Chillblast Fusion Neptune review

With hard drive prices at an all-time high, we were expecting new PCs to arrive with less storage than usual, so the 1TB disk in Chillblast’s Fusion Neptune came as a welcome surprise. Chillblast assured us that it has adequate stock levels, too. More surprisingly, it also comes with a quad-core Intel Core i5-2500K processor, a massive 8GB of RAM and a Full HD monitor, and it’s backed up by a generous two-year collect-and-return warranty.

AOC’s F22+ is a familiar budget monitor. Instead of a stand, it sits on a bar underneath the screen, and leans back on an extendable rubber foot. Its CCFL backlight isn’t as bright or even as certain LED-backlit monitors, but it makes up for this with bold colours and decent contrast. It has both VGA and DVI inputs, and we were glad to see that Chillblast has bundled a DVI cable in the box so you can use the digital input.

Driving the monitor is the Core i5-2500K’s integrated Intel HD Graphics chip, which can decode HD video content but will struggle to play the latest games. It managed 22.7fps Dirt 3, running at 1,280×720 at High detail level: a reasonable result but not quite enough to be smooth.

There’s a free PCI-E x16 slot for a dedicated graphics card, but the unbranded 500W power supply doesn’t have a huge amount of headroom and the small case may limit you to shorter, mid-range cards such as AMD’s Radeon HD 6770. Although we managed to find a free Molex plug, the power supply’s cables are hidden away so you’ll have to cut them free to get at the plug.

There’s room for other upgrades inside the case, including a PCI slot and two PCI-E x1 slots – although one will be obscured if there’s a graphics card fitted. The two RAM slots are taken up already, but you shouldn’t need more than 8GB unless you work with very large files. There are plenty of free drive bays, but with only two free SATA headers you’ll have to add more via an expansion card if you want to add more than two extra hard disks or optical drives.

Externally, there’s more scope for expansion. Two USB ports are conveniently located on the front panel along with headphone and microphone ports, while the rear panel contains four more USB2 and two USB3 ports. There are three audio outputs which allow you to connect a set of 5.1 speakers, and there’s a PS/2 port: handy if you have an old, favourite keyboard or mouse that needs one.

The bundled Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse set looks fine, and the dongle uses a single USB port, but we found the keyboard far too spongy. The mouse is too light for our liking, but has a light ratcheting action on its wheel which gives good feedback. Some may prefer to spend a bit more to get a better monitor – you can order the Fusion Neptune without the monitor for £428.

Despite the impressive multimedia benchmark score, we feel that AMD Llano-powered PCs currently have a better balance between Windows and gaming performance at this price. The Palicomp Hyper Flame matches the Fusion Neptune’s 1TB disk and raises the stakes with its Blu-ray drive, capable integrated graphics chip and more attractive monitor. However, if raw power is more important to you than gaming or a Blu-ray drive, then the Fusion Neptune is ideal.