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Other expansion options include a single PCI slot and an x1 PCI-Express slot. Among Maingear's options to fill these slots, you'll find a wireless networking adapter, a standard-definition TV tuner, a traditional modem, and one of four Creative Sound Blaster options (our review unit came with the Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer card). It would have been nice if Maingear had found a motherboard with Wi-Fi built in, so as to not occupy a slot, not to mention having that capability included with all of its X-Cubes. Many lower-end small desktops have Wi-Fi included. It looks a little silly that Maingear's doesn't.
Finally, Maingear might be the last remaining vendor to offer three years of parts and labor coverage as the default warranty for this system. We can't speak to the cost that adds to the bottom line, but considering the expensive hardware, the extralong coverage doesn't seem to knock the X-Cube's price out of whack. Phone support runs from 9:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Saturday. Online support is skimpier, with only a small FAQ, a free McAfee virus scanner, and a step-by-step guide outlining the system recovery process.
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System configurations:
ABS Ultimate X Striker Elite
Windows Vista Ultimate; 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800; 4GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 768MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX; 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm Serial ATA/150 hard drive
AVADirect Core 2 Duo SLI
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 overclocked to 2.63GHz; 2GB 1,066MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 640MB GeForce 8800 GTS (overclocked); 150GB Western Digital 10,000 rpm Serial ATA/150 hard drive; 500GB Western Digital 7,200 rpm hard drive
Dell XPS 710 H2C
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 (overclocked to 3.2GHz); 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; (2) 768MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX; (2) 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm serial ATA/150 hard drives (RAID 0); 750GB Seagate 7,200rpm hard drive
Maingear X-Cube
Windows Vista Ultimate; 2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800; 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 768MB GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card; 750GB Seagate 7,200 rpm hard drive
Polywell Poly i680 SLI
Windows XP Professional SP2; 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700; 2GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 768MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX; (2) 150GB Western Digital 10,000rpm Serial ATA/150 hard drives (RAID 0)
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