Origin PC Omega Review: Powerful mini-ITX gaming

[Rick]

Interest in smaller, quieter gaming machines has steadily bloomed in recent years. Ongoing industry improvements in efficiency and design has fueled this movement, filling the market with capable gaming devices like tablets, media streamers and Steam Machines. Devices like these have helped loosen the rigid notion of computer games being for, well, just computers.

Unfortunately, most devices destined for the living room are leagues behind a dedicated gaming PC where it counts -- performance. With ultra high-res displays and gaming becoming commonplace, there’s now more pressure than ever to deliver beautiful graphics to any and every screen-enabled device. This is where Origin PC is stepping up with its Omega, an uncompromising SFF (small form factor) gaming machine loaded with the best CPUs and GPUs available. No, the Omega isn’t Roku-sized, but its mini-ITX-based chassis may be just compact enough to fit on a shelf or inside a cabinet. Despite that, onlookers should still view the Omega as a stand-alone gaming PC first and foremost. Even if you aren’t sold on the whole living room gaming thing, this is a PC worthy of any gamer contemplating a smaller, better gaming system.

Reat the complete review.

 

[Spence1115]

Good to know you can fit a liquid cooler in this, as I'm considering getting the same case to use for my current mini ITX setup.

 

[Adhmuz]

Good to know you can fit a liquid cooler in this, as I'm considering getting the same case to use for my current mini ITX setup.

Give the Corsair Bulldog a look, it comes with a SFF liquid cooler and 600 watt PSU for $300, when it comes out it'll make for a pretty good option in the category, certainly considering one for myself.

Nice review, kind of pointless however, too much money for a PC, but that goes for any configuration including the Titan, and it can't be laid flat which would make so much more sense. The idea of standing this up is a recipe for disaster in my books.

 

[madboyv1]

Nice review, kind of pointless however, too much money for a PC, but that goes for any configuration including the Titan, and it can't be laid flat which would make so much more sense. The idea of standing this up is a recipe for disaster in my books.

You can lay the RVZ01 flat, though it is best served with stick on rubber case feet that comes with the retail packaging of this case (not sure if they are included by Origin). Given the clearance provided by said case feet and that the as blower style cooler of the reviewed graphics card is assisted by two case fans, the card should not be starved for air.

I myself am currently preparing on a modded Silverstone ML08 build with similar specifications, though with much faster storage (a 512GB 950pro M.2 paired with two 1TB SSDs), and using a gifted Radeon 7970 as a placeholder while waiting out on Pascal parts. The ML08 is not big enough for internal liquid cooling without gutting the entire thing so this boutique build, like most enthusiast builds, will have better cooling. In that respect, not much can beat this build with the FTZ01: http://www.overclock.net/t/1575102/sff-build-msi-980-ti-lightning-liquid-cooling-silverstone-ftz01

 

[Evernessince]

I don’t think a very thorough job was done here. Using the Titan is a complete waste of money and they should be chastised for it. A 980 Ti is the same card. If you need more memory, get an 8 GB version or a R9 390. 12 GB is overkill for every game that's out right now and in the next 6 years. Someone spending this kind of money should have long abandoned the titan by that time.

The lack of a complete temperature and noise analysis is disappointing as well. No graphs, lack of a baseline, and failing to predetermine metrics is a big no-no.

"There is a significant amount of airflow, but the ratio of noise to airflow definitely remained on the quiet side. While under light use, our Omega stayed quiet. Under full load, fan whirring was audible but not surprisingly loud. "

No word on how far you were from the system (I'm guessing the author would assume we'd assume by the pictures), vague words are used in place of actual metrics (Even an assumption would be better than nothing), and it's hard to follow whether or not the author has the fans on high or low (an option mentioned in the article).

For a system being billed as a Gaming PC / HTPC, it doesn't include a remote or front panel of any kind. That's quite misleading of origin when they are providing nothing to inhibit that kind of experience. The kind of people that buy these systems expect things to be easy and it would definitely go against that if someone bought this and later realized it's literally just a regular PC.

" However, the X51’s graphics options are limited to a modest Geforce GTX 960. I went ahead and configured a comparable Omega anyway (i5-6600K, GTX 960, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD). Interestingly, the Alienware was only about $150 cheaper. That’s actually a pretty small difference when you consider Origin is using top-shelf parts -- no mysteries here."

If the systems are configured similarly, what exactly would be $150 better about the Origin Omega? If the author is referring to parts like the PSU, motherboard, ect why aren't we given a table comparing the two? At this point is assumed again.

At that high of a price point I would also expect something of a Western Digital Black as a hard drive. WD Red are dirt cheap and don't park for a very long time.

 

[darkzelda]

I want a small PC like this one, really nice set up

 

[Rick]

You can lay the RVZ01 flat, though it is best served with stick on rubber case feet that comes with the retail packaging of this case (not sure if they are included by Origin).

Yes, the rubber feet were included.

 

[Rick]

A 980 Ti is the same card. If you need more memory, get an 8 GB version

The config we received is what Origin PC selected for us, but I agree with your point. Origin PC may have been counting on the "wow" factor of the Titan X, but a 980 Ti would have definitely made the price more attractive while retaining near-identical performance.

The lack of a complete temperature and noise analysis is disappointing as well. No graphs, lack of a baseline, and failing to predetermine metrics is a big no-no.

