Elsewhere, there’s 16GB of 3000MHz DDR4 memory, a
2TB hard disk and a 512GB Intel 760p SSD that delivered
reasonable read and write speeds of 1,867MB/sec and
793MB/sec. There’s a Wi-Fi card, too.
Power comes from a Corsair TX550m. It has 80 Plus Gold
certification, which is better than the Katana’s 80 Plus Bronze
PSU, but it’s only semi-modular. PC Specialist has also used
its own SR-819 case for this build. It’s a full tower with solid
build quality, tempered glass side and front panels and four
RGB LED fans at the front. Impressively, it has five front USB
ports. In all these areas, the PC Specialist case is far better
than the flimsy, small case used by Overclockers.
It’s large, allowing plenty of room to work in, and the
radiator for the CPU cooler can sit in the roof without
impeding other components. There’s one tool-free 3.5in bay
that can be accessed from the front, and room for two 2.5in
drives – more upgrade room than the Katana. And, while the
cabling at the front isn’t particularly neat, it’s better at the rear
than the Overclockers machine.
Finally, PC Specialist’s standard warranty serves up three
years of labour coverage, although you only get a year of
parts protection, and just one month of collect and return
service before it defaults to a return to base deal.
Performance
The RTX 2070 Super is a great GPU even at stock speeds. It
will play any game smoothly at 1080p and 2,560 x 1,440,
with all our minimums either breaking or nudging the 60fps
marker at the latter resolution. That also means VR
headsets and high refresh rate screens will run well too.
Ray tracing isn’t a problem either – the Magma never
dropped below 52fps in our Battlefield V test with High DXR
enabled, and averaged a solid 60fps.
The RTX 2070 Super just about manages 4K too,
although its minimums sit in the mid-30fps range. It’s a solid
turn of speed, although the performance is consistently a
couple of frames per second behind the Katana’s
overclocked GPU. The difference won’t transform gaming,
but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re searching for pace.
Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 3800X’s single-threaded image
editing scores match equivalent Intel chips, and its extra
cores help it to outpace Intel in multi-threaded benchmarks.
It has the ability to handle most work and gaming tasks,
and it’s a bit more powerful than the 3700X inside the
Overclockers UK rig.
The PC Specialist returned solid temperatures results
too, with CPU and GPU delta Ts peaking at 61°C and 48°C.
The only issue is noise - the Magma produces a noticeable
rumble when idle and during games, which is annoying.Conclusion
The PC Specialist Magma RTX Super impresses in several
key areas. The RTX 2070 Super will handle 2,560 x 1,440
gaming brilliantly, and it’s paired with a versatile CPU and
solid components elsewhere. The case is good too, and you
get some futureproofing from the X570 motherboard.
Comparatively, the Overclockers rig is cheaper and has a
little more gaming pace, but it’s rough around the edges.
Both machines are noisy too, which makes them hard to
recommend outright. If noise doesn’t bother you, though, the
PC Specialist is fast and well built, offering a better-balanced
system than the Katana.
MIKE JENNINGSVERDICT
Lashings of pace at a keen price in a quality built, although it
could be quieter.OVERALLSCORE
85
PERFORMANCE
22 / 25DESIGN
21 / 25
HARDWARE
21 / 25
VALUE
21 / 25L AVA LY
+ Fast gaming
performance
+ Versatile CPU
+ Decent caseICE COLD- A little too loud
- Basic
motherboard - Main rival is
cheaper