T
heCCLRaiderXis a rarebeastatthe
moment– a gamingPCwhereboththe
CPUandGPUcomefromAMD.The
Gigabyte-madeRadeonRX 5700 XThastheusual
8GBofmemoryand2,560streamprocessors,and
thismodelalsoupsthegameclock(thefrequency
atwhichAMDsaystheGPUis likelytoruningames)
from1755MHzto1795MHz.Thatsaid,themaximum
boostclockremainsunchangedat1905MHz.
TheGPUis pairedwithanAMDRyzen7 3800X.It’s
an8-corechipwithSMT(givingit 16threads),andit’sleftat
itsstockbaseandboostspeedsof3.9GHzand4.5GHz.
Thosecorecomponentsarepairedwith16GBof3200MHz
DDR4memory,andthere’sa 1TBM.2CorsairPCI-E3 SSDas
well,butnosecondaryharddisk.Meanwhile,powercomes
froma CorsairRM650– a fullymodularunitwith 80 Plus
Goldcertification.It’simpressiveatthisprice.
Themotherboardalsocomesfrom
Gigabyte.It’sbasedontheAMDX570
chipset,soit supportsPCI-E4,while
alsoofferingtwosparememoryslots,
a vacantM.2connectorandseveral
freeSATAports.It’snotsuitableforSLI
though– thesecond16xPCI-Eslot
onlyrunsat4xspeed,plusthisboard
onlyhasentry-levelRealtekALC887
audioandnoWi-Fi.TherearI/Opanel
is basictoo– therearefourUSB3.2
Gen1 ports,butnoType-Cconnection.
There’snoopticalS/PDIFoutputeither,
andonlythreeaudiojacks.
TheCCL’s£1,499pricebringsit
upagainstmoreconventional
competition.PCSpecialist’sMagma
RTXSuper(seeIssue195,p40)was
only£100moreexpensive,andit
pairedthesameCPUwithanNvidia
GeForceRTX 2070 Supergraphics
card.TheRadeon 5700 XTis generally
a fasterGPUinourtests,butit lacks the
RTXGPU’ssupportforhardwareray
tracing,enablingrealisticlightingand
reflectionsingames.REVIEWS / PC SYSTEMS
SPEC
CPU
3.9GHzAMDRyzen7 3800X
Motherboard
GigabyteX570GamingX
Memory
16GBCorsairVengeanceRGB
Pro3200MHzDDR4
Graphics
GigabyteRadeonRX 5700 XT8GB
Storage
1TB Corsair Force MP510 M.2 SSD
Case
Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow
Cooling
CPU: Corsair Hydro H100i with 2 x
120mm fan; GPU: 3 x 90mm fans;
top: 1 x 120mm fan; rear: 1 x 120mm
PSU
Corsair RM650 650W
Ports
Front: 2 x USB 3, 1 x audio; rear: 4 x
USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2 x USB 2, 1 x Gigabit
Ethernet, 2 x PS/2, 3 x audio
Operating system
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Warranty
Three years parts and labour
collect and returnGAMING PC
CCL RAIDERX/£1,499 inc VAT
SUPPLIER cclonline.comIt’s all packed into a Corsair iCUE 220T RGB Airflow case –
a steel mid-tower chassis with plenty of lighting and a
tempered glass side panel. The three 120mm intake fans
and the two 120mm exhaust fans all have RGB LEDs, and
there are more lights in the Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro
DIMMs, the CPU cooler and the graphics card. The front
lighting flashes through the patterned front panel, and the
steel used throughout is very strong – it’s a very sturdy case
for a sub-£1,500 machine.
A PSU shroud obscures cables at the front, and CCL has
done a good job of keeping the interior neat. It’s tidy around
the back too, and there’s space for pairs of 3.5in and 2.5in
drives.There’salsoa controlboardforaddingmorefans,
andCorsair’s iCUE system means the lighting can be
synchronised with compatible peripherals.
The Corsair case isn’t particularly large, measuring just
446mm tall and 210mm wide. That makes it easy to fit into
compact spaces, but it also means the interior is cramped.
There’s barely any room between the motherboard and the
PSU shroud, and the graphics card and Corsair Hydro H100i
liquid cooler almost touch. Larger cases won’t necessarily
offer more storage space or better build quality, but bigger
enclosures have more room in which to work.
Finally, CCL’s machine is protected by a three year parts
and labour warranty with collect and return service – a
comprehensive deal that doesn’t skimp in any department.Performance
The overclocked Radeon RX 5700 XT is great for 1080p and
1440p gaming. In 1080p benchmarks, it returned minimums
between 92fps and 111fps, so there’s enough pace for single-
player games and easily enough power for esports games at