Review: Wired2Fire Pyro 64 FX gaming PC

The Pyro 64 FX is Wired2Fire's latest gaming PC. While the majority of desktops we've seen recently have been Intel Core 2 Duo models, Wired2Fire is sticking with AMD. This model is powered by a dual-core Athlon X2 4800+ via an AM2 socket.

Thanks to recent AMD processor price drops, Wired2Fire was able to slash £200 of the RRP for this system while we had it in for testing, leaving it at just under the £1,700 mark.

The motherboard and components are housed in a visually appealing NZXT Lexa case. It has a striking design and a metallic-looking front, which opens up to reveal a card reader, USB port and two optical drives. Although it looks impressive, the front-access door isn't particularly sturdy and feels very plasticy.

Easily accessible at the side of the case are two USB and one Firewire port, along with a microphone and headphone jack. A panel at the top of the case digitally displays the CPU, hard disk and system temperatures.

The case is raised about 1.5in off the floor, enabling a fan to be placed at its base. A side window provides a glimpse of the system in action, while a huge fan at the back helps keep this PC running cool.

The Pyro 64 FX flew through our benchmarking tests with scores of 270 in Sysmark 2004 SE and 5,846 in PCmark05.

Results like these are impressive, but must also be assessed in the context of other PCs now being released based on Intel’s Core 2 Duo, some of which, although more expensive than this model, are achieving Sysmark 2004 SE scores in excess of 400; see our performance results website for more information.

Gamers will be pleased to see the inclusion of a top end Nvidia Geforce 7950GX2 graphics card. Although a single card, due to it having two GPUs it actually runs in SLI mode. Having SLI on one card in this fashion means there are only two DVI outputs, but it does leave the door open for Quad-SLI at a later stage.

A 3Dmark05 score of 12,763 puts the Pyro 64 FX in the top 5 gaming PCs we’ve seen in our labs.

All this means even the latest games will run smoothly at high resolutions; we recorded a consistent 91fps in our Far Cry test. They look good too, as Wired2Fire ships this PC with a 20.1in widescreen Belinea 10 20 35W TFT, which supports a screen resolution of 1,680 x 1,050.

It has built-in speakers, but unless you’re short on desk space you’ll want to use the included Logitech X-230 2.1 speaker set instead. For true immersive gaming, upgrade to a 5.1 surround sound set.

PC manufacturers often skimp on peripherals to cut costs, but this certainly isn’t the case with Wired2Fire. The gaming credibility of the Pyro 64 FX is enhanced by the inclusion of a Logitech G5 laser mouse and Saitek Lit keyboard .

The mouse is comfortable in the hand and has a number of great features, including the ability to change the cursor speed using buttons on the mouse and low friction pads on the underside to aid movement.

Furthermore, an adjustable weight cartridge can be fitted inside the mouse to customise the feel of its movement. The only drawback is the mouse isn't wireless, but those who’ve suffered drained batteries during an online shootout won’t complain about this.

Although it doesn't top our performance tables, this is still an incredibly powerful PC at a good price. Wired2Fire has also done an impressive job of tailoring the system towards gamers.

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