Unashamedly expensive, the Serenity
Gamer has to not only take on all challengers In terms of performance and
features but, equally importantly, perform these tasks while remaining
whisper-quiet.
The 3.5GHz Intel Core i7-3770K processor is
the same high-end chip employed in Chillblast’s much faster Fusion Firebird
system, but Quiet PC has overclocked It to just 4.2GHz (versus 4.6GHz),
bringing you the most serene fragging experience you could imagine.
Quiet
PC Serenity Gamer
Thermolab’s Trinity heatsink is a
traditional fan-based cooler, albeit a jolly quiet one. It does an admirable
job, but you wouldn’t want to push the system any further than 4.2GHz with a
small cooler such as this. The pricey Core i7 chip is therefore rather wasted
here.
In PCMark 7 the Quiet PC recorded just
5,092 points, which is way down there with the slowest Core i5 systems. The
Serenity Gamer offers somewhat better gaming frame rates, though.
The nVidia GeForce GTX 680 is one of the
fastest graphics cards in this group, yet Dino PC’s $1,125 cheaper Dark Claw
raced ahead of the Quiet PC in our gaming tests, armed with a lower-spec GTX
670.
The build quality of this system is superb.
Quiet PC selects only the quietest components, which do tend to be more
expensive.
The
nVidia GeForce GTX 680
The Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 system case is a
good example, fitted with sound damping materials and hinged doors, excellent
cable-management and removable dust filters for quick maintenance.
A
Creative Sound Blaster Recon 3D sound card
A Creative Sound Blaster Recon 3D sound
card has been installed, but we were disappointed to find that the optical
drive lacks support for Blu-ray. However, that’s perhaps less of a surprise,
given the small Zalman TM-230 monitor, which lacks the high image quality of
the displays supplied with some competing systems.
Also included Is a set of high-quality
gaming peripherals from SteelSerles, comprising a weighty 7G keyboard, an
eight-button Sensei Raw Gaming mouse with programmable macros and a Siberia v2
gaming headset with a retractable microphone.
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Information
·
Price: $3,099
·
Contact: www.quietpc.com
·
Model: Serenity Gamer
·
Processor: 3.5GHz (OC @4.2GHz) Intel Core
i7-3770K
·
CPU cooler: Thermolab Trinity
·
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1,600MHz
·
Storage: 128GB Crucial m4 SSD + 2TB Seagate
Barracuda Green HDD
·
Power supply: 700W Nexus RX-7000
·
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB
·
External USB ports: 6x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0
·
Display: 23in Zalman TM-230 (1920x1080) TN
panel with 2x HDMI, VGA and audio ports
·
Graphics card: Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX
680, 2GB VRAM
·
Sound: Creative SoundBlaster Recon3D 7.1
·
Networking: 802.11n, gigabit Ethernet,
Bluetooth 4.0
·
Other ports: HDMI, DVI, VGA, DisplayPort, eSATA,
FireWire, S/PDIF
·
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 1
·
Keyboard & mouse: SteelSeries 7G keyboard,
SteelSeries Sensei Raw mouse
·
Optical drive: Sony AD-7280S DVD ± RW
·
Operating system: Windows 8 Pro
·
Extras: SteelSeries Siberia v2 Gaming Headset
·
Case dimensions: 220x532x517mm
·
Warranty: 2-year collect-and-return, open-case
policy
Verdict
·
PCMark 7 score: 5,902
·
Hard Reset: 118, 110
·
Lost Planet 2: 91, 76
·
Stalker CoP: 221, 118
·
Alien vs Predator: 109, 59
·
Sniper Elite V2: 91, 23
·
This very expensive system from Quiet PC
delivers superb quality, excellent gaming peripherals and supremely quiet
operation.
·
However, its performance is rather
unambitious, and may leave you lusting after more raw power.
·
Build: 4.5/5
·
Features: 4.5/5
·
Performance: 3.5/5
·
Value: 2.5/5
·
Overall: 4/5
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