Gladiator Computers SNIPER Gaming PC Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing 

Currently, the Gladiator Computers SNIPER is available as a pre-configured system for £420.54 including delivery. If you’d prefer to build the rig yourself, then you can purchase this bundle from the company’s component website Aria.co.uk for £360.30. 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 is charge customers for its services.

• Case: Thermaltake Versa H23 Midi Mesh Tower Case = £32.89
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel B150 G1 B7 Sniper = £91.13
• Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core G4400 (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor = £52.42
• Processor Cooler: Intel Stock Cooler = £0.00 (Included with CPU)
• System Memory: 8GB (1x8GB) 2133MHz Crucial DDR4 Memory = £25.82
• Main Boot Drive: 1TB TOSHIBA SATA III 7200RPM Hard Drive = £37.96
• Graphics Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 950 XTREME GAMING 2GB Graphics Card = £164.99
• Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 Challenger 500W 80+ Certified APFC = £34.92
• Fans: Game Max Galeforce Blue 120mm LED Fan = £5.10
• LED Strip: Gladiator 30cm Blue LED Strip with 18 LED’s = £3.58

Once added up, an identical self-build comes to a total of £448.81 which is actually £27.67 more than Gladiator Computers custom creation. This is fantastic value when you take into account the superb warranty and professional build. Of course, the component package is significantly cheaper than buying each item individually from various stores and a great option if you’re confident about creating a new rig.

Overview

It’s important to have realistic expectations when analysing a system with such a staggeringly affordable price point because there are going to be major concessions compared to higher priced alternatives. Honestly, I was shocked by the build quality which rarely feels cheap and evokes a sense of pride when using the SNIPER. The Thermaltake Versa case opts for a neutral, matte finish which resists fingerprints and is easy to keep clean. Furthermore, the construction is surprisingly solid and doesn’t feel like it’s suddenly going to fall apart. One small annoyance is a blinking red HDD indicator on the front section which rapidly becomes turned me into a state of disarray. This is a shame because it’s distracting and going to cause irritation. Of course, Gladiator Computers could have selected something with a slightly higher price tag such as the Corsair SPEC 01 which is my personal favourite under £40. Despite this, I think the chassis is decent and a good choice for the build.

The Gigabyte B150 G1 B7 Sniper features an absolutely breathtaking design with green illumination on the PCH and PCB. This compliments the blue LED strip and case fans in a really stylish manner. The motherboard isn’t just style over substance and houses a superb audio solution with an integrated amplifier. This supports up to an 115dB signal to noise ratio and utilises the widely adopted Realtek ALC1150 codec.  The B150 chipset is geared towards budget usage scenarios and cannot take advantage of memory speeds past 2133MHz. As a result, Gladiator Computers’ decision to opt for a relatively basic 8GB DIMM without an extravagant heat spreader makes sense. However, two modules would have been the better option because it looks better and you can leverage extra performance using the chipset’s dual-channel functionality.

In recent years, the Pentium brand has had a fairly negative outlook from users, but this completely changed with the G3258’s release. This particular chip allows for huge overclocks and offered exemplary performance gains compared to stock values. Sadly, this wasn’t an option on the SNIPER build due to the LGA1151 chipset and B150 overclocking restrictions. The G4400 processor might have a locked multiplier but it’s still an attractive proposition for the money. The CPU’s two threads struggle in multi-core synthetic benchmarks and cannot compete with other solutions opting for more physical cores as well as hyperthreading.

Honestly, this isn’t a concern for the sort of user considering a budget system and their main focus revolves around gaming benchmarks. I was intrigued to see the impact of the G4400 CPU during demanding games to try to find out if two cores became a limiting factor. Rather surprisingly, there didn’t seem to be any issues with either the minimum or average frame-rate. This could differ when paired with better graphics hardware though so it’s far from being a definitive answer. Many game engines within the past decade have prioritised dual-core performance and effective multi-core utilisation remained fairly rare. However, this is beginning to change due to the current crop of consoles using 8-core processors. Therefore, the G4400 might encounter some bottlenecking issues in games like Arma III but it’s not enough to warrant disregarding the system because of the price point and superb performance in various titles.

The system’s Gigabyte GTX 950 XTREME GAMING is tailored towards 1080P gaming and manages to uphold a very playable framerate on high settings. While it can cope with some games at higher resolutions, it’s not recommended due to the 2GB video memory. Furthermore, the increased strain when gaming at 1440P results in hitching and some large frame-drops. I highly doubt anyone will even consider pairing a system of this ilk with a 1440P monitor because the monitor might actually cost more! Overall, I was astounded with how well the system coped in modern games and it showcases the kind of experience you can get on a very restricted budget.

In terms of storage, the 1TB mechanical drive achieves good read/write figures and is large enough to store games with expansive worlds. Even though an SSD would increase the system’s price, it’s worth it and there’s many low capacity drives costing very little in today’s market. Adding an SSD to store the operating system creates a snappier feel and improves boot times. I can overlook this because of the cheap price and understand Gladiator Computers’ decision to only use one drive.

Finally, the system’s cable management is beyond reproach and some of the best I’ve seen given the chassis’ narrow rear chamber. Not only that, the extremely cheap power supply makes it quite challenging to manoeuvre cables and achieve clean routing. I have to commend Gladiator Computers because this is once again another example of their superb expertise in this department. It’s even more impressive on a system of this calibre and well worth the extra over buying the components yourself. Now the standard has been set so high, I’m expecting great things from Gladiator Computers in the near future. Originally, I posed the question asking how good a budget gaming PC could be that doesn’t cost substantially more than a console? The answer is surprisingly good and it’s certainly possible to achieve more than you’d expect.

Pros

• Attractive design
• Exceptional packaging
• Flawless cable management
• Generous warranty
• Great 1080P gaming experience
• Magnificent temperatures
• Quiet operation
• Superb value

Cons

• None

Neutral

• Dual core CPU could become a bottleneck in certain games with good multi-core utilisation but you can’t complain at this price
• Low capacity boot SSD would greatly enhance the Windows experience

“The Gladiator Computers SNIPER offers phenomenal value and emphasises the kind of experience you can enjoy on a limited budget. Once paired with a 1920×1080 display, the system is capable of fluid frame-rates in visually demanding titles which make it a wonderful choice for console players moving into the PC gaming community.”

Gladiator Computers SNIPER Gaming PC Review

Thank you Gladiator Computers for providing us with this sample.