Performance in an Attractive Package
Putting this rig together was fun and we were happy with how it all worked out. The video card looks great behind the Manta’s curved window, and the clean layout made the PC something to behold.
Looks aren’t everything, though, and at the end of the day, the PC has to perform. And perform it did, well, when it did.
There were several instances where the PC would reboot in the middle of a benchmark. While Windows 10 has annoyed users with silent updates and unprompted reboots, we thought it wouldn’t happen in the middle of high CPU utilisation. We did eventually get through all the benchmarks, so we let it slide. If this were going to be a machine that we’d use day-to-day, we would look for a firmware update for the mobo, and hunt down the culprit.
The scores from the tests were impressive. In our visual tests, the Fury happily pushed pixels out to our screen at a healthy rate, producing playable frame rates in the two 3,840 x 2,160 titles. At 1440p, the Fury managed to top 90fps, which is pure gold for gamers with 1440p screens. We’re still not totally sold on gaming on 4K monitors; if you’re planning on gaming, the smart money is that you’re looking at 1440p performance.
In 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra, the Fury managed a score of 3,465. The Oculus Rift recommended spec has a score of 2,596, which easily puts this rig into Oculus-ready territory. Considering that the Oculus-recommended spec calls for an i5-4590 (with a higher clock speed than the i5-6500), we’re happy with that.
When it came to timed benchmarks, the 3.2GHz quad-core wasn’t going to keep up with the i7-5960X we use as a zero-point. The i5-6500 isn’t the CPU you want for computational or workstation tasks, so music producers and graphics designers should go for an i7 instead.
We liked the doors on the Manta, as it had nubs that helped us align the door before securing it. However, NZXT opted for thumb screws that are meant to stay on the doors. While this is great to prevent loss, they assume awkward angles when you’re trying to secure the door closed. Having removable screws would alleviate some of these problems.
The Manta is pretty, but it’s expensive. The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv we reviewed back in APC 419 (see page 30) is $180, and offered room for full-size GPUs like the Manta. While the features of the two are different, and the Manta offers more cooling options, it is twice as expensive. It’s better suited for builds that plan to do overclocking, so the cooling options can be put to good use. If you’re staying stock and locked, the Enthooo Evolv might serve you better.