AWD-IT Alpha Doom Gaming PC Review

Introduction AWD-IT is a critically acclaimed hardware retailer established in 2006 with over 50 years of accumulated experience. This family run business specialises in creating an impeccable level of customer service while offering the latest products at competitive prices. The company also produces an impressive range of custom PCs sporting sophisticated aesthetic designs which appeal to consumers requiring a system of the highest calibre. While competition in this market is extremely fierce, it's possible to stand out with exceptional cable management and builds based on an interesting theme. AWD-IT decided to construct a new PC for the upcoming release of Doom and selected components which could easily cope with the game's graphical demands. They've certainly opted for an iconic series which is bound to enthuse a great sense of excitement from first-person-shooter fans. The AWD-IT Alpha Doom utilises an Intel Core i5-6600K overclocked to 4.6GHz, 16GB dual channel Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz memory and Gigabyte WINDFORCE 3X GTX 970. For cooling duties, the Corsair H45 has been deployed and I'm interested to see how it copes with CPU's hefty frequency boost. When it comes to storage, the system includes a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO boot SSD and 1TB Seagate 7200RPM mechanical drive. This impressive specification is housed in the unusual Corsair Spec-Alpha chassis which helps the machine to stand out from competing options. Overall, I have high expectations from this system considering the balanced technical specification and attractive price point. Specifications Name: AWD-IT Alpha Doom Case: Corsair Spec-Alpha Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3 Processor: Intel Core-i5 6600K Overclocked to 4.6GHz Processor Cooler: Corsair H45 Hydro Series Liquid Cooler System Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz CL15 Main Boot Drive: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO Additional Storage Drive(s): Seagate 1TB 7200RPM Graphics card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE 3X GTX 970 4GB Power Supply: Corsair VS650 80+ White Peripherals: N/A Monitor: N/A Optical Drive: N/A Wireless: N/A OS: Windows 10 Home Warranty: (3 Years Labour, 2 Years Parts 6 Months Collect & Return) Price: £899 Packing and Accessories The system arrives in a relatively large box offering excellent protection and employs various precautionary labels informing the courier to adopt a careful approach when handling the item. AWD-IT have packaged the unit rather well and I was thoroughly impressed with the cardboard's thickness. Perhaps adding two cut-outs on the sides would make it easier to carry and prevent the courier from holding the box upside down. Once opened, the package contains a huge array of thick, durable bubble wrap which surrounds the main chassis box and holds it in a tight position. After removing the top layer, we can see the chassis box has padding around the sides to stop it moving around during transit. In theory, this should reduce the possibility of damage occurring. The Spec-Alpha chassis packaging opts for a fairly understated design and includes a brief synopsis of the case's core functionality. As you might expect with Corsair cases, the supporting inserts are of a very high quality and offer superb protection. In terms of accessories, the system is bundled with a door hanger, component documentation, PCI bracket, CPU cover, G Connector, G1 Gaming case badge, driver disks, Windows 10 and PCI-E adapters. CPU-Z GPU-Z A Closer Look One major oversight is the lack of protection for the internal components which could cause some complications. AWD-IT should have cushioned the essential parts using a foam pack or air bags. Thankfully, this is easily fixed and the excellent packaging in other departments means you shouldn't encounter any faulty components or misaligned cables. The chassis features a really striking design with distinctive lines and side panels which slide through the chassis' feet. The tinted side panel window allows you to view the graphics card, memory, CPU cooler and much more. Once the side panel has been removed, we can see the extremely organised cable arrangement and attractive colour coordination. The contrast of red and black components is always a popular move and evokes a stylish feel. On another note, the Corsair H45 liquid cooler is installed in a central position to reach the CPU without impacting on airflow from the rear fan. This also means the tubing is the perfect length and greatly enhances the system's aesthetic appeal. The Corsair VS650 power supply's non-modular design can complicate matters when attempting to create a tidy build. Thankfully, this wasn't an issue and all the cables in the front section are routed in a professional manner. Here we can see the mechanical hard disk has been mounted correctly and there's enough room to easily slot in extra drives. AWD-IT have grouped the graphics card's PCI-E power connectors together in a proficient way using zip-ties and a logical cable run. The trailing cable which stems