THE PERFECT, EASY-BUILD, AESTHETIC PC
WE SET OUT TO PROVE that you don’t have to go the whole hog to create a stunninglooking system. Things such as liquid-cooling, although coming with their own thermal advantages and aesthetics, aren’t the be all and end all of bespoke custom PCs. Yes, the build we have here is monstrous, and comes with a hefty price tag, but its components are, in lots of ways, very similar to those at all ends of the spectrum. GPUs with four-figure price tags often use the same cooler designs as those costing just under $200; the highest capacity memory still fits into the same slots as those two 4GB DDR4 sticks; and so on. Although SLI is limited nowadays to only operating on the GTX 1070 and above, you can achieve similar results with AMD solutions, or even just opt for a single, more powerful card.
For some, aesthetics are a waste of time in computing. After all, it’s just a box that’s going to end up under your desk, so why care? Because it’s something you pour time and money into, something you sit at, often for hours, working, enjoying media, gaming, so why not make the most of it, and take the opportunity to make your system beautiful?
Of course, it does cost more to do something like this, but it could be less than you think. Taking time to route your cables and tidy them up costs nothing. The next step up, a new case, an LED strip or two, and a braided cable kit for your PSU, can come in at less than $200. Add in two or three fans and a decent dual-rad cooler for 300–400 bucks, and you net yourself improved thermals, lower noise, and a system you can proudly display in your home. That’s a win in our books.
But enough justification, what about the system? Well, it looks stunning. The Kraken X52 not only looks good, but also keeps the chip cool, with temperatures ranging from 27 C at idle, up to 52 C under load. Corsair’s ML120 Pro fans are extremely quiet, the only downside being that the MSI cards can get noisy under load. As a performer, it’s quite impressive; rendering performance is snappy, and having access to 64GB of DDR4 makes for exceptionally fast Photoshop work. We’re utilizing a 24GB RAM cache to take advantage of all that storage by transferring the browser cache, scratch disk, and temporary system files to it to alleviate load times, among other things. Gaming on older titles is nifty, and although there are a few issues with newer AAA games, it’s an exceptionally enjoyable experience at 1440p and above, with frame rates reaching well into the 70s and above.
Is it perfect? Arguably no. There are still things we can tweak: an extra LED or two, better cable routing, and our own custom cables. And, no doubt, the mighty Kaby Lake and a multitude of upgrades lie in its future. But, for now, this reviews editor couldn’t be happier, with a well-rounded system to see us through those harsh winter months.