TI Deluxe 9800

Unrivalled value, but at what cost to performance and quality?

This lower end machine from Trinity Computers may well sit at the lower end of performance, but for a very reasonable price you’re getting one hell of a complete computing package.

For less than $2,000 you’re getting a solid 22in display from ASUS, and good Logitech models for the keyboard and mouse. Nothing to write home about, mind you, but they get the interfacing job done.

It comes in a solid if uninspiring case; again, one of a lower end model, but still more than capable of protecting all the gear that Enspire’s bundled in this PC.

It’s a pretty well designed little beast, too, with a still strong 9800GTX the central star. It’s supported by 2GB of Gskill DDR2 RAM, and a whopping two 1TB Samsung hard drives, all plugged into a P35-based mobo with an E8500 CPU. It’s an aging system, now, to be sure, but still more than serviceable for the majority of games and applications. It’s no beast, and it struggled with Crysis and failed outright in our 8x anti-aliasing testing, but for pure bang for back this machine is quite literally peerless in this roundup.



The build could have been cabled a little more efficiently. As it is while the various cabling runs have been tied off, they’re left obscuring the RAM slots, and a set of rather overly long SATA cables are even at risk of fouling the fan on the GTX card. It’s unlikely, but is it a risk you really want to take?

All this loose cabling also inhibits the airflow of the case, and with nearly all the cooling options being stock choices throughout, that could be an issue if you don’t keep the case well-cleaned and ventilated. On top of that, the PSU was poorly installed, with loose screws leading to it sliding around in its brackets as the power cord was unplugged. Sure, you’re not paying the earth for this box, but that’s not really an excuse for sloppy work like this. Still, we guess you do get what you pay for, and it does come with a pretty generous warranty, and options for three-year on-site repair. Great if this is a computer you’re getting for someone you don’t want to act as IT support for.

As a complete bundle it’s hard not to be impressed, and it’s worth noting that while this machine did bottom out in the performance stakes, it’s still better than any gaming laptop by a long margin.