I would even argue that the CPU was a bit of a downgrade. especially going from a 6-core processor to a 4 core processor. Heck, for $2,700 I would hope for a Core i7 3930K or at-least an x79 motherboard paired up with the Core i7 3820, so you could at-least drop in an Ivy-Bridge E when they become available.
The last AVADirect PC had a 2700K. The reviewer was comparing the acoustics of that system to his then-current i7-990X. Although yes, that sentence is confusing if you don't follow the link to the review of the previous system.
"and for everything else outside of games this processor is in fact a downgrade." Did you even read the review of the comments just above you? The predecessor had a i7 2700k @ 4.6GHz at its heart. No 6 core CPU!
You can argue the two points, you have to be doing very specialized computing to benefit from more CPU. Second, if you can afford this level of purchase, I suppose an entire new build is practical as a new tech toy.
It is too bad you cannot transfer the bits into a case you like more.
Speaking of pre-built computers you're likely to pay too much for; what are the chances you could get a Falcon Northwest Tiki for review? I remember seeing that some time ago and haven't looked to see if there are reviews of it from credible sources.
Yeah, I'm actually wondering how the Tiki or Dell's x51 would hold up to being used as a "notebook", thrown in a bag every day and hauled back and forth. They don't seem that much bigger than a large notebook...
As usual, spec is okay. But come on, for the price, one would demand more, especially on the look. I never find any sexier case than MacPro, why? These PCs can be more costly than basic quad MacPro. And again, I'm not talking about spec, purely just about look and neat interior placement. Can't somebody out there design a great looking case for these boutique design tower?
My office still have a few 2010 MP laying around and yeah, these babies are just IT tech-wonder, looks clean, easy to upgrade. Everything is in order and super organized. Specs are obviously suck for the money, as usual. But you gotta admit it's the sexiest tower around. Externally and internally.
Now imagine something like MacMini, only bigger like MacPro. Smooth silver aluminum, less holes and screws and no unnecessary LED would be great. And I'm willing to pay $200 more for the case alone. Thank you.
The only one I can think of would be the HP/Voodoo Blacbird 002 which was ridiculously expensive. I owned one up until a week ago. Fully equipped with C2Q qx9770, 8GB DDR3 1600MHz, SLI GTX280s and a 1300watt modular psu. I still own the hardware which will soon be up for sale on eBay, but I sold the case alone for $850!
The Mac Pro is a professional workstation designed by one of the world's largest PC companies. Comparing it to one of these boutique gaming systems is insane as it is designed for a different market - if you need that style of system, you should be looking at HP's Z-series or a Dell Precision T3600.
Well .. Dell is the second or third biggest PC manufacturer. Their AlienWare is still generic components wrapped in some awkward and LED-ish cases. Now any PC boutique can do that too.
Being a big company does not mean they're able or willing to design a nice looking tower. I can see the possibility, If one so inclined, people would interested and pay premium for it.
Mac fanboys aside, I think MacPro could be a great computer, but Apple seems does not want it to. Slow lame updates and all.
I've bought 2 high-end machines through AVA and 2 from CyberPowerPC. I'll never buy another from CyberPowerPC but will gladly buy from AVA.
Cyber breaks out good packaging, thermal compound and yes, even good wiring - as Separate Charges. $50 bucks for all that? If you buy a huge CPU fan like the one in this build, and don't support it during shipping, it can cause damage. Happened to me on the last build, and that's why I switched over to AVA.
The AVA system I just got uses the Corsair 650D, and it's default fan config is very quiet. Built in fan controller in hardware. Plus, the ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional motherboard allows you to set target fan speeds as low as you wish, so at idle, you can manually tweak every other fan connected to the Motherboard so they too are nearly silent.
A good case can make a huge difference and it is odd that AVA would include that particular case in that build. But thankfully, you can override that choice when ordering, and if you do that, it looks like you can snag a high-quality, low noise system with very little compromise.
Don't know if you knew this...but the case has been through a revision since it's last review. While it's not the prettiest or feature filled case out there, at least it's not starved for air any more. You could pull the AVA Direct guts out, put your std case testing parts in for a quick sound/thermal test and see.
total overkill was my first thought when I saw the the specs and your test results prove it. 650 W would be enough and you still could put in a second GTX680, while it would reduce the power draw and increase efficiency. Under full load that 650W PSU would at least run at ~50% resulting in best efficiency without getting noisy if you stick with Seasonic or BeQuiet! ...
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StevoLincolnite - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
I would even argue that the CPU was a bit of a downgrade. especially going from a 6-core processor to a 4 core processor.Heck, for $2,700 I would hope for a Core i7 3930K or at-least an x79 motherboard paired up with the Core i7 3820, so you could at-least drop in an Ivy-Bridge E when they become available.
