Nvidia’s mid-range graphics card, the GeForce GTS 450, is beginning to appear in an increasing number of PCs. It might not be able to keep up with the GTX 460, but it’s built around the same revised Fermi core and is obviously making a good impression with PC builders.
Its results show why: a score of 33fps in our 1,920 x 1,080 High quality Crysis gaming test is extremely impressive for a budget machine. Despite the low price, the Fusion rapier is clearly capable of playing top titles, even if you’ll have to reign in your resolution or quality settings: we had to scale the system back to 1,600 x 900 to get a near-playable 26fps from our Very High quality benchmark.
Chillblast’s overclocked Intel processor is the ideal companion for the mid-range graphics card, and here the Core i3-530 has been overclocked from 2.93GHz to 4GHz. That results in an application benchmark score of 2.36: one of the best we’ve seen from a budget system, even if it can’t match the 2.56 of the Palicomp Core i3 Blast 530OC44, which achieved its score by running the same processor at a faster 4.4GHz. Still, it’s plenty of power and should sate all but the most demanding users.
It’s the second time Chillblast has used the EZCool A200D chassis recently and we’re glad to see it. It’s undoubtedly a budget enclosure, but few corners have been cut to meet the price. It’s one of the better looking low-end cases around and build quality is fine throughout. It’s also a little larger than most cheap cases, which allows for a motherboard tray and, consequently, an extremely tidy build.
Noise isn’t an issue, either. Barely a hum escapes from the graphics card cooler or the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro processor heatsink, although we’re disappointed by the heatsink getting in the way of one of the motherboard’s vacant DIMM slots. This is the only real black mark against the Chillblast’s upgrade potential, though, thanks to hard disk bays that face the side of the chassis and a decent selection of empty slots and sockets across the motherboard.
The monitor makes a good impression, too, with Chillblast plumping for the popular AOC F22+. This combines a 22in diagonal and 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution with decent quality. Colours are reasonably accurate and text is sharp. It lacks a little vibrancy when compared with more expensive panels, but it’s fine for everyday use.
Elsewhere, the wireless Logitech keyboard and mouse set is comfortable and comes with a range of media buttons, and the Gigabyte speakers, which don’t come with a subwoofer, still offer reasonable quality alongside a surprising amount of bass.
We have few quibbles with this PC. Performance is strong, the monitor is good and we like the fact that speakers have been included too. Some rivals are better in individual areas but, thanks to its all-round excellence, the Chillblast Fusion Rapier is our new budget system of choice.
Warranty | |
---|---|
Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
Basic specifications | |
Total hard disk capacity | 500GB |
RAM capacity | 4.00GB |
Screen size | 22.0in |
Processor | |
CPU family | Intel Core i3 |
CPU nominal frequency | 2.93GHz |
CPU overclocked frequency | 4.00GHz |
Processor socket | LGA 1156 |
HSF (heatsink-fan) | Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro |
Motherboard | |
Motherboard | Asus P7H55/USB3 |
Motherboard chipset | Intel H55 |
Conventional PCI slots free | 2 |
Conventional PCI slots total | 2 |
PCI-E x16 slots free | 2 |
PCI-E x16 slots total | 3 |
PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 |
PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 |
PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 |
PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 |
PCI-E x1 slots free | 1 |
PCI-E x1 slots total | 2 |
Internal SATA connectors | 6 |
Internal SAS connectors | 1 |
Internal PATA connectors | 1 |
Internal floppy connectors | 0 |
Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
Memory | |
Memory type | DDR3 |
Memory sockets free | 2 |
Memory sockets total | 4 |
Graphics card | |
Graphics card | Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 |
Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? | no |
3D performance setting | Low |
Graphics chipset | Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 |
Graphics card RAM | 1.00GB |
DVI-I outputs | 1 |
HDMI outputs | 1 |
VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
Number of graphics cards | 1 |
Hard disk | |
Hard disk | Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 |
Capacity | 500GB |
Hard disk usable capacity | 465GB |
Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
Spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
Cache size | 16MB |
Hard disk 2 make and model | N/A |
Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | N/A |
Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | N/A |
Hard disk 2 spindle speed | N/A |
Hard disk 2 cache size | N/A |
Hard disk 3 make and model | N/A |
Hard disk 3 nominal capacity | N/A |
Hard disk 4 make and model | N/A |
Hard disk 4 nominal capacity | N/A |
Drives | |
Optical drive | Sony Optiarc AD-5260S |
Optical disc technology | DVD writer |
Optical disk 2 make and model | N/A |
Optical disk 3 make and model | N/A |
Monitor | |
Monitor make and model | AOC F22+ |
Resolution screen horizontal | 1,920 |
Resolution screen vertical | 1,080 |
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
Pixel response time | 5ms |
Contrast ratio | 1,000:1 |
Screen brightness | 300cd/m2 |
DVI inputs | 1 |
HDMI inputs | 0 |
VGA inputs | 1 |
DisplayPort inputs | 0 |
Additional Peripherals | |
Speakers | Gigabyte GP-4600 |
Speaker type | 2.0 |
Sound card | Realtek HD Audio |
Case | |
Chassis | EZCool A200D |
Case format | Full tower |
Dimensions | 191 x 475 x 440mm (WDH) |
Power supply | |
Power supply | EZCool PS-05 650W |
Power supply rating | 650W |
Free drive bays | |
Free front panel 5.25in bays | 3 |
Rear ports | |
USB ports (downstream) | 8 |
FireWire ports | 1 |
PS/2 mouse port | yes |
Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 1 |
Modem | no |
3.5mm audio jacks | 6 |
Front ports | |
Front panel USB ports | 2 |
Front panel FireWire ports | 1 |
Front panel memory card reader | no |
Mouse & Keyboard | |
Mouse and keyboard | Logitech Wireless Desktop MK250 |
Operating system and software | |
OS family | Windows 7 |
Noise and power | |
Idle power consumption | 85W |
Peak power consumption | 276W |
Performance tests | |
Overall application benchmark score | 2.36 |
Office application benchmark score | 2.13 |
2D graphics application benchmark score | 2.41 |
Encoding application benchmark score | 2.10 |
Multitasking application benchmark score | 2.81 |
3D performance (crysis) low settings | 118fps |
3D performance setting | Low |
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