SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer PC Review

SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer PC Review

In this SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer PC Review, we delve deep into why this Skytech desktop is worth your dime. Is Skytech worth it, YES it is.

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Desktop is a no-fuss entry-level gaming PC for users looking to play AAA games at 60 fps. It is a powerful mid-tower gaming PC with a small footprint. With its appearance, the SkyTech Blaze II looks like an alien and will definitely stand out among other computers in your house or office. It has 8 red LED fans that you can turn on and off as you wish to suit your moods.

It also brags of a super-spacious design with tempered glass side panels to allow you to peer at all your high-end components inside the case. Expect to enjoy millions of colors as you turn on the RGB LED fans. This gaming PC has all the necessary ports to allow you to connect and use your old peripherals such as keyboards, mice, external hard drives, speakers, or anything else that can be connected via USB 3.0, PS/2 port, and others while 3-in-1 SD/MMC card reader enables you to share pics and videos without having to plug everything into your PC.

Regardless of its affordable price, SkyTech Blaze II comes with a Ryzen 5 2600 processor and an AMD Ryzen 2600 video card. The components are placed on the motherboard in a manner that you can access them easily for future upgrades. Hmm, more power to your gaming!

This PC is housed in an air-cooled case with glass side panels that let you enjoy all its beauty and glory. Its spacious interior makes it really look like a miniature version of a 4k TV cabinet.

With this computer, you no longer need to have top-of-the-range components for your games to play smoothly. It is capable of handling both 1080p and 1440fhd resolutions at 60 fps with ease so game on!

This Blaze II features three tempered glass side panels, 5 fans (3 front RGB LED 120mm fans + 2 x 230mm decorative red LED fans.

Pros

  • Great design, spacious interior
  • Fast processor hence good performance – reliable full HD 60fps gaming
  • Budget price/good value
  • Highly configurable
  • Plenty of ports
  • Runs fairly quiet, even under load

Cons

  • 8GB RAM configuration might not be enough for everyone

The fanciest high-end desktops from boutique vendors are great objects of envy if you can afford them. And most shoppers don’t have that kind of cash and because of the sometimes unrealistic price tags. Fortunately, the SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Desktop is of great value, great bang for the buck even. It certainly falls among the cream of the crop for budget gaming PCs. In more ways than one, the SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer represents the best combination of price, build quality, and performance of most of the budget desktop PCs we’ve reviewed this 2020.

The fact that it is cheaper than its competitors while being more powerful and better performing wouldn’t hurt either. The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming PC passes for a great value gaming desktop and earns our Editors’ Choice award for budget PCs.

SkyTech’s configuration options put them in the clouds with the other top-tier brands. Also, the combination of price, build quality, and performance make this one of my favorite desktops for gamers who want to save money without sacrificing looks or functionality.

So, is SkyTech a good gaming brand?

Yes. While SkyTech has not immersed it’s self such a large following like other OEM desktop gaming companies (iBuypower, Digitalstorm, Falcon Northwest, Maingear Vybe), it has built a good reputation for itself nonetheless. The company focuses on a pre-built pc and parts. This allows the company to offer better prices and better customizability than most of its competitors. While many companies follow a “set-it-and” approach (such as Cyberpower, Alienware, etc), SkyTech just offers gamers more customization at a lower price. Also, read more about this on our, “Is Skytech a good brand” article.

Check out the Best laptops for College Students article

Slick, Spacious and Colorful

Aside from great price points and performance, the SkyTech Blaze II  has design going for it. The SkyTech Blaze II arrives at a time when building your own PC is easier than before and custom PC manufacturers have to create better more creative, and unique designs. Well, while SkyTech does not build their chassis themselves, we applaud the PC company for bringing it all together in a slick way.

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer is housed in an air-cooled mini desktop case with glass side panels that let you enjoy all its beauty and glory. Its spacious interior makes it really look like a miniature version of a 4k TV cabinet.

As for the aesthetics, the whole PC is done in black and silver carbon fiber or some might call it gloss black. It is entirely made of plastic, with the exception of the front bezel (front panel) which is glossy and scratch-resistant.

