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Origin’s versatile Neuron mid-tower is built around your choice of CPU, scaling up to AMD's Ryzen 9 or Intel's Core Ultra 9, with GPU options topping out at the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. The entry point is steep: roughly $2,900 ($2,586 on sale at the time of writing) buys only a Ryzen 5 or Core Ultra 5 paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, though 32GB of Crucial Pro DDR5 memory via two 16GB DIMMs running at 6,400 megatransfers per second (MT/s) and a 1TB Corsair MP600 solid-state drive are standard, as is the Corsair Frame 4500X LX-R ATX mid-tower case. Power supplies range up to 1,500 watts.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

You can easily find less expensive prebuilt towers rocking the same component tier, but Origin distinguishes itself with premium parts and craftsmanship. A Corsair modular power supply and iCUE RGB-enabled liquid cooling and fans come standard, which you won't see in most mass-market desktops. Origin also has a promotion at the time of this review that bundles a two-year warranty and a full Corsair peripheral set.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The unit that Origin PC sent for me to test and review included an AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D (eight cores, up to 5.6GHz) processor paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM at 6,000MT/s (two 16GB DIMMs), and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD—specifically, a Corsair MP700 Pro SE. It runs on Windows 11 Home via a 1,000-watt Corsair power supply. This model costs $4,766 at list price, but it's marked down to $4,194 on sale at publishing time.

The Neuron cuts an ultramodern profile: Panoramic tinted glass and sculpted air vanes set off with RGB lighting lend the PC a flashy appearance. Built inside Corsair’s Frame 4500X LX-R case, it measures 19.7 by 9.7 by 18.2 inches to land comfortably within mid-tower dimensions. Our unit uses the all-black variant, but Origin also sells the Neuron in white and several two-tone colorways, including black/blue, black/red, white/blue, and white/red.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Accessing the case's interior is straightforward: Pressing the glass panel forward from the rear edge releases its retainers, while the right panel tilts away from a rear-edge pull tab. Inside, Origin's cabling work is thoroughly professional, the Corsair RM1000x modular power supply eliminates clutter, and the graphics card sits reinforced on a metal support bracket. Airflow comes from seven 120mm fans, aided by a removable dust filter under the tower.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The case's upgrade prospects are promising. The motherboard—an MSI Pro X870E-P WiFi ATX board in our unit—includes three PCIe x16 slots, one PCIe x1 slot, and four DIMM slots. Corsair's storage support includes three onboard M.2 slots and space for one 3.5-inch or two 2.5-inch drives.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Your up-front connectivity options consist of a 10Gbps USB-C port, two 5Gbps USB-A connections, and an audio jack, all placed on the lower front edge for easy access when the tower sits on a desk. Rear I/O depends on the motherboard, but the MSI board in our unit leaves little to be desired: two USB-C ports (one 40Gbps USB4, one 20Gbps), eight USB-A connections (two 10Gbps, two 5Gbps, and four USB 2.0 ports), HDMI 2.1, 5Gbps Ethernet, and an audio stack.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The included antennas enable built-in Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. If you're a tinkerer, you'll also appreciate the clear-CMOS and flash-BIOS buttons, features rarely found on entry-level boards used in cheaper prebuilt systems, which often omit high-speed ports and modern wireless standards as well.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Corsair’s iCUE software manages the RGB lighting, which provides per-component control of the fans, memory, and CPU cooler, thanks to the built-in controller. Numerous presets are available, like the Abstract theme, which casts pinks, purples, and blues without appearing too bright, thanks to the tinted glass.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Acoustically, the Neuron's cooling system is generally well-behaved. The fans fade into the background for daily tasks and grow louder under gaming loads, but no more so than other mid-tower gaming rigs using an open-air case design. While not whisper-quiet, it never crosses into distracting territory.

To recap, we tested a gaming-focused Neuron configuration built around a Ryzen 7 9850X3D (eight cores, up to 5.6GHz) paired with an RTX 5080, 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM, and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD. It runs Windows 11 Home and is on a 1,000-watt Corsair PSU.

For context, we stacked the Neuron against several high-end gaming towers...

First up are Alienware’s $4,649.99 Area-51 review configuration and Corsair’s $4,499.99 One i600, both using the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and an RTX 5080. Next, we have more affordable iBuyPower RDY Element Pro R07 ($2,599 as tested), and the cost-no-object Velocity Micro Raptor Z55a with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5090 for $5,609. The Alienware and Corsair match the Neuron’s graphics card but switch it up with Intel silicon, while the iBuyPower and Velocity Micro use the slightly lower-clocked Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which tops out at 5.2GHz versus the Neuron’s 5.6GHz chip.

Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput. (The Neuron could not complete the first of these benchmarks due to a compatibility error, so those results are missing below.)

Three more tests we rely on are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.

Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image-editing prowess through a variety of automated operations in the seminal photo editor Adobe Photoshop 25.

As mentioned, the Neuron didn’t complete our main test due to a benchmark issue rather than a system fault. With its high-end gaming-grade hardware, it’s absolutely overqualified for the everyday web browsing, video playback, and office tasks that the test simulates. It did execute the storage subtest, landing among the top performers and comfortably outpacing the iBuyPower system.

The Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a slightly higher-clocked variant of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D used in the iBuyPower and Velocity Micro systems, and it posted marginally more impressive CPU results, as expected. Designed to maximize gaming performance, however, it couldn't match the raw multi-core muscle of Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K powering the Alienware and Corsair desktops.

We challenge all desktop graphics with a quintet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. The first two, Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K), use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. The second pair, Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests, focuses on APIs more commonly used for game development to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. The last, Solar Bay, measures ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment.

Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at full HD (1080p or 1200p), 2K (1440p or 1600p), and 4K (2160p) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. Each game runs at high detail or the highest available settings.

We run the Call of Duty benchmark on desktops at the Extreme graphics preset. Because the test can produce triple-digit frame rates even on low-end PCs, this approach yields sensible results for evaluating high frame-rate performance. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs to their limit, so we run it on the grueling, all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS or FSR. Finally, F1 2024 measures GPUs’ ability to render high-polygon-count models and densely detailed environments at fast speeds. 

The focus here is on how the Neuron stacks up against the other RTX 5080 systems: the Alienware and Corsair. The 3DMark results were close enough that none of them meaningfully separated from the pack, and the same held true in the real-world gaming tests at 4K. With the resolution dialed down to 1080p, however, the Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D flexed its 3D V-Cache muscle to deliver a big win in F1 2024. That’s a significant delta, albeit one confined to that game.

Cyberpunk 2077 remained GPU-bound at all our tested resolutions, minimizing any CPU advantage. Call of Duty was mixed, with the Neuron largely lagging, though game updates and driver differences may have played a role, since we tested these systems months apart.

Overall, the Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D and a GeForce RTX 5080 make a formidable gaming combo. Multitaskers and power users might favor the higher-core-count Ryzen chips or Intel’s Core Ultra line, both of which are available in the Neuron. Regardless, for pure gaming, this configuration is aces, and the case leaves room to grow.

Origin’s versatile Neuron mid-tower is built around your choice of CPU, scaling up to AMD's Ryzen 9 or Intel's Core Ultra 9, with GPU options topping out at the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. The entry point is steep: roughly $2,900 ($2,586 on sale at the time of writing) buys only a Ryzen 5 or Core Ultra 5 paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, though 32GB of Crucial Pro DDR5 memory via two 16GB DIMMs running at 6,400 megatransfers per second (MT/s) and a 1TB Corsair MP600 solid-state drive are standard, as is the Corsair Frame 4500X LX-R ATX mid-tower case. Power supplies range up to 1,500 watts.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

You can easily find less expensive prebuilt towers rocking the same component tier, but Origin distinguishes itself with premium parts and craftsmanship. A Corsair modular power supply and iCUE RGB-enabled liquid cooling and fans come standard, which you won't see in most mass-market desktops. Origin also has a promotion at the time of this review that bundles a two-year warranty and a full Corsair peripheral set.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The unit that Origin PC sent for me to test and review included an AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D (eight cores, up to 5.6GHz) processor paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card, 32GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 RAM at 6,000MT/s (two 16GB DIMMs), and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD—specifically, a Corsair MP700 Pro SE. It runs on Windows 11 Home via a 1,000-watt Corsair power supply. This model costs $4,766 at list price, but it's marked down to $4,194 on sale at publishing time.

The Neuron cuts an ultramodern profile: Panoramic tinted glass and sculpted air vanes set off with RGB lighting lend the PC a flashy appearance. Built inside Corsair’s Frame 4500X LX-R case, it measures 19.7 by 9.7 by 18.2 inches to land comfortably within mid-tower dimensions. Our unit uses the all-black variant, but Origin also sells the Neuron in white and several two-tone colorways, including black/blue, black/red, white/blue, and white/red.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Accessing the case's interior is straightforward: Pressing the glass panel forward from the rear edge releases its retainers, while the right panel tilts away from a rear-edge pull tab. Inside, Origin's cabling work is thoroughly professional, the Corsair RM1000x modular power supply eliminates clutter, and the graphics card sits reinforced on a metal support bracket. Airflow comes from seven 120mm fans, aided by a removable dust filter under the tower.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The case's upgrade prospects are promising. The motherboard—an MSI Pro X870E-P WiFi ATX board in our unit—includes three PCIe x16 slots, one PCIe x1 slot, and four DIMM slots. Corsair's storage support includes three onboard M.2 slots and space for one 3.5-inch or two 2.5-inch drives.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Your up-front connectivity options consist of a 10Gbps USB-C port, two 5Gbps USB-A connections, and an audio jack, all placed on the lower front edge for easy access when the tower sits on a desk. Rear I/O depends on the motherboard, but the MSI board in our unit leaves little to be desired: two USB-C ports (one 40Gbps USB4, one 20Gbps), eight USB-A connections (two 10Gbps, two 5Gbps, and four USB 2.0 ports), HDMI 2.1, 5Gbps Ethernet, and an audio stack.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

The included antennas enable built-in Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. If you're a tinkerer, you'll also appreciate the clear-CMOS and flash-BIOS buttons, features rarely found on entry-level boards used in cheaper prebuilt systems, which often omit high-speed ports and modern wireless standards as well.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Corsair’s iCUE software manages the RGB lighting, which provides per-component control of the fans, memory, and CPU cooler, thanks to the built-in controller. Numerous presets are available, like the Abstract theme, which casts pinks, purples, and blues without appearing too bright, thanks to the tinted glass.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Acoustically, the Neuron's cooling system is generally well-behaved. The fans fade into the background for daily tasks and grow louder under gaming loads, but no more so than other mid-tower gaming rigs using an open-air case design. While not whisper-quiet, it never crosses into distracting territory.

