Evesham Denver review

Evesham's Denver is the first PC we've seen to use AM2, AMD's new socket.

While we've reviewed the high-end AM2 FX-62 processor on page 42, Evesham supplied us with the more sedate Athlon 64 X2 5000+ dual-core processor. With the new processor comes the inevitable new chipset, so this is also the first PC we've seen to use Nvidia's nForce 5.

The X2 5000+ is the latest in AMD's line of dual-core Athlon 64 processors. As well as being quicker than its predecessors, it also supports DDR2 memory. Evesham provided a generous 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, which helped the Denver to very impressive scores in our benchmarks.

Its scores in our individual video-editing, image-manipulation and multitasking tests were also among the fastest we have seen. The consistently quick performance means the Denver should have no trouble handling whatever tasks you choose to throw at it for the foreseeable future.

The Denver's 3D performance was also very speedy, thanks to the 256MB GeForce 7900 GT graphics card. The Denver's scores in our Doom 3 and Call of Duty 2 tests were in line with what we would expect. The Denver is capable of playing the newest games at high resolutions and detail settings and SLI support means you can add another 7900 GT for even better performance.

There are PCs with more powerful graphics cards available for around the same price as the Axis, but most won't have as powerful a processor as the X2 5000+.

The MSI motherboard uses Nvidia's nForce 570 SLI chipset, which Nvidia claims makes it even easier to overclock your PC for the best possible performance. However, none of the necessary software tools was available as we went to press, so we were unable to substantiate this claim.

The board has two Gigabit Ethernet ports, which can be trunked together to create a virtual 2Gbit/s pipe, which could improve network throughput. As most people still use 100Mbit/s network switches, this is probably overkill.

The 320GB hard disk provides plenty of room for all your documents, videos and digital photographs. Should you want more disk space, there are five free SATA2 ports, which can also be used in a RAID array to improve performance, data protection or both.

The widescreen 19" ViewSonic monitor is great for watching DVDs or for working on two documents side by side. This display isn't ideal for photo editing since there was some banding in the darker areas of our greyscale transitions test and there was some loss in colour accuracy at different viewing angles. The Creative 2.1 speakers are fine for gaming and listening to MP3s, although movie fans will probably want to upgrade to a 7.1 surround-sound set.

The software bundle isn't overly generous but it's enough to get you started. Microsoft Works 8, BullGuard Internet Security and Roxio Easy Media Creator for writing CDs and DVDs are all included. Windows XP Media Center 2005 is pre-installed, making it easy to browse your videos, music and photos, although a remote would have been nice.

The Denver shows the kind of power that AM2 processors can deliver. Despite being loaded with new kit, it's very good value, making it an excellent choice if you're looking for a high-powered PC.