from the rear section is positioned across the GPU's PCB. This cuts down on clutter and makes the overall appearance look cleaner when viewing through the side panel window. The chassis contains three 120mm red LED fans in the front section which can be controlled using an integrated fan controller. Also, notice how little wiring is visible from the SSD mount. Personally, I'm not overly keen on the closed looped cooler's square block and unsightly Corsair logo. Perhaps, something like the H80i GT would be the better option due to the illuminated logo and two-tone pump design. On the other hand, this would increase the asking price by a decent margin. The motherboard's subtle red highlights and PCB lighting contrasts with the Corsair memory to form an absolutely stunning appearance. Additionally, the PCI-E stainless steel shielding looks fantastic and adds to the premium feel. Please note, the graphics card's WINDFORCE logo cannot be lit up or customised like the G1 Gaming model. Here we can see the pump is mounted perfectly with even pressure applied to each corner. This is vital on Skylake processors because overtightening could cause the CPU to flex and become inoperable. Saying that, this is a fairly rare phenomenon and usually resigned to large air coolers with a heavy mounting pressure. The Corsair memory's glossy red finish is spectacular and a suitable choice for this particular configuration. The Corsair H45 liquid cooler's fan cabling is routed superbly between the radiator and fan's frame. This helps contribute towards a gorgeous finish and keeps trailing cables to a bare minimum. The chassis' front I/O includes a power button, two USB 3.0, fan speed mode switch, microphone jack, headphone jack, HDD indicator LED and a reset button. AWD-IT have done a splendid job with the system's cable management and employed zip-ties and chassis cut-outs to keep everything relatively tidy. However, it's certainly not the best example I've seen and could benefit from a more organised arrangement. The cables aren't very flush with the chassis' frame and tend to protrude slightly. Nevertheless, it's still worthy of praise given the non-modular power supply and restrictions imposed by the usual chassis design. Around the CPU cut-out, there is a large selection of cables held together including the front I/O, 24-pin and SATA power. Perhaps a more efficient option would be to place the I/O cables behind the top section where the side panel attaches. Although, this would be tricky given the USB 3.0 header's short length. Next up, we can see the extra Molex power and SATA cables are held in place using zip-ties which make closing the side panel door an easy task. The mechanical hard drive cables are routed in a clean manner and there are loads of free space around the HDD cage to insert more storage devices at a later date. AWD-IT decided to couple the front cabling to the 8-pin EPS which adds more rigidity to cables' current positioning. Testing & Methodology To test each system or notebook, we want to stress every component of the system to check stability and performance, giving us an idea as to why those particular components were picked for this particular system. We use a wide variety of applications to gain a broad spectrum of results for comparing diverse aspects of system performance. Unless specifically stated, all games are running at maximum settings but any vendor-exclusive features such as TressFX or PhsyX have been disabled to make the results fair. There are some titles where the maximum preset can be altered further in regards to AA, AF, Tessellation, and Draw Distance. To allow our readers to make the most informed decision, any additional options will be clearly labelled in this section. Hardware Acoustic dBA meter AC "Killawatt" power meter Software 3DMark AIDA64 Engineer Cinebench R15 CrystalDiskMark CPU-Z GPU-Z HW-Monitor MSI Afterburner OCCT Passmark PerformanceTest 8.0 PCMark 8 Prime95 Super PI Unigine Heaven 4.0 Grand Theft Auto 5 Metro Last Light Tomb Raider Bioshock Infinite PC Mark 8 The PCMark 8 Home benchmark includes workloads that reflect common tasks for a typical home user. These workloads have low computational requirements making PCMark 8 Home suitable for testing the performance of low-cost tablets, notebooks, and desktops. Home includes workloads for web browsing, writing, gaming, photo editing, and video chat. The results are combined to give a PCMark 8 Home score for your system. Download here. 3D Mark The new 3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your hardware. With three all new tests you can bench everything from smartphones and tablets, to notebooks and home PCs, to the latest high-end, multi-GPU gaming desktops. Download here. Unigine Heaven Heaven Benchmark with its current version 4.0 is a GPU-intensive benchmark that hammers graphics cards to the limits. This powerful tool can be effectively used to determine the stability of a GPU under extremely stressful conditions, as well as check the cooling system’s potential under maximum heat output. It provides completely unbiased results and generates true in-game rendering workloads across all platforms, such as Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. Download here. Grand Theft Auto V Our GTA5 Benchmark is run on the standard benchmark with MSAA=Off, FXAA=On, Very High Preset, Advanced Graphics Disabled and the settings detailed below: Metro Last Light Metro: Last Light (formerly Metro 2034) is a first-person shooter and horror video game developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in May 2013. