Home page » PCs

Search:

Refine search for PCs

We haven't reviewed a system from DinoPC before, but the assembler has been around for a while and today we're putting one of the company's gaming PCs through its paces. Originally we were getting in another system toward the budget end between the £600 to £700 mark, but couldn't resist what we were told would be one of the best systems under that magical one grand barrier, the i7-Osaurus Gaming PC. With a fast Core i7 CPU and Radeon HD 5870 graphics card it certainly has the potential on paper, so join us as we find out whether it lives up to its claims in practice.

As far as the case goes, the system is housed in the eminently-capable Antec Nine Hundred Two. This impressive mid-tower is a significant upgrade to the original Nine Hundred as found in the Wired2Fire Diablo MaXcore gaming PC, or if you prefer, a smaller version of the full-tower Twelve Hundred which hosted the impressive CyberPower Gamer Ultra Perseus. As such it's constructed from a mixture of thick steel and even thicker, rugged plastic, lending it excellent build quality.

It also scores high in the looks department, with an industrial overall impression aided by the massive top-mounted 200mm fan, girder-like top rails and honeycomb metal front mesh. It's painted matte black both outside and inside, which with the side window to show off your PC's innards is essential. All its fans are also lit by blue LEDs, though for the top fan this can be turned off using a small physical switch at the Nine Hundred Two's rear.

Its cooling characteristics are excellent, thanks to twin 120mm fans at the front, the 200mm one at the top, and another 120mm one at the rear - and just in case that isn't enough for you, there's an optional 120mm mount at the side too.

All the installed fans feature washable air filters, and can be set to Low, Medium or High speeds, using an inconspicuous dial for the front ones and switches for the top and rear. When set to Low the fans provide plenty of cooling for this PC while keeping noise levels down to a pleasantly unobtrusive hum.

As far as connectivity goes, the Nine Hundred Two offers eSATA and twin USB ports as well as unmarked metal headphone and microphone jacks at the front between the small reset and large power buttons.

Around the back, meanwhile, we have mouse and keyboard PS2 ports, eight USB ports, optical digital and six analogue audio outputs, a Gigabit Ethernet port and eSATA plus FireWire connections. The Radeon 5870 graphics card supplies twin DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort, rounding off a very comprehensive selection.

Add your comment

© 2003-2009 TrustedReviews & IPC Media
About Us | Contact Us | Legal | Privacy | RSS