for customers at any level.
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Norton
Norton 360 2.0: $79.99www.symantec.com |
“Is it safe? Is it safe?” Apologies to Sir Larry and his famously sinister dental technique in “Marathon Man,” but this is the question you should be asking customers. Most PC users stitch together an anti-malware patchwork of freeware, OEM software bundles, and built-in Windows safeguards. But the current menu of threats demands more seamless, full-body armor. Norton’s 360 2.0 swaddles your client’s rig in safeguards and tweaks it with performance tune-ups, back-up functions, and even home network monitoring tools.
The bullet-proof Norton anti-virus and spyware protection form the core. A new Identity Safe feature locks down the personal information PC users may pass along to e-commerce and banking sites. Anti-phishing routines detect deceptive URLs that aim to trick us into giving up sensitive data. The new network monitor lets the home IT manager configure the devices on the network and detect Wi-Fi intruders who may be trying to bum a broadband ride.
Features aside, the new Norton 360 super-suite really excels at usability and performance. A simple, four-panel interface lets users eyeball security status and fix problems with the click of a button. Norton minimizes pop-up warnings and pesky user-authorization prompts with an intelligent engine that makes those calls for you. Norton 360 exacts a very low overhead on system performance. In fact, the built-in file cleaners and defragmenting tools can accelerate the common cluttered PC. Like a good bodyguard, Norton 360 protects and serves without getting in the way. Now it’s safe.
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Microsoft
Microsoft Laser Desktop 7000: $129.95
www.microsoft.com |
For power PC users, raw processor and graphics speed may be king, but comfort surely sits beside it as queen. Keyboard jockeys crave the right combination of ergonomic fit, features, and styling. Microsoft aims to satisfy all three with its new Wireless Laser Desktop 7000. For customers who find Microsoft’s traditional split-keyboard, ergonomic designs of the past too radical, this layout flows at a six-degree “comfort curve” that meets fingers at a less stressful angle. Likewise, a users’ right paw slips neatly in and around the contoured Wireless Laser Mouse 7000, which has a deep thumb depression and angled top side.
Handy, oversized shortcut keys and a zoom bar surround the main console for quick access to major Windows functions. The new My Favorites keys work just like a car radio’s pre-sets, letting the user assign a shortcut to the current destination (file, folder, or Web site) by pushing and holding the key. Wireless input devices often suffer dropped or halting connections that frustrate users even more than a bad key layout. Microsoft’s intelligent channel-hopping technology sidesteps the problem by adjusting dynamically to “noisy” wireless environments. The 7000 also has Windows Vista written all over it, from the translucent border that mimics the Aero interface to a dedicated trigger key for the Flip 3D Vista task switcher. Thin, comfortable, and well-suited for the latest Windows OS, the Laser Desktop 7000 should be a good fit for discerning customers.
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