Falcon Northwest Mach V

7/6/07 – Falcon Northwest has been in the performance computing market for many years. In fact, the Mach V is probably one of the oldest named models in existence. Of course, a Mach V from ten years ago is not going to be anything like one available now. In fact, the Mach V is available in a wide range of configurations including those based on AMD or Intel processor. For this profile, I'm examining one based off the Intel product line. Let's take a look at what they have to offer ...

Processor: The latest incarnation of the Intel Mach V system from Falcon Northwest uses the Intel Core 2 Duo or Extreme processor line. Users can pretty much select any of the available models from the E6320 processor all the way up to the newest Core 2 Extreme QX6800 quad core. The wanting the latest and greatest would probably select the QX6700 or QX 6800 models as they perform extremely well in multitasking and certain multimedia applications but for gaming one might be better suited with the X6800 dual core processor.

Memory: Falcon Northwest has decided to upgrade the memory with the latest revision of the Mach V. Previously they used a mix of either Corsair TWINX or Dominator memory. Now they exclusively use the Dominator memory with its larger heatsinks. Users can select configurations with either 2 or 4 gigabytes with either the PC2-6400 or PC2-8500 memory speeds.

Hard Drives: For data storage, Falcon Northwest offers a selection of eight different hard drives that range in size from as small as 80GB all the way up to the new one terabyte models. A total of four drives can be installed into the system for storage capacity up to 4 terabytes, provided you are willing to spend that much for the drives. This gives the system a great range of flexibility for pricing and storage to meet a wide range of budgets.

CD/DVD Drives: Most desktop PCs now just come standard with a DVD burner thanks to the low component costs. Falcon Northwest however offers the choice of configuring the system with just a DVD-ROM drive instead. The price difference is so minimal that it would be silly not to make the base include the DVD burner. They also now offer users the option of including a Plextor Blu-ray burner if they care to use the still expensive but high definition format. A second drive of any typie can also be installed.

Graphics and Displays: The primary market for performance desktop computers is for PC gaming, and as such the graphics cards are a key component. Falcon Northwest keeps the Mach V up to date with the graphics industry by offering the GeForce 8600 and 8800 series graphics cards in single or dual card configurations. Highest performance is achieved with the new 8800 Ultra. Those wishing to use the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT can do so but only with a single card configuration.

Audio: The default audio configuration for the Mach V system is to use the 7.1 on board audio solution. While this may be fine for most basic computer audio, it lacks much of the performance and features that can be found for PC gaming. Because of this, Falcon Northwest offers the hardware accelerated X-Fi audio line of cards. Users can select between the XtremeMusic, Elite Pro and Fatal1ty versions of the card. Speakers are separate and several options from Creative and Logitech are available.

Software: Software options for the Mach V are extremely limited. They have updated the system to use the Windows Vista Ultimate edition by default, but users can select either the Vista Home Premium or Windows XP Professional instead. Application software is extermely limited with nothing included by default. Several versions of Microsoft Office are available for those needing productivity software.

Overall Impressions:

Performance wise, the Mach V can be configured anywhere from a fairly mainstream desktop computer system all the way up to a top of the line gaming platform. The majority of people looking at the system are probably doing so because of the name recognition that comes with owning a Mach V system and the available options for customizing the case of the system.

Falcon Northwest offers their Exotic graphics as an option for all of the Mach V systems. This very expensive process can provide a unique shade of color that is applied to the system and guaranteed for the life of the system. Those wanting something more can elect to have a flag painted on the case or flames. Falcon even does custom graphics jobs as well, but the costs of these can get extremely expensive.

So, is the Mach V something that people should consider getting? That answer really depends on how much disposable income you have to put into the look of the system more than its performance. A system of equal performance can be purchased for thousands less than what a similarly equipped Mach V system would cost. The only real difference will be in the exterior look of the system and possibly the really expensive large screen LCD monitor that you can buy with the money saved from getting a less expensive machine.