The 2022 refresh of the Acer Predator Orion 3000 (PO3-640) is affordable and powerful
We’ve reviewed a couple of the previous versions of the Orion 3000 and found the price to performance ratio to be outstanding. The new versions could take this to the next level, though. You can get the Orion 3000 PO3-640 in a few configurations, but one stands out as ideal for gamers looking for an affordable but potent package.
The variant we’re taking a look at has an i5-12400 paired with an RTX 3060. The 12th gen i5-12400 is widely regarded as a superb gaming CPU, going head to head against the perennial favourite and more expensive AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. Whilst gaming performance is roughly the same, the new i5-12400 matches or exceeds comparably priced CPUs in multi-threaded performance and has significantly better single-thread performance.
In comparison with the i7-10700 version of the Orion 3000 we tested, it’s not even close – the i5-12400 simply destroys it for gaming, productivity and anything else you care to throw at it. The icing on this delicious cake is support for super-fast DDR5 memory (when it becomes available and affordable), and the option to switch to a more powerful CPU and GPU, giving you viable upgrade options down the line.
The RTX 3060 may not be the fastest GPU out there, but it’s still capable of playing pretty much every game at respectable settings. The kicker here, though, is that the Orion 3000 in this configuration has been spotted in a listing priced at just £1,172. Whether this is a clickbait listing designed to draw people in is unsure, but the Orion 3000 with i7-10700 and RTX 3070 was available for just £1,399, so the pricing seems consistent with what we’ve seen before. When a GPU alone can cost you this much, it doesn’t take a mathematician to realise this is an outstanding deal.
Aside from the all-important CPU and GPU, there’s plenty more to appreciate; you get a good selection of USB ports, including a USB-C port on the front panel – Storage options include two M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots and bays for two SATA3 HDDs – networking is handled by a Killer WiFi 6X card – cooling is covered by single fans at the front and rear of the case, with fan-cooling on the CPU (This may not seem like much, but it’s quiet, and we found the cooling to be more than sufficient on the previous model).
If you’re looking for an affordable PC with good upgrade options, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Orion 3000 PO3-640 in this configuration. We’ll be keeping an eye on availability and pricing, but if this becomes available at the expected price, it could be the best deal in gaming this year.
