Hi-Grade DMS II 3400

Hi-Grade's DMS II 3400 follows on from the impressive DMS 3000. A 3.4GHz Pentium 4 sits with 512MB of Ram, while a PCI Express Radeon X300 handles graphics. The latter is fine for all basic media and office tasks, but those who want to do more may need to consider an upgrade.

One of our biggest gripes about the last DMS was its paltry 120GB hard disk. Hi-Grade has supplied this new version with a 250GB model. It has also done a good job of keeping down noise levels.

The DMS II 3400 doesn't come with a monitor as standard and the Scart sockets featured on the previous version are gone - a real shame. When it comes to hooking up your TV or monitor, there are three options: DVI, analogue D-Sub and S-video.

A dual analogue tuner lets you record two programmes at once, and Hi-Grade has left space for an internal digital tuner should you require one.

The front of the case features a dual-layer DVD burner, LED display, and a flip-down panel that reveals USB and Firewire ports, audio sockets, S-video and composite inputs and a multi-format card reader. The only real omission here is that the reader doesn't support XD Picturecards.

The DMS II 3400 is an expensive system, especially as you don't get a monitor, but with a wide range of connection options, compact design, fast processor and low noise levels, you get a lot for your money.

See also:

Advent MC3040

A good value introduction to Windows Media Center Edition 2005  01 Apr 2005

Tiny MMC E10252

A good Media Center computer offering dual TV tuners  24 Feb 2005

D-Link DSM-320 media player

Stream audio and video around your home  16 Feb 2005

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