If you’re trying to spend less than $ 1500 on a rig, you have a lot of options. These entry-level gaming PCs provide an excellent foundation for future upgrades, but don’t miss playing the latest games like Elden Ring with the right settings.
Personally, I find it often more interesting to check out these PCs than the $ 4,000 Bruiser who plays games over 4K. It’s fun to tinker with them, but in reality most people don’t have such scratches in their bank accounts. The real challenge for system builders is to provide a solid gaming experience with the right components for those who don’t have unlimited funding.
Named after the Egyptian god of war, $ 1500 ($ 1,494 to be exact) CLX set gaming PC (Opens in a new tab) Is trying to put it on top of a pack in a crowded field on a PC looking for space on the desktop. This compact gaming PC makes a good first impression right out of the box, but it can be a whimsical god, like the old Egyptian god.
The build I received is from the CLX Set series desktop in a small form factor micro ATX case. The website has a highly detailed PC configurator that can determine almost any component, from closed-loop liquid cooling options.
There is a small box that shows what frame rate you can expect from some games. I wanted to see a more modern game used in this kind of parts picker feature on the system builder site. I think GTA V is still very popular, but it’s almost 10 years old.
CLX set specifications
CPU: AMD Ryzen 55600X 3.7GHz Hexa Core
cooling: CLX Quench 120 Closed Liquid Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock A520M-HV5 Micro ATX
memory: 16GB (2x 8GB) XPG DDR4-3600
graphic: Gigabyte GeForce RTX3060 12GB
Storage: 1TB Seagate Barracuda QS NVMe M.2 SSD
Power: 750W80 + Bronze GamdiasKratosM1 RGB
guarantee: 1 year parts / lifetime labor
price: $ 1,498 (Opens in a new tab)
I was able to make a duplicate of the Set PC sent to the configurator to see what lead times I would get. This worked in about two weeks. It seems that the components don’t have much markup either.Hell, even GPU seems affordable (Opens in a new tab) This is becoming an increasingly welcome sight.
CLX also offers ready-to-ship PCs, which cannot be customized, but this is a fairly common practice.
Inside this PC are neatly packed components to avoid wasting space inside a white CLX Mini-ITX chassis with the required tempered glass side panels. Between RAM and 120mm fans, RGB-powered components provide the hell of a light show in tight spaces controlled by software or LED buttons on the front panel.
Speaking of components AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (Opens in a new tab), 16GB RAM, and RTX3060GPU power the set.How well we GeForce RTX 3060 (Opens in a new tab) These systems act as low-budget GPUs, and this time around, they are no exception. The Ryzen 5 CPU, on the other hand, didn’t actually perform the task, as you can see immediately.
Despite the lack of space, the CLX can afford the full RTX 3060 GPU. This is a strange reversal from the system that Redux sent. The motherboard and components are much smaller in case size, even though they sit in a medium-sized chassis that leaves an extraordinary amount of free space in the PC.
Surprisingly, the set’s CPU benchmark score is a bit behind its slightly cheaper competitors.
As you can see from the benchmark, the closest rivals in the set are the ones mentioned above. Redux’Good’ PC And that NZXT Streaming PC In performance. Surprisingly, the set’s CPU benchmark score is a bit behind its slightly cheaper competitors. It was strange that the score was lower than the NZXT streaming PC (with the same CPU). The set got a few degrees hotter than the others, which could explain some of its disappointing performance.
Thankfully, the set performed slightly better on the game benchmarks and worked much like a Redux and NZXT PC (both with RTX 3060 GPUs). The only game in which it seemed to shine was Hitman 3. This averaged close to 12 frames across the competition. Everything else was a few frames above or below its general priced enemy.
I have seen a system issue running F12021. For some reason, CLX crashed every time I tried to run the benchmark, and when I tried to start a quick race, the software type crashed instead of the car type. Usually when I’m having a problem with my PC it’s usually the problem Metro Exodus. It worked fine.
Neither Hitman 3 nor Horizon Zero Dawn were aware of any of these issues. However, when thinking about 1440p games, the performance of the set wasn’t very good. Therefore, stick to 1080p. This is the resolution at which the RTX 3060 works best and is the only place in most modern games where you can always exceed 60fps at medium to high settings.
Game performance
System performance
I was happy to see 1TB SSD for storage. Recently, systems sent in this price range offered only 500GB SSDs. This is frankly not enough for current gamers’ games and media libraries. When checking for less than 1 TB, it’s always a good idea to upgrade your storage immediately when you’re trying to price your system yourself.
One of the big concerns is the noise level of the set. It is no exaggeration to say that whispers are not quiet. The small system makes a surprisingly loud sound even when idle. There was a constant hum of five 120mm case fans working overtime. It’s one thing you hear noise during a demanding game, but are you just looking at Netflix? This can hinder trading for some people. For me, it was the noise flowing into my game chat and work phone, rubbing me the wrong way.
Another common drawback of these recent $ 1,500 builds we’re reviewing is the lack of USB Type-C ports on the front and back panels. Where the NZXT Streaming PC stood out. Given that USB Type-C is the best way to get the most out of devices such as external SSDs, webcams and microphones, it’s always a shock to not see them. But hey, I’m trying to keep costs low, so motherboards can be expensive.
CLX’s SetScarab is a great looking micro ATX system that offers 1080p gaming performance for $ 1,500. However, the noise level of the system and the overwhelming CPU display aren’t really compelling cases for the machine, given what else is available for the same price.