Side view of the SkyTech Blaze II Gaming PC interior

The side panel is made of tempered glass

There are 3 tempered glass side panels, 5 fans (3 front RGB LED 120mm fans + 2 x 230mm decorative red LED fans at the back). The case has a smart layout, there is plenty of room for expansion and any liquid cooling systems you might want to install.  Interior access is straightforward and does not require a screwdriver. There are two thumbscrews on the left-side panel that let you access the interior. On opening, a very tame internal compartment gives you full access to the left side.

Two thumbscrews on the rear to undo the top panel gives you immediate access to 90% of its parts. The motherboard has two tiny retention arms, one each in the top and bottom panels that lock it firmly in place preventing any CPU movement during transport (an important factor for HTPC users). All other components are screwed down or held down by spring-loaded latches.

The whole PC does not have much flex making it sturdy enough even after adding more stuff into it, but I would personally advise against throwing this around when gaming. It is just too fragile for such rough handling since there are no protective metal panels for the front glass side panels. But in terms of aesthetics and design, it is one of my favorite gaming computer desktop PCs, especially among entry-level options ( under $1000).

One other plus side we loved with this case, is it allows for free airflow in and out of the inside. Heat can rise and leave through the case’s top side. Oh, don’t forget rising dust as well. Speaking of dust, you would want to dust your computer often. I’d recommend doing that at least once a week with a cleaner. We use the CompuCleaner 2.0 Air Duster once a week or whenever I remember to.

The PC case features some blue LED lights around the motherboard tray as well, just enough for decoration without being overbearing. Speaking of customization, Skytech also allows you to build your own desktop by choosing from 2 different cases (Celeron or Core i7 processor).

Ports

The SkyTech Blaze II includes a wireless keyboard and mouse, no monitor. It also comes with a wired internet RJ45 Ethernet port that fits nicely to the backside panel if you don’t have your own WiFi adapter.

You can connect your favorite peripherals at the front, through the ports at the top of the chassis. There you will find 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2 port, and a headphone & mic jack.

The bulk of the ports are at the rear. You get four USB 3.1 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, a single HDMI port, and one D-Sub port. The RTX 1660 graphics card adds a few more ports to the table and includes both DisplayPort and HDMI output. That being said, there are no USB C ports on the SkyTech Blaze II.  And that is probably intentional as most of their customers will not be upgrading any time soon to move towards newer technology.

If you’re an experienced gamer or if it’s your first gaming PC then you can best choose a 120Hz monitor (more refresh rate means smoother gaming). But if it’s going to be mostly used for watching movies on Netflix or Hulu, then even a 60Hz would do. Our Editor’s Choice budget gaming desktop, the  Acer Aspire TC-885-UA92 also packs a similar port system, same budget price with a single USB Type-C port at the front panel. That alone gives it a leg up against our reviewed unit.

The unit also has an 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0 wireless option built-in. This means you don’t have to run an Ethernet cord if you don’t feel like it.

Mouse and Keyboard

SkyTech offers a complimentary keyboard and mouse along with the desktop. The keyboard and mouse combo are actually really nice unlike a lot of PC pack-ins and should serve you quite well for run-to-the-mill daily tasks and gaming.

It’s a wired gaming keyboard and mouse combination which always gets bonus points in my book. The keyboard is pretty functional with three separate keys for microphone mute, volume control, and windows key lock (with red or blue backlight). I love the smooth touch of this keyboard and it doesn’t make much noise while typing either…except for the mechanical click from pressing down each key. The feet on the bottom panel allow you to adjust its height by about an inch.

In terms of responsiveness, I would rate them at around 7/10 – just short of excellent but not quite bad either. Only gamers who are extremely sensitive to input lag or those in need of lightning-fast response times should look elsewhere.

The mouse is also pretty standard fare and I would say it’s not really anything special nor is it bad either. It has a nice rubberized coating on the sides which gives you a good grip, smooth movement when moving it across your desk, and just enough resistance to avoid accidentally slipping off your hand. The scroll wheel can be rotated with ease but does feel a bit stiff while scrolling up and down web pages. If you prefer an optical mouse instead then you might have to seek one out for yourself because this SkyTech model only comes with regular old laser sensor mice.

