Eclipse Discovery Z77i345R777 review
If you’re not interested in overclocking, this is a bargain PC
Specifications
3.1GHz Intel Core i5-3450, 8GB RAM, 21.5in 1,920×1,080 display, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Inside, there’s a decent amount of room for expansion. Five of the six internal 3.5in drive bays are available for adding extra hard disks. Even though the processor is multiplier-locked, Eclipse has installed an enthusiast motherboard with four spare SATA ports, as well as three PCI slots, two PCI-E x1 and two PCI-E x16 slots. The dual-slot graphics card occupies one of the PCI-E x16 slots and obscures the second x1 slot, so you’ll have to remove it to add additional expansion cards.
Even with a stock clocked processor, we were surprised that Eclipse has only fitted one 120mm intake fan. It’s fitted to the side panel, rather than the front, and there’s no exhaust fitted to the rear. This leaves the stock Intel CPU cooler, as well as the PSU and graphics cards fans, to dissipate all the heat from within the case. Although we didn’t notice any serious overheating, there are five empty 120mm fan mounts in the front, rear, roof and side panel that we would give serious thought to filling.
You get a no-brand keyboard and mouse set, but Eclipse has bundled a high-quality BenQ 22in LCD monitor. It’s a little smaller than the competition, but the GL2240 has a Full HD panel and a matt display finish that helps diffuse light reflections. Connectivity is limited to DVI and VGA inputs, and the internal speakers are basic, but it’s useful to have an option other than headphones if you don’t already own a speaker system.
At £596, the Discovery Z77i345R777 is around £50-£100 less expensive than similarly-powerful PCs. You lose the ability to overclock, but the Ivy Bridge processor is still fast enough for almost every task and the graphics card is powerful too. If you need a low-cost PC, this is an excellent choice.
Basic Specifications | |
---|---|
Rating | **** |
Processor | Intel Core i5-3450 |
Processor external bus | 100MHz |
Processor multiplier | x31 |
Processor clock speed | 3.1GHz |
Processor socket | LGA1155 |
Memory | 8 |
Memory type | DDR3 |
Maximum memory | 32GB |
Motherboard | Asus P8Z77-V LX |
Motherboard chipset | Intel Z77 |
Ports | |
USB2 ports (front/rear) | 4/6 |
Firewire ports (front/rear) | 0/0 |
eSATA ports (front/rear) | 0/0 |
Wired network ports | 1x 10/100/1000 |
Wireless networking support | none |
Internal Expansion | |
Case | Midi tower |
PCI-E x1 slots (free) | 2 (1) |
PCI-E x16 slots (free) | 2 (1) |
Free Serial ATA ports | 4 |
Free memory slots | 2 |
Free 3.5in drive bays | 5 |
Hard Disk | |
Hard disk model(s) | Seagate Barracuda (ST31000524AS) |
Interface | SATA3 |
Total storage capacity | 1,000GB |
Graphics | |
Graphics card(s) | AMD Radeon HD 7770 |
Graphics/video ports | DVI, HDMI, 2x Mini DisplayPort |
Sound | |
Sound | Realtek HD Audio |
Sound outputs | 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out |
Speakers | none |
Removable Drives | |
Supported memory cards | none |
Optical drive type(s) | DVD+/-RW +/-DL |
Display | |
Viewable size | 21.5 in |
Screen model | BenQ GL2240M |
Native resolution | 1,920×1,080 |
Screen inputs | DVI, VGA |
Software | |
Software included | none |
Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
Operating system restore option | restore disc |
Buying Information | |
Warranty | one year RTB |
Price | £674 |
Details | www.eclipse-computers.com |