Product Reviews

The last year has seen an explosion in the variety of designs gracing our desktops, but Packard Bell has realised we don't all want big plastic boxes on our desk. The ixtreme's bright white system case is designed to sit out of sight, while a separate unit gives access to the commonly used parts.

It's a great idea, but we have reservations about the ergonomics. There's a DVD-ROM in the satellite unit, while the more versatile DVD writer is consigned to the main system, and they're both fiddly to operate through the fascia. The six-in-one media reader and two USB 2 ports are thankfully more accessible.

There's a good range of components on offer, such as a Hyper-Threading 3.06GHz Pentium 4. Performance was good, scoring a respectable 1.40 in our 2D benchmarks. On 3D graphics duty is a card using ATi's 128MB Radeon 9200 chip. While it won't cater for the dedicated gamer, the score of 5,607 in 3DMark2001 SE at 32-bit XGA indicates a decent performance for less demanding games.

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The card itself lacks a DVI output, but the D-SUB performance of the 15in XGA TFT monitor is reasonable. It's a touch dark and viewing angles are poor, but it's still enjoyable to use day to day. DVDs look pretty good too. Our biggest criticism is that it's a 15in TFT rather than a 17in model, which we expect at this price.

The 160GB hard disk is more extravagant and, along with the 4x DVD-RW burner from Lite-On, means the ixtreme 6113 will handle typical storage requirements with ease. However, we'd still like to have a seen a dual-format DVD writer included.

Two free PCI slots allow room to expand, but the motherboard's limitations affect other upgrades. The SiS645 chipset only supports RAM running at 333MHz and an FSB of 533MHz. It isn't dual channel either, so filling the spare DIMM socket won't significantly help beyond the memory itself.

The system case offers two USB 2 ports at the front, with a further four at the back. There are the usual legacy ports too, while 10/100 Ethernet and a 56K modem are present, as well as FireWire. The keyboard sports buttons for controlling the CD and application launching, and is also comfortable for use over long periods. Completing the peripherals line-up is a pair of surprisingly beefy speakers to complement the integrated stereo audio.

While the concept behind the ixtreme duo is a good one, it's compromised by the price. When you can buy our A-Listed JAL Monarch XP3000 (see issue 111, p117) for £999, which includes a 17in TFT and a decent digital camera, the 6113 isn't quite compelling enough.