PC Specialist has eschewed Intel for
its latest gaming rig, we take a look at what else is inside...
PC Specialist is one of the big names in
the UK PC market, and it's good to see the firm not resting on its laurels,
churning out identikit Intel systems. Instead, its latest machine is built
around AMD technology.
The chip of choice is AMD's top-end
processor: the FX-8350. It's based on the current-generation Piledriver
architecture, and this 32nm part has an enviable set of specifications. Its
four cores are clocked at 4GHz out of the box, and there's 8MB each of L2 and
L3 cache. It's not overclocked, though - a shame given the chunky Corsair
water-cooling unit that's used to lock the chip into its LGA 1155 processor
socket.
Zalman
Z11 Black Midi Tower Window Gaming Case
The AMD chip scored 0.96 in our benchmarks
- a reasonable pace, but around 20% slower than the speed we're used to seeing
from overclocked Core i5 processors. It's enough to handle any and all desktop
applications as well as intensive multi-tasking, but Intel still takes home the
performance crown.
Graphics power comes from another AMD part
- the Radeon HD 7870. It sits just below AMD's top end cards, and it's the kind
of GPU we expect to find in machines at this price: 1,280 stream processors
clocked at 1,000MHz, 2GB of GDDR5 RAM, and almost three billion transistors.
The variant used here comes from PowerColor, and it delivered a solid set of
benchmark results. It motored to 56fps in Crysis run at Very High settings and
a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, and when running Just Cause 2 at the same
settings it averaged 88fps - an excellent score. It's not a top-end card, but
there's enough power here to handle the latest titles on a single screen
without compromising on quality. Older and less demanding games will run
smoothly across multiple monitors too.
Graphics
power comes from another AMD part - the Radeon HD 7870
Windows 8 64-bit is stored on a Kingston
SV300 SSD. It's quicker than any hard disk but, in benchmarks, it returned
mixed results: its sequential read pace of 474.6MB/S is in the top tier of
solid-state performance, but the drive's sequential write pace of 130.7MB/S is
disappointing. The rest of the specification throws up few surprises: 8GB of
RAM, a 1TB hard disk and a DVD writer.
PC Specialist has unleashed a Zalman Z11
Plus chassis, and it's a striking bit of kit thanks to its roof-mounted fins,
side-window, jutting panels and illuminated fans. The plethora of fans on the
inside - not to mention the Corsair water-cooling unit - keep the components
chilled, and PC Specialist has done a great job of keeping the interior tidy.
Cables are lashed to the sides of the case, run underneath each other, and many
are stored beneath the motherboard tray until they're needed.
Two DIMM sockets are accessible for
upgrades, and the Asus M5A97 R2.0 motherboard has single PCI-Express x16 and x1
sockets free alongside two PCI slots. Storage expansion comes in the form of
three SATA sockets and a trio of empty 3.5in bays, and they're all side-facing.
Our only concern revolves around build
quality: while the case looks excellent, the side panels are a little flimsy
and the plastic fans on top of the chassis bend alarmingly.
Our
only concern revolves around build quality: while the case looks excellent, the
side panels are a little flimsy - and the plastic fans on top of the chassis
bend alarmingly
That's not a huge concern, though, in the
face of plenty of positives. The AMD processor is reasonably quick - even if it
can't match Intel's pac and the graphics card is more than capable. If you're
after a well-balanced gaming PC you could do a lot worse than invest in this.
|
Specifications
·
4GHz AMD FX-8350
·
8GB DDR3 RAM
·
120GB Kingston V300 SSD
·
1TB hard disk
·
AMD Radeon HD 7870 graphics
·
DVD writer
·
Zalman Z11 Plus case
·
Windows 8 64-bit
·
Three-year warranty
|
