Dino PC Sandyvore review

The massive 2GB ATI Radeon HD 6950 graphics card is well worth the space, with frame rates of 51.9fps in STALKER and 67.2fps in Crysis. It also supports ATI’s Eyefinity multi-display system for up to four monitors. At the back is a pair of DVI ports, an HDMI port and two mini DisplayPort connectors.

With eight USB ports at the back and four on the front panel, you won’t run out of external connections. Two of the rear ports are USB3. There’s also an eSATA and a Firewire connection. A pair of PS/2 ports lets you connect a mouse and keyboard the old-fashioned way, and 7.1 analogue stereo outputs plus an optical S/PDIF output cater for all your surround-sound needs.

The Sandyvore comes with a BenQ G2420HD monitor, an outstanding widescreen display with a bright backlight and accurate colours. It has an HDMI input as well as the usual DVI and VGA ports, so you can connect a standard Blu-ray player, but it lacks the built in speakers that would make it a viable substitute for a TV. You also get a pair of Creative Inspire T10 stereo speakers. They sound pretty good, with surprisingly solid bass despite the absence of a subwoofer. The wireless Logitech MK300 wireless keyboard and mouse set are basic and the keyboard’s legs feel rather fragile. It’s not the most comfortable keyboard to type on but it’ll do.

The Sandyvore is a powerful PC with a great monitor and a generous three-year RTB warranty, although parts are only covered for the first year. The lack of a Blu-ray drive means that the Wired2Fire Hellspawn XFire is much faster and is a better deal.