Chronos (2016)by Origin

TECHWALLA
VERDICT
A solid product. Despite some flaws, it's still a good value.
80 %
TECHWALLA SCORE
based on the following sites
  • 80%
  • 80%
  • 80%
  • 80%
  • 80%
  • Show More Reviews

PROS

  • The Chronos packs a lot of power in a small package.
  • The new Chronos passes the Oculus and Valve VR tests, making it VR-ready.
  • The system can be customized with several paint and lighting options.

CONS

  • The fans on the Chronos are loud.
  • The enclosure isn't a tool-free design; upgrading the internal components requires tools.
  • To get the best graphics performance, you'll need to upgrade from the base configuration.
The 2016 version of Origin PC’s Chronos gaming desktop is VR-ready. The small form factor chassis supports up to an Intel Core i7 Quad-Core CPU, 32GB of memory, five storage drives, liquid cooling, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX TITAN Z graphics card. The enclosure can be placed vertically or horizontally by repositioning the detachable magnetic feet and rotating the Origin logo. Options include custom metallic paint for the exterior and a choice of red, green or blue interior lighting.
Name Chronos (2016) Millennium Eclipse X51 R3 (2015) Alienware Alpha
Manufacturer Origin Origin Digital Storm Alienware Alienware
Techwalla Score
80%
84%
77%
77%
74%
List Price $1799 $1731 $700 $699 $500
80%

While this system isn't part of the official Oculus Ready PC program, it can run the VR testing apps from Valve and Oculus...

While this system isn't part of the official Oculus Ready PC program, it can run the VR testing apps from Valve and Oculus...

Read Full Review
80%

The system never slowed or crashed in my testing, even as I ran five Twitch streams, downloaded a game from Steam and ran a full system scan…

The system never slowed or crashed in my testing, even as I ran five Twitch streams, downloaded a game from Steam and ran a full system scan all at once.

Read Full Review
80%

The new Chronos successfully follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, the Millennium and Genesis. While It doesn’t offer the configurab…

The new Chronos successfully follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, the Millennium and Genesis. While It doesn’t offer the configurability of those much larger towers, it does pack incredible power into a rig that’s smaller than almost all of its competitors. The Chronos that we reviewed absolutely destroyed every other small form factor gaming PC that we’ve recently reviewed.

Read Full Review
80%

With its blazing fast 8-core chip and a beefy Titan X graphics card, the Origin PC Chronos is easy to like. Its only real drawbacks are fan …

With its blazing fast 8-core chip and a beefy Titan X graphics card, the Origin PC Chronos is easy to like. Its only real drawbacks are fan noise and price, ...

Read Full Review
80%

Much like the rest of Origin PC's lineup, the Chronos feels like a very purposefully-designed offering. It may not offer all of the bells an…

Much like the rest of Origin PC's lineup, the Chronos feels like a very purposefully-designed offering. It may not offer all of the bells and whistles you will find in the company's larger builds, but this small-form factor still offers plenty of options to make each system feel unique.

Read Full Review

Due to constraints of mini-ITX motherboards and currently-available memory modules, the Origin Chronos SFF PCs cannot support more than 32 G…

Due to constraints of mini-ITX motherboards and currently-available memory modules, the Origin Chronos SFF PCs cannot support more than 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) of DDR4 memory. But that is about the only serious constraint the new systems have.

Read Full Review