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world and features a mixture of action-oriented and stealth gameplay. Metro: Last Light features technology which boasts new lighting effects and improved physics claimed to set a new graphical benchmark on the PC and consoles. Very High Preset, AF=16x, Tessellation=Very High, SSAA=Off, PhysX=Off Tomb Raider In Tomb Raider, the player is confronted with a much younger Lara Croft who is shipwrecked and finds herself stranded on a mysterious island rife with danger, both natural and human. Tomb Raider is a demanding game offering up ultra quality textures, full DirectX 11 support, SSAA, FXAA, MSAA and AMD TressFX technology. The benchmark is set to the Ultra preset without any modifications being made. Bioshock BioShock Infinite is the third and last game in the BioShock series. It is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. BioShock Infinite supports dynamic shadows, post-processing, light shafts, ambient occlusion, object level of detail, Diffusion Depth of Detail, FOV adjustment controls and other advanced DirectX 11 features. Here we set everything on the maximum preset and use Bioshock's integrated benchmarking utility. Cinebench R15 Cinebench is a widely respected benchmark for testing the performance of x86 CPUs. The program allows you to test single and multi-threaded performance as well as GPU performance by rendering with Open GL. Download here. Super Pi Super PI is a single threaded benchmark that calculates pi to a specific number of digits. Super PI is a single threaded benchmark ideal for testing pure, single threaded x87 floating point performance and while most of the computing market has shifted towards multithreaded applications and more modern instruction sets, Super PI still remains quite indicative of CPU capability in specific applications such as computer gaming. Download here. AIDA64 Engineer Edition AIDA64 Engineer is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for engineers. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives. AIDA64 is compatible with all current 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, including Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Download here. CrystalDiskMark CrystalDiskMark is a portable storage drive benchmark utility that enables you to measure sequential and random read/write speeds on different block size data. CrystalDiskMark will work with any storage drives including hard drives, SSDs and USB flash drives. Download here. Passmark The PassMark Advanced Network Test (which is part of PerformanceTest) is designed to test the data transfer rate between two computers both of which must be running PerformanceTest. One of the computers must act as the server and will sit waiting for a connection. The other computer acts as a client. It connects to the server machine and sends data to it for the duration of the test. You can download a trial version of PerformanceTest from here. Acoustic Performance The amount of noise produced by any computer is a vital consideration for most buyers, even gamers don't really want a noisy PC because less noise is always better. We use an acoustic dBA meter held 2 feet behind our test system at idle and under load to get the idle and load noise levels for the system. For idle we allow the system to sit at the Windows desktop, for load we let Unigine Heaven 4.0 and Prime95 to loop together - we take the acoustic measurements 5 minutes into both of these scenarios. Power Consumption To test power consumption we measure the total system power draw during idle and load scenarios. For idle we allow the system to sit at the Windows desktop, for load we let Unigine Heaven 4.0 and Prime95 to loop together – we take the power measurements from the “Killawatt” AC power meter 5 minutes into both of these scenarios at the same point. Temperatures To test thermal performance we measure average CPU and GPU core temperatures during idle and load scenarios. For idle we allow the system to sit at the Windows desktop, for load we let Unigine Heaven 4.0 and Prime95 to loop together - we take the temperature measurements from within CPUID HWMonitor 5 minutes into both of these scenarios at the same point. For load we take the average of the maximum temperatures, for idle we take the average of the minimum temperatures. Synthetic Benchmarks PC Mark 8 The AWT-IT Alpha Doom performed brilliantly in PC Mark 8 and managed to surpass competing systems with a more potent specification. This is impressive and showcases the capabilities of an overclocked i7-6600K in commonly used desktop applications. 