Unlike consoles, PC gaming gives you several ways to break into the hobby. Building your own rig is without a doubt the most cost-effective solution, but you can also opt for a pre-built gaming tower, pick up a portable gaming laptop, or have a third-party craft you a custom PC. That last category – having a custom PC built for you – combines the convenience of pre-built rigs with the customization of building your own, making it an increasingly attractive option.
CLX is one such company that’s joined in on the custom PC building frenzy. Established in 2016, it offers a variety of products – all of which can be customized to your heart’s content. I’ve spent the last month with a customized CLX Scarab to see if the convenience is worth the cost, and – while it won’t fit the bill for everyone – I’m impressed with what it has to offer.
RELATED: MSI Releases Bizarre MEG Aegis Ti5 Desktop With RTX 3080 And A Physical "Gaming Dial"
CLX Scarab Full Specs
- Processor: 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz
- Motherboard: ASRock Z590M-ITX/ax WIFI
- RAM: 16GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
- Operating System Storage: 1TB Gammix XPG S5 M.2 SSD
- Cooling: CLX Quench 240 Closed Liquid Cooler
- Chassis: Scarab Evolv ITX SFF Black
- Chassis Fans: 3x CLX RGB Fan
- Power Supply: 750-Watt Gamdias Kratos M1 (RGB Lights)
- Warranty: Lifetime Labor Warranty/ 1 Year Parts
Building Your Rig
Before going hands-on with your rig, you’ll have to customize it using CLX’s website. The process is fairly straightforward – with selections broken down into categories such as “Core Components” and “Chassis Look and Feel” – although anyone without a deep knowledge of hardware might be overwhelmed by the number of options available. With more than a dozen processors, a variety of motherboards, and hundreds of miscellaneous extras, anyone new to the PC world might want to keep an extra Google tab open.
The number of available components is nice, but anyone who knows the difference between a 700W Thermaltake 80 Plus Power Supply and a 650 Watt Gamdia Astrape M1 will probably be building their own unit. Even as someone who’s been PC gaming for over a decade, I found the choices overwhelming – I can’t imagine what someone new to the hobby would think after trying to spec out their rig.
Thankfully, CLX won’t let you build a PC with incompatible parts. Every time you make a new selection, you’ll be told whether it fits with your current specs – if not, it’ll prompt you to make changes. It’s a great failsafe, and a good way to teach newcomers the basics of PC building.
Ready To Game Right Out Of The Box
Once you’ve selected components for your rig, the hard part is done. My Scarab showed up 99% complete – all I had to do was screw in a few Wi-Fi boosters, remove the packaging from inside the chassis, plug it in, and download my massive game library.
I was expecting there to be some sort of hiccup along the way – such as a loose component from shipping or the need to manually install a few final bits – but it really was just plug-and-play. If you’re against building your own PC because it’s inconvenient, CLX absolutely solves that problem.
Better yet, the Scarab came with no bloatware installed, unlike some other prebuilts you’ll find on the market.
Performs Like A Pro
As far as performance is concerned, that’ll depend on the individual components you’ve selected for your build. With an RTX 3070 and 11th gen Intel i7, my Scarab easily tackled everything I threw at it. In fact, I stopped tracking my rig’s temperature and fps after testing a few demanding games because the Scarab handled them with ease. When running Black Desert at max settings – which is intended only for taking screenshots – I still managed to hit an easy 60fps without melting my GPU.
Throughout my time with the CLX Scarab I never once noticed anything “off” with its build quality. Everything looked impressive when it shipped, and 30 days later it looks and performs just as it did on day one.
Only Lacking In The “Extras”
When it comes to performance and convenience, CLX easily lived up to its claims. Choosing your options might be daunting for newcomers, but I’d rather have a plethora of choices to wade through than only a few to choose from. Getting the PC up and running takes all of five minutes, and its build quality gave me confidence it’ll hold up over the years.
The only downside to the CLX Scarab experience? The lack of extras that come in the box. For a product that costs over $2,000, I expected a few “niceties” beyond a great product. For one, a printed spec sheet confirming all the components in the PC would have been nice – instead, you’re left to look those up on your own. Then there’s the mess of miscellaneous parts and instruction manuals thrown into the box, with very little instruction as to what still needs to be done and what’s there just for troubleshooting.
At the end of the day, it’s not too big a deal, but I can see plenty of people being confused by these manuals and extra parts, wondering if they still need to piece together any remaining components before starting up a game. Convenience and performance are there – but presentation of the budget-breaking rig leaves a bit to be desired.
Despite my nit-picking, the CLX Scarab is an excellent machine. You’re going to be paying an inflated price for the convenience of having it custom built, but if you have the money and can’t be bothered to do it yourself, CLX should be on your list.
NEXT: Turtle Beach 500 Recon Review: You Already Know What It Is
A CLX Scarab (MSRP $2735) was loaned to TheGamer for this review.
