Chillblast Fusion Blaze review

At the front of the case are two USB ports – one USB3 and one USB2, plus 3.5mm mic and headphone ports. At the back are two more USB3 ports and four USB2 ports, as well as a PS/2 port for a keyboard or mouse. There are three 3.5mm stereo ports for 5.1 analogue surround sound, as well as an optical S/PDIF output and a Gigabit Ethernet port. The case itself is sturdy and well made, although not all the air vents have fine mesh covers to keep dust out. The system is remarkably quiet, thanks to high-quality processor and case fans.

The supplied Cherry keyboard is big and ugly, but its keys feel responsive. The mouse looks similarly old-fashioned but also does the job effectively, despite a somewhat loose scroll wheel. The monitor – a matte-finish 23in Iiyama ProLite X2377HDS – has an even backlight and produces natural colours and blacks.

The Fusion Blaze’s sole disadvantage is its lack of an SSD. If you feel that you absolutely need the faster boot times and responsiveness an SSD can bring, then Wired2Fire’s excellent Diablo Ultima and PC Specialist’s Vanquish 650Ti both have fast 120GB solid state drives in addition to large hard disks, but this comes at the cost of gaming performance. In the end, in the face of very stiff competition, the Fusion Blaze’s great gaming performance, raw processor power and room for expansion earn it a Best Buy award.