OP3 Europa review
Plenty of connectivity options and a high-quality monitor, but performance isn't as good as other £550 PCs.
Specifications
3.8GHz AMD Phenom II X2 560, 4GB RAM, 22in 1,920×1,080 display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
The case is a decent size and has an interesting sliding front panel that hides the DVD re-writer, although it did feel flimsy. As well as two USB ports and front audio, there’s also a card reader fitted in the external 3 1/2in bay. A third USB port and support for most card formats is a useful addition. Inside the case, most of the loose cables have been bundled together, but they aren’t routed particularly well.
The motherboard is well designed for future upgrades. As well as two PCI slots and a single PCI-E x1 slot, there’s also a second PCI-Ex16 slot for dual graphics cards. The 550W power supply has enough extra connectors to install several extra disks or expansion cards. Around the back there are two USB3 ports for fast external storage, as well as four regular USB ports, an eSATA port and FireWire.
The bundled monitor is one of our favourites: BenQ’s G2222HDL. It’s one of the best budget monitors available, and image quality is excellent. The Logitech keyboard and mouse were also better than most budget peripherals; they were both comfortable to use and had quick response times. The included BullGuard Internet Security suite has a one-year subscription, which is a useful inclusion.
Even with a fantastic monitor and decent expansion options, the Europa’s performance is limited by the AMD processor and slow graphics card. CyberPower’s overclocked Intel machine is much faster, and can play games for the same price, making it the clear choice.
Basic Specifications | |
---|---|
Rating | *** |
Processor | AMD Phenom II X2 560 |
Processor external bus | 230MHz (2,300MHz HyperTransport) |
Processor multiplier | x16.5 |
Processor clock speed | 3.8GHz |
Processor socket | AM3 |
Memory | 4 |
Memory type | DDR3 |
Maximum memory | 16GB |
Motherboard | Asus M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 |
Motherboard chipset | AMD 880G (SB700) |
Ports | |
USB2 ports (front/rear) | 3/4 |
Firewire ports (front/rear) | 0/1 |
eSATA ports (front/rear) | 0/1 |
Wired network ports | 1x 10/100/1000 |
Wireless networking support | none |
Internal Expansion | |
Case | midi tower |
PCI-E x1 slots (free) | 1 (1) |
PCI-E x16 slots (free) | 2 (1) |
Free Serial ATA ports | 3 |
Free memory slots | 2 |
Free 3.5in drive bays | 3 |
Hard Disk | |
Hard disk model(s) | Samsung HD103SJ |
Interface | SATA II |
Total storage capacity | 1,000GB |
Graphics | |
Graphics card(s) | ATI Radeon HD 5570 |
Graphics/video ports | VGA, DVI, HDMI |
Sound | |
Sound | Realtek ALC892 |
Sound outputs | 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out |
Speakers | none |
Removable Drives | |
Supported memory cards | USB flash drive, CF, SD, MMC, Memory Stick Pro, xD |
Optical drive type(s) | DVD+/-RW +/-DL |
Display | |
Viewable size | 22 in |
Screen model | BenQ G2222HDL |
Native resolution | 1,920×1,080 |
Screen inputs | VGA, DVI |
Other Hardware | |
Keyboard | Logitech K120 |
Mouse | Logitech M120 |
Software | |
Software included | BullGuard Internet Security |
Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
Operating system restore option | burn own restore disc |
Buying Information | |
Warranty | three years RTB |
Price | £550 |
Details | www.op3.co.uk |