Pre-installed Software

These days, you get a Windows 10 Home 64-bit operating system with pre-built systems. The loaded Sky Tech Blaze II is no different. The pre-installed software includes the full versions of Microsoft Office 365 for 1 year, McAfee Antivirus, and a few other bloatware apps. All of which are pretty common in most PC bundles or home-built PCs with OEM Windows OSs.

The Windows operating system is also the main reason why you don’t have to worry about having a WiFi adapter, as it includes built-in support for 802.11ac wireless standard.

Power Consumption and Performance

For our testing, we use Prime95’s in-place large FFTs (1024K) test to stress CPUs. For GPUs, we use 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme on loop to stress them further. We also monitor CPU temperature by reading the actual values from CoreTemp on another window during the tests; GPU temperature is taken right after the 3DMark run using GPU-Z.

Skytech Gaming PC Performance

If you cherry-picked the best parts from AMD and Intel alongside with some high-end memory and exceptionally fast memory for the price, then you’ll probably end up with most of the parts the SkyTech Blaze II comes with. This Skytech mid-tower gaming pc sports Ryzen 5 2600 processor starts out with a 3.4GHz base clock speed and a 3.9GHz max boost. Primarily, the high core count (6-cores) makes this system great for productivity and gaming performance. In real-world usage, Ryzen 5 2600 thrives in programs that take advantage of multiple cores, and the Ryzen 5 2600 beats Intel’s counterpart in multi-core performance.

A view of the SkyTech Blaze II graphics card

On our 2-cores test using CINEBENCH R15, which measures a CPU’s ability to render a photo-realistic 3D scene, this Skytech gaming PC scores about 6% faster than an i5 8600K while being 14% slower than a similar Ryzen 7 2700X processor. Since the CineBench R15 is heavily threaded (all six cores/12 threads) we can assume ASPEED Graphics card isn’t bottlenecking this system.

Cinebench 11 OpenGL Test 1 is more GPU bound at 4K, so it looks like this particular card should be alright to drive most games on high or ultra settings at 1080p/ 1440p. But, truthfully it could use as much help as possible given that you’re working with a budget Skytech gaming build and not one of the premium models they offer.

The next test we run is PCMark 10 Extended which runs through various productivity workloads like image manipulation, video conferencing, photo editing and more. It features some tests that simulated real-world tasks that are well suited for modern mid-range CPUs such as Ryzen 5 2600X. Averaged across all our benchmarking runs, the PCMark score sits at 4392 points; a little higher than what we got from an Intel i5 8600K but lower than an i7 8700K when run on the same PC.

The last benchmark we used is Geekbench 4 to do a multi-threaded CPU performance test. A score of 7243 points is just higher than what we got from Intel’s latest Coffee Lake i5 8600K (7172). When you compare it with an AMD Ryzen 7 2700X which scored 10,055 points, you can easily see how much faster the bigger cores within that processor are since they were able to process more instructions per clock cycle and more threads per core. You could also note how all those extra cores help because this SkyTech gaming desktop has 6-cores while the Intel Core i5 only has four cores along with HyperThreading.

As for the GPU, you’ll be happy to know that it supports DirectX 12 feature set. In 3DMark Fire Strike Ultra, which is more GPU bound at 1440p/4K and should find its limits here, this SkyTech PC scored a decent 13528 points with the stock clocks on this RX 580 (1483MHz/2000MHz) card. Not much of a difference compared to an overclocked RX 480 8GB but only 1% slower than an 8GB GTX 1060 OC edition. Looking at 1080p results might show just how much power they left out from this graphics card; it’s about 30% faster than a regular 1050 Ti and 40% faster than a standard 1060 3GB.

We tried to push the SkyTech Blaze II’s graphics card a little by manually overclocking it using MSI Afterburner. It went up to 1630MHz or so but we still didn’t see much of an improvement on 1080p Fire Strike Ultra which averaged 6% over the stock settings. Gone are those days when you can get away with this kind of performance for a mere $700+ USD; now you have to spend at least 1K dollars/euros if not more in order to stand out and compete with other builds that cost way more than yours.

Memory and Storage

The motherboard has 2 x DDR4 DIMM Slots and supports memory with speeds up to 3200Mhz. We recommend going for two 8GB kits (16GB in total) to ensure the computer is capable of handling memory-intensive games. On the flip side, if you don’t have the budget for that, 8GB should still serve you well. And it should run pretty well without bottlenecking in most games

Since this pre-built system offers 2 slots, consider installing an NVMe PCIe SSD (solid-state drives for example Samsung 970 EVO) in order to cut loading times in half and maintain high performance.

