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AMD Bulldozer processors match their Intel counterparts when it comes to how much power you get per pound spent, and they’re powerful enough for any gaming or standard desktop task. With eight cores, the FX-8120 processor in the Overclockers UK King Cobra is also better equipped to run software that can use multiple cores.
Happily, the processor does well in our standard single-threaded benchmark tests as well. It’s overclocked to 3.6GHz, which gives it enough raw power to achieve an overall score of 72 in our recently updated benchmark tests and it means it can run everything from video-editing to games software smoothly and easily.
On the subject of games, the PC’s 2GB AMD Radeon HD 7850 graphics card makes it a serious contender if you’re shopping for a gaming PC. It achieved a frame rate of 59fps in Dirt3 and 36fps in Crysis 2, both at full quality and a resolution of 1,920×1,080. In the unlikely circumstance that one graphics card isn’t enough for you, the motherboard, an Asrock 990FX Extreme3, has two more PCI-E x16 slots and supports both SLI and CrossFire. There are also two PCI slots and a PCI-E x1 slot, providing plenty of scope for even the most upgrade-hungry user. The 750W OCZ power supply provides enough power extra peripherals.
Much of the case is dominated by the huge and rather noisy CPU cooler, which diffuses heat very effectively but takes up what looks like a quarter of the case, and blocks the memory slots. Two 4GB sticks of low-profile 1,600MHz RAM are fitted, but if you want to add more you’ll have to unbolt the cooler. The motherboard has five SATA3 ports, three of which are currently in use.
There are two hard disks: a 60GB SSD system drive and a 1TB HDD data disk. We’re somewhat concerned by the small size of the system disk; the Windows 7 installation with which the PC comes uses around half the available space. Modern software, and games in particular, can rapidly consume the gigabytes, as can temporary files and Windows’ own hibernate file. There’s still enough space to install a few programs, but you’ll have to put most of your software on the slower HDD, along with the rest of your data. An extra £35 will let you upgrade to a 120GB SSD, and we recommend doing this. There’s also a DVD-RW disc drive. That still leaves two empty SATA ports, two 5 1/4in bays and six 3 1/2in bays if you want to add further storage.
At the top-front of the BitFenix Shinobi case are four USB ports, two of which are USB3, as well as the obligatory microphone and headphone ports. At the back are two more USB3 ports, six standard USB2 ports and an eSATA3 port for storage. There are also two PS/2 ports to connect a mouse and keyboard. The motherboard’s Realtek ALC892 audio processor can output analogue or digital surround sound via either a set of six 3.5mm stereo ports, coaxial or optical S/PDIF. Finally, there’s the obligatory Gigabit Ethernet port.
As far as gaming PCs go, this is an excellent system. It’s powerful, well-specified and well-built, if a bit noisy. Although an AMD processor might not be the first choice for most users, it’s proved itself to be up to the task, while the system’s top-notch graphics card and high-end motherboard both add to its power and upgradeability. However, at almost £800 for this specification and £836 if you select a larger SSD, it’s not very good value when compared to gaming PCs from rival manufacturers. The Chillblast Fusion Blaze, which didn’t do quite as well in our gaming tests but was faster in application benchmarks, costs £697 without a monitor. The King Cobra can’t quite match that kind of low pricing, but a combination of a brilliant graphics card and a motherboard that invites expansion earns this PC four stars.
