Future Power - Power Series P3-500

For $1499, the plain truth is that you can easily build a better system. But there is quite a bit of potential for Future Power. With a better selection of components (especially the video card), Future Power could definitely lure some hardware enthusiasts over to their corner of the market.

Keep an eye on Future Power, as their name implies, the present isn't always the deciding factor. Let's hope they can produce a stronger solution in the future otherwise, they will most definitely lose out in this highly competitive market.

For a "Power Series" computer, the system seemed more geared towards cost effectiveness than being a "powerful" solution. The setup started out strong with a pretty fast CPU and enough memory but, where Future Power skimped was where the system truly began to fall behind its true potential. In this particular case, a Celeron 500 with 128MB of RAM, and a TNT2 or a Voodoo3 2000 and a SB Live! Value would be a much better option than the configuration they are selling.

If we take out the NEWQ Gold from the system and upgrade the hard drive from the current Caviar to the 7200 RPM Expert and, at the same time push for the BE6/BE6-II or even the AOpen AX6BC Pro Gold, we'll round off what this system should have been.

All in all the new Power Series from Future Power is a good setup but for most of you, it won't be offering enough to convince you to not build your next system by yourself. Maybe it's time for Future Power to release an "Enthusiast Series" PC…