Jetway:
Jetway was also present at the show and was showcasing their Magic Twin Mini PC. Basically, Twin Mini-PC is an SFF that can allow two users to work on one computer, but there are many limitations to this idea.
Jetway informed us that the idea is eight years old, but they never had the technology to put it use. Jetway also stated that they are the first ones to produce something like the Magic Twin PC, but the company worried that other vendors might try to copy their ideas.
Jetway mainly wants to target schools and other organizations where space is an issue. If the user does not want two-way computing, the computer can work as a single unit with more power.
The Magic Twin Mini PC featured an Athlon XP 3000+ with 1GB PC3200 Memory, 256MB video card with Windows XP. Jetway informed us that the Magic Twin PC can only operate on Windows XP and no other operating systems such as previous versions of Microsoft Windows and different variants of Linux. Jetway also briefs us that users must use their video card and nothing else for video.
The major reason for less upgradibility and these drawbacks is the lack of support from Jetway's partners. Apparently, Jetway is not a big enough company (1300 employees) for major vendors such as Nvidia and ATi to create specialized drivers for the Magic Twin PC. The same applies to Microsoft with OS drivers.
When the Magic Twin PC is used as two computers, the performance levels significantly drop. Infact, Jetway was unable to run 3DMark 03 in their labs when the Magic Twin was used as two workstations. During the demo at AMD's Tech Tour, one of the visitors successfully compeleted one round of 3DMark 03 on the Magic Twin, which was a surprise to Jetway.
The Magic Twin can be prove to be a decent gaming PC at this point, however, the life span is slim in the enthusiast market. Jetway refined the case and the PC itself has many features. It could've been a strong competitor to Shuttle, but due to the lack of upgradibility, Jetway will not be successful in the enthusiast market. They might succeed in getting some education organizations to purchase the Magic Twin PCs in bulk, but the market is still very small for Jetway.
[Microsoft/AMD] |
