CybertronPC announced the availability of a brand-new customizable PC sporting the new AMD Radeon R9 Nano (our review here). Unlike other companies simply adding the compact and powerful graphics card as a selectable option in its existing configurations, CybertronPC went so far as to create a whole new system designed specifically around the new Nano, the CybertronPC Nanotron.
The CybertronPC Nanotron is the company's first small-form factor desktop gaming PC and is advertised as a 4K and VR gaming system. Under the hood of the rebranded Coolermaster Elite 110 case is an EVGA Z170 Stinger mini-ITX motherboard with the new Intel Core i7 6700K quad core processor inside. A liquid cooling solution keeps temps of the unlocked chip low. Baseline models of the Nanotron include 16 GB of DDR4-2133 memory, a 500 GB SSD and a 2 TB 7200 RPM hard drive, but these options can be upgraded. A 450 W 80 PLUS Gold certified modular PSU powers the rig.
The AMD Radeon R9 Nano is the Fiji-based, HBM memory-loaded little brother of the R9 Fury (but don't call it Fury), and in our review, we concluded that the graphics card really is in a "class of its own," offering more graphics horsepower with less power consumption and noise than the next closest product in the "mini graphics card" space. Although our tests at FHD resolutions showed the 4096 shaders and 4096 MB of memory throttling, if 4K gaming is the goal, CybertronPC picked an excellent graphics card to get you there. Fiji loves 4K.
Although some may wonder why a system built around the awesome power of an AMD graphics card doesn't offer flagship AMD chipsets, the reasoning is fairly simple: AMD board partners just aren't in the business of making mini-ITX motherboards. There are a few, but these offerings usually support the company's APU (FM2+) lineup, and it simply cannot match the performance of the latest Skylake processors from Intel.
Another perplexing design choice was the case. The rebranded Coolermaster Elite 110 case CybertronPC uses for the Nanotron can fit much larger graphics cards than the 6-inch R9 Nano. The R9 Nano may be in "a class of its own," but only because it packs the power of larger graphics cards into a smaller form factor. With a case that accommodates larger graphics cards, it feels like that saved space is wasted. We could even understand using that particular case if CybertronPC were offering different (and larger) graphics configuration options for the Nanotron, but the company is hitching its small-form factor flagship wagon solely to the Radeon R9 Nano horse.
However, the CybertronPC Nanotron looks on paper like an excellent 4K gaming system. Extra space for more air flow and less power consumption and noise is never a bad thing for gamers, and the performance of the R9 Nano may be enough to justify the $2,499.99 starting price for enthusiasts looking for the best frame rates at 4K resolutions in a mini-ITX form factor.
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