Konami could also be greatest recognized for making games right here within the west, however over in Japan in addition they have a protracted historical past of creating arcade {hardware} and pachinko machines for the amusement sector. Now, they’re branching out into gaming PCs as properly due to their new line of Arespear rigs, which had been unveiled earlier this week. The identify is supposed to be a portmanteau of Ares, the god of struggle, and the phrase spear, however personally I feel they’ve obtained extra of a cheese grater or electrical razer vibe occurring reasonably than one thing sharp and pointy. Just have a look at these rounded corners!
Alas, Konami’s Arespear PCs haven’t been going down well in Japan, as individuals haven’t solely been making enjoyable of the identify, but additionally their very overpriced set of specs. Over £2400 / $3200 for an RTX 2070 Super and ninth Gen Core i7 PC, anybody?
Now, I really like weird-looking gaming {hardware} as a lot as the subsequent individual, and there’s part of me that’s really fairly drawn to the ludicrous variety of holes which have been punched into the entrance of every of Konami’s Arespear PCs. It’s most likely the identical little bit of my mind that likes Glorious’ very holey Model O gaming mouse, though I do know that that many holes on the entrance of PC case would most likely be an absolute nightmare to maintain clear and can virtually actually get clogged up with mud and cat hair the second I stick it underneath my desk.
But even I’ve obtained to confess that the specs of Konami’s Arespear gaming PCs should not what you’d count on given their respective costs. There are three Arespear PCs in complete, and due to some nifty translation work from Kotaku, it’s not shocking why the web is up in arms about them.
Arespear C700+ specs (338,800 Yen inc. tax / £2479 / $3223)
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700
RAM: 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD
Extras: Water-cooled CPU, prime quality sound capacity, PC case lighting, PC case window panel, Windows 10 64-bit OS
Arespear C700 specs (316,800 Yen inc. tax / £2315 / $3014)
CPU: Intel Core i7-9700
RAM: 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD
Extras: Water-cooled CPU, prime quality sound capacity, Windows 10 64-bit OS
Arespear C300 specs (184,800 Yen inc. tax / £1350 / $1758)
CPU: Intel Core i5-9400F
RAM: 8GB (1x 8GB) DDR4 2666MHz
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD
Extras: High high quality sound capacity, Windows 10 64-bit OS
For starters, even when we ignore their ludicrously excessive costs, I’d count on not less than one in all Intel’s new 10th Gen Comet Lake CPUs inside these PCs, and doubtless some quicker RAM, too. 2666MHz is completely nice within the grand scheme of issues, but it surely’s arguably a bit pedestrian for high-end gaming PCs like this, and it solely provides to the sensation that this can be a barely outdated set of parts.
It’s obtained good storage, although, and Nvidia’s RTX 2070 Super graphics card is a good alternative as properly in the event you ignore how a lot they value. After all, the RTX 2070 Super remains to be my top graphics card recommendation for these after one thing that may do 60fps on max settings at 2560×1440 resolutions lately, and it will be a nice alternative for any gaming PC you purchase in the present day, pre-built or in any other case.
But good gravy, when Konami expects you to put down the equal of £2300 / £2500 (or $3000 / $3200 for folk within the US), I’d most likely count on not less than an RTX 2080 Super for that type of value, particularly contemplating the age of the processor. Heck, even the bottom GTX 1650 spec seems like an enormous slap within the face, as even my £1000 RPS Rig construct (which is actually solely about £650 in the event you take out the monitor and included peripherals) provides a more sensible choice of graphics card than Nvidia’s piddly GTX 1650, which, let’s not neglect, is only a teensy bit more powerful than its older GTX 1050 Ti.
So sure, I can perceive the ire in direction of Konami’s poor outdated Arespear rigs, though I’m positive the web would nonetheless have ridiculed them anyway given their holey impractical chassis and the truth that you solely must swap two letters spherical to make it say ‘Arsepear’. Maybe subsequent time, Konami.
