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PC Specialist Vortex 860GTX review

Verdict

A decent PC in a bold chassis, but it’s overshadowed by quicker and cheaper competition

Review Date: 2 Nov 2009

Reviewed By: Mike Jennings

Price when reviewed: £912 (£1,049 inc VAT)

Overall Rating

Features & Design
4 stars out of 6

Value for Money
3 stars out of 6

Performance
5 stars out of 6

Details
Part Code	Vortex 860GTX
Review Date	2 Nov 2009
Price ex VAT	£912
Price inc VAT	£1,049
Overall rating
Performance
Features & Design
Value for Money

Warranty
Warranty	1 yr return to base

Basic specifications
Total hard disk capacity	1,000
RAM capacity	8.00GB
Screen size	N/A

Processor
CPU family	Intel Core i7
CPU nominal frequency	2.80GHz
CPU overclocked frequency	N/A
Processor socket	LGA 1156

Motherboard
Motherboard	Asus P7P55D PRO
Conventional PCI slots free	1
Conventional PCI slots total	2
PCI-E x16 slots free	2
PCI-E x16 slots total	3
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	2
PCI-E x1 slots total	2
Internal SATA connectors	6
Internal SAS connectors	2
Internal PATA connectors	1
Internal floppy connectors	1
Wired adapter speed	1,000Mbits/sec

Memory
Memory type	DDR3
Memory sockets free	0
Memory sockets total	4

Hard disk
Capacity	1.00TB
Hard disk usable capacity	931GB
Internal disk interface	SATA
Spindle speed	7,200RPM
Cache size	16MB
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

Rear ports
USB ports (downstream)	11
FireWire ports	1
eSATA ports	2
PS/2 mouse port
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports	1
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports	1
Modem
3.5mm audio jacks	6

Graphics card
Graphics card	Nvidia GeForce GTX 275
Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards?
3D performance setting	High
Graphics chipset	Nvidia GeForce GTX 275
Graphics card RAM	896MB
DVI-I outputs	2
HDMI outputs	1
VGA (D-SUB) outputs	1
DisplayPort outputs	0
Number of graphics cards	1

Monitor
Monitor make and model	N/A
Resolution screen horizontal	N/A
Resolution screen vertical	N/A
Resolution	N/A x N/A
Pixel response time	N/A
Contrast ratio	N/A
Screen brightness	N/A
DVI inputs	N/A
HDMI inputs	N/A
VGA inputs	N/A
DisplayPort inputs	N/A

Additional Peripherals
Speakers	N/A
Speaker type	N/A
Sound card	Asus HD Audio
Peripherals	N/A

Case
Chassis	Cooler Master HAF 922
Case format	Full tower
Dimensions	252 x 558 x 503mm (WDH)

Free drive bays
Free front panel 5.25in bays	4

Front ports
Front panel USB ports	3
Front panel eSATA ports	1
Front panel memory card reader

Mouse & Keyboard
Mouse and keyboard	N/A

Operating system and software
OS family	Windows 7
Recovery method	Windows disc

Noise and power
Idle power consumption	102W
Peak power consumption	254W

Performance tests
Overall application benchmark score	1.98
Office application benchmark score	1.69
2D graphics application benchmark score	2.12
Encoding application benchmark score	1.72
Multitasking application benchmark score	2.39
3D performance (crysis) low settings	45fps
3D performance setting	High

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From around the web

Sorry but from the outside the chassis looks very dated!!! The inside is much better, nice and neat! I wish the PC makers would make some nicer looking boxes than what they have been doing for donkeys years....
What ever you might think of an Apple, there designs are years ahead of the pc ones (there are exeptions like HP or Packard Bell or ACER with AIO's)

By Ip_vandermeereug on 3 Nov 2009

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