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At KitGuru, we are always on the look-out for a great deal when it comes to buying a new PC. Overclockers UK have definitely caught our eye, then, with their new Neuron system. Priced at £1333, it sports an overclocked i5-6600K, an Intel NVMe SSD as well as a Gigabyte GTX 1070 graphics card. Built in the excellent Phanteks Enthoo Pro M case, too, we were looking forward to getting a hands-on.
At a total price of £1333, the Overclockers UK Neuron system sits almost exactly between the AWD-IT Aura (review HERE) and the Cyberpower Infinity X55 VX (HERE) – two PCs I have reviewed recently. As such, it will be very interesting to see the Neuron's relative performance when compared with those two PC systems – particularly given the similarity of specification across all three PCs.
Specification
- Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Gaming Case (with acrylic panel)
- Power Supply: Gigabyte B700H 700W 80+ Bronze Rated PSU
- CPU :Intel Core i5 6600K Quad Core Processor Overclocked to 4.5GHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170X Ultra Gaming (Socket 1151) ATX Motherboard
- Cooler: OcUK Techlabs 120mm AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
- Memory: 16GB 3000MHz DDR4 Dual Channel Kit
- Primary Hard Drive: 256GB Intel 600P M.2. Solid State Drive
- Secondary Hard Drive: 2TB 7200RPM Seagate Hard Drive
- Graphics: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GeForce GTX 1070
- Audio: 7.1 High Definition Audio
Price £1,333 inc vat HERE
Given the Overclockers UK Neuron system is built in the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M case, it is only natural that the PC is delivered in that case's box. Incidentally, you can read/watch our review of the case HERE.
Along with the case box, you also get the graphics card and motherboard boxes – these just contain some useful extras (such as SATA cables, manuals and driver discs) that you may want down the line.
Here we get our first look at the case itself. Funnily enough, the AWD-IT Aura system I reviewed a week-or-so ago (review HERE) also uses the Enthoo Pro M case – but with a tempered glass side panel. The OCUK Neuron uses the same case but with an acrylic side panel.
It still looks great and enables you to get an unobstructed view of the PC, but obviously the acrylic panel is not quite as sturdy as glass, nor does it feel as premium.
Elsewhere, the front of the case features a mesh panel to allow lots of airflow, while a full-length dust filter is included to cover the top panel.
While we are at the front of the case, the I/O is positioned just on the side of the front panel. It consists of 2x USB 3.0, as well as the usual headset jacks.
Taking off the side panel, we get a good look at the build itself.
Clearly, Overclockers UK have done an excellent job of building the PC. The cables are expertly routed, with the bare minimum of wires on display. Even then, the cables are all-black – so they are very stealthy when they are on show.
In fact, everything is black. The only dash of colour comes from the power supply sticker. Personally, I like this minimalist approach as too much colour can be gaudy. If you do like some colour, though, do not be put off just yet – Overclockers UK include some red LED strips (which you can see below), the motherboard has some red LEDs dispersed around its PCB, and the graphics card features an RGB LED logo.
To take a look at the components, then, I like to start with the cooling system employed.
Overclockers UK have kept the stock Phanteks 140mm intake fan at the front, and it is positioned to push air directly over the graphics card.
Keeping the CPU cool is an OCUK TechLabs 120mm AIO watercooler. The OEM for this unit is Asetek – in fact, I would be 99% confident in saying the cooler used here is identical to the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 we took a look at over HERE. Either way, it has a thick radiator which should hopefully keep the i5-6600K in check.
Incidentally, that CPU is overclocked to 4.5GHz using a 1.35 Vcore.
Next to the cooler are the 2x8GB modules of Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4 memory. Using two DIMMs allows the memory to be upgraded later – and the memory is very fast, too, which is good to see.
Just below the CPU waterblock is the NVMe SSD. With a 256GB capacity, the Intel 600p is a budget PCIe SSD – but it can still offer speeds far higher than what a SATA 3 SSD could achieve. It is also worth noting the same SSD is used by Cyberpower in their Infinity X55 VX PC – you can see how it performed HERE.
