Due to a shortage of high-end ATi chips, Mesh has been forced to change the specification of the Matrix 64 3800+ Ultra, which won our Ultimate PCs group test last month. Mesh has no concrete allocation of the original graphics card, based on the Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition, and therefore can’t guarantee supply to its customers.
The replacement card is based on nVidia’s 6800 GT chipset. Fortunately, the nVidia-equipped version of this PC is still a great choice for gamers: at 1,280 x 1,024, it scored 83fps in Unreal Tournament 2004 and 70fps in Halo; that’s around 10 per cent down on the original scores. We also tested the machine in Doom 3, where it returned 63fps.
Taking into account the new price of £1,949 inc VAT, a drop of £50, we recalculated our scores from last month’s Ultimate PCs group test. The 3800+ Ultra remained a clear winner – little wonder considering the rest of the specification, which includes a 20.1in NEC TFT. As such, Mesh retains its place on the A List. Readers who want to place an order for the original machine are welcome to do so, but beware that you may have to wait several weeks for the Platinum Edition cards to become available.
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