Final thoughts and rating
Two nascent technologies from Intel and NVIDIA combine to provide excellent overall system performance. The Core i7-3770K chip is a smidge faster than the outgoing Core i7-2700K, while GeForce GTX 680 stands alone as the best single-GPU graphics card you can buy. It makes sense to put these two performance components together into a well-balanced PC.
PC Specialist's Vanquish XT-680 marries them up nicely in a £1,399 base unit that's strong in all areas. Extra care has been taken in cooling the 4.6GHz-clocked Ivy Bridge chip and overall integration is good, while little touches like a well-written information pack doubtless help first-time buyers ease into the world of performance PCs.
We'd like the system to be quieter under strenuous CPU load and, perhaps, ship with a modicum of overclocking on the GTX 680 graphics card - this is, after all, a system targeted at the enthusiast - but, given the price and level of componentry, still feel that it's a decent deal. Certainly one good enough to put on a shortlist.
The Good
Very solid performance
Excellent gaming credentials
Made for upgrading
The Bad
Overclocked, over-volted CPU runs hot
Reasonably loud under intense CPU load
HEXUS Rating
PC Specialist Vanquish XT-680
HEXUS Awards
PC Specialist Vanquish XT-680
HEXUS Where2Buy
The reviewed machine is available to buy from PC Specialist.
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