Moving down we get a look at the graphics card. OCUK have used the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 1070 here – and while we have not reviewed this specific card, we have looked at the G1 Gaming GTX 1080. You can read our review of it over HERE.
Both cards use the same, triple-fan cooler while the Gigabyte logo is illuminated by some RGB LEDs which are user-configurable.
Incidentally, the Gigabyte Z170X-Ultra Gaming motherboard supports SLI, so you could even add in another card in a few years to improve your gaming experience should you wish.
At the bottom of the case, Phanteks have included a full-length, mesh power supply shroud. The shroud features a number of cut-outs for front panel connectors, too, which enables OCUK to ensure the wires are barely visible.
The power supply used in the Neuron is the Gigabyte B700H – clearly there is a strong Gigabyte theme running throughout the build! The B700H is obviously rated at 700W, and is a semi-modular, 80 Plus Bronze rated unit.
Also on the power supply shroud is a mounting position for a 2.5in SSD. This has not been used for this build, given the Intel 600p SSD is of the M.2 form-factor. However, if you want to add in a 2.5in SSD later, it could take pride of place here.
Moving to the back of the case, we get a look at the motherboard's I/O. It consists of 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.1 (1x Type-A, 1x Type-C), 1x PS2 connector, 1x MiniDisplayPort, 1x HDMI, 1x Gigabit Ethernet and audio jacks (including 1x S/PDIF output.)
The GTX 1070 has the following outputs: 3x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI and 1x DVI.
Next, we take off the second side panel to get a look behind the motherboard tray. Here, cable management is also excellent. The included Velcro straps have been utilised well, meaning the rear is very tidy.
Incidentally, in the bottom left corner, you may be able to make out the included 2TB hard drive. A Seagate drive, there is also a spare drive caddy above it if you want to expand the storage later.
Lastly, the above image shows the system lighting when switched on.
The red LEDs compliment the black components very well, and the integrated motherboard LEDs are very funky as well – 2016 really has been the year of ‘RGB all the things.'
First things first – storage. With a fresh install of Windows 10, the Intel 600p SSD has 215GB of free space. The 2TB is obviously completely empty, with 1.81TB being available to users.
Next, we get a look at the CPU and GPU, thanks to CPU-Z and GPU-Z respectively.
The i5-6600K is a quad-core chip but it does not support HyperThreading. OCUK overclocked it to 4.5GHz using 1.35 volts.
The Gigabyte GTX 1070 has a base clock of 1595MHz, while it boosts to at least 1785MHz under load. However, thanks to GPU Boost Technology 3.0, I saw it settle at 1949MHz when playing games. Out-of-the-box that is an impressive gain over the Founders Edition.
Comparison systems
Today I will be comparing the Neuron with the following systems:
- Intel Core i7-6700HQ
- Nvidia GTX 960M
- 16GB Dual-Channel 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
- 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
- Intel Bay Trail-M Celeron N2808 SoC
- Intel HD Graphics
- 4GB DDR3L RAM
- 64GB eMMc storage
- Intel Braswell N3050 SoC
- Intel HD Graphics
- 2GB DDR3L RAM
- 32GB eMMC storage
- Intel Core i3 i3-5010U
- Intel HD Graphics 5500
- 8GB Kingston SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
- 240GB Kingston V300 SSD
- Intel Core™ m5-6Y57
- Intel HD Graphics 515
- 8GB LPDDR3 1866MHz Memory
- 256GB Solid State Drive M2 2280 PCIe
- Intel Core i5-6500
- Asus Turbo GTX 960
- 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400MHz DDR4 RAM
- 500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD
- Intel Core i7-6820HK
- Nvidia GTX 980 (desktop)
- 32GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
- 2x 256GB Samsung SM951 PCIe SSDs in RAID0
- AMD FX-8320
- AMD RX-480
- 16GB DDR3 2133MHz RAM
- 240GB Adata Premier SP550
PCSpecialist Defiance III 17.3
- Intel i7-6700HQ
- Nvidia GTX 1060
- 16GB HyperX DDR4 2133MHz RAM
- 512GB SanDisk X400 M.2 SATA SSD
- Intel i7-6700HQ
- Nvidia GTX 950
- 16GB Crucial DDR4 2133MHz RAM
- 512GB Samsung Pro M.2 SSD
- Intel i7-7500U
- Intel HD Graphics 620
- 16GB G.Skill DDR4 2133MHz RAM
- 256GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 M.2 SSD
- Intel i7-6700K
- Nvidia GTX 1070
- 16GB Corsair Vengeance 3000MHz DDR4 RAM
- 500GB Samsung 750 EVO SSD
- Intel i5-6402P
- Nvidia GTX 1060
- 16GB Corsair Vengeance LED 3000MHz DDR4 RAM
- 256GB Intel 600p M.2 SSD
- Intel i5-6200U
- Intel HD Graphics 520
- 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz DDR3 RAM
- 256GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 M.2 SSD
And lastly my personal desktop with a Core i3-4160, 8GB 1866MHz DDR3 and a GTX 960.