The best choice here would be going with either a 240 GB/256GB or 512GB model. You can get either one depending on the budget but if you have a bit more cash to spare, get the bigger models as they’ll provide better value for money in terms of space.

A 1 TB mechanical hard drive will be good enough if your primary concern is data storage; just make sure it’s 7200RPM or faster and also check whether the computer supports Sata 3 so that you’ll be able to transfer files at fast speeds. If not, there are plenty of options available such as this Seagate Barracuda 2TB.

Gaming performance.

This system flaunts the entry-level gaming GPU Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660, the base model of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 cards. While the card does not come with Real-Time Ray Tracing and DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) capabilities, it’s still an excellent card. The RTX 1660 delivers a high and better frame rate than its predecessor the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 Ti and certainly smoother gameplay than the GTX series cards. It offers the best price-to-performance ratio and is the reason most budget gaming desktops are fitted with it.

In less strenuous games the RTX 1660 absolutely dominates and plays smoothly at max settings. It can handle the heat of your average AAA game with hardly and stutters to the point that it’s unbearable – which is what you want in a 1080p gaming PC at a reasonable price range. However, as impressive as this graphics card may be, there are still some obvious compromises. The lack of Ray Tracing and DLSS specs will definitely hamper your future when the next-gen games will require them; so think wisely if you intend to upgrade to an RTX 2070 or above.

When put to the test, it gave the following results for 1080 frames per second (fps):

  • Apex Legends 85 fps
  • Fortnite Chapter 2: 174 fps
  • PUBG: 75fps
  • Modern Warfare 2019 71 fps

On other less demanding graphics games, such as Assassin’s Creed, Tomb Raider, and The Elder Scrolls Online it delivers above 60 fps. In fact, the system is more than enough to play any recent game with constant 60 fps.

Bottom line, the RTX 1660 is a great card and AMD Ryzen 5 combination is a great CPU for the price. This system is definitely worth your money if you’re looking to build yourself a $1000 gaming pc. Considering it doesn’t it has no Ray Tracing advantage, it sure delivers good gaming performance.

Conclusion: Is the SkyTech Blaze 2 a Good Gaming PC?

The SkyTech Blaze II Gaming PC could be a great mid-range gaming PC for those who want to sample 4K gaming at 1080p while not breaking the bank. The GTX 1660 is definitely overkill for an i5 8400 but it’s still great and you’ll certainly get your money’s worth out of it. But if you do have a bit more money to spare, consider going with better components such as an RTX 2060 or RTX 2070 and save on upgrading in the future; for example, when a new line of a graphics card becomes available. This way you also avoid bottlenecks.

Even without a standout feature like a USB Type-C port we easily recommend it for shoppers looking for a budget gaming PC. It doesn’t receive our Editor’s Choice award for best budget gaming desktop but comes very close. So is Skytech a good company, YES. Is skytech a good brand? – Despite the online noise, it is a good brand especially fit for users looking for prebuilds.

Is there another alternative?

If you have more money to spare and don’t mind shelling out extra cash for the RT or ray-tracing technology, we recommend going with the SkyTech Shadow 3.0 Gaming Computer PC Desktop. It comes loaded with an RTX 3060, 12GB memory, 1TB solid-state drive, 16GB DDR4 3000, RGB Fans, AC WiFi, 600W Gold Power supply unit (PSU).

At this price point, it’s hard to find a better alternative; however, if you have deeper pockets, this revised gaming desktop is better than our review unit.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Blaze II i5 8th gen System Review, please contact our friendly customer service at [email protected] and we will be glad to help out! You can also leave a comment below this post. Thank you!  ##Skytech Gaming PC Series Just by spending more than twice as much for the equivalent model, you’ll get this beast:

Are Skytech gaming pcs good/Is Skytech gaming a good brand

Compared to other prebuilt gaming pcs, Skytech’s prebuilt systems are definitely more affordable. They may not be as good as the prebuilts from Origin PC or Falcon Northwest but they are a great option for those budget gamers who want a prebuilt system.

