CLX SET Black Review

This CLX rig is a storage and CPU monster with a killer RTX 5080, but a shockingly low reliability score and wild pricing make it a risky impulse buy. If you find it for $3700, it's a maybe; otherwise, run.

If you've got the cash and you're hunting for a top-tier gaming desktop that doesn't skimp on storage or multitasking muscle, the CLX SET in its Ultra 9/RTX 5080 configuration is a beast. Out of the box, it's ready to crush 4K gaming and creative workloads. But that 'budget-oriented' tag CLX slaps on it feels misleading when some vendors are pricing it like a used car.

This thing flies. The 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 285K sits in the 98th percentile for desktop CPUs, and the RTX 5080 with 16GB of VRAM is a genuine standout for 4K gaming and GPU-heavy work. Load times are nonexistent thanks to a 2TB NVMe SSD that ranks in the absolute top tier of our storage benchmarks, and the 64GB of DDR5 memory means you can leave fifty Chrome tabs open without a hiccup. What surprised us, and not in a good way, is the reliability score. It scrapes the bottom of our database at the 12th percentile. We don't have owner complaints to back that up yet, but it's a red flag that makes you wonder about the power supply or motherboard pick.

At $3700 from the right seller, this config isn't a bad deal when you tally up similar parts on your own. But that would be the one vendor out there with a sane price. The others are asking as much as $86,414, which is pure insanity. Shop like a hawk and avoid the gougers. If you can't find it under $4,000, walk away.

Stacked against the HP OMEN 45L and Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Gen 10, the CLX SET wins on raw specs: the Ultra 9 and RTX 5080 simply outmuscle the i7/i9 and RTX 4080 combos you typically get from those brands. But HP and Lenovo bring better port selection and a track record of reliability that the CLX just can't touch. The ASUS ROG GM700TZ-BS978 is another rival that trades some CPU speed for a sturdier, more polished package. For a zero-drama experience, the big-name pre-builts are the smarter play.

If you want a no-drama gaming PC with proven reliability and a solid port spread, skip this and grab a Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Gen 10 with an i9 and RTX 4080. You'll trade a little GPU grunt for a whole lot more peace of mind.

The CLX SET is a performance powerhouse that will demolish any game you throw at it, but that eye-popping 12th percentile reliability score is impossible to ignore. If you find it at the $3700 mark and you're okay with a bit of a gamble, it's a very compelling machine. For everyone else, I'd say grab a Legion or OMEN and enjoy better peace of mind with only a slight dip in frames.