Evesham Axis Xcelsior

We're glad to see that Evesham has worked hard on the cabling inside the case, though. Everything's tied up neatly and arranged away from the RAM sockets and CPU. That's good news for both maintenance and airflow, particularly as Evesham hasn't used the rear 120mm fan mount, opting instead for a single front-mounted 80mm fan. The only issue is that it's noticeably noisy in a quiet environment.

The Axis Excelsior is certainly a super-fast machine. Such is the power of the Athlon 64 4000+ and the Maxtor hard disk, that it comfortably outperforms all of last month's Ultimate machines in our application benchmarks - by around 7 per cent in the case of our A-Listed Mesh Matrix 3800+. Although you'll find that largely unnoticeable in everyday use, those pushing the limits of their systems will appreciate the extra headroom.

While the Evesham's warranty is on a par with the Mesh, the price premium on new processors means that the Evesham costs over £200 more. If you want a blisteringly fast system, then the Xcelsior displays its wares for all to see, but with quieter cooling, a range of decent peripherals and an even better TFT, the Mesh Matrix 3800+ retains its place on the A List.

Author: Clive Webster