Aftershock PC Nimbus (7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER) Gaming PC Review

TweakTown's Rating: 91%

The Bottom Line

Aftershock PC's custom Nimbus desktop gaming PC with its combo of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER rips through games, offering 200FPS+ in titles like Overwatch 2 and Fortnite at 4K. All while sipping power, running quiet, and looking good.

Pros

• 7800X3D processor + RTX 4070 SUPER graphics = high FPS gaming
• 32GB RAM + 1TB Gen4 SSD
• Fantastic all-white aesthetic and runs cool + quiet
• Wi-Fi + Bluetooth antenna
• Curved glass panel looks sweet

Cons

• Doesn't include an RTX 4090
• SSD capacity

Should you buy it?

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Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

I reached out to Aftershock PC asking for a new desktop gaming PC to use as my daily driver, with the company sending me over a system made up of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB of DDR5 memory, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, and a 1TB Gen4 SSD... and it screams.

Aftershock PC sent me over one of their older systems as my new daily driver, with their Nimbus PC build customized with the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER graphics card, and a 1TB Gen4 M.2 SSD for storage. It ticks all of the boxes without being crazy expensive, and can drive AAA games at 60FPS or more, and popular shooters like Call of Duty, Overwatch 2, Fortnite, and more at 120FPS and beyond. The system can be configured (both up and down) if you need more (or less) power.

I personally found the blend of the 7800X3D + 32GB + RTX 4070 SUPER perfect for what I need for my daily workloads, as well as my gaming addiction in Overwatch 2.

Aftershock PC was formed in 2012 by a team of hardware enthusiasts, competitive gamers and IT professionals, turning into Singapore's latest custom PC service team, expanding into Australia in an even bigger way in the years since. I've worked with the team over the years, but this is the first desktop gaming PC that I've had from them to review, and it's a great foundation point as we tick closer to 2025.

Here are the system specs of the Nimbus that Aftershock PC sent over:

The folks at Aftershock PC asked me for the configuration that I wanted, so I chose something mainstream-y enough that's not some insane high-end build with a monster GeForce RTX 4090, but rather one of the best gaming CPUs you can buy with the Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor and a fantastic mainstream GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER graphics card. However, Aftershock PC offers a slightly higher-end version of this system with the GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card (same CPU, same RAM, same motherboard, but a larger 2TB Gen4 SSD). If you were after more 1440p or 4K (and high refresh rate, 120Hz and above), then the RTX 4080 SUPER + 2TB Gen4 SSD build is something I'd look at.

You could upgrade the GPU + SSD + RAM as the years pass, as the 850W power supply is enough to handle the RTX 4080 SUPER (and better yet, enough to handle the next-gen GeForce RTX 5080 or RTX 5070 Ti in 2025).

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Overview

Connectivity

This isn't a monster high-end desktop gaming PC, so we don't have any flashy Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connectivity here, but we have plenty of USB ports for your peripherals (keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc) and USB-C on the top of the system.

The USB-C connectivity was excellent for me, as I was charging my phone or even using my Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold smartphone and its 4G (it has 5G, but the 4G speeds are far better here in Australia and where I am in particular) as a wired hotspot internet connection. USB-C is handy, so it's great to see it on the top of the case, which is easy to access.

There's also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with a provided antenna in the box and connects to the back of your PC.

Cooling

Aftershock has its own in-house Glacier Mirror 360mm AIO liquid cooler inside the system, more than adequately cooling the Zen 4-powered AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor. There was never a time that I had the CPU getting hot (the 7800X3D is a wickedly efficient chip), nor did the AIO cooler run loud.

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The custom 360mm AIO liquid cooler in the flesh looks awesome with its mirror-style effect, with the RGB lighting from the DDR5 memory and fans adding to the aesthetic. It is a cool, quiet, efficient CPU cooler that also happens to look fantastic inside the Nimbus Gaming PC.

Upgradability

The system specs that I received included 32GB of DDR5-6400 memory installed into the system with 2 x 16GB sticks, with the ASUS PRIME B650-A II Wi-Fi motherboard featuring 4 x DIMMs. The additional 2 x DIMM slots can house another 32GB of RAM if you wanted to boost up to 64GB, but 32GB is fine for most gamers.

