A well-built PC with a fast Core i3 processor, a large hard disk, and plenty of USB ports, but it lacks USB 3.0 and it isn't as good value with a monitor.
Written By
Published on 9 February 2011
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Our rating
Reviewed price £350 inc VAT
CyberPower’s Infinity Apollo has an Intel Core i3-540, plus 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard disk. This is already a quick processor, but CyberPower has overclocked it from its stock 3GHz to 3.7GHz, making it one of the fastest PCs you can buy for £350, despite the fact that is has half the memory of some rivals. Adding more RAM in the future will be a doddle, as you can plug in a second 2GB module into the spare slot.
CyberPower stuffs the PC with bubble wrap to keep everything in place during transit, and inside we found all the cables neatly bundled and tucked away behind the motherboard and drive bays. This looks great, and is only a hassle when you come to upgrade components and need to un-bundle some of the wires to find a spare power connector.The CoolerMaster Elite 310 case has plenty of space for upgrades, with numerous spare drive bays and SATA ports. There’s a spare PCI-E x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card, two free PCI slots and a single PCI-E x1 slot. You may have to upgrade the 450W power supply if you plan on adding a powerful graphics card, however.
Externally, the Apollo has eight USB ports, in addition to the two mounted on the front. While this is commendable, we would have liked to have seen some faster USB3 or eSATA ports as well. The bundled keyboard and mouse set is from Logitech. The keyboard is a bit spongy and the keys feel slightly wobbly; the mouse, despite being fairly light, has a comfortable shape and a chunky scroll wheel that supports side-to-side scrolling. Although the Apollo has two PS/2 ports, only the keyboard has a PS/2 connector so you’ll have to use up a USB port for the mouse.
CyberPower provides a three-year warranty with the Apollo, but only the first year covers replacement parts so it’s comparable to a the standard one-year, return-to-base warranty.
For an extra £149, you can add a 22in LG E2240 monitor to the bundle. We were impressed by its bright, even LED backlight and vibrant colours. By default, it’s set to quite a warm colour temperature, but it also has three gamma settings and a user colour setting that gives you more control over colour balance. It only has a VGA input however, so you won’t be able to connect a Blu-ray player or other device that requires an HDCP-protected link. For PC use, this isn’t a problem as the Infinity only has a VGA output.
The Apollo packs a surprising amount in considering the price, but as a bundle including the monitor, it isn’t quite as good value as other PCs we’ve seen for around £500. While it’s fast and has plenty of room for expansion, it lacks some of the latest standards such as USB3. The OP3 Mars is £40 cheaper and, although it has a 500GB hard disk and 2GB of RAM, its warranty is much longer, which makes it a cracking deal.
Written by
Barry de la Rosa
Barry de la Rosa has written various articles on a range of topics covering everything from TVs to mobile phones.
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