Evesham Axis 3200+BT

But the problem is that you expect far more than this for £1,237. You'd at least hope for a TFT monitor and a DVD writer, especially when Multivision's Ionix Ultima 35 (see issue 106, p58) offers faster 3D performance with its 256MB GeForce FX 5900, not to mention a DVD writer and a huge 18in TFT (albeit with a less-than-ideal 30ms response time) for just £50 more. And don't forget Dell's £1,299 Dimension 8300 (see issue 105, p56), which comes with a fantastic TFT and offers faster 3D performance too. The Axis' graphics card may have an extra 128MB on board, but this is only going to see any action at ridiculously high resolutions.

Evesham faces some stiff competition and, while this is in some way addressed by the two-year, on-site warranty with a third year of return-to-base cover, not to mention comprehensive online support via BigFix, it's still a disappointing bundle. If it was cheaper and came with a decent TFT (or even a better CRT), I'd have no hesitation in recommending this system, but as it is the Axis is just too expensive.

Author: Ross Burridge