Eclipse EcoPC e505n94GT review

Although it’s smaller than an average desktop PC, Eclipse’s EcoPC e505n94GT looks more like a normal PCs than the other systems here. The 213x267x400mm case will take up a fair bit of space on or under your desk.

Unlike most of the PCs here, it comes with a separate monitor: a 19in widescreen Hannspree XM-S New York LCD screen. This has a native resolution of 1,440×900 pixels and produces rich, vibrant colours, although it suffers from a pinkish cast that has a slight but visible effect on pale shades.

The case houses an XFX micro-ATX motherboard with two PCI slots, a PCI Express x1 slot and a PCI Express x16 slot that’s home to a 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9400 GT graphics card. The processor is a 2.6GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e and there’s a massive 4GB of RAM and a generous 640GB hard disk. As it uses standard components, it’s easier to upgrade than PCs that use laptop components. You can install up to 8GB of RAM, and the AM2 motherboard accepts any recent AMD processor, including the latest Phenoms.

We were seriously disappointed by the EcoPC’s power consumption, though. It had the highest active power consumption, at 94W, and drew 50W when idle, which was exceeded only by Sony’s Vaio JS1E/S. A standby power drain of 6W is the same as you’d find on almost any normal PC and high enough to make it worth switching the PC off when not in use. RL Supplies’ Modula Mini was slightly less efficient on standby, but is also a lot cheaper.

Unfortunately, despite its surprisingly high price and its name, the EcoPC is neither very compact nor particularly power-efficient. It performed well by the standards of the group, easily browsing the web and playing movies, but its hardware specification is significantly inferior to that of the £500 Eclipse Solar i85n96GSO system, which won our Best Buy award in Shopper 249.

The e505n94GT tries to be many things, but seems overpriced and failed to impress with its size and power consumption.