NZXT has announced a rework of some of its pre-built PCs, and they’re actually pretty good. This Starter line is an off-shoot of the NZXT BLD branding that the company has been running for a while. These starter systems first debuted in July 2019. NZXT configured them around AMD’s second-generation Ryzen processors based on Zen+, and then paired them with modern NVIDIA GPUs. At the beginning of the run, there were three models, starting with the Starter ($899) and Starter Plus ($999) buids. There was also another more powerful “Streaming” build for $1,499.
This time around, there are three Starter configurations: Starter ($699), Starter Plus ($899), and Starter Pro ($999). These new configurations are cheaper to produce and thus have had their prices adjusted down. The higher-end systems will be aimed at gamers looking for 60fps or higher at 1080p in lower-demand games. Valorant, Fortnite, and Rainbow Six Siege are all listed as targets for these builds. And testing by various outlets show these marks were hit very easily in these kinds of games.
NZXT has made it clear who they’re aiming these systems at. The company provided the following blurbs while talking through the launch of these lines:
“Building a gaming PC can be very difficult for beginners,” says Johnny Hou, founder and CEO of NZXT. “Not everyone wants to take the time needed to fully understand how to configure and build a system. They just want to play their favorite games. That is why we simplified this whole process with the NZXT Starter Series. As fans take their first steps into PC Gaming, they can rest assured that they’re getting a build that is suitable for their needs and optimized for performance.”
And to actually look at the specs, they’re actually pretty decent for the price. The basic $699 NZXT Starter comes with these installed components:
- Case—NZXT H510
- CPU—Intel Core i3 9100F
- CPU cooler—Deepcool Gammaxx GTE V2
- GPU—MSI GeForce GTX 1650 D6 Ventus XS OC
- PSU—EVGA 450W Bronze
- Motherboard—MSI B365 Mortar (mATX)
- RAM—8GB XPG Gammix D10 DDR4-3000
- SSD: 512GB Intel 660p SSD
- OS—Windows 10 Home
If you want to aim a bit higher in spec, the $899 Starter Plus looks like this:
- Case—NZXT H510
- CPU—Intel Core i5 9400F
- CPU cooler—Deepcool Gammaxx GTE V2
- GPU—Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super Ventus XS 6G OC
- PSU—EVGA 500W Bronze
- Motherboard—ASRock B365 Phantom Gaming 4
- RAM—16GB Team T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4-3200
- SSD: 512GB Intel 660p SSD
- OS—Windows 10 Home
And the $999 Starter Pro looks like this:
- Case—NZXT H510
- CPU—Intel Core i5 9400F
- CPU cooler—Deepcool Gammaxx GTE V2
- GPU—MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Ventus XS 6G OC
- PSU—EVGA 500W Bronze
- Motherboard—ASRock B365 Phantom Gaming 4
- RAM—16GB Team T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4-3200
- SSD: 1TB Intel 660p SSD
- OS—Windows 10 Home