G
lobal esports team Fnatic has enlisted PC Specialist
to build its official desktops, and this model is the
flagship. Not only will it be sent to the pro players,
but it will also be sold on the high street at PC World. It’s not the
only Fnatic-branded desktop – PC Specialist is selling three
alternative specifications – but it’s the most important.
It deploys an Asus Radeon RX 5700 XT card, with 2,560
stream processors and 8GB of memory. It runs at reference
speeds, which means a boost clock of 1905MHz. It’s a fast
GPU, but it lacks the support for real-time ray tracing offered
by Nvidia’s GeForce RTX chips.
The Ryzen 7 3700X CPU runs at its stock speed too, which
means base and boost clocks of 3.6GHz
and 4.4GHz. It’s a versatile chip, with
enough speed for gaming and eight cores
for multi-threaded content creation. The
rest of the specification is decent. There’s
16GB of 3200MHz memory, a 500GB
Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD and a 2TB hard
disk. Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi is included
too. Meanwhile, the Corsair TX650M
power supply is reasonable: it’s semi-
modular and has an 80 Plus Gold rating.
It all connects to a basic Asus ROG Strix
B450-F Gaming motherboard. It has
two spare memory slots, a vacant M.2
connector and plenty of free SATA ports,
as well as SupremeFX S1220A audio.
The rear has a USB 3.1 Type-C port and
plenty of full-sized USB ports as well.
The B450 chipset means you don’t get
PCI-E 4 support though.
It’s a decent specification, but it’s
expensive. If you spend this amount
of cash elsewhere, you can easily bag
yourself a GeForce RTX 2070 Super card.
If you want to save money, systems with
the Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce RTX
2060 Super usually cost under £1,400.
The system is housed in a Corsair
iCUE 465, which is a well-made,
unfussy mid-tower case with
tempered glass panels. Build quality is
excellent, the RGB LED intake fans look
good and the side panel is decorated
with Fnatic and PC Specialist logos.THE OFFICIAL FNATIC
GAMING PC / £1,599 inc VAT
SUPPLIER pcworld.co.ukGAMING PC
The cabling is neat at the front too, helped by a PSU shroud
and rubber grommets lining the holes. PC Specialist’s own-
brand FrostFlow CPU cooler looks good too, with a chrome-
ringed waterblock/pump unit, and the radiator fitted to the
exhaust mount with two 120mm fans. There are two more
exhaust fans in the roof as well.
In terms of room to work and upgrade room, the spare M.2
connector and memory slots are easy to access, and there
are four 2.5in mounts and a free 3.5in bay at the rear. There
are no free connectors on the RGB lighting control board at
the rear, though, and the hefty graphics card blocks the SATA
ports. The bottom of the motherboard also feels cramped
because it’s flush with the PSU shroud, and the top of the
board is blocked by the roof fans.
Finally, the warranty includes three years of labour
coverage and a year of parts protection, with one month of
collect and return service. That’s fine, although we’d prefer to
see more parts cover.Performance
When gaming at 1080p, the Fnatic’s 99th percentile frame
rates sat at 75fps or beyond. Top-tier games run well, and it
easily has the speed to play esports titles at high frame rates.
It can cope well at 2,560 x1,440 too. Its 99th percentile figures
at this tougher resolution sat at 50fps or beyond. It can’t quite
handle 4K though – in two of our games, its 99th percentileREVIEWS / PC SYSTEMS
S P E C
CPU
3.6GHz AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro
RGB 3200MHz DDR4
Graphics
Asus Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB
Storage
500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2
SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda hard drive
Case
Corsair iCUE 465X
Networking
Gigabit Ethernet, dual-
band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Cooling
CPU: PC Specialist FrostFlow
120 with 2 x 120mm fans; GPU:
1 x 90mm fan; front: 3 x 120mm
fans; top: 2 x 120mm fans
PSU
Corsair TX650M 650W
Ports
Front: 2 x USB 3, 1 x audio; rear: 2
x USB 3.1 Gen 2, 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1,
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 2 x USB
2, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x PS/2,
1 x optical S/PDIF, 5 x audio
Operating system
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Warranty
One year parts and labour with first
month collect and return, followed by
two years labour only return to baseG
lobalesportsteamFnatichasenlistedPCSpecialist
tobuilditsofficialdesktops,andthismodelis the
flagship.Notonlywillit besenttotheproplayers,
butit willalsobesoldonthehighstreetatPCWorld.It’snotthe
onlyFnatic-brandeddesktop– PCSpecialistis sellingthree
alternativespecifications– butit’sthemostimportant.
