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Although you can buy a decent PC with a Core i5 for £650 – RL Supplies’ Modula Performa – you’ll get a better-specified computer if you can stretch your budget to £800. For a start, the G6i5GTS250 comes with a 22in monitor, rather than the Modula’s 20in. It may not have a Full HD resolution, but the HannsG’s 1,680×1,050 pixels make icons easy to read while still providing plenty of desktop space. The Core i5 750 processor and Asus P7P55D motherboard are expensive items, though, which goes some way to explaining why the monitor has only a VGA input and no digital interfaces. The built-in speakers are predictably poor quality and lack volume. Image quality is fine, though, with well-saturated colours and good brightness. Contrast is acceptable, too. The black NZXT case is reasonably good. Construction is a little flimsy, but the internal layout is sensible. At the front, a 120mm fan cools the hard disk, which is mounted in a quick-release tray. There’s also room for an extra two disks, or three if you move the bundle of cables taking up the top bay. Below the DVD writer are three bays for extra optical drives or front panel devices. Three PCI slots are free, but the front-panel audio cable blocks two of these and is too short to re-route. No fan is fitted to the 120mm mount at the rear, but the power supply has a quiet 120mm fan inside, and helps to expel hot air through the rear. The Intel processor cooler is fairly quiet, too, but the GeForce GTS 250’s fan is noisy, even when idle. You’ll want to keep the PC under a desk to avoid this distracting hum.
The graphics card didn’t fare too well in our game tests, managing just 24fps in Crysis. If gaming is a priority, there are better deals available. The 500GB hard disk is also a little stingy at this price.
