PCR Awards Winner
Chillblast’s Ben Miles
UK gaming brand, Chillblast scooped this year’s PCR Award for Gaming Retailer Of The Year. The company was acquired by Warrington-based Tactus Group in 2021- the last in the line of four major acquisitions. Here we get the latest from Chillblast’s Managing Director, Ben Miles on the custom build world of gaming and some future insights.
Here’s what Ben had to say.
How is life at Chillblast now you are under the umbrella of Tactus group? As part of a larger group, Chillblast is able to develop unique solutions and products that it would never have been able to explore before our acquisition. Tactus’ wealth of experience in international supply chains has been invaluable. For example, Chillblast has developed and launched its first bespoke range of high-end gaming notebooks. Previously we were using the same chassis manufacturer as the rest of the channel, but now we have our own Chillblast Defiant range with class-leading cooling and display technology. Tis would have been totally unfeasible before. Having access to the pool of talent in the Tactus marketing team is also invaluable, as it allows us to deliver meaningful and impactful campaigns across a wide spectrum of media. Chillblast products are now available from a far wider array of stores and websites. Whereas you could only buy our PCs from
Chillblast.com previously, you can now find them in some of the UK’s most respected technology retailers. Despite all this change, the essence of Chillblast has been retained, with the same commitment to customer service, build quality and only the finest components.
28 | October 2022
How is custom PC building evolving? We are in a golden era for custom PC building right now. Fierce competition between Intel and AMD in the processor sector means we are seeing colossal gains in performance between each generation. If you are still using a 10th generation Core-i9 CPU, a 13th generation equivalent will give you 3x the performance – an upliſt that has been achieved in just two years. Tis pace of progress is in stark contrast to the pre- Ryzen days where generational gains were marginal at best. Tis, and brand new GPUs just round the corner from NVIDIA and AMD, means customers can expect big performance gains from an upgrade, even if their kit is only a couple of years old. Another emerging trend we are seeing from our customers is a demand for more bespoke customization of builds. People want systems that form the centrepiece of their gaming cave, not just an off-the-shelf black box with some red detailing or an otherworldly badge on the front.
Who is buying custom build PCs? Te demographic for buying custom PCs is as varied as the PCs themselves and ranges from business users who need a solution that standard “Tier 1” manufacturer can’t offer, right down to professional esports players who want bleeding edge kit to compete at the highest level. Our customer base includes gamers, developers, architects,
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