Solaris Computer Systems PCs: A New OEM Emerges
Setup & Cooler Notes
We had only one issue of note when we turned on our Solaris PCs. It's a fairly serious issue, but the folks at Solaris were quite responsive about it and have pledged to take care of the issue in the future.
Shortly after the first boot - but before the machines got to the desktop - both the Nebula XL and Polaris XLX systems we tested would just turn themselves off. Puzzled, our lab manager Shelton Romhanyi made a quick internal check and found that both of the stock Intel CPU coolers had fallen off during shipping!
After letting our contact at Solaris know about the problem, they took the information to their company and they decided to no longer ship with the stock Intel fans, opting for an Asus model with a back panel to hold it more securely. The following is an excerpt from the email sent to us from Max at Solaris PC:
"The model [of CPU Cooler] we will be using as standard on all Intel systems will be the Asus P5A2-8SB4W. It has some pretty good reviews and seems to do a better job at cooling, while at the same time staying quiet, which is very beneficial. We do have other cooling options, however. Customers will be able to pick from a MASSCOOL 8WA741, Scythe SCMNJ-1000, Scythe SCNJ-1100P and a Tuniq Tower. A Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/ Fan combo will also be available to those who purchase Worm Hole Series PCs, which are our top-of-the-line, factory overclocked computers."
This is a fairly positive response, and we think it's a satisfactory solution to the cooler woes we experienced.
Aside from this glitch, the Solaris PCs worked like a charm and provided us with all the benchmark numbers we needed to compare them to our system builder marathon PCs. Let's have a final look at the test settings before we disclose the benchmarks!
Test Settings
Let's have a look at the system specs, shall we? First the Photon XLX:
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| System Hardware: Solaris Photon XLX | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, 2.8 GHz, 1400 FSB, 4 MB Cache |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2, BIOS: Award F2 (06/11/2007) |
| RAM | SuperTalent T800UX2GC42x 1024 MB, 5-5-5-16, 840 MHz DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate ST3250620AS250 GB, 7200.10 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA 3.0 GB/s |
| Networking | Realtek RTL8168B/8111B Gigabit Ethernet |
| Graphics Cards | EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MBGPU: 532 MHzRAM:640 MB 792 MHz |
| Power Supply | Thermaltake Purepower500 (500 W) |
| System Software & Drivers | |
| OS | Windows XP Pro 5.1.2600 |
| DirectX Version | 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904) |
| Platform Driver | Intel INF 8.3.0.1011 |
| Graphics Driver | 7.15.11.6369 - Nvidia ForceWare 163.69 |
For reference, we'll be benchmarking this against the budget PC from our last system builder marathon:
| System Hardware: Low-Cost PC | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core Duo e6750, 2.67 GHz, 1333 FSB, 4 MB Cache |
| Motherboard | ASUS P5K, BIOS: 0507 |
| RAM | Wintec Ampo PC2-6400, 2x 1024 MB, CAS 5.0-5-5-16 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda ST3320620AS320 GB, 7200 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA 300 |
| Networking | PCIe Gb LAN controller featuring AI NET2 |
| Graphics Cards | EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS, 320 MB RAM |
| Power Supply | Fortron AX-450PN |
| System Software & Drivers | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows XP Pro 5.1.2600 |
| DirectX Version | 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904) |
| Graphics Driver | Nvidia ForceWare 162.18 |
Now, the Nebula XL specifications:
| System Hardware: Solaris Nebula XL | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 2.4 GHz, 1066 FSB, 8 MB Cache |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R, BIOS: Phoenix - Award F4 (06/11/07) |
| RAM | SuperTalent T800UX2GC42x 1024 MB, 5-5-5-15, 800 MHz DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | Seagate ST3250620AS250 GB, 7200.10 RPM, 16 MB Cache, SATA 3.0 GB/s |
| Networking | Realtek RTL8168B/8111B Gigabit Ethernet |
| Graphics Cards | EVGA GeForce 8800GTX 768 MBGPU: 576 MHzRAM: 768 MB 900 MHz |
| Power Supply | Thermaltake W0100RU Purepower 500W |
| System Software & Drivers | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 6.0.6000 |
| DirectX Version | DirectX 10.0 |
| Platform Driver | Intel INF 8.3.0.1011 |
| Graphics Driver | 7.15.11.6369 - Nvidia ForceWare 163.69 |
Don Woligroski was a former senior hardware editor for Tom's Hardware. He has covered a wide range of PC hardware topics, including CPUs, GPUs, system building, and emerging technologies.