Test: Tornado R70 PC Specialist – Great Desktop

Tested product: Tornado R70 computer specialist PCS-D23222222
prize: 19990 SEK in Elgiganten

PC Specialist is one of the many manufacturers of microcomputers that have established themselves in recent years as an alternative to branded computers and store-bought utensils. With its own online store, the UK manufacturer sells computers that you configure and choose components of your choice, but they also have ready-made models that they sell through various retailers in Europe. In Sweden, the PC Specialist is sold by Elgiganten.

The computer we received for testing is called the Tornado R70, and it seems to be a bit cheaper than if we got the same PC in “loose weight” at the PC Specialist shop. What you get is a large and spacious computer case with a glass wall on the side. The box is sold under the PC Specialist brand, then the computer has a mix of hardware inside. It comes from our brand and from manufacturers such as Asus, Corsair and Gigabyte.

Everything is in a standard format and the computer is carefully assembled, so it is easy to access for maintenance and future updates. The computer has three large chassis fans mounted on the front edge and one on the back, all with color RGB lighting. The light effects are controlled by a button at the top of the computer, the different effects can be rotated, and a long press turns everything off.

It does not affect the lighting in the processor fan and memory circuits. These we have to dig into the BIOS on the motherboard to turn off. The same if we want to adjust the fan speed during low intensity operation. It is possible to do this if you are familiar with it, but we wanted to install software for it. AMD Ryzen Master is installed, which should be able to control overclocking, but if we start it, we will only get an error message that our processor is not supported.

Challenges with Ryzen…

However, the processor is AMD Ryzen, an octa-core Ryzen 7-5700X that delivers satisfactory core performance regardless of whether we can overclock it or not. In our tests, it pulled par with the corresponding Intel Core i7 in the 11th generation, but just as it did after Intel processors in the 12th generation. But it has some other benefits. First, it is clearly more energy efficient and cooler to run.

This means that cooling the processor does not have to be active during daily use. The processor fan stays at low speeds longer than any computer with an Intel Core i7 processor. Unfortunately, the fan is not as quiet as we would like to use it in a good way. It has a noticeable volume in the quietest mode. On the other hand, the volume doesn’t increase much when it goes up in laps, which is a plus.

Secondly, the processor is good at combining its power with the performance of graphics cards, which gives an advantage in games and some productivity programs. We’re talking about marginal differences that can be achieved through efficient cooling or other improvements in other PCs as well, which shouldn’t determine your processor choice.

If you want to upgrade to a new generation of Ryzen in the future, the 7000 series expected to arrive at the end of the year, you will also need to change the motherboard, as AMD will start with a new next-generation processor socket. But with the performance you’re getting here, we don’t see any need for that in a long time. You may also need to upgrade the 650W power unit if you want to increase the graphics card and additional storage.

…but not with the Radeon

However, the graphics processor in the computer is not AMD Radeon but Nvidia Geforce. Gigabyte RTX 3070 to be exact. And we don’t complain about that. With that said, we actually get roughly the same benchmark result as a PC with the more powerful RTX 3070 ti card we tested.

By a good margin you can enjoy the best picture quality and high frequency in most popular games on a screen up to 1440p and maybe even 4K in some of the less demanding games. The card has three fans and good dynamic fan control. It stays mostly quiet, and isn’t annoyingly loud when cooling kicks in.

You get 16GB of ddr4 memory and have an easy chance to upgrade it to double with two free blackout slots. You also get a terabyte SSD with certified good but not great performance, and it is possible to install an additional m.2 slot on the motherboard and up to two additional hard drives via the sata connector. There are four SATA connectors on the motherboard, but the chassis has room for a 2.5-inch disk and a 3.5-inch disk.

spacious inside

Although there is a large fan for the processor, it is easy to reach for update and maintenance. The only thing unintelligently placed is an extra space for m.2-ssd – to get to it we need to unpack the graphics card.

Two PCI Express card slots are available, and the third has a wifi 6 card installed. We’re a little hesitant that there’s room in the slot right next to the graphics card. You may need some space to cool down. This means that the only additional card we can install is one of the PCIe x1 type. But with graphics cards and wifi already in place, it’s often easier to add an add-on via USB. And you have a lot of fast stuff in your computer.

The computer comes with Windows 11 Home, and not much more. Bullguard Internet Security is preinstalled, but it is only a free trial that you can easily download yourself. In addition, there is only Geforce Experience and the already mentioned AMD Ryzen Master.

Determine

product name: PC Specialist Tornado R70 PCS-D23222222
tested: May 2022
Contact: computer specialist
Healer: AMD Ryzen 7-5700X
memory: 16 GB DDR4
storage: 1 TB ssd
Graphics: GeForce RTX 3070 8GB
front links: Usb 3 gen 1 type a, 2 pcs usb 2.0, headphones, microphone
Backlinks: Usb 3 gen 2 typ c, usb 3 gen 2 typ a, 4 pcs usb 3 gen 1 typ a, 2 pcs usb 2.0, lan, hdmi, 3 pcs displayport, s/pdif, 5.1 audio out, audio in, microphone
wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
Expansion sites: 2pc dimmer, 1pc x16 pcie, 1pc x1 pcie, 1pc M.2 pcie,
power supply: 650 Watt
The operating system: Windows 11 Home
noise level: 34-42 dB
Energy consumption: 1.5 watts standby, 60-374 watts active
size: 20.8 x 40 x 45.8 cm
prize: 19990 SEK in Elgiganten
guarantee: 24 months

performance

Cinebench R23, a kernel: 1,523 points
Cinebench R23, multiple cores: 13364 points
Geekbench 5, kernel: 1645 points
Geekbench 5, multiple cores: 9360 points
Geekbench 5, sketch: 143648 points
3dmark Fire Strike (Directx 11): 29,923 points
3dmark Time Spy (Directx 12): 12,734 points
3dmark Port Royal (Radiation Tracing): 8039 points
Storage and reading: 2498.47 MB ​​/ sec
Storage and writing: 1878.22 MB / sec