3DMark In terms of synthetic 3D performance, the system reported marvellous numbers and defeated the majority of other GTX 970-based alternatives. A portion of this is down to the CPU overclock which helps leverage a smoother frame-rate. However, some of the improvements revolve around driver enhancements over time. Unigine Heaven Once again, the system excelled during 3D benchmarks and reported a superb DirectX 9 figure. Gaming Performance Grand Theft Auto 5 As you can see, the system managed to easily surpass 60 frames-per-second once paired with a 1080P monitor. Additionally, the frame-rate remains extremely solid at higher resolutions which creates a glorious user experience. Although, I would recommend dialling back a few settings to make the minimum frame-rate more consistent. Metro Last Light Despite having to cope with Metro Last Light's complex tessellation effects, the system upheld a very fluid frame-rate even when the resolution was increased to 2560x1440. Tomb Raider Rather surprisingly, the AWD-IT Alpha Doom forged ahead of similar machines during the Tomb Raider benchmark at 2560x1440. Not only that, the 1080P frame-rate never drops below 120 and illustrates the impeccable price to performance ratio the GTX 970 is capable of. Bioshock Infinite Throughout the Bioshock Infinite test run, the system performed admirably and didn't exhibit any hitching or sudden frame drops. CPU & Memory Performance Cinebench R15 When it comes to multi-threaded workloads, the overclocked i5 6600K manages an excellent score given the lack of hyperthreading. Super Pi In terms of compute time, the CPU's 4.6GHz frequency provides a huge boost compared to lower clocked options. AIDA64 Engineer The system's dual-channel DDR4 3000MHz memory is capable of astounding write speeds and obliterates many cheaper options. However, there's some room for improvement in the copy and read rates. Storage and USB Performance CrystalDiskMark - Sequential Read Here we can see the Samsung 850 EVO reports a commendable sequential read figure and isn't too far from being in the top three SATA results. Additionally, the mechanical hard drive offers stupendous performance and the USB 3.0 read rate is one of the best on record. CrystalDiskMark - Sequential Write The boot SSD's write performance is splendid and exemplifies the impeccable speeds possible on Samsung EVO drives. Furthermore, the Seagate 1TB mechanical disk did brilliantly and greatly exceeded my expectations. The USB 3.0 performance remained fairly solid and almost attained 160MB/s. Networking Performance Passmark PerformanceTest 8.0 Ethernet (LAN) The system's Killer E2201 network interface is able to maintain a very consistent connection and utilises a small range between minimum and maximum figures. Acoustic, Power & Thermal Performance Acoustic Performance By default, the system opts for the low fan mode which greatly limits each fan's operating RPM values to respectable levels. As a result, we decided to use this profile to accurately gauge the noise and temperature levels out of the box. During idle scenarios, the AWD-IT Alpha Doom's noise output is noticeable but you adjust to it extremely quickly. Once stressed, the volume hardly increases and creates one of the quietest systems on record. This is remarkable when you consider the processor is running at 4.6GHz. Power Consumption As expected, the i5 6600K's overclock consumes more power than stock i5 setups but it's still well under 300 watts. This is surprising and showcases the efficiency of Intel's latest architecture. Thermal Performance Despite having to contend with an impressive overclock, the system's CPU remained within its maximum threshold and has enough headroom to cope whenever the environmental temperatures change in warmer climates. Theoretically, you might be able to increase the CPU's core voltage even further and achieve 4.7GHz. Under load, the GTX 970 runs ridiculously cool and didn't appear to warm up even in demanding games like GTA V. Final Thoughts Pricing Currently, the AWD-IT Alpha Doom is available from the company's website for £899 including delivery. To determine a system's value proposition, we endeavour to compile an identical self-build and compare the price. This allows us to analyse the fee (if any) that a system integrator is choosing to charge customers for its services. Case: Corsair Spec-Alpha = £69.99 Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170-Gaming K3 = £94.99 Processor: Intel Core-i5 6600K = £191.99 Processor Cooler: Corsair H45 Hydro Series Liquid Cooler = £49.99* System Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz CL15 = £75.85 Main Boot Drive: 250GB Samsung 850 EVO = £73.98 Additional Storage Drive(s): Seagate 1TB 7200RPM = £42.94 Graphics Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE 3X GTX 970 4GB = £279.98 Power Supply: Corsair VS650 80+ White = £44.99 Operating System: Windows 10 = £73.98 Fans: Corsair LED Red Brushless Fan = £9.99 Prices donated with * refer to a predicted retail value because the product is out of stock. Once added together, an equivalent self-build comes to a total of £1008.67 which is £109.67 more expensive than the AWD-IT Alpha Doom. This is a staggering saving when you take into account