RM One ecoquiet 965 review

The front of the system has another four USB ports, as well as 3.5mm audio in and out jacks, plus a rocker switch that controls volume. You can keep a lid on the noise the RM One makes via a hardware switch concealed at the back of the system that turns the audio off completely.

The BIOS has a few useful access control tools as well, such as the ability to turn off various USB ports. You could choose only two USB ports to be active, which means a user would have to unplug the keyboard or mouse to plug in another piece of equipment. Alternatively, you could choose to turn all of the USB ports off, securing the RM One against viruses and software nasties on USB flash drives.

The RM One is an incredibly practical, hardwearing PC, whose only major bugbear is the price. The sturdy build-quality and clever design starts at upwards of £600, and our review unit, courtesy of the optical drive, memory card reader and extra gigabyte of RAM, will set schools back £745 exc VAT before any educational or bulk discount. Still, the RM One is the right tool for the job: a cleverly-designed, tough PC for the education sector that ticks enough boxes to keep teachers happy.

Author: Dave Stevenson