PC Specialist Apollo Q9550 GTS review
in Desktop PCs
1 of 2 
Verdict
Less raw speed and finesse than other recent systems, but the Apollo's attractive price makes up for that
Review Date: 8 Jul 2009
Reviewed By: Mike Jennings
Price when reviewed: £717 (£825 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | Apollo Q9550 GTS |
| Review Date | 8 Jul 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £717 |
| Price inc VAT | £825 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Performance |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
| Basic specifications | |
|---|---|
| Total hard disk capacity | 750 |
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB |
| Screen size | 24.0in |
| Processor | |
|---|---|
| CPU family | Intel Core 2 Quad |
| CPU nominal frequency | 2.83GHz |
| CPU overclocked frequency | N/A |
| Processor socket | LGA 775 |
| HSF (heatsink-fan) | Intel stock cooler |
| Motherboard | |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | Asus P5QL |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel P43 |
| Conventional PCI slots free | 0 |
| Conventional PCI slots total | 3 |
| PCI-E x16 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x16 slots total | 1 |
| PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 |
| PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 |
| PCI-E x1 slots free | 1 |
| PCI-E x1 slots total | 1 |
| Internal SATA connectors | 6 |
| Internal PATA connectors | 1 |
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| Memory | |
|---|---|
| Memory type | DDR2 |
| Memory sockets free | 2 |
| Memory sockets total | 4 |
| Hard disk | |
|---|---|
| Hard disk | Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 |
| Capacity | 750GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 698GB |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
| Spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
| Hard disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 spindle speed | N/A |
| Hard disk 2 cache size | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 3 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 make and model | N/A |
| Hard disk 4 nominal capacity | N/A |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Optical disc technology | Blu-ray reader |
| Optical disk 2 make and model | N/A |
| Optical disk 3 make and model | N/A |
| Graphics card | |
|---|---|
| Graphics card | Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 |
| Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? |
|
| 3D performance setting | Low |
| Graphics card RAM | 1.00GB |
| DVI-I outputs | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Number of graphics cards | 1 |
| Monitor | |
|---|---|
| Monitor make and model | Acer V243H |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,920 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 1,080 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Pixel response time | 2ms |
| Contrast ratio | 40,000:1 |
| Screen brightness | 300cd/m2 |
| DVI inputs | 1 |
| HDMI inputs | 0 |
| VGA inputs | 1 |
| DisplayPort inputs | 0 |
| Rear ports | |
|---|---|
| USB ports (downstream) | 9 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 1 |
| Modem |
|
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 6 |
| Additional Peripherals | |
|---|---|
| Speakers | N/A |
| Speaker type | N/A |
| Sound card | VIA HD Audio |
| Peripherals | Wireless keyboard and mouse |
| Case | |
|---|---|
| Chassis | PC Specialist Trident |
| Case format | Full tower |
| Dimensions | 191 x 472 x 421mm (WDH) |
| Free drive bays | |
|---|---|
| Free front panel 5.25in bays | 2 |
| Front ports | |
|---|---|
| Front panel USB ports | 2 |
| Front panel memory card reader |
|
| Mouse & Keyboard | |
|---|---|
| Mouse and keyboard | Logitech Wireless Desktop 660 |
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| OS family | Windows Vista |
| Noise and power | |
|---|---|
| Idle power consumption | 94W |
| Peak power consumption | 218W |
| Performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Overall application benchmark score | 1.72 |
| Office application benchmark score | 1.43 |
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 2.00 |
| Encoding application benchmark score | 1.39 |
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 2.04 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 78fps |
| 3D performance setting | Low |
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