Time Pluto Tri-View

Time Computers has seldom found renown as an innovative builder of PCs. Instead it concentrates on producing standard beige-boxes with lots of everyday features. But with this new Pluto Tri-View system, Time has broken its favourite mould.

The Tri-View's graphics card can spread its display over three different screens and, just to show off, Time has supplied a trio of 15.1in TFT flat panels. The new Parhelia graphics card from Matrox has two digital video interface slots which are split using converter cables into three monitor outputs.

The headline feature is backed up by a powerful Pentium 4 2.53GHz processor, 512MB of DDR memory and an 80GB hard drive. These high-end components combine to help the Tri-View turn in the second highest ever benchmark score in our exacting labs tests. This alone makes the machine worthy of special attention.

Not surprisingly, though, it is the split-screen technology that stands out. This machine is designed mainly for games, as computer-aided design professionals and the like generally prefer bigger CRT monitors.

The system is easy to set up, as Time has tweaked the Windows drivers and Registry settings to spread the display over three screens.

Sadly, this readiness does not always extend to the games or other software titles you might want to view in wide screen. We tested the Tri-View with Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast as it is one of only five games currently supporting this three-display technology.

Ballistics, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Quake Arena and Return to Castle Wolfenstein make up the list of supporting titles, and a few more are on the way.

However, even though Jedi Outcast works with the Tri-View's three screens, we were forced to enter a cryptic set of codes before the game spread itself across them.

First-person shooters, such as those using the Quake 3 graphics engine, lend themselves well to three screens, and the overall effect is highly impressive. Jedi Outcast's cut scenes lost detail when stretched, but the game itself looked good.

The machine lacks an overall control feature to make all three screens display the same colours and brightness. The outside screens displayed different shades to the central one, and we could not rectify this to our satisfaction.

Interestingly, the two outer screens show a skewed perspective, which looks strange when viewed straight on, but adds to the overall effect when you are looking at the central screen. It will be interesting to see how software developers respond to this surround-visuals ability.

Used properly, it could add an extra element to gaming, but it will need to be easier to configure.

The Pluto Tri-View is a great-value system. It has a network port and two USB ports, a powerful processor and a generous hard drive, as well as three TFT screens. It also has four free PCI slots. The quality of the TFT screens is not the best but, for well under £2,000, it would be harsh to complain.

The system we received for review was equipped only with onboard sound facilities, but Time has said that future versions of the machine may possibly include a separate sound card. If this is important to you, we recommend that you check before ordering.

Time deserves a hearty commendation for embracing this fledgling technology without charging the earth. This is a good, powerful machine with plenty of upgrade options.

Supported games list can be viewed here.

Price: £1,879 (inc VAT)

Specifications:
Intel Pentium 4 2.53GHz processor
512MB DDR memory
80GB hard disk drive
16-speed DVD-Rom drive
32x 10x 40x CD-RW drive
Videologic ZXR-500 5.1 speakers
Matrox Parhelia 128MB DDR (triple-output) graphics card
Three 15.1in NFREN NF-1500MA TFT monitors

Contact: Time Computers 0800 771 107
www.timecomputers.com

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