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Chaintech 7NJL6 AMD Athlon XP 2900+ Desktop Computer

Sunday, May 1st, 2005 | Desktop Computer Reviews, Reviews

At first sights this looks like a very cool computer, perhaps even a cheap high powered gaming computer. But lets take a closer look at this system.

Overall it’s good package. Combining some very good parts in a system which can handle a fair amount of power and work fast.

The motherboard is a Chaintech 7NJL6 nVidia Socket A ATX. It comes with things like built in audio. It supports up to a 400MHz front side bus, allowing fast transfer of information, and in turn speeding up how fast things load on your computer.

The processor is alright. The 2.08GHz AMD Athlon XP 2900+ is decent, providing enough power for average use.

The hard drive is a 5400RPM, 120GB Maxtor. These drives have a long life and perform well. This one does not come in the higher speed 7200RPM which is becoming increasingly popular. The interface is ATA-133, which provides good transfer speeds.

It also comes with a Video Card. It is also a Chaintech product, the Chaintech GeForce MX4000. A 64MB card based on on an nVidia video card processor.

The CD-ROM is a no name brand. The fan should provide enough cooling power for your processor. And the 512MB of DDR400/PC3200 memory should quench your needs for basic typing of documents, surfing the internet and playing digital media on your computer.

But here comes the bad news.

The case is a Diablotek. It is very good looking and will impress. However, the power supply that comes with the case when it’s sold seperately is terrible. It really is a piece of junk. There have been reports of the power supply running too hot, even blowing after a few days of use. Stuck buttons and shorted lights are amongst the other complaints. And finally the heat from the power supply means that, in standard setup, it’s too hot inside for an Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz.

So, besides the power supply issue, which is a very serious one, and you will probably have to replace it. It is a good package of bits and pieces, just disappointing that it couldn’t come with a little more reliable case and power supply.