PC Specialist Apollo Zen

Professional-level PC puts power at your fingertips

Apollo Zen sounds like one of David Bowie’s psychedelic alter egos. This new Windows 10 computer from PC Specialist is a pretty standard tin can from the outside, but stepping through the door – well, pulling off the side – reveals plenty of space and one oddity: AMD’S Ryzen 7 processor.

It’s the first system we’ve seen with this new class of processor, which comes with a futuristic-looking liquid-cooling system. It’s not rocket science, but we tested the Apollo Zen with its Ryzen 7 1700X processor against the 1800X in a conventionally air-cooled PC, and the 1700X came out 20 per cent faster overall. So even though it isn’t overclocked (which is also possible), you’re getting better performance simply by ensuring the processoror doesn’t have to hold itself back.

That’s a thoughtful bit of component selection from PC Specialist, and we also liked its choice of an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card to accompany the Ryzen. It means even the latest 3D games will run smoothly with high-quality settings at Full HD resolution, and 4K is possible with some tweaks, while compatible photo- and video-editing programs will also benefit.

When only one processor core was in use in our tests, the Ryzen was barely faster than an Intel i5. But throwing more work at it let the eight cores do their stuff. It soared through our multitasking test faster than any Intel i7 PC we’ve seen, blasting off towards high-end workstation territory. If serious creative software is your thing, this is the kind of clout you need. The included 16GB of fast DDR4 memory might not be quite enough, but two slots have been left empty on the Asus Prime B350-plus motherboard to add more.

The basic white Inwin 503 case, with a glossy black front and a plastic window on the left siside, is a bit basic for a PC like thisthis, but it does the job. The nine drivdrive bays include a front-facing 5.255.25in slot which PC Specialist has filled with a DVD writer, almoalmost an extinct species in 2017. Therthere are plenty of USB ports, inclincluding two USB 3.1 for fast exteexternal storage, although none are of the new Type-c variety.

Ststorage already fitted compcomprises a bog-standard 2TB hard drive plus a 250GB SSD. Although the latter is on the M.2 interface, it’s not the fastest around, but we got read speeds averaging 399 megabytes per second (MB/S) and 204MB/S for write speeds, which is decent.

If you want a PC that can do absolutely everything, this isn’t it, but it crunches through heavy work with satisfying gusto. However, its hefty price tag will put off many people. It’s a reasonable purchase for professional users though.

It doesn’t look much but the liquid-cooling system makes it fast and powerful