The market for Packard Bell’s refreshed imedia range isn’t hard to determine. Let’s face it, buying a pre-built computer might not have the cache that a home-built system can draw, but it’s a damn sight easier to just buy one. Plus, with the way prices are falling on pre-assembled systems, they can hardly be called bad value considering the time and effort saved.
The imedia line-up starts from £299 and rises upwards from there depending on the configuration. Both Intel Core 2 Quad and Phenom II X4 CPUs are available, up to 8GB of RAM can be fitted and storage options topping out at 1TB of capacity. Graphics can be upgraded from the default integrated chipset to a more capable nVidia GeForce GT230. Wi-Fi and a DVB-T tuner are also optional upgrades.
The case, which is apparently 60 per cent of “full-sized” features an array of front-mounted card readers, in addition to two of the six available USB ports. A recessed area on top of the system is provided for storage of external storage devices, MP3 players and the like while connected to the system.
Okay, so would-be Crysis players aren’t going to find a solution in the imedia range, but for general office applications and most multimedia there should be more than enough power on tap.
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