![]() Staying true to its performance-PC roots, Falcon Northwest couldn't resist tweaking even these mainstream parts. If you stick it under your desk to muffle some of the hum, you'll have to get down on the floor every time you want to access the front ports (four USB 2.0, one FireWire, one microphone, and one headphone), which are inconveniently situated at the bottom of the tower. However, that beefy transformer plus CPU and GPU cooling fans make the Talon a decidedly noisy machine. Speaking of the two cards, they consume quite a bit of power, but the Falcon Talon doesn't sweat them, thanks to its 650-watt power supply. To keep prices from spiraling out of control, the Talon gives you a choice of five mainstream AMD Athlon 64 processors and either Nvidia's GeForce 6800 GT or 6600 GT graphics cards. You won't find any Athlon 64 FX or GeForce 6800 Ultra parts here. Now you can customize a system to fit your needs, but you'll find far fewer choices than with the Mach V. Until recently, the Talon was a fixed configuration. As a way to differentiate its Mach V line from the Talon, Falcon keeps the custom-painted Cooler Master cases exclusive property of Mach V PCs the Talon ships in a subdued SilverStone TJ04 case available in one color: black. The case is more functional than flashy, and the system is customizable, but your choices are limited. ![]() Still, the Falcon Northwest Talon is a good fit for gamers looking for an affordable, expandable platform more so than a system to impress their friends.Īs with other cost-conscious PCs, the Falcon Talon doesn't stand out in any one area. It's the most affordable SLI system we've seen to date, so we weren't surprised that the Talon trailed higher-end SLI systems on our tests. You will find Nvidia's SLI graphics, however, which gives the unassuming Talon the ability to harness two graphics cards. You won't find options for custom paint jobs or exotic cooling systems or the highest-end processors and graphics cards. To keep prices somewhat sane-at $2,148, our test system isn't exactly a cheap date-the Talon eschews the bells and whistles lavished on the Mach V. If you can't justify owning a PC that may be worth more than your car, there's the Mach V's more modest sibling, the Falcon Northwest Talon. Falcon Northwest's flagship Mach V line spares no expense in providing the highest-end parts for deep-pocketed gamers.
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