The only PC in our mini roundup this month to feature a rather boring beige case, it more than makes up for its looks with blistering performance at a very reasonable price. Inclusion of thumb screws will allow you to get at your hardware quickly and without the need for tools. Always handy for those of us that like to fiddle frequently.
For a budget PC, Altech have really come to the party, managing to cram in ATi’s latest and fastest 9800XT graphics card, combined with an Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz processor with 800MHz front side bus and half a gigabyte of PC3200 DDR400 DDR-SDRAM.
Running the machine through our usual benchmark suite, it performed very well, scoring a whopping 292 overall SYSmarks, only 29 marks behind the substantially more expensive Emagen system reviewed last month (January 2004, page 49). ABIT is synonymous with overclockability within the enthusiast sector, so expect additional performance here if you dare to test the hardware’s limits.
If you’re in the market for an entertainment focused PC without splurging too much in the pricing department, this machine offers DVD playback as well as integrated optical in and output for connection to an existing speaker set or home amplifier. If you don’t have optical capabilities, there’s always the integrated six-channel 3.5mm audio on the motherboard.
3Dmark01SE results were about average for a card of this calibre, scoring nearly 18 thousand marks in 1,024 x 768 at 32-bit colour depth. Gamers who are frame crazy will definitely notice the difference here, with this system pumping out fps thick and fast; perfect for hand-in-hand operation with the included 19in flat CRT monitor in this package.
Dismissing the disappointing aesthetics of the case, this system is definitely worth checking out for power and entertainment users unwilling to fork out many thousands of dollars for state-of-the-art technology, this system provides enough power for even the most demanding of users, while still maintaining the low sub-$2,500 price bracketing. Our hats go off to Altech for making high-end gaming and entertainment on the desktop attainable for the budget-conscious.
By Dan Chiappini
SYSmark02:
O: 292
ICC: 407
OP: 210
3Dmark01SE:
1,024 x 768@32 (Default): 17,908
PCMark04: 4,084