Specifications and thoughts
Specification
| Vadim Fusion LQX Intel 775G2 SLI | |
|---|---|
| Chassis | Lian-Li PC201. Custom-painted with Fantasy Goddess airbrush |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 overclocked to 3.65GHz (9 x 406MHz FSB) |
| Mainboard | ASUS P5K Deluxe WiFi AP Edition (Intel P35 + ICH9R) |
| Memory | 2GiB (2 x 1GiB) OCZ PC2-8500 Reaper @ 1015MHz - 5-5-5-15-2T |
| Hard disks | MTRON SSDMSD-SATA6025 32GB SATA 1.0A solid-state disk; Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA-II for main storage |
| Cooling | LiquoCool Antarctic TX Extreme cooling CPU, chipset and graphics card |
| Display | Optional extra |
| Graphics hardware | BFG GeForce 8800 Ultra OC 768MB overclocked (700/2280) |
| Optical drive 1 | Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7173S SATA DVD +/- RW/DL |
| Optical drive 2 | None, optional extra |
| Sound hardware | Creative Labs X-Fi ExtremeGamer Fatal1ty |
| Speakers | None, optional extra |
| Modem | None |
| Networking hardware | 2 x 10/100/1000 2 x IEEE1394 802.11b/g WiFi |
| Ports (usable) | 10 x USB2.0 (4x front, 6x rear I/O), 2 x FireWire400 (front and rear), 2 x RJ45 (Gigabit), 2 x eSATA, WiFi antenna jack, audio, optical/coaxial S/PDIF-out (optical and coaxial), PS/2 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows XP Professional 32-bit |
| PSU | Enermax Infiniti 720W |
| Input devices | Optional extra |
| Additional software | TBC |
| Extras | Icy Box 16-in-1 internal reader Custom paint finish Pre-overclocked |
| Included warranty | Vadim two-year return-to-base |
| Price | £5,813.18 including VAT |
| Shipping | Included in price (basic service) |
This Vadim behemoth PC is based on a heavily-overclocked Intel Core 2 Quad processor and has a single GeForce 8800 Ultra graphics card and an ASUS P5K Deluxe motherboard. All three core components are cooled by a heavy-duty liquid-cooling kit.
We like the fact that Vadim has ramped up the speed of the processor's frontside bus to an effective 1624MHz, giving a final CPU clock of 3.65GHz that's plenty fast enough for most applications.
Thinking of the pant-wetting price of the system - just shy of £6,000 for a base unit - the choice of running with a single graphics card, albeit an incredibly fast one, leaves us more than a little perplexed.
Of course, adding another SLI-forming card on a motherboard using an Intel P35 chipset isn't possible. So, instead of the ASUS P5K Deluxe, we'd have opted for any one of a number of quality nForce 680i SLI motherboards and run two BFG Ultras in tandem.
We also wonder where the SLI nomenclature comes from in this particular instance, as the system ships in a non-SLI-enabled setup.
Part of the extensive budget has been spent on a 32GiB solid-state drive (SSD) from MTRON. Such SSDs promise incredibly fast access and speedy transfers for small-sized files but are expensive. A 32GB Samsung model can be purchased for £250 or so, but the MTRON, specified here, is vastly more expensive for no apparent reason.
Main storage is still based on traditional hard-drive technology and provided by a 500GB Samsung that is almost one-tenth of the MTRON's price.
The system ships with 2GiB of OCZ's Reaper memory, rated at 1066MHz and running at just under specification. Powering all of the components is a quality Enermax Infiniti 720W PSU.
The choice of components is sensible if one is looking for a pre-overclocked system. What the specification doesn't highlight is the no-expense-spared approach to aesthetics. The Lian-Li tower case is custom painted and airbrushed with some naughtiness...
