Packard Bell Ixtreme 9071

Packard Bell claims the Ixtreme 9071 is 'probably the fastest PC on the market', and with its impressive specification it comes pretty close. It's aimed at home users who want a PC that's ideal for the most demanding games.

The core of the Ixtreme 9071 is a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 processor, along with 512MB of DDR SD-Ram memory.

It's unlikely you would need much more than this for some time to come, but even if you did there's no room for more memory unless you replace its Dimms with 1GB ones.

This is because the Ixtreme 9071 has a cut-down motherboard, which is disappointing due to the size of the case, and leaves you with few upgrade options.

Inside the case it has both a 16-speed Hitachi LG DVD-Rom and a 40x 10x 40x NEC CD-RW drive. It also has several features integrated into the motherboard, including five USB2 ports - three on the back of the case and two on the front. These are alongside two Firewire ports - one on the back and one on the front.

You also get a Realtek RTL8139/810x Ethernet adaptor, as well as parallel, serial and integrated VGA ports. The 9071 uses a Geforce4 Ti4600 card, with 128MB of video memory, making it ideal for running games and 3D applications.

The 3Dmark score was surprisingly low, though - we can only presume the motherboard is at fault.

The Aztech CNR V.92 modem is mounted in the CNR port on the motherboard. This leaves three free PCI slots on the motherboard. However, one of the slots is obscured by the heatsink on the graphics card, so there are only two available for use.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect about the Ixtreme 9071 is the bundled monitor. It's described as a 17in monitor, but its viewable size is just 15.9in. As this system is aimed at gamers, we expected far more, and image quality is nothing special either.

Sound is onboard and, although its analogue output isn't the best quality, it does support Dolby 5.1 surround sound, with the addition of a bracket connecting to the motherboard.

If you have a set of surround-sound speakers with a decoder you can make use of this; if not, the speakers will set you back a minimum of £100.

The supplied Loudmouse speakers comprise a base unit and two small round satellites that can be clipped on to the monitor. Sound quality is only as good as the sound chip, so if you're after better output you'll have to add around £200 to the asking price to buy a sound card.

As with many other major PC manufacturers, Packard Bell has opted for uniform styling across its whole range, including the Ixtreme 9071. This is a combination of a metallic sky blue and cream.

Although it isn't that radical, it does make the system look different from the standard beige boxes of other manufacturers. This colour scheme is continued on the monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. These are Packard Bell branded, but they appear to be rebranded Logitech devices.

The keyboard is smaller than standard, with all the usual keys, but with a layout rather like what you would expect from a compact notebook. The mouse is the standard two-button variety with a scroll wheel.

The system comes with Microsoft's Windows XP Home pre-installed, a copy of the Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 and Microsoft's Zoo Tycoon.

Sysmark scores were too low for our liking - a 2.8GHz P4 should have scored 30 points more.

Overall, this is a well-specced PC but the performance and monitor were disappointing for the price.

SPECS

• Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz
• 512MB DDR SD-Ram
• 120GB hard disk
• NEC 40x CD-RW
• Hitachi LG 16x DVD-Rom drive
• Nvidia Geforce4 Ti4600
• One serial, one parallel, five USB2, and two Firewire ports, integrated Ethernet
• V.92 56K modem
• Windows XP Home

DETAILS
Price: £1,699 (£1,445.96 ex VAT)

Contact: Packard Bell 01628 512 456
www.packardbell.co.uk