Test software
- SiSoft Sandra
- Cinebench R15
- Handbrake
- CrystalDiskMark
- ATTO Disk Benchmark
- 3DMark 11
- 3DMark
- VRMark
- Prime 95 (version 26.6)
- CPUID HWMonitor
- AIDA64 Engineer
- Fraps
Test games
- Grid Autosport
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Doom (2016)
Today we are testing the Neuron at 1080p, 1440p and 2160p (Ultra HD 4K). All tests were conducted using the latest Nvidia GeForce 376.09 driver.SiSoftware Sandra (the System ANalyser, Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant) is an information & diagnostic utility. It should provide most of the information (including undocumented) you need to know about your hardware, software and other devices whether hardware or software.
Sandra is a (girls’) name of Greek origin that means “defender”, “helper of mankind”. We think that’s quite fitting.
It works along the lines of other Windows utilities, however it tries to go beyond them and show you more of what’s really going on. Giving the user the ability to draw comparisons at both a high and low-level. You can get information about the CPU, chipset, video adapter, ports, printers, sound card, memory, network, Windows internals, AGP, PCI, PCI-X, PCIe (PCI Express), database, USB, USB2, 1394/Firewire, etc.
A good start for the Neuron – both scores are towards the top of their respective chart. In the Arithmetic test, the solid overclock helps the i5-6600K, while the memory bandwidth results are high thanks to the 3000MHz RAM used.CINEBENCH 15 is a cross-platform testing suite that measures hardware performance and is the de facto standard benchmarking tool for leading companies and trade journals for conducting real-world hardware performance tests. With the new Release 15, systems with up to 256 threads can be tested.
CINEBENCH is available for both Windows and OS X and is used by almost all hardware manufacturers and trade journals for comparing CPUs and graphics cards.
In Cinebench, the i5-6600K is pipped to the post by a few CPUs because it lacks HyperThreading – something Cinebench can take advantage of. The strong overclock on its four physical cores, however, helps it to 4th place with a decent score of 738.HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
The last of our CPU-specific tests, Handbrake shows its love for extra threads here – the i5-6600K result is slower than the i7-6700HQ, despite the latter being a mobile CPU, because it ‘only' has four cores and four threads.Here we test the Neuron's storage performance, using CrystalDiskMark 5.1.1 and ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.47.
SSD Performance
Being a budget NVMe drive, the Intel 600p does not hit the lofty speeds achieved by the Samsung 960 Pro, for example. However, it is still significantly faster than a SATA drive, making it a great deal for the money – as such, it is good to see one included in the Neuron.
HDD Performance
The 2TB Seagate hard offers speeds we would expect from a mechanical drive – it is nothing special. However, the 2TB capacity is great for those with large media collections or Steam libraries, for example.To test the USB 3.0 ports on the Neuron, I plugged in an OCZ Trion 150 SSD via a SATA-to-USB 3.0 5Gbps adapter, which uses the ASMedia ASM1053 controller. We reviewed the SSD HERE, finding it delivers good speed at a budget price.
