Nvidia is giving its GeForce GTX Battlebox certification program another go, and this time system builders are allowed to an AMD processor inside, provided it's a Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 chip.
Systems sporting a Battlebox badge have to meet a set of minimum requirements set forth by Nvidia. It's a marketing play, though it has some benefit for gamers who don't have the time or desire to build their own PCs. It can also be helpful in recommending a PC to a friend or family member, versus building one for them, the latter of which often carries the unwanted side effect of an assumed 24/7 tech support role.
Certified Battlebox PCs fall into one of two categories—Essential and Ultimate. Each one has it own set of requirements. For an Ultimate configuration, systems must wield the following (or better):
- GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
- Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7
- 16GB+ DDR4 RAM
- SSD storage
- Windows 10
- G-Sync monitor (if it ships with a monitor)
Ultimate Battlebox PCs promise to "handle everything you throw at them," including 4K and VR gaming.
For multiplayer games that do not require quite as much GPU or CPU horsepower, Nvidia's Essential Battlebox requirements promise to deliver 60 frames per second in games such as Overwatch, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Tekken 7, and League of Legends with max settings at 1080p. To earn an Essential Battlebox badge, system builders have to include the following (or better):
- GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
- Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5
- 8GB+ RAM
- SSD
- Windows 10
- G-Sync monitor (if it ships with a monitor)
Nvidia has partnered with eight system builders in the U.S., several of which already offer certified Battlebox PCs. The full list includes Origin PC, CyberPowerPC, Maingear, iBuyPower, Cybertron, Xidax, Digital Storm, and Velocity Micro. None of them appear to be using Nvidia's custom chassis shown above, which is too bad if you've always wanted a PC that looks like a graphics card.
You can find more information and links on Nvidia's Battlebox landing page.
