YoYoTech Virtue RS2 review

The YoYoTech Virtue RS2 is designed to be a powerful budget computer thanks to its Core i5-4570 CPU. Although this model usually runs at 3.2GHz, Turbo Boosting to 3.6GHz when there’s enough thermal headroom, YoYoTech has locked it at the full 3.6GHz.

Unsurprisingly, this means that it powered through our benchmarks, scoring 94 overall, which is very close to our reference system, which scores 100. With a strong multitasking score of 91, this PC is clearly capable of dealing with any task that you could throw at it.

What was also unsurprising was how poorly the integrated graphics performed in our Dirt Showdown tests. Using a 1,280×720 resolution, 4xAA and High graphics, the system managed a meagre 22.1fps, which is a far cry from a playable frame rate. At 1,920×1,080 resolution, 2xAA and Low quality graphics, we still only managed to get 23.3fps. We had to drop down to the minimum Ultra Low quality to get a playable frame rate of 30.4fps. You’ll need to add in a dedicated graphics card unless you want a system that’s only capable of the playing the most basic games.

The Virtue RS2 uses an ASUS H81M-Plus motherboard, which has one PCI-E x16 slot and three PCI-E x1 slots. One of the PCI-E x1 slots is already used for a TP-Link wireless-N adaptor, which means you’re WiFi ready out of the box. If you decide to install a dedicated graphics card you’ll need to move the wireless adaptor into one of the other vacant slots, as its slot used will become obstructed by the graphics card. One module of 8GB DDR3 1,333MHz memory is installed and there’s a second vacant slot if you want to add another module; you’ll likely find that 8GB will suffice for everyday use, however.

There are two SATA3 ports and two SATA2 ports for expansion. One of each is used for the hard disk and DVD-RW respectively. Storage is supplied by the 1TB Seagate Barracuda, which should be ample for most of your media and applications. It would have been nice to see an SSHD included, which adds an SSD cache to a hard disk, as this has a decent effect on operating system responsiveness and boot and shutdown speeds.

On the rear of the system there are display outputs for VGA, DVI and HDMI for the integrated graphics. There are also two USB3 and two USB2 connections, two PS/2 connections for a keyboard and mouse, Gigabit Ethernet and three 3.5mm audio connections for line in, line out and a microphone. These can also be used in conjunction with the front panel audio connection for up to 7.1 channel audio. On the front of the case you’ll find a headphone and microphone jack as well as two additional USB2 connections.

YoYoTech has used a CiT Quartz case, which has a two-tone design. The front panel is black while the sides are more of a charcoal colour. We liked the use of thumbscrews so you won’t be reaching for a screwdriver whenever you need to access the system’s internals. The edges of the case were nicely rounded off and finished, so you won’t scratch yourself when working inside.

The case has two 5¼in external bays, one of which is used for the DVD-RW drive. There’s space for one 3½in external bay and three internal bays. One of the internal bays is already occupied by the HDD. There’s no fans installed in the case but there’s a mounting point for an 80mm fan on the back and 80mm, 90mm or 120mm on the front if you want the added ventilation. The side panel also has mounting points for both an 80mm and 120mm fan. With just the 120mm PSU fan and the stock CPU fan running, the system is pretty quiet so you can place it on your desk comfortably.

A 22in AOC e2250swda Full HD (1,920×1,080) display comes with the system, which has both VGA and DVI inputs. Using our colour calibrator we measured a decent contrast ratio of 854:1. It can also display 89.2 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, which won’t be high enough for colour sensitive work but is more than adequate everyday home computing needs. The display looked good during our movie playback tests and it suitably showed off the manic nature of Dirt Showdown. 

The keyboard and mouse is a Gigabyte KM6150 which is one of the better sets we’ve seen included with budget PCs, even if the matt keyboard with a glossy mouse is a slightly jarring pairing. The keyboard features useful application and media shortcuts across the top. We especially liked the distinctly clicky keyboard, which had good travel to its keys.

This is a decent enough budget PC, with great application performance, although gaming performance isn’t so good. Overall, we prefer the Palicomp AMD Kaveri Evolution, which is a better all-round computer.