Handy Computer Guide

The Register Hardware have published a review of the Mesh Ultimate Q8 Tri-SLI gaming PC . 'Tri-SLI is a finicky beast and requires precise levels of Volts and Amps to ensure it works correctly. The OCZ has a single 80mm fan at the rear of the unit which has to draw air through the length of the PSU. It’s a long time since we saw a power supply that had any pretension to greatness that didn’t have some sort of venting or cooling on the large inner surface of its casing, the bit that faces the motherboard.

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Digital Trends have published a review of the Uberclok Reactor gaming desktop. 'Uberclok has chosen the Antec 900 as its chassis of choice for both of the PC configurations it sells, and it’s easy to see why. This is a long-time favorite among gamers due to its tremendous airflow, good looks and spacious interior. Since everything in this PC is overclocked, airflow is supremely important, and the Antec 900 delivers with two 120mm intake fans in the front, one 120mm exhaust fan on the back, and a giant 200mm fan on top of the case.

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A review of the Medion 6615 PC desktop computer has been posted over at Computeractive. 'The pace of change is continuous, and the Medion 6615 PC is just one example of that, having just been given a £100 price drop in the January sales compared with its price before Christmas. That pitches it at £579, which is a low price for a desktop computer featuring Intel's Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor running at 2.4GHz. Intel's rival AMD has recently started making similar, cheaper processors, but the Q6600 remains faster than any AMD chip we've tested. The 'quad' means it is effectively four processors in one, letting it do more things at once, while speeding up some individual programs and games.'

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Pocket-lint have published a review of the Medion MD8828 multimedia desktop PC. ‘Core specs include an Intel 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo E6750 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce 8600GS DirectX 10 graphics card with DVI-I connector and HDMI port (with HDCP support), 2GB of RAM, 500GB of SATA hard disk space and Medion's triple TV tuner, incorporating Freeview DVB-T, DVB-S Satellite and analogue TV tuner card with MCE0 remote control alongside high definition eight channel audio. Get into the multimedia side of things and you've got that super multi blue player from LG. Giving you the ability to play both HD DVD and Blu-ray movies the device is considerably faster than the standalone player and even if you're not including the PC and everything that goes with it, still cheaper than buying the standalone.’

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A review of the Mesh Elite Quad Q6600CA desktop configuration has been posted over at Computeractive. 'The computer uses an Intel quad-core processor (a Q6600 running at 2.4GHz), which means it has, effectively, four separate processors. It's the next step up from the dual-core computers we've been reviewing for a year or so, and it means a good performance boost for Windows Vista and programs that are capable of using the four processors (more and more programs are being written in this way). It also includes 2GB of memory, which together with the processor provides a good computer that should be capable of dealing with most applications with ease. The case, a small tower model, doesn't look particularly impressive from the outside, but this certainly is a powerful computer. That fact was borne out in our lab testing, the results of which pitched it at the level of computers that, a few months ago, cost nearly twice as much. In fact, it posted a higher score than the similarly specified Advent T9509, with the same processor and amount of memory.'

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PC Authority have published a review of MegaPC's Magnum desktop configuration. 'It’s an imposing beast thanks to a monolithic SilverStone TJ06 case and 22in ViewSonic ViewDock monitor. The latter sports integrated speakers, subwoofer and iPod dock. If you don’t have an iPod there’s a redundant, ugly socket, but at least you can use other MP3 players too. It also sports a four-port USB hub, microphone, 3.5mm in/out audio jacks and headphone socket. Despite this, while sound was well-rounded, with punchy bass and clear top end, it didn’t get nearly loud enough. However, the 1680 x 1050 display was crisp, sharp and clear, and good colours made our games and videos look great.'

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Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Medion 6486 desktop PC. ‘The Medion 6486 system box is a typical tower, but with a smarter than average front panel that includes a LightScribe DVD rewriter and a separate player, as well as a multimedia panel which sits behind a push-to-open, vertically sliding door. There's a wide array of sockets behind this door, including slots for all the popular memory card types, twin FireWire sockets, stereo audio inputs, plus composite and S-Video. This suggests the multimedia nature of the machine and indeed, it’s a full Media Center system that positively encourages you to play around with audio, video and DVD.’

