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SYX Ascent OSG-2 gaming computer review

By now, readers of my website would know that I do not write quick reviews after a five-second evaluation. My reviews are the result of medium- or long-term evaluation process.

Such is the case with the very affordable gaming computer listed on TigerDirect, SYX Ascent OSG-2.

For the affordable cost of $550, the specs are very impressive, especially compared to other computers from TigerDirect lineup of gaming computers.

Intel E5800 Dual Core 3.0GHz

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

4GB DDR3 RAM (8GB max)

NVidia GT430 1GB (DX11)

4 5.25" inch bays

not bad.

However, here are some things that no one else will tell you about:

1) The side case fan, because it is directly flush to the side wall, will drive insane with its noise. Either put it on rubber standoffs/grommets, or remove it completely (I cannot guarantee your computer will not overheat in that case). The fan itself is not very loud. It is its placement that produces an insane amount of noise. How much noise? Like a Boeing that's about to take off. I doubt you could enjoy games or video with either speakers or headphones.

2) The computer will not stay in sleep mode. It will immediately wake up. To fix this, disable the Ethernet controller from being able to wake up the computer. It is useful to disable the mouse as well, because any tiny movement will wake up the computer. Not always needed.

3) And last, but not certainly the least, is the graphics card issue. The graphics card is crap. Simple as that. DO NOT get me wrong. This is no fault of the computer assembler or their purchasing department. It is NVidia's fault. The card is a small flimsy thing, and just from its tiny physical size I absolutely cannot trust that it will breeze thru video games. Again, this computer's specs are certainly better than other TigerDirect computers utilizing GeForce 9500GT cards or similar, as those only handle DirectX 10. But the cards are beefy, powerful, and are workhorses who actually get the job done. Note that cards of those series are basically FOUR TIMES physically larger than GT 430 cards.

As far as upgradeability, the ASUS P5G41T-M LX motherboard will not accept processors any better than what is already installed. The motherboard is entry-level. As many other ASUS motherboards, I expect the northbridge to overheat due to insufficient heatsink. NOTE: ASUS picture shows a picture of a different northbridge heatsink than what is included with this computer. The motherboard installed is "LX2" although I cannot find manufacturer's page for an LX2. The motherboard supplied has a tiny northbridge heatsink.

Note the poor airflow planning (air enters by the lower left corner inlet fan (not shown), and two large fans fight to suck that air out of the case, while disturbing flow so that the CPU fan is not very efficient).

Also note the tiny crappy video card and motherboard.

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