Pretty much this. Although, mainstream case support isn't there yet. There are many more mITX cases that have a small cube like footprint than there are small tower like footprints. And if they go the narrow tower route, often they offer the riser card as part of the case. :)
Would be interesting to compare the weight of the Tiki against the consoles. I'm never too keen on putting my CDs, DVDs or games into a sideways mounted drive, so I wonder if the granite base is detachable (or optional) so you can put it on its side.
If you're loading a blu-ray disc, you're extremely unlikely to scratch it in that manner, since they're all coated (with stuff like TDK Durabis or the like).
I'd just wonder really how important loading discs actually is to the modern PC market.
Games? I'm pretty sure the original World of Warcraft was the last one I installed from CD.
OS? Microsoft has an official tool for loading Vista or newer ISOs or CDs to USB drives, and it installs MUCH faster from even a slow USB drive in my experience.
Media? If you insist on sticking with disc-based systems a standalone Blu-ray player is cheaper than a game most days and will play anything that matters. Otherwise digital libraries are the way to go. The discs I own for the most part get opened once, to rip them to my media server, at which point they are shelved forever because why would I ever want to use discs when I can just click my remote?
All the optical medial hate. So far 2x dvd read speed (22.16 Mbit/s) is still faster than the average broadband speed in the States (15.91 Mbps). Fully half of all the games I have on Steam were bought on Amazon or in the store and then I activated the keys in steam to have backups. It takes forever to install games from scratch. Hell, the initial patching alone can take hours. Personally I scorn digital distribution and love things like redbox and Hastings. What can I say, I'm a sucker for instant gratification.
Wow this is an impressive system but at what price?!?! Last November I built a HT gaming system based on i3 3225 (3.3Ghz), 8 GB RAM, 120BG Samsung 840 SSD + 1TB HDD and 7850 2GB OC and slimline Sony Blu-Ray for just €650, taxes and postage included. I can run Battlefiled 3 and anything else I've thrown at it at 1080p resolution and good quality settings without a hitch. The price of this Tiki ($3200) is a total waste of money and sooo over-engineered!!
You're making a pretty ludicrous comparison here. Obviously if you can spend less and it still does everything you need it to do then do that but there are things a high-end system will be capable of doing that your system can't. If you want to do one of those things then your system isn't worth it at any price. On top of that you've ignored the entire premise of the article: that for some users the extra cost of having someone build for you is well worth the time savings. In short not everyone's needs are your needs and not everyone's time is worth the same amount.
Building the PC is the easy part, figuring out what bits should go in it is the hard part, but given the price difference it's well worth the investment.
If they could build something closer to my spec in this form factor for a bit more money then I paid, I'd be all over it, but at this price point I'm flabbergasted as to who will want to pay this much for a glorified HTPC.
Apples and oranges are too similar to be a valid description of the different universes your system and this Tiki occupy. How about a mosquito vs. a T-Rex?
Well how about asking yourself what this is actually USED for? If you like running benchmarks all day on your HTPC(!) and brag about it on forums then then sure it's no comparison, but Battlefield 3, Far Cry 3 at 1080p resolution (as high as 99.99% of TVs will go at the moment) run smoooooth as silk on my config. Why would I wonna pay a $2.5k premium for something I don't need?!?! Plus it's ugly! They spend all this time and effort in designing a square box. Wow, seriously?!? That granite base is like a fallen headstone. Well at least it's gonna come in handy when they have to bury this thing. I reckon this is gonna tank big time.
You are going by your own taste and likes and saying this product is bad because it doesn't meet those. All the others are simply stating that it isn't a bad product because you don't like it. You can say you find it a useless and overprice product for your own use cases. That is fine and hardly worth a rebuttal. But you are arguing in absolutes while providing subjective points.
I wanted to add one thing to your comparison between the Tiki and the 360 that I think makes it even more interesting: the power supply. It's pretty easy to forget given we don't necessarily consider it, but if they stuffed the power supply into the 360, it would probably come even closer to the size of the Tiki.
As for Steam's Big Picture Mode (BPM), what I would love to see is better thought to the user experience. I use BPM on my Gaming HTPC along with Windows Media Center (for the superior CableCard-based tuner support). Well, the problem is that there isn't an easy way to cycle between the two pieces of software. The biggest problem is that when you exit BPM, it doesn't actually exit Steam, which can be a good thing since logging into Steam takes an absurdly long time. However, that means that you can't use a piece of software to track when Steam closes and have it reopen WMC. There's a piece of software like that which allows for switching to XBMC from within WMC.
