Altech Maestro Fusion

Altech is a rapidly growing Australian company that distributes computer systems and components. Altech's flagship range, entitled Maestro, is designed to be stylish and functional. The Maestro Fusion can handle both audio-visual and traditional computing tasks in style, as it's pre-installed with the latest Windows OS out of the Microsoft stables.

Design
The main system is large, but beautifully presented in the style of a stereo amplifier. The brushed-metal front panel sports a monochrome LCD which provides scrolling system status information and news feeds. The forward-facing Firewire and USB ports are quite exposed, yet they do not spoil the clean, almost Spartan facade of this machine. The Maestro Fusion somehow manages to look traditional and modern at the same time.

A wireless keyboard is a great idea for the lounge, but the integrated mouse on the Microsoft Remote Keyboard is a disaster. A basic principle of engineering is that if more pressure is applied to a part, the harder it becomes to control its movement. In this case the user is required to push down on the joystick as the same time as trying to direct it. We'd be throwing this keyboard out the window before we got used to handling its one-legged mouse.

Features
The core of this machine is a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor supported by 1GB RAM and a big 320GB hard-drive. Included are a traditionally-styled infrared remote control (the keyboard can also double as a remote) and an infrared transmitter/receiver unit. Connectivity to other devices is accommodated by an integrated wireless adapter. A GeForce 8500GT graphics card with 512MB of integrated memory provides enhanced game performance.

Audio support comes in the form of 7.1 channel sound, supporting both SPDIF and standard audio jacks (speakers not included). There is a TV tuner onboard which outputs to S-Video, DVI and VGA. A monitor is not included, but you can plug this unit into a widescreen TV in the lounge room -- a great reason to convince your partner to buy a new one.

The Maestro is supplied with Windows Vista Ultimate, Bulldog Antivirus and a 30-day subscription to IceTV guide. IceTV allows users to program TV recording by selecting programs by name rather that specifying dates and times.

Performance
The Maestro's hard drive is fast! The Sandra Pro File System test determined a file transfer score of 130MB/s (twice that of the Enspire's drive), and the specifications indicate that its peak read speed is three times higher. This means you won't be left waiting for HD video to load -- especially if you spring for extra memory. Games performance, as assessed by 3DMark, was excellent -- streets ahead of relying on raw integrated graphics handling. Serious gamers, however, won't be satisfied, but then you can't expect everything from a Media Center.

The remote control has very good range and we had no trouble with it -- although it is a little too weighty.

The dual core CPU is not the fastest available on the market but it is more than adequate to handle any home theatre setup. The keyboard works very well (as a keyboard), but don't forget it relies on IR -- you can't point it out of line-of-sight to the bundled receiver.

The Windows Experience Index (WEI) and PCMark test results, show this machine is a decent performer. The WEI scores are new to Vista and the base score presented in the following table is the lowest of five which are determined for Processor (4.9), Memory (4.5), Graphics (4.8), Games graphics (5.0) and Primary hard-drive (5.9). The Maestro attained a result of 4950 in PCMark.

Overall, the family's lounge room would be well served by Maestro Fusion and, heaven forbid, would be able to perform a bit of work if necessary, too.