This is my review of the Falcon Northwest Mach V SLI computer that arrived a few days ago. After waiting almost six months (3 with AW and 2 1/2 with Falcon), I finally got a new computer! There were times I thought I'd never get here but I'm finally writing a review of an awesomely excellent computer!!!
WHY I AM POSTING THIS IN THE ALIENWARE SECTION
I'm posting this review in the Alienware section because I found these forums when I was trying to get an AW computer and this is where I have been posting so the Alienware section feels like "home" to me. I started out by ordering an AW ALX and when that didn't work out I ended up getting a Falcon NW SLI. I still like AW and I am not posting this to be rude to AW or AW owners, I'm just providing a review for you guys to read.
For more info on how I went from AW to Falcon, please see these links:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=35991
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=50152
And now onto the review!
COMPUTER SPECS
ICON Aluminum Chassis
Enermax 600 Watt 24 pin EM-EG701AX
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 FX-55 Socket 939
Zalman CPU Cooler for Athlon64
Corsair TwinX 2048MB 3200LL-PT (4/512mb)
2 x nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB PCIE
Raid 0 - Striped - Max Performance
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (in raid)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (in raid)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (storage)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (storage)
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner
8 USB 2.0 ports
6 Firewire ports
Software - PowerDVD XP v5.0 w/DD&DTS
Creative Labs Audigy II ZS Platinum
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Mitsumi Multi-Drive 7 FDD (FA404) Card Reader
ADS Pyro 1394 3 port Firewire Card
Custom Recovery DVD
3 Year Warranty
1 Year Overnight Service
ORDERING PROCESS AND DEALING WITH FALCON-NW
I asked my dad to write some stuff about how he liked dealing with the Falcon dudes so here is what he wrote:
THE COMPUTER ARRIVES!
The computer came in two boxes, one really big and one medium sized. The computer was in the big box and the other box had a keyboard, a Falcon binder, and all the discs and manuals. The boxes are black with a silver falcon logo. Here is a picture of it:
PICTURES!
WHAT CAME IN THE MEDIUM SIZED BOX?
The medium box had the keyboard (we didn't order a mouse) and the following discs, manuals, and other stuff:
Discs
NVIDIA nForce4 motherboard drivers
Creative Labs Disc with Cubasis, FL Studio, Wavelab Lite, ASIO
ADS Tech Pyro Firewire Ports Drivers
PowerDVD 5.0 - Full Version
Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield - Full Version
Tomb Raider - Full Version
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Feature Showcase Demonstration CD
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Installation and Applications CD
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS DVD-Audio Sampler Disc
Rescue Disc
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner Drivers Disc
WinDVD Suite (WinDVD Platinum5, DVD Copy2, WinDVD Creator Platinum2, Disc Master 2) - Full Version
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Discs
Manuals
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner Manual
PYRO Basic DV English Manual (Firewire ports card)
A8N-SLI Deluxe User Guide
Other Stuff
Coupon for Half Life 2
DVI to VGA converter
Headphones jack
Svideo to (something?) converter
Alternate faceplate for Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner
WHAT COMES IN THE FALCON BINDER?
The Falcon binder that comes with the system has the following stuff in it:
1. A copy of the invoice detailing all the components in the system
2. The original handwritten shipping checklist
3. The original handwritten Mach V System QA Checklist that was filled out by the builder of the system. This checklist has 200 items that are all checked off by hand and includes written notes and stuff.
4. A comprehensive printout that shows every thing there is to know about the system including the specs, the IRQ usage, the DMA usage summary, the memory usage, IO Port summary, PCI bus summary, etc.
5. A narrative that includes a message from the sales team, how to connect devices and do powering up, internet connection info, how to setup the Mach V, etc. etc.
6. The names and URLs of the component manufacturers so you'll know where to go for drivers, etc.
7. An explanation of the warranty.
8. An explanation of how the Falcon Overnight Service works.
9. Instructions on how to prepare your system for shipment in case it needs to be returned for repair under warranty.
10. Falcon contact info.
WARRANTY AND OVERNIGHT SERVICE
The computer came with a three year warranty at no extra charge. During the first year of the warranty you get Falcon Overnight Service. What this means is that if anything goes wrong with your computer and it has to be returned to Falcon they arrange for it to be picked up at your house, they overnight express it to their facilities, and then when it's fixed they overnight express it back to you. All free of charge.
