This is not the primary Alder Lake gaming PC we have checked out this 12 months, however the ones earlier than it have all been very, very costly. If you happen to’ve obtained the price range to stretch to an all-singing all-dancing high-end system, you then’re spoiled for alternative, with the likes of the Velocity Micro Raptor X55, Corsair One i300, and Origin 5000T Millenium all being nice machines when you’ve obtained $5,000 burning a gap in your again pocket. Which frankly, not many people have.
Time for one thing fully totally different: A price range Alder Lake PC. Whereas the earlier machines we have checked out centered on 4K gaming and showcasing the highest of Intel’s twelfth Gen stack, right here Cyberpower is extra involved with 1080p gaming and hitting a much more affordable worth level.
To try this you are an Intel Core i5 12400F and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050. Rather more modest fare. And at £1,055 ($999 for a similar core spec in the US) rather more reasonably priced too. There was a time when that is how a lot you’d count on to pay for an inexpensive gaming machine, so it is good to see that we’re lastly returning to some type of normality right here.
In fact, graphics playing cards aren’t fairly right down to their MSRPs but, and so the choices for price range machines are restricted to the newest releases from AMD and Nvidia, with a toss-up between the Radeon RX 6500 XT and GeForce RTX 3050. Cyberpower has gone for the latter on this machine, and whereas it is not a powerhouse by any stretch, it’s an Ampere chip that comes full with RTX cores, so that you get such goodies as ray tracing assist and body rate-boosting DLSS.
The opposite notable alternative dictated by the general system worth is the choice to go along with DDR4 RAM versus DDR5—Intel’s Alder Lake chips assist each reminiscence sorts. Pricing for the brand new reminiscence normal is beginning to come down, however DDR4 is unquestionably in a greater place for gaming. And for the cash, we would a lot moderately see the wholesome capability and pace that this presents over simply utilizing the latest funkiest factor.
Technical specs
CPU: Intel Core i5 12400F
GPU: Nvidia RTX 3050 8GB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4-3200
Motherboard: MSI B660M-A WiFi DDR4
Storage: 1TB MSI Spatium M390 NVMe SSD
PSU: InWin A65 650W 80+
Connectivity: 6x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, RJ45, 3x Audio, Wi-Fi 6, PS/2 keboard/mouse
OS: Home windows 11 House
Guarantee: 5 Years Labour, 2 Years Elements
Value: £1,055 | $999
This additionally impacts the motherboard alternative, as DDR5 motherboards are likely to value notably greater than their DDR4 brethren. Right here Cyberpower has used a price range MicroATX B660 motherboard from MSI, the PRO B660M-A WIFI, which because the identify suggests, provides Wi-Fi 6 assist to the combination. Don’t be concerned although, there’s an ethernet port of speedy wired connections too. This motherboard additionally homes the machine’s 1TB SSD, which sits beneath a heatsink between the CPU and graphics card.
All of that is bundled neatly right into a surprisingly good wanting chassis for a price range construct. This has been kitted out with 4 RGB followers to tick that gamer aesthetic as nicely, though you may be happy to know you’ll be able to flip this gentle showcase utilizing the included distant management simply, too. It is a glass-fronted case, however don’t be concerned there’s loads of airflow because of the grills on the right-hand facet and a wholesome hole between the followers and that entrance panel. It is a good resolution, that runs quiet and retains the system parts working cool.
The one draw back with this case is that there are not any USB Sort-C ports on the entrance panel, simply USB 3.0 Sort-A. There’s a USB 4 port on the motherboard itself, however this hasn’t been linked to something, one thing that’s compounded by a scarcity of Sort-C ports on the rear I/O—a shocking omission for any motherboard in 2022.
Benchmarks
Cinebench R20: 4,735 (multi-core), 656 (single)
Cinebench R23: 12,395 (multi-core), 1,719 (single)
X264 v5.0.1: 35.26 fps
SiSoft Sandra RAM bandwidth: 38.4 GB/s
3DMark Port Royal: 3,541
3DMark Time Spy: 9,641 (CPU), 6,220 (GPU)
Hitman 3 Dartmoor: 90 fps
Hitman 3 Dubai: 118 fps
F1 2020: 118 fps
F1 2021: 76 fps
Metro Exodus (Extremely): 50 fps
Metro Exodus (RTX): 41 fps
Horizon Zero Daybreak: 71 fps
FFXIV Shadowbringers: 9.435 seconds
Max CPU temp: 79°C
Max GPU temp: 66°C
With regards to efficiency, the Infinity X125 sits precisely the place you’d count on—nearly succesful at 1080p, though it is a powerful name at instances. You are going to wish to tweak a few of the settings to take care of a clean body fee, notably in terms of extra exacting video games, which in all probability is not what you wish to hear after dropping a grand on a brand new gaming PC.
Metro Exodus, as an example, averaged 50fps on the highest settings, whereas turning on RTX pretties drops this right down to 41fps, and sure, that is with DLSS turned on. You possibly can tweak the settings to hit 60fps, however you then’re not getting the most effective visible expertise. No less than you will have GeForce Expertise available to make the entire thing as straightforward as potential.
Much less exacting video games carry out higher, surprisingly sufficient, with the likes of F1 2020 hitting a silky 118fps while hurtling round a wet Vietnam circuit. Horizon Zero Daybreak additionally managed a decent 71fps on common, with lows of simply 58fps.
These body charges are all recorded at 1080p, and upping the decision to 1440p proves that the RTX 3050 merely does not have the uncooked grunt to deal with larger resolutions.
The identical is basically true of ray tracing as nicely, with one of many lowest scores I’ve ever seen in 3DMark Port Royal. If you happen to’re after severe ray tracing efficiency, you need to actually have your sights set on the RTX 3060 at the very least.
In truth, you’ll be able to tweak the configuration on the time of buy to improve to an RTX 3060 for a mere £42 further. That is simply the most effective improve you possibly can ever make—much better gaming efficiency for the value of a sport? You recognize it is sensible.
It is price highlighting that this machine runs quietly and coolly even when pushed onerous too. Although Cyberpower has used the inventory Intel cooler, the temperature nonetheless solely hits 79°C. The RTX 3050 maxes out at simply 66°C as nicely. These case followers aren’t only for the gorgeous RGB lights.
General then, there’s lots to love right here. Element choice largely is sensible and it is a surprisingly good wanting system given its price range nature. I might advocate upping the graphics card to an RTX 3060, for positive, and the dearth of USB Sort-C ports is annoying, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a good PC for the cash. It is nicely constructed, utilizing well-known parts, and there is loads of house for additional upgrades too.
