Sys Technology Performance A3500+

We knew from our first look at the $2295 Performance A3500+--with its stylish black, full-size tower case, see-through side panel, and interior blue light blinking brightly from the inside--that we were dealing with a PC built for gaming.

Using a 2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3500+ processor and 1GB of DDR400 SDRAM, the Performance A3500+ managed a score of 94 in our WorldBench 5 tests. We haven't tested other systems with a similar configuration, but PCs with a 2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3400+ and the same amount of RAM earned an average score of 97, so this Sys is about in line with what we would expect. In our graphics tests, this Sys earned an impressive 258 frames per second in Unreal Tournament at 1280 by 1024 resolution, making it ideal for heavy gaming.

The 19-inch Samsung SyncMaster 191T LCD monitor that came with our Performance A3500+ review unit produced average results in image quality tests. Fonts smaller than 9 points were hard to read. Colors in our test photo of kids looked muted and dull. DVD playback also produced average colors, but playback was flawless, with no skipping. The A3500+'s Creative Inspire T7700 speakers produced rich sound with clear highs and nicely discernible bass.

The PC's big, heavy case has DVD-ROM and DVD-RW drives at the top of the front panel, a floppy drive and media card reader in the middle, and four USB, FireWire, and audio ports hidden behind a small cover at the bottom of the front panel. The rear has an additional eight USB ports and a FireWire port as well as the standard ports you'll find on a PC. All ports were color-coded and labeled for easy identification.

You have to remove two thumbscrews from the side of the case before you can access the Sys's roomy interior. With all the cables neatly tucked out of the way, adding expansion cards is fairly simple, but keep a screwdriver handy. In contrast to the expansion cards, the drives don't use screws--to add or remove them, you simply adjust slide levers.

Upshot: If you're looking for a gaming PC that has a unique design and great graphics performance, then you'll like the Sys Technology Performance A3500+.

Andre Kvitka