Good performance and excellent screen make
it a compelling cheap choice.
Our cheap PC category has been dominated by
the Palicomp’s Phoenix i5 Destiny for a long time (web ID: 366 679), but that
system’s Sandy Bridge processors and last-generation graphics seem to be
outdated. It's time to change, and the Chillblast Fusion Templar is determined
to steal its crown.
The Templar has a familiar start with the
Intel Core i5-3,570K processor. The "K" suffix indicates that it's an
unlocked CPU, and the Chillblast has taken full advantage by increasing the
incident speed of3.3GHz to 4.5GHz. It is not the most ambitious change we've
seen on this processor, but it is enough to provide an application test result
of 1.15 - 4.5% faster than the 1.1 scored by the Palicomp Phoenix i5 Destiny.
The
Templar has a familiar start with the Intel Core i5-3570K processor. The
"K" suffix indicates that it's an unlocked CPU, and the Chillblast
has taken full advantage by increasing the incident speed of3.3GHz to 4.5GHz.
Gaming power originates from a midrange AMD
Radeon HD 7770, which surpassed the Palicomp in our gaming tests. It reached a
speed of 49fps in Crysis test at 1,920 x 1,080 High Quality settings, 19fps
more than its rivals. The Templar can handle high-end games at native
resolution, reaching 30fps in the Very High quality test, although the higher
resolutions and multi- screen settings will prove too much for this card.
However, none of the components struggled
in our heat tests. The processor attained the highest temperature of 74 degrees
Celsius thanks to the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 heatsink (see 1), and
the graphics card provided by XFX – was even cooler, only reaching the highest
level of 620C. Noise was not a problem; the Templar was almost
silent when it was in the idle mode, and its soft whine throughout the tough
tests is nothing serious to worry about.
The rest of the specification makes an
impression. 8GB of RAM is double the amount included in the Palicomp, and the
Seagate Barracuda hard drive delivers 1TB of storage and good specifications.
Its sequential read and write speeds of 189MB/s and 176MB/s compare well with
the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D located in the A-List, which reached speeds of
186MB/s and 187MB/s. The only frustration is the DVD writer; the Palicomp
consists of a Blu-ray drive.
The chassis, a Corsair 200R, will not win
any design prizes with its simple matte metal outer, but it has everything
inside. A raised mainboard tray (see 2) allows the Chillblast to hide the ugly
cables of the Xigmatek power behind it, and many of the system’s cables are
tied together. As a result, we have an extremely tidy machine that is easy to
work inside.
There is also a great deal of upgrade
potential, with two empty memory sockets that are likely to accept an
additional 24GB of DDR3 RAM, four empty SATA sockets on the bottom of the
mainboard (see 3), three side-facing hard disk trays and two empty 5.25 inch
disk bays. There is an empty PCI Express x16 slot (x4 speed limit), and it is
participated by one PCI Express x1 and three PCIs. If we have any complaints,
it is common about the general build quality. The plastic front panel bends ominously
when pressed and the metal side panels are rather fragile.
The processor attained the highest
temperature of 74 degrees Celsius thanks to the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
Rev.2 heatsink (see 1). A raised mainboard tray (see 2) allows the Chillblast
to hide the ugly cables of the Xigmatek power behind it, and many of the
system’s cables are tied together. There is also a great deal of upgrade
potential, with two empty memory sockets that are likely to accept an
additional 24GB of DDR3 RAM, four empty SATA sockets on the bottom of the
mainboard (see 3), three side-facing hard disk trays and two empty 5.25 inch
disk bays.
Chillblast has included many accessories
with the Templar, and the screen is the star of the show. It is a Full HD
Iiyama ProLite X2377HDS screen- one of the best screens that we have ever seen
is packed with a PC at this price. Its IPS screen provides an average Delta E
of 2.5, which is better than the cheap screen in our A-List – the Dell
UltraSharp U2312HM - and the precise colors are commensurate with pretty good
maximum brightness of 266cd/m2. The only complaint is about the black level,
which we want it to be deeper. The Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse are
only average.
Apart from that, there is very little wrong
with this computer. It is faster in applications and games than its cheap
competitors, the chassis is tidy and quiet, and it comes with one of the best
screens in a desktop package for this price. The Palicomp has had a lasting
impact at the top of the A-List, but ultimately it has to be ranked last. The
Chillblast Fusion Templar is the new king.
There
is very little wrong with this computer. It is faster in applications and games
than its cheap competitors, the chassis is tidy and quiet, and it comes with
one of the best screens in a desktop package for this price.
Info
·
Price: $899
Ratings
·
Total: 5/6
·
Performance: 5/6
·
Features and design: 5/6
·
Value: 6/6
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Chillblast
Fusion Templar Technical Specifications
·
3.3GHz Intel Core i5-3570K overclocked to 4.5
GHz
·
8GB DDR3 RAM
·
1TB hard disk
·
DVD burner
·
AMD Radeon HD 7,770 graphics
·
24-inch TFT screen
·
1,920x1,080
·
4 USB 3.0 ports; four USB 2.0 ports
·
1 PS / 2, 1 optical S / PDIF
·
5 3.5mm audio
·
Gigabit Ethernet
·
Wireless keyboard and mouse
·
Windows 8 64-bit
·
A one-year RTB warranty
·
210x497x430mm.
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