PC Specialist Define X1 Review

Performance Analysis

The dominance and performance increase offered by the new GTX 1080 is all too clear in our game benchmarks, which the PC Specialist Define X1 obliterated. At 2,560 x 1,440 it managed minimum frame rates of 84fps and 78fps in Battlefield 4 and Crysis 3 respectively - both faster than the Overclockers UK Infin8 Nebula that we looked at last year which sported two GTX 980s in SLI, yet the Define X1 is a single GPU system - impressive stuff.


Moving up to 4K and things are tighter with the two GTX 980s bettering the GTX 1080 a little in Battlefield 4, although the PC Specialist system regains the lead in Crysis 3, with both games being playable at 4K too. Unigine Valley seemed to prefer the SLI system with a near 1000-point lead over the single GTX 1080, though, but the PC Specialist Define X1 had a clear lead over every other PC we've looked at - such is the nature of the GTX 1080 when it comes to games.


Performance when leaning on the CPU was excellent too with the PC Specialist Define X1 coming near or at the top of the graphs, with only X99-based systems or those sporting higher overclocks able to topple it. As we suspected, the SSD offers amazing performance too, with the highest write speed on test by some margin at 1,265MB/sec, while the read speed of 2,252MB/sec is close to the top of the chart as well. Thankfully, that hefty overclock didn't lead to worryingly high power consumption; an idle draw of 62W is fine and a load draw of 356W is actually a mid-table result - not bad for one of the fastest PCs we've ever tested.

The biggest temperature we saw was 82°C on the GPU, with an ambient temperature of 23°C. We're only talking about the stock reference cooler on the GTX 1080 here, but this is reasonable. The CPU reached 76°C in the same conditions so unless you'll be gaming in a small, stuffy room in 30°C heat, we doubt you'll have any issues here. The system was quiet too, with the PSU and graphics card making the most noise when under load, but never reaching annoying levels.

Conclusion

As usual, a ready-built PC needs to be competitive price-wise if it's to tempt us away from a bit of DIY, and the PC Specialist Define X1 scores well here. We calculated a rough price of £1,600 to build this PC yourself so not only are you saving £100, you also get a ready-made PC delivered to your door, ready to rumble and sporting a warranty too.

The only flies in the ointment here are the slightly bland aesthetics and an LED strip that's secured a little haphazardly. Other than that, the price and performance are spot on and the PC Specialist Define X1 is an excellent system for gaming at high resolutions or with a VR headset.