On both of CNET Labs' Half-Life 2 tests, the Falcon Talon trailed the iBuyPower Gamer SLI, which also uses a unique graphics card config, with two GeForce 6600 GT processing cores strapped to a single card. Any parts it overclocks, Falcon covers under warranty. (The CPU runs at 2.4GHz, up from the standard 2.2GHz, and the GPUs' core and memory speeds were each bumped up 5 percent.) When ordering the system, you must call Falcon to request performance tweaks-they're not advertised on its site. Our Talon test system features an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ processor and a pair of BFG GeForce 6600 GT graphics cards, all of which were overclocked. Staying true to its performance-PC roots, Falcon Northwest couldn't resist tweaking even these mainstream parts. If you stick it under your desk to muffle some of the hum, you'll have to get down on the floor every time you want to access the front ports (four USB 2.0, one FireWire, one microphone, and one headphone), which are inconveniently situated at the bottom of the tower.
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However, that beefy transformer plus CPU and GPU cooling fans make the Talon a decidedly noisy machine. Speaking of the two cards, they consume quite a bit of power, but the Falcon Talon doesn't sweat them, thanks to its 650-watt power supply. Note: The two video cards block access to one PCI and one PCIe slot. The good news, of course, is that the tool-free tower has oodles of interior space, including four available external bays (three 5.25-inch and one 3.5-inch), three extra hard drive bays, three open PCI slots, and two x1 PCI Express slots, which, admittedly, are good for very little at the moment. If you're looking for LAN-party portability, consider a system such as Falcon's FragBox 2 instead. The all-black tower stands nearly 18 inches tall and measures just as deep. Thus, we treated the Talon as though it were the new centerpiece of an existing gaming rig, one already outfitted with preferred speakers, monitor, and such.Īnd a big centerpiece it is. Falcon elected not to supply a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, or some speakers, though the company does carry a wide selection of these components. Our Falcon Talon review unit arrived BYOE-Bring Your Own Everything. Still, the Falcon Northwest Talon is a good fit for gamers looking for an affordable, expandable platform more so than a system to impress their friends. It's the most affordable SLI system we've seen to date, so we weren't surprised that the Talon trailed higher-end SLI systems on our tests. You will find Nvidia's SLI graphics, however, which gives the unassuming Talon the ability to harness two graphics cards. You won't find options for custom paint jobs or exotic cooling systems or the highest-end processors and graphics cards. To keep prices somewhat sane-at $2,148, our test system isn't exactly a cheap date-the Talon eschews the bells and whistles lavished on the Mach V.
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If you can't justify owning a PC that may be worth more than your car, there's the Mach V's more modest sibling, the Falcon Northwest Talon. Falcon Northwest's flagship Mach V line spares no expense in providing the highest-end parts for deep-pocketed gamers.
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