Pricing
According to the information I’ve been provided with, the Eclipse Computers Nebula VR costs £2056.70 from the company’s website. Of course, this is only the base price and it’s possible to upgrade certain components based on your individual requirements. Please note, Eclipse Computers also allows you to acquire the components in a special bundle and make a saving compared to a pre-configured build. If you wish to construct the system yourself, the final cost will be £1977.61.
To determine a system’s value proposition, we endeavour to compile an identical self-build and compare the price. This allows us to analyse the fee (if any) that a system integrator is choosing to charge customers for its services. Please note all prices include shipping and we don’t permit Windows 10 keys from disreputable sites. Of course, you might want to acquire a digital code much cheaper, but it’s not something we’re happy to recommend as many keys can be MSDN-based with limited activations. When looking into the price of custom water loop builds, it’s more involved due to the increased selection of parts.
Overview
The Eclipse Computers Nebula VR sports a simplistic, elegant design and relies on RGB illumination to add a more exuberant touch. This is a brilliant strategy because the lighting can be tuned to suit the buyer’s aesthetic preference and turned off completely if you require an understated finish. The neutral jet black theme is marvelous and comprises of a number of premium components. In particular, the Cooler Master MasterCase Maker 5 is built to an impeccable standard, features a superb layout and the modular construction provides you with endless possibilities to change the chassis’ functionality at a later date. As previously mentioned, the minimalistic design has been slightly spoilt by the use of multiple stickers on the front section but these can be removed without any effort.
Unlike the majority of pre-configured systems on the market, Eclipse Computers decided to include a stylish fan controller with a bright display. Honestly, I’d argue visual controllers are becoming a little outdated and solutions like the NZXT Grid+ which can be hidden appear to be the better option. Saying that, the ASUS ROG Front Base is stunning and I’ve admired this device since its initial release. More specifically, the dials look quite similar to the sort of thing you would expect on a hypercar which should appeal to petrol heads. I absolutely love the panel’s readings and the smooth, precise dial to change fan values. Unfortunately, Eclipse Computers’ error which results in the fan controller being obscured for the most part is inexcusable. Frankly, it’s one of the most glaring mistakes I’ve seen from a system integrator and expected someone to raise this issue well before it’s released to market. Whether or not, it’s down to poor planning by selecting the wrong case remains to be seen but this is certainly one area that needs to be resolved quickly.
On a more positive note, the system’s cable management is pretty good and revolves around straight, logical cable runs and a copious supply of zip-ties. Not only that, the chassis’ integrated velcro straps were used effectively and I didn’t detect a cluster of protruding cables which might have made the side panel challenging to close. While it’s not the tidiest build I’ve encounter, a large portion of the cabling is exemplary and I was very pleased with the final result.
The Eclipse Computers Nebula VR’s cooling apparatus can contend with the CPU’s hefty thermal loads during gaming scenarios without making too much noise. Granted, it’s not silent and I’ve encountered quieter solutions, but the noise output is easy to accept. However, every so often, a small rattling noise comes in effect and I cannot pinpoint a reason for this. Honestly, I think this is just a byproduct of the system being under strain during delivery and down to bad luck. Sadly, the cooling hardware cannot tame the i7-6700K’s overclock when running the AIDA64 stress test which forces the CPU to reduce its frequency to 4.3GHz. As mentioned earlier, the thermals hit a whopping 100C which caused a great deal of alarm. Upon further inspection, it seems the CPU’s voltage isn’t too overpowering although it’s enough, in this case, to result in instability. Perhaps, the overclock was too aggressive and a more modest setting should have been applied. To reiterate, this doesn’t happen in games or other applications, although the operating temperatures are far from ideal.
Another annoyance occurred when booting up the system for the first time and finding out the secondary hard drive wasn’t partitioned. Of course, this is a simple issue to fix and takes a matter of seconds using Windows’ partition manager. On the other hand, I’d argue that a large portion of those buying a pre-configured system haven’t got the technical expertise or they’d build something themselves. As a result, if they’re presented with the mechanical hard disk missing in Windows Explorer, they might presume a cable has come loose or the drive is faulty. This would lead to apprehension on the customer’s part and further hassle for Eclipse Computers’ customer service department to try to diagnose the root cause.
Speaking of storage, the boot SSD isn’t going to set the world alight during synthetic benchmarks, but it provides a good balance between performance and capacity for the money. Additionally, the mechanical drive is a premium model backed by a fantastic warranty period and upholds impressive performance numbers.
The system’s GTX 1080 graphics card is a feat of engineering and provides an astonishing user experience even when paired with a high-resolution monitor. Throughout a wide range of games, the system managed to easily exceed the 60 frames-per-second mark when deploying a 1920×1080 or 2560×1440 display. Furthermore, the minimum frame-rate didn’t dip substantially which ensures the gameplay feels really fluid and responsive. As expected, the product doesn’t have enough horsepower to play titles on a 4K monitor at maximum details while reaching 60 frames-per-second. Saying that, it’s relatively close and you should be able to achieve this target with small concessions in the options menu. The GTX 1080 is such a high-end, versatile card which never ceases to amaze.
Pros
Cons
“The Eclipse Computers Nebula VR isn’t without some glaring flaws, but luckily enough these can be fixed quite easily. Furthermore, the system’s performance makes up for the slight oversights and I’m confident that the package will become really impressive once the recommended changes have been made.”
Eclipse Computers Nebula VR GTX 1080 Gaming PC Review
Thank you Eclipse Computers/Cooler Master for providing us with this sample.
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