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Ginger 6 G6 ND450 Next Day PC review

Ginger 6 G6 ND450 Next Day PC
Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £500
inc VAT

A very fast overclocked PC, but it's disappointing that it only has 32-bit Windows and a tiny display.

Specifications

3.4GHz Intel Pentium G6950, 4GB RAM, 19in 1,360×768 display, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit

If you look down the Ginger 6 G6 ND450 Next Day PC you’d be forgiven for thinking that it uses old technology thanks to the listing of an Intel Pentium G6950 processor. However, far from being old, this oddly-named chip is actually basically a new Core i3 (two cores with Hyper Threading).

Although this processor doesn’t have Intel’s Turbo Boost automatic overclocking software, Ginger 6 has overclocked it from 2.8GHz to 3.4GHz. This combined with the 4GB of RAM helped the ND450 score 110 overall, although it was the incredible score of 149 in our image-editing test that impressed us the most.

It’s a little disappointing that only a 32-bit version of Windows is installed, as only around 3.5GB of the installed memory can be used. It also makes it pointless to upgrade the PC to its maximum of 8GB.

As we expect at this price there’s no dedicated graphics card and only integrated Intel GMA HD graphics. It’s not capable of playing games, but can cope with HD video. Thanks to the HDMI output, you can easily connect this computer to an LCD TV.

The ND450’s case is reasonably attractive, with a plain, glossy black fascia and a large red power button. Inside, it’s a different story, and although there’s plenty of room for expansion, the wires aren’t tied back or bundled neatly. Fitting a large graphics card would require moving the hard disk to a lower slot in the casing, as it’s currently blocking the first PCI-E x16 slot (a second PCI-E x16 slot can be used to fit another graphics card for more video outputs).

There are two free SATA ports which should be fine for expanding storage past the included 500GB hard disk. A neat touch is that there are two eSATA/USB combination ports on the rear, giving you even more storage potential, and six other plain USB ports.

After all of these good things it’s a shame that Ginger 6 has chosen to ship the ND450 with a tiny 19in LG monitor. It has a slightly strange resolution of 1,360×768, which is fine for 720p video, but feels a little cramped for everyday use compared to the displays shipped with most desktop computers. Having said that, it has decent image quality, with vibrant colours, good contrast and an even, bright backlight. If you choose not to include the monitor, you can save £82 and buy the computer for £418.

Ginger 6 has also included a set of Logitech stereo speakers. These are clear and loud, but lack bass, and they’re only really useful for casual listening such as watching YouTube videos. For music or films, you’ll want to invest in a proper set of 2.1 or 5.1 speakers with a subwoofer. You also get a basic Logitech mouse and keyboard set.

While the ND450 did well in our benchmarks, the system is let down by the very small display. Applications that can make good use of this performance, such as video editing, also benefit from having a large screen to work on. If this is the sort of work you want to do, then you’re better off spending a bit extra to upgrade the monitor.

Basic Specifications

Rating ****
Processor Intel Pentium G6950
Processor external bus 167MHz (3012MHz Quick Path Interconnect)
Processor multiplier x20
Processor clock speed 3.4GHz
Processor socket LGA1156
Level 1 cache 2x 64KB
Level 2 cache 2x 256KB
Memory 4
Memory type DDR3
Maximum memory 8GB
Motherboard ASRock H55M
Motherboard chipset Intel H55

Ports

USB2 ports (front/rear) 2/6
Firewire ports (front/rear) 0/0
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/2
Wired network ports 1x 10/100/1000
Wireless networking support none
Other ports minijack audio output, minijack microphone input

Internal Expansion

Case midi tower
PCI-E x1 slots (free) 1 (1)
PCI-E x16 slots (free) 2 (2)
Free Serial ATA ports 2
Free memory slots 0
Free 3.5in drive bays 4

Hard Disk

Hard disk model(s) Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS-00V1A0
Interface SATA 300
Total storage capacity 500GB
Spindle speed 7,200rpm

Graphics

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

Sound

Sound VIA HD Audio
Sound outputs 7.1 line out, optical S/PDIF out
Speakers N/A

Removable Drives

3.5in floppy drive no
Supported memory cards none
Optical drive model Optiarc AD-5240S
Optical drive type(s) DVD+/-RW +/-DL

Display

Viewable size 19 in
Screen model LG Flatron W1943SS
Native resolution 1,360×768
Response time 5ms
Screen inputs VGA

Other Hardware

Modem No
Keyboard Logitech Deluxe 250 Keyboard
Mouse Logitech M-UAE96

Software

Software included none
Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
Operating system restore option Windows disc

Buying Information

Warranty one year collect and return
Price £500
Details www.ginger6.com

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