CCL CCL-CS1009 review

CCL's CCL-CS1009 outperformed the other £500 PCs here, and its benchmark scores even matched or exceeded those of more expensive PCs.

This isn't surprising when you look at its specification, which includes an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 processor, 4GB of RAM and a Radeon HD 4850 graphics card.

The Q8400 isn't a cheap processor, and has led to costs being cut on the monitor, which is a disappointing 18?in AOC 931Swl. It has a resolution of just 1,366x768 and suffers from slightly uneven backlighting. However, viewing angles and contrast are fairly good and colours look vivid. It only has a VGA port, though.

It's nice to see a decent set of wireless peripherals in Logitech's Deluxe keyboard and mouse. Inside the case, the CCL-CS1009 has a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card, with DVI, HDMI and VGA outputs. The card put in a good performance in our tests, but you may have to settle for resolutions below the monitor's native setting to make the most demanding games run smoothly.

The Gigabyte microATX motherboard doesn't have much room for expansion and the case is a little cramped, but everything inside is neatly laid out, including all the wiring. One PCI slot is obstructed by the graphics card. The slot below it is free, but installing a card may block airflow to the Radeon's fan. A single PCI-E x1 is positioned above the occupied PCI-E x16 slot, so there's nothing blocking it. The board can take a maximum 4GB of memory, which is already installed. There's a 500GB hard disk; you'll need to buy SATA cables with right-angled connectors if you want to connect any more, though, as the other three SATA ports are directly beneath the graphics card.

Another reservation is that the CCL-CS1009 comes with Windows Vista Home Basic edition as opposed to Home Premium. However, as long as you order on or after 22nd October, CCL will be selling the CCL-CS1009 for the same price with Windows 7 Home Basic, which has full media-playing capabilities. If you're happy to live with the drawbacks for the great performance on offer, the CS1009 is a good choice and wins a Budget Buy award.