the professional build quality and exceptional warranty. Overview The system's Corsair Spec-Alpha chassis adopts an intriguing design philosophy with distinctive lines which creates a dramatic effect. Additionally, the stylish mesh section, subtle Corsair branding and protruding feet is unlike anything I've seen before. Clearly, the chassis is going to be fairly polarising and greatly depends on your own subjective preferences. Personally, I love the bizarre shape and think the silver accents really enhances the system's aesthetic appeal. AWD-IT decided to add another LED fan in the front to aid the machine's cooling abilities. A byproduct of this is the stunning red lighting pierces through the front mesh panel and looks absolutely sublime. On a more practical level, I'm not awfully keen on the case's plastic construction which struggles to enthuse a sense of luxury. Around the £70 price point, you could acquire something with slightly improved build quality like the Phanteks Enthoo Pro M. However, it would look fairly ordinary compared to other systems which might explain why AWD-IT opted for the Corsair model instead. Even though the motherboard incorporates red illumination on the PCB, it's quite challenging to see the internal components through the side panel window. This is because of the tinted finish and various parts sporting a dark hue. In the future, I'd recommend adding an LED strip to help accentuate the system's superb colour combinations. AWD-IT have adopted an attentive approach towards cable management and employed tight cable runs to form a clean, professional finish. The front portion exhibits a very high level of expertise and everything is routed in a logical manner. I was particularly impressed with the radiator fan's cabling which remained hidden even under close inspection. Sadly, there is some room for improvement in the rear chamber because the cables are not completely flush with the chassis' frame and features a sporadic arrangement. On the other hand, the chassis doesn't have a lot of room for cable management and the non-modular power supply is difficult to work with. Therefore, the rear cabling deserves praise and I think the company coped pretty well given the restrictions. The system's i5-6600K CPU has been expertly overclocked to 4.6GHz using a respectable Vcore to perfectly balance performance with low temperatures. This increased frequency is able to leverage extra processing power in both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. It's surprising how well the CPU fares once overclocked against i7 variants utilising an additional four threads. Whenever a manual overclock is applied, it's important to select the appropriate cooling hardware to maintain temperatures within the chip's thermal limits. Thankfully, the Corsair H45 is a suitable choice and has enough cooling prowess to maintain exceptional temperatures during 100 percent CPU utilisation. In terms of noise output, the system's idle sound levels are higher than I'd expect but it's not enough to detract from an enjoyable desktop experience. Rather surprisingly, there's hardly any change in the noise output during load scenarios which makes the machine unbelievably quiet once stressed. Next up is the system's boot SSD which provides extraordinary read/write speeds and surpasses many cheaper options. The Samsung 850 EVO is renowned for its unbelievable write rates and maximises the potential of the SATA interface. The 250GB capacity is large enough to store the operating system and a number of your favourite games. It's the perfect balance between storage size and cost. The 1TB Seagate drive reported fantastic figures and greatly exceeded my fairly modest expectations. The AWD-IT's graphics card offers astonishing performance for the money and consistently upholds a fluid frame-rate. Once you increase the resolution, there are more noticeable frame drops which can create a jarring user experience. Thankfully, this is easily resolved by scaling back a few settings and finding the right balance between visual quality and performance. The GTX 970 is a wonderful enthusiast graphics card which continues to impress and even managed to maintain an average of 60 frames-per-second at 2560x1440. In an ideal world, I'd prefer to see the G1 Gaming model due to the illuminated WINDFORCE logo and gorgeous backplate. Saying that, there's not a huge difference in the numbers between these models apart from a slight clock boost and GPU binning. Pros Astonishing value Clever parts selection Comprehensive 3-year warranty Excellent colour scheme Good cable management Great gaming performance Relatively quiet under extreme load Striking design Superb storage results Wonderful temperatures considering 4.6GHz overclock Cons No padding to protect internal components "The AWD-IT Alpha Doom is an elegant powerhouse capable of playing modern titles at formidable presets. Furthermore, this custom creation is over £100 cheaper than an identical self-build which makes it one of the best value packages on the market today." AWD-IT Alpha Doom Gaming PC Review Thank you AWD-IT for providing us with this sample.