NEXT GEN FUTUREPROOF?

SO HERE WE ARE, the machine’s all built, everything fits together (eventually), and everything works (at last). Yes, we did have some teething issues. On first boot up, we couldn’t get through the Windows 11 installation without it crashing. In fact, the error was to do with the CPU cooler and our CPU was briefly hitting around 88° under practically zero load.

That almost left us quaking in our boots, but thankfully it was a simple error. After a bit of cable management, we managed to dislodge the main commander core fan controller cable. Unfortunately, we didn’t figure this out until we removed the CPU cooler and reinstalled it with some new thermal paste. Better safe than sorry.

Other than this issue and our little mishap with the heatsink SSD situation, it was fairly smooth sailing for our Alder Lake system build. The Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW case was easy to work in, mainly due to the sheer amount of space we had. Usually fitting the CPU cables from the PSU to the motherboard can be a pain in the rear end but, for once, it was a quick process with plenty of room to fit the bend of the cable in. The only issue was moving this rig around—when fully built, it’s one hell of a heavy unit.

The performance of this machine was great and what we expected. Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility allowed our CPU to run from 4.90GHz to 5.10GHz all from some easy one-click tuning. With sliders cranked all the way to the right, this PC runs super nice and quiet. Thanks to the huge 420mm radiator, six 140mm fans, and plenty of space available in this case, temperatures are great even when this is under full load.

Of course, at an MSRP of just over $3000, it costs a pretty penny. At this price, you expect it to run the numbers it does on the benchmarking. But is it worth investing in now? Probably not. You’re better off waiting a while for these prices to fall—with every generational change, they always start off sky-high. However, this is certainly a clean, future-proof build in a monstrous case that has tons of presence.