The ability to upgrade is there, which is something worth knowing before you buy the system: if you buy it now with 16GB, you'd want to go to 32GB eventually. But, I wouldn't recommend buying a PC in late 2024 with just 16GB of RAM, so the inclusion of 32GB of RAM by default is what you want, and the ability to upgrade to 64GB in late 2024 (more so into 2025) is a great path for a RAM upgrade when you need it.

I find the 1TB Gen4 SSD not enough storage for me, as Windows will take up a smaller chunk, which isn't a worry. However, games are MASSIVE now. This makes the 1TB of SSD space get sucked up rather quickly, but this is a personal preference.

If you're like me, you'll have just a couple of games installed (for me it's primarily Overwatch 2) so the 1TB is fine. But, if you have more than a few big games installed (Call of Duty, Cyberpunk 2077, Flight Simulator, and more) that 1TB gets chewed up rather quick. A larger 2TB Gen4 SSD would be a better idea, but that's something you can upgrade down the track.

But, if you don't want the hassle of an upgrade down the track... well, beef up your Aftershock PC with a 2TB Gen4 SSD, and you won't need to worry (and if you continue to worry, shift up to the bigger 4TB Gen4 SSD).

Detailed Look

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We've got enough I/O for most PC users and gamers, with on-board HDMI and DisplayPort if you've got integrated graphics on the CPU you're installing. Under that, we've got 4 x USB 3.0 ports and 4 x USB-A ports, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (under the USB ports, the antenna is included) with 3.5mm audio jacks for your speakers, headphones, and microphone.

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There's also a USB-C port, two more USB ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack on the top next to the reset and power buttons.

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Now we've got a side-on shot looking into the window of the Aftershock PC Nimbus system, with some neat cable management. The only thing looking out of place is the stock 16-pin PCIe power connector plugged into the RTX 4070 SUPER. I do love the touch of the custom Aftershock PC branded velcro strap, I want a heap of those!

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Oh yeah, that is some beautiful cable management on the back of the system. Nice and neat.

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It's all really neat, and while you won't be looking at the back of the system, Aftershock PC is taking care of the cable management here, which is nice to see. Not every company puts in this effort, so it is appreciated.

Benchmarks (Synthetic + CPU + SSD)

Note: This is my first desktop gaming PC review, so these charts will only fill up with more data as I go through desktop gaming PCs and gaming laptops.

Cinebench 2024

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I benchmarked the Aftershock PC Nimbus system against my data from the ASUS Zenbook S16 laptop (with the AMD Ryzen AI HX 370 "Strix Point" APU) and the ASUS Vivobook S15 with Qualcomm's Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite processor.

3DMark TimeSpy Extreme

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3DMark TimeSpy Extreme scores are also not good for the Snapdragon X Elite processor, spitting out a graphics score of 953 versus the RDNA 3.5-powered Strix Point APU with 1816 points... but at least 3DMark works on the Arm-based chip.

3DMark TimeSpy

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Next up, we've got 3DMark TimeSpy, which sees the ASUS Vivobook S15's Snapdragon X Elite once again losing in a huge way to the Strix Point APU-powered Zenbook S16 with 1915 points in the graphics score of TimeSpy versus the 3554 points on the Strix Point APU. Ouch... but again, it works, unlike most games.

3DMark FireStrike Ultra

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Things start to fade real fast for the Vivobook S15 and its Snapdragon X Elite processor, where in 3DMark's older FireStrike Ultra benchmark run, the Vivobook S15 scores just 1531 points in the graphics score of FSU, compared to the 2230 points out of the RDNA 3.5-powered Strix Point APU inside of the Zenbook S16.

CrystalDiskMark

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The Lexar NM790 1TB Gen4 SSD pumps out a speedy 7.4GB/sec (7400MB/sec) reads and 6.5GB/sec (6500MB/sec) writes in CrystalDiskMark benchmarking.

Benchmarks (Gaming)

Cyberpunk 2077

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Starting our benchmark journey with the Aftershock PC Nimbus system and its Ryzen 7 7800X3D + GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is impressive: over 300FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p (with ray tracing on Ultra, and DLSS set to Performance).

Moving up to 1440p, we've still got over 200FPS+ which is just insane... and we're breaching 108FPS+ at 4K which is great to see out of the RTX 4070 SUPER.

