Product Reviews

Media Center PCs are ideal for recording TV shows while you're away from home, or for enjoying your photos and music from the comfort of your sofa. They tend to be more expensive than standard computers, but Mesh's well-specified Viva 940 Pro PC costs just £799 including VAT. It is whisper-quiet, too, making it the perfect lounge companion.

We were pleasantly surprised to find a powerful dual-core Pentium D 940 processor and 2GB of RAM underneath the Viva's unassuming black and silver chassis. It had no trouble playing back our high-definition Windows Media files and it breezed through our video-editing, image-manipulation and multitasking tests, so the Viva is perfectly suitable as your main PC.

As expected, the integrated Intel graphics chip isn't suitable for playing the latest 3D games. Although you can add a PCI Express x16 graphics card, your choices are limited due to the half-height PCI Express slot and if you want the Viva to remain silent.

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You can record one programme while watching another thanks to the two digital TV tuners. The 300GB hard disk provides plenty of space for videos and music, but if it isn't enough you can add another SATA hard disk. Installation can be tricky, though, as you must remove the two-layer DVD writer and several screws before reaching the empty drive bay.

There are plenty of ports for connecting the Viva to your TV and stereo equipment. In addition to the usual DVI and D-sub monitor port, there's a SCART socket and an S-video breakout cable. Two S-video inputs are present for recording video from sources such as a VCR. Optical and coaxial S/PDIF ports are present, as is support for 7.1 surround sound.

If the remote isn't giving you enough control, you don't have to leave your sofa as there's a wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse. The Viva has a basic set of playback controls on the front, so you can use it without the remote if you need to. The mouse is comfy, but the keyboard feels too soft for anything other than occasional typing. The front of the Viva also houses a memory card reader, although it can't handle certain card types such as xD. You can edit video without extra expense thanks to the bundled CyberLink video-editing software and two FireWire ports for connecting DV cameras.

Mesh's Viva 940 Pro is an affordable, well-specified Media Center PC. Telly addicts will appreciate the twin digital TV tuners and plentiful hard disk space, and it's fast in Windows. Only gamers will be disappointed; otherwise, this is a great buy.