Packing a Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz processor, the NRG Typhoon breezes through most tasks you throw at it, whether it’s playing a game or surfing the net while listening to music and copying files all at once. Multi-tasking has rarely been smoother. With a 640GB hard disk drive, music libraries, TV series, and a stack of games ca be stored before space ever becomes an issue.

Despite Windows Vista giving it a perfect 5.9 system rating, there are a few areas that need improvement. Although the graphics card is adequate, 1GB or more of dedicated video is recommended for people who intend to use their PC for gaming. The main drag on the system is the 2GB of RAM, which often caused delays during loading of some of the more demanding games such as Unreal Tournament 3 (UT3) or Turning Point.

It must be noted that the settings on these games were turned up to the max, so a quick fix would be to downscale the video settings a notch. Once in the game itself, one cannot help but be in awe of the vividly detailed landscapes and characters, even as the enemy is shooting you. For a budget gaming computer we were pretty surprised to see such smooth gameplay.

One disturbing point was the number of crashes experienced while testing. Even when turning on the computer, it occasionally restarted for no apparent reason, and Windows was unable to explain the error when finally logged on. Upgrading the software, particularly the video card, will hopefully fixe these issues. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to download them and test the results.

For under $2,000, this computer certainly packs a lot of hardware. Just don’t forget that the price doesn’t include a monitor, keyboard or mouse, so you may have to fork out a bit extra for those. If you are simply looking for a budget computer that can handle gaming without blowing your bank account, then this could be it. For the hardcore gaming enthusiasts out there, you’d best be looking at something higher up on the chain, such the NRG Tornado i7 or Storm i7.

The NRG Typhoon is available from Altech Computers (www.altech.com.au).

SPECIFICATIONS

• Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz, 1333MHz 6MB L2 cache
• Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD4870 512MB GDDR5
• Hard drive: 640GB SATA II 16MB cache @ 7200rpm
• Memory: Corsair Twin 2GB 1066MHz DDR2 RAM
• Price: A$1899

RATING: 4/5

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