22 NOVEMBER 2019|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 381
NEWAMDCHIPSmean new AMD-based
PCs, the first of which we’re looking at is the
Fusion Axion. Like the CCL Paladin opposite,
it’s based around the Ryzen 73700X, an
octa-core CPU that’s only one step down from
the premier Ryzen 93900X (page 30).
This being £525 more expensive than the
Paladin might raise eyebrows, but there’s alot
more about the Fusion Axion that makes it a
true high-ender.Ithas amore powerful GPU,
in the form of an MSI-made GeForce RTX
2080, and it also completely ignores slow
mechanical storage in favour of dual SSDs.
LUCKYSEVEN
Still, the Ryzen 73700X is the star of the show.
Although it has ahigher maximum boost clock
than the preceding Ryzen 72700X (Shopper
366), at 4.4GHz, its 3.6GHz base clock is
actually 100MHz slower.AMD will likely be
relying on the move to a7nm manufacturing
process, the greater efficiency of which should
help the CPU perform more processes per
clock cycle,inorder to make up performance.
Happily,itdoesn’t just make up forthat
100MHz drop,itblazes past the Ryzen 7
2700X in speed tests. Most impressive is the
Fusion Axion’s 189 in our image-editing test,
which shows that AMD has finally caught up
with Intel on single-core performance.
This is an excellent PC formultithreaded
apps too, as it scored 326 in the video test and
395 in the multitasking test, foranenticingly
high 338 overall. This is all with the Ryzen 7
3700X running at stock speeds, and because a
Cryorig A80 watercooler is included, you could
CHILLBLAST FusionAxion
★★★★★
£2,200•From http://www.chillblast.com
VERDICT
Fewexpensesaresparedinthispotentandwell-connecteddesktopsystem
WINDOWS 10 DESKTOPPC
SPECIFICATIONS
Windowsoverall
Multitasking
DirtShowdown
Metro:LastLight
0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100
Seepage94forperformancedetails
PROCESSOROcta-core3.6GHzAMDRyzen73700X•RAM
16GB DDR4•FRONTUSBPORTS2xUSB3,2xUSB2•
REARUSBPORTS4xUSB3,3xUSB3.1,1xUSBType-C•
GRAPHICSCARD8GBMSIGeForceRTX2080Ventus8GOC
- STORAGE500GBSSD,2TBSSD•DISPLAYNone•
OPERATINGSYSTEMWindows10Home•WARRANTYFive
yearslabourincludingtwoyearscollectandreturn•
DETAILSwww.chillblast.com•PARTCODEFusionAxion
potentially get even more speed out of it with
overclocking. Even without that effort, this is
asuperb performer on the CPU side.
The same could also be said of the Paladin,
which with an overall score of 330 offers
practically identical processing aptitude for
hundreds of pounds less. The Fusion Axion’s
RTX2080 should on paper make it amore
formidable high-resolution gaming rig than
CCL’s system, which has the Radeon RX 5700
XT,but in reality the performance gap is still
smaller than the price gap would suggest.
In Dirt Showdown, the Fusion Axion
produced 190fps at 1,920x1,080, 186fps at
2,560x1,440 and 124fps at 3,840x2,160. This is
agreat set of results, but compared to the
Paladin, it’s only faster by as little as 5fps at
1080p and as much as 12fps at 4K. The latter
is the only instance in which you could see a
visible difference,and even then it’s not much.
There’s also not much of an advantage in
Metro: Last Light Redux, although since frame
rates are lower overall, the differences are
easier to perceive.The Fusion Axion managed
112fps at 1080p,67fps at 1440p and 29fps at
4K, this last result jumping to 60fps after we
disabled SSAA. Again, it’s asmall disparity,
with the exception of 1080p,where the Fusion
Axion was 16fps faster.Both systems scored 11
in the SteamVR Performance Test, too.
Youcan get the same performance from
the PC Specialist Vortex S2 (Shopper379),
which is also much cheaper.Then again, while
the Vortex S2 also has an RTX2070, it has a
considerably less powerful (and non-
overclockable) CPU in the Intel Core i7-9700F.
DRIVEHAPPY
If there’s anything that makes the
Fusion Axion worth its lofty price,
it’s the storage.Having a500GB
NVMe SSD as the main drive
would be good even just with
mechanical backup,but here you
also get a2TB SATA SSD to boost
capacity massively.Itmeans that
even if you stuff the latter with
games, you’ll never have to endure
the slow loading speeds that you
would with any hard disk.
The smaller SSD isn’t anew
PCI-E 4.0 model, which is
something the motherboard’s
X570 chipset would allow you to
add in the future,but it’s still
immensely fast. Using AS SSD,we
recorded asequential read speed
of 2,884MB/s and asequential
writespeed of 2,926MB/s, afantastic showing
on both counts. APCI-E 4.0 would probably
bump up the price even further,anyway.
Besides speedier SSD support, the
motherboard also confers ahost of upgrade
and connectivity options. There are two spare
PCI-E x16, PCI-E x1 and RAM slots apiece,as
well as agenerous seven empty SATA ports.
The rear I/O panel, meanwhile,combines four
USB3 ports, three USB3.1ports and one USB
Type-C port with an optical S/PDIF connector,
along with separaterear speaker and C/SUB
ports. If you want apremium audio setup with
your PC, this will suit it well.
HOTWIRED
The clean, whitecase is another highlight. It
has outstanding cable management, with lots
of channels and re-usable straps, and storage
support includes two empty 3.5in trays plus
four 2.5in trays. There’s also aspare M.2 slot
back on the motherboard.
The CCL Paladin is overall better value,but
the Fusion Axion’s more premium trappings
help save it from being outright overpriced.
JamesArcher
338
112fps
190fps
395
