Mesh Titan GT Pro review

With the recent launch of Intel's top-end Core i7 processors, and a monstrous new graphics card now hitting the market just about every month, everyone's been getting excited about high performance, future proof PCs.

So it's nice to see a well known maker like Mesh releasing a reasonably priced computer that still promises more than enough power for the rest of us.

The processor inside this machine is one we've regularly seen before, the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500. Running at 3.16GHz, it offers enough capacity across its two cores to make sure advanced applications won't pose much of a problem, even when you're running more than one at the same time. To prove it, the Titan GT Pro turned in a score of 241% in our 2D (general) benchmark tests.

There are equally impressive components elsewhere. The graphics card, an nVidia GeForce 9600 GT, may be technically a midrange component - there are several in nVidia's range that would outpace it - but it's still up to the challenge of current 3D games. In our Call of Duty 2 benchmark, the 9600 GT scored 308%, indicating that it's got enough oomph to run all but the most outrageously demanding of titles without forcing you to compromise on the graphics quality settings.

The 750GB hard disk is also more than adequate, offering space for thousands of songs or hundreds of movies as well as all your applications, and there's a sensible 4GB of RAM to keep everything ticking over. You don't get anything fancy like a Blu-ray drive, but the included DVD writer is reasonably fast.

All this comes in a reasonably attractive case, too: unlike some affordable desktops, it looks smart and stylish without resorting to shiny decoration or LED lights, although it has to be said that it doesn't feel as solid as some. Open the side and you've got access to extra slots for more RAM, plenty of room for more drives, and a couple of PCI slots that you could use to add WiFi and a TV tuner without any USB clutter. The only thing missing is the opportunity to upgrade to a dual graphics system: the Asus motherboard has only the one PCI Express slot.

Bland aid

As we find so often with attractively priced PCs, it's the included peripherals that lower the tone. The Hanns.G Hi221D monitor is a budget model with bland looks and little in the way of extras; for example, it lacks the HDMI or Display Port options found on more expensive models, which are better suited to the emerging generation of HD video hardware and software. However, unlike some low cost rivals it does have a digital DVI-I connector as well as the old fashioned VGA, ensuring an unadulterated video signal from your PC, and we found image quality was fine for everyday tasks. The slight lack of contrast and yellow-tinged whites could prove distracting if you're seriously into photo editing or other colour critical work, but you'll have no major complaints when browsing the web or playing games.

The wired keyboard and mouse come from Logitech, but they're a basic set without any of the media-friendly additions, such as Internet hotkeys and playback control panels, that we see in slightly pricier models. Again, they're perfectly comfortable for everyday use, but decidedly frill-free.

As for the speakers, there aren't any. It's an omission that, like the lacklustre quality of the other add-ons, Mesh will be happy to rectify, at a price. But it leaves the Titan looking less of a deal than it might have been. Still, its core specification is good enough to see you through the next few years, and it's still pretty good value.

Author: Mike Jennings