This small box builder shows that wise selection of parts is the key to a solid system.
The Infinite Group prides itself on building custom PCs for high-end users. The C240-64 is built around an IGP motherboard, AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor, 512MB DDR RAM and 80GB SATA Seagate Barracuda hard disk, enclosed in a glossy Antec case. The system is finished in black and silver, with FireWire, two USB 2.0, headphone and mic ports on the front panel.
Close attention has been paid to the parts spec, with Infinite opting for brand-name components. The system sports a Sony DVD-RW DW-D22A multiformat DVD writer, along with a floppy drive, Philips 170S 17in TFT monitor and Microsoft Wireless Comfort keyboard and mouse combo. A two-year RTB warranty is included, along with Windows XP Professional. In fact, the only concession made is a VIA/S3G UniChrome Pro IGP video adaptor instead of a dedicated video card. The only potential problem with this option is an inability to run two monitors simultaneously, which is often a consideration in a workstation environment.
The system performed well under benchmarking — although the PCMarkO4 score was quite low at 2,911, the CPU component was 3,666 and the memory achieved 2,984. The only point that brought the system down was the low graphics mark of 564. These are backed up by 21.7 and 28.4 under Business Winstone 2004 and Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 respectively. An abysmal 1,766 under 3DMark2001 SE confirms that the UniChrome Pro IGP adaptor isn’t up to snuff for modern gaming.
Apart from video performance, the system scores reasonable benchmarks and is quick where it counts. The 64-bit processor chews through complex processing and the entire system makes very little noise: in fact, it’s just about the quietest Athlon 64-based machine seen, or rather heard, in the APCs Labs.
This offering stacks up well for its intended market, where stability, solid build and low noise are more important than blistering video performance. Some workstation users might prefer to drop a high-end 2D video card such as ATI’s FireGL or an Nvidia Quadro into the box, but the C240-64 is a screamer when it comes to productivity apps.

Article Tags:
Infinite Group C240-64 WorkstationArticle Categories:
PCs