Product Reviews

From the moment you take it out of the box, you can tell the Mesh is a Serious Computer - serious in that it has no sense of humour. In fact, it projects an aura of cold intent. This might have something to do with the colours - Mesh has chosen black, black and more black, with a bit of grey on the side. If my child started drawing pictures using just these colours, I'd call an educational psychologist.

Open up the case, and the Mesh's sense of purpose is echoed. The first component of note is an AMD Athlon XP 3000+ processor. This is blisteringly fast - ideal for ripping through demanding tasks such as video editing or playing the latest games.

Sitting next to the processor is the system's memory: 512MB of DDR400 RAM. Both of these figures are noteworthy. First, never buy a PC with less than 256MB of RAM - it's the minimum required for Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP, to run smoothly. So the Mesh's 512MB is pretty generous. The DDR400 specification denotes the speed at which the memory runs. Again, Mesh isn't messing around. The RAM fitted here is the latest and fastest available, running at 400MHz.

The 512MB memory is fitted as two 256MB modules. This is good, as the Mesh's Asus A7N8X motherboard is based on an nVidia nForce 2 chipset, with its 'Twin-Bank' memory system. By fitting two separate modules of RAM, the motherboard can talk to both at once, boosting performance.

Next comes the hard disk. This Maxtor drive has a formatted capacity of 164GB, spin speed of 7,200rpm and an 8MB buffer to help smooth the flow of data. You'd have to try very hard - or be shockingly disorganised - to fill this much space quickly.

Working alongside the Maxtor is a Sony DW-U10A DVD-R/W drive. It works as both a CD-R and DVD player, and it can also write onto recordable DVD discs. Better still, it can handle both of the competing writable DVD standards: DVD+ and DVD-. With opinion currently split between these

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two factions, it's a godsend to have a drive that caters for both. Whichever camp wins, you'll still be covered. To make it easier to copy from disc to disc, the Mesh also has another CD-R/W drive.

To handle graphics, Mesh has chosen a Connect 3D ATI Radeon 9700 with 128MB of RAM. This can take advantage of an AGP 8x connector on the motherboard - the fastest currently available. Coupled with the powerful processor and speedy RAM, this card pushes the Mesh to a sterling score of 14,662 in our 3DMark 2001 test, designed to assess the PC's ability with games. This will easily keep even the most obsessive gamer happy.

This heavyweight performance in 3D is followed up by a similarly impressive showing in our 2D tests. Here, it musters an incredible 1,447 - just a hair's breadth short of the fastest machine we've seen. That plaudit goes to last month's Ionix 930, which notched up a massive 1,505.

Adding to its overall sense of style, the Mesh has a slim 17in Sharp flat-panel display. Its image quality is excellent. The screen was evenly lit across its whole width, colours were accurate, and detail pin-sharp. Skin tones, in particular, were very natural, unlike those produced by some cheaper flat panels.

For those who love a tidy desk, the Sharp flat-panel display has speakers built in, too. These are no match, however, for the thumping Creative Inspire 6700 6.1 surround sound set that Mesh has thoughtfully provided with this machine. But if all you want is Windows' assorted beeps and chirps, the Sharp speakers will be enough. It's just nice to have the option.

To pump out sounds to the Creative Inspire 6700 speakers, the Mesh has a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card. Gamers, musicians and movie fans will love this card. It's an absolute cracker.

The Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse are excellent, too. They were both very comfortable to use - the keyboard has a particularly firm, responsive action.

So, should you buy a Mesh Matrix? Well, the 3000+ Ultra is a fine machine. It has a generous array of genuinely useful features, and musters a splendid turn of speed. The difficulty comes when you compare it directly with the Mesh Matrix 3000+ NDX, which was reviewed in our May issue - a machine of similar specification, except for the Sharp flat panel. Instead of this TFT, the 3000+ NDX had an excellent (if ugly) conventional monitor. If you can live with this, then you'll save yourself around £150. If you must have a flat- panel screen, then the Mesh Matrix 3000+ Ultra is a must-have buy.