BENCHMARKS
UMark (High Quality 1024x768): 62.1
PCMark2002 CPU Score: 8386
PCMark2002 Memory Score: 11,284
PCMark2002 HDD Score: 1698
PCMark2004 PCMarks: 4886
PCMark2004 CPU Score: 4827
PCMark2004 HDD Score 6087
3DMark01: 27,797
3DMark03: 20,586
3DMark05: 9,896
MY COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COMPUTER
This computer is awesome! It's very, very fast. I really love the case, its all aluminum and looks really classy. Also, the laser engraved, backlit Falcon logo on the front looks great at night! I'm still loading games on it but so far I've tried The Sims2 and Pacific Fighters both maxed out. The computer ran flawlessly with no glitches, flickers, or problems and the graphics were fantastic! Now I just need to use my coupon and download Half Life 2...
WHY I AM POSTING THIS IN THE ALIENWARE SECTION
I'm posting this review in the Alienware section because I found these forums when I was trying to get an AW computer and this is where I have been posting so the Alienware section feels like "home" to me. I started out by ordering an AW ALX and when that didn't work out I ended up getting a Falcon NW SLI. I still like AW and I am not posting this to be rude to AW or AW owners, I'm just providing a review for you guys to read.
For more info on how I went from AW to Falcon, please see these links:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=35991
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=50152
And now onto the review!
COMPUTER SPECS
ICON Aluminum Chassis
Enermax 600 Watt 24 pin EM-EG701AX
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 FX-55 Socket 939
Zalman CPU Cooler for Athlon64
Corsair TwinX 2048MB 3200LL-PT (4/512mb)
2 x nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB PCIE
Raid 0 - Striped - Max Performance
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (in raid)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (in raid)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (storage)
Maxtor DM-10 300GB SATA 16MB Cache (storage)
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner
8 USB 2.0 ports
6 Firewire ports
Software - PowerDVD XP v5.0 w/DD&DTS
Creative Labs Audigy II ZS Platinum
Logitech Elite Keyboard
Mitsumi Multi-Drive 7 FDD (FA404) Card Reader
ADS Pyro 1394 3 port Firewire Card
Custom Recovery DVD
3 Year Warranty
1 Year Overnight Service
ORDERING PROCESS AND DEALING WITH FALCON-NW
I asked my dad to write some stuff about how he liked dealing with the Falcon dudes so here is what he wrote:
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Krew's Dad
Hi guys, this is Kevin’s dad. My son asked me to do a writeup of what it was like to deal with the folks at Falcon Northwest, so here is my contribution to his review:
ORDERING The ordering process was very easy. Once my son and I configured the computer on the Falcon website, I called and spoke with a salesman. The gentleman was very knowledgeable and answered all the questions I had. One thing I liked was that he asked questions about the types of things we were going to use the computer for (video editing, gaming, etc.) and then made recommendations based on that input. He also gave me several pointers and strategies on how I could kick my kid’s butt in MoH and CS, which I greatly appreciated. Overall the ordering experience was painless, easy, and fun. Immediately after ordering, the salesman emailed me a scanned copy of my invoice with a detailed listing of the components. CHECKING STATUS Falcon does not provide a method of checking your order online, nor do they have a series of phases to track. Their philosophy seems to be, when it’s ready we’ll ship it. However, checking the status of our computer as it was being built was very easy. I simply called them up, give them my name, and the person who answered would put me on hold and personally go to the production line to talk to the builder of the system. He would then tell me exactly what was going on with the computer. One thing I was very impressed with is that Falcon does not rely upon order numbers, customer numbers, sales number, etc. Instead, whenever I called they would ask my name and then immediately know both who I was and which computer was ours. Overall, the service felt very personalized. DELAYS Our computer was delayed three times. Now you may think this would be irritating, however, I appreciated each delay because ultimately it was for our benefit. The first time was because after the computer was built and tested, the builder was not satisfied with the benchmark scores. He therefore wanted more time to personally tweak the system to improve the performance. The second cause of delay was because they were waiting on a laser cut, back-lit front door panel. They offered to ship the computer immediately with a Falcon logo sticker instead if I wished. I chose to wait, of course. Finally, the last delay was due to the fact that Falcon was upgrading the Zalman coolers in their systems and, although our computer was assembled and ready for shipment, they wanted to provide us with the upgraded item. In total, the delays added one week to our wait. Because of these delays, Falcon immediately (and without my asking) offered to ship the computer via overnight air, at their expense. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS My experience with Falcon Northwest has been nothing but top-notch. They are extremely competent, knowledgeable and customer friendly. The things I appreciated most were: (1) When I called they always knew who I was and what I had ordered; (2) They always knew what was going on with our computer and always gave accurate information; (3) They never gave me the run-around or offered excuses for delays. Instead, they told me exactly what was causing the delay and offered me viable choices. I would buy from Falcon Northwest again in a minute. They are nothing but first class. |
The computer came in two boxes, one really big and one medium sized. The computer was in the big box and the other box had a keyboard, a Falcon binder, and all the discs and manuals. The boxes are black with a silver falcon logo. Here is a picture of it:
PICTURES!
