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In the Forums... |
Posted: January 28, 2000 Written by: Keith "Farrel" McClellan Interview Continued... Tweak3D: Falcon Northwest proclaims that their Mach V computers are the fastest computers on the planet, and that fact has been substantiated by innumerous independent testers and magazines. A great deal of that extra speed can be attributed to the fact that those systems are custom built for an individual. However, Talon systems are pre-built. Will the Talon systems suffer in the area of performance because they are not personally optimized by the technician that put it together? Kelt: Well, suffer is DEFINITELY not the right word, but we clearly defined the line between Talons and MACH Vs. The latest, fastest (and therefore most expensive) CPUs are not available in the Talon series. $1,000 processors are just not appropriate in $1,500 PCs. Talon is aimed at that delicate balance of "bang for the buck". The master configuration was still done by our expert MACH V technicians, and so Talons are wickedly fast - for their CPU class. Tweak3D: Are the Talon systems still faster than an identically equipped system built by another vendor or a hobbyist? Kelt: They're too new to have been put in any head-head competitions, but we've never run away from a fight. I won't tell you they will for sure because we always like to have reliable, impartial testing sources tell you how fast we are. No one fools ZD Labs. Tweak3D: I had to open up the Talon after I received it to reset the video card due to the rough handling by customs and I noticed a few things that you guys do to your systems that I hadn't seen before. I am specifically referring to the silicon sealant around the cable connections and the very relative lack of cables within the system. I was extremely happy about the latter (shows good general system design) but the sealant perplexed me - could you explain why you do this and what effects it has on the system? Kelt: It's a silicon gel we use to keep cables in place during shipping. There's a sealant on all the screws too. Pull off a cable - you'll see the gel is like a rubber cement when dry. It's just enough to keep things in place, but easily pulls off in one dry "glob" when you want to upgrade. Cool stuff. The sealant on the screws is also very easy to break, it's just enough to keep screws from turning due to vibration. Shipping hassles (as you can certainly attest to) suck. We do everything we can to make sure the customer gets their PC in the best condition possible. As for the "lack" of cables - all the standard cables are there, they're just bound very tightly and neatly. It promotes better airflow in the systems, and it looks good. |
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