Wired2Fire Fury VX5 review

The Wired2Fire Fury VX5 is a smart-looking PC, but we found it to be a bit of mixed bag in terms of what you get. For starters we were a little disappointed to find that there's only a dual-core Athlon II X2 240 processor fitted, while most manufacturers manage to install a quad-core processor at this price.

The chip has been overclocked from 2.8GHz to 3.36GHz, which helps boost performance. Combined with the computer's 4GB of RAM, the Fury VX5 did well in the single-threaded image-editing test with a score of 111, but lagged behind other budget computers in our video-editing test with a score of 82. This gave the Fury an overall score of 88, which is still quick, but you can get faster computers for the same amount of money.

Although this dual-core chip is quite cheap, there's no room in the budget for a dedicated graphics card. The onboard ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics chip is capable of decoding HD video and there's an HDMI output output if you want to connect your PC to a TV, but games are out. There's a PCI-E x16 slot inside the case if you want to add a graphics card at a later date.

We were pretty disappointed, given the dual-core processor and lack of dedicated graphics, that only a 19in monitor is supplied. This has a resolution of 1,440x900, which feels a little cramped compared to the higher resolutions found on the 22in or larger monitors that other manufacturer's provide at this price. Having said that the AOC 917Sw+ has decent image quality, with vibrant colours and decent contrast; we just wish it was larger with a higher resolution. You can buy the PC without its monitor for £414, although you can still get better deals at this price.

If you want to upgrade this computer, there's plenty of expansion potential. Inside the neat case you'll find two free memory slots. The motherboard supports a maximum of 16GB and you can use it all thanks to the 64-bit version of Windows installed.

As well as a free PCI-E x16 slot for a graphics card, there are also two normal PCI slots and a PCI-E x1 slot, so adding expansion cards will be easy. The 500GB hard disk should take a while to fill, but there are three free SATA ports and plenty of free drive bays should you want to upgrade at a later date. Externally, there are six free USB slots plus FireWire and eSATA ports.

As seems to be the norm for budget computers at the moment, Wired2Fire supplies a wired basic Logitech keyboard and mouse. These are a decent set and we found them both comfortable to use.

Ultimately, there's nothing particularly wrong with the Fury VX5: it's fast, its monitor has decent image quality and there's plenty of room for upgrades inside. However, our problem with the computer is that you can get more from other manufacturers. For the same price, Mesh's Nero Pro has a faster quad-core processor, 750GB hard disk and Full HD 23in monitor - it's a much better buy.