Evesham Evolution 3.2P

The Evesham Evolution 3.2P is one of the first commercially available PCs to feature a Prescott Pentium 4 processor. This latest addition to the Intel family is the inevitable successor to the current crop of processors based on the Northwood core. It brings with it a larger cache, a new set of instructions for optimising multimedia performance and the promise of clock speeds as high as 5GHz.

While the 3.2GHz Prescott at the helm offers a small glimpse of the future, the remainder of the system is rather more familiar. It is housed in the Evesham 'Splat' case - a visually boisterous design that does as much for hinting at the system's hidden power as it does for alienating the more conservative PC buyer.

Internally, Evesham has opted for the MSI 865PE motherboard. It's a good choice, as it's passively cooled Northbridge helps to keep overall system noise to an acceptable minimum. Joining this is a generous 1GB of Ram on separate 512MB Dimms. These are installed in a dual-channel formation designed to reduce performance bottlenecks.

The rest of the PC is similarly well decked out. The 256MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card is a competent workhorse and, performance-wise, not far behind its big brother, the 9800 XT. Accordingly, the 3Dmark03 benchmark result of 5,983 was impressive. Likewise, the Unreal Tournament 2003 result of 82fps at a resolution of 1,024 x 768 was a solid result. Graphics enthusiasts should note that the Microland PC (which will be reviewed in PCW May 2004) achieved a superior 3Dmark result with a 128MB 9800 Pro graphics card and an Athlon 64 3000+ processor clocked at just 2GHz.

However, more inspiring results were expected of the Evesham's core performance. The 3.2GHz Prescott could conceivably have been labelled a Pentium 5. It is the first Intel processor since the original Northwood P4 to boast a new multimedia extension set - the arrival of which normally coincides with the introduction of a new generation of Pentium. Interestingly, Intel's decision to extend the Pentium 4 branding to the Prescott range may relate to its less-than-stellar performance results.

Sysmark 2002 benchmarks revealed it still has some way to go before equalling the muscle provided by the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. The overall score of 301 is highly respectable, but similar figures can be extracted from standard Northwood P4s, despite the Prescott series having twice as much L1 and L2 cache. To the processor's credit, however, software that takes full advantage of its new instruction set has yet to arrive.

In terms of storage, the Evolution 3.2P is equipped with a generous 160GB hard disk and the excellent LG GSA 4040-B DVD rewriter. This drive is capable of writing to both plus and minus DVD formats, as well as the far less common DVD-Ram. This covers you for all eventualities in a climate where a prevailing DVD format has yet to be established.

A total of six USB2 ports provide plenty of scope for system expansion. Two of these are located at the front of the PC for easy access alongside microphone and headphone sockets. Sound is provided courtesy of the Creative Audigy 2 soundcard and the Creative Inspire 7700 speakers. This combination provides 7.1 channels of sound for games and movies alike.

Display duties are handled by a sleek silver and black Viewsonic VP171S monitor, which complements the appearance of the 3.2P's case. It has a high-quality 17in screen, with good resilience to distortion along the horizontal viewing axis. Although the same cannot be said for viewing along the vertical axis at extreme angles, the VP171S makes up for this shortcoming with a height-adjustable stand and swivel function.

Despite a few minor disappointments, the Evesham Evolution 3.2P provides great value for money at just £1,229 ex VAT. It may not demonstrate the performance we had hoped the Prescott would provide, but it does offer more power than most Athlon 64-based machines, and should demonstrate its true potential as new software takes advantage of its larger cache and new instructions.

Contact: Evesham 0870 160 9500
www.evesham.com

Specifications:

• Windows XP Home
• Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz 1MB cache 800MHz (Prescott)
• 1GB PC3200 DDR
• MSI i865PE ATX motherboard
• Intel 10/100 Lan
• 160GB Sata hard disk (8MB)
• LG GSA 4040-B DVD rewriter
• ATI Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card 256MB DDR
• Viewsonic VP171S 17in TFT
• Creative Inspire T7700 speakers
• Microsoft Works Suite 2004
• 2yrs on-site, 1yr RTB warranty