You probably haven’t heard of CybertronPC. The company is one of the largest independent PC manufacturers in North America, but it’s never focused on branding, and so remains unknown at large while competitors like Alienware and Origin take the spotlight. Now, CybertronPC wants to change that with the launch of its new CLX lineup.
While called a “product line” by the company, CLX feels like a new sub-brand. It consists of three desktops, and two laptops, all of which have names from ancient Egyptian mythology. The CLX products also wear a new, more distinctive logo, which is modified in various ways for each specific product.
The desktop line starts big with Ra, a mid-tower or full-tower system that supports all the latest hardware including X99 and Z170 builds, up to four Nvidia GTX video card in SLI, up to 64GB of RAM, and multiple solid state and/or mechanical drives. While Ra is named after the Egyptian sun god, it has respect for water. The CPU is liquid-cooled by default, and buyers can configure the system with a full cooling loop that includes the CPU, GPU and motherboard, if desired. As the flagship, Ra will be marketed as a competitor to the world’s best desktop rigs, such as the Origin Millennium, Falcon Northwest Mach V, and Digital Storm Velox. Pricing starts at $1,400 but, as well most extreme PCs, can rise into the stratosphere.
Slotted below Ra is Horus, a mid-tower rig. The hardware available in it is extremely similar to Ra, but because of its smaller size, Horus supports a maximum of two video cards. This rig starts at $1,300.
Next up is the Scarab mini-ITX desktop. Much smaller than even Horus, this system only has room for one video card (up to a GTX Titan X), but its specifications are otherwise very similar to Ra and Horus. Pricing starts at $1,000.
All of the desktops will be available with two case options. The enclosures are not entirely unique to CybertronPC, but the company says it will perform some in-house modifications to enhance their look and feel. It will also let users express themselves with a new custom paint service that’s entirely in-house. Your PC can be painted any color or design you’d like, as long as you’re willing to pay for it. The price attached to the custom paint hasn’t been revealed.
The laptops are led by the Osiris 17, which follows the recent trend of stuffing desktop hardware into a mobile chassis. That means it will offer Core i5 and i7 desktop-class processors up to Intel’s i7-6700K, Nvidia GTX 980 desktop-class graphics, and up to 64GB of RAM. Alternatively, an Osiris 17x will offer Nvidia GTX dual graphics. All models will have a 1080p G-Sync display, and custom paint will be available. You’ll need at least $1,900 to bring this beast home.
Those who want something smaller can turn towards the Anubis. It will come in 15- and 17-inch models, but is dramatically smaller than the Osiris due to its use of mobile hardware, which ranges up to a Core i7-6700HQ and Nvidia GTX 970M. Both models will have a standard 1080p display, but the 15-incher will have an optional 4K panel. The laptop starts at $1,800.
The company is absolutely serious about going mainstream.
CybertronPC is mating the new products with a new customer experience, including a refreshed website, and an overclocking service it calls The Foundry. This boils down to a variety of CPU and GPU overclocking options that guarantee users a minimum overclock, if purchased. Details vary between models, but the desktops rigs will all have optional CPU and GPU overclocking available when compatible hardware is selected. Users will have to pay for the privilege. Pricing is not settled, but will be “around $50,” which is in line with what competitors charge.
To get the word out about CLX, CybertronPC is partnering with the Electronic Sports League, a number of Twitch streamers, Corsair, Logitech, and others. These partnerships will put the company’s rigs in front of gamer’s eyes in an effort to gain the recognition it has so far lacked.
It’ll be fascinating to see how the launch of CLX fares. The company is absolutely serious about going mainstream. This is evident not only in its branding, but also recent hires — it has grabbed talent from Alienware, Maingear, Origin, and others over the last year. CybertronPC wants to be counted among the best PC builders in the world. Now it just has to earn its place.
