Yoyotech Warbird G2
A better than average PC – with a light show
Intel makes most of the processors that PCS run on, and it does that by etching billions of transistors on to tiny wafers of silicon. The efficiency of each design depends partly on the arrangement of transistors (or ‘microarchitecture’) and partly on how close together it can place them (shrinking). In recent years, Intel’s microarchitecture has been updated about every 18 months in what’s known as a ‘tick-tock’ cycle. Each tick represents a shrinking of the previous microarchitecture, each tock represents a brand new architecture.
A year ago, though, Intel had to admit the next tick – codenamed Cannon Lake – wasn’t going to arrive on time, and we’d have to put up with an extra tock at the turn of 2017 in the form of Kaby Lake. Despite a lot of PR hype about how this would deliver amazing improvements, nobody has been particularly astonished to learn that Kaby Lake processors don’t perform significantly better than the previous Skylake series. But here they are.
So far we’ve tested desktop PCS running the i5-7400 and the i5-7600 processors. Now here’s an i5-7500. And if you thought that would mean its performance would be somewhere between the other two, you’re spot-on.
In case you might be thinking all this seems a little dull and predictable, Yoyotech has attempted to stave off boredom by choosing a case festooned with multi-coloured LEDS. They’re completely lacking in any practical function, but because they only cost a few quid these days and use virtually no electricity, why not go to town? Lights furnish the two big fans behind the perforated grille at the front. Meanwhile, the Gigabyte H270-gaming 3 motherboard – visible through the perspex side window – has yet more around its edges and along the slots. The whole lot can be set to a choice of steady or ever-changing colour patterns using a front panel button, Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion software or, believe it or not, a supplied remote control.
If that sounds like just another gizmo to go wrong, you’re right again. We couldn’t get the G2 to take any notice of the remote most of the time, although that could have been a one-off problem. Still, the lights are fun. What matters more is that the i5 is accompanied by the excellent Geforce GTX 1060 graphics card. Ours came with a full 6GB of memory on board, and blazed through even very demanding 3D games at Full HD resolution with maximum quality settings, or at 4K with some compromises. This means it also has plenty of muscle for compatible creative programs, such as photo and video SPECIFICATIONS 3.4GHZ Intel i5-7500 quad-core processor • 8GB memory • 6GB Geforce GTX 1060 graphics card • 120GB SSD • 1TB hard drive • 1x USB Type-c • 1x USB 3.1 • 6x USB 3.0 • 4x USB 2.0 • Gigabit Ethernet • Windows 10 Home • 515x200x466mm (HXWXD)
• One-year warranty www.snipca.com/24015 editors. If games aren’t crucial, you can opt for the cheaper 3GB version, bringing down the total price to just under £900.
You might want to put the saving towards the £61 upgrade to 16GB of main memory, although the standard 8GB will be adequate for most purposes. The SSD is also on the small side, at 120GB, but it’s enough to install Windows and a load of programs that will still load a lot faster than from the 1TB hard drive. There’s room to add another three 2.5in drives and two 5.25 optical drives (CD/DVD or Blu-ray), as well as one spare PCIE x16 slot and two basic PCIE x1. And we were pleased to see an M.2 slot for the very quickest SSD options, although it’s not used by the drive supplied.
The Warbird G2 isn’t the fastest Kaby Lake PC, nor the cheapest. But with a well-balanced specification at a fair price with room for upgrades, it shows middling needn’t be dull.
VERDICT: With solid all-round performance for general, gaming and graphics tasks, the Warbird G2 will be a good choice for many users
★★★★☆
ALTERNATIVE: Chillblast Fusion Hubble £1,000 With an overclocked i5-7600k, this gives you even more processing power for a few more pounds
Don’t be put off by its design – this is a solidly reliable desktop PC