One of the biggest reasons to buy a new
desktop PC – especially lf your current model is several years old and on its
last legs – is faster performance. The Chillblast Fusion Sentry is the first PC
we’ve seen that’s equipped with one of Intel’s 5 new fourth-generation Core
processors (called Haswell), which the company says are its fastest yet.
Intel releases new processors every year on
an alternating ‘Tick-Tock’ schedule. ‘Tock’ chips have a major new design that
should have faster performance and more features, while ‘Tick’ processors use
the same design, but are smaller and more power efficient. The Haswell chips
are ‘Tock’ processors and should therefore be faster than last year’s ‘Ivy
Bridge’ third-generation Core chips.
Chillblast
Funsion Sentry
However, in our benchmark tests it wasn’t
faster than our test PC which runs last year’s Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz Core i5 3570K
chip. But with a 3.2Ghz Core i5 processor and 8GB of memory, the Sentry is
still a powerful, speedy computer.
Chillblast has fitted the Sentry with an
Nvidia GeForce GTX 650Ti graphics card. It’s not the most powerful graphics
card available, but it’s fast enough to play graphically demanding games
smoothly.
Despite its fast performance, the Sentry is
very quiet because it has just one rear cooling fan instead of multiple cooling
fans like some other PCs. It didn’t overheat when running our benchmark tests,
but if you later upgrade the PC with more power-hungry components – such as a
faster graphics card then you’ll want to add more cooling fans. There’s plenty
of room for adding them – there’s space for two fans on the side of the Sentry
and another for two fans at the top.
Nvidia
GeForce GTX 650Ti graphics card
There’s plenty of space for other upgrades
too. There’s one PCI and one PCI Express slot for adding peripherals such as a
Wi-Fi card or TV tuner. If the 1TB hard disk isn’t enough, up to three more
disks can be fitted. There’s also dedicated space for fitting up to three SSDs.
It’s unlikely you’ll need to fit that much extra storage, but if you do, then
you’ll need to add a PCI card with more SATA ports as there are just four free
SATA ports on the Sentry’s motherboard. The 650W PSU has just three spare power
leads, so you will need splitters if you’re intent on adding lots of internal
upgrades. Most people won’t need these upgrade options, but PC enthusiasts will
appreciate them.
There are plenty of ports for adding
external peripherals. At the front are two USB3 ports and a USB2 connector,
while round the back are four USB3 ports and a pair of USB2 connectors. You
won’t need to add a memory card reader, though, as one is already built-in.
Wi-Fi isn’t built-in, but there’s a Gigabit Ethernet port for wired network and
internet access. There are two DVI ports and a HDMI connector so you can
connect up to three monitors.
Included with the Sentry is a 23in liyama
ProLite X2377HDS monitor which has a 1920x1080 pixel resolution and uses IPS
technology. It’s bright with excellent contrast. You can adjust brightness
using four buttons on the underside of the bottom bezel. Viewing angles are
restrictive for an IPS monitor, though – you have to look at it straight on or
the otherwise good color accuracy suffers. Another disappointment is the
inflexible stand which feels wobbly, can’t be tilted and doesn’t have any
height adjustment. Despite these flaws, it’s a good monitor and better than the
cheap monitors often thrown in with PCs.
Included
with the Sentry is a 23in liyama ProLite X2377HDS monitor
Also included with the Sentry is a basic
Logitech cordless keyboard and mouse. The mouse works well enough, but the
keyboard‘s keys feel spongy. We found this made typing uncomfortable and
increased the likelihood of typos.
Overall, the Chillblast Fusion Sentry is a
good value PC. It’s quiet, comes with a generally good-quality monitor, has
some useful expansion options and is also faster than many PCs from two years
ago. It’s a good choice for replacing a PC of that age or older. Although the
new Haswell processor didn’t perform faster than a comparable last-generation
Ivy Bridge chip, it isn’t worth seeking out a PC with the older chip unless
it's substantially cheaper or more generously equipped in other ways. The
Sentry’s Haswell processor can be swapped out for future Intel processors,
which isn’t the case for an Ivy Bridge-based PC, so it has better upgrade
potential.
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Specifications
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Intel: Ivybridge Core i5 3570k (Quad)
·
Overclocked: To 4.4Ghz Per Core
·
Asus: P8Z77-V LX (New Z77 Chipset)
·
Patriot Viper: 8GB 1600Mhz
·
Storage: 1TB SATA3, 6Gb/s
·
Samsung: 24XDVDRW
·
AMD: Radeon HD7850 2GB
·
Asus: 24” VS247H LED HDMI HD TFT Monitor
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Pricing: $1,140
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