Let’s say you want to build an own gaming rig, but don’t have the time or skill to put everything together – in that case, you need a pre-built gaming PC. The Periphio gaming desktop is a good alternative to creating an own gaming machine, especially enthusiast gamers on a budget. It starts for just under $700, but it offers a staggering amount of exciting features, from fans and decals all the way to the case to wrap it all up in.
And with the latest NVidia GTX 1650 graphics, you may not have much to complain here about. If you’re looking for a fairly priced gaming PC that you can upgrade down the road as you see fit, the Periphio is a solid bet.
Design
Packing a whole bunch of cool components into a black case, the Periphio gaming desktop strikes a likeable balance between elegant and imposing. The real highlight here is the transparent glass side panel, which offers a clear look into the system’s blue backlighting and fairly neat component layout. The front panel holds a trio of fans with blue backlighting, something that’s lately becoming commonplace among gaming PCs.
At 19 x 17.5 x 8.5 inches and 32 pounds, the Periphio demands a good amount of desk space (however, there are other case options that are both bigger and smaller). The Periphio’s port array features three USB 3.0 ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort, as well as a full suite of audio connections.
All display ports (DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort) and the rear USB 3.0 ports are found on the system’s Nvidia GTX 1650 graphics card, making it easy for a multi-monitor setup. Unlike its competitors, it doesn’t include a bundled gaming mouse or keyboard, and you’ll have to buy a monitor separately – something like our Editors’ Choice, the Sceptre E255B-1658A is an easy choice to recommend.
Gaming Performance
Packing an Nvidia GTX 1650 (Overclocked Version) graphics card with 4GB memory, the Periphio won’t have any problem playing mainstream games at decent settings; just don’t expect to crank anything to 4K. It performs well on Hitman 2 benchmark (1080p, max settings), playing the game’s stealth action at 63.5 frames per second. That tops most budget gaming desktops’ showing (around 55 fps, max settings), and it easily beats the 60-fps gaming PC average.
The Periphio gaming desktop runs the mode demanding Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p, max settings) at a just-playable 44 fps trailing the iBUYPOWER Element 9260 (71 fps) as well as our 65-fps average. In addition to offering lustrous gaming power at this price, the Periphio gaming desktop is a reliable productivity machine – though, it isn’t the best in its class.
It uses a dated second-generation Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM and 128 GB SSD + 1TB hard drive wile competitors like the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer GXiVR8060A8 offer the best of both worlds: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 (6GB), 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD + 1TB hard drive storage, but it costs a few hundred dollars more.
Bottom Line
The Periphio Gaming Desktop offers just good gaming performance for an affordable price, albeit with a few compromises. The main compromise has got to be the 2nd-Gen Intel Core i5 processor used here. While the CPU choice doesn’t add much to gameplay especially with a fairly latest Nvidia GTX 1650 GPU, it still counts if you’ll want to use the machine for productivity. That aside, its basic design is attractive; it has enough muscle to handle modern games and VR at decent settings, and it’s upgradable should you decide to include better components down the line.
You’ll enjoy even better upgradeability on the CYBERPOWERPC Gamer GXiVR8060A8 for around the same price, though. But if budget is your main concern, the Periphio Gaming desktop will better satisfy your basic gaming needs at a great price.
CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme (GXiVR8060A8, Black)
4 used from $1,089.00
