Product ReviewsDesktop computers
Although we gave manufacturers the freedom to include any extras they considered worthy this month, most played it fairly safe. CyberPower was the one company to try something different, eschewing the usual 24in TFT to bundle two 22in Acer models. We're not convinced it works, though, largely due to the sheer desk space you need to accommodate them. It can be great for work, with windows spread effortlessly across both 1,680 x 1,050 desktops, but when it comes to gaming - surely the primary reason for buying an ultimate PC - it's
Add in the huge Cosmos case and a set of 5.1 speakers and you'll have bits spilling onto the floor, but there's no denying the CyberPower is a well-specified system. As with several others this month, it takes a slower quad-core CPU - the 2.4GHz Q6600 - and clocks it up to 3GHz to give a strong score of 1.75 in our benchmarks. This leaves headroom for a pair of 8800 GTX cards for gaming at high resolutions. There are twin mirrored 500GB hard disks for data, to go with a 74GB Western Digital Raptor, which houses Vista Home Premium. The 1,000W PSU supplies plenty of power for everything plus a few more hard disks, but there's little room for other components. Despite the two graphics cards and all the fans in the case, the noise level is a reasonable 39dBA, and it's a very comfortable PC to use, too. But the fact remains that unless you like the unique idea of two widescreen TFTs, the identically priced Chillblast offers a more balanced package. By David Bayon |
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