Wired2Fire Diablo Elite GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review

John Williamson / 8 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Currently, the Wired2Fire Diablo Elite is available from the company’s website for £2099. 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.

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Gunmetal ATX = £138.69
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VIII Hero Z170 = £186.99
Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K = £310.98
Processor Cooler: Fractal Design Kelvin S36 CPU Liquid Cooler = £130.00
System Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000MHz DDR4 C15 = £86.47
Main Boot Drive: 512GB Samsung SM951 PCI-E NVMe SSD = £217.80
Additional Storage Drive(s): 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 64MB = £60.98
Graphics Card: Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Super Jetstream 8GB GDDR5X = £583.98
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNova 850W Modular Platinum = £129.52
Cabling: EVGA Individually Sleeved Cables Red PSU Kit = £81.49
Lighting: Red LED Strips = £18.00*
Operating System: Windows 10 Home = £85.98

Please note, prices marked with an asterisk are estimated because either the product in question is out of stock or I was unable to find the specific model. Once totalled up, equivalent self-build costs £2030.88 which is a saving of £68.12 compared to Wired2Fire’s pre-configured option. To be fair, this is a small price to pay for the generous 3-year warranty and professional build. Granted, you could possibly acquire Windows 10 at a cheaper price, and make some other concessions but it wouldn’t exude the same premium feel. Overall, the Wired2Blade is good value for a high-end build and targets a competitive price point.

Overview

Aesthetically-speaking, the Wired2Fire Diablo Elite is wonderful and leaves a lasting impression due to the comprehensive range of luxury components. In particular, the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX is a sight to behold and the gunmetal finish looks breathtaking. The chassis’ 3mm aluminium panels work alongside the understated, elegant edges to create a sense of finesse. Honestly, I think this is the best case money can buy from a visual standpoint and the perfect choice for a luxury build. Not only is the chassis extremely beautiful, it’s packed full of useful features including a power supply mount and slide-out radiator bracket.

Wired2Fire adopted a red and black colour scheme which complements the chassis’ design in a seamless manner. Even though this colour combination is overdone, it can still look the part when executed properly. For example, the EVGA braided cable kit adds some visual flair and ensures every aspect of the system evokes a positive reaction. The cable kit features a spectacular, thick braid and the colours are really distinctive. On another note, the CPU cooler’s glossy block is quite unusual and captured my attention. Saying that, I wasn’t overly fond of the anti-kink tubing which tends to mimic the appearance of FEP tubes. On the other hand, the tubing has an additional layer of protection to prevent against catastrophic leaks and the FEP-like design is obscured pretty well by the red lighting strips.

Evidently, these strips coalesce with the build’s theme although it would have been ideal to have additional functionality such as cycling through various effects. One slight criticism I have revolves around a trailing LED connector which became visible once the side panel was removed. Saying that, it’s not a huge issue because most people will attach the side panel and won’t be able to see this connector. Perhaps, another improvement would be to include some form of RGB lighting and provide customers with extra customisation.

The system’s cable management is worthy of praise and Wired2Fire’s engineers effectively used the chassis’ sturdy Velcro ties, rubber grommets and a good assortment of zip-ties. Throughout the build, it’s clear that the cables flow in a logical direction and any excess cabling is neatly tied together. Furthermore, the 24-pin ATX and USB 3.0 connector remain flush with chassis’ frame which makes closing the side panel a simple task. I’d argue that the braided cables helped matters because the individual sleeving creates less clutter. However, there isn’t a huge amount of room in the case’s rear section which means it’s imperative to manage the cables in a professional way. Thankfully, Wired2Fire were up to the challenge.

Despite using an expensive liquid cooling solution, the system’s noise output isn’t great and caused a great deal of confusion. While certain closed-loop-coolers can become obnoxiously loud under load, they tend to be quiet during idle conditions or have the option to run a more conservative fan profile. Bizarrely, the case fans and liquid cooler appear to run at high RPM values even when the system isn’t being stressed. So what is the root cause? Honestly, I’m entirely sure but evidence points towards Phanteks’ PWM hub. Perhaps, the PWM hub is running the fans at an unsuitable level and not detecting the thermal output correctly. Also, I’ve read some reports that connecting the SATA cable to add some extra power to the hub can result in each fan running at the maximum voltage. Of course, this isn’t conclusive but the data collected suggests that the problem is fixable by either disregarding the internal fan hub or tweaking the fans in the BIOS. Once configured, I’m fairly confident a better balance will be achieved because the CPU is well within its thermal limits while running a hefty overclock. This illustrates that the CPU cooler isn’t at fault, and is a superb alternative to the slew of Corsair Hydro liquid products.

When it comes to storage, Wired2Fire didn’t try to cut costs and included the highly-acclaimed Samsung SM951 NVMe drive. This particular device is capable of astronomical read speeds well beyond 2000MB/s and can attain write rates of 1500MB/s and above. This level of performance is staggering and the boot drive makes Windows seem a lot more responsive. Also, the secondary hard disk offers a good amount of storage to install complex games and other essential files.

The system’s GTX 1080 features a good factory overclock and upholds a marvellous gaming experience. During the benchmarking process, the GPU enjoyed a substantial lead over other systems sporting similar hardware and this is down to a combination of the aforementioned overclock and driver improvements. It’s important to note that GTX 1080 in any form, is capable of maintaining a fluid frame-rate up to 3440×1440 in a wide range of demanding titles. This means the frame-rate remains well above 60 and rarely drops near this figure. While 4K gaming is more challenging, it’s possible to attain good performance numbers and 60 frames-per-second is plausible with some concessions in the options menu. Honestly, it seems counterproductive to invest in such a high-end system and reduce settings. Therefore, I’d recommend pairing the build with a high refresh 1440p monitor supporting G-Sync.

Pros

Astounding gaming performance
Capable of 4K gaming with slightly reduced settings
Commendable networking speeds
Competitive price
Excellent aesthetic design
Exemplary build quality
Gorgeous braided cables
Great cable management
Impressive CPU overclock employs respectable voltage
No-compromise component selection
Superb temperatures
Unbelievably fast storage

Cons

Internal packaging could be improved

Neutral

System is quite loud in idle and load conditions but this is easily fixed by creating a custom fan curve

“The Wired2Fire Diablo Elite employs the highest quality of components and will undoubtedly be the ultimate dream machine for a large number of people. In particular, the system’s elegant styling and extraordinary gaming performance make it extremely difficult to resist.”

Extreme-Performance