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I turned DLSS over to Quality mode and re-ran the tests, with the system spitting out 180FPS+ at 1080p and a decent 120FPS+ at 1440p. But, DLSS set to Quality knocked the performance down on the RTX 4070 SUPER when at 4K, down to 63FPS... still, 4K 60FPS+ is mighty impressive.

Black Myth: Wukong

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Another great-looking game to put through the benchmark run is Black Myth: Wukong, which still achieved close to 120FPS average at 1080p. This is on the Ultra preset with RT set to "Very High" and DLSS set to Performance (50% upscaling in the settings).

Bumping up to 1440p, we've got 94FPS average while at 4K the results are still impressive 60FPS average in Black Myth: Wukong can't be coughed at.

Forza Horizon 5

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If you're into driving games, Forza Horizon 5 still looks fantastic and it runs like a champion even on a mid-tier gaming system. The Aftershock PC Nimbus with its 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER slices through FH5, at 1080p spitting out 175FPS average, at 1440p we still have 150FPS+ and at 4K we're hitting 106FPS+ average.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

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One of my old-school favorite benchmark runs is Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so I pulled it out again and gave it a whirl... 371FPS+ at 1080p, 293FPS at 1440p, and 186FPS at 4K... I don't think I need to explain that any further, tons of FPS.

Personal Use + Gaming

The first thing I did after getting Windows 11 up to date, downloading and installing the latest GPU drivers, and other smaller tweaks... was download Battle.net and then download Overwatch 2. Once the game was installed, I applied my usual tweaks (DLSS on Performance mode) and away I went.

Using a 4K monitor with a super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate, the 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER performed like magic in Overwatch 2 with 144FPS minimum easily achieved. I was clocking 240FPS+ average throughout weeks of playing the game, mixing some games with DLSS set to Balanced and Quality and still enjoying 144FPS at 4K.

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I've got two daughters (10 + 13 years old) who love to play Fortnite, so I downloaded and installed Fortnite onto the Aftershock PC Nimbus build, setting it to 4K and turning on DLSS once again setting it to Performance mode. Fortnite was pumping away at 200FPS+ average, highlighting the mix of the 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER combo.

Alan Wake 2 got a try out with maxed-out graphics and maxed-out ray tracing (RT) with DLSS 3 + Frame Generation (FG) enabled, the Aftershock PC Nimbus system and its 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER handled 4K @ 60FPS+ thanks to DLSS + FG.

Final Thoughts

Aftershock PC had me impressed from the moment the package arrived, the setting up process, and the second it was turned on and the fans were spinning and that gorgeous RGB lighting blasting out from the components, I was in Heaven.

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If you're looking at buying a new gaming PC but didn't want to research, buy, configure, build, and test out the system then a pre-built gaming PC is a fantastic option these days. If you're in Australia or Singapore, the team at Aftershock PC has virtually limitless options, from case sizes, lighting, custom-loop water-cooled systems, and every component mix you can imagine.

I think the star of the show here is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor. It doesn't use that much power, doesn't run hot at all, and doesn't require a monster amount of power or a higher-end motherboard and PSU. It's also cheaper than the higher-end Intel CPUs, too.

1080p and 1440p gamers with high refresh rate (120-240Hz) gaming monitors will have a blast with the 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER combo, just like I did screaming through Overwatch 2 and Fortnite at 200FPS+ all day and night long.

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Aftershock PC injects a bunch of style and aesthetics into the Nimbus Gaming PC, with RGB lighting blasting out of the CPU cooler, its 3 fans, the 4 other fans in the system, and even the DDR5 memory modules light up. It culminates in a beautiful-looking system, from its curved glass front panel to the RGB lighting inside.

Wrapping up, if you don't want to build a PC yourself and want it done by professionals in either Australia or Singapore, the team at Aftershock PC will have your back. I'm impressed with my month+ with the Nimbus, with the 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER combo potent for high FPS gaming that won't blow your budget.

Aftershock PC has the Level 5.5 AMD system (Nimbus Triple Fan) with the 7800X3D + RTX 4070 SUPER for $2085 (works out to around $2400 AUD) right now. Other than that, Aftershock PC has their new Pentagon: Lvl 7 Gaming PC that features the newer Ryzen 5 9600X processor (no X3D) with the RTX 4070 SUPER for $2895 AUD, or the Ryzen 5 7600 + RTX 4070 SUPER build for $2195 AUD.