Or Big Picture could just load in video plug-ins, and handle content management. Since Valve is in digital distribution I could see them teaming up with 7digital or someone to get themselves a store.
NVidia please produce a watercooled version! That + an i7-3770k in a Silverstone TJ08 with a 200x200mm radiator would produce a quiet, cool and super powerful system.
Very impressed with how little power needed to run that system.
Only problem for me is that the GPU is way too powerful for my needs. I havent yet moved up to 1920x1080 monitor.
Why would NVIDIA build a watercooled version? They pretty much just build a reference platform and sell chips, it's the OEMs that do custom cooling solutions.
"My perspective on what's considered quiet has been sort of warped by the fact that for the past two months I've been using a 27-inch iMac as my primary system."
Uhhh I get the sense that you're trying to qualify your perspective on system noise somehow, but I don't think iMacs, especially the 27" ones, are mass-market enough to be used as a general reference point.
Eh....don't think so. There's nothing in there that would justify that price point, it makes Alienware's X-51 seem like a steal. And the X-51 looks much nicer to boot.
I do like the innovation with the daughter/riser card accomodating a full-sized GPU. Now that the cat is out of the bag on that one however, I expect more OEMs to follow suit, albeit at a much cheaper price tag. $1k + $300 for a GTX 670 would be a very attractive option, imo, and make up for the lack of grunt on the X-51's GPU options.
I'd rather have the IO Sheild/Backpanel at the top of the case, rather than the bottom for the exact reason you listed Anand. You can see it better when plugging in peripherals.
The PSU and video card connections can be at the bottom. Plus, your mouse cord might be too short to accommodate your desk. You just never know.
I'm surprised there were 1080p settings for Far Cry 3 that this system couldn't play. If this system can't do it... what system were they targeting?!? I guess its nice that game looks to future hardware improvements but targeting a level of hardware power that's significantly above this system seems like a very large gap.
it's nice to see that BOTH fans are intakes on this small chassis. they are also made by scythe. I wonder where is the PSU air output, but anyway for thermals this is a great design. the only problem would be how to block dust from entering the system.
System looks great.. I'm considering going with this one myself as I need a sleek PC-Gaming solution for my hometheater. It's between between this Titan outfitted unit from Falcon and the iBuyPower Revolt and of course the Digital Storm Bolt. The Falcon is most expensive of the three but it has the most visually attractive case design. Downside to the Falcon is that the built-in audio seems poor.. just one line-out! I'm looking to go 5.1 or 7.1 in my theater so that's a disappointment unless I upgrade to an external SoundBlaster or something. The Revolt is most console-like, laying on it's side in traditional console form, but the case is definitely not designed with an upgrading user in mind. Getting into the Revolt to perform an upgrade would be a major pain, not that the system would need any for a good long time. Finally, the CyberStorm Bolt is a real killer with it's Falcon-like size, Revolt like prices, and easily upgradable case design. Then again, you can also throw the AVA Custom Direct into the mix with it's cube-sized mini gaming PCs (also outfitted by Titan)... they're more upgradeable and tweakable, plus due to the shape of the case, you could go Dual 680 or with a 690 if you want to best Titan's performance. I'm still deliberating but each option kicks major ass.
I just calculated the cost of the components of my PC (which started it's life in 2010 ) including the latest upgrades - a SSD and a new graphical card - and I ended up with around $2600 (€1900), without adding the monitor, keyboard, mouse and headset or speakers. So this system with any other card but the GTX Titan would cost less than mine and be faster. The Asus GTX 670 upgrade cost me €380 on Amazon in March 2013 and that was the lowest price I could find. Tell me how that fits in the "How to build a great gaming rig with just a few hundred dollars" myth?
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gandergray - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Impressive engineering from Falcon NW.xenol - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Part of me thinks manufacturers should start selling those PCI-Express riser cards so people can build thin mini-ITX builds.NIGHTSCOUT - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Yes, you can buy PCIe risers on ebay. For a few years now.Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - link
Pretty much this. Although, mainstream case support isn't there yet. There are many more mITX cases that have a small cube like footprint than there are small tower like footprints. And if they go the narrow tower route, often they offer the riser card as part of the case. :)IanCutress - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Would be interesting to compare the weight of the Tiki against the consoles. I'm never too keen on putting my CDs, DVDs or games into a sideways mounted drive, so I wonder if the granite base is detachable (or optional) so you can put it on its side.piroroadkill - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
One side would block the exhaust for the CPU, the other would block the intake for the GPU, so I don't think that's a good idea.Maybe if you put it on blocks. But then you've ruined the look of the setup.
