This rather unusual system from MCT has a bit of everything. It features dual CPUs and dual SCSI HDDs, but while the disks
are top of the line at 10,000rpm, the CPUs seem a little outclassed as 1.26GHz PIIIs.

The SMB Server has one of the best storage systems in this months Labs, with twin 18GB SCSI packed on a dual-channel
Ultra160 SCSI interface.This theoretically allows both drives to transfer up to 160MB/s because they each have their own separate channel (sharing a channel would mean the speed throttles back to 80MB/s each).

Dual Pentium III CPUs are a bit of a mixed blessing though. While theyre awesome when it comes to running specifically
tailored software (such as high-end SQL databases, video encoding and 3D rendering), or if your server is running multiple tasks, such as acting as a file server and an email server, many individual programs dont actually take full advantage of the second CPU and its clock cycles can be wasted.

Most small businesses would be better off taking the money used on the second processor and adding another 512MB of
RAM. RAM is one of the most useful commodities in any server, as it can often be the main bottleneck as you incremetally add more and more users. It will also complement the excellent storage system very well.

Where the MCT server really suffers is in the upgrade department. While its powerful enough in the current market,
the fact that it uses a Pentium III architecture significantly reduces the potential to upgrade the CPUs. The PIII is just about at the end of its life except in a very small segment of the server market. While dual PIIIs still make a great basis for a server, youre unlikely to be able to upgrade.

MCTs server is still a decent server. If youre doing processor intensive tasks or database-related tasks, then the SMB Server is the pick of the bunch, but make sure your applications can handle dual CPUs before making a commitment, otherwise the second processor is wasted.