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The new Origin Chronos VR (starts at $1,722; $3,670 as tested) continues the trend of small-form-factor (SFF) gaming desktops that stuff an impressive amount of computing power into a case that fits neatly on a home office desk or beside a HDTV. With an overclocked Intel Core i7-6700K processor, an SSD, a huge data drive, and a single Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card, it’s capable of playing 3D games at 4K resolution and in virtual reality (VR).
Design and Features
The last high-end Origin Chronos($1,224.00 at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in a new window) was certainly compact and powerful, but it left us wondering why a $3,000 gaming desktop used a plastic case. The new one is steel, measuring 11.75 by 4.0 by 13.75 inches (HWD), and capable of accommodating any dual-width graphics card, including the new GeForce GTX 1080 or older Titan Z. The window on the black case lets you view the graphics card, but doesn’t show off the rest of the interior the way the Maingear X-Cube Z170, our last top pick for SFF gaming desktops, did. Granted, the chunkier X-Cube Z170 is twice as thick as the Chronos VR($1,722.00 at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in a new window), so it has more room to show off (and takes up a lot more space on your work surface). This version has a painted exterior with a red-and-black ripped-costume motif (it looks like the outer skin is being torn away to reveal a more colorful case), which adds quite a bit of flash. There’s also some red LED interior case lighting, again helping to highlight the GPU. The Chronos VR can be oriented horizontally or vertically, which gives you a lot of flexibility when figuring out where to place it in your den or office.
There is some internal space for future upgrades, which is surprising for such a small machine. There is only one PCIe x16 slot, which is filled with the graphics card, and the two DIMM slots hold two chips totaling 16GB of DDR4 SDRAM, but you can swap out the memory out for a maximum of 32GB. In the motherboard’s M.2 slot is a 512GB SSD, and there’s a 6TB 7,200rpm 3.5-inch hard drive preinstalled. Notably, you can add up to five more 2.5-inch SSDs or hard drives to the case, which could add up to a storage capacity that rivals a server’s. There is a sealed liquid cooling system for the processor, but the graphics card is air cooled.
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Connectivity is excellent, starting with the front panel’s two USB 3.0 ports, which flank microphone and headphone jacks. In the back, there are three DisplayPort connectors, an HDMI port, and a DVI port on the GeForce GTX 1080 card. The other back panel ports include surround audio, DisplayPort and HDMI for the Core i7’s internal graphics, Ethernet, one PS/2, two USB 2.0, four USB 3.0, and two USB 3.1 Type-A, and there’s a pair of jacks for the included external Wi-Fi antenna. The 802.11ac and Bluetooth connectivity are welcome; you really need wireless connectivity if you’re plugging the computer into a HDTV in your den or bedroom, for example, and it was one of the more glaring omissions from the Maingear X-Cube. The Chronos VR is covered by a three-year warranty.
Performance
This pint-size powerhouse comes equipped with an Intel Core i7-6700K processor that has been overclocked to 4.6GHz from 4GHz, and an EVGA-branded Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card. The combination helped the Chronos VR top several of our benchmark tests, and notably shows promise for upcoming AAA 3D games running at 4K resolutions and in VR environments. It earned first place in the 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme test with a score of 10,424 points, which is the highest score we’ve seen for this test on a system with a single graphics card. It bettered the MSI Vortex G65( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), which has two GTX 980 GPUs installed, on five of our six 3D tests, and surpassed the Maingear X-Cube Z170 on all the 3D tests (and all the other benchmark tests, save one). The only 3D tests where the Chonos VR (narrowly) lost were the 3DMark Cloud Gate test (won by the Falcon Northwest Tiki) and the Heaven test at the highest quality settings (won by the previous Origin Chronos). In anecdotal testing, the Chronos VR returned rock-steady frame rates on the Heaven (76fps) and Valley (83fps) tests at maxed-out settings when we bumped the resolution up to 4K (3,840-by-2,160). It is ready to tackle 4K gaming and drive whichever VR headset you choose, including the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.
See How We Test Desktops
At the other multimedia and everyday performance tests, the Chronos VR was at or near the head of the pack. It returned a top time of 2 minutes, 15 seconds, on the Photoshop test, which was the best for this group. The eight-core processor in the Falcon Northwest Tiki helped it ace the CineBench and HandBrake tests, but the Chronos VR still almost matched it in performance (988 points on CineBench, 0:46 on HandBrake). The system’s PCMark Work Conventional test score (4,074 points) was a very close second behind the Maingear X-Cube Z170’s. In other words, the Chronos VR will certainly be a fast performer for the near future.
Coming in at a price that is admittedly a lot more than our last Editors’ Choice, the Origin Chronos VR offers a lot more storage space, provides measurably more performance, is a lot thinner, and includes greater connectivity. It’s one of our top picks for anyone who is interested in a long-lasting system for full HD and 4K gaming, or for exploring the uncharted VR worlds to come. We have no qualms awarding the Chronos VR our latest Editors’ Choice award for SFF gaming desktops.
4.0
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The Origin Chronos VR is a compact desktop that can fit on most desks or even next to your 4K TV, but it delivers performance good enough for serious 4K and VR gaming.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/origin-chronos-vr