Vibox Defcon 3 Red Gaming PC Review

Acoustic, Power & Thermal Performance

Acoustic Performance

During the noise evaluation tests, I was stunned by the unbelievably quiet operation in both idle and load conditions. The idle noise output is almost silent, and I had to double-check the system fans were functioning properly. Even more staggering, the load noise only increases by a mere 2 decibels and produces the quietest experience under stress I’ve ever used, barring a very expensive passive setup with Noctua fans running at 7V. When you consider the price of this system, its silent running is phenomenal and a major selling point. Perhaps, part of this is due to the CPU’s stock frequency, and low power GPU, but it’s still an awesome achievement.

Power Consumption

Vibox’s decision to opt for an Intel CPU and highly efficient GTX 950 results in a full system load under 200 watts. This makes it a very economically friendly setup, although many customers in the gaming sector prioritize performance over running costs.

Thermal Performance

The system’s Intel i5-6500 CPU at its stock frequency doesn’t require a powerful cooling setup and the bundled compact all-in-one cooler does a fantastic job of keeping the thermals low. Additionally, the graphics card stays well within its maximum thermal limit and has enough headroom to apply a manual overclock. Overall, the case, CPU and GPU temperatures are excellent and shouldn’t get anywhere close to becoming unstable even under heavy load.