14 DAY TRIAL // The computer industry is changing at a very fast pace, as we are seeing companies expanding their horizons and launching new products that address a different segment than what the respective company was previously focused on. Such is the case with NVIDIA, the graphics card maker that has recently expanded its business into different segments with products such as Tegra or the Ion chipset. However, the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker has just announced a new product that will see NVIDIA compete with other PC vendors, namely the GeForce PC Kit.
According to the details of the new product, NVIDIA will allow consumers to purchase all the necessary components to build themselves an NVIDIA-branded PC. “Have you ever built a PC yourself? Would you like to learn how? With the NVIDIA GeForce PC Kit you’ll get everything you need to build a PC with world class graphics that allow you to tear through the hottest games and multimedia applications,” the product page reads.
NVIDIA's barebone PC will include an Intel Pentium E5300 processor, coupled with 2GB of DDR2 memory, an NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT graphics card, a 3.5-inch SATA (7200RPM) hard drive, with 250GB of storage space, a 500 Watts power supply, a Cooler Master Elite 334 NVIDIA Edition chassis and a Microsoft keyboard and mouse. The platform is based on an MSI G31TM-P21 motherboard, which sports two DDR2 memory DIMMs and just one PCI-Express graphics slot. Thanks to the G31 chipset on the said motherboard, users will get a choice between the discrete or integrated graphics solution.
The package comes with a complete guide to building a computer system, a screwdriver and all the necessary tools to build the system. To ease the process, the company has mounted the CPU and cooler on the motherboard, this being one of the more difficult parts of building a PC. Unfortunately, there's no word on the pricing of the new system, but we expect it to become available for about US$500.