SYS Technologies Cold Fusion 1000 - Athlon 1GHz

Our Cold Fusion 1000 came equipped with an OEM Aureal Vortex2 SuperQuad PCI sound card.  As the name implies, it is based on Aureal’s Vortex2 chipset which boasts support for the relatively popular A3D 3D sound API.  Aureal’s A3D, in comparison to Creative Labs’ EAX (a competing 3D sound API), is known as being a CPU hog when enabled; however, when combined with the power of the 1000MHz Athlon under the hood of the Cold Fusion 1000, having your sound card eat up CPU power isn’t the biggest concern.

SYS also offers Creative Labs’ Sound Blaster Live! Platinum for an added $139, but for most users, the added cost isn’t worth it and you’re better off sticking with the base Vortex2 card. 

SYS’ base audio system is the Altec Lansing ACS54, a five piece system with four 3” drivers (20W) in the satellites and a sub woofer.  The speakers produce a generally clear output and the subwoofer is far from weak.  For a user that will be using the Cold Fusion 1000 for a professional workstation, the ACS54 may be overkill for your audio needs, in which case a cheap set of speakers may be better suited and they would save you around $50 off the final cost of the system. 

If you’re planning on using the Cold Fusion 1000 for gaming on the side, then the ACS54s are definitely a welcome addition to the package and add to the enjoyment factor of this system (as if having a 1000MHz Athlon at your fingertips wasn’t entertaining enough).