IanCutress - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Very good point. I'm just always wary of scratching disks when putting them in sideways if they don't have a slot loader.Guspaz - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
If you're loading a blu-ray disc, you're extremely unlikely to scratch it in that manner, since they're all coated (with stuff like TDK Durabis or the like).wolrah - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
I'd just wonder really how important loading discs actually is to the modern PC market.Games? I'm pretty sure the original World of Warcraft was the last one I installed from CD.
OS? Microsoft has an official tool for loading Vista or newer ISOs or CDs to USB drives, and it installs MUCH faster from even a slow USB drive in my experience.
Media? If you insist on sticking with disc-based systems a standalone Blu-ray player is cheaper than a game most days and will play anything that matters. Otherwise digital libraries are the way to go. The discs I own for the most part get opened once, to rip them to my media server, at which point they are shelved forever because why would I ever want to use discs when I can just click my remote?
freedom4556 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
All the optical medial hate. So far 2x dvd read speed (22.16 Mbit/s) is still faster than the average broadband speed in the States (15.91 Mbps). Fully half of all the games I have on Steam were bought on Amazon or in the store and then I activated the keys in steam to have backups. It takes forever to install games from scratch. Hell, the initial patching alone can take hours. Personally I scorn digital distribution and love things like redbox and Hastings. What can I say, I'm a sucker for instant gratification.Sources:
http://www.netindex.com/download/2,1/United-States...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD#Technology
c4fusion - Thursday, February 21, 2013 - link
Well it shouldn't be a problem with this system, it's slot loaded. ;)Ryan Smith - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
The granite base is not detachable. It's quite attached, and it's quite heavy (I'd assume to keep the Tiki upright).tonyou - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
According to another review, the granite base is actually removable:<a href="http://www.destructoid.com/review-falcon-northwest...
AtaStrumf - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Wow this is an impressive system but at what price?!?! Last November I built a HT gaming system based on i3 3225 (3.3Ghz), 8 GB RAM, 120BG Samsung 840 SSD + 1TB HDD and 7850 2GB OC and slimline Sony Blu-Ray for just €650, taxes and postage included. I can run Battlefiled 3 and anything else I've thrown at it at 1080p resolution and good quality settings without a hitch. The price of this Tiki ($3200) is a total waste of money and sooo over-engineered!!Tetracycloide - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
You're making a pretty ludicrous comparison here. Obviously if you can spend less and it still does everything you need it to do then do that but there are things a high-end system will be capable of doing that your system can't. If you want to do one of those things then your system isn't worth it at any price. On top of that you've ignored the entire premise of the article: that for some users the extra cost of having someone build for you is well worth the time savings. In short not everyone's needs are your needs and not everyone's time is worth the same amount.AtaStrumf - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Building the PC is the easy part, figuring out what bits should go in it is the hard part, but given the price difference it's well worth the investment.If they could build something closer to my spec in this form factor for a bit more money then I paid, I'd be all over it, but at this price point I'm flabbergasted as to who will want to pay this much for a glorified HTPC.
Taft12 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
i3+840+HD7850?Apples and oranges are too similar to be a valid description of the different universes your system and this Tiki occupy. How about a mosquito vs. a T-Rex?
AtaStrumf - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - link
Well how about asking yourself what this is actually USED for? If you like running benchmarks all day on your HTPC(!) and brag about it on forums then then sure it's no comparison, but Battlefield 3, Far Cry 3 at 1080p resolution (as high as 99.99% of TVs will go at the moment) run smoooooth as silk on my config. Why would I wonna pay a $2.5k premium for something I don't need?!?! Plus it's ugly! They spend all this time and effort in designing a square box. Wow, seriously?!? That granite base is like a fallen headstone. Well at least it's gonna come in handy when they have to bury this thing. I reckon this is gonna tank big time.Death666Angel - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - link
You are going by your own taste and likes and saying this product is bad because it doesn't meet those. All the others are simply stating that it isn't a bad product because you don't like it. You can say you find it a useless and overprice product for your own use cases. That is fine and hardly worth a rebuttal. But you are arguing in absolutes while providing subjective points.HisDivineOrder - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
...one damn well hopes the consoles aren't as smooth. ;)Aikouka - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
I wanted to add one thing to your comparison between the Tiki and the 360 that I think makes it even more interesting: the power supply. It's pretty easy to forget given we don't necessarily consider it, but if they stuffed the power supply into the 360, it would probably come even closer to the size of the Tiki.As for Steam's Big Picture Mode (BPM), what I would love to see is better thought to the user experience. I use BPM on my Gaming HTPC along with Windows Media Center (for the superior CableCard-based tuner support). Well, the problem is that there isn't an easy way to cycle between the two pieces of software. The biggest problem is that when you exit BPM, it doesn't actually exit Steam, which can be a good thing since logging into Steam takes an absurdly long time. However, that means that you can't use a piece of software to track when Steam closes and have it reopen WMC. There's a piece of software like that which allows for switching to XBMC from within WMC.
lmcd - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Or Big Picture could just load in video plug-ins, and handle content management. Since Valve is in digital distribution I could see them teaming up with 7digital or someone to get themselves a store.cjs150 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
NVidia please produce a watercooled version! That + an i7-3770k in a Silverstone TJ08 with a 200x200mm radiator would produce a quiet, cool and super powerful system.Very impressed with how little power needed to run that system.
