Mesh Ultimate XT940 GTO review

Inside, the Cosmos is just as well designed - and equally overblown. The large GPU is covered by an air duct that directs heat towards one of the four 120mm fans that are dotted around the case. Another fan sits on the bottom of the chassis, and two more surround the CPU, which is topped with a gigantic Cooler Master heatsink that stretches across the entire chassis.

There's also plenty of expansion potential: two extra PCI-Express slots cater for a potentially ferocious triple-SLI rig, and there's enough room for several extra hard disks. Every expansion bay is enhanced with various tool-free unlocking mechanisms as well.

Aside from the pomp and circumstance of some brilliant benchmark results and that vast case, though, there are a few areas where the Ultimate doesn't really live up to its name. The monitor, for instance, is a disappointment. Aside from the size - its 28in diagonal is 4in bigger than the Juggernaut and Fusion Photo OC II offered - there's little to recommend the Hanns.G. It's plagued by poor backlighting, which bleeds through at each side and gives the top and bottom of the screen a faint purple hue.

It's so deeply average that we'd rather give up the four extra inches and have the superior Samsung or Dell panels offered with the Ultimate's main rivals. We'd certainly be far happier using those panels for gaming or watching movies.

And while the Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme sound card is adequate, the Logitech S220 2.1 speakers are seriously underwhelming in a so-called 'Ultimate' package. While they're certainly adequate, they don't do games, movies or music justice in the same way as the the Juggernaut's surround sound set does.

So despite the large screen, elaborate case, new graphics card and Blu-ray playback, the disappointing monitor and speakers mean that we can't recommend the Mesh as our favourite 'Ultimate' PC. And while there's no doubt that performance is good, the Juggernaut does almost everything better, and for less cash.

Author: Mike Jennings