PCSpecialist Magnus Spark Review (i5-12400F/RX 6600)

1. Introduction2. Test Setup3. 3DMark & Cinebench4. Memory & PCMark 105. SSD Investigation6. Game Benchmarks7. Thermals, Noise & Power8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

After reviewing the absurdly expensive and frankly awful value RTX 3090 Ti, it's been great to get hands on with the PCSpecialist Magnus Spark – an entire gaming PC that can still pack a punch, but comes in at half the price of a single RTX 3090 Ti…

Granted, dropping a grand on a gaming PC is still a hefty investment for most people, but PCSpecialist has done a very good job to ensure you are getting a well-balanced package for your money. The core spec is just very sensible – Intel's hexa-core i5-12400F performs like a champ, while the RX 6600 is, in my view, the best value graphics card on the market right now, offering excellent gaming performance at 1080p, while 1440p gaming isn't out of the question either.

16GB of DDR4 memory is also optimal for a system like this, as DDR5 would be a waste of budget considering the currently meagre benefit it brings over DDR4.

At the same time, I also don't get the impression that PCSpecialist has tried to skimp and cut every corner possible to hit the £999 price point. Yes, the case is a little bit cheap-feeling, but it still gets the job done, we still have a 1TB PCIe SSD, and the ASUS B660-Plus D4 motherboard proved rock-solid during my testing.

Speaking of the SSD however, this is my one real issue with the Magnus Spark. As outlined earlier in the review, the SSD was simply installed in the wrong M.2 slot, limiting it to just two PCIe lanes, instead of four, resulting in reduced performance. To be clear, this won't make the PC unusable, or anything close to it, but it is still a needless error as the SSD is being held back from its top performance for no reason.

The only other potential niggle worth mentioning is the fact that the B660-Plus D4 motherboard does not have integrated WiFi. This means PCSpecialist has used a PCIe add-in card in the second x16 slot, so if you are one of the few people who wants to use a second PCIe device, you are going to be running to problems. But, I do stress, for most people I can't see this being an issue.

We have to factor in the sheer value on offer from the Magnus Spark though, as I specced-out as similar a system as I could using PCPartPicker, with DIY pricing giving a total of £1050-1100. Granted, I wasn't able to get an exact match for the spec, and the actual cost to PCSpecialist will of course be lower than that figure – but even so, the fact that it's cheaper to have PCSpecialist build this system for you, ship it to you and cover it with a warranty, than it would be to build it yourself, is quite something.

You will be able to buy the PCSpecialist Magnus Spark for £999 from PCSpecialist HERE.

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Pros

• Excellent value.
• Sensible component choices with no clear corners cut.
• Smart cable management and clean aesthetic.
• Very solid option for 1080p gaming, while 1440p is possible too.
• Cheaper to buy from PCSpecialist than building it yourself.
• Low power draw with headroom to upgrade down the line.

Cons

• SSD is installed in the wrong slot, reducing performance.
• Secondary x16 slot is occupied by the WiFi card, as the motherboard does not have built-in WiFi.
• Case is a bit cheap-feeling.

KitGuru says: If you're in the market for a solid gaming PC that can play pretty much anything you throw at it, the Magnus Spark is a very compelling option. Hopefully PCSpecialist can just move the SSD over to the next M.2 slot.

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