CLX CLX SET Gaming Desktop - Liquid Cooled Intel i9 Review

The CLX SET is a storage and CPU powerhouse built for creators who game, not the other way around. Its 8TB of space and liquid-cooled i9 are fantastic for heavy workloads, but the RTX 4070 is just 'very good' for the high price. At over $2,800, it's a niche buy. Get it if you need massive capacity and CPU cores more than the absolute best graphics card. Gamers should look for a better GPU at this price.

The CLX SET is a bit of a paradox. On paper, it's a monster: a liquid-cooled Intel i9-13900KF CPU paired with an RTX 4070 and a frankly absurd 8TB of combined storage. It screams 'high-end gaming and content creation rig.' But when you look at the price tag hovering around $2,800 and the fact that the GPU lands in the 79th percentile, you realize this machine is playing a different game. It's not just about raw frames per second; it's about massive capacity and a top-tier CPU for those who need to compile code, render scenes, or host servers while still having a great gaming experience.

This desktop is for the power user who thinks in terabytes, not gigabytes. The 2TB NVMe SSD for your OS and active projects is great, but the 6TB hard drive is the real star for long-term storage. It's for the game developer (like the reviewer using Unreal Engine 5), the video editor with massive raw footage libraries, or the data hoarder who wants their entire digital life on one machine. The 64GB of DDR5 RAM is overkill for pure gaming, but it means you can have a hundred Chrome tabs, a game, and a rendering project open simultaneously without a hiccup.

What makes it interesting is the focus. CLX didn't just throw the most expensive GPU in there and call it a day. They built a system around a specific type of workload that needs both high-speed compute and cavernous storage. The liquid cooling on the CPU is a nice touch to keep that 24-core beast quiet under heavy, sustained loads. It's a specialist's tool disguised as a gaming PC.

Let's talk about those numbers. The CPU sits in the 92nd percentile, which is no joke. In real-world terms, that means compiling code, rendering 3D models, or running complex simulations will feel incredibly fast. For gaming, it means you'll almost never be CPU-bound, leaving all the heavy lifting to the GPU. Speaking of which, the RTX 4070's 79th percentile ranking tells a more nuanced story. It's a very capable 1440p gaming card that will crush most titles at high settings, but it's not the absolute top of the line. You're getting excellent performance, just not the bleeding-edge 4K dominance of a 4090.

The 64GB of RAM is in the 71st percentile, which feels low until you remember most gaming PCs ship with 16GB or 32GB. This amount is pure luxury for gaming, but it's essential for the creator workflows this machine seems built for. The real standout is storage, hitting the 99th percentile. That 8TB total is massive. The fast NVMe SSD ensures your system and games load in a blink, while the 6TB HDD gives you a digital warehouse for everything else. The 850W PSU is ample for this configuration, leaving good headroom for future GPU upgrades.

Here's the rub: at $2,810, the CLX SET asks a lot of you. You're not getting the best graphics card money can buy. Instead, you're investing heavily in two areas: an absolutely top-shelf processor and a truly enormous amount of storage. For a pure gamer, this is a tough sell. You could build or buy a system with a better GPU and still have a killer CPU for hundreds less.

But value is about fit. If your workflow genuinely needs 64GB of RAM and 8TB of space, buying those components separately and adding them to a cheaper base PC would also cost a significant chunk of change. CLX is bundling it all together. You're paying a convenience premium for a pre-built that's configured for a specific, storage-hungry power user. It's not a good value for a standard gamer, but for the right person, it could save them time and hassle.

Stack this up against something like the HP Omen 45L or the Alienware Aurora R16. Those systems often focus more on GPU power and flashy design at a similar price point. You might find an RTX 4070 Ti or even a 4080 in them for this money, but with a smaller SSD and less RAM. They're better values for a pure gaming rig. The trade-off is you lose that massive storage capacity and the sheer CPU muscle for productivity tasks.

Then there are brands like Corsair or MSI in the same arena. They often offer more brand consistency (you know you're getting a Corsair PSU, for example) and sometimes better reliability scores. The CLX's weak spot in our reliability percentile (21st) is a red flag here. Competing systems might use more predictable, tier-one components throughout, which is worth considering if long-term stability is a priority. The CLX bets big on its core specs, but the surrounding parts feel like a bit of a mystery box.

Hardcore gamers who want the absolute best graphics performance for their money should skip this. At $2,810, you can find pre-builts or build your own PC with an RTX 4070 Ti Super or 4080, which will give you significantly higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K. This CLX rig is optimized for tasks that love CPU cores and storage space, not just pushing pixels.

Also, if you're risk-averse about component quality, steer clear. The low reliability percentile and the 'brands may vary' disclaimer mean you're taking a chance on the long-term health of some parts. Look at brands like Corsair, MSI, or even a custom build from a more transparent system integrator where every component is specified. You'll pay a bit more for that certainty, but you'll know exactly what you're getting.

If you're a game developer, a video editor working with terabytes of footage, a 3D artist, or someone who just needs a colossal amount of fast local storage, the CLX SET makes a compelling case. The CPU and storage combo is its raison d'être, and it delivers that in spades. The gaming performance is very good, even if it's not the absolute best you could get for the price.

However, for a dedicated gamer who just wants the highest frame rates at 1440p or 4K, look elsewhere. That $2,800 budget could get you a system with an RTX 4070 Ti Super or 4080, which would be a much more noticeable boost in gaming. Also, if component consistency and long-term reliability are your top concerns, the 'brands may vary' note and low reliability score mean you should probably choose a system from a brand with a more established track record for build quality.