Systemax Inspire 4012

It's only been a couple of months since we first laid eyes on an Athlon 64 PC. At the time the systems we saw were very expensive, but now Systemax has managed to launch a PC based on the new processor for just £999 ex VAT.

For this price we were expecting a few major compromises and were pleasantly surprised to find that wasn't so. The black and silver case is a little dull compared to some of the better-looking PCs we've seen, but it's far from ugly and is functional enough.

In addition to the AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor Systemax has provided 1GB of Ram in two PC3200 512MB Dimms. This leaves a single memory slot free on the MSI K8T motherboard for expansion.

Storage is provided by a large 160GB SATA (Serial ATA) hard disk, which is more than enough for most people's storage needs and, as it's a 7,200rpm model, it's pretty nippy as well.

As you might expect, this all adds up to a decent Sysmark score of 258. It puts this PC a little way behind some of the Pentium 4 systems we've seen but it's safe to say the Inspire 4012 won't struggle to run any of the current batch of applications. It's also worth considering that the Athlon 64 hasn't been given a chance to shine, as there's currently no 64bit version of Windows XP to take advantage of it.

Graphics are powered by a 128MB ATI All-In-Wonder 9800 SE. This might not be as fast as the Pro version of the card but it still powered this PC to a more than respectable score of 15,176 in 3Dmark 2001. In our Unreal Tournament game test the card scored 78.84fps running at a resolution of 1,024 x 768.

As it's an All-In-Wonder it has the added benefit of shipping with a remote control and the software to turn a PC into a hard disk recorder via the TV tuner - a handy way to take advantage of the disk space. We're big fans of the All-In-Wonder series, as they're great graphics performers and add extra scope to a PC.

Externally, Systemax has provided two matching optical drives; a four-speed Sony DVD drive and a 52-speed CD-RW. The Sony drive is multiformat and supports both plus and minus standards, so you're unlikely to run into trouble finding compatible media. Systemax has managed to source both drives in black, keeping them in style with the rest of the PC. Finally, there's a black floppy disk drive for fans of older storage technology.

Two USB2 ports finish off the front of the PC. It's well kitted out at the rear with a further six USB2, two Firewire, modem and network ports. An onboard 5.1 sound card gives good surround sound when combined with the Videologic speakers.

Opening up the case shows a tidy interior and neat cabling with easy access to most of the components - the spare memory slot is partially blocked by cables. Out of the five PCI slots only one is taken up by the modem. However, only two of the remaining slots can be used, as the other two are blocked by other cards. With two spare drive bays (one 5.25in and one 3.5in) there's room to put in another hard disk, multiformat card reader or, should you really need it, another optical drive.

Only the 19in CRT is a little disappointing. It does mean that you can run the graphics card at a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200 but we're used to seeing 17in TFTs now, even on budget PCs. A decent wired keyboard and optical mouse finish the package and match the design of the case.

All in all we were happy with what we saw. The little niggles we had don't really detract from what is a decent PC at an agreeable price. The inclusion of the All-In-Wonder graphics card gives the Inspire 4012 scope for games and entertainment, while the 64bit processor means you're future proofed when the 64bit version of Windows XP arrives.

Contact: Simply Computers 0870 727 2130
www.systemaxpc.co.uk

Specifications:

• AMD Athlon 64 3000+
• 8 USB2
• 2 Firewire
• Onboard 5.1 surround sound
• 19in CRT
• Videologic 5.1 speakers
• 52x Samsung CD-RW
• 4x Sony DVD +/- RW
• MSI K8T
• Neo FIS2R motherboard
• 128MB ATI All-In-Wonder 9800SE
• Windows XP Home
• Ability Office 2003
• 56K modem