The Wired2Fire Diablo Ultima has many of the ingredients you'd expect
from a modern performance PC, with an overclocked Core i5-3570K
processor, good build quality and Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating
system. The AOC i2352Vh monitor is one of our favourites, too, with a
23.6in matte-finish IPS screen and outstanding image quality. It's not a
touchscreen, though, so you'll need either a second display or an
alternative monitor if you want to take advantage of Windows 8's
touch-optimised features.
The i5-3570K processor has been overclocked to an impressive 4.6GHz,
which gives it enough of a power boost to produce an overall score of
146 in our application benchmarks. This high score translates to a
real-world ability to run any application you'll need smoothly, even if
your requirements include heavy-duty multitasking or virtualisation. The
1GB PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 graphics card isn't amazingly powerful
but it's certainly competent. In Crysis 2 at 1,920x1,080 and Ultra
quality we saw 16fps, which is nowhere near smooth enough to play, but
once we dropped the game's quality settings to Very High we saw a much
smoother average frame rate of 27fps. The graphics card has two DVI
ports and a Mini HDMI port for up to three monitors.
The PC's motherboard is an Asus P8Z77-V LX, which is a common board
among system builders. It has three free PCI slots, two PCI-E x16 slots,
one of which is free but runs at x4 speed, and two PCI-E x1 slots, one
of which is blocked by the graphics card. Two of the four memory slots
are fitted with 4GB RAM modules running at 1,600MHz. 8GB of RAM is
plenty for current applications, but the other two memory slots are
easily accessible and the motherboard can handle a maximum 32GB of
memory.
There are a total of six SATA ports, of which two are SATA3. Both are
currently in use, but that still leaves three empty SATA2 ports if you
need to add extra storage. Currently, the Diablo Ultima has a 120GB SSD
system drive for fast boot speeds and a 1TB HDD for storage, as well as a
Blu-ray reader. There's plenty of space for more hard disks, memory
card readers or optical drives if you want them, with four empty 3 1/2in
internal bays, an empty 3 1/2in external bay and three unused 5 1/4in
bays.
The case itself is robust and reasonably proofed against dust and
fluff. The system is fairly quiet thanks to a good choice of components,
although the perforated side panel doesn't block much sound. There are
two USB ports on the front panel, along with the usual 3.5mm headphone
and mic ports. The back of the motherboard gives you two USB3 ports,
four USB2 ports, a PS/2 port, Gigabit Ethernet, an optical S/PDIF output
for digital audio and 5.1 analogue surround sound.
The PC's keyboard is unbranded, and while it is made of rather rough
plastic and its keys are a bit rattly, it's easy enough to type on. The
Logitech mouse is definitely a budget option but is entirely comfortable
to use.
This is an excellent PC and came very close to winning our coveted
Best Buy award. Its graphics card is underpowered compared to that of
similarly-priced rivals, such as the Chillblast Fusion Blaze,
but if you prioritise fast boot speeds and an excellent monitor over
gaming power, the Diablo Ultima could still be the PC for you.
| Part Code |
Diablo Ultima |
| Review Date |
24 Oct 2012 |
| Rating |
|
| Processor |
Intel Core i5-3570K
|
| Processor external bus |
100MHz (DMI)
|
| Processor multiplier |
x46
|
| Processor clock speed |
4.6GHz
|
| Processor socket |
LGA1155
|
| Memory |
8
|
| Memory type |
PC3-12800
|
| Maximum memory |
32GB
|
| Motherboard |
Asus P8Z77-V LX
|
| Motherboard chipset |
Intel Z77
|
| USB2 ports (front/rear) |
2/6
|
| Firewire ports (front/rear) |
0/0
|
| eSATA ports (front/rear) |
0/0
|
| Wired network ports |
1x 10/100/1000
|
| Wireless networking support |
none
|
| Case |
midi tower
|
| PCI-E x1 slots (free) |
2 (1)
|
| PCI-E x16 slots (free) |
2 (1)
|
| Free Serial ATA ports |
3
|
| Free memory slots |
2
|
| Free 3.5in drive bays |
5
|
| Hard disk model(s) |
Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD + Hitachi HDS721010DLE630
|
| Interface |
SATA3 + SATA2
|
| Total storage capacity |
1,120GB
|
| Graphics card(s) |
1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 650
|
| Graphics/video ports |
2x DVI, 1x mini HDMI
|
| Sound |
Realtek ALC887
|
| Sound outputs |
5.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out, line out, mic in
|
| Speakers |
none
|
| Supported memory cards |
none
|
| Optical drive type(s) |
BD-ROM, DVD+/-RW +/-DL
|
| Viewable size |
23.6 in
|
| Screen model |
AOC i2352Vh
|
| Native resolution |
1,920x1,080
|
| Screen inputs |
HDMI, DVI, VGA
|
| Keyboard |
LK-890
|
| Mouse |
Logitech B110
|
| Software included |
none
|
| Operating system |
Windows 8
|
| Operating system restore option |
Windows disc
|
| Warranty |
two years RTB
|
| Price |
£799
|
| Details |
www.wired2fire.co.uk
|
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