DinoPC Asusinator 4670K OC (w/ GTX770)

The DinoPC Asusinator 4670k OC is a capable system that has been built to handle the latest Direct X 11 games. We feel this is a solid buy for a variety of tasks although it would be remiss of us not to mention a few points which lower the overall score a little.

On a positive note, we do like that DinoPC have selected a check list of award winning components. The Fractal Design ARC Midi R2 is a fantastic case which looks great and the integrated fan controller will ensure that noise is never an issue for those with sensitive ears. Fractal Design have always placed a focus on reducing noise levels and it reaps dividends with this particular design. I really did fall in love with this case over the last week of testing.

The Corsair H60 2013 Edition is another product that we really liked when we reviewed it back in December last year. For the modest asking price (around £60) it delivers good cooling performance and leaves plenty of space free around the CPU socket. Regular readers will already be aware that our Core i7 4770k sample is a hot running processor and before I started this review I had expected the i5 4670k to run cooler, especially as it doesn't support hyperthreading.

In reality, the 4670k seems to be another hot running processor and when overclocked with modest voltage (1.17v), the Corsair H60 cooler has to work pretty hard. I wasn't expecting this, especially as the last generation 3570k could be easily pushed to 4.7ghz with a similar cooler. Haswell has been a little disappointing for me, particularly as I am now getting hands on time with more than just one sample. If you are using a discrete graphics card then not many people will care about integrated graphics improvements anyway.

I spoke with several other PC builders before going live with this review and they all confirmed that systems with a 4670k will generally be limited to around 4.2ghz. In the past the same companies were happy selling systems with a 3570k @ 4.6ghz, so we can't help but feel like this is a step backwards, rather than progress.

On a happier note DinoPC are also using 16GB of Corsair 1,866mhz Vengeance memory which performed flawlessly for us during the last week. This is quality memory and with 16GB installed, there is plenty of future proofing well into 2014. We have had great experiences with Vengeance memory over the years, so I couldn't think of a better product to include in a high performance system build.

The Corsair CX600 is a capable little power supply … we did look at the modular version and for the price, it is a bargain. Personally, in an overclocked system costing £1,200 I would use a model slightly higher up the Corsair food chain, such as the TX650 which is only £20 extra. I certainly wouldn't say the CX600 was a problem part of the system build, but I would have spent a little more of the overall budget on a higher grade power supply.

The Plextor M5S 128GB is a good solid state drive, although write performance is limited to around 220 MB/s with both compressible and incompressible data. In real world terms, the system is responsive and the large 2TB mechanical drive is well suited for storage and back up duties.

The Dino PC build is decent if unremarkable and many of our more experienced readers will have noticed that the cable routing was a little untidy in places. Again I wouldn't consider this a problem, but some of the cables could have been hidden out of sight better, important with a windowed panel. There is quite a thick grouping of cables on the other side of the case, which luckily aren't really causing a problem for the ARC Midi R2, although in a different case they might. A modular power supply would certainly have helped.

The name of the DinoPC rig has also caused confusion. If you are naming the system ‘Asusinator' – after the company supplying the motherboard, why not do it right and use ASUS graphics cards as well? They are some of the best on the market and it would compliment the Z87 motherboard. My colleagues felt naming the system the ‘Corsairinator' would make more sense as most of the components inside are Corsair branded.

Overall, this is a decent system build which is certainly worth considering, however with all the competition on the market at the £1,200 price zone we can't help but feel that DinoPC have a tough challenge ahead.

Pros:

• good selection of quality components.
• GTX770 is a monster GPU.
• 16GB of Corsair Vengeance Memory.

Cons:

• non modular budget power supply utilised.
• 4670k is hot running.
• cable routing could be better.
• The ‘Asusinator' could use more ASUS components in the build, such as the graphics card.

Kitguru says: A capable system and worth checking out.

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