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Posted by HCG Admin at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the PC Specialist Fusion 6000XT gaming desktop has been posted over at Personal Computer World. 'At first glance the Fusion 6000XT looks expensive, but a quick scan through some online component dealers reveals that you couldn’t do it much cheaper if you built it yourself. At the heart of the PC is an Asus M2R32-MVP Socket AM2 motherboard, using AMD’s 580X/SB600 chipset combination. This setup supports all AMD’s AM2 processors – in this case an Athlon64 X2 6000+. Backing the Asus up is 2GB of Corsair XMS2 800MHz DDR2 memory, which enabled the Fusion 6000XT to post a solid score of 110 in Sysmark 2007 Preview. The Vista Benchmark overall score sits at 5.4 – although not spectacular (mostly due to the CPU), it indicates this PC is more than adequate for most jobs.'

Continue reading " PC Specialist Fusion 6000XT Review at - Personal Computer World" »

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Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Commodore XX gaming desktop. 'The case itself has the Commodore logo all over it in a ‘we own it, and darned we’re going to use it’ kind of way. It’s embossed into the front door that covers the drive bays and when you open that up, you'll find the full logo on the inside of the door and on each of the blanking plates. It could easily have been naff, but the slighty raised embossed logo is subtle. The hinge on the front door is effectively double-jointed so can fold all the way back, which is good - normally these doors don't open all the way, which is a pain. Another stand out feature is the large Commodore shaped logo in the side of the case, behind which sits a 200mm cooling fan, which is the largest I've ever seen on a system. There's a large circular grille at the front too, behind which sits a 120mm fan with another 120mm fan at the rear. This flashes in an array of disco lights too, but patently, with the door closed you won’t be able to see it.'

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Trusted Reviews have published a review of the high-end Vadim Custom Fusion LQX gaming desktop. 'The PC I'm looking at today packs in every bit of performance hardware available and it's quite a long list, so take a deep breath. It contains an Intel Core 2 QX6800 quad core CPU, 2GB of OCZ Reaper DDR-II memory, two ATI Radeon HD 2900 XTs running in Crossfire, two 150GB Western Digital Raptor hard drives in RAID 0, a 750GB Seagate Barracuda hard drive, a Creative X-Fi ExtremeGamer Fatal1ty sound card, a Dual layer rewritable DVD drive, a 1000Watt Enermax Galaxy modular power supply, an Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard, a full water cooling setup, and no less than 11 fans all housed in a Silverstone TJ07 aluminum case. This is one hell of a specification that will make mincemeat of anything you throw at it, all that's missing are the custom paint job and custom-cut side panels.'

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Posted by HCG Admin at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PC Magazine have published a review of the Systemax Venture VX2 B67IVU gaming desktop. ‘The Venture VX2 uses the same drab, utilitarian case that lower-priced Systemax Venture PCs use for lesser machines such as the mainstream Venture DH531IV. It's a tractable case. This is a system to consider if you like to tinker, but don't want to do the initial build yourself. There's lots of space for upgrades, including PCIe x16 slots on the Intel 975X-based motherboard for two additional graphics cards.

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A review of the Cyberpower Gamer Ultra 8500 SE (AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 ) desktop PC has been posted over at CNET. ‘As usual, Cyberpower assembled a very attractive system for us to review. For the hardware alone, the Gamer Ultra 8500 SE is a steal at $999. Even if we don't love the case, anyone in the market for a budget gaming PC will be impressed, especially because the deal includes a 19-inch Viewsonic wide-screen LCD and a set of Logitech 2.1 speakers (not pictured). But in looking back on older Cyberpower reviews, we noticed a disturbing trend. In the user opinions for every single Cyberpower desktop, CNET readers rail against the Cyberpower buying experience. In addition to reviewing this PC, then, we also grilled Cyberpower about this wash of complaints. The system is a deal, but whether it's worth the apparent hassle to go through Cyberpower to get it still remains to be seen.

