this months (sept 2003) PC Pro* has a benchmark / review of a dual 1.8ghz Opteron workstation costing a shocking �4000+ including VAT (2gb, 200gb, DVD-+RW, Quadro FX, 17" TFT, XP Pro), it beats a dual 3.06ghz Xeon in 2d, and compares well with a p4 3ghz system according to the PC Pro tests. They also claim to have a review of the G5, but inside it's called a preview (says it's only 20db!). cheeky. although with the G5, with dual G5's at 2ghz, at �2,299 inc VAT it does seem much better value than the dual opteron system. IT Week / PC Pro says the 2ghz Opteron should be out soon though (28th July!), with price drops accross the entire AMD range... also in an advert, I noticed MESH are selling a 17" TFT P4 2.66Ghz, 256mb, 40gb, 64mb ati radeon 9000, DVD/CDRW, WinXP Home, Laptop for �1173 inc VAT!! (�350 off!)

*if you go to pc pro's site and do their Reliability and Awards Survey you could win one of �15,000 worth of prizes.