Paul Tarnowski - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
The last AVADirect PC had a 2700K. The reviewer was comparing the acoustics of that system to his then-current i7-990X. Although yes, that sentence is confusing if you don't follow the link to the review of the previous system.Flunk - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
This is a gaming system, single thread performance is key so having 6 slower cores is a detriment.cknobman - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
While I am not arguing 4 vs 6 core when it comes to gaming I agree with OP on the point he was trying to make.For the absurd price I would expect a 6 core processor in this thing and for everything else outside of games this processor is in fact a downgrade.
I just built a very very similar rig to this one listed with an i7 3770k for far under $2000.
Death666Angel - Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - link
"and for everything else outside of games this processor is in fact a downgrade."Did you even read the review of the comments just above you? The predecessor had a i7 2700k @ 4.6GHz at its heart. No 6 core CPU!
infoilrator - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
You can argue the two points, you have to be doing very specialized computing to benefit from more CPU. Second, if you can afford this level of purchase, I suppose an entire new build is practical as a new tech toy.It is too bad you cannot transfer the bits into a case you like more.
Jambe - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
Speaking of pre-built computers you're likely to pay too much for; what are the chances you could get a Falcon Northwest Tiki for review? I remember seeing that some time ago and haven't looked to see if there are reviews of it from credible sources.I guess I might do a quick search for that.
Wolfpup - Wednesday, September 12, 2012 - link
Yeah, I'm actually wondering how the Tiki or Dell's x51 would hold up to being used as a "notebook", thrown in a bag every day and hauled back and forth. They don't seem that much bigger than a large notebook...Don't know if they'd physically hold up though.
iSayuSay - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
As usual, spec is okay. But come on, for the price, one would demand more, especially on the look. I never find any sexier case than MacPro, why? These PCs can be more costly than basic quad MacPro. And again, I'm not talking about spec, purely just about look and neat interior placement.Can't somebody out there design a great looking case for these boutique design tower?
My office still have a few 2010 MP laying around and yeah, these babies are just IT tech-wonder, looks clean, easy to upgrade. Everything is in order and super organized. Specs are obviously suck for the money, as usual. But you gotta admit it's the sexiest tower around. Externally and internally.
Now imagine something like MacMini, only bigger like MacPro. Smooth silver aluminum, less holes and screws and no unnecessary LED would be great. And I'm willing to pay $200 more for the case alone. Thank you.
Grzesiu - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
The only one I can think of would be the HP/Voodoo Blacbird 002 which was ridiculously expensive. I owned one up until a week ago. Fully equipped with C2Q qx9770, 8GB DDR3 1600MHz, SLI GTX280s and a 1300watt modular psu. I still own the hardware which will soon be up for sale on eBay, but I sold the case alone for $850!A5 - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
The Mac Pro is a professional workstation designed by one of the world's largest PC companies. Comparing it to one of these boutique gaming systems is insane as it is designed for a different market - if you need that style of system, you should be looking at HP's Z-series or a Dell Precision T3600.iSayuSay - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
Well .. Dell is the second or third biggest PC manufacturer. Their AlienWare is still generic components wrapped in some awkward and LED-ish cases. Now any PC boutique can do that too.Being a big company does not mean they're able or willing to design a nice looking tower. I can see the possibility, If one so inclined, people would interested and pay premium for it.
Mac fanboys aside, I think MacPro could be a great computer, but Apple seems does not want it to. Slow lame updates and all.
Sub Zero - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
I've bought 2 high-end machines through AVA and 2 from CyberPowerPC. I'll never buy another from CyberPowerPC but will gladly buy from AVA.Cyber breaks out good packaging, thermal compound and yes, even good wiring - as Separate Charges. $50 bucks for all that? If you buy a huge CPU fan like the one in this build, and don't support it during shipping, it can cause damage. Happened to me on the last build, and that's why I switched over to AVA.
The AVA system I just got uses the Corsair 650D, and it's default fan config is very quiet. Built in fan controller in hardware. Plus, the ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional motherboard allows you to set target fan speeds as low as you wish, so at idle, you can manually tweak every other fan connected to the Motherboard so they too are nearly silent.
A good case can make a huge difference and it is odd that AVA would include that particular case in that build. But thankfully, you can override that choice when ordering, and if you do that, it looks like you can snag a high-quality, low noise system with very little compromise.
casteve - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
Ryan,Don't know if you knew this...but the case has been through a revision since it's last review. While it's not the prettiest or feature filled case out there, at least it's not starved for air any more. You could pull the AVA Direct guts out, put your std case testing parts in for a quick sound/thermal test and see.
casteve - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
Sorry, meant Dustin.Folterknecht - Monday, August 27, 2012 - link
total overkill was my first thought when I saw the the specs and your test results prove it. 650 W would be enough and you still could put in a second GTX680, while it would reduce the power draw and increase efficiency. Under full load that 650W PSU would at least run at ~50% resulting in best efficiency without getting noisy if you stick with Seasonic or BeQuiet! ...Death666Angel - Tuesday, August 28, 2012 - link
Agreed. That PSU doesn't make sense for 99.98% of the buyers. Such a waste.