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Spire's Inspire is the latest PC to feature the new Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Unlike the Evesham Ebox reviewed last month, it comes in a small form factor case so may not blend as seamlessly into your living room. That said, its Biostar Ideq case is arguably the most attractive small form factor design we've seen so far.
The Inspire has a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 processor and 1GB of Ram, ensuring plenty of power for both standard PC applications and the Media Center features. Its 250GB hard drive also provides ample storage.
The 3D performance of its Geforce FX 5750 graphics card isn't as impressive as some, but it's well suited to handling video thanks to the PCI Express architecture. Unfortunately, the Inspire doesn't come with a monitor as standard. Nor does it feature any composite or component video outputs, so you're restricted to using displays with a standard DVI or D-Sub connection.
The Inspire has a digital TV tuner, allowing you to record, play and rewind 'live' Freeview broadcasts via the included remote control. It can also play CDs and DVD videos without booting into the operating system. This is convenient, but it's far less flexible than using Windows itself.
The Spire Inspire is an attractive PC on many levels. It isn't as well suited for use in the living room as some Media Center computers, but it is well specified and good value for money.
Contact: Spire Technology 0870 750 5100
www.spire.co.uk
Specifications:
- Pentium 4 3.2GHz
- 1GB DDR400 Ram
- 250GB Sata hard disk
- Nvidia Geforce FX 5750 PCI-X graphics
- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
- Remote control
See also:
A PC designed for the living room that can satisfy all your multimedia needs 01 Feb 2005
Fancy building your own home entertainment PC? This is a good place to start 17 Dec 2004
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