Other than price, they are great for users who don’t know how to build their own prebuilts. They certainly offer 5-star performance for a fraction of the price of prebuilt from Alienware, Digital Storm or MSI.

This is hands down their greatest strength. They can deliver a prebuilt gaming pc with great specs for relatively short money. This is especially true if you take a look at the other pre-assembled models from Skytech. Their highest-end pre-configured model costs just over $3,000 while similarly designed prebuilt made by competitors have pre-orders priced at around $10,000 and above for what’s basically the same hardware as far as anyone can tell.

The weakest part of Skytech Pcs has to be customer service. While most people won’t need tech support after purchase, it could make all the difference in certain situations.

We heard that their pre-sales customer care could use some improvement. Unfortunate, as they are a young company (just over 2 years now).

They have proven to be one of the fastest moving new companies in prebuilt computers and we believe them to be a viable option for prebuilt gaming desktop shoppers who want a pre-assembled pc with great value for money without having to build it themselves.

So are Skytech gaming pcs good, YES. A prebuilt gaming pc from Skytech is good. If you can’t tell, we’re fans of pre-builts and prebuilt gaming desktops in general. It’s just a great way to get into PC gaming without having to build it yourself and deal with the hassle that goes along with it (ie: getting the right parts, learning how to build your own computer).

Frequently Asked Questions

Skytech blaze 2 ssd/Is the Skytech Blaze 2 upgradable?

Like we mentioned earlier, the Skytech blaze 2 does offer 2 slots available so you can add a decent-sized SSD storage for yourself. Consider installing an NVMe PCIe SSD for your operating system and applications. It should help cut load times substantially. So yes, the Skytech Blaze 2 is upgradable. If anything, this prebuilt comes with plenty of interior space in the case to add whatever components you want!

Can I upgrade Skytech blaze 2 ram?

Yes, Skytech Blaze 2 does come with two memory slots so you can easily upgrade your RAM. You could even go as far as getting a better motherboard that offers more than just 2 slots for extra RAM. This way, the Skytech blaze ii is going to last you a long time.

What is the Skytech Blaze 2 motherboard?

A motherboard gives you access to all of your computer’s components, and it’s the brain that controls them all. A high-quality Skytech blaze 2 motherboards can make a huge difference in terms of performance and speed. But not every motherboard will do; if you’re serious about gaming, you’ll need to get a good one. For example, if you’re going with an Intel processor (as most Skytech blaze 2 buyers do), then it’s essential to pick a motherboard that supports the Intel LGA 1151 socket and has at least 6GB of RAM slots.

The Skytech blaze ii motherboards is made by MSI. MSI is a well-known brand for making motherboards, and they make some of the best gaming motherboards you can get.

Author

  • Victor is a tech writer and blogger for GetThatPC. A writer and SEO consultant of popular tech sites such as Computer Shopper. He loves sharing his thoughts with the world through his blogs and it has always been his dream to write in print, too. When he is not busy blogging, he takes time out to enjoy the company of friends or play video games on PC. As a hardware analyst, Victor tests and reviews laptops, peripherals, and much more at GetThatPC. He previously covered the consumer tech beat at Examiner.com and has done consulting work for some of the biggest names in the industry. Victor R was recognized by TopSEOs as one of the Top 30 People in Digital Marketing, 2017.

Victor R

Victor R

Victor is a tech writer and blogger for GetThatPC. A writer and SEO consultant of popular tech sites such as Computer Shopper. He loves sharing his thoughts with the world through his blogs and it has always been his dream to write in print, too. When he is not busy blogging, he takes time out to enjoy the company of friends or play video games on PC. As a hardware analyst, Victor tests and reviews laptops, peripherals, and much more at GetThatPC. He previously covered the consumer tech beat at Examiner.com and has done consulting work for some of the biggest names in the industry. Victor R was recognized by TopSEOs as one of the Top 30 People in Digital Marketing, 2017.

2 Comments
Show all Most Helpful Highest Rating Lowest Rating Add your review
  1. […] the full Skytech Blaze II Gaming Desktop Computer PC review […]

  2. […] the full SkyTech Blaze II Gaming Computer PC Review […]

    Leave a reply

    Get That PC
    Logo
    Enable registration in settings - general