ReviewReview
Specifications
Pentium 120MHZ, 512Kb synch pipeline burst cache, 16Mb EDO RAM, 850Mb EIDE hard disk, 2Mb VRAM PCI graphics, 15in FST monitor, 16-bit audio, external speakers, 4X speed CD-ROM, EIDE tape streamer, MS Works 3 and Encarta 95 on CD.
The Carrera comes in a mini-tower case with a door in the fascia covering the drives. The monitor is a Carrera-badged Goldstar, a 15in FST unit. The image is in fairly crisp focus at 800 ¥ 600 although there's a slight loss of definition at the corners. And you'll have no problems getting a fairly true image thanks to barrel/pincushion and trapezoidal geometry correction controls.
Rather than adding value with a modem, Carrera has seen fit to supply this machine with a Conner 2Gb EIDE QIC tape backup system. EIDE tape streamers have been a long time coming, but the price/performance benefits they offer seem likely to ensure their popularity. Graphics comes through a Diamond Stealth PCI based on the S3 928 with 2Mb of VRAM and TI video scaling/interpolation. And the Vibrasound 16-plus-Creative speakers combo is identical to the Viglen's audio setup.
The internals are rather cramped because of the mini-tower format, and there's a lot of ribbon loose that could have been tied back. But you can still get a full length and a three-quarter length 16-bit ISA card in, as well as a two-thirds length and half-length PCI card. The third empty PCI slot runs into the back of the hard disk and might just take a half-length card. Sensibly, the 16Mb of EDO RAM was supplied as two 8Mb modules, leaving bank 1 free for upgrades.
Overall
The Carrera is the fastest in the group – by a hair. It just beat the Panrix and the Dan which (in Panrix's case) seems to be attributable to the Carrera's excellent performance at disk-intensive tasks. Having 512Kb, rather than the usual 256Kb L2 cache doesn't seem to have given it any major performance advantage.
Verdict
A fast machine with enough expansion potential offering value for money, even taking the smaller monitor into account.
Price
£2595 (£3049 inc VAT)
Supplier
Carrera 0171 830 0586
Features 4 Performance 6 Value 5 Overall 5
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