Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk
High-end PC winner
Chillblast Fusion Midgard
Verdict
A PC that offers blistering pace in both applications and games, and at a remarkable price too
Review Date: 4 Nov 2009
Price when reviewed: £779
Overall Rating
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Comparison
| Product |
Mesh Elite Ice 5 Pro
|
Yoyotech Ice Dragon A925A-CS
|
Mesh Matrix II 5870XT
|
Chillblast Fusion Midgard
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| Details | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Code | Elite Ice 5 Pro | 82028 | Matrix II 5870XT | Fusion Midgard |
| Review Date | 22 Sep 2009 | 22 Sep 2009 | 9 Oct 2009 | 4 Nov 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £869 | £869 | £912 | £779 |
| Price inc VAT | £999 | £999 | £1,049 | £896 |
| Overall rating |
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| Performance |
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| Features & Design |
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| Value for Money |
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| Warranty | ||||
| Warranty final | 1 yr return to base | 1 yr return to base | 1 yr return to base | 2yr collect and return |
| Basic specifications | ||||
| Total hard disk capacity | 814 | 750 | 1,000 | 500 |
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB | 4.00GB | 4.00GB | 4.00GB |
| Screen size | 24.0in | 24.0in | 24.0in | N/A |
| Processor | ||||
| CPU family | Intel Core i5 | AMD Phenom | AMD Phenom | Intel Core i5 |
| CPU nominal frequency | 2.66GHz | 2.80GHz | 3.20GHz | 2.66GHz |
| CPU overclocked frequency | N/A | 3.30GHz | N/A | 3.60GHz |
| Processor socket | LGA 1156 | AM3 | AM2+ | LGA 1156 |
| HSF (heatsink-fan) | Intel low profile cooler | OCZ Gladiator Max | Akasa Nero | Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme |
| Motherboard | ||||
| Motherboard | Asus P7P55D | Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P | Asus M4A79XTD EVO | MSI P55-CD53 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel P55 Express | AMD RD790 | AMD 790X | Intel P55 Express |
| Conventional PCI slots free | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Conventional PCI slots total | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| PCI-E x16 slots free | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots total | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots free | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| PCI-E x1 slots total | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Internal SATA connectors | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Internal SAS connectors | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Internal PATA connectors | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Internal floppy connectors | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec | 1,000Mbits/sec | 1,000Mbits/sec | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| Memory | ||||
| Memory type | DDR3 | DDR2 | DDR3 | DDR3 |
| Memory sockets free | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Memory sockets total | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Hard disk | ||||
| Hard disk | Samsung SpinPoint F1 | Samsung SpinPoint F1 | Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 | |
| Capacity | 760GB | 750GB | 1.00TB | 500GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 698GB | 698GB | 931GB | 465GB |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 | SATA/300 | SATA/300 | SATA/300 |
| Spindle speed | 7,200RPM | 7,200RPM | 7,200RPM | 7,200RPM |
| Cache size | 32MB | 32MB | 16MB | 16MB |
| Hard disk 2 make and model | OCZ Vortex SSD | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | 64GB | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | 59 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 spindle speed | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 cache size | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 make and model | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 nominal capacity | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 make and model | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 nominal capacity | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Drives | ||||
| Optical drive | Samsung SH-S223B | Sony BDU-X10S | Optiarc AD-7240S | |
| Optical disc technology | DVD writer | Blu-ray reader | Blu-ray reader | DVD writer |
| Optical disk 2 make and model | N/A | Pioneer DVR-217F | N/A | N/A |
| Optical disk 3 make and model | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Monitor | ||||
| Monitor make and model | Iiyama ProLite E2407HDS | Iiyama Prolite E2407HDS | Iiyama ProLite E2407HDS | N/A |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,920 | 1,920 | 1,920 | N/A |
| Resolution screen vertical | 1,080 | 1,080 | 1,080 | N/A |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | N/A x N/A |
| Pixel response time | 2ms | 2ms | 5ms | N/A |
| Contrast ratio | 1,000:1 | 1,000:1 | 10,000:1 | N/A |
| Screen brightness | 300cd/m2 | 300cd/m2 | 300cd/m2 | N/A |
| DVI inputs | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A |
| HDMI inputs | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A |
| VGA inputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| DisplayPort inputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Rear ports | ||||
| USB ports (downstream) | 10 | 11 | 8 | 12 |
| FireWire ports | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| eSATA ports | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
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| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Modem |
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| 3.5mm audio jacks | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Graphics card | ||||
| Graphics card | HIS ATI Radeon HD 4890 | BFG Nvidia GeForce GTX 275 OC | ATI Radeon HD 5870 | ATI Radeon HD 5850 |
| Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? |
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| 3D performance setting | High | High | High | High |
| Graphics chipset | ATI Radeon HD 4890 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 275 | ATI Radeon HD 5870 | ATI Radeon HD 5850 |
| Graphics card RAM | 1.00GB | 896MB | 1,000MB | 512MB |
| DVI-I outputs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Number of graphics cards | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Additional Peripherals | ||||
| Speakers | N/A | Logitech X-530 | N/A | N/A |
| Speaker type | N/A | 5.1 | N/A | N/A |
| Sound card | ATI HD Audio | Realtek HD Audio | VIA HD Audio | Realtek HD Audio |
| Peripherals | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Case | ||||
| Chassis | NZXT Hush | Gigabyte GZ-X8 | NZXT Hush | Xigmatek Midgard |
| Case format | Full tower | Full tower | Full tower | Full tower |
| Dimensions | 193 x 513 x 418mm (WDH) | 185 x 480 x 410mm (WDH) | 185 x 510 x 420mm (WDH) | 208 x 515 x 479mm (WDH) |
| Power supply | ||||
| Power supply | X-Power ATX-700TW | OCZ 500SXS | Cooler Master RS-500 | |
| Power supply rating | 700W | 500W | 500W | |
| Free drive bays | ||||
| Free front panel 5.25in bays | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Front ports | ||||
| Front panel USB ports | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Front panel FireWire ports | 1 | 1 | ||
| Front panel eSATA ports | 1 | |||
| Front panel memory card reader |
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| Mouse & Keyboard | ||||
| Mouse and keyboard | Logitech Deluxe 660 wireless keyboard and mouse | Viewsonic CW2206 wireless keyboard and mouse | Logitech Deluxe 660 wireless | N/A |
| Operating system and software | ||||
| OS family | Windows 7 | Windows 7 | Windows 7 | Windows 7 |
| Recovery method | Recovery disk and partition | Windows disc | Recovery partition | Windows disc |
| Software supplied | Cyberlink video editing suite | N/A | N/A | |
| Noise and power | ||||
| Peak noise level | 36.0dB(A) | 35.0dB(A) | ||
| Idle power consumption | 116W | 53W | ||
| Peak power consumption | 171W | 377W | ||
| Performance tests | ||||
| Overall application benchmark score | 1.89 | 2.04 | 2.03 | 2.48 |
| Office application benchmark score | 1.59 | 2.17 | ||
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 2.11 | 2.35 | 2.34 | 2.58 |
| Encoding application benchmark score | 1.67 | 1.73 | 1.70 | 2.06 |
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 2.52 | 3.11 | ||
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 49fps | 44fps | 62fps | 60fps |
| 3D performance setting | High | High | High | High |
