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Ginger6’s ND400 is a budget base unit (there’s no monitor) that uses AMD’s quad-core 2.9GHz Fusion A8-3850 processor. Like other Llano processors, its integrated graphics capabilities are good, with an AMD Radeon HD 6550D graphics processor built into the chip. It managed 18.9fps out of it in Dirt 3 at 1,280×720. Further quality reductions produce a smoothly playable frame-rate, so you’ll be able to play most recent 3D games, albeit without them looking their best.
The bad news is that the A8-3850 packs less of a punch than the Core i5 processors found in similarly priced PCs. It returned an overall score of 67 in our benchmarks – that’s enough to handle any desktop task you’re likely to throw at the ND400, but it’s half the performance of an overclocked Core i5-2500K.
Given the low price, we can just about forgive this, but it’s a shame the ND400 has no other outstanding features to make up for it. The DVD writer is no surprise – a Blu-ray drive would squeeze the budget too much. The Asrock A75M-HVS motherboard is the real disappointment as it doesn’t provide much scope for expansion. There are just two memory slots, both of which are occupied by 2GB modules. There’s a PCI-E x16 slot, with a PCI-E x1 slot above it and a PCI slot below. The latter will almost certainly be blocked if you install a typical graphics card, though. You’ll probably also need an adaptor, as the power supply lacks PCI-E power connectors. Four spare SATA ports mean you can add plenty of internal storage to the three free 31/2in bays (two of which are external) and one free 51/4in bay. The installed 1TB hard disk is big enough to keep most users going for a long time, anyway.
Making up for the lack of internal expansion are two USB ports at the front of the case and another six at the back. Four of the rear ports are USB3 – a boon for connecting fast hard disks. Two PS/2 ports mean you can connect a keyboard and mouse without hogging any USB ports. The integrated graphics can be output via VGA and HDMI ports and there are three 3.5mm ports for 5.1 analogue surround sound.
The case is well finished and sturdy, but it does little to quell the noise of the stock AMD CPU cooler, which rattles and whines irritatingly. The sole case fan is almost silent, though. The bundled Genius mouse and keyboard set is unremarkable but comfortable to use. The keyboard rattles but allowed us to touch-type quickly and the ambidextrous mouse is handy if you’re a leftie. Both have PS/2 connectors, so you can take advantage of the ports on the motherboard.
If your budget is limited to £400, the ND400 isn’t terrible value. However, if you can stretch an extra £50, the Chillblast Fusion Shadow is considerably more powerful in both desktop applications and games.
