PC Specialist Aurea i3-530 Pro review

It’s frugal with power, too. The processor, with its 73W TDP and integrated graphics, contributed to an idle power draw of just 52W – only 20W more than we’d expect from the average Atom-powered nettop – and even the peak power draw of 82W is less than we see most PCs consuming when idle. It highlights just how power-hungry modern graphics cards can be.

The chassis may be a budget model, but it’s not the ugliest case we’ve seen. The glossy black exterior looks smart and, even though it collects fingerprints, it won’t shame your desk. The selection of ports is generous, too, and includes nine USB sockets, an HDMI output and a media card reader.

Inside, the Aurea is serviceable but, as expected, pretty bare. Upgrade potential is mixed, with the motherboard offering spare PCI Express x16 and DIMM slots, but the case itself only has a single vacant hard disk bay and two empty 5.25in bays. Still, it’s enough headroom to upgrade it into a gaming system should the need arise later down the line.

PC Specialist has done a basic job of cable tidying, too. Leads emerge from the 350W power supply and snake all over the chassis but, with no separate motherboard tray or other finery inside, they’re difficult to hide: some are lashed together with the occasional cable-tie but, for the most part, they’re left to fend for themselves.

It’s also not a particularly quiet system, even without a graphics card and with only one case fan. Intel’s stock cooler is used to keep the processor chilled and hums accordingly, but the worst offender is the cheap 350W PSU, which emits a constant high-pitched whirr.

But it’s a budget PC with impressive power, so when you look at that £382 exc VAT price tag it’s not difficult to put aside the few issues it has. It’s the kind of price that until recently we’d have associated with low-power Pentium and even Atom PCs, but the Core i3 really shakes that up. At a good four times faster than most nettops, we can’t wait for someone to build a Core i3 system in a small-form factor chassis.

While we wait for that, we’re perfectly happy to recommend the PC Specialist Aurea i3-530. It’s cheap yet powerful, with a solid specification and an adequate chassis. On this evidence the Core i3 processor is the new benchmark for budget performance, and this PC takes full advantage.