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Heady high-end gaming desktops like the latest Origin Genesis (starts at $1,832; $9,130 as tested) are made for hard-core gamers with gigantic wallets. It’s flashy, it’s loaded with a lot of liquid-cooled hardware, it’s ready for both 4K and VR gaming, and it returns prodigious results on our benchmark tests. That puts it in a very elite category, though it does have rivals to contend with. As with the high-rated Maingear Rush X99 Super Stock, most people claim they could “build one just like it,” but do you really want to spend thousands of dollars on something you’ll have support yourself, and that would take weeks—if not months—to construct and troubleshoot before you boot it for the first time?
Design and Features
The latest Genesis($1,832.00 at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in a new window) is aimed at the same sort of buyer who will consider rivals like the Editors’ Choice Maingear Rush X99 Super Stock and the tricked out Alienware Area-51( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window). It uses a super-size version of the chassis we saw on the Origin Millennium(1,977.00 Base Configuration at ORIGIN PC)(Opens in a new window). It measures a beefy 25.3 by 9.8 by 24.8 inches (HWD), which makes it one of the largest cases we’ve seen; you’ll really need a lot of space below a desk for it, as you probably won’t have room on top next to multiple monitors.
The version we tested has black polycarbonate front and back panels, along with metal side panels. Those panels have been painted with a green, silver, and black motif, as if the case were peeling itself open due to the energies contained within. The left side case window shows off the liquid cooling system, which circulates coolant over the CPU and vertically mounted graphics cards. You can also see some of the multiple cooling fans through perforated grates on either side of the base. The case’s lighting, which is all around the interior and on portions of the top panel, can be controlled using the included Sentinel utility. There’s also a Sentinel app for Android and iOS devices, so you can monitor your system status or change the LED color scheme from across the room.
If there’s any drawback to the impression the Genesis makes, it’s that other high-end desktops like the Maingear Rush are on a level higher in terms of build quality and sturdiness. It’s impressive and well built, to be sure, but the case door and window still feel like thin (though high-end) computer components. The Maingear Rush looks like it was sculpted first, then tempered plate glass was cut for the side windows, and then the plumbing was done by someone with a lot more skill than Nintendo’s Mario. As a result, the Rush feels more like a luxury item that happens to have a computer built into it.
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At least the Genesis seems to be easier to upgrade. While the liquid-cooled CPU and GPUs are probably best left to the technicians at OriginPC, the memory and hard drives are certainly accessible to the end user. There are four DIMM slots available to supplement the included 16GB of RAM, up to a total of 128GB. There’s an M.2 512GB SSD installed on the motherboard, along with a 5TB 7,200rpm SATA hard drive in one of the five removable hard drive bays. They are installable through the front panel, behind a protective door, where you’ll also find a Blu-ray burner and a free 5.25-inch drive bay. The 1,000-watt power supply is enough for several additional hard drives.
Connectivity is excellent, though all the ports are situated on the top of the case. On the front, next to the power switch and controls for the fans, there are a headphone jack, a microphone jack, and four USB 3.0 ports. Because the Genesis is oriented vertically, the ports you’d expect to be in the back are actually on the top, under a removable panel. That makes them somewhat inconvenient to use, since you’ll have to route lengthy cables to the top panel instead of the back. In addition, some connectors like DVI are so large that you may not be able to reinstall the cover, which may leave the unsightly cables exposed. Origin includes 90-degree DVI adapters, which will allow you to clip the cover back on. There are two DVI ports, two HDMI jacks, and six DisplayPort connectors on the GeForce GTX 1080 cards. On the top panel, you’ll find surround audio jacks, two Ethernet ports, a PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 3.1 Type-A ports, two USB-C ports, and the connectors for 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 antennas. The system is protected by a three-year warranty.
Performance
The components in the Genesis are overclocked enough to need the liquid cooling. The 10-core Intel Core i7-6950X Extreme Edition processor runs at 4.3GHz rather than the default 3GHz. There’s also a pair of EVGA-branded Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition graphics cards in an SLI configuration. In our testing, one GTX 1080 is enough for 4K and VR gaming, so two working together returned even more impressive numbers. As a result, the Genesis made quick work of our benchmark tests. Its scores at the 3DMark Cloud Gate (59,882 points) and Fire Strike Extreme (18,259) tests were impressive, though the Maingear Rush just beat the Genesis on both. Frame rates were beyond smooth on the Heaven (223 frames per second, or fps) and Valley (125fps) tests at the highest quality settings. When bumped up to 4K resolution, the Genesis managed 65fps on Heaven and 81fps on Valley. Essentially, you could run multiple full HD monitors or a 4K display and not have to worry about any slowdowns or missed frames. Playing a game full-screen on a 4K display while simultaneously using two full HD monitors for Web browsing and team communications would be child’s play. Desktops like the Alienware Area-51, the CybertronPC Titanium, and the MSI Vortex G65( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), which use older graphics processors, are still competitive at full HD, but reach lower limits at 4K.
See How We Test Desktops
As you’d expect, the Genesis is a force to be reckoned with on CPU-intensive benchmark tests like HandBrake (28 seconds) and CineBench (2,204 points). Both scores matched the performance of the Maingear Rush, and left the rest of the pack far behind. Photoshop was almost as impressive, at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. That’s 10 seconds off the top mark, but still minutes faster than anything you’d get from a mainstream consumer-grade desktop. While you’re probably looking at this system exclusively as a gaming rig, the system can do work during the day before you play all night. If you’re tasked with analyzing and calculating results from a 300,000-cell spreadsheet, then the Genesis might be a good tool for the job. Day-to-day tasks, like Web browsing, video conferencing, and document editing are a snap, as shown by the system’s score on the PCMark Work Conventional test (3,850 points).
Though pricey, the Origin Genesis is a good choice to have on your workbench if you destroy virtual targets for a living (or just like to pretend you do). Its dual graphics and overclocked 10-core processor all but guarantee smooth animation and gameplay, whether at full HD or 4K resolutions, or in VR setups with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. If you need to save a bit of cash, a configuration with the same internal components, sans painted case doors, and with a shorter one-year warranty is available for $8,411. That said, the build quality, level of detail, and wow factor are higher on the Maingear Rush X99 Super Stock, which remains our top pick for high-end gaming desktops for now. It’s only $439 more expensive, which is a pittance at this price point. More so, the Rush looks like it costs more. The Genesis still has brag-worthy benchmark numbers, but won’t catch the eye of gamers and non-gamers alike.
4.0
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The Origin Genesis is an expensive gaming desktop that delivers rock-steady frame rates, even at 4K resolution with all the eye candy turned up.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/origin-genesis-2016
