Zoostorm Inferno GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing 

The Zoostorm Inferno is a brand new creation and it’s currently being added to retail channels. As a result, you can’t buy it right now, but it should be available rather soon from eBuyer.com. This particular configuration will set you back £1499.00 and comes with a 1-year warranty. 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: In Win 805 Aluminium Mid-Tower = £122.99
• Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4S = £92.98
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K = £260.99
• Processor Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Performer C = £47.94
• System Memory: 32GB Kingston HyperX Fury 2400MHz DDR4 = £94.98
• Main Boot Drive: 256GB SanDisk M.2 2280 SSD = £57.99
• Additional Storage Drive(s): 3TB Western Digital Blue 5400RPM = £80.99
• Graphics Card: KFA2 NVIDIA GTX 1080 8GB = £589.99
• Power Supply: 500-Watt FSP500-60HHN 80+ Bronze Efficiency = *£40.00
• Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit = £79.98

Please note, I was unable to source a price for the power supply and predicted the retail cost is based on Amazon.com listings of various FSP models. Once calculated, an identical self-build costs £1468.83 which is a saving of £30.17 compared to the Zoostorm Inferno. This is a fantastic value proposition when you consider all the hassle of building in the complex In Win 805 has been taken care of. Although, the warranty period needs to be 3-years to provide better peace-of-mind. This would also encourage consumers to invest in a system they know will be supported in the future.

Overview

The system’s In Win 805 chassis is incredibly stylish and bound to attract attention whenever someone inspects your new purchase. More specifically, the luxurious tempered glass side panels and the stunning front section featuring an illuminated honeycomb pattern is a match made in heaven. Additionally, the bright In Win logo adds to the striking design but it’s implemented in a sophisticated way. This particular chassis oozes quality and looks much expensive than it actually is. Of course, glass panels are prone to dust build-up and showing fingerprints. Also, removing the side panels is a delicate process and takes longer than traditional alternatives with an acrylic window. It’s important to note that this isn’t the fault of Zoostorm and it’s something you have to accept when using tempered glass.

On another note, the glass sections have a relatively dark tint which means you need to use some kind of custom lighting like the NZXT Hue+ to properly view the internals. Unfortunately, it’s quite challenging to see the graphics card, cabling, and the motherboard because there are no LED strips to be found. Thankfully, this is a cheap and easy fix which should contribute towards a much more appealing appearance. Another slight error revolves around the motherboard selection which contains two large orange heat sinks. Sadly, this doesn’t match the stealth black theme and looks out of place. Hopefully, this can be resolved by swapping out the motherboard for another with a neutral colour scheme. Overall, I’m really pleased with the build’s aesthetic design even though there are a few niggles which can be improved upon.

The Thermaltake liquid cooling solution is small in stature but it’s still able to keep an Intel Core i7-6700K operating at a peak frequency of 4.4GHz remarkably cool. Not only that, the noise output is very low under full load and based upon a subtle fan curve alongside the chassis fans. Furthermore, the pump doesn’t seem to be overly noisy and I couldn’t hear changes to the water flow once stressed.

Zoostorm have done a commendable job with the system’s cable management especially when you take into account the chassis’ restricted cabling space and non-modular power supply. The In Win 805 chassis omits rubber grommets and decides to integrate large cut-outs instead. This can make the cabling look rather haphazard and it’s difficult to obscure cable runs well. Additionally, the reverse glass panel means everything can be seen and requires perfect cable management. I’m a little perplexed why Zoostorm based the build around a non-modular power supply because it really complicates matters. As a result, their engineers have to hide excess cabling behind a glass panel which is impossible. Granted, they did a fine job on the rear section, but the front has a number of visible cables.

When it comes to performance, the GTX 1080 is an astounding piece of hardware and continues to impress. Whatever game you throw at it, the end result is fluid even at higher resolutions. Reliable 4K 60 frames-per-second gameplay can be a stretch in some cases, but it’s reachable after fine-tuning a few settings. It’s a shame that this level of performance comes with a hefty price premium but I’m hoping increased supply will result in decent price cuts which can be passed onto consumers.

In terms of storage, the budget primary SSD pales in comparison to the NVMe drives deployed in competing systems. While this is disappointing, it creates a cheaper entry price but I think a premium system should come with a low capacity NVMe drive as standard. Owning such a powerful system which can only achieve write speeds around the 350-400 mark isn’t great. On a similar note, the mechanical hard drive spins at 5400RPM which is perfectly fine for storing films, music and other pieces of data. However, for gaming purposes, I’d rather see a 7200RPM hard disk. Far too often companies only include a 1TB mechanical disk so I’m pleased that a Zoostorm opted for a higher capacity option. There just needs to be a better balance in the storage department. Perhaps a 128GB NVMe boot drive and a 2TB 7200RPM secondary disk for games.

Pros

• 32GB DDR4 is great for video editing tasks
• Excellent installation guide
• Exceptional gaming performance
• Good cable management
• Gorgeous chassis
• Great value compared to an equivalent self-build
• Impressive thermals
• Remarkably quiet under load
• Solid packaging

Cons

• 1-Year warranty doesn’t enthuse consumer confidence
• 5400RPM secondary HDD isn’t the best for gaming performance
• Non-modular power supply isn’t ideal with dual glass panels
• Underwhelming SSD performance

“Despite having some minor flaws, the Zoostorm Inferno is a great gaming PC, utilising the very best graphics hardware at a competitive price point and the stylish build and quiet operation should please users who look beyond raw performance numbers.”

Zoostorm Inferno GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review

Thank you Zoostorm for providing us with this sample.