The cleverly designed Arka 1200 is the only non-Intel powered system in this group test. It uses a 1.2GHz AMD Duran backed by 256MB of PC133 SDRAM and the reasonably fast VIA ProSavage KM133 integrated chipset, so the Arka 1200 lacks nothing in performance.

Housed in a cleverly designed tool-free, mini-tower case, gaining access to upgrade components is relatively easy. Two thumbscrews and a pull-out locking lever hold one side of the case in place, and when released the side panel drops down to reveal that the motherboard is built into this side panel, a clever and neat piece of design.

Storage is provided by a relatively slow 5,400rpm 40GB hard drive and a 16-speed DVD-ROM drive, both made by Samsung, and these sit in the only two drive bays provided. For connectivity, there are single parallel and serial ports, three audio ports, a midi/game port, a LAN port and four USB ports; two in the rear of the system and two in the front bezel.

The 15-inch LG 563LE monitor (not shown) is powered by the integrated graphics provided by the system chipset, which includes architecture from S3's Savage 4 graphics chipset, backed by 32MB of memory.

Evesham's Arka 1200 is a capable, well-built system although the small design offers limited expandability. But for those with limited space and no need for expansion it may be the one to choose.