Mesh Elite i3570K CS review

Beyond the CPU cooler setup, system cooling is fairly basic. One 120mm front intake and one 120mm rear exhaust are preinstalled, leaving one 120mm fan mount in the bottom of the case and a second 120mm mount next to the one installed in the side panel. This level of cooling was fine for the PC’s current configuration, but if you’re planning on adding a lot of expansion cards or extra hard disks, we definitely recommend upgrading the CPU cooler to better balance system cooling.

From the outside, the Elite i3570k CS is rather plain, with a minimal front I/O panel containing just two USB ports and two 3.5mm audio jacks. Most connectivity is around the back, with four USB ports, two USB3 ports, three 3.5mm audio jacks and a digital optical output, Gigabit Ethernet and a single PS/2 port, as well as DVI, HDMI and VGA connections for the integrated GPU.

The Hanns.G 23.6in monitor bundled with the system is an LED model, with a Full HD resolution and integrated stereo speakers. It only has VGA and DVI inputs, but it supports HDCP for playing protected content. Image quality is above average, helped by the matt finish, which creates believable skin tones and colour hues. Less impressive is the basic Logitech mouse and keyboard set.

With its stock CPU cooling and limited memory, the Elite i3570K CS isn’t quite as well balanced as we‘d prefer to see against the similarly priced competition. A huge overclock, powerful dedicated graphics and a large SSD are certainly shouting points, but system stability can’t be overlooked. Unless you’re prepared to upgrade the CPU cooler yourself, the Palicomp Alpha Excite would be a better buy.