The clever thing about AMD's Athlon 64 processor is that although it supports 64-bit processing, it's also fully compatible with today's 32-bit applications. Many people may be thinking of buying an Athlon 64-based PC to ensure some degree of future-proofing and this Best Price system shows how useful such a system can be today, as well.

Built from one of Best Price's smart midi-tower cases, the Poweroid 7301 is based around an Athlon 64 3200+ processor, running at 2GHz, with a full 1GB of main memory. Fixed storage is provided by a 160MB Maxtor hard drive and there are also DVD±RW and DVD drives built into the front panel. There's even a six-way memory card reader built-in, so you can easily exchange data with the majority of camera and MP3 memory cards.

The high specification of processor, memory and hard drive is carried through into the fourth essential component of a performance PC; the graphics adapter. Best Price uses a GeForce FX 5900 card from Asus, which is one of the highest performance cards in regular use. It runs a 19-inch Iiyama Vision Master Pro 454 conventional CRT monitor, which has a good, big screen, but also takes a fair amount of space on your desktop.

Sound comes from the six-channel Realtek sound chip on the Asus system board and drives a set of Creative Inspire P580 speakers. These two components are well matched, but although the speakers present a strong bass and treble, we found their sound to be lacking in some mid-range depth.

Under test, the Poweroid 7301 gave a good showing, with a SYSmark 2002 result of 279. While this isn't the fastest index we've ever seen, it compares well with 32-bit processors of a similar clock rate and implies that the system will come into its own when 64-bit operating systems and applications are more freely available.

The 3DMark result of over 17,000 shows that this is an excellent machine for playing games on, too, and the more taxing 3DMark 03 returned a score of over 5,000, again an impressive number.

These strong performance figures show how good the AMD processor is at handling 32-bit applications within its 64-bit architecture. Compare this with Intel's 64-bit solution, which relies on software emulation to run 32-bit programs. You're unlikely to see an equivalent Itanium-based system at this price, either.

Verdict
The Best Price Poweroid 7301 is an impressive 64-bit PC with a cracking turn of speed, particularly in the 3D realm. It's well specified with a fast video card, lots of memory and a good mix of removable media drives. At the price it's a good buy, although some people may prefer a slimmer TFT monitor to the CRT one that ships with the system.

Company: Best Price

Contact: 0870 220 0444

Tags: advanced micro devices athlon 64 realtek amd hardware components processor intel corporation