PC Magazine - 2009 11.pdf - Libertad Zero

FIRST looks hardwareAVADirect GT3 Core i7 Gaming SystemA Pint-SizeGaming BoxNomad gamers who findthemselves rolling fromplace to place know thatportability can be almost asimportant as performance.The AVADirect GT3 is made for them. Thisgaming desktop has a compact chassis, yetboasts a full-blown Core i7 quad-core processorand high-powered ATI Radeon HDgraphics card. Thanks to its manageablesize and reasonable weight, the GT3 is amore practical gaming rig for LAN partiesthan the humongous speed machines.The GT3’s mostly ABS plastic chassis (tokeep weight down) measures about 15.5 by4.5 by 12.5 inches (HWD) and uses an internalriser card system that turns the graphicscard orientation 90 degrees to fit a full-sizegraphics card. Because of the cooling needsof a quad-core processor and dual-widthgraphics card, the very noticeable fansmake quite a din. There are also customizationoptions for some of the componentsbut not much room for expansion.This system was a very good performeron our 3D games test, returning smooth,playable numbers for both Crysis (81 framesAVADirect GT3 Core i7 Gaming System$1367.26 directl l l h mPROS Compact gaming rig with carryinghandle. Decent 3D performance. No bloatware.Fits full-sized cards. Nice price.Cons Carbon fiber look is a decal. System isloud. No digital card reader. Upgrade/serviceabilityis awkward. Only 350W power supply.per second) and World in Conflict (93 fps)at our standard 1,280-by-1,024 resolution.The GT3 also finished our Windows MediaEncoder test in 34 seconds. In the nichemarket of hard-core gamers, the GT3 makesa good argument for buying over building.—Joel Santo Domingo>>CLICK HERE FOR MOREISPECS 2.66-GHz Intel Core i7-920 processor, 6GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB SATA hard drive, ATI Radeon HD 4850graphics, DVD±RW drive, ten USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, one eSATA port, Windows Vista Home Premium(64-bit).NOVEMBER 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 27