For those looking for a rig under $1500, there are plenty of options. These entry-level gaming PCs not only provide an excellent foundation for future upgrades, but they also don't miss out on the opportunity to play the latest games like Elden Ring on decent settings. Personally, I think these PCs are more interesting to check out than a big $4,000 gaming machine that can play any game in 4K or better. They are fun to tinker with, but the reality is that most people don't have that much money in their bank accounts. The real challenge for system builders is to provide a solid gaming experience with the right components for those without unlimited funds.

The $1500 ($1494 to be exact) CLX Set gaming PC (open in new tab), named after an Egyptian war god, is about to rise to the top of a crowded field of space-hungry PCs on the desktop. This compact gaming PC makes a good first impression out of the box, but like the Egyptian gods of old, it can be fickle.

The build I received is a CLX Set series desktop in a small form factor micro ATX case. The website has a fairly detailed PC configurator that lets you decide on almost every component, right down to the closed-loop liquid cooling options.

There is also a little box that tells you what frame rates you can expect for some games. I would have liked to have seen more modern games used in this kind of part-picker feature on the System Builder site; I'm sure "GTA V" is still popular, but it's also nearly a decade old.

I made a duplicate of the Set PC sent to me by the configurator and checked the lead time, which was roughly two weeks. Component prices don't seem too high either; even the GPU seems reasonably priced (opens in new tab).

CLX also offers PCs that can be shipped in a few days, although they cannot be customized.

Inside this PC, the white CLX Mini-ITX case is neatly packed with components so that no space is wasted, and it has the requisite tempered glass side panels. between the RAM and the 120mm fan, the RGB-equipped components put on a great light show in a small space. The RGB-equipped components put on a great light show in the small space between the RAM and the 120mm fan.

Speaking of components, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (open in new tab), 16GB RAM, and an RTX 3060 GPU are running the Set. We have seen how well the GeForce RTX 3060 (open in new tab) performs on such a system as a budget GPU, and this is no different. The Ryzen 5 CPU, on the other hand, did not perform up to the task, as we will soon see.

Despite the lack of space, the CLX has an RTX 3060 GPU with room to spare. This was a strange reversal from the system sent by Redux, where the motherboard and components were sized to fit into a much smaller case, even though they fit into a medium-sized chassis, leaving an unusual amount of free space within the PC.

As can be seen from the benchmarks, Set's closest competitors are the aforementioned Redux "Good" PC and the NZXT Streaming PC. Surprisingly, Set's CPU benchmark scores lag a bit behind its slightly less expensive competitors. It is curious that it scores lower than the NZXT Streaming PC (which has the same CPU); the Set runs a few degrees hotter than the other products, which may explain some of its disappointing performance.

Thankfully, the Set did slightly better in the gaming benchmarks, almost competing with the Redux and NZXT PCs (both with RTX 3060 GPUs). The only bright spot was Hitman 3, which outperformed the competition by an average of nearly 12 frames. All others were a few frames above or below their commonly priced foes.

The one time I struggled with the system was when I ran F1 2021. For some reason, CLX crashed every time I tried to run a benchmark, and when I tried to start a quick race, the software crashed, not the machine. Usually when I have trouble with my PC, Metro Exodus is the sore spot, but this worked fine with no problems.

Hitman 3 and Horizon Zero Dawn also did not see these problems. However, if you're thinking of 1440p games, Set's performance isn't that great; 1080p is the resolution that the RTX 3060 does best, and it's the only place where most modern games can consistently hit 60fps or better on medium to high settings.

Gaming Performance

System Performance

The 1TB SSD for storage is a nice addition. These days, systems in this price range only come with 500GB SSDs, which frankly is not enough for today's gamer's game and media libraries. Whenever we review a system with less than 1TB, we always recommend upgrading the storage immediately.

One major concern is the noise level of the Set. This little system is surprisingly noisy even when idle, with the five 120mm case fans running loudly at all times. While the noise can be heard during heavily loaded games, some people may find the noise bothersome even if they are just watching Netflix. For me, the noise was distracting when chatting while gaming or on a call at work.

Another shortcoming common to recent $1,500-plus products we've reviewed is the lack of USB Type-C ports on the front and back panels, where the NZXT Streaming PC stood out. USB Type-C is an external SSD, Given that it is the best way to get the most out of devices such as webcams, microphones, etc., the lack of USB Type-C ports is always a shock. However, I understand the need to keep costs down, and motherboards are expensive.

CLX's Set Scarab is a good-looking micro-ATX system for $1,500, with 1080p gaming performance there. However, the system's noise level and underwhelming CPU performance make this machine less than compelling when considering other products available for the same price.