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Now, I had claimed at the beginning of my review that it's impossible to build a machine of the same caliber for less than $4,000. For argument's sake, let's double check the math. Here is the Origin Chronos Z configuration sent to TechRadar:
Spec sheet
- Processor: Overclocked 4.5GHz Intel Core i7-4790K (quad-core, 8MB cache, up to 4.8GHz with Turbo Boost)
- Motherboard: Asus Z97I-Plus (Intel Z97 Chipset, mini‐ITX)
- Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTX Titan Z (12GB GDDR5 RAM)
- Memory: 16GB ORIGIN PC powered by HyperX (1866Mhz)
- Storage: 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD; 4TB Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive
- Optical drive: 6X Slim Slot Load Blu-ray Writer
- Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0
- Operating system: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64‐Bit Edition)
- Power supply: 700 Watt SFX Power Supply
- Cooling unit: Origin Frostbyte 120 Sealed Liquid Cooling System
- Ports: 2x 3.5mm audio ports (1 headphone/mic jack), 4 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0, PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port, 2 x DVI-D, 2 x D-Sub, 2 x DisplayPort, 2 x HDMI, LAN (RJ45) port, Optical S/PDIF out, 2 x Wi-Fi antenna ports
- Size: 15 x 4.1 x 13.7 inches (W x H x D)
- Warranty: 1-year limited with lifetime expert customer care
All of the following math will be done in US dollars, but prices should be similar overseas. The Intel Core i7-4790K retails on NewEgg for $340. While it would've been nice to see Haswell-E in here, the 4790K offers better performance per dollar than its system-burning older brother.
The Asus Z97I-Plus is only $160 and the HyperX memory, while impressive, only costs around $160. The biggest chunk of change will go to the Titan Z GPU which costs a bank-breaking $3,000. Toss in an $80 PSU, $75 water cooling unit, $100 Windows 8.1 license, $100 Blu-ray optical drive, $70 case, $500 solid state drive, $120 Seagate hard drive and you, my friend, have spent a hefty $4,705 (about £1,664, AU$3,000). And that's before tax.
It's rare for a boutique gaming PC to sell for less than the price of its components, and it's a real testament to how much Origin cares about value. While there are plenty of enthusiasts out there who would scoff at buying a complete system, you're paying for three intangible features: convenience, community and customer service. The latter two are what Origin claims its customers enjoy the most.
Looking for something a little more budget-friendly? The entry price of the Chronos Z starts at $2,799 (about £1,710, AU$3,200) with nearly every aforementioned part, save for a single 500GB mechanical drive replacing the HDD and SSD combo. You're also losing out on 8GB of RAM and dropping the Blu-ray drive – most of us already have one in our $400 consoles.
Performance
After testing the Digital Storm Bolt II just two short weeks ago I had thought, naively, that I could roughly estimate the kind of numbers the Chronos Z would pull in synthetic tests.
I thought wrong. Here are the results:
- 3DMark: Ice Storm: 184,862; Cloud Gate: 32,134; Fire Strike: 15,967
- Cinebench Graphics: 155 fps; CPU: 885 cb
- PCMark 8 (Home): 4,609 points
- Bioshock Infinite (1080p, Ultra): 186 fps; (1080p, Low): 346 fps
- Metro: Last Light (1080p, Ultra): 74 fps; (1080p, Low): 148 fps
While playing games on the lowest settings yielded familiar results, 300-plus frames per second on BioShock Infinite and around 150 fps on Metro, I did not expect to see the astoundingly high numbers on the FireStrike and ultra settings tests.
I never ruled out the possibility of playing Metro above 60 fps on ultra settings, but I had figured that these numbers were reserved for the Large Pixel Collider – or at least something a bit bigger than the Chronos Z.
This machine can easily play games at 4K resolutions and, more importantly, deliver buttery-smooth performance at 1080p for the life of the product.
