Never slow in adopting the latest technology, Mesh's latest addition to its Matrix product line uses the new version of the AMD Athlon 64 processor; the 3400+.

Housed in the now-familiar black Mesh case, the Matrix 64 3400+ is laden with goodies and offers a fair bit of future-proofing into the bargain, especially as 64-bit software and games are in their early days.

The Athlon 64 3400+ processor is rated at 2.2GHz, has 1MB of Level 2 cache and an 800MHz FSB. It is compatible with both 64-bit and 32-bit applications, which is handy as 64-bit apps are noticeable by their absence.

Backing up the CPU is 1GB of PC3200 (DDR 400MHz) memory in the form of two 512MB modules. The motherboard can support a maximum of 3GB in three DIMM slots, so there's no lack of performance available from this PC.

On opening the tool-free side panel, the internals are neat and tidy with pride of place going to the Asus K8V Deluxe motherboard which, with all the data and power cables neatly clipped out of the way, is easy to get to. The K8V uses one of the fastest chipsets around for the Athlon 64, the VIA K8T800, and this is combined with a VIA VT8237 Southbridge.

The case side panels are not the only tool-free features; the drive bays, with front access, are all tool-free, as are the expansion bays, while to make installing any extra internal drives easier, the drive cage is also... you guessed it... tool-free and can be easily removed.

When it comes to graphics performance the Matrix 64 3400+ is top notch. You would expect nothing less as it uses the king of the heap of the current range of graphics cards at the moment; ATI's Radeon 9800XT with 256MB of DDR memory. This outputs to a really good TFT display, namely a 19-inch Iiyama ProLite E481S-B, which has a fast response time (so it's OK to play games on) and a 1,280 pixel by 1,024 pixel native resolution.

To get the full benefit of those big bangs and explosions on your current favourite game, Mesh has provided a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum and a set of Creative Labs Inspire T7700, 7.1-channel speakers, so there's no excuse not to annoy the neighbours.

A massive 200GB of storage is provided by a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA (Serial ATA) drive which has an 8MB buffer and a spin speed of 7,200rpm. You also get two optical drives; a 52x/24x/52x CD-RW drive and a Sony DWU-18A. The latter is a dual-format DVD burner, with 8x DVD+R and -R, and 4x DVD-RW and +RW performance. To assist you in any CD/DVD burning, Mesh bundles copies of Pinnacle's Instant CD/DVD and Studio 9 (the SE edition) with the system.

To connect to the outside world the motherboard incorporates a 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet connection, while Mesh adds a 56Kbps, V.92 modem. If this wasn't enough, the motherboard carries Asus's WiFi slot, so by using one of the company's wireless cards you can give the Matrix 64 3400+ wireless networking capability.

On top of all that there are six USB 2.0 ports (four provided on the motherboard back panel and two in the front fascia) and four FireWire ports. Rounding out the hardware package is a Logitech Cordless keyboard and mouse combination.

The Matrix 64 3400+ comes with Windows XP Home edition as standard but XP Professional is available (additional £50) while Microsoft Works Suite 4 is the bundled software package. You get a three year warranty with the system but unfortunately this is a back to base warranty; on-site warranty packages are available as extras.

Although at first glance the Matrix 64 3400+ may seem expensive, it is a powerful package using some top-notch components and can be used for anything from video editing to hardcore gaming.