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Mesh’s Matrix II 925 HD isn’t the fastest PC £650 can buy, but it’s a well-rounded system. The lack of processing power comes from the choice of a 2.8GHz Phenom II X4 925, which can’t compete with the Intel Core i5 processors in similarly priced PCs. However, Mesh has realised that few people need the power of a Core i5, and has instead used the money saved to install a few more useful components. One is the huge 1TB hard disk, which should cater for all your storage needs. Next is the great 22in Iiyama E2208HDS monitor. It’s one of our favourite budget monitors, with accurate if slightly pale colours that retain their intensity from most viewing angles. Its full HD resolution is a perfect match for the Matrix II’s Blu-ray drive for watching HD movies. It’s easy to connect surround-sound speakers, too. The Radeon HD 4850 graphics card lacks the power to satisfy serious gamers, but is beefy enough to play the latest games at reasonable quality levels. The comfortable keyboard and mouse are reliable wired models from Logitech. The Matrix’s compact microATX case reduces fan noise to a soft hum. It doesn’t take up much space, either. There isn’t much room for upgrades, but the Asus M2N68-VM motherboard provides just about everything you’ll need, including eight-channel audio and an eSATA port. The only notable omission is FireWire. The graphics card blocks the only PCI-E x1 slot, but doesn’t get in the way of the SATA ports. Cables are all neatly routed and there are two free PCI slots. The motherboard has two free memory slots, which can be used to upgrade from 4GB to a total of 8GB of RAM.
Unless you really need the extra grunt of a Core i5 processor, this is a great buy for £650. It even comes with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium installed. The Matrix II 925 HD wins our Best Buy award.
