Product of the Day: Empro 3D Workstation with SLI

Product: Empro 3D Workstation with SLI

Manufacturer: Monarch Computer

Address: 5242 Royal Woods Drive, Suite 160, Tucker, Georgia 30084

Telephone: 800-611-0875

E-Mail: sales@monarchcomputer.com

URL: www.monarchcomputer.com

Raising the bar on desktop performance has been the passion of Trey Harris of Monarch Computers since the company was founded in 1991. His team has won numerous awards for their work, including a Linux Journal Readers' Choice Award in 2004 for its Hornet 64 Custom System in the portable workstation category. This February, Monarch released its fastest computer ever--the Empro 3D Workstation with SLI.

Monarch's Empro series of workstations and servers feature the AMD Opteron CPU with Direct Connect Architecture. These processors enable simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing. The Monarch Empro Workstation with SLI is based on a Tyan K8WE S2895A2NRF motherboard, making it Monarch Computer's first custom AMD Opteron processor-based workstation offering PCI Express support and the new NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology.

SLI allows a system to use two video cards together to render a single scene, increasing performance. Paired with NVidia SLI technology, the AMD Opteron processor Model 252 promises to make the Monarch Empro Workstation with SLI the most powerful Monarch Computer 3D workstation ever, bringing the masses rendering power previously only available to Hollywood server farms. Performance that once cost $50,000 or more can now be had for less than $5,000 with this workstation.

Standard on every Monarch Empro Workstation with SLI are two x16 PCIe slots that support SLI mode, two PCI-X 100 MHz slots, one PCI-X 133 MHz slot, one standard 33MHz PCI slot and eight DIMM sockets supporting up to 16GB of PC3200 DDR registered ECC memory. The Tyan motherboard also gives the Monarch Empro Workstation with SLI standard IEEE 1394a Firewire, USB 2.0, Serial ATA-II with NVidia NVRAID technology, six-channel audio and two IEEE 802.3, full-duplex GbE Secure Network Processors.

True to Monarch Computer's tradition of offering fully customizable systems, the Monarch Empro Custom Workstation with SLI offers more options than any previous Monarch workstation. Available on the Furia are up to two NVidia video cards, up to two of any AMD Opteron processors from the AMD Opteron processor Model 140 (1.4GHz) (The AMD Opteron processor 100 Series supports single processor mode only) to the brand-new AMD Opteron processor Model 252 (2.6 GHz), and anywhere from a single 80GB SATA hard drive up to a 1.6 Terabyte, four-drive RAID 0 array. A Terabyte RAID 5 array is also available on the workstation using an optional RAID controller card.

"AMD has worked with Monarch Computer since the launch of the original AMD Athlon processor to produce some of the finest quality PCs and workstations," said Pat Patla, director, Server/Workstation Marketing for AMD. "The Monarch Empro Workstation with SLI is an example of how our strong relationship has helped bring the AMD Opteron processor with Direct Connect Architecture to the general public in a solid, reliable, high-performing platform."

Monarch Empro Ultimate Workstation, Code: 90343, Price: $7,581.00

Case - SilverStone SST-TJ05B-W Aluminum Tower Case E-ATX w/Clear Window w/Antec True550 EPS12V 550 Watt Power Supply (Black)

Motherboard - Tyan S2885ANRF (Thunder K8W) Audio, GB-LAN, USB, IEEE, SATA w/ RAID, REG DDR, E-ATX

Processor - Two AMD Opteron 250 2.4GHz 1MB 64/32 Bit - includes Thermaltake A1838 heatsink and fan

Memory - Four 1 GB (2 pcs 512) DDR (400) PC-3200 REG ECC Corsair (TwinX1024RE-3200LLPT)

Hard Drive - Two Hitachi Deskstar 400GB, 8MB Cache, 7200 RPM, SATA (7K400)

DVD-RW - Plextor PX-712A/SW-BL 4x12x16x DVD±R, 48X24X48 CD-RW (Black)

CD-RW/DVD-ROM - Lite-On SOHC-5232K 52x32x52x16 CD-RW/DVD Combo (Black)

Floppy - Mitsumi Floppy 7-in-1 USB Card Reader / Smart Media (Black)

Video Card - PNY Quadro FX 3000G Genlock 256MB DDR, 8X AGP, Dual DVI

Industry Standard Upgradable

USB Ports on front of case

1 Year Warranty - Free tech support