Origin Chronos

Bottom Line

The Origin Chronos packs the same powerful components as other top budget gaming PCs into your choice of two completely different, high-quality cases. However, it carries a higher price tag than some comparable gaming computers.

Performance

Powerful gaming, even in a lesser configuration. The Origin Chronos was the fastest desktop costing less than $2,000 when it debuted in 2012. Critics were so impressed that a couple of top sources still recommend it as one of their favorite gaming PCs.

"In its price range, the Origin Chronos is the fastest midrange desktop I've seen," says CNET's Rich Brown after testing one with an Intel Core i5-2550K overclocked to 4.7 GHz, 8 GB of memory and 1.28 GB Nividia GeForce GTX 560Ti graphics. Even "Metro 2033," a demanding game that experts still use as a benchmark, posed no problems on a 1,920 by 1,080-pixel display.

AnandTech.com tests a step-up version Core i5-3570K 4.6 GHz, eVGA Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 2 GB, 128 GB solid-state drive with six different games and experiences no hiccups. "If you want to do surround gaming, you can easily do it on the Chronos and will only have to really turn settings down in 'Batman: Arkham City' and 'Battlefield 3;' everything else runs pretty fluidly," Dustin Sklavos writes.

For about $1,800 you can configure the Origin Chronos similarly to critics' favorite budget gaming desktop, the $1,600 version of the Digital Storm Bolt. The Chronos would certainly improve its scores if loaded with a Core i7-3770K processor overclocked to 4.1 GHz, 2 GB EVGA GTX 660 Ti graphics and 120 GB solid-state drive. No sources test this configuration, however.

Design

Two high-quality cases to choose from. Both Chronos case options get great reviews. The Bitfenix Prodigy in white or black surrounds the steel case with rounded, flexible composite handles on both top and bottom. These make the Chronos easy to carry and provide some shock absorption during transport. AnandTech.com's Sklavos praises its "unimpeachable" build quality, but notes that his heavily overclocked test unit runs hot under heavy load. This case is about 10 inches wide, 12 inches high and 14 inches deep.

The Silverstone SG08 case is a simple, squared-off, black brushed aluminum box measuring about 9 inches wide, 7.5 inches high and 14 inches deep. It's not the slim, upright, Xbox-ish look you'll find on other small gaming PCs, but it's "still small enough to make for an unobtrusive living-room system," CNET says. PC World calls this case "elegant and simple."

Experts find both cases convenient and easy to use. Ports vary based on the configuration you choose, but PC World's Sarah Jacobsson Purewal counts four USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, two DVI, two HDMI, one mini-HDMI, mini-DisplayPort, 7.1 and optical audio connectors, PS/2, headphone, microphone and dual Ethernet jacks on her test model. A Blu-ray reader/DVD-CD writer comes standard.

Thanks to the overclocking, the Chronos runs just "a tad loud," says Gordon Mah Ung at Maximum PC, but that's the only design-related complaint we see.

Support & reliability

Better warranty than the big brands. Origin backs the Chronos with a beefier warranty than most: one year parts, lifetime labor and phone/online support, plus 45 days free shipping for warranty-covered repairs. This is fairly par for boutique brands; it's a little better than Digital Storm's warranty that covers only three years of labor but not as generous as Maingear's that includes a three-year parts warranty.

Value

Low price, but not the lowest. The Origin Chronos packs a lot of power for less than $2,000. But the Digital Storm Bolt now offers similar components for about a hundred dollars less, and it takes the budget-gaming crown.