Review

Computer Power User
Heavy Gear     September 2008 • Vol.8 Issue 9     Page(s) 20-33 in print issue
Vigor Gaming Force Recon QXN

Leaders Of The Pack

The Best Of The Best Vie For Alpha Rig

There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh paint, warm silicon, and a smoldering wallet. It's that time again: The dream PCs have descended like gods from Mount Olympus to vie for the prize of being named CPU's ultimate dream PC. You'll find no pulled punches here, no expense spared, and no technology untried or processor stock-clocked. Moreover, each slice of PC perfection shown here is absolutely attainable, dear reader, as tested. As long as you have the cash, that is.

We asked each manufacturer to install the 32-bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate for compatibility reasons. But on the hardware side, common components included the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770, Nvidia's latest flagship GeForce GTX 280s, and — not surprisingly — a bevy of Nvidia chipsets, which came in Asus-, Evga-, XFX-, and Zotac-flavored motherboards. But CPUs, graphics cards, and chipsets aren't the only redundant parts this year. Five dream PCs arrived in modified Silverstone Temjin Series cases. The TJ10 was by far the favorite, with Hypersonic, Maingear, and Vigor all choosing it as a foundation. VelociRaptors, SSDs, and 1TB HDDs were also common storage options represented here.

But despite the hardware similarities, most builders found ways to make their piece de resistance shine. So grab some shades and read on.

Vigor Gaming Force Recon QXN

Force Recon QXN
$6,999 (as tested)
Vigor Gaming

Specs: CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 @ 4GHz; Motherboard: Zotac nForce 790i Supreme; RAM: 4GB Kingston Hyper-X DDR3-1800; HDD: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (2x; RAID 0), 750GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 (2x; RAID 0); GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 (3-way SLI); PSU: Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1250W

After checking out Vigor Gaming's Force Recon QXN in June (see page 35 in the June 2008 issue of CPU), which featured a sweet two-tone paint job, we were surprised that this Force Recon QXN wasn't custom-painted. Vigor Gaming tells us that it recently switched the Force Recon to a Silverstone TJ10 case and couldn't get the system painted before our deadline. Still, Vigor Gaming modded the interior of the case with plenty of blue lights in the system fans, and with a large side-panel window, the interior has a showroom feel.

Vigor Gaming cools the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processor with its Vigor Monsoon III LT heatpipe air cooler. The Monsoon III LT has two fans on the side of the metal fins to push hot air to the case's interior fans. We also like that the Monsoon III LT is neatly stamped with Vigor Gaming's logo. The Force Recon QXN has a 120mm fan behind the case's midsection air duct to draw in outside air, and there are 120mm exhaust fans at the rear and top of the case. In general, the Force Recon QXN ran a little louder than many of the other PCs in our roundup, which may be due to the three 120mm exhaust fans.

Although the 790i motherboards from Evga and Asus were popular choices in this roundup, we like that the Force Recon QXN used the Zotac nForce 790i Supreme. Besides a stock cooler, the Zotac mainboard also includes an internal 802.11b/g network adapter. We also like that the board's SATA connectors are located above the three Nvidia GTX 280's, making it easier to trace the cable routing. To keep the cables out of the way, the builder also ran wire tires through the open motherboard mounts and cinched the SATA and power cables flat against the side panel.

Despite using similar components as many of the other dream PCs, the Force Recon QXN ranked in the middle or lower among the systems on nearly all of our benchmarks. For instance, a time of 57 seconds in Cinebench 10 and 20.66fps in Crysis, while respectable, lagged slightly behind some of the other PCs. This rig's best score was a P20459 mark in 3DMark Vantage.

Despite the some lower benchmarks, the Force Recon QXN's neat interior design and affordable price tag make this system a solid choice for demanding users.