Reviews / Pegasus 710 - Total PC Gaming

Rock Pegasus 710 – Rock returns this issue with a middle-of-the-road desktop replacement

On paper Rock·s Pegasus 710 is a pretty feisty bit of kit. With DirectX10 graphics courtesy of NVIDIA·s latest 8600M GS mobile GPU. HD-DVD playback and HDMI-out as standard, the early signs are very good.

Its 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and a 17-inch widescreen (1440x900) means you·ve not only got the makings of a desktop replacement, but also a very potent gaming PC and media centre.

Keep in mind this is Rock·s entry-level system, there are off-the-shelf options for 2.4GHz C2Ds (with a larger 4MB L2 cache compared to the 2MB on this model). 2GB of RAM and larger capacity hard drives. It·s clear that the Pegasus 710 is designed for performance and the £799 price tag bodes reasonably well.

That being the case, it·s somewhat unfortunate for Rock that the Sony VAIO FZ21S we reviewed back in issue 3 trumps it at just about every turn – all for just £100 more. Beyond being clearly reflected in the benchmark results on the right of the page – the VAIO boasts a 2.2GHz C2D and 2GB of RAM – the FZ21S·s superiority is evident in terms of visual appeal, form factor and the kudos attached to Sony·s popular laptop brand by default.

Yes, the Pegasus boasts a full sized numeric keypad and a larger screen size, but next to Sony·s offering it pales in comparison in just about every other regard. Let·s start with the HD DVD and DVD-RW drive. Rock·s decision to bundle HD-DVD playback with its laptops as standard was a bold and forward-thinking move that the company deserves credit for. It·s very unfortunate for Rock, then, that the HD format war is over and the company·s chosen format is now obsolete, while Sony·s Blu-ray format (as found in the FZ21S continues to flourish. No one carries HD-DVD movies anymore and since that aspect of the drive isn·t writable, it·s not even any use for archiving. It·s an unfortunate and undeserved position for Rock to be in, but a black mark nonetheless.
Next is the rather weak design of the chassis and the flimsy nature of its construction. Besides being generic in appearance, it doesn·t feel solid or as if it·s manufactured from particularly high quality materials. This is reflected most negatively in the touchpad. The buttons are flimsy and due to the design are only responsive when pushed right in the middle. If you·re too far over you won·t get a solid contact.

Despite the pressure of a superior alternative and a slightly tacky finish weighing heavy on the Pegasus, the feature set is still strong and the performance numbers are fairly good. It·s respectable, but it·s ultimately uninspired.


RESULTS
6/10