We all know building your own gaming PC is the best way to max out performance for the money. But that may not be the only way. The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2 is one such alternative. In the past, the Gamer Supreme model indicated this PC’s position as an entry-level member of the CyberPowerPC Gamer family – but the company has made significant internal upgrades in the Supreme line that blurs the line of distinction thanks to liquid cooled internal components.
Enthusiasts who demand more performance than the base Gamer configuration on the CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8060A7 – an Intel Core i5-9400F processor, 8GB RAM, and 1660 graphics – will be happy to know that the Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2 offers more muscle.
At its more expensive starting price, our review unit gives you Intel’s updated 9th-gen Core i7 processor, alongside Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card – rather than the 2018-base RTX 2070 graphics card, ensuring that the unit can double as PC for content creators as well as gaming.
Design
Aesthetically, the Supreme SLC8260A2 maintains the same design CYBERPOWERPC has been using since 2017’s Gamer Supreme. While we’d love to see a new design, this isn’t necessarily bad, given that the standard tower is built to allow gamers easy access for future upgrades, the LED-lit design is beginning to show its age in the wake of minimalist, yet powerful desktops, like HP’s Omen Obelisk or Dell’s Inspiron.
The front panel is transparent glass with three LED concentric circles and another one on the rear fan panel. The other lighting is on the internal cooling fan with a CYBERPOWERPC logo pointing towards the transparent side glass panel. Both the bottom and rear panel have ventilation holes, as does the top. The glass window not only helps showcase the technology inside like liquid cooling compartment and LED backlighting, but also add visual interest.
Standing at 18.5 x 8.2 x 18.7 inches, the Gamer Xtreme is smaller than many of its competitors, which are equally designed to accommodate future upgrades. The iBUYPOWER Pro Trace 9230 is 19.48 x 8.54 x 19.76 inches while the Skytech Gaming [RTX 2070] Oracle X is closes in size at 18.7 x 8.27 x 18.5 inches.
Ports and Upgradability
You’ll appreciate the port variety on the front of the Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2. The top is home to two USB 3.0 Type-A ports and separate headphone and microphone jacks. Around the back, there are another six USB 3.1 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, ready for peripherals and external storage, as well as an Ethernet jack, a variety of audio jacks. On the RTX 2070 Super graphics, there is a single HDMI port and a pair of DisplayPort inputs for extending your display. Wireless connectivity comes in way of 802.11AC Wi-Fi. Also bundles into the package is a gaming keyboard and mouse.
It is easy to get into the Gamer Xtreme, since the glass panel covering the components is removable with four simple hand screws. When that’s removed, you have access to the internal components that are held in place by swing out hinges that let you replace the parts easily. All said, the GXiVR8080A8 is a well-designed desktop, even if it’s not exactly a space saver.
Productivity Performance
The Intel Core i7-9700K is no slouch, not especially when its twinned with 16 GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe-NVMe SSD. That makes the Supreme SLC8260A2 a heck of a workhorse when you’re not using it for gaming. Though CYBERPOWERPC bills the Gamer Xtreme as a gaming PC, it’s possible for small business owners and home users to adopt it for productivity given the machine’s high-end processors and graphics.
It will certainly complete intensive tasks such as video encoding, within a very short time – in some cases in just under 80 seconds, over the 124 seconds you get from the HP Omen Obelisk’s 8th-generation processor on the same task. Again, the Supreme SLC8260A2 ships with a speedy 1TB solid state drive that will house all your larger files. The drive and RAM are upgradable should you find the need for more space to store your documents, photos, videos, and game files.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super vs RTX 2070
Thanks to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super, the Supreme SLC8260A2 is capable of gaming at the highest settings without much hassles, as well as enabling ray tracing in select games. Back in October 2018 when the Nvidia Turing line was released, it promised stellar performance coupled with ray tracing in games. And, while some of the graphics in the line delivered fantastic gameplay, like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, some mid-range cards, particularly the RTX 2070 came off rather subpar.
With the RTX 2070 Super graphics card, Nvidia is here to course correct a little bit with the newer GPU, promising much stronger performance in this edition, by making it the already successful Nvidia Turing architecture more available to the masses. It takes the RTX 2070’s 2,304 CUDA cores and bumps everything up to 2,560 and also builds on higher clocks with a 1,770MHz boost clock. The only thing that remains the same between the two is the memory, that is constant at 8GB, but the newer iteration features more RT and Tensor Cores, and is rated for better ray tracing performance at 7 Giga Rays.
Gaming, Graphics and VR
You will get smooth frame rates on modern games, making it a meaningful upgrade over the base RTX 2070 GPU. When you play Metro Exodus (2019) on Ultra settings at 4K, it runs between 33 and 36 frames per second (fps), with some screen tearing. But when you turn it down to FHD, it runs at a smooth 80-4 fps, only dropping those fluid frame rates during some intense scenes.
The SLC8260A2 plays the Hitman 2 (2018) benchmark (ultra-settings) at 81 fps in FHD, tying the Trace 9230 and beating the average. The frame rate dropped to 61 fps in 4K, just below the gaming desktop average and MSI’s machine.
On Shadow of the Tomb Raider (highest settings), the Gamer SLC8260A2 hits 109 fps in FHD and 43 fps in 4K, falling just above the gaming desktop averages (94 fps and 34 fps, respectively) but only below the Vengeance in terms of our comparison group.
On the Grand Theft Auto V (2015) benchmark (very high settings), the Gamer Xtreme runs at 140 fps in FHD and 102 fps in 4K. The former number is higher than average, but the latter is lower.
The Supreme SLC8260A2 earns a perfect score of 10 on the SteamVR performance test.
The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme delivers the performance you need in a very unique design that includes liquid cooling and enough room for upgrades. With 8 processor cores and class-leading graphics card performance, the SLC8260A2 can either be an economical PC for pro-gamers or a worthy investment for enthusiast gamers and professional content creators.
Is there a better alternative?
If liquid cooling is a must have, then you’re limited with alternatives. Otherwise, its other sibling without liquid cooling -the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8080A8, packs an even better Intel Core i7-9900K processor, but everything else remains unchanged.
Again, a less expensive system could serve you better if raw performance value is your main goal, of which the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8060A7 stacks up well to the competition from other custom PC builders.
In case you want something smaller and space-saving, the MSI Trident X packs a punch in a thinner profile with a swing door that’s easy to upgrade. A configuration with a Core i9-9700K, 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD + 2TB and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ventus 11G with overclockable capacity lets you play modern titles even in 4K at the highest settings possible.
Should you buy it?
Yes. The Gamer Supreme offers liquid cooling in an appealing aesthetic and a design that gives you more options to configure your desktop. For the reasonably price and the hardware contained in the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2, it stands out as the better option for anyone seeking something personalized out of the box.
Recommended Configuration
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR Gaming PC, Liquid Cool Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD, WiFi Ready & Win 10 Home (GXiVR8080A8, Black)
The Review
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2
The CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme SLC8260A2 delivers the performance you need in a very unique design that includes liquid cooling and enough room for upgrades.
Review Breakdown
-
EDITORS RATING
