Editor’s Pick: Workstation Overclocked to 4.8GHz

Dear DE Reader:

They don’t sit around at BOXX Technologies. Intel confirmed last July that OEM (original equipment manufacturer) shipments of its new Intel Core i7 CPU—code-named Kaby Lake—had begun. And here we are barely into February and today’s Editor’s Pick of the Week is the new BOXX APEXX 2 Model 2403 workstation. It’s built around a safely overclocked Kaby Lake CPU. Let’s start with the CPU.

Kaby Lake is Intel’s 7th generation Core i7-processor. Among its DE reader-friendly features is a new architecture intended to improve 3D graphics performance. Video playback is also said to be livelier.

The APEXX 2 Model 2403 uses the Core i7-7700K, a quad-core processor with an 8MB cache. Out of Intel’s box its base clock rate is 4.20GHz with maximum Turbo Boost of 4.50GHz.

However, out of the BOXX box, the APEXX 2 Model 2403 compact tower-sized workstation gives you Kaby Lake with an overclocked frequency of 4.80GHz. And BOXX says that it sustains that 4.80GHz frequency across all four cores even when you’re beating on it with some intense job. That clock rate is about 10% faster than a sibling APEXX workstation running Kaby Lake at its standard 4.20GHz clock speed.

Aside: Early reviews of the chip noted the heat it generated when overclocked. BOXX has overclocking down cold. The APEXX 2 Model 2403, for example, has a liquid cooling system to manage heat and stabilize performance.

At the heart of the new APEXX 2 Model 2403 engineering workstation is a 7th Generation, quad-core Intel Core i7 7700K processor—code-named Kaby Lake—that’s been overclocked to 4.8GHz. Image courtesy of BOXX Technologies.

OK, now, a basic APEXX 2 Model 2403 workstation also comes with 2GB of NVIDIA Quadro K620 graphics and 16GB of memory. You can trick it out with 64GB of memory and two full-length NVIDIA or AMD Radeon Pro professional-level graphics cards. Combine those specs with the overclocked Kaby Lake and Solid Edge, SOLIDWORKS, 3ds Max and the like should smoke your current machine.

BOXX workstations have always performed well on DE contributing editor David Cohn’s performance tests. (See the link at the end of today’s main write-up for an earlier APEXX workstation review.) It seems likely that the APEXX 2 Model 2403 will continue that tradition.

But you can make that call yourself. Hit today’s Editor’s Pick of the Week link to learn more about the APEXX 2 Model 2403 and some of its other features. A fun thing to do is go to the BOXX website and fiddle with the “customize it” feature. You can load this baby up for the long haul.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, DE