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RL Supplies Modula 9040IHD review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £506
inc VAT

A desktop case that can save space, with bundled speakers, a large hard disk and good quality peripherals. However, upgrades are limited.

Specifications

2.5GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200, 4.000000 RAM, 19in 1,440×900 display, Windows Vista Home Premium

RL Supplies

The Modula 9040IHD is the only PC here to use a traditional desktop case, rather than a tower, which means you can place the monitor on top of it to save on desk space.

The disadvantage is that the thin case means the PCI and PCI Express x16 slots are only half-height, so there’s a limited choice of expansion and graphics cards.

There’s room inside to fit another hard disk, although with a large 750GB model already installed, it’s unlikely that you’ll run out of storage space quickly.

The 9040IHD is the only PC here to come bundled with a set of 2.1 speakers. These aren’t particularly loud, but they produce a decent level of bass and beat any monitor’s built-in speakers hands down. The 19in Edge10 screen has a resolution of 1,440×900. It produced a bright image and accurate colours when we tested it over its DVI input.

RL Supplies also bundles a Logitech keyboard and mouse set, which is better quality than others here. The keyboard has a strip of short-cut buttons that control media playback and volume, as well as short cuts to often-used applications such as email and a calculator. The mouse has a wheel that can tilt sideways to help with scrolling horizontally, such as through spreadsheets.

The 9040IHD has the same 2.5GHz Intel E5200 dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM as the Ginger6 Studio 9600GTi, and achieved the same overall result in our benchmarks. While it was still a fair way behind Mesh’s Nero 9950HD, this PC is more than twice as fast as the nettops reviewed here. It’s a powerful enough PC for all but the most strenuous tasks, such as editing long audio files and hours of HD video.

RL Supplies is to be commended for offering the choice of a traditional desktop PC, but unfortunately the half-height case restricts upgrades. Eclipse’s Eco a50 costs £100 less and yet has room for a PCI-E x16 graphics card and more drives. The 9040IHD’s two-year warranty will give peace of mind as well, but for £17 more you could buy Mesh’s Nero 9950HD.

Basic Specifications

Rating ***
Processor Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200
Processor external bus 200MHz (800MHz quad-pumped FSB)
Processor multiplier x12.5
Processor clock speed 2.5GHz
Processor socket LGA775
Level 1 cache 2x 64KB
Level 2 cache 2048
Memory 4.000000
Memory type DDR2
Maximum memory 8GB
Motherboard Gigabyte EG45M-UD2H
Motherboard chipset Intel P45
Power consumption standby 3W
Power consumption idle 46W
Power consumption active 73W

Ports

USB2 ports (front/rear) 2/4
Firewire ports (front/rear) 0/1
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/1
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support none
Other ports none

Internal Expansion

Case mini PC
PCI-E x1 slots (free) 1 (1) (half-height)
PCI-E x16 slots (free) 1 (1) (half-height)
Free Serial ATA ports 4
Free memory slots 2
Free 3.5in drive bays 1

Hard Disk

Hard disk model(s) Samsung HD753LJ
Interface SATA 300
Total storage capacity 750GB
Spindle speed 7200rpm

Graphics

Graphics card(s) Intel GMA X4500HD
Graphics/video ports HDMI, DVI, VGA

Sound

Sound Realtek High Definition Audio
Sound outputs 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out
Speakers Logitech LS21

Removable Drives

3.5in floppy drive no
Supported memory cards none
Optical drive model TSSTcorp SH-S222A
Optical drive type(s) DVD+/-RW +/-DL

Display

Viewable size 19 in
Screen model Edge 10 W193
Native resolution 1,440×900
Response time 5ms
Screen inputs DVI, VGA

Other Hardware

Modem No
Keyboard Logitech Y-SAE71
Mouse Logitech RX250

Software

Software included Nero Essentials
Operating system Windows Vista Home Premium
Operating system restore option Windows disc

Buying Information

Warranty two years RTB
Price £506
Details www.rlsupplies.co.uk

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