Origin PC Chronos (2017) Review - Review 2022

Origin PC's Chronos desktop has come up in a variety of forms over the years, but the appeal of the 2022 model (starts at $1,224; $3,038 as tested) is very straightforward. It'due south small, professionally built, and packed with high-finish power. Y'all can configure your PC when ordering with a wide array of options that either calibration up the power in but about every mode or dial it downwardly to maintain affordability. Our unit's 8th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti menu provide more than than enough juice for polish gaming and speedy multimedia work, making it an all-around powerhouse packed into a space-saving design. Alas, the Corsair Ane Pro remains our superlative choice for minor-form-factor gaming desktops for its optimal combination of small build, components, and price. Still, the Chronos' is a very tempting pick if its traditional design and plentiful configuration options are more appealing to you.

Skillful Things Come in Small Packages

Begetting a relatively basic design just with a striking white pigment job (other colors are available), our Chronos test PC treads a squeamish centre ground betwixt manifestly and ostentatious. A side window on the left console provides a view in to the GTX 1080 Ti, lit by changing multicolor LEDs for a splash of colour. That'south about as flashy equally the Chronos gets, an otherwise unspectacular rectangle whose main strength is its size and the components inside. The steel frame measures eleven.75 by 4 past thirteen.75 inches (HWD), short and relatively slim for a desktop of this power. Information technology is deceptively heavy at well-nigh v pounds, which isn't a lot considerately, but its heft surprised me the commencement fourth dimension I lifted the case.

Similar in size to the Corsair 1 Pro ( at Amazon) (fourteen.96 by half dozen.9 by 7.87 inches), just shorter and slightly wider, information technology takes upward more desk depth than the pillar-style PC. The Chronos is as well versatile: It'south built to stand up on either end, or lay down on either side. In fact, the condom anxiety are magnetic, so they can be removed from the bottom and placed on 1 of the side panels when you want to lay information technology horizontally. It'due south a useful solution for tight spaces, though in practice, the feet kept sliding out of position or onto the side of the instance over time as I shifted or moved the desktop.

Looks can be deceiving, and the Chronos' pocket-sized shape and relatively unassuming design bely the high-finish parts and features inside. Though it's not the first small desktop at roughly these dimensions and shape (at that place's a stiff resemblance to the Falcon Northwest Tiki in particular), it is among the virtually powerful we've tested. The Origin Chronos VR is similarly sized, but the components are significantly ramped up here. Our unit is packed to the gills with premium parts, including the Intel Core i7-8700K processor, GTX 1080 Ti, 16GB of ii,666MHz memory, Frostbyte liquid cooling system, 600W Silverstone power supply, a 4TB 7,200rpm Western Digital Caviar Black HDD, and a 500GB Samsung 960 Evo G.two SSD. There are no gratis DIMM slots, and in this cost range you may very well desire 32GB, so you'll have to order two 16GB sticks instead, or upgrade later to add more than RAM.

Origin PC Chronos (2017)

Customization Is King

Our build is a blistering organization, though at that place are myriad configuration options if you'd like to make changes for the sake of operation or price. Information technology tin be outfitted with an AMD Ryzen chip instead of Intel options when ordering, and you tin can choose as many every bit six SSDs and 4 HDDs (with many capacity options). The 4TB storage bulldoze and 500GB kicking bulldoze in our arrangement is quite a lot for near uses, unless y'all're storing a gunkhole load of high res video in add-on to a large gaming library. You tin can also take the graphics up another notch to a Titan XP or Titan V (a casual $3,051 jump from a 1080 Ti). To say information technology's highly configurable is an understatement, and one of the perks of ordering from a specialty manufacturer like Origin is professional assembly.

Some shoppers accept pleasure in edifice their own systems and yes, information technology is cheaper, but ordering a build saves you the endeavor, results in an immaculately assembled machine, and nets yous lifetime 24/7 support with a 1-year part replacement warranty. Whether you want the build we've tested here, would like to make your own budget version, or desire to kicking performance upward even further, the Chronos can handle it in the same chassis.