Most importantly, it is capable of saturating the USB 3.0 bus, allowing us to test the speeds the USB 3.0 ports deliver. To test this, I ran both CrystalDiskMark and ATTO Disk Benchmark on the Trion 150 drive.
As you can see, the speeds are right at the ceiling of the USB 5Gbps interface – just what we want (and would expect).3DMark 11 is designed for testing DirectX 11 hardware running on Windows 7 and Windows Vista. The benchmark includes six all new benchmark tests that make extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading.
After running the tests 3DMark gives your system a score with larger numbers indicating better performance. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.
In 3DMark 11, the Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 1070 claims top-spot thanks to its increased clock speed when compared with the GTX 1070 used in the AWD-IT Aura. There is not much in it, though.3DMark is an essential tool used by millions of gamers, hundreds of hardware review sites and many of the world’s leading manufacturers to measure PC gaming performance. Futuremark say “Use it to test your PC’s limits and measure the impact of overclocking and tweaking your system. Search our massive results database and see how your PC compares or just admire the graphics and wonder why all PC games don’t look this good. To get more out of your PC, put 3DMark in your PC.”
Here, the gap between the two GTX 1070s is even smaller. However, the G1 Gaming card in the Neuron just nudges ahead.VRMark is a benchmark designed specifically with virtual reality gaming in mind. Futuremark say ‘the performance requirements for VR games are much higher than for typical PC games. So if you’re thinking about buying an HTC Vive or an Oculus Rift, wouldn’t it be good to know that your PC is ready for VR? VRMark includes two VR benchmark tests that run on your monitor, no headset required, or on a connected HMD. At the end of each test, you’ll see whether your PC is VR ready, and if not, how far it falls short.’
A new addition to our benchmarking suite, VRMark looks like one of the few valid ways of testing the VR capabilities of a PC. Consisting of two ‘rooms’, or benchmark tests, the Orange Room is the standard test, while the Blue Room is much more demanding.
In both benchmarks, the Neuron edges to the top of the charts. However, both GTX 1070s perform similarly, so the margin is not big.Grid Autosport is a racing video game by Codemasters and is the sequel to 2008′s Race Driver: Grid and 2013′s Grid 2. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 24, 2014. (Wikipedia).
We test using the ‘ultra' preset with 4x MSAA.
Though it is now getting on in age, I still include Grid Autosport in my benchmark suite as it is a good indication of how well a system performs using a less demanding game engine.
Here, the Neuron performs like a champ. A minimum FPS figure of 90.6, at 4K, is excellent.The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt concludes the story of the witcher Geralt of Rivia, whose story to date has been covered in the previous titles. Continuing from The Witcher 2, Geralt seeks to move on with his own life, embarking on a new and personal mission while the world order itself is coming to a change. (Wikipedia).
We test using the ‘high' preset. Given The Witcher 3 does not have its own in-built benchmark, I tested near the beginning of the game with Geralt riding through White Orchard on his horse, before dismounting and carrying on on-foot. I benchmarked 3 closely-matched runs and then took the average figures from those runs to present here.
The Witcher 3 is a very demanding title, so to see the great frame rates scored by the Neuron at 1080p and 1440p resolutions is heartening. It is clear, though, that the GTX 1070 is not quite up to the task at 4K.Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure game played from either a first-person or third-person view. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. Outside of missions, players may freely roam the open world. Composed of the San Andreas open countryside area and the fictional city of Los Santos, the world is much larger in area than earlier entries in the series. It may be fully explored after the game’s beginning without restriction, although story progress unlocks more gameplay content.
We maximise every setting but leave MSAA disabled.
Another demanding game, 1080p and 1440p frame rates are, again, excellent. 4K gamers would want to tweak some settings to increase the minimum frame rate figure, but an average of 47 FPS at 4K is decent.DOOM is a science fiction horror first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is a reboot of the Doom series and is the first major instalment in the series since the release of Doom 3 in 2004 and the fourth title in the main series of games.
