The Bottom Line
Pros
- Powerful 64-Bit FX-53 Processor
- Highly Customizable
- Lower Cost Compared to Prestige Manufacturers
Cons
- Uses Older NForce3 Chipset
- Lacks Productivity Software
Description
- AMD Athlon64 FX-53 64-Bit Processor with ASUS SK8N nForce3-150 Motherboard
- 1GB Corsair XMS3200 Registered DDR Memory
- Two Maxtor 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drives in RAID0 Stripe
- NEC 8x DVD+/-RW Burner and Sony 16x DVD-ROM Optical Drives
- SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Audio
- ASUS GeForceFX 5950 Ultra with 256MB
- 10/100 Ethernet
- Six USB 2.0 and Two FireWire Ports
- Windows XP Pro Operating System and Half-Life Platinum Edition
Guide Review - ABS Ultimate M6
6/25/04 - ABS is like many of the prestige computer manufacturers in that they are a systems integrator. They take parts from various OEM manufacturers and put together complete systems. This gives them the advantage of having a wider range of customizable options compared to companies such as Dell.
Powering the ABS Ultimate M6 system is the latest AMD Athlon64 FX-53 64-bit processor. This new processor however is matched with an older ASUS SK8N motherboard using the nForce3-150 chipset. With the release of the newer nForce3-250 boards, this is a bit of a disadvantage particularly for those looking to do overclocking. The 1GB of Corsair XMS3200 Registered memory should let it power through memory intensive tasks.
Disk performance is extremely good with the base configuration. The twin Maxtor 80GB SATA drives are configured in a RAID0 stripe for 160GB of total storage with increased performance. Optical storage is also strong with an 8X DVD+/-R burner and 16x DVD-ROM drive.
The standard graphics card on the Ultimate M6 is the GeForceFX 5950 Ultra. This card is in limited supply so many ATI Radeon graphics cards are available as a substitute at varying costs. Of course, the 6800 would be nice to see on the system as it has greatly improved performance over the 5950.
The biggest advantage to the Ultimate M6 is the cost. It is priced well below the prestige PC, yet still has great performance. Lots of options can also increase this performance.
