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Wired2Fire’s latest high-end PC, the Diablo GTX, is built around the impressive Arc chassis from Fractal Design. There’s little innovation in the matte finish and meshed facade, but there’s no denying it looks the part: squat, wide and imposing, and with little frippery to spoil its clean lines. It’s a stylish start.

It feels reassuringly sturdy and the interior offers all the essentials. The motherboard tray is used well thanks to attentive cable routing, and many of the upgrade paths are sensibly designed. The six free hard disk bays all boast rubber-mounted, side-facing caddies, and they’re divided into two larger cages that can be removed to help accommodate longer graphics cards. The free 5.25in bay is tool-free, and there's also a vertical backplate slot for expansion cards that don't use PCI.

The Diablo GTX falls down when the motherboard is factored into the equation. We're not sure why, but Wired2Fire has chosen an Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z – a mini-ITX board that, for all of its Republic of Gamers branding, severely limits upgrade potential. The second PCI Express x16 slot runs at 8x, accompanied by a single PCI Express x4 socket, and there are only two SATA 6Gbits/sec sockets, one of which is occupied. Two DIMM sockets are free, but one is blocked by the chunky CPU heatsink.

At least the cooler in question, a Thermaltake Frio, does its job well. It's topped by two 120mm fans, and they keep the overclocked processor reigned in to a peak of 81°C. The graphics card’s maximum temperature of 76°C is even more impressive, and that’s partly due to the amount of air coursing through the Arc: the front, rear and top panels are all fitted with 140mm fans. That efficiency comes with a noisy downside, though. While the difference between idle and peak sound output is minimal, the overall effect is definitely noticeable.