Product Reviews

This PC is so fast, you should be made to have special training to play with it!

Features 5/6

There are lots of good things about this PC. Let's start off with the core spec: fancy a DVD drive, a CD burner, a 60Gb hard disk and a massive 512Mb of RAM? So do we. But it doesn't stop there. The sound card is Creative's latest, the Sound Blaster Audigy. It's the best mainstream sound card around - fantastic for DVDs and games with complex surround soundtracks. Throw in some Creative Inspire 5300 surround speakers and a good productivity package in the form of Lotus SmartSuite, and this PC fully deserves its high mark in this section.

Ergonomics 6/6

The Microsoft IntelliMouse and Internet Keyboard that come with this computer are real stalwarts of our Labs. That doesn't make them old hat, though. Both are comfortable to use, sturdy and well-made. The Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 740 SB monitor also manages

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keep up appearances, with its rock-solid power regulation and generally good focus (though this does tail off a little towards the edges of the screen).

Expansion 5/6

One of the advantages of having a Sound Blaster Audigy sound card is that it comes with an onboard FireWire port. FireWire is a bit like USB, except it's much faster - and compatible with digital camcorders. For external devices that don't use FireWire, there are no less than six USB ports, so you should never run out of external expansion capacity. Internally, on the other hand, the Matrix is a little bit disappointing. There's no 3.5in bay free for a floppy or Zip drive and there are only two free PCI slots for add in cards.

Performance 6/6

If you're a hardcore gamer with a hankering after some serious speed, this is the PC for you. Earning by far the highest 3DMark 2001 score in this month's Labs, Mesh has built a machine that squeezes every last drop of performance out of its hardware. With the fastest processor in this group and 256Mb more memory than the other contenders, the Matrix has a clear edge over all its rivals when it comes to 3D performance.

Overall

This is a cracker of a PC. It has a great core spec and lots of extras - but most of all, it's really, really fast. It was a close-run thing between the Matrix and the Systemax for the Top 50 prize. In the end the Systemax won out, for all-round value for money - but that doesn't detract from this machine's pure exhilarating power.