PCSpecialist Zircon Ultra R Review
Conclusion
Conclusion
Obviously we’re not really comparing the two systems in a “what you should buy” way. It’s so rare to get two builds that are so close on paper, just a generation apart, that we had to try it out. The Ryzen X3D range of processors has been good since it first appeared, and now it’s a monster. The 9800X3D has 5.3 GHz with 16 threads and, best of all, can be overclocked if you’ve got the thermal headroom.
Knowing from our time with the RDNA3 graphics cards that the RX 7800 XT saw a big performance drop when compared to the RX 7900 models, we entered into our comparison with some trepidation. Sure the new Ryzen X3D processor in the Zircon Ultra R is faster, but it hasn’t got more cores and the GPU is particularly slower than the 7900. When AMD say that a product is targeted at a particular resolution, you can usually take that as gospel. Our time with the RX 7800 XT showed it couldn’t cross the river to 4K without serious image quality compromises. Pairing it with an X3D wouldn’t be enough, surely?
Oh Ye Of Little Faith
As you saw from the latter half of this review, oh boy could it. We’re stunned. Flabbergasted. Amazed. Other expressions of wonderment are available. The Zircon Ultra R is a powerhouse gaming rig for the money. The ASUS TUF B650-Plus WiFi is a motherboard we’ve seen before and it is the perfect workhorse. It hasn’t got much flash and flair. However, what it has it gives willingly and relentlessly.
Bolting the Ryzen 7 9800X3D into it has created a monster. Being able to use that foundation to supply a RX 7800 XT with so much data that it becomes indistinguishable to a RX 7900 GRE is witchcraft. There might only be £100 difference between the two cards at retail, but a 25% price increase buys a lot of extra hardware performance. Apparently in this case you just grab a newer processor and skate over the excess. To make a card even AMD confess was for 1440 able to run at 4K is magical.
As always with PCSpecialist the rest of the components are well chosen. We need to shout out the Solidigm M.2 in particular. Blisteringly fast, and a generous 2TB. The PCSpecialist Zircon Ultra R is way more capable in reality than it has any right to be on paper, speaking volumes to the capabilities of the latest AMD X3D CPU. It easily wins our OC3D Gamers Choice Award.
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