If we hadn’t already written about it, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the Hellspawn Predator was filled with cutting-edge hardware. Wired2Fire has employed Corsair’s new Carbide Series 300R chassis, and after some of the king-size desktop PCs we’ve seen in recent months, it’s a refreshingly compact and rather understated affair.
Inside, the build is immaculate. Every cable is neatly routed out of sight behind the motherboard and, despite the Corsair’s relatively compact dimensions, generous venting around the chassis provides plenty of airflow. Those looking to upgrade to a dual graphics card setup will welcome the opportunity to attach a further two 120mm or 140mm fans to the side panel or add another two to the roof above.
Elsewhere, there’s little lacking. A Blu-ray reader leaves two 5.25in drive bays empty below, and inside there’s enough room for another two side-mounted hard drives beneath the SSD and HDD combo, each clipping in and out easily.
Almost completely concealed by the huge Be Quiet cooler is Asus’ P8Z77-V Pro motherboard, and there’s no shortage of connectivity, with four USB 3 ports and two USB 2 ports at the rear, and a further two front-facing USB 3 ports courtesy of the Corsair’s front panel. Meanwhile, the spare PCI Express 16x slot provides a future upgrade path to CrossFire for those craving more graphical grunt.
Those expecting Ivy Bridge to deliver an almighty performance increase may come away disappointed, but Wired2Fire’s Hellspawn Predator still has plenty going for it. Despite a hefty overclock and serious reserves of power, the new 22nm processor has allowed Wired2Fire to create a compact, powerful system that’s both power-efficient and cool-running. If you’re looking for a high-powered base unit that doesn’t draw undue attention to itself, the Hellspawn Predator is one PC that should definitely make your shortlist.
Warranty | |
---|---|
Warranty | 1 yr return to base |
Basic specifications | |
Total hard disk capacity | 2,120GB |
RAM capacity | 8.00GB |
Processor | |
CPU family | Intel Core i5 |
CPU nominal frequency | 3.40GHz |
CPU overclocked frequency | 4.80GHz |
Processor socket | LGA 1155 |
HSF (heatsink-fan) | Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro |
Motherboard | |
Motherboard | Asus P8Z77-V Pro |
Motherboard chipset | Intel Z77 |
Conventional PCI slots free | 2 |
Conventional PCI slots total | 2 |
PCI-E x16 slots free | 2 |
PCI-E x16 slots total | 3 |
PCI-E x8 slots free | 0 |
PCI-E x8 slots total | 0 |
PCI-E x4 slots free | 0 |
PCI-E x4 slots total | 0 |
PCI-E x1 slots free | 1 |
PCI-E x1 slots total | 2 |
Internal SATA connectors | 4 |
Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
Memory | |
Memory type | DDR3 |
Memory sockets free | 2 |
Memory sockets total | 4 |
Graphics card | |
Graphics card | Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 |
Multiple SLI/CrossFire cards? | no |
3D performance setting | Medium |
Graphics chipset | AMD Radeon HD 7950 |
Graphics card RAM | 2.93GB |
DVI-I outputs | 2 |
HDMI outputs | 1 |
VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 |
DisplayPort outputs | 1 |
Number of graphics cards | 1 |
Hard disk | |
Hard disk | Corsair Force 3 SSD |
Capacity | 120GB |
Hard disk usable capacity | 111GB |
Internal disk interface | SATA/600 |
Hard disk 2 make and model | Samsung Spinpoint F3 |
Hard disk 2 nominal capacity | 2,000GB |
Hard disk 2 formatted capacity | 1,800 |
Hard disk 2 spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
Hard disk 2 cache size | 64MB |
Drives | |
Optical disc technology | Blu-ray reader |
Additional Peripherals | |
Sound card | Realtek HD Audio |
Case | |
Chassis | Corsair Carbide 300R |
Case format | Full tower |
Dimensions | 210 x 490 x 450mm (WDH) |
Power supply | |
Power supply | Corsair CX600 |
Power supply rating | 600W |
Free drive bays | |
Free front panel 5.25in bays | 2 |
Rear ports | |
USB ports (downstream) | 2 |
PS/2 mouse port | no |
3.5mm audio jacks | 6 |
Front ports | |
Front panel USB ports | 2 |
Operating system and software | |
OS family | Windows 7 |
Noise and power | |
Idle power consumption | 70W |
Peak power consumption | 332W |
Performance tests | |
3D performance (crysis) low settings | 63fps |
3D performance setting | Medium |
Overall Real World Benchmark score | 1.15 |
Responsiveness score | 1.03 |
Media score | 1.25 |
Multitasking score | 1.16 |
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