ISSUE 378|COMPUTER SHOPPER|AUGUST 2019 23
SPECIFICATIONS
Windowsoverall
Multitasking
DirtShowdown
Metro:LastLight
0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100
Seepage110forperformancedetailsPROCESSOR3.4GHzAMDRyzen52600•RAM16GBDDR4•
FRONTUSBPORTS2xUSB2,1xUSB3•REARUSBPORTS2x
USB2,2xUSB3,2xUSB3.1,1xUSBType-C•GRAPHICSCARD6GB
GigabyteGeForceGTX1660TiOC6G•STORAGE240GBSSD,
1TBharddisk•DISPLAYNone•OPERATINGSYSTEMWindows
10Home•WARRANTYThreeyearscollectandreturn•
DETAILSwww.overclockers.co.uk•PARTCODEFS-1DE-OGis arguably the motherboard. The Gaming XVI
Essential’s was abasic board, but this one –an
Asus TUF B450-Plus Gaming –has amuch more
generous selection of upgrade slots, including
one spare PCI-E x16 and three spare PCI-E x1
slots. There’s also an empty set of RAM channels
and an M.2 slot, so you can easily add NVMe
storage later if you wish.
The rear I/O panel is agood one,too.Instead
of just USB2 and USB3 ports, you get two of each
plus two faster USB3.1ports and aUSB Type-C
connector.That’s on topofaPS/2 port, Ethernet
connector and three 3.5mm audio jacks, with the
graphics card providing one HDMI output and
three DisplayPort sockets. In the unlikely event
that you run out of space on the back for
peripherals, another welcome benefit of the
case is its front I/O panel, which contains two
USB2 ports and one USB3 port.
Internal storage upgradability is simple,but
practical enough: there’s room to easily add one
more hard disk alongside the one that’s already
there,and aset of two 2.5in drive mounts behind
the motherboard trayprovide extra SSD space.
The pre-installed SSD is affixed directly to aset of
mounting holes on the chassis, and it looks like
these could hold acouple more,were it not for
some cable ties in the way.
GO LOW
In case it wasn’t already clear, we’re not
suggesting you rush out and buy the XVI
Gamer,even if its biggest problem is the
existence of the Gaming XVI Essential, rather
than any serious design or hardware flaws.
Most of the differences between the two look
bigger on paper than theyare in actuality,
meaning you’d be paying £200 more foraPC
with only marginally better gaming performance
and almost identical CPU performance.The
motherboard and case are clearly upgrades, but
aren’t worth the premium by themselves.
We wonder if it would have been better to
focus on one aspect of the Gaming XVI Essential
–which is already agreat PC –and make that one
aspect significantly better,instead of the XVI
Gamer’s approach of making small adjustments
that ultimately don’t add up to much. It’s still a
decent enough desktop PC, but the smart
moneywould be put towards the Gaming XVI
Essential, or potentially the AMD Abyss, which
has afaster CPU and better storage than both.
JamesArcher217
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