Panrix Magnum Pro 1G

Panrix's Magnum Max 1G entered the Ultimate PC A List category through a stunning blend of features and performance. One month on and the Magnum Pro 1G comes with the current top-spec components in an effort to drive it to even greater performance heights.

The 1GHz Athlon is now upgraded to a Thunderbird version and a 64Mb GeForce2 takes up graphics duties. Instead of the RAID arrangement found in the original, this machine has a single IBM Deskstar connected to an integrated Promise UltraATA/100 controller. The generous 60Gb volume spins at 7,200rpm with a 2Mb data buffer ensuring rapid transfers. A very healthy 256Mb of PC133 memory is provided as a single DIMM, leaving two sockets free for upgrades. The combined power of all described so far should make the Panrix a seriously powerful graphics machine.

Benchmarking immediately bore out this theory with the Magnum Pro 1G churning out an unbelievable 2D graphics score of 5.3 and an equally amazing overall score of 3.62. Compare this with the Evesham Origin 1000 (reviewed p162), which, using the same processor, memory and graphics subsystem, obtained a score of 4.4 in 2D graphics and 3.29 overall. This, along with the 60Gb of unformatted storage makes the Panrix a superb machine for high-end graphics or for any work using very large files.

The 3D graphics power was equally stunning. With the 64Mb GeForce2 card installed, the Magnum Pro 1G pushed out an unprecedented score of 5,103 in 3DMark2000. OpenGL performance was also top of the pile, with Quake III achieving an incredible 79.6fps at a resolution of 1,024 x 768 in 32-bit colour, which, as a leisure sideline, makes this a superb gaming system. Panrix seems to recognise this, as it has included the Cambridge SoundWorks DTT 2500 Dolby Digital 5.1 speaker system with the Magnum Pro 1G, hinting at its obvious alter ego as an entertainment platform.

Displaying the astonishing visuals is an excellent Mitsubishi Diamond Plus 91 19in CRT monitor (see Labs, issue 69, p124). This offers an 18in viewable diagonal and superb visuals courtesy of its Diamondtron aperture-grille tube. The Diamond Plus 91 has a maximum supported resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 at 75Hz, although I found the screen displayed noticeable distortion at the corners which wasn't fully correctable using the on-screen controls. Dropping the resolution to a more typical 1,024 x 768 at 85Hz corrected the problem.

A Diamond SupraExpress 56Kbit/sec modem and Creative Sound Blaster Live! 1024 are the only other peripheral card occupants of the Panrix's Asus motherboard. Both are fine inclusions.

In addition to the IBM Deskstar, Panrix has included a 12-speed Toshiba DVD-ROM drive and a Hewlett-Packard CD-RW capable of writing to a CD-R at up to eight-speed. An excellent software bundle is supplied with the CD-RW, consisting of NEATO CD Labeler, Flingcentral, Sonic Foundry ACID and Broderbund Print Shop multimedia organiser. These inclusions should simplify the task of creating data backups as well as other less serious tasks.

Maintenance access was by a quick, screwless method which involved removing the rear and sliding off the side panel. The tidy innards gave easy access to the three remaining PCI slots, although one is obscured from the rear by an additional USB hub backplate. With the Magnum Pro 1G only having one free drive bay, expansion options are limited. Saying that, with the CD-RW providing a medium-term data backup solution, your options are open as to what else you can add.