The new Origin PC Chronos packs a lot of punch into a little package. It’s small enough to fit on most desks, measuring 7″ wide, 11″ high, and 15.5″ deep. The 2020 model, is unlike the massive PS5. Even the last generation of the Chronos – isn’t designed to be rotated horizontally or vertically. That’s very bad, because it’s far too tall for any of my TV stands, and it would make a fantastic set-top PC.
In any case, its sleek design hits all the right notes. With tempered glass panels on the sides and a black aluminum mesh top. It’s stylish enough to fit into any workspace. You may also adjust and play with the RGB inside lights with Corsair’s iCue Smart Lighting. With both the latest Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 processors and, of course, the best graphics cards from both teams Red and Green, you can cram a lot of power into this small gaming PC. The device cost a crazy $3,225, but regardless of which parts you choose, the build quality is excellent, and the small size remains fashionable.
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Price and availability
The Origin PC Chronos will cost you $3,167 and the line goes at $2,386. Though you can use the settings to go much higher. On the ASUS B550-I ROG STRIX Gaming motherboard, AMD’s 8-core Ryzen 7 5800X is paired with 32GB of DDR4 RAM. An Nvidia GeForce GTX 3070 Ti, a 480GB Corsair Force MP510 NVMe for the operating system, and a 1TB Samsung QVO series SSD for basic storage are also included. All of this power is packed into a compact chassis that’s slightly shorter and squatter than the Maingear Turbo.
If you need more power, the setup will allow you to increase it to your heart’s content. However, the Chronos only supports the Nvidia GeForce GTX 3080 Ti; if you want the GeForce GTX 3090, you’ll have to look at Origin’s larger machines. If you want extra peace of mind while ordering, you may spend $79 for Origin’s Wooden Container Armor. It will transport your new PC in a crate. It’s smaller than expected, and it feels completely unneeded. There’s something attractive about bursting open a crate to get at the big PC within.
Ports and upgradeability of Origin PC Chronos
The Origin PC Chronos comes with a total of four USB Type-A ports on the back, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, a USB-C audio port, HDMI, DisplayPort, and a network socket, all of which are provided by the motherboard. The GeForce GTX 3070 Ti has three DisplayPorts and an HDMI port.
One USB-C 3.1 and one USB 3.0 port, as well as a 3.5mm audio jack, are located on the front. The Chronos is best used on top of a desk, and the variety of ports is useful.
The Chronos does not require any tools for entry because the sidewalls are secured to the chassis with four thumbscrews. To get past the 240mm radiator and into the machine’s guts, you’ll still need a screwdriver.
The GPU takes up the majority of the available space within the case. And there isn’t much room for moving, but it should be enough for regular servicing or minor upgrades.
Design of Origin PC Chronos
The Origin PC Chronos is a surprisingly compact device. It measures 15.5 by 7 by 11 inches and weighs around 17.8 pounds. If you want a subtle experience, the tiny size combined with whisper-quiet performance makes for an elegant experience. The optional Corsair iCue lightning takes a bath the exterior in whatever hues you like best, for those who require a little more dazzle.
It almost vanishes there, thanks to a slew of fans and a closed-loop CPU cooler that keep temperatures in check without raising decibels. Mesh side panels were standard on the device.
This option, which offers increased airflow thanks to the 240mm radiator connected to the side, appeals to me as someone who is afraid of breaking tempered glass. The tempered glass option is only a few bucks more if you want a clearer view of the internals and RGB light display.
Gaming performance
The GeForce GTX 3070 Ti and Ryzen 7 5800X work well together, averaging 30 frames per second at 4K in everything. It averaged 24 frames per second in Metro: Exodus at the Extreme 4K level, but that title takes most PCs to their knees. Few games went below 100 frames per second at 1080p – Assassin’s Creed Valhalla averaged 92 frames per second. Metro: Exodus averaged around 60 frames per second — but this computer will be overkill if you’re playing at such low resolutions.
When playing a technologically demanding game like Metro Exodus with a variety of programs open, the machine began to hum, although it never became loud. It produced no more noise than a modest fan in the corner of the room even putting it through the wringer. It never became too hot, too, because the air and the aluminum mesh top were never too hot to touch. With many gaming launchers open, several Chrome windows open, Steam open, and Spotify blasting music. They ran the Metro Exodus benchmark ten times in a row. It was still averaging 96 frames per second and the PC was just slightly heated.
Origin Chronos – Purchasing Guide
The base edition of the Origin PC Chronos costs $1,695 and includes an AMD Ryzen 5 3600XT CPU, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, 16 gigabytes of RAM, a meager 250GB PCIe NVMe, and an uninspired 1-year part warranty. However, every component of this computer is factory adjustable. It allows you to design something truly amazing if you have sufficient money. The $3,225 version came with an Intel Core i9-10900K processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card, and two 1TB SSDs, among other amazing upgrades. That’s a significant sum of money, yet it’s not even close to the top.
Software
The Origin PC Chronos is almost free of unnecessary software, which is fantastic. The iCUE app from Corsair is present to provide you control over the lighting scheme as well as information on the temperatures of the all-in-one cooler, but there’s nothing else to get in the way. The less muck That has to excise when starting up a new machine, the better. Hard drive space is becoming extremely expensive in this era of triple-A games weighing in at well over 100GB. Thus the less muck You have to excise the better.
Conclusion
The Origin PC Chrono’s tiny size, like the Turbo’s, betrays the power that’s packed inside. However, while the Chronos isn’t as attractive, the money you’ll save is likely well worth the trade-off.
The $3,167 admission price is high, but it’s reasonable given how difficult it is to get some of these components for less than MSRP. And, because of the ease of access to the chassis’ internals, you’ll have a lot easier time fitting in updates to keep the Chronos current in the future when component pricing makes sense again.
This machine isn’t for everyone, and if you don’t have a lot of room, a larger machine will provide you more room to grow and expand for the same price or less. Origin’s Millenium line is a nice place to start searching.
