Expert's Rating
Our Verdict
The Quiet PC Serenity Mini Gamer is beautifully put together and runs virtually silently. However, its powerful Intel Core i7-4770K processor hasn’t been overclocked and therefore measures much slower than the competition. More important in its gaming role, the PC’s GeForce GTX 650 Ti graphics card is no match for the likes of a GTX 780.
Quiet PC operates according to an entirely different set of priorities. Where we’re used to gaming PCs with such intense names as “Viper” and “Warbird”, Quiet PC offers up Serenity. Known for building quiet and even entirely silent systems, the company has made a few, but not many, concessions in the name of gaming performance.
Inside the ultra-minimalist glossy black housing of the soundproofed Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 system case we find a powerful 3.5GHz Intel Core i7-4770K processor, which adds Hyper Threading and a slight speed bump over the 3.4GHz Core i5. Unfortunately, for those craving ultimate speed, this CPU is running at its stock speed and is therefore running slower than any of the overclocked Core i5 chips.
Overclocking requires considerably more power and more cooling, so Quiet PC has focused on keeping the system running as quietly as possible rather than reaching for the upper limits of speed.
Quiet PC Serenity Mini Gamer: benchmarks
PCMark 7 returned a score of 5098 points, which is hardly to be sniffed at, but when you consider that this is a more expensive processor delivering much lower performance than an overclocked Core i5, you’ll need to share Quiet PC’s preference for peace and quiet over performance if this is to be the gaming PC for you.
Gaming performance of the Serenity Mini Gamer also lags significantly behind the competition. Crucially, our high-quality 1080p-resolution tests all fell far below 60 fps, so keen gamers will need to reduce quality settings to obtain smooth game play. Even the 720p-mode test of Alien vs Predator failed to reach 60 fps.
The PC is fitted with a Gigabyte GTX 650 Ti OC Windforce graphics card, but its factory overclocking can’t make up for this considerably less powerful GPU. (See also Group test: What’s the best gaming PC?)
Specs
Quiet PC Serenity Mini Gamer: Specs
- 3.5GHz Intel Core i7-4770K, Reeven Kelveros RC-1202, 8GB DDR3 1,600MHz CL9 Crucial Ballistix Sport, Seagate 1TB SSHD (1TB HDD / 8GB SSD), FSP Raider 650W, Gigabyte Z87MX-D3H, Windows 8.1, Gigabyte GTX650 Ti OC Windforce, 2GB, 5400 MHz, Gigabit ethernet, 6x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0, DVI, HDMI, DP, VGA, PS/2, S/PDIF out
- LiteOn iHAS122-04 DVDRW
- Nanoxia Deep Silence 4
- Zalman ZM-K500, Zalman ZM-M300
- Artisan Medium Hayabusa XtraSoft Mouse Pad
- 2 years collect and return