Yoyotech Fi7epower 4.8 review

The lack of cable tangle is criticial here, since the Survivor’s comparatively compact dimensions mean there isn’t much room in which to manoeuvre when upgrading and replacing components. The top half of the case is dominated by the Thermaltake Frio processor cooler and its pair of 120mm fans, and the Radeon HD 6970 graphics card is only a millimetre short of touching the hard disk cage.

In terms of upgrade space, there isn’t much room to play with here, either, with no DIMM sockets remaining, just one of the two PCI Express x16 slots (limited to x8 speed here) available for use, and pairs of PCI Express x1 and PCI sockets vacant. The advantage to having that third x16 slots blocked, however, is an extra pair of USB 3 sockets (the system has four in total).

Elsewhere, the graphics card makes accessing the Asus P8P67 PRO motherboard’s spare SATA ports difficult, the four spare hard disk cages feel a little flimsy, and there are only single 5.25in and 3.5in bays vacant at the front of the chassis.

Yoyotech hasn’t quite hit the mark when it comes to noise levels, either. While the Fi7epower’s quiet hum isn’t much worse than that of the Palicomp, it can’t compete with the Chillblast’s near-silent operation; the Yoyotech’s graphics card was noticeably louder when stressed too.

The monitor – an Iiyama ProLite E2208HDS – is on the small side with a 22in diagonal and a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, but quality is fine throughout. The only sign of backlight bleeding is a sliver along the bottom edge, detail is sharp, and slightly cold colours don’t ruin the viewing experience.

It’s a shame Yoyotech had to downsize to a 22in monitor to bring its system in on budget. Luckily, you’re able to customise the machine before you buy and, with a 24in Iiyama ProLite E2407HDS available for just £20 exc VAT more, you’d be mad to not upgrade.

The keyboard and mouse from Dyanmode is another weak spot. The former has a flexible base and an annoyingly loud click that’s a far cry from the softer and more comfortable typing you’ll get on the average Logitech or Microsoft unit. The latter is better, but again below average. We’d advise another (inexpensive) upgrade.

It isn’t the perfect PC, then – the chassis is a little cramped and it isn’t the best in gaming machines, either – but with this much raw power on tap it’s easy to forgive the odd snag. The Yoyotech Fi7epower gains the fastest PC Pro application benchmark score ever and doesn’t break the bank in doing so; if you’re looking for the ultimate in performance, it’s the machine to buy.