
72 PC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 6, 2007
The best possible rating is 5. DESIGN USABILITY FEATURES PERFORMANCE OVERALL
ABS Ultimate X Magnum
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Dell XPS 720 H2C
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Falcon Northwest Mach V (8800)
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HP Blackbird 002
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Overdrive PC Core2.SLI
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Polywell P3503
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Velocity Micro Gamer's Edge PCX
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RED denotes Editors' Choice.
Falcon Northwest Mach V
(8800 Ultra SLI)
$10,995 direct
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Falcon’s latest Mach V, now with two
nVidia GeForce 800 Ultra graphics cards
in an SLI configuration, is as much of a
speed demon as the car that inspired its
optional ($710) “BMW Montego Blue”
paint job. It comes with an Intel Core 2
Duo Extreme QX6850 CPU overclocked to
3.9 GHz. This, along with the pair of nVidia
GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards, helped
it to beat the competition on several of our
benchmark tests. Its solid-state hard drives
boost the cost, but boot-up and program
launches are near-instantaneous. This one
is for the exotic technology fan for whom
cost is really, really no object.
Specs: 3-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850
(overclocked to 3.9 GHz); 4GB, 800-MHz DDR2
SDRAM; two 32GB solid-state drives (RAID
0); one 1TB, 7,200-rpm hard drive; two 768MB
nVidia GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics cards
(SLI ); Windows Vista Ultimate.
HP Blackbird 002
$5,400 direct
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The Blackbird comes from a huge
system manufacturer, but its inter-
nals are from a so-called boutique
builder. It has “Voodoo DNA,”
which means that its parts have been hand-
picked by the overclocking experts from
Voodoo PC. The Blackbird’s case is mostly
a machined block of solid metal, with a
good heft and feel. Its design sets it apart—
it looks like nothing else in the world, inside
and out. The system’s “foot” helps stand
the system above the rest, literally as well
as fi guratively, while providing increased
airfl ow to the components inside. In addi-
tion to the CPU’s liquid cooling system,
internal features include separate and
innovative Voodoo-style wind tunnels that
blow air over the graphics cards. Tool-less
hard drive caddies enable easy upgrades. I
love the Blackbird’s swinging chassis door
that lets you into the case with one fi nger.
The Blackbird is competitive, though not
the fastest on the benchmark tests. Still, it’s
a system well worth showing off. It’s the
one I want.
Specs: 3-GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 pro-
cessor (overclocked to 3.67 GHz); 2GB, 1,066-
MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 160GB, 7,200-rpm hard
drive; 320GB, 7,200-rpm SATA hard drive; two
1GB ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics cards
(CrossFire); Windows Vista Ultimate.
Overdrive PC Core2.SLI
$7,190 direct
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The Overdrive PC Core2.SLI, along with
its stablemate, the Velocity Micro Gamers’
Edge PCX, is unique among these gaming
rigs in that it is air-cooled yet overclocked
for performance (the other systems went
with sealed water or liquid cooling for their
CPUs). This 4.0-GHz overclocked system
won top scores on several of our gaming
K
• ABS Ultimate X Magnum • Falcon Northwest Mach V (8800 Ultra SLI)
GAMING SCORECARD
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