Cyberpower Infinity i5 Hercules SE

The Infinity Hercules SE from Cyberpower is supplied simply as a base unit – there is no monitor, keyboard or mouse. It’s designed, then, for people upgrading from an older computer or who want to connect it to an existing monitor or television screen.

The processor is an Intel Core i5 750 model, which is the same as the one in the PC Specialist Vortex i5 we looked at recently. It’s from the latest line of Intel quad-core processors, and although the 750 model is not at the top of the range, it’s no slouch.

As well as the fast processor, the computer is supplied with 4GB of memory and an ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card which has 1GB of its own memory.

The graphics card is not a recent model and it's not particularly fast, but it’s good enough for most uses. The computer handles video editing and playback of high-definition video clips well, and recent games are easily playable, although some may require tinkering with the quality levels to improve the speed at which they play.

The Infinity Hercules SE comes in a medium-sized tower case, which rises to around a foot and a half off the desk or floor. It is supplied with a CD/DVD writer in the front panel, which will read and write all kinds of disc except Blu-ray, and there is room for expansion using the drive bays on the front panel or internal bays inside the case (which can be used for adding extra hard disks).

The hard disk supplied is a 500GB model, which leaves plenty of room for storing music and video, although we have seen plenty of computers with more (including the PC Specialist Vortex).

The case looks great - a ring of blue colouring sits around the front panel, parts of which light up when the computer is switched on. Inside the case there is plenty of room for expansion, with two of the four memory slots free to add extra memory, in addition to the drive bays mentioned above.

It’s roomy inside with cables tucked away cleanly – this improves air flow, reducing the need for cooling, which in turn reduces power consumption.

The computer comes with the Windows 7 operating system installed, although it’s the 64-bit edition, which may cause problems with older software and hardware. If you have such products and want to use them with a new computer, check with the manufacturer that they will work with the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

The computer does not include a screen, but you can add one using the configuration tool on Cyberpower’s website. A 19in screen will add £100 to the price while a 22in one costs an extra £120

It’s also possible to configure most other aspects of the computer to your liking.

It comes with a three-year warranty. In all, the Cyberpower Infinity Hercules SE is a decent computer, but in terms of the accessories and components it’s not quite the best we have seen recently.