PC Specialist Vanquish Enforcer Review (4770K/GTX780)

1. Introduction2. PC Specialist Vanquish Enforcer3. PC Specialist Vanquish Enforcer (Super High Res Gallery)4. Overview and Testing Methodology5. Synthetic: PCMark 76. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage7. Synthetic: 3DMark 118. Synthetic: 3DMark9. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark10. Synthetic: Unigine Valley11. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra12. Synthetic: CineBench R11.5 64 bit13. USB 3.0 Bandwidth Testing14. SATA 6Gbps Testing15. Real World: BluRay Playback16. Real World: 3D Rendering17. Gaming: Total War Shogun 2 (built in benchmark)18. Gaming: Total War Shogun 2 (2560x1600)19. Gaming: Dirt Showdown (2560x1600)20. Gaming: Max Payne 3 (2560x1600)21. Gaming: Tomb Raider (2560x1600)22. Thermal Dynamics23. Acoustics Performance24. Power Consumption25. Closing Thoughts26. View All Pages

The Vanquish Enforcer is an extremely impressive gaming system built to the exacting standards we would expect from UK system builder PC Specialist.

The system is shipped within an oversized double thickness box, which is always a good sign. Rough treatment from couriers can cause a wide range of problems before the customer would even get the chance to open the box.

To try and negate internal damage, PC Specialist ship their systems with blue moulded ‘instapack' foam. This is sculpted to the shape of the internals of the system and will stop the motherboard and attached components from moving during transit.

The Vanquish Enforcer we received for review is priced at £1,499 inc vat and it really is a lot of system for the price. The new GTX780 is a very potent graphics card, perfectly able to power the latest  titles at 2560×1600, the native resolution of a 30 inch screen.

Our testing today highlights that image quality settings could be cranked to the limit and frame rates were still held above thirty at all times … even with intensive Direct X 11 engines such as Max Payne 3.

The internal build quality is exceptional. All of the cables are routed and tied down in key positions, carefully fed behind the motherboard tray, out of sight. Even on the other side of the case PC Specialist have clearly spent time figuring out the best way to route the cable groupings.

The performance of the new Intel Core i7 4770k is impressive, although it really isn't that much of a step up from the 3770k. The 4770k may be faster on a clock per clock basis, but the 3770k tends to achieve a higher overclock, so any initial benefits are generally negated.

The i7 4770k onboard graphics capabilities are a commendable step forward for Intel, but they won't make any difference in systems such as the Vanquish Enforcer. Gamers want powerful discrete capabilities, and PC Specialist have certainly delivered the goods in this regard.

What can we say about the GTX780? This is a remarkable video card which is an ideal pairing for a new 30 inch screen @ 1600p resolution. Image quality settings can be set at the highest level at native resolution and the system will still produce perfectly smooth frame rates. This is a huge saving over the GTX Titan, and the GTX780 more than capable enough for a hardcore gaming system such as this.

Even though it is overclocked, the Vanquish Enforcer is well optimised in regards to power draw. at idle it only consumes around 80 watts, rising to around 310 watts under full, gaming load. The modular Corsair HX750 power supply is ideally suited to a load between 300 and 450 watts, as maximum efficiency will be achieved during this range. In this regard, the system is very well balanced.

Acoustically, the large fans built into the CM Storm Enforcer chassis spin slowly but push a high level of air, and they keep the components suitably chilled. With the Corsair H60 under load, the system isn't the quietest we have ever tested, but it is very unlikely to annoy a dedicated gamer. There is always the awareness of fan noise in the background, but it did not reach a level that I would consider intrusive.

We really do think this is one of the most balanced gaming systems we have reviewed this year. PC Specialist have hand selected a range of award winning products and built the system with plenty of forethought and attention to detail. The only thing I would change myself would be the chassis, but as PCSpecialist told us before launch, there are plenty of options available via their configurator tool.

You can buy this system direct from PC Specialist over here (please note it may not update until 2nd June 2013).

Pros:

• GTX780 is a frame rate beast.
• good power draw.
• exceptionally well built.
• an award winning list of products.
• overclocked out of the box.
• excellent cable routing.

Cons:

• Not the quietest system we have tested.
• We would spend a little more on the case.

Kitguru says: A well built, well rounded gaming system with plenty of power on tap for 2560×1600 gaming, rendering and video encoding duties.

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