Ratings: 5/5
Price: $2,038
Palicomp’s Alpha Detonator is the first-ever-seen PC with
one of the 3rd generation Core Ivy Bridge of Intel. The price is $2,038
without a screen, a keyboard or mouse, so this system is twice as expensive as
Core i5-based gaming PCs. However, the high price is not only for the
processor, it is also for the impressive specs.
Palicomp Alpha
Detonator
Core i5-3570K processor naturally inherits from our favorite
i5-2500K chip. In this PC, the processor has been overclocked from 3.4 GHz to
4.7 GHz, and it is extremely powerful. PC gets an overall score of 153 in the
2D application test, making it faster than other PC with over-clocked Core
i5-2500K processor which gets the score of 149.
The graphic card is the latest one of NVIDIA - NVIDIA
GeForce GTX 680 2GB. It is totally strong and usually, the price is $627. This
is one of the reasons why the price is so high. Of course, the performance is
worthy as well, with 116 fps frame speed in Dirt 3 and 50.5 fps in Crysus 2,
both in the resolution of 1920x1080 and Ultra detail level. It amazes at any
definition.
Detonator has a 2TB hard disk to save and 120GB SSD disk for
the OS to boost the start-up speed, besides the Blu-ray reader/DVD re-writer.
The storage capacity is very large but there is still space in three 5 1/4 inch
drive bays and four 3 ½ drive bays. The Gigabyte Z77X-D3H motherboard has 4
SATA 3 ports and 4 SATA 2 ports, only three of which are in use. In addition,
there is much space for expansion cards. Although one PCI-E x1 slot is stuck by
the graphic card, you can access to 2 other slots, as well as 2 PCI-E x16 slots
– really running at x8 and x4 – and one PCI slot. 4 memory slots are all in
use, but 16GB RAM 1600MHz will be enough for everyone. PC has many back ports,
with 6 USB 3 ports, 2 USB ports, a PS/2 port and an audio analogue 5.1 output
and optical S/PDIF. The case also has an external tray for SATA on the top and
2 USB ports and 2 USB 3 ports along it.
This is a powerful gaming machine, but it is deer to a basic
unit. Regardless of new processor – just a small improvement from overclocked Core
i5-2500K, rather than a game-changer, graphic card is the true star. The gamers
who want modern technology will like this system and it has a reasonable price.
However, unless you really desire a PC which is stronger than any others, you
should pay less money for a completed system like Palicomp’s Phoenix i5 Shinobi,
which is $470 cheaper and is associated with accessories such as screens,
speakers, and others.
Conclusion
Verdict: A powerful machine, but everyone does
not need this strength that much.
Desktop PC: Intel Core i5-3570K, 16GB RAM,
120GB+2TB hard disk, 2GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 680, DVD+/-RW+/-DL, BD-ROM, Windows
7 Home Premium 64bit, 495x210x525mm, 3-year RTB warranty.
Energy consuming: 3W for stand-by, 109W for
idling, 270W for performing.
