Something Atomicans don’t usually associate themselves with is a pre-built PC, but that may all change with TI Computers offering an i7 3770K system for very close to (possibly even cheaper) the total price of building a complete system yourself.
Equipped with a GIGABYTE Z77X-D3H motherboard – arguably the best value board available from GB, this system is built around value for money performance. You’ll find the room inside to expand to CrossFire or SLI in the future, along with more than enough room for HDD capacity increases, as you’ll find four SATA 2 ports, and another four SATA 3 ports.
Overclocking is very easy, and proven by the fact that TI Computers include a moderate overclock for you – free of charge. Upon booting up we discover the 4.4GHz core clock is already in place, along with 1333MHz (CAS8) on the RAM.
To keep the new Ivy Bridge processor cool, TI Computers has included a Noctua D14 cooler, arguably one of the best air coolers on the market. It ensures quiet and reliable performance for many years, though the best part is you don’t have to install it yourself.
If for any reason you do need to tinker inside the PC, or if you plan on modding it after arrival, the choice of a Cooler Master 690-II case should put a smile on your face. It’s one of our favourite cases of all time, representing beautiful and thoughtful design, solid build quality and most importantly a fair price tag.
So what about the storage? Ti Computers hasn’t skimped out here either. Inside the tower you will find a shiny Corsair Force 3 SSD, sporting a 120GB capacity. Also included for your data storage is a large capacity 2TB HDD from Seagate, a ST2000DM001 to be precise. It’s not common you find an SSD included in pre-built ‘gaming’ computers, so we take our hats off to Ti for doing the right thing.
In order to satisfy your gaming addiction, a GTX 680 has been included. It’s without question the fastest single GPU video card on the market, though given the price, we’re not sure it’s the best choice for a pre-built system, as it really does bloat the total built cost of the PC. Also remembering that most people still game on 1920x1080, a GTX 670 seems like a more sensible option. Luckily, Ti Computers are an understanding bunch, and more than likely will make the change over to a GTX 670 if you decide almost $200 in savings is worth your while.
If you are chasing a complete system, with Samsung S24B300H monitor, Basic Logitech input devices and Windows 7 Home Premium the build will total out at $2280 – that also includes a one year parts warranty, and five year labour warranty. Not only is that competitive, it’s cheaper than the bill we received from numerous online PC stores for the parts alone.
If you already have yourself a nice screen and your gaming input devices, Ti Computers are happy to throw all of this together (very carefully and neatly of course) for even less. Put simply, you won’t find a PC with better value anywhere else. The only way you could possibly beat this price if if you or a friend build it for free, but then you miss out on the five year labour warranty, something that in our opinion adds infinite value to this deal. Who wants to have their head buried in a PC when something goes wrong? Even we want to offload our problems to someone else on the odd occasion, so thank you Ti Computers for putting your hand up.
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FPS Avg
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FPS Min
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FPS Max
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Unigine Heaven
|
33
|
20
|
84
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3DMark 11 (score)
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9219
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X
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X
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Arkham City
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59
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35
|
74
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Battlefield 3
|
46
|
31
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59
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