It deploysanAsusRadeonRX 5700 XTcard,with2,560
streamprocessorsand8GBofmemory.It runsatreference
speeds,whichmeansa boostclockof1905MHz.It’sa fast
GPU,butit lacksthesupportforreal-timeraytracingoffered
byNvidia’sGeForceRTXchips.
TheRyzen7 3700XCPUrunsatitsstockspeedtoo,which
meansbaseandboostclocksof3.6GHz
and4.4GHz.It’sa versatilechip,with
enoughspeedforgamingandeightcores
formulti-threadedcontentcreation.The
restofthespecificationis decent.There’s
16GBof3200MHzmemory,a 500GB
Samsung 970 EvoPlusSSDanda 2TBhard
disk.Dual-band802.11acWi-Fiis included
too.Meanwhile,theCorsairTX650M
powersupplyis reasonable:it’ssemi-
modularandhasan 80 PlusGoldrating.
It allconnectstoa basicAsusROGStrix
B450-FGamingmotherboard.It has
twosparememoryslots,a vacantM.2
connectorandplentyoffreeSATAports,
as well as SupremeFX S1220A audio.
The rear has a USB 3.1 Type-C port and
plenty of full-sized USB ports as well.
The B450 chipset means you don’t get
PCI-E 4 support though.
It’s a decent specification, but it’s
expensive. If you spend this amount
of cash elsewhere, you can easily bag
yourself a GeForce RTX 2070 Super card.
If you want to save money, systems with
the Radeon RX 5700 XT or GeForce RTX
2060 Super usually cost under £1,400.
The system is housed in a Corsair
iCUE 465, which is a well-made,
unfussy mid-tower case with
tempered glass panels. Build quality is
excellent, the RGB LED intake fans look
good and the side panel is decorated
with Fnatic and PC Specialist logos.THEOFFICIAL FNATIC
GAMINGPC/ £1,599incVAT
SUPPLIER pcworld.co.ukGAMING PC
The cabling is neat at the front too, helped by a PSU shroud
and rubber grommets lining the holes. PC Specialist’s own-
brand FrostFlow CPU cooler looks good too, with a chrome-
ringed waterblock/pump unit, and the radiator fitted to the
exhaust mount with two 120mm fans. There are two more
exhaust fans in the roof as well.
In terms of room to work and upgrade room, the spare M.2
connector and memory slots are easy to access, and there
are four 2.5in mounts and a free 3.5in bay at the rear. There
are no free connectors on the RGB lighting control board at
the rear, though, and the hefty graphics card blocks the SATA
ports. The bottom of the motherboard also feels cramped
because it’s flush with the PSU shroud, and the top of the
board is blocked by the roof fans.
Finally, the warranty includes three years of labour
coverage and a year of parts protection, with one month of
collect and return service. That’s fine, although we’d prefer to
see more parts cover.Performance
When gaming at 1080p, the Fnatic’s 99th percentile frame
rates sat at 75fps or beyond. Top-tier games run well, and it
easily has the speed to play esports titles at high frame rates.
It can cope well at 2,560 x1,440 too. Its 99th percentile figures
at this tougher resolution sat at 50fps or beyond. It can’t quite
handle 4K though – in two of our games, its 99th percentileREVIEWS / PC SYSTEMS
S P E C
CPU
3.6GHz AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard
Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
Memory
16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro
RGB 3200MHz DDR4
Graphics
Asus Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB
Storage
500GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus M.2
SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda hard drive
Case
Corsair iCUE 465X
Networking
Gigabit Ethernet, dual-
band 802.11ac Wi-Fi
Cooling
CPU: PC Specialist FrostFlow
120 with 2 x 120mm fans; GPU:
1 x 90mm fan; front: 3 x 120mm
fans; top: 2 x 120mm fans
PSU
Corsair TX650M 650W
Ports
Front: 2 x USB 3, 1 x audio; rear: 2
x USB 3.1 Gen 2, 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1,
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C, 2 x USB
2, 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 1 x PS/2,
1 x optical S/PDIF, 5 x audio
Operating system
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Warranty
One year parts and labour with first
month collect and return, followed by
two years labour only return to base