Overclockers Marvel 4K: Incredible Graphics Detailing

Overclockers Marvel 4K: Incredible Graphics Detailing

The world of PC gaming is agog over 4K, since the mighty 3,840 x 2,160 res allows for huge graphical detail alongside an all important leg up for console gaming players locked to 1080p. Most of the time, though, 4K gaming has one huge barrier to entry. This machine costs less than £800, but the firm still reckons it has the grunt to play games at 3,840 x 2,160.

Overclockers

The exterior is clad almost totally in black plastic, and the patterned section on the front panel looks loud and immature. Build quality is only middling, the side panels are made from flimsy metal, the plastic on the front flexes too much; and the roof feels thin.

Overclockers has won in keeping the machine orderly, at least. The larger power cables are tied together and attached to the metal in the middle of the case, and smaller wires are attached to the bottom of the chassis and are not visible beneath the graphics card.

The Marvel’s key factor is its AMD Radeon R9 390X. It is as powerful as AMD chips get before they bear the Fury branding, and its spec is impressive. It takes the Hawaii core from last year’s card and tweaks it by amending the 1,000MHz stock speed by 50MHz. It has 8GB of GDDR5 memory as well at 6,000MHz twice as much memory as the older chip, and at a higher speed.

Its best 4K average came in Batman: Arkham Origins, where it topped out at 56fps, and it went on to hit 40fps or more in Grand Theft Auto V and Tomb Raider. The Marvel’s playable functionality continued in BioShock, Metro Last Light and Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor, where its frame rates hit at least 31fps.

The Marvel 4K comes with the standard Overclockers warranty, which contains 2 years of collect and return coverage followed by a year of labor coverage. That is greater than the Alienware, which is protected for only a year.

The Marvel 4K makes several sacrifices in order to attain 4K play-ability, it remains a good option.