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CNET have published their review of the AVADirect Core 2 Duo SLI gaming desktop PC. 'We went to some of the better-known gaming PC vendors for a price check on the AVA Direct Core 2 Duo SLI and we found that it costs roughly the same as other, similar PCs. Alienware and Velocity's prices were nearly identical, Maingear's was about $3,100, while a similar rig from Falcon Northwest hovered around $2,500. So our AVA Direct PC costs about what it should.

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Posted by HCG Admin at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Scan 3XS OC-GTS gaming desktop PC. 'Opening the front door of the case reveals four 5.25in and two 3.5in drive bays. One of the 3.5in bays is occupied by a floppy drive, which is something of an unusual site these days. Surprisingly, only one of the 5.25in bays is filled – there’s a Samsing WriteMaster SH-S182M DVD writer installed. I have to say that I would expect two optical drives in a system like this, especially when there are so many free bays. That said, Scan customers can configure a PC any way they like when they order, so I guess you can have any combination you’d like.

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CNET have published their review of the ABS Ultimate X Striker Elite gaming desktop PC. ‘Despite the fact that the ABS Ultimate X Striker Elite and its new quad-core chip don't dominate every benchmark test, its performance still ranks where it should. We can only compare this system to what we've tested before, which is why the other systems listed (with the exception of the Polywell Poly i680SLI) all have an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 chip overclocked to 3.2GHz or (excluding the Gateway FX530XT) have Windows XP, which uses much less memory and overall CPU power than Windows Vista.

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CNET have posted their review of the Systemax Venture VX2 gaming desktop. 'The Systemax Venture VX2 isn't a gaming PC to inspire envy among your fellow fraggers. It won't net you the fastest frame rates on your block, and its plain-Jane looks cannot be classified as "head turning" or "conversation starting." But what this affordably priced, fixed-configuration, $1,999 gaming system provides is a solid foundation for playing today's current titles, and you can put the money you save now toward future upgrades. With its Intel motherboard, 500-watt power supply, and midtower chassis, the Venture VX2 will never be transformed into a bleeding-edge gaming PC, but it does provide enough wiggle room to let you at least keep pace. Its mix of components allow it to hit the sweet spot between underperforming and overpriced, resulting in a system that is priced lower than similarly configured systems from competing vendors.

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CNET have reviewed the ZT Group Reliant VPX6001 Core 2 Duo-based business PC. ‘The marketing efforts behind Intel's various platforms have met with differing degrees of success. While the Centrino mobile platform was one of Intel's more successful campaigns, it's safe to say that the Viiv platform for Media Center PCs has failed to resonate with PC buyers. The jury is still out on Intel's business platform, dubbed vPro. A vPro desktop must feature certain hardware attributes--starting with a Core 2 Duo processor--and will include IT management features that make it easier and less costly for organizations to monitor, protect, and maintain the PCs on their network. We focus primarily on consumer PCs here at CNET, but we took a look at this business PC from ZT Group because some aspects of vPro technology are expected appear on consumer desktops and laptops in the future. At $899, the ZT Group Reliant VPX6001 represents a good deal for small businesses and larger enterprises.’

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The PC Club's Enpower Velocity 05 SLI is touted as being the first quad-core CPU on the market specifically built for hardcore enthusiasts. In ZDNETs review this piece of this powerful gaming PC, a comparison is made with the Polywell Poly i680 SL1 system. 'We have to give PC Club credit, its Enpower Velocity 05 SLI gaming desktop comes in a distinctive package. Not everyone will want a blue-and-pink pastel fighting robot decorating their PC, but then not everyone will be able to shell out $3,140, the bare minimum you'll have to pay for the privilege.