Only problem for me is that the GPU is way too powerful for my needs. I havent yet moved up to 1920x1080 monitor.
Falcon sure builds pretty systems
Gigaplex - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Why would NVIDIA build a watercooled version? They pretty much just build a reference platform and sell chips, it's the OEMs that do custom cooling solutions.alpha754293 - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
What kind/type/speed and how much RAM is in the system that you reviewed here?mavere - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
"My perspective on what's considered quiet has been sort of warped by the fact that for the past two months I've been using a 27-inch iMac as my primary system."Uhhh I get the sense that you're trying to qualify your perspective on system noise somehow, but I don't think iMacs, especially the 27" ones, are mass-market enough to be used as a general reference point.
Can you rephrase and/or link to a review? Thanks.
chizow - Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - link
Eh....don't think so. There's nothing in there that would justify that price point, it makes Alienware's X-51 seem like a steal. And the X-51 looks much nicer to boot.I do like the innovation with the daughter/riser card accomodating a full-sized GPU. Now that the cat is out of the bag on that one however, I expect more OEMs to follow suit, albeit at a much cheaper price tag. $1k + $300 for a GTX 670 would be a very attractive option, imo, and make up for the lack of grunt on the X-51's GPU options.
JonnyDough - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - link
I'd rather have the IO Sheild/Backpanel at the top of the case, rather than the bottom for the exact reason you listed Anand. You can see it better when plugging in peripherals.The PSU and video card connections can be at the bottom. Plus, your mouse cord might be too short to accommodate your desk. You just never know.
brucek2 - Wednesday, February 20, 2013 - link
I'm surprised there were 1080p settings for Far Cry 3 that this system couldn't play. If this system can't do it... what system were they targeting?!? I guess its nice that game looks to future hardware improvements but targeting a level of hardware power that's significantly above this system seems like a very large gap.marc1000 - Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - link
it's nice to see that BOTH fans are intakes on this small chassis. they are also made by scythe. I wonder where is the PSU air output, but anyway for thermals this is a great design. the only problem would be how to block dust from entering the system.C.C. - Friday, March 8, 2013 - link
Since both fans (as you pointed out) are intakes, then the system has a positive pressure setup, which will keep nearly every dust particle out..FlixZilla - Thursday, March 14, 2013 - link
System looks great.. I'm considering going with this one myself as I need a sleek PC-Gaming solution for my hometheater. It's between between this Titan outfitted unit from Falcon and the iBuyPower Revolt and of course the Digital Storm Bolt. The Falcon is most expensive of the three but it has the most visually attractive case design. Downside to the Falcon is that the built-in audio seems poor.. just one line-out! I'm looking to go 5.1 or 7.1 in my theater so that's a disappointment unless I upgrade to an external SoundBlaster or something. The Revolt is most console-like, laying on it's side in traditional console form, but the case is definitely not designed with an upgrading user in mind. Getting into the Revolt to perform an upgrade would be a major pain, not that the system would need any for a good long time. Finally, the CyberStorm Bolt is a real killer with it's Falcon-like size, Revolt like prices, and easily upgradable case design. Then again, you can also throw the AVA Custom Direct into the mix with it's cube-sized mini gaming PCs (also outfitted by Titan)... they're more upgradeable and tweakable, plus due to the shape of the case, you could go Dual 680 or with a 690 if you want to best Titan's performance. I'm still deliberating but each option kicks major ass.Gastec - Sunday, October 27, 2013 - link
I just calculated the cost of the components of my PC (which started it's life in 2010 ) including the latest upgrades - a SSD and a new graphical card - and I ended up with around $2600 (€1900), without adding the monitor, keyboard, mouse and headset or speakers. So this system with any other card but the GTX Titan would cost less than mine and be faster. The Asus GTX 670 upgrade cost me €380 on Amazon in March 2013 and that was the lowest price I could find. Tell me how that fits in the "How to build a great gaming rig with just a few hundred dollars" myth?