Mesh Matrix XP 1900-R85

Performance and power in a bargain PC.

Price: £1399

Manufacturer: Mesh

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Verdict

If you're looking for a bargain, this is definitely one worth considering.

Ben Lewis, What PC? 26 Mar 2002

With AMD and Intel still slugging it out to produce the most attractive processor, the consumer is doing rather well out of some greatly reduced processor prices. The new Mesh Matrix XP 1900 features the latest Athlon XP chip, and much more.

The first notable feature is the generous 19in Mitsubishi monitor; its native 1600x1200 resolution looks fantastic. The machine also looks the part, with a solid tower case and easy-access flap for immediate entry to the innards, without having to unscrew anything.

The layout and design inside is roomy and very spacious. Unlike the normal flat, grey variety, the IDE cables in the Matrix are thin, circular and black, which supposedly improves the circulation of air and certainly looks much neater.

There are two free PCI slots and one shared, with the second game port currently taking up the third slot.

Part of the appeal of this system is the excellent audio and visual performance it offers. The graphics card is a powerful 64MB DDR ATI Radeon, with a DVI connection for linking up to a TFT monitor without losing picture quality. With DVI looking set to become a standard in the future this is a good extra, even if the monitor included is far too nice to think about replacing with a TFT just yet.

The Radeon also has a TV-out, for hooking the Matrix up to your video and television. The card put in a blinding performance in our 3D Mark tests, coming out with 8288 - the highest score we've ever seen.

It is good to see ATI providing the nVidia camp with some serious competition, and even better to see such good graphics on a machine at this price.

Sounds good

To balance out the great visuals, the Creative SoundBlaster Audigy audio card is also a top-drawer piece of kit. The sound quality is superb for both games and DVDs, and with the Creative 5.1 DTT2200 surround speakers included, this system really does sound great.

The Audigy even has separate processing for different sounds in films and games, so the footsteps in a corridor and the footsteps outside a window will have whole different reverbs and filters assigned. This makes PC sound effects even more authentic than ever before.

Interestingly, the sound card also has a FireWire port for super-fast transfer of bulky multimedia data, like audio and video. With the FireWire, two game ports, four USB ports and all the usual 'legacy' ports as well, the connectivity on the Matrix is all you could ask for.

For watching films you get a good-quality Pioneer DVD-ROM, and for recording and listening to tunes a zippy CD-RW from Teac. This is a really good system for film, music and gaming buffs.

Power packed

All these features are great and make the Matrix a great buy, but the main attraction is the amazing power and memory housed in this sub-£1,500 machine. There are two RIMM slots, each holding 512Mb of DDR RAM, giving you a total of 1Gb in memory. Add to this a huge 80Gb hard drive and you've got some real storage facilities.

Combine this memory with the 1.6GHz Athlon XP 1900 processor and you have a great performer; more than able to back up the high-quality multimedia features.

Our tests proved beyond all doubt that this is a grand machine. In SYSmark 2001 the Matrix clocked up a huge score of 188 - the fastest yet seen in our labs.

This Mesh Matrix is a fine example of the great-value systems now taking hold of the market. The three-year on-site warranty is the cherry on top.

Specifications