Fearsome foursome for gamers

Matthew Elliott, Section Editor June 9, 2006

While gamers and other PC enthusiasts await the introduction of Intel's Core 2 Duo (a.k.a. Conroe) later this summer, there is still some interesting PC technology to discuss and drool over right now. AMD recently released a couple of new chips, including its flagship Athlon 64 FX-62 found inside the Polywell Poly 590SLI2-FX62. As you might suspect from the model number, the system includes two graphics cards in Nvidia's SLI configuration. As it stands now, this Polywell holds the crown for benchmark supremacy. The Cyberpower Gamer Ultra X1900 XT uses ATI's competing CrossFire technology to pair up two Radeon graphics cards for fast but not groundbreaking results.

Two GPUs not enough? Alienware's Aurora ALX has you covered with four GPUs, courtesy of two of Nvidia's new dual-GPU GeForce 7950 GX2 cards. For its part, Dell is in the process of updating its top-of-the-line desktop with a thorough going-over, including a brand-new chassis (we weren't fans of the old case design). We have yet to put the XPS 700 through the wringer, and Dell is still a little foggy with the specs, but if its 1-kilowatt power supply is any indication, the XPS 700 is primed for Quad SLI. And Dell just happens to be one of two vendors we know (the other being Apple) that's selling a 30-inch LCD capable of delivering the resolution to make Quad SLI worth your money.

More Resources

AMD Athlon 64 FX-62 tested,

Intel Core 2 Duo walk-through,

Battle of the 30-inch LCDs,

See all desktop reviews