Cybyte XP2000RD+

A budget PC that's capable of meeting the needs of most people.

Price: £799

Manufacturer: Cybyte

Ratings

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Verdict

Pros:

Competitively priced; well-balanced system; USB 2 fitted.
Cons: Its looks are an acquired taste.
Overall: Although it's a little untidy inside, and the case feels rather flimsy, there is a good balance of features and it's excellent value for money.

Nigel Donnelly, Computeract!ve 06 Nov 2002

On paper, the Cybyte's basic specification is very good for the price. An AMD Athlon 2000 XP+ processor is fitted, along with 256MB of fast 333MHz DDR memory.

The 60Gb hard disk should prove plenty for most and it was apparent from our system test results that the Cybyte is a perfectly capable budget PC.

It is fitted with an nVidia 64Mb GeForce 4 MX440 graphics card, so good quality games playing is on offer. In practice, it was equally good. The 3D test scores demonstrated that it can cope with the latest games.

Looking inside the case, there is plenty of space for upgrading. There are four vacant PCI slots available, although we remain concerned that the cooling fan on the graphics card would make using one of them a tight squeeze.

Above that, there are two extra memory slots available if more are required at a later date. Thanks to the large case, getting to the various components is easy although some of the wiring was untidily tied back.

On the outside, the large case isn't quite such a welcome feature and the looks are something of an acquired taste too, but there is nothing missing or really worth complaining about.

Both DVD-Rom and CD-RW drives are fitted and it was nice to find two USB 2 ports tucked behind a small flap on the front of the system.

The presence of two further USB 2 ports around the back and a further pair of standard USB ports means it is well served with connections.

There is no network port or FireWire but both could be added later if required. The usual printer, serial, modem and PS/2 ports are all present and correct.

The supplied Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 speakers are a very nice addition and just the ticket to take advantage of the on-board sound card which supports surround sound for games and movies.

The NEC FE770 monitor is similarly impressive. The 17in display is a flat-screen CRT and is better than you might expect on an £800 PC.

Price: £799 (incl. VAT)

Contact: 01603 455554
www.cybyte.co.uk

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