Asus Republic Of Gamers Tytan CG8580 System Review (i7/GTX680)

First impressions of the Asus Republic Of Gamers Tytan CG8580 system are positive. It arrives in a huge eye catching box with a substantial accessory kit inside, including a complimentary high grade mouse and keyboard. These gaming products are higher quality than any other bundled items we have seen in recent years and deserve a special mention.

I like the overall shape of the Tytan CG8580, even though the outer shell is predominately plastic, it is professionally finished and resistant to scuffing and won't attract fingerprints either. Normally we have a cleaning cloth at hand during our photography phase, but unless you decide to smear jam over the plastic there is no need for constant maintenance, which makes for a refreshing change.

The front panel is a talking point, because it is split into two sections. The top half slides downwards on a hinge system to expose the Bluray player and smart card ports, and can be later closed to maintain the smooth, flowing lines.

The power switch resides on a tiny corner panel, opposite to the ‘speed' button. This is one of the best thought out implementations of automatic overclocking that we have seen. By simply pressing this button when Windows is running, the system will overclock to 4ghz, turning the front logo from a subdued blue, to a mean looking red. Pressing it again, pushes the 3770k to 4.2ghz, with a third press resetting the system to default timings again.

Every time this button is depressed, a full screen image is presented to the user for a couple of seconds highlighting the current clock speed. It is extremely intuitive for an inexperienced user and didn't cause any instability problems either.

The overclocked Core i7 3770k when paired with the Asus GTX680 makes for a formidable system, perfectly suited to not only gaming, but 3d rendering and video encoding duties. With 16GB of 1600mhz memory, this machine is bulletproof for the considerable future.

There are some niggling issues however which I need to mention.

I was a little disappointed that Asus didn't paint the rear panel to match the plastic covering, it looks quite ugly and unfinished when viewed from a rear perspective. Internally I was quite surprised to see that they were using DDR3 memory without heatspreaders, something I have mentioned in the past when reviewing Dell desktop systems. In a high cost Republic Of Gamers flagship desktop system Asus should really be using 2,133mhz high grade gaming memory resplendent with quality heatspreader. The memory timings are also rather loose – defaulting to 11-11-11, rather than 9-9-9.

We could make the excuse that the target audience may never look inside the case, however I feel these small details can enhance the system and bring it to the next level.

Technically, the Asus Republic Of Gamers Tytan CG8580 uses a less than impressive internal metal chassis, which is encased in the lovely sculpted plastic shell. Sadly the acoustic and thermal performance is distinctly average and worse than many of the leading mid range chassis available today from the likes of Cooler Master, Corsair and Fractal Design. I would also have liked to see a black interior paint job on this machine, not naked metal.

We don't have exact pricing at time of press, but we will update this page when we get confirmed information.

Pros:

• Dramatic design.
• built in overclocking button is inspired.
• 3770k and GTX680 are a powerful combination.

Cons:

• A little louder than we would like under load.
• DDR3 memory without heatspreaders.
• internal cable routing could be better.
• an all black metal chassis would look better.

Kitguru says: A powerhouse system which is perfect for heavy duty gaming and other serious duties.

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