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CybertronPC CLX Ra review: A big performer in a big case
This new premium desktop gaming PC has a distinct look but familiar high-end performance.
Dan AckermanEditorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications.
"Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
ExpertiseI've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever.Credentials
Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
While not as well-known among deep-pocketed PC gaming enthusiasts as brands such as Alienware or Origin PC, CybertronPC has been knocking out highly customizable gaming PCs for years, and was best known as a place to get a real a la carte gaming desktop built from exactly the case and components you wanted for a reasonable price.
8.1
CybertronPC CLX Ra
The Good
The CybertronPC CLX Ra has a premium look and high-end parts for excellent performance. Access to both side panels is very easy.
The Bad
The rear ports are almost impossible to get to without removing the glass panel on the right side. The oversized off-the-shelf chassis isn't for everyone.
The Bottom Line
Despite using the same components and cases as many other PC makers, CybertronPC has managed to hit top performance scores in the CLX Ra at slightly lower prices than the competition.
While keeping the sci-fi-inspired name (Cybertron is the home planet of the Autobots, after all), the company now has a high-end line of carefully tuned gaming systems, with premium looks and premium prices. The new CLX line tops out with the CLX Ra -- yes, named for the Egyptian deity -- which goes head to head with the highest-end gaming desktops we've tested in our Nvidia 1080 system roundup.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The look of our CLX Ra is distinctive, with smoked-glass side panels on a black aluminum chassis, and a large airflow channel cut out underneath. It's a huge case, especially considering that Falcon Northwest can squeeze two graphics cards into a small FragBox, and both Alienware and Acer are moving toward smaller desktop designs. But it does have plenty of room for the two Nvidia 1080 cards included here, and at least 11 large Thermaltake fans, plus plenty of room for airflow and a liquid cooling rig.
Like most boutique PC makers, Cybertron uses off-the-shelf cases, such as the In Win case used here, but it's not one of the regular case choices I've seen over and over again from other PC builders. Typically, only a handful of big brands, the Dells and HPs of the world, can design and produce their own desktop and laptop chassis, although Origin PC does have a couple of its own custom designs now, including the recently reviewed Millennium.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The Ra's case allows you to easily remove both the left and right side panels with chunky thumbscrews, and puts a handful of ports and connections on the lower left side of the case. But most of the rear ports are very hard to reach, and you have to remove the right side panel to easily access them, unless you're very skilled at threading a cable through a narrow opening on the rear of the case.
CybertronPC CLX Ra
Price as reviewed
$5,569
PC CPU
4.4GHz Intel Core i7-6950X
PC memory
32GB DDR4 SDRAM 2133MHz
Graphics
(2) 8GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080
Storage
512GB SSD + 4TB HDD
Operating system
Microsoft Windows 10 Home (64-bit)
This $5,569 configuration of the CLX Ra includes an Intel Core i7-6950X CPU, two new Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics cards, 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD/4TB HDD storage combo. That's expensive, yes, but also in line with our other high-end dual-1080 desktops, including those from Falcon Northwest and Origin PC. The price of this configuration works out to £4,270 or AU$7,382, and PC makers such as CybertronPC will ship internationally, but note that this can add hefty shipping and tariff fees.
Removing the right side panel makes it easier to access many of the rear ports.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Ready for VR and more
Overall performance from the high-end parts in this high-end configuration was very impressive, and the system either tied with or edged just ahead of the similarly configured Origin PC Millennium and Falcon Northwest FragBox systems we tested as part of the same roundup of computers with Nvidia's new 10-series GPUs. All of those top-end systems included factory overclocked components for an additional performance edge.
This configuration goes above and beyond what's needed for the current generation of PC-based virtual-reality headsets (the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift) and it should be well-positioned to play at least the next several generations of VR games. VR games require 90 frames per second, per lens, and are quickly becoming more sophisticated and graphically challenging. Current non-VR games, such as Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, also played great on the Ra at full 4K resolution and ultra detail settings.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Conclusion
With performance barely distinguishable from its similarly high-priced neighbors on our testing bench, CybertronPC gives us another worthwhile option for premium PC gaming with the CLX Ra. My primary hesitations are some design quirks in the big, heavy case used here, and the fact that a handful of other boutique PC makers have excellent long-term reputations for hands-on service and support, which is an important consideration for such a hefty investment. That said, this was the least expensive dual-GPU desktop in our Nvidia 1080 gaming PC roundup, but it matched or slightly beat the more expensive systems for real-world performance.
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