WHAT CAME IN THE MEDIUM SIZED BOX?
The medium box had the keyboard (we didn't order a mouse) and the following discs, manuals, and other stuff:
Discs
NVIDIA nForce4 motherboard drivers
Creative Labs Disc with Cubasis, FL Studio, Wavelab Lite, ASIO
ADS Tech Pyro Firewire Ports Drivers
PowerDVD 5.0 - Full Version
Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield - Full Version
Tomb Raider - Full Version
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Feature Showcase Demonstration CD
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS Installation and Applications CD
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS DVD-Audio Sampler Disc
Rescue Disc
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner Drivers Disc
WinDVD Suite (WinDVD Platinum5, DVD Copy2, WinDVD Creator Platinum2, Disc Master 2) - Full Version
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Discs
Manuals
Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner Manual
PYRO Basic DV English Manual (Firewire ports card)
A8N-SLI Deluxe User Guide
Other Stuff
Coupon for Half Life 2
DVI to VGA converter
Headphones jack
Svideo to (something?) converter
Alternate faceplate for Sony DRU710A DVD/RW Dual Layer Burner
WHAT COMES IN THE FALCON BINDER?
The Falcon binder that comes with the system has the following stuff in it:
1. A copy of the invoice detailing all the components in the system
2. The original handwritten shipping checklist
3. The original handwritten Mach V System QA Checklist that was filled out by the builder of the system. This checklist has 200 items that are all checked off by hand and includes written notes and stuff.
4. A comprehensive printout that shows every thing there is to know about the system including the specs, the IRQ usage, the DMA usage summary, the memory usage, IO Port summary, PCI bus summary, etc.
5. A narrative that includes a message from the sales team, how to connect devices and do powering up, internet connection info, how to setup the Mach V, etc. etc.
6. The names and URLs of the component manufacturers so you'll know where to go for drivers, etc.
7. An explanation of the warranty.
8. An explanation of how the Falcon Overnight Service works.
9. Instructions on how to prepare your system for shipment in case it needs to be returned for repair under warranty.
10. Falcon contact info.
WARRANTY AND OVERNIGHT SERVICE
The computer came with a three year warranty at no extra charge. During the first year of the warranty you get Falcon Overnight Service. What this means is that if anything goes wrong with your computer and it has to be returned to Falcon they arrange for it to be picked up at your house, they overnight express it to their facilities, and then when it's fixed they overnight express it back to you. All free of charge.
BENCHMARKS
UMark (High Quality 1024x768): 62.1
PCMark2002 CPU Score: 8386
PCMark2002 Memory Score: 11,284
PCMark2002 HDD Score: 1698
PCMark2004 PCMarks: 4886
PCMark2004 CPU Score: 4827
PCMark2004 HDD Score 6087
3DMark01: 27,797
3DMark03: 20,586
3DMark05: 9,896
MY COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COMPUTER
This computer is awesome! It's very, very fast. I really love the case, its all aluminum and looks really classy. Also, the laser engraved, backlit Falcon logo on the front looks great at night! I'm still loading games on it but so far I've tried The Sims2 and Pacific Fighters both maxed out. The computer ran flawlessly with no glitches, flickers, or problems and the graphics were fantastic! Now I just need to use my coupon and download Half Life 2...
I did get the rescue disc. I listed it but it probably got lost in the gigantic spew of words. Man that is a long review. 
