Watford Aries 6435 system review

Conclusions

What do we make of the system, then, overall?

Well, it's clearly good value for money, and the performance is where it should be, just about outgunning our reference, hand-tuned mid-range system.

It's been built well, and the components have been well chosen and the pitch for the system well thought out. We love the styling of the Coolermaster chassis, and we appreciate the effort that's gone into keeping things as tidy as possible.


Does the system fit its original pitches? It clearly works well as a media PC, with the low-noise and high performance making this a winner. However, we can't help but feel that a media PC requires a small form factor housing of some description - unless this is being used as a student room PC, or a study PC, we think it would look a bit out of place next to a TV, when compared to some of the other cases on the market.

As for the buy-now, mod-later pitch, Watford have hit the nail bang on the head. The components have been chosen with good upgradability in mind, and the case has plenty of room and cooling potential for expansion. The case is crying out for modding, and the space that's there makes it plenty roomy for installing a watercooling system and extra lighting.

The price is right, and the performance and styling is brilliant. The 6435 makes a dazzling impression as our first full system review, and wins our coveted Hot Hardware award.

[b]The Watford 6435 IS:

• Fast for the price
  
• Eminently moddable
  
• Better looking than your mum

The Watford 6435 ISN'T:

• SLI
  
• Loud
  
• For Nvidia fanboys