Shuttle XPC SN26P

This is where the puzzle of SLI economics comes in too; there's no point in putting two 6600 GTs in SLI, as a single 6800 costs the same, gives identical performance and has better upgrade potential. Similarly, there's no point getting two 6800s, as a single 7800 will outperform them and offer the better upgrade path. But if two 7800 cards in SLI in this chassis can't be guaranteed to run, the SN26P is all but pointless.

The SN25P offers the same ease of build and the same excellent integrated controllers and port positioning. It has a PCI Express 1x slot instead of two 16x, and if you choose not to use this you could invest in a double-height 7800 card that exhausts from the rear. A single 7800 (GT or GTX) offers plenty of gaming performance too - Far Cry ran at 55fps with HDR and 8x AF turned on with no reliability problems. And, as it's £100 cheaper, this makes it a much better choice for a tiny high-end system.

Author: Clive Webster