"There is a significant amount of airflow, but the ratio of noise to airflow definitely remained on the quiet side. While under light use, our Omega stayed quiet. Under full load, fan whirring was audible but not surprisingly loud. "

No word on how far you were from the system (I'm guessing the author would assume we'd assume by the pictures), vague words are used in place of actual metrics (Even an assumption would be better than nothing), and it's hard to follow whether or not the author has the fans on high or low (an option mentioned in the article).

For an HSF review, a deeper analysis including these traits would be expected here. With pre-configured desktop systems though, this isn't a level of detail we aim for. Personally, I like as many numbers as possible, but without context (e.g. different CPUs, different coolers, controlled reference system) measurements like these aren't particularly useful... presumably, even less so for the crowd PCs like these are aimed for, which is non-system builders.

For a system being billed as a Gaming PC / HTPC, it doesn't include a remote or front panel of any kind. That's quite misleading of origin when they are providing nothing to inhibit that kind of experience. The kind of people that buy these systems expect things to be easy and it would definitely go against that if someone bought this and later realized it's literally just a regular PC.

Origin PC *does* offer two cases which should include these items, but the company advertises its Omega line-up in a way that suggests Omega = HTPC and not just those two cases. IMO I think there should be separate models for separate uses.

" However, the X51’s graphics options are limited to a modest Geforce GTX 960. I went ahead and configured a comparable Omega anyway (i5-6600K, GTX 960, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD). Interestingly, the Alienware was only about $150 cheaper. That’s actually a pretty small difference when you consider Origin is using top-shelf parts -- no mysteries here."

If the systems are configured similarly, what exactly would be $150 better about the Origin Omega? If the author is referring to parts like the PSU, motherboard, ect why aren't we given a table comparing the two? At this point is assumed again.

Like numbers, I also like tables. :-D The problem here is that Alienware *doesn't* tell you what you're getting, so 90% of the table would look like "Origin PC: PSU - 600 Watt Silverstone SFX Series | Alienware: PSU - unknown watts, brand and model". A table for comparing similar non-Alienware systems could be useful though.

At that high of a price point I would also expect something of a Western Digital Black as a hard drive. WD Red are dirt cheap and don't park for a very long time.

Reds aren't really *dirt* cheap, but agreed, they aren't Blacks. Origin PC did offer a 4TB Black for the same price as a 5TB Red if I remember. It did seem a little odd they shipped a Red in a single drive config however... probably again favoring the "wow" factor of larger capacity.

 

[Evernessince]

The config we received is what Origin PC selected for us, but I agree with your point. Origin PC may have been counting on the "wow" factor of the Titan X, but a 980 Ti would have definitely made the price more attractive while retaining near-identical performance.


For an HSF review, a deeper analysis including these traits would be expected here. With pre-configured desktop systems though, this isn't a level of detail we aim for. Personally, I like as many numbers as possible, but without context (e.g. different CPUs, different coolers, controlled reference system) measurements like these aren't particularly useful... presumably, even less so for the crowd PCs like these are aimed for, which is non-system builders.


Origin PC *does* offer two cases which should include these items, but the company advertises its Omega line-up in a way that suggests Omega = HTPC and not just those two cases. IMO I think there should be separate models for separate uses.



Like numbers, I also like tables. :-D The problem here is that Alienware *doesn't* tell you what you're getting, so 90% of the table would look like "Origin PC: PSU - 600 Watt Silverstone SFX Series | Alienware: PSU - unknown watts, brand and model". A table for comparing similar non-Alienware systems could be useful though.


Reds aren't really *dirt* cheap, but agreed, they aren't Blacks. Origin PC did offer a 4TB Black for the same price as a 5TB Red if I remember. It did seem a little odd they shipped a Red in a single drive config however... probably again favoring the "wow" factor of larger capacity.

Thanks for the constructive reply. I looked at the Alienware webpage and indeed could not find all the parts. Looking at the comments it seems they usually use an off-brand PSU, off-brand RAM, and a custom made motherboard. Even if these parts are off brand, I still think it would be a wise idea for dell to list their specs. The average use might not glean much from it but at least their tech savy friend would not have as hard a time recommending one if they could gather some info up about it.

 

[godrilla]

Building your own micro pc with i7 6700k, fractal mini chase, gtx 980 ti non reference costs 30% cheaper than a titan @ 15 percent better performance and temps!, ddr4 ram, 750 series ssd which fell to $239 for 400 gig at newegg over weekend, way cheaper, and more powerful.

Plus you can go multi gpu in upcoming dual figi card which will make a cute 4k mini beast.

 

[DjKraid]

Actually a nice "branded" rig for once, I was very disappointed with the steam box...I guess there's something good with Origin after all.

 

[jauffins]

Building your own micro pc with i7 6700k, fractal mini chase, gtx 980 ti non reference costs 30% cheaper than a titan @ 15 percent better performance and temps!, ddr4 ram, 750 series ssd which fell to $239 for 400 gig at newegg over weekend, way cheaper, and more powerful.

Plus you can go multi gpu in upcoming dual figi card which will make a cute 4k mini beast.

My post was removed for some reason, but this hardware comes out to around $2.6k. Not a horrible mark-up if you can't/don't want to build it yourself, want a warranty or just... want a really nice PC and don't care. I'd have to agree that a 980 Ti over a Titan X makes much more sense, however.