The game is played entirely from a first-person perspective, with players’ taking the role of an unnamed marine, as he battles demonic forces from Hell that have been unleashed by the Union Aerospace Corporation on a future-set colonised planet Mars.
We test using the ‘ultra' preset. Given Doom does not have its own in-built benchmark, I tested at the beginning of the game as the player destroys the very first Gore Nest. I benchmarked 3 closely-matched runs and then took the average figures from those runs to present here.
Doom (2016) is a well-optimised title, and is less demanding than The Witcher 3, for example. As such, we see great frame rates at every resolution – even 4K (though the settings could be tweaked slightly to ensure the 60 FPS minimum target is met.)Thermal dynamics
To measure idle temperatures, a reading was taken after having Windows open on the desktop for 30 minutes. A reading under load was taken with Prime 95's SmallFFt test running alongside 3DMark Fire Strike.
Despite the overclock using 1.35 volts, a maximum temperature of 68 degrees for the i5-6600K is an excellent result, and a testament to the 120mm AIO watercooler used by OCUK. A peak temperature of 61 degrees for the GPU is similarly impressive.
Acoustics
The noise produced by the Neuron is very inoffensive. At idle, it is a mere hum which quickly disappears into the background. The fan speed barely increases when the system is under load, too, meaning even quiet music would cancel out the noise produced.For ‘idle' power draw, a reading was taken after having Windows open on the desktop for 30 minutes. A reading under load was taken with Prime 95's SmallFFt test running alongside 3DMark Fire Strike.
As you can see, the Neuron does not even pull half of the B700H's rated capacity. This ensures high levels of efficiency, while another GPU could easily be added to the system without replacing the power supply.All-in-all, I am very impressed by the Overclockers UK Neuron system.
The third PC I have reviewed in as many weeks, the Neuron is priced at £1,333 – in between the £999 Cyberpower Infinity X55 VX (HERE) and the £1499 AWD-IT Aura (HERE). As such, it has been an interesting task to benchmark and compare the three systems.
The Neuron gets off to a great start as it is exceptionally well-built. The cables are expertly routed and tucked out-of-sight, while all the components used are black. This means the system is very stealthy – that is, until you push the power button and the red LED strips turn on. It is certainly a tidy and beautiful PC.
One interesting choice made by Overclockers UK was to use an i5-6600K instead of an i7-6700K – the AWD-IT Aura system uses the latter processor, for example. However, our benchmarks prove that this was a good choice – the performance increase from using a i7-6700K in games is minimal at best, and non-existent in many cases.
As such, saving some cash by going with an i5-6600K is a very smart choice. The smart choices do not stop there, though. The Gigabyte G1 Gaming TX 1070 is an excellent graphics card, with a strong factory overclock. In games, for example, it settled at 1949MHz without any tweaking on my behalf.
This means the Neuron is a fabulous gamer at 1080p and 1440p resolutions. 4K is possible, too, but you would have to tweak the IQ settings for more demanding titles. We are of the opinion you really want to be looking at a GTX 1080 for 4K gaming purposes.
It is without a moment of doubt, then, that I am happy to recommend the Overclockers UK Neuron system. It is very well built and makes smart component choices in the important areas.
It is currently priced at £1,333 – and while this is a special, discounted price, Overclockers UK have told us the deal will likely last into the New Year. You can order and configure the system HERE.
Pros
- Good-looking and well-built.
- Fast GTX 1070.
- i5-6600K saves money over an i7 without losing much (if any) gaming performance.
- Great price compared with other systems.
- NVMe SSD is a nice touch at this price.
Cons
- A tempered glass side panel instead of the acrylic one would have been the icing on the cake.
KitGuru says: The third PC to grace our labs in recent weeks, the OverclockersUK Neuron system is the only one to walk away with our ‘Must Have' award thanks to its fast GTX 1070, great price and excellent build quality.
Good arranged components, acceptable price.