Featuring the latest 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K quad-core processor, Chillblast’s Fusion Obsidian streaks ahead of the competition when it comes to raw performance. With a WorldBench 6 score of 176 points, you can be sure that this PC will chomp through the heavy workloads with ease. See also Group test: What's the best budget PC?
Packed with 8GB of DDR3 RAM and a 1TB hard drive, this PC combines the latest CPU technology with the plenty of disk space and a complement of memory that won’t need upgrading for quite some time. Visit Group test: What's the best desktop PC?
Will the CPU itself is all-new, the motherboard here is a vintage model by comparison, featuring the previous-generation H61 chipset. The new Ivy Bridge processors work just fine in these older boards provided the correct BIOS has been installed, but you do miss out on some of the new features such as PCI-E Gen3 – not that you’d need that for a business PC anyway.
The new processor is not-only faster, but also consumes noticeably less power which is something you may care about if you’re considering the cumulative effect of multiple desktop PCs in your office. Go to Group test: What's the best office PC?
No graphics card is required with this system, as the processor’s integrated HD 4000 GPU does such a good job by itself. You can also plug in a second display if you require one. The Fusion Obsidian also offers unbeatable transcoding performance, ensuring you won’t be kept waiting for video files to be converted.
The Fusion Obsidian uniquely features locking case nuts, designed to stop your employees (or anyone else) from messing around with the insides.
The price of £549 includes a high-quality 22in Asus VE228T full-HD monitor. It’s considerably better-looking than the cheap AOC F22+ favoured by Eclipse and also delivers a much better picture. If you’d prefer to select your own display, the system can be purchased for just £464 inc VAT.
