Core i7 Desktops Begin to Surface

With Intel’s Core i7 processors shipping later this month, enthusiasts around the world are drooling with anticipation. There is nothing as satisfying as putting together your own computer, watching it come to life, and for our readers, overclocking the bits out of it.

However, there are some who are too timid, or in some cases too lazy, to put together their own machine. For these few, the boutique computer manufacturers offer a high-quality, high-performance machines with a high price to match. With the new Nehalem-based processors and X58-based motherboards right around the corner for end users, these manufacturers are getting the first crack at this new hardware. Two companies that have put their Core i7 offerings out there already (for review, that is), and the results are impressive to say the least.

Engadget has a chance to look at a Core i7/X58 Mach V Falcon Northwest desktop. At over $8,000, this new Mach V is a beast. Falcon Northwest starts with a liquid-cooled Core i7 965, and adds 12 gigabytes of DDR3 memory, dual 4870X2s (that’s 4GB of video memory), over one terabyte of storage, HD-DVD and Blu-ray playback, and what’s sure to be a 1kW power supply of some sort. All of this is tied together through an Asus P6T Deluxe X58 motherboard. When running at the max resolution of 1920x1080, the numbers were very impressive. Crysis rarely went below 40fps, and Fallout 3 stayed at a gorgeous 60.

Not to be outdone by a staple of the industry, YoYoTech unveiled its own Core i7 machine, the Fi7epower MLK1610 (that 7 is not a typo), calling it the fastest PC in the world. Also packing a Core i7 965 Extreme Edition, the MLK1610 takes it one step further by overclocking the 965 EE to an impressive 3.73GHz. Beyond the processor, the $6,300+ MLK1610 is a step below the Mach V, offering only one 4870X2 and 9GB of DDR3 memory. The Fi7epower also includes an 80GB Intel X-25M SSD, a 1TB spinning hard drive, all connected to the same P6T Deluxe found in the Mach V. While Techradar had no gaming benchmarks, they did offer up some SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks. This three-day long test originally had the custom-made eight-core UltraSPARC processor as the worlds fastest processor, with a score of 85.5. However, the overclocked 965 EE from YoYoTech blew that score away with an amazing score of 130 (both scores are for the peak integer tests).

With the holiday season approaching, the desire to upgrade, even if you don’t really need to, will be as sure as snow falling in Boston. So, if you’re looking buy a new pre-built machine, both the YoYoTech MLK1610 and the Falcon NorthWest Mach V should make any enthusiast happy and keep you on the bleeding edge of gaming and performance for the foreseeable future.