To recap, we tested a gaming-focused Neuron configuration built around a Ryzen 7 9850X3D (eight cores, up to 5.6GHz) paired with an RTX 5080, 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM, and a 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSD. It runs Windows 11 Home and is on a 1,000-watt Corsair PSU.

For context, we stacked the Neuron against several high-end gaming towers...

First up are Alienware’s $4,649.99 Area-51 review configuration and Corsair’s $4,499.99 One i600, both using the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and an RTX 5080. Next, we have more affordable iBuyPower RDY Element Pro R07 ($2,599 as tested), and the cost-no-object Velocity Micro Raptor Z55a with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5090 for $5,609. The Alienware and Corsair match the Neuron’s graphics card but switch it up with Intel silicon, while the iBuyPower and Velocity Micro use the slightly lower-clocked Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which tops out at 5.2GHz versus the Neuron’s 5.6GHz chip.

Our primary overall benchmark, UL's PCMark 10, puts a system through its paces in productivity apps ranging from web browsing to word processing and spreadsheet work. Its Full System Drive subtest measures a PC's storage throughput. (The Neuron could not complete the first of these benchmarks due to a compatibility error, so those results are missing below.)

Three more tests we rely on are CPU-centric or processor-intensive: Maxon's Cinebench 2024 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene; Primate Labs' Geekbench 6.3 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning; and we see how long it takes the video transcoder HandBrake 1.8 to convert a 12-minute clip from 4K to 1080p resolution.

Finally, workstation maker Puget Systems' PugetBench for Creators rates a PC's image-editing prowess through a variety of automated operations in the seminal photo editor Adobe Photoshop 25.

As mentioned, the Neuron didn’t complete our main test due to a benchmark issue rather than a system fault. With its high-end gaming-grade hardware, it’s absolutely overqualified for the everyday web browsing, video playback, and office tasks that the test simulates. It did execute the storage subtest, landing among the top performers and comfortably outpacing the iBuyPower system.

The Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a slightly higher-clocked variant of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D used in the iBuyPower and Velocity Micro systems, and it posted marginally more impressive CPU results, as expected. Designed to maximize gaming performance, however, it couldn't match the raw multi-core muscle of Intel’s Core Ultra 9 285K powering the Alienware and Corsair desktops.

We challenge all desktop graphics with a quintet of animations or gaming simulations from UL's 3DMark test suite. The first two, Wild Life (1440p) and Wild Life Extreme (4K), use the Vulkan graphics API to measure GPU speeds. The second pair, Steel Nomad's regular and Light subtests, focuses on APIs more commonly used for game development to assess gaming geometry and particle effects. The last, Solar Bay, measures ray tracing performance in a synthetic environment.

Our real-world gaming testing comes from the in-game benchmarks of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and F1 2024. These three games—all benchmarked at full HD (1080p or 1200p), 2K (1440p or 1600p), and 4K (2160p) resolution—represent competitive shooter, open-world, and simulation games, respectively. Each game runs at high detail or the highest available settings.

We run the Call of Duty benchmark on desktops at the Extreme graphics preset. Because the test can produce triple-digit frame rates even on low-end PCs, this approach yields sensible results for evaluating high frame-rate performance. Our Cyberpunk 2077 test settings aim to push PCs to their limit, so we run it on the grueling, all-out Ray Tracing Overdrive preset without DLSS or FSR. Finally, F1 2024 measures GPUs’ ability to render high-polygon-count models and densely detailed environments at fast speeds. 

The focus here is on how the Neuron stacks up against the other RTX 5080 systems: the Alienware and Corsair. The 3DMark results were close enough that none of them meaningfully separated from the pack, and the same held true in the real-world gaming tests at 4K. With the resolution dialed down to 1080p, however, the Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D flexed its 3D V-Cache muscle to deliver a big win in F1 2024. That’s a significant delta, albeit one confined to that game.

Cyberpunk 2077 remained GPU-bound at all our tested resolutions, minimizing any CPU advantage. Call of Duty was mixed, with the Neuron largely lagging, though game updates and driver differences may have played a role, since we tested these systems months apart.

Overall, the Neuron’s Ryzen 7 9850X3D and a GeForce RTX 5080 make a formidable gaming combo. Multitaskers and power users might favor the higher-core-count Ryzen chips or Intel’s Core Ultra line, both of which are available in the Neuron. Regardless, for pure gaming, this configuration is aces, and the case leaves room to grow.