Origin PC Chronos (2017)

Getting within the case for upgrades or maintenance is like shooting fish in a barrel. The rear panel includes hand screws (you may demand to loosen them with a screwdriver, merely just if they're done very tightly) that, when removed, permit the side console to lift away. However, the liquid cooling radiator and fan are attached to the inside of the door, connected with tubing to the motherboard. Information technology can startle you if you pull the door fully away without looking, so it helps to be aware. The door can arrive the way as a event since the tubing isn't very long, simply y'all tin can swing it out to the side for mostly gratis admission to the other components. In such a small instance, there isn't much room to work or make changes, another reason it's helpful to have the system assembled beforehand. The components are all installed snugly, but cleanly. It does get hot when gaming or running straining applications, only that'south to be expected at this level, and the fans are reasonably quiet.

The port offerings are adequately standard, but everything you should need is included. Betwixt the forepart and rear panels, the Chronos includes five USB 3.ane ports, vi USB 2.0 ports, and a USB-C port. In that location are two HDMI ports and four DisplayPort connections for video output, rear audio lines, front headphone and mic jacks, and an Ethernet connection. The Chronos also includes Bluetooth and dual-band 802.11ac wireless.

Concentrated Ability

With its 6-core Cadre i7-8700K processor at a 3.7GHz base of operations speed, the Chronos blazes through most tasks without a sweat. Its PCMark eight score is loftier, though the benefit of the 8th-gen processor'southward added cores aren't demonstrated on this test, so other CPUs with college clock speeds edge it out. Where the 8700K did excel is the multimedia tests, which made use of its extra cores. It outpaced the I Pro beyond the board, and was particularly skillful on Cinebench. Information technology even beat its larger stablemate, the splendid Origin Neuron ($2,399.00 at ORIGIN PC) , on these tests. As such, the Chronos is more than a fast gaming machine, but a adept multimedia workhorse.

Origin PC Chronos (2017)

Related Story See How Nosotros Exam Desktops

The Chronos too excelled at 3D tests, which isn't exactly a surprise with the graphics card information technology's packing. 1080p gaming is a breeze, as shown on the Heaven and Valley gaming tests, with frame rates closer to 200fps (frames per second) than 100fps. Aside from those chasing extreme frame rates on very loftier refresh rate monitors, though, yous don't probable buy a GTX 1080 Ti to but play HD. 1440p is optimal for this card, the sweet spot of visual fidelity and performance. The GPU's raw 3D adequacy was driven home by its strong 3DMark tests, and you can see the GTX 1080 Ti's improvement over the GTX 1080 in that regard by comparing the Chronos' scores with the Corsair Pro and Tiki's numbers. Dual-card systems, of course, scored much higher, just come in noticeably larger cases.

Origin PC Chronos (2017)

4K gaming is a somewhat different story: The Chronos was capable of improve-than-30fps operation on maximum settings, which is solid, but reaching (nevermind maintaining) 60fps is a bridge too far. Two cards are needed for effective 60fps 4K gaming, and this modest system simply isn't built to accommodate that. 30fps is perfectly playable, still, if you are married to the idea of 4K gaming or already have the monitor. VR gaming is well within the Chronos' ways, equally the GTX 1080 Ti easily clears the recommended flooring.

Configure, Plug, and Play

Our Chronos test PC is undoubtedly expensive every bit configured, merely you get what you pay for. The premium parts are bolstered by professional associates and support, and building something so powerful in such a pocket-size case is a hard (or impossible) task for the average heir-apparent. Your build certainly doesn't accept to exist this pricey, either, and if you'd similar to significantly take the cost down, y'all can. From a pure component-to-price perspective, setting aside some of the intangibles, the Editors' Choice Corsair I Pro delivers more blindside for your buck and offers like performance in a slick pattern. Its unique layout comes with some caveats, withal, so the Chronos may be the better bet for y'all in terms of future upgrades and maintenance, even if its size is somewhat restrictive. The $2,299.99 Corsair One Pro matches many of the Chronos' positives for less, just if y'all want a more traditional blueprint and enough of configuration options, the Chronos is a worthy pick.