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PC Magazine has reviewed the Polywell Poly 976N4-SLI4 Quad SLI multimedia desktop package. 'The Poly 976N4-SLI4 is housed in a ginormous chassis and uses two 700W power supplies: one for the CPU, motherboard, and optical drives, and one for the hard drives and graphics cards. This is a questionable setup. I understand why Polywell went with two power supplies (to share the load and to keep each power-hungry component happy), but I think a single 1,000W (or higher) power supply would have been a wiser choice. The Poly 976N4-SLI4's 10,000-rpm hard drives and Quad SLI configuration (two graphics cards with two GPUs and two sets of memory per card) are certainly power hungry, but adding another power supply can tax your wall outlet if you're not careful, and ideally you'd want to plug each power supply into its own UPS for safety. The second power supply tempts fate by adding a layer of complexity and thus another opportunity for failure.'

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PC Magazine have reviewed the powerful Polywell Poly i680SLI PC. 'The Polywell i680SLI ($3,250 direct; $3,999 with 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor) packs a forceful one-two punch. Not only does it feature Intel's latest quad-core QX6700 processor, but it's also one of the first systems to carry nVidia's new top-of-the-line GeForce 8800GTX graphics card.

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The ABS Ultimate M6 Sniper gaming desktop was reviewed earlier in the year by CNET. 'The latest entry in ABS's high-end gaming PC line, the Ultimate M6 Sniper combines the top-of-the-line AMD Athlon 64 FX-60 CPU with two speedy 256MB GeForce 7800 GTX graphics cards running in an SLI configuration. While the $4,799 Sniper doesn't keep pace with the recently reviewed Falcon Northwest Mach V or Velocity Micro Raptor 64 Dual FX--both of which overclock their FX-60 CPUs and include dual 512MB GeForce 7800 GTX cards--it's still a respectably speedy PC, and it didn't exhibit any of the stability issues we encountered with those higher-end PCs. Although it's expensive for most of us, thanks to its monitor and the fact that it's more than $1,000 less expensive than other systems in its class, the Ultimate M6 Sniper is actually a pretty good deal.'

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CNET has reviewed the Polywell Poly 590SLI2-FX62 gaming PC. 'If you're looking for blazingly fast performance but care not a whit about aesthetics, then Polywell may have the perfect PC for you. Systems from smaller vendors are often hit or miss, and Polywell is no exception. But when the company nails a concept as with the Poly 590SLI2, you can get a solid computer for less than what high-end boutique vendors would charge. The Polywell Poly 590SLI2 is one of the first systems we've seen with AMD's new Socket AM2 chipset and the new top-of-the-line Athlon 64 FX-62 CPU.

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If you are searching for a competitively priced gaming PC the Cyberpower Gamer Ultra X1900 XT may just fit the bill. 'The Cyberpower Gamer Ultra X1900 XT is the first system we've tested that uses ATI's dual-graphics card CrossFire technology. This gaming PC offers seemingly infinite configuration options; our $3,499 review unit paired two Radeon X1900-series graphics cards with AMD's Athlon 64 FX-60 and included a wide-screen, 19-inch ViewSonic LCD and a 5.1 Creative speaker set. While ATI's CrossFire technology has advantages over Nvidia's competing SLI setup, we don't favor the external dongle required to connect two ATI CrossFire cards.

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Rich Brown writing over at ZDNet has reviewed the Systemax Sabre desktop "gaming" PC. 'Systemax is by no means alone as a vendor of affordable, spare PCs. iBuyPower, Cyberpower, Polywell, and others all reduce costs by building and selling desktops with off-the-shelf parts. This type of PC doesn't have as much of an identity as a model from a high-end, boutique vendor such as Alienware or Falcon Northwest, and you often can't buy this type of PC with factory-overclocked parts, liquid cooling, or other performance-enhancing tweaks. But once you jump over to TigerDirect.com and see the price tag on its high-end, house-brand model, the Systemax Sabre, you'll discover that the company's cost-cutting measures amount to a major advantage in price. For $3,499, the Systemax Sabre is one of the best deals we've seen for such a high-end combination of parts. It costs hundreds less than similarly equipped PCs and makes an attractive option for DIY overclockers and gamers who value price over polish.'

