The 8Pack Supernova first hit the Overclockers UK shelves in 2018. It has remained the absolute pinnacle of our elite-tier PCs, packing high-performance hardware into a stylish chassis. But even the greats need an upgrade from time to time. With a little tweak here and there, 8Pack has levelled up this powerhouse PC and given it a 25-30% uplift in performance. Meet the Supernova MK2.
What’s New
There are four main upgrades on the 8Pack Supernova MK2. These are:
- A fifth-generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro CPU
- A motherboard with WRX80 socket and custom cooling hardware
- Octo-channel DRR5 RAM
- Windows 11 Pro
The star upgrade is the processor, with the 8Pack Supernova MK2 now wielding an AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 5995WX CPU that boasts a phenomenal 64-core and 128-thread count. Between AMD’s Precision Boost 2 and the magic 8Pack touch, this CPU can reach speeds up to 4.0GHz on threaded work and 4.75GHz on single-thread loads. This creates a 25%+ and 30%+ uplift, respectively, in performance. That’s 25-30% more power than this OP PC already has. ?
To facilitate all this, the motherboard needed an upgrade too. The ASRock Creator WRX80 motherboard was chosen for the job. This motherboard has the necessary socket to support fifth-gen Threadrippers as well as its own features to optimise performance. To remove limitations and prevent throttling, the clever clogs on the OcUK Techforge team have created a dedicated VRM cooling solution. This consists of a water block and rear armour to efficiently draw heat away, so the CPU can maintain those all-important clock speeds.
Octo-Channel Memory
The other big change is the upgrade to octo-channel memory. A massive 256GB of DDR4 RAM is spread across eight channels, each hosting a 32GB DDR4 module. The previous Supernova model utilised quad-channel memory. As a result of this change, bandwidth available to the CPU is essentially doubled, all whilst maintaining memory speeds and capacity.
Finally, the last significant change is the update in operating system. The 8Pack Supernova MK2 utilises the greatest Windows has to offer: Windows 11 Pro. Optimised for professional use, Windows 11 Pro has been designed to streamline your workload.
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Some areas of the 8Pack Supernova MK2 did not need improving, already equipped with the best of the best. Here’s a quick reminder of the unchanged hardware:
- Dual NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPUs in SLI (NV-Link)
- 2000W Super Flower Platinum PSU
- A mix of five SSDs and HDDs
- Lian Li D888WX Full Tower chassis
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPU is a titan-class graphics card, and this computer has two of them working in tandem. Want to game at 4K ultra settings? Easy peasy. Need to render high quality video? No problemo. The load is shared between the two graphics cards, freeing up computational power for the CPU. As a result, you can game or create with high frame rates every time.
Fun fact: the Super Flower Leadex 8Pack Edition PSU was the world’s first commercial 2000W power supply. Hench PCs need record-breaking power. Not only that, this PSU comes with an 80 PLUS Platinum rating. This denotes that the power supply is incredibly efficient, at a 50% load this PSU is 90% efficient. Effectively, this means it is wasting less of the power drawn from the mains than a PSU with a lower rating – which overall saves you money on your bills.
How Much Storage Now?!
Designed for creative endeavours, the 8Pack Supernova MK2 provides a storage solution to suit. It is made up of three lightning-fast SSDs and two chonky HDDs. Serving as your primary and secondary drives are two 2TB WD SN850 M.2 drives, perfect for your OS, programs, games, and applications. The third SSD, a 4TB Samsung 860 Pro, can be used as a high-speed back-up or scratch drive. Providing the bulk of your storage are the two HDDs, ideal for media, files, and projects. How much space is at your disposal? Only two 14TB Seagate hard drives, no biggy. In case you were wondering, that is 36TB total space at your fingertips. It’s going to be a looong time before you’re uninstalling unused software to maximise on space.
Still housing all this powerful hardware is the Lian Li D888WX case. This full tower chassis has a sleek, brushed finish and a tempered glass window to perfectly frame the components inside.
Classic Style and Cooling
Overall, the general style and aesthetic has remained unchanged too. The golden RGB lighting casts a warm glow on the red coolant and colour-matched Pexon braided cables. In true 8Pack style, there are bespoke 8Pack fan grills and branding throughout the system. A true mark of incredible performance.
Keeping the 8Pack Supernova MK2 cool and operating to temperature is the dual water-cooling loop used in the previous model. Three radiators, mounted on the top, front, and bottom, efficiently vent the heat drawn away from vital hardware by water blocks and hard tubing. All in all, this custom loop ticks the two main boxes: It’s effective, and it looks good.
Why So Hench?
With this combination of high-performance hardware and insane storage capacity, it’s safe to say that the 8Pack Supernova MK2 is designed for more than playing Fortnite and Call of Duty. This PC will absolutely run any game you chuck at it with smooth frame rates at the highest settings, but it was destined for more intensive workloads.
The AMD Threadripper series is primed for creative work, such as digital rendering. The high core and thread count help the programs you use to run smoothly and not throttle when left working. Thanks to the octo-channel memory, the 8Pack Supernova MK2 can even maintain maximum clock speeds. Other complex tasks, such as digital encoding and running simulations, also become a breeze with this OP machine.
The multi-GPU configuration means that 4K resolutions and beyond are accessible, even across a number of monitors. Limitations are a thing of the past with the 8Pack Supernova MK2.
Going Supernova
As well as incredible power, the 8Pack Supernova MK2 has configurable options. Certain specs on this PC can be fine-tuned to suit your computational needs. If a 64-core Threadripper is a bit OP for your needs, there is an alternative AMD Threadripper 5975WX 32-core CPU available to select. Equally, the RAM capacity can be brought down to 128GB. Why pay for what you don’t need? On the flipside, if you need to boost your computational power, the two GPU SLI configuration can be swapped for three NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPUs, unlinked.
Of course, you can also make cosmetic changes to the 8Pack Supernova MK2 – customising the colour of the Pexon braided cables or liquid coolant to suit your personal aesthetic. Simply get in contact with our Prestige Systems Advisor on 01782 940193. They will be happy to help.
Any changes to the 8Pack Supernova MK2 may affect pricing, performance, and lead time. As it is such a complex machine, the minimum lead time for this PC is 28 working days. Delays may occur over busier periods, but our team will endeavour to keep to this deadline. Additionally, the Supernova MK2 is covered by our full three-year collect and return warranty.
Move Over Champagne Supernova
The upgraded 8Pack Supernova MK2 is now available from Overclockers UK. Click the button below to get your hands on this extreme overclocked PC. Perhaps drop a comment below to let us know what you’ll be using it for.
8Pack Supernova MK2 Extreme Overclocked PC
- 5th generation AMD Threadripper PRO CPU
- Two NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 GPUs in SLI
- Octo-channel DDR4 RAM
- 36TB total space available
- Customisation options on select hardware
PC specs are subject to change.
- 7 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK for two years, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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