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Voodoo F550 AMD Custom

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Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS
 - Voodoo F550 AMD Custom
3.0 Average

Pros & Cons

Voodoo F550 AMD Custom Specs

Monitor Type: CRT
Primary Optical Drive: DVD-ROM/CD-RW
Processor Family: AMD Athlon XP
RAM: 512 MB
Screen Size: 22 inches
Storage Capacity (as Tested): 120 GB

The fit and finish of all Voodoo systems are huge steps beyond most PCs, especially the F-Class tower cases with clear side-chassis cover and interior fluorescent lighting. The AMD-based system we tested has loads of expansion room, but it noticeably lacks a DVDÐrecordable drive. We'd also like a cordless keyboard and mouse and an LCD, but gamers may prefer the Logitech MouseMan Dual Optical mouse and 22-inch CRT bundled with this system. 5.1-channel Klipsch ProMedia speakers are included but come with standard case covers, not the matching automotive finish we've come to expect with Voodoo systems (even though that option would add $350 to the price). There's plenty of interior room for adding drives and cards, so maybe the best way to view this system is as the Voodoo that you do.

MULTIMEDIA SCENARIO
Music: () We are pleased with PlayCenter and Roxio Easy CD Creator 5.

Photos: () MS Paint is the only software option, though the front-mounted USB slots are helpful.

Video: (Not applicable: no DVD-recordable drive.) Because no DVD-recordable drive was included, we did not test video creation.

UPGRADABILITY
() With five free drive bays (three front-accessible) and four free PCI slots, this Voodoo machine has lots of space. Most Voodoo owners send their machines in for service or cost-negotiated upgrades.

PERFORMANCE
(On a 60-point scale)
Business: 33.2
Multimedia: 45.3

SUPPORT
Voodoo offers a three-year parts-and-labor warranty with your choice of on-site or factory service and free two-way shipping. Toll-free tech support is available. Internet support includes the ability to page factory support staff and technicians at any time.

Final Thoughts

 - Voodoo F550 AMD Custom

Voodoo F550 AMD Custom

3.0 Average

About Our Expert

Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown

Bruce Brown, a PC Magazine Contributing Editor, is a former truck driver, aerobics instructor, high school English teacher, therapist, and adjunct professor (gypsy) in three different fields (Computing, Counseling, and Education) in the graduate departments of three different colleges and universities (Wesleyan University , St. Joseph College, and the University of Hartford). In the fall of 1981 he was bitten by the potentials of personal computing and conspired to leave the legitimacy of academia for a life absorbed in computer stuff. In the fall of 1982 he founded the Connecticut Computer Society and began publishing a newsletter that eventually had a (largely unpaid) circulation of 28,000.

Bruce has been a freelance writer covering personal computing hardware since 1983, the year he co-founded Soft Industries Corp., a computer consulting company, with Alfred Poor (also an ExtremeTech contributor) and Dick Ridington (a Fortune 500 consultant with Creative Realities, Inc., a Boston consulting firm). In 1988 Bruce left Soft Industries to be a full-time freelance writer. He has written for several now defunct publications including Lotus Magazine, PC Computing, PC Sources, and Computer Life as well as Computer Shopper and PC Magazine. In 1990 he and Craig Stinson co-wrote Getting the Most Out of IBM Current, an immediately remaindered work published by Brady Books.

Married to PC Magazine Contributing Editor Marge Brown, Bruce is the father of former PC Magazine Staff Editor Richard Brown (a former and currently thriving freelance writer), Liz Brown (a recent graduate of Colgate University who aspires a career in marketing and public relations), and Peter Brown (who evaluates console gaming systems and games for PC Magazine and various Websites).

Bruce can be contacted at bruce_brown@ziffdavis.com.

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