Review: Cube 247 Omega ST2

Like Ambros, Cube has opted for a fairly conventional PC design for its system – albeit in a compact small form factor case.

It won’t look as stylish sitting next to your TV as the Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo E or Hi-Grade DMS II 3200 . On the other hand, it does make a great multimedia and games machine.

Equipped with a dual-core AMD64X2 4600+ processor, the Omega ST2 walks – or rather runs – away with the top spot in the majority of our benchmark tests.

It will have absolutely no trouble handling any audio or video work that you want to throw at it, and the included Radeon X1800 graphics card produces top-notch 3D performance, so it’s more than a match for even the most demanding 3D games.

Judged purely in terms of performance the Omega ST2 doesn’t really have any competition here. However, there’s more to an entertainment PC than raw performance, and the Omega can’t quite match the multimedia features of some of its more versatile rivals in this group test.

It’s got the basics covered – the S-video output on the graphics card will allow you to connect it to your TV, and you also get surround sound and two digital audio inputs and outputs.

There are also Firewire ports for connecting a DV camcorder, along with a media card reader for transferring files from a digital camera.

There’s only a single TV tuner, though, and no composite or S-video input for recording video from other sources.

So, while Cube’s Omega ST2 is a terrific games machine or a workstation for video editing or music recording, there’s no way it’s ever going to be able to replace the VCR or DVD recording systems you currently use in your living room.

This is part of a group test on remote access software. Other articles are:
Media Center PCs introduction and Editor's Choice
Ambros Shuttle SD36G5M
Cube 247 Omega ST2
Dell Dimension 5150C
Elonex Artisan VX
Evesham Ebox V
Fujitsu-Siemens Scaleo E
Hi-Grade DMS II 3200
Mesh Cubex Media TV PCW
Panrix Mantis
Sony Vaio VGX-XL 100
Entertainment systems and Viiv