We take a look at the best
pre-overclocked PC systems on the market today
As we have already established,
overclocking is a great way of getting a large boost in productivity with
minimal additional expenditure. If, however, you're a novice or simply don't
fancy the risks associated with overclocking, why not get the experts to deliver
a suitable solution for you? We've uncovered the latest overclocked system
deals available from the UK's best manufacturers. You can be sure any of these
machines we've chosen would be an excellent gaming workhorse.
Vibox Reactor X
Price: $1,052
Vibox
Reactor X
Vibox is a Manchester-based system
integrator, specializing in custom-built performance systems. The Vibox Reactor
X caught our eye with its bold blue LED adorned livery and well-balanced
specification. The CPU is the near ubiquitous Core i5 3570K overclocked to
4.4GHz. This has a high-quality Cooler Master Elite 430 case keeping everything
cool and the high clock speed is facilitated by an MSI motherboard. The system
features a whopping 16GB of RAM, as well as a generous storage allocation of
2TB. There's also a 24x DVD writer and a 450W PSU. Windows 8 is preinstalled,
so you have everything you need out of the box. The Radeon 6670 video card is
an older card than is offered by some competing firms, but it's certainly
powerful enough for casual gamers, and can easily be upgraded in the future as
funds allow.
DinoPC Tyrannosaur
Price: $1,960
If you are looking for something with
sharper teeth, DinoPC's aptly named Tyrannosaur should fit the bill. This
fearsome system comes with the same Core i5 3570K as the Vibox, this time
clocked at 4.3GHz. This is helped along by a corsair water cooler and an Asus
P8Z77-V motherboard. There is a Corsair 120GB solid state drive along with 2TB
of conventional storage for your games and a handsome Corsair 400R case. The
power supply and 8GB of memory are also provided by Corsair. The system really
comes to life thanks to its multimedia credentials. A GTX 670 2GB video card is
an immensely powerful gaming power house, while a dedicated Asus Xonar DG sound
card will keep audiophiles equally happy. At $1960 inc VAT the system is a
pricey proposition, but the deal is more than fair considering the machine's
fine balance and quality.
Computer Planet ND4000
Price: $1,491
If you're looking to keep your budget under
the $1,517 mark, then Computer Planet has a great solution in the form of its
ND4000. This system features a Core i7 processor running at a
frame-rate-busting 4.6GHz. This is facilitated by a Gigabyte Z77 motherboard,
Corsair Carbide 200R case and Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU cooler. Storage at
1TB is fairly modest, but the 16GB memory allocation is far more generous. A
high-quality 700W Cooler Master PSU keeps upgrade potential high, although you
shouldn't need it for some time with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB video card
under the bonnet. As part of the $1,491 price, you get a one-year warranty
(three years labor) to boot.
Fierce PC Prodigy GT
Price: $1,545
Lancashire-based Fierce PC isn't shy when
it comes to offering very small yet very fast PCs. We reviewed the Prodigy GT
mini gaming PC recently and were impressed enough with this sub-$1,600 pocket
rocket to give it our editor's choice award. Running at 4.2GHz, the system
features a quad-core i5 3570K processor, which provides gaming grunt that
belies its diminutive size. There's a 240GB OCZ solid-state drive to keep the
operating system ticking along at full speed, as well as a 1TB hard drive for
your files and downloads. Impressively for such a compact box, cooling is
provided by a water cooler, and the manufacturer has shoehorned in one of
Nvidia's most powerful video cards, the GeForce GTX 670 2GB. All of this is
rounded off by 8GB of high-quality branded memory, a Gigabyte Z77 mini-ITX
motherboard and a 22x DVD-RW. That's a lot of PC for $1,545 - all crammed into
a box you can fit into a rucksack.
Utopia Computers Ballista
Price: $1,295
Utopia Computers has recently revamped its
system selection. Rather than offer suggested specifications that customers
then tweak to their liking, Utopia instead has opted for a fully bespoke PC
building system, allowing you to choose exactly what you want in each and every
category, from the case and power supply to the GPU and a custom paint job. A wide
selection of components is available in each category, but you don't need to
worry about going wrong, as the system helpfully lets you know when you choose
an incompatible part. Of the options available, our favorite has to be the
Ballista, based around Silverstone's unique Fortress FT03 case. This is a
unique pedestal-shaped case that exhausts heat from floor to ceiling rather
than the conventional front to back. This necessitates a 90° flipped layout and
gifts the case a very small footprint of less than a foot square. You can
configure an overclocked Z77-based version for just under $1,313.
Aria Gladiator Desolator
Price: $1,390
Aria is no stranger to the pages of Micro
Mart, being one of the firms that have been around almost as long as we have.
The Desolator has a powerful specification, consisting of the Intel Core i5
3570K overclocked to 4.4GHz, a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H motherboard, 8GB of Corsair
memory and a GeForce GTX 660 Ti graphics card. Storage has also been given
special treatment with a Samsung 840 series SSD, a 1TB Seagate hard disk and a
Pioneer DVD-RW drive. Housing is provided by Cooler Master in the shape of the
K280 midi case and cooling is from Corsair. An H60 water cooler keeps things
cooler than a conventional heat sink and fan, while a 750W PSU means you have
plenty of space for upgrades in the future. A powerful specification for a
great price - just leave enough in the budget to buy an operating system!
Chillblast W3000 Touch PC
Price: $1,620
The W3000 from Chillblast is a complete PC
package containing everything you need to get the best out of Windows 8. An
overclocked Core i5 processor running at 4.2GHz provides plenty of CPU grunt,
while 16GB of memory, a 1TB Seagate 7200rpm hard disk and Radeon 7850 1GB video
card make the system a mean gamer as well. What really sets this system apart,
however, are the peripherals. The 24" liyama monitor is 10-point multi-touch
compatible and the system comes with a keyboard and mouse as well. Multimedia
is taken care of by a Blu-ray player, and you get a full copy of Windows 8 as
part of the deal.
