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Yoyotech has fitted the fastest and most expensive processor we’d expect to see in a PC base unit at this price: an Intel Core i5-2500K processor usually costing around £170. This leaves the manufacturer little room for manoeuvre once a compatible motherboard, 4GB of RAM, a 1TB hard disk, a DVD writer, Windows 7 Home Premium, a case and a power supply have been added – which makes it tough to outclass other PCs at the same price.
The processor is the highlight here, with the i5-2500K having a perfect balance of price and performance. It’s unlocked and easy to overclock using the settings on the supplied Asus P8H61-M LE/USB3. Yoyotech hasn’t taken advantage of this option, but the motherboard’s easy-to-use UEFI has all the tools you’ll need to do it yourself. Even at stock speeds, the Viper managed a respectable overall score of 103 in our benchmarks.
The i5-2500K’s integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU performed well at 18.1fps in Dirt 3 at high quality and a resolution of 1,280×720. It means that most modern games should be playable at low quality settings. There are DVI and VGA outputs, but no HDMI.
If you wish to upgrade at a later date, the motherboard has a PCI-E x16 slot for a graphics card, two PCI-E x1 slots and a PCI slot. This isn’t as generous as the Asus P8Z86 range of motherboards but it’s enough for most people. The 650W EZCool power supply is more powerful than we’d expect at this price and has two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors and plenty of additional Molex plugs.
There aren’t many SATA ports – just four in total – but they’re all SATA3. Two are already occupied by the DVD-RW drive and a 1TB hard disk. This is unbalanced when compared to the three spare 5 1/4in bays and six unused 3 1/2in bays. Another problem is the pair of memory slots. They’re both occupied by 2GB 1,600GHz modules, so you can’t increase the amount of RAM without binning 4GB of perfectly good memory.
The case itself is plain and unobtrusive. Its interior isn’t something to show off, but we were pleased to find two case fans, even if the front fan is a little noisy. There’s no sound insulation, but the whirring is easy to live with. At the front of the case are two USB ports and the obligatory mic and headphone ports, while the rear panel has another six USB ports, including two which support USB3. Beyond that, there’s a trio of analogue 5.1 surround sound connectors, Gigabit Ethernet and a PS/2 port.
The wired Microsoft keyboard and mouse are solid, comfortable to use and very precise – it’s one of our favourite budget sets. The mouse is a good size and the keyboard provides support and easy access to all keys from a wide variety of typing positions.
Unfortunately, the Viper, although a capable computer, is compromised by the limited upgradability of its motherboard, made all the more frustrating by the spare capacity in the power supply. If you want a powerful system for gaming and desktop use, the Chillblast Fusion Shadow is simply a better machine.
