Mesh Matrix Titan FX57 GTX

Mesh gave us an insight into the future of desktop computing with the Titan Dual X2 Pro, one of the first PCs to use a dual-core CPU. While this delivered great performance in multitasking and processor-intensive applications, it didn't offer any advantage for gamers.

Enter the Mesh Matrix Titan FX57 GTX; a PC equipped with the latest graphics card and AMD's brand new games-oriented processor, the Athlon FX-57.

Although the FX-57 uses the same 1MB of Level 2 cache as its closest relative, the FX-55, it distinguishes itself in other ways, most notably by running at 2.8GHz - 200MHz faster than any other AMD CPU.

The FX-57 is created using the same 90nanometer fabrication process that recently benefited AMD's dual-core X2 4800+ CPU. As a result, it has a lower operating temperature than the FX-55 and draws less power when running at full steam.

The FX-57 also has an improved memory controller. An FX-55 system with all four of its Dimm slots occupied by 400MHz modules could cause a drop in speed to 333MHz. In contrast, the FX-57 is designed to ensure your Ram runs at a consistent 400MHz.

The FX-57 supports the SSE3 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 3) instruction set, traditionally found in Intel Pentium CPUs. It's designed to help improve the performance of multimedia and gaming applications, but most users won't see the benefit since not much software takes advantage of it yet.

Mesh's powerhouse posted a solid result of 219 in Sysmark 2004 SE, in line with the fastest FX-55 PCs we've reviewed. It lags some way behind single-core 3.7GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition PCs, and even further behind those that use the dual-core Athlon X2 4800+.

Where it excelled, however, was with its graphics performance. The FX-57 is touted as the world's fastest gaming CPU and Mesh has tried to make the most of its performance by pairing it with the world's fastest graphics card - the Geforce 7800 GTX. The resulting 3Dmark05 score of 7,703 is the highest we've seen in a PC that uses a single graphics card.

Real-world results were also impressive. Although its Far Cry frame rate of 58.04fps (frames per second) wasn't very high in comparison to lower-end systems, it helped run Doom 3 at 51.8fps.

In trying to keep the PC affordable, Mesh has supplied a 19in TFT monitor. Although the Viewsonic VX924 is a quality screen, it has a native resolution of 1,280 x 1,080 - the same as the majority of 19in and 17in models.

If you're a demanding gamer (at whom this PC is aimed), you'll be sorely disappointed that you can't push the hardware to the limit by running games at a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200. A 20in TFT would have been more a logical choice.

Also included is a Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse and a set of 7.1 Creative speakers, which go well with the Asus A8N SLI motherboard's eight-channel onboard audio card.

On the software front, Mesh ships XP Home Edition (the most basic XP operating system) and a decent collection of video-editing and home cinema titles.

You don't get much else; there's no TV tuner, joystick or gamepad, and no game demo to put the hardware through its paces. Should things go wrong, Mesh offers an impressive three-year on-site hardware warranty, which covers parts and labour.

Despite some slight drawbacks, the Matrix Titan GTX is a fine PC. Given the choice, we would opt for a similarly priced computer with a dual-core CPU, but if games are your priority it represents excellent value for money.