Pricing
At the time of writing, the PC Specialist Spectrum Pro costs £699 from the company’s website. 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. Please note all prices include shipping and we don’t permit Windows 10 keys from disreputable sites. Of course, you might want to acquire a digital code much cheaper, but it’s not something we’re happy to recommend as many keys can be MSDN-based with limited activations.
Once totalled up, an identical self-build comes to £706 which is actually £7 more expensive than PC Specialist’s pre-configured option. This represents great value, especially when you consider the system is backed by a generous 3-year warranty. Granted, the cost is slightly skewed by the memory’s high price and you could probably find a different kit with a similar specification for less. Nevertheless, the price is very competitive which makes it an enticing proposition for those without PC building experience.
Overview
There’s a common misnomer about PC gaming being a hobby for people with vast sums of money who can easily invest in the latest graphics hardware before upgrading months later. This couldn’t be further from the truth and the advent of relatively powerful yet affordable graphics cards have made low-end gaming rigs a distinctive possibility. Don’t get me wrong, they still pale in comparison to mid-range configurations and I’d recommend at least an RX 470 if your budget can accommodate it. For those who can’t justify the extra money, the PC Specialist Spectrum Pro will easily suffice.
As expected for a cheap and cheerful system, the build’s aesthetic leaves a lot to be desired. In particular, the chassis’ green backdrop is ghastly and looks like something from a 1980’s sci-fi horror film. Thankfully, the colourful backing is darkened by the side panel which helps the system to have a more dignified appearance. On another note, the chassis’ plastic front section doesn’t have an attractive finish despite trying to inject some colour through green illumination. Even though these minor grievances are valid, it would be grossly unfair to criticise the system based on its aesthetic. When compiling a budget system, the visual aspect is usually overlooked to include the best quality hardware. Investing in a premium case alongside a weaker GPU wouldn’t have made any sense whatsoever. Also, some consumers could simply place the system on a floor and only care about the performance. This is the reason why the rudimentary case and mediocre aesthetic should be acceptable.
The system’s cable management has been completed to a very high standard and the end result is surprisingly neat despite the complications caused by the non-modular power supply and chassis’ limited space. Throughout the build process, PC Specialist carefully routed the cables in a logical manner and utilised a decent number of zip-ties. The 24-pin ATX was pressed against the chassis and fed through a gap thanks to the smaller motherboard size. This showcases their attention to detail and ability to think outside the box. Also, the extra connectors were neatly tied away in the HDD storage area. In an ideal world, I would have preferred the 8-pin EPS to routed around the case but this wasn’t possible due to the chassis’ design.
Intel’s stock heatsink might be an ugly and relatively basic solution, but it’s perfectly fine for processors running at stock voltages. Throughout the testing period, the cooler tamed the CPU’s modest thermal loads and ensured it was able to run at the maximum turbo frequency. The CPU rarely passed the 60C mark and tends to drop back to 58C. On another note, the cooler managed this while being almost silent and it’s very challenging to detect any fan RPM changes or audible hum.
In terms of storage, the 120GB HyperX Savage boot SSD offers fantastic performance for the money and achieved the second best SATA read rate so far. This is a superb showing for a product included in a budget-friendly build. Not only that, the write rate was good and didn’t deviate too much. Honestly, I think PC Specialist have found the perfect storage configuration in the form of a 120GB SSD and 1TB mechanical hard disk. The 120GB is large enough to use as a boot drive and makes Windows feel responsive. Forgoing an SSD and relying on a mechanical disk would have made the system feel slower and louder due to the seeking noise. Of course, it was vital to install a secondary drive because many games are beginning to use huge sums of data.
The PC Specialist Spectrum Pro’s GTX 1050 Ti is a wonderful card for 1080p gaming and has enough horsepower to provide a smooth gaming experience with sensible settings. Even though it’s possible to achieve decent frame rates on a 1440p display, it’s not recommended due to the severe frame drops in more demanding sections. To be fair, I wouldn’t expect someone opting for the GTX 1050 Ti to own a 2560×1440 monitor which can be quite a costly investment on its own. It’s important to have realistic expectations and understand that the GTX 1050 Ti cannot contend with extreme AA or higher resolutions. Anyway, the 1080p performance is really good and a vast improvement on the current crop of consoles. Perhaps the most impressive feat was the system’s ability to achieve 60 frames per second while powering the very high preset in Grand Theft Auto V.
Pros
Cons
“The PC Specialist Spectrum Pro is a great entry-level system for those wanting to try out PC gaming without spending a huge sum of money. Despite being built to a low price, the system is cool, quiet, efficient and manages to uphold surprisingly good frame rates in a wide range of modern titles.”
PC Specialist Spectrum Pro GTX 1050 Ti Gaming PC Review
Thank you PC Specialist for providing us with this sample.
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