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By Mike Joubert 17 June 2010

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At first the latest Evetech PC we received for review struck us more as a PC suitable for graphic intensive work than for gaming. Although it certainly can be used for this purpose, the Core i5 Overclocked Gaming PC quickly proved us wrong by flexing its serious gaming muscles.

This is actually the second i5 machine we''ve tested from Evetech, with the first not overclocked and with ATI''s Radeon HD4890 onboard. 

Onboard

This new Core i5 machine combines the newly released Nvidia Fermi card - the GTX 470 and the Intel Core i5 750 CPU (2.66 GHz overclocked to a delicious 3.76 GHz). Its an excellent combination and provided an excellent gaming performance. 

This is of course enhanced by 4 GB worth of DDR3 1600 RAM, with Evetech supplying the very expandable MSI P55-GD65 motherboard to back it all up. We thought the MSI is very good choice for this type of machine.
 
Tests

We tested the machine with the new Splinter Cell: Conviction and also Bad Company 2. Both games ran at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at full graphics, with the results perfect with no stuttering experienced at any point during gameplay.
 
Stress testing came back as expected with no crashes suffered, even when running some tests at the same time. It confirm that Evetech has a knack for building solid power-house PCs
 
Noise and heat

Previous issues we’ve had from Evetech PC’s were noise level and heat generated during operation, and we were glad to see that Evetech has sorted this out on this i5 machine.

In no small part this is thanks to the massive, but very efficient, Thermalright Venomous X cooler that keeps the CPU calm and relaxed. Any thoughts about excessive noise level disappeared the longer we played.
 
Case

The entire system is encased in the light but solid Cooler Master USP 100 professional gaming case, which is spacious enough to house all of the components and still provide sufficient airflow.

The red coloured front mesh deviates slightly from the norm of Cooler Master cases but it’s a colour that definitely grows on you. (A tip for those new to this case, the Cooler Master logo is the power button.)
 
Conclusion
 
Once again Evetech needs to be complimented on a job well and neatly done. The Intel Core i5 Overclocked Gaming PC performed about as well as can be expected and with good expandability options from the MSI motherboard your purchase is future proofed at least for a little while. It goes for R12 999 without OS. Visit www.evetech.co.za for more. 
 
Written in collaboration with Jason Silva.
PROS
Core i5 overclocked to 3.76 GHz with no heat issues. Obviously the GTX 470 GPU
CONS
No OS but not much else really
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