Wolfdale Core2 processors are not on the market yet, but the 2.33GHz chip for the next-gen desktops is built on Intel’s new 45nm process, making it a smaller version of the existing Core 2 chips. The engineering sample benchmarked was running at 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB and stacked up 6MB of L2 cache.

In tests against an existing E6550 Conroe chip, the Wolfdale managed to best the E6550 in every single facet..

For gamers: with a GeForce 8800 Ultra card installed, Doom 3 and Far Cry see 10 per cent performance improvements at CPU-bound resolutions, and Half-Life 2 sees a 30 per cent improvement, up from 132 FPS to 181.

Okay, maybe not just for me, but since I’m a SOHO kind of guy, the QNAP TS-209 NAS server sure fits the bill. Sporting two hot-swappable bays, a 500MHz processor, 128MB of DDR2 RAM cache,  gigabit Ethernet, and up to 2TB of storage. And that’s just the hardware. Check out the server capabilities:

• File server
• FTP server
• Backup server
• RAID-1 Mirroring with Hot-swap design
• Remote Replication
• Web server
• MySQL server
• Printer server
• UPnP Media server
• Photo Sharing
• Download Station
• iTunes server
• Cross-platform support
• Scads of security

Coming soon for probably a fair amount of cash.

The typical UMPC is too small for many people, particularly in screen size, while the typical Tablet PC is too large for some purposes (e.g., industrial and medical applications). So, along comes Tatung with a sort of hybrid (my term, not theirs) between a UMPC and a Tablet PC, the WebPad TX-3000: 10.4 inch screen, AMD LX 800 processor, 1GB compactflash card (serves as main memory?), wireless, USB, a PC Card slot, and the lot. I can see this bridging the gap for a number of people, but no word on whether they’re releasing it beyond Thailand. And no idea on pricing.

Let’s face it: if you could get everything you need in a notebook, then the desktop computer becomes–as it should–obsolete. Eurocom has come pretty darn close, I think, with the DC900C Phantom-X, which sports some crazy specifications. Let’s just list them out, shall we?

• Intel Quad-core processors
• Up to 750GB HDD space
• Up to 4GB of RAM
• Blu-Ray optical drive
• nVidia GPU options, both singular or dual SLI
• All the ports one would expect
• Both optical and analog audio in and out
• All meaningful wireless options (except 802.11n, oddly)
• Optional TV tuner

The video can be upgraded, as well. Perhaps the only drawback for those looking for a true desktop replacement is the 17" widescreen. And for those wondering, pricing starts at $2,999 for the base model. So start saving those pennies.

Or, maybe Everex is really helping the middle class afford to send their kids to college with some kind of computer at all. Either way, for $300 there’s the GC3502, with a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor, 1GB of RAM, an 80GB HDD, and integrated LAN and graphics. Not too shabby, and should help keep those kids studying, because they certainly won’t be playing games on this thing.