Continue reading "Systemax Sabre Core 2 Extreme Review" »

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Trusted Reviews reports on the announcement of the high OMEN i:121 Extreme desktop PC from VoodooPC. 'Some things naturally go together: bread and butter, strawberries and cream, England and valiant sporting defeats, mixing of drinks and vomiting and here is another: Core 2 Duo and VoodooPC. The high end performance specialist and maker of the obscene quad SLI desktop has just announced the OMEN i:121 Extreme. This beautifully styled powerhouse crams in a user definable edition of Intel’s supreme Core 2 Duo CPU and offers it in conjunction with either an nVidia SLI enabled motherboard and pair of half gig GeForce 7900GTXs or an ATI CrossFire equipped moby that straps on a couple of equally weighted Radeon X1900s. (Yes, it’s hardcore!).'

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CNET reviews the pricey but feature-rich back-to-school Polywell Poly 430AM2 desktop computer. 'Polywell, a company whose high-end gaming and Media Center systems we're accustomed to seeing, has put together a basic box suitable for back-to-school shoppers, with the Polywell Poly 430AM2. This PC won't win any awards for design or performance, and at $1,350 (including a 19-inch LCD monitor and 5.1 speakers), it's more then twice as expensive as some of the more budget-minded back-to-school system's we've looked at recently, including the inexpensive but excellent Cyberpower Back to School Super Value. For the additional investment, however, you do get a decent set of specs, including a newly issued dual-core AMD processor, a decent midrange Nvidia graphics card, and 320GB of hard drive space. It's sure to last from orientation to graduation, even for those students prone to taking the occasional semester away from school.'

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CNET previews the "most up-to-date small-form-factor gaming PC on the market; great-looking PC inside and out". 'We don't usually get to make sweeping declarative statements, but Maingear has given us the opportunity. Its small-form-factor (SFF) X-Cube gaming desktop is the most advanced PC in its class. No other vendor of a pseudo-portable gaming computer offers a more up-to-date system. This $3,300 PC is by no means inexpensive, but its price is in line with the rest of the market. Due to a number of high-profile tech releases over the next six months, it's hard to recommend spending that much on this exact configuration right now. But based on the X-Cube's strong craftsmanship and its heads-up parts selection, Maingear's Web site should be your first stop whenever you're ready to make a high-end, small-form-factor purchase.'

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The "Back to School" configuration offered by CyberPower while being highly affordable, has a dual-core CPU and can be upgraded unlike some from the competion. 'The perfect student computer is a lot like the perfect student car: functional, inexpensive, and easy to maintain. Cyberpower offers all manner of both preconfigured and totally customizable systems, usually at prices below more mainstream competitors'. The company's aptly named Back to School Super Value model ushers in a new era of budget PCs by serving up a dual-core processor. You'll have to put up with a somewhat inelegant case, but the easy-to-swallow $599 price makes our design quibble seem minor. The Back to School Super Value is worth a look for students who want a basic system for schoolwork and light gaming, without going for an anonymous big-name gray box. And with plenty of room for future expansion, it's the first budget system in more than a year that we recommend over eMachines' latest budget offering.'

Continue reading "CNET.com: CyberPower Back to School 2006 Review" »

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I T Reviews examines the impressive but pricey Atlantis Fusion Crossfire desktop computer from Chillblast. 'So there you are, sitting around with three and a half grand in your back pocket, and you want a fast PC. Not just any old fast PC, mind you, but a scorching, frame-busting, games machine. Who do you turn to? Well, if you head over to Chillblast it will relieve you of that wad of cash and replace it with the Atlantis Fusion CrossFire, the fastest system we have seen to date. For that price you might expect an all-dancing, funky case, but not a bit of it. Instead the system is built into a plain-looking, but modified, Lian Li aluminium tower case. Plain it might be, but Lian Li makes some of the best built and well featured cases around.'

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