2. Where To?

When you refer back to our review of the Go 6800, you will probably notice something oddly familiar - the chassis for that system appears to be identical to those of the two systems we have in this review. You might be scratching your head thinking, "how can this be?" This really is not that confusing; it is what is referred to as an ODM or Original Design Manufacturer barebones system. Just like filling a desktop or small form factor (SFF) unit with other components, notebooks are now going in the same direction.

Difference in Size, CyberPower's on the left and ABS Mayhem G3 on the right.

You can buy a desktop or SFF barebones system from many computer stores and e-tailors; the same is becoming true for barebones notebooks or "barebooks." If you do a quick search on the web, you will find a handful of companies that are starting to accommodate the "Do It Yourself" enthusiast, especially the DIY notebook crowd.

It appears the industry has almost gone full circle. Once it was all about having the largest system with multiple processors and/or the most mega-giga-tera Bytes of storage space. Then it moved to the SFF arena as portability and "smallness" became cool. People sought to cram as much of everything they could into as tiny a case as possible. Then the age of the "desktop replacement" began, with manufacturers determined to make it yet smaller again and cram in even more stuff. Now all we need is for